How many of you go to church? What's your church like?

[Claire Rousseau]

I am Bob the Baptist, precursor of the Second Coming of Christ, and I have only been to one church service in my entire adult life, and it was directly related to The Ouzo Prophecy, Procter & Gamble's iconic moon-and-stars logo, and an illegal conspiracy to investigate me by P&G and the FBI. Background material can be found in The Ouzo Papers at archive.org, but I'll be more than happy to discuss the mystical event in detail.

What??

 

[Claire Rousseau]

So I was raised in a Vineyard Church, which is essentially a massive Non Dem, close to Evangelical/Charismatic. When I first started going in the 80's with my mother it wasnt huge, but in the 90's-2000's it exploded and became what everyone would call a Mega Church. I dont know too much about how it functioned in the 80s I was too young but in the 90's-2k it definitely was on what I would now call watered down nonsense, with a massive focus on Self and supposed healings ect.

I moved from one part of my State to another and just ended up going to another Vineyard because that was what I was comfortable with. However as I began attending more, and also since I was older and had studied the Bible independently for years at that point, I began to feel uncomfortable with how everything was ran there. To be honest I enjoyed the singing but as soon as the "preacher" got up I felt nothing. These "sermons" were nothing more than feel good self help topics, feeling more like a teaching you can buy off the internet, generic, with an outline. It honestly was boring and not too helpful in confronting my Sins, or becoming a better Christian or knowing Christ more intimately.

Then they started bringing in "preachers" from out of state and they brought one that was straight up TV Evanglistic supposed healing stuff. Just like you see on TV, bring the people you have in your life that are sick, we will heal them, bunch of pomp and circumstance. I brought my mother in law, my mom and my grandmother with me, because of course I would love to see the people in my life who are sick healed. Of course nothing really happened because I dont believe God operates in that manner in those venues.

A few months after that they brought someone from Bethel Church out in Redding California. I dont know if anyone has researched them but they are just complete trash, so unbiblical and outright Demonic, and I remember the day that that "preacher" came to the Church. He seemed like a nice guy and all, and he was very Charismatic, and I remember God spoke loudly to my heart. Like in all the time I had been at that Church never had God spoken like He did this time.

And it was actually Easter Sunday Services, and the guy got up started talking and whatnot and God spoke clearly to my heart and said look at your family, and looked over and I saw my wife, my daughter, my niece and my brother in law just mesmerized by this dude, they were totally into what he was saying, just cracking up. Do you want them to be lead astray by this guy, by this Church? And I heard clearly, get up and leave now. So I got up and left right there in the middle of Easter Sunday Services and never looked back...

I have a pretty amazing testimony of how I ended up at my Church you can read it in the Thread I made with my Testimony, or I can reiterate it here if others would like to know, but I now attend a smaller Missionary Baptist Church and it is completely opposite of the Churches I attended in the past. Some people pick and choose their Church, do Church shopping and what not, and I was in the middle of such a thing but I have zero doubts that this is the Church God wanted me to go to, He Himself lead me there in some Divine Circumstances.

When I first started attending just over 3 years ago, we had 9 preachers there, we are down to 3 because most of them went on to become Pastors of other Churches, but this Church and now our other 4 sister Churches are amazing. The people are exceedingly loving and caring, bend over backwards to help and love and pray for one another. My life has had some major twists and turns in the past 3 years and I cant imagine not having my Church there to support, love and pray for me and my Family.

Since I have been there my entire immediate family except my Father has been saved, when the preacher preaches, he preaches, not just some dry weak self help garbage but we read directly out of the Bible and the Spirit moves.

Thunder spoke about wanting to shout Amen, well that is the normal thing at our Church, you wouldnt be out of place there at all!! We all shout (dont think Charismatic/Pentecostal) and testify and sing about the Lord. There is true freedom at this Church, if God puts a testimony on my heart, if God lays a verse on my heart, if God puts it on my heart to open up, I have the liberty to at any point (save when the preachers starts preaching until he delivers his message) stand up, testify, sing, shout, read the verse, whatever it is God wants I can do. The entire congregation is like that, its open to everyone at all times (save preaching) to sing, shout, testify, read Scripture ect.

