Revelife is a great place to chat about life with Christians, but how many of you meet or work together with Christians from other churches and denominations?
Possible problems with going to just one church and fellowshipping only with them (in no particular order):
- Likely only one school of theology being taught leads to less spiritual muscles being exercised through the variety of interpretation, styles, etc. We need to be open to others and how God can speak to us through them.
- Our generation is the most "single" Christian generation in history. When you don't meet new brothers and sisters in Christ because everyone in your church is not your type, then we are promoting the fact that we are one generation from dying and not being faithful to God's command of being fruitful.
- Good testimony to all. If we can't fellowship and love, support, help, or encourage each other for our differences, then we are a bad testimony to the world and each other of Christ's Love which bonds us together! How are we going to preach a gospel of love when we can't even express love to those closest to us?
- One body, many parts. We are to help each other because we all have strengths and weaknesses. Small churches especially need the most help where 10% of the people are doing 90% of the work. They are burned out and their walk with God suffers. Churches shouldn't be in a popularity contest with one another! That's not edifying.
I'm going to an inter-church retreat this Labor Day weekend, and I'm excited to meet all different people. I hope wherever you guys are, you have inter-church events as well!
What are other reasons to spend time with churches other than your own?
Comments (45)
#2 is bogus. It assumes that we're all suppose to marry and have children (except the command to be fruitful belongs in very specific contexts). When has it ever been a purpose of the local church to be a dating connection? Single Christians are not a problem or some form of stigma and while the best place to meet other believers for the sake of marriage is the Church that doesn't mean anyone should "church-hop" for the sake of hooking up.
Matthew 19:11-12
Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.
I do promote local churches interacting to a high degree though. I especially support it for the sake of breaking racial barriers within the Church.
the problem with this issue of this problem that is brought up is everyone in some way shape or form wants to try to suck out the people from one area and come to theirs... and it's this contest of number increase in the seats...
i think it's great to meet people in other churches for sure... but your service should be rooted in one local church body expression...
but these are pretty decent points expressed... but i really think this is a post based on the expression of our generation who is most definitely restless and can't settle down and root themselves in one place and serve wholeheartedly with no care other than building that local church to what God desires for it to be with their gifts...
I once had a guy at my church tell me he came to our church to meet women. Of course, this guy also told me he couldn't sit under my leadership at our church because I was a poor fantasy football commissioner for allowing a trade to go through that he was unfair.
Going to a church in order to "hook up" is kinda creepy, if you ask me.
While inter-church mingling, meeting, and helping each other is definitely a good thing, you could probably err to the other side as well. If you go to too many places, you could spread yourself so thin that you never really get to know other people, never make real relationships, and don't have other people to walk life out with and help each other. That's not to say that such a thing will happen if you go to other churches, but it's probably a good idea to have at least one body/group where you have people that you get close to.
I haven't been to a church yet where 10% or the people aren't doing 90% of the work. big church or little church is is mostly the same
#1 Reason - friendship circles becomes too insular.
This cause spiritual and social perspectives to be come insular.
This causes cliques to become stronger.
This creates a lot of social pressure when disagreements arise.
This makes it harder to say "no" for helping with a church project.
This creates serious divisions if one does choose to leave a church.
I currently attend and support two churches. I also offer nursing home ministry independently of both. It's the healthiest spiritual place I've been in my life.
I don't really go to multi-church things. But I do spend a lot of time with other Christian denominations, just within my family. My sister and her husband go to a Foursquare, my parents go to a Vineyard, and I go to a Calvary Chapel. It's kind of fun to sit around discussing what may have happened in the different services that week. At times we discuss church doctrine but not usually.
One body with many parts... yet you advocate going to many different places to learn different schools of theology? How can a body operate if each organ thinks something differently? In the human body, the body is indeed one with many parts, but all the parts are in agreement as to what they should be doing and how they should be doing it. Going to different places to learn from different schools of theology seems to me like it defeats any efforts toward Christian unity, that there may be, "one flock and one shepherd" as Christ so desired.
@TheGreatBout@xanga - Amen to the quote. I likely won't be marrying!
There are so many things wrong with all of this, in large part what @Ancient_Scribe@xanga - pointed out. If I attended and worshiped at another, non-Catholic, Church I would be taking part in a lie. A lie to myself and to the Church, and to God Himself. I am not going to accept communion from someone who does not believe it is the true body and blood of our Lord. The reverse is the reason that a non-Catholic should not receive the Eucharist in a Catholic Church...he or she would be lying. I am not going to participate in the practice of theologies that I know to be wrong. Many Christians do not seem to know what they believe and they go from Church to Church because they are completely lost. Also, you have 30,000+ denominations because people want to find a Church that only tells them what they want to hear. If they cannot find one, they make one up.
