Why are some Christians not part of a church?

redleghunter · Jun 24, 2019

section9+1 said:
I attend regularly. I didn't go for a long time because I am self-taught and while conservative, my theology never seemed to line up real good with what was locally available. I've mellowed some since then. It seemed I was getting dull and the sharpness to my Christianity was fading. Church has helped me stay sharper. It's not perfect, but it's a short drive and I get along alright with the folks. My level of involvement is entirely mine. I don't listen well, and am thoughtlessly independent. I don't burn out because my load is never heavier than what I choose it to be. I believe in the rightness of church and go there to serve myself. People seem to be ok with it and seem to enjoy my presence. I get along well enough with it and intend to continue.

When you say you serve yourself, does this mean you do not contribute to ministry efforts; or choose the ministry efforts best for you?

redleghunter · Jun 24, 2019

I just added “I work in Sunday’s” as a response. If there are other “other” let me know and I will add.

redleghunter · Jun 24, 2019

Jamsie said:
I moved to a rural town of 250 people so the Church I attended for many years is quite a distance. I must admit that my main focus in finding a Church to attend is primarily based on the Pastor's teaching. not too concerned with cliques and such. (I still "attend" my former church electronically. I love Lew's (he prefers Lew to Pastor) thoroughness and teaching, at present he is in John which he started in late 2016 with some topical sermons along the way we are now in John 17. I attend a wonderful Bible study, and may decide to attend a local (8 or 9 miles) church where a number of people in the study attend... One can disagree with Hebrews 10:25 however, I believe that the "encourage one another" is of paramount import. As a side note I also would not attend a church that did not accept a reasoned and scriptural difference of interpretation on peripheral issues....

A good point you bring up...churches which broadcast their services live on social media. My church does the same for those recovering from surgery, sick or out of town. I know twice when down for the count from chemo I viewed the service. Not the same for me. Being there worshipping and communion with others.

OldWiseGuy · Jun 24, 2019

Jamsie said:
As a side note I also would not attend a church that did not accept a reasoned and scriptural difference of interpretation on peripheral issues....

section9+1 · Jun 24, 2019

redleghunter said:
When you say you serve yourself, does this mean you do not contribute to ministry efforts; or choose the ministry efforts best for you?

What I mean is the ultimate benefactor of my church attendance is myself. Which is as it should be for everyone. Why would you go to church if you felt it was of no benefit to you? Seems to me that's the reason why people don't go. I have managed to find benefit in it. My ministry choices are my own.

redleghunter · Jun 24, 2019

Hazelelponi said:
My husband works on Sundays and has to be at work by noon, that makes anything outside of Sunday school out for him, since he doesn't want to walk out in the middle of services.

So he skips it in total, because we depend on his job for living and it's one of the better (nearly the best) employer in the area.

The Deacon and his wife live near us, right down the road so they pick me up and I attend church with them whenever there are services, when my pain levels are under control. (I'm disabled)

Its not as much as I would like, for real. I think there are times I could attend, but I dread the pain so I skip. So sometimes it's laziness, sometimes I really can't attend. At this point my medical issues are piling up that I'm not sure about my health much these days.. lol

So I'm a part-timer, and my husband hasn't gone in two years.

Thank you sister for sharing. I think the social media broadcast of the worship service and sermon would be beneficial for you on the tough days where you cannot attend. For those in my church who are in similar circumstances the deacons or pastor will bring communion to the house as well.

We also have two churches locally (I heard from coworkers who attend those churches) which now have Saturday evening and Thursday services for those who work on Sunday.

redleghunter · Jun 24, 2019

section9+1 said:
What I mean is the ultimate benefactor of my church attendance is myself. Which is as it should be for everyone. Why would you go to church if you felt it was of no benefit to you? Seems to me that's the reason why people don't go. I have managed to find benefit in it. My ministry choices are my own.

I asked because it seems the early church shouldered each other’s burdens.

