ON September 13 2001 Brian Houston (BH), National President of the Australian AoG and Christian Churches (ACC) issued a letter which tacitly admits that the Sydney based Southern Cross Bible College (SCBC), the only official National Assemblies of God ministerial training centre is in severe financial trouble. David Cartledge (DC) was President of SCBC at the time. One can only wonder why it was BH and not DC who signed the letter. You have to cut through the psychological gobble de gook to get the true picture, but the bottom line message is clear - SCBC is in trouble - small wonder seeing the President of AoG set out his stall to serve mammon as witness his book You Need More Money - and now mammon has let him and his denomination down. Idols have no power!

Here's the letter (BH) with my brief editorial comments (PLP) after each paragraph.

BH writes: "I am excited at the way God is blessing our movement as we reaffirm our commitment to planting churches all over this nation. One major key to our success in church planting has been our excellent Bible colleges and particularly Southern Cross, our National College. In the early days, the vast majority of our church planters were the product of our National Bible College but in recent years a number of other excellent colleges have risen up to also make a great contribution to our movement. Our National Executive believes that this is a good thing and must be encouraged. We will never reach our goals without a multiplicity of colleges, each making their unique contribution.

"PLP questions and comments: Who measures success? Who determines excellence? At what Bible College, if any, did BH study? Please note the opening gambit a motivational approach. Start with connived and suspect good news it will help cushion the accurate bad news. Beware the Dale Carnegie and Norman Vincent Peale approach. BH would certainly make a good car sales man may be an even better horse dealer!

BH: Southern Cross College has made an invaluable contribution to our movement. Many of our leaders have been trained in the college and it still continues to progress with its excellent campus, its degrees offered jointly with universities and its distance education. However, the financial support that the college is receiving from our movement has been decreasing at the same time as its academic development requires more and more investment. We do not wish to lose the benefits of this great institution but we do need to investigate funding options that will secure its future.

PLP: So there you have it. The bottom line is MONEY again. Now don't forget that when this thing was launched by David Cartledge five or six years ago, it was touted as a great miracle; in fact a seven million dollar miracle - even though the money had NOT been realised. With typical hype, for which DC has an undoubted talent, the AoG constituency was sold a lie. The fact of the matter is the deposit for the purchase of the property came largely from the sale of CBC then situated in Katoomba, where dedicated servants of the Lord like Aeron and Dinah Morgan and others had sacrificed much for the sake of the Kingdom and the movement of which I was once proud to be a part. Thankfully the Lord gave me an inkling of what lay ahead.My latter months as National General Secretary (1991/92) were full of controversy, none more so than one of the early National Executive meetings attended by the then new boy, Brian Houston, who had the audacity to suggest that the then Principal of CBC, Aeron Morgan (AM) should be carpeted as they had endeavoured to do to me. The "carpeting" was predicated partly upon the fact that neither I nor AM agreed with the obvious direction that the leaders were taking the movement in and would therefore not toe the party line and partly on a letter written by AM to the National Executive objecting to a scene that took place at the National General AoG Conference in Sydney, an opinion which I supported. When I pointed out to the Chairman that BH should have been rebuked for speaking in such a manner against an older servant of the Lord he made some lame excuse and the matter was swept under the carpet - pardon the pun! Now the chickens have come home to roost and another cover-up attempt is being made excuse the mixed metaphor.

BH: Recent overtures for funding have met with a very limited response and this has led the National Executive to the conclusion that our churches are not prepared to fund Southern Cross College to the next level in its development. We appreciate the support that has come from a number of committed churches but the college is facing an unsustainable deficit if we don't find a way of independently funding it.

PLP: "Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you have not enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he who earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes" - Haggai 1:5-6. The die is cast. The writing is on the wall. Why waste more money by putting it into a bag with holes. It's a question of REPENT OR ELSE ... that is the only remedy.

BH: After considerable deliberation, the National Executive is asking for expressions of interest in taking over the operation of the campus and the programs of Southern Cross College. The idea is that it function as an independently owned and funded operation, whilst maintaining its relationship with the Assemblies of God and its theological position and training methodology. We are looking for a relationship that will be mutually beneficial for our movement and an organisation that is willing to make the investments necessary to continue the development of the college. Our major concern is that Southern Cross College continue (sic) to make a major contribution in training church planters and pastors for our movement.

PLP: Hmm - Where is the will and glory of God in all of this? It doesn't even feature. BH openly admits what is his and the AoG's "major concern" and once more the solution is MONEY - someone who will invest stuff that comes from serving mammon. Please don't get me wrong, money is needed but MONEY is never the bottom line in the work of God. It is that which is always there, without pressure, when God's purposes, will and glory are involved and at stake. As at December 20 the date of our going to press we understand that David Cartledge has resigned as President and Andrew Evans has been appointed on an interim basis for a twelve-month period. So for the present the sale of SCBC seems to be off, but you can rest assured that it is a mere "band-aid" remedy, with an almost certain cover-up of sorts. How can it be otherwise?

BH: If you wish to make an expression of interest, based on the above information, please mail it to arrive at our National Office no later than the 15th October. That will allow the consideration of all proposals at a National Executive meeting on the 16th and 17th October. Following that meeting, any recommendation from the executive will be submitted, in the form of a questionnaire to the movement for endorsement. It is not anticipated that the training provided by Southern Cross College will be affected in any way.Please pray with us. We are looking for God to guide us in a path that will propel Bible training to an exciting new level consistent with our destiny as a movement.

PLP: My prayer is that the leaders (including BH) and the constituency of AoG in Australia will wake up before it is too late. The Faith Prosperity teaching of Brian Houston is a scam and a sham. It is heresy and the Lord will not support it and therefore His people shouldn't support it either. Nicholaitanism (false doctrine) always leads to Balaamism (immoral living) and MORAL weakness at the top will doom any movement of God's people. The late David Powell's prophetic dream or vision (see page 1, column 1) could be about to be fulfilled. Again we advise - "Come out from among them ..." (PP)

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Appeared in Issue CETF 7.2 January 2002
"...contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints" -- Jude v3