our pasts

Our pasts affect us.  Sometimes, what we do today is a result of what we have experienced in the past.  It's like if you see a dog that shies away from people, you wonder who beat him when he was a pup. With that said, I have something to share.

I spent a few years, during my formative years, in and around churches that practiced or delivered the following: 
1.   Heavy layers of guilt
2.  casting supposed demons out of people
3.  believing that they were [myself at the time] superior to non-believers and most other Christians.
4.  Everyone was expected to raise their hands during worship.
5.  No one could ever question the pastor.
6.  During prayer meetings, people would be literally pushed over so that they laid on the floor.
7.  Everyone was expected to come for the customary altar call. 
8.  If you did not receive Jesus in the prescribed manner, then you were told that you were not a true Christian.
9.  Spiritual gifts were to be exercised and put on display in a very specific manner.
10.  There was only one way to look at the second coming, and if you didn't agree with that, well, again, you didn't fit in.

Wow.  There I said it.  Is that a lot of baggage or what?  Does that explain a few things about why we do what we do?  Here is the end result of these experiences from my past for me/us today.

1.  I get very nervous when I see anything that smacks of manipulation at a church.  I have become a strong believer in the power of the Holy Spirit to illicit a response from someone without a pastor or worship leader forcing the issue.  In fact, some of my favorite stories of conversion happen to people away from the church and with no pastor present!
2.  I despise guilt.  Jesus didn't use it and it is a terrible motivator.
3.  I have become a big believer in the fact that we cannot press God into formulas, bullet points or little boxes.  He works with people in various ways and we cannot contain him or create the perfect recipe.  Those that try to do so always end up looking silly.
4.  I believe in complete honesty and full disclosure.  Whatever you want to know about our church, its programs, finances, and ministries, if you attend WCC, this information is available to you.
5.  I want our commitments to Jesus and our practice of the faith to come from a place of absolute, complete freedom, clarity and sincerity.

Sometimes the pain and craziness of our pasts help us to live a healthier today.  I hope this has been the case for me.

It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.