Jan

Survival Guide for Ex Potters House Members

First of all let me say this is not a ‘Slam the Potters House’ post. The church is a move of God and most of the people are saved and doing God’s work by reaching the lost and seeing people saved. However due to several circumstances people leave and this post is for the person who wants to survive and stay saved after leaving the fellowship.

This survival guide is what helped me during my transition of leaving the Potters House and continuing on through God and following Gods plan for my life. I know some people won’t like what I write and that’s ok, we do not have to agree on everything, we are NOT robots.

Number One: There are OTHER churches out there

First of all the first thing you need to realise is that there are churches out there that do believe in and are based on God’s word. One of the worst things I have heard is that no other churches are of God and the Potters House is the only true church.

This is a lie, in fact a lot of churches have a higher success rate in people being saved, numbers and church planting. It’s about God and his presence and not a fellowship name that makes a church successful.

Number Two: Have to be Willing to Change and be Open to God

This tip was what was given to me by a Pastor of 20 odd years on two continents and imho is the second most important survival rule.

We know God never changes and He is the same yesterday and forever but that is God and not us. If you are going to make this new transition in your life, you have to be willing to be open on your views, opinions and convictions of church life. I am not talking about your salvation but rather the church.

Number Three: You Follow God and not a Man

My biggest revelation and struggle going to a church were we have one service a week was feeding myself spiritually. Having three services a week, means that you can get lazy and let the pastor/ speaker minister and feed you. This is wrong! You need to be following and getting fed by God. This is how you grow as a Christian.

The second part about this survival rule is that Jesus is your saviour, not a church, a pastor or an organisation.

Concluding the Survival Guide

This is not just for ex Potters House people but for anyone but I write for Potters House people because that’s my story.

I was saved, healed from cancer, met my wife and grew up in the Potters House but I was saved, healed and made into a man by GOD and not a fellowship. Also remember that God can choose to move people were he wants (Paul, Philip). So do not despair, God is in control! Let God take over your life, guide your footsteps and serve God and everything will be ok.

Please if you would like to comment or even give your testimony, please do. I do not want any hate comments as that is not of God.

Due to it going to far and people focusing on my sin rather than the topic at hand, I have closed comments before and will do again if necessary. However if you feel you really do have something real, constructive or a testimony you would like to share, please email it to me and I will add it.

germ17[@]gmail[.]com, please remove the [] to get the real address, thank you…

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35 comments so far

Simon

hi, i really liked your article.

why did end up leaving the potters house?

simon

January 12th, 2009 at 10:49 am

Jermayn

Hi Simon,
Thanks for your comment and I am glad you liked it and I hope it helps someone as its sad to see and hear of people loosing their salvation due to leaving a church (my experiences are leaving the Potters House).

Your question on why I left the Potters House has many sides of the stories, half truths and would take reams of paper to write on. However in a nut shell, I sinned during my membership of the church. I left because during my expel of the church I was consulted, discipled and counseled in Jubilee like not done in PH and me and my now wife felt (after prayer, words from God etc) that God moved us to Jubilee.

January 12th, 2009 at 11:31 am

Mike

I’m curious… sad that you decided to leave the church because of sin. Discipleship and counselling are great things to help deal with issues (not sure about consultation) but the only thing that will deal with sin is repentence, and repentence is entirely separate from church attendence. If you don’t deal with your sin one-on-one with God then you can be discipled, counselled (and consulted) until hell freezes over but it still won’t make any difference.

January 13th, 2009 at 6:52 am

Simon

Hi, looking at your comment jermayn – were you “expelled?” from the the potters house? or did you choose to leave?

Is “expelled” a temporary thing or a permanent thing?

simon

January 13th, 2009 at 10:22 am

Jermayn

@Mike and Simon,
I left because I was not counseled and discipled during my ‘leave’ from the Potters House not due to me sinning. I was at Jubilee and was given the opportunity to have a Pastor believe in me, able to walk through repentance, work through my consequences, my issues etc with me. You are mad to stay at a church were you do not get that and are treated like a leaper because of sin whether you repent or not.

