During Merritts tenure, Eagle Brook instituted strict rules for church staff to ensure they never get too close to that boundary. We exist to reach people for Christand that's the heart behind everything we do. When youre told that college is evil and you dont have any transcripts, so much prevents you from doing things, she said. Then after lunch all we would do is sing until 3 or 3:30. 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. What does that tell you? But ultimately, the Lord is the only One who ever deserves praise. He was failed on so many levels, but a big part was the church., Esther Mandville believes their peers were suffering just as much. That's where I really kind of misbehaved, and at home as well, he said. MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) The largest church in Minnesota is expanding from the suburbs into downtown Minneapolis. "Most of my adult life I had not attended church except for maybe on the holidays," she said. Im always checking on people around me.. Eventually, we spoke at length with seven former members of the church, all of whom felt it was important for the larger community to know what goes on there. He worked out an agreement with Strand that he will always be available to offer advice but will not do so in an encroaching manner. Celeste Villareal was nine when, in 1997, she, her mom and stepfather joined Gospel Outreach after moving to Eureka from Mexico, where theyd been doing missionary work. Bob Merritt is the retired senior pastor of Eagle Brook Church in suburban Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, a megachurch. My boyfriend, Ill ask him every five minutes if he needs a drink or food. There were these ingrained gender roles. Another girls mom approached her and commented on her appearance. Eagle Brook . 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. Embarrassingly to admit, I was horrified, Chauvin said. The tiredness is just showing your true soul, so you need to repent for being grumpy.. We begin with a time of singing and worshiping God, hear a message based on the Bible, and then wrap up by praying together. Most of the marriages are arranged, said Anne Robinson, another former Gospel Outreach member. Paulsums up thissectionwith a not-to-be-forgotten truth: it is God who gives the growth, whether in an individuals spiritual life, or in a churchs statistics. All of that, as a child, thats [treated as] your problem: Why cant you talk right? 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.. Truxton, a member of the church since 1958, eventually confessed to committing the sexual acts. Perhaps the most unconventional part is the way the sermon, or message, is delivered. Hey, are you missing Christmas? Youd have to spend hours searching your soul . 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. So over 50,000 people are watching us and listening to us every week. Please enter valid email address to continue. I was losing hair, including eyelashes, she said. From the parking lot attendants and front door greeters to the coffee shop and expansive kid play areas, the church offers a visitor-friendly experience. In addition to being the senior pastor of Eagle Brook, Merritt also taught at Bethel Seminary. Soon -- thanks to $5 million in donations -- they'll stream live to the world on Sundays. I felt like the thing I told her was. I don't think the congregation was aware of all the backstory. Thanks to donors, they built it debt free. (This same passage was employed by Christian slavers as justification for human bondage. There was also a huge emphasis on music. In the church, when they find out youve been touched, youre [considered] dirty. The heart behind everything we do is to reach people for Christ so that lives are transformed. The church staff turned an old K-Mart into an $18 million facility. Why cant you stop peeing the bed? Or it was shameful and hidden, just not brought up., One day, feeling numb and depressed, Villareal went to church without doing her hair or makeup. Our history [classes] relied a lot on the Bible, Villareal said. He wrote a book on leadership, but he may be even more famous for the person he followed in pastoral ministry. And with 240 staff members and 27 weekly services, the audience is growing. Therefore, He is ultimately the only one we should ever look to for spiritual sustenance, though we recognize He uses undershepherds. She reported it to the Humboldt County Sheriffs Office, she said, and officers here contacted officials in Thurston County, Wash., but the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence. I agreed to go back. Sermons | Eagle Brook Church Messages Latest Message Why did you doubt? I grew up in the church and its a dark place, Christen Chauvin said in an email. He worked out an agreement with Strand that he will always be available to offer advice but will not do so in an encroaching manner. Skipping meetings and playing hookie werent really options, according to DeSoto. A lifelong addict, he says he's found faith and sobriety. With engaging music, great kids and students services, and the personal teaching style of Pastor Gene Appel, we're a place where you can . What is Paul? 1,892 talking about this. I left/escaped from there when I was 19, she wrote. My son, who was 15 years old at the time, said, I just want to know why my dad's angry all the time. And it wrecked me, he said. It could have been a number of things. "It's just less formal.". 