It literally is the complete and total opposite of all the other Churches I have ever been in, I couldnt imagine at the Vineyard standing up and testifying about what Christ had done for me that week, I would probably be shouted down or at the best made to feel awkward. There is no way I could open up for the preacher there if God laid it on my heart to do so. No way I could sing whatever was on my heart or ask the Congregation to sing with me.

And the most important part is the Gospel is preached EVERY SINGLE MESSAGE 100% of the time, absolutely nothing comes before preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ when the preaching begins. In 3 years I have yet to sit during a Services where the Life Death and Resurrection isnt somehow preached and part of the message is given to call the Lost to Repentance and Salvation. Even when the focus is on the Church and saved people, at some point the preacher will preach on Christ and Salvation!!!

There are no weak Self Help Christless Sermons, in this Church you are forced to grow, forced to step up in your Faith and given the opportunity to exercise that Faith. I love my Church, do I always want to go? Not every time but I can not deny how amazing my Church is, how Christ centered it is, how loving it is. The Spirit is always there and you can get something from God every service if you go in there seeking Him.

Its amazing and breaks my heart to read those of my fellow Brothers and Sisters who dont have Churches like this. We do broadcast online via Facebook if anyone is interested in watching PM and I can send you the link or invite. I help to run the streaming services at the Church.

Praying everyone can be placed in a Good Gospel Preaching Church where they can actively participate in!!

Good for you, Daciple!

I am pleased to hear that you hearkened to the voice of the Holy Spirit telling you to leave that wicked megachurch.... I can totally relate to hearing the Holy Spirit...when He tells you to do something, you don’t even think about hesitating!

Glad you found a good church that serves meaty sermons and preaches hard against sin....that’s what we need as born-again Christians: no matter how convicted we feel when a Spirit-filled Pastor gets up & preaches hard against (what sometimes feels like a particular sin we are struggling with), we can know he is doing it out of love, wanting to strengthen us & a desire to shepard his flock as Christ would want him to, and for our own benefit so we can be blessed by God instead of chastened by Him.

That is a sign that the Pastor truly cares for his church and takes his responsibility as a Pastor seriously.

May God continue to bless you and your family & church, and Happy Father’s Day!

 

[Douglas Summers]

I guess this may be a bit nosey, but I'm curious what kind of worship gatherings y'alls get up to.

The family and I attend a very small independent Baptist church, but I don't identify with any congregation, and I doubt many would identify with me, lol. We like the fellowship there, and Junior has good friends that attend, but I find the sermons boring, and I am tired of singing hymns with only a half dozen others. I want to shout Amen! and sing as loud as I can. I could do that, I suppose, but it would be kind of disruptive.

I realize I am very blessed to be able to go to any kind of church at all, but I don't feel particularly fed there, and I'm wondering who here loves their church, and why. Also, which Christians here don't go to church at all, and why.

I have been burned by nominal Christians to often and to many times. But I asked for it. When I began to walk with The Lord, thou I answered His calling at the age of 16, I never really did seek His direction seriously until I got married and had children. I started taking my wife and children to church. As I searched the Scriptures, I noticed that the church was lacking in the Spirit of the Scriptures. That is when I asked the Lord to show me the Truth, That is what I mean when I say, "I asked for it", For from that time on all my so called Christian co workers and even the pastor of the Church turned on me and my family. I lost my Job, my wife lost her job, I lost all that I had and everything that I held on to, until I had nothing...……..Nothing but the Lord. It was at that time that the Lord made my Election and Calling sure. At one Church I helped build from the ground up, My teaching calling was taken away from me by the pastor and a few elders because I was teaching about tithing, That we should not tithe under the Law, but tithe by the Spirit. I have been to many Churches, All of them have been run by pastors that have usurped Christ authority. As Christ was rejected by the religious leaders of His day by preaching and teaching by the Spirit, So will every member of His body....If they hated Christ...so will they hate us. Once a man has matured in His calling and election, he should preach and teach the Truth and expect persecution.
There is much more to my experience, but it would take a book to tell all. I walk with the Lord daily...…...I'am dead without Him and alive evermore in Him.

