So yesterday I attended a nondenominational church called "Destiny Center." I have driven past this church multiple times on my daily outings in Murfreesboro and also whenever I leave or re-enter town. I chose this as one of my church to attend because I am always skeptical when a pastor puts their face on their church sign. I have nothing against churches who have more than the word "church" in their name, but I am uneasy when a person's face is placed on the sign. The church body is made up of many people who are to grow together toward God, and their focus is to be placed on God and reaching those that do not know about Him. I think that if a church is noted for the pastor's face and nothing else, then there is something wrong. There is too much focus on that one person. I'm not the final authority on saying if that is wrong or not, but I just don't think it is the right thing to do. But a little on the background of the pastor-S-. It is an African-American couple, the church members themselves are predominantly African-American (and I was one of three white people who were in the service on Sunday). (The pastors)They are a married duo, the husband a retired basketball player, the wife a model and speaker. Both apparently preach at the church; however, the husband was the only one to lead the service on the Sunday I attended. They both are gospel musicians, and are quite popular I believe in that scene. They are a nice looking couple....but I don't think that their faces need to be on the church sign outside.
The service I attended started at 10am like it does every Sunday because, for them, it is the only Sunday morning service. Going in, I thought that it would last about an hour or and hour and a half, like most services I had been to.... No. It lasted 3 hours- the longest service I've ever attended, and I'm not saying that it was bad because it lasted so long...I'm just simply stating that it lasted a whole long time, haha. The service began with a deacon coming up and leading the few people who were there (most showed up after the prayer time, and the place was pretty packed by the end of the service) in prayer. Now most people I have heard pray will usually repeat one word over and over again throughout the prayer like "God" or "Jesus" or "Father". This man's word was "hallelujah." However, I think he said it more than anyone ever before in one prayer. Every time I thought he was about to end when he said "dear Jesus" he would start up another section of his prayer and pray about a different topic. Now I wasn't watching the time, but that was a long prayer. Next, we...prayed again. Except this was a "confession prayer," and not like one you would first think of as "confession" like in a Catholic church. I really don't know how it was a confession prayer really; I don't remember ever confessing any of my sins while praying. The deacon would say a few lines, and then we would repeat them. Near the end of the prayer the deacon began speaking in tongues... This caught me extremely off guard for I've never heard anyone speak like that before; I didn't know what to think actually. Unfortunately, I'm not well educated in this subject, and of course that was also a factor in my uneasiness. I did do some research on the matter because even though the gift of speaking in tongues is a gift given by the Holy Spirit, I did not feel his presence when the man was speaking in tongues.
***before you read this: please understand that this viewpoint is coming from a believer in Christ, and that I am doing my best to interpret what I saw and understand after researching the topic of "tongues." I do, however, wish that if there is something you don't agree with then you should research the subject yourself. I am no authority in this topic--I am only trying to understand it myself.
When I heard the man speaking in tongues, all I "heard" was simply gibberish. I could not understand him at all, nor did I recognize his speech as any language I've ever heard before. I needed to understand the subject more so I've looked on the internet as well as through my Bible to get a better knowledge on the matter. I found this sight, which gives a lengthy description of "speaking in tongues" for those who do not know what it is; it also pinpoints passages in the Scripture where it talks about moments where someone/some group has spoken in tongues, and it talks about mistakes that have been made that have been described as "speaking in tongues." http://bible.org/article/speaking-tongues But here is what I have learned. First and foremost, to be able to speak in tongues, you must be saved and a believer in Christ. You must be filled with the Holy Spirit, which can only happen if you are saved (Acts 2:4; 2:38). However, not all those who are filled with the Holy Spirit at any moment in time can speak in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4-10 and 12:27-31 talks about the different gifts from the Holy Spirit and that people receive different ones and that not everyone has the same gift as another believer does). Speaking in tongues is done by a believer, but it is meant as a tool to reach the lost (it is for the unbeliever) (1 Corinthians 14:22). When one speaks in tongues, they are speaking in a foreign language that they do not already know, and anyone who knows what language they are speaking can understand them (Acts 2:1-12). Speaking in tongues is meant to be a miraculous sign to a nonbeliever that proves the validity of God and His power (Acts chapter 2). It is a powerful action, but if used wrong, will glorify only the person speaking it and not the body of believers with him (1 Corinthians 14:1-5). It is not meant to edify one person, and if it does, then it has been used wrong (1 Corinthians 14:4). 1 Corinthians 14:22- "Tongues then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. Those who believe in God do not need another miraculous sign from Him to keep believing in Him, but they need someone to teach them more about God-this is what preachers are here for (1 Corinthians 14:1-5). When someone truly has the "gift of speaking in tongues" then there must also be a person present who has the gift of interpretation (1 Corinthians 14:27-28; 14:13-16; 14:2; 12:4-10). I state all of these facts because many conflicted with what I experienced yesterday. The deacon did not have an interpreter; I could not understand it, and I'm guessing that many others could not. Simply, I felt uneasy about it like the Holy Spirit was telling me that it was not real. His action did not edify the church, but only seemed to make him look "cool" since he could do it. The Bible states that speaking in tongues is meant to reach nonbelievers, and that prophesy is for believers- so why would a church of believers need to hear some one speaking in tongues? I must state again that I am no expert in this matter; it is something entirely new to me besides me reading about it previously in the Bible. But I have received my facts from the Bible, and any verses that came from the aforementioned website have been checked by me. I don't know what true "speaking in tongues" sounds like, but I'm sure what I heard yesterday was not it.
