The Reason the Church is Floundering....

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forgiven61 said:
sbc has some good preachers in it..i pastored a southern baptist church had people wanting work and grow. then i mentioned foot washing. you would have thought i committed murder . there is so much politics in Churches today/ if were going to be a church. we have to learn to be the Church. people soon forget there is 1 Lord 1 Faith 1 Baptism . i would love to go back to the old days when we had real Church.
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I understand completely.
 
rtm3039 said:
I remember the first time I went into someone's home and was asked to take off my shoes. I was SO confused and was not sure if this was a "religious" thing or not. It was the first time I had met these people, so I really thought it was odd. Turns out, it was to keep dirt off the floor (my shoes did not have dirt on them). Now, I can see if you were ankle deep in mud, but that seldom happens in a city where most of it is covered by sidewalks and driveways.

I'm funny about my feet (very unattractive), so I wear shoes all the time. Even when I was a kid and most of my friends went barefoot (it's a Miami Beach thing), I still wore shoes.

I do take off my shoes, when I am cutting the grass, as my wife gives me a funny look if I bring grass clippings into the house.

Rtm
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IF I run for president in 2020......I am going to mandate that people with ugly feet can not wear open toed sandals.
 
I wonder if we would have the same perspective regarding the church if we were living in a poor country. For those of us that live in prosperous countries, I think we see floundering in part because of our lack of perceived need for God in our lives. How often it is that we call on God when trials come up, but think less about God when life runs smoothly.

Trying circumstances seem to bring us together and I would venture to guess, because I don't know, that many Christians in poorer nations see the Church differently. I would love to hear from those that might have experienced this difference, to get their perspective.
 
CPerkins said:
I wonder if we would have the same perspective regarding the church if we were living in a poor country.
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I know one thing, we wouldn't be so picky in where we go to church. Some of us will drive 50+ miles just to go to the 'right' Church, whereas in some persecuted third world countries they will walk 20 miles to the only church, and that, in the face of imminent danger.
 
crossnote said:
I know one thing, we wouldn't be so picky in where we go to church. Some of us will drive 50+ miles just to go to the 'right' Church, whereas in some persecuted third world countries they will walk 20 miles to the only church, and that, in the face of imminent danger.
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They are also more likely to spend time before and/or after services to fellowship, comfort, help one another.
 
Major said:
IF I run for president in 2020......I am going to mandate that people with ugly feet can not wear open toed sandals.
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Already there. Back in my youth, I went to Air Assault School. The last obstacle was a 12 mile trop with a 76 pound ruck sack and we had two hours. In the late morning in Kentucky, it was a little wet and my boots were a mess. By the time I was done, I could feel the blood on both feet. Most of my toe mails we a mess and they never recovered. Not a pretty site then or now. :(

Rtm
 
Lanolin said:
I like going to see baptisms, I think that's one of the core things about church though many don't think it's important, but for a new believer, it's highly important.

As much as churches teach and preach, and all the other things that go on in churches, being immersed in Christ's love is something only someone who's taken that leap of faith can truly experience.

If someone goes to church and they can only dip their toe in, or come up rock bottom and don't go under the water, it's like...giving people a sponge bath instead of a real wash. I'm going to say don't be stingy with the water. Invite people in. Get saturated. A lot of people don't want to give their all, they are not willing to surrender their lives which is a real shame.

And then a lot of people have gifts that God gives them and when they bring them to church they get turned away! I don't understand that. Then they get told to do something else that God hasn't given them. That's so frustrating.
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i took a pic of the pool at church.

pool.jpg
 
CPerkins said:
They are also more likely to spend time before and/or after services to fellowship, comfort, help one another.
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Many did that at our church, but not since Covid 19. Maybe as "thigs" get back to normal, that will happen more often. Many of our small teams meet at church on Friday nights, so there is usually some activity in the evening. Because it is a big church, there is a push for many small groups (aka: Bible study groups). Don't recall the number, but I want to say we have close to 400 small groups.

Since Covid 19 started, sadly, our small group has not done very well. We have actually stopped meeting, until we figure out how to get more than 2 - 3 people to meet. It is also via Zoom, so not as enjoyable as when we did it live.
 
CPerkins said:
I wonder if we would have the same perspective regarding the church if we were living in a poor country. For those of us that live in prosperous countries, I think we see floundering in part because of our lack of perceived need for God in our lives. How often it is that we call on God when trials come up, but think less about God when life runs smoothly.

