Friday, March 25, 2011

GOD ALONE

In whom is your righteousness?

KJV: Romans 3:10. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

KJV: Galatians 2:21. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.


Heb 4:12 (although I wish this person would have the courage to use his/her real name) mentioned in his/her last comment the influence of The Bridge is Out. We are giving honour to whom honour is due – glory to God only and recognizing the fallibility of mankind.

Did you know that your pastor is FALLIBLE? So are you and I. To place unquestioning faith in a man, as many commentators on this blog appear to do, is dishonouring God. The Almighty God is the only One Whose Word should never be questioned. You are indeed correct to question my word, Travis' word and the word of anyone else, but question every man equally because we are all equal in the eyes of God – equally dispicable, equally human, equally under the Blood of Christ and equally forgiven of Christ. If you never question your pastor's word, you are giving him the honour that is due only to the LORD. This is tantamount to having another god before you. You serve a jealous God; be careful that He alone receives the honour of being counted righteous and blameless.


KJV: Exodus Chapter 20

[1] And God spake all these words, saying,
[2] I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
[3] Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
[4] Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
[5] Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
[6] And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

KJV: Psalms Chapter 36

[1] The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
[2] For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.
[3] The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit: he hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
[4] He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.

There is a root cause of every problem. The root of the problems discussed on TBIO is the paradigm encouraged by the leadership of a church, honouring one man far above what any man deserves. If we give God all the honour that is due Him and see mankind as sinful as it really is, we show that we believe the scriptures that tell us there is none righteous, our righteousness is as filthy rags, Christ is our righteousness, and that God is no respecter of persons. We have no reason to – no, rather we are commanded not to honour one man above another. God is Sovereign, and the moment we recognize that, we will see that no man is above reproach.

We place our trust in God. God alone is above reproach and unquestionable.

God alone.


Sunday, March 20, 2011

Vic and Melanie's Experience


In October, 2010, Frank Harder, who has been a good friend and employee for about eight years, came to me about something that had been troubling him for some time. He told me that Mike Sullivant had a meeting with him (the other person present was Gary Driedger) during which my and Vic's names were mentioned.

Sullivant had warned Frank in this meeting to be careful of his contact with us, warning him that he would become what he hung out with. He also told Frank how much we were tithing. Sullivant told Frank that I had other problems with the church as well and had been emailing them.

When Frank told me this, I was very upset. How many times had we been told from the pulpit that Sullivant never sees how much we tithe? This news went directly against what we had heard preached. I also wondered how Sullivant could warn someone to not spend time with me and my husband without speaking to us directly about any concerns he had about us. We never had a call or email about whatever we were doing that would have caused church leadership such concern. I would add that during the previous two and a half years when I was suffering at home alone with new allergies and chemical sensitivities and could not attend church, there was no offer of help or call made to me. I was so ill and troubled that I had lost nearly 50 pounds and became nearly unrecognizable to some people, but still I was alone. A few friends cared enough to encourage me and pray for me. I say all this to illustrate how I had struggled for nearly three years and did not know that I was looked upon in such a negative way as to be the object of the “like fellowships with like” warning.

But we were marked. And the trust was broken regarding the tithe. What a person gives to God is between him and God. Sullivant might not count the money, but the counters keep track so we can get tax receipts and, it appears, report to leadership.

When Frank told me the part of his meeting with Sullivant and Driedger that involved us, I told him right away that we couldn't hear news like this and not follow up on it, that we had to talk to Sullivant and couldn't do it without naming him. We know that Sullivant does not regard anonymous reports, but we would not name Frank without his explicit permission.

In about two weeks, we met with Sullivant in our home. He came alone. We had sent the children to play at the neighbour's house for the afternoon. When Sullivant arrived, we didn't beat around the bush, but came straight to the point. Vic said to him, “Did you tell Frank how much we tithe and that he should not be around us, to be careful who he hangs out with?”

Sullivant appeared surprised when his eyes got big and he leaned back in his chair. He responded, “No, I did not. Did Frank tell you this?”

Vic: “Yes.”

Sullivant: “Call him in.” Frank was working in the shop, so Vic went into the next room to call him from the cell phone.

Meanwhile, I said to Sullivant as he sat across the table from me, “Frank has worked for us for many years. He is like family to us, like a brother. He has been loyal through some very difficult times here when others might have walked out. He is human, yes, but has never given us reason to doubt him.”

Sullivant's words were, “And I have?” There was no opportunity for me to reply because Vic and Frank walked in at this point. When they were seated, he turned to Vic and said, “Ask him.”

