Skip church?

[Don]

Noooo, just the Americanized way we are so dependent on the Brick and Mortar ediface. the attitude that church can only be done in the monument we have built unto ourselves, and it must be done with a pastor and ushers, and a choir, and a pulpit, and it must be filled with lectures from the man that stands behind the pulpit, in front of the choir...in the house that Jack built.
And it must be done on Sunday...
And the ordinances must be performed there unless you don't have a Baptistry, in which case you can go down to the river, or borrow another like minded church's dunking booth.
But no matter what in order to be in good standing you must be on the Rolls of Church attendence. If you're not with us you're against us. We want you in our social club. You know just like AMWAY.

(09-02-2011 04:45 PM)Donb123 Wrote:  

(09-02-2011 04:36 PM)Don Wrote:  Didn't stop going to church.. just stopped going as much...only go once a week now instead of three times a week, plus mowing, maintenance, extra prayer meeting on Monday nights, bulletin prep & print, Saturday Visitation, and Retirement Home ministry.

Still will not consider joining a church yet. At this point I probably never will. I don't believe in the Americanized, Brick and Mortar Church, practices anymore.

What about the Eurocized Stucco Church practices? What about the Russian or Greek Marble Church practices? If you mean to imply that America invented "brick and mortar" churches, e.g. physical buildings, I'd invite you to study some history.

[Tiarali]

I stopped going for three months. Then I received an extremely abusive private message (on facebook) from someone who was attacking me for doing the right thing. Something exploded inside of me and I didn't want to go to my old church anymore. I hadn't been attending anyway, of course, but I realised that I'd been wanting them to want to fix the relationship. This was what I needed to put me to push me past that point; I saw that fellowship with that church had nothing to offer me.

Still difficult because I do have some good friends from that church. And they can't handle me saying negative things about it. I honestly feel like the church is dangerous and things need to be said. But I need their friendships. It's a very difficult situation. But anyway, I go to a new church now.

[MrsSarahN]

I fortunately had a friend who had been trying to talk me into coming to her nondenominational church for months before I finally left my fundy church, so once I did leave, I went right to church with her. I think if it hadn't been for that, I might have been too intimidated and disillusioned to go back to church for awhile.

[Josh]

I voted that I didn't stop going, which is technically true, because I went straight from my IFB church at home to a GARB church in college. However, roughly coincident with my parents leaving the IFB church back at home, I stopped going to the GARB church. After a semester-long hiatus, I started going to a PCUSA church, but I didn't attend it every Sunday. Now that I'm back in my hometown, I attend a different unaffiliated Baptist church every Sunday. I attribute that less to my dedication and more to the fact that I've found a fun way to serve that requires me to be there each Sunday.

[JordanMaria]

I don't go to church and I don't think I ever will again. I'd rather stay away from any organized religion.

[Faith]

It took about 20 years to go back to church.

[NotUnderLaw]

I would like to go. I have attended several since, and many of them appear to be pandering. The attendants look bored, the "worship" group tries to hard to imitate what they have seen in larger churches. Hopefully I will find one that I fit into soon, and isn't too traditional.

[Tony Mel]

It worked for me, as I moved from my native country, and shortly after that I renounced Fundyism. None of my friends around here really care about what church I attend.

[elizabethn]

I took a break of just a few weeks before undertaking the hunt for a new church. Mr. EN and I landed in a Methodist congregation, have been there almost two years. It seems to be a good fit.