Why did you leave the Pentecostal church?

[Kaitlin08]

If you were Pentecostal at one time in your life, why did you leave it?

I was raised as an Assemblies of God Pentecostal by my parents, and I went to a medium-sized, conservative church until I was maybe 10 years old. However, I thought of myself more as a Christian than as a Pentecostal proper. I remember that the services there were sentimental and not educational; I didn't learn anything about the Bible, Christian history, or about God I couldn't have found out on my own, and the sense of community wasn't absent but it wasn't anything special either.

There was a tendency to see things in a superficially spiritual way. One time, some people were saying that the walls dripped olive oil, as some kind of sign, and there were more than a few members who thought they spoke in tongues, and they made a show of it during worship. The people there seemed to be pretty carefree about the direction their own lives were going in, and about the state of things in the world. Additionally, I had bad OCD as a child, so the focus in this church on backslidden people was pretty tough on me.

I didn't see what made Pentecostalism more right than any other Christian denomination, so I stopped thinking of myself that way, and I was non-denominational for a while. I've been to a few different churches in my life, other than this one (including Catholic, Reformed, non-denominational, Anglican), and it was probably early exposure to these other traditions that made it easy for me to realize that Christianity was bigger than the Pentecostal world.

 

[Dr.Strangelove]

God bless you for that testimony.

Very interested in more like this.

Subscribing.

 

[Dr.Strangelove]

Actually, I have a question for you Kaitlin.

In your Pentacostal church, what did the sermons concentrate on?

Was it mostly how great everything is....how God has blessed the church...how wonderful life is....social issues....prosperity.....fuzzy love...etc...etc...?...?

How much teaching was ther about DECEPTION.....sinning.....the fallen nature of the world....our need for true repentance...SATAN.....Hell.....etc?

Cheers,

Doc.+-

 

[wayseer]

If you were Pentecostal at one time in your life, why did you leave it?

Why did I leave? I found that fundamentalism does like being questioned and the emotional hype tying.

Opps - does NOT like ...

 

[Kaitlin08]

Actually, I have a question for you Kaitlin.

In your Pentacostal church, what did the sermons concentrate on?

Was it mostly how great everything is....how God has blessed the church...how wonderful life is....social issues....prosperity.....fuzzy love...etc...etc...?...?

How much teaching was ther about DECEPTION.....sinning.....the fallen nature of the world....our need for true repentance...SATAN.....Hell.....etc?

Cheers,

Doc.+-

Social issues were not a theme at all, and fuzzy love was a frequent topic. However, from what I can remember, the church I went to did in fact understand the problems of some types of sin, fallenness, deception, and other topics like those. There was a strong emphasis on repentance and being born again, in frequent calls to the altar, which wouldn't have been necessary if they thought that sin wasn't a problem.

The church was composed of people from the middle-class, wealthy enough to put a gym floor inside what was the cafeteria room, so kids would be able to play basketball. The building itself was not very large or ostentatious.

 

[Lover_Of_Shoes]

I attended a Pentecostal church for most of my high school years. I left because; F-A-K-E people, I also disagree on concentration on only one spiritual gift, seemed a bit showy, reminded me of Pharisees in the temple showing off for people to see them praising God.

Just got a little old. Seemed like everyone was trying to outdo each other.

 

[LittleLambofJesus]

Why did I leave? I found that fundamentalism does like being questioned and the emotional hype tying.

Then I have a thread for you and others

http://www.christianforums.com/t7350852/
GT Fundies. Who are they?

 

[Big Drew]

Actually, I have a question for you Kaitlin.

In your Pentacostal church, what did the sermons concentrate on?

Was it mostly how great everything is....how God has blessed the church...how wonderful life is....social issues....prosperity.....fuzzy love...etc...etc...?...?

How much teaching was ther about DECEPTION.....sinning.....the fallen nature of the world....our need for true repentance...SATAN.....Hell.....etc?

Cheers,

Doc.+-

You apparently think all Pentecostals teach the prosperity gospel...you're sadly mistaken...watching TBN will do that to you.

 

[mannysee]

A pentecostal group was my introduction to the church.

