My Journey to the Local Church, and beyond...

[aron]

Originally Posted by NeitherFirstnorLast

As I made my way through the Bible, my confusion grew - I did not have the discernment to understand what I was reading, and by the time I reached the Book of Revelation, I was terrified. I grew up sensitive to the precarious condition of the world around me - during the Cold War, the Iran Contra affair, during the height of tensions between East and West. I had long been horrified by the prospect of a third world war - and here in the these last pages those fears seemed borne out. Looking for answers, I went to my Pastor.

My Pastor was a dear man, and I've no doubt that he would have answered me if he could. Sadly, when I asked him what the Book of Revelation meant, he said only "We don't ever preach from that book." He was being honest. Most of the sermons in our church building were about church finances and good works. I was completely shattered. His admonition confirmed my worst fears - Christianity (what I knew of it at the time), was a sham - a make-believe religion where everyone claimed to believe the Bible was the Word of God, but nobody cared enough about it to read it.

I love this testimony because it highlights the dilemma of the "seeking Christian" today. The LC initially looks attractive because: 1) you compare it to experiences like this; and 2) the LC does a good job of hiding their own aberrations.

My point is this: Yes, "Christianity" is arguably a mess, and this allows sketchy groups like the LC to do business. But the answer is not to leave a group or join a group or start a group or give up on finding a group. The answer is to boil down the gospel message into its indissoluble core, at which point we can function in any group the Lord Jesus puts us in, whether on a street corner with unbelievers or invited to the Big City Anglican Church where the dude is up front with a mitred cap and a curved staff, and he's waving at us like he's the pope. You know, that slow, spiritual benediction wave.

Or wherever. The gospel is real, it doesn't change. Jesus said, "Seek and you will find." It is not only a promise but a command; it doesn't change.

Anyway, this was a great testimony & I'm so very glad nfnl put it down. Everyone has a journey and the journey is better when we share.