Breaking Free Ministries USA
A Search For Truth (Part IV)
BACK IN THE UNITED STATES                                     
After returning home back in the United States, I found the location of the local branch of Robert
Thieme's church and Berean Society's affiliated church. Mr. Thieme had a phone-hook-up service,
which broadcast his church service sermons. I visited it first, but I didn't like it because there were
only two other men there, and they didn't extend me a good welcome.                                   

Next I visited a group which was affiliated with the Berean Society which met in Paola, Kansas, a town
forty miles south of Kansas City. I attended there approximately a year until there was an internal
conflict, and the Bible teacher decided to resign his position.                                          

Instead of going back to Mr. Thieme's local phone-hoop-up service, I decided to get his teaching tapes
for  myself via the mail; they were only three months behind his current church service. During this
period of visiting these church groups trying to obey the Scripture to not forsake the assembling
together, and trying to find a church that I felt taught the Word correctly, especially without legalism,
a disaster occurred in my  relationship with my wife, a second divorce. Since leaving Worldwide
Church of God and divorced and remarried, my wife and I could never agree on a church to attend
nor doctrinally. As a result, we mostly attended different churches. We felt each other was completely
wrong in our interpretation of the Scripture. I became very dogmatic trying to persuade her she was
wrong, but that only made her fight back more, disagreeing. This conflict between two strong-will
persons finally led to divorce.                                            

I believe the reason I felt the way  is connected with years of believing the Worldwide Church of God
was the only true church. Accepting others who believe differently from me, especially my wife, I
hadn't arrive yet in my road to recovery, having the ability to accept all Christian churches with
different doctrines as being part of the Body of Christ.  After I found out Mr. Thieme had Bible
conferences all over the United States, I decided to attend one he was having in Little Rock, Arkansas.
It was perfect for me since I could stay with my brother who lived near by. I only had to drive
one-hundred miles (fifty miles each way) for four nights. The conference was very disappointing
because most of those attending seemed very unfriendly. On the last night, a pastor's wife from Hope,
Arkansas introduced herself to me. During our conversation she stated that the biggest problem with
Mr. Thieme's teachings were learning the meaning of his terminology, otherwise you will not
understand his teachings. She suggested that I listen to sermons from the pastor of a church in
Conway, Arkansas (which is only twenty miles from where I was living with my brother). She gave me
his address.           

After returning to Kansas City, I ordered some Bible teaching tapes from this church. Soon there-
after I visited the church to check it out, thinking I might move there, since I was looking for a good
Bible teaching church demonstrating "true Christianity." A few weeks later I visited the church again.
Afterward I decided it wasn't what I was looking for - I did not feel welcome there. I felt it was lacking
in brotherly love. I was looking for a church I believed taught God's Word correctly, but also
displayed the fruits of the Spirit.                              

While visiting this church in Conway, I noticed a bulletin board listing churches which taught similar
doctrines. One was located in Kansas City. Upon my return to Kansas City I called the church office,
found out the time of their church service, and there I went. I met and got to know more people there
than some who had been there for more than twenty years. I attended the church about a year. I left
soon after close friends, who had been members of the church for many years had left; one said the
pastor was now teaching some doctrines differently than he had taught in the past years. But I left for
more personal reasons. One of the best things I can tell you about the people at this church that
nearly everyone made me feel welcome.                                 

Soon after I left Beth Haven, one of the ladies said she desired to have a Bible study in her home. We
all agreed to come. It was a very good Bible study group, but due to health problems of our Bible
teacher, the Bible study ended after a year.                                      

One of the great blessings I received while attending these churches was the "free" Bible tapes. During
the period I was receiving Robert Thieme's Bible tapes, I received  hundreds of tapes free. I thank
God I was able to receive them free because I surely couldn't afford them, which usually would have
cost in the hundreds of dollars. His ministry through tapes served their purpose ministering to me
during this difficult time of reevaluation of Scriptures, and accepting the fact that I had been part of a
church that was a cult [Today it is no longer a cult but a fundamental Christian church].

TRUE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP - WHERE?              
Afterward, I got in contact with my Bible teacher who had led the Berean Society's church fellowship
that had dissolved before. He said he was starting the Bible fellowship again and asked if I was
interested in attending. I said I would come. We then renamed the group Grace Believer's
Fellowship." Unfortunately, the fellowship lasted only six months, due again to another internal
conflict. Once again I was on the outside looking for true Christianity.                                                  
     
One prime lesson a believer should know and accept, when a person agrees to be part of a Bible
fellowship, is that you as an individual cannot make a fellowship change its basic biblical doctrines. If
you can't agree with them, it's best that you leave the fellowship instead of destroying the fellowship.   
                                      
There was one more Bible fellowship I visited before moving to Lawrence, Kansas to attend college. I
had heard about it from a radio program I listened to occasionally by Bob George. A man who had
just started a local congregation was advertising his fellowship during Bob George's program inviting
people to his fellowship. After finding out a friend I had met while attending a previous church was
attending, I decided to visit the fellowship.               

Because of my personality and the many years I spent in the Worldwide Church of God [Their form
of worship helped conditioned me in not accepting other types.] I found it difficult adjusting to the
new fellowship's worshiping style. I stopped attending after a month.

MOVED TO LAWRENCE, KANSAS                                 
After remarrying my wife for the third time, I moved to Lawrence, Kansas in May, 1992 where she
was already living. Because a co-worker had invited my wife to a predominately black church, she
decided to visit. After a few visits, she felt God had led her there, and later joined. I attended there
occasionally with her, but my heart was not there. It reminded me of the Baptist church where I where
I was a member when I was a teenager. Their form of worship was too emotional for me. Later on
after I had attended a few months, I began to accept their way of worshiping because I believe they
were doing it unto the Lord. Even though there was more choir singing than preaching, I began to
look forward to the singing each time I went.                                                                            

While I was attending college at the University of Kansas, I was required to take a "Field Experience"
course, which meant I had to do a project that related to my major at that time, "African Studies."
For my field experience assignment, I decided to do a paper on a local minister who had been a guest
speaker in another class I had taken, "Black Leadership."  He impressed me with his ability to defend
the Christian faith among mostly anti-Christian students. The best results from this field experience
was that I found it beneficial in restoring my ability in accepting different Christian faiths as all being
a part of the Body of Christ.             

Since I was only attending another church occasionally, this gave me the opportunity for the first time
in my life on a consistence basis to observe and hear a black preacher who had biblical college
training. He also did not preach completely in the black preacher's rhetoric style   which I had gotten
accustomed to as a youth.             

For four months, February through May, 1994, I attended his church. He ministered mostly to college
students and his congregation was a mixed group, black and white. His sermons each time he
preached, it seems he encouraged the students to avoid fornication. He said he felt God had called
him to minister to the youth.                           

The times I enjoyed most while evaluating his ministry for my paper were the Saturday morning talks
he and others had (I was included); it was a giving and sharing from personal experiences and the
Word of God.                                                              

After carefully evaluating his ministry, I felt he was fulfilling the ministry of reconciliation of Christ to
college students. This field experience was another step in my recovery from cultism and acceptance of
various Christian churches in the Body.                              
While attending college at the University of Kansas, I began taking video Bible classes from Grace
School of the Bible by Richard Jordan. Because I could not financially afford the cost of the video
Bible classes, I had to withdraw from the Bible school.
[Continued in "Part V" (click)]