R.M.C.O.G
Died in mid-1990’s!
Still Dead!
In 1993, I attended a small church here in Denver. They were growing. Soon they had a great opportunity to acquire a larger church that would meet their needs. We made the move. Most everyone came to the new church building.
The church continued to grow. I became a part of the ‘church’. I opened the church at 4 am for daily prayer meetings. We held all night prayer vigils. The pastor was personable. We were like a big family. Most of us were there whenever the doors were open. There were lots of potlucks, events, and stuff going on.
As one got closer to the inner workings of the church, the pastor and staff per se, it was clear to notice the dissention. The pastor was new of about 1-2 years whereas the music minister had been at the church for a decade or so and kind of felt like it was ‘his’ church’. Some of the congregation had been there for a long time and followed the music minister and the newer folks followed the pastor.
Of course, there were the group of folks that only attended on Sundays and maybe an occasional Sunday night that knew nothing about the disagreements and followed neither.
Eventually, after about 5 years I had enough of the factions, cliques, being told who I should listen to and why, all the gossip and nastiness. And these were all grown adults!
In 2000, I moved to Tennessee for a hiatus of hell. When I returned to Denver in 2005, I hooked up with an old friend who had been at that mentioned church for a very long time off and on. She suggested that if I was looking for a church again to come check them out. The pastor had moved… to Tennessee and the music minister had since left also. She was implying that the air from the old problems should be clearer.
I show up one Sunday morning. So… I am sitting there in the pew waiting for ‘church’ to start. (Doesn’t that sound funny!?) I start to visually peruse the place and think I am recognizing people. Some are quite noticeable while others I had to really think about. When my friend comes to sit down I start to ask her, ‘Is that so-and-so? And him and her… is that…?’ She laughs and replies yes to all. Wow.
The sad part is how I was able to recognize these folks. These die-hards had been at that church forever. They follow the church every time it moves and most stay with it even when the pastor changes.
Die-hards.
As I sat through that service, still looking about I realized some people that I recognized were not just die-hards. They were DEAD. Hush! Now don’t get all choked up and think of nasty things to comment to me about! I am not being harsh! Listen up!
Do you know how I recognized these people? They still looked the same. Forbid, I know what I looked like 12 years ago and what I looked like now. I had been through hell in those years and I ‘matured’. My hair was longer, cut differently, I had gained weight, gotten married, became a grandmother 3 times over and lots of other stuff.
These people had the same hairstyle, the same style clothes and still acted the same. I didn’t see a lot of maturity in their actions. It was so sad. There was no growth physically, emotionally or spiritually from what I could see on the outside in a few minutes of watching. That was sad.
But how many churches have the same thing going on? Folks get comfortable sitting in the same pew week after week getting to know the names of the four others that sit around them. They sing the same songs, eat the same potluck, shake the same hands and go home on time. Forbid that the Holy Ghost might want to get a word in edge-wise! They are so caught up in their religious behavior that they think they are Christians for doing their duty. And forbid, anyone tell them differently!
Can you imagine if I commented on the outfit they were wearing that I thought I recognized from the last time I saw them… 12 years ago!!! Croak! They would probably righteously hit me with their ‘sword’ or better yet ‘rebuke me’!
God wants our hearts. Not our actions. Not our duty. Not our rituals. Not our supercilious attendance to religious events! Our hearts! That is all. Period.
Died in mid-1990’s!
Still Dead!
In 1993, I attended a small church here in Denver. They were growing. Soon they had a great opportunity to acquire a larger church that would meet their needs. We made the move. Most everyone came to the new church building.
The church continued to grow. I became a part of the ‘church’. I opened the church at 4 am for daily prayer meetings. We held all night prayer vigils. The pastor was personable. We were like a big family. Most of us were there whenever the doors were open. There were lots of potlucks, events, and stuff going on.
As one got closer to the inner workings of the church, the pastor and staff per se, it was clear to notice the dissention. The pastor was new of about 1-2 years whereas the music minister had been at the church for a decade or so and kind of felt like it was ‘his’ church’. Some of the congregation had been there for a long time and followed the music minister and the newer folks followed the pastor.
Of course, there were the group of folks that only attended on Sundays and maybe an occasional Sunday night that knew nothing about the disagreements and followed neither.
Eventually, after about 5 years I had enough of the factions, cliques, being told who I should listen to and why, all the gossip and nastiness. And these were all grown adults!
In 2000, I moved to Tennessee for a hiatus of hell. When I returned to Denver in 2005, I hooked up with an old friend who had been at that mentioned church for a very long time off and on. She suggested that if I was looking for a church again to come check them out. The pastor had moved… to Tennessee and the music minister had since left also. She was implying that the air from the old problems should be clearer.
I show up one Sunday morning. So… I am sitting there in the pew waiting for ‘church’ to start. (Doesn’t that sound funny!?) I start to visually peruse the place and think I am recognizing people. Some are quite noticeable while others I had to really think about. When my friend comes to sit down I start to ask her, ‘Is that so-and-so? And him and her… is that…?’ She laughs and replies yes to all. Wow.
The sad part is how I was able to recognize these folks. These die-hards had been at that church forever. They follow the church every time it moves and most stay with it even when the pastor changes.
Die-hards.
As I sat through that service, still looking about I realized some people that I recognized were not just die-hards. They were DEAD. Hush! Now don’t get all choked up and think of nasty things to comment to me about! I am not being harsh! Listen up!
Do you know how I recognized these people? They still looked the same. Forbid, I know what I looked like 12 years ago and what I looked like now. I had been through hell in those years and I ‘matured’. My hair was longer, cut differently, I had gained weight, gotten married, became a grandmother 3 times over and lots of other stuff.
These people had the same hairstyle, the same style clothes and still acted the same. I didn’t see a lot of maturity in their actions. It was so sad. There was no growth physically, emotionally or spiritually from what I could see on the outside in a few minutes of watching. That was sad.
But how many churches have the same thing going on? Folks get comfortable sitting in the same pew week after week getting to know the names of the four others that sit around them. They sing the same songs, eat the same potluck, shake the same hands and go home on time. Forbid that the Holy Ghost might want to get a word in edge-wise! They are so caught up in their religious behavior that they think they are Christians for doing their duty. And forbid, anyone tell them differently!
Can you imagine if I commented on the outfit they were wearing that I thought I recognized from the last time I saw them… 12 years ago!!! Croak! They would probably righteously hit me with their ‘sword’ or better yet ‘rebuke me’!
God wants our hearts. Not our actions. Not our duty. Not our rituals. Not our supercilious attendance to religious events! Our hearts! That is all. Period.
2 comments:
Amen, sister!! I wholeheartedly agree. It is a real pleasure to read your blog. I found you on Yahoo by typing in book names by Frank Viola. His books are absolute "eye-openers". Have a wonderful day. God bless.
Becky
Welcome Becky! Glad to have you find me. God does ordain meetings. There are two links on the left side of my page that you might find interesting. One is a parable called Treetown- awesome. And there is a online book called 'So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore' by Jake Colson. It is downloadable and you can print for easier reading. Both great resources if you are interested in things Frank says. Keep in touch and let's see what God has planned for our meeting!
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