Two Stories

As a teenager I taught Sunday school in my local church, with a co-teacher who was a 40 year old woman. One day a 10 year old asked how we know which religion is true. He was basically repeating a question that he had heard at home from his father. Tough question kid. I didn't even have time to decide how to answer this inquisitive child before my co-teacher instantly became vehement and started to argue, very loudly, with this 10 year-old boy (in front of 20 other little kids) that Christianity was the only true religion and he was awful and rebellious to even suggest different. However, she never proved her point she just lost her temper. In the end, I, the teenager had to calm everyone down, and stop the argument before it got worse.

In High school I would try to share my belief in God with my friends. I once invited a girl I knew to church. She was a Wiccian. Our youth group teachers spent the better part of an hour telling her that she worshiped the devil and was going to hell. The only problem with that, besides the obvious, is that Wiccians actually don't worship the devil, at least not directly. They worship a goddess. She tried to explain about her religion. But the teachers told her she was wrong (about her own beliefs?!), they didn't seem to care about her or anything she believed--just about her conversion.

These people served God. They were even in leadership positions and I think that they really do know and have a relationship with God. But they are obviously missing something. They didn't care about the person involved, or about learning anything new. They knew what they knew and that was law.

I'd like to suggest some new sins for us as a church to work on.

Because neglecting the poor is actually sin.

Hating a person or groups of people is sin. -Homosexuals, Jews, and secular rock musicians all included.

Materialism, a form of idolatry is a sin.

I'd like to discuss about using tithes to help people who need it and provide help to hurting people here and in other countries; rather than getting comfier pews and a coffee bar (though I do like and have nothing against coffee).

I'd like to have conversations about how we can love better, and put aside prejudice.

But more then anything I don't want our hearts to go cold like I have seen so many others who were much stronger and better than you and I.