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Concern |
Quotes |
Exclusionism, Elitist Attitude Towards Other Churches:
We confess that, especially in our early years, we had a prideful attitude
about the ways we believed that our churches were distinctive from others in the
body of Christ. And while, to the best of our knowledge, it was never expressly
taught that we were better than other churches, it was very much implied by our
too narrow view of how God accomplishes His purposes through the church.
. . .The problem arises when one makes the subtle shift from believing that "this
is the best church for me" to a conviction that "this is the best church, period." We confess that this latter belief,
though never, to the best of our knowledge, publicly taught and probably
only rarely expressed, infected our churches for some time.
. . .we confess that we as leaders believed, and at times expressed, that these
individuals and organizations were not necessarily doing "God's best"
like we were. For our lack of humility,
we apologize.
. . .One was a tendency to believe that our approach to the Christian life was not
merely a "good" one, but the "best" or "only scriptural" approach. We considered
those who we thought were not as zealous as we were to be "lukewarm."
Instead, we should have believed and clearly taught that, "this is the way
the Lord has shown us. God can and does lead differently."
. . .Our overemphasis on the things that we believed distinguished our churches
from other churches and organizations and our failure to recognize that God
might desire to use those individuals outside of our association of churches
made it difficult for some to leave without feeling guilty and inadequate,
or believing that God could use them for His purposes in another church. It also
caused some of those who remained to view those who left as choosing something that
might be good, but wasn't what was best.
We deeply regret this, and express our sincere apology to those who suffered because
of our pride and insensitivity.
- 1991 GCM Statement
For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or
free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 12:13
"Whether they admit it or not, abusive churches tend to view themselves as spiritually
superior to other Christian groups. This religious elitism allows little room for
outside influences. There can be no compromise with external sources, who, the leadership
will say, really don’t understand what is going on in the ministry anyway."
- Dr. Ronald Enroth |
"I recently left a GCM church on the account of the rebukes that I received for
being involved in a community wide event where I was associating and working with
believers from various churches with the term sheep stealing as the reasoning. When
the other churches in the area work together on a community wide event or in support
of an effort, the local GCM church usually refuses to participate. As this church
has been called out on this they are improving in this. The closedness to the rest
of the body of believers in the area is a source of my concern. If a member of that
church pursues another ministry other then what is sponsored by that church, or
attends another church for any reason there will like be rebuking conversations. . .This has extended to a member who is engaged to another believer ouside of
the church being told that this was not a good idea. There is also the concept that
anyone outside of the church is a bad influence on those within the church. As I
left this GCM church, some of the individuals who I was discipling were told that
I was a bad influence and should not be relied on as a source of counsel or accountability.
- Former GCM Member (left 2006)
"The GCM church I attended rarely mentioned the existence of other churches, and
never participated in multi-church or city-wide Christian events. The culture of GCM seems to be that of "if it's not
GCM, it's not happening." Pastors would show us charts of their church planting history and future plans,
and when talking about planting to a new city they would simply presume that
since no GCM church was currently there that there was no relevant Christian organization
in that city. They would say such things as "we believe this city really needs God. It really seems to have
no organization like ours in it," but when the city was something like Denver
I found this very hard to believe."
- Former GCM Member (left 2005)
"Because [Jenny] chose to leave the church for a few months on a travel job,
she was expected by leaders to fail in her Christian walk. The assumption was that
she would be unable to find a GCM church where she was going, thus she would lose
her faith. Similar expectations were verbalized about three of my other friends.
There is no trust in other churches at all."
- Current GCM Member
"There is an attitude of pride within [GCM Church] and GCM. Sometimes it
is subtle. Sometimes it is stated outright. I don’t know if the attitude can be
blanketly titled as “pride” or “elitism” or even if there is a term for it. It carried
over into an attitude of devotion that was at times shocking. People have tailored
their lives around this church. They have chosen careers that would allow them to
move with the church. They refuse to move to a town that doesn’t have a GCM church.
They choose a wife or husband based on that individual’s commitment to GCM. We were
told at our fall retreat that “If you are not totally committed to your local church,
you lack courage.” And that “every time you change church families, you are damaging
a part of your soul forever.” . . .the difference between GCM and “the Church” referred
to in the New Testament has become blurred in many areas. Great Commission Ministries
is only a very small piece of “the Church”. . .But the mindset seems to be that
GCM is the way. It is the church. GCM has the answers, has the best way to do things,
and other churches are seen as sub-par. Other churches will not get you as close
to God as a GCM church will. Whenever such attitudes cropped up the first thing
I felt was fear. Should I feel this, too? Should I not? Proverbs 3:34 scared me
a lot. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” I used to struggle
a lot with this in my conversations with God. Was this real pride I was encountering?
