DIARY OF A NEW SEEKER
by Richard Burkard
When I decided to leave the Worldwide Church of God, I knew God wanted me to attend services somewhere. Hebrews 10:25 warns believers about "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...." Yet the question was: where did God want me to go?
Perhaps you've been in my shoes, or are at this crossroads now. What options do Saturday-keepers have - and are they all a series of freak shows by power-hungry, money-grabbing scoundrels?
This article could help provide answers to your questions. You're invited to join me on my search for a "new church home." Unless noted, we attended all services unannounced and without advance notice.
WEEK 1: SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS - I arrive earlier than expected due to light traffic, about 25 minutes before service time. Among the greeters in the lobby is none other than the Pastor, whom I greet by name. I'd visited this church in January, when the WCG cancelled local services for a regional conference. The Pastor gives me a quick tour of the three adult Sabbath School meetings in progress, and introduces me to two of them.
The "song service" starts ten minutes before official service time. We sing two hymns, with an impromptu a cappella chorus on the end of the second. (You'll learn later why this may have occurred.) The ministers walk in and take their places to a "call to worship" song, and it's worship time.
The service is not unlike something Baptists might do - announcements, then a Bible reading and opening prayer. Music is minimal, though, with only one "opening song." There's a children's lesson at the front pews, with youngsters then wandering around the sanctuary with baskets for your "lamb's offering" donations of change.
Prayer time follows, with some offered from the congregation; we kneel on the floor to pray. A weekly offering is taken, a new Deacon is ordained, and a "special music" keyboard duet is played. Then the Pastor speaks for about 30 minutes on, "Walking on or wallowing in the way." He doesn't really get to the wallowing part, as he discusses Eph. 4:1-16 -- the overall theme is unity and spiritual gifts. He's not the greatest of speakers, and admits he has "scribbled notes," but the Pastor seems to know his Greek roots of words. A woman in a wheelchair occasionally offers vocal words of support.
The Pastor introduces a one-verse closing song, leads a closing prayer, and we're through in 90 minutes. That's long for this congregation, which I know from prior visits tends to go 75. The song service leader comes to me afterward, and asked if I was singing. I confess -- yes, I did. (By God's grace, I sing loud and fairly well - while most folks in the sanctuary seemed more interested in chatting.) She offers me her nurse's card, and asks me to call during the week if I can sing with the church's small choir next Sabbath.
The Pastor invites me to his home for dinner - but I decline, because I'm committed to attending an afternoon luncheon with the local WCG Pastor who was "not retained" (he called it a firing) and several other people. What the ex-Pastor said could run me out of "meg space," so I'll save that for another time.
(P.S. Ellen G. White's name comes up only once, in Sabbath School.)
Summary: I feel at home here, even if there's little music. Some people are warm, but others in the crowd of about 100 don't notice I'm there. Yet a few women speak out during services - and the dismissal song "When We All Get to Heaven" reminds me of a big theological problem I have with this group.
WEEK 2: UNITED CHURCH OF GOD - I arrive at this afternoon service a half-hour early and find small groups chatting. Other WCG'ers who have visited here apparently mentioned me, because a few people know my name. I'm offered food from a snack table - but realize as the conversation proceeds that the snacks are really for after the service.
I've happened onto an experimental service in this congregation. Every "fifth Sabbath" starting today, the "preaching service" format will change. The Song Leader leads two hymns from the UCG paperback hymnal (it has a lot of Dwight Armstrong songs, along with some old standards; a big surprise is that "How Great Thou Art" is missing). After a quick, half-mumbled opening prayer, the Pastor comes forward and takes charge of everything else.
This man was my Pastor for years in another city, and he still has a "prophecy bug." For 25 minutes he updates us on world news trends - such as the FBI's "Carnivore" program ("totally illegal"), and Kofi Annan's proposal for a United Nations "global compact" that sounds to him a lot like a move toward Marxism, Revelation 13 and 17.
Then things get interesting. The Pastor introduces a "song leading session" in which men (not women) are asked to come up and lead a song from the hymnal. After a short course in Hand-Moving 101, we sing for about 20 minutes. (I focus on singing, more than the men waving arms.) Next comes an "interactive Bible Study," where the floor is opened for questions - raise your hand and ask, as opposed to the old WCG method of writing things down. Both men and women speak out during this session. I notice the teenagers ask deep questions about faith and Christian living, while the adults ask about end-time events and prophecy.
