TheycalledmeJonah Wrote:
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> ...Is the desperate need to have a purpose in life a quality
> that other people feel who are in, or who have left TLWF?
>
> Why can't I be happy with just exist and love
> those around me and have fun, go to work, vote,
> and obey the law?
After my husband and I left TLW we drifted for a lot of years. In retrospect, that wasn't a very good idea, because we still retained so much of our Walk thinking, the only Christianity we'd known. TLWF sucked up such a huge portion of our energy, time, and emotional and spiritual resources, that it could only leave a huge vacuum in its wake. It makes absolute sense to feel at loose ends, especially since TLW revels in its superiority and disdains other Christian paths (well, maybe not Catholic any more). We s-l-o-w-l-y found freedom and, indeed, purpose, in intentional spiritual search. Your journey will be different than ours, but we still find the following resources helpful:
1.
Dr. Timothy Keller, author and apologist. He takes an intellectual approach to Christianity; we've enjoyed his book,
The Reason for God, and listening to Q&A sessions, especially to college audiences.
2.
Ravi Zacharias, author, evangelist, apologist. Also takes a logical approach to Christianity, but answers questions about other spiritual paths, including atheism and agnostisim.
3.
Chip Ingram, pastor, super practical input about living a Christian life.
4.
Alistair Begg, pastor, super Biblical. All resources on his website are free to download.
5. We sought out and befriended other Christians who had no cult background.
6. We finally plugged into a local church, in our case a Presbyterian church. We wanted our new spiritual home to be as distant from Walk emotionalism and authoritarianism as east is from west, so we were okay with the liturgy. We found true Christian community without alcohol, drugs, sex, hierarchy, or pressure to conform and please.
Of course your journey will look different than ours, but the above voices and actions helped us. Everyone who is seeking will end up with their own list of resources. It's not a thing of "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," but IMO, God's grace in speaking through a host of imperfect people with diverse outlooks and gifts, who love him, who love his body, who look to serve rather than be served, and who in humility are accountable to others.
Godspeed to you, TheycalledmeJonah, and other young ones who were born into a dysfunctional mockery of Christian living -- unlike us twits who willingly chose it. But I attest that there
is life after the Walk. There is wonderful purpose, way more meaningful purpose in Christ (not in JRS, not in G&M, not in Shiloh, not in a kingdom business, not in TLW), than we ever found in the tainted Living Word Fellowship.