Quote:
Originally Posted by zeek
Here's some doublespeak for ya. We are all just brothers and sisters. The clergy-laity system is part of poor poor Christianty. It ain't happening in the local churches. It just happens that the "saints" are providing a stipend, paying the rent and maintaining the homes of some of the "brothers" who give messages (read sermons), fellowship with the "saints" (read counsel them) and make the important decisions. In other words, some of the Brothers were clergy in everything but name.
|
The real tragedy of the LC program is to be discouraged by all the hypocrisy. Everything I once believed about the Recovery got shattered almost over night. Literally thousands of others have also left because the hypocrisy got exposed to them. If the light shined brightly on LSM, every last one of them in the LC's would depart from that system. All the doublespeak just highlights the hypocrisy.
But Jesus is not a hypocrite. He's the only straight-shooter. He alone is honest and trustworthy. Romans 3.4 says, "Let God be true, and every man a liar." I may not trust anyone like I once did, but I can still trust Jesus. He has proven Himself repeatedly.
"Ebenezer" is a saying from the Bible that I love. I found this in the hymnal during my bleakest time. The hymn (#716) said, "
each sweet Ebenezer," so I researched it to find what it meant. Israel came to some difficult trial, fearing their enemies, and God saved them ... again. They named the place Ebenezer meaning, "
up until now, God has been with us." It is our tendency to forget that God is with us when we face new trials. But the story of Ebenezer is a huge encouragement, because it reminds us that God has been with us until now, so we have nothing to fear.
Personally, and I think others will confirm this also, after leaving the LC program, with so many confusing things going on, I found it best to reduce my reading to just the gospels. Just read and reread the stories about Jesus. There's joy and encouragement in the gospel stories to restore us to the joy of our salvation.