Chikirin Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 There was only one church I ever felt a part of, it was a Chi Alpha group on a secular campus. I couldn't find a church to belong to after that. I thought that it would be easy to find a new church, because I thought that any Christian I would run into in the future would be able to discern my genuineness as a Christian. But rather than the light in them recognizing the light in me, I found that I had to re-prove myself all over again at every church I ever went. I thought that I had become part of a worldwide spiritual family, but in reality I had merely become habituated to a few dozen people in one local group, and there was no carryover. Curious as to others experience as far as being able to adapt from one church to another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblueep Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I was raised and committed to a charismatic church from 10 to 18 years old. After a 5 year break, I was committed to an authoritarian church for 4 years. Then I was committed to a family/purity church for 2 years. After a 2 year break, I was then committed to a kingdom/grace church for 3 years. And now I'm committed to the church of jblueep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chikirin Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 So did you go into each new one raw - with out knowing anyone there, or did you know someone there who brought you in? My problem was never knowing anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Two in childhood, two as an adult, and now Buddhist Dharma Center. I can't hang around long at a place I like before I join and become committed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zephie Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 2 that I formally joined and 2 that I was a "member" by default since I was attending with my parents. Baptist "default" AoG "member" CFNI "default" Baptist "member" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeCoastie Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Just Catholic from baptism till deconversion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chikirin Posted April 20, 2012 Author Share Posted April 20, 2012 Just Catholic from baptism till deconversion. Same congregation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeCoastie Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 Just Catholic from baptism till deconversion. Same congregation? 2 one in my home town and one in my college town. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneTarus Posted April 20, 2012 Share Posted April 20, 2012 I don't know if I can say I was a committed member of any church. When I was still a believer I considered myself a free agent under God and not really under the authority of any particular church or person. (not that I tried to cause trouble with various pastors or not respect them but if I had to jump ship,(and I did quite a few times) or disregard whatever "leader" was saying I would if I had to. I started in a local spinoff group of the assemblies of God for a good portion of my time as a christian. Once that group got way out of hand and a lot of bad stuff happened I moved on to the local Salvation Army and also tried out the Christian Missionary alliance. those last two weren't too bad and I really did like the CMA. (I still remained good friends with the salvation army captian after I stopped attending services there) once the CMA closed I ended up in another penticostal church which was non-denominational but still quite fundamentalist. I was also a part of the Business Men's Fellowship USA which seems to have dominionist leanings. and associated with related churches to all of the above mentioned groups. (another penticostal word of faith church in town, a church that is into the new apostolic reformation movement, the local baptist church etc.) I pretty much had my fingers in every pot and tried to be friendly as much as it was possible with anyone that called themselves christians. I'm glad I did this because it allowed me to see the common patterns that existed between the different denominations and I saw things that I had problems with in each of them. (a lot more so in the penticostal leaning denominations). If anything aside from studying the bible helped with my de-conversion it was being able to observe how different denominations operate and how people in the church seem to treat each other regardless of what denomination they happen to be a part of and how these people seemed to be living their lives as a result of the doctrines they held to. Visiting the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship with some members of the first group mentioned in this post was a real eye opener but I don't think I fully processed what I experienced until about 2 years later. I knew what they were doing was wrong and that they were basically robbing people (1000$ a pop for private prayer and counseling sessions, preaching that if you question all that goofy behavior or prophecies you were in danger of the unpardonable sin of blaspheming the holy spirit) but I didn't really recognize that there were similar tactics used on a smaller scale all over the place to manipulate people in churches most people would call normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConureDelSol Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I went to a start-up church first that operated out of a middle school. My friend's father was the pastor. We spent some years there and then the pastor cheated on his wife with a member of the congregation and the church disbanded. Then we attended a church that was across the street from our neighborhood. We were there for a couple years, then we started going to both this church and the one we're currently at now. Eventually, it became clear that the pastor at the second church was a complete dick and everyone important left. I've been at the current church for over 8 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeverAgainV Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Before I start...is that the Ukie Jack Palance? Born & raised Catholic. In college I listened to cassette tapes of a preacher...joined that independent fundamentalist Baptist church with a HUGE bent towards Calvinism...left that (I was excommunicated for "variance"...I know I know...I'm such a wretched sinner for disagreeing with asshole pastor that I had to be excommunicated... ) Anyhow after the hell of leaving the ifb/calvinist cult, I went to a couple of Lutheran churches. Something deep inside of me was holding me back from technically "joining". I just could NOT make the commitment to any church after the hell I went through in the bible cult. god damn, the bible cult made the Catholics looks real good! But after it all...I realized I just could not enjoy or get involved in any church again. I did feel like an outsider at the Lutheran churches I went to... i mean they try, they have "greeters"...but I looked around & could see the same MO.. cliques, pastor was controlling (a lady informed me that that pastor was known as "the dictator"!!) I was like holy shit!! I didn't just escape with my sanity & life from the Baptist pastor dictator to end up kissing the ass of a Lutheran pastor dictator. Over time I realized that sleeping in on Sundays was WAY better for me & my family than "church". I do feel bad because I know personally of people who are in churches because they have no family to speak of....but the "church" isn't that good of a family, at least from what I've seen. You'd be better off joining a poker club or some social club than a damn church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftovers Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I have a long history of being involved in churches. I was involved in a small southern baptist church until I was 17. It had less than 100 attendees on a given sunday. At a young age I was designated by our youth group leadership as the student leader of the youth group. At 17, after