In Confidence

[Joseph]

I notice in a lot of postings that most have had some sort of prayer circle or line in church. Here's yet another observation that I had. I have seen many times, that the information you gave when you went up to the leaders for prayer (in confidence) whether it be privately or at the end of the service, was being talked about and used against you at the appropriate time, it was ammunition. If you came from a checkered past, you didn't stand a chance. I had a good friend (who is no longer aloud to talk to me because he is still stuck there) who came from a broken family, drugs, alchohol, homosexuality, and homeless living in a city park for about seven years. This brother was saved, faithful, loved Jesus, new the Bible, and got his life together. His real friends tried to help him get his own place (first time in his life, he was 50) hold his own job, and grow in his own normal, healed, God loving, life. The problemwas is that he worked for the church, cleaning, maintaining, watching over the other kids who stayed there, and he worked for peanuts and lived in the basement of the church then they moved him into a run down apartment that he fixed up himself after about 5 oro 6 years.
He was too valuable to lose so they used his past against him to keep him there. According to the leaders he was never healed enough to leave, they always said he wasn't healed enough. This is evil at best. I've heard things I've said in confidence to the Pastor and his wife many times from other people.
It was a hard way to be reminded that I don't need a go between to pray to God. I stopped the altar calls and the prayer lines.
The last time I saw my friend, he was very upset and crying because he wanted to get out and he didn't know how. I already left and couldn't help him and he wasn't strong enough to do it on his own, he's trapped and scared of the very place that supposed to be a refuge. He's still there.

Joe

[butterfly]

:( Joseph, How sad for your friend. That church is evil.
At the church I went to "Wednesday night bible study and prayer meeting" was information collection night!!!
We were separated men in one room woman in the other. It was sad how they talked about some in the church. It made me sick.
Asking for an unspoken request would put them in a guessing mode. They would come up with alot of ideas what it was about.
They would also pray what they think God should do to a person. I never agreed to pray that bad things would happen to someone so they would get closer to God.

[Carmen]

If your friend knows how to read, you may be able to give him a book (of course on the sneak so he isn't under pressure or they take it away from him). I have read Beyond the Threshold, orig. Tras el umbral by Maria del Carmen Tapia (New York, NY, The Continuum Publishing Company, 1999). She tells about how she was used by the Catholic cult/movement, Opus Dei. She worked hard, lived under miserable conditions sometimes and at the end was almost broken before she could literally escape. Maybe if he can read the book, he will see a need to leave. But if he has no one else to turn to, you may have to help him yourself.

[SpinningHead]

Once bitten, twice shy!

I've learned to be very private w/ my life and am very careful who I share things with. But I've had to learn the hard way...

The women in my church were pushing me to have kids and finally I told them we can't have any. I shared w/ these "caring" women our story and a dream I had that was so powerful to me...they were so understanding until I got judged for not adopting, being selfish and not to mention how we treat our animals (like kids)! :eek: Every once in a while one of these women (who know my story) will say to me, "You'd be such a good mom! You should really reconsider adopting sooner than later." :eek:

The boldness that these people have when they know something personal and intimate about you! Like because they know X about you, they have a right to bring it up at any given time, share it w/ whoever they want and by all means, God may have delivered you but you still have to go through them! NO THANKS!

I've learned to ask myself a question (especially when it comes to people I don't know very well, aren't close to me or really don't matter in my life...)

Q: I need this??? :eek:
A: I don't need this!