Fairly Dramatic Cuts?
Instead of front-loading “The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 461)” on July 29, 2023, with the bad news, David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God opted to save it for the last five minutes. There was probably a secret hope that most of the congregation would have already mentally checked out by then and that the members in the field who still bothered to listen stopped halfway through.
The Restored Church of God is in financial straits as David C. Pack piecemeals information to the brethren. He has said nothing in any of his messages to the church about WHY they need cuts, but that financial changes are necessary "IF time went on.”
Oh, Dave. Time is going to Energizer Bunny all up in your biz-natch.
It has been several weeks since Dave last sang his lamentations to the membership. Back in June, six Headquarters employees received their pink slips, including Mrs. Pack. Dr. Tim Ranney (PR No Mo) and Ken Orel (The Chicago Heavy) received the added bonus of being wished away into the cornfield.
Flashback Part 451, Part 2 – June 14, 2023
@ 06:15 So, we reached a point where we realized we're gonna send some people to the field…we're doing everything we can to cut costs.
@ 10:16 But anybody who has Common out there, we want to hit it.
@ 10:42 But I would just ask…all of you listening…Can you do more? Sell all…this is a great time to be thinking about that.
“Think about that” is all the brethren did. It seems the Common money did not materialize. Keep holding out, folks. There will come a day when you will be extremely thankful you did.
If you thought making six people redundant would be enough to secure the ship, then you would be wrong. Apparently, The Restored Church of God needs to trim even more fat at Headquarters. The situation is becoming a little "too real," especially since the Kingdom of God cannot possibly arrive until the Opening Night of The Feast of Tabernacles. That is way, way out on September 29 at sunset.
To the All-Believing Zealots and Headquarters Fakers: Book only a one-way flight to the Feast this year as a show of faith. And only pack one change of clothes since the first song on Opening Night will not be sung. You do not even need a toothbrush. Please show David C. Pack just how much you trust what he says. Walk in faith. As he has said, just having hope is not enough.
Part 461 – July 29, 2023
@ 1:34:23 …one of the problems is, we’ve got two months to go. What is that? Conditions will worsen. The implications of how God uses the next two months are great. Just trust me on that. I may have big decisions to make, or they may be made for me.
@ 1:38:00 But, I still wondered, you know, if that's what God wanted to do, then we were gonna be ready to do it.
Dave’s god wants to use the next two months but is unwilling to provide the cash windfall to make it happen? Perhaps Dave’s god slumbers or is on a far journey and cannot wire the adequate funds.
We all know David C. Pack does not believe his own doctrines, and his promises could not be more worthless. If this new date was sure, he could easily empty the reserves and do whatever. He knows he will walk all this back, just like we do.
Talk of cuts is a faithless act on his part. He does not trust his own god to provide. Instead of waiting for the ravens to bring bread and flesh each day, he has to roll up his sleeves and do it himself. His human steam is a shining example of righteous virtue.
@ 1:38:06 We were not gonna continue as we are. So, I began to make major cuts. I announced, for instance (and believe it, this is just the first one), but I think the cuts start with me, so I already had in mind long before I knew this, my wife was gonna step aside, and I'm gonna give up her salary. But I’ma take a ten percent cut. I was planning to stay here for the Feast. Mr. Schleifer knows this. I wasn't gonna travel. The price of renting an airplane is an abomination, and I won’t do it again.
Flying commercial is just ridiculous, out of the question, and not even worthy of discussion.
@ 1:38:36 I'll just stay here, and I'll leave half of my Second Tithe just stay in the General Fund. Which is what happens at the end of every year.
Giving your “excess Second Tithe" back to the church is not biblical. That is a Herbert W. Armstrong manufactured tradition with no scriptural basis. It is just another way the church guilts brethren out of more money. Do yourself a favor. Study the Bible before you do that.
Dave breezed past a tiny detail, but it is worthy of your attention. One crucial word caught my attention. Half.
@1:38:42 And I’ll give up half my secretary.
Whoa. Whoa. That is NOT what he said during the Ministerial Conference when he was willing to bleed alongside everyone else. Dave informed Ed Winkfield (Stepford Prime) that since he was firing one of Ed’s staff, Dave’s personal handmaiden would be gifted to him in exchange. Now only half-gifted.
