Did you know that the number of people joining organized religion or churches is on the decrease? As a result, faith/hope is on the decrease as well. You know it. Many of you aren’t members of a church. Social media ensures that we know it. People identify themselves as more spiritual than religious and that could be or can be a good thing. However, beyond that many are doing what has been termed as “leaving the church.”
I remember the last time I made this statement when I was a member of what I called church but in actuality was a cult. I had grown so tired of the control, the manipulation, the lies and the religious antics that meant nothing. My life went downhill fast and quick. What I have learned now is that while I definitely needed to leave that particular place of meeting, I couldn’t allow that experience to be the guide on all church experiences. Not every job is the same and neither is every church. The other thing I learned is that the church at its best and at its worse is the people within it. The thing that separates or makes one feel that he or she should separate from a particular place of worship is leadership.
Organization is crucial to the success of any business, profitable or non-profit especially the church. There is no way that a group of people meeting will do or think the same without structure and leadership. The thing is that leadership is picked or promoted from within the church body and while any leadership is held to a higher standard just like at our places of employment, leadership is not flawless. Additional much like our jobs in that we follow and are obedient to the flawed supervisors daily, so too are we to treat the leadership in the church. It doesn’t mean you cannot have an opinion or thought but it does mean that you are not to divide, cause confusion, create chaos among the body.
The church itself is the people who are members of it. When you think about or say that you are leaving the church, remember it is impossible to leave yourself. WE are the church, the good, the bad and even the ugly. That’s the hardest concept for many to gain or understand. Understanding that requires one to be real with his or herself about who he or she is, the responsibility of their voice and whether or not they can live up to the same standards that they expect others to meet or exceed.
Changing places of worship is a personal decision and one to be made seriously and prayerfully and done so with more thought than we often give in choosing mates. Leave the mess, leave the ignorance, the policing, the control and leave the manipulation but remember not to judge all by one. We are the church, we are the voice, we are the hands and feet of ministry. You can never really leave yourself. #KGD
Evolutionary Expressions by Kim 
Thanks for sharing. I found myself “drowning” in a cult church and when I realized what I was apart of, it was so hard to break free. I left that church and went to another where the head minister tried to pay me to be his mistress {sigh}. Call me crazy but I still believe in the church ❤ .
You are not crazy to continue to believe in the church. I still do. I left a small church/cult after ten years of service, I had done everything in that church from being a lay member to Christian Education Director, Administrator, Teacher and even accepted my calling to ministry there. When I realized that I had been in a cult, a group of controlling and manipulative people, I was devastated but grateful. For awhile I lost my faith in God because I was judging God according to the church. God however spoke to my husband, whom I call my Black Moses and we came to Dallas, TX and joined the Potter’s House. Every Sunday since October 2005 when we joined, God managed to unfold HIS Word, make clear, bring clarity to all the manipulating things I had been talk. It’s been an amazing journey. I want to invite you to worship with us each Sunday by logging on with your smart phone, tablet or computer to E Church. I think you will be blessed until you find a place of worship. What city and state are you in?
Thanks for the invite & the transparency. I am in Ohio. My husband and I are members of the Word Church 🙂
EXCELLENT! I’m glad you do have a good church home. Absolutely, I thank God for the mess that became my message. I learned, I grew from the experience and at one time, I only saw what I lost but God began to show me all I gained and how I could bless others. I’m sure that’s true with you as well. By writing in my journal experiences, thoughts, ideas, I learned just how much I gained through the process being in the cult, recognizing it and then leaving it. There were soooooooooooooooooooooooooo many women hurt, people hurt but God has allowed me to recover all and grow. I pray the same abundance upon you and your family! God bless you and thanks for reading and sharing!