This is my first blog so I will give a brief summary of why I began this blog.
For the first time in my life I find myself outside the church walls in ministry. What I mean by that is like Joseph who was separated from his brothers I am disconnected and separated from the structure of religion in ministry.
My husband and I served in ministry and were senior pastors of a healthy growing church.
But we were told to go our separate ways when we refused to be conformed to the cookie cutter mold that organized religion wants to bind you to.
But we were told to go our separate ways when we refused to be conformed to the cookie cutter mold that organized religion wants to bind you to.
I had already been serving in a field outside of the church walls but remained attached to the religious structure that I was so accustomed to. But now I am serving in a field that I would have never thought possible.
I am determined to abide faithful to the assignment but there has been a lot of pain in the process. Is there anyone out there who are ministering outside of the church walls that has had to contend with the pain of the process? I miss what was but cannot return to it.
In some of the next future posts I will briefly expound on the revelation that Lance Wallnau has given to the Body of Christ on the 7 mountains that mold culture. I thank God for this revelation because I do understand what God is doing and why but perhaps there are others who are also ministering outside of the church walls who have transitioned from religious mountain to the where???? in ministry.
God bless all who read and understand!
Sandra Jones Ministries
Sandra Jones
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I've been out of church passing 5 years. It took over 2 just to free my mind from the mental bondage but somewhere during the 3rd year, I passed the point of no return. At this point, I'm so far removed, to step back in a church would be horribly awkward.
ReplyDeleteMy problem now is I find myself looking at church the way the world does. I'm even question why people would bend over backwards for a God who may be able to create a universe but is completely incapable to have a relationship with we His people on a human level. Relationships need to be 2-way. We have a rather one way relationship with God and a person can only go so long on their own before they loose the fire for lack of needed human response. You can talk to a rock for so long but after a while of no response, you find it rather pointless and stop talking.
There is a necessary thing about church community to be there where God cannot be because He is incapable.
Hello Orion
DeleteAfter nearly 19 years of belonging to a certain church, 15 years or so as pastor, my wife and I were kicked out because we wouldn’t bow down to the religious idol the main leadership built for themselves. We have been away from organized religion for almost a year now. I will be 70 in a few years. And it is a struggle moving away from our religious traditions and denominational habits. You are not alone in this.
I have a good understanding of how you feel about religion and about the presence of God in your life. Your metaphor of talking to God is like talking to a rock is something I have felt for quite a while, even before we left the church. At times it seems to overwhelm me to the point I begin to wonder why I stick to what I have come to believe.
I have many questions that just don’t seem to get answered. It seems to me that God should be more than willing to answer my questions because, to me, they are important and an answer would really help my faith, if not to grow, at least to maintain itself. Yet there seems to be this intolerable silence. And I do get frustrated and sometimes even angry. And then, because of that, more questions arise that I know won’t get answered.
It seems like I’m on this elaborate merry-go-round that just won’t stop and let me off.
But I have made a decision within myself. I have purposely made the choice to believe that God’s word is true above everything else that I feel or think or that happens to me. If God says He loves me, then I just take that as true and when the questions remain unanswered and the silence grows louder, I make a point, I purpose to praise Him and thank Him and trust that, after all, He is right next to me and is guiding me into my future. And I do my best to make that enough.
I look outside and thank God all the time for almost everything – pavement, pistons and a crankshaft in the car I drive, street signs, glass and paint. I thank Him for rocks and trees and colors and smells. I thank Him for my camera and lawn mowers and I thank Him for the handful of friends I have. I thank Him I got up this morning.
Yet it still seems to be so silent. But I am coming to terms with that. If I go to Philippians, I read that God says He works in me to will and to do of His good pleasure, I hang on to that putting all my heart into believing that my life does have a purpose after all. And if that’s the only way I feel that God wants to talk to me, then that’s what I am accepting. And in that, I have a great deal of peace and strangely enough, more confidence and even hope.
The scripture says ask and seek and knock. And keep asking and seeking and knocking. And I have done that until I don’t even know what to say anymore and my knuckles are bloody from rapping on the door. Yet I still keep at it because God said that eventually my questions will be answered, I will find what I am seeking and some mysteries will be opened to me. I have been in the world and I know there is nothing there I can believe in or put my faith in. If I can’t believe God what else is there?
Orion is a hunter. And hunters keep hunting until they obtain what they go after. I can only say to you that God is intimately involved with us regardless of how we feel or what we think or whether we get our questions answered. And most of the time, He leads us quietly with an unseen hand. And until the time He sees fit to really wow us with His presence, we have in our remembrance and in our hearts what He has already done for us in the past.
Orion, the above comment was posted by my husband u see my account. He felt inspired to reply to you. I hope it was a blessing!
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