If so, what was I supposed to do? Was this really an army I could fight in, or would
even want to fight in?"
- Paul Willis, Former GCM Member & Small Group Leader (left 2005,
full letter) |
Treating Council as Commandment,
Overbearing Leadership and Control of Members, Lack of Respect for the Priesthood
of the Believer:
We acknowledge that there were instances where some of us in our immaturity tended
to lead more by coercion and compulsion than by inspiration and example. . .At
times, we were overly directive in the personal affairs of church members and were not
always sufficiently sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading in the person's
life. When giving counsel, we at times
advised church members to make decisions in their life based almost wholly on the
goal of "reaching the world" with the Gospel.
And as noted earlier,
we did not always distinguish between a command and a principle and so may have
treated a scriptural principle as a command. The consequence was that a person who
had received counsel in some area might feel compelled to act in what he believed
was obedience to a scriptural command when, in fact, the area was one where they were free to choose how a scriptural
principle applied.
- 1991 GCM Statement
And Jesus called them to him and said to them, "You know that those who
are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise
authority over them.
But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your
servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many.
- Mark 10:42-45 (1 Timothy 2:5 )
For there is one God, and there is one
mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus
- 1 Timothy 2:5 (ESV)
"Furthermore, I know that whatever church my wife and I choose to join, we will
avoid any church that (like GCI did) uses a wholly ‘top down’ approach to authority
that offers zero self-determination to lay members while it inducts leadership into
chain of command cloaked in secrecy. I now see how ‘raising up elders’ in a local
church can actually be an illusory phenomenon, and instead they can be ‘pulled up’
a hierachy [sic] by those above them."
- Former Member of the Early Movement |
"If you asked counsel you were expected to follow it, or else you were
considered disobedient to God. If someone higher up counseled you to do something,
they were your "spiritual authority" and thus God in his sovereignty had placed
them above you, and so you were thought to be disobeying God if you disobeyed them.
The verse used quite often to back this theology up was: Obey your leaders and submit
to them, for they watch on behalf of your souls. Nobody was trusted to
be able to hear from God on their own, and thus people's lives were basically lived
in complete submission to what their spiritual leader decided was best for them.
Wasn't always a bad thing as some people needed guidance, however it pretty much
discouraged you from developing any sort of functional relationship with God, and
was very legalistic and controlling due to the way it was presented as God's will
and not a pastor's advice."
- Former GCM Member (left 2005)
"There is a greater emphasis on authority than I see in the Scriptures. . . There
is an overemphasis on loyalty to the leadership team compared to the emphasis on
loyalty to God. When loyalty to God is equated with loyalty to leadership, the sheep
become confused as to who God is – is it God or is god the leaders? A distinction
needs to be made between who God is and who the leaders are. We are never told to
trust the leaders. It is written that we are to trust God and not man. I also think
the line gets blurred when we say we are to trust God through the leaders. This
thinking begins to set up a clergy-laity system where men are the mediator between
God and man. . . Decisions are handed down from the pastors rather than developed
through consensus. Yes, there is a place for pastors to lead. But I think it has
been taken too far. . . I believe there is an over emphasis in Summitview on the
immaturity of the sheep and a "putting down" of what they can understand and handle"
- Gregg Walters, Former Pastor (Resigned from Summitview Community Church, Fort
Collins in 2004,
full letter*)
* Resignation letter obtained through our own resources,
and not specifically offered to this site by Gregg Walters.
"There is also extreme pressure on members to participate in summer programs/missions,
etc. to the extent that to one member it was recomended that they sale there [sic]
livestock
and pets and break their lease, and end there job in order to go on a summer program."
- Former GCM Member (left 2006)
"I have felt a calling to pursue a very specific ministry with my life. Part
of that pursuit includes going to seminary. After a long time spent in prayer, I
honestly believe seminary is a direction the Spirit wishes me to go. But when I
presented this desire to the leaders of the church, I felt as though that desire
was downplayed, even discounted. I was presented with alternative choices, paths
that would keep me at [named GCM Church] despite the leading in my heart. To their
credit, at one point in the conversation the leaders stepped back and told me that
they would not try to stand in the way of where I felt the Spirit leading. But the
next subject that came up was the importance of submitting to church leadership.
Such turns in conversation seem to be too convenient, and have happened on more
than one occasion. I was also told that it would be a mistake to take a step in
another area of my life without explicit counsel from them. I felt as though I was
being told that I could not be trusted to hear from the Holy Spirit myself."
