I live in Springfield, Missouri. I live in the central part of what many people call the "Bible Belt" in the United States.

This past week it has come to light that a pastor of a mega church in our city has condemned the practice of yoga. He said that yoga is "diametrically opposed to Christianity."

Since the practice stems from ideas of Hinduism, he believes "Hinduism is demonic," and that "yoga poses were created with demonic intent, to open you up to demonic power," per Newsweek article covering this statement.

Earlier in my life, I can recall the news breaking that this same man said Harry Potter was witchcraft and reading it meant you were going to hell. Along with the idea that Catholics are going to hell.

Well, I am a yogi, I love Harry Potter, and I am Catholic. So I guess I can say three strikes and you're out? With this church anyway. Which is famous for the fact it has a following of 10,500 people in the church.

With this news breaking, I found myself with a set of questions for this man. Why are you preaching this? Why are you spending your time condemning people? What has happened to the modern day church?

We as people spend all of our time on the idea of loving ourselves and practicing self-care. Yoga is a practice that has been shown to have many benefits for the human body mentally and physically.

Also, we are taught to love each other and accept each other as we are. As Matt 22 says "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like, unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." I personally feel like this describes the exact opposite of what is happening with sermons such as that against yoga.

This same church has a fitness center which has a "Body Flow" class which practices similar ideals to that of yoga, which they are still continuing to keep after this sermon which happened before Halloween.

In our current world, we are so exposed to so much hate. We see it in the news, in the world, and almost every single aspect of our lives. Why is it that a place that is supposed to support commandments from the Bible is doing the opposite? We spend our lives so focused on the influence of scripture and spirituality that this creates no benefit for many of us. It just turns many away from the church.

So I am here to say, if you go to the church that had this sermon, I still love you. I do not care where you pray or go to learn more about your faith. That is your decision and if you feel at home, welcomed, and safe in a certain church, continue to go there.

Just remember that it is okay to question what you hear, it is perfectly okay not to agree. If you believe that you are a lover of all people, just know that some sermons are not the end all be all of your beliefs.

Be you, be genuine, and be authentic. Doing what you love should not be changed by where you attend church.