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Author Topic: The End of GCM  (Read 6847 times)
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« on: July 05, 2016, 06:23:46 pm »

First, a clarification of what I mean by "GCM."

When I say GCM, I'm referring to what is now called "Reliant" (https://reliant.org). I'm not referring to GCAC (http://gccweb.org) or another off-shoot off GCM. I am sensitive to clarify because I am not as familiar with every GCx subsidiary.

Wikipedia defines what I am referring to as:

"Also in 1989, Great Commission Ministries (GCM), under the initial leadership of Dave Bovenmyer, was formed. Its aim was to "mobilize people into campus ministry by training them to raise financial support and by equipping them for campus ministry." and "Great Commission Ministries (GCM) was founded as the subsidiary campus and international mission agency for Great Commission Association of Churches, and began to serve other organizations without a mission agency of their own beginning in 2006.

Note: At some point Jeff Kern was the president of GCM, but is no longer.

Category Shifts Mean Everything

Historically speaking, if you had to chose an organization analogous to Reliant/GCM in terms of ministry category, you would probably have chosen a para-church ministry like InterVarsity or Campus Crusade for Christ or even something like a more traditional denomination. In other words, Reliant/GCM was far more than just an administrative service that had a heart for seeing God's church grow (which has already been discussed on this forum by multiple people, so no need to go into this more here).

GCM has not only changed its name to Reliant, but it has also changed it's whole approach. Consider the new services: https://reliant.org/partner/key-services. Reliant is trying to be denomination and para-church neutral, functioning only as a kind of administrative resource on various levels.

This is huge.

Reliant isn't planting churches anymore (they rely on you to partner with another ministry or organization). And many of the ones that exist under the old name "GCM" are not multiplying.  Sure you have things like the Collegiate Church Network which is still trying to carry on the old GCM flame in many ways (e.g., leadership training)...but it just isn't anywhere near what it was and I don't think it will go the distance in helping re-create and/or surpass the height of where GCM once was.

Though we are seeing some effects of this transition now, we probably will not see the full outcome for awhile.

Take Some Credit

Maybe all this is to say that what we have done on this forum, on wikipedia and other websites has actually helped with this shift. Maybe it was just a small part...or maybe more, but it has definitely done something.

Christ's church will never end or be done...but certain ministries within the church sometimes do end. GCM is one of them. It had a good run; it did a lot of good, but also hurt a lot of people along the way. It's the end of GCM.











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Janet Easson Martin
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« Reply #1 on: July 06, 2016, 04:19:14 pm »

A CLARIFICATION OF SPIRITUAL ABUSE

It is interesting that those who want to defend GCx founders and leaders would actually take credit for this De-Commissioned website started by and serving present and future ex-members!  That they would take credit for other websites uncovering their severe and longstanding spiritual abuse.  That they would pretend that the Wikipedia pages about them are truthful and not deceptive about their real history.

Those who present smokey and false images of themselves so that they lose the evidence of their wicked ways inside, just to remain in 'good standing' with those outside, are not safe places.  How many times have you changed your name and your perceived identity but not the heart of your organization?  It is God who sees and Him who hounds you because of the sheep you have bloodied and ravaged!  You cannot fool him with yet another name change and PR stunt.

If the blind men who were led by blind man, Jim McCotter (alias JDM, J McCotter, James Douglas McCotter), are still leading others then you are still drawing people into the same pit.  What perverted hold does this False Teacher have over those still in leadership to not publicly denounce him and his teaching (like the Apostle Paul did with those in his day)?  

It doesn't matter your new name, or your new job description, your abusive behavior is still the same according to much and continued testimony on this site.  Is it really the sheep your concerned about or yourselves and your own reputation?

Whatever a church calls itself or says it is can only be judged by those who have been inside it for awhile.  And, those who have been there may best decide for themselves with unveiled outside resources, real and accurate biblical truth, and knowledge of what defines spiritual abuse.

Here is a fitting and excellent article on key questions that define spiritual abuse from the "Battered Sheep" website's RECALL of Enroth's telling questions from his book, Recovering From Churches That Abuse. Those inside or out from GCx may use these questions as a thermometer to realize how many abuses are actually in their church.  The page has been copied from this link: http://www.batteredsheep.com/uncovering.html




Uncovering Churches That Abuse People

by Henry G. Sheppard


The following questions come from the book: Recovering from Churches That Abuse, by Ronald Enroth, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervon, 1994.


1. Does a member's personality generally become stronger, happier, more confident as a result of contact with the group?

In an abusive church, the use of guilt, fear, and intimidation to control members is likely to produce members who have a low self-image, who feel beaten down by legalism, who have been taught that asserting oneself is not spiritual.

One of the first disturbing characteristics to be reported by relatives and friends of members of these churches is a noticeable change in personality, usually in a negative direction.


2. Do members of the group seek to strengthen their family commitments?

Nearly all unhealthy churches attempt to minimize the commitments of their members to their family, especially parents.

Young people may be told that they now have a new "spiritual" family, complete with leaders who will "re-parent" them.

Church loyalty is seen as paramount, and family commitments are discouraged or viewed as impediments to spiritual advancement.


3. Does the group encourage independent thinking and the development of discernment skills?

Control-oriented leaders attempt to dictate what members think, although the process is so spiritualized that members usually do not realize what is going on.

A pastor or leader is viewed as God's mouth piece, and in varying degrees a member's decision making and ability to think for oneself are swallowed up by the group.

Pressure to conform and low tolerance for questioning make it difficult to be truly discerning.


4. Does the group allow for individual differences of belief and behavior, particularly on issues of secondary importance?

A legalistic emphasis on keeping rules and a focus on the need to stay within prescribed boundaries is always present in unhealthy spiritual environments.

Lifestyle rigidity in such groups increase a member's guilt feelings and contributes to spiritual bondage. This rigidity is often coupled with an emphasis on beliefs that would not receive great attention in mainstream evangelicalism.


5. Does the group encourage high moral standards both among members and between members and non members?

In intense, legalistic churches and religious organizations, the official, public proclamations usually place special value on high moral standards.

In some instances, there is a double standard between those in leadership and those in the rank and file membership.

Abusive churches tend to have incidents of sexual misconduct more often than most conventional churches; leaders sometimes exhibit an obsessive interest in matters relating to sex.


6. Does the group's leadership invite dialogue, advice and evaluation from outside its immediate circle?

Authoritarian pastors are usually threatened by any outside expression of diverse opinions, whether from inside or outside the group. When outside speakers are given access to the pulpit, they are carefully selected to minimize any threat to the leadership's agenda.

Coercive pastors are fiercely independent and do not function well in a structure of accountability.

For the sake of public relations, they may boast that they are accountable to a board of some sort, when in actuality the board is composed of "yes-men" who do not question the leader's authority.


7. Does the group allow for development in theological beliefs?

Another hallmark of an authoritarian church is its intolerance of any belief system different from its own.

They tend to measure and evaluate all forms of Christian spirituality according to their own carefully prescribed system, adopting an "us-versus-them" mentality.


8. Are group members encouraged to ask hard questions of any kind?

A cardinal rule of abusive systems is "Don't ask questions, don't make waves."

A healthy pastor welcomes even tough questions. In an unhealthy church disagreement with the pastor is considered to be disloyalty and is tantamount to disobeying God.

People who repeatedly question the system are labeled "rebellious", "unteachable", or "disharmonious to the body of Christ".

Persistent questioners may face sanctions of some kind such as being publicly ridiculed, shunned, shamed, humiliated, or disfellowshiped.


9. Do members appreciate truth wherever it is found even if it is outside their group?

Whether they admit it or not, abusive churches tend to view themselves as spiritually superior to other Christian groups.

This religious elitism allows little room for outside influences. There can be no compromise with external sources, who, the leadership will say, really don't understand what is going on in the ministry anyway.


10. Is the group honest in dealing with nonmembers, especially as it tries to win them to the group?

Sometimes abusive groups illustrate a "split-level religion". There is one level for public presentation and another for the inner circle of membership.

The former is a carefully crafted public relations effort, the latter a reality level experienced only by the "true believers".

Recruitment tactics are usually intense, even if they are not actually deceptive or fraudulent, they can be manipulative or exploitive.

Sometimes high pressure religious groups are evasive about there true identity: "We really don't have a name, we're just Christians."

A healthy Christian group should have no qualms about revealing who it is and what its intentions are.


11. Does the group foster relationships and connections with the larger society that are more than self-serving?

First impressions are not always correct. Sustained contact with an unhealthy church, however, will usually reveal a pattern that is consistent with the characteristics we have identified.

Members will be requested to serve, to become involved, to sign up for a variety of activities that, upon closer inspection, appear to maintain the system and serve the needs of the leadership.

Abusive churches thrive on tactics that promote dependency.

Emphasizing obedience and submission to leaders, these churches often require a level of service that is overwhelming to members, resulting in emotional turmoil and spiritual breakdowns.


Copyright © Henry G. Sheppard 1997

Note: This article also appears in Recovering From Spiritual Abuse.






How many of these spiritual abuses do you recognize in your church?  The Word of God that I and others and these authors read condemns this kind of "spiritual" leadership and teaching. Perhaps the vast abuses of GCx are finally being widely uncovered and found intolerable among its people.







« Last Edit: July 13, 2016, 01:08:21 pm by Janet Easson Martin » Logged

For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.        - Saint Augustine
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« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2016, 11:50:32 pm »

You talk about a topic that interests me most. I like to read you a story.
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