Mucho joko's ... nyuk, nyuk: Response

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At 11:35 AM 4/16/98 EDT, Bro Harrell wrote:
>> Tyler, keep them jokes coming! We know you meant no harm.
>

>I see now why people don't want to have anything to do with Apostolics! We
can
>be so unforgiving at times...and guess what? Those of you who are
unforgiving,
>you better check with Jesus to see how many of YOUR sins are still lying at
>his feet unforgiven!!!

I personally think the reaction is a *snapshot* of what would happen in 
most oneness apostolic churches scattered throughout North America.  

I think this is typical of apostolic churches in their intolerance of
ideas, values, and habits.  I don't use that kind of language to begin
with.  Instead of the apostolic church walking on a sidewalk, they choose
to walk a tightrope.  Anything that's even a bubble off to the right or
the left is severly dealt with and ultimately the infractor is put out.
Instead of finding out why something happened the way it did and trying
to gain understanding of it and see if something can be done to prevent
it in the future, it's just condemned with no lattitude of forgiveness 
bringing much shame.  

I'm not saying to *condone* or even *ignore* the different offences that
may occur as there are potentially many and that does nothing to solve
the problem(s) at hand.  When a church is supposed to be a *haven* for
souls, it seems as though we ultimately want only those that are in good 
spiritual health and well being.  At the very *moment* that something goes
contrary to what's considered *spiritual health and well being* there's
an uproar thinking there's great sin in the camp.  Then in an effort to
distance the infractor from the others (obviously because there must be
something really majorly bad about the sin condition of the infractor 
otherwise it would have never happened because ther others certainly 
didn't do it) the infraction itself is severely condemned to the point 
where it's almost a *personal flaw* of the one who did the wrong leaving 
the infractor thinking that forgiveness is impossible.  Almost like a 
cancer that might affect them if internalized.

Back when I was a Catholic, I had no concept of a loving God.  I thought
that God was up there in heaven somewhere waiting with a hammer to whop
me as he found out the really bad things I did.  The loving merciful side
of God wasn't taught that I remember in the catholic church which is probably
the reason why they pray to Mary and the Saints to have them bring a plea
before God on your behalf.  God in his perfection seemed unaproachable and 
nearly unforgiving even if I were to somehow manage to bring something 
before his attention.

It is sad to say, but I think that's much the same way that the outside
world *views* the apostolic church.  Unapproachable and unforgiving.
Though some seem to break through that stigma when they can get into the
church and somehow see that it *fits* and is better than anything the world
has, many still have this skewed image and attitude of the church.  And for 
the most part, it's probably well deserved.

Someone once told me that if someone (person/business/organization) does
a person good ..... they tell on the average 3 others about the good news.

They also went onto to say that if someone (person/business/organization)
does a person bad .... they tell on the average 17 others about the bad news.

At that kind of distrubution, you have to *save* and keep six souls for
every one that's turned away.  Why?  Because six saved souls will tell 
18 whereas 1 person put-out and done wrong by the church will tell one
less (at 17).  For a 18 : 17 ratio.

In reality, what is the ratio of folks coming into the church that don't 
hang around?  It's probably just the opposite.  More like a 1 : 6, 1 : 10, 
1 : 20, 1 : 50, 1 : 100, or maybe a 1 : 500 ratio.  How do we interpret 
those numbers?  Staggeringly, the church gains more bad bias against it 
as the numbers of dis-acceptance is a geometric curve of disapproval with 
folks only hearing the bad things of pentecost.  How many times has a church
had the same attendance for years, has had a river of folks run through it 
that never stay (for whatever reason), and has an increasingly bad reputation 
in town?  

And you wonder why it's so.

Bro "the forgiven one" Tyler
--
Bro Tyler Nally <tnally@iquest.net> <tgnally@prairienet.org>
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