Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean
Sis, my wife and I bailed on Church a couple of years ago after 33 years of constant attendance and ministry. We have not decided what to do yet and have the same "church hopper" thoughts.
We are well grounded in our faith and just needed a little time to sort some stuff out.
We will probably visit churches for a while with prayerful consideration of where the next congregation is for us to call home.
Why dont you guys just visit random churches without a commitment?(get to know a few strangers and shake a few hands).
Our future congregation must be the perfect will of God for us this next time. We are not in a hurry to join anything now.
What we are doing is not for everyone though,
many folks end up walking away from their faith when they take a sabbatical, thus they should find fellowship no matter what.
I recommend a church with decent standards preached though. They(standards) are in a way, connected to our walk with God.(my wife and I keep our standards, church or no church).
There is absolutely nothing wrong with visiting random churches without a commitment at all!
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I agree with Sean about trying out a church before making a move, but I think there needs to be better closure then just leaving. I am a pastor to a church and I am accountable to the people who I serve. I am not domineering and I want people to freely make their own choices, but at the same time people need to communicate. We should not just up and leave without giving the spiritual leader or leaders a chance to bring about some kind of reconciliation. Even in the secular world it is frowned on to quit a job without notice. Your church family is supposed to be people who you love and not just some employer. You may be surprised of the chain reaction caused by church decisions. Don't you think that God cares where you go to church? Church has been made to be too much about a place to be served rather than being a body of believers with the purpose of serving others. By all means if there is somewhere else that would be more purposeful for a person to be then go, but let it be done decently and in order. Jesus didn't leave things undone when He left this earth. I was hurt at the last church I attended before pastoring now, and I went on 2 years after the offenses. I have found blessing from my previous brothers and sisters in the Lord because I have burned no bridges. The pastor from my previous church who I struggled not to be resentful has became a close friend. This morning he texts me, out of the blue, which is not the usual thing and he said he is praying for my church that we have revival today. Tonight my nine year old son was filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost for the first time. Don't take this decision lightly. Problems are everywhere we must be found faithful.