You're a Christian, but don't attend church - WHY and what would bring you back? (scripture, Jesus)

[GausJAMS]

Originally Posted by lorelei2873

I consider myself a Christian but have been really turned off by a lot of the judgemental behavior and pushiness I've seen coming out of "Christians." I like going to church, but I live in Montana, and I actually feel most at peace and like I am witnessing the presence of the Lord when I am alone in the mountains. My relationship with God is personal. It's true and real, but it's between God and me. I will always encourage others who are lost to turn to God, but regardless of what anyone or anything says, I feel in my heart that I can talk directly to God. I feel like he comes to me, like in the song, "In the Garden" when I am sitting on a rock on top of a mountain. I feel clear and reflective, whereas in church, I feel hot and like someone's perfume is making me sick.

I think a lot of young people who don't go to church consider their relationship with God to be a personal thing. I recently saw something on the news about this phenomenon. I pray daily. I know that Jesus died for my sins. You don't need to tell me repeatedly. I got it the first time and thank him daily.

All this crap about gay stuff being good or bad has really turned me off to many other Christians. I attend a traditional, non-southern style Methodist church where we were taught to use our own will and do what Jesus would do. We are very tolerant and loving. We use the scripture as positive teaching tools on how to live our lives the way Jesus would want us to. With all this gay stuff from the evangelicals, it just seems like a bunch of petty people focusing on the little things and missing the big picture...that Jesus was a wonderful teacher and a living example of the Word. Haters, mind your own business and leave it up to God. I believe in taking the Bible as a whole and examining it as a complete work. If I took all that gay stuff right to heart on a line by line basis, I'd sure have a tough time applying it to other lines and abiding by all the stuff it says about women. So, for all the "Christians" bashing gays, you've done a great job running off regular people who want to attend church in a positive, non-hating environment. I'm not gay, and I'm not all about gay rights. But, geez, give it up! Some of you seem like a bunch of hate-mongers.

I'm also saddened by these criticisms of Joel Osteen. If anyone has made me want to be closer to the Lord, it's Joel Osteen. I can feel the spirit when I watch his sermons. This bashing of such a devoted man of God is exactly the kind of thing that makes me want to stay away from an evangelical church. It makes me sick. He has a positive message that doesn't focus on how we're all going to hell, so you want to condemn him. Leave the judgement up to God.

"Leave the judgement up to God"
I agree with you
It sounds like ou have an awesome realtionship with The Father. I envy your Mountain time, but every now and again, I get Ocean time
It sounds like the Lord may be wanting to take you further in your journey. (please, please don't take this the wrong way) but could it be that He may be calling you to another place of worship, one where others share your same perspective? Just a thought.
Happy God-time-ing

[GausJAMS]

I second that, DTexas85
Nice post Lifesign

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[GausJAMS]

Originally Posted by PghPaNative

OH goodness, church people are just plain old mean and nosey!!!

It's not good to generalize (stereotype) in either direction.

But, if we had to about "church people" I'd hope someone would say, that we're passionate and real. That's me, anyway - and, not nosey or mean

[GausJAMS]

Originally Posted by Ms.Charlotte

Whatalady,
I don't know how old you are, just that you say you haven't been to church since you were 15.

I'm happy to tell you, there are MANY "come as you are" churches! And they do preach from the NT and OT. I hope you consider giving church another try!

Yes - Whatalady...
I've found some myself, too. I had been out of church since age 15, myself, until coming back to the Lord 7 years ago. They're out there, you just have to want to find one.
Happy hunting (oh and real quick, save your self some time and just ask the Lord to lead you - trust me, I thought I had to search and search and try them all - it can be much easier than that. Let His Spirit lead you, but have your eyes and ears open to know where to go and when to stay.)

[HDL]

I happen to agree with everything you've said so far. Personally, I struggle as a Christian, being judged like all Christians believe, do and say the exact same things . It's like certain folks believe we're some sort of 'robots' who cannot think on our own . One area I pride myself on is not judging a whole group of people by the actions of some of them, be they white, black, brown or multicolored .

Heck, I'm as frustrated as non-believers/ non-Christians with what a lot of people do in the name of Christ or religion . And even though I don't agree with quite a few posters on here who state they are "Christians", I don't go attacking them or the things that they say, though I do wish some would get off their high horses and take a look in the mirror more 'closely' .

To me, it's all about the blood of Jesus and a personal relationship with my Heavenly Father . I'm on a journey. This place is not my eternal home. And I have not yet reached perfection (though I'm sure many of my friends think I'm already there - LOL )!!! Thank you God for a sense of humor !

