Quote
Deja Vu
Tony often taught about being a commander and his care for his troops. He often GLORIED in his teaching that there will always be “casualties” of war, which is true. However, even the army teaches that “NO ONE WILL BE LEFT BEHIND”. Now, to all of your readers, how many of you have been “LEFT BEHIND”? Has anyone dressed your wounds, or are you just a casualty of war? If not, know this… you are disposable in Tony’s eyes. I have pasted a quote speech from “We Were Soldiers”. Let it sink deep into your heart.

I agree with your post Ryan. I always thought all of the teaching about the army and the movies like Master and Commander were ridiculous as a teaching tool. I thing I am not stretching the truth when I say that God did not establish his Kingdom based on the army or a movie. Any teaching that we need on authority and duties comes from the Bible, not Master and Commander. I have no master on this earth. And it is riduculous to say that there will be casualties. We are not talking about war here. We are not talking Super Bowl. We are talking humans. Gods people he created. It would be hard for me to believe based on my knowledge of the word that God would be uncaring about the ones he has lost. A matter of fact they are looked for to help mend.

And RingBarer.....based on your post tony is a cold, hard, insensitive man. He is so unjesus like that it is repulsive. Most of the pastors I have known will talk to anybody anytime. He himself is a gossiper and slanderer it he is telling stories about people in Soma that can be refuted. And really what kind of a pastor or even a man for that matter is he if he has to use these people as examples. It truly saddens me and breaks my heart. I thing narcissitic and egomanical are good descriptions of his personality in addition to him acting above everyone. In our 4 years or so at Radiant Life came in contact with Tony a few times and he never had anything to say, was very phonily cordial with a basic greeting, and I got the feeling based on my experiences with others in the real world that he wanted to feel superior. That he was the man. I don't even think that he knew my name and definately not my wifes. He definately know nothing about me. This is in stark contrast to other churches that I have been too where everyone knows the Pastor and the Pastor is usually friendly and accomadating to everyone. Afterall their commission is to serve others. You might say like Tony and others in leadership used to preach that when a church gets so big it is impossible for the Pastor to know everyone and have time for them. I would say that if that is the case then you have to really question whether they really are a pastor if they don't know their sheep. Alot of the megachurches are like this and have built financial empires at the expense of relating closely to people. All the talk Tony did about Relationships and hospitality in effect he was not practicing himself. Sad, Sad, Sad. Brandon, get out and get on with your life. There is more for you than this. Tony is not your father.

I agree with everyone's response to Kevin's post. I also want to state that there is the underlying mention of people making judgement, namely judging Tony. Please refer to the following scripture:

1 Corinthians 5:11-13 (The Message)



9-13I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn't make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn't mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You'd have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn't act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house.

Kevin's quote, "God is love and he is not mad at Tony, me or you. He is correcting us so that we can truley move in freedom and love and accomplish the greatness he destined each of us for". Did you ever think that God can be using the testimonies of people so that the truth will be revealed? It is hard to correct a situation when people, especially the 'head', don't realize it needs correcting.

John 3:19-21 (The message)
19-21"This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."

Let God's light shine upon us all.

Here is a letter I gave to Tony back in 2006 This was just as he was taking the elders and staff on a retreat to Tiburon. From that point Tony slandered me in front of everybody at that meeting and strongly encouraged people to boycott my business.

December 14, 2006

Dear Tony

I find myself in a quandary as I walk through the produce isle looking at all the fruit. I think back to the time when our son attending SOMA came to us and informed us that our ways are no good. He told us that he was not going to receive anything from us. From that point we have not had a platform in our sons life. I went to Greg Huth to ask him about this teaching and it was explained that there is some truth to this teaching, to that in comparison to God our ways are but filthy rags. The best we can do is support his decision. My wife and I have tried to embrace the Spiritual Parenting concept but the more and more we try to embrace it, it becomes a work based performance driven relationship it is simply a method to have power over our behavior and actions. If you look real at the fruit, this concept it has a lot of control and manipulation and I see many who have been hurt and wounded. I have to ask God if this teaching is from him and if it is then why I do we see so many marriages falling apart in our body. We have pastors and staff members who are separated or on the way to divorce court. People who only 4-5 months ago where being hailed a heroes of the faith are now in ruin. Relationships that were once strong and vital have now become distanced, embittered, cynical and if you stop and look many are walking around injured and limping along in life. Some still have the knife in their back and someone has their hat hanging on it with mainly yours Tony. It reminds me of a horror movie with the title “Night of the Walking Dead” I grieve for the marriages that have been broken and I grieve for the distance people have with God.

