WHAT HAPPENED ON THURSDAY NIGHT?

“When thou are bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room;  lest a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him; (Luke 14:8).

The above verse essentially says, “Don’t push your way into the important seats at special events”.  Whether or not that applies to me, I’ll let you be the judge after you’ve read this piece!

Along with my nineteen-year-old daughter Rachel, I went to the Benny Hinn service at TDBankNorth Garden yesterday.  This is my report.

The service starts at 7:00 p.m., BUT the doors open for seating for the “partners” at 5:00 p.m. and I had been told that the doors would open for pastors with a prearranged number of guests at 3:00 p.m.  I received numerous phone calls from Benny Hinn Ministries asking me if I wanted the special premium seating for pastors and guests and I said “yes”.  I prearranged for up to five guests for each night.  I specifically asked the gentlemen I most recently spoke to on the phone which entrance I was to report to and I was told the “East Gate”.

Since we were traveling by train and had to allow for time, we took the 2:00 train out of downtown Framingham.  I arrived at Back Bay Station around 2:50 p.m. and we took the Orange Line from there to North Station.  My friends John and Kathy Ventresco connected with me outside of the TDBankNorth Garden, and we went to the East Gate where there was a mob of people. I kept trying to get information about where we were to go, and I kept being told, “This entrance is for the CHOIR- no one else.”  Finally a woman told me they just weren’t doing any of that special seating for pastors stuff and that we were all to report to the WEST Gate.  I was a bit annoyed but we did go to the West Gate.  At the West Gate, there were two lines- on the right was the “general” line, and on the left was the line for pastors and their guests...so they WERE doing the special seating after all.  At 4:00 the doors were opened.  My name and the amount of guests was checked off of the previously arranged list.  We were told to follow a woman.  We did follow her up an escalator and down some long walkways and then were told to go to Sections 11 and 12.  We got there and were told to walk right down to the front area.  The pastor and his guests ahead of us got great seats on the floor.  Suddenly I was stopped by a fortyish white woman with an attitude.  She insisted we could not proceed forward and had to go back.  We were then given one confusing message after another and shuffled from seating area to seating area.  We ended up in pretty lousy seats up pretty high. There was NOTHING special about them.  Now we were NOT in the “nosebleed” section-thank God- but we could have stood in the general line and gotten the seats we did.

You will think I am kidding but at offering time, the fortyish woman who derailed us in the first place showed up next to Kathy Ventresco giving her some kind of directions about passing the offering bucket in our area.  Kathy and I laughed our heads off for at least one full minute.  I absolutely wanted to “dress down” the fortyish white woman, but somehow laughing like a seven-year-old was more enjoyable.  You will also think I am kidding about this but the offering bucket passed back and forth in front of me at least 5 times.  NOBODY knew what they were doing regarding taking the offering and it was not well explained.  I know that is NOT typical of “big” Christian events.

I realize I have not said anything about the service.  It was actually pretty good, but as my daughter Rachel said, “We left just before all the good stuff.”  We did.  Benny did not even start the healing service part until 9:30 as we were slipping out to catch the Orange Line and make sure we’d make the 10:10 train.  It turns out there were signaling problems on the Orange Line and it was running with delays so we really needed to leave when we did.  The music at the service reminded me very much of a Gaither Concert.  It was very good.  Benny interviewed a couple of prominent women from the Middle East regarding the current crisis and that was good.  There was an altar call for salvation, and I’d say five hundred people went forward.  Benny’s sermon began after all that at 9:00.  It was a sermon saying God wants every Christian to prosper financially.  Well, I guess I can’t disagree with that... at least not on a purely human, emotional level when I’m constantly strapped for money!  If God want me to suddenly get tons of money, I’ll take it!  The sermon lasted from 9 to 9:20.  Then came the offering.  Then we left.  Tonight I’m going in with my wife and some other people from our church.  We plan to stay later.  Will my seats be any better?  I’ll find out!