Dallas, TX 75251, In Person Sunday 9 AM, 11:15 AM, and 5 PM Click on each one to enlarge. At the end of each section in Session #4 Giving, community groupmembers are required to fill out financial worksheets in regards to their finances: income, debt & giving. It was curious to her why this neighbor continued to bring them food after the typical once or twice. Having community is not the issue its how Watermark DEFINES community. All of the years I attended Kanakuk I had awesome and incredible counselors except for Todd. We know a number of people who attend Watermark due to our 10 year stay in dallas. When I watched his stepping back/pride/ sin talk, I wanted to either vomit or laugh out loud.. Sure, lets not address anything that is rumored to be strange about Watermark and say that Jesus sounded cultish. He springs off of that definition into how true followers of Jesus might be considered a Jesus-cult and how is that a bad thing? 3. The following is from a discussion I had in Nov 2019 and speaks directly to your statement regarding it being all about WM. Therefore, one of the most important steps we take to be fully devoted followers of Christ is to connect with others in a community group.. Statement of Belief | Watermark Community Church As a church, we are whole-heartedly committed to pursuing and preserving truth as described in the Scriptures. Yes WM hides abusers and minimizes victims. Because of the leadership structure at Watermark, we believe this is the best way to shepherd our local church body. Feb 2022 - Present1 year 2 months. If so, youre ready for our two-part Membership Class. Watermark Church has 6 core values for Community Groups: Community Core Value #1: Devote ourselves daily to a personal relationship with Jesus. You made friends with whoever you wanted to and you shared what you felt like sharing. I covered this in my previous post, When Is a Church Member Fair Game, referencing a case of church discipline that Watermark carried out publicly against one of its members. I tried to attend their services, tried Re-Engage but I always felt icked-out by the whole thing. Todd Wagner is the pastor of Watermark Community Church. Volunteer (Current Employee) - Ashford, AL - September 18, 2019 THAT is what these people are afraid of. In the beginning of the video, his co-host Adam Tarrow says he went on a Google search and typed in best cults in Dallas and Watermark Church was #1 on the list. The problem is that those things that they do not do well are not just bad but are cancerous. For every story that IRead more . Groucho Marx. Wagner should have sold the home and elected to live a less extravagant neighborhood (Highland Park). Watermark has a leadership problemRead more , Watermark is very transparent about finances. This is where the system breaks down at the core. At Fellowship they really didnt want anyone who had a prior history of really bad sins; they wanted stable couples with children since they usually have more $$$. The entity becomes so big, that its influence reaches far and wide, into local industry, mutual relationships, etc. Additionally, if you are removed from membership by church leadership, they have the right to share the reasons why with anyone they want to and you gave them the right to when you signed the membership covenant. I share with my community and the groups of people I trust, who have helped guide me into some better decision making. Again,Read more , http://www.dianelangberg.com/2020/03/wolvessheepandshepherds/, When I asked Ron Smith, the Watermark Church appointed Community Launcher/Shepherd for our new Community group for a compelling reason to be in a community group he replied as follows (this is his text message to me): The #1 compelling reason for community is that Watermark elders have made it mandatory for membership in the church, hence the name Watermark Community Church. We did one a week, so this stretch over several weeks. There are many issues at Watermark. Once you've signed your life over to them, you must either form your own community group or go through the process of being placed in one. To the unsuspecting eye, everything contained in this document may seem legitimate or customary as far as church membership goes. Having been a Watermark (now CityBridge) member since 2016 have never EVER heard these messages thatSusan speaks of. Watermark Community Church. Watermark currently partners with multiple ministries local to Dallas and across the globe. My experience is that many, if not most, are content with seeing and experiencing the many great things WM does well and they are unable or unwilling to recognize the things they dont do well. https://www.watermark.org/about/governance. Excellent insight DB! Under the veil of confession, it was all about him. I wonder if the pride and arrogance just can not handle situations where the leaders are not properly identifying what is causing the symptom (sin) of the actual core struggle an individual is