A deconstruction journey

We are very pleased to see that a new ecclesia is in the making in Anderlecht.
For many people, it is not so obvious to join a new religious community. Such a move requires a lot of thinking but also a lot of courage.

For some the reason to go looking for another church might not be such a nice experience. Like many people, they might have encountered a time of doubt, precipitated by a life crisis that caused that person to examine everything he or she believed in.  All the doubts and questions that the believer had came rushing to the surface. It could well be that they had probably always been there, but the person never had time to think about it or even the person had always been so busy trying to please the Lord that he or she had never stopped to address them.

For some people, the decision to deconstruct their faith is the result of the accumulation of lots of little doubts that pile up one on top of the other. Systematic sexism and misogyny within the church can also be a catalyst as people wrestle with the disconnect between biblical teachings and the treatment of women in modern-day congregations.

Churchmembers when they start asking questions to their priest are confronted with a negative attitude. In such instances, the church’s unfriendliness towards doubt and questioning can also push believers away, leaving them feeling isolated and misunderstood in their quest for truth. Add to that the disillusionment when Christianity fails to deliver on its promises of peace, prosperity, and fulfilment, and you have a recipe for a profound existential crisis.

Yet perhaps most insidious of all is the experience of spiritual and for some even sexual abuse and church hurt, where mistreatment at the hands of fellow believers leaves deep scars on the soul, driving individuals to re-evaluate everything they once held sacred.

Somehow, there was a turning point or a moment when the drop broke the camel’s back, so that the person eventually took the step to leave the former church and switch to a new church community.

Doing away with a past full of confusion and hurt demands a strong mind.

To enter a big strange church is not that bad or not that difficult. People just disappear into space there. But to enter a house church or small church one must show one’s face and the newcomer experiences fear of threshold. Over the years, many have been in continuous contact with certain doctrines that are not really Biblical, but more to do with the doctrines of the church to which one belonged. Breaking with these teachings is not easy at all and gives rise to a huge internal struggle.
The many questions one faces do not become easier when one is confronted with even more diverse thoughts at those different churches.

It really can hurt when one decides to leave a church and not see a safe haven. Though, leaving one denominational church, can bring some liberation, breaking with the chains of that church. As such, for the one leaving the main church, it can come with the unexpected blessing of being in a safe place to really examine his or her faith for the first time in great detail, to work out what exactly he or she believed and why.

Admittedly, that small church community may be far removed from the large institutional churches with its ideas. It can also weigh heavily suddenly being confronted with Bible texts there so often. In large churches, not much time is usually spent on the Bible readings, while now in such a small church those texts come to the fore. It sometimes seems so difficult for newcomers to be beaten around the ears in that small community with those Bible texts, as it were.

It looks like one comes in a carousel where there is a faith deconstruction as taking a

“Massive inventory of your faith, tearing every doctrine from the cupboard and turning each one over in your hand.”

The point of faith deconstruction is to break down every idea, practice, belief, and tradition of a religious system into tiny pieces and then examine each fragment one by one to determine the truthfulness and usefulness of each part. One must be prepared to do this, and that is not always easy. In the end, the goal is to piece it all back together minus that which is peripheral, burdensome, and distorted.

The risk, of course, is that one can deconstruct their faith out of existence altogether. Some people do. It is a scary place to go — to lay everything you once held true on the table of reasonableness for testing. In search of a new church, people along the way come across people who also want to look further and have set a goal to move towards the Truth about God and His son. Together they are out as pilgrims whose goal is to enter the gate of God’s Kingdom.

However, those who do the journey well, usually end up with a much deeper and stronger faith because, well… they’ve actually checked it all out for themselves rather than mindlessly believing everything they’ve been told by some so-called expert who happens to grace the pulpit on a Sunday morning.

