Group Sects

Questioning Hill$ong for dummies

groupsects — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:42:12 +0000

The Thinking Theologian blogs…

“It’s possible for a person to be a member of a church like Hillsong for years, and have deep concerns about its doctrine and practices which are never properly addressed. After a while, the tendency is to accept things as “just the way it is”, and hold on to some vague hope that, in time, things might improve.

But how will things improve? If something is never recognised as being a problem, time and effort will never be put in to changing it (“if it aint broke, don’t fix it”). For something to be recognised as a problem, those in positions of power must be made to pay attention.

The challenge for the earnest Christian then, is to voice their concerns to the right people, and in such a way that the underlying issues can not be ignored. So I’ve put together a few thoughts on how to navigate through the false walls and mirrors that are the maze of Hillsong’s rhetoric and spin, so that the concerned Hillsonger might have half a chance of having their questions heard.

Rather than address each and every issue, I will deal in general terms with the common problems that someone questioning Hillsong is likely to come up against. Hillsong spokesmen approach sceptics in much the same way, and I suspect their tactics are common to most other cult-like organisations. By being wise to their devices, I hope you’re able to survive them.

1. Damage Control
When a person first questions an element of Hillsong, whether it be their “open book policy”, or some dodgy doctrine, the first response is invariably damage control. You see the problem is not really with Hillsong, they’ll say, but with your perceptions of it. In the nicest possible way, it’ll be suggested that you’ve been listening to negativity, and should check your attitude. If you persist, the responses will gradually become less and less ‘pastoral’ as they move away from their defensive stance, toward an offensive one.

2. Personal Contact
Usually, a leader who is closest to the dissenter will be dispatched to smooth things over. This might be a youth pastor if you’re under 25, or the leader of the team in which you serve on a weekend. If you’re on staff, it’ll be your department head, or oversight. But the strategy is always the same: a friendly face.
By trying to make your concern a person-to-person disagreement, the hope is that you’ll fold, in favour of maintaining brotherly unity.

3. The Personal Contact Taking it Personally
If the usual rhetoric and spin doesn’t wash, your contact (whether it’s still the ‘friendly face’, or a ring-in tag-teamer) will feel personally wounded by your “attack” on Hillsong. This is probably a legitimate response in most cases. After all, for you to insist that something is wrong, the fact they believe everything’s fine means that you’re suggesting they, too, are wrong. The hope at this stage of course, is that by appearing hurt and saddened by your behaviour toward them, you’ll admit that perhaps you have been a bit harsh, and maybe its just all been a big misunderstanding. Nonsense. The important thing to remember is that your concerns are not personal, but relate to systemic problems of a far more pressing kind.

4. The Stone Wall
If your argument is sound, and leads to the logical conclusion that Hillsong is flawed, what happens next is a little discouraging, and quite anti-climatic: you’re stone walled. You’ll simply be ignored. Suddenly your friendly faced contact is swamped with work and can’t spare even a moment; your phone calls are never returned; people you thought were your friends won’t look you in the eye, and walk past you as if you don’t even exist. This, fellow-dissenters, is when Hillsong proponents show their true colours. “If you don’t toe the party line, you’re not one of us”, is the message sent loud and clear.

This is the point where I suspect most dissenters either leave Hillsong altogether, or admit defeat and convince themselves they were wrong, and everything’s alright really. I would really suggest the former: leave, and never look back.

You see, what matters to people who want to get ahead at Hillsong, isn’t Christ’s love, or even the salvation of souls. It’s “building the church”. And to build it, you’ve got to believe in it… and believing means giving your life to it. Once they have your heart, your mind will not be far behind.

But with any luck, you won’t reach the stone wall. If you insist that your concerns be taken seriously, and don’t cave-in at their tried and tested tactics, you may yet stave the terminal write-off.

But remember that the issues at Hillsong are not down to petty differences of opinion, or mere methodological disagreements; they are fundamental problems of Christian doctrine and practice. There is far more at stake that one person’s ostracization from the ‘Hillsong club’. In the grand scheme of things, what does it really matter if you have to find yourself another church? Surely of more importance is Christ’s bride who, thanks to the likes of Hillsong, is far from blemish-free, and covered with spot and wrinkle.

If each and every member of Hillsong who has a legitimate concern (and there are more than you might think), were to pluck up the courage to speak up, I believe there would be cause for hope; and hope for positive change.”

