I am currently reading through the minor prophets in the Old Testament. The thing that came to me, a literal epiphany, is how much I have invested in conformance to and association with specific church traditions, not unlike probably the most visible example being the traditions of the Pharisees and the Sadducees in the New Testament. It is like, intellectual, I understood (understand) the concepts and try to practice them, but have given precedence to the traditions of my community over and above those things that God so clearly revealed in scripture. The further I get down this path away from those presume authority authority that is wholly unwarranted to enforce community traditions, the more I realize that it is only those things God demands and Jesus articulated that should hold sway in my life. Finding those of like mind, giving precedence to God, is what will lead Lorena and I into the kind of fellowship God wants for us.