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 Outpost to report a COVID-19 outbreak among the congregation. She told him it was stuff at home that she wasnt comfortable talking to him about and he asked if there was a woman shed like to speak with. Hed long been depressed, they said, and about a year after he left the church he killed himself. He brought me through a full year of counseling. Brainwashing is kind of an overused phrase, but it really is brainwashing.. Most of us have. We all have disfunction, he said. I mean, its molestation., DeSoto had heard about Todds crimes and said the cycle of abuse expanded. On Easter Sunday, Eagle Brook broke an all-time attendance record, with more than 51,000 people showing up at services, and 10,200 people watching online. You feel like you're truly connecting with people and sharing your faith. Its got to line up with my giftings. Asked what she hopes for in telling her story, she just wants the kids still inside to have more information. I would often get three or four hours [of sleep] a night because there was always a new recital or a project or a play.. Expectations to wear multiple hats were strict, high, and unattainable due to limited support and undermining from multiple managers. In the early years it morphed and expanded under the charismatic leadership of Pastor Jim Durkin. One church with multiple locations in the Midwest. Eagle Brook's thriving environment caught the attention of Augsburg religion professor Hans Wiersma. "It's not a suit-and-tie place.". Regardless, according to Robinson, Todd did go on to abuse other girls and she was one of his victims. The school is extremely emotionally abusive and taxing, she said. Her mom suffered from gaps in her memory due to the emotional and physical trauma, Villareal said, but when she tried to talk to other women in the church about the abuse she was told to come under and stop gossiping. Chauvins situation was different: She didnt leave by choice. History [ edit] "I think it's a sin for people to come into a church and be bored," he said. " He would abuse us both, but instead of banding together, we would turn against each other, Villareal said. Thats a reference to a passage in Genesis in which one of Noahs sons, Ham, finds his dad drunk, passed out and naked inside a tent, and instead of covering him up tells his brothers about it. Wed be encouraged to brag about the spankings we got, Villareal said. She even told her parents about the cutting, and they were sympathetic. [1] The senior pastor is Jason Strand. I remember seeing Chuck Swindoll at an E.V. Two to three days a week that would happen.. We are one church in nine locations. Her dad followed her and tried to order her to come back home with him but she resisted, with support from her friends family. Most of us have. I always wondered who they were, she said. At that point I was particularly vulnerable and I fell into a relationship with someone toxic from a sister church [in Olympia].. About this app. But I knew in my spirit that he was ready. We were expected to stay in the kitchen. 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. Unfortunately, the cons are many. What's bad about Bob? he said. There just seemed like there was a convergence of my time coming to an end and his time coming.. But a lot of it was I just didn't have any capacity to deal with the demands on my life. 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. Whether it's the temptation of clicking buy now on Amazon or the seemingly endless pursuit of a life-long dream, no one is immune to discontentment. 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. 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? There wasnt any pressure from him. Suggested duration 1-2 hours Thousands flock to Eagle Brook megachurch as pastor retires - Star Tribune In late March, the church opened its newest campus in Anoka. Eagle Brook is great for people scratching the surface of Christianity, and really, getting people to hear the Word is a good thing. And recently, she lost her national committeewoman position to someone more conservative, after serving only two years. Eagle Brook Church will be going into the River City Church building on Hennepin . There were countless times Id wake up when my body was hitting the floor., He would also take her clothes from her as punishment, she said, ordering her to get naked and do chores, a form of discipline she remembers being particularly disturbing when she was 12, 13, 14 years old and very much struggling through puberty., Her mother declined, through her daughter, to be interviewed for this story. [7] In 2020, Jason Strand became the senior pastor of the church. In a phone interview, Merritt looked back on his time at Eagle Brook with fond memories, though some times were harder than others. The father is the ultimate authority. Your email address will not be published. Then in the second year, we went from 300 to 400 [members], then from 400 to 500 and then it just started to climb.. Sczepanski is the executive director and sole administrator. It is affiliated with Converge. Most of us have. They left and financiallythe church didnt feela thing (All this is initial. But beneath it, I was this man angry at everybody for not getting in line and not doing their job right or whatever it might be. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Get started with your Free Employer Profile. I dont know; that was my coping mechanism.. ), Swindoll was probably the biggest radio preacher of that golden age. And so what I would say to pastors in this area is, if you've never given yourself the gift of seeing a coach or a counselor, you got to do that because I guarantee that you got some blind spots, some dysfunction, and it's affecting your life, your marriage, your career. You might be thinking, "No definitely notthe tree is up, presents are wrapped, Christmas music on repeat" Pause. If you had a disagreement, you could be ostracized from the community in a moment, he said. I am not surprised that Pat Anderson has come out supporting same-sex marriage (Feb. 27). First published on April 17, 2017 / 10:10 PM. For more information about Eagle Brook Church, visit eaglebrookchurch.com. Little white lie or major fibdishonesty can happen to the best of us. It was very loose, not a lot of parental oversight. I was just trying to keep all the balls in the air. The writer serves on the Republican Partys 6th Congressional District Executive Committee as vice chair representing Anoka County. Young women tend to accept their fate. Im pretty sure it was a Promise Keepers event. Catch & Release. Any success weve experienced has little to do with us, and everything to do with the grace of God. She told me if I just put my head down and come under, if I became virtuous, then the Lord would give me a husband to take me away from all the abuse.. One case that all seven of the former Gospel Outreach members talked about involved a boy who, as a teenager, allegedly molested a number of young girls. They dont go very high just Algebra 1. Escaping Outreach: Former Members of Eureka Church Say It's a Cult With Merritt said that even though he is feeling a sense of loss from his retirement, he felt the timing was right. 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? 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. 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. Sorry, Im gonna cry. Its definitely a cult, said Esther Mandville, a 24-year-old former member who was raised in Gospel Outreach. 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. Jesus asked the people around him some tough questions while he was on earth. Core Beliefs | Eagle Brook Church He took the job after receiving his Ph.D. from Penn State University in speech communications. A sign for Gospel Outreach faces Harris Street near the entrance to the McKay Community Forest. [3] In 1995, the church was renamed Eagle Brook Church. She was horrified and so angry.. My parents didnt intend on being morally wrong [or] bad parents, but they take all their issues to the church. 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. 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 . At that time, the church still had the last vestiges of the hippie Jesus movement from Lighthouse Ranch, she said. Jason Strand is the new pastor of Eagle Brook. How will he lead I couldnt imagine being romantic with any of them. Helping run various weekend and mid week programming, while stressful, was a big building block career wise Around 1999, Villareal said, leaders from Gospel Outreach Eureka began meeting more frequently with leaders from sister churches in Grants Pass and Olympia. These were guys I grew up with. / CBS Minnesota. 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.. Allow this non-statistician to hazard a guess myamateur interpretation of the data tells me that the mature people were primarily there forJesus, not Chuck, and they stayed and kept giving. (It sounds like you might be harboring bitterness toward that grumpy neighbor) Time to let it goit'll lead to healing in you and your relationships. I told my parents and they were concerned about me but also kind of pushing me not to talk about it because his parents still go to the church and he has a lot of brothers and sisters.. What does a conversation with God sound like. Its an abrupt stop from a life that I have lived for 30 plus years. She stopped it immediately and told the leaders. Bob Merritt | Message 25 of 127. Jason Strand | Message 24 of 127. OBITUARY: Dwight Galen Griffith, 1990-2021, Quarantined: A New Law Is Disrupting California School Reopenings . He said, Oh, you let girls play paintball and tug of war with the boys? she said. Posted by Roger Knowlton on May 7, 2015 in Uncategorized, Tags: Celebrity pastors, Chuck Swindoll, Dale Burke, Fullerton Evangelical Free Church, I follow Apollos, I follow Christ, I follow Paul. 