What's Wrong With Our Churches Today? - Part 1
The LORD has allowed me to experience some things in my work life and church life that I have not fully understood why I needed to experience these things. I remember as a child, my mother experienced salvation and water baptism while we were attending a small Baptist church in Des Arc, Arkansas. I was about 10 to 12 years old at the time and did not understand why she needed to walk down the aisle of a little Baptist church and then be baptized in the White River. One thing that impressed me about my Mom was when she stated after her baptism she no longer feared death. I remember thinking to myself, "How could she not fear death? I feared death and had trouble going to sleep at night because I thought about this a lot. And, I did not understand how going down the aisle at church was going to change that.
Another thing that impressed me while going to that Baptist church was Jimbo McDonald's (my best friend's), mother. Mrs. McDonald was my Sunday School teacher and she said something that has always stuck with me. She said that she's noticed that when a Christian dies they always have a smile on their face. As a child, I had never experienced deliberately looking at dead people's facial expressions before, but I took her at her word.
There is one death experience I will never forget. As an adult, I was asked to be a pallbearer for an elderly gentleman from our church. I was not at the hospital before he passed away, but his wife and family members told me that just before he died he said that he could see Jesus standing on the other side of the river telling him it was time for him to come home. I like that! Now that's the way to go. In his casket, he didn't have the big smile on his face that I thought he would have, but I believe he did see Jesus calling him because he was one of the nicest Christian gentlemen you would ever want to meet.
When I was a young teenager I remember going to some revivals at different Baptist churches and my friends could not understand why I didn't go down to the altar when they did. I did not feel led to go to the altar because of preacher's sermons were hellfire and damnation and an attempt to scare me into accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior. This did not feel right to me so I refused to go to the alter. I believed that Jesus died for my sins and I accepted Him as my savior, but I refused to go down the aisle because of scare tactics. I wanted to go when I was ready and not for the preacher's benefit. Even though I did not go kneel at the altar I felt I already knew Jesus because I felt Him inside me.
After I was married at age twenty in a Methodist church I did walk down the aisle made my profession of faith at the altar, and was water baptized by sprinkling. I remember having a hunger for understanding the scriptures and dedicating myself to studying every morning. In time I grew in my knowledge of the scriptures and became involved as a teacher and song leader at the little church with a whopping membership of sixty-five. My choir was not that good but we loved to make a joyful noise. We were invited to lead praise and worship at a local Baptist church on Sunday night services. We had a fabulous time worshiping and praising God together without any denominational differences of opinion. That's the way a church should be.
To be continued...
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