a particularly crazy lesson and under lots of pressure to be someone I wasn't, I decided to leave the church. Telling my parents was, surprisingly, not a big deal and they followed me to the missionary baptist church I moved to. I loved that church, and the only reason I left was to go to college. In college I never really committed to any church, but rather stuck to the church at home during the summer and on breaks. All my friends went there and I really liked the youth minister - really cool guy who is now pastor of the church. After graduating from college and marrying my wife, we went to a southern baptist megachurch for 6 or so years. It really was a great place for us to be. We were able to be involved, make new friends and be what 20-something christian newly-weds "should be." I have nothing against that church, but it was there were I began to doubt. When the lady we taught 5 year old sunday school with started every class with the phrase, "we know it is true because it's in the bible," and proceeded to teach about Noah's ark, I knew deep down I didn't really believe that. That's where my skepticism began in earnest. After floating through methodist, anglican and episcopal churches, we have settled into a presbyterian church as home. It is really nice as there is not the same expectation to subscribe to groupthink as there is in baptist churches. We are really enjoying it, and I have found I can be fully on board as a Christ follower: one who follows the teachings of Christ in loving others as we love ourselves, and I do my best to follow those teachings on a daily basis. It is difficult but rewarding. From an intellectual perspective I probably am most honest as describing myself as agnostic, but I still believe there is much to be learned from following Jesus' teachings on how to treat others and am doing my best to do just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Four In late childhood there was an Evangelical Free where I was very active with the youth group events. As a young adult I joined a small non-denominational fundamentalist church where I rose to be a department head. (All work was free, of course, as a way of showing how grateful I was for the wonderful FREE GIFT that gawd had given us.) After I moved out of the area I attended a large non-denominational fundamentalist church. When my car wasn't working I would ride my bicycle to get there and I would attend 3 to 4 services per week. And I've been attending the current one for about 10 years now. It's one of those denominations in the Holiness Movement. It makes me sick. I'm so tired of church. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wester Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Presbyterian Church (associate reformed? not sure) age 0-10. Moved to a new city and got a new, much smaller, much poorer Presbyterian Cult close to home. This one eventually fell apart. For a while after this I really enjoyed being able to "attend church" at home by watching the Robert Schuler Hour of Power at the Crystal Cathedral in sunny Anaheim California. My mom hooked up as a pianist and organist at a new medium sized "Christian" church of some weird derivative denomination. When the pastor supported the first Iraq war in 1991, and I was urged to go to "Creationism seminars" by my mom, I mentally puked. This, along with the Republican party illegally using churches like this to organize politically caused me to lose interest completely. I never really belonged to any church after this but followed mom for Christmas and East services. Mum got a new gig at another weird Christian denomination mega church that paid her a decent salary at around $30,000 per year. Then they got a new business-oriented congregation upsizing, staff downsizing pastor who wanted to save money, so he axed my mum which caused her no end of trauma and grief and sent her spiraling into depression and therapy from which she has never recovered. Yeah - another church depression victim - go figure. Mum now belongs to a full on cult "Christian" church (again some weird denomination) that slings Left Behind, and James Dobson crap. This is great for her (at least on the surface) since it is helping her to live in total, absolute denial of all the PTSD she has suffered from being involved with decades of misogynistic, war mongering, irrational, self-harming ideology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadedAtheist Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Been a member of two churches, both were friendly enough when I was one of them but after moving churches, and then subsequently leaving the faith while attending the second one I was promptly treated like I was the devil incarnate. Problem with churches is that they use you till they suck you dry, and if you aren't a committed member (attending every service, function and event) then you are promptly judged. Since I was pretty full on, I did plenty of judging and by the time I left I was drained. Never want to have such a hectic schedule again. I enjoy my rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akheia Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I was a fervent Catholic until my teens. It was a military family so there were half a dozen different churches of these sort; the only Catholic church I could say was consistent was my maternal family's "home church" in Baltimore. To this day I think of myself as an ex-Sacred Heart Catholic. I wouldn't think of avoiding any other Catholic church but that one. At 16 I briefly attended a Southern Baptist Church, a huge one in the pre-megachurch days in Houston, but it was just too hypocritical. I converted to a UPC church later on but drifted out of it until my Evil Ex got converted to it and dragged us both into it, and was UPC for the next 8 years or so. In the UPC I attended three churches; one very large one, then a little startup storefront church closer to home where Evil Ex had an actual youth pastor position, and then a third after a cross-country move. In all but the last, I knew people from there to begin with who'd talked to me about their respective groups. The third church was recommended by our second pastor. I didn't really feel like I had to prove myself though. I didn't really like the people around me enough to give a shit what they thought. At first, in my teens, I might have been sad I didn't fit in and wasn't quite the normal Pentecostal girl, but by the end I was too annoyed and angry about how women were treated by my denomination than I was upset about feeling like a square peg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chikirin Posted April 21, 2012 Author Share Posted April 21, 2012 Before I start...is that the Ukie Jack Palance? T'is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeverAgainV Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Tis what I thought. I have 1/4 Ukie blood here...grams was 100%. Ok...back to topic now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spherr Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 I have only been a part of one church, which was United Methodist. If everything goes my way, that will be the only church I'll be a member once I leave it (or it officially dies and closes, which will likely happen this decade) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Babylonian Dream Posted April 21, 2012 Share Posted April 21, 2012 Baptist (We really didn't use adjectives), Presbyterian, Unitarian Universalist. There was alot more I looked into, but the first I was born into. The second I rushed into when I left the first. After that, I guess I didn't rush into churches, but just into religions. Going to their churches, temples, etc... kinda kept turning me off, I learnt to much too quick about it that way, and now I know why. I looked into being many others, such as Jehovah's Witness, Evangelical, Mormon, Methodist, Catholic, eastern orthodox, muslim (breakoff of christianity), Manichaenism, mandeanism, (the list of christianities can truly go on and on). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts