Firstly a correction to my previous post. The pastor in question is Larry GREGORY and not Neville as I said previously.

At present a fellowship disciple is trying to claim an inside scoop as to the events which transpired in Fiji during the split only to be confronted by Gregory's wife on the message board. The primacy in getting money and keeping it is one of the biggest scandals of this organisation. The stories surrounding the financial escapades of this group are legion as are the ridicolous extremes to which they go to extract money from their congregants.
One of the recent ones I heard is that tithing is God's air tax. To survive as a christian you must tithe or God will cut off your spiritual air supply. The pastor went on to describe in graphic terms what it would be like to have a huge killer snake around your neck slowly squeezing the life out of you. All this to get people to tithe.
The same minister also told of a former member of his church whom he found slumped in his dorway after she was attacked and badly beaten. He used that as an example of what will happen to those who leave his church. She staggered to his house which was nearby because she thought she could get help there. She never suspected that he would use her as sermon fodder.

They are some of the latest accounts of abuse and general nastiness that I've heard come out of this organisation. Sadly I know they won't be the last.

regards...naboth675

[www.habakkuk2-4.com]

Seeing as I am the fellowship disciple mentioned here, I give anyone the opportunity to speak with me of ask me any questions concerning my stance about CFM.
:D

Please explain how a pastor could be fired for bad behavior at your church?

Would the members be able to vote about this?

Who could fire your pastor?

why does wayman mitchell use profanity from the pulpit?

That's not my point.

i'm just getting in line with my questions for mr. sayer

remember, he vounteered to answer them

If my Pastor was in sin or committed a sackable offense, there are many avenues. In CFM many people in CFM congregations know ministers personally and some are family members or high school friends etc.

If someone in our church has a problem with our current pastor, firstly his headship would be contacted, along with the head of the fellowship (I am in Australia - so Pr Vicary), also each state is under a state leader, and sometimes (like our church) an area leader also. There are at least four avenues there.

We have had 3 previous pastors who have all gone on to do mission work. They could also be contacted, as many of them have close relationships with people in the church. Other area pastors would also be contacted who are familiar with the church or it's leader.

Basicaly our church is accountable to Geraldton church, and also Perth.

In Australia the many AOG churches vote pastors in or out, that is fine, but it is not the biblical pattern. Read Titus and 1 & 2 Timothy and you will see that Titus and Timothy operated under Paul, not under their congregation. Potter's House churches ARE accountable, but to headship, and we as church members are advised that if there is a problem, we have the right to go higher.

Nick:

So then CFM is set up similar to the Roman Catholic Church, it is a clergy controlled organization with Mitchell much like a Pope at top, then come the various levels below him, kind of like cardinals and bishops etc.

But unlike the Pope, Mithell was never elected.

And unlike the overwhelming majority of Protestant churches there is no meaningful accountability to the general membership through democratically elected boards composed of regular members, which can discipline or if need be fire a pastor.

Members of your church have no real power to fire anyone or to do much of anything regarding a bad pastor.

All members of your church can do is ask other pastors if they might consider doing something. And if they say "no" you can ask other pastors, but the members themselves are actually powerless.

Right?

It is like a chain of command. In the military, one person has command over a troop, but he is accountable to several higher authorities. It is not as if you would be ignored if you had a complaint. You seem to be making that out. Usually it is all done in a biblical fashion. If I went to Pr Creemers, he is then obligated to do something, much as if if I went to a higher military official, it would be extreemly rare if nothing was done. Also many churches have people in them who have been pastors at some stage or leaders in the church so they know who to contact. I have been instructed exactly what to do in that type of situaltion. We had a notice on the back wall for several years of the church stating how to go about it and who to call. We often have visiting speakers in our church and the people who we would have to contact are known by me personally and most of the church. I have never heard of a case where nothing was done. It has never been an issue.

I wouldn't say that CFM is like the Catholic church, but much like the NT church, with James as the head, and other apostles as leaders (you call them bishops etc). If you can point out in scripture where the church lay people are the authority and not the Pastor of the church I will leave CFM. We base our beliefs and practices from the bible, not traditions.

It just depends on how you define profanity.

To some people damn is a swear word. I have personally heard Pastor Mitchell in sermons where he has used words that could be offensive, but always to expose the use of those words. For example, in Perth conference, Mitchell said that much of the rap music today says "bitches and whores". He also said that when a Christian listens to that type of music it will effect them and said "you can't listen to a rapper saying 'ho ho ho' and expect to hear 'oh how I love Jesus'"

In context he was talking about how Christians think they can listen to such filth and it wont effect them. He said so Christians think they have a filter in their ears that sings "Oh how I love Jesus" when the singer is saying bitches and whores"

Potter's House is a grass roots church, i.e. many people have come out of low life situations. Rap music is a problem amongst people and what Mitchell said is not profanity in my eyes but an attempt to show them that it is not holy to listen to that type of rubbish.

Much like when a rep of James Dobsons interviewed many rock musicians on Donahue. He named one of the albums, which had the "f" word in it. It slipped passed the cencors and the live veiwers heard it. Everyone kicked up s stink but he had a good point, he said how come everyone is upset about that but this album is #1 in america today and I can't even mention the title on TV.

I could see his point. The whole debate was about music being too explicit, and by him just mentiong the title cause a riot. Pr Mitchell is using the same tact, but not using harsh profanity.

Mitchell has been dealing with raw sinners (drug addicts, prostitutes, criminals etc) for 45 years and knows what goes on in the real world. I know some church people who are totally oblivious to what their kids are listening to or what is being shown on TV and they need to hear that type of thing preached. I know Joseph Chambers who is a well repected minister in North Carolina uses similar verbage, but it would be silly to think he does it just because he is crass, you have to look at the context of the entire sermon and what is being accomplished by saying it.

Some religious people physically quiver when Mitchell says things like to expose sin, but they never even blink when they watch this type of stuff on TV or hear some song on the Radio. What about the living bible it says "You son of a bitch" in it and it is promoted by many bookshops! Are you going to make an outcry over that?