The nail that sticks out gets hammered
Received via email.
When I was at LFF it seemed to me that anybody who had a differing idea on any subject was silenced. You were to "disagree agreeably" which meant shut your mouth and suffer the consequences of your actions. You were treated with suspicion of being a dissenter, your life was meticulously picked apart and minor things were turned into major "sin issues." If you "Rebelled" or refused to conform, you were ostracized, excluded, even excommunicated just as many others have stated on this blog. The divisive and manipulative leadership of the Living Faith Fellowship uses this fear to suppress and control the people.
Since my exit from LFF I wonder if there are any left who battle "Group Think".
Are those who go against the flow still treated the same way? In hindsight, I should have been more of a thorn in their side, doggedly questioning publicly their practices and ideas. Lowering my shoulder, persevering in the face of their devices. The sacrifices of a few meant to ease and prevent the suffering of many and better the health of the church.
Those who read and agree with me, please speak up. The ongoing refusal to publicly admit wrong and accept any form of criticism is one of the main weaknesses of LFF's current leadership. If you are currently attending the church and striving to make a difference, I admire your efforts, but don't let them get the best of you. You will find support here on this blog as well as from others within the church who do not accept the Group Think--if there are any left. I am sure the admin of this blog would post your account, igniting a dialog and penning a record.
Finally to the administrator(s) of this blog, You are a gentle man\lady and a scholar, I owe my thanks to you, this blog has helped me beyond description and I'm confident it has helped many others.
10 comments:
I can't say it often enough. Read "Twisted Scriptures". This book is about the Discipleship Movement that worked its way into many different denominations. They never mention LFF in the book, but I found myself identifying with the stories on every page! The manipulative conforming that you mentioned in this blog is one of the main ways that these churches use to control. The emphasis on not being critical of leadership is another tool they use.
This book freaked me out when I read it because I felt like the author had been a voyeur into my life. Anyone who questions our "stupidity" for involvement need only read this book to understand how it could happen to them.
I used to try to make a difference on punch crew. Even that was corrupt!
I just wanted to say goodbye. I wish all of you the best in the healing process. I have decided ot forgive the Vances, Kobelins, Bardens ,Woffords, Jesus and above all myself. I thank them for making me the person I am. I do not put up with crap anymore. I can think for myself. So yes it was horrible but it is over. I am stonger because of them. I choose to be done.
Good luck. I hope I can be at the same place someday. For now, I struggle.
You are forgiving Jesus? Wow. That's a little bold, don't you think?
I don't think that's wrong of the person to say that they are forgiving Jesus. Sometimes situations are brought into our lives that we view as punishment or something from God. We can in turn be very angry with God and yes it is us who should ask for forgiveness, but if one still holds on the the belief that they were put through LFF as punishment then to forgive God for that punishment is good. Just my opinion
Yes, we all went into LFF believing that Jesus was leading us there. There was complete trust that He wanted us there to grow in Him. That trust was betrayed by the leadership at LFF and that is why the betrayal hurts so bad. That is why many of us don't trust God anymore. This is the exact situation Jesus was talking about when He said "but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." (Matthew 18:6)
We were all children in Christ When we went to LFF and because of the way they led us they made many of us stumble. That is why forgiving Jesus for allowing us to be in this situation is an important one for many of us. I hope that the leadership at LFF take this to heart, because the judgement that they are going to face is much greater than those they wounded. It says judge not lest you be judged. Guess what, they judged us.
Isn't there some story in the Bible about kicking the dust off your feet when you leave a city, and thereby turning it over to God for His judgment?
I can't quite remember, but if this is true, do you feel this would be appropriate for the LFF situation? Can we literally shake the dust off our shoes at the door and trust God to judge the divisive leadership? Can we trust that He has a plan to rescue all the souls trapped under the manipulative holds of the post-Barden / Kari Vance regime?
Or like in the story of Lot, do we run away, never looking back, knowing that the place is going to get rocked with fire and brimstone?
So many stories and so many correlations, yet as with almost any Bible scripture, you can read it a million ways to mean whatever you want it to mean to you. All I know is I wish there were some way for me to find a trust in God and a peace that all the people that I love that are still there, trapped, used, abused spiritually yet still plodding on will find hope in Jesus and not wake up from their deception some years down the road, as well all did, and realize they wasted their existance and energy for a crooked, spiritually abusive sham.
Until I know the answer to that I won't find peace.
and then there is the story of jonah, all of these things we were taught in sunday school. so now we face the dilemma of sorting it all out.
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