The Crossing Church - Playing on Fear and Greed for Cash

Anything new happening at The Crossing Church?  Same regurgitated bullshit?  Yep, pretty much. 

Play on what people want to hear, expose their fears and promise them everything will work out.  It's what we all want: a guarantee.  We want to be assured that we won't get sick and die too soon.  We want to believe our families and loved ones will always be safe and secure.  We want a safety net from all the worries about money.  

Everyone is scared whether they admit it or not.  Of course due to past experience, some are much more frightened than others.  But no one has the "peace that passes all understanding".  This is why people pray like maniacs, fast, tithe and submit themselves to controlling church leadership.  If I do ___ then I'll get ____.  As long as I pray the prayer of ___ then nothing bad will happen.  

Bad happens.  Bad happens all the time.  Bad happens all the time to good people.  What then?  Oh that means that you're being tested, or strengthened, or God thinks you can handle it. (cough cough)  

A few doozies from Pastor Eric Dykstra's "Big Ask Series":

25:27 – when you open the door to him he ALWAYS comes through

30:40 – as you begin to pray, he will begin to respond

31:30 – God will speak as clearly as a text message if you will talk to him

32:20 – you guys have Caribou coffee in the lobby, however in MY OFFICE we serve Starbucks, because I LIKE Starbucks  (...said the raging narcissist) 

36:14 – if you go out and pray in the moment you will have supernatural peace

36:46 – you've never prayed a prayer where nothing has happened...when you pray something always changes...every time.  (Nope.)

So when you're praying for your uncle to stop molesting you and he doesn't, then God changes your heart.  When you pray for a healthy baby and you have a stillborn, God changes your heart.  When you pray for financial help and you become homeless, God changes your heart.  Gee....see any possible error in this idea?  See how this might really hurt people who have been fucked by life?

I'm begging you Crossing, and all prosperity churches, stop using the people of your congregation for your gain.  Stop using people's fear to fund your vacations and new homes.  You are hurting people and one day you will pay dearly.  I ask you, I plead with you, to stop.  You aren't doing God's work; this is only for your ego and pocketbook.

Honor at The Crossing Church

I received a notice in my email this week that it was apparently an occasion and I should buy Eric & Kelly Dykstra some flowers for it.  I knew immediately what this was about and why I was receiving it.  In May 2011 The Crossing Church was preaching on submission and honor, and most specifically honoring and submitting to church leaders.  In these sermons it was said that in addition to honor, respect and submission, you should also do something nice for those that have helped you.  In the sermon illustration Pastor Eric Dykstra told how he randomly sent $50 gift cards to various pastors that helped him.  It was clear we were being told to give them gifts as well.  I was angry about it, as I was already giving a ton of money to The Crossing Church, and felt manipulated.  Yet I was all in and trying desperately to do what I felt their God wanted me to do.  I chose to send flowers as somehow this pissed me off a little less and yet I was still giving them the honor they demanded.  Apparently ProFlowers is never going to let me forget this. 

Like clockwork, a new honor series has started again. I took an Imodium and listened.

20:16 "honor God with your wealth" 28:38 authority 29:00 honor your father and mother 31:32 double honor 32:17 not to be treated as common 34:21 honor the HOUSE of God 38:00-38:26 - screaming 42:49 - fake crying 43:29 - "Jesus is hoping and praying you'd bring honor back. We're gonna show up, be on time, care, bring a gift, Do you realize there is not anybody in scripture who showed up for worship and didn't bring a gift?" "sure I'm gonna get on Facebook and Twitter and promote my church" "I'm not gonna apologize for promoting my church"

Big push at the end to come to church and show them the money!! Nothing new.

I've spent four long years calling out The Crossing Church on their bullshit. I did it because I care. I did it because I didn't want to see anyone else used and disposed of without a thought. Yet in recent days I've come to some revelations about how this is honoring myself and does using my time this way honor my goals.  

My blog has helped many leave and give confirmation to their doubts.  My blog has helped me process my time at The Crossing Church. My blog has been a fantastic outlet for my pain and annoyance.  Yet this morning I had a friend tell me "You can't change someone who doesn't see an issue in their actions.."  She's right.  Those still there sucking down the "free grace" kool aid don't want to see the hypocrisy.  If not at The Crossing Church, then they'd soak it in somewhere else.  They really believe they're on an amazing mission from God and this fuels their desire to go all in.  I get that.  I was there too.  

There is a sanskrit saying that goes, "Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu".  The loose translation, "May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all."

I know I've helped people find their freedom.  I now choose to be free of you, I'm free of your dogma, I'm free.  It's time to honor myself.

