I Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore... (Vent)

[Poohbear]

I'm sure some of you know what I've been going through with my father (who happens to be the pastor of the church I attend). I am getting fed up and turned off. This morning, I told him I did not want to go to church anymore. Yesterday, he had a testimony period during service and he was disappointed that I did not give a testimony. He said that Satan was keeping me in my seat for not giving God glory. I give God glory all the time! Not just at church. And I also feel like you don't always have to voice your testimony. You can give a testimony through your actions. I have given a testimony before, just not yesterday. I'm also someone that is humble and I do not like to boast or brag about stuff, but at the same time, I still praise God for what He has done in my life.

And he has a problem that I do not give money when everyone else does. See, I count money and I sometimes put my money in when I'm in the room where we count money. And I have given money during offering period. And I also tithe once a month. He has a problem with that.

He's also had a problem with me reading my Bible during church. He said I should be paying attention to service. I do! And he always tries to use the Bible against me when all I'm doing is helping out the church with my heart and it's putting a damper on my spirit. On Sunday mornings, I don't even feel like I'm there to worship God. I'm just there going through a 2 hour program that my dad sets up. I teach the youth, I handle the finances for the church, I run the projector for the power point slides during service, and help out in certain ministries when I can, but it's not enough for my dad. I'm accused of not loving God enough and I'm sick of it!

My dad feels like I'm the evil one and I just hate him. I don't hate him. I love him and I'm sure he loves me, but he is too controlling and like a dictator at that church. I feel like the church is a cult. I feel like it's all about him when it comes to that church. He asked me what was wrong and I told him. I try not to complain but if you ask what's wrong, I'm going to tell you. And if you don't like it or agree, then I have nothing else to say. That's why I just told him I don't want to go to the church anymore.

I don't feel like it's a church of God. I feel like it's my dad's church. I know he's the pastor and overseer of the church, but he is not God or the Head of the church. Jesus Christ is the Head of the church. And the comments he makes sometimes makes it seem like he thinks he's God. He said that people are being disobedient to God if they do not do everything that he (my dad) tells them to do. For example, he said for everyone in the church to give over and beyond 10% of their gross income, and if they didn't do that, that means they are being disobedient to God. Last time I check, the Bible says to give from your heart freely whether it's more or less than 10% of your income without being force or pressured or grudgingly.

But maybe I'm wrong. I just don't know anymore. I try my best to live for God and show that I love God and believe in His Son Jesus. It makes me feel like I want to just stay in a room somewhere like a nun and just read the bible and pray all day since everything I do is against the Word. I just don't get it.

And I'm sure some of you know what I was going through last year when I felt like a borderline Atheist. I feel like I've gotten back to a good point now in my life and I do not want to go back feeling like an Atheist. And my dad was part of the reason why I had Atheist-like feelings. Please pray for me as I continue to pray for myself. I know the prayers from some of you ladies here at LHCF helped me in the past. My spirit really feels troubled right now. :ohwell:

And if anyone can give me any advice or suggestions about what to do in this situation, please feel free to give it. I know some of you have even mentioned that I should leave and find a new church home regardless of the fact that he is my father and that my mother and siblings go to that church too. My dad thinks I'm the only one that has a problem but my mother and siblings do too, they're just not as open about it to him.

Well I could go on about this... I'm done venting. God bless you all. :rosebud:

[AfriPrincess411]

I will pray for you!

I KNOW EXACTLY how you feel. I go to this church in Maryland that I feel is not doing anything for me spiritually. Yet my parents make me go in order to "save face." So its not about authentically worshipping God but letting other families know your family is "religious" enough to come every Sunday. Not only that, but sometimes when I don't go to church and my dad does one day, my dad will come back home BRAGGING about how he went to church and all of us "heathens" did not go. All the while, he forgets what the sermon was about and goes downstairs to watch CNN/football the rest of the day.

I don't mean to say these negative things about my parents, but sometimes I feel like they don't understand my spiritual needs.