having. A commenter on my last post referenced a message that was preached to the youth department by Ryan Garrahan on Feb. 2, 2019, so I went and listened to it. I am certainly not an atheist and am a regular church attender. Its all by design, of course. I just find it odd that everyone on their website gives their lifes testimony and he doesnt say much about his past. It shocks me how much fear this church has put inside of the people who dared leave it. Those who love control and achievement thrive very well there. *Michael knew he was done with Watermark Church when he was invited to another blindside meeting by a Watermark Church staff member. Cant even begin to address this without feeling a sense of disappointment. Lots of wood pallet walls, trendy decor, and of course a coffee shop. Todd raised 6 kids there and has never take a big salary. Our post-modern tendency is to use culture as a reference point, not the Bible. Want to join our team? At least that was how I understood what he said. It turns the church into a big business and its marquee names into celebrities with huge swaying power. IfRead more , Adding to people in good standing who have zero knowledge of any discipline issues also fear leaving due to verifiable stories where watermark members have harassed and stalked people for leaving in cases where the person leaving has come to realize the place at its core is Not what is represented on its surface and middle layers. So unless this person gave away 7 more $1.5 million homes, they would not be taxed on any of those gifts ever. SERVICIO DOMINICAL EN ESPAOL 11:15 AM. I dont consider the one couple in my CG that reviewed my expenses so they could advocate for me as abuse. that would be a better fit. Can anyone tell me what is Todd Wagners past? This was the same concept as we moved on to adult Sunday school. No puedo decir que no estoy en desacuerdo contigo. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. He couldnt understand why NOT struggling with things, like habitually viewing pornography, was suddenly a problem? The Aftermath: Stories from Former Watermark Church Members. (Cult red flag): When I began attending WM I volunteered regularly with homeless, reached out to help others, believed in people etc. Watermark Advisors Mergers & Acquisitions Internship. Todd loves and worships money and attention. At this link, you will find lots of information about how their community groups operate. Ive also never shared my income with anyone at the church, but my community knows a little. The reason I go to pride is because often times pride does not allow the person to admit they are incorrect or unable to identify theRead more , Having attended Watermarks Dallas campus for over 12 years, my attendance came to an abrupt end when I was unfortunate enough to notice their leaderships aggressive handling of the broken and wayward, as well as experience the lack of compassion and even humanity toward the victim of anothers sin. What is Watermark? The fourth and last step in Watermarks Membership process is joining a community group. Community groups are the epicenter of Watermark Church. At least that was my experienceRead more , The house referenced in the post belongs to the correct Todd Wagner. Any admonishment should be delivered with patience, grace, and compassion. On any device & OS. The FBI swoops in to try and use him to take down the law firm and the mobsters all at once. Former Hillsong member Ian Keith claims he witnessed the Australia-based church's deep-rooted homophobia. The official app of Watermark Community Church With the Watermark app you can watch and listen to the most recent sermons on your TV as well as tune in on Sundays to stream the service live. My husband has been involved with Watermark for over two years beginning while we were separated. To demand that a victim produce evidence is a form of revictimization. Thanks to you for writing and Susan for sharing. Its a huge red flag to me about Todds character and understanding of God. SERVICIO DOMINICAL EN ESPAOL 11:15 AM. Watermark Community Church is a nondenominational evangelical megachurch based in Dallas, Texas . I jokingly said Maybe theyre from Watermark (referring toRead more , Jan, emotional abuse and demeaning relationships are somewhat of a watermark of of how they care for the people who become involved. My experience at WM did not destroy my faith. He is a gifted teacher and speaker and could have made so much more money over the years with the opportunities he was given, but he didnt take them. If you want to be more like Jesus, you have to do it OUR way! (they didnt provide any scripture to support this). I received some emails from former Watermark Church members who wanted to tell their stories. People leave churches all the time. Izael who are you to judge someone elses experience? Belong to His body. I was blessed to attend Kanakuk for years and years. But not everyone wants that, and for those people there