"Daylights" becomes......

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[askingquestionsaboutGCI]

.....guess what??? "Faithwalkers"!!  I picked up a copy on Sunday and was surprised (shocked??) to find Jim McCotter's name mentioned only 13 days into the new version.  http://www.faithwalkersonline.net/journal -- go to "Search Articles" and scroll down to March 13th.

Here's the Forward to the new edition:

Editor's Note

Welcome to the Spring 2009 issue of Daylights, now renamed Faithwalkers. Why the change? For twenty-two years, Great Commission Churches has published Daylights as a devotional to enhance the spiritual growth of church members. The devotional has been written by Great Commission Churches' pastors and their wives. For the past five years, Great Commission has also sponsored Faithwalkers, a national conference with the goal of passing the faith, wisdom and life lessons of an older generation of faith walkers on to the younger generation.

Last fall, we decided to link our devotional to our national conference and adopt the same goal as the conference-passing the faith of older faithwalkers on to a younger generation. So, in addition to the writings of our pastors and their wives, you will now find portions of Faithwalkers teachings. In this way, Faithwalkers journal can remind us of things we learn at the conference, as well as promote listening to the teachings online. Teachings are available online at www.faithwalkersonline.net.

To increase readership by younger readers, Faithwalkers journal is also now available through daily email delivery or by RSS feed at www.faithwalkersonline.net/journal

Editing deadlines have allowed us to include only 18 days of Faithwalkers teachings in this first issue, but the plan is that up to half of each issue will consist of Faithwalker conference teachings.

Enjoy Faithwalkers journal and don't miss next December's conference in Omaha or in North Carolina.

 David Bovenmyer

[lone gone]

I don't see McCotter's name associated with March 13th.  Have they changed it?

[puff of purple smoke]

From http://www.gcachurches.org/journal/default.aspx?date=03-13-2009:

8. A faithwalker has set his heart to never forsake, never leave, never disappoint his fellow teammates. Jim McCotter, one of our early leaders said, "Following the Lord and doing His will, will link you heart-to-heart and shoulder-to-shoulder with the highest quality of men and women upon the face of the earth." He was right. Be loyal to them.

[lone gone]

so they are giving credit for a statement of his that they quoted.  I don't much care..... Satan is quoted in Scripture too.

At least he is noted as one of their early leaders and not as a current person to emulate.

 

[boboso]

Being that I witnessed this for myself and knowing the author, the motive behind the statements is really about control. If you have ever dealt with a control freak, you will understand what I mean. The movement is really attractive to this kind of personality and the control freaks in power love it.

You cannot call them on it as you will be labeled divisive. You cannot tell them they're wrong as it violates the authoritarian setup. Truth doesn't matter. Spiritual maturity doesn't matter.

The model is simple (as written in the link above):
1. Do what we say unconditionally as we know better even though we may have less experience and knowledge.
2. Pay us what we tell you as we know how to spend your money and God says to give it to us.
3. Don't listen to anyone else as they we're afraid you'll go onto another church.
4. Don't leave because leaving us equals divorcing the Church.
5. Bring others into our franchise as we're the only church who understands everything.
6. If you find something contradictory, you are wrong and need to submit.
7. Wash, rinse, repeat.

[puff of purple smoke]

so they are giving credit for a statement of his that they quoted.  I don't much care..... Satan is quoted in Scripture too.
At least he is noted as one of their early leaders and not as a current person to emulate.

I suppose this is a catch 22, but it is dishonest of them to pretend Jim McCotter was "one of the early leaders" when (up until he left) he was well understood to be "the founder." The Church History sermon in 1984 is a good example of this, McCotter explains in detail how he started the movement. McCotter was the most significant member of the great commission movement, but now that he's gone, and due to all the controversy surrounding him, they pretend he was "just another" early leader. I suppose it's good they are trying to distance themselves from McCotter, but when so many of his teachings are still propagated it seems disingenuous and more of a PR move.

[lone gone]

If McC left in 85 or 86, then he was with them for around 15 years. How long has it been since then.... 23 years?  There could be a NEW round of earlier leaders, starting after he left.

This could also be a tacit way of saying,  "Whatever we said about his primacy as leader then, at this time we only see and accept him as an earlier leader and reject our stance on his primacy."

Whether they are control freaks or not, it's best not to read too far into something.

All they did was quote him about serving God. In fact, what he said is true. What it meant for him was something different.

[puff of purple smoke]

Minimizing Jim McCotter's role in the formation of the movement would be a bit like minimizing Walt Disney's role in the formation of Disney. What they are doing is trying to hide his influence on the movement without explicitly repudiating his teachings. McCotter imparted the movement with the dating beliefs, the heavenly vision/strategy to reach the world in this generation, the focus on Evangalism, beliefs on slander, leadership and discipleship ideas, etc etc. Most of the distinctive beliefs that make GC what it is. Many of the people currently in leadership idolized and still do idolize Jim and his teachings. I don't really care who says it or what their motivation is, minimizing his role to "just another early leader" is deceit. In my entire time in GC they never once told me about his importance, even during "GC history" sermons. It took a lot of researching to find out, and I felt very deceived as I learned the truth about the movement's history.

Also, it's was 20 years, not 15. Jim started his "movement" in 1965 in Colorado Springs.

