"I think they just may have their fight back!

After a glowing article in our local paper on the wonderful work our former Pastor and his church is doing in town, some of those who left destroyed are tired of being quiet.

We have not done or said anything (except for this blog that for most of it's existence was anonymous) because we were afraid that there was too much sin in our own lives (anger, bitterness, ungratefulness - you get the picture) to be able to speak in a public way.

And then there is the whole Matthew 18 principle that is used against anyone speaking up against anyone who calls themselves a "brother" (interesting article HERE on the abuse of this verse - something to chew on.) I found I had to break through various ranks of people and issues in my own life just to speak up about what really goes on in this "church." Some, are dear friends who are not ready to go public with this stuff and who genuinely want God to deal with it without any help from us.

Well after the comments on the newspaper article, one of our group started a forum where people of this church's past could post their stories. I urge you to read along and join, if you would like, to encourage those who are being brave enough to post their experiences, and maybe even write a bit about how this is not the only church in america that experiences this kind of spiritual abuse.

Also any links to your own blogs will propel this newly formed forum up into the higher ranks of any search engine as one of the many purposes of the forum is to serve as a warning to others that are considering this church as their home or wondering if what they are experiencing in it is good.

You can find the forum at: http://keystonestatecollege.org/

My daughter wrote this on the forum - I think it expresses my delight perfectly!

I have to say, nothing has lifted my spirits more then seeing everyone fighting for themselves again. I don't think it matters if it's messy, wrong, poorly executed, has traces of anger, bitterness or anything else that you were told was "impure" and thus used for so long to keep you from speaking out. Besides, any of those small side notes are overshadowed by the fact that people seem to have some of their spirit back! We used to fight for things all the time at Antioch. Hell, we prayed, yelled, sang, chanted and fasted and that was just for the messed up stuff! That church attracted people with fight in them. Ones that gave themselves to seeing this world become a better place. So to see people that had become so timid and defeated looking with some fight in them again is a beautiful sight. It's like seeing people reclaim a part of themselves that I thought was lost in leaving Antioch. I'm so proud of you all! So keep up the passion friends. Love, speak, and live without fear!