> joel wrote: > > > at this point i'm not affiliated with a denomination, really, but i try > > to attend church Sunday mornings. > > What churches do you attend? Why, when you have no denominational ties, > are you limiting yourself to Sunday worship? Please look around. i grew up attending a rather legalistic Baptist church.....they've changed a good deal but due to a lot of factors, some regarding them, some regarding me, i only attend there about once every month or two months, this being since late summer when the program changed and i no longer taught 4 & 5 year olds. i still have good relations with a lot of people there, including those in charge, though. most of the time i attend a small non-denominational church and once in a while I go to my girlfriend's non-denominational church, but she lives about an hour away so it's not often. the reason i generally attend Sunday mornings is because that is one of the few times when i am not at school or work and people are meeting. as far as actual worship goes, i find worship as being a separate entity from church attendance. often they correspond, other times they don't. for me, worship occurs when i see, hear, or read a great work of art and understand that God is the source of the talent, and created the inspirations behind the art. worship happens when i take a walk with my girlfriend in the park and understand and appreciate that God made the beauty i'm taking in. worship, to me, is enjoying anything and understanding and acknowledging that God is the source of it. i make it sound like i do a lot better at this than i actually do. i realize that these ideas are probably foreign to a lot of people and i don't think any less of someone who doesn't see things the way i do. i'm not here to shove anything down anyone's throat; i was asked about these things, therefore i responded. > > i focus more on a personal relationship with > > God rather than ritual, legalistic traditions, etc. > > Group worship is cool, no doubt about it. Getting together with a bunch > of people who believe in the same thing, is what makes it worth it. i agree, it can be a very satisfying, exciting, fulfilling experience. joel