I spent 3 hours writing my original response to this only to have the electricity flicker as I was about to hit Post.
I don’t have the willpower to recreate it. The bottom line of what I was writing is that I didn’t find Jesus until I found Him in His one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I had quite a sermon going on how, for me, personal holiness is the key. It was what my grandfather spent his life preaching and it’s stuck with me across most of a lifetime. If one isn’t living a holy life then there’s no real point in pretending that one is born again or having a personal relationship with Jesus.
Congregational evangelicalism taught me about hypocrisy, not holiness. It’s what I grew up in... the sweet smile on the face and the knife in the back. I’m a PK, I watched the vile underbelly of “Bible centered churches” and there’s nothing in it that makes it special.
Been there done that Legatus but I found that those people being wrong didn’t make the next “church” right. In fact, I found that “church” most often is not where Christ is. Christ is found in the most quiet solitude of your thoughts after reading God’s word with prayer for help from the Holy Spirit. Test every teaching of every so called “church” and every professed “teacher” by the words of scripture with prayer that the Holy Spirit will enlighten. Following any “church” or any man will always lead you to error of some kind or another. Sincere prayer for guidance from the Holy Spirit with scripture as your only source will fill your soul with gladness and an assurance that no one can take from you.