Trees

How do you chop down a tree?

I'd say it's similar to the old antecdotal story of eating an elephant. One bite at a time.

How do authoritarian churches dissolve? One family leaves at a time.

What happens when a family leaves a church like this, is that others become emboldened. The importance of the trickle down effects are as important as the initial departure. In my experience I've seen this happen in other authoritarian churches, but it certainly happened with frequency at Grace Fellowship.

There were and have been waves of departures. One family leaves and others follow. Why, is a good question. Is it simply that people get courage, or were they on the fence and say, "hey, now's a good time?" The administrators of this site have heard of a new departure of a long-term family from Grace Fellowship. We are certainly thrilled for this new development. It is indeed, another notch in the tree trunk, and we pray for more to depart given this new development.

We hope and pray others gain courage, and perspective of the realities of the teachings. May the Lord bless and protect those that leave, and may He restore the years the locusts have eaten up (Joel 2:25). It is also my prayer that they realize, even though they have been victims, victims become victimizers. In departing a church like this, part of the healing process, involves seeking out those that have gone before you, and cleaning up messes. Something Mike Reid always encouraged, but never followed himself.

We pray, and we rejoice, and we hope....