Can Christian Forums be one's church?

[tucker58]

Can Christian Forums be one's church? As far as I am concerned I go to church for an hour or so every day. That is how I start my mornings.

love,

tuck

 

[wanelad]

Tuck I may get shot down in flames here by other forumites, however I believe that God calls us to serve one another and build strong relationships, this can hardly happen in a forum.

Going to church has several functions in my view
1st gives me the opportunity to Praise and worship God with others
2nd the opportunity to mix socially with Gods people on a one to one basis
3rd May get the opportunity to share my faith and or beliefs with a non believer if they walk in
4th To hear Gods word and teachings

 

[dies-l]

I think that internet communication provides little more than relational and spiritual junkfood. Sites like CF can be enjoyable and can even provide small amounts of spiritual growth, but they are absolutely no substitute for face to face participation in a real live spiritual community.

So I would say as analogy, can Swedish Fish be one's dinner? Perhaps, but I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[tucker58]

Tuck I may get shot down in flames here by other forumites, however I believe that God calls us to serve one another and build strong relationships, this can hardly happen in a forum.

Going to church has several functions in my view
1st gives me the opportunity to Praise and worship God with others
2nd the opportunity to mix socially with Gods people on a one to one basis
3rd May get the opportunity to share my faith and or beliefs with a non believer if they walk in
4th To hear Gods word and teachings

Ok and the moderator of this forum seems to agree with you. I have visited and participated in a lot of churches in my life and once you get to know the people in them they do not seem to be any different than the people on this message board.

"A coat of many colors" comes to mind. and "My Father's house has many rooms." And "where two or more gather in My name I am there."

Most ministers and pastors that are any good at what they do spend most of their time plugging holes in the dike to keep things from falling apart because people are people. I understand that Christian Forums can't be a church but then I am non denominational, you get a group of Christians together and you have a church .

just love,

tuck

 

[dies-l]

Ok and the moderator of this forum seems to agree with you. I have visited and participated in a lot of churches in my life and once you get to know the people in them they do not seem to be any different than the people on this message board.

"A coat of many colors" comes to mind. and "My Father's house has many rooms." And "where two or more gather in My name I am there."

Most ministers and pastors that are any good at what they do spend most of their time plugging holes in the dike to keep things from falling apart because people are people. I understand that Christian Forums can't be a church but then I am non denominational, you get a group of Christians together and you have a church .

just love,

tuck

The bolded portion is why I don't suggest that CF is your "church". We are not a group of Christians getting together; we are each individuals sitting in front of a computer, typing our thoughts for others to read. This is a very minimal level of relationship, and therefore not the same as a group of people physically gathering in the same place to share the love of Jesus with one another. I don't necessarily believe that a church must be institutional, but at a minimum it should an actual physical gathering of believers for the specific purpose of sharing their faith with one another.

 

[tucker58]

The bolded portion is why I don't suggest that CF is your "church". We are not a group of Christians getting together; we are each individuals sitting in front of a computer, typing our thoughts for others to read. This is a very minimal level of relationship, and therefore not the same as a group of people physically gathering in the same place to share the love of Jesus with one another. I don't necessarily believe that a church must be institutional, but at a minimum it should an actual physical gathering of believers for the specific purpose of sharing their faith with one another.

As long as I am a not a part of CF management, CF can not be "my" church as a pastor to other Christians. I am just a Christian member .

I do understand your point Dies, and I respect that you do represent management. "When two or more gather in My name I will be there."

CF creates a gathering of Christians in an international sense, or it does not.

you choose,

Love,

Reverend tuck

 

[dies-l]

As long as I am a not a part of CF management, CF can not be "my" church as a pastor to other Christians. I am just a Christian member .

I do understand your point Dies, and I respect that you do represent management. "When two or more gather in My name I will be there."

CF creates a gathering of Christians in an international sense, or it does not.

you choose,

Love,

Reverend tuck

Just so you know, I am not speaking here as a moderator. I am just speaking to you as one believer to another. I don't know if CF has a stance on the question. However, my own personal opinion is that online networks and bulletin boards are no substitute for church and face to face community. My belief is that no website is able to create a genuine gathering (in the sense that Jesus was talking about), because physical presence is a vital aspect of community. If you are interested in exploring this concept in greater detail, I would recommend the book "The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture" by Shane Hipps.

 

[jacks]

Can Christian Forums be one's church? As far as I am concerned I go to church for an hour or so every day. That is how I start my mornings.

love,

tuck

Although it may not have all the attributes of a church tuck, you should know that there are Christians here who care about you and will support you by prayer and fellowship. You are reaching out and communicating with real people who hope the best for you and your walk with the Lord.

God Bless You.

 

[dies-l]

Although it may not have all the attributes of a church tuck, you should know that there are Christians here who care about you and will support you by prayer and fellowship. You are reaching out and communicating with real people who hope the best for you and your walk with the Lord.

