To the person that has just sent me a Personal Message, I am unable to reply because your mail storage is apparently full :-)

@blackwatch the only person I ever felt comfortable listening to preach is this doctor . He doesn’t fit in with the normal Struthers ‘type’ of leader .

I have argued in the past that Struthers has only one tool in their toolbox. When people are brought up in Struthers they end up with a very limited understanding of how life works and how the Kingdom of God works.


What does occasionally happen is however that someone comes along with a broader experience, but missing the hammer that Struthers has. They go, "wow. if I could add that tool to my toolbox, I could do a lot more".

It may be that the doctor you speak of is in this category. I do not know, all of this post is just pure speculation, so it as likely to be wrong as right, but it seems to me this is a possible scenario and one that can lead to an individual being able to provide a fresh perspective.

The problem is that the whole Struthers machine forces you to adopt the idea that their hammer is the only tool you ever need, and that no other tools are of any use at all. So people who do come with broader knowledge and a range of tools are forced to discard all their other tools and start worshiping the hammer as the only possible tool or, if they cannot accept that, to leave.

BloomingOrchid, I’m not sure who this doctor is to whom you’re referring. Is it the young doctor in the Cumbernauld church who sometimes preaches? If so, from what I’ve heard, he just preaches in accordance with the Struthers mould. He was and is being trained by Diana Rutherford. He won’t be able to bring any fresh perspective because he has to stay within the same old, same old Struthers method and content within his sermons.

He was also brought up in Struthers from childhood, not from birth but later, if my memory serves me right. So he has been indoctrinated with Struthers teaching from a young age. He’ll have attended Youth Camps and Summer Camps for many years, plus heard a plethora of Struthers sermons. How can he bring a fresh perspective? To me, he is just like any other Struthers preacher.

Hi everyone
Great to continue to read your contributions.

For anyone using Facebook you should check out David Ruybalid. He is a pastor who writes about religious/spiritual abuse and trauma.
So much resonates and may be helpful to some.

His post from today
“ You’re not crazy. You were conditioned.

Leaving a cult or a cult like church does not feel like rebellion.
It feels like cutting off oxygen.

The strings are real.
Fear of hell on a regular basis.
Fear of losing your family.
Fear of being labeled bitter, deceived, or dangerous.
Fear of losing your entire community overnight.

Many evangelical churches do not call themselves cults.
But control is still control.

When questioning is punished.
When leaders are untouchable.
When obedience is valued over conscience.
When loyalty matters more than truth.
When leaving means shunning.

That is not spiritual maturity.
That is coercion.

Cutting the strings is terrifying.
You grieve people who are still alive.
You lose certainty.
You lose belonging.
You lose the version of God you were handed.

But you also begin to find your voice.
Your nervous system starts to breathe again.
You learn that love does not threaten you into submission.

If you are cutting ties right now, you are not weak.
You are waking up.

And waking up is brave.

If this resonates, share it.
Someone else is staring at their own strings.”

Blackwatch,

Yes, I agree with your point(s) and cannot really argue with what you say in the final post on p271. Whatever might have been, the reality is that what happened is not acceptable.

BeautyforAshes, what a powerful post. Clearly someone who has been there and felt the impact. Amazing how pastors who are not in Struthers have somehow reached the conclusion that part of the job is to care for people.

Reminds me of something Tim Keller said about authentic preaching:

Quote
Tim Keller (sorry, didn't note the reference. Should be able to find it if needed)

If you want to preach to the heart, you have to preach from the heart.

That’s not as easy as you think.

What I mean by that is to reach the heart, to preach from the heart, means – I’ll call it this: There needs to be a non-deliberate transparency about you. People need to be able to see, as you’re speaking, that somehow the very truths that you’re talking about have repaired you, have mended you, mean the world to you.

Now one of the problems I see is the alternatives to non-deliberate transparency are three. One is flat affect. Some people just speak with flat affect. They’re just going through their notes, and that’s certainly not going to reach anybody’s heart. We all know that.

But there’s a lot of other people who are just excitable. You know? They’re just excitable. They start off talking like this, and all the way through, they’re just like this. They’re just passionate about everything, and it’s not transparent. It literally is. It’s excitability. It’s like you’re psyching yourself up. You’re putting on your game face. People do not sense they’re looking into your heart and seeing a person who’s a trophy of grace, someone who’s been repaired by grace, someone who’s been wounded and humbled and no longer has any need to put on a show. That’s what people are. That’s what moves people.

