History of Discouraging Higher Education Inside GCx Church Groups

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[Janet Easson Martin]

History of Discouraging Higher Education Inside GCx Church Groups

College Students (and their Parents) Considering a Campus Christian Group with original roots in GCx, please be careful to study the groups history online or ask trusted non-GCx pastors in those campus cities. Please become educated in healthy and unhealthy “church group” practices from sound Christian resources. Know ahead of time how you should be treated accordingly. One unhealthy practice is for group leaders and “mentors” to strongly persuade you in your education decisions. This is violating a boundary that is between you, your Heavenly Father and your parents (or those financing your education).

Below are some of many tragic but real experiences of college students inside GCx Churches for the last 40 years or so:



Re-consider spending your money at an expensive, private institution if your student has become involved with this group.  The level of involvement expected does not allow for any extra time to be spent in other extracurricular activities, and a high level of commitment to their education will be discouraged.
-trthskr


I know of many OSU students in OSU Bible Studies that were encouraged to stop attending the University so that they could tithe and support their home church Elders. ...Thank God I stayed in school and graduated and followed my career path rather than following the guys in my house who moved to Morgantown to start another home based church.  
-OSU Solid Rock


During Solid Rock days, I was encouraged to drop out of OSU in '76, which I did.
-pvitartas


Other abuses were... Undermining members' educations and potential careers. Encouraging bright young people with a future to abandon their God-given talents in exchange for mediocre, low-wage jobs so that more energy could be expended on proselytizing.
-Huldah


I quit college, started working as a janitor at the student union on campus, became involved in starting bible studies in the dorms... I worked on the newspapers being published, wrote a little bit of copy, did some cartoons for ads... by 1982 the economy had gone into a deep recession and I was working as a carpet layer. there was no work and my wife and children and I were living on very little. ...I approached the elders and asked for their help, telling them that I had followed their teachings, sacrificed for the Gospel, and that I was broke. I asked for their assistance. They told me that it was my problem to deal with.
-lone gone


..the group from WCCC has taken advantage of the "energy" at Faithwalkers and has called on people to make commitments to the church in Des Moines for life? Many of my peers went on strategic road trips following Faithwalkers so that they could surrender their dreams. You probably don't see anything wrong with that, but it happens. College students HAVE BEEN TOLD BY LEADERSHIP to not worry about their studies and to find jobs in Des Moines so that they can build the church.
-MarthaH


As far as discouragement of college, yep, seen it as recently as 2004/2005. ... A good friend of mine was frequently rebuked by leaders for wanting to apply to colleges in cities without a GC church in them. These leaders knew that it was her parent's wishes for her to go to the best college she could, but that didn't stop them. ... Another time I listened to a traveling GC pastor explain to a group of several hundred college students how much of a distraction having a college education would be, and how happy he was that he didn't have one so that he could focus fully on God. The message being sent to a group of mostly college students was basically: if you're going to truly follow God with all your heart, why are you wasting time at college? I'm sure that was really encouraging for them to hear! This was a guy who was traveling, so he probably gave that message at several other GC churches as well. ... The prevailing attitude among leaders was the same "college in unimportant" attitude. ... Keeping in mind that GCM leaders (in the 1991 church error statement) have admitted to discouraging people from attending college, and given the number of issues listed in the error statement that are still problems today, I would say that any parent needs to keep a close eye on their college-aged children in the group. ...
-J


...the fact that while most of the congregation are college age, relatively few attend college.  I have to admit, they're getting better about it, but I feel like they're all constantly on the verge of dropping out.  For a while there it was pretty bad, the young men in the group kept dropping out and jumping from job to job. ... My friends came from a wide range of backgrounds, and, as far as I could tell, had a wide range of goals in mind.  All of a sudden, they're all feeling the call to church plant.  Which is why all the educational goals are short-lived, because they'll be headed to Lawrence, KS (another nearby college town) or Wichita, KS within the next two years to plant churches there.  There really isn't much room within the church for any dreams or goals other than to spread Great Commission [GCx] churches.
-ResistingTheResistance   [left ~ 2009]


There was a definite feeling of anti-intellecutualism. I am a female who was very motivated to do well in school, and certain members made me feel as though this was a waste of time. All free time was to be devoted to evangelism and serving the church, not to school. ... I saw many fellow members, both male and female, give up on their educations so that they could devote all of their energy to the church. When I went to graduate school a fellow member asked me if I was afraid that no man would ever want to marry me because of my advanced degree. Looking back, I'm glad that I followed my dreams and continued my education despite the subtle negative attitude I received from many members.
-GB   [left ~ 2013]