Mel333 · Jun 24, 2019

redleghunter said:
Understand. So your experience locally is these churches are not Christ and Gospel focused?

Yes. None of the churches here are Christ centered or gospel focused. I've never learnt who Christ is from a church service to this day. Or about salvation or baptism through the local churches here.

Australia is becoming increasingly secular. I think America is different. You would have gospel centered churches there.

chevyontheriver · Jun 24, 2019

redleghunter said:
I’m really surprised you did not have a sort of Chaplain support.

Ha! we were spread out all over a country that didn't have a paved trunk highway until the year I left. For most of my time there a road grader leveled it out a few times a year. And it quickly became a series of potholes. And to even get to that road took a mile walk, a taxi ride, a ferry crossing, another taxi, another ferry crossing, and a taxi just to get to that road. Once the road was paved, they actually ran a bus on it. True, a chaplain could have been given a 4WD and made a circuit every two weeks or so, but we were lucky to even have a nurse. Even there another volunteer visiting me got malaria and I basically got to treat him myself. No way to get to the nurse, he was too sick to travel anyway, and so I treated him, pushing the anti-malarial faster than he could throw up. He could have died, because we had a nasty strain of malaria there.

The Catholic priest could get there in the dry season only. The guy who came was an old Irish missionary. There was no other kind of Christian presence in my neck of the woods but Catholic. Oh, once at a high school many miles away there was an announcement that there would be a mass the next morning. So I went. And it seemed a bit funny. The liturgy was a bit different, although in English. OK. It's Africa and things can be a bit different. The last mass I attended was in Jola and I got a running translation of that into Mandinka, so I wasn't too sure what was going on. And we had bats flying around in the church. They thought it was their building. Anyhow, turns out the one at the high school was Anglican. In the capital city there were some Methodists too, but it was a predominantly Muslim country, with some Animists and few Christians.

My son is in the Air Force and they DO have chaplain support, even when deployed overseas. It is a nice 'feature'.

What they really needed in that country was evangelization. What I should have been doing was serving in the same place doing more or less the same things, but with an explicitly Christian organization (something like VICS, Volunteers in Christian Service, a Canadian group was a group I ran into while in Sierra Leone) where I could openly spread my faith.

chevyontheriver · Jun 24, 2019

Mel333 said:
Yes. None of the churches here are Christ centered or gospel focused. I've never learnt who Christ is from a church service to this day. Or about salvation or baptism through the local churches here.

Australia is becoming increasingly secular. I think America is different. You would have gospel centered churches there.

I would hope there is at least one within reasonable travel distance. I know that among Catholic churches there are some winners and unhappily some losers. Pick carefully among the options. Point being there may be two very different Baptist or Methodist or Catholic churches. The first one may be quite different than the second one. Or the third one you try.

Hazelelponi · Jun 24, 2019

redleghunter said:
Thank you sister for sharing. I think the social media broadcast of the worship service and sermon would be beneficial for you on the tough days where you cannot attend. For those in my church who are in similar circumstances the deacons or pastor will bring communion to the house as well.

We also have two churches locally (I heard from coworkers who attend those churches) which now have Saturday evening and Thursday services for those who work on Sunday.

I do love the video taped for social media services when I can't attend. It keeps me from missing a lesson..

That's a thought on communion.. I have missed communion and absolutely don't like that, and was speaking to my husband about it the other day..

I'll ask if they would.. I'm sure they will, it's a nice church.. good Christian hearts. I'll ask on it..

redleghunter · Jun 24, 2019

chevyontheriver said:
Ha! we were spread out all over a country that didn't have a paved trunk highway until the year I left. For most of my time there a road grader leveled it out a few times a year. And it quickly became a series of potholes. And to even get to that road took a mile walk, a taxi ride, a ferry crossing, another taxi, another ferry crossing, and a taxi just to get to that road. Once the road was paved, they actually ran a bus on it. True, a chaplain could have been given a 4WD and made a circuit every two weeks or so, but we were lucky to even have a nurse. Even there another volunteer visiting me got malaria and I basically got to treat him myself. No way to get to the nurse, he was too sick to travel anyway, and so I treated him, pushing the anti-malarial faster than he could throw up. He could have died, because we had a nasty strain of malaria there.

