How many people...
...go to church and participate in your local church life?
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quote:Originally posted by Marc1301
Haven't been since I was around 16 years old, so that is close to 30 years.
I also believe it is between me, and the man upstairs, and I don't need to be in a mass of often "holier than thou" types, to be a Christian.
Have read the Bible cover to cover, several times.
Same for me...Glad too, I find the bible preaches a little different Gospel that most of the Churches!!!
Where your soul is concerned you are better to go there and let God interpet it for you and not let someone who may or may not be as he appears do it for you!!! It is amazing to me how many preachers can be some of the worse sinners!!!0 -
quote:Originally posted by callktulu
quote:Originally posted by Sigfan
Sorry, but when the Preacher drives a Porsche, something is wrong.
There's nothing wrong with preacher driving a Porsche. They are human as well, and have every right to pursue happiness as they see fit. No vows of poverty are taken by preachers. If his own budget allows him to drive the car of his choice, more power to him. What if he were a gun nut? Should he be prevented from collecting firearms?
Like anyone else with a job, he has a right to be paid for it at the highest salary he can negotiate.
Don't care about that...But being arrested in a cat house is a wee bit much for me.0 -
I go almost every Sunday I'm not hunting...so about 1/2 time. I serve on the Church budget committee. Wife worked with the children's group until she decided to get back into engineering.
It matters significantly less where you belong than the fact that you belong somewhere.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Rockatansky
...go to church and participate in your local church life?
I live in a church...
Hey, anybody tell you that you act just like the SNEAKYRUSSION?0 -
i go every other sunday.we have a small country church,about 40 members im also a church board member.. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by callktulu
quote:Originally posted by Sigfan
Sorry, but when the Preacher drives a Porsche, something is wrong.
There's nothing wrong with preacher driving a Porsche. They are human as well, and have every right to pursue happiness as they see fit. No vows of poverty are taken by preachers. If his own budget allows him to drive the car of his choice, more power to him. What if he were a gun nut? Should he be prevented from collecting firearms?
Like anyone else with a job, he has a right to be paid for it at the highest salary he can negotiate.
When he gets his house, utilities, etc all paid for by the congregation he should not be driving around in a Porsche.0 -
quote:Originally posted by Sigfan
When he gets his house, utilities, etc all paid for by the congregation he should not be driving around in a Porsche.
Again, why? He can't be a Porsche enthusiast? Where in the Bible does it say he can't drive a Porsche? Is he breaking any laws? Does the church dictate what car he drives, or does it dictate his salary? His money, his choices of how to spend it.0 -
quote:When he gets his house, utilities, etc all paid for by the congregation he should not be driving around in a Porsche.
Again, why? He can't be a Porsche enthusiast? Where in the Bible does it say he can't drive a Porsche? Is he breaking any laws? Does the church dictate what car he drives, or does it dictate his salary? His money, his choices of how to spend it.
One of the Pastors at my church drives a nice little black Porsche Boxster. He bought it used for $25,000. Another drives a BMW Z-3 that was bought used for $19,000. Would it be better if they drove brand new minivans that would cost $40,000? Would that make you feel better?
What about my Senior Pastor, he drives a brand new Mercedes-Benz and lives in a 9,000 square foot house. Is it wrong for a man to have nice things when he is at the top of his carrier? Is it wrong for a man to drive a nice car when he is regarded as one of the best in his business? After all this man has successfully built a church that now has somewhere around 20,000 members from a basic group of 12 people in the past 12 years.
The truth of the matter is that my Pastor does not take a salary from the church. He never has. He made his money as a real estate developer here in Southern California. He doesn't need a big pay check from the church to live the life he deserves. So is it wrong that he has these things?0 -
I attend the church of St. Serta The Perfect Sleeper on Sunday mornings..... 0 -
I do not attend a church because, as yet, no religion has managed to convince me they're right. 0 -
Working days, afternoons, and midnights, I goo when I am on afternoons. I've tried midnights, but I am like the undead. I probably look like like a drooling idiot by noon after working midnights.
I am sure hoping for the day shift job where I would be on call every thrid weekend so I can go to church more often. This reminds me, Ronald Regan once expressed enthusiasim for leaving the White House so he could attend church services again without an army of Secret Service.0 -
no.....but following quote best describes my religion [;)]
"Oh Lord, I've never lived where churches
grow.
I love creation better as it stood
That day You finished it so long ago
And looked upon Your work and called it
good.
I know that others find You in the light
That's sifted down through tinted window
panes,
And yet I seem to feel You near tonight
In this dim, quiet starlight on the plains.
I thank You, Lord, that I am placed so well,
That You have made my freedom so com-
plete;
That I'm no slave of whistle, clock or bell,
Nor weak-eyed prisoner of wall and street.
Just let me live my life as I've begun
And give me work that's open to the sky;
Make me a pardner of the wind and sun,
And I won't ask a life that's soft or high.
Let me be easy on the man that's down;
Let me be square and generous with all.
I'm careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in
town,
But never let 'em say I'm mean or small!
Make me as big and open as the plains,
As honest as the hawse between my knees,
Clean as the wind that blows behind the rains,
Free as the hawk that circles down the
breeze!
Forgive me, Lord, if sometimes I forget.
You know about the reasons that are hid.
You understand the things that gall and fret;
You know me better than my mother did.
