From an LCG source:
Rod Meredith's new henchman and Bob League's replacement, Michael Desimone has been forced to put his gorgeous Charlotte home on the market. Mike had a decent job and his family lived comfortably in a large home with acres of wooded property in a great Charlotte neighborhood. That is until Rod Meredith manipulated him into quitting his job to prove his loyalty to the Church of Rod.
Unfortunately, the idealistic Desimone will now be expected to blindly obey Master Meredith's every command. His most recent order to sell his stunning 5 bedroom, 6 bathroom home was blindly obeyed as expected.
Rod and Lil' Jimmy don't want someone below them to have a nicer house after all. It just doesn't look right for a subordinate to be living higher on the hog than number 3 and 4 in all the universe. Ego and vanity. Vanity and ego.
Just like that episode of Star Trek where John-Luc Picard turns into a robot-human part of the Borg, Mike Desimone has now become assimilated. Resistance was futile.
He was once a relatively nice guy, although fairly daft. Now, after several months of training for his new position assisting the tyrannical Rod McNair in policing the Charlotte LCG congregation, he has already begun to become less human.
What else could be expected? Can you imagine being trained by Rod McNair? The poor man hasn't got a prayer. I'm sure he has already been baptized into "the ends justify the means" club of which McNair is the chairman. He's already comfortable telling long-time church members that are twice his age that they can't study the Bible without a minister present.
The silver lining might be that he will now be able to keep his friends out of trouble. Everyone knows that favoritism rules at LCG and the close friends and family of ministers get the get-out-of-jail-free cards.
He was most certainly ordained and given the position that he is in because he is a "yes man". Like a soldier, he is perfectly okay executing orders without questioning whether what he's being asked to do is right or wrong.
Mike once said that "if Mr. Meredith says it, it's the same as if it were written in the Bible". That type of obedience to Rod is how you get places in LCG!
Many of us feel a little sorry for Mike. He worked hard to make something of his career despite the lack of quick wit. He had a big heart and puppy eyes, truly believing that serving the "one true church" would sure up his position as a pillar in the kingdom. I'm sure he will hide is sadness and despair and march forward like all good soldiers do even after the truth becomes known to him. The truth that it is all a charade. The truth that LCG headquarters is filled with boasters, liars, back-biters and bullies. It's always a little heart breaking for new hires at LCG headquarters at first but then he will tell himself that it's a test of obedience or make some other excuse in his mind to prevent the truth and doubt from seeping into his perfectly brainwashed obedient mind. It's so much easier to make excuses and go with the flow than to stand up against the rampant bad behavior and risk the utter destruction of everything you THOUGHT was real.
Poor Mikey.
If I were Mikey, I'd politely tell the idiot Meredith that "I will sell my house and give the proceeds to the poor (not LCG) when I see you and little Jimmy doing the same thing". What is good for the goose is good for the gander. LCG executives should lead by example.
ReplyDeleteBut back to the real world and not the phony world of Rod Meredith and Company, what I would really say to Meredith is "take your job and shove it- I don't need it!"
Richard
i am curious what mrs. desimone's reaction has been...
ReplyDeleteMike should have told the Charlottans: "Look, I hear you telling me to do this, but I am not sure that it is God's will for me. I pray everyday, and have a relationship with God, just as you do. If this is really what God wants me to do, He is going to confirm it directly, not through another person. I will be praying about it and waiting for God's answer."
ReplyDeleteThe problem being, that in Armstrongism, members are not permitted to have a direct personal relationship with God. The rent temple veil from the top down means nothing to them. The relationship with God is the relationship with the ministers. They have co-opted it entirely, and see seeking confirmation as rebellion.
BB
Mike once said that "if Mr. Meredith says it, it's the same as if it were written in the Bible". ...
ReplyDeleteOver the years , I have had occasion to have people come to me to say "God has a message for you that he wanted me to tell you".
My response is always the same... "God has my telephone number, and he can call me direct anytime that he wants and tell me
his message directly and personally, why the heck does he need you as a 'messenger' ?"
Of course my response always ticks those people off, and they commonly reply with "Thats not how it works", to which I say with authority, "Yes , that is exactly how its going to work and you need to BUZZ OFF".
Never let another person define the rules of the game and transaction!
Mike should really demand the same set of proof in his situation as well, but of course pleasing a man, in the name of God, is the outcome. There is great power in convincing people that you are the human "franchise holder" for God. To ever deny them or resist them is the same as rebelling against God himself.
