What if being together with christians makes you feel weird?

[xdisciplex]

I don't know, but the charismatic house meeting which I attend is slowly turning into a real torture. First of all it doesn't help me. I don't learn anything there. It's mostly about singing and chit chatting. And the singing is also terrible. During the worship when the others are standing there either clapping or having their arms raised I feel so absolutely miserable! I really feel like being in the wrong movie or being in a sect. It totally drags me down and everything simply seems so goofy and weird to me and then I think about wether God is also goofy if he likes this stuff or wether it's simply God's character that he's into such things. I mean why are so many people which are professing christians so weird? Is this because God is weird, too? Or does God like weird people? I think that this is totally repelling because when weird people talk about God and the bible and what God showed them and what they experienced with God and all this stuff then you cannot take this seriously at all, at least I can't. When I hear a person talk about what God is supposed to have done and the person is simply weird then I don't know what to think about this.
I don't know if God is really doing all those things which they say he does or not. I don't know if they are simply weird and if they imagine these things or if they are real. But when they talk about the presence of God and how the Holy Spirit once again worked among them and how the presence was so strong then I can either think that they are simply imagining this or that God is really doing these things but somehow there are too many things which don't fit together. In this church which the house meeting belongs to there is so much stuff going on which is simply creepy and I cannot make these things fit together. How can God be working there and at the same time there's all this creepy stuff going on? This simply doesn't make sense.
This is really the worst, when you're confronted with weird christians which seem to experience so much with God and then you cannot estimate at all if what they talk about is genuine or not.
But the worst is simply that if such a weird person talks about God then it's not convincing or trustworthy at all. It's like a weird sectarian talking about what he experienced. You also wouldn't believe such a person. I know a few weird people in my kin and they believe in reincarnation and such things and they are so weird that you cannot take them seriously at all. Even if such a person came to me and swore that she saw something or heard something I couldn't believe it and it's the same problem with weird christians. If a person seems weird then she isn't useful as a witness anymore. Whatever this person says isn't believable. And when these people talk about what they experienced with God and what the Holy Spirit revealed to them and so on then I ask myself if not maybe all people which claim to experience God are simply weird.
Somehow being weird and experiencing God seems to go hand in hand. Why does everybody seem to feel something and to feel God's presence except me? In these situations I can either think that it's simply because of me or that the others are simply imagining these things.
And what I also noticed is that it's usually the women which talk the most about impressions and feelings and revelations and visions. I simply cannot take all this stuff seriously. Maybe women are more accessible for such things or maybe they are more emotional and rather imagine things. Somehow I can understand why the testimony of a woman wasn't much worth in biblical times.
But what also drags me down is that I'm the only one who doesn't seem to enjoy worshipping. The others are all so overly happy and I'm the only one who sits there and feels like scratching out his eyes. I also cannot stand how overly happy and optimistic some persons are. I simply cannot stand it. Some seem to be always happy and never have any problems at all. This also doesn't seem realistic to me. When a christian is always totally happy then it rather seems strange to me as if this person is living in a dream world or simply indoctrinated or brainwashed.

But the worst is really when you find yourself among christians and then you feel as if you're in a sect or among lunatics. This simply isn't a good testimony.
When such people sing about Jesus and clap with their hands or when they stand there with their arms lifted in the air then it's simply offensive to me and if it's offensive to me how much more offensive and strange will it seem to an unbeliever? An unbeliever sees this and thinks that all christians are weirdos.
I also don't like the whole singing because in these situations I really feel like I'm in a sect. Why do christians have to sing worship songs? I don't know but to me it's simply strange. Songs are usually all about creating emotions and freaking out. When I see such things then it doesn't really attract me. I think it's much more attracting when you see christians which really seem to be down to earth and which don't talk about such weird things. If such a christian talked about an experience then it's a totally different thing. But if a weird christian talks about experiences then you directly think that it's either imagination or maybe deception.

 

[tragic_pizza]

Hmmm...

Well, singing is a part of praising God, or is at least suposed to be; that said, there are a lot of praise songs that are self-centered and not God-centered. There are a lot of folks who seem to be looking not for the face of God but for the next sensation.

xdx, it could be that the charismatic movement isn't for you. You may be someone who would be better fed in a traditional church -- Lutheran, I suppose, in Germany, though there are other denominations I am sure.