From http://tttdiscussionforum.blogspot.com/2009/08/hillsong-heretics-dissenters-guide.html

Basil Faulty

groupsects — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:25:18 +0000

The Star reports…

“A number of parents are stuck in a desperate battle with a church in Durban’s upmarket suburbs that they accuse of “stealing” and brainwashing their teens.

Calling Grace Gospel Church in Pinetown a “mind-controlling” Christian cult, the parents claim girls have been married to men they hardly know, chosen for them by the church.

The church is a branch of Church Team Ministries International (CTMI), an international Christian group with head offices in Mauritius.

The group’s leader, Basil O’Connell-Jones, was sent to Durban from another CTMI branch, Selborne Park Christian Church in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, in 2003.

He is well known in charismatic Christian circles for his autobiography Amazing Grace, which details his time as a soldier in the then Rhodesian army and his near-death experience of being shot in the head and then overcoming the injury.

Now O’Connell-Jones is accused of ministering to many young people, aged between 18 and 30, and encouraging them to abandon their tertiary studies and careers and leave their families to live with him in his Hillcrest home or in other church leaders’ homes.

CTMI is led by founder and televangelist Miki Hardy, who is said to live in luxury in Mauritius. The group is alleged to encourage its members to leave their home countries and go to the island to help build the Mauritian church and “serve the Lord”.

Parents who have lost children to the group have formed the Concerned Parents Group, to fight the church.

They tell of how, when pastors initially approached the Grace Gospel Church with their concerns, including the church’s aggressive recruitment of children from their churches, they were called “pathetic Pharisees”, jealous of the church’s secret doctrine, which no other church apparently has.

CTMI is considering suing the parent group for defamation, for calling it a cult and for accusing it of kidnapping children.

But the parents are undeterred. They believe that any court case would lift the lid on the church’s activities.

Keith Brown, who was part of a team of members from other churches at a meeting with GGC leaders, says a CTMI leader bluntly told them: “Jesus did not come to bring peace in families but a sword”.

Brown says his eldest son Stuart (then 27) was diagnosed with cancer in 2006 and died in a hospice after being cared for in church leaders’ homes because the leaders “felt uncomfortable visiting Stuart in our home”.

Steve and Heather Goddard, of Kloof, say their daughter, who they did not wish to name, has been a member of the church for almost three years and started avoiding her other Christian friends “in favour of members of Grace Gospel”.

Anthony and Romaine Chaplin, of Durban North, say their son had been a top pupil at Kearsney College before going to study at the University of Cape Town.

Last April, he abandoned his studies to go to Mauritius.

The parents have now set up a website – www.ctmi concernedparents.com – with stories about their children and links to websites about dangerous cults and the characteristics of cults.

“This church has brainwashed our children. They are encouraged to reject their biological families and their studies and will more than likely be pushed into an arranged marriage,” says one of parents.

But O’Connell-Jones’s daughter Kara-Jane and her husband Richard Seynisch have defended the church, saying they are like any other young person in their age group.

“My life started and ended with drinking, clubbing, fornication and all other ‘youthful lusts’ that surrounded me,” she says. “Then, during my first three weeks in Mauritius, I was bowled over by the light, the joy and the freedom that was so evidently oozing out of the people in the church.”

But Melany Wood, 21, who attended a youth camp in Mauritius at the end of 2007, says: “People there are blinded. They are so struck by this church that they cannot see reality.”

Another girl, 22, who wished to remain anonymous left the church in high school after she had questioned the teaching.

“I’ve seen my good friends, girls of 18 and 19, give up their dreams because the church labelled them ‘worldly’ and ‘of the flesh’. They’ve had their lives mapped out for them, and some of them have been married off to men who were chosen for them by the church – guys they hardly know.”

Leaders of the GGC did not wish to respond to the allegations. “CTMI is a non-denominational missionary organisation with thousands of members across 25 different countries. We do not wish to be involved in the dispute between four families and their relationships with their children, all of whom are major citizens.

“We have chosen therefore not to reply to any allegations against us and to leave it to the young adults themselves to address the issue, as they are the ones who are directly concerned,” they said in an official statement to the Saturday Star.”

From http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=139&art_id=vn20091107072434816C446171

Christian Demogogic Party

groupsects — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:56:37 +0000

The Australian reports…

“Fred Nile’s Christian Democratic Party plans to run an emotive anti-Muslim, anti-carbon trading campaign in the by-election for the northern Sydney seat of Bradfield.

