| Author | Message | ||
| Lydell Registered user Username: Lydell Post Number: 737 Registered: 7-2000 |
Hi Derrell, couldn't figure out how to continue the other discussion... No, I was not suggesting that we stop questioning. Questioning is a part of Christian life. Just realize that the questioning is between you and God...trying to hear Him, not hear from others. What I have found in our walk out of Adventism is that sometimes we are questioning the wrong things. There's so much we want to see correctly....good trait really....but it causes us to not hear or see the truth sometimes. Although we started out willing to lay down our questions and doubts and just follow the next thing God showed us, I reached a point of being really anxious to have my questions resolved on the sabbath. We had honestly felt when we went into Adventism that the Lord was laying on us a conviction to keep the sabbath (we were slightly off what he was intending, but that's another sroty). Now here He was saying it wasn't important right now. It bugged me. I kept asking why why why. Then one day I realized that I had stopped making spiritual progress and couldn't figure out what was going on. I took the question to God, and His response was that I was like a little kid frantically poking around in a cabinet anxiously asking her parent where her favorite, tho broken, toy was. And all the time the parent was across the room saying "come look in this cabinet, I put you a brand new toy in here". In other words, my problem was I was looking in the wrong cabinet. It didn't mean that the question was unimportant. Just that the timing was wrong. (When God finally deemed it was time to look in the "sabbath cabinet" all my questions were laid to rest within 15 minutes. He had brought up the subject then, not me.)I was not on the right subject, the one God wanted to talk about. I had plenty of questions about the church the Lord took us to. This is a far more charismatic church than I had ever attended. PLENTY of doubts and questions and suspicions! What the Lord got through to me was that I needed to get reacquainted with what "relationship with Jesus" meant before He was going to answer the questions on doctrines. I needed to see again what a truly healthy church family looked like before I was in a position to challenge others on their doctrines. There has definitely been times when I would hear something and immediately thought, "oh no, I KNOW that's not right!" And the Lord would always prompt me to shut up and listen first and evaluate later. Yes yes yes, I still would go and compare it with the scriptures! You ALWAYS take stuff to God to evaluate what is said. Sometimes He would prompt me that it was something in the wrong cabinet, just not important between He and I at the moment and I should just ignore it. But far more often, I would take that stuff away look at it, and be shocked to have an AHA! moment. Something that I had never noticed before, something the pastor had pointed out, suddenly made the other stuff I already knew make even more sense. Sometimes I would realize that I had been entirely mistaken in my original understanding of what the pastor had said. I'd heard others say something along the same lines before so I had reacted with a kneejerk response and rejected what he was saying. The reality was I hadn't "heard" him at all. Rather, I had listen through my filter of Adventism, or pet peeves, or even pride. So the question is, are you not finding a church because you are looking in the wrong cabinet? Are you focusing on things that the Lord really doesn't see as being so very important between the two of you right now? | ||
| Derrell Registered user Username: Derrell Post Number: 133 Registered: 10-2002 |
Lydell asked "So the question is, are you not finding a church because you are looking in the wrong cabinet? Are you focusing on things that the Lord really doesn't see as being so very important between the two of you right now?" The answer to the first question is that I am not finding a church because I am not looking for a church. As to the second question, that concept is in its entirety, quite nebulous at this point. I do hope that you haven't taken anything as a personal insult, because nothing I have said was meant to be insulting in any way. I am simply taking this opportunity to be bluntly honest with myself and those with whom I am conversing on this very critical topic. Thank you for your patience and fortitude. | ||
| Lydell Registered user Username: Lydell Post Number: 738 Registered: 7-2000 |
Not insulted Derrell. Praying for you as you continue to seek the Lord. A God of such overpowering love is worth pursuing! | ||
| Wolfgang Registered user Username: Wolfgang Post Number: 5 Registered: 10-2005 |
As I am exiting out of the SDA church this is what I have encountered , I have been so consumed with what is wrong with the church and with EGW instead of what is right between me and God. I even stopped attending any church for a short time. God has lead me to a church where I can back off from the negative and focus on the positive of my realationship with Him. I still am sometimes drawn on fidning out all i can on the junk theology of the SDA church,but God is patient and draws me near again and again. | ||
| Insearchof Registered user Username: Insearchof Post Number: 42 Registered: 8-2005 |
Isn't that true...how it is so easy to focus on the things we have found wrong with Adventism (and it seems that there is more wrong each time I think about it...) that I also forget all that is right between me and God also. I can relate to that all too well! I still haven't gotten to the place where I feel comfortable visiting other churches on Sunday, which is strange since I find myself each day a little farther down the path to Calvinism. I notice more and more that every discussion at church somehow rolls around to 'the message' and the Sabbath. Even though today's lesson was on Ephesians and our spiritual warfare someone had to bring up the fact that 'Sunday keepers' go to church a few hours then go home to a beer and a ball game, implying of course, that their religious walk was less than ours (Adventists). My wife keeps asking why I force myself to go each week when neither of us gets much out of the experience. Hard to take that step and move from the familiar, I guess. God Bless! InSearchOf | ||