I like the analogy of life at sea, sailing on a huge windjammer where everyone is interdependent upon each other. Yet if we look at the church as a huge ship, what do we see and what are we experiencing? If the captain has been in his quarters all night and comes up onto the bridge he is given a status report. He is informed that the winds are blowing from the South South East at 8 knots and what the current course is. He is briefed and knows the condition of the ship. it’s crew members and passengers. I look at the story of the bounty and I believe there are lessons to gleaned that apply to our current situation at Radiant Life Church.
Captain William Bligh wanted everyone to know he was the boss, which was more important to him than efficiency. To compound the problem, he considered maximum control as a means to achieve efficiency. His micro managing of the HMS Bounty crew became a result that, everything went wrong. The crew finally had enough, mutinied, and cast Captain Bligh and eighteen crewmembers adrift in a lifeboat. Without charts or navigation interments, they sailed the open boat 3,600 miles to the Dutch colony, Timor, near Java. This outstanding achievement is only possible with a team united behind a common goal and navigated together.
The above story has elements of every work environment, the struggle between getting the job done and leaders desire for control. In Captain Bligh's case, he managed by control and the seamen were resisting control. Each side was in a fighting mood and each was searching for ways to outwit the other, not an efficient way to get things done.
Aboard the Bounty, Captain Bligh's priority was total control. In the lifeboat things were different, as the priority was survival, or get the job done. Survival automatically unites people into a team where team members are willing to listen to others opinions, free of social prejudice.
There were three teams on board the Bounty, each with their own goal as follows:
1. Scientist - they were focused on Bounty's mission.
2. Officers - they searched for ways to increased control over the seamen.
3. Seamen - they searched for ways to resist control.
After the mutiny, the mission was survival and everyone involved was totally focused on that common goal. Captain Bligh was now willing to listen to the opinions of the crew. Getting the job done became more important than control.

Leadership Aboard Bounty
1. Control has priority.
2. Social prejudice.
3. Three groups pulling in different directions.
4. Decisions based on preconceived opinions.
5. Control was the goal which resulted in no unity.
Leadership style that led to disaster.

Leadership in Lifeboat
1. Team unity has priority.
2. No prejudice.
3. All groups pulling together.
4. Decisions based on intuitive forces.
5. Unity was the goal, which resulted in control.
Leadership style that produced super results.

"Captain Bligh changed his leadership style in a matter of minutes." What had changed from the ship to the lifeboat was the structure of organization. On the ship, there were three divisions, each with their own goal. On the lifeboat, there was one, one division with a single united goal. The structure of organization caused him to change his attitude, which caused an apparent change in leadership style. In short, organization structure controls leadership style.
Team unity was used to overcome a disaster, not run a ship that would have prevented a disaster. Had the crew been motivated to achieve a common goal from the start, the voyage would have been a huge success.
Team motivation is a natural aboard windjammers. At sea, aboard sailing vessels, the results of crews' decisions are experiences NOW! And the reasons for the decisions are understood NOW! Crewmembers develop a desire to explore and learn about the world they live in. Windjammers are natural learning machines.

I’m concerned that your not being given accurate reports and that you have been insulated by officers who are nothing more that sycophants trying to keep you pleased and happy. Or your ignoring your responsibilities that they have been given. You said it the other day, we need to return to our first love and that is Jesus. And how do we do that? Do we just keep on with the mission at hand staying the course? I believe that we need to feather the sails, drop the anchor, and sound the alarm “RED ALLERT” man overboard! We need to attempt rescue of all the souls that have been injured and hurt. We need to get out of this mind set of working on my sins to achieve a more intimate relationship with God. We need to come to terms, that we can not fix our selves! We need to learn to trust….God.
This ship needs to be dry docked ASAP so that the master builder God himself can rebuild this ship.

Let me add this:
Your arrogance and controlling manor that you are guiding this church is just like Captain B You have set yourself up as the Master & Commander. And here is the real truth You have self appointed yourself to be seen as a Prophet and Apostle to the people in the Radiant Life circle the trouble is they too have found your teachings to be false and full of destruction. Tony REPENT!!! Stop practicing your Spiritual Parenting! by giving back the children you have taken from their parents!!