[GausJAMS]

Originally Posted by motherof1

Thank you for the site information...but, I still haven't found what I am looking for. Any time I find info. on Neanderthals, it is how science says they are our ancestors. And then these answer sites show how our DNA isn't similar and so on. I don't believe we came from apes...but there is proof that Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons were on this earth at some point. In creationism, when was that? Are they considered animals or beasts? Are they like dinosaurs and simply weren't mentioned in the bible because they don't pertain to us and maybe God created them before man as an experiment? Let me know your ideas and thoughts about the order of these things....Thank you

I guess this really illustrated how different I am from you - I am not a science buff, so I don't care to get caught up in all the details of how this and when that or why. Eventually there comes a time when we just have to believe, without cold hard evidence or facts. I've known people that try to hide behind these road blocks - they really don't want the answers but they want an excuse not to believe.

I hope you don't think of me as discounting your quest for knowledge. It is important for each of us to gather our own knowledge. Don't get me wrong, I love learning new things, but I just can't let what I don't know stop me from believing in what I do know: That Jesus Christ was crucified, buried, and rose again - all for me (and you and everyone else, too) and our sins That He is The Way, The Truth, and The Light. That He is my Lord and Savior, my redeemer, my Healer, my counselor, my provider, my friend. And, no one gets to the Father but by The Son. His Holy Spirit is with me everyday and His love has turned my life around.

And, as neat as the topic of Dino's and prehistoric man can be and as much as I'd like to know answers to things not clearly outlined in the Bible, I just have to keep on keepin' on and know that someday I'll find the answers to all of my questions.

In the meantime, I won't let my questions for the future, concerning the past, hinder my present by turning my questions to doubts! (make sense?)

[HDL]

Answersingenesis.org is a great site for finding information on Creation Science. They were at my church teaching a while ago and I thought it was really helpful information. I hope this helps you and the poster 'motherof1' .

Originally Posted by GausJAMS

...And, as neat as the topic of Dino's and prehistoric man can be and as much as I'd like to know answers to things not clearly outlined in the Bible, I just have to keep on keepin' on and know that someday I'll find the answers to all of my questions.

In the meantime, I won't let my questions for the future, concerning the past, hinder my present by turning my questions to doubts! (make sense?)

[GausJAMS]

Originally Posted by happydawglady

Answersingenesis.org is a great site for finding information on Creation Science. They were at my church teaching a while ago and I thought it was really helpful information. I hope this helps you and the poster 'motherof1' .

I catch their short on the local christian radio and it is very cool. I never remember to look them up on the web. Now, I have a reminder!

[IBrakeforTailgaters]

I think lorelei2873's post is right on.

Long story short, and this is my personal opinion...I find that regardless of how much praying I do, how much church I attend, how much in tithes and offerings I've paid, I have little in common with the church and denomination in which I grew up. It's hard to grow up and feel like you can go to Hell for what you believe in, but I've prayed and prayed, and the more soul searching I do, the more I realize that it's okay...different strokes for different folks.

I would like to find a church one day that embraces us all and doesn't split us apart. Only God can judge me. Maybe when I find that place and my comfort zone opens, then I'll be part of it again. But right now, I just haven't found it.

I'm enjoying reading these posts...it's nice to see people talking without taking it to a personal level and making it political (I haven't read all the posts, but the ones I've read so far haven't crossed the lines just yet)

[HDL]

I too am a huge fan of Joel Osteen and I can't tell you how many people I know, that do not know Jesus personally that listen to Joel on tv and really like his sermons. He is truly a man of God and those that say otherwise, well shame on them. "How a man judges is also how he will be judged." I am not willing to waste any time debating them. I know that God calls me to pray for them and let Him do the judging of those that speak against His children. Anyways, just realize that we're not all the same on here, nor do we often agree, but God's Word says they will know we are Christians by our love. So as often I can, I will do my best to love others (yes even the mean spirited ones on here - LOL ).

Originally Posted by lorelei2873

......
I'm also saddened by these criticisms of Joel Osteen. If anyone has made me want to be closer to the Lord, it's Joel Osteen. I can feel the spirit when I watch his sermons. This bashing of such a devoted man of God is exactly the kind of thing that makes me want to stay away from an evangelical church. It makes me sick. He has a positive message that doesn't focus on how we're all going to hell, so you want to condemn him. Leave the judgement up to God.