Commenting on this blog is a privilege; it's not a right.

After five years of this blog, I'm tired of rehashing the same arguments over and over again. 

So, if you're going to write a negative comment, please make sure it is well written and that it moves the conversation along.  

Bonus points for actually being funny.  The best negative comment we ever got, was "The Morton boys traded Christ for a Beer."

We quote that comment all the time. Cracks us up.

We've touched on this issue before, but this comment from Chip is one of my favorite defenses of the church:

I think some of the people writing this stuff should remember the account of David and Saul. Saul tried to kill David but David was very careful not to harm God’s anointed. Also I guess these people writing have no issues, no sin or any other problems in their lives. Hope their not living in a glass house.

This is exactly how cults are started. Can't criticize the leader: He's God's Annointed. By that logic, the children abused by Catholic priests should just suck it up and keep their mouth's shut. Because, you know, the priests are God's Annointed. And sexually abused children need to be very careful not to harm God's Annointed.

Here's the deal: If being a Christian means I can't criticize any leader in the church, then I'll pass on Christiantiy, thank you very much.

Here's a quick note from another very satisfied reader:  (Changed a little; to hide the writers identity)

My friends are darlings of the City Church up here in Seattle. Reading their posts on social media sites disturbed me–ALWAYS hyper positive (I mean literally they never have a bad day it seems), scripture quoting, and City Church praising. Not to mention frequent bubblings about how God wants us to have whatever we want. I could go on and on about the myriad of other beliefs they have but it would take hours. Suffice it to say this site was a breath of fresh air for me, providing the affirmation that I'm not crazy and this really isn't a sound church organization. At least I know I'm not the only one who hates hypocrisy and craves justice. Anyway, thanks for listening to my incoherent blabbing. 

Thanks for this blog!!! One post a month would be enough!

ONE POST A MONTH! Now you're getting greedy. I was leaning toward two posts a year, both of them focused primarily on my boozing habits.

And by "This blog is a breath of fresh air", I think the writer means "This blog reeks like the stale pungent aroma of a cheap cigar."  

I'm actually surprised that people still find this blog. It's a testament to the power of the internet, I guess. 

I love this story. From the comments:

I found your website and well just say it’s a blessing for me, liberating to be exact that I’m not the only one. Not saying that ur pastor’s an ass, just the thought that it’s ok to questioning the church authority and getting them responsible of it. I did, my ex pastor stepped down a few months ago, now being investigated of fraud. Nice guy, just forgot that he’s serving God not the goods… well anyway what i did to my (ex) pastor was :

Step 1. Questioning him privately first, bluntly in his face (we had lunch, my mom’s one of the church’s biggest donor, he loved us.. a lot), he denied my accusation and play the angry card, accusing me i was a bitter young guy in need for a big-time repent. Then apparently he told everyone about the evil me, hence the asst. pastor calling me -not by name- (quote) “the thorn” in a Sunday service sermon in front of 5000 people, sent by the devil spreading rumors to shake and hurt the “God-Anointed man”.

Well something just ain’t right in the equation about the first class “mission” family trip to Maldives, Hawaii, Baha etc, new SLK & S-Series, ,”the Canaan” (20k sqf mansion, with a private bowling alley thank you) and of course the old time favorite & repeated tithing sermons…
I’m OK with people getting rich, but not with my money (well to be fair, my mom’s mostly) in it and there’re people in the church losing their job, fighting bankruptcy and with illness, yet being told to tithe tithe tithe!
And yet here’s another 45k$ Patek Philippe for the “god anointed man” doing nothing really with no real job but being fat and speaking about how everyone need to give him more $$$.

Step 2. Feed up. I had enough. So I talked with people, convince my mom to take action, looking for affirmation (one of the affirmation was form this lovely site.. again THANK YOU!), yes there’re a lot of people told me to mind my own business, that I’m just a young rascal (was 25 back then) and somehow kept hearing that it is a sin to question “god’s anointing”, well I know a tiger when i see one.

