How do non-denominational Christians pick a church?

[crazzeto]

I live in the center of the bible belt in a remote country spot. Many of my neighbors attend the church their relatives built or friends attend (tradition). Here it is more of a community center for christians. We have many denominations and non-denominational churches around us.My best guess would be approx 20-30 in a 5 mile range from our house. We have awesome neighbors from many different “denominations” . I have attended several of their churches before I came home to the Catholic faith. These people are really trying to do there best for Jesus but so many opinions are very different on very serious issues.
How can you do your best if you don’t even understand it?
When I was asked why I travel 27 miles to go to the Catholic Church my reply was simple “How far is to far to go for Jesus?” Now they still have no Idea what I am talking about all churches are equal to them. But mabey they will see the change that has taken place in me since I came home.
I am always open to discuss my faith, more every day as I grow closer and closer to God.

You’ve hit the nail on the head. These denominations are studying scripture trying to figure out what the True Faith is, and they’re not successful because scripture itself says that the propagation of the Faith requires a teacher. Let us not boast, however, merely because we have the Truth. If we truly believe we’ve been given the whole Truth, then we’ve got a lot of work to do! If we’ve already got the Faith figured out, then with that, comes great responsibility. And we’re going to need a lot of grace to reach the world.

So, today, I am praying that God, our Father, will shower all the graces upon you that you are predisposed to handle! May God bless you abundantly today, everywhere you go!

I love these two very well put together and well stated posts. God bless, and my prayers are with both of you

 

[tweetymom]

I do believe there is scripture to decide what is worth dividing over. what does it mean to divide? there are churches that have teachings I believe are wrong but I believe wont rob them of salvation (infant baptism) and groups that have wrong beliefs that I fear might rob them of their salvation( the goal is to become gods). I even wonder if it might be more about whats in a persons heart rather than whats in his head.

I do believe you hit the nail on the head. I knowwhat is in my heart, Jesus. Some people rely too much on their heads. Sure am glad I don’t

 

[James_Least]

Find one which practices John 3:1-21. See also Romans ch. 1. Study these scriptures really hard–then make a personal application. Let the Holy Spirit bear witness to sin, righteousness and judgment to come.

One could join every church and take every sacrament and still go to hell.

Salvation is of the Lord. Jesus paid it all.

There are still some out there who believe and practice such things. They have been in every generation since before Mt. 16:18. They are not found in “Who is Who in Religion”.

Peace,

James Least

 

[Guardian_Wolf]

I was looking for a Catolic church to attend when I moved. I found one that was just down the road from me, and drove over to take a look.

As I was driving around the side of the building, I saw the front, and instantly had a flashback of the church that I was baptized in and had my first communion in.

I moved around a lot, so I had never been to that church past the age of 10. Went to some different ones though, and a catholic school…

~anyway, I instantly went home and looked up the church I had attended as a child. turns out, it was only 15 min. away, and the Priest (who I remembered as having been really old) that had baptized me WAS STILL THERE!

Too much fell into place here to be pure coincidence. I’m meant to be at this church, for now at least.

But otherwise, I just check out a couple of different ones. See if the building pulls at me, or if the service is just the way I like it, etc. and if the pastor/priest is someone I like, and if the community helps me feel at home.

I tend to stick with RC churches, but I have attended several Episcopal churches as well…

Just…whatever feels ‘right’.

 

[James_Least]

What does this have to do with Non-denoms picking a church?

What is your take on John 3:5?

Peace.

James Least

 

[twopekinguys]

What does this have to do with Non-denoms picking a church?

What is your take on John 3:5?

Peace.

James Least

I’m sorry, but I’m not following your train of thought with that verse. What does that verse have to do with picking a church.

As far as the post you responded to (Guardian wolf). I think he was giving his perspective on how he as a Catholic finds a particular church to attend, to give some insight from a Catholic point of view.

 

[1beleevr]

It isn’t. I think it is a slow day on the Non-denom thread.

No, really.

I think it is a matter of preference. I think the thing most see though is a polarization of Catholics wearing the crucifix and Protestants wearing a cross. But again, there is nothing new in this observation.

Personally I don’t need to see a piece of jewelry to remind me of what Christ did for me. I can feel a little back pain and know… Hey XL, multiple that by a hundred, thats what he did for you. That whips me right into shape.

]

Yep, it’s another slow day in the non-catholic religions forum And this is an example of some of the trivial things that ALL of us Christians squabble over from time to time! In a thread sometime back, a catholic poster said something like,“And you probably wear an empty cross too!”.All I’m saying is, if you need a crucifix to remind you of His Supreme sacrifice, then by all means, please wear one! And as I have said adnauseum, I personally do not need such an item to remind me! I can look at the Cross(an ugly piece of wood) and see pain, suffering,feelings of abandonment, but most of all, love!

