I have edited some of her answers for content and length. Its a huge red flag to me about Todds character and understanding of God. No longer fulfill the requirements of membership. Came home from college to learn that my parents are going to a megachurch in the area called "Watermark Community Church". Sure, lets not address anything that is rumored to be strange about Watermark and say that Jesus sounded cultish. It became an ongoing issue which caused him to be singled out more and more for not being authentic. Todd loves and worships money and attention. Todd was my counselor at Kanakuk Camps for a summer. Once you have joined or have been placed in a community group (CG), the control begins. Can anyone tell me what is Todd Wagners past? For as long as the church has been in existence, this is the EXACT formula for getting connected in the Christian community but Watermark Church says its just not enoughwhy? Hes not the pastor of Watermark. In the video below, its quite clear that Watermark Church, while maintaining traditional Christian doctrine, is operating in a many ways like a cult. At Watermark, we want to be an authentic people known for our . Elders Todd Anders Elder Ben Caldwell Elder Mickey Friedrich Elder Blake Holmes Elder, Lead Pastor I haveRead more , Two anecdotes: Through a friend I learned of a professional counselor making note of how many Watermark clients she had who were women who felt emotionally abused and demeaned by their husbands. He walked with an air of superiority that was disgusting. While it might seem like a moot point to most of us to someone who has been indoctrinated in this system, when they finally gain the courage to leave, these are very real fears. Harassed by members at work amongst other things. Spiritual authority has nothing to do with title, education, or rhetorical ability (2 Cor 10-13). It has the usual stuff like submission, gossip, blah, blah, blah. Because hes fearful. The womans story you shared sounded like her personal interpretation of events that has no factual evidence to back it up.. We areRead more . Im not saying that the Watermark Todd Wagner lives in a shack, by any means. After my last post, I had people express doubt that a church would actually ask its members to provide detailed financial information. 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. The reason: He's gay and in a relationship. If you dont fill out the form you can leave easy if your just quiet. The reason I go to pride is because often times pride does not allow the person to admit they are incorrect or unable to identify theRead more , Having attended Watermarks Dallas campus for over 12 years, my attendance came to an abrupt end when I was unfortunate enough to notice their leaderships aggressive handling of the broken and wayward, as well as experience the lack of compassion and even humanity toward the victim of anothers sin. Remember all of that sharing in Community Group living authentically, telling everyone about your finances, your struggles, getting their permission to make any life decision? Groucho Marx. Probably not. 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.). It shocks me how much fear this church has put inside of the people who dared leave it. Watermark currently partners with multiple ministries local to Dallas and across the globe. . My fellow watch blogger Julie Anne at Spiritual Sounding Board shared this video on the BITE model for cults. No paper. Its a clear sign of an abusive environment. Thanks to you for writing and Susan for sharing. For every story that IRead more . It is your duty and requirement as a CG member to share your life story, which Watermark refers to as Life Maps: *Michael went through this process and joined a community group. What strikes me most clearly is that Watermark fits clearly two of Dr Robert Liftons 8 markers of cults: the demand for purity and the cult of confession. I cannot overstate how this should alarm people to the abusive tactics of Watermark Community Church. They have three grown daughters that live in three different states. No puedo decir que no estoy en desacuerdo contigo. The fourth and last step in Watermarks Membership process is joining a community group. Email: pastoraloffice@watermark.org Statement From Watermark Community Church Recently, one of our former members posted a letter he received from some close friends and the leadership of our church informing him that his membership status had been removed. Start the weekend by remembering Christ's sacrifice for our sins. One of the core values of the community groups is Live Authentically, which they define as being completely honest with one anotherthis means giving others permission to know the real you by sharing authentically. This includes sharing your sins, struggles, along with your entire life story, potentially to a room full of complete strangers. If you chose not to participate, you will be singled out and you will be admonished. Oh, I wouldnt be so sure of that. 