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An elder of the Community Chapel and Bible Training Center says he has resigned his leadership role with the Burien-based church because he can no longer support its teachings about "spiritual connections.''
Mark Yokers, a 20-year Community Chapel member and Bible College teacher, said, "I firmly believe that there has been great deception in the church, causing people to mistake and confuse the love that God truly gives us vs. the many experiences and compelling feelings members may have toward the opposite sex in our church.''
The spiritual-connections doctrine, meant to bring people closer to God, encourages members of the congregation to dance with, embrace and sometimes form intimate relationships with people other than their spouses. Critics claim the Pentecostal church's teaching on connections has lead to divorce, suicide and child abuse. The church, its pastor, Donald Barnett, and some of its leaders face several lawsuits that charge sexual assault and ministerial malpractice.
Yokers' resignation came at a recent meeting of elders where he explained his views on spiritual connections. Afterward, Yokers said a majority of the elders decided he should step aside, and he concurred.
Senior elder Scott Hartley recalled, "One aspect of spiritual connections was discussed and the rest of the eldership came to a different opinion than Mark did.'' Hartley said Yokers decided on his own to resign.
Yokers said the doctrine of spiritual connections has concerned him for a long time and he spent several hours discussing the issue with his fellow elders over the past three weeks.
"The Lord visited me in judgment and convinced me of my own sin as to how grievous it was. That's what led to my convictions. That's what opened the door - for God to reveal to me what I now see to be true,'' he said.
Yokers said he strongly concurs with the elders' actions against Barnett. But he added, "All the blame is not to be laid at Don Barnett's feet, everything's not to be laid at any one person's feet.''
In early March, the elders voted Barnett out of the church over allegations of sexual misconduct. A judge restored him to the pulpit, pending a final decision on the legality of the ouster.
Now the elders are attempting to dissolve the church corporation and place its holdings with a court-appointed receiver. A hearing on that matter, originally scheduled for Monday, has been delayed until May 16.
The elders' latest salvo is a 26-page, single-spaced letter, dated April 21 and addressed to the congregation. The letter admits to different opinions on the doctrine of connections. But these divisions among elders do not prove they were wrong to put Barnett out, the letter states.
The letter accuses Barnett of cultish behavior and making light of sin.
It denies the pastor's claims that he stands falsely accused without witnesses or personal admissions.
"He knows we sat stunned hour after hour while he described adultery after adultery, calling them `accidents,' saying that they (the relationships) `healed' him, claiming one `didn't count' . . . ,'' the letter states.
The letter goes on to say that Barnett told the elders that he fell into "total unreality'' and "confusion'' during sex, conceding that on one vacation he committed adultery every day because once he'd done it the first day, "it didn't matter how many more times he did it since he'd already fallen.''
Barnett was not immediately available for comment on the elders' letter.
An elder of the Community Chapel and Bible Training Center says he has resigned his leadership role with the Burien-based church because he can no longer support its teachings about "spiritual connections.''
Mark Yokers, a 20-year Community Chapel member and Bible College teacher, said, "I firmly believe that there has been great deception in the church, causing people to mistake and confuse the love that God truly gives us vs. the many experiences and compelling feelings members may have toward the opposite sex in our church.''
The spiritual-connections doctrine, meant to bring people closer to God, encourages members of the congregation to dance with, embrace and sometimes form intimate relationships with people other than their spouses. Critics claim the Pentecostal church's teaching on connections has lead to divorce, suicide and child abuse. The church, its pastor, Donald Barnett, and some of its leaders face several lawsuits that charge sexual assault and ministerial malpractice.
Yokers' resignation came at a recent meeting of elders where he explained his views on spiritual connections. Afterward, Yokers said a majority of the elders decided he should step aside, and he concurred.
Senior elder Scott Hartley recalled, "One aspect of spiritual connections was discussed and the rest of the eldership came to a different opinion than Mark did.'' Hartley said Yokers decided on his own to resign.
Yokers said the doctrine of spiritual connections has concerned him for a long time and he spent several hours discussing the issue with his fellow elders over the past three weeks.
"The Lord visited me in judgment and convinced me of my own sin as to how grievous it was. That's what led to my convictions. That's what opened the door - for God to reveal to me what I now see to be true,'' he said.
Yokers said he strongly concurs with the elders' actions against Barnett. But he added, "All the blame is not to be laid at Don Barnett's feet, everything's not to be laid at any one person's feet.''
In early March, the elders voted Barnett out of the church over allegations of sexual misconduct. A judge restored him to the pulpit, pending a final decision on the legality of the ouster.
Now the elders are attempting to dissolve the church corporation and place its holdings with a court-appointed receiver. A hearing on that matter, originally scheduled for Monday, has been delayed until May 16.
The elders' latest salvo is a 26-page, single-spaced letter, dated April 21 and addressed to the congregation. The letter admits to different opinions on the doctrine of connections. But these divisions among elders do not prove they were wrong to put Barnett out, the letter states.
The letter accuses Barnett of cultish behavior and making light of sin.
It denies the pastor's claims that he stands falsely accused without witnesses or personal admissions.
"He knows we sat stunned hour after hour while he described adultery after adultery, calling them `accidents,' saying that they (the relationships) `healed' him, claiming one `didn't count' . . . ,'' the letter states.
The letter goes on to say that Barnett told the elders that he fell into "total unreality'' and "confusion'' during sex, conceding that on one vacation he committed adultery every day because once he'd done it the first day, "it didn't matter how many more times he did it since he'd already fallen.''
Barnett was not immediately available for comment on the elders' letter.