 

[llleopard]

My husband Rhino became pastor of an ex Wesleyan non denominational congregation 6months ago. We have about 40 regulars, from a wide variety of backgrounds. The vision we have is for us to be a lot like yours dasciple! But it's gonna be a work of years as we teach people to be 'self feeders', introduce the gospel of the kingdom and ease away from dead traditions. Whoo boy but we're loving the challenges! Would any of you guys commit to pray for us regularly? I would love to know there's prayer happening all over the world for our little part of the body!

 

[Vytas]

I have been burned by nominal Christians to often and to many times. But I asked for it. When I began to walk with The Lord, thou I answered His calling at the age of 16, I never really did seek His direction seriously until I got married and had children. I started taking my wife and children to church. As I searched the Scriptures, I noticed that the church was lacking in the Spirit of the Scriptures. That is when I asked the Lord to show me the Truth, That is what I mean when I say, "I asked for it", For from that time on all my so called Christian co workers and even the pastor of the Church turned on me and my family. I lost my Job, my wife lost her job, I lost all that I had and everything that I held on to, until I had nothing...……..Nothing but the Lord. It was at that time that the Lord made my Election and Calling sure. At one Church I helped build from the ground up, My teaching calling was taken away from me by the pastor and a few elders because I was teaching about tithing, That we should not tithe under the Law, but tithe by the Spirit. I have been to many Churches, All of them have been run by pastors that have usurped Christ authority. As Christ was rejected by the religious leaders of His day by preaching and teaching by the Spirit, So will every member of His body....If they hated Christ...so will they hate us. Once a man has matured in His calling and election, he should preach and teach the Truth and expect persecution.
There is much more to my experience, but it would take a book to tell all. I walk with the Lord daily...…...I'am dead without Him and alive evermore in Him.

So you never met a good Christian ?Not even online ? You reek of sadness. That's not a good thing...So is tithing obligatory ? By the spirit as you say...I hope it's okay to ask, if you doesn't feel like answering, don't..

 

[Thunderian]

the Pastor preaches hard

What does that mean?

 

[Claire Rousseau]

What does that mean?

It just means the preacher doesn’t just preach feel good, prosperity preaching....he preaches the whole Bible, and preaches against things most modern Pastors wouldn’t touch, because they find it too “controversial”, like preaching against divorce, fornication, sodomy, Hell, adultery, lust, etc.

The old IFB Pastors used to preach this way, and get angry about sin, but they have gone soft these days.


Hardpreaching.com has some excellent sermons you might find edifying...especially since you aren’t being fed at your church.

If you aren’t used to Pastors getting fired up against sin, it might be a bit jarring at first, but this is how all Pastors USED to preach, and it really helps keep people out of sin.

 

[Claire Rousseau]

I have been burned by nominal Christians to often and to many times. But I asked for it. When I began to walk with The Lord, thou I answered His calling at the age of 16, I never really did seek His direction seriously until I got married and had children. I started taking my wife and children to church. As I searched the Scriptures, I noticed that the church was lacking in the Spirit of the Scriptures. That is when I asked the Lord to show me the Truth, That is what I mean when I say, "I asked for it", For from that time on all my so called Christian co workers and even the pastor of the Church turned on me and my family. I lost my Job, my wife lost her job, I lost all that I had and everything that I held on to, until I had nothing...……..Nothing but the Lord. It was at that time that the Lord made my Election and Calling sure. At one Church I helped build from the ground up, My teaching calling was taken away from me by the pastor and a few elders because I was teaching about tithing, That we should not tithe under the Law, but tithe by the Spirit. I have been to many Churches, All of them have been run by pastors that have usurped Christ authority. As Christ was rejected by the religious leaders of His day by preaching and teaching by the Spirit, So will every member of His body....If they hated Christ...so will they hate us. Once a man has matured in His calling and election, he should preach and teach the Truth and expect persecution.
There is much more to my experience, but it would take a book to tell all. I walk with the Lord daily...…...I'am dead without Him and alive evermore in Him.

