Hello everyone… I know its been a while from my last post…

Thank you Katrina for your post I am really happy to see you on here… JustmeMrsG thank you for your testimony…

HeavyHeart you asked if we think this situation can be mended…. I have to say I absolutely think this thing can be made right… I guess since I got out 2 years ago I have seen some things that I thought might never happen and I continue to see the pattern of people leaving and asking legitimate questions.

When I first left like many other I have to say I went through it all, confusion, fear, sadness, bitterness, anger, etc… and I believe that those things have their place in the process and its hard to imagine that one would not go through that when everyone you had relationship with was now being taught that you were dangerous and crazy… Right Katrina? Yet in all of this I have to say that if there is one thing that continues to plague me in regards to the whole experience… its “God cannot e mocked”… and I believe that even now RLC is being called into account.

I don’t claim to be spiritual nor do I claim to know the right thing to do in all this… however, I do know that God has restored my convictions and my ability to stand on my own to feet and call it as I see it. And I believe that restitution is the way of God and he will want some people to pay it… including myself… so I will say it again, forgiveness is in order from all of us to them and it is necessary for ourselves, however, people do need to be held accountable for their actions just like in the real world, and reform will come from discipline… now its not my job to be the judge or inflict the discipline but I have a responsibility inside of me to stand up and testify to what I know to be wrong and hurtful to others… it’s the least I can do after perpetuating it for so long… and I will not believe that it is gossip or slander or even a sin to tell only the facts of what I know… it is just my testimony… then again just giving our testimonies has resulted in quite a bit of healing as of late. I know of restored relationships, I know of leaders or RLC repenting to people, I know of people on hear testifying to being healed, I know that people who don’t post on hear have wept at the testimony of others, I know that Ryan and I continually talk to people that thank everyone for this site, and I know that the amount of good coming from people being able to talk about it is beyond what any of s ever thought it could be…

So mending… yeah, I am witnessing mending right now… and if some think that this site is sin, well, I guess I am ok with sin if this is the outcome…

Ryan, I do forgive you. You don't even have to ask. I may be wrong, but I hold Tony and the Elders responsible for this mess. It seems that others were victims of Tony's whims and teachings. Where were the elders? Yes, I know that we all make our own decisions and we take responsibility for that. But we repent and and are forgiven. If God can forgive then I can too.

At this point, the elders need to step up-to-the plate and do what they should have done all along. Unfortunately, I spoke to an elder to find out what they were doing and I was given the "company line". We are investigating, etc. etc. This has been going on a long, long time, and they are just now investigating? The information is right here. If they really wanted the truth, they would log on and ask each of you to talk to them individually. Has that happened?

And, if Tony was the man-of-God that I thought he was, he would step down no matter what he believes. Because the fact is that HE IS the main part of this problem. He should want what is best for God's children, not what is best for himself. It is NOT Tony's church, it is God's church. Without us, he gets to try to influence some walls and carpet. Sometimes, the ultimate sacrifice is walking away and praying for restoration. However, my bet here is that Tony will never give it up because his sense of being and pride is all wrapped up in running the church.

I am thankful for what I witnessed in my time at RLC. If not for what I saw with you, and some other situations (I can tell you about) I think it would have been harder to believe any of the postings. But, the minute I read some of them, my skin went cold. I did the same thing you did. I felt all those warnings before and just ignored them, or told myself if I was my righteous I wouldn't even being having these thoughts. I didn't want to complain, or judge or criticize.

Was anyone there when the big message was NOT to defend yourself - ever. I just had head trips over that. The premise is that Jesus didn't defend himself, so neither should we. I actually tried that, but I have to say, how does one define that. If you are asked a question that is accusatory, do just not answer. If you are a witness to something (like this, for example) do you just stay quiet? If you are accused of something horrid, you just take the 5th? It wasn't until this week that I really thought about this and realized that Jesus didn't defend himself, but he sure answered those pharisees questions about doing things on the Sabbath. He didn't just stand there, with deer in the head lights. Is defending yourself mean that you are not a witness to the truth? He certainly didn't demonstrate that. I prefer to believe that I can speak the truth. Those that want to, will believe it. And, I also thought about what a perfect shield to stand behind. If Tony is approached he can just the ole, I'm not defending myself so I am not saying anything. How convenient is that? How about speaking the truth?

Ryan: You are forgiven and once God does that your sins are forgotten, so you too need to forgive yourself. Just remember enough to keep it from ever happening again. We will all be on our toes in another church, that is for sure!

I haven't received your second PM yet. But if you still have the number, call me and we can talk.

Katrina, thank you for your words of wisdom. Your post was excellent! I have only been out for over a year and I recognize I have a long way to go in my healing process. I give praise to God for the healing that has already taken place!!

HeavyHeart ~ Thank you for your post. I appreciate your comment about me; it is one of the highest compliments one could give another. You are asking some very legitimate questions. Some I could answer based on my first hand testimony only; that is all I can offer. If there is anything that I can do for you, please feel free to contact me or PM me.

Mrs. Jessica ~ Howdy!! Thanks for you testimony.


Love and blessings to you all!!!
Karen

regarding the Elders at RLc I have not been able to get an honest answer from any of the elders at RLc for the past two years. They have abducated their responsibility to conduct the affairs of the church. So if your getting the "dear in the head light look or were looking into" answer then they are still tip-towin arround. Tony is still leadding the elders meetings and they are affraid to confront him.

if that is still the case with the elders then it is going to take an God to get the raskals out of there and terminate Tony as a false teacher, false apostle & false prophet.

that last post should have read an act of God...
then it is going to take an act of God to get the raskals out of there and Fire Tony as a false teacher, false apostle & false prophet

To the person who mentioned that it felt like high school; I not only applaud you, but I laughed. I have said the exact thing.

