Yes. I struggled immensely with this as well. And with those same people, and others. We’ve long appreciated N T Wright’s approach to reading the Bible and Paul and spiritual growth. We were in a church modeled after Redeemer NYC, and then had to leave as our church became covid tyrants and purveyors of racial wokeness in the riots. 😭
Yes. I struggled immensely with this as well. And with those same people, and others. We’ve long appreciated N T Wright’s approach to reading the Bible and Paul and spiritual growth. We were in a church modeled after Redeemer NYC, and then had to leave as our church became covid tyrants and purveyors of racial wokeness in the riots. 😭
It has been quite sobering to see that absolutely ALL denominations and groups are derailed in some fashion. Either by walking in lockstep with the tyranny. Or, for those like John MacArthur who refused to close (bravo), are riddled with other weights that encumber when it comes to how women are treated within marriage and the church and/or how they counsel regarding abuse (that was an entirely different rabbit hole I discovered when researching his response to lockdowns).
It’s a sobering and hard reminder to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus first. And yet, we need Christian community face to face here while we await our face to face with Jesus.
I’ve been so grateful for the spiritual comradery here at C&C.
Apparently I need to spend more time in the C&C comments section, then! We left our church for the same reasons, made worse by the fact that our small group had a front row seat to our family’s suffering, but refused to stand with us or even acknowledge the reality of it when an opportunity came to help - because to do so would’ve involved admitting a chink in the narrative. We left- but I am not confident that other congregations in the area, including our new one, would’ve behaved any differently.
The C&C comments are as valuable as Jeff’s posts, just in different ways. I have learned a lot and would love to meet some of the folks here in person. We’ve joked at times about having our pen names over our heads like gamer tags, in heaven.
I’m so sorry about your church experience. It is truly painful. And even more so the small group experience.
We left our church, as I said, and landed for the last almost two years in a congregation that closed for only the briefest of times and whose pastors did not require the various masks and such. In fact, they even wrote letters for their folks seeking REs for the death jabs. I would not have trusted anyone in our prior church to have written a strong letter, should we have needed one.
We are actually moving to another church because we miss the rich (although NOT high church!) liturgy of the old church AND more importantly need a different approach to spiritual growth than what is taught at the current church. But, like you, I was leery of ending up back in a church that would cave to government next time ‘round. Because we all know there WILL BE a next time in one form or another.
I actually emailed the pastor of the new place and bluntly asked how they handled things before and what would they do differently next time. He replied with a quite detailed answer, including the congregational letter he sent the congregation in March ‘20, in which he largely said, as Jeff has said, “Do not fear!”
I hope you are able to find some likeminded community in some fashion or another. 🙏🏻
It's becoming more important to read the Bible with every passing day .
Amos 8:11 (ESV)
'“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.'
Yes. I struggled immensely with this as well. And with those same people, and others. We’ve long appreciated N T Wright’s approach to reading the Bible and Paul and spiritual growth. We were in a church modeled after Redeemer NYC, and then had to leave as our church became covid tyrants and purveyors of racial wokeness in the riots. 😭
It has been quite sobering to see that absolutely ALL denominations and groups are derailed in some fashion. Either by walking in lockstep with the tyranny. Or, for those like John MacArthur who refused to close (bravo), are riddled with other weights that encumber when it comes to how women are treated within marriage and the church and/or how they counsel regarding abuse (that was an entirely different rabbit hole I discovered when researching his response to lockdowns).
It’s a sobering and hard reminder to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus first. And yet, we need Christian community face to face here while we await our face to face with Jesus.
I’ve been so grateful for the spiritual comradery here at C&C.
Apparently I need to spend more time in the C&C comments section, then! We left our church for the same reasons, made worse by the fact that our small group had a front row seat to our family’s suffering, but refused to stand with us or even acknowledge the reality of it when an opportunity came to help - because to do so would’ve involved admitting a chink in the narrative. We left- but I am not confident that other congregations in the area, including our new one, would’ve behaved any differently.
The C&C comments are as valuable as Jeff’s posts, just in different ways. I have learned a lot and would love to meet some of the folks here in person. We’ve joked at times about having our pen names over our heads like gamer tags, in heaven.
I’m so sorry about your church experience. It is truly painful. And even more so the small group experience.
We left our church, as I said, and landed for the last almost two years in a congregation that closed for only the briefest of times and whose pastors did not require the various masks and such. In fact, they even wrote letters for their folks seeking REs for the death jabs. I would not have trusted anyone in our prior church to have written a strong letter, should we have needed one.
We are actually moving to another church because we miss the rich (although NOT high church!) liturgy of the old church AND more importantly need a different approach to spiritual growth than what is taught at the current church. But, like you, I was leery of ending up back in a church that would cave to government next time ‘round. Because we all know there WILL BE a next time in one form or another.
I actually emailed the pastor of the new place and bluntly asked how they handled things before and what would they do differently next time. He replied with a quite detailed answer, including the congregational letter he sent the congregation in March ‘20, in which he largely said, as Jeff has said, “Do not fear!”
I hope you are able to find some likeminded community in some fashion or another. 🙏🏻
Most organized religion has been subverted in numerous ways. It's a challenge.
It's becoming more important to read the Bible with every passing day .
Amos 8:11 (ESV)
'“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.'