Thanks for the clarification and information on tithing. I understand what the bible says about giving and receiving. It's just that when you have a congregation (the sheep) you are supposed to take care of them. Our small church does just that, and God has still not ceased to bless us. I couldn't imagine being able to successfully take care of that many people, maybe it's possible, but if any or all of them had a financial need during this crazy year, I wonder how much they helped them out. The stories of people who were hurting and went to a church, only to be turned away and scorned is astounding, and heartbreaking.
No, it's not my place to judge, but it starts in the house of God.
Big churches are oddities. I guess they provide what they provide. There's music and then preaching. I think many of them have set up small group programs to compensate for the fact that going to one of these churches is like going to a concert. It was like when I was in college and had giant lecture classes, I didn't make any friends in those classes. People mostly sat in random spots every time, so you weren't next to anyone long enough to make friends with them.
These days I meet with members of an obscure group at a house over dinner. I much prefer this to most church services. The only really good church services are often guest preachers at small churches. Outside of that it's usually just stupid music, basic preaching, and goodbye.
I can see why you would prefer it. You're not in a room with 3,000 other people you don't know. The whole concert thing is right on point too. Homegroups and small groups are much easier. Slap some coffee on and serve right there. Also, It's nicer in smaller rooms, I can't stand gigantic arena sized places.
Sometimes now I prefer not having it interact with Christianized people. I'm not much conformed to modern Christian culture, and interacting with people who are can be weird and difficult. They're the kind of people who think I'm obligated to like the church music. Simple songs played by mediocre musicians who are doing it as a side gig while the mixing is usually even worse than any of that. I'm pretty robotic in my demeanor, so listening to, "Oh we praise you Jesus," repeated over and over 20 times is just weird. I'm not feeling it and just wish it would be over.
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