Flashback Part 451, Part 2 – June 14, 2023
@ 08:56 So, I'm gonna just make a sacrifice…I'm gonna give up my secretary… she's gonna work for Mr. Winkfield.
@ 09:10 So, I'm gonna have to function without a secretary.
Dave shuddered at the idea of pouring his own coffee. The thought of being responsible for bringing the right glasses down the Main Hall for a message sent a chill up his spine. When times are tough, David C. Pack is willing to half-sacrifice.
For all who feel obligated to donate extra funds, follow the example of your Pastor General, David C. Pack. Give him half of what you planned.
But seriously, for the love of Pete…do not give them anything!
Dave likes to inject inappropriate humor while delivering unpleasant news to the local congregation. He has no consideration for those in the audience who may feel distressed learning that more vague cuts are coming to Headquarters. They do not know if that means layoffs or an across-the-board salary percentage cut.
What a fantastic way to top off another restful Sabbath at Headquarters. Employees enjoy going home, setting down their briefcases, and taking off their ties, wondering what financial woes shall befall them. Dave is long on drama and short on details.
Part 461 – July 29, 2023
@ 1:38:44 And then I realized if I do that, I been preachin', and then I could look at the other ministers and start meddlin’. [Laughs] 'Cause that's preachin’. Long as I’m makin’ the cuts. But, after that, it’s time to meddle. And [laughs] have fun. There's some men nervously laughing right now out there. [Laughs] So hoping the Kingdom comes.
Ha ha ha. Some are nervous right now because they might lose their jobs. Ha ha ha.
Wow. How creepy is that?
The callous attitude and snarky delivery again expose David C. Pack as to what kind of man he is. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. And his mouth speaks A-Lot.
@ 1:39:09 I know how to motivate our ministers to get them to want the Feast.
He might as well say, “Mr. Armstrong chastised you with whips, but I shall chastise you with scorpions.” Yes, fear is a potent motivator, Dave. You have grown quite good at it.
Having outgoing love and concern is for the unordained. Letting your light shine is a nice idea, but it does not pay the rent. Choosing mercy over judgment is intended for those not in any real position to wield it. By their fruits, you shall know them, brethren. Pay attention to his fruits.
@ 1:39:13 But, there’d be other cuts. More much streamlining. Cuts of various kinds. Fairly dramatic, and it would put us in a powerful position IF God did not add (we'll call it) an accelerant.
The "good night" thirty seconds later, without giving any clue as to what will happen or why, is just more spit in the eyes of the brethren of The Restored Church of Another god.
Hey, Brad. Is Dave going to streamline the horses or put a moratorium on new trees? Inquiring minds want to know.
Those ringing the bell signaling the financial demise of RCG need a reality check. They have millions of dollars tied into real estate around the Campus. An accurate indicator of dire economic circumstances will be when houses start popping up on Zillow. It will come. It is only a matter of when.
I hope these fairly dramatic cuts affect things more than they do people. But I doubt it.
This is not a sign of the end for RCG, folks. It IS another step down that slope.
Marc Cebrian
18 comments:
Back-loading the "bad news" at the end of a service has been a common practice for many COGs through the years. But not all the time, and not in every congregation.
I first noticed it in the mid-eighties, when a WCG Pastor in Georgia announced the disfellowshipping of his Associate Pastor at the end of a sermon - which, as I recall, was on something unrelated. (To this day, I'm not sure exactly what the Associate Pastor did.)
I think it's been done that way so you don't get distracted from the message. But it can certainly end things on a sad, puzzling note.
* * *
The price of renting an airplane is an abomination...
Wait - he's RENTED planes for Feast trips? Can't be buy an airline ticket - especially with the Church-arranged discounted rate?
I'll leave half of my Second Tithe just stay in the General Fund
I think the writer didn't quite catch the meaning of the above. Ever since WCG, ministers haven't saved second tithe; the church saves it for them and they receive a check for the yearly amount shortly before the Feast of Trumpets. Dave is saying here that he's only going to take half as much second tithe money as usual as he won't be traveling this year.
