I am so sad about my church...

[yankeedownsouth]

I am having such a hard time with my church right now, and it's really making me sad.

My family joined our current church about 3 1/2 years ago. We hadn't been going to church at all although my husband and I were both Christians. Then we tried our church and we loved it! It was small enough to feel like family, but large enough to have some programs that really benefited our kids. The pastor taught directly from the Bible, even if it was hard on our ears!

But over the past couple years, our church as bowed to the numbers game. The more members, the better. Build a bigger building, fill the church, more people, more people, more people. Now, I don't believe big is bad, but I believe that the way you get the folks in the church is critical.

Our church has turned to "entertainment" to get folks to join. We now have skits, props, fast, loud music, and watered down sermons. And now we're having auditions for a dance team - at church!!! I saw a post on the board last week about churches acting as group therapy, and our sermon today was just that!

I am just heartsick about this change. My husband sees this also, but doesn't seem interested in looking around. And I don't want to leave either. We have a home team where we have developed some wonderful, close relationships that can never be replaced. I would be lost without these people.

I would just love to get some MEAT at church on Sunday. I don't need the milk, and I don't need entertainment. If I want entertainment, I can go to the movies or to a play or something. But church is where we worship and study the Word of God.

This situation has just made me so sad. :cry Thanks for letting me vent...

[Wileyzmuse]

Dawn, it seems there are lots of people dealing with this same issue. I don't have much wisdom to provide, just that I would suggest looking at other churches if you are not getting fed spiritually!

Another option would be to start an intensive Bible Study class on a week night or something?!?! Having a family could make that tough, just an idea.

YSIC,
Patricia

[Christine]

I am so sorry to hear this. :(:

I was there (mentally) last fall. It got really bad for a while as it made me question EVERYTHING about 'Christians' based on what I was witnessing -- building funds, 'self empowerment', vapid 'feel good' messages, bla bla bla.

Thank God there are a few churches left that really get into the meat of the Word. Problem is, they are so hard to find anymore.

I will pray for your situation.

:):

[Matthew 28:20]

I feel the same way. Most churches around here are geared towards evangelism. That's nice for the new Christians, but where are more mature Christians supposed to get some "meat"? I have heard so many sermons on the fruits of the Spirit and the armor of God that I could recite them in my sleep! Churches don't even preach out of the Old Testament anymore! My church doesn't even encourage you to bring your Bible - they just hand out pamphlets with the verses already printed!

[Christine]

Originally posted by Matthew 28:20
My church doesn't even encourage you to bring your Bible - they just hand out pamphlets with the verses already printed! My first thought in reading this was :(: but then it dawned on me -- when they do this, do they reference reading the verses in context later (Acts 17:11, 1John 4:1)??

[yankeedownsouth]

Thank you all for your replies and your prayers. I was interested to hear what Matthew said about his church not encouraging you to bring your Bibles. Thankfully, we all still bring our Bibles, but lately we hardly ever use them!

Yesterday the sermon was the first in a series the pastor will be preaching on Families. The sermon was titled "What's a Family For?" Then pastor went on to give five images that capture a family's purpose. With each of these images, he gave a Bible verse, written in the sermon notes. We didn't have to open our Bibles at all. Plus, the thing that bugged me was that for each of the verses, he used a different Bible version. In all, he used NIV, NASB, NCV, NLT, and The Message. When pastors do this, it makes me really nervous. It always seems like they do that so they can find a verse that says exactly what they want, how they want. Rather than taking a scripture and developing a message from the scripture.

When we first started at this church, the sermons were great! The pastor would take a Bible passage, sometimes up to 30 verses in length. We'd all open our Bibles, read the entire passage with the pastor, and then he'd start dissecting the passage, one verse at a time, explaining how what the passage meant and how we can apply it to our lives.

Now it seems like he's coming up with a message and then finding verses that fit with the message.

My Pastor is a good, God-fearing man. Please don't get me wrong. I just don't agree with the direction our church is taking.

[KrispyKritter]

Sounds like you're finding out what we found out about the "institutional church". Could be time for you to look into the "House Church Movement".

Here are a couple of really good links:

http://www.ntrf.org/Manual/workbook.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/8395/

http://www.housechurchnetwork.org/

http://www.house2house.tv/

[cameron222]

God bless you yankee in whatever decision God lays on your heart. Many churches have become businesses with preachers competing with each other over who has the most members.

