Catholics Converting to Non Denominational

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I’m obviously not trying to advocate for the non-denominational church here but just because they don’t do Catholic spiritual practices (why would you expect them to?) doesn’t mean they only “live their faith” an hour a week. That seems like an unfair assumption.
 
Hope1960 said:
How? In what way? The preacher said he’d see us next week and several things made me feel this church is lacking the spiritual things I need weekly:
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I obviously can’t speak for this particular non-denominational church but I can tell you what I’ve been taught in the American Evangelical church culture (Baptist, Methodist, Assembly of God and so forth)

The biggest thing is that being a Christian isn’t something we do as much as it is who we are. If I am a Christian it effects every area of my life every minute of every day. Every decision I make, every action I take is effected by my love and devotion to Christ. We are taught to not just believe the Gospel message but to live out the Gospel everyday in our life. The church is the gathering of God’s people. But I’m one of God’s people no matter where I am and what I’m doing.

In the Evangelical churches things aren’t as structured as they are in a Catholic or more liturgical Protestant church. The reason being is that everyone is in a different place spiritually, emotionally, relationally and culturally. Everyone has different needs so it is difficult to have a “one size fits all” approach to ministry, worship, and devotional activities. Therefore, most evangelical churches will offer a wide variety of opportunities that encourage and equip people for spiritual growth, worship, service and ministry. Some of it is formal “programs” and some of it is informal things that just happen when God’s people gather together.
 
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BoomBoomMancini said:
I’m obviously not trying to advocate for the non-denominational church here but just because they don’t do Catholic spiritual practices (why would you expect them to?) doesn’t mean they only “live their faith” an hour a week. That seems like an unfair assumption.
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BoomBoom, what religion are you?
 
Hope1960 said:
I was just toying with the idea of checking that church out. Maybe converting IF I liked it, but while I really enjoyed the music, lighting and sermon, I decided against leaving the Catholic Church.

After the service was over, the pastor said something like “see you again next week”, and I thought, “that’s it?”
I mean Catholics can go to daily Mass if we choose, we can enter the Church for prayer during the week, we have Adoration, we can light candles during the entire week, we have the tabernacle to pray to and, of course we have the Eucharist.
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The local Catholic Church in my nearest town is locked all week and only open for special events other than the Sunday Mass. Does that make them second rate Catholics? The active and “open all week” churches in this town are the non-Catholic churches. By the way, the Catholics in this town by in large are wonderful Christian people.
 
I was Evangelical Protestant for the first 47 years of my life before converting to Catholicism.

In the Evangelical Protestant churches, including the non-denominational churches, you can definitely practice your faith and spirituality all week long.

My husband and I were in church, or at home or at another location working on a church ministry, 5-6 days/evenings per week when we were Evangelical Protestant. We very seldom were home doing nothing “spiritual.” It was constant activity and volunteering to help out in many different ministries–Bible studies and prayer meetings both organized by the church and casual with friends in homes, charitable outreach ministries, youth and children’s ministries, music ministries (many of which I played for and my husband sang in or directed), business meetings about various church business, missionary outreaches and fundraisers, banquets and socials celebrating various church historical events (e.g. Founder’s Day–a huge event in many churches, or “Rally Day,” another huge event in some churches), funeral ministries, wedding ministries (the only way I ever got involved with this was playing for the wedding, but many other women loved being part of the “Bridal Committee,” which provided a wonderful FREE service to brides that normally they would have to pay a caterer or a florist to do), lectio divina (yes, this is practiced in Evangelical churches), political committees, PRO-LIFE work–lots of it!, sponsorship ministries for immigrants and refugees…

It’s exhausting now when I think about it all. My husband and I, along with our two daughters, were constantly involved with our church and the people. ALL of those activities were bathed in prayer and praise to Jesus, so it was definitely spiritually edifying.

And on top of all that, we had actual friends in our churches—friends that we would meet up with at homes or restaurants and do fun things with. We both miss this aspect of church life. We have had little success making friends in the Catholic church (14 years now).

