Thanks all for this forum, it's nice to see a diverse mix. Here's my lowdown.
My family wasn't overly religious. Went to the Episcopal Church in my youth, which to me seemed insanely boring. I went through the confirmation class and even after being confirmed, never really "got" it, so I stopped going and considered myself non-affiliated. My ex-wife, coincidentally, was in the same boat, also a former Episcopalian. I was still friends with the minister, and when we tied the knot, he happily officiated, even though we weren't regular attenders.
Well, we split (long story), and a few years ago was feeling a bit down. A friend of mine invited me to the church he worked at, and the seemed like a welcoming bunch. Their pastor seemed like down-to-earth guy, and I liked what he preached. So, I went pretty regularly, even got involved being their resident tech guy (I'm an electrical engineer). They encouraged me to go through Celebrate Recovery, since I was still dealing with the divorce. It seemed to help, and made a bunch of new friends at the church.
Well, last year the pastor I liked moved. They just got a new guy in, and I don't dig his preaching style at all. They had him as a guest pastor a couple mornings, and this guy seems less like a man of God and more like an entertainer. He waves his hands a lot, his wife jumps up and down during worship songs, he shouts out lots of superfluous "Amen!"s and "Praise Jesus!". The most disturbing thing is that he gets people to come up to have him pray over them, but he starts shouting, and getting VERY animated while doing it. These folks then get to where they are screaming hysterically, and even passing out on the floor! Yikes! I was wondering if I was going to have to offer first aid or CPR for some of these folks. I was hoping maybe it was just a freak occurrence, but this is happening regularly.
This guy lives for that though. At least he finally acknowledged that some people may find it disturbing (ya think??), but it's "God's power" we're seeing. Sorry, I'm not seeing that. All I could think of is seeing footage of old Beatles concerts where teenage girls are screaming hysterically and passing out. The trouble is, after these services, friends of mine around the church are all praising this guy as a real man of God. Whaaaat??? He puts on a big song and dance, gets people all hyped up on adrenaline, they pass out and this is OK? I'm sorry, I'm an engineer, I have a scientific mind, and while I can believe a lot of things, there's a very scientific reason people are passing out. What God would want us to be losing control of our mind and bodies? I find it especially disturbing that these poor people are convinced that an adrenaline high is a sign of God's power, and they love their new pastor. Hoo boy.
The last straw was his views on other religiion. I was raised to respect other people's religion. Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Pastafarians, Jedi Knight... I think everyone is entitled to their beliefs. Too bad wars are fought because people think they have to force their beliefs on others, or those who don't share their beliefs are inferior. Well, during one of this guy's services, he flat out said Christianity is the only way to the good life, and Muslims and Jews will never have a good life because they aren't Christian. Sorry dude, but our last pastor and I once had a chat, and he agreed that it's not our place to diss their beliefs or try to convert them. He even surprised me by sharing my view that there is no "right" religion. Maybe the Muslims or the Jews have it right, and we have it wrong.
Well, I don't plan on going back. Sure, there are some nice folks there, but I'm a little surprised that they see these things and they embrace it.
My family wasn't overly religious. Went to the Episcopal Church in my youth, which to me seemed insanely boring. I went through the confirmation class and even after being confirmed, never really "got" it, so I stopped going and considered myself non-affiliated. My ex-wife, coincidentally, was in the same boat, also a former Episcopalian. I was still friends with the minister, and when we tied the knot, he happily officiated, even though we weren't regular attenders.
Well, we split (long story), and a few years ago was feeling a bit down. A friend of mine invited me to the church he worked at, and the seemed like a welcoming bunch. Their pastor seemed like down-to-earth guy, and I liked what he preached. So, I went pretty regularly, even got involved being their resident tech guy (I'm an electrical engineer). They encouraged me to go through Celebrate Recovery, since I was still dealing with the divorce. It seemed to help, and made a bunch of new friends at the church.
Well, last year the pastor I liked moved. They just got a new guy in, and I don't dig his preaching style at all. They had him as a guest pastor a couple mornings, and this guy seems less like a man of God and more like an entertainer. He waves his hands a lot, his wife jumps up and down during worship songs, he shouts out lots of superfluous "Amen!"s and "Praise Jesus!". The most disturbing thing is that he gets people to come up to have him pray over them, but he starts shouting, and getting VERY animated while doing it. These folks then get to where they are screaming hysterically, and even passing out on the floor! Yikes! I was wondering if I was going to have to offer first aid or CPR for some of these folks. I was hoping maybe it was just a freak occurrence, but this is happening regularly.
This guy lives for that though. At least he finally acknowledged that some people may find it disturbing (ya think??), but it's "God's power" we're seeing. Sorry, I'm not seeing that. All I could think of is seeing footage of old Beatles concerts where teenage girls are screaming hysterically and passing out. The trouble is, after these services, friends of mine around the church are all praising this guy as a real man of God. Whaaaat??? He puts on a big song and dance, gets people all hyped up on adrenaline, they pass out and this is OK? I'm sorry, I'm an engineer, I have a scientific mind, and while I can believe a lot of things, there's a very scientific reason people are passing out. What God would want us to be losing control of our mind and bodies? I find it especially disturbing that these poor people are convinced that an adrenaline high is a sign of God's power, and they love their new pastor. Hoo boy.
The last straw was his views on other religiion. I was raised to respect other people's religion. Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Pastafarians, Jedi Knight... I think everyone is entitled to their beliefs. Too bad wars are fought because people think they have to force their beliefs on others, or those who don't share their beliefs are inferior. Well, during one of this guy's services, he flat out said Christianity is the only way to the good life, and Muslims and Jews will never have a good life because they aren't Christian. Sorry dude, but our last pastor and I once had a chat, and he agreed that it's not our place to diss their beliefs or try to convert them. He even surprised me by sharing my view that there is no "right" religion. Maybe the Muslims or the Jews have it right, and we have it wrong.
Well, I don't plan on going back. Sure, there are some nice folks there, but I'm a little surprised that they see these things and they embrace it.
