Former Pentecostals Turned Divine Nobodies

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Comment by Paula on July 24, 2009 at 9:29am

Someone should start a parenting group so that all this information is in one spot.

Comment by Paula on July 24, 2009 at 9:23am

Denise,

I wish I had made the move before my kids were grown/nearly grown. My youngest is 16 and we left the church when she was 15 with the intention of finding another church, and we actually did go to a couple of different ones, and then a friend suggested "The Shack" although I don't think it was with good intent. That led down a path to me realizing that I wasn't alone. I've seen a lot of good parenting advice through all that I've read, but it's been pretty much geared to younger children. What do you do when your children are older?

I wish I had marked all the places where I found information because this comes up a LOT! There are some conversations on this site that address that. Under the book club group there is a book that I found interesting and I've even ordered it in preparation for when grandchildren come along.

Wayne Jacobsen has a lot of good podcasts that address this - http://www.thegodjourney.com/podcast.html. Be sure and look in the archives.

For myself, I have told my children my point of view and why I've stopped attending church and made sure that they are aware that I FIRMLY believe in God and that I'm focusing on strengthening my relationship with Him. Funny thing is, while God is not a regular topic of conversation in our house, I've probably had more conversations with them about Him than I've ever had. I've had to leave them in His more than capable hands. It is up to Him to draw them. All I can do is be open, ready to talk when they initiate it, bring Him into casual conversation when appropriate, and not make Him a subject that makes them roll their eyes and think, here she goes again.

Comment by Denise Diel Reynolds on July 23, 2009 at 7:36pm

Thanks Steve I will be sure to look that video up.

Comment by Denise Diel Reynolds on July 23, 2009 at 10:33am

Hey everyone,
I too grew up in churches of the full gospel, non-denominational, or pentecostal persuasion. It's nice to see others on here who have had to detox from this upbringing. I left the huge IC we were very involved in a little over 3 years ago and have a small group of family and friends who meet together for encouragement and fellowship in a more natural setting.

I think the hardest thing for me is making sure that I am teaching my three kids about God. I used to rely so heavily on Sunday school for this and now I have to take responsibility for this myself. Which really it is my responsibility to teach them but it now just happens in a more matter of fact way. They hear a lot of what the adults share with one another about their journey. They just aren't making as many cotton ball lamb crafts anymore. We read Bible stories before bed and I try to use teachable moments to tell them about God. It still is the hardest thing for me though. I was raised in Sunday School and attended private Christian schools from K-10 grade. Looking back though it was all head knowledge and doctrine that I learned and never something deeply personal that I held close to my heart.

My hope is that my children experience God in a deeper more personal way than I did. I don't want them to grow up in the confines of religion like I did but instead I want them to experience true freedom in Christ. Anyone else struggling with raising their kids in Christ outside church walls?

Comment by Paula on April 23, 2009 at 6:41am

Hey Lindsey, I was beginning to think I was the only one. From another post I see that you've been out of the IC for 10 years and that you were in it for a much shorter time than I was. I've been out for a little over a year, but my heart left a long time before that. I'm over the half century mark so I have a LOT of detoxing to do. I only discovered that there were others like me about 3-4 months ago. Until that time I was more or less just trying to figure out what church I should try to attend. There aren't really any here that are the kind I would consider - at least not that I know of. Since reading "The Shack" and traveling the path that led me on, my mind has been opened to new possibilities that before would have made me shudder in fear for daring to think those things.

I've not really read much of my Bible since these new insights and I'm really looking forward to doing so. My concern is that I'll still have those tapes playing and see it through those old lenses. I want to read it with fresh eyes and see what it REALLY says. I'm about ready to start trying.

Thanks for joining the group.

Comment by Paula on April 5, 2009 at 9:05am

I know that I run into issues that I wonder if anyone else understands, so I figure there might be more of you out there. And there's things that I've heard others proclaim that are a serious leap for me and I just don't think are right, but I'm trying not to be legalistic. I don't want to offend anyone by posting them in the general forums so I thought a group of those who had been raised or brought into a pentecostal church might be a good way to figure this stuff out.