Getting To Know Me Through Stories About Stories- What? Really?

A subscription to Storyworth was a gift from one of my daughters. I had no idea what it was but quickly realized what a great gift it is. I use IS because it is a never-ending gift. You write stories from the questions presented and when the year ends, they are printed in a book. How cool is that?

I recently penned a story about a kitchen disaster and another about learning to drive. When one is the ripe old age of seventy-five with children in their forties and fifties it may be time for them to get to know you.

Many of my blog posts are about my life experiences. Some share my traumas, some share my faith, but all share the real live ME.

One story I have never really shared is how the spiritual me has changed in the past few years. Growing up in the independent Christian Church, my foundation is conservative. My legalism has been erased through freedom in Jesus that I experienced several years ago. On rare occasion legalism will peak around the corner but when quickly recognized I put it back in the cornerstone of the Restoration Movement. You may not understand what I mean and that is understandable. Afterall most of us Christian Church preacher’s kids grew up under a God of love who was quick to punish, a God who demanded you feel guilty for thinking anything or anyway other than the “Christians Only” dogma, a God who had a checklist marking all your mis-steps. In other words, we grew up under the contradictory philosophy and double bind message of fear, guilt, and punishment from a God of Love. What? Really? Seriously that makes zero sense to me when I read God is love and God forgives. When I read God made everything for our pleasure, God desires for us to have abundant life, God is faithful and just to forgive makes it difficult to believe HE, GOD IS OUT TO GET US!

I remember growing up my dad debating for hours and hours and sometimes weeks about whether God would allow you to worship using a piano in the church. What? Really? I remember my mother being baptized again because an evangelist told her since her baptism was in a Baptist church she was baptized into the church and not for the forgiveness of sins. What? Really? I remember a church battle when bread was served for communion instead of unleavened bread. What? Really? I remember when grape Kool Aid was served for communion instead of Welch’s grape juice and the outrage of the church people. What? Really? I remember debates on terminology used describing communion like “elements, sacraments” which was contrary to the church terminology and judged as heretical. What? Really? I remember a baptismal service where a lady wore a shower cap so she would not get her hair wet. I truly wept thinking she would die and go to hell for not being totally immersed. What? Really? I remember story after story of ridiculous legalistic events and judgements.

Recently I had a phone call from a retired preacher who now serves as an Elder in the congregation where he once pastored. (by the way, in the Christian church we used preacher or minister and never pastor or reverend) His phone call was about the church searching for a new minister. The Elders were doing their due diligence to check reputations and backgrounds of candidates and listening to online messages. One of the preachers seemed to be a perfect fit but one of the Elders said he listened to one of his sermons online and would not recommend they hire this candidate. WHY? Because in his sermon he did not read from The Holy Bible, The King James Version. He read from a different translation and referenced a paraphrased version of the Bible. What? Really? Other versions of the Bible and paraphrased versions of the scriptures speak in the language people today can understand. All translations of the scriptures from the Hebrew or Greek were subjected to interpretation by men of words which did not have descriptive English words.

I could go on and on about the inconsistencies of religion in our western world knowing that Jesus only condemned the religious of His day and lifted up the broken, forgave messed up people and healed the sick.

The above stories sound like I am being critical of the church in which I was raised. I am. I have prayed for God to help me unlearn all the rotten stuff I had learned and teach me what He wanted me to know and yet be able to keep all the truth and good stuff I had learned. You know, like separating the chaff. I also love and appreciate the foundation stones I have from the church. I learned to read the Bible, to love God and trust in Jesus as my Savior. One cannot go wrong with those teachings. I learned teachings of Jesus. I taught children and teenagers the stories of Biblical heroes from the Old and New Testament. I led worship and praised Jesus. I can never discount or erase the good I have in my life because of the church. My children are who they are today because of the church. The foundation stones have helped me step up into a broader perspective of WHO God is and find comfort in His everlasting love.

There is an old story I heard years ago that relates to my memories of Dad debating about a piano in the church. The non-instrumental Church of Christ baptizes by immersion, has communion every Lord’s Day, does not allow women to have any role other than teach children, does not allow worship with a piano or other instruments. The independent Christian Church allows a piano and other instruments during worship. So, the story goes. A church was in conflict over whether to have a piano in the building or not to have a piano in the building. One Sunday they came into the building for their service and the piano was gone. No one seemed to know where it was. They sang acapella. People were fighting among themselves for weeks and weeks. Where was the piano? Who took it? Week after week the preacher preached, they sang acapella, they offered an invitation hymn. The invitation hymn was for sinners to come forward and repent and be baptized. Week after week they continued the same order of worship. Six months had passed, and one church lady was cleaning the church. She found the piano. Where was it? In the baptistry.

This is a FUNNY GRAM! Every time I heard that story I laughed with a belly laugh. Those people totally lost sight of the message of Jesus. Fighting over whether they would go to hell over a piano being in their services was more important than teaching people about the love of Jesus and His heart for them to spend forever with Him. Today drafting this story my belly laugh is gone! This is nothing to laugh about. It is not funny. It is beyond the realm of SAD and falls into a category of What? Really?

What? Really? Those questions are specific questions of explanation, of confusion, of controversy, of unbelievable, of you have got to be kidding me.

So goes the story. I will choose the story of “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.” I will worship in my living room alone or with my hubby, praying and basking in the presence of Holy Spirit and breaking bread with my neighbors and family who love Trinity! Following the WAY of Jesus by being kind, being generous, being merciful, being loving, being forgiving all melt away the guilt and fear of punishment. Now that is truly something to smile about and be happy about! By the way, I have a piano in my living room which is my worship center. My audience is one, my Creator. My applause comes from His heart. Funny Gram to you for a day knowing how much God loves you! “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”

Janie Roberts Davis 07/13/2025