Are Christendoms Sheperds any Better than Witness Sheperds?

by gumby 31 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  gumby

  I've been out since about 1995.......and never had an Elder call on me. Not that I desire this....but.

  Suppose you were an Elder in a church of christendom and you were removed because you smoked and they felt you weren't exemplary. After that, you never went to that church again. How long would it take for them to see how you were doing? Would they?

  Suppose your wife continued to go and they inquired of her as to how you were and she said....."he still smokes and doesn't desire to come to church anymore......and he has his doubts about the bible being gods word".

  Would they come see you..... or call you do you suppose? I attended a baptist church for about 3 or 4 years and quit when I began to question christianity and the bibles message. Never one call from anyone.

  How bout you? Are christendoms sheperds any better than dub sheperds?

  Gumby
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  Scully

  Shepherds are for sheep. Sheep are dumb. We are not dumb. We are not sheep. We don't need shepherds.
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  MegaDude

  But we always need a moderator.
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  MegaDude

  Would they come see you..... or call you do you suppose? I attended a baptist church for about 3 or 4 years and quit when I began to question christianity and the bibles message. Never one call from anyone.

  I have to wonder if you had a single friend at the church. I left off attending a Baptist Church because I wanted an environment that was more free. Yes, I was called on, but there was no pressure. Just wondering how I was doing.

  How bout you? Are christendoms sheperds any better than dub sheperds?

  Depends on the church. Some of them are pretty bad. Some of them have a very warm and supportive environment. There isn't any reasonable comparison to the Dub experience in my opinion because your average vanilla church in the USA doesn't operate like a cult. Probably the most significant difference between the two is that I have noticed people really seem to enjoy attending a church, whereas the average dub is just marking off another meeting and avoiding the guilt of missing a meeting.
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  FlyingHighNow

  I know that Mother Val, Father Mick, Father Hamm of St. Mark's Episcopal and Father Mike of St. Andrews Episcopal church are kind servants and shepherds who reach out, even when you fall back. Even Skully would be moved by their sincere care for those in their congregations. And Mother Val is gay. If you ever come to GR, MI, Gumby, I'll introduce you and I know you won't be disappointed. Three of those priests are former Catholics that left due to the unheathly control of the pope and Vatican.
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  mrsjones5

  
  The church I go to is nice. I was baptised there. My husband goes every once in a while. We aren't harassed about my husband not attending. Everyone is always happy to see him and wish he would come more often but he is never threaten with any penalty or shunned for not going. I have heard from the pastors of the church in sermon that doubts are not sin, that any kind of weakness (I'm not talking spiritual) is sometime to look down on but an opportunity for help and building on faith. A lot less guilt and a whole lot more grace.

  Josie

  P.S. My husband is currently on temporary disability and only bringing in 66% of his income. We are so tight. I asked for prayer from my church and they asked if there was anything they could do. They gave us $400 in a giftcard for groceries. That is love.
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  greendawn

  I don't think they are any better, the ones I have observed (catholic, orthodox, Anglican) but the point is that they don't force you to contribute anything to their organisation so you don't care if they don't give you anything back.
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  fullofdoubtnow

  My husband goes every once in a while. We aren't harassed about my husband not attending. Everyone is always happy to see him and wish he would come more often but he is never threaten with any penalty or shunned for not going.

  That is the difference between the wts and other churches. I know quite a few people who attend church occasionally. My mother is one of them, and if she misses a few services, the Pastor may call to see if everything is ok, but he doesn't come around pressuring her to return. She isn't ignored by her fellow parishioners, and wouldn't be if she stopped going altogether.

  Having said that, I don't think it's a case of who is better or worse. The church leaders of Christendom seem to be much less judgemental than those in the wts, and aren't forever making up rules that must be obeyed, or else.
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  jgnat

  I skipped two services and I got anxious calls.

  Though I go to a church who believes everyone is called to the ministry in some capacity. It's not left up to the pastor to do all the "shepherding" calls.
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  Sad emo

  I think it depends on the individual church and how close-knit it is.

  When I left my local RC church in which I had grown up, nobody came looking for me. I'd asked questions and been fobbed off or ignored.

  The church I attend now is totally different, if I go missing for even a couple of weeks, someone will check if everythings ok.