Wade’s before & after, so far

Here are a few before and after places in my journey.  Some verbal images of heavy weights or baggage I've put down. And probably where many will think, 'Yeah, that's what I was hoping to see finally so I could decide whether to stay interested or not".

😊 And that's okay.  I used to think that was really important and now I don't.  Here we go:

Before, I thought people were being soft for complaining about sitting in a pew for an hour and a half listening to some people talk and being cajoled into singing with everyone else, having pressure to have similar emotional responses as everyone around them and now I see that people are or were just being honest - some of those things are truly silly and more Hollywood than they are Holy Spirit.

Before, I wasn't sure where the New Covenant or promise that God made started and the old way was fulfilled or ended.  Probably didn't even know there was a clear dividing line.  Now, I realize we fully live in the time of God's Spirit and things are completely different from before.

Before, I felt as if worship was something you could do anywhere, but mainly was done in a building on a Sunday and it essentially means going to church and participating.  Now I realize more fully that God desires for people to be with him in spirit and truth and time or location is not important.  Also, running through "the five acts" of worship isn't worship.

Before, there were clear roles in the church for people - elders, preachers, deacons, and miscellaneous/other - and the way your church did them was right. Now I see all that as a lot more organic and spirit led than we've made it - way less about money, buildings, and decisions and more about shaping and guiding people and souls.

Before, I felt as if the southern, Christian university fed, led, and advised model of local church was probably best and God's way of doing things and now I realize that is a model of financial partnership and convenience that masked having any formal denominational structure and that it brought its own set of problems that my tribe is just figuring out, on one end, and running to capitalize on before it burns out, on the other end.

Before, I felt as if all big sins were clearly defined in scripture and those that the people "at church" were most disgusted with OR lenient on were seen by God in the same way.  Now I realize "the church" has sin/sins embedded in it that are unseen and actually encouraged - materialism, selfishness, hunger for power and control, etc. The church usually picks its favorite sins to forgive, preach against, or engage in for its own reasons.

Quick side note: Yes, the church is the bride of Christ. Yes, all churches have a mix of people.  Yes, I've heard all that before and agree.  My point in this isn't to make everyone feel good about everything so they will put their head back in the sand.  I'm working here. Jesus will present his bride without spot or blemish and it has nothing to do with what I say or don't say.  He will do it.

Before, being good and staying prayed up so your sins were all forgiven was most important because you didn't want to die without having asked God to forgive all your sins.  Now all sin, past, present, and future have already been forgiven.  Forgiveness of sin isn't salvation.  Forgiveness makes salvation possible.  Salvation is the restoration of God's Spirit, a free gift you get, by faith, when you believe.  I'm no longer living in fear of the spiritual IRS coming to check my sin vs good deeds book - that way died on the cross.

Before, the version of the Bible that a person decided to use was important and an indicator of how intelligent they are and which side of the conservative/liberal line they sat on.  Now, so few actually use scripture, it doesn't matter which version.  And those who do use it often are using it in a predetermined/preselected way to defend or extol positions and ideas no one ask them about.

Being at church or "going to church" was a clear cut mandate from God that meant you needed to be at a certain kind of building on a Sunday, doing certain kinds of things and if you didn't, something was seriously wrong with you.  Now, I read that passage from Hebrews very differently about "not forsaking the assembly".  They weren't talking about going to church, but about making sure you got together with other believers to build each other up in the face of pressure and persecution, possibly from other religious people, to give up on Jesus and grace and go back to the law and earning your place with God.  It is to be mutual encouragement in our walking with God, not checking off the box of having gone to church.  And that might be on Sunday AM or Thursday night.

Before, guilt was the best tool to use at church with people.  Encouragement was good, but guilt was more effective and economical.  Now that has all flipped around.  In some churches, guilt is still right out there and very important.  In many, it's simply gone underground or goes around in disguise as positive social pressure - and today's version is probably more poisonous because it's not as apparent to many people.

Okay, that's ten things for starters.  And they're intentionally vague for those who are looking for me to name names or describe situations you're wondering about.  Not gonna do that.  

If you have certain things you're wondering about my before or after "position" on, feel free to message me and I'll be glad to give a short answer or tell you it's not something I've worked on or through yet.

Cheers.  And grace and peace.