The Changing Face of Religion

You see it all around you, churches for sale, services being dropped from church programs, congregations shrinking.  You probably think, WOW - that church must be doing something wrong.  The short answer to that is YES your right!

Religion today is changing and so many churches are not wanting to change with it.  They are sticking to the "OLD" ways which are outdated and for the most part based on misinterpretations.  It is great to stand your ground and teach about the past, but one must change in order to keep your church flourishing.

So many people have not lost their faith, it has just changed.  There is a difference between having faith and losing faith.  Losing faith is that you have basically given up on God.  Having faith is that you have not given up on God but that your relious beliefs have changed from what you were taught.  You have grown up, asked questions, found answers and realized that something is different.  You see the religious wars and have learned that through out history wars have been fought because of religious differences.

I was asked 3 years ago if I ever thought of having my own church that I'd be great at helping people on their spiritual journey.  So I thought about it and asked God and my guides "OK Where do you want me to go and what do you want me to do?"  They lead me from Land O Lakes to New Port Richey.  So again I asked HOW?  Most churches start out in someone's home as a study group of sorts, a move was not in my plans and my guides told me it wasn't necessary for me to move anywhere that I am where I am suppose to be at.

So I was like OK now what?  I heard "Build it and they will come".  I said that only happens in movies, I don't have the resources to do that.  They told me that I did that I had to make sacrifices to make it happen and that things will be OK.  So with the help of friends and my own resources we started out as a gift shop at a local flea market to see if there truly was a need for another Metaphysical Church in the area.  WOW was there ever a need.  We were at the flea market for 1 yr and had to grow to start holding services.  So we found a place south of us on the other side of town in a storage facility that was usable for office/retail space.  But after 1 month decided that trying to do 2 places at once was a bit much, so another move to a bigger place to combine the 2. But that takes money and I was maxed out - so I cleared out what I was no longer truly needing, physical THINGS.  I had to take the leap of faith.  So I sold some jewelry that my mom had left me, she always said to use it for a good purpose.  Well the church is a good purpose so off to the Gold store to sell it.

This lead us to our current location.  We have now been there for 1 1/2 yrs and have had many obstacles and lessons to learn.  But in the past 8 months we have had such tremendous growth that we again have to move to a bigger place.  

We have 2 services a week.  Thursday nights are our "Messages From Spirit" night with anywhere from 20 to 32 people in attendance.  Our second service is on Sundays at 1pm with usually 30 people there.  It would be one thing if the people in attendance were all regulars but it is not.  So many are 1'st and 2'nd time visitors to us that we are at standing room only.  So I asked God and my guides, why do we have to move if we have not had people standing for any of the services?  It's balanced itself out where regulars forgot to attend or something came up and it made room for new peoploe to attend.  I was told that it is happening that way so as to not make anyone uncomfortable by having to stand and that once we move the seats will fill up again that in time the congregation will grow so big that we will have to have our own building.  God will only give you what you can truly handle, no more and no less, and this is an example.  We're not going ahead and building a HUGE 1,000 seat church, we are starting off small and growing in spurts.  After all what will a 1'st impression be to someone new if they walked into a 1,000 seat church and saw only 30 people there to begin with?  But by growing slowly this way it shows how we are different, how we are not like other churches.

You are probably asking what does this have to do with the changing face of religion.  It's because we ARE the new face of religion.  Be The Light Metaphysical Chapel is experiencing such a growth of people leaving their old places of worship because of 1 factor, EVERYONE is unconditionally welcome!  We don't put a demand on people, we won't make you stand up in front of the congregation to have everyone welcome you there, we won't tell you that you HAVE to donate a certain amount of money for attendance and we won't tell you that we have all the answers.  We won't tell you that you can not pray to Jesus or Buddha or any other religious figure that other religions are based on.  And most importantly we won't tell you that by making monthly tithings to the church that it will bring you closer to God.

We won't tell you that seeing or hearing spirits is a bad thing either, in fact we help you to understand who they are and why this is happening.  We won't tell you that a particular religion is wrong, in fact we embrace your beliefs and help you understand more.  We believe that God sent messengers down throughout history to help teach us about who we are and what our purpose is.  But MEN in turn created religion out of these teachings.  MEN in turn decided what and what not to include in the sacred "books".  MEN have kept members of their congregations in the dark for too long because they knew that if people knew the truth of who and what we are, they would lose the power that they have.  Men are greedy and have been throughout history.

I can hear your thoughts now saying "well your a man", "your preaching religion what makes you and your church different?"  We (Be The Light and myself) are not here to control you, we are not here to scare you, we are here to help you.

When you walk into our place you are greeted with smiling, caring members of our congregation who are eager to help answer any questions you may have.  I know other churches do that as well but we even take it one step further.  How many churches continue that conversation AFTER service?  There is always a group of people who always head out afterwards to either McDonald's or Denny's or some other place for coffee and/or something to eat.  Still what makes us different?  EVERYONE is invited to attend, even first time visitors.  

So many churches make you uncomfortable because of groups/clicks - making first time visitors feel uncomfortable and/or unwelcome.  We are not like that at all, people have contacted me after their first visit and said that they feel at home.

Even local spiritual and metaphysical churches are losing members of their congregations to us.  Just like traditional churches some are closing their doors, cutting services and shrinking.  You ask WHY?  What makes you so different?

Like I said for us it's not about the money, it's not about who you can and can not pray to.  It's about worshipping God in all his/her forms.  It's about embracing who we truly are. 

Spiritual beings in a physical body.  We ARE the new face of religion.  I am constantly being asked by people from around the world to start a center near them so they can worship the way that we do.  We are growing and expanding and plans are in the works to help others to open up in their own communities. What started out just over 2 yrs ago as an idea has lead to so many seeking unconditional love and understanding from God.  Even our online radio show has grown.  We have 2 shows most days of the week with different hosts AND we are now being syndicated through other online radio outlets.  We are even talking with terrestrial radio stations about syndicating with them as well.

See our God is a loving, compassionate and understanding God.  Our God won't torture you with fire and brimstone, our God will show you love.  

So while other churches and religions are losing members - we are not.  Embrace the change for without change you are destined to relive history - a history of violence and hatred and that is NOT what God has wanted for us.

Welcome to the new face of Religion!  Embrace the change and welcome home!