[i]That was me and thank you for the applause. l am well past high school and it brought back many memories. That is just one way I use to describe my time at Radiant Life.


When I read some of the entries I almost discarded them all, because it sounded like angry people with an ax to grind. That, by-the-way is the premise that the "church" is giving people who question this site. They are saying that this is of the enemy and you are all angry because you were stopped from doing the enemy's work.[/i]

Most of the people there that take this approach are so self riteous. They don't realize that while they are mired in all kinds of other sin they fear looking at this website the most. I think what they fear is that they might actually identify with some of the stories or agree or maybe start opening their eyes. If they did that they would no longer be Tony worshipers but might be genuine God worshipers. It is so bad that I very recently received a communication with someone from RLC. They were so self riteous and selfish that all they could talk about was Radiant Life and what they were doing there and what ministry they were in. The excuse used above to restrain people from seeking the truth (ie. the enemies work) has been used over and over again by religious zeolots and cult leaders.

And it is ironic that when we were there busting our butts it was Gods work but when people start questioning it is of the enemy. That is a cult!!! I would ask at what point was it judged by the self riteous at Radiant Life that it is the enemies work. Was it when we were serving and doing gods work? Was it when some of you went to elders to question? Was it when we left the church? or Was it when we posted on here? Who is making that judgement? Your Pastor Tony in his messages? All of us on here are truly Gods people. Even myself even though I have admitted I am not doing well. But deep down I do still have a mustard seed of faith and I know that the Father never abandons his children. I may be wandering or even bad but he still calls me his child.

We have been through several pages on here about slander and gossip and what is right. I think it is explained very well in the previous posts and if anyone comes on here hesitant please go through the earlier posts. If you can not question anything then you are in a cult. If you cannot speak your truth about what is wrong, then you are in a cult. You can call it a church or whatever but read some of the earlier posts.

Katrina.....very nice post. You have some very helpful things. We are truly all at different places. Also, one of the things that still confuses me is that I was made to feel through Tony, Soma, and others teachings that all the churches out there had it wrong and that I really wasnt spiritual enough or close to god. It was ridiculous because I came to Radiant Life with a great foundation with the Lord. Instead of building on that foundation, people 10-20 years younger at times wanted to destroy it and break it down. Well, congratulations you succeeded and it has not been built back up yet. I am working on it.

And I am with RingBarer...if it is sin to be on here then I am sinning. But I ask you what is your sin? It might be that your sin is not speaking out to help people. You sin maybe in worshiping a Pastor so much that you are in fear of even coming on here and reading real stories from real people. I can also tell you for my own personal experience I had no personal agenda at Radiant Life as far as attaining position or authority. I am just a peon who saw and experienced alot of bs and I guess deep down inside cares so much that I want to help others or prevent it from happening to others. I wasted time there. I hope that others don't. And I guess in my attempt to warn others and help I am healing a bit myself.

Thats it for now.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 08/25/2008 08:11AM by whatajoke.

Quote
HeavyHeart
Was anyone there when the big message was NOT to defend yourself - ever. I just had head trips over that. The premise is that Jesus didn't defend himself, so neither should we. I actually tried that, but I have to say, how does one define that. If you are asked a question that is accusatory, do just not answer. If you are a witness to something (like this, for example) do you just stay quiet? If you are accused of something horrid, you just take the 5th? It wasn't until this week that I really thought about this and realized that Jesus didn't defend himself, but he sure answered those pharisees questions about doing things on the Sabbath. He didn't just stand there, with deer in the head lights. Is defending yourself mean that you are not a witness to the truth? He certainly didn't demonstrate that. I prefer to believe that I can speak the truth. Those that want to, will believe it. And, I also thought about what a perfect shield to stand behind. If Tony is approached he can just the ole, I'm not defending myself so I am not saying anything. How convenient is that? How about speaking the truth?

It is funny you bring up that teaching. It is very confusing and contradictory to me because I can also remember Tony teaching about how every situation is different and how we should defend ourselves. He used the example of 2 times Jesus sent the disciples out. One time he told them not to arm themselves and the other time he told them to arm themselves. I now see that Tony used this scripture somehow for his own agenda.

And, if Tony was the man-of-God that I thought he was, he would step down no matter what he believes. Because the fact is that HE IS the main part of this problem. He should want what is best for God's children, not what is best for himself. It is NOT Tony's church, it is God's church. Without us, he gets to try to influence some walls and carpet. Sometimes, the ultimate sacrifice is walking away and praying for restoration. However, my bet here is that Tony will never give it up because his sense of being and pride is all wrapped up in running the church.

I really like your post and agree. I would just add that it will be hard for Tony to give it up because Radiant Life Church is his business and livelihood. It pays for everything and he gets blessed by everyone. We forget that there maybe financial implications.

I had the opertunity today to speek with a former member of RLc who held a prety high position in the church. What I found to be so interesting is that the elders are mearly but puppets to Tony. They no longer have the authority to fire any of the pastorial staff. The elders are there for show to make the church look like it is adhearing to the scriptures while the inner circle is made up Tony worshipers like Jole Arpleta, Dan Florrie, Rollan Pang, Greg Skinner, Ken Bolenger,John Shankenburg and Greg Huth. I can only hope that the others still have an ear to hear from God
So you don't need to ask fo

wow!!! with over 1000 views in the past 16 hours people are reading the fantastic postings here and people are seeing the light. No wonder Tony worshipers like Greg Huth is running arround doing damage controle telling people to not look at this web site.

trust me the truth will set you free!!!!!!! :-)