Jim, you are a writer after my heart. Thank you for being bold and willing to warn the sheep of the characteristics of the wolfs in our fellowships. I say it is NEVER time to leave THE Church. However, we should never attend fellowships that use their fellowships to advance the cause of reaching the "lost" by methods and beliefs of the Lord's enemy of Truth. Satan can't save the lost! One of my missionary Directors in Liberia told me, "We need to come to America to evangelize the Pastors; they appear to be more lost than their followers."
A very thoughtful guide Jim. Thank you. Have had fulfilling and disheartening experiences attending Churches. I was raised Catholic. When we moved and thought about joining the local Catholic Church, the pastor was not a man of God. Church had a wall with the names of the big donors. Liked to go to dinner with parishioners and never reached for his wallet. Would not baptize children if parents were not married in the Church. Much more. Friend had a miscarriage and was seeking some comfort and got none.
Heard about a Lutheran Church that had a pastor who was there because he refused to do gay marriages at his previous parish. We got into a bible study, since in my previous experience as a Catholic, we all had bibles.We were taught all the bible stories. Reading the bible was a self study program! Emery was a good and Godly man, whose example made you want to ask him about God and Jesus. He had Crohn's disease and needed a kidney transplant which he didn't get and died. We still think about him 20 years later.
When we moved out West where we are, we found a Free Methodist Church with a pastor who was a cowboy with a booming voice. Another Godly man who knew his Bible front to back by heart. Soundly rejected the lgbtq agenda. When he gave sermons, since he was a horseman, sometimes he kind of worked his experiences with horses into kind of a parable to help explain the lesson for the day. Rod had to retire because he developed a brain tumor that made him forgetful and sometimes he was forgetting his words. It is not getting better or worse right now, and we pray for him.
Apr 29, 2023·edited Apr 29, 2023Liked by Jim McCraigh
I have not been a fan of organized religion for years, for many of the reasons you have illustrated here. Not mentioning and trying to ignoring these issues by the church is tacit approval. This is only my opinion as a lifelong Christian.
I am a big fan of John the Baptist for his courage in speaking the truth, even though it ultimately cost him his life by doing so, just like Jesus and so many others over time. We owe it to those who have sacrificed by telling the truth, by telling the truth ourselves. Jim you are not afraid to tell the truth, I admire that.
I pray more believers would listen to these warnings and act on them by searching out true biblical churches. Any one of these examples would be enough to seek a new home. Thanks for you post.
Ten points like the Commandments! Bravo
Thank you Jim. A much needed, but often neglected, subject.
Jim, you are a writer after my heart. Thank you for being bold and willing to warn the sheep of the characteristics of the wolfs in our fellowships. I say it is NEVER time to leave THE Church. However, we should never attend fellowships that use their fellowships to advance the cause of reaching the "lost" by methods and beliefs of the Lord's enemy of Truth. Satan can't save the lost! One of my missionary Directors in Liberia told me, "We need to come to America to evangelize the Pastors; they appear to be more lost than their followers."
Thank you. (I just subscribed to your Substack.) You are correct... there are many African pastors who could teach American pastors a thing or two!
You are an easy writer to promote. You are what I call a "Truth Friend." You can contact me directly anytime. drphinney@iomamerica.org
A very thoughtful guide Jim. Thank you. Have had fulfilling and disheartening experiences attending Churches. I was raised Catholic. When we moved and thought about joining the local Catholic Church, the pastor was not a man of God. Church had a wall with the names of the big donors. Liked to go to dinner with parishioners and never reached for his wallet. Would not baptize children if parents were not married in the Church. Much more. Friend had a miscarriage and was seeking some comfort and got none.
Heard about a Lutheran Church that had a pastor who was there because he refused to do gay marriages at his previous parish. We got into a bible study, since in my previous experience as a Catholic, we all had bibles.We were taught all the bible stories. Reading the bible was a self study program! Emery was a good and Godly man, whose example made you want to ask him about God and Jesus. He had Crohn's disease and needed a kidney transplant which he didn't get and died. We still think about him 20 years later.
When we moved out West where we are, we found a Free Methodist Church with a pastor who was a cowboy with a booming voice. Another Godly man who knew his Bible front to back by heart. Soundly rejected the lgbtq agenda. When he gave sermons, since he was a horseman, sometimes he kind of worked his experiences with horses into kind of a parable to help explain the lesson for the day. Rod had to retire because he developed a brain tumor that made him forgetful and sometimes he was forgetting his words. It is not getting better or worse right now, and we pray for him.
I have not been a fan of organized religion for years, for many of the reasons you have illustrated here. Not mentioning and trying to ignoring these issues by the church is tacit approval. This is only my opinion as a lifelong Christian.
I am a big fan of John the Baptist for his courage in speaking the truth, even though it ultimately cost him his life by doing so, just like Jesus and so many others over time. We owe it to those who have sacrificed by telling the truth, by telling the truth ourselves. Jim you are not afraid to tell the truth, I admire that.
Bert, thank you for the encouragement... You are right, ignoring these issues is tacit approval.
I pray more believers would listen to these warnings and act on them by searching out true biblical churches. Any one of these examples would be enough to seek a new home. Thanks for you post.