What did Jesus do? Walked about, interacted with the people around him. Noticed folk (or they noticed him). Smiled and said Salaam (or hello), perhaps, to them. Observed what they were doing. Got involved, but not in an oppressive way, just interested.
Early on in my Way life, I remember chatting to an E-Corpsman or perhaps he could have been WC but a Brit, a nice chap, can't remember his name now. We were up in Gartmore, sleeping on camp beds in the gym - so early on in that purchase. And I remember "Chappie's" words: "If you want to help people, you've got to really love them." (Whoever he was, I hope he has escaped TWI and has his brain still intact.)
That love and care will come out in our actions. Each person you talk to, smile at, is special. Remember too: Jesus died for that person. How special is that?
As City Pastors in the city in which I live, our role includes going out on the streets and interacting with whoever we find. The first part of our patrol is often having a chat with people begging in the streets. Yes, we look at them. We talk to them. We see them as human beings, and don't let our eyes slide over them like a heap of rubbish in the corner. Sometimes, we offer a hot drink and a cereal bar, or warm hats and other clothing. But the main thing with this group of people is: we notice them.
If you see a beggar in the street, stop and have a chat. You're perfectly safe; they won't attack you. If they're willing to talk, you might be surprised at their life story and what has made them become street-homeless (there might be a bit of "embroidery" in their story, but maybe not too much). You don't have to give them money, but they might appreciate a sandwich, a coffee or a chocolate bar.
I love your stories and learn much from them.
Here your community service volunteer work just highlights again to me how many avenues there are to serve outside of TWI available.
For especially former Way Corps who have desire to serve and have been taught that the only true avenues of genuine service are a Corps assignment or their hierarchy.
No I don’t want to serve on my knees in front of a golden image of VPW.
Yes I want to serve in the needy areas of my community where I live. And evidence Christ through fruit not pitching a class.
I sing with a church music group. This year, I've asked if a group of us can go into a nearby care home (where I have an old friend) and sing carols for a little while. So that's what I'm doing on 20 Dec (I'm even cancelling an afternoon's work to be able to do it). It will bring much joy to the residents.
I'm also serving on Christmas Day by fetching people for a Christmas Dinner and Party, put on by (mostly) Christians in the city, for people who would otherwise be on their own. There will be (so far) about 130 guests and there are dozens of people willing to lend a hand to put the party on: present wrappers, vege peelers, cooks, table setters, table hosts, fetchers of guests, others to take guests home, helpers for those who need a little extra attention for special needs such as toileting, washers-up... many hands make light work. Some have volunteered for more than one role. Everyone says it's a jolly occasion. Some volunteers have been doing it for many years.
Additionally, quite a few churches are hosting Christmas lunches.
Recently, October or November, as a church we held a Saturday morning for local tidying action. We hire three big skips, put at different locations, and people can bring rubbish to toss into them. The church is in one of the poorest areas of the city, and it's not easy for some to dispose of the broken fridge, the wretched old mattress, the table that finally broke, etc. Rather than dump in the street or leave to moulder in the back garden, we help keep the area tidy and more attractive to live in. The skips are manned, and those not manning skips were litter picking in the nearby streets and in the little shopping area. Local residents are amazed that we should do this - free! And we tell them that we do it because we love them, Jesus loves them and cares about them. And how else can we help them (as individuals)?
Recently, some members of the church have seen a need for housing vulnerable people and have got involved with "Hope into Action." I am on the prayer and support team for this. Idea is to buy a house (=get an investor), furnish it, house some vulnerable people, and over two years mentor them, help them grow into responsible adults, and move on with their lives. There will be one social worker involved, and there will be two "befrienders" per tenant. Our first house has been bought, many members of the church helped with cleaning, painting, getting the garden up straight, and furnishing. First tenants move in very soon; three girls who have been in local authority care for some years. The tenants will know we are from the local church (it's actually 50yards across the road from the church!) but there is no pressure to come along, convert, or any such thing. It's just - loving them into becoming responsible adults. Bravo, Rob, for this outreach! https://www.hopeintoaction.org.uk/
I sing with a church music group. This year, I've asked if a group of us can go into a nearby care home (where I have an old friend) and sing carols for a little while. So that's what I'm doing on 20 Dec (I'm even cancelling an afternoon's work to be able to do it). It will bring much joy to the residents.
