Happy New Year to everyone....I know its been awhile since I last posted.
Today seemed like a good day as any to post. Today our pastor under much duress resigned his position as Senior Pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church. I along with many others are devastated. There have been many years of bullying from members of the church to our pastor. Today was the day he could not take it anymore. I am very hurt by the actions of the members but I am also very ashamed to even be apart of a group of people who say they believe in God on one account and then another cast stones against the very person that delivers our sermons each week. I became apart of a committee that's task was to discern God's Will for our church. Through this committee I was able to see the hateful and egotistical things our pastor had to endure from members of the congregation that he held so dear to his heart. No one deserved the hate filled emails, messages, and face to face confrontations that our pastor endured. A church is not run by one person it takes each and every member to commit and get to work to make the church flourish. Our members have lost site of that. People feel that it is the leadership's responsibility to gain members. It's leadership's responsibility to fulfill everyone's check list. It's leadership's responsibility to make sure everyone is fed. I am a member of Tabernacle Baptist Church and I will tell you that it is not the sole responsibility of one person to fulfill these duties. It is the responsibility of the person to meet the pastor and God. If you feel you are not being fed thwn guess what....It may be YOU... You can not always blame others for the lack of work if you yourself have not given 100%. Tabernacle has hit rock bottom and to tell you the truth I am not sure if the church can recover from this. I know one thing for certain...The problems will still be there no matter who you bring in because the "ME" and "I" mentality will never go away until those people wake up and see that church is not about "ME and I" it is about God and how we can grow closer to him and be more like him. Is this the END for Tabernacle Baptist Church???? I don't think so, I know it will take a lot of time and effort from each and every person for things to get better. It took a lot of time for us to get in the situation we are now. It will take commitment of time, money, and talents from each person who sits in the pew. Getting a new pastor will not solve the issue of no one volunterring, attendance going down, or people not being fed. Each and every person holding each other accountability and putting others needs before there own is the only way to solve these issues. These are the very problems that got Tabernacle in the pit it is now and I know one thing for certain... I have never once thought of moving churches but I am seriously considering it now because I don't want my children to be raised in a church that believes it is ok to bully others. I want my children to be loved and to love everyone around them. I want my children to be in a church that strives to meet the needs inside and outside the church. I want my children to know what it is like to sacrifice things for others. I am just a lot loss of how the church can go from being so meaningful to full on hatred against another and only because you don't agree on things. We have people risk their lives everyday to share the gospel and here at Tabernacle members are on a witch hunt to get rid of the pastor. I feel lost, ashamed, stressed, discouraged, outraged, and helpless. Dr. Jimmy you were my first pastor and you have a very special place in my heart. I hate to see you go but I know that you don't deserve what has been given to you and I don't want you to hurt anymore. You are a remarkable person and a wonderful pastor. I know God has great plans for you and I can only hope that those plans will lead you to somewhere that we will cross paths again. Thank you for everything you did for Tabernacle and especially for your kindness and generosity you bestowed upon my family and extended family. I wish you and your family well.
