[aron]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Just a quick background on me. I am currently a university student and a Christian for 6 months.

if you have only been saved for 6 months then you are very vulnerable. Anyone who seems to know what they are talking about will be able to influence you if you are not careful. So be careful.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not long after I got saved, I joined a Christian club at University, but at that time, I didn't know that they were actually affiliated with the Local Church. I am also currently part of the church in their locality. Because of this, as a new Christian, I took all of the teachings of Witness Lee as the truth and was basically taught not to question it

If you are a new Christian, and you start to meet with some group, without any other point of reference you'll take everything they say as if it was true and complete. But is it? You really don't know. They say it is, of course, but how are you to tell? So don't "sign on the dotted line" just because you enjoy a couple of songs, or someone's testimony. Don't commit to anyone or anything. You are free: don't give up your freedom so easily. Christ purchased your freedom on the cross with His blood. Don't let go of it.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I got heavily involved and influenced by the group, largely because of pressure as they said I was 'useful to the Lord' and because I didn't want to ruin the oneness that they claim to have.

I am repeating myself, but it is worth repeating: you are vulnerable to pressure. (I will provide my suggested solution below).

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I do not know if they are actually a cult since there are differing opinions so as a side question, I would like to ask if they are actually a cult or not. They seem to keep the core doctrines of Christianity but I'm not too sure.

There has been quite some discussion about this subject. Pretty much everyone who's evaluated them say that they are "unbalanced"... they take very narrow positions on doctrines (ideas from the Bible) and they argue with other Christians. They do name-calling, as you probably have noticed -- everyone who doesn't take their position is called "twisted" and "dark" and "degraded" and "deformed" and so forth. Whether or not they are a cult, they are certainly not a very healthy group, in the opinion of many Christians.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I really want to leave but I am stuck. I have tried to reduce the frequency of going to church on Sunday and being involved with my club at university, but they constantly call, asking why I'm not there.

They have a tactic of putting pressure on the "newbie" to get them to conform. You just have to realize that is how it is. Any group that pressures you, that should be a "red flag" warning you to be careful. And that's a reason many Christians don't feel comfortable about them (besides their questionable doctrines).

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I have joined another church in the past few weeks ...my relationship with God is so much stronger. I want to remain there and attend more frequently, but I don't know how I can tell my Local Church group without hurting them too much.

You say, "I don't know how I can tell the Local Church group about my other church without hurting them too much." I would say this: the reason that you don't know how to tell them what you are doing is that you don't know how to tell yourself. You don't feel comfortable enough with what you are doing to be able to present it to others. So first, get comfortable with what you are doing. You have to find a story that makes sense to you before you can make sense to others. And it will take time. Give yourself the gift of time.

Here is what might make you more comfortable: don't feel pressure to "join" any church group. Tell yourself that you plan on meeting with 10 different churches over the next 10 months. Or 6 over the next 6 months. Whatever. Just be open. Don't try to "join" anything. You are young, you don't know what is going on except that there is a God and Jesus is His Son, and our Savior. Beyond that, what church is good to meet with? What is the truth in God's word? Where to go? What to do? You simply don't know. So don't pretend. You are uncomfortable because you are trying to defend and explain something that you don't even know, yet!

And tell yourself that you deserve the best. You aren't going to go join with the first group you find. Look around. Talk to people. The good church groups will be very cool with that, and will support you. The not-so-good church groups won't be so happy with that idea (at least privately, though they may smile at you). The people that are really connected to God's love, will love you no matter what you do, and no matter who you meet with. The unbalanced and needy people will "love bomb" you if you do what they say (at least at first!) but watch how quickly they turn off the Love Spigot when you don't go with the program. Usually pretty quickly. When they see that you are interested in meeting with different Christians besides them, they won't "waste their time" with you.

So if I were you I would decide to look around. Ask God, "Please show me what You are doing here, in my town. I want to be part of that." Don't you think God would like to hear that prayer? Then just cautiously follow Him. He will take care of you.

Then, when you go to different groups, if they ask you what you are doing, tell them, "I am a new Christian. I want to see what Christians are doing around here. So I wanted to visit you and say hello." The Christians who are connected to God will support your journey. The unbalanced and needy Christians will try to pressure you to take their program, and not meet with anyone else. Pretty quickly you will be able to tell who is who. You'll be surprised how quickly the Lord shows you what is going on!

Peace and God bless.