There was another thread about churches receiving advice to do away with christian symbols on the outside.....like Jesus on the cross and such......and its easy to see where all of this is going.

Many of the programs "seem" progressive and innovative, but we are reminded that satan can masquerade as an angel of light.

Once we begin to lose focus of Jesus and His shed blood, , satan gains a foothold and soon the church becomes unrecognizable.

One of my pet peeves is the rock music invading our churches all designed to capture the youth........purple hair and all. Those threads I see on this seem to hold the groups in special regard whereas Jesus should be the one glorified.

[KrispyKritter]

Originally posted by cameron222
One of my pet peeves is the rock music invading our churches all designed to capture the youth........purple hair and all. Those threads I see on this seem to hold the groups in special regard whereas Jesus should be the one glorified.

Not to go off on a rabbit trail... but I'm not sure where you're coming from on this one. Start a thread expressing your feelings on this so we can discuss it without hijacking this thread. As you know, I have some issues with CCM... but not the music style itself.

[New Hope]

I wish your pastor could visit my church sometime yankee. See what we've been able to do is bring in people through the music we do and stuff like that, but at the same time, give "meat" to the more mature Christians.

YBIC,
Justin

[spadart]

Before you get up and leave, I would suggest maybe getting together with the people you are close with at church and discussing the issue to see if they are having the same problems. If they are you should talk to your pastor and say that you have talked to people (ask the people first if you can use thier names) and tell him what the problem is.

If no one else is feeling this way, I would pray for strength and go with your husband and meet with the pastor and explain what is bothering you. He may not even realize that his style has changed! If things don't go well, I would pray about staying and starting a revival or if God wants you to get out.

This is just my 2 cents. I hope that all works out for you. I will be praying.

YSIC<><

[KrispyKritter]

Originally posted by spadart
Before you get up and leave, I would suggest maybe getting together with the people you are close with at church and discussing the issue to see if they are having the same problems. If they are you should talk to your pastor and say that you have talked to people (ask the people first if you can use thier names) and tell him what the problem is.

If no one else is feeling this way, I would pray for strength and go with your husband and meet with the pastor and explain what is bothering you. He may not even realize that his style has changed! If things don't go well, I would pray about staying and starting a revival or if God wants you to get out.

This is just my 2 cents. I hope that all works out for you. I will be praying.

YSIC<><

Yea... and after you do this be prepared for your pastor to go on the defensive because he will view this as you trying to spread division ... and could probably accuse you of "gossiping" about him. He will probably accuse you of talking to everyone about your problems instead of him... and he will no doubt come to this conclusion because someone you talk to will go to him about it.

If you really feel you should hang in there... then you should go to him yourself. He is your "leader" and you dont need to justify your concerns by finding out who agrees with you. If you have strong biblical concerns, then you should have the guts to do something about it... with or without the support of others.

[ddlewis86]

Hi!

Did ya get the PM I sent?:wave :D:

[yankeedownsouth]

Originally posted by ddlewis86
Hi!

Did ya get the PM I sent?:wave :D:

Yep - I did. Just sent a reply. Had to get my daughter off to her first day of 1st grade today, so it took me a bit to reply.

[faline]

Originally posted by KrispyKritter
Sounds like you're finding out what we found out about the "institutional church". Could be time for you to look into the "House Church Movement".

Here are a couple of really good links:

http://www.ntrf.org/Manual/workbook.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/8395/

http://www.housechurchnetwork.org/

http://www.house2house.tv/

I cannot find a house church on the Eastern Shore of Maryland...does anyone happen to know of one?

[KrispyKritter]

Originally posted by faline
I cannot find a house church on the Eastern Shore of Maryland...does anyone happen to know of one?

If you cant find one... learn the theology behind them (why we do what we do) ... and then start one! :wave

[mrsppmrxky]

Originally posted by KrispyKritter
Yea... and after you do this be prepared for your pastor to go on the defensive because he will view this as you trying to spread division ... and could probably accuse you of "gossiping" about him. He will probably accuse you of talking to everyone about your problems instead of him... and he will no doubt come to this conclusion because someone you talk to will go to him about it.

If you really feel you should hang in there... then you should go to him yourself. He is your "leader" and you dont need to justify your concerns by finding out who agrees with you. If you have strong biblical concerns, then you should have the guts to do something about it... with or without the support of others.

