When I asked if anyone had any questions for me, I was not surprised to get the following question, because I assumed there are a lot of people who have wondered about the changes in my life over the last couple of years. It was such a complicated question, though, that I decided to take a completely separate post to answer Cassandra’s, a loyal reader of at least a couple of years, question. She asked…

The last few years, I have been reading your blog, and when I first started, we had a ton in common. We were both at independent fundamental Baptist churches, we had children in ACE ( I think you used to have Kyra in one-maybe I am mistaken about that) schools, we stayed home with our kiddos, both wore skirts all the time, etc. etc… Now, we still have alot in common- (our ages, our kiddos, our mommyness moments) but alot has changed for you! I’ve witnessed alot in your life the last couple of years. Starting up your schooling again, going to a different church, your husband’s change in vocation, leaving behind alot of the fundamentalist ideas…so, I am just curious. What started it all? Do you still consider yourself an independent Baptist? I am not condemning your choices in any way, I am just curious about the journey that you have started on. Was there a defining moment when you decided you wanted to do things differently, or did it slowly happen?

I guess the question to answer first would be, “What started it all?”

About three and a half years ago, we were members of an Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB), King James Version (KJV) only church. This meant that the church believed that the KJV was the only translation of the Bible that was in fact the Word of God. They accept no other translations for English speaking people. Our church was pastored by a wonderful man who happened to preach quite often in many churches around the country about the KJV only doctrine. This meant that we heard it preached on a lot. Over time, Chris began to doubt the accuracy of this KJV only doctrine because of inconsistencies in the arguments that the proponents presented, and, because it was such a big deal in our church, he decided to study it for himself. When he informed me of his intentions, I actually tried to persuade him not to. I knew what the consequences would be if he came to the conclusion that it was a false doctrine.

Shortly after he began to look into it, we made the decision to leave the church that we attended to go to a like-minded church where my parents attended. This was actually the church that I grew up in, and the church that my parents attend. It was a much smaller church, and we went there with the hopes of having more opportunity to serve in the church. We really enjoyed going to this new church. The people there were wonderful, loving people who welcomed us with open arms. It was much like “going home” for me, since I grew up there. The pastor had been my youth pastor at the previous church, and I loved and admired him and his wife more than they probably knew. We quickly got involved in working at the church…I took over the janitor position until I got pregnant with Owen and wasn’t able to do it anymore, I took over being in charge of the nursery, I occasionally taught a children’s Sunday School class as a substitute, Chris built and ran a church website, and he took over the radio broadcast ministry. It seemed like such a good fit. It felt like family to me.

All during this transition time, Chris was studying the KJV only doctrine, and was sharing all of his studies with me. We had already sat under the teaching of the most well known teacher in our area of this doctrine for years, and Chris read many books both for and against it. I was very nervous about it during that time. It didn’t take much time, before the inconsistencies in the defense of KJV-onlyism  and the seeming poor logic began to become pretty apparent to me. While Chris was passionate about finding the truth about the matter, I wanted him to just let it be, because I didn’t want to have to leave our church and lose my friends. As Chris read sections of books to me, summarized them, and simply talked out the KJV only teachings, I began to see for myself, as much as I didn’t want to, that it just wasn’t adding up. While I was reluctant to admit to it out loud, I no longer believed the KJV only teaching.

Around this time, Chris went to our new pastor, and brought his concerns to him. He told him that he had been studying the subject, and he had some concerns about this teaching. The pastor suggested that Chris quit studying the matter, and just pray about it.  While Chris did pray about it, he also continued studying the matter. We eventually became fully convinced that KJV onlyism was not supported by Scripture, and we began to use other versions of the Bible for our own personal reading…mainly the English Standard Version (ESV).

For a while, this didn’t pose any problems for us, because we hadn’t told anyone of this change. In my own life, simply switching to a more modern translation was dramatically changing my Bible reading experience. Everything seemed so new and fresh…like I was reading all of the familiar stories and teachings for the first time. I really began to grow a lot during this time, and I felt the desire to share what was going on with me on my blog. I wrote a couple of devotional type posts, and then a series of posts about the things that God was doing for me.

