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Post by CherieKropp on Sept 24, 2007 6:38:44 GMT -5
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Post by ranman77007 on Sept 26, 2007 0:04:35 GMT -5
off the subject of shunning, and onto the subject of william irvine. i was never told anything about william irvine until i came to the TMB. thats the truth.
ranman
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2007 4:28:50 GMT -5
I wasn't told there is scientific proof for Darwinian evolution either, and that's the truth.
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Post by Harborlight on Oct 3, 2007 10:59:13 GMT -5
Dear Guest,
I am a 41-year old ex-professing person who loves the Lord,with all my heart, continues to attend church, and pray and read most every day. This is the first time I've ever posted anything, and am doing so out of sincere concern and love for your family.
It sounds like you truly have no idea what this could be about. Being born & raised in the Truth myself, I believe you when you say that there is a serious judgment being placed on you and that everyone knows about this but you. This is an opportunity for you and your wife to show the love, grace and power of God in a difficult experience, regardless of the lack of courage of those around you. Most people are afraid of confrontation, mainly because no one wants to be the one to hurt you with the news. This is where the grace of God can prevail. Confrontation is necessary and biblical. Jesus told us that if we know our brother (s) have something against us, to go to them humbly and ask what is wrong, and if there is a problem, to work it out and ask forgiveness. If they will not hear you, take witnesses. If they do not answer your calls, they are not following the scripture. God will honor your efforts to obey the scripture. Your true friends may eventually step forward to help you, if you ask them to, as this one couple has that came to your meeting. No matter what fellowship you belong to, you will find out who your true friends are when there is a crisis.
Knowing that you have a meeting in your home triggers a few suspicions on the judgments that may be being passed on you. I doubt it is due to your change of career, or loss of income. I have know elders and their wives in our area that have been shunned because of TV, Christmas trees, their girls wearing pants & make-up, movies etc. This is an unfortunate part of being a part of the fellowship you are in, since these things are considered pretty serious offenses especially for a family with a meeting in their home. Perhaps there is a false rumor circulating about you or your wife, or even your children's activities. If the workers or friends feel that your family is getting too worldly by their standards, they will draw back, and possibly remove the meeting from your home.
I now belong to another church, and respect that the church leadership where I now go holds some authority over me in Christ, and has a responsibility to properly lead the people. I know that as a Christian I am admonished in scripture to follow those in leadership above me. The question is do you agree with the policies in place in the fellowship you are in, because submitting to authority of ministers and elders who are very strict is difficult to maintain over many years if your convictions from God do not match theirs.
I am praying for you and your wife and children, knowing what a painful experience this must be. Pray, pray, pray! God will be so faithful to you. People fail, God never does. He will bless you if you follow his word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He has promised this to you personally.
From: A Sister in Christ
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Post by bonnie unlogged on Oct 3, 2007 18:53:39 GMT -5
Harborlight,
Your post is so good, thanks for the encouraging words for our friend Hurt. You truly have been touched by the hand of God.
Your Sister in Christ Kathy
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Post by to harborlight on Oct 3, 2007 22:19:58 GMT -5
Thank you for the kind and sincere words. My family and I are doing OK, not great, just OK. I guess today was just an OK day, but when we get the encouragement from kind people like you we realize that we are doing the right thing. We know that we need to live our lives for ourselves not for the workers and for the friends which we have done for many, many years. The friends no longer call, stop in, invites to dinner have ceased and it is just like we never existed. That is the hard part. I have been doing a lot of reading about the 2x2 history on-line and can relate to most of the stories, however we loved this way of life, and miss being with the friends terribly. I often think back to a lecture I gave at a conference for motivation of employees and remember telling how you can lead a horse to water, kick him in the ribs and even drag him into the water, but if he don't want to drink the water he won't. The horse has to be thirsty to drink and no matter what you do it is totally up to the horse. The same is true for people. We were led to God through The Truth and we will always be thankful for the workers and friends creating a thirst for God and his written word that no one can take away. We will always have them in our hearts and pray for their well-being as I am sure that many of the friends and workers deep down often pray and think of us. I am so easily trouble every day when I get home from work and check the caller-id and not a single friend or saint has called to say hello. That hurts. I try to keep upbeat for the kids, and know that this is so trying on them too. Most of their dearest friends we in The Truth. Now they have to make new friends, and learn to trust all over. Trust is something that kids usually do easily, but my children don't want to get to involved with anyone right now and that hurts too. I know in time our circle of new "worldly" friends will continue to grow and we had around 20 "worldly" friends come to our home tonight for bible study. So, guess things are OK with us, but I sure miss my friends from The Truth. Thanks again for you kind words of encouragement and words of kindness. We are meeting so many nice people on the web sites.
Hurt
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arlis
Junior Member
Posts: 89
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Post by arlis on Oct 3, 2007 23:53:54 GMT -5
Hurt and Upset, Oh, I hurt soo for you. I was wondering if you have tried to call the friends you were closest to? Maybe they don't "dare" call you, but would talk to you if you called them--break the ice. Just curious. I would imagine that you HAVE tried to call them, and they don't pick up, and don't return your calls? In this situation, you certainly find out who your true friends are. Maybe there are still some true friends hiding, but they have been fed lies, and trained to believe and obey the workers. They are to be pitied, actually more than you. You have been set free, although it may be hard for you to see that now. I believe that one day you will look back and be thankful for what you have been liberated from. I'm sure it is also drawing your family closer together, and that is something of great value. But I am still sorry that you have to go through this . Arlis
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Post by Mary Todd Lincoln on Oct 4, 2007 13:07:05 GMT -5
Let us remember who the King of shunning was: Jesus. So then, I ask: "Is shunning a bad word?" NO, friends, shunning is not a bad word - it is a fact of life. Shunning is to be greeted with thanksgiving. When one is shunned by mere humanoids, one knows that one is being authentic. Remember the chickens. Peck, peck, peck. A little spot of blood appears on one chicken and they all start pecking away until the chicken is likely to die of pecking. Remember: Jesus was KILLED by his own people! How easily we all forget this fact. But also remember how greatly Jesus was loved and cared for by those who believed on HIm.
