A friend of mine contacted me this week and asked me to post part of the assessment I made to him privately after visiting Lakeview Christian Life Church last year. As a brief introduction of myself: thanks to wonderful parents, I have spent my entire life attending Christian churches similar to this one. Aside from that, I received my degree in religious studies from Syracuse University. Over the years, I would estimate that I’ve attended well over 50 churches altogether, while considering four of those to be my “home church” throughout the years. Of those four churches, I have always been actively involved in the ministry to some capacity. I was invited to attend Lakeview by a good friend. Already being fascinated by the comments I had read on this site, I was eager to see for myself.\r
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The people here were extremely friendly, and in my opinion, the service was very well-managed. I have seen speaking in tongues several other places. It appears to be a common occurrence within this congregation. Overall, I was quite impressed. There were a few red flags though, as I told my friend later. The first one went up the moment I saw a local policeman stationed in the lobby. I initially assumed this man was a member of the congregation, but was puzzled why he would be in uniform for a service. My friend informed me that a local police officer is always stationed in the lobby. I was genuinely amazed. Prior to Lakeview, the only other security guard I have seen stationed in a church was one situated in a very dangerous area of the city. That man was also a member of that church and contributed his security services to the church as a ministry for the people. Lakeview, on the other hand, is located in a Pittsburgh suburb that actually boasts one of the lowest violent crime rates in the state of Pennsylvania. My defenses went up right away. I found myself saying a prayer for my physical safety before the service began. That was new for me.\r
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So the first natural question for the visiting Christian: What does this church fear? What goes on here that requires a police presence in order to preserve the peace? My friend countered my questions by saying there are church attacks happening more and more often. I expected this justification from him, and replied that I wonder then why I have never seen police stand guard at any of the other dozens of churches I’ve attended over the years. Houses of worship are, by definition, sacred sanctuaries, respected with protected status by nearly every member of the American public. A mad gunman can just as easily walk in to a Burger King as he can a church, no? It’s unfortunate, but we live in a post-9/11 world of constant threats. If we are being honest with ourselves, all of us would prefer to have an armed body man with us wherever we go (A pertinent sidenote: the pastor of this church keeps a bodyguard right on the platform next to his elders).\r
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My point is this - decisions like this do not get made without some form of threat. That is the only logical and justifiable reason. Posting a policeman at the door of a house of worship does more to instill a sense of fear than a sense of security. Emanating far clearer than the message “come and worship” cries the warning: “We are afraid.”\r
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Then I remembered the reviews I had read. I came back to the site and read them again, now understanding fully the threat that this church fears. It fears all the hurt family members represented on this page, those damaged souls estranged from their parents, children, and dear friends. It all became crystal clear in an instant. And to think this church has accomplished what Paul so desperately sought to avoid all along: a church at war with itself. What a tragedy. What a win for Satan.\r
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I will not visit again.
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