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. It can ruin you, Merritt said. 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. It was how we knew our parents loved us because they cared enough not to spare the rod.. Other voices: From the lab or nature, look to China for COVIDs origin, Jermaine Fowler: How forgotten Black history has been recovered by rogue scholars, Hastings delivers improbable rally to stun defending champ St. Michael-Albertville in 3A wrestling final, John Shipley: Timing on Lindsay Whalen decision seems odd, Two graduates allege in lawsuits sexual groping by fellow students, frat-like culture at St. Thomas Academy, Boys section hockey: Mahtomedi breaks away late from Chisago Lakes to earn state tourney return, How much is too much? I dont want anybody to have to go through that.. Eagle Brook will pay $6.2 million for the church's campus, which spans an entire city block on the west side of downtown Minneapolis The music is the best in the Twin Cities. You may not even know what it is, but others do. Ill still do certain things like constantly worrying if everyone else around you is okay. I just had a couple of really discerning board members who saw it. Then I became a teacher in the school for free, she said. 1 Corinthians 3:4-7 (ESV). DeSoto said the cruelty of these scenarios didnt really become clear to him until after he left the church and had some time to reflect. What I don't like about EB is the anonymity of the place. Perhaps Pat Anderson is smart enough to realize that those who voted her out will not let her aberrant opinions become the policy of the Republican Party. Specialties: Eastside is a non-denominational church serving the communities of Anaheim, Bellflower, and La Habra, California, as well as Park Rapids, Minnesota. Eagle Brook Church Process, not media I am not surprised that Pat Anderson has come out supporting same-sex marriage (Feb. 27). Villareal said sometimes a young man will initiate matters by going to his father and saying hes ready. It's the type of music he says people listen to during the week -- so why not Sunday? "We're trying to hit that 80 percent.". If you do something evil? And in the last couple of weekends, we've had 31,000 people [attend] and 25,000 watch online. Excellent fellowshp, all are welcome, friendly and truthful. "It's not about being big, never has been," he said, adding, "It's justGod keep using us, and we'll try to follow.". Review of Eagle Brook Church, Woodbury, MN - Tripadvisor She tried to advance the expansion of gambling by attacking prior conservative Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton. Abigail said Joshs suicide continued to weigh on her, though she stayed in the church for more than a year afterwards. "So we try to reduce the weird factor.". Most people who leave do go a bit wild because they dont know how to function in the real world, so they [church leaders] use them as examples: Look at him; he went into sin., Esther Mandville struggled after leaving, as many do. Bitterness. She chose the woman whod been her regular teacher during much of her education, a stern and sometimes cruel woman the same one whod written on Villareals arm and mocked how she dressed but one who seemed capable of getting her way. At the time, she explained, I believed I was respecting my elders. She eventually told her mom what happened but said her mom chose to keep it private. Eventually, her dad asked her to get coffee with him and they had a conversation. Theyre fallen from grace. He said I could have just told him I wanted to leave, but I had been telling him, Sarah said. Villareal, Chauvin and others said things grew even more regimented around the turn of the century when Gospel Outreach opened a full-time school. Boys and girls were very much equals., Villareal remembers an elder or pastor from the church in Grants Pass questioning this practice. That never would have happened had I not dealt with my dysfunctions.. Where's the criticism now? - Twin Cities She was a proponent of pro-abortion, pro-gay rights Republican. The proper forum to challenge the Republican Party platform is not in the media but through the process established by the party. She initially didnt tell her parents or anyone else about it. "The first message that I heard the day I walked in I felt like I was the only person in the room," she said. And if God is the One who causes things to grow, then all of us (both full-time vocational ministers like meand volunteers) are only planting and watering, and even that we are doing only by His power and strength. They described the tight-knit congregation of roughly 150 people as zealous and insular and the church as a place where children are forced to spend long hours singing, arranged marriages are the norm and negative emotions are considered selfish and sinful. The phrase theyd use is, Dont uncover your fathers nakedness, Chauvin said. I told my mom and [my parents] had him buy me a new pair of rollerblades. 