Exiters who have left the Armstrong groups have been criticized by some former members as being "heretics," "in sin," "having no life in them," and "out of fellowship with God" for not attending a church. Such a view may sound unbelievable coming from those who have already experienced the control of Worldwide Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God, Living Church of God, Restored Church of God and other high demand splinter groups, but this is what has become the attitude of some who have exited and are now attending a traditional Christian church. Are their words true that being absent from a church building is placing ourselves "out of the will of God, "submitting ourselves to wolves," and "excommunicating ourselves"? If so, where does this kind of thinking place the hurting exiter that is already struggling with their faith in God, and/or the Bible, and are presently unable to attend any sort of church? Should they be made to feel guilty until they do attend, no matter how triggering and traumatizing it may be for them? Are they going to be cast off from receiving the fellowship of the Spirit and the love of God? Can they only find healing "within the walls of the church"? Nowhere does the Word of God teach such a thing. 

Jesus reached out to all people, especially the weary, burdened and wounded. He told them to come to Him and He would give them rest:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

God revealed Himself to us through His Son, and through His Holy Spirit He works patiently and gently with those that are confused and who have been deceived by Herbert W. Armstrong to be afraid of Him. Many times He uses understanding, loving, patient Christians (who do not push anything on them) to demonstrate His love before they can come to Him. 

Those who insist that others must do certain things (usually inside a church building) end up hindering exiters with their absence of love. Little do they realize they are exhibiting judgmental, Pharisaical attitudes, such as shown in the hierarchal Armstrong splinter groups, and are closing the door of healing and peace on those that they feel do not have the particular "signs and seals"¹ they think one should have. This behavior shows a lack of understanding of true grace and of Christ's love for acceptance of these exiters who have trusted Jesus on the basis of His perfect atoning, one-for-all sacrifice for their sins. These wounded exiters have already been "sealed" with the Holy Spirit and placed by Him in His church, the body of believers.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

It takes former members, especially child survivors (those that were raised, controlled and abused in these groups), many years to even step foot inside a church building again--and those who have worked with them have affirmed this. To hear words such as stated at the beginning of this article deters those who are already suffering emotionally and spiritually--which is common for survivors of mind manipulation--and discourages them from feeling they would ever want to have anything to do with the Bible or churches again. 

This does not mean these exiters have "permanent psychological problems" as some former members would accuse them of. In time, and with proper education and support, they can heal. Until this happens, those that continue to engage in these kinds of hurtful, condemning words have simply exchanged one form of legalism for another: their own brand of churchianity and their own particular church. This negative behavior is very similar to what Herbert Armstrong taught. Instead of "stay in the true Church or you will lose your eternal life!" these people now say, "join a church and engage in certain rituals, or you have no eternal life in you!" 

Former (and present) members of authoritarian Armstrong groups can often find themselves arguing about the Bible, but not really following what it says. Religion has been the most damaging thing this world has ever known. Look at India and China and look at the fruits of Armstrong's religion. Religion is only something that you rub on the outside by going through exercises, rituals and good works, and Jesus denounced it because religion merely covers over iniquity and/or hypocrisy. God does not begin with religion, because, as the late Dr. J. Vernon always said, "Christianity is not a religion, Christianity is a Person." Jesus made that clear in John 8:36.

Never was the church intended to be spoken of as a building. If we have placed our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we are truly free and are already a part of His Body. Only Jesus can deliver us from the bondage of religion, which is filled with works and rituals.

The Holy Spirit (the Comforter) is the One that seals us (II Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; Eph. 4:30), is our Teacher (I John 5:27) and who sanctifies us (II Thes. 2:13; I Pet.1:2). Being in a particular church does not mean we won't encounter wolves; indeed, they are found in the midst of churches, not just on the outside. But we that have been involved with a deceptive group are much more discerning, especially if we have educated ourselves on what we were in. Jesus is able to guide us, to give us discernment through His Spirit and to keep us:

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1-24-25).

 

"My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand" (Jn. 10:29).

Jesus watches over and takes care of His sheep and He knows who they are. He says not one will be lost (Matt. 18:12; Jn. 10:28-29). The sheep know the Shepherd's voice and follow Him:

"The sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice" (Jn. 10:3,4).

Jesus can lead His sheep to fellowship with other born-again believers in many different ways besides in an organized church building. Never is He limited in the way He takes care of His own. However, we should not feel we have to look to others (as we did in the WCG) to tell us what kind of relationship we should have with God. He works individually and personally with each one of us and our main fellowship is with Him:

"Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ" (I John 1:3).

No matter where we're at, Jesus is the One that heals us, not a church:

"He healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds" (Ps. 147:3)

Those who call themselves Christians, yet continue to criticize those from the Herbert W. Armstrong groups for not being "in a church," or not recovering fast enough, have deeply hurt others with their "intellectual" and judgmental words. They have forgotten the most important thing and that is: love based on the truth of the Word of God. 

Telling exiters that they need to be "in a church" doing such and such, or else they are not in "God's good graces" and will end up "in hell" is not only detrimental and serves no good purpose, but is mixing God's grace with works, and grace is never given on the basis of works. To proclaim otherwise is to place stumbling blocks in the path of the hurting and wounded who are struggling to recover and only succeeds in driving them further from Jesus and His love. We are free now to focus only on the Lord Jesus and not on any religious organization or human being.

By D. W.
Exit & Support Network™
May 14, 2002
Updated October 31, 2006

Also see: What about not forsaking the assembling together? (Q&A)

Footnote:

¹ Many reformed churches refer to baptism and partaking of the Lord's Supper as "signs and seals" of God's grace. Even the Roman Catholic Church teaches that one must partake of various rituals in order to be saved. Those who have trusted Christ as their personal Savior are accepted in the Beloved. (Eph. 1:6) 

NOTE: This article is not to imply that ESN is against exiters attending good, Christ-centered, biblically sound churches. What we speak out against are practices of abuse, deception and thought reform used by religious leaders in the name of God. However, because of the ecumenical movement, the Word-faith movement, the church growth movement, compromise, the growing amount of worldliness and liberalism--even the New Age and occult (contemplative spirituality)--infiltrating into the Christian church, there are more and more Christians today that are having a hard time finding a good church. (See links under Apostasy in the Church) This is compounded by the fact that it is a rare church that can even begin to understand the experience that exiters of religious cults have endured. (Read: Trauma with Another Church.) In spite of this, God promises never to leave those that are His. (Hebrews 13:5) If you are in Christ, you are already in His church.

Struggles With Attending Other Churches (several stories)

Trauma With Another Church

It’s Hard to Get Close to God After Being in Philadelphia Church of God (helpful for all child survivors and those who exited WCG)

Articles For Those Who Were Emotionally & Spiritually Abused

Thru the Bible Radio Network with J. Vernon McGee
McGee lived from 1904-1988. His down-to-earth expository messages reveal Christ as the centerpiece of Scripture and give a true understanding of grace and our position in Christ. He goes through the entire Word of God, in 5 years (M-F), alternating between the O.T. and N.T. Presently in the book of Psalms. The 5 year schedule is posted on our site.

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