This is my post for #freewriters 2541 prompt the last church hosted by @mariannewest
My parents divorced when I was very young and my Dad raised us. My Dad could recite every verse in the Bible, but he never took us to church he would preach to us, and he preached a lot. I have never known anyone else who you could give a verse name and number from the Bible and they can tell you what it is word for word. He did not believe in Churches but he did believe in God. He would tell me the Bible has been changed too many times by man and this is what the Churches preach as truth. I do not know when things changed for him because he was raised going to Church, my Grandfather used to drive around and collect all of the children and parents who wanted to go to Church.
On the other hand, my Mom would go to Church every day of the week if they were having a Service. She was nothing like Dad and she never preached to us. The last Church I went to with her was a Pentecostal Church, my first time at one of these Churches. People were rolling on the floor, and some were talking in Tongues. Then my youngest sister stood up arms in the air and she started speaking in Tongues, all I could do was stare at her. It was all a little overwhelming to me. I had seen things like that on TV but never thought I would witness it in person.
I think if you have God or whoever you want to worship in your heart and can feel the power of prayer, you do not need to go to a Church to be a believer. Churches are good for companionship and I think they help a lot of people feel better about their lives. I feel He is in my heart and hears my Prayers from my home.
I saw this Church when I went to NYC, I wanted to go inside but we were pressed for time, and I have always regretted it. I did walk through the old graveyard, a lot of children passed at a very young age.
photo is mine
The buildings are not the Church ... we are. Your father was actually right ... he led church in his home, and that is how it was done in the book of Acts!
That is what I have always thought, God is in your heart, and home is where the heart is.
I struggle with fatigue and pain, so when the work week is over, I am in no shape to go to Sunday services. I also have a major issue with the latent nationalism in so many churches today. Our Kingdom is not of this world, so why do so many sanctuaries have American flags?
If I do go to Church, it will never be one of those huge Churches that are in it for the money, give me a small building with no frills.
I grew up attending church with my parents, and have always attended regularly (not always the same denomination) until the past few years. Now I am often helping my daughter on Sundays, so I don't get to church. I miss the fellowship and the teaching and the singing. It's too easy to forget the things I thought I knew about God and the Bible; except for a handful of folks like your dad, we humans are great at forgetting!
I think many people go for the Fellowship, I understand that. I feel if you have God in your heart, it is not necessary to sit in Church. I guess I get that from my Dad. It was amazing how he could remember things. I do not get that from him.