Okay, I'm confused - which poster is Dan Davis? Because I knew a guy in high school back in the mid-70's named Dan Davis (at Rio Linda High). I guess it's a common enough name, but wouldn't that be interesting if it's the same guy I knew back then?

I have read through a few of the posts here (ok, ok...I have read through all of the posts on this thread), and I have a question for anyone on this thread who feels they have been hurt and/or harmed by someone at RLC: What do you think would help you heal? (i.e. a formal apology from the person who harmed you? Perhaps a face-to-face meeting with a person from RLC?). This is a genuine question with no strings attached.

Unfortunately people are hurting from there time spent at RLC...unfortunately there are people on here who either don't think it is actually happening or think it is entertaining that it has happened and that is why it is being treated like a freak show on this message board. We attended f RLC for many years and left last year. We love the people there and although we were hurt there we did learn a lot too and some of it was truth and it was positive.

Some of the things that are being said on these threads are really over exaggerated. One of the threads had some ridiculous thing about only being aloud to drink Coke. Really it's that a person that attends the church works for Coca-Cola and therefore supplies the machines. Yes, people live with each other and we were ones that did for awhile. Was it right? It worked for us at the time but it ended up not being for us in the end. It was hard and it was during the time that Spiritual Parenting was pretty popular. People are buying houses they cannot afford and unfortuantely many are losing those houses. Leadership was trying to help people, unfortunately it backfired for some. I think there are truly good people that love God that go to RLC and I honestly think that Tony is one of those people. Just because someone goes there does not land them into the "inner circle" and label them as brainwashed or any other such thing. That doesn't mean that some of teh things that are being said are not happening, some is...some is not. Each person has there own baggage and they have to work through it, sometimes its harder and they just walk away from God altogether and I think that is the real tragedy in all of this.

In my opinion which really means nothing, the things that are being said on here between some people is juvenile and really does nothing for your own integrity as a man or woman of God. Just because your face isn't on here doesn't mean anything really. Respect is supposed to be universal and if a person were to come to your face with these issues I would hope that they would not be treated with such contempt.

Anyway, the whole thing is sad. Good things happen there just like any church and unfortuantely bad things have happened too. We have recieved apologies for things that were hurtful to us and we do not want anything bad to happen to anyone at RLC, we only want good for them and for the church to prosper. Facts are facts, people are hurting.

I have gone to RLC for a long time. I was there when it was still Elk Grove Community. I have seen it through all of its changes, so I really can tell you that there is corruption in that church. I was a member until about two years ago. I have returned a few times only to see that things have gotten much worse. The youth is the most corrupt part. The reason I left is the fact that the so called "Youth Leaders" were becoming drunk with power and stabbing their old friends in the back. This caused many of the youth (which back in the old days were in the multiple hundereds.) to turn away from the church and worse, turn away from God. I watched as my once friends turned on me and the numbers of kind hearted, God fearing youth in the church fell to only about 20 to 30. I never blamed God for what happened to me there, but I do blame some specific people, and I would like an end to be put to the bad things that are happening. This world is messed up and people need God more than ever. Let's stop driving them away and actually give them a reason to stay.

As for me and my name. I call myself "dark around the edges" because to look at me you would think I was a dark person. But inside you will find sombody who loves God with all of his heart and cares about the people he loves. I don't want people to go though what I went through, and I hope you feel the same way.

I believe God is real. Church should be real... that is, it ought to be what it says it is, at least. The complication happens when people stop the work of God, in the name of God, and call it "church". In other words, people get in the way. How typical to take something beautiful and destroy it... we see it everyday. Authority attempts to control the underlings, and of course, it is supposed to be for their own good. But how can this be good when "authority" must approve or disapprove of what a follower of Christ feels, in order for it to be valid? When God told a prophet to marry a prostitute, or a man laid out in a field for a long time, I doubt they made their decision by "submitting" to their authorities for their answer.

I don't fit in the structure that is established by some men, but I know that I fit into His body. I think it is pointless to whine and complain about how badly we have been wronged by a church or its people... it really doesn't accomplish anything. But I think it is stupid to ignore a problem and act as though everything is normal and acceptable. I find it strange that this post has ceased activity... Although I am confident that many read this forum, apparently no one does, because everyone denies having any knowledge of it. Is anyone able to think and answer for themselves?

What if there really is a major problem on the inside? What if there was a cloud of deception in a church body? What kind of damage would that cause? How would it all end? What happens when truth is exposed? And as always, I take no "sides" to bash a church or defend a church, I am just providing food for thought.

*This post was rhetorical. I just want to get you all thinking...

Happy Posting!

-Joe

Yes, in fact I have heard of Radiant Life Church in Sacramento.

Thanks to those guy's i have to drive drive all the way to north sac to bowl, what a bummer!

Yes I believe it was Sunset Lanes! They could have at least kept a lane open...

In reference to EmeraldMyst on 9/11/07:

1. I would be concerned for her too. I don't know enough about the situation and the post is vague enough for me to not even know what your talking about.

2. If someone is duping people into getting a house for personal profit, then they should have, oh, maybe one or two fingers cut off and fed to the dogs. Especially if its a teacher... after all they are more accountable. Although I cannot vouch for the validity of this situation either.

3. Im not saying you shouldn't care about these things, I'm just saying I personally cannot prove how true or untrue they are. God only knows, and I sure hope its not true. I tell you what, if anyone ever treated my family like this, "spiritual leader" or not, I would kick their asses. Most wouldn't because they're too busy kissing them...

