Alan Scott's Dwindling Legacy
Alan Scott's legacy continues to dwindle as cries for his resignation grow and grow.
Alan Scott infamously told the Anaheim Vineyard that curtains blocking off empty seats haunted them. His point was to suggest that they were so focused on their past and needed to “step into their destiny.”
Yet this photo from yesterday’s Easter service sure highlights that the Dwelling Place *has*, in fact, become the dwindling place.
It pains me to see this once vibrant place of worship to become what it now is… but we continue to speak up because there are still *many* influence leaders in the Church who remain silent or, worse, platform spiritual abusers.
Even *after* Wimber… when attendance was lower and the hype had moved on to follow the new trends, at least the church was *healthy* and safe for people to be disciples.
It now exists as a skeleton of what it once was and for narcissists like Alan Scott, his pride and arrogance have all but destroyed what once was.
Every week there are people who had stayed who are waking up and leaving; every week there are uninformed people who are becoming aware of the harm he has caused for countless thousands of people.
To be clear… church size is NOT necessarily indicative of church health. But when a local church continues to lose people due to reports of abuse and unnecessary controversy and the best thing that the leaders can come up with is “we are being persecuted,” “our critics are all possessed by the devil,” or “we are stepping into our destiny,” things are not good.
My primary reason for continuing to speak up are five fold (in honor of “apostolic” Christianity (note the irony):
I have personally spoken to many people who were *directly* abused by Alan Scott and Jeremy & Katie Riddle. They need justice and protection and we do them great harm to look the other way.
Alan’s biblical-theological framework is an absolute train wreck and will only further more abuse because it supports a system of abuse.
Alan’s “pastoral care” is why there are thousands of pastors out there inheriting hurt and broken people that were unnecessarily manipulated, used, and discarded. WE have to do our best to love those people into healing and hope… yet they should never have experienced the abuse he has given.
God is a God of justice and righteousness, not just mercy and grace. God’s heart is for the broken and he is against those who break people. Jesus spent many a sermon rebuking the type of leadership that Alan Scott uses.
Anything and anyone under Alan Scott’s leadership cannot help but be impacted by his abuse because he will indeed reap what he’s sowed (as is being seen every week that he continues and as their church continues to dwindle). Life’s will continue to implode and tho they put shiny nail polish on and put the pretty people on stage, more and more people become disillusioned and spiritually bankrupt.
It didn’t have to be this way. There *was* a much better way… the way of Jesus… the way of the Kingdom.
Oh how I pray that people will be freed from this cult.
About the Author
Luke Geraty is a pastor-theologian in northern California. With a few theology degrees and nearly twenty years of pastoral leadership, Luke loves the Bible, theology, fly fishing, coffee, and books. All opinions are his own and not the views of any other organizations he’s affiliated with. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe to his YouTube.