are lots of other churches that offer community groups, small groups, life groups, etc. We are so glad youre planning to join us at Watermark Dallas. At first, you meet a lot of people, start going to membership meetings, join the church, become part of a community group. We believe this reflects the biblical expectation that Christians use their gifts to serve others (Romans 12:6-8, I Peter 4:10-11). You are way off base. I verified it. Like *Susan, he was pressed to share more, and when he assured the group that he just didnt have much to share in the way of struggles, he was accused of lying or holding back. I highly recommend that you watch the video, because if you watch it with just the tiniest bit of scrutiny, you will notice Todd Wagner work some word-magic here. He began to consider that he was in a cult. 4. (see image above). Thats not the goal at Watermark Church, however. If you arent a covenant member at Watermark Church, you cant join a community group, and that is where all the getting involved starts. Even now, her parents (who worship there) refuse to talk to her or visit her children, simply because she was dutiful enough to report on the pedophile acts of a man who used to work at Prestonwood. Such was the case recently when a former member of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas wrote a Facebook post in which he criticized the church for excommunicating him for being. According to Watermark Church, I guess we werent doing it right. Its extremely worrisome that they feel they have to hide and be afraid of what Watermark Church may say or do in response to them telling the truth about their abuse. Not to mention that even if the words are perfect its up to the listeners as to how they interpret it. In a video posted to the website along with the leadership update, Todd is joined on stage by several other elders and staff members. If you have not yet heard from your host and have completed Membership Class Part I, please contact the Believe Team. Many professed believers have doubts about . Thank you for your reply! Its because Watermark wants to know all of of your deepest darkest struggles & sins. Ive heard from several Watermark Church members who simply let their membership lapse, instead of notifying the church that they want to withdraw their membership. Watermark Church's membership process first requires that you sign the membership covenant, which oddly enough, you can do online. Over the years weve been asked, If I do not live locally/near a Watermark campus can I still become a Member? Because we are passionate about the local church, we believe that you will be best shepherded by the leadership of a local church where you can be all in by serving, actively participating in community, and gathering weekly to corporately worship in an area near you. If you dont fill out the form you can leave easy if your just quiet. We hold that the Scriptures are God's Word, and as such teach us everything we need to know for both life and faith. Outsourced: How Watermark Community Church Fails in Caring for Its Members, The Spin Cycle Watermark Community Church Members Unlikely to Ever Know the Truth Behind Resignations, Before You Sign: What You Need to Know About Membership Covenants, Making the Cut What Does It REALLY Take to Become a Member at Watermark Community Church, Dallas Megachurch Pastor Todd Wagner Resigns, Cites Pride as the Reason, https://www.watermark.org/about/governance, OUR COMMUNITY SERIES: Being Lonely in a Group of People | To Love, Honor and Vacuum, Leaders trying to drain members in order to live exorbitant lives. Rarely does someone leave a church fearing that they will be surveilled, have it affect their employment & reputation, and cause longterm PTSD. One of the core values of the community groups is Live Authentically, which they define as being completely honest with one anotherthis means giving others permission to know the real you by sharing authentically. This includes sharing your sins, struggles, along with your entire life story, potentially to a room full of complete strangers. She called Watermark to inform them of her concerns and was told Its none if your business. At Watermark, we believe life transformation happens best in the context of relationships. If you dont want to share your story you dont have to. Incorrect. Just because you havent personally experienced or have personal knowledge of these things happening does NOT mean they didnt happen to someone else. We believe authentic relationships lead to spiritual transformation. Ive heard many stories about their type of conversion therapy. Folks, if your church cant defend why its not a cult, and instead blames the people who question them as being the problem, then the CHURCH is the problem. Yet it turns out they are getting people toRead more , Hi to all, Ive been a member of Watermark for over three years, went through Re:Generation and now co-lead a community group. Watermark Community