God Bless You.

I agree with this.

 

[tucker58]

Just so you know, I am not speaking here as a moderator. I am just speaking to you as one believer to another. I don't know if CF has a stance on the question. However, my own personal opinion is that online networks and bulletin boards are no substitute for church and face to face community. My belief is that no website is able to create a genuine gathering (in the sense that Jesus was talking about), because physical presence is a vital aspect of community. If you are interested in exploring this concept in greater detail, I would recommend the book "The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture" by Shane Hipps.

dies, I do not actually disagree with you ok? And I do understand what you are saying. It is just that I have sort of stepped out of the grind of the face to face community and I am glad that Christian Forums is here to some times remind me why . And I do not think that Christian Forums is ment to be a ministry. Which is ok. But it does beat watching the Christian TV channels and what some of those yahoos have to say .

just love,

tuck

 

[tucker58]

Although it may not have all the attributes of a church tuck, you should know that there are Christians here who care about you and will support you by prayer and fellowship. You are reaching out and communicating with real people who hope the best for you and your walk with the Lord.

God Bless You.

Thanks Jacks! I love Jesus and God, they are my life. I have been hanging out in the forums where the "non religious" are welcome and I just stopped in this forum for a breath of fresh air.

By the way you and I live in the same part of the US it is suppose to clear up and be nice for awhile, I have a lot firewood I have to cut and stack to get ready for winter so some nice weather would be great!

You are loved!

tuck

 

[jthomas1600]

I'm one who firmly believes that a forum like this can not be your church. I think when you look at the relationship between Christ and his closest followers and the relationships between members of what I guess you could call "house churches" in the N.T. I think you see a picture of intimacy that can not be found on the internet because it requires personal contact.

That being said, don't discount the roll that the internet can play in the life of the believer today. While it's true that it can be the worst stumbling block, it can also be a tremendous stepping stone. I am a perfect example. I work on a vessel that provides services to oil rigs and work in Brazil. I almost never get to church when I'm at work (for 2-3 months at a time) and when I do I have a hard time catching all the message because my Portuguese is still pretty limited. I'm active on another Christian site that provides so much support and connectivity to believers when I'm stuck down here. My church's various facebook pages help me keep up with what's going on at my home church. Our Sunday school teacher emails notes from the class. Etc. Etc. Etc. So this is not my church, but it sure is a blessing.

 

[Lemmiwinks]

Can Christian Forums be one's church? As far as I am concerned I go to church for an hour or so every day. That is how I start my mornings.

love,

tuck

No, I don't think internet forums are any substitute for church. I can't tell who I am talking to on a board. If I could see the other person face to face, I might realize that I ought not to listen to them. Here we are just disembodied voices. So, you end up getting a lot of unfiltered, twisted ideas on internet forums.

An internet forum is not the real world. More and more, we have to fight against the internet taking over all of our reality. It is not easy.

 

[Lemmiwinks]

This is a very minimal level of relationship

Exactly.

 

[Bob Carabbio]

"Can Christian Forums be one's church?"

NAH!!! "Forums" are just writing on a screen to people you'll never meet.

It probably CAN be a "ministry of sorts". But it's a LOUSY substitute for personal interaction and fellowship.

 

[Conservativation]

does it walk like a church, quack like a church...all that?

 

[JCFantasy23]

Can Christian Forums be one's church? As far as I am concerned I go to church for an hour or so every day. That is how I start my mornings.

love,

tuck

Nothing can replace an actual church and real meetings with believers with worship, communion, praise, and prayer. That being said, CF and forums can be great for spiritual growth. For some people it's easier to open up online and relate. There's lots of places here where people do study together, worship in their way with praises and artwork sharing and such.... The theology debates can grow tiresome if they're too circular, but there's much that can be learned from the threads as well. The internet can be a great tool to connect with fellow Christians.

 

[laconicstudent]

Can Christian Forums be one's church? As far as I am concerned I go to church for an hour or so every day. That is how I start my mornings.

love,

tuck

I don't think so. The level of interaction is incredibly low, and there is no method for participating in the worship of the Church, or receiving the sacraments.

 

[Starpuppy]

In my opinion, the forum cannot be church as everyone view is different, as a church, the members usually follow the vision of the church.

I would say this place can only be Christians of many denominations coming together to learn more of the Lord

 

[Gregory Eugene]

Your question has to have other motives, and your best bet would be to find those motives and address what ever is behind them.

Like if your question is I hate church people, do I have to Go. I would say you need to learn to tolerate people and maybe you could find a church with like minded people.

If your question is Do I have to get up early on Sundays, I LIKE MY SUNDAY MORNINGS! Then I would answer no my church meets on Saturday night.

Find your issue and ask for help about that because Christian Forums doesn't seem like the most complete church experience you can have.