Source: https://www.bertha-dudde.org/en/proclamation/0400

0400 Leaving the mother church....

May 5, 1938: Book 9

The biggest foolishness in life takes place when people withdraw from the church they belong to. The circumstances the clergy find themselves in nowadays are not easy.... they do everything possible to help the church keep its sheep and yet one after the other isolates itself and often no longer finds its way back.... It is then exceptionally difficult to influence the souls of such deserters even though this is and indeed should be every clergyman’s task. Now the Lord puts the gift of teaching into the hands of His chosen servants.... not to push the clergy out of office but to help them, so that people outside the church also receive the blessing of God’s Word. But who listens to and accepts the Word....

It is indescribably difficult for someone having voluntarily separated himself from the church to submit to God’s commandments.... It is not as if he did not have the opportunity to walk the right path.... If his heart dictates what is pleasing to the Lord and he follows this voice he will very soon reach a level which can lead him to much further ascent.... but usually people who have separated from their mother church are not at all interested in purely spiritual matters. They deny everything and are therefore in an extremely unsafe position by delivering themselves to evil powers, since they give up all support which the church had still provided to them and are far more likely to become entirely unbelieving, and their whole direction of thought only applies to the present.... but they deny life after death, which is generally the reason why they have separated from their previous belief. If these people are confronted by great hardship one day they won’t know where to turn.... then they will look for their God and don’t know where to look for Him....

The clergy will never again be able to keep up the old discipline, it has lost the strength which makes the task of the messengers of God’s Word easier, because they themselves often lack true profound faith as well.... They cannot any longer support with holy eagerness what they are teaching, and thus one thing explains the other. God’s Word has to come to life in the messenger.... anyone speaking to the people has to be permeated by true love for the Saviour. Then every word flowing from his mouth will be spoken by the Lord Himself.... then every word will also enter into the human beings’ hearts, and the small flock of people on earth which follows the Saviour and is willing to serve Him, will unite ever more closely. But anyone leaving the mother church surrenders himself to divine grace if he does not voluntarily bring himself in his heart to accept the divine doctrine.... Such struggle of heart is of immense value at the present time if you do not want to perish. The soil is being prepared wherever a community congregates to hear God’s Word, and if a person’s love is active as well the earthly child will soon feel the blessing of God’s Word by being able to penetrate the divine teaching ever more and by receiving the right understanding for God’s Word.

And thus the foundation of faith is laid in such a community, and if a faithful, God-serving shepherd is in charge of this community the Lord’s Words will soon take root in the hearts of the believers, and they will be correctly guided onto the path of ascent. Therefore remain faithful to your mother church and don’t leave it, for every church can give you the foundation for your own progress of ascent if you don’t just listen with your ears but also with your hearts to what your Heavenly Father is telling you through His servants. Therefore, when you hear God’s Word you should know that the Lord Himself is speaking to you.... you should know that everyone who serves the Lord has been chosen to proclaim the Word, that one day there shall be a great harvest.... and respect all workers in the vineyard of the Lord.... Any person proclaiming His Word has been given the task and strength by Him.... thus listen to him and the blessing of God’s Word will always come over you....

Amen

Translated by Heidi Hanna