Yesterday, someone posting as “Gary” commented threatening a lawsuit against me. Wow. If true, that is sure to backfire. Click here and search the page for Gary to find the comment on March 28, 2016 at 2:49 PM.
Here is my response to this ridiculousness.
1. I’m not even convinced this comment is from Gary in the first place, but I will offer the benefit of the doubt for now. The phrase “church leadership” doesn’t sound like Gary, IMO, and I find it unlikely that he would ask his followers to suddenly read through thousands of comment that he says are false or libelous. But that’s just me. Nevertheless, in the spirit of love and good faith, the offer has always stood here to correct the record–either privately or in an open dialogue. There are a number of ways to facilitate that. Call or email me, brother.
2. If true, you realize that, although articles are my own, and are fact-based and as well-reasoned as I can make them–comments here are unmoderated. In good faith, I do make attempts to police name-calling from time to time, and other unloving attacks on individuals, but I do not have the time to read every comment. It is not my legal obligation to do so, but if you point out any factual error or libelous post, I will still do my best to correct the record, because that’s what brothers do. I have no desire to defame you or any other leader of the church. I have always and only wanted to deal in facts and scriptural reasoning. Anyone who has read my articles knows this. It doesn’t take much reading to see that I have never attempted to get into personal attacks, and have done my best to weed comments out by individuals who engage in them.
3. I’ve had an open invitation for you or any other leader in the church to correct facts and discuss differences of opinion on scripture. My email address is plainly listed on this site. Not one person in the church, except for my mom, has corrected anything, and the fact that she corrected was how old I was when my dad was withdrawn from. I thought I was 10 or 11, my mom says I was 6 1/2. I corrected it immediately. Neither you nor any of the church leadership have reached out to correct anything–in fact, teachers in the church have highly discouraged people from visiting this blog. So how do you know what’s here if you haven’t read it yourself and discouraged others from doing so?
4. I’ve tried to make contact with you for years, Gary, merely to discuss scriptural questions about Stanton, long before I ever got the idea of creating a blog to record the factual history of this sect. I found your email address from a forum you had posted in of Church of Christ preachers many years ago, and tried contacting you (two different emails, actually, both starting with “b4man”). I received no response. Not that you owe me one–but you have had plenty of opportunity to engage in a real conversation. I have even offered on these pages to have a private conversation over coffee sometimes, but have never been taken up on that.
5. Last I checked, brothers are not to take brothers to court. As noted above, I am perfectly open to removing factually incorrect information, and that has been the case since day one of this blog. As always, just send me a list of the exact comments and URLs by email privately so I can search and find them.
6. Not having read all the comments, let me just state generally that I do not give my approval to comments, but I would never seek to harm someone’s reputation with false information. Ever.
7. If your post is real, Gary, and you do create a lawsuit, understand that you’ll lose, and by losing, you’ll most likely have to pay my attorney’s fees. It’s called an “equitable remedy,” particularly in a frivolous lawsuit, which this would be. And let me just be clear that if I had wanted to organize legal opposition to the church, I have had plenty of people cheering me on. I avoided that, because this site has never been about attacking personalities, but about trying to lead people who have been oppressed by Stanton’s teachings out of the wilderness and into a loving relationship with their Creator. In addition, if I wanted to put out a call for people who have been wronged by the church as a result of following teacher’s counsel, I have no doubt I could assemble a list within a few days. That’s not who I am–and I certainly hope that’s not who you are.
God bless,
Kevin
Really Kevin,
You really think this is Preman. He's too smart and thickheaded to go this direction.
The post was probably from KF posing as him because he is obsessed with Gary from reading his insulting posts.
