Free to Worship: Part 3

Taking the topic a step further…

What drove me to post the first post to “Free to Worship” was to break the silence that many people have hid behind when it comes to their relationship or idea of Jesus Christ and God.

Think about this…

There are countless numbers of people who have denounced the concept of Jesus Christ, left the church, or doubted the idea that God could be real… not because of rebellion or sin in their lives; not because they were selfish and wanted to attend a church environment that catered to them; not even because they had some ulterior motive… but because they were searching for the truth and couldn’t seem to find it. I’m talking about people who come down the isle during an alter call of a church service and afterwards, are left for dead to figure out their questions and confusion. I’m talking about people who were raised in church all of their life, but once they get older, they vanish completely from the church scene. I’m talking about teenagers and even adults who attend church services out of habit who are too afraid to ask themselves why do they do what they do or believe what they believe. I’m talking about the everyday Christian who may be seeking God and wanting to understand Him and His Word, but aren’t getting the answers they intended.

I’m speaking from a personal place. I know what it is like to almost denounce the whole idea of Jesus Christ and God because I had to filter through so much of what I was taught growing up in church… all of the TBN shows I watched, all of the prosperity preachers I heard, all of the hopes and promises that kept me on the edge of my seat expecting God to do a whole bunch of stuff because some prophet said so. I know what it is like to pray and not get anywhere for months, and question prayer altogether. I know what it is like to go on fasts and consecrations because it’s what you’re supposed to do and come off of it trying to figure out why I even bothered in the first place. I know what it is like to ask myself, is there more to this God-thing than singing songs, going to church, and hearing message after message after message – week after week after week. I know what it is like to almost have to totally detach myself from everything I grew up on in order to embrace God in a more authentic, simple, and less ambiguous way.

Don’t get me wrong, there was alot of great teaching that I still hold on to today, but there was so much ambiguity in what I understood and in what some people were presenting that in order to have sound understanding of Jesus Christ, God, and the Bible, I literally had to question everything I was taught. It was a good thing because now I can discern B.S. from the truth. But I still live with the scars of having to peel off religion, tradition and alot of jargon from all the Christian music, sermons, inspirational books and people that I let into my ear that fed me garbage. Now for those who may be reading this (i.e. Rod, Pastor Paige, Min. Shirley Roberts, Min. Carolyn Bailey, Min. Patricia, Bro’ Philip, Domonic Purviance, Vincent Hunt, Milan Ford, Jovan Fowlkes, Ralphael Witherspoon, Daniel Gilland and others), I am not referring to you guys… you have in some way helped me grow spiritually. I’ll never forget your one-on-one help – THANKS!!!.

I know there are people out there who can relate. I know there are people who – for them – they have sought long and hard for understanding on the whole God-thing, but can’t seem to get anywhere with it. I know there are countless teenagers who sit in sanctuaries every Sunday who just can’t seem to grasp hold of this God-thing. I know there are people who go to church services Sunday after Sunday who play the Christian role, but are hurting with doubt, confusion, and almost agnostic-like faith.

This topic is bigger than my silly preference of worship experiences. This is more about me feeling the heartbeat of so many people and getting fed up with trying to paint “pretty” Christian pictures to cover over the fact that there are so many people who – if you were to sit them down and really engage them – you’ll find that they are congested with religion and may not even really believe there is a God in the first place.

This topic goes a lot deeper.

And I know that my reason of posting this is to break the silence!!! Who’s gonna help the Christians who’ve gone through the motions of church, emotionalism, and religion; who’ve read portions of the Bible, prayed, and fasted, but are still confused? Who’s gonna help the Christian who’s been apart of a church for 10 years, but has no desire to share the Gospel with anyone because they really just don’t know how? Who’s gonna embrace and walk with the person struggling with homosexuality after a homo-bashing sermon is preached during a Sunday service? Who’s gonna sit the agnostic kid down and help him answer his questions and at least hear him out after he’s been a church-goer for a few years? Who’s gonna disciple anyone anymore? Who?

…to be continued.