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To be honest, I never really liked the Baptist churches my area for the same reason. Before I left Christianity for good, I went to every church I could find in my area in an attempt to salvage it. I found that I really liked the structured and more traditional services of the Catholics and Lutherans.
And I find the same is true in Judaism. Our new rabbi wants to introduce instruments, a lot of English, and music into our prayer services. While we're a Conservative synagogue and none of those things are forbidden provided we still have the required portions, I still prefer a much more traditional service in Hebrew.
Then a preacher in jeans came up to the stage and had this modern sermon that went on and on and on and on. His ego was huge and he gave me the impression he was very pleased with himself.
Which could also happen with a preacher wearing wingtips and a suit and tie.
I know a guy who plays bass in a rock band in a mega church who became a Christian because he was intrigued that a church had that style of music. The music brought him into the building and he stayed for the religion.
God works in many, many ways.
Some people praise God with a bass. Some praise him with a Wurlitzer.
Last edited by DewDropInn; 04-02-2013 at 08:06 PM..
The last church I attended was Calvary Chapel, Ft. Lauderdale; part of the popular Calvary Chapel chain that started out in Southern California during the 70s and the hippie generation. Since the church started out in such an environment, it, of course, geared its efforts toward these wild, crazy, long-haired individuals, using a “come as you are” mantra. Naturally, when the church started to take shape out there, the congregation was filled with unkempt rejects and converts were not turned away based on looks and this gave the church the appeal and the fast growth in congregants. While older converts are now a little bit more modest in dress and leadership will wear suits and ties on occasion, generally speaking, dress is mostly casual. Music is contemporary, but since the whole modern day Hosanna praise movement came out of that area, it is still a staple of that church environment where light rock is the preferred style of music.
I certainly still respect their approach and I actually enjoyed my time there. I could not make it in a church with liturgy, organ music and incense and some guy in a robe boring me to tears. Conversely, I also would not feel comfortable in a church where folks are doing cartwheels in the aisles and the ministers is sweating like a pig and talking some gibberish he calls tongues. I had my fill of that in my early Christian days and I was never comfortable with it.
Oh, I also had a stint in the world famous Brooklyn Tabernacle Church. Really enjoyed it and it set the stage for me attending CC Ft. Lauderdale when I moved to SoFla. While a great experience at the time because I believed what they were preaching, the message would not ring hallow to me because I now know the truth no matter how genuine the folks might be.
Moderator cut: deleted All I see is a bunch of money and space kept out of the hands of the poor and needy. And a bunch of hypocrites reverberating their sounds off of ivory towers. If their holy ink said something about being like Jews in their Temples and hoarding money and being human and commercial instead of holy, I guess I would be more sympathetic. Not that I excuse honest corporations fully, sometimes they pillage honestly.
Moderator cut: Orphaned All I see is a bunch of money and space kept out of the hands of the poor and needy. And a bunch of hypocrites reverberating their sounds off of ivory towers. If their holy ink said something about being like Jews in their Temples and hoarding money and being human and commercial instead of holy, I guess I would be more sympathetic, Not the I excuse honest corporations fully, sometimes they pillage honestly.
Ever wonder why so many hospitals are named "St. ***** "? Or "Methodist", or "Presbyterian"? It's because religious organizations open them.
Ever wonder who tends to run the homeless shelters? I'm guessing it's not the self-righteous atheists.
Back when I was growing up in small town Minnesota I had to go to my parents Lutheran Church every Sunday Morning. I HATED IT. I really looked forward to becoming an adult so I could make my own decisions about what to do on Sunday Morning.
Now that I am an adult I decided to attend a church for the first time in years. My wife a non practicing Catholic was also interested in attending church.
We researched the local churches and found out the fastest growing ones were the ones that are not connected with an actual religion. They were called contemporary churches with a modern service.
Arriving at the Church we were shocked how people were wearing jeans and tennis shoes and most of the service was singers and a hard rock band singing religious songs with drums and a guitar. Then a preacher in jeans came up to the stage and had this modern sermon that went on and on and on and on. His ego was huge and he gave me the impression he was very pleased with himself.
We asked our friends about this church and many of them loved it. To me, it was a business not a church. What do you think of the modern mega churches with rock music?
Religion for some of the megachurches or even televangelist churches actually are businesses in almost every sense of the word. They expect people to pay money in donations. They expect people to buy books and CDs and all that stuff. If you ever watched shows Jack Van Impe Ministries you'll see that, every couple of minutes he's plugging the DVDs he sells. People usually buy into the stuff they sell and pretty much give money to that church/business. It's a way for them to keep the big buildings they have.
In my opinion, if you were to go to church, I'd go back with one of the established ones. They may not be all that great but you'll have a more spiritually fulfilling experience.
For nondenominational modern churches I'd suggest the small house of prayers if you have any in your neighborhood. The places that use tiny converted store front properties and are led by a pastor or a small group of people. You might see some interesting things there.
I found a place in Minnesota but I'm not sure it will be anywhere close to you or if it's even the type of thing I'm talking about but here's the website if you want to check it out:
Every time I go to Churches I feel like puking. All I see is a bunch of money and space kept out of the hands of the poor and needy. And a bunch of hypocrites reverberating their sounds off of ivory towers. If their holy ink said something about being like Jews in their Temples and hoarding money and being human and commercial instead of holy, I guess I would be more sympathetic. Not that I excuse honest corporations fully, sometimes they pillage honestly.
Whenever I see someone make this statement, I am reminded of this:
John 12:1-6 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages."6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. ***********
I also question why you resent churches, but are OK with corporations who pillage-as you put it.
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