I had to leave because I was exhausted and because my beliefs
changed. But I didn’t leave because people were mean to me.
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| Idabel FUMC, photo by David Mercer |
At some point, I want to discuss the unhealthy
dynamics of religious culture, but first I want to speak of the last church I
served before I left ministry. Plenty of
churches behave poorly in extreme times, and I’m sorry to say that it’s quite
true that they “shoot their wounded.” But the church in Idabel was different. When I got divorced, people expressed their
love for both me and my ex-wife, which is unusual. When I told them I needed to
leave the ministry, they were kind and generous.
We weren’t perfect in our church.
We had our conflicts. But we did
good work together. And when I needed it
most, they were there for me.
I will always love the First United Methodist Church of
Idabel, OK.
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