Quote:
Originally Posted by KeptByTheWord
There is no way I could ever go back to the very church where all this abuse took place - that would be like a dog going back to his vomit. But I can live above what took place there - and is still taking place - by praying for them. It is possible. Yet, living in the same town or area as these people was rough. We did leave the area. That in itself has also helped with my healing.
Since then, my husband and I have went to different apostolic groups and non-apostolic groups... and we have found that every.single.church in EVERY denomination has corruption at every level because we are dealing with people. People who sin. People who love human worship. It is just a fact of life. It can't be helped.
My family and I, through this long journey, have realized that we do need the body of Christ though. We cannot be the eye or the ear or the nose or the arm alone. We must be a part of a living Christ-centered body.
For our family, we have found it, not in the typical church building wtih a name over the door, but in being a part of a home group. We do attend a local church also, but we are not "members" ... but we go occasionally to visit and fellowship other people. We also have a home group that we attend, and we have bible studies and prayer time with our children on a regular basis. Because of these two things, the home group, and our own personal home bible studies with our family, that is truly where we have grown more fully into a relationship with Christ.
Each one must find his own place, but nevertheless, being part of the "body" of Christ, is a necessity. We need our brothers and our sisters to lift us up, encourage us, and to grow together into the fullness of Christ. Whether that body of Christ in your area is a home group, or a place where people meet that has a name over the door, all of us need to find Spirit filled, personal holiness minded (I didn't say standards...) people who want to live their lives with their focus centered on Christ. Wherever that is.
If there is not one in your area, give it to the Lord. He is able to lead and guide you exactly where you need to be.
So... one thing I have found to be true, spirit filled believers need each other, but we need a personal relationship with Christ even more. If you make that a priority in your life, the Spirit will guide you into a church, and a place where you need to be.
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Kept, I appreciate your words and not saying that you do this, but why is it that there are some people who automatically think that someone gets hurt and drops completely out of fellowship with other believers? Or that they do not try to find another body of believers? Or that some people want to be an island all their own?
Sometimes after all efforts to find our (people in general) niche in the body and all efforts of people who have a Diotrephe's spirit to keep who they consider to be an undesirable or a nonconformist out of their presence, we must live without the camp. It doesn't mean those who live without the camp hates the camp, it just means that there are some who will not continue to allow the finger to poke the eye, or the foot to kick the rear any longer. Believe me, there are some people who feel they have the right to do that and the leadership of the church will violate scripture and allow it to happen.
There are always people to fellowship with we know and we get together. It is easier to find another body of believers when you live in a large community than when you live in a rural community. I would love to leave this area. It is spiritually dark, even with a church on every corner. It is dark because there is a Diotrephe's spirit that permeates this area. Until then...I have to keep on doing what we are presently doing. I find people everywhere I go and share the Lord with them and they with me. I never would have believed how many people there are that are just like some of us. They are everywhere. I listen to them and their story. Lots of lonely people out there who are not accepted by the church system.