Looking For A True Church To Call Home

6/21/11 | Me

[NoGrayZone]

Okay, here's the deal in a long story short. I was raised Lutheran, moved out to Long Island and continued to be raised in St. Paul's Lutheran Church.

Aunt Jeannie (my name sake) has been a member since. I decided years ago I wanted back, so I went.

I did not feel Him there, thought it was me. I kept looking around the congregation, thinking it was me. After a while, I realized it wasn't (a couple of things happened after that confirmed it wasn't me).

Anywho, the icing on the cake was my Aunt Jeannie stopped going as well. After almost 30 years she felt the change as well. I looked up our church and saw they were apart of the "accept homosexuals as Pastors" crowd. That was 1 of the things that confirmed it was not me.

But my Aunt Jeannie leaving was the icing on the cake.

Here's our delima. Both of us are July babies. She is the 2nd, I am the 18th. We decided on 7/17 we would find a church to attend (we both want one to belong to and believe in), then go have brunch to discuss.

She is much more open minded than I am, but I promised her I would be open minded, if just for an hour, on that day.

I said to her, during our conversation "how do we know if the "Pastor" is a homo or not. She believes He is with us no matter where we are. I agree....to a point. I don't believe a homosexual can be one of His Shepard's leading His herd if that is so.

There have been so many "demoninations" coming out for homosexual "Shepard's" I have NO idea where to begin.

I have called a few churches and left messages for the Pastor to call back so I can interview Him (no lady Pastors for me).

Any advise to where we can look? Anyone know anything about Presbyterians?

[PGR88]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great

[johngrace]

Great Post!

[Bryan24]

Jor.....

I love Greenbrier BBQ.

[Hetty_Fauxvert]

You probably have only so many churches to consider within your area. Find out who the pastors (or whatever they are titled) are in the churches you are considering, and Google their names to find out about them. Look for pastors who are married, and have been for some years. If you find a church with a pastor or pastors who have “partners” etc., that would be one to avoid.

[daisy mae for the usa]

Hey,Y’all—

Fellow 5th Sunday potlucker, here! :) Nice to “see” you on this thread!

[Cronos]

Come home to orthodoxy. The Apostolic Church is there waiting as it always has, since its foundation by Christ.

[Cronos]

Question: in orthodoxy we believe it to be the true body of Christ. Do you still hold to the Lutheran belief of the True Presence in the Eucharist? Or do you hold to the Calvinist disbelief in the Real Presence?

[Cronos]

NGZ: do NOT deserve His body as Communion.

My apologies NGZ for asking the above question -- as SuziQ pointed out If you truly believe that what you received was the Body and Blood of Christ, then you SHOULD consider the Catholic faith. Most non-Catholic churches look at communion as simply a 'symbol' or something nice to do to remember Jesus's Sacrifice. We believe in Jesus's words to his Apostles at that Last Supper. "This is my Body; this is My Blood".

if you have cultural holdback, please consider the Orthodox Churches - who along with the Catholic are part of the One Holy Apostolic Catholic Church.

Since you, NGZ, truly believe that Jesus Christ's body is present in the Eucharist, my humble opinion is that you would not be happy in a place where this is considered just a symbol or just bread -- that is the view in the Presbyterians groups and others but not in the traditional Anglican or Lutheran worlds where they consider the Real Presence in the Eucharist.

[Cronos]

NGZ: He knew why we took His body. It was pure and simply for Him. We said NO MAN can tell we are not yours.

I am overjoyed that you believe in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Christ, as surroundedbyblue said, came for all of us, He is the savior of the world -- those who choose Him, choose Him. By your statements and strong belief in the presence of Christ's body in the Eucharist, it does indicate that you would never be happy in any place but in orthodoxy -- whether Catholic (Latin or Maronite or other Eastern Catholic Rite) or Orthodox or Oriental or Assyrian. You may be at peace in a traditional Lutheran or Anglican church too, but in a group that denies the body of Christ in the Eucharist, you will not, in my humble opinion, feel satisfied at just a symbol.

[Cronos]

"Evangelical" has meant different things at different times and places. Not so far back in our history, it was synonymous with "protestant". Post WWII, it became the name for an ecumenical movement among conservative low church protestants, who didn't want to be seen as grumpy fundamentalists.

Correct. I'll just add that this name change only really happened in the Anglophone world. In Germany the Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland and in Poland the Ewangelico Augsburgu Zbór are the names for the Lutheran Church

[Cronos]

among both

well spoken

[Cronos]

The Nicene Creed's a good first filter for stuff like that. -- unfortunately that would not hold water with our Baptist brothers or with Oneness Pentecostals or Adventists (I think).

[Cronos]

Soon after 9/11 Scott Hahn led my nephew, a NYC firefighter, and his family to the Catholic church. Read about it here: www.cny.org/stories/

Wonderful story! Thank you for sharing it and God bless you!

[mdmathis6]

You said “well spoken”. I think you were being sarcastic but implied sarcasm doesn’t come across well in written form as it is communicated better with verbal tonality and facial expression.

I don’t keep a “rules for proper writing” book constantly at the ready and I recognize the sentence structure was weak.(perhaps “ pedophilia and other perversions are occuring at distubing rates amongst all Christian clergy....” or “ Or sins of a sexual nature are afflicting increasing numbers of all Christian clergy when taken as a group.”)

If this world is to be judged, judgment first starts in the House of God. The wolves need to be taken out and God will not hold the sheep guiltless if they won’t act to hold the various religious hierarchies responsible for the apostacy they are inflicting on them.

[Cronos]

Actually, no, I did not intend sarcasm -- I said well spoken that you pointed out that all Christian groups face similar issues. The fact that you said these are common issues for all of us to face rather than passing the buck seemed, to me, to be the right path to us stepping forth together as soldiers of Christ

[Elsie]

Yes, but until that time, can't we try NOT to sin.

Of course!

---

1 John 2:1
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

[Elsie]

Yes, but until that time, can't we try NOT to sin.

Ha!Ha!!HA!!!HA ha HAAAHAHAHA!!!!!

You've sinned AGAIN!

You are MINE: you may as well GIVE UP!

[MarDav]

Yep. Find a place where you can worship and serve—it’s what the Lord did.

[Elsie]

Sometimes I opt to go to a churches Wed. evening bible classes for a first visit. They will recognize immediately a new face....

Or an evening service on Sunday.

Once, on a ski trip to Winter Park, I went to a small church in tabernash,co on a Sunday evening.

If a saucer had landed in the parking lot and a grey had walked in, the looks would have been similar!

(You don't get many 'visitors' in the evening service!)

Anyway, they warmly welcomed me as I told them I was just there to worship along with them.

It was a great time, and them folks felt like family.

[Elsie]

It was a great time, and them folks felt like family.

http://my.homewithgod.com/heavenlymidis2/family.html