The hidden ‘agendas’ of CARE and Evangelical Alliance [NI]?

To fully understand the background to this article I believe it will be helpful for those who come to this article to first read the following articles that are posted elsewhere on our web site.

The articles and their links are as follows –

‘Evangelical Catholic’ suggestions for Belfast ‘Passion Café’ rejected?

The ‘leaven’ in ‘Power To Change’

Power To Change – Ecumenical or not Ecumenical?

In the article on the ‘Belfast Passion Café’ I referred to an ‘unnamed person’ in these terms – ‘One of the committee for the café’- and explained how this ‘unnamed person’ had sought guidance from the so-called ‘Evangelical Catholic’, Eugene Boyle. The rest of the article was an exposure of the devious suggestions put forward by Eugene Boyle and was not as some mistakenly thought a ‘condemnation’ of the planned café outreach to those who view ‘The Passion’ movie.

In the providence of God I have now been put in possession of further information that shows just how premeditated both this ‘unnamed person’ and Stephen Cave, General Secretary of Evangelical Alliance [NI] (this is the same Stephen Cave mentioned in the ‘Power to Change’ articles listed above) were to try and ensure that their solicitation of ‘Evangelical Catholic guidance and participation’ in the ‘Belfast Passion Café’ should not become public knowledge.

What you will read next is a series of emails that passed between myself and the ‘unnamed person’ and I shall show later, biblically, why I believe it is now imperative for the identity of this ‘unnamed person’ to be publicly revealed and to show his close link with Stephen Cave of the so-called Evangelical Alliance [NI].

  • Subj: re your website
  • Date: 22/03/04 09:36:23 GMT Standard Time
  • From: hugh.marcus@lineone.net
  • To: takeheed@aol.com
  • Sent from the Internet (Details)

Cecil,

Let me introduce myself. My name is Hugh Marcus and I’m the chairman of the Passionate café mentioned on your website. I note the comments on the site and whilst accurate in places I feel you don’t tell the whole story. It’s a very dangerous thing to make accusations against fellow believers without 1st asking them directly. I’m taking this opportunity of asking you whether you would permit me to post a reply on your website stating the full story and correcting some of the inaccuracies.

Many thanks Hugh Marcus

  • Subj: Re: re your website
  • Date: 22/03/04 09:43:00 GMT Standard Time
  • From: Takeheed
  • To: hugh.marcus@lineone.net

Dear Hugh,

Thank you for your email.
If you feel that there are ‘inaccuracies’ in the article that I have posted to our web site I would be more than happy to receive written details from you of what they are and if necessary I would be open to changing the content of the article if I felt that I had written something that was not ‘accurate’.

Your servant for Christ

Cecil Andrews ‘Take Heed’ Ministries www.takeheed.net

  • RE: re your website
  • Date: 22/03/04 10:21:24 GMT Standard Time
  • From: hugh.marcus@lineone.net
  • To: Takeheed@aol.com
  • Sent from the Internet (Details

Cecil thanks for your reply.

There’s no doubt that we will differ on many things, and let me state for the record, that the way your posted this stuff on your website and then claiming to have ‘used a contact’ to influence us is not God honouring (in my view).

I draw to your attention the added paragraph on your site, where you assert that “workers will now be free etc” might it not have been better to have made the call before you wrote the article and wounded your brothers and sisters in the Lord? [you wrote]

After writing this article I made a phone call to someone that I thought might have some contact and influence with the group planning the café. Through discussions held following my phone call I now understand that the ‘observations’ of Eugene Boyle will not be adopted and workers in the café will be free to discuss “doctrinal issues”. In addition, anyone professing saving faith in Christ, will be positively directed to Christian churches that do recognise both the true Biblical gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone and acknowledge “that the entire Scriptures are the…final authority for believers”

This clearly presumes that you believed that workers (your term) were not previously going to be free to discuss doctrinal issues, bearing in mind that there has been no training of volunteers yet. (This will take place this week). I feel this is inaccurate, no one was ever told they would no be free to discuss doctrinal issues.

What we do want to avoid in this café however, is ‘hot air’ about the movie. This misses the point – people who go to see that movie will be confronted afresh with the truth that Jesus died on the cross. We can use that as a conversation starter and hopefully bring some to the ‘foot of the cross’ for salvation I’d also ask that you include our statement of faith in your article.

