Re: many people who meet the JA will find them good, sincere people -- Jesus Army Watch Forum

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Date Posted: 11/04/09 11:11:56pm
Author: Peter Eveleigh
Subject: Re: many people who meet the JA will find them good, sincere people
In reply to: lyndsey thomas 's message, "Re: many people who meet the JA will find them good, sincere people" on 9/04/09 12:18:31pm

I think all of us know what it feels like to feel the way you do about the fellowship, Lyndsey. It is how we all felt when we first "came round". When I was there 20+ years ago we called it the honeymoon period because you almost completely fell in love with the church. I think people in the JA have liked to be able to say that it was about falling in love with Jesus, but most of us, in all honesty, fell for the church rather than god.....mostly the brotherhood, being included, being loved and made to feel the centre of attention, etc....particularly those people who for whatever reason felt like outsiders in the world.

Me for instance, I never drank much, hated football, had no interest in pop music etc....so I never really fitted in with my peers. I went to a public school where I was bullied a lot and never had many friends and came to think of myself as the sort of bloke who didn't have friends....so to feel part of a large group like the JA was amazing.

I think the honeymoon period really comes to an end in covenant, so I wonder if maybe you have never experienced anything but the good stuff only because you have, as you put it, "come and gone", which would tend to mean that whenever you are in touch with the JA, lots of effort is going into drawing you in. You are the centre of that drawing-in process, which ends once you are committed.

I remember feeling once I was baptised and received into life-long covenant that membership was a lot harder, I no longer felt at the receiving end of lots of love, but became part of the drive to draw others in, to bombard them with the love, which I then felt little of. I encountered far more conflicts with issues I felt it impossible to submit over, was under pressure to conform on things which earlier had been tolerated, etc.

It sounds as if you haven't encountered any conflicts between your own desires, ambitions, goals, ideals, morals etc and theirs because you have not committed to being under the discipline of the church and to being in life-long covenant. Would that be possible?

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Replies:

Re: many people who meet the JA will find them good, sincere people -- Tom (Quite a Honeymoon period.), 19/04/09 8:03:29pm
- a long honeymoon -- Peter Eveleigh, 19/04/09 10:50:35pm
  - Re: a long honeymoon -- Tom, 20/04/09 2:11:10pm
    - Re: a long honeymoon -- Eveleigh, 21/04/09 4:37:42pm

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>I think all of us know what it feels like to feel the >way you do about the fellowship, Lyndsey. It is how we >all felt when we first "came round". When I was there >20+ years ago we called it the honeymoon period >because you almost completely fell in love with the >church. I think people in the JA have liked to be able >to say that it was about falling in love with Jesus, >but most of us, in all honesty, fell for the church >rather than god.....mostly the brotherhood, being >included, being loved and made to feel the centre of >attention, etc....particularly those people who for >whatever reason felt like outsiders in the world. > >Me for instance, I never drank much, hated football, >had no interest in pop music etc....so I never really >fitted in with my peers. I went to a public school >where I was bullied a lot and never had many friends >and came to think of myself as the sort of bloke who >didn't have friends....so to feel part of a large >group like the JA was amazing. > >I think the honeymoon period really comes to an end in >covenant, so I wonder if maybe you have never >experienced anything but the good stuff only because >you have, as you put it, "come and gone", which would >tend to mean that whenever you are in touch with the >JA, lots of effort is going into drawing you in. You >are the centre of that drawing-in process, which ends >once you are committed. > >I remember feeling once I was baptised and received >into life-long covenant that membership was a lot >harder, I no longer felt at the receiving end of lots >of love, but became part of the drive to draw others >in, to bombard them with the love, which I then felt >little of. I encountered far more conflicts with >issues I felt it impossible to submit over, was under >pressure to conform on things which earlier had been >tolerated, etc. > >It sounds as if you haven't encountered any conflicts >between your own desires, ambitions, goals, ideals, >morals etc and theirs because you have not committed >to being under the discipline of the church and to >being in life-long covenant. Would that be possible?
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