Here is an email I received from Honestly, a current member of CLF, sharing her thoughts on our thoughts:

Honestly it was really hard to come upon this site and read the harshness of what people were saying about someone who has made such a difference in so many lives. I don't wish to continue to make comments on the blog, as it will do no good for anyone. People who have no idea of incidents that led to the situation at hand are forming the most negative opinions about Pastor Doug, and that was very bothersome to me. To entertain comments any further would only discourage me more.

You've got to understand that this is my home, my church, my family and to see comment after comment which drag people through the mud and back again is very heartbreaking. I agree that the way it has been handled from the very beginning is out of line. From the way the elders approached the situation down to how the congregation found out (the newspaper) was all inappropriate.

And truthfully, I don't believe people would like to hear the other side. People feed on garbage and gossip, not on truth. From the comments that have been made after mine, it is apparent that people only want to see the negative. What people do not realize is that the people involved are having huge tolls taken on their lives. Not just Pastor Doug, but the elders, their wives, and the people who have been allegedly abused and their families. The kind of trash talking that is going on all over the place is only adding to the situation, really. My heart truly goes out to everyone who is involved.

I understand that I do not have to read your blogs or respond to them, but I thought maybe if I could just say one little thing that could trigger others to stop ripping apart Doug Cotton even for a moment, it would be worth writing a comment. I have since realized it will not help, but on the contrary make it worse. People have put words in my mouth "Then you enhance your credibility by saying the only reason we smell a rat here is because we're blinded by bitterness" which is FAR from what I said. Someone even compared Doug to Saddam Hussein. WOW! That's a little over the line, wouldn't you say? People don't stop to think about what they are saying and what affects it will have on others that "stop" by your site. I understand and agree with "free speech" but WOW…come on, don't you think sometimes the free speech goes a little too far with some of the blogs?

I am not offended, but merely saddened by what others believe to be true about my Pastor. I have watched him with people for a long time and know first hand the love that he demonstrates over and over again, unselfishly serving anyone he comes in contact with. Doug will be the first to admit he has issues to work on. We all do. He openly asks for forgiveness when he has offended or hurt others. I am not taking sides but I pray that the truth will be revealed before it is too late. People's lives are at stake, it's not just the latest gossip around town.

Thank you for your time as I know you probably get tons of responses a day to go through….

And this was my response:

Honestly,

I understand that this is a very emotional and difficult time for everyone involved. It is very unfortunate. I hope that you can see that the majority of the bloggers are not trying to pass judgment on CLF or Pastor Cotton. We really don't have any clue what has happened there.

Our issues are with MFI, and yes, they stem from past experiences. The fact that this story got published in a paper is what, along with the letters sent out, in my opinion, make it a public story. This is why we write about it. We really feel that many of today's Christian churches have become corrupted by a desire for power and fame. Our goal is to bring these issues out to the public for debate, in hopes to raise awareness of the situation. Sometimes our readers are stupid and say things that I don't agree with, but we are not interested in censoring everyone. While many people disagree with our methods we feel they have been somewhat effective.

I really hope your church can resolve whatever issues they have on all sides. Again, I'm sorry if what we have done offends you, it was not you or your pastor that we have issues with. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me. Church is such a personal place for all of us and things like this are never easy.

-JP

Ok, maybe we jumped the gun here in quickly judging MFI and their actions in regard to Pastor Doug Cotton. I think we need to spend some time closely examining all the evidence we have gathered and re-evaluate our position.

First, lets look at the facts:

            Fact 1: This is a gossip blog, we don't work with facts we work with rumors and suspicions. Lets move on.

Now lets look at what we've "heard":

         Doug Cotton has been the pastor of Christian Life Fellowship for around 17 years.

"the man who had done much over the last 17 years to grow the church into one of the largest on the Harbor.¹

          CLF does not belong to any denomination.

"Christian Life Fellowship is an independent, nondenominational church"¹

       The church elders were the ones to make the call to request Pastor Doug to step down due to his anger problems.

"What it boiled down to is that a pastor with anger that had overflowed to others, including those he worked with and ministered to, was a problem that couldn't continue, the church's elders decided"¹

So where does that leave us? Right back where we started.

 Listen; if you've been the head pastor for close to 2 decades then you've had plenty of time to get "your people" in leadership. We have got to be able to assume that these elders are "good" people. It's hard to see an eldership with NINE individual pastors coming together as a group to dump their head pastor for no good reason.

Further more, how is it that we are supposed to believe that Pastor Wendell Smith and Dick Iverson can have better insight into this situation than the elders who are closely involved?

Both of Dick and Wendell's actions were invasive and inappropriate. They clearly violate their (MFI's) own philosophy. And it is undeniably hypocritical for these men to take this action when by their own standards "All ministries including the senior pastor should be under the legal authority of and accountable to their own church elder board."

I don't really care why the elders made their decision. I also don't care if Doug continues to pastor, I trust those deeply involved in this situation will be able to make the right decision, but I can not stand by and watch MFI try to use their position and power to manipulate another group of Christians who are clearly going through a rough time.

