Struthers Memorial Church and the punishment threat | |||
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The teaching as presented towards the end of the humiliation sermon on 12 February 2011 is astonishing and actually quite frightening. We would be concerned at the impact this teaching would have on children, emotionally vulnerable people, or those who had no grounding in Bible knowlege if they were in the congregation at the time these words were preached.
If anything in this article causes people to feel fear and anxiety about the line of Struthers Memorial Church teaching we are discussing, we recommend reading this excellent article which represents a healthy and Biblical view of this subject and the important verses in particular (smallvoices)
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Sermon Quotes | |||
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time on recording 34:12 ....if we are saved and redeemed, if we are transformed in our being part of that transformation should be that the pride that is within us, that thinks we know best, that thinks we know what is right, that thinks that we can judge – that that is utterly silenced within our being and we recognise this moment that the real journey of life begins. Because we are now looking not to be people who take counsel from one another, who come up with ideas in our own groups, of things we've read or things we've seen, but we are utterly and completely different people. And it is this that distinguished Moses from Aaron .......from Miriam
time on recording 38:30 (we worship) so that our lives are governed and controlled by that which is the Will of God and sometimes we are almost frightened to declare this. This is when things change. This is when things move forward. It's when we have the counsel of God.....and it is when God moves, when God moves forward. When we are listening for his voice and looking for His guidance – then we move forward. But we only move on the explicit instruction of the Lord God of Hosts
time on recording 41:00 ...everybody recognised this. They recognised Moses' authority. And his authority was based on this one thing – that he knew and he had the counsel of God. And that everyone recognised that authority. They came to Moses and his authority was based on this thing and this thing alone that he himself had the counsel of God and God Himself said I have entrusted my entire house to Moses. And it is necessary for us as a people that we recognise the authority that is vested in God in the people who lead us. Not because they are proud and arrogant people but because in us there is a desire and a zeal for the house of the Lord. And we listen for and we recognise the voice of God that comes through those that He has anointed.
time on recording 42:26...... but if Moses had gone forward himself he would have lost his mission and his vision. His mission was to lead the people forward. And then the people when they complained with an arrogance against Moses "has God not spoken to us also?".....Miriam & Aaron but God himself moves against them. God Himself calls them out. "You've spoken against the Lord's anointed" .....The Lord Himself will take vengeance against those who speak against the Lord's anointed because the danger is that we loose completely the understanding of what it is to be humble.
time on recording 49:10 But now every one of us who believes in Christ, who is freed from our sin by the blood of Christ, every one of us can enter in to that holy of holies and we can hear the voice of the divine. We can hear and receive the wisdom and counsel of Almighty God. Christ who humbled himself to a death on the cross for you and me. How offensive must it be in the heavenly realm when God has to listen to the voices of arrogant men raised in protest and in defiance. O Christ. O Christ.
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Because sermons in SMC are often extemporary, what they say and teach can be confusing at times. Here we have tried to present a series of long quotes accurately and highlighted those parts which seem to be the core teaching point which is being made.
...we only move on the explicit instruction of the Lord God of Hosts
And it is necessary for us as a people that we recognise the authority that is vested in God in the people who lead us. Not because they are proud and arrogant people but because in us there is a desire and a zeal for the house of the Lord. And we listen for and we recognise the voice of God that comes through those that He has anointed.
The Lord Himself will take vengeance against those who speak against the Lord's anointed
How offensive must it be in the heavenly realm when God has to listen to the voices of arrogant men raised in protest and in defiance.
We have considered these quotes and given above the context in which they occur. Then we have tried to outline what a person of reasonable understanding would take them to mean as presented here. What does this actually mean if it represents the teaching of Struthers Memorial Church?
What we think the speaker seems to be saying is this:
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We think this a reasonable understanding of what was taught on 12 Feb 2011. We also think it is consistent with other teaching about leadership we have all heard in SMC over many years. The sermon is still online if anyone wants to listen to it for themselves.
If it is not an accurate representation of what was meant by the teaching on this occasion, then we again request that the Struthers Leadership please contact us and we will be happy to replace it with the official version of their teaching on leadership. This will either be consistent with the words of this sermon – or different.
Is this the teaching of Struthers Memorial Church? If so it is essential that we understand the genuinely frightening implications of this.
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Who is it claimed this teaching applies to? | |||
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Is it the teaching that this threat of punishment from God will apply to all people who do not correctly recognise that the SMC leaders' anointing, decisions and teachings are as from God (because they only move on the explicit instruction of the Lord God of Hosts)?
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Who are the leaders who have this anointing? | |||
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It is absolutely essential and very urgent, if this is the teaching of SMC, that
the leadership – in particular the spiritual leader of the movement -
If this teaching is true (and we are not expressing our view here but seeking to clarify what the Struthers Memorial Church teaching is) there can be few things which are more important than letting people know whose teaching and actions they can question without fear and whose they cannot. This is very, very important. This sermon which presents this teaching has been presented to the church from the Saturday night meeting platform and placed online for the public to hear and understand what this church believes.