The scriptures say that if you have a problem with your brother, you are to go to him. If he won't receive you, then you are to take another brother and talk with him. If he will not listen then, to go to the church and if not it can't be resolved, then break fellowship. (Matthew 18:15-17)

I think taking a poll would be viewed by the church as trying to cause trouble.

[cameron222]

A church spilt is always devestating and used by the unbelievers to cast dispersion upon the christians....."see...they can't even get along with themselves", they say. You are in a tough situation.

You may need to find another fellowship and let this one slide, especially if you perceive that the majority of members like the watered down version........Otherwise, a slpit could leave you on the losing side.

The church I have now attended for almost 20 years had a split before I attended there and from what I understand the pastor refused to leave....dunno how they finally ousted him, but these things can get nasty.

[Workfromhomemom]

Ditto all of your frustrations. I have been out visiting for the better part of a year, off and on.

Realize also, that even if you find a church that actually preaches strong doctrinal sermons, it may be doctrine that you don't agree with.

I have had to really get down to the details about what I believe and I call the church before even visiting there. You can learn a lot by just talking with the pastor and asking just a few select questions. And you can do a lot of the leg work from home that way.

I want "meat", but I want it to be the truth also. And, ditto to what Christine said, it is so hard to find these days, a church which does both.

The church that I am leaving is fairly good on doctrine, although I do have some disagreements. But the sermons of late have been directly toward the unsaved (how do we say bottle fed??), they are completely wrapped up in themselves, have all of the wrong assumptions about growth (assume that it is always good and a sign of God's blessing), and have made certain compromises on certain controversial issues to just try to stay out of controversy. One has to be very careful with compromise, as one just might be giving "aid and comfort" to the enemy. Some things are important enough to require a stand, even if the majority of people in the church cannot get it. Very often in church history the majority has been wrong. And I have noticed that Satan's tactics are different in churches that seem to be doing very much right. Pride is just as useful as outright error in many cases. Satan can use either one to further his cause.

Don't despair. The home church route is always available if there isn't anything else. I have a ladies home Bible study which is somewhat of an outlet for me.

:):

[yankeedownsouth]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I am comforted by the fact that, although the church itself is kinda out there, at least my Home Team is doing great. We meet each week for a couple hours and eat, study the Word, and pray. We lift each other up during the week, and we're a true family. Probably very similar to home churches.

I pray for all our churches. The more I read, the more I find that my church is not the exception, but the rule. I find this very, very sad... :tsk :tsk

[ddlewis86]

Yankeedownsouth:
We meet each week for a couple hours and eat, study the Word, and pray.




Well there's your problem right there Yankee.

It should be done in this order.

1. Pray
2. Study the Word
3. Eat
:doh

:pound :pound :laugh :laugh

Just messin with ya!

[yankeedownsouth]

Originally posted by ddlewis86


Well there's your problem right there Yankee.

It should be done in this order.

1. Pray
2. Study the Word
3. Eat
:doh

:pound :pound :laugh :laugh

Just messin with ya!


:laugh :laugh :laugh

You're probably right. But I have to admit, we eat first every time. Actually, we eat, study, pray, and then eat some more!!

[SapphireGrl]

Originally posted by yankeedownsouth
Plus, the thing that bugged me was that for each of the verses, he used a different Bible version. In all, he used NIV, NASB, NCV, NLT, and The Message. When pastors do this, it makes me really nervous. It always seems like they do that so they can find a verse that says exactly what they want, how they want. Rather than taking a scripture and developing a message from the scripture.
That is not a good thing, Yankee. That really bothers me. Why all the different versions? Like you said, I would tend to believe it's so they can find one that says exactly what they want it to say. And The Message is NOT a bible version in the first place! That would greatly disturb me that he is using that book to preach and teach from.

[ssimon2000]

Well there's your problem right there Yankee.

It should be done in this order.

1. Pray
2. Study the Word
3. Eat

I conduct a Bible Study every Friday in our home, and we
1. Pray
2. Eat
3. Study the Word
4. Pray/Praise Reports
5. Eat some more

We start at 6:30PM, and have been known to go well past midnight!

[cindyw]

Originally posted by yankeedownsouth
:laugh :laugh :laugh

You're probably right. But I have to admit, we eat first every time. Actually, we eat, study, pray, and then eat some more!!