[lone gone]

I wasn't trying to minimize anything about Jim's role in anything. It is safe to say that Dennis Clark had as much to do with the early movement as Jim did. He is still there and the teaching emphasis is the same. He is like a ghost, seldom talked about but equally responsible.


They'd better be careful if they want to resurrect Jim's legacy.

1. He is a poor example right now. Anyone can google him and find the dirt.
2. He might want to come back and claim the right to lead them again.

[Linda]

In my entire time in GC they never once told me about his importance, even during "GC history" sermons. It took a lot of researching to find out, and I felt very deceived as I learned the truth about the movement's history.

Amen, Puff.

We went to ECC for 10 years and NEVER, I repeat NEVER heard the name Jim McCotter.

We did hear of "the early leader" who was persecuted in the Des Moines Register. I believed that story for a few years. Then, when Mark Darling gave the message where he told us we were his bride and leaving the church was tantamount to divorcing our spouse, I Googled and came up with the name Jim McCotter. A few months later, through Marching to Zion, I was able to come up with a date for the Des Moines Register article. I also went to my local library and ordered the microfiche of the November 1978 Des Moines Register Sunday edition. Boy, were my eyes opened.

I was deceived by people I really cared about and, in fact, still care about. It stings.

We asked Mark Darling about Jim McCotter and were told he left to pursue business and media interests. Same old line. Fancy that, I didn't realize that you had to leave a church in order to pursue business interests. Someone should tell that to all the business people who go to church.

Nothing was mentioned about statements of error or apologies. Larry Pile and Paul Martin were written off as a couple of conspiracy theorists. All Mark said was something like, "Jim McCotter wasn't a perfect person," or words to that effect. But, there was obvious affection and admiration. Remember, Jim showed up at Faithwalkers in 2003 or 2004. They were thrilled. His influence has not ended. They still present his teachings and as recently as April of 2006 I'm told he spoke at a GC church in Arizona.

And they still teach "unity is the cardinal doctrine", all the while judging other Christians (like the ones who leave their movement) and demonstrating through this false unity teaching their sectarian and divisive nature. The unity doctrine divides Christian families. The unity doctrine divides friends. The unity doctrine "excommunicated" people. The unity doctrine was wicked and it was taught by McCotter.

But, the good news is that they do mention his name and Google is available to all!

[saved]

From http://www.gcachurches.org/journal/default.aspx?date=03-13-2009:

8. A faithwalker has set his heart to never forsake, never leave, never disappoint his fellow teammates. Jim McCotter, one of our early leaders said, "Following the Lord and doing His will, will link you heart-to-heart and shoulder-to-shoulder with the highest quality of men and women upon the face of the earth." He was right. Be loyal to them.

How ironic... say you should never leave, then quote the one who's gone...

[theresearchpersona]

If McC left in 85 or 86, then he was with them for around 15 years. How long has it been since then.... 23 years?  There could be a NEW round of earlier leaders, starting after he left.

This could also be a tacit way of saying,  "Whatever we said about his primacy as leader then, at this time we only see and accept him as an earlier leader and reject our stance on his primacy."

Whether they are control freaks or not, it's best not to read too far into something.

All they did was quote him about serving God. In fact, what he said is true. What it meant for him was something different.

Being recently out, knowing the groupthink and inspeak, it's not reading too much into it: those statements have heavy baggage attached, and it's not a superficial emphasis at all. : (

Minimizing Jim McCotter's role in the formation of the movement would be a bit like minimizing Walt Disney's role in the formation of Disney. What they are doing is trying to hide his influence on the movement without explicitly repudiating his teachings. McCotter imparted the movement with the dating beliefs, the heavenly vision/strategy to reach the world in this generation, the focus on Evangalism, beliefs on slander, leadership and discipleship ideas, etc etc. Most of the distinctive beliefs that make GC what it is. Many of the people currently in leadership idolized and still do idolize Jim and his teachings. I don't really care who says it or what their motivation is, minimizing his role to "just another early leader" is deceit. In my entire time in GC they never once told me about his importance, even during "GC history" sermons. It took a lot of researching to find out, and I felt very deceived as I learned the truth about the movement's history.

Also, it's was 20 years, not 15. Jim started his "movement" in 1965 in Colorado Springs.

All that is recent: the "this vision" terminology resurfaced and at prayer meeetings they pray and tell people to pray that people will be converted "to this vision": not even kidding--it was one of those things that really urged me RUN AWAY, it's demonic, and those prayers, however, were sincere: conversion to a vision that gives one's life purpose and meaning, finding not losing one's life. : (

[puff of purple smoke]

Another thing:

For twenty-two years, Great Commission Churches has published Daylights as a devotional to enhance the spiritual growth of church members.

GCx changes its name very frequently, and often uses its new names as a cover. "That happened 20 years ago, and we weren't even called GCM back then!" "Criticism of GCI have no relevance to today's movement! We're a different organization!" Yet in communications like this they happily toss aside that excuse. The term "Great Commission Churches" hasn't even been around for 22 years. According to the EFCA website, "Great Commission Association of Churches changed its name to Great Commission Churches (9/1/06)".

To quote from The KANE Report:

Even unavoidable public records are rendered complicated by GCI’s/McCotter’s habits of undertaking frequent moves, both between and within geographic locations, of making frequent and sudden name changes, or of using multiple names for closely associated or even apparently identical entities. Such practices would seem to have no logical purpose other to confuse attempts to examine the group; these practices have characterized GCI for most of its existence.