A) All believers that you share core beliefs with but are divided on everything else?
B) Those believers who are looking in the same direction and are on the same wavelength as you?
Could you worship weekly with a happy, clappy church where the pastor's goal is to make everyone laugh during the sermon? If you had to worship in that context, could you say confidently "This is my faith family?" Could you worship, edify and evangelize in such a context?
Your response is greatly anticipated and appreciated.
My actual membership is in a church that I only want to go to around 7 or 8 times a year.
While I consider them my "church family" because we profess faith in the main Seventh-day Adventist doctrines, there are so many areas where we don't agree, the lack of discussion even during lesson study time, and the general lack of fire by church members, that I consider it downright dangerous to my spiritual health to go there very often.
I have a found an online church in England (Croydon Church) that allows a robust exchange of ideas and rarely goes full Liberal, so I'm starting to consider it more of my "church family" than the physical church I'm a member at.
If the church was very Liberal and laughing and talking about "unconditional love", I would flee there as quick as possible, as the influence on me if I stayed there would be disastrous for my spiritual well-being. If you have done what you could to raise your voice against the abominations and/or false doctrines, and there is still no change, I would flee it even quicker than Lot fled Sodom!
Hi Shireen, one way of tackling this question is to consider the quote below.
If a church has two groups within it that both profess the truth, but only one of those groups has actually followed through at a heart level, then are both groups part of the same church family?
In nominal terms the answer is typically "yes", but in spiritual terms the answer is "no".
As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel's message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the ranks of the opposition. By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former brethren. When Sabbathkeepers are brought before the courts to answer for their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to stir up the rulers against them. {GC 608.2}
SOP tells us that jokes from the pulpit are not good. For 2 reasons: 1) it makes the audience think that you are not really serious and they are confused in that they cant discern jokes from serious truth. 2) the jokes bring glory to the jokester and glorifies the speaker.
search for another sda church, and pray for the leadership
if there is not one in the area then looking online for some good spiritual food might help
It is impossible for any one to become a true follower of Jesus Christ, without distinguishing himself from the worldly mass of unbelievers. If the world would accept of Jesus, then there would be no sword of dissension; for all would be disciples of Christ and in fellowship one with another, and their unity would be unbroken. But this is not the case. Here and there an individual member of a family is true to the convictions of his conscience, and is compelled to stand alone in his family or in the church to which he belongs, and is finally compelled, because of the course of those with whom he associates, to separate himself from their companionship. The line of demarkation is made distinct. One stands upon the word of God, the others upon the traditions and sayings of men. {RH, July 24, 1894 par. 3}