[blazingthru]

Poohbear I am soo sorry you are going through all of this I know how you feel, My father is a minister too not as strict as your dad but we lived a different life when we came home so it was hard to be sitting up in church and agreeing to things we didn't really do at home, plus inside I didn't (me personally) didn't agree with the teaching I mean from 9 years old I struggled. I know my father was a good man because I heard from others in the community how fair he was to them and he was never a person to yell and curse them out and they respected him. So I know he was trying in his own way to live the right life but that belief was not for me. I left the church and went on my own. Now that I have stepped way out of the field I am sure it upset my father since i was raised both baptist and methodist but am now SDA way different doctrine. I still respected my parents but I am grown and I make my own decisions and what they believe did not agree with me and there is no problem with you leaving and going your own way. We all have to travel our own paths in life, thats what God requires of us. that we make our own decisions and we serve him with a Glad heart and with our own desires to do so. He doesn't want forced worship and forced giving and force obedience. If I were you I would study out those things and present them to your father as lovingly as possible and then let him know your moving on. God bless you on your journey as I believe that is the choice your going to make and I believe that will probably be a blessing for your family in the long run..

[GV-NA-GI-TLV-GE-I]

IMy dad thinks I'm the only one that has a problem but my mother and siblings do too, they're just not as open about it to him.

Well I could go on about this... I'm done venting. God bless you all. :rosebud:

How old are you? Are you in college yet? If so and can be supported away from home, I'd do that. It's time you moved on, if you're of age. Also, your mother and siblings are feeling oppressed? Have their aired their complaints to another pastor of the church? They should definitely stand up. Where's the accountability in the church? Who is over is and is there some organization you can contact to do an investigation of the church? For example, is it under baptist leadership? There should be organizations to whom they are accountable.

Atheist feelings. Um, not from what you write. Anybody who accuses you of being anti-G-d because you see things differently that are supported by scripture is short-sighted. And as for performing religious duties so others can marvel...well, that's all the reward they will get.

[discobiscuits]

wow. i don't have minister parent(s) but i feel for you. i've stopped attending church (but i'm still a member on paper). i'm in support of you. don't let others judge your heart when only God can do that.

[Blossssom]

Aw... I'm sorry you feel this way *hug*

[Poohbear]

How old are you? Are you in college yet? If so and can be supported away from home, I'd do that. It's time you moved on, if you're of age. Also, your mother and siblings are feeling oppressed? Have their aired their complaints to another pastor of the church? They should definitely stand up. Where's the accountability in the church? Who is over is and is there some organization you can contact to do an investigation of the church? For example, is it under baptist leadership? There should be organizations to whom they are accountable.

Atheist feelings. Um, not from what you write. Anybody who accuses you of being anti-G-d because you see things differently that are supported by scripture is short-sighted. And as for performing religious duties so others can marvel...well, that's all the reward they will get.
I'm 25 years old. I graduated college in 2006. I'm currently living at home with my parents. I just recently landed a job back in July and I'm in the process of saving up enough money to move out and get my own place.

And yes, my mother feels tired about the church. My sister denies it and my brother notices the same problems.

Our church is affiliated with Southern Baptist. I'm not sure who to contact as far as doing an investigation on the church.

And I agree with you.

[beaux cheveux]

Whatever you do, you have to decide what is more important to you. If your dad is keeping you from receiving a spiritual blessing at the church you attend, I would consider attending service somewhere else.:perplexed

I disliked the church my parents attended, the pastor was, ok...I'm not going to speak bad about a pastor. Let's just say he said a bunch of things I disagreed with, like not brushing your hair on the Lord's Day, or tying your shoes. And that there wouldn't be children in heaven. The people there seemed a bit flaky too, like they just went there to go somewhere once a week.:perplexed And when they didn't bury my father cause he wasn't a part of their church, well, that was it for me.

I stopped going to church for a while. Became indifferent to God, pretty much agnositic. I still believed in the morals/standards in the Bible, thought it was pretty good advice, so I was a good person for the most part. I mean, the Bible was a great book to read, I guess, but I could not bring myself to believe in everything it said. I studied other religions just to get an understanding of the world, and I became very liberal in my thinking. I did very well in school, and I thought I was pretty smart.

I sure was doing better than a lot of my friends that still went to church. I know a boy who became a baby-daddy. A girl who became a baby-mama at fourteen. An adulteress and her mister. A guy with STD. A a couple of people who just sat around after high-school. A lot of people who did drugs. Yep, all church folks, holy-rollers. Looking down on me because I didn't show up once a week, well at least I wasn't as messed up as they were. I saw them as judgemental, hypocrites. I knew a lot of them thought I stopped going to church, because they thought I was pregnant or had messed up---ha! Nope, sorry to disappoint guys.:rolleyes:

But, I was not happy. I thought about things alot. I thought about death alot. Not that I wanted to die, per se, but what happens. Then, thinking of my father---there.:sad: I thought, like Solomon, about the uselessness of life. No matter how hard one works, their situation is really isn't any better than the next person. We all die. I can see the appeal of fiction, of television, of money, anything really. It is an escape from the cold reality, that in the end you leave the way you were born. Why is death such a taboo subject? Is man really any better than the animals?

