We were right and we're thrilled with the changes that DH made to the old structure and the change it has made to both our outdoor area and the view from our family room.
There have been other changes around here as well. Changes just as welcome even though they took a lot longer to come to fruition and a far longer time of adjustment (unlike the pergola which once it had been extended felt as if it had always been there).
Last week we met with the elders from our church and informed them that we would not be returning. This was a hard - hard - decision. We had been a part of this church for twenty-six years. We had served in this church. We had seen each one of our sons baptised and grow in spiritual maturity in this church. We had made friends in this church.
We had memories.
But we were leaving.
After our meeting with the elders, I cried. We didn't know - still don't know for sure - where we will worship now (it's one of the reasons we stayed for so long). I felt adrift. I wanted answers but I knew I had to be patient - to wait on God.
But that night I cried myself to sleep.
The next night we listened to a sermon by Peter Masters from the London Metropolitan Temple and it was as if scales fell from our eyes. The Spirit within us confirmed the truth of what we were hearing. Truth that we had always known but somehow in the staying we had forgotten.
For we now realised we had stayed too long.
Stayed when someone preached on evolution as if it were truth.
Stayed when they said women could teach the congregation in the Sunday services although we felt uncomfortable with the fact.
Stayed when they stopped praying in Jesus' Name.
Stayed because no church is perfect and where would we go if we left?
Stayed when over time all the old hymns with their wonderful theology were replaced with shallow contemporary music with often questionable theology.
Stayed because we didn't want to cause a fuss or be labelled trouble-makers.
Stayed because, besides, where would we go?
Stayed until we couldn't stay any longer: when what we were hearing was so at odds with what we believed that we said, "Enough".
And then we left.
While our conviction in the Word of God and the doctrines of the faith have remained, we have found ourselves moving away from the theology of our denomination, which we sadly feel has changed somewhat in recent years, and not necessarily for the better.
I know there are genuine Christians remaining in our church: people who sincerely love the Lord. But I also strongly believe that a number of errors have crept in: errors that we had to come out from under and having done so have felt as if a huge burden has been lifted.
I know this will come as a surprise to some: there are few in our church, apart from the elders, whom we have told of our decision. We haven't yet had a chance to really talk to some in our family about our reasons for leaving.
In some ways, it's been hard to put it into words, particularly for those who haven't been there. In instances such as this, there will always be those who will disagree or think we should have stayed. Who will suggest that by staying perhaps we could be the agents of change (as I suggested to Son#2 and his wife when they were going through the same thing) or who think that love should cover a multitude of sins (but love also does not rejoice in wrongdoing but seeks to call others to repentance). And then there will be those who will ask what we are going to do now as if we have to know the whole path before we take even the smallest step. And the truth is that we don't know. Yet. But this we do know: that God will lead us. He is faithful and I do believe that He wants us to be in a gathering of believers who worship Him in spirit and in truth. And so we trust that He will show us in His time.
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