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AsiaOne, Australia, c3, C3 Church Watch, c3 global, c3 international, c3 movement, C3ChurchWatch, c3global, C3i, c3international, ccc, ccc global, ccc movement, cccglobal, ccci, CHC, Christian City Church, christian city church movement, christian city movement, Koh Hui Theng, Phil Pringle, Reverend Phil Pringle, Sydney
Newsgroups are becoming aware of C3 Church Watch. We have received a few emails from various journalists. AsiaOne reports:
Pastor is target of watchdog group…
NEW people have come on board City Harvest Church (CHC)after several of its leaders were suspended from their posts by the Commissioner of Charities (COC)on Tuesday.
On the same day that founder Kong Hee and four others were charged with misusing over $50 million of church funds, CHC appointed Reverend Phil Pringle and Rev A.R. Bernard as advisory senior pastors to continue providing spiritual leadership.
“Pastor Kong is still our senior pastor,” executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain said on Thursday in a statement.
Rev Pringle is the founder and senior minister of Christian City Church in Sydney, Australia.
Now in Singapore to support CHC, Rev Pringle is himself the target of a self-appointed Christian watchdog group, C3 Church Watch.
The blog said it was “designed to watch and monitor C3 Church and its pastors, specifically Phil Pringle.”
It has raised questions about the New Zealand-born pastor’s religious credentials and teachings.
Rev Pringle moved to Australia in 1980 with his wife, Chris, to start Christian City Church in Sydney.
The movement has over 300 congregations globally, a far cry from the 13 people in the first service.
His Facebook biography said: “Our 2020 Vision is to plant and grow 1,000 churches and we’re ontarget to meet this.”
Local news reports first mentioned Rev Pringle in 2010, when Kong, 47, was called to help the police who were investigating the alleged misuse of church funds then. He had met the Kongs during their honeymoon.
“From the start, I always felt a great affinity with Kong and Sun (Ms Ho Yeow Sun),” he told CHC’s online portal, City News last year.
“There are some relationships that God joins together, and you’ve got to recognise, respect and nurture those relationships, no matter what.”
From: By Koh Hui Theng, Pastor is target of watchdog group, http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120702-356592.html, AsiaOne, 02/07/2012. (Accessed 02/02/2012.)
TV media are very soon going to contact this site.
Phil’s link with Kong Hee could be the catylist for the implosion that will occur.
When Kong Hee is convicted the proverbial will hit the C3 fan!
To roundhouse – if you would like to issue a complaint or personally challenge information that is presented in articles, we will be more the willing to review the content. In fact, we are reviewing previous information that commentors have challenged us on.
Hi Roundhouse – well this is interesting. The stats for this blog are going through the roof, so though there a not of a people commenting at the moment, there’s obviously a lot of “lurkers”.
If I may point you to a significant article in light of the Kong Hee/City Harvest Church debacle ….I found it quite fascinating, that an unbeliever is far more astute than a lot of believers these days.
Thoughts from an unbeliever – when Christianity is perverted into the false religion of health, wealth, and “exercising dominion”, even unbelievers can see something is really wrong.
http://thehappinessobsession.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/why-the-crossover-project-should-cost-0/
Some things that have been said from behind the podium at C3OF recently would tend to suggest that C3 is feeling the heat.
What things have been said, Zorro?
Phil Pringle protesting that there is only one foundation that can be laid; that the Gospel is based on the death and resurrection of Christ.
It sounded like he was trying to establish his theological orthodoxy bona fides. It seemed a touch defensive, and it gave the impression that he was reacting to criticism that has been levelled at his “church” – and perhaps also to disquiet or even dissent within.
(Remember that it wasn’t long ago that we saw his petulant outburst that was levelled at bloggers, in which he really did himself a great disservice. He came across not as a gracious and Spirit-filled man of God, confident in his spiritual estate, but rather as a self-centred despot venting his frustration at being unable to exercise control to the very fullest extent imaginable).
It’s my opinion that all the bad press C3 has been receiving is having an effect; perhaps they are finding that it’s getting a little harder to separate the punters from their reddies.
Where did you see that Zorro? We managed to get recordings of the services on Sunday at C3 OFGs. Where did you see Pringle protest?
This would have been a few weeks ago (perhaps two or three, certainly not more than four).
It was something that struck me as quite out of character in terms of what is normally “preached”. Right after he had said this, Phil went on to state that C3 “builds on this foundation”, as if to assure his congregation that they are on rock rather than sand. It was clear to me that he was engaging in duplicitous behaviour: pretending orthodoxy as a cover for presenting heresy.
It’s the same as a video clip I have seen here on C3CW, where he was saying that some accuse him of preaching the prosperity gospel, and he counters “Jesus is all I have ever preached” – stuttering and stumbling over his words in one of the most unconvincing displays I have ever seen.
The fact that we have seen Phil act in this manner on a few occasions suggests that he is rattled. I know that some in the church have been saying that there is no sense or evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence, and that there have been instances of controlling behaviour by those who imagine they have authority. Some people have left C3 for these reasons, and others are considering their position there. There will always be a hard-core cadre of hangers-on and dupes; how large it may be is anyone’s guess. One thing is for sure though: once someone starts to entertain doubts, they are less likely to hand over their hard-earned money on someone else’s say so.
O ye who believe! there are indeed many among the priests and anchorites, who in Falsehood devour the substance of men and hinder (them) from the way of God. And there are those who bury gold and silver and spend it not in the way of God: announce unto them a most grievous penalty-
THANKS CWATCHER.
Good to see that you examine things thoroughly(for me it would be more like “Painstakingly”)I hope that we can all see the end of the KON HE saga soon.(doubt it)
KUDOS on your work!
“I’m not referring to anything specific on this blog, but the fact that it’s sole purpose is to discredit C3 […]”
It doesn’t take a blog to discredit C3, Roundhouse: they do quite a good job of discrediting themselves by virtue of preaching a false gospel.
Did you know that Christians are not bound by the OT law, and that we therefore don’t have to tithe? Did you know that we are not required to do any works, but to simply trust in the atoning death of Jesus Christ and His subsequent resurrection? Are you really among those who would spurn God’s grace and foolishly attempt to make Him your debtor?
If you are truly concerned about defamation, you should fear for those who arrogantly impugn the name of the One to who they will give account. They will discover soon enough that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Where do you think they will find a lawyer on that day?
Pointed observations about Kong Hee and Phil Pringle at the beginning of this podcast.
http://www.fightingforthefaith.com/2012/06/ed-youngs-calvinist-melt-down.html