Christian Autoethnography

I was blessed to be able to go through such a good school system. Some people complained about going to a private, Christian school, but I really enjoyed it. I do wonder sometimes though what it would have been like to go through public schooling and if that would have changed how I am today. I think the strong morals and values I hold today were largely created by my upbringing. But, I do think I used to simply claim to be a Christian because of my family. If my parents are Christian that must mean I’m a Christian, right? Going to college made me realize that my faith is something that I have to make my own. My faith is not necessarily my parents’ faith. I have to make a decision on what I believe and what I stand for, separate from my family. I remember that around the age of 14 I started to feel distant from God and was not very strong in my faith. Throughout high school I think I had different points of feeling “spiritual highs,” but felt like my faith was lukewarm. Today, I think I am starting to separate my parent’s faith from my own, and starting to make it mine. I feel like this is something everyone has to do at some point in their life. In the past year, and in the past couple months especially, I have had a stronger relationship with God. I definitely don’t feel “strong” in my faith, but I feel like I am growing spiritually. I think being here and the

Being born in America where the majority of people 's faith is Christian , and my upbring in religion was based on those beliefs. I believe that there are many things in the Bible that are good , however the good is far outweighed by the unpalatable and contradictory parts of the Bible . Many people in faith have no evidence to justify claims, for example one time my Christian pastor went on about how the government should not be taking our guns. Yet Jesus was someone who valued things like love , compassion, acceptance , hope and giving. I don 't think Jesus would be advocating for gun rights. In my experience I have met some of the most judgemental , bigoted, hateful, and fake people in church. I do believe that most people are ,”good” but no one is perfect and any person can make bad choices. I think there are evil Christians, evil Muslims , evil Atheist, however there are good Christians , good Muslims, and good Atheists. I think most people would like to see the world as black and white, but morality is a gray area. Good and Evil are both subjective ideas , because someone 's opinion of how I live my life might be see as evil , whereas to my logical understanding it is morally good. I could rant all day and night about what is moral and why we should understand that almost no one on this earth believes that exact same as anyone else. Like most of my opinion as long as your faith and believes do not hurt anyone and do not legislate on things like science and the

*To spend time together as a family *To share God’s word *To connect with the church

In the days before and those to come, this saying has been by popular demand; “we had a time at church today”. Humans are the subject of those feelings many times every Sunday. Matter of fact, I heard it last Sunday communicating with my daughter about the church she went attended. One might say that only certain denominations have church worship more intense than others.

Before I came to college, I really did not have a Christian community to call home. I diligently attended Sunday service etc., but I did not have a community of Christians that surrounded me in my school and daily life. Most of the attendees were older adults who did not understand my youthful tendencies and interests. Thus, it was hard for me to exercise my beliefs outside of the church setting. My friends at school did not care for my faith, and I felt my spirituality be suppressed and ignored. I knew that I was not growing in faith by sermon messages alone and needed a spiritual community of mentorship, accountability, and guidance. However, I did not know where to find it.

The traditional church does not wavier from their primary time of gathering on Sunday morning. This one to two hour service or event is geared toward paying for physical properties and the pastor’s salary. The traditional church tends to be program and event driven with the pastor and the deacons running the show. The membership is a revolving door, meaning their more members on the roster then attendees. As a child growing up in the traditional church was boring and there was no room for growth in the sense of learning new

Human beings have 4 basic needs that must be met. They have physical needs where they need to fix a problem in their life, they have social needs where they need to belong to something they have ego, needs where they need to feel important and they have spiritual needs where they need to connect and help others. People will attend church to fulfill a need. The church needs to communicate to people how to discover their purpose, how to have better

I’m a Coptic Orthodox and my family try to go to church every sunday. We also sometimes come in Friday and Saturday nights. In Sunday, there is a liturgy, or a mass. In church, people get baptized when they’re a few month old and they take their first communion. In Friday and Saturday we have hymns classes and Choir/Band meetings. In Sunday, we all go to Sunday School after the liturgy. I also pray every day and try to read the bible before I sleep every night.

So I have church hopped faithfully for most of my life. I have visited many church over the past years. I never really knew the importance of growing spiritually in your church or why it isn't good to attend different church each Sunday. So here's my story.

"I think that going to church is fellowship, it's relationship, it's what we're here on the Earth to do, to have this connection that you feel there's no insecurities. I think that's where we need to be,” he

My whole life I have heard it said that I “should love others just as Jesus has loved me,” John 15:12. I have grown up in the Christian Church and have developed a relationship with my God, Jesus Christ. As I have matured in my spiritual relationship and in my social understanding, I began to notice the hypocrisy within the Christian Church and how our leaders have undermined the very foundation that they preach on. I’ve always believed that I should be “subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one to be peaceable and considerate and always to be gentle toward everyone,” Titus 3:1. While this is the message that the leaders and public figures of the Christian Church preach on, their actions in American political and cultural issues describe

In the contemporary world, this refers to churches of the world existing as different denominations. Gathered communities that come together in the act of worshipping God are involved in the act of fellowship. I see ritual of Eucharist and intercessory prayers as forms of fellowship. There is element of inclusion and participation. That is why the authors stress that “life in a congregation” is not walking “alone.”

Many of the things discussed above are effective and lead to a more well-balanced Sunday service. Let us observe the idea of delegating tasks to others. If only one person tried to tackle all the responsibilities that were required to operate the church, one could quickly become overloaded. This may possibly lead to the individual suffering spiritually. Therefore, regular meetings are a great way to allow everyone’s voice to be heard. Someone else’s ideas can trigger another way for something to be established. We are only human and we can make mistakes and have to rethink what we originally thought was an accurate and efficient idea. Churches operate much more efficiently with a team rather than an

Growing up, I was raised in a traditional Methodist church where everyone knew one another, everyone sang straight from the hymnal books, and everyone dressed in their Sunday best. Once I started school I began attending Life Church in Cookeville, Tennessee. I knew this church would not be the same as my traditional church, but I did not know what I was about to experience.

Often many argue that you must be a part congregation to be a part of The Church. Although being a part of a church is important, it is not necessary to be a part of the body. I believe that those who do not have a church congregation to be a part of have a hindered spiritual walk. Being a part of a church calls for accountability, lessons, and ministry, which has been vital in my own personal