Well, I did say I might add to these verses over the next few weeks, so here are some other thoughts. Please note I am NOT saying the things Struthers preaches are wrong. They may be, but that is not what I am arguing here. What I am arguing is that they miss out whole sections of the Bible. I think there is no doubt about this. There are for example literarily thousands of verses that
Forum: Destructive Churches

I was chatting to a couple of people about Struthers last week, and in both conversations, the point about how they avoid certain verses of the Bible came up. I thought readers of this forum might be interested to think about some of these, so have listed a few verses below. I will probably add to these over the next few weeks. Feel free to join in or comment, and of course correct me if I eve
Forum: Destructive Churches

Those who have been around for a while will know that I occasionally post information about the finances of the church. All of this info is from the annual accounts. The reason I am posting this now is that I have heard that the bookshop/ coffee shop in Falkirk is not opening again when lockdown is eased. That made me wonder what is happening on the finances front, so I have pulled together
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi Anonymous for now. Thanks for passing on that info, and thanks also to Rensil for the additional background info. Not at all surprising, but there seems to be a bit of misinformation and misdirection by the Leadership. The report from Pudsey Parish Church says, "The small Fartown congregation have taken the decision to stop meeting in person after COVID-19" which implies they w
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi Rensil, all interesting stuff. Re Kirby, you are forgetting the Struthers cannot possibly do anything wrong, so they will no doubt claim that God led them to create a link but Kirby then went off in the wrong direction, missing God's high calling. Because of this God of course rejected the Kirby Fellowship and left Struthers as the only true church. By pure coincidence, the explana
Forum: Destructive Churches

I can see, I am pretty sure there were strong links between Struthers and Kirby at some point, with the Kirby fellowship or leaders visiting Struthers camps for a while, but they eventually decided to go their separate ways. To be honest, I suspect that was inevitable - Struthers would have wanted to incorporate Kirby as a "branch" and they probably did not want to lose status in th
Forum: Destructive Churches

Rensil, yes, I agree with all you say. Just a quick comment at this point, and that is in connection with one very important point you make, which is that you can go to any church you choose. In these days of lockdown, many, many churches have online services that you can listen to at any time. I would really encourage everyone to make use of that. For those in Struthers, it will increas
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi all, and welcome to the all the new contributors in particular – I make it six new people in 2020: escapedtofrance, thisisme, seethelight, phoebe2, wise piglet and Rob 1967. Welcome all, and thanks for your insightful contributions. I have to say I have lost track of the total number of people who have now posted here, but it is amazing that there are still more people coming forward. Amazi
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi Rensil, and thanks for you encouragement. The hats issue is an interesting one. I think the fact that hats are no longer worn at services has been mentioned before on this forum, but it does create a huge problem for Struthers. The point is that the whole power/ obedience to the leaders thing is based on one key premise, which is that the leaders "walk in the anointing of the sprint
Forum: Destructive Churches

Ah we'll, looks like no takers of my "counter-attitudinal argumentation"challenge. That being the case, I think I will have a go myself by laying out what I think those in Struthers believe and what mainstream Christians believe. Feel free to correct me if I have any of this wrong. Please note, this is NOT an attempt to convince anyone that Christianity is true or that my beli
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi Rensil, Yes, that "do not talk to each other so that you can soak up the presence of God" has not been a very successful strategy, has it? I am not convinced it has any Biblical basis, and on a practical level, it seems that many people who tried it have ended up depressed and ineffective. Not surprising really, as we were after all created for fellowship! A core message of Chr
Forum: Destructive Churches

Rensil, Good to hear from you, and interesting to hear the reasons behind some of the SMC decisions. They are like most things in Struthers including wearing hats, drinking wine, going on holiday, the appointment of leaders and the purpose off the coffee shops. No-one ever talks about the purpose and the reasons for decisions openly, as they would then have to explain any change in position
Forum: Destructive Churches

Thisisme, Just a thought - did you get the chance to look at the video I posted above (on 14th November 2019?) As I said at the time, I think it is It is a gentle, caring (kind!) insight into this sensitive topic, which is why I genuinely think everyone, including the SMC leaders would benefit from watching it. Would welcome your thoughts on the video, either on this forum or by Private
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi thisisme, and welcome to the Forum. Apologies for not responding earlier. I did see your message, but I have made the majority of the posts in recent months, and do not want people to think I am the only one here, or that I want to use the forum just to express my own thoughts. I am always happy to respond both through the public forum and privately and, like you, I think there should b
Forum: Destructive Churches

I seem to be on a roll today! I have just watched the best video I have ever seen about spiritual abuse, see It seems to me this is a really, really interesting insight into how to recognise spititual abuse and the impact it can have. I would encourage all readers of this forum to view this, especially the leaders of SMC. It is a gentle, caring (kind!) insight into this sensitive top
Forum: Destructive Churches

