Leaving the NAR Church: Candice's story
/“How lonely and devastating it is to find out that something you believe in so strongly can be so wrong, and that cognitive dissonance disorder is very real to all of us who share this journey.”
Candice is one of many Christians who has watched helplessly as the New Apostolic Reformation infected the church and the friends she loved. She has allowed me to include her story in this series about a movement called the New Apostolic Reformation, or NAR for short. In this series, I want to take readers beyond the textbook What is the New Apostolic Reformation Movement explanation, into the personal experiences from those who have been there, and what happened when God opened their eyes to the truth.
Here is Candice’s account in her own words:
I am thankful to everyone who shared their stories, as it helped remind me why we left the church that we attended for over 10 years.
A few years ago, my husband and I started to notice changes in the elders, worship leaders, and others, who were spending time at IHOP and Bill Johnson’s, Bethel Church in Redding, California. We noticed major changes in the music, and started sensing an elitist demeanor of so many who were getting into Jesus Culture and IHOP music.
As a nurse, I was noticing a lot of New Age influences in the Heath Care Industry and stumbled upon Marcia Montenegro’s Christian Answers for the New Age. Reading her articles made me aware of the heretical teachings I was seeing of IHOP, Bill Johnson and the NAR movement. As the bells started going off, I plunged into researching everything I could on the NAR and realized this was happening at our church, too.
We had a few meetings with the Pastor and shared our concerns, but the elders refuted all the evidence and information we provided. We started to feel like strangers at this church, and eventually left. The grief we experience from leaving was heartbreaking, as we called this Church, home and the members, family.
After reading many articles from Christian discernment ministries and getting back to the basics of the Bible, we are attending a conservative mainline church. I can’t believe how nice it is to “feel safe” in church again. I guess my point in writing this was to relay how lonely and devastating it is to find out that something you believe in so strongly can be so wrong, and that cognitive dissonance disorder is very real to all of us who share this journey.
It has taken us a couple years to feel right side up again, and we are so grateful for Amy, Marcia Montenegro, Chris Rosebrough, Fighting for the Faith, and others who have put forth the facts to show us the errors that are flooding these churches.
Author’s Note: You can read the entire series of NAR testimonies here. If you would like to send me your story about your NAR church experience and what happened when your eyes were opened, you can email me here. I will be changing your first name to keep you anonymous.
