You are just trying to stir the pot…………..here goes.

I guess I have several but it all ties back to this. Ignorant preaching. I am by no means an authority on God’s word. IMO no one really is. The wisest men I have met dealing with God’s word are typically the most humble. That speaks volumes. I’m tired of irrelevance. We all know that God never changes……..we do, but having said that. We need to work within in the freedom that God has given us to minister and pull souls into the church by whatever means necessary. (By putting coffee houses in the atrium of the church) Jesus was radical for his time. Pentacostals were radical when they returned on the scene in the early 1900′s…..but something folks seem to forget this day and age is that by being radical they were NOT alienated from society. How can you win someone for Christ when all you show them is a list of don’ts and cant’s. I work with a lady who is some form of UPC and she totally isolates herself. Obviously they look different with the dresses all the time and long hair. (which is absolutely fine if that is what feel that God wants from you) But also no internet or TV. Now I know both are loaded with trash and we as Christians should shun the very apperance of evil………but IMO it all goes back to that message of self control that Jesus preached in everything. Look at the infamous 7 deadly sins. All of them deal with self control. I honestly believe that self control is what God wants out of us. If we control our hearts and we give it to God……….see where I’m going. Also the internet isn’t all bad…..this site is a prime example.

Another BIG peeve is the fact of hearing stories of the good ole’ days. God is right now!! I want to see miracles of the Smith Wigglesworth magnitude today. Also along the same lines is when people start making comments in regards to the old days there is always the statement of “I have seen people reach into a pot bellied stove and pull out hot coals while shouting”. I may offend someone, but bull-butter. First off what does God have to prove to you and me. Absolutely zilch. He is God. He has nothing to prove to anyone….but lets think about this for a second. What good comes from that and what does God gain by doing it? I have always heard the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. Why in this day and age of a New Testament church would our comforter need to prove himself to us in such a way…….or show out (if you prefer). I could see back in the early 1900′s when a pot bellied stove was the main source of heat and folks were shouting, bumping into a stove and not being burned. That makes perfect sense to me, but to openly reach into a stove and pull out hot coals and walk around. I just don’t know. I hate to hear those stories because it proves nothing to me and it doesn’t seem to go along with what God has shown me in my walk with him. I understand all through the bible we see where God does things out of the norm and takes a weakling like Gideon or David and makes him mighty, but it seems to me that there is a LOT of emotionalism within the church today and not a lot of substance. I want substance.

This may sound somewhat general, and possibly off target, but here goes.
My pet peeves are a pastor who apologizes because he preaches past noon.
Who cares!!!! If you are saying what God told you to say, just say it and keep saying it until He says He is done!!!!
Song lyrics that do not line up, or scripture spelled incorrectly on Power Point!
Mostly, I realize how annoying it is when I hear a preacher speak on traditional beliefs rather than biblical truths!!
I have always been in a habit of “checking up” on the evangelist when things did not sound just right, but I still had that old traditional upbringing that sort of just passed everything down. We probably do not even know who’s interpretation we are passing down.
Thanks to my husband’s unique ability to challenge me and my reason for believing any given subject, I am being stretched on a regular basis, constantly growing and learning what is biblical truth in order to apply it to my life!!!
Thanks Babe for your obedience!
Love you

Well okay then. Since we are pot stirring, let me find my biggest spoon! My biggest pet peeve is when a person gets all up in the middle of a ministry such as feeding the poor (whether it be a homeless ministry or a food bank) and the whole time they are “handing out the goods” they stand back a judge each and every person that reaches out for help. The whole purpose is to show the love of God by giving cheerfully and without all the griping because somebody might get one too many bites of grits or one extra can of pinto beans. It shouldn’t even matter how many more food banks they go to or how many times a day they go to a soup kitchen. If a person says he is hungry, FEED HIM! How they use it is between them and God.

Love You All

Esther? Who is that?

I guess that is one of my pet peeves… People in the church who think they know all the criteria for who should and should not be involved in ministry. We are all ministers, Tammy. If they know who Jesus is, then just encourage them and let them read about Esther in due course… Perhaps they were the only one willing to serve and deserve a little appriciation… but I’ll let it go for now.

