ECC Rebrand

Welcome to De-Commissioned, a place for former members of the Great Commission movement (aka GCM, GCC, GCAC, GCI, the Blitz) to discuss problems they've experienced in the association's practices and theology.

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[IWishToRemainAnonymous]

https://evergreenchurches.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/360001

[New Me.]

Hi, I am Agatha.  I purposefully locked myself out a long time ago.    But I reregistered just to say:

Ew.  Yuck.  Wow.  They never quit!  Change the name so it isn't affiliated with anything bad anymore.

[Janet Easson Martin]

Agatha, I agree.  A church who’s leadership has been acting in a corrupt manner, hiding the ongoing perverted abuses (according to multiple victims and witnesses) of at least one “pastor” for decades; never truly coming clean by remorsefully and publically apologizing to its victims who have been verbally and physically “molested” (with perverted speech and contact) under such leadership; now chooses to conceal the unclean mess under a new label!  That is deception and a stench!

Not to mention that the corrupt pastor held a high position on the national board of directors for the organization that started that church.  The National directors of GCx [GCM, GCC] turning a blind eye to his reported actions and a deaf ear to the public exposure of them makes their integrity bear resemblance to a sham.

According to God’s Word, it seems likely that His sentiments are even stronger than ours.  Through Isaiah God speaks to the corrupt false prophets, some of whom were his own people.  Below he speaks to “Jacob” whom he loved.  The leaders of this church, the GCx board of directors, and even the members would do well to consider His words:

The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; ...
All the people will know it —
who say with pride and arrogance of heart,
“The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”

But the people have not returned to him...
nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.
So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail...
the elders and prominent men are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

Those who guide this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.

Isaiah 9:8-10,13-16

[margaret]

"On top of that, you will also be able to purchase some sweet new swag!"

What an opportunity.

[Linda]

Interesting article.

I wonder if the new name is on this list.

https://thomrainer.com/2018/06/contemporary-trends-church-names/

[Linda]

Here is a link to the mention of the "rebrand" starting at the 22 minute mark.

https://www.evergreenbloomington.com/message-library?sapurl=LytydHQ4L2xiL21pLytycDJuczZyP2F1dG9wbGF5PXRydWUmYnJhbmRpbmc9dHJ1ZSZlbWJlZD10cnVl

The message is relevance and excellence and demanding that the church members serve.

It is profoundly sad to me that the leaders who knew about the abuse in 2001 and did nothing think they can simply change their name and move on after playing dumb when Suzanne first tweeted, costing the church untold thousands in attorneys fees, preaching sermons against Suzanne, and never apologizing personally for publicly trying to discredit her.

I don't see how the church can succeed until they do this.

A change of heart is needed. Not a change of name.

I know there must be some in leadership who see this. Please, speak up and make things right with the women.

FYI: The other churches also referenced the name change and "excellence" theme in their services last weekend.

[Linda]

One other odd thing I gleaned listening briefly through the messages mentioning the roll out of the new name and brand is that Spencer mentioned that he accidentally learned the new name because it was Cc'd on an email.

What?

Not only was the congregation not involved in deciding whether or not they needed a new name and strategy and logo.

Not only was the congregation not consulted on what that name should be.

One of the "top" pastors wasn't even in on this.

This leaves me to assume that the two "head honcho" pastors (who covered up MD's indiscretions by doing nothing and proceeded to bad mouth Suzanne and never apologized) hired a consulting firm (at great expense, I might add) to assure Google searches wouldn't produce negative results.

[Linda]

Janet thanks for your post.

These words are especially appropriate and a somber warning.

I know GCC people think we are the enemy, I wish they could see us as friends trying to warn there is danger ahead.

The leaders of this church, the GCx board of directors, and even the members would do well to consider His words:

The Lord has sent a message against Jacob; ...
All the people will know it —
who say with pride and arrogance of heart,
“The bricks have fallen down, but we will rebuild with dressed stone;
the fig trees have been felled, but we will replace them with cedars.”