@Ancient_Scribe@xanga - I disagree w/ this way of thinking completely. Blood from the veins passes through each body part, can the brain not take oxygen from the lungs to think? Do the legs move w/o the brain telling it to do so? Does the heart beat and only share blood to certain areas? Of course not, the idea that only the Catholic church is the only church one can worship at is the height of spiritual hubris. I worship at all churches that I attend. Right now I am a member of a Vineyard church and I am a member of Contemplative Outreach. Out of respect for my catholic brothers and sisters I do not take Eucharist because I am a protestant but I will and do go to their services, sing their songs, and enjoy their rich mystical heritage, the same thing is true of my Orthodox brothers and sisters. The Philokalia is a rich series of books containing ancient prayer forms and theology that can transform the human soul. The social justice elements and powerful mystical underpinnings of the Quakers are the foundation of the civil rights movement. The idea that only one church can solve all things, be all things and uplift one is the height of blasphemy against the cross and Jesus' mission to this planet. We should strive to go and be apart of different groups as the Spirit dictates. At least then we are practicing the gospel of reconcilation and not pretending that our egos are the arbiterers of righteousness.
We are one!!! Catholics and Protestants and Orthodox need to get over themselves and love the other in their midst instead of pretending that their faith practice is the better one. Humility needs to be the goal here not self-righteous hypocrisy.
p
@Pashe@xanga - Perhaps I should clarify. Certainly, the leg may move without being willed to do so (reflex for example), but ultimately every part of the body works in accordance to the one overarching good of the body. No part operates for its own good, but for the benefit of the entire body. If each part operated for its own good, the body would die. However each part operates in harmony, one with the other, united in a common purpose and understanding that each must strive, even amidst certain diversities.
While your further comments certainly seem to ring in agreement with the post, the question I was posing was regarding the difficulties of Christian unity when exploring different schools of theology is encouraged. Worshipping with other Christians is a beautiful thing, but if a Christian is to accept all the many diverse theologies as true or good, then there seems not to be any truth. One Christian can believe that baptism is a sacrament that is received only once, and another Christian can believe that baptism can be received multiple times, or that certain baptisms are not valid. Yet both cannot be right. There are many other matters certainly, but I do not wish to throw rocks at the hornet's nest right now.
It seems to me, however, that if Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and if Christianity is this only way, and if Christ is the only life if we wish to have iteternally and abundantly, then there is one truth when it comes to Christianity.
With 30,000+ denominations of Christianity in the world today, it is easy to see how fractured things have become since the first generations of Christians preached the Gospel in the world and began teaching their traditions and articulating their beliefs. Eventually pride, politics and every manner of human thing began to separate the one flock into many, and soon the value that truth once had was lost. Certainly we are united as Christians by many commonalities, but we are divided by many other things.
I am not here to condemn every non-Catholic Christian; not at all. All I wished to pose was a gentle challenge for every Christian to plumb the depths of their beliefs, to learn their history and read closely St. Paul's letters, the Book of Acts, the Gospels and those who learned the truth from the Truth itself, and even to read the documents of the earliest leaders of the Church, those people who learned from the apostles and their disciples. There is a rich treasury of these documents, written by those who knew the truth, preserved it, and oftentimes died for it. Learning from the first generations of Christians can only serve to deepen ones faith in Christ, as well as their love for him.
God bless.
I am not totally sure what this is driving at. There are key differences; why would I attend a church where the proclamation is contrary to scripture? Unless your standard is that truths do not exist. For example, Jesus said "this is my body", so why would I attend a church where the belief is He did not mean "is"? Now, I do associate with members of other denominations, and we occasionally talk about our respective beliefs, and we do work together in some activities. So why ought I attend a 'worship service' where I cannot agree with the proclamations?
@Ancient_Scribe@xanga - While your further comments certainly seem
to ring in agreement with the post, the question I was posing was
regarding the difficulties of Christian unity when exploring different
schools of theology is encouraged. Worshipping with other Christians is
a beautiful thing, but if a Christian is to accept all the many diverse
theologies as true or good, then there seems not to be any truth. One
Christian can believe that baptism is a sacrament that is received only
once, and another Christian can believe that baptism can be received
multiple times, or that certain baptisms are not valid. Yet both cannot
be right. There are many other matters certainly, but I do not wish to
throw rocks at the hornet's nest right now.
My response was to your question. Each church and denomination get
things right and wrong. The problem w/ your line of thought is that it
is more about being right than actually loving your brother and sister.