Dawn, looks like puffy's been joining you at mealtime too......:D:

[cameron222]

:pound ssimon.......we have a bi weekly home Bible study and we

Eat
Study
Say Good Night

:):

[yankeedownsouth]

Originally posted by cindyw
Dawn, looks like puffy's been joining you at mealtime too......:D:

Puffy? He's a svelte 13 1/2 lbs! (He does look kinda tubby, huh? :laugh )

[KevCornette]

Um, Yank...

There is nothing wrong with dance, drama or props.

However, there is a serious problem with a watered down message. Have you talked with the pastor? Is he available for such things? If not, why not.... these are the questions to ask. The Bible is repleat with people dancing to worship, with people acting in a dramatic way (see all of Ezekiel, some of Jeremiah, some of Isaiah and alot from the OT Minor prophets). However, in the midst of these 'demonstrations, the Word was never comprimised. Often, the poeple God instructed to use some type of the performing arts were people with the hardest messages, and the 'drama' helped make the message more paletable. However, it was NEVER watered down!

The primary thing to do is make sure that if you are going to leave the church, that you do it in a clean way, and insure you dont try to 'take people with you'... That is a great temptation, when you are feeling like the message isnt there, but resist this temptation. People who are your friends will be duly influenced when you find a new body of believers and you are happy there. And you should leave it at that.

that is my 2 cents worth.

YBIC, Kev

[yankeedownsouth]

Well, today was "interesting." I can't even explain the skit - it was that unbelieveable. :mad

However, there's a positive note. My husband also feels that our church has gotten too "commerical." He was horrified at the skit this morning, and he seemed to be close to walking out. I think he may be more open to finding a new place to worship than I thought.

[daveleau]

Remember first, the type of music does not matter. It all glorifies God if it has the right message. It doesn't matter if it uses guitars, drums and a sax instead of a piano and organ. The same goes for the other entertainment items, provided they support Scripture and are useful tools. When they begin to detract from the message and glorify people in the church instead of God, then you have a real problem.

The biggest thing is the watering down of the message to bring in more members. Our church in Charleston lost members because our pastor taught Scripturally about certain issues like homosexuality. The church should not water down the message from God just because it may be unpopular with some. If this is the case, I'd find a new church the teaches the entire Bible regardless of what society thinks.

[yankeedownsouth]

Well, I should probably elaborate a bit more...

Our church has always had a band (at least since we started attending), and I have no problem with that. I love the praise and worship songs we sing. Our music has not become a problem yet.

One thing that I've thought about is the HUGE amount of money our church as spent in the last year paying for props, brand new microphones and video cameras (the existing ones were only about 2 years old), painting and remodeling the buildings (which looks great for the kids, but it's so expensive), etc. All the while they were spending money on this stuff, our hometeam was trying to start up a homeless ministry. We are feeding some homeless folks in Fort Worth twice a week. It's all coming out of our pockets, and they're are hundreds of folks eating, and we're NOT rich. So when we first start this, our church says "oh yeah! Great idea. We'll fund you." Then it turned to "we can't afford to fund you, but you can use our tax exemption number." Then it turned to "We don't think you should do this ministry - it's not in our town, after all." We live in Arlington, a suburb of Fort Worth! I would think that if a church as so much money they can buy all the stuff we've been seeing lately, they could also spend some money on feeding and witnessing to the homeless.


But the skit today is what I meant to elaborate on...

Sorry if this is confusing...

Our sermon series in on family. The skit today (at the very beginning of the service) was an interaction between two women. These women were sisters, and they don't get along well. The one woman was at her new apartment that she just moved to. She moved because her boyfriend was cheating on her, and she had to move out. The other sister comes to visit and brings a pizza. They then get into an argument because the sister who was shacking up says the other sister didn't approve of her relationship with her boyfriend. The other sister said, no she didn't agree with it. However, the rest of the skit went on to portray the lady who was living with her boyfriend as the victim and the other lady as the antagonist. By the end of the skit (about 10 minutes), you totally felt for the lady that had just broken up with her boyfriend, and the "untolerant" sister was the bad guy.

And the following sermon had NOTHING to do with the skit. That skit, which just about glorified living together before marriage, had no purpose in our worship sevice at all. It was just entertaining to the masses, and it sounded like something you'd see on TV on Thursday night. I was disgusted....


