"It is an independent private organisation run by lay people for its members, governed by a board drawn from the members of the church " Hi Kelvin, This is the organisation I remember from the 1980s. We were definitely told then that Struthers was a private, independent set up. In fact Mr. Black seemed quite proud of this. It was run by lay people then as now (now only the religio
Forum: Destructive Churches

I was part of the church at the time of the money scandal and this is what I remember. Mr. Black approached people and asked if they would give their name for the church to buy shares. They were given a brief explanation and a paper to sign, taken away by Mr. Black, which I presume was a shares application. Shares were paid for by the church which was to reap any profit, but they were purchased i
Forum: Destructive Churches

QuoteClive: Mr M wants L to keep a 30 year old promise, and thinks God agrees with him. Ergo, L should obey God and keep this promise. And SMC should be obliged morally and biblically to create a state of affairs whereby L ends up finally honoring this oath... quote Actually, for many christians, this summary is fairly accurate! Bear in mind we aren't told what the vow was, only that it
Forum: Destructive Churches

If I were a parent of teenagers or young adults, and my children were under the care of teachers/tutors/youth leaders, secular or otherwise, I would expect these individuals to be properly trained, thoroughly vetted, with a code of conduct clearly laid out. I would expect this precisely because of the emotional difficulties young adults face – things like negotiating new and intense relatio
Forum: Destructive Churches

A great many posters here seek to preserve their anonymity – as do I – and I imagine we all have our own reasons for that. I suppose the Latigo site will be no different. Clive, please allow me to mention another film – or indeed one scene of another film. At the end of "Spartacus," when he reveals himself, everyone else gets to their feet and proclaims "I am Spartacus!"
Forum: Destructive Churches

Hi Uncertain, I agree with your unease about putting church events before your family. How are we ever going to win our family and friends for Christ if we don't spend time with them and demonstrate our love to them practically? Also, I think God wants us to enjoy the blessings of family. Struthers leaders seem to ignore the fact that the family is the model for christian brotherhood – no
Forum: Destructive Churches

It seems that most posters on the forum here have questions they genuinely want answered, rather than just expressing criticism. Many of the questions asked on Latigo214's site [www.latigo214.info] seem to get at the issue of 'biblical teaching' compared to 'church practices.' "The church has no "policies" as such other than biblical teachings. " A
Forum: Destructive Churches

The original question in this topic was a request for more information about Struthers Memorial Church and whether or not it is a cult. I feel it is really important that these questions are brought out into the open and would like to contribute to the discussion. Mental Illness: Jesus said that Christians' love to each other would mark us out as His disciples. The testimonies on this th
Forum: Destructive Churches