Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps

The Aggressive Christianity Missionary Training Corps (ACMTC, aka Free Love Ministries and Life Force Team) is an American absolutist, military structured, intentional community.^{[citation needed]} Founded in 1981 by "Generals" Jim and Lila Green, (Lila also often known as Deborah Green) it is based in a remote area of Cibola County, New Mexico. The Greens have been heavily criticized over the years for being an isolationist cult.^[1] It is located 11 miles (18 km) east of Fence Lake.

Background

Hippies

Jim Green was born in 1946, and had been raised in a Christian home in Kentucky. As a hippie, he moved to California, and later Montana in the late 1960s. Lila/Deborah was born in 1945 - and was a young fan of Elvis Presley and The Beatles, Lila confessed that,

The seeds of ROCK MUSIC were planted deep within me. Little did I realize that as the years passed and the ROCK MUSIC got rockier, that my life would follow the trend and as the music which was to lead a generation into rebellion, drugs, illicit sex, and bondage to sin, that I too would become one of many caught in the web of mesmerizing sounds. [...] I seemed to flourish on wild, wanton music.^[2]

Lila and Jim in the early 1970s joined a "radical, back-to-nature" group in Montana called the "Bear Tribe." Jim, then known as "Buffalo Sun," was experimenting with "blood ceremonies" where he found "pleasure inside of pain." He used to run around the mountains and live in teepees. Jim wore a loin cloth and howled at the moon." Jim described this time with him on crank, throwing his hunting knife and screaming, "KILL, KILL, KILL." He said, "the blaring HARD ROCK MUSIC provided inspiration to my insane frenzy."^[2]

Lila attempted suicide at least three times, "the last time narrowly escaping death." She was addicted to marijuana, and experimented with many other drugs. At 24, Lila claimed to have been a drug burnout, until,

Jesus Christ reached down His hands of mercy and brought me out of the captivity of sin, freeing me from a life of drugs, free sex, and Rock Music.^[2]

Free Love Ministries

After becoming Christians, Lila and James Green both served in Miami's Salvation Army in 1978, and credit them for ACMTC's military structure. ACMTC may have taken its name from a sermon by Salvation Army co-founder Catherine Booth titled "Aggressive Christianity."[1] Unlike members of the Salvation Army the Greens do not appear to do charitable work.

The Greens then eventually established Free Love Ministries between 1979 and 1981 in Sacramento,^[3][4] which, according to Schmierer, began as an "orthodox christian" ministry. Lila began to say that she was God's "number one prophet" and religious services began to include Lila's sermons and prophecies, chanting, writhing on the floor, and speaking in tongues.^[2]

According to one Sacramento resident, the ACMTC maintained a "very high profile." They appeared in public in marine-style clothing with a golden winged logo on their jackets; male members had short hair and wore polished shoes. Most members at the time lived in their "training center". This communal type of arrangement consisted of several adjacent houses which the group purchased and renovated with funds partially acquired from three art shops which were staffed and run by members of the group. Jim and Lila Green started out as "Colonels" and later came to be considered "Brigadier Generals" and then "Generals" by their converts.^[3]

Their show on KFIA, a Sacramento Christian radio station, regularly warned listeners to brace for war against Satanic forces responsible for such modern scourges as homosexuality, psychoanalysis, fornication, rock 'n' roll and pride. KFIA removed ACMTC from their airwaves in 1984.^[2] They abruptly left Sacramento after a local television station investigated claims that they were a cult and had intentionally damaged property as well as mistreating their members. Abrupt departures would become a hallmark of their style of ministry.

Excommunication

In 1988, Maura Schmierer filed a lawsuit against Free Love Ministries, asking for $20 million in damages.^[5] Maura Schmierer claimed that the Greens had accused her of loving her husband more than God, brainwashed her, changed her name to "Forsaken," and then forced her and another brainwashed member to stay in a 5 x12 foot wooden shed with no bathroom or access to one for ten weeks, their only nourishment consisting of tiny peanut butter sandwiches. Schmierer's 5-year-old son's name was changed to "Demon" when the Greens accused him of being possessed.^[2]

The Greens never appeared in court. They lost the case by default and the court ordered ACMTC to pay Schmierer $1.2 million. The Greens were unable to produce the money, so their compound was seized by the court.^[6]

The ACMTC ministry states:

The slanderous lies and persecution generated against us is expected, just as the Lord said in John 15:20 "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." The reason the media looks at us in such a negative view is because we stand for the uncompromised truth, if we compromised Biblical truth such as famous pastors and evangelists today, the world would favor us to an extent because we would be of it; but because we're not of it, but of the Lord and His will, we are persecuted.^{[citation needed]}

Life Force Team

Later, Free Love Ministries settled in Klamath Falls, Oregon. By then, ACMTC had dwindled to only about 19 people.^[2] At this point, the Greens were focusing their printed articles on abortion, homosexuals, rap and rock music, and other issues that they thought society needed to change. Lila began signing her articles, "Deborah L. Green," and ACMTC now called itself by "Life Force Team" as well as ACMTC.^[2]

In 1993, ACMTC bought an old school building in Berino, and established another camp in Gallup, New Mexico.^[6]

Beliefs and practices

Main objectives

ACMTC believes in the subjective interpretation of the Bible and the doctrines therein to suit their purposes. Their focus and mission is based upon Mark 16:15 in the Bible.

