Posted by:
stillburned
(
)
Date: April 17, 2013 09:27AM
I'm actually involved in the outreach with my Christian church (no, I'm not out to recruit anyone...if you live near Tampa, FL and are interested, I'll be glad to give you directions and happy to meet you there).
Most churches interested in reaching their communities do want to follow up. It's a little unusual to do twice in two days, but doesn't necessarily mean you are walking into another version of Mormonism. Could be some miscommunication that you got called twice (unless it's the same person, but then that could be an honest mistake).
Plenty of churches make an effort to NOT be seen in the same light as Mormons. We don't do "cold calls"...only people who've visited or contacted us in some way. If the answer is, no, we don't think your church is for us, or we like it but it's too far to drive, or even "go away" then that's that. Respect people's privacy and wishes, and for crying out loud don't get pushy. Of course, if you don't show up for two or three years, we also take the hint that you'd rather be somewhere else on Sunday mornings and pull you off the member rolls. And for heavens sake, we make sure never to wear white shirt, black pants, and a tie.
However, with my exposure to Mormonism (through marrying a Mormon before doing the 411 on the religion) I can say, I understand where you are coming from. I would be hesistant, too. I agree with Stray Mutt... for more churches, it's more customer service than anything... are we meeting a need?
Unlike what the TBMs think, we don't spend Sunday mornings plotting against TSCC so there aren't too many churches that familiar with Mormonism. However, those that are would, I think, try to be careful about getting too pushy. As my pastor told my wife, "the last thing I want is for you to jump from one legalistic religious system into another."
So bottom line is, I don't know. Talk to the pastor or one of the staff. Let them know about your situation, that you want to take it slow. My guess is they'll be more than cool about it and, if not, then (unlike Mormonism) you are free to go somewhere else.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/17/2013 09:29AM by stillburned.