Please stop the off-topic fighting. While there are allowances for heated discussions in the Hot Button Issues category, they should be on the issue, not on the individual. That should be a pretty easy concept to understand. As for church, @Tex Dennis, that sounds like an interesting church that you attend. As to the topic, when you ask whether we have attend church regularly. If that question assumes a white building with a steeple, or any building dedicated to worship and other church activities. no I don't attend regularly while I am in Millinocket. As I mentioned in another thread about church attendance, I attend a small church up north, near our camp, which generally. has only from 12-20 people in attendance. It's a regular church service, in that there is singing, prayer, announcements, and a sermon, as well as time for anyone to ask for prayer or to say pretty much whatever they want to say. Afterwards, most of the congregation usually goes out for lunch, either at a restaurant or the pastor's home, or someone else's home, and it's not unusual for there to be a discussion, even dispute, about the sermon. To a point, that can be done during the service itself if it is done in such as way as to not derail the sermon. I used to attend one of the Baptist churches here regularly; in fact, I was a deacon. I quit doing so when a new pastor decided to step in on what I considered to be the wrong side of a local political issue, which was the implementation of Local Agenda 21. I have considered attending the other Baptist church, as its pastor used to hold Bible studies in a cafe that we once ran, and I like him well enough. To be honest, a big part of the reason I don't is because I really hate getting dressed up these days. We do Bible studies here at home, we pray, and we discuss Bible things. That could be considered church.
We also have the bible study groups and song at services I do not comment on the religious aspects as so many religions and someone usually always goes negative I have seen, I do some church related activity weekly as stated we wished to be very different and listened to what members did and liked to do bringing them together, our motto is we listen...… We have the largest growth of any in the area and have enlarged 3 times in 9 yrs, I do know of a couple that have copied many of our activities and are experiencing good growth, we avg 2-3 services on Sundays 2 for sure, Wed nights and something Friday nights and every weekend plus dominos and a place for some to just hang out, riding arena lighted and cattle and land (75 Acres) bird hunting, deer hunts, predator hunts and fishing on members land, always something going on there about daily, very rural country, non politically correct people. Winners of our last predator hunt with rifle and revolver, note dress style just normal country people who like to feel relaxed in an at home place, you show up all dressed up people wonder what is going on. We also allow well behaved dogs and usually have 4-5, snacks provided also During services. All this works for us very well and has from a start in a barn sitting on hay bales.
HUH?... don't dance around a subject..spit it out.. we all wanna know whatcha mean..I'm not gonna pretend we don't...
@Holly Saunders I am only at liberty to recommend re-reading post #76, in which a stand was taken defending the self-stated personal beliefs of another member. That defense on behalf of another produced painful rebuke with references including implications of my own personal stand. Their use was an attempt to remove the painful "edge" my post inflicted, to sway the concern away to my own position. Kinda like "backstabbing" to gain purchase of the next higher rung. Frank
@Holly Saunders Ahhh, not a "fight" at all, but rather a smidgeon of clash between two ornery members..... Frank
@Ken Anderson Well, I hadn't wanted to name names, tried a general approach to stop directed "hits" upon the personal convictions of one of our oldest members.......my approach was certainly not very tactful, but must have gotten the point across, given the passel of insult received back. It was ALL ABOUT church attendance, specifically one member's lack of it, and my own ire over his having that belief questioned in the way it was: religious belief, or lack of it, is now known as "your personal commitment", that being used instead, far more suave and inconspicuous than "pushing". Frank
@Hal Pollner Mean it, or being facetious? Or worse? I've been in no mood to discourse and wonder how Lon feels now...... The "polish" was blamed on my drinking, then encouraged me to drink more.....make any sense to you? Frank