Liberation

[Buttermilk]

Having walked away from my church I somehow feel liberated, what are other people's experiences of this?

[New_Wineskin]

Having walked away from my church I somehow feel liberated, what are other people's experiences of this?

Free at last ! Free at last ! Thank God almighty , I'm free at last !! :)

[Hisrosebud]

Yes, that is exactly how my husband and I feel. We were surprised to feel so "free"- I am not talking about no moral restraint-- I mean free from chains that were pulling at our ankles. Had to dress a certain way, pretend a certain way, smile a certain way, say the right words to the right people, pray the certain way--- We realized after how much PLAYING CHURCH we were actually doing.

We feel more free to be who Christ made us to be- free to love, free to speak, free to reach out, free to be alive where we were actually dead.

It is amazing, isn't it?

And selfishly, I never realized how much time was stolen from our "family time". I LOVE being with my family every night and not at leadership meetings, bible studies or revivals.... I love waking up on Sundays to rest...imagen that; resting on the sabbath! No children's church materials to have ready, ushering colors on, no papers to bring in for someone to review- no homework from homegroup---FREE TO BE WHO CHRIST MADE ME TO BE AND ENJOY MY FAMILY!

Jane

[Count]

FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I AM FREE!

When I first left the the organized church I was told that I was going to get lost, to go away from Christ, and have nothing to do with Him. I was told that I could not survive alone without the "church". Not only that was not true, but the little flame that burned inside me, has increased and become stronger and is becoming stronger and stronger. I still love Jesus and it's now that I pray more than when I was inside the system. My way of prayer is not a religious way, but a constant fellowship with my Lord.

So now I am free, free not to live according to my flesh, but free to love my Lord, free to know Him, free to felloship with Him.

It has been almost 7 years now out of this religious system, and as I said it's been beneficial to me, but brothers, I think that's only the beginning, that's not enough. I long to experience church life. I long to be part of a group of christians that gather together in a simple, spontanious way, without leaders, or let me express myself better, without human leaders. I want to experience an organic church, a indigenous church, a church that is not like Mc. Donalds, the same wherever you go, but a church that is Greek in Greece, Italian in Italy, Albanian in Albania, American in US, a church that has Christ the center of Her. And above all I would like to be among brothers (when I say the word brothers, I mean brothers and sisters) who do things only out of love for the Lord, not out of duty or whatever. I long to be among brothers who get together and sit in His foot to learn directly from Him. I long to be among brothers who turn within and urge one another to turn within to seek the Lord, because that's the place where He dwells. I long to be among brothers who declare to each other who they are in Chirst, brothers who declare to each other their love for the Lord and for each other.

[discernomatic]

I can agree with you that being outside a church can mean freedom to live and be more Christlike. I do meet with other Christians, but prefer it in the home setting where everyone is more himself. Jesus never put on any airs. Occasionally I attend a church in the next town, but feel hemmed in there. The services are run in a way that I cannot approve of, but it is the only way for me to get to know more Christians. They are Pentecostals, which I was trying to get away from because of past experiences with false spirits in some Pentecostal churches and environments. But at the moment I have no choice. I usually stay away from the services and just meet with another family sometime during the week. Reading the bible and prayer are enough for me most of the time.

Being away from churches for a while really opens your eyes to all of the ritual that goes into it if you go back to look. Some even like to greet each other with the word "Peace" or "Brother" or "Sister" instead of just saying hello. This kind of thing makes outsiders, even those that are other Christians feel left out. It calls up too much of the us vs. them feeling, that I don't like. Sometimes staying away brings more peace than going.

discernomatic