NOTE: This is looooong, because Dave's article is about ten times this length It takes a lot of words to talk about oneself as the greatest human being to have ever lived, right after Jesus Christ.
Poor Dave Pack. He is trying so hard to be recognized as the foremost leader in Armstrongism and no one pays him much attention. Poor guy! Well, Dave is trying to fix that. He wants you to know who the REAL Dave is.
Even though he has the worlds most incredible web site, produces mind boggling booklets that no other COG can come close to imitating, he still can't impress people into following him. Even after stealing several United Church of God's old worn out ministers, he still cannot gather a large following. Rod Meredith and Gerald Flurry have 3-4 times the number Dave does.
Dave wants to lay to rest all the rumors, blog posts, and lies that have swirled around his lofty presence.
So to do that he has written ANOTHER article about himself. Oh the joy.
He wants you to know he has written the most most significant letter ever written by a Church of God minister. Apparently this ranks right up there with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Mr. Pack has prepared an extraordinary article, unlike anything he has ever
written. It addresses longstanding rumors and lies about his business,
inheritance, supposed “wealth,” home, office, teachings, early ministry,
personal relationship with Mr. Armstrong, his first wife’s role, her
relationship with the Armstrongs, rewriting Mr. Armstrong’s literature,
and many other specific charges that have been leveled at him.
All the big bad meanies in the various COG's have maligned Dave's angelic character causing people to not jump ship and join him in his earth shattering ministry! Shocking, I know!
Many today are literally still trapped in the WCG splinters and
slivers by endless falsehoods about Mr. Pack. These are spread by their
leaders and pastors. Long troubled where they are by false doctrine,
altered traditions, lax policies, worsening conduct, minimal
productivity and generally bad fruit—many are naturally very unhappy. We hear from them daily.
Able to see the very different fruit of The Restored Church of
God—uncompromising truth, immense Work, beautiful Headquarters (and
building program), enormous array of books, booklets, articles and
magazines, Ambassador Center, powerful media reach, state-of-the-art
websites, national television, rapid worldwide growth in ministers and
members, exploding income, programs for youth of all ages and emphasis
on quality in everything—thousands are more than intrigued. Tragically, blatant falsehoods about Mr. Pack have prevented many from taking action.
Yes, now with 1012 members it is a truly powerful ministry. The world has never seen such a stupendous ministry as the Restored Church of God. Bow down at it's magnificence! Kneel at it's awesomeness!
Dave writes:
Do You Know “David Pack”?
My Life and Ministry—Rumors and Lies vs. Facts and Truth
For this article to help you, you must read it all. However, if you read very far into it, you may be unable to stop. Pulling no punches, what you read will forever change your view of what God expects.
Dave starts picking at the two big meanies that have made his life so incredibly miserable, Joe Tkach and Rod Meredith:
Rod Meredith’s and other leaders’ efforts against me
today have paralleled and continued what Joe Tkach started when he and
his team long ago began to systematically falsely accuse me, and
eventually made me the first pastor fired in early 1993. I know the
fault lay at the devil’s feet...
Dave is not too happy about the Internet and it's ability to bring down Armstrongism in such a rapid fashion as it did in the 1990's. Today, the disintegration of Amstrongism is still happening because of the internet.
But there is one main difference between Mr.
Armstrong’s time and today. Those people, and of course local “members,”
could not take their story to the Internet. At best, they could poison
only a few people around them who were foolish enough to listen to their
angry, twisted “inventions” (Rom. 1:30).
I am skipping over lots of stuff that he whines about till I got to this quote where he seems to be comparing himself to
Jesus Christ. Poor Dave has been labeled all of these things just like
Jesus Christ, yet he teaches only truth....just like
Jesus Christ. Dave, get down off the cross, someone else needs the wood.
Think about how many things a perfect, sinless Christ was accused of by people who must have appeared to be credible sources at the time. Consider once again: He was labeled a blasphemer, drunkard, traitor, bastard, heretic, demon-possessed, angry and abusive (when He overturned the tables of the moneychangers in the temple), Sabbath-breaker, ignorant, friend of publicans and sinners, and more. Yet He taught only truth—and was God!
Dave continues:
Probably few remember or ever knew that Mr. Armstrong
died with virtually no personal possessions he could call his own,
other than a handful of suits, a watch, and a few other simple
belongings, including almost nothing of worth. This man’s pattern of
unbelievable sacrifice over virtually an entire lifetime was evident to
all who knew him. Therefore, it should come as no real surprise how few
possessions he had at the end of his life.
