Who of you Ex Jehovah's Witnesses are able to attend other churches now? NO ANSWERS FROM CURRENT JW'S PLEASE!!

Question

I was raised as a JW. My entire family are still JW's. I left about 4 yrs ago and I now have trouble attending other churches because I have been so burned by this religion! I left because I do not believe that the WTBTS is God's spokesman. What did you all do to find a new religion or spirituality after you left?

Answer 1

Where 2 or more or gathered in His name, he will be there.
I can SOOOO understand your apprehension to even walking into a church. It's all that indoctrination you received at the KH.
Just know that there are good and bad people in each and every organization on this planet.

What I did was seek God out alone, sort of a one on one tutor. Pray for His Holy Spirit to guide you. Open your heart and listen to the answers you receive.
Above all else, test out what you are learning.
You have been out a relatively short period of time, it takes many many years to remove the indoctrination that was forced upon you. It will come, though, little by little.
Do not feel bad when you hear something and your mind resorts back to the old WBTS rhetoric. It takes longer to UNLEARN that than to learn it.

May God bless you and lead you to His grace.

Answer 2

I'm not a former JW, but just want to tell you--

It's ok to take some time off of going to church for awhile, since you were so burned by your experience.

Take your time, if you need to, to find a church and really study what that church believes and what the pastor preaches, so you will know that you feel comfortable going again.

And even then, let more time pass before you become too involved as a volunteer in ministry at the church, instead, just let the message touch your heart and heal you.

At the church I attend, we have a class for people who have suffered a harmful church experience. When I attended, several people were from the JWs, and they did have some serious issues regarding a struggle with trusting and sorting out their faith.

So take time now, to let yourself heal and truly become free--and after you feel more free, then you might be more ready to take the next step and find a new church.

I'm happy you're outta there!!

Answer 3

Dear Angie,

I'm not an Ex jw but I'm related to one and pray that more of my relatives will leave as well.

On that basis I think Linnie has some good advice for you. I highly recommend that you read the Bible from cover-to-cover more than once.

The link for The Father's Love Letter which Linnie gave you is http://www.fathersloveletter.com

For His glory,
JOYfilled

Answer 4

I had a hard time for a few years because I couldn't reconcile the idea of a loving God, or of an org. that claims to have so much love within its ranks, with what I had actually seen in the org. I called myself an Atheist for a short time, until I realized that wasn't quite the right term. I did believe there was a power higher than humanity, so I modified the label to Agnostic.

I went on for a few years like that--this was in my late teens/early 20s--until two wonderful, older black women took me under their wing. One was a counselor of a alcohol/substance abuse program. The other was a NYC pastor. They became like spiritual "mothers" to me and helped me to realize that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is not the same thing as religion. In fact, they can often be polar opposites.

Finally, I prayed that the Holy Spirit would lead me into all truth as Jesus promised he would do (Jn 16:13; 14: 17). Then, I picked up a New KJV of the Bible and came to know the true God/Jesus of Scripture and the real Gospel message. I also realized how wrong almost everything WT was.

Once I was well-grounded in what the Bible really says, only then did I set out to find a church--one that taught what the Holy Spirit had revealed to me in Scripture. I found Calvary Chapels on the radio and I loved their expository style of teaching. That means that they read entire passages of Scripture and expound upon them. They do not pluck a verse from hither and yon, like the WT does, taking it out of context to back up a false premise.

I also loved the Bible Answer Man broadcast, which is an apologetics ministry to cults like the JWs and teaches Christians how to respond to false teachings and rightly divide the word of truth, using the Sword of the Spirit--the Word of God.

That was all about 20 years ago. Today, I still love Calvary Chapels, but there is none around my area. So, I stick to other non-denominational churches that teach strictly from the Bible, as Calvary Chapel does. I am very well-grounded in Scripture, so as soon as I hear something that doesn't square with what I know the Bible says, I know it right away.

I used to leave churches constantly as soon as I heard something I didn't agree with. But I don't do that anymore. I now realize that there is some latitude in interpretation because the Bible speaks differently to different people at different times in their lives. I have even had it speak to me about circumstances in my life only to have the same passage stress a different point to me at other times because of things that were going on in my life at that time.

My attitude now is pretty much that as long as it's not a salvation issue, I can allow people to see passages differently than I do. There are some things that are salvation issues that do not allow for varying interpretations. These would be things like: salvation by Grace (not works), the diety of Christ, Atonement, and the like. But if one of the Psalms, or a parable of Jesus, or the identification of something symbolic in Revelation, speaks to someone else differently than it does to me, I have become mature enough in my faith that it no longer bothers me.

I hope that you find a good Bible-believing church soon. Fellowship with like-minded believers is very important for each one's edification and encouragement, as well as to continue growing in Christ. Just remember to become well-grounded in Scripture so that you can identify error when you hear it, and you'll do just fine. :)

Answer 5

Try going to a Non-denominational church. I have found these churches to be more spiritual than religious. They're usually non-judgmental and very welcoming of new people.

Answer 6

I was going to email you, but you don't allow email. So, I guess let the thumbs down begin with my answer to you....

For now, don't go to church. I know that sounds crazy, but just don't go. Instead, read, read, read. Immerse yourself in the Bible (the real Bible, not the JW bible). You've had enough of other people telling you what to believe, why not let just God and only God speak to you for awhile? The Bible isn't a book to be used to gain insight on what God thinks other people are doing wrong - God doesn't gossip. It's a love letter to us, revealing His true nature and love for us as individuals. A passage of scripture can mean ten different things to ten different people, and that's the way He intended it. Just read it with an open heart and let Him speak to you for awhile. Without outside interference. When you get your bearings straight, then you can start looking for a church that lines up with what you believe God's been telling you. The trick to this whole idea is to actually do it - set aside an hour or whatever you can do each day to really read and study. Get a notebook and write down what you think a passage means, or what you feel God was saying to you, or questions that you may have about it....really study.

I hate long answers, and I'm sorry TO EVERYONE for this, but I'd like you to read the following. It isn't denominational, it isn't focusing on any one religion. I think it's interdenominational in the fact that it speaks to ALL believers, no matter what "religion" you're in:

The words you are about to experience are true.
They will change your life if you let them.
For they come from the very heart of God... He loves you...
and He is the Father you have been looking for all your life.
This is His love letter to you...


My Child…

You may not know me, but I know everything about you
…Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up
…Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways
…Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered
…Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image
…Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being
…Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring
…Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived
…Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation
…Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book
…Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live
…Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made
…Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb
…Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born
…Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me
…John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love
…1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you
…1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father
…1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could
…Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father
…Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand
…James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs
…Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope
…Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love
…Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore
...Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing
…Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you
…Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession
…Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul
…Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things
…Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me
…Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart
…Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires
…Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine
…Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager
…2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles
…2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you
…Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart
…Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes
…Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth
…Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus
…John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed
…John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being
…Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you
…Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins
…2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled
…2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you
…1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love
…Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me
…1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again
…Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen
…Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father
…Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child?
…John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you
…Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad... Almighty God

Answer 7

It took me 18 years to walk into a Church. I still thought that i was going to spontaneously Combust..LOL...Now i worship freely at a Baptist Church, and I love the freedom to express my concerns and my questions and my thoughts..it is very wonderful.
God does not want us to feel guilty for questioning...the apostles did it all of the time, and they had God in the flesh with them. If you Pray, God will show you truth. you can e mail me if you wish.

Answer 8

after been JWS you know that the rest of churchs are only telling lies that is why the majority of ex-JWs don´t go to any church.