Craziest Drama You've Experienced At Your Church?

[AnnaNymity]

...they made her stand up in front of the whole church and confess her sin.

I hope she ended her speech with, "The sex was AMAZING!"

 

Unfortunately, she didn't. She went on to become the poster girl for accountability

 

Awww, now THAT'S sad!

[AnnaNymity]

I worked for made the mistake of working for a Christian organization once. The manager once said to me, "I love you in the Lord, but I really don't like you at all."

 

Ah yes. Nothing like good Christian love.

 

OUCH! Ptooey! Talk about getting verbally slapped. How mean!

 

At a minimum, I would've verbally bitch-slapped him/her right back--but by going all multisyllabic intelligentsia on them, and using words that were rarely enough in use that they weren't absolutely certain that I had. Then, I would've thrown in a "god bless" or two. After all: turn about's fair play!

[JoshB0XX]

This wasn't in my church, but it's just as good. I used to go on mission trips every summer with this fabulous group known as Teen Mania. You may be familiar with their nation wide carnival of indoctrination, "Acquire the Fire." Anywho, another branch of their military is named Global Expedition, which sends horny, confused, and somewhat unwilling teenagers across the globe to win lives for the army of God. (with "adult" supervision of course) Now I also want to note, that these trips are not cheap, and most kids like me didn't have mommy and daddy's checkbook to get us there. So I, like many others, spent the majority of my school years doing personal fundraising, which ranged anywhere from exhausting to outright humiliating. I'm also pretty sure that Teen Mania pockets a lot of this money for the good man. Ron Luce I mean. (the founder)

 

Ok ok, I'll get on topic. So this particular incident, I was in Okinawa, Japan. We were staying in barracks on an Air Force base. Two of the kids I went with had been dating previously to the beginning of the trip. Since any kind of romance at all was a BV'able offense (getting sent home), they were told that they couldn't even speak to each other for an entire month. Literally pretending the other wasn't there. Well one afternoon, as we were having lunch, they were talking with me and a group, but also each other. Our Team Leaders walked in on the the offense and blew up. They caused the biggest shit fit, over kids talking about God. They hadn't even held hands in 3 weeks. So I mean they were doing a good job of keeping it to Teen Mania's standards, in my own humble opinion. After seriously trying to send these kids home, enough of us rallied together, along with some help back in the states, and kept them on the trip. They never acted the same after it though.

 

To top it off, the team leaders eventually got caught having sex or showering together or something like that. Nothing was done. Man I forgot about how much I hate Teen Mania.

[RedStar]

Well...

 

In the first church I went to the youth pastor/worship leader/kids church leader admitted that he was in love with a 12 year old girl. Not to the whole congregation, but we knew the girl's family. It wasn't a big church, and the pastor's wife ended up chasing just about everyone in the church away because she didn't like people. I was at a Christian school (I was about 15 at the time) with my group of friends (or so I thought), and I was telling them that I was frustrated with the music team I was on at church. Some weeks I had to learn how to play songs before the service because they changed things and they often didn't listen to me. I was going through a very difficult time and was struggling in my 'relationship' with god and I admitted that I hated my church.

 

My Mother ended up getting a call from our pastor saying that I had been bagging out the church and everything about it. The pastors's wife had found this out from the Mother of a 'friend' of mine. My Mother went to their house to sort it out and the pastor's wife tried to sweep it all under the rug. She then got angry at my Mother for swearing in her house (despite the fact that the pastor's wife herself had said shit at church before a service...one rule for everyone else and a different for her obviously!). That really pissed my Mother off so she left the house in a huff. She'd only wanted to know where this information had come from, so she asked the pastor over the phone who told her to speak to the Mother of one of my 'friends'. Guess what? She pretended she didn't know anything about it, probably to protect her daughter. We didn't stay at that church for much longer after that!

