Tired of Pharisees

Brother Bob,
Good to see you back and safe. How was your associational meeting and how did the baptism go?

 

Hey, I just figured out what OSAS stands for:

Once stinking, always stinking!

 

Sorry about joining this thread kind of late. I am amused by the going to church barefoot. It is not unusal for folks at my church to be barefoot. With the new fad of "dress" flip flops many are nearly barefoot anyway. I also have hosted M. A. Thomas from India at my church several years back. He always removes his shoes when he starts to preach.

 

This reminds me of the preacher who told the joke about a man taking a bath in the baptismal. That joke stunk also... :laugh: :laugh: :thumbs:

 

In my country, the Philippines, it's not really all that unusual. In Metro Manila, back in the mid 90's, when we started this small church, I preached barefooted with my pants rolled up to my knees, in a white shirt with tie, and all the congregation were just as barefeet, with the men dressed like I was, pants rolled up to their knees.

We weren't going to have feet washing, because I was Arminian at that time, using grape juice and all that jazz. Reason was while the main road which was 30 meters or so away was asphalt, the side road to the church wasn't, and it rained heavily the previous night, so we got all that mud.

We tried getting to church in our shoes, but after a few steps, the shoes would enjoy the mud so much, it just wouldn't budge and off it went from our feet with a big sucking sound, so we left it in the mud for the kids to collect and bring to the church doosteps.

But we were going to church to sing, worship, and fellowship with each other, and to love one another, and it didn't matter if we were barefeet and all, we were not without shoes to irritate one another.

And that's in the capital city !

Think of the villages in the provinces, my brother.

 

Everything went great! Got a funeral today and another Baptism tomorrow at 4:00. I just too old too be driving all the way to Columbus, OH and back. Just me and another preacher and he is sicker than I am. He is on kidney
Dialysis 3 times a week.

 

Sounds like the kind of thing I used to do back around 1970, when I was about 17 years old. Except then it was Jimi Hendrix since BTO hadn't been invented yet. Now I'm 53 and still like to slip my sandals off while I'm drummin' for the praise band. So do the ladies that are up front singing. I guess Gristmill would feel sort of at home with our bunch.

Les

 

What is a BTO?I'm being sincere.

 

I think he refers to Bachman Turner Overdrive. Not sure of the spelling. Unless he means Bad Tooth Odor, Broken Truth Operatives, or one of those other 'alternative music' (sic) groups.

 

LOL. Where I serve as a missionary, in a tropical environment (not too far from the Philippines, pinoybaptist), 80-90% of all people wear sandals...and the custom upon entering a building is to remove one's footwear.

So almost the whole church is barefoot, and those that are not are in their socks.

And when I teach, yes I do it barefooted. With a pair of shorts and a light shirt, never tucked in. And yes this is "normal."

I have become so culturally acclamated to this, I feel "strange" in other environments. I don't even own a coat and tie.

Read Mark Driscoll's Radical Reformission. It turns the thinking of Phari-fundies on its head.

-------------------------

 

Gristmill,
Come on over to my church. A number of people take their shoes off during the service.
You will find that churches differ greatly. Don't overgeneralize, please, if you have been hurt by a couple of overzealous people.

 

No....Once Saved, Always Saved...and I have peace because of what Jesus did for me. I would hate to think that he would have to symbolically die over and over again for my sins.

Once covered, always covered....my sins are covered by His precious blood.

Once safe, always safe....and "no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." I am safe in His hands....and although at times I might try to let go, He will not.

Do you believe "once damned, always damned?" By that, I mean that once someone has gone to hell, will they stay there? Or what about once they've arrived in heaven? Will God let them stay in these places for a little while, and then put them somewhere else?

Why would God allow any different here on earth?

Once your fate is determined, it will always be determined.

My God is a consistent God. He makes no mistakes. He has no erasers on his pencils. He doesn't ride the fence on anything.

 

Amen, preach it...
the OSAS comment was a joke.
A few months ago, there was a lot of discussion about it here, and how it stood up to suicide.

No one will ever convince me that God lies, and when I stand before Him, if he could say, "depart from me, I never knew you." He would be lying, because He knows me now... not just as Tim, but as his child.

 

Sorry...didn't get the sarcasm...but glad to hear your stand.

Look forward to meeting you up yonder.

 

OSAS?? How about "once shod, always shod"! :thumbsup: That ought to take care of the "Once stinkin', always stinkin'" bit except in the "Stinking Thinking" category, maybe.

:laugh:

Ed

 

:thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs:

 

Shoeless in......

I don't think whether or not one wears shoes into a worship service is a big issue if they own none. However, the attitude you are displaying is less than Christ-like, wouldn't you agree? If you go into this with the idea that no one is going to tell you what to do, then you have other issues to tend to rather than wondering if someone will toss you for lack of footware. There is absolutly nothing wrong with being expected to adhere to the cultural norm (being fully clothed) when you present yourself before others. Add Church into the mix and your at a whole new level as compared to showing up, say, at a water park. As for the music you like to listen to; that's between you and the Lord. However, bear in mind, you pursue what you love (Colossians 3).