It's interesting that you say that you USED TO worry about not being persecuted. I was made to feel guilty and ashamed at times that I wasn't being chastened by God (I never really felt disappointed that I wasn't, but legalist Christians enjoy making each other feel guilty and ashamed). This didn't offer much to me in the way of encouragement or growth, but it sure did in my steadfast love and trust in The Lord. What father follows his children around constantly picking on them, especially if they know the right way to live? I guess The Lord figures that as long as we don't go around overturning tables the way Jesus did, then we are a "chip off the old block" and have The Spirit in attitude and heart. People have always used scripture to do whatever they want, and the first mark of a spirit filled life is resisting that temptation (at times, the self-discipline is a challenge). Today, it's not just legalism that is a stumbling block to my brethren, but the impersonalization (loss of identity and defining absolutes) of anything honorable and noble, including the reduction of sovereignity (globalization). The Lord dispersed us at The Tower of Babel because of humanity's tendency to do this and resist being defined/identified by absolutes (the "beast" is us/humanity, satan is just the organizer of evil, WE cause it).

Understanding (instead of interpreting) scripture is a major concern in anyone's Christian growth, but it's the message that must be refined/clarified for those who can't read. The institutions not only teach partisanship, but define the gospel to literary understanding, so it is not only some of the people at CZ who will never understand the gospel, it is those who never learned to read. How much can one person worry about?????????????????????