Church exists to call all people to be fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. If youd like a suggestion for a charity outside of our church well gladly help you. They dont even take a collection in church! Todd Wagner, senior pastor of Watermark Community Churcha multi-site megachurch in the Dallas area with an average attendance of 11,000announced yesterday that he is taking a break from ministry to address the sin of pride. Community Core Value #3: Offer and receive biblical counsel in all areas of life. No where BEFORE or AFTER Matthew 6:3-4 or II Corinthians 9:2 is any further context given that would justify their belief that a Christian should expose their financial portfolio to a room full of people. Dismiss the abuse of others how did you come to that conclusion? Just because you have never been abused in the way these people have, does not negate that they were. I cannot imagine that Jesus, given all options, would choose to live among the wealthiest citizens in the most landscaped, luxurious part of the city. One person complained that her husband was forced to tell his community group how much he made and to account for how he spent his money. Perhaps more focused prayer from true believers to individually and collectively speak truth and take a stand for Jesus examples in the Bible will goRead more . He did end the video by defining what HE thought the three marks of a cult were: Im going to address #3, because I did my own Google search of the Dallas County Central Appraisal District and discovered that Todd Wagner lives in a $1.5 million dollar home in a very prestigious area of Dallas. Watermarke Church has found a home after purchasing a former car dealership in Bellefonte. Todd uses God to accomplish his goals ofRead more , We briefly visited WM; I quickly told my husband, this place is the cult of Todd and will implode without him. Thats not Todds fault, but no thanks. When her treatment program. If you are going to judge Watermark, its leaders and programs, then I would encourage you to do so in the context of Scripture, especially the New Testament, including the gospels and the epistles that talk about church order, and yes, even discipline. This sounds so much like the Boston Church of Christ that I attended about 20 years agoit was part of the group out of Gainesville FL. The gift tax is only levied at the end of someones life when they exceed the gift tax exclusion in their lifetime (which is currently set at $11.7 million per individual). Which by the way, most of north Dallas (including Lake Highlands) has experienced the same level of appreciation. Just the congregationhmmmmmm.. I was one of the cold ones! Helping others Believe in Christ. A major focus of the Community Groups at Watermark and many other churches is to foster the development of deep connection with a small group of fellow believers that enables true Christian accountability. The level of absurdity is a bit high here Im a member, not once have I been asked to fork out my money, not once have I been forced to makeRead more . Its a clear sign of an abusive environment. Well, I dont have an agenda, per se. In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, front center on stage, attends a meeting of the ruling Workers' Party at its headquarters in Pyongyang . Equalities minister Maria Miller . Been a member for over 9 years and have never experienced the things many of you are talking about. If by community you mean meeting with like-minded individuals to foster friendships & develop relationships then great. #5: Encourage and admonish one another faithfully towards maturity. Not to gotcha, but I just want to set the record straight that the gift tax doesnt make it unrealistic that Todds family was gifted that house. There might be some VERY unsafe people grouped up, causing some serious damage, all in the name of community. Positional authority deals with executing responsibilities within an organization, like a general in an army, the president of bank, or the pastor of a church. Being your authentic self in community with others is the goal, they say. When we see these inconsistencies should we pay attention that this may in fact be a wolf in sheeps clothing? Here is where to find the covenant. I wont tell *Michaels story in its entirety, I will interject some of his experiences into what I have discovered during my research of Watermark Churchs ministries and practices. Watermark Church pushes for everyone to become members of a church, because in their opinion, it is assumed in the Bible. The more I read this story, this sounds like the opposite of how Fellowship Church treated members (Im a former member there) but from a different angle. Then you pressure them, of course! Yesterday, Watermark Community Church, a Dallas mega church, announced that founder and senior pastor Todd Wagner had resigned. Gotcha. We are talking about a CHURCH here, not the mafia. Our daughters went to the same grade school and