There are no pews at Eagle Brook, nor are there any stained glass windows or choir robes. In the morning youre doing math and language, basic subjects. Im thinking about my siblings and the other kids going through what I went through. As a child theres how I describe it is brainwashing, she said. We want to create an environment where you can be challenged and encouraged, find Christ-centered community, and grow in your faith. She was staying with him in Tumwater, a suburb of Olympia, when he raped her and another woman, Mandville said. Thats not what this is. I remember seeing Chuck Swindoll at an E.V. And so what you got to do is you got to build safeguards and boundaries in your life that you just never violate because this happens in churches.. 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. Helping run various weekend and mid week programming, while stressful, was a big building block career wise Catch & Release. Im hoping if someone is having doubts and they know about this article, Im hoping they can get some clarity, she said. 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. Every year, there are seemingly a handful of pastors who garner headlines because they were booted or forced to resign from their church over some kind of personal failing, whether it's sexual immorality or some other form of sin. There was this sort of false positivity you have to maintain all the time, which can be taxing.. (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. Trusted by 5,200 companies and developers. The church chose Strand to succeed Pastor Bob Merritt who has retired. They would push you for honesty but if you werent giving them what they wanted you had to make it up, Mandville said. I remember that at least part of the building appeared circular. I dont know; that was my coping mechanism.. Although Eagle Brook will still be his family church, Merritt said he is now just a church member. By the time you got to a certain age, 11 or 12, you would be expected to join the worship team and the choir that sings every Sunday, Abigail said. Theyre listening to the devil.. I realized I was in a place that makes me unhappy. But ultimately, the Lord is the only One who ever deserves praise. 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. We're not allowed to have a female or male drive in a car alone together if one or the other is married. But in this message, Pastor Jason Strand teaches about what it Use an Android phone or Google Chrome for desktop? Volunteer Experience DART - OPS, Supply Chain, Security . In Shakespeares play, a man named Petruchio marries then tames a headstrong shrew of a woman, Katherina, by employing psychological torments telling her the sun is the moon, for example, until she agrees, at which point he says the opposite. Villareal holds the church at least partly responsible. We were charged $20 fines if we left something at home, Esther Mandville said. 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. He compiled 240 pages of feedback from all these people and spent three days reading it back to me. Several of the people we interviewed for this story remember Josh, a young man who left Gospel Outreach when he was 17 years old. Most of the marriages are arranged, said Anne Robinson, another former Gospel Outreach member. "Although we would have loved to become a part of the community, we have made the difficult decision to not pursue the development at . 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. Because criticism and conflict are never comfortableand often we don't know how to deal with them. It was very loose, not a lot of parental oversight. 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. The first thing Merritts counselor told him to do was to resign from his teaching role at Bethel Seminary. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. The message is beamed. 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.. It's just dangerous. I dont want anybody to have to go through that.. (This same passage was employed by Christian slavers as justification for human bondage. That was it. The last time I was there, Robinson said, he was teaching the kids Sunday school.. Villareal and Esther Mandville were also enlisted to teach at age 15 or 16. Eagle Brook Church is a Baptist Evangelical multi-site megachurch based in Centerville, Minnesota. Bob Merritt | Message 25 of 127. I would cut my legs, just places nobody would see higher up on my thighs. If you would prefer not to see ads, we have another option. History [ edit] Its just a cycle of abuse.. 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). Its neat to see how far Ive come, not just physically but also mentally, she said. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Submit to Stumbleupon (Opens in new window), Leonid Bershidsky: Its not Ukraines peace for our time moment, Peter St. Onge: Thwarting the push to make inflation permanent, Letters: Ask those most affected by school violence what they fear, what to do. Soon -- thanks to $5 million in donations -- they'll stream live to the world on Sundays. The former members of Gospel Outreach said talking to people from outside the church was discouraged, and so virtually all social interactions, including work, school and family, occurred within the group. Jul 21, 2016 - Anonymous Employee in Lino Lakes, MN In the first year, things were tough for Merritt as there was some contention among the staff and church membership with his hiring. 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. Search past episodes of Eagle Brook Church Podcast. If youre selfless, if youre here to serve and be a vessel, then you dont have any time or energy to be sad or anxious or depressed. Sczepanski would invoke Incurvatus in se, a Latin phrase used to describe a life turned inward. It was part of his controlling thing, she said. That never would have happened had I not dealt with my dysfunctions.. 1,892 talking about this. As the pastor of a Twin Cities church, I was bothered by the Feb. 27 front page article No Bibles, no hymnals, no pews. I don't think the congregation was aware of all the backstory. 