1. We believe that there is one God, who is sovereign and eternal, and who exists in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

2. We believe that the entire Scriptures are the inspired and trustworthy Word of God and that they are the final authority for believers.

3. We believe that all human beings are born into a state of sin and separation from God as a result of the Fall.

4. We believe that Jesus, the Son of God, had no sin of His own, but died on the cross once for all to pay the penalty for the sins of others, making possible the restoration of the relationship between God and human beings.

5. We believe that this salvation cannot be earned; it is the free gift of God’s grace and is received by the individual through repentance and faith in Jesus who died and rose again.

6. We believe that God the Holy Spirit lives within the believer, transforming him/her and giving him/her power to live as a Christian.

7. We believe that all believers have direct access to God through Jesus who is the only mediator between God and human beings.

8. We believe that Jesus will return again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

9. We believe that at death each individual’s eternal destiny is fixed by his/her response in this life to the sacrifice of Jesus: heaven for those who have accepted the salvation won by Jesus; hell for those who die unrepentant.

As you can see every person who volunteers in this venture will have to be in agreement with this statement, and it is standard evangelical stuff.

When I stand before God on that great day it is to him I will give account – not Take Heed, or the Baptist assoc.

Finally let me say this, one of the things we are trying to do in this venture is to avoid the ‘chill factor’ that so many Catholics get when they converse with us evangelicals. Many get so turned off they miss the very Christ we are trying to introduced them to. I for one would do not want this to happen. This is why we sought advice.

If seeking advice is a crime then I’m guilty, but God is my judge on that (not man), it was me who sought the advice from Eugene, I count him a good friend, I also plan to spend eternity with him in glory.

Finally my big challenge to all those who knocked P2C [‘Power To Change’], and who are knocking this café venture. What are you doing, to reach the many people who never darken a church door in the 21st century?

It seems to me that our time as Christians would be better spent winning people for Christ, than knocking each other down.

Cecil, I thank you for allowing me this opportunity to respond,

May God richly bless you in your personal walk with him.

Kind regards Hugh Marcus

Dear Hugh,

Thank you for your further email and I have done my best to identify what you believe were ‘inaccuracies’. The only one that I have been able to identify was when you wrote concerning the ‘PS’ in my article –

‘This clearly presumes that you believed that workers (your term) were not previously going to be free to discuss doctrinal issues’

It is actually you Hugh who, through your ‘presumption’, are being ‘inaccurate’ here, as you appear to have misunderstood that what I wrote was based on the information given to me that Eugene Boyle’s ‘observations’ would not be ‘taken on board’. If they had been ‘taken on board’ then those working in the Café would not in consequence have been free to discuss doctrinal matters.

In relation to your Statement of Faith I do not feel that any useful purpose would be served by posting it – experience has taught me that often ‘Statements of Faith’ are easy to write but much harder to adhere to. Your reference to ‘the Baptist assoc’ left me somewhat puzzled in that you directed this comment to me – should it not be directed elsewhere?

As to your ‘seeking advice’ – my article has identified the true nature of the ‘advice’ that was given to you. As regards people getting ‘turned off’ when you seek to approach them with the truth of the Gospel perhaps I could direct you to the article posted under the WORDS OF WISDOM section of our web site called ‘Earning The Right To Tell People About Jesus’ by Willie Cowan. Willie, who labours faithfully for the Lord in Belfast City Centre, certainly did not and would not seek any ‘advice’ from someone like Eugene Boyle who remains within and seeks to keep others within a system that “shuts up the kingdom of heaven against men” [Matthew 23:13].

Finally, if you can show me where in the following statement from my article that I was ‘knocking this café venture’ I’d be glad to hear from you.

