Unregistered

Hi guys!

Just a quick background on me. I am currently a university student and a Christian for 6 months. 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, with the responses usually being 'get into your spirit' or 'gain more Christ' or 'if it feels right, it probably is right', rather than question it. We would normally read books by Witness Lee and seldom read the Bible. If we were to read the Bible, we should read the Recovery version, since they claim it's the best translation with footnotes as a guide to understanding the passages.

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 practised what I was taught such as pray-reading, chanting Amen and reading the HWFMR. I have also been to a few conferences. Even though I have done all this, thinking I would gain more Christ, I found that my relationship with God wasn't stronger and I felt a little unhappy, although not really expressing it to them. I didn't want to question them because I wanted to keep the oneness. Even so, what they taught didn't feel right, but I was so conflicted because I really wanted it to be something of God, so I forced myself to feel right about it.

When I found out that they were affiliated with the Local church a month ago, I began doing research on the group on the internet. Many largely many claimed it to be a cult and that really hurt me because I felt betrayed and felt lied to. However, 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.

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. I have lied to them a few times because I really didn't want to be there sometimes. I'll feel bad if I leave because they spent much of their time training me up. But I am unhappy there. I don't understand why I feel that these practises don't feel right to me.

I have joined another church in the past few weeks but don't go there frequently. However, I definitely feel it is alot better than the Local church I am in now. They care for each other. We read the Bible. It feels so much like family, and 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.

Sorry for this long post about me basically complaining about the Local Church. God Bless!