Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Date: March 04, 2013 12:26AM
Hi mikewilson
Thanks for the reminder, I only vaguley remember Geroge Marshall although I think my parents probably know him quite well. The thing is that many people did receive healing in SMC because God doesn't abandon those who are true to him (regardless of which church they attend or what religion they are). Just because the leaders of the church have questionable practices doesn't stop God from working in peoples' lives.
I too know of other people who have been healed over the years (my Mum included, but I've told that story here already) but this is in spite of the leaders and not because they are right in their ways. I don't know about Geroge Marshall but all of the people whom I know experienced healing, when I attended the church, have now moved on to other churches and ministires and are still on fire for God elsewhere.
God promised revival for SMC when I was just a wee girl and he didn't wait around till SMC bought i-Pads to effect the revival. The revival was hampered by church leaders who thought they knew better than God and systmeatically got rid of the very people who, I believe, were the ones who were to be instrumental in the revival. As a result, these people went on to be instrumental in revival in other churches and the revival swept across the world but, seemingly missed SMC altogether - since they still seem to be waiting for it to happen to them.
I remember also that many people, particularly with mental disorders, only got worse and were not given any support by the leaders of the church - as was the case wtih the man who killed himself. You do have to wonder, if he had been given more support and the proper help from the church, whether he just might be alive today?
You remember when the outlying churches were led by ordinary men, who didn't claim any special anointing but were (and those who're still alive, still are) on fire for God and constantly bringing new kids into the church?
These guys were from really diverse professions, no two pastors worked in the same profession, in those days. And there were healings and miracles happened for people, on the odd occasion, but from what I recall, there was no casting out of demons and so on - not till much later, when Miss T. began to go a bit Doo Wally and everything became doom and gloom and the demons were out for a frolic among the flock. If I remember rightly, that began around the time that poor chap had a fit at one of the summer camps and instead of getting an ambulance, he got his demons cast out.
To get back to the point about the pastors having diverse professions, the majority of pastors now on the SMC pulpits are not only women but also in the same profession.
I believe this is a very significant point; people who become teachers do so because they have that teaching type of personality and they, hopefully, enjoy working with young people and infants. Just like people who enjoy maths, working with numbers and problem solving go in for professions like accountancy, business consultancy, marketing and a host of other professions and personalities to fit them.
So, you see the congregations are made up of many diverse personalities, professions and levels of understanding. But the people leading them are all LIKE-minded with no BALANCE from any other mind-set in society. Perhaps if they had a few more business-heads on their pulpits they wouldn't be making such a cod of managing their funds. In fact I'd say that if they listened to some more business-headed people they would never have begun the Cedars School project in the first place, never mind the shops and vanity publishing.
Back in the day, there was a kind reverence around Totty Black and Miss T and people didn't generally feel they could question those two at all. But the normal pastors were all very approachable and you could discuss things with them that you didn't understand and they would answer questions without making you feel sinful for asking the questions.
I know most of these women who are on the platforms now and I don't know about you but I couldn't think of a WORSE bunch of people to be leading the next generation to God.
In fact, when I first found this forum, I was utterly shocked to discover who the pastors of each of the churches were - I just could not believe my eyes. There were way more suitable candidates for the job, who remained stoically in the church. People with a far better understanding of God and what it is to be a leader of God's people, it's sad to see that they couldn't have picked a worse bunch of people to teach them The Way and show them the love and grace of God.
The attitude coming out now is - "I'm the TEACHER and I'm always right, so don't question what I tell you" - you see where I'm coming from here? HB had that attitude too but then, he was also in the teaching profession. This is nothing against the teaching profession, my Mum used be a teacher, but it's more about finding a balance. These days, the congregation aren't going to church, they're going to SCHOOL.
There can be no argument about that because we know that our personalities are in everything we do, it therefore stands to reason that, if you have the teaching type of personality, that will be evident in everything you do (not just while you're in school or church). For example, you will teach your own kids in a different way to someone who has no knowledge of the teaching profession. But God made us with so many diverse personalities for a reason and that reason was to help us to find a proper BALANCE when we come together. In other words we have to work as a group in order to make a whole, in God. But SMC have closeted themselves into only a fraction of the whole personality of God and that's what makes it an unhealthy environment.
