Being Free

Yesterday was Sunday. Most "good church folk" were in their pews, probably the same one that they've had their backside on for years, which is okay with me. It's just not okay for me anymore.

I certainly can relate though. I planted myself in the pew every Sunday for years. And for most of those years it was in the same spot. Heaven forbid if someone stole my spot! Yep. That was me. Same church, same pew, same spot, same, same, same. (If that kind of thing works for you ~ good! I've been there - done that, so I'm not pointing my finger or being judgmental and I would ask for the same respect.)

Here are just a few issues that lead me out of institutionalized church.

The pastor and his wife spent more time preaching the fundamentals of their authority and the congregations obedience to their authority ~ which they claimed to be submission ~ rather than on preaching the authority of Christ and our submission to Him.

Which in turn lead to our absolute obedience to him and his wife.

We were never to question them ~ Never. That would be rebellious. We were to fully comply with whatever they said. I remember one person bragging that he had to cut the grass to the precise height of the pastors wife's wishes, going as far as measuring with a ruler, "just to make sure".

There was another person there that bragged about how the pastor corrected him when he apparently tied a trash bag wrong. I know it sounds trivial. It is trivial. Is it really that important how we tie trash bags as long as the trash doesn't fall out? Does our spirituality depend on how high the grass is? And why were these grown men bragging about being corrected by them like they (the pastor and his wife) were Jesus Himself.

The whole thing was about control. Many, many time they referred to themselves as "mommy and daddy" of the church. They had to keep a firm hand on all of their "kids" because, well, you know how rebellious kids are.

We were told and told, as leadership in the church, that they understood and acknowledged that we all had the Holy Spirit and could easily hear from God for ourselves BUT when we did hear from God it had to be approved by them and through them first. No joke. They were the last word. Period.

We lost our freedom to pray. Not allowed.

We lost our freedom to hear from God. Not allowed.

We lost our freedom to minister. Not allowed. (Unless you were on a certain "team". Then you were told what to say and when to say it and if you stepped over your boundaries then you were removed from that ministry team.)

We were not even allowed to hug. This unnecessary hugging, of course, might have the appearance of evil.

Men and women were not allowed to be alone in the same room together ~ no matter how harmless. I actually witnessed a staff member literally run out of the room that I was in, doing some administrative work, when he realized that I was the only one in there and that would mean a man and a woman alone in the same room.

I'm sure that you can tell that the only interest they had was control. All power is centered on them without any concern for the spiritual wellness of the congregation.

More to come... Be Well.