@coltenbarnaby: This phrase sounds welcoming on its face, but it contains its opposite. “You can belong BEFORE you believe” is manipulative and causes harm. Churches should just be honest. If you love gay people, but think it’s a sin for them to be married to their partner then say that upfront. Stop gaslighting people. ##exvangelical #deconstruction #christiantiktok #lgbtq

dani ˚₊‧꒰ა🍓໒꒱ ‧₊˚ :

My college ministry (RUF) just said that last night😳 but I don't think that was truly the way they meant it

Orthodoxology :

We dont come to church to heal her. We come to her to be healed. If there’s no desire to be healed from spiritual illness, why seek a physician? Why seek a physician and not listen to them? Change should be expected and that’s okay and a good thing. We should change for the better

B :

It’s the love bombing

Tariq Ra’ouf :

Oh shit that’s sneaky

Dr. Lucille Isadora Tures :

Damn, that’s shady. It sounds so good.

Original Sinfluencer :

What an incredible post. So well said and absolutely accurate. Thank you.

Tonatiuh Moreno :

Sunken cost bias.

Namenandname :

How are you supposed to welcome skeptics

MrFindlay :

I’m currently going to church as a ex-Christian to deconstruct things, and I’m feeling really out of place. But really I should be welcomed as part of the conversation!

hood rina😛 :

Please, RUN and RUN FAST! Talking from personal experience.

Arkhamist :

this is why in the Orthodox Church we say "come and see". we don't force them to belong, we say to them upfront what is sin

benji :

It’s more like..:if this is a church…RUN!

FindingmyJoi♥️ :

Elevation Church.. is this you??

Darn :

Grew up in the church, they always claimed to be so welcoming to everyone in all walks of life. Then when I was 15 in youth group and spoke up about things they were saying harming the LGBT community suddenly they wanted to kick me out…. Twice

UppityNerd :

“You can wear jeans… we do.”

N†ZzO :

🤭 big facts 💯 lol , I be long to God not the congregation

savannahR :

theres this book I read when I was deep in my faith about how to evangelize in today's world. There was an entire chapter dedicated to belonging before belief (aka the "Celtic Model" of envangelism)

thebhamp :

RyFire41 :

The statement emphasizes accepting people as they currently are, but we must also remember Jesus's words, “Go and sin no more”. When you're part of a church community, your heartfelt desire should be to grow and become more like Jesus. We all strive towards that goal together.

sentientrobot :

I agree with the red flag. but not for that conclusion. that phrase is a popular statement among churches that seek attendance more then disciples. these churches buy programs and preaching for the pastor to sell belonging. its sick.

Breanne :

Tag all the college outreach “churches”

Andrew Chun :

Third-party Affiliate marketing is like uhh self-fulfilling prophecy. So how does the chick fil a paid sponsorship, like people for the privilege to speak so highly of the company? Then how dos that “Paid Partnership” model work?

pjdfreddy2 :

💯💯💯

mysteryandreason (YouTube) :

Well said homie

LiterallyBatman :

I say this all the time. Churches will show love with the intention of changing the individual. It’s not genuine.