- Paul Willis, Former GCM Member & Small Group Leader (left 2005,
full letter)
"On more than one occasion, we were told by the pastor that 'God speaks
to leaders first', and that 'the leaders of the church are like Moses, we were like
the Israelites', and were reminded of the destruction that came upon the Israelites
when they didn't obey Moses. Large church decisions were almost exclusively made
by the pastors - or maybe people APPOINTED by the pastors. This created sort of
a 'hierarchy' of sorts - like God was at the top, then the pastors, then the congregation.
This attitude manifested itself in big ways and in small, difficult to describe
ways. There was (and is) just this air of 'I'm the pastor, I'm talking down to you'."
- Former Member (full discussion)
"It is with trepidation that I write this. I have noticed that recent references
to Great Commission Ministries and Great Commission Association of Churches seem
to say that the group is not as destructive as it has been in the past. I recently
left this church after having been a member of it for 8 years. . . I think there
are still unethical practices that definitely keep this group or at least some of
its churches in the unhealthy church category . . . The pressure to grow the numbers,
and the deemphasis of making life long friends. People become tools and projects
. . . Many, many sermons on submission, unity, obedience – messages that suit an
unhealthy church’s purpose well . . . At first we found the people in this church
to be incredibly loving. As we grew deeper into the church we found that the pressures
were subtle but at the same time clearly delineated. You knew if you were a good
member or a bad member. The pressure to belong was crushing. The commands to submit
and be unified tireless. And as a woman, I found that my self esteem suffered immensely
as I was pushed into a little box of submission and limited options for my life."
- Former Member (May 2004) (this and other letters) |
Unwillingness To Listen To Criticism, Unscriptural Use Of Church Discipline:
We confess that we have too often responded defensively to those both within and
outside of our churches who questioned or criticized us, and at times exhibited
an unwillingness to listen to their perspective. Instead of too quickly concluding
that these individuals were acting divisively or irresponsibly, we should have made
a greater effort to carefully consider and respond to their views.
. . . Early on, some of us had an incorrect understanding of church discipline. In some cases, this resulted in some individuals
being placed under church discipline for actions that were not, according to scriptural
standards, sufficient to merit it.
. . .Church discipline is the most serious action that a church can take against
one of its members, and it should only be imposed for offenses mandated, and according
to procedures described, in the Scriptures. The realization that our churches
did, in a number of cases, improperly exercise church discipline is, therefore,
a very unhappy one. We sincerely apologize to those who were treated wrongly, and
express our commitment to clear up such cases, even if they occurred in the very
early days of our movement.
- 1991 GCM Statement |
"Freedom to express a contrary viewpoint is minimized. Oftentimes the person
who shares the problem, becomes the problem. . . Divisiveness has been expanded
beyond the Biblical explanation in Titus 3. Titus writes that anyone who shares
something that one particular group of people (whether they embrace some specific
teaching or based on ancestry) is blessed over another group should be warned and
rejected from fellowship – having Jesus is our only basis of blessing."
- Gregg Walters, Former Pastor (Resigned from Summitview Community Church, Fort
Collins, in 2004,
full letter *)
* Resignation letter obtained through our own resources,
and not specifically offered to this site by Gregg Walters.
"Being called aside is a very regular thing within
the church. It could have to do with anything: having a public conversation
with a member of the opposite sex, questioning procedure or policy, or positions
on doctrine. It is by and large an attempt to shame the person in violation
of norms into submission or humiliation. It is very rare that a person is
called aside for a scriptural sin by the person who felt sinned against. This
is usually handled by leadership or another person instead."
- Former GCM Member (left 2006)
". . . what was happening at my church was that leaders were sometimes twisting
the word of God from the pulpit and were never corrected. For example, last year
[2005] one pastor got on stage before our entire church (during a big "church celebration
service") and told us - clear as a bell - that we, as a church, were HIS bride,
that for us to look at other churches could be compared to adultery, and that we
needed to commit to this church for the rest of our lives. This message was widely
disseminated to the congregation, despite the other pastors quiet admittance that
perhaps this pastor was a bit "off". Several leaders were confronted about this.
No pastor was willing to call this man to correct his error, excusing him by saying
"I know his heart". We heard that phrase - "I know his heart" - over and over. Our
issue wasn't with his heart, though - it was the fact that he wasn't held accountable
for his words - it may just have been poorly phrased, but no one held him to it,
which was so sad. How many people were mislead because of that sermon? Anyway, that
was just one red flag, and was not by any means an isolated incident of these kinds
of words being spoken from the pulpit."
- Former Member (full discussion) |
Treating Dating As A Sin:
Many of us in the early years of our churches encouraged young men and
women to refrain from dating until they had a fairly strong conviction that God
was leading them toward marriage to a particular individual.