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. Eventually, her dad asked her to get coffee with him and they had a conversation. According to himself he was just a servant through whom they had believed. Little white lie or major fibdishonesty can happen to the best of us. Quite often that reason is just made up.. Any success weve experienced has little to do with us, and everything to do with the grace of God. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Roger's reflections on grace, God and other grand topics. You might be thinking, "No definitely notthe tree is up, presents are wrapped, Christmas music on repeat" Pause. Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. It was not fun to be around.. I also wasnt eating properly. Eating disorders were common among girls in Gospel Outreach, Mandville said. In late March, the church opened its newest campus in Anoka. To the editor: The harmful community impact of the McGee Automotive Family's proposal to construct two large car dealership buildings and accompanying service centers at the corner of Pittseld and New Lenox roads was made clear in a Feb. 23 letter to the editor from one of my neighbors.. My name was mentioned in The Berkshire Eagle's article on that proposal, noting my assertion that . She realized after leaving the church that shed been suffering from depression for years by that point. Merritt led the church for . Another girls mom approached her and commented on her appearance. 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. Maybe. What kind of church would remove the Bible from their teaching? He was failed on so many levels, but a big part was the church., Esther Mandville believes their peers were suffering just as much. 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. al. According to the Pew Research Center, since 2007 the number of Minnesotans who attend church regularly has dropped by 4 percent. After that, girls were not allowed to play paintball. Then after lunch all we would do is sing until 3 or 3:30. I was just trying to keep all the balls in the air. Brainwashing is kind of an overused phrase, but it really is brainwashing.. 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. I grew up in the church and its a dark place, Christen Chauvin said in an email. In a phone interview, Merritt looked back on his time at Eagle Brook with fond memories, though some times were harder than others. Free church at the corner of Bastanchury Rd. Villareal agreed self-expression was discouraged. John Alexander | Message 4 of 127. In addition to being the senior pastor of Eagle Brook, Merritt also taught at Bethel Seminary. I thought of them like brothers. 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? Eagle Brook's thriving environment caught the attention of Augsburg religion professor Hans Wiersma. Do you remember this church on the hill there? Kids wetting the bed way too old, kids with speech impediments past when they should. There was this self-policing to find the one who was the most out of line so everyone could gang up on that person to explain why they were utterly failing and in sin and need to repent. Early life and education [ edit ] Merritt's father was Calvin Merritt, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Neshannock Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania . The writer serves on the Republican Partys 6th Congressional District Executive Committee as vice chair representing Anoka County. Wed all be in the classroom early before school, listening to Bastille or some other emo music. These were guys I grew up with. Unfortunately, the cons are many. I felt like the thing I told her was. Put this image on your website to promote the show -, Report inappropriate content or request to remove this page. And if you allow yourself to get close to a certain line, your emotions override your intellect, Merritt said. What is Paul? 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. Church greeter Shelley Stelton has a more common backstory. What then is Apollos? Petruchio also tortures her by withholding food and water until she becomes compliant and obedient. Abigail Mandville began cutting herself around the time she turned 17. They wanted you to adhere: Dont stray off the script., Chauvin got the same message. 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 mother of one of the victims caught him when he was pushing her daughter on a swing, she said. "The kids loved it too," she said. In the church, when they find out youve been touched, youre [considered] dirty. You feel like you're truly connecting with people and sharing your faith. April 17, 2017 / 10:10 PM *Empowered by God to reach others for Christ* 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. Stelton was raised Lutheran. Our history [classes] relied a lot on the Bible, Villareal said. You could be a teacher or you could work in one of the businesses owned by church members, including North Coast Floor and Tile, SameDay Auto Scratch and Dent Repair and, until it was recently sold, New Life Services Company. Eagle Brook Church Sep 2020 - Present 2 years 7 months. And if you point out that somethings wrong or doesnt seem right? We are open with our plans, and the cost it will take to accomplish them, because they are God-sized plans, and every time weve opened a new building, its been because God has been a part of it. 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. They're not even allowed to drive from our office to our main campus, which is just a mile away from our office.. Ill still do certain things like constantly worrying if everyone else around you is okay. The church staff turned an old K-Mart into an $18 million facility. 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. 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. I am not going to be doing interim work. 