Cue the soundtrack for the end of the last five minutes: An old style (1940s) toilet with elevated tank and pull chain loudly flushes punctuating the austerity proclamation with a "down the drain" aura. The brethren all share a rather quizzical expression, one of uncertainty, thinking in group think one unified thought: "Does this mean that the never-ending false prophecies will soon come to an end???"
Stay tuned until next time!
Putting a spouse "on the payroll" is the oldest trick in the book.
I believe Tkach did this for his second-wife Tammy.
Pack-wife "Salary" not revealed--How much was her "Salary"?
How much is Pack's "Salary"?
Would a 10% "pay-cut" make much difference if "Salary" was a HWA-style $500k
How much did he pay for the chartered jets?
Is he going to give up his luxury LINCOLN SUV?
With Dave so preoccupied with himself and the non-Second Coming of Jesus, he has probably put his wife on a 3rd Tithe Spiritual Widow subsidy equal to or in excess of what he paid her before he had to eliminate her job. That should keep the personal family income up where he feels it deserves it to be with as important as he is in these last days...of RCG and his aging life.
Anon August 3 at 10:16 PM,
Thank you for the reminder. I did know that. I will add a few sentences to my article on exrcg.org. I did not connect the dots while writing. – I know of some ministers who left HQ and requested their 2nd Tithe as they were leaving and were denied. I'm sure all of them are. That money is RIGHTFULLY theirs, but DCP framed it as they were "trying to steal from the church." Again, thank you for pointing that out.
:)
Marc
Who is checking up on Dave to make sure he is not siphoning money off in various forms? I don't think he has any personal financial problems. The only thing that might slowly go down is his empire.
Wow. He is staying home for the Feast.
When I stayed home for the Feast, due to financial hardship, I was removed from church membership.
What a complete hypocrite.
Pack is a HALF WIT. Will he cut that even further too??
Did Herb the Blurb ever ask people to sell all? Now when I was there. Where does Hunter Pack get his authority to do that? From his backside?
Pack will publically cut his salary 10%, after silently raising it 20%.
How soon before they have to start selling houses? The last house purchased for $500k still has around $375k left on the loan according to public records.
In the dog days of August, i’m sitting at a tiki bar in southwest Florida, near the Gulf of Mexico. I pulled up Banned By HWA on my iPhone, read this post headline and spit a mouthful of wine out laughing at the headline. So the “Common “ Communist Dave Pack has run out of other peoples’ money and has to take a pay cut - once again proving Margaret Thatcher a better prophet than any of the ACOG HWA wannabees. Richard
It's not failure, it's efficiency. After Herb died, GCI was so efficient they cut the income by many milions of dollars, to save themselves the trouble of spending it, and the membership by over 100,000 people. All in record time. They were so much better at running things than he was.
For Dave to take a 10% pay cut is meaningless.
What does he spend his money on? Food, a little gas for his car for infrequent trips off the compound? He has admitted over and over that he rarely goes off the compound for anything.
He doesn't need to worry about a house payment because the church owns his house, does its upkeep, mows his lawn and trims the shrubs and trees.
His everyday personal supplies, home office supplies, etc are covered under ministerial expenses and are deductible whether by him or the church. So for him to make a production about taking a 10% payout will not effect him whatsoever. Even if he did a 50% pay cut he still would not suffer like his followers are financially suffering.
There's also that other elephantine issue! Considering all of the failed prophecies he has made as absolute certainties, how are we to abruptly shift gears soas to believe any dogmatic statement he makes on any other subject?. How can he not realize that everything he says is seen as a total mess of $hit by all except his Pavlovian core group of followers? (And I have my doubts about them as well. Nobody is that naive!)
"a WCG Pastor in Georgia announced the disfellowshipping of his Associate Pastor at the end of a sermon..."
We were in Atlanta East congregation in Mid 1980's. If this is what I recall the Pastor was announcing/marking the Associate Pastor who had preached blatant heresy. Pretty bad stuff, rather not mention names.
Taking a tithe cut. Uh.....
Post a Comment