You can do so here. leavegracepoint ex-Gracepoint (Berkeley) Additional comment actions I think there's a possibility that the focus is to try and seem like they are "church planting network" aka Acts2College Network/Gracepoint Network rather than an actual church that has a group of elders making decisions. Because make no mistake GFC, on paper, is a good solid theologically orthodox church. Upcoming Events WHEN: Sunday, January 15, 2023 @ 4 PM WHERE: Del and Joyce's House. Unplug from UCBMFET. Of the big names that show up often on this sub Ed, Will, Manny, Daniel I had varying levels of interaction with each (though I've had at least one personal, one-on-one communication with each of them), which were generally positive. She appointed the leaders of the new churches, including Ed Kang and Kelly Kang at BBC Berkeley, the largest of the churches. Gracepoints training documents teach staff to explain why the churchs hierarchical leadership is not authoritarian or why negative perception of the churchs culture of rebuke is overblown due to an emotionally fragile generation. Weary of internal programs being leaked, leaders asked members to periodically delete sensitive recordings and emails containing talks and trainings or to watch them under supervision. In fact they are down-right humiliating and induce a lot of guilt-driven repentance. Like in communist countries, or stuff like that. I have made my faith personal here, and I have truly devoted my life to God. Content Copyright 2016-2020 The Triton. Kelly Kang/Ed Kangaccused all of us of using the church for personal gain (marriage). The charismatic shepherding movement of the 1970s and 80s ended with former leaders disavowing their own intrusive practices. Sam C. participated in ABSK from 1999 to 2003, eventually taking on a leadership role within the group. info@gracepoint.church. Smith recalled feeling pressured by church leadership to download Covenant Eyes, an internet tracking software designed to deter users from consuming pornographic media. Those kinds of values were considered essential as part of the church.. Again, it is often a horrible, humiliating ordeal. Alameda, CA 94502 Gracepoint Fellowship Church Berkeley is holding their Life Matter courses again. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Ed Kang received his law degree from Boalt and practiced for a couple or few years before quitting to attend seminary and become a pastor at the church. Under Kangs leadership, Gracepoint campuses offered near-identical weekly programming, down to recipe recommendations. Thirty-two former Gracepoint members who spoke with Christianity Today for this story described a culture that was controlling and coercive for the sake of ministry efficiency. Are they still okay? Commitment to church ordered all of life: Tabulated spreadsheets organized staff schedules by the hour, often stretching late into evenings and weekends. Ed and Kelly Kang and most of the leaders spoke of her highly and looked up to her, almost as one who could do no wrong. But lets talk about the culture of getting rocked Gracepoint. His life purpose is to pursue intimacy with God, integrity at home, and influence in the world. Visit Website Cambodia Project 1300+ Volunteers Sharing God's love to the people of Cambodia. Last year, Pete Nguyen left Gracepoint after experiencing severe depression and suicidal thoughts while attending. Were a digital-first, independent, student-run news source that produces content . Im like the manipulator, thats what they tell him, thats what they convinced him, Hendrickson said. Not always, but Ive seen it. An FAQ page on Gracepoints website answered the question Is Gracepoint a Cult?Nope, not reallywhile dismissing Reddit trolls and touting its Southern Baptist affiliation. Give Online. Please feel free to choose, Our church is continuing our current devotional format, to devote Mondays and Fridays to prayer and study through Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans on Tuesdays through Thursdays. After Doe and her significant other crossed physical boundaries, church leadership placed Doe on a repentance process and revoked her staff post. Lets start with the first, and probably the most important. Want to contact us or send a tip? I personally spend about the same amount of time doing things for another club I'm in as well, the Suitcase Clinic, because I also love that community. I thought I was the only one that got a cult-like vibe from them and noped the fuck out. Documents from 2011 taught church leaders to rebuke members so that the person gets to have proper fear toward God & proper shock over what he has done, with the trainer modeling screaming and slamming the table, according to former staff. GFC may teach introspection, but too often it seems to descend into either a toxic form of self-flagellation or a type of faux writing-your-DT-to-fit-in-with-whatever-the-topic-du-jour is. Recently, the news exploded out of the Christ-o-sphere: A popular Berkeley, California college-based evangelical church, Gracepoint, fueled its meteoric success through iron-vise-grip control and devastating emotional abuse. I'm not a historian criticism of GP is on the exact same level as those things. Special thanks to John Kim (pseudonym) as the primary contributor for this page. In his CT response, Kang said the church has implemented changes including a monthly sabbath week when members are required to break from all formal ministry. UC Davis alumnus Sam C. (05), who asked to be identified by his first name and last initial due to the sensitive subject matter, recalled a similar struggle with his mental health after getting involved with the Asian Baptist Student Koinonia (ABSK), a Berkland-run campus ministry group. I deconverted after the experience. I'm mad because I've seen not only myself but also others get hurt and develop mental health issues because of your practices. Gracepoint Berkeley Church Podcast (deprecated) . He jumped so quickly to scolding me, really making sure I was in this posture of shame, Lee said. One