Reason for searching

[scott5626]

I said in my introduction that I stumbled upon this place and while true I was also looking for something. I guess looking for direction. I would like to share a little about my life. I was raised since about 5 years old in a non denomination church. It closely resembles Pentecostal. I attended 4 services a week until I was in my upper teens. Then at 23 I got married. My wife was raised Catholic. She eventually came to follow me at my church. I wasn’t always faithful to every service but we still attended pretty often. I began to listen to other pastors like TD Jakes. and Rod Parsley. I liked how they preached. It was a slow process of realizing exactly how different my religious beliefs were compared to mainstream Christianity. In 2007 I stumbled upon a website (blog) from a former member of my church. Different location same group. It was then I began to realize I had been raised in a cult. That was the most difficult experience in my life. Coming to the realization that all the doctrine that I had placed my trust in needed to be re-evaluated.

My old church’s beliefs are really strange even to the most seasoned Christian. The more I began to pray and study my Bible the obvious it became. My wife was in agreement with me. My family was of course quite resistant. Whenever someone would question their doctrine the knee jerk reaction is to say “the devil is fighting you”. Or when I would question some of the weird beliefs they still say “just put what you don’t understand on a shelf”. My shelf became quite full and overwhelming. God as faithful as he is moved a Baptist preacher right next to us 1 year after we’d bought our first home. We became extremely close friends. He spent countless hours talking to be and explaining the basics of grace and sound biblical doctrine. He would at times get frustrated with me because I would have a difficult time seeing what he said as being the correct interpretation. My old church CGC was and still is works and law based. I like to say they are married to the law and only flirt with grace. We bounced around from church to church for several years trying to find a healthy balance of grace and holiness. We finally have found a church we are starting to call home. I’m so grateful to God to get me out of that movement. When I first left I was pretty angry. I felt so deceived. I spoke with several more pastors seeking direction on how am I supposed to act. Am I supposed to just forget about them when every fiber of my being wants to expose them. I certainly learned the hard way that you cannot change what someone wants to believe. That takes God.

 

[dqhall]

I said in my introduction that I stumbled upon this place and while true I was also looking for something. I guess looking for direction. I would like to share a little about my life. I was raised since about 5 years old in a non denomination church. It closely resembles Pentecostal. I attended 4 services a week until I was in my upper teens. Then at 23 I got married. My wife was raised Catholic. She eventually came to follow me at my church. I wasn’t always faithful to every service but we still attended pretty often. I began to listen to other pastors like TD Jakes. and Rod Parsley. I liked how they preached. It was a slow process of realizing exactly how different my religious beliefs were compared to mainstream Christianity. In 2007 I stumbled upon a website (blog) from a former member of my church. Different location same group. It was then I began to realize I had been raised in a cult. That was the most difficult experience in my life. Coming to the realization that all the doctrine that I had placed my trust in needed to be re-evaluated.

My old church’s beliefs are really strange even to the most seasoned Christian. The more I began to pray and study my Bible the obvious it became. My wife was in agreement with me. My family was of course quite resistant. Whenever someone would question their doctrine the knee jerk reaction is to say “the devil is fighting you”. Or when I would question some of the weird beliefs they still say “just put what you don’t understand on a shelf”. My shelf became quite full and overwhelming. God as faithful as he is moved a Baptist preacher right next to us 1 year after we’d bought our first home. We became extremely close friends. He spent countless hours talking to be and explaining the basics of grace and sound biblical doctrine. He would at times get frustrated with me because I would have a difficult time seeing what he said as being the correct interpretation. My old church CGC was and still is works and law based. I like to say they are married to the law and only flirt with grace. We bounced around from church to church for several years trying to find a healthy balance of grace and holiness. We finally have found a church we are starting to call home. I’m so grateful to God to get me out of that movement. When I first left I was pretty angry. I felt so deceived. I spoke with several more pastors seeking direction on how am I supposed to act. Am I supposed to just forget about them when every fiber of my being wants to expose them. I certainly learned the hard way that you cannot change what someone wants to believe. That takes God.

If someone asks you for an opinion, you may give it. If they do not want you talking to them, it might not be easy for you to teach them what you learned.

My parents are in long term care. We were not always of the same opinions, but they turned back to support me. I have a duty to visit mom in her nursing home even though she can no longer walk or feed herself. I went to dad in his assisted living facility near mom. I drove him to medical appointments and shopping. He had a stroke and is forgetful.