OK, the church that im giong to is UPC- united pentecostal church, ive been with them for about 10 years?

Question

but if i leave, and even in thinking to leave, i feel guilt, fear, anxiety, shame, condemnation, depression. I do really want to leave. I want to start over again and start i new life. But I feel like my idenity is all wrapped up in them- the Church that i go to. Do any of you know anything about the UPC- United Pentecostal church?
Thanks

Answer 1

It's the same with most churches. Jesus did not preach fear. Churches preach fear to maintain their perceived "control" over people. Most of this is either money or power influenced behavior on the parts of those preaching, not the true Spirit of the law. Jesus came into the world, not to condemn us, but to free us from condemnation. Jesus does not want us to feel guilt, fear, anxiety, shame, or condemnation. He died on the cross to free us from all of that. He paid the ultimate price so that we could freely live in the power of His Spirit. Live your life in the Spirit, not by the condemnation of narrow minded, fearful preachers.

Love, Hope, & Peace,

Cal-el & Swissy

Answer 2

Don't know about United Pentecostal but don't let it be people that throw condemnation, take this straight to the Lord and allow Him to direct you where to go, make sure He directs you, ask for His peace only He gives, do not get caught up in the people stuff of any church or organization, do not fall for new age stuff, look to the Lord, check his word and follow peace within your being, the uneasy feelings now could be His way of saying time to move on, ask Him, he knows your confusion, You can not go wrong going to Him for answers, beats Yahoo.

Answer 3

Check out a lot of other churches.

I personally don't subscribe to organized religion, I read the Bible, make up my own mind and work with God and Jesus on my own.

When Churches tell you have to believe I feel they start falling under the heading "false prophets" and God warns us about them.

I don't believe anyone has truly made a Church based on what Jesus was about or talking about. And Jesus got his "religious" experiences from a wide variety of sources, including John The Baptist. And he didn't keep going to John's services. He was there, he got Baptised, then he moved on and visited other temples.

Jesus didn't become a member of any specific Temple or Church, he came and he went.

Look around and see what you find. You will at least find bits and pieces that can become your own and who knows maybe you'll end up back where you started, but you will be different and know differently.

Go out and find the truth!

Answer 4

I don't know about the particular church you attend but I do know of some things to be wary of in the Pentecostal movement. Many of these churches put undo emphasis on the Holy Spirit and his gifts to us. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would testify about Him. In 1 John 4 we read....

1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Now don't get me wrong here. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the godhead and is worthy or recognition and honor and praise. But there are also seducing spirits and false gifts given by these spirits. I belong to a non-denominational church where we believe that all of the gifts of the Spirit are still available to believers as He (the Holy Spirit) sees fit to distrubute them. But if someone wants to speak in tongues in a service then there has to be interpretation and it has to be done in an orderly fashion because those are the guidelines given to us in the Scriptures.

Some Pentacostal churches have a reputation of being out of control and I don't mean out of the control of the leaders but out of control of the Holy Spirit who works in accordance with what God has revealed to us in his word. Some of these churches teach a false doctrine that says that if a person doesn't demonstrate the evidence of speaking in tongues then that person hasn't received the Holy Spirit and they even take young disciples and put them in coaching classes where they are told to just keep praising God and "losening up" their tongues so that the "spirit" can start taking control.

I would stay far away from a church like that. If you belong to the type of church I'm describing then it could very well be that some counterfeit spirit or spirits are prevalent in that setting and that is the source of the feelings that you describe.

In contrast, the church that I attend recently was exhorted by our senior Pastor to make an extra generous gift to an associate Pastor who felt led by the Spirit to go and serve in another church in a different state.

http://www.alcf.net

My Pastor's radio show @ http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/enduring_truth/archives.asp

Answer 5

We have several friends that have left Pentacostal churches, do a web search on Charismatic Movement, you will find lots of answers there, if not, reply to me with your e-mail address and I will forward some literature to you. God Bless

Answer 6

Check out the Latter day saints, they are family oriented, and church is part of their life, go to
www.lds.org,
and check it out.