If you are someone who has doubts or if you know someone who has doubts, bring yourself and that person to dare to meet that small church community and ask questions there that can dispel your doubts and his or her doubts.
In any case, the Brothers in Christ bring opportunities to be questioned and to show the Biblical Truth.
Dare to address them and dare to enter an ecclesia of the Christadelphians.

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Find also to read

1. Looking on what is going on and not being of it
2. What is a Pilgrimage?
3. God’s Words for the Pilgrimage #2 Words of God for life
4. A pilgrimage not exactly without obstacles or obstacles #2 Not a cheap or easy flight but a life journey
5. Many looking for the church of the world instead of the Church of God
6. God’s Words for the Pilgrimage #2 Words of God for life
7. Jesse Hemery and the The Goshen Fellowship
8. Bible Students and House Churches
9. God’s forgotten Word 5 Lost Lawbook 4 The ‘Catholic’ church
10. Looking for a biblically sound church
11. When not seeing or not finding a biblically sound church
12. Personal thoughts, communication, establishing ecclesia and guest writings
13. Prayer on the last day of the year
14. Disciple of Christ counting lives and friends dear to them
15. Germinating small seeds, pebble-stones, small and mega churches and faith
16. Finding faith formation and a baptismal place
17. On the way to the altar of the world
18. A new yeshiva or studyplace to be
19. Gathering and meeting for God
20. How to start a house church?
21. How to Form an Ecclesia
22. As a small church needing encouragement
23. Reasons why you may not miss the opportunity to go to a Small Church
24. January 6, 2024 official opening of the Anderlecht ecclesia
25. Who are the Christadelphians or Brothers in Christ
26. Christadelphian people – who or what
27. History of the Christadelphians

…May we encourage each other…

* Your journey is not the same as mine, and my journey is not yours, but if you meet me on a certain path, may we encourage each other .. ~ Unknown ~ Artist Credit : Kurti Andrea * * * * Text and image source: Serendipity Corner https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0pUd4RQZSvWsvhGRFK8ScNi424zm8F6Q5AYDpR7zHEr3WssiqGpgUAJToY2f5CyD2l&id=100064712285182&mibextid=Nif5oz

…May we encourage each other…

Why choose? And can you choose?

Any adventure lies in a small corner. Sometimes, what begins as an adventure can turn into a disaster or a nightmare.

When there is no security or control, the adventure can become like a bowling game or Jeux de boulle.

We all are destined to make the best out of our life. Living in a certain way is for many already a sort of adventure. There is a guidebook for life, but lots of people do not want to know about that Book of books. Many also have difficulties following certain safe roads and dare to try out certain things that bring them more difficulties than bringing them in good, safe circumstances.

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Preceding

A bird’s eye and reflecting from within

The self and the other in times of insecurity

The Culture of Excesses- Losing Humanity

Silence: The language of Chaos

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Additional reading

1. God has not destined us for wrath
2. Feeling-good, search for happiness and the church
3. About the rate of confidence
4. Loving adventure, but facing a fearful adventure
5. Sharing a common security and a common set of values
6. The first boy to conquer my heart #2 The Russian boy’s upbringing

The Fallen Lady

Are you seeking security or adventure?

Sunday, July 16th. 2023

“Are you seeking security or adventure?”

I firmly be live that as humans we are programmed to seek both security and adventure, and that without security in our life the adventures turns into “trials!

Offcourse a positive mindset can
deceive you into thinking that, for an example “living in your car” is an
adventure, but if you don’t have the economic security to know where your next meal will come from, the adventurous “car-home” turns into hardship and the reality is that you are not on an adventure, you are homeless.

I speak from experience here.

I did live in my car for a while, and though it was fun to begin with,
the winter came and the fun part was replaced by freezing nights
and a body that did not function properly.

I love adventures, and I used to…

View original post 61 more words

Something Needs to Change!

