[countmeworthy]

I am struggling right now with the notion that I might be resisting in a couple of areas just because I still think it is "religious" and therefore not "in the Spirit."

Why don't you share them with us ? That's what true fellowship is about ! We can help each other. Learn from each other. You might have Insight, Wisdom and Revelation, Experience I and others don't have.

Think about how much freedom LCrs and former LCrs receive from coming to this forum and the other if for nothing more than being set free from the mindset we were once enslaved to.

Now that many of us have been out for so long, experienced different church settings or NOT, we should be able to share what is working or not working for us. I thought the 'church' I was attending was really great the first couple of years. I even talked about it on the other forum. But I don't like what I see there now. It was probably ALWAYS there, I simply did not want to be 'judgmental' and 'critical' right off the bat.

After all, I learned a thing or two from being there. I learned to speak 'FAITH' for starters. But little by little I saw a whole lot of things wrong...mixed with the Truth. For example. One day, after a weekend conference that filled the building with standing room only, the pastor got up and told the congregants he was going to pray and ask the Lord to bless everyone financially. BUT he added, the blessing was only going to apply to those who tithed to his church ! THOSE WERE HIS EXACT WORDS !!! He said "If you go to another church and you tithe there, then you should get your blessings from there because that is where you tithed." I kid you not !!! Those were his exact words.

He lost a lot of his own members after saying that ! But the diehard followers saw nothing wrong what he said. I couldn't agree with those comments and there have been other things about that church that I simply did not like. So I don't go there anymore but still fellowship with people that love that church.

Are we still practicing exclusionary thoughts when our knee-jerk reaction is to say "religion should be extinct because it is not Spirit filled"?

I hope I have answered this question already, through long winded explanations.

Do you simply stand by your claim that current and former LRCers "UNDERSTAND the difference between being "religious" and being Spirit FILLED"?

Perhaps I jumped the gun on that statement I made. But I still stand on the belief there is a big difference between being religious and knowing the Word of God intimately as in a Relationship. It is when we are intimately related to HIM, we are Spirit Filled. Quoting scriptures, regurgitating 'messages', even teaching and explaining the scriptures does not necessarily mean we, individually have an intimate relationship with GOD. But consentratring and carefully, slowly 'chewing' the Word, asking the Lord to give us REVELATION of His Word is how I've come to differentiate the difference between being 'religious' and being "Spirit filled."

Permit me to tell you another "little" story. Last year, one of my friends said to me "Carol. I got Revelation from the Lord." I asked her what it was. She told me "We are S/spirit." I almost fell off my chair !!! She didn't know where the scriptures were but I showed them to her and she was "WOWED" by them.

do you stand by the statement that you are "all for the extinction of religion"?

Yep. Sure do.

If so, then my objection to the statements remains. You have not addressed what seems, to me, to be a very exclusionary kind of statement.

Sorry. Again I am hoping by now you have a better understanding of what I meant by that statement.

We rant about the exclusivism of the LRC then return with a modified form of it as we reject the ability to be more than theoretically one with any other Christians. Why? Because they are "too worldly." They are too "religious."

Mike. It works both ways. By that I mean, we sometimes can be rejected by religious people. One of the people in my prayer group has been going to the church I used to attend regularly. She is not a member but goes to every service, every Sunday. The leaders know her and she is well rooted and grounded in the Word. But they won't let her 'lead' a bible study because she is not a member! Your church might be different. And you might fit in just right. Yet I'm sure there have been people who have left it. It happens everywhere.

Ok. 'nuff said. Hope you and everyone get my POINT !! Oh...and btw, sometimes I myself have tried to be very ritualistic by having Communion every day. I go through periods where I'll break bread and drink the cup every day for 2-3 months. And then stop. Then start again. The stop. But when I do have communion, I love the time I am spending with the Lord.

So call me Religious if you like.