The verse of the day that popped up on my phone today was:

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Matthew 5v11
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Note this is the Biblical version. It is NOT the same as the Struthers version, which is closer to:

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How Struthers interpret Matthew 5v11
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you because of the things you have done. The things they say must be false because they are directed against you. Act on the arrogant assumption that all accusations are false, that any criticism of you is automatically a criticism of me and anything that goes wrong is an attack of the devil. That saves you thinking about others and whether there might actually be some truth at the centre of what is happening.

Where the word "false" appears is important!

Jesus was clear the first test was, "is it false?" That is step one if something is said about you. This is the exact opposite of what Diana says. The instruction from Jesus is to go about thinking, "why did this happen?" Is what is being said true or false?

That will tell you whether God is blessing you or is perhaps doing the opposite - judging you for your arrogance.

There are many recordings available to download and listen to on the Struthers website. I found one to be particularly wild. It is labelled as Diana Rutherford speaking at the Easter Conference on Saturday 30 March 2024. It can be found here. Please note this is a Google Drive link so if you are signed in to your Google account when you click on this link, your name may be visible to the owner (Struthers).


As is typical for Diana’s sermons there is a lot to unpack, but here is a highlight. We all know of Struthers' thoughts on consuming 'worldly' media. Here it is in black and white.

Listening to the Radio is “Backsliding”
Around the 27-minute mark we can see a classic example of how the Struthers congregation are kept in the dark from the outside world by the leadership through constant fear from the pulpit. Diana tells a story about a time when she engaged in some “backsliding”. She says:

“…I began to do certain things like listen to the radio in the morning. I can’t remember who I was listening to now, was it a DJ of some sort who used to speak on the radio. And I used to listen to him for companionship. And he was talking away to the world you know and I used to answer him sometimes, have a chat. But it just took me off the sharp edge. I tried to fill my time with doing certain things, reading certain books for example. Nothing’s wrong, but just filling my time trying to keep going. And one day I remember waking up thinking ugh God I’ve lost that real passion for you.

And all I did was I dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s in my spiritual life. I turned the radio off and began to speak to God instead. I stopped reading my kiddies books that I was reading and began to read my bible. I was reading my bible anyway but I read it more. And very quickly I was back where I should have been, it was as I had just gone, like that, and back suddenly up there. And immediately the fire and the life and the energy and the appetite for God returned. And that’s what brings us to that place. And that my friend, that was backsliding.

I wasn’t going to the pub, I wasn’t indulging in wrong relationships, I wasn’t sleeping around outwith marriage, I wasn’t doing any of the sort, I was simply looking for a bit of companionship from the radio. And I had lost it. That was me backsliding. The standards of God are incredibly high and if you want to preserve the fire of pentecost in your heart and you want the passion for God in your heart, then you need to keep yourself there, right all the time until you’re dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. Because if we don’t, he will abandon us.”


That’s right folks - in the year 2024 AD, the leader of Struthers is preaching that listening to the wireless in the morning causes people to “backslide”. And if you want to be close to God, you better stop listening to the radio, stop reading books, and 'be right' all the time - otherwise God will abandon you.

Nice to see that Struthers are still encouraging their congregation to shun basic forms of media, keeping them forever in their little isolated bubble, completely separate from the real world. The only things they can listen to are what the leaders tell them, whatever they have decided to make up themselves that day. To anyone in Struthers reading this, please consider how wild and completely unreasonable it is that the leader thinks that listening to the radio in the morning is bad, and should not be done.

This, my friends, is one of the classic signs of a cult.

Diana is right the standards of God are incredibly high BUT that's why we need a saviour. We could NEVER keep up with God's standards. The Pharisees tried and failed. We will never be good enough, no matter how Holy we think we are. If we claim to be without sin then we decive ourselves and the truth is not in us(1 John 1.8).

And God's word also says

Hebrews 13:5
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you'"

I think that is worth holding on to. God is nothing like us. He doesn't go into a huff if we listen to the radio. All these are teachings of a cult and are NOT from God

Hi
Just responding to Fathippos post.
Good answer Escapesoon the Pharisees indeed put heavy burdens on the people and bound them in legalism.

When reading this I was thinking of a sermon I heard based on Romans 14 about the weaker brother not dictating ‘his’ or ‘her’ rules in the Church.

‘for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.’

Although this is about not eating meat it gives us a principle in the Christian walk. Be careful you are not putting your burdens on another servants shoulders.

Diana you may have backslid listening to the radio and felt God was going to abandon you if you continued to use some of your time to do this, but others in your congregation would not backslide. Why?
They are unaffected by occasionally listening to the radio in their daily walk with Christ … this is something that is not a trigger to sin for them. Remember when we willing sin this is the start of backsliding.
These fellow servants in Christ are mature enough to choose what to listen to …making sure it’s not unrighteous and is in fact a good use of some of their time and allowed by God!! And in some cases may even be good for their mental health.