And in a case of “onward Christian soldiers”, the CDP has decided to stand no fewer than 11 candidates in the federal seat.

In what is a blue-ribbon conservative stronghold, the CDP is hoping to capitalise on unease among some Liberals with federal party leader Malcolm Turnbull’s willingness to negotiate an emissions trading scheme with the Rudd Labor government.

The party’s propaganda for the December 5 by-election, which has been provided in advance to The Australian, declares “Enough!” and urges Australians to “Stand your ground in defence of Christian values”.

It uses a selection of alternating slogans, including, “Ten-year moratorium on Muslim immigration”, “No nukes for Iran — we must defend Israel” and “No carbon tax — stop the ETS”.

“The CDP is opposed to racism and we have people of all races on our team,” he said.

“But Muslim is not a race. It’s a religious and political ideology.”

While Mr Nile agreed the anti-Muslim, anti-ETS campaign would alienate the majority of voters in a “trendy” electorate such as Bradfield, he claimed: “There are at least 10 per cent who would agree with those policies, maybe more.”

But the Greens candidate for Bradfield, Susie Gemmell, condemned the CDP strategy and said: “Directing hatred towards people of any religious faith is totally unacceptable.”

Liberal candidate Paul Fletcher, who is expected to win Bradfield easily, declined to comment on the anti-Muslim campaign, but said: “Local residents don’t want a rushed and poorly planned ETS which just turns out to be another tax.”

Mr Nile has been a leading campaigner against a proposed 1200-student Muslim school at Camden, in outer southwest Sydney.

He said the unprecedented strategy of standing 11 candidates against each other in Bradfield was designed to increase the CDP’s overall vote — by allowing the candidates to focus their efforts on different areas within the electorate — and to raise the party’s profile by having its name appear so many times on the ballot paper.

Mr Nile said the federal Opposition Leader’s position on climate change would help the CDP’s cause.

“He’s not a very strong leader and he’s taken this approach as the path of least resistance,” he said.

At the 2007 election, the CDP scored 1.74 per cent of the vote in Bradfield, the Greens 11.26 per cent.

Labor is not contesting the by-election, which was triggered by the resignation last month of former federal Liberal leader Brendan Nelson….”

From http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/fred-nile-raises-crusade-in-by-election/story-e6frg6nf-1225794863587

Gloria Jean’s forced to abandon another Christian venture

groupsects — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 08:10:12 +0000

The UK National Secular Society writes…

“A new religious initiative has arisen that — if we believe its propaganda — will soon be as big, if not bigger, than the Alpha Course.

It is called “Café Church” and is the brainchild of Baptist Minister Cid Latty of Christchurch Baptist Church, Welwyn Garden City. The concept is simple – people won’t go to church, so why not bring the church to the people via high street coffee chains? “The idea is to encourage those who might feel uncomfortable in a church building to worship in a more neutral environment,” say the organisers.

Costa Coffee has gone along with this idea and is permitting these church groups to operate on its premises. The Gloria Jean’s coffee shop chain is also taking part in the scheme. There are now 50 “cafe churches” operating around the country from Glasgow to Torquay.

The Waterlooville branch of Costa is hosting an Alpha Course starting this week, the first time one has been seen outside a church. Organiser Gary Chapman, from Church of the Good Shepherd, had the idea after attending two separate training sessions about Alpha and Café Church.

“It’s church, but not in a church building,” said Mr Chapman. “It’s taking the idea of church into the wider community. It removes that barrier that people sometimes feel about walking into a church building, and helps those who want to find out more about their spiritual side in a place they already feel comfortable. Most Alpha courses provide food. We’ll be asking people to eat before they come, but we can give them a nice coffee! And the programme for Café Church is quite similar to Alpha – low-key worship, the chance to build relationships and have discussion.”

“I think the model works” said Costa Home Counties Retail Development Manager, Sandy Gourlay. “I want to take it forward through Costa because here is a way for our stores to engage with our communities.”

Kristian Thorpe, CEO of Gloria Jean’s Coffees UK, describes the partnership with Cafechurch Network as “fitting with their ethos; ‘We love innovation and we value people. This whole project is thinking outside the box and believing in people. For that reason we have asked the Cafechurch Network to provide our stores with cafechurches.”