I hear this all the time from protestants and Catholics. Its ridiculous
to think that issues of baptism can separate the body of Christ or for
that matter issues of the Eucharist or whatever. The body is one. If
Jesus can unite 12 desperate bickering men w/ nothing in common save
for the fact they followed him he can unite the church and leave the
issues that seek to divide us on the cutting room floor and unite us
for the mission at hand, and loving our brother and sister.
My point is that theology should never get in the way of communion and
right now it is, whether that be in your comments or scrambled or...
Whether or not we agree on something or not is no reason to not worship
together or visit another church or...
"With 30,000+ denominations of Christianity
in the world today, it is easy to see how fractured things have become
since the first generations of Christians preached the Gospel in the
world and began teaching their traditions and articulating their
beliefs. Eventually pride, politics and every manner of human thing
began to separate the one flock into many, and soon the value that
truth once had was lost. Certainly we are united as Christians by many
commonalities, but we are divided by many other things."
The first generations of Christianity were just as fractured as we are
now. The idea that they were in perfect harmony is a myth as Paul and
many others will attest to. They were squabbling, backbiting self
righteous mess and yet great beauty came out of their suffering and
love for the world. That message has been lost because people spend too
much time squabbling instead of loving.
"I am not here to condemn every non-Catholic
Christian; not at all. All I wished to pose was a gentle challenge for
every Christian to plumb the depths of their beliefs, to learn their
history and read closely St. Paul's letters, the Book of Acts, the
Gospels and those who learned the truth from the Truth itself, and even
to read the documents of the earliest leaders of the Church, those
people who learned from the apostles and their disciples. There is a
rich treasury of these documents, written by those who knew the truth,
preserved it, and oftentimes died for it. Learning from the first
generations of Christians can only serve to deepen ones faith in
Christ, as well as their love for him."
I know, I actually read them or translations of them. I am fascinated
by the early church. I am a mystic. Before everything was formalized
during the 4th century the faith was at its most vibrant. Its potency
and power were astonishing to behold. That's what I strive to live in
my daily life now. That can only come through honoring the mystical
prayer forms the early church used not by worrying about the small
stuff. There is far too much to do today to worry about who's theology
is "right." Maybe our focus should be on loving our neighbor, and just
that, just a thought.
p
@Pashe@xanga - Maybe our focus should be on loving our neighbor, and just that, just a thought.
Your insinuation seems to be that we don't. Frankly, I am rather sick and tired of people saying that because we discern truth, we are not loving or we are intolerant. The two things have nothing to do with each other. I love people I know to be wrong all the time...24/7. Since you mentioned me, partially, in one of your replies, I will further say that I don't worship in other Churches because to do so would be to admit their is no singular truth. That doesn't mean I hold any anger or dislike...all are my brothers and sisters. That doesn't mean they are right.
@scrambledmegzntoast@hardestlevel - That's the problem. U r more interested in being right than not. My belief is that no one is right and everyone is right depending on the issue. Just because you may not agree w/ something that should never stop you from worshiping in another church. You won't disrespect Jesus if you were to worship in a protestant church any more than I would in a Catholic monastery. Quite the opposite, actually.
p
@Pashe@xanga - So you ignore that there are truths. I don't. It's not a problem for me, just for you.
Actually I don't. I just don't let that stop me from worshiping in different churches. That's ur problem, not mine.
p
@Pashe@xanga - No, it's your problem. I don't have a problem with it, you obviously do since you are the one who said there is a problem. Just like not hitting reply on your comments to other people is your problem.
@Pashe@xanga - Whatever. You're pointless. By the way, wayyyyy TLDNR.
@scrambledmegzntoast@hardestlevel - No I have a point, it's just a point you don't want to respond to.
p
@scrambledmegzntoast@hardestlevel - then let me shorten for ya.
@scrambledmegzntoast@hardestlevel - I
go to other churches. So that's not my problem, since I do it, it can't
be a problem for me. You were the one that said: "There are so many
things wrong with all of this, in large part what @Ancient_Scribe@xanga - pointed
out. If I attended and worshiped at another, non-Catholic, Church I
would be taking part in a lie. A lie to myself and to the Church, and
to God Himself. " You were the one that said that before I ever posted, hence it is your problem, not mine.
Besides,
what's the lie? How can that lie stop you from worshiping God in
another church? I have worshiped God in nearly every Christian setting
and had amazing communion w/ him in all of those churches but for some
reason that seems to be impossible for you. I want to know why?
@Pashe@xanga - Well for one, the Church instructs us to not take part in worship that uses incorrect theology. Actually just for one. That's enough.
@scrambledmegzntoast@hardestlevel - So how do you feel about indulgences?
p