GCX manipulates kids away from study and subsequently from good grades and graduation, then they call these kids 'the committed ones' or 'the core group.'  At the same time they call those kids who focus more on study than on the church 'the peripheral ones' or 'the fringe group.'  Then when caught having to justify their tactics with the kids, they point to 'the fringe group' as evidence that the church does not steer kids away from study, good grades, and graduation.
-anonymoustoday


I honestly think it is the GC spin on education in general that can be stifling... not homeschooling.
-Holly


I'm sure that my commitment to academic excellence was something that my GCx leaders didn't understand, since none of them had a similar commitment.  GCx doctrine sees everything as a means of accomplishing the Great Commission in GCx's own way.  If a person can't explain his or her studies as a way of serving GCx's mission, then it's presumed that you're "not right" with God and His purposes.  That leaves little space for loving God with your mind, which we as Christians are specifically commanded to do.
-Valley Noir


Work, school, family, friends are all secondary to evangelism. If you miss work or classes because of the mission trip that you're on, it's all good. But if you miss a church event because of work or school, you weren't committed enough. You took the easiest classes you could to get by so you had more time for evangelism. Woe to anybody that took a job outside Des Moines. They are basically considered selfish, worldly people unless of course you chose a job in a city where there was a sister church.
-France


My RA was a GC member and her and a few other girls lived on the floor to outreach to people. I accepted Christ and thought the church and GC and the whole thing was just the best thing in the world. They started talking to me about how they thought I'd be a great leader and all that jazz and how I'd make a great church planter, etc. They convinced me to change my major (as others have mentioned) which meant losing my scholarship because it was major contingent. I still to this day can not believe I did that. But they really made me feel like I was doing it for God. It's crazy.

They bragged about me and paraded me around as an example of the best little convert ever. Ugh.
My family actually got really concerned and contacted the school and the police and a handful of other people, all of whom said the church was on their watch lists. But of course, I was already emotionally addicted to the church, calling them my real family, etc. I didn't talk to my parents for months (after all, how could they know anything if they don't know the lord?). Again, the church bragged about me as an example.

I church planted... 3 different churches. The last one being with Rick here in Manhattan. The further I got up the chain the more I just couldn't believe it. People put so much faith in these leaders (I did too!). But really, they are just men saying the same thing over and over again in less and less sophisticated language and then emotionally, mentally, and socially manipulating people into believing the speak for God!

Rick has almost completely stopped preaching from the Bible.
-escapee

[Janet Easson Martin]

HISTORY SPEAKS

More Evidence

I think that if you are thinking long term, your son should consider involving himself in another Christian Community.  My experience of GCM took place from around 2001-2005. ... Many of the issues in the 1991 apology still very much existed when I was there as late as 2005.

Rather than going through all of the issues I experienced here, if you want to know more about my experience, I posted about it on this forum under the title "H2O Orlando" in General Discussion. But, I will at least post here that the GCM church I was in was not very sensitive (sometimes extremely insensitive) to a student's academic responsibilities or future goals not related to vocational-ministry.
-GC Big Names


My son was in GCM for two and one half years. He has been out of it for two years. Before he left for college he had a deep faith.  Now, he wants nothing to do with organized religion.  I have also noticed his personality is starting to come back but not the confidence he used to have. How long does it take to recover from GCM?
-aconcernedmom


I'm sad to report that I have recently been told of several more kids from the Des Moines [GCx] group who have either dropped out of college or who have changed career paths to make themselves more easily "movable" for church plants and available for church work. ...

Young adults need to be investing in the gifts God gave them, achieving their potential, and using their whole selves in life.  I'm crushed to think of the talented young people who have quit developing their God-given gifts and interests and who have channeled them in to GC pursuits.  Once committed to GC, the trade is the rest of your life (your full decision on who you marry, how you parent, where you live, your time, your resources).  GC is a jealous lover that takes and doesn't give a whole lot in return.
-AgathaL’Orange,  2007


Here are three other recent posts by other parents who were also concerned for their own college-aged students. The last link was posted by Sarah who also asked about [GCx Church/Campus Group] WCCC/DCF. She called the University and they encouraged her to trust her instincts and steer her daughter clear of the group.
-newcreature


..I was a part of Campus Fellowship at Drake for my entire college career upon graduation I left the church due to many reasons. The group is great at bringing people in, especially freshmen because they will make the new students feel welcomed and loved. Progressively, they will talk about being more committed and soon enough nearly all of free time is spent within the group doing "the Lord's work". The group/church is very legalistic and very passive aggressive in their control over people. Guilt is [used] a lot to get members/attenders to serve and spend all of their time/money for the benefit of the church. If parents object to their child being a part of the group, the student is usually told that the parents "just don't understand" and convinced that everything they are doing is for the sake of the gospel. In my experience, I was never enough. They take scripture out of context to maintain control over the group for whatever reason, example: favoritism: you can't date or like someone because that would be showing favoritism and that goes against the Bible...

