What GC Teaches and Believes

With Faithwalkers coming up, I wanted to start a new thread for parents and students who may stop by with questions about what GC believes and teaches. I thought that it would be helpful, as we come upon unsound teaching, to post it here, and let people have a quick place of reference so they don't have to waste hours listening to the tapes (we will have done that for them

).

One of the hardest things about GC teaching is the ambiguity and the Scripture twisting. When most of us read Hebrews 13:17, the oft quoted by GC verse on submission to elders, I would imagine the thought is, "When it comes to living a Godly life, I should listen to the spiritual advice given by my pastor and follow his example." (ie, I shouldn't steal, or commit adultery, or lie, or cheat). What I did not know till 10 years into my GC church experience was that they believe that the pastor is your spiritual "master" and you should do EVERYTHING he says including take his advice on who and when to marry, how many kids to have, where to work, where to live, and committing to your local church and pastor for life. I believe parents, students, church attenders have the right to know this up front.

Not only that, but they also believe that the church member is responsible to do what the pastor says and if the pastor, because he is fallible, tells them to do something, but steers them wrong, the pastor will be the one giving the account, not the church member whose obligation is only to obey the pastor. We were told this, it is said in several messages available online and should frighten everyone.

Here is an excerpt from a MD message that was recently made available online. The text is 1 Peter 5 and he is referring to the verse on casting anxiety on Christ.:

…Why is that verse in there? Do you know why? Because when it comes to surrendering yourself, and yielding to another, you're going to have worries about it. And that verse, if you're going to read it Biblically in context, the context is your worry associated with the surrender and the deference you are showing to those who are over you in the Lord…I knew that I needed to place myself under the leadership of men who were living exemplary lives who could train me to be what God wanted me to be…we don't tend to view what Hebrews 13:17 says very seriously, "Obey your spiritual leaders and submit to their authority for they keep watch over your souls as one who must give an account"…He's asking Mark, the rebel, to submit himself not only to God. See it's easy to say I submit to God, but do you know how we know that you submit to God, you know how I knew if I was submitting to God? I was willing to submit to the spiritual authority in my life and listen to what they had to say and apply what they told me and seek to implement the instruction of my trainers…I had to decide, would I allow someone else to be my trainer, my spiritual master, so to speak. Would I embrace and follow the teaching and instruction of my leaders as they followed Christ? Would I place myself under the God given authority of my elders? Would I defer to them and let them mold me. This would demonstrate my submission to God because Christ asked me to do it…The question is, "What will you do with what your overseer says?" I made my choice. This was the single most important decision I made and have continued to make. I have surrendered my will, not only to God, but I have surrendered it to this movement called Great Commission Churches. I've surrendered to John Hopler. to Rick Whitney. To Tom Short who I work with. I've surrendered it to Hershel Martindale. I've surrendered it to Brent Knox. I have submitted myself. I am but a slave. I would never trust anyone but a fellow slave to lead me. Do you understand that? I would never trust anyone but a fellow slave who understands that mindset…and so we submit to the Word of God and we submit to the Word of God as it comes through the mouth of those who are responsible before God for our lives…but if you don't submit to the teaching of a trainer, of someone who God has placed in your life, to grow you, to direct you, to build you, and defer to what they are sharing…the way I demonstrate to you that Christ is my life is that you are my life. This body of churches that I work with, they are my life. This isn't a job to me…I eat it, sleep it, breathe it, drink it. I am your slave…I'd like you to bow your heads this evening and I guess you could call this my birthday message to you. I really, really care about you. I really care about you. I love you. My life is for service to you…Father, this is for these young men and women as it says in Jeremiah and Lamentations, actually, it's good for a man, it's good for a young man to bear the yoke in his youth, there is no oxen that's worth anything that will not be yoked with another and plow a field. We eat the ones that don't submit to the yoke. Father, we never read about the horses out in the wild. We read about the horses that have submitted themselves to the training, and often times the difficult training of another. I pray, Heavenly Father, that you give us tonight in this church, the heart, and the will, and the spirit to say, "Lord, here is my life, I submit it to you, I submit it to the spiritual authorities that you have in my life, train me, lead me, guide me, mold me instruct me, like you did your Son…"

What Jesus said about masters (Matthew 23): "And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ."

What Jesus said about yokes: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”