Howdy from a Newbie

Gideon7 · 10-16-2017, 11:26 AM

Greetings brothers and sisters. I have enjoyed reading this forum for a few days and decided to join- something I have never done concerning other forums of interest to me- so I humbly ask patience with my ignorance concerning forum protocol- though I did read the rules and will do my best to abide by them.

Please let me share a little about myself. I’m a middle aged married guy who retired 6 years ago after a 22 year military career. My wife and I have not been able to have children and are generally ok with simply trying to serve the Lord in the situation He has allowed. My wife grew up in a Christian home- was saved at a young age- and loves our Lord. I was born again about 25 years ago- Christ changed my life radically and for the long haul- all praise to Him- and FOREVER I will rejoice! I had a nominally Roman Catholic upbringing- but thankfully not much of it stuck

I have been heavily involved with various sects/groups/denominations/bible studies/para-church orgs/(whatever other term you like)- of Christianity over the last 2 and half decades- Baptist (Southern and Independent), Presbyterian (don’t recall which flavor), Non-Denominational (mildly charismatic), Mennonite Brethren, Assembly/Plymouth Brethren- and prob others I don’t currently recall. My numerous military relocations required us to look for a new fellowship each time we moved- an interesting exercise to say the least. Post retirement and most recently, I was on staff as the leader of men’s ministry for about 3 years with a new church plant in a major US city- sort of a blend of Baptist and Non-Denominational.

We have recently moved to an area with a few cities adding up to about 600,000-700,000 people. We are looking for a good bible focused church and have been checking out the LC in our area. This sect is completely new to us. My wife has some health issues and hasn’t been able to attend a Sunday morning meeting- but I have gone to about 6 Sunday LC meetings- along with both of us attending a couple dinners at LC’ers homes. This LC seems to have maybe 80-100 people or so. Overall- the people seem joyful, biblically knowledgeable, moderately welcoming, healthily conservative, treat others like family, and in love with Jesus and His word. Additionally, they seem to be quite involved in doing life together outside the meeting hall- this fellowship has been greatly missed by my wife and I for years- even as a part of a church plant. Obviously- almost any group can look good initially, but those are my honest first impressions.

That’s what brought me to this forum. I’m mildly suspicious about some of the teachings of the LC/WL/WN/LSM- but want to be open to pros and cons of this sect. I’ve read quite a bit here and on other sites about various questionable things concerning the LC/etc... It appears I have reason for concern and further investigation- where there’s smoke there’s usually fire… I will not willingly be a part of any group with blatantly unscriptural beliefs/practices- regardless of how “nice” they might be. But I’ve sorta come to the conclusion that no group- and certainly not me- has every detail concerning God and His word all figured out. I feel we must realistically leave room for some things we don’t agree with and pick the best fellowship we can get- or something like that. After 25 years of serving Christ amidst MYRIAD settings and styles in numerous states and countries- I’m WELL AWARE that EVERY ONE OF THEM have some flawed leaders/people/teachings/histories/views/etc… and of course my own understanding can be misguided as well. I guess I’m trying to sift through the claims and counter-claims of the LC proponents and detractors to see what is really going on and if my wife and I should consider joining the LC. I look forward to interacting and learning and hopefully- ultimately growing in my walk with our Awesome Savior Jesus Christ! Thanks in advance for your time, energy, and input and for sharing some of your story and life. Sorry for my lengthy intro- I tend to be a bit verbose at times- God’s best to each of us as we endeavor to let His light shine brightly through us!

10-16-2017, 11:26 AM	#1
Gideon7 Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 14	Howdy from a Newbie Greetings brothers and sisters. I have enjoyed reading this forum for a few days and decided to join- something I have never done concerning other forums of interest to me- so I humbly ask patience with my ignorance concerning forum protocol- though I did read the rules and will do my best to abide by them. Please let me share a little about myself. I’m a middle aged married guy who retired 6 years ago after a 22 year military career. My wife and I have not been able to have children and are generally ok with simply trying to serve the Lord in the situation He has allowed. My wife grew up in a Christian home- was saved at a young age- and loves our Lord. I was born again about 25 years ago- Christ changed my life radically and for the long haul- all praise to Him- and FOREVER I will rejoice! I had a nominally Roman Catholic upbringing- but thankfully not much of it stuck I have been heavily involved with various sects/groups/denominations/bible studies/para-church orgs/(whatever other term you like)- of Christianity over the last 2 and half decades- Baptist (Southern and Independent), Presbyterian (don’t recall which flavor), Non-Denominational (mildly charismatic), Mennonite Brethren, Assembly/Plymouth Brethren- and prob others I don’t currently recall. My numerous military relocations required us to look for a new fellowship each time we moved- an interesting exercise to say the least. Post retirement and most recently, I was on staff as the leader of men’s ministry for about 3 years with a new church plant in a major US city- sort of a blend of Baptist and Non-Denominational. We have recently moved to an area with a few cities adding up to about 600,000-700,000 people. We are looking for a good bible focused church and have been checking out the LC in our area. This sect is completely new to us. My wife has some health issues and hasn’t been able to attend a Sunday morning meeting- but I have gone to about 6 Sunday LC meetings- along with both of us attending a couple dinners at LC’ers homes. This LC seems to have maybe 80-100 people or so. Overall- the people seem joyful, biblically knowledgeable, moderately welcoming, healthily conservative, treat others like family, and in love with Jesus and His word. Additionally, they seem to be quite involved in doing life together outside the meeting hall- this fellowship has been greatly missed by my wife and I for years- even as a part of a church plant. Obviously- almost any group can look good initially, but those are my honest first impressions. That’s what brought me to this forum. I’m mildly suspicious about some of the teachings of the LC/WL/WN/LSM- but want to be open to pros and cons of this sect. I’ve read quite a bit here and on other sites about various questionable things concerning the LC/etc... It appears I have reason for concern and further investigation- where there’s smoke there’s usually fire… I will not willingly be a part of any group with blatantly unscriptural beliefs/practices- regardless of how “nice” they might be. But I’ve sorta come to the conclusion that no group- and certainly not me- has every detail concerning God and His word all figured out. I feel we must realistically leave room for some things we don’t agree with and pick the best fellowship we can get- or something like that. After 25 years of serving Christ amidst MYRIAD settings and styles in numerous states and countries- I’m WELL AWARE that EVERY ONE OF THEM have some flawed leaders/people/teachings/histories/views/etc… and of course my own understanding can be misguided as well. I guess I’m trying to sift through the claims and counter-claims of the LC proponents and detractors to see what is really going on and if my wife and I should consider joining the LC. I look forward to interacting and learning and hopefully- ultimately growing in my walk with our Awesome Savior Jesus Christ! Thanks in advance for your time, energy, and input and for sharing some of your story and life. Sorry for my lengthy intro- I tend to be a bit verbose at times- God’s best to each of us as we endeavor to let His light shine brightly through us!