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WHY do you go to Church?

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  • #16
    Why do I go to church? Serving, worshipping (with music and prayer), gaining spiritual/emotional balance, fellowship, learning.

    Admittedly, I can do all of those things elsewhere, and I DO do all of those elsewhere, but it is more convient to do church at a set location and time.
    Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? -Galatians 3:5

    Comment


    • #17
      Somehow, I got unscubscribed from this thread

      Again, good comments, and I appreciate them.

      As an aside, how would you answer the following questions (either or both)....

      A) I wish my Church would stop ________________________________
      2) I wish my Church would start _________________________________
      The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

      Comment


      • #18
        Sadly, I haven't been to church in over 2 years, with the rare exception of a few services with my in-laws where they live. I have dozens of excuses why, but I realize they are just that... excuses.
        That's what
        - She

        Without a clear-cut definition of sin, morality becomes a mere argument over the best way to train animals
        - Manya the Holy Szin (The Quintara Marathon)

        I may not be as old as dirt, but me and dirt are starting to have an awful lot in common
        - Stephen R. Donaldson

        Comment


        • #19
          Originally posted by Bill the Cat View Post
          Sadly, I haven't been to church in over 2 years, with the rare exception of a few services with my in-laws where they live. I have dozens of excuses why, but I realize they are just that... excuses.
          And, with each passing week, it gets easier "not to go"..... don't know how accurate the stats are, but I remember in a workshop way back when (maybe Flake's Formula related) that when somebody misses three Sundays in a row, they're 90% likely not coming back.
          The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

          Comment


          • #20
            Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
            And, with each passing week, it gets easier "not to go"..... don't know how accurate the stats are, but I remember in a workshop way back when (maybe Flake's Formula related) that when somebody misses three Sundays in a row, they're 90% likely not coming back.
            I can assure you, for me, it's never "easy" not to go. The excuses just become more elaborate or forceful.
            That's what
            - She

            Without a clear-cut definition of sin, morality becomes a mere argument over the best way to train animals
            - Manya the Holy Szin (The Quintara Marathon)

            I may not be as old as dirt, but me and dirt are starting to have an awful lot in common
            - Stephen R. Donaldson

            Comment


            • #21
              Originally posted by Bill the Cat View Post
              I can assure you, for me, it's never "easy" not to go. The excuses just become more elaborate or forceful.
              I was "there" one time, but it was because I was kinda in rebellion.... My Pastor, who was a great guy, asked me "how often do you miss work?" I didn't answer because I could see where he was going. Then he had to ask... "is work more important than Church?" I rarely miss, even when I'm not the Pastor or "on staff".

              I HAVE wondered, however, to be perfectly honest... if I were NOT "in the Ministry", how faithful in attendance I would be.
              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

              Comment


              • #22
                Originally posted by Bill the Cat View Post
                Sadly, I haven't been to church in over 2 years, with the rare exception of a few services with my in-laws where they live. I have dozens of excuses why, but I realize they are just that... excuses.
                Bill, we hold a worship service in our home. We pray together, sing hymns together (sometimes for45 minutes or so!), and we listen or watch a message. Usually John MacArthur, sometimes someone else. We have communion once a month, and it has been wonderful.

                And we do it again Sunday evening! Although we don't sing then.

                We actually long for Sundays now, instead of dreading the service, as we did for nearly a year and a half.

                Sadly, the church we left has not grown, as they hoped it would after making the changes they did. More people have left, instead. And it was a very small congregation to begin with, about 50 people on a good day.



                Securely anchored to the Rock amid every storm of trial, testing or tribulation.

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                  Somehow, I got unscubscribed from this thread

                  Again, good comments, and I appreciate them.

                  As an aside, how would you answer the following questions (either or both)....

                  A) I wish my Church would stop ________________________________
                  2) I wish my Church would start _________________________________
                  I wish my Church would stop squabbling about minor issues (the Russians are arguing with the Patriarch of Constantinople over matters of jurisdiction - again).
                  I wish my parish would start to hold regular mid-week services.


                  There was a time of about 6 years after high school (when I was drug to church all the time) when I pretty much only went when someone else drug me along. It wasn't until I left the Navy that I started attending church because I wanted to.
                  Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

                  Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
                  sigpic
                  I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
                    I wish my Church would stop squabbling about minor issues (the Russians are arguing with the Patriarch of Constantinople over matters of jurisdiction - again).
                    I wish my parish would start to hold regular mid-week services.
                    Would you mind clarifying.. I THINK I know that by "Church" you mean your denomination (if I'm allowed to call it that ) and by parish, you're talking about your local congregation, yes?