The trouble came when I posted Bible verses on my blog from the ESV. It set in motion a series of events that changed my life. I posted the verses, one of my IFB friends read it and called me on the verses not being from the KJV, it became public that Chris and I were no longer KJV only, and some people were understandably upset. We were one of their own, and they saw us as straying from the truth. A few people asked questions or tried to point out in loving ways that I was in error, but an anonymous commenter left a comment on my blog, fearing for my spiritual well being, that prompted Chris to write a guest post on my blog explaining why we had left our KJV only position. You can read that post here, if you like. When this post came to our pastor’s attention, he was very upset with us. He felt that Chris’ explanation on my blog constituted teaching against church doctrines. When he and Chris discussed this at church one night, Chris told him that we were looking for a new church to attend, and he encouraged us to leave sooner rather than later or be in danger of church discipline. That was the last service we attended as members of that church.

I was very hurt by all of this, and, of course, felt responsible. I would find it a blessing at times, and a huge hurt at others. I vacillated between feeling abandoned and set free. I found myself completely separated from all I had ever known. We began attending Trinity Baptist Church, where we still attend. It was healing for me to go there. The people there have become family. They have embraced us, and allowed us to minister where we feel most called. While God was still greatly working in my heart and life, I didn’t blog about it as much, for fear of stirring up trouble again. I felt very disloyal to myself. It was hard to write about what was going on with me, because I was afraid of further offending people or hurting people. That is why there have been so many extended periods of silence on my blog. That is also the reason that the changes in my life over the last couple of years have been kind of mysterious to people who I don’t spend time with in real life. I haven’t talked about them or the reasons behind them, because I was afraid that the people in my life who do still hold to beliefs and standards that I have left behind would be upset with me. I was afraid that they would feel like my choices condemn their choices.

Only in recent days have I come to the conclusion that I cannot live my life this way. I cannot be true to myself and true to my understanding of my purpose in this world by muzzling myself. I believe that Christ came to set the captives free, and I believe that there are people in this world, like me, who have been held captive by religion. My whole world had to get shaken up for me to understand my freedom in Christ. I hope to write much, much more about this in the future.

That is what started it all… the basic story of how we left the IFB churches and KJV only movement that we had been associated  with. Now, I will try to answer the more detailed questions Cassandra asked.

Do we still consider ourselves Independent Baptists? Yes, we do. We attend an Independent Baptist church. However, we are not what many people consider to be Independent Fundamental Baptists. The IFB churches we used to be associated with are characterized by KJV onlyism, women only wearing skirts or dresses, no contemporary music, and separation from those who don’t also follow these beliefs. We now go to a church that is not KJV only, women can wear whatever they want to wear with the emphasis on modesty regardless of what type of clothing it is, and there is no issue made about what type of Christian music you choose to listen to.

My decision to abandon the skirts only practice was simply because I didn’t want to live that way anymore. I found absolutely no Biblical reason that I should continue the practice. I had grown up wearing only skirts, dresses, or culottes as a kid, until I was thirteen. When I was thirteen, my parents let me choose for myself, and I, without hesitation, chose to wear pants. I went back to skirts only when we joined a different church when I was fourteen, and all the other girls only wore skirts. I had the impression that it was really important to God, and that, if I wanted to be right with God and devoted to Him, I had to give up my blue jeans. As time went on, I became less and less happy with that choice. When we left our last church, I asked Chris to allow me to wear pants again. He didn’t want me to at first, because it was the final nail in the coffin. If his wife wore pants, people would certainly consider us to be not a part of their circle anymore. It would mean for sure that Chris would not be asked to preach for anyone, and it drew a definite line in the proverbial sand. I was tired of it, though, and I didn’t want to be different for different’s sake any longer. Buying my first pair of blue jeans in many years was a happy, happy day for me. I felt more like myself than I had in a very long time.

We still have a lot in common, Cassandra. Our daughter did attend the ACE school at our last church, and continued to go to school there for the rest of the year after we no longer attended church there. The reason she quit attending was not because we wanted her to, but because the school closed because most of the church families whose children attended the school put their kids in public school. There were not enough students left to keep the school open. This left us in a spot where we had to decide what to do for our kids. There is one other Christian school in our area that we considered, but it was considerably more expensive and would not be a feasible option financially once we had three children in school at the same time. What we chose to do was to continue using ACE curriculum and homeschool our kids. We stuck with ACE because I went through ACE from pre-school through graduation, and was comfortable with and had confidence in the curriculum.

