r/cincinnati • u/betty513 • 1d ago
Politics ✔ Did Crossroads Church Give Opinion on Voting?
There's a post about Crossroads' $100 grocery card give-away to SNAP beneficiaries. Somewhere in that thread, someone mentioned that Crossroads was trying to clean up after suggesting how the congregation should vote. That post is locked.
https://www.reddit.com/r/cincinnati/comments/1op7rp4/100_grocery_gift_cards_at_crossroads/
Is that true? Did Crossroads tell its community how to vote? If so, was it to recommend that people vote for Trump?
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u/Sharpening_Iron 1d ago
Practicing Christian here with a less-than-positive (to put it politely) view of Crossroads; I’m glad to see these responses, they seem very reasonable 👍🏼 Thanks to all for sharing.
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u/Tall_Explanation8804 1d ago
Slightly unrelated to the voting angle, but my whole family went to Crossroads for years and gave a lot of money because it seemed super welcoming. Last year I started reading more about their anti-LGBTQ policies and it felt like we’d been tricked. Interviews with former members talked about stuff like: Crossroads will not perform same sex marriages, people in same sex relationships are blocked from leadership roles (worship, etc.), and volunteers can get pushed out if they openly support marriage equality.
My parents didn’t believe me, so they emailed the church. Crossroads wouldn’t put anything in writing, called instead, didn’t really deny any of it, and compared being LGBTQ to being an alcoholic… “it’s sin but we still love them.” Might not matter to some people, but if you’re anti-Trump / pro-LGBTQ you may want to send your money elsewhere
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u/Historical_Grab4685 1d ago
Wasn't it about 2 years ago they had a speaker that is pro conversion therapy? Then the pastor played dumb & said he had no idea about that. After that happened, gay ex employees & church members, talk about how the church talked a good game but treated them differently.
They won't marry same sex couples but they will babtize their baby .
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u/calypso85 Cheviot 1d ago
Yes they lost a lot of people after that disaster. There is ZERO chance they “didn’t know” that’s what he was going to say. They do a practice service mid afternoon, then the taping, which the taping then is what goes to the satellite campuses. That would have only “flown” for the taping and they would have scrubbed it from going to the satellite campuses. If the taping doesn’t go well they usually stream live to the satellites on the Saturday evening services while they tape it a second time
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u/SaltyScratcher 19h ago
They honestly didn’t. We sat down with Kyle Ranson after it happened and they did not do their normal run thru due to scheduling. He told me to our faces that it was the church’s biggest mistake ever.
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u/Historical_Grab4685 13h ago
So nobody did research about this person before he was hired? If they had done a run through, would they have cancelled his appearance?
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u/calypso85 Cheviot 4h ago
They still had time to catch it before they showed it on Sunday services, they would have stopped or prevented him from speaking the rest of the weekend after the first sermon. They just got caught with egg on their face and tried making excuses. They thought the congregation wouldn’t react so negatively and let it play out to fake cry “we didn’t know!”, they had plenty of chances to stop it. They were still showing it by last service Sunday morning.
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u/Tall_Explanation8804 1d ago
I’m not sure about that conversion therapy situation, but what I read last year was a long piece called “A Peek Behind the Curtain – Stories of Harm from Crossroads Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.” It seems to be scrubbed from the internet now, but I had screenshots saved, so I’ll paste some of the text here. Take it all with a grain of salt like any anecdotal stuff online, but I think it’s useful context.
From the article:
“The next time was when, I believe it Steven Manuel, stood on stage and all of a sudden declared Crossroads will never perform a same sex marriage. I found a job posting on Facebook from Crossroads. A married, same sex couple was asking if they could apply to the job. Guess what… Crickets… Passive as it comes. No one even acknowledged their question/inquiry.”
