Tour NTCC 2 New Testament Christian Churches of America, Inc. Graham, WA: "Man-Made Murder"
9822 158th St. E.
Puyallup, WA
Where Cori Lewis
was murdered
(lower right unit)
Today marks the one year anniversary of the untimely death of Cori Lewis. She was murdered by a former New Testament Christian Church Lay Pastor in the building pictured here (lower right apartment). This four-plex unit, and three more like it (see picture 2 also) located on 158th St. E. in Puyallup, WA were owned by Cherlyn and Kelly Merz, a couple who moved to the region to attend the New Testament Christian Churches of America, Inc. Bible School or Seminary.
Having a knack for acquiring real-estate, the couple remained in Washington, renting out several apartments to other NTCC Bible School or Seminary students and ministers. Though Kelly became a Lay Pastor for NTCC, both he and Cherlyn stopped attending the church. They divorced in 2004, with Cherlyn retaining the ownership of their real estate. Meanwhile Kelly worked for a pizza place and acted as site manager of the buildings where he murdered Cori.
Picture 2: Another
Unit owned by Merz
I knew Kelly and Cherlyn from my time in the ministry at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina from 1994-1995. When I learned of this tragedy, I asked myself (and others who knew this couple): "What happened?" Many issues came to mind, all of them tied to the New Testament Christian Churches of America, Inc. and their abusive treatment of people resulting in a profound negative impact on their lives, sometimes ending in death, as is the case here. Let's look at some of these issues.
Long View of site
where Cori Lewis'
Remains were recovered
less than a mile from
the NTCC compound
Racism In The New Testament Christian Churches of America, Inc.
Offically the party lines of the NTCC are "All are welcome." and "A Church of All Nations."
In practice, however, that is just NOT TRUE.
All are welcome IF they pay tithe and give in offerings.
And IF they keep their place below whites.
And IF they don't mingle with whites.
And IF they 'white-up' .
Close up of the grave
site off 86th St. E. &
224th Ave. E. in
Graham, WA
What does that mean? African Americans and others are welcome if they pay tithe and give in offerings, dress and act white, and don't wear afros or corn rows. They also would be bombarded with Anti-African-American lingo from the pulpit where NTCC CEO mikey kekel would mock "ebonics" and "monkey music". Also the NTCC founder and President de facto, rodger wilson davis, clearly sees African Americans as being beneath white folks; because he frequently taught the false doctrine that "If a white man marries a black woman, he has low self esteem." WOW! davis clearly is stating that he sees "black women" as being so far below a "white man" that he would only down-grade and marry one if he had low self esteem! Did we mention davis came from dirt poverty, from, in his words, "a cotton mill hill" town in the South? Draw your own conclusions; but he is white. And he constantly used "the N word" from the pulpit and lectern and claimed "If that offends you, you need to get saved. They that love the Lawd, nothing will offend them." [*cough* Yeah, right, whatever dude.] We're guessing davis tore out those pages in the bible describing how Moses married an Ethiopian woman (a sister of color). And yet, somehow, Moses was able to "do a work for the Lord." *ahem* [shaking our heads in wonder at the davis false doctrines that is so deeply embedded in the NTCC] What do people think when they read of the mighty ministry of Moses who married an Ethiopian? Do they murmur against him and God the way Miriam and Aaron did until God judged them and ended that? Read Numbers 12 link.
Another one of the four
four-plex buildings run by
Cherlyn and Kelly Merz
davis also often taught that black-white inter-racial marriages "limit the ministry". Consequently most ntcc ministers discouraged members from pursuing such relationships and refused to perform wedding ceremonies for such couples and deterred them from attending the NTCC bible school, quoting davis' dogma that such unions "limit the ministry" and informing the couple that they would most likely never be sent out to pastor a church as would other couples.
