Sadly the BCF Leopard has not changed its spots with respect to shunning and they are just as vicious and nasty and vindictive (and blind) as ever. Specifically the leadership couples of the Christian Fellowship and their treatment of family who are no longer part of the Christian Fellowship. I heard an absolutely appalling report over the weekend (mid-July 2023) which shows that the Christian Fellowship beliefs and practices are plain evil in their outworking. They are so blinded by the "we are religiously right" spirit, that their hearts and minds are so seared, they are unable to even respond in the smallest amount of gracious love to a family member without using the occasion to be vindictive and stick the knife in.
This wicked religious spirit which drives all the teachings and social interactions within the Christian Fellowship has long ago lost all connection to love, compassion, gentleness and kindness. They are so spiritually and socially blinded they can't even read the room temperature when someone is trying to tell them that they love them. They have become like the modern day Pharisees.
They are blind like the Pharisees in John 9: 30-34. Jesus had compassionately healed a blind man, yet the Pharisees would not believe, and even threw the blind man out of the Synagogue!
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Just like the Pharisees, the leadership at all levels within the Christian Fellowship, both husbands and wives, are so blinded and their consciences so seared, they can not even see love when it is in front of them.
The faulty teaching philosophy and twisted theology which underpins the Christian Fellowship beliefs and actions, is so fractured that they have completely lost sight Christianity 101.
For those who might be new to this forum and are reading this, essentially, the Christian Fellowship group believes that they, and they alone, have the special revealed word from God. That they and they alone have the truth and that they are the only one true church. Both in their teachings and in their personal discussions and heart attitudes, they believe that they have a superior word/revelation, and because of this, all other people who profess Christ as their Saviour are either a lessor lower level form of Christian, or more likely the CF believe that all other non-CF christians are not even christians at all and will not be saved. The CF believe that you MUST be fellowshipping with the CF in order to be saved. If you don't fellowship with them, then they believe you are not saved and they will just cut you off and actively shun you. They believe that if you formerly fellowshipped with them and have left the CF, then you have lost your salvation (I was told this personally by CF elders). They might not preach this belief actively from the pulpit today but they absolutely certainly speak about this in private and counselling conversations. This belief has been going on for at least 45 years that I know of and shows no signs of changing.
This type of belief structure puts the Christian Fellowship squarely into the group of cultish churches which include: the Exclusive Brethren, The Jehovahs Witnesses etc. The fruit and actions are all the same, they just dress it up slightly differently. All believe they have a special revealed word and they alone have the single source of truth.
However the fruits they exhibit to others clearly signals which camp they actually belong to. They are absolute hypocrits and liars. They will be nice as pie to some people in their circle and group, but as mean and nasty and actively vindictive to people who are not fellowshipping with them.
If you in the Christian Fellowship and are reading this, please pray and ensure you read your bible. In fact read your bible more than you read Vic Halls latest pamphlet or booklet with the latest "present word". The scriptures in the bible are unchanging present word. The other thing I would urge people in the Christian Fellowship is this. If you feel what you are being told, or see things that are going on that just jar you soul and spirit a little bit, if you read the bible in context and then feel something is slightly off in what you are being taught, or what some elder or leader has told you, then that is a little spiritual radar deep inside you going off saying "all is not right". If a Christian Fellowship leader says something in conversation that seems a bit off and doesn't quite fit with what you read in the bible, particularly in the areas of love, compassion, gentleness, kindness and forgiveness, then please listen to that little voice inside of you saying "this doesn't feel or sound right, this doesn't really fit with the scriptures of Jesus teachings". If you hear a leader speaking in a negative slightly scoffing dismissive way about someone who has left the Christian Fellowship then please listen to the little spiritual radar. Thousands of people have left the fellowship over the decades. The CF leaders will always say that the person who left was "unsubmissive, rebellious, independent etc etc". They always use negative labels against others to try and keep justifying themselves.
Please listen to that little voice, and pray to your Father in Heaven that He can reveal His loving truth and His compassionate and forgiving ways to you.