‘a strategically located café that will afford opportunities to present the clear message of the “Gospel of Christ” that Paul was “not ashamed of” [see Romans 1:16] is in theory a very good outreach idea. The tragedy might be that, unwittingly perhaps, the professing believers involved in ‘Café Passionate’ would, if they were to follow Eugene Boyle’s ‘observations’ be simply helping the Pope and his false ‘Church’ to successfully “ride the wave” of interest generated by ‘The Passion of The Christ’… I now understand that the ‘observations’ of Eugene Boyle will not be adopted and workers in the café will be free to discuss “doctrinal issues”. In addition, anyone professing saving faith in Christ, will be positively directed to Christian churches that do recognise both the true Biblical gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone and acknowledge “that the entire Scriptures are the…final authority for believers”

I am certainly not one to ‘trumpet’ or ‘boast’ about efforts to reach the lost but in the light of your question, anyone who reads our newsletters will know that in recent years, thanks to the faithfulness of people who are practical and prayerful in their support of ‘Take Heed’ etc we sent the testimony tapes of two former Roman Catholic priests to every priest in Ireland [5688 priests I think from memory]. At the Millennium we also sent a special gospel booklet to every priest on the GB mainland – in excess of 6500 priests. In 2002 we sent the creation video ‘A Question of Origins’ to every MP [659 in total]. As for private ‘outreach’ well it is just that – ‘private’ but I can assure you very regular.

In closing let me say this. The enemy of men’s souls is clearly the motivating force behind this movie and certainly no Christian should go to watch it as other articles on our web site clearly show, However as I wrote elsewhere

‘We must also of course use any openings provided to us by those who do watch the film to FULLY explain the truth of The Gospel’.

Any such effort where the biblical truth of ‘Jesus Christ and Him Crucified’ is faithfully and fully explained to those lost either in the religions of Roman Catholicism or nominal Protestantism or of no religion at all will certainly receive my prayerful support.

Your servant for Christ Cecil Andrews ‘Take Heed’ Ministries www.takeheed.net

  • Subj: RE: FW: re your website
  • Date: 22/03/04 12:48:36 GMT Standard Time
  • From: hugh.marcus@lineone.net
  • To: Takeheed@aol.com
  • Sent from the Internet (Details)

Cecil

Thanks for your comments.

It’s unfortunate you didn’t take what I said in the sprit in which it was meant.

I’d suggest your work and website would be taken more seriously by the church at large, if you gave people the public right of reply no your website.

I’m not in the business of naming names, but I think you know the reference to the Baptist assoc ok, I’m glad he persuaded you not to publish your original personal comments about me. In any case I don’t want this to de-generate, we won’t agree on some things, lets just accept (as sinners we can’t possibly know the mind of God and that even our best endeavours fall short, however I for one am grateful that His grace is sufficient to cover my weaknesses)

Best regards Hugh Marcus

  • Subj: Re: FW: re your website
  • Date: 22/03/04 13:34:22 GMT Standard Time
  • From: Takeheed
  • To: hugh.marcus@lineone.net

Dear Hugh,

I acknowledge receipt of your further email – once more I am baffled by comments you make such as  ‘you didn’t take what I said in the spirit in which it was meant’- perhaps the fact that I am not ‘taken in’ by Eugene Boyle, Paddy Monaghan etc doesn’t sit well with your spirit. I’m also amazed that once more you have been ‘presumptuously inaccurate’ when you wrote

‘I’m glad he persuaded you not to publish your original personal comments about me’

– you are well wide of the mark with this comment. As a result of all our exchanges I have the assurance that what I have written is completely ‘accurate’ and is in obedience to Jude 3-4.

You say ‘lets just accept as sinners we can’t possibly know the mind of God’ – I don’t accept what you say for God’s Word says “But we [Christians] have the mind of Christ” and “the mind of Christ” reveals clearly that Roman Catholicism is not Christian and should not be ‘courted’ when seeking to reach the lost for Christ.

In conclusion let me say that there is nothing ‘degenerative’ about discussing facts and issues – in fact it can be very healthy in some cases if, as a result, truthful facts find a home to reside in.

Your servant for Christ Cecil Andrews ‘Take Heed’ Ministries www.takeheed.net

  • Subj: RE: FW: re your website
  • Date: 22/03/04 14:08:44 GMT Standard Time
  • From: hugh.marcus@lineone.net
  • To: Takeheed@aol.com
  • Sent from the Internet (Details)

Cecil

May you know the blessing of the Lord in your life

Bye Hugh

  • Subj: Re: FW: re your website
  • Date: 22/03/04 14:16:02 GMT Standard Time
  • From: Takeheed
  • To: hugh.marcus@lineone.net

Dear Hugh,

May you know the Lord’s conviction for the inaccurate accusations [there were no ‘inaccuracies’ in my article] and statements [no one ‘persuaded’ me to drop your name from the article] that you made during our exchanges and that you apparently see no need to apologise for or repent of.

