Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: cbarb ()
Date: October 15, 2012 09:09PM

Sorry, I'm not quite finished after all....

1 Kings: 10:1-3

(1) And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to prove him with hard questions.
(2) And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spcies and very mcuh gold and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.
(3) And Solomon told her all her questions; there was not ANYthing hid from the king wihch he told her not.

This is repeated in 2 Chronicles 9:1

So even King Solomon was willing to answer questions to the point that the queen of Sheba believed in the truth of God; he certainly didn't tell her to just blindly believe what he was preaching to his people because that would be the same as questioning God Himself. No, he answered all her questions and he must've done a very good job of it because she went away a believer!

Are the leaders of SMC holding themselves higher than King Solomon? Hmmmm!

Now I'm done for the day!

God bless you all richly xxxx

Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: cbarb ()
Date: October 15, 2012 09:11PM

PS. This one seems to have started a new page so if you're confused by the opening statement go back to page 69 :-)

Now I'm definitely done for the day :-)

Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: lintar123 ()
Date: October 16, 2012 05:49AM

CBarb and Rensil, I have been avidly reading your posts and re-living again the horrors of Struthers and continually remembering more atrocities.
Apart from my own previously posted experiences of the "cult" (because that`s what it is and always has been);I remember having the occasion to visit a young guy who was admitted to the Psychiatric unit in the Monklands Hospital because his mind was so "messed up" during his Struthers time. He died. He commited suicide.Another occasion that springs to mind was meeting one of the regular members whilst out for a walk...in between the long, tiring and harrowing meetings. This guy was holding a postcard and he asked me what he could write on it. He was sending it to his mum. He was scared to write anything that could be offensive to God.Again his mind was so messed up.That Wiston camp was his " annual break from work".

House meetings at the Rutherfords had young children present in scary circumstances.It always concerned me that they were present. Young minds shouldn`t have been witnessing all that speaking in tongues/ praying for demons to go e.t.c. Psychological abuse, at its worst!

D. Rutherford did have favourites and discussed people in ways that she shouldn`t have done.She advised who she thought was "spiritual" or "in need "(in her eyes). I feel very concerned that this all still happens and they don`t understand the damage they continue to cause.I can`t understand why no SMC Leader wishes to respond and I can`t understand why the congregations continue to kid themselves on. Struthers Memorial church is dangerous.The school remains a huge concern as do, all the untoward and bizarre staffing and financial issues. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: cbarb ()
Date: October 16, 2012 10:28PM

Hi Lintar123

I understand you completely and I understand the poor boy who committed suicide. Right now the memories are still painful but I have been so low myself and the feelings of worthlessness and utter hopelesness are excrutiatingly painful. In your heart, mind and soul you feel unloved and totally unworthy of love and you constantly wonder why on earth you were ever born in the first place. It becomes harder and harder to give yourself a reason to go on living from day to day. My saving grace has been my children and although my parents have been very supportive over the years I don't think they fully understand, even now, the depths of despair to which I sank.

People often talk about being broken-hearted but, until I truly was, I didn't realise how absolutely physically painful a truly broken heart can be; it wasn't just my heart that broke but my spirit broke too and I became like a shaddow of what I formerly was. I was lucky to have such supportive parents and, although they don't fully understand what happened to me, their continued support was the only thing that got me on the long road to recovery. I'll never be the same person I once was and I still have a deep mistrust of men who show any interest in me other than friendship and I have actively made myself as ugly as I can to avoid any unwanted attention in that direction.

I know of quite a few people who have married because of their involvement in the church but have since discovered that they married the wrong person because they were trying to please parents and the church instead of listening to their own hearts.

We all know that taking your own life is a sin but when you are so low as to believe that even God can't possibly love you it can seem like the only way to escape the pain of living such an unworthy life. I had the church on one hand telling me I was going to hell because I was unworthy of God's love and I had the man I loved on the other hand telling me my children and family would be better off if I was dead... there comes a point when you actually believe that to be true.