The Catholic priest could get there in the dry season only. The guy who came was an old Irish missionary. There was no other kind of Christian presence in my neck of the woods but Catholic. Oh, once at a high school many miles away there was an announcement that there would be a mass the next morning. So I went. And it seemed a bit funny. The liturgy was a bit different, although in English. OK. It's Africa and things can be a bit different. The last mass I attended was in Jola and I got a running translation of that into Mandinka, so I wasn't too sure what was going on. And we had bats flying around in the church. They thought it was their building. Anyhow, turns out the one at the high school was Anglican. In the capital city there were some Methodists too, but it was a predominantly Muslim country, with some Animists and few Christians.

My son is in the Air Force and they DO have chaplain support, even when deployed overseas. It is a nice 'feature'.

What they really needed in that country was evangelization. What I should have been doing was serving in the same place doing more or less the same things, but with an explicitly Christian organization (something like VICS, Volunteers in Christian Service, a Canadian group was a group I ran into while in Sierra Leone) where I could openly spread my faith.

Wow wonderful accounts of your dedication in service to the Lord. We need to chat more on your service. And I will share an interesting story of trying to hunt down a Roman Catholic Bible version for my Roman Catholic commander in the streets of Kuwait City. Lol.

Gregory Thompson · Jun 24, 2019

redleghunter said:
Survey up and you can multiple selections as there may be multiple reasons. In the Current events section on another thread one poster astutely mentioned some Christians do not attend church with other Christians due to various factors. I would like to record and discuss those factors here. Please no judgmental posts.

Some of the factors mentioned were Christian churches were too politically motivated, judgmental and hypocritical. There are others and I will add to the survey as in medical, mental or social disorders which make attendance at a physical church either impossible or very difficult.

If I miss a category someone else deems important I will add it to the survey.

Thank you all in advance. I would like discussion so if you vote please opine as well.

God Bless!

Other please explain.

I have many reasons, one is based on feeling what other people do, and experiencing their sins at a higher intensity from church communities.

Another is witchcraft use or holy appearance with witchcraft principles being applied.

Another one is that church is really made for a target market, that being church kids. Since I am not a church kid, it doesn't really come across as what I'd picture as a church when I read the bible.

Mel333 · Jun 24, 2019

chevyontheriver said:
I would hope there is at least one within reasonable travel distance. I know that among Catholic churches there are some winners and unhappily some losers. Pick carefully among the options.

I am hoping so as well.

redleghunter · Jun 24, 2019

Michael Collum said:
I have many reasons, one is based on feeling what other people do, and experiencing their sins at a higher intensity from church communities.

You have an intrinsic gift to detect sins others are struggling with? Asking seriously.

Michael Collum said:
Another is witchcraft use or holy appearance with witchcraft principles being applied.

Quite interesting but not following. Could you elaborate a bit more?

Michael Collum said:
Another one is that church is really made for a target market, that being church kids. Since I am not a church kid, it doesn't really come across as what I'd picture as a church when I read the bible.

Understand. My church is very young where the young far outnumber the elder ages.

We do have ministries geared to more mature in the faith which helps us minister to the youth.

Gregory Thompson · Jun 24, 2019

redleghunter said:
You have an intrinsic gift to detect sins others are struggling with? Asking seriously.

It's like we share the same space and I struggle with them, it's a maturation of an intercessory gift I think. When gifts mature, they seem like another gift, but they're just the same gift with more fruit.

redleghunter said:
Quite interesting but not following. Could you elaborate a bit more?

