Fornication...with Herbert W Armstrong

Dave Pack: I was sickened by appaling and inappropriate dancing by YOU cheerleaders

Who would have ever imagined that Dave Pack's downfall in the Worldwide Church of God would start with immoral dancing YOU cheerleaders, Joseph Tkach Sr., and not with his abusive tactics. Dave never accepts responsibility for anything.

Beginning of the End!

During district family weekends, congregations would combine for Sabbath services, Saturday night activities and Sunday sporting events.

One activity was watching and judging the performance of each congregation’s cheerleaders’ dance team. The goal was teamwork and unity, and to provide a positive opportunity for teenage girls. Sabbath observance kept most girls from participating in school-sponsored cheerleading. 

For many brethren, these performances were a highlight. Sometimes a thousand people gathered to watch the teams perform specially choreographed routines. Each had chosen their own music selection and prepared their routine.

It became evident certain teams had little or no adult supervision. Some mirrored worldly trends, with inappropriate music and overtly suggestive dancing. Yet most ministers took little notice. But Mr. Pack was the responsible host.

After watching a sexually suggestive routine by one squad from Pennsylvania, Mr. Pack was furious. Hundreds of brethren, including families and little children, were exposed to appalling, inappropriate dancing. Some of the squad’s cheerleaders were daughters of the pastor—and they were the very worst offenders. The dancing would have been better suited for a nightclub than a Church youth activity.

But their father was pleased with the performance!

Mr. Pack was left with a choice: overlook the situation or make plain that God’s Church has standards.

“I pulled the pastor aside, and said, ‘That routine was lewd and out of line. It gave other teams the wrong idea about what is appropriate, and it exposed hormone-laden teenage boys to the wrong things. It plants wrong thoughts in minds.’ I was unyielding.

“Instead of listening, the Pennsylvania minister was offended, deciding that his daughters were under attack. He raced home, called Mr. Tkach and complained about my ‘lack of love, understanding and tolerance,’ and how ‘I was missing the big picture.’ Mr. Tkach agreed with the minister, who called and reported this to me. But Headquarters never called me.

“This was not a case where a pastor was unnecessarily ‘gunslinging.’ Actually, host or not, I had a duty to speak up. But I did know the man would be angry and would play politics to protect his daughters. After all, he did think their conduct was fine. A few years later, this man was brought to Pasadena and placed in charge of all youth activities worldwide under the new Pastor General.”

Ironically, the “offending incident” had occurred just weeks after Mr. Tkach’s lecture outlining guidelines on how to hold the youth to higher standards! Music was the centerpiece of the lecture.

In the spring of 1985, Mr. Pack was summarily removed as District Coordinator, being told it was just “time for a change.” Such a move had never previously happened after only one year. The assignment was always for two years. Mr. Tkach was methodically building a case.

Dave Pack: Like Jesus, I Have Many False Accusers

Dave Pack says he is like Jesus who was falsely accused. He has been falsely accused by jealous ministers and bitter members over the years. He feels blessed and exceedingly glad as he rejoices to be accused by his accusers.

“Christ described our time as the age of hatred, betrayal, offense and lawlessness (Matt. 24:10-12). Many today use and promote innuendo, rumors, outright lies and other forms of deception to confuse and divide God’s people, and defeat their confidence in Christ’s ability to govern His Church. Christ said, ‘If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you!’

“This means attacks, sometimes vicious, are a fact of life for God’s people, especially its leaders. Should accusers be answered? What spirit motivates them? Did Jesus answer His accusers? Mr. Armstrong was attacked throughout his ministry. Did he answer accusers? What does God’s Word say?

“When one is accused, only two options exist: either respond to the charges—usually triggering an ongoing, and sometimes endless, back-and-forth exchange, accomplishing nothing, or sit silent and passive—which will inevitably be considered either arrogance and proof of guilt, or cavalier and uncaring. So the issue becomes a kind of catch-22, with both options, humanly speaking, carrying big liabilities for the accused. The victim usually cannot win.

“Anyone who has ever been falsely accused can understand the tremendous temptation to ‘set the record straight’—to jump in and bat down falsehoods with the real facts. No one likes to be attacked or accused. I confess that, humanly, there have been times when I was sorely tempted to write a long answer refuting a false accusation. There have also been times when I yielded to this temptation and answered my accusers. It rarely did any good.

“The apostle Paul did not answer his accusers. He recognized that nothing in God’s Word justifies explanations being given to counter persecution and accusations. A Christian’s ‘answer’ to attacks is to continue steadfastly holding to—‘continuing in’—God’s truth.

“I have been forced to accept that many false and outrageous rumors have circulated about me since the beginning of The Restored Church of God, and really long before. Partly as a result, a variety of people have repeatedly ‘prophesied’—and some actively sought—our destruction virtually since our inception. These rumors are ridiculous and some are actually the very opposite of the truth.

“If one were to try to address every accusation, the process would be endless. After each answer had been given, in the end, it would have done no real good. After all, would you not expect that people who invent outrageous charges would also invent clever denials of their victim’s explanations?

“If I took the time to answer every charge against me, from now until Jesus Christ returns, Satan will have effectively rendered me useless as God’s tool, no longer able to serve His people—tied up in an endless process accomplishing very little. But I have learned that if I were able to satisfy such people, who may leave or reject Restored if not given an ‘adequate explanation,’ then if they did receive such an explanation, it would probably only last until the next attack against me or Restored, requiring yet another ‘adequate explanation.’ Besides, doing this is physically and emotionally exhausting, and consumes great amounts of time.

“How do I feel when falsely accused—or when others of our ministers experience this? Jesus taught that ‘blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets…’ (Matt. 5:11-12).

“I have had to learn over the years to feel ‘blessed’ and to ‘rejoice,’ and to be ‘exceeding glad’ in the face of slander and accusation. Why? Because I have had to make many unpopular decisions throughout my ministry. As a result, ‘all manner of evil’ charges have been said against me falsely, effectively forcing me to focus on my reward! I have taught others to do the same. Courageous leaders must always do what is right, not what is popular!

“What might happen if I answered every charge or accusation leveled at me or Restored? The answer is what has happened when people attempt to do this—it generates an even more vicious response from the accuser. I have watched people, whom I knew and loved dearly, literally explode with venom, in ways that were stunning!

“Anyone who answers silly accusations is unwise, because this will usually incite the accuser to invent worse charges. I have learned that to even gently explain the innocence of simple events occurring in this age that were distorted to create an accusation, can cause even more poison to pour from those who brought their false version of what probably never happened at all, or happened very differently from the way they related it. What was the point after this wasted exchange? What would be learned other than nothing good can come of this?”