When the people of God gather together in one place to worship it should be a spiritually uplifting and encouraging experience for all people. There are some who enjoy exercising power and authority over other believers; telling them how to pray, how to speak in tongues or how often you should come to church. Many of these power thirsty believers hold such positions such as teacher, minister, deacon, deaconess, choir director or simply those in the laity. I can remember attending a church in Southern California where the deacon fought the Pastor on every issue and he made it known that he didn’t like the pastor. Imagine that, a church member not liking their pastor. This poor deacon was deaf in one ear and was always out of tune & sync as he played his guitar during the worship service.
New members will join the church and the pastor has to protect (by way of warning them who to stay away from) them from being ruined and contaminated by the 5, 10 and 20 year church members whom think they are shareholders on salvation and they own a controlling interest in the Holy Ghost and the Church. Many local community churches have transformed themselves into something that resembles a clubhouse where everybody wants to be in-charge and the leader has to fight to maintain a diminished authority. Many years ago, non-church members (men and women alike) knew, if you wanted to find a good man or woman, look in the church. Fast forward to 2011, many church member have one foot in the sanctuary and the other in a pair or sexy red shoes…in the club or the men will keep their swagger in the pews and the pulpit. What sista can resist a man in the church with a great smile, nice car and a job? What brotha can resist looking into the painted big round eyes, curvy hips and mounds of cleavage of a sista standing in front of him in the prayer line wanting prayer? This is the reality in many churches and yet, no one will address it.
Holiness in many of the Holiness churches simply means cover it up in the church building, but when the church lets out, the cleave, the swagger, the short skirts and tight jeans dominate and rule during the week…even in the Bible Study. Where is the modesty? Where is Christ in all of this? He is still at the right hand of the Father making intercession for you and I because we so desperately need it.
What about the three things that should be prohibited in the church?
- Tolerance
Wait a minuet here, what do you mean tolerance? Read on…the church seems looks the other way when it comes to questionable behavior. “We don’t want to offend any one or make them feel uncomfortable. Should darkness hang around in the light? Should not the Devil fear the child of God? There was a time when people had such reverence for the place in which Gods people assembled themselves. Now, thieves, robbers, liars and the morally corrupt sit in comfort in the worship service and they aren’t moved by the words of the preacher. Men counseling women, alone behind closed doors. Pastors spending time with young boys in hotels on special trips. Members who tolerate the twisting of the scripture and who will ask not questions about a matter. Being tolerant of the lies, manipulation, the stealing, match making and many other things that go on in the church.
- Fear
Many Christians will quote how God did not give us the spirit of fear, but of Love, Power and a Sound mind. That sounds so eloquent and religious when church members quote it. But, what about when the preacher, teacher and visiting evangelical inject that element of fear in the giving service. What about when conditions are placed on you for a prayer or a blessing? Things like…”If you want to be blessed…Come And Give God a $50.00 offering”. Or “You don’t want to be the one who is robbing God…do you?” How about…”Do you want your family blessed? Then you know what to do at offering time”.
- Ignorance
Christians have absolutely no excuse for being tricked, duped and lied to in the church. So then, why is it that so many believers, church goers are tricked, easily manipulated and lead like sheep the slaughter? All you have to do is listen to some church folk and in the first few minutes of the conversation, you can tell their knowledge of Gods word consist of sound bytes of sermons, a line or two from a choir song or a gospel hymn. Still, many other believers have their conversation and speech loaded with cliches from the church, cute words and phrases that once originated from a truth, but have lost their power and meaning over time. The wolves seem to have found comfort in roaming in and around the church folk because no one can tell who and what they are.
This post isn’t a reflection of all churches. There are sincere and dedicated believers yet holding fast to Godly standards and these seem like the minority among the majority of those proclaiming faith in their Church first and Jesus Christ is a distant second. A renewed mind that comes about by reading and practical application of Gods word in our daily lives, is the only way to prohibit questionable acts and behavior in the church today.
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