No "personal" possessions, yet living in a mansion filled with millions of dollars worth of art, silver, gold and antiques. But he didn't own it, yet used tithe money to buy for his own exclusive use. Tell me what's wrong with this picture? It's the same mindset that Ron Wienland used as he embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars of money for his own use. Minister still do the same thing today. They have their homes in "chruch ownership" yet it is furnished according to their specifications with tithe money. Dave may not "own" his house but it is filled with art, antiques, gold and silver bought at his command with tithe money. I don't need to go into his house to see this, I know it as fact as ALL the various COG leaders have done the exact same thing.
God's greatest modern day martyr now writes:
And all of this is in addition to not receiving any
of the following: health benefits, life insurance, a fleet car, a
liberal expense account, or anything close to an annual full second
tithe allotment given historically to all full-time ministers. I have
not received any bonuses or any of the other things that virtually all regular field pastors
received in the past, or what those in the splinters still receive (who
now only have to work a relatively few hours a week caring for small
numbers of people)—and I am the leader of The Restored Church of God. In
addition, my salary was for a long time FAR below what all the splinter
leaders are paid. I know! I have no life insurance, no social security
waiting in the wings, and very little home equity remaining (if
any)—and am no longer in my twenties or thirties (or even fifties),
with lots of years left to “save for (any supposed) retirement.”
Frankly, following Mr. Armstrong’s example, I plan to “retire” either
directly into the kingdom of God or through death (sleep in Christ),
whichever comes first.
Then he details how Rod Meredith has lied though his teeth about poor Dave and all of his millions:
A Large Inheritance?
Other facts need to be clarified. Many falsehoods have been spread
about my first wife, my father’s supposed “wealth,” my inheritance,
rewriting Mr. Armstrong’s literature, and whether I teach doctrines
different from what he taught, as well as my relationship with Mr.
Armstrong. There have been other charges not worthy of comment. The
biggest point is that I have been under ferocious attack, from all
quarters, with nearly endless lies—utter, complete fictions—told about
me. (And I still am—as was Mr. Armstrong for a lifetime.)
Now for the barest facts regarding what I inherited from my father upon his death in October 1995. I have never written of it or until recently told anyone about it.
First, I received one tiny store (1,500 sq. ft. retail
space)—not two or multiple stores, as some have claimed, and certainly
not ones generating any kind of “wealth.” It was Rod Meredith who
started the lie that “Dave Pack is a millionaire” and this story grew
long legs. I chose never to address his deceit, believing God knew the
truth. But in the end, many have been hurt by his lie.
I virtually gave away the one store I received to my son in
July 2000. It is the only store today, and both sons still work there.
There has been no benefit coming to me now for many years, and very
little before 2000. My dad was not wealthy, or even close to it. I did not even know his worth until after his death. His total estate was worth under
the $600,000 federal taxable limit applicable in 1995 when he died.
(And its “worth” passed a federal audit.) That amount was split 10 ways (three children, seven grandchildren)! I got my parents’ one store.
It has been said that I “inherited a large sum of money.” That’s
utterly false. This has also been partially a result of Rod Meredith’s
lie. I did not receive one dime—or one penny!—in cash.
The store yielded some money through April 1997—18 months—until I began
preparation to open a second store in January 1998—which never did well
and virtually ended my “extra income” from May 1997 forward, now over
15 years ago. Realize that it took two-and-a-half years (until January
2010) before I could pay for any of my wife’s funeral expenses. These funds came from a very modest inheritance after my uncle’s death in early 2009.
The martyrdom gets worse. Now Joe Tkach is picking on him:
More brief history. In March 1993, when I was the
first pastor Joe Tkach fired and marked publicly on video (March 6 from
Tampa), I had to act solely on faith. I had been systematically
underpaid for much of my ministry by a vindictive Joe Tkach who hated
me in large part because of my relationship with Mr. Armstrong. I had no money
in the bank—none—when Dean Blackwell came from Pasadena (weeping at my
front door and carrying flowers) with a nearby pastor to take my car,
computer and Church files. The result: my wife and I had no second car
even to get groceries. We walked. Two weeks of severance pay (plus a few
days of vacation pay) had to last for several weeks until I could be paid by Global.
Dave describes how his church is decimating the Living Church of God, United Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God and others. They are coming in the hundreds from each of these groups. COGWA does not escape this either. Hundreds are escaping from COGWA to join Dave's cult. This doesn't even include the thousands coming in from the world! All the other COG's must feel humiliated by this.