source who attended Gracepoint during their time at UCSD asserted this resulted in a Gracepoint social bubble that made it difficult to interact with others outside of that bubble.. Element is the middle and high school ministry of Gracepoint Church.We are committed to connecting with God through discipleship: living out our convictions through acts of service, learning new skills to expand our capacity to serve, building lasting friendships, and sharing God's love with others in the Bay Area. At that time, Pastor Ed and Kelly were members, and they moved to Boston with them. Members even purchased similar vehiclesthe Nissan Quest or Honda Odyssey, affordable minivans that could easily transport students and ministry supplies. It's a big organization. One Thanksgiving, Austin Lee (no relation to Paul) was berated for not tithing enough after moving cross-country to help plant a church at the University of North Carolina without consistent employment. A former UC Santa Barbara student said her declining well-beingdepression and an eating disorder relapsewas seen as evidence of her unrepentance after she crossed a physical boundary with her boyfriend. Gracepoint Church checks all the boxes of a college ministry success story. With the mission to plant an Acts 2 church in every college town, Gracepoint stands out among the loose network of predominantly Asian American college churches that pepper campuses across the West Coast and beyond. By gracepoint In Devotion Text, Proverbs with Comments Off on Bible Reading: Proverbs 1:1-19 Bible Text: Proverbs 1:1-19 Here are some ways to process the readings for each day. When it came time for the oldest daughter to go to grammar school, I was interested: church school or public school? Both Unity in Christ at Berkeley and the Southern Baptist Convention check the practices and beliefs of member churches and college fellowships - meaning, if nothing else, that they do provide a layer of accountability and a church like Gracepoint literally could not join if it were a cult. Once your whole life is Gracepoint people, it makes it a lot harder to leave, Smith said. We will be reading select key passages of the Bible in one year. The other five competitors in the top 10 list are esv.org (1.5M visits in December 2022), ucsda2f.org (528 visits in December 2022), gracepoint-berkeley-devotions.org (164.2K visits in December 2022), biblegateway.com (74.9M visits in December 2022), and areayouth.org (3.1K visits in December 2022). Address. Living communally, as I described it above, is really just synonymous with being a good guest, and what GFC does (see, lockboxes) goes way beyond that. I encourage you to continue to do so as it seems like profiles with one reviews often get hidden. Thank you Christain and Im sorry your review is hidden.. Second, through my time at GFC, I learned for the first time how to live communally. I remember all too clearlythe day thatmy entire classgot rebuked because one class member was found to be secretly dating another member of the church. (LogOut/ The results are easy to find . In fact, she might even ask you to go to church with her :). Theres this kind of encouragement to keep up this facade because at the same time you werent supposed to just be openly out as being bi or whatnot. I am very sorry for those who feel they have experienced harm under our ministry, wrote Ed Kang, the churchs senior pastor and network leader, in an email response to questions sent by CT. Kang said he would be eager to hear from them so that we can seek healing, apologize when necessary, and seek reconciliation.. For serving members, its high pressure, high labor, high toil, but high gratification.. One member who attended Gracepoint Berkeley for 22 years worried that her involvement stunted her maturity. If you're in an organization like that, it might pay to stop and really think about what you're doing, especially since the odds are that you will turn completely against this type of thing in a matter of several years. Waypoint eventually changes its name to Gracepoint Davis. Associated Students of the University of California. Gracepoint Church. But many who were involved in Gracepoint say the churchs desire to pursue radical living, coupled with the pace of its ministry, has come at a costits members. GFC encourages introspection, something that when done right is an all-around good thing. March 2021 to Present. You have to disciple them in a particular way, or you need to isolate them or separate them from certain influences, Tang said. There isn't a need to "brainwash" in the stereotypical way that people think when you use that term -- social pressure, from subtle to intense, will do the same thing just fine. Online criticism of the churchs high-pressure environment did not start with the Reddit posts. I had no idea that this person was dating until the rebuking session over and I asked someone what was that all about. Kang told CT the church is focusing on dialing down the excellence in response to internal reflection and public criticism. I have obviously heard the rumors about the church and still have a wariness in the back of my mind. (LogOut/ this post). But the worst is those who are still there, young people who I told to defy their parents and throw away their ambitions and throw away their future to join the [Gracepoint] cause.. They cared more that I was staying and being a productive sort of functioning member.. It wasnt perfect. I work at a big company now, and its a company thats pretty good in its field. Turns out, lying was a standard tactic of the group. The source, who disclosed their bisexual orientation to church leadership, was advised not to be alone in a car or have a roommate of the same gender. They gracepoint church berkeley more that i was in this posture of shame, Lee said life! 'M mad because i 've seen not only myself but also others get hurt develop! Humiliating ordeal moved to Boston with them near-identical weekly programming, down to recommendations... 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