Church Outside the Walls is the award winning four part documentary series on DVD that is the first to explore the current phenomenon surrounding the exodus of millions of Christians from religious institutions.

Featuring interviews with:

• Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings, the two men who teamed up with author William P. Young to publish his groundbreaking best selling novel "The Shack".
• Martin Scott author and international speaker.
• Robert Lund, author and historian.
• Professor Brent Walters, recognized early church historian.
• Hosted by author and pastor for 30 years, David Fredrickson.

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by Fred G. London

So many of our prophetic words, dreams and visions are delivered with impunity, sort of "hit and run" tactics, with no sense of responsibility to the word or the people to which it is directed. This lack of personal accountability to these "words" gives rise to ministerial malpractice. This ever growing phenomenon must be called to account and be addressed for the sake of discernment and accurately knowing the Mind of Christ. Read more...

by Van Robison

How many of today's pastors would continue to preach if no money was involved in ministry? Very likely not more than a handful of them would preach if they did not get paychecks. Pastors all want you to volunteer your time and especially your money, but how many pastors volunteer to preach the Gospel for free? Did Jesus Christ ever intend that preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God should become a multi-billion dollar business enterprise, such as we see in the world of churches today? The message that Jesus Christ very clearly gave to His hand-picked disciples was "freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8), and yet almost all preachers today think "freely give" means for church goers to "freely give" to the preachers, when Jesus taught His "preachers" to be the ones to give freely, and not to merchandise the Gospel. Elsewhere Jesus taught that "by their fruit you will know them", and it seems the fruit of almost all pastors today is to take your money, and not to give freely. Read more...

From Wikipedia:

Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center is a residential counseling center specializing in the treatment of individuals who they evaluate as having suffered in what they consider abusive religious groups, organizations, cults, domestic violence, clergy and therapist abuse, and manipulative relationships involving mind-control, brainwashing, psychological, emotional, mental, or spiritual abuse. It is accredited by CARF, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities. Founded in 1986 by Dr. Paul R. Martin and his wife Barbara, and located in Albany, Ohio, it is the only accredited facility of its kind in the world. It also is the only counseling facility recommended by the Christian Research Institute. Wellspring is also a non-profit 501(c) corporation. Read more...

by Van Robison

There comes a time in the life of every human being, when the allotted time on earth comes to the journey's end. It is somewhat astonishing how much of human life is wasted in pursuits that don't contribute to love, joy, peace and happiness, and just living a life loving the gift of life. I am of the opinion that life on earth is a prison of the minds and thinking of human beings, and that prison has millions of chains of bondage. As human beings we do not know true freedom, except in partial ways. For example, if a person was hooked on drugs in the past and through Jesus Christ they were set free, that is a form of freedom. If we are given eternal life through Jesus Christ, then we also have freedom from the loss of salvation. So while there are forms of freedom, there are endless and countless bondages that we are not free from in this life. Read more...

The Heresy of Mind Control: Recognizing Con Artists in Leadership by Stephen Martin

From the introduction:

Suppose you move to a different area, and are keeping your eyes open for a good group to belong to (a social club, a church, a synagogue, or service organization). You visit one such group where the people are very friendly, loving, and give you individual attention. The group has a variety of programs: a rehabilitation program for drug addicts, services and nursing homes for the elderly, help for the poor, and free clinics. The leader inspires the disillusioned, the disenchanted, and those who have been rejected elsewhere. He is well-known and respected in the area, and the mayor gave him a position as Director of the City Housing Authority. Would you join this group?

Suppose you spend four years in college and nearly two years in graduate school to prepare for a career in Christian music. Then the ministers of your home church tell you that you are not needed in their music program. Shortly afterward, you find a new group that welcomes you with open arms. They really care for people. The leader of this group has fascinating Bible studies. You and everyone else are able to sit and listen to him for several hours at a time. Would you stay in this group?

If you answered "yes" to the first situation, you joined the church led by Jim Jones who led over 900 of his followers into a mass suicide murder. If you liked the second group, you became a follower of David Koresh who led over 80 of his followers to die in a blaze of fire.

A wolf in sheep's clothing is a short and simple description of a cult leader--as these men were.

Are there any warning signs that a group and its leader are dangerous? That’s largely what this book is about. Read more... | Download the book

by Van Robison

Human societies generally dictate that all children within a nation must be educated, and basically in public schools. When I read the The Communist Manifesto years ago, I learned that the "ten planks" of that manifesto have long been in existence within the United States and other "free" countries. Anyone who has never read about the "ten planks" and who keys into the Internet and reads those ten points, will be appalled (and we have been led to believe that we live in a society of "freedom"). The tenth plank of that manifesto is free public school education (and no doubt with ulterior motives). Human governments look upon children as a public resource, and they want your children indoctrinated and programmed to be conformists. Read more...

by Van Robison

A new "Christian" television station has gone on the air in our area, and on the television screen it says, "Thank You Partners", meaning of course, "we want your money" (and as usual they list a toll free number, and have their telephone operators taking calls). Oddly, I have never read in any of the teachings of Jesus Christ in the four Gospels, where Jesus said, "Thank You Partners for Your Financial Support." Instead, what I have read is that Jesus said to His disciples (you know the guys He sent out to heal the sick, cast out the demons and to convey Christ to others?), "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8). A "funny" thing has happened on the way into the Kingdom of God, and that is that the preachers have become money obsessed, and they think the Gospel can't be preached to the world, unless they pocket a trainload of your money. I wonder how the Gospel spread into all the world for all those years before television (you know, for the last two thousand years)? Read more...

(CBS) Tithing, the giving of one tenth of one’s income to a religious group, has its roots in the Old Testament. But some Christians are questioning it, and the answers might surprise you. In an era when contributions to religious groups are growing more slowly than other charitable giving, and as Congress takes a closer look at the finances of some televangelists, Martha Teichner examines the controversy over tithing, and meets some inspiring people who strongly believe in the power of generosity. Read more...

by Paul Sue

The hard-hitting (though certainly not shrill) preface by Viola sets the tone for the rest of the book: "Contemporary Christianity has fallen into the errors of both the Pharisees and the Saducees. ... We break the Scripture just as much by burying it under a mountain of human tradition as by ignoring its principles." Barna follows on this note in his Introduction with these questions: "Does it surprise you that most of what we do in religious circles has no precedent in Scripture? ... Does it really matter how we practice our faith, as long as the activities enable people to love God and obey Him?" Read more...