I just thought i'd get on my soap box for a little bit...

My lovely wife just received a message yesterday from her best-friend (supposedly) who's still in PH, saying (paraphrasing) that she can no longer be her friend because they can't support eachother like they used to.
WHAT IS THAT ABOUT!!?!?!?!
The problem is it's not the first time someone from PH has cut us off and it won't be the last, I am just ticked that these type of "christians" exist and most of them reside within the PH, why? Because it's the culture of PH to cut off anyone who is not of the same spirit or who is not like-minded, (I am glad I don't have that spirit). I have been told by this best friends husband that I am on a different battlefield....um okay, whatever mate, you can keep fighting the Devil in your own little box.

AAAAAAAhhhhhhhhhhh (sigh) that's me done now. Peace love and vegies to you all!!!!!

Pay them no mind, MB. Until their eyes are opened, they cannot see.

Bless those who curse you, do good to those who persecute you, pray for those who can't support you like they used to...

"DEAR GOD, CAN YOU PLEASE REMOVE THEM FROM THIS PLANET" is that the kind of prayer your talking about AZA just kidding of course.

Serious issue though, the whole culture of PH.

Unfortunatly some just dont get it.

One Body means ONE body not Us and Those down the road

Rom 12:4 For just as there are many parts that compose one body, but the parts don't all have the same function;
Rom 12:5 so there are many of us, and in union with the Messiah we comprise one body, with each of us belonging to the others.

Yup....we're starting to get a taste of that and we haven't even left yet ...Oh well, by best friend is from another fellowship anyway, so at least I'll retain her!

Yeah we had a lot of that too. But you know the amazing thing I found out? God restores relationship for those whose hearts are open to it.
I've apologised to people I hurt when I was still in PH, and then in turn, had people apologise to me when they left. It might take a long time, even years, but if you keep your heart right towards those who are after all, simply blind, it can happen!
Doesn't stop it from hurting at the time tho

Oh dear, not nice at all...I thought after some passing of time that it might get better and people see that we are of one body...obviously it's not time enough for some...

Did you notice the pattern (generally speaking, they are odd cases) Mumsie?? I left and I then apologised for my attitude towards people who had left, and you say others who have left are now apologising to you. You notice anything wierd there. It seems to me to get an apology from these "friends" they have to leave PH first, funny that!!!!!!

My old best mate (we grew up together, I was only one that kept in touch with him when he was missionary's kid, we lived together - so a bit of history) ditched me when I left.

But over time and 3 years he rang me and apologised to me.

Also how did you treat people that left when you where in the PH? I find people who treated them well get treated well themselves....

For me personally Germ, those who left PH were dead to me, they had missed out on the call of God, as far as I was concerned. I didn't treat them badly, as I knew they could always come back and get 'saved' again, but my attitude certainly stunk and wreaked of religious pride, vomit material really. That's why I called people after I left, to set things right, they didn't care as they had moved on, it was more to heal my own heart.

Hi folks, I do pop up now and again!!

I have found since I have left BB that apart from those that are with me at ECC the people that have helped me the most through this transition are the people that had already left the PH over the years for whatever reason. These are the people that I have kept in touch with because we had known each other for many years, however much it was shunned upon (I guess its the rebel in me). In fact nearly all of them I used to go to the Foursquare church with, we all kinda grew up together. Unfortunately as MB said there are folks that I too wrote off because I was told they were in rebellion. I have since apologised to a few of these folks, one of them told me that he had been praying for me for many years and all that time I thought him a rebel. What a hypocrite I was. How blind can a person be.

Having said that, there have been others, still at PH that have completely wiped us off, these are people we have ministered with, had wonderful friendships with for many years and as soon as we told them we were going to serve God elsewhere one of them said "well I guess its Sayonara then". This wonderful man is in the PH Prescott. I pray for him, and the others too, why, because as I was for many years, blind (or turning a blind eye)and they still are, and they need our prayers more now than ever. I want to be in a position to help/encourage others as I have been encouraged and helped. Where would I be now if these "encouragers" had wiped me off???

I feel like I got saved all over again!!

