Reconciliation for Bill Taylor

Dearest OldTimer,

As I’m sure you know, you are near and dear to God’s heart. He knows most intimately the personal pain and unfounded rejection you have suffered under the GCx organization’s ravenous actions toward you and others that were brutally banished from the church organization’s fellowship with slanderous ill-treatment. I also am so sorry you were put through this abusive conduct.

I agree with many others that there is still serious abuse and deception going on in that organization. To never contact you and probably many others who were rejected and viciously discarded, so that they might actually genuinely apologize for their spiritually abusive treatment, not to mention the fierce labeling and poisonous accusations against your character is most definitely INEXCUSABLE! I’m guessing the only people contacted are those more in the public eye like Bill Taylor, Larry Pile, and a handful of others from documented defamation available on the internet. However, you may possibly be contacted with feigned sincerity now that you have posted your abusive experience with GCx.

I personally do not believe their regret of cruel wrongs they have done is genuine. It seems more of a whitewash. They do not confess specifically or honestly of the gravity of their sinful treatment of their former members. This is definitely evident in the Director’s letter above. I agree with what others who are familiar with the organization and with this letter have said.

This letter is astonishingly proud as it attempts to be humble. Perhaps Hopler did not realize what he was doing as he kept telling us that "Bill did some wrong stuff, too," and then went on to spread some "gossip" about what happened at different church. ... He also neglects to point out to any of the elders reading about this remarkable reconcilliation that one of the things that Taylor was excommunicated for was teaching that unity was important, but truth was more important than unity. This went against McCotter's teaching that unity trumps truth. Taylor stood up for truth, he paid a price. ...

Note here that he still does not say that BT should have not been excommunicated. He merely says that they acknowledge the process was not appropriate. He then says he wants to defend the reputation of the guys who did the excommunicating. He says they were young. (Well, then maybe they were unqualified to be elders). He says their motives were good. (So, then, the end justifies the means?) He says he wants to defend their reputation. It seems to me, the way for them to do that is to be genuinely humble by acknowledging their wrongdoing, repenting, and asking for forgiveness. ...

This would need to be done publicly, since the excommunication was very public. What Hopler and Co. have written above is not a humble apology. It is not humble, nor is it an apology. For Bill Taylor's sake, I'm glad there has been some vindication and this burden has been slightly lifted. I say slightly because it sounds from Hopler's letter that he got off on a technicality. Also, someone needs to inform Hopler and company that Titus 3:10 is still in the play book. It's been softened to more of a social shunning, rather than a full blown excommunication, but they used it on us.
-Linda

They were mad because he said something about Jim McCotter? That's not sin, peeps. ... Why can't they just say: We were wrong. We messed up. We are sorry. ... They need to admit that Bill's teaching that doctrine is very important, more important than unity, and humbly confess this fault.
-Agatha L’Orange

Sadly, what their letter of explanation states is that they think it was primarily their process of discipline that was flawed with regard to Bill Taylor and not their vicious attacks against people trying to correct McCotter's faulty theology. The fact that they even thought about "retrying" Bill and that the "reason" they did not retry him was because it was too long after the fact (35 years later!) such that witnesses to the events could not be found!!!!
There seems to be minimal genuine remorse for their outrageous conduct. In fact, the reality is they do not even now see their conduct as having been outrageous. If they did, they would not have even talked about retrying Bill but rather have thrown themselves on God's mercy, confessing their sins without excuse, and unilaterally asking for Bill's forgiveness. What the letter looks like to me is a business transaction: "Our reconciliation transaction is complete because Bill admitted guilt in equal quantity and value as our own alleged guilt, so the books are now balanced."
-EverAStudent

By the way, what happened in MD’s case seems very much to be his grievous wrongdoing toward members of his congregation that had gone on for years. It is not at all like the kind of “excommunications” or “shunning” that many have witnessed on here. You can read about it on Scout’s posts. Others came forward to tell the “board” of similar treatment by him.

Please tell us if and when you’re ready about the slander and shunning that occurred in 1985. I apologize, but I can’t recall it at present and many reading here may not be aware.

Janet