Your servant for Christ

Cecil Andrews – ‘Take Heed’ Ministries – http://www.takeheed.net

  • Subj: RE: FW: re your website
  • Date: 22/03/04 14:31:32 GMT Standard Time
  • From: hugh.marcus@lineone.net
  • To: Takeheed@aol.com
  • Sent from the Internet (Details)

As I said before God bless you Cecil, now I’ve got work that I need to be getting on with

Hugh

These then were the exchanges between myself and the ‘unnamed person’ who willingly identified himself to me as Hugh Marcus. In the title of this article I made reference to CARE and set out now is some information on this organisation and the involvement that Hugh Marcus has with it.

The following information is taken from the web site of CARE – the link to it is http://www.care.org.uk/about/

Depending on your needs, there are a number of ways to find out more about who CARE is and what we’re about.

You may find our Annual Report a useful, yet concise, guide to the services and ethos CARE espouses. A complete picture of the work of CARE is presented, together with our accomplishments in the year ending 2002, and our objectives for the forthcoming year. Perhaps you already know CARE, but you need to get in touch with us and yet are unsure of the right way. You might find our Contacting Us section of use. It has been specially designed so that you may find who you need to speak to as swiftly as possible. In addition, we offer a contact page where you may fill in your request and it will be routed through to the right CARE personnel.

If you are working in the media, and are seeking to find out more about CARE’s position on a certain issue, be sure to check out our Media Centre. Here you will find details on all our latest press releases, whom to contact for more information and some general statements on our position on key topical issues of concern to CARE and its supporters.

CARE is unable to make the changes to society it would like to see by itself. It depends on a large contingent of enthusiastic supporters to help with the work. If you would like to become more involved in a practical sense, why not have a look at our Get Involved! section. You can show your support for a key issues by signing a relevant petition. Perhaps you would like to consider working for CARE and are interested in the latest job vacancies and possible roles for volunteers. A full list of events that CARE is either hosting, attending or supporting is also available for perusing. Finally, the work of CARE is very much dependent on the financial goodwill of our supporters, so please do take a moment to consider making a financial donation.

We are here to help, resource and equip you – if you still cannot find what you are looking for, call us during office hours on 020 7233 0455 for friendly help and assistance. Alternatively, send an email to communications@care.org.uk.

Then in relation to the involvement of Hugh Marcus we read the following from the from the CARE [NI] web site on this link – http://www.care.org.uk/press/26-06-2003.htm

CARE for Northern Ireland, the caring and campaigning Christian charity, has today welcomed the appointment of Nigel Williams as the new Children’s Commissioner for Northern Ireland. CARE for Northern Ireland, as an organisation determined to care for the most vulnerable in society, has contributed to the consultation about the role and remit of the Commissioner.

Hugh Marcus, Manager of CARE for Northern Ireland, said:

‘I am delighted by the news that Nigel Williams has been appointed as the first Children’s Commissioner. This is a good day for the vulnerable children of Northern Ireland. Nigel Williams has a proven track record and it is appropriate that someone of his calibre and commitment should have been appointed to this key post.

Why then have I now felt it necessary to make public these exchanges between Hugh Marcus and myself and also to mention once more Stephen Cave of Evangelical Alliance [NI]? Well, the truth is that following our email exchanges I was content to leave the matter there in the hope that, in the light of the email exchanges, what I perceived to be naïveté on the part of Hugh Marcus in seeking to enlist ‘Evangelical Catholic guidance and participation’ might have been corrected, for the good of the true gospel, as a result of these exchanges.

To back up my assertion that Hugh Marcus sought ‘Evangelical Catholic guidance and participation’ the following is part of an email that Hugh Marcus sent to Eugene Boyle –

‘The attached document is an application form, could you please run your eye over it and see if there’s any language that would create difficulties for volunteers from Catholic backgrounds. (We’d love it if there were some who could join us so spread the word)’

Information that is now in my possession shows that there was no ‘naïveté’ on the part of Hugh Marcus but rather this was a calculated strategy and ‘agenda’ on the part of both Hugh Marcus and Stephen Cave and their aim was to keep their hopes for ‘Evangelical Catholic’ involvement hidden from the public.

