John Macarthur - Ex Members Say It Is A Cult

[Raptor]

Summary of forum from Cult Education Institute where ex-members of John Macarthur's Grace Community Church / Masters University and Seminary, etc. testify about cultic and abusive behaviors. Some of the testimonies sound exactly like the Recovery.

https://thewatchmanwakes.org/extraordinary-christian-testimonies-that-expose-john-macarthurs-church-as-a-mind-control-cult/

[Unregistered]

Summary of forum from Cult Education Institute where ex-members of John Macarthur's Grace Community Church / Masters University and Seminary, etc. testify about cultic and abusive behaviors. Some of the testimonies sound exactly like the Recovery.

https://thewatchmanwakes.org/extraordinary-christian-testimonies-that-expose-john-macarthurs-church-as-a-mind-control-cult/


It’s only by his own self admission that John MacArthur took and uses the same ideas as found in the Local Church, because they came from the same broken system. Check out this video where he describes how he found out how to run a church.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-qX4k3Nnlk

[SpeakersCorner]

I watched the MacArthur video. Not sure how this is a problem except that he learned from an obscure Plymouth Brethren man.

If you're going to make an argument against a person, make an argument. I'm not Catholic but I've read some Catholic books from which I gleaned some truth. Why smear the Plymouth Brethren just because you had a bad LC experience?

[Ohio]

I watched the MacArthur video. Not sure how this is a problem except that he learned from an obscure Plymouth Brethren man.

If you're going to make an argument against a person, make an argument. I'm not Catholic but I've read some Catholic books from which I gleaned some truth. Why smear the Plymouth Brethren just because you had a bad LC experience?
Interesting, SpeakersCorner.

During the "storm" of the late 80's/early 90's (perhaps before your time?) Bill Mallon in Atlanta began circulating another "obscure Brethren book" by G.H. Lang titled The Churches of God.

Lang wrote this book in the aftermath of the time when Darby, Wigram, et.al. took over all the so-called "autonomous and independent" local assemblies in the original Brethren movement, thus expelling (quarantining?) both gifted brothers Benjamin Newton of Plymouth and George Muller of Bristol.

Some of the events were so similar to what WL and LSM was doing at the time, that many so-called "rebellious" LC leaders found Lang's expose on Bible church ecclesiastical truths quite enlightening. Lang equipped the local assemblies against the heavy handed tactics of an abusive Headquarters.

The circulation of this book never made it to the Midwest, that I know of. TC ran defense for WL, allowing no other truths to "muddy" the waters.

[SpeakersCorner]

Ohio, your knowledge of the Brethren has always impressed me. Also you have a way of seeing the LC situation from a historian's eyes. I recall you writing extensively about the history of the Brethren way back when. It was enlightening to me.

Looking back at the "storms" and how they were portrayed to me through filters then and how they look now with filters removed (some of them) is striking. My new metric for all Christian groups, LC included, is to measure them by the kind of person they produced. I've lived long enough to make some assessments along that line. My view is the Methodists produced the Nice Man, the Baptists the Mean Man, the Mennonites the Yes, Dear Man, the Catholics the Right Man, the Lutherans the Committee Man, the Quakers the Liberal Man, the Megachurches the Shallow Man, and so on. (Only half kidding here ... and apologies to the women for the manly language.)

And what did the LC produce? Well, sadly (to me, anyway) the Catholic Man and the Baptist Man merged into one along with a developing Quaker Man. (All conservative Christian sects eventually evolve into social liberals and I see that happening within the LC in places.)

But it isn't the Spiritual Man I see in the LC and, tbh, I'm not sure I'd want that anyway. The kind of Man (human) I'd like to see produced from a church type is the Interesting Man. The young brothers I met back in the early 70s who populated the churches were what attracted me. They were interesting guys, entrepreneurs of a sort, wild but willing to be reined in, funny, bold, pursuing. I think the disciples, all Galileans but one (guess who was the outlier), were this king of person. Interesting. Provocative. The kind of guys I'd like to hang out with.

[JJ]

Sad that this so often happens, but wonderful when people break free in Christ Jesus from these “gifted brothers” who turn into kings of the earth rather than slaves and citizens of the King of heaven.

Kings of the earth “lord it over” their fellow believers, forcing them to serve their interests, enriching themselves, and ultimately serve the ruler of the world, Satan, the devil. Him withstand!

Reminds me of the parallels between “the Borg” and these so-called Christian cults.

https://www.sbs.com.au/movies/article/2018/11/16/tribute-borg-greatest-star-trek-villains

My family and I watched these Star Trek shows in the 1990’s after the Lord had sovereignly freed us from TLR through a “storm” that blew through “The Church in Fresno” in 1985, and I couldn’t help but see the parallels with TLR.

Did anyone else have a similar experience?