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. Another requirement for membership is that you find an area in which to serve in the church. He is a gifted teacher and speaker and could have made so much more money over the years with the opportunities he was given, but he didnt take them. I hope that more people will begin to see the harm that this church is causing and that it is dangerous. I tried to attend their services, tried Re-Engage but I always felt icked-out by the whole thing. Wed encourage you to pray that God uses biblical community to make you more like Jesus. Watermark Community Core Values. The BITE model was developed by Steven Hassan, who was a former member of the Moon cult in the 1970s. This would be Cabo and in the middle of the worst weather tragedies that Dallas has seen in decades. I have NEVER been asked to, let alone forced, to disclose financial information. Now he confesses to sin himself , sin ofRead more , I knew Todd when he was an associate pastor at Northwest Bible Church. Per Todd Wagner I was not the right person or the right fit or whatever he thought. If you got the impression I was disingenuous or was minimizing someones hurt please forgive me. SERVICIO DOMINICAL EN ESPAOL 11:15 AM. He meets with an FBI agent in a park in Washington DC, who proceeds to tell him,They bring in the new rookie. (click here to read that story). Izael who are you to judge someone elses experience? Please allow up to 3 business days for a response. It has forced many people to move or go into hiding. The British government says it will introduce a bill next year legalizing gay marriage - but banning the Church of England from conducting same-sex ceremonies. Any admonishment should be delivered with patience, grace, and compassion. Through our membership covenant, members commit to pursue what we call (for ease of remembering) the 4Bs: 1. Any stories out there other than the one in the news? He didnt even buy the house, it was gifted by a member years ago. After you have completed Membership Class Part I, you will be assigned a host who will listen to your story of grace. While help with finances kept the anxiety under control, it was the lack of Jesus I experienced fromRead more , Thank you for the validation Nueva. You made friends with whoever you wanted to and you shared what you felt like sharing. Considering thatRead more , Dave It is disingenuous to minimize someone elses experience just because you did not witness it yourself. No software installation. Where are you getting this information? -Laura Schwartz. Watermark Church was born from a passion to see people find Jesus, find a faith family to belong to, and find a mission to give their lives for. 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. Im thankful you have experienced the controlling, entrapment, and triangulating side of WM. You can see it on their instagram! Thank you for your reply! Listening for root issues and how they cause hurt for make more senses than listening to reply in a sermon. I think having that information would offer great insight and explain some things. https://www.watermark.org/about/governance. Can I be in a community group if Im not a Member of Watermark? I was blessed to attend Kanakuk for years and years. Positional authority deals with executing responsibilities within an organization, like a general in an army, the president of bank, or the pastor of a church. Equalities minister Maria Miller . There might be some VERY unsafe people grouped up, causing some serious damage, all in the name of community. 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. Want to join our team? These Community Group Core Values are not negotiable. Seeking 3 interns for a paid 6-month, an in-person internship in Greenville, SC, to begin on Monday, April 3 rd, 2023. Todd Wagner, the embattled pastor of Watermark Church, a Dallas multisite megachurch with a pre-pandemic congregation of 20,000 people, has resigned his position as senior pastor and elder. What does being your authentic self really mean, in the context of community groups? I was one of the cold ones! I dont mean to discredit anyones experience, but mine overall has been encouraging, and yes, challenging, but biblically sound. You can always view your progress in the Membership process by visiting your Membership Status page. I was a messed up kid at that time and Todd was the worst counselor ever. I highly recommend that you watch the video, because if you watch it with just the tiniest bit of scrutiny, you will notice Todd Wagner work some word-magic here. Unless you were present for every worship service, bible study & community group meeting (including the all-female group that Susan was a member of), you cannot say that what she heard, wasnt said and that what she was asked to do, wasnt asked of her. There are many issues at Watermark. Secondly he says that even Jesus himself said things that might be considered cultish: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26. As I learned how WM was initially started, out of manipulative behaviors and lies, I knew I had to leave. Find freedom from codependency, pornography, addiction, eating disorders, anger, depression, abuse, same-sex struggles, and more. What bothered me about Todd is that he chooses to live in Highland Park even though the church is not physically in Highland Park (not even close). All of the years I attended Kanakuk I had awesome and incredible counselors except for Todd. At least that was how I understood what he said. Also resigned is David Leventhal, an elder and teaching pastor at Watermark, who said he had lost trust in Wagner's leadership. We believe this reflects the biblical expectation that Christians use their gifts to serve others ( Romans 12:6-8, I Peter 4:10-11 ). I wish I could lay out my whole story because it was indeed my soul that felt abandoned and discarded. Perhaps more focused prayer from true believers to individually and collectively speak truth and take a stand for Jesus examples in the Bible will goRead more . I think I have a pdf copy of a ten year old one. I was told I was not allowed to talk poorly about WM leadership and was heavily pressured to say WM leadership didnt do anything wrong. Matthew's Gospel: following Jesus in everyday life Being a Christian means 'following Jesus'. It was a class before the main church service where people around the same age as you sat in a room, listened to a bible lesson, maybe interacted a bit, shared prayer requests, took up a small offering, held hands and said a closing prayer. With last weekend's resignation of Elder David Leventhal & Elder/Sr. Learn how the Old Testament foretold the events of Easter. I think these behemoths are fueled by a bizarre tendency of people to adulate and worship grand pumba pastors the fealty and reverence paid to them always astonishes me. It sounds like people from the church may have gotten some things wrong, but I know so many people that haveRead more , Pdiddy The taxes ALONE on the house Todd lives in are over $30K a year, which is probably the salary of some WM staff members. I dont consider the one couple in my CG that reviewed my expenses so they could advocate for me as abuse. How do you know Todd pays that? Just because you havent personally experienced or have personal knowledge of these things happening does NOT mean they didnt happen to someone else. On Facebook, he posted a letter from Watermark, an evangelical church in Dallas. 7540 Lyndon B Johnson Fwy I will never forget the screams of desperation and loss I felt as a young Christian woman. While God does allow humans to have free will, His greatest gift to every human is salvation and eternal life, through believing that He sent His son as a sacrifice for our sins. Ive heard many stories about their type of conversion therapy. 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. Its like a social experiment. 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. Were here to help you find that. I asked Susan if she wouldnt mind answering a few questions for this post, which she was happy to do. Author: this is unequivocally WRONG. They were told that since money was something very personal to them, what they earned & howRead more , Part I and Part II both great and spot on. Im providing links and screenshots of Watermark Church literature that explicitly asks its members to do exactly that. Before I get into the first story, I want to lay some groundwork to help my readers understand how the structure of community groups at Watermark Church works. Throw money at him; the car, the house, after a couple of years your kids are in private school, youre used to the good lifethen they tell you. Astonished by the revelation that his new employer represents the mob, he asks FBI agent Moyle, Who in the firm knows? to which he responds, Every partner knows.. It sounds like maybe you want Todd to fall in line with the way you think things should be instead of what is biblical. 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. Ive spoken to these people and I believe them. I have read some articles on this before, and find it incredibly interesting. Because of the leadership structure at Watermark, we believe this is the best way to shepherd our local church body. plan your weekend visit Once I became a leader and attending the leaders meetings I was shocked to find out how they talked about those not in leadershipI finally left when I discovered that they were following me around to see who I was spending timeRead more , Ive been keeping track of there regen program for same sex attraction. THEN they are required to provide a copy of every worksheet to each member of theircommunity group! In these community groups you are enmeshing your entire life into the church. How can you be under church discipline if you leave the church? Yes- spiritual predators seek vulnerable people. Its a 12 step like program. They yield a lot of power in the community. Once you see it, you cant unsee it. Once you've signed your life over to them, you must either form your own community group or go through the process of being placed in one. Ive been at Watermark for 7 years and experienced people in my community group leaving the church; there are NO such requirements or stipulations that prevent you from leaving the group or the church entirely. Move away 2.Join another (approved) church 3. what is the oldest baseball bat company? Even now, her parents (who worship there) refuse to talk to her or visit her children, simply because she was dutiful enough to report on the pedophile acts of a man who used to work at Prestonwood. To complete this step, do the following: Find a serving opportunity at Watermark or within the Dallas community Step 4 Connect I guess I was more grateful than offended. What happens if someone doesnt want to share about their finances? Click on each one to enlarge. At the beginning of each year our membership goes to zero. Do the elders have to also provide theirs? I am certainly not an atheist and am a regular church attender. watermark church ex members summer seminar usafa 2021 watermark church ex members. One is very wealthy and likely the one who lives in the house you mentioned. In my next post Ill share another story from another former-Watermark member. Have you heard of Life Water? You do make the near perfect member with your automated trust in leadership, over having an open mind to others sharing their personal experiences. He had no recollection of ever having seen or met you before because he was so self absorbed. During his address to the Watermark Community Church congregation in September, Wagner told them [], Did anyone see this Sundays Sermon? He found my blog while researching the similarities between Scientology and Watermark Church. 