Hardpreaching.com


Great resource.

 

[A.J.]

OPC - a Reformed Christian denomination, it’s Presbyterian

 

[Claire Rousseau]

My husband Rhino became pastor of an ex Wesleyan non denominational congregation 6months ago. We have about 40 regulars, from a wide variety of backgrounds. The vision we have is for us to be a lot like yours dasciple! But it's gonna be a work of years as we teach people to be 'self feeders', introduce the gospel of the kingdom and ease away from dead traditions. Whoo boy but we're loving the challenges! Would any of you guys commit to pray for us regularly? I would love to know there's prayer happening all over the world for our little part of the body!

Non-denominational? That’s vague.....

What do you guys believe?

 

[Douglas Summers]

My husband Rhino became pastor of an ex Wesleyan non denominational congregation 6months ago. We have about 40 regulars, from a wide variety of backgrounds. The vision we have is for us to be a lot like yours dasciple! But it's gonna be a work of years as we teach people to be 'self feeders', introduce the gospel of the kingdom and ease away from dead traditions. Whoo boy but we're loving the challenges! Would any of you guys commit to pray for us regularly? I would love to know there's prayer happening all over the world for our little part of the body!

You can count on the brethren. We should always leave our calling and election of Pastor/Teacher to the congregation, That when they leave, they have left in complete faith in Christ and not in the pride of knowledge. We are ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven and we should be teaching The Kingdom And the Grace of God in Jesus Christ as you already mentioned.
In Gods Mercy and Grace,
Douglas Summers

 

[Douglas Summers]

So you never met a good Christian ?Not even online ? You reek of sadness. That's not a good thing...So is tithing obligatory ? By the spirit as you say...I hope it's okay to ask, if you doesn't feel like answering, don't..

My post said, "NOMINAL Christians". You know them by their fruit and nature (attitude). The Church is full of wheat and TARES! And yes, I am sad, for there is much sin in the visible church.

 

[Douglas Summers]

So you never met a good Christian ?Not even online ? You reek of sadness. That's not a good thing...So is tithing obligatory ? By the spirit as you say...I hope it's okay to ask, if you doesn't feel like answering, don't..

Christ warned us beforehand what would happen to the Church after He left to sit at the right hand of the Father, The Parable of the Mustard Seed: What started with simple faith, grew wild so that the Birds of the Air settled in it's branches. When mustard bears fruit, it does it as a bush, but when it has grown wild (into a tree) it bares no fruit, And the birds that rest in it's branches, Christ describes the birds as of Satan.(Church of Pergamum, and Thyatira) The three measures of meal in that parable is mixed with leaven, To where the loafs of bread rise. Levin in Scripture in every place in Scripture stands for SIN and in this parable, it represents that the visible Church will be puffed up with it, an arrogant church (Pride is sin) Church of Laodicea. The body of Christ is small compared to the world wide nominal churches.

 

[Vytas]

Christ warned us beforehand what would happen to the Church after He left to sit at the right hand of the Father, The Parable of the Mustard Seed: What started with simple faith, grew wild so that the Birds of the Air settled in it's branches. When mustard bears fruit, it does it as a bush, but when it has grown wild (into a tree) it bares no fruit, And the birds that rest in it's branches, Christ describes the birds as of Satan.(Church of Pergamum, and Thyatira) The three measures of meal in that parable is mixed with leaven, To where the loafs of bread rise. Levin in Scripture in every place in Scripture stands for SIN and in this parable, it represents that the visible Church will be puffed up with it, an arrogant church (Pride is sin) Church of Laodicea. The body of Christ is small compared to the world wide nominal churches.

That's a strange interpretation...how birds are of satan? Whats the connection between churches from revelation and mustard seed parable? What is levin (leaven?) why it represents sin ?

 

[Douglas Summers]

That's a strange interpretation...how birds are of satan? Whats the connection between churches from revelation and mustard seed parable? What is levin (leaven?) why it represents sin ?

