Welcoming Multi-Site Churches Vs. Fundamentalism

Jim B.

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Hi all,

I pray that this message finds you well. My name is Jim and I'm a 39-year-old man from Massachusetts. While I'm in the least religious part of the country according to pew research studies/surveys, I belong to a thriving church south of Boston. We recently opened up our third location and the location I go to plays a video of the pastor on Sunday mornings.

We are a very welcoming church. Please don't confuse "welcoming" with "open and affirming" churches, that have a rainbow flag in front of their church and believe that God is A o.k. with people being gay and A o.k. with gay marriage. Rather, we have a first impressions team, free coffee and pastries, smiling greeters at the door, relatable messages, contemporary worship music, information tables, and a comfortable, cozy, non-judgmental ambiance. It is fairly new in our state to have multi-site churches and it's also fairly new to have mega churches (we had 4,000 people come through on Easter, among the three locations).

However, I'm newly engaged, and will soon have two step children, and I'm having some doubts about my current church. I just think my current church is lacking discipleship. I'm glad it's a comfortable place for those exploring the Christian faith, but I miss old fashioned preaching on righteousness and holiness. I got saved in a fundamentalist church. It was not Independent Fundamental Baptist (because they were charismatic), but they were just as fierce in their preaching and subscribed to the KJV only movement. When I attend church nowadays, I'm patient and understanding of what my church is trying to do (and I even volunteer in our ministries). However, when I want to teach biblical doctrine to my family or others, I want to leave no stone unturned regarding sin and repentance. In other words, it's not coffee hour with big screen TV's and electric guitars when I want to get really into the Scripture.

Two of the leaders of my church are beginning to get frustrated with my antics (i.e. desiring that we go back to a more old school style of preaching). They are essentially saying that I might not be the right fit for our church since I'm in leadership (I lead a small group) and I'm not 100% on board with the mission of the church (well, it's alleged that I'm not 100% on board with the mission of the church). Do you have any advice for me? Should I take my family and go to a new church--even though my fiance' is very happy at our current church? Should I stop hiding who I am and teach the word of the truth as it ought to be taught? Or should I embrace the modern church trends and see how God will work in them? Please help! Thank you.

P.S. I am in Celebrate Recovery and I also think Celebrate Recovery is a good way to leave no stone unturned regarding sin and repentance but my current church doesn't offer this program so I end up going to a different church to be a part of it.

--Jim
 

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Hello and welcome!

Should I stop hiding who I am and teach the word of the truth as it ought to be taught? Or should I embrace the modern church trends and see how God will work in them? Please help! Thank you.

I would one hundred percent say the first option!

2 Timothy 4:2 King James Version
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
 
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Jim B.

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Hello and welcome!



I would one hundred percent say the first option!

2 Timothy 4:2 King James Version
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

Thank you for you feedback, Aspzan.
 
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Learning to be in submission to authority is essential to being in submission to Christ. A person who refuses to submit to anyone he can see is fooling himself if he thinks he can submit to someone he can't see. That person doesn't know how to submit because he's never practiced it.

Submission to the congregational elders is part of the package of being a member of the congregation. If you don't believe you can submit to how they are running that congregation, then you need to find another congregation with elders you can submit to.
 
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com7fy8

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I want to leave no stone unturned regarding sin and repentance.
Sin includes sin of omission. God is changing His children into the image of Jesus; this process of correction is not only about identifying sin and repenting of it, but also God changes us to become like Jesus and relate and love the way Jesus has loved us. So, we need to talk about what we need to be doing, not only about what needs to stop.

it's alleged that I'm not 100% on board with the mission of the church
But what mission do you mean? You should know if you are on board, if you correctly understand your church's mission, I would say.

I also think Celebrate Recovery is a good way to leave no stone unturned regarding sin and repentance
Again, there is all we need to be doing. Celebrate Recovery can be focused on the individual, as can a lot of preaching. We need, also, to get more into relating with one another and ministering God's grace to each other > 1 Peter 4:9-10.

And you possibly have noted how with every strong confrontation of sin, God's word usually has a strong encouragement to all which is so better which we can share with God. There is either an implied or obvious indication of all we can have instead of whatever the Bible says is sin. (And righteousness is not only about or mainly about what is outward.) The book of James, perhaps, has this one-two approach pretty much all through his message.

For example, not in James, we have >

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

Here there is the strong confrontation of how everyone has sinned, but there is the encouragement, right with this, of how God wants us to share in His own glory and not be short of this glory.

