Currently, the pub has become a Sunday hangout and ritual I follow religiously and this means i no longer go to church. Don’t be shocked about this revelation just yet. Before I got stuck unto my pub addiction, I was going to church at a time when life was tough. I was homeless, hopeless and badly needed God to make a way.
So during praise and worship, I could see joy in the eyes of the congregation. But I wasn’t happy. As I soliloquized during prayer time, my phone rang. The tone was Ozimzim by Marriott International Band. For a guy my age, it’s kind of weird why contemporary music doesn’t move me. Anything from Osibisa, Abirekyieba Kofi Sammy, Nana Tuffour, Yaw Adomako, George Yaw Darko, Ben Brako, Ewurama Badu and the late Paapa Yankson, is bae. I have multiple albums from these artistes on my phone, which I sing and dance along to. I love M.anifest but I’ll always skip his ‘B.E.A.R’ track just to play “Welcome home” by Osibisa. That’s how committed I am to the highlife genre.
The Shock of my life
Now back to the church scene. As the phone rang, all eyes under the roof looked my direction. Before I could escape after close of service, some elders called me. They scolded me for interrupting their silence. You could see the embarrassment on my face, as against my artificial baldness. I found their gesture very humiliating and capricious.
The pastor’s wife had been moving up and down just to catch her little girl in the course of the service. That one, no one saw it as a ‘disturbance’. “Isn’t this place supposed to be a sanctuary?” I asked while walking out. “They’re just a bunch clothed in sycophancy and discrimination.” I walked out, never to return to the church again.
I walked into this quiet but lively pub across the street from the church. The mood there was pleasurable. I ordered for a drink instantly and started the fun. Before I could gulp it down my throat, I spilled it by accident.
“Damn! Today must really be a bad day for me”. Seeing the mess I had caused, I was expecting the well-built bouncers to strangle me. I was ever ready for their worst attitude, considering they’re an ungodly and unforgiving bunch.
Double Shock
To my utmost amazement, the waitress walked towards me and apologised for the accident. I was in shock; she offered me a napkin to wipe my pair of jeans, and asked that I take a different seat while she mopped the floor. She later brought me a complementary drink and apologized once again. I was impressed and humbled by the reception. From that one-time experience, I made it a ritual to go there the least chance I got. That’s how come I left the church to make the pub my “church”.
Note to The Church
- The body of Christ needs to relearn hospitality and care for the needs of newbies.
- A family that isn’t receptive and doesn’t show love, is that one too a family?
A Church Post by AkasaAnoma Kwame Boakye Yiadom
Read a rebuttal of this piece by Jaynes Quill titled You Simply Stopped Going To Church…. Saaaa