It was a hard thought. I looked at the world around me, and I saw people going about their lives as if they'd live forever. I became obsessed with prolonging my life anyway I could. Still, there are accidents and tradgies one has to account for, how does one deal with that?

Slowly, I started to go to church again. Maybe twice or thrice a year, and not nesscarily on holidays.:lachen:I went to a different church, and though I wouldn't say I made fellowship, I have recieved a blessing from what I heard, so I started to go more often. I came to the conclusion that no one can know everything there is to know in the world, and no one can convince me they do.:look: So what if there was a God? Privately, on my own I started to read my Bible again, and even got a devotional. I realized that it wasn't the church people who were being judgemental---it was me. I thought so highly of myself, that I was better than them, smarter, more well-off, that I was above a church service. The bible told a different story, no one can please God. It doesn't matter if you only sin once in your lifetime, or a million times, the wages of sin is death. In the end we are the same. No one is better than the next person.
At first it seemed so unfair. :perplexed Then I realized that is when you need God's grace, and his Son, Jesus Christ. We can never be good enough. We weren't meant to be. We need God. That is why the law can never save you.

So, long story short,:lachen:I decided to pick myself up and head on down to the church with a bible in my hand. I pray more. I was never very religious and I'm still not. :look: But religion is not a requirement to go to heaven. All the religion in the world can not save you if you don't have Jesus. I am still so messed up. I'm am building myself up slowly. Hey, I still look down on others, and say mean things, and can be judgemental. I am still working on it, with God's help.

I realize the hard way, that you can't help yourself, you can't change yourself. I tried all my life to be a better person, but human effort is nothing. You need Jesus to perform a supernatural change on you. The bible says that it is like the wind, no one know where it comes from and no one knows where it is going. But when the change comes, it will be geniuine. John 3:8

Sometimes I still doubt. I don't even feel worthy to post on this forum, cause a lot of you seem like super-Christian, and I am not.:lachen: I am cleaning up my language, trying to listen and read more positive things instead of Stephen King and Lil Wayne.:look: But the initial change should be in your heart, first, and later on God will work with you on the rest. :yep:
Summary: Don't look to human beings, they will fail you every time, instead look to God.

I don't know what came over me to write out such a long response. I just started typing and it all came out. I'm asking for continued prayer for myself, and a friend who is going through a hard time.

[Nice & Wavy]

Whatever you do, you have to decide what is more important to you. If your dad is keeping you from receiving a spiritual blessing at the church you attend, I would consider attending service somewhere else.:perplexed

I disliked the church my parents attended, the pastor was, ok...I'm not going to speak bad about a pastor. Let's just say he said a bunch of things I disagreed with, like not brushing your hair on the Lord's Day, or tying your shoes. And that there wouldn't be children in heaven. The people there seemed a bit flaky too, like they just went there to go somewhere once a week.:perplexed And when they didn't bury my father cause he wasn't a part of their church, well, that was it for me.

I stopped going to church for a while. Became indifferent to God, pretty much agnositic. I still believed in the morals/standards in the Bible, thought it was pretty good advice, so I was a good person for the most part. I mean, the Bible was a great book to read, I guess, but I could not bring myself to believe in everything it said. I studied other religions just to get an understanding of the world, and I became very liberal in my thinking. I did very well in school, and I thought I was pretty smart.

I sure was doing better than a lot of my friends that still went to church. I know a boy who became a baby-daddy. A girl who became a baby-mama at fourteen. An adulteress and her mister. A guy with STD. A a couple of people who just sat around after high-school. A lot of people who did drugs. Yep, all church folks, holy-rollers. Looking down on me because I didn't show up once a week, well at least I wasn't as messed up as they were. I saw them as judgemental, hypocrites. I knew a lot of them thought I stopped going to church, because they thought I was pregnant or had messed up---ha! Nope, sorry to disappoint guys.:rolleyes:

But, I was not happy. I thought about things alot. I thought about death alot. Not that I wanted to die, per se, but what happens. Then, thinking of my father---there.:sad: I thought, like Solomon, about the uselessness of life. No matter how hard one works, their situation is really isn't any better than the next person. We all die. I can see the appeal of fiction, of television, of money, anything really. It is an escape from the cold reality, that in the end you leave the way you were born. Why is death such a taboo subject? Is man really any better than the animals?