The group/church is very deceiving, it looks good from far away but the closer and closer you look, you can see how destructive it is and how flawed their teachings are. My suggestion, warn her to stay at a distance, do not let her go to FaithWalkers or let her stay and participate in the summer program called epicenter. As Christians, we are free from the bondage of slavery to sin, we have freedom in Christ to LIVE, not just freedom from sin but freedom from legalism. My advice? stay away and safe yourself from a lot of pain and trying to be good enough and just live in the freedom of the saving Christ.
-free


The gc* [GCx] in our post 2000 has a strong message for "chosen" students to either drop out of school or more commonly, to switch majors towards a curriculuum which frees up the student's time for more and more gc* activities.

Either way, the student's plans will be altered to the group's desires.

If your son is a quiet follower, they may deem him unworthy and leave him alone.  If he has more of an outgoing personality, they may tap him on the shoulder and declare him a project to be worked.
-Angry


Why is the student in college if a college degree isn't his or her goal?  If the student feels that their parents influenced them into the decision to earn a college degree, the influence of their parents to complete the degree program is more Biblical than the influence of their pastor to quit.  (There are no commandments about following your church leader in the ten commandments, yet there is one about honoring your parents.)

This assignment of new authority occurs often in my GC church.  A "new family" replaces the old, thus disregarding the commandment: Honor your mother and your father.  This is a great illustration, though, of how dishonoring such behavior is to our biological family, and how disrespectful GC is for using such tactics.  I would consider this divisive.

Romans 16:17  I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18  For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
-Daisy


I...started attending WCCC as a freshman at Drake. ...I enjoyed learning, [but] felt that the emphasis was to be on ministry and not on my education. Sometimes, I even felt guilty for reading the assigned reading for class because I could be "outreaching". Looking back, I wish I would have spent more time on working harder at my education.
-Summer0924


My experiences are fairly recent (post-2000).

In GCx, there is a pretty pervasive sense that someone going on staff is the highest and best thing a person can do.  Hence, it doesn't matter how stupid a decision someone would be making, who else (ie, parents and family) might be hurt, or whether what the person is doing makes any sense at all.

I for example, really enjoyed my experience on the STM trip I went on. I also really enjoyed the host family.  So much so, in fact, that by the end of the week, the host family was begging me to stay, move into their spare bedroom, and play nanny for them.  On the heels of a fantastic trip to a European country, OF COURSE I wanted to stay.

The elder and staffer on that trip were actually encouraging me to do this.  They saw no problem at all with me not getting on the plane to go home, and then just casually alerting my parents when they got to the airport.  They saw no problem with me making such a stupid decision, forfeiting the work I had done that semester in school, and screwing my parents out of the tuition they had paid for my school.

In the course of a fun, new, and emotional experience, you need to know that there are responsible adults making sure that your child is making responsible decisions.  If you let your child go on this trip, you need to know that the adults you're counting on for supervision have a serious ulterior motive.
-namaste


GCx tried to even pressure me, at times, into taking on expensive financial commitments (and to get in debt), to not honor my schoolwork, or my job, etc., for the supposed sake of the gospel. I was often chastised and verbally abused for sharing thoughts on scripture (told I loved to hear myself talk), and that I was going to grow into a bitter old maid (in prayer, mind you), and other such abusive treatments. ... No, no... These folks don't help others because Christ said so -- These folks help people so they can look attractive in their own eyes, and rope people in to their church -- as a recruiting tactic. It hurts to realize those things, because I gave years of my life...
-FeministRebel


I've been attending Walnut Creek for a few years. I got involved with Campus Fellowship at Drake and eventually with Walnut Creek itself. It's pretty much a given that once you're a part of CF, you will be a part of Walnut Creek.

Leaders of the college ministry are often people that have only been Christians for a couple of years or so. ... I just don't think it's the best, especially when the people that they are leading are young people that are at a crucial stage of development. ...

... there is an unspoken pressure to go to as much stuff as you can. And if you don't, then your loyalty and commitment is questioned. A leader (he was out of college for maybe a year or two) once gave a message at ALIVE (the weekly campus service) and one of his points was "A disciplined Christian is regularly exhausted; a lazy Christian stops when they have given their all." People feel like they have to push themselves to the point of exhaustion before they have done enough and people that don't are not doing their part.