Step 3. I collected all my guts left in me (after been brutally eaten by the church pack) and we (me and some of the elders, my mom included) reported him to the financial committee. Filed a lawsuit (thanks to my mom’s company legal team) and there you go, now he’s spent $$$ paying for the legal fees, bye2 mansion, and sorry Mrs. pastor no more visit to the plastic surgeon…

Am I evil or what?  Well tell that to the “man of god” who stop funding the elderly home, shutting it literally, denied financial assistance plea from a mother with breast cancer (told her to pray harder, tithe more and god will send miracle depending on how much she will put a seed of faith in here tithing, saying it’s by grace she’ll be healed, she died a few month after unhealed) and bought a new 150k church sound system instead (which cost only 100k, he tithed 50k for himself apparently), not that the one we had broken, it just the Hillsong singers coming and we need to bling up. And oh yes… he gave the infamously evil CA’s props8 tons of $$$ (move away mormons, he gave approx. 215k of the church money) denying people the rights to love and be equal… and we’re not even in USA! (the devil’s own friend, rev. jerry falwell & soon-to-go rev. pat robertson will love this guy company in hell surely).

After the legal huricane, new pastor got in, so this one better keep his hand off my money and use it for the right cause.
Yes you heard me “my money”, I don’t be believe in tithing as a return of God’s money thing, no way, in the The Parable of the Talents, it’s said that the master will taken us into account of the money (skill, etc) entrusted in us… so no way I’m gonna deposit mine in some crooks (who happened ran a money-hunger church) and do nothing about it. Never my intention to dictate pastor what to do, i just expect them to do the right thing as church supposed to do: To act love.

Money (or other things) is not the source of all evil, it’s the willingly evil human hearts, any human hearts are vulnerable including the so-called “anointed one”.

My point is maybe everyone should man up and talk to these pastors in the face, and enjoy the wild ride 

Stupid Idiots writes:

You all are a bunch of sad sack idiots that need to get a life……………………………………….

Dumb asses one and all

You think that you are so import that you need a validation code, you think way to highly of your lousy self.

Well what do you know…even after all these years they still come in like this.  If I am reading my Bible correctly, Jesus didn't make the Pharisees too happy either.

Good job people, good job.

Josh recently asked:

I hope you find joy in bashing other churches and other men and women of God all in the name of Jesus. Show me where in the Bible that it says it's okay to do such a thing.

Well Josh, let me try to list a couple scriptures that may help you understand where we are coming from.

Romans 16:17-18:

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

"Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which he have learned…" That's what this blog has done…we have "MARKED THEM…". Now, I'm no fool, so I realize that you think that we are the ones that have "caused division" and so you should "mark us". Feel free to do so…but before you do, lets look at what the Bible says about False Prophets/Teachers/CBC

My personal favorite is:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 2 Timothy 4:3-4

And what does it say to do to people who "will not endure sound doctrine"? Lets step back to 2 Timothy 4:2

Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction.

This blog has endured many years of "great patience and careful instruction"…ok maybe we failed at that one at times. It's a work in progress for us.

Now we should step to 1 Timothy 4:1-2

 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

Josh, the Spirit clearly says that some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons…I believe an example of this is the prosperity gospel.

And when we unpack 2 Peter 2:1-3 we find:

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them-bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

You see Josh, there are a lot of warnings against false teachers / doctrines in the Bible. These warnings are to people IN the church. Just because someone talks about Loving Jesus and Loving the Bible doesn't mean that they truly do. You must always hold EVERYONE accountable to teachings set forth in the Bible and by Christ.

My church is susceptible to "false teachings" and I must always be on guard against them…just as I am with my former church.

I hope this helps you out, and I am glad that you are searching out the truth. Thanks for your comments.

This is an amazing interview from a guy who grew up at the center of the Evangelical Movement and hates what it has become. Frank Schaeffer has converted to Greek Orthodox, and in November voted for a Democrat for President for the first time in his life.

In my opinion, Mr. Schaeffer is the future of Christianity. I'm not exactly sure what shape the Christian Movement will take in 20 years. But I gaurantee, it will look vastly different than it does now, and the Dobson's and Damazio's of the world won't be major players. They'll be fringe radicals, that Christians look back on with regret.

A friend of mine recently sent me this email:

 I recently had a conversation with a christian buddy of mine who somehow
had managed to remain ignorant of my political leanings. I am the sort to
usually ask a couple of questions and let people ramble. It supports the
illusion that I am a good conversationalist.