It was a hard thought. I looked at the world around me, and I saw people going about their lives as if they'd live forever. I became obsessed with prolonging my life anyway I could. Still, there are accidents and tradgies one has to account for, how does one deal with that?

Slowly, I started to go to church again. Maybe twice or thrice a year, and not nesscarily on holidays.:lachen:I went to a different church, and though I wouldn't say I made fellowship, I have recieved a blessing from what I heard, so I started to go more often. I came to the conclusion that no one can know everything there is to know in the world, and no one can convince me they do.:look: So what if there was a God? Privately, on my own I started to read my Bible again, and even got a devotional. I realized that it wasn't the church people who were being judgemental---it was me. I thought so highly of myself, that I was better than them, smarter, more well-off, that I was above a church service. The bible told a different story, no one can please God. It doesn't matter if you only sin once in your lifetime, or a million times, the wages of sin is death. In the end we are the same. No one is better than the next person.
At first it seemed so unfair. :perplexed Then I realized that is when you need God's grace, and his Son, Jesus Christ. We can never be good enough. We weren't meant to be. We need God. That is why the law can never save you.

So, long story short,:lachen:I decided to pick myself up and head on down to the church with a bible in my hand. I pray more. I was never very religious and I'm still not. :look: But religion is not a requirement to go to heaven. All the religion in the world can not save you if you don't have Jesus. I am still so messed up. I'm am building myself up slowly. Hey, I still look down on others, and say mean things, and can be judgemental. I am still working on it, with God's help.

I realize the hard way, that you can't help yourself, you can't change yourself. I tried all my life to be a better person, but human effort is nothing. You need Jesus to perform a supernatural change on you. The bible says that it is like the wind, no one know where it comes from and no one knows where it is going. But when the change comes, it will be geniuine. John 3:8

Sometimes I still doubt. I don't even feel worthy to post on this forum, cause a lot of you seem like super-Christian, and I am not.:lachen: I am cleaning up my language, trying to listen and read more positive things instead of Stephen King and Lil Wayne.:look: But the initial change should be in your heart, first, and later on God will work with you on the rest. :yep:
Summary: Don't look to human beings, they will fail you every time, instead look to God.

I don't know what came over me to write out such a long response. I just started typing and it all came out. I'm asking for continued prayer for myself, and a friend who is going through a hard time.

I just HAD to come into CF just to say.....thank you for this post! :rosebud:

[firecracker]

Whatever you do, you have to decide what is more important to you. I would consider attending service somewhere else.:perplexed


So, long story short,:lachen:I decided to pick myself up and head on down to the church with a bible in my hand. I pray more. I was never very religious and I'm still not. :look: But religion is not a requirement to go to heaven. All the religion in the world can not save you if you don't have Jesus. I am still so messed up. I'm am building myself up slowly. Hey, I still look down on others, and say mean things, and can be judgemental. I am still working on it, with God's help.

I realize the hard way, that you can't help yourself, you can't change yourself. I tried all my life to be a better person, but human effort is nothing. You need Jesus to perform a supernatural change on you. The bible says that it is like the wind, no one know where it comes from and no one knows where it is going. But when the change comes, it will be geniuine. John 3:8

Sometimes I still doubt. I don't even feel worthy to post on this forum, cause a lot of you seem like super-Christian, and I am not.:lachen: I am cleaning up my language, trying to listen and read more positive things instead of Stephen King and Lil Wayne.:look: But the initial change should be in your heart, first, and later on God will work with you on the rest. :yep:
Summary: Don't look to human beings, they will fail you every time, instead look to God.

I don't know what came over me to write out such a long response. I just started typing and it all came out. I'm asking for continued prayer for myself, and a friend who is going through a hard time. :yep: :yep: :yep:

[Changed]

And I'm sure some of you know what I was going through last year when I felt like a borderline Atheist. I feel like I've gotten back to a good point now in my life and I do not want to go back feeling like an Atheist. And my dad was part of the reason why I had Atheist-like feelings.

