The Church of Wells

Have any of you heard of this group before. I ask because 2 of my friends who are relatively new believers have sold their possessions and moved to Texas. I'm very concerned for them. I was wondering if anyone has any information on this group. Here is a link to their website. www.thechurchofwells.com

Have any of you heard of this group before. I ask because 2 of my friends who are relatively new believers have sold their possessions and moved to Texas. I'm very concerned for them. I was wondering if anyone has any information on this group. Here is a link to their website. www.thechurchofwells.com

Yes, I have looked into this group and found them to be very deceived and are either heading in the direction of a cult or are already a cult. It is a sad situation and hits home because on the surface they seem to be on fire for street evangelism and endorse many giants of the faith. But when you start hearing their sermons/teachings and reading their writings they start getting seriously weird in certain areas. They are very controlling and manipulative. They teach that if you live with unsaved parents or relatives you must leave if you want to be pleasing to God. They divide over non-essentials such as whether or not you watch TV or sports. They are quick to pronounce someone unsaved over such trivial things. Just recently Tony Miano did a 3 hour blog talk radio show on them. Here is the link to the podcast:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/cross-encounters/2014/02/17/the-church-of-wells-is-it-a-cult

Just today on my Facebook page my friend Mike Corrothers posted this after he listened to the podcast:

"The young man mentioned in the interview with Tony Miano, has come to our fellowship his name is Masao Gonthiet, he is half Japanese and half American. He did many of the same things at our fellowship. Speaking in King James English. Bursting into song for no reason at all. He even went to Lee & Nidia' house, he asked them for their testimony. Him and his friend that was with him. Then they told them that they were not saved, and that they needed to repent or they were going to hell.

Masao himself even attempted to recruit me . On the phone he asked me if him and a friend could stay at my house. That he had some things you wanted to tell me. He also mentioned that he would like to invite me to the Church of wells. I refused. Yet he continued to call for a while. Later I heard that he had married a 16 year old girl. And she was pregnant with his child, and was living on the compound in Wells, Texas.

Many young people are living there now. In what can only be described as what the first man in the interview with Tony had said. You can't leave. You can't even make a decision on your own without discussing it with an elder. Many are being deceived in this cult. I was not surprised in Tony's interview to hear Masao's name. May God mercy on him. I hope and pray that he will realize someday that he is misled, and is going a stray from the gospel of Jesus Christ."

Here are some more links that may be of interest:

http://www.ketknbc.com/news/exclusive-interview-with-former-church-of-wells-me

http://www.ketknbc.com/news/exclusive-part-2-interview-with-former-church-of-w

http://www.cbs19.tv/story/23295326/daughters-involvement-in-controversial-religious-group-concerns-family

http://www.texasmonthly.com/story/is-the-church-of-wells-a-cult

Thanks for your guys advice. It has been a sobering thing to see my friends get swallowed up into this group. We were all on "fire" for the Lord, but I'm realizing Satan was playing off of our pride at times. Because we had been exposing ourselves to extreme holiness preaching, (listening to alot of Ravenhill, Washer,) we became so introspective and began questioning alot of what we had been taught. The enemy moved in quickly and captured them.

Looking at the website, on face value it looks like a lot of relatively young men with a lot of zeal, but without the stabilising influence of mature men
keeping them from going to extremes and error.

One of the elders there is Sean Morris who spoke at the SI Indiana conference a few years ago, so maybe Greg can give us some more insight on him.

All three elders are young men, which is an obvious concern.

Before my friends were captured, we had a meeting with them and one of the members of the Church of Wells who had drove all the way from Texas to New Jersey. I believe his name was William Pierce. My friends had only been around this guy for a couple of days and when I saw them it was as if they took on a whole new persona. No emotion, very somber, speaking robotically. It reeked of false humility and it was almost like they were giving the "correct" biblical answers to the questions that were raised. In our attempt to stop our friends from being captured by Wells, we were put on trial and our professions of faith were being attacked. The scriptures were being butchered, William Pierce was using the book of Proverbs to attack and silence anyone he felt threatened by. For example, one of us was speaking rather passionately about our concerns of what was going on, and William Pierce started using the text, "if a man doens't bridle his toungue his religion is in vain." He then began to discredit our stance on the scriptures and by the end of the night they wouldn't even call us brothers. They kept saying things like light has no fellowship with darkness and you must come to the light. The problem was the "light" was their truth and manipulation of the scriptures. It was the most bizarre experience I've ever been apart of. The Bible was being used as a weapon to attack and wound.

I stand with brother Greg and others in regard to these people. My wife and I personally know someone who is entrenched in this group, and it breaks our hearts, knowing how much we love her and her family. We pray for them.

Amen brothers and sisters. When we are young and immature it can be easy for us to be gullible and deceived by extremes which look and sound good on the surface but are dangerous and harmful at the core. In the past I have fallen for certain unbiblical extremes but God has been faithful to discipline me and show me where I have erred. So I can relate to this group to a certain extent, and my heart goes out to them in sincere prayer for them to realize and repent of their error.