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 want to create an environment where you can be challenged and encouraged, find Christ-centered community, and grow in your faith. Chauvin recalls watching the movie version of Taming of the Shrew because it fits into their theology very well, she said. 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. Because criticism and conflict are never comfortableand often we dont know how to deal with them. 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. One night, he was told at a church board meeting that he needed to get help or he was going to be fired. I will not be leading another church. 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. Villareal confided in her, telling her about the abuse shed been suffering at the hands of her stepfather, including his habit of taking her clothes. The church chose Strand to succeed Pastor Bob Merritt who has retired. If the elders decided he qualified, theyd recommend someone to him for marriage, she said. He volunteers with the church's recovery support group. Her dad apparently felt otherwise. Our church was climbing but I was failing, personally, in every way just trying to survive, he said. He dug a little deeper and got to the real issues of where my anger was coming from and my unwillingness to forgive people and those kinds of things.. He didnt show Abraham what was ahead. How Eagle Brook Became The Biggest Church In Minnesota More drastically, the number of Minnesotans who say they don't believe in God has tripled in the past decade. Pat Anderson is a big tent Republican. Minnetonka residents resist Eagle Brook megachurch proposal Required fields are marked *. He had sexually abused me. Shed make fun of how I dressed. (Though the school is only accredited through 10th grade, Villareal said, The boys generally continue taking classes until grade 12, [and] the girls will only take select classes if any at all past age 16, as theyre generally placed in teaching positions. Volunteer Experience DART - OPS, Supply Chain, Security . No church Id want to attend or be associated with. 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. [1] The senior pastor is Jason Strand. The very first weekend the Anoka location opened, 6,545 people showed up, with some watching from the hallway as the venue flooded with visitors. 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. "Churches can be so weird," he said. Eventually someone cries and then we can go to choir practice it was really so predictable like that. I always liked Chuck Swindoll and through the yearsfound myself blessed by his ministry many times. Looking back she thinks that this containment, this narrowing of the world into a hermetic and rigidly controlled society, is as damaging as anything else at Gospel Outreach. But at some point, you gottta knowpushing towards the things you want will cause you to miss We all have blind spotsanyone else think its unfair that theyre so obvious to everyone but us?! [5][6] As of 2019, it had opened 8 campuses in different cities in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. What's Our Responsibility to the Next Generation? All of us were just constantly sick. I thought of them like brothers. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. I just heard the story. 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. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Sounds like something your grumpy neighbor struggles with, right? Chauvin said that when she turned 16 she was told that it was time for her to be done with school, so she took the high school proficiency exam. After over nearly three decades of leading what has grown to become the largest church in Minnesota, pastor Bob Merritt has retired from the nine-campus Eagle Brook Church. al. Because he was a minor when the alleged abuse took place and has not been convicted of the crimes, well call him Todd (not his real name). Now pursuing a career as a police officer, Villareal has gotten training in how to recognize signs of abuse. You might be surprised to know that most (if not all) Christians have experienced doubt in their faith. Return to homepage. 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. What happens on the weekend is not always lived out in the office and meetings with upper management and leadership. [4] In 2005, it inaugurated a new building at Lino Lakes, Minnesota, with a caf, a bookstore and a 2,100 seat auditorium. Put this image on your website to promote the show -, Report inappropriate content or request to remove this page. According to himself he was just a servant through whom they had believed. After [these meetings], church families would go up to Lighthouse Ranch, and thered be just hours of us kids doing whatever we wanted, she said. As a child you see this weird inner sanctum vibe going on, he said. The mentality is that everybody is totally depraved, she said.