It also could be that God is showing you something, and causing you to grow and change in new ways.

I know that I feel very wierd around some Christians, superconservatives and charismatic/pentecostal types, and for many of the same reasons you mention.

 

[xdisciplex]

It's simply so sad that there doesn't seem to be the right church for me.
I would like to be together with normal people which aren't weird and which still experience God. But today it's like you have to decide between the pentecostal/charismatic or the conservative path and usually there's nothing going on in conservative churches. They may be very serious christians and totally determined but there also isn't much supernatural stuff happening. I think at sermonaudio you won't find any sermon where a pastor every says that God spoke to him or that he got a rhema from God. This is also sad.
Is it not possible to experience God and to be normal at the same time? No gold teeth, no gold dust, no weird stuff, but at the same time not sacrificing the genuine things from God.

 

[tragic_pizza]

Oh, it's absolutely possible.

Perhaps the problem is in how you've been taught to define "experiencing God."
Me, I experience God when I work with youth, when I have the opportunity to offer Christian care, and so on.

The way a lot of Charismatics and Pentecostals define "eperiencing God" is simply an emotional thing. It's much deeper than that.

 

[donnA]

what you seem to be looking for is a church where faith isn't necessary because you 'see' stuff happening. faith is when you see nothing happening and believe anyway. if your looking for a church to learn in your going to have to go out and look and actually join one and stoop making excuses. when you say experience God you are talking about the charismatic stuff, which you have already found a problem with. that is not experiencing God. you expereince God when He works through you, when you read the bible and really learn something, when you listen to a gifted teacher and learn, when you serve God. not when you go to charismatic parties.

 

[xdisciplex]

No, this is not what I mean.
This is exactly the problem. The charismatics are too freaky but the conservative christians, like baptists for example, reduce everything too far in my opinion. The experience of God is reduced to something like: "I experience God when a child smiles at me" or "I experience God when I read the bible". This isn't what I mean. If this is everything which is available today then it's very sad. I am talking about experiencing God, about hearing God, about seeing God answer prayers. Why in the world should these things belong to the past and why should God have turned into a passive spectator? This is simply what I don't get. Why is God so totally reduced to the bible? It's as if the bible is everything and we don't even need God anymore. This is definitely not what I am looking for. How can a christian say that he knows God when he doesn't hear him? Then he also cannot know him.

faith is when you see nothing happening and believe anyway.

This sounds sobering. It sounds like: God is never going to do anything miraculous, but believe anyway.

 

[annsni]

Well, does it take faith to believe God when He does some fancy, cool things? I've been a Christian for almost 35 years now and there are times when God's fingerprint has been very visible to me and times where it seemed like I was in the desert alone. God is still there no matter what. He DOES still perform miracles, though - just not every second of the day in our faces.

 

[webdog]

the charismatic house meeting

That says it all.

You have been counseled to find a good BIBLE BASED Church...not a charismatic house meeting. If you feel uncomfortable...you should. If you continue to look for experiences instead of Christ, keep going to the house meeting.

I'm beginning to wonder if you are a troll. You never take good, sound advice, yet continue to start these ridiculous threads. Get into a good Church, and get good biblical counseling.

 

[DQuixote]

Could someone define "troll", please? Thanks.

 

[webdog]

Could someone define "troll", please? Thanks.

From wikipedia...