I have to say that is my experience, preaching is much more effective when you can see the person is authentic and, because they have "been there" is empathetic and caring.

I see none of that in Struthers preaching, it is all just the excitability that Tim Keller speaks of. They have not "been there" because they have never put into practice the love of God by really caring for others. Nice smiles and words, but no sacrificial love for others. That excitability does not build trust, Christian community and growth.

I would also like to refer people to some other resources that are out there. We have had a couple of references to resources that might help people if they are struggling to cope. I think this should be balanced with pointing out resources that might help people who are leading worship in ways that lead to people being hurt rather than healed.

The reason for this is that I do not share BlessedChild's view that when we think of the couple of hundred folks who say they have been hurt by Struthers, we can automatically assume that there is never any fault with the leaders and the only possible problem that needs addressed is how those people are feeling. In my view (and I suspect in the view of any professionals involved in supporting those who have been abused), this is simple victim-shaming. Given the stats, it is simply inconceivable that all the responsibility lies on those who have been hurt. The core responsibility lies on those who have been in a position of ... er... responsibility. Funny how it is the same word - those in a position of responsibility are those responsible. Who would have thought it?

On that note, I want to raise one other point before I go on, which is that there was apparently a comment at the SMC AGM that the church attracted "a small number of critics". That is simply a lie. Whoever said that should be ashamed. There are something like 200 people with concerns. To say there are only a few critics is dishonest and misleading - and cannot be made in honesty by anyone who cares about truth and transparency. I really cannot comprehend how people who say they believe God is listening to every word and that what you say and do matters can be so blatant in their lies. Why did no one stand up and say "that is not true". There are I think something like 6 or 8 Directors of that organisation. Not one had the guts to say, "whoa, hang on a minute, I have seen the concerns raised on the forum. They may or may not be true, that is something we have to investigate but, either way, there are something like 200 critics: it is simply not true to say there are only a small number of critics." Come on folks, show some integrity. How can anyone believe any other info at the AGM is accurate when you come out with stuff like that?

Anyway, to return to the subject, the person Tim Keller chose to speak at his funeral was Sam Allberry. Sam has teamed up with Ray Ortland to create a podcast called "you're not crazy" released by the Gospel Coalition (founded by Tim Keller and DA Carson). Sam and Ray have considerable credibility and wisdom and I would recommend this podcast to anyone interested in what is meant by church.

If you are a member of Struthers do have a look at these resources which are addressed to "young pastors". It will perhaps give some insight into some of the key features we should be seeking to build in a church setting. By the way, it is all very gentle and positive stuff and I cannot imagine anyone being offended by any of it, so I am not saying this to make people feel bad, I am genuinely pointing you to these resources as a way to grow and develop. As I said above, I think it is important not just to point to resources that can make the victim feel better but also to point to rescues that might help the perpetrators see how they might offer a better and more Biblical service to others.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2026 09:37PM by ThePetitor.

...and here is the link to Tim Keller speaking. Just a minute or so long.

[www.youtube.com]

I though some f you might be interested in some quotes from a book I have been reading, To Heal and not to hurt: A fresh approach to safeguarding in the Church by Ministers Rosie Harper and Alan Wilson.

Quote
To Heal and not to hurt
Page 8
We have learnt there is no such thing as what used to be called a ‘historic case'. The abuser may be long dead, but the pain lives on. We have also learnt that, without compassion for the person concerned, dragging up the stone from the bottom is re-abuse. The Church must learn how to take past disclosures seriously in the present.
Until that happens it is impossible to find restoration and freedom from pain.

Page 9
Survivors' painful memories need to be acknowledged and owned by the whole Church.
When someone courageously speaks out about their abuse, we need to embrace that story, painful though it is, and allow the truth to dawn. When things go tragically wrong, we all have to take responsibility and understand that 'their' story is really also 'our' story. Then we can share the pain and, perhaps, the healing. Disturbingly, the way the Church has behaved towards them after things went wrong has almost always made things worse, often in life-changing ways.