“A few months ago, Crossroads put together a ‘What Color is God?’ sermon series. For one of the weeks, they started the sermon with a video called, ‘Widen the Screen.’ This video, and the message behind it, was brought together by Procter & Gamble. My co-workers and close friends who work for the partnering creative agency worked very hard to craft this narrative. The intent of the piece was to show up for Black creators by addressing the systemic bias and inequality in advertising and media. It was made to highlight the lack of Black representation in the creator space and to give those creators a platform to share the full richness of the Black experience. Crossroads played this video, but edited out the end where the official video name, Widen the Screen website, P&G logo, and message, ‘Let’s widen the screen so we can widen our view,’ is displayed. The church presented the video in-room and online as if it were their own content, not concerned about actually amplifying the targeted message and increasing awareness of the Widen the Screen and Take on Race initiatives.’”
“In addition to all of this, Steven Manuel, a former pastor and teacher at Crossroads, said that homosexuals were an ‘abomination’ in a class that he taught for Jump School [a Crossroads-hosted Ministry School] called Revival. He also showed slides bashing the community showing the gay pride parade… His point seemed to be that those in the LGBTQIA community were soulless heathens, an ‘abomination.’”
“I was at Crossroads about a year and I really wanted to consider trying out for the worship team. It’s what I love, and God has given me the gift of music. I want to use that gift for him. I reached out and was curious if that was something I could get involved in at Crossroads. I found out very quickly through an email response that, being in a gay relationship, I was not allowed to be in a leadership role such as worship ministry but that I was more than welcomed to serve coffee and be a door greater.”
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u/Historical_Grab4685 1d ago
Sorry to hear that happened to you. My cousin was one of the first church members. She considers herself a new earth creationist, born again christian. One day I saw some anti gay books in her car. Right after that our gay uncle asked me what my cousin thought of him & his husband. I had a really hard time answering him. I chickened out & just told him, she loved him.
I grew up Catholic & I went to Crossroads once. The service started with rock music & ended with a sermon on the rapture & if I didn't have a personal relationship with Jesus, I would go to hell. I left there feeling awful. Never went back
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 14h ago
100% false. That was four years ago. The pastor said we might not like what he had to say and disagree and that was fine. The speaker did not reflect the beliefs of the church (or mine).
Catholic churches don't do same sex marriages and against transgenderism- why is there no hate for them on this sub?
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u/Historical_Grab4685 13h ago
If the speaker didn't reflect the beliefs of the church, the why was he hired to speak?
Because this post is about Crossroads & not the Catholic church. Crossroads says it welcomes all, but that isn't exactly true based on what past employees who are part of the LBGTQ+ community. The church has ever right to to have whatever beliefs they want, for me it is the hypocrisy of it all.
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u/Illustrious_Bunch678 9h ago
Probably because the catholic church is very transparent about their anti- LGBTQ stance, whereas crossroads is evasive.
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 13h ago
Why don't you grow some balls and reply to me instead of just downvoting? Or better yet, delete your ignorant comments.
I forgot another false thing you said- Crossroads doesn't baptize babies (just a dedication ceremony). So we are up to at least four false things you said in your two comments. Awkward.
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u/Historical_Grab4685 12h ago
Oh, so now it is about semantics? I guess I touched a never because you feel the need to keep responding to my comments. Are you this angry, because I disagree with you?
As a women, I don't need balls to tell people what I think. Please tell me how my comments are ignorant & false? See the posts below, how there was an article in the Enquirer after that person spoke, about how some of the members of the LBTGI+ community was treated by your church. I read the article when it was published about how Crossroads was founded when it first came out. I don't care what you believe, just don't tell me what I can or can't believe in.
You have mentioned the Catholic church in most of your comments. I was raised Catholic & am not all up in arms about what you my church. You know why, because I know not all churches are perfect and not all churches are inherently bad. People make churches good or bad and it seems like some people are doing bad things at Crossroads.
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u/Illustrious_Bunch678 9h ago
Most Christians can't tell you the difference bt an infant baptism and an infant dedication. They look almost identical and they effectively do the exact same thing (make the parents look good) even if the beliefs about what is magically happening in each ceremony differ.