While most of our growth is coming from the world,
hundreds of people have come to us from LCG (the rate is speeding up),
hundreds more from UCG, and more hundreds from PCG, plus from other
smaller groups. Hundreds of former WCG brethren are coming with us after
going home for years.
Dave then goes into detail on how he started ratting out the field ministry and how he had an intensely close personal relationship with Herbert. Herbert supposedly took all of Dave's calls and called Dave constantly. Since Dave was/is the most important man on earth Herbert apparently needed his wise counsel.
It was through phone conversations and several
personal visits that I slowly began to realize my relationship with Mr.
Armstrong had changed. I had become an “advisor” from the field
perspective. Mr. Armstrong expressed that he appreciated frankness and
honesty, even when it meant respectfully disagreeing. He wanted
that, and it stood in stark contrast to the usually sugarcoated,
self-serving political anglings he so often experienced in Pasadena.
Advisors there largely shielded him or told him what they thought he
wanted to hear.
These are the facts! I did not come this far teaching the uncompromised truth to fabricate stories now. There were maybe one or two times
through the years that Mr. Armstrong did not take my call—but I was
instructed to call him back a little later. I would. He never once ended
the call, meaning he never a single time said that he “had to go.” He
called me a few times to read whole Co-worker Letters to me, and at
least another time to read a short article I had suggested he write. He
wanted my opinion on it.
Details of my relationship with Mr. Armstrong could
continue—starting with how he knew me from 1967 simply because I was a
well-known swimmer on campus. But also because I was 6’ 7” tall on a
small campus. My marriage to his secretary served to solidify the
relationship from 1971 forward. I later framed this in my mind as part
of a crucial training under a special man toward an awesome
responsibility at the end of the age.
Then another round of martyrdom sets in as Dave wants you to know what a sacrifice it was to rewrite all of Herbert's booklets. Sorry, how soon I forget. Dave said every single word in his books is his own and "...not one word came from any of HWA's books..."
In fact, for a three-and-a-half-year period, from December 2000 to the middle of 2004, neither of us ever
stopped to eat lunch—not once!—and a late dinner came three or four
times a week in a restaurant, often as late as 9 or 9:30 p.m.! (Also, we
did not eat a single breakfast or a single lunch or dinner together—not
one—at the table at home from 1999 until the months she was dying.
There was no time.) That workload would probably kill any three men
lacking the help of God so obviously given to us.
Messiah envy seems to be setting in again.
Now he admits to killing his wife by overworking her. A loving husband would never have had worked his wife this hard knowing she was ill.
My first wife never complained a single
time—not once!—and in some ways it could be said she virtually died at
her post where she sat having typed over two million words ...
Dave is all about throwing around numbers to make himself look important. He claims to have written more words that Herb ever did. Shall we get out the measuring tape to see who has the longest dick?
A helpful comparison, not said to brag but to clarify: Mr. Armstrong’s total life’s work
(books and booklets) was 1,155,000 words (by a software word count). My
books and booklets total over 2,900,000 words (approaching triple the
number, and in a fraction of the time—with endless other duties swamping
my days)! Incidentally, all of this becomes a big reason I had to
virtually give away my store in 2000.
Dave is such an educated man that he has to write more than Herbert did because he has sooooooooooo much more to offer:
I had to write much more than Mr. Armstrong because there was a need for additional literature not needed during his time.
Dave wants everyone to know he is the COG's most compassionate minister and has never had to disfellowship people. He just gently guides them out the door:
Incredibly, I have become a subject of legend in regard to something I almost never had to do!
I very, very rarely had to disfellowship anyone. People who did not
agree with the Church usually left on their own. A wise and skilled
minister understands that people who do not belong—and we now know that
scores of thousands never had God’s Spirit in the WCG—can be gently
steered with a handshake back to the world where they do belong. I figured this out early on.
Dave was such a compassionate minister that the Rochester and Syracuse New York churches rapidly grew under his leadership. I can't WAIT for the response to this be certain readers here.....lol Come on, you know you want to respond! :-)
I did not have to put many people out of the Church. During the 1970s, there were maybe
half a dozen where this happened—and these were the “liberal years,”
where thousands were leaving the Church worldwide. In the first half of
the 1980s, after arriving in Buffalo, New York, I disfellowshipped an
even smaller number. This was over a four year and seven month period.