After our sessions of prayer, they brought out their group of "worship leaders"- 5 singers + a leader. Although they had a screen up in the front of the church, no words were displayed on it for the audience to sing from- like most churches have that I have gone to. So I just had to pick up the words after they had repeated them a few times. The people really became involved in the music and the majority of them were raising their hands, swaying, dancing, singing- all with the happiest hearts I had ever seen. You would have almost thought that Jesus himself was in the front of the room. This enthusiasm is something that I see most churches lacking nowadays. (singing)Worship is one of my favorite times during any service: 1) because I love singing 2) what better way to worship God by singing his praises. By singing, you are practically praying to Him (at least that's how I feel). I just feel a special connection when I am worshiping Him in this manner. Next, the pastor's father-in-law, came up and spoke to the congregation about his actions in the Civil Rights Movement all those years ago. I did not think about it when I first entered the church, but the day after (today that is) was Martin Luther King Jr. Day- one of the forerunners, if not the most influential leaders, of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-20th century. It was very interesting and informing to hear about his experiences. After he spoke, the pastor, the husband of the pastor duo, came up and greeted the church, then let a video run that was a promo for the church itself- "for the visitors here today." Then he showed a quick 2 minutes video of a promo for "Gospel Cribs," a show he wants to start up that shows up that God-loving and fearing men and women can also be wealthy in today's society too. The promo was a quick walk through by him and his wife of their home in town. And by golly, was it huge and definitely gorgeous. However, I just felt weird about that too. I am all for those who have money to give greatly back to the church because it was God first who gave them that large amount of money, but by showing that video, I felt a little pride and flaunting in it... I don't want to be critical at all, but that's how I felt. It's a great idea, but on the other hand- I'm a bit skeptical...
Once the videos were over, the pastor began to preach (only 35-40 minutes of the entire 3 hour service). Sad to say, I couldn't quite pinpoint the main point in his message. He went from topic to topic and from different chapters in the Bible. He was also very lively in his sermon, and was easily able to invigorate the crowd as well (many amens, head nods and repeated phrases came from the crowd). After his sermon, we sang another song. The last part of the service was the "tithing section" I guess you could call it. For those who were tithing (which was pretty much the entire church congregation), they would line up in the middle aisle (which was the only aisle to begin with since there were only two sections of seats in the auditorium). Then they would head up the aisle and set down their tithing envelopes on the altar, returning to their seats afterward. Once everyone was seated, the pastor asked for another giving-nothing was mandatory of course but the past month there had been a "giving deficit" due to Christmas and the holiday season, and the church mortgage of $6,000 needed to be covered. Not as many people lined the aisle for this one, but a good chunk of the congregation gave once more. The pastor started off by giving $250; people after him gave mainly $25 and $50. There were a few who gave anywhere from $60-100. One gave $300, and then one person astounded the crowd when he gave $1,000. Mind you, most people gave as a couple or family unit and only a few were single. $1,000 came from a single person.... Wow. This church definitely has the highest majority of people who tithed in any service I have ever been to. By the end of the second tithe, they had raised $3,500.. Holy crap...or holy goodness (because giving is not crap I should say). [The money was counted in this one because they wanted to see in real time how much they had raised for the mortgage.] The pastor had everyone stand, he prayed, then he asked everyone to sit except visitors. "Oh crap," I thought. There were quite a few visitors...but it's still awkward standing in front of all those people.. The pastor asked us to introduce ourselves and where we were from and why we visited "Destiny Center" that day. I, like everyone else, did just that. Then I was greeted by soooooo many people. Another thing about this church is that I have never felt so welcome in any church, but this one was extremely warm and welcoming. Probably about 20 people came up to me that day, hugged me, and greeted me-both men and women. When I left the service, I was given a CD because I was a visitor, and I left the church after shaking hands and hugging the pastor on the way out.
This church is definitely unlike any other that I've ever been to in many aspects. Obviously alone, a very kind lady in her early 40's I'd say, sat next to me and treated me so nicely all throughout the service and helped explain some things to me. She was very lively, and it was incredibly awesome to have someone treat me so nicely even though I was just a visitor. Another thing that I've never had happen to me before when I go to churches. I'm still trying to come to an overall conclusion about the church itself. I just don't know exactly what to pinpoint I felt like was just not right. The service was something I have never experienced before, but something was just missing where I didn't fully feel a connection to God.....
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