I'm also serving on Christmas Day by fetching people for a Christmas Dinner and Party, put on by (mostly) Christians in the city, for people who would otherwise be on their own. There will be (so far) about 130 guests and there are dozens of people willing to lend a hand to put the party on: present wrappers, vege peelers, cooks, table setters, table hosts, fetchers of guests, others to take guests home, helpers for those who need a little extra attention for special needs such as toileting, washers-up... many hands make light work. Some have volunteered for more than one role. Everyone says it's a jolly occasion. Some volunteers have been doing it for many years.
Additionally, quite a few churches are hosting Christmas lunches.
Recently, October or November, as a church we held a Saturday morning for local tidying action. We hire three big skips, put at different locations, and people can bring rubbish to toss into them. The church is in one of the poorest areas of the city, and it's not easy for some to dispose of the broken fridge, the wretched old mattress, the table that finally broke, etc. Rather than dump in the street or leave to moulder in the back garden, we help keep the area tidy and more attractive to live in. The skips are manned, and those not manning skips were litter picking in the nearby streets and in the little shopping area. Local residents are amazed that we should do this - free! And we tell them that we do it because we love them, Jesus loves them and cares about them. And how else can we help them (as individuals)?
Recently, some members of the church have seen a need for housing vulnerable people and have got involved with "Hope into Action." I am on the prayer and support team for this. Idea is to buy a house (=get an investor), furnish it, house some vulnerable people, and over two years mentor them, help them grow into responsible adults, and move on with their lives. There will be one social worker involved, and there will be two "befrienders" per tenant. Our first house has been bought, many members of the church helped with cleaning, painting, getting the garden up straight, and furnishing. First tenants move in very soon; three girls who have been in local authority care for some years. The tenants will know we are from the local church (it's actually 50yards across the road from the church!) but there is no pressure to come along, convert, or any such thing. It's just - loving them into becoming responsible adults. Bravo, Rob, for this outreach! https://www.hopeintoaction.org.uk/
So many ways to serve the lost and lonely.
Thats awesome, just know you have, and continue to inspire me to greater works. Thanks!
I sing with a church music group. This year, I've asked if a group of us can go into a nearby care home (where I have an old friend) and sing carols for a little while. So that's what I'm doing on 20 Dec (I'm even cancelling an afternoon's work to be able to do it). It will bring much joy to the residents.
I'm also serving on Christmas Day by fetching people for a Christmas Dinner and Party, put on by (mostly) Christians in the city, for people who would otherwise be on their own. There will be (so far) about 130 guests and there are dozens of people willing to lend a hand to put the party on: present wrappers, vege peelers, cooks, table setters, table hosts, fetchers of guests, others to take guests home, helpers for those who need a little extra attention for special needs such as toileting, washers-up... many hands make light work. Some have volunteered for more than one role. Everyone says it's a jolly occasion. Some volunteers have been doing it for many years.
Additionally, quite a few churches are hosting Christmas lunches.
Recently, October or November, as a church we held a Saturday morning for local tidying action. We hire three big skips, put at different locations, and people can bring rubbish to toss into them. The church is in one of the poorest areas of the city, and it's not easy for some to dispose of the broken fridge, the wretched old mattress, the table that finally broke, etc. Rather than dump in the street or leave to moulder in the back garden, we help keep the area tidy and more attractive to live in. The skips are manned, and those not manning skips were litter picking in the nearby streets and in the little shopping area. Local residents are amazed that we should do this - free! And we tell them that we do it because we love them, Jesus loves them and cares about them. And how else can we help them (as individuals)?
Recently, some members of the church have seen a need for housing vulnerable people and have got involved with "Hope into Action." I am on the prayer and support team for this. Idea is to buy a house (=get an investor), furnish it, house some vulnerable people, and over two years mentor them, help them grow into responsible adults, and move on with their lives. There will be one social worker involved, and there will be two "befrienders" per tenant. Our first house has been bought, many members of the church helped with cleaning, painting, getting the garden up straight, and furnishing. First tenants move in very soon; three girls who have been in local authority care for some years. The tenants will know we are from the local church (it's actually 50yards across the road from the church!) but there is no pressure to come along, convert, or any such thing. It's just - loving them into becoming responsible adults. Bravo, Rob, for this outreach! https://www.hopeintoaction.org.uk/
So many ways to serve the lost and lonely.
