by Jim Gordon
Have you been hurt by the church? Have you been abused within the church? I know many have and that is terrible, but there are many more who have not. My wife and I are a couple of the many who were never abused or hurt within the church but we still left. There are many of us who have left the system, not due to abuse or hurt but we have come to see the system as flawed. We have come to find a better way to express our love for God and for our fellow mankind. For us it is walking outside the walls of religion yet following the example of Jesus by loving God and loving people, all without an ulterior motive of getting people to church. Do you have a similar story? If so we would be glad to hear about your steps to leaving the system. Feel free to email Mike Edwards or myself and tell us your story.
Done with Religion 
Hi Jem, thanks for sharing some of your story. It is a sad story in the sense that you cannot find a traditional church where you feel like you fit in. Let me say first off, in a “perfect” world and in Jesus’ eyes being gay or straight makes no difference. Either way we are who he created us and we all should be accepted and treated equally no matter what. You are accepted by God and you are accepted by us here at Done with Religion. I know that finding a group of followers outside of organized church is hard to find. Yet in time and as you seek the leading of the Spirit I believe you will find a community of people where you will fit in and feel comfortable. That may not be in a church building, but God’s Church is people and where 2 or 3 gather, there he is. Hang in there. Thanks so much for sharing your story.
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I left the church I knew (independent charismatic where I once served full time) in my country because I came out as gay and I knew this was unacceptable in my country and also in the churches there. I left by choice rather than cause embarrassment to any party. I subsequently had two different pastors try to “counsel” me back into the system by “persuading” me of my errors, though I had more pastors who were willing to turn a blind eye to the gay issue, one who had even accepted me into full-time ministry knowing I was gay. At that time I was still married to my dear wife. I subsequently separated from her in an attempt to overcome the gay issue, but discovered that was not possible. When I moved country I hoped to find a church where I could serve again fully accepted as gay. While I have found churches that are fully accepting, I somehow found that I was no longer a fit for a traditional church, so that none of the places I sought to fellowship in felt comfortable for me. I did not understand why, but I am left thinking it was maybe that Jesus no longer wanted me in such a place (my own opinion). I still seek fellowship and would love to belong to an open group of followers, but have failed to find such a group, though I have come across a number of people who no longer attend traditional church.
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