We were kicked out of our Evangelical Free Church after we gave seven years of good service to the Christians in that church. Remember Laban and his trickery? Been there. It was pretty awful.
I was born and raised evangelical Protestant, and spent most of my life serving God and His people in church settings. I play piano, and as any evangelical knows, a willing piano player is almost as valuable as a willing tither. If I listed the many ministries I was involved with over the years, this Board would break down.
My husband and children were right there with me, serving God 4-5 days/evenings per week in church.
But all it took was one lying pastor (a woman, who was fired a year after we were ousted when she was caught in one of her lies) and they threw us out. Had a tribunal, condemned us as “unloveable and unteachable” and threw us out in February 2001. So this is a tough month for me.
Other Protestants that we had known over the years did not rush to defend us. That hurt beyond belief. They basically didn’t dare interfere with the rulings of another church and pastor. And Protestants say they don’t believe in a Pope. Baloney.
For many weeks I had grisly nightmares of myself and my family being chased, tried, and executed by Christians. My hands shook so hard I couldn’t play the piano. I cried a lot at work and home. I was afraid to read the Bible, and I didn’t read it for almost a year. After all, the people in that church had used the Bible (and twisted it) to justify their despicable treatment of my family. How could I be guaranteed that I wouldn’t interpret the Bible in such a twisted way? I didn’t want to take a chance on ending up like those people.
And for a year, I could not be in a room with Protestants. A few of them at a time in a secular setting (e.g., work) I could handle, but to sit in a sanctuary or auditorium made me panic. I knew they were all plotting against me. I couldn’t trust them. I was afraid of them and their deceitfulness hidden behind their loving hugs and “God bless yous.”
Worst of all, my two daughters stopped going to church. My older daughter said, “Mom, if they could kick you out after all the good works you’ve done over the years, what would they do to me?”
And my younger daughter screamed out, “I KNEW that church was evil. We never should have been there.”
God have mercy on that church for what they did to my two innocent daughters. They didn’t abuse them sexually (that I know of), but if they had, I could have at least pressed charges against them and brought them to justice before other men. Instead, even though that church treated us like garbage and shunned us, there’s nothing I can do about, no court to take them to other than the Court of God. Truly Jesus spoke the truth when He said that hatred is the same as murder.
It’s been several years now and I’ve mostly healed, mainly because I converted to Catholicism, the True Church. My older daughter is considering becoming a Catholic and so is my younger daughter. We don’t try to hurry them, since they still have a lot of distrust of churches and church people.
But I will never, ever trust Protestants again. Ever. I am grateful to those Protestants over the years who introduced me to Jesus and taught me the value of serving Him. But I will never be duped again. May God have mercy on them and lead them all to heaven.
I’m in good company. Acording to John 2:24-25, “Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
I pray your children will be able to trust church again.
