I recently joined a church after attending for three years. I had gone to some Bible studies, took the membership classes and tithed not only to the church but also to an orphanage in Uganda. I was on the cusp of becoming a leader in the church when I decided this was not the church for me.

This church didn’t think that the government should take care of the poor. They thought that this responsibility should go to the church. I agreed. I think that we have allowed the government to strip the church of the blessings of God by relinquishing  care of the poor to them. 

In the Bible studies I attended one of the lady ministers stated that if anyone had any needs to let a minister know so that the church could provide the need. 

Well, there were several opportunities I gave this church to prove that they would walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

The first request came when I had been in a quagmire with the court system. I just needed a lawyer to tell me how to proceed, I didn’t need them to do the work for me, I would do the work myself.

 Every lawyer I contacted wanted to charge me. I couldn’t afford to waste any more money on lawyers. 

So I called the church. They gave me the name of a lawyer. I called this lawyer and he said he didn’t work in this area of the law. Interesting because he worked in family law but he didn’t know family law I guess.  Strike one for the church.

Then at the urging of my editor I asked if my editor could use the church for a writer’s seminar. We would set up and tear down. All we needed was a building. They were too busy. They couldn’t open up the church for this. Strike two for the church.

I told the lead woman’s ministry pastor about my calling to be a Christian writer. She went on and on about how another woman in the church was a Christian writer and how great she was. So I went on to tell her about a Bible study that the Lord had laid on my heart.  “We have a lot of women in the church who are writing and doing Bible studies,” she said dismissing my passion as if it was a piece of trash.  

I felt as if I devalued and emotionally and spiritually abused after that conversation. The church fouled on that one.

Strike three occurred as a result of my broken collar-bone.

I was ordered by my surgeon not  to drive for two months after the surgery. Yet my surgeon scheduled me for a follow-up appointment six weeks after the operation.

Silly guy, I didn’t have anyone to drive me. I did not want to intrude on anyone who was a friend or a neighbor.

Well, my church said that they would help anyone. So I called them on Monday requesting someone to drive me. I waited and waited and waited. My appointment was on Friday. Finally on Thursday they called and said that I should call the Red Cross, they didn’t have anyone who could drive me. 

I dissolved into tears. I was so hurt. I wondered if the Red Cross had a church because there was no way I was going to go back to that church. 

Sometimes a church becomes all about ministry and forgets about being Christ.
James 4:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is to visit orphans and widows in their trouble.” 

All I needed was a ride.

If they couldn’t, or wouldn’t, drive me to a doctor’s appointment then how in the world could they ever take care of the poor?

Sadly, this is only one church among many who I feel discriminated against me. Those same churches have had no problem asking for me to give them my very last penny.
Kind of makes me wonder just who their God is.