I also still stay at home with our kids. I don’t have a job outside the home, nor do I intend to get one while our kids are at home. I do go to school, but took off this semester as well as last semester due to Abby joining our family and beginning kindergarten with Elijah. I needed to take time off for that.

More importantly, we both love Jesus. We both want to honor Him and glorify Him in our lives. We both seek to be Godly examples to our children. We both want to be witnesses to His saving grace and unending love. We are sisters in Christ, and I count you as my friend. Thank you, Cassandra, for just asking the questions, and giving me the opportunity to start a conversation that I have wanted to have for a long time.

Thanks to everyone who commented either here on my blog or on Facebook and asked me a question for my very first Q&A. I’m very excited. I realize some of you must have had a hard time thinking of your questions…as evidenced by your questions…but I must assume it was a temporary lack of creativity and not that you don’t think I’m interesting. Surely you’re curious about Rachel Harmon. I know I am! So, for all the questions, I offer a heartfelt thank you. Every contribution to the great Rachel’s Blog Revival is appreciated.

Without further ado, here is the first (of hopefully several as time goes by) Nothing Gold Q&A.

Chris asks, “Who paid for your cool new haircut in the pictures you posted?”
Well, Chris, that would be you. Thank you.

Brandon asks, “Which is your favorite child?”
He also warned me not to say, “all of them”. I’ll do my best to answer this one. I don’t have a favorite child. I know this because if I thought, “Which kid could I live without? If I had to choose one child to lose, which one would it be?” I cannot do it. Sorry, Brandon. However, I do have favorite children at different times. Abby Jo is always very close to favorite child position on a daily basis. She rarely throws temper tantrums about what she has to wear to church on Sunday, goes into a five year old rage and does a crazy caveman fit over being told to go to her room because of freaking out on whichever sibling made her mad, nor does she poop on herself, take off her pull up, and then try to go to the potty by herself, smearing horrible nastiness all over the bathroom. Also, she completely adores me at all times. So, she doesn’t have to do much to be the cutest, sweetest, most easily satisfied child. However, she doesn’t do random acts of service like Kyra does…she doesn’t say, “Mama…” wait thirty seconds, grin from ear to ear, and continue “…I love you!” like Elijah does, and she doesn’t make me laugh till I pee my pants over three year old one liners like Owen does. They all get to be my favorite for unspecified amounts of time. Poop has a lot to do with it.

Haley asks, “What has been the turning point in your life…the moment in which you realized something and it changed how you view the world?”
This is a hard question, not in that I can’t think of such a point, but to think of only one point. I’ve had several of those moments over the last few years. One that stands out to me, though, is the time during my third semester of college when I was taking a Psychology class, a Sociology class, and a History of Western Civilization class all at the same time. It was the perfect storm of getting really ticked off about the way women have been treated throughout history. I started to see a lot of correlation between history and my own life. I was outraged to see that the rest of the country had conceded that women were not second class citizens, but that in my own little religious bubble, in practice, the thought was still pretty prevalent. It was not the rule, but it was also not the exception. I would read about Aristotle teaching that women were inferior in Western Civ, and then see how that thinking was still going strong…if not in teaching, in practice…in my own life. All three classes just coincided with one another, and I started to get kind of upset about it. The people who were confronting me about worrying about me, my family, and my spiritual condition because I had chosen to continue my education, were not helping me to see my thoughts as in error. I felt like they were trying to keep me in “my place”. I remembered that I do have a mind of my own. I do have thoughts and ideas. I have hopes and dreams. I realized one day that I was an adult in the United States of America. I was free to pursue my education. I was free to break away from the pack if the pack was not helping me. I was free not to concern myself with whether or not people wanted me to or not. I was free, and it felt pretty refreshing.

Chris (yes, again) asks, “Which do you like better…chili or potato salad?”

Chili.

Taylor asks, “What do you do with most of your time not spent with the hubby or kids?”

The most honest and concise answer…waste time on the Internet. I read a lot of blogs, spend too much time on Facebook, and chat with friends on gmail. Following that, I talk to Amy on the phone a lot. I don’t really get out much without Chris and the kids, but if I do, it’s usually church related.

