We went to church for the first time...

megsmomma

Ken...first I saw your post, and I am sorry the church you tried wasn't for you. I have been out of the JW's for about 7 1/2 years, and just now felt the urge to go to a church again....so take your time and do what feels right for you :) Don't give up.....keep seeking, you WILL find.

So, about our experience...we went with a non-denominational. We went with a big place...It reminded me of how the JW's assembly halls are...the decor and the seating.....and the ammount of people. (But that is where it ended)

The people didn't swoop in on us......they just were generally friendly and would say our baby is cute. ( I must say....she did look ADORABLE all dressed up!)

The people were dressed in a variety of apparel....from dress pants, to suits, to jeans, skirts,slacks, dresses....and you didn't think if you saw a man in jeans..."Oh he must be a study"

There was a nice cay care there...we kept the baby with us this time...but I went to the mom's room to take care of her, and I heard the different groups of kids having fun, singing great songs. It was sweet and I felt comfortable. And when my hubby had her, he went into the day care and sid it was really nice. Plus they page you if needed.

The songs sang throughout the sermon were uplifting and actually brought tears to my eyes. My daughter who is only 6 mo's covered my mouth as I sang however! LOL!

I really liked the sermon. I recall as a JW I would hear that at other churches they hardly ever use the Bible, and JW's are constantly flipping through the scriptures. Well, we only had to open to 1 scripture. Romans 1. But, the whole sermon was on it, and he would get deeper into the meaning by giving the greek words and their actual tranlation in english....which was enjoyable. Plus I realize that part of the reason JW's flip through the scrips is because that way you can spin it to back up whatever they want it to...i.e.....their doctrines.

The thing I loved most about today though......I was no longer disfellowshipped! I didn't have to tell anyone that approached me that I am DF'd...and see them avert their eyes and run. I was able to get some of life's water free...and spiritual food. Ahhhhh....I feel the tight watchtower's hold slipping completely off of my brain! I do feel refreshed.

jgnat

Nice to hear your experience was so positive. Yes, the bible study tends to be more focussed and in context. The children's program also sounds familiar.

TheHypnoToad

When both my wife and myself went for the first time to another church we kept our kids with us as well, but we were suprised to find many of the things the JW's said "Christendom" did or didn't do were wrong. They actually used Jehovahs name (my wife and myself looked looked at each other stunned) in one of the first sermons we heard. Now we let our kids goto "Childrens Worship", and our daughter WANT'S to goto church.

Hypno-Toad

gordon d

Welcome to the "dark???" side....

I'm so happy for you... Try not to let small doctrines stumble you. I'd rather worship with a group of humans that may not have everything "exactly perfect" and are willing to admit it and grow than with a group of hypocrites that are God's only mouthpiece and are completely irrefutable.... even on obvious errors.

Can't you just feel the love? How refreshing!

Gordon

JeffT

It sounds like you went to a church very much like the one my wife and I have been going to ever since we got out of the Borg in 1989. It WAS a real eye opener to find out that most (if not all) of what we'd been taught about Christendom just isn't so.

Apostate Kate

It is so refreshing to hear your stories. Megs I'm so happy you had a good experience. I can still remember (which is a miracle since my illness has caused alot of memory loss) that first time I went to a non denominational church after the WT. It was 1992.

The music moved me to tears. The love and beauty of simply worshipping was amazing. The message was simple but well taught from an entire passage, also with the Greek words explained. I did a topical study on the Greek word "light" this months and found several meanings in Greek, to the one word in English. It is so important to do that. A good educated pastor will cover every aspect of a passage, the time, characters, place, culture, and the language nuances. For example, in Hebrew proper names always have meanings. Somewhat like Native American names. Something JWs don't get when use the name Jehovah. They do not understand His nature is His name and He has many names as there are many aspects to His nature. I remember being surprised too when I heard songs that praised Jehovah and the pastor using the name.

A good pastor will tell you that you must not take his word for it but must study for yourself, they will not take offense if after service you have questions or disagreements. A good church will have several charitable out reaches that are truly making a differences in the community, unless it is purely a Bible college or Seminary.

Love~Kate

garybuss

I've visited some local churches and I have enjoyed the visits very much. One visit I'll long remember was to a country church and they started the service and after about 10 minutes the woman pastor asked for a break in the service so the members and visitors could introduce themselves to the people sitting nearby.

So the service stops and everybody stands up and greets and shakes hands with those in front and in back and those at each side. There were no exclusions. No back row people being shunned.

Then near the end of the service the pastor invited all members and guests to stay for a full meal Sunday dinner. We stayed and were welcomed and the meal was good.

Driving down the hill back to town I had to remark to my driver that this could have never happened in a Kingdom Hall because half the people don't like the other half and there might be a shunned person or five in the crowd. There'd be no way they could have a whole group greeting and invite all to stay for a meal.

I really didn't know how terrible the Witnesses are until I got out and saw some decent people.

Witchettygrub

Isn't it just amazing how you discover that the WT is wrong again when you step inside the dreaded halls of Christendom! I too found that the music played moved me to tears. To actually hear the name Jehovah used in sermons was a surprise as well. Wonders will never cease. To top it off, the place was jam packed with normal comfortable looking people dressed in everyday gear. I felt the love of people and their love for God and Christ. Witchettygrub

blondie

I have visited a few churches myself. I was not too thrilled with the recitation of prayers and chants. But I did enjoy the sermon with the scriptures and practical application to daily life. Some had simple music programs because of the size of the congregation. I sounded like I was doing a solo at times but people got brave enough to sing louder. I liked the programs that were several smaller segments, mixed with talks, testimonies, musical performances. I was happy to see children's programs that educated and entertained in a separate room. At several there was a meal afterwards and a visit with the speaker and visitors. One had small group studies of bible books with each person commenting and not "textbook" just the Bible. What a challenge that would be for a JW.

Blondie

FlyingHighNow

I'm so glad to hear you had a very positive experience. I love the church we have been attending since February. Without their love and support, we'd not have made it through the trials we've faced this year. It's a church from the denomination I was raised in.

I am learning that there are indeed many kind and sincere Christians. And I learned in my confirmation classes, earlier this past year: what better place is there for hypocrites than church? The church is a spiritual hospital where you go to heal spiritually. All of us could use some spiritual healing.

We went to church for the first time...

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