[nabs-l] having a hard time fitting in at church
Andrew Edgcumbe
andrewjedg at gmail.com
Thu Sep 20 16:44:41 UTC 2012
hear is an article that would lend into this thread.
Throw Away Christians
By Phil Scovell
I have discovered a class, or group, of people, born again they
are, members of the Body of Christ, yet the church has thrown them
away. Strangely enough, I have learned how much God loves each and
every one of these throw away Christians. It goes without saying, but
I will say it any way, Jesus died for them, shedding His blood for
their sins, and was bodily resurrected for them, too.
These special groups cover a wide range of personalities and a
variety of physical conditions. Some are in wheelchairs for whom
ramps are conveniently constructed in order to get these pitiful souls
up and into the church building. Unfortunately, for these people,
none of the bathrooms have been modified to handle wheelchairs, So,
extra faith is required of these folk to hold it for several hours
until they get back home or to wherever they live. These special folk
are such a blessing to the church, too. It makes you thankful that
you aren't in a wheelchair.
Another category of these special Christians with special needs
are hard of hearing. Little, if any, regard is given to their
inability to hear through the Public Address system to accommodate the
hearing loss these people have nor have any special accommodations
been made to the amplification system which would allow them to wear
earphones or to even plug in to the system, if using implants, so they
could hear better.
If you are totally deaf, on the other hand, you are in luck. The
larger ministries have taught sign language and so the services are
then translated for the deaf. If you so happen to wish to attend a
church without a translator, then you are out of luck. The hard of
hearing, and the totally deaf, are such a blessing to the church, too.
It makes you thank the Lord for your own hearing ability.
The elderly have their own Sunday school class. This is nice, of
course, because then all those that the church brings in from the
nearby nursing home can sit in their own class without disturbing the
mainstream body of believers. Especially if they smell funny and
those bussed in from the nearby nursing home always do. Yet, even
these elderly people are such a blessing to the church. It makes you
thankful for the youth we have.
This special class and seating arrangement in the church service
for the elderly is very much like Sunday school for the children, of
course, so it seems logically that the elderly would have their own
class where they won't be a bother to others. These same children,
since they are so disruptive, have junior church immediately after
Sunday school. This is their own little church they have while their
parents are out in the auditorium having their big church service. In
this way, church workers, who never get to sit in on a Sunday school
class or church service, get to teach the children for a good three or
four hours each Sunday.
Although it is rare, some of the mega churches have discovered
blind people read Braille instead of print. Since blind people don't
need to see, their little group of eight or ten sit on the back row
where those ungodly large Braille hymn books are easily stored. This
has really brought the blind community together, we are told, and the
church is able to minister to them better when they are all grouped
together. Additionally, there is the added blessing of the
camaraderie which occurs among these, to be pitied of all handicapped
peoples, just because they are now grouped together. They are such a
blessing and encouragement to the rest of the church as they sit back
on the back roe with the large Braille song books and singing right
along with the rest of the church. It makes you thankful you aren't
blind.
Closely related to the blind group of special Christians, are the
Path Finders group. These are the mentally retarded bussed in from a
local care home. This group also gets to sit in the back of the
church because they often become disruptive during the service and
have to be taken out by the special workers. Thank the Lord we are
not like them and have mental normality.
Finally, there is a silent group of people who rarely are
considered. They don't have their own special hymn books nor are they
assigned a special place to sit in the service. Furthermore, they
have no special Sunday school class of their own to attend. We notice
their tears they often shed during the preaching and teaching of the
Word but we just figure they are being moved by the Holy Spirit to
tears. We would never once consider that something else might be
wrong.
We have also noticed that this silent group of unnamed people
often are going forward during the altar call for specialized prayer.
Again, we have no idea why but just assume they have tender hearts
toward the Lord. We have heard they have some special problems but we
have never talked to them, other than to say hello when coming or
going to the church, and they look like people who prefer being left
alone anyhow.
Eventually, your curiosity gets the best of you and you ask one
of the church leaders who this silent group of people are. You are
told that this group has been unofficially classified by the church as
"those to whom only the professionals can handle."
I could continue with other segments of society but you likely have
gotten the picture by now.
Scattered throughout these various groups, are little girls who
have been molested or raped by family members or friends and
relatives. Little boys can also be found in the church who have been
sodomized but as is the case with the little girls, they have been
threatened or ignored if they did tell someone about it. Now, most of
those children are adults. Some in this silent group have suffered
from traumatic childhood experiences and although they daily
experience anxiety and panic attacks, they have no understanding of
the nature of the cross they must carry. When seeking counsel from
leaders of the church, they often are referred to "The Professionals"
and told they will be placed on the church prayer list.
Some of these people suffering from various forms of depression
have ungodly nightmares the would frighten the average Christian
beyond emotional stability. Others cry themselves to sleep at night
because of the sadness that tries to crush the life out of them.
