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I've been sitting here binging Diane. I grew up in a church cult that is primarily comprised of, and run by my family. I have spent almost 10 years, almost 7 of those being saved, trying to figure all of this out by myself. I've emailed pastors and Messianic rabbis from the west coast of the United States, all the way to Tel Aviv. The most I got was sympathy and no answer that satisfied the issue. Usually, I was just met with an attack on my sin issues that I have; primarily, a history of drinking alcohol because I don't know how to fix anything. Everything Diane is saying checks out COMPLETELY. I've been church-hopping for years because, after growing up in a high-control environment, I have a finely-tuned radar for falsehood, dismissal, manipulation, superficiality, narcissism, and people who want me to be "someone else's problem" because, God forbid they actually HELP somebody in the body of Christ. It is very true that the church, as a whole, does NOT like it when you think for yourself. After about 4 months of being in a Calvary Chapel that, for all intents and purposes, has their heads screwed on straight, I quickly discovered that they are more interested in the authority of pastors and elders than they are in helping the wounded. If you question the "help" or anecdotal/subjective experience -based advice of a church elder? You are just rebellious and unteachable. A friend of mine once put it rather succinctly: the church is the only army that shoots its own wounded. "Sit down, shut up, and think/do as you are told," is SO prevalent that it's mind-boggling. I have spent many years of my life afraid of, and angry at God. I have spent so many years of my life thinking, "If I don't conform, and do, and follow the rules, and waste myself for the sake of my family, God is going to -at best- air out my sins in front of everyone at the Bema Seat so they can all have a good, long, slow holier-than-thou head shake; Then, after stripping me of any reward whatsoever, He'd give me eternally-humiliating duties like 'Slave of Slaves to My Adoptive Family and Their Chosen Few,' 'Purse-Carrier and Money Tree' to my adoptive, immediate family, or 'Eternal Butt-Wiper' to all of Hallmark Baptist Church of Mauldin, South Carolina, (so you know who to avoid.) ...At worst, I'd be sent to hell by the judgment of my adoptive family-by-proxy-of-God-as-secondhand-judge-in-their-favor, as they all look down their haughty noses in nodding approval, or as they cry and say "We warned you, and you never listened! Now God will do with you as you deserve for not following your Grandfather's beliefs that you so hated!" This kind of trauma is CRIPPLING. DO NOT DO ANY OF THESE THINGS TO PEOPLE. This is basically"Whoever offends one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble," territory!

Mark is indeed a gift to the bosy of Christ. I have been watching his channel almost daily for a few weeks now as their is soo little for Christians on mental health in the live of a Christian. Learn something new every time a listening to him. 👍🏼🙏🏼

Thank you so much for posting this, I really appreciate the civil conversation

If we had Christians (in and outside of the Restoration mvmt) giving one another the benefit of the doubt, we'd be able to have conversations. But because most leaders and members don't, it makes it easier to be distant, not have dialogue, not seek to understand, and therefore not be united in Christ. And I don't mean "united" as in we need to be under the same banner and have one central leadership for all 🙂

Your reading frustrated me

There are no full-time paid pastors in the New Testament. I find making a living off Jesus an unthinkable idea. Certainly not Biblical. Yet full time paid "Christian" ministry workers are numbered in the hundreds of thousands world-wide. The entire lump is indeed leavened as Jesus predicted (Matt 13:33). We live in the Laodicean (earthly riches) church era.

Seems to me, legacy church needs to be less sermon-centric and more inter-relational, allowing input from everyone and anyone, given today's topic and a good servant-hearted gatekeeper. No church, legacy, small group or house, can function long without oikos.

Baptism was never by immersion and water baptism was only for covenant partners (Israel).

The "great commission" was fulfilled in Paul's day.

"Grass isn't greener on the other side. Grass is greener where you water." I love that statement.

Thank you for this talk! For such a long time I thought I was alone in my experience with purity culture. Purity comes from Jesus dying for every sin.

Love the content! One quick comment on immersion baptism: what about making disciples in a desert wasteland without enough water for immersion? This is a reality and a little legalistic to say such a person's baptism with the bit of water they have isn't valid.

