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Cornelius Dredd
Err, I doubt Jesus meant turn the other cheek constantly! Not that I was there but I don't believe he would advocate continuing to let people speak down to their flock. Nor probably for any of that flock to meekly accept abusive, controlling behaviour.
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Carry on being ultra thin-skinned like this and you cannot expect to get much in the way of comment from the other side.
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Oh - and Cbarb - maybe you might want to consider starting a blog of your own too :)
Time to "come out" ? seems everyone struthers connected already knows who you are
by your own account here...
Now that would be a very suitable outlet for your eager pen !
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There are two new excellent articles on the Latigo site. Both have been an absolute eye-opener for me. I had no idea of the information contained therein regarding the church finances, loans, accounts, employees, which ones get paid and who are church "members". I don't remember any of this information being made available at church meetings or announced from the platform by leaders. I knew the Cedars School obtained charitable status but I didn't know that this applied also to SMC as a church and that in fact, it was all one company with charitable status. We were told that the School being a charity meant that now it could apply for grants and fund-raise etc. Nobody ever explained what being a "member" of SMC was in the light of what Latigo has uncovered regarding the special few. I am, to put it plainly, shocked. How can a so-called Christian holiness church walk around covering over everything they are doing? Hiding things from not just the general public, or school parents, but also from the members, you and me, as we were once. Is it any wonder they don't like people asking questions.
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Excuse me, but where exactly is the smoking gun in these supposedly “shocking” revelations about their finances ?.
I took a look through these two new articles and frankly - I think if any of the SMC leaders can be bothered to read this stuff they’re probably
laughing their heads off - if not just yawning. I’ve never seen such nitpicking and pointless pedantry in my life!.
And i speak as someone who is in no way approving of the SMC, as you all know.
But seriously “latigos”. If you think just going through annual accounts with some nitpicking toothcomb and adding the odd “note” here or then - is going to
have the attention of the SMC youre seriously deluded.
So in 2009 the church had a few hundred thousand in debt ? so many of the leaders turn out to be involved in running the finances too - big surprise.
Honestly guys LESS IS MORE !. I cannot see anything here to cause shock. As the police say - nothing to see here - move on.
Just raising so called “questions” all over the place is frankly just pissing in the wind. Get real chaps. The way the Latigo web site is starting to
pad out makes me wonder if the person/persons behind this site are more screwed up than the SMC is itself.
I really am beginning to think that people in the SMC, having taken the odd look at this latigo site are just having a good bemused snigger at it all, and its
overblown pompous self importance.
And NO - I repeat I am no SMC sympathiser, but get honestly, this Latigo site really does not paint our concerns and grievances here in a good light.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/15/2011 06:08PM by Clive.
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Quote from Clive :
And NO - I repeat I am no SMC sympathiser, but get honestly, this Latigo site really does not paint our concerns and grievances here in a good light
Can I invite you Clive to resist the temptation to speak for other people.
If you mean the Latigo site does not paint YOUR concerns and grievances here in a good light (whatever that actually means) you are free to say that and other contributors here can either agree or disagree with you. Your use of the word "our" is inappropriate. Your views expressed here are in no way what I as a contributor to this forum feel, so please don't suggest there is a common view.
Perhaps you should speak for yourself and by that avoid the danger you see in others of sounding pompous.
Your recent private e-mails to a number of the contributors to this forum have possibly not given you the answers you wanted. Nevertheless my suggestion to you would be to stop trying to interfere with what people what to say here, on Latigo, or anywhere else and let the information that is out there help whoever it can.
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http://forum.culteducation.com/read.php?14,11374,page=29
But the worst part of your story is how they can sit and appear to be listening to you but then dismiss your pain completely. In that many of us seem to be testifying to the same thing. They are not listening. They are just waiting for us to stop talking so they can try to crush us with their never varying take on how we must be the ones at fault as nothing they ever do could possibly be wrong.
How did they end up here? When did it become impossible for them to listen and hear with their ears and understand? As The Petitor says: how can they continue to pretend that they have no idea how much they are hurting people? And no idea how many people they have hurt? Many of us have told them this in detail before we left, and this has been going on for years. It seems each one of us they mentally dismiss as a failure and move on to the next selected person trying the same failing approaches to control and clone people into their image. No question or pause to see if that is what God wants. No check to see what the bible says. No accountability to anyone. If you complain who decides if it is legitimate? They do themselves! And the very fact you are complaining shows how unspiritual you are. If they are criticised it is spoken of as “opposition” and proof they are doing God's work.
This is delusional, self serving, shameful Pharisaical nonsense.
Thank you for speaking up and sharing your experience. I think it will be very helpful to a lot of people inside and outside Struthers. Like you I thank God daily that He brought me out to a healthy and real faith with the support and guidance of people who actually know what they are doing.
And welcome to the forum too Grace-girl.
Chris19 is so right. There is a life beyond SMC and there are so many healthy churches out there where qualified and trained people will help you become who you were always meant to be in God. Struthers pretends that is their goal but they leave most people in the pew literally for decades to sit and listen while they and their favourite daughters (mostly) drone on. As far as I know not one Struthers leader has ever attended a bible college or received pastoral training. (If they have let's hear it.) Before they complain that this is unnecessary let's ask the teachers and nurses who are in Struthers how many of them would have those jobs with no formal training whatsoever. Not one. Yet the Struthers teaching is that the church doesn't need this. All a leader needs is to say they are called by God to leadership, then everything they do after that is beyond question and criticism.
Well the damage to people lives reported on this forum declares that leadership approach in Struthers is not working.
This forum has been running for months now. Since you left more recently, Grace-girl, do you have any insight into what is happening in Struthers at the moment? Is there any sign at all that the leadership are realising that there is a serious set of complaints now in public and that they have to do something to address these – or are they just dismissing it all and trying to explain it away? Or worst of all are they pretending it is not real as long as they ignore it? Anything you can tell us would be interesting. Some of us left a long time ago!
Finally The Petitor - well done for calling out anon201062 to bring forth his promised army of 1250 happy Struthers people. I hadn't remembered he had made that point about checking facts before posting! Covlass should get an apology.
It does draw attention to the fact that the real enablers in Struthers are the members who support it financially. Until they take responsibility for what is happening, and has been happening unchallenged for many years, then the harm is very likely to continue. My view is that like most organisations the leadership will not change because they recognise the hurt they are causing, or because it is the right thing to do. They will change when they are obliged to by the congregation who will no longer finance the leaders until they commit to change and addressing the problems.
Unless that happens, as the Petitor says, they are simply “following orders” funding more problems for more people. If they believe in God then they will presumably believe they need to be ready to explain to Him one day why they enabled that. Those who have posted on this forum cannot directly change anything in Struthers but at least we will be able to say we spoke up and told the truth and did not pass by on the other side while people were hurt and suffering.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2011 08:51PM by Chesterk55