This is what mind control does to you. The power of suggestion is extremely strong and if you're not a mentally and spiritually strong person to begin with it is easy to believe the most absurd things. This is how hypnotists can ply their trade on stages around the world, for the most part it's a bit of harmless fun but it can have very serious consequences when coupled with other mind control tactics like those used in SMC. It then becomes a very dangerous game when the power is misused to inflict soul destroying and life destroying pain on the people listening.

SMC's main tactic is to make the people believe that they should aspire to be in the 'inner circle' to get closer to God; and they make that relationship look so wonderful and loving to the onlooker that the people actually want and need to aspire to being a part of that 'inner cirlce'. What they don't tell you is that they will break you until you are no more than a 'yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir' person and even then you have little or no chance of making it to the 'inner circle' (which is usually made up of the leader's immediate friends and family). The 'inner circle' are actually the spies of the leader who go out of their way to befriend whichever person happens to be the focus of the leader's attention at the time and find out their deepest darkest secrets to report back to the leader. The leader will then claim some devine insight into that person's life and persuade them to become deeper involved in their need for 'deliverance'.

If the leader feels the person has been suitably set on the road to 'deliverance' they may be invited to give testimony from the platform; and the darker and more sensational the testimony the more attention the testifier receives, leading them to believe that they are actually attaining the all important initiation into the 'inner circle'. This, of course, is not a position they will ever be able to attain because the leaders can't afford for too many people to realise that their 'devine insights' are no more than the result of gossip and, in some cases, outright lies. Only the most pliable and mindless people will ever attain that all important position in the church to avoid the possibility of the complete farce of it all being discovered by the more discerning of the congregation.

There are many people in SMC who have been there for most, if not all, of their lives and have never been given any position of authority or usefulness in the church because they have proved to be too strong minded for the leaders to allow them to get that close to the truth. And yet these people still attend and hope that one day their contributions will be noticed and worth the level of committment they have given for so many years.

As I've said before, I was about 15 or 16 when Diana Hoar first appeared at a youth camp and her testimony would curl your hair (or straighten it if you're already blessed with curly hair!). I watched her throughout that camp and found her to be devious and calculating even then but the leaders heaped attention on her and frequently were ensconced in the small lounge with her. When I did get some time to talk to her I can quite honestly say that the aura of evil and madness I felt from her was so overwhelming I resolved to watch from a distance in future... a very great distance.

I have been blessed (or cursed) with lucid dreaming since I was a small child and usually these dreams hit me when I am under the same roof as someone who has an ill-will against me or the people around me. At the youth camp to which I'm referring, we had a flood in the field and some of us were moved into the house because the tents were flooded. My friend and I were put into the room next door to Diana and, while I won't bore you with the details of my lucid dream that night, it is sufficient to say I took my friend and got the heck out of there as soon as it was light in the morning! We dismantled the tent and moved it right up to the back of the field where the flooding wasn't so bad and, having found an old tent in the cookhouse, spread it out inside our tent to keep the worst of the water out and spent the rest of the camp in the sodden field because I refused to go back to sleep in the house. My friend was a bit annoyed with me because she wanted to sleep in the comfort of the house but she loved me enough to keep me company in the cold and wet field for the next few days.

In case you're wondering, yes I had many lucid dreams while I was married but I had made my bed and therefore felt I had to lie in it but I didn't get as much sleep as I should have in our thirteen years together because, by that time, I had perfected a technique to wake me completely before the dreams got into full swing and then keep myself awake all night to avoid slipping into that state of dreaming again before morning. So, like I say, I didn't get as much sleep as I should've in those thirteen years. (Not to mention my ex can snore for Scotland:-))

Whether you believe it or not is neither here nor there because what I'm really trying to say is that Diana is an evil, calculating and thoroughly unwholesome person and, should you ever meet her on the street, turn around and get as far away from her as you possibly can. Quite frankly to say I was utterly SHOCKED to discover she was now a church leader is a severe understatement. I actually had to confirm with a few other people that she was who I thought she was, since she has now changed her name. I can't say the same thing about the other leaders because, of those I personally know, I have never had the same extreme reaction to any of them.