So Vic did. Frank's reply was, 'Yes, he did say those things about you.”

Sullivant turned to Frank, pointed at him and said, “You are lying!”

Frank held his ground calmly and said he heard what he heard, that he was telling the truth. A brief argument followed between the two, during which Sullivant called Frank a liar a number of times. Frank remained calm during this. Neither man conceded. Since Gary Driedger was present at the meeting with Frank, Sullivant called him on speaker phone and that conversation went something like this, after preliminary chit chat:

Sullivant: “Gary, I've got you on speaker phone. I am at Vic and Melanie's; Frank Harder is here too. I have been blind sided here with the accusation that I told Frank about their tithe and that he should not hang around with them. Is this true?”

Gary: “Absolutely not. We never said anything like that. Their names never even came up at that meeting.”

As the phone conversation went on, Gary repeatedly said that he couldn't remember what exactly was said, but knew which things had not been said, the end result being that both pastors concluded that Frank was lying. The phone conversation ended, and some other matters were discussed in front of us regarding Frank that should have been done in private and were completely unrelated to the matter at hand, the reason we had called this meeting. I believe that this was done to throw in a red herring, to distract us and to cause Frank to lose credibility in our eyes. It was a complete change of subject, with Frank being the object of attack. When it appeared that Frank and Mike were at a stalemate, I asked Frank if he wanted to add anything and he said no. He was dismissed.

I said to Mike, “We are in a very difficult position here. We have to choose between a loyal friend and a pastor.” He said he could see that. I reiterated that Frank had never given us reason to doubt his word. The words Michael Sullivant said next were, “Look at my track record.” At another point during the meeting, he confidently said, “I am innocent in this.” We made no indication at that meeting where our loyalties lay. Now I wish we had made that clear with both men present. We already knew what our decision would be before Frank left the room.

I asked Mike, “Do you mark people by name, telling them not to fellowship with someone?” He said no, he never does that unless it's a church discipline situation. I also asked, “Do you keep track of the giving?”

Sullivant replied, “I never see a record of the giving.”

Both statements were directly contrary to what Frank told us.

The phrase “Look at my track record” was one that echoed in our minds for weeks as we did exactly that. We looked at Sullivant's track record objectively. This was our thought process after our minds quit reeling: Why would Frank lie about what was said about us? Did he stand anything to gain or lose by telling us? Did Mike stand to lose by admitting he had told someone how much we tithed? What could Mike stand to gain by calling Frank a liar, by trying to make him lose credibility in our eyes? We compared the two men who both said the other was lying to the account in the Bible in which Solomon was faced with two prostitutes, a dead baby and a living baby. Solomon said to cut the living baby in half so each woman would have a share in the living baby, and the mother wept while the lying whore agreed to halve the infant.

The following Sunday we were in church and sat with Frank and his wife to show our support for him publicly. I went to one more Wednesday service after that where, incidentally, I witnessed another character assassination, but that is someone else's story to tell.

Proverbs 26:28
A lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin.

A statement that we can not forget from one of the last sermons we heard from Sullivant was, “If you have a problem with this church, you have a problem with Christ!” Our problem is not with the church as a whole, but with the leadership of it. As we looked at his track record, we observed and considered seriously other incidents we knew of involving him and saw a pattern of behaviour that was disturbing. The common threads in the situations over the last years were pride, lack of accountability, and deceit. We read the constitution of the church and knew that there was no accountability for Sullivant if he did wrong. We had heard an unbalanced number of sermons about pastoral leadership and obedience to the pastor. Understanding that we were not significant enough to bring about change, we communicated clearly with the pastor our reasons for leaving, followed the constitution and hand delivered our letters of membership withdrawal to the church at the end of November.

John 8:32
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.


Thursday, March 17, 2011

Wise Sons and Scorners


Some people seem to think that this blog is persecuting a certain kind of church. There have been comments made, not necessarily here, that people who oppose this kind of church are tools of the devil, under satanic influence.

There is a problem with this viewpoint.

When parents train their children, they need to add a little discomfort to a child's circumstances to cause them to want to do right. This is a form of opposition. Rebuke and reproof come as opposition to someone's actions. If you have a friend who is about to make a bad business decision and you warn him of the impending trouble, are you a tool of the devil? No, you are offering your advice and trying to protect his interests. When a woman is in a dangerous relationship and you show her warning signs, are you under satanic influence? No, you are offering a perspective she does not have because she is too close to the situation. It is foolish of your friend or this woman to not heed your advice and give it thoughtful, objective consideration.

