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The Dwelling Place is a small Christian community of faith in Indianapolis, Indiana. The DP exists to help people resist empty ways of life by becoming fully human in the way of Jesus. We desire to be a refuge or sanctuary, a place of rest and freedom to be yourself, where we connect with God and one another by joining Jesus’ mission to bless the world.
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1 comment:
The stereotype of "the Christian with the ready answer." I have been this type of Christian. In fact, I have had the answer before the person even asks a question. This stereotypical Christian tells a person what the Bible says, that they MUST believe it, and if they don't (like ot or lump it) they have a straight shot to Hell! Actually, I gave that one up quite some time ago, much to everyone and particularly my family's relief. The answer? Don't even think of answers. LISTEN! LISTEN! LISTEN! and wait for questions; suggest if the opportunity is there. Don't push, don't even prod or poke. Talk as if you were having a normal conversation about any other topic rather than THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TOPIC OF THEIR LIVES BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT IS, BUT THEY DON'T! That may be true, but it only turns most people off.
Posted by Laurie on 01/23/2006 06:17:05 AM
A lot of Christians get dubbed as those who jump on bandwagons. Thats why Christianity as a whole loses its enticement when coming from such an individual. A lot of christians are all about a new book, series, bible study, music style or whatever, and it becomes so important that it is necessary for salvation. Then the same people tell you that you need to be a christian and an easy response is to think that Christianity is just another republican bandwagon, just like the book, or music or whatever. If you don't get what i'm saying, ask yourself if the average church program is original in its context or a copy of something else that has been proven to work. Most of the time everything that we do is a copy of some current fad, and we christianize it (OH man does this tie into sacred vs. secular!) Then, when the original fad dies, we are forced to kill off our knockoff program. Sadly, because they sometimes have become so "sacred" we don't kill them off and they continue on in misery while new and exiting things could be done instead. All because we are so eager to be on the current bandwagon instead of being original in our own context, let by a triune spirit of creativity. Done.
Posted by Josh on 01/24/2006 06:04:35 PM
(I'm apologizing ahead of time for rambling. I'm really tired.)We're all Republicans and we think Bush is God's gift to America. We think that people who aren't like us are evil and going to Hell. Our answer for everything is a Bible verse. We only shop in Christian stores owned and run by Christians, drink our Christian coffee, read our Christian books and talk with our Christian friends. We all walk around asking "What would Jesus do?" ;-)We all wear oh-so-clever shirts that say stuff like "GAP: God Answers Prayer". How do we go about changing that? Purposefully. If you're a Republican, great. But be a Republican for the right reasons (your personal views/convictions). And don't attack others if they aren't. Don't just shop in Christian book stores and read only Christian books, etc. A: there are things in the world that are of value and are beautiful and B: if you do that, the only people you're likely to meet are....other Christians! We've spent plenty of time evangelizing each other. Now the asking "what would Jesus do" thing might not be so bad if we actually did it. :-) The only way we can break these stereotypes is if we set out to do it. It'll be a slow process. One person at a time. But eventually people will notice that you aren't just preaching Hellfire and damnation. lol, that was my long answer. Now here's my short one: Just love people! :-D
Posted by Lauren on 01/27/2006 03:07:01 AM
From what I have experienced; when people think of a christian they usually associate that with people with bunch of leagalistic rules and regulations. They have experienced people under the christian banner look down on them with a holier than thou attitude, especially when they have gone and visited that particular church. A lot of "christians" put on this mask on sunday morning. They pretend as if they have it all together. When unbelievers see that they can see that it is just not real. I think it is so much more powerful when a christian is honest that they still struggle with a sinful nature and that they dont have it all together. However they have a fullfilling realtionship with their personal Lord and Saviour and that is what gives them hope!
Posted by tjelite007 on 01/27/2006 03:59:12 AM
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