??? Way-off! I do not need to pose as someone I am not. "Oh Contraire" ma petite. But the ones who are obsessed if not possessed by GP are those who lurk in the shadows behind him as Anonymous posters. Seems to me that when a man is being ridiculed and challenged by other men or women, that any man would either answer or turn away in disbelief. But here we have Anonymous supporters of GP to keep him from exposing himself to his challengers. Even now there appears to be a lurking following of guardians of the cult. As Kevin has pointed out many times, your lurking is contrary to GP's demands to stay away from this blog. I understand Kevin's intent and I try only to enter conversation in which I am aware of facts. Sorry Kevin if I do not assist you in steering "good Christians" away from this "bad cults" by using scripture as you do. I choose to use what I know, and that is what the cult did to my life. So to those who Anonymously accuse me of impersonating GP, you know nothing of my life, for I have never met your Anonymous-self.
It does give me joy that church leaders are squirming with guilt and anxiety over their criticisms . Funny how Truth reveals itself even when the truth is kept hidden by the nameless. Take another stab at identifying the real Gary. I believe that he hides in among the Anons. But apparently my posts bring out others who wish to be critical of me.
Now there you go again , getting involved with a non-Christian, worldly man. Uh UH Gary said "NO"
I think u waisted a lot of energy on this. RU so gullibal to think this is the man.
To the Anons on March 29: you need to read Kevin's post again. He's not convinced it was really Gary, but is giving the benefit of the doubt to the poster. Personally, I believe it's the same person who posted that Kevin was dead. It's someone who is disturbed by this blog and wants to shut it down.
My dad is in this church and he is the worst person I have ever met. I can't imagine him in heaven with someone as amazing as Jesus.
I'm sorry for posting this while angry. His treatment of me has nothing to do with this blog. The other members of his church that I have met have been nothing but nice as far as I can tell.
Anon @ april 3, 2016 1:05 Why do you think your dad is the worst person you have ever met? Please email me at fellowhelper2015@gmail.com
@ fellowships too many things to list but physical and emotional abuse w/o ever apologizing for it. I try to forgive him but it's hard to forgive someone who is not sorry.
@ fellowhelper*
Anon @ April 4, 2016 10:54 What helped me to forgive and overcome was to realize first and foremost that I was not the only one to suffer abuse, it was church wide and not personal. You did not mention spiritual abuse but I saw it when mother Marilyn started teaching at the fellowships that all kids who die outside the COC go to hell and the young children started asking about their friend in the fourth grade who at age 9 died of cancer, did she go to Hell? If little Cindy got put into Hell that means I will be put in hell and that means that God is a bad person, try getting children interested in God after that. The man who started Prescott did some very disturbing behavior; after he was in Prescott. My wife got threatening phone calls from a male caller saying (my wife's name) I am watching you! and I got a threatening anonymous letter which referenced my wedding video (which only church members saw) and it all stopped after he left Arizona for Vallejo CA. This kind of behavior is called stalking and is illegal. Why would a teaching preacher stalk members of his former congregation, which he was no longer involved? This shows mental health problems like narcissism and psychopathy(sociopath), and this man is still a leader in the church as far as I know. Abuse victims are made to feel unloved, inferior, and will have problems with anger toward their abusers and anyone else in authority who behaves in a similar way, but have hope it can be overcome.
Thanks for your reply fellowhelper. Forgiving your enemies is definitely the hardest part of Christianity. I struggle with this more than any other sin and I gave up an addiction that I never thought I would never break free from. Thank you God for that and I hope he will help me forgive my enemies (even family).
Typed never 2 times*
I agree, as we forgive and are forgiven. I just pray for them almost every day that God will open their hearts and eyes to see the damages that have been done. We can deal with the forgiving and learning aspect of what has transpired. What needs to be dealt with and changed is the fact that these practices still exist and will continue hurting the people of God who look up to them for guidance.
I doubt that was GP, though it was a clever imposter if it was not. Funny how free speech is under assault in our nation from evil, wicked, and debauched Democrats, who are nearly communists, and their tactics of silencing dissent, which are totally opposed to the freedom and the the and fierce love of liberty our nation was founded upon.