Time for a Change (album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In your journey when you hit an obstacle, you do your best to figure it out: to go over it, under it, around it, through it. >Most of the time  successful + you can go on your way > Sometimes > obstacle seems impenetrable

• thinking outside the box > new ways to overcome challenge
• rail against fate + wonder “why me?”

maybe it isn’t the situation and it isn’t other people => Perhaps it’s you that needs to change.

• stubborn to ask for help
• asking for too many opinions => confused with all the conflicting advice

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Preceding:

See the conquest and believe that we can gain the victory

Get the lenses out to getting closer again

The Culture of Excesses- Losing Humanity

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Read also

1. Elohim Mar Yah showing His wonders
2. Counted worthy to suffer dishonour
3. No insurmountable obstacles to come to know God
4. 30 things to start doing for yourself – #6 is vital.
5. Forgiveness always possible
6. Get Your Wonderful Disease-proof Human Body

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Yes I Can Pep Talks

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Granite_wall_of_chapel_La_Hougue_Bie,_Jersey.jpg

In your journey when you hit an obstacle, you do your best to figure it out: to go over it, under it, around it, through it. Most of the time you’re successful and you can go on your way.

Sometimes, though, the obstacle seems impenetrable—like it’s a wall of granite. You try all the techniques and tricks you know. They worked in the past, but they aren’t working now. You even tried thinking outside the box for new ways to overcome the challenge, but that doesn’t work either.

Now, you don’t know what to do, how to change the situation. You rail against fate and wonder “why me?” You claim you’ve done everything you can to change the situation. You insist that if others would change, things would be better for you.

But maybe it isn’t the situation and it isn’t other people. Perhaps it’s you that needs to…

View original post 197 more words

Anxiety’s Hold

Even the greatest moments, calmest actions, most peaceful energy, would be unable to tear it off once it sticks
it winds you up for everything and causes one to just pace instead
Eyes get dizzy from observation of another’s and can assimilate the same hold
Tension continues to escalate and bottling it up only makes the explosion imminent
No one likes it
Some look to escape through things that actually increase it
An insanity I’ve dealt with and still resisting
Depravity of vice while the resuscitation of life simultaneously reacts from one thought and act of will
It’s hell to deal with
I think the void between two lives would be more difficult than this
At least then you could be fascinated by the new journey
Than to continue the same and battle the duality of choosing a side
Or dealing with human ordeals such as quitting smoking or relationships
Decisions can create a hold on you, but when it’s out of nowhere….
The confusion continues the hold

– Shane Engisch

Shane Engisch was born and raised in Michigan. After High school in a small country town she went to college in a city near Detroit. All of her life she has aspired to be many things involving with the arts: Actor, musician, entertainer, martial artist, singer, dancer, but her best and foremost skill (according to her) is writing.

