Some advice would be much appreciated here ...

[BananaPie]

Brother,

May the Lord God Most Holy bless us in obeying our Savior's calling, "take up your cross and follow Me."

Let us be sober to comprehend that there has been abuse of power in Judeo-Christian ranks for as long as "Once upon a time, in a far away land" has existed.

Let us always remember that Christ the Lord has risen, conquering death; He has ascended to Heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God, holy, clothes in majesty and victoriously interceding for us.

Let us be completely resolved that that very same Jesus has promised to return in great power and glory to establish a perfect Millennial Kingdom where peace & justice will reign permanently, forever and ever. Amen!

When you consider all the virtues of our Lord Jesus Christ,

His complete work on the Cross,
all the maximum excellence God is and forever shall be,
the holy adoration of myriad of myriad of God's creation
bowing before God's throne,
from where God Himself has granted You
a personal invitation to partake of God's Holy Kingdom,

do you really, really believe you are trippin
because a gal at church thinks you will? ​

 

[Charcoal]

Sunday's coming... start shopping, Bro.

 

[Roh_Chris]

I wonder if you could find a mid-week Bible study or small group from another church to go to? It might be a nice way to gradually move toward the door of your own church, test your feelings on the differences between church groups, be fed spiritually, gain friends outside of your church, and store up courage.

Grace, I am in a position where I am wary of attending any meeting other than Sunday worship. I just think that only people like my parents who are overly religious can go to church so often. And I fear that I would end up like them if I go often. I know that's not right, but because of my experiences I am a bit unsure right now.

It is precisely when we are weak that the strength of God is made known, for God has promised,

He gives strength to the weary, and increases power to the weak (Isaiah 40:29);
My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9);
So that your faith may not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God
(2 Corinthians 2:5).

Thank you Sister BananaPie.

Sunday's coming... start shopping, Bro.

I did, Brother.

I first went to my church and spent almost 7 hours and 30 minutes there. I attended the morning worship for 3 1/2 hours. Then I went to the youth worship which was right after the morning worship. The youth worship lasted for 2 hours. Then I had lunch, played some music and finally left. I was there from 9am to 4:30pm. And by the end of it, I was snappy and irritated and I wanted to get out of there.

I had heard about another big church in my city. One of my old friends was a member there and I remembered him telling me that they had good worship. So I decided to drop in for their evening worship which was at 4:30pm (service lasted for 1 3/4 hours). I was quite late so I walked in only when the worship was ending. But I sort of felt at home there. It is still too early to say, but I noticed a few differences between their church and mine -
1) The worship was in line with what I can enjoy. There is no frenzied beating of dreams and hollering at people to jump and fill in the Spirit.
2) The language was English. I connect better with an English worship. My church doesn't have that. This is a BIG gap because sometimes I don't understand what the pastor is trying to convey (translations are not 100% accurate always).
3) The pastor seemed to relate to the youths better. He used simple language in his message. There was no 'big words' or 'deeper truths'. It was just a brief message conveyed in a simple manner. So I remember it even 6 hours after it ended.
4) He spoke about Paul's analogy of a potter shaping a vessel for honour. And he spoke of 5 things that can shape our life - the state of brokenness, trials, choices we make, the Word of God and the relationships we have. This resounded with what I was going through right now. (Sometimes I have been touched in my church too.)
5) Coincidence or otherwise, they were having a day-long seminar on 'Interpreting the Bible' specifically on issues like legalism, hyper-grace, etc. And I have a feeling a lot of it would be focussed on teachings of my church.

Conclusion from my visit - I don't think it is bad. I saw that even their non-English worship was similar to the worship in my church. But their English worship seemed welcoming and nice. But I have to choose between this and my church. I cannot spend 9 hours every Sunday considering that I spend the same 9 hours for nearly 30 days every month.

 

[Grace-Like-Rain]

Wow Chris, you DO spend a lot of time at church! I'm amazed that you had energy to visit the other church after your standard services. I'm so proud of you for going though! I know that took a lot to do. It sounds like the sermon and the more focused study on Bible interpretation would be perfect for you.

Feel free not to answer this if it's too personal. I just like having specifics to pray about. If you did leave your church for this one, what are your main concerns with fall-out? (Reaction from parents, reaction from church members, or something else entirely?)

 

[Roh_Chris]

Wow Chris, you DO spend a lot of time at church! I'm amazed that you had energy to visit the other church after your standard services. I'm so proud of you for going though! I know that took a lot to do. It sounds like the sermon and the more focused study on Bible interpretation would be perfect for you.

Feel free not to answer this if it's too personal. I just like having specifics to pray about. If you did leave your church for this one, what are your main concerns with fall-out? (Reaction from parents, reaction from church members, or something else entirely?)

Thank you Grace. A lot of people have been praying for me and I am grateful to each of you.

I will respond to your question in PM.

 

[Roh_Chris]

Hello folks, I thought I must update all of you now.

I had a 90 minute long conversation with my mom and dad regarding all the bitterness and grief that I had against them. Most of my pain were 14-16 years old and I had been carrying the weight for so long. I never thought that I would confess all that pain even to mom, let alone my dad. But I felt God's hand on me as I opened myself to them and told them of all the pain. And surprisingly, dad did not react aggressively. He usually reacts in righteous anger, which is why I never had this chat until now.

And towards the end, I told them that I have started going to another church. Even that was met with silence. I didn't know my parents could handle that so well. I think it was God who was orchestrating this encounter between me and my parents. They accepted me going to the new church and they are happy that I am seeking out my own spiritual progress. Hopefully, this is the beginning to my healing process both within myself and with my parents.

