More about me

Mike Binks said:

”I  am not one religion or another. I reside broadly in the evangelical realm. I do follow a Baptist church but do not agree with everything. If anyone has any questions please let me know. “

Is this a mistype?  I can't hold the sense of these there sentences together.

I understood it to mean "I am not one denomination or another," but I may be wrong.

Christian Alexander said:

I do reside in an independent baptist church.

I was raised in this type of church.....fond memories even though I have moved on. 

Christian Alexander said:

My pastor said in his sermon last Sunday that Justification was by works alone. 

Run....don't look back

Christian Alexander said:

That is exactly what I did. I am going to a completely online church. This leads me to another question. Is it bad to be a completely online churchgoer?

Christian, I would advise against it. In certain circumstances it may be the best option but for most of us it will hinder our Christian growth. We need fellowship with other Christians and it is hard to get that online. We also need opportunity for service. For me Christianity is not a spectator sport. We need to get into the play of the game. We need encouragement in our Christian walk and we need to be encouragers for others. There is a reason why we have been counseled "do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is." It is hard to build the kingdom of Christ by ourselves, we need one another.

Christian Alexander said:

Is it bad to be a completely online churchgoer?

Rather than offer personal opinion, I suggest a Logos Bible search of "one another" and ask "which of the one anothers can I accomplish completely online?"

This one is slowly turning into a theological discussion thread 🧵 🪡 careful not to get poked with the needle.

DAL

I did not realize I was being baited into a theological discussion.  I apologize.

Bob

Generalizations are helpful guides, but don't always work as rules.

Online communication has opened up the possibility for isolated and marginalized people to interact more often with people that are not isolated and marginalized. The obstacles faced by these people that previously were hidden away are not obstacles that everyone faces. And when multiple obstacles are present, the quick-fix remedies that "solve" single and temporary obstacles do not solve the complex web of obstacles that some isolated and marginalized people face daily.

Sometimes what appears to be inconsistencies and illogical choices can be based off of information that is not shared for multiple reason:

Sometimes the isolated person knows so little about the culture of the people he is communicating with that he does not know to share some things. We don't know what we don't know. And the more we learn, the more we learn that we don't know.

People using low-vision and other accessibility features; and older, mobile, and foreign operating systems and devices often don't see all the extra things that others can see on their screens. Sometimes people cannot or don't have the skills to use all the resources of a forum or the WWW in general.

Sometimes people are protecting someone else, never mind themselves, by keeping some things private. Pink elephant things that change everything. When hidden people are pushed to reveal things or to justify why they are not living their lives by the general rules that work best for people with more resources, their choices aren't going to always look virtuous and logical, even when they are certainly virtuous and logical. Some people are not living safe lives.

Reaching out and asking for help is not always as simple as it looks. It just isn't.

My messy and adventurous life has put me in greater contact with other people living messy and adventurous lives. Sometimes we have been able to help each other navigate the parts of the online world where the "normal" people hang out. Sometimes I even get to live for awhile in "normal" places offline, and so do some of the others like me. We share tips on how to navigate among the "normies" online and offline.

I am not responding directly to the OP or anyone else. I am just thinking it is a good time to say some of this. When we speak to someone online, we are flying blind about the full extent of their circumstances. There is so much that we don't know. Conclusions and judgements can be so very very wrong.

Sometimes what people don't say is so much more informative than what they do say. But we have to be so very careful NOT to make judgements about that stuff. And help them feel safe about maintaining those silences. I have lost online friends, because people were trying to pin them down to reveal things, or shaming them for things that were not shameful. These isolated people will pull back and isolate more, not less. Sometimes people that read forums but never post will never post because of what they see happening to those who do post.

Most people are smarter and braver and more resourceful than we give them credit. When we cannot see that, it is often a lack in ourselves, not a lack in them.

This is kind of a ramble. Sorry. I typed this fast and I am feeling a lot of emotion as I type this. I miss an online friend that had to go silent for safety reasons, and that loss is extra hard for me at Christmas. Again, I am not responding to anyone directly. Also I am not trying to hijack the OPs thread. I don't know what I am doing, Sorry.

Michael Kinch said:

Thanks Kathleen. I am lifting you up in prayer. 

Thank you!

You all have been so awesome to me as I navigate this current stage of my life. I know of no other place to learn what you all have been teaching me. It is a privilege to be here.

Mike Binks said:

Over the years nobody in the chat room had any idea that our 'friend' was restricted to head movements only.

Yup! And no one knowing this allowed this person to fully participate in a way that would have been impossible if people had been distracted by how "different" he was. But of course, generalizations did NOT apply to him, sometimes. We don't know what we don't know about people. And the harder we push for information, and the harder that we try to smoosh people into cookie cutter molds, the less they will feel safe enough to reveal things to us.

And even when people feel safe revealing things to those who post the most often, this is a public forum. Most public forums are mined by software that is looking for certain keywords. Some people keep some things private to prevent their posts from being flagged for words and phrases that they know not to use. Sometimes this is critical to their safety. We need to be so careful if we want the privilege of getting to meet as much of the church as possible.

MJ, thank you so much for sharing that!

I hope the OP does not mind that we are getting a bit offtopic. This conversation is important, though.

Before we get even more offtopic, your post just reminded me about what I just read about the NRSVue?

https://community.logos.com/forums/p/204688/1190574.aspx#1190574

Christian Alexander said:

I do not mind at all.

Thanks for being so understanding!

Good luck with your studies. You are farther along than me and attempting more advanced things. God has a unique purpose for each of us. The more unique the purpose, the more unique the person must be to fill that void. It's okay to be unique. It's critical that some people are unique. The survival of our species depends upon it.

We just have to try our best with what we have been given. We need to listen to general advice, we absolutely do, but we also need to know when to ignore rules that don't apply. The rules are made for man; not man for the rules. If so much has been invested in making us unique, I don't think we are allowed to waste it all trying to be like all the others that are already filling that purpose.

Our greatest weaknesses are also often our strengths. I have a mug that I got from the Dollar Store that says, "Bloom Where You Are Planted." That is what I am trying to do.