Donna.... perhaps your experiences with Methodists are a part of are somehow more open-minded than the Pentecostals I have experienced. If so, I am glad to hear it.
My experience has been that most things outside of Pentecostal or Full Gospel cutlural or control were treated as competetive philosophies and that we didnt need them.
Frankly, it felt like CONFORMITY was the goal rather than TRUTH SEEKING. Truth was already a foregone conclusion... "God as our Pentecostal Culture has defined him". Which I suppose is a natural thing to do. However, to me it felt quite protectionistic of their own way of seeing things.
For someone to discover God through any other avenue was met with some manner of resistance and treated with some manner of skepticism. The only way to discover God and interact with him that was felt fully endorsed and accepted was through one of the Pentecostal outreaches or efforts.
Again, it felt that protectionistic in a way that stated that if something outside our culture is right, we may be wrong so lets just limit outside influences.
I suppose the one thing that stands out the most is recovery from drugs and alcohol. The Pentecostals are tightly connected to a particular "Recovery Program". It is based on Pentecostal Doctrine and has its roots in the Pentecostal Church.
They tout it as a "Cure for the Drug Problem" and boast a success rate that is astronomical. Yet, as an insider on a more than one experience with this organization, the success rate is a gross misrepresentation. It may at one point or in certain circumstances exist, but in the three first-hand experiences I had with this organization , it was inaccurate to say the least.
This "Recovery Program" also bad-mouthed and invalidated any other approach to recovery from substance abuse.... belittled is the better word. Yet, I observed from the inside all kinds of cover-ups and posturing for appearance sake that were ridiculous.
I observed drug use inside their facility. I observed lies to legal authorities by the leadership. Yet, the "students" of the program are paraded regularly in the front rows on Sunday services at the local supporting Pentecostal Churches (usually Mega-Churches).... presumably so clean-living middle-class suburbanite church members can see what a wonderful job their church family is doing to reach out to the wretched of society... and of course.... there is the "Fundraising" aspect to it as well.... these Pentecostal Mega-Churches fund the local "Recovery Centres".... few have any idea what really goes on... they just believe what is represented to them and consciences are apeased.
I heard plainly stated by a leader that if a student does not "Accept Jesus" in the first 2 months, they are released from the program. So then the goal is not really to help people recover from drugs and alcohol is it? It is to make converts. Kinda "conditional outreach". Like a soup kitchen feeding people only if they become Christians.
Yet recovery any way other than through their program is belittled? So the interest is not in the person's wellbeing, it is in the persons conformity.
So perhaps this gives you a window on my experiences and biases. This is just one of a few circumstances that I have experienced over the years. I won't even start on some of the Pentecostal perspectives on mental/emotional health I have experienced.
Perhaps the Mega-Machine gets running to fast and has such momentum that those involved are incapable of steering it... it gets out of control... and to deal with it, people begin to flail and make excuses and cover ups because there is no face-saving way to say.... "Oh sh!t, we are out of control". So the posturing, excuses and cover-ups continue all the more.
Anyway.... I am refreshed to hear that your Church experience is positive, open-minded and authentic. That is what I believe the church originally was and who Jesus was.
I guess once reputation, power, influence, and material assets get involved, it tends to taint people. That is my take on where churches end up going in the scenario I describe.
"Let God be true though every man be false".... I suppose is appropriate scripture for what I am referring to. Then again, there but by the grace of God go I.
