Boanerges

I am not critical in any way but I fell as though there are many wounded souls here and
I just wanted to share this thought:

A church is a hospital for souls

Don't expect to go and not find anyone without at least as many problems as you have yourself.

If someone is hypocritical then church is the perfect place to get set free

Love more, look for faults less

If you want to be touched by God reach out and touch someone with His love

Love the unlovely

Be an encourager peolpe don't need to be told what their problems are but instead they are looking for answers so point them to Jesus for He is their answer

Support your church, it takes alot of finances to pay utilites, saleries, suplies etc., etc.

Be quick to forgive, give as much mercy as you yourself need (it's usually more than we think)

Don't take offense, see the people who hurt you thru Jesus eyes and your heart will quickly change

Whirlwind

After a long day, I take out my contact lenses and put on my glasses, and aaaaah....my eyes feel alive and open. They can breathe again as the fresh air hits them.

This is how it felt reading your post, my friend. Feels like my eyes have been opened fresh after a long day.

Banarenth

Seems like a good argument could be made "If Christians abandoned the church". I know, that with some of the corruption and hatred I've seen, I've wanted to come up with something else to be called. Simply because I don't wanna be associated with what people see as "Christian". But what else to say? Jesusite? Christer?

But it's true, there is a lot of hurt people in the Church. However, it is not the hurt that I see that makes it hard, those are the reason I am still searching for a real church, and not just an assembly of believers. It's the people that don't know they aren't perfect, that have lived this fake life so long, and have spread it to others like an infection. How do you reach those that see the truth, the love of God, as something that is "below them" because they are so Holy? How can a Christian, struggling with hurt and pain, like myself, endure in a place that is dragging me down faster than lifting me up?

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Boanerges

Thanks Whirlwind. We are to be known for our love towards one another.

Whirlwind

I know what you mean...when I moved back to the rez, the first church that I went to, most of the people used it as an excuse to socialize. Women showed up to brag about their recent plastic surgeries, men were roaring their new cars in the parking lot, people were divided into cliques. So I moved.

The second church was ruled by a single family in political power. This is where one of the members came to my home and told me that I was going to hell. I was treated as an outcast because my "family" had never gotten along with their "family" in the history of the reservation.

So...the third church. I was greeted with a genuine smile by the preacher. Members of the church gathered to welcome me and said that it was good to see me. There was singing and dancing, arms were raised to the Lord. You could feel the holy spirit thick in the air. I felt blessed.

I really think it does make a difference when a person who calls themselves a "Christian" speaks on behalf of all Christians, and then behaves in ways that a true believer of Christ never would. Bragging, shunning, lying, stealing, etc. I pray and try not to judge, but I eventually had to leave the church.

God lead me to a church where I can feel His presence, and now I'm able to worship and follow Him...instead of another "Christian". At my new church, nobody is seeking out followers, they're all too busy praising the Lord.

LivingWaters

Whirlwind,

You raise an interesting point about one person speaking for all of Christianity. How do you'll feel when Pat Robertson or James Dobson are very outspoken in the media? What are the positives and negatives?

Whirlwind

What I love about it, Living, is that one Christian can speak to another Christian and share the joy and the Word. That's love, and it feels good to learn.

But when, like in a video posted in a recent thread, Christians sit and sentence other men to hell...that isn't love. When a spiritual leader tells the world We feel this way...then I think he should be good and sure that We includes everybody.

My take? Jesus brings love into your heart, not hate. That's why I thought this thread was so beautiful...it reminded me of things that I had started to forget and practice in myself.

It's like the more I learn, the deeper I go. And soon enough, I tend to forget the basics. It's a blessing, like a child reminding you of something so simple and elementary that only a child can remember.

LivingWaters

Amen!

Banarenth

Well, my previous church falls in the category of "Church ruled by one family". Well, actually two really large families that are heavily intermarried. I did indeed learn a lot from them, and I grew. But, I have seen repeatedly where they are very content with a certain level of knowledge and are very happy and content with it. There is no desire whatsoever to really grow or reach out beyond their own walls. It really was a tough decision for me to leave, only made a bit easier by the fact that nobody seemed to notice that I left.

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Boanerges

There are many forms of religious bondage. Pray for those caught up in such traps.