 

I attended a large Assemblies Of God church for 3 years, I loved their music and had many of their CDs. I love my new youth pastor, he was very friendly (or so I thought) and always had a hug for everyone. He faked having cancer for 2 years, quite convincingly. He got hold of a wheelchair and oxygen mask.Not sure how, but it really helped the act. It was all to cover up an addiction to porn he felt guilty about which caused him to vomit often. Saying he had cancer was his way of being able to keep his porn problem secret while giving an explanation for his constant vomiting. I was really spun out by that, I thought I knew him, and he was the last person I thought would ever do something so horrible

 

The last church I was in said that our church was merging with another church, when in reality our church was closing down and another one was starting up. Not only that, but everyone who was a leader at our church would now be kicked out of their position and could not be put back in a leadership role unless they did an 8 week course run by the new church. This has to be done before a person can serve in the church in any way. Glad I got myself out of the whole hypocritical lying religion!

[mcdaddy]

I worked for made the mistake of working for a Christian organization once. The manager once said to me, "I love you in the Lord, but I really don't like you at all."

 

Ah yes. Nothing like good Christian love.

 

read: FUCK YOU. YOU MAKE ME SICK.

 

[Reprobate]

In the church I was in the pastor was sleeping with at least 3 women in the congregation. In spite of this he still had his followers and some blamed the women. He went on trial, was acquitted in two cases and plead guilty to the third. There were also civil cases. The question was wether he used his position, power and had a counseling relationship with the women. State law was changed because of his actions and he would probably not be acquitted if this happened today. I am guessing he would be carrying the label of "sexual predator".

 

Right away he started another church halfway across the country. I am sure some of his followers went with him.

[Rando]

The last church I was in said that our church was merging with another church, when in reality our church was closing down and another one was starting up. Not only that, but everyone who was a leader at our church would now be kicked out of their position and could not be put back in a leadership role unless they did an 8 week course run by the new church. This has to be done before a person can serve in the church in any way. Glad I got myself out of the whole hypocritical lying religion!

 

Hey RedStar, I was in a similar situation when my Open Bible church merged with another; we had a building, no pastor, and a dwindling congregation, and the other group was growing with a pastor and no building. Both churches were charismatic, but the pastor and his people were much more formal and traditional. Within a few weeks he had run off all of our church leadership. I stuck around out of some misplaced loyalty to the building, I suppose. I was leading the worship music, then went to the teen youth group to help the church secretary with their meeting. After a couple months I left too, and I think the only people left were from the pastors old church, a successful building takeover!

 

About thre months later I learned that the pastor announced at the end of his sermon that he was resigning, and divorcing his wife. He and the secretary had been having an affair the whole time.

[owen652]

 

I attended a large Assemblies Of God church for 3 years, I loved their music and had many of their CDs. I love my new youth pastor, he was very friendly (or so I thought) and always had a hug for everyone. He faked having cancer for 2 years, quite convincingly. He got hold of a wheelchair and oxygen mask.Not sure how, but it really helped the act. It was all to cover up an addiction to porn he felt guilty about which caused him to vomit often. Saying he had cancer was his way of being able to keep his porn problem secret while giving an explanation for his constant vomiting. I was really spun out by that, I thought I knew him, and he was the last person I thought would ever do something so horrible

 

 

oh wow, I was only reading about this twat a couple of days ago. saw a video of him performing on stage with oxygen tubes coming out his mouth. to see the gullible congregation with their hands up in religious ecstasy, worshipping god to the 'moving' words of this guy's song about his fake illness, just drives home exactly how manufactured the whole thing is and how, regardless of how intense the emotions are or how real the experience, bullshit is bullshit is bullshit. Unfortunately my sister and mother in law are still caught up in this disgusting church/cult.

[Paine]

I simply got him off in a corner after LITERALLY about ten minutes of meeting him in PERSON

 

I'm sorry Paine, but that one line had my mind going in all directions!!!

 

AHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!

 

Nice.

 

Well played.

 

[Inqui]

I simply got him off in a corner after LITERALLY about ten minutes of meeting him in PERSON

 

I'm sorry Paine, but that one line had my mind going in all directions!!!

 

Well played.

