@BereanHoliness

2 months ago

“No!! You cannot post that picture!” I was taken aback by her adamance. “Don’t worry, I won’t,” I replied, “But why?” “Because someone might see the skirt I’m wearing on your social media.”

Hundreds of miles away from her church fellowship, my friend had been comfortable wearing the past-knee-length skirt out in public all day. But the thought of the photo being online? That was too risky. Someone may see that it wasn’t her typical closer-to-the-ankles length. Who knows what they would do with that information?

Unfortunately, this isn’t an unfounded fear. In Megan’s story for example (find it on the Berean Holiness YouTube channel!), Megan shares how a photo of her swimming in borrowed shorts, one that was posted on a friend’s social media, resulted in an immediate text from a church leader and being cut off.

The more hyper fundamentalist a church group is, the more likely members will closely monitor each other to see if anyone is breaking their strict rules. It’s not uncommon for slight infractions to be met with harsh judgment, informal reports to leaders, and disproportionate consequences (such as losing ministry positions).

While healthy churches expect and respect differences in tertiary issues (Romans 14:1-13), unhealthy, hyper-fundamentalist churches require uniformity in small, arbitrary details (e.g. sleeve length).

While healthy Christians look out for each other, hold each other accountable, and confront one another in love (Galatians 6:1-2), unhealthy, hyper-fundamentalists will watch each other, unfairly condemn personal decisions, and gossip to others.

A healthy faith community produces a culture of peace and a feeling of safety.

Hyper fundamentalism produces a culture of fear and a feeling of being watched.

Which have you experienced?

Are you considering leaving a high-control church/hyper fundamentalism? For articles, videos, resource directories and more, check out our website:

bereanholiness.com/

#disentanglingfaith #highcontrolgroup #fundamentalism #legalism #exfundamentalist #deconstructingfaith #onenesspentecostal #apostolicpentecostal #holinessmovement #holdeman #williambranham #2x2s #independentfundamentalbaptist

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