Earlier you will have read how Hugh Marcus when writing to me said in his first email to me –

‘whilst accurate in places…I’m taking this opportunity of asking you whether you would permit me to post a reply on your website stating the full story and correcting some of the inaccuracies’.

From the information now in my possession Hugh Marcus wrote the following to his fellow workers –

‘What concerns me most when one looks at the website, is that all he has there is accurate’
By this statement Hugh Marcus has in effect admitted that he made a false accusation against me and that in spite of my request for him to ‘apologise for or repent of’ it he has done neither.

Hugh Marcus goes on to further impugn my character when he wrote the following to his fellow workers –

‘You’ll remember me mentioning this man a while ago. He is very dangerous…The devil will try (via people like Cecil) to fling mud at us…Most mainstream leaders see him as a crank’

So, according to Hugh Marcus I am ‘dangerous’, being used by ‘the devil to fling mud’ and ‘a crank’ – whether comments like these about professing Christians are quite in the spirit of CARE only they will be able to decide.

So, where does the involvement by Stephen Cave of Evangelical Alliance [NI] appear in this ‘equation’? Let me quote again from the communication by Hugh Marcus to his fellow workers –

‘We also need to remember that we gave Stephen Cave an undertaking that we would be careful on this issue due to the implications for him. That’s all blown now…we need to pray that this doesn’t hit the mainstream media. If it does we’ll get bombarded with all kinds of questions about whether we’re getting into reconciliation etc’

Hugh Marcus and Stephen Cave were clearly fearful that their clandestine attempts to involve ‘Evangelical Catholics’ would be brought to light. This was how Stephen Cave responded to developments –

‘Hi Hugh, Cecil’s up to his tricks…he’s done a very devious article, building up an argument to poke holes in, which he acknowledges at the end is not actually happening, but has a go anyway…’

The reality is that there was nothing ‘devious’ about my article for as I said earlier ‘the article was an exposure of the devious suggestions put forward by Eugene Boyle and was not as some mistakenly thought a ‘condemnation’ of the planned café outreach to those who view ‘The Passion’ movie’.

However, events surrounding the preparation and publication of my article have in fact brought to light those who were really being ‘devious’ as they sought to keep hidden from public knowledge their desire for this venture to be ‘ecumenical’ through ‘Evangelical Catholic’ involvement.

I wrote earlier – ‘I shall show later, biblically, why I believe it is now imperative for the identity of this ‘unnamed person’ to be publicly revealed and to show his close link with Stephen Cave of the so-called Evangelical Alliance [NI]’.

In Paul’s letter to the Galatians he publicly identified the error of Peter who was co-operating with those who were according to Paul preaching “another gospel which is not another” [Galatians 1:6-7] and he went on to openly and publicly challenge Peter [Galatians 2:11-14].

Paul had no hesitation in publicly naming and warning against those who by their beliefs and practices would seek to divide the true Body of Christ and he wrote in Romans 16:17 “Now I beseech you brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned, and avoid them”.

Hugh Marcus and Stephen Cave are those who sought to “cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine” of God’s infallible Word by seeking to engage in fellowship and partnership with those who preach “another gospel which is not another” [Galatians 1:6-7] and so it is quite legitimate according to that same Word to publicly “mark them” as I have done in this article. [This link will give further helpful thoughts – http://www.takeheed.net/whentol.htm]

There are many today who claim to be ‘Christian’ and ‘Evangelical’ but they bear no resemblance to such from former days. Historically ‘Evangelicals’ SEPARATED from error but the ‘New Evangelicals’ INTEGRATE with error. Historically ‘Evangelicals’ REJECTED error but the ‘New Evangelicals’ TOLERATE error. Historically ‘Evangelicals’ CONFRONTED error but the ‘New Evangelicals’ CO-OPERATE with error.

There are sincere Christians seeking to reach the lost through this ‘Belfast Passion Café’ outreach [I know this through other email exchanges] and I pray the Lord will bless their endeavours but nowhere in Scripture is the cause of Christ to be willingly and knowingly linked to those who may say what appears to be ‘the truth’ but who are in reality guided by “another spirit” – those are the lessons to be learned from a close study of Acts 16:16-18 and 2 Corinthians 11: 3-4 & 13-15.

Cecil Andrews – Take Heed’ Ministries – 10 April 2004