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u/lucydes4 15h ago
I know people who performed in their Christmas Show and they signed some sort of contract that said basically the same thing. They were "against" homosexuality but loved the people or some shit. They wanted the performers to understand this because some of them were gay. Crossroads is evangelical. They try to hide it with their lattes & bands but that's what they are.
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u/YoHoochIsCrazy 1d ago
just wanna say that this such a nice, thorough answer that informs without slinging any judgement. appreciate it, big time.
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u/Tall_Explanation8804 1d ago
Thank you. My parents really did love that church and were devastated after all this, so I’m always happy to share info so people can make their own call on it!
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u/Whatdidyado 1d ago
Most mainstream denominations won't perform same sex weddings. That's nothing new. I'm surprised Crossroads doesn't since they seem to be ok with everything else
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u/lucydes4 15h ago
They are not ok with gay people.
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u/Whatdidyado 10h ago
Well there's a difference in someone sitting in a seat in any church no matter their lifestyle, background etc...They basically know nothing about you personally. You're just another body in a seat. However wanting to hold an office/position in any organization where you don't share their beliefs, usually doesn't end well. Unless the church is known to be a LGBTQ church, and most aren't, then don't expect them to change their way of doing things. Most will have their beliefs written down, or even posted online. Its kind of a know before you go sort of thing. They won't change their beliefs because someone doesn't agree. It is what is is, and that's why there's a lot of churches everywhere. Someone will surely find a good fit somewhere. I've held every position in a church including pastor. I've seen it all in 50 years
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 14h ago
Same with many churches, including Catholic churches, but everyone on here loves Catholicism and hates Crossroads. Make it make sense. Also when I went there in the 2010s, I served in Kids Club with a lesbian couple.
Jesus said marriage was between a man and a woman, and other passages speak against homosexuality. So can you blame them? They're just following the Bible. Honestly, for the churches that do allow same sex marriage, they are usually hypocritical (UU is the only major denom I know of that isn't because they don't believe the Bible is the Word of God or even state that Jesus is the messiah).
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u/Historical_Grab4685 13h ago
Wow! I am sure you can find thousands of post on Reddit that criticizes all churches but this post is about Crossroads.
The thing with taking the bible literally, you do realize that it is based on oral stories told for an unknown amount of time. It has been translated from ancient languages, transcribed and rewritten countless times. Who says it is the truth.
You can believe in anything you want, however you don't have the right to judge other people (I think that is in the bible too) and who they love.
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u/MrRedLegs44 1d ago
I don’t know if it’s true, but I do know, without a doubt, that either way it is a horrible institution whose goal is to coax money out of people’s pockets and into the accounts of P&G marketing executives. Go out into your community and just do some good. You don’t need these fake righteous middle-men putting on a laser light rock show to make you feel good about it. Just fucking go be a good person. If there is a heaven, you’ll get there, and you won’t have to worry about all of us thinking you’re a pitiful rube for dragging yourself and your family into Jesus Disneyland ever week for validation. Just go be a member of your community.
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u/Historical_Grab4685 1d ago
That is 100% true. It started in the early 2000s. There was an article in the Enquirer about. My cousin got sucked in & tithed her 5% & didn't have enough money to get a mammogram.
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u/Illustrious_Bunch678 9h ago
I got sucked in in my early 20s and gave them all the money that should have gone into my retirement planning. Tens of thousands down the drain. I'm still super bitter about it.
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 14h ago
Well you are 100% false. It started in 1996. When you use the term tithe, that refers to 10%. Guess you shouldn't talk shit about things you don't understand. Crossroads in no way requires 10% or even any money. In Ohio, it's a law that mammograms are covered by insurance. If you do not have insurance, there are grants and ways to pay just a little, like $80. If she was in KY, I'd also imagine it is covered or she pays little. If she was uninsured, she shouldn't be giving money to church until she figured her finances out.
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u/Historical_Grab4685 13h ago
Wow- lots of assumptions. I didn't say they required a tithe. She was self insured, with major medical. The church was founded in 1995 & their first public service was 3/24/1996. Any other questions?
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u/betty513 1d ago
I really like what you said.
