Church away day

[newbeliever]

Hello everyone, I have followed these threads for a while now and took the plunge a few months ago to start attending church again. I have been made to feel very welcome and I am reaching the point now where I want to learn more and develop my faith. I have never studied the bible and only have some dim recollections of what I was taught at Sunday School many years ago. I have been surprised how strongly (+ quickly) I felt this deep connection and have also experienced the 'emotional feeling' that others have mentioned when attending church.

Sorry for the pre-amble, I'll get the point now. We have a new priest-in-charge and she has organised an away day next weekend to develop a plan for the future for the church - I would say the congreation stands at about 100 - anyway, she made a point of inviting me yesterday, as did a number of the other members - it was lovely to be invited and I was taken slightly by surprise. I would like to attend, as I am finding I want to spend more and more time in the company of other christians - something I have never felt before - however, because I am so new and also I feel I don't really have a proper depth of understanding yet, I shouldn't really attend. Am I being silly? I suppose I'm worried about being put on the spot and not knowing what to say!

I am also thinking about attending the Alpha course + would also appreciate any recommendations on a good book to aid me when studying the bible. Thanks

Hi newbeliever,
Of course you should go if you feel you would like too. I'm sure it won't matter what your depth of understanding is. If you are all developing a plan for the future, I would have thought that the view point of someone who has recently started attending, like you, will be a valuable contribution to the discussion.
Hope it goes well...

You should go, it's lovely that they've asked you and will be a great day to get to know people better and reflect on the role/vision etc of the church.

Alpha's great, you should do that too. A fab way to get to grips with the basics of Christianity and to help you think deeper about your own faith journey.

Keep reading the Bible and pray for God to open His word up to you and bring it alive for you. I'd suggest starting with a Gospel, maybe Mark?

Don't have anything to do with christianity unless you are sure that you are doing it because you want God ...... you need to disregard the other benefits of church such as friendship and support cos otherwise you will end up getting fleeced.

I devoted 12 years of my life to committed christianity and church and ended up very hurt and friendless.

Organised religion is not much more than a control mechanism IMO

Thanks for replying so quickly - I'm going to go as I think I will regret it if I don't. Acorntree - you made a valid point about gaining opinions from new members, I hadn't thought about it like that. Tassisssss - thanks for the encouragement, the reviews on Alpha generally seem to be good + hope it will give me a firm basis from which to build on.

MM - it is obviously about God, but for me it is also about community and learning and developing my faith in Him through that community. Can I ask what happened?

It is the community aspect that is dangerous IMO.....you can ask what happened but what do you want to know?

Newbeliever,

If the church is having an away day to develop plans, then they need to have representatives from all parts of the church family. There is no point in a holy huddle making up all the plans by themselves, because they might not be reaching out to the people they are trying to reach out to.

I don't think you will be put on the spot in a large group. My experience of these gatherings is that you will arrive and have coffee. Then you will all sit down together and handpicked members of the team will give a talk about the state of the project. There will be motivational bible readings and perhaps some worship.

At that point, after the next coffee break, you will break into small groups, where undoubtably feel more comfortable and equipped to contribute to the discussion.

After a lunch break, the individual groups will feedback into the main group, and you will end the day with prayer and perhaps some more worship.

Enjoy the day - when two or three are gathered in his name, God is in the midst.

MmmeBlue - that's put my mind at rest, will make sure I have a good think prior to the day so that I am prepared.

MM - I don't understand what you mean and why the community aspect can be dangerous. It's a personal journey but it is also good to be surrounded by like-minded people isn't it? Are you referring to more of a 'cult' type thing?

Like I say, The Christian church is nothing but a control mechanism..... it all seems very straightforward and friendly at first but when you get committed you find that you have been duped into accountability about all sorts of areas of your life (finance, family, lifestyle etc., etc.)

Sadly, the people are the main component of the control mechanism and it is hard to get away cos you'll find that you have invested so heavily in these relationships, you've got nothing else.

