Law vs. Grace

In a thread titled, "Don't Smash Those Pennies" the Administrator of Religious Cults Info blog examines the law vs. grace found in mind control groups.  Check it out for yourself.  See if you recognize similarities between ntcc and woff.  Are we truly saved by grace?  Or do we keep returning to rules like a bad penny comes back again and again?  We can be free from the law by remembering what Debbie Reed shared on her blog, One Less Stone: "I Still Need A Savior"

Holiness or Hell? Part 1

During our combined twenty two + plus years in the ntcc, we have heard the term "Holiness or Hell" used from behind the pulpit, during bible studies, and in general conversation many times.  Without going into our own personal opinions and convictions that might agree or disagree with the ntcc on many holiness issues, we think that it is important to get down to the root of the problem or matter however you might see it.

My issue with holiness preachers has nothing to do with the content of holiness teachings but with the way it comes across.  With the ntcc every thing comes across the pulpit as:

• "Do or Die."
• "My Way or the Highway!"
• "Heaven or Hell!"
•  etc... 

But they also throw around the question,

• "What would Jesus do?"

That is a great question; and one we all should strive to achieve.  I do not ever remember Jesus saying follow me or you will die and go to hell.  It seemed to me that the ones that followed him did so more so out of love than fear.

The reason that the ntcc is so cut and dry on many issues is that they are a cult.
They use these teachings as ultimatums:

• to gain more control
• to create fear
• to make their group seem more elite
• to make it harder to obtain membership in their exclusive club

This is a very dangerous road to travel down; because the group that usually gets excluded are the people that are the opposite of proud, the least of God's children, and the ones that are the most easily offended. The ntcc have said in the past that "It's God's word that is offending them not our preaching."  By saying this they are displaying their lack of forgiveness and a judgmental attitude that runs many off; in spite of the fact that they do preach Christ crucified. It's counter-productive to introduce holiness or hell after you just got done preaching Jesus' blood or hell.

While there are many teachings in the bible that are the "do's and don'ts" of Christianity there are also teachings that we adhere to that are not all "cut and dry".  Many things in the bible apply to customs of the time and Old Testament Law.  Tithe is a concept that has absolutely no supporting New Testament Scripture; but it is a huge part of ntcc's teaching; because in ntcc tithe is used to separate Christians from sinners and to distinguish those that are saved from those who are not.  And, more importantly to the ntcc, tithe is used to gain revenue ($$$$$$).  Not only do they hammer tithe; but they add all kinds of offerings and use more cult loaded jargon to guilt people to give.  There were many times that I was encouraged to give more than I could; and it was done in a way that made me feel that if I didn't pledge money that I didn't have that I lacked the faith to trust God [manipulation].  Now, I'm finding out that what I did give was funding the higher-ups' lifestyle more than it was helping those for whom the money was designated.  I do not have any problem with somebody paying their tithe; but when it is preached as a stipulation to being saved it takes the blessing away from the giver; and I have to say that there is no scriptural evidence that supports this teaching.

The same applies with holiness teaching.  If someone is taught holiness or hell, it makes holiness an ultimatum and people live it out of fear instead of love.  Most of what the ntcc preaches and teaches is not necessarily un-biblical, although some of it is; but it is the way in which they erupt from the pulpit and spew out ultimatums that makes it wrong.  I could take a dog that dumps on the carpet and stick its nose in it and beat the dog until it can barely walk; and it fears me every time I come near it.  Or I can choose a method like putting a dog door in the house and showing the dog his mess, give the dog some verbal reprimand and possibly a small swat to get his attention and then put him through the dog door.  I wonder which method works the best with Christians?  I wonder which method would bring in the most money into the offering plates?  I wonder if holiness was not preached as a prerequisite to make it into heaven if you might find more takers?

Part of the problem that I have with the ntcc's preaching is that they add to and take away from true holiness.  The ntcc's stand on facial hair on men is not scriptural in any way and has no place being preached as a requirement to being a Christian whether or not it is implied or in the form of public rebuke.  Is not holiness an outward appearance for an inward work?  How does the ntcc's stand on encouraging divorce not apply to "holiness or hell" preaching?  It seems like this is allowed because it would call into question the legitimacy of the entire organization, its founder, and the reasons he started a cult instead of adhering to the principles of the organization that would not allow him to do his own thing.   I could go into how tanya kekel dresses and how michael c. kekel has conducted himself, and whether or not football pants are lascivious, and many other questionable doctrines of  the ntcc; but I think that we have covered this sufficiently.  The holiness or hell doctrine that was preached the entire time that I was in the ntcc, which was 1983 - 1997 [Don] and 1990 -1999 [Ange], has been broken and changed many times by the ntcc leadership to cover their own shortcomings [compromise].