I left 8 years later due to:-

- cloning in mannerism and speech (a reflection of the worldwide leader)
- manipulation of scripture to cause fear of leaving the group
- subtle (mostly) put down of christianity outside this group
- friends who were, until you began questioning things which didn't add up
- sensory bombardment in worship, including everyone 'speaking' in tongues (which I understand now affected the mind in a negative way)
- expected to be there at every service.
- taught that God's promises were not exactly promises
- no time for reflection. Busy, busy, busy.
- you leave and you lose all your "friends".
- once you leave you are the subject of sermons and how you turned your back on God.
- very poor understanding and teaching of the whole scope of scripture
- I was in at best a sect; at worst a an abusive cult
- upon leaving it took a few years to recover from on my own

I realize this was only my group, but that is why I left.

Am now reformed presbyterian.

 

[from scratch]

I posted some of why I left church on the Bapist version of this thread. Here is what I posted in my first post there: Never been a Baptist, but I have left the church of my youth becuse of internal practices (not the stated church doctrines) such as the preachers being also Masons and the stupid control issues of the power people. I droped one church because of the attitude of the Pastor's mother. We would have never been able to be socialable.

Other real concerns for me were lack of discipling believers. One of the reason for not returning is the lack of anything I hold dear relating to Jesus. The Pentecostal churches are now more emotional fixes for seeker types and have alienated the older people who are the finicancial support of the church. I think more and more of them are leaving. I also found it very difficult to have any close friends there. When I do visit these days the only one to greet you are the official people or one of those forced mid service phony shake hands and greet deals. During any longer regular visits I get greeted by business men looking for work while none of them will buy from me.

Some of the issues already posted here are also among the reasons. I have been deeply involved in the past.

Another thing I have problems with is how shallow the preachers are. Don't dare ask them any questions about the scriptures unless you are very shallow. You suddenly become a very unwelcome problem.

 

[Dr.Strangelove]

You apparently think all Pentecostals teach the prosperity gospel...you're sadly mistaken...watching TBN will do that to you.

I was asking a question Drew.

Anyway....If a major part of the Pentacostal movement is rotton to the core, then doesn't it say something profound about that particular denomination?

What makes you're church different to those on TBN?

 

[Big Drew]

I was asking a question Drew.

Anyway....If a major part of the Pentacostal movement is rotton to the core, then doesn't it say something profound about that particular denomination?

What makes you're church different to those on TBN?

You can find rotten apples in every denomination...and even in those churches that claim to be nondenominational...

It's only a small percentage of Pentecostals/Charismatics that are completely wrapped up in God's blessings...folks that have taken Biblical truths and distorted it to something it is not...you can find this happening in every other denomination as well, on one subject or another...

You want to know what makes my church different from what you mention...

For starters, we're Holiness...our roots are not in the Azusa Street Revival, but the Holiness revival of the 1800s...we adopted the belief on Baptism of the Holy Spirit after Azusa Street.

If you were to come to my church you would hear lively praise and worship...mostly modern songs, but also some old hymns...you'd see folks raising their hands, clapping...maybe dancing every once in a while...show me how any of that is contrary to scripture...

Our pastor's sermons are usually teaching series...either on a topic, such as Sanctification, Perseverance, the person of Christ, etc...or it may be a series on a chapter or entire book of the Bible.

We don't coerce people to speak in tongues...every now and again you may hear someone praying in tongues...but not everyone at once...as you believe all Pentecostals do...I recall only one time seeing someone being "slain in the spirit" in the five years I've been going to this church...every service we do have a time for prayer at the end...folks go to the altar for prayer for various things...salvation, healing, deliverance, prayer for a loved one...nothing unbiblical about that, now is there?

Over the years I have visited and ministered at many Pentecostal/Charismatic churches...I've been a member of three...and I can only think of a handful that would be like you think all of us are.

Pentecostalism, like every other denomination, has it's bad apples...but I challenge you to find one church that has never had it's issues.

 

[Kaitlin08]

You can find rotten apples in every denomination...and even in those churches that claim to be nondenominational...

