Ramblings as I Chug Along . . .

Good morning, all!! Hope you're doing well and your day is blessed. . . . I have been missing our rambling chats so thought I'd share today . . . I really am hoping to participate in "Stream of Conscience Saturday" #SOCS as well as simply rambling any day I feel like chatting ..  .

Hey, been praying/thinking a lot about church. It is so important to be in the right place for wholesome teaching that lines up with the Word.  . . I once had a pastor, Kevin Comfort, who carefully advised the congregation on a regular basis to never just take his word about what the Bible says or it's meaning. He heartily encouraged us to each 

🙏take notes during sermons/teaching 

🙏look up each verse at home 

🙏then read the entire chapter to make sure it wasn't taken out of context 

🙏ask God for discernment 

This remarkable pastor actually encouraged us to question his teaching!! He knew that, by doing this, he asked us to hold him accountable for leading us responsibly and he had us in the Word and praying more. He created an atmosphere of trust and further Bible study. 

I have had other pastors who felt we'd better accept their teaching as the final say on what's correct and never ever double-check it much less ask about contradictions. To me that's scary. 

We are all human, pastors included. 

We all make mistakes. 

If I, for example, look up a topic in my Bible it will point me to specific verses. This is all well and good, but, when taken in the context of the entire chapter it may very well have an entirely different meaning. 

Taking a verse out of context and using it to prove a point is twisting the Word of God. 

That's dangerous!! 

Then there was Pastor Frank L. Wallace who has such in-depth Bible knowledge and took us verse by verse through the Bible making sure we thoroughly understood. He also expected us to come to Bible classes with questions. He told us that if we didn't come in with questions he knew we hadn't been reading our Bibles!! It was so nice to be able to write down any questions and arrive at church anticipating thorough answers. I can truly say I learned more there than anywhere else so far. And, yes, every now and then he made a mistake and would come to Bible class, admit the error and fix it! Now, that's a man of God who can admit mistakes publicly!! 
So, where are we for church right now? 
Good question . . 
Both of those churches are in Joliet, Illinois and Matt and I now live in Toledo, Ohio . . 
Looking for a combination of Pastor Kevin Comfort and Pastor Wallace . . preferably an Apostolic or United Pentecostal Church . . 
And I've cut my hair and started wearing jeans so am starting over working on my  obedience issues . . need a church patient as we grow in Him!!