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Category: Church You have viewing the Church category! We invite you to join our website or login if you are already a member! Where is the Church? Posted by:  algernon   (Posted: 08/06/08 6:47am) I have found that the Scriptures refer to the Church as "the pillar and foundation of the truth" (1 Tim 3.15), and "the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way" (Ep 1.23); and that the Church has the authority to expel unrepentant Christians and the power to "bind and loose" (Mt 18.15-18). The problem I have faced is trying to reconcile the doctrine of an authoritative, truth-filled Church with the existence of more than 30,000 Christian denominations who all teach different doctrines, follow different practices, and disagree on their understandings of the nature of the Trinity and the Incarnation of Christ; the role of good works; the proper place of Mary and the Saints; the right approach to Scriptures; the definition and means of salvation, justification, sanctification, glorification; the meaning, method, and timing of baptism; the substance of the elements of Communion; the proper understanding of atonement, original sin, mortal sin, venial sin; predestination versus freewill; imparted versus imputed righteousness; lordship salvation versus free grace; efficacious versus prevenient grace; total versus limited depravity; conditional versus unconditional election; premillennialism versus postmillennialism versus amillennialism, etc, etc... Is it possible that all these different doctrines can be correct? Maybe doctrine is... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 0 Comments  - Total Views: 10 MINISTERING SPIRITS SENT FORTH TO MINISTER Posted by:  oldpaths   (Posted: 07/31/08 9:29pm) Hebrew 1:14 "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation." Every time God wants to do something in the earth, He searches for a man. God looks for a human being to be His instrument and do what He desires to be done, at a particular time. "...The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him." (2 Chronicles 16:9). The Scripture says that the eyes of the Lord search for a man. Again we read, "And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none." (Ezekiel 22:30). The Lord searches for a man whose heart longs for the fulfilment of God's purposes upon the earth. I believe, the Lord Jesus Christ is searching for a people in the earth these days, to complete the work of the restoration of His glorious church. One thing that we see, is that whenever God desired to restore the church, the... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 0 Comments  - Total Views: 32 I need to talk, is anybody listening? Posted by:  funzo   (Posted: 07/24/08 4:26am) Hello there, please forgive me if I sound naive, I am a bit new to blogging but I really need to be able to articulate my thoughts somehow so that I can get a perspective on it. One of the predominant things on my mind is church around me and how it is run. I am a stickler for the Word of God and I'm likely to query things by asking for "chapter and verse". However, I do get scared when I am told that I should carry on because the leader says so or since the issue may not directly affect me. In my church, there are lots of people in leadership position who get and remain there by making the leadership feel good or by refusing to "rock the boat". When you make progress that way, it is evident that you must also maintain your progress that way. When I discuss with those I can talk to, the advise is to "allow God to deal with the situation", or words to that effect. I ask myself is that a correct biblical stance? Nathan confronted David, (2 Sam 12:1-9); Paul confronted Peter, (Gal 2:11-14). Is this not the same... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 2 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by tohimbeglory)  - Total Views: 85 Church vs. A Relationship with God Posted by:  scrisden   (Posted: 07/14/08 4:29pm) What is the purpose of church? Some people go to church out of routine, some go out of obligation, and others go out of guilt. Some people say that church is where you spend time with God. Is that how you get to spend time with God, by going to church? I go to church to fellowship with other Christians, to give and hear testimonies with other Christians, and to worship God with other Christians. I enjoy praying and reading my Bible. Just spending time alone with God is something that, until recently, I never really did. I absolutely love God, and I know that he absolutely loves me. I would not be assured of these truths had I not began spending time with him. I guess I just don't place as much importance on church attendance as some others. Is that a problem? Is it possible that going to church can keep you from having a relationship with God? I think the answer is "yes", if you let it.... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 1 Comment (by blessings2you)  - Total Views: 49 Thoughts From Pastors Across America, Part 1 Posted by:  abelajohnb   (Posted: 07/02/08 10:22am) Thoughts From Pastors Across America, Part 1 I felt it was time to put together a list of all the comments I have written down over the last seven or eight years that I have had the pleasure and honor of talking with pastors from across America and Canada. Mostly I wanted to do this to try to bring them all into one file, rather then a whole bunch of different files on my computer, but then the idea hit me that I should publish these great comments, as many of them are just way to good to leave only on my computer and in my own mind. Because of the type of conversations that I have with pastors, and the fact that pastors I speak too understand I have a "zero naming" rule in my life and ministry, I have removed from the below comments who said each comment, where they live, when they said it, and what they were going through in their own live and in their ministry -- of all which I have tried to keep track of while compiling this great list! I hope that many people will find some nuggets of wisdom and insight... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 5 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by wormwood)  - Total Views: 398 New Church Model at the Journey in Russellville, Arkansas Posted by:  richardmyjourney   (Posted: 06/27/08 12:48pm) Where to begin.... I guess the easiest place to start is to talk a little bit about the title of this blog. The Journey is an evangelical, non-denominational church whose origin are found in the Assemblies of God. Before I say anything else however, please allow me this disclaimer... Nothing I say here is intended to smear or belittle other believers or churches anywhere. We are called to "do" church differently and we do not judge or condemn any other body for doing things differently or more traditionally. Our efforts are directed at reaching a very specific cross-section of the population that we feel has been largely ignored by the modern church and sometimes even labeled as undesireable. We feel we have been called to fill a void that, for the most part, has gone unfilled in our area. We focus our organizational efforts on reaching the un-churched and the de-churched in our area. We believe there are huge numbers of people, who for whatever reason, will not attend a more traditional church. Perhaps they have been burned by a previous church experience or perhaps they feel that churches are full hypocrits and liars but whatever their reasons, we have... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 0 Comments  - Total Views: 84 St. Mark's Youth Group Posted by:  whitebeard   (Posted: 06/14/08 2:10am) St. Mark's Ocean Park has a youth group! It has been a long time but it will be worth the wait! Rev. Jonathan Blanchard will be starting up the youth group. Rev Blanchard will be the coordinator but he will need some help from older youth and parents. There will be at least two events during the summer of 2008: Pizza Night at the Blanchard's June 29, 2008 5pm to 9pm there will lots of games (outdoors if the weather permits), pizza and a getting to know ya time Innertubing at Cultuss Lake July 19, 2008 10:30 am to 5pm There are two main objectives for St. Mark's youth group playing and praying. will be leading this group but he will be looking for parent volunteers. Our prayer is that this group will grow spiritually and numerically. If you are between the ages of 12 and 16, want to learn about Jesus and have fun come to St. Mark's in Surrey... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 0 Comments  - Total Views: 71 The Wolf And The Church Posted by:  abelajohnb   (Posted: 06/01/08 8:18pm) The Wolf And The Church As one closes theirs eyes and gathers images about the wolf, from what they've been taught, what they've seen in pictures, and seen on TV, one usually only gets a glimpse of the reality of the life of the wolf, a reality not of truth but of that which man has impressed the animals to be. Some people see a playful and bouncy little cub and put that as their idea of what wolves are. Others see wolves as a strong and powerful animal that rules the forests and animals of the forest. Some see them as a snarling, saliva drooling, meat eating beast. And yet others see wolves as a nuisance to society. Whatever one sees when they close their eyes and think of wolves is probably wrong. Few people today have had the chance of seeing a live wolf in its own habitat. From herein I do not claim to be one of these. I have never seen a wolf in its own habitat. I don't know if I would want to meet a wolf on some dark night in the middle of a forest. But I would give almost anything to be... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 9 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by kraftykatz)  - Total Views: 836 13th: A Busy Month of June Posted by:  ruthandboaz   (Posted: 06/01/08 7:15pm) Wow... seems like I've got a busy June this year! Not only for the upcoming classes though. The youth ministry's seventh anniversary in fast approaching and... God knows... June 3 - Go to school for schedule updates. June 5 to 28 - Preparations for the anniversary celebration! Practices for special numbers, a shoot for our "anthem", and lots more... June 8 - The discipleship begins! June 10 - Back to school! June 11 to 13 - I pray that I could get the principal's permission for our planned cell groupings in our school... Everyday is a busy day, even during vacation. Clean the house, help the 'rents out, devotions and some other hobbies. But it isn't boring anyway, as long as you're doing everything for the glory of God... Hey, I forgot something: I applied for a scholarship for a prestigious university here in the Philippines. We're about to submit the forms once classes start... and I'm planning to have a review while I wait for the exams (August 2 and 3). Honestly, I feel a bit nervous, because although the test is easy according to a neighbor, the real catch is time pressure. Well, I can't do anything else... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 2 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by youaregolden)  - Total Views: 140 The Emergent Church Posted by:  joshopp   (Posted: 05/26/08 9:59pm) Recently a friend told me that she is attending an "emergent church." Since I did not know what that meant, she was kind enough to send me a link to a webpage about the emergent church. I enjoyed reading the article, and decided I wanted to write this blog because I think I have many friends that would label the church that they attend as "emergent" on some level. Some points in the article contrast the Bible heavily in my opinion. First, the article emphasized the postmodern movement which distances itself from the concept of absolute truth. I find it difficult to understand how a Christian can believe in relative truth when Christ made so many absolute statements concerning himself, the Father, and salvation. As well, the article seemed to focus much on the idea of the church seeking to "dialogue" with the culture and fit into the culture. This also to me is not a scripturally sound concept. The example of the church we have in the scriptures, though very active in the community, was first called to minister to its own. The Bible tells us that the world will not comprehend the light that is in us. Yet,... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 11 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by thereisnogray)  - Total Views: 339 Would you put Jesus to Death? Posted by:  faithful1914   (Posted: 05/16/08 4:43pm) The human condition has not change much in the last 2000 years we eat, we work, we marry, we let our children marry. If some nicely dressed man came up to you with a teaching from the Bible which might sound strange, rebellious or different than what your Pastors preaches, would you listen to him? Most of the Jews failed to recognize Jesus's importance in GODS purpose for mankind. Their lack of appreciation eventually lead to his death as well as the death of most of his close followers. So ask yourself would you have recognized Jesus importance in GODS purpose? Would you have chose to be different even when your neighbors were demanding his death? What religions out there in the World are strange, rebellious an different than what our Pastors preaches. Now is the time to compare these religions teachings with the Bible! If we don't we might be guilty of Killing Jesus. Bye for now Faithful1914... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 0 Comments  - Total Views: 58 So what should we do then? Posted by:  throughfaith   (Posted: 05/12/08 9:12am) After observing and listening and reading and talking with some people over the last few months, I have become increasingly aware of the discontent of many Christians with their church. Discontent with the teaching styles, discontent with the worship level, discontent with the classes offered, discontent with the overall focus and direction, and discontent with the behavior of others. I have heard comments from people of all ages, in many different walks of life, from many different income levels, in many different churches. I have heard comments from not only lay people but from ministers as well. But my one thought that always comes when I hear/read these comments is - what should we be doing about it? COMMENTS ABOUT TEACHINGS STYLES What we are hearing isn't relevant for our lives. Preaching has become a series of lectures on various topics instead of a sharing of the Holy Spirit's leading. We hear the same messages over and over and over again. COMMENTS ABOUT WORSHIP It's too planned leaving no room for the Holy Spirit to work. We sing the same songs over and over. What happened to the hymns? It seems forced. COMMENTS ABOUT CLASSES It's all about the programming.... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 1 Comment (by muellerjcfreak)  - Total Views: 178 What will the church look like in 10 years? Posted by:  abelajohnb   (Posted: 05/09/08 12:17am) What will the church look like in 10 years? For each generation, what the church is today is no good. For my generation, "organized religion" is becoming more and more undesirable, and this can surely only increase for each generation after mine. As the world continues to spiral faster and faster, organized religion is doomed greater and greater without a major intervention, and thus the church itself. Personally, I am tired of Programs. I don't want any more new theologies. I don't want to be preached at with sermons that were barely relevant 30 or 100 years ago. I don't want the same old things rewrapped in a new package. Surely somebody, some pastor somewhere, can find something of value with the Great Book, and find a way to make it relevant to me, one would think? As for the generations following me, it will only get worse. They will want a real life experience of the power of God. They will want truth in action, not truth in teachings. They will want love in action, not love in sermons. They will want a move of God, not just a 'move of God' talked about. They will want the Bible... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 13 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by hisway)  - Total Views: 1529 lemoore church Posted by:  monkey   (Posted: 05/05/08 1:58am) i go to an awsome church in lemoore where we sing and dance and have fun. i love to hang out with my family and when we go. my pastor helps me put alot. my mom and my aunts always talk to me about church. but im still learning and im in the process. the church helps me out alot but sometimes im afraid to ask questions. but my congregation is so awsome. each and everytime we have a meeting i always learn something new. my church is small but its slowly starting to grow. i realy dont have anything agianst the fact that i always get to alot about the way i am. but yeah.... but sometimez my church is so awsome i hate the fact i aint that envolved like i should be....... wwweeeelllll yyyeeeaaahhhhh........ at my church we do alot of crazy things but its like thier basicly my family. i can always count in them when i need help . and im so grateful for that cuz they help so much.... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 2 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by youaregolden)  - Total Views: 200 Two Wrongs Don't Make the Reverend Wright Posted by:  blessings2you   (Posted: 05/02/08 8:10am) Okay, if I don't vent some steam I think I may blow a gasket. I will try as hard as I can not to offend anybody, but it will be difficult. Normally I try to stay out of these situations, but the current one is flat out getting out of hand. As long as the United States of America is the land of free and the home of the brave, I have as much right to voice an opinion as anyone else. The topic at hand is the incessant, nonstop, and ever increasing rhetoric being spewed out of the mouths of various Reverends that claim to represent the "black church". I am a reverend if I so wanted to be called such a thing (which I don't), I am a white person but I never claimed to represent the "white church". Since when did we come up with such designations? Where in the Bible is there reference to "black churches" and "white churches"? Remarks made by the notorious Rev. Jeremiah Wright the other day reflect more of his true character and agenda. He made constant references to himself being the spokesman for the "black church". He keeps bringing his messages... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 18 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by rivermandan)  - Total Views: 1051 Doing Something Different...for a Change! Posted by:  allforhim   (Posted: 05/02/08 4:19am) Doing Something Different...for a Change! Yesterday was the National Day of Prayer. I have honestly never paid much attention to it. At times I have lifted up prayer for the nation on that particular day but have never really had any more interest then that. I am a home school mom, with five children. I am not one who goes out much because we ALWAYS have school to do and it always involves getting all the children out the door, although I admit life is much easier with no small toddlers or babies to tend to. I can get them out the door much easier and I think I am finally starting to realize this, lol! And with the price of gas now, well I'd just assume stay home! I was reading the paper on Wednesday morning and there was an article about the National Day of Prayer. It caught my eye, for of course, instead of promoting it, they were criticizing it because it is predominately Christian and doesn't include other faiths. Now the paper I read is a little local yocal paper but the liberal theology just seeps right in. And I was appalled at a female pastor... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 7 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by papillionkiller)  - Total Views: 671 Loving Father or Confrontational Big Brother Posted by:  throughfaith   (Posted: 04/18/08 9:28am) Ok, I know there are several of you who are pastors or have been pastors or who will have a view point on this and I welcome you responses because I'm struggling here. What is the role of the pastor in the church? I already know the word pastor comes from the Greek word Poimen which means shepherd ... and a shepherd was responsible for many things. Tending the flock. Taking care of sick and wounded sheep. Protecting the flock from wolves. Earning their trust. Loving them. But how actually does that relate? I dont' mean to be dim witted but ... I have had a pastor who was great. He oozed compassion. If you asked him a question he answered quickly, calmly, and to the point. He kept his emotions in check all the time. He had boundaries and you didn't cross them. He was a wonderful teacher, counselor, man of God, who uplifted us and prayed over us and bound up our wounds as the Lord revealed them to us. Then I had a pastor who just stood back and watched as people destroyed one another and themselves and did nothing to stop it. Then I had a... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 5 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by revgunst)  - Total Views: 277 What is the church and what it is not Posted by:  blessings2you   (Posted: 04/11/08 6:25am) If a person honestly looks at the practices of the First Century body of believers and compares them to what is practiced in 99.9% of churches today; the undeniable result is that there is little if any similarity. The Christianity espoused in "The Church" today bears no resemblance to the faith practiced by those who lived 2000 years ago. Throughout the book of Acts, when believers got born again, they immediately received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The new believers in a locale would all get together on a regular basis to break bread together and simply fellowship amongst themselves. There is evidence to suggest that these small assemblies of believers would set aside a time each week to have a structured "fellowship" where according to 1 Corinthians 14 there were in operation the gifts of speaking in tongues with interpretation and prophecy. According to 1 Corinthians 16 the believers received a collection of money on the first day of the week. From other sections of scripture it is obvious that these collections were used to help supply needs that became known among the believers. At times collections were received to help the needy saints in Jerusalem. Other times... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 9 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by grizzly1)  - Total Views: 443 Five years away from church, what does that mean? Posted by:  throughfaith   (Posted: 04/10/08 6:30pm) For five years in the course of my life, I didn't go to church. I didn't want to go to church. I said I would never go to church again. Me, who was born going to church, who spent my whole childhood and teenage years and young adult life and early marriage going to church, working in church, teaching in church, coordinating activities in church, singing in the choir, etc ... I walked away from it with no intentions of ever returning. I was disillusioned with the whole thing. I didn't walk away from the Lord, however, He was not first in my life any more. But, as the Holy Spirit has a way of doing, we were prompted to return to church. My husband and I looked at each other a lot the first few months and shook our heads. "What are we doing?" we would ask when we got home. "Why are we doing this?" Going back to church interrupted our daily routines. It interfered with our family time. It shortened our sleep. It added days of chaos to our already chaotic schedule. But still we went. Around the third month of faithfully going to church, I began... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 4 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by throughfaith)  - Total Views: 265 Commission of the Last Hour Remnant Posted by:  tchable   (Posted: 04/04/08 12:03pm) The apostle John, chosen - elected - and ordained by God to hear His voice and write a letter for the people of the final days of the Church age told us clearly in this letter that we are living in the final hour of the Church on earth. Jesus chose and personally taught the ones who would begin His Church. After He arose from the grave He breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit. This is the same Holy Spirit who lives within every born again believer today. During His final forty days on earth until the day He ascended on high He was busy giving these chosen men final instruction, final preparations for their commission of building the foundation of His Church on earth. Some ten days later while they, along with 109 other believers, were in the upper room praying and seeking God Jesus fulfilled His promise to them by sending the Holy Spirit who lit on each one of them empowering them for the ministry He had called them to. The chosen eleven as well as the remaining 109 believers received Power from On High. The Power which is received through baptism in the... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 6 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by allforhim)  - Total Views: 392 Pastors and their agenda's for the people Posted by:  throughfaith   (Posted: 04/01/08 3:38pm) Why? why? why, oh Lord, do pastors always seem to have agenda's for their church that they get so caught up in they can no longer see the people of their church? I'm not writing this to complain about pastors or the church or pastors in the church or anything else for that matter. I'm writing this as someone who has a deep heartfelt need of intercession for the people in my church, for my church. That burden is what drives so much of my thinking and seems to often leave me in trouble. It may sound bad, but even though I understand that order and structure and unity are scriptural things, I don't really care about all the plans and games and special events that seem to fill our calendars at the back of the church. I don't really care to listen to yet another rendition of how we need to make plans and come to unity on them. Too often I have seen pastors come into a church, full of honest and truly heart felt passions for people ... ready at the drop of a hat to pray with them, ready in an instant to give spiritural advice,... