Documentary about GCM

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[TVProducer1000]

Hi there,

I'm a producer for a national TV network, and I need your help.

I was part of a GCM church until just a few years ago, when I left the area to pursue a career in television. I moved to a major US city, which thrusted me into the world...a world filled with so many people who were raised outside of the church. Little did I know that they would help show me how wounded I was as a result of being a part of that organization.

I could go down the list of the ways the church really hurt and boxed me in... being encouraged not to read books by authors w/ beliefs contradictory to my own. Being taught that non-believers are pretty much inferior. Don't even get me started on dating/courtship/sexuality issues i struggle deeply with still. The fact that one of my best friends today is a gay atheist would be enough to make some GCM church leaders have a stroke. I may not have believed it if someone told me that's who'd I'd befriend... It's been a really difficult journey into manhood, trying to reconcile the crazy ideas I was taught with what I actually see in the world. It's really, really hard...

Some of the ideas spread in that church has poisoned my worldview, and I am working hard to blast through it all. Some of you have worse stories than mine, I'm sure. And I want to hear from you.

I am interested in creating a documentary or docu-series about young people and religion, and I'm particularly interested in GCM - how it has affected people involved with it... I'm looking for stories like these:

* A 20-something year-old who is now an atheist/struggling with faith as a result of participating with a GCM church
* Someone who has dedicated their lives to deprogramming ex-GCM members
* Wannabe Whistleblowers -- Current and/or recent ex- GCM staff members who have major grievances with the church (issues that non-christians could understand) who have serious reasons for not wanting to speak out
* Young people who want to seek counseling as a result of being a part of the church
* Young people who are struggling to adjust to the real world upon leaving a GCM church

I also would love these kinds of stories:
*GCM members who are staunch supporters of the organization
*Recent college grads who've decided to dedicate their lives to GCM despite spending thousands on a degree
*Young GCM members passionate about the Great Commission
*Young people considering joining a GCM church
*Young men, women, and couples fundraising to become GCM staff members

I am not interested in bashing GCM. I benefitted a lot from the church, but the wounds run paralyzingly deep... I want to encourage people to think clearly, to have the courage to ask questions, and to have the courage to live from an authentic place, as early in their life as possible.

I'm interested in how people believe what they believe, and how it serves them. I'm interested in telling this story, as I think most parents never think that their children may be participating in a group some people consider a cult. Parents worry about their kids drinking and partying too much instead of going to class - but did they think their kids may be skipping class to evangelize?  How much good and how much harm is GCM creating, if any? I want to explore it all.

If anything here applies to you or someone you know, or if you have better ideas not listed here, please message me. I'm trying to pore over all of the blog entries here. If you have links to some i need to read, please let me know!! Thanks!!!!

[EverAStudent]

Greetings tvproducer1000.

You do not say what is your current spiritual state.  You hint that it may be atheist.

Something that always worries me when an unbeliever approaches this forum is that they want to blame GC for all their distresses, but upon examination many of their most serious issues are related to disagreements with Christianity and not specifically with GC. 

Christianity as a Bible-centered belief system (and a relationship with the living Christ) does emphasize purity of thought and body (like not having sex outside of marriage in either a heterosexual or homosexual manner).  That demand for righteous living is not unique to GC.  Trying to live a sanctified life without having saving faith in Christ is a disaster in the making...it is not possible and only leads to heartache and problems. 

Of course GC has its problems with being domineering and overly controlling of its members.  But, by way of contrast, Christ does want us to think broadly and to befriend the world (just read the Bible for that advice!) while also living an upright and Holy Spirit-filled life. 

Be sure your criticisms of GC are unique to their denomination/sect and are not accusations against Christianity itself.  Of course, you can criticize Christ and Christianity if you want to, but you ought to do so accurately, targeting the Bible and not GC in those instances when GC is simply holding to the values that any other believing church would hold. 

