Hi Redhorsewoman,
Thank you for a nice welcome and kind words.
You wrote: "I've felt for some time that a church should simply be a group of people gathering together for spiritual support....not for creating an exclusive God club."
It was a real eye-opener how many times the Apostle Paul used the word "FOOL" to describe the people he was writing to. I ran across it three times while skimming Romans, 1 COR. and Ephesians just this morning.
It caught me a little by surprise because I was reading from a study bible that includes historical context and audience descriptions etc. In other words, it read more like a college history book that takes original writings and fills in the gaps, making it really come alive. Anyway, after I read that expression three times I realized it wasn't just a figure of speech. Paul was really miffed and thought they were real idiots.
An honest reading shows that leagalism and heiarchial structure was a constant problem. Paul would go over essentially the same thing over and over and ask them why on earth they would want to go back to that non-sense after experiencing the freedom Christ offered.
I asked my sociology professor once how many people could come together in a group and still keep a heiarchy and from developing and taking on a life of its own. She thought deeply and then said if they were all very highly educated and posessed deep awareness the maximum number would be 8 or 10.
That being the case the WTBS is not unique in its structure. But instead of trying to constantly battle this natural phenomonon with strong counsel like Paul did, the WTBS strongly advocates, nurtures, and cherishes its structure arguably to the point of equating it with Jehovah God himself.
While any group whether it is social , religious, or political will have to do battle with its own organization to keep it from taking over the focus, and ultimately destroying the very ideas that gave birth to the group; we can look for groups that understand this process as did Paul and encourage members to stay focused on the ideas and not the vehicle that was put together to carry or promote the ideas.
In other words, there is a strong tendency in groups that have matured over time to realize that the very ideas that started the movement are now the greatest threat to its current heirarchial structure. More and more effort must be put into silencing the people who remind the group of its original purposes. The majority of the members, having exchanged the focal point from the original lofty ideals for their realitive juxtaposition in the matrix, feel the threat too and simply go along with the "party line".
I have found a couple of churches that understand and put forth an honest effort to curb it and keep under control. With my background I can still see it alive and well though. However, just the awareness alone keeps me free of possible entanglements though. Nothing has really changed since Paul's day. The nice thing is that there is the room I need to continue to be a christian and to get and give the support everyone needs. I went to 6 or 8 before I found one that I felt would work for me. Ended up in a non-denominational with a conservative bent. Its not perfect....and that's the point, it feels real.
Sorry to ramble on so long. :)
Perry