sapphi_snake said:
mrstickball said:
Having fun at church is (as far as I know) a recent practice. I don't believe youth groups always existed. Youth services have probably existed a little bit longer, as some churches have had them to promote the youths' talents and abilities at a church to get them involved. It used to be that the youth in the church pretty much sat around and did nothing until they were older, but now many churches have young people doing ministry activities and developing their talents.
Currently, we do the youth services once a month, but some churches do them more often. We do them once a month primarily due to resources and number of youth. Eventually if the group gets larger, we'll do them once a month.
I think you'd be surprised about drugs in small town America. Where do they get the drugs? Well, we have meth lab fires every few weeks, and my town is a major drug corridor in Ohio (I believe you could google 'I-23 Pipeline').
I guess I could see someone with a warped view thinking that what we do is corrupting, but the reality is that there are few government services that hold a candle to what we do in regards to helping the comminuty. As for the youth activities, it'd be crazy for someone to think that having clean fun and playing music that kids already listen to is a bad thing. In the protestant view, Christianity is a lifestyle that encompasses everything you do. Providing activities that are clean helps encourage kids to understand that you can enjoy life without vices. Having heavy metal, rock or any type of worship shows that your worship with God is your own - it doesn't matter what style of music is played, but that we must worship God wholeheartedly.
I have a normal job. The senior pastor at the church is retired from his regular job (worked at the city water purification plant).
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People over here would certainly not agree with that.
Also, over here the job of a priest is full-time. He even gets a houseright necxt to the church which he's assigned to, and sometimes other benefits (a car I think).
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Many churches do that. In the denomination I am credentled through, there is a specific payscale for senior pastors that is supposed to be adhered to, which usually includes living arrangements and the like.
Unfortunately, many churches have enough money to pay their pastor + bills, and that is it. Therefore, all monies go to the church, and not to helping others. At the church I pastor, we believe (personal belief, not one we take as theology) that refusal of salary is the better way to go because it frees up a lot of capital for helping others. Again, the church I am at spends far more money helping the impoverished than churches many times our size, and some secular organizations - all because we put that $4,000-$5,000/mo into ministries instead of pastors. In my opinion, its worked out fantastic.
