Why is New England known for being spiritually dead..........or is America in general becoming spiritually dead (I had church-searching problems in OH too...people weren't as odd though)?
You go to one church and they emphasize the importance of a personal relationship with Christ and why we need to take care of the body of Christ; yet the opportunity to shine the light of Christ to the neighborhood where the church is located in is not seized.
You go to another church and they emphasize the importance of being the hands and feet in the local community, yet nothing is done to nourish those that are within the church.
You go to another church where the people are sweeter than southern style sweet ice tea, yet there's really no meat to the service.
And you go to another church where worshiping God is emphasized yet there is no teaching involved.
And then you go to another service where they teach and preach deep truths of Christ, yet they're as cold as ice at the north pole.
So the question is; where do I go? Do I go to the "sweet" church or the community outreach church and try and find a Bible study elsewhere? Do I go to the cold but solid church and try to find friends elsewhere (oh wait, one of the reasons I'm looking for a church is to have fellowship and find friends)?
And so my church journey continues. I've been told this process takes about a year. "Lord help me to be patient"
Oh, Julie I'm so sorry. I have learned though that you will never find the "perfect" church. I've never seen or heard of any body of believers that does anything perfect. But you do want to find believers that are grounded solidly on the Word of God. I'm praying for you!
ReplyDeleteAs one friend once told me, even if a church is perfect, as soon as I walk through the doors, it will become imperfect. ;) Thanks for your prayers!
ReplyDeleteJulie! I randomly came upon your blog and just read this. Dylan and I have been running the same questions through our minds for the past few weeks. We've visited several churches, but...their foci seems blurry.
ReplyDeleteLast week we visited a church and their "saying" was "relaxed, relevant and authentic". They said they wanted us to experience God. Umm...hmph. We talked with the pastor about what outreach programs they were involved in and he said they were throwing a fall festival in October. Umm...hmph. The church was very friendly but felt as if it lacked depth.
I then remembered all the wonderful teachings I learned and fellowship I had been apart of at Cedarville during chapel, classes, meetings with Dr. Cook, midnight prayer in the dorms and deeply wished I could once again be tucked away into a healthy, nourishing Christian environment. Then, I realized that I had been trained at Cedarville to be released into the world to biblically influence it.
Well this turned out longer than expected. If you want to continue the discussion, just shoot me a message:) Anyways, all of this said, I hope you find a sturdy church that you can dig your hands into.
Hope you are doing well!
Steph