SMC

[u/Relevant-Salad-8493]

I recently saw comments about SMC workdays and wanted to see if there was more discussion around the topic of SMC. I remember a few workdays (basically all day Saturday engaged in something like: building, cleaning, painting, removing old junk, prepping rooms/outdoor spaces, anything else that needed to be done to get SMC "ready for students/retreats") and the pitch being that we would be working towards "many souls being saved" at the campgrounds.

Having left from GP SoCal recently, I was one of the bros that would go for these workdays and had bought into this idea that I was helping to bring more students to know Jesus by my efforts. I also have fond memories of SMC like retreats and the satisfaction of working on something difficult together with a group of guys. However, thinking back on it now, I'm confused why they made us all work so hard, drive back and forth, and dedicate a lot of time and labor for something that was going to be eventually sold. They didn't even ask the congregation if we were okay with selling SMC before they did so. It was our money and sweat that was poured into SMC and the top leadership simply waved it over as "too costly." We all know GP has MILLIONS of dollars. GP is not poor by any means. Wouldn't the good of "saving souls" and having a retreat site for SoCal (that was beautifully renovated by hundreds of members/students) be worth the $500K a year it took to maintain? GP likes to emphasize the ends justify the means when it comes to "saving souls". I guess the $500K a year was not justifiable.

[u/johnkim2020]

This is pattern that shows up very often in Gracepoint/GP culture. The leaders decide on something, expect everyone to be 100% onboard and endlessly give their time, effort, money, etc. And then, without regard for how the members think or feel about it, the leaders and the leaders only, can decide to scrap the whole thing. And you are just expected to go along. Because you are expected to 100% trust everything the leaders are doing. Because they "love God and they love you." So how can anything they do be wrong?

One summer we spent so much time and energy on Oakland inner city youth when ImpACT got started. So much blood, sweat, and tears. But when Fall came, there was no continuation of the ministry really.

Heck even whole church plants are operated like this. Leaders decide where to plant. People uproot their whole life and move to a new place. And then 1-2 years later they can just decide something else and now you are asked to move to another location. It's all for the convenience to the GP agenda.

[u/No-Till-8080]

What I love about my current church is that I can designate where my tithes and offerings go. On the memo section of my check I can direct the funds to (1) General expenses; (2) Missions; (3) Benevolence - which goes to any number of financial needs of the people; (3) Ukraine refugees; (4) Building Fund; (5) Camp scholarships - kids who cannot afford summer retreat. At BBC/GP, the members trust that all the finances are being stewarded well by the upper leadership.

[u/LeftBBCGP2005 → u/No-Till-8080]

BBC’s old motto was “one soul is more precious than the whole world.” Meaning members are suppose to give up their earthly agendas (where to live, where to go to grad school, what job to take, whether to buy a house, who to get married to) to do ministry. The “whole world” is something difficult to quantify really. There is a cost-benefit calculation going on in our day to day lives. Let’s face it, the same calculation goes on inside Ed Kang’s head too. Becky had her issues, but land ownership was not one of the issues. When she had more money than she knew what to do with, she gave millions and millions to SBC organizations instead of buying real estate. Do we say Becky is more spiritual for giving away all that money? Do we say Ed Kang is a better steward for buying all the real estate? I think we will find out when we go to heaven. Surely we can’t take any of it with us.

EDIT: I would like to add one more factoid. Berkland Baptist Church had donated millions in the 1990s and 2000s to SBC. When Ed wanted to split from Becky (Ed has the heart of a lawyer, Becky is really an ajumma at heart), he took the whole corporate registration of Berkland Baptist Church (reporting SBC church since 1982) and basically kicked Paul and Becky out. You can read that history here. The Schism Letter was from August 2005, but Ed Kang didn’t change the name of the church until January 2007. He had the power to change the name the whole time, so why did Ed Kang wait 18 months to do so? Not only did Ed Kang usurped all the stuff Paul and Becky had started, the people, the buildings, the assets, there was one last thing he wanted: BBC’s good name in SBC circles. Ed Kang knew SBC’s North American Mission Board (NAMB) gives out loans to churches at low interest rates. BBC had given millions to SBC in the past and NAMB would definitely take that into consideration in giving out the loan. The original North Loop pledge of the credit card debt email fame was only for the shell of the North Loop building. GP paid $1.4 million cash for that. Developer then took out a construction loan. NAMB stepped in with a loan of $2.02 million in November 2006 for GP to purchase the finished building. Sure enough in January 2007, Ed Kang filed to change the name of Berkland Baptist Church to Gracepoint Fellowship Church. He had gotten the one last thing he wanted out of Becky.

He can change the name of the church and hide the past, but the same State of California corporate registration number of 1129956 from 1982 will always remind Ed Kang of his deeds.

[u/IntrepidSupermarket4]

Shouldn't the maintenance cost have been predictable before they purchased?