I finally found y'all

[CoExist]

Hello everyone,

I am a thirty-something kindergarten teacher from Germany who has always struggled with faith and has always had a complicated relationship with her own faith. I have always been curious and open about Christianity, but ever since I was a teenager I have been bumping into walls.  This has really stalled my growth as a person and even hurt it.

For the longest time I thought something was wrong with me and my character and my beliefs. Everybody else seemed to have a completely opposite idea of what Christianity was, and we could only find common ground when it came to Jesus - and here not even in all aspects.

I have struggled with fundamental Christians and their ideas, with prosperity-gospel Christians, and with ideas that made me go "if THIS is what Jesus taught, I guess I am not a follower." I felt completely shattered, lost, and alone.

Since I had rarely found inclusive Christians, I thought they rarely existed.  I still believed something was wrong with me. But a while ago I first heard the term "progressive Christianity" and I stumbled over the 8 Points that define it. I was sitting at my desk and I was just laughing. This was it. This was me. People like me. Incredible. So, safe to say, I am immensely happy to have found this place.

Finally I can continue to grow in my spiritual journey, and that is such a gift. I am like a sponge these days, on fire for God like I used to be when I was younger. I am seeking and reaching out, enlarging my faith, and I find so much joy in doing so.

Thanks for being a part of my journey.

Edited June 20, 2020 by CoExist

[Burl]

4 hours ago, CoExist said:

Hello everyone,

I am a thirty-something kindergarten teacher from Germany who has always struggled with faith and has always had a complicated relationship with her own faith. I have always been curious and open about Christianity, but ever since I was a teenager I have been bumping into walls.  This has really stalled my growth as a person and even hurt it.

For the longest time I thought something was wrong with me and my character and my beliefs. Everybody else seemed to have a completely opposite idea of what Christianity was, and we could only find common ground when it came to Jesus - and here not even in all aspects.

I have struggled with fundamental Christians and their ideas, with prosperity-gospel Christians, and with ideas that made me go "if THIS is what Jesus taught, I guess I am not a follower." I felt completely shattered, lost, and alone.

Since I had rarely found inclusive Christians, I thought they rarely existed.  I still believed something was wrong with me. But a while ago I first heard the term "progressive Christianity" and I stumbled over the 8 Points that define it. I was sitting at my desk and I was just laughing. This was it. This was me. People like me. Incredible. So, safe to say, I am immensely happy to have found this place.

Finally I can continue to grow in my spiritual journey, and that is such a gift. I am like a sponge these days, on fire for God like I used to be when I was younger. I am seeking and reaching out, enlarging my faith, and I find so much joy in doing so.

Thanks for being a part of my journey.

Welcome !

[JosephM]

Greetings Co-Exist,

Love the name. We do have to co-exist and be more inclusive of others even if we don't agree on things.

Welcome to the forum . Looking forward to hearing more of your ideas and any personal stories or inspirations you have had in your journey.

Joseph

[PaulS]

Hi CoExist,

Welcome to the forum and I hope you enjoy participating here!

Cheers

Paul

[Elen1107]

On 6/20/2020 at 7:02 AM, CoExist said:

Hello everyone,

I am a thirty-something kindergarten teacher from Germany who has always struggled with faith and has always had a complicated relationship with her own faith. I have always been curious and open about Christianity, but ever since I was a teenager I have been bumping into walls.  This has really stalled my growth as a person and even hurt it.

For the longest time I thought something was wrong with me and my character and my beliefs. Everybody else seemed to have a completely opposite idea of what Christianity was, and we could only find common ground when it came to Jesus - and here not even in all aspects.

I have struggled with fundamental Christians and their ideas, with prosperity-gospel Christians, and with ideas that made me go "if THIS is what Jesus taught, I guess I am not a follower." I felt completely shattered, lost, and alone.

Since I had rarely found inclusive Christians, I thought they rarely existed.  I still believed something was wrong with me. But a while ago I first heard the term "progressive Christianity" and I stumbled over the 8 Points that define it. I was sitting at my desk and I was just laughing. This was it. This was me. People like me. Incredible. So, safe to say, I am immensely happy to have found this place.

Finally I can continue to grow in my spiritual journey, and that is such a gift. I am like a sponge these days, on fire for God like I used to be when I was younger. I am seeking and reaching out, enlarging my faith, and I find so much joy in doing so.

Thanks for being a part of my journey.

Hello and welcome

I'm hoping that you are still interested in participating here and that you get an email or something that brings you back to the forum.

My own story is not too un-similar to yours. I know what it's like to feel like there are only dysfunctional forms of Christianity to turn to. & it too has "hurt".

I hope you choose to join us. I wasn't getting online much when you posted your intro. Sorry that I couldn't say hello and welcome until now. 🙂 Peace