 

That's what he said, wasn't it?

[Positivist]

OUCH! Ptooey! Talk about getting verbally slapped. How mean!

At a minimum, I would've verbally bitch-slapped him/her right back

I should have, but I was so stunned I just sat there with my mouth literally hanging open. I was thinking, "Can you say stuff like that???" I don't know why she picked on me, except for the worst reasons: that I was the most benign and meek person that worked there. Christianity had sucked out all of my self esteem, like marrow out of bone, and I was just trying to submit to my earthly authorities the whole time!

read: FUCK YOU. YOU MAKE ME SICK.

I know, right? Now that I think about it, it wasn't the worst thing she did.

• On one occasion, she repeatedly and heavily encouraged me to apply for a particular position within the organization and so I did. The following week I stumbled across a document on the fax machine. She was discrediting me to human resources and telling them I should not get the position. How fucked up is that? I never applied again.
  
• In one occasion a serious error was made by a colleague (who was frankly, incompetent). I had absolutely nothing to do with the error. The manager completed the incident report and guess whose name was FIRST and FOREMOST in the narrative portion of the report? MINE! I was professionally discredited although I had no part of the incident.
  

My colleagues were shaking their heads and felt sorry for me. They had no idea why the manager had it out for me. Neither did I.

 

You know what is just so fucked up?

• Throughout all of this garbage and my tears at the maltreatment, I continued to submit to my authorities because I believed God had placed them in my life for a purpose. God must be doing something in my life! I must need this! God is good!
  
• I had promised the organization I would give them two years. Because of this "vow", I stayed for that complete time, despite other offers and the chance to get out of hell. As a fundy, I felt vows were important to God and others, so I stayed, even though my faith and mental health were crumbling.
  

Ironically, in the next place I worked the manager was a lesbian. She was so kind and rational that I was quite confused for the first several months of working there.

 

Gawd. I hope someone read this.

[ConureDelSol]

Let's see, mine aren't near as bad as some of the others I've already seen but:

 

Church #1

• Head Pastor (who is married with a wife and three children) has an affair with a divorcee within the congregation, the Lutheran church strips him of his title, church dissolves, he leaves his family for the woman he had the affair with
  

Church #2

• One of the Assistant Pastors is fired for "misappropriating church funds" (what really happened was that the pastor didn't have his own credit card on him and took his family out to dinner with the church card, with the full intent of paying it back, but he was figured out before he even had the chance)
  
• Head Pastor gets in deep shit after the board (of which my dad was a part of) realizes that he was still running a bingo hall in the church's name even after EVERYONE on the board had agreed they wouldn't (because bingo is somehow gambling)
  
• Head Pastor was also a narcissistic asshole, made a whole bunch of more unpopular decisions, and lost 80% of his regular congregation (including my family)
  
• Years later, we return because my Aunt was getting baptized there. The pastor acts like he doesn't even know us while his wife excitedly welcomes us back
  

Church #3 (the current one)

• At any given moment, someone is under suspicion for being on drugs since 90% of the congregation and staff are ex-addicts
  
• There is a 72 page thread on a "cult education forum" dedicated to this church
  
• It is said that the Head Pastor left his wife for his current wife when she was 14
  
• There are rumors that family and ex-church members the pastor's family doesn't like are actually paid off to leave town
  
• Rumors of the Pastor dipping into the offering basket (he has a million dollar home, with huge TVs, a movie theater, classic cars and at least two motorcycles)
  
• More rumors that the girls in the office have all had sex with the pastor at least once
  
• Even more rumors that the pastor runs a drug ring from within the church
  

[GardenerGal]

OUCH! Ptooey! Talk about getting verbally slapped. How mean!

At a minimum, I would've verbally bitch-slapped him/her right back

I should have, but I was so stunned I just sat there with my mouth literally hanging open. I was thinking, "Can you say stuff like that???" I don't know why she picked on me, except for the worst reasons: that I was the most benign and meek person that worked there. Christianity had sucked out all of my self esteem, like marrow out of bone, and I was just trying to submit to my earthly authorities the whole time!

read: FUCK YOU. YOU MAKE ME SICK.

