Church of the Undignified

IS THIS A CULT?. I seriously wonder if this place is a cult. The people are extremely nice; that’s why I gave it 2 stars. But the church leadership acts rather strange. This past Sunday, the message focused on the evils of “complaining” and “arguing”. This is something I’ve never heard preached from a pulpit, in many years and with many churches. It feels like the leadership wants to stop anyone from ever saying anything that they don’t want to hear. I don’t remember anything in the Bible about the evils of complaining or arguing…it’s as if the pastor’s personal convenience is more important than proper church doctrine. What next…the evils of disagreeing?

About a year ago, some guy was thrown out of the church, apparently just for asking questions. This seems to be part of a general pattern of intolerance. Maybe this is why everyone is so nice: maybe they’re afraid of being ostracized, if they ever say anything that’s considered unacceptable. That’s enough to make it seem cult-like to me.

Another odd aspect of this church is the exceptional emphasis on miracles. Nearly every Sunday, there’s talk of some remarkable occurrence in some remote corner of the world: miraculous healings, miraculous occurrences, and even folks being raised from the dead. These would be fine things, if there were any sort of corroborating source…newspaper article, medical report, anything. It’s almost as if the Christian faith is something found only in the sensational tabloids: “BAT-BOY BORN IN THE MOUNTAINS OF ROMANIA!!!” These things always seem to happen in places so far away, in such out-of-the-way places that it’s impossible to confirm them. I don’t think such fantastical stories should be the basis of one’s faith.

In short, I don’t think this is the best place to grow as a Christian. Growing into maturity requires freedom from fear, and I have serious doubts about finding it here.…

shallow, superficial. The Church of the Undignified can be a great place if you're in a party mood. But if your needs run deeper than skin level, then it has serious deficiencies. The "healing" process tends to be a quick procedure, with virtually no follow up. The amount of actual involvement of the church leaders in the lives of parishoners is very small.

It's a little like a restaurant that only serves cake and ice cream--lively celebrations, without much going on behind the facade. In spite of the fact that it's a rather small group, a person can still get lost there. I didn't feel that I was heard there, and my needs went unmet.…

Real people serving a real God. I first came to Church of the Undignified in March of 2005. What first struck me about it was that everyone seemed to be genuinely in love with Jesus. I knew this wasn't only a Sunday thing for them. People were tremendously loving and welcoming to me, even though we'd just met. As I've continued to be a part of this church, that sense of community, friendship and family has only grown stronger.

Even more significantly, I've really felt like God is present among this fellowship in a powerful way, and that presence is often tangible and observable. Specifically, in addition to the love and acceptance, divinely inspired words are common, as well as the healing of sickness and emotional trauma. Dancing, poetry and art are all welcome forms of worship and celebration, in addition to singing and playing music.

The teaching is relevant and insightful, Biblically based, and encouraging. Messages are delivered with humility and gentleness, and often include opportunities for participation and dialog.

CitySearch won't let me include links, but if you search "Church of the Undignified", you can find the church website, as well as a recent magazine article about the church in Holiness Today, which offers the perspective of someone not directly involved in the group.…