I admit it here, as I openly admit it all the time. Many other Christians rub me the wrong way.
It stems from being a Christian from a less than Leave-it-to-Beaver household (which I'm proud of) and being treated like I didn't really believe in Jesus by other Christians because I didn't wear khaki pants and listen to DCTalk (gag me!). I don't like when my faith is questioned because I'm not mainstream.
I kid you not when I meet other believers I tense up and wonder if that person is evaluating me. And the church lingo gives me the creeps. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the lingo per se, but there's something about it I don't like.
I thought I could let that bitterness peeter out by moving to California where I thought people would be more open minded. What I've found is that there are still a bunch of uptight people out here.
I debated whether to post this, because the last thing I want to do is hurt our image.
But dangit, everyone just chill out will ya'?
I love our church. I love that the leadership is made up of real people and no one puts on airs or tries to impress anyone.
One would think stuffy people wouldn't attend. One would imagine they like the churches down the street with the stiff pews and pastor in the 3 piece suit.
And yet, the stuffy people come and poop our party.
And they're not all old, surprisingly. I was making pleasant conversation with a conservative girl my age and she was like "yeah like some people take off their shoes in church" and made an ugly face. It probably wasn't the polite thing to say, but I said "oh I do that."
I was thinking "if you don't like it, why are you here?"
And the guy who leads worship, is one of the most on-target, caring, hard working church leaders I've ever met. He gets grief from people because he wears shorts(in the summer because it's hot). Who gives a crap?! Jesus practically wore a dress, sheesh, it doesn't matter.
It's this kind of attitute that split us into dozens of denominations, I think.
Queen Latifah is right, what we need is U-N-I-T-Y!
Disclaimer: There are plenty of completely normal well adjusted Christians out there. I promise!
Happy 18th Birthday, Alayna!
2 years ago
6 comments:
you are SO right!
i could write a sermon here, but i won't. i just could not agree more with you on this.
My denomination is trying to rip itself apart from the inside out because we elected *gasp* a FEMALE bishop and *gasp* an openly gay bishop! (Notice, I said OPENLY gay.) I try to stay out of church politics for the most part, but it's difficult when your own parish is self-destructing from within. Why can't we all remember why we are coming together in the first place? (Hint: it has nothing to do with judging other people!)
I frowned on Christianity for years for the things you mentioned. SCBC is where I learned that Jesus has nothing to do with all that. I love being free to worship Him in any way I choose. Rock on with your pink hair Charlie, cause Jesus loves it!
Never understood why people care how other people come to church. Mark is an awesome guy so people just need to relax. I cannot think of a single worship leader in this area who looks like he digs his job more then Mark.
Yep. I think one of the hardest things that I've dealt with is avoiding judging people at church. Shoot, and I grew up Episcopalian. I think it's just a systemic problem of people being people and assuming that everyone operates their faith in the exact same way. For instance take the consultant that was working for us (who is a really great guy, btw) and got so trashed that I had to drive him to his hotel one night (50 year old dude, not 25... Married, 5 kids.) It was this same gent who then tried to make me feel bad at lunch the next day because I had ordered pepperoni on my pizza, which didn't fit within his views of what a christian should eat (He practiced eating Kosher food...)
I couldn't agree more. And, it isn't just at church. I find that if I'm cutting up and having fun, then surly I can't be a Christian. Since my family is cookoo and I like to wear hats, then surly I can't be a Christian. It bugs. I don't like having to defend myself on that point either. Can we reiterate in church to churchies that the Bible says do not judge?
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