My theological pet peeve is when something tragic happens and well-meaning people say something stupid like, “God did this for a reason,” when in all likelyhood God had nothing to do with it. This one line pushes multitudes away from what they perceive to be an uncaring and malicious God, instead of toward the God who loves them without restraint.

My preaching pet peeve is when a pastor says, “I had a sermon ready for this morning, but the Holy Spirit is telling me to preach about something else.” I always want to say, “Hey, next week, listen to the Holy Spirit while you are writing your sermon…” As an experienced preacher, I think this line can often be translated as “I am unprepared this morning and am going to pass it off in the most spiritual way I can think of.”

The only biblical pet peeve I can think of is the KJV only argument…

Something being taught that makes me fume is double-predestination Calvinism.

Theological – I guess one of these would be the idea that theology isn’t that important. The assumption is that theological reflection is optional or that really spiritual folk don’t partake in such things. I think that it’s important to note that everyone maintains some type of theological perspective.

Preaching – One of these would be “fillers,” whether it be asking the congregation to clap every few minutes or clichés that the preacher throws out there every few minutes or so (etc.). I have to be careful here, because it is really easy to develop communication habits which serve as fillers. And as someone who preaches, I know that I have my fair share that I need to get rid of.

Biblical – I guess this one pertains to biblical interpretation. When, in dialogue about a biblical issue, someone says, “I just believe what the bible says!” Well, I hope so. However, I think many would agree that oftentimes biblical interpretation involves a bit more than finding a scripture here and there and then coming to a conclusive position. What about issues that the bible does not speak about so clearly? Interpretation is a bit more dynamic.

Regarding something being taught that rather upsets me… One such topic regards women in ministry. Some contend that women can’t participate in ministry (or leadership). I disagree.

Thanks John, I actually removed my view on a minister adding to their altar call until all is heading to the alter. That is all I will say on that matter. As for the song, it is a fantastic song, but if we do it every week, it will lose something for most people

Heath, allow me to apologize for not clarifying my previous post.

To avoid hurting others and becoming the one mentioned in Luke 17:1, that brings the offense, I left out some key information. I am the first to support someone who is willing and feels led that they are called of God to serve in a ministry. Especially supportive if it is a ministry dealing with children and youth, however, my dislike is for the lack of wisdom I have been exposed to in my life and walk with God.

I have seen those very young people who have no knowledge of the word, placed in ministries before they themselves were taught. They only know that David slew the giant, or Noah built the ark, and for the most part they only know it as expressed in a children’s story format.

I see us losing ground with the upcoming generations and I am broken by it. I simply want those in leadership to know more than those they are teaching. I do not think they have to be highly educated; I strongly believe that the anointing and power of God can bring the knowledge and wisdom necessary. Sonny is a prime example of that! I would just like to see the evidence that God’s wisdom and knowledge are being craved before their ministering skills, or lack there of, create another generation with less wisdom and knowledge and more excuses. They need to be able to share what they believe and why they believe it. Most unbelievers will not simply accept “because the bible says.”

My husband says I try too hard to make my side known, especially if I feel like someone has the wrong idea. I am trying to avoid sounding defensive in any way. I just wanted to explain that I am humbled and should not have been so general. Thanks for reminding me that I should be very careful with my words, especially striving to avoid sounding like complaints and or attacks.

I should have realized that I was speaking only through my personal experiences and that may not be the case in other churches.

What would be the criteria for placing someone over the children in your church?

Do you have specifics that you look for or do they come to you?

What is the determining factor that seals the deal with your teachers, etc?

Peeves-

=One of my biggest pet peeves would go along with some of the comments listed above.
I think that we have too few people do the majority of the work in the church. People don’t mind attending an event or putting their name on something done in the church. It has been my experience we can get a lot of people to start something, it’s the finishing something that we fall short on. We have a lot of half finished projects.

-Another would go along with one previously mentioned. I have noticed that we will sing a song way to many times in my opinion. I would extend that we sing songs way to often. If you have any old song sheets see if they are different from sheets from years ago.