This had some very positive results . . . However, it also had negative results
including alienating believers who did not share our preference and causing
some who did to develop a bad attitude toward Christians who dated. It is our present
understanding that discouraging casual dating was a preference of many of us leaders
and not a command or even a principle of Scripture, although there are many principles
that may be used to support the preference. We believe that individuals are free
to have different preferences as to how serious they want to be before
they begin dating someone. Pastors may suggest or encourage their own personal preference
concerning dating, as well as their reasons for that preference, but they should
be careful to clearly communicate that it is simply their preference, and that
others may be equally valid.
- 1991 GCM Statement |
"I was told straight up by my small group leader that dating was a sin. . . the
unwritten
consensus among most people was that it wasn't allowed or Godly. . .I had gone through
a divorce previously, and so the idea of skipping dating and going straight to the
engagement step wasn't the most appealing to me. . . no girl and guy could be in
the same room alone together without each of them bringing another person of their
gender, which was ridiculous because it presumed nobody of opposite gender could
have an adult conversation without it turning into a make-out session. . . GCM takes
guy-girl safety measures way too far, treating twenty year olds like children, and
the lack of trust GCM leaders put in their members is very disheartening. I do understand
the wisdom behind choosing to not date, but it's not for everybody and your choices
should be respected."
- Former GCM Member (2005)
"There is also the legalism and direction in relationships with members of the opposite
sex. Close friendships even in carefully controlled situations that are not dating/courting
are basically forbidden even if there is all of the accountability that can possibly
be found."
- Former GCM Member (2006)
"I still have a copy of the pamphlet [GCM Pastor] penned and distributed. It is
a step-by-step assertion of how God's plan for our relational lives is to give up
dating. It uses scripture in a leading way to encourage non-dating while giving
caveats at the end about "becoming legalistic". It became legalistic. Those who
wished to spend time alone with a member of the opposite sex for any reason needed
a very good explanation for doing so, or did so secretively. All complaints about
the legalism of this culture were explained away apologisticly or dismissed outright."
- Former GCM Member (2006)
|
Discouragement Of College
However, by not actively supporting the commitment
the parents had made to a college education for their child, we implicitly encouraged
some students to choose to leave college, contrary to the wishes of their parents.
. . .We realize that a number of individuals made poor decisions concerning their
education and careers partially because of our encouragement or because of the examples
they saw in our churches. To these people, we offer our sincere apology and regret
that our mistakes contributed to career decisions that caused problems, financial
or otherwise.
- 1991 GCM Statement |
"I recall sitting through the sermon at [GCM Church] of an older, visiting GCM pastor,
who vividly described his joy that he didn't have 'that degree to fall back on'
thus he was able to 'follow God' his whole life without being tempted to quit and
find a better paying job...
I wasn't in college at the time, but I remember wondering if people in the room
who were in college felt guilty or looked down upon for pursuing their education, as that seemed to be the gist of that part of the message."
- Former GCM Member (2005)
"I wanted to go to the best school I could for nursing, my parents wanted me
to as well. . . Church employed leaders tried to talk me into applying to a local community college associates (degree) program instead because I could
continue to attend our church and all its functions. I was approached multiple times
by my discipler, some of the leaders tried to make me feel guilty about wanting
to apply to these nationally renowned schools. . .The pressure didn't just come from
leaders, but most of the members of small group . . . In our women's studies the general
expectation was that our future husbands would financially support us, therefore
the pursuit of further education was unnecessary. . . I did feel looked down on
to the point that I stopped bringing it up. I didn't get excited in front of them
about getting into a school or applying to one. I didn't expect their support in
any way shape or form concerning my further education."
- Current GCM Member |
Discouragement Of Outside Counseling
A common theme in interviews we conduct
is that GCM strongly discourages any outside Christian counseling, even on issues
it has nobody trained to handle. Quite often what happens when someone finally does
get outside counseling, the counsellor recommends they find another church. This
may explain their reluctance. |
"We were overwhelmed with our two special needs children. [Both special needs, each
needing 4 therapies per child (physical, occupational, speech, and vision) every
week since they were born] We tried to talk to certain people, and their response
was, "You know what your problem is? You need to serve more. You are focusing too
much on yourself. You are not being Christ-like, because when Christ found out that
his cousin John had been beheaded-- he then feed the 5000!" That compounded the
problem and we sought a biblical based counselor and when it came up... I was specifically
reprimanded for getting counsel outside of the church. Our small group leader was
excessively offended to the point of confronting us and saying, 'You should not
have gone outside of our church!'"
- Former GCM Member (2005) |
While no doubt a lot of good has happened through the Great Commission movement, the following
quote (taken from a public discussion) succinctly summarizes many people's view of the current organization:
Want to give feedback on your experiences with GCAC/GCM? Looking for more in-depth
information on the movement? Please email us at
-- Links to articles about GCM, the full church error statement, books and articles
on the movement, and more.