The mentality is that everybody is totally depraved, she said. It's just dangerous. I was so relieved to have someone give me permission to do that, he recalled. In this strange way it pushed you to be part of the community 24/7. I wasnt doing well, he admitted. Villareal and Esther Mandville were also enlisted to teach at age 15 or 16. One church with multiple locations in the Midwest. The mom came out [of her house] and saw that hed pulled her underwear down and was touching her in her private areas, Chauvin said. Interacting with attendees was a huge plus In addition to being the senior pastor of Eagle Brook, Merritt also taught at Bethel Seminary. I doubt that I am confusing it with the Brea Blvd. He had sexually abused me. That was, like, a big rule: You dont talk to anybody that left the church, Abigail said. Watching. As a pastors kid from Pennsylvania who graduated from both Bethel Seminary and Bethel University, Merritt was brought on as the pastor of what was then the 300-member First Baptist Church of White Bear Lake in 1991. and State College Blvd. Gospel Outreach School is registered with the California Department of Education as a nondenominational religious private school offering first through 10th grades. "It's just less formal.". Several of the people we interviewed for this story remember Josh, a young man who left Gospel Outreach when he was 17 years old. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Anytime you experience that a young child playing sexual games you can assume they were also victims of abuse. The father is the ultimate authority. She realized after leaving the church that shed been suffering from depression for years by that point. Abigail said Joshs suicide continued to weigh on her, though she stayed in the church for more than a year afterwards. Helping run various weekend and mid week programming, while stressful, was a big building block career wise ), Swindoll was probably the biggest radio preacher of that golden age. We had conversations about him being the guy to succeed me. "Most of my adult life I had not attended church except for maybe on the holidays," she said. Chauvin and Sarah recounted how their own stories of abuse were met with dismissive attitudes and religious slogans. Eagle Brook Church Sep 2020 - Present 2 years 7 months. In the early years it morphed and expanded under the charismatic leadership of Pastor Jim Durkin. Abigail Mandville, Esthers younger sister, said instruction both in school and out was more about indoctrination than education. In the first year, things were tough for Merritt as there was some contention among the staff and church membership with his hiring. But I knew in my spirit that he was ready. According to the Pew Research Center, since 2007 the number of Minnesotans who attend church regularly has dropped by 4 percent. If your homework assignment was late you werent allowed to go to choir practice or play on the weekend. [4] In 2005, it inaugurated a new building at Lino Lakes, Minnesota, with a caf, a bookstore and a 2,100 seat auditorium. I did it to my shoulders as well, she said. We never really got much science or literature. Eagle Brook's thriving environment caught the attention of Augsburg religion professor Hans Wiersma. She described her stepfather as excessively controlling and emotionally volatile, often having all-out screaming arguments with her mom and regularly spanking Villareal for such transgressions as getting an answer wrong in her multiplication tables. There was one or two times when I thought really seriously thought about giving myself just a ton of insulin, just go out that way, she said. Jesus asked the people around him some tough questions while he was on earth. Specialties: Eastside is a non-denominational church serving the communities of Anaheim, Bellflower, and La Habra, California, as well as Park Rapids, Minnesota. It can ruin you, Merritt said. At some point I think it was when we went swimming in the summer he saw the scars on my legs., She was told to go talk to Pastor Szcepanski and his wife. There was also a huge emphasis on music. Well, the Apostle Paul knew a thing or two about immature believers and celebrity pastors, and he wrote about them in 1 Corinthians 3, For when one says, I follow Paul, and another, I follow Apollos, are you not being merely human? The strictly enforced insularity of Gospel Outreach acts as a containment mechanism, a way to keep members dependent and submissive, DeSoto said. And by the way, we've never had a scandal at our church.. What's Our Responsibility to the Next Generation? Most of us have. Back in May, two former members of Gospel Outreach of Eureka, a church that grew out of the Christian hippie commune at Lighthouse Ranch, contacted the to report a COVID-19 outbreak among the . The former Gospel Outreach members said punishment was typically meted out both at home and at school in one of three ways: monetary fines, psychological torment or physical violence. church as I had never been to or seen anything like that church before a couple of years ago. Eagle Brook Church Overview 60 Reviews 32 Jobs 25 Salaries 4 Interviews 9 Benefits 9 Photos 18 Diversity Follow + Add a Review Employee Review See All Reviews ( 60) 2.0 Former Employee, more than 1 year A bittersweet experience in ministry due to poor leadership and negative environment. The other campuses have their own campus pastor but watch the message from Merritt or another speaking pastor on a big screen. There were scripts you could follow. Brainwashing is kind of an overused phrase, but