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Author Topic: New Developments???  (Read 21419 times)
Linda
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« on: March 27, 2019, 02:39:43 pm »

I received an anonymous private message this morning informing me, among other things, that Hopler has written a couple statements regarding the Darling/ECC situation. One was sent to pastors. Not sure exactly who the audience for the other one was. Not sure if they are public, but if there is some type of public statement that someone wants to post, I will correct my comment regarding hearing only "crickets" from Hopler.

The message also informed me that a "statement by John Meyer on future ministry with Mark Darling" is being circulated.
 
For several weeks now, this was the "buzz" I have heard from a handful of sources. I was told a schism is happening in GCC and John and Mark are in the process of starting a new association that will involve the west and southwest regions. In other words, a split is happening over the Darling situation. I sat on this info for a couple months, but, out of curiosity, today, I thought to go to the GCC web page and look at what churches remain.

http://gccweb.org/about/find-a-church/

Lo and behold, Summitview in Colorado and Rio in El Paso are no longer listed as GCC churches. In fact, Rio claims that they are part of the "newly formed M28 Alliance".

http://theriochurch.com/about-us/

Once again, apparently GCx is morphing into a new organization. Good move to remove the GCx from the name! Very clever to refer to Matthew 28. I see what you did there, M28 Alliance. You kept "Great Commission" in your name without using the searchable words "Great" and "Commission" and "Churches".

Added for clarification: Apparently some churches will remain GCC and some will leave GCC and join the newly formed M28 Alliance.

The other thing to point out is that there seems to be division in the ranks. Of course, this will not be presented as division, because the "band of brothers" must be "loyal" till death, so it will no doubt be presented as two groups united in preaching the Gospel to all the world, but with different "viewpoints". Same goal. Different viewpoints. All friends.

Cue the Paul and Barnabas disagreement over Mark sermons. #yourewelcome

« Last Edit: March 28, 2019, 08:35:41 am by Linda » Logged

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Huldah
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« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2019, 07:28:26 pm »

Linda, thank you for the update. It would be interesting to read Hopler's viewpoint on the subject. I hope we get the chance.

For the sake of clarity, for anyone who finds this thread via search engine, I'd like to point out that the the proposed new M28 Alliance is not the same as an existing organization, M28 Ministry. The two appear to be entirely unrelated.
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Janet Easson Martin
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« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2019, 12:58:28 pm »

Doesn’t it seem rather deceptive to borrow an unusual name for a church like “M28” and change it just enough so as not to copy but easily confuse it with the other group?  Perhaps, hoping to borrow the other’s reputation since they have such an atrocious one.  A sly way to collect support.



« Last Edit: March 28, 2019, 01:00:40 pm by Janet Easson Martin » Logged

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Huldah
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« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2019, 02:48:37 pm »

Janet, I was thinking along the same lines. Whether it's a highly generic name like Great Commission or a unique name like M28, they always seem to choose names that muddy the waters.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2019, 03:02:57 pm by Huldah » Logged
DesiringTruth
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« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2019, 09:50:55 am »

The address for M28 Alliance, as registered with the Colorado Department of State, is 347 Morgan Drive, Loveland, CO - the current address for John and Carol Meyer.
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ReaperofGCM
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« Reply #5 on: May 20, 2019, 02:54:17 pm »

This is a very interesting development indeed. I am guessing this link is very out of date https://www.mwrgc.org/mwr-directors/
as this would put him at odds with the rest of GCM.
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GodisFaithful
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« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2019, 10:48:37 am »

Hankering after the good old glory days, GCx leaders seem to be in the throws of secretive back room Re-Branding once again, which is their only hope of not being found out online to be the same old sorry group who never made things right over the Jim McCotter era 500 plus ex-communications and ruining people's lives who didn't quite measure up to their standard of Great Commission Living. They don't make things right or truly and humbly apologize for mistakes and sins. Instead, they Re Re Re Brand. And continue on with the High Handed "Clergy" and Low Level Nobody Followers.

My prayer is that any deceitfulness on their part will be found out, and that people in the system would break free. That their eyes would be open.

The ground is level at the foot of the cross. But some people. who call themselves Christian leaders, are very full of self-importance. Jesus did not teach this kind of leadership.

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Janet Easson Martin
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« Reply #7 on: May 25, 2019, 07:19:51 pm »

I very much agree, GodisFaithful.
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Phoenix
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« Reply #8 on: June 02, 2019, 04:28:13 pm »

Are not John Meyer and Charlie Meyer brothers?

