From the Editor

El Fracaso de la Iglesia

06-30-2015 09;08;27PM - Copy - Copy

 

‘But if heaven never was promised to me,

Neither God’s promise to live eternally.

It’s been worth just having the Lord in my life.

Living in a world of darkness,

You came along and brought me the light.”

~ Andrae Crouch ~

From: If Heaven Was Never Promised To Me

 

There are some words, in Spanish, which English can never do justice to; for example: el fracaso – the failure, the failure of the church – my church, the church I was born into and identified with through thick and thin, but apparently not through Henry and Yung.

I have been waiting, since yesterday, to hear a report about a meeting with “pastor’s” Henry and Yung, from two people whose opinions I trust. I have wanted to hear that there was true repentance and remorse; that Henry told them something that would enlighten his and his wife’s behavior, but no report has come.  Apparently, there conduct is simply the status quo and this is all we are supposed to expect, from people who ascend into the pulpit, and claim to be speaking to their congregation, from God.

Personally, I am broken hearted; I feel a dark despair which leaves me all but hopeless. Not only have Henry and Yung been appointed, by the District, to replace the pastor and his wife, who abruptly resigned, from this little church in Exeter, but apparently, the behavior which I have found so deeply troubling, is simply emulated from the Presbyter.  It has been a difficult several weeks.

I read the news, watch the debates, talk with my neighbors, and I feel a heavy heartedness which extends past Henry and Yung’s pastorate; and I do not understand how they do not feel the urgency which permeates the air I breath – economic hardships, domestic violence, war, terrorism, sickness, addiction, and crimes of hate which defy explanation or understanding.

Where is the church? Where is my church?  What has happened to people of Christian faith?  Has Christianity really just become a MEME?  It seems that it no longer matters whether or not we live what we preach, instead, what counts is how many people can we get to hit “like” to our little quote of chastisement or call to action, with the cute picture of a puppy or baby, which we post on social media.  Does the hypocrisy of telling your “friends” to forgive and forget or to love one another, when you hate your family or the person sitting in the next pew, not bother you, at all?  Should you not at least block such post from those who know of your disdain for them?

Why is the church not concerned with the things going on in the world? Why is there not a call to action regarding Christian women being publicly raped and beheaded?  What are we doing to free Christians imprisoned for their faith?  Why is the church going on with talent shows and couples dinners and women’s retreats instead of shouting from the roof tops that it is time to stop watching videos about rodents, and start seeking God and intervening for those in need?

In this day and age, what does it mean to be a Christian? How is Christianity being defined?  Should I really be leaving a Sunday morning service, outraged that the pastor is boldly and blatantly anti-Semitic, and the only people who seem to care are the ones I will be eating lunch with?

This week, while raking leaves, as Kate cleaned the gutters, my neighbor came over to talk politics. After a while, he started telling me that I needed to be more positive, have more faith in America, look on the bright side – I put my rake down, and stepped back.  Me?  I need to be more optimistic and hopeful; and believe that people will do the right thing, he said.  I suddenly felt rather lost; I am usually accused of being too much of a Polly Anna, not of feeling defeated, but he is right.  I do not know that I have ever felt the world quite as dark as I do now.

While my disagreement with Henry, began over what I consider an insult to the Holy Spirt, with the pastor sharing true vulgarity, as a way to entice the congregation to revival, my breaking point came with him saying that a church deacon did nothing wrong by contacting a woman, in the congregation, to discuss how the man could not stop thinking about her eyes. The deacon, Hugh, repeatedly stood in front of Henry, me, and the woman, telling her that she was attractive and he has been thinking about how she looks, since she started going to the church; both Hugh and Henry insisted that it did not matter that the woman felt violated by the unsolicited attention, Hugh is a man, and this is what they do.  Henry suggested that the woman and Hugh go behind closed doors, with him, to talk about the situation, though repeatedly stating that Hugh had done nothing wrong.  Perhaps this is why Henry is not preaching on ISIS imprisoning Christian women, raping them, torturing them, and eventually murdering them – men must be men?

Christians are supposed to be the light of the world: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.  Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” ~ Matthew 5:14-16 ~ What solutions are we bringing to the world?

Since I was a child, my Mother spoke to us about the “last days”, which I will admit, every Christian since Paul, has been waiting for them to arrive; and every Christian, since Paul died without them arriving. I will also admit that I have never been in any hurry for a last day, and that historically, we have certainly seen time periods, in history, that come very close to paralleling the tumultuousness, of our present day; which screams out not only to the religious world that the last days are upon us, but also the secular world with movies and books about invading super natural forces, post-apocalyptic life forms, and mechanical inventions with a desire to destroy.  However, what I cannot place, into a historical context, is a Christian church that cares so little about each other and those who co-inhabit the earth.  Our faith should not just be about getting to heaven or acquiring power in the church, it should be about shining light into darkness; after all that is the behavior modeled for us by Christ.

As the oldest Christian communities, in the world, are decimated, what are Christians in America thinking about? What is being preached from our pulpits and taught in our Sunday school classes?  If we believe that Christ is the answer, why are we not living in Christ, instead of trying to save empty buildings, failed ministries, and self-serving agendas?

I believe a day of accountability will come, and I believe that every Christian, living in the land of the free and the brave will have to explain, in front of our maker, why they have planned yet another potluck lunch, instead of demanding accountability, from the leaders we support, and insisting that as a church we must act to help those who cannot help themselves. That is all for now.

 

“You may ask me why I serve the Lord,

Is it just for heaven’s gain.

Or to walk those mighty streets of gold,

And to hear the angels sing.

Is it just to drink from the fountain,

That never shall run dry.

Or just to live forever, ever, and ever,

In that sweet, sweet bye and bye.

Chorus:

But if heaven never was promised to me,

Neither God’s promise to live eternally.

It’s been worth just having the Lord in my life.

Living in a world of darkness,

You came along and brought me the light.

If there were never any streets of gold,

Neither a land where we’ll never grow old,

It’s been worth just having the Lord in my life.

You’ve been my closest friend down through the years,

And every time I cry You dry my tears.

It’s been worth just having the Lord in my life.

Living in a world of darkness,

living in a world of darkness,

You came along and brought me the light.”

If Heaven Was Never Promised To Me

by

Andrae Crouch

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