MK forum

Many months ago Yunker made the comment, “Foundations need reset”, regarding NTM’s attitude toward MKs. His comment has come back to me many times since then as I have been on my own post-NTM journey trying to make sense out of what happened to us. I’ve realized that NTM’s problems are not unique to NTM at all, as more and more stories of abuse in mission organizations and churches or denominations are revealed.

At times I have been angry and perplexed at God because he allows this stuff to go on unchecked by groups that claim his name. I have also faced the fact that some of my beliefs helped shore up a system within NTM and within Christianity that has produced A LOT of damage for many people. I have come to the point of being genuinely glad for the events which resulted in our resignation from NTM, the search for an income in the States, and the re-examination of our purpose in life. Although those events and their consequences have been agonizing, I realize now that it has also been a gift - I have looked at Christianity with new eyes.

I actually don’t like a lot of what I see and I’m not sure exactly what I believe anymore. I have more questions than answers at this point. But I think that asking the questions is critical for resetting foundational beliefs – something that is obviously badly needed in the belief systems of the churches/organizations that have been shown to abuse their own.

So if you feel led, please join me in sifting through some of these questions. Maybe together we can reset some of our own foundational beliefs and hopefully influence others too to start building a form of Christianity which cares for and builds up its own. That’s got to be more effective in the long run for drawing people to Christ, than going to the ends of the earth to spread the gospel and leaving a trail of destruction in our wake!

Spiritual authority seems like a good place to start…

Here is a quote from that article by the lawyers which listed reasons why they thought GRACE's report was inappropriate:

"It usurps the board's spiritual authority by publicly making its own spiritual evaluations, personnel decisions, and practical recommendations."

Do boards and committees have spiritual authority? How about elders, pastors, husbands, and parents/dorm parents? On what basis? Are they to be obeyed even when to do so violates our conscience?

I agree with Jeff Van Vonderen and David Johnson’s take on this:
“Though people may honor us with a position of leadership, we do not have authority in God’s eyes simply because we are named the pastor, the elder, the chairman. We are going to have to speak the truth to have authority. We are going to have to be sensitive to the Spirit to have authority. We are going to have to be wise, and seek to know and say what God says clearly and accurately.”

“Is it possible for any one person to have such a strong record of leading and governing in God’s authority? Yes, but this is rare. Is it possible that a small group of elders can have such a record on behalf of a whole group of people? Yes, but again this is rare. The point here is that it is also possible that God speaks, in some way, by his Holy Spirit through every man and woman in a given body, contributing various facets of God’s will, so that the leaders can gain an even clearer picture of what God wants to accomplish.”

“Is it possible for one person, or one group of leaders, to comprehend all that is in God’s Word? Not likely. God’s living Word is demonstrated through all who are seeking Him, regardless of “rank”. In some areas of life, many areas perhaps, those in the pews will have more real authority from having tested and lived out God’s Word in situations God will never choose to lead the pastor through. If He is the Shepherd of the flock, then I as a pastor must listen to what he is saying through the flock, remembering that I too am a follower of Him.” (fromThe Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse, pg 114-115)

Likewise, the leaders of NTM need to be listening to the missionaries, as well as the broader body of Christ, in order to discern what God is saying and what their response should be. The idea that the spiritual authority of NTM’s board has been usurped by GRACE’s recommendations is just ridiculous to me. If anything, the exact opposite is true. GRACE’s report gave valuable and needed input to NTM in an area where they obviously felt lacking, since their representative said NTM did not think they could go back years into the past and figure out what had gone wrong and what to do about it now.

Your thoughts?

Good stuff, Kathy. This is definitely resonating with me. Thanks for speaking out with such clarity.

Jeff VV's book has been a great help to us.
Yes, at first, devastating and mind-boggling to be forced out of an org we thought was great.
Now so thankful to be through with NTM and on our way to just living what the Word says and looking at amazement at what God is doing!
Of course, people in the Body have insight from the HS! We all have gifts and are to use them FOR the Body. How can we do that if we are continually squished and tromped on?
The Word is still true. It was majorly mis-used by NTM "leaders."

I'll be gone camping for a week, but I'm very excited to see what people have to say about this!

A thought on spiritual authority: I think that one problem is not that pastors, mission leadership, etc, don't have authority, but rather, they forget that everyone else around them (NOT "under" them) has as much authority as they do. It says that, look it up! A person is supposed to be a pastor, leader, etc, because they have a natural inclination to do so. Part of the problem is that our culture idolizes certain "giftings" as somehow better than others. Just because a dude is good at getting in front of people and explaining concepts in an understandable way, or just because a person is outspoken on certain topics, doesn't mean that said dude also has the rest of his/her life in order. Just means that they are good at something. Just like everyone else.

It's very sobering when one comes to understand that so much of their spiritual/religious life has been shaped by certain people's understanding and application of certain Scriptures.

Believing that God's Word is infallible does NOT mean that you as a human being are infallible in understanding and applying it.

My universe shifted when, as a Bible translator, I realized that so much of what I was taught as black-and-white Scriptural truth in NTBI has been over the centuries -- and presently is -- interpreted differently by people whose faith was/is every bit as solid as my own.

The cloistered NTM family is so isolated and insulated, and most people within that fortress don't even comprehend it.

I risk alienating many people by even voicing such heresy.

GOD is always right. I am NOT. NTM is NOT.

And that is really okay! We don't always have to be right, or claim to be.

We are seekers and pilgrims. Those who are trudging forward on a lifelong journey will be filled with humility, not arrogance.

AMEN RAZ !!!!!!!!

"It usurps the board's spiritual authority by publicly making its own spiritual evaluations, personnel decisions, and practical recommendations."

Outrageous!! On what grounds are these lawyers saying that NTM Board has spiritual authority? Who are they to declare that the NTM Board has more spiritual authority than GRACE?

Here is something else from the article: " The MK experience is also complicated by strong elements of spiritual shame and coercion that were often present in the evangelical subculture during the relevant periods."

That "spiritual shame and coercion" is otherwise known as spiritual abuse. They say in the next paragraph "These experiences, though painful, were often not abusive". So they acknowledge that there was spiritual shame and coercion, and that the NTM Board claims "spiritual authority", but they don't acknowledge that this is abuse. In fact, the spiritual abuse is Satan's greatest weapon and lie to MKs, in my opinion, that this happened to them because they don't meet up to God's standards, or because God doesn't love them, or because God cannot protect them. How many MKs have turned their backs on God today because of the treatment they received, and are still receiving, at the hands of missionaries?

Thanks for the validation, you guys. So much harm has been done.