I'm sorry to rant so much about my church. I know my husband and I will have to talk with our pastor, but he's very defensive of the way he's running the church, so we've been hesitant.

We have NOT been talking with other church members about this, as we don't want to cause dissension in the church body.

[daveleau]

The point of the church is to help the community. If they are not funding a church project to feed the homeless, but are buying state of the art equipment to replace only slightly outdated equipment, I would bring this up before the church committee. This is a valid and serious problem.

Dissent is good as long as it is thoughtful dissent. This is correct in politics, social circles and the Church. I would discuss this trend with some of your friends in the church. Then, I would go and talk with or write a letter to the pastor.

[BarbT]

where are more mature Christians supposed to get some "meat"? While fellowship in person with others is wonderful, it isn't quite as important as hearing sound doctrine that glorifies the Lord , IMHO. When our churches aren't *delivering*, there are alternatives in the interim.

I think God has allowed the Internet to flourish for just this purpose. We have access to some of the most dynamic sermons ever spoken right here on the web. Dr. Charles Stanley, Zola Levitt, and Dr. Adrian Rogers are just a few of the excellent teachers we can hear any time on our computers. :):

Yankeedownsouth, I'm excited the Lord has awakened you and DH in this manner. :): He will either use you guys to raise this issue -- bringing change in your church -- or He will lead you to a fellowship that truely keeps the focus on HIM alone.

If He leads you out, I pray there is a Calvary Chapel in your area. The difference in spiritual "food groups" will AMAZE you! :thumb

[Rebecki]

The point of the church is to help the community.

Hmmm.. I have to disagree. The point of the church is NOT to help the community. The point of the church is for believers (note: believers) to come together in prayer, worship, and fellowship. That is the point of the church. We are called as individuals to go out into the world and evangelize. Reaching the community for the lost through individual evangelism. I'm not saying that the church shouldn't help the poor or the down and out. God knows we all need help and I'm glad that the church has been there for many people in that capacity. I'm just saying that helping the community is not the point of the church.

Yankee, run, run away as fast as you can. We went to our pastor (so did several other families) to no avail. He saw nothing wrong with the way the church was going. He believed in every word of that book written by man rather than listening to his sheep who leaned on the Word of God. Of course that book and that doctrine are making churches grow by leaps and bounds, but does that always mean that is a good thing? I see it as a tool that Satan is using to deceive the Church, and it's working.

I'm with BarbT, hoping there is a Calvary Chapel near you. Did you know that there are tons of people here on this board that attend Calvary Chapel and all of them love it!

[Angyl]

Originally posted by SapphireGrl
And The Message is NOT a bible version in the first place! That would greatly disturb me that he is using that book to preach and teach from.

I'm glad SOMEONE pointed this out! Seems to have been glossed right over and that fact alone is very scary. :freaked

The Message is little better than the Satanic Bible, if you ask me. Any pastor I saw holding or preaching from this book would quickly see my rear as I walked out the door (or to the other side of the street).

[daveleau]

Rebecki,
I agree that the first job of the church is to bring people to the Lord and to help people build their personal relationship with Him. But, it is the duty and obligation of the church to build the community around it. The two go hand in hand, IMO.
Dave

[Jade]

We have NOT been talking with other church members about this, as we don't want to cause dissension in the church body.


Jesus caused a bit of dissension too.

If there is a problem, I'd bring it up. If they reject what you have to say, then don't let the door hit you on the way out of there.

If you are truly uncomfortable doing that, just run to another church. It does not sound like this church is meeting your spiritual needs.

This business about having the money to upgrade a system which did not need upgrading (according to what you have told us) yet not having the money to help the homeless or provide for your ministry is something else Jesus chastised the Pharisees for. Granted, you need to maintain or upgrade parts of the building, but to take away from a ministry because they don't feel it's in your town sounds downright selfish to me.

Has there been any recent change in church leadership that may account for these changes? Or is it the pastor who is looking to increase his numbers that is responsible for this?


On a side note, I've never heard of this Message thing. Can someone tell me about it?

[SapphireGrl]

Originally posted by Jade
If there is a problem, I'd bring it up. If they reject what you have to say, then don't let the door hit you on the way out of there.
Amen to that. :nod

On a side note, I've never heard of this Message thing. Can someone tell me about it?
Jade, here's a link to an old thread about it. It's a pretty long thread. http://www.rr-bb.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=77377

[Jade]

Thanks for the link.