 

[1beleevr]

Again, shame on you, 1beleevr. :tsktsk:

Beware of any Gospel that preaches the Resurrection without the Crucifixion.

]

Thank you, Mother pr, for your rebuke, but the truth hurts! And believe it or not, our church(The Way Fellowship) teaches both the crucifixion and the resurrection:thumbsup:

 

[1beleevr]

There are no verses in Scripture that tell us that it’s okay to divide Christ’s Church. Christ has one Bride. Individually, we may be whores in the theological sense, but Christ and his Spouse, the One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, do not believe in divorce, separation or polygamy. The Catholic Church is his bride because he made a covenant with her. Just as I cannot join someone’s earthly marriage simply by believing the right things about them, I cannot be a true part of Christ’s body without truly being a corporeal member of the Bride, the Catholic Church. Christ does not have many spouses, and he never will.

]

And yet I have met many a catholic who believes in and practices many of these very things, along with being alcoholics! I am a proud member of the Bride of Christ, and am eagerly awaiting the return of my Bridegroom!

 

[PRmerger]

]Thank you, Mother pr, for your rebuke, but the truth hurts!

Well, all I was trying to do is what I am called to do: “admonish the sinner”–not necessarily “hurt” you with the truth that you should be ashamed of your manner of posting sometimes.

On the other hand, I see Christ in your posts quite often and am humbled by your love for God and genuine Christian charity.

 

[PRmerger]

I am a proud member of the Bride of Christ, and am eagerly awaiting the return of my Bridegroom!

Alas, 1beleevr, that is what we Catholics are trying to tell you: You *long *for the return of your Bridegroom–yet you can have Him each and every time you receive the Eucharist. You and He will be ONE FLESH, as close and intimate as husband and wife during the marital embrace.

You need not “eaterly await the return” of your Bridegroom. You can receive Him fully–body, blood, soul and divinity–in the Eucharist (provided, of course, that you do it the right way and become Catholic, first, and not engage in “extra-marital” relations).

 

[RebeccaJ]

dunno xavierlives, if you are looking for a church not fired up by a human, seems to me every “Bible Church” is just that…at least that is the problem I had while checking out Christianity, as a whole.

Or, you could always just fire up your own.

 

[jmcrae]

he probably took the view that when the angel said the of the baby not being his he could only see in as a physical way and so thought it must have been another man not realising as many did at the time that there was more than just the physical world in which humanity exists and therefore thought divorce would be a dignified and accepted thing to do because of what he percieved was adultery.

Joseph already knew that it was not his child; he was not yet married to Mary, and they had never had sex together. That’s why he was going to break off their engagement.

What the Angel explained to Joseph was that the child had been conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit, and not by any rival of his for Mary’s affections.

 

[fbl9]

]

Apparently, your ignorance knows no bounds When I see a depiction of Christ on a cross, whether it is in a church or around someone’s neck, it makes me shiver and wonder “Why?” Our Saviour was crucified; a horrible death, and was removed from the Cross. There is no need to have crosses with a corpus on it! What do those verses in Acts 2, and 5 have to do with this topic? Actually the picture of an empty Cross shouts VICTORY, and is the greatest show of love ever!:thumbsup:And another news flash for ya Sparky, you don’t have to be a devout catholic to be close to Christ! So I guess the question of corpus, or no corpus comes down to a matter of opinion! Oh wait, you guys depend on Apostolic succession!

It is a matter of opinion to wear one,but a a totally different matter with you saying by doing so one keeps Him on the cross…by the way St.Paul did preach Jesus and Him crucified did he not? You wanted biblical proof that there was allowance for crucifixs and now that it shown please do the same and show the scripoture that says church members don’t have to sell all…
Got another newsflash for yuh it’s fbl9 not sparky .Maybe you that’s why you have such a hard time understanding things you don’t read the words written just what you want to see…reread the post you will find i stated you can’t get any closer than a devot catholic,i didn’t say you couldn’t get close but you can’t get closer than the devot catholic.

 

[fbl9]

]

And yet I have met many a catholic who believes in and practices many of these very things, along with being alcoholics! I am a proud member of the Bride of Christ, and am eagerly awaiting the return of my Bridegroom!

Then they are not very good catholics … which proves only one thing :that these person are disobiedent.

 

[aussie_jaz]

Joseph already knew that it was not his child; he was not yet married to Mary, and they had never had sex together. That’s why he was going to break off their engagement.

