by Just Dee

Created on: September 15, 2008

I have just recently been hurt by the church. I left the church as I believed that they were bringing in false teaching. I believed that they were getting carried away and forgetting the bible. I am still angry and I am very upset that my foundation has been shaken. Not one member has tried to contact me since I left. These members were supposed to be my friends but they have not bothered to contact me.

So how do I respond to this? I can honestly say that time, prayer and bible reading will help. I choose to forgive the pastor and all the members. I still feel hurt but I choose to forgive. Now I am just in a place of trying to find a biblical church. I call myself an ex-charismatic. I have left the charismatic church as I believe that most of them are prone to false teaching. Not all charismatic churches are bad. However in light of this, most charismatics would say that I have now chosen a spiritual death. Not so, I am reading my bible more than ever now.

People don't bug me in a church, they can say what they want to. The main thing that bothers me is that teaching must be truthful. I would expect a pastor of a church to have an ability to discern between truth and lies. I am hurt because of the pastor's inability to shepherd correctly. No church is perfect but what should be perfect in a church is doctrine! If there is a slight misrepresentation of the bible or they are interpreting the bible incorrectly, this makes me angry.

Now I don't totally know what to do now as I only know the charismatic church and other churches are like an unknown country to me. I want a healthy balance between letting the Holy Spirit work within us whilst maintaining the clear authority of the bible. I have become an official church hopper. Hopping along looking for that right church. We will always find ourselves in a place of hurt within a church. People will always have something to say. We have to learn to rely primarily on God, not people.

People will always let you down but God will never let you down. God will never leave or forsake you. My experience is quite a dramatical one as it revolves around doctrine and that is my main concern. I am weak and tired from the mess of being in the wrong church. Lean on Jesus, don't lean on people and you will find yourself healed from the hurt. People are not reliable and they change. God never changes and He is reliable. You can trust God. So lean on God, pray and read your bible. This is the advice I have given myself. I have come to realise that my dependancy relies completely on God alone. There is no other ground that I can stand on. There is nothing else in life that makes more sense than seeking first the Kingdom of God.

However you have responded to being hurt, I will encourage you to spend time with God in prayer. Read your bible and ask God to help you get over the hurt. Don't let people prevent you from living for God. Don't let people rob you of the most important gift of life, Jesus Christ.

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