New website devoted to us Catholic converts!

[Phillipos]

this morning I woke up with the idea to do more then put a compilation of stories together in a book that describes how protestants, evangelicals, fundamentalists, atheists, etc… crossed the Tiber; I want to put it on a website. Not to sure what the website’s name would be, but in the meantime I am going to start a site through a web building site devoted to this cause as a preliminary run. If you have walked the road to Rome or swam the Tiber and would like the world to know your story (not all of us will get our conversion story published like Scott Hahn or Steve Ray) then send me your story to phillbennetzen@yahoo.com with any personal information you would like the readers to know. Thank you all once again, and I hope that God can use this in a mighty way to help lead others home.

-Phill

phillb.net

 

[Mimi]

I LOVE conversion stories! I’m a Coming Home Network member. They publish a wonderful newsletter with some convert’s stories. Your web site sounds like a good idea.

Would re-verts count? That’s what I’d have to categorize myself as.

Blessings to you in your ministry,

Mimi

 

[Phillipos]

of course a revert would count, id love to have your story!

 

[Cat]

Great idea.

One suggestion is to develop some kind of survey that converts can take that would make it clear what they converted out of.

For example, as an ex-evangelical Protestant, I’m going to have a very different viewpoint than someone who converted out of mainline Lutheranism or Wicca or a charismatic Pentecostal non-denominational home fellowship.

When I read what someone’s former “life” was, especially if they belonged to one of the Protestant churches, I have a pretty good idea of what they came out of and what their beliefs were, and I think this is helpful to understanding each other better.

I’ll try to work on our story, but it’s a longie because we were kicked out of our Evangelical Free church that we were active members of for seven years. Yes, there was a tribunal and we were tried and condemned and ousted and afterwards, shunned. I ran crying out of the church that night, and we shook the dust off our shoes as we drove out of the parking lot. When we got home, our 16-year old daughter was waiting, and when she heard what had happened, she screamed out, “I told you! All these years I’ve been telling you that church is EVIL! EVIL! You should have listened to me!”

We should have listened to her.

Sounds awful, doesn’t it? Well it was. No wonder horror movies don’t scare me much.

I often think that my husband and I should be on Marcus Grodi’s The Journey Home show, but they would have to post a caution at the beginning of the show because our story is so disturbing. It would certainly scare many Catholics away from ever trying the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) and other autonomous denominations.

I’ve actually thought about writing it up and submitting it for publication, but I’m not sure how to do it without naming names, and that would probably get us sued. And I’m not sure I want to cast such dishonor on other EFree churches and other Protestant churches which hopefully aren’t like the one that threw us out.

Thanks for your efforts with converts. Lots of possible topics come to mind. Looking forward to making some new online friends.

 

[MercyMia]

Cat (((hugs))) I have never heard of the Evangelical Free Church of America but your experience sounds a lot like the church of Christ denomination that my husband converted out of, lots of manipulation and control via disfellowships. Ah well, you’re “home” now, thats all that matters. Sometimes 16 year olds have a sixth sense about evil.

Phillipos - Great idea. Nothing gives me more zest than conversion stories. You could contact the Coming Home Network about becoming active in your part of the country.