The Church Hopper

This past Sunday was Father’s Day and, like most holidays, I headed up to my grandparents’ house for lunch in Lynchburg. Going to church on those Sundays is always a challenge. This particular week, I was also taking care of a friend’s cat off of Westover Drive, so I knew I would also have to be in that direction before heading out of town. Through the process of elimination, I decided to visit Westover Baptist Church (home of Westover Christian Academy) since their service started at 10:15am. I was happy to see that their Facebook page and website had updated information, including worship service times. (You would not believe how many churches do not have this…) 

Pulling into the parking lot, I saw very clearly that they had visitor parking up front. They also had signs pointing to the service and to the church office. This is so helpful as a visitor. However, their sign outside the church did not have their service times posted. Their front doors were open with greeters ready to welcome and hand me a bulletin. I walked into the sanctuary and it became obvious that Vacation Bible School must be around the corner, as there was a huge farm backdrop behind the pulpit! The church had fewer people than I expected them to have, but they had a great range of ages present! Lots of children filled the room. LOVE seeing that! 

The service started with announcements by their pastor, followed by songs led by their worship team. They really did focus a lot on it being Father’s Day. They even did a hat giveaway for all the dads there. Here is where my first soapbox moment starts… First, y’all know that I strive to not be a church critic. But, when things are done that I find to be hurtful, even if not hurtful to me, I do get upset. Each time that someone got up to speak or sing, they said “Happy Father’s Day” and gave shout outs to all of the dads. But there was never a moment where they highlighted people who were step-dads, those that are father figures to others, or those that dream of becoming a dad. Nothing. When I went to Union Church on Mother’s Day, they told everyone “Happy Mother’s Day”, and explained that you can be a “mother” to someone without having to give birth. They mentioned aunts, grandmothers, etc. Now, I know that this is not everyone’s view, but I felt that this was a missed moment for Westover. If I was a step-dad or a man struggling to conceive with my partner I would have felt left out. 

The sermon was entitled “A First-Rate Father”, and was based on Job 1:1-5. Now, those close to me should know that the book of Job is my favorite book in the Bible, and that I know it almost word for word. Job was an amazing Father and one that men should look up to and study. His message itself was great. The pastor made a point to mention that typically on Mother’s Day everyone preaches about how great and important our mothers are, but on Father’s Day they talk about how they need to be better and do more. I hadn’t thought about it like that before, but he was right… that is often the case which is sad. 

As he closed the message, he made a statement that I would soon have to re-listen to on their Facebook page to be SURE that I heard it correctly.  This brings me to my second soap box moment… After he wrapped up how great of a dad Job was, he went on to talk about how we as Christians are called to honor our parents… And that “No matter how abusive – how evil – or how ugly your dad was” you still honor them because that’s what God has called us to do…. Umm, WHAT?!?!?!?! Does the Bible say to honor our parents? Yes. Does it say to only honor the good ones? No. However, if your parents were abusive to you in any way – do you think that God wants you to reopen that trauma? Not my God… You may disagree with me on this and that is fine, this is my view. I hope and pray that he had diarrhea of the mouth and just didn’t use the correct words or lacked the discernment to explain himself a bit better. I will say that after that statement – which was in the last 3 minutes of their Facebook live taping,  if you would like to hear it for yourself – I left at the start of the final hymn.

I will say that an usher approached my car as I was leaving and thanked me for coming.  He sincerely hoped that I would come back to visit and pick up a welcome packet. I hope I run into him around town soon – so I can thank him for reaching out to me, and that it will be no fault of his – as to why I will not be coming back. 

I will close with this… If the things that bothered me do not bother you… I think that this church could be a great fit for you. And I am not saying that in a sarcastic way at all. They do seem more family friendly and laid back than other Southern Baptist Churches that I have visited. They also have a preschool through 12th grade school attached- which is pretty cool.