We’ve tried to get involved with activities in the Catholic Church, but there don’t seem to be as many things to get involved with that we can do. We do what we can, and maybe it’s healthier that we aren’t constantly on the run to our parish. We do have an Adoration Chapel, but there were some password changes to get into it, and since I’m clueless about tech things, I can’t remember it, and I need to ask someone in the parish office how to get into the AC again–that’s a wonderful place to be with Jesus.

I am involved with parish music, but that may be getting more stressful as the parish is implementing at least one “Modern” song to each Mass, and also bringing back the Latin for several of the prayers. Both of these will be a challenge for me. I need to avoid stress–it’s not good for my health.
 
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Cons: And they “tithe” which is British for 10%, so be prepared to give that much of your income in a so-called “membership” rather than giving what you wish in a collection basket!
 
By virtue of walking into a Catholic Church and worshipping, you have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. And here are some pros to being in a Catholic Church:
  1. They have great Spirit filled, energetic music that makes one feel they’re participating more than how I feel during Mass.
  2. They have awesome lighting to energize the soul.
  3. They focus on the Bible
  4. They aren’t as fanatical as some once thought they were.
  5. The Holy Spirit May touches my soul in ways I haven’t never felt in evangelical churches because we have the Eucharist.
 
I would inquire with the church.

I’ve never been a member of a non-denominational church that tithe’s, so I wouldn’t say it’s a hard “they do”.
 
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TC3033 said:
I would inquire with the church.

I’ve never been a member of a non-denominational church that tithe’s, so I wouldn’t say it’s a hard “they do”.
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In most evangelical churches the Tithe is considered a principle to follow and is not a requirement for church membership. The church I attend has never mentioned tithing but often mentions being a cheerful giver. In other churches I’ve been a member (Southern Baptist) tithing is taught but it is not a requirement for church membership. Nobody checks your income and how much you give to make sure you are giving 10%.

However, it is a belief that God blesses those who are faithful to Him in giving. This could be spiritual or financial blessings or just a peace in the fact you have been faithful in supporting the ministry of the church.
 
lanman87 said:
the Tithe is considered a principle to follow and is not a requirement for church membership. The church I attend has never mentioned tithing but often mentions being a cheerful giver.
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We’ve gotten the same “10%” talk at my wife’s Catholic Church as well, but I don’t think anyone gets close to it. The Lutheran church we’re looking at asks upfront what you plan on giving through the year so they can figure their budget.
 
Gabika50 said:
  • They have great Spirit filled, energetic music that makes one feel they’re participating more than how I feel during Mass.
  • They have awesome lighting to energize the soul.
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Most Catholic churches don’t have the same high energy music or lighting you’ll find in non-denominational churches (which I consider a good thing). I’m not sure what you’re referring to here.
 
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You have to travel around the world a bit more; if your parish seems dead, it is a reflection of the people.
 
When I was younger I knew a good many people who left the Catholic Church for nondenominational churches. The usual reason was that they felt more spiritually fed there. If one fails to discern the unique Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, which many Catholics do, then many Catholic churches can seen spiritually barren.
 
They have boxes all around the building to put money into. They also said something about them taking a certain amount of your money using a credit card or something, just like my Catholic Church does.
 
As Christians, we try to be like Jesus, right? Did Jesus place his mother in a corner? Did he dishonor her? Disobey her? No! All we are doing is honoring Mary who is the mother of JESUS. Don’t you think He would want you to honor His mother? If you went to a friend’s house, would you not speak to their mother?
 
The Church will prevail, just as it did in Rome, 2000 years ago. The main reason Catholics convert to Protestantism is because of a lack of catechism. Nondenoms have no . . . long history of martyrs and saints, no art, and most importantly, no salvation (for the most part). Leaving Noah’s Ark, the Catholic Church, which although it may be uncomfortable, saves you from the flood of sin, for a floating chair in the ocean of sin, is not a good idea. Do not use experience as a guide for religion. Only use logic, and stay to the only form of Christianity that has existed for 2000 years: the Catholic Church. Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus, so choose wisely.
 
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