4. I still believe it is not the church that is the problem, but a few within. But, when people follow the leader, a few turns into a multitude.

5. I still can't tell you what I know... they'll have to kill me if I do... LOL. Just kidding on that one. I was simply stated that I am not a newbie to the leadership structure there...

6. Hopefully the church would made a positive difference in a community, city, state, country, planet... to selflessly serve as an example. To live out peace. To share the love of God that is genuine, not manufactured and formulated according to some preacher teacher guy. That is what I want to accomplish!

7. Yes and the private eye has disappeared...? Well when people are exposed they tend to avoid you at all costs. I recently confronted (in a very diplomatic way) one of the posters to this site and he simply ignored me...

8. And tell them youngsters hello, I saw them driving awhile back but they didn't see me.

Peace,
Joe

Here is a quote for ya'll:

"With out Christ, men ain't Spiritual; they get caught up in a bunch of Spare Rituals"

-Cross Movement-

Maybe we can resolve this post?

-If you didn’t know this is the original post.

Quote
TMAC

“I want to know if this church by the name of Radiant Life in Sacramento, CA is a cult or not? The pastor is Tony Cunningham. The church has cult like traits and behavior. After a few weird house meetings and the overbearing behavior I stop going there.

I am not attending this church anymore, but the members keep calling me. I left 2 months ago and I tried to ignore them by not answering my telephone and by avoiding all forms of contact with them.

The church functions like a real church so it is very difficult to detect their behavior once you visit there. However, after a while they wanted me to attend house meetings, they got upset when I miss church, they tried to control my social life, and the members became so overbearing & controlling (but in a sort of nice passive aggressive type of way). They pretended to be extremely caring and helpful, but with the agenda of persuading you to devote your entire social life to the church.

I just wanted to know if this is a cult or just a church with misguided teachings?”



-What is the Definition of “Real Church”? Not your definition but Christ’s.

-Who was it that was upset with you, and was it more than one person? (name’s can be helpful)

-Did Jesus ever have “House Meetings”? Read your Bible.

-Really your entire social life, that’s absurd… for the sake of the church even? That doesn’t sound like anything Christ would ever ask of us.

-I would say that this person is the one with misguided teaching’s, or more so misinformed.

If people are hurt, tell me....... are they the only one's? If you are hurt and are reading this speak up! Who hurt you, what do you believe their motive was? Most likely they are one of the hundreds that view this forum and can help clear up some of this.

The reality of this situation is people can be retarded “you, me and them” oh and even “apostle’s”, but the beauty of it all is we all can seek Christ for our selves; and hopefully become less retarded.

-I don’t believe that RLC is a cult, and I am neither for nor against RLC. But, I can tell you this I am for the Bride of Christ and Christ himself.

And for those who address me don’t float around it, us my name -Aaron Love-
Don’t try to act to spiritual either…

-Word-

There is a guy that was a genuine friend of mine. He has been gone from that place for quite some time. This is how screwed up it is: I call him up after he moved on and he had said something to the effect of "I refuse to talk to you at this point because you are part of that place". Man I felt like garbage at that point because I was fed a lie why he left in the first place. In any case, I miss him, and theres is a reason why people leave church and hate it and and may never return, and its because of this crap. And I can't help but wonder, wont somebody be accountable to God for what goes on right under their noses? I have been quite facetious in most of my posts here on the forum, but when I stand back and look at the whole picture, its quite ugly.

You got some folks that make up some obviously far-fetched story about how screwed up radiant life is, and its not really helping anyone who genuinely needs it. So if you got somethin to say, keep it real.

And then from the other end, you got frauds posting under multiple nick-names so that one can support the other on some facts about how perfect the teaching and leadership are at radiant life. Don't you know that you are not helping your case at all? The moderator had to catch you in your lie and call you out, and its just another representation of the leadership there... and by the way defending your church is not your job. If God feels like it He will defend you. Church pride will lead people astray even further...

And then there are some who genuinely (and I mean genuinely) love God and seek Him and want to encounter Him in a real way. They feel rebellious because they seem to be fighting against the system of leadership and authority and submission and spiritual schooling and robotic lingo and whatever else they have bought into and made their own. They want to be a part of the body of Christ, but they refuse to walk into a church and deal with the same cycle again. They have been burned a hundred times over, lied to, and then rejected... and now life will never be the same for them again. There are some that will never go to radiant life again, and there are some that may never set foot into any church building again. And yet there are some that will completely turn away from God and no longer acknowledge Him. I have had a chance to speak with people that fit every one of these descriptions.

Again, to bring it back to the basics of this thread... yes I have heard of radiant life. It is like a tornado, to say the least. It has not all been bad. I wouldnt trade in the past 6 years for anything. I have learned so much about life. I am grateful that Bill Simon invited my family to go to church at the old bowling alley back in 02/03. I do not regret inviting my best friend Aaron Love a few weeks later. I am grateful for the relationships that have been formed, despite the conditions. I am also thankful for the teaching of the word of God that has been upright, and there is some. I just dont want to exaggerate and say that EVERYthing about that church is out of whack and screwy and whatever. And I still believe it all started with something good. But if you start screwing with people and trying to control them, the good is gone.

In summary, who gives a rip. If the building turned into a bowling alley again next week, we'd all be better off. Maybe then church would naturally happen, and it would be pure.

Signing Out,
Captain Joe of the Galaxy Cruiser Deluxe 2300...haha