Continued Abuse

My family and I started going to Petra in December of 2022. We listened to a few sermons online and we really liked the way that Jared preached; especially considering the times that we live in, he spoke on topics that most churches veer away from and we appreciated that. When we first attended, we were met with very kind greetings, and you get the immediate impression that everyone is very close and loving, asking us where we’re from and things of that nature. We are by no means baby Christian’s, so we appreciate a seasoned church and we were looking for like-minded folks to befriend and have deep meaningful friendships with, to discuss doctrine and theology, understanding that we may agree to disagree on some things. I will preface with this: a belief that my family and I hold is one that many do do not agree with and that is on the topic of divorce and remarriage. In the same way that Jared would not want someone in the congregation to be serving in church while living in abominable sin in the eyes of God, that is our conviction with people who are remarried while they’re covenant spouse lives. Regardless of anyone’s disagreement with our stance on the topic, there can and should be the willingness to discuss both sides and not just be shut down. After the first month of attending the church, we had already known of a few couples who were divorced and remarried and we just wanted to present our findings on the topic to present to Jared so that we could have confirmation on whether or not we would continue to go to the church. We in no way look down/dislike those who are divorced and remarried, just how we do not dislike anyone who is living in sin, in another way, because we ourselves are sinful. We never once said anything about looking down on or disliking any person of the church for any reason to Jared, yet he shared with the whole congregation that we were leaving the church because we dislike divorced people and that we see ourselves as better than them (see the sermon on July 9 2023). He lied straight through his teeth about the entire matter, and we have text messages to prove it. Going back to after the first month of attending and wanting to talk to Jared about it before we commit to any membership there, he simply told us that we would need to go to the church for at least six months before he would discuss any doctrine with us. We faithfully remained at the church for six months, attending some gatherings here and there and forming friendships with the members, although not very deep ones. During the six months my dad tried many times to meet with Jared so that he could get to know Him better, but Jared was avoiding him. What we have gathered is that Jared likes to zone in on those who are weaker in their faith so that he can build them up into who he wants them to be, which is loyal to him and the church. He was never interested in getting to know my parents because he could tell that they are strong in their faith, and he likely could not manipulate them, and even saw them as hindrance in the church. He had already judged them and even made outrageous accusations of my mom just by a small bit of information he had, but no real relationship with them. (He said things like that my mom had never forgiven my dad over a past affair that happened 2 decades ago, and was holding resentment and bitterness over him because her own father never loved her or showed her real love, which isn’t true in the least if you know my mom) I am sure that was made known to all the members, which was why we (mostly my parents)were held at a distance for the 6 months we had attended. Just by reading other peoples testimonies of Jared and considering our own, he loves to slap a diagnosis on everyone and try to label a root cause of someone’s behavior from something really deep and disturbing in their past, which, for some may be true, but for others, it doesn’t go that deep. Sometimes we are just sinful and we really have no deep, dark secret as to why we struggle with i.e. trust, love, respect etc, but we just need the Lord. My husband and I were worked on by Jared and other members; we could tell that they wanted us to be involved in the church and were all too eager to hire my husband to work for one of the members companies, and even try to get us to move into one of their townhomes. The members love to text you and ask how you’re doing and be all too nice when you’re scouting the church, they come off as a little strong, but you give them the benefit of the doubt and think that it’s just a godly trait. The church emphasizes serving which we are not against, but as we have seen, to Jared and the church serving is an all or nothing deal/loyalty to him. You are either in with them or you are completely out, which is very cultish and concerning. Other background: My husband and I share a home with my parents, since many years ago we had made and prayed for plans that God would establish us on a nice size property together so that we could live more sustainably as a family. My parents sold their home in another state in 2022 and moved up here to be with us while we looked for said property for a year. Of course, living with parents isn’t an ideal situation, but considering the circumstances and living costs in the valley, the Lord has provided and for now it has been with my parents, but again, with the purpose of establishing ourselves. God has clearly had his hand over our lives and living situation, and we believe that if the doors would have been closed to what we had been praying for, then he would’ve taken us where he wanted. However, he provided every step of the way for us to find a property an hour away that marked almost all of the boxes and what we were looking for. As we were trying to decide whether we would continue attending Petra and become members , we let Jared know that we really wanted to have that discussion about the topic or else we would just leave peacefully and find another church closer to us. This is where we saw a dark turn