We burned our mortgage at the church Saturday night. It was quite a celebration. Several Vineyard leaders were there, including Gary and Joy Best, the national directors. They all spoke very affirming and life-giving words over our community. I did burn the actual statement which I and the treasurer signed for the bank stating that our original mortgage was $450,000. And now it is all up in smoke! Along with the mortgage, I also burned several papers that I had what I called the “fine print” of the mortgage… symbolic of the burden we’d been carrying by ourselves ever since the beginning, but the weight of which doubled after our church split down the middle in 1997. The “fine print” were the many negative words, even curses, that had been spoken over our church over the years. Here’s just some of them:
“I suggest you seriously think about closing down the church, selling it all off, and walking away.”
“In order to sustain such a large mortgage, you need to double the size of your congregation within the year.”
“Hello? May I speak with David Hayward. This is so-and-so from the Royal Bank. There are some issues that have come to our attention that need to be addressed immediately.”
Me: “Colin (our treasurer and retired banker), how do we tell the bank that we’re just going to have to trust God in language they can understand?” Colin: “Ha-ha-ha!”
“There are people waiting like vultures for you to die!”
“I predict that in a few years you will have a few people, and that they will have high gifting but low character. Then soon after that you will close as a church.”
“Have you ever considered just shutting the whole thing down?”
“You should get a full-time job so that the church can keep up with its mortgage payments.”
“They got you by the balls!”
“Honey, I shrunk the church!”
“You can always fold.”
“Sure, you can believe in faith and prayer and waiting, but what you need right now is money!”
“Are there any wealthy people in your congregation who can inject large sums of money into the budget?”
“You should start a pledge campaign as well as increase tithing. A little pressure applied in the right place wouldn’t hurt!”
“Your church has no future!”
“I simply can’t see how you can survive another year!”
“Have you ever considered the possibility that the devil used you to destroy God’s work?”
“You are an Absolom, and like Absolom, you and your kingdom will die!”
“Jezebel!”
“You and your church will become the laughingstock of this whole region!”
“We’re going to die! We’re all going to die!”
“Looks to me like you need a miracle!”
Well, that’s enough for now. You get the picture. I had written each of these on sheets of paper. I read them aloud, one by one, and as I read them, I tossed them into the fire, never to have power over us again, God willing. The pungent smell of smoke filled the sanctuary. And it was a beautiful aroma… like incense. The photo is of me burning the mortgage. Nice fire!
My name is David Hayward, and I am the nakedpastor. I am a graffiti artist on the walls of religion.
Just to say (although we don’t know each other), I read this blog quite regularly; and I’m proud of you =)
God bless x
He who laughs second-last laughs best. You’re laughing second-last.
(He who laughs last doesn’t really get the joke and he’s just laughing because other people are laughing.)
God bless you all!
Dang! Wish I would’ve sucked it up and made the trip! Our community is grateful for and rooting for your community!
WOW. Amazing! I am so happy for you!!! This is incredible.
Boy, that must have felt good indeed. Nice touch adding those negative words to the fire.
“Honey I shrunk the church”
lol
NICE!!!!!
Good for you!!
Congrats! Following your blog for about a year now it almost seem that you completed some kind of circle and you are trusting the Lord with a special kind of childlike faith. It’s wonderful to witness.
I see snow on the picture. I last experienced snow in 1993. It never snow here in sunny South Africa. So if your church takes the turn for the worst there will always be the snow to be thankful for!
I’ve been following your blog for a few months now and find your openness refreshing and encouraging. I’m not sure whether it’s fair for someone like me to comment on your practices when we don’t know each other, but… May I suggest that you now delete this post so that those negative words truly are gone forever, rather than fermenting online for years to come? It could be part of your decision to forgive as well as forget.
NP:
Big congrats! As mentioned above, I love the way you recorded all the negative comments and burned them along with the mortgage. Nice touch.
And that’s the answer, eh?
I think you may be a better example than my oh-so-conservative friends would expect.
I am moved by your faith. And it seems to have worked out too.
I think the burning of the negative “fine print” was brilliant. I’ve seen churches fold that couldn’t get past those kind of statements.
Keep keeping the faith.
Love it! Sure is encouragement! Would like to do it to our house mortgage soon!!
Good job sending those words into the fire — from which they came, and in which they belong. May those who continue to bombard you with negative words realize that their gripes and misjudgments will burn as well.
As an Insurance Salesman, I can’t condone starting fires inside a building, but it actually looks like you’re outside so that is ok. =) Good Work in overcoming the naysayers.
OMG that is incredible!! absolutely incredible! WOW.
It was a night to remember……….
Way to go Dave & church!!!
How about encouragements? Can we see some of those, David?