Post by Jason_Coates on Jun 9, 2006 10:06:32 GMT
Recently through the encouragement of a friend , I have started to assess my opinions of Every Nation in comparison to the International Church of Christ, ICC-Boston sect.
Whilst I was aware that many viewed the ICC as a cult, and one of my employees is a member, I had not seen any parallels until I read a popular novel last year that showed that the ICC also grew out of the Shepherding Movement. Bob Weiner the founder founder of Maranatha Campus Minisitries (MCM) the mother of the EN church movement, was deeply influenced by the Shepherding Movement in the 1970s. Leaders of the Shepherding Movement came to repent of much of the practise of the movement in the early 80s, although I have been told that my local Maranatha church strongly practised shepherding before it united with His People round about the time I started visiting in 1992. To Bill and Connie Bennot's credit, I believe that they personally rejected much of Bob Weiner's junk and moved Maranatha and subsequently His People away from the control that Bonnasso and other former Maranathites in EN in the USA continue to practise.
In chatting to others, my experience of discipleship on campus was a good one, but that also had much to do with Bruce Weyers whose solid discipleship teachings on Wednesday lunch hours set some firm foundations in my life. Bruce was also by far the most experienced of our leaders when it came to discipleship and had a more even perspective at the time. Also the patient forebearance of another good friend who had helped me transition from Anglicanism to Charismatic belief over a number of months.
I do remember trying to study Bob and Rose's Firm Foundations and finding it trite in comparison to the direct imput I was getting at the time from such stalwarts as Weyers and Wrigley. I was also an avid reader of popular Christian books circulating at the time. Being always somewhat of an inconoclast, the idea of following a manual as a means to spiritual formation felt a bit strange to me anyway. Apparently it was called "The Red Book" in The States. When the Purple book first came down at HP I can remember making a mental note to reject it as another adaptation of Weiner's original indocrtrination tool.
The ICC and Every Nation are in fact second cousins, although I would not agree that the abuses within the ICC approximated the forerunners of EN such as Morningstar Int. or the His People Churches.
His People was far more balanced and orthodox before its union with MSI. I can remember some parents complaining about His People/Maranatha on campus in 1992 and its evangelism and discipleship, but this liitle storm soon died down when it was compared to abherrent techniques employed by the ICC and the hurricane of scorn and contempt that atttracted. HP was able to lay low and the ICC which was kicked off the campuses of the University.
The influence of Weiner's Maranatha on His People was not as great as on MSI whose founding leaders were leaders within Maranatha.
But I digress. Have a look at REVEAL. It is an organization of former members of the ICC. Many of the comments and lessons learned in the ICC could possibly help EN in Godly change and reform. At least a site like that educates members and helps them make up their minds as to stay or go.
www.reveal.org/
I found some articles there very interesting. Especially "Castles in the Air" a study on issues within the ICC. Below is a link to a PDF download. I understand that similar letters have circulated internally in EN over the last years, but I doubt any approximate the quality of this one. I am not saying that the issues are identical or that these are the actual issues that make EN, IMO, a dysfunctional church, but is would be a benchmark to any person wanting to press for reform internally.
www.reveal.org/library/theology/castles.pdf
____________________________________________________
Through my years in direct evangelism I found it much easier to do the initial "soulwinning" part of evangelism as I usually found that despite the blah, blah, blah coming out of my mouth, it was the Holy Spirit that drew people to salvation and not the probably inane babble coming out of my mouth.
Within a few years I also came to realise that any "efforts" at discipling a person on a one-to-one basis was pretty pointless in comparison to all the neccessary elements that make up a person's spiritual formation. Whenever I did attempt one-to-one discipleship, I felt deeply patronising and thought the more open group setting such as Bible School far more relevant.
In fact, after attending His People for two years, I only completed a membership/disciple course certificate by attending a series of Sunday morning sermons in 1994 that addressed the normal content of the course. As such, I became a member of the church by congregational participation and default and not by individual scrutiny in a classroom or study group by completing a study manual or lecture course.
Intense one-to-one discipleship was NOT strictly mandated in our church. In that way I felt plugged in by the church community and not just by my leaders. My spiritual formation was more holistic and focussed on Jesus then soley on the doctrines and particular vision of the church. Neither the doctrines nor the vIsion of the church suffered for this either.
I think people like Steve Murrell realise this and that by trying too hard to tie people into the vision and direction of the church too early, they face the danger of having converts to the cause that rely on continous milkfeeds when it comes to the more deeper issues of Christian Faith rather than the more interesting Christians I have come to know who do not purport to have it all together because they are in an "all together" church.
