Photo by Jake Walker on Unsplash
(Think about it) “I believe that at the end of the century, the use of words and general educated opinion will have altered so much that one will be able to speak of machines thinking without expecting to be contradicted.” ― Computing machinery and intelligence
Too much happened while I was away, so I’m going to recap a few stories.
James MacDonald was arrested for beating up a lady whose car HE hit.
I would bet that 99.9% of those who heard about this were unsurprised. Julie Roys reported Disgraced Megachurch Pastor James MacDonald Charged with Assault After Allegedly Attacking a Woman. The Chicago Sun-Times also reported on this in Ousted pastor of Rolling Meadows church charged with assault in California, as did Religion News Services in James MacDonald, former Harvest Bible pastor, charged with felony assault and battery.
This is how I put together the sequence of events.
- MacDonald attempted to parallel park.
- He hit the occupied car in front of him.
- The occupant, a woman, got out of the car to speak with MacDonald.
- He got out of his truck and proceeded to whale on her, causing “serious bodily injury,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
- His unoccupied truck then rolled backward and struck the car in the back of it.
- The police were called while some witnesses detained MacDonald.
- A gun was found in his truck, but it appeared legal.
According to The Roys Report:
Lt. Alex Navarro of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department told TRR that MacDonald was booked into San Diego Central Jail on March 22 around 2:30 p.m. He was released on $35,000 bail the same day just before 11:00 p.m.
A week after the incident, on March 29, MacDonald was arraigned on the assault and battery charges, according to spokesperson Tanya Sierra.
According to Religion News Services, His charges included two felonies.
James MacDonald has been charged with two felonies for allegedly assaulting a woman during a dispute over parking.
This incident should be no surprise to those who followed his downward spiral. He was canned from Harvest Bible Church for many reasons, including his behavior. His attorney implies that the police should not have charged him with much of anything. At least HBC doesn’t have to pay his legal fees.
Michael Pancer, a lawyer representing Macdonald, said, “James Macdonald would never intentionally harm another human being. The charges as written are not accurate as to what took place. We believe the evidence will show Dr. Macdonald’s intent and conduct was neither malicious nor correctly assigned in the charges filed. We look to the legal process to establish what did happen and remedy the situation lawfully.”
Final thought: His wife and/or friends (if he still has any) should get the gun away from him. So should the authorities. If they don’t, I predict that we could see a tragedy play out here.
My former church (#3), Chapel Hill Bible Church, is accused of racism.
Yonat Shimron, writing for Church Leaders, posted This North Carolina Church Used to Be Multiracial. Then Came Jan. 6.
The Wongs are among as many as 200 people who have left Chapel Hill Bible Church in recent months — more than 20% of this once flourishing nondenominational congregation in the university town.
…They say church leadership over the past several years has turned inward, drawing boundaries around orthodox beliefs and dismissing or demeaning members’ concerns. That has led to the departures of many families of all races who complained of the church leadership’s lack of transparency and care.
Those who followed my posts on CHBC might remember what happened. Here is a shortened version of it. The church had always been delightfully diverse until Jay Thomas, a hard-core Calvinist, slipped through the doors and proceeded to do the typical church takeover.
My husband and I saw it start to happen and began to warn people about what we saw. We got blown off, and we left. Even in 2014, there appeared to be a diminishing number of ethnic minorities in the congregation. I remember thinking that Calvinistas, involved in takeovers, have little energy to care for everyone. After all, who cares about a woman from China when John Piper needs to be revered?
Members and former members contacted me to write their stories. A few old friends accused me of “attacking the church of Jesus Christ.” Ahem…who was involved with the decline of minorities. Those are the ones who let the ministry of Jesus down. And now they are embarrassed on a national level. The pastors, including Thomas, and “his” elders deserve it. This was their game, and they let the team down. They took a beautiful, biblically orthodox, intellectually challenging church and made it into a stone-cold, Calvinista church. They won….or did they?
