Leaving Sundays: Ebony Exodus - "They are still struggling and not at peace"

They are still struggling and not at peace

A woman named Tania grew up in a strict apostolic church with lots of rules and the pastor had a lot of control over the members. Apostolic church sounds  similar to the church I was raised in with a Lot of man made rules that people have to follow or else they will go to Hell.

Tania’s church had a lot of rules for members to follow and they very strict but she witnessed her grandma dating the married deacon and her aunt being the side chick for a big time pastor.

Tania was stunned by the hypocrisy. I'm sure it was even more frustrating for her after she was ostracized and shunned for coming out as a lesbian.

That was always a point of contention for me when I was involved in my legalistic church.  People would criticize others for the smallest things but the main critics  lives were an absolute train wreck. These folks kept their pews warm every week I guess that made up for all the other stuff.

“People think that one day god is going to show up and have his judgment. So people continue to do all these things and follow the strict rules of the church, but yet they're still not at peace. When you talk to them at work or at the office or when you talk to them at the grocery store, they're still struggling.” - Tania

This statement resonated with me and this  was one of the reasons I quit attending the church of legalism. All I saw was misery, struggle, and what I did NOT want my life to be. The members showed up to church every Sunday to listen to a guy tell them if they stop coming, then they will go to Hell. Yet they are not seeing any improvement in their day to day life at all.

Tania addressed this too

“They're hurting and just waiting on god to do something different in their lives but really it's because they're looking at this man that's telling them “Follow me. Follow meS This is the way to salvation. And he's constantly going inside their pockets when he already knows that your salvation is within you.”

Boom.

If I could tell people who think  attending church will solve their problems one thing, it would be that church can help give you resources and tools to solve problems but the answer is within you. The pastor can encourage you, give supernatural insight if he is a prophet, and teach you principles that can help you. but the power to solve your problems lies within you.

Church cannot solve your problems

The pastor cannot solve your problems

You and God working together are the ones to solve your problems.

You MUST take action to solve problems.

Deliverance comes when we MOVE in faith!