Read an interesting article about kindness today. It was anonymous, so I cannot attribute it, but thought it was worth quoting. QuoteIt's been great to see all the posts today for #WorldKindnessDay. It got me thinking about what it means to be kind. I think there are a few myths out there about this concept, and I wanted to address them. Myth #1: Kindness is weak. Kindness is
Forum: Destructive Churches

It is a while since anyone has commented on the financial state of affairs in Struthers Memorial Church, so I thought I would have a quick look at the latest accounts (which can of course be downloaded free of charge from the companies house website). Some interesting observations including that shop turnover, school fee income and gifts and donations all dropped (by fairly small margins). As
Forum: Destructive Churches

I thought many of you would be interested in this short video (less than 3 minutes) about empathy and how connecting with others can help when people are struggling. I find it strange how those in SMC seem to believe you have to study to learn to be a teacher/ plumber/ brain surgeon, yet do not need to study to learn either theology or how empathy can help people. I think this short v
Forum: Destructive Churches

Interesting stuff Jock, and quite an insight into various aspects of Struthers. Seems to me there are lots of experiences listed on these pages, but a number of common themes. Not all identical of course, you wouldn't expect that, but still enough similarities to see a pattern. One is of course the disdain for any sort of learning that took place outside of the Struthers meetings. As y
Forum: Destructive Churches

I thought some readers of this forum might be interested in the article below which highlights some problems with the book called "Jesus Calling". I have not read the book, but thought there were some general points here that are quite applicable in other contexts. For example, the first concern raised about the book is that, QuoteShe speaks for God. Far and away the most troub
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I have been having some discussions about “the guidance of the spirit” recently and thought some of you might be interested in one of the ideas in particular. The SMC view is very much that it is possible to be in such a relationship with God that He guides you at every moment. That is very clear from the preaching that is quoted on the latigo site. They see this as the way the early churc
Forum: Destructive Churches

Some brilliant points made in the recent posts that really hit the nail on the head. I think the point about training and professional counselling is particularly relevant. Seems to me that the SMC leaders divide everything into two categories - things that have immediate observable outcomes and things that do not have outcomes that are easily observed. Things in the first category include
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Rob alba, I am not surprised the Jennifer Jack did not respond to your email. She has treated others the same way. I know of one person that wrote about once every five years over a period of over 30 years but has never had a response. Why would anyone act is such a horrible, hurtful way? It seems to me that is a purely selfish, cowardly way to behave, with no thought at all for the ot
Forum: Destructive Churches

Thought readers of this forum might be interested in a post in another thread on this site, where Secret Victoria mentions an interview about the Exclusive Brethren, which was the church Hugh Black was brought up in. I think there are some interesting parallels here and look forward to reading the book that is mentioned in the article referenced below. Thought the idea of "Collective PTS
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Hi Servant Victoria, That is a lovely thought and I hope people do find comfort in and discussions to this thread. There are many that post in the "destructive churches" forum that have had the kind of experience you mention. I certainly know what it is like to feel alone due to the rejection of a church - unable to believe they are right because of the things they do, yet unable
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Hi Henri, and welcome to the forum. You make some valid points, but not really sure what the alternatives are. In terms of the anonymous postings, yes, I am sure that you are right that both former and current members will speculate about who is posting. Not sure that the anonymous posters can be blamed for creating division in the church however. For a start, why would anyone in Stru
Forum: Destructive Churches

Rob alba Welcome to the forum! Can't help but agree with your analysis. If they had a leak in the bathroom, they would not pray until it want away, they would get a plumber. Same if their car breaks down. But if they are talking about anything that cannot be evidenced - people falling out with each other, talking rubbish about retail therapy, being 'anointed' etc, they w
Forum: Destructive Churches

I thought that readers of this forum might be interested in a TED talk I have just been listening to. It is called "I grew up in Westbro Baptist Church. Here's why I left". I won't try to summarise the content here, as the speaker Megan Phelps-Roper does it much better than I would, but I will say it os only 15 minutes, so well worth a look. I think this Forum has done no
Forum: Destructive Churches

It is s long time since I - or anyone else for that matter - posted to this forum, but I came across something recently that might interest some readers of this thread. One of the questions I have been asked a number of times is "how can people still in SMC not see what is happening?" Well, I am not sure I have all the answers to that question, but I have recently come across an int
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Cheerylizard, I am afraid you have misinterpreted my statement. Sorry, I realise I am used to quite a legalistic interpretation of words, so my phraseology can at times need careful reading. I am not trying to be clever with words, but I do generally mean exactly what I say and not something that may be very close to what I say, but is in fact different. I did not say you recognised my
Forum: Destructive Churches