You are the weaker brother in this scenario.. don’t judge others because you need to abstain and likewise we will not judge you for abstaining!

Remember it is the Lord who is able to make us stand… and through the reading of His word we are sanctified.

Some good comments on DR's sermon! Astonishing exegesis of Scripture! As is so often the case with SMC preaching, sections of Scripture are read or quoted and then commented upon with little or no reference to the original context,the Christian Church's historical interpretation or application. Rather they are used simply as a launching pad for what the speaker wants to say at that moment to his (usually her) captive audience. (To be fair, Andrew Jewel and Jennifer Jack don't err quite so much in this regard). Altogether I've come to the conclusion that while SMC has a relatively Biblical Statement of Faith, sadly the movement's ethos has much more in common with 1st and 2nd century Gnosticism or medieval mysticism than orthodox Biblical Christianity. A good antidote for both leaders and members would be liberal doses of excellent teaching from folk like Alastair Begg, Don Carson, Dale Ralph Davis, Martin Lloyd Jones, Tim Keller, RC. Sproul, Andrew Wilson -- I could go on . . & on -- or (given the proclivity for women speakers) what about Nancy Guthrie. Melissa Krueger, Kathleen Nielson, Nancy Wolgemuth - all readily available on YouTube for non-readers (provided of course that YouTube isn't out of bounds?). God has gifted His Church with so many rich resources there's really no excuse for theological ignorance.

Diana would do well to meditate long and deeply on St. Paul's words to the church in Galatia: (Galatians 5:1 and following): "It is for FREEDOM Christ has set us free. Stand firm and don't let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery ... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through LOVE" or Colossians 2:21 & following: "Why do you submit to rules such as 'Don't handle, don't taste, don't touch' (don't listen to the radio, don't watch TV!!??) "...such commands are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship and false humility...etc ". I realise Paul's words were written in a different context but he was still addressing the problem of legalism versus grace (which it seems to me is the problem with DW's teaching) and -- as "Amazing Grace" points out in her reference to Romans 14 -- there is an underlying principle here that has wider implications and application.

Thank you Fathippo, AmazingGrace and Escapesoon for that insight into the increasingly shrill and increasingly desperate insanity the poor wretches still in Struthers have to endure from the hyper controlling new uber-leader.

And thank you Pheobe2 for your as always learned and insightful comments. If only we had, in years gone by, speakers with actual knowledge like you in Struthers many more people might still be there.

And building on that thought, you will be interested to know that you are quite correct that Andrew Jewell will not "be erring so much in that regard" any more because three weeks ago he announced he was leaving Struthers Memorial Church and now no longer attends.

As yet we do not know if that situation has any connection with the unbiblical and idiotic teaching and self serving directives the new leader has made to gather all power and attention to herself.

Of that - at this point - we can only speculate.

Wow, that is fascinating - It really does look like the organisation is crumbling.

Where did he announce that?

I'm beyond astounded by the news that Andrew Jewell has left SMC. I thought he had been identified by the Powers that Be as an eventual successor to Mrs Gault! I hope he stands firm on this decision & doesn't allow either false guilt or pressure from others to persuade him to return. I had a similar experience many years ago now when I decided to leave a certain group (can't really call it a "church" as it had none of the attributes of a New Testament church)and experienced what I can only describe as "withdrawal" symptoms for many months. Sunday mornings were the worst, when I was smitten with guilt & in fact I did return on one occasion - thankfully only to be more convinced than ever that it was right to leave. (That group eventually disbanded - I should say "disintegrated" -- as others left one by one). In God's Providence I found another church -- not a perfect church of course (there's no such thing) but one that had loving pastoral care and concern, a commitment to preaching and teaching the Scriptures (the whole Bible - not just snippets here and there) and a heart for mission, reaching out into the community and further afield. (I've now been a member there for over 40 years). That's what I'm praying for Andrew & all the others who have been wounded; asking God that they will find churches where they will be cared for and nurtured and where their gifts and abilities will be affirmed, encouraged and developed within a loving community. Praise God that, paradoxically, painful disillusionment CAN lead to a deeper, more robust faith -- but it doesn't happen overnight and it often means having to demolish the false belief structure we've built over years and rebuilding it all again with better materials.

Hi everyone
Just commenting on Phoebe2 post

‘but it doesn't happen overnight and it often means having to demolish the false belief structure we've built over years and rebuilding it all again with better materials.’

This is so true.. this can be overwhelming at first, accepting that most of your Christian life was built upon unbiblical doctrines / principles and the entire structure has to be torn down. But God gives the grace to persevere.
I can truly say now ‘I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind but now I see’

Listening to preachers like RC Sproul, Sinclair Ferguson etc helped with that through the years until I found a new doctrinally sound Church.
I would encourage like Phoebe2 those who have more recently left, to endure through this and not be drawn back out of habit or routine or even family pressure.
May Gods grace be with you as you make this journey back into truth.