My Christian Experience and the Command to Love

Objective
My recent blog on Church Bureaucracy was not an attack against the Apostolic church nor Christianity. I greatly respect and admire both and I am humbly aware of their roots and sacrifices that is the foundational platform of contemporary Christianity. I would like to briefly examine the mission of the church and its biblical objective and provide an insight into Christianity. Is the church a success?

My Background & Experience
I came from a Christian background. As a child, I rotated between Catholicism and ‘full gospel churches’ [churches that believe in the operation of the five fold ministry: such as, the office of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher]. On a typical Sunday, my brother and I would attend the early morning 7:00 a.m. service at the Catholic Church, followed by a 10:00 a.m. service at the Open Bible Church, a 12:00 p.m. service at the Pentecostal church and after a quick lunch at home, we were ushered off to a 4:00 p.m. ‘Sunday School’ [similar to bible class]. Sunday school was usually under the shade of a mango tree at a neighbor’s house. We viewed it as an adult ploy to allocate a day for uncensored gossip or spend some ‘alone’ time. The night would culminate with bible bed time stories. Since there was no escaping the ‘word of God,’ I embraced it.

I studied the bible somewhat mechanically on a daily basis, and though it increased my reading skills, I felt detached from it. After all, the characters lived ages ago, and at the age of 10, I could not comprehend why the return of Christ was procrastinated. This ignorance led to many moments of solitude where I lamented my frustration in a one-sided conversation to this ‘unknown God.’ I had a paradigm shift one day while listening to a Billy Graham radio telecast. I was sitting under the house, listening to the blare of my Grandmother’s radio upstairs, when the scripture I had studied for months, suddenly became ‘alive’. I felt like Billy was speaking directly to me; there was something dynamic in his intensity and the authority and confidence in his voice. I sat riveted as s a peace and calm rose from deep within and saturated me. The transition brought an understanding of God’s love and remarkable insights whenever I read the scriptures. An astonishing discovery was that I could ask questions mentally and ‘my mind’ provided ready answers and hindsight during moments of distress and indecisive crossroads.

My Perspective
I spent the past two years at a private Pentecostal boarding school, also known as the West Indies School of Theology. I sat through myriads of sermons, visited countless churches, was quite instrumental in many ‘street crusades’ and ‘house meetings.’ In addition to daily socialization with pastors, missionaries and evangelist, I was assigned a Counselor who is now a quite accomplished Pastor. Does my experience make me superior or more sanctimonious than a new Christian? The answer is NO. Are sanctimonious trimmings such as cladding the body with excessive clothing an outward manifestation of Christianity? The answer is NO. Dressing modestly is not the same as overdressing. The ‘world’ should desire what we have and not abhor it. The bible reiterates that the kingdom of God operates counter-clockwise to the world system; where the greatest is the ‘servant’ (KJ, Mat 23:11). Then, why do some Pastors mistake the pulpit for a stage of prominence, complete with a ‘main’ chair fit for a King and smaller chairs for their Princes… I mean subordinates. It is more understandable if the chairs were consistent in size, because, we all have a godly heritage and are joint heirs to the throne.

I am intensely aware of the instruction in Matthew 28:19 to “Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. The objective of the church is to uphold the scriptures, and this should be unmistakably reflected in their motto, cultural and social norms. A stranger/visitor should be able to walk into any Christian denomination and feel welcome by their display of love. There should be no exceptions. The definition of a church is simply a gathering. Christians should not allow organizational bureaucracy in any form, to infiltrate the church of God. It is quite interesting that when asked by a Scribe [a Pharisees, or expert of the law and theology in those days], what is the greatest commandment, "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (NIV, Mark 12:28-31).

How do we keep the above commandment? How do you love a God you cannot see? We start by loving the folks we 'do see' and in so doing demontrates love for God. Denominational separation should not indicate diverse bureaucratic structures, but rather another extension of Love.

*photo taken from www.gbod.org

Church Bureaucracy and Church Folks

I have been a part of the church for as long as I can remember. I have contributed to and upheld its cultural norms as a zealous advocate. However, a recent incident triggered a major paradigm shift and redefined my philosophy of this bureaucratic organization. I renounce my support for the cultural norms of the Apostolic church. I am convinced that its mores and norms inadvertently affect a spirit of religiosity that is akin to a false sense of spirituality that renders its victim incapable of objectivity.

