BY REV. DORAL PULLEY, Today’s Church
Jeremiah was a prophet, and people didn’t like some of the things he said, so much so they were going to kill him in the house of the Lord. Jeremiah told them if they killed him in the Lord’s house, his blood would be on their hands, and there would be consequences.
What blew my mind was that they would do it in the Lord’s house. Things have often happened in the Lord’s house, causing people to feel “church hurt.”
There’s no hurt like church hurt. Some anointed, gifted, sanctified, God-fearing people stop attending church. Some have had devastating experiences and won’t go back. I don’t understand that because people have bad experiences at the grocery stores, and they go to management and resolve the issue, but they don’t say, “I ain’t never going to the grocery store again.” It’s the same thing with church.
Something may happen; you may get hurt, but you must work through it there or go somewhere. Just don’t stop going to church. I’m inviting you today to change your outlook.
Consider seeing it as a dressing room where people remove old clothes and put on new ones—the same goes for the church. People are taking off old ways of being and putting on new ways, such as thinking, speech, and attitudes.
See it as a gas station where some people drive in on empty while others roll in on a half or quarter tank. Whether they need air in their tires or water for their radiator, they are coming to the gas station because they have a need.
I believe if we change our image of how we look at church, we will have different experiences.
Rev. Doral Pulley is the senior pastor of Today’s Church Tampa Bay, 2114 54th Ave N, St. Petersburg, and 5107 North Central Ave., Tampa.