In Matt. 13:4, The beginning of Christ parables of the sower sowing and the seeds fell by the wayside is about those who hear the word (Christ is the sower) and understand it not (The birds came ) or the wicked one came and catcheth it away what was sown in their heart (matt. 13:18-19) Christ defines the birds as the wicked one and that symbol carries through all the parables. Leaven in Scripture is always a symbol of sin. That is why the Feast days are eaten with unleavened bread. (Leaven is yeast) that causes bread to rise. You have to read the Churches I gave you in Revelation to see that those Churches settled down where Satan's throne is....Don't forget, Satan is the prince of the power of the air (or age and the principles it is governed under)

 

[Thunderian]

What is levin (leaven?) why it represents sin ?

Pride is the root of all sin. Leaven, like pride, corrupts by puffing up

 

[llleopard]

Non-denominational? That’s vague.....

What do you guys believe?

Well yes, It is a bit vague at the moment. There are people from all kinds of backgrounds, and the congregation has been focused on accepting everyone and trying not to offend anyone. So apart from the nicene creed which most agree with, there is a fair bit of confusion! This is something we'll be working on. They know they are no longer Methodist, which is a start, but there is truly no label to describe where we are at the moment!

 

[Todd]

Well yes, It is a bit vague at the moment. There are people from all kinds of backgrounds, and the congregation has been focused on accepting everyone and trying not to offend anyone. So apart from the nicene creed which most agree with, there is a fair bit of confusion! This is something we'll be working on. They know they are no longer Methodist, which is a start, but there is truly no label to describe where we are at the moment!

That is an exciting and yet at the sametime, a scary place to be. I pray that your congregation and your husband truly let the Spirit of God lead them in their search for truth and what they are called to. Don't worry about labels or denominations. Denominations and labels just put you in box and can paralyze you from experiencing the true freedom of God. Dare to think God is bigger than any creed, doctrine or statement of faith from any institutionalized form of religion portrays him to be!

 

[Thunderian]

Hardpreaching.com


Great resource.

I kind of figured that's what you meant by hard preaching. As far as I can see, that site only has videos from Steven Anderson. Why an entire section on Sodomy? Does Anderson have a lot of sodomites in his church? He seems to preach on sodomy an awful lot.

I find David Peacock to be a good example of solid Biblical preaching. He is the kind of pastor I wish I could find around here, and every month or so I'll say to my wife, "Why don't we just go to Peacock's church?", even though it would be a 57-hour drive one way.

Peacock's style would be called "hard", but in the hundreds of sermons I've listened to, he's only mentioned "queers" once, so maybe he's not hard enough for some people. Or maybe there's not as many sodomites in his church as in Anderson's. Pastor Peacock preaches a daily walk with Jesus Christ, an awareness of personal sin, and the spiritual importance of developing and displaying good Christian character. He warns against lust, and immoral behaviour, and bad doctrine. He used to be a cop, and he yells quite often, generally at the people sitting in the pews in front of him, but he's also one of the most tender preachers of the word of God that you'll ever hear. He is constantly teaching the Bible and good Christian doctrine in his sermons, and they are available here.

It's funny that you link to Anderson, though, because he's the reason I find myself struggling with my attitude toward my own pastor right now.

Someone in our church started listening to Anderson, then invited Anderson followers to come to our church, where a few of them tried to inject themselves into the leadership. My pastor may not preach or teach doctrine enough for my taste, but he knows it, and he let Anderson's followers know where they were wrong, from the Bible, and why they wouldn't be taking the pulpit that Sunday.

The Andersonites literally stormed out of our church while the pastor was in the middle of a prayer. They moved on to another local IFB church where they tried the same thing, but in this case the pastor was weak because of a recent heart attack, and they were able to exploit the situation and cause division in that church. If that kind of behaviour is the result of listening to hard preaching, I fail to see that as good fruit, or edifying the body of Christ in any way, but that's not why I'm not happy with my pastor.