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Anxiety

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Related articles

• 6 Things To Say To Help Someone Through An Anxiety Attack (thoughtcatalog.com)
  When you get sick, it feels hopeless and never-ending. I have never felt strong enough to survive an attack without becoming depressed or even sicker after. In my first article with Thought Catalog, I mentioned the startling fact that every hour at least one person goes to the ER for a panic attack. This hellish place we’re in feels like we’re fighting a hopeless fight against ourselves and our own bodies. Believing in people can go a long way, telling the person you believe in them can go even farther. Knowing that someone else is there for us can often be the little bit of strength that we need to get through.
• 6 Things You Should Never Say To Someone With Anxiety (thoughtcatalog.com)
  Anxiety needs a new perspective to the population, it’s not just worry, fear, or feeling scared. I’m almost scared to tell people that I have anxiety in fear to get a lecture on how to deal with it or get over it about coming from a person who probably has no factual information on this disorder or has ever been through. Next time you meet someone with anxiety, try to remember that it’s not something someone has any large control over — and if we could have our way, we wouldn’t even have anxiety in the first place.
• Tweens and Anxiety (fashionplaytes.com)
  All children experience anxiety and it comes in many forms. Young children may experience separation anxiety when their mom or dad leave them with someone else for the first time. They may become scared at night and may want a nightlight – another form of anxiety begins. As children grow, it’s a parent’s job to calm the jitters and make them less anxious about the big world around them. But, for some tweens, being anxious can take on a whole new meaning. It can be the difference from having a productive and happy day or being completely unable to function, withdrawn, sad and depressed.
• How to Get From Anxiety to Zen (psychologytoday.com)
  “If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done.” ~Bruce LeeThe best wellness tools involve mind games to keep us calm, focused and productive.But what happens when life gets stressful, as it inevitably does?
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  When we’re stressed out, we tend to over-breathe (rapid, shallow breaths that resemble panting) which can lead to panic attacks, or under-breathe (hold our breath) which can cause dizziness or hyperventilation.
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  Physical boundaries pertain to privacy and personal space. What’s the acceptable distance between you and another person? Are you comfortable with affection, or are you more reserved? Do you shake hands upon meeting someone? What does your home decor reveal? Are you organized or prone to clutter?
• 10 Anxieties Brought On By Texting (refinery29.com)
  Now that we’re fully aware of our ability to hide behind emotionless, glowing words, our yearning to somehow convey emotion has skyrocketed. The emphasis has shifted away from tonal inflection to grammatical nuances and emoticons. Since we’ve removed the audible voice from conversation, our need to know whether our digital voice was delivered, heard, and seen is now paramount to our sense of well-being. (Don’t deny it, the “seen” notification on messaging these days is the bane of your existence.)
• Do You Suffer from an Anxiety Disorder? Find Your Symptoms on our Checklist (bodymindbeautyhealth.com)
  Anxiety is a fact of life. In fact, some anxiety is necessary. You need a little anxiety to get to work on time or to get to the grocery store before it closes. If you didn’t have anxiety, you wouldn’t know to get out of the way when you see a truck bearing down on you in the street.Anxiety can be a bad thing, however, if you worry that your boss doesn’t like you, even though you have no realistic evidence that he does not, or if you feel panic when there are “too many” people in the grocery store, or if you avoid crossing streets, because you never know when a truck is going to come out of nowhere.
• What It’s Like To Have Severe Anxiety (thoughtcatalog.com)
  Chronic anxiety is debilitating, and can leave you a mass of nerves, too terrified and nervous to even so much as leave your bed. The misconception of anxiety is that it’s just fear, something that everyone feels.
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  Anxiety gave me the courage to fight. Anxiety let me appreciate my good moments a million times more. Anxiety has given be a better understanding of others. Anxiety made me realize it’s amazing what you can hide just by putting on a smile.
• What Is Anxiety Disorder (tolynov.wordpress.com)
  Most individuals suffering from chronic anxiety are treated with the use of both medication and therapy. In some cases, therapy alone is effective in reducing your anxiety symptoms and getting your life back to normal. With the help of your doctor you can develop a course of treatment that works for you and allows you to feel calmer and experience everyday activities without unnecessary worries
• The Courage That Comes with Anxiety (psychcentral.com)
  Courage is not usually a word anxiety sufferers would list as one of their most outstanding attributes. Yet it should be.For even the best of lives are thorn-ridden with frustration, disappointment, and loss. Add the extremely difficult challenge of trudging through outer problems while contending with the inner turmoil of anxiety, and it’s apparent that fortitude, determination — and yes, courage — are some of the strengths that anxious people may not even realize they posses.Yet people with anxiety probably carry these strengths in higher reserves than those without anxiety.
• Anxiety – Joy – A Journey (riselikeair.wordpress.com)
  I strongly suggest that you read the article whether anxiety is a part of your life personally, of someone you know or of someone you may know in the future.  She has done an amazing job, in my opinion, of creating a window into a life with anxiety.

  Anxiety hurts. It’s the precise inverse of joy and blots out pleasure at its whim, leaving a dull, faded outline of the happiness that was supposed to happen. It’s also as sneaky as hell.”  Kit Kinsman