I appreciate the conversation. I can also appreciate that both of you seem to be tentmaking. That being said, I’m always happy to see people getting away from what you guys term legacy church, and always disappointed when that move is pragmatic or materialistically driven rather than idealogically driven, as in driven by a desire to do church the way Christ set it up. Personally I’m of the opinion that the greatest results come from doing and preaching the original eklesia. The early church turned the world upside down doing it that way. And yet somehow in spite of failure by any and every metric, Corporation Christianity thinks it has evolved to this present model.

What amazing courage Elizabeth had in being as honest and humble as she was. There were truths that I needed to hear out loud: the desire of God for relationship while we beat ourselves up about our sin and our failure to be marvellous. Good grief how I have lived that. Thankyou thankyou.

This video was very insightful, informative and sincere. Thank you ❤

17 mins: Character not Gifts. Love not Authority

10:10, the real Christian may also want to know why the wife threw away the other 29 oranges. 😂

How will anyone in this world understand threats? What about people who don’t know that Jesus character. Who asked him to die for me. I will also die what makes him special. Why does a god need blood to forgive. Is that god a vampire. You are hurting people pretending you are helping them

If it’s about Jesus why is he also threatening us with hell? How can you love something that threatens to burn you forever! You are causing more trauma talking about that character

"Systems are so wired to preserve themselves" 🔥 🔥 🔥

Hi Kyle, this is my first time watching your videos. It’s great to see Mark on here. I discovered his video on mental health a little over a year ago. One of his episodes came on my timeline “randomly”, and that’s when I realized why I was so mentally and spiritually exhausted. Anyways, God bless the both of you. I am looking forward to all the gems today.

Steve it's great you know so much about trauma. All the trauma you have inflicted on others has destroyed a LOT of people. I know you're a liar and hypocrite. Kip must be so proud of you. I've know how your ministry inner circles work. I've served with you in one or more of locations where you've been. I've seen lies and deceit and total control over people. People like you is like an alcoholic owning a liquor store. In other words, you talk about something and do or feel tne exact opposite

I'd just like to share, the book that helped me break down the wall as a white woman was "White Fragility." I'll just lay it on the table. I chose it because my protectors didn't want to hear how bad I was/am from people of color. I was in defense mode. So I chose a book by a white woman. She pulled no punches - yet said things in a language that I could hear. Explaining, not attacking. It was like being hit by a freight train, but I would never go back to before I read that book. I was changed for life, and then could work through "Me and White Supremacy." So...maybe my story would be helpful to someone. I was so sure as an activist, that I wasn't racist. I no longer believe that. And it helped me really hear others.

Ive been through soooo much abuse that I dont think I will ever get over it. I went to church and every prayer meeting, praying for healing from the trauma, but just experienced spiritual abuse with the church too. When does it end?

Thank you for this interview. I have been through religious trauma and God is raising me up to tell the truth of Him to those systems. Diane is a breath of fresh air.

Hi a great interview thx. Have you heard of Gene Edwards’s book on elders it explains it well

smfh... The NAR cult has infiltrated the majority of 'churches' today They exploit wounded people...just like this channel &...everyday There's countless abuses, thievery & outright cult indoctrination occurring within buildings that have a cross on it I am so sickened by these lowlifes & cannot overstate my disdain & outright hate for them.

Thank you so much both!. So much wisdom, Christ centered truths that brings a lot of understanding. It brings clarity and healing…

Great video. We are finding these same things to be true with the pastors we are walking with as they transition out of the prevailing model to pioneer a movement of disciples and simple churches.

I appreciate the "pushback" to address quality HC leaders and eldership. The youth ministry outsourcing is a different problem that is going to occur in this HC model and I think that needs more focus and figuring out.

How can i join this tribe shes talking about? I need healing and hope and transformation too

I’m at the point where I don’t have the energy to have friends anymore. I’m exhausted from repeatedly having my trust violated and having no safety in relationships. I just want to be alone.