At any rate the "conversation" turned to the election as many conversations
these days are wont to do.

So far pretty normal. What shocked me, and I must say frightened me, was
not his opposition to our President-Elect, but rather his…enthusiasm…for
Obama's assasination. I literally went cold and got off the phone as
quickly as I could and erased the number from my cell. This was someone I
had previously thought misguided but on the whole rational. Now that I am
paying attention to the problem I have been hearing reports and anecdotes
that this sort of thing is somewhat widespread.

This all leads to my question. How do we as christians respond in love to
christians and others who are gleefully advocating the assasination of our
nations President? My first reaction is anger and a desire to marginalize
them to the hinterlands of civilzation but that doesn't really jive with the
message of the gospel

So what do we do?

I haven't had much time to work up a response yet, but I thought I would throw the question out to you….What Do you do?

A reader writes: 

Have you heard of the Worship Invasion group? They showed up out of the blue tonight at my school, Simon Fraser University near Vancouver and rocked for Jesus for 3 hours. My brother and I walked past the venue a few times over the course of a couple hours and they had a variety of styles going, people waving banners, there was even some kind of line dance going on stage, or so it seemed. It looked very goofy in that lovable goofy Pentecostal way, and very fun depending on what mood you're in.

I checked out their website and it it's worth a look for giggles. It's not that I want to mock what they're doing; I think it's a great idea…it's just their presentation is, well, you'll see:

http://www.worshipinvasion.com/WI_2nd_page2.htm

Check out this page for their mission statement, especially the part about "Raw and Uncut praise." It is not a joke: http://www.worshipinvasion.com/Mission.htm

I enjoy reading the blog from time to time. Keep up the good work.

A City Business regular recently had this to say:

Until leadership gets over themselves and stops taking up all of their congregations time by expecting them to be in church “every time the doors are open” things will never change. I believe there are a lot of selfless caring people in church that would gladly sacrifice their lives for others but they have been brainwashed into thinking that they are in the will of God by sacrificing their lives for the church.

I have to say, I couldn't agree more.  When I was a youth pastor/leader at a semi-connected MFI church in Portland, I spent 5 out of 7 nights a week doing church related things.  At first I was completely psyched about it.  I felt like I was truly living God's calling on my life.  But after a year or so I started to get burned out.  I was getting paid pennies, working many long days, and had very few non-christian friends.  I became claustrophobic as I was constantly surrounded by Christian things.  At that time I was too naive in my understanding of the Gospel to get what was truly wrong.  Now 10 years later I realize what it was.  I was dedicated to the external and not the internal.  I wanted to please people and not Christ.  The church had become my entire life and I had completely shut out the outside world.  I was one of those brainwashed people who sacrificed my life for the church - all in the name of living righteous, yet I was empty.

When I finally left that church and helped start The Well in NE Portland, I discovered what working for and going to church was truly about.  I only went into the office a few hours a week.  I was there for only a few hours on Sundays.  I felt little to no pressure as a leader in the congregation.  Why?  Because there was no expectations for me to be anything other then myself.  Everyone understood that the church was just our meeting place, not our final destination.  There was no ego, or pride, or attention seekers.  None of the other bull sh*t that took place at my former churches went on at my new church.  The focus was on Jesus, people, and the truth of the Gospel.  Sure we had idiots and knuckle-heads in the congregation (what church doesn't?), but funny thing was they never seemed to stay around very long.  Eventually they went back to the churches they came from because the traditional human-centered, works-based Christianity that they were seeking did not exist, and those people didn't know how to handle it.  They waited week after week for someone to acknowledge their "goodness" or put them on a pedestal as being an important member of the church and when that didn't happen, they left.

I say all that to say this.  Yes, church is a place made up of weak, sick, sinful people so there is no perfect church.  However, there are good churches that put Jesus first and foremost.  Not in words, but in actions.  These churches constantly preach the cross.  They focus not on what we can do for Him, but what He has already done for us.  They do not exists for money or attention and don't run like a business.  There are no big conferences, futuristic websites, weekly entertaining celebrity speakers, or pastors who demand the spotlight.  There's just Jesus.  And for the people who work for and attend these churches, that's all they really care about.

So if you find yourself attending a church that loves Jesus and people more then anything else, hold onto it with dear life.  There are few around.