What I did was not popular among many people I thought were friends but you do what you have to, to grow, develop and move on in Gods path from your sins.

Hope that clears up my comments. I do not want to concentrate on my sins, more concentrate on what I wrote about that their is life outside the Potters House (I hold no grudges or ill feelings) and you can be a Christian outside the ’select circle’.

January 13th, 2009 at 11:20 am

Simon

Hi jermayn
I know christians from lots of different denominations but the my question is that
I don’t understand about the whole “leave”/”expel” thing.

why would a church put a member out? in my last comment, I’m just trying to understand it.
if you don’t mind me asking, what sort of sin was it?

simon

January 13th, 2009 at 11:32 am

Jermayn

Hi Simon,
Ok I will try and answer the question better. I will not go into details of my sins as 1) I do not want to bring others into it 2) Im not proud of it 3) I do not think it needs to be aired in a public forum.

The Potters House feels they have Gods blessing to expel a church member of certain sins because of 1 Corinthians 5. However the problem lies in the fact that they do not fully understand and follow this biblical example. 1) This was an extreme case (incest) 2) It was happening over a period of time (years) and most importantly 3) Paul instructed the Pastors/ Decons etc to follow up, go through repentance with the people involved to see them return to Christ. This did not happen with me…

The bible is full of people stuffing up but they were not ostracized by Christians and were given the help they needed to get their life back on Gods track. You have Peter, Mark, 1 Corinthians 5 example and many more.

January 13th, 2009 at 11:43 am

Simon

Oh, so with your point 3 and “The Potters House feels they have Gods blessing to expel a church member of certain sins”, you were never invited back to the Potters House??

January 13th, 2009 at 12:00 pm

Jermayn

Umm yes I actually was invited back after they found out how well me and my wife was doing and how we were vital pillars of the church I am now in (Jubilee). SO in other words, they only wanted us when we were doing well but when we needed help, counseling etc, we were not wanted – put in the too hard basket.

BUT like I said before, not all churches are like this and not every Potters House is either. Its just some, the minority that give everyone else a bad name, which is sad as God had really used the church in Perth WA.

January 13th, 2009 at 12:06 pm

Simon

Looking up that text you mentioned, Saint Paul does write about the incest issue (the step-mum) but makes the point about Christians involved in a number of sins:

1 Corinthians 5:9-13
V9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.
V10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.
V11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.
12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?
V13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Reading this, I would have to disagree with your interpretation on your points 1 and 2.

With your point 3, Saint Paul writes in Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.”

So how long after you left did the pastor ask you if you wanted to come back?

January 13th, 2009 at 12:11 pm

Jermayn

If you read verse 8 it uses the word “sincerity” which means keeping the sin hidden and not being honest and open with the Pastor etc. We simply cannot just put everyone out of the church when they sin (no one would be left in the church – we all fail at times). However when they keep the sin hidden (sexually, covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters) thats when you put them out. It is used as a standard for extreme cases not for every case.

Also in verse 7, Paul uses the example of leaven, leaven only spoils the unleaven food when its left in their and cooked, hence the devil only is gained entry when the sin is left in the church unchecked after a period of time – my point two…

It was about a year afterwards and he did not even talk to me but rather my parents…

January 13th, 2009 at 12:22 pm

John

I get your point sir. i was saved last year in the potter’s house church and during my stay till now i went through things. i learn something honest that i’ve never see a church like it by means of its teaching. People can disappoint you but Jesus will never. And one thing i’ve seen is that when a pastor is preaching it is not him preaching but God’s spirit speaking through him so I dont see a reason of not going to church where i was saved if if dont see another church around which preaches the truth. And preaching is not just what the pastor pastor preaches in church but also about the life style of the congretation. I’ve experience this during my stay there, when i became a born again christian, if one of the brother in church is involved in sexual immolarity you will become sick or will start to have this wierd dreams, i mean it is a very dangerous thing. So I myself is not perfect but i cant quit church because of what people say.