And Jesus said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

To align themselves with this scripture the group gets thousands of gospel tracts and literature printed each month and sends out hundreds of pounds of literature for free. Another focus is evangelism and witnessing where they claim to see hundreds of souls pray the prayer of Salvation to Jesus Christ monthly.

They also claim to see numerous healings and miracles but these are unconfirmed. ^[7]

Most of ACMTC's printed matter is directed to teenagers and young adults, in the form of printed booklets boldly illustrated with clip art; they also publish comics, drawn by Jim Green.^[2]

Deliverance and demons

ACMTC has never believed or does believe now that a Christian can be possessed by a demon, but rather that Christians may possess one or more demon(s) and it is the Christian’s responsibility to drive them out.^[8] The basis for the deliverance beliefs held by ACMTC is:

1. Jesus cast out Devils (Luke 11:20, 13:32 etc.)
2. Jesus' disciples cast out Devils (Luke 9:1, 10:17)
3. Jesus commands His Disciples to cast out Devils (Matthew 10:8, Mark 16:17)

Levels of Christianity

Consistent with their adherence to the manifest Sons of God teaching, they also hold the belief in three separate levels of Christianity; that is, that there are thirtyfold Christians (justification), sixtyfold Christians (sanctification), and hundredfold Christians (glorification). Or alternately, as one long-time member explained it, the thirtyfold Christians are those who are merely saved, sixtyfold Christians are those who speak in tongues and have the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, while hundredfold Christians are the Overcomers, the Manifest Sons of God.^[3] The Greens perceive themselves to be at the top level of Overcomers and uniquely "sealed" in this world.

Kingdom Now

ACMTC also holds a "Dominion" or "Kingdom Now" teachings theology. They hold to attempting to become "Overcomers" or "Victorious". Like many other groups with similar beliefs, they believe that a devout Christian group of people will move out of the Church and overcome all the enemies of Christ including even death itself. This will include unheard of miraculous power as well as acts of judgment such as calling down fire on God's enemies.^[3]

Opposition to Homosexuals and Islam

Publications of the group assert that homosexuality is "an abomination", that a homosexual person cannot be a Christian unless giving up completely their sexual practices, and that homosexual people who die without "repenting" are doomed to eternal perdition. Accordingly, Churches which accept homosexuals as legitimate or admit them as clergy are denounced as "false Christians". In some publications members take pride of having confronted homosexuality in the 1980s "even in the heart of Sodomite San Francisco".

The group has also taken a strongly anti-Islamic position, publishing several brochures which strongly denounce Muhammad as a "False Prophet", direct questions about the accuracy of the Koran, and assert that Muslims are bent on world conquest.^{[citation needed]}

In the media

In 1989 Jodi Hernandez was part of a group of reporters that examined the Aggressive Christians from 3/89-9/89, through KOVR-TV, CBS channel 13 Sacramento. She now works for NBC. Disturbing revelations of treatment by the Greens against children and adults were graphically described in this report^[9]

In December 1999, Darren White, former secretary of the Department of Public Safety for New Mexico, and then reporter for KRQE, CBS channel 13, Albuquerque, reported on the questionable practices of the Greens.

On November 4, 2005, Jim Maniaci, of the Gallup Independent's Cibola County Bureau in Grants, reported on the co-leader of an isolated religious group who was jailed on an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge named Jim Green. The article reported that Green was booked into the Cibola County Detention Center on Oct. 29 after an altercation with two other men at the Shim Ra Na Holy Tribal Nation farm near Fence Lake in the rural southwestern portion of the county.^[10]

In June, 2006, Annie McCormick of KRQE, CBS channel 13, Albuquerque, NM , also investigated the Greens using first hand reports from former members and families.^[11]

References

1. ^ Dr Phil. Cult confrontations. Generals for God. http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/756
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Kossy, Donna (May 1994). Kooks: A Guide to the Outer Limits of Human Belief. Feral House. p. 254. ISBN 0-922915-19-9. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d} "1987 Information Paper". Apologetics Resource Center. 
4. ^ Bruce, Daniels (2005-11-07). ""Aggressive Christians" bury the hatchet in Cibola County". Albuquerque Journal. 
5. ^ Trinda, Pasquet (1988-03-16). "Mother of 3 sues cult- tells of life in shed". The Sacramento Union. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Dan, Williams (1995-06-25). ""Soldiers of God" have New Mexico town abuzz". El Paso Times. 
7. ^ "Miracles In Our Midst". New Mexico Straight Record Center. http://www.judgmentismercy.info/Miracles.html. Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
8. ^ "ACMTC Beliefs on Deliverance". New Mexico Straight Record Center. http://www.judgmentismercy.info/Deliverance.html. Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
9. ^ Jodi Hernandez http://www.nbcbayarea.com/station/about-us/Jodi_Hernandez.html
10. ^ Maniaci, Jim. "Religious leader bonds out, Green released from jail until court date on aggravated battery charge", Gallup Independent, November 4, 2005.
11. ^ http://anniemccormick.com/

External links

• New Mexico Highways Page
• Official website
• JudgmentIsMercy.info – sister site of ACMTC
• Dr. Phil $10 Million Diet Scam The Proof He's a FRAUD! – at sister site of ACMTC
• ACMTC at the Cult Awareness and Information Centre (more here)
• ACMTC at the Kooks Museum