I've noticed how so much of what you do is in concert with people you know. It shows the value of being with others when you want to demonstrate God's love in serving your community
I lost my job in big layoffs in 2008 when the economy tanked. Eventually I set up as a self-employed "go-fer" and doing anything that came to hand - principally gardening, but it's anything that people need. One thing leads to another. So I've done people's gardens and gone on to paper their rooms or paint something; I fix small things, attach rails, mend broken stuff, sew on buttons; I take people to hospitals and other appointments; clean their houses and carpets; draft legal documents; help claim government grants and other financial assistance; I currently hold power of attorney for some elderly clients - well, only one now, the husband died - and I organised his funeral and everything around that; I visit my clients in hospital and read or pray with them as they are about to die; and I do very much more for people.
Nearly all my clients are very elderly. They may have adult (retired age) children, but they don't live near. Or they may have no-one at all. I've noticed that many of my clients are themselves Christians but often haven't been to church for a long, long time because they can't get there. So we have "spiritual" conversations sometimes.
I get to know their families and major contacts, and they're happy for me to help, and I can bless them too by keeping an eye on their elderly loved ones. And so this circle of love and trust keeps expanding.
When a client dies, moves to live with family, or move to live in a care home (or otherwise dispenses with my services), I see that an an opportunity. And I say, "Okay, Dad, who do you want me to serve now?" and out of the blue someone will ring and ask if I can help. They may have a very old flyer that I put out when I first started, or a friend gave them my number, or they saw me working in someone's garden... I never advertise now. And I always have exactly the amount of work that I need. No more, and no less. Just what I can handle.
Don't you think that it's so amazing that God would meet my need (to work, to have an income) and match me with some elderly person who needs work done? I have to say: God is the best employment agency. And the best employer!
Another thing I noticed is that I quickly become the trusted person that my client turns to. God puts me in position and we build up a relationship. And then some disaster strikes: client gets ill, has a stroke, a fall; etc etc - and I'm the go-to person. Because that trust relationship is already there.
All this comes, Charity, from a simple trust relationship. I have only my God to rely on. No-one else supports me, gives me money. I put myself totally at God's service and say, "What do you want me to do?" And a door opens for me. And I go through it and see who's on the other side. No plan, just: How can I help?
It seems that everything that I've done in my life points to where I am now, serving in the capacity that I can now.
All my clients and their families know I am a committed Christian and that I help them as an expression of that Christian commitment. I don't go on about it in conversation, no heavy "witnessing" sessions, but when we chat, I touch on what I do and things I pray for, and let my actions bear witness for me.
And the benefit for me is that the more I put my trust in God, the more trustworthy he becomes. No, that's not right. I mean, the more I trust God, the more I am able to trust God in and for the future.
I've noticed how so much of what you do is in concert with people you know. It shows the value of being with others when you want to demonstrate God's love in serving your community
Praise the lord, when I was looking for work in 2006, God opened an amazing door for me to return to the legal profession, found me friends, found me somewhere to live (rented room) and then a house (to buy). The people I initially stayed with belonged to a church and invited me along. I went with some fear and a lot of suspicion.
And I wept through the whole of that first service. It was healing, clean tears, washing away the hurt and pain of TWI. I could feel myself being strengthened. I felt clean, safe. Nobody asked me a thing, just passed me some tissues and clearly realised talking wasn't what was needed. Decided to go back the next week - every week for the next 6 months I wept at some point.
After a year or two, I was part of a church plant in a more deprived part of my city. The original commitment was, if I recall right, three years, but most of us are still at the church plant, which is now very strongly established and dominant in bringing help of all kinds to the community.
We do do lots of things together as a church family, and they're fun. And we do lots of things in our individual workplaces too.
Charity, if you can, find a good, outward-facing church, engaged with the community around it, that will build you up first, so that you can then go out and help others. It's as you do that, that you will find out how God works in you.
Charity, if you can, find a good, outward-facing church, engaged with the community around it, that will build you up first, so that you can then go out and help others. It's as you do that, that you will find out how God works in you.
Thank you Charity. What you've said spoke to a longing that's been hiding beneath the surface, too afraid to come out. I know this because of how my emotions immediately began to rise and the tears began to fall. You also wrote, "All this comes, Charity, from a simple trust relationship. I have only my God to rely on."
I know we are social beings and that the ability to trust is essential in healthy relationships. Knowing this and living this can be two totally different things as it is for me. This is why I need God and Jesus Christ in my life because of the fear I have around both these areas.
"I mean, the more I trust God, the more I am able to trust God in and for the future." is another thing you shared. For me, my first step will be to rely both on the love that God always has for us as well as on the love we were rooted and grounded in when we were born again. (Perfect love casts out fear.) My second step is to attend the church I know fits your description above.