Answer 7

Wickedness, injustice, grief, pessimism, trouble, loneliness, fear, stress, frustration, distrust, unscrupulousness, anxiety, rage, jealousy, resentment, drug addiction, immorality, gambling, prostitution, hunger, poverty, social corruption, theft, war, struggle, violence, oppression, fear of death… News about these issues appear in the newspapers and on TV every day. The popular press devotes entire pages to these subjects, while others serialise articles about their psychological and social aspects. However, our acquaintance with these feelings is not limited solely to the press; in daily life, we, too, frequently come across such problems and, more importantly, personally experience them.
People and societies endeavour to liberate themselves from the distressing experiences, disorder and repressive social structures that have prevailed over the world for long periods. We only need to glance at ancient Greece; the Great Roman Empire; Tsarist Russia, or the so-called Age of Enlightenment, and even the 20th century-a century of misery which saw two world wars and world-wide social disasters. No matter upon which century or location you concentrate your research, the picture will not be appreciably different.
If this is the case, why haven't people succeeded in solving these problems, or at least some efforts been made to remove such social diseases from society?
People have encountered these problems in all ages, yet each time they have failed to find any solutions because the methods they employed were inappropriate. They sought various solutions, tried different political systems, laid down impracticable and totalitarian rules, stirred up revolutions or subscribed to perverted ideologies, while many others preferred to adopt an indifferent attitude and merely accepted the status quo.
In our day, people are almost numbed by this way of living. They readily believe these problems to be "facts of life." They picture a society immune to these problems as being nothing short of impossible-a dream utopia. They persistently and openly express their distaste for such a way of living, yet easily embrace it, since they think they have no other alternative.
The resolution of all these problematic issues is possible only by living by the principles of the "true religion." Only when the values of true religion prevail can a pleasant and tranquil scene replace this gloomy and unfavourable picture, which is doomed to continue so long as God's limits are ignored. To put it another way, people are enslaved by these complications as long as they avoid the values of the Qur'an. Put simply, this is the "nightmare of disbeliefe" and the link below for this wonderful book:

http://harunyahya.net/popup/Download.php?WorkNumber=256&Format=pdf

you will find how the regulation of life by the "norms of morality" introduced by the Qur'an revealed to mankind by God will banish the "nightmare of disbelief," how pessimism, corruption and social restlessness can be eliminated from society, how the individual can surround himself with an ideal environment, what spiritual and material benefits he is likely to attain by adherence to these norms of morality are gone into in detail, and finally, that the unique alternative to all these problems is the morality of the Qur'an.
So far, many books have attempted to deal with the social and psychological problems societies face. Yet, what distinguishes this book from others is its stress on the most realistic solution. It also sincerely warns people against the troublesome future they are likely to face if they fail to resort to this solution.
We expect that every reader of conscience will grasp that peace, mutual trust and an ideal social life is attainable only by embracing the values of the Qur'an and will turn to the true religion, which is Islam.
They will then happily join the ranks of those who never suffer, mentally or physically, from any of the above-mentioned complications. Around them, there will always be an abundance of favours, comfort, love, respect, peace and confidence, and moral virtues will prevail. They will know how to earn God's approval, by observing His limits and the commandments of the Qur'an. They will thus, by having faith in God, attain His mercy and at last enter Paradise.

Useful link:

(A BRIEF ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING ISLAM)

http://www.islam-guide.com/islam-guide.pdf

Five WONDERFUL VIDEOS:

DEEP THINKING:

http://www.harunyahya.com/m_video_detail.php?api_id=1124

THE FACT OF CREATION :
http://www.harunyahya.com/m_video_detail.php?api_id=1254

THE MIRACLE OF MAN'S CREATION :

http://www.harunyahya.com/m_video_detail.php?api_id=1249

PERISHED NATIONS -1:
http://www.harunyahya.com/m_video_detail.php?api_id=1208

PERISHED NATIONS -2:
http://www.harunyahya.com/m_video_detail.php?api_id=1210



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Answer 8

never heard of it before. but pray about it and ask GOD to help you decide to leave.