Let's Get Something Straight......

I'm gonna open up a pretty intense discussion here. Today's message at PCC has inspired it, but it has been on my mind for sometime. So let's get straight to it, shall we?!

I LOVE my church. Yup, I do. Most of you know why so I am not revisiting it here. Bottom line is MY church saved my life. My entire life. Especially my life that continues after my earthly death.

So.....yeah, I love my church.

But that doesn't mean I hate or dislike all other churches.

PCC worked for ME. And it has worked for many others. There was a need for a church like PCC in this area, and others as well. Our growth alone shows that.

But did you know that other churches that have nothing to do with PCC have grown as well? Did you know that just our presence in the community has caused other churches to rethink how they "do" things so they could reach others too?

Well, it did.

And that is a "win for the Kingdom" as Susan Hughes would say. And I agree.

And that is what PCC is about: a win for the Kingdom.

(I have to add here, that my favorite question is "What does your mom think?" My mom is Catholic and I went to the Catholic church when I was younger. And it didn't work for me. But that doesn't mean it doesn't work for others. Same with Methodist or Mennonite...........if it works for them, go for it. And my answer is I am sure she is happy I came to Jesus. end of discussion)

I have had others and have also heard the word that others say PCC is not a real church. I have had a friend of mine even make fun of us cause we have a "Parking Lot Ministry". I have had others say to me "you allow gays in your church and other people who openly sin and continue to do so".

Yup, we do.

Why?

Because God calls us to.

Let's define "church": Jesus had Simon Peter be the "leader" of the church movement. From my studying and from what I get from Sunday messages, I don't think Jesus wanted what we call church to be His idea of church. Some people think church is a building. It's not. It's a group of people working together, following Jesus, and doing His will. That's my definition.

I don't think He wanted all these denominations. That is my personal opinion. I think these labels cause many of our issues between churches. I sometimes wonder if this is the devil's doing?

Maybe he started it so we would have conflict between churches?

Why can't we just be the church together?

I loved reading how May Memorial and Powhatan Methodist worked together in "Stop Hunger Now"! That is how it should be done. That is the church working together. Kudos to them!!

A WIN for the Kingdom.

If a family comes to PCC and later decides to go to another church or maybe back to their home church..............that's awesome!

A WIN for the Kingdom.

Remember: (from our web page)

Why do we exist? The answer is our mission:

“PCC exists to reach people who have been untouched or unaffected by traditional churches and guide them to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”

We are passionate about people and convinced that God has called us to serve Him through an unwavering commitment to those in our area who still feel unconnected with their Creator or with the church.
We want to help people connect with God and with one another.
We want to be creative in our worship and our obedience to God’s call.
We want to care for those in need, whether that requires spiritual, emotional, or physical expressions.
We invite you to join us in the journey, wherever you might be on your own.
How do we behave? The answer defines our core values. We are:

• FOCUSED on one mission
• AUTHENTIC in all relationships
• ACCEPTING of all people
• EXCELLENT in every effort

So let's hit another "myth" I use to say myself: I am a Christian, but I don't have to go to church to be one".

Well, yeah, in order to be the best Christian you can, you do. And this is why I say that: God made us for community, to be together, to work together..........that is what the church is suppose to be.

Maybe PCC is not for you, but somewhere is.

Also, we have many ministries at PCC and yes, one includes what some call our "parking lot ministry" and thank GOD we do have them.

Let's talk about why shall we?

Say you have never been to a BIG church. You finally build up the nerve to try it out and you pull into a parking lot with about 300 cars coming in and out. At the same time. A little tricky.

Where do you go? right or left? If you go the wrong way, you may come face to face with another vehicle and then you have to turn all around............with a line of cars behind you cause they followed your lead since there was no one there to lead them. SO now you're frustrated and little embarrassed........

You get the idea here.

We have a group of people that stand outside (rain or shine) and help you easily get around. Your parking experience is not frustrating. They made the experience easier for you.

 Guess what the people just did for YOU: they helped bring you closer to God..............and in a safe manner if I may add and since it's MY blog, I will.

WHAT????????????????????????

Yup, you and your family got into a (what may be crazy and confusing parking lot) safely and easily. And now your nerves are a little less frazzled. You aren't pissed off before you walk in and the experience is nicer.

So, yes...........we have a Parking Lot Ministry.

On to the 3rd statement I made: the people you have at your church!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh My!!!

Yes, we have and have had gay couples. We have people you may have seen at the bar drunk last night, we have people that sin................cause you know what????

WE ARE ALL SINNERS!!!

We do not preach that it is ok to sin. But we don't expect others to be perfect cause we as sure as heck are not. What we do is pray you open your eyes and heart to God's word and He will speak to you.

Some of you have known me a long time. You saw my behavior after Robbie passed. I LOST IT!! I went the totally wrong way. And I did for quite some time.

But PCC didn't turn their back on me. And I won't turn my back on others because of their history.

I'm gonna say this about the "gay" comment I made. I am obviously not gay. I believe in male and female partnership.

But I don't know what it feels like to deal with that, to "be gay". I have been judged many times in my life by people who did not walk in my shoes and it hurt. So I will not do it to others.

I am not the judge. God is. And I follow Him and His son and they said to 'love they neighbor as yourself" and dang it, I plan to bust my butt doing it.

I have friends that are gay and I have ministered to students who are gay.

And my beliefs will not be the reason they turn and run from God. I sure as hades do not want that on my shoulders when I stand before the Lord. I will not be the reason they turn away. I will love them. I will treat them as equal. My friends and students know how I feel. I can reveal my beliefs without inflicting judgment on them. It's not my job.

What my church does, is open the doors to leaning more about God and Jesus. We make you comfortable with coming and going, we offer a message that really speaks to your everyday life, and we offer "places to go" when you are ready to take that next step........serving opportunities, mission trips, local missions, classes, etc.

We are working on communication with other churches and/or groups so we can let you know of other churches that are offering classes for certain types and times for Bible studying, or awesome Christian concerts coming, etc.

YES, I love my church.

 And maybe you love your church.

And that is awesome!!!

Let's love THE CHURCH and work together to make our communities better. Not bitter towards each other.