[Evangelical]

I think every genuine Christian would be concerned if a person wants to leave their church. Whether Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Presbyterian, Mormon, JW, or the Recovery. I think Catholic and Orthodox believe if a person leaves their church they are in danger of going to hell because it is "falling away from the faith", and they associate the church with the faith. Leaving the church is leaving "the faith".

Unlike them we do not consider "the church" and "the faith" to be the same thing, because "the faith" is not built upon this idea that we must hold to a certain apostolic tradition, so it is possible for a person to leave the church and still be saved. That is one point of difference.

I think some members here who have not been with the Recovery for "30 or 40 years" are not taking what current members (Drake, myself) are saying seriously. Which really proves they are arguing from perceptions and encounters they had in the past, rather than how things are today.

If I was to characterize the attitude of the church today I would say it leaned towards the side of indifference rather than the side of forcing me to stay against my will.

Before I joined the Recovery I could come and go as I pleased and no one said anything. It is still the same today. A number of people come and go, even people who have been with the Recovery longer than I.

The general attitude of most people is one of "where are you?" and "how are you doing?" rather than "you must not leave us, if you leave us something bad will happen to you". I have never encountered that attitude personally.