Carl Lentz is back, and we all predicted it.
The New York Post wrote Disgraced Hillsong pastor Carl Lentz hired by new church: ‘We believe in Carl.’
Carl Lentz, the ousted pastor of Hillsong New York City, has landed on staff at Transformation Church, a predominantly black, nondenominational megachurch in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that is led by pastor, author and popular YouTuber Michael Todd.
…“We gladly welcome Carl Lentz to our Transformation Church staff, helping TC with strategy as we continue to move forward in our vast vision,” Tammy McQuarters, the church’s executive pastor of operations, told Religion News Service in an email Monday (March 27)
…McQuarters said the church’s vision to “re-present God to the lost and found for transformation in Christ” includes restoration.
And for those who can’t get enough of Lentz: Fired Hillsong Pastor Carl Lentz to Give First Interview in New FX Docuseries’ Secrets of Hillsong.‘
FX has set a new docuseries, “The Secrets of Hillsong,” which will feature the first interviews with married couple Carl and Laura Lentz since they were ousted as pastors of the infamous megachurch.
The four-part series is based on reporting from Vanity Fair’s Alex French and Dan Adler about Hillsong, which became famous for attracting celebrities like Justin and Hailey Bieber and Kylie and Kendall Jenner — before the church was exposed for involvement in misconduct including marital infidelity and child sexual abuse.
…“The Secrets of Hillsong” premieres on May 19 at 10 p.m. with two episodes, followed by two more episodes on May 26.
I can wait…
ChatGPT: An AI who could be my friend.
ChatGPT is a hot commodity these days. Here is a link introducing this fine, young fellow.
We’ve trained a model called ChatGPT which interacts in a conversational way. The dialogue format makes it possible for ChatGPT to answer followup questions, admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests.
My curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to ask a question of it. “What is The Wartburg Watch.” This is the first answer it gave me. But, unfortunately, it is trained to mix it up. So, subsequent answers might be different. I see coming headaches for high school English teachers.
I thought you might like to see what it answered me. I promise this was the first answer.
The Wartburg Watch is a blog that focuses on issues related to the intersection of faith and culture, particularly as it relates to the Christian church. The blog was founded in 2009 by Dee Parsons and Deb Martin, two women who were concerned about what they saw as a lack of transparency and accountability within some Christian organizations and churches.
The Wartburg Watch covers a wide range of topics, including church abuse, spiritual abuse, domestic violence, and sexual harassment. It is known for its investigative reporting and commentary on controversial issues within the Christian community, particularly those related to abuse and misconduct by Christian leaders and institutions.
The blog has become a widely respected source of information and analysis within the Christian community, and it has been cited in a number of news articles and reports on issues related to faith and culture. The Wartburg Watch is committed to promoting transparency, accountability, and justice within the Christian community, and it has played an important role in raising awareness of these issues and advocating for change.
I liked this answer. Did you notice that it did not:
- call me Jezebel
- accuse me of being unsubmissive
- charge me with disregarding Matthew 18
- ask me to sign a “covenant” before it would answer
- demand I identify the male who is my covering
As I said on Twitter, I think ChapGPT and I will be friends. But can one be friends with an AI? We enter a whole new age…
From the tail-end of the article up top:
demand I identify the male who is my covering
Is it Mordecai?
That Chapel Hill Bible Church article was also picked up by the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2023/04/07/multiracial-church-january-6/
Seriously though, I heard a Bible teacher say that Esther couldn’t have done what she did without Mordecai as her ‘covering’.
“James MacDonald was arrested for beating up a lady whose car HE hit”
I can hear his young, restless & reformed groupies all across America shouting “But man, he can sure preach!” or “So what, it was only a woman!”
“We gladly welcome Carl Lentz to our Transformation Church staff, helping TC with strategy as we continue to move forward in our vast vision”
Any vision which includes Carl Lentz on staff is most likely the result of eating a pepperoni/green pepper pizza right before bed.
