Christian Fellowship Churches
aka The Door, Potter's House & Victory Chapel, La Puerta, The Fire, Desert Fire, Bay Fire, Lighthouse Christian Fellowship Churches
The church's financial structure is set up in a pyramid structure, with each church sending 5% of its offering back to its Mother church and another 5% back to the head church in Prescott.
“You don't learn by having faith. You learn by questioning, by challenging, by re-examining everything you've ever believed.
And yet, all this is a matter of faith
—the faith that there is a truth to be found.
It is another paradox: To truly question, you must truly have faith."
Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
"CFM is the only really true church"
There's nothing new about Wayman Mitchell's use of hellfire and eternal damnation to place fear into the hearts of his followers. The church has been doing this for 1696 years (325CE). Mitchell has simply focused and elaborated on the tool the church used to keep the coffers full
Remember, 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Paul is not talking about “scripture” being the Book of Catholicism aka The New Testament, IT HAD NOT BEEN WRITTEN YET. He's talking about the Tanach, the Hebrew Bible what the church calls “the Old Testament”, written in Hebrew and not one word of it has changed since given from Sinai 3300+ years ago. [lookup: Accuracy of Torah Text @ aish]
Nowhere does the NT claim to be the Word of God! Quoting the New Testament is not quoting scripture ~ The Word of God.
Deuteronomy 4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Unless God is a liar? Heaven forbid!
"Bear in mind, the Jewish Scriptures were written in Hebrew, not in seventeenth-century King James English. What has made Christian believers so vulnerable to Bible tampering is that almost none of them can read or understand the Hebrew Bible in its original language. Virtually no Christian child in the world is taught the Hebrew language as part of a formal Christian education. As you and countless other Christians earnestly study the Authorized Version of the Bible, there is a blinding yet prevailing assumption that what you are reading is Heaven-breathed. Tragically, virtually every Christian in the world reads the translation of men rather than the Word of God. On the other hand, every Jewish child in the world who is enrolled in a Jewish school is taught to read and write Hebrew long before he or she even heard the name of Wayman Mitchell. [actually Luther....but, you know...Waymanite's?!]
Unbeknownst to you and parishioners worldwide, the King James Version and numerous other Christian Bible translations were meticulously shaped and painstakingly retrofitted in order to produce a message that would sustain and advance Church theology and exegesis. This aggressive rewriting of biblical texts has had a devastating impact on Christians throughout the world who unhesitatingly embrace these corrupt translations. As a result, Christians earnestly wonder why the Jews, who are the bearers and protectors of the divine oracles of God, have not willingly accepted Jesus as their messiah.
What evangelicals fail to understand, however, is that the passionate resistance of the Jew to the teachings of Christianity has little to do with the Church’s bad manners. Rather, it is the direct result of the Church’s contrived and therefore implausible message. This stunning conclusion, however, is impossible for Christians to accept without bringing injury to their own faith and worldview." [1]
When your Bible has the word, 'Verison' in it, just how accurate can it be? THINK!!!
Hellfire and damnation comes from Greek Mythology with a taste of Zoroastrianism. Totally, totally UNBIBLICAL to instill FEAR. Fear is a powerful weapon and the threat of "losing my salvation".
Remember, Saul of Tarsus? Tarsus, home port for the Cult of Mythra (Mithraism) When Constantine the Great formed his new religion in 325CE he mixed all the empire's pagan religions together to create his “Universal Religion” ie. The Church is Catholic (meaning "universal") Mithraism, Hinduism, Egyptian Sun god worship. Wayman drew on this fear tool like a Pharaoh!
Lookup: Hell…it is not what the KJV tells you it is
by David John Husband @ WordPress acquiescere9
Search the roots of your faith, not just Wayman's version, but the Catholic roots of Christianity as well!
You can enter into a deep, joyful, and fulfilling relationship with the One Creator of heaven and earth without having anyone else involved in that relationship aside from the two of you: God and yourself.
Don’t let anyone tell you that your Creator is “unapproachable”. You don’t need anyone to stand between you and Him. He is close to all who call upon Him in truth (Psalm 145:18). – Rabbi Eli Cohen
Read Deuteronomy 24:16
The Bible is clear, and it is consistent: one person cannot die for the sins of another. In other words, the sins committed by one person cannot be wiped out by the punishment given to another. In Exodus 32:30-35, Moses asks Gd to punish him for the sin committed by the people in regards to the Golden Calf. Gd tells Moses that the person who committed the sin is the one who must receive the punishment. Then, in Deuteronomy 24:16, Gd simply states this as a basic principle, ‘Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.’ This concept is repeated in the Prophets, in Ezekiel 18: ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die… the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.’ The prophet Jeremiah looks to the day when the mistaken belief that one man’s death atones for another man’s sins shall no longer be held by anyone: in Jeremiah 31:29-30, the prophet says: ‘In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.’ [2]
May you, no matter what your faith, be found written in The Book of Life!
The Potter's House Christian Fellowship holds Pentecostal beliefs with a strong emphasis on evangelism, church planting, and discipleship. Doctrines include salvation by faith, the infallibility of the bible, faith healing, and the second coming of Jesus Christ.
An intense program of evangelism is promoted with regular outreach events scheduled including, but not limited to, street evangelism, music concerts, movie nights, and revival meetings, with the intention of converting people and increasing church membership.