I know, right? Now that I think about it, it wasn't the worst thing she did.

• On one occasion, she repeatedly and heavily encouraged me to apply for a particular position within the organization and so I did. The following week I stumbled across a document on the fax machine. She was discrediting me to human resources and telling them I should not get the position. How fucked up is that? I never applied again.
  
• In one occasion a serious error was made by a colleague (who was frankly, incompetent). I had absolutely nothing to do with the error. The manager completed the incident report and guess whose name was FIRST and FOREMOST in the narrative portion of the report? MINE! I was professionally discredited although I had no part of the incident.
  

My colleagues were shaking their heads and felt sorry for me. They had no idea why the manager had it out for me. Neither did I.

 

You know what is just so fucked up?

• Throughout all of this garbage and my tears at the maltreatment, I continued to submit to my authorities because I believed God had placed them in my life for a purpose. God must be doing something in my life! I must need this! God is good!
  
• I had promised the organization I would give them two years. Because of this "vow", I stayed for that complete time, despite other offers and the chance to get out of hell. As a fundy, I felt vows were important to God and others, so I stayed, even though my faith and mental health were crumbling.
  

Ironically, in the next place I worked the manager was a lesbian. She was so kind and rational that I was quite confused for the first several months of working there.

 

Gawd. I hope someone read this.

 

 

Wow, I can SO relate to your experience. I worked at a Christian/Catholic organization and was placed under a terrible manager after my promotion. I really though that was where god wanted me. And even when the door shut to commence our weekly meeting, my stomach nervous to the point of vomiting, I thought I was supposed to "submit" to her and be an example of meekness/humility?! Oh, to have the chance for a do-over!

[sethosayher]

Just want to say that I've been reading all of these and I hope they keep coming. What is it about Churches that brings out the scandalous in us all? Maybe we all have a propensity for error but our mistakes become all the more horrifying when we are told to strive to be holy.

[JoshB0XX]

My pastor's wife died of cancer complications. He remarried in 4 months. Sounds like true love to me.

[Thought2Much]

At one of my previous churches, a guy started attending that was seen right away by everyone as a spiritual leader. He led Bible studies and Sunday school classes, and he talked the Christian talk impeccably. Not long after he showed up, he started getting people at the church to invest in some sort of business he was starting up. Then, I believe it was the FBI that came in and said they had been looking for this guy because he had scammed people from churches in multiple states out of their money. It turns out there was no business, and a lot of people in the church lost some or all of their savings because of him. This all happened after I had already moved to another state, but it's still pretty dramatic, and I knew the people involved. I have to admit that I met the guy that scammed them one time, and instantly got a bad vibe from him; there really aren't many people that give me that reaction, but I have learned that when I do get that kind of vibe, I need to pay attention to it.

 

A number of years ago, we had a guy and his wife that would participate with the worship team. The guy and his wife lived with another woman, who also came to our church. I'm a little fuzzy on all the details (mostly because the less I know about these things, the better off I am), but it seems that it was found out that the guy's wife and the other woman were an item. Whether all three would get involved in the action at the same time, or if the man and his wife were still having sex at all, is unknown to me. He did eventually get a divorce. The other woman has tried to join the worship team since then, but two things have prevented her from doing so. The first reason is that she can't sing or play an instrument for shit. The second is that on my former church's membership application, it asks whether you've had a "homosexual experience" at any point in the last five years; since the woman couldn't answer that question in the negative honestly, she couldn't become a member. She did eventually leave and go to another church.

 

More recently, my father in-law, who is the pastor of an Assemblies of God church, had some sort of relationship with a woman at the church. We're pretty sure there was no sex involved (he's 83 and not in the greatest of health, and she is at least in her late fifties), but the fact that he tried to keep it a secret from his own family made it look really suspicious.

 

I'm sure I could think of others. Most of the stuff I've seen is minor drama, and not whole churches collapsing due to illicit affairs.