THE BOLDED SPEAK VOLUMES!!
I know some of you have even mentioned that I should leave and find a new church home regardless of the fact that he is my father and that my mother and siblings go to that church too.

Ask God, if this is the church for you and if not to guide you to your new church home. Ask God to give you and your family peace about the separation (if that's the case).

I'm praying for you.

[DDTexlaxed]

Talk to him and tell him your heart. He may not understand what you are going through. If that doesn't work, then go to another church. Your spiritual needs are not being met. If your dad views you as satan, that is not good.:nono:

[Bunny77]

I hope it all works out Poohbear!

Also, like I said back in your old thread, I think you're incorrectly using the term atheist. Atheist means you do not believe in any higher powers/gods PERIOD. I know you believe in God, and your faith in God has not wavered... you are simply questioning the church where you attend and your father's actions.

I don't even see you as having atheist-like feelings... so if I were you, I'd dump the "a" word from your thoughts and focus more on how you're going to work through this issue. I agree that it's best to move out so that you can make your own choices, including finding a church where you are spiritually nourished.

[Highly Favored8]

Whatever you do, you have to decide what is more important to you. If your dad is keeping you from receiving a spiritual blessing at the church you attend, I would consider attending service somewhere else.:perplexed

I disliked the church my parents attended, the pastor was, ok...I'm not going to speak bad about a pastor. Let's just say he said a bunch of things I disagreed with, like not brushing your hair on the Lord's Day, or tying your shoes. And that there wouldn't be children in heaven. The people there seemed a bit flaky too, like they just went there to go somewhere once a week.:perplexed And when they didn't bury my father cause he wasn't a part of their church, well, that was it for me.

I stopped going to church for a while. Became indifferent to God, pretty much agnositic. I still believed in the morals/standards in the Bible, thought it was pretty good advice, so I was a good person for the most part. I mean, the Bible was a great book to read, I guess, but I could not bring myself to believe in everything it said. I studied other religions just to get an understanding of the world, and I became very liberal in my thinking. I did very well in school, and I thought I was pretty smart.

I sure was doing better than a lot of my friends that still went to church. I know a boy who became a baby-daddy. A girl who became a baby-mama at fourteen. An adulteress and her mister. A guy with STD. A a couple of people who just sat around after high-school. A lot of people who did drugs. Yep, all church folks, holy-rollers. Looking down on me because I didn't show up once a week, well at least I wasn't as messed up as they were. I saw them as judgemental, hypocrites. I knew a lot of them thought I stopped going to church, because they thought I was pregnant or had messed up---ha! Nope, sorry to disappoint guys.:rolleyes:

But, I was not happy. I thought about things alot. I thought about death alot. Not that I wanted to die, per se, but what happens. Then, thinking of my father---there.:sad: I thought, like Solomon, about the uselessness of life. No matter how hard one works, their situation is really isn't any better than the next person. We all die. I can see the appeal of fiction, of television, of money, anything really. It is an escape from the cold reality, that in the end you leave the way you were born. Why is death such a taboo subject? Is man really any better than the animals?

It was a hard thought. I looked at the world around me, and I saw people going about their lives as if they'd live forever. I became obsessed with prolonging my life anyway I could. Still, there are accidents and tradgies one has to account for, how does one deal with that?

Slowly, I started to go to church again. Maybe twice or thrice a year, and not nesscarily on holidays.:lachen:I went to a different church, and though I wouldn't say I made fellowship, I have recieved a blessing from what I heard, so I started to go more often. I came to the conclusion that no one can know everything there is to know in the world, and no one can convince me they do.:look: So what if there was a God? Privately, on my own I started to read my Bible again, and even got a devotional. I realized that it wasn't the church people who were being judgemental---it was me. I thought so highly of myself, that I was better than them, smarter, more well-off, that I was above a church service. The bible told a different story, no one can please God. It doesn't matter if you only sin once in your lifetime, or a million times, the wages of sin is death. In the end we are the same. No one is better than the next person.
At first it seemed so unfair. :perplexed Then I realized that is when you need God's grace, and his Son, Jesus Christ. We can never be good enough. We weren't meant to be. We need God. That is why the law can never save you.

