De-Commissioned Forum

	My understanding of the Great (C)ommission: \| 27 Jan 12
13:10:41 by Neverbeengcm \| Views: 92 \| Comments: 6 The Great (C)ommission was an idea Jim McCotter came up with and several other people helped make more popular. They picked and chose specific parts of the scripture that suited their needs. They omitted sentences/parts in those same Bible verses that didn’t support their needs or intended message in their sermons. The plan was brilliant: 1 – They came up with creative interpretations of parts of the New Testament that gave power to only a few people in the church (the leaders, pastors and elders). They called themselves leaders (nobody else gave them that power), they hinted that they were Apostles (sometimes directly stated this) and practiced preaching this creative doctrine until they became good at it. These guys were at the top of their pyramid scheme and benefitted the most from it. 2 – Most men have one need that is primarily stronger than all others. Men want sex from women! Jim and his crew used that need to their advantage. They had their pastors/leaders preach that women are to serve men(they call it submitting). That way the women in their church will feel that they must “submit” to their husbands at their husband’s whim. What guy wouldn’t want that (secretly)? The men were getting all the sex they wanted because the Bible teaches women that they have to submit (according to McCotter). Now they had the men with substantially more power over the women in their homes. The men were not likely to rebel against that. 3 – They found the most likely group to be brainwashed. The target group for their new pyramid scheme was 18 year old kids who were lonely freshmen in college. Most of these kids had recently left their homes for the first time. They were looking for some way to fit in with something at school. If you get 1% of the new students at a college with 20,000 students you now have 200 kids to use to recruit other kids. McCotter and crew made it seem like a good Christian youth group…with some cruel selfish twists…very clever. 4 -They went after a few good looking young religious minded girls. These young beautiful college aged girls were to be used to recruit more young men by having them up front in the recruiting efforts. These girls were visually seen but their words were not as important as the words of the leaders. They were only used for advertising to get young men interested. The young men who bit on the possibility of getting these pretty women were used to get the attention of more young women and vice-versa. 5 - Once they had enough kid’s attention, a few parties were planned with some kind of seemingly harmless activities. Each party had some kind of prayer or bible lesson attached to it. After a few parties, the kids became more comfortable with McCotter’s Bible because of the continued repetition at these social gatherings. 6 – Now the heavy brainwashing could take place. McCotter’s crew led some activities where kids were taught to get “pumped up” on Jesus. Soon, these young 18-20 year old kids had their daily schedules planned by the church. Every night had some religious purpose and it was all in the name of Jesus. They were slowly and subtly taught the rules according to McCotter. The women, over time, were eventually brainwashed into believing that God wanted them to “submit” to men and that their primary purpose was to bear and raise children. The men (and everyone else) had to “submit” to the church leaders. It was in the Bible. We have to follow what it says in the Bible…right? These same kids were used to get money for the church. Undoubtedly, Part of the take may have found its way to McCotter and company. 7 – Married couples would have their nights planned as well. Daily bible and religious functions were the rule. Family time and time with non GCx people was limited by this scheduling. Only married people were allowed to have a “date night”. Single people had a responsibility to pray daily and to avoid the “sins of the flesh”. Dating was not permitted unless it was OK’d by a church leader and only within the members of the cult. Dating was only for the purpose of marriage. The rules of dating were quite strict. Sex was saved for marriage so that the men in the group would have virgins as wives. Flirting with members of the opposite sex was prohibited unless the couple had permission to date. Personally intrusive rules were given for things to do while dating. Even sex positions were discussed by church leaders to members of the flock. 8 – Bible passages were interpreted to say that everyone had a responsibility to report members of the church who talked about disagreeing with the “McCotter Doctrine”. This dissention was to be met with leaders having guilt sessions and late night prayer sessions with anyone who questioned the word of the leaders. Everyone was supposed to spy on everyone. That way anyone who would question the twisted teachings would be met with a penalty. If a person did not “submit” to the church leaders, they would be excommunicated or shunned. This penalty helped control the flock. The methods used by McCotter are still used today. Parts of the Bible that go against GC teachings are Omitted (Great Omisson) from teachings by leaders. Nobody in the GC is allowed to question what the leaders say or do. Shunning still happens if you escape from the church. There still are thousands of college kids who have their daily schedules controlled by power-hungry church leaders. The church intrudes on the personal lives of family members. People who don’t “submit” to the church doctrine are faced with penalties (including late night visits, shunning by the church members and public emotional floggings). Is this somewhat correct? What do you think?
