A disturbing Trend

Welcome to De-Commissioned, a place for former members of the Great Commission movement (aka GCM, GCC, GCAC, GCI, the Blitz) to discuss problems they've experienced in the association's practices and theology.

You may read and post, but some features are restricted to registered members. Please consider registering to gain full access! Registration is free and only takes a few moments to complete.

[arthur]

I cant remember the last time any of our pastors taught about love...or joy... or hope. Instead, every week, from the selected passage, the teaching seems to be: You made a commitment to Christ to carry forward the great commission. You have an obligation to grow. This is how you grow. Something's wrong with that... It bothers me that peace, love and Joy are being taught as the end product of "spiritual discipline" rather than the beginning of it. It bothers me that growth is taught every week, but the simple truth of the gospel is never taught. It bothers me that people steeped in this teaching leave on Sunday mornings with no smile on their face, having never been reminded that the Greatest commandment is Love... and that the Greatest Love was God's gift of Salvation to us.

[Ned_Flanders]

I cant remember the last time any of our pastors taught about love...or joy... or hope. Instead, every week, from the selected passage, the teaching seems to be: You made a commitment to Christ to carry forward the great commission. You have an obligation to grow. This is how you grow. Something's wrong with that... It bothers me that peace, love and Joy are being taught as the end product of "spiritual discipline" rather than the beginning of it. It bothers me that growth is taught every week, but the simple truth of the gospel is never taught. It bothers me that people steeped in this teaching leave on Sunday mornings with no smile on their face, having never been reminded that the Greatest commandment is Love... and that the Greatest Love was God's gift of Salvation to us.

If this is the current situation in the Church you go to, find another Church tomorrow.  God bless and good luck.

[arthur]

If this is the current situation in the Church you go to, find another Church tomorrow.  God bless and good luck.

It's a little complicated. My wife isn't quite ready to leave; she has some friends she isn't willing to leave, though not many. I have a few friends I small group with, and I'm pretty open with them about my feelings. We do things outside the church together, and that gives me some confidence that those friendships would continue even after we left. I've been encouraging her to do the same, though she's not quite as bold as me.

This is a GCx church. I joined it when I married her, and for years it seemed like a good one. Over time, though, I've become aware of a growing cliquishness. We do less as a whole church and more as individual home churches / breaking of bread groups / small groups... and Sunday mornings seems to suffer as a result.

I've also become very aware of some basic theological differences between GCx and myself, and those make me grit my teeth sometimes. Mostly they are issues of style. For instance, I prefer a relational style of evangelism - "make a friend, be a friend, bring that friend to Christ", where the leadership believes very strongly in cold evangelism, which has always struck me as insincere. Another example, one I already noted, was the absence of the gospel message... and instead a more intellectual dissertation on how to grow as a Christians. That has always struck me as something that belongs more in an adult Sunday School.

My head really feels messed up and tangled up sometimes. Sometimes, I'll want to be gone so badly, and then other times, it's not so bad, and I can enjoy the worship music (the best part of the service, in my opinion).

Now they push us to go to Faithwalkers. That gives me a nervous feeling. I don't think I'd want to expose my kids to that, even if I could afford the time off and the travel costs.

It's kind of you to listen to me, and I appreciate the whole forum. It really does help me think things through.

Regards,
Arthur

[askingquestionsaboutGCI]

Arthur:

I totally understand where you're at.  I'd been wanting to leave our GC church for several years, but my husband was the holdout.  It actually got to the point where I offered to go "scope out" some other churches and tell him about them -- and then actually went and DID IT!! -- before I could convince him to check out other churches.  We've been attending a Bible church the last month or two, and the second week there, he said, "Wow..... I haven't heard a message like that in a very long time."  So as soon as he heard something else, he recognized the disconnect......  I'll be praying for you and your family.  I pray you'll find a good Bible-believing, healthy church for you to fellowship at.

[BTDT]

Arthur -- sadly, they still seem pretty good at pushing, and IMO often pushing the wrong stuff.  But I can totally understand your wife's reluctance to leave.  Good friends can sometimes be hard to find.  I'm praying that her eyes will be opened, and that she'll hear and follow that still, small voice.

Asking -- I'm so glad your husband became willing to try out another place!  And he didn't get struck by lightning or anything! :-)  Isn't it refreshing to hear messages of true compassion, grace, and love ... and realize that God and others long to show you those as well?

I am most definitely praying, and will continue to pray, for both of you and yours!
-Ed-

[arthur]

I took a step today. It felt very odd worshiping someplace else while my wife and kids remained behind. I'd been talking with a friend for a while about my issues... his comment was that there "was no perfect church", though he invited me to come visit his church, and it gave me a reason to be someplace else for one Sunday without making waves.

The service was nice... and it was wonderful to hear preaching with some passion, and the gospel message, and hope, and Joy.

Afterwards we talked a bit in their coffee hour, and I had the experience of NOT having a dozen people clamoring around me to meet the new person (me). It's a regular ritual in most GCx churches to have the pastor meet the new people, or at least to have a bunch of regulars surround them, to welcome them, to take interest in them, to demonstrate how welcoming the church is.

Still not sure how I feel about it. It could be a bad thing... more cliquishness... or it could be a good thing... they could be secure enough to not have to pounce on every new person walking the the door. It almost feels good to be left alone to discover who these people are, to learn more about them before sharing too much of myself.

I'll be visiting his Church again, I think, as well as others. Still feel a little scared... and wonder if, when the time comes, whether my wife will come along with me... and whether my son will resent me for changing our churches. It's all in God's hands I suppose.

My friend is right, I guess... there is no perfect church... but I'd sure like to find one where I feel like a belong. Thanks for your comments and encouragement, everyone. It does help.

[Janet Easson Martin]

Arthur,

Hi.  So glad you came to this site.  Most of the people who post here want you and others to have a FREE vibrant relationship with the Lord of GLORY.  His GLORY resides in himself and it seems in the fellowship of all those who call upon him in FAITH, not those who go to certain churches, or do certain things to earn it.  We are under God's rule, not man's, and he leads us in the GOOD way. He uses humble and understanding men to equip us to follow his GOOD WAY, but not to attach ourselves to men to follow men and men's lead.  He is jealously desires our FIRST devotion and rewards us for that kind of faith.  But that necessary kind of faith is NOT wholeheartedly supported by by GCx churches.  According to God's Word, they lead believers astray from PURE and SINCERE devotion to Christ.  They steal from them through Satan's scheme the abundant riches of FULL RELIANCE upon Christ.

Supporting and Praying for You and Your Family,

Janet