SUNDAY MORNING CHILL

Sunday Morning Chill

I slept in late today. Got up at 10:30. It was awesome. After all, it's the Sun's Day … the day of rest right? While I was drinking my coffee, I was thinking back to the times when I was getting up at 6am on Sunday mornings to head over to the movie theatre that our church rented and start the set-up process.

Everything had to be set-up every week from scratch. As if we were touring a different city each week. And then it all had to be broken down, packed, and hauled away by 11:45 when the first of the movie trailers started playing.

There was all the PA system, the mixers and snake cables, the lighting, projector, drums, risers, guitars, keyboards, percussion, wireless and regular mics, and then sound check and rehearsal. All before 10. There were times it was numbing. But, it was worth it. We had a great band (I was the drummer) and a great message every week.

After all, this was "Church On The Edge - Real, Relevant, And Rockin'." Pastor Rick Pinette had been a charting recording Artist for years and along with his wife Cheryl, both started this church in order to deliver "Goods News" to the struggling community.

After years of bouncing from church to church, looking for something positive, uplifting, and not obsessed with punishment, sin, fire and brimstone, devil satan and damnation, and reminding me what a lousy sinner I was from birth, I found a place of positive sermons, life-changing interaction, inspiring music and messages, and no death and sin-mongering.

Pastor Rick and Pastor Cheryl's goal was to offer up the positive side of scripture that could be applied today and help people feel better, be better, and build better families and communities. We learned a lot. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't pull up something in my head that Pastor Rick had taught me. We had also become very good friends … brotherly in fact. He's a very tall big man and a great guy with a huge heart and behind the big guy was his itty bitty wife Cheryl running the machine. I looked like a little kid next to him. But her taught me a huge amount of Truth.

During my time there I continued my obsessive studies of ancient Wisdom, Paganism and the true origins of Christianity and all religions, philosophy, science, quantum physics, etc. I was with the church for a very long time. It wasn't too "christiany" (except for some Holy Spirit healing sessions and such which I was uncomfortable with) Rick kept things at an inspiration and motivational level based on scripture. Although I was not in agreement with the standard beliefs of Christianity, it was working well. But eventually, I decided it was time to move on. My studies and changes in beliefs were taking me in a different direction.

I no longer had a literal and historical belief in the gruesome godly sacrifice of a man on a cross who was dead and then resurrected on the third day and ultimately ascended into heaven. I had learned that all the stories in the Bible were myths with inner mysteries cloaked and anthropomorphized into allegory, metaphor, and parables. They were the same stories that had been told by other peoples and civilizations who had come before and were all based on celestial astrotheology and cosmogony. There were stories, with deeper spiritual meanings and Truths to progress the Soul through this earthly incarnation and on it's way through eternity as an essence of Source Energy or, God.

But how could I leave? I was deeply entrenched in the church and all of it's people. The Pastor was ny buddy. I was involved with the band, and also with readings and stories that I would tell. My daughter was the Worship Leader. How could I leave? Then, on December 28th, 2012, at 8:30am I got my answer, though I wish it had been much easier.

I am 100% pacemaker dependent with implanted ICD, cardio-defibrillator, cardio resynchronization, and full-time pacing. That morning, the main catheter wire lead broke inside my body. I was shocked by the defib multiple times, died in the ambulance and was paddled and revived, then medivac from one hospital to the Heart Center downtown. I had emergency sugery, then was scheduled for more intricate follow-up surgery on March 1st, 2013. After 15 days in ICU, recovery at home with nurses, and more pain than I ever thought possible, I never returned to the church.

During all of this time. Pastor Rick had his own heart problems and also ended up in the hospital. Eventually, he turned the church over to the Assistant Pastors and he and Cheryl took an offer with the Jim Bakker Ministry in Missouri and off they went. Funny how things happen in life. We're still great friends and talk once in a while about life and everything in it. I hear they're having a hard time with Missouri winters … who know, maybe they'll be back in the sunshine state one day.

The point in all of this is that we are all on our own journey. Life takes us to, and through many changes and directions. Personally, I walked away from Christianity and have no plans to ever return to any divisive separatist system of organized religion. I have several Ordinations myself as both an Interfaith Universal Minister with ULC, an Ordained Minister with Temple of Earth, an Ordained Universal Philosopher and Clergy Member at CHS, and a Doctorate of Philosophy and Metaphysics from Templar University. We accept all people of all faiths and religions. Be it Orthodox, Catholic, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Sufism, Deism, and even Atheists.

My spirituality has never been stronger. My understanding of Source/God and my individualized essence of the entirety of the universe is clear. We are all One. One Consciousness. One creation. One Source of origin. The universe is One living organism and we are all a part of the whole … entirely connected to one and other.

Since all of this has taken place, I now have well over 350 articles eventually to be assembled into an book called "Genesology." This book will cover the origins of most religious systems, quantum physics, spirituality, afterlife, church history, the real meaning of scriptures and ancient Wisdom, celestial cosmogony, astronomy, and numerous other topics that I have researched over the last 15 years.

So Sunday mornings these days are all about chill-time. No need or interest in church attendance, forever. At least not for me. Religion has cause more trouble in this world than anything else. Millions have been killed, murdered, and maimed throughout the world over religious fighting for hundreds of years. ALL of these religions are based on the very same foundational Pagan spiritual mysteries … the rest of the stories are lies. Millions of people have died and are dying for something that is nothing more than a fabricated lie. Tear off the layers or religious separatism, division, plagiarism, angry scribes and priests, corruption, and illusion … and you'll find beneath all of it lays the Truth. The Truth that we are One. Eternally connected. And that what we do to someone else, we are doing to ourselves.

Humanity is the Christ. The Universe is God/Source and the provider of life. The Sun of God never quits. It burns 24/7 and is a physical reminder that there behind it, and behind all things, is an unseen power much greater than we are and much greater than we can understand. It is present and evident in all things. It just IS. Enjoy every moment … and always LOVE.

Just a thought …

~Justin Taylor, ORDM., OCP., DM.