I wonder what is happening to the Rochester, MN church that John planted recently?  Where are his loyalties?
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Linda
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« Reply #9 on: June 11, 2019, 01:26:34 pm »

It looks like they have removed the Mountains West region from GCC.

There were 5 regions: The Plains, Mountains West, Northlands, Heartland, and East Regional Ministries.

They still have 5, but only because they divided the East into two regions.

The current regions are: Southeast, East, Heartland, Northlands, and Plains


http://gccweb.org/ministries/member-ministries/

That said, the web site for Mountains West still exists and the MW GCC web page still lists all the churches that GCC has removed from their roster. Anyone know why this is? Perhaps they just haven't gotten around to removing the page, and the names of the leaders, and the names of the churches from that page.

https://www.mwrgc.org/mwr-churches/
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DesiringTruth
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« Reply #10 on: June 11, 2019, 06:47:07 pm »

I wonder whether the M28 Alliance (still to be watched to confirm), composed of churches from the former GC Western region, are a spin-off to allow Mark Darling a continued platform. I think I would keep an eye on Josh Whitney in Utah. As long as Rick Whitney remains with GC, Josh might be an indication of which way the wind blows for the WesternChurches. I don't think Rick would want Josh to go with the rest if this is a true breakup. Anyone concur or disagree?
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Linda
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« Reply #11 on: June 12, 2019, 09:37:57 am »

The M28 thing is a curiosity.

The Rio Church says they are part of it.

http://theriochurch.com/about-us/

But as far as I've seen, The Rio Church is the only church claiming affiliation publicly.

The rest of the W and SW churches still have not claimed membership in M28, but are no longer part of GCC according to the GCC web site. However, many of those churches still identify in some way with GCC (advertising the upcoming Pastor's Conference or next year's Faithwalkers, stuff like that) on their web pages.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention the private communication I received from "blahblahblah" that I mentioned in a previous post. Blah contacted me originally wanting me to post some things here  to "clear up any confusion" because he/she didn't want to engage on the forum. I don't have any way of verifying whether or not this info accurate, but Blah wanted me to communicate the info (but not copy) his/her message. Here is a summary of what they told me regarding the split.:

—Mark Darling is not involved in heading up M28 with John Meyer

—John Meyer and a few leaders from S and SW churches have split because GCC is no longer following their core values (no idea what that means, just reporting)

—M28 is not a rebranding of GCC, they want complete separation from GCC

—Blah thinks John Meyer will have Mark Darling speak, but is not sure of that.

Blah also mentioned that many men have quit their jobs over the Darling thing. Anyone know anything about that?

Blah wanted me to offer up this info as "anonymous tips" because he/she felt that some misinformation was being communicated on this forum.

I certainly don't want misinformation to be communicated here. If anyone wishes to correct anything that has been communicated, please do so. It's best if you do that directly on the forum where questions can be asked for clarity and not through private messages.






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Linda
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« Reply #12 on: June 28, 2019, 02:43:52 pm »

Does anyone have a clue as to why GCC removed all the Mountain's West Region churches from their "Find a Church" section sometime in the early Spring, yet if you go to many of those churches, you will find they still identify with GCC.

They also are advertising Faithwalkers.

http://gccweb.org/about/find-a-church/

Here are some of the web pages that show they are still identifying with GCC even though GCC does not identify with them.

https://www.mwrgc.org/mwr-churches/

http://www.experiencetherock.com/who-we-are/great-commission-churches/

http://www.beggarsgate.com/our-association.html

The Rio Church has identified as a M28 Alliance church since late March or early April, but they oddly still mention GCC.

"The Rio is a member of the newly formed M28 Alliance and is historically connected with Great Commission Churches. We are united with other like-minded churches for advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. GCC is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals and the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability."

http://theriochurch.com/about-us/

And why would they mention the membership in the NAE and the ECFA for the group they no longer belong to. Do they think that gives them credibility? It is quite odd.
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« Reply #13 on: July 04, 2019, 04:29:23 pm »

I just had to join up because I can't believe this stuff is still going on.  I have personally witnessed soooooo many excommunication meetings, defrocking ceremonies, and general degradation events, from 1972 to the ultimate codification of authoritarian abuse , called "The Joy of Justice" , that hearing about this dust-up with Mark Darling et al gives me pause (or maybe paws).  Being trained to recognize the inherent "Joy" in the Blitz/GCI excommunication practices, I wonder what kind of "Joy" Mark Darling is experiencing with regard to his personal dish of justice that GCC is forcing him to partake of.  The operant question always is "who gets the Joy, and who gets the Justice?"  And I noticed the fearful phrase squeezed out of the vinegar of popish pontification by the all-powerful and all knowing elders; the "Eye of God" men charged with sentencing Mark;  "All these charges which Mark Darling categorically denies."   Does he not know that the absolute innocence affirmed by the one unlucky enough to be caught in this web of evil proves without a doubt his absolute guilt?  This is the Joy of Justice, Mark.  Welcome to my world.
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Rebel in a Good Way
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« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2019, 07:58:21 am »

