The Nature and Marks of Spiritual Pride

Do you see this as a problem in our Independent, Fundamental Baptist Churches?Do you see any of the symptoms that Edwards mentioned in his book?

Definitely.

I can’t say that it’s more than anywhere else, though, for a few reasons:

• I haven’t observed as much ‘anywhere else’
• What I have observed seems to be very similar
• Isn’t this pretty much inherent in human nature?

Some organizations/cultures/subcultures can have a lot more of certain kinds of human failings than other groups. But there’s going to be at least some of all the same problems anywhere you look—any time humans are involved.

I see where you are coming from Aaron. I was just asking as I am a first generation Christian, been saved for 16 years, but I am High Functioning Autistic/ Aspegers'. So, developing social relationships within the church has always been very difficult for me. The ones who I have found the least understanding, are the ones that grew up in the "Christian home," went off to Christian school, college, etc. They've never really been exposed to "the world," so it seems they see someone different then they are and there sometimes is this, "you're just a worldly person and I'm a great Christian."

There is such a thing as being too exposed to an overly wide range of people… I suppose. I doubt it’s really that easy to achieve. The more human tendency is to be too insular—and interact almost entirely with people who are mostly like ourselves.

As you’ve pointed out, that has consequences. One of them is more vulnerability to oversimplifying what people outside the familiar range are really like—and more vulnerability to judgmentalism.

The best churches I’ve been involved in managed to create a culture with a strong “We’re all broken here” vibe. I did not nurture that much when I was a pastor, I confess. I had not yet come understand its value for the body of Christ and individual believers. The truth is that we’re all messed up in a lot of the same ways, plus, depending on what characteristics you focus on, we’re all messed up in relatively special ways also.

So I’ve loved worship and fellowship with believers in places where they were very conscious that they/we are a bunch of messed up people seeking God together.

I love this:

So I’ve loved worship and fellowship with believers in places where they were very conscious that they/we are a bunch of messed up people seeking God together.

Our Monday night Bible study has become the highlight of our week. As we apply the scripture to our lives, we are all able to ask questions, answer questions, and contribute application. We have all ages worshipping together and it is normal for people to speak of how they have failed in an area where we have been challenged by the scripture. That failure however is not followed by hopelessness, but rather by a realization of the transforming power of Jesus Christ. This has been so healthy for our small fellowship. It has been especially important for my teenage boys. They know that we are not all perfect, but that we should strive to be more Christlike. Because they know that the people they worship with have come short of the glory of God but have been transformed, they understand that there is hope for them to change. They have heard people talk about their past drug and alcohol use as well as sexual sins. These people share their past without glorifying their sin and others get to hear of the consequences they faced and how Jesus changed them. This makes our boys want to avoid those sins, but also helps them to recognize that when they lose their temper with a brother, that is serious too. It also helps them to realize that when they come short, they can talk about it and ask for help and grace to live better. I am so thankful to fellowship with a group that just naturally confesses their sins to one another and thus motivates each other to good works.