Dave Gass, a former pastor who most recently led Grace Family Fellowship in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, has renounced his Christian faith as a system rife with abuse that caused him “mental and emotional breaks.”

A representative from his former church, however, has accused him of being an unrepentant adulterer.

Gass reportedly first made his announcement in a series of now protected tweets but not before they were copied and shared across multiple social media platforms.

“After 40 years of being a devout follower, 20 of those being an evangelical pastor, I am walking away from faith. Even though this has been a massive bomb drop in my life, it has been decades in the making,” he began in the thread before moving on to compare Scripture to Greek mythology.

“When I was in 8th grade and I was reading Greek mythology, it dawned on me how much of the supernatural interactions between the deity of the bible and mankind sounded like ancient mythology. That seed of doubt never went away,” he said.

He explained how he was raised in a “hyper-fundamentalist” Christian home where Christianity “didn’t work. The promises were empty. The answers were lies.”

Even so, he grew up to be a devout Christian who rarely missed church or failed to study Scripture.

“I was fully devoted to studying the scriptures. I think I missed maybe 12 Sundays in 40 years. I had completely memorized 18 books of the bible and was reading through the bible for the 24th time when I walked away,” he wrote.

None of it, however, helped his marriage.

“As an adult my marriage was a sham and a constant source of pain for me. I did everything I was supposed to - marriage workshops, counseling, bible reading together, date nights every week, marriage books - but my marriage never became what I was promised it would be,” he said.

He went on to discuss how miserable his life eventually became as his expectations, including experiencing the supernatural failed to match up with the reality he was experiencing.

“An inescapable reality that I came to was that the people who benefited the most from organized religion were the fringe attenders who didn’t take it too seriously. The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder,” he said.

“… The entire system is rife with abuse. And not just from the top down, sure there are abusive church leaders, but church leaders are abused by their congregants as well. Church people are just sh*tty to each other,” he continued. “I spent my entire life serving, loving, and trying to help people in my congregations. And the lies, betrayal, and slander I have received at the hands of church people left wounds that may never heal.”

He said he struggled so much with his church experience it began to affect his mental and ultimately physical health.

“This massive cognitive dissonance - my beliefs not matching with reality - created a separation between my head and my heart. I was gas lighting myself to stay in the faith. Eventually I could not maintain the facade anymore, I started to have mental and emotional breaks. My internal stress started to show in physical symptoms. Being a pastor - a professional Christian - was killing me,” Gass revealed.

To save himself, he said, he chose to walk away from the church.

“Eventually I pulled the lever and dropped the bomb. Career, marriage, family, social standing, network, reputation, all gone in an instant. And honestly I didn’t intend to fully walk away, but the way the church turned on me forced me to leave permanently,” he said.

He apologized to his former followers and said he still loves those who choose to dismiss him as an “apostate.”

“For those of you who want to yell at me, that’s fine. I know that many will call me an apostate, say I was never really saved, that I was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and that a hotter hell awaits me. And to you I say I love you. My heart is tender toward you,” he said.

“To those who have been in my congregations or under my teaching/preaching I sincerely apologize. I thought I was right. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could fake it until I made it. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I love you,” he added.

Justin Thuttle, a deacon at Grace Family Fellowship Church, claimed on Twitter that Gass was not entirely forthcoming about his faith journey and branded him an unrepentant sinner.

“Yes, he was my pastor when he ‘walked away’. He actually just slept with a married women (sic) in the church and got caught. He never repented and they still live together,” he wrote in a tweet last Thursday.

“Last year all the information came to light. The affair happened for almost a year before it was uncovered. So the whole, ‘I did everything right in my marriage’ part was kinda funny until I saw how many people liked his story,” he said.

The Christian Post reached out to the church for further comment Tuesday and a representative who asked to speak anonymously said Thuttle's response is accurate.

"Justin’s input is accurate. I would only add that, to our knowledge, none of the churches where Gass was on staff were megachurches. And after he resigned, he cut off all communications with anyone from Grace Family Fellowship," the representative said.

Source: https://www.christianpost.com/news/after-40-years-megachurch-pastor-slams-christianity-and-quits-deacon-claims-he-had-affair-231087/

Follow your mind! Do what pleases you and stop being a slave to religion

It is well...

He has his reasons and he has made his choice.


As for me and my household, we stand firm in the faith

To save face, he brands Christianity sham God save him

The reason I have put the christian article first before the pastors own words, is to let you know how church people can lie to protect themselves. The pastor was more christian than those who now call him a backslider.

If you research Jesus and the history of Christianity, you'll never be a christian again.

