A Marine speaks out
To Whom It May Concern:
I've been stationed at MCAS Yuma since around July 31, 2006. Coming from a very strong Christian background and suffering severe homesickness, I thought I'd look around for a church to attend. Another Marine in my shop knew how I was feeling and invited me to go with him to his church. It was early in the week, and he told me about a meeting that he goes to every Thursday. It's sort of like a bible study, but it's held in a person's home. The meeting is called "cell." After I went to my first cell meeting, I thought that the church might be a bit different than what I am used to, but it was a way to try and grow spiritually and possibly make friends. I decided that to make a valid decision on what the church was all about I should go to an actual service.
The following Saturday afternoon, I attended my first Generations Church service. My parents come from Southern Baptist and Pentecostal backgrounds, so at the very least I was just surprised to see how different it was. The service consisted of devotional singing, testimonies, and a sermon, which wasn't half bad. There was also tithe and offerings. This is where things got a bit weird for me.
The pastor explained to the congregation about how much to give in your tithe and then if you want to give more, that's considered an offering. That all made sense until he started talking about if you don't give a certain amount, then you are robbing from God and you will not make it into heaven. I felt that the pastor was very pushy and even aggressive when it came to talking about tithes and offering. They explained why the members of the church should put their names addresses on the money envelopes: tax write offs. I don't give to the church for a tax write off, so I didn't put anything on it.
Even in a place where a person may not feel comfortable worshipping at, I believe that God can still speak to your heart. That day I decided to rededicate my life, my relationship with God. I went to the alter and asked for prayer. After the prayer, I and others who had also rededicated or just come to Christ were escorted into a back room to talk about the Lord and the great decision we had just made. During that time is when I first heard about "The Encounter."
The Encounter is a weekend retreat wherein you are taught about God and grow in your walk with Him. I was uneasy about going to this. First off, because I wasn't and still am not sure what religion they are (I'm not really religious, but I'm very spiritual, so that didn't matter too much. I just still found it to be odd). I also wasn't sure because of the $120 fee to go on this trip. I was a PFC in the Marine Corps then, that's a lot of money. I ended up telling them that I would think about it and let them know later.
Every week I would attend cell meetings and go to church on weekends I wasn't visiting friends and family back home. Every single time they would see me they would ask about The Encounter. I wanted to know more about this before I just packed up with some strangers for a weekend. No one would tell me anything about it. I was always told, "It's just something that you have to experience for yourself ... I don't want to give it away." After talking about it with my father, he told me that that was a problem. My father is a deacon, so he has a good grasp on church and the Lord. He felt that if The Encounter was something so wonderful, you would be on fire about telling people how great it is and for them to experience it, that people would be telling you to shut up. He said that the secrecy and the attitude of the Generations members made it seem like a cult. Cult? Like Heaven's Gate back in the 90s? I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. That's when I knew that this really wasn't for me.
Since I've been attending the church I've made some pretty good friends who also attend. Marines, former Marines, and civilians all attend. My current dilemma is that I don't think that this church is for me based on just what I've experienced. At the same time, I fear losing friends or being "disowned" by the members of the church. It has been really hard for me to find people to have friendships with here. But I know I can't sacrifice my spiritual walk with God for just a few friends. So now I'm just trying to find the strength to completely distance myself from the church, regardless of how things turn out.
Signed,
LCpl. Timothy Stewman
That is almost exactly what i went through. I would also ask about the "Encounter" and was told the EXACT same thing. only that i had to go,but for me it was $100 to go. I never did go and i am glad who knows what kind of brainwashing they do there. Now that i think of it i knew this one girl who went, this is part of what she told me. The first day that you go there you are NOT allowed to talk to anyone. Then they MAKE you write down everything personal that happened to you(bad things)alot of praying and asking for forgivness. I cant remember what else that is what stuck with me the most. They make you drudge up the bad things that happen to you in the past and say its so you can really forgive that person that did those things to you. The way i see it they do not need to know what happened to you. I am glad that i got out of that "church".
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The encounter was a good experience for me. It was a real introduction to Jesus- up close and personal. I must say it was a positive experience. I do agree with the indoctrination process as posted on Johns site. One slowly becomes absorbed and isolated from anything that is not part of the church. Because one is told they are doing the Lords work- there is a guilt factor if you fail to preform. The church- even with their best intentions- is very controlling. Not hard pressure, but consistant pressure.
Marine, if you have decided in your heart to leave- then just go. You are a grown man. Your relationship with God is not defined by your relationship with Generations. You are not eternally damned if you leave. I had a difficult time leaving, and now that I am away things are so much clearer for me.
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Things like this happend back in the middle ages, a corrupt church. You were charged a fee for forgiveness and you could pay the church for a ticket to heaven. Look how well that played out.
