Just came across this post by one of my faves, the Internet Monk, and I just had to share. Its long, but worth reading. Here are 2 excerpts:
Why are we, after all that confident talk of “new life,” “new creation,” “the power of God,” “healing,” “wisdom,” “miracles,” “the power of prayer,” …why are we so weak? Why do so many “good Christian people,” turn out to be just like everyone else? Divorced. Depressed. Broken. Messed up. Full of pain and secrets. Addicted, needy and phony. I thought we were different.
It’s remarkable, considering the tone of so many Christian sermons and messages, that any church has honest people show up at all. I can’t imagine that any religion in the history of humanity has made as many clearly false claims and promises as evangelical Christians in their quest to say that Jesus makes us better people right now. With their constant promises of joy, power, contentment, healing, prosperity, purpose, better relationships, successful parenting and freedom from every kind of oppression and affliction, I wonder why more Christians aren’t either being sued by the rest of humanity for lying or hauled off to a psych ward to be examined for serious delusions.
Now I want to talk about why this is important. We must begin to accept who we are, and bring a halt to the sad and repeated phenomenon of lives that are crumbling into pieces because the only Christian experience they know about is one that is a lie. We are infected with something that isn’t the Gospel, but a version of a religious life; an entirely untruthful version that drives genuine believers into the pit of despair and depression because, contrary to the truth, God is “against” them, rather than for them.
5 comments:
THANK YOU SO MUCH for saying so many of the things I’ve been thinking for the last 9 yrs! I’m an HA graduate (2001) and it’s so nice to know I’m not alone in my experience. I’ve been slowly recovering from the HA for the past 5 years after overcoming depression and an eating disorder largely related to the shame, guilt, and general feelings of inadequacy as a Christian I experienced at TM. I still tend to try and keep God at a distance at times, but through His grace and love for me I’m coming around. 🙂 Anyway, thanks again for this blog, and what you’re doing, I know it will be helpful in my own journey back to what Christ is really all about.
January 7, 2010 2:35 PM
Recovering Alumni said…
You are so welcome, anonymous. Its comments like yours that are the reason I write this blog. Thank you.
January 7, 2010 2:37 PM
Anonymous said…
I also wanted to thank you, RA for this blog. I posted a few months’ back about my son’s experience with TM and their party line. At the time that he was dismissed, we were devastated and disappointed in him for his ‘failing’ in following the rules, as well as disappointed and angry at TM for dismissing him for not being good enough.
Since then, the Lord has shown us HIS love, grace, and lavished His mercy on both our son and us. He has shown us through His Word that we do not have to ‘earn’ His favor and perform perfectly in order to be ‘honorable’ Christians. My son has learned that he is not a failure–he is forgiven when he makes mistakes and loved regardless of his actions. We have been healed of the disappointment we had in our son for breaking the rules–TM operates with a spirit of religion and we have been freed from that–thanks to your blog in helping opening up our spiritual eyes to what is going on down there…
We were blessed with the opportunity to go to Israel–where the Word of God literally opened up and showed how truly Living and Breathing it still is today. We asked our son if he wanted a ‘replacement ring’ for the Honor Ring that was taken away from him (the ‘honor ring’ is inscribed in Hebrew with “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine”…). Our son said ‘no, I’m good–I’d rather have MY verse inscribed–“Not by might, nor by power, buy by My Spirit says the Lord”.’…yes, my son has been freed and grown in the Lord and moved forward in his faith. Thank you for your blog.
January 7, 2010 8:43 PM
Recovering Alumni said…
Anon – So glad to hear that. It really brings my heart great joy. Thank you for sharing.
January 7, 2010 8:45 PM
Ex-Intern Aug 07 said…
Hmm yeah I like this blog!
Not just Teen Mania have it wrong – but a lot of other preachers and “ministries”….for example, one particular book springs to mind “Your Best Life Now”
But a good book in response to that one is called “Your Best Lie Now”…it’s not really bashing the Joel Osteen one, more talking about false teaching as a whole! It’s actually a pretty good book, although I wouldn’t agree with everything the author writes.
January 8, 2010 4:22 PM