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Post by John on Jan 2, 2019 10:08:16 GMT -5
Over the years, I have become aware of just how many Christians have suffered harm at the hand of other believers. I know that in the past, I did things I regret that hurt others, especially early on. Many of us have been part of churches we loved, only to be hurt by fellow members or even the Pastor we had put our confidence in. It happens. I had to leave a church because the Pastor did a complete 180 degree turn in his doctrine. We were supposed to just follow the cloud, and believe it was God's will. I run into others all the time who experienced similar things, and have no home church. One of the reasons we started Narrow Way was to provide an online church home for those scattered believers.
Others have been done bad at Christian message boards. I recently experienced that with a message board I was part of since 2004. Over the years, I had watched others chewed up and spit out at that same place. Many were ganged up on and falsely accused, and placed on moderator review and banned for not conforming to unwritten rules. There were members I didn't get along with, but still would have defended because they were treated unfairly. As such, this ministry was started as a message board where people can join and be treated fairly. We have a clear Statement of Faith, and a message to visitors that should tell everyone what we are about. Narrow Way is more than an online church/message board. We are family, Christian brothers and sisters. We do not agree on all points, but we are part of one family, united by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If you fit into either of these camps, and want a place to belong, I invite you to consider Narrow Way. Also, if you are a member or guest with a story to share about a bad experience with a church or ministry, feel free to share in this thread.
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Post by 2fw8212a on Jan 2, 2019 11:00:32 GMT -5
Also, if you are a member or guest with a story to share about a bad experience with a church or ministry...
I recommend people to forget and forgive.
"...Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." - Luke 23:34
"...lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled..." - Hebrews 12:15
"But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." - Matthew 6:15
"Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." - Matthew 7:12We are family, Christian brothers and sisters.
If we are a family, it would be nice if we started treating each other as a member of such.
Because as I can see we are lacking in fellowship and trust.
For me, I would be friend of all here... But it is strange as I have fear of giving my contact information to people out of fear of rejection.
If the forum administrators (ProBoards) decide to shutdown this forum overnight I would probably never find any of you anymore because this is the only way I have to find you.
But if you are interested in a closer fellowship and want to find me by other ways. Please, PM me.
It is a shame, because worldly communities are far more united than most of us.
But I am looking forward to improve. But alone I cannot do much.
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Post by John on Jan 2, 2019 11:21:52 GMT -5
One reason I brought this up s because there are many who have been hurt so badly, they can't get past it. They won't join a new church or have regular contact with other Christians. Perhaps unburdening might help them.
You know Letters, having additional ways to contact each other isn't a bad idea. Perhaps some kind of church/message board directory, only for those who want to be included, would be a good idea. Let me mull that over. Even if we do something like that, it is only for those who want to be part of it. Privacy is important to many people, and sometimes for good reasons.
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Post by 2fw8212a on Jan 2, 2019 11:43:43 GMT -5
They won't join a new church or have regular contact with other Christians. Perhaps unburdening might help them.
I understand this feeling. They need to know more of Jesus as soon as possible.
And look to Him, people will always disappoint and fail to meet your expectations.
With Jesus that never happens, you are always like:
Wow, better than I expected.
"to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." - Ephesians 3:19
It is not about receiving love from others, it is about receiving love from Him and then sharing that same love with others.
Feed people from the source, and point them to the source. If they want more they will seek.
"...but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst." - John 4:14You know Letters, having additional ways to contact each other isn't a bad idea.
No problem, people can find me when they wish:
E-mail: renansouzadamotta@yahoo.com
Telegram: RSM15Privacy is important to many people, and sometimes for good reasons.
Sincerely, it seems there is a wave of privacy that goes beyond sane levels.
It seems people are having too much to hide and they cannot risk having their private (dark) secrets exposed.
They are mostly people involved in illegal/immoral activities or are being deceived in thinking they are doing this or that with their information.
But to all who fear, I say:
"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light." - Luke 8:17
"Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops." - Matthew 10:27
"For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." - John 3:20
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PG4Him
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Post by PG4Him on Jan 2, 2019 11:58:20 GMT -5
As far as local churches, the problem for me is always that attendance is a bigger hassle than it’s worth. I must endure loud rock music, freezing cold air conditioning, talkative teenagers with no sense of decorum, petty arguments among the ministry staff, and constant fundraisers for this or that initiative — all to get a 30-minute sermon I could have come up with myself. Pastors these days are spiritual babes just as bad as the congregation. Not only am I not being fed, but I leave hungry with a headache and a bad mood. It isn’t even worth the gas to drive across town for that.
As far as other forums, I’ve found that subversive unbelievers disguised as “seekers” keep those places catering to liberal tolerance. Call me selfish, but I don’t join a group for the pleasure of constantly validating unbelievers.
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Post by John on Jan 2, 2019 11:58:35 GMT -5
They won't join a new church or have regular contact with other Christians. Perhaps unburdening might help them.
I understand this feeling. They need to know more of Jesus as soon as possible.
And look to Him, people will always disappoint and fail to meet your expectations.
With Jesus that never happens, you are always like:
Wow, better than I expected.
That is so true! I hope others take notice of what you just said. People will often let you down, but Jesus always exceeds our expectations.
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PG4Him
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Post by PG4Him on Jan 2, 2019 12:08:25 GMT -5
Women have to be careful about getting personally involved with men online. More than once I’ve had to break off an internet friendship due to a man coming on to me. One of them was a married man who was a Christian but had a bad marriage.
I would be willing to share my personal information in a private directory.