While I know God is over all, and that warfare, guns, and armies are not the solutions to problems, yet the war every human wages against the evil within determines the greatness of today, and the destiny of nations. I have no political affiliation, though my sympathies are with the God loving Republicans, who are closer to our Founders than the party of slavery and death, the Democrats. Beautiful five minute history lesson for us. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_YQ8560E1w I think we ought to know our political past, because the only reason why we can practice our religion freely is because of what happened in 1776 when we became the first nation in world history to be founded upon the Judeo Christian concept. No coincidence that this is what has led us to our current greatness, and no coincidence that we are deteriorating rapidly as we leave it. The Church of Christ came along due to Alexander Campbell in 1809, and he was an admirer of Martin Luther, who was inspired by the wide proliferation of the Bible due to Gutenberg and the printing press making ideas widely accessible to the common man.
Despite the fact we have books like Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, 1984, and Brave New World which warns of tyrannical freedom and what happens when ideas are suppressed, today in America we love our television and internet, porn and drugs too much to read and fill the gardens of our minds with the beauty of God's truth and the beautiful lessons of history.
While no man will lead us to eternal life, only one beggar with food telling the other beggars where it is (which is the best definition of Christianity I have seen), there are time honored principles of courage, which we would do well to heed. America did not become great due to military might and force. Our Founders were rooted in the Bible and had been taught it in school. Unfortunately we allowed the fairytale of evolution in the classrooms, and taught our nation they were beasts, and are now shocked when many citizens act like it. Without moral training, and if we only educate minds we are simply continuously creating menaces to society.
Ronald Reagan was not a perfect man, but he was raised Disciples of Christ, which is a part of the Church of Christ, and he learned from his alcoholic Father, and because of the darkness, pain, and heartache he endured as a child, he grew to appreciate God's word more than many raised in stable families. His speech in 1964 is a clarion call calling for war, but the war is against ourselves. "Most powerful is he who has himself in his own control", "I count him braver who conquers his desires than he who overcomes his enemies, for the greatest victory is over self", " He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." As Seneca, Aristotle, and Solomon told us.
Alexis De Tocqueville, A French Philosopher, said in the 1830's,
In the United States, the influence of religion is not confined to the manners, but it extends to the intelligence of the people…
Christianity, therefore, reigns without obstacle, by universal consent…
I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors…; in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution.
Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.
America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.
The safeguard of morality is religion, and morality is the best security of law as well as the surest pledge of freedom.
The Americans combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other
Christianity is the companion of liberty in all its conflicts — the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.
Tocqueville gives this account of a court case in New York:
While I was in America, a witness, who happened to be called at the assizes of the county of Chester (state of New York), declared that he did not believe in the existence of God or in the immortality of the soul. The judge refused to admit his evidence, on the ground that the witness had destroyed beforehand all confidence of the court in what he was about to say. The newspapers related the fact without any further comment. The New York Spectator of August 23rd, 1831, relates the fact in the following terms:
"The court of common pleas of Chester county (New York), a few days since rejected a witness who declared his disbelief in the existence of God. The presiding judge remarked, that he had not before been aware that there was a man living who did not believe in the existence of God; that this belief constituted the sanction of all testimony in a court of justice: and that he knew of no case in a Christian country, where a witness had been permitted to testify without such belief."
And in the spirit of fighting the evil within, where greater is he that is in us, than he that is in the world, and "if God be for us, who can be against us", and "yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod, and thy staff they comfort me", here is a video on Reagan's speech urging all to fight, and not to give in. I relate it not to the wars of the world, but to the wars of the soul, for no slavery is worse than the slavery of self, and no man can be free externally who is a slave internally.
http://solanorepublicans.org/
Is it unscriptual to pay a preacher or evangelist? What is the difference? Any ex scoc that are still Christian out here? I feel like I've been brainwashed and am finally seeing the truth. The bible says we must be lovers of truth.
It is scriptural to pay an evangelist WHO TRAVELS JL, but not a stationary preacher. I don't understand how you can call someone an evangelist when they sit put in the same congregation, and travel maybe three times a year. Their entire congregation won't go on trips because they think it is too "taxing". That is amazing, because practically every single bible class will have something on "pushing the flesh". One commenter on here was sincerely exhorted practically his whole Christianity on the necessity of "pushing the flesh". I agree slothfulness is bad.