I would love to dive into my judgment from the onset, but the sensitive nature of the subject warrants some background explanation. The transition occurred in late spring on a warm Sunday morning. My sister, Susan and I arrived at church about half an hour late and were ushered to vacant chairs by a smiling usher who greeted us warmly. Song service was in full swing and we eagerly joined in the harmony. I felt liberated in that glorious atmosphere. I had not been to church in almost three weeks, due to other social, work and class related commitments. My concerned pastor had called a few times to ensure that all was well. I admired his charisma, consideration and sincerity, but I was not there to pay homage to him. I was there because my soul needed a desperate release; a connection with the creator.

As the worship progressed, with hands flailing in the air and bodies swaying to the music belted out by the keyboardist, drummer and saxophonist, the humidity in the atmosphere grew. To my dismay, I realized that the air condition and the ceiling fans were off. I tried in vain to ignore the rising heat and the beads of perspiration gathering on my legs. I pondered my options; I could walk outside for a breath of fresh air, but that would not change the temperature upon my return. I could notify one of the ushers, but one quick look around quelled that notion. They appeared to be oblivious to their external surroundings, or possibly contented and preoccupied with praise.

I tried to convince myself that it was just temporary and employed all my mental techniques on maintaining a consistently cool body temperature, but to no avail. As a last resort, I inquired from Susan, “Are you warm, as well?” Her affirmative nod was the only encouragement I needed to surpass the unspoken norm. I stepped into the aisle, walked to the nearest ceiling fan and tiptoed to pull the string that would hopefully turn on the fan. I watched in consternation as the light went out instead, and dimness emanated through my section. Realizing that I could not reach the shorter string option that would turn on the fan, I turned around to the Ushers to ask for their assistance. I was chagrined to discover that I had become the focus of everyone’s attention; even the musicians were still.

I walked gingerly to my chair with the knowledge that I had ‘broken out of the mold again.’ In defiance of the cultural norm of the apostolic church, I refused to wear a head covering/hat, refused to comply with their values that the adorning should be on the inside and not the outside; I wore jewelry and make-up at my whim. I refused to maintain personal and close friendship with church members and I refused their dress code for a less conservative style. Was I going to hell for it? They certainly seemed to think so. I sat down in my chair, amidst angry whispers of “who she thinks she is?” and “No! She did not lose her mind.”

I forced myself to sit through the rest of the service and maintain a positive attitude. I thought to myself, maybe I was wrong for dishonoring the deeply ingrained mores and norms of this church. I had been attending the church for the past four years and I should not have been incredulous by their response to my perceived boldness. Should it matter that their malicious comments stemmed from a misconception that I purposefully turned off the lights? Why should I try to explain my actions, when they had already cast the first stone? My eyes spanned the congregation, as if seeing it for the first time. No church is perfect, but there were so much visible imperfections; men were purposefully seated in the first few rows at the front, while senior church folks huddled in the rows behind the men and visitors were seated at the back. Such religious segregation on a Sunday morning! There were so many broad brimmed hats that even my tall 5’10” stature could not afford me an unobstructed view of the pulpit. And hats were compulsory!

For those who think I sound blasphemous, just hear me out. It is folks like these who could bring the ‘cussing’ out of you. Just when I thought the ‘old me’ was crucified, I felt like screaming ‘F U,’ to those whisperers, and by that I mean forgive you. I could understand if they critiqued my late attendance, “how dare you show up in God’s house late after all he has done for you.” These are the same folks who fast and pray for revival and souls to be saved and when a visitor shows up dressed uncharacteristically in jeans, they are rejected outright. Folks sanctimoniously raise their eyebrows, glance at each other in exasperation and act like smiles were a costly expression, simply because they do not recognize the answer to their prayers.

Well! One thing is certain, God is no respecter of persons; anyone can get their prayers answered. I believe this experience was rather essential for a defined direction and a more profound understanding of the personality of God.