Several years ago, Gary Jackson, pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, did a Google search for Faith Baptist Church in Ottawa, Ohio, and ended up on this site. The Life and Times of Bruce Gerencser is a first- or second-page search result when someone searches for Faith Baptist. I have featured Faith several times in the series On The Road Looking For God’s True Church.
After reading a handful of posts, Jackson decided to send me an email. In the email, Jackson stated that it was G-O-D who “led” him to this blog. Actually, it was Google, not God, that sent the good pastor my way. I understand Jackson’s confusion. When confronted with an unanswered question, my family will seek the answer from God — God being Google. Perhaps Jackson, as the Gerencser family does, confuses Google with God. Just kidding. The Gerencser family KNOWS Google and God are one and the same. Jackson’s God? She has never answered a prayer, or a trivia question, for that matter. When I wanted to find out who Gary Jackson was, I didn’t pray. Instead, I contacted the all-seeing, all-knowing Google — praise be to the search algorithm.
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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God led me here so I could ask God to save you. Makes no sense to me.
Exactly. Jesus knows exactly where I am. He can come and save me anytime. In the Evangelical bubble, this kind of thinking makes perfect sense. outside? WTF.
He also can’t spell. Or, doesn’t know mourn is the logical word in that sentence. If he is really concerned “for your soul” and wants to save you, using condescending language to someone with your intelligence and education probably isn’t effective.
I heard an apologist come up with an explanation for why god doesn’t show up. ‘He is a relational god so uses the church – as in people – to reach people’ Novel approach but doesn’t hold water. What sort of relational god would hide from devoted followers for their entire life!
Praying for god to save or heal people now seems like a damning indictment of God’s character. If someone is in pain why does god want me to beg him to relieve that pain? Why not do it.
Considering some of the many emails you’ve received, this one actually seems pretty tame.
True. Somewhat polite, even though he ignored my request to NOT send me such emails. I suspect he sincerely believes I am s-a-v-e-d.
Well, for the most part, after a negative church experience, most people can’t be reached, as the idea of a ” relational God” would have it. Because of the fear involved in witnessing, and Americans have become very rude, especially after the Reagan Era. I looked this up on Google a few days ago. We’re near the top of the list for rude countries. I’ve been approached by nervous, fearful church members who assumed that because I wasn’t well dressed, I must be ” unsaved” and this tone really offended me. This materialism that rules them is so obvious. I once bought into the idea that if the Gospel bothered someone, it was always on them. But it was through perhaps a mean relative, parents, or some authority in church who mistreated them. That accounts for such hostility towards those doing the witnessing, at least in America. The churches need to correct how their people behave, and stop enshrining abusive behavior, both at home or in church ! I doubt this will happen though, with hundreds of years of Western church culture.😬