To My Readers:
Those of you who know me have no need of any explanations, but for those of you who don't, I am proud of the fact that Pastor Robert Martinez is my father. He served faithfully at The Church on Brady/Mosaic under the leadership of both Pastor Thomas Wolf and "Cultural Architect" Erwin McManus.
When Pastor Thomas Wolf first asked my father to come on staff at the Church on Brady in 1983, my father was a newlywed with two high school daughters, an elementary school daughter, a son on the way, and a mother-in-law all living under one roof. At that time, my father gave up his successful business as a self-employed blue printer to devote himself full time to ministry.
He accepted a 50% cut in pay to do so.
After 28 years of service, my father was forced to retire without being given any just cause for such action. When my father’s employment ended, my stepmother’s employment as a “money counter” with the finance department was also terminated. My father was instructed by Erwin McManus to tell his wife that she too had just lost her job at Mosaic. No other leader at Mosaic contacted my stepmother regarding her termination.
What happened to my family was just the catalyst for my renewed interest in an organization which I left soon after hearing Erwin McManus urge those who disagreed with his vision "to find another church" during the June 27, 1997 Believe the Impossible campaign at Union Station in downtown L.A.
Needless to say, I did not share his "vision”, however; I still had many friends and relatives who stayed on at Mosaic under Erwin McManus and I visited the church on special ocassions when I was invited.
Please understand me, I have not been asking these questions out of a spirit of revenge, but out of a genuine concern for those still involved in this church and this organization.
Yvonne W.
3 comments:
(Ron, Blogger doesn't allow me to edit posts made by others and I didn't want to put up your email address so I reposted your comment under my own name.)
Dear Yvonne,
I truly love your father Robert and am relieved to hear that he has left that Mosaic. I express my deepest sympathy for his pain and the pain of your family, but am grateful he is no longer associated with this 2 Peter 2 "church." I was praying and pondering how such Godly men who led with Thom Wolf could be led astray by this false teaching. Did Thom not train his congregation to detect false teachers? It grieves me. But hearing about Robert, though it is painful, brings encouragement to me that God brings his children out of false teachings and into Truth. Give him my regards.
Sincerely,
Ron Foster
I am sorry that your father and family feel as if they have been wronged. I am currently a member (sort of) of Mosaic; not officially one, but I go as much as possible. I have known your father, and he is a great person. I am grieved to hear that he feels he has been cast off in such a way. The truth is, some of us feel betrayed that he left without so much as a goodbye to some of us. That stung. In regards to your previous posts...to be completely honest, your words have hurt me, and others at Mosaic. I came to Mosaic about seven years ago, and let me tell you, it has changed my life for the better, and those around me. Mosaic is one of the reasons I am here today-completely and honestly. To say these things, and challenge our beliefs-what right do you have? What right do you have to say that we believe the wrong thing, and say the wrong thing, and help the wrong people? I am one of the people who has helped with missionary work in LA and Ensenada. I feel that you do not give enough credit to those who do work and do sacrifice and do feel that Mosaic is the right place to be. I am not a senior member, I am not somebody who knows everything about Mosaic, I freely admit that; but what I do know, is that it has made my family a happier one. Reading this hurts me, especially now that I know who it is. We miss your family so much, and I think it would be better for everybody if you just tried to come back?
I don't know if you will actually put this up, or just delete it or whatever, but just know that even though you have hurt me-I still love you. Always.
give my family's best to your father please.
just tell him that he helped us through a really hard time...his words at her funeral helped a lot.
Anonymous,
I have no idea who you are but since you claim to know my father, he has granted me permission to pass along his email address and phone number to you so that you can contact him directly. Just drop another line to my gmail account and I will get this information to you. I do ask that you include your real name because I am not going to put my family at risk by providing personal information to complete strangers.
My father has always been open to speaking with anyone from Mosaic about what happened to him and he did his best to send his personal regards to every person with whom he had a close personal relationship. I'd like to point out though that my father has not changed his phone number nor moved away from the home he has occupied for the past 45 years so it would have been possible for you to contact him yourself to express your hurt feelings.
I would also like to make it clear that this blog does not challenge the "beliefs" of anyone at Mosaic.
You wrote:
To say these things, and challenge our beliefs-what right do you have? What right do you have to say that we believe the wrong thing, and say the wrong thing, and help the wrong people?
In this blog, Solid Foods, I am not interested in arguing points of theology nor have I ever questioned the beliefs of the general membership of Mosaic. I have never said that people at Mosaic:
1 "believe the wrong thing"
2. "say the wrong thing"
3. "help the wrong people"
Those are your words, not mine.
You also wrote:
I am one of the people who has helped with missionary work in LA and Ensenada. I feel that you do not give enough credit to those who do work and do sacrifice and do feel that Mosaic is the right place to be.
It's wonderful that you have participated in such ministries and I do commend you for your willingness to serve. My father also served on many short and long term missions trips during his 25+ years at COB/Mosaic. In fact, on one such trip to Mexico he was threatened at gunpoint and told "I am going to kill you," in Spanish simply because he had dared to enter a barrio controlled by criminals in order to speak the gospel to these people.
If you feel Mosaic is the right place for you, then stay there. I am not telling you to leave.
Anonymous, since by your own admission, you are not an "official" member of Mosaic, nor "somebody who knows everything about Mosaic," I strongly urge you to ask questions and get more information about what is happening behind the scenes. My suggestion is that you start by speaking to the elders, "ALL" of the elders and not just one or two. You may be surprised at what you find out.
You wrote:
We miss your family so much, and I think it would be better for everybody if you just tried to come back?
Again, please send me your name in an email and I will tell you how to get in contact with my father and he will be more than happy to explain to you why "coming back to Mosaic" is not an option. As for me, I left Mosaic more than 10 years ago after Erwin McManus "invited" people who disagreed with his vision to leave the church during the Believe the Impossible capital fundraising campaign held at Union Station. Since then, I have had no desire to return.
One last time, if your words about your hurt feelings are sincere please write to me again and I will put you in contact with my father, Pastor Robert Martinez.
Yvonne W.
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