long gone:

Were you previously a member of this board under another name?

rrmoderator

No, not a member before. I have been reading this board for a year or so and felt it was time to speak up. I should have made that clear in my post.

Good Morning,
I wanted to say that if anyone is reading this forum and is unsure of the validity of the information posted and would like to know how they can be sure, I would like to invite them to Private Message me. I am aware that this forum has been discredited by many people. I would agree that some information has not been completely accurate. Specifically, the mispelling of words and names, and even some mistakes (not unfactual on purpose) regarding facts, however, this does not mean that the realness of their testimony is some how less true. The reality is that people have been hurt. They have every right to stand up and be counted. The importance of this forum remains. This is a place of expression. This is a place of healing. The information posted is not gossip as long as it is true. I am willing to tell truth to anyone that is searching for answers and has not been able to find them regarding RLC. I do not have to be silent and I will not hide. I will be a source of light in the darkness of secrecy and deceit.

Love, Heidi

Turning Point Church World Outreach Center in Marysville WA started in 95, 96 and has been significantly influenced by Tony and his teachings. Turning Point has even started SOMANW and follows the same curriculum as RLC.

I left this church back in its early days as I saw how powerful Tony's influence was among the leaders and how destructive the teachings were becoming even at that early point in TPCWOC's life. I was told if I spoke out about my thoughts and concerns I would be outcast and members would be told they could not associate with me or my family. I am aware that this has happened to several other families at Turning Point.

Please be aware if you attend Turning Point or are considering it as a church for your family. You should ask several questions about its beliefs and structures of accountability for the leadership. This church closely models itself after Radiant Life Church.

Radiant Life Church has a strong influence over a hand full of churches. There are the two daughter churches in California, the daughter church in Texas and the affiliate church in Washington. Perhaps there are more. Several have given testimony to the influence in the california and texas churches. I have seen little mention of the influence on Turning Point Community Church (now called Turning Point Church World Outreach Center).

Turning Point Church World Outreach Center in Marysville WA started in 95, 96 and has been significantly influenced by Tony and his teachings. Turning Point has even started SOMANW and follows the same curriculum as RLC.

I left this church back in its early days as I saw how powerful Tony's influence was among the leaders and how destructive the teachings were becoming even at that early point in TPCWOC's life. I was told if I spoke out about my thoughts and concerns I would be outcast and members would be told they could not associate with me or my family. I am aware that this has happened to several other families at Turning Point.

Please be aware if you attend Turning Point or are considering it as a church for your family. You should ask several questions about its beliefs and structures of accountability for the leadership. This church closely models itself after Radiant Life Church.

Thank you Heidi. I pray you and Mike are doing well. If not or if Mike simply would like to talk PM me and I'll give you my phone number.

I thank the Lord that he protected me from, becoming part of the “Inner Circle.” I heard enough of the teaching to know of the false teachings and practices that hurt so many I personally didn't have it taught to me or the false practices asked of me. That is a bit surprising to me since I was in discipleship with Dan Flory for 6 years.

I believe I was blessed in that the few in the body who know me well, my background, education, what I believe etc. may have figured I would call it what it is and not accept the yoke of slavery. I only heard of the “Spiritual Parenting” from those who where supposedly being parented and liked it and knowing the particular persons well enough to know they would not accept it and would attack my motives and character.

In one instance a leader of a ministry, with whom I had been good friends with and their spouse, and was serving under rebuked me for Gossip and accused me to Dan Flory of being rebellious and prideful, because I told them that they had treated me and other leaders with disrespect and disregard and another leader had talked to me about the things that were done. I know that this was the result of the false teaching that all questioning of leaders is rebellion and all discussion that about a third party are Gossip if they make the party not present look bad. To my surprise Dan Flory actually defended me and told the leader they were wrong about their accusation.

The abuse, neglect, disrespect, and disregard of my gifts and my contribution to the Institutional Machine that I experienced at RLC was different then what many here have spoken of, but not much different then what I experienced in nearly every other Religious Institution I’ve been part of.