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 0 Comments  - Total Views: 115 We live under grace, not the law. Throwing out the Old Testament. Posted by:  kraftykatz   (Posted: 03/30/08 12:23pm) We should throw out the Old Testament and live in the New because we are a New Testament church. We live under grace not the law. Wow! When I first heard a Christian say that I was a bit surprised. She was an older Christian woman that I respected and admired, but her statement bothered me. I spent some time reading and studying God's word to see what it had to say. Even today there are persons who think the Old Testament is not important. We are the New Testament church and we are under grace and not under the law. The Old Testament is more than just a book of laws. It is history, it is promise, and it is the beginning of Jesus. John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. From the beginning of Genesis we can see the shadow of the promise that is to come. All through the Old Testament we see the promised mentioned. The books of history,... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 3 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by papillionkiller)  - Total Views: 397 Church - Is it revival or ? Posted by:  throughfaith   (Posted: 03/14/08 8:27am) What is the trend these days? On my way to the store, in the town where my parents live I drove past a church the other day. On the way to the store there was a big blue elephant standing at the entrance to the parking lot waving at everyone who drove past. I won't repeat what my first thoughts were but it certainly didn't persuade me to stop and attend the church. As I came back by the same church later on there was a man, dressed in shorts and flip flops standing at the end of the drive with a big cup of coffee waving at everyone who drove past. His coffee mug was half as big as his head and white with black letters that read "Jesus died to save you". I could read them from my car as I drove past. On another occassion, not too many years ago, I sat in church and listened to a sermon about fishing for men. The pastor carefully plucked out certain verses of scripture to use to make his point and then spent a lengthy amount of time discussing how we needed to "bait our hooks" carefully, dangle those... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 0 Comments  - Total Views: 116 We have to be careful within the church Posted by:  everfaithful   (Posted: 03/09/08 11:12am) Last night my daughter went to a youth group at her best friends' church. I purposely put the apostrophe at the end of friends because they are twins Anyway, she was very excited to go and growing up in a Pentecostal church, she thought she knew what to expect. She took her other friend who came from a reformed church and was ready to explain things to her. The twin's dad is the pastor of this church and she respects the whole family. Last night they had visiting churches come perform for the youth in the form of skits, sermons, etc. It began with a skit making fun of the King James Version of the Bible. They made fun of the language and Moses etc. Shauna felt upset and thought it was blasphemous. Then a preacher got up and told them if they were not up dancing in the aisles and praising the Lord how could they profess to be Christian. The twins at this point were horrified and apologized over and over. The next thing was an offering for a carnival they were having which they said everyone should give to even the guests. Another preacher got up and... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 3 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by mikejs)  - Total Views: 341 My first visit at FBCR Posted by:  madalannsmom   (Posted: 02/24/08 11:43am) I finally did it. I finally went to the church that I have been driving by the last 6 months and telling myself that I need to get up and go to...with my daughter. Last night I was feeling sorry for myself and thinking about my relationship with my boyfriend of almost 3 years and how I was not satisfied. How I wished we lived together, or better yet, how I wished he would ask me to marry him so we can have a committed relationship together. He stayed home last night and that bothered me. He should want to spend all of his free time with me....especially since we live about 30 minutes apart...So anyways one thing I realized last night is that I don't want to move in together unless we are engaged or married. I just don't want the stress of non-commitment. I also don't want my daughter to see the wrong message about relationships and I really think I will be giving our relationship a better chance at success if we wait...but it still bothers me. So, guess what the sermon was today? Ecclesiastes 6:1-12...titled "I cant get no satisfaction." It was amazing. I understand that... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 4 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by gladys)  - Total Views: 309 The day the Holy Spirit came into my life...LITERALLY! Posted by:  believeinjesus   (Posted: 01/30/08 6:13am) This is my first post, and I feel it's right since it just seems this is what God has impressed upon my heart to tell about. I really have to give some background on the status of my life at the point when this spiritual reality grabbed me in a little Baptist church. After graduation from high school, up to which point I had been a semi-serious church going person: I was baptized, played bass guitar in the church praise band, and had been going to church ever since I could remember. I was not an awakened Christian by any sense of the word. I was young and angry, and even got all huffy when a pregnant lady who sang in the band dropped my amp. Wow, hindsight! I stopped attending church pretty much altogether when I was 18 and didn't really go again until I was 26. I broke my arm at 23 arm wrestling for beer (a little lesson about pride I'll have to post about), had a mohawk haircut at one point, and did a lot of very reckless things with my best friends, I could go on and on but I'm sure you get the point!... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 4 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by believeinjesus)  - Total Views: 329 Satisfied? Posted by:  mrsamin   (Posted: 01/27/08 7:11pm) My husband and I have been attending the same church for about 3 years now and I'm starting to think about whether or not it is still benefiting us. Here's the thing, my brother-in-law and his wife go to the same church and I feel as though my husband might be afraid of telling them that we need to explore other churches to find out what's right for us. To me, that doesn't seem like a valid reason to stay in a place that we feel like might not be the best for us. What I am wondering (and this is why I'm posting) is how do you know if a church is right for you? Is it possible that we just don't see the benefit of this particular church and that we really don't need a move? My biggest concern is that I personally don't feel fulfilled when I attend either Sundays or bible study. I feel as if the teaching is too doctrinal for me and that I am in need of somewhere that focuses more on life application. I also feel as if the music doesn't benefit me. I don't feel emotional, confronted or encouraged by any... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 1 Comment (by famwkidz)  - Total Views: 224 Unity Among Churches Posted by:  pawpaw   (Posted: 12/11/07 2:09pm) I've been thinking a lot lately about unity among the churches in my area. Think what would break out if all churches in an area would forget their small differences and join together for the common good. We all believe in Jesus so why not focus on Him and see change in our communities? I see it like this: Think of an outdoor area in your community. Each church is gathered, hand in hand, in a circle praying for their own needs. The next church is doing the same thing, and the next and the next. What if one church looks over to the one next to them and says, "We'd like to pray for you and your needs. Can we join you?" They say yes and all join hands in a larger circle. Another church notices what has happened and asks to join and agree for the others' needs. The circle gets bigger. Eventually, all churches are thinking and praying for one another as one big family and God sees what has been created and He says, "This is good!" The devil and his crew sees what's happening and has to leave town. It can happen when we follow... Read Full Entry  - Category: Church  - 7 Comments (view first comment - view last comment by tseth)  - Total Views: 327 Open Door is Closed Posted by:  elizabeth   (Posted: 12/08/07 8:26pm) Hey Everyone! Well, Open Door (the church I've been going to on Saturday nights) is now closed. Tonight was the last service and I actually got to go because it is really snowy here and the Christmas parade was canceled (I don't know if the parade was canceled but I know the marching bands didn't march). It was a good time. A lot of remembering and talking about what the church has been for the past 8 or so years. I just started coming about a year ago so I didn't know everything they were talking about but it was still really good to talk about everything. The pastor is awesome and everyone was thanking him for everything and we took a special offering so he can get through the next few months when he's looking for a job. Almost everyone was crying at the end and we sang the song we always sing at the end and had communion. It was an awesome service. It was sad, but it was also hopeful because we know that God has a plan and closing the church is in his plan and something good will come out of it. Please pray for... Read Full Entry  - Category: