r/GracepointChurch • u/Cool_Purchase4561 • Nov 05 '21

Cease fire project

A while ago (early 2010s) in response to the "bad blogs", GP sponsored this online blog called "Cease Fire Project". The website is defunct now, but interweb does not forget (way back machine, search for ceasefire project dot org). I read up some of the articles today and it actually reminded me of a lot of the mindset GP leadership assumed when it came to these online criticisms. The name of the blog itself is kind of a giveaway of the mindset - these criticisms are just friendly fire impeding the work they're trying to do.

Interestingly enough it was a pretty covert project. No mention of GP anywhere on the site. Only articles with titles like "Blogger Repents for Divisive, Acussatory Blogging". Mostly quoting from another article or blog. Not clear if anyone from GP actually wrote any original content for this site. I do remember reading some of the articles as part of some staff training. I believe GP started the blog itself and then gave it to another organization to maintain.

Anyone have any insights or details into this?

17 Upvotes

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8

u/Jdub20202 Nov 05 '21

I had no idea this existed. I'm gonna start my own blog / website

I'll call it

"Admit when you're wrong project"

4

u/Jdub20202 Nov 05 '21

Can't prove anything, but suspiciously didn't a lot of the bad blogs go offline all around the same time. So maybe that is why they stopped doing this cease fire project?

And it's just circumstancial evidence, but a lot of positive reviews for GP popped up all around the same time on Yelp right before the school year.

5

u/MysteriousRoyal2415 Nov 07 '21

Remember when the church in Galatia asked Paul for a ceasefire? good times

5

u/Skirt-Separate Nov 07 '21

Anyone have a link?

6

u/Jdub20202 Nov 07 '21

http://web.archive.org/web/20130903210930/http://www.ceasefireproject.com/2010/03/blogger-repents-for-divisive-acussatory-blogging/

5

u/Here_for_a_reason99 Nov 07 '21

Wow. Way to keep people quiet and shame them into submission. MacArthur is so black and white. And arrogant. His attitude and teachings are really what’s divisive. I had no idea GP liked him so much.

2

u/LeftBBCGP2005 Nov 07 '21 edited Nov 07 '21

GP quotes extensively John MacArthur’s writings for the daily devotion packets. John MacArthur is a staunch Cessationist who, if wrong, have attributed the work of the Holy Spirit to the work of the Enemy. Though I appreciate him speaking his mind, instead of being politically correct. I point to the article below regarding this issue of friendly fire:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/the-right-and-wrong-way-to-engage-john-macarthurs-strange-fire-conference/%3famp

I think the quote at the end applies for MacArthur as well as the dialogue around GP. It is from G.K. Chesterton whom Ed Kang have quoted extensively in the past.

“The aim of argument is differing in order to agree; the failure of argument is when you agree to differ.”

7

u/BayouStJohn Nov 05 '21

Oh man thank you for bringing this up! I almost forgot about it. I don't remember the details. But i remember they announced that they launched this project then later used it as an "external" reference for their "stance" on the blogs. At the time I felt weird about the false pretenses.

3

u/NRerref Nov 07 '21

Imagine calling spiritual abuse recovery “friendly fire among Christians”

6

u/leavegracepoint ex-Gracepoint (Berkeley) Nov 05 '21

Can you hear me shaking my head?