Terry Sanderson, president of the National Secular Society, said: “As commercial operators, Costa and Gloria Jean’s can do whatever they want with their own premises. But as a consumer, I have a choice, too. Unlike with my tax contributions, I can decide whether my coffee budget will be used to finance religion. From now on I will be patronising Starbucks, and I will write to Costa to let them know of my decision.”

Mr Sanderson said: “As commercial ventures in a highly competitive market, these businesses should be careful that this concept doesn’t import the failure of the churches into their own establishments. The empty pews in churches can easily translate into empty seats in coffee bars if they become too closely associated with this heavy-handed fundamentalist Christianity.”

From http://www.secularism.org.uk/fancy-a-coffee-look-out-the-evan.html

Update….

“Following our story in last week’s Newsline about the incursion of a Baptist Church into High Street coffee chains, we have been informed by Gloria Jean’s Coffees that, after a change in ownership, it is no longer participating in the scheme. Gloria Jean’s has only three shops — in the British Midlands — although it has branches in forty countries…...”

From http://www.secularism.org.uk/gloria-jeans-says-it-no-longer-s.html

That coffee in the welcome lounge at the local Pente megachurch could be slowly killing you

groupsects — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:21:44 +0000

The Daily Telegraph reports…

“The two best-known coffee chains are selling drinks with more than 100 per cent of the recommended intake of sugar or saturated fat – and 800 times the kilojoules of a long black – but customers have no idea because both are failing in their policies for providing dietary information.

The revelations come as international research that shows daily consumption of any of nearly 100 menu items sold by Gloria Jeans and Starbucks can lead to gaining almost 10kg a year.

Worryingly, the most decadent of the new wave of cold, cream-laden chocolate and coffee concoctions contains four times the energy researchers say may cause such a weight increase.

Nutritionists and dietitians said more had to be done to make information available to the 10 million-plus people who consume drinks from the chains each month.

They were responding to a Daily Telegraph investigation that revealed:

* A REGULAR-SIZE Gloria Jeans Mocha Chiller Coco Loco packs 95.5g of sugar, which is 106 per cent of an adult’s recommended daily intake. A large has 129g of sugar, or 143 per cent of the RDI;

* A LARGE Starbucks Signature hot chocolate with cream contains 24.3g of saturated fat, or 101 per cent of the RDI; and

* A LARGE Gloria Jeans iced chocolate with whipped cream has 3260kJ – the same as 815 long blacks. It would take more than three hours of bike-riding to use up this amount of energy.

Sampling the Gloria Jeans Mocha Chiller Coco Loco yesterday, Newcastle university student Laura Croger was horrified when told about the beverage’s sugar content.

“It tastes all right but not after you told me how much sugar and kilojoules are in it,” she said.

Her friend Nicola Evans tried the Gloria Jeans iced chocolate with whipped cream, which she said left a “fatty, greasy” taste in her mouth.

The Daily Telegraph also found that both chains’ stores were unable to provide nutritional information on request. On request Gloria Jeans staff are supposed to look up dietary information on a special site for franchisees, then advise the customer.

Starbucks outlets are meant to keep brochures behind the counter. None had them. That said, Starbucks provides nutritional information on its website and staff did direct The Daily Telegraph to the website.

Gloria Jeans does not have any information on its public site.

Dietitian Melanie McGrice said chains should have to provide such information in brochures in stores.”

From http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/coffee-hit-to-the-heart/story-e6freuy9-1225789034447

Delusional Danny’s One World Government fantasy

groupsects — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:21:15 +0000

Danny Nalliah blogs…

“Dear friends and family in Christ,

Is Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Labor government, who have betrayed the Christian voters after winning the last federal election, now about to betray the nation of Australia once again? In his recent 2GB Radio interview with Lord Mockton, Alan Jones from Sydney stated in his closing comments, “Is the Prime Minister about to betray us all?”

In December at the Global Warming Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, PM Kevin Rudd will relinquish Australia’s democratic rights to make decisions as a sovereign nation, by signing a treaty to a ONE WORLD GOVERMENT led by the United Nations.

Janet Albrechtsen’s article on climate change in the 28 October edition of the Australian refers to the United Nation’s ‘Copenhagen Plot’. The article deals with a draft of the climate change treaty, which she says is ‘aimed at creating a world government that would tax rich countries and give to poor ones’. As members know, the United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place at the Bella Centre in Copenhagen, Denmark from 7 to 18 December 2009. The conference includes the fifteenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

We at Catch the Fire Ministries fought a 5 year battle for freedom of Speech and freedom of Religion in the state of Victoria due to a bad piece of legislation which became law in 2002 under the Labor administration. Thank God we won this battle which helped us regain our freedom of speech. Is our entire nation of Australia about to lose it forever?