In prayer, the basis of teaching is by faith or trust in the bible, but there is a common application that involves pushing one's will forward to "make it happen" instead of trusting in God and asking God. Sometimes I even experience the thought projectile when people try to change me through prayer. It's like the prayers don't reach God, but they reach me instead.

redleghunter said:
Understand. My church is very young where the young far outnumber the elder ages.

We do have ministries geared to more mature in the faith which helps us minister to the youth.

It's good there's some churches out there that can minister to matured believers, I find another objection I find is the breeding culture in churches, it sometimes creates an unintentional "earth pulse" like when wiccans do one of their ceremonies. Due to all the repressed sexuality and thought projectiles, it's rather inevitable the way it's commonly set up.

Cis.jd · Jun 24, 2019

corruption

Bible Highlighter · Jun 24, 2019

redleghunter said:
Survey up and you can multiple selections as there may be multiple reasons. In the Current events section on another thread one poster astutely mentioned some Christians do not attend church with other Christians due to various factors. I would like to record and discuss those factors here. Please no judgmental posts.

Some of the factors mentioned were Christian churches were too politically motivated, judgmental and hypocritical. There are others and I will add to the survey as in medical, mental or social disorders which make attendance at a physical church either impossible or very difficult.

If I miss a category someone else deems important I will add it to the survey.

Thank you all in advance. I would like discussion so if you vote please opine as well.

God Bless!

I voted, "Every church around me has some serious theological errors which I cannot abide with."

The only church I am interested in attending or visiting is: Christ's Sanctified Holiness Church that exists on the Eastern seaboard. They are the only Trinitarian Sola Scriptura church (that is somewhat big) that believes that after we are saved by God's grace, we also need to live holy and or have works of faith (i.e. Sanctification) as a part of the salvation process.

Christ's Sanctified Holy Church-Holiness unto the Lord

Here are a few videos by them:

Unfortunately, I live far away from the Eastern seaboard. While I am not overly wowed by their services, I would have to attend sometime to find out if I could fit in and or if I could find like minded Christian friends.

I am thinking of starting my own church at some point in the future. Perhaps a house church, or a super small one in a nice Christian country town. Not sure exactly yet, but I know the Lord will direct me down the right path. What I do know is that I feel called to have my own church to inspire people to follow the Lord. What I would like is to be like this kind of Pastor in the video trailer below (Note: Not specifically just a Youth Pastor, but someone in general who inspires people to follow the Lord):

Halbhh · Jun 24, 2019

Mel333 said:
I've been finding it a real struggle to find a church that teaches who Christ is. A lot of them around me have either turned into social justice groups or have turned their back on teaching the gospel altogether. Some services have become sales sermons on promoting other people's charities.

So I might have to start a bible study in the park because I can't find what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a group of Christians who study the bible and talk about Christ and the bible message while eating some snacks and having a BBQ afterwards.

Great poll by the way. I'd like to go to church but can't find one who teaches the message of Jesus and how to function as a Christian in the world.

Our Lutheran church has a gospel reading of the word of Christ each Sunday, and the sermon generally is on that passage. I think this is normal to Lutheran churches.

Mel333 · Jun 24, 2019

Halbhh said:
Our Lutheran church has a gospel reading of the word of Christ each Sunday, and the sermon generally is on that passage. I think this is normal to Lutheran churches.

That's so good to hear.

Why are some Christians not part of a church?

Reasons for not joining or attending a church

I have a medical, emotional or mental health disability which makes going to church difficult

Churches encountered the ministry team or members are judgmental/hypocrites

I'm the only Christian in my household and going to church without family is difficult

Churches encountered are more worried about politcal/social agendas than the Gospel

I'm a new Christian and have no idea how to pick a church or know the first steps

I've been going it alone for too long to fit in a Christian community

Every church around me has some serious theological errors which I cannot abide with

Other, please explain

I have family members with special needs which most churches are ill-equipped to handle

I work on Sundays

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