So, I would say you need to have the strong encouragement along with the strong confrontation.

Learning to be in submission to authority is essential to being in submission to Christ.
Hebrews 13:17 > 1 Timothy 3:1-10 > 1 Peter 5:3

So, yes I would say God has men whom He trusts to pastor us, and He expects us to trust and obey these men whom He has prepared to take care of His people. So, it is not wise to hang around in a place where the leadership is not feeding God's example to the people.

And fundamentalists maybe claim to be by God's word, that it says what God means, but they might not hold themselves to scriptures which require us to be conformed to the image of Jesus, and love the way Jesus has loved us > Ephesians 5:2, and personally submit to our Heavenly Father and how He rules us in His own peace all the time > Colossians 3:15.

Instead ones might make a project of pointing at how they claim others are wrong, right while they do not be at least as thorough to make us wise to how they themselves can be wrong and misleading. And they might not make a point of directing us to actively seek God for how He alone is able to correct us, as is testified in Hebrews 12:4-11. And, also instead, they might make a project of some political cause, or calling a lot of attention to end-times predictions, or promoting some translation but without doing the main things it says we need to do. Ones can tend to make up things which mean they are the ones to control people.

And they can mainly be busy with trying to get people saved into their churches, but not first attend to ministering to the members so they have a healthy church for caring for ones who supposedly get saved. Being busy and working can be not what really gets real conversions and true maturity; busy stuff can produce what is not Jesus Christ's "rest for your souls." (in Matthew 11:28-30) Fundamentalism, then, needs to deal with everything in God's word. So, in a group it can be good to go verse by verse for a while, versus having some subject and connecting verses to it.
 
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mnphysicist

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How long have you been attending this church, how long have you been leading the small group? How many levels are between you and the exec pastor?

It makes a huge difference in the large church environment

A person at a given church from day 1 and/or being in the trusted small group of advisers directly surrounding the exec pastor has earned the right to be heard at pretty much any time, over pretty much any issue. Such rights are mission critical when it comes to leadership discussions when one holds views counter to the direction a given leadership team has chosen.

A person who has been there under 5 years, or maybe only has a couple years experience in small group leadership has probably not yet earned that right... so the probability of being truly heard, even if allowed to speak drops down quite a bit (with respect to views counter to the direction chosen by leadership).

And just because you were heard, doesn't mean they will change course... which then puts you in the spot of either submitting to their authority and not rocking the boat, or going elsewhere. If you stay, and try to preach what you want, even if its 100% correct, you will sow discord and strife as they have chosen another path. Eventually it will end by them asking you to leave, which has the potential to ring up millstones for you should innocent parties stumble. (been there, done that, had to learn it the hard way, as I was a stupid young guy with idea too big for my britches... fortunately you have a lot more life experience on your side!)
 
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mnphysicist

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However, when I want to teach biblical doctrine to my family or others, I want to leave no stone unturned regarding sin and repentance.

You don't need a church to do so... I highly recommend you start doing so right now, so you can be 100% sure your fiance and new family are in total agreement with your approach. If there is any question you and her are not 100% unified, and it can take a lot of prayer, time, and discernment to be sure, then take steps to get on the same page, or your marriage is likely to be in trouble as soon as you say I do. I've run into too many young couples where in one or the other assumed they were totally on board and it turns out they really weren't. This can leaves one or the other partner feeling like they got conned into a bait and switch scenario, even though errant assumptions rather than ill intent is the true cause. Bottom line, its much much easier to address before marriage than after, as should the bait and switch thing be perceived, it can take years to fix and in some cases it might not even be possible.

Should I take my family and go to a new church--even though my fiance' is very happy at our current church?
You need to work this out before you say I do. The last thing a newly married couple with kids from prior marriages needs is a change in church home shortly after getting married. A compromise might be to commit to stay where you are for a year or two in order to work on your new marriage and family within your existing church family... at which point, the two of you can search out a new church home where your teaching would be welcomed with open arms. Granted, I'm an old curmudgeon, but I see far too many younger folks getting jammed up where in had they taken a slower path, they might have save a lot of heartache. I concede this is not always possible.
 
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Jim B.

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Sin includes sin of omission. God is changing His children into the image of Jesus; this process of correction is not only about identifying sin and repenting of it, but also God changes us to become like Jesus and relate and love the way Jesus has loved us. So, we need to talk about what we need to be doing, not only about what needs to stop.

