My Life in Fundyville by Fundy Rebel

I want to encourage you to read this woman's blog at My Life in Fundyville. This is a brand new blog. I'm sure you'll want to read all her entries and definitely read the comments where others have told their stories. I know this is going to be interesting and I'm looking forward to future posts.


Everyone's journey in/through/& out of "fundyville" will be different. I have considered what I grew up in as an average fundy church. I've been to "fundy lite," average, and even a couple of extreme fundy churches and there is a difference.

In some ways, I think that "fundy lite" can be more dangerous because it's subtle. It's easier to overlook because you don't realize the hold it has on you. As I went through life, what I thought was the Holy Spirit was just the "principles" and "guidelines" that I was taught to be a good Christian. It's not that the principles and guidelines were wrong but the things that we did and didn't do based on them caused us to think we were sinning, that others were sinning, or if they were better Christians, they wouldn't do certain things.

When you only show up for church services and not involved in any part of the ministries of a "Fundy lite" church, it is very easy to think that you're church is different and not involved in the power, manipulation, and control that you hear about it "other" churches. It's easy to miss that only certain people get "loved on" when sick or having a baby. Or, that only certain people, no matter talent or experience, get to teach a class, sing in front of the church, or be visible beyond working in the nursery.

You also come to believe that all other churches outside the baptist "umbrella" are wrong and teach a false gospel. When you finally venture out from under that "umbrella", you realize that this is not true.

One of the problems of growing up "fundy lite" is that it preps people for "hardcore fundy." I've seen multiple people make that step and it seems to be a natural transition. Unfortunately, these people see this step as a growth of spirituality instead of another level of control.


Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading Fundy Rebel's blog. I know there are too many people out there who will be able to relate to her story.

Ezekial 18 – Sins of the Father

I have been listening through Ezekial this month and chapter 18 stuck out to me. Sometimes I wonder if I have to pay for the sins of my father or if I raise a son who defies God, will I have to pay for his sins. I’ve always felt we’re responsible for ourselves but God’s Word and His clarification on the subject really meant a lot to me this week.

Ezekial gives this list of sins several times in this chapter but to save time I’ll list them here.

1.       Violent

2.       Shedder of blood

3.       Eats upon the mountain

4.       Defiles his neighbor’s wife

5.       Oppresses the poor and needy

6.       Commits robbery

7.       Does not restore a pledge

8.       Lift up his eyes to the idols

9.       Commits abomination

10.    Lends at an interest and takes a profit

Ezekial also lists the behaviors of a righteous man, which parallels the list of sins.

1.       Does not eat upon the mountain

2.       Lift his eyes to the idols of Israel

3.       Does not defile neighbor’s wife

4.       Does not oppress anyone

5.       Restores to the debtor his pledge

6.       Exacts no pledge

7.       Commits no robbery

8.       Gives bread to the hungry

9.       Covers the naked with a garment

10.    Withholds his hand from iniquity

11.    Withholds his hand from injustice

12.    Executes true justice between man and man

13.    Takes no interest or take a profit

14.    Obeys my rules

15.    Walks in my statutes

16.    Keeps my rules by acting faithfully

Here’s the good news, the lesson for today.

1.       The soul who sins shall die. (vs. 4, 19)

2.       The righteous man shall live. (vs. 9)

3.       The righteous man shall not die because of his sinful son. (vs. 13)

a.        He shall not pay for the iniquity of his son. (vs. 20)

4.       The righteous man shall not die because of his sinful father. (vs. 17)

a.       He shall not pay for the iniquity of his father. (vs. 20)

5.       If the sinful (wicked) turn from their sin, they shall not die and his transgressions shall not be remembered against him. (vs. 21, 27-28)

6.       If the righteous man turns to wickedness, he shall die and his righteous deeds will not be remembered. (vs. 24, 26)

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (vs. 23)

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live. (vs. 32)

J. Frank Norris: The Shooting Salvationist by David R. Stokes

I encourage you to read this book.

This was a fascinating book and story of a man that I've heard about but didn't know much about.

The best synopsis of this book is from the book itself on the last page.

The Reverend Doctor J. Frank Norris was many things: a pastor who led the nation's first megachurch, a provocative publisher and a pioneer broadcaster. At his apex during the Roaring Twenties, Norris preached to a congregation of 10,000 at First Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas. With the flair of a great showman, he railed against vice and injustice.

Rev. Norris was also a killer.                                         

To those who dared to challenge him, J. Frank Norris was a formidable foe, as demonstrated with swift brutality in 1926, when he shot an unarmed critic to death. The killing and subsequent trial became a national media sensation. 

      Using more than 6,000 pages of newspaper articles, court records, and a variety of other published works, author and minister David Stokes vividly recreates the story of the fundamentalist movement's most controversial figure. Mesmerizing in its vivid details, APPARENT DANGER: The Pastor of Americas First Megachurch and the Texas Murder Trial of the Decade in the 1920s skillfully explores the events leading up to one of the most intriguing—yet least known—true crime dramas in America's legal history.

You also might be interested in the website from the author regarding this book. The Shooting Salvationist