Dee, I think you are overlooking some serious theological concerns here.
Who is ChatGPT’s covering? Is ChatGPT even male? COULD JOHN PIPER ASK CHATGPT FOR DRIVING DIRECTIONS?
Seriously, you could be in danger of missing the Rapture…
It’s hard to imagine after everything that has come out over the past decade about spiritual abuse, narcissism, clergy sexual abuse, etc… PLUS all the specific details about Carl Lentz and his behavior, that a church would hire him in a leadership position.
Think of how ignorant and arrogant that church and it leaders must be.
Well, his last church (Hillsong) had leaders like that, so he will feel at home.
Muff Potter,
“Seriously though, I heard a Bible teacher say that Esther couldn’t have done what she did without Mordecai as her ‘covering’.
++++++++++++++++++++
sounds like job creation for the sake of jobs.
like the person at wal-mart who was hired to draw a line with a highlighter on your receipt as you leave.
if that’s what they need Mordecai to be, perhaps i can be gracious like I imagine Esther was (and limit things to an eye roll) while going about things.
No, Muff, it’s Stan. 🙂
Well, I’m sure that if she had only approached him with a gentle spirit and a quiet, submissive demeanor…..
Dee,
It looks to me like ChapGPT has more love and more humanity in it’s heart of hearts than any number of “Godly” men, all combined, do.
Ted,
🙂
srs,
Did you ever read this? https://thewartburgwatch.com/2012/08/31/weve-got-you-covered/
He’s far more polite than the dude bros, isn’t he?
Mike Jones,
Thank you for pointing that out. I’m sure jay Thomas and the theodudes are not amused.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar),
Unbelievable. I say they better get that gun away from him.
dee,
What I said was a joke —- I should have indicated that in my comment.
I hope they put that man in a cage! He belongs either in a jail, or in a mental institution.
Nancy2(aka Kevlar), I think we should call ChatGPT to the Church of AI. He’s certainly more humble and polite than those dudebros we hear about so often.
Reminder, James MacDonald was a featured speaker at the Southern Baptist Pastors Conference in 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, and was invited again for 2019 until his bad publicity became too much.
MacDonald had his ‘Harvest’ network of churches, and was one of a number of leaders of non-SBC groups that RonnieFloyd as SBC President targeted for SBC-assimilation to try to boost the denomination’s sagging statistics:
https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/joining-sbc-draws-focus-in-2015/
“In his address to the Executive Committee during its February meeting, SBC President Ronnie Floyd challenged the Convention to invite other churches ‘to come into our family’…A few months later, Pastor James MacDonald announced at the SBC Pastors Conference…that Harvest Bible Chapel…had made the commitment to become a cooperating church with the SBC”.
RonnieFloyd also worked to get C.J. Mahaney’s church into the SBC.
As well as Eddie Lyons’ (bigwig in the independent fundamentalist ‘Baptist Bible Fellowship’) High Street Baptist Church of Springfield, Missouri:
https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/independent-church-aligns-with-missouri-baptists-sbc/
“church whose pastor serves as president of the Baptist Bible Fellowship International to become a cooperating church with the Missouri Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention”.
[the state senator in the news this week for favoring marrying off pre-teens is reportedly a deacon of this now-SBC church]
“Did you notice that it did not:
call me Jezebel
accuse me of being unsubmissive
charge me with disregarding Matthew 18
ask me to sign a ‘covenant’ before it would answer
demand I identify the male who is my covering”
~ ~ ~
Clearly a heathen.
Even if it’s wearing an EMOTIONAL SUPPORT vest on its slide?
“As I said on Twitter, I think ChapGPT and I will be friends. But can one be friends with an AI?”
~ ~ ~
“The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” by Robert Heinlein would say, “Yes.”
