Monday, May 28, 2018

Dave Pack: Like Jesus, I Have Many False Accusers




Dave Pack says he is like Jesus who was falsely accused. He has been falsely accused by jealous ministers and bitter members over the years. He feels blessed and exceedingly glad as he rejoices to be accused by his accusers.

“Christ described our time as the age of hatred, betrayal, offense and lawlessness (Matt. 24:10-12). Many today use and promote innuendo, rumors, outright lies and other forms of deception to confuse and divide God’s people, and defeat their confidence in Christ’s ability to govern His Church. Christ said, ‘If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you!’
“This means attacks, sometimes vicious, are a fact of life for God’s people, especially its leaders. Should accusers be answered? What spirit motivates them? Did Jesus answer His accusers? Mr. Armstrong was attacked throughout his ministry. Did he answer accusers? What does God’s Word say?
“When one is accused, only two options exist: either respond to the charges—usually triggering an ongoing, and sometimes endless, back-and-forth exchange, accomplishing nothing, or sit silent and passive—which will inevitably be considered either arrogance and proof of guilt, or cavalier and uncaring. So the issue becomes a kind of catch-22, with both options, humanly speaking, carrying big liabilities for the accused. The victim usually cannot win.
“Anyone who has ever been falsely accused can understand the tremendous temptation to ‘set the record straight’—to jump in and bat down falsehoods with the real facts. No one likes to be attacked or accused. I confess that, humanly, there have been times when I was sorely tempted to write a long answer refuting a false accusation. There have also been times when I yielded to this temptation and answered my accusers. It rarely did any good.
“The apostle Paul did not answer his accusers. He recognized that nothing in God’s Word justifies explanations being given to counter persecution and accusations. A Christian’s ‘answer’ to attacks is to continue steadfastly holding to—‘continuing in’—God’s truth.
“I have been forced to accept that many false and outrageous rumors have circulated about me since the beginning of The Restored Church of God, and really long before. Partly as a result, a variety of people have repeatedly ‘prophesied’—and some actively sought—our destruction virtually since our inception. These rumors are ridiculous and some are actually the very opposite of the truth.
“If one were to try to address every accusation, the process would be endless. After each answer had been given, in the end, it would have done no real good. After all, would you not expect that people who invent outrageous charges would also invent clever denials of their victim’s explanations?
“If I took the time to answer every charge against me, from now until Jesus Christ returns, Satan will have effectively rendered me useless as God’s tool, no longer able to serve His people—tied up in an endless process accomplishing very little. But I have learned that if I were able to satisfy such people, who may leave or reject Restored if not given an ‘adequate explanation,’ then if they did receive such an explanation, it would probably only last until the next attack against me or Restored, requiring yet another ‘adequate explanation.’ Besides, doing this is physically and emotionally exhausting, and consumes great amounts of time.
“How do I feel when falsely accused—or when others of our ministers experience this? Jesus taught that ‘blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets…’ (Matt. 5:11-12).
“I have had to learn over the years to feel ‘blessed’ and to ‘rejoice,’ and to be ‘exceeding glad’ in the face of slander and accusation. Why? Because I have had to make many unpopular decisions throughout my ministry. As a result, ‘all manner of evil’ charges have been said against me falsely, effectively forcing me to focus on my reward! I have taught others to do the same. Courageous leaders must always do what is right, not what is popular!
“What might happen if I answered every charge or accusation leveled at me or Restored? The answer is what has happened when people attempt to do this—it generates an even more vicious response from the accuser. I have watched people, whom I knew and loved dearly, literally explode with venom, in ways that were stunning!
“Anyone who answers silly accusations is unwise, because this will usually incite the accuser to invent worse charges. I have learned that to even gently explain the innocence of simple events occurring in this age that were distorted to create an accusation, can cause even more poison to pour from those who brought their false version of what probably never happened at all, or happened very differently from the way they related it. What was the point after this wasted exchange? What would be learned other than nothing good can come of this?”

15 comments:

Byker Bob said...

Was this published for Bob Thiel’s benefit? We’ve pretty much told Bob this, and here, magically and mystically, is Dave Pack giving Bob his take.

BB

Anonymous said...

Of course people exploded 'in ways that were stunning.' Who wouldn't when they eventually realise that they have been swindled out of their life savings by a snake oil salesman.

Anonymous said...

Isn't the person who wishes to be a leader in the church to be of good report within and without the congregation, blameless? When enough people say some of the same things over and over and over, I think it's time to take a look and see exactly what it is they are trying to get across and realize that others aren't the problem. We all know that that won't happen but when he falls, it's going to be a hard one.

Anonymous said...

Pack is on the record saying he believes he has the heart of a shepherd and if he could would have loved to stay at pastor rank working with the people.

What is clear is that although he may believe he has the heart of a shepherd, his fruit does not bare that he is effective in that role. At this point, if you observe the pope and how he interacts with people of all ages, you see a man who has a deep connection to peoples sufferings, is obviously an endearing figure, and comes across more like someone who you would want to seek comfort from.

When I worked around Pack, I would go in the opposite direction of him, he often complained that people got in his way, he spoke ill of the youth in the church who tried very hard to fit his definition of young men and women in God's church. He was very critical of peoples appearances. He yells all the time, he corrects his staff almost constantly and very rarely do you see a softer side of him. He speaks to it yes, but when he does it is so very needed that people get enchanted by it.

