Should you leave the denomination?

[aron]

Originally Posted by YP0534

I think many of our recent friends here have now realized that they have somehow become a part of a denomination but do not know what to do about it. Here is what brother Lee taught back in 1968: it is not right to remain in something wrong.

Because of the local church practice of "quarantining" ex-members who open their mouths, many who have extended families involved to various degrees with the movement may have reticence to move, speak, or act, regardless of personal feelings. Remember, we are dealing with a multigenerational movement here. I suspect the number of people who are involved in the local churches as part of a family, as opposed to as individuals, is pretty high. The local church only has to get one or two 'true believers' among the group and the whole family is either paralyzed, or else riven. It is a big leverage they have with individuals. "If you speak you'll never see your granddaughter again".

Quarantining is very serious business. These are true believers here. They believe they have the "ends", and any "means" are therefore justified, even unbiblical and unethical ones. Many who are unhappy nevertheless do not dare "oppose" the leaders.

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Matthew chapter 23:27 says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who stones the prophets..." Not all people in Jerusalem stoned prophets. But enough people did that the Lord painted them all with the same brush. Everyone, even the 'clean' ones, were in God's eyes infected with the same taint.

I imagine some of those who tarry midst the chaos and confusion, knowing all is not well, wondering where the blessing of the Spirit of '76 or '72 or '67 went, tell themselves the verse from Revelation chapter 3, "But you have a few in Sardis who have clean robes, and their reward...." They hope to be the few who remain clean, who don't have the smirch of the "deep things of Satan" in the Thyatiran assembly. Perhaps, perhaps not. If you remain in Jerusalem, who stones the prophets, you may share Jerusalem's fate.

One whom I talked to who over the winter was very troubled about the trend of recent events, and very discouraged, but nevertheless said, "It's the church", and stayed.