new churches and members following you

so ive come to this new church and i skipped yesterday, the pastor is going to new orleans in LA and i got the strange felling like he was trying to pull a lot of implied things from no where. so its the reason i skipped. he'll be back on the 24th to preach and i know from what he'll see he'll try to pull more of it in a wednesday group study. i know i am there to preach and he wants to hold onto his pullpit since he just got it 8 months ago. im just there to preach to the kids rather than parents. concidering a new generation and how they are the ones feeling the burden of society and where the economy is and stuff of that nature.
that being explained, what do you do to get it threw to him your not an outsider your not an atheist and your there to help? all im getting is the red flag of "shit we have an atheist" just because i am new. what can i do to get with this or a church who wont see me as the enemy?

and what do i do about church members and them contacting me because i didnt go? it feels like im being hunted.

From what I understand, you are being called to preach at this church, but in a youth ministry setting. You haven't been there long and the pastor seems to not like you because he doesn't know you so he has pre judged you? Does that sound right?

Sounds like a very poor leadership going on at that church so I would recommend you not trying to leave and see if you can change things if you're up for it. Most american churches have this quality of leadership nowadays. What i wold do is let your presence be known there, talk to members, talk to the pastor, dont let it matter to you if they judge you, give them a reason to see you arent who they think you are, If the pastor has a problem with judging unrighteously then you can guarantee the whole congregation will be following in his footsteps. Can a blind man lead a blind man? They will both fall into a pit.

Let not the judgement of man interfere with your work in the kingdom.

My advice is to stick it out and continue to go to the meetings and continue to learn as much as you can about Christ and show them you are knowledgeable and wise in what you say and do.

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

And members are trying to contact you because you missed one sunday??

yes yes and yes. i skipped a sunday to get away from it all, ive been going to different churches for 4 weeks, not uncommon i know people who do it all the time. its just exhausting. i'll keep going the fact that i am young and have just moved for school(college) always seems to be a "im bigger than you, male dominance" complex.

Yeah, its something that is ungodly and not supposed to be practiced by older men. Sure, we are to be submissive to true leadership (as long as they are following Gods will) but there is equality in the church and now that I know how old you are, the verse I used fits perfectly with this situation.

I too go to multiple churches, it is something that should be more common then it is. Sure, people misuse it and hop from church to church withotu anything good coming from it, but there are also the ones who do it rightly and go for separate teachings or congregations. The apostle Paul was not part of just one single church but went from each in seperate regions, as should we.

if you believe your there to minister to youth members of the congregation your going to be expected to be there to minister to youth members of the congregation. an absent shepherd is of no use to his flock. kids are impressionable. impress them. show them your capable of leading by example. i dont see how you can say your there to preach and then say you couldnt take the pressure of..... whatever and then use the pastors absence as an excuse to skip out on them yourself as well. as for being "hunted", is it possible they actually really missed you? is it possible the kids mentioned to their folks that they may have been disappointed at your absence and the parents decided to inquire about it. if i was the pastor and heard that someone had skipped out because that individual was butthurt over some possible "implications" i certainly would question the wisdom of assigning that individual a leadership roll in the church. im not trying to be a dick but thats what your post read like. if im wrong i apologize for the misunderstanding. peace

As far as I know, the OP doesnt have a leadership position in the church, if he does, then what I have said will be revoked because then there is implication as to be concerned by the pastor, as you rightfully stated mud.

trueg115 said:

As far as I know, the OP doesnt have a leadership position in the church, if he does, then what I have said will be revoked because then there is implication as to be concerned by the pastor, as you rightfully stated mud.