People are encouraged to surround themselves with other people from the church. Choose classes together, live together, hang out together, eat together. The only time it is alright to do things with outsiders is when you're outreaching to them. ... If you are close to people from other churches, you're not loyal to the church. None of this is taught or preached but it is the underlying attitude of a lot of people, the unspoken opinion, the opinion that is shared between close friends. ...

Bad teachings at regional conferences are not contradicted by leaders in the church. ... Most people that leave the church are viewed as disloyal and probably struggling in their walk with God. Basically there is practically no way that someone can leave the church and remain in good standing. When people leave, they are either not committed enough, not willing to live the Christian life, selfishly pursuing their ambitions, not following the will of God, etc. ... it doesn't matter your real reasons for leaving, people will eventually come up with a story of how you had been struggling with something and how you had been sinning.  If you leave, you're considered a traitor and will have minimal interaction with a lot of the people in the church.
-Ruth


The entire time I was in GCx, I was told that my mental illness could only be relieved by God. I was told not to see a psychiatrist or a therapist. ... saw a "counselor" that was a member of the church that had no experience in psychology and was basically told that my mental health wasn't a problem with my brain, it was a problem with my soul. I was told that I wasn't reading the bible enough, meditating on scriptures enough, fellowshipping enough, or praying enough. I was chastised for having a job that I desperately needed to pay for college because it was interfering with my time in fellowship and time spent with the Lord in general. I was reproved constantly, and I became so depressed that I started cutting. I became increasingly suicidal and had to be hospitalized on multiple occasions due to suicidal ideation and self-harm. Eventually, I started to see that what I was a part of, what was around me completely encompassing my life, was not true Christianity. Christianity is not meant to make you hurt so bad that you want to kill yourself.  I was a victim of spiritual abuse by GCx.
-jcrash27   [left ~ 2010]

[Ned_Flanders]

You can add this one to your list:


When I got involved in GCx, I don't recall an overt "You need to drop out of college and devote all that time to the LORD and the gospel" message.  But looking back, I can definitely see there were issues with higher education in that Church, and issues with education in general.  The first event I attended was the DC '86 conference.  I remember they offered an alternative American history lesson, claiming that the Founding Fathers were all evangelical Christian men... yet they had little to nothing to say about slavery and genocide of Native Americans.  

I remember telling someone I didn't want to fail a program I was taking in college.  His response to me was, "Well, I wouldn't want to fail God's program."  But who said I was?  I also remember an exercise we engaged in during one of those weeknight meetings.  We discussed (in small groups) different scenarios of how to help people (of course, as a way to be good Christians and spread the gospel).  In one case, the scenario was discussed about "A friend contacts you and they are dealing with a crisis.  What do you do?"  I said, "Well, if I help the person, it will take care of their problem.  But then (with my schoolwork and upcoming final exams), I'm going to have a problem."  Someone responded to all this and sad, "You help the person out and take the failing grade," to which that same guy who said he wouldn't fail God's program responded with "Right."  But I know enough about that Church now to know that if I failed a course, they would have looked at me with shame and disgust, as if I'd somehow failed "God's program."  I know that there are times you have to drop everything and help someone.  But usually, those are times of extreme crisis, like a medical emergency or a suicide attempt.  But I don't recall that this was the case in the scenario that was presented.  

By the way, GCx- or at least one of the members- failed me when something really did happen.  A family member of mine attempted suicide.  I called one of the guys in GCx and told him about it.  He was supportive in his response, but then he said, "Hey, can I call you back?  Something came up."

He never called me back.  I guess he had to go and study for his own final exams...

[Janet Easson Martin]

Hi Ned! Hope you are doing well. Glad you shared your real experience in GCx regarding education. I recall also that there was not an overt message to drop out of school in the Maryland Church we both attended in the 80’s, though we were surrounded by a slew of members (who came to plant that church) who had done just that in their Ohio and Iowa churches just a couple of years prior. As others have shared, it was strongly persuaded from the “GCx throne” to honor God by dropping out of college to get a job to support the numerous elders. I would guess it wasn’t good for their PR, so they didn’t publicly “teach” that anymore.

However, higher education was still discouraged behind the scenes. In our MD GCx Church I knew personally of a member who planned on entering a masters education program so he could better support his family. He was “counseled” or strongly persuaded from doing so by GCx leaders because they claimed he would be appointed as a full-time elder in the near future. Years went by and that never happened. I knew of another who wanted to go to nursing school, but was told by GCx leaders not to bother because she would likely be getting married soon. Turns out she did need to work even though she had a family so her husband could go back to school to get a higher paying job. There are others who were also unwisely counseled in higher education and careers. I also knew of them trying to get people to change majors they had heavily invested in. So, the burdening sacrifices in education still remained.  