Just keep an eye on all that's done and said
And right me, sometimes, when I turn
aside,
And guide me on the long, dim, trail ahead
That stretches upward toward the Great
Divide.0 -
Funny, I didn't ask about beliefs or religion, only whether anybody attends services and participates in activities. [:)] 0 -
Personally, I stay out of church and just "Believe" Way to many so called true paths to God for me, No offense!!!.[:)] 0 -
My paster approached me after Church yesterday, and asked me to teach him how to handle and shoot a hand gun. He has decided to get a CCW, and is asking for advice. I think it is great.[:D]
Trinity +++0 -
When I do bad things, I feel bad.
When I do good things, I feel good.
That is my church.
_____________Abraham Lincoln0 -
scrimshaw....WTH....CCW... doesn't this man of the cloth believe in turning the other cheek & reliance on the guidance of god on the other 6 days of the week ?????? sounds like a bad connection 0 -
creek,
Nothing like that actualy.
He has taken an interest and I want to help him.[8D]
In NY State you have to have a CCW just to own a hand gun.[xx(]
Trinity +++0 -
Yes, me and my family attend church and are involved in the life and events of the church.
During Hunting season, church in the woods a few weekends a year. [:)]0 -
I do not attend church. I feel that God has created this world and the whole world is His church. I give thanks daily, and pray and ask for forgiveness when needed. I was once asked, "Don't you want to learn about the Bible?", and I always felt that the Bible has been interpeted so many times, and now why would I want to listen to someone give his interpetation of the scriptures, when I am capable of picking up the good Book and reading it for myself. The final reason I won't attend a church is the congregation. Many folks whoop it up on Saturday night, and then they are in church on Sunday. They act like, "Well how are you doing?", (phoney), and on Monday you can be standing next to them at the bank and they wouldn't even bother to tell you "hello". Since I don't want to be a hypocrite, like they are, I feel God would be more proud of me the way I truly am. I try my best to treat everyone with respect no matter who they are or where they come from. I respect and enjoy everything HE has given me. I feel assured that I will be with Him when I leave this life. 0 -
Nathaniel Bumpo, whom you most likely know as "Natty Bumpo', 'Hawkeye', 'Leatherstocking', and 'Deerslayer', in the James Fennimore Cooper tales, always said the forest was God's cathedral, and a body could worship more effectively there (when not actively killing Indians and rescuing maidens I suppose), than in any manmade building.
For my part though, I am a student of the bible, and in my understanding, today's modern church is much more a pattern of incorporated business, than a biblical church. In fact, there is no counterpart or example of the modern-day church to be found in the entirety of the New testament. For instance, the only 'pastor' ever mentioned in the New testament was condemned roundly by John, in 3John 9-11.
There is no dedicated 'church building' to be found in the New testament. No church mortgages, no Sunday School teachers, no radio or television ministries, no famous Billy Graham or Benny Hinn type evangelists, no bigtime 'healers', no church boards, no written order of service, no Apostle's Creeds, no pews, no tithes, nada as to most of what passes for 'church' today.
There are only three references to things Jesus is said to hate in the New testament. One is a quote from the Old testament, seen in Romans 9:13 where Paul is helping define God's eternal purpose and how predestination is the device through which He chooses those who will play important roles in that purpose. Here He says "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (a thing Muslims do not like to hear I expect).
And finally, in two places in the Revelation, Jesus pointedly says He hates the deeds and doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, WHICH I ALSO HATE." Rev. 2:6, and, "So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, WHICH THING I HATE." Rev. 2:25
Question is, what are the deeds and doctrine of the Nicolaitanes? The very word "Nicolaitanes" answers that question. The two Greek words that go into the word are "NICAO", which means 'overcomers of', 'conquerors of', 'overseers of', 'victorious over', and "LAOS", which means, 'The common people'. NICOLAITANES, conquerors of the common people. Can we find a modern counterpart to Nicolaitan?
Ever heard the term 'clergy/laity'? That's English for Nicolaitan. When the early church went off the rails, they were so bold, so in your face to God, that they gave themselves away by using 'laity', which is such a patent and obvious derivative of 'LAOS'.
There is no example in New testament scripture of any kind of salaried church officer, never....There is no priesthood beyond that of the 'common' believer in the New testament....
I'm real reluctant to get involved with anything Jesus hates. I don't see a good outcome there.
So while I attend church occasionally (to teach, to perform weddings, etc.) I worship daily in my own closet. And even sometimes, when fishing or in the woods, I say a Natty Bumpo kind of prayer. It gets me by.
Sahagan0 -
So, the second part of the question is, probably should be another post - do you participate in life of the community you live in? 0 -
"do you participate in life of the community you live in?"
Yep. I try to be of assistance with any of my neighborhood's activities, and at the same time, not be a drain on the resources of the neighborhood.
I write restaurant reviews (it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it) for a regional magazine, where I list things like Masonic ham and bean breakfasts, Shriners' Catfish dinners, Church socials, Cemetery Decorations and so forth, doing my best to help draw as much participation as possible.
I mow not only my yard, but parts of two neighbors', my Dad's, and another in town for a lady unable to afford to have it done. I mow somewhere around seven acres all totaled.
This summer, when the tomato crop was horrible, I had a good one. So on my mail route I gave several hundred tomatoes to folks who were unable to obtain, or didn't have tomatoes of their own.
And, I shoot guns pretty much daily, so everyone in the neighborhood is aware of my penchant for guns, and hopefully, those folks who would target our neighborhood for burglary forays will hear about it as well.
Sahagan0
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