1 reply to this topic

[CHRISTOPHER310]

I have been struggling in my journey as a  Christian for a while and so far, have failed to find what it is I am looking for. I keep going cause as a Christian, my heart is set to explore, discover, learn, and grow in my faith and relationship. I talk to people constantly, read a lot, take time out for personal thought, get actively involved, attend different churches, learn about different faiths, and so on. Yet I still struggle to find what I am looking for.

This morning, I was talking to an old friend from my old church when he asked me the key question. � What do you believe church is? � At first, this question seem to be stupid and pointless to me. I know what church is. Who in the faith doesn�t. But as I tried to give him an answer, I realized I was only able to give him a bunch of babbling thoughts that did not connect into an opinion. He told me that we all have our own view of what church is and maybe mine is not matching up with what it is that I am seeking from church. I seek one thing from church, but have a totally different view of what church is. He is smarter than I give him credit for. His words made me really stop and think. Am I looking for something in a place ( church ) that I have an incompatible view of?

My opinion of church is very basic common cookie cutter standard opinion. Something that might be found in a dictionary or spoken by a non-believer. It is based on my personal experiences of church over my time as a Christian. There is nothing in my opinion of what I believe church is that matched what I am seeking in my journey. My journey quest and my opinion of church are clearly of two different natures. After some thought, I am able to see the huge differences between the two and realize why I am not finding what I am looking for. I am looking for things not found in church. Any church I have been too or reached out to in discovery.

Church has it�s structure. Each church is structure on a similar faith format, but fine tuned to the believes of the church head authorities and surrounding environment. This does not mean the church in anyway is doing anything wrong. By no means am I say church is wrong. What I am saying is that maybe what I am seeking in my journey simply can not be found in the structure of a church. Perhaps what I am seeking is outside the scope of church and can only be found in s faith base school format. A faith based school has a different structure format so it has different avenues of exploration than a church would have. Maybe different enough to find what it is I am looking for.

I think my problem is ( was ) that I went to church seeking things I can not find in a church. I expected to find all I seek in a church because of what I view church to be. A place of all avenues of knowledge in my Christian faith. A place that all is and can be discovered. I need to change my expectations of church so I am continue to enjoy attending and serving in church, but not get the feeling of loss when I don�t find what I am looking for as I am at church and involved in church. My journey perhaps needs to shift to a more scholar based entity like a faith based school and my church life needs to be adjusted to a more correct expectation of what church is.

My friend is smarter than I thought and his words spoken this morning might of been the road sign I needed to redirect my journey into a correct avenue. I will see as I make my adjustments of my expectations of what church is to me and I see what my financial options are to discover a faith base school.

[Charles Miles]

CHRISTOPHER,  I find your qiestion here to be about as important as any that are asked by christians and nonchristians in our world today.  Why do I need to go to church?  What is there that I can`t get with study on my own?  All the goings on in the church are a distraction for me, so why go?  Many people at the church have differing ideas about the christian faith, so all I do is get confused.  There are so many hypocrits in the church that I just don`t want to be among them.

 

Does any of this seem to be what you hear and/or feel?  A smart man once told me that "if you are looking for an excuse not to do something, anything will do:, and this may sort of apply in this case.  I, for one, go to church to worship with others who, like me, identify themselves with the Lord.  It is a celebration of worship and praise on a corporate level.  It lifts my spirit.  I meet and mingle with people who have love in their heart...enjoying fellowship with others who also love the Lord.  The study, work, and much of the prayer done in my life is done during the other portion of the week, so church is fun, a celebration, a conformation to me that I am not alone in my christian walk.

 

I learn different perspectives on areas that I am studying and get to see what others are studying about.

What do I expect to get out of going to church?  Depends upon what effort I put into my christian walk during the week, but mainly I get to celebrate and thank God for all He had done for me......along with others celebrating the same thing.

 

Praise God because He is who He says He is,

 

Charlie