Johns last blog post..You Are Equipped

January 27th, 2009 at 8:01 am

Jermayn

Hi John,
Your comment was lost when I had to upgrade my server but I re added it so your input would not be lost which I appreciate…

I am a little confused by what you mean hear:

if one of the brother in church is involved in sexual immolarity you will become sick or will start to have this wierd dreams

That imo sounds more like witchcraft than sexual immorality. Like what I discussed with Simon in the comments above, yes sexual immorality can be like a disease in the church but it happens WHEN its left UNCHECKED after a PERIOD of time and repentance does not happen. A church can still experience revival (salvation, healing etc) when sexual immorality is in the church.

January 27th, 2009 at 8:18 am

John

No, regarding this the bible reads, if there’s a brother who is involved in sexual immorality don’t even eat with them(why?), a little leaven leaventh the whole dough.

Johns last blog post..NBC rejects Super Bowl ad because it contains pro-life message

January 31st, 2009 at 9:15 am

Jermayn

Dude do you read and understand the bible and what the example of leaven in unleaven bread means? I ask as I have explained it before in my last comment and also in my previous comments with Simon, I would suggest you read all comments for this topic.

Leaven is used as an example for sexual immorality because of two factors:
1) If left unchecked it can ruin what is meant to be unleaven.
2) When cooked (tested) that is when leaven ruins the unleaven bread.

This means that if you (knowingly or unknowingly) leave the leaven in their it be ruined just like what happened in the Corinthian church were the dude was incest. The church knew about their sin and they openly accepted it as a part of their church. Paul kicked them out as they were not repentive and it was time to set a standard in the church that had none. So kicking them out is the LAST resort and not the FIRST resort, you only kick someone out due to sexual immorality if they refuse to get their life sorted.

John, I appreciate your comments but I would suggest you get some bible understanding before you try and argue a point.

January 31st, 2009 at 9:39 am

Jon

Would getting done for fornication, not dealing with it, and then getting done for it again within a relatively short period constitute the FIRST or the LAST resort? How long should a congregation give sanctuary to the unrepentent fornicator?

February 4th, 2009 at 2:47 pm

Nick

If you got kicked out how come you’re still webmaster of the Geraldton Church site?

February 4th, 2009 at 2:53 pm

Jermayn

Every person and situation is different Jon, you cannot use a ’set’ rule on every situation Jon..

@Nick – Ask Geraldton, I have given the website files and access to people up in Geraldton but they have not updated or changed it for a few years.

btw I am guessing I probably know or know off Nick and Jon, so hello!
I think you guys are missing the point of my original post and that is not about my sins (I am not vindicating myself) but rather a post for the person who leaves the church (not everyone who does is unsaved) to encourage and help them through this transition.

February 4th, 2009 at 3:11 pm

John

I think it is much better to stay in the church where salvation was introduced to you, just like the bible said in the book of acts that when the apostles preached to their number converts where added daily, this means all people who they prayed with during their outreaches where joining the church.
Thanks

Johns last blog post..A Refresher Course On God’s Majesty

February 4th, 2009 at 7:58 pm

John

You are right when you said it sounds like witch craft to you when I said if there’s a fonicator in the church people start to be sick, because a fonicator who can be who ever is a rebel and the bible says that rebelion is like a sin of witch craft.

Johns last blog post..A Refresher Course On God’s Majesty

February 4th, 2009 at 8:03 pm

Jermayn

One thing I have learned as a Christian which I think many others also need to learn is that every situation is different. You cannot use the same prayer, same root problem and same techniques for a similar sin/ illness etc. Jesus prayed and healed people differently all the time. Why? Because everyone is different…

He healed many people from blindness BUT NEVER healed them in the same way. One he spat on the ground and made mud to put on their eyes and other he simply put his hands over and healed. I say that to say that yes some people rebel when they fornicate but not everyone does….

