Frustratingly, I recently overslept and missed Sunday school class and the worship service. Fortunately, I am not the pastor and had no responsibilities to teach that morning. I glanced at the clock and knew I could make it to an 11 a.m. service if I could find one that started at that time. I landed at Lighthouse Church near Flintridge in Colorado Springs and had a wonderful time. I was not aiming for a church in my particular denomination. Simply, I wanted an opportunity to be with other people worshipping and celebrating Jesus Christ. I am greatly encouraged when I go to church as it helps my week off start off great. As Sunday is the first day of the week, it sets the tone for the other six days.

Bible study and fellowship are crucial to the Christian life. In restaurants around your city or town you will find people meeting with each other to study the Bible and spend time together. I highly recommend doing the same. When I am in Colorado Springs, I meet nearly every Friday with my best friend for Bible study and breakfast. That has been our practice since late 2007. When I am in Naples, Florida I meet on Tuesdays with some guys who come from a conservative tradition quite different from my own. I ran into them in the aftermath of COVID when I put a note on the Naples Facebook page asking if anyone knew of any such Bible study. They were the first to respond and welcomed me into their prayer group. They will likely never ask me to preach because of their distinctions, but that’s not a problem because we all love Jesus Christ.

Yet, on Thursdays I have breakfast with some guys who are more charismatic in their beliefs and faith. My truck needed repairs and I had dropped it by a local garage chain near a local breakfast eatery. I was about to arrange for an Uber to take me to work when I heard someone behind me say something about the Lord. I introduced myself, selfishly hoping for a ride to the hospital I worked at and was pleased when the conversation turned in that direction. One guy gave me the needed lift and as we left, they invited me to join them anytime. I think they were surprised when I returned the following week.

Meeting with different flavors of Christianity is not to say I don’t have specific beliefs I have garnered from scripture. In fact, I am a strong adherent to the Berean form of Bible study. The Bereans were actually commended in Acts 17:11 for being more noble than the Thessalonians because the Bereans searched the scriptures to see if things taught were indeed true. They didn’t just accept ‘willy-nilly’ everything their preacher said or because their denomination clings to a certain ideology. I have known people who leave a denomination because they started reading their Bible for the first time and found disconnects in what they were being taught.

I jokingly describe myself as a ‘Heinz 57 Christian’; a throwback to when Heinz sold 57 varieties of products. My ability to move among diverse faith groups comes from years in radio where I would be invited to speak at different types of churches by my listeners. I grew to appreciate Pentecostals and charismatics for their vibrant worship before the Lord while admiring the more evangelical denominations for their love of evangelism. Although I can worship across the spectrum of Christianity, I firmly hold to beliefs I have learned through God’s word. With my devotion to the Bible, I am not afraid to throw a wrench into the middle of commonly held paradigms regarding theology. If you want to have some real fun…ask your clergyman why in John 2:13 when the Passover was ‘at hand’ the phrase meant ‘imminent’, yet when ‘at hand’ appears in Revelation 22:10 modern preachers say it means 2,000 years later. You will have to let me know if your pastor’s first word is ‘hmmm…’.

—

Tony “T-Bar” Barnes is a 28-year veteran of the Marine Corps and Air Force. He is also retired from the Department of Veteran Affairs and can be reached at tbarnugget@yahoo.com