has this happened to you?

[Godislove94]

I ask this for anyone who has left an unhealthy church or denomination: once you were out, did you find yourself feeling like you've been let out of a cage, free, and now that you are, you're doing a lot of things you did before you were saved because you feel like you've rediscovered life and just don't care? Did you also have a disdain for the Bible and God in general, or start to head in the direction of Unitarian Universalist, Deist, or Agnostic theist because your experience made you doubt Christianity/the existence of a God who seems to be just like the people who worship Him? Struggling with this right now.

 

[joshuanazar]

I ask this for anyone who has left an unhealthy church or denomination: once you were out, did you find yourself feeling like you've been let out of a cage, free, and now that you are, you're doing a lot of things you did before you were saved because you feel like you've rediscovered life and just don't care? Did you also have a disdain for the Bible and God in general, or start to head in the direction of Unitarian Universalist, Deist, or Agnostic theist because your experience made you doubt Christianity/the existence of a God who seems to be just like the people who worship Him? Struggling with this right now.

Yep when I was younger I left the Baptist faith and turned towards atheism. However, science and a few really good friends in my life were able to show me that God was real but I still had a hatred for the churches that showed me their traditions instead of Jesus. After I got saved, Jesus showed me that my relationship with him cannot be defined by anyone other than him. Meaning that it wasn't about all of those other people or denominations, even if they were wrong God was not. I realized that I needed to find out for myself what God is saying. Thankfully I had 3 years alone with God to establish our relationship without any church or denomination trying to influence me. All I can say is sincerely pray that God will reveal himself to you and look for him. A life without the true living God is miserable.

 

[NewEnglandGirl]

It's slang for "throwing the baby out with the bathwater". There are a lot of congregations out there that are not "healthy" in ways. My biggest contention is lack of friendliness for newcomers. They invite you in, get to know what you are all about, then forget you. This is a HUMAN thing, NOT a GOD or CHRIST thing. It happens, more frequently of late I noticed. It seems to me that as we progress in generations we become more introverted and less outgoing. No reason to give up on Christianity altogether. Try another denomination. Or study on your own. Wherever you go you are going to be faced with the "human element". Never turned to agnosticism or atheism myself so I can't say I have gone that far.

 

[Xalith]

Or study on your own.

This can be in some situations a good thing to do for awhile at least until you get your footing back and make sure that you are in Christ.

With all of those horrible things technology does nowadays, technology can also be used for good (and God does that very thing).

There are lots of preachers on Youtube these days, and anytime you need a sermon, you only need to look up your favorite preacher and get a sermon anytime you need one.

You just need to be careful as to who you listen to, and as always, make sure Christ as at the very center of their teaching; anybody that teaches you anything other than being in Christ is most likely apostasy. I'm sure a few internet searches can tell you who are the better ones.

I can name a few off the top of my head: David Wilkerson was the one responsible for starting a powerful church in NYC; it is non-demoninational. John MacArthur is another good pastor, though you might want to beware that he is a Calvinist (I am not bashing Calvanism, I am merely saying this in case you yourself don't believe in it), but most of his sermons are of sound doctrine.

I've also found John Piper, I've read somewhere that he has some stuff in common with Mr. MacArthur, and I find that his constant raising and lowering of his voice can make it difficult to listen to him but overall the couple sermons I've heard of his thusfar appear to be sound.

That said, perhaps studying alone is a good thing to try at least for awhile. That way you can push out all the stuff that's distracting you, and focus on God and Christ.

Another awesome thing about using Youtube to find sermons, is you can find sermons about particular stuff that you're curious about, or stuff you need clarification on. It is almost like being able to ask the local pastor to preach about something in particular, lol.

 

[Gordon Wright]

I've been in a church where they more or less expect their kids to lose faith in college when they're exposed to the outside world for the first time, then come crawling back to the church when they realize they can't handle it.

That seemed like a risky approach to me.

That church wasn't doing too well, BTW.

 

[dragongunner]

I ask this for anyone who has left an unhealthy church or denomination: once you were out, did you find yourself feeling like you've been let out of a cage, free, and now that you are, you're doing a lot of things you did before you were saved because you feel like you've rediscovered life and just don't care? Did you also have a disdain for the Bible and God in general, or start to head in the direction of Unitarian Universalist, Deist, or Agnostic theist because your experience made you doubt Christianity/the existence of a God who seems to be just like the people who worship Him? Struggling with this right now.

Left a dying church and set free from legalism. Was able to look back and see what was right and what had been wrong with a better perspective….A disdain for the bible or God….no way, only more thankfulness. I was saved before I ever started going to church. Never doubted God or His exisistance, perhaps doubt in myself, and feeling failure because I may of failed God at times. Sometimes feeling like God had failed me, only to realize I had failed God by thinking that. Put your faith in Christ Jesus, not man, not a congregation, not a church, not a pastor, if you do you will certainly fall upon the house you just built of sand and be in ruin shaming yourself.

 

[BryanW92]

I ask this for anyone who has left an unhealthy church or denomination: once you were out, did you find yourself feeling like you've been let out of a cage, free, and now that you are, you're doing a lot of things you did before you were saved because you feel like you've rediscovered life and just don't care? Did you also have a disdain for the Bible and God in general, or start to head in the direction of Unitarian Universalist, Deist, or Agnostic theist because your experience made you doubt Christianity/the existence of a God who seems to be just like the people who worship Him? Struggling with this right now.

Yes. I experienced all of that. I still have a lot of distrust for churches, leadership, and pastors but I'm getting over it with the help of the Holy Spirit and an ecumenical small group that I am in.

 

[Norah63]

Many have gone thru the time of a group that had dissapointed. Pretty common form of growth in Christ. It hurts because we expect everyone to be perfect examples of Christ.
Men and women all have feet of clay. Forgive and move forward in the Lord Jesus and his great love. Ask the Father what He has for you, theres a plan for all His children.
Small groups have way more benefit in my opinion.
Keep the faith!

 

[Godislove94]

Thank You. I would like to add that I have nothing against anyone in that church, except that I feel they are very misguided and I worry for them. There are so many things going through my head right now.........I almost feel like I've been woken out of a deep sleep and had my identity stolen from me, and now don't know who I am or remember anything about before I was knocked out. It's frightening. God doesn't even feel real to me anymore, at least not as much as He used to. :'(