(1) The Call to Worship is, "Y’all come on in!"

You might be in a country church if:

(1) The Call to Worship is, "Y’all come on in!"

One of my favorite shows to watch years ago when I was in a wheelchair and had to stay home all day was “The Price is Right” with Bob Barker as the host. Rob Roddy was the person who did the announcing and his phrase was “(first name, last name), Come On Down, you’re the next contestant on The Price is Right.” That person would jump up from their seat, the camera would swing and follow them as they made their way to the front where the contestants were lined up.

SO, when I read this first part of the joke, I put 2 and 2 together (well, actually, I guess it was 1 and 1, LOL) and had a brainstorm. (yep, smoke is still whishing out of my ears).

Call to Worship. I was raised in a Baptist church and this was generally the first thing that was done when the service started. It entailed standing up and singing a generally rousing hymn to get things going. I’m still not sure who was calling whom to worship (I’ve already covered this subject, so I won’t go into it again) but the service was started and generally proved to be a way to shut everyone up who had been in the sanctuary talking.

I think we should have a “Call to Worship” before we have the “Call to Worship” and combine the two things from above.

Have you ever been walking from your car to the church entrance and seen someone that you know drive by and you knew that they were not on their way to another church? They were possibly on their way to shop or to the lake for a day of fishing and boating. Next time that happens, wave to them enthusiastically and say, "(insert name), Y’all come on in!"

When they look at you strange, probably like you’ve lost your mind, tell them that you want them to come join you that morning. There will be the normal excuses of, “I’m/We’re not dressed for the occasion” or “We’ve got somewhere to go right now,” but tell them it doesn’t matter how they are dressed, (if it does, YOU may have a problem) and you want them to come in and find out how to get to Heaven, the most important destination in their lives.

Some people may look at you strange, some people will drive off in a huff, but you never know when that someone may take you up on your offer, and possibly make a change in their lives.

Then when the Holy Spirit calls them by name and says, “(insert name), Come on down,” then hopefully they will give their heart to God and be saved.

People are not just going to come into a church these days without being asked, especially if they are unsaved. We have to make the effort to get people in the church. If the way seems a little bit different, (as Christians, aren’t we supposed to be different?!?), then find a way to get comfortable with being different and let’s start to reach others for Jesus. Get people into a place where the word of God is taught so that lives can be changed and the world (at least the world around us) can become a better place.

Denomination Abomination

I’m going to attempt a blog that will probably make a lot of people mad before they get halfway through this reading. If you’re easily angered, read the blog just before this one so that you’ll be better prepared to handle it.

Denominations. We have plenty of them in the US. Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal, Pentecostal (AOG, COG and all of the others, including IPHC). There are more, but I just wanted to point out some of the bigger ones. And there are off shoots of the ones listed above.

It seems that they have taken over Christianity. There are no open Christians walking around anymore. Just ask someone. They will tell you. I’m Baptist. I’m Methodist. So on and so on. Or I belong to Rock Springs Baptist, or Bethlehem Methodist church. How about I belong to God? How many times has someone ever told you that?

When you start out in the ministry, you have to go through a committee that reviews you and your beliefs, goals, etc. They kept asking me questions about being a Methodist, and upholding the doctrine and such. The emphasis wasn’t on my daily walk with God. The word Christian was barely mentioned, if it was at all. I don’t really recall it coming up in conversation, but I’ll give them credit for it just in case. (a dozen or so people firing questions constantly, it’s hard to remember it all.)

I told them that I was a Christian. I agreed to work in the Methodist church, and that I would teach the bible in the Methodist ways. But I was a Christian, not a Methodist.

I won’t call his name, but one guy became so inflamed that I almost thought he would come after me. He turned so red and became mad. But I held my ground. I could tell that I had visibly upset the majority of people in the room, but so be it. It didn’t upset me. Anyway, they still gave me the church to pastor. I’m hoping that it was because they reconsidered for the moment, but it didn’t last very long. I was still a target with a large bulls eye on my back. Finally, the target was hit and I was down. That is when I walked away. It was all about numbers. How much tithe was given? How much did I send to the state office? The church grew over 200 percent while I was there. Yet I was derailed because I wouldn’t kiss the right person where no one should kiss anyone. What happened to church? To preaching the word? To having people saved? To having the spirit hit so hard in a Methodist church that members were at the altar speaking in tongues. (if you ever study the Methodist church, you’ll scratch your head over that one).