[Eugene39]

My pastor's wife died of cancer complications. He remarried in 4 months. Sounds like true love to me.

 

Reminded me of something. The pastor of the church I was attending while in Bible College had to resign because he was caught kissing on some girl that was young enough to be his daughter, while his wife was recovering from cancer - taking treatments, etc. If I remember right, his wife was the one who caught him in their own home. The chick was so stupid that she called the pastor's wife to tell her good-bye after she got fired from the Bible College and was leaving town.

[Edie]

Wow, the church I went to was really tame!

 

The biggest outrage was when the daughter of one of the elders (we didn't have a pastor, just a group of about 5 elders who ran the church), went off to university and got a non-Christian boyfriend,got pregnant, split up with the boyfriend, left university and the elder allowed her to move back into the family home with her shameful baby.

 

I bought a present for the baby, because that's what you do when someone has a baby, right? Apparently not,

[Inqui]

Wow, the church I went to was really tame!

 

The biggest outrage was when the daughter of one of the elders (we didn't have a pastor, just a group of about 5 elders who ran the church), went off to university and got a non-Christian boyfriend,got pregnant, split up with the boyfriend, left university and the elder allowed her to move back into the family home with her shameful baby.

 

I bought a present for the baby, because that's what you do when someone has a baby, right? Apparently not,

How dare you show love and compassion to a person despite their sinning? Unbelievable.

[AnnaNymity]

I attended a large Assemblies Of God church for 3 years, I loved their music and had many of their CDs. I love my new youth pastor, he was very friendly (or so I thought) and always had a hug for everyone. He faked having cancer for 2 years, quite convincingly. He got hold of a wheelchair and oxygen mask.Not sure how, but it really helped the act. It was all to cover up an addiction to porn he felt guilty about which caused him to vomit often. Saying he had cancer was his way of being able to keep his porn problem secret while giving an explanation for his constant vomiting. I was really spun out by that, I thought I knew him, and he was the last person I thought would ever do something so horrible

 

 

oh wow, I was only reading about this twat a couple of days ago. saw a video of him performing on stage with oxygen tubes coming out his mouth. to see the gullible congregation with their hands up in religious ecstasy, worshipping god to the 'moving' words of this guy's song about his fake illness, just drives home exactly how manufactured the whole thing is and how, regardless of how intense the emotions are or how real the experience, bullshit is bullshit is bullshit. Unfortunately my sister and mother in law are still caught up in this disgusting church/cult.

 

Huh. Linda Lovelace, as the "power" of the holy spirit?? Sometimes, my brain just simply cannot process this stuff! <shakes her head>

[AnnaNymity]

I should have, but I was so stunned I just sat there with my mouth literally hanging open . . . .

 

I know, right? Now that I think about it, it wasn't the worst thing she did. . . .

You know what is just so fucked up? . . . . I felt vows were important to God and others, so I stayed, even though my faith and mental health were crumbling.

 

 

Gawd. I hope someone read this.

 

Oh man, that just sucketh muchly! The manipulative Machiavellian cruelty that these supposedly "gawdly" people are capable of on a daily basis is what caused my breaking point.

 

The truly ironic point for me, is that after having now had to deal with fifteen years of outright cruelty for my simply speaking the truth and trying to protect myself legally, I have now finally made peace with my "tougher" side--that I used to be so ashamed of having. That's because without it? I never would have survived all that they have put me through.

 

That's one of the reasons that I felt so bad for you. Because while my very first response to that kind of behavior would be exactly like yours, like the gentle Valley Girl that I originally was, until I was nine years old.

 

But, to all these idiots's major shock--as they found out yet again, only today--you push me beyond a certain point? Then I start showing my East L.A., my Compton, and my Watts!

 

As I told someone again today, it's truly astoundingly ironic. Because the only reason that I haven't slit my wrists from the stress they continue to dump on me, is specifically due to what they tried to convince me for so long, were my "unfeminine and unchristian" traits.