What the Angel explained to Joseph was that the child had been conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit, and not by any rival of his for Mary’s affections.

i dont take much of what is said in any particular order in the gospels because a lot of it is out of order when comparing the time with another of the books. so something that happened well before the time of jesus ministry would be even less reliable (timewise) then during the ministry and when you think about it when people tell a story of something in thier past the story does have slight twists to what actually happened. when the angel spoke he would have been in shock at such a thing happening , wouldnt you ? so he probably only took in some of what was said at that time and later more things came to him. being a man in the time he was he would then have applied what he gathered in a physical way and assumed the baby was concieved not of him but of another man.

 

[1beleevr]

It is a matter of opinion to wear one,but a a totally different matter with you saying by doing so one keeps Him on the cross…by the way St.Paul did preach Jesus and Him crucified did he not? You wanted biblical proof that there was allowance for crucifixs and now that it shown please do the same and show the scripoture that says church members don’t have to sell all…
Got another newsflash for yuh it’s fbl9 not sparky .Maybe you that’s why you have such a hard time understanding things you don’t read the words written just what you want to see…reread the post you will find i stated you can’t get any closer than a devot catholic,i didn’t say you couldn’t get close but you can’t get closer than the devot catholic.

]

Yes, it is a matter of opinion about whether or not one wants to wear a crucifix or not! This has been my point all along! In other threads I have battled catholics over why I don’t believe in wearing one; and the reference to keeping Him on the Cross was probably wrong, but that’s how it looks to me! If you read my post about Paul, what I said was, that he not only preached crucifixion, but also resurrection! And whether or not you believe or accept it, I am as much a Christian as you are; you are not in an exclusive club! So, having said that, I must respectfully disagree once again with your assertion that only devout catholics can get closer to Christ than anyone else! When He died on the Cross, the veil was torn from top to bottom, essentially meaning that we ALL could boldly enter the throneroom of grace(Hebrews 4:16). Lastly, I suppose I could search your previous posts and find that you have made light of other’s words, as you accused me of! In spite of all this, I am able to extend love to you, my brother in Christ! God bless you:thumbsup:

 

[1beleevr]

Alas, 1beleevr, that is what we Catholics are trying to tell you: You *long *for the return of your Bridegroom–yet you can have Him each and every time you receive the Eucharist. You and He will be ONE FLESH, as close and intimate as husband and wife during the marital embrace.

You need not “eaterly await the return” of your Bridegroom. You can receive Him fully–body, blood, soul and divinity–in the Eucharist (provided, of course, that you do it the right way and become Catholic, first, and not engage in “extra-marital” relations).

]

Please forgive my sarcasm; it’s just that sometimes I speak before I think! I guess because I read many of you posts, where you add LOL, and the rolling head laughing at the expense of someone else, that I tend to believe that you are being condescending and hypocritical! Then when you speak for fbl9, it baffles me. And as far as becoming catholic, after almost a year on this forum, I have encountered many a catholic who have turned me off from converting! Like I told you before, I would be a “cafeteria” catholic at best! The debate over crucifix or no crucifix should have revealed that And I like awaiting my Saviour’s return; it gives me courage and determination to plod through this life, knowing that nothing on this earth means more to me than Christ, whom I commune with everyday. Please accept my apology, my awesome sister in Christ!

 

[tweetymom]

]

Yes, it is a matter of opinion about whether or not one wants to wear a crucifix or not! This has been my point all along! In other threads I have battled catholics over why I don’t believe in wearing one; and the reference to keeping Him on the Cross was probably wrong, but that’s how it looks to me! If you read my post about Paul, what I said was, that he not only preached crucifixion, but also resurrection! And whether or not you believe or accept it, I am as much a Christian as you are; you are not in an exclusive club! So, having said that, I must respectfully disagree once again with your assertion that only devout catholics can get closer to Christ than anyone else! When He died on the Cross, the veil was torn from top to bottom, essentially meaning that we ALL could boldly enter the throneroom of grace(Hebrews 4:16). Lastly, I suppose I could search your previous posts and find that you have made light of other’s words, as you accused me of! In spite of all this, I am able to extend love to you, my brother in Christ! God bless you:thumbsup:

God Bless you too dear brother in Christ. I am so thankful that I have gotten to know you. Sometimes people seem to be a bit self righteous.

 

[1beleevr]

Well, all I was trying to do is what I am called to do: “admonish the sinner”–not necessarily “hurt” you with the truth that you should be ashamed of your manner of posting sometimes.

On the other hand, I see Christ in your posts quite often and am humbled by your love for God and genuine Christian charity.

]

Do you believe that things like shame and guilt, worry and fear died on the Cross as well as sin? So, how do we justify saying to someone,“Shame on you!” Isn’t this God’s domain; to discipline us; for the Holy Spirit to convict our hearts, when we say or do something wrong to another, whether or not they are a Christian! Each and every one of us who post on this forum, have at one time or another, said something hurtful to a fellow believer! What we need to do is edify the Body, not tear it down!