Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
We met as the church but we despised the church
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To me this is the glaring problem of the LC, and why I began to look outside at "Babylon" even after 24/7 immersion in group activity, teaching, and practice. We were the supposedly the church, but we wouldn't talk to anyone else including other Christians.
But look at Jesus. He met everyone where they were. He had the best outreach ever... the ones who tried to stay holy, and pure, were aghast. Lepers! Prostitutes! Drunkards! Jesus met them all, where they were. We, by contrast, were told only to go after the "good material", i.e. naive college students. Nobody else was worth the time.
And that nobody included me, ultimately. I came in from Babylon, the worse for wear. When I tried to confess my sins to the LC eldership they got nervous. "Just call 'O Lord Jesus' and all your problems will go away". There was no opportunity for healing, for growth. So after a season of pretense I went back to where people had problems, and admitted them to each other, and as I began to minister to others my own problems became more bearable. Lo and behold - "Do unto others and it will be done unto you" was true after all!
The church is all who name the Lord, not just those affiliated with a ministry or minister. In its attempt at purity the local church became myopic, dysfunctional, and ultimately delusional. The groups associated with a minister and his ministry were held as the glorious church, the Bride of Christ and the Body of divine/human incorporation; all others were fallen, dark, satanic, devilish, deformed, yada yada.
The unreality of it all became too glaring for me, and I left. The dissociation was more than I could bear. I just wanted to be a normal Christian. Poor material or not. Christ's love and sacrifice were for all.