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he didnt say he had a leadership roll but did say one reason he felt led to this church was to minister to their youth. if he feels the pastor or anyone else has issues with him he needs to be there to let everyone get to know him and if need be address these issues directly. publicly if need be. no one else will. how could they? they dont know him. and unfortunately, if hes so thinskinned that he has to run off to a different church everytime theres a little tension applied (and im not saying that this is a habit with him cuz i dont know the man) that is the only thing people will remember about him. so silas, if you want what you say you do be there to fight for it. truly being led to a place for a particular reason doesnt mean anything is just gonna be handed to you. best wishes. peace

This is why I am so nervous in my own walk. I dont want to fuck things up. Thinking God wants me to do something or not & then fuck it all up in my own way.

I know as I grow in my walk this will change, but its where I am now. I am ceratinly growing in faith though.. I think that's where I'm getting nervous. I know God's got something for me, just not sure what yet. Am I suppoed to wait or am I to charge ahead & screw it up because I'm not tuned to what He wants?

Frustrations not the right word, but it sort of fits.. Frustrations is a negative, Im not trying to be negative. Just concerned. Not afraid.. No fear at all..

carl.burnette said:

This is why I am so nervous in my own walk. I dont want to fuck things up. Thinking God wants me to do something or not & then fuck it all up in my own way.

I know as I grow in my walk this will change, but its where I am now. I am ceratinly growing in faith though.. I think that's where I'm getting nervous. I know God's got something for me, just not sure what yet. Am I suppoed to wait or am I to charge ahead & screw it up because I'm not tuned to what He wants?

Frustrations not the right word, but it sort of fits.. Frustrations is a negative, Im not trying to be negative. Just concerned. Not afraid.. No fear at all..

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It is not good to have zeal without knowledge. or Desire without knowledge is not good—how much more will hasty feet miss the way! Proverbs 19

In other words, it is not good to be quick to do something when you don't know if its right or not. Walk before you run, then your steps will not be hampered and you will not stumble.

carl.burnette said:

This is why I am so nervous in my own walk. I dont want to fuck things up. Thinking God wants me to do something or not & then fuck it all up in my own way. I know as I grow in my walk this will change, but its where I am now. I am ceratinly growing in faith though.. I think that's where I'm getting nervous. I know God's got something for me, just not sure what yet. Am I suppoed to wait or am I to charge ahead & screw it up because I'm not tuned to what He wants?Frustrations not the right word, but it sort of fits.. Frustrations is a negative, Im not trying to be negative. Just concerned. Not afraid.. No fear at all..

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no need to be nervous dude. when the situation arises there will be no mistaking it. no point in worrying either. heheh

trueg115 said:

I too go to multiple churches, it is something that should be more common then it is. Sure, people misuse it and hop from church to church withotu anything good coming from it,

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i will no longer serve a church. i've stopped completly believing there is a church who will not destroy me. churchs are off limits for me. i just woke up to some really bad crap and i do feel the churches prayers are at work screwing thing up that God gave me. and i wont be apart of a congregation and their sicknesses. now i understand why so many people, even christians , dont go to church.

Remember that pharisees were running rampant in Jesus day, who are they? People that in their hearts exalt themselves but outward profess Jesus and act as if they follow Him, but you will know a tree by its fruits. Watch out for false prophets and pharisees. They are rampant today just like in Jesus time. Did this stop Jesus from going to the temple? No, because he knew they were the people he had to work with, or moreso against.

Just because one calls themselves a church doesnt mean they truly are one. They can look like they have it together on the outside but that will only last for a few moments. Only the true chuldren of God will contue in righteousness, pharisees are the worst of the worst.

As far as their prayers, I would search to understand pharisees in the bible, you may not be far away from the truth on that.

silasraven said:

i will no longer serve a church. i've stopped completly believing there is a church who will not destroy me. churchs are off limits for me. i just woke up to some really bad crap and i do feel the churches prayers are at work screwing thing up that God gave me. and i wont be apart of a congregation and their sicknesses. now i understand why so many people, even christians , dont go to church.

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Probably good you got while you could -

[video=youtube;9DOBAiSvlU4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DOBAiSvlU4[/video]

yeah something like that.