Man likes to take scripture and create systems, that put things into controllable boxes that explain what God has chosen to, not explain. There’s are problem. You see they coin terms and create paradigms that force you into an either or that scripture does not force you into. Then they take these coined terms and created paradigms and they demand that you and I take a side. And then they separate from all who disagree with their side. It seams about a step above demonic. You see it all over the place, words that are not in scripture that men create to kind of take a side. You see it in churches and churches will split over are you pre-millennial? all millennial? Or are you post millennial? There’s another one, another word a term that is not ever set against it’s self in scripture ‘charismatic’. Are you Charismatic? Or are you not Charismatic? I’ll separate fellowship with you, I swear! Just let me know are ya Charismatic or not just tell me!.and people separate Fellowship over it. Are you Are you Calvinist or are you Armenian? and if your are Calvinistic are ya 3 point? 4 point? 5 point? do you got the double indemnity clause? And churches split over that. There’s are entire churches that have theirs entire basis that “We are 5 point Calvinistic and that’s what we are take-in are stand on. And if you don’t agree with them then you’re not welcomed here. Here is new paradigm they call it Spiritual Parenting. Well what does it mean? I don’t really know but it kind of looks kind of like Paul and timothy…I think...and soon you got people breaking off relationship with their birth parents and being adopted as new adopted spiritual children….Where is it taught in the bible? I don’t know… and we have people breaking fellowship with us and others are now walking around hurt dejected

Going back to the two rooms, we have the “Room of Grace” and the “Room of Good Intentions” In the room of good intentions we strive to change into something that we not aren’t yet, Godly. In the room of grace, we grow up and mature into something that is already true about us, Godly. The first room creates a work-based performance driven relationship with God and puts the emphasis on the efficacy of my effort. And the second room places the responsibility on resources of God. God wants us to believe that he has already changed us so that we can get on with maturing us into what he has already made us. And trust opens the way for God to bring us into maturity with out trust we don’t mature because we are trying to change to become Godly.

Repentance formed of trust, not will power, there is forgiveness formed of trust, not some form of begrudging compliance and there is love received, not just given.

As a church, we use to collaborate with many other fellowships in the Sacramento area and lately we have become isolated. The CD TrueFaced by John Lynch that I gave to you with my first letter has revolutionized my relationship with God. I have found the teaching and instruction at Open Door Fellowship in Phoenix Arizona to be a breath of fresh air and I believe that God gave it to me to pass on to you and our church. 5 years ago, we were the room of grace.

My prayer is that YOU would come back to trusting God

Respectfully Submitted ~ Dan Davis

TONY YOUR FRUIT IS ROTTEN AND THE DISTRUCTION IMMENSE!

Quote
Free2bme
I agree with everyone's response to Kevin's post. I also want to state that there is the underlying mention of people making judgement, namely judging Tony. Please refer to the following scripture:

1 Corinthians 5:11-13 (The Message)

9-13I wrote you in my earlier letter that you shouldn't make yourselves at home among the sexually promiscuous. I didn't mean that you should have nothing at all to do with outsiders of that sort. Or with crooks, whether blue or white-collar. Or with spiritual phonies, for that matter. You'd have to leave the world entirely to do that! But I am saying that you shouldn't act as if everything is just fine when a friend who claims to be a Christian is promiscuous or crooked, is flip with God or rude to friends, gets drunk or becomes greedy and predatory. You can't just go along with this, treating it as acceptable behavior. I'm not responsible for what the outsiders do, but don't we have some responsibility for those within our community of believers? God decides on the outsiders, but we need to decide when our brothers and sisters are out of line and, if necessary, clean house.

Kevin's quote, "God is love and he is not mad at Tony, me or you. He is correcting us so that we can truley move in freedom and love and accomplish the greatness he destined each of us for". Did you ever think that God can be using the testimonies of people so that the truth will be revealed? It is hard to correct a situation when people, especially the 'head', don't realize it needs correcting.

John 3:19-21 (The message)
19-21"This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."

Let God's light shine upon us all.

Jesus gave us a fantastic example of the fig tree. IT HAD NO FRUIT….so he cursed it and it withered up.
We can look at the fruit of Tony’s teachings and see how it conflicts with scripture. We can see how he has slandered people who have disagreed with his teachings and we can see the many people who have been hurt by his destructive teachings. And Tony will not stop his false teachings. That my friends is BAD fruit!!!

Some more verses to continue what I started last night.

The first is in reference to not having favorites. No one is below God's notice and being used by his power.

Galatians 2: 4-8
4 Even that question came up only because of some so-called Christians there—false ones, really—who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. 5 But we refused to give in to them for a single moment. We wanted to preserve the truth of the gospel message for you.
6 And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) 7 Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. 8 For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.

The second one is in reference to being able to correct a brother in Christ. No matter how closely he walks with Jesus.

Galatians 2:11-14
11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 13 As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.
14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?

For the record, I too approached leadership (my vine pastor) about 2 1/2 years ago about unbiblical teachings. I was met with no comment, and an simple "okay." I NEVER received any feedback and it appears that nothing was ever done about my comments. As soon as I found out about the spiritual parenting, I contacted an elder and was told it was being investigated. I asked for updates, and information to be given to the body. So far, I have seen neither. I am sure that others DID step up and were also discarded.

