But we are still struggling finding a church and I wanted to share part of a message I sent to a friend this morning and tell me what you thought about our struggle to find a church.
We really love it here and are still praying about where God would have us for Church. We are so tired of mainstream consumer driven evangelicalism. We have serious theological issues with mega churches and even some of the smaller consumer driven ones. I'm so tired of going to churches that advertise "an awesome worship experience" Great worship is very important, but these churches are so caught up in flash that they forget the Good News! They get stuck in happy God is love seeker friendly mumbo jumbo they never get to the heart of Christ. People get "saved" but couldn't articulate what they are getting saved from. I don't believe you can get saved from the unknown and you can ask Christ to save you if you don't know the truth about God! It just doesn't work.
There is one that had a ten week bible study on how to help people transition after the move! I'm sorry, but I don't need a ten week bible study on that, maybe MAYBE an afternoon. But I looked over the book, there were verses at the beginning of every chapter and that was it! That wasn't bible study, that was fluff! These churches aren't turning out mature disciples Christians who can effectively spread the gospel, they are turning out plants that fell on the rock and at the first sign of trouble will wilt and wither away.
As we go into the next century further, and starting no with a government who is becoming more and more Anti-God (yes I said that, and yes I believe that) we have to root our children in something far deeper than shallow prayers before a soccer game and awesome worship experiences. I will not have my children following the path of other children raised in "Christian" homes who are assaulted when they get to college with liberal ideas that are against God and falling away from the faith. 80% of our kids are falling away!
So we are looking for something deeper. Something meaningful that will last in our childrens lives, and we are finding it in places that we didn't expect. That is why I posted the article about the coming evangelical collapse. We have been finding true deep Godly worship in old denominations. Nazarene, Mennonite, Orthodox, even the Catholic church here in town (which I grew up Catholic so it shocked the heck out of me) and our favorite has been the Messianic Jewish congregation.
Okay, so you probably didn't want my novel and rant LOL My heart is honestly aching for the American church though. I'm angry at Satan for getting in there and having such a huge STRONG foothold! And some are so ignorant of his very existence that they don't even know what to look for and how to resist him. It makes me mad
That is where we are, and this article about “the coming evangelical collapse seems very timely to me.
So where do we go. Do we continue to search the nondenominational evangelical congregations we have always been so comfortable in, or do we move a little more toward the traditional? We are as always in prayer and study about our next choice.
3 comments:
About anemia...you can take alfalfa capsules for iron. I am because I am pregnant even though my iron levels are normal - just for insurance since I'm also nursing. My midwife said to start with 1 capsule twice a day and work up to 6 twice a day. If you take 12/day to start, it can give you gas and nausea. I am up to 8/day and so far so good.
I understand how you feel with your struggle for a church. I feel the same way about finding a community of like minded people. It's hard to find your place if you fall outside the mainstream.
I am hoping and praying that you find a church that suits you and your family. Have you checked out http://forums.catholic.com/ ? There's a forum for just about everything, including non-Catholic denominations. There are some really good, mature discussions. I hope I'm not over-stepping my bounds...
Well, you know if I had it my way you'd reconvert to Catholicism :) That being said, I've been spending a lot of time lately worrying about how to raise the Moobaby to be a TRUE believer-- the good and the bad-- so that she doesn't wilt and wither away as you've said! The only conclusion I've come to is to find a church with a body in which you feel mostly comfortable, and then throw yourself into the waters headfirst! I want Moobaby to truly live the Gospels-- including the unpleasant and the difficult-- and the onlyw ay I can think to do so is by immersion.
I've encountered lots of Catholic parishes in which I cannot stay-- just like evangelical churches, all parishes are not created equally! We've left several parishes that seemed to focus to heavily on "fellowship coffee hours" and less so on the sacramental blessings and how to live the life of Christ in the modern world. The good thing about being a Catholic is that there are usually 10 parishes within driving distance from which to choose-- no matter what part of hte country you're in!
have also been doing some research on Amish/Mennonite beliefs- am coming up mostly empty! Do you have any resources there?
Post a Comment