Detained at Fort Benning

By the time I arrived in Columbus, Georgia to pastor Evangel Church, Miss Aimie Hurston Loats had arrived at her eightieth year of life and was the sole remaining charter member. Still spry and active, Miss Aimie taught a children’s Sunday School class which she had done since 1934 and would continue to do until her death in 2004. At the time of her earthly departure following a tragic fall in her driveway she had been continuously teaching children for seventy years. 

Aimie was a living window into the past, allowing me to see what it meant to grow up in a Georgia Assemblies of God church. Her family was woven into the fabric of God’s work in the Southeastern U.S. and around the world. On one occasion as we sat together in my office, she felt compelled to tell me about an incident from her teenage years. Our church had a long history of relationship with Fort Benning which was located a short distance south of the church. During those days, in the mid to late 30’s, the church evangelism team would visit the base to speak to the soldiers and leave copies of the Pentecostal Evangel. 

On this visit Miss Aimie said they were going about reaching out to whomever would stop and listen when a big, uniformed MP rounded them all up into an empty room and locked them inside after telling them to remain in place. Mrs. Loats, a teenager at that time recalled a feeling of apprehension as they waited there. In short order a sergeant joined them and holding a copy of the Evangel, asked if they were “handing this out” on base. The church group’s leader said yes and that it was something they used to tell others about Jesus.

The officer responded by telling the group the army was aware of articles written there that were anti-war and unpatriotic in rhetoric. He then closed the door and left the room. They were in the room for nearly thirty minutes when an Army Captain looked through the glass door panel and recognized people, he attended church with. He immediately went to the officer involved in their detainment and asked that the group be released, all the while vouching for their love of country. That was my introduction to the fact that the AG had pacifist leanings during its first thirty to forty years of existence. During the first world war, it was classified by the United States government as a denomination which qualified to have its members listed as conscientious objectors and non-combative enlistees. From what Aimie could recall, the previous copy Evangel had featured an article that contained what appeared to them as anti- war sentiments. 

Later I recalled reading that many young men from AG churches were propelled into the Army by sermons revealing that Hitler was the Antichrist and Mussolini the false prophet who propelled him to power. They joined to literally fight against these evil forces physically as well as spiritually. Aimie’s story was my first exposure to the pacifist period of my fellowship’s history. By the time of my studies for ministry and subsequent ordination collective memory of that part of our history had been all but erased.  

 

Did You Enjoy the Worship Service?

 The first thing I encountered as I re-entered local church ministry was the lack of steady church attendance, which made gaining momentum nearly impossible. Growing from twenty into forty was so tricky! 

Jane and I planted our first church in a small SC town on July 4, 1976. It was just the two of us for a few months after the opening service. Gradually, people began to attend. Not many, mind you. We lived in a small town with no advertising budget, and both lived and worked jobs an hour away. But when they began to attend, they tended to be faithful. That was before "your best life now" and "bucket lists" became standard in the Christian experience. Heaven was a huge concern for even the young, and the steady pursuit of spiritual matters was easier.

The American church has long been on a downward spiral in attendance. COVID-19, which taught people it was not mandatory to be physically present for worship, and a cultural emphasis on individual journeys, has reduced regular attendees to a tiny fraction of the congregation. Of course, much of our preaching, which emphasizes finding your personalized dream journey, strengthens today's numbers only to weaken tomorrow as people search out the perfect church to help them realize who they are. So, the church's main occupation is assisting people to find what will make them happy. A common question asked after Sunday worship is, "Did you enjoy the service?" That is very telling.

Happiness is good, but in reducing everything to obtain it, what remains is a virulent self-ness that chokes out everything else. The pursuit of happiness is often run alone because it seeks its own. It leaves the seeker alone, while most are not hardwired to live solitary lives. You can see social media selfies, but they never feel the warmth of a lingering embrace. We need to belong. We need to feel necessary, even if that leads us through hardship and struggle. To disconnect from our community to be content is to invite boredom, depression, and death. From there, it is a short stumble toward suicide.

The Pulpit: Aiding and Abetting

And here's the thing. America's pulpits have joined the world's voices and are singing the same song. We lift our voices and add the word "real" to the much sought-after happiness. Whereas the world addresses each person's "authentic self," the pulpits of America join with "real authentic self." We want to Christianize the journey to true freedom by saying it's what you have been looking for and more! This strategy helps everyone find comfort as we all sing the same song and want the same thing. Everyone wants to be happy. The problem is that Jesus shows up but doesn't dance to that tune, leaving those seeking self-fulfillment hungry and having received enough of God to immunize them from more significant infection. How do we exit this maze?

Although the problem may seem small, what should we do?