Moved from Main Page: We Should Do Something

ExChurchKid · 11-16-2020, 10:22 AM

Hi all,
I was forced by my parents to grow up in the churchlife, and it was terrible. I felt judged, shamed, controlled, and isolated. But somehow, I also felt like I had to stay, because of the brainwashing. It took much therapy and the experience of the outside world throughout undergrad and grad school for me to realize that I was normal, and the church was not. Not the other way around, which I had always thought. I had always seen myself as abnormal for not experiencing the Lord, or feeling Him in me, or all these other things that were supposedly what the churchlife was about. I just learned to do whatever it was I wanted to do the least (i.e. read a fantasy novel, or a ministry book? Better read a ministry book because I need to deny myself and that's probably what God wants anyway because the novel sounds more fun).

But I'm free! I finally got financially independent, emotional independent, and left. Now I rarely talk to either churchlife people, or even my parents. I've come to realize that growing up in the churchlife (and for reference, I was born in the 90s), and then leaving, is a unique experience that only other ex-church kids can truly understand. People still in the church don't understand, and neither do people who never experienced the local churches. So in conclusion, I think we should do something. I'm so grateful I found this website (it was recommended to me by someone on Reddit who says they're a minor stuck in the churchlife because their parents are forcing them, which I think is terrible). Is there anything we can do? Can we help the current church kids to not have to go through what we went through? Can we expose the truth of the local churches? I read about a libel suit in the 80s that the local churches actually won, by suing the authors and publishers of a couple of books that I think tell the truth about the churches. I think those books should be back in print. I feel somewhat powerless and lost.

Thanks for reading!

11-16-2020, 10:22 AM	#1
ExChurchKid Member Join Date: Nov 2020 Posts: 150	Moved from Main Page: We Should Do Something Hi all, I was forced by my parents to grow up in the churchlife, and it was terrible. I felt judged, shamed, controlled, and isolated. But somehow, I also felt like I had to stay, because of the brainwashing. It took much therapy and the experience of the outside world throughout undergrad and grad school for me to realize that I was normal, and the church was not. Not the other way around, which I had always thought. I had always seen myself as abnormal for not experiencing the Lord, or feeling Him in me, or all these other things that were supposedly what the churchlife was about. I just learned to do whatever it was I wanted to do the least (i.e. read a fantasy novel, or a ministry book? Better read a ministry book because I need to deny myself and that's probably what God wants anyway because the novel sounds more fun). But I'm free! I finally got financially independent, emotional independent, and left. Now I rarely talk to either churchlife people, or even my parents. I've come to realize that growing up in the churchlife (and for reference, I was born in the 90s), and then leaving, is a unique experience that only other ex-church kids can truly understand. People still in the church don't understand, and neither do people who never experienced the local churches. So in conclusion, I think we should do something. I'm so grateful I found this website (it was recommended to me by someone on Reddit who says they're a minor stuck in the churchlife because their parents are forcing them, which I think is terrible). Is there anything we can do? Can we help the current church kids to not have to go through what we went through? Can we expose the truth of the local churches? I read about a libel suit in the 80s that the local churches actually won, by suing the authors and publishers of a couple of books that I think tell the truth about the churches. I think those books should be back in print. I feel somewhat powerless and lost. Thanks for reading!