How Judgemental are SDA??

[onlyhumanme]

hey guys ,I struggle with mental illness but want to get baptised one of these days although I dont know how judgemental the SDA church is for example if i hadnt mentioned one part of my illness is compulsive disorder and if I over ate I fear that i would be judged as 'gluttonous' and morally weak.I also had a rough upbringing at times but if I hadnt mentioned that would SDA assume i was a sinning rebel in my youth?

Im also wondering if I cant pray my mental illness away which i have tried and tried for years am i a sinner if i need to stay on my man-made medication or am i a weak christian.

I think ive felt a lot of guilt and shame because i am not as clean as say my new friends who had a close sda family and went to an sda school and sda university been to church all their life and know all the quotes,have never had a bigmac before or listened to heavy metal.

I really need to know because i dont want to have to compete in a race where im not good enough. thanks for reading.

[Gerr]

Welcome to the forum, friend. No doubt there will be some here who are judgmental, but I believe you will also encounter supportive people. The Barnabas of the world have not vanished. The same applies to the different churches and the members of each individual church. If you are in an area with more than one SDA church, visit them and get a feel of the general attitude. Keep your distance if they are judgmental and not friendly and supportive. And remember, it is "while we were still weak that Christ died for us." He did not come to call the righteous but for sinners. I believe that every Christian that completes the race will do so not on their fleet feet but on their knees. So courage my friend.

[Dr. Shane]

Like Dr. Gerry said, there are judgmental people in the church. They are sinners like the rest of us. One of the sins they struggle with is being judgmental. However I have found the majority of Adventist members are not judgmental. The problem is that the few that are judgmental can be very vocal at times while those that are quite supportive can be quiet.

My first advice is to follow your doctor's direction in regard to your medication and mental illness. My mother has a mental illness and is an Adventist in good standing. She has taken medication for several years.

Second, don't worry about being judged for your past. God casts our sins to the bottom of the sea and He remembers them no more. That said, the same cannot always be said for us personally. Often times our past continues to affect our present and we need to get help from a Christian counselor.

Third, try to make a friendship with the pastor or one of the local elders so that they can be a type of spiritual mentor for you. This is the discipleship concept.

[Woody]

Onlyhumanme ... thank you for your tranparent/honest testimony. If more people were like you ... the church would prosper.

Jesus invites us to come to Him as we are. This is a blessed calling. Unfortunately ... some try to put on an aire of perfection and pretend to have some type of status. But that is only fake. YOU on the other hand are the REAL thing and what we need.

Matt.11:28 "Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

[teresaq]

Wow!! Well, I can identify in some ways.

"Praying" our mental illness away is kinda tricky. We tend to think we can just send out a generic prayer and somehow we will be made whole. But I think God works more as a "Counselor", meaning He will show us thoughts we have that are causing our mental illness and we can hold on to the thoughts, or surrender them. Sometimes we don't realize it is God showing us, but we can take those thoughts to Him and discuss it with Him. He won't knock us on the head. He will patiently wait til we are able.

On another note, a great lady of our church-SDA-had the audacity, in the early 70s, to say that we are all mentally ill to some degree. That went over real big! lol But she was right. It's called sin. And we are all sinners-wrong thinking in some area, which causes wrong actions.

Well, I'm not sure if I helped any, but I pray I didn't cause more damage.

[phkrause]

hey guys ,I struggle with mental illness but want to get baptised one of these days although I dont know how judgemental the SDA church is for example if i hadnt mentioned one part of my illness is compulsive disorder and if I over ate I fear that i would be judged as 'gluttonous' and morally weak.I also had a rough upbringing at times but if I hadnt mentioned that would SDA assume i was a sinning rebel in my youth?

Im also wondering if I cant pray my mental illness away which i have tried and tried for years am i a sinner if i need to stay on my man-made medication or am i a weak christian.

I think ive felt a lot of guilt and shame because i am not as clean as say my new friends who had a close sda family and went to an sda school and sda university been to church all their life and know all the quotes,have never had a bigmac before or listened to heavy metal.

I really need to know because i dont want to have to compete in a race where im not good enough. thanks for reading.