Good questions about church affiliation.  My guess is that it is not so easy to separate when it comes to tax status and ordination.  So they might be "double affiliated" until they can get all of their paperwork in order?  In at least one denomination, the denomination must vote to accept a church's disaffiliation (not sure if that's the case here).  I'm guess it's just legalities.

Does anyone have a clue as to why GCC removed all the Mountain's West Region churches from their "Find a Church" section sometime in the early Spring, yet if you go to many of those churches, you will find they still identify with GCC.

They also are advertising Faithwalkers.

http://gccweb.org/about/find-a-church/

Here are some of the web pages that show they are still identifying with GCC even though GCC does not identify with them.

https://www.mwrgc.org/mwr-churches/

http://www.experiencetherock.com/who-we-are/great-commission-churches/

http://www.beggarsgate.com/our-association.html

The Rio Church has identified as a M28 Alliance church since late March or early April, but they oddly still mention GCC.

"The Rio is a member of the newly formed M28 Alliance and is historically connected with Great Commission Churches. We are united with other like-minded churches for advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. GCC is a member of the National Association of Evangelicals and the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability."

http://theriochurch.com/about-us/

And why would they mention the membership in the NAE and the ECFA for the group they no longer belong to. Do they think that gives them credibility? It is quite odd.

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« Reply #15 on: July 27, 2019, 08:01:44 am »

I'm also wondering how quickly websites are updated.  GCC still lists The Rock as a church in MN even though they've joined with Urban Refuge.
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« Reply #16 on: August 02, 2019, 02:06:07 pm »

Hey?  Wasn't there a Blitz/GCI/GCC (ad infinitum) church in Houston Texas for at least 47 years?  It seems like it has vanished into thin air.  (I know it wasn't raptured).  When my wife and I were with the Blitz, starting in 1971-72,  Houston was looked at as the crown jewel of the southland.  Wasn't this Herschel's patch?  Herschel in the south, and McCotter in Ames, Iowa.  I know I've been out of touch for years, but this is a shocker to me.  There is now only one church in Texas, and that is in San Antonio? 

Another observation.  "So and so has been a pastor since..." is laughable.  None of us were ever referred to as "pastors."  We were all called "elders."  In fact, "Pastor" was avoided because it sounded too "churchy."  And "lead Pastor"?  Heaven forbid!!!  We were all equals, (ha ha).  I often referred to the leadership structure (even as an elder) as "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."  Of course, Jim McCotter was Snow White. 

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« Reply #17 on: August 03, 2019, 01:15:55 pm »

The El Paso GCC church is gone too.
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Linda
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« Reply #18 on: August 03, 2019, 07:31:35 pm »

The El Paso Church has left GCC and is now affiliated with a new association of churches called M28 Alliance.

Was there a church in El Paso back in the McCotter days?
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« Reply #19 on: August 04, 2019, 04:56:00 pm »

No.  We were involved in Albuquerque and Las Cruces back when the blitz started.  My wife was saved in 1970, the first year of the Blitz.  She was an original in both NM churches.  Our peers are the first generation of GCI, with Dennis, Jim, Herschel, Bill Taylor, and many others that are all gone but Dennis and Herschel.  It was the Las Cruces church that eventually left the Blitz, and then welcomed Bill T. into the fellowship after he was excommunicated in the 1976 fiasco, only to subsequently excommunicate him and many others in 1985.  This mysterious "Not a GCI church," claim for Bill's 1985 dust-up was actually one the first churches founded by the Blitz.  It is now called Bethel Bible Fellowship.  Brooky Stockton and Mack Weaver were the elders.  They were part of the 1970-71 outreach. They conferred with GCI leaders as they were purging their church of Bill Taylor in 1985.  Look up Brooky Stockton and JoAnne Stockton on google to see what kind of people they and others apparently turned out to be.  Why Bill T. would reconcile with these abusive "pastors" at both Bethel and GCC is beyond my scope of understanding.   As I said, I've been out of the loop for probably 30 years but still know alot.  Not sure how much I want to say.  Painful memories.
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