Nebraska

[editor]

Thank you Chuck!

I would also add that if someone is in an Assembly, as sees the things mentioned below taking place, they must say something.

Silence is a guilty accomplice.  If a person doesn't have the courage to say something (I do mean  out loud so people can hear you, not just privately to "leaders" so no one will hear what you said)  then get out of the group now.

Again, thank you Chuck.

Brent

[Chuck Miller]

Dear Brent,

I left the Omaha Assembly 25 years ago after having been in fellowship for about 2 1/2 years.  After stepping down as a leading brother because of what I considered to be a double standard and an abuse of authority by the leading brothers, I was subjected to unusual harrassment and  decided to leave.  Unfortunately, five of our children remained in Assemblies, and to date, only one has come out.  We're praying for the rest.

In Him,

Chuck Miller

[BenJapheth]

Bill, this is Chuck Miller...Chuck, this is Bill Gillespie from Omaha.  Bill, is a good friend of John Malone's.

Bill, suspects me of a lot of evil, including dark ambitions according to John Malone.  

Chuck, John is as vicious and as unedifying as I've ever seen him.  You WARNED me to keep him out of it.  Well, you might say he put himself in the middle of this whole thing - Big time.  The hatred and vindictive bile coming from John is unprecedented.  He is perhaps the greatest obstacle for your kids to EVER come out of the assembly.  He's a poster-boy to their fears concerning what's on the outside.

I see no Jesus Christ in that man.

Bill, you wanted to interact with Chuck, here you go.
===================================================================================
Bill, publish, this whole thing...Be my guest.  

That's why - I gave the quote back to you.  Sorry, for mistaking you for Garth.  Your words reveal the true you, Bill.  Good or bad, right?  Your words speak of that which fills the heart.  Check me out...I'm the son-in-law of Chuck Miller.  We spent two years in Cost Rica together and have traveled many places sharing the gospel.  Oh, and BTW - He has more concerns than I do with John Malone.  Do you want me to "cut and paste" you his warnings to me about John.

Write him yourself at chuckfmiller@hotmail.com ...And, then publish what he says.  

You're right we're not Pals, I'm praying for you, Bill.

Chuck, here's my most recent exchange with Bill.

C- Very cool...Now that's the ticket with Nate!  

B - you should make that a public statement

C - BTW, you can write Chuck Miller at chuckfmiller@hotmail.com.  He and I are best friends, I'm his son-in-law...We've lived together for several years and yes his Bible has only gotten better.  He's in Costa Rica but will be back in the country on April 1st.

B - I'll know soon enough about this best friend business. Your posts make claim to a lot of things that are suspect.

C - You and I have some differences, however, I think you're a kindred spirit.

B - The only Spirit worth considering is the Holy Spirit. If we are both walking in him we will have fellowship one with the other.

C - BTW, Chuck Miller and I both have concerns concerning abrasive ways of communicating...This traditionally has been our concern with folks trying to get at the bottom of something.  I think it is also why it's taken 25 years for him to start getting reconciled with his family - there was until very recently always an undercurrent of bitterness going on.

B - Mr. Miller just wrote he still has four children in the assemblies, only one is out. I do know his children (and their spouses) have treated him wickedly and put him though much pain. I'll find out where you fit in with all this.

C - We've got to imitate the great Physician

B - You're talking about the God/man. He is one of a kind. I prefer looking at other bible examples to follow, such as the apostle Paul
...

C - You're Garth Xander, right?...I think I used to see you over at AssemblyLodge.com

B- I'm Bill Gillespie

C - I'd like to bury the hatchet and move forward together.  Truce?  You're right I am full of "crap" sometimes, be careful though most people react to being cursed at.

B - You bury hatchet's in the back of those who tell the truth. You behave as my enemy, though as a brother you are not, and I don't trust you.

C - Can we chat?

B- The public forum is where I'll stay with you. In fact, in the future I'll publish any private messages you send me.