The final analysis:

Dick Iverson and Wendell Smith, I have no choice but to say: NO SOUP FOR YOU!

¹Taken from The Daily Word

In his sermon The Way of the Water Pot on the Generation Church web site, Judah proclaims: 

Hey the Huskies are 2 and 1, football. Come on; TWO and ONE! Did you notice that AFTER Sean came to GC, the Lord just anointed him; got almost 100 yards and a touchdown. I told him I said "Sean you just keep comin' to GC the Lord's just gonna keep blessin' ya."

Ducks (3 and 0) fans better pray that the whole Dawg-gone bunch of 'em don't start going to GC, or the Ducks are screwed! There's no defense that'll stop an anointed and blessed football team.

Margin Note: If Jonah is having so much fun, why does his voice still crack like that? A guy having that much fun ought to sound like Barry White.

While Catalyst is off training to compete against the PoliGrip® crowd in the Portland Marathon on October 1st, he's asked me to write a few blog entries for the disgruntled readership here, in exchange for his portion of the tithes and offerings given to City Business Church while he's away.

Not wanting to disappoint Catalyst (he'll have enough disappointment to deal with when he's passed by senior members of the AARP), I've been poking around the internet for relevant CBC and MFI-affiliate blog fodder.

One surprise for me was discovering the City Harvest Church web site, an MFI-affiliate in Vancouver, WA, pastored by Bob and Sue MacGregor - which is just 11 miles NW of the Ice Rink where CBC established their Vancouver satellite campus. Reformed Pope and Catalyst last blogged about the effect of the satellite campus on CHC back in November 2005 before CBC acquired the ice rink.

What puzzles me about CBC's expansion into CHC's mission field, is the MFI-Online Philosophy and Affirmations pages which include statements concerning the Autonomy of the Local Church, Unity and Diversity, and Church Planting and World Missions.

Specifically, these state:

One of the strong doctrinal foundations of MFI is its conviction that every local church is an autonomous organization. That means that each local church is to be self-governing, self-supporting and self-propagating.

We believe that every local church should be inclusive and actively seek to include all peoples of all races, ethnic origins and social and economic standings.

We believe that the Church has been given the commission by Christ to go into the entire world with the message of the Kingdom in an attempt to bring all men to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We also believe that the result of this mission should be the establishing of local churches in every community in every country of the world.

How was CBCs decision to muscle their way into Vancouver in the spirit of unity with CHC, rather than just a selfish take-over / competitive spirit?

Now that CBC's move into Vancouver is a done deal, what effect has the move had on City Harvest Church, and pastor Bob MacGregor?

Can you feel the unity?

Sam 

I think Wendell Smith's letter reads a little better when you can see his actions as he writes. Fortunately for us, I was able to find out exactly what Wendell was doing as this letter was being scripted.

This letter was originally dictated from Wendell Smith to his receptionist. She wrote things as they happened. It is my belief that MFI found the letter just in time and made the appropriate changes before it was sent out: Please do not hold MFI accountable for any of his actions.

Here is the original letter (with changes in bold)*:

Dear Rick, Dan, Stan and Dan,

I am writing to tell you as Elders of Christian Life Fellowship to
reconsider the action you have taken against Pastor Doug. (Rising from chair) I am confident you could not find even three MFI approved Pastors who would agree with what you have done in aligning yourself to remove your Pastor from his position based on your perspective. (Pounding fist on desk) Not only is your decision weak legally and constitutionally but you have uncovered your congregation spiritually and this presumptuous step will certainly split the church. (Whhhaaaaaa). I fear the very thing you wanted to avoid, you are going to produce (Jumping up and down, arms flailing).

So what if all the accusations you have raised are accurate, you have
foolishly exalted resolvable offenses to the level of pastoral
disqualifications (Falling to the ground).  This violates both Damazio 18 and 2^nd Iverson 5:19. If you proceed with this direction MFI will destroy both your church and reputation in the community (Rolling on the floor, kicking and screaming "I dare you to challenge me").

There are certainly alternatives- including greater accountability for
yourselves, and I am confident this choice of yours is going to
backfire if you continue down this road (Placing fingers in ears, humming loudly).

As leaders in a church, you must act in faith and not in fear. Only
faith pleases God. I cannot envision this decision pleasing Dick or Frank or anyone else that matters. There are other choices if you will humble
yourselves and admit it. (Yelling "My daddy is bigger than yours" at everyone walking by).

I know Pastor Iverson and myself (and I'm sure others) would love to
help ourselves and Pastor Doug and we were deeply disappointed that you did not consult us before making something like this public (I hate you, I hate you, I hate you). You must now reconsider your actions, take biblical and MFI like leadership and work toward reconciliation for the sake of your church and us.

Enclosed is a bill for my time spent in writing you. Please make the check out to Wendell Smith and send it directly to my home address.

Sincerely,

Pastor Wendell Smith

*All changes were made by City Business Church. Wendell Smith did not write this letter. Please do not send us your tithe.

