A great story is on the Exit and Support web site for survivors of Armstrongism. It is from the son of a former member who defied his minister and loved his family more! It exposes yet again the blatant hypocrisy of the ministry of the Church of God.
Love of Sports and How My Dad Stood For What Was Right
My junior year was the beginning of the end for the WWCG and my family. The new minister was exactly like the old one, lock and step with the "church." His kids were arrogant and his wife was snobby. My parents didn't think much of them. My parents went to every one of my games since they felt if the ministers kid can play, it must be all right. I continued to get even better and was again excused from the Feast. Our second to the last game that year was against the minister's son's school. We destroyed them in a route. I had my best game ever! I had 4 sacks and 17 tackles, eight of them being for a loss! My dad was so happy and could not stop talking about it. Well, the minister's local paper told the story and come the following Saturday, unknown to me, my father was confronted by the minister about me playing on the Sabbath. I could see he was upset on the drive home and not much was said. I remember like it was yesterday when I walked by my dad's office Sunday morning and he was very upset with someone; my mom was sitting across from him. I was shooed away and the office door was closed. My parent's were in there for a long time, like hours!
It was two days later that my dad called all of us in the family room. He told us exactly what had happened as I did not know. The minister said it was wrong for my dad to allow a child to break the Sabbath and when my dad confronted him on his son, he said it was because his son had potential to play at the college level. Of course, my dad brought up the inquiries that I was having from colleges and that was quickly dismissed by the minister. He gave my dad an ultimatum (my dad was never a fan of ultimatums) and Dad did what had been brewing in his and Mom's heart for a while. They quit in 1986 and we were disfellowshipped or marked, whatever you want to call it. I know it hurt them to lose the friends they had and, as far as I know, no one from the "church" ever contacted them again.
That's the day I knew who my hero was. Not because of some game, but because he stood for what was right and protected his family and his integrity, both to which he held to deeply. We were not in the WWCG very long (big blessing!) and we don't have horror stories like others but I have to say it made our family realize what men can do with a Bible and their interpretations of the words within.