As many of you know and as I alluded to earlier I led what was known as the Budget Inn Ministry. What happened at Budget Inn was nothing short of a Miracle and I am more then certain it had nothing to do with me. I cannot even imagine why God chose me or used me as he did. However I had a vision of Planting a Church their and was asked by RLC leadership to do it. However neither the team I led nor me received any authentic support or backing from RLC. The first day I attended Prophetic Cadre Tony started talking about what God was doing at Budget Inn how many people had placed faith in Jesus their, how many flocking to receiving instruction so on and so forth and then ended it all with saying something that I could not believe came out of his mouth. He said and “we are not are not even good a good job.”

I almost came out of my seat and said if you by we you mean me I fully agree, if by we you mean my team I fully disagree as considering my lack of leadership experience and the lack of support and resources are being given by RLC and those who are over me in leadership over community ministry I say the team I lead is doing a excellent Job. I was appalled. When he said that I was present and at least one team member was present and they were totally demoralized by it. By this time my team had already communicated for weeks how much they felt unsupported in any way by RLC leadership and that I was not being supported either. Not long after that I was talking to Tony C. about budget in and he plainly acknowledged I was functioning as the Pastor of those coming to faith from the Budget Inn.

Dan Flory shortly after talked to me about coming on staff at RLC and then I never heard anything about that again.

God had been birthing a vision in my heart and I had begun praying for some very specific things to come together. I had shared all this with Dan Flory. Then one of the things I was praying for happened sharing the parking lot with the Budget Inn was a Restaurant that had been closed down for the 9 months was finally made available for sale or lease. I told Dan and he said call them I believe it is God’s time for this part of your vision be fulfilled. So he, I, others from RLC leadership, and other interested saints went through the restaurant on 2 different occasions. The restaurant was only part of the vision for vocational training and disciple making, etc. there were many other parts of the vision.

The next thing I new Dan Flory without talking to me called together people who seemed to fit other parts of the vision. However he did not do it in the way God was showing me, but he didn’t even ask me so he had no way of knowing that as was unwilling to hear it when I attempted to talk to him. I was the one who God gave the vision to and was praying for previous 9 months, but from this point on he never asked for my input. The next thing I know he had taken this thing over, started a non-profit organization, decided on a name, and appointed the Board that included Tony C. and the most Inner Circle and from then on completely excluded me while turning the vision God gave me into an opportunity for his own agenda water ministry.

After 30 years of consisted reading and studying the Bible, graduated from Bible College, and hearing thousands of preachers and teachers I cannot recall one account of God giving a vision to someone that was not fulfilled either within or through the person it was given to or their child or grandchildren.

And I was no longer included in any way in it. I could not believe this man who I felt was such a man of God just threw me aside after actually steeling the vision God gave me and still I did not hate him and though I must just be perceiving this all wrong. One day Dan and I were act Breakfast and I asked him about it and he brushed me off with the patronizing remark that Tom you were the Catalyst none of this would have happened if you had not been the Catalyst. I was floored however I asked still asked him if their was any way I could serve in Restoration Alliance even though it was built from a vision God gave me and Dan stole from me. He answered by saying “ya I’m sure there is something clerical I will need help with and I’ll let you know. He never did talk to me about it again.

About 2 weeks later he came to me and told me I had matured to the point I didn’t need to be discipled by him any more. This is the real story regarding how Restoration Alliance came into being from a vision that was stolen from me.

In the mean time, because of becoming so demoralized by the lack of support I was receiving as their leader of and support lack of willingness by RLC to support the work we were doing I eventually lost every team member within 1.5 years. And several others quit within the first month or two.

All this even though “Elders,” Dan Flory my “discipler”, and others kept telling me what a great job I and the team I was leading were doing.

Later I was told directly by an Elder the reason I have not been hired as a Pastor or made a “Lay” Pastor, acknowledged officially and publically by Tony and the Elders as the leader of Budget Inn and I and the work my team as doing is that even though it was obvious I was doing what God had called me to it was not Tony C.’s Vision.

The crazy thing is about 2 months ago my son and daughter informed me that they had stopped “going to church altogether or just to RLC, because they could not stand watching me be used, abused, and disregarded.

I thought I’d never even tell this much here, but here it is for what it is worth.

I however have forgiven Tony C. and Dan. In time a blog I’m currently writing but have not made public yet will include much more that is not here things that I believe are much more important then what I’ve said here.