Wow, I didn't actually know I was going to share all that with you guys, it just came flooding back when I read your post, Lintar123 because I identify so much with what you were saying.

If there were legal processes which you could go through to bring the leaders of SMC to account for the many years of misery and soul destruction they have heaped on their followers then I would be at the FRONT of the queue to start that process!

I'm a bit exhausted now and need to go for a cup of tea. Take care all and remember, God is LOVE and he will never allow you to bear any burden which is too heavy for you. If you hear of people in distress, reach out a loving hand and let them know that the LOVE of God is FREE to all and you don't need to be in a church to receive it. Praise His Holy Name!

Mega love and the hugest huggggggggggggs EVER.
God bless you all xxxx

Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: Rensil ()
Date: October 18, 2012 08:22AM

Cbarb, I really liked your comparison story re the Queen of Sheba visiting Solomon and that he answered ALL her questions. And, yes, the Bible says she asked "hard questions". Solomon was known for his great wisdom and he was wise at answering all her questions. What I mean is, if someone in leadership doesn't or doesn't want to answer the genuine seeking questions of a believer, then he or she is not very wise and isn't displaying true wisdom.

My imagination ran away with me and I envisaged a scenario where the Queen of Sheba made a visit to SMC. As she rolled up in her white stretch-limousine with all her attendants, she got a great welcome from many of the members. She was given a tour of the churches, book-shop and school and the link between them was briefly explained. This intrigued her but when she questioned further about the church and what 'Christian school' meant, she did not receive any answers. She kept asking but she still didn't get any answers to her queries. She heard a lot about the i-pad deployment and was presented with an i-pad to take back to her country. Being a wealthy lady, she gave the Church a sizeable donation with which they were very pleased. She asked again about the teachings of the church, and about who was appointed as leaders and how it all related to the beliefs of other christian churches, but she didn't get any answers. She was told that her crown princes and princesses would be welcome to travel over and enrol as pupils at the School. She said, Fine, as we can well afford the fees. SMC leaders were very happy about her visit and were talking about it after she'd left. "Why should we answer all these questions the Queen of Sheba kept asking us? Who does she think she is anyway, asking us stuff like that. We don't need to answer her or any visitor's questions. This is just the way it is and if people don't like us, then, tough. But we've got a donation and the promise of more paying pupils and news about the i-pad is spreading. So, all in all, a successful visit".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2012 08:33AM by Rensil.

Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: cbarb ()
Date: October 18, 2012 10:19PM

Hi guys

Yes, Rensil, I can imagine that sort of scenario myself. :-)

It is a sad fact that satan is the great deceiver and he probably has as many ways to deceive as God has to Bless. The mind control and deception going on in SMC is not the kind of behaviour learned from Jesus or condoned by God in the Bible. If it isn't Biblical then it can only be designed to deceive.

To my mind, the answer to living a Godly life is to allow God's love to shine through you and touch others around you. Isn't that what Jesus did? Isn't that what the Bible tells us we should do to walk close to God?

I hate to keep saying it but; where there is no LOVE there is no GOD. How many SMC'ers are sad, neglected, have low self-esteem, are insular and withdrawn? How many SMC leaders reach out their hands in LOVE and COMPASSION for their fellow men (not just their 'inner circle' cliques).

You KNOW these people are not people of God because their own actions are questionable, not just from a spiritual point of view but, from a common sensibility viewpoint, from a financial transparency viewpoint and from a basic humanitarian view to boot.

God demands that his followers be completely open and completely transparent in all things. That means NOTHING hidden from public view, this means living by example. When people are calculating or cagey about things or deliberately vague when questioned, they should be completely and severely mistrusted in ALL things.

When unscrupulous people use God's name and claim to have some higher knowledge but don't shine out the strongest beacon of LOVE, GRACE and COMPASSION then these people are NOT close to God in any way, shape or form. THESE people are to be avoided at all costs because they are nothing more than charlattans, deceivers and liars.

Imagine the kind of world we would be living in if everyone just loved their neighbour a bit more. Do you think we would still have wars? No, we'd be too busy helping each other out and doing what we could to make our neighbours' lives more comfortable instead of more miserable. Sadly human greed will always stand in the way of love, in some quarters.