As reported in the Australian, ‘the question now is why the Federal Government failed to provide some of the information that is the basis for the treaty to indicate the direction the treaty is going. When 15,000 officials, advisers, diplomats, activists and journalists arrive from 190 countries they will be force-fed the treaty document to sign. We have to know what is in it. If Australia signs it—and I imagine Mr Rudd will enthusiastically commit Australia to it—what effect will it have on Australia? Lord Christopher Monckton, a former adviser to the Thatcher Government, made a statement at Saint Paul Minnesota on 14 October about his interpretation of the document. He has also been interviewed on Alan Jones’ program on 2GB. Lord Monckton claims that the aim of the Copenhagen draft treaty is to set up a trans-national government on a scale the world has never seen. It talks about a new trans-national treaty and refers to a new body to be set up under treaty as a government.’

Lord Monckton in his speech in the US in Oct quoted, “We are at the 11th hour, 59th minute and 59th second to save our nations from a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT. Your president is about to sign this treaty so are many other leaders. But you can stop it”.

Visit the following link to watch a 4 minute interview from Lord Monckton of the British House of Lords regarding the upcoming Global Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen in December where nations will cede away sovereignty to a global government body.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMe5dOgbu40

Visit the following link to listen to Lord Monckton’s 15 minute radio interview with Allan Jones in Sydney, Australia regarding the ETS, Copenhagen Treaty, and a One World Government.

http://www.2gb.com/index2.php?option=com_newsmanager&task=view&id=4998

The left-wing secularists and most media attack us all the time for standing up for absolute moral values. Will they now cover up and sell their own birthright in order to protect a left-wing secular government. I hope we will wake up to the fact that our children and grandchildren will pay the price if we sign up to this ONE WORLD AGENDA. In particular what worries me is the key players behind it, the Rockerfeller family, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan [the little fat kid from Hey Dad - I added that one in - Ed ] and others, who are main representatives of the club of Rome. Communists, Muslims, and others are working together for a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT. We all know that they despise Democracy.

Australia we need to stop Rudd from signing this treaty. To email the PM with your voice of protest click on the following link and following the instructions for emailing the PM:

http://pm.gov.au/PM_Connect/Email_your_PM

Alternatively, you may send a fax to the PM’s office at (02) 6273 4100.

One report recently stated in the last 30 years the ice melt down has been the least in the last year. The month of October saw a massive prayer operation across Australia and in particular on Mount Ainslie in Canberra. We thank God for exposing the above as we believe it is a direct result of prayer to save our nation and the world.

While a large part of the Christian church is in denial, much of the secular media is increasingly confirming what we proclaimed (and many other Christian prophetic ministries) several years ago regarding a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT! Is this the beginning of the end before the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem, Israel as the reigning King of kings and LORD of lords?

We at Catch the Fire Ministries and millions of Bible-believing God-fearing Christians around the world believe it is so! (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, Revelation 19:11-21, Daniel 7:13-14, 18)

Your Brother in Christ,

Pastor Daniel Nalliah”

From http://catchthefire.com.au/blog/2009/11/05/prime-minister-kevin-rudd-about-to-betray-australia-by-pastor-daniel/

Pente pastor Australia’s ‘biggest bankrupt’?

groupsects — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:54:10 +0000

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports…

“The trail of debts left in the wake of Gold Coast Pentecostal pastor Glenn Duker and his wife Lorilea has grown to more almost $60 million as creditors desperately pick over the bones of their collapsed housing empire.

The massive debt could make the pair the biggest bankrupts in Australian history.

Glenn Duker was a leader of the Gold Coast branch of the Christian fundamentalist sect Revival Centres International, but he had another side — buying and selling houses — often with money borrowed from his flock.

Now, it seems, some of the flock have been fleeced.

A feature of RCI is that it believes salvation comes from speaking in tongues; some Duker followers say he spoke to them with a forked tongue.

Since fleeing the Gold Coast for the anonymity of Melbourne Duker and his wife have been examined by the Supreme Court for the first time since news of their extra-clerical activities astonished the Gold Coast last year — and both have since filed for bankruptcy.

