Should my family return to the church we recently left?
604641
well, it kinda depends on what your issues with that church were.  Is it a church where you feel that you are being spiritually led and where you feel the leaders of the church including the pastor are looking for God's will in the church?  Those are the most important things...if you feel God's sincere presence there and that they are doing God's work.  Then you can overlook or work with them to solve other petty problems.  Good luck and God bless.
520688
You should go anyway. Plus you will met new friends and have a great time. When I went to church camp i was friends with almost everyone there and I had so much fun that I was sad to go home. Just because your friends from home aren't goin doesn't mean you wont have friends there.
479752
how sad.  First of all let me say that your family is now in my prayers.  Second of all, your age could help me answer you better.  Its obvious that you love Church, but I bet you love God more.  For right now, why not just study privatly until your mom cools down some.  After she has calmed down, sit down and talk to her, tell her how much you love her, and how much she means to you.  Explain to her that God is very important to you ,and while you wont force her to go to Church, you want to go yourself.  Tell her that nothing will change the love you have for her.  explain to her that while it would hurt her if someone took you away from her, it hurts you when you are took away from worshiping God.  \nThe faith that you have in God will sustain you, have faith in your mom that she will come around.  Remember the words that come out of our mouths have the power to either curse us, of bless us.  Keep saying mom will let me go back to Church.  Mom will change her outlook on God and religion.  \nGod Bless you, I will pray that mom comes around and all works out for the will of God.
695222
I'm sorry, I couldn't find your church, your description paints an interesting picture that I would liked to have seen.  I tried using the search criteria you provided, maybe if/when you remember some more details, you can search for it at the following sites.  The Archives only go back to March-April of 2006, being a fall setting, it may have been 2005.  Good Luck \n\nAAA HOME AND AWAY:\nhttp://www.homeandawaymagazine.com/\n\nARCHIVES:\nhttp://www.homeandawaymagazine.com/content.cfm?p=archives.cfm
347975
Your final statement is quite telling. You still need someone else to prove you wrong! \n\nHow many more unanswered questions must you have about the church that you belong to before you make the cognitive decision, once and for all, to get the hell out of Dodge anyway? If I were you I'd skedaddle outta town before high noon!\n\nI know I did.
869031
You are probably right, going to church keeps you accountable, and accountability is a good thing.  Otherwise you are more apt to slip away from God and your walk with him.
1088691
wow, what a loaded question for me. let me say that I was raised catholic, and after getting married I decided to be primitive baptist, and we were that for 9 years. its a lil small church, and for 9 years, I kept feeling like this church was so full of hypocrites, but that is where the inlaws went and all of the husbands family, and I knew I wanted my kids to be involved in church. Needless to say God showed us the way , about 3 years ago, life changed for us, my husbands job filed bankruptcy, and I made a bad decision to work at night as a bartender, then stripper, eventually I got into drugs and so did my husband, we lost cutody of the kids and from that we got clean, and have been now for 2 1./2 years...from that at a primitive baptist church , they ask you to admit your wrongs before the whole church...well needless to say in 9 years we had never heard anyone do this, but we thought the right thing to do would be admit our wrongs before the church......well let me  just say the reception was not very warm, these "Godly" people turned their backs on us and judged us and basically condemed us to "hell"! I dont know even know why I expexted more. we got excluded from membership at this church. Yes our feelings were hurt, but it was God doing for us , what we could not do for ourselves.Today we attend a methodist church, and the whole church knows we are recovering drug addicts , and they welcome us with open arms, and sometimes introduce us to others who may be struggling with something like what we have been through. it is awesome to be able to go there and be who you are, with little or no judgement, I now feel a part of , and i know I am where God wants me to be.
1168527
sounds like you have all you need.  Ever try to call the church and ask? They might know.\n\nHave a good week.
412664
That is definately a tough one to deal with. Unfortunately the answers are not what we really want to hear. You see God set up the family system to work a certain way. You see all troughout the Bible that families come in many shapes and sizes and all of the children from both or from previous honored and obeyed their current father. \n  Now the good part!  The Word indicates that when two people are wed that they shall leave their father and mother and give themselves to each other.  They have essentially become a new family unit.  In that unit the husband is set up as the spiritual leader and the woman gains profound blessings. By that you are no longer under the authority of either of your parents.  Honoring them is still important as well as honoring each other. However, obeying every whim is not necessary. \nI do not know the situation you have but I can tell you putting God first, then your husband, and then family, will really help in a lot of things.  Father in Laws may be full of good advice and wisdom but we are not bound to use it any longer.  Listen to him. Honor him by living a life worthy to his son. But do not feel like you have to be what he wants you to be. Your family should be different than theirs.
356278
it's easy to answer this. i have several for you to consider:\n\n1) if you're a God-fearing woman, you would let him back in the family as he IS your husband (considering neither he or you got re-married). a marriage, in God's eye, is sacred.\n\n2) if you don't care about God, and all you think about is you and your child, let him out of the family. he's hurt you and your kid already...what are the chances of him hurting you again?\n\n3) if all you care about is yourself, seek professional help.\n\n4) if you also care for your child growing up with a full set of parents, invite your husband back. do whatever it takes to make it work, keeping your child in the center of your relationship.\n\n#4 worked for me and my wife. we had a terrible time but we both agreed that our kids (ages 5 and 2) don't deserve not having the other parent. we love our kids so much that they helped us withour marriage, believe it or not. of course, I prayed to God everyday to help us inprove our marriage and I'm sure my wife did too!
1064179
god and your church if your religious.\n\nfriends, family.
223094
I think you should choose the person who you feel you enjoy being with most.  If this is a decision on which of the two you want to spend your life with, I understand why your family and your church's opinion makes a difference.  However, they will not be seeing him everyday, for the rest of their lives.  They won't be kissing him, listening to his opinions, his problems, his good days and bad days.  After church service is over and your family goes back to their home, the two of you will be left alone to live your lives.  It seems you should base your decision on who you truly, truly feel the most feelings for, and who you can see fitting into your life for a long period of time.  Hope that helps :)
205900
You need to be proactive in this situation, not reactive. I would immediately seek the counsel of your clergy and an attorney to protect your children and your assets.
649514
I'm not sure when it comes to other countries, but being in a large city there may be an archdiocese that can help or maybe another church in the area. Let me know how it turns out.  Congratulations!!!
707051
What your mom is objecting to is the distance you want to travel to church.She is'nt against you practising your religion.Only that you do so,at a local church.35miles to go to church,is a bit far
97383
I think it's great to go to several churches. It's also great to find one that you consider your home church. You can do this without turning your back on other denominations. The church needs more people like you who are not only willing, but excited to cross the denominational lines. Afterall, unity is so important!
748206
You could go to youth hostels, the YMCA, the Salvation Army.  There are lots of choices but are you sure leaving your family is a good idea right now?  I don't know what the problem is but usually if you leave before it gets resolved you will never resolve them.  I moved out when I was 16 as well and now I haven't talked to my sisters or my parents in 13 years.  Weigh your options carefully.