I still consider myself Christian, though I haven't found a church that is scriptural to call home yet. I figure if Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses,David, Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel could learn how to form relationships with God in isolation, so can I, until the time comes that God deems it fit for a church of his choosing to be formed.
Don't get me wrong, Stanton was beautiful place to be raised, but it does need reforming, and they refuse to be corrected by anyone whose initials are not GP or TC or SR, which means Jesus alone can correct them. Since he is not returning to correct them, but only for judgement, it is a matter of waiting for God's hand. He is not going to sit and allow his word to be perverted for much longer. Stanton has been told for the last decade that they will not grow until they change their teachings. They think stubborness and obstinacy is godliness, and like the Pharisees, despise anyone imperfect telling them anything.
Well, may God have mercy on them. When you have knocked on 200,000 doors, as Vallejo has, in eight years, and have only three members of the world added to your church, not counting Christian kids, there is something seriously wrong. Even more troubling than the lack of growth is the fact they refuse to acknowledge a problem exists. According to them, they are perfectly fine, the world is terribly evil, and we are right around the corner from Jesus returning. That is hardly the truth, but it makes them feel good.
They have dry non member class after dry nonmember class, and one christian after another leave and fall away, but they keep stubbornly persisting in their unforgiving, unmerciful, harsh, rebuking ways, just like Balaam.
But if you dare to try and correct them, they will tell you you are proud, and you are like Balaam.
Very tragic, they are just like the Democrats in my state of California. The Democrats insist they are out to help the poor and weak. Meanwhile they are corrupt, incompetent, and the poor get poorer.
In SCOC they claim they are sinners only hope. Meanwhile they ruthlessly scorn, spurn, and ignore sinners, thinking it is their duty to be haughtily disdainful. They can't understand how they are the Pharisee Christ was describing who thinks he is so good, and thanks God he is not like the wicked publican. The Publican can't bear to lift his head to heaven, and pleads with God to be merciful on him. The publican is accepted and the Pharisee is rejected. And just as God says he resists the proud, he resists the Stanton Church of Christ. They get very few new members, they lose massive amounts of their children, and their marriages are threatened, along with losing tons of people to falling away. Yes, God is resisting the proud right now, and Stanton is stubbornly prepared to keep resisting God. They picked the wrong God to mess with. I'd much prefer to be a lowly sinner who is humble and admits their sin, however terrible, than the proud pharisees who rule the Stanton Church of Christ. God spits at their righteousness, it means nothing to him. Isaiah 65:5 " Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day." Stanton COC is a smoke in God's nose, and a fire that burneth all the day. They irritate God and think they are pleasing him. He is sick of their worthless righteousness, and he is angry that they have so wickedly despised sinners who he wishes to be saved and healed, but Stanton stubbornly persists. They think they are making the church "holy".
When Stanton happens to find out any individuals sins, because the individual voluntarily confesses them as instructed in James 5:16, Stanton, instead of healing, breaks out the trumpets, to shout the sin all over creation, and make sure their righteousness is admired and the lowly sinner is properly disgraced. Stanton doesn't think we need to learn anything but the Bible, which I somewhat agree with, but since we have 10,000 teachers in Christ, I think we can learn a lot from many men. I think Les Miserables can teach an excellent lesson. A man who was a thief is redeemed, and becomes a mayor, and adopts the orphaned daughter of a dying prostitute. But Javert, a police inspector, thinks he still must pay for the theft he did long ago. And so he chases him all over creation to try to make him pay for his long ago crime. Eventually prisoner 24601, named Jean Valjean (the numbers total 13 which is unlucky) has the police inspector in his power and can kill him, but he doesn't, he pardons him. The police inspector doesn't know what to do with himself, he thinks the world is unjust when a thief has forgiven him. So he does what the church is doing now, he commits suicide. The church is destroying herself right now. Very tragic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFQvGJGpM1s They think their works earn them their salvation, and they scorn the idea that God can heal and redeem and his power is limited only by our belief. They think their unbelief in God's mercy and healing power is some kind of virtue, and forget that the Jews unbelief in God's mercy and promises cost them their lives. They were trapped in the Wilderness of Sin, entangled by their unbelief, and so the the church, trapped in a wilderness of unbelief, hopelessly trying to earn their salvation with their works, neglecting the very mercy that their salvation is predicated upon. God said clearly that we are to forgive if we wish to be forgiven, but Stanton refuses to forgive, thinks unforgiveness is a badge of honor, and just as the man in the Bible who couldn't forgive could not have his prayers heard, neither can Stanton have her prayers heard, or her churches grow. As long as they keep stubbornly persisting the same dearth of growth will doggedly follow them.
