Warning: Contains No Sugar

Ohio · 08-18-2011, 09:09 PM

John Myer has a new E-Book titled "Warning: Contains No Sugar -- Honest Words for Aspiring Leaders in the Church"

http://www.grandviewchristianassembl...No%20Sugar.pdf

Cal · 08-18-2011, 10:24 PM

Good book. I like his no nonsense attitude.

I wish he had tackled some of the harder questions, though. Like how to juggle all those church responsibilities while taking care of your job, wife, children, extended family, friends, community services and all the other legitimate responsibilities that compete with more traditional spiritual endeavors.

It's easy to say don't serve mammon. It's harder to pull off that pat exhortation when the mammon one is pursuing is simply to provide for one's family's needs. Pastors always seem to think money just rains out of heaven. Whenever they talk about money it's either about giving more of it or working less for it, which when you think about it is kind of contradictory.

Also, John Myer, I've got great respect for you, but please finish A Future and a Hope. It's bad form to leave it unfinished. You may have lost interest in the LC, but there are many who need that book in its entirety. Thanks.

UntoHim · 08-19-2011, 07:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Igzy

Also, John Myer, I've got great respect for you, but please finish A Future and a Hope. It's bad form to leave it unfinished. You may have lost interest in the LC, but there are many who need that book in its entirety. Thanks.

I don't think John thought he was putting himself in a kind of leadership position in writing A Future and a Hope, but in a sense he was. I suspect he is either finished with it or very close and just has not had the peace and leading from the Lord to publish. What he needs to consider is our peace and our longing for some leadership in the areas covered in the book. Come on John, finish the course!

Ohio · 08-19-2011, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UntoHim

I don't think John thought he was putting himself in a kind of leadership position in writing A Future and a Hope, but in a sense he was. I suspect he is either finished with it or very close and just has not had the peace and leading from the Lord to publish. What he needs to consider is our peace and our longing for some leadership in the areas covered in the book. Come on John, finish the course!

I was told a while ago that those final chapters of FaH were actually being spoken to the church at the time. The contents may be included in their regular e-mail "Creekbed" series, which summarizes the messages from the meetings.

Regarding JM's current activities, yesterday I received this .....

Quote:

Take a look at this brief conversation held at a church leaders' workshop:

Friend: Where is your church located?
Me: Grandview Heights.
Friend: Whoa! That's a gospel-resistant area. I grew up there.
Me: You did?
Friend: Yes. You've got your work cut out for you. From my observation, the biggest
problem with that town is that the gospel has not been preached there for about
60 years.

Well, he's right. We have our work cut out for us. As a courtesy to many of you who have been reading our Creekbed emails and/or supporting us in other ways, we wanted to drop a line and update you on how our work is going here in Grandview Christian Assembly.

August and September mark a milestone in the life of our church, as two men, Jeff Friess and Seth Evans, will be presented to the congregation as candidates for eldership. At the end of a one month scrutiny, it is my hope to appoint them. Although my responsibilities will not change, at that time I will also take my place as an elder in the church.

Of course, September through late October marks the "superbowl" of the church growth season. As you can imagine, we're gearing up for an anticipated blessing. This includes internal facility changes like a new large building sign and a lighting system more conducive to our meetings. We are also preparing space for overflow seating.

We're working on the spiritual quality of the church as well, by adding a lot of mentor-based sessions that help people understand the basics of the Christian faith, learn how to pray over Scripture, and practice sharing the gospel with others. Leadership development is also on our radar and some theology courses for deeper study (which we will launch in the coming week).

Our publishing ministry continues. We currently have twenty-five titles that await publication prep work. Most of these are along the "Big Idea, Little Book" theme. Others however, are larger works and will take longer to finish. The next project likely to see the light of day is a gospel book for inquisitive non-Christians.

From the standpoint of encouragement, your interest means a lot to us. We've come a long way since January 2009, even though 2.5 years isn't much when you look at it on a calendar.

Grace to you always,
John Myer
Pastor

Cal · 08-19-2011, 08:20 AM

Maybe he's forgotten the website is even there. As a reminder it's:

http://www.assemblylife.com/

It has a note stating that the next chapter will be available March 2010. Which was almost a year and a half ago. It seems to me he should at least keep readers informed with accurate information. Either say the book is on hold or update the delivery date. But to just leave it open-ended like that doesn't make any sense.

I can imagine all the hardliners going "See! He couldn't even finish the book. This shows the Lord's disapproval, blah, blah..."

And I can imagine readers who believed him wondering, too.

Why encourage that?

Ohio · 08-19-2011, 09:52 AM

Things changed when John Myer got expelled by TC from "the work" serving the remaining GLA churches. He lost some of his financial support, and had to focus his time and resources on what the Lord had placed in front of him.

