Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surprised
 

Hi All,
How is everyone? I was on the net & checking bookmarks & dropped by as I thought I heard some men of God might be here such as Old Paths, & Bro Epley.
What to my dismay did I see as the first thread:
Prominent Memphis Area Resigns.
I had an inkling of who it may be but not how you might think I may be aware of it.
I was starting to read the thread & saw accusations of a certain nature against a man of God & I wept, wept because there were accusations & I was thinking,
what if this isn't true? I then said, if this is true, how is this thread going to help the Church in question & the Minister being accused?
You see, this coming March 27th will be the thirtieth anniversary that I first walked through the doors of Maranatha Tabernacle in Vancouver.

The Minister in question was my first Pastor, he Baptised me on April 4th (Easter Monday & the Annual Business Meeting) & prayed for me to receive the Holy Ghost on April 17th & I got it!
He was a great Pastor & i have wonderful memories from that time.:thumbsup

I read where some questioned his Bio somewhere but I can vouch for the fact that the highest we got attendence was 238 we had 12 baptised that day & we joked it was all a Biblical number.
I owe a great debt to him as I came to the Lord under his Ministry & am in the Church today in large part due to him.
It was an international Church with natives, blacks, Hispanics & even a few white Canadians to boot. In fact I am a heinz 57 with a big mixture in myself so charges of possible racism are a little hard to fathom.

Which leaves the question, how did I potentially think that this thread was about who I thought it was about?
We had Revival services with an evangilist the first weekend in January & my former Pastor who Pastors nearby was invited by my present Pastor to join us & I went up to him & hug his neck & he said, "I heard that a Bro_____ resigned his Church & is evangilizing again, have you heard anything?"
I answered, "No, I haven't"
We then started the service.

Some have wondered why I left this site a few years ago & I have stated that I was dismayed at the way Apostolic Ministers are drug through the mud, drawn & quartered, & generally held in such high contempt that I was more than a little shocked.
I have heard it say, "it is a catharsis, a venting, a letting go of the past by dragging figures in the present through the mud & wringer.:(

I was taught better. I was taught to respect the man of God. I was taught that dragging ministers through an open forum on the internet was "plain old gossip & that those who did such things were a tale bearer.
I am sorry but I do not beleive in Calvinism & that you can never lose your salvation.
There are a great many that need to repent.

CC1, What was your purpose in starting that thread anyways? Was it so that he may find repentence & restoration? I doubt it.
Whatever happened to Mathew 18: 15-17?
I think this matter belongs only to the people involved & the Church where it took place.
IT IS NO ONE ELSES BUSINESS!

I could tell stories of Ministers I know if have dropped the ball--but I won't, because they need to find a way back to God as well.
Some have come back to God & some I still weep over & keep looking & hoping they will find their way back.:sad
Threads such as the one I am referencing serve only to burn bridges & muddy the waters, not to mention causing people to meddle in affairs that are not our own.

Some have questioned why the delay God? Perhaps God is being merciful, for don't Ministers need mercy too?
Anyway you slice it people are hurt but this is not how you handle these situations.

I dissapeared a few years back after going to prayer & weaping before God at the casual way people (including fellow ministers) were so quick to call down, sully, & generally rail against the Man of God & while I was weaping God spoke to me in that still small voice & indicated that he was not happy either & that "he would deal with it!"

I am sorry if I come across harsh & you can all dismiss me if you like but I am telling you--I heard from God.
You can play with fire if you so desire, but it is eternal fire you are messing with.:nod

Thank you for allowing me my say & it is up to you to respond, deny, make fun of & even delete this thread & post.:nod


Ron

Re: Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surpris
 

BTW The am not surprised comment is directed at the forum--not the Minister in question.

Re: Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surpris
 

Ron, if you had actually read any of my posts in the thread you would not have to ask why I posted it. But to be kind and allow you to continue to lambast a thread without apparently reading much of it here goes;

1. It was a major event in old time Oneness Pentecost. A major pastor resigned.

2. The resignation and circumstances were public knowledge

3. The hope was that pastors and saints reading of this would take steps to protect themselves and their churches by making sure there was accountability regarding finances, etc if they have not already done so.

Was there ulterior motives? The only one I can think of is that I would like folks in old time Pentecost who practically worship their pastors to think about that. They should respect and honor them but not revere them to the point that they don't make sure their church is protected in case the man forsakes his walk with God and leads a double life in moral failure and abuses church money, etc.

There is another account of moral failure in a ministers family recently where it was common knowledge that the pastor who left suddenly with no warning took a lot of church money with him. The local paper said the amount was $750,000. This is not TB but the point is that any church set up with the pastor alone having the ability of raiding the bank account of three quarter of a million dollars is just nuts.

Yet another case within the past year was one of a pastor who himself was not accused of moral failure but was embroiled in a family one where he was widely thought to have defended a child molester. After this cost him many saints he decided to ago ahead and retire. As a parting gift to himself he personally cashed the churches one million dollar insurance payment for storm damage and kept it. I know the church was taking legal action to get it back but again so sad that these churches run like a dictatorship by a pastor had no controls to protect them.

So carry on with your weeping and wailing that this situation was not swept under the rug like it was in the old days but I have absolutley nothing to apologize about for starting this thread. I started it at the request of someone connected to that church by family in the past. You and tv1 are going to get along great!

Re: Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surpris
 

CC1, and you have not read what I have posted as well--sad.
I know all to well about moral failure in the Ministry, one of which goes back to 1986.
I am not telling you because, well, because it is none of your business.
If this ex ministers wife, friend, Church mate told me to post the news--I wouldn't.
Therein lies the difference.
FTR, it ain't public knowledge up here as per my post, & if it isn't piublic knowledge CC1,
it sure is now---you've seen to it.
You could go back & read what I posted but I am sure that is wasting your time because you really aren't interested in another point of view.
Sad.

Re: Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surpris
 

I know right? Don't you just wish everyone would sweep it all under the rug? Keep those moral failures private!

:lol

Re: Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surpris
 

Timmy, is that what anyone stated? I know some feel they should blab it from the housetop.
I think Biblically speaking it is for that Church and affected parties to deal with alone.
That is, if one still beleives the Bible.

Re: Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surpris
 

Here's a question, Ron:

If Paul had fornicated, would the "affected parties" list have included all the churches to whom he wrote letters? :hmmm

Re: Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surpris
 

:blah:blah:blah was all I seen in "RON" s post....he has NO idea about TB and what he did and how he TOLD OUT OF HIS MOUTH ...he would not marry or condone interracial couples...wow, thats a real godly pastor!!! This was to a family that was already married and had been in church for many years.....I dont care what color you may be....a REAL pastor will never say that! CC1...you are right on track and I appreciate the thread as many others do. I think many people....I being one of them AT FIRST, was and still are very dillusional about TB. A preacher does NOT fall over night, like a robber dont wake up one morning and decide to go steal......its been there for many years....rather active or just ferminting. I have seen that many will come forth and defend TB, but like I said....he only got caught back in Oct. 2012....so what was he hiding 13 years ago??? This is reality!!!! Btw...he found his new BB ... TV1..birds of a feather...:dancing

Re: Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surpris
 

Now... I haven't made any posts in any of the threads in question. It's not the type of thing I care to involve myself in.

But I would like to know the scriptures that make the statement you allude to in the post above. I'm not trying to give you a hard time. I just find that statement interesting and i cannot think of any scriptures off the top of my head that make that statement.

Thanks...

Re: Dropped By & Somewhat Dismayed But Not Surpris
 

Hers a question MissBratified, is there any credence to what I said?