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	RUN from the FAKE Life \| 25 Jan 12
10:18:38 by Janet Easson Martin \| Views: 66 \| Comments: 0 "having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have NOTHING to do with them." 2 Timothy 3:5 I watched an enlightening study today on Spiritual Discernment: in loving with spiritual knowledge and discernment so that you are not seduced by the evil one because of your emotions. Today on 'Wednesdays with Beth' on Life Today with James and Betty Robison. Please watch her on TV or internet download at www.lifetoday.org/video/?search=Beth20%Moore What I got out of it was: how we are to love others, but not blindly, not having relationships with those who we like or who seem nice but practice something that is not 'ringing true' or not quite right. When our emotions tell us to proceed, but our gut (often the Holy Spirit) tells us to question it. Similar to a boyfriend or fiance we swoon over but has lied to us once and again and again. Because of what we have need of, we may well ignore these signals for reason that the offer appears to supply our yearning (known or unknown). So today, I fished for the memory of the first encounters with GCx when my gut similarly reacted. I never really had the time or freedom then to process what was taking place. Clues in my gut started on the first night when I was being swooped off, after having truly received Christ that evening (through a sister in Christ that I look forward to fellowshipping with in heaven), to be baptized that same evening without much time to consider the proposition. The next day, not wanting to be "disobedient", I submitted to it under compulsion. It was a scary, uncomfortable experience with strange people praying over me, however giving me LOTS of attention. My head was spinning probably because others were "turning me so quickly" I couldn't get my bearings; instead of myself and GOD alone making a thoughtful and personal choice to feel at peace about. The Word in James says wisdom is first peaceable, then pure. Soon after, they came to visit and to tell me I didn't need to wear make-up or "attractive" clothes anymore. I wanted to please Christ and thought perhaps giving these things up would do that, but I still knew something was a little weird, gut clue number two. BUT, these people were SOOOOO nice to me. Now I realize they were indoctrinated with conniving persuasion that told them they were more "important" and "spiritual" if they attracted "ducklings to follow them around, which was founder's demand of proving one's spirituality and committment", and sadly one of his many deceptive schemes to use others to build up "his" church. These "fruitful people" were well rewarded with accolades and greater honor, only as long as they were bringing more into the fold. When they stopped serving the purposes of the egotistical leaders they were dropped like a hot potato. Then, the third was not hard to recall. Within the same week I was "properly collected" by someone who stuck herself to me. Now, I realize that God does not intend for frienships to be sticky like glue. These are messy entanglements, in this case part of a greater web which serve only to come between us and God, to take the place of God. The Bible tells us Jesus is to be the only friend that is to stick closer than a brother. He IS THE ONE we are to be CODEPENDENT ON. Anyhow, we were on our way to a fellowship supper when I commented on how cute I thought one guy in particular was, then was promptly notified "Oh, WE DON'T date-". Although stunned in my gut, everything was happening so fast I must have traded this new "permanent-built-in relationship" with these people for this strange requirement. It was mesmerizing but fun because of new "friends" and singles to hang out with. Little did I know how these "instant friends" would require much more of me, and that these relationships were far from God's idea of unconditional love. They, like me, traded in sincerety and truth for "undivisive unity" and "club eliteness purity". We forsook the love of our Bridegroom for the acceptance of the people in God's name. In fact, along with them, we perpetuated a FAKENESS of GODLINESS that came straight from the top. We knew the "rules" and sweated to keep them. I didn't have a clue that the founder, still very much in charge, was more like the godless men in 2 Timothy 2:14 - 3:9. His fruit REALLY and SADLY was selfish, greedy, boastful, proud, abusive, disrespectful of parents, ungrateful, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, brutal, treacherous, rash, conceited, -- having a form of godliness (Oh! what a cold smelly fish he could sell as a warm fuzzy sweater) but denying its power. Godliness' power and effectiveness is shown in its real fruit, not its pretensions. (Certainly not the number of people you catch by hook or by crook.) It makes me want to cry that I submitted to this man of such depraved character that would steal, wreck, and destroy so many lives. Like the Word of God says, wolves in sheeps clothing treacherously lead unknowing and ignorant sheep into their lair. They then eat them alive. BUT GOD RAISES THE SPIRITUALLY DEAD! I AM LIVING PROOF OF IT. YOUR GREATEST DAYS ARE YET AHEAD, GOD PROMISES IT! The poor and needy search for water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. But I the LORD will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it. _{Isaiah 41:17-20} Seeking to Rest in The Sweetest of Hands, Janet Easson Martin _{Disclaimer: This is just a blog on a forum, so I have not done any final edits.}
