What was your worst church experience?

Question

I am wanting to start some type of support group/website so please give details.

I am reallying interested from thoses you went to Black churches However this question is open to everyone

Answer 1

We have an adult member named Gordy who has the mind of an eight-year-old. At the beginning of a sermon, the pastor started by saying, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"..........at which time.............Gordy farted.
It was a big, ripe, juicy fart, one which took 4-5 seconds to complete, and it sort of echoed and re-echoed through the sanctuary. There was dead silence for about 20 seconds. Nobody moved or even breathed. The pastor then said, "Well...............and continued with his sermon".

This is absolutely true. Poor Gordy didn't even catch on that there was anything wrong.

Answer 2

I was going to say in 30 years there have been none. But then I remembered going to another Episcopal Church on the other side of town for a special speaker a few years ago, and I would say that this was my worst experience. I am a High Church Episcopalian. We are more Catholic that the RC's. So here I was in an Episcopal Church and this man, who *called* himself a Priest, had, of all things, an 'altar call'. In an EPISCOPAL Church!! I was shocked. We do not DO that sort of thing in our church. Your Baptism is your 'born again' experience. He was from the South and I understand the Episcopal Church in the south is more like the Baptist. What a total shock that was.

Answer 3

Although I'm white, I've been treated very well in Black churches. It's just that I'm not comfortable being the lone white in those churches.

My worst experience was being a preacher's kid in high school. We had a youth group leader that went after each person in the youth group one by one and told each of us how bad we were and how we each needed to repent (my sin was that I skipped church on Wednesday nights because I worked late - she retorted that I could go without eating to make sure I was there).

Our youth group died a very rapid death because most kids refused to attend after that. I even begged my parents to allow me to attend a different church. The head of the church board's daughter and I got revenge. Instead of staying for the New Year's eve service a few weeks later, our remaining youth group had our own party at my friends house with both of our parents' blessing! Our youth group leader was outraged until I told her that my dad and mom agreed to this. That shut her up!

Moral: there is a right and wrong way to judge. When a person is treated as "you sinner" instead of showing them how to overcome sin and still treating them as a loved person in God's eyes, the judgmental person actually creates more damage than good.

Answer 4

Mormonism. Women being treated as only baby machines and being told to be pregnant and barefoot all the time. This necessarily wasn't bad just made me feel a bit of tension for a while. I work with black kids in a poor side of town, so i don't consider myself prejudice. My Pastor was talking (he is white) at a black babtist church for a Martin Luther King church service. Our church members were invited to go, our church members are a diverse race of people. However, going into the church, I noticed that most of our members were sitting by each other and the members of the Babtist church were doing the same. I decided to lead the way and sit by the Babtist members, well I had one black person on each side of me. I had no problem with it, but the people of the church kepted looking at me like I was strange (I am white) I guess we as a community are not that progressive and some day we will be. I was eventually able to calm my nerves and enjoy the service.

Answer 5

i may not be black but i have gone to black churches before.

the worst experience for me was going to one such service where the minister YELLED into a microphone for the whole time. I didnt hear one word nor was i edified. I never went back, to say the least.
after the meeting I was told HOW much the minister was filled by the spirit of God. Whoah.

i always believed that God speaks through a still small voice and if angels speak without the message being received, that it might not be from God.

Answer 6

I once went to a black church in Alabama... it was a positive experience... female pastor... great music... quite fun. Definitely not my worst.

My worst was at a white chistian church. I watched the men tell a woman she couldn't come in because she wasn't wearing a dress. I left.

Answer 7

A kid I went to grade school with burned my church down. He was a known arsonist with a criminal record. The church was St.Paul Lutheran church in Fort Dodge, Iowa. It WAS a beautiful historic looking church! They rebuilt the church & the new one does not appeal at all to me. I pray at home now & don't go to church anymore. I always thought I would be married in that church. The kicker was I saw him in a bar the night before & thought to myself he probably should not be drinking. I also wondered if he would start a fire that night. Well, he did. Sad but true. I wonder what God thought of that!

Answer 8

Several years ago I went to this Pentecost church for a revival. (I'm Baptist) This preacher was up front speaking in tongues and having people come up to the alter. When she touched them they fell on the floor and started shaking and people were standing up in the aisles dancing around waving their arms like fools. I felt like I was in a cult so I got up, left, and never went back.

Answer 9

I was invited to a church luncheon and I won a prize in a little game. They asked me to get the gift certificate from the office.When they could not find it they asked me to ask it net time. When I did, and they did not find it still. The pastor told me " I cannot find it now but I can give you money if you need money".

I felt really embarahsed.

Answer 10

I had two. Now that I look back on them, they are more funny than scary.

My grandmother took us to a tent revival. She got the 'holy ghost' and started jumping around and screaming. My sister and I thought she'd lost her mind. We started crying. She came to her senses and we finally went home.

The other time my mom and grandmother, took us to a baptist church where they wanted to anoint all the children. I knew that was trouble. My sister and I went on stage and the guy put oil on our heads and pushed us down. I layed there for a minute, got up and went and sat back down...my sister started SNORING! LOL She'd fallen asleep. My mother made me go on stage and get her. It was embarasing to wake her up and take her off stage.

But now its funny.