A major goal of the church is the establishment of new churches, commonly referred to as church planting. This is achieved through the in-house training of pastors who are then sent to start a new church. Local congregations, both new and established, have no say over who leads the church. Pastors in the Potter's House do not receive any formal theological training as this is considered a waste of time and bible college is believed to cause those wanting to become pastors to lose their passion for the church. Instead, the church uses a process called discipleship, a type of on-the-job training where men wanting to become ministers are mentored by their pastor for three years before starting their own church. These new pastors then go on to repeat the process by training their own disciples to start new churches. Women in the church are not encouraged to pursue careers as the church believes their place is in the home supporting their husbands.
Faith healing is another belief held by the church, which holds faith healing meetings and invites the public to attend. According to Kenneth Whelan, people can be healed if they forgive all sins committed against them and become Christians. Meetings generally consist of singing, a request for donations, a sermon, and an altar call, which is a request for people to come to the front and repent. After this, people are called to the front to be prayed for healing.
The church believes that participating in sin can result in physical problems. Homosexuality can cause deafness and idol worship can cause problems with eyesight.
Financial support for the church comes from the collection of tithes from its members (donating 10% of a member's gross income) and each church in turn also pays a tithe. Financial offerings over and above the tithe are also encouraged. According to an investigation by Chris Hayes, the church financial structure is set up in a pyramid structure, with each church sending 5% of its offering back to its Mother church and another 5% back to the head church in Prescott.
The Potter's House has received much criticism throughout its existence and has been labeled by many as a cult. Major areas of criticism include the level of control exerted over its members, the intense level of commitment required, and the shunning and mistreatment of those who have left the church.
Controlling behavior
Lee Stubbs, a former fellowship pastor, stated that the church uses a subtle form of conditioning. "It's not some maniacal thing of someone demanding blood, but the leaders have very persuasive power over people. There was a system of things in place that directed our lives." While new members are given love and attention to make them want to stay in the church, many former pastors and members have stated that church techniques are designed to keep those in the congregation submissive, employing fear tactics, public ridicule, and shunning to ensure compliance. Members are told not to question the pastor's leadership and those who do so are considered rebellious. According to Stubbs, loyalty to the pastor is equated to loyalty to God. While the church has stated numerous times publicly that people are free to leave if they choose, former members have stated that pastors create a fear that if they do leave, they will be out of the will of God, their lives will fall apart, and they will go to hell. In one case, the parents of a former member were killed in a car accident shortly after she left the church. The church blamed the deaths on the ex-member for leaving.
Level of commitment
The church requires an intense level of commitment from its members and uses psychological and emotional pressure to enforce that commitment. Stubbs stated that commitment to the church is constantly reinforced with phrases such as, "Every time the doors are open, you need to be here. You need to stay on fire for God. You need to be involved. You need to be committed. You need to be loyal." Members will spend up to seven nights a week at church in their commitment to the fellowship and have reported getting in trouble for leaving services early.
Shunning and mistreatment
According to numerous former pastors and members, anyone leaving the church is considered to be a rebel and a backslider. Current members are told not to have anything to do with them and they will often be condemned from the pulpit. This can include not just the shunning of friends but the turning of family members against each other. In cases where interaction does occur, former members have reported receiving harassing letters and phone calls and being slandered through rumors. In one case, church leaders were instructed to publicly renounce a pastor who had left the group. Former members have consistently reported that time in the church has led to traumatic experiences both to individuals and to families. A therapist described the symptoms of one couple who had left the church as similar to those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. A court prevented a man from taking his 5-year-old daughter to the church after she was diagnosed with PTSD as a result of being traumatized by the pastor. The pastor had dressed up as the devil and placed the girl's hands into a bucket of fake blood with a cow's heart in it and yelled at her that she would never get her hand out. The pastor did not deny the event and stated that it was good to have some fear in your life. Others stated the church had robbed them of self-esteem and independence, and left them feeling spiritually shattered, while others said their involvement with the church led to divorce.
Lack of pastoral training
Former pastors of the church have noted that not only do pastors have little experience when they are sent out but because the church does not send men to bible school, they are also poorly equipped in understanding the bible which leads to indoctrination in Potter's House methodology rather than having a bible-based background.
Cult
The intensity of involvement and indoctrination by the church has led to many former members labeling the group a cult. The church has been accused of brainwashing its members resulting in the blind following church beliefs and the division of families. Any doubts or questioning of the church is attributed to lying spirits and the voice of the devil, and is considered akin to doubting God.
Source: 1 https://outreachjudaism.org/crucifixion-psalm/
2. http://whatjewsbelieve.org/index.php/one-person-cannot-die-for-the-sins-of-another/
3. http://www.waymanmitchell.com/Critics.htm
Tale of an Aussie who escaped from the clutches of Yankee Imperialist religion.
It was not until I left that I began to realise the depth of control mechanisms exercised over the people. In fact I remember praying when I was still in the fellowship and asking God what it was that was troubling me so. All I could hear in reply in my spirit at that time was the word "CONTROL." One of my friends whom also left the "Regime" or the "Firm", (as we now call it), calls it "the sound of cracking whips." There is much more detail that I could write but I feel I have said enough.
There are many sincere, dedicated folk in Potters. I have no axe to grind with any of them. They are simply the fruit of a movement bound in religious legalism, elitism, authoritarian leadership and isolationism. If you are reading this article and you are still in the movement I suggest you look closely at what is going on around you. In writing this I have not exaggerated the details. Talk to some folk outside. You are not the only "REAL" Christians! Read More https://www.culteducation.com/group/896-christian-fellowship-churches/5733-no-longer-a-redneck.html