I wonder how my pastor could know that someone in his church was listening to bad doctrine, and also know that Anderson's followers were causing division in the local IFB body, and not say something about it from the pulpit, or at least start teaching the right doctrine to inoculate against the false teaching of Anderson. I think that the reason why a lot of Christians have no sense of basic Bible knowledge, let alone the ability to defend basic doctrines from scripture, is because most pastors these days are well-meaning, and ineffectual. When someone like Anderson comes along, reading the King James Bible, and calling himself a Baptist, Christians fall for him because they don't have a clue what the church they go to actually believes. And because he yells and throws fits about homos and whatever, they think he's a hard preacher.

Anderson thinks that Jesus burned in hell for three days to pay for our sins. Now, any Christian can read in their Bible that Jesus said, "It is finished," and then with further basic study can learn the doctrine that it's the shed blood of Jesus Christ that paid for our sins, and that when Jesus said it was finished, he meant that the price for our sins had been paid in full. No one can read the Bible and believe that Jesus suffered in hell, but Anderson teaches exactly that. Throw in some rants and hissy fits about homos or whatever, and that's what passes for hard preaching these days, I guess.

 

[Todd]

I kind of figured that's what you meant by hard preaching. As far as I can see, that site only has videos from Steven Anderson. Why an entire section on Sodomy? Does Anderson have a lot of sodomites in his church? He seems to preach on sodomy an awful lot.

I find David Peacock to be a good example of solid Biblical preaching. He is the kind of pastor I wish I could find around here, and every month or so I'll say to my wife, "Why don't we just go to Peacock's church?", even though it would be a 57-hour drive one way.

Peacock's style would be called "hard", but in the hundreds of sermons I've listened to, he's only mentioned "queers" once, so maybe he's not hard enough for some people. Or maybe there's not as many sodomites in his church as in Anderson's. Pastor Peacock preaches a daily walk with Jesus Christ, an awareness of personal sin, and the spiritual importance of developing and displaying good Christian character. He warns against lust, and immoral behaviour, and bad doctrine. He used to be a cop, and he yells quite often, generally at the people sitting in the pews in front of him, but he's also one of the most tender preachers of the word of God that you'll ever hear. He is constantly teaching the Bible and good Christian doctrine in his sermons, and they are available here.

It's funny that you link to Anderson, though, because he's the reason I find myself struggling with my attitude toward my own pastor right now.

Someone in our church started listening to Anderson, then invited Anderson followers to come to our church, where a few of them tried to inject themselves into the leadership. My pastor may not preach or teach doctrine enough for my taste, but he knows it, and he let Anderson's followers know where they were wrong, from the Bible, and why they wouldn't be taking the pulpit that Sunday.

The Andersonites literally stormed out of our church while the pastor was in the middle of a prayer. They moved on to another local IFB church where they tried the same thing, but in this case the pastor was weak because of a recent heart attack, and they were able to exploit the situation and cause division in that church. If that kind of behaviour is the result of listening to hard preaching, I fail to see that as good fruit, or edifying the body of Christ in any way, but that's not why I'm not happy with my pastor.

I wonder how my pastor could know that someone in his church was listening to bad doctrine, and also know that Anderson's followers were causing division in the local IFB body, and not say something about it from the pulpit, or at least start teaching the right doctrine to inoculate against the false teaching of Anderson. I think that the reason why a lot of Christians have no sense of basic Bible knowledge, let alone the ability to defend basic doctrines from scripture, is because most pastors these days are well-meaning, and ineffectual. When someone like Anderson comes along, reading the King James Bible, and calling himself a Baptist, Christians fall for him because they don't have a clue what the church they go to actually believes. And because he yells and throws fits about homos and whatever, they think he's a hard preacher.

Anderson thinks that Jesus burned in hell for three days to pay for our sins. Now, any Christian can read in their Bible that Jesus said, "It is finished," and then with further basic study can learn the doctrine that it's the shed blood of Jesus Christ that paid for our sins, and that when Jesus said it was finished, he meant that the price for our sins had been paid in full. No one can read the Bible and believe that Jesus suffered in hell, but Anderson teaches exactly that. Throw in some rants and hissy fits about homos or whatever, and that's what passes for hard preaching these days, I guess.

It's really sad that Christian's can be segregated and labeled by who they follow and create divisions in the body of Christ.

1And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? 4For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

5Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? 6I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.