Christian Club at school

[MarkRA]

I started attending a new Christian club at school called OneVoice. The club is not Catholic and it’s just “Christian” and they don’t say anything outright about Catholics, but it’s clearly run by protestants. If there was a Catholic club, of course I would go, but since one’s not likely to come around anytime soon and I’m not the sort to set one up, this is really the only solely Christian experience that i can have at (after) school on a normal basis.

At the club they sing contemporary christian music for worship and they pray and do other Christian stuff. A lot of OneVoice is about getting to know other Christians and eating food and hugging and playing games and singing (CCM worship). It has a sort of youth group feel except that it is a lot more fun than I remember mine was (i quit , thinking about going back, though ).

Other than the fact that the club is protestant run, the only real complaint I can come up with is that they sometimes have high school kids come up and tell their stories with experiences about God. The story bit isn’t what’s bad; but it’s that they will often refer to scripture and try to wrap that in with their lives. It seems like they don’t exactly do justice to the scriptures like that.

The club doesn’t usually use kids to tell stories, and usually it’s actual youth ministers. Typically, the ministers are effective at teaching scripture and are pretty entertaining to watch too .

Clearly i have some doubts about OneVoice as evidenced by this internal conflict i just described. However, the club really does trigger some experiences with God in me even if it’s not Catholic i don’t know if it really matters; i’ve never been stronger in my Catholic faith than i am right now.

I was wondering what you people think. Should i keep going and is it good for my faith, or should i leave and not associate myself with the protestants?

 

[Cheshangle]

I started attending a new Christian club at school called OneVoice. The club is not Catholic and it’s just “Christian” and they don’t say anything outright about Catholics, but it’s clearly run by protestants. If there was a Catholic club, of course I would go, but since one’s not likely to come around anytime soon and I’m not the sort to set one up, this is really the only solely Christian experience that i can have at (after) school on a normal basis.

At the club they sing contemporary christian music for worship and they pray and do other Christian stuff. A lot of OneVoice is about getting to know other Christians and eating food and hugging and playing games and singing (CCM worship). It has a sort of youth group feel except that it is a lot more fun than I remember mine was (i quit , thinking about going back, though ).

Other than the fact that the club is protestant run, the only real complaint I can come up with is that they sometimes have high school kids come up and tell their stories with experiences about God. The story bit isn’t what’s bad; but it’s that they will often refer to scripture and try to wrap that in with their lives. It seems like they don’t exactly do justice to the scriptures like that.

The club doesn’t usually use kids to tell stories, and usually it’s actual youth ministers. Typically, the ministers are effective at teaching scripture and are pretty entertaining to watch too .

Clearly i have some doubts about OneVoice as evidenced by this internal conflict i just described. However, the club really does trigger some experiences with God in me even if it’s not Catholic i don’t know if it really matters; i’ve never been stronger in my Catholic faith than i am right now.

I was wondering what you people think. Should i keep going and is it good for my faith, or should i leave and not associate myself with the protestants?/QUOTE

I’d avoid it. As an Anglican I would. In England we refer to “God Squads” and these people are often fundamentalist and intolerant. Scratch the surface and they’re not very keen on Anglicans and even less so on RCs. OK, you could go in and try to keep them on an even keel, but I wouldn’t fancy your (or my) chances.

 

[Cat]

I would go, enjoy the good music and fellowship, and maintain a strong Catholic Christian testimony around all the other Christians.

You have been given a marvelous opportunity to build some bridges between the Catholic Church and the Protestant fellowships. The Catechism tells us that as much as possible we are supposed to engage in dialogue with non-Catholic Christians. So go ahead and “become a missionary” to these other Christians.

If you stay away, you will give them reason to say that Catholics are not Christian. If you’re not there, there will be no one to defend the Catholic Church.

But if you go, they will see your love for Jesus and your knowledge of the Bible, and they will be convicted in their souls of the truth of the Catholic Church. You will plant the seed in their hearts, although they may not convert for years and years. Don’t be discouraged. They will never forget you, I assure you.

And they can’t say untrue things about Catholics or the Catholic Church while you are right there with them because you will speak up and correct them!

Just make sure that you study up on the Bible, since that is the only source that many Protestant Christians will accept. There are all kinds of great Catholic books about where Catholics truths can be found in the Bible. Tim Staples (one of the CAF apologists) has such a book called Nuts and Bolts. Get it and study it, and keep it with you when you go to the club.

