This blog has been taken down, at least temporarily, pending a phone conversation with a representative from our church’s former denomination.
Very briefly, however, let me just say this: I was asked what I hope to accomplish with this blog. My hope with this blog was (and is) two-fold:
1) to make people aware – and given the response I got within less than 24 hours of publishing the blog initially, it’s clear that some people are aware…they see all of the things that I saw. And as it turns out, many are aware, but aren’t sure what to do about it.
2) I hope that the denomination changes course – not for my sake, because I’m gone. I burned that bridge, for better or worse. But for the sake of the pastors and laypersons in the denomination who have contacted me – those who have seen what I saw, and share in my concerns, but don’t know what to do about it. I know they feel alone. I felt alone.
Maybe the best way to accomplish these two purposes is with a phone conversation. I hope so, and I’m willing to give it a try. Because I’m convinced that change is needed, one way or another. Why? Because I loved our denomination. I still love what it once was, even though I would never go back. Was I just wrong about what it was to begin with? I don’t think so. And while I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, so to speak, if I love you, and you’re about to run off the edge of the Grand Canyon, I feel like I have a responsibility to love you enough to step on your toes. Even if it hurts.