At the time A Future and A Hope was being written, JM was writing to a much wider audience, which included many LC's which had rejected LSM. Today his "audience" has been reduced to those he sees on a regular basis, many of which have little background with LSM.

Some of these books by ex-members are written in an on-going basis, which creates new difficulties for the authors. Had the book been released all at once, the dynamics of change and the reactions from the readers would have been of little consequence, since the book was already "out there." Don Rutledge and his "history" have suffered similar ends. Once LSM visited him, his writings have stopped.

Word is out that, that LSM/DCP has begun to aggressively research litigation against opposing internet websites. They now have an idle staff since the US Supreme Court shut them down. Who knows what will happen to these websites and forums already in existence.

awareness · 08-19-2011, 09:59 AM

Why shouldn't John Myer be allowed to wonder or wander? John's a free man. And there's no need for him to live up to our expectations, nor the expectations of the Living Stream Ministry church leaders. The opinions and expectations of the leaders of LSM matter no more than that of the almost 7 billion others on the earth. At most they are just background noise, like a chainsaw in the background, that's annoying but has to be tolerated.

08-18-2011, 09:09 PM	#1
Ohio Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Greater Ohio Posts: 13,693	Warning: Contains No Sugar John Myer has a new E-Book titled "Warning: Contains No Sugar -- Honest Words for Aspiring Leaders in the Church" http://www.grandviewchristianassembl...No%20Sugar.pdf __________________ Ohio's motto is: With God all things are possible!. Keeping all my posts short, quick, living, and to the point!

08-18-2011, 10:24 PM	#2
Cal Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: USA Posts: 4,333	Re: Warning: Contains No Sugar Good book. I like his no nonsense attitude. I wish he had tackled some of the harder questions, though. Like how to juggle all those church responsibilities while taking care of your job, wife, children, extended family, friends, community services and all the other legitimate responsibilities that compete with more traditional spiritual endeavors. It's easy to say don't serve mammon. It's harder to pull off that pat exhortation when the mammon one is pursuing is simply to provide for one's family's needs. Pastors always seem to think money just rains out of heaven. Whenever they talk about money it's either about giving more of it or working less for it, which when you think about it is kind of contradictory. Also, John Myer, I've got great respect for you, but please finish A Future and a Hope. It's bad form to leave it unfinished. You may have lost interest in the LC, but there are many who need that book in its entirety. Thanks.

08-19-2011, 08:20 AM	#5
Cal Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: USA Posts: 4,333	Re: Warning: Contains No Sugar Maybe he's forgotten the website is even there. As a reminder it's: http://www.assemblylife.com/ It has a note stating that the next chapter will be available March 2010. Which was almost a year and a half ago. It seems to me he should at least keep readers informed with accurate information. Either say the book is on hold or update the delivery date. But to just leave it open-ended like that doesn't make any sense. I can imagine all the hardliners going "See! He couldn't even finish the book. This shows the Lord's disapproval, blah, blah..." And I can imagine readers who believed him wondering, too. Why encourage that?

08-19-2011, 09:52 AM	#6
Ohio Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Greater Ohio Posts: 13,693	Re: Warning: Contains No Sugar Things changed when John Myer got expelled by TC from "the work" serving the remaining GLA churches. He lost some of his financial support, and had to focus his time and resources on what the Lord had placed in front of him. At the time A Future and A Hope was being written, JM was writing to a much wider audience, which included many LC's which had rejected LSM. Today his "audience" has been reduced to those he sees on a regular basis, many of which have little background with LSM. Some of these books by ex-members are written in an on-going basis, which creates new difficulties for the authors. Had the book been released all at once, the dynamics of change and the reactions from the readers would have been of little consequence, since the book was already "out there." Don Rutledge and his "history" have suffered similar ends. Once LSM visited him, his writings have stopped. Word is out that, that LSM/DCP has begun to aggressively research litigation against opposing internet websites. They now have an idle staff since the US Supreme Court shut them down. Who knows what will happen to these websites and forums already in existence. __________________ Ohio's motto is: With God all things are possible!. Keeping all my posts short, quick, living, and to the point!

08-19-2011, 09:59 AM	#7
awareness Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 8,064	Re: Warning: Contains No Sugar Why shouldn't John Myer be allowed to wonder or wander? John's a free man. And there's no need for him to live up to our expectations, nor the expectations of the Living Stream Ministry church leaders. The opinions and expectations of the leaders of LSM matter no more than that of the almost 7 billion others on the earth. At most they are just background noise, like a chainsaw in the background, that's annoying but has to be tolerated. __________________ Cults: My brain will always be there for you. Thinking. So you don't have to. There's a serpent in every paradise.