So, long story short,:lachen:I decided to pick myself up and head on down to the church with a bible in my hand. I pray more. I was never very religious and I'm still not. :look: But religion is not a requirement to go to heaven. All the religion in the world can not save you if you don't have Jesus. I am still so messed up. I'm am building myself up slowly. Hey, I still look down on others, and say mean things, and can be judgemental. I am still working on it, with God's help.

I realize the hard way, that you can't help yourself, you can't change yourself. I tried all my life to be a better person, but human effort is nothing. You need Jesus to perform a supernatural change on you. The bible says that it is like the wind, no one know where it comes from and no one knows where it is going. But when the change comes, it will be geniuine. John 3:8

Sometimes I still doubt. I don't even feel worthy to post on this forum, cause a lot of you seem like super-Christian, and I am not.:lachen: I am cleaning up my language, trying to listen and read more positive things instead of Stephen King and Lil Wayne.:look: But the initial change should be in your heart, first, and later on God will work with you on the rest. :yep:
Summary: Don't look to human beings, they will fail you every time, instead look to God.

I don't know what came over me to write out such a long response. I just started typing and it all came out. I'm asking for continued prayer for myself, and a friend who is going through a hard time.



Excellent Post!.

[Highly Favored8]

(((((((Hugs))))))

God will make a way for you PoohBear. He will. He knows your heart.

[SvelteVelvet]

Just want to tell you, you are not alone. I've been where you are, (not as far as my parents but not wanting to go to church). Always follow your heart and spirit over what any man, even your father, intends for you. God is ordering your steps, you see things others may not see and it disturbs your spirit enough to take action. Rarely does God intend a person to stay in one place forever, and when a place becomes oppressive it isn't His will for us to feel this way. We are to feel free, most especially when serving Him.

Hopefully you can get out of the situation of dealing with your father as soon as possible.

[Nymphe]

You are going to come through this with His guidance, stronger and better equipped than before. He has opened your eyes and inspired you to explore His Word even more. What is the worst that could happen if you stepped into another sanctuary?

This may be a small comfort (if at all), but you may be the wake-up call your father, family, and perhaps others in the church need to shake out of that legalistic malaise the church has slipped into.

[Ms Lala]

I think you already know the answer in your heart of hearts. It sounds like that is not the right church for you. When you are in the right place you KNOW it. It is a place where will grow and mature in HIM as well as bless others with your gifting. I understand how you feel because the church I grew up in turned me off for a long time, I am a pk and stopped going to the church my Dad is still a minister in (not because of my Dad). I had to do be where GOD had for me to be and I knew it wasn't there. My growth was stunted when I was there and now I am flourishing. The church I was in b4 seemed to be focused on everything except the love of God and God is love. I don't hear much love in any of what you posted about your current situation. I pray that you will be led to the church God has for you.

[Shimmie]

Poohbear, I'm so grieved about this. I'm praying for the healing of the relationship between you and your father. No matter who's right or who's wrong, this man is still your father.

The devil revels in this. he revels in the midst of divisions, especially among families, be it Father and son, Father and daughter, Man and Wife. But what he is reveling in all the more, is that he has you in his corner, speaking out agaInst a man who is serving God, but even more, against a man who is your father.

Your Dad is not the one who's gotten to you; satan has. satan has set you up and good, and you've fallen for it; you've fallen for one of the biggest traps against all PK's (Pastor's Kids). Poohbear, you are a target that satan has set his aim against only to destroy you and it is not the fault of your Father.

Look at some of the lives of others who have been so deceived by satan's offense and it is satan's offense, not your Dad's.

All satan wants to do is to lead you out of umbrella of God's protection by way of offense and a spirit of rebellion, so that he can sink his lies and his grip into you even more.

:nono2: Uh -Uh... Your father is not the blame neither the culprit. You have a better chance of life 'with' your father than without him.

Think not? Hmmmph! You've already pronounced your destination more than once. Outside of Church you'll be on your own doing what your flesh wants to do for there will be no cover to restrain you. Anyone who leaves a Church out of rebellion (and it is) ends up searching for other answers to other gods. History of others has already laid out the path way with markers for others to follow. The 'trip' is guaranteed. Whatever you choose, do not blame your Dad. :nono:

As humans we 'all' have offenses in and out of Church, we 'all' have offenses. Daddie is not the blame.