I think it is much better to stay in the church where salvation was introduced to you, like the bible said in the book of acts that when the apostles preached to their number converts where added daily, this means all people who they prayed with during their outreaches where joining the church.

That does not mean you have to stay in the church your saved in. If this was the case we would not plant churches and everyone would stay. People move for various reasons (marriage, job, school, church close down, church not preaching God etc) and you cannot expect people to stay, it is not biblical…

- Phillip was called to leave to preach and minister to the Ethiopian Enuch.
- Saul did not stay in the church of Damascus once he was saved and healed.
- When the Christian were persecuted they moved, yet it enabled the gospel to be preached to the world.

February 5th, 2009 at 12:12 pm

John

(I say that to say that yes some people rebel when they fornicate but not everyone does….) What do they do?

Staying in church where salvation was introduced to you i mean backsliders, you see they sin and after they being confronted they change churches, and one thing God’s grace for our lifes is attached to some geographical locations, God saved you and i me in that church because He have a reason!

Johns last blog post..The forgiveness parable

February 5th, 2009 at 4:13 pm

Jermayn

you see they sin and after they being confronted they change churches, and one thing God’s grace for our lifes is attached to some geographical locations, God saved you and i me in that church because He have a reason!

Sometimes yes but not everyone who leaves a church and goes to another backslides. I left a PH church from my home town to go to another PH in the city where I was studying, does that mean I backslid? Or is it only backsliding when you leave the Potters House for another church?

John your argument has no scriptural base, I know they preach this in some Potters House’s BUT that does not mean it is right and biblical. Show me a passage of scripture where God removes his blessing for people leaving a church or when someone backslides after leaving the church….

You fail to understand what I am trying to say. God moves people and just because we do NOT understand it or it was under the perfect circumstances does not mean its NOT of God. God can turn any situation into his glory.

In my circumstance, I was saved when I left the Potters House, yes I did have issues BUT I KNOW God moved me on. How? You look at the proof in the pudding. If it was not of God, I would not currently be saved or in Gods blessing and let me tell you I am saved and Gods blessing is over me and my wife.

February 6th, 2009 at 8:17 am

Anonymous

I have removed this comment due to the authors request

February 6th, 2009 at 9:40 am

Jermayn

Yes I sinned, I do not deny this BUT me leaving the church was NOT a sin in Gods eyes but only the eyes of the Potters House.

but how does refusing to deal with your sin when a member of a particular church equal you feeling God telling you to move on?

To deal with my issues I had to find a Pastor who would WANT to help me and go through repentance with me. My previous Pastor refused. Just leaving me alone to my own is NOT biblical or loving, to work though a difficult time like it was, you need to follow what Paul says in Galatians 6:1 and elsewhere. This is not a sin, you do what you HAVE TO DO to keep your salvation (Work out YOUR own Salvation – Phil 2:12-13).

I think I have an idea on who you are but I wonder why you do you not have enough guts to say your real name when you try and slam me with half truths? Maybe its because this is a smear campaign… Mud may stick but sin does not, just remember that.

“The will of God has an address” – Joe Campbell

Again why quote what a man/ church/ organisation says, why not quote what God says…

February 6th, 2009 at 1:16 pm

Tellitubbi

The initial of this ’survival guide’ is very good. I think alot of people have taken it into a personal context and focusing on the bloggers sin rather than the actual helpful information he has tried to display here.

First of all one should not focus on sin as God is a God of grace and his grace covers all sin. And the emphasis is forgiveness.

And if we are to judge we must also remember “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven” Luke 6:37

God does not rate sin (a lie is no bigger than murder and murder is no bigger than a lie – in Gods eyes sin is sin).

Should we not be encouraging eachother and spurring one another on to God rather than breaking eachother down by debating what man made “the church” – but rather seeking Gods word and encouraging one another to seek God.

February 7th, 2009 at 4:30 pm

Olga

Firstly I will not hide behind a false name & will be upfront in who I am. I am Jermayn’s mother & proud of it! Never has Jermayn allowed us to fight his battles, and I’m not about to start, but I felt as an ‘ex potter’ myself that I may have some relevant input here.