I was just thinking about that Matthew 23 verse the other day about presenting a cup that’s clean on the outside but filthy on the inside and what you said is so accurate: “presenting yourself as clean when your motives are dirty.” I’ve seen that so many times in churches where they care more about their image than they do about the spiritual health within the assembly. They would rather spend a fortune on marketing than take accountability for mistakes they’ve made.

After Francis Chan, gave up his pastoral position at a mega churh, he started a house church. He trained leaders and sent them out. Thise leaders trained leaders within their group and now they have a large network of churches. Its much more effective to have 5000 engaged house church members than to have 5000 spectators gathering in one building. Why do we believe that we have to get buildings to facilitate growth?

Romans 16:5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house. Salute my wellbeloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia unto Christ.

I think the problem is abrahamic religions. Men and women are not equals in abrahamic religions. No, the text is not misunderstood. Yes, christianity too, is a problem. It was the morals 1500 years ago. I shouldnt be still kept in 21st century

I've got a better idea, people gathering in homes to talk about reason, scientific discoveries and making the world a better place. And you can bring brownies, too.

I can't even tell you how much I needed this! Thank you!

Seems like this particular flavor of house church is the same as small groups within a large church, but forgoing the teaching, music, and fellowship at the unified service and Sunday School, and limiting it to the small groups where there is more learning and fellowship

Thank The Lord for you Mark, I experience relief and comfort when u share yr life, I can relate, and inspite of my weaknesses The Fathers got me...and I don't mean deliberate rebellion etc but I did feel anger toward The Lord and an attitude well Lord what's next, come on this is way too much, just need some breathing space... yep, 40 years he's kept me walking with Him... ive given up countless times, He's so faithful and merciful, He's got me covered blanketed by His grace and covered by His precious shed blood... Blessings to you and yr family..

Bery interesting video.

I love the idea of the House Church but we are doing it all wrong here in America. Sure there has been some limited success but that can happen in any pyramid model. But from what I understand is we have been trying this for 20 years now. I would expect much better results if it is a viable way to continue. No, and our problem is we are not addressing the core issues in church. We call this Root Cause Analysis. Let's look at David as our example. A great king. A great leader. A great warrior. A great example for a man after God's own heart. He put God first. But he was a horrible father. And he was a horrible grandfather. It is because of him that the kingdom failed. The kingdom divided, worshipped idols, and when their wealth dried up they could no longer pay tributes to other nations and were eventually captured. Solution to our problem. Start with our normal churches. Yes, we know they are flawed and deeply corrupted. Just hang in with me a moment. The solution is Home Churching your family and kids. Home Church must start with your kids. Any Believer of 5 years, must be encouraged to start their own Home Church on Saturdays with their family. Each family set aside 1 hour every Saturday to come together for church. Then if there are no kids in your home, start Home Churches with others of your age group and spiritual age group. Anyone who has been a Christian for 5 years is ready to have their own Home Church. On Saturdays. Then go to Sunday Church. If everyone will do this, then all the problems we have with our churches will be solved.

Thank you both. Have so much to learn and apply 💙💙👊👊🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💞✝️🙌🏻

How can a Christian not believe in conspiracy theories? It seems to me if a true-believing Christian says he does not believe in conspiracy theories, then he is a hyppocrite.

Oops wrong channel for me. I thought this was for people that have saved themselves from religious trauma and abuse, not those wanting to continue it.

Thanks!

Not applicable for me. It's the cult beliefs that have caused me trauma and depression. Go talk to your Delutions for your own comfort

I am struggling to keep my faith because I have found the premise of Christianity, which is that we are sinners, is an impediment to healing. And, in fact, the more we understand about neurobiology the less I see it as sin and the more I see it as survival mechanisms (which are a good thing) have become over active. I That understanding has set me free and helped me to heal, but it saddens me because I want to keep my faith. I can’t hold onto something, however, that I think is fundamentally harmful to people.

Church was never meant to be a business

Wow! Wow! Wow! I almost turned off when you opened up and mentioned God. I was not ready for it. Regardless, you guys understand and I appreciate this video. I was sexually abused at least at 4 years old. Mother and father were preachers and ministers and the biggest narcissists, hypocrites, and gaslighting liars. That’s all I have to say right now. Thank you.