Not going to Church

[chickenlipsRfun2eat]

We ARE the Church!

Hehe, If you talking about the building,
Going to church is not about liking what you see, Its about worship (though it dosent mean you should only worship on sundays). Fellowship also (helps self control ^_^).

There's a Phrase that states: "stop dating the church, and start falling inlove with Jesus Christ" But this also dosent mean you shouldnt go to church.


Yo Hot Wheels, Its not Good to Church hop.
 

[MrsMica]

chickenlipsRfun2eat

We ARE the Church!

Haha, my mom and I were sitting around talking about something and suddenly she laughed and said "Where two or more are gathered..."

I really do feel like we are the church and I have little urge to go find so-called "fellowship" in an IC place like I've tried to before.  

[collapsiblbunny]

It may be vital to you, for Christians to go to Church, but did you ever think that maybe some people have personal, or otherwise very good reasons for not attending Church? I don't attend Church. Does that make me a bad person? Why or why not?

[this was not directed at anyone in particular]  

[ioioouiouiouio]

W!nd R!der

It may be vital to you, for Christians to go to Church, but did you ever think that maybe some people have personal, or otherwise very good reasons for not attending Church? I don't attend Church. Does that make me a bad person? Why or why not?

[this was not directed at anyone in particular]

Withing a Christian context? Well, personally, I believe that Church's purpose is accountability, and, as such, is not a mandate if that purpose is being fufilled. I stopped going to church for a while once, due to problems I had at my old church, and I my relationship with God did not change. Of course, I have since began attending another church, but I do not believe that my Church-less sundays were a sin.

Really, what matters is one's relationship with Christ.  

[MISERY in pure bliss]

Did you ever think that maybe it isn't the church that has something wrong with it--it's the way you are judging it? It isn't right for a Christian (IMO btw) to go around to churches saying "Oh this one isn't good, etc etc etc" If the church is doing God's will, or trying to, then it is perfectly fine. Tithing is in the Bible-- just curious, but why is it that you don't want to tithe? Leviticus 27:30-33 and Deuteronomy 14:22-29. You may go to a church that tithes, and find that they share the same interests as you, and that you have a connection with those people--just for the record, I don't tithe every week. Keep an open mind.  

[Spastic waffles]

Honestly, I belive my church is pulling me away from God-well, my youth group at least. Most of them aren't really Christians, and it hurts my relationship with God. My church is amazing, if only my youth group would grow up and come back to Christ.

I don't belive you have to go to Church to be a good Christian. I belive that you have to make time to learn about God, but Church isn't neccesarily the best place to do that for some people. Some would be better off staying at home and spending a few hours in prayer and reading the Bible. I do, however, belive you must have some kind of support group in order to grow in Christ.  

[Atarashi No Sensei]

We NEED to go to church to stay Spiritually STRONG for Christ and to be surrounded by other believers. You always know God is in church by His presence. We wouldn't survive without it...

I'm very much satisfied with my church. I know my money is always for a good cause (to reach out and tell the world about Jesus Christ). My church to me is my family.  

[Foxxtrot]

Gilwen

Matthew 18:20
For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
~Gilwen

Church is an accepted form of worship for the Sabbath. Worshipping the Lord on the Sabbath started in homes, and as more and more believers came about, they started praying together, i.e., church.

The one thing you musn't forget is to devote the simple time God asked you to on the Sabbath to rest and pray. You don't have to congregate with others to worship God, as long as you're doing it, period. That's all He wants.
 

[Berezi]

Penden

Does your paid pastor have no inheritance?

And you'll notice that since the tithe is for the poor, the poor really shouldn't be giving tithe. Most churches I know preach and preach tithe without making it clear that the poor are exempt. In fact, what they say is that the more you give the more you will recieve back from the LORD! Wow, that's wonderful! Too bad the church probably isn't going to help you in that area. Recieving back only works when it was the Lord's will that you give in the first place-- and don't get me wrong, my family has given to churches and recieved blessings, but as free will offerings not tithe.

And that's every third year that it goes to the poor-- the rest of the time, you eat it! Just as the Levites did when they recieved tithes that weren't going to the poor.