I can look at this quite objectively and subjectively at the same time, my Mum was a teacher and my Dad was a management consultant (both are now retired) - both have distinctly different personalities but they perfectly compliment each other. But even they are just one piece of the whole puzzle - if you think of the way strings of DNA are presented in pictures and on TV etc. It takes a molecule of every type of person to be combined in one 'DNA-like' structure to make the WHOLE of the personality of God.
I say this because the Bible tells us that God is IN every single one of us, and I believe that includes people who're in a dark place too, it therefore stands to reason that EVERY person with EVERY type of personality imagineable, in the WHOLE world is a part of God's DNA.
So now you see the IMBALANCE evident in SMC; although they do seem to believe that they are a more important part of God's DNA than the rest of us.
Well, who knows, maybe they are and maybe they aren't but I certainly don't like their ideas of Christianity. We don't see much of the LOVE and GRACE of God in these leaders - if the testimonies here are anything to go by. Quite the opposite in fact, what we see is absolute power over peoples' lives which causes destruction of relationships, mental health problems and people becoming insular instead of outgoing and on fire for God.
This doesn't detract from the work God wants to do in individuals' lives but, where His work is begin hampered by unscrupulous humans giving quite anti-Christian advice on numerous occassions, God's work cannot be complete in an individual's life when they are listening to the human voices instead of God's own voice.
It is a sad fact that the wrong people are in leadership in SMC and, had they listened to God (and not the humans who set themselves up like Godheads) their churches would be heaving and bursting at the seams. Taking the church into commercial ventures, I believe was meant to try and recoup the money lost by HB when the stock market crashed, but these ventures weren't what God intended for SMC. I believe this wholeheartedly because we KNOW God works to sustain His Holy works and we can SEE that, not only has revival left SMC behind but their commercial ventures are not recouping the lost money and are never likely to either.
Half a decade later, the church has a drastically reduced membership, with those who have left being branded as 'Faithless' and 'having FAILED the test of God'. What a load of rubbish - the ones who have left are GROWING in God elsewhere. OK some, unfortunately lost their faith entirely (SMC leaders will be called to account for them, when the time comes). But the MAJORITY of these many HUNDREDS of souls are still tireslessly doing God's work outside of SMC and they are still very much within God's fold.
The very fact that the remaining congregation are being LIED to about these people is a blatant testimony to the fact that these, so-called, leaders are wholly unworthy of God much less to be leaders of the people attending their services.
Why are the remaining members being LIED to in the first place? Not just about the people who have left the church but also about things like the need for expensive i-Pads for the unneccesary school. The idea that you can only be in contact with the rest of the world (and therefore effect revival) through an i-Pad is quite ridiculous since we have been in touch with everyone around the world since we discovered e-mail (followed by programmes similar to Skype) - over a quarter of a century ago!
If it is deemed necessary to LIE to church-goers about ANYTHING then you can be sure this is not in least bit Godly. Thou shalt not LIE - that's the commandment, it doesn't say 'Thou shalt not lie except where you want people to give you money for some commercial venture'. And on the point of commerciality, didn't Jesus throw the traders out of the church? Commercialism is NOT what God is about and, I for one believe that, this is why the church have never recovered from the loss of huge sums of money on the stock market; because they have continued to use commercialism to try to recoup those losses and this is not what God teaches.
It's the lies and deceit coming from SMC pulpits which needs to be challenged since this is so very Un-Christian and Un-Godly and yet these leaders profess to have some special anointing from God which makes them better than everyone else. Well, if that anointing makes it so easy to publically LIE about things then I have to say this does NOT come from the God I know in my own life, nor the God who continually works in my family and friends' lives.
Quite frankly, I think the God I know is way more powerful and loving than the God SMC are worshipping.
As always huge love and biiiiiiiig huggggs to all
God Bless xxxx