The Church and the Church family, is many things to many people, but I find today people have a the idea is one hour and gone. Please don't go over that hour and entertaining the congregation with music and make sure you have Coffee and donuts just in case. You need a pick me up before church.
Watered down sermons not to offend anyone is the order of the day. So the people won't get offended or convicted. Many have left the church and it has been and still is Gods House church is people and people make the church and what it suppose to be is a House of prayer and a place to hear the Gospel preached and where it is to be taught, for Christians to grow and soul to be saved it is not a country club for Saints it is a Hospital for sinners.
I hear this Exodus of the Church but its you that have to make the difference. If you our a member say something be proactive in your church. I preach at a rescue mission out reach from my Church. Believe me I don't get bored when I go soul winning with people from the church knocking on door and inviting them to church.
The church has enough bench warmers and if you don't feel that the church your in is the right place then ask God to show you where you need to be, you get away from God people and pretty soon you will be right back in the world. Christians need Christians you associate with the world soon you will doing what the world does. It is heart breaking to me to see the lost souls I see God needs workers in the field. I am no one without the Lord and I do need the support of my brothers and sisters in Christ.
When I had a Heart attack my Church family was their to pray for me. Help my wife and showed the love of Christ to me. Maybe my church is different than yours but I would pray not I would hope that the Holy spirit would be blessing your life and to feel the love of the church in all members. Nothing is perfect in this world don't give up on church trust in the lord and he will show you the way. May God richly bless you
I think we need to understand that every fellowship is different, and in finding a fellowship that is beneficial to us, and where we can be beneficial to those we fellowship with is something that might take a while for some of us. In reality, fellowship is not meant to be the sole source of what is Christian in our lives, but, I think most of us would admit, especially if we have jobs or lives where we are constantly exposed to the world itself, that there is a comfort to be among those where at the least we have a common belief and it is a relief to be among those of like belief.
While we could pick apart a number of issues in any given fellowship, we also have to recognize our own contribution to those issues, lol. If we say the fellowship is unwelcoming or unfriendly...how friendly are we? If we believe our fellowship is in error doctrinally...why do we go there?
But in your example of when you had a heart attack, it seems you were part of a fellowship that had genuine concern for you. I would suggest that in many of the fellowships available today, we will find that same genuine concern.
All fellowships are going to range in varying degrees of maturity in the believers attending, and that is simply a basic principle of the Church. We can't expect everyone to perfectly example Christian conduct and knowledge, because just like ourselves, everybody else there is in a process of growth.
Even if we attend a fellowship, say, are saved in a fellowship which may not be an optimal fellowship, it is not until we grow in Christ where we are better able to make decisions which may impact our lives. And refraining from fellowship has been, at least in my own case, something that has adverse effect in my walk with Christ. I can see a difference between regular fellowship and worship, and having an attitude in which I see no importance in going. First and foremost we should go to worship the Lord, and deal with the social aspects afterward.
As I said before, I view regular worship and fellowship as part of the training we go through. Some will accelerate their growth by active study outside of Church, while some may be content, at least for the time, to remain under the tutelage of the leadership of their fellowship. I think we should also acknowledge that we are not the ones that set the standard for how others walk with Christ, nor should we judge those that we feel do not meet the standard we set. Scripture sets the standard, and if we are part of a fellowship we believe fails in the standard set by God, then we have a responsibility to leave that fellowship. In about twenty years now of attending fellowships, I can say that only one fellowship I left was for a legitimate reason that violated the Word of God, in which discipline of sin was not meted out, but overlooked. The rest of the Church Hopping was primarily due to my own pride, and dealing with issues of pride has been a direct result of resolving not to abandon a fellowship because of issues that didn't change the reason I should place first for having a "home church." Which is to have a place where I can go to worship God. If social interaction results in friendships, great. But knowing that there are simply going to be personality conflicts any time more than one person is involved, perhaps the limited time we spend together in corporate fellowship is not such a bad idea after all.
The saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt" is true in our own homes, and few of us are completely free of becoming complacent in relationships. But being aware of that might help us to cast off what is typical, and seek to attain to love God wants us to have for each other and those in the world who desperately need Christ. It is said, "You are the only Bible some people will ever read," and should our interaction in the world result in someone wanting to know the reason why we may be different, it is a good idea to have somewhere to direct them. A local fellowship is a good place to point them to, where, hopefully, if they visit, they will hear the Word of God and come to saving faith in Christ.
God bless.