Page 12
Nobody we have met wants things to be like this. We are convinced they don't have to be. Survivors are not a threat to the Church, but a resource. They are the experts. First and foremost we have tried to listen to and understand the experiences of survivors themselves. The courage, wisdom and insight of many has been our guide and inspiration for this project. There is much to learn together from all they have experienced of the institution we represent. We dedicate this book to them.

I find that last one particularly moving:

“Survivors are not a threat to the Church, but a resource.”

As soon as Struthers recognises this, the healing will begin. As long as they deny it, the abuse continues.

Hi everyone.
Thanks for these great contributions, BeautyFromAshes and The Petitor.
I’ve been following David Ruybalid on Facebook since you alerted us to his ministry, BeautyFromAshes. His teaching on and exposure of spiritual abuse and church abuse are spot on. He obviously understands the issues and is able to outline exactly what is going on and how victims are left feeling.

Here’s one of his posts which will give you an idea of how apt it is for those of us who have got out of SMC. He writes:

“You didn’t learn to ignore yourself by accident. You were taught to ignore yourself.
For a lot of us, it was survival
Keep the peace. Don’t question authority. Stay quiet. Stay small.
That might have protected you then, but it’s costing you now.
Healing starts the moment you stop abandoning yourself to keep others comfortable.
Prioritising your healing isn’t selfish,
It’s how you get your life back.”

I agree with him about healing coming once you learn to stop ignoring yourself and learn a healthy self-acceptance. This has happened in my own life. We remember the Struthers “death to self” teaching which leaves people very damaged and is in no way biblical.

ThePetitor, the book you mention, “To Heal and not to Hurt” sounds very helpful also, especially the part about listening to and acknowledging survivors of church abuse. It’s hard to believe that the current Struthers leaders still think they are doing fine and that their church is flourishing. They will not stoop so low as to stop and listen to us, the survivors, because we are seen as backslidden from God’s high calling. I’ve heard that more people have recently left SMC so perhaps more are realising the truth about the church and have had enough. So, let’s continue to make people aware of what’s going on in Struthers, ie the dangerous and erroneous control exerted by those in leadership and the psychological and spiritual damage which result.

Thanks Rensil,

On another note, has anyone listened to Diana’s sermon on Instagram? Apparently the first 5 minutes consist of her complaining about getting complaints.

There are a few observations I would like to make about that. I have not listened to the sermon, so cannot speak about this with any authority, but there are still some things that may be worth thinking about. More than happy to be corrected if I have the wrong end of the stick.

(1) Did she not prophesy in “The New Year Word” that everything was going to calm down and this was going to be a year of peace?

(2) Is it not a bit ironic to complain about getting complaints?

(3) She apparently said she had lost sleep about some of these things over recent days. Recent days! Good Grief. Read this forum. There are people here who have lost sleep for years and even decades. You are meant to love others as you love yourself. If you take action when you yourself lose sleep, then you also have to take action when others lose sleep. That is the deal.

(4) But seriously, for a preacher to say this? Can you imagine St. Paul standing up and saying “you really need to stop complaining about things because I am losing sleep”.

(5) Similarly, if she is allowed to spend her time complaining about how tough her life is, are others not entitled to do the same? If others are meant to “forgive and forget” any ills she has inflicted on others, should she not forgive and forget these complaints and complainants? Does she really need to vent about them publicly? Is that not a bit inadequate and embarrassing?

(6) She apparently said that she has no need to respond to complaints because God has forgiven her for everything. Hmmm. So Zacchaeus was pretty stupid then. In Luke 19v8, it says Zacchaeus “Stood up and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.’ ” Silly boy, he could just have said, God has forgiven me for everything so there is no need for me to deal with any complaints, there is no need for me to pay back any money or give possessions to the poor.

(7) Is there no interest at all in whether the complaints were justified? Is that not actually the real issue? Did she mention one thing she had learned from these complaints, one thing that she will now do differently?

(8) If this is the response she plans to take to complaints, why is it not written into policy? Why does the policy say they welcome complaints as a way to improve their practice when it is a total lie. They DO NOT welcome complaints. They may pay them some lip service and write some sort of response designed to appease, but it is appeasement they are after, not improvement. This is their real policy – to preach from the pulpit that complaints are undermining the leaders. They should write that into their policy.

Well, that was my reaction to what I heard. As I say, happy to be corrected if it is not what happened.

Oh, and by the way, there is a fairly recent post on the Latigo site that folks may not have seen.