It was mentioned, I think by Tom, that folks with problems should go upward. In theory this would work, unless the chain of command is corrupt. Or if the problem you have is upwards.
When I was having my troubles in Marshall I indeed went to the administration for help. I did everything they asked me to do, until very late after they refused to help.
I even followed the Isaac principle of letting something die and let God raise it. I had asked this young lady to marry me and she said no. It was hard afterwards for awhile but I let it go and completely gave up the notion, I mean what else could I do? She said no, so I went on with my life and served God. Several months later we continued our friendship where it had been before I had proposed. And we became good friends again. And there it stayed. I did not induce or encourage or even hope for more. I had let it die. Then one day she asked me why I had asked her to marry me. I explained that I thought it was a Godly match, I don’t remember all I said. But the conversation turned to marriage and kids in general, not about us, but just our expectations and desires about family in the future. And we both were surprised that we both wanted a son named Derek.
Somehow that conversation changed her. Her heart turned to me. A short time after that we went to the elders to ask them to marry us. And they refused.
And that’s when all the trouble began. They had no legitimate reason to not marry us, I had even followed their teaching about the Isaac principle. They tried to be cool and proper about it and asked us to separate for awhile. A thing we had already done, but I agreed to do so. Things became a bit rocky but in the end she wanted to marry me, but then they refused again. Her mother told me to take her daughter to another church to get married, and she was willing. But my stance was, to wait for the elders of CiM to do it or I wasn’t gonna do it.
I am not gonna get into the teachings of who we should marry or not, nor the stance that I am glad we didn’t get married later. None of that is relative. Some may claim it is if the marriage is not God ordained. While I will not get into such things here, I do not believe there is a specific mate for us created by God. While the church in Marshall would have us believe that we should abandon jobs and family to go to an ordained church by God, I disagree. God may call us to a place, a city. And that city may have a church that will be a blessing to us, God I don’t think is ordaining families to uproot themselves for a local assembly. Nor do I think there is a specific job for us. Marriage is about soul mates. The soul is not the spirit. Therefore it is not a divinely inspired singularity. God may be in a marriage, God may bless a marriage but its about compatibility of the soul. Enough on that.
I had a choice, she had a choice, and they refused us that choice. My error was being a man pleaser, and making men my Lord rather than Christ. They couldn’t even tell me why or what was wrong. The more I tried to work with them, the more wrong they became.
Was I selling my inheritance? That’s what they would claim, but the man of God whom Randy had chosen to oversee his ministry came to minister with 2 other men at CiM, and one of them prophesied over me at that very time that I was not selling my inheritance and that God was pleased with me.
Go up the ladder? Yes, if it’s Jesus. But not necessarily so if it’s men in error. And let us remember those men may even be disqualified from even being there!
By the way I am not discounting that God may call people to a specific church. I am not saying that it is a theology that every person in the planet is God ordained to move to another city to go to a specific church. Scripture simply does not back that up. Do we see people in the book of Acts moving to a city because God ordained it? We see God telling ministers to go to cities to preach. All such doctrines should have Biblical examples.
I know of another case years ago where a man when to the elders about a concern he had about his wife, about something she might do. They let it go, and did nothing about it. And then later the husband’s concerns had become real.
I wouldn’t trust the CiM eldership with any concern’s of import. They have been disqualified.
Why are they disqualified? See here:
http://kingdomgospel.wordpress.com/why-randy-is-disqualified/
