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| - I will never attend this church again!
If you ever want to experience a small, crazy black church, then this is the STANDARD! I attended a Sunday night service and a Wednesday night service. As a visitor, I was greeted warmly before service and there was a special part of the service just for me in which I received a doggie bag. However, the rest of the service was not for me. At the beginning of service, the church shouts for 45 minutes! I've never seen anything like it. Everyone was shouting until they were pouring with sweat! The music would start and stop, and the people acted like the could not control themselves. It was very strange! Myself and other visitors watched uncomfortably. The first lady apologized several times to the visitors for them shouting so much, but they couldn't help themselves. I thought God was a God of Order? What I saw was drunken coonery. I did not feel the spirit to join in.
Sunday nights are apparently healing services, and this was like watching Leap of Faith Part 2. I watched as people were instantly healed from aches and pains. The way they were being prayed for, they didn't have a choice! The people that weren't instantly healed "lacked faith." They were pretty much scolded for not being healed. You either had to be healed or pretend to be healed. I noticed a young man who had miraculously lost his limp from a sprained ankle during prayer, but the limp returned after service. He limped towards me, probably in more pain, and greeted me after service. What a joke!
For some reason, I returned again on Wednesday night. I was curious to what a week is like at this church. The service was more subdued, but the church leadership had more time to talk and give instruction. Fewer visitors (more like none) attend the mid-week service. This allows the pastor and his wife to talk to their church candidly. I will sum up what I learned from that service and from talking to the members in numbered points.
1. You can't marry/date anyone outside the church
2. Modesty and holiness means you cannot wear what is normal to wear in the desert (shorts, tank tops, etc.)
3. The young women are slut shamed once they develop boobs and like boys. For example, if you are curvy or busty, you have to cover up more because you have more to lust after.
4. Evolution and any science that disproves the Bible is a lie from the devil. Climate change is God's way of telling us He will destroy the earth and Jesus is soon to come.
5. Homosexuality is a sin, and a political agenda of the devil to take over the U.S.
6. The first lady is the "Greatest women of the 21st century!"
7. You can go to Heaven or Hell based on how you treat your pastor
To sum up my experience, this church is a very controlling, cult-like environment. it was wildly entertaining, but also pretty scary to see people that committed to church leadership that are pious, arrogant, tyrannical and abusive.
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