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Old 06-25-2017, 01:23 PM   #1
OGOP
Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Texas
Posts: 35
Default UPDATE 6 months later. Meeting with an "elder"...

Hey y'all.

My introduction thread is is titled "My situation with the LC" if you want to read it for some reference, but I'm going to quickly summarize it anyways.

So here's my story briefly.
-Born and raised into non-religious home
-Went off to college, fell head over heels in love with a girl who I, still do this day, intend to marry
-She has been born and raised in The Lords Recovery/LCM
-After a year of attending the "meetings" I come across this site, among other testimonies of the nature of the LCM.
-It finally "clicks" with me, that the things I was experiencing were not an isolated case, and are a result of the church itself, not just the brothers + sisters in my specific church. (arranged marriages, taking advantage of troubled people, full time training, etc.)
-I decide I want to find a denomination I feel comfortable to grow in Christ.

And so that is when I posted to the forum seeking advice.

Here's the update:

I ended up approaching her and telling her my feelings about the church. I tried to be as sensitive as possible about the subject. I censored my language very strongly to avoid hurting her.
This led to many nights of crying and fighting.
Eventually she came around and said she would agree to start splitting time between the local church and a church of my choosing.

The Saturday before the first Sunday it was my turn to take her to church, I don't know if she gets cold feet, too nervous, or if one of the brothers or sisters talked to her but she backs out and says she can't do it. That the local church is THE ONLY real church, the ONLY place she will feel comfortable, etc.

So that leads to more fighting and arguments between us, but in the end we would always make up.

This spring I actually managed to drastically reduce the number of meetings we went to, by planning things for us to do during the meeting times. Does that make me a bad person?

So here is where we stand now: She understands exactly where I stand in regards to my feelings on the church. She chalks it up as problems I have with Christ and because I am a relatively new Christian. She can't differentiate between a denomination I am criticizing and criticizing Christ. It's sad, but I do feel like I am slowly making progress in leaving the church WITH her.
She has agreed that she will follow me to a church I feel comfortable once we are married, ON THE CONDITION that I first have a meeting with a church elder and that I give these next few months my BEST TRY and full attention to be active and engaged in "the church life"

So here's my question for y'all:
1) What questions would you/should I ask the brother when I do have a meeting with him 1-on-1? So far I am planning to address my concerns regarding: Full time training, witness lee, living stream ministry scandals, controlling nature of the "elders"
If you have advice on how to word them that would be a huge help. For example I know the full time training gives me the cult vibe, but what should I question about it specifically. I can't just say 'whats sup with all the trainings, thats a softball question and I'm just going to get the same old talking points.
2) How can I get involved it the church life and make it seems genuine without falling into it. Not sure if I worded that correctly but essentially I am scared that if I get too involved that its going to be even harder to leave. Any advice on "faking it"in the LC lol? Im sure some of y'all have been here before.

God Bless
OGOP
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