I don't really want to bore you all with a long essay of my church-going experience so I'll just sum it up:
1) I was born into and raised to the age of 16 in a United Methodist church.
2) At the age of 16, I rejected God and became agnostic for two years.
3) At the age of 18, I let God back into my life but did not ever start going back to church.
4) Between the ages of 18 and 21, I have visited various churches:
I had been looking at the Roman Catholic Church for a while, but several ideas turn me off to it: The need for a priest to forgive sins (only God can forgive my sins), the heavy focus on the Virgin Mary (last I checked, Jesus is the important figure!), the idea of an infallible Pope (I only answer to God--all humans are sinful in nature, unfortunately, including the Pope), and finally, praying to patron Saints to interlude with God on your behalf (again, I only pray to God--I don't need Saints to speak to God for me when I can speak to God himself).
So yea, I have been having a hard time finding a place to call home. I think it is very important for me to find a church in which I can grow in my Christian walk.
Any advice?
1) I was born into and raised to the age of 16 in a United Methodist church.
2) At the age of 16, I rejected God and became agnostic for two years.
3) At the age of 18, I let God back into my life but did not ever start going back to church.
4) Between the ages of 18 and 21, I have visited various churches:
I recently attempted to attend my childhood church again, but there are too many bad memories at that church. Additionally, many of the members are the same members who were going there when I was a kid, and it's just awkward for me to be an adult (as opposed to the kid they once knew me as) around these same adults now, plus the fact that they all know I haven't regularly attended the church since I was 16. It's just weird...hard to explain.----a) on a few occasions, I've visited the United Methodist church I grew up in (usually for the Christmas Eve service)
----b) a Pentecostal church upon a friend's invitation. The whole "speaking in tongues" thing and the whole congregation dancing around the room while worshiping scared me to death and I didn't go back
----c) a "Community" church upon a friend's invitation. The church reminded me of a Baptist church using the "Community Church" name, and the congregation numbered in the thousands--very impersonal experience and I didn't go back
----d) a second "Community" church upon a friend's invitation. While much smaller and more personal, the style of worship was contemporary (guitars/drums/electronic instruments) and I had a very hard time getting into the worship. A positive of the church was that the congregation was largely adults aged 20 - 45...people my age who could relate to my issues.
----e) Finally, an SBC Baptist church. The congregation is the largest in my city (Birmingham, AL), numbering nearly 12,000 people. Extremely impersonal due to the size, and full of rich people who, in my opinion, feel that they are better than other members of the church.
I had been looking at the Roman Catholic Church for a while, but several ideas turn me off to it: The need for a priest to forgive sins (only God can forgive my sins), the heavy focus on the Virgin Mary (last I checked, Jesus is the important figure!), the idea of an infallible Pope (I only answer to God--all humans are sinful in nature, unfortunately, including the Pope), and finally, praying to patron Saints to interlude with God on your behalf (again, I only pray to God--I don't need Saints to speak to God for me when I can speak to God himself).
So yea, I have been having a hard time finding a place to call home. I think it is very important for me to find a church in which I can grow in my Christian walk.
Any advice?