Trying circumstances seem to bring us together and I would venture to guess, because I don't know, that many Christians in poorer nations see the Church differently. I would love to hear from those that might have experienced this difference, to get their perspective.
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I have to agree. Nothing brings out the Christian in someone like a harsh season. I struggle with this. God is the first thing that pops into my head, when I wake up, but I just don't spend enough quality time with Him in the morning and almost always find myself thinking about that I need to do at work almost as soon as I physically get out of bed. I am not happy with that.

Aside from the six campuses in Miami-Dade, we have campuses in Jamaica, Colombia, Cuba, and in Ukraine (no idea how we got all the way to the Ukraine). Unfortunately, I do not have contact with those churches and do not know how they impact their respective communities.

I attend the main campus in Palmetto Bay, FL. I also only live about 5 miles from there. This is mostly a middle to upper class neighborhood, so most want for very little. Not all our campuses are in the same type of neighborhood, but none are in what would be considered "bad" neighborhoods. I think this is a significant reason why we have so many outreach programs. Aside from the food distribution (which we do a great deal of), I like that we have a mobile dental office to give people free dental work. This is all done in neighborhoods that are in need.

Rtm
 
I don't belong to a church any mire
It is a very long time since I have attended any service. It is nit for lack of trying to find one but I am not even looking now. I miss it though.
I don"t like the way church has gone but am very happy to read that you have all found churches that are still on the right track.
 
CPerkins said:
I wonder if we would have the same perspective regarding the church if we were living in a poor country. For those of us that live in prosperous countries, I think we see floundering in part because of our lack of perceived need for God in our lives. How often it is that we call on God when trials come up, but think less about God when life runs smoothly.

Trying circumstances seem to bring us together and I would venture to guess, because I don't know, that many Christians in poorer nations see the Church differently. I would love to hear from those that might have experienced this difference, to get their perspective.
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I think welfare has taken a lot of what the church used to provide for the poor.
In some ways this is good, because it means everyone contributes (via taxes) but in other ways it's not good, as it encourages dependency and sometimes fraud. Also, a lot of wealthy people avoid paying tax, and they don't feel the need to give charity.
 
forgiven61 said:
what direction has it gone? are you surprised ? we been foretold about things that take place.
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No I'm not surprised. Just Very sad and disappointed.
The churches seem to have forgotten their first love. Some hardly ever mention The Son of God.
They are missing out on many things. I used to come home and feel frustrated. I don't want to go into many details, because who an I to criticise?
Some things are ignored and not deprived, even adultery. I would rather be on this forum.
 
Cosia said:
No I'm not surprised. Just Very sad and disappointed.
The churches seem to have forgotten their first love. Some hardly ever mention The Son of God.
They are missing out on many things. I used to come home and feel frustrated. I don't want to go into many details, because who an I to criticise?
Some things are ignored and not deprived, even adultery. I would rather be on this forum.
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i have no doubt there are churches like this. while i have no idea about any of the churches in your are are. i pastor a church i reopened after it was shut down. it is a up hill battle to get folks in. i have preached on just about every thing . one thing i dont do i kick them under the bus. i welcome all including light . but they will sit in our service embracing each other. they can sit beside each other and listen to the message like anyone else . we can preach the word but there has to be conviction . the anointing destroys the yoke .

i am not giving up , the Bible tells me no man putting his hand to the plow is fit for the kingdom of God . there will always be a remnant and i need want to be part of that . i been on forums for years .i have found you can pretend to be a super Christian . write flowered post and hid behind a computer. the moment a person disagrees boom your off the forum i would keep on searching sometimes WE including me can get to the point of critiquing the message .
 
People can be flowery any where, but it is not for us to judge, they could be very genuine Christians. They could be meaning what they say and have the gift of love.
I have no objection to who is listening to the message in a church, in fact I believe it would be good if everyone listened you do expect the pastir to be a good example though. I have seen quite the opposite. We are all human I understand that, but at least they could repent
 
I am thirsty for God’s word. Straight with no chaser! Until I can find a church doing that that isn’t motivated by wealth or obtaining a lot of people… 🤷🏻‍♀ I’m grateful for fellowship online which has gotten me started. I went to a Christian church last week and while it was “nice “and the music certainly was good… I left feeling like it was Christian junk food. And that’s fine for some but it’s definitely not for me or what I’m looking for right now.
 
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