I attended Church this morning. People who know me find that amusing. Mornings aren't my strong suit. I attended with a friend. We attended the Family Life Center run by Pastor Terry Gwaltney. The greeting at the door was friendly. I was given a brochure and a "welcoming packet"....a larger brochure with basically the same information as the smaller one. I did notice that it mentioned I could purchase taped copies of the sermons for $5 each. My friend and I sat down in the metal folding chairs and looked towards the front of the church at their musical equiptment. I looked around and noticed the differences from most other churches. There was no crucifix, no crosses. The 10 Commandments aren't on the walls. But I DID notice that copies of the articles that newspapers have done on the church, Mr. Gwaltney, and the posting controversy were prominently displayed on the walls under glass. Mr. Gwaltney briefly mentioned that God had achieved victory this past week. Everyone stood for singing.....for 45 minutes. Afterwards he spoke of the heart of God. He had everyone pick up their Bibles and chant "This is my Bible, I can do what it says I can do, I am what it says I am, etc..." He mentioned that God had never killed anyone (there are alot of dead people in the Old Testament that would disagree with him), and that anyone opposed to the posting of the 10 was evil, pagan, anti-christian. He explains it by saying that if you oppose, you may be religious but you don't have a relationship with God, so you aren't really a Christian. He said that there were many such people in the puplits locally. He admitted that he knew that the 10 was posted in school as a religious, not historical, document. After the service, we were invited to join everyone for lunch at a local resturant. During the meal I listened to Mr. Gwaltney, his son, and others in the Church talk about how there were 3 seats up at the next election for school board, That Judy was evil and Bob "Should have known better". I finished my lunch, paid and left. I will not go back.

I was left with several questions, that I would like to address to Mr. Gwaltney.

Why did you lie to the people of Harrisburg? You told the board, the people that the 10 Commandments were important historically and you had no agenda behind wanting them posted. That was a lie Mr. Gwaltney, a violation of the 10 Commandments. Why did you do it?

Where do you get your money? You are a pastor of a poor church. There are expenses in running the church, you live in a nice home and drive a rather new Jeep Grand Cherokee. I know your wife is a teller at a local bank, but your income doesn't match your standard of living.

Why do you have a need to denigrate other pastors and churches? Are you that insecure in your faith and message? Do you believe that if you are fair and honest about other pastors that your followers will attend those churches instead?

I noticed several other things. I noticed a glassy-eyed appearance of Mr. Gwaltney's followers during the singing. I noticed that I felt sick to my stomach. I know why. When I was a a child I had a fall and as a result, certain repeated tones will cause nausea. I've been doing some research tonight on brainwashing techniques, and thus far I have found that "repetitive intonation" is a standard method.
I noticed at lunch that everyone was constantly making sure they were in agreement with Mr. Gwaltney. No ideas and thoughts that were contrary to his wishes were heard.
In Conclusion, I'm glad I went. I found out for myself what kind of man Mr. Gwaltney is. I found that he's not the kind of man I want my son to grow up and emulate.