However, the ONE place where you should find all the love and support you need should be in your church, yes?

I know we never get any answers but I'll ask again:

Do any of the remaining members of SMC actually feel true LOVE, GRACE and COMPASSION from those who claim to be 'anointed ones'? If so, please tell us about the loving and compassionate things these leaders have done for you. I would love to hear about any truthful experience which could redeem the way I feel about the people on the pulpits of SMC churches.

I won't be holding my breath for any answers, but who knows?

Take care guys.

Lots of love and huge huggggggs
God Bless xxx

Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: Rensil ()
Date: October 19, 2012 11:28PM

Lintar123, I remember the guy you write about who was in psychiatric care. I remember talking to him when he still came to SMC. He was mentally ill and suffered from severe depression. I remember that he just did not believe that God could ever love him and he could not believe that other people loved him either. I know that is one of the symptoms of depression, that the person has terribly low self-worth and feels/is convinced that nobody likes them. This can be transferred into feeling God cannot love them. This guy just could not accept or believe that God loved him and so believed he wasn't saved and wasnt going to heaven. I felt really sorry for him. Do you know, I didn't know that he had committed suicide until recently, because I never heard anyone in SMC mention him again after he ended up in hospital. It was never announced that he had died.

I think that being in SMC and listening to the teaching on death to self, how "unholy and unclean you all are" and that only a few are going to "make the grade for God", would be the final straw for this man and would plummet him into the depths. I heard SMC leaders say that people with mental illness couldn't cope in SMC because of the intense and strict teaching on holiness and sanctification. I remember being slightly puzzled about that because I thought, well, where are they to go and who will help and support them? It's not their fault that they have mental illness, no more than if they have thyroid trouble or asthma. I was told they could go to another church where it was easy-going. OK. Right. ?

There have to my knowledge been quite a number in SMC who have had or developed mental illness and had to be hospitalised. In another case, we were instructed by a leader not to visit the person. They got no visits and was devastated by this, which of course, made their illness worse. They had been a faithful attendee at meetings, so there was no obvious reason for not visiting the person. I certainly think that being in SMC can cause people to become depressed, develop serious depression, and if someone has mental weakness, then their being part of SMC would make it worse, much worse and could really tip them seriously over the edge. Others find it hard to think or make decisions in a normal fashion, like the boy writing the postcard at Camp (Lintar123 describes), which was his one and only annual holiday. I know what the picture on the postcard would be - a picture of Wiston Lodge - and he would buy it in the wee shop in Wiston Lodge, because to go to the Biggar shops would be deemed worldly.

Finally, Jesus travelled far just to speak to, save and set free the isolated, rejected, mad demoniac man who kept pigs in Gaderene and who ran about the tombs naked and cut himself. Read it in the New Testament and picture the scene. Jesus loved that man and set him free and he joyfully ran off to tell everyone what Jesus had done.

Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: cbarb ()
Date: October 23, 2012 10:34PM

Hi Folks

I'm reminded of the parable in the Bible regarding the three servants to whom their master gave money before going on a journey. Two of the servants went out and traded so that they made a profit and one buried the coin so that it would still be there when the master came home. (Mat. 25: 14-30)

The point of this parable, to my mind, is to teach us to share the love and grace of God with those around us so that we receive more of His blessings and an increase in His gifts to us.

SMC teach that their followers should always be looking inward to scourge their souls of any unholy thing. Anything bad which happens to them or any wrong thought is a manefestation of their need for deliverance from their demon-possession. As a result of this type of teaching the members of SMC are encouraged to ensconce themselves and their spiritual gifts in a hole of self-abhorrance. This is akin to them saying to God "Look Master, I took the blessings which you gave me and hid them away from public view so that they would not become tarnished and would remain in the same state as when you bestowed them on me".

In Biblical terms, God sends us trials and tribulations to give us an opportunity to react in the correct way and thus increase our spiritual link with Him. He gives us abundant blessings so that we can reach out to others and share those blessings with those who are in need of friendship, help or sustenance. Only by doing this can we truly grow in God's love and grace and increase our spiritual experience.

