Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Date: January 12, 2025 04:25AM

Just coming on as a newbie here. Been reading a lot, experienced most of what people are saying.

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Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: ThePetitor ()
Date: January 15, 2025 10:10PM

Hi Iquitthestrutherscult, and welcome to the forum. It is always good to see new people who have found the forum and relate to what has been said – although, in another way, it is just so sad: yet another person who has been caught up in the web of Struthers deceit.

And it is deceit. That is very clear from the complaint and follow up published by FriendlyFace. A well worded and very serious complaint that very clearly fell within their policy and what is the response – “we have decided that we don’t actually want to have a complaints policy after all, we are going to replace it with a come-back-to-church-and accept-we-have-authority-over-you policy.”

What arrogance.

Blessed Child came on to the forum to try to defend the SMC response to the complaint but, as I predicted, did not have the capacity to actually engage in any sort of meaningful discussion. As I said to BlessedChild back on page 202,

Welcome to the Forum. I suspect you will be like other Struthers sympathisers who have come on here: you will ask a few questions and expect people to answer, but will make no attempt at all to answer any questions directed to you. You will then get fed up and stop posting. I hope that is not the case and you are happy to get involved in some serious debate, but I will not hold my breath.

Well, it was a good job I wasn’t holding my breath – one post followed by running away with their tail between their legs. A Chocolate Soldier who melted in the heat of battle as Mr Black would have said.

And there has of course been no attempt to answer the question I posted a little further down on page 202: “Did Struthers Memorial Church correctly apply their own policies in the way they replied to the complaint posted by FriendlyFace?”

This remains a key question, as it tells you whether these people are trustworthy. What is the point of having any statements or policies if they are simply ignored when inconvenient? That demonstrates a total lack of any sort of integrity.

It is no wonder there are so many hurt and damaged individuals posting on this forum when there is an organisation where the single most consistent message is “trust me, trust me, I hear the word of God”, but the clear evidence that is there to be seen by everyone is that they are not trustworthy. What they say is simply not true. They say they will deal with complaints in line with their policy, then they do the opposite. No wonder people refuse to provide their name and want to complain anonymously, they see this manipulative, coercive behaviour that is basically a power play rather than any attempt at resolution or real reconciliation.

As I have said before, the only reason this forum exists is because the leaders are not providing a safe space for people to raise issues. That is simple cause and effect and will continue as long as they ignore issues and complaints and respond with their mantra that the only possible solution is for everyone to believe that the leaders of Struthers have this special insight into God’s will, in spite of the overwhelming empirical and Biblical evidence it is not true.

I do not think there is any other church on the planet that has such a high ratio of unhappy ex-members to current members. There may in fact never have been another church in history that has this sort of ratio – 100 unhappy ex-members on this forum, and probably at least as many others who have not posted here, so that is 200, which is comparable to the actual number of people currently in the church.

Has any church in history ever had that ratio of members to disgruntled ex-members?

This is not normal folks.

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Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: A Theist 101 ()
Date: January 16, 2025 06:13AM

Greetings to you all. I found this site only a week ago and have been avidly reading the back log of messages with a view to saying ‘hi’ at some point in the near future but ThePetitor’s most recent post referred to ‘100 unhappy ex-members’ and, considering my nom de plume, I considered this to be the perfect time to get onboard!

I should say that I have enjoyed reading your posts whilst recognising the pain and hurt that many of you have experienced. Your honesty is refreshing and your testimonies heartfelt. I’m glad you are here both for myself and for each other.


I, too, was a member of SMC, the Glasgow branch, from around 1982 to 1986. It was work that took me away from the church geographically but it was meeting other Christians and, for the first time, being exposed to the teaching of a comprehensive Christian theology that removed me spiritually.

There is so much I’d like to share and just as much I’d like to ask but I’ll leave those things for another time.

Best wishes from ex-member 101

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Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: ThePetitor ()
Date: January 16, 2025 08:34PM

A Theist 101 – Wonderful! Welcome to the forum and thanks for that post – quite amusing that you have chosen a name that is so apt.

The thing I want to mention today does not really follow on from other posts, but is a bit “random” as folks say nowadays.

It is to do a quick comparison between the Keswick Convention which takes place each year – in Keswick funnily enough - and the Struthers camps. I am sure there are many other conventions and events, and I am not trying to say this is the best event for everyone, but it is enlightening to draw a comparison with this sort of event and the camps Struthers holds. For info:

This is the 150th year of the Keswick convention.
Something like 7,000 people attend.
It attracts Bible teachers from all over the world.
The teaching uses exposition rather than eisegesis.
There are groups for young people of all ages (which are again free).
Many of those attending are themselves in Christian Ministry.
The project lives by faith, so never charges for the event. 150 years of not charging a penny to those who attend – how does that compare to the Struthers financial mess?
The first week is known as “The Scottish week” because the Scottish schools are on holiday and the vent therefore attracts more people from Scotland that week.

As well as individuals attending, I think the leaders of Struthers or their clones could do well by cancelling one of their camp weeks and encouraging everyone to attend this event. That would be much more likely to result in a greater understanding of the Christian life and would be much more empowering.

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Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: lintar123 ()
Date: January 17, 2025 03:22AM

Am so glad to welcome new people to the forum . I pray that you will find your way forward post the trauma of Struthers .

Yes, it is good to consider the Keswick convention .