God is really angry that they continue to defy his grace and mercy and make a mockery of the death of his Son. When heaven rejoices at a sinner returning as the Prodigal, Stanton scornfully doubts, and fancies they can determine who has their mind or not. You misuse God's power to save to your own demise, Stanton. It is impossible to harm God's children with your draconian doctrine and not yourself be rended. Woe to those who mistreat God's children, you have often quoted Matthew 18 on withdrawal, but you forget that it also says it is better for a millstone to be tied around a man's neck and he be drowned in the deepest ocean than that you should offend God's children, and Christ came to save the sinners, not the righteous.
Were you given mercy so that you can deny it to other sinners? Were you deserving of the mercy given you when you were lost in your sins? If not, then why do you shamefully deny that same mercy to other sinners??!! Shame!!!
Martin, I was exhorted exhaustingly, but it was by no means done sincerely. This congregation is taught to overbear it's members with this practice rather than bear one another's burdens. It is easier for me to tell you to push the flesh than to take the time to console, support, encourage, or physically help Christians that suffering infirmities, disabled, or going through hard times. The "pushing the flesh" had become the got to response to use whenever a situation came up of where the congregation needed to take time take care of one its' own. NOT monetarily, but to be there in physical and spiritual support.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
If people miss a class because of their infirmity/disability then take the initiative to take notes and share it with them. Don't beat them up because they couldn't make it.
This mindset is extended to how other areas in the church are handled. Many reasons are give as to why certain things aren't done, but, in turn, they could "push the flesh" as much as they are exhorting to.
Merie taught about the problem of the "off church" where the Evangelists were just playing musical congregations as a justification of getting paid for their preaching.
Brainwashed? A little strong I think, but yes the SCOC exerts a strong influence over members lives with their church spies watching you constantly, no privacy of any kind, and harsh doom and gloom preaching. Brainwashing was defined by Robert J Lifton in his 1951 book brainwashing and the psychology of totalism. It was about the methods the communist chinese used to produce a second personality in a person, the same methods used by all cults, religious, political, business, and education cults. Brainwashing requires three days of sensory deprivation or three days of sensory overload. Step two is a two to three years of controlled enviroment, and step three in brainwashing is a rebirth, a welcoming into the "new world"; so no I do not find that brainwashing is practiced, the SCOC is not that advanced, yet.
I agree, anonymous 5/21/16 @ 610. It's not quite brainwashing. Of course, that a Christian is commanded to study God's word will be deemed "brainwashing" by pagans, even as they "brainwash" themselves with the nonsense of climate change, evolution, and sexual debauchery.
