In response to my post, “Giving A Person More Attention Because They’re Attractive: And We All Do It,” I received a very heartbreaking yet encouraging email from a certain Mr. Harold Cameron.
I am posting it here by his full permission.
A little food for thought and some insight into the current church culture.
Dear Pastor Park,
Grace and peace be unto you.
Yes and again I would say yes to the point you made in your article; it causes me to feel very sad.
Being older, I’m 56 and disabled with 2 brain tumors, a brain-tumor induced form of mental illness, and other health concerns. I am far from young or “beautiful.” However, I do love the Lord and delight in serving him.
At a church I once attended I was a greeter and helped people with their name tags, answered newcomer’s questions, and whatever else needed to be done to help people as they came into the church. I soon learned I had 2 problems. One problem was that I have memory and cognitive impairment and forget people’s names; the fact that I could not remember the name of the local evangelical community’s top leader’s wife’s was almost as bad as committing the “unpardonable sin.” And the other problem I had which I did not know about was that I just was not young, good looking, and “beautiful” enough to help anymore so I was asked to stop serving. I kid you not.
I was told this flat out by the pastor under whose preaching ministry I was saved out of a life of over 40 years as a homosexual. It all boiled down to the fact that from the time you entered the church, the young beautiful talented worship team performed and then the young pastor got up to speak — it was all “beautiful people” that were involved in ministry and serving. And anyone that was not “beautiful,” well, they could serve by putting the parking signs outside, or they could just leave as many have done.
And as I have walked in over 150 cities in our country attending a number of churches I see the same thing in many of the churches, all young and “beautiful” people serving, singing, and teaching or preaching. And I just think there is something wrong with churches catering to either the “beautiful” people or the “wealthy.” But in the end, God knows their hearts, and God will judge. He will judge me just as he will them.
Thank you for writing your very timely and sobering article. And feel free to share whatever part of this email you wish to in the event you do want to quote from it. You also have permission to use my name.
May God have mercy on us all and on our nation.
Gratefully Yours,
Reblogged this on Ebenezeraiser's Blog.
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Thank you for sharing such a sobering truth. We can’t continue to do church the way we used to any more. The church needs to realize that people are real and they need to be loved, acknowledged, and valued. We just can’t preach the hurt away…
God bless you Harold Cameron for your courage and honesty!
Agreed. And thank you. Millions in our world are perishing to a Christless eternity and many professing Christians seem more interested in playing church than praying for the lost and needy around us. We have a lot of what I refer to as “Churchianity” or a “little dab of Jesus will do us” Christianity…enough to make us look presentable on the outside but lukewarm and spiritually lifeless on the inside. May God us.
I wish you lived in my state. I would have taken you to church every Sunday, still would.
Well praise the Lord! And I would have gladly gone too. God bless you!
The american church at large has lost its first love. It has incorporated the world into who it is. It is true though that some of the strongest christians i know are physically attractive. Esther. David. Abagail. … sometimes people want to blame issues like this rather than see if there are offensive ways in them. Either way like john the baptist says you can only have a ministry if god gives it from above. In sovereignty we find our place… i caution jumping to conclusions either way… attractive or not attractive. It may not be about that. But i do agree its an issue because the church at large has lost focus.
Thank you for your insightful comments. And I wish to emphasize that regardless of what may have happened to me at the hands of so-called professing Christians in the past I have forgiven them, love them and pray for them. I desire that God will show them mercy and the error of their ways that they might repent and return to Him, their first love as you mentioned; our glorious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God bless you!
So sad … so true. It hurts my heart.
Thank you. Me too. Makes me sad for the many who have left such churches, have turned their backs on Christ and what they thought or assumed was real Christianity and are now living their lives as “sheep without a shepherd.” It is good that as Christ you have compassion for those the mainstream church has rejected and sent away because they were not “beautiful enough” or just did not fit in. We need to pray that God will draw them back to himself.
And yet some (like me
) are outside the four walls and never closer to Jesus. Sometimes leaving the (organized yet misguided) flock is the only way to find Him. I am a sheep but certainly not without my Shepherd. Thanks, Harold.
You sound like an awesome person. I hope some “four walls” or other is blessed to have you someday.
Amen. I hope that for him as well.
Amen my dear brother. You are “in Christ” and because of that fact you always have the person, presence and power of Christ with you. And he never fails. I do hope however that you fellowship with other believers in some capacity on a regular basis for the purpose of being taught the Word and being edified and built up in the most Holy faith. God bless you!
Indeed I do. But I am a sister, not a brother to you.
My bad my dear sister. Thank you for your understanding and gracious response. God bless you!
And you, my brother.
Wow. It’s really hard to believe that this is even possible. I’ve heard of church politics and I’ve felt my share of pain in that area, but… dang. I guess that’s what happens when you start viewing your church as more of a corporation than a clinic.
Thank you for your comments. Yes, it is hard to believe that such things and even worse happen in “Christian” churches across our land. Regrettably I did experience what I wrote about; however, it did not make me bitter, but rather, more dependent on the Lord, strengthening my relationship with him…and he has never failed me once. Isn’t it wonderful to know Hannah that our God and Savior Jesus Christ does not judge us according to our appearance or any other such worldly standards, but instead, according to the righteousness of Christ. Praise his name! God bless you!