However, getting to the bottom of the Duker empire has proved difficult for investigators.

Although the Dukers are reportedly living the high life in Melbourne, still protected by their church, in his notification of bankruptcy Glenn duker listed debts totalling $34,287,411. His wife Lorilea listed assets of just $32 in cash, $767 superannuation, a Camp Hill house worth $650,000 on which $750,000 was still owed and a $675,000 West End flat on which $900,000 was owed. Her liabilities were estimated at $10 million.

Liquidators are still trying to sift through the tangled and intricate web of companies that the Dukers operated in their many schemes.

An initial liquidator’s report said Mr Duker mainly utilised what are called ‘joint venture agreements’ (JVAs). A characteristic of such a scheme is that the ‘partner’ who sells his house, for instance, would remain — often without precise knowledge — the registered proprietor of the ’sold’ property and at the same time the principle borrower on a mortgage, hence liable if for any reason the mortgage is not paid.

The ‘owner’ might also be liable for GST — making them a debtor to the ATO.

In many instances people entering such agreements with Mr Duker did not obtain independent legal and financial advice before signing agreements — with members of his church saying this is because they did not believe their shepherd would lead them astray.

According to Scott Bennison — a chartered accountant acting for a group of Duker’s former congregation who may lose their homes in the aftermath of the collapse of the Duker paper empire — the pair formed joint venture partnerships with members of Duker’s church to buy houses for resale.

“A unique feature of the joint venture partnerships is that there is joint and several liability, and so these unsophisticated investors have been left with tax debts Duker ran up.

“These tax debts are a result of Mr Duker and his associates establishing partnerships for tax purposes without the knowledge or consent of the investors.”

Mr Bennison said that at no stage did Duker’s ‘partners’ understand they were liable to pay GST on the deals Duker conducted.

They claim Duker misled them after they trusted him to do the right thing because he was their minister.

According to Mr Bennison, part of the case against Duker is that he abused his position by acting as both solicitor and pastor for some of the victims. In legal precedent dating back to 1860 the relationship between a religious leader and disciples is said to be ‘one of even greater influence than parent and child, guardian and ward or solicitor and client’.

“He used this church network to promote his business against church policy,” said Mr Bennison.

“The senior pastors of the church were aware of his activities but did not stop him because some of them became involved, thereby concealing the breach of church policy and his abuse of position.”

According to a liquidator’s report by Bruce Gleeson, of Jones Partners Chartered Accountants, there may be grounds for more serious legal action against Mr Duker, his wife Lorilea and his former company auditor, Allan Walker.

Mr Gleeson’s examination of the Dukers’ affairs suggest they were trading while insolvent as far back as 2005 and that ‘there are grounds to establish a case against the company directors’.

The Revival church, which sprang up in Melbourne and has since spread overseas, says on its website: “We are a church of people who have come together following an amazing personal experience of the power and presence of God. Each individual church member has received the Holy Spirit with the same conclusive evidence accepted in Bible days — we speak in other tongues.”

From http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/11/02/154355_gold-coast-news.html

Who wants to be a hundredaire?

groupsects — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:46:53 +0000

The Chicago Tribune reports…

“At Lighthouse Church of All Nations in Alsip, the congregation can get more than just prayer at the Sunday worship services.

If a lucky — or “blessed and highly favored” — churchgoer is in the right seat, they can also receive a cash prize.

At each of the three Sunday services, the Rev. Dan Willis pulls a number of one seat from a bag and the worshiper in that seat wins a cash prize. Two of the churchgoers win $250 and the third gets $500. The church gives away $1,000 each Sunday, Willis said.

The cash prize is part of Willis’ recent focus on helping his congregation pay bills and begin a debt-free life, he said.

“We’ve had soooo many of our people displaced from jobs, facing foreclosure,” he said. “When people’s faith was high, their debt was down. When their faith was down, their debt was high. I realized the two are connected.”

Willis concedes the cash prize is a gimmick to fill the pews. But he’s unapologetic about the plan, because it’s working. On a typical Sunday, his church draws about 1,600 people to its three Sunday services. But since the money giveaway started, about five weeks ago, the congregation has grown to about 2,500 each week, he said. The money for the giveaway comes from the church offering. Lighthouse is a non-denominational church.

“If I can get someone in here and teach them and give them money, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.