Proverbs 13:1
A wise son heareth his father's instruction: but a scorner heareth not rebuke.

A real danger comes when opposition presents itself, directly by individuals or indirectly by circumstances, and the afflicted one assumes that it is devilish attack. The man or woman who sees opposition as such will never recognize rebuke or reproof. This person becomes untouchable and a god to himself. There is no one who is above reproach.

Romans 3:10
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Proverbs 9:8
Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

Ecclesiastes 7:5
It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools.

Opposition is not always persecution. Opposition is not always a tool of the devil. It may be a wake up call.

Be wise. Step back and take an objective look. The best view is always the big picture.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Travis' Story

Starts with a preacher-boy

My wife and I desired to help a recently married couple and gave them a couple of documents that would help them better understand their roles within the marriage.  The one given to Ben Wiebe, a preacher-boy in another IFB church, described his role including his spiritual responsibilities to his wife and future family.
While not the direct intent of the document, he began to look for validation of the ‘pastoral authority’ claimed by his pastor.  Late one evening he asked the assistant pastor (the senior pastor being out of town) for clarification on the subject.  His mannerism was quiet and sincere, but the question was not answered that night.
Instead, the following morning and without notifying my friend, the assistant pastor notified all of the men in the church that this young man was into heresy and was to be handled with care.

Then some meetings

Once the senior pastor returned, he asked what had caused the question and found out that I had passed on some information.  This preacher then notified my preacher who called me for a meeting in his office.
The meeting with my preacher was quiet and reasonable.  We discussed the document and found that the only point of contention was the style of church leadership advocated by the author.  I don’t remember him making a big deal of it.  We agreed that we should meet with the preachers and my friend to see if we could diffuse this situation.  It all seemed quite harmless.
The meeting was in the home of the asst. pastor and the women were excused when we arrived.  There were 5 of us in the living room as we discussed the problem.  I attempted to explain that there really wasn’t a problem and the entire situation simply wouldn’t have occurred if the asst. pastor had taken the time to answer the question.  As I began to lay out the timeline, the senior pastor quickly got out of his seat, yelling at the young man next to me about something completely unrelated.  I let him finish his rant and then turn to my friend and advised him to apologize for asking the question.  My preacher agreed with my advice.  Ben did just that, and also gave a carefully worded apology to the church the following Sunday.

What I noticed

I have two major issues with how that meeting went down: 1) it was okay for a man in his 50s to yell in anger at his own preacher-boy, and 2) my preacher didn’t think twice about approving and accepting a completely pointless apology.  Don’t get me wrong: yelling is a tactic used in combat situations to mess with the opponent’s mind.  I get that.  I also know that the apology for asking the question was sincere, but it didn’t address the core issue: the young man’s question still remained unanswered.  Although it wasn’t spoken out loud, everyone in the room knew this.
I hoped to improve the situation
During a discussion with my preacher in the days that followed, I expressed a desire for him to get to know me better.  I thought a healthy relationship between the two of us would help him understand that I really didn’t have anything against him or his methods (boy was I ignorant!)  We went out for lunch one day and he spent the entire time quizzing me about what was going on in my life that could be improved by a better relationship between the two of us.  I let it slip that I didn’t think that Ben would last much longer because of how the situation was handled.  I pointed out that his question remained unanswered.  I didn’t say much else except to say that we really didn’t know each other personally and I would need time before I could really share my unpolished opinions with him.
I never got that opportunity with him again.
(I wasn’t aware of this until much later, but only a few days after my lunch meeting, Ben’s pastor told him that God had spoke to him saying, “Travis is a snake in the grass.”)

Greener grass?

It was now evident that my preacher didn’t have any intention of helping me work through a few questions of my own, so I began looking at other options for fellowship.
It took a few months, but we found an option that looked like it would work, so we quietly ventured out on our own.
Rumors spread; had a deacon corner me - at a funeral no less - and make accusations, so I wrote an open letter to anyone that would read it. I did my best to not wrong anyone and I had to do my part to set the record straight.

What remains is public

I have copies of the emails and documents that went back & forth shortly after.  I’ve been told that the letter written to me from the preacher was also read to the congregation.  Feel free to read them.  They speak plainly to the events shortly after leaving the meeting place at Pembina and First.

What happened to the preacher-boy?

He left the IFB church about the same time I left.  He asked me to make sure the reader understands that he is no longer affiliated with that debauchery.

w.travis.peters@gmail.com

Administrator note: Feel free to ask direct questions in the comments section, Travis can answer them directly.