Although I generally enjoy going to a conservative service every now and then (I am more of a contemporary gal myself), I am not a big fan of the Baptist church which most of my inlaws identify themselves as being members. I consider myself a Christian, and generally attend Methodist churches. It is not that I don't believe what is being said in the Baptist church, I just don't agree with some of the "conservative" aka male-chauvanist ideals. For example, they believe that a woman cannot be in any position of power over a man. I am not talking as a pastor, I am talking as a Sunday school teacher, choir director, or even committee chair. This bugs me to no end. My mil and sil would talk about this and say that yes, although women have been in positions of authority once a male is found the woman always steps down. I want to bang my head at the total lack of logic to this. If there is a woman who is best suited to lead a class or choir, then by golly that woman should be leading that group. It is very frustrating.
Another thing that bugs me is the dress code. I come from the frame of mind of come as you are. Now don't get me wrong, I like dressing up for church and getting all pretty and stuff, but sometimes I want to sleep a little on Sunday morning and not get up in time to curl my hair and make sure I am all prettied up...after 2 kids that can take a while.. From my experience the Baptist church expects skirts and dresses. Sorry, but Jesus didn't shop at Macy's people! My sil's step daughter and I were talking and she stated she wanted to come to church with me but didn't have church clothes. Now the Methodist in me is saying who cares...Jesus loves you just as much in your jeans as he does in your skirt. But if she had walked into a Baptist church in her jeans and a tshirt you can bet there would be pointing, whispering, and overall discomfort. Although I admit this is much better than it used to be, I just prefer to let people where what they want to wear to church.
Third thing about the Baptist church that annoys me...the King James Bible. An English king decided he wanted his name forever remembered so he named a translation of the Bible after him and that is the one and only true translation? Really? I don't think so. I had to read the verse the preacher was doing his sermon on 3 times before I remembered the NIV (my Bible) translation of the section. I may be wrong here but I think Jesus would prefer us to UNDERSTAND the message, not get caught up with trying to understand OLD English that hasn't been written in or spoken in in centuries (except for renaissance festivals).
And finally, the hymns. Now I LOVE music and my appreciation for the old hymns has grown over the years, but it never fails. My niece and her friend were walking into church with me and I was asked how long the service was going to last becuase they were hungry. Being the smart aleck that I am, I said, "well, it should only last an hour but if you hear them start to sing 'Just As I Am' we are going to be there a while."
And...don't tell me God doesn't have a sense of humor...what song do you think started to play after the sermon? Just As I Am.
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