Are you shunned?
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Every time I go through the door of a church I feel so like, this is just a building. When I look around I see loads of people wanting to share something, to be able to be involved, not quite at the centre that must be there but they are just so left out, that you get a whole church of left out people, which is actually impossible because there is no one left in.
Over different points in time I have felt all the emotions you can think and still I know most have no clue what is quite going on, because those who feel shunned have not cottoned on most have no idea what they are talking about.
How long does it take to get to know someone if you only see them to talk to for 5 minutes 52 times a year?
That is only 4 hours which mostly is "How are you?" "Fine, and you?" "Fine" etc. Expand this to 40 years and guess what a bunch of strangers seeing meaning or not in something that probably just a song, or a sermon.
It is almost as if because all these people meet together and spend hours, years together, they actually know each other, but when you talk to them you find it just is very superficial.
So when people say shunned, I got to laugh, really laugh. I was shunned once because the pastor did not like I was friends with someone he was worried about disrupting the church. He was wrong on both fronts, but so what, his problems were far deeper and he never resolved them as far as I know.
The hardest thing is to actually go into a church and learn to love the people you find in their weaknesses and strengths.
Over different points in time I have felt all the emotions you can think and still I know most have no clue what is quite going on, because those who feel shunned have not cottoned on most have no idea what they are talking about.
How long does it take to get to know someone if you only see them to talk to for 5 minutes 52 times a year?
That is only 4 hours which mostly is "How are you?" "Fine, and you?" "Fine" etc. Expand this to 40 years and guess what a bunch of strangers seeing meaning or not in something that probably just a song, or a sermon.
It is almost as if because all these people meet together and spend hours, years together, they actually know each other, but when you talk to them you find it just is very superficial.
So when people say shunned, I got to laugh, really laugh. I was shunned once because the pastor did not like I was friends with someone he was worried about disrupting the church. He was wrong on both fronts, but so what, his problems were far deeper and he never resolved them as far as I know.
The hardest thing is to actually go into a church and learn to love the people you find in their weaknesses and strengths.
S
In all honesty, one of my churches core values is "fun required". We built a waterpark and gave it our city. We put on one of the biggest displays of fireworks in Mt every 4th. One lady told me that it is her and her kids "fair" for the year because it is free and an all day affair with live music and cheap food. We are a community oriented church and my pastor always says that if Harvest ceased to exist he would want it to be missed by the community.... So... that's what we do....we serve our community in lots of different ways. Another thing we do every summer is skip church for the weekend and we descend on the town and do things for people that they couldn't afford. Like build wheel chair ramps, reroof homes and lots of other construction projects that people can't afford.
K
Excellent! Right were the church should be.As the old saying goes the church went downhill when it moved to the "good" part of town. I remember when I use to travel and sing and churches would have open air services in their own parking lot.I was like "are they afraid of the unsaved?" No one would attend but their own people,and most of them saw it as a night off of real church. The church ought to be involved and not afraid to get their hands dirty and break a sweat.Funny how so many show up for pot luck and so few to help clean up the church or help the elderly.I remember when I was in my early teens we had a night we went out caroling from our church.Very few showed up.But we went to the old age home and to others we knew couldnt get out to church.A lot of them cried,no it wasnt our singing,that people cared enough to come out and sing to them. People need to know where to go when they have nowhere to turn thats where the church comes in.A lot of folks had needs met and became Christians because a pastor visited a loved one in the hospital.
B
I'll take the time to remind the brethren that some of us literally have been shunned for faith in Jesus. And it's a horrible position, shut out of the lives of families and friends and treated like you don't exist. It's not a place to wish anyone to be and it's only bearable by God's grace.
This is meant to be a place of honest fellowship and support among the saved. Can't we take SOMETHING a little serious instead of dragging everything through the mud?
Honest persecution isn't something to joke about. There's people out there hiding in their very soul for the sake of Christ and it can be a very painful and dark place. Can't we all just have SOME kind of support and encouragement for the brethren instead of this horrid prideful attitude that appears to be so rampant around here? Can't we have SOME mutual respect?
This is meant to be a place of honest fellowship and support among the saved. Can't we take SOMETHING a little serious instead of dragging everything through the mud?
Honest persecution isn't something to joke about. There's people out there hiding in their very soul for the sake of Christ and it can be a very painful and dark place. Can't we all just have SOME kind of support and encouragement for the brethren instead of this horrid prideful attitude that appears to be so rampant around here? Can't we have SOME mutual respect?
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K
Honest persecution certainly isnt something to joke about.It seems we have already forgotten the Christian brothers and sisters that ISIS has and continues to murder. While I appreciate how awful the deaths of saints in South Carolina were,and its wonderful to see the country coming together,we must not forget those overseas being murdered for their faith. It seems only when it is in our face that we get upset. I see the church is largely silent about ISIS and the saints being murdered. The same as they were when the Jews were murdered by the millions.I wonder what it will take to get the church to stand up.How many millions of Christians will die over there before we force something to be done over here? I wonder...
I've never been shunned by a church. Just accepted, and placed into ministry and used for God.
Our church reaches out to the community with a Mats and Chats - a day for moms of preschoolers to come and have some time to share with others while their kids play. We have community garden plots. The last church I was in had a whole ministry dedicated to finding ways to assist in the community. We had after school day care, provided room for AA, a women's abuse group, depression group, and a bunch of other things. We contributed to coats for kids and meals at lunch for an inner city school.
As for the leaders being richer than the congregation - not so much! Proper accountability means the pastor is not the one with his hand in the pot. He is paid by a treasurer who is accountable to the church and government. And his salary is agreed upon and known to the congregation. In my last church, MOST of the congregation was richer than the pastor. There was no struggling to pay the bills, just money given when it was needed. And so much given to missions, including the supplies and upkeep of a hospital in Cameroon.
Yet, I pray you will find a church where you will feel loved and appreciated. Sometimes, that means starting on the bottom rung, and not being elevated to preacher/teacher the minute you walk in the door. I am preaching in my new church in August, after only 7 months of being in the church. I am blessed that God has led me to a church home where people care for one another, and spend time getting to know the new people!
(Oh yes, and where women are encouraged to do ministry!)
Our church reaches out to the community with a Mats and Chats - a day for moms of preschoolers to come and have some time to share with others while their kids play. We have community garden plots. The last church I was in had a whole ministry dedicated to finding ways to assist in the community. We had after school day care, provided room for AA, a women's abuse group, depression group, and a bunch of other things. We contributed to coats for kids and meals at lunch for an inner city school.
As for the leaders being richer than the congregation - not so much! Proper accountability means the pastor is not the one with his hand in the pot. He is paid by a treasurer who is accountable to the church and government. And his salary is agreed upon and known to the congregation. In my last church, MOST of the congregation was richer than the pastor. There was no struggling to pay the bills, just money given when it was needed. And so much given to missions, including the supplies and upkeep of a hospital in Cameroon.
Yet, I pray you will find a church where you will feel loved and appreciated. Sometimes, that means starting on the bottom rung, and not being elevated to preacher/teacher the minute you walk in the door. I am preaching in my new church in August, after only 7 months of being in the church. I am blessed that God has led me to a church home where people care for one another, and spend time getting to know the new people!
(Oh yes, and where women are encouraged to do ministry!)