I was not asked to leave the PH because of any ’sin’ I committed but rather left after over 20 years because I chose to. I am thankful that I was saved in a PH, I believe that it has given me great grounding, but I am certainly not backslidden now that I have left.

One of the things I have always struggled with since I was saved, was the exclusive mentality that people in other churches are not saved (I admit I have looked down on others myself in the past) and how people were cut off when they left the fellowship. Thankfully something I didn’t do myself.

My question then is, that if we are supposed to serve God where we got saved & honour our headship no matter what they do, seeing as God has it all in control (& yes He does have it all in control), then why did Ps Mitchell leave the church that he was saved in and now Ps Vicary has left (amongst others) the church they were saved in? I have no personal views on what is happening in the PH right now, as most of what I have heard is probably gossip, except for the fact that myself and others have been told to submit to headship & not leave no matter what. So regardless of which side you support in all of this, they have both done what we are told not to. My guess is that there is life outside the PH & if you find the right church, life more abundantly.

Secondly I would like to know why there is such an emphasis on fornication as the ultimate sin? Yes I have read and understood 1 Cor 6: 12-20 which explains that all other sins are ouside the body, but doesn’t God view all sin as sin, and if any sin is left unrepentant it will have an adverse affect on your life? James 1: 13-15.

Also I heard a sermon preached recently on Matt 18:15-17. The emphasis here is on a brother who REFUSES to listen and therefore is to be treated as a pagan or a tax collector. But how DID Jesus treat pagans & tax collectors? My understanding is that He loved them, spent time with them, even ate with them, all for the purpose of winning people to His kingdom. It is also my understanding that there was even a tax collector amongst the apostles! How about that. And what about the woman at the well? She certainly had a history of fornication and yet Jesus went out to His way to speak to her.

Jermayn & his wife are a testimony of two people who have blown it in the past, but by the grace of God have gone on, and are doing great things for God. I also greatly appreciate their Pastor who believed in them & helped them through a difficult time, when their church did not practice what Jesus preached.

Lastly it takes guts to try & help Christians to deal with the immense condemnation one is made to feel when leaving the fellowship. Especially to use your real name & therefore open yourself up to the criticism of others.

February 8th, 2009 at 1:21 pm

Jermayn

Ok thanks to Tellitubbi and Olga (Mum) for bringing some real balance and trying to re focus on why I started this discussion in the first place. Due to it going to far and people focusing on my sin rather than the topic at hand, I have chosen to close comments. However if you feel you really do have something real, constructive or a testimony you would like to share, please email it to me and I will add it.

germ17[@]gmail[.]com, please remove the [] to get the real address, thank you…

February 9th, 2009 at 9:50 am

Ray

After spending over 15 years at the Potter’s House, I was finally kicked out of the church forever! What did I do to get kicked out?

Pastor said that the church cannot allow anyone who has had two counts of adultery to be allowed in the church, that it’s fellowship rule and he would be judged if he didn’t judge me. Was this a good decision? He said I am a bad influence in the church.

The issues accured when I was backsliden and the girls in the church initiated the events and yet, their still there. I just don’t get it.

April 28th, 2009 at 1:32 am

Jermayn

I am sorry to hear that man!
I thank you for having the courage to comment on my blog and all I can suggest is that you do not give up on God because of your experiences. God is always their if we are willing to repent etc even when a “church” is not.

I would suggest you follow the steps off my “Survival Guide” by:
One realising that the Potters is not the only church out there and find one.
Two: Be willing to get councilling, talk to someone, get prayed over and get in touch personally with God.
Three: Realise that you follow God and not man or mans word.

I am not saying this is a magical formula but it does help to find a church that will love you (be honest about your past) and accept you. BUT the most important thing to remember is that God loves you and us and that he sent Jesus to live by example and die for us.

God bless and I hope this has helped in some way..

