I willprobably catch heat for this but O well!!!

[Rev. Eric Culberson Jr.]

Look I understand you have been hurt, felt used, wanted to almost give up, and now you think your doing the honorable thing but lets be real your not. Men and Women of God learn to forgive and move on. Lately, I have been reading post after post about how all pastors are pimps, treat men like women, arent educated, only think about themselves, steal the money, sleep with women besides there wives. Okay I am the first to admitt the church has taken a few blows because of scandals but the church is built to last, and the order by which God has set it up wont fail. You NEED spiritual leadership, that is the reason why God gave to the church pastors. Now I believe that God in his infinite wisdom has called a pastor into a leadership role some where in this great world that leads the way that will be most effective for your spiritual growth. I pray you find them, but you need to be careful because a lot of ya'll are beginning to sound so bitter that its tough for me to see you effectivness in leading the lost to Christ. Because if approached it appears that the first thing out of your mouth would be how pastors are corrupt and to stay away from the church, it is my prayer that forgiveness will flow from your hearts and that whoever it was that did it you would forgive them and move on because the Word wont change leadership will be in place until His return. Dont be a goat, learn to be a sheep!

May the Lord richly bless you!

P.S.- if you are offended before you place one finger on that keyboard to give me a piece of your mind, check your motives because I did before I began to type.

[HOPE - Psalm 43:5]

"ditching the church, you ditch these infant souls as well."

BRAVA Evg. Fugett Brava indeed!!!

[Rev. Eric Culberson Jr.]

My understanding of some of these "cell groups" or small groups may be different. I hear a lot of well known pastors on the radio like David Jeriamiah or John Macarthur say they have them within there churches but there is an order to it. They are members of this particular pastors church and attend on Sat. or Sunday services but during the week these small cells will meet in a more intimate setting, but with the understanding that they are still under someone's spiritual covering.

And Sis. you hit it on the head, if a group started meeting at a home and the word was moving it WILL grow to big for the home. And then what do you do?

[HOPE - Psalm 43:5]

Rev Culberson....when a home church becomes too big for the home...then you have cell groups (smile)

I came from a church with cell groups. And the purpose of the cell groups was that the Pastor couldn't personally minister nor personally fellowship with all the members. The church was too large. Like Moses, the pastor appointed leaders who lived in various parts of town. Those members who lived near that leader's zip code was assigned to that leader. But all was under the Pastor.

This way, minor issues would be handled by the leaders and the major issues by the pastors.

Anybody remember Jethro's advice to Moses?

[Rev. Eric Culberson Jr.]

So it's very similar to what goes on in the "Mega" churches?

[HOPE - Psalm 43:5]

Yes Rev Culberson cell groups is like the mega churches of today and the mega church that came out of Egypt.

Those sell groups meet in peoples homes...typically a married couple led it. Honestly it had a small church feel to it. We prayed together had worship even had communion depending on the situation. And the fellowships were awesome. Within the year Pastor would visit each cell group and get to know each member in an intimate setting. Pastor was on "tour" per se. LOL. Just kidding.

That was by far my best BEST church experience every. The entire congregation grew close and intimate with one another.

Unfortunately that was also the greatest church hurt too. Your greatest love can only be your greatest heart ache.

Years later pastor had an affair with his model like female personal assistant and then kicked his wife out. And married the woman he had an affair with. He then joined with a group of other pastors who did the same thing. It was like a club a trend of this group of pastors.

*sigh*

[Evangelist Altha Fugett]

Our founder, COGIC, Bishop Mason was given a vision that there would never be a building big enough to hold the members of the church.

Under Bishop Mason’s spiritual and apostolic direction our church has grown from ten congregations in 1907, to the largest Pentecostal group in America. The membership of the Church of God in Christ grew from three million in 1973 to an estimated 5.2 million in 1997.

Churches under the parent body in Memphis, Tennessee, are now established throughout the United States, on every continent, and in many of the islands of the sea.

It's start a gin house