I thank each of you who prayed for me and who supported me. There were some of you who kept checking on me every other day to see if I was holding up. I owe it to each one of you. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support. If you had ever felt that you were needling me unnecessarily, this is me telling you "Thank you, but you never needled me unnecessarily." Thank you to each one of you who advised me, both in this thread and outside. Thank you all!

Above all, I thank God for keeping me alive and for helping me witness this encounter. I am not sure how the church is going to react (since I have told you it has a iron-grip on its members), but I hope the peace within my family is not lost.

P.S. Please PM me if you want to know more details.

 

[Grace-Like-Rain]

Hello folks, I thought I must update all of you now.

I had a 90 minute long conversation with my mom and dad regarding all the bitterness and grief that I had against them. Most of my pain were 14-16 years old and I had been carrying the weight for so long. I never thought that I would confess all that pain even to mom, let alone my dad. But I felt God's hand on me as I opened myself to them and told them of all the pain. And surprisingly, dad did not react aggressively. He usually reacts in righteous anger, which is why I never had this chat until now.

And towards the end, I told them that I have started going to another church. Even that was met with silence. I didn't know my parents could handle that so well. I think it was God who was orchestrating this encounter between me and my parents. They accepted me going to the new church and they are happy that I am seeking out my own spiritual progress. Hopefully, this is the beginning to my healing process both within myself and with my parents.

I thank each of you who prayed for me and who supported me. There were some of you who kept checking on me every other day to see if I was holding up. I owe it to each one of you. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support. If you had ever felt that you were needling me unnecessarily, this is me telling you "Thank you, but you never needled me unnecessarily." Thank you to each one of you who advised me, both in this thread and outside. Thank you all!

Above all, I thank God for keeping me alive and for helping me witness this encounter. I am not sure how the church is going to react (since I have told you it has a iron-grip on its members), but I hope the peace within my family is not lost.

P.S. Please PM me if you want to know more details.

Roh, this is the best news... I'm just rejoicing that God was with you, and had his hands on your parents, and orchestrated all of this so that it would go smoothly. I can imagine how hard that must have been to get started, but you overcame! I'm so happy for you and the things that are happening in your life. Glory to God, who loves us and sees our struggle!

 

[ChandlerFan]

Hello folks, I thought I must update all of you now.

I had a 90 minute long conversation with my mom and dad regarding all the bitterness and grief that I had against them. Most of my pain were 14-16 years old and I had been carrying the weight for so long. I never thought that I would confess all that pain even to mom, let alone my dad. But I felt God's hand on me as I opened myself to them and told them of all the pain. And surprisingly, dad did not react aggressively. He usually reacts in righteous anger, which is why I never had this chat until now.

And towards the end, I told them that I have started going to another church. Even that was met with silence. I didn't know my parents could handle that so well. I think it was God who was orchestrating this encounter between me and my parents. They accepted me going to the new church and they are happy that I am seeking out my own spiritual progress. Hopefully, this is the beginning to my healing process both within myself and with my parents.

I thank each of you who prayed for me and who supported me. There were some of you who kept checking on me every other day to see if I was holding up. I owe it to each one of you. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support. If you had ever felt that you were needling me unnecessarily, this is me telling you "Thank you, but you never needled me unnecessarily." Thank you to each one of you who advised me, both in this thread and outside. Thank you all!

Above all, I thank God for keeping me alive and for helping me witness this encounter. I am not sure how the church is going to react (since I have told you it has a iron-grip on its members), but I hope the peace within my family is not lost.

P.S. Please PM me if you want to know more details.

This was awesome and really encouraging to read. Huge props to you for having that conversation with your parents and praise God that your parents reacted supportively. I'm so happy that you've even found another church and I hope you experience a lot of spiritual growth and renewal there. I know none of that was easy for you to do. I really admire you stepping out in faith and it's so awesome to see how God was faithful in that.

 

[Lynx]

Parents can sometimes be more grown-up than we expect. Especially after we have seen them act like kids... they can still surprise ya.

 

[cinder]

Hello folks, I thought I must update all of you now.

I had a 90 minute long conversation with my mom and dad regarding all the bitterness and grief that I had against them. Most of my pain were 14-16 years old and I had been carrying the weight for so long. I never thought that I would confess all that pain even to mom, let alone my dad. But I felt God's hand on me as I opened myself to them and told them of all the pain. And surprisingly, dad did not react aggressively. He usually reacts in righteous anger, which is why I never had this chat until now.

And towards the end, I told them that I have started going to another church. Even that was met with silence. I didn't know my parents could handle that so well. I think it was God who was orchestrating this encounter between me and my parents. They accepted me going to the new church and they are happy that I am seeking out my own spiritual progress. Hopefully, this is the beginning to my healing process both within myself and with my parents.

I thank each of you who prayed for me and who supported me. There were some of you who kept checking on me every other day to see if I was holding up. I owe it to each one of you. Thank you for your love. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your support. If you had ever felt that you were needling me unnecessarily, this is me telling you "Thank you, but you never needled me unnecessarily." Thank you to each one of you who advised me, both in this thread and outside. Thank you all!

Above all, I thank God for keeping me alive and for helping me witness this encounter. I am not sure how the church is going to react (since I have told you it has a iron-grip on its members), but I hope the peace within my family is not lost.

P.S. Please PM me if you want to know more details.

Sounds like you've made a splendid beginning and I hope and pray that your parents (and you too) continue to show such maturity (and maybe that your concerns will cause them to take a good long look at the church too).

 

[Roh_Chris]

Thank you Grace, Chandler, Lynx and Cinder.

Yes, parents can still surprise us. The reactions I got from my dad yesterday came from a side of him which I had never, ever, seen witnessed before. I praise God for the whole encounter.