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. Such was the case recently when a former member of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas wrote a Facebook post in which he criticized the church for excommunicating him for being. *Michael knew he was done with Watermark Church when he was invited to another blindside meeting by a Watermark Church staff member. People leave churches all the time. How do I sign up to share my verbal testimony? Definitely good intuition to be concerned for your daughter. He had become so fed up that he started to miss a few community group meetings then HE gets admonished in gang-up style. Watermark Community Church exists to call all people to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. My daughter occasionally attends their weekly singles service, The Porch, which she enjoys. Pastor Todd Wagner - it seems all is not well at Watermark Church. Then you are asked to come prepared to ask questions with everyones financial portfolio in hand. Watermark Church is purportedly a nondenominational church in Dallas. What really matters is care for ones spirit which in her example is being ravaged. The atmosphere is very inviting and aesthetically appealing. It took a tremendous amount of courage for this person to come forward and tell their story, for fear of reactions like yours. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Share your testimony verbally with someone from our team. On the cult thing: LIsten to this longer presentation from a high school ministry event. Just to name a few. I find it so interesting that Watermark Church has had to repeatedly defend itself against being labeled a cult. So big that its our middle name. I automatically defended the leaders and staff, and also automatically discredited the victims with pre determined notions the victim was not telling the whole story. First of all, Ryan did NOTHING to answer the actual concerns about WHY Watermark is sometimes labeled a cult he went straight into defense-mode. 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.. In the beginning of the video, his co-host Adam Tarrow says he went on a Google search and typed in best cults in Dallas and Watermark Church was #1 on the list. Just checking out the church and looking at the background info the house has tripled in value since the Wagners bought it 20 years ago hardly a 7 figure home when purchased. how to make soursop tree bear fruits; It appears to attract a fairly high income crowd if their building program is any indication of the amount of money coming into the church. My perception is this former member did take their concerns to leadership. Can I serve in a ministry that isnt part of Watermark? Like *Susan, he was pressed to share more, and when he assured the group that he just didnt have much to share in the way of struggles, he was accused of lying or holding back. I know his church was started in Lake Highlands at the HS and then he gained enough followers and was able to purchase a house in HP. Except when you leave Watermark Church. At the end of each section in Session #4 Giving, community groupmembers are required to fill out financial worksheets in regards to their finances: income, debt & giving. The new doe-eyed lawyer was in too deep, and life as he knew it would never be the same. Those same people were later observed to be involved in rampant gossiping, crossing boundaries, and lying about people to gain control or manipulate situations to play out in their favor. We hold that the Scriptures are God's Word, and as such teach us everything we need to know for both life and faith. Together, we serve the church by inspiring and equipping every Member to live a life of full devotion to Christ. On any device & OS. Its legalism re-packaged in reformed gospel-speak, and its abusive. Just because you have never been abused in the way these people have, does not negate that they were. 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 . If your circumstances prevent you from being able to attend class in person, please contact us. It also lists Fellowship Church and Village Church in its top 10 on cults (Village likely is, Fellowship is more of a personality cult centered around Ed), strangely Gateway Church isnt listed (and several people think it may be more of a personality cult than Watermark or Village). Below are screenshots of their membership covenant. Then its meeting with your group every week, camping trips, coffee with the girls (or guys), bible studies. Thats not to say that churches shouldnt be inviting and friendly they should if the goal is to guide you into a fellowship of believers that have a common goal of worshipping the Lord in Spirit and in truth, take part in the breaking of bread (communion) and offering support and love in a community setting. Todd Wagner 'resigned' (read my post about that here) and now appears to be starting a new church. Watermark Community Church contacts (added by reviewer) Phone number +1 214 361 2275 Address 7540 LBJ Freeway, Texas United States Website www.watermark.org Category Religion and Spirituality Watermark Community Church alternatives ADVERTISIMENT Also, people deserve to know the truth about what is really going on at Watermark Church not just the flashy polished product that most people see.