We have found that serving God is not supposed to be this difficult; and that God is much more forgiving than the ntcc.  We appreciate all that contribute to this blog; but we especially recognize the X-ers for what they have had to endure over the years.  We were all made to live as slaves to a machine that tried to control our thoughts and actions by the use of intimidation, public embarrassment and humiliation.  I really believe as said before that there will be a special dispensation of grace for those that had to endure this kind of spiritual abuse; and that God has not forsaken us because we have left this evil and wicked organization; but rather it is the first step in a long process of healing and definitely a move in the right direction toward inward holiness without hell being rammed down our throats.

Vote Anonymously On This Post By Clicking On The Lettered Boxes Below:

A)  Sounds Like A True Description Of ntcc.

B)  ntcc Sounds Like A Cult.

C)  I Read This Post.

D)  Holiness Comes After Salvation So It Is Not A Prerequisite For Heaven.

E)   Holiness Comes From The Heart, Not From Rules.

F)  Create Your Own By Leaving A Comment:  Example:  "F"  ntcc preaches holiness to gain control of its members' lives and finances.

G)  Glad To Be Out of ntcc

H)  Create Your Own

I)    I'm Thinking Of Leaving ntcc

J)  Create Your Own

**You Can Choose Multiple Answers** 

mike kekel Gone Country? Dog Show or Bluegrass / Winterfest

kekel said,

"Many years ago when our son was small, we took him to Frontier Park in Graham, WA. We noticed a dog show going on nearby, so we wandered over to watch. After a few minutes of witnessing the interaction of the people with their pets, it became clear to me that it was time to leave. I was uncomfortable and troubled in my spirit by the atmosphere.

Another time a few years ago we went to an annual event in Tacoma called Wintergrass; basically one hour acoustic music lessons/workshops taught by professionals. Iʼve played guitar since 1966 and Iʼm always trying to improve, so it was an absolute treat for me to listen to these pros play and teach. Later in the evening when things started jumping, and started to get crazy, we looked at each other and said something like, “letʼs get out of here!” These are just 2 examples of many kinds of situations that we as Christians may find ourselves in and no one can hit the brakes but us! Here’s another scenario; Restaurants that serve alcohol. If you refuse to eat at such places, youʼre left with McDonalds and the BK; but the environment is quite different on Tuesday afternoon than it is on Friday or Saturday evening when the crowd is rockinʼ and prowlinʼ. So then, is it the PRESENCE of alcohol, or the activities INVOLVING it that is wrong? For that matter, alcohol is present at the supermarket, but walking near it should not be a temptation for a Christian. If there is no lust (desire) for it in your heart, there should be no temptation (James 1:14-15)- “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Even if you WERE tempted by it, you still have a brake pedal beneath your foot. Use it! If a certain place put you in a position to be tempted, then you should avoid even going there."

Don and Ange say,

This clearly illustrates the warped thinking of mike kekel and the cultish teachings of the ntcc. Come on, the leisurely walk through the park and stumbling into a wicked dog show?  A dog show is such a terrible atmosphere to have to endure?  I bet it really vexed your spirit. Maybe it was the fact that the dogs were not wearing modest apparel?  Or one of them committed an indecent act in public? I know what it was. It must have been the dog owners dripping with pride?  Or maybe the dogs were proud?

When I read this, I almost fell out of my chair laughing. It brought back so many ntcc memories. I thought of disclaimers that we used to use at ntcc. 

"I was walking through the barracks and stumbled across a tv; and there just happened to be some sinful event on there; and I felt convicted for even watching 30 seconds of it."

kekel said, "we noticed a dog show and wandered over to watch".

If kekel got convicted I would imagine that the conviction he was experiencing had something to do with the double standards that ntcc has been preaching for years and years.  Maybe he realized what a hypocrite he is for going to a Bluegrass Music Festival after years of teaching that all such  music is "worldly".

Maybe he just got done telling the bible school students that if their toenails where hanging over the threshold of their doorstep at 10:00:01pm they would be breaking curfew and would forfeit their semester; and ntcc would keep all the proceeds so that the kekel kid could purchase a new football uniform for his extracurricular sporting event that nobody else in the history of ntcc ever got to participate in without getting raked over the coals for wearing lascivious tight clothes and playing sports that could take them away from the work of the borg, oops, lawd.

That might bring a little conviction; but I bet he stayed there a few more minutes and pondered over all the members that were told they couldn't have dogs or that cats were of the devil. That must have brought a lot of conviction. But I bet he lingered a little longer. It wasn't until he reflected back on the time that his father-in law davis had a certain preacher, elliot f. gesang, execute certain German Shepherds named Wendy and Lion by taking them out in the woods and shooting them; since davis and kekel were not being responsible pet owners and didn't want to build fences big enough to properly contain their dogs.

