nobile t1_jcih36v wrote on March 17, 2023 at 1:39 AM

I love The Venues, it's on E Battlefield. They focus a lot on helping the community.

Can't say much on how to tell your parents to change churches... Mine were super stubborn about that stuff and wouldn't allow me to go to a different one on my own until I was no longer a minor. Best advice I can think of would be to say that you feel like you can grow closer to God and become a better person in a different church, that you feel stagnant where you currently are. I don't know how your parents are in regards to your independence...

maxxshepard t1_jcj3bnp wrote on March 17, 2023 at 4:54 AM

I would add on to this and say, tell them you feel more comfortable with a smaller, more close knit congregation. Tell them you really want to get to know the community you go to church with, and that James river is just too large to do that.

I'm not a church goer anymore, but I went to James river for a while and it felt like... having church in an airport. Too many cooks in the kitchen, too many passengers on the bus. It felt like worshiping an institution instead of a deity.

If they really start an argument with you and you want to be petty to shake their conviction, you can point out that they have two Starbucks in there, and a gift shop, and that makes you uncomfortable because Jesus was staunchly against people making money on church grounds. Mark 11:15-17 You can say it makes you uncomfortable that they are going against his teachings.

Good luck to you kid

PM_YOUR_PUPPERS t1_jcj8zbs wrote on March 17, 2023 at 6:00 AM

Amen brother, Jesus would have had a fit.

dominicfox09 OP t1_jcj9v9x wrote on March 17, 2023 at 6:11 AM

taking this to heart. really shocked how much good advice there is here.. my parents are good ppl just that i wanted to speak my mind a little bit and knowing them, theyd eventually find something to bring up to change my mind. so thx man

DrinkWaterDaily7 t1_jcka95q wrote on March 17, 2023 at 1:28 PM

Our family attends Westminster Presbyterian Church. It is in Portland in Springfield. It is socially justice minded. It is spiritual and allows me to listen to the teachings of Jesus. Service starts at 10:30. We also live stream.

Relevant_Intention35 t1_jcirsj8 wrote on March 17, 2023 at 3:05 AM

Highly second the Venues—as someone who was raised in the AG church and attended JR for a time but deconstructed, I still have a ton of respect for Venues.

longerlive t1_jcjcfev wrote on March 17, 2023 at 6:45 AM

You know you shouldn't attend a church when someone who deconstructed recommends it.

Bitmush- t1_jclhftl wrote on March 17, 2023 at 6:14 PM

As an agnostic who was very skeptical about churches I really enjoyed attending the Venues - the pastor is a very wise and charming speaker who crafts the sermons perfectly for people who have been to churches in the past but found the dogma completely detached from the way to live a good life; his knowledge of scripture is fantastic- none of the values that I ever heard spoken about were anything other than entirely wholesome, humanist, universal and self-evident. There’s no spooky supernaturalism, just exposition on Biblical passages that demonstrate kindness and fellowship. As a skeptical humanist/agnostic/atheist I found only goodness and good faith and hope in The Venues, all their staff and the wonderfully diverse and friendly congregation. It opened my eyes to what a community-based organization could be, and how any church must be to survive the coming demographic apocalypse. Praise be!