Stanton has quite a number of biblical principles right, but where they err, they err bigtime. They think their own puny righteousness is pleasing to God, and the mercy they were freely given, they turn around and stingily deny to others. They also can't understand how a person who may have sinned and repented of sins worse than they have done can ever have any thing scriptural to say. Even though practically every man in the world has viewed the horrible, evil, wicked debauchery of porn, including nearly every man in Stanton, they will self righteously sniff that they are saved, but people who use porn in the world may have lost their mind. In just the last two decades they were still busy diagnosing Christian men who engaged in this evil behavior as reprobate. No one is ever reprobate until they no longer see evil as evil. I'm very happy people in Jesus' day weren't viewed by him as reprobate even though they had devils. He tossed the devils out, and said his word can heal of even worse infirmities. But according to Stanton, his Word is pretty powerless, and so is God. According to them, only perfect people can be saved. Regardless of the fact that some of them entered the church guilty of worse sins than I have ever dreamed of, and were redeemed, they seriously sit and tell me my salvation is in danger, for no other reason than me disagreeing with their draconian assessments.
They are going to have a lot to answer for before God, but I forgive them. I'm not going to be damned by God for refusing to forgive others. IF they wish to inherit this punishment, they are welcome to it, because I want no part of it.
Weren't the Pharisees rebuked so harshly because of the attitude they had towards sinners that they were worthless and that sins should be dealt with harshly, like the woman caught in adultery? Is this not what Stanton exactly imitates today? Pretty crazy how you study the bible all your life and yet can't get this basic resemblance down.
Stanton thinks the Pharisees were hiding secret sins, like uncleanness. LOL. Absolutely hilarious. Christ flat out says the Pharisees were righteous, and says unless our righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, we wouldn't make it to heaven. The PHarisees weren't in trouble for hiding secret sins, they were in trouble for terrorizing sinners and making salvation impossible for them. And this is what Stanton is busily engaged in today. Their doctrines dehumanize, demean, and marginalize anyone they deem "not righteous". While other churches help wounded sinners and love them until they overcome, Stanton opens up with machine guns, and thinks it is their duty to make sure you get your sin out, or they get you out of the church. If they were dealing with an impenitent sinner who brazenly displayed their sins before all, they'd be right, but when they are dealing with remorseful sinners who only want to change and be healed, they use the exact same methods. The same pitiless, merciless, harsh, cruel, condescending, patronizing, tyrannical, draconian methods. When they are done abusing poor sinners, they look up to God with satisfied eyes and say, "You see Lord, how good we are, and how bad those sinners are". "Lord", they say, "why do you send us those ignorant and wicked sinners, we don't like being around them, we already know there is no hope for them".
So, Jesus sacrifice upon the Cross is of no effect upon them, because you can't save sinners when you think they have no hope and insist upon treating them as escaped convicts. You cannot truly love any individual when you have not first experienced God's love yourself, and God's love is not experienced in the legalistic, labyrinthine, rigmarole that is present in Stanton. No one can give, what they first don't have. So Stanton, never truly experiencing God's love and mercy when they did not deserve it, finds it impossible to extend that same love to the lost. Sinners respond most to love, and so Stanton finds it's personal work efforts are almost completely stymied, their churches are stagnant, static, and stale. When individual and church growth stagnate, every man is born with a desire for adventure, for growth, and for love. When there is no love in a marriage, there will be love outside the marriage, and when there is no love in the church, you will find many men turning to porn or worse to satisfy their desire for the sacred beauty God designed. Of course, lust never yields the beauty they seek, but when men and women truly understand God's love, as reflected by individuals who have been loved by God and who love others as they have been loved, they are not tempted by sexual depravity,and indeed, true love exposes all sin for the fake substitute it is. Remember, Joseph resisted the charms of Potiphars wife, why? Was it because he was afraid of going to hell? No. That is not what he said. Was it because he would get withdrawn from? No. Was it because he wanted to have great sex when he was married, and waiting for marriage is a great way for this to happen? No. Was it because he was afraid of his family and friends making sour faces at him, and not liking him? No. Was it because he wanted to be great, and he didn't want this fornication to interfere? No. Read his words, "But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
[9] There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Joseph did not avoid sin because he was afraid of what man would do to him, he avoided sin because he loved God and did not want to disappoint God, and because he viewed it as wicked. Those who know true love, and often it is from the love of a father, which was true of Joseph as Jacob preferred him and gave him the coat of many colors, learn to despise sin as the pathetic wicked and evil substitute it is.