Or maybe kekel remembered that time his father-in-law had a certain preacher take an axe and chop off the heads of a litter of  puppies (read more>>). I also would be convicted if I were at a dog show and belonged to an organization like ntcc that has no respect for the sanctity of the life of a defenseless dog.

If you are cruel to animals, you also will be cruel to people. It's a statistical fact that a lot of murderers start out by hacking up dogs and cats and other animals "to see what it feels like to kill something". They learn to develop a lust for blood. I'm not saying that kekel or davis have murdered people, at least not physically (that we know of), but what about spiritually?

Can a preacher be cruel enough to a person by blasting them publicly and rebuking them openly on something that has no scriptural basis to make them commit spiritual suicide? What is it that causes a person to walk away from God? Is it always their desire to go back into sin? Do we take the same amount of care with a person's spiritual health as we do with their physical health?

When they wrongfully accuse those whose souls they have been entrusted to watch over, and instead gang-up on them when they should be the ones that demonstrate love, is there any culpability or accountability to restore those souls as brothers or sisters? I've seen people trampled on and cast out of churches for disagreeing with the highly esteemed so-called pastors of the ntcc over issues that the ntcc taught as gospel but were not backed up by scripture; what happened next was that this innocent questioning or disagreement was used to spiritually separate young tender church members from the only source of reality in God that they ever knew.

For some reason it was important for kekel to point out that this stroll through the park took place "many years ago when their son was small". This is a psychological disclaimer; that was used as a defense mechanism for something that kekel thought was wrong. The point is that if the place that he went was so bad he should have never gone in the first place.

I remember one time I bought a boat and restored it and parked it by the servicemen's home. I didn't feel any conviction until a certain overseer was scheduled to come by. I just knew that my fields were going to get plowed. Being a member of ntcc and having a boat is just asking for hot coals to be heaped on your back and searing flames licking at your heels. After all, how can you be a Christian and have time for a boat? Was I convicted by the Holy Ghost for having this boat? Or perhaps was there a certain precedent that had been set at the ntcc about doing things that are fun? Whatever the case may be, when the overseer came by I made it a point to explain that I had purchased the boat to fix it up and make money by selling it so that I wouldn't get plowed. Here I was, making up lies, which is a sin, to cover up doing something that is not a sin. No wonder I was so "convicted". Perhaps if I were a member of a normal church, I would never of felt guilty for having a boat and would have never made up a lie about it.

Next we find kekel telling us about his trip to Winterfest. This time we have no disclaimer before he told us that he went because there must have been no conviction to go in the first place. But the psychological disclaimer came afterwards as another defense mechanism, "Iʼve played guitar since 1966 and Iʼm always trying to improve, so it was an absolute treat for me to listen to these pros play and teach." He doesn't even realize that he is making excuses for his behavior.

Now here we have the CEO of ntcc feeling convicted by being at a dog show within a few minutes of being there; but he can sit at a bluegrass festival for an entire hour before being convicted??  I personally don't think that either activity is a sin in itself, unless, like kekel, you preach double standards. However, if you look at the teachings of ntcc, and if you compare a bluegrass festival to a dog show, I would have to think that a bluegrass festival would be more of a sin than a dog show.

I do think that if it were common knowledge that a bible school  student were participating in events like that, there would be unreasonable spiritual retribution toward that individual. They might not come out and say that it was a sin to attend an event like that, although they have in the past; but what they would more than likely say is that souls are dying and going to hell and here you are wasting time at a worldly music festival.  Same exact thing. Same effect. Same judgmental double standards. It's okay for the elitists in the ntcc to basically do whatever they want; but when it comes to the least of God's children, it's a sinful event.

Why are we so hard on the ntcc?  Because the leadership should  set a good example of what they expect others to do.  But instead the ntcc leaders break the rules they have created and do the exact opposite of what they expect otherss to do.  They say and do not.  Hypocrites.

Mathew 23:4 "They bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; and they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers".

If you are preaching strict adherence to a set of values to the least of the brethren, then you better live by it yourself; or you are a HYPOCRITE. Don't you borg 'leaders' feel the least bit guilty about the double standards and hypocrisy that is rampant throughout the ntcc? You should. kekel, you don't need to learn how to use the brake pedal in your spiritual car, you need to learn how to use the steering wheel. If you would have turned your steering wheel in your sin-mobile a little to the left or to the right, you wouldn't have created so much fodder for us to write about. You should step down from your lofty position and turn it over to someone who lives what they preach, loves God and does not ADD TO or TAKE AWAY FROM the Word of God. Until next time, we are the X-ers and we stand united.