Chamblee54

This content was published October 16, 2013. … Religion is very personal.. When you have a miserable experience with Jesus, it will not go away because of glib expressions of “faith”. When you put a sign by the road, you don’t know who is going to see it. You don’t know how they are going to be feeling.
I was driving to dinner one night, when I drove by Briarcliff United Methodist Church. The facility is on a busy road. They have a sign in front, with a message that changes from time to time. This night, I was in a bad mood. I was thinking about people who have humiliated me for Jesus. The sign in front of BUMC said “When was the last time you prayed?”
The concept of prayer is collateral damage in my struggle with Christians. As I became alienated from biblical religion, the idea of a person talking to God seems performative, selfish, and self aggrandizing. (Jesus might agree with me.) There is something about having an angry bully snarling “I’m going to pray for you brother” that makes the concept of prayer repulsive.
There is another thing to consider here. Pushy Christians assume that they have the right to grill you about sensitive personal issues. The idea of saying this to passing motorists is disrespectful. It is none of your business if I pray.
I looked up BUMC on the internet when I got home. They have a modern website. The top tab on the menu said “Prayer Requests.” This is for people who want someone to pray for them. Maybe you can leave a prayer non-request. Ask them to respect discomfort with their religion, and don’t put intrusive messages by the roadside.
Further down on the website is an email address (church@briarcliffumc.com.) While not expecting a miracle, I decided to send them an email. Here is the text of that message.
You have a message board in front of your church. The message when I went by was “When was the last time you prayed?” I was offended by this message.
I have had a tough time with religion. I have been humiliated many, many times because of Jesus. I have heard about your scheme for life after death thousands of times, and simply do not agree with it. An intrusive roadway sign is not going to change my mind.
My belief is that my opinions about God are none of your business. If I trust you, then we can have a discussion. Having a rude sign by the road side is not going to help me trust you.
Even though it is none of your business, I am going to answer your question. Even though I was talking to God, and not to you, I am going to repeat what I said. “God please help these people to have respect for their neighbor, and take that awful sign down”.
This content was published October 24, 2013. … It had been a week since I drove past the Briarcliff United Methodist Church. The church sent a thoughtful email, in response to the complaining message. The traffic on Briarcliff Road was just as rude as ever. I took a look when he drove past the church. The new message this week: “In what missions did U last serve?”
Maybe BUMC didn’t have a YO to spare. Maybe they are trying to appeal to the text message crowd. Maybe a Synagogue borrowed the OY.
When the Jesus worship church talks about missions, they usually mean an effort to convert people to their brand of religion. This is a part of Christianism that many find tasteless. This product promotion frequently turns into a violation of the third commandment … the injunction against improper use of a sacred name. When you create ill will, you are speaking in vain.
When I got home, I decided to create a graphic poem. I did not feel like writing fresh text. A decision was made to use public domain content. A search of the book of Psalms located a short chapter, with a number that is popular at this blog. Hence, the current presentation of Psalm 54.
While this effort was in production, I thought about the mission I was on. The idea was to rescue this text from the improper way in which it is used. The Bible should be a source of beauty, not a weapon to bludgeon people into agreement. Psalm 54 is a text, written by a human being, not a message from God. When you make a God out of a book, you do no favor to either Yahweh, or the book.
In the end, the effort had mixed results. The text has an air of vengeance. God was supposed to get even with your enemies. The idea that your enemies might be the children of God is forgotten.
On June 10, 2018, Briarcliff United Methodist Church held its final Sunday service. The building is currently used by The Globe Academy. Traffic on Briarcliff Road only gets worse. … Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. John Vachon took the social media picture in February 1942. “Williston, North Dakota. Farmers’ union meeting with the county commissioners to protest the selling of land to corporation farms in Williams County and to discuss the protection of family-size farms” ©Luther Mckinnon 2025 · selah