                    Do you also have "regions" or "associations" or other "groupings" of local congregations?
                    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      I would say I wish my church would stop doing the contemporary music, but that's selfish. The church has been growing since they started doing it and I don't know if there's a correlation there but I wouldn't mess with what seems to be working. Instead, I'll say I wish they had an easier to navigate website.

                      As for the other question, I can't think of anything off the top of my head.
                      "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        I wish my Church would stop sitting around and start serving with more than just their wallets. I also wish we emphasized doctrine more.
                        Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? -Galatians 3:5

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                          Would you mind clarifying.. I THINK I know that by "Church" you mean your denomination (if I'm allowed to call it that ) and by parish, you're talking about your local congregation, yes?

                          Do you also have "regions" or "associations" or other "groupings" of local congregations?
                          A diocese is a collection of parishes under a bishop. A group of dioceses are generally under the direction of a patriarch, though there are exceptions (the Orthodox Church in America is headed by a metropolitan). America is quite uncanonical in its jurisdictions (we should have a single American Orthodox Church, not Greeks beside Serbians beside Russians...), and it's not an easy process to get things sorted out (herding cats would be comparatively simple).
                          Enter the Church and wash away your sins. For here there is a hospital and not a court of law. Do not be ashamed to enter the Church; be ashamed when you sin, but not when you repent. – St. John Chrysostom

                          Veritas vos Liberabit<>< Learn Greek <>< Look here for an Orthodox Church in America<><Ancient Faith Radio
                          sigpic
                          I recommend you do not try too hard and ...research as little as possible. Such weighty things give me a headache. - Shunyadragon, Baha'i apologist

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Originally posted by One Bad Pig View Post
                            A diocese is a collection of parishes under a bishop. A group of dioceses are generally under the direction of a patriarch, though there are exceptions (the Orthodox Church in America is headed by a metropolitan). America is quite uncanonical in its jurisdictions (we should have a single American Orthodox Church, not Greeks beside Serbians beside Russians...), and it's not an easy process to get things sorted out (herding cats would be comparatively simple).
                            Understood. (I mean, I understand that it's too confusing for me to see simply. got an ORG CHART? (just kidding))

                            It's STILL on my bucket list to visit an Orthodox Church and/or Priest.
                            The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Originally posted by Pentecost View Post
                              I wish my Church would stop sitting around and start serving with more than just their wallets.
                              I have always shared that concern. Churches I have served always started off with an admirable "missions budget", often nearly 10% of their total income. I was at one Church once where we increased that to 51% of our undesignated funds, but that's still not enough for me.

                              I always like to find "projects" - even stuff like habitat for humanity - or helping out in a soup kitchen or ANYTHING to get people to SEE "missions", and be involved. There's a Boy's Ranch near us that does a tremendous job with boys who have been in trouble with the law, and more than a few Houston Judges allow this Boy's Ranch to be an alternative choice for sentencing --- "you can go to Juvi, or you can sign on to Miracle Farm".

                              Since Miracle Farm is pretty much in our back yard, we do projects there -- building, painting, fixing.... usually side by side with the boys, not just "us doing it".

                              So, yeah... excellent point, and I haven't quite implemented that at the Church where I now serve.
                              The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Originally posted by Cow Poke View Post
                                I have always shared that concern. Churches I have served always started off with an admirable "missions budget", often nearly 10% of their total income. I was at one Church once where we increased that to 51% of our undesignated funds, but that's still not enough for me.

                                I always like to find "projects" - even stuff like habitat for humanity - or helping out in a soup kitchen or ANYTHING to get people to SEE "missions", and be involved. There's a Boy's Ranch near us that does a tremendous job with boys who have been in trouble with the law, and more than a few Houston Judges allow this Boy's Ranch to be an alternative choice for sentencing --- "you can go to Juvi, or you can sign on to Miracle Farm".

                                Since Miracle Farm is pretty much in our back yard, we do projects there -- building, painting, fixing.... usually side by side with the boys, not just "us doing it".

                                So, yeah... excellent point, and I haven't quite implemented that at the Church where I now serve.
                                Soup kitchens also put a face on the need that's out there. So many Christians who live in nicer communities may not recognize just what is going out there, and it reminds us that there are these people that God has called us to serve.
                                "I am not angered that the Moral Majority boys campaign against abortion. I am angry when the same men who say, "Save OUR children" bellow "Build more and bigger bombers." That's right! Blast the children in other nations into eternity, or limbless misery as they lay crippled from "OUR" bombers! This does not jell." - Leonard Ravenhill

                                Comment

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