JJ

[Ohio]

Ohio, your knowledge of the Brethren has always impressed me. Also you have a way of seeing the LC situation from a historian's eyes. I recall you writing extensively about the history of the Brethren way back when. It was enlightening to me.

Sad that this so often happens, but wonderful when people break free in Christ Jesus from these “gifted brothers” who turn into kings of the earth rather than slaves and citizens of the King of heaven.

Did anyone else have a similar experience?
I left in 2005 as that same "storm" finally reached us in Ohio.

Seeing the "weather reports" for several years, the Lord led me to read about the Plymouth Brethren, our spiritual forbears. The parallels were often striking especially reading about that first Brethren split in Plymouth. Despite time and space, human nature has never changed, and that's why history is so important.

[JJ]

I left in 2005 as that same "storm" finally reached us in Ohio.

Seeing the "weather reports" for several years, the Lord led me to read about the Plymouth Brethren, our spiritual forbears. The parallels were often striking especially reading about that first Brethren split in Plymouth. Despite time and space, human nature has never changed, and that's why history is so important.

So, had you read about the Plymouth Brethren before or after “the storm” reached Ohio? And had that helped you prepare to “stand in the evil day”?

[Sons to Glory!]

Interesting, SpeakersCorner.

During the "storm" of the late 80's/early 90's (perhaps before your time?) Bill Mallon in Atlanta began circulating another "obscure Brethren book" by G.H. Lang titled The Churches of God.

Lang wrote this book in the aftermath of the time when Darby, Wigram, et.al. took over all the so-called "autonomous and independent" local assemblies in the original Brethren movement, thus expelling (quarantining?) both gifted brothers Benjamin Newton of Plymouth and George Muller of Bristol.

Some of the events were so similar to what WL and LSM was doing at the time, that many so-called "rebellious" LC leaders found Lang's expose on Bible church ecclesiastical truths quite enlightening. Lang equipped the local assemblies against the heavy handed tactics of an abusive Headquarters.

The circulation of this book never made it to the Midwest, that I know of. TC ran defense for WL, allowing no other truths to "muddy" the waters.Interesting! I just began reading Lang's book, "The Churches of God" at the recommendation of another ex-LC brother. I had started a thread (on that other forum) discussing Broadbent's "The Pilgrim Church," when he recommended Lang's book, and I'm now rereading portions of that book together with Lang's - finding them very complimentary. The two books really shows so clearly how things went off the rails with the RCC. But it didn't happen overnight - it took a couple centuries and the seeds of that organization were present long before Constantine legalized and institutionalized the church.

I haven't gotten to the part in Lang's book that would relate directly to the LC, other than showing that any system of control man puts in place will cause the HS to take a back seat.

BTW - did you know Lang was involved in writing a biography on Broadbent? I read this somewhere, but haven't seen anything else related. Do you know anything about this?

[Ohio]

So, had you read about the Plymouth Brethren before or after “the storm” reached Ohio? And had that helped you prepare to “stand in the evil day”?
"Storm reports" had been growing since WL passed in 1997. There were some attempts at reconciliation such as that absurd (can't we all be adults?) Phoenix Accord in 2002 between leaders in Anaheim and Cleveland. By then I started reading and searching the web for numerous Brethren historical accounts, (do not read accounts written by the exclusives) and eventually found the old Bereans site. The Tract War sites between the two factions (afaithfulword vs. concernedbrothers) was churning out their positions both before and after the official quarantines.

Remember that the Blendeds decided to use Titus 3.10 to issue a few public "admonitions" to TC to "humble himself" and to "turn over the control" of all his full-timers and churches in 2005-06. Reading most of these pathetic articles helped me realize how far off we had gone, and that the "battle" between Anaheim and Cleveland had nothing to do with the truth or the Bible, but was simply a form of godliness to disguise the struggle for power. Each satellite LC was merely the spoils of war.

I left in late 2005 with both sides exhorting me to "take a stand for the truth." Their truth, of course.

[Ohio]

BTW - did you know Lang was involved in writing a biography on Broadbent? I read this somewhere, but haven't seen anything else related. Do you know anything about this?
Not sure how available this is.

Edmund Hamer Broadbent, Saint and Pioneer: Recollections and reflections Unknown Binding – January 1, 1946
by G. H Lang (https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&field-author=G.+H+Lang&text=G.+H+Lang&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books) (Author)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/363877282454

[Robert]

Thanks God . There is only one origin ekklesia.
Bible and real experience of ekklasia can be the only one test of somebodies testimony.
Unfortunately for for few of them, they testified only about their own immaturity.
" After college, two years only in this society " not church".
Directing to personal deal with God instead of psychologists....
No less , no more, christian approach.
I know, that more office work and organisation, the less life and more mistakes.
But I would not build any rumors based upon such a testimonies.