I have decided to separate the ex-CiM elder page because of the amount of information gathered.
Michael Barrett:
http://www.citychurchla.com/city/home
http://www.citychurchla.com/city/leadership_team
Michael serves as an elder and pastor of City Church. In addition to functioning as an elder to the City Church fellowship, Michael functions apostolically on a relational basis in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Florida, Tennessee, Texas and Louisiana. Prayer, preaching, teaching, conference speaking, counseling and writing are the activities that occupy most of the ministry time.
Michael’s email address:
Here is what I know about his current relationship with Randy Shankle and the Church in Marshall:
Michael Barrett appears, by me, to believe Randy and CiM are in error but does not make any public statement. He, however, does minister to former CiM members, some of which attend his church. As stated above he is an elder and appears to be the main elder, but I don’t know the details of this. I have contacted him, he has yet to contact me, but I knew him personally and worked with him outside CiM one summer.
While I can’t find or obtain any direct statement by Michael about Randy, I did find the following articles on his ministry website:
As we move into the restoration of the office and ministry of the apostle we will notice a typical pattern or cycle of recovery. Initially due to a lack of understanding in addition to the absence of brethren walking in and modeling the true office and function, there is confusion, fear and resistance. As the Church begins to come into some understanding a willingness to embrace the move of God will rise. As a result of this new zeal and excitement there will be a correspondent rise of ambitious and opportunistic men who will attempt to take advantage of this new wave. This is not to say that those individuals are false brethren or even that they are not apostles. It is a serious mistake to make a blanket judgment about these things. We will commonly find a mix of immature and false. In the example of the tares and the wheat, one of the reasons it is difficult to tell the difference is because the true wheat is very immature. We must be careful not to judge the immature as false during the early days of the new season.
another article here:
http://www.citychurchla.com/city/the_operation_of_a_religious_spirit
Religious spirits, unlike our Father, do not care about your heart. They only care about your compliance…Religion will drive us past what God is calling us to. This is to “prove ourselves” and show our will to follow the Lord. What bondage! If the enemy can’t stop us, he will try to push us too far. This is where religious zeal comes in. We are taking everything beyond where God may be calling us at the time. We are doing this often times from a foundation of insecurity before God. We are trying to gain His acceptance and prove our sincerity, perhaps because we have come short at other times and want so much for this time to be different. If we seek acceptance before God by any means other than the work of the cross of Jesus Christ, we are going in a dangerous and tragic direction. This is our only security before God; the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
above by Scott McClelland (another elder at the same church as Michael)
One major area that the Lord Jesus came to free us in is the area of the broken heart. Isaiah said Christ was coming to “bind up the brokenhearted.” Jesus said he came to “heal the brokenhearted.” He did not come to only bind up, as if to say, to wrap something around the broken heart, resulting in a heart that is still cracked and leaking. No!! Jesus came to set us free! He came to completely cure the brokenhearted. To completely heal every broken heart!!
A Judicial Proclamation
I recently heard a brother say these words; “the problem with a broken heart is that it can’t be filled.” A broken heart can’t be filled!! As I thought about this statement I began to realize that the church is filled with brokenhearted people. In Jeremiah 2:13 a very significant proclamation is recorded. In this passage we have a judicial proclamation from the Lord himself. We are told emphatically that a “broken cistern” can “hold no water.” A broken heart can’t be filled. No amount of teaching, preaching, telling, counseling, or any thing else can fill a broken heart! A broken heart has the same effect as the sand foundation of Matthew 7:26-27. Whatever is built on this unsure, weak foundation is surely subject to be ravaged by the tests of life. You and I are building something on some foundation right now. Hear this now!! The broken heart must be healed first, and then it can be filled. Later in this article I will discuss how the broken heart may be healed. But for now please understand that if you or I attempt to fill a broken heart we are putting the “cart in front of the horse.” Again, please understand that a broken cistern can hold no water. A BROKEN HEART CAN’T BE FILLED!!!
The Power of a Broken Heart
I want to discuss briefly the power of a broken heart. In Luke 4:18 Jesus said he came to heal the brokenhearted. The Greek work translated “brokenhearted” according to Strongs Exhaustive Concordance is “suntribo.” This word means to be crushed completely or shattered. The brokenhearted person is a person who has been crushed completely or shattered.
That article was awesome and highly recommend reading it. As I have only copied portions of it.
