The distraction, or sheeps clothing, is material earthly help whichRead more , Whatever you think Anna; however, my 12 year tenure at WM and being in 4 CGs during that time and having NEVER been asked for financial info speaks for itself. Once you see it, you cant unsee it. Marvin Walker (left), the pastor of Watermark South Dallas, laughs with the neighborhood panel after church member Micheal Sneed (right) remembers he should have been talking about his views about the church, but gave a 10-minute testimony of his life growing up in South Dallas at the rezoning community meeting on Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. Todd raised 6 kids there and has never take a big salary. I admit I also used to automatically discredit stories Like this one when I heard them. After leading the Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas for more than 20 years, Todd Wagner, the church's senior pastor and co-founder has officially resigned. There is a lot to like about being in that space and the staff and volunteers go out of their way to make you feel welcome. If you chose not to participate, you will be singled out and you will be admonished. I was a member in the mid 2000s and lead a community group. Most people are content to carry on the way they always have and have no desire to be challenged in their beliefs. THEN they are required to provide a copy of every worksheet to each member of theircommunity group! Any stories out there other than the one in the news? Susan felt it was ironic that I had made a comparison between Scientology and Watermark Church, because she said those same comparisons helped her realize that she was not in a healthy church. Have you heard of Life Water? Then you are asked to come prepared to ask questions with everyones financial portfolio in hand. When I received the email from *Susan (pseudonym), a former Watermark Church member, she wrote, I am not the only former Watermarker out there who is nervous to speak up about this organization, because I refuse to call them a church.. Every argument you put forth seems to be based on your subjective opinion based on your speculation, assumption, and judgement.. Watermark encourages people to confess their sins to one another and to admonish faithfully but thats because thats what the Bible tells us to do as believers.. Watermark Church's membership process first requires that you sign the membership covenant, which oddly enough, you can do online. Under the veil of confession, it was all about him. Ashford, AL 36312 334.899.3624. Just because you havent personally experienced or have personal knowledge of these things happening does NOT mean they didnt happen to someone else. I have first hand experience with a senior pastor doing exactly this and teaching younger families how to properly budget and cost of having kids. Our daughters went to the same grade school and were on the same soccer team. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. I am certainly not an atheist and am a regular church attender. If we believe that, we should also have a desire to please God, and want the way we live our lives to reflect that desire. Another requirement for membership is that you find an area in which to serve in the church. If by community you mean confessing every single sin in your life to a group of virtual strangers, disclosing your personal financial information, and seeking the approval of the group to change jobs, buy a house, start a family then no,Read more , Christian community can have so many different levels, and not everyone is seeking the same depth in all relationships. Join us for worship on Sunday at 9 AM, 11:15 AM, and 5 PM. Can I be in a community group if Im not a Member of Watermark? Of course membership at Watermark involves signing a membership covenant and agreeing to follow all the rules (which includes joining a community group & following all of those rules), lest you come under church discipline. Im thankful you have experienced the controlling, entrapment, and triangulating side of WM. If youre short on time, start at 27 minutes when the speakers starts explaining why people think Watermark is a cult. I wish I could lay out my whole story because it was indeed my soul that felt abandoned and discarded. Community Core Value #2: Pursue deep relationships with one another, based on love and acceptance. Please allow up to 3 business days for a response. Except when you leave Watermark Church. If a member doesnt leave in good standing, WM will pursue that person and enforce church discipline. I know that there are a lot of people out there that have been hurt by this church who are too afraid to speak up. Every person stated it is out of fear of repercussions that they have done this. Having been a Watermark (now CityBridge) member since 2016 have never EVER heard these messages thatSusan speaks of. Izael who are you to judge someone elses experience? Sure, we made friends with our peers in the class and had fun at summer camp, and it all developed out of normal human interaction. Elders Todd Anders Elder Ben Caldwell Elder Mickey Friedrich Elder Blake Holmes Elder, Lead Pastor This would be Cabo and in the middle of the worst weather tragedies that Dallas has seen in decades. I think you need to expand on the 4B Spiritual Assessment forms. *Michael knew he was done with Watermark Church when he was invited to another blindside meeting by a Watermark Church staff member. Outsourced: How Watermark Community Church Fails in Caring for Its Members, The Spin Cycle Watermark Community Church Members Unlikely to Ever Know the Truth Behind Resignations, Before You Sign: What You Need to Know About Membership Covenants, Making the Cut What Does It REALLY Take to Become a Member at Watermark Community Church, Dallas Megachurch Pastor Todd Wagner Resigns, Cites Pride as the Reason, https://www.watermark.org/about/governance, OUR COMMUNITY SERIES: Being Lonely in a Group of People | To Love, Honor and Vacuum, Leaders trying to drain members in order to live exorbitant lives. If youve never been to Watermark Churchs sprawling Dallas Campus, its a sight to see. This sounds so much like the Boston Church of Christ that I attended about 20 years agoit was part of the group out of Gainesville FL. If by community you mean meeting with like-minded individuals to foster friendships & develop relationships then great. Were here to help you find that. This actually helps Provide understanding to a variety of different conversations I have had over the years with people who attended this organization. This process is called Community Formation (formerly GroupLink). The more I read this story, this sounds like the opposite of how Fellowship Church treated members (Im a former member there) but from a different angle. Get away as fast as you can! Their defense, interestingly enough, is that anyone who thinks Watermark Church is a cult is the one with a problem, and Ryan gave 4 reasons why (these are direct quotes): Ryan then challenges the students to ask the following 3 questions when asked if Watermark Church is a cult: Instead of actually addressing why Watermark is being repeatedly labeled as a cult, these students are being further indoctrinated to ignore those concerns and place the