Article 16 - section 8 of the Sisters Of Temperence [SOTS] by-laws states: "Thou shalt be shunned." --: Note, it does not say by whom, how, where, IF, when, or why. NO, because that would be boring, wouldn't it? And who wants to live a BORING life? Not you, not I, not even DR. SUESS. So, friends--: let us be kind, let us be ever vigilent, let us be free, let us be happy and thankful when we are SHUNNED.
AMEN.
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Post by Jewel on Oct 4, 2007 16:34:09 GMT -5
AS a young girl; I was shunned allot cause I wasn't a professing girl and was shunned cause I wasn't in the professing girls click.
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Post by freedom on Oct 4, 2007 21:53:35 GMT -5
AS a young girl; I was shunned allot cause I wasn't a professing girl and was shunned cause I wasn't in the professing girls click. This makes me angry. I remember myself as a young girl and teen, and I was probably guilty of shunning myself. We were so steeped in the outward appearance, that if a girl were to look different, they just were not part of the "in" group. Not that I was really in a "in" group, but I did have a click that I was a part of. It didn't matter, though if one was professing or not, just that they "looked" the part. That is so sad, that that is what is taught to children. They are not taught to see and get to know people for who they really are, but to judge on outward appearances. I am very sorry if I was one who shunned you. I wouldn't do it today, believe me. Freedom
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Post by a friend in christ on Oct 5, 2007 6:44:52 GMT -5
Freedom I feel that you have spoke from my heart when you said you were guilty of shunning. I remember when I was a teen and and was taught to believe that if outward appearances did not match ours well, they were just not being loyal to God. I have been guilty so many times of shunning but did not know it then, but do now. This thread has really struck a core with me and can relate to the feelings that hurt and upset feel, but from the other end. When I was younger I remember my parents having a visit from workers to inform them that they were to stop attending meeting at so and so's house and to begin going to another friends home for meeting. No explanation or anything. Oh how we loved going to so and so's house. They had a basketball court, tennis court, pool, and other things that really interested teens. The man was in construction and even had a business on the property in which he built prefab homes in sections and took them to the building site and put them together. I a teenager many of us loved this because we knew he would always have work for us whenever we asked for a job. Several of the friends even worked for him. He had every new tool imaginable and was always getting the newest and best of everything for his business. The men (Friends) just couldn't wait for meeting to be over to go down to the shop and see what he was building next. Then one day, no longer a meeting was held there, not allowed to visit, friends were told to that it would be best to find other employment if they worked for him, no explanation of the reasons. What I remember most about this is that so and so was not even told that the meeting had been changed. The Saturday night before meeting I remember a few of the friends coming over to our home and the adults having a discussion about what in the world had happened to change the workers opinion about so and so. No one had an answer, and no one bother to call so and so to let them know that the meeting had been changed. My father was very upset, but would not go against the workers at all. Sunday morning you could tell that nobody had gotten any sleep. Meeting was depressing, so and so was never mentioned again, just like they fell off the end of the earth. Reading Hurts tread brings back so much pain. Pain of not understanding rules and concepts of workers. Pain of not understanding why friends treat friends like dirt and how it is just wrong to sweep someone out of our lives because a worker says to do so. I no longer profess and many of the other teens I went to meeting with no longer profess. My conscience has really been bothering me about how we treated so and so, and I think it is the Holy Spirit telling me to go and make a mends with so and so. Thank you Hurt and Upset for making me realize that it is maybe not to late to go and make things right. I think God sent you to us to help many of us realize that we all have made mistakes but it is never to late.
Thanks Again, a friend in Christ
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arlis
Junior Member
Posts: 89
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Post by arlis on Oct 7, 2007 2:09:29 GMT -5
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 7, 2007 5:30:53 GMT -5
quote - "It is rare that we've gotten a look into how the other side feels in this situation."
Given the scant number of Workers who come on here, and their propensity to hide juicy scandals from us - I agree.
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Post by Scott Ross on Oct 7, 2007 9:42:28 GMT -5
Howdy Bert! Concerning Given the scant number of Workers who come on here, and their propensity to hide juicy scandals from us - I agree.It would be more accurate to use the word 'post' instead of 'come' in that sentence. There are several workers who do read here, but they do not wish to post or be registered due to the nature of this board. This is also true of quite a number of professing folks. I have been contacted by several people who read here but do not wish to post. They come here for information, and read posts by a select few who post here. If one filters out the crap that is posted on these boards, there is a lot of information one can find that is not found by sitting around after meetings or at potlucks. Things of interest such as the fact that Reuben Mata died this last week in California, overseer changes, death notices from around the world and stuff like that. It is a way to see how people in the 'truth' are treated in other areas and how that is different from where they go to meetings. As always, people can contact me at: bescottross@aol.com Scott . ..Any let-up in the drought down there? I think of you guys often and hope you are doing okay on your place....
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