Whilst I was aware that many viewed the ICC as a cult, and one of my employees is a member, I had not seen any parallels until I read a popular novel last year that showed that the ICC also grew out of the Shepherding Movement. Bob Weiner the founder founder of Maranatha Campus Minisitries (MCM) the mother of the EN church movement, was deeply influenced by the Shepherding Movement in the 1970s. Leaders of the Shepherding Movement came to repent of much of the practise of the movement in the early 80s, although I have been told that my local Maranatha church strongly practised shepherding before it united with His People round about the time I started visiting in 1992. To Bill and Connie Bennot's credit, I believe that they personally rejected much of Bob Weiner's junk and moved Maranatha and subsequently His People away from the control that Bonnasso and other former Maranathites in EN in the USA continue to practise.
In chatting to others, my experience of discipleship on campus was a good one, but that also had much to do with Bruce Weyers whose solid discipleship teachings on Wednesday lunch hours set some firm foundations in my life. Bruce was also by far the most experienced of our leaders when it came to discipleship and had a more even perspective at the time. Also the patient forebearance of another good friend who had helped me transition from Anglicanism to Charismatic belief over a number of months.
I do remember trying to study Bob and Rose's Firm Foundations and finding it trite in comparison to the direct imput I was getting at the time from such stalwarts as Weyers and Wrigley. I was also an avid reader of popular Christian books circulating at the time. Being always somewhat of an inconoclast, the idea of following a manual as a means to spiritual formation felt a bit strange to me anyway. Apparently it was called "The Red Book" in The States. When the Purple book first came down at HP I can remember making a mental note to reject it as another adaptation of Weiner's original indocrtrination tool.
The ICC and Every Nation are in fact second cousins, although I would not agree that the abuses within the ICC approximated the forerunners of EN such as Morningstar Int. or the His People Churches.
His People was far more balanced and orthodox before its union with MSI. I can remember some parents complaining about His People/Maranatha on campus in 1992 and its evangelism and discipleship, but this liitle storm soon died down when it was compared to abherrent techniques employed by the ICC and the hurricane of scorn and contempt that atttracted. HP was able to lay low and the ICC which was kicked off the campuses of the University.
The influence of Weiner's Maranatha on His People was not as great as on MSI whose founding leaders were leaders within Maranatha.
But I digress. Have a look at REVEAL. It is an organization of former members of the ICC. Many of the comments and lessons learned in the ICC could possibly help EN in Godly change and reform. At least a site like that educates members and helps them make up their minds as to stay or go.
www.reveal.org/
I found some articles there very interesting. Especially "Castles in the Air" a study on issues within the ICC. Below is a link to a PDF download. I understand that similar letters have circulated internally in EN over the last years, but I doubt any approximate the quality of this one. I am not saying that the issues are identical or that these are the actual issues that make EN, IMO, a dysfunctional church, but is would be a benchmark to any person wanting to press for reform internally.
www.reveal.org/library/theology/castles.pdf
____________________________________________________
Through my years in direct evangelism I found it much easier to do the initial "soulwinning" part of evangelism as I usually found that despite the blah, blah, blah coming out of my mouth, it was the Holy Spirit that drew people to salvation and not the probably inane babble coming out of my mouth.
Within a few years I also came to realise that any "efforts" at discipling a person on a one-to-one basis was pretty pointless in comparison to all the neccessary elements that make up a person's spiritual formation. Whenever I did attempt one-to-one discipleship, I felt deeply patronising and thought the more open group setting such as Bible School far more relevant.
In fact, after attending His People for two years, I only completed a membership/disciple course certificate by attending a series of Sunday morning sermons in 1994 that addressed the normal content of the course. As such, I became a member of the church by congregational participation and default and not by individual scrutiny in a classroom or study group by completing a study manual or lecture course.
Intense one-to-one discipleship was NOT strictly mandated in our church. In that way I felt plugged in by the church community and not just by my leaders. My spiritual formation was more holistic and focussed on Jesus then soley on the doctrines and particular vision of the church. Neither the doctrines nor the vIsion of the church suffered for this either.
I think people like Steve Murrell realise this and that by trying too hard to tie people into the vision and direction of the church too early, they face the danger of having converts to the cause that rely on continous milkfeeds when it comes to the more deeper issues of Christian Faith rather than the more interesting Christians I have come to know who do not purport to have it all together because they are in an "all together" church.