This was the case with the Merz. Their first ntcc pastor confessed that he regretted not performing their marriage ceremony, due to this davis doctrine. Also, the couple was involved with NTCC for ten years (a long time by NTCC standards) before any of their pastors would recommend them for Bible School (a prerequisite for attendance). We feel the only reason they were approved by davis was their ability to generate large income from real estate, paying ten percent (or more) in tithe to the New Testament Christian Churches of America, Inc. Perhaps it was the large tithe check that prompted davis to "allow" this couple to stay in Washington when most others who graduate the NTCS are immediately sent out to work elsewhere. Whatever the reason, they stayed and were systematically destroyed by the NTCC machine.
We feel the NTCC man-made doctrines and abusive practices led to not only the destruction of the Merz' marriage, but also the mental health of Kelly himself, driving him down, systematically taking from him his military career, self-esteem, self-worth, marriage, and faith in God. With nothing left, is it a wonder that he took someone else's life?
It's our opinion that NTCC's man-made extra-biblical doctrines led to this senseless murder.
What will it take to stop you from following the false teachings of the NTCC?
This is so sad. We think people still in ntcc need to ask themselves which one of their friends or children or family members will wind up like this as a result of years of borg abuse.
Look around and consider what we say. It may save a life; maybe even YOURS.
Ain't that the truth. The NTCC will mess you up and that is for certain. I don't care if Kekel is loaded with money. That dude is out there. That is what happens to many people when they get spoiled rotten.
"davis also often taught that black-white inter-racial marriages "limit the ministry""
folks this is not the '50s. this happened in recent history. black women were frequently put down because of their features. the men stood idely by. reminds me of slavery when massah would abuse the female slaves while the men did nothing. robs you of your manhood and makes you feel less than. i wishiwishiwsh i would have defended my spouse.
"robs you of your manhood and makes you feel less than. i wishiwishiwsh i would have defended my spouse."
ntcc set things up that way to purposely break us all down, to make it easy for them to control us. Mind control techniques have been used by the military for ages. The technique is not new.
But coupling the mind control techniques with a person's healthy fear of hell / judgment makes the method more effective.
Sure, you want to defend your spouse. But you hold back; because you have been trained to think "It's for their good."
It's not until you leave that environment and experience a healthy church that you fully realize the difference. ntcc is an incredibly abusive atmosphere.
The slavery analogy is completely accurate. You have no autonomy, no self-rule in the ntcc. All the free-will that God gave you is stripped away by their constant lies and confidence - man, manipulative, mind control tactics.
But leaving ntcc is the first step in recovering normalcy.
This is so sad. We think people still in ntcc need to ask themselves which one of their friends or children or family members will wind up like this as a result of years of borg abuse.
ReplyDeleteLook around and consider what we say. It may save a life; maybe even YOURS.
Ain't that the truth. The NTCC will mess you up and that is for certain. I don't care if Kekel is loaded with money. That dude is out there. That is what happens to many people when they get spoiled rotten.
ReplyDelete"davis also often taught that black-white inter-racial marriages "limit the ministry""
ReplyDeletefolks this is not the '50s. this happened in recent history. black women were frequently put down because of their features. the men stood idely by. reminds me of slavery when massah would abuse the female slaves while the men did nothing. robs you of your manhood and makes you feel less than. i wishiwishiwsh i would have defended my spouse.
Anon said,
ReplyDelete"robs you of your manhood and makes you feel less than. i wishiwishiwsh i would have defended my spouse."
ntcc set things up that way to purposely break us all down, to make it easy for them to control us. Mind control techniques have been used by the military for ages. The technique is not new.
But coupling the mind control techniques with a person's healthy fear of hell / judgment makes the method more effective.
Sure, you want to defend your spouse. But you hold back; because you have been trained to think "It's for their good."
It's not until you leave that environment and experience a healthy church that you fully realize the difference. ntcc is an incredibly abusive atmosphere.
The slavery analogy is completely accurate. You have no autonomy, no self-rule in the ntcc. All the free-will that God gave you is stripped away by their constant lies and confidence - man, manipulative, mind control tactics.
But leaving ntcc is the first step in recovering normalcy.