My second step is to attend the church I know fits your description above.
Brilliant! Take your time, choose the right place, which will be one with a definite no-condemnation basis. You don't need to tell anyone your background unless you are very comfortable with that (nobody knows mine! After 16 years in that church!). How are you welcomed? How do the people behave towards one another? What things do they engage in, in the community and wider afield (read the "mission notices" in the church)? Does it feel a peaceful church? Do you feel peaceful there?
You may find that there are things that raise your hackles - they pray to Jesus? They think Jesus is God? They believe (or don't) in water baptism? And so?
Is there a good and encouraging gospel message, that uplifts and doesn't condemn? Do they have a newcomers' group, to introduce you to the church and its activities?
Question is: are they loving and supportive towards each other, in a healthy way? Suspend your judgment; see how they act. They may be wrong in some things; you were, too, in TWI. We're all of us - well, most - trying to do our best. Try a few churches if you need. Or ask God to show you right now where the best place for you is right now. (Your problem with this might be understanding, and blocking out the "chatter" in your head.) Do you feel peaceful, or refreshed, or some sense of belonging or wanting to be there?
Brilliant! Take your time, choose the right place, which will be one with a definite no-condemnation basis. You don't need to tell anyone your background unless you are very comfortable with that (nobody knows mine! After 16 years in that church!). How are you welcomed? How do the people behave towards one another? What things do they engage in, in the community and wider afield (read the "mission notices" in the church)? Does it feel a peaceful church? Do you feel peaceful there?
You may find that there are things that raise your hackles - they pray to Jesus? They think Jesus is God? They believe (or don't) in water baptism? And so?
Is there a good and encouraging gospel message, that uplifts and doesn't condemn? Do they have a newcomers' group, to introduce you to the church and its activities?
Question is: are they loving and supportive towards each other, in a healthy way? Suspend your judgment; see how they act. They may be wrong in some things; you were, too, in TWI. We're all of us - well, most - trying to do our best. Try a few churches if you need. Or ask God to show you right now where the best place for you is right now. (Your problem with this might be understanding, and blocking out the "chatter" in your head.) Do you feel peaceful, or refreshed, or some sense of belonging or wanting to be there?
Hi, I've been to this church a few times in the past and I know how welcoming and accepting they are even if you believe differently about their beliefs. They were involved in community outreach as well. The senior pastor was Ed Kolar, and he retired this past year. Interesting thing though: years ago, he and I talked about the trinity. The discussion mainly focused on the Holy Spirit part. Well I met up with him after he retired, and he no longer believes in the trinity. Without any help from me, he bought the book "One God and One Lord" by Schoenheit, Lynn and a third author. He teaches online on Schoenheit's ministry's website, I think every other Sunday even though some of his beliefs are different (e.g., original sin, sin nature). Kind of blew my mind when I heard this.
Anyway, there is a new pastor now - someone who was involved in the church since I first went. I'll get to see how things are now - what has changed and what has remained the same.
Recommended Posts
Top Posters In This Topic
11
11
14
38
Popular Days
Dec 8
27
Dec 10
21
Dec 9
16
Dec 14
7
Top Posters In This Topic
Twinky 11 posts
chockfull 11 posts
OldSkool 14 posts
Charity 38 posts
Popular Days
Dec 8 2022
27 posts
Dec 10 2022
21 posts
Dec 9 2022
16 posts
Dec 14 2022
7 posts
Popular Posts
Twinky
I sing with a church music group. This year, I've asked if a group of us can go into a nearby care home (where I have an old friend) and sing carols for a little while. So that's what I'm doing on 2
OldSkool
I agree that working scripture is a good thing to do, hands down. However, TWI placed study on a pedestal that doesn't fit. That we have a bible is cool, never been easier to study and we should do so
Twinky
These days, I'm a s/emp gardener. I just love being in gardens and helping plants "be their best." I learn so much about God, and about living, from tending plants. Plant something in the rig
chockfull
I love your stories and learn much from them.
Here your community service volunteer work just highlights again to me how many avenues there are to serve outside of TWI available.
For especially former Way Corps who have desire to serve and have been taught that the only true avenues of genuine service are a Corps assignment or their hierarchy.
No I don’t want to serve on my knees in front of a golden image of VPW.