Just a thought about this... I think that smaller churches are more likely to be truly nondenominational than larger ones. These small groups think about influence and taking sides differently than large groups do.

 

[GaryP]

The Dark-Side is throwing all they can including the kitchen sink during this spiritual
war. They do not want you to enter upon the Father in Heaven.

To understand this more, Figure out what the Circle on your cross icon means.

 

[papaJP]

- cloning in mannerism and speech (a reflection of the worldwide leader)
- manipulation of scripture to cause fear of leaving the group
- subtle (mostly) put down of christianity outside this group
- friends who were, until you began questioning things which didn't add up
- sensory bombardment in worship, including everyone 'speaking' in tongues (which I understand now affected the mind in a negative way)
- expected to be there at every service.
- taught that God's promises were not exactly promises
- no time for reflection. Busy, busy, busy.
-you leave and you lose all your "friends".
- once you leave you are the subject of sermons and how you turned your back on God.
- very poor understanding and teaching of the whole scope of scripture
- I was in at best a sect; at worst a an abusive cult
- upon leaving it took a few years to recover from on my own

I realize this was only my group, but that is why I left.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I copied this because it list many different things.
I was raised Angelican. I have been to many different churches and all the different denominations. I have been filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues. I have graduate degrees from a Roman Catholic Seminary. I have gone to many different pentacostal and charismatic churches. I have found all the normal problems that exist in many churches. I can say most are man made. No church is perfect as the men in the church are not perfect. All churches have some truth but not all the truth. Here are some responses to the items I copied.
1.Cloning in mannerism of speech. This is more of a problem in the pentacostal and charismatic churches but is not absent from many churches.
2.manipulation of scripture to cause fear of leaving the group. The manipulation of scripture is a man driven enterprise and is for control. I find this in most churches. Remember this is a about money, control, and trying to justify them thinking they are more spiritual or better than others. One pentacostal pastor kept saying that he was more spiritual than anyone else. I could not get him grounded even when I read his mail as they say from God for him.
3. subtle (mostly) put down of christianity outside this group. It is not always subtle. The common teaching is that anyone not of that church or group are them their sinners. We are all sinners and none of us have all truth. God will only give us what we can handle, understand, and walk in.
4.friends who were, until you began questioning things which didn't add up. I have not found any within any church that are true friends; they will drop you as soon as you leave or do not agree with the church teaching as they understand it. The root of the problem is control and peer presure to conform. They are mostly following the church and not God.
5.sensory bombardment in worship, including everyone 'speaking' in tongues (which I understand now affected the mind in a negative way). The experience is they are emotional and not always spiritual. This is fake spiritualism in many not all. Paul taught against this and John in Revelation even told what God thinks about it.
6.expected to be there at every service. I have no problem with this as we all need to worship God every chance we can. This should not be a problem if you are worshiping God 24/7 all your life.
7.taught that God's promises were not exactly promises. This is against God and when I hear it I will stand and protest. However we must remember we do not always know when, how, where, and why God will fulfill his promises.
8.no time for reflection. Busy, busy, busy. If you allow this then you are the one who is failing. They are trying to get everyone involved and historically only 10% of the people do 90+% of the work.
9.you leave and you lose all your "friends". addressed in number 4.
10.once you leave you are the subject of sermons and how you turned your back on God. Never been aware of this but if I had I would have gone to pastor and we would have had a confirtation.
11.very poor understanding and teaching of the whole scope of scripture. This is not surprising as I find very few pastors. or priest who have an indept understanding of scripture. They are influenced and hindered by the doctrinal understanding they are taught and led to follow by their church.
12.I was in at best a sect; at worst a an abusive cult. To be a sect is not unsual but to be in a cult could be problematic. It would mean they were not following the denominational guidance or were being rebelious of the denominational understanding.
13.upon leaving it took a few years to recover from on my own

I realize this was only my group, but that is why I left.
Not totally understanding what you are trying to say. I can understand the time to recover if you were not on a strong and deep walk with God.

Just remember that you will not find a perfect group or congregation in any organized religious organization. You must develop your deep walk and attend to help others and in so doing you will also be helped.