it really is brainwashing.. [8] According to a church census released in 2020, it claimed a weekly attendance of 25,340 people and 9 campuses in different cities. A historic first: Vietnam allows Franklin Graham to hold evangelism event with 300 churches, Teen who had breasts removed says health system lacks 'standards of care', School district rejects student-teachers from Arizona Christian University, Its smut: Kid reads sexually graphic book he got from school library to school board members, Ukraine war exposes weaknesses in Russia and the West, ChatGPT, consciousness and the human mind, Done with That: Escape the Struggle of Your Old Life. My stepdad makes me do my chores naked and youre asking me if this is sexual? Most of the marriages are arranged, said Anne Robinson, another former Gospel Outreach member. So over 50,000 people are watching us and listening to us every week. As she grew older she tried harder to fit in and make people happy. That was one of those things that was swept very much under the rug. But Merritt is happy with the fact that in all the years he has been with Eagle Brook, there has not been a single scandal. And it just about took me out.. Pastor Bob Merritt of the multi-campus Eagle Brook Church in Minnesota. Eagle Brook is Baptist in origin. Hed long been depressed, they said, and about a year after he left the church he killed himself. Get started with your Free Employer Profile. He said, Oh, you let girls play paintball and tug of war with the boys? she said. Merritt said there were times he verbally misbehaved at home and around the church staff. David Sczepanski, the pastor and sole school administrator, was brought in. Free church at the corner of Bastanchury Rd. Ray DeSoto, who grew up in the church with his brothers, described Durkin as a positive character who would welcome homeless refugees from the beach into his religious commune. We love the church. "It's very comfortable, very comfortable here," said volunteer Phil Resendez of West St. Paul. She asked if anything was sexual, Villareal said. Its just a cycle of abuse.. Eventually someone cries and then we can go to choir practice., Myself and other former cult members jokingly say, Remember when theyd lock us in a room until we made another kid cry? he said. Learning that I was brainwashed my whole life was interesting, she said with a bit of a laugh. Merritt said that even though he is feeling a sense of loss from his retirement, he felt the timing was right. While it might not be weird, Eagle Brook is certainly unique. Volunteer Experience DART - OPS, Supply Chain, Security . So the key is never to get close to that line. Back in the day when Christian radio stations played James Dobsons Focus on the Family and other talk programs (along with a smattering ofChristian Contemporary Musicby Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith and Carmen, et. Abigail said Gospel Outreachs instruction used similar tactics. He says he brings students to services so they can see what's attractive about it. An irregular but steady stream of young adults have defected from Gospel Outreach in recent years or escaped, as several of our interviewees characterized it. Wed be encouraged to brag about the spankings we got, Villareal said. I think a lot of times the students were just looking for who was going to be the one that day, DeSoto said. And yet, in this midst of this truth, we do well to remember our extremely high calling the Lord says we are His fellow workers (verse 9). That was one of those things that was swept very much under the rug. "All I need to do is talk about my own weaknesses and my own failures, my own blunders in life," he said. If it is the first time you login, a new account will be created automatically. Villareal said sometimes a young man will initiate matters by going to his father and saying hes ready. Theyre listening to the devil.. You may not even know what it is, but others do. Many church members assumed that Durkins son, Jim Durkin, Jr., would take over, but instead it was a man named David Sczepanski, whod been among the early residents at Lighthouse Ranch. Villareal said her stepfather regularly abused her and her mother for years, starting shortly after he married her mom, continuing during their missionary work in Mexico and following their move to Humboldt County. I know a lot of other girls had health issues when they were there that subsided when they left. Its got to line up with my giftings. Abigail Mandville began cutting herself around the time she turned 17. Free church on Brea Blvd. Skipping meetings and playing hookie werent really options, according to DeSoto. I can only speak for the first year, and Im not sure howI heard this (maybe a contact in the Free Church) but I always found it interesting. Cupholders? If the elders decided he qualified, theyd recommend someone to him for marriage, she said. "So we try to reduce the weird factor.". . My poor husband has had to deal with it. At that time, the church still had the last vestiges of the hippie Jesus movement from Lighthouse Ranch, she said. In the 70s and 80s the Gospel Outreach movement spread around the globe, establishing churches in U.S. cities from Alaska to Hawaii to New York and sending missionaries to Europe and Central and South America. Some people left the church as well because they werent sure I was the guy. It was how we knew our parents loved us because they cared enough not to spare the rod.. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. "The trappings of a religious institution seem to be missing form Eagle Brook's worship space," he said. "We've tried to eliminate all the barriers," Merritt said. Eagle Brook Church will be going into the River City Church building on Hennepin . Thats when the big shift happened, when we became more cultish.. | Photo by Ryan Burns. 1 Corinthians 3:4-7 (ESV). Your email address will not be published. The Outpost was unable to confirm the COVID outbreak emails and voicemails left with Gospel Outreach went unreturned, and when we knocked on the churchs doors, no one answered. Embarrassingly to admit, I was horrified, Chauvin said. Do you remember this church on the hill there? All the music, the meetings youre hardly sleeping. We want to create an environment where you can be challenged and encouraged, find Christ-centered community, and grow in your faith. Mandville recently went to visit their dad on Fathers Day, in part to prove to my sisters that Im not a demon spawn under the control of Satan, she said. Former members also allege that elders and other adults regularly discouraged and dismissed reports of physical and sexual abuse of minors, allowing the abuse to continue and spread to others. There just seemed like there was a convergence of my time coming to an end and his time coming.. I was probably clinically depressed, burned out, completely tired. Lutherans and Catholics make up almost half of the state's faith population. I told my mom and [my parents] had him buy me a new pair of rollerblades. Its definitely a cult, said Esther Mandville, a 24-year-old former member who was raised in Gospel Outreach. When there was a potluck, girls would bring a dish. She even told her parents about the cutting, and they were sympathetic. Eagle Brook's approach to church has Minnesotans showing up in droves, and senior pastor Bob Merritt says it's partly because Eagle Brook tries to make the church experience less weird. Criticism & Conflict | Eagle Brook Church Message Criticism & Conflict Jason Strand | Nov. 26/27, 2016 Have you ever lost sleep over a heated disagreement or harsh words? So on behalf of Eagle Brook Church, as its senior pastor, I need to say that we are not that kind of church. It is a high privilege, to be sure, but again, tempered with the truth whichPaul reminds us toward the end of the chapter: So,he will say in verse 21, Let no one boast in men.. I was at school with [the mom] that next day, and she privately spoke [to another teacher] in the kitchen. Eventually someone cries and then we can go to choir practice it was really so predictable like that. It messed with your immune systems, the stress and the amount of sleep we were getting it just wasnt good for your body., As a teenager, Sarah was prone to illness and infections, which she later attributed to stress. Up to 40,000 people attend Eagle Brook services in a given week. Robinson, meanwhile, was treated differently after word spread about her allegations. Required fields are marked *. That situation developed into [some of] those young kids, the victims, reenacting those experiences with other very young children, he said. And recently, she lost her national committeewoman position to someone more conservative, after serving only two years. Now pursuing a career as a police officer, Villareal has gotten training in how to recognize signs of abuse. Months after announcing his plans to retire, the 63-year-old Merritt officially stepped down as Eagle Brooks senior pastor on his March 1 birthday, giving way to longtime teaching pastor Jason Strand to assume his position. Day by day, I believe God will reveal that to me.. I just couldn't keep up.". So far all I have is nobody else remembers it. The 8,000-square-foot church resembles a convention center, with the peaked roofline of its cream-colored exterior set off against a backdrop of spindly redwoods. / CBS Minnesota. Although Eagle Brook will still be his family church, Merritt said he is now just a church member. Esther Mandville said the only way to get off the hot seat was to admit guilt and show remorse, even if it was a performance. We were expected to stay in the kitchen. Then there were the fines. Youre in constant fear of being ostracized because the community is honestly all you know.. But some churches are growing and one in particular is exploding. The proper forum to challenge the Republican Party platform is not in the media but through the process established by the party. Wed climb trees for hours, run down to the beach, jump off the bluffs. Please enter valid email address to continue. Its all very interesting, looking at it afterwards, she said. And the fact that Humboldt Countys mental health services are just not enough to address the need. Theyre not telling you you cant say no, but I guess I would say its frowned upon, Sarah said. I had an associate who basically wanted my job and he didnt get chosen. For more information about Eagle Brook Church, visit eaglebrookchurch.com. Reached by phone, her stepfather declined to comment on any specific things Celeste alleged, but in general, he said, I really dont want to tear down the church and I think that shes not accurately representing the way that I raised her.. He would abuse us both, but instead of banding together, we would turn against each other, Villareal said. I realized I was in a place that makes me unhappy. "I think it's a sin for people to come into a church and be bored," he said. " And this guy basically interviewed all my friends, my family members, my staff, anybody who knew me and asked two questions: What's good about Bob? What is Paul? "I felt like I