But the people have not returned to him...
nor have they sought the Lord Almighty.
So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail...
the elders and prominent men are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.

Those who guide this people mislead them,
and those who are guided are led astray.

Isaiah 9:8-10,13-16

[Janet Easson Martin]

Yes, Linda, we are not standing against the Bible, or fellowship of believers, or sharing God’s tremendous love and redemption for others, and certainly not against Christ himself.  We are standing against the crushing Authoritarianism of the leaders, Alienation from family and friends, Abashment of confidence in oneself, and Aberrant teaching and practices common in the operation of the organization.  We were once inside it and know of its destructive effects.

I, myself, was crushed inside it because of these abuses, but didn’t know the abuses they practiced were NOT of God. I like thousands of people in this group was persuaded that I wasn’t dedicated to enough to God. Thus, I wrongly believed I was shamefully guilty; and wore myself out infinitely trying to get “God’s” approval.  Approval before God in GCx is like a dog chasing its tail.  It is a vain effort at serving a man-made idol. It is an impossible burden. After I left I had nightmares for years that I was still “captive” there.  

Please read from a former member below who likely represents hundreds, perhaps thousands of former members in the effect this group had on his personal confidence and power.  This iswhy we write here.  We don’t want others to continue to suffer spiritual abuse. You are not allowed to discuss such realities if in the group; and no one is allowed to listen to others if they’re out. Think about this type of control. Does the Bible support it?  This is “Lording It Over” in action. Something Jesus WARNED about.


I, too, have dreams that I am still in rooms with leaders or that I am somehow still under their authority. In those dreams, I am looked upon as suspect and treated [as] inferior. I used to have those dreams a few times each week. Now, it is less frequent but I think it may be about once a month. ... Also, I was not the only one who contemplated suicide as a way out. I know that others did too. I hope more people begin to speak out so that it never comes to something like...
-Outtathere


The testimony cries out to those still in the group of unnecessary pain you are enduring, unnecessary shame you are bearing, and unnecessary silence you are succumbing to.  Consider his and others’ real stories to see why we speak out.  The verse below speaks of the unnecessary pain and shame those under bullying shepherds really experience.

“These are the horns that scattered Judah so that no one could raise their head,
but the craftsmen have come to terrify them and throw down these horns of the nations who lifted up their horns against the land of Judah to scatter its people.”
Jeremiah 1:21

[Linda]

FYI: Evergreen’s new name is “Hometown Church”.

[PietWowo]

FYI: Evergreen’s new name is “Hometown Church”.

That name would make me think of a small little country church.  It doesn't say much more than Evergreen.... Which doesn't make sense to me in a place like Minnesota.  Evergreen should be in place like southern Florida or Hawaii.... Never been to Minnesota, but I would think half of the year, it is green and maybe one month fall colours. The name doesn't make much sense. But whatever.

[Huldah]

FYI: Evergreen’s new name is “Hometown Church”.

What an uninspired and meaningless name, but in one sense, it's brilliant. Using such a generic phrase means that the church is now search-engine-resistant to anyone who wants to learn its history. Hometown Church will be lost in a sea of unrelated "hometown church" search results. There will be no searchable associations with the scandals of the past.

[OneOfMany]

FYI: Evergreen’s new name is “Hometown Church”.

Enough already. Enough blogs, tweets, FB posts, website info and more can shut this travesty down! I am just appalled at the corruption.

[Phoenix]

It is profoundly sad to me that the leaders who knew about the abuse in 2001 and did nothing think they can simply change their name and move on after playing dumb when Suzanne first tweeted, costing the church untold thousands in attorneys fees, preaching sermons against Suzanne, and never apologizing personally for publicly trying to discredit her.

It has been months since I have been here since we left just after the board decision in June 2018.   I came back to see what was being said about the name change.

Never once did I hear anything from the stage that I would have categorized as "preaching sermons against Suzanne" (not at Bloomington anyway).  I am in NO WAY defending them but I think we need to be clear when we make statements and accusations.

[Linda]

We have discussed the sermons in the past. I'll try to find the threads as I have time.

Just curious, do you take issue with the rest of what I said, leaving out for a minute the part about the sermons?

"It is profoundly sad to me that the leaders who knew about the abuse in 2001 and did nothing think they can simply change their name and move on after playing dumb when Suzanne first tweeted, costing the church untold thousands in attorneys fees, preaching sermons against Suzanne, and never apologizing personally for publicly trying to discredit her."

[Linda]

Phoenix,

Perhaps I did not understand your comment. Maybe we are quibbling over the phrase "preaching sermons against Suzanne". I never meant to imply that an entire sermon was preached against Suzanne, as in, "Welcome to ECC, today, I am going to preach a sermon against a woman named Suzanne." What I meant was that there were several sermons that were preached in May and June of 2018 that both directly and indirectly were critical of Suzanne and supportive of Mark Darling.

I have downloads of these "sermons" because many are no longer available. I could figure out some way to get them to you. Maybe dropbox. Not sure, but we could figure it out if you want to listen. These criticisms were made by Brent, Spencer, and Doug, at The Rock, Bloomington, and New Hope. I have them all.

Here's an example where Brent, at the Rock, characterized Suzanne's criticisms as "unfair" and "unjust" and at the same time sings the praises of MD:

"I know your hearts are troubled and mine is too. And I grieve what happened to Mark Darling; it’s been unfair; it’s been unjust.  He’s been alone. It’s been tough.  He’s meant a lot to me over the years.  He has sharpened me in more ways than I can count.  Many times he’s made me uncomfortable.  Do you know what I mean, by that?  He knows how to make us uncomfortable, which is really good.   And I know that I would not even be standing here today if it weren’t for his input into my life.  God’s worked through him to me.  And so my heart is troubled.  But I take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.  The world will not win in the end." –Brent Knox at the Rock

This one was so bad ("preached" a month or so before the final report) that Brent had to issue an "apology? disclaimer" for the audio. Of course, the people hearing the "sermon" live never heard the "apology? disclaimer" only those listening online and I think the disclaimer was very likely a result of this being discussed on the forum.

The pathetic thing was that his "apology" ended with "Enjoy the message," and then the message plays and the first thing he does is say that Mark has been treated unfairly and unjustly and that he grieves about what has happened to him."

GCC churches have always been good at "non-apology" apologies. See the Statement of Error and Apology.

[Heidi]

Did you know that the Hometown church Logo says that “Hometown church”  was established in 1988.  Does something seem wrong with that???

[PietWowo]

Did you know that the Hometown church Logo says that “Hometown church”  was established in 1988.  Does something seem wrong with that???

It was there well before 1988.... But they probably re-established that "church." Then it has gone through several names.... Hometown being the last.... I guess, if you want to give a church a name, you got to think far ahead, what would that name communicate to future generations.... That's why I like names that are solidly based on the Bible.... You won't need to feel like you need to "upgrade" your name.... A great name for a church might be: Grace Calvary Bible Church.  A name like that would tell people far more as to what it is about.... All these "creek" "meadow" "pinetree", who knows whatever name from nature tell very little about the church and it has nothing to do with the church. Living Creek Oak Church.... Unless there is some really huge Oak next to that church by a creek.... it means nothing... So, it's a bit of a waste of a name.... But I think churches like that think that this will draw in unbelievers.... I don't think it will....

[Vince Capobianco]

Hi!  For anyone who would like to actually HEAR Jim McCotter address all these accusations, Jim is willing to take LIVE questions on his weekday podcasts every Friday.  It's time to actually "put your money where your mouth is".  Tomorrow and every Friday at 4pm, you can log onto the podcast on facebook or on his youtube channel...

He's ready and willing to finally address any and all accusations and questions!  You ready to ask?  You can just comment your question, or actually come on live with Jim!  Either way, it's time for the whole truth to come out!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_-a-MOV_qjSKEpLcx9pR3g

https://www.facebook.com/JimMcCotterLIVE

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