We are officially a family without a church

[Steve Epley]

Originally Posted by Originalist

There are no tithes in the NT.

The root of most spiritual problems is money. Just saying. That is wanting to keep God's money.

[ILG]

Originally Posted by CC1

Yup, now that the whole pesky bothersome part of having a pastor, teacher, elders, etc that the Bible talks about are gone out of his life.

I always find it amusing when folks post like you just did that somehow it is better for people not to be a part of a church even though the epistles clearly teach the role of pastors, teachers, etc in our lives.

You were without a pastor for a little while when you left the UPC weren't you?

[ILG]

Originally Posted by CC1

Ephesians chapter 4 beginning at verse 11 speaks to the role of the church, pastors, teaches, etc in the christian's life.

This is not to say there won't be a time in a person's life when they are between churches but those times should be few and far between and should not be for an extended period of time.

My observation over many decades is that if folks don't plug into another church in a timely manner they usually start to enjoy pastoring themselves even though it is not the biblical pattern for their spiritual growth.

Who is the pastor's pastor? (Especially if it is an independent church?) Who is the general superintendent's pastor?

I guess for me, since we pastored a Home Missions church for 5 years and an established work for 5 years and essentially nobody above us gave a rip, we were without a pastor all those years except for ourselves. This "You need a pastor" stuff seems like a crock. I wanted a pastor/mentor all that time. But could I actually find someone to make that investment? Ha! Some people are just orphans not by choice. Then, they get used to it.

[ILG]

Originally Posted by jfrog

Sometimes it is better to have no pastor at all than to have a bad pastor... If the way you read the bible doesn't allow you to admit that then you need to take a step back from your dogma and start living in the world that God actually created.

Amen, Brother Frog!

[Praxeas]

Is there a Spanish speaking community you can reach out to there?

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by Steve Epley

The root of most spiritual problems is money. Just saying. That is wanting to keep God's money.

Yes i agree that money is usually the problem. But it is normally the ministers who have the problem and not the members.

[Originalist]

Originally Posted by ILG

Who is the pastor's pastor? (Especially if it is an independent church?) Who is the general superintendent's pastor?

I guess for me, since we pastored a Home Missions church for 5 years and an established work for 5 years and essentially nobody above us gave a rip, we were without a pastor all those years except for ourselves. This "You need a pastor" stuff seems like a crock. I wanted a pastor/mentor all that time. But could I actually find someone to make that investment? Ha! Some people are just orphans not by choice. Then, they get used to it.

I've felt the same way for years. This last pastor certainly was no mentor for me. Just don't miss a service , pay your tithes, and everything will be just fine.

[Truthseeker]

Originally Posted by Steve Epley

The root of most spiritual problems is money. Just saying. That is wanting to keep God's money.

Like ministers who gain by extortion with threats?

[kclee4jc]

Originally Posted by CC1

Yup, now that the whole pesky bothersome part of having a pastor, teacher, elders, etc that the Bible talks about are gone out of his life.

I always find it amusing when folks post like you just did that somehow it is better for people not to be a part of a church even though the epistles clearly teach the role of pastors, teachers, etc in our lives.

I am not amused by anything that seeker posts.

[Steve Epley]

I am not going to judge the original poster of this thread since I know nothing of him nor his pastor. But I can tell you from a pastor's standpoint some folks won't allow you to pastor them. You can never do enough or spend enough time with them. You love them but they are so self absorbed it is useless. And yes after a time you just have to move on to those who want your help and allow these type of folks to do whatever they are going to do. And hope for the best. My experience they generall succeed in destroying their families and the majority of the time they either backslide or windup in some false church decieved. But in techo land today the computer becomes their pastor and church and they hang out with renegades who hate all that is true and holy. But they do find comfort from folks just like themselves.
Yes there are self absorbed pastors who only think of a paycheck like most saints I know. No one criticizes a saint for expected a good pay check or a raise or nice things only the preacher. You reckon some still have the Catholic mentality of the oath of poverty the priest takes? Think about it.