Stanton needs to learn all of its attempts to frighten men out of sin with discipline of men rarely works. It is called for in the case of open sin such as One Corinthians 5 (LOL, in honor of that bible scholar Donald Trump) , but that happens very rarely. Much more common is the disconnected, unloved, and miserable sinner who does not know what love is and is captive to their sin.
But while Stanton has been ruthlessly terrorizing sinners, God has loved them. He has largely avoided punishing them, and he is giving them time to change. The very fact their serious misdeeds have not been dealt with harshly by God is another sign of his love and mercy. Hopefully they can understand this, and learn to love and be merciful to sinners who are both Christians and non christians. Only when this happens will the chains of pride be lifted from Stanton, the drought of mediocre individual and church growth be lifted, and Stanton will achieve the power and beauty that God's word promises to all who have faith in him, and his power to deliver.
The invasion of privacy greatly disturbed me. I was spied upon by church members, had my notebook read every time I set it down, and whomever I spoke with at any meeting was vigorously interrogated as to what I said; there was little the SCOC did not know about me. I had one "christian" roommate who timed me when I showered and reported it back to the teacher who used it for persecution because no one took six minutes to shower, implying I must be masterbating while I bathed. I was married in the church and found out the first week of my marriage that my wife was being used to report on me. Some men in the congregation said this had gone on for years and they simply did not talk to their wives to reduce the tension in the home. It is considered a "Holy and righteous thing" for the women to tell the teacher of any marriage issues so the men could be taught. This produced emotionally cold and distant relationships and one women when told that her husband had fell into a pit at jiffy lube and was seriously injured didn't seem concerned at all until the other women got on her case about her indifference. The SCOC could easily be called "the lonely wives club."
I was first in the church back in 1983, for a few years. I left because of how people were treating each other. I cam back around 1999, until I left again, for the same reasons.
When I came back I knew what to expect and kept to myself. One preacher started calling me Lone wolf Mcquade, after the movie. There is a reason I did this and when I my disability started getting much worse to where it affected my getting around the brethren started becoming the personal police I was trying to avoid. Soon it became more about how I should live my life according to other people's personal specification rather than what the scriptures teach. If "they" thought I should be doing certain things and/or doing things in a certain way then they would judge you on that and call it sin if you didn't live up to their personal specifications.
I was told I was NOT a man of God, from the pulpit, because I didn't want people to just show up at my house any time they wanted at any time of day or night without calling first. Their imposition was more important than my request for asking first.
I tried so hard not to involve them in everything that I was doing and I have a great feeling that it did not settle well as they had no control over me.
There was one time that I did counsel with the preacher from the south over a marriage problem. He told me I should leave my wife and his wife rebuked me hard over the things that I counseled with. I never counseled again and would always hear about it in classes and pulpit. I no longer had respect for them.
Does the SCOC control this apostate blog? If you have noticed that most have stopped posting here and only a few of the die hard still remain, the you are not alone. I would be curious to hear from Kevin how many complaint emails he gets from active church members about the posts on here. A narcissist is the first one to dish out criticism but can't stand to be criticized themselves. When you ask yourself okay this person is criticizing me but before I can accept their criticism as valid I have to ask what kind of life do they live? Are they child abusers? freeloaders? do they treat their wives with respect as equals? If the person doing the criticism is not living the gospel then their "teaching" is of little value. So what is a narcissist to do? Silence the opposition through complaint emails; and have Kevin block you from posting, once again the SCOC wins not through obedience to the gospel but through oppression.
Apostate? What makes it Apostate?
Anyone who leaves their religion to go out on their own is considered an apostate. Jesus Christ would be an apostate of the jewish religion, as was all of the first generation christians who were jews and then converted to christianinty. All apostates will be persecuted by their "mother" religion". In the seventh century after the creation of the muslim religion there was the "war of the apostates" in which the apostates were hunted down and killed (which is still done today in the muslim religion) This blog is hosted and posted on by those who have left "the church" and therefore it is the apostate blog, which is not a bad thing.
