Many of the teachings in the church and in society today are blatantly contradictory, but we often fail to see the contradictions.  That is because we have become conditioned to accept that which is wrong as somehow acceptable, even when it contradicts what we know to be right.

We Are Pro-Life and Pro War

You cannot be pro-life and be pro war.  War kills people.  Therefore, this is not so much a myth as a blatant lie.  People who advocate war are not pro-life, regardless of their views on abortion.

You Must Obey Our Authority, But We Are An Independent Church

It can be dangerous to place yourself under authority to organizations that do not answer to engaged authority.  Non-Denomination churches, or churches with weak oversight (i.e. our “Covering Bishop” lives 1000 miles away) are an invitation to abuse of authority.  There are organizations specifically incorporated to provide accountability to churches.  If a church is not a member of one, then they are inviting abuse.

We Believe In The Inerrancy of the Bible, But Our Pastor Is Divorced

Churches that state that they believe that the Bible is true, but do things that openly contradict Paul’s teachings (like allowed Divorced individuals to lead congregations), have not made the Bible their standard.

Salvation Is Free, But Now You Must Get To Work!

Churches that insist that people in their congregations work, are sending the message that salvation is by works.  And the more involved in the church the better!  The early church model was for people to work out of a sense of community.  Not under compulsion to assure their entrance into Heaven.  The early church instituted the office of the Deacon to ensure that the widows were fed.  However, most perform administrative duties today.

Our Pastor Has A Servant’s Heart, But He Is Too Busy To Meet With You

Jesus said that those who would be greatest among us, must be servants of all.  However, in many modern Megachurches, the Pastor functions as a CEO Manager.  Too busy to meet with anyone outside of the board, local politicians, or ministry heads.  Recently, my attempts to meet up with one of the covering ministers failed.  I gave up on meeting with a Deacon, even though I had done work for him.  They were all just too busy for a 1/2 hour meeting.

Obey Your Boss, Since He Is Your Authority, But Respect for Workers Rights Is Not Something We Teach

Many churches teach authority as a one way street.  That is, we must obey our bosses, but there is nothing in the Bible that says they have to treat us well.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Jesus constantly berated the Pharisees for taking advantage of the poor.  Malachi wrote that God was going to judge Israel in part for its oppression of workers (Malachi 3:5). Jesus stated that His whole mission centered around bringing the Gospel to the poor (Isaiah 61).

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