God expects us to be proactive and share his gifts in order to increase and GROW spiritually ourselves. You cannot grow spiritually unless you actively SHOW spirituality by LOVING and shining God's Light into other people's lives. If there is no Light in your life then you have either covered up God's blessings to you or you have not fully received His Light and Love.

Do the SMC leaders positively SHINE with God's Love and Grace? Do they seek out the most needy and hopeless and SHOW them God's Love and Grace? Do they fast and pray for those who need deliverance? [See Latigo site: [latigo214.info]]

To the remaining members of SMC I would say be very careful about what you believe and LOVE your children enough not to poison their minds with the UNholy teachings coming out of SMC leaders' mouths. These leaders are self-serving, not God-serving as they should be, and ALL blame for spiritual failings lies firmly at their doorsteps and not at the feet of the members of the congregation. This is very succinctly argued on the Latigo site in the above article and I would urge all members of SMC to study this article and truly understand the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ our Lord.

There is an extremely unhealthy obsession with demon-posession in this church and the leaders are NOT in any way qualified to be prescribing these, so-called, deliverance sessions.

God blesses us through our actions towards others and our PROactive behavoiur in any given situation. It is easy to hide away and say that you don't have to answer to anything because you have some higher knowledge which tells you that you are always right and everyone who questions your rightness is in need of deliverance or has no faith - this means 'faith in SMC leaders' and NOT faith in God Himself, you can be utterly and Biblically sure about that.

You will notice I used the word 'rightness' in the paragraph above rather than, the leaders of SMC's self proclamations of 'righteousness'. This was deliberate because the leaders of SMC are very UNrighteous both in their speech and their behavoiur towards others. You people who remain in this organisation need to believe in God and His absolute power in ALL situations of your life instead of believing in and paying homage to self-agrandizing, UNholy, UNrighteous and downright dangerous human beings. Lift your eyes to Heaven, it's much HIGHER than the pulpit of SMC churches!

I pray daily for the DELIVERANCE of the SMC leaders. Their lives must be so shallow that they can only get pleasure from berrating and harranguing their totally blinded and blinkered followers.

Living with God is uplifting, enlightening and totally changes your outlook on life. The Godly person quietly serves the Lord by actions and speech with others; shining out his Light of LOVE and GRACE to everyone around them, then God reflects the Light and LOVE back into our lives to continually bless and uphold us. This makes us stronger Christians and more able to face the next challenge and the next opportunity to receive more of God's Light and LOVE into our lives.

This is what the Bible teaches us and this is what living a Godly life is all about, it's the OUTreach that matters NOT the INreach!

Keep LOVING your neighbours, even those you think are unworthy of love - it is not your place to decide who is worthy and who is not and that applies to church leaders as well.

AS always,
Biiiiiiig love and huge hugggggs to all
God bless you all richly xxx

Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: cbarb ()
Date: October 23, 2012 11:13PM

Hi again guys

Sorry, I forgot that I wanted to relate part of my last post to Rensil's post regarding visiting a sick person in hospital and Lintar123's post regarding the suicide victim. These are GLARING examples of UNholiness, unworthiness, LOVElessness, COMPASSIONless and wholly UNGODLY, and therefore UNChristian, behaviour. Those who followed-the-leader in ignoring the pain of these people have completely missed out on the opportunity to receive God's blessings through their LOVE, support and prayers for those experiencing such pain. A great LOSS to ALL concerned!

Even a non-Christian would be abhorred by such behaviour and God is no less abhorred by people who turn their backs on those in need. If a church leader EVER tells you to turn your back on another person you should seriously question their very EARTHLY reasons for such an UNholy demand. I'm guessing that the victims involved were not of the 'inner circle' or were personally disliked by the leader(s) of the church. SHAME on them, they will be called to answer for their actions, or lack thereof, when the 'Master' comes home.

God bless xxxx

Re: Struthers Memorial Independent Pentecostal Church
Posted by: Jay ()
Date: October 24, 2012 05:33AM

Testing

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.
This forum powered by Phorum.