It takes a lot of Nerve to Steal a Guitar from Church

[jeff crisp]

Originally Posted by dmbandnick

Hosea 7:1-3
"Who soever stealeth thine acoustic guitar from the house of the Lord shall suffer the greatest torment in hell. There will be weeping and nashing of teeth."

Ok, so that's not how it goes at all. But it's close.

When I would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria; for they deal falsely; the thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside. But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.

My apologies I thought you were a Christian.

[jeepnstein]

Churches are easy marks. Most of them are rarely occupied during the week, especially after dark. They almost always have musical equipment which is easily sold. Most churches keep a bit of cash in the office for emergencies.

And then you have to take into account most churches do not invest in security systems of any kind. They also have poor key control. And quite often a door or two gets left unlocked because of all the different people coming and going. And then you have to consider that churches are in the business of taking in folks who are less than stellar in the conduct of their personal lives in the hope of helping them turn around and you just have a perfect storm. Leaving gear at church is just a step safer than leaving it on the sidewalk.

No way would I leave my guitar at my church. If the church pays for the gear, it stays at the church. Anything I buy goes with me. One of the countless reasons I'm no longer playing the drums. I'd prefer to not tempt anyone to steal from me.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. It's doubtful you'll ever see the Taylor again.

[dmbandnick]

Originally Posted by jeff crisp

My apologies I thought you were a Christian.

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

[CantPlayaLick]

Thanks for all the comments. I was venting when I made the original post. That it may have occurred at my Church is totally irrelevant of course. Anyone may have taken it. Even those I may know.

I'll really Okay with the loss of my Taylor. It's just a "thing" after all. It's not my wife, family, friends. But it was MY "thing". And I do have a couple of other guitars after all. My life has been Blessed beyond measure and this won't change that in any way. The Church feels worse about this than I do I think.

By the way, I played my Guild at PT rehearsal last night and Oh MY! how great that sounded.

Bill

[dwalton]

Originally Posted by CantPlayaLick

Yep. My Taylor 714ce was stolen from Church while I was on vacation. Now I realize many people are pagan/non-religious/atheists/etc. But really. From a Church? ... Bill

I feel compelled to say two things.

First, it's disheartening and very sad that someone stole your guitar. That has got to feel horrible - a violation of trust and security is a difficult thing to deal with. I hope you get it back, or that a replacement works out for you.

Second - the clear inference that the thief must have been a "pagan/non-religious/atheist/etc." speaks to a level of ignorance and intolerance that is pretty frightening. What other groups of people might be targeted by you as having no moral compass or humanity? To lash out at and accuse of immorality millions of people who do not share your particular views on religion is - well, it's not very religious, now is it?

What a thing to say, even under your circumstances. I'm surprised that the mods here let that comment ride, but then again, I guess I'm not really that surprised.

[rmyAddison]

Originally Posted by dwalton

I feel compelled to say two things.

First, it's disheartening and very sad that someone stole your guitar. That has got to feel horrible - a violation of trust and security is a difficult thing to deal with. I hope you get it back, or that a replacement works out for you.

Second - the clear inference that the thief must have been a "pagan/non-religious/atheist/etc." speaks to a level of ignorance and intolerance that is pretty frightening. What other groups of people might be targeted by you as having no moral compass or humanity? To lash out at and accuse of immorality millions of people who do not share your particular views on religion is - well, it's not very religious, now is it?

What a thing to say, even under your circumstances. I'm surprised that the mods here let that comment ride, but then again, I guess I'm not really that surprised.

I'm not surprised at all, been here too long..............sigh!

[jeff crisp]

Originally Posted by dmbandnick

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Right. RIGHT WHAT?

[Malty]

Based on my professional experience I can attest that churches are common targets. However, I wouldn't worry as much about losing a guitar during a house showing. Back in the day when open houses were popular, there was the risk of theft of easily concealed items, particularly jewelry. Large items like musical instruments, not so much. Theft was more likely in large houses during busy times, even when against an experienced team of realtors/assistants. Most home owners and realtors prefer single showings nowadays.

During single showings, your guitars are much safer at home instead of church. In fact, a female realtor working alone with a fake buyer is at greater risk of sexual assault than of theft from the house. Elimination of open houses and non pre-approved buyers has helped reduce a variety of crimes.

[dodge]

Have you considered looking at people within your church who may have sticky fingers? Sounds awful I know but it never ceases to amaze me what some people do.

[mdutr0]

I'm very sorry to hear about your guitar. I hope you are able to recover it.

I will just add this. I used to be an employee of a 2,000 member church. Things came up missing all the time and yet, the church was never actually broken into. Now I wonder who was taking all that stuff.....?

[flaggerphil]

Originally Posted by dmbandnick

Hosea 7:1-3
"Who soever stealeth thine acoustic guitar from the house of the Lord shall suffer the greatest torment in hell. There will be weeping and nashing of teeth."

No rending of garments?

[bwstl01]

Originally Posted by dablues

I'm very sorry to hear about your guitar. I believe there is a "special" place for someone who will steal from a church.

DaBlues, I hear it's right next to the furnaces!

Around here there are news stories every summer about the copper thieves hitting the A/C units at churches.

[TokyoNeko]

Originally Posted by dmbandnick

Hosea 7:1-3
"Who soever stealeth thine acoustic guitar from the house of the Lord shall suffer the greatest torment in hell. There will be weeping and nashing of teeth."

Ok, so that's not how it goes at all. But it's close.

When I would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed, and the evil deeds of Samaria; for they deal falsely; the thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside. But they do not consider that I remember all their evil. Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face.

Originally Posted by jeff crisp

My apologies I thought you were a Christian.

Responses like this bother me a lot. He was just trying to inject a little humor and lighten up the mood a little bit in a thread that is already turning "religious" and bringing tension. I personally thought it was funny, and he quickly re-quoted the proper verse. How does that make someone not a Christian? That's way too judgmental in my humble opinion.

[dmbandnick]

Originally Posted by TokyoNeko

Responses like this bother me a lot. He was just trying to inject a little humor and lighten up the mood a little bit in a thread that is already turning "religious" and bringing tension. I personally thought it was funny, and he quickly re-quoted the proper verse. How does that make someone not a Christian? That's way too judgmental in my humble opinion.

Thank you sir. I really appreciate it. His response has bothered me all day. I don't know why but it did.

Your comments have reinstilled my view that most people on message boards are honest good souls. Perhaps Jeff is as well, maybe he was just having a bad day.

It's events like this that have pushed me further and further away from message boards. I haven't so much as read a post on here in a year and within days of my return and renewed love for AGF, I'm chest bumped.

While you experience people like this everyday, it's an entirely different encounter when you're face to face with someone. Something about message board bullies irritate me like nothing else. Ironically if I encounter someone like this in person I ALWAYS end my side of the debate with a "God bless you and yours." I guess I should do the same here today.

God bless you and your family Jeff. I truly hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Cheers!

[stratokatsu]

For quite a while, I was proud of how we responded with sympathy for the OP's guitar being stolen, but the more recent comments now force us to close this thread.