No Place For Me: A Sentiment Felt By ‘The Church’ Across America
This is an excerpt from John W. Fountain’s book, “No Place For Me.” It is taken from a latter chapter in the book titled, “Letters,”…
This is an excerpt from John W. Fountain’s book, “No Place For Me.” It is taken from a latter chapter in the book titled, “Letters,” referring to the more than 3,000 letters and emails he received after his essay about his angst over attending church was published in 2005 in Washington Post Sunday Outlook.
By John W. Fountain
I WAS HARDLY prepared for such an outpouring of emotion and experiences of church hurt and abuse that readers shared. Nor was I prepared for the anger and venom spewed by some who wrote me in response to my essay. But what would eventually become crystal clear to me was that I was not alone, even if I was still sifting through the rubble of my shattered faith and in search of a way of moving forward. I also could not have known then that I would find some measure of solace, hope and even healing in the words of others who themselves had suffered church hurt and tears…
Collectively the letters provide a window into the crises facing the modern Christian church in America — none more pressing than the church’s relevance or lack thereof to the lives of many who love the church but who find themselves already adrift, or seeking to set sail from the old ship of Zion…
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The Scholar
Date: Tuesday, August 02, 2005–6:46 p.m.
Subject: Re: Fw: Would this be a good forward to COGIC (Church Of God In Christ) Scholars?
YES! THIS ESSAY IS definitely worthwhile! After sitting in on the COGIC scholars meeting at Kansas’ AIM, I was a little disappointed that even among the scholars of the church there is more of a drive to reinforce COGIC doctrine and agenda than at intellectual thought that prompts one to action.
Nothing seems to question any of the obviously misguided practices, doctrines and even theologies of the COGIC denomination. If anyone of JFK’s people were allowed to question him in the early 60s, maybe the Bay of Pigs fiasco (groupthink) wouldn’t have happened (smile).
One speaker told of how we need to go back to praise. While I understand the premise he mentioned, one could see from study of the Bible that praise is a step back from worship.
Praise is limited (Hallelujah being the highest praise). But worship is limitless, unbound. We seem to exalt our COGIC practices and traditions above the G-I-C (God in Christ). Accepting the new thing doesn’t make the old thing invalid…
Where the songs from the 40s and 50s brought us over, singing new songs doesn’t negate the power of the old songs. There seems to be a slave mentality that we don’t want to let go of. One example is over-reliance on the preacher.
We have had such a lack of men in the church, we really don’t understand male spirituality, therefore when men come to the church, preachers try to control them the same way that they control women (e.g., I know preachers who make you ask them before making life decisions or even require that you ask permission to miss a weekday service.
Other preachers try to force demonstrative praise out of men, when most men have a quiet spirituality, choosing to cover their children in prayer and who see taking care of their families as a devotion to God, rather than running over benches and doing cartwheels). I do not seek to diminish this type of unrestrained praise. But it is not an everyday occurrence with men. Praise is not measured in decibels, but in sincerity.
Another example is that we seem to think that scaring people from hell equates to heartfelt repentance and subsequent salvation. I heard Charles Stanley once ask, “Why don’t we believe that God’s love can prompt people to serve him rather than coercion into ‘obedience to the preacher’ and fear tactics.”
We teach the John Edwards “holiness” message with conceit and godless pride. Here, God is always angry and dangling his beloved over a fiery hell.
Sometimes it seems as if we take personal pride in the fact that we have overcome certain sins that others haven’t and we use it to set up hierarchies within the church: the “real saved folks,” the “saved folks” and the folks who grew up in the church and are just kind of there. The untouchables include the homosexuals, loose women, and the very poor.
Also, as the author of this essay wrote, there is little care for holistic ministries in our church. Buildings, programs and titles are important now, especially in the South… Because of these reasons and many more, I, along with others who choose to do as the Bereans and not blindly follow, have become disillusioned with the black church.
Though a fourth generation son of the COGIC, I have become extremely disillusioned and am now a member of (a different ministry). I like it better, but it’s still lacking for me; I rarely go. I’d probably enjoy Charles Stanley’s church.
I like to leave church feeling light, hopeful, embraced and accepted. At “our” churches, I feel heavy, scared, confused, disparaged. Therefore, I totally agree with the author’s essay. I had to look twice to make sure I hadn’t wrote it.