As part of the lessons, Willis set up a shredder near the pulpit to encourage church members to shred their credit cards and commit to stop spending. He talks about budgeting, tackling past-due bills and saving. He encourages the prize winners to use the money to pay down their bills, rather than splurge on new items. One Sunday, he gave away 15 savings accounts with $25 already in them. And he had bank representatives at the service so church members could set up accounts.

“The Bible says even an ant stores up in the summer so it can live in the winter,” Willis said. “Even an ant can teach us. Even an ant knows how to save. We, with intellect, don’t know how to do it. When people see that in Scripture, it takes on a whole different level.”

From http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-talk-church-cashnov02,0,5901781.story

Haggard starts new church

groupsects — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:36:07 +0000

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports…

“Ted Haggard, who started New Life Church in his Colorado Springs basement and built it into a megachurch with thousands of worshipers, announced today he is starting a church in his living room.

“We wanted to do something in our house to connect with friends,” said Haggard, whose ties to New Life ended with the revelation that he’d been involved with a male prostitute in Denver.

Haggard will hold his first gathering at 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at his house at 1865 Old Ranch Road. He referred to it as a “prayer meeting,” but said it would also be correct to call it a church. The gathering will include music and an offering to New Life Church. Haggard also will give a talk about the power of prayer.

Although Haggard said just recently he had no plans to start a church, he changed his mind two weeks ago after talking to a friend in Florida who was involved in prayer meetings.

Haggard anticipates that 10 to 20 people will show up, and said he has no expectations of building his new enterprise into something on the scale of New Life.

“For this prayer meeting, I have no goals,” he said. “I have no secret hope that more people will come. I am not driven as I was. Before I focused on the Great Commission. Now I focus on helping other people.”

Haggard started New Life Church in 1985 as a gathering of 25 people who met in his unfinished basement. It wasn’t long before he became a rising star in evangelical circles. In 1996, Christianity Today magazine named him one of 50 up-and-coming evangelical leaders younger than 40. He later became head of the National Association of Evangelicals, as his church grew to a membership of 14,000.

But in November 2006, a male prostitute in Denver broke the news that Haggard had been one of his clients, and had asked him to procure meth. Haggard first denied the story, then admitted it. He resigned from New Life with compensation, provided he would move away from Colorado and meet with overseers who would work to rehabilitate him. The agreement also prohibited him from opening a church within a 100-mile radius of Colorado Springs.

Several people who have worked with Haggard said it’s premature for him to be setting out on this path. C. Peter Wagner, who co-founded the World Prayer Center with Haggard, said Haggard should first seek approval from the overseers before leading people in prayer and worship.

“My reservation is that he has not followed through completely on apostolic protocol,” Wagner said Wednesday.

Gary Black worked with Haggard in the 1990s when Black’s youth missionary organization, Rock the Nation, was affiliated with New Life. He, too, was taken aback.

“I would be shocked to think he’s ready to lead a church,” Black said.

The Rev. Brady Boyd, who took over leadership of New Life Church in 2007 and lifted the restrictions against Haggard, did not address the news directly, but said: “New Life Church will always be grateful for the many years of dedicated leadership from Ted Haggard and we wish him and his family only the best.”

From http://www.gazette.com/articles/haggard-65454-ted-church.html

Destiny church – the Tamaki spin and the real inside story

groupsects — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:53:41 +0000

Part 1

Part 2

3 News reports…

“The “mighty men of God” is how Brian Tamaki refers to the men in Destiny Church. They have a covenant agreement between Tamaki, the “spiritual father”, and the men, the “sons”.

The Taranaki branch of the church is run by pastors Lee and Robyn Edmonds. Three months ago it produced a directive in the lead up to destiny’s Labour Weekend covenant oath to prepare the men for their testimonies to Bishop Tamaki.

Three Taranaki Destiny men refused to sign that covenant, and say the church is ripping their families apart.

Glen Lovegrove is a former drug addict and alcoholic. For 18 years he has been a born again Christian and drug-free. He was part of Destiny Church for six and a half years.

Bruce Harkness makes no secret of his violent past – he was a debt enforcer with a string of convictions. He has had no criminal convictions for 23 years, been a Christian for nine, and in Destiny for eight.

Ben Evans is an electrical engineer with a masters with distinction from Staffordshire University, and emigrated to New Zealand four years ago. He has attended Destiny on-and-off for two years.

They spoke to Campbell Live about the problems Destiny has caused them, and their fears for what the church will do next.”

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