belonged, I felt instantly loved, I felt cared for.". Below youll find some suicide-prevention resources: Advertising supports our journalism. We've all been thereyoure in school, the teacher asks a tough question, and all you can do is avert your eyes and pray not to be called on. Eagle Brook Online Watch Live on Sundays at 9 & 11 AM (CST) Connect with us Learn More About Jesus Request Prayer Here's what's happening with Eagle Brook Online: What are your questions about faith? Guest Speaker John Dickerson | Message 84 of 127, Guest Speaker Kyle Idleman | Message 98 of 127, Guest Speaker Jon Weece | Message 114 of 127, Guest Speaker Kyle Idleman | Message 116 of 127, Guest Speaker Bob Merritt | Message 117 of 127, A Time To Think About What Really Matters, To Have Relationships that Flourish (Greg Speck), Proven Biblical Money Principles (Dave Ramsey). One night, he was told at a church board meeting that he needed to get help or he was going to be fired. What did you hear about it? Eventually, she said, one of the dads recognized that she was suffering a rare thing to acknowledge at Gospel Outreach, Villareal said and asked what was wrong. 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Watching. [2] In 1991 Bob Merritt became the senior pastor of the 300-member church. Your email address will not be published. We all have disfunction, he said. Eagle Brook Church is a Baptist Evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Centerville, Minnesota. And, to be honest, if you struggle with this, you probably dont think you need to tune in. Then after lunch all we would do is sing until 3 or 3:30. There was this sort of false positivity you have to maintain all the time, which can be taxing.. As evidence, she and others described a pattern in which children attend a church-run school, girls primary career path is teaching in the school, boys can aspire to work in a handful of businesses owned by church members, male elders confer to arrange marriages and family ties make the prospect of leaving feel nearly impossible. Theres this divide: Thats the mens meeting.. They would push you for honesty but if you werent giving them what they wanted you had to make it up, Mandville said. A lifelong addict, he says he's found faith and sobriety. It was very loose, not a lot of parental oversight. Therefore, He is ultimately the only one we should ever look to for spiritual sustenance, though we recognize He uses undershepherds. It was a mixture of clinical depression and the churchs lack of response, or inappropriate response to it, she said. I mean, its molestation., DeSoto had heard about Todds crimes and said the cycle of abuse expanded. The employees who work every weekend, literally every weekend, are not afforded the same respite, sabbaticals, and time away to re group as the senior pastor or campus pastors. What's bad about Bob? he said. From the moment youre born you start memorizing catechism. She means Martin Luthers Small Catechism, a book published in 1529 to teach kids about the Ten Commandments, the Sacrament of the Eucharist and other elements of Lutheran faith. Youd have to spend hours searching your soul . Expectations to wear multiple hats were strict, high, and unattainable due to limited support and undermining from multiple managers. Eagle Brook is a satellite church and has campuses all over the metro and Rochester. But one of the aspects of cults is that they push teens to make bigger ultimatums youre either all in or all out, he said. [10]. Early life and education [ edit ] Merritt's father was Calvin Merritt, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Neshannock Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania . As punishment for shaming him, Noah curses Hams offspring to a life of slavery. 25K views, 519 likes, 239 loves, 381 comments, 197 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Eagle Brook Church: You are watching today's LIVE service, broadcasting from Lino Lakes, MN. It is affiliated with Converge. Our values are to pursue God, build community, and unleash compassion both locally and globally. She was staying with him in Tumwater, a suburb of Olympia, when he raped her and another woman, Mandville said. I dont want anybody to have to go through that.. Merritt said that counseling not only saved his career but also saved his marriage. I find it interesting that when the Republicans voted to put the two amendments to the state Constitution (marriage and voter ID) on the ballot for the fall elections, there was critical outcry for bringing up moral issues and side-stepping the real fiscal issues. The church has six campuses across the metro: in Blaine, Lino Lakes, Woodbury, Spring Lake Park, and White Bear Lake. Chauvin started college at age 30 and is now in the nursing program. They're not even allowed to drive from our office to our main campus, which is just a mile away from our office.. My teacher from agegrades five through 12 would laugh at us and berate us, Villareal said. Suggested duration 1-2 hours Gospel Outreach of Eureka. He called me outside and told me that because I was living with my fianc I was in an evil spirit and I was a puppet of the devil., Mandville believes there are plenty of good people at Gospel Outreach, including their parents, but my dad has really bad depression and a really horrible guilt complex. An stage adorned with American flags was recently erected on the basketball court across from the church. Reported to multiple ministry heads and managers with some incredibly unpleasant, borderline abusive, managers. He prayed over