But what mission do you mean? You should know if you are on board, if you correctly understand your church's mission, I would say.

Again, there is all we need to be doing. Celebrate Recovery can be focused on the individual, as can a lot of preaching. We need, also, to get more into relating with one another and ministering God's grace to each other > 1 Peter 4:9-10.

And you possibly have noted how with every strong confrontation of sin, God's word usually has a strong encouragement to all which is so better which we can share with God. There is either an implied or obvious indication of all we can have instead of whatever the Bible says is sin. (And righteousness is not only about or mainly about what is outward.) The book of James, perhaps, has this one-two approach pretty much all through his message.

For example, not in James, we have >

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

Here there is the strong confrontation of how everyone has sinned, but there is the encouragement, right with this, of how God wants us to share in His own glory and not be short of this glory.

So, I would say you need to have the strong encouragement along with the strong confrontation.

Hebrews 13:17 > 1 Timothy 3:1-10 > 1 Peter 5:3

So, yes I would say God has men whom He trusts to pastor us, and He expects us to trust and obey these men whom He has prepared to take care of His people. So, it is not wise to hang around in a place where the leadership is not feeding God's example to the people.

And fundamentalists maybe claim to be by God's word, that it says what God means, but they might not hold themselves to scriptures which require us to be conformed to the image of Jesus, and love the way Jesus has loved us > Ephesians 5:2, and personally submit to our Heavenly Father and how He rules us in His own peace all the time > Colossians 3:15.

Instead ones might make a project of pointing at how they claim others are wrong, right while they do not be at least as thorough to make us wise to how they themselves can be wrong and misleading. And they might not make a point of directing us to actively seek God for how He alone is able to correct us, as is testified in Hebrews 12:4-11. And, also instead, they might make a project of some political cause, or calling a lot of attention to end-times predictions, or promoting some translation but without doing the main things it says we need to do. Ones can tend to make up things which mean they are the ones to control people.

And they can mainly be busy with trying to get people saved into their churches, but not first attend to ministering to the members so they have a healthy church for caring for ones who supposedly get saved. Being busy and working can be not what really gets real conversions and true maturity; busy stuff can produce what is not Jesus Christ's "rest for your souls." (in Matthew 11:28-30) Fundamentalism, then, needs to deal with everything in God's word. So, in a group it can be good to go verse by verse for a while, versus having some subject and connecting verses to it.
 
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Jim B.

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Sin includes sin of omission. God is changing His children into the image of Jesus; this process of correction is not only about identifying sin and repenting of it, but also God changes us to become like Jesus and relate and love the way Jesus has loved us. So, we need to talk about what we need to be doing, not only about what needs to stop.

But what mission do you mean? You should know if you are on board, if you correctly understand your church's mission, I would say.

Again, there is all we need to be doing. Celebrate Recovery can be focused on the individual, as can a lot of preaching. We need, also, to get more into relating with one another and ministering God's grace to each other > 1 Peter 4:9-10.

And you possibly have noted how with every strong confrontation of sin, God's word usually has a strong encouragement to all which is so better which we can share with God. There is either an implied or obvious indication of all we can have instead of whatever the Bible says is sin. (And righteousness is not only about or mainly about what is outward.) The book of James, perhaps, has this one-two approach pretty much all through his message.

For example, not in James, we have >

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

Here there is the strong confrontation of how everyone has sinned, but there is the encouragement, right with this, of how God wants us to share in His own glory and not be short of this glory.

So, I would say you need to have the strong encouragement along with the strong confrontation.
Sin includes sin of omission. God is changing His children into the image of Jesus; this process of correction is not only about identifying sin and repenting of it, but also God changes us to become like Jesus and relate and love the way Jesus has loved us. So, we need to talk about what we need to be doing, not only about what needs to stop.

But what mission do you mean? You should know if you are on board, if you correctly understand your church's mission, I would say.

Again, there is all we need to be doing. Celebrate Recovery can be focused on the individual, as can a lot of preaching. We need, also, to get more into relating with one another and ministering God's grace to each other > 1 Peter 4:9-10.

And you possibly have noted how with every strong confrontation of sin, God's word usually has a strong encouragement to all which is so better which we can share with God. There is either an implied or obvious indication of all we can have instead of whatever the Bible says is sin. (And righteousness is not only about or mainly about what is outward.) The book of James, perhaps, has this one-two approach pretty much all through his message.

