'However, TRR was able to speak with residents of Oakhurst, who said they're appalled by Mercy Culture's and the Schotts' allegations and attempts to vilify them. "In the congregation, they teach them that we're terrible people, that we're non-human, that we're possessed by the devil because we don't go to that church," said Kathryn Omarkhail, a lifelong Christian who's lived in Oakhurst for 20 years. "It's disheartening." Omarkhail, who serves as vice president of the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association, describes her neighborhood as a "melting pot" where everyone knows their neighbors. But living there has been marred by the "sinking feeling" she gets every time she drives past Mercy Culture. She said the Schotts' rhetoric about their neighborhood is dehumanizing and wrong. Similarly, Natalie Lopez, who grew up in the neighborhood and moved back six years ago, said she is "very offended" by the pastors' treatment of Oakhurst residents. "It is not the language, attitude or character that I would typically equate with a pastor or anyone that claims to be a devout Christian," said Lopez, who was raised Catholic. "Everything that they do and stand for is the antithesis of what Christianity is supposed to be."' - The Roys Report
Now, keep in mind as reading these comments that these are the saved and unsaved neighbors that the church is supposed to serve and show the love of Jesus Christ to. I am not suggesting that such a facility helping victims is not important but it is NOT as important as the cause of the gospel! The number one job of a pastor is not building a 100-bed facility. It is to spread the gospel and care for the people. The neighbors of this alleged church that has named themselves MERCY Culture, believes they consider them terrible people, non-human, or possessed by the devil! Do not sleep on the conclusion they have made that the reason the Schotts and their congregation view them this way, is simply because they do not go to their church. That my friends, is a defining characteristic of a cult. Ms. Omarkhail is 100% correct. To call people demonic, devil-possessed and evil is to dehumanize them. Ms. Lopez is equally correct. The behavior from the Schotts is not what we should expect from someone claiming to be a Christian, let alone a pastor. What they are doing is the OPPOSITE of the teachings of Jesus Christ and His gospel.
"Before it became Mercy Culture, the building at the bottom of the hill from the Oakhurst neighborhood was occupied by Calvary Cathedral International. For years, the church had a positive relationship with its neighbors, offering use of meeting space and equipment for free and serving as a partner in community events, Omarkhail and others said. That ended once Mercy Culture moved into the building five years ago, according to several Oakhurst residents.
"It was an immediate change. You could just feel it," Omarkhail said. "It became an abrasive conversation, versus 'How can we help you?'" Mercy Culture's beginning dates back to 2017, when Landon Schott walked the streets of downtown Fort Worth asking God to make him a "spiritual father" of the city, according to a 2021 article in The Washington Post. It states that Landon Schott said God told him he needed "spiritual authority," which he received through the blessing of Robert Morris, founder and then-pastor of nearby megachurch Gateway Church.
Morris resigned from Gateway in June 2024, after allegations surfaced that he had sexually assaulted a woman from 1982-1986, when she was 12 to 16 years old." - The Roys Report
Wow. First of all, let's deal with the obvious. Landon Schott NEVER heard from God about needing to have spiritual authority. God would not have arranged for him to be "blessed" by the rabid tithing whore that Robert Morris was, who has since been utterly exposed as sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl for four years when he was coming up as a married pastor. This is the schtick that con-men like Landon Schott engage in. They "Jesus-fy" everything to rise to power and excuse their behavior. They create this fa??ade of God speaking directly to them and then have a more established pastor, also from Texas, to give it the churchianity rubber stamp of approval. Then oops, Morris turns out to be a sexual predator and the whole "God told" me house of cards collapses. It shouldn't matter at that point if your performative art of walking the neighborhood to pretend you are going to be the spiritual father of Fort Worth was believed or not. It is quite telling that the previous church that Mercy Culture took over managed to have a positive relationship with all these "witches and warlocks." It is so sad to hear the voices of the people of Fort Worth who feel so abused by people claiming to be pastors and Christians.
'Mercy Culture began holding services in its current building in 2020. It initially filed a request with the City of Fort Worth to be permitted to build the Justice Residences in 2022. Two weeks before the city's zoning commission was set to review the request, the church hosted a meeting to present project details to Oakhurst residents and answer questions. The week before the meeting, Heather Schott, who is also founder of Justice Reform, a nonprofit that aims to end human trafficking, posted on Instagram that neighbors opposing the Justice Residences were motivated by "pure selfishness" and "evil." "I share this today not because I feel threatened, not because I'm intimidated, but because I won't give these people an inch. NOT 1 INCH!!!," she stated. "I won't let bullies think for a moment that their opinion matters. God's opinions, ways + truth matters to us. PERIOD."' - The Roys Report
Please. Who sounds like the bullies in this story? It sure isn't the neighbors. It is the idiots who think they are pastors calling people demonic names and evil. This is a wife of a pastor, who apparently magically became a pastor through the marriage, posting on social media that people who disagree with her are evil and that their very opinion does not even matter! The most telling, frightening and NAR-esque thing here is the notion that for Heather Schott, her opinions are God's opinions and therefore your opinions are not relevant. When you live in such a pre-fabricated bubble of religiosity that everything you think is automatically considered as coming from God and anything opposed is immediately assigned to the demonic, that too is defining of a cult. A very dangerous cult.
"Chanin Scanlon, then-ONA president who recently moved to San Antonio, went to the community meeting and said Landon Schott told attendees they could not record it. She said many of the neighbors' questions, which were written down and turned in, were not answered and still have not been answered. She said one of her ignored questions centered around what would happen to the building if the plan to house trafficking survivors fails or the program ends. Mercy Culture leaders contended on the Holy Disruption podcast that they answered every legitimate question. Both sides agree the meeting became contentious. On the Holy Disruption episode, Heather Schott described the neighbors as turning into a "a mob" at the end of the meeting, with the situation becoming so unsafe she was escorted out by security. Scanlon said some neighbors became frustrated and raised their voices but denied anyone was unsafe or that security escorted Heather Schott away. A Fort Worth Star-Telegram story covering the meeting does not include any indication the attendees became unruly or violent, or that security intervened on anyone's behalf. The Oakhurst neighbors also refute other claims made by Heather Schott on the Holy Disruption podcast. In it, she said news coverage of the church's battle with the neighbors led to "massive personal attacks." These included the kidnapping allegations and the alleged slashing of Heather Schott's tires. The Schotts did not present any evidence of the allegations on the podcast, and Omarkhail, Lopez and Scanlon said they had not heard of them previously and did not believe them to be true." - The Roys Report
