Good things about Chapel

[calv (calv)]

Post away!

[steve (steve)]

The Chapel did leave some positive marks on me. I say so in complete sincerity. I also think, given my particular temperament and upbringing, I could have learned these lessons no other way than by going through the Chapel years.

Because of the Chapel: I have an invaluable example of the ways a false understanding of the Word can corrupt and overcome a merely emotional commitment to it. I know why doctrine is important, and I can clearly see why certain doctrines are definitely false. I know some definite warning signs of a church that is headed off the tracks.

(Message edited by steve on November 21, 2005)

[movinon (movinon)]

The most positive things about the chapel for me were finding and marrying my spouse, and the few long term friendships I made there, as well as the incredible lessons I learned there about deception, human nature, etc.

I was watching Star Trek,Next Generation, yesterday and the episode was particularly poignant, considering what we are all discussing. It was about regrets. "Q" gave Jean Luc Picard the chance to go back and change some things of which he felt ashamed. What Picard finds out is that good and bad, mistakes and successes, it has all worked together to make him the person he was. It made me stop and think about the chapel and all the loony groups we have been associated with since then. Ideally, I would like to have learned these lessons in a less costly way....but, the pain, the mistakes, the regrets, the choices made have all worked together to make me who I am. I like who I am, and wouldn't want to be anyone else. So, the good, the bad, and the ugly are by necessity, ingredients that work to form us into strong, mature, and decent human beings and christians.

mo

[movinon (movinon)]

Oh, and to add to that thought....just because we can see that God can work good out of all things, doesn't mean that the stuff we perceived as not so great all of the sudden becomes justified or ok. The mistakes are still just that..mistakes. The wrong choices are still wrong choices, etc. Deceptions are still deceptions and wrong is still wrong. It's just that we can come to a place in our lives where we see the value of all things, even if that value was from a negative source. Too many people think because they find one good thing about the chapel, that this is somehow a blanket endorsement of all that transpired there, and that to acknowledge the wrong somehow invalidates whatever good was found.

mo

[calv (calv)]

Yup

I have to agree! I wouldnt be who I am had it not been for chapel... maybe it Was Gods will, Im not sure yet.
Regardless Id of never have learned the lessons or met some good friends. Deep down Im grateful! Is that sick or what?
Chapel is just one slice of my life, there is plenty of other lessons before and after. Interesting comparisons
of a twisted fallen world. The one thing thats never changed....God. He's always been there for me...in spite of my choices, or those of others. It just amazes me how men want to take credit and find so many ways to abuse His grace to lift themselfs up over others! Wolfs in sheeps clothes preying on the flocks. oopps... this thread is suppose to be about good chapel things. Hey we dont want to leave out the good!
Fact net =freedom to post what ever you want, you can be on any side you want.... If creating sides is what you want! funny how some just have to make it them vs us. If your not in your out...if your out you must be wrong,
same deep rut just keeps gettin deeper, you cant win till you know all is lost. When you let it all go it cant pull you down anymore....
So ya... I guess chapel was part of my journy to freedom. Beauty from ashes. Too bad chapel got all the attention...instead of God! They said it was about God,but really its all about them.

[onesimus (onesimus)]

#1 I found my wife there. We've been married 21 yrs now. We both came to CC out of desire for a closer walk with God.

I spent much time in the word and in prayer while at CCG, and greatly benefited thereby.

I believe there was a genuine love among the saints there, which was twisted and perverted when we were beguiled into the so-called "move of love." I continue to feel kinship with others who were there, even during "connections." Having confessed that "connections" was deception, there is liberty to keep that which was good.

As critical as I am of CCG, I have enjoyed meeting people through that forum, and would attend "board meetings" (unless explicitly told not to) if I lived in Seattle. Many of the individuals who read and post on that board are Godly people; the groupthink that manifests on CCG is a spiritual phenomenon, IMO.

...Yea and before someone else points it out, my views on the CCG are colored by the fact that I was booted off. Nevertheless, I think it demonstrably true that Dave showed himself very disingenuous in his original statements about the matter, through his subsequent actions after booting me...

Which brings me to another positive. Former Chapel members who are supposedly involved in "demonic intellectualism" and other sordid things have been more discerning, more loving, and more encouraging in their dealings with me than those who rallied to support Dave in giving me the bum's rush - not that they endorsed all my angry expressions.

It was Christian people who were deceived at the Chapel. God hasn't trashed us. He wants us to repent, and receive His grace.