Snake Handlers in the Attic

Around 1910, George Went Hensley, a young preacher in the Church of God, started the practice of snake handling. Using Mark 16 as his text he started preaching that Jesus wanted his followers to pick up serpents as a sign of their belief. In the 1920's the church condemned the practice of snake handling, and Hensley left to found the Church of God with Signs Following. Surprisingly enough, George Went Hensley died in 1955, after being bit by a rattle snake.

What caused this practice? I don't know. I think that the church, particularly the Pentecostal church, has a history of attracting people from the fringes of society, and the outskirts of sanity. A pastor I know used to always say that "the brighter the light, the more bugs you attract." I do not deny this is true, but I think it is irresponsible to simply say that if crazy people are attracted to our doctrine that must make it right. Bugs are also attracted to crap.

Snake handling is an extreme example of what happens with a strict adherence to a literal interpretation of the Bible. This is nothing new, of course. Origen, in the third century, is said to have castrated himself based upon the scripture found in Matthew 19:12. I know many people who claim to be fundamentalists, but I don't know a single person who has taken this scripture as a literal commandment. I don’t even know of very many people who take Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek, or pray for one’s enemies literally. I do, however, know an awful lot of people who insist on a literal interpretation of the Book of Revelation! On a side note, I've always thought it was funny that fundamentalist believers are the least likely to believe in transubstantiation. I mean, didn't Jesus say, "This is my body?" What happened to "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it?"

When I am studying scripture, I find it easy to lose sight of the larger narrative if I am not careful. We all do this to a degree, but without care we can turn our small interpretation into a doctrine that becomes counterintuitive to the big picture. We then lose our sense of balance, lose sight of the full gospel that our Full Gospel churches claim to preach. All of a sudden the focus is on hell, or tongues, or blessing, or divine favor, or maybe even the handling of snakes.

I think there are a lot of instances in the church today where we have misused God's word to create doctrines that are dangerous. Some claim to be able to control God through the use of tithes and offerings. Some claim that America is God's favored nation and that we as Christians are supposed to pass legislation to make non-Christians act right. Some preach that we need to work harder, live better, to earn our way into heaven. There are a lot of false teachings out there, and each and every one, eventually, is as deadly as a snake-bite.

Raymond Culpepper on Change...He loved it...He hates it...It's here.

Raymond Culpepper, General Overseer of the Church of God, recently released a Missional Message for the church. If you are interested you can watch it here: http://www.churchofgod.org/.

I have been thinking about it, and I have to say that, in part, I am excited. I also have to say, as usual, that I am skeptical. In fact, I think that I should warn you that I suffer from a bit of multiple personality disorder. The me that is an upstanding third generation church member and Sunday school teacher is often in disagreement with the me that is a left-of-center postmoderny hippie type, and both have distinctive reactions to this message. I will give a brief overview of Dr. Culpepper's message, and a good dose of unqualified commentary from each of my personalities. So, here we go:

“You know, I'm tired of hearing the word change.” This is his first sentence in a message about change. Sheesh...(This sheesh brought to you by the postmoderny hippie).

He says that change is an unstoppable force, and in itself, is neither good nor bad. In a wave of nostalgia he recalls that change was a friend to the Church of God during the twentieth century. He speaks about the Pentecostal outpouring during the first half of the century, the overflow from the Charismatic Renewal, and the blessing that came from the economic prosperity in the last part of the century.

(By the way, the postmoderny hippie wants me to tell you that the Pentecostal church of the early 20th century also gave birth to snake-handling, and that the economic prosperity of the late 20th century led to the propagation of the false Prosperity Gospel. Good times.)

To sum up his introductory statement, change was good, but now it's scary. The world is not the same, he says. “The tide of good times is over. The age of Christendom, born with Constantine in 313 A.D gasped for air and died.” I'm guessing he's a glass half empty kind of guy.


“Once upon a time, change was our friend," he says. "Now it is our summons to transformation.” (The Sunday School Teacher is looking around to make sure that the old people are listening.)

Dr. Culpepper brings out four facts that are the anchor points of his message.
1.The Church of God is not alone in a changing world. Every major church organization seems to be struggling against the current. Churches are downsizing, having to choose between ministers and mortgages. The words emergent and mosaic are 'hot'. The message of the gospel is being dumbed down.

2.God has not changed. God's purpose for us has not been fully realized or actualized. We have a multi ethnic, multi linguistic, trans generational transcultural commission. God has not changed his purpose or his mind.

3.The response to change is our choice. There is a normal cycle of growth and decline, therefore it is not a time to panic. We cannot deal with the problems we have by saying “ready, fire, aim,” nor can we deal with our problems by saying “ready, aim, aim, aim...” We must take prayerful, wise, deliberate action. We must think holistically; how will our actions affect the entire church? We must create a preferred future, remembering that our actions are dependent on God. We need miracles.

4.The Church of God will make a strategic difference. The church is filled with many capable leaders. Throughout the church leaders form a circle of God's favor and trust. Leaders are those who, when circumstances present themselves, rise to the occasion.

Dr. Culpepper wraps up his message by committing himself to the transformation of the Church of God into a 21st century missional movement. “The mission of the church,” he says, “is not just the great commission, but the greatest commission, the only enduring commission.” (The Sunday School teacher in me is really pumped up. Maybe my other personality will get saved.)


“May every church be a missions outpost, every pastor and member a missionary to post modernity,” he says. “The world is waiting. We have a mission.” (For once, both sides agree.)

One.

The preacher approached the microphone, sweat beading off his forehead. His face was set in a sort of sneer as he gripped the edges of the pulpit and began to scream. "You're supposed to be a Pentecostal church" he said, "But you worship like a bunch of Methodists!" The sermons I was used to hearing were accompanied by loud shouts of agreement, like “Amen!” “Hallelujah!” or “Preach it!” This day, however the sermon was accompanied by stony silence. How dare that man call us Methodists!

Growing up in the Church of God, I, like other kids, had learned to use the names of other denominations as insults. Those who didn't participate in church were deemed to be "back-row Baptists." People often said things like "I used to be Catholic, but now I'm a Christian," or "did you know that the pope is going to be the Anti-Christ?" I suppose I recognized that other denominations were technically Christian, but I knew that the heaven for Church of God people was a little better than the heaven for Presbyterians. It's funny, but I was never really led to think much about the one, holy, catholic (little 'c') church.

Then one day I noticed something. I was reading in the Book of John, and I noticed Jesus' final prayer for His disciples before being crucified. It takes place in chapter 17.

20. "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21. that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.

22. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; 23. I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

Jesus wants us to be one! I realized as I was reading this that Jesus, in this prayer to His father, was summing up His earthly ministry in one idea: unity.

I am a protestant. I like to protest. As an American I come by this trait honestly. However, as I examine my heart I realize that Christ has called us to something more. We like to stand on our rights, but Christ is calling us to stand on His love. We like to get our own way, but Christ is calling us to fight for His way (even when it means turning the other cheek). He calls us to be one as He and the Father are one. Then He goes to the cross and gives us the means by which to accomplish this impossible task of unity: grace. It is time for us to reach beyond denominational boundaries and our petty disagreements and do the work that Christ called us to do.

God, teach me to forgive as I have been forgiven. Teach me to love others the way You have loved me. Cause us to be One. Amen.

The Beginning of the Journey

So, I guess I will start by saying the my name is Darrell, and I am a Christian.

That sounds a little too much like AA, but I'm gonna stick with it.

I grew up in church. From the time I was born until now I have hardly ever missed a Sunday. As a teenager I participated in christian T-shirt day and got in theological debates with my Baptist friends. (As a pentecostal I had been taught that they "don't believe in the Holy Ghost.") In short I was an insufferable goody-two-shoes and thought I knew everything about God. That's kind of why I'm starting this blog today.

As I have grown up I have come to realize that the concept of denominations is not a Biblical concept. Nowhere in scripture is our current mania of splitting the body of Christ condoned. I no longer want to represent that type of Christianity. I am tired of the smallness of it all!

I am going to attempt to use this blog to trace my way back to the early church in the book of Acts. I want to examine the theological beliefs of traditions other than my own and embrace a more accurate picture of who Jesus really is. I want to get a clear idea of what it means to be the Church.

I realize that I'm biting off more than I can possibly chew. I know that I'm going to be dealing with arguments people ten times as smart as me haven't solved. I don't really expect to resolve anything except within myself.

But that is where change begins.