And that pastorate was in disastrous condition when I arrived, its
previous pastor having just been himself disfellowshipped by Pasadena
three days before I took over. The same condition was true of the
Rochester and Syracuse congregations, because its pastor left the Church
(June 25, 1977) the day he gave his final sermon—and the very same day I
arrived. Over 300 people had left these three congregations over the
previous three years. Yet in each case these pastorates quickly turned
into the fastest growing congregations in the entire Church, worldwide.
Church Administration, later renamed Ministerial Services, reported this
to me time and again. I even got several visits from headquarters
ministers (at least four I recall) asking me what it was that I was
doing to achieve such growth. They wanted to know why my Bible Study
attendance was routinely triple or quadruple the percentage of most
other pastorates. Their goal was to apply principles that they could use
with the rest of the WCG ministry.
Dave then graciously moves on to Akron where once again he starts the church growing rapidly! Such and amazing man! I bow at his awesomeness!
In the latter half of the 1980s, I was not in a
position to put anyone out of the Church, because Joe Tkach had reduced
me to an Associate Pastor and sent me to New York City. Once I became a
pastor again, from February 2, 1990 to March 2, 1993 (when I was fired
from the WCG), there were only two people who had to be
disfellowshipped in Akron, Ohio. Two ladies who went with PCG left me no
choice. This congregation again became the fastest growing congregation
in the United States, even while the rest of the Church had begun to
decline in attendance, with the highest attendance at the Feast of
Tabernacles having been the year 1990 (151,601 attended the Feast that
year). We all know what happened over the years that followed.
Dave goes on to discuss his other amazing qualities:
I was the pastor who developed the Plain Truth Newsstand Distribution Program into what it ultimately became. I did not originate the idea, but carefully structured it in a way that Pasadena could maximize its effectiveness...
Similarly, I saw that Youth Opportunities United
(Y.O.U.)—the Church’s formal program to develop its teenagers—was
starting with too late an age (13) to effectively shape young minds. I
had three children (2, 7 and 9) at the time (1982), and saw the need to
begin with children as young as five. So I developed a local program in
Buffalo for 5 to 12-year-olds. It was tremendously successful (we had a
children’s choir of 99, which we fit on the stage at one time), and
involved a variety of sports, camping and fundraising ideas, plus Bible
classes, to teach, unify and bond the children. Pasadena found out about
it and asked me to write up what I was doing. I did—and the result was
Youth Educational Services, or Y.E.S. as it came to be known. This is
why God’s Church today does so much for its youth—more than all the
other groups combined!
I wrote articles for The Good News magazine that did not get me a pay raise or a bonus.
I held annual regional activities for singles, as
well as certain annual sporting tournaments, which always involved
hundreds of people.
We fundraised on behalf of the Work tens of thousands of dollars that could be sent to Pasadena,
A sermonette seminar that I gave in Syracuse in the
spring of 1978 was developed into a very extensive handout, which found
its way to Dean Blackwell in Pasadena. I learned that, for the next 15
years, it was used as a speech preparation tool at Ambassador College
Jealousy soon entered the picture and Dave was picked on:
Most other ministers just never did any of
these kinds of things, never mind on a regular basis. Sadly, all of
these activities served an additional hidden purpose that I found myself
up against: they caused a very real resentment from pastors around me
who thought I was “horn-tooting” or “grandstanding” for Pasadena.
Joe Tkach and a couple men around him were able to
actively nurture and use this resentment against me to their advantage.
He literally ordered five pastors who lived nearby to “write me
up” in late 1985, just before Mr. Armstrong died. Two of these men
called me about six months later to confess what they and three others
had done, and to relate how they were given “no choice.” These five men
today have all completely left God’s Way. One stayed in the WCG. Another
stayed there and had a complete nervous breakdown. Another became an
alcoholic. Another one gave up all of the truth and went home…and so on.
There is soooooooooooo much more that Dave has written. It's frying my brain to read it all. If you dare, you can read it all here:
Do You Know David Pack? You might need a barf bag by the time you get to the end. Be warned though if you call him a lair he has this to throw at you:
Our Headquarters makes no attempt to keep up with the
speed of the Internet, emails, faxes and telephones, when used by
malicious liars. YOU—personally—must “be strong in the power of [God’s]
might” (Eph. 6:10), “standing against the wiles of the devil,” knowing YOU are “wrestling…against wicked spirits in high places” (vs. 11-12), as YOU “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).