Make no mistakes, the many accusations he considers "false" are indeed very true, and the surest way to know is because if you search this blog, stories from many years ago match stories told today down to precise and almost verbatim details.

“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established. If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. ... Deuteronomy 19:15-21

Fortunately, there are many witnesses who all tell the same stories, and none of us tell these stories hoping to destroy RCG, because the truth is many people we LOVE are in RCG and I feel great pain for them being trapped there. My only desire in sharing these details about my experience is that others in RCG can grow enough of a back bone to reclaim their own minds and do their own thinking and remove themselves from the utter confusion before it is too late and they have given up all control of their lives. God is not an author of confusion so If He does exist He must indeed clear up the confusion and lead his people in a proper way.

Anonymous said...

What goes around, comes around.

David Koresh felt that he was a special, chosen one. So much so that he billed himself as a kind of messiah, albeit a Millerite messiah. A major theme running through his overwrought pronouncements was the idea that he was special to god and, therefore, was being accused and persecuted.

Vernon had an earth shaking message and all the little people just could not understand it. It wasn't the heretical "Two Trees" of HWA. It was the Seven Seals of the Book of Revelation. And people "just didn't get it." They especially did not appreciate that Vernon was as important as he was. If he died, he would return as an angry messiah and then they would be sorry.

All these Millerite, self-styled, great-leaders-chosen-of-god are the same in one very important respect: Their egos are bigger than their religious beliefs. And herein lies their eventual decline and fall.

Hoss said...

1141 be of good report within and without the congregation, blameless?

In the old WCG, someone did a study to determine the Biblical criteria for selecting a minister. Just like the tithing study, the final report was rejected.

Numbersman-Seattle said...

I think the book "Assertive Incompetence" by Douglas Becker describes D Pack very well. He is incompetent, but completely blind to that fact and thinks any criticism to be the work of the devil as he believes himself incapable of error...

Dennis said...

Nicely spoken 732

Unknown said...

Thank you 7:32 for your "insiders truth" that verifies everything that it being posted about the narcissistic, bully.... SOCIO-PACK!

Hey I like that! New official theological title for davey.... SOCIOPACK!

Anonymous said...

Herbs "people just didn't get it" was a common left wing expression in the 1940s. Herb stole extensively from his surroundings. His church even today is saturated with deceitful ploys developed over hundreds of years. Pavlovian conditioning, terror religion, brainwashing etc are interwoven into church culture.

What ever happened to "live by every word of God?" It seems that the church leaders don't think this practical.

What About The Truth said...

Mr. Pack said:

“What might happen if I answered every charge or accusation leveled at me or Restored? The answer is what has happened when people attempt to do this—it generates an even more vicious response from the accuser. I have watched people, whom I knew and loved dearly, literally explode with venom, in ways that were stunning!

Mr. Pack fails to tell the reader what is said when he ("People") answers his accusers. In a sermon, he decided to not only answer one of his enemies, he decided to publicly list them all for a posted sermon on his website. Each and every enemy was named and appointed to the Synagogue of Satan (Rev. 3:9). Shortly after this sermon, I was personally told by the 2nd ranking minister in the church that Mr. Pack told him that all of those men would have to come and worship at his feet (Rev. 3:9). After that very provocative answer to his accusers in his sermon, Mr. Pack had to of known he wasn't going to be getting any get well my dear friend cards.

It was shortly after this sermon when Mr. Pack broke into the 3 shepherds die (All Brethren Reunited) sermon series. Setting himself up as Joshua the High Priest (Zechariah 3) and being restrained by Satan on his right hand - the leader of the Synagogue of Satan, he (Mr. Pack) would deliver the splinter members on the spectacular Elul 29 event in which 3 of the worst men that he named would die in the pulpit by fire coming down from heaven.

The underlining dynamic is missed when people focus just on the "he said - he said" words. The dynamic to focus on is a leader of a church who has elevated himself to the level of Jesus Christ and demanding worship and executing vengeance. Mr. Pack's description of himself in Isaiah 11:1-5 includes what is said in the 2nd part of verse 4; "and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breadth of his lips shall he slay the wicked".

Mr. Pack had to have known when he claimed that he was the "Rod of Jesse" that as verse 4 states, he (Mr. Pack) is above human life, above the commandment "Thou shall not kill", and on the level of God himself.

So whether Mr. Pack's belief that his accusers come worship at his feet or that their transgression could incur fire from heaven or they ultimately being slayed by him, is the reverend thought of a man who believes an accusation against him is an accusation against God.

Anonymous said...

When you swindle people out of their life savings and are criticized for doing that despicable deed you are being persecuted? Get real D. P. !!

Anonymous said...

7:32, It sounds like Dave Pack needs his teeth adjusted.

Anonymous said...

I recall in one of Packs original booklets, I think it was the government booklet, he kept saying that he doesn't answer his critics. But then he brought up about half a dozen accusations, answering each one. But at the end of every answer, he would state that he doesn't answer his critics. So he expects the reader to believe his words rather than the obvious evidence. This shows how much power he thinks he has, or genuinely exercises over members. This level of undue influence is obscene/frightening/criminal etc.

This is a ploy he inherited from Herb. Herb used to write over and over "we don't set dates, however consider evidence A that points to Christ returning in 1975. But we don't set dates. However consider evidence B that points to Christ returning in 1975. But we don't set dates......"

Byker Bob said...

Dave Pack has spiritual Tourette’s Syndrome!

BB