Locked Church

 

My great-grandparents helped to clear the land for the brush arbor that then grew into a church. As the church grew, they helped to build the church building. They were very active in the church. My great-grandmother was a youth leader and a Sunday school teacher. My great-grandfather was an ordained minister and a deacon of the church. They put many things in the church such as a fellowship hall with kitchen, a nursey, the pews, and classrooms. The one thing that no one had ever installed was a lock. The people of this church believed that the church should always be open. This was for several reasons. 

• What if someone was caught in a rainstorm? They could use an unlocked church for shelter.
• What if someone needed to pray? According to Jesus, the church is a house of prayer. 
• What if someone was passing through and needed a place to rest? 
• What if the women wanted a place to meet?
• What if the men wanted a place to meet?

They had the church unlocked for all of these reasons and possibly a few more. This went on for many years. This church was founded in 1940. That is until about the late 1980's or early 1990's. A new preacher came in. The preacher asked for the keys to the church. The deacons explained that there were no keys because there were no locks on the doors. 

The new preacher was from the city where locks were everywhere. He insisted on locking the church because of the valuable equipment (speakers, microphones, etc.) The preacher insisted so much that he, without anyone else knowing, installed the locks. 

The next Sunday the preacher was surprised to see an angry crowed waiting for him. They complained that they had been waiting for the last hour. They complained that the church had never in all their days been locked. Some complained that breakfast was now very late, and the children were hungry. This preacher had thought he was arriving 1 hr. early. He did not realize that this group of people normally came 2hrs earlier than the service for fellowship that including breakfast and prayer. 

The dispute was settled by giving a key to every member household.