Quote
Free2bme
Interesting comments Ryan. I speak for my family when I say WE DID APPROACH THE LEADERSHIP. We spoke with elders and pastors to no avail. My husband made two attempts to approach Tony by setting up an appointment with him but he received nothing but the third degree from his secretary. Also he made an attempt to approach Tony after service one day, my husband asked for forgiveness from Tony as he had harbored hatred towards him; Tony looked at him and said forgiven and walked away. After that, my husband made one more attempt to set an appointment with Tony, again to no avail. My husbands approach become a SOMA discussion later as how you should or shouldn't approach leadership. He slandered my husband without mentioning his name. It happened to be a discussion in the class that our daughter was attending. She knew exactly who he was talking about because she told me about the teaching. My husband was a wounded sheep crying out to the shephard and received no comfort, nothing. Just rebuke as is always typical at RLC. He was used as an example to further push the agenda of the leadership! Another fine example of how family values are supported at the church!!! (Yes there is sarcasm in this response!)

As far as the shephard coming after the wounded, please don't! I have in Jesus the Shephard who truly cares for his flock. I will not sit around waiting for the wolf to come along and destroy me again. I have found a place of healing and rest, a place where I feel safe again.

May God bless you all.

Karen

Psalm 50: 16-21
16 But God says to the wicked:
“Why bother reciting my decrees
and pretending to obey my covenant?
17 For you refuse my discipline
and treat my words like trash.
18 When you see thieves, you approve of them,
and you spend your time with adulterers.
19 Your mouth is filled with wickedness,
and your tongue is full of lies.
20 You sit around and slander your brother—
your own mother’s son.
21 While you did all this, I remained silent,
and you thought I didn’t care.
But now I will rebuke you,
listing all my charges against you.

Proverbs 9: 7-8
7 Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return.
Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt.
8 So don’t bother correcting mockers;
they will only hate you.
But correct the wise,
and they will love you.

Proverbs 30: 5-6

5 Every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to all who come to him for protection.
6 Do not add to his words,
or he may rebuke you and expose you as a liar

Please Take a look at this ELDERS and MEMBERS OF RLc and ask yourself where in the Bible can you find this teaching?
P.S. notice all the scripture that supports this teaching......that's right there is none!

I pulled out an outline Greg Huth gave me when he was passing on Tonys False teaching about Spiritual Parenting...

Spiritual Parenthood
Sonship / Daughtership

4 words that relate to the responsibility
• Receive
What is being offered by the one more mature in faith. It is up to the son / daughter to receive and be submitted to walk in the instruction.
• Response
Take the instruction and implement it into their life. A student may say thank you this is what I need to pass this test . a son would say this is good and I will make it a part of my life.
• Reciprocate
Law of the harvest a man reaps what he sows. Pour back into the one who pours into you. This is where it really stands out!
• Reproduction

The Son / Daughter should grow, Mature and be ready to take responsibility to become mature and parents also.
Parent responsibility

Difference; Guardian vs. Spiritual Parent.
Master / Apprentice
Teacher / Student

Guardian Provides
• Covering
• Care
• Counsel
• Correction

Parent Provides
• Covering Instruction Practical
• Care Intimacy
• Counsel Integration
• Correction Impartation & Inheritance

• Instruction Practical and life helps
• Intimacy The more we get to know you the more effective we are to pray and spur one another on. Be real with each other!
• Integration Interweaving of our lives, pooling our resources Acts 2 & 4
• Impartation Releasing of gifts imparted into patents are then imparted into children. (Spiritual DNA)
• Inheritance The blessing , the presence of God. Desire as I was with Tony, as I was with Greg, I was with you!


According to this teaching any blessing from God comes only from a submitted life style to your discipler and through Tony.

Sure on the outside Tony knows how to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ and most Sunday mornings that is what he presents. So why is it behind closed doors and in private settings he teaches a different Gospel and a different Salvation? Look for your self, Does Tony have a spiritual Daughter and Son? You bet he does….he a living example of his Spiritual Parenting teachings.

Now I’m going to ask you: How can you sit here reading this kind of teaching knowing that it is wicked teaching but still attend and or be a part of this church teachings.

I agree with Rick Ross RLC should adopt a constitution with bylaws that provides for democratically elected church government and financial transparency.

That will push things in the right direction.

A system of checks and balances with a democratically elected board and officers (elected by secret ballot by the general membership to fixed terms) would help.

also read the book
"The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse"