"Instead of sending proven and mature Christians transferring from other churches back into their called harvest field or the battlefield, the corporate/MLM church "reprogrammed" these people into their theologies and methodologies before allowing these people to minister while needy people spirtually died. We had to reprogram transferred Christians into our denomination's mode of thinking before we considered them saved. Even though Jesus already saved them. It is like sending Christ back to the Cross twice for something He had to die once for. We make these people go to "new membership classes" to instill our denomination's belief more than the Bible. We make them go to "seminars" to learn how to evangelize, or spiritual warfare before we recognize their gifts as evangelists or warriors. Many times, in these well intentioned programs, the requirements to be considered ready to operate in this Spiritual Gift take so long that the people we need to minister that imparted gift to are already spiritually wounded or dead. We have lost time, we have lost souls."

We have done this numerous times in the church of today. In fact, refusing to go through the "red tape" in order to perform "ministry" is seen as "rebellion" and being "unsubmissive". Many churches today see people with webpage ministries like this one and parachurch organizations as being unsubmissive and full of rebellion. Why is it when we hear of a Christian ministry and see the good fruit in work and action, we meet the leaders and ask "What denomination are you?". Who are we serving, the corporate ministry, denomination, or God Almighty? Are our definition and standards of Christians defined by the Bible or the mandate from corporate church headquarters? Are we a pentecostal, charismatic, or are we Christian by faith?

I despise the label of denominations. These labels mean someting to the Christian, but at the same time, mean nothing to the rest of the world. When the world refers to us, they refer to all denominations collectively as Christians. Whether the response is good ("the Christians fed the hungry on the streets today") or bad ("the Christians bombed an abortion clinic 'in the name of God' again") all denominations are seen by the world as "The Christians" and we Christians cannot view ourselves this way because of our petty differences and our denominations. Therefore, when I am asked this question, I respond "I am Christian". In fact, if Christians had to perform the same observations as the secular world to the statements mentioned earlier, you would see such responses such as "The Baptists fed the hungry on the streets today" and "The scriptually off base group 'The Army of God' bombed an abortion clinic 'in the name of God' again." (Note: I am not!! endorsing "The Army of God". I find their actions such as bombing abortion clinics as disgusting and unchristian in nature). It's tragic when the unsaved can easily see us as one collective and cohesive group of people and we Christians see ourselves as a divided and incohesive group of constantly warring tribal factions similar to those who run rampant in undeveloped third-world nations today.

Unfortunately, many Christians are actually trying to save people with the "Southern Gospel", or any other Gospel that exhibits more characteristics of man's beliefs from denomination headquarters besides the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I personally have been in many a Perkins, Dennys, Kettles, and Waffle Houses late at night after a long, stressful, and tiring day at work trying to unwind the workday. I finally sit down at the table, place my order and behold:

A evangelist comes over "in the name of God" to your table either in clothes from the seventies (because those clothes from the seventies are not of the world, therefore they are from God) or it's usually the Southern Gospel Church of God Singing group with their three piece suits identical and their identical floral print dresses with their kids dressed exactly like the adults, same suit and / or floral print pattern dresses made from the materials and patterns sold in the crafts and cloth department at Wal-Mart waiting for you to acknowledge them. In fact, you feel rudely interrupted as they shove a big gospel tract between you and your plate and says, "Son, do ya know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Hallelujah bless God (usually with Southern dialect)."

You are already shocked as they did not have the decency to say "excuse me". You are already shocked as your projected peaceful meal is now rudely interrupted while you try to unwind the stresses of the long, hard day. You respond to the group that "You do know Jesus as your personal Savior". Meanwhile, these people are not convinced that you are really saved and that you are trying to avoid them (actually, they believe that you are avoiding God Almighty himself). They ask you what church you attend. If the answer does not correlate with their denomination, they use their flawed theology taught to them by their church to judge you and do everything to imply that you are a liar without outright calling you a liar and try to "re-evangelize" you to their Gospel and not THE GOSPEL because if you don't go to their church or a church of a similar theology base, YOU DONT GO TO A REAL CHURCH, PERIOD. YOU ARE NOT SAVED AND YOU ARE ON THE ROAD TO HELL.

Then the group leaves to go back to their table after unsuccessfully "re-evangelizing" you. You look at their table and see them laugh it up and get real loud and disruptive ruining every customer's casual dining experience with their boisterous stories about sister so-and-so swinging from the chandeliers when the McKamey's Southern Gospel classic "The God on The Mountain is still God in the Valley" was sung, their testimony of what God did for them back in 1972, and their "the poorer, the purer" or "the fewer, the purer" theologies, eat way too much, make a big mess, treat the waitress rudely while they attempt to evangelize or re-evangelize her, leave a menial tip if she's saved to teach her servantute and humility or if she is not saved, don't leave a tip but leave a gospel tract and then complain to the manager that the service was bad and get a free meal next time. Of course they have the right to do this because their denomination has convinced them that they're a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation and a peculiar people. They're king's kids, heirs of God and joint-heirs of Christ. To disagree with them is to touch the anointed, and doing the prophets harm. It get's worse when their kids run rambunctious in the restarunt almost causing the waitresses to drop another customer's food off their serving trays. Their kids disturb you while you are eating. You approach the parents about the problem tactfully about the children and you get told that King's Kids speech about their children and that you are the problem, whoremonger, and not their God fearing kids.

They walk outside, thank God for their "blessing" of a free meal and his act of justice, start the "ronda-konda-shonda", get in their Devilles, Town Cars, and their customized vans, and repeat the same cyclic pattern of inappropriate behaviors next week. The other customers are thinking "If this is what a Christian is, I want no part of this." The re-evangelists, think "Better luck, next time, and Bless God, we are being persecuted in His name as this world becomes more and more reprobate. That means you're coming back soon and we must try more harder, ruder, and forceful to re-evangelize the Christians not in our church and evangelize the sinners."

Click Here for part two of Red Blood or Red Tape.