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	Warning About Faithwalkers \| 07 Dec 11
07:28:47 by Linda \| Views: 413 \| Comments: 2 I wanted to take a minute to write to students and parents of students who attend Great Commission churches and stumble upon this forum. I just looked at the Faithwalkers page and was surprised to see a little blurb entitled "Honoring Parents". Here is what it says: Quote from: Faithwalkers blurb Faithwalkers is designed to help young people grow in their love for God. It is clear from the Scriptures ("Honor your father and mother." Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:2) that God places a high value on young people honoring their parents. Christmas time is an especially important time for most families. This is particularly so for families who have college students who are away from home during the school year. Therefore, if you are a college student, we ask that you make a special effort to honor, love, and serve your parents and your family during the Christmas holidays. In addition, it is our hope and prayer that every student who attends Faithwalkers will do so in a way that is honoring to God and honoring to his or her parents. A previous poster had mentioned this blurb, but my understanding was that it was in conjunction with the GCM winter conference called "Ignite". I am surprised to see it on the GCC Faithwalkers page because, in my experience, Great Commission does not honor the parent/child relationship. Our first realization of this was at a HSLT (high school leadership week in Colorado with other GC churches) where our daughter was asked to commit to "The 10 Commitments". This was a list of things, most innocuous, like "read your Bible every day", or "pray". The one that was deeply disturbing and, in the end, the game changer for our family was "Devote Myself to my Local Church for the Rest of My Life". Here is a quote from that talk: Quote from: Mark Darling, HSLT I made a determination as a young man to not leave my church in Ames until and only when I was sent. I was sent. Now, there is, of course, maybe a unique exception within "our movement" and it's a beautiful thing it's why some of us moved to different cities, big metropolitan areas. One, you may need a job and you can still stay linked with Great Commission Churches because you can find one in that city. Secondly, you may be leaving your local church to go to college to join another Great Commission Church that's like minded and I think that will equally accomplish the same thing. I'm here for life. You're not getting rid of me. I'm here. Mark Darling is a gifted and charismatic speaker, my point is not to say he is a bad person, or everything he says is wrong. My point is to say that mixed in with some very good things, he teaches some very bad things. In this case what he taught was that high school students, who are still under the authority of their parents should make a commitment to attend a Great Commission Church for the REST OF THEIR LIVES. This is wrong on so many levels. A few years later, at Faithwalkers, a top dog guy, Rick Whitney gave a talk on Commitment to Great Commission FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. In that talk, he tells high school students that they are still under the authority of their parents, but parents should get out of the way of their 20 year olds and let the church take over. My paraphrase, of course, but I do suggest you listen to the entire talk. The part I am referring to is about halfway through it. Here is the link, the talk I am referring to is "Totally Committed to the Local Church": http://gccweb.org/conferences/faithwalkers/west/2008teachings_west.html One thing GC is good at is keeping up appearances. They have a 13 page error statement from 1991. They still do all the things they apologized for, but they get to "look" like they apologized. They even named their apology "Project Care". They teach that 16 year olds should commit to their local church for life, then a few years later teach that parents decide where their children will go to church, but they never correct the old bad teaching and, in fact, leave it up for all to hear. Mark Darling never contacted the high school students he misled. He had all their addresses. Rick Whitney was there and knew he said that and 3 years later, gave this talk with a pitiful nod towards parental authority. Knowing what I know about this group, I find it a little disingenuous that they put up a blurb acting as if they were suddently concerned about parent/child relationships. Maybe they are, but if so, they had better take down the talks that teach the opposite and issue some statements about how they were wrong. That would be a start.
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