Quote:
Hope:
"Hardly anybody knows anything about Witness Lee or the Local Church." But some have read a few things on the web or a book and take the view, better safe than sorry. Thus ole Hope may have some problem and we had better warn off anyone seeking to have fellowship etc.
|
Surely this doesn't surprise you bro Hope. If I'm not mistaken you spent decades as a standing leader in the LC and was therefore part and parcel to castigating and making fun of all other Christians, and now when you want to join those Christians you wonder why they're leery of you.
But aren't all of us that left the LC a little strange to others that know something about us and our history? After all we gave our life to a bunch of fanatics that called on the name of the Lord like He's deaf and has a short attention span ; and to a bunch of obsessive-compulsive's that got in groups and shouted scripture verses back and forth at each other like playing a game of hot potato with the Bible.
Face it bro Hope. You did those things. And those that don't think you are strange are either not informed, are being dishonest, or whose judgment is suspect.
Own it brother...cuz you bought it....
I'm not wishing to be hard on your bro. I know what it is to be rejected. After many years in Ft. Lauderdale I moved to Kentucky, where I have family ties all over the place that I'm still coming to know after 5 years.
But still, even with family ties to the area, I'm spotted immediately as different. I've even had people I just met, on more than one occasion, tell me early on that, "You've different." I guess it sticks out like a sore thumb.
In this small town area, if you're not in their "old country boy in group" you are not well received and will find yourself hard up against it.
I get this reaction even before I'm able to speak of the different thoughts and opinions that I hold, that is undeniably different.
Then, it gets worse if I tell someone that I was once in a group that some label as a Christian cult. I learned that the hard way. Now it's too late. The word is out. Now I have to live with that, and live with the realization that some, that I even have family ties too, will no longer have anything to do with me ; that they think I have more than a few screws loose. I'm talking Christians here ; more often than not, very conservative Christians.
Why do I have to own this bro Hope? Because I bought it. That's why. My years in the LC have branded me. It's my Scarlet Letter. And yours too bro Hope. Wear it with humility and after awhile, if you're nice, they will receive you like Paul was received.
But don't expect a free pass. Not after spending years in what many think is a loony bin.