I too will follow Mary Jane, Neil, and Frank and leave Sermon Index. This once was a thriving community of people sharing different insights from the Spirit. There used to be the freedom to post on different topics. One could challenge and be challenged. There was the freshness of new members who brought their understanding and insights on the things of Christ. But now this community has given over to the spirit of religion. There is no freedom to post. New members no longer excepted. Sermon Index will become dead and stagnant with no fresh blood.

I believe persecution will come upon the church in America. But I do not fear the persecution of a secular government or the Islamic Jihadist. I believe the persecution will come from the evangelical religious establishment. That has already been established in this forum. Just as Jesus w and the Anabaptist were delivered to death by the religious authorities of their day. It will be the same for the remnant of our day.

I therefore ask Greg to remove my account. I bid peace and grace to those who remain in the forum.

His blessing on you all.

Blaine Scogin

This is a battle about non essentials.
This is not about Jesus.
This is ridiculous.

Is this a sign that this forum is imploding because of imposed rules?
Like an IFB church.

_________________
John

Quote: "No freedom to post"

Lets see now. 2607 posts since 04/2012. That makes it average out at about 21 post a week from Blaine during this time if my maths is right. So hardly can you complain there is no freedom to post. In fact it could be said that Blaine has dominated the forum over the past 31 months.

As for "challenge and be challenged", that is what was happening in your recent posts. Can't have it both ways or is it you only want to do the challenging and not be challenged yourself?


Quote: "But now this community has given over to the spirit of religion."

So you who are the 'true' remnant will be persecuted by every other Christian!? Where have I heard this before? Ah yes, wasn't it the Church of Wells folk who were roundly condemned by everyone here recently for separating themselves from the rest and claimed to be more pure in their doctrine and church set up.

_________________
Dave

I'm not wanting to go anywhere, so with that being said, I will add that even though waltern hurt my feelings on more than one occasion, I miss those wild, wild west days on here!! And I miss LOINGIRDER and his responses that challenged everyone!!! lolol

There I said my peace!!!
God bless us all,
Lisa

_________________
Lisa

Dear brother,not imploding, quite the opposite actually.

While some may have personal convictions for why they have left and others have made their convictions known this is not a discredit to the leadership of SI or its rules. Based on Scripture, the leadership is under the burden to alleviate fruitless quarreling and spiritual elitism that cause more discord than devotion and more frustration than fruit. While no principles or rules are perfect, the intention and motive behind the forum guidelines are very Biblical and saturated in a desire for unity and humility. God is grieved by those who sow discord among the brethren. While this is an online forum, it is a huge catalyst for fellowship in the body of Christ and offers a tremendous bridge to intra-denominational fellowship – the very thing many of us have prayed for. The enemy is keen to volley arrows of discord, elitism and distorted thinking into our midst in order to break down the unity that we truly have in Christ the Lord. We must not allow this to be successful. Instead, we need to arm our minds with the mindset that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. Those who have recently ceased posting are not our enemies. Satan is a master deceiver, and has caused friendly-fire that we would be prudent to identify, and resist. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds.

I believe there are several telling indicators and attitudes that we must frequently be aware of lest the enemy continue to gain a foothold in our fellowship together.

-Is my post preeminently to build up the Body of Christ or cause a division through distinction and preference?

-Am I posting something in order to gain appreciation or respect or out of a heart to see authentic Christ-centered devotion

-Am I making every statement into a “them against me” confrontation – beloved, love believes and hopes all things and thinks no evil.

-Am I more intent on expressing my “burden from the Lord” than to be submissive to others in humility and the fear of the Lord. A true burden of the Lord will not sacrifice unity on the altar of personal conviction through distinction.

-Are my posts insinuating fault or error in others before I have truly heard them out?

I believe this Word from Isaiah 58 speaks to our situation:

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
12 Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.

The pointing of the finger has never done anything but divide and grieve the Spirit. D.L. Moody said “I have never yet known the Spirit of God to work where the Lord’s people were divided”. Brethren, we have so much more in common in Christ to rejoice in and lay hold of than our minute differences and preferences. Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, and His Bride is glorious, diverse and mutli-faceted like a well cut diamond. God’s grace is manifold and His ways past finding out at times, and we must all endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The Lord desires to repair breaches and restore streets to dwell in with our generation. He desires to raise up foundations and build old waste places that have been trodden down through sin and discord. May it be that we are found to be a generation of believers who have taken away the pointing of the finger, speaking love and grace to one another. I am not indicating that we sacrifice truth in order to have unity, but we must truly let love be preeminent in all we do – so that the world may know that we are gloriously His.

In His bonds with you.

_________________
Brother Kevin

Individuals can have different reasons for leaving the forum. But rather than departing in peace and with grace for the brethren, why do some feel compelled to make a grand statement deriding the forum and its members before they leave?

Where is the love for one another?

I wondered the same thing yuehan. It may be that they are really tied to this forum as if it were their church but online and so they feel close to certain people. Then again it may be just a grand statement for attention as well.

When I post here I post for discussion. I want input and to bounce thoughts off everyone to see what they think. When I see attitudes I either ignore them or if they annoy me hard they I will confront their nonsense.

_________________
John

Everyone that has posted here on this forum brings a slightly different perspective on issues and even how we understand scripture. This does not mean the Holy Spirit does not lead us or inspire us, it simply means we are in a different stage in our growth and walk with the LORD. This causes problems at times because we take it as a personal rejection of who we are and what we believe in, especially if someone attacks you. I must say that in recent years the tone of this forum has become a lot more loving then it was when I first signed in. Much more - in fact I was scared to identify myself as a Mennonite for fear I will be trounced to death. The only reason I did ID myself was when one poster asked me point blank and I felt he deserved an answer. But I am not here to promote my church alliance but only here to lift Jesus up and encourage others in their walk with the LORD.

Blaine, I have appreciated your concern for the persecuted church and sharing this with us. You have a heart for these hurting people and sharing this with others has been your mission. When things go well, we tend to forget how vulnerable we are; that life may not always be smooth and easy. We will miss your posts if you decide to leave. Whatever you do be sure this is what the Holy Spirit is asking you to do.

(I totally agree with you - persecution will come from the hands of the religious that call themselves Christian. I do not doubt this and I do not doubt that the liberal segment of the Mennonite church will be involved. And...to me this is sickening.)

God bless.

Sandra

_________________
Sandra Miller

BTW Ginnyrose, I love the Mennonites. A local community of Mennonites is 20 minutes from home, and they are kind, serious people. They also run a bakery that people travel 75 miles to visit.

_________________
Tim