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| In the mid 80s, our church, Community
Chapel
and Bible Training Center in Burien, WA, began experiencing a
phenomenon
we called Spiritual Connections. We defined connections as a "unifying
of the body of Christ in the spirit as Jesus came manifesting Himself
in
the saints". This occurred during our times of worshipping
God
in the dance. As we danced, we experiencing a drawing toward each
other. We felt ourselves drawn to others in the body. The
dance
began to transform into people dancing before the Lord with each other.
We began to feel an incredibly powerful love for each other. We
likened
this to the agape love of God flowing through each of us to the
other. This was perhaps the beginning of the unity of the Spirit
spoken of in the Bible.
Well, unfortunately, the church fell into sin. Spiritual connection love in the assembly was taken outside of the assembly and many fell into sexual sins and unfaithfulness to spouses. There were accusations of this same corruption among the leadership of the church. In 1988, the church found itself in a struggle for control among the leaders. There were lawsuits, restraining orders, secret meetings and finally a church split. The contention for control of the church went all the way to the state Supreme Court. But for all practical purposes, Community Chapel faded into the past and was no more. Twelve years later, the various remnants of Community Chapel still debate the validity of spiritual connections. Most people labeled to practice deviant and dangerous and walked away. A few remain faithful to the practice. This page will offer a peek into the debate over spiritual connections. |
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In 1987, I (Dave Kenady) felt the need to re-examine the scriptures concerning spiritual connections at Community Chapel and Bible Training Center. I wrote the following paper in defense of the doctrine. Though I no longer believe Spiritual connections are the agape love of God, I offer this as the "FOR" argument here in absence of a better paper. It is also a real good example of our thinking in 1988 when the Chapel split. If you would like to volunteer a better paper arguing FOR Spiritual Connections, please contact me. |
Written by Craig Bluemel, this paper, in the words of the author, "... is a scriptural examination, with commentary, in the hope it might bring healing. It is also an application of the truth of scripture to bring any darkness into the light. This study addresses the ‘spiritual connection’ doctrine from the scripture, scrutinizing it in light of God’s written word." Mark Yoker's Case on Connections Mike Sabourin's Case on Connections (mp3 files) |
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No rebuttal to-date. Please contact me if you would like to write rebuttal. |
No rebuttal to-date. Please contact me if you would like to write rebuttal. |