The sight of a woman being tattooed live on the altar accompanied by the sound of a buzzing ink gun provided a startling backdrop to Sunday's evangelical sermon.
Your parent's church service this was not. In the drive to stay relevant, the Gold Creek Community Church has been hosting a series called "Permanent Ink" that featured Sunday's live-tattoo finale.
The Mill Creek church is not exactly staid — booming 20-minute rock sets launch regular sermons — yet the pastors acknowledge this series was pushing societal norms.
"We've said from the start that we are not advocating tattoos — nor discouraging them," said pastor Larry Ehoff.
"We think of it as amoral. It's neither immoral nor moral, it's just the choice of a person."
Ehoff said the church is telling the same story of Jesus as always, it's just finding different ways to tell it.
Sharon Snell was one of several congregants who volunteered to be tattooed Sunday. At the noon service, she got on stage and faced away from about 150 parishioners while tattoo artist Matt Sawdon worked on the image of a police shield on her lower back.
It was Snell's third tattoo and represents her husband's work as an Everett police officer. Snell said last month's shooting death of Seattle police Officer Timothy Brenton forced her to confront the fragility of life and the dangers inherent in her husband's job.
"Anything can happen at any time," Snell said. "Him being an officer is a big part of my life and of who I am."
As Snell's tattoo took shape, pastor Dan Kellogg told the congregation that permanent markings, both good and evil, are mentioned in the Bible. The most famous symbol, he said, is "666," the sign of the devil.
But there's also mention in the Bible of markings on Jesus, saying he is the king of kings and lord of lords, Kellogg said.
Another congregant who volunteered was Erica Armendariz, who was getting work done on an arm tattoo she calls her "faith sleeve." "Surprisingly, I was not nervous to get up on stage," she said, adding that the tattoo process, which in her case stretched through two sermons, was getting painful toward the end.
JMC Ministries Response
written by: Jeremy and Miranda Caverley
We found out about this article from the Jesse Woodrow show today and knew we had to share it. We also recorded a audio clip from Jesse's show where he interviewed the pastor of this church who had the tattooing.
Comment | Copy This
These were just a few of the scriptures that were shared during the show. Many listeners called in asking the pastor how he thought allowing this in the house of God was not wrong or sinful. Many times the pastor did not answer the questions, or simply tried to change the subject. He did say, "God doesn't look at the outside, he looks at the inside." Jessee Woodrow then asked him, "so if a prostitute, or stripper comes to your church and gets saved does that mean she doesn't have to stop wearing her stripper clothes and mini skirts?" The pastor simply answered, "God focuses on the inside.
Comment | Copy This
The show was a very heated debate not only between Jesse and the pastor of the church, but also in the chatroom. People appalled that a pastor would allow such things to take place not only in the house of God, but even in the pulpit. But, the pastor in his own words said, "there was nothing wrong or sinful about allowing someone to be tattooed in the church" Even after bible scriptures were shared that clearly stated that it was sin in the eyes of God and should not be taking place especially in God's house the pastor still maintained that it was not going against the teachings of the bible.
Leviticus 19:28
28 " 'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
Matthew 5:17,18
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
1 Corinthians 3:16-19
16Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? 17If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple. 18Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. 19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"
1 Corinthians 6:19,20
19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
These were just a few of the scriptures that were shared during the show. Many listeners called in asking the pastor how he thought allowing this in the house of God was not wrong or sinful. Many times the pastor did not answer the questions, or simply tried to change the subject. He did say, "God doesn't look at the outside, he looks at the inside." Jessee Woodrow then asked him, "so if a prostitute, or stripper comes to your church and gets saved does that mean she doesn't have to stop wearing her stripper clothes and mini skirts?" The pastor simply answered, "God focuses on the inside.
Want to share you opinion on this? You can vote on our "Do you think professing Christians getting a tattoo is a sin?"This poll will end on January 4th 2010
1 comment:
If you are going to quote scripture to justify personal prejudice, at least quote it in context. Leviticus is speaking against Israel adopting Egyptian practices of cutting and marking the body to make idols of the dead and the verse from 1 Corinthians is Paul addressing the Church at Corinth about sexual immorality. Neither of which were given on the proper context. Peace.
Post a Comment