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  #21  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2008, 2:03 AM
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Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas View Post
^ That's the one in the panhandle near Groom, Texas.



I hear ya. I'm all for freedom of religion and acceptance. Live and let live is my motto. While I'm not religious, I believe people have the right to it in any form. However, these big mega churches make me wretch. This church in San Antonio doesn't seem to be a "mega-church". Those places are soulless arenas for collecting cash. There's really no connection to god at those places anyway like you have in smaller churches like you mentioned.

My dad immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1956 with his parents, and brothers and sister. it was a Lutheran church in New Sweden, Texas that sponsored them. Basically they helped pay for their trip and gave them jobs and put the children in school. The church is a little old chapel built in 1922 sitting on a hill.

You can see a picture of the church here. My grandparents are buried in the cemetery pictured there.
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/tx/newsweden.html
That's not true.
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  #22  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2008, 3:46 AM
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I guess if people believe they've found god there, then that's fine. Whatever makes them happy. But I have a problem handing over money to just any cause. The church I had gone to as a child with my family built a larger building a few miles away near Oak Hill. It's bigger, more modern, more fancy. And we haven't gone. Unfortunately after they built the new building they went bankrupt. Also one of the founding pastors retired. They had to sell the original building a quarter mile from my house. My parents were married there, my brother and sister and I were baptized there. My dad and uncle's funerals were held there. And we went there at least every Christmas for the Christmas service. So there's a lot of family memories there and it's a real shame that it's closed. A new church bought the building. Even my aunt, who while liberal, was religious and volunteered at the church often and attended church every Sunday. Since the new church was opened and the old building sold, she hasn't gone to the new one. I have to say, even though I'm not religious, I do miss those family get-togethers. I guess I'm a bit disenfranchised with church, at least for now.
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  #23  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2008, 3:46 AM
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Those places are soulless arenas for collecting cash. There's really no connection to god at those places anyway like you have in smaller churches like you mentioned.
i'll agree with trae. while i think i would agree with the sentiment behind your post, kevin, i'd have to lean towards allowing god to exist wherever he (or she, either way) pleases. being that christ championed a "church not built with hands" the place to go looking for souls is in individuals, regardless of where (or whether) they choose to attend a service.
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  #24  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2008, 3:51 AM
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some interesting graffiti i caught on a wall in johannesburg, south africa...just adding more food for thought to the buffet line.



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  #25  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2008, 3:04 PM
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When it comes to "mega-churches", it generally seems that in addition to the size of the congregation, "mega" is also an apt descriptor for the ego of the pastor. Last Sunday I happened upon a broadcast of a Joel Olsteen sermon on TV (those of you from TX probably know he preaches out of Houston), and while he was preaching/giving his motivational speech, the screen was littered with advertisements for his book. Last time I checked, churches were charged with the business of teaching the Bible, and not promoting one man's book as a substitute.

This cross, while aesthetically pleasing, runs counter to teachings found all over the New Testament regarding humility and showing God in one's self, and not in earthly displays or symbols (1 Pet. 5:5,6; Acts 17:24,25,29).
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  #26  
Old Posted Mar 30, 2008, 5:30 PM
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It has been my experience that the leadership of a church makes a huge difference in how effective, or ineffective a church is. I have attended small churches and large ones. The last large one I attended was awesome. They were involved in so many things in the community that helped the poor, downtrodden, etc. that it was amazing. In fact, the pastor expected everyone to get involved in some kind of community project sponsored by the church and not just sit in the pews. It was a really active, cool place to be with a lot of caring people and that attitude was reflected strongly by the leadership of the church. In one smaller church I attended it was the opposite. They spent every dime on themselves (and not just out of neccessity) and generally had a judgemental negative attitude. The pastor set the tone there and it trickled down to everyone. In summary, I think there are good, and bad churches of every size.
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  #27  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2008, 2:36 AM
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Holy crap! 123 feet?
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  #28  
Old Posted Mar 31, 2008, 3:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by oldmanshirt View Post
When it comes to "mega-churches", it generally seems that in addition to the size of the congregation, "mega" is also an apt descriptor for the ego of the pastor. Last Sunday I happened upon a broadcast of a Joel Olsteen sermon on TV (those of you from TX probably know he preaches out of Houston), and while he was preaching/giving his motivational speech, the screen was littered with advertisements for his book. Last time I checked, churches were charged with the business of teaching the Bible, and not promoting one man's book as a substitute.

This cross, while aesthetically pleasing, runs counter to teachings found all over the New Testament regarding humility and showing God in one's self, and not in earthly displays or symbols (1 Pet. 5:5,6; Acts 17:24,25,29).
I go to Lakewood, and I don't see anything wrong with them advertising his book on TV telecasts. They also give out the address to Lakewood and dates where Pastor Joel will be speaking over the next several weeks.
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