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My boyfriend got orders and moved to Yuma in January of last year. We were very serious and were talking about getting married. He was going to find a place for us to live and then I was going to move out there in July. After a month out there he called one night and told me that a guy he worked with had invited him to go to church with him. My boyfriend was very homesick and lonely and I thought it would be great for him to get involved in a church. After a couple of months he calls and tells me that he has to break up with me. When I asked him why he told me that since he had been going to Generations Church and going to cell that his cell leader had advised him that if he wanted to have a true relationship with God that continuing the relationship with me (or any girl) at this time in his life would be a distraction to finding his relationship with God. I questioned him about what kind of church this was and was it even a real church. I told him that it sounded a lot like a cult to me. I flew out there to see if it was the church or if it was another woman. When he picked me up from the airport he was the same guy that I was in love with. We had a great time together until he went to cell. After he went to cell that Thursday night he was completely different. On Sunday afternoon when he came to the hotel I told him that I was expecting him to take me to this fabulous church that he was so attached to. But I wasn't allowed to go with him (mostly I think because I questioned the church so much) He told me that he loved me and he really wanted to marry me and have a family but that his pastor and cell leader had advised him that he should be alone for a while. So I went home sad and heartbroken. I mean how does a girl compete with God? I found out the end of this past year that he was talked into marrying a girl that goes to the church as well. Maybe I am a naive girlfriend but it was the strangest encounter with a church that I have ever had. As far as I know he is still attending the church but I haven't heard from him in a few months.
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It's control. I'm single and went to Generations for 1 year. I can tell you that if one is single, they are not allowed to date- best not get caught on a date; a stern reprimand will follow. The leader will "work with you" until you are ready for a relationship and with their blessing the "courting" begins. It's simply not healthy. I believe many Marines get out of the Corps just to stay in Yuma with this church and many graduates do not go off to college as to not leave Generations.
It's done in the name of the Lord, so nobody questions.......
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Woow this is bad. I will be praying for you and your ex. I been invited this girl to my church for a while and she keep denying wish it was fine by me but then she told me that she had gone there and she got really scared. that it was very weird and that she just wanted to get out. I'll be praying for all of you. This make me sad. i love the military I'm so grateful for all the MEN and women that serve our country and wish them best.
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I'm a Marine Wife here in Yuma. My husband and I had been great friends with a couple prior to them attending Generations. When both our husbands deployed last year, the wife turned to me for religious advice since I grew up with a very Christian background and she knew little about the Christian religion... After I gave her a TV Guide version of The Bible and what Christians beleave... She says "Well thats weird, cuz I went to this Church last week and that's not exactly what they teach." I had her explain to me what exactly this Church taught. I'm not gunna go into great detail because its all been listed multiple times on this site... But the thing that really didn't sit well with me, she told me that people had gotten down on all fours and started barking during the worship service, she said it was God speaking through them. I told her I had never heard anything like that and would have to look into it... I compleatly lost contact with her for about a month and a half, when she finally got a hold of me again, she had alread attended the encounter. She started telling me how great it was and how I needed to go to it... She said that God proved to her that he truly loved her and she now knows that she's going to heaven... I asked her how she knows that and she replied with "I spoke in tongues" ...I said "Like Spanish?" she said it was Jesus' language and when her leader heard her, she understood her and they talked to each other in it... Umm... Ok, how weird does that sound...
So I turned around and told my husband in Iraq that I thought she was in a cult. He agreed and turned around and told her husband out there the same thing... He agreed also... He spent the remainder of the time in Iraq to try and get her to stop going to that church. Pastor Rich flat out told her that Satan was working through him, and she needed to divorce him!!! Now seriously, what pastor would really be pro-divorce??? Well when he came back from Iraq, he got drug to that church and ended up being sucked in... They slowly stopped talking to us... Which is hard to do since my husband and him worked together, but he completely stopped speaking to my husband all together.
Recently I ran into her at the commissary and said "Hi" she acted friendly at first and then said "You know, its a shame that you hate me." I explained that I don't hate her at all but she claimed that since I'm not Christian (which I am) that I cant talk to her... As she started to walk away she goes "May God have mercy on your child, lets hope she doesnt end up in the same place that you do" Well that pissed me off... I turned around and pretty much shouted in the middle of the commisary "I'm a freakin Christian, I'm not goin to hell just because I dont go to your church" All she says is "That's not what my profit says"
So does anyone know who this "profit" is? Is it Pastor Rich? Or are they having random guys comming out of the word work claiming that God's speaking to them?
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DEAR marine wife, its very unfortunate , that were living the last days of christendom.
the bible says that before the antichrist is revealed, Apostasy must come first(2tes 4:1---) explains it + SEVERAL OTHER SCRIPTURES WHICH I CANNOT GO IN DETAIL.
ANOTHER THING IS THAT THE G12 and the famous "encounters" is nothing new.