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Post by John on Jan 2, 2019 12:12:56 GMT -5
Women have to be careful about getting personally involved with men online. More than once I’ve had to break off an internet friendship due to a man coming on to me. One of them was a married man who was a Christian but had a bad marriage. I would be willing to share my personal information in a private directory. There are valid reasons for not giving too much personal information out on the boards. That is definitely one of them.
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Post by Abby-Joy on Jan 2, 2019 12:48:49 GMT -5
Exactly, PG4Him & John ... there are very legitimate reasons for keeping one's contact and personal information private. It isn't always because someone is in sin or has some illegal activity to hide. It's just being wise.
I have no home church and haven't had one for a long time. I usually am pushed out before long because they don't understand the things I deal with.
I do occasionally try new churches but so far, I've not found one that I feel comfortable calling home, due to very different views on what is of the world and what is not. The last church I visited with a friend ... tons of loud music and lights, then the pastor got up, told some funny stories, talked about the church cliques (get togethers with this group or that) ... then preached a very short sermon( about 10 minutes??) ... mostly a feel good message with barely any Scripture (a watered down version) .... then went on to announce the married couples "50's prom night." (That was the last straw!! ARGH!!) People didn't leave talking about what a powerful message or what God did ... instead, they were laughing and talking about how fun the prom night was going to be. This is the church world today? I'd rather have NO PART of it!!
I still wish there was one out there. I have received criticism for being "too judgmental" and not attending a church because I disagree with their way of living. But we are supposed to be salt and light in this world... like Jesus when He was here. We aren't called to compromise. We're called to come out from among them and be separate. We die daily so that we may point to Christ. How can we do that by being just like the world? When I was 11 yrs old, I had a best friend whose mother was Church of Christ, and her father was Baptist. She used to invite me to go to church with her a lot. One day, she said, "You need to come to church with me." I said, "Why? It doesn't do you any good!" And I was sincere in that. I had been hearing the voice of Jesus calling me since age 10, but hadn't surrendered. The Christians in my life weren't shining His light. My best friend wasn't any better off than I was. She was beaten by her mother almost daily and I used to walk home from her house in tears, hearing her screams... yep, home to my own world of abuse. Think what a difference if I'd gone to see my friend whose parents were truly born again.
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PG4Him
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Post by PG4Him on Jan 2, 2019 13:02:54 GMT -5
This is what counts as a church in my city
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Post by John on Jan 2, 2019 13:22:28 GMT -5
After I got saved, the church I started attending was Pentecostal Holiness. It wasn't perfect, but was much stricter and more Bible based than the United Methodist Church I grew up in. There were things that were hidden from me, like a Mason on the Deacon Board. The Pastor told the guy he had to quit the Masons if he was going to be a Deacon, and he promised to do so, but didn't. There was a guy in the KKK, and I had no idea he was a member of that ungodly group. I don't think the Pastor knew he was a Klan member.
Anyway, the messages were good, and Bible based. The Deacon Board got into strife over the purchase of a piano, the strife being led by the man that was a Mason, and the Pastor wound up leaving for an Assemblies of God Church across town. I followed him over there, and things were okay for a while, though there were things I didn't care for about the AOG denomination. I was unaware him and his wife were having problems, and over the course of time, they split up. After that, he started hanging out with more liberal ministers, and his sermons changed. They were no longer holiness messages, but were stuff like taking the mask off, following the cloud, stuff like that. It went from where I agreed with 85 percent of what he preached to no more than half. The worship was different. No more old hymns, just long praise songs where you repeat much of the same thing over and over, and it would go on for like half an hour. Some of the songs didn't even make any real sense, but they would get people stirred up. He got real liberal with the dress code. A woman leading the singing wearing jeans. A guy with long hair and shorts playing the drums. It got where I told him that I was considering leaving. He tried to make me feel like I had no choice but to stay, as that was God's will, but I couldn't take it anymore. I found a couple of what I thought were okay churches for a time, but they went down hill, and then I quit going to any church. I returned to my original church for a time, which had an old retired minister Pastoring, so he was more conservative than most. He got where he couldn't continue, and I wound up taking over the church of necessity for a few years, but it came to a point where I felt the Lord calling me to leave. That was my last physical church.
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Post by John on Jan 2, 2019 13:24:31 GMT -5
In my experience, finding any good Bible believing churches today is next to impossible. The closest church to me that is Biblical that I know of is 70 miles from my house, and I can't get there enough to make it a reasonable option.
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PG4Him
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Post by PG4Him on Jan 2, 2019 14:06:26 GMT -5
When a pastor has a painful “divorce” from his home church, it very often results in a divorce for his marriage.
In the past 20 years I’ve found one church that was really good. It was in Minnesota. We were members there until we moved away.
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Post by Abby-Joy on Jan 2, 2019 14:17:17 GMT -5
This is what counts as a church in my city Disgusting. I might consider going to a church that uses the word "easter" when they should say Passover and Resurrection. Most do that out of ignorance. But the Beatles?? I guess it's easy to tell what you'll get in that church... plenty of the world. At least they advertise it so you don't waste your time going. I usually try to find a church website so I can browse and see what they believe. If a church is small and doesn't have a website, I think they're more likely not to cater to the world. So I like just driving around and looking for something small. One thing about small churches is that they more likely not to be catering to the world.
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PG4Him
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Post by PG4Him on Jan 2, 2019 14:49:58 GMT -5
I would like nothing more than to find a fellowship of 10-20 people who meet for serious Bible study. Like we have here.
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