On this site you will find recorded teaching & ministry for you and for those you minister to or support and encourage. There is also ministry training and teaching material, not only for others but for your own encouragement.
People in the church are meant to help support you in growing into and doing what God's called you to do. If you are not valued as an equal, it is a sign you may be in a group that uses people not for God but for their own gain, just putting a "God wrapper" on the outside.
No matter what the Bible says about "authority," there's a lot of teaching going around that has people who want to manipulate you into obeying them for their own gain while thinking you are honoring God. They are not made to lord it over you, legislating directives at you.
Coercive control and undue influence often make many people feel they are making voluntary decisions about who, how and where they serve. It helps to study how influence happens beneath awareness, not to negate what God is doing, but so you can discern if someone tells you something is "God," but might just be a human-generated powerful emotional experience tied to a conclusion.
As to finding your way with God, that's often a sorting out process as you let go of the religious traditions that don't support the life of God in you, and as you take hold of a living, vital, flourishing relationship with God and His love, and live that out in your daily life.
During the past ten years, we have been increasing our focus on providing resources for overcoming spiritual abuse and other types of abuse that occur in religious settings. For 16+ years, our focus has been on providing resources so people could become equipped as able ministers of the gospel, but we realized our vision was too small in terms of how we saw gospel ministry. Each human being has a genuine ability to connect with God, and has unique gifts and callings. We are here to support each other in growing in those gifts and callings which are also called ministry.
We are preparing and releasing new media, printed material and notes which can help you and help you help others when hurt or traumatized by religious abuse, undue influence and double-binds that often effect believers who don't know what is happening to them until they've been hurt pretty badly. We began publishing some of the Ministry Manual to the website, and took a new direction with focus on training for everyone, including leaders, in recognition and prevention of abuse, and on recovery resources.
In 2014-2015, God put on our heart to encourage those who were recovering from spiritual and relational abuse, but we do not consider ourselves an abuse recovery ministry, we just believe that is part of what the gathered body, or church, needs to do: support and help those who got beat up by religion but who love God and want to grow into more of God's way of doing church. Our hope is to participate in positively influencing your faith without creating an environment of dependency upon people, groups or types of human teaching.
Jesus taught, healed and ministered. We don't just do 'intellectual' teaching here, meaning that most teaching has personal ministry, for your spirit, soul and body, and prayer with it, as that is what Jesus did and told us to do. We see lives changed and people healed as they continue in seeking relationship with God. Contact us and come be a part of us by your participation. Share what God is doing in your life, we'd love to hear from you and encourage you in the ministry to which God has called you.
People in the church are meant to help support you in growing into and doing what God's called you to do. If you are not valued as an equal, it is a sign you may be in a group that uses people not for God but for their own gain, just putting a "God wrapper" on the outside.
No matter what the Bible says about "authority," there's a lot of teaching going around that has people who want to manipulate you into obeying them for their own gain while thinking you are honoring God. They are not made to lord it over you, legislating directives at you.
Coercive control and undue influence often make many people feel they are making voluntary decisions about who, how and where they serve. It helps to study how influence happens beneath awareness, not to negate what God is doing, but so you can discern if someone tells you something is "God," but might just be a human-generated powerful emotional experience tied to a conclusion.
As to finding your way with God, that's often a sorting out process as you let go of the religious traditions that don't support the life of God in you, and as you take hold of a living, vital, flourishing relationship with God and His love, and live that out in your daily life.
During the past ten years, we have been increasing our focus on providing resources for overcoming spiritual abuse and other types of abuse that occur in religious settings. For 16+ years, our focus has been on providing resources so people could become equipped as able ministers of the gospel, but we realized our vision was too small in terms of how we saw gospel ministry. Each human being has a genuine ability to connect with God, and has unique gifts and callings. We are here to support each other in growing in those gifts and callings which are also called ministry.
We are preparing and releasing new media, printed material and notes which can help you and help you help others when hurt or traumatized by religious abuse, undue influence and double-binds that often effect believers who don't know what is happening to them until they've been hurt pretty badly. We began publishing some of the Ministry Manual to the website, and took a new direction with focus on training for everyone, including leaders, in recognition and prevention of abuse, and on recovery resources.
In 2014-2015, God put on our heart to encourage those who were recovering from spiritual and relational abuse, but we do not consider ourselves an abuse recovery ministry, we just believe that is part of what the gathered body, or church, needs to do: support and help those who got beat up by religion but who love God and want to grow into more of God's way of doing church. Our hope is to participate in positively influencing your faith without creating an environment of dependency upon people, groups or types of human teaching.
Jesus taught, healed and ministered. We don't just do 'intellectual' teaching here, meaning that most teaching has personal ministry, for your spirit, soul and body, and prayer with it, as that is what Jesus did and told us to do. We see lives changed and people healed as they continue in seeking relationship with God. Contact us and come be a part of us by your participation. Share what God is doing in your life, we'd love to hear from you and encourage you in the ministry to which God has called you.
Engrafted Word Fellowship Church is a church in the sense that we - and you, if you like to join us - are a gathering of believers in Jesus Christ. Our associated ministries include biblical teaching, ministry curriculum, preaching, encouraging, writing, prayer, art that expresses God's love, beauty and principles, and other activities as specified in the scriptures. You are welcome here if you are not a Christian, and no one is going to pressure you to say "uncle" or reject you because you are exploring your faith and don't share some of what we believe. There is room for you. There is room for love. Our heart is the love of God and teaching the pathways of life as taught in the scriptures, taught and modeled by Jesus Christ of Nazareth and the New Testament Church. We're glad you stopped by, and we pray you are blessed in spirit, soul and body, in your ministry, work, school, relationships and in the economics of your life. If you are experiencing less than healthy flourishing in these areas, God has answers and ways to overcome. Be blessed in Jesus' Name.