I believe this should serve as a warning to all of us who love Christ-centered holiness preaching and Christ-centered revival. We must guard against certain extremes. I believe this should also serve as a warning to those who are continuists when it comes to the gift of prophecy. This group is heavily into prophesying against biblical, God-fearing churches, pronouncing unreasonable judgments even against solid churches and pastors, as brother Greg pointed out regarding Carter Conlon and TSC. I watched one of the videos of that leader in which he prophecies against brother Carter and it was totally uncalled for and had no biblical grounds at all.

May we take heed that in our zeal for holiness and truth we don't get caught up in serious error.

This quite an eye opener for me, having never heard about this group and maybe there is someyhing for all of us to learn about the dangers of deception that can easily overtake the most unlikely people.....

What I mean is, these guys seem to have been known by and involved with many on SI or related ministries at some point in the past and had a zeal for being wholeheartedly for the Lord. Yet they have ended up seperating themselves and falling into deception.

Many of us can look at the current state of western Christianity, see the apostasy and even call for a remnant to come apart from this and seek the Lord in true gatherings. I have such a heart, but here can be the danger if we do not judge our hearts correctly. Such a desire and such zeal if we are not careful and open to correction can lead to spiritual pride and setting ourselves above others.

This sort of deception does not happen all at once, it is a gradual thing. I would guess that they probably started of with a godly desire and right spirit, but gradually wrong issues, thoughts, emotions etc were allowed to become established in the heart and before you know it deception is taking hold and then you become the one deceiving others.

I do pray that eyes will be opened here and that they will receive godly correction before it is too late.
May God keep us all from self deception of any type and help us to remain humble and depending on Him, realising that we do not yet possess all truth and can still need to be shown where we have missed it in some area.

When we are young in the faith we need to use extreme caution when listening to men like Ravenhill, Keith Daniel, Washer, Barnard. The reason for this is because these men are mature and often speak of things that are very advanced in Christianity. When concepts such as zealous separation and holiness and sanctification and extreme prayer and fasting are put forth, these (although good in themselves), can be filtered wrongly by a young zealot and ultimately used for destruction rather than life.

This is what happens when young, zealous believers do not allow themselves to be properly "discipled" in a Paul-Timothy fashion, but rather hit the preaching fields and pulpits like maverick fireballs. Many Pastors (well-meaning) can be unloving in actually allowing them soapboxes, disregarding Paul's warning in permitting unproven novices a place in ministry.

There is a reason for this: Look at the harm that comes when the poisoned fruit tree finally ripens. They not only destroy themselves, but many others who unsuspectingly come under the shade to find sanctuary and food. It is the inverse effect of coming under a "good tree"; i.e. many are blessed and fed. Good trees take time to grow, with lots of pruning and long, oftentimes hard seasons. Bad trees, like weeds, shoot up right away with brilliant colors and berries. They attract a lot of attention, and they seem healthy and productive. But without the tedious pruning shears of wisdom, patience and pain they instead become trees of destruction.

Yes, I agree with Paul that there is evidence here of lack of discipleship - BUT!

This is an example of giving a "novice" a place that they were not ready for.

I was at the SI conference where the founders of this group were given opportunity to share. I expressed my concerns that very conference to several.

Greg Gordon was not at this particular conference, but I spoke with him about my concerns.

Older brothers must take some responsibility for failing to see the danger these young novice where placed in.

May we all learn - "do not hastily lay hands upon anyone".

Hindsight is always 20/20 but these young men traveled with older, well known, highly respected brothers.

Spirit guided insight and foresight must be received so as to not place a novice in a position where he can become puffed up and fall into the same condemnation as the devil.
makrothumia

I had never heard of this before but in seeing this thread I checked into it a little, immediately sensing in my spirit that it is just another of man's attempts to organize or systematize a New Testament Church. Shortly after checking out their website I saw this in today's reading in "Open Windows" by T. Austin-Sparks.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3 NIV)

The new creation is a company, it is a Body indwelt by the Holy Spirit, actuated by the Holy Spirit, actually made one by the Holy Spirit. "In one Spirit were we all baptized into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13). The oneness is the oneness of the Holy Spirit. "Giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit” (Eph. 4:3), not to make it but to keep it. A new creation.

Well now, of course that is just the key that opens the door to everything when you see what new creation Life means. And with that you introduce the whole matter of the proper order, the proper regulated order of heavenly Life. Heavenly Life is according to heavenly law. It is not lawless. Each member of this body is not a law unto himself or herself. We are bound by this integrating, regulating law, that we are not allowed to be independent. Here the Holy Spirit forbids it. We are not allowed to take the law into our own hands. We are not allowed to act as individuals; the Holy Spirit will not allow it. There is a regulating order with this Life. This Life expresses itself according to its own laws, as life does in every part of the organic creation. It follows its own lines. That part of the creation follows the laws of the life which it possesses, and this is the Life of the Spirit, and you have not to organize or systematize this. Immediately you begin to do i t, you bring death in. It is as fatal to try and make a New Testament church after the New Testament pattern as it is to have no pattern at all! It can be deathly to do that. The thing happens if the Life has its way. We have learned this, yet, much as we know about the truth, we are still so much governed by our own natural life, even in our spiritual activities. There is disorder and running before the Spirit. However, we are all in the school, and we are just stating the laws, the principles and the truth that here you have no need to go and organize something on a New Testament basis. It will come about if the Holy Spirit is really having His way in terms of Life.