I have attended a one-of-a-kind church sevice in West Virginia this morning (no, there was no snake handling or anything like that). Instead, the preacher started the service by quoting Matthew 5:23-24 where it says we must go to those who we are odds with before we present our gifts at the altar. He went on to say that he had trouble praying this morning because of an ongoing conflict with another person. Nothing wrong with that, right?
Here's what happened next. The pastor called out this man he was at odds with by name (I'm pretty sure this man wasn't in the church) and told the grievance he had against him. According to the pastor, this man didn't believe the pastor was "preaching gospel". He then asked the deacons in the church if they believed him or the other man and if they did believe that he was not "preaching gospel" then they should remove him from he pulpit right then and there. To firm up his stand, he asked those deacons who were willing to stand with him to stand up as a show of support. I'm fairly certain none of the deacons would have had the courage to keep their seats even if they didn't support the pastor. Finally, the pastor announced that tonight they would have a "town hall style" church meeting after the service to discuss the issue and take any necessary action, even if it meant removing him as their pastor. If they chose to do that, then he would gladly leave.
The looks on the students faces was of disbelief and amazement. Talk about a "welcome to our church" kind of introduction. The rest of the service was a time of rattling off the sins of the world with a tone that was less than inviting. I'm just not so sure that this is what God has in mind for worship when His people gather together.
3 comments:
Hey Sterling,
Good luck to all this week and I'll miss reading your blogs.
Karen Smith
Wow, thats interesting. Im with you, calling people out like that is not the way to handle a situation so fragile.
As the wife of a pastor who was assigned to a dying church ( and, at times, a very mean spirited one).. I can almost relate to the deep desire to call people out on bad behavior. Almost. But that desire, I have found, in me, comes from the flesh and not The Spirit. I feel for the people involved.
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