April 29th, 2009 at 9:28 am

Bev Emmott

I left Potter House because when God answered my prayers others did not believe and seemed to be asking me to repent of me asking God for a future and putting church order before Gods order. Now they want me back in line (to follow their order again).

However in the bigger picture was misquoting of the bible, others putting their own order before Gods order. Now all the churches have become involved but Revelations reveals that no church is exactly right but some more so than others.

I belive that it is a good idea for a countries churches to be run by that country. In the case of PH let it be run by Australians since Australia has factors that other countries dont have eg isolation.

I dont need to be in church to know God. Over the past years God has made himself known to me through Jesus Christ. God no longer calls me servant but calls me friend yet others who have not had the experiences I have had continue to try call me back to their order and use my kids to influence me.

God is definitely put this world on notice. Return to me and I will be with you just as you claim.1 John 4 has it right there are 2 ways – the way of man or the way of God. Gods way leads to eternal life, mans way to eternal death

September 10th, 2009 at 10:44 am

Mitch

Hi Jermayn,

I was a member of the potters house in Perth from the beggining of march 2007 til may the following year and in the end felt compeled to leave after a close friend had been kicked out from the church and my privacy had been taken away from me. Ever since I have had to learn to cope with the emotional difficulties associated with my time at the church, and while I do not hate god in anyway now as I believe I was in the church for a reason I think it will be sometime til I feel comfortable enough to be in a church again.

Since I left the church things have looked up though, I’m happilly engaged and have been earning good money through work..nothing illegal but still my job when I had just left the church would have raised some eyebrows about my want to be there due to my working hours.. but thats beside the point, the fact is that I was hurt deeply by my time there and its not something that I will forget in a hurry, and to be honest I believe that this maybe a factor in my feelings of hopelessness and isolation from others. I hide my true feelings of this time of my life from my partner as I don’t know how to fully explain everything to her, I guess that will come soon enough.

anyway, thanks for the article..its defintetly nice to see someone moving on from time with this church and writing about it, makes me feel like I’ll be ok in the end.

thanks,
Mitch…Melbourne VIC

September 25th, 2009 at 9:49 pm

ray

So it’s been a while now that I’ve been away from Potter’s House church after attending it for many many years.

After I was kicked out among many other people, I am finally able to see clearly and understand what the church was about. I am amazed on how much money is such a huge factor in the church.

Thinking back, I have never been to any church event with the exception of a church picnic without feeling obligated to give an offering. My church spent sometimes almost as much time taking offerings as they would preaching. Every single service including the the services at the Prescott confrence. After years of offerings and tithes, I needed to borrow $200 from the pastor because my power got turned off. He first said no, then thought about it, then said yes. If I hesitated on giving money to pastor, I mean God, I would of been kicked out of ministry.

For anyone looking to visit this church, please be cautioned. The members will make you feel at home, accept you for who you are, then next thing you know…You’ll be broke, expected to look a certain way, get rid of your tv, give as many offerings as possible to feel right with God, attend every church event, and try to impress the Pastor instead of just serving God.

-God Bless

September 26th, 2009 at 1:48 am

mitch

ray,

Thats not good mate…and in regards to tiething i can honestly say that i very rarely did this as i never truely believed that the money was really going to continue god’s work but to pay the bills…am i right? maybe not but its just how i felt.

Also i didn’t wear a tie to church, people often looked at me differntly cause of this, i felt on the outer with them for most of my time with them.

I guess all i can say is i hope others who are considering leaving this church are reading what we’re writing because then they have a balanced set on details and info before they decide…and for those who have left and are writing on here…we all have been involved with a bad church in my view, our lives have been changed forever but don’t let that hold us back from having good successful lives.

Take care.

September 26th, 2009 at 10:56 am

easy payday advance

This is very good article, I think that all religions are good. as long as you belive in god and are being good,

November 6th, 2009 at 4:08 am

GermWorks

Survival Guide for Ex Potters House Members

Number One: There are OTHER churches out there

Number Two: Have to be Willing to Change and be Open to God

Number Three: You Follow God and not a Man

Concluding the Survival Guide

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