I'm not talking about any cult BTW - ALL of christendom is the same to varying degrees

MM, I am genuinely sorry for your experience but I think to say that "the Christian faith is nothing but a control mechanism" is a little offensive.

well actually, I find the Christian message extremely offensive TBH - monotheistic religion is at best elitist and intolerant but christianity is one of the worst (condeming billions and billions to death and eternal suffering if they don't share your point of view is more than a little offensive IMO)

mm - I'm really sorry for your experience but your opinion is just that, your opinion and I honestly don't think that you are helping on this thread.

thanks for your opinion weegie

I agree with Weegie.

As Christians, we have to support, encourage and edify one another.

If you are a Christian, you should be doing this for the OP. If you are not, then your opinions frankly are not relevent.

Thankyou MmeBlue for a response that could not illustrate my point any better. What a wonderfully typical Christian response!

Of course, you are quite right, christians are encouraged to see anyone who will not fall into line and follow without question as heathen irrelevent people (unless of course you can save them)

This is why OP should be cautious before committing herself to a christian church - cos as soon as she falls out of line she will be dropped by her christian bretheren like a hot potato and her opinions will not be relevent either!

The thing about monotheism, is that you HAVE to be right! you won't accept that my opinion is valid because any opinion other than yours cannot be valid - this is fundamental to your faith!

Sorry if I am not "edifying" enough but I will not stop posting just cos my opinions happen to be a thorn in your pompous christian flesh!

Oh please, mm. I'm not a christian fwiw, and disagree with your sentiments entirely. I'm very sad you had abad experience, but blimey. Do you believe in the illuminati as well?

I did not say that you were an irrelevent heathen. That is twisting my point. Everyone is important to God, even lost sheep. What do you think is meant by the 'lost' parables?

However, we are called to encourage, and you are not doing that, so this is an inappropriate thread for your posts.

Oh crumbs, I seem to have started something here.

MM - you sound like you have had a really rough time of it and I am truly sorry for you. Perhaps you should start your own thread about your experiences - it may help.

Returning to my original thread - can anyone offer any other suggestions on a good bible study aid? I've had a quick look on Amazon and was a bit overwhelmed by the choice. Thanks everyone.

There is a very good bible study guide from the Alpha team called "30 Days: A Thirty-day Practical Introduction to Reading the Bible ".

It takes 30 key bible readings, such as the Parable of the Sower, and gives you the text, explains it, and has prayer points. There is one for each day, all in manageable chunks. This is a good way to get quickly up to speed.

After that, you can subscribe to bible reading notes form your church or online, such as 'A Daily Bread'.

There are only two types of bible - the one you read, and the others that you don't. The key thing is to read it, and the same goes for study notes and the fellowship of other Christians.

If you want a really fast overview to the bible, I recommend The Lion's Children's Bible (the one that is targeted at around 8 years old, not the toddler one). You can read it really quickly and know how the key stories fit together.

NewBeliever - you have no doubt decided by now whether or not you are going on the day away. For what it is worth, I think new believers can sometimes feel a little daunted by such groups. I do believe though that many people can get different things out of them on different levels. Often the people who have been believers for longer can obtain encouragement from the faith of a new believer.

MM - it sounds as though you have had a really bad experience. I have too in the past. Not all churches though are as you describe. I think the main difference between the church where I had the bad experience and the one I go to now is that I don't think the people in the first one acted out of love. They were looking for new members and if people weren't ready to commit they were dropped like hot potatoes. The church I go to now is much more relaxed. I believe the people are acting more out of love and less out of a zeal to obtain new members. I don't have to account to anyone about my lifestyle, family or finances. If I wanted to, I could keep entirely silent about all these matters and no one would pry further. I'd be happy to discuss further if you'd like.

How did the away-day go, newbeliever?

Hi MmeBlue, the away-day went really well. Your 'run-down' of the day was pretty spot-on, apart from the bit about everyone going for a dip in the outdoor pool in the afternoon - it was freezing!

We discussed the services and the style of the corporate worship services, outreach to the community, mission, groups/courses, the church building, social events/action and our own Christian journey.

I found the whole day thought provoking and certainly felt by the end of it that I had taken another step on my journey as well as feeling more part of the Church family. I've since enrolled myself onto the Alpha course which starts next week.

Thank you again for your ideas and recommended reading - I've bought the Children's bible for myself and my children - I've noticed my 7-year old enjoying reading it and she's telling me what some of the stories are about.

Thanks be to God, newbeliever.

God bless you on your journey. :)