5.20.21 / 8:07pm
This story is about our experience with Global Outreach Developments, Intl. and the red flags that led us to pull our kids from the Academy for G.O.D.
We had found out about a homeschool tutorial in Old Hickory at the Academy for G.O.D and we decided to enroll our kids. I was curious about the acronym and why it sounded cryptic, why they wouldn’t plainly say it was a Christian school, but I figured it was a play on words and I overlooked it. We needed to submit an enrollment video where we answered questions about our faith and what we thought about G.O.D. The concept of ‘holistic learning’ was intriguing - gardening and fun sounding enrichment classes were offered.
At first, everything seemed good. The school was growing and there was lots of activity. My kids seemed to enjoy it. I quickly learned that these people were part of an ‘organization’ which was exclusive. You couldn’t just join, like a church. You had to enroll in classes at the Institute for G.O.D, which was recommended to me, and then commit to the organization. Most families were close-knit and lived in the Hopewell neighborhood and walked to ‘work’ or ‘school’. Living in the neighborhood seemed an idyllic place where kids could walk to school and grow up with neighborhood friends. We were invited to Wednesday evening ‘bible study’ (it was never called church or service) and we were invited to dinners following bible study, where we got to know some of the families. Most people were our age and had met the leader, Gregg Garner, when they were young, and had committed their lives to Gregg’s mission. The teachers at the Academy were all part of the organization - they didn’t hire anyone outside of the organization. Also, nobody had jobs outside of the organization. All of the member’s children attended the Academy and it was assumed that Academy students would go on to the Institute after high school graduation and then join the organization.
I noticed if the member’s children were in school, they would call the adults Mr. Smith or Mrs. Smith, for example, but outside of school all the children called the adults “Aunt” or “Uncle”.
The students were required to memorize the ten commandments - but they were Gregg’s ‘appropriated ten commandments’ so that the kids could ‘understand them better’. I could see the reasoning, but it didn’t sit well that they were memorizing Gregg’s interpreted laws as the mantra of the school. As time went on, I realized my kids weren’t learning very much and they would complain that they already knew what the teachers were presenting. They just liked recess. Every student was required to have a personal iPad at school, and the Academy registered it with Apple as their own so they could have control over all its functions. The students used them more than I would have expected during school days. I was questioning the value of the tutorial and wondered if it was still a good choice to remain there. I’m not sure if background checks were done, as I trusted this was a legitimate school at the time. One of my friends pulled her child from the Academy and enrolled in a local private school. The Academy never provided her child’s transcript and her child had to retake their grade because they were so far behind. Once we left the Academy, my kids said two of the teachers would act nicer when the parents were around but they yelled a lot and were not as nice when they were alone.
When the Academy had announced a recreation soccer league for elementary students, I signed up my kids. I knew one of the directors as a teacher at the Academy and I found it interesting that they ran Mid-State Sports, a growing sports league as well. I knew Gregg owned G.O.D so I made the connection that he owned all the companies that I would see around the Hopewell neighborhood, Nova Birth Services, Califarmia, MCH among others, including rentals that some members live in. I knew G.O.D. had branches with elementary schools in Uganda, India, El Salvador, and the Philippines (where Gregg’s dad, Mike Garner, lives). I was starting to see the expanse of what Gregg was running.
More red flags started showing up around the same time.
One of the commuter moms (those who were not part of the organization but whose children attended the Academy) asked an Institute student if the organization believed in heaven and hell and she told her no. Gregg privately raged at the Institute student and berated the her for stirring the pot. If you look at G.O.D’s statement of faith, it skirts this issue.
I was hearing from commuter families that there were a couple members in the organization who left and it was a big deal that they would leave. I remember hearing it was like betrayal or that they were leaving God because they were leaving the organization.
One day while I was at the Hermitage Library I saw a member I knew in line for the WIC program at the library, and I was very surprised. I knew she was one of Gregg’s upper level workers, I found it strange that she would need the assistance. I learned that they were all on food stamps, which didn’t sit well with me. I knew about all the businesses they ran and figured that he should be paying the members a decent wage. I then became curious about G.O.D’s finances and why they would live that way.
Tragically, one of the teachers was diagnosed with breast cancer and there was a GoFundMe set up for her treatment. G.O.D was the recipient of the thousands of dollars raised. We found out Gregg took her to a ‘natural’ treatment center in Mexico. She soon died and there was no announcement of service for her. It seemed like that was brushed under the rug and her husband (who was the new acting principal since the previous principal stepped down from over exhaustion) had to go on like everything was normal.
The most serious point about us leaving the Academy was discovering the influence of Mike Garner, Gregg’s father, who co-founded the Institute for G.O.D. On his website www.mikegarner.com, many of his writings and self-created theology were strange and clearly not in alignment with our beliefs as Christians. In one quote he says he “tries to reconcile God and text”. Some of Mike’s influences are Soren Keirkgaard, an existentialist philosopher, Jacques Ellul, known for his left-field mimetic theory, Rene Girard, a Christian anarchist, and Jon Sobrino and Ignacio Ellacuria, both Jesuit priests who contributed to liberation theology.
This was the nail in the coffin for me. After researching liberation theology, which applies a Marxist and revisionist view to Christianity, the pieces fell into place and I could see the full picture of what Gregg is trying to achieve through this organization. Usacatholic.org describes liberation theology: “In this interpretation, Jesus becomes the “liberator” and always is firmly on the side of the poorest of the poor. Because of this preference for the poor, liberation theology often calls for reorganization of social, governmental, and economic structures so that the poor are not merely cared for, but brought into the fullness of human flourishing.”
After finding that Mike Garner’s theology was the underlying force for how Global Outreach Developments, Int’l. operates, it was shocking to understand they don’t take scripture literally as God’s word, but use it to explain their own theology, essentially manipulating people.
The Institute for G.O.D lists course descriptions on their website:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5eb599783dc3e94b9e0a0a20/t/604255a9b8ab371b458485f8/1614960054427/Inst_Catalog_21-22.pdf
Many upper-level classes plainly describe viewing scripture through a new lens, interpreting scripture the ‘correct way’ and viewing the ‘text as literature’. Soren Keirkgaard is studied in the class MTS 550 Kierkegaard’s Christianity: This course explores the theological, philosophical and historical contributions of Soren Kierkegaard. The required texts are three of Kierkegaard’s works, which are numbered at 25 major works plus other smaller works, journals and papers. As a Christian and as a Philosopher Kierkegaard has captured more interest in the last century than any other individual in either philosophy or theology. The book on Adler is Kierkegaard’s writings and reflections on an event that prompted him to give us his thoughts on the subject of ‘revelation’. Practice in Christianity is his magnum opus for Christian living. Attack upon Christendom is Kierkegaard’s critique of Danish Christianity during the time of his life. Students will explore morality as both religious and cultural construct while being taught to develop an ethic of Christian love guided with a theology of being.
Liberation theology is taught in class MTS 651 Liberation Theology: Contemporary, African American and Latin Liberation Theologies: This course investigates the origin of Liberation Theology and follows through to its development and acceptance as part of the Biblical message to be applied in society. The course explores Contemporary, African American and Latin American liberation theologies.
Initiation rites are taught in the Community Development class CD 375 Conceptualizing the Great Commission: This course on the great commission is an exercise in philosophical theology on the formation and development of the great commission in the teachings of Jesus. Students explore and learn how to fulfill the words of Jesus within the text known as the great commission. Subjects given special attention are: nation building, exploration of the use of the word disciple in the NT canon, the doubt of the disciples/apostles, Jesus’ own incarnational model for ministry, initiation rites into the new community...
The further students get into studies at the Institute of G.O.D, which Mike and Gregg Garner created, the more entrenched into Gregg and Mike’s theology they become. The members essentially become manipulated, stuck and dependent.
In this organization, there is a core and there are layers. Everything revolves around Gregg’s control. There are no checks and balances and there’s no accountability for Gregg. It ultimately became clear that this organization was not a safe place for my children and did not teach accurate biblical concepts. It’s really sad to know so many have been duped by Gregg.