BTW, bring your Catholic Bible. Most Protestants have never read one, and they are highly suspicious that it is “different” than their Bible. Let them look at it if they ask (they will turn to one of the Deuterocanonicals). Use your Bible often during the club meetings. Volunteer to read, and I guarantee that the other students will follow every word you read in their Bible, and they’ll be so surprised that there is no “twisting” of the Scriptures in the Catholic BIble.

You seem suspicious of the idea of using the Bible to give testimony. I’m not sure I understand why. There is nothing wrong with a Catholic using verses from the Bible, as long as you are not contradicting the teachings of the Catholic Church. Perhaps you should sit down with a mature Catholic Christian, or even with a priest, or perhaps you can use a devotional like the Magnificat or the Word Among Us, and write down your own “personal testimony,” using Bible verses to illustrate. Again, this will impress and amaze your Protestant friends, who are convinced that Catholics don’t read the Bible. Show them that they’re wrong.

If you have time, I suggest reading a really great book called Being the Body by Chuck Colson. Chuck Colson is one of the most respected evangelical Protestant (Baptist) leaders in the world today. This book is his story of how the Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians need to work together to bring about God’s Kingdom here on this earth. There are many excellent personal stories in the book about how Chuck came to realize that Catholics are truly Christians. IMO, he has the BEST account of how Communism in Poland ended due to the influence of the Pope John Paul II–it’s so touching and miraculous. And Chuck talks about how he came to realize that the Sign of the Cross is perfectly OK for any Christians to use. It’s a wonderful book, and it’s one of the books that convinced me to convert from evangelical Protestantism to Catholicism! You’ll enjoy it and it will be helpful to you at this club.

Oh–don’t forget to ask Catholic friends to pray for you, and don’t forget to pray yourself.

 

[LemonAndLime]

I used to go to one.

Once, we went camping yet some kids who went, stupidly, did not bring their own tent. As I had a fairly large one, I was told I had to share with one of these kids, who I didn’t know, otherwise I would be un-Christian. That annoyed me a little. I was about 12 at the time.

The next occasion was at another weekend trip, at a kind of activity park. Me and my friend signed up for rowing, and but we got there dead-on 11am, when it started. Two of the organised had used our boats, and we were stood at the dock, watching them all push-off and looking for a spare one, and we got told that we had to use our Christian morals to accept that if we had been earlier we could of got our boat and the organisers now wanted to use it so we had to be fair. Again we were about 13. The evenings at that camp were wierd, loud music, flashing lights, megaphones.

Later on, I missed a few of the after-school sessions - not deliberately, but I had a dentist apppointment one week, and a birthday party the next, that sort of thing. I got a phonecall from her telling me that God wants me to come to these sessions, and I risked losing favour with God if I didn’t come. I told her I wasn’t missing it on purpose, but the next week I didn’t go - 3rd in a row - again, not on purpose, I just couldn’t make it. She turned up at my door and lecturered me and my parents. We decided against going forever after that.

So yeah, they are fun, have lots of games, but they will try and give you THEIR interpretation of the Bible, not a Catholic one.

 

[Bluegoat]

It sounds like a good way to meet other people your age with similar values. And as Cat said, this may be the main exposure some of them have to a Catholic.

You seem aware enough to know not to take the “teaching” here as more authoritative than it should be, so if you are having fun, I’d say go. But if it starts to be not fun, then don’t feel obliged.

 

[Redratfish]

My school has one as well called Seekers. It was fun and many of my friends and I went together. I use to go until they held a session comparing Christianity to other religious beliefs, such as Hinduism, Islam, ect.

It was fine until they compared Christianity to Mormons. Now, whatever your opinion is on Mormons, obviously announcing on the intercom that the discussion would be over them was not a good idea.

Anyway the speaker that day started off with the discussion saying, what makes a Christian? He took answers and then basically said

“Thats good, but here is what it is. You must believe that the Bible is the only and perfect source of God’s truth, say that God is your personal Lord and Savior, that God is 3 in 1, and that we are saved only through our faith.” After he said that I stood up, walked out, and never returned.

They never did one about Catholics (probably due to the treasurer and vice president are Catholic), but the point was obvious. I got into and argument with many of the people in there about leaving (if it makes a difference, I destroyed their arguments, and most of them think Im going to hell now )

Anyway my point is, enjoy it. If they start attacking beliefs that Catholics hold, leave, it is not worth your time trying to debate a speaker. Beside, they will probably come to you instead.