….My reflections on a high-demand cultic church….
Sandy Blank went through the big doctrinal changes in the Worldwide Church of God, became thoroughly disillusioned, and walked out. After having a powerful conversion experience she went back to Worldwide (now Grace Communion International) to try to make a difference, but left again after 10 years. In “My Theological House” she describes her experience […]
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Here is the message of God’s love in paraphrased words from scripture in a six minute video. Be blessed! Or maybe not. If you’ve experienced spiritual abuse, you might be thinking, “But what does that mean?? God let me get really hurt – how is that ‘love’?”
Read More“How can I know what God wants me to do?” Ask this question, and often the answer you’ll get is, “You need to hear from God, see his hand in circumstances, then expect confirmation.” Missionaries recount marvelous examples of this. Bakht Singh, a famous indigenous church planter in India, used to tell how he was […]
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In all the discussion about child-rearing methods, one aspect that hasn’t received much attention is how the issue relates to children’s conversion. In an Assembly-type group there’s the assumption that the parents’ “child training” is the underpinning of a child’s salvation. It’s up to you to discipline your children into the Kingdom. The problem is […]
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Once you truly get hold of the reality that you will never be able to do enough to make God happy, then the truth of the gift of grace is staggering….
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The Bible has all those commands – pray, study the Bible, etc. In the church I (sometimes) attend now, I constantly hear exhortations about it. Don’t I have to be doing these things in order for God to approve of me?”
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There’s a scene in The Shack where Mack and Jesus are out on the dock in the evening, enjoying the stars. Mack imagines he could reach out and pluck diamonds off a velvet black sky: “Wow!” he whispered.“Incredible!” Whispered Jesus…”I never get tired of this…” They’re doing nothing, Jesus and Mack. Just lying on the […]
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Two great quotes from Christian Recovery Forums at Spiritual Abuse Recovery Resources: “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under live robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may […]
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On the Assembly reflections website we have an excerpt from Peter Kreeft’s very, very helpful book, Making Sense out of Suffering. Even better, on his website there are MP3’s of his very listenable lectures available free of charge, including one on this same subject, and another entitled “Shining Light on the Dark Side”. Two others […]
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“Just carry on” is one of the cards in The Oblique Strategies by Peter Schmidt and Brian Eno. Haven’t seen the set of cards, but I ran across this quote just now, and was surprised how a load suddenly felt lifted. Hmmm, wonder what that could be about….Even though I’ve consciously rejected the performance-based life, […]
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Here is a great quote on the sweetness of spiritual freedom from Chuck Swindoll, Grace Awakening: “The human heart cries out to be free. Everything within us fights against the bondage of tyranny of oppression. Our souls were not made to live in cages of fear that restrict us from the joys of liberty. Once […]
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Joe Sperling shared a couple of encouraging posts this month on the Assembly board that are especially good for those of us who still have the lovely combo of BG and GG’s messages in our subconscious: GG – “Strive harder or you’re going to lose out eternally “, (we are going to make it, George, […]
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Witherington has a great series of posts on Bart Ehrman’s latest book, Jesus Interrupted: Revealing the hidden contradictions in the Bible (and why we didn’t know about them). Dr. Witherington approaches it on a scholarly level, eschewing any fundamentalistic emotional rant on inerrancy. He deftly teases out the weaknesses in Ehrman’s arguments and brings the […]
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The Old Testament, from the Assembly point of view (as taught by G. Geftakys based on 19th and early 20th century Exclusive Plymouth Brethren writers) is to be read mainly as an allegory of the Christian life–i.e. Christians can wander in the wilderness as Israel did; but only a few will enter the promised land […]
Read MoreThe Internet Monk describes pretty well the prevailing concern of legalistic pastors over the dangers of ‘cheap grace’ (here, here and here). Betty G. once said to me, “If there weren’t the possibility of losing out on the inheritance, what would be the motivation for sanctification?” This was a rhetorical question – the obvious answer […]
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Joe Sperling posted this on the Assemblyboard: “So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy”. (Rom. 9:16) I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have to stop and remember the day that I was saved. I have to ask myself, “Was I […]
Read MoreLee Irons has a blog post on Keswick Burnout. If you have been depressed lately over the quality of your spiritual life, this is a must read. Dave Sable has this response to Lee’s post: “Great thoughts by Lee. I downloaded the lectures to listen to. Here are some thoughts his post raised in me. […]
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Christians who have been spiritually abused often have a prolonged feeling of antipathy toward everything associated with Christianity – church, the Bible, even God. Not only do they feel they aren’t growing spiritually, they feel they have lost whatever progress in the faith they might have had. They begin to wonder, “Am I still a Christian?” […]
Read More“Oh dear friends, the time is almost up, and I’ve only just scratched the surface of all the Lord has shown me – the deep things of Gawd!! You must press on to see these things, friends, strive to enter in! I tell you, you’re not going to hear these things anywheres else! If you knew what […]
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Joe Sperling over on the Assemblyboard posted these thoughts on Psalm 147: Praise ye the LORD: for [it is] good to sing praises unto our God; for [it is] pleasant; [and] praise is comely. The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel, v.1-2. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth […]
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