Without a church home, who's gonna marry and bury you? A heartfelt lament

[PaperClip]

Sooo....

I'm going through about my future church attendance. Sigh.... I know what the Bible says about church attendance/fellowship/membership. And I want to honor that. What the church (in general) has become... it's not like it used to be....

Also, my parents (my mom, specifically) have/has attended the same church since she was born (she's a Baby Boomer). The church has gone downhill. The pastor is getting up in age and even more unfortunately, the church is being neglected financially as well as spiritually.... But my mom says she's going to remain until the pastor closes his eyes. She knows things are bad, but she's so connected to the church and she doesn't know where else she and my dad might go. They visit other churches but it's not home. She recently said to me that she wants to go to a church where she will be "known" by the pastor (meaning that personal connection like she has with her pastor since she was born). I said to her that getting to be known happens when you start attending a new church and getting involved.

I'm just holding on until I finish school and relocate but even then, finding a church home is not as important as it once was...and I know that's not ok... but that seems better/safer than going to a church where there's such a...for lack of a better word... corporate, mechanical feel.

This is my heartfelt lament.... I believe the Lord for peace on this matter.

 

[Nice & Wavy]

I'm sure He will give you the peace you seek.

 

[inthepink]

I'm struggling to find a church home too so you are not alone. Just keep praying and enriching your spiritual life by reading the bible, praying, etc. From your posts, it sounds like you do that already.

 

[GV-NA-GI-TLV-GE-I]

Maybe it's harder when one is old and facing more of their mortality? For years, I just didn't care about the religious aspect of anything. But now, with kids? I want to find that place...but it's hard...and oh so tempting to put it aside for now. But we need that connect. I truly know how you feel. I want to FEEL a part of it...I think I found it...crossing my fingers...but yes, I need to get active someplace, truly active. I think it takes time to find that place where He wants you. Some people find it so easily. That's not always the road for each of His. I do hope you find peace about it. In listening to the discussions on here, I picked up on this various times through your posts...and those of several others. In these days, there have been so many ecumenical discussions from the religious authorities that I can see people uniting under one (church). May it come soon.

 

[loved]

This is a dilemna in my extended family. Older relatives take offense when the younger generation gets baptized or becomes active with another church, regardless of the move on the younger person's heart or the conditions of the older church.

One of the most beautiful and biblically based wedding ceremonies I ever went to was in a wedding chapel. The preacher was outstanding. He took time to interview and know the couple and the ceremony felt intimate and every word out of the preacher's mouth related to God's word.

On the other hand, at my GM's funeral held at the church that she attended from the time she was a young girl, you would have thought she was a stranger based on the pastor's eulogy.

I am not near my family and I am struggling to find a church home myself.

 

[Angelicus]

Ok... this is just me:

I don't care who officiates my funeral or marriage. As far as my death is concerned, I will be in heaven so my family can just burn my body to turn it into ash and have a party at a hall. I honestly don't worry about death. "Let the dead bury the dead."

God is going to give you PEACE so you don't have to worry about such things (Matthew 6:25). Go listen to Dorinda Clark Cole's "Yesterday" to understand what I'm talking about. He will give you a church home soon.

I'm struggling to find a church home too. I still get fed from my old church in AZ. They have their services on the internet.

 

[DreamLife]

I've had this same problem. I've been trying to find a church home but I've come up with every excuse...too busy, unmotivated, and now scared...I saw a church down the street and it was very good, but it just wasn't what I was used to. Then I used the excuse of being in med school to hold me back...and now I'm just thinking of all the bad experiences I have had with visiting churches and things in the past...I thought when I moved to a new place, I would attend church with my family BUT it didn't happen like that.

So I'm starting back at square one. I'm so used to the church from my youth that I compare every church to that church and I never feel comfortable enough...BUT I'm not moving back home ...so I just don't know.

I just need to pray about it and stop avoiding it like I have been since August. In the meantime I've just been reading my Bible, listening to a Christian radio station and watching free sermons through podcast online...and I know I need fellowship...

Never thought about marriage...I always imagined myself going back to my home church for that.