That is why I am not in a denominational church at the present. I want the focus to be on God in whatever church I serve. Now, if I ever do get to go to a denominational church, whether it is to speak or to take on as pastor, I have no problem with that, as long as they understand, it’s all about God, and not the denomination.

Moreover, it’s about helping the church members and local community at home first, and then reaching out to the rest of the world. When your house is in order, then you are able to do more for others. Just ask any financial advisor.

Am I saying do not have missions? NO. If your church is successful, your members needs are taken care of, then reach out past the normal boundaries. But when you have a successful church that prospers at home, coffers will overflow and spill out to the rest.

Next blog gets tougher, so prepare your hearts, your minds and your spirits for what we need to examine next.

I Have Only Begun to Fight!

Sometimes you lose. Sometimes you quit trying. Sometimes you quit trying to lose. Maybe that is what I was doing. Trying to lose. I certainly wasn’t trying to win. My wife was not supportive of my actions with going to church. She didn’t do church, and she couldn’t understand why I wanted to. Especially at another AOG church, of all things.

We only had one car for quite some time, and she would have it to drive to work. I drove the work truck home (I worked for Allied at the time) when I could, but I couldn’t go parking a moving van in the church parking lot. That would have probably put too many people over the edge.

Several times people would give me a ride home while I was walking, and even offer to come pick me up. But my schedule was hectic, especially on Wednesday’s, and I never knew from one week to the next if I would be home or not.

Eventually the weather turned bad, and I found too many excuses to go. I still listened to the radio show every Saturday night. I counted myself as a good person. I wasn’t out raping, killing or stealing from anyone. Sure, I indulged in the ‘spirits’ occasionally, especially Crown Royal or Bacardi. But I wasn’t a drunk anymore. I could remember what happened before and after I started drinking now. So I couldn’t be a bad person. RIGHT! NOT!

I still wasn’t really saved. I had bought the fire insurance when I was 8 years old. But that was still all it was to me. Fire Insurance.

Then we moved back to the home county where I grew up. Walked in a Baptist church, and this is no lie, a lady recognized me, grabbed her kid, and said, “Don’t go anywhere near that man. He’s trouble.”

I never went back. If that lady ever reads this, be glad that I came to my senses, otherwise you would have a rough day at the throne down the road.

My girls had started listening to the music too, and they wanted to get active in church. We found a church, and they had an awesome drummer. We quickly became friends and started up a Christian Rock Band. (heads up, I still wasn’t living that life that I sang about). For 2 years we had a blast. I eventually became the choir director for the church. Then tragedy struck.

(1)       Stroke

(2)       Multiple Sclerosis

Wheelchair bound. The pastor came to see me a couple of times. But no one else ever did. It wasn’t long before I never heard from him again. See there. Just what I thought. Christians only care about you when you’re in a position to help them. “To serve God.”

Still in a wheelchair, I started playing for another group, and before long, I was choir director at another local church. Methodist Denomination. If you think some chuches are dry, sit in a Methodist service. They have a method alright. To bore you to death. The denomination is quickly dying, and it’s no wonder. The way they worship sounds like they are too. They have no passion for Christ, no true sense of worship.

(okay, before you freak on me, not every Methodist church falls in this category I’m sure. But as a whole, I am right on target. I've seen the numbers, and they are scary.)

But after surviving much gnashing and wailing, this was a change. And I fell in love with the pastor. She helped me to see that Christianity was so much more. I even started to understand some of the words that they had been playing and talking on the radio, and how the bible could apply to my life.

Several different churches later, I wound up serving in another Methodist church. This time I found out about a program called, “Lay Speaking.”

Nope, it doesn’t mean to recline while you’re preaching. It means that ordinary people could be trained to help in different areas of the church and its worship services. I went to the “Basic” class out of curiosity, and I was hooked. I bought every “line” and weighed every “sinker.”

One thing led to another, and I wound up in Seminary, and eventually to my own church. Methodist, in case you were wondering. A small country church. I had learned a lot while serving in the ministry, but being a pastor was quite an eye opener.

(next segment: Is there an optometrist in the house?)