How'd we go from "we incorporate newer songs" to "we're not like THOSE churches"?

Good that I go to a pretty conservative one

Yep.

Just left a church that's trying to be the above for something a little bit more traditional. They're just so much better, especially in these times.

How many people attend the more traditional church you go to?

Usually around 30-40 people, I suppose. It's pretty small.

100% real. i visited one of those once and it was more like a concert than anything

Facts. I love a good concert, I love a good Christian concert, but there should be a difference between those and church.

I would say the sub-splintering of Protestantism that is still happening across this nation; but to be perfectly honest I would think that the horrors of Catholic Vatican II -- when leftists nearly got a permanent stranglehold on Catholicism for so many decades -- probably helped.

That's one way to look at it, though I'm not sure I fully understand what you mean.

It's just that many Catholic Churches on the east coast and California would have fit perfectly into your meme. Vatican II gutted the Church in the United States. Pope Paul moved slightly away from it and Pope Benedict moved all the way from it. The Church has been growing stronger and more conservative in nature inside the United States since then.

The reason churches do this is the same reason schools feel the need to have TV screens in every classroom and computers for every student. Both churches and schools realize that words have very little power. Saying that a speech given by a teacher or a pastor has the same amount of power to engage people and persuade people as a rock band or a giant-screen movie or a video/computer game is like saying a single person can paddle a kayak from New York City to London and arrive before a Boeing 787 would arrive just by paddling fast enough.

Many people who overestimate the power of words are people like Veruca Salt in "Charlie nd The Chocolate Factory", spoiled brats who sincerely believe they can talk their way into or out of anything. And they will keep believing that until they, like most of us, someday find that they really can't. Everyone should at some point in their lives learn that there are times when their words have zero power. Here are some examples of when your words have zero power over other people:

1. They stare at you blankly, or like you're an escaped mental patient or an alien from outer space.
2. They turn away or walk away.
3. They look you right in the eye and call you a liar, or call you crazy, or claim you have no idea what you're talking about or what they've been through, or accuse you of not wanting them to have fun or be happy or be successful.

If you're going to straitjacket religious leaders and tell them the only tool they can utilize is their voice, don't be surprised when their congregation attendance drops dramatically and those leaders throw in the towel. The more you overregulate people, the more likely they are to give up and walk away.

This is true with gay ppl too

How is it true with gay people? Do gay people believe that they can talk their way into or out of anything?

No, the more you police gay ppl, the more likely they are to give up and just hide who they are.

That's why I don't go to church.

Are they all like this in your area?

I don't believe in any churches that pay their clergy.

I think I know where you're coming from, and I do agree to some extent, but being a Pastor (the proverbial shepherd of the flock) can be an extensive full-time job that goes far beyond the Sunday morning sermon. And especially if the Pastor has a family, that can put quite a bit of strain on him if he has to work a full-time job in addition. Some well-established Churches do provide at the very least a modest house with reduced or eliminated expenses (parsonages), but either way, I do think there should be some compensation for voluntarily serving in that level of Spiritual or Biblical leadership

Not the mormon church. My Dad was a full time pastor and worker. Everyone just takes turns. Of course, they do pay their International Clergy an Obscene amount, but the guys who do that are old enough to be on social security anyways. Jesus did it. I know it's possible.

Ah. Yeah, I have a way limited knowledge of Mormonism.

"Jesus did it." Assuming you are referring to living without a salary... In fairness, being fully God and fully man doesn't hurt to begin with. 😁

Stupid me hit reply too soon...

Plus, His ministry was a bit different than mere pastorship, so he couldn't exactly stay in place too long. But I get it. Living off charity can be possible, but if God places you in a location for a decade or two, maybe having a place of residence isn't too bad.

Buddha did it too. So did the Disciples. Lot's of shinto/Buddhist monks do it too.

Again, all live/lived in pretty different societies. But like I said, I do get your point. It all depends (speaking from a Christian/Protestant/Evangelical perspective) on the ministry, I guess.