For example, not in James, we have >

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

Here there is the strong confrontation of how everyone has sinned, but there is the encouragement, right with this, of how God wants us to share in His own glory and not be short of this glory.

So, I would say you need to have the strong encouragement along with the strong confrontation.

Hebrews 13:17 > 1 Timothy 3:1-10 > 1 Peter 5:3

So, yes I would say God has men whom He trusts to pastor us, and He expects us to trust and obey these men whom He has prepared to take care of His people. So, it is not wise to hang around in a place where the leadership is not feeding God's example to the people.

And fundamentalists maybe claim to be by God's word, that it says what God means, but they might not hold themselves to scriptures which require us to be conformed to the image of Jesus, and love the way Jesus has loved us > Ephesians 5:2, and personally submit to our Heavenly Father and how He rules us in His own peace all the time > Colossians 3:15.

Instead ones might make a project of pointing at how they claim others are wrong, right while they do not be at least as thorough to make us wise to how they themselves can be wrong and misleading. And they might not make a point of directing us to actively seek God for how He alone is able to correct us, as is testified in Hebrews 12:4-11. And, also instead, they might make a project of some political cause, or calling a lot of attention to end-times predictions, or promoting some translation but without doing the main things it says we need to do. Ones can tend to make up things which mean they are the ones to control people.

And they can mainly be busy with trying to get people saved into their churches, but not first attend to ministering to the members so they have a healthy church for caring for ones who supposedly get saved. Being busy and working can be not what really gets real conversions and true maturity; busy stuff can produce what is not Jesus Christ's "rest for your souls." (in Matthew 11:28-30) Fundamentalism, then, needs to deal with everything in God's word. So, in a group it can be good to go verse by verse for a while, versus having some subject and connecting verses to it.
than

Hebrews 13:17 > 1 Timothy 3:1-10 > 1 Peter 5:3

So, yes I would say God has men whom He trusts to pastor us, and He expects us to trust and obey these men whom He has prepared to take care of His people. So, it is not wise to hang around in a place where the leadership is not feeding God's example to the people.

And fundamentalists maybe claim to be by God's word, that it says what God means, but they might not hold themselves to scriptures which require us to be conformed to the image of Jesus, and love the way Jesus has loved us > Ephesians 5:2, and personally submit to our Heavenly Father and how He rules us in His own peace all the time > Colossians 3:15.

Instead ones might make a project of pointing at how they claim others are wrong, right while they do not be at least as thorough to make us wise to how they themselves can be wrong and misleading. And they might not make a point of directing us to actively seek God for how He alone is able to correct us, as is testified in Hebrews 12:4-11. And, also instead, they might make a project of some political cause, or calling a lot of attention to end-times predictions, or promoting some translation but without doing the main things it says we need to do. Ones can tend to make up things which mean they are the ones to control people.

And they can mainly be busy with trying to get people saved into their churches, but not first attend to ministering to the members so they have a healthy church for caring for ones who supposedly get saved. Being busy and working can be not what really gets real conversions and true maturity; busy stuff can produce what is not Jesus Christ's "rest for your souls." (in Matthew 11:28-30) Fundamentalism, then, needs to deal with everything in God's word. So, in a group it can be good to go verse by verse for a while, versus having some subject and connecting verses to it.
 
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Jim B.

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You don't need a church to do so... I highly recommend you start doing so right now, so you can be 100% sure your fiance and new family are in total agreement with your approach. If there is any question you and her are not 100% unified, and it can take a lot of prayer, time, and discernment to be sure, then take steps to get on the same page, or your marriage is likely to be in trouble as soon as you say I do. I've run into too many young couples where in one or the other assumed they were totally on board and it turns out they really weren't. This can leaves one or the other partner feeling like they got conned into a bait and switch scenario, even though errant assumptions rather than ill intent is the true cause. Bottom line, its much much easier to address before marriage than after, as should the bait and switch thing be perceived, it can take years to fix and in some cases it might not even be possible.


You need to work this out before you say I do. The last thing a newly married couple with kids from prior marriages needs is a change in church home shortly after getting married. A compromise might be to commit to stay where you are for a year or two in order to work on your new marriage and family within your existing church family... at which point, the two of you can search out a new church home where your teaching would be welcomed with open arms. Granted, I'm an old curmudgeon, but I see far too many younger folks getting jammed up where in had they taken a slower path, they might have save a lot of heartache. I concede this is not always possible.
Thank you for taking the time to write all that (and please excuse the two posts above in which I hit reply but didn't write anything!). Can you simplify your advice for me?
 