Thugs, mobsters, cons in jail, cons out of jail, predators, Judas, and Barabbas have no lack of friends. Some people, in their rebellion against God, love to BFF a bad guy. Bad guys gather a following.
During our recent holy days, we membered that a bad boy was applauded and pardoned while our Lord was godforsaken and executed.
Sounds familiar, like what is happening in churches today.
He’s probably gonna’ get his @$$ sued off.
I’m bettin’ he absconded with a large amount of loot when he left HBC.
A good Tort attorney can smell money like a good hound can smell treed possums.
Every time one of these bad boys (a predator, a pedophile, could be both) is applauded with a standing ovation in church, we can picture Barabbas being applauded and set free and reinstated, while our Lord Jesus the Son of God was cursed and condemned and executed.
You are not the only one to say this:
https://baptistnews.com/article/the-barabbification-of-america/
elastigirl,
And Mary was “covered” by Christ when she came running proclaiming the tomb was empty…
In SBC life, it’s all about nickels and noses. Pursuit of some nickels and noses have come at a higher cost than 5-cents.
Running parallel to the Barabbification of America is Barabification of the American church. Idols are worshiped while Jesus is excluded. “Give us MacDonald!” … “Give us Lentz!” … “Give us Driscoll!” … etc. etc.
MacDonald got popped on Coronado Isle huh?
I’m bettin’ he was checkin’ the place out to maybe plant a new ‘church’.
If he can pull it off, it’ll be a gold mine for him.
Rich diggins on Coronado Isle.
Muff Potter,
Don’t want him here. Thank you very much. Hope SD police take care of him.
His bad-boy publicity will surely draw a following in that area. There are lots of churchgoers that look for “pastors” who act no differently than they do … it makes them feel better about themselves. Look how long potty-mouth Driscoll pulled it off at Mars Hill! MacDonald was a bad-boy for years at Harvest Bible Chapel, drawing thousands of followers. And look at the shallow crowd that Lentz attracted. Give them what they want and they will come. This could the best thing that ever happened for MacDonald’s “ministry”!
Max,
I saw that. Loved the word “barrabification.”
This has puzzled me for a long time. As a kid I thought the pastors I knew somehow lived completely sinless lives, never drinking a beer, etc. Now, since I no longer have a living relative in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union(!), I expect high integrity but not perfection. A good example helps me, by giving me something to emulate, and by reassuring me that good clean living is not only possible but joyous. (To be clear, I think most people have good intentions with occasional flaws in the execution.)
If people want pastors to live down to their expectations, why bother going to church? Just hang out with your most obnoxious neighbor.
Regarding Chapel Hill church, reminds me of when my wife quit volunteering at her church nursery.
They kept expecting her to take the laundry home to wash and dry every week. She’s of Asian descent. Never occurred to me until now if that had anything to do with it.
And miss all the entertainment?! Miss experiencing bad-boy preachers, loud bands, laser shows, big screens, fog machines, skinny jeans, shallow sermons … where the Great God Entertainment sits on the throne?! This ain’t Gramma’s church, this is Christianity Lite at its best … it’s just too cool to miss out on all the fun.
From the link:
“Now I can fully understand why those Jews freed Barabbas instead of Jesus. It’s the same reason Israel voted for Netanyahu and Bezalel Smotrich, and the same reason white American “evangelicals” are foolishly enamored with Trump. In a single word: Power.
“Today, people like Netanyahu and Smotrich don’t intend to do any real justice for Palestinians, whom they still consider enemies, rather than siblings. (That’s not to absolve Palestine from their violent responses to injustice.) Almost 2,000 years ago, violence was a popular option for Israel to relieve herself of Roman dominance. It was what Judas and Barabbas wanted.
“On Sunday, Jesus was thought to be their political and military hero. By Thursday night, the hero was downgraded to a zero when discovered to be thoroughly disinterested in political power and violence. By Friday morning, Barabbas was the clear choice.