It is not always easy for an unbeliever to grasp the difference between a faulty implementation of Christianity (as GC is guilty of having done) and legitimate implementations of Christianity that the unbeliever finds offensive.  The Humanist Manifesto I and II gets it right when those documents state that to atheists all belief in a supernatural saving God is harmful and dangerous to both the culture and to the pysche of every atheist.  Belief in the biblical God is upsetting to those who think there ought to be no outside parameters or mores of life imposed upon them. 

Please be certain of what you are "exposing," Christianity as a religion or GC as a faulty implementation of Christianity.

[Ned_Flanders]

Hi Tvproducer1000,

I just sent you a PM.  Please contact me.

Ned Flanders

[TVProducer1000]

To clarify:

I am interested in exploring how young people manage religious lives in college... the extremes... the benefits... the negatives... the positives...in an environment where many students typically put partying at the top of their to-do lists.

I find GCM particularly interesting because of my own experience with it, as well as its unique position -- being a missionary-based organization with a focus on college ministry, in which its staff members fundraise their salaries. It would be ridiculous of me to blame an entire organization for my experience - which wasn't ALL bad. I grew a lot in my faith while there. But I could've grown a lot more, had I had the courage to blast through some of the issues I experienced with the church.

If there is anything to be exposed, that will be left to those people whose stories lend itself to that.

Thanks for your comments, and please let me know if you have anything to share.

[arthur]

 Why do you want to make this documentary? What do you want it to accomplish? Who will profit from this documentary? How will it lead people to live from "an authentic place?" Are you authentic? How can we know?

 Forgive my suspicion, but your open solicitation makes me very nervous. I hide my identity as many here do, including you. You've publicly posted that you want to make a documentary for a TV network. An invitation for so many of us who have been hurt to air our grievances in a public way. Sounds like an invitation to be part of something that could be used for very bad things.

If you mean well, then please think carefully about what it is you mean to do, because you could unintentionally hurt a lot of people if you do it badly.

[Linda]

As I recall, several years ago, maybe 6 or 7 years, someone here mentioned that a Des Moines TV station had done an expose on the college group at Drake. That might be a place to start. Anyone remember what station that was? Anyone remember how they approached the group? Anyone know how to get a copy?

[Huldah]

TVProducer1000,

I don't claim to speak for this forum or its owner. However, for a number of years, I was the moderator at another forum where there were fairly frequent requests from people claiming to be TV producers (and, in fact, many of them were actual producers for major network shows). It was the policy at the other forum for all such requests to be made privately to, and approved by, the forum owner, prior to the producer's posting the request in the forum. This gave the owner a chance to vet and verify the identity of the producer, and to weed out any scams or alleged "producers" who weren't all they claimed to be.

In no way am I suggesting that you're not what you claim, nor am I trying to usurp the privileges of this forum's owner, if he prefers a different policy. However, for future reference, it seems to me that approaching a forum owner before soliciting participants would be a safer and more professional approach.

While you're here, would you care to share a little more about your own experience in GC? And how would you classify yourself spiritually, at this point? Do you still consider yourself a follower of Christ?

[AgathaL'Orange]

Linda, I think it was WHO, but I'm not sure.  The other major channels in the area would be KCCI and WOI.  There is also KDSM a fox station.  I am almost positive it was WHO, but I can't remember.  I tried and tried to get a copy, but never could.

[Linda]

Agatha, do you remember anything about it? I seem to remember some GC leaders posted about it (kind of making fun of it) and then removed their posts.

I have such a deep sorrow for all the families who have been affected negatively by this group.

[trthskr]

I think the news report was either KCCI or WHO.  I was in Alive at the time and we were just so proud of how Hukee had "handled it". Gosh we were so dumb.  I'm finally at a place where I'm not really angry anymore, as Ive moved on with my life, but I strongly dislike most people involved in leadership.  I honestly don't think anymore that a documentary would do any good.  People in the church don't realize that it's a cultish church and can't be convinced that it isn't.  The only way people get out of the church is if God opens their eyes and they take the leap to leave on their own.