C - Your Pal in Kansas, Chuck

B -You have called way too many people your pal.


Chuck Vanasse
913.488.1046

[vbeers]

Hello to all- good to see some of these names of old!  My name is Ginny Beers (Franzese) and I grew up with my mom (Patty- the greatest mom in the world, not to mention the strongest Chritian I know) and two brothers (Bobby and John) in the Assembly in Omaha.  My dad was not 'in fellowship' so our situation was a little different than most and we weren't subjected to quite as much of the abuse and control as others.  So, having left about nine years ago and not having the horrific, life-consuming experiences of most of the kids I grew up with, you may wonder why I am posting or why I care.  As my mom shared with me the developments of late and my brother shared with me the geftakysassembly website, I found myself, like Nate Mattews, strangely drawn to the information and I began to question why...(by the way, I was completely an 'outsider who never measured up' partly b/c of my strong will and partly b/c my dad was not in fellowship and I absolutely dreaded the plays, the teen times, the seminars, the alternatives, etc b/c I always felt as though I was being scrutinized and I couldn't play volleyball.  Subsequently, I have always despised favoritism which was so prevelent in the Assembly).  

Let me copy some of an e-mail that I recently sent to Bill and Joyce Hines (this may seem a little choppy b/c some of the e-mail was specifically written to Joyce and Bill and I have thus negated it...):


"Let me preface this e-mail by stating that I have certainly gone through periods of darkness in my life and at times been so far from the Lord that I wondered if I had really ever known Him.  There have been plenty of times when I knowingly chose a life of sin.  My sinful behavior and time spent living in darkness cannot be blamed on my involvement with the Assembly.  We are each responsible and accountable to the Lord for our own behavior.  However, those who misused and abused or are misusing and abusing positions of power must take public responsibility for their actions b/c people's lives, ability to trust, and ability to enter into a true relationship with the Lord have been devastatingly altered.  

As Christians, we believe that the Lord is our one and only true refuge and strength and we trust that when we are in His house with His people we are in a safe and Godly environment.  Therefore, when we seek counsel from our brothers and sisters in Christ, we believe that we are seeking wise counsel, not worldly / wicked counsel.  To then find out that the one place that we felt safe, the one people that we trusted and confided in is using their spiritual positions to work evil can be nearly equated to being spiritually and emotionally raped.  While I do not feel that I personally experienced this while in the Assembly, others do.  In my opinion, there is little worse you can do to someone than to rob them of the ability to trust in the Lord and be able to confide in and cherish His people.  

I am so saddened by the state of the Assembly.  As you may be aware, I left many years ago, am married, and my husband and I have a strong faith.  My primary reason for disassociating myself as a "member" of the Assembly was b/c of their intolerant stance on so many issues, including their lack of willingness to accept other Christians as being just as Christian as they were (are).   This does not mean, however, that I do not love many of the people there.  As Rachel states in her testimonial, I believe that most people in the Assembly have good hearts and want to walk with the Lord.  I have even worshipped with them in recent months.  I love many of the 'saints' and I pray diligently that they will truly seek the Lord with regard to where and how he would have them continue their relationship with Him.  

There are so many wonderful Christian people and Churches out there.  It's encouraging that you both and many others who have left have found or are finding healthy church homes, a place to learn and grow in Christ.  However, in seeking to assist others you may want to consider that much information that is now coming out is being taken with a grain of salt.  People who appear to be jumping on the band wagon will not be taken seriously by those of us who are looking for answers.  Even those of us who left many years ago still deal with issues regarding trusting people in positions of leadership in the church, and, analyzing the information that is now being made public will help as the Lord continues to heal each of us and guide us as to what His will truly is for our lives."


In my response to Bill's response I wrote the following:

"I feel that anyone who was involved with children or teens (the most formative years of a persons' life) should be held in a sense more accountable for the negative impact they had in the lives of those young, defenseless people- b/c believe me, that impact is still present in our lives today.    I simply want some people to start being honest and start taking some accountability, especially those who are speaking out publicly.

