Dennis on: "I'm Calling a Fast."

"I'm Calling a Fast."

Evidently Dave Pack, Apostle for the Restored Church of God, is in a bit of a bind.  Pledges pledged aren't manifesting as pledged.  This is a common occurrence when fundraising is based on pledges because at the time the emotion of the call and the desire to participate are often bigger than the reality of the bank account. Both Jerry Lewis and NPR understand this well.

I would imagine Dave has a double problem in that a couple years ago everyone was bullied to "send it in" and you can only do that once.  Gee, I wish I could have an income anytime I just said "send it in."   I recall a command of sorts that said,  "And I don't just mean a little. I mean ten thousand , twenty thousand , a hundred thousand..."    Whew...  And now evidently he needs more because of more non-accountability decisions where bucks are needed.   Solution:  Fast and pray.

Most who read this site are well aware of the call to fast and pray during real or imagined emergencies in "the work."   In hind site, the real reason, even if leadership did not know it, was to serve as a distraction to questions about what might be going on and suggestions that rather than push the spiritual burden onto the members and the Deity, one might spend less, change the plan or simply repent of the foolishness of whatever was going on now.  Fasting seemed the tool of congregational distraction and leadership frustration with what to do about any number of things that were out of leadership control.

Personally, I never liked fasting and was not even a big fan of the Day of Atonement.  I never noticed any great changes or interventions whether I fasted or not.  I often wondered, especially now in the day of the Hubbell Telescope, just what am I trying to do?   Is there a God wanting to see me squirm in hunger.  Is this Deity impressed with me not eating and more inclined to listen and answer with a big "YES!"?    If so, what kind of Deity does that and why?  Am I coercing him by my act of not eating for a relatively short time?  Could I accomplish as much if I didn't take a bath for a week or held my breath until I passed out in prayer?  

Frankly I never got it  (please don't say, "and that is why you got no answer) and while I'm sure I gave sermons on it, I'm not sure I ever believed it.  I did read what the Bible said about it, why one does it and what to expect, but never saw much difference in myself or the Church for actually doing what it said.   It was much like "Ask whatever you will in my name and I will give it to you."  While pretty straight forward, it always came with lots of disclaimers and conditions like, "well you have to ask within God's will."  "You are asking amiss."  "God did answer and the answer was 'no'."    "Your ways are not God's ways,"  and so forth.  You simply could not win.  By the time you fulfilled and recognized all the disclaimers the scripture should have read "Ask whatever you will and if you have a great attitude, if it is good for you, if you don't ask amiss and if you are within my will do it, I will maybe do it, but probably not."

Anyway, back to fasting.  I believe that calling a fast in this modern day an age is a diversion used too often by the COGs to draw attention and responsibility away from the leadership who finds itself in a jam.  If the income is down we fast which as far as I can tell does not coerce the Deity into sending more but does coerce the flock, through guilt, to sacrifice more because after all, they are fasting.  Since God owns the cattle on a thousand hills could we not just as much "ask what we will" and ask him to sell some and "send it in" to the True Church we could continue to preach the Gospel (and pay our salaries)?  Combine both those concepts and skip the fasting one.

In my actual experience, I don't see where fasting does as advertised.  Just as I don't see how "prove me now herewith and see if I don't open the windows of heaven for you" by tithing.  I guess I'd have to throw in, "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church ....and the sick shall be made well."  Again, can't skip the oil thing and "ask whatever we will"?   This is serious stuff and if you won't answer this one, what do you answer with "yes...I will send it by noon."

All this rather lines up with the concept that "without the shedding of blood, there is NO FORGIVENESS of sin."  Really?  Why not?  Why can't I ask whatever I will, such as "please forgive me," and skip the mess and the middlemen.  Was that concept concocted by Priests who made their living off blood shedding and sacrifices?  I am suspicious.  Let's face it, if some Old Testament character way ahead of his or her time could convince the crowds that they didn't have to buy expensive animals and take hundreds of hours a year to get them killed and drained for their sins, the Temple and Priesthood would be out of business, and I do mean business.

Well, this is not a big topic.  We all know what the Bible says about it but I am looking back at the fruits of it all and perhaps the real motives of those that command others to follow them in a fast for whatever.  It seems something done to control the mind of the faithful, wear them down a bit, guilt them a lot and distract them from their leadership making the hard decisions to back down from glorious and expensive ideas about how they want to do their work.  

Instead of fasting for income and because the building fund pledges or the income or the problems of the church are huge, why not, members, try this.

Minister/Leader

"I want to build a college."

Member

"No, its too expensive and stupid idea. Few will come and who is going to pay for all this and run it when you croak?"

Minister/Leader

"I want to expand our printing and the coverage of my wonderful telecast to all the world."

Member

"That's fine when you have inspired the ones you have already to send in enough to take the next step but please don't ask us for any more money.  We did send it in last time."

Minister/Leader

"We want to pick up and mover our headquarters to another state."

Member

"Screw that!"

I think we get the point.  Money is the grease that lubes the wheel of everyone's "work."  It is not prayer.  It is not fasting to coerce the Deity or show it how humble one is so please "send it in from on high."  It is money and you can't get money out of a turnip as they say, but for some reason Ministers and especially the self appointed Apostles and Prophets, Witnesses and Watchers are more bold about it.

Just think how your money bought Ron Weinland and Laura big houses, fancy cars, gold, diamonds and world tours to speak to a few folk and call it all "Church."  You really have to not have a conscience to do that and we know what that's a definition of.

So, yet another fast is called by yet another Guru who needs, not more faith, hope or love, but money.  I don't know or not if Dave Pack can pull off the College thing.  I do know he is not big enough to need it.  I can't imagine who would waste their time and money on attending if they did their homework on a good theological background check.  What kind of God Haunted and brain dead kids would go?  I think we are past the time where parents get to pick the college for the kids but maybe not.  

In the Church of God, calling a fast, IMHO, is a diversion from facing realities and addressing them.  They are usually called to address them long after they should have first been addressed for then one would not be fasting.  Fasts are called because the leadership of either a few or just the one is nervous about money and paying the bills they/he ring up without oversight or accountability.

This my experience as a member and a minister having soaked for decades in these fasts and pleas appearing to follow Biblical injunctions for such times as these, but in fact, consciously or unconsciously using it to divert from Church issues that should have been better handled in first place and way back when some genius thought them up.

Thoughts?

DennisCDiehl@aol.com