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Posted on 01/17/2010 8:30:13 PM PST by hiho hiho
Frankly I think if you change the church to suit the neighborhood you’re saving a building, not a congregation.
There’s your problem right there.
**a second reading from sources that have included Buddhist text and children’s books.”**
No wonder it is fading.
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I’m sorry, but I find most of mainline Christianity to be self-rightous atheism at heart. No wonder people aren’t flocking to it.
Must be PCUSA....I think the PCA’s are growing...
I grew up in the Presbyterian church, taught Sunday School there as a teenager, was married in that church and took my kids there. Back in the 80s, some of the high school age SS class material had evolution information. That church isn’t dying, it’s growing. But as I grew older (and up) and really started listening to the sermons, I started to feel totally worthless and that there was really no hope.
Perhaps its just that the minister made me uncomfortable, although I could never put my finger on *why* and the pillars of the church think he is the greatest thing ever sent to them. Maybe I was just not meant to be a Pres., I don’t know. But that’s why I stopped going. It didn’t seem to a very happy or hopeful place that he’s talking about. I’ll never be as perfect as I supposedly should be. So why bother?
Yes, and sometimes it’s not so much the church’s message (as in my case) but the people. You get people who have attended a church for years and when there is new, fresh blood that starts attending it’s ‘We’ve always done it this way’ etc etc. My cousin was instrumental in setting up a youth groupo and revitalizing the choir and music for her new church when she moved. But then people complained that she was ‘running it all’ (even tho’ no one else stepped up to start or help with this).
Sometimes you get the feeling that those who are able to help with more stuff in the church are fairly smug about their ‘higher Christian status’ as I call it.
Reading a few lines of a beautiful bit of Buddhism isn’t going to ruin a church. Many parts of many religious readings and texts are considered world literature.
Perhaps its just that the minister made me uncomfortable, although I could never put my finger on *why* and the pillars of the church think he is the greatest thing ever sent to them. Maybe I was just not meant to be a Pres., I don’t know. But that’s why I stopped going. It didn’t seem to a very happy or hopeful place that he’s talking about. I’ll never be as perfect as I supposedly should be. So why bother?
Sounds like the typical works-oriented church. The sermons will usually describe great works from the Bible, and end with an exhortation for the flock to "go and do likewise".
IMO, we should learn in church that we are indeed "worthless", but we should also learn that you are not capable of being otherwise. They should then stress that belief in Christ provides the righteousness that we all lack. We then will feel compelled to give thanks and worship the God who saved us even though we did not deserve it.
Where are the people?
At the contemporary church, where they have a rockin’ good time in the song portion of worship and a message that hits hard with truth and hope.
Bingo
"Eastminster Presbyterian Church, located in Wichita, KS, is a member of the Presbyterian Church (USA)"
http://www.eastminster.org/aboutus
“I’ll never be as perfect as I supposedly should be. So why bother?.
That’s the whole point. You will NEVER be perfect. We are saved by grace, despite how rotten we are. The punishment we deserve for being far less than perfect was taken by Jesus on the cross. It is His gift to you. Take the gift. Embrace it. Tell everyone about it.
Beautiful as some Buddhist texts might be, they make a poor substitute for the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and thus have no place in Christian worship.
Three acres of property in the middle of Portland is a gold mine. They should sell the building and divvy up the money to fun their retirement. (Not sure who owns the church?).
Lots of empty churches in Portland, that is for sure. On the other hand their are so many people going to church in Beaverton that the police come out to direct traffic every Sunday. I think the believers have moved out of the city, which is now full of Wiccans, as the article explains.
Not too many families want to send kids to Portland public schools.
Except the article is about a church in Portland. What happens when you call bingo but you have the wrong spot marked? :-)
I didn’t feel that way when I went to church. Listening to sermons, it felt pretty useless to try. I’m not sure that’s how you should feel when you go to church.
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