Every time I have attended a Sunday service at this church, I have left more frustrated than when I…read morearrived. After multiple visits over the years, my concerns haven't changed, they've only become clearer. The Pulpit here feels more like a feel good ego booster than a place of Biblical Authority and Accountability. Topical preaching, as it is consistently delivered here, feels shallow and misaligned with what people truly need in this season. We are living in a time where the world is loud, chaotic, and spiritually heavy. Scripture makes it clear that we are in a battle, not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12) and people are walking into church desperate for truth, clarity, and spiritual equipping. Instead, the messages often revolve around surface-level topics like saving money, managing anxiety, or even personal anecdotes that feel disconnected from the weight of what believers are facing. There is a real hunger right now for solid, biblical teaching. People are not just looking for encouragement, they are looking for transformation through The Word of God. With biblical literacy at an all-time low, the responsibility of a pastor is not to entertain or lightly motivate, but to teach, correct, and equip (2 Timothy 3:16-17). I have yet to hear a message here from Pastor Tom that reflects the depth, authority, or conviction that pastoral leadership requires. 1 Timothy 3 lays out clear qualifications for church leaders: self-controlled, respectable, able to teach, and above reproach. Leadership in the church is not a platform for personal preferences or casual storytelling, it is a calling that demands humility and accountability. John 3:30 reminds us, "He must increase, but I must decrease." When that posture is missing, it shows. At any given moment, someone can walk through those doors completely broken, searching for something real, something eternal. That is not a small responsibility. That is a weight pastors are called to carry with reverence and seriousness. Messages should point people to Christ, confront sin, strengthen faith, and prepare believers to stand firm in a spiritually dark world, not simply offer life tips or light encouragement. After giving this church chance after chance since 2021, I can confidently say this is not a place where I have found that kind of leadership or teaching. It often feels like there is more emphasis on comfort than conviction, and more desire for agreement than accountability. My prayer is that leadership takes a step back, examines Scripture honestly, and realigns with what biblical shepherding is truly meant to be. The church is too important, and the times we are living in are too serious, for anything less.