Travis asks, “Peanut butter…crunchy or creamy?” and “How do you feel about Goober grape?”

Well, Trav, I like Smuckers All Nautral creamy peanut butter…the kind you have to mix the oil all up with it. It’s the best. I’ve never tried Goober grape, but it seems like something I wouldn’t like too much.

Natasha asks, “So how are the kids? What is everyone into these days? Are you guys still planning to move?”

Tasha, the kids are doing great. Kyra is in 2nd grade, and doing quite well in school. She is into computer games, playing xbox, occasionally blogging, and reading. She loves chapter books these days, especially Junie B. Jones and Ramona. She is a great help with pretty much everything. Elijah is in kindergarten, and he loves it. He’s a fast learner, and very excited to learn. He loves computer games and xbox games, too, but he is especially adept at games of logic. He amazes Chris and I at his ability to do puzzle games that are hard for us to do. Owen is not yet in school, but he sits through kindergarten with Elijah and is learning his letter sounds. He’s our little comedian. He’s hilarious and keeps us in stitches. He likes to watch the big kids play games, and occasionally gives it a go himself. He likes Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Scooby Doo, and superheroes. They all love going to Awana at church.

Yes, we are still planning on moving, if Chris does go active duty with the Army. That is our general plan, but it could always change. He will be a Reserve chaplain first for a couple of years. He is not yet a chaplain, but he could be by the end of the year or shortly thereafter. We will not move until he goes active duty.

Cassandra asks, “The last few years, I have been reading your blog, and when I first started, we had a ton in common. We were both at independent fundamental Baptist churches, we had children in ACE ( I think you used to have Kyra in one-maybe I am mistaken about that) schools, we stayed home with our kiddos, both wore skirts all the time, etc. etc… Now, we still have alot in common- (our ages, our kiddos, our mommyness moments) but alot has changed for you! I’ve witnessed alot in your life the last couple of years. Starting up your schooling again, going to a different church, your husband’s change in vocation, leaving behind alot of the fundamentalist ideas…so, I am just curious. What started it all? Do you still consider yourself an independent Baptist? I am not condemning your choices in any way, I am just curious about the journey that you have started on. Was there a defining moment when you decided you wanted to do things differently, or did it slowly happen?”

Cassandra, thank you for your question. I will be happy to answer each part of it in detail, but I’m going to give it it’s own post. So, hang around a bit longer, and it will be my next post. (You were so one of the three loyal readers I was talking about.)

April asks, “Did you get your nose pierced?”

Yes.

Emily Moore asks, “How bad did it hurt to get your nose pierced?”

It hurt quite a bit, but just for a moment. As he pushed the needle through the cartilage, it hurt pretty bad, but, as soon as the needle was through, it was just sore. It was sore for a few hours, and, after that, it’s only been sore if I bump it.

Emily McMichael asks, “Do you think I’m hot?”

Emily, my dear…I think you are beautiful…lovely…talented…wonderful…hilarious…compassionate…loving…and completely awesome, but I have never thought you were hot.

Emily McMichael also asked,”Why did you get your nose pierced on the right side instead of the left?”

I had it pierced on the right side because it looked better, I thought. At the time, I had my cartilage pierced on my left ear, so I thought it looked more balanced with my nose pierced on the right. It was purely an aesthetic choice, and it means nothing.

Maurice asks, “If a hen and a half laid an egg and a half in a day and a half, how long does it take 7 hens to lay 7 eggs?”

There is no such thing as a half a hen that is still capable of laying eggs, so the question is moot.

Maurice also asks, “Which direction is up?”

Stand up with your feet on the floor, tilt your head backwards as far as it will go…the direction your nose is pointed is up.

Heather asks, “How do your children keep getting cuter?”

Well, Heather, the funny answer is that as they get meaner, God realizes they need to get cuter so that I don’t start beating them. The serious answer? Superb genetics.

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I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve had fun. If anyone else thinks of any questions they’d like to ask, leave them in the comments and we’ll have a You Asked: Part Deuce sometime in the future. Stay tuned to the answer to Cassandra’s question in my next post, and I’ll also have a post up soon about getting my nose pierced, with pictures and video, since it was such a popular topic.

Thanks! You guys rock!