[yankeedownsouth]

Or is it the pastor who is looking to increase his numbers that is responsible for this?

I believe it's the pastor who wants to increase the numbers. Of course, I'm not involved in any decision making, so I'm not sure who else is involved.


I thought my husband was getting ready to leave yesterday, but then we went to Home Team last night, and he says he'd never leave because of our friends. So we'll have to see what happens... Thank goodness for RR - at least I can come here and get some "meat."

[SapphireGrl]

Yankee, I'll be praying for you guys. :): I will also pray that your husband comes to realize that while friends are indeed valuable and wonderful, they are not a reason to stay in a church that is dying and has become a worldly, feel good meeting place for self-esteem seminars where people can feel good about themselves.

I hazard to think that your husband may need to ask himself why does he attend church. For himself and for God or for his friends? If the Word of God is not being preached, or is being polluted and watered down in order to make it palatable and inoffensive in order to build up the numbers of the church, that's a mammoth-sized problem. I think your dh may have to ask himself if friends are worth not only staying in a church that is operating contrary to the will of God, but also not being spiritually fed at church. After all, why go if you’re barely getting anything out of it?

I have noticed that there tend to be two types of churches. There are the churches that preach Jesus, the Word, and are on fire for God. Then there are the churches that are basically country clubs where everyone can go see their friends and hear an empty, feel-good, superficial message that leaves them as spiritually empty when they leave, as they were when they arrived. Do you believe your hubby is willing to accept the second type of church in order to keep his friends? As Christians we are often called to make a choice sometimes. We have to decide if people are more important to us than pleasing God or vice versa. If someone is willing to place friends in front of pleasing God and being spiritually fed, there's going to be a problem.

[yankeedownsouth]

Originally posted by SapphireGrl
Yankee, I'll be praying for you guys. :): I will also pray that your husband comes to realize that while friends are indeed valuable and wonderful, they are not a reason to stay in a church that is dying and has become a worldly, feel good meeting place for self-esteem seminars where people can feel good about themselves.

I hazard to think that your husband may need to ask himself why does he attend church. For himself and for God or for his friends? If the Word of God is not being preached, or is being polluted and watered down in order to make it palatable and inoffensive in order to build up the numbers of the church, that's a mammoth-sized problem. I think your dh may have to ask himself if friends are worth not only staying in a church that is operating contrary to the will of God, but also not being spiritually fed at church. After all, why go if you’re barely getting anything out of it?

I have noticed that there tend to be two types of churches. There are the churches that preach Jesus, the Word, and are on fire for God. Then there are the churches that are basically country clubs where everyone can go see their friends and hear an empty, feel-good, superficial message that leaves them as spiritually empty when they leave, as they were when they arrived. Do you believe your hubby is willing to accept the second type of church in order to keep his friends? As Christians we are often called to make a choice sometimes. We have to decide if people are more important to us than pleasing God or vice versa. If someone is willing to place friends in front of pleasing God and being spiritually fed, there's going to be a problem.

Thank you for your prayers. We need them. And I totally agree with your post.

My husband is a wonderful guy, and I love him alot. He's just not as spiritually discerning as some so I think this transition may take some time. I'm pretty sure that with prayer, prompting on my part, and lots more prayer, that we'll end up where God wants us.

[yankeedownsouth]

After much prayer, I decided that I at least had to explain to the pastor how I feel about the skit on Sunday. I'm a very nonconfrontational person, so this was a hard decision for me. And I have to admit, I sent an email so I didn't have to do this face-to-face. I'll be interested to see if I get a response.

[SapphireGrl]

Good for you, Yankee! :thumb I hope things go well and that your pastor will be receptive to what you are saying. :):

[yankeedownsouth]

SapphireGrl - Thanks for your comment. It reminded me that I forgot to post what happened after I sent my email. I actually got a response from my within 30 minutes!!! I was shocked. And he was receptive to my email. He actually said he hadn't even thought of the skit that way. He forwarded my email to all those responsible for the services and skits.

I was so relieved he wasn't mad. And I was impressed that he wrote back so quickly and answered my concerns.

[cindyw]

Dawn,

Check your mailbox.