Others, although they would never admit such to anyone, even hear
voices. Some have not only considered suicide but attempted it. They
never told anyone why they were missing from church for the last three
weeks and no one noticed anyhow. Some of these people in this special
silent group, are told they are in advanced stages of emotional and
mental illness. This group are on medications for sleep because
otherwise they are awake all night. Others are on antidepressants and
antianxiety medications for their depression. Some are on even
stronger medications classified as psychotic or psychotropic mind
altering drugs. These are the more mentally ill people, who,
amazingly enough, seem to function in life relatively normally as far
as anyone can tell. Holding down a job, caring for their families,
driving a car, mowing their grass, reading their Bible, serving in the
church, and other activities that seem perfectly normal, are all
conducted by these silently hurting people. If people knew, on the
other hand, they had done as the church leadership had recommended and
gone to "The Professionals" with their problems, and were now
diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or with schizophrenia
tendencies, or told they have Obsessive Compulsive disorder, General
Anxiety Disorder, or they are clinically depressed or manic
depressive, or if they have been tested and found to be bipolar, or,
as is the case for some who have been brave enough to tell their
doctor that they heard voices and now have been determined to have
Dissociative Identity Disorder, which is multiple personalities, the
church wouldn't come near them. Well, they don't come near them
anyway. These silently hurting people are throw aways, right along
with many others, for whom the church chooses not to minister.
My ministry, on the other hand, is to these silently hurting and
forgotten people. I pastor them and pray with them. I cry for them,
making myself available for them 24-7 and pray for them on my own
times alone with the Lord. They call me in the middle of the night
and get me out of bed because they are afraid. They call me when I'm
eating my breakfast or lunch or supper and I talk to them as they cry
and tell me how frightened they are and how they want to kill
themselves. They call me as I listen to my favorite football games
which I turn off to talk and pray with them. Sometimes, those with
multiple personalities, call. It isn't uncommon in such cases for the
frightened alternate personality to actually do the calling. when
they call, I talk to them until they become peaceful. Sometimes an
alternate personality emails me. I email them back and attempt to
comfort them. I schedule regular appointments of prayer times with
them so the Lord can continue to reach into their lives of fear and
guilt and shame and loneliness and anxiety and pain to heal them.
How long do I continue to minister to them? Until they are whole
and healed from everything. Is that possible? If it is not, you are
serving the wrong God. Aren't these people crazy people? No, they
are hurting people whom the Lord not only wants to heal but can and
does.
If you are one of the suffering silent people and need ministry
because you have no one to whom you can turn, call me. If you are a
pastor and need ministry, call me. If you are a pastor's wife and are
trapped by fear and there's no one to tell, call me. If you are a
pastor or missionary or church leader, and find yourself addicted to
pornography, call me. If you are a mixed up confused mom who is
hearing voices in your head and you want to kill yourself, call me.
If you are depressed, call me. If you've been raped or molested and
can't seem to find comfort after all these years, call me. Having
marital problems? Call me. If you are sexually confused, call me.
If you have nightmares, if you are suicidal, or if you've attempted
suicide, call me. If you've lost a loved one and the grief is over
powering and it just doesn't get any better, call me. If you are an
obsessive compulsive, call me. If you have committed the unpardonable
sin, call me. If you doubt your salvation, call me. If you have
become involved in an affair, call me. If you are a throw away, call
me.
No, I am not a professional but as an intercessor, I know how to
pray and The True Lord Jesus Christ still knows how to heal. If, on
the other hand, you require professional help, by all means, find
someone to help you make the right medical decisions.
Safe Place Fellowship
Phil Scovell
Denver, Colorado USA
Mountain Time Zone
WWW.SafePlaceFellowship.COM
On 9/20/12, Sarah <coastergirl92 at gmail.com> wrote:
> That sounds like a horrible discriminating church if you ask me.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lavonya Gardner <hotdancer1416 at gmail.com
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Thu, 20 Sep 2012 08:16:44 -0400
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] having a hard time fitting in at church
>
> I was told that I wasn't fowling gods word because I couldn't
> talk. And my sensory input is way, causing me to scream if
> things r too bright, loud, or if touched. Or handle any change.
> They thought I was dumb. They also thought that I was cursing
> them out, when I would make sounds or sign, and that my blindness
> was my punishment for not letting them touch me.
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Sep 19, 2012, at 16:49, Sophie Trist
> <sweetpeareader at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> How can they throw you out of a church just because you're
> autistic? Sounds like discrimination to me!
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lavonya Gardner <hotdancer1416 at gmail.com
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> Date sent: Wed, 19 Sep 2012 15:16:55 -0400
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] having a hard time fitting in at church
>
> I have been thrown out of 25 churches, due to my autism. They
> seem to be fine with me being blind, but autism was not. So now
> I attend 2 churches. 1 of them has sometimes 15 blind people at
> a time. At the other church, I am the only blind person? I am on
> the dance team. I still do not fit in, but I do try to do ad
> much ad I can, and try and be ne'er people with my interests.
> Have you tried finding people to talk to that have your
> interests?
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Sep 19, 2012, at 10:49, Andrew Edgcumbe
> <andrewjedg at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi nabs students readers
>
> I hope you all are doing well.
>
>
> Anyway
> I am struggling with fitting in at my church and things.
>
> I been having a hard time finding friends to talk to there and
> things.
>
> They all seem to talk to each other and just walk away from me
> and things.
> every time after the service is over they just talk to each
> other's
> friends and i am not really talked to much at all i am often
> left
> sitting alone sometimes they walk out of the church pew all
> together
> and things i get left behind allot i don't get included in going
> out
> to lunch and things like that.
>
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