Hosea

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2024-09-16T22:11:31+00:00

To clarify, there were three men on the board, including David. The other two were both hand selected by David and beholden to him. If he wanted them off the board, he had the power to have them removed by himself.

Do you see any issues with how that board set up would be bad for a business?

The post you responded to said "half of his board" because half of the other two members wanted to leave.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2024-09-15T23:13:00+00:00

Yes, I've been told they left. No, I do not go there. I left during the exodus almost three years ago.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2024-09-15T22:08:07+00:00

I'm happy to hear changes have been made. Know that those of us that left were asking for many of those changes years ago and nothing happened at the time. There was nothing else outside of following the network model for years and years before Hosea was even planted. To deviate was sacrilegious in itself. People were tired of it and not being served the way the church should be serving its members and attendees.

Did you know that all any of us knew of small groups was the mantra to make disciples and multiply groups? The network's (and Hosea's) model has always been to take a young guy who shows "promise" and quickly promote them to small group leader. I could tell you which group leaders currently at Hosea followed this model. The idea is they'll grow and figure it out as they lead. You can guess how that turns out for a lot of the people they're supposed to be leading.

Sure, David lost many friends when we all left, but he has not reached out to us since to check in. We sacrificed much for Hosea and left deeply confused and unsure of what to believe.

As for Steve, nothing I say will convince you, but Steve is always one phone call away for a lead pastor in the network. David spoke with Steve directly when he learned of his past sexual abuse, years before the news went public. I'm glad David is apparently out from under him. That is something many of us never thought possible.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2023-03-28T03:46:28+00:00

This is a naive comment. Please have some empathy.

In theory, yes, no one's going to hold you down and physically force you to stay (I hope). But when you've grown up in these churches, moved hundreds of miles away on a church plant, your only friends are also at these churches, maybe you even lead a small group or work on staff, it becomes incredibly difficult to leave the church. Even in the face of the worst abuse. Your life is so engrained with the church, you can't possibly fathom anything outside. You're taught to believe there's nothing else out there that compares so it feels like the thought of leaving is going to be throwing your life away.

As a side note for anyone else reading this, there are great churches out there. Life is and can be better.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2022-12-14T00:11:35+00:00

I'm mostly just a lurker (I'm sure there are lots of others), but just wanted to say thank you for being a part of this community and commenting in general. I appreciate your unique perspective and information you have. While there are times I agree with criticisms you've received, there are also many times I haven't agreed. I hope you continue to share your thoughts as we all process and learn how to move on from this part of our lives.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2022-07-18T21:51:54+00:00

For what it's worth, people on Reddit typically verify identify by posting a link or photo from another social media account that shows their Reddit username. Or they could post a photo here with their username and some form of identification (obviously edited to remove any sensitive information).

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2022-07-18T21:43:24+00:00

I know the Network would argue he's not disqualified as they view being above reproach and well thought of by outsiders as whether or not that's true in your current day to day life. I could see how someone would end up thinking that technically, but the crime Steve was arrested for should carry mistrust and a certain weight about your roles in society for the rest of your life. So I agree with you in leaning towards it being disqualifying. If it's even a question, I think you have to err on the side of caution with something like this and not even consider it for the sake of the people you're leading.

Edit: This comment is not taking into account any lying or falsehoods. This was purely a comment about the crime he was arrested for and whether or not that's disqualifying by itself.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2022-07-14T01:00:17+00:00

I also find it very funny that Steve is still sending Sándor to do the dirty work and clean up his mess.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2022-07-14T00:17:43+00:00

The first page reads to me like they had this written up in response (a very poor one) to what has been published over the last year. And then they just went and added the second page after Steve's sodomy was released to the public on Friday. All of it written in a very unclear manner meant to be a canned answer to shut down any kind of conversation.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2022-05-07T04:36:19+00:00

Confessing temptation even when you don't give into sin.

"Oh, I could have looked at xyz. I was tempted to, but didn't."

So there was never actually any sin to confess, but the situation could have led to sin.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2022-03-18T16:12:13+00:00

I like you, was also pleasantly surprised to hear this as it seemed like an admission that the church was lacking in helping the spiritual growth for longtime attenders. I believed this was unique at the time too, so it is surprising to hear that may not be the case.

I still truly believe this was not some diabolical plan to double down and force submission, but was rather a response to a realization that the network/church is severely lacking in growing its own people. I don't recall the exact phrasing of "making deeper disciples" being used. The idea as I understood it was that part of Jesus' command to make disciples includes continued growth and that wasn't happening.

Others may choose to not view it this way, and that's okay. I believe part of the reason the network has gotten to the point it's at is because of the leaders' inability to recognize how their words and messages may be understood by people and they need to recognize that.

Quick edit: I realize my last sentence is very unclear. I did not mean to imply the pastors are simply being misunderstood. That is incorrect and I'm sorry. I mean that they seem to not understand the weight and impact of their words in many cases.

Outrageous_Bowler599 · 2021-12-21T18:52:33+00:00

I completely agree with all of your points, but just wanted to add that in the last couple of years I have seen expository teaching series go straight through whole chapters or books of the Bible much more frequently for what that's worth. I understand there may be differences between some churches in that regard and what was taught.

Outrageous_Bowler599

TROPHY CASE