blame for them on those who would question the organization. They have about 11,000 attendees and have invested heavily in expensive buildings in and around the Dallas area. If you are going to judge Watermark, its leaders and programs, then I would encourage you to do so in the context of Scripture, especially the New Testament, including the gospels and the epistles that talk about church order, and yes, even discipline. Over the years weve been asked, If I do not live locally/near a Watermark campus can I still become a Member? Because we are passionate about the local church, we believe that you will be best shepherded by the leadership of a local church where you can be all in by serving, actively participating in community, and gathering weekly to corporately worship in an area near you. Former Hillsong member Ian Keith claims he witnessed the Australia-based church's deep-rooted homophobia. Can I be a Member of Watermark if I dont live in the area? We are beyond thankful and humbled that members and guests bless our church with their tithes and offerings. So in summary, Watermark isnt a cult because they follow Jesus better than anyone, are more radical about it than anyone else, and if thats what a cult is, oh well, I guess were a Jesus cult! I jokingly said Maybe theyre from Watermark (referring toRead more , Jan, emotional abuse and demeaning relationships are somewhat of a watermark of of how they care for the people who become involved. I take at face value Susan has hurt and I feel compassion for her. Small groups you were required to attend. I have edited some of her answers for content and length. He first goes into the definition of the word cult which in latin is the word cultus, defined as to inhabit, dwell; to cultivate. Just a thought here Nueva inadvertently lays out some data which is interesting. In November 2021, the church announced that Blake Holmes would be the new lead pastor/elder, along with adding John Elmore & Timothy Ateek as teaching pastors. My parents are in a very vulnerable place rn because of the death of a close family member. He was then the most arrogant and disrespectful person imaginable. Ive written and researched extensively on this topic, and have done podcast episodes on cults also; this definitely sounds like its on the cult spectrum. Part of Membership at Watermark is participating in regular, gospel-centered service. Also resigned is David Leventhal, an elder and teaching pastor at Watermark, who said he had lost trust in Wagner's leadership. Having community is not the issue its how Watermark DEFINES community. If you need assistance getting connected to a local church body close to your home, please contact us for assistance. However, if you have any experience with these covenants or have heard stories of people who have dealt with a church where they signed one of these and there was a point of contention or disagreement, you know that these are LEGALLY binding agreements and can be used against you (re: current The Village Church lawsuit& the Karen Hinkley story.). Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account. Many professed believers have doubts about . In a video posted to the website along with the leadership update, Todd is joined on stage by several other elders and staff members. There is forgiveness for a church also and I hope they are humbled one day so they can grow past some of there root issues. Additionally, if you are removed from membership by church leadership, they have the right to share the reasons why with anyone they want to and you gave them the right to when you signed the membership covenant. Ive spoken to these people and I believe them. How do I sign up to share my verbal testimony? There are people who are genuinely afraid to withdraw their membership for fear of being put under church discipline, pressure from the community group to conform, and outright harassment. This process is called ' Community Formation ' (formerly GroupLink). On the cult thing: LIsten to this longer presentation from a high school ministry event. A study of the Grand Haven area and surrounding communities revealed that around 60% of people were not regularly connected to a church community. I had concerns while attending and when I decided to leave it was a BIG deal. Celebrate Jesus's resurrection together with family and friends. This is a quality and important post. It said his membership was revoked. I have nothing to hide, and sharingRead more , As an ex-Watermark member (8 years), and former CG leader (6 years), I can say unequivocally that I had no problem sharing my financial information with my guys. The BITE model was developed by Steven Hassan, who was a former member of the Moon cult in the 1970s. Its all sunshine and roses till you see it firsthand. I have never met so many people using the term spiritual abuse asRead more , Concern, Who are you to judge!? This is where the system breaks down at the core. Per Todd Wagner I was not the right person or the right fit or whatever he thought. The level of absurdity is a bit high here Im a member, not once have I been asked to fork out my money, not once have I been forced to makeRead more . He is heavily involved in it and has brought along my impressionable twelve year old daughter. Just because you have not experienced or witnessed the things that happened to the person who told their story that I featured in this post, does not mean those things did not happen. Not to mention that even if the words are perfect its up to the listeners as to how they interpret it. The church is renovating the vacant part of the. It is Not referenced as a legal tool which may be weaponized against anyone they desire to control or experiment on. Seems like theres a lot of hurting people with a lot to hide on this thread. Yesterday, Watermark Community Church, a Dallas mega church, announced that founder and senior pastor Todd Wagner had resigned. For every story that IRead more . Below are screenshots of their membership covenant. A friend had a baby and a new neighbor kept bringing food. Not every word from a person in a pulpit will always be perfect considering that they are imperfect humans and will admit it. Theyre not only going to write you off but theyll make sure your entire community group does too.Read more , [] of absence in September 2020 to work on prideful sin that was increasingly becoming visible to church members. You cannot randomly (or otherwise) place 5-6 people in a group and immediately expect them all to uphold such high standards, without knowing these people and giving them the time to prove themselves trustworthy. After surviving the mental mind games; requirements which forced your focus onto WM (over Gods children as a whole); moved from a small/community group dialogue of what can we do to serve Gods children and one another to a focus on everyones sins/short comings; and focus on surviving their destructive behaviors under theRead more . Statement of Belief | Watermark Community Church As a church, we are whole-heartedly committed to pursuing and preserving truth as described in the Scriptures. In the video below, its quite clear that Watermark Church, while maintaining traditional Christian doctrine, is operating in a many ways like a cult.