“You’ll have to read books like White Too Long by Robert P. Jones and Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Du Mez to understand why white American “evangelicals” love political power so much and do not give a rat’s tail about violence that emerges from the quest for that power. And then you’ll understand why Donald J. Barabbas is still the clear choice for white American so-called Christians even during a week called holy, honoring a non-violent man who loved, welcomed and included all people — not just those of his privileged race.
“The people committed to fighting “woke” want the people who drink that Kool-Aid to remain asleep, oblivious to the next Barabbas among them for whom they shall vote — including the ones trumpeting the call to “fight the woke.”
“They may certainly be found praising Jesus on Sunday but welcoming violence and mayhem on Friday.” – Michael P. Friday, from the article at the link.
What we are watching. We are all seeing the same.
And who is the Evangelical Barabbas (tough guy lauded and applauded criminal thug)? the Evangelical Judas (slimy crafty inner circle executioner’s collaborator)? Or, are there many?
Jack,
Awful thought, sadly plausible.
I’ve seen offices where men assume that every woman is a secretary, so they will hand their coats to a random system architect or middle managers. Not much excuse in a church nursery though.
Gus,
The writer of the Opinion piece, Michael P. Friday, notes:
“For a fleeting moment, Barabbas was equated to another man, one named Jesus. In that moment, a throng of people and a legislator and governor named Pontius Pilate, all looked upon a known and convicted insurrectionist named Barabbas in the same and equal way they viewed a non-violent justice-agitator, humanitarian, compassionate social worker, a mental, physical, social and spiritual liberator named Jesus.
“But that moment of false equivalence did not last long; it quickly gave way to a poor choice: The crowd voted to release Barabbas and crucify Jesus.
“This is the kind of nonsense that happens when crimes are overlooked, depravity is justified and when — as Proverbs 26:11 declares — a dog returns to its own vomit.”
The verse: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly. Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Prov. 26.11
And also: “It has happened to them according to the true proverb, ‘A dog returns to its own vomit,” and, ‘A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.’” 2 Peter 2.22
Jack,
That’s wrong. Others could have taken it home, or they could have taken turns. SMH
The above quote is from Michael P. Friday’s opinion piece at the link.
It explains well how the Evangelicals go off the rails, departing from Jesus to embrace and applaud Barabbas.
The simple servant life of Jesus is not good enough, not shiny glitzy glammy, not a powerful public platform, not rolling in dough, not popular, not Hollywood, may not win an election, not the fame & fortune & pleasure they counted on getting when they came to Jesus.
Step aside, Jesus. Barabbas is our man.
Best to congregate around the brash bragging bold bad boy. Rally worthy. Headline savvy. Attention getting. Self serving. Political, economic, populist success.
The simple sane serving small town Jesus doesn’t cut it. Forgettable. Overlookable. Obscure. Ego crumbling humility. Executed. Rose from death to life.
“ The simple servant life of Jesus is not good enough, not shiny glitzy glammy, not a powerful public platform, not rolling in dough, not popular, …..”
Ava Aaronson,
You just described a large number of our evangelical leaders. I don’t even have to look outside of the SBC.
Our evangelical culture has turned away from the real Jesus, Son of God, just as Jesus’ followers turned away from Him, as recorded in John 6. Like Madonna the material girl. We are a material culture that calls ourselves evangelical with “Good News”. NOT good.
In John 6, Jesus first feeds the 5,000+. [Material miracle]
Then Jesus walks on water. [Another material miracle]
But then Jesus tells his followers that His Kingdom is not of this world, not material, but His people will be sealed with the Holy Spirit, filled with the HS, gifted from the HS, FREE and not material: “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
At that point, the people start complaining, the leaders are displeased, and many turn away from Jesus. He loses the vote, the people, his base, support. [Oops?]
“So then many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, ‘This statement is very unpleasant; who can listen to it?’
“But Jesus, aware that His disciples were complaining about this, said to them, ‘Is this offensive to you? What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before. It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh provides no benefit; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit, and are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.’
