Protecting the unity...

[Elle]

Last Sunday following a week of self-injury, insomnia, and generalized poopiness, I went to church to perform my ministry of playing the piano and teaching Sunday School Class. I was totally exhausted from the previous week, and was hoping for some glimmer of ''it will be okay''. The pastor's sermon was on protecting the unity of the church. "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another''. Then something I hadn't heard until I got old enough to exit my last church - If you aren't showing love to your brothers and sisters in Christ, then you should examine your life to see if you're really a Christian''. His 3rd points was that you protect the unity of Christ's church by refusing to gossip. In other words, if you have a disagreement with the way things are being handled in the church, approach the pastor or elder with it; don't discuss it with anyone else. Finally, ""Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. Offer them respect and show grace when disagreeing, and politely thank them for the work that they are doing, but don't stir up discussions with other people. All of this may be innocent enough, but after 20 years of not bein g able to express a different opinion than that which was held by the Pastor, this whole Sunday made me a little uneasy. It could just be a knee jerk reaction, but when I feel in church the same way that I feel when I get a flash back of something else, then there's something not quite right. What do you think? :(

[Jerry]

I think that you thinkin somthin ain't quite right,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,is right :D
Love Jerry

[Willow]

When I was in therapy I learned that embracing and protecting the "child" part of me (the part that self injures) and making her feel safe is a very important step to healing. So... in other words... they told me to avoid things that made the scared part of me react (feeling inside owies, self harming, self medicating, having too many accidents, etc). It didn't matter if it was a real fear or not at that point in my healing I was told to be very sensitive to what my insides were telling me to do and to make a pact with the little girl inside that I wouldn't lead her into harm again. It's kinda hard to explain. I hope I conveyed this understandably. I think it's part of my healing that might apply to you.

HUGS
Willow

[Hope 98]

I think that you thinkin somthin ain't quite right,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,is right :D
Love Jerry

I'm with Jerry on this. All the points that you mention in the sermon suggest an unbalanced attitude toward authority. Take care of yourself here.

[Elle]

Thank you for your input - I think I'm going to skip the service this week, and just head for my sunday School class. Then see where things go. You guys are the best :D Hugs, Elle

[ex-shep]

If that does not sound like it right out the shepherding discipleship movement, I do not know what does. The post rang alarm bells for me. The student handbook of the bible school I walked out of stating that students were not to talk critically of the school or they would be disloyal to the institution. Talk about control. You may want to look at Twisted Scriptures of Mary Alice Chrnalogar [1997, Zondervan Books]. It might give some perspective.