Being a Pastor does not make you A Christian..

Pastor is Nothing but a Title....

Following JESUS CHRIST Must Cost you Something....

It's Only Those that Endure to the End that Will be Saved






The Apostle were Called Christians Because they Behaved like JESUS CHRIST..


A Christian is Not A Sinner and A Sinner is Not A Christian..

Is only those who endures to the end would be saved.

Righteousness89:
Being a Pastor does not make you A Christian..

Pastor is Nothing but a Title....


The Apostle were Called Christians Because they Behaved like JESUS CHRIST..


A Christian is Not A Sinner and A Sinner is Not A Christian

How dare you call him a sinner?

The man has done more work for your Jesus than you. He was just as sinful as you.

Remember, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us- 1 John 1:8.

musicwriter:


How dare you call him a sinner?

The man has done more work for your Jesus than you. He was just as sinful as you.

Remember, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us- 1 John 1:8.

My Brother, You Called Him a Sinner not me...

Open your eyes before you respond

Righteousness89:
My Brother, You Called Him a Sinner not me...

Open your eyes before you respond

What is he now?

musicwriter:


What is he now?

Get to see Him and Ask Him

Righteousness89:


Get to see Him and Ask Him

But you've already told me. You said ''a Christian is Not A Sinner and A Sinner is Not A Christian.'' Is he the sinner or yourself?

musicwriter:


But you've already told me. You said ''a Christian is Not A Sinner and A Sinner is Not A Christian.'' Is he the sinner or yourself?

A Christian is not a Sinner....
And A Sinner is Not A Christian..

Make your Summation from there

Righteousness89:


A Christian is not a Sinner....
Am A Sinner is Not A Christian..

Make your Summation from there

How can you make such a claim, when your bible says ''if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us''- 1 John 1:8.

Your book also says ''all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.''- Romans 3:23.

Do I take your word or your bible's?

Watch how the hypocrites will display their ignorance here.

musicwriter:


How can you make such a claim, when your bible says ''if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us''- 1 John 1:8.

Your book also says ''all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.''- Romans 3:23.

Do I take your word or your bible's?

I don't understand u, Neither do u understand me..

I gave out A Message.. and that's it

Righteousness89:

I don't understand u, Neither do u understand me..

I gave out A Message.. and that's it

You're giving out a message that contradicts what's in your holy book. Do I take your ''message'' or the one in your holy book?

All Abrahamic religions are false, fake and counterintuitive

Christianity is a Roman invention.

All the characters inside of Abrahamic text are fake.

Op is absolutely correct, the Romans that invented Christianity stole various Hellenistic concepts of the Greeks.

Eventually, Africans will realise that its all a massive charade and rid the continent of these liars and fakers.

Too many atheists on NL

musicwriter:
Dave Gass, a former pastor who most recently led Grace Family Fellowship in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, has renounced his Christian faith as a system rife with abuse that caused him “mental and emotional breaks.”

A representative from his former church, however, has accused him of being an unrepentant adulterer.

Gass reportedly first made his announcement in a series of now protected tweets but not before they were copied and shared across multiple social media platforms.

“After 40 years of being a devout follower, 20 of those being an evangelical pastor, I am walking away from faith. Even though this has been a massive bomb drop in my life, it has been decades in the making,” he began in the thread before moving on to compare Scripture to Greek mythology.

“When I was in 8th grade and I was reading Greek mythology, it dawned on me how much of the supernatural interactions between the deity of the bible and mankind sounded like ancient mythology. That seed of doubt never went away,” he said.

He explained how he was raised in a “hyper-fundamentalist” Christian home where Christianity “didn’t work. The promises were empty. The answers were lies.”

Even so, he grew up to be a devout Christian who rarely missed church or failed to study Scripture.

“I was fully devoted to studying the scriptures. I think I missed maybe 12 Sundays in 40 years. I had completely memorized 18 books of the bible and was reading through the bible for the 24th time when I walked away,” he wrote.

None of it, however, helped his marriage.

“As an adult my marriage was a sham and a constant source of pain for me. I did everything I was supposed to - marriage workshops, counseling, bible reading together, date nights every week, marriage books - but my marriage never became what I was promised it would be,” he said.

He went on to discuss how miserable his life eventually became as his expectations, including experiencing the supernatural failed to match up with the reality he was experiencing.

“An inescapable reality that I came to was that the people who benefited the most from organized religion were the fringe attenders who didn’t take it too seriously. The people who were devout were the most miserable, but just kept trying harder,” he said.