The Missing Sermon(s) at The Crossing Church - Part 2

The Crossing Church had a new sermon series last month called "First".  Well you don't need to be a regular attender to know there will be a big tithe push going on here.  Giving the "first" 10% (or more) of your income was sure to be mentioned at every service.  To validate my theory on this, it seems none of the sermons were posted online.  Curious, isn't it?  They have multiple locations, multiple services, stream live each week and post all their sermons...except none of the "First" series was posted.

Here's a doozie from that series that was tweeted out:

Noah?  Are you kidding me?  NOAH?!  LMAO!  So if you don't give God (The Crossing Church) money then you'll get killed in the next natural disaster!?

This is reminiscent of February 2013 where another sermon on a similar subject never showed up online.  Same time of year too!  And why would that be?  Well it's just before Easter.  Easter is the time of year where churches need to draw in new attenders (money rolls).  The Crossing Church always goes big at Easter as they know many will attend out of guilt.

The Crossing Church - Always Only About Money.  Every single time.

So prove me wrong Crossing people.  What was the sermon about?  Why do you think they aren't posting it?  Ask.  I dare you to ask!

Subtle Manipulation to Get More Money at The Crossing Church

How The Crossing Church uses Subtle Manipulation to Get More Money out of their congregants.

I've been randomly listening to Eric Dykstra's sermons for months now and a theme has happened with each and every one; he's going for the money.  Every sermon, no matter the content, has a punchline of "You must tithe."  "You need to show God you can trust him with your money before he can trust you with bigger things."  "Give more."  "Give more to us."  Now if you're a bible believing person you can easily research that all this forced giving is not biblical at all.  Just Google it.

What I want to address is the ways they are manipulating people's emotions to finance their empire and their own lives.  It's the old formula of: tithe + prayer + doing things right = BLESSINGS!  It's disgusting.  People are desperate.  They want hope, they want guarantees and they want security.  They are told if they just follow this formula, with tithing always pushed the most, that life will work out.  Of course they have their pastors, Eric & Kelly Dykstra, as their grand examples of how if you follow their plan that financial blessings will fall from the heavens.  Because they certainly aren't wanting for anything right?  Big house, new Mustangs sent directly from God because of a special prayer, huge new church building, insanely expensive shoes , fantastic vacations both in the U.S. and overseas.  And then the one with more audacity than can even be stomached: when Kelly prayed that her Starbucks card would always be filled!  WTF?  Yes, you heard that right.  Well of course her Starbucks card is always full as she announced this from the stage so everyone would know to make sure to keep it full for her.  Then she acts like it's some special blessing from God that Starbucks cards are given to her.  Kelly, by going on stage and saying this was your special prayer you then put it in everyone's head a new way to kiss up to you.  That's why you have a full Starbucks card - not God!

I haven't forgotten the time Eric stood on stage, during a sermon on obeying your leaders, and said that if a leader did something for you then you should buy them something.  He gave an example of how he had just sent Bill Cornelius a $50 gift card.  Gee...and how many $50 gift cards did Eric get after that?  You are preaching to these working class, blue collar people and flat out using them for your own financial gain.  It's horrific.

Nobody gets a guarantee in this life.  Nobody.  God, or no God, the good luck is handed out randomly and without warning or by deeds. There are Christians being killed all over the world for their faith.  Children in poverty in Minnesota.  Death, suffering, dying, jobs lost, financial ruin, divorce, disease.  So is this because they weren't tithing?!?!  If they'd just given a church 10% then that would have been their spiritual insurance policy!?! Sure some people are going to profit as with any scenario; just run the numbers.  But what about those who do everything "right" and your formula just doesn't work?  You are ruining lives.  You are breaking hearts.  SHUT UP!  Just stop it!

I hadn't blogged about The Crossing for awhile.  Sure there was more than enough material for many posts but it's the same old shit.  Yet I can't keep quiet about the money manipulation.  Look at who you are really giving to and financing, Crossing attendees.

Spiritual Abuse happens everywhere

This post is simply to link to another amazing blog post (or more specifically the comments section).

http://nakedpastor.com/2014/09/tony-jones-on-mark-driscoll-what-came-first-the-thug-or-the-theology/

Here's a quick summary:

Mark Driscoll, mysogynist - asshole - mega church leader - gets caught being abusive to his congregation, accused of plagiarism and inappropriate use of church money.

Tony Jones - narcissistic - Emergent - blogger - writes a blog saying "It could have happened to any of us."  Wow, Tony!  No, I don't think this could have happened to anyone but a power hungry prick.  Takes one to know one, right?

So David Hayward (nakedpastor) does a cartoon and blog post about all of this.

