I was a member of Good Shepherd for several years. I should have known to avoid this church when I…read morewas greeted by a parishioner not with a "welcome," but with a stern lecture how I parked in the wrong spot. Amazingly, Good Shepherd claims to be proud of it's "welcoming nature." I have never been to a less friendly church. Ever.
Continuing this "welcoming atmosphere," don't expect to fit in unless you have the correct surname. This church is nothing but one giant clique, much worse than any found in high school. If you aren't one of the "in" people, you can forget fitting in. Volunteering for a church board isn't a ticket to the "in group." All you are is a body in a pew and, hopefully, a check in an offering envelope.
Despite the not-so-friendly atmosphere of church, my family remained members as our children were students in the day school. The school I initially was extremely satisfied with. The teachers were fantastic, the curriculum was excellent. However, powers that be ended up driving off some of the fantastic teachers. They were replaced, at least in one case, by an unlicensed teacher. The principal, however, lied and told us that she was licensed. That was the first of dozens of brazen lies that were told to our faces without shame or guilt.
However, the greatest insults came not from the school, but from the pastor himself. Without going into details, one member stirred up many problems. Multiple people, myself included, resigned from boards on which we served with this individual. Rather than following the scriptural outline for handling a person who sins, the pastor came to the individual's defense, allowing him to drag my daughter's name through the mud. My daughter, now an adult, has nothing to do with organized religion. I blame this squarely on the pastor and the pastor alone. Ironically, the trouble-causing individual and his family have also left the congregation after additional confrontations with the pastor.
The pastor subsequently insulted my wife, shortly after her mother had passed away, suggesting that she was bound for hell for not doing everything in her power to extend the life of her mother, terminally ill with cancer. Now my wife has pretty much nothing to do with organized religion, either.
Finally, when my family stopped attending church, we received one letter. No phone calls, no home visits, no other effort to express concern. Just a letter asking if we still wanted to be members.
So, if the church home you're looking for involves (1) not being welcomed; (2) making you feel marginalized; (3) being lied to; (4) having a pastor who can preach but doesn't know how to pastor; and (5) not having your soul cared for, then Good Shepherd is for you.