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Jim B.

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How long have you been attending this church, how long have you been leading the small group? How many levels are between you and the exec pastor?

It makes a huge difference in the large church environment

A person at a given church from day 1 and/or being in the trusted small group of advisers directly surrounding the exec pastor has earned the right to be heard at pretty much any time, over pretty much any issue. Such rights are mission critical when it comes to leadership discussions when one holds views counter to the direction a given leadership team has chosen.

A person who has been there under 5 years, or maybe only has a couple years experience in small group leadership has probably not yet earned that right... so the probability of being truly heard, even if allowed to speak drops down quite a bit (with respect to views counter to the direction chosen by leadership).

And just because you were heard, doesn't mean they will change course... which then puts you in the spot of either submitting to their authority and not rocking the boat, or going elsewhere. If you stay, and try to preach what you want, even if its 100% correct, you will sow discord and strife as they have chosen another path. Eventually it will end by them asking you to leave, which has the potential to ring up millstones for you should innocent parties stumble. (been there, done that, had to learn it the hard way, as I was a stupid young guy with idea too big for my britches... fortunately you have a lot more life experience on your side!)
I'm new to this forum. I just realized you posted two different times. This post is more understandable to me. I've been going to this church for 2 and a half years. I've been leading a small group for about a year and three months. There are a few levels of leadership ahead of me. Yes, I agree. I probably won't be heard because I haven't been around a while. Thanks for taking the time to write this out.
 
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mnphysicist

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I'm new to this forum. I just realized you posted two different times. This post is more understandable to me. I've been going to this church for 2 and a half years. I've been leading a small group for about a year and three months. There are a few levels of leadership ahead of me. Yes, I agree. I probably won't be heard because I haven't been around a while. Thanks for taking the time to write this out.
Would it be possible to have a nice candid discussion with the fellows that say you might not be a good fit for their church and try to get to the bottom of it as to exactly why? Its entirely possible you find out that you and the church are a lot more on the same page than you thought. Perhaps you just differ in some steps along the way, and you find that can work within the parameters they give. The other thing might be that you find out the issues are truly insurmountable, then when you leave, you fully understand why.
 
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mnphysicist

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Thank you for taking the time to write all that (and please excuse the two posts above in which I hit reply but didn't write anything!). Can you simplify your advice for me?

Not a problem, it can take a bit to get used to the quoting function and such on these forums... and even then, I blow it once in a while, and I used to co-lead this place! Lol

You stated you wanted to leave no stone unturned when it comes to the teaching of sin and repentance... and from what I gather, you believe your church comes up short in this regard. You also stated your fiance loves this church. if she has been there there a long while, its possible she could be missing a fair amount of depth in this area.

So lets say you get married and you immediately move to a new church which holds to the same, or at least very similar views as you'd like to see. The content of their teaching could be drastically different. Lets say your current church follows a Joel Osteen type of model, and the new church is all about fire and brimstone (I'm choosing 2 extremes to make a point) Its quite likely anyone transitioning from the 2 extremes is going to be in for a huge culture shock... perhaps so much so that fire and brimstone might not even seen Christian to them. This can and does damage folks faith walks.

Now add in the stress of being recently married, add in the stress of new family form with 2 kids and step dad, add in the loss of friends and support network that existed with the prior church, and lastly add in a husband who is teaching fire and brimstone, when as a boyfriend he used to teach a slightly more strict form of Joel Osteen.... your wife is highly likely to think he was a wonderful boyfriend, we got married, and he totally changed, I don't know if I even like him anymore. This has happened to far too many young couples and its a bear to dig out of.

To avoid this you can commit to stay with your current church for a year or two to work on your marriage in a highly supportive environment, and for you to teach your wife and family the depth that the your current church appears to be lacking. That way, when you change churches, you, her, and your family are at similar places with your walk with Christ, and rather than culture shock at the door, you can fully embrace the greater depths they teach from day one.

Now, if you and your fiance are at the same place in your walk, ie you both know Joel Osteen is not for you, and both of you are seeking fire and brimstone... its primarily the loss of church family she will miss, changing churches is much easier to deal with, albeit I still recommend going at the transition slowly. Newly married couples need every bit of support they can find.

As far as teaching greater depth... capture your churches sermon transcript or audio, go through it solo Sunday night, looking for places to add more depth. On Monday, review the highpoints of the sermon with your fiance and kids, and add a bit more depth. On Thursday, do the same, but now you all should be open for the much greater depth you want to teach. Such an approach allows your future family to acclimate to the depth you want to teach prior to getting married well before dealing with the stresses of having everything change on them after the wedding.

Does this help?
 
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com7fy8

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You say you are in a relationship. Does she go to this church? You might talk with her about how she is doing, if she is in your church.

And see how your relating is with other members. You might be there for personal ministering and pastoring. Jesus spent quality time with people, one on one.

Younger leaders might not be mature; so we need our seniors who have grown in Jesus and we can feed on their example. And they might be quiet, not up front very much. But the examples can feed what God's word means.
 
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Jim B.

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Not a problem, it can take a bit to get used to the quoting function and such on these forums... and even then, I blow it once in a while, and I used to co-lead this place! Lol

You stated you wanted to leave no stone unturned when it comes to the teaching of sin and repentance... and from what I gather, you believe your church comes up short in this regard. You also stated your fiance loves this church. if she has been there there a long while, its possible she could be missing a fair amount of depth in this area.

So lets say you get married and you immediately move to a new church which holds to the same, or at least very similar views as you'd like to see. The content of their teaching could be drastically different. Lets say your current church follows a Joel Osteen type of model, and the new church is all about fire and brimstone (I'm choosing 2 extremes to make a point) Its quite likely anyone transitioning from the 2 extremes is going to be in for a huge culture shock... perhaps so much so that fire and brimstone might not even seen Christian to them. This can and does damage folks faith walks.

Now add in the stress of being recently married, add in the stress of new family form with 2 kids and step dad, add in the loss of friends and support network that existed with the prior church, and lastly add in a husband who is teaching fire and brimstone, when as a boyfriend he used to teach a slightly more strict form of Joel Osteen.... your wife is highly likely to think he was a wonderful boyfriend, we got married, and he totally changed, I don't know if I even like him anymore. This has happened to far too many young couples and its a bear to dig out of.

To avoid this you can commit to stay with your current church for a year or two to work on your marriage in a highly supportive environment, and for you to teach your wife and family the depth that the your current church appears to be lacking. That way, when you change churches, you, her, and your family are at similar places with your walk with Christ, and rather than culture shock at the door, you can fully embrace the greater depths they teach from day one.

Now, if you and your fiance are at the same place in your walk, ie you both know Joel Osteen is not for you, and both of you are seeking fire and brimstone... its primarily the loss of church family she will miss, changing churches is much easier to deal with, albeit I still recommend going at the transition slowly. Newly married couples need every bit of support they can find.

As far as teaching greater depth... capture your churches sermon transcript or audio, go through it solo Sunday night, looking for places to add more depth. On Monday, review the highpoints of the sermon with your fiance and kids, and add a bit more depth. On Thursday, do the same, but now you all should be open for the much greater depth you want to teach. Such an approach allows your future family to acclimate to the depth you want to teach prior to getting married well before dealing with the stresses of having everything change on them after the wedding.

Does this help?
Thanks for your advice. Yes, it does help. I think there is too much going on in a new marriage (with kids from another marriage) to change churches, like you said. I was able to meet with the location pastor from the campus where I'm located and the conversation went well because he was understanding of my concerns and doubts. I'm not immediately losing my job as a small group leader because we're going to keep the conversation going a little bit. My pastor was more concerned about our marriage (as you noted). Me and my fiance' need to get on the same page (as you noted). I like your suggestion about going deeper with the sermons with my fiance' and her kids. In the meantime, can you pray for me and my fiance? And for my small group? My small group also needs some help! They're just not that committed.
 
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com7fy8

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My small group also needs some help! They're just not that committed.
yes prayer

I would say appreciate whoever does come. And use the time to give all you can. And if anyone is more committed, make sure we do not take this for granted, even if it is one person; share with the person, keep feeding him or her who is interested. And thank God for trusting you with whoever is more interested.

I have seen how pastors can quit holding a group, when they see their groups have one or two regular people. But Jesus spent quality time with individuals who were interested in Him.
 
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Jim B.

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yes prayer

I would say appreciate whoever does come. And use the time to give all you can. And if anyone is more committed, make sure we do not take this for granted, even if it is one person; share with the person, keep feeding him or her who is interested. And thank God for trusting you with whoever is more interested.

I have seen how pastors can quit holding a group, when they see their groups have one or two regular people. But Jesus spent quality time with individuals who were interested in Him.
that's a great point, Com7fy8!
 
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