A question for my fellow Christians.

Post Reply New Topic

I am a newbie, and Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. That being said, I have had an issue for the last several years that I really want to resolve.

Church Hopping. I will attend a church for a time, then get completely scared to commit to that particular church. This has been going on since about 2003/2004. I was not raised in church, but was first exposed to Christianity when I was 12 years old (I'm 36 now), and accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior at that age. I of course went my own way for a while when I got older, and rededicated my life in 2003. That's when all of this started.

I live in the Nashville, TN area which is the center of the Bible Belt and there are numerous churches around here. That being said, I have been to many types of churches (Baptist, Catholic, Charismatic, etc.) and I have never found a complete fit. It seems as if there are so many differences in doctrines that it gets so confusing.

Any of you ever run into this, and were able to conquer it?

Looking from the outside in: Why are you conflating religious organizations with personal faith?

Your core beliefs will never exactly match that of the doctrine of any particular church: you are a individual.

I think when the religious people show up they will confirm what I say: You are not defined by the church you attend, but by the beliefs you hold.

So either most Christian churches will do, or none at all. You can believe and practice your faith without ever stepping inside a church.

If your looking for that kind of fit in an organized structure - good luck. I'd just say read the bible through a few times, read the Nag Hammadi if you can get yourself through it, read some high theology of the likes of Michael Novak - from that perspective you might really be stuck on the outside but, if that's so, maybe its for the better.

Well, the type of church you're comfortable in is going to depend on the beliefs you hold. Like Fuzzy said, you're not likely to find an absolutely perfect fit, but visiting different churches to see what fits you best is not a bad idea. Eventually you might want to settle on one, though.

Sometimes it is enough to find a church with a conservative doctrine that accepts you.

So much for the idea of church welcoming all with open arms.

I have never been a member of any church, however I do routinely attend one with infrequent regularity. A question I would present is: how firm are you in your own convictions? If you are still evolving in your faith perhaps your affiliation with religion should evolve with it. My particular church doesn't press for membership, and I suspect many would prefer you to come as a visitor rather than not come at all. There are a number of faiths that are quite tolerant of divergent beliefs, Unitarian comes to mind. Also, to what degree are you tolerant of other beliefs? Food for thought, no more.

i go to a christian church every 2nd Sunday i also listen to a radio station that is christian i listen to it 24/7. i enjoy it been there for 4 months nearly it will be my life now and i love the lord Jesus Christ and is my saviour too love to worship him also. you can go to any church even though your christian

All the churches the OP mentioned attending were fairly conservative, so I would guess they have relatively more conservative views. Not my thing personally, but that's OK. People should attend church where they feel comfortable. If it makes you feel better, the church I attend welcomes everyone with open arms, and there are plenty of others like it. But it attracts a very liberal crowd, and some people would prefer to go somewhere else.

Few churches will turn anyone away from attending their services, but not all churches have people there that understand you other than a rough mutual undertanding of what their faith is. Some churches you mesh well with and some you don't. That goes double when ASDs are involved.

Yeah, I learned from a young age that it seemed to live completely outside any known convention. I think that's changed more these days, hopefully as people get to understand it more and the more whiny emo NT's get diagnosed with it the more people will just look at it as normal; it might be still lacking but its a lot better than either no reference but The Rainman or people getting a huge rush of fear over the unknown.

If you have AS, finding a church that "fits" is hard because you simply don't feel like you belong in most social situations.

I'd suggest a small congregation (10-20) so that you have more intimate contact with other church members. If they learn you have AS, they are likely to be more accepting and since they have more of a chance to get to know you, you can form better relationships with them.

I went to a decent sized church at first, but never felt like I belonged because of "normal" social situations. I went out to Wyoming for a few years and was in a very small church where I really got to know the other people, and I felt more a part of the body in that situation than anyplace else I've been.

Funny; I was just about to suggest the exact opposite. This is going to be hard to explain, but I'll try: after years of going to small-ish churches, I am now going to a very big church, and I'm far more comfortable. Maybe that's because there's no *expectation*, either from myself or externally, that I'll "get to know people" during the service. I go in, I do the corporate worship thing, I leave. Simple. Although i don't like crowds at all, I manage by sitting near the back and bolting for the door the instant the service is over. I don't have to interact with anybody, and I don't.

That said, most Christians (and in fact, the leadership of this church) would say that's not the point of corporate worship. The point (besides the fact that we are commanded to do it) is to "lift each other up" and be supportive of each other and etc. This church, and many other large churches, do the "small group" thing, and encourage everybody to participate in one. Me? Not a chance. I don't *want* to get to know anybody that well, and I certainly don't want them to get to know *me* that well.

Just my $.02.

www.brookwoodchurch.org

If you don't want to go into a church building or can't find one you can go on this one and listen to podcast of sermons.

I'm glad to hear you have chosen Jesus. This isn't the best site to ask these kinds of questions since a lot of people on here are far left-wing and atheistic.

Try going on this site.
http://www.raptureready.com/
I'm on there as well with the same username.

Its a really nice community of Christians.

left-wing or atheistic.

I am very much a fiscal conservative.

The two don't necessarily go together. Visit my church and you'll find some of the farthest left-wing people around, but all very devout Christians. I'm almost certainly the most conservative person in the congregation, and I would probably be classified as at the very least liberal-leaning. And there are a fair number of right-wing atheists as well.