It took us a long time after leaving to decide which of our former beliefs we still believed to be true and right, and which ones were just... crazy. The illegitimate feelings of guilt and shame attached to all those beliefs and practices will probably plague us for life. Although we immediately abandoned the most extreme standards we only practiced because they were required of us as leaders, plenty of them hung on for a while. The reason it took so long probably had to do with the degree with which these regulations became a test of genuine spirituality. Why would any truly committed believer object to abiding by rules their preacher established to guard the ‘purity of his church? This was the subject of many, many sermons. The Preacher required all teachers and other leaders (including us) to sign a paper detailing rules we were expected to obey to continue in any leadership position. This included piano pl...
My past, my present and my hope for the future