I'm listening for certain things from this Pastor, and am a bit surprised to hear him mention Jesus more than 15 times. (Herbert Armstrong's name never comes up once.) He urges us "not to throw stones" at other people's beliefs. He suggests keeping the Sabbath and Holy Days shows kindness toward God. He calls Muslims "legalists," but notes they are monotheistic. And he asks us to be humble with the truth, not vain: "The Bible was not written for us to argue about it; it was written for us to obey it." We conclude with the Pastor leading a prayer, after 105 minutes. A "snack and fellowship time" follows with all-clean meats.
Summary: Trial runs like this are very hard to score. The Pastor shows enough moderation about other religions and enough emphasis in Jesus that I'd be willing to come back. But I burned out on prophecy after "European Union 1992," so I hope he doesn't push this topic every week.
WEEK 3, PART 1: "SEVENTH-DAY HOUSE OF PRAYER" - I found this listing in a local phone book, noting it met on Saturdays. It's a storefront church in a corner shopping center with no real off-street parking. I enter to find a Sabbath School lesson in progress; my arrival brings the total attendance to five. The topic, taken from a Seventh-Day Adventist "Sabbath School Quarterly," is witnessing. The Pastor who's teaching it refers to the book of Acts, but talks mostly about his personal experiences. He mentions Ellen G. White three times.
At the end of the lesson, the Pastor offers me items from a rack filled with Adventist literature. I select the 90-page booklet "Steps to Christ" by Ellen White; the cover has a picture of what presumably is a black Jesus. The Pastor explains there is NO formal service today. On the first Sabbath of the month, this group combines with another one at the edge of a neighboring town; they combine at this hall on the second Sabbath. He tells me how to get to the other group, and I'm off to....
PART 2: "ROYAL PRIESTHOOD CHURCH OF GOD DELIVERANCE" - I had to ask for the name after the service; you'd never know from the outside it was a church save for a white cross painted on a wood -stained door. I enter to find myself in a one-room building, slightly smaller than a "single-wide" mobile home. (There isn't even a restroom.) No one else from the other church has made the trip. I join 13 people in the middle of Sabbath School, discussing the importance of God's Word. We jump around selected Old Testament verses to prove this, in a format today's WCG might call "prooftexting." One verse cited is Exodus 31:18; the group agrees this means the Ten Commandments, and "God nowhere said the Ten Commandments were done away." Revelation 22:18-19 is cited as proof of this - the words "this book" apparently taken to mean the entire Bible.
After an hour of teaching, the Pastor rises from his hiding place behind a very large podium. We come up to drop off an offering; he prays over it in an unmiked mumble. The aging Pastor's introductory comments include personal end-time speculation and the burning bush (although he forgets who came upon it). He explains services here are led by the Holy Spirit, not an ordered program. Then the Pastor starts singing, as an older woman plays piano - only they're on two quite different keys. A woman with a tambourine and a guitar player eventually join in making a "joyful noise," which is the only polite way to describe it. You can sing along with the songs if you know the words - but nothing's printed out, and I don't know most of the songs.
Then people rise to give sung and spoken testimonies, which become so rambling that my mind wanders to the woman I dreamed of marrying years ago, but who chose someone else. (On this day, I could understand her decision.) The highlight is a woman who introduces the "companion" she married last Tuesday. She comes every week; he's agreed to attend once a month if she attends his church once a month.
Two-and-a-half hours after my arrival, it's time for a sermon about faith:
When we stand for a closing prayer, I'm asked to introduce myself and mention my regular church; I explain I'm "between denominations." The Pastor then leads a closing prayer. We end three hours 40 minutes after my arrival, with a "May the Lord bless you real good."
The Pastor admits afterward that it was a "dreadful" day in terms of numbers - and both church drummers didn't show up. He explains his church and the one I attended earlier used to be united; they split when someone confronted a former Pastor about "some of his sins."
Summary: Mix old-time WCG with a "Church of God in Christ," and you have this bunch. (I was the only white person at either congregation.) There's faith here, but not a lot of knowledge. I conclude not everything in the gospel song, "Old Country Church" is accurate. This trip took me down a wrong road.
WEEK 4: CHURCH OF GOD, A CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP - What do I wear? Should I have a notebook? Do I bring a snack - to eat DURING the service? I ask these things because today's my first "NetService" from the CGCF web site. With a Windows Media Player, I can join a weekly service - today from Cullman, Alabama (only they call it the "Chattanooga area," and that city's about 120 miles away).
After a prelude of classical, seemingly non-religious music, the audio service begins (there's no video). It's the old-time WCG "cookie cutter" format - three songs led by a nondescript Song Leader, with background music that sounds suspiciously like the Bible Hymnal tapes from Ambassador College. After a prayer, there's no sermonette today; instead the Pastor reads various announcements, and describes this as a time of "apostasy and scattering" in the Church of God.
After one more song (Dwight Armstrong tunes dominate here), the Pastor speaks for about an hour on having enduring faith in God. He debunks one apparent rumor that Jesus might return in 2003, based on Adam and Eve spending "seven years in the garden of Eden." For all we know, they could have been there 50 years, he notes. He speaks against "serpent-ine philosophy," such as not having to keep the Ten Commandments because they lead us to Christ. He argues a church cannot move forward without tithing. (He never explains how radio ministries such as Family Radio and Moody do it.)
He says too many are fearful in their Christian walk, and don't stay close to God in faith and prayer. He cites personal examples of his own faith in God, which sound a lot like "Word of Faith" preaching. He estimates some former WCG-er's who don't attend anywhere may have $50 million stashed away in "tithe accounts," waiting to see where God's end-time work is being done. He warns against the trick of the serpent in Genesis 3 - and don't ask WHY we shouldn't eat unclean meats. God says it, so say, "Yes sir!" The end of the service is almost a call to personal evangelism - to do the work, instead of "twiddling our thumbs until the Kingdom comes."
With a closing song and a prayer, we finish in about 90 minutes. I notice Internet worshippers are never welcomed during the broadcast - and while Herbert Armstrong's name never comes up, the Sabbath-keeper selected for Vice President during the week curiously doesn't come up, either. I'm left wondering if this was live or a tape.
CGCF has set up a "chat room" for fellowshipping after services, through AOL Instant Messenger. Nine of us gather at most; we share stories about airplanes, waistlines and how to give an on-line hug ( {{{{{example}}}}} ) - but there's not much Bible talk. One man DOES send me an e-mail contact, however, for the nearest CGCF congregation -- 100 miles from my house.
Summary: "Web worship" is a great way to "try out" a Church you've never seen before. The chat room is a nice touch, but the lack of real human contact feels strange. The mood here is one of encouraging and exhorting, more than really preaching the Gospel. The CGCF and the UCG are building an alliance; since the UCG's in my town, I'm more likely to attend there than drive 100 miles.
BETWEEN WEEKS 4 AND 5, several candidates are eliminated:
The Philadelphia Church of God was never on the "shopping list" in the first place. One magazine article from this group admitted you cannot attend services there unless you confess "Herbert Armstrong is the end-time Elijah." If the apostle Paul suddenly were resurrected, he would be barred from this group.
The Living Church of God has no congregation within an hour of my home, nor do the Seventh-Day Baptists, Church of God International and Church of God Seventh-Day. The Congregation of God Seventh-Day might, but its web site doesn't list its congregations. If I lived in a bigger city such as Atlanta, I might give these groups a try - but it doesn't seem worth the trip and the gas.
WEEK 5: UNITED CHURCH OF GOD - A second visit to this finalist. The format is more normal today, and a trimmed-down version of the "cookie cutter": two songs, a prayer, then lengthy announcements by the Pastor. Today's scattershot of topics includes wild drivers possibly on Firestone tires, Western wildfires being a forerunner of a prophecy in Ezekiel 20, and a new TV show where someone contacts the dead for you. There's also an update on the week's "task force" talks between UCG and the CGCF; it's revealed that "past hurts that led to personal offenses" are a main dividing point between the denominations.
After one song and a soloist singing with a tape (he sings fairly well, but receives no applause), the Pastor returns for Part 2 of a series on parenting. (The sermon is put on videotape; some of his messages have been posted on the UCG web site.) Today's topic: "Rearing a Moral Child." Hidden within verses and comments about this present evil world and ungodly thinking, these points can sum up the message:
1. You can't raise perfect children - set a goal of great ones.
2. Teach a "God conscience" - but you can't convert your child, only God can.
3. Don't water down standards with excuses - God's morality has the same virtues and values for all ages.
4. Elevate the good, but don't always assume a child will do wrong - that suppresses the child.
5. Instruct in righteousness, to resist waywardness.
A final song and prayer ends the service in about 95 minutes. The 40-member group puts away gear and leaves within about 30 minutes.
Summary: The UCG was my top contender at the start of the search - and although I see flaws here, I recall sermon point 1: there's NO perfect congregation, either. Unless my old WCG Pastor contacts me, I conclude this is where I should attend church full-time because:
1. The Bible-based traditions I came to learn through the WCG are maintained here, such as Sabbath and Holy Days, even though Jesus and salvation are still relatively obscure subjects.
2. The worshippers seem tolerant of other "branches" of the Church of God. Some say they find nothing wrong with other spinoff groups as long as they "preach the truth," and a few even openly discuss attending other groups' Feast sites as well as their own.
3. The Word of God is taught here, and not a "gospel according to Herbert Armstrong" or some other human leader.
4. A work of advancing the Gospel is being done, at least at the corporate level; the UCG begins a weekly radio program this weekend, and offers a free magazine.
If I were asked to fill out a "constructive criticism" card, I'd like to see the local congregation do more personal evangelism -- but realize as a newcomer that this will more likely have to be led by others. I'd also like to see less "stiff" music, but I see an opportunity as a singer to move the congregation forward in this area through the musical selections I make. And the congregation could do a better job of welcoming newcomers; I see an opportunity to be a "volunteer servant" greeting people as they arrive. (If others think I'm "brown-nosing," that's their business.)
BUT.... BETWEEN WEEKS 5 AND 6, my old WCG Pastor calls me one morning at 8:15 a.m. He invites me to take part in a new fellowship he's starting from his home. It's 90 miles from my house, but I can dial a number each week and join a "conference call" service. He says he's having services on BOTH Saturdays and Sundays - and wants to worship God in a way that is without the "prejudice" he sees in various "Churches of God." By this he means the "our way or else" approach to services - by BOTH the WCG in the wake of its changes, AND some spinoff groups in their clinging to Herbert Armstrong. So the search might not be over YET!
WEEK 6, PART 1: FORMER PASTOR'S "HOUSE CHURCH" - I bought the phone card he said would save me money on conference calls. I had my computer modem's "SpeakerPhone" ready to listen to the service. But when I dialed in all the digits and entered the codes, I heard - nothing. I waited 20 minutes past the scheduled service time, and heard nothing. Promises, promises....
(WEEKS 6-8 are spent at United Church of God, with varying results. Some services seem to have more prophetic emphasis and condemnatory language than "preaching the gospel," )
WEEK 9: LIVING GOD MINISTRIES - I learn this name only after the service ends; it's the name under which my old WCG Pastor now preaches. I've car-pooled 90 miles with a family to the fired Pastor's house, where he has services on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Entering through the back door, I find four rows with various kinds of chairs set up in what normally would be a wood-floor dining room. Children's books, toys and learning materials line the walls, as the home also serves as a Christian school for about 30 children during the week. The Pastor's wife makes us feel at home as others come in; her husband is picking up someone for the service and arrives a couple of minutes past the regular starting time.
About 30 people wind up in this makeshift sanctuary. After the Pastor calls on me to lead a spontaneous opening prayer from my seat, he gives a few announcements -- and a list of Scriptures to study day-by-day over the next six days, so we have items for spiritual fellowship when we meet next week. Next, worshippers (both men and women) are asked to name people in need of prayer. The Pastor then leads what might be called a "prayer of confession;" he leaves a silent moment for us to offer quiet concerns of our own to God.
The Pastor leads an unaccompanied song from the 1993 WCG Hymnal, then leads what might be described as an "open topic" section; today we're asked to name things for which we're thankful to God. (Other days there could be a sermonette here, or perhaps a Bible question-and-answer session.) Then come three more a cappella songs from the Hymnal, after which the Pastor turns around a folding chair with a boom-box on it to play "Rivers of Living Water," sung by Ross Jutsum.
It's now sermon time, and the Pastor speaks for about 40 minutes on "Worshipping God in spirit and in truth." The main text is John 4, with these main points:
The Pastor closes by going through Romans 12 - reminding us that if we keep the Feast of Tabernacles and others do not, we should not have a big head about it. He adds we shouldn't criticize other people's spiritual gifts - but let our lives be a "gospel."
A closing song and prayer ends the service in about 90 minutes. Afterwards, the Pastor fills me in on more details of his firing from WCG - and expresses his desire for me to help him organize a group in Columbus, perhaps with a phone hook-up or a church "circuit."
Summary: If I lived in the city where this house is located, I'd probably attend services here. The message seems to be more of a "pure Gospel," even though the idea of women speaking out during the service doesn't seem scripturally right to me. After thinking things over, I eventually tell this Pastor I'm "pleased to dwell" in UCG. But I hold no hard feelings - and still "dial in" this congregation from time to time.
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