DO RESEARCH IN THE "DOCTRINE OF OPUS DEI" this doctrine was established back in 1920 by a catholic priest (JOSE MARIA ESCRIBA) THIS PARTICULAR DOCTRINE IS STILL ACTIVE AND IS JUST THE SAME AS THE 'ENCOUNTERS".
JESUS SAID , THAT WE SHOULD KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS.
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Again, wow all this is so familiar. The man I was having a relationship, with who is stationed in Yuma at Mals-13 also attends the church he also was suppose to marry me. He was great until he would go to cell on Thursdays and on Sundays, then he would have his doubts, what I found out he was lying to his cell leader, friends and family saying he wasn't with me anymore, when in fact he was still coming around and we were still dating. We would be ok together most of times, we had our problems like every relationship. He to was told that because I don't go to that church anymore and there is some one better for him, let me guess at the church, even when I wanted to go back to save our relationship he didn't want me to go. His cell leader told him he needed to leave me for good and not have nothing to do with me. His friends from the church bad mouthed me. So, I can relate to everything that is going on. I too have been hurt and burned by religion. What was that contemporary Christian song that went something like this "too many preachers, too many churches and
denominations, got their opinions and their documents and statements
and reviews, sometimes there's a miscomunication that complicates the
truth and convulutes the story. When it is said and done it all comes down to a Man dying on the cross saving the world, rising from the dead, doing what He said He would do . . ."?
As far as teaching the Word or the doctrine of a church I believe
Paul said it best in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13:
"10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no
divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the
same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it hath been declared unto
me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that
there are contentions among you. 12 Now this I say, that every one of
you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of
Christ. 13 Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye
baptized in the name of Paul?
Stand for Christ brother. If He be for us who can be against us?
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What I'm reading is making me ill!!!
This is all in the name of Christianity! I think not. They are out of control. If you are not in total agreement with them you must be controlled by the devil. This is frigtening stuff..... People NEED to know about this!! Know and warn others!! Thank you John for this blog!
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Has anyone turned this into the government, it needs to be taken seriously!
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I am repeatedly asking myself the same question. Why is this "church" not under surveillance? If for no other reason than for its financial aspects.
My son was transferred with the Marines to Yuma from Okinawa and has been with this "church" for almost 3 years.I feel that he,too, was looking for friends and a place to worship Jesus.I am very worried about him and have shared my concerns with him. I have been a Christian for 60 years and I am appalled at the methods and tactics that generations is utilizing to increase their membership.
A friend sent me the info that John has posted on his blog...some of which I was already familiar with. It was so comforting to know that others share my concerns and fears.
Does anyone have suggestions as to where we go from here? I live on the east coast and I feel like my son is a world away.
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For a long time while I was stationed in MCAS-Yuma i heard random comments about this so called "church" i didn't pay it any mind until i was assigned to a different squadron in which one of the other Cpl's was actively a member and all through out the day he would say random things about religion and how no one really had the right idea about God unless they went to Generations... several times i told him to shove it and called him a lab rat...i wen through a tough time in my personal life and i received a strange phone call from this Cpls wife out of the blue saying that her prayers where with me and offered to cook lunch or dinner for me if i felt i needed to talk or ASSISTANCE PRAYING...just for giggles i accepted and ended up going to her "Cell night" from the start it was all real creepy to me but when she started talking about the do's and donts- i challenged her so called interpretations on the readings- everything that came out of her mouth , i challenged; I frustrated her so much she called her "leader" to tell her about me and proceeded to hand me the phone to speak to her- I did, and she told me in a very militant almost Drill instructor voice that i was to attend church with them, to be cleansed of the demons trying to corrupt the "Cell". If i did not do so i was to leave the womans house and burn in the path to hell...(no exaggeration)
I am Catholic and have attended a methodist church( very much alike) and having attended catholic school i am very knowledgeable of the bible old and new. I have found after speaking to many others that have come across the "cult" that they prey on those that are weak in spirit such as the homesick...they dont like to be challenged!!! they left me the heck alone after that!!!
To all the family, friends,love- of these Marines, please do everything in your power to help them through their homesickness- pay a visit- have the pastor, priest etc. call them and give them the correct spiritual guidance. If you have real concerns you should feel free to speak to their NCOIC or SNCOIC (mentor,boss) and express your concerns.
I was able to save my friend (now my husband) from these scavengers and wolves....you too can save your loved one!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I recently moved here not too long ago with my husband and 2 kids. We were invited to a cell meeting with our friend we were staying with at the time. My husband went to cell more often then I and he went to the church service I think once. When he came home from church that Sunday he said he had been "reborn". He had changed in an awkward way.
Couple weeks later he quit his job and left me and his kids and went back "home". We havent heard much from him but he has another woman and I am not sure what the church told him but we are now divorcing. I dont know maybe it is for the better.
Dont let this happen to someone you love!
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Someone needs to investigate this place. Why isn't the IRS or the police department getting involved. Someone should look up Whitmer's criminal history....or speak to his previous wife.
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