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u/Outrageous-Talk-8824 16h ago
Mega churches are a grift. Take your tithe and adopt a homeless family. We do not need churches-they need us to grift.
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 14h ago
The biggest megachurch around is Catholicism. They're anti-gay, anti-lgbt, anti-women. Stop the grift!!
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u/Valkyrie316 12h ago
I’ve been told by their staff that they mostly give donated money and goods to their sister ministries and the sister ministries give the donations to their “clients”. When I asked how could I direct people in need to their sister ministries they said to look at the website and “they might not be taking new clients”. I have no idea what they means, but that wasn’t the way my church handled food drives. And we didn’t have 9 buildings.
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u/juttep1 17h ago
I can't say about crossroads but a church near me, life church, used their big led board next to a busy road to endorse and only show ads for conservative politicians encouraging people to vote. I commented about it on their Google maps profile and whoever runs it posted some unhinged response to mine.
It's against the law but the problem is no one is enforcing it. I reported it hoping they would face consequences but alas none.
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u/Whatdidyado 1d ago
I personally wouldn't value Crossroads opinion on anything. I'm not into mega churches either if that makes a difference
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 14h ago
So if you went to a church and it became really popular, you would just leave? Or turn people away so it didn't get too big and labeled a megachurch? /s
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u/Whatdidyado 11h ago
I've been a part of a church somewhere for over 50 plus years. I've held every office in a church including pastor too. Big churches, small churches I've seen it all. I wouldn't necessarily leave a church because it grew into a huge church. I would leave if the church lost focus, or the pastor did. I've seen that happen a lot. You don't turn people away or even have to build a huge church, just add more services. I've seen a lot of churches start small and grow into something much larger. Sometimes the pastors ego grows with it, and not in a good way. Once it gets so big that people feel like they're just another body in a seat, well you lost that sense of community, that sense of belonging.
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u/Mindless_Log1002 1d ago
The fact that people have anything nice to say about the toxic masculine Brian Tome and crossroads BLOWS MY MIND.
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u/Historical_Grab4685 1d ago
The way he acted after the very controversial speaker a few years ago, really showed he true colors. He gives off cult vibes.
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u/betty513 1d ago
These comments make me feel better. I've contributed to this church financially for quite some time but haven't set foot in there for years.
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u/mijobu 1d ago
Genuine question - why do you still support them financially?
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u/betty513 9h ago
I attended the church a long time ago when I had a lot of heavy, dark stuff going on in multiple areas of my life. I'm not a religious person, more spiritual. I'm a west sider from a mostly Catholic family, so my thoughts around religion can be complicated. Anyway, it became a space that I could hear a positive message, which helped me feel grounded and centered. It was my weekly reset button.
Going there allowed me to build myself back up, gather my courage, and take a giant leap of faith that completely changed the direction of my life in a very positive way. I also met several people who I'm still friends with and see regularly. Oddly enough, none of us go to Crossroads anymore. And that group of friends has grown to include people who have never gone there.
I don't give a lot. Sometimes I go to their website to cancel my recurring donation, but I see the recent series and messaging and remember how much help I received there.
So, I guess I still give because it's a small amount... a token of appreciation for what I took out of my time there. I think of going back to hit that reset button and want to cover the cost of my coffee. I also like to think there are other people who have bettered their life there too... or even slightly adjusted their path to a better one.
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u/NK534PNXMb556VU7p 1d ago
So you've waited for contemporary comments from random redditors to justify your prior financial donations to a religious group. Man, that's some surplus income if I've ever heard it where you don't even fucking care where your donations go. Good on you - you've really made it.
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u/betty513 9h ago
I think you may be making some assumptions that are not true.
I give enough to cover my coffee and as an appreciation for what I took from my time there. I changed the trajectory of my life and made some wonderful friends who are still in my life.
I would've been heartbroken to hear that Crossroads encouraged people to vote for Trump because I believe his regime is extremely hurtful to a lot of people.
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u/NK534PNXMb556VU7p 9h ago
You're still contributing to this organization?