As of this post, it's at 774 comments.  Tony's ex-wife came on and cut loose about the horrors she experienced with him and the Emergent movement leaders.  Some of these leaders, including Tony, came on trying to silence her.  She continued on.  Other leaders came on and apologized for how they'd treated her.  More people came forward sharing their own stories of spiritual abuse.  It's been horrifying, wonderful, sad and healing.  Spiritual abuse happens everywhere....but people are now speaking up and not hiding.

You are not being persecuted for Jesus, Crossing Church

Just watched the last of The Crossing Church's sermon series "Taste & See".  Though the sermon was preached to the church, it was really just a pep rally to get the congregation to bring more people to church.  (Church growth = $$$)  The Crossing has done everything from outright public shaming to make their people bring more to their church (ex. - putting invite cards on every chair and making everyone stand "before God" to commit to giving them out) to the more subtle ways, such as this sermon.  

Pastor Eric Dykstra went through various ways that people react to hearing the Gospel.  The first he calls Rejection - "the enemy steals some peoples' understanding".  "It's not that they don't understand - The Evil One STOLE their ability to understand."  - referencing 2 Corinthians 4:4.  So if I don't believe like you, with your interpretation, then Satan has confused me?  

He goes on to say that, "You can't convince anyone to believe.  It's the Holy Spirit's job."  "they don't have deep roots - they fall away as soon as they have problems" "we stay in faith and grow past our problems"  "they tithed once" "you stay in faith until you see it"  So if someone's faith dies, then why didn't the Holy Spirit kick in and help?  Provide comfort?  This doesn't make any sense at all.  So what happened to me?  Because I did believe.  I did.  I was baptized twice.  I gave, gave and gave some more. I was "in the faith" for decades.  

The real fun comes at minute 26.  "Persecution usually looks like false accusation, slander, mockery or lying...."  Oh hell, you aren't being persecuted for Jesus.  I am mocking you because of the dumb ass things you say that hurt people.  Big difference.  Oh and your reference to the End Times was hysterical.  

Yes, I did get "the life sucker punched out of them"...by you Crossing Church. 

So he says at the beginning that the Holy Spirit is in charge of bringing people to Jesus.  Not you.  You're off the hook.  Yeah!  Then the best scripture twisting moment is at minute 42.  "those who believe produce fruit - do you have any?" "your life is going to lead someone to Jesus...you've gotta keep saying the Gospel until someone comes to FAITH!!!!"  At minute 46:20 he says that  "you're gonna be the one to do it".  Minute 44 "you get to do this church!!"  Um, no.  Producing fruit has to do with the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, kindness, etc...  People coming to Jesus is not a test of your faith and it's so sad to think how many in that Crossing Church audience felt the shame of that ridiculous statement.

It's the same old song and dance.  The Crossing Church is once again putting the weight of the world on the shoulders of those who attend.  As I've said before, Big Give expectation will be soon.

You're invited to The Crossing Church!

You're invited to The Crossing Church!  Did you receive an invite card?  If you haven't, then be ready!  It's coming up on National Back to Church Week End.  This is the week end where churches try to get people (those bringing in the money) back from Summer vacation and into church.  Churches will have special events to entice people to come, maybe some food, possibly a bouncy house for the kids.  The Crossing Church uses its members to do hard core marketing through inviting others to church using invitation cards.

These are a few cards from previous years and their latest attempt is no exception.  As indicated in this tweet below, they are giving the Crossing people cards with the expectation to hand out and invite.  

I asked my son, who was 11 years old at the time, how he felt about the invite cards.  "I felt I didn't have a choice.  In addition to handing out cards to invite to church, I also was told we had to invite to youth group.  They even threatened us saying that if more people weren't coming we couldn't have the youth group.  Even though I could tell something wasn't right with what I was doing, the way they placed this obligation before us, it made it my main goal.  I had the weight of the world on my shoulders passing out those cards.  I felt I wasn't doing it right because sometimes I left it on a teacher's desk or slipped it in a locker and was too nervous to say it face to face.  The Crossing made it clear that I was risking people going to hell if I didn't invite them to church.  No matter how hard you invited it was never enough.  There would be a new stack of cards the next week and you had to start it all again."

The premise is that it was your fault if your friends and family went to hell if you did not want to invite them to church.  You're told you should want to do this.  But what if you didn't want to invite anyone?  What if you're shy?  Introverted?  Or simply didn't feel this was the best way to reach people?  The shaming was horrific.  Examples were made of those who got large numbers of people to attend.  Staff members were given quotas which they had to meet.  Glares of disgust were given to those who didn't stand up in church to say they would pass out all the invite cards on their chair.  INVITE! INVITE! INVITE!

I have to ask you Crossing Church; how big is your God?  Your loving God would allow his children to burn in hell just because someone didn't pass out an invite card?  Gee...not much grace on tap here.

Bottom line: more people coming = more money coming in.  This isn't a community of believers; it's business.