Many things happen in SMC meetings such as people praying with others during prayer times. If a parent sees someone praying with their child and they are unhappy about what is happening, they must be able to know if that is someone they are allowed to question without fear of God's punishment or not.
If someone presents a personal prophetic word – people must be told if they can evaluate
that word for consistency with Biblical principles and what they feel God is saying
to them which is the approach recommended in scripture. Or – if this word is coming
from one with this anointing equivalent to that on Moses they must know that they
cannot judge this word but must accept it as a prophetic word – no matter how bizarre
or seemngly wide of the mark -
Are all branch church leaders so anointed? Are all who preach beyond being questioned without resultant punishment? Does such an anointing sit on any church leaders outside of Struthers so they are also beyond criticism? Is it acceptable to be critical of Christian leaders if it has been decided they don't have such an anointing?
Whether this teaching is true or false it could be very confusing and threatening to people. How far does this go? This is a very serious, strong and potentially manipulative teaching so to whom it applies must be made clear.
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What form will this punishment from God take? | |||
What punishments has God inflicted on those who have stood against this anointed activity of the SMC leaders in the past?
We believe this is a very, very serious question which needs answered with honesty and great care.
We all can agree that some people fall away from God and this happens in many churches.
We ask particularly about those who opposed or questioned leaders (with the anointing
referred to in the sermon) and who have remained professing Christians. They did
not disagree with the gospel -
What form have the leaders seen this punishment take on professing Christians who disagreed with them? If the teaching from Numbers is consistent, then presumably this punishment – as with Aaron and Miriam – is usually instant and publicly unmistakable as coming from God? Will God punish all or just some?
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In what situations does this teaching apply? |
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If a leader with this particular anointing is dealing with someone in one of the
church businesses – such as employees of the cakeshops or school -
It is highly likely that if someone has been taught to be afraid to challenge a church
leader on spiritual matters they will also be afraid to challenge them on any other
matters -
How can someone question entries and spending in the church report and accounts when to question the decisions made by the anointed leader is going to be punished by God – such as in a recent case on the Rick Ross forum of a former member who questioned the school project? How can this allow for proper public accountability? How could fraud or nepotism or lack of probity be detected if the acts of certain people cannot be questioned without fear of punishment? There may be an answer to this but we need the SMC church leadership to tell us what that is.
How does this teaching work in a church with a child protection policy? Adults and children here are being told there are certain people in the church whose actions and motives are above question and beyond doubt. To challenge any action of these particular people places you in the face of God's judgement.
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Quote: The Lord Himself will take vengeance against those who speak against the Lord's anointed
How free does that make people to share legitimate concerns? Does this teaching make children more or less safe in Struthers Memorial Church? Again, so that no tragic mistakes are made, it is essential that a list of those to whom the church are claiming this particular anointing applies, and are beyond question, must be made public.
We are genuinely confused by what has happened in the past in SMC. In the past leaders
have stood up and confessed publicly to serious mistakes and failures. Those doing
this were clearly and beyond doubt those who would be "anointed" under the definition
of this teaching. Former church members – now long gone from SMC -
Please tell us how this teaching accommodates what is right and what is wrong. How can people telling the truth ever be condemned by God? Where is the New Testament validation for this teaching? Please make this public.
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We and many others will have deep concerns if this is the teaching of SMC. We believe it confuses and binds and induces feelings of terror in people far beyond their time in Struthers Memorial Church. It places leaders far beyond the level of authority and accountability most churches and church leaders interpret the New Testament guidelines allow. We believe it distorts the biblical view of God. We feel that the threat that God will punish the confused and hurting who have genuine and deep heartfelt questions should not be a tool of leadership in Struthers Memorial Church. We believe Struthers can survive without this teaching. | |||
But we may be wrong, so we ask the spiritual leadership of SMC-
We ask that you clarify this teaching which, if true, has eternal consequences for so many people.
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We ask this publicly. Please use your position as spiritual leaders to help set people free from inappropriate fear which blinds them to the love of God. We believe that only the leaders of Struthers Memorial Church are in position to address the questions raised by this teaching and either confirm it is the Struthers way or publicly change it.
We all accept that some corrupt Christian leaders have usurped sound biblical teaching and twisted scripture to hide the loving Father heart of God and use the fear of God as a tool to control people. That happens. That can happen. We are asking Struthers Memorial Church to justify the teaching presented in this sermon as not being that.
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They have chosen to make this teaching public. We ask them to publicly explain it,
biblically answer the questions it raises and to justify it. If they choose to sit
above this questioning by members of the public - | |||
Finally - |