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09-05-2014, 11:43 AM

A book published in 1978, “Snapping” helped me understand “what just happened” when I left the LC after 9 years in 3 different local churches (because of migration) in 1978. It was the first step in a long process of understanding what I went through as I tried to extract myself from the local church experience which was so overwhelmingly addictive (the words of the oracle, the friendships that develop, the time spent pray reading, reading etc). It goes back to our “born again experience” where on pages 32-34 in “Snapping” it states, “Among Christians in America, this powerful experience is…a surprising widespread occurrence….the experience of enlightenment is a completely natural one. Stripped of its supernatural components, it is simply a moment of fundamental human growth, of overwhelming feeling and understanding when an individual pushes through to those higher levels of consciousness that distinguish us as human beings.” My experience has been that because we associate this experience with the context of our environment (a Christian fundamental church as opposed to a Buddhist temple, for example) we associate it with being a Christian and believing in God, Jesus, and the HS.

The born again experience translates to those who have gone into the local church. There is a sense of enlightenment when we become a part of the local church which often gives us the feeling that “we have found it” with “it” being the ultimate answers in our lives. Everything we think or do subsequently seemingly reinforces our original feelings of enlightenment of being in the local church where we hear or read the words of the apostle of our time. (btw—I knew WL who asked me to move from Santa Cruz, CA to Detroit, MI in 1971 which I did) The Bible is enlightened by “HIS” words. Just think how unique that experience becomes when we literally believe we have found the ultimate truth and experience in our lifetime. Wow, that is so wonderful which leads us to more enlightened experiences. How could we not become more enlightened when we have heard the oracle of the world and understand the faith which we have given ourselves? Among the 5 billion people in the world we are the lucky ones who have found the absolute truth in the universe. It is just amazing, isn’t it? That is why the blended brothers’ words (who I presume are an extension of WL since there was not an apostle who followed) are so appreciated (check out cognitive dissonance). I brought many to Christ and many into the local churches because I was a true believer so I understand quite well what it is all about.

One of the problems in the local church is that they only try to proselytize other Christians and shy away from actually going out and preaching the gospel to the unconverted. I guess that is because there is this belief that those in the local church are at a higher spiritual level and really don’t need to preach the gospel to the unsaved. Thus, the local churches don’t grow.

09-05-2014, 11:43 AM	#8
Dave Guest Posts: n/a	Re: A lost soul A book published in 1978, “Snapping” helped me understand “what just happened” when I left the LC after 9 years in 3 different local churches (because of migration) in 1978. It was the first step in a long process of understanding what I went through as I tried to extract myself from the local church experience which was so overwhelmingly addictive (the words of the oracle, the friendships that develop, the time spent pray reading, reading etc). It goes back to our “born again experience” where on pages 32-34 in “Snapping” it states, “Among Christians in America, this powerful experience is…a surprising widespread occurrence….the experience of enlightenment is a completely natural one. Stripped of its supernatural components, it is simply a moment of fundamental human growth, of overwhelming feeling and understanding when an individual pushes through to those higher levels of consciousness that distinguish us as human beings.” My experience has been that because we associate this experience with the context of our environment (a Christian fundamental church as opposed to a Buddhist temple, for example) we associate it with being a Christian and believing in God, Jesus, and the HS. The born again experience translates to those who have gone into the local church. There is a sense of enlightenment when we become a part of the local church which often gives us the feeling that “we have found it” with “it” being the ultimate answers in our lives. Everything we think or do subsequently seemingly reinforces our original feelings of enlightenment of being in the local church where we hear or read the words of the apostle of our time. (btw—I knew WL who asked me to move from Santa Cruz, CA to Detroit, MI in 1971 which I did) The Bible is enlightened by “HIS” words. Just think how unique that experience becomes when we literally believe we have found the ultimate truth and experience in our lifetime. Wow, that is so wonderful which leads us to more enlightened experiences. How could we not become more enlightened when we have heard the oracle of the world and understand the faith which we have given ourselves? Among the 5 billion people in the world we are the lucky ones who have found the absolute truth in the universe. It is just amazing, isn’t it? That is why the blended brothers’ words (who I presume are an extension of WL since there was not an apostle who followed) are so appreciated (check out cognitive dissonance). I brought many to Christ and many into the local churches because I was a true believer so I understand quite well what it is all about. One of the problems in the local church is that they only try to proselytize other Christians and shy away from actually going out and preaching the gospel to the unconverted. I guess that is because there is this belief that those in the local church are at a higher spiritual level and really don’t need to preach the gospel to the unsaved. Thus, the local churches don’t grow.