Hmm...I have to jump in here. The paid pastor, unless he/she happens to be in a very small and/or poor congregation, usually is paid by the tithes and offerings that the people in the church put up. If not, he/she usually holds a second job in addition to being a pastor. The church community provides the church's resources, so I don't see why this is an issue that someone who is employed by the church be paid by the church.

The inheritance that pastors do have is not given to them until the death of one of their family members, anyway. What are they supposed to do until then, unless they are also to hold another job?

Personally, I see no problem with tithing, or rather giving money to the church. If anything, the codified rules of giving were put aside, thus allowing us to give more. Instead of giving 10%, we can give far more because there's no "maximum amount" to give (IMHO God kind of intended that as a minimum).  

[SinCera11988]

I would say that if a person is going to a church where many things are mismanaged, then trying to have a close relationship with God may be less of a struggle in a smaller, more dedicated group of people. However, there are some downsides. Say a person doesn't have a full understanding of scripture. It's hard to interpret and sometimes may be interpreted wrong, even though the person tries hard to learn and understand God's word. In this way, i think it is necessary to be taught by a person who has been officially educated on the Word, in order to avoid any chance of doctrinal fallacies.
Also, i believe that God did not mean for people to be isolated spiritually even in a family. I think fellowship with others is necessary for spiritual growth, in large and small groups. I know that i've grown most with my church. Our church, however, isn't very wealthy and we've had a lot of financial problems as well. Also, since our church is mainly a korean church, there are a lot of cultural differences between the adults and the youth, so a lot of money goes to places i don't really know about. But there are more ways than one to aid people besides giving money. Whenever we have the opportunity, and money if necessary, we try to do ministry through reaching out.
Sorry i went on so long. But i guess my point is that in order to grow fully in God, limiting oneself to a church at home may not be a good idea.  

[Seraph68]

Penden

I can't find any churches in my area that fit my idea of a loving, Godly church. Can you?

First, is your idea of a loving, Godly church Biblical? I would say that my church is a loving, Godly church, but we do have tithing and some limits on roles in the church, so it wouldn’t fit your idea of that kind of church. But I also believe that my church has a strong Biblical foundation, and the stuff that could be disagreeable about it is based off of scripture. The issue isn’t tithe and women’s roles, but is the church disagreeing with you or the Bible?

Penden

From a paid leader nonetheless.

Proper leadership seems to be confusing for some. Leadership is one of the gifts

This assumes that a paid leader is different then a gifted leader. The pastors at my church are both paid and gifted leaders. There are a lot of things that pastors do outside of preaching, such as counseling, preparing sermons, managing ministries, etc. It is a full time job. The tithe does not only go to the pastors, but to provide for the whole spectrum of ministries the church offers, including helping the poor here and around the world.

What are the benefits of paid leaders? The paid leader’s career is to lead the church in ministries instead of just 8 hours left over on the weekend. Leaders who are well educated for their job, the three pastors at my church, two have master’s degrees in their related ministries and the teaching pastor has a Th.D (Doctor of Theology), and until he retired, the worship ministries leader was a Doctor of Music. Can you get such a group of extremely knowledgeable leaders in an all volunteer home church? I am not saying that home churches necessarily are wrong, but there are many definite benefits to being part of an organized church.

Also be clear of this, You do not need to be paid to be a leader in the church, in fact the church in America needs more volunteers , especially for leadership in ministries, to do what the church should be doing. There are several ministries at my church which are run by not paid church members who want to get this ministry underway, and the paid staff is there for support their efforts.  

[[.ZaKid.]]

Mind if I pop in here?

What's wrong with tithing? If you go to a church that supports it, and you don't believe in it, then don't. Doesn't the bible say:

Quote:

7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

However, your pastor is often given his salary on tithes.

About going to church: I certainly think it helps, or if you're going to meet in home, have someone that's very knowledgable about scripture. For instance, I couldn't do it, because I don't have the knowledge to lead. Because you could be reading the meaning of scripture all wrong.

Not that pastors are always right, but I think it helps.

I could be wrong about all of this, though.