Everyone sorry for all the misspelling, typos, etc. I guess I should write my posts in Word first and proof read them as well as run spell and grammar checker especially since the mod most approve posts and then you only have a 1/2 hour after to make edits.

Hi everyone. My name is Ethan Keeshan. I have half heartedly followed this forum for some time and this is my first post. So for starters, let me just say that I am well and hope the same is true for all of you. I’m not here to “vent” or to try and sway anyone in any direction other than the one God is sending them in. My intention is to simply share some of my experiences at RLC.
I began my relationship with Jesus Christ at Radiant Life Church. For that I am forever grateful. I was a “spiritual newborn” and through my own admission, immature. I remember individuals literally chasing me down in the parking lot after service just to see how I was doing, and I didn’t even know these people. These sorts of things spoke love to me and kept bringing me back. Eventually I was approached about a discipleship relationship. “A what?” I thought. A submitted and committed relationship where someone more spiritually mature than yourself will lead and instruct you in God’s ways. I wasn’t so sure about the submitted part, but I was desperate to change and wanted more of God. Eventually I began discipling others, or should I say regurgitating the same spun take on scripture that I was given. This is not to say that everything I received in discipleship was harmful, quite a bit was indeed helpful and caused me to grow in my relationship with God. But there was enough thrown in there, in just the subtlest of ways to twist what was supposed to be pure and beneficial. Even though I wasn’t discipled by Tony, I knew that what I was given in discipleship came straight from him. Not long after I “dove into” RLC I began to receive recognition from some of the leadership. And eventually Tony even said hello to me. I was blown away, he knew my name. Soon I enrolled in SOMA to pursue my calling, all the while my business was falling apart. I was torn between the two and continuously counseled to stay in SOMA and to step out of the family business. I was in school from 7a.m. to 11a.m.; it’s hard to run a construction company when you’re gone for half of the workday. But how else would I fulfill my calling. By the way I was supposed to be a pastor, at least that’s what I was lead to believe. I filled a niche and it suited me. All the while this is taking place I’m on the outside of the inner circle, trying desperately to break through. I was so close, I could taste it. Many of my friends were in it. But alas, I wasn’t purposeful enough. Thank God!
This is the extremely condensed and no name version of some of my RLC experience. It’s been over two years since I stopped going to RLC and unfortunately I’ve only attended church once during that time. But tomorrow is a new day and I’m going to try a new church. This time around I’m not so “immature’, not so naïve. For that, thanks RLC. It is my opinion that much of what takes place at RLC is indeed honoring to God, but unfortunately the “shepherd” is not. And that is largely why I no longer attend. Again I remind you, this in no way reflects ALL of my experiences or opinions nor those of anyone else, I’ll post more later.
Peace to all my peeps.

NahteNahseek Thanks So Much for Posting!!
I can relate so much to the stupid council received through RLc.
I really liked how you summed up discipleship @ RLc by saying it really was nothing more than “regurgitating the same spun take on scripture that I was given. This is not to say that everything I received in discipleship was harmful, quite a bit was indeed helpful and caused me to grow in my relationship with God. But there was enough thrown in there, in just the subtlest of ways to twist what was supposed to be pure and beneficial. Even though I wasn’t discipled by Tony, I knew that what I was given in discipleship came straight from him."

And yes I too was counseled to attend SOMA while my business was struggelig. I was strongly counseled to hire SOMA students, often they were lazy mooching self assorbed lot thatin looking back in retrospect I would see there personalities become dry, interverted and vapid. yes the signs of folowing a false teacher.

I am amazed at how people are encouraged to break off Family ties and only have covanant relations with just a few.

It is sad to see people with so much tallent personalityand resourceses get sucked dry used and abused all in the name of ministry at RLc.. it reminds me of the Si-Fi Star Trek movie with the Borg...
robbing human shells and ascimulating them into the Borg collony.

NOTIC TO ALL EX-RLC MEMBERS, ELDERS, PASTORS & STAFF

You all have a story that will help bring healing to the many who been hurt & abused. Tony is banking on your silence! After all none of you want Tony to label you as a gossiper...he has put that fear in everyone assocciated with RLc. Your silence empowers Tony to spin your departure however he likes.

Now is your time to share your story.