“As a result of this many of His disciples left, and would no longer walk with Him.”
puts a new perspective on standing ovations given to “pastors” who fall, who are restored to the pulpit after ungodly behavior, who use and abuse the people of God … this ain’t church, it’s a counterfeit posing as the genuine … only an Ichabod-congregation would shout “Give us Barabbas!” while turning their backs on Jesus
Apparently the Barabbas Movement came long before the Barabbas Moment. And the Movement continues today.
Watchman Nee called it, “Rice Christians”. Those who came to church to literally get fed (rice) but no more. Nothing of the Spirit. Anything spiritual was unpleasant to them, like disciples of Jesus’ day who turned away, and the Material Girl, Skinny Jeans Guys, Pastor Plane Dudes, Slamming Twerking Teens, Evangelicals of today. Yee Haw, Jamming for Jesus, Party Hardy.
Proverbs 26:11
Like a dog that returns to eat its own vomit, so is a fool who repeats his foolishness.
2 Peter 2:21-22
It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to eat its own vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to wallow in the filthy mud.”
Seems like a whole lot of eating vomit and wallowing in filthy mud in Evangelical Land nowadays.
The command to live a holy life in the Spirit is a life of 9 fruits of the Spirit, beginning with love, joy and peace – for everyone. It is also a life of communing in the Body of Christ among 18 FREE gifts of the Spirit, at least one apiece; the gifts include teaching, discerning, giving, administration, and healing, to name a few. God is good.
But not good enough for the seekers of material economic and political power, such as patriarchy, pastor planes and rock star fame. Just patriarchy alone is ill-fated with power-over, vice inspiration, and profiteering.
I am currently convinced that as long as we insist on having Kings we call “Pastor” whom we arrogantly demand they have all of these gifts in themselves, in part because most of us are too lazy to pick up our own gift and use it, that nothing will change for the better. We set ourselves up for this as only a narcissist is stupid enough to arrogantly believe that they can do it all. This is why when Jesus said we must eat His flesh and drink His blood, that the masses still turn their backs. They want a different Jesus. They want someone to lie to them and tell them what they want to hear. Jesus’ words are spiritual, but we will have none of that *%^#!
So we have the average pastor burning out in less than 7 years. They get divorced eventually because they work building a religious institutional business so hard they neglect their wife. Their children grow up rebellious doing everything good Christian kids are not supposed to do. I know this because this was true of both churches I went to as a kid. The PK’s have a bad reputation and it is a sign of things done wrong by their own father. And this is the ones with the better motives. The others beat the daylights out of a 59 year old woman after they drive their own vehicles into them! I do not see myself being a part of any org where the priest, rev. or pastor is in such a position. They need 1/18 of the authority, power and expectations. Many cannot teach well, they should leave that to the teachers. Many make bad prophets, they should leave that to actual prophets and respect them. They should have respect for the entire 17/18 of the rest of the body and not try to Lord authority over them. Then their wives can be happy and their kids no longer neglected. Even the Word states about how can a leader lead a flock correctly if his own children are not being led in a successful way? They do everything so awfully because they try to do it all. Try to do everything and all that you do will be of poor quality. Only Jesus is capable of such a feat. That is because He is God and we are not…
And that, sir, is why the organized church is so far off track. “Pastor” was intended to be only one spoke in the wheel. Most 21st century churchgoers just don’t get the “many members, one body” calling for our Christian experience (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Thus, we do church but are not ‘the’ Church.
That.
Today, Nee might very well call such folks “Coffee Christians” or “Donut Christians” … seems like every church foyer these days have coffee and pastries waiting for the faithful. Take those away and church attendance will dwindle. IMHO, most church gatherings are of the flesh, rather than the Spirit.
Gus,
Thank you for the link to the excellent article The Barabbification of America.
From what I have seen, this is more complicated. Divorce has many causes beyond excessive focus on the work. Not all clergy marry or divorce. A lot of clergy are women, not men. The scrutiny on pastors’ children can have a very bad effect on them: they are constantly watched and reported about. The church gossips love to heap scorn on a pastor’s child who just does normal kid things.
Even the most cooperative preachers’ kids can feel the strain of always serving as the Perfect Example. I know two of them who married each other: they love each other, and they also feel like nobody else truly understands what they went through as children.
Max,
That depends on some things. Hospitality is sacred to me. Small acts of generosity at church can tenderly bind people together.
Besides, if people eat enough donuts, the skinny jeans will eventually go away. 😉
Friend,
If members and visitors have to pay for the coffee and donuts at the church coffee shop, it ain’t hospitality.
Jack,
I was the nursery coordinator for a church for years. I was the leader. I washed the linens every week, unless I asked someone to fill in for me. I guess leading by example is not a thing 🙁
Friend,
Fun and fellowship are OK as long as that’s not all there is. We just don’t seem to have as many serious Christians in church as in the last century, but that might just be a problem in my area and not yours. As far as coffee and donuts, I’ve certainly consumed my share … but it’s fellowship around the study of God’s Word that excites me.
P.S. we can’t get in skinny jeans around my place any longer 🙂
Holy frijoles, who’s charging money? When I did this, the church bought bulk coffee, I brewed it by the gallon, and Vance came waltzing in with his home-baked lemon bars, elbowing out Julie with her Toll House cookies.
/fossil
Friend,
Book stores …. and coffee shops.
Check this out: https://www.startchurch.com/blog/view/name/irs-rules-church-coffee-shop-not-tax-exempt
Speaking of dudebros, it’s my cat’s nickname. He’s demanding, wants it just so, and lashes out (although intense training on my part has made him better in this respect), and spends a lot of time loafing around the house. He also has a very limited cache of sermons, mostly about how he doesn’t get what he deserves.
Adding to my list: don’t join a church that contains for-profit businesses, or “charitable” entities that should properly be taxed.
Such churches are still out there, and they deserve encouragement.
Jesus had something to say about the den of thieves operating in a house of prayer.
Now you sound like an old pastor of mine. Shut down the Sunday Service. That eliminated the need for a rental building. Cut costs way down. Talked a lot about us being the church outside of any building or meeting. I agree with all of that but before my day two of his three children got DUI’s in college. Must have caused a real stir. Probably more than the fact that his church was the big deal in town for a while and people were going there to look for affairs. I think someone named Paul already condemned that? There is no going back to the big ticket, full time Pastor King and dedicated building for me. Church is a home fellowship group. Anything more gets too complicated and Jesus just gets lost in the shuffle.
And, by the way, he is an SBC trained pastor…
Your comment reminds me of a Peanuts cartoon where Snoopy dreamt that Charlie Brown flew him like a kite and he ended up crashing. Snoopy’s final line: “Good grief, what a dream! I’m going to have to stop eating those 20 inch pizzas before going to bed!”
LOL except true. Theodudebros.
Doing church hospitality for real.
Tina,
I’ve been in some churches where I felt like I was living in a Peanuts cartoon.
Max,
Jesus fed the 5,000 indiscriminately. We won’t see the church shed the tares or deadbeats or rice Christians or donut worshippers until Jesus comes again, Jesus tells us in the parable of the wheat and the tares.
(But the 1 Cor. 5 list of offenses, OTOH, should never be found in churches as these offenses are socially toxic or dangerous to vulnerables, but not simply deadbeat deadweight tares).
Good points. Many gifts (18 by count) given (not for resale) by one Spirit. All on level ground under Jesus our Lord. No middleman. Jesus died and rose as the Final Middleman, cutting out any other middleman. Hallelujah.
Max,
Manufactured sensations and induced mannerisms.
My “animators” used to write Laurel and Hardy scripts (unfunny).
Bridget,
Coordinator plus leader plus washer upper is three examples by my count. Didn’t the rest of them want a rota to exist?
A suitably abstemious, slow and vegetarian surname (pottage, and mess, come to mind).
We always figured it was because she was young and (at that time) single. And didn’t have kids. All biases commonly encountered in my evangelical experience.
Yep, it got old real fast, she never volunteered again.
Good for her.
“Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
How church people love their hierarchies even though God seems to do everything to eliminate human hierarchies and hubris.
1. God is all about leveling in church with equal access to God and no middleman but Jesus. Jesus died, rose, then granted His Holy Spirit to all of His faithful followers with 9 fruits and at least 1 apiece of 18 gifts, all 18 of equal value. Some of the problems in the Body of Christ could be addressed and dealt with through the Holy Spirit with His gifts. Like discernment. FREE. HS gifts are not a capital growth industry. No fees.
2. Leveling of demographics. There is no patriarchy. No male vs female, Jew vs Greek. Marriage is equal submission and respect. Women should be paid the same as men for the same work. Etc.
3. An element of leveling of economics: In this case, in both OT and NT, there are mandates for those financially blessed to assist the least of the least, the truly needy. There is a leveling aspect of God raising up those beaten down in this world through no fault of their own. Nehemiah was supplied by the king to restore the wall. In the NT church, those with two homes or extra properties, sold them to assist needy working people. The world is full of panhandling. God doesn’t support that. Everyone who wants to eat should be working; but the way the world pays people for working is neither fair nor just. The Body of Christ should be different about this, as described in the book of Acts.
Is that similar to vast food?
If you want to puke today, watch Transformation “church” out of Tulsa and its list of bad dudes doing a sickening supposedly Easter service.
On the other hand, God is still on His throne, Jesus still loves us, and it is bulk garbage pickup week. That is a prime source of supplies for crafty people like dh, so we get to drive pretty much every street in the nearby town multiple times.
Which means right now a delight to senses with flowerings blooming, bridal wreath offering sweet smells, and the dogwoods, white, pink, and coral, in their fullest bloom.
Jack,
Good on her!!
Off Topic:
https://web.archive.org/web/20230417184325/https://julieroys.com/how-big-christian-nationalism-come-courting-north-idaho/
I picked this The Roys Report post (by Jack Jenkins) How Big Christian Nationalism Has Come Courting in North Idaho from Dee’s Twitter….
I’m adding my off-topic comment containing the link to The Roys Report post (by Jack Jenkins) How Big Christian Nationalism Has Come Courting in North Idaho because I can already see some very bad things happening, and the potential for things to get very bad very quickly.
I’m doing what I can to “spread the word”, and hopefully people will read the post and take the warning….and find a way to peacefully prevent very bad things from happening (like a bunch of Waco’s, January 6 uprisings, etc….and the potential for all of those combined).
And Doug Wilson is only one of the potential big problems….
researcher,
And I missed closing a tag for italics. Very big sigh.
One of my favorites! In fact, I volunteered to provide aPostolic aNnointing over all your covering. If Satin attacks with any slanderous gossipy accusing, I’ll tell him where to go with a “Touch not my anointed! Do my prophets no harm!” Thanks for all you do, Right Reverend Dee! aPostle Dave
researcher,
Thx for sharing.
Can’t imagine what they shall reap, after what they’ve sown. Playing with fire, IMHO.
The FBI has been keeping a close watch on the Pacific tri-state (Oregon, Idaho, Montana) area for some time now. It has long been a wasp-nest of activity for far-right crazies who are armed to the teeth, even with the latest automatic weapons.
Better Peanuts than South Park or Don’t Look Up.
I believe ChatGPT identifies as “they/them.” Not sure if that passes the Piper test or not!
In the words of the prophet Julie Brown:
“Everybody Run!
The Homecoming Queen’s got a gun!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG3yGdQYwqg