Struthers is so blinded and dangerous ... wanting to completely control the lives ( and no doubt finances and time of innocent people ) .
It worries me that they have Youth meetings . Such vulnerable young people being brainwashed . They cause so many traumatic mental health issues for so many. I continue to pray that more people will discover the truth ...that true Christianity is not like that .

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Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: A Theist 101 ()
Date: January 17, 2025 07:53AM

Thanks to both of you for the warm welcome. I should state at the outset that in spite of having a conversion experience with SMC, a baptism in the spirit experience with them too, playing my accordion regularly in Sauchiehall street as well as in Greenock as part of SMC outreach programme, being a founding member of a baptist church up north, having a teaching ministry about the cults (commonly recognised groups like JWs and Mormons)and being an elder for years within my local church I now no longer have any religious faith. I don’t blame SMC for this outcome although they may willingly point to me as an example of how one’s life can go “wrong” when not drenched in their teachings. I simply say this so you know where I am coming from and I hope this will not alienate me from the group in any way as it seems that many of you on here still appear to have a strong and vibrant Christian faith. I hope the addition of yet another individual sharing their testimony about life within SMC may add to the evidence that the way we were treated was not normal and that we were, in fact, victims.

As for me, although I was subjected to the same issues that many of you have raised here, I do not consider myself to be damaged by my time in the church. I think this is somewhat due to my personality and, in part, to my limited time within the church. So many of the names mentioned bring back memories and I still know a few people within the church whom I would consider friends.I have been to one service in the last 38 years when I visited the “new” Glasgow building just to see if things had changed at all. That was a few years ago now and the place did seem way more mellow than when Mary Black was leading us in the Hall in Knightswood!

I hope to share a few stories that will reinforce the coercive nature of their dealing with people’s personal lives.

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Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: lintar123 ()
Date: January 18, 2025 12:04AM

Believe me your life hasn't "gone wrong " .

I know many people who are in similar situations post Struthers .

Some where " washed out " and " exhausted " ... others were totally " put off ".

Most were recovering from having given so much of their life / time / money / effort .... only to be left feeling used / abused and traumatised .

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Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: A Theist 101 ()
Date: January 18, 2025 08:53AM

Hi lintar123. I see that now but wasn’t aware of it at the time. I do know several folks who have had such negative experiences like you describe and the result has been a less than ideal life. Such a tragedy when these folks were so giving and willing but were thrown aside for someone new,charismatic and more obedient.

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Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: ThePetitor ()
Date: January 18, 2025 06:36PM

Hello again A Theist 101 and thanks for these additional insights into your own experience.

I am confident that none of what you say about your own position will in any way affect your welcome here. This is a place to talk about the experiences we have had in Struthers not to argue about what is right post-Struthers. Thanks for sharing your own position.

In my own case, the reason I speak quite a bit about the normal Christian experience is not to try to convince people that it is right but to point out that Struthers is very far from mainstream Christianity and it is not inevitable that you lose your faith if you leave Struthers. I would be happy to have a debate about Christian beliefs, but this is not the place for that. Please do feel free to correct me if I ever stray over that line and move from explaining why Struthers does not practice anything that would be considered as normal or Biblical Christianity and into realms of trying to convince people of my personal beliefs.

And while on that idea of potentially getting things wrong, I have, like quite a few others, got things wrong on this forum and have of course apologised. The interesting thing is that no-one who has come on here to support Struthers has ever apologised for anything they have got wrong.

I for example remember anon201062 back on page 2 of the forum saying,

Quote
anon201062
But for everyone that has an issue with the work god is doing there I can find 50 who have been set free, healed or are finding a freedom in god that is a result of the work the leadership has done, and the work that god is doing in that place.

Hmmm. I wonder if anon201062 can find 10,000 people that would testify to that – or is willing to come back onto this forum to say they were mistaken. The would be the honest thing to do.

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Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: RedRoad ()
Date: January 18, 2025 09:20PM

I add my welcome to you, A Theist 101 - love the play on name. You have been brave in leaving sufficient markers that you will be identifiable to those of the 1982-86 era. But in so doing, you may give courage to yet more others to take some small or big step towards emotional and spiritual freedom. I am glad that you "do not consider myself to be damaged by my time in the church". And your description of "meeting other Christians and, for the first time, being exposed to the teaching of a comprehensive Christian theology that removed me spiritually" describes the journey that other contributors to the forum have also been on. I certainly found it quite a liberation to regain permission to think for myself.

Mention of "up north" and "baptist" in the same sentence, for those of you who were of 60s 70s 80s SMC era, Hugh McConnachie, once of Port Glasgow SMC, sadly passed away at the beginning of December after a short illness. He had already left SMC (financial shares scandal) and when he retired from IBM Greenock, he retrained as a Baptist Minister. Imagine having to start on a degree in your mid-50s - would not have been me!! He pastored on the island of Westray, Orkney, for many years, even going back and carrying out ministry there once more when supposedly retired a 2nd time! There have been mentions of the McConnachies in the early pages of the forum, many anecdotes and stories provided by early prolific contributors. He learnt and mastered the trade of pastoring people. When he was a Baptist Pastor at Gourock, he was known to carry out home and hospital visits to many, many people, with or without membership of his own congregation. He was a true shepherd.
Fiona, his wife, ran the Wiston kitchen for many years, feeding the "House" 3 meals a day plus supper, a monumental co-ordination task. If any family read the forum, I pass on sincere condolences to you all. You had a great husband, dad and uncle.

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