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. "They come into a church, there's a lobby, there's a caf, there's a bookstoreIt feels like a movie theater almost where you have comfortable seats. Young women tend to accept their fate. This time, lets talk about arrogance. Which, I believe, is why it is so popular- nobody asking you where you were last Sunday, no committees and such to dodge, etc. I taught pre-algebra. Return to homepage. Perhaps the most unconventional part is the way the sermon, or message, is delivered. DeSoto remembers being intimidated when, as a teenager, he became one of the boys tasked with preparing and serving coffee to the elders at these meetings. 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. Eagle Brook is now the largest church in Minnesota, with more than 22,000 people attending services each weekend and 48,000 attending on Christmas. Anything like this is dealt with in the mens meeting because women are not in charge of anything, Chauvin said. I definitely suffered from sleep deprivation and insomnia, Esther Mandville said. [9], The Church has a Baptist confession of faith and is a member of Converge. My parents didnt intend on being morally wrong [or] bad parents, but they take all their issues to the church. He had sexually abused me. Youre ripped away from everything youve ever known thats really hard, Mandville said. Looking back, she realized that in her teens she ticked all the boxes. MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Religion is evolving in Minnesota. So the key is never to get close to that line. I remember looking around the room going, Were all depressed and just not talking about it., All of us were just constantly sick. We never really got much science or literature. All of us were just constantly sick. Franklin, Weinstein: What is a reasonable approach to masking right now? About this app. Eagle Brook is great for people scratching the surface of Christianity, and really, getting people to hear the Word is a good thing. 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. PUBLISHED: December 28, 2015 at 11:01 p.m. | UPDATED: January 20, 2016 at 11:49 p.m. Minnesota's largest church has gotten a lot larger thanks to a $17 million contribution. It was not a large pool, she said. Sermons | Eagle Brook Church Messages Latest Message Why did you doubt? 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. [10]. Pastor Bob Merritt of the multi-campus Eagle Brook Church in Minnesota. The most stressful scenario for many of the kids came during the morning circle meetings, where students would gather with Pastor Sczepanski to talk about his latest sermon and other spiritual matters. All the music, the meetings youre hardly sleeping. If you do something well, thats God working through you. They left and financiallythe church didnt feela thing (All this is initial. "If I can add some humor around that, people are in their seats [nodding their heads, saying] 'yup, yup, that's me.'". During Merritts tenure, Eagle Brook instituted strict rules for church staff to ensure they never get too close to that boundary. She took her pen to mark up my arm and then told me I wasnt allowed to wash it off. But the workload and responsibility on Merritts plate as a seminary teacher and pastor might've gotten the better of him as he struggled with issues of anger and depression. Every weekday at 7 a.m. they hold a mens meeting where they pray, drink coffee and discuss various matters, sometimes rendering binding decisions on issues ranging from child discipline to marriage approvals. "It's just less formal.". 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. The official Eagle Brook Church app connects you to a variety of resources, including live church services, on-demand messages, worship music, and other tools to help you grow in your faith. I just had a couple of really discerning board members who saw it. Because criticism and conflict are never comfortableand often we dont know how to deal with them. Christmas 2016. 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.. A lot of times, God doesnt show us what is ahead. Eagle Brook exists to reach people for Christand that's the heart behind everything we do. He volunteers with the church's recovery support group. Merritt said he plans to take the next few months to quiet his mind to figure out what God is calling him to do next. Watching. Watch Featured Messages Series Teaching Pastor Category It really was manifested among my staff. 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. Two to three days a week that would happen.. It's the type of music he says people listen to during the week -- so why not Sunday? 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. No one is immune to it. While it might not be weird, Eagle Brook is certainly unique. Our church was climbing but I was failing, personally, in every way just trying to survive, he said. The multisite Eagle Brook Church in Minnesota announced it has dropped the plan to build its 11th metro-area campus in a residential neighborhood in a Minneapolis suburb after backlash from local residents. [7] In 2020, Jason Strand became the senior pastor of the church. As a child you see this weird inner sanctum vibe going on, he said. Eagle Brook megachurch opening Lakeville branch, its 8th in MN. But a lot of it was I just didn't have any capacity to deal with the demands on my life. My gifting is teaching. Sometimes I would have to make up a sin, like, Ive been really hating my brother or Ive been thinking about sex and thats bad.. I agreed to go back. 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. The Church Just Wants To Get Big. She asked if anything was sexual, Villareal said. So on behalf of Eagle Brook Church, as its senior pastor, I need to say that we are not that kind of church. I have to say, It wasnt you; it was me. Its hard to work through those things., Robinson said it took her a while to realize the full extent of how Gospel Outreach affected her. The women were always covering for the men, and if the men did find out about abuse that was happening, the women were told that the men would take care of it..