“… The entire system is rife with abuse. And not just from the top down, sure there are abusive church leaders, but church leaders are abused by their congregants as well. Church people are just sh*tty to each other,” he continued. “I spent my entire life serving, loving, and trying to help people in my congregations. And the lies, betrayal, and slander I have received at the hands of church people left wounds that may never heal.”

He said he struggled so much with his church experience it began to affect his mental and ultimately physical health.

“This massive cognitive dissonance - my beliefs not matching with reality - created a separation between my head and my heart. I was gas lighting myself to stay in the faith. Eventually I could not maintain the facade anymore, I started to have mental and emotional breaks. My internal stress started to show in physical symptoms. Being a pastor - a professional Christian - was killing me,” Gass revealed.

To save himself, he said, he chose to walk away from the church.

“Eventually I pulled the lever and dropped the bomb. Career, marriage, family, social standing, network, reputation, all gone in an instant. And honestly I didn’t intend to fully walk away, but the way the church turned on me forced me to leave permanently,” he said.

He apologized to his former followers and said he still loves those who choose to dismiss him as an “apostate.”

“For those of you who want to yell at me, that’s fine. I know that many will call me an apostate, say I was never really saved, that I was a wolf in sheep’s clothing, and that a hotter hell awaits me. And to you I say I love you. My heart is tender toward you,” he said.

“To those who have been in my congregations or under my teaching/preaching I sincerely apologize. I thought I was right. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I could fake it until I made it. I was wrong. I’m sorry. I love you,” he added.

Justin Thuttle, a deacon at Grace Family Fellowship Church, claimed on Twitter that Gass was not entirely forthcoming about his faith journey and branded him an unrepentant sinner.

“Yes, he was my pastor when he ‘walked away’. He actually just slept with a married women (sic) in the church and got caught. He never repented and they still live together,” he wrote in a tweet last Thursday.

“Last year all the information came to light. The affair happened for almost a year before it was uncovered. So the whole, ‘I did everything right in my marriage’ part was kinda funny until I saw how many people liked his story,” he said.

The Christian Post reached out to the church for further comment Tuesday and a representative who asked to speak anonymously said Thuttle's response is accurate.

"Justin’s input is accurate. I would only add that, to our knowledge, none of the churches where Gass was on staff were megachurches. And after he resigned, he cut off all communications with anyone from Grace Family Fellowship," the representative said.

Source: https://www.christianpost.com/news/after-40-years-megachurch-pastor-slams-christianity-and-quits-deacon-claims-he-had-affair-231087/

well let me say what's on my mind



Religion at the very beginning was an escape for people who desired answers to every worrisome question they aren't able to answer or no one can tell them a guiding hand to show them the way in life and to act as a light when things get dark like during times of war and slavery when people experienced unimaginable pain and suffering all they had in them was hope,hope for peace hope for freedom hope for a better tomorrow and everything here is perfectly fine no doubt we all have sins yes it's how you try to redeem yourself that matters


Sadly, somewhere along the line the selfish human nature came and twisted a once innocent human activity to one of personal gain control of the weak also the act of forcing religion on people such as the phrase believe all we say or question it and we'll hurt you and ignorant cover up for evil doings like rape, paedophiles and other unspeakable acts and this has been going on for many centuries it has never been a new phenomenon especially in Africa where some religious gatherings have turned into a source of comedic amusement you see congregation members worshipping pastors members coming to church with all sorts of revealing outfits like they are going to the club I'm not against people wearing what they have or what makes them comfortable but there is a time and place for everything. This is not just to religious people but also the lazy ones that call themselves atheists but use it as an excuse to do nothing but drink and party this is bull crap because even atheists have the same values every religion preaches of peace love and morals what I have also noticed is that the people that follow religion blindly are now the biggest hypocrites(some) I don't know why the trend is like that


My point is don't force any religion on anyone what we should teach is peace love and cooperation in the society but still not everybody will want to listen to my points. Thank you

Pastor Fatoyinbo Biodun




Lolssssssssss



Proudly A Good Muslim...May Allah help us All.

Danwakae:
Pastor Fatoyinbo Biodun




Lolssssssssss



Proudly A Good Muslim...May Allah help us All.

A good person is a good person, whether they be Christian or Muslim or Atheist. So, its not about Christianity VS Islam because both are blind faith to a fake God/Allah.

musicwriter:


A good person is a good person, whether they be Christian or Muslim or Atheist. So, its not about Christianity VS Islam because both are blind faith to a fake God/Allah.

Don't qoute me wrong.


What I meant is that what ever u belief in



Be good in it...whether Chongo, Christianity, Islam...but


I'm proudly a good Muslim...