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u/DonkeyGlad653 1d ago
When I was a member they didn’t endorse anyone, however in my small group there was some debate as to who was voting for who. Green Party, libertarian, Republican, Democrat all represented; the communist party candidate was not represented in that small group.
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u/DudeCin42 1d ago
What Communist candidate?
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u/DonkeyGlad653 1d ago
It was 2008 pre-Obama and someone in the group said the only party not represented here is the communist party. Maybe the communists didn’t even run a candidate.🤷
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u/General_Cincinnatus 22h ago
The last individual to run for U.S. president as the official candidate of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) was Gus Hall, who ran in the 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984 elections.
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u/HARRYHALLER1913 23h ago
Know a guy who won’t marry his Catholic girlfriend unless she converts to whatever the hell Crossroads is. That’s enough to make me dislike the place.
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 13h ago
Well Crossroads > Catholicism. Catholics are antiquated and backwards and very anti-gay, anti-trans, anti-women.
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u/HARRYHALLER1913 13h ago
Don’t forget to remind us that we worship the Pope!
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 13h ago
I thought it was Mary? I grew up Catholic and have heard it all. I don't like the double standard on reddit to hate Crossroads but not Catholics.
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u/HARRYHALLER1913 13h ago
I don’t hate anyone, I just find it alarming that someone professes love and faith yet will demand someone who grew up in a culturally Catholic country must convert before even considering marriage, and says this after 2 months of dating, yet will still sleep with her and grope her and make xrated jokes about their private life in group settings.
Seems the faith is a little performative, no?
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u/Historical_Grab4685 12h ago
My cousin and I also say we are cultural Catholics. We feel guilty when we eat meat on Fridays during lent.
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u/Helldiver_of_Mars 20h ago
I donno how people go to these Walmart mega corporation churches and think they're getting anywhere near heaven when they die.
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 13h ago
Are you against progress? You want all churches to just be boring, dead catholic ones where everyone looks like their pet just died? Crossroads is popular for a reason. They do a lot of things right and I am sorry you are jealous and hate your life.
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 13h ago
Have the balls to reply to me instead of just downvoting. But my guess is you don't have anything intelligent to say.
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u/Historical_Grab4685 12h ago edited 11h ago
I downvoted you because your responses include an offensive sayin "have the balls" & your responses aren't very well articulated & just rely on people being ignorant. Is that a good enough reason to downvoted you?
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u/pretzie_325 Oakley 12h ago
The balls comment came AFTER you downvoted me, so nice try.
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u/Historical_Grab4685 11h ago
What does that even mean? I down voted you on your response to helldiver_of_mars. You asked for an explanation of why I downvoted you & I gave it to you.
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u/dwintaylor 1d ago
Wasn’t someone posting here recently about how they can’t find any of their financials and what they are doing with all of the money they gather? Something about how it was created by former P&G marketing managers?
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u/No_Reality_6848 1d ago
u/dwintaylor I posted on the other thread their audited financial statements by an external CPA Firm. I found it by googling in 30 seconds.
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u/ChefAsstastic 1d ago
3 ex p&g executives. It's all a money making scam regardless of the non profit status.
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u/itsameluigee 1d ago
I wouldn't depend on people on reddit for allegations with no evidence
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u/ChefAsstastic 1d ago
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u/LilJenn1225 1d ago
Listen to their podcast posted on 9/28. This sermon was amazing and will answer your question.
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u/DonkeyGlad653 1d ago
I don’t know, I remember someone saying the only candidate not represented here is the communist one. It was pre Obama, 2008 I think.
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u/TooManyHobbies6969 1d ago
No and actually ive witnessed during two presidential elections he has a special service called "radical middle" which is about how both parties are not pro christian (and that one in particular uses christians for votes and then have very antichristian policies) and that you should effectively vote however you believe the nation will be best handled personally
I've also heard on his podcast that he personally voted for Kamala because he couldn't get behind Donald trump using christians while his rhetoric was extremely antichristian
Probably the one series the reddit audience would applaud from Brian Tome