How was church today?

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paradox3 said:
Or someone pastoral might choose to explore the discomfort in a non-judgmental fashion.

Suggesting that an individual needs to leave a congregation or denomination can be problematic in itself. Kind of belies any claims that are made about being an inclusive church.
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Absolutely. We have members of our church with quite orthodox beliefs and views. But if they were uncomfortable with this sort of open-ended approach to spirituality, and needed to pronounce their version as the only correct one, we'd have some difficulties. You can't be an Affirming congregation and at the same time allow a person to pronounce loudly and negatively on "sexual sins"; you can't be everything to everyone, as you point out. You can only be inclusive of those who are willing to be inclusive.
 
BetteTheRed said:
Absolutely. We have members of our church with quite orthodox beliefs and views. But if they were uncomfortable with this sort of open-ended approach to spirituality, and needed to pronounce their version as the only correct one, we'd have some difficulties. You can't be an Affirming congregation and at the same time allow a person to pronounce loudly and negatively on "sexual sins"; you can't be everything to everyone, as you point out. You can only be inclusive of those who are willing to be inclusive.
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You seem to be speaking of individuals here Bette. That makes me wonder if you misunderstood something I said. What I was saying (and please notice the grinning smiley) is that every church thinks it has things right. There is a marked difference.
 
Are you talking denomination, Jae? Are you asking if this breadth of theology is sanctioned in anyway by an official group?
 
Jae said:
I'm talking about individual churches.
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But what is a church other than the individuals who comprise it? So I would say that our church comprises individuals who agree with the general direction/"feeling" of the congregation, who feel called to be part of this family.
 
BetteTheRed said:
But what is a church other than the individuals who comprise it?
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A church is a body of believers, a local gathering of the called-out ones. In my thinking, it is greater than the sum of its parts.

BetteTheRed said:
So I would say that our church comprises individuals who agree with the general direction/"feeling" of the congregation, who feel called to be part of this family.
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Excellent Bette.
 
BetteTheRed said:
But what is a church other than the individuals who comprise it? So I would say that our church comprises individuals who agree with the general direction/"feeling" of the congregation, who feel called to be part of this family.
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There has to be a greasy one in the lead ... once known as an oligarch ... they tend to be persistent as fossil compositions and DDT!

They may appear as immiscible beads ...
 
There's kind of a cool tension between "old" and "new" here. And oligarchy is a good way to describe it; it's more than one person, way more than the minister, but less than the whole congregation.
 
BetteTheRed said:
There's kind of a cool tension between "old" and "new" here. And oligarchy is a good way to describe it; it's more than one person, way more than the minister, but less than the whole congregation.
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The proper blend of oil and water makes a slippery suspension ... co l' oidal ! With some soot and grime ... inky at least for the records ... dirty words?
 
Jae said:
You seem to be speaking of individuals here Bette. That makes me wonder if you misunderstood something I said. What I was saying (and please notice the grinning smiley) is that every church thinks it has things right. There is a marked difference.
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I know churches that continue to struggle with understanding that they 'have it right'. I personally find groups who 'know' they are more right than everyone else very unpleasant to be around. On an individual basis I find people who know they are more 'right' than everyone else somewhat sickening. It is how we finish up with loud mouthed folks yelling and handing out tracts on street corners and other places.
 
The more I learn the less I seem to know about these people who know eternal things ... they appear strange to me ...
 
Yes, we had a very fun Sunday as well, keeping in mind the tragedy in Saskatchewan during our "Joys and Sorrows". Lots of silly hats, mismatched shoes, a couple of great wigs.
 
Great worship today. The worship team was kicking it with powerful praise to the Lord. Our pastor gave a solid message from the book of Malachi. Theme was honoring the Lord.

- Serve God with your best.
- If looking for a spouse, only look for someone who's a fellow Christian.
- Don't talk divorce.
- If you're not saved, give your heart to Jesus.
- If you're backsliding, return to the Lord.
- Be swift to ask for forgiveness and to forgive.
 
Jae said:
If you're not saved, give your heart to Jesus.
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In your church, isn't this pretty much preaching to the converted? I mean I see the point of the rest (don't agree, but get the point) but this one seems a bit redundant in a smallish evangelical church.

My church break continues. I thought about it but there's really no reason for me to belong to a faith community right now. Thinking about seeing if the local Socrates Cafe is still operating or something like that. I do need to get out, but I'm not seeing church as the answer right now.
 
Mendalla said:
In your church, isn't this pretty much preaching to the converted? I mean I see the point of the rest (don't agree, but get the point) but this one seems a bit redundant in a smallish evangelical church.
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We have some people who come who don't profess to be Christians. We also quite often have guests.
 
Jae said:
We have some people who come who don't profess to be Christians.
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Interesting. I'm not sure I could stomach being in a church like yours if that message is typical but maybe they are "on the fence" rather than definitively out.
 
Mendalla said:
Interesting. I'm not sure I could stomach being in a church like yours if that message is typical but maybe they are "on the fence" rather than definitively out.
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Such a message is found in the vast majority of our sermons.
 
Mr Paradox was interested in the message our minister planned to give today. So of course I asked him to come along and hear it for himself. Alas, he declined but still wants to hear a recap later.

Good thing I didn't follow the advice about looking for a fellow Christian spouse. I would have missed out on 42 good years with Mr Paradox.
 
@Jae,
Jae said:
Great worship today. The worship team was kicking it with powerful praise to the Lord. Our pastor gave a solid message from the book of Malachi. Theme was honoring the Lord.

- Serve God with your best.
- If looking for a spouse, only look for someone who's a fellow Christian.
- Don't talk divorce.
- If you're not saved, give your heart to Jesus.
- If you're backsliding, return to the Lord.
- Be swift to ask for forgiveness and to forgive.
Click to expand...

I would not go to your church to hear this every Sunday. Did he mention the Saskatchewan tragedy?
 
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