I left when I was still young (in high school more or less) and I have struggled ever since with my walk with the Lord (not that I didn't struggle while I was in the Assembly).  It is only in very recent months that I have, for the first time in my life, begun to find the freedom to truly walk with the Lord.  However, as I have been keeping up with what is going on, I am learning that much of the reason I haven't been able to "stick at it" is b/c for so many years I equated the Assembly way with walking with God.  That whole "their way is the only way or better way" ideology has stuck with me.  I have a really hard time trusting people who claim to be Christians.  How do I know what is true and right when everything that I learned from the time I was born to the time I was about 17 has been tainted?  How do I know that anyone who writes on that board or submits articles is being honest?  These are the things I have been struggling with and yet they are things that should be addressed b/c I believe with all my heart that anyone who was ever involved with the Assembly has a lot of healing to do and I know that God will be instrumental in that process.  But, honesty from those by whom we have been hurt will immensely help us to make sense of this whole mess.  Does that make sense?

I want to reiterate that I do not agree with most of the teachings of the Assembly and haven't for years.  I absolutely do not agree with their intolerance for Christians who do it different than they do.  I do not believe that people should be shunned for their sin or difficulty.  I believe that Christians are commanded to love one another and that when people are having a hard time Christians should simply love on them and not pass judgement.  The Lord deals with people's sin in His time and in His way.  Isn't that what being part of a family is all about?  But just for kicks (as if my little opinion carries a whole lot of weight), I'll tell you that I think their method of chapter summary is an effective way to study the Bible and I employ it even today in my daily devotions.  Being able to critically analyze the Bible from a young age has probably also helped in the development of my critical thinking abilities...just a theory.  On another note, I think that some of their beliefs about child rearing make a whole lot of sense (of course the ones that I agree with are also those taught by many healthy and normal Christians such as Dr. Dobson- parent-centered families, not letting children be the adults in the family, etc).  

Like I said, I love some of those people (but I have a pretty big heart and a huge capacity to forgive so I love just about everyone).  Then again, some of them simply stump me.  I don't get them.  I don't know why, even after all this has come out, they would not get out and away from people such as Mike and Cheryl and Tim Geftakys, etc.  

For what it's worth, I am about to begin work on my Masters Thesis and I think that I will write it on abusive churches and the long-term sociological affects these organizations have on their members.  Should be interesting!

This e-mail has now become a hodgepodge of my thoughts...sorry about that.  But, it's helpful to be able to finally conceptualize some things that have haunted me and so many others for years.  I believe that the Lord has used and will continue to use this devastating chain of events in healing many people and reconciling them to Him.

[Bluejay]

I do not think Brother George would appreciate the fact that your married name is "Beers".  I think he would find it very Ungodly that your last name now represents an alcoholic beverage.

I hereby call on you to change your last name!!! If you do not, I will suggest that you have a consequence.
 

[vbeers]

o my.  you are so right.  i pray for forgiveness and hereby change proclaim my last name changed to magicmikeknowsall.  

[vbeers]

my last post was inappropriate.  i apologize.

[BenJapheth]

This just came from a brother in Omaha...This information is still being verified.

"Mike Zach & Mark Sjogren stepped down completely, and read individual letters of repentance...."

He also says, "I hope they take some kind of initiative to make that public."

The same brother says that one of the leading brothers reported to him..."that Mike repented of pride, superiority, control and manipulation. ----- didn't remember anything about lying and that's all I know about Mike Zach. ----- said Mark's seemed especially genuine. I did not ask for details on Mark."

Pray for these men that they will have the courage to make their repenteance public so that healing and reconciliation with their many victims may commence.

Chuck Vanasse
chuck@vanant.com

[psalm51]

WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL NEWS. GOD IS ANSWERING PRAYER. THE GOOD SHEPHERD STRIKES AGAIN!
We must keep praying! This confirms things I have heard as well.
Pat