@blackwatch Oops! Sorry about that, so you have. Still good to have your comments! (And has this forum really been going ten years? That is absolutely amazing, especially when new people are still coming forward.)
Forum: Destructive Churches

Escapesoon, Rainbow, Baockwatch and Free@last_sometimes welcome to the forum! I did make a very general comment to welcome new folk but didn’t have time at that point to mention all the names or extend a proper welcome. It is really good to hear your stories and comments, and to see the support people have for each other. That is quite a change from the Struthers experience, isn’t it! Daisy
Forum: Destructive Churches

Welcome folks, I am once again amazed to see new folks coming out to share their stories - and to discover they are not alone in their experiences. I am disappointed that there is not yet any reply from standbyfive, but I guess I should not be too surprised. It seems to me that is the way of those in and around Struthers (or in this case, not around, but still impressed with). The overall
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi standbyfive, and thanks for your reply. In response, I have to say that I find that you not being very interested in debating theology rather ironic. How can you say you don’t think it is relevant to a discussion of Struthers when you introduced the idea of “deep worship” as the very reason you wanted to attend Struthers? If that is the main reason you would like to attend Struthers, it
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi standbyfive, and welcome. It is good to see a different perspective coming into the discussion. I am glad you were not scarred by the shunning you experienced. As can be seen from this forum, a number of people received similar treatment, and some were quite badly affected. I guess I have two questions for you. One is what is meant by “deep worship” and whether there is any Biblical r
Forum: Destructive Churches

Rensil You are right. I have often noticed that hair dye does not change what is going on at the roots! There are more serious points there as well though, as there used to be sermons about not wearing makeup and not going on foreign holidays. Were these sermons correct? Was God "anointing" the speakers at the time? Was this God's word? Does God's word change? What
Forum: Destructive Churches

I find the story/ stories about Fidra and Cedars very interesting - possibly because I know very little about them and their purpose. Thanks Rensil for your insight, and CheeryLizard for your correction regarding the ownership. It seems to me there are still a lot of questions about these two properties however, not least of which is what sort of link there was in terms of decision-making.
Forum: Destructive Churches

Wow – good to see people coming forward with their reasons for the forum. I think there is a lot of insight and wisdom in these answers and a lot of people will definitely resonate with the comment “I now realise that many people received the same treatment I did.” Seems to me that is one of the things they did a lot – convinced you that you were the only one with these questions or concerns.
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Hi Curiositykillsthecat, Interesting question, and I am not sure there is a single answer. Different people may be here with different views and for different reasons. The “about us” page of this website says it runs the forum “for researchers, professionals and those concerned to network and exchange information and discuss relevant issues.” I guess that is pretty close to why I use it
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi Daisy 69 and welcome. I think your original comment about the school got lost in a flurry of activity about other points, but I have to say I found that quite interesting for all sort of reasons. First is that people have been telling them about this for years. If you look at the Latigo website at you will see there are articles about the finances in 2009 – 2011. One of the things th
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi HughBlack and welcome to the forum. I always find it interesting when new people join and tell their stories or share their concerns (or their gratitude for good things, if that is their experience!) MW89 – I fully take your point about making sure the reports are clear and accurate, but I do not think that the money issue was quite as straight-forward as you suggest. There are some posts
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi anonymousfornow, That is interesting and, as you suggest, there seem to be a number of similarities with SMC. One difference is that SMC probably do not have a policy about not praying with folk under 18 however. Seems to me that one of the problems with organisations like SMC is they can never learn from others, so it will not even think about such a policy until something goes wrong.
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Hi Rensil, I agree absolutely that it would have needed an HMO licence. Just one thing I would clarify though, and that is I don't think it matters whether it was called/ thought of as a "family home". I guess people can think of it that way if they wish. From your description, that language would be pushing the boundaries in terms of how it was used, but I guess it could
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Rensil, When was this, and did the house have an HMO (House of Multiple Occupancy) certificate? Local authorities were given discretionary powers to introduce HMO licensing in 1991, and this was made compulsory for all local authorities in 2000.
Forum: Destructive Churches