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White & Without A Church Home In Sight
Date: Thursday, July 14, 2005–6:56 p.m.
Subject: No Place for Me
Dear Sir, I am not a Baptist, I am not a Male, and I am not Black. I was raised in The Disciples of Christ tradition. My Mother was the organist of our church for (many) years. I too participated in every church activity. As a congregation we discussed “diversity” but never acted upon it. As a congregation, we discussed Christ’s teaching but never acted upon them.
Our congregation steadily declined. I am 54 years old. I have no congregational affiliation. I am female and white. Your every sentence pierced my heart as I too know there is No Place for Me.
“Red and yellow, black and white,” Jesus’ teachings are out of sight.
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A Student “In His Service”
Date: Tuesday, July 19, 2005–8:35 a.m.
Subject: RE: No Place for Me
Greetings Prof. Fountain, I am a student at a (state university in the eastern region of the United States). Thank you for your article in the Washington Post. I won’t bore you with emotional testimonies, nor will I take too much of your time. However, I want to express some of the same concepts that you disclosed in your article.
“No Place for Me: I Still Love God, But I’ve Lost Faith in the Black Church” is a wonderful explanation about the problems of the Black Church, especially for black men. It seems like I am consistently conducting personal bible studies and going outside the church for fellowship (movies, dinners, etc.). I find myself repeating over and over, “I’m spiritual, I’m just not religious.” The auto-didactic methods of learning the Word of God and finding my place in the body of Christ have gone far beyond the pew with the gold plate bench marker that says, “The Jackson Family” on it. (Do we really need to know who donated the wooden bench?)
I find that many blacks have not gained a favorable status in society and they use the Black Church as a popular tool to express their own opinions and attain a goal of self-reward. Amidst all the armor bearers (bible holders) and personalized chauffeurs that many black churches must have these days, we, as far as I can see, have lost sight of the real meaning of what it is to be Christ-like — reaching out to folks who need our help, loving one another, and the absolute purity that can be gained from true salvation.
From one man of God to another man of God, I ask you to pray for the state of the Black Church.
I constantly view the seminars broadcasted on C-SPAN about the state of the Black Church and the state of the Black family. Those “helpful” showcases allow more black people to try to undermine one another and continue to perpetuate the “I-know-more-than-you” attitude, which is the same attitude that is often displayed in the pulpit. Instead of these ridiculous sessions that solve NOTHING, why can’t we have REAL discourse to regain what the enemy (it has to be the devil) has corrupted so well? And when brothers like you and I come out against the corruption, they wonder why we don’t (pastor) churches of our own. Will starting a single church heal the obvious systemic problem of our plight? NO.
Perhaps, instead of fighting about comments made by certain educated black men about the ways we name our children, we need to remind ourselves that the Black Church is the epicenter of Black education and community…
There needs to be a shift in “management” in the Black Church. We need to move away from the rudimentary sermons about overflow and increase, and begin to learn about community awareness through Christ and the basic principles and parables of our Good Shepherd.
All right, that’s enough venting from this wind tunnel. I just wanted to thank you for your well-composed and well-organized article. I will pray your strength in the Lord and a solution to this horrific problem.
In His Service…
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Letter From A PK
Date: 2015
Subject: None
Dear Sir, I have thought all week about the article, “Bling, Bling Gospel” that appeared in my local paper, The Sun Herald in Gulfport/Biloxi, Ms. As a 62-year-old former Baptist preacher’s kid and then a Baptist minister’s wife for 40 years, I could not have agreed with you more. I believe that the problems of the church reach everyone. I was a true believer for most of my life and now when I need to be ministered to, there is no one that seems to care.
Nothing gives me more anxiety than to contemplate attending church. When I am there, usually a few will nod or speak but no one actively pursues any contact outside of that building in that hour on Sunday morning. I truly believe that the Spirit has left most of our congregations and the ministry has become a profession rather than a calling.
I have sensed this happening for years but was never on the outside looking in until now, and it is worse than I thought. Like you, I do not feel disconnected from God and by his grace, I am surviving a horrible ordeal but the disconnection with the church is profound and I feel so lost. Thank you for putting into words what I have felt for so long. I don’t expect you to reply to this but I just wanted you to know that your words touched my heart…
Email: Author@Johnwfountain.com
Website: www.author.johnwfountain.com