In Internet terminology, a troll is a person who enters an established community such as an online discussion forum and intentionally tries to cause disruption, often in the form of posting messages that are inflammatory, insulting, incorrect, inaccurate, absurd, or off-topic, with the intent of provoking a reaction from others. Trolls can also be existing members of such a community that rarely post and often contribute no useful information to the thread, but instead make argumentative posts in an attempt to discredit another person, more often than not based on what they thought was said rather than what was actually said by the other person, concentrating almost exclusively on facts irrelevant to the point of the conversation, with the intent of provoking a reaction from others. The key element under attack by a troll is the forum or group's hegemony. Hegemony refers to the recognized and agreed upon power structure of the said group or community. To this extent, a troll does not necessarily have to make malicious or incorrect comments. For example, a liberal-minded person who approaches a forum frequented by right-wing neo-nazis, may be considered a troll, even if no lies or attacks are made.
A person who retaliates (using whatever means) as a result of a misunderstanding (or as a way of rebelling against the overzealous application of rules) is not a troll. A troll is a person who approaches a board with the specific intention of destroying a forum's hegemony, either with no particular motive or provocation in mind, other than to be purely destructive or if the motive or provocation is against the ethos of the board. For example, a neo-nazi approaching a Jewish forum with the intention of attacking the members, purely because the neo-nazi knows the forum to contain Jewish members, may be considered a troll. A Jewish member of the said forum, who becomes angry with the neo-nazi and breaks the rules in gaining revenge against the neo-nazi, and who is subsequently banned and who then begins to rebel, is not a troll.
The general element, that determines whether a malicious user is a troll or not, is the level of indignant emotions present in the person, coupled with the person's history with the forum or group. An indignant user who has had a previous normal relationship with the group is not a troll, even if the user uses methods of attack that are characteristic of a troll attack.
The term Troll is often used as an insult in online communications, resulting in it being largely misapplied.

 

[DQuixote]

Whoa! How I wish they could have boiled it down to 100 words or less!

Thanks!

 

[webdog]

Short version...

In Internet terminology, a troll is a person who enters an established community such as an online discussion forum and intentionally tries to cause disruption, often in the form of posting messages that are inflammatory, insulting, incorrect, inaccurate, absurd, or off-topic, with the intent of provoking a reaction from others.

 

[DQuixote]

xdx, I think we could answer your questions forever ---- in fact, you have been given very good answers for as long as I have visited the BB ---- and you will still reject them. You will never be satisfied. You're looking for the rabbit in the hat, the coin found behind the ear, and so on. God isn't a bag of tricks. There is no magic. That's it. Your posts clearly indicate that you need help. You won't find it seated at your keyboard, since you reject all kind, gentle, clearly scriptural responses. Give it up. Get in a local non-denominational, non-charismatic assembly of conservative believers. You won't learn anything elsewhere.

Lots of folks are praying for you to see the light. The Light of the world is Jesus, not hocus-pocus.

raying: raying: raying:

 

[tragic_pizza]

webdog's definition of "troll" is anyone who dares ask questions and not accept his answers, apparently.

xdx, have you looked into a liberal Christian denomination?

 

[xdisciplex]

I don't want hocus-pocus!

But I also don't want a dead,dry church where nothing is going on. This also doesn't help me. Being in a conservative church can also be depressing if you feel like these people also don't have a clue about how God is. I wish I had a church like this one here: http://www.vbf.org/
But I think that such a church only exists one time. :tear:

 

[tragic_pizza]

I don't want hocus-pocus!

I'm in a liberal denomination, and I can assure you we have no hocus-pocus.

But I also don't want a dead,dry church where nothing is going on. This also doesn't help me. Being in a conservative church can also be depressing if you feel like these people also don't have a clue about how God is. I wish I had a church like this one here: http://www.vbf.org/
But I think that such a church only exists one time. :tear:

Two questions: What attracts you to this church, and why does it only exist one time?

 

[xdisciplex]

Two questions: What attracts you to this church, and why does it only exist one time?

Because I like the pastor. He's really cool and also experiences a lot of things with God but at the same time he's not goofy or weird. When you listen to him then you really have the feeling that he knows what he's talking about. He also shares a lot of personal experiences and since he's not weird he's much more believable than others.
The church only exists where it's at unless they decide to open up another church somewhere else.

 

[DQuixote]

I wish I had a church like this one here: http://www.vbf.org/

Then look for one in Germany.

 

[xdisciplex]

Then look for one in Germany.

There is no church like this. Do you really think that there is a pastor in Germany who is an exact copy of this one here? Come on.
It's not about the church, it's about the pastor. I don't care about the size of the church or the look of the website. The pastor is the one who defines the church.

 

[DQuixote]

Tell me where you live. I'll look up all the churches in the German telephone book within a 25-mile radius. That's not too far to drive. Who knows, there may be one right down the block that meets your criteria.