"You have to work hard to offend Christians. By nature, Christians are the most forgiving, understanding, and thoughtful group of people I've ever dealt with. They never assume the worst. They appreciate the importance of having different perspectives. They're slow to anger, quick to forgive, and almost never make rash judgments or act in anything less than a spirit of total love . . . No, wait--I'm thinking of Labrador retrievers!" David Learn, 1998

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Transplanted and growing again

Thank you, God. You take such good care of us!

The Lord led us to several churches before taking us back to and settling us in one of them. Like so many others who felt led or forced out of Grace Brethren Church over the past 22 years, I couldn't help weeping through the first sermons we heard, realizing how parched we had become.

We have been nursing greedily at a truly Biblical view of Jesus Christ--Almighty, Sovereign, transcendent yet God-with-us, exalted and lifted up, name above all names, worthy of worship by all His creation, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, compassionate Savior, willingly giving His life in place of ours, the only necessary and sufficient sacrifice for our autonomy and rebellion, the One who not only hears us but can answer our deepest cries for help and heal the brokenness in the innermost places of our spirit.

The church God led us back to already contains so many wounded refugees from GBC the sanctuary is being expanded to accomodate 125 more worshipers. It is comforting to go to an unfamiliar church and be embraced by dozens of familiar people. Some we barely knew at Grace welcome us as long-lost friends.

We now understand why those who left GBC before us left quietly and still do not want to talk about it. We never want to step on that property again. Its air is thick with the poisonous fog of deception. In my mind's eye I see there a circle of friends with their backs to us. Why would we want to relive reminders that they chose to believe lies about us and, under orders by the perpetrators, refused to read this blog, blocked our emails, and would not let us speak to them--much less seek us out to ask why we were taking a stand against the leadership?

Like so many other outcasts, we are skittish about committing to another institution. I have trouble trusting what any church claims from the pulpit on on their website. We have alighted and are willing to stay but I feel my wings are still partially open to lift off at any moment if we sense heresy or just-plain-meanness under color of authority.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Jessica,
    I am glad you have settled for a while to rest and heal. God is good! I also am glad you are not settling in, as our comfort must always come from God, not a place where we are comfortable.
    I noticed you chose "nursing" as the word to describe what you are eating, and after a famine, milk is probably best. But it is not the goal, as you know. I pray God will soon be feeding you solid food, whether where you are now or in some other way.
    Blessings to you and Jerry!

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  2. We had a similar issue with a different church, but for me the problem was "authority" more than anything else.

    Funny, Duane, who was raised Catholic (very much a church with a focus on authority) never had a problem with that. As a young boy, he recognized what he was being taught was not Biblical, and from that point on rejected manmade/church authority. But somehow, i did have a problem with it.

    Being in that church did sharpen us, and i can't regret that. I still ache for the church members who are being deceived, misled, and abused, but i can't change that. Two years out have done a lot to heal - tho it still doesn't take much for me to become indignant all over again!

    Glad you have found a place to heal.

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