in Jared. Since he refused to meet with my dad in person, my husband then messaged him asking if they could discuss the topic and have a good godly debate. Jared refused and said that he didn’t want to discuss the matter anymore because it wasn’t fruitful but he had never even discussed it with us. He would only ever say that it was a person’s hardness of heart, but not want to go any deeper, which is weird for a pastor to not discuss some thing that he is so convinced about. He is so quick to talk about homosexuals and fornicators and he can debate all day about that, but when he has met with people who know their Bible and want to discuss what is a serious topic in the church, he only stonewalls and accuses us of making our “religion” and that we are wanting to “die on that hill” when we simply just wanted to talk about it and see how he could debunk our arguments. He mentioned that our doctrine of it was correct but the theology was wrong (what the heck does that mean). My husband continued to ask him probing questions and he was deflecting with the only outlandish remarks he could think of, that I don’t even think he’s convinced of, but was his only defense. He began to say that my husband and I were living in sin for living with my parents, and we were rebelling and being hypocritical and judgmental of the divorced. That us deciding to move away to this town was sinful and that God would not bless us, comparing it to Abraham, taking a Lot with him, in genesis. He called the small town “the least desirable town in Montana” and that we were “going back to Egypt” instead of “staying in the promise land (Bozeman)” and serving at the church. That the town is considered the “Egypt of Montana”. He said that we would come back someday asking for his forgiveness just like many others have apparently done with him in the past. He mentioned that many elderly people have told him that he has a “ strong gift of discernment that is not normal.” He likes to talk as if he is speaking on God’s behalf, very matter-of-fact ways that don’t even align with scripture. That we don’t trust God and His will because if we truly did, then we would have stayed in Bozeman (aligning with Jared’s will). Again, many people do not agree with our stance on this topic and that is OK. We were very prepared for Jared to reject our beliefs, we were OK with having that understanding and leaving the church as we moved away anyways. However, we did not want to depart in the way that we did. We were not angry at anyone nor did we ever treat anyone as a lesser than us while going there. The following Sunday I tuned in to the Petra live stream and heard Jared mentioned that “two couples. Four people” were not attending the church anymore because we did not like divorced people. (The July 9, 2023 video). He mentioned other things that I’ve already mentioned in this, and it was all basically lies to the congregation making us seem holier than thou. I then prayed about it and asked my husband if I should make a small group on my Facebook of the people who are members of the church and speak out on what actually took place and he encouraged me to. I was met with immediate backlash and instead of understanding and compassion to know the truth, three female members reached out to me and jumped to his defense, saying that what I was doing was wrong for speaking out. They were more concerned about Jared’s reputation, then knowing the truth and caring that he was lying to their faces. My husband was then messaged by one of the elders, Nick Creal, and threatened with a lawsuit for defamation if I did not take my post down. I did not take my post down, however he did not have a case against us. My husband told him that he could do whatever he felt the Lord was calling him to. After that, we heard nothing more from anyone at the church. The next Sunday, Jared mentioned us again (July 16, 2023) and continue to lie through his teeth about how I was lying on my social media post about him. My father, who still works in Bozeman has seen a few different different people from the church and when he says hello, or smiles at them they ignore him as if he is a spawn from Satan himself! I have also seen a female at the store whose husband is an elder at the church and she gave no expression when I smiled at her. I was of course, unfollowed by many of the people, the same people who greeted us with such overkilling joy and interest in our lives, as if since we would not be contributing to the church meant that we were nothing to them anymore. It’s funny how people who accuse you of being judgmental and condemning are the same exact people preaching about how they are persecuted and judged by other Christians. How can fellow believers treat another believer who’s not living in sin but has a different doctrinal stance on a subject with such low regard and a stranger to the kingdom? Probably because Jared loves to say that people aren’t true Christians if they aren’t exactly how he believes they should be, and all of his congregation will treat you as if you aren’t a real Christian if he says so. Yes you can judge people by their fruit, but if you are as prideful as he is his “discerning” abilities then I don’t really know if I trust his ability to judge a person by their fruits. I am sharing the story for those who might be going through or have gone through similar experiences of being gaslit by Jared and his church congregants for simply deciding To do or not to do something that goes against his will, and “ prophetic” discernment. It has been a confirmation to read other peoples testimonies of him, that he (and his sheep)are known for being this way. Hearing a few of his more recent sermons just show that he is trying desperately to make that church believe that they are doing something right because they are being “persecuted” and spoken out against. Except the people speaking out against him aren’t the ones lying, it is he. Praying for the Lord’s will to be done in his life and at that church, those who are blinded.