were on the same soccer team. As I learned how WM was initially started, out of manipulative behaviors and lies, I knew I had to leave. As the CG leader, I went first. Also, people deserve to know the truth about what is really going on at Watermark Church not just the flashy polished product that most people see. Genuine question, The house was given to him from a member of the church years ago. Do whatever you want with a Meet the TeamCentral Atlantic Conference United Church . The reason: He's gay and in a relationship. I know that there are a lot of people out there that have been hurt by this church who are too afraid to speak up. Glad I never did. While help with finances kept the anxiety under control, it was the lack of Jesus I experienced fromRead more , Thank you for the validation Nueva. In *Michaels case, he disclosed to his community group a business opportunity that he was considering. Once you have joined or have been placed in a community group (CG), the control begins. This process is called ' Community Formation ' (formerly GroupLink). During his address to the Watermark Community Church congregation in September, Wagner told them [], Did anyone see this Sundays Sermon? I knew several people who visited, but who clearly didnt fit in and later left. Yes, membership is biblical, but Ive also never felt uncomfortable with anything mentioned here, nor do I share all my secrets with the church. Help me to understand. But please make sure your referencing the right guy. A pastor or elder does not automatically have spiritual authority due to his position in a church. It is very helpful and lets us plan financially well. We handle this by ourselves. The second is sort of humorous. Below are screenshots of the worksheets that community group members are required to fill out regarding their finances. First, #3 Offer and receive biblical counsel in ALL areas of life. How do I sign up to share my verbal testimony? Just because you have not experienced or witnessed the things that happened to the person who told their story that I featured in this post, does not mean those things did not happen. He told me several times that my failure to participate has limited him from being involved in a community group, blah blah blah. When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. While God does allow humans to have free will, His greatest gift to every human is salvation and eternal life, through believing that He sent His son as a sacrifice for our sins. I dont know if I am over-reacting when Todd made a off the cuff remark about taking his wife some where last week where she could be warm. If the leaders deem you unworthy of their support due to pride or sin struggle reasons, they will absolutely unequivocally unabashedly and with zero conscience or compassion, write you off. There was one guy that didnt want to shareRead more . Build deeper relationships with other young adults on mission to leave a lasting impact on the world. Spiritual authority influences others toward Gods purposes. You can read more about it on his website, Freedom of Mind. Completed Discover Watermark? *Michael was beginning to feel that there was a great deal of hypocrisy going on, given that he was constantly being called out as not living authentically for being a nice guy, while at the same time he was the one trying to organize serving opportunities to which no one was willing to participate. Except when you leave Watermark Church. Once you have joined (or been randomly placed), you are expected to give your life story immediately at the first meeting. Tim loves to preach, loves people, and loves to watch Indiana basketball and Colts football! There is forgiveness for a church also and I hope they are humbled one day so they can grow past some of there root issues. At Watermark, we want to be an authentic people known for our . One of those, David Leventhal, announced that he had resigned last month Do I believe writing posts about Watermark Church will cause them to change their policies? 25 years ago, I found myself getting angry atRead more , I was a WM member until I realized that if you fail their morality assessment and they decide you have a pride issue, not a desperate, destitute, homeless or depression issue.. Be trained in God's truth. Im happy to answer any questions, but you need to know this is absolutely wrong information. If you dont want to be a member at Watermark you dont have to be.Read more , There is a difference between positional authority and spiritual authority. So in summary, Watermark isnt a cult because they follow Jesus better than anyone, are more radical about it than anyone else, and if thats what a cult is, oh well, I guess were a Jesus cult! Susan says she is now happy to be away from Watermark Church and is healing. When is a Church Member 'Fair Game' . This is a tough one. that will remain home to Drayer Phyical Therapy. In this meeting he was advised not to associate with another church member.