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09-05-2014, 07:20 PM

Eph
I wish there was an easy answer but if you can extricate yourself from the LC, stay out. I don’t just mean stay out of the local church, I mean dump the doctrines, ideas and ‘benefits” you think you received. Otherwise you will never “get out”. If you come to realize that you have nothing of any benefit from the local church to offer to anyone you will begin the transition of finding freedom. The only real benefit I received was realizing that Christian churches in general (of course there are exceptions) are not going to help any of us. They are fragmented and broken. We all hoped the local churches would be the answer but what we found out was that they are as fragmented and broken as the rest of Christianity. Of course, we all are fragmented and broken and we need each other and the divinity within each of us but we don't need a church which makes us its prisoners.

This is a process and it takes some level of determination to leave and stay out. When I left in 1978 it was after I had brought in to the LC most of my 30 relatives as well as others from various university campuses and I just left. I didn’t want to contact them because I had already brought them in and I didn’t want to influence them again. Actually, I realized what a mess it was and I was concerned about trying to “help them” as I thought I was when I brought them into the church. I figured I had done enough damage. But, guess what? None of them ever called me and asked me why I left. Why? I presume they were under the spell of the elders. Who knows? I am now friends with most of them on “facebook”. One of my cousins recently told me that because I influenced his parents to follow me in a migration he was left behind to fend for himself at school and it really affected his life almost 40 years ago.

At the time I poured myself into my work and then in 1997 I emerged out from under all of it although I went through a process over the twenty years in between.

As I stated, it starts with determination to leave and get out and then the rest is dependent on each person and who they are inside. If you can break the dependency of the local church you have a chance. Especially if you can break the guilt trip they give you. I disagree with some who say that as long as you focus on Jesus that is all that matters. If that is important for you, than fine, but it is not essential. Again, it is a guilt trip especially emphasized by the local church. About 3 years ago I extricated myself from all the books associated with the LC (e.g. Watchman Nee, C.A. Coates etc) by selling them on ebay and I dumped the rest that I had been carrying around with me for 30 years. Maybe you had the experience of burnings where you burned things from your past at LC meetings. After you leave the LC you have to burn your past of the LC to grow as a person. Take it one step at a time—don’t rush anything other than get out and stay out. I hope this helps answer your question in some way. Hope you are doing well. Take care.

09-05-2014, 07:20 PM	#3
Dave Guest Posts: n/a	Re: A lost soul Eph I wish there was an easy answer but if you can extricate yourself from the LC, stay out. I don’t just mean stay out of the local church, I mean dump the doctrines, ideas and ‘benefits” you think you received. Otherwise you will never “get out”. If you come to realize that you have nothing of any benefit from the local church to offer to anyone you will begin the transition of finding freedom. The only real benefit I received was realizing that Christian churches in general (of course there are exceptions) are not going to help any of us. They are fragmented and broken. We all hoped the local churches would be the answer but what we found out was that they are as fragmented and broken as the rest of Christianity. Of course, we all are fragmented and broken and we need each other and the divinity within each of us but we don't need a church which makes us its prisoners. This is a process and it takes some level of determination to leave and stay out. When I left in 1978 it was after I had brought in to the LC most of my 30 relatives as well as others from various university campuses and I just left. I didn’t want to contact them because I had already brought them in and I didn’t want to influence them again. Actually, I realized what a mess it was and I was concerned about trying to “help them” as I thought I was when I brought them into the church. I figured I had done enough damage. But, guess what? None of them ever called me and asked me why I left. Why? I presume they were under the spell of the elders. Who knows? I am now friends with most of them on “facebook”. One of my cousins recently told me that because I influenced his parents to follow me in a migration he was left behind to fend for himself at school and it really affected his life almost 40 years ago. At the time I poured myself into my work and then in 1997 I emerged out from under all of it although I went through a process over the twenty years in between. As I stated, it starts with determination to leave and get out and then the rest is dependent on each person and who they are inside. If you can break the dependency of the local church you have a chance. Especially if you can break the guilt trip they give you. I disagree with some who say that as long as you focus on Jesus that is all that matters. If that is important for you, than fine, but it is not essential. Again, it is a guilt trip especially emphasized by the local church. About 3 years ago I extricated myself from all the books associated with the LC (e.g. Watchman Nee, C.A. Coates etc) by selling them on ebay and I dumped the rest that I had been carrying around with me for 30 years. Maybe you had the experience of burnings where you burned things from your past at LC meetings. After you leave the LC you have to burn your past of the LC to grow as a person. Take it one step at a time—don’t rush anything other than get out and stay out. I hope this helps answer your question in some way. Hope you are doing well. Take care.