The leadership of MFI is challenging the legal rights of the elders at Christian Life Fellowship to remove their senior pastor from his position of leadership.

A couple of weeks ago, the elders at Christian Life Fellowship in Aberdeen, Washington asked their senior pastor, Doug Cotton, to resign due to his anger problems. Mr. Cotton signed the resignation form and quietly left the church.

However, the leadership of MFI felt that this removal was unbiblical and not in compliance with MFI. And as such, Wendell Smith and Dick Iverson sent letters to the elders reprimanding them for their actions.

In addition, the former pastor of the church, Mr. Cotton, sent a letter to his congregation declaring that he is no longer leaving the church and is still their pastor.

This story is still developing. But a reader tipped me off to MFI's actions and also sent me a copy of the letters prepared by Mr. Smith, Mr. Iverson and Mr. Cotton.  I will copy the letters in full in the comment section of this blog. But I want to share a few excerpts, so you can get a feel for how MFI controls churches within its affiliaition.

Mr. Smith writes to the elders:

I am writing to appeal to you as Elders of Christian Life Fellowship to reconsider the action you have taken against Pastor Doug. I am confident you could not find even three Pastors who would agree with what you  have done in aligning yourself to remove your Pastor from his position based on your perspective. Not only is your decision weak legally and constitutionally but you have uncovered your congregation spiritually and this presumptuous step will certainly split the church.

Mr. Iverson sends a letter to the entire Congregation: (notice the veiled threat of legal action)

The Bible does say in 1 Timothy 3:19-20 not to receive an accusation against an elder except there be two or three witnesses and then if he has sinned he is to be rebuked openly that others may fear. Listening intesnely to the elders I found there is not anyone who has two or three witnesses that charges him with a sinful disqualification of his senior pastor position. No pastor is perfect but we must abide by the Scripture and the legal constitution which has also been violated.

Lastly, here is Mr. Cotton's letter:

Until I am directed otherwise, I am the pastor of CLF and will continue to lead this church with integrity and accountability.

The Father's House Church is an MFI affiliate in Vacaville, California, pastored by Dave and Donna Patterson.

Here's a snippet of what 24 year old Mitchell has to say about it in his MySpace Blog :

So in the past I have been aprehensive of going to social functions when members of "The Father's House" church have been there. While they are all nice people I have always felt that not only do they take parts of the Bible way out of context, it seems like they often make a mockery out of praying. Maybe I don't understand their experiences, but I do feel deep down that they have warped prayer

… Alone or in small groups, everybody is friendly, but when in numbers the "Holier than thou" complex reared its ugly head … I was discouraged that they all thought that they were somehow better or closer to God because they went to "The Father's House."

… There are more important things in life than getting "drunk in the spirit," and some of you take that to sad extremes.

Listening to people talk though reminded me of why I haven't been to church in awhile and why I will NEVER go to "The Father's House."

Thank you Mitchell, for your candid remarks and spot on discernment. You are not alone, son.

Sam 

Thanks for the rousing intro, Catalyst, and for the 1400 page manual "Better Blogging: The Morton Guide to Mockery".

Lesson 1: Make your first post count really saved my bacon! Here I had planned a funny and amusing post to break the ice, when according to the manual, I should stick with serious mockery, or risk losing the respect and interest of the readers.

And so, without further adieu, it is my privilege to introduce the newest training video from those Pontificating Professors at PBC:

Know Your Bible with Master Bobby Fujitsu

Sam

In my absence, I have found a fellow blogger who will be guest blogging for the next month or so. His name is Samaritan, and he will be sharing some of his thoughts as a fellow Christian who has serious reservations concerning the current state of the Church in America.

In addition, I will continue to try to post occasionally, but Life 101 is kind of taking over my blogging duties right now. (though I am working on a fantastic blog regarding MFI and how they deal with insurrection in one of their churches. I think you'll really like it.)

Thank you all for your patience. My marathon training is going well. I have asked the Marathon Officials to place me with the over-90 running group, as they will most accurately reflect my pace of 20 minute miles. I also hope to finish the marathon within the allotted 8 hours. Basically, before they let traffic back on the course.

Recently, a study was done that claims the more you drink, the more you make. A few days ago the Washington Times posted an arcticle talking about this study. Here's a small part of what they had to say:

"People basically assume that alcohol is bad for you economically. It's been advocated for years, with people quoting from the Bible that drinking can lead to ruin," said Edward Stringham, an associate professor of economics at San Jose University and an adjunct scholar with the Los Angeles-based Reason Foundation, which published the study.
    "We looked at the economics of it and found just the opposite. Our results suggest that drinking leads to higher earnings by increasing social capital," Mr. Stringham said, adding that he has yet to hear complaints from Alcoholics Anonymous or other advocacy groups.

Money Quote:

  "Advocates of alcohol restrictions may be the ones engaging in anti-social behavior. Rather than attempting to discourage drinking in society, we should encourage it," the study concluded."

I can't help but wonder how much more we all would have "been blessed"  if we could have been drinking during the Forward Together campaign???