We were the only ones who – to my knowledge – ever left MCF (Melbourne Christian Fellowship) ‘violently’. By ‘violently’ I mean with a big fuss.
Why? I’m not trying to big note myself. Or air dirty laundry. I just want to know why.
Everyone else – to my knowledge – didn’t try and rock any boats or cause any stink. They just left quietly with or without nice goodbyes because they realized MCF was no longer for them and, if they were upset about the elders, kept quiet because it might harm their friendships to cause a stink.
But I wasn’t like that.
Was there no other person who left without too many MCF blood connections?
I was so disgusted with the leadership that I wrote letters and emails and told everyone (who was of strong faith) exactly what happened: first the elders, then the ‘princes’ and head families of MCF and then everyone of strong faith.
Why?
Because I wanted to warn everyone. And, at a more emotional level, I was appalled by what had happened to me, the sheer waste, and to their lack of accountability and to their disregard for the Word of God and interest in covering it all up:
- I had fought hard for the MCF word, leaving a mainstream church and other offers of leadership in the Pentecostal movement.
- I had studied the MCF word hard coming to the conclusion that much of MCF’s original restorationist word was Scriptural.
- Ray Jackson Jnr had prophetically named me as ‘a pillar in the house’, which is a watchman role like Jeremiah’s who, upon apostasy, had to warn the priests and elders and princes of Judah and then, when they didn’t listen. tell the people in the courtyard.
Well that’s what I did.
And not one person came with me as a witness.
Only a handful of people listened to me for more than a few minutes.
That’s when I realized: I had lost my life for 30 years to a non-existent ideal. And to friends who were not really tied to Scripture like I or my father. Due to family connections they were more interested in supporting the regime because it included all their closer buddies in leadership positions.
Forget Scripture and evidence!
Everyone else rambled on about it being the elders business or justified it because of about Vic’s visions or ‘Uncle Vic’s’ theories etc etc. It was sickening. No discussion about Scripture! Or they didn’t believe our stories or acted like it didn’t matter because it hadn’t happened to them! Many of my friends told lies about the ultra-cultish period of 1995-2005 and how especially bad it was at the Greensborough homegroup under David Bonham and his sycophant young henchmen.
Many think my father Charles didn’t support me because he stayed an extra 12 months at MCF. But he was trying to fix it from inside and had had a vision in 2012 about how corrupt the leaders were.
The thought that Dad or I would ever leave MCF would have been considered by most impossible.
It can only be that MCF has lost its legitimacy Scripturally and accountability-wise.
My father and I were treated like doormats at MCF but we wore it on the chin. The Lord has even shown Dad (eg) that the elders, to their demise, would never take him seriously.
We are utterly disgusted by the leadership at MCF and BCF. You have let us all down so demonically that I once said to the eldership, and almost believe it, that you have ‘delayed the 2nd coming of Christ’.
Everything we have pieced together from what we now know to be true points in one direction: a focus on by MCF and BCF elders on their own positions of power and control.
Open Letter to Melbourne Christian Fellowship (MCF) 
Hi Paul I think you underestimate the level of betrayal and disgust at the lies promulgated over the years that was felt by those of us who left not long after what some of us call the great ‘implosion’. I did not go quietly but went to the elders with a range of concerns about some of the preaching that was coming from the pulpit during 1989. Things like – you are not allowed to go to outside counsellors because we have the word of truth. Actually I’d already been to one by then who had opened my eyes to things within that had never been dealt with despite 18 years in that place and reinforced the fact it was a manipulative cult. The elders also said that to leave was to leave a true fatherhood – all you would find outside were false ones. And of course there was VIc’s famous ‘wandering stars’ sermon about those who had left – destined for outer darkness I believe.
I challenged them on Scripture and History – at that time the real church had been established for nearly 2000 years and had done some amazing things around the world. What had Immanuel done? Allowed a narcissistic womanising charlatan to con us with promises of “Present Truth” and an “Ephesian Pattern” which was nothing more than the Shepherding Movement under a different name. Sure, the singing had been grand – but he’d stolen that idea from someone else, there was teaching on the Tabernacle, Feasts etc – which were in a book written in 1945 by someone in America, there was the Laying on of Hands – taken straight from the Latter Rain happenings in Canada in the 1940s and who can forget Offler’s Chart – now defunct as we are 20 years into the Millenium according to Offler and from memory he predicted the return of Christ in 1992 or 96? So we can add false prophet to the list.