Yes I want to serve in the needy areas of my community where I live. And evidence Christ through fruit not pitching a class.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
I sing with a church music group. This year, I've asked if a group of us can go into a nearby care home (where I have an old friend) and sing carols for a little while. So that's what I'm doing on 20 Dec (I'm even cancelling an afternoon's work to be able to do it). It will bring much joy to the residents.
I'm also serving on Christmas Day by fetching people for a Christmas Dinner and Party, put on by (mostly) Christians in the city, for people who would otherwise be on their own. There will be (so far) about 130 guests and there are dozens of people willing to lend a hand to put the party on: present wrappers, vege peelers, cooks, table setters, table hosts, fetchers of guests, others to take guests home, helpers for those who need a little extra attention for special needs such as toileting, washers-up... many hands make light work. Some have volunteered for more than one role. Everyone says it's a jolly occasion. Some volunteers have been doing it for many years.
Additionally, quite a few churches are hosting Christmas lunches.
Recently, October or November, as a church we held a Saturday morning for local tidying action. We hire three big skips, put at different locations, and people can bring rubbish to toss into them. The church is in one of the poorest areas of the city, and it's not easy for some to dispose of the broken fridge, the wretched old mattress, the table that finally broke, etc. Rather than dump in the street or leave to moulder in the back garden, we help keep the area tidy and more attractive to live in. The skips are manned, and those not manning skips were litter picking in the nearby streets and in the little shopping area. Local residents are amazed that we should do this - free! And we tell them that we do it because we love them, Jesus loves them and cares about them. And how else can we help them (as individuals)?
Recently, some members of the church have seen a need for housing vulnerable people and have got involved with "Hope into Action." I am on the prayer and support team for this. Idea is to buy a house (=get an investor), furnish it, house some vulnerable people, and over two years mentor them, help them grow into responsible adults, and move on with their lives. There will be one social worker involved, and there will be two "befrienders" per tenant. Our first house has been bought, many members of the church helped with cleaning, painting, getting the garden up straight, and furnishing. First tenants move in very soon; three girls who have been in local authority care for some years. The tenants will know we are from the local church (it's actually 50yards across the road from the church!) but there is no pressure to come along, convert, or any such thing. It's just - loving them into becoming responsible adults. Bravo, Rob, for this outreach! https://www.hopeintoaction.org.uk/
So many ways to serve the lost and lonely.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
OldSkool
Thats awesome, just know you have, and continue to inspire me to greater works. Thanks!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Charity
I've noticed how so much of what you do is in concert with people you know. It shows the value of being with others when you want to demonstrate God's love in serving your community
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Thanks, Charity.
I do a lot of things very quietly on my own.
I lost my job in big layoffs in 2008 when the economy tanked. Eventually I set up as a self-employed "go-fer" and doing anything that came to hand - principally gardening, but it's anything that people need. One thing leads to another. So I've done people's gardens and gone on to paper their rooms or paint something; I fix small things, attach rails, mend broken stuff, sew on buttons; I take people to hospitals and other appointments; clean their houses and carpets; draft legal documents; help claim government grants and other financial assistance; I currently hold power of attorney for some elderly clients - well, only one now, the husband died - and I organised his funeral and everything around that; I visit my clients in hospital and read or pray with them as they are about to die; and I do very much more for people.
Nearly all my clients are very elderly. They may have adult (retired age) children, but they don't live near. Or they may have no-one at all. I've noticed that many of my clients are themselves Christians but often haven't been to church for a long, long time because they can't get there. So we have "spiritual" conversations sometimes.
I get to know their families and major contacts, and they're happy for me to help, and I can bless them too by keeping an eye on their elderly loved ones. And so this circle of love and trust keeps expanding.
When a client dies, moves to live with family, or move to live in a care home (or otherwise dispenses with my services), I see that an an opportunity. And I say, "Okay, Dad, who do you want me to serve now?" and out of the blue someone will ring and ask if I can help. They may have a very old flyer that I put out when I first started, or a friend gave them my number, or they saw me working in someone's garden... I never advertise now. And I always have exactly the amount of work that I need. No more, and no less. Just what I can handle.
Don't you think that it's so amazing that God would meet my need (to work, to have an income) and match me with some elderly person who needs work done? I have to say: God is the best employment agency. And the best employer!
Another thing I noticed is that I quickly become the trusted person that my client turns to. God puts me in position and we build up a relationship. And then some disaster strikes: client gets ill, has a stroke, a fall; etc etc - and I'm the go-to person. Because that trust relationship is already there.