Sorry to say onlyhumanme, SDAs are as judgmental as others. But as Woody says we are all sinners. I pray this doesn't change your mind about being baptized into the Lord.

[onlyhumanme]

Thanks guys all great responces, I had encountered a few judgemental people in the church but ive met some really awesome friends aswell so i will take the good with the bad.I will get baptised when my friends are there.I do feel for some of the occationally judgemental SDAs because they havent perhaps had the same experiences of life or come to the same personal truths especially if they were strict adventist and lived in sda circles so they might not have developed an understanding there are other people doing the best they can to get through life and maintain a relationship with God through it all.

thanks!!

[Stan]

onlyhumanme, the only folks who are not struggling with something, generally cover up other issues as well.

We ned to encourage and support each other, not the other.

[Stan]

onlyhumanme, I am sure there may be members on this forum who would also support you in your local Church.

No matter what crowd you visit, there will always be judgemental folks. Don't let them hijack your Christian experience.

[Gail]

Thank you for coming here!

I know it hurts when people are judgmental, but no one is exempt from that. Just think what the US President is going through right now.

We do have some wonderful people here and I hope that you are happy with the family here. I hope that your local church family prove to be people that you feel relaxed with, too.

[Woody]

Quote:

I know it hurts when people are judgmental, but no one is exempt from that. Just think what the US President is going through right now.

I don't want to turn this into a political thread ... BUT- People in political office of ANY office or employment DO need to be judged as to how they are doing their job.

Those in the body of Christ do not need to be judged as to their spiritual life. That is exclusive for GOD to judge.

Therein lies the difference.

[Gail]

I'm so glad you don't want to turn this into a political thread. I'm willing to leave it at that :)

[LifeHiscost]

hey guys ,I struggle with mental illness but want to get baptised one of these days although I dont know how judgemental the SDA church is for example if i hadnt mentioned one part of my illness is compulsive disorder and if I over ate I fear that i would be judged as 'gluttonous' and morally weak.I also had a rough upbringing at times but if I hadnt mentioned that would SDA assume i was a sinning rebel in my youth?

Im also wondering if I cant pray my mental illness away which i have tried and tried for years am i a sinner if i need to stay on my man-made medication or am i a weak christian.

I think ive felt a lot of guilt and shame because i am not as clean as say my new friends who had a close sda family and went to an sda school and sda university been to church all their life and know all the quotes,have never had a bigmac before or listened to heavy metal.

I really need to know because i dont want to have to compete in a race where im not good enough. thanks for reading.

I'm just going to address the underlined, onlyhumanme, unless I manage to think of something else. LoL

First I'd like to reassure you that if you've chosen to place yourself in Jesus' hands, there is no place on this earth where you will not run into those who will judge you, no matter how squeeky clean you look on the outside.

"Indeed all who delight in piety and are determined to live a devoted and godly life in Christ Jesus will meet with persecution [will be made to suffer because of their religious stand]."2 Timothy 3:12 AMP

However this should not deter you from the joy of letting Jesus be your constant companion.

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."Matthew 11:28,29 NKJV

Look for His promises in the Word, claim them as His child and He'll see that your needs are met. If you don't think you're coming up to His expectations, there is only one sure way of expiation.

"If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]."1 John 1:9 AMP

Then believe Him for what He says. There will always, on this side of Heaven, be those trying to prove how bad you are, so they can continue to appear as having met all of God's righteousness. As with you, they need to be left in God's hands to be dealt with, for only He knows best how to deal with it.

"But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and [true] circumcision is of the heart, a spiritual and not a literal [matter]. His praise is not from men but from God. "

Romans 2:28-29 AMP

After all, it's all about Him and what He can do, not about us or them and what we all can do.

"Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]--"Ephesians 3:20 AMP

My philosophy is, as a Christian, let the Master do what He does best, save the redeemed, those who depend upon Him. Not those who find it necessary to prove how good they are because they are insecure.

Jesus saves us not because of us, but in spite of us, if we're willing to let God be God.

God blesses!

[Haldog]

I'm thinking that if it happens more than usual then you are in the wrong place.

We all have our sinful carnal flesh to deal with, even those in the body of Christ, the church.