I was good friends with a pastor in PH, and when he came back into the body, we'd go to coffee after morning prayer for months. He ended up leaving PH and is serving God elsewhere and doing great.
When he left, he said, "You know, just because I'm not in the Potters House doesn't mean we can't catch up and have a chat". I said "I know", but in my heart I knew it wasn't going to happen. He was out of the fellowship and 'wasn't right with God' (as far as PH doctrine is concerned). What a destructive mindset. Years later, he was on my mind a lot, and I started trying to track him down. Out of the blue he called me up from inter-state and we were able to catch up and we still keep in contact.

This judgmental, my-way-or-the-highway belief truly destroys friendships for absolutely no reason. If we can't even keep old friendships, how can we possibly have any success with being a witness to sinners? We're too busy judging them for every part of their life that isn't PH-approved.
We're happy to agree that Jesus had meals with prostitutes, tax collectors and sinners, but we can't even have a coffee with someone who goes to another church?

"Well, brother, they're not doing what we're doing and that's why."

hmm.

.I have a once a week Lunch with some of the Brothers [they invited me!!]

2 of the guys are not and have never been PH, the others[4] all ex PH.

And we have some great discussions about all sorts of stuff.

Shalom

My best friend and her hubby left PH for another church 3 years ago, we never stopped being best friends, (although my pastor did suggest it LOL )..Its been especially great over these last 9 months to have someone "out of the loop" to bounce my concerns off.
We've also stayed in (mostly email) contact with others who left 10 yrs ago..(Aza and his wife), but they moved interstate, if that had not been the case, we would've seen them more often as we are very close to Aza's sister.

But in saying that,...we're not the morm (or "not normal"..if you want to look at it that way !!)

It's sad that there is a 'normal' PH person, and when you think and act for yourself it's considered out of the norm.

you think that PH doesn't teach people to cut those who leave off? well here is some thing to the contrary.
click here [link removed temporarily by Admin]

It'll take a few mins to download, It is the recording of a men's D saturday 19th September.

This is from the Australian Fellowship leader, Tom Payne.


Update by Admin:
Here's the link: click here

.For admin to ''temporarily'' delete the link; must have been some sermon!!

yeah I am still listening to it, but the message is very very clear...

the link is on the cracked pots site as well, it made my blood boil listening to this.

yes Mythy, I am with you....the sermon was one if in the ph I would have said amen to once upon a time...but the question answer time is infuriating!! I know most of the people who are speaking and their whole concept of the split and admission that they are still dealing with it all is sad yet also fustrating to hear considering the healing that has gone on with ECC the last 6 months or so.
I have so much to say after this....but have to hold the tongue!

Could someone supply a link to cracked pots please [i cant find it ]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thecrackedpots/

I cannot listen to the audio at the moment (at work etc) so if anyone could fill us in, let us know. Also was it just BB people that attended?

..Thank You

Mens D and from what I can gather from the audio it is all the area churches & pastors as well...I can't say that for certain but there was a question from a local pastor in the Q&A time.

Firstly...if you're gonna listen to this sermon, do it with BibleGateway.com (online Bible) open on the "passage lookup" page, pause the sermon everytime he misquotes/rushes through a scripture, and read it in context yourself, doing a wordsearch as well if there's anything you're not sure on. It's all pretty straightforward twisting of scripture to fit an agenda, I could see it easily and I'm no Bible Scholar

A couple of key points

the 1 corinthians 5 reference,
REVILE, does NOT mean one who speaks against Authority AT ALL
it means: " assail with abusive language, vituperate."

Vituperate means: "rebuke or critize harshly, abusively, berate"
(dictionaries PPL!!)
who do we know like that?

and also the very next scripture talks of sueing one another and how wrong that is..

Galatians 5?.. gosh read that whole book and get a picture of what the Christian walk is supposed to be like

the 1 Samuel 15 scripture refers to Saul's sin, - building a monument to himself rather than God,..and esteeming sacrifice over obedience...hmmm any similarities

Most the other old testament scriptures he used refer to the children of Isreal wanting to go back to Egypt = bondage
So who wants their people to be under the bondage of the Law?

When Rebellion/Egypt are spoken of in the NT they refer specifically to sin, falling into sin, being unsaved

to quote Payne "words carry the spirit they're spoken in"..AMEN brother, I'll give you that one!