What is the Church?

I have heard many times from pastors that you should not shop around for churches. You should just find the one nearest you and go. I'm not sure I would want to do this. I'm sure there is drama in every church, but sometimes a person is just not comfortable in a certain church. I don't believe that you have to attend church to be saved or believe in God, but it is certainly not a bad thing. It's good for women and men to fellowship with others and to learn about God whether it be in Sunday school or Sunday/Wednesday service.

Here is what I was taught (I was raised Catholic) a Church is where you go to praise God. It is not a religious services, it is a building. You can be "saved" even if you do not attend religious services. God is concerned about how you cat in your life, not about how many times your "praised him" in a religious service. If you attend religious services but act poorly in your life, your are a hypocrite and therefore will be judged as one.

I agree that you should choose a church to go to because it makes you feel comfortable and welcome. There are so many churches out there that seem determined to "filter" out certain people based on their financial status, race, background ect. You should be able to attend a church solely to enjoy worship and fellowship with people who want to be their as much as you do. I was raised Baptist but I can honestly say the most enjoyment I have ever had at church has been when I attended Catholic services.

Many people find the fellowship of church attendance well worth while. That being said, please tell me where God (I mean God here) mentioned, "that we are a church." St Paul was hot for church attendance because he was in it for the personal gain. Lets face it, the Christian Church is the richest business organization in the World. NO Question!The church didn't get that was by giving alms to the poor.

church can be defined as a place where u get solace. where u can contemplate ur actions and ask for forgiveness from ur sins any place where u can do this is the house of god

I completely agree with you. It's the spirit of faith and community that should guide someone when they pick a church. Faith and spirituality is a very personal experience and it makes sense that the church that is right for one person may not be right for another.

Hi! This is my first response after being away from myLot for 7 months. For me a church is the people who gather around to worhsip the Lord. It is not necessarily a building, which a lot of churches are focusing on right now - building-up, renovation and so on. Jesus himself did not build any building that He calls "church." He preached on the seashore,on the temple or anywhere He could find a crowd. In that manner, people from all walks of life, especially the poor and the outcasts could hear the word of God without necessarily going through a tough traditional ways of entering a temple or a church. The church becomes the body of Christ where the people gather as a group to praise Him. Yeah it does help to have a church cos it is like having a community of people where you share you experiences, burdens and work together towards advancing the Lord's Kingdom. God's call for unity is to bring all creation under His Lordship and this should be the church's number one concern. Sadly and I wanna say unknowingly, the church divides the community with how they represent their doctrine, their culture and ways. Some people in the community are feeling outcasted and their belief and ways of praising the Lord are not accepted and respected, quoting them as "cult" or any other names.

Pastorkayte, the church is the group of people who come together to worship God. However as a Catholic, we are taught that Peter is appointed by Christ to lead his church. Chirst gave Peter the Key of Heaven and Earth and the power to bind in earth as in heaven. The pope, as Peters' successor is the shepherd of the entire Catholic Church. This could be further elaborated in the old Testament where the symbolism of giving someone the "key" is explained very well.

i go to church so i can reconnect & share in the love thats all around. i feel society as a whole is loosing what it means to be human. does it really matter what denomination we follow as long as we have faith to believe in something that is far greqater then we are. i think that if we have faith & love in our hearts then we will be excepted into the kingdom of heaven.