Disenfranchised Christian Seeks open-minded Christians. Hard to find.

Mark Stapleton

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I am 66 years of age and have been an involved Christian for around 50 years. In all that time I have met few people who have real Christian courage. The courage to think differently. To be, in Christ, your own kind of Christian. Seems I have to go to church, according to church-goers. I disagree. I think it's high time we, as individuals, witness to people in ways they can relate to, where they are, emotionally, creatively and open-heartedly.

So I created Jesus Christ Social. Through Him And For Him in the hope we can appeal to others in ways that are not too dogmatic. It's a casting of the net. Whatever my, or your, personal biases we need to get outwards to those who think we are a joke, as millions do. It seems to me this is a very good way of doing it. Action always speaks louder than words. The few "Christians" I have shown this site to have not watched one of the videos properly nor read more than a few lines of text. One sounded alarmed. That is both funny and sad. So I hope to hear kind, thoughtful, opinions of this effort which is trying to raise hope, comfort and support for the homeless and win hearts and minds to the possibility that Jesus is alive.

On the front page and very obvious, is an explanation, and of course Q&A's too, so those "Christians" who simply ignored me, which is impolite and not in the least reflective of Christs behaviour, or the church abiding person who said she would never give anything to this, neglected to mention that it's a very good cause and that the recipients would be foodbanks and local rescue centres and all receipts posted for all to see. Nice. How I despair at times. Hugs.
 

Aussie Pete

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It's nice to know that we can agree to disagree. I don't have a regular, traditional church but fellowship is vital. It helps to keep us from becoming too introverted and self centred. I'm not a fan of Greta Thunberg. The response to her reminds me of the Peter Sellar's movie "Being There".

Russell Brand I don't know.

I'm a similar age group to you. I was born in 1951, in London. I've lived in Oz for 45 years.

Your website is well laid out. A couple of points. I personally am over having to create an account for sites I may not visit often. Is there some way having a "guest" profile so that a casual looker can check out the site?

Also, I don't see the link to the video. Do I have to log in for that?



























guest
 
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Norbert L

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The few "Christians" I have shown this site to have not watched one of the videos properly nor read more than a few lines of text
Hi Mark. I've heard advertisers talk about the importance of first impressions, it's like judging a book by it's cover.

If I casually per chance browsed to your site without your input, not only did I find it hard to navigate and find the videos, but I too would have not watched one of the videos you posted. It's like the Bruce Springsteen song, 57 Channels (And Nothin' On). I can't speak for everyone's viewing habits on YouTube. If a content creator fails to grab my attention after the first few seconds, I'll click on something else.

That's where, when it comes to "properly" watching one of the videos, this could also be met with the criticism about you properly presenting your content. The way I see this, it's a two way street. It's no one's fault when the content you're interested in isn't interesting to other people.
 
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Maria Billingsley

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I am 66 years of age and have been an involved Christian for around 50 years. In all that time I have met few people who have real Christian courage. The courage to think differently. To be, in Christ, your own kind of Christian. Seems I have to go to church, according to church-goers. I disagree. I think it's high time we, as individuals, witness to people in ways they can relate to, where they are, emotionally, creatively and open-heartedly.

So I created Jesus Christ Social. Through Him And For Him in the hope we can appeal to others in ways that are not too dogmatic. It's a casting of the net. Whatever my, or your, personal biases we need to get outwards to those who think we are a joke, as millions do. It seems to me this is a very good way of doing it. Action always speaks louder than words. The few "Christians" I have shown this site to have not watched one of the videos properly nor read more than a few lines of text. One sounded alarmed. That is both funny and sad. So I hope to hear kind, thoughtful, opinions of this effort which is trying to raise hope, comfort and support for the homeless and win hearts and minds to the possibility that Jesus is alive.

On the front page and very obvious, is an explanation, and of course Q&A's too, so those "Christians" who simply ignored me, which is impolite and not in the least reflective of Christs behaviour, or the church abiding person who said she would never give anything to this, neglected to mention that it's a very good cause and that the recipients would be foodbanks and local rescue centres and all receipts posted for all to see. Nice. How I despair at times. Hugs.
Welcome ! Thanks for sharing.
 
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Sabertooth

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Hello & welcome.
Seems I have to go to church, according to church-goers.
Here is their prevailing rationale,

"...not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,
as is the manner of some,​
but exhorting one another,
and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:25 NKJV

Of the "five-fold" ministries,*
"And [Jesus] Himself gave
  • some to be apostles,
  • some prophets,
  • some evangelists, and
  • some pastors
  • and teachers,
for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come
  • to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
  • to a perfect man,
  • to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;..."
Ephesians 4:11-13 NKJV

*These ministries only operate in a church setting; not in laissez-faire Christianity. To be clear, we are expected to live as Christians, individually, but the Church is a BODY of believers.
 
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Albion

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Hi, Mark. Thanks for joining us.

A quick reaction to your initial post--

If you begin by placing yourself out of the Christian norm and then are openly bitter that conventional Christians are cool to your attempt to restructure their faith (and in a not particularly original way), their reaction is almost guaranteed.
 
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David Hunter

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Welcome, Mark! Glad to see you're being proactive. I agree, we all need to start using that brain of ours and ask the tough questions and seek out the truth. Most people, even so-called "christians" don't want the truth.
 
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bèlla

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*These ministries only operate in a church setting; not in laissez-faire Christianity. To be clear, we are expected to live as Christians, individually, but the Church is a BODY of believers.

The problem isn’t the directive to gather. It’s our limited approach to what it means. Some people can’t attend church for various reasons. They may require accommodations or a smaller setting to do so. They’re shouldn’t be a stigma for thinking outside the box to meet each other’s needs.

Which means diverse settings, sizes, and approaches. If the goal is worship and serving God He’ll guide us through it. :)

Yours in His Service,

~bella
 
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Sabertooth

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Some people can’t attend church for various reasons.
We are in that boat (and believe that there is grace) but I have seen brothers & sisters who feel overwhelmed by the enemy when they isolate unnecessarily.
 
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bèlla

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We are in that boat (and believe that there is grace) but I have seen brothers & sisters who feel overwhelmed by the enemy when they isolate unnecessarily.

Maybe there’s a remedy we haven’t considered. Perhaps online meetings are better suited for them. There are others who share the OPs thoughts. They can gather by Zoom. ;)

Yours in His Service,

~bella
 
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Deade

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Hello Mark,
welcome to CF.

I hope you'll enjoy your stay here.


View attachment 295211

98636c6ee64925a19858f8a491d300d2.gif
 
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Anthony2019

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Hello Mark
Welcome to the forums.
I had a look at your website - very nicely laid out and you've put a lot of hard work into it.
Hope you will enjoy your time here and look forward to reading your posts.
 
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