Mafioso and Governments play the franchise "protection" game too. They will kill you in physical reality if you do not obey. Cults like Meredith, Pack , Flurry et al. play the same game as well. They obviously cannot get away with literally physically killing you, but they threaten with an even more powerful threat, ... not just temporal death , but ETERNAL DEATH. All of these fake Shaman Gurus need to be told to get lost and get a real job like the rest of us "mortals".
Connie said:
ReplyDeleteOver the years , I have had occasion to have people come to me to say "God has a message for you that he wanted me to tell you".
I have never had this happen to me (I suspect it happens more often to women than to men like me), but if I did, my response would likely be, "What a coincidence! God has also given me a message for you. Would you like to go first or shall I?"
To Connie's message I can only add, "Amen".
Poor Mikey is right.
ReplyDeleteNot only is he giving up his career and his comfortable home, he's trading it all in for a life of service to a pathological liar who heads a corrupt organization. He will know what a horrible decision he's made sooner rather than later.
And to make matters worse, once that $550,000 house sells he will be expected to give RCM 10%.
It's a win win for evil genius Meredith.
Mike could have saved his home if he had offered to rename it the "Roderick C Merideth Social Center"
ReplyDeleteSo the guy is probably pulling in 125k or more a year in income before being hired by LCG. He buys this house for 340k. He can afford it. Then after being hired by LCG (his decision to take the new job) he makes 50k. He then can't afford the home and then tries to sale it. It's on the market for 519k. His choice. End of story.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.zillow.com/homedetails/14230-High-Echelon-Dr-Matthews-NC-28105/6305264_zpid/
I know this guy and I feel sorry for him. I had hoped that he would rub off on Rod McNair but it looks more like Rod is rubbing off on him. He is so eager to please the establishment that he has already started to change for the worse.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful home, and a real bargain. Compare that to Vancouver real estate where I live.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIf4LhaZTh8
or try this
http://www.crackshackormansion.com/part2.html
does this church have any advice about the direction of real estate in western Canada?
Anon@5:24
ReplyDeleteYou are so right he has changed! Not for the better either. He seems to have drunk the HQ kool-aide and is now treating people differently. Power corrupts and he now has more power and it shows. It is sad to witness the degradation of the man.
Sad. I know Mike, and his wife - both used to be very nice. Mike used to be so polite and unassuming. Really a genuinely nice guy, but seemingly gullible. It is unfortunate that he has chosen to give up his (obviously) successful career to wind up a "yes man" for Meredith and CO. But, it is no surprise to me that Meredith chose to pluck him out of the obscure ranks of his congregation and favor him with a position. Meredith has always gravitated toward monetary success, and favors individuals who have, in his mind, "made it" - often times putting those folks in positions of authority in his little organization (regardless of whether or not they are actually qualified for position). Based on sitting through years of Meredith's nonsensical ramblings about his own life (otherwise known as his sermons), my guess is that his favor for wealth and wealthy people has something to do with his own diluted self image. But, I guarantee if this were a member of the M. family, no way would Mike have to sell this house, unless of course it was to exchange it for an even bigger place in some exotic foreign land. In fact, he'd probably get some made-up position which would some how justify a huge paycheck and plenty of perks. As it is, I'm not sure what career Mike is leaving behind (it's been 8 years since I last spoke to the guy), but it almost looks like he was working for himself (judging from the real estate pics provided on Zillow). A poster earlier suggested an annual salary of $125K. I'd have to say, just judging from the furnishings and décor of the house, and familiarity of the area, it would have to be closer to $200K. Of course, money isn't everything. But, integrity is a huge price to pay for a little church power. I wonder if Mike really knows what he is getting himself into? I wonder if he realizes M&Co. play favorites, and one day you're up, the next day you're down and out (how many times did we have to sit through lavish compliments directed toward the Scarborough family, before of course they fell out of favor?). I wonder if Mike knows how M&Co. have turned LCG into the family (and friends) business. I wonder if Mike knows that there are two standards in that church - M&Co. standards, and standards for everyone else. Hopefully whatever career he's leaving behind has given him transferable skills he can use again.
ReplyDeleteEven die hard LCGers realize their is a split coming as soon as Spanky dies. What a terrible time to give up your home and high paying job.
ReplyDeleteJust had a sobering thought! Imagine what this is going to do to Mike's sex life!
ReplyDeleteLOL!
BB