Phases and Stages of the Gospel – Part 3

Freebelievers / Letting Go / The Journey

Yes, the Free believer path is in a category of its own. This is named after the website and podcast, The Freebelievers Network. This is the focus on living free, exposing religious abuse, reconnecting with the heart and restoring balance.

This message can be construed by some as being an anti-church message, but is actually more to do with love and freedom. Darin Hufford, the founder of the Freebelievers Network, asserts that people tend to leave church when they are free to choose to no longer go; he insists that as people discover love, they no longer feel the need to adhere to the religious duties that they once held onto – such as going to church.

I have found that this liberating message has a lot to do with letting go – of past hurts, guilt, shame, fear and strongly held beliefs that did not serve us and only brought misery. Even though I immersed myself in the grace message (righteousness and oneness with God), I still held tightly to typical, religious approaches that were instilled in me by the church. I call these religious mindsets of a grace believer, an Institutional Carry-over.

The church has attempted to create a central point of administration for all Christians; a central point where Christians must gather for fellowship and to hear the Word being preached. But I believe that this has taken away the freedom for Christians to enjoy their life-in-Christ in the context of their own individual lives, with their own unique relationships and life-plans.

As believers begin to accept the grace message, they often seek a grace equivalent to all those things that the church insisted that every believer should have and do. There becomes a need for grace fellowship, in a grace church, with grace worship, with grace believers. I can see why people seek other grace believers, but it only seems to be The Freebelievers Network and The God Journey which dares to challenge this age-old concept that Christians must have fellowship by gathering together, on a regular basis, in dedicated buildings with other Christians.

I recall the final years of my church attendance, how I felt compelled to serve God by serving in the church. I can honestly say that ever since I became a Christian, I have never served in church out of anything other than a sense of obligation. By listening to The Freebelievers Network and The God Journey podcasts, I was able to experience a freedom that Joseph Prince’s righteousness message alone could not bring me. I needed a rawness and honesty that could enable me to let go of the last vestiges of religion. It’s as if listening to these podcasts literally sandblasted the religion off me.