Out of all of your 'oughts' and hurt feelings that you 'feel' regarding your Father, is there not one that God has not given you the power and the Authority over, rather than come into a public forum, where you know full well, there are many waiting to 'attack' your father with far more anger and discrepancies than you have prersonally?

Babygirl, words have power. There are preditors vulchers in here and out there waiting to devour 'you' (yes, you) and your father, for no other reason than him being a man of God and you as his daughter; for if he goes down, you will go down with him; and if for no other reason than as you being the sower of the seeds to his demise.

They are cursing him and 'you' with their words of disdain; it affects you as his seed, his off spring, his babygirl. And they will continue to 'curse' him; not in support of you, but because what you've shared feeds into their already predisposed hatred of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for any man who stands upon an Altar and preaches Jesus.

The nods of agreement that you receive here are not nods of life, but of death to your Dad and no matter how much has happened between you and him, he does not deserve to be devoured in a den full of lions who have no love for him nor for you. Even those with the same experience, are adding their anger to your anger which is against the blessings of God.

He's your Daddie, only 'you' can make him or break him. This is why you bear this cross. No matter what he's done, you are gifted with the ability to pray around it and to be at peace with him. If you believe in God, and I'm sure you do, have this thread deleted. Allow the words of disdain to go no further. God understands your hurts, God understands your vent. But He will not agree that it be extended any further bringing forth more disparagement against your father. :nono:

Don't put your Dad out here like this. Neither one of you deserve it. Not you, not him, not Jesus.

I care Poohbear... :Rose:

God always approves of Father / Child restoration.

And he shall turn the heart of the Fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:6)

Peace and Blessings... :rosebud:

[GV-NA-GI-TLV-GE-I]

[FONT=Garamond][SIZE=3] I'm praying for the healing of the relationship between you and your father....
All satan wants to do is to lead you out of umbrella of God's protection by way of offense and a spirit of rebellion, ... Your father is not the blame neither the culprit. You have a better chance of life 'with' your father than without him. ... Anyone who leaves a Church out of rebellion (and it is) ends up searching for other answers to other gods. ....Out of all of your 'oughts' and hurt feelings that you 'feel' regarding your Father, is there not one that God has not given you the power and the Authority over, rather than come into a public forum, where you know full well, there are many waiting to 'attack' your father with far more anger and discrepancies than you have prersonally? ...Babygirl, words have power. There are preditors vulchers in here and out there waiting to devour 'you' (yes, you) and your father, for no other reason than him being a man of God and you as his daughter; for if he goes down, you will go down with him; and if for no other reason than as you being the sower of the seeds to his demise. ...They are cursing him and 'you' with their words of disdain; it affects you as his seed, his off spring, his babygirl. And they will continue to 'curse' him; not in support of you, but because what you've shared feeds into their already predisposed hatred of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for any man who stands upon an Altar and preaches Jesus.


Shimmie, I'm not understanding. I thought she was discouraged but not actually seeking to leave Christ, just find a church home that does not wreak of "cult." That wouldn't be leaving a church out of rebellion, right?? I agree that one must respect the parents, it's commanded. But she's 25 years old. She's an adult and will find her own way...maybe another church altogether. How is that wedging rebellion between her and the father? Hasn't her dad already made her feel less of a believer because she doesn't openly express herself in worship? If I misunderstand, please correct me. But I'm confused here.

If she and her mother feel something is seriously wrong, maybe it's the father who needs to change? If Christ is leading her elsewhere, wouldn't she know that more than anyone else? If it turns out her father is misleading a congregation through religious abuses, she would be wrong to stay solely to preserve family honor. Jesus brought a sword and that sword divides a household between those who will follow Him and those who will follow the world...and deception. I hope and pray this is not the case for their sake and the sake of the many congregants.

I certainly don't hope you think that people who advised her to move on with her life as a capable adult are encouraging her towards deception nor disrespect. I think she found the perfect solution to posing this question to fellow believers rather than scandalizing her father through another congregant who would rat on her...and no solution. We don't know her name nor where she lives and her question is valid IMHO because not everyone has good network resources. Perhaps she could ask another unaffiliated pastor in that town???

Well, my intention is to wish her to find peace and if it's not with that family situation, then she will walk it with Christ but not to deceive her or disdain her father. But when someone brings up issues of church abuse or near abuse and unkosher teachings, I think she's certainly right to ask other believers for counsel. I mean absolutely no harm in this post.