| Loneviking Registered user Username: Loneviking Post Number: 405 Registered: 7-2000 |
InSearchOf, Go on Sat. AND Sunday---pretty soon, once you find a true Bible teaching church, you won't have a problem dropping the SDA service. You might even find a church with Sat. night services. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 2109 Registered: 3-2004  |
Wolfgang, I do not have to look for, as you called it, "junk theology". It jumps out at me when some one writes about it here or when I peruse the SDA web sites. But I like knowing because it tells me that God pulled me out before I got enmeshed in it again. I can then discuss it, like I did earlier this year with my pastor when I gave him 5 books written by former SDAs. They are for our church library. InSearchOf, When I joined my church I started going on Saturday evening. I was writing on the R/S web site at the time and mentioned that I went to church on Saturday. I was praised for it until I told them it was one of several services, with the others being on Sunday and it was not an SDA church. This made going to church much easier for me. God is awesome in how He leads each of us. Diana | ||
| Snowboardingmom Registered user Username: Snowboardingmom Post Number: 15 Registered: 11-2005 |
Back when my husband and I were really gung-ho about checking out non-Adventist churches, we would attend a church on Friday night, Saturday morning (Adventist), Sunday morning, and Sunday night. We did a couple of weekends of that. I wouldn't suggest it; you can get burnt out pretty easily. But it's a good way to have a high yield efficient church finding weekend!  We were a tad obsessed!! We've chilled out a little since then . We still haven't found a church yet, but our focus has changed quite a bit (for the better thanks to insights from this discussion forum), and I know it's just a matter of time through God's leading before we find the church for us. Actually through this website (when reading info about the FAF Biblestudy), we heard about Trinity Church in Redlands (local to us). That's next on our list to visit. It's so close to us, and we didn't even know about it. | ||
| Flyinglady Registered user Username: Flyinglady Post Number: 2111 Registered: 3-2004 |
Snowboardingmom, You will like Trinity. I have been to the FAF Bible study once while in CA. If I was ever to live near there, that is where I would like to go. God does have a church for each of us. It is prepared and ready for us, when we are ready. He is truly awesome. Diana | ||
| Ric_b Registered user Username: Ric_b Post Number: 392 Registered: 7-2004  |
We spent almost a year while we were still in the SDA church looking for another church, and then another year after we were out. At times it felt like we would never find something, and some of the churches were worse than the SDA one that we left. There were times that we were do very discouraged, and posting here helped so much. Finally we think we are settling into a church family. I don't know how soon, or even if we will become members. But the pastor understands that and has the patience and compassion to be supportive. The encouragement and prayers of everyone here is very valuable during this time. | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 3084 Registered: 12-2003  |
Snowmom, why don't you join us some Friday evening at Trinity for FAF? Unlike what people often think, it's NOT an Adventist-bashing session. It is quite literally a Bible study-we're in Romans 10 right now--we'd love to meet you, and I think you'd find great support and fellowship. It's not nearly so "scary" as people are often afraid it will be! Colleen | ||
| Riverfonz Registered user Username: Riverfonz Post Number: 1105 Registered: 3-2005 |
Yes Snowmom, I second what Colleen said, our FAF Bible study is great. Definitely, come join us! Stan | ||
| Snowboardingmom Registered user Username: Snowboardingmom Post Number: 16 Registered: 11-2005 |
Thanks for the invitation. I talked it over with my husband last night (we've been prayerfully considering it for awhile) and we both agree it's time; we need this. We have to work out babysitting issues (we have a 1 year old), but as soon as we do, we'll try it out. Do you guys meet at the Church? How long does it typically go til? Do you meet every Friday night? How large is the group? | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 3094 Registered: 12-2003 |
Yes, "mom", we meet every Friday night at Trinity church at 7:00. It lasts until about 9:00. The group averages between 10-15 people on any given night. We will be meeting this Friday night at the church. Next week we'll have a change of plan because of the New Year's schedule, but we'll clarify that on Friday night. We'd love to meet you! If you have any questions, call me on the Life Assurance line: 909-794-9804. I'll be happy to chat with you! I hope you and your husband can come. Colleen | ||
| Snowboardingmom Registered user Username: Snowboardingmom Post Number: 17 Registered: 11-2005 |
Thanks Colleen for the info. I don't think we'll be able to make it this Friday night since all of our usual babysitters are out of town for Christmas, but the following Friday (if you're still meeting with the New Year's schedule) looks like a possibility. I'll call next week for details on that Friday's Bible Study. I'm actually getting kind of excited . Grace | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 3099 Registered: 12-2003 |
Grace, I'll look forward to your call and let you know our New Year's FAF schedule! Colleen |
