"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?
