Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry
Up to a certain point I agree with OBW. A sister as the unregistered brother posted on, how deep is her commitment? Is the church in xxxxx the assembly she was brought up and goes because that's her Christian environment or is she one who has already intended/planned to attend FTTA following college?
I've seen sisters raised in the local churches who married brothers from outside the local churches. Key from my perspective was commitment to the relationship first or commitment to the churchlife first? Whichever the case, it is a human reaction for her to be defensive about the assembly she meets with. Same can be said where you meet or where I meet. It's not denominational, but in the local churches it is received as denominational.
Guess what I'm getting after is where is the time commitment? If it's the local church functions (college age meetings, college age prayer meetings, conferences, trainings, etc), the ministry Living Stream Ministry publishes, etc that is her commitment, in my honest opinion a relationship would only work with one also in a likeminded commitment.
If the time commitment is to the relationship first and local church functions second, there is hope. There is hope for a relationship and a fellowship based on being a brother and sister in Christ.
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Thanks for your reply Terry. You hit on several key points which I think show why it is possible to keep this relationship going. She attends LRC meetings because it is what she has grown up with. It's all she knows and probably all she would have known if I had not come along and showed her the other side of things. While she does attend many of the functions you mentioned (in fact, she is currently at the summer college training as I write this) she does so mostly out of necessity. That is, she goes because she is expected to go. Her parents also grew up in the local church (or at least her dad did) overseas and as such, there are deep roots and connections to the local church for her. While she has made it clear that she would rather be spending time with me instead of going to meetings, trainings, BFA distributions, etc (not always, but sometimes), it would put her in a bad situation with her parents having to explain why she was not attending these things. I must also add that her parents don't really approve of me as a boyfriend either (I think it's just because they don't like me for becoming her boyfriend before an "appropriate" age moreso than the LRC views on relationships, although that may also be a part of it) so saying that she's not at things because of me would not be very good for us at all.
I have seen a very large window of hope for us in spite of the issues swirling around us. However, I feel as though we will only grow in our relationship as God intends for us if we settle the differences between the LRC and other churches. Even within the Christians on Campus group there are those who are marrying outside of the LRC (or at least I do not think that their spouses were raised in the LRC like they were) so I know she is not unfamiliar with that happening around her.