Too bad the church didn’t financially assist all those people they “assured the future of” who dropped out of school or didn’t pursue that higher degree, since many of them ended up living just above the poverty level for too long as a result. Some really should have had assistance. I never heard of GCx taking care of it’s own needy members in a deacons fund or something similar. Only once do I remember them specifically requesting money of others to be donated to a “favored” leading member. Oh, they did request financial support for campaigns of GCx Church members who were “selected” to run for government offices in Maryland.

I would guess many former and current GCx members reading here very much identify with the lack of genuine concern, friendship and wise counsel that you sadly received in those cases. Were they planning to pay for the classes or semesters you might have failed because you put your church group (not God) first? Or how about financially assist you because you may have failed to get your degree in their requirement of blind loyalty to the “church?” Faithfulness and devotion to education was strangely a target for falsely accusing members of disloyalty to God. Tragically, members heard so often the deceptive rhetoric about ‘devotion to GCx equaling devotion to God,’ that members wanting to move up in the ranks touted that same false teaching to each other and those they were mentoring.

That scenario training session sounds like a brainwashing exercise to me. If you’re in such and such a situation you don’t need to think it through, just responds with this reply. No real analysis or prayer needed -here’s what a loyal GCxer (“follower of God”) should do.

That real and extreme crisis in your family making it an urgent time of need for you and your loved one was met with such a detached response! I am so sorry. If there ever was a time one would need encouragement or an offer of help that was it. I suspect that member “friend” may have not had a close enough relationship with Jesus to experience his comfort, and so didn’t know how to comfort you. “Comfort others with comfort you have received (from God).” The wells of love and comfort were pretty shallow among most of the leaders. Not saying they never tried. But, you can’t give what you haven’t received from God yourself. Also, it seems a healthy church leader would have offered to go visit the person to offer encouragement and help, or find some who could.

GCx sure did conveniently and slyly substitute themselves for “God” wherever fear and guilt would motivate members to give more and do more for their movement. So college educations, degrees, majors, and careers were sacrificed in the ‘name of God’ often to exploit people’s time and effort to build the GCx Empire. Reminds me of the Israelites burdened to build the Pyramids for the Pharaohs. They sure are found wanting when it comes to practicing, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It is VERY telling. You can’t truly do the second commandment if your not really doing the first.

[Janet Easson Martin]

... I am also here because I've felt the effects of the systemic problems that GC [GCx] faces:
When I was in grad school and not a leader even though I was older than many of the kids that were leaders, I constantly felt like I was doing something wrong.
Due to this, I would hide my struggles and that led to me handling my struggles maladaptively...
...when I was in grad school working as a teaching assistant, it was heartbreaking for me to see young undergrads not studying because they didn't think it was doing God's work. I told SO MANY KIDS especially in the sciences that they were studying the work of their Creator's hand, so therefore, studying was totally legit in God's eyes
... I also was saddened to see talented young ladies be told that they should not get careers and only focus on future marriage. ...

-GreenAndGold,   2012

[Janet Easson Martin]

I was a member of a GCAC [GCx alias] church from 1995-2003. I was merely a freshman in college, when it all began. ... GCAC basically lead me to not follow into a master's degree, because there was all this pressure that pursing a career was not "godly" enough, and that if you were truly wanting to serve, you'd go into ministry, either on campus, or abroad... but they never gave me room enough to pursue that, either, so I was always in this kind of limbo about my career/future path. ...

I remember I lived with this one family... for a year. I was supposed to help teach their kids a second language, as well as baby sit. Well, it was more of a CONSTANT baby sit job, instead of teaching them anything. The family, was the family of one of the pastors. This particular pastor never truly took to me, and always had apprehensions about me, and my character. ...

-Feminist Rebel,   2012

[Janet Easson Martin]

Just thinking about Huldah’s quote below pains me. I personally believe McCotter’s intent was to control these student’s futures. It seems it would be extremely convenient for them to devote all their time to building his empire. Commitment to college classes and activities probably was looked at as hampering their fast and furious goals to become a “superior” and “famous” church group. Not to mention the resulting professional jobs that would take them away from GCx Churches.

Oh, they’re famous alright, but mostly for all the harm they have caused. If some “leader” (outside GCx) did that to the GCx leaders’ kids they would likely be furious.



They did so much damage back in the anti-education era. Not only did they derail a lot of people's education and limit their earning ability, but they caused a lot of unnecessary hard feelings between the students and their parents. A lot of those parents had probably sacrificed a great deal to send their kids off to college. What a slap in the face it must have been when their kids suddenly decided out of the blue to just drop out.

-Huldah,   2024