Past the Pulpit

my dream from last night…

I was in a church filled with people — maybe a thousand of them…
It felt like home… familiar… safe…
But something in the air felt strange…
like warmth covering a quiet wrong…

I was sitting with a group of guys — my friends —
waiting for the service to start…
The room was loud with low voices and shifting bodies…
noise that feels alive
before something important begins…

Then.. a young guy stepped to the pulpit…
mid-twenties… unpolished… unguarded… real…

He started to confess…

Not in a dramatic way — not for attention
just a man tired of carrying his weight alone…
He confessed his sins…
his failures…
his sexual mistakes…
with girls in the church…

The room changed…

Whispers started…
Then snickers…
Then laughter…

People leaned into each other…
smiling behind their hands…
Judging…
Feasting on the fall of someone
brave enough to bleed in public…

I felt my chest tighten…

Not at him —
at them…

I felt angry…
Ashamed…
Disgusted…
I was pissed…

This was supposed to be a place of mercy…
A greenhouse… where things nurture…
instead.. it felt like a courtroom with no grace…

I looked around at the faces of people…
I didn’t recognize the love
I thought lived here…

I wanted out…

So I stood up…

I walked past the rows…
Past the whispers…
Past the laughter…
Past the pulpit… that was no longer an altar… but a guillotine…
and the applause for the fallen… was the new amen…

I pushed open the doors…
as I stepped outside… I felt cleansed… baptized…
free as a wet bird drenched in truth…

then I woke up…

it was just a dream…

…….🚶‍♂️→🤫→😂→⛪️⚔️→👏⬇️🙏❌→🚪→💧†→🐦💦✨

Who knows who is both your best friend and brother…
When everyone’s deserted you…
Who’d shoot first and ask questions later…
If anybody’s messed with you…

Pretty soon we’ll all be tumblin’ like a barrel…
Thrown from the top of the waterfall…
I’m drownin’ in piranhas in the river…
Man… what a drag!

I was talkin’ to my teacher…
Said I didn’t have a clue…
I think my principles are reachin’…

An all time low…

© 2026 Bryan H. All Rights Reserved.

`’.,°~

18 Replies to “Past the Pulpit”

  1. I felt so much from this. I grew up judged. Heavily judged. Long story. Later on I had a judgey experience in my church and I left. I have such shame over it. I am so open and strong with so many topics but with this? I’m on the sidelines and hiding. ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’m glad you felt it… I felt it too… I can relate… I went through much of the same… growing up… in my church…… with my family… then It just hit me one day… us people are messed up and we let each other down and disappoint… so I couldn’t blame God for them… so that personally helped me get back on track… and later I found a beautiful church… full of beautiful people… led by a beautiful God… 😊

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Wow, this is so true on many levels. “Christians” wonder why the world does not respond to them and this is one of the prime reasons. Also because they spend more time being religious than they do being followers of Jesus.

    I know I have been caught in that trap because that is what I saw growing up and it is learned behavior. Now I just follow the Man.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Man… that dream hit deep.

    Sounds like the Lord showing you the difference between a building full of people and a church full of grace. That young guy was being real, and the crowd chose judgment over mercy. You walking out wasn’t running away, it was choosing Christ over religion.

    Jesus always stood with the broken, not the whisperers. Sometimes the Spirit leads us out to keep our hearts clean. That felt like God saying, “Stay where grace lives, even if you have to walk alone.”

    Much love, Hermano. 🙏

    Liked by 1 person

      1. The unseen or unknown character of Christ and His Word:

        Every dream or vision you (I or we) have is primarily (more) about you (who had) the dream(s) than others.

        What it all comes down to is that your dreams and all other things in your life are always God working His work for your good in your life.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Thank you friend… that’s very true… and I have lots of dreams 😁… God deals with me through them… thank you for your comment… have a great day…

        Liked by 1 person

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