All this comes, Charity, from a simple trust relationship. I have only my God to rely on. No-one else supports me, gives me money. I put myself totally at God's service and say, "What do you want me to do?" And a door opens for me. And I go through it and see who's on the other side. No plan, just: How can I help?
It seems that everything that I've done in my life points to where I am now, serving in the capacity that I can now.
All my clients and their families know I am a committed Christian and that I help them as an expression of that Christian commitment. I don't go on about it in conversation, no heavy "witnessing" sessions, but when we chat, I touch on what I do and things I pray for, and let my actions bear witness for me.
And the benefit for me is that the more I put my trust in God, the more trustworthy he becomes. No, that's not right. I mean, the more I trust God, the more I am able to trust God in and for the future.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Praise the lord, when I was looking for work in 2006, God opened an amazing door for me to return to the legal profession, found me friends, found me somewhere to live (rented room) and then a house (to buy). The people I initially stayed with belonged to a church and invited me along. I went with some fear and a lot of suspicion.
And I wept through the whole of that first service. It was healing, clean tears, washing away the hurt and pain of TWI. I could feel myself being strengthened. I felt clean, safe. Nobody asked me a thing, just passed me some tissues and clearly realised talking wasn't what was needed. Decided to go back the next week - every week for the next 6 months I wept at some point.
After a year or two, I was part of a church plant in a more deprived part of my city. The original commitment was, if I recall right, three years, but most of us are still at the church plant, which is now very strongly established and dominant in bringing help of all kinds to the community.
We do do lots of things together as a church family, and they're fun. And we do lots of things in our individual workplaces too.
Charity, if you can, find a good, outward-facing church, engaged with the community around it, that will build you up first, so that you can then go out and help others. It's as you do that, that you will find out how God works in you.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Sorry if those posts were a bit long and a bit too self-revelatory.
Well no. I'm not sorry. I got a life after TWI and I'm proud of it.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Charity
Thank you Charity. What you've said spoke to a longing that's been hiding beneath the surface, too afraid to come out. I know this because of how my emotions immediately began to rise and the tears began to fall. You also wrote, "All this comes, Charity, from a simple trust relationship. I have only my God to rely on."
I know we are social beings and that the ability to trust is essential in healthy relationships. Knowing this and living this can be two totally different things as it is for me. This is why I need God and Jesus Christ in my life because of the fear I have around both these areas.
"I mean, the more I trust God, the more I am able to trust God in and for the future." is another thing you shared. For me, my first step will be to rely both on the love that God always has for us as well as on the love we were rooted and grounded in when we were born again. (Perfect love casts out fear.) My second step is to attend the church I know fits your description above.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Twinky
Brilliant! Take your time, choose the right place, which will be one with a definite no-condemnation basis. You don't need to tell anyone your background unless you are very comfortable with that (nobody knows mine! After 16 years in that church!). How are you welcomed? How do the people behave towards one another? What things do they engage in, in the community and wider afield (read the "mission notices" in the church)? Does it feel a peaceful church? Do you feel peaceful there?
You may find that there are things that raise your hackles - they pray to Jesus? They think Jesus is God? They believe (or don't) in water baptism? And so?
Is there a good and encouraging gospel message, that uplifts and doesn't condemn? Do they have a newcomers' group, to introduce you to the church and its activities?
Question is: are they loving and supportive towards each other, in a healthy way? Suspend your judgment; see how they act. They may be wrong in some things; you were, too, in TWI. We're all of us - well, most - trying to do our best. Try a few churches if you need. Or ask God to show you right now where the best place for you is right now. (Your problem with this might be understanding, and blocking out the "chatter" in your head.) Do you feel peaceful, or refreshed, or some sense of belonging or wanting to be there?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Charity
Hi, I've been to this church a few times in the past and I know how welcoming and accepting they are even if you believe differently about their beliefs. They were involved in community outreach as well. The senior pastor was Ed Kolar, and he retired this past year. Interesting thing though: years ago, he and I talked about the trinity. The discussion mainly focused on the Holy Spirit part. Well I met up with him after he retired, and he no longer believes in the trinity. Without any help from me, he bought the book "One God and One Lord" by Schoenheit, Lynn and a third author. He teaches online on Schoenheit's ministry's website, I think every other Sunday even though some of his beliefs are different (e.g., original sin, sin nature). Kind of blew my mind when I heard this.
Anyway, there is a new pastor now - someone who was involved in the church since I first went. I'll get to see how things are now - what has changed and what has remained the same.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.