When you move to a new city there are a few things that need to be done first and foremost but are often looked over and skipped till it is to late or you have already made the wrong choice.
1) The right church
2) The right doctor
3) A great attorney (if you own a business you understand why)
4) An honest mechanic
5) A girl scout that sells those great mint cookies (this may need to be the first thing done)
Church is one of those things most people do not give much thought on and they pick one based on a roll of the dice. My father is a Preacher and growing up I got the "inside" scoop of how one works. Yes, I was one of those evil Preacher Kids that are known world wide as being the most ornery beast of God's creation.
Church is a place where people of like mind come to worship, praise, learn and fellowship with one another. A good church reaches out to the community and helps those that need help spiritually, mentally and physically. A good church is a family that does not judge when one fails but instead lends support to help those that have fallen stand back up.
In all of my years of going to church I have found one big disgusting problem with every church I have attended, the members (the body) is made up of imperfect people. There are people who view church as a place to gossip, back bite, argue and cause problems. This should be expected because we are not perfect but there should be at least an understanding that in church we should cease our arguments.
As I look for a new church home I know that there will be people who will approach me to tell me the latest "news", please do not do so because I do not want to hear it. There will also be people who I have never met but they shook my hand once and now they claim they are an expert on every secret dirty deed that I have done, real or imagined. This is the ugly part of a church, their gossip now has more power because they said it in church instead of by the water cooler at work.
The benefits are many more then the negatives but I wish that the gossip and hate mongering would stay at home. Make your family suffer with your diatribes instead of your church family.
I do understand that the church family is imperfect, I really do look for one that is because I want to fit in, but we should strive to be more Christ like instead of pointing out who is failing.
I have to get rid of this headache so I can stop just ranting on my blog......
Posts
I am amazed at the church I go to. It's small and even though I was going through serious marital difficulties. I was surprized how many in the church did not know that my husband and I were separated.
ReplyDeleteThe church will always be made up of imperfect people, but I was very impressed with the people of our congrigation.
I don't go to church. When I have a need to feel close to God(Which is often), I step out in my backyard and walk down to the creek that runs behind my home or take myself to the beach and walk along the waters edge. There I can speak to the lord in his True and real Home. I don't need the whole Fellowship based experience. I don't believe in the stupidity of trying to dress better than the Joneses or the Browns or anyone else. If I need fellowship I will call a friend. But when I feel the need for my lord I choose the backyard and a trip to the creek... Or the ocean. What better place to communicate your love and desire to be one with the lord than by doing it by one of his greatest creations...
ReplyDeletehmm I agree with the post above m e, seems thes days when you go to church it is about who is looking better and what not and to gossip in church .. how hypocritical .. doncha think? I go where I can have solitude and peace full ness with My God ..
ReplyDeleteSomehow I think that our culture has it backwards... Church is not a place it is people. Fellow believers who are saved and live their daily lives in Christ. Who follow him and strive to love others. Church is suppose to be a place where you get encouragement to get through another week of the world as it is today. Church is where you should feel safe, accepted, and loved in all we do. It should be the place where we can confide our struggles and our problems as well as our praises and wonders. It should be a place of FAMILY even more so then by blood because these are the people we will be spending all eternity with some of us can't say that about blood relatives. It should also be a place about learning. Learning what God's word says to us although that is something we should be doing on our own as well it also helps to learn others interpitations and understandings. Church is not the problem it is the people who turn it into something it is not suppose to be. The church was created by and for Jesus so its not bad its the people who make it that way.
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