Yeah Anonymous, Even the Jack Ass Ballam rode spoke some truth but his name remained anonymous and he remained a Jack Ass.
Listen guys these complaints are getting old. Move on!
Learn from your namesake David. He too was hated by a King who was rejected by God. The Stanton Church of Christ has a lot of moral principles right, but they are rejected, and their are stagnant, static, and stale. They go into question like how many times can you break the unleavened bread for the Lords Supper, and spend hours on that nonsense in a May Trip. Hilariously absurd. Still straining at gnats, and swallowing camels.
Meanwhile, every single one of the boys they raise gets into pornography and hides it, and they have no clue. They think if you keep teaching they will lose their minds, that will make the problem go away. Pathetic.
Ahh you reveal yourself David. I believe you also posted under the name "Brad" and "Jim" always treating other as inferiors by calling them names like crybaby, or jackass. You are the stereotypical COC teacher or preacher: knucle dragging neanderthal. Just beat them down until they go away. Not one word about how God loves each of his children, and that he also loves each person equally, (we do have a great God.) God loves me as much as he loves the evangelist in Spring Valley, we are of equal importance to God. Equality is what makes christianity great, large of small, male or female, smart or dumb, we are equal in Christ. Your demeaning comments only serve to convince me that I made the right decision in leaving the "Merie Weiss cult"
Balaam was mad with greed and lust as he beat his ass. God did use the Jack-Ass to suit his own purpose as he used a corrupt Sadducee and High Priest. God can hit a bulls eye with a crocked stick! And if you are not careful he just might hit your back side also.
Would you rather be the Ass in this sinarrio or Balaam? Please, allow me to take the part of the ass. What Have I offended you sir/Maim. You conjure up a lot of accusations. Prove any of them. I never posted under those names. Your own bitterness will over throw you. Seek peace and pursue it. What have I said in the current posts is accurate to the best of my knowledge?
Balaam's lust blinded his eyes, Please Do not allow bitterness to hold you back from the love of God.
Wait, you must be scared, you seem to use anonymous, I used my actual name. Previously I had used anonymous a few times, perhaps like you because I was afraid of some kind of retaliation. But now as with my previous posts, I think I am over that.
Why do you read these posts and get yourself all worked up? Your false ranting does give this site a bad name. What I said I have said out of my conviction and it was not surmised. I thought this site was for serious dialog.
Breathing out false allegations and surmising does little to improve this site. Sincerely David
Christ servant and now your Jack-ass if it so brings peace.
Good for you David. But David who?? Glad to see you got some cajones instead of the yellow bellies that occupy this site. I'm not a Christian, and my mom would kill me if I put my name. Keep up good work David.
You may wish to check Facebook: Terry Smith, He is a Boiler room mechanic in Texas. He runs a bible class on line as well in the boiler room where he works.
who is terry smith
Wow! your moms' a Christian and she will still kill you. What kind of Christian is that? Follow not that which is evil; but follow that which is good.
In the book of Kings Nehu was declared by the prophet and told to slay all the kings children possibly just the sons and that woman called Jezebel. He did so. But his religious zeal took him well beyond the commandment of the man of God. Sometimes I wonder why Nehu just didn't send a message to the king of Judea informing him of his authority by God to rule the tribes of Israel up to four generations. At that point they should a, could a, would a just make plans to reunite all the tribes. But instead Nehu followed his own zeal and understanding rather than the commandments of God. Ultimately to his own destruction and the demise of Israel.
Blessed are the peace makers. We should do all things that would make for peace, with out giving in on our principles.
It is suppose to read…Nehu was declared king by the prophet…
KS and TC are in the same congregation now!!
Really? how do you know. that oughtta be grief for all
who is ks and tc?
Kim Smith and Tom Cornforth, however your information is a bit old… Kim is starting another congregation near Greenville, I'm not sure of the name of the city, possibly Anderson.