While I am think about the money and properties, it is interesting that the accounts for 2018 state: “Investment properties comprise two properties in London acquired in late 2014 to generate income in support of the charity's work in South East England”. I find this fascinating for a number of reasons. For example, in 2015, the accounts showed an income of £ 22,127 against “Rental Incom
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Hi Cheerylizard and good to have that additional info. Part of the problem is of course that quite a lot of information is hidden rather than explained openly. I have for example noted proceeds from disposal of fixed assets of £ 393,000 in the annual accounts for 2018, and thought that was perhaps for the sale of the "Cedars" house. Does anyone know what fixed assets (presuma
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Hi Rensil, and thanks for this info. There are some really interesting links there. If they made a profit of £317,160 the value of that property in 2014 must have been considerable. Why a church wishes to “lay up treasures on earth” in this way is beyond me. I would have expected “laying up treasures in heaven” by making the flat available to the homeless, or by giving the money to missio
Forum: Destructive Churches

One other thing I noticed in the annual accounts, and that is that the "London Church has been meeting essentially online". I am not quite sure what "essentially" online is, but presume it means most meetings are online. Whether they are led by someone in London or they are joining services elsewhere is not clear. Does anyone know how often they meet, and how many people
Forum: Destructive Churches

I have been looking at the church accounts. These are available free of charge at the companies house website (along with the info about the Directors etc mentioned by Rensil). All the figures below are taken straight from the accounts. The comments are however my own opinion. The years selected are a bit random, pasted from earlier posts. There will no doubt be other insights in other y
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Hi Rensil, and good to hear your info. I think your point about some following Alison Spears and some not doing so (cf. Paul and Apollos) is an interesting one, and is actually quite a deep problem in Struthers. The core message of Christianity is that we are all flawed and can fail. As soon as you raise people up to be above criticism, you stop thinking for yourself. The question stops
Forum: Destructive Churches

It appears that the Greenock coffee shop is now closing - see Hudson Taylor (often quoted by Mr Black): “God's work, done in God's way, will never lack God's supply.” Chris Jewell: “Largely due to Covid and the present cost of living crisis, together with major increases in food costs, the directors of the charity have very reluctantly agreed to close the shop.”
Forum: Destructive Churches

I just had a quick look at Companies House to see what was happening with the finances at Struthers, and discovered their annual accounts are overdue. How could this happen?? If it was any other organisation, I would cut them some slack: there are pressures in any organisation; someone may be ill, mistakes happen and all that. I think this is probably the first time their accounts have b
Forum: Destructive Churches

On a totally different note, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the American Psychiatric Association lists a number of personality disorders including Narcissistic Personality Disorder. I suspect most of us know at least one person who has some of the traits of a narcissist, and recognise narcissistic behaviour when we see it. More recently, psychologists and other behaviouralists
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Hi Rensil, Yes, I looked at the Register for Teachers, which is publicly available, and Emma Rukin is listed. No idea if she was always qualified or obtained that qualification recently, but she is certainly currently registered. As for your point about people leaving, well, in theory, anyone can of course leave at any point, but the leaders do make that very difficult by the way they put lo
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Hi MW89, and welcome to the forum. Thanks for your comment which really does say it all – “my experience was similar”. That is exactly the issue. It there were only two or three people, it could possibly be dismissed as an anomaly (although I would argue that the parable of the lost sheep would still require the leaders to seek out the person and deal with them kindly, not in the usual cal
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AlDuff – yes, plus-sized Pentecostalism may indeed be quite an appropriate strapline. It will be interesting to see if anyone does report the incident of a pupil being struck. According to the church policy, any member of the church who is aware of an incident should report it, so any current member reading this thread should of course report the (alleged) incident. To do so would of c
Forum: Destructive Churches

I see from Instagram that Diana will be preaching in Glasgow this evening on the theme of: “The Church Restored, let the waste places be inhabited”. Guess most of us could guess much of what will be in that sermon. A few things to bear in mind if listening to that: 1) The sort of “thus sayeth the Lord” approach that is fairly common in the old testament never occurs from the book of Acts o
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi curiositykillsthecat, and welcome to the forum. It is really interesting to read of your experience in the Cedars school. I know very little about the school, but it is interesting how your description of what goes on has parallels with how things work in Struthers churches, as favouritism is very much a way of life, with certain people being given the platform and others simply ignore
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Hi Free@last_sometimes, and welcome to the forum. It is remarkable to see new people still coming forward to talk about the abuse they have suffered at the hands of the Struthers leadership. There must be near sixty people now - sixty people that could do with a bit of understanding and support but are just ignored by the Struthers leadership. Totally callous and the opposite of the approac
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Hi thetruthneedstobetold, and welcome to the forum. Your user name is spot on – the truth does need to be told, whether that is about owning 16 house (16! really? what happened to the idea of storing up treasure in heaven?) bullying, hidden behaviours or attitudes to mental health. That last one I find interesting for many reasons, as it seems they pretend it is not real if you are in SMC, bu
Forum: Destructive Churches