Mr. Case and I were adamant that we would find a new church. Readers of my prior blog know how important it is for us to have a church home.
A new business acquaintance of Mr. Case's invited us to church with him. He was undecided if he'd be attending because of a prior arrangement so we decided to go one time beforehand since we had the service times and it was conveniently located to our house.
The service was great! We liked the message, the music was tolerable and they even had a cute Christmas skit performed by some of the members. I could definitely see myself attending here in the future, until....
At the very end of the service, the lead pastor was inviting everyone who was new to fill out a little card so they could get to know you. The church is growing in size and so they were offering a "VIP" parking ticket and a cookie from a local bakery. (The VIP thing seems arrogant but I was all in favor of the cookie!) Here I am rambling so let me get to the point: in his closing remark he made a rude reference to another religion.
The religion he mocked is one that gets a lot of heat. It just so happens I have quite a few friends congregants of this faith. They don't need me to take up their cause but I bristled at the remark.
Most people probably wouldn't have even noticed, or maybe even understood the slight, but let's call a spade a spade: he was getting a dig in! The insult was mild/tame but it didn't sit well with Mr. Case and I.
I equate it to politicians who try to get votes based on blasting the shortcomings of their opponents rather than their own strengths. I have no respect for people bashing other people's faiths. If you want me to believe what you believe, than convince me by teaching me your faith.
So here is the thing: we are supposed to attend tomorrow night with Mr. Case's friend and his wife. I'm feeling really, really torn about this because on the one hand, we loved the church. On the other, if the pastor does something inappropriate should I, as a Christian, forgive him and give him a second chance, or is something like a rude comment a sign of something bigger that can't be overlooked? I'm tempted to email him to let him know that as a first-time visitor, I took offense to his comment because it was ignorant.
You can throw a pebble and hit five churches here so it is not like we're desperate. But it would be nice to meet people and this is our only invitation thus far.
What would YOU do?
1 comment:
I would probably try it once more, but ultimately I'd probably look somewhere else. I am not a regular church go-er, but at one point I was. And it's so important to be in a place that makes you feel welcome and comfortable, and if his remark had such an effect on you, that church probably isn't the one for you. I hope you find what you're looking for soon!
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