Did you mourn leaving the UPC?

[shazeep]

Dordt, i've been following you around, looking for a good post of yours to troll, and just not having any luck lately?

And RR, best wishes in your move; that was a hard step for me. But i wouldn't go back now, except to visit.

[shazeep]

"I'm praying that there's also an element of relief and belonging that come from this move..."

With all due respect, and understanding what you mean, you should feel that already? And don't be surprised if a similar issue arises in whatever new church you come to, imo--which may be nothing more than God's desire for you to find another pastor to learn under, and expect that at some future date you will have learned what you were sent there to learn, and be looking again.

Strangely, i felt that 'wandering' into a church that i felt led to--literally leaving home in the car (i still had both of those then) without a set destination on Sunday morning, and totally ignoring the sign (Methodist, Unitarian) on the building when i arrived--worked well as an interim measure. While i didn't stay in any of those churches, it helped with my 'hearing' somehow.

[Real Realism]

Well, I have a family, so I'm not making this move on my own. We need to be unified in our decision to move on, and I think that's where a level of the stress might be coming from. Otherwise, your approach of visiting some other churches, regardless of the sign on the door, would not be something I'd be opposed to.

The biggest uncertainty for me is - I know we don't feel like we "belong" where we are now. There no doubt in my mind that change is needed. But what if we walk into this other church...or the next...or the next...and it just doesn't feel right?

Actually, I did have an opportunity about 6 months ago to walk into another church (ex-UPC gone coffee-house style church), and while I really enjoyed the sermon - great message, it spoke to me - the atmosphere wasn't right for my family. I knew it wasn't the long term solution. The whole tenor of the service was more "observational" than "participatory". I felt I'd almost have gotten the same experience if I sat at home on my couch and watched it on TV vs. being present there.

I believe in the importance of corporate worship and finding a stable body of believers whom you hold yourself accountable to, where you can minister to brothers and sisters. I don't care if this is a house church, a named church, an unnamed church...consistency is important. I'm not saying it would necessarily be forever, I agree with you. But I also do not feel it is right for my family to drag them around place to place without putting down any roots.

So - while there is already some relief in making the decision to move on - I'm finding myself nervous at the unknown. Even though our current church is no longer "right" for us...will this be "right'? I suppose there's no use in sweating it, though. If this is God's will, he'll reveal it. And if it's not, I want him to reveal that, as well.

Good post, thank you. It helped me reflect on some things and gain new perspective.

[shazeep]

ya, the whole fam is most likely going to feel that way in any new church, at least for a while; so i can see the approach of auditioning several that meet some basic requirements. any home churches on the list?

[Abiding Now]

God bless Bishop David Bernard and the UPCI.

[Real Realism]

Originally Posted by shazeep

ya, the whole fam is most likely going to feel that way in any new church, at least for a while; so i can see the approach of auditioning several that meet some basic requirements. any home churches on the list?

No home churches, but. I haven't run into anyone who runs or participates in one. And I don't think we're led to lead one at this point in our lives.

There are definitely some we've found that do meet some core requirements, but from my research they don't seem like the right cultural fit for us. (I know I shouldn't judge completely by website content, but sometimes there's just a few things that make the culture quite apparent...i.e. A church that uses crazy ostentatious titles for their ministers, such as "her holy prophetess and the great apostle". Not saying they can't be kind, loving, Godly people if we took the time to get to know them, but it's just not our cup of tea.)

We have identified three congregations, seemingly of varying size and culture. Time, prayer, and experience will tell if any are the right fit for us.

But I think you're right, that none of them are going to automatically feel like "home." It would be great if God orchestrates it that way and somehow we do immediately feel that, but it may be unrealistic to expect that right off the bat. We are and will be praying for specific confirmation for selecting the right congregation, though.

[shag]

http://carm.org/christianity/testimo...ivas-jrs-story

[tv1a]

Independents are much worse.
Avoid the following places if you see certain words on the church sign.
Fundamental
Holiness
Pentecostal
Signs Following
Independent
Hell
Apostolic
Acts 2:38
Mark 16

Avoid churches with outhouses and use kerosene lamps for illumination.

Originally Posted by n david

There are independent churches out there that aren't part of an organization.

[n david]

Originally Posted by tv1a

Independents are much worse.
Avoid the following places if you see certain words on the church sign.
Fundamental
Holiness
Pentecostal
Signs Following
Independent
Hell
Apostolic
Acts 2:38
Mark 16

Avoid churches with outhouses and use kerosene lamps for illumination.

Independents are worse? Not the one's I've known. I know of several independent churches that include the words "pentecostal" "independent" "apostolic" or "acts 2:38." Good churches, with great people.

I do agree with avoiding any church which does not have indoor plumbing or electricity!

[KeptByTheWord]

Originally Posted by shag

http://carm.org/christianity/testimo...ivas-jrs-story

Interesting article.