I have a dear friend who invited me to visit her church. After several weeks of attending, I went ahead and formally joined as a member. That was three years ago. Things started out great, people are very welcoming, the congregation was growing, and it felt like a vibrant community.
In the last year, things have gone from "judge not" to frequent condemnation of the millennial generation, the LGBT community, and anyone who is perceived to not be paying their tithes. Whoo boy has it changed. I'm not sure what was the trigger. Maybe it was a choir member feeling comfortable to come out as gay. Maybe it was the member of the congregation standing up during tax time and demanding to know why every week we were being told to donate 1/10th of our refunds. All I know is that the congregation is getting smaller. The young people were the first to leave. The pastor's son took a job where he has to work on Sundays. His daughter joined a different church. Recently folks arrived to find two large flat screen T.V.s are mounted on the wall in the front of the church. We didn't request this. We're confused about where the money came from since there's a constant barrage of attempted guilt. (The lights have to be on even if you aren't at worship)
Frankly, I'm done. The final straw for me was during announcements where we were told if one spouse is paying a tithe but the other one isn't, the family isn't tithing.
I always thought being Christian meant being called to be Christ like. I don't recall any verses where He demanded money from the folks coming to hear Him teach. Maybe this Pagan girl needs to reassess her desire for communal worship and praise.
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