You are not the only one who put your life, career and other opportunities on hold. We all did. Anyone involved in any sort of volunteer ministry – Sunday school, youth groups, Choir, Small groups, – and most of us didn’t have well paying jobs with disposable incomes. Some worked part-time to give more time to the cult, gave up holidays to attend those ridiculous conventions or run camps and other events. Family events were missed – that was another sad thing – missing a lot of my nieces and nephews growing up time. I had to do extra study to keep my job and that was frowned on – but i did it. Do you know what I told them – well, if this word is to go around the world then you will need people who have jobs to send people out … what a crock of shit I had been brainwashed with! I can barely write that now it seems so stupid. After the implosion any woman in eldership or ministry was sacked. I could think all that work for nothing but in the area I was in I had a fairly free rein and was able to do a lot of things – which made it all the more devastating to be told that because it was women who brought the great man down then Vic had decided all women should lose their positions of responsibility. Another crock of shit thrown at us by that evil manipulator. Vic should have cleaned up his own backyard before he came with his jack booted sycophants telling us what to do! My response to the man who was sent to tell me was – yeah right – so what do you want now? Blood? i didn’t go very quietly.
After my visit to the elders with my concerns I said I would think about things, I got back to Ray R about a week later and said I wanted to leave for a while to check out some other churches. His response was that if I left I couldn’t return. There was a no return option. Interesting. And this is where I have trouble with your idea that the teaching was wonderful. This was part of the teaching. Just like the Jehovah’s Witnesses or the Exclusive Brethren who say if you leave you cannot return, you are cut off and shunned – Immanuel / MCF believes the same.
I had another think for about a week and rang Ray to say I was leaving. He wasn’t home and I left the message with April who said she would pass it on for him to ring me back. Needless to say he didn’t.
I’m not complaining about anything and basically I’ve had a good time since leaving doing theological studies, travelling, enjoying my work, have caught up with family who were neglected while I was busy in the cult. Leaving meant taking off the rose coloured glasses and seeing the place for what it was – and moving on. I have a friend now in her 80s who had gone to Kevin Connor about Ray senior in the 1970s – of course no-one believed her. At the time of the implosion in 1989 she wrote to Ray R asking for an apology for what had happened. Needless to say she is still waiting. Unbelievable behaviour from people who are supposed to be shepherds of the flock.
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Thanks Gail. Like I said ‘to my knowledge’.
It’s great to hear that some others didn’t go quietly!
I really appreciate your loss. I just hadn’t met a single person who left in ‘utter disgust’. Now I have.
My post was really to challenge some others who left, why did you go so quietly? If the answer is to not lose friendships I guess I largely respect that. But wha tabout us left behind?
My main point is I wanted EVERYONE at MCF to know the extent of damage to my GOD-CREATED humanity. And I knew the first thing they would think: who cares about humanity. But that’s precisely the problem, they don’t care about humanity because of what they are taught.
So, yes, much of what they indirectly teach (touch not the anointed, humanity is meaningless, there’s no other fatherhood etc) is complete crap and laughable. Vic’s stuff is one-tracked crap. But the rest was pretty good and I still believe it. And yes, it’s largely from elsewhere.
The timechart? I always presumed that the two millenia would be measured from Christ’s death. So make that around 2029AD = 4BC + 2000 + 33. But who knows what the calendar accuracy is? And the delay spoken of in Scripture.
The time chart makes too much sense.
But I’m not going to be dogmatic on it.
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No, I wouldn’t get dogmatic about it. Offler’s chart is just one of the many trying to predict something we were told not to try to predict …. Jesus had the final word – no-one knows the hour or the day. A pointless exercise trying to figure it out when there are so many other things that are more important.
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Yeah, but Jesus told us to be aware of the seasons. And the time chart has a lot more packed into it than end time predictions. eg the nature of the Trinity and the meaning of the MIllenium and what Satan said in the garden etc.
Some early-ish church leaders had the time chart already.
But, sure, let’s take the dogmatism out of it.
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