To add to my first peeve, I am not sure things are done to the level of excellence that God expects from us.

-I agree with the youth coming out for a year. I would challenge you with this. I don’t remember a place for this age group to go. There have been classes started but no “transition” class has come to last more than a few months. We lose more people at this age group than any other during this transition phase. I believe the church fails in this area. I don’t have any answer. I also agree with combining classes if we are lacking in teachers.

Tiller, while I have always agreed that 20% of the church do 80% of the work in our local church, I do not see that changing for us until we figure out how to get and keep more able bodies.

I know that the excuse has always been there that we have no place for the 20ish group, but with my experience it seems that the past 3 or 4 youth pastors we had consistently encouraged that age group to stay up there to help, hang out or what ever.

I know there are true workers like you guys and the Finchers who work behind the scenes in every thing and every way you can, but for the most part that was not the case. There has been more than one class started for this age group (at their request) that did not succed due to lack of interest, attendance, etc. I have heard several of their reasons but I think the truth is they are being pulled into other things, their independence is growing and it just gets easier and easier to miss Sunday School and then church altogether. I have a burden for those we are losing. I wish I could lend them the strength they need until they realize the strength that God has inside them.

Doug, I agree that with the technology alone advancing the way it is, we need to be prepared to challenge, teach and mentor the next generations. I was raised in church but I did not grow until I was challenged to know who, what, when, where and why. (Still learning myself) That is on me! The fact remains that it is needed today more than ever.

I wish I knew what the answer is to the Sunday night service, and I hesitate to give my opinion here. Let me just say that I agree with your post and with John’s statement about the altar.
I do not just agree, I am praying feverishly for direction.
I am also praying that the 20% does not grow weary, bitter or discouraged to the point of giving up.

These song issue seems to be trying to turn us into cheer leaders or something. Are we trying to work up the Spirit?

I am sure this may seem like a gripe session but you asked for it. When I first came to ACOG I was called aside and given a talking to about being faithful. I understand some lines were crossed because I was family but at least I understood what was expected of me. Too many times a person is asked to teach a class before they are ready. I was one of them. I was not saved at the time and I can assure you I didn’t know who Ester was. P.P. #1. I think before being put in a class to teach you should have been taught not just put there because you are good at handling the particular group. I enjoyed Sunday School even though the teacher I had at the time would always get to a particular story and perhaps to save time she would say “Well you know the story about….” so I won’t go into it. Well I didn’t know the basic stories–I didn’t even realize the Bible repeated itself in so many places. I stayed confused and I didn’t really know where to begin. So I would say P.P #2 is when someone called or at least someone who has acceped the position of teacher just asumes that everyone knows the basics. If you are a teacher then -TEACH- don’t asume everyone sitting in your class knows the story you have studied to do your lesson by. A speaker using the wrong word to make a point or tell a story or using a really big fancy word when a plain simple word would do just as well and people would even know what you meant–P.P. #3. A preacher, teacher or lay person that acts like you are stupid or are going to bust Hell wide open when you ask a question or have a different point of view–P.P.#4. I am glad that we have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments in our classes and even though we may not all agree all of the time we have a common ground-I appreciate the teachers I have had that have challenged me to study for myself, and I appreciate Sonny for upsetting my apple cart at times. Starting a project and not seeing it through to the end P.P.#5-The comment Connie made about people standing back and judging others upsets me too-but another aspect is when people sign on but the job that they want is standing around talking while everyone else is doing the labor. Reaching the lost is the reason for the project but if the project falls short of the best we can do then what does that say to those we are trying to reach. We should also remember that we should keep our conversation positive. We shouldn’t be talking about others or talking down to those we are supposed to be lifting up. As for the 20% that seems to do 80% of the work–P.P. #6. When we as a body embrace each other in love–not duty then hopefully the people in the body that feel that they have nothing to offer because they are not as talented, out going or bold as the person in charge of that dept. will join in and help pull the load.

As for Sunday night services. I enjoy gathering together. If we had a less formal setting that would be fine with me but for the ones that don’t come on Sun. night anyway why do you care if we have service or not?