me and said I had unconfessed sins and that [my cutting] must have something to do with that., At age 11 shed been diagnosed as diabetic, a condition that required her to get regular insulin injections. He advises pastors not to even get close to a line they are not willing to cross. It became something where your whole life is that church, she said. Regularly, our sources said, one student would be singled out for some infraction, such as having a bad attitude or failing to recite the Ten Commandments, and be made to confess and repent. "They wanted to come back.". The one building grew to nine campuses, from Wayzata to Woodbury to Rochester, making Merritt one of . The mother of one of the victims caught him when he was pushing her daughter on a swing, she said. Others too, she said. Return to homepage. But in this message, Pastor Jason Strand teaches about what it Use an Android phone or Google Chrome for desktop? I remember as children being told that being grumpy because youre tired because youve been practicing choir for four hours, plus school and then choir for two hours after is not an excuse. I definitely suffered from sleep deprivation and insomnia, Esther Mandville said. Much of the education at Gospel Outreach reinforced the churchs strict gender roles, which call on women to be subservient, according to the former members we spoke with. It could have been a number of things. Jason Strand is the new pastor of Eagle Brook, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eagle_Brook_Church&oldid=1135337933, Evangelical megachurches in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Minnesota articles missing geocoordinate data, Articles missing coordinates without coordinates on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 24 January 2023, at 01:50. If you would prefer not to see ads, we have another option. And we never talked about it again., Sarah blames the church culture more than her own parents. Therefore, I apologize for what Wednesdays front page article may have communicated about our church. The more immature people on the other hand they were followers of a celebrity pastorand werent giving anything anyway. Merritt recalled the one statement from the pile that hell never forget. "Churches can be so weird," he said. When youre told that college is evil and you dont have any transcripts, so much prevents you from doing things, she said. "I felt very alone and coming here I felt like that changed," he said. Thats you having independent thinking. That also had a big part to play in me staying in the church for so long, she said, because they dont teach you how to live on your own how to refill prescriptions or get insurance or apply for a credit card.. Its an abrupt stop from a life that I have lived for 30 plus years. I literally thought my life was over because they tell you theres nothing outside, that if you leave, you will go crazy, do drugs, become a lesbian. No one is immune to it. Im pretty sure it was a Promise Keepers event. He never put that kind of pressure on me. She said something like, Remember, we dont put care into our appearance for ourselves; we do it because there are people here who have to look at us.. Merritt is also the author of several books, includingDone with That: Escape the Struggle of Your Old Life andGet Wise: Make Great Decisions Every Day. Members would be barefoot, running around with ribbons on sticks., Durkins death in 1996 had created a leadership vacuum and a power struggle within the organization. The Bible is the foundation for all that we teach and we hope that we can join hands with every Bible-believing church in the Twin Cities to reach as many people for Christ as we can. 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Thats not what this is. MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Religion is evolving in Minnesota. Dale is the pastor who in 1993 followed Chuck Swindoll as Senior Pastorat Fullerton Evangelical Free Church. You did go to any and all choir practices or else your zeal was questioned, he said. She and others said the phrase often employed to reinforce this lesson is come under. Anyone showing signs of independent thought would be told to come under their leader, be it a babysitter, a soprano coach or an elder. Eagle Brook Church is very welcoming to all people, come and hear the truth, the Bible is relavant to today's world. The Church Just Wants To Get Big. At that point I was particularly vulnerable and I fell into a relationship with someone toxic from a sister church [in Olympia].. Gospel Outreach emerged from the hippie utopia that was Lighthouse Ranch, a commune of ragtag spiritual seekers, recovering addicts and countercultural Jesus People who, during the 1970s and 80s, lived and worshiped at the abandoned Coast Guard station that once sat atop Table Bluff. And if you point out that somethings wrong or doesnt seem right? In the morning youre doing math and language, basic subjects. I also wasnt eating properly. Eating disorders were common among girls in Gospel Outreach, Mandville said. I couldnt imagine being romantic with any of them. Martin Luther employed the phrase to describe human nature as so thoroughly corrupted by original sin that it curvedly, and viciously seeks all things, even God, for its own sake.. 33% of this went to "HR" costs, 11% into capitol and campus expansion, 22% to ministry and administration costs, 29% to cash reserves and future expansions, 4% to facilities. We're not allowed to have a female or male drive in a car alone together if one or the other is married.