Memo to the 16 And Sell My Soul Types
I don't know who actually makes up the 16 men
that Joshua C Pack claims hang on his every idea and word and agree 100% with
him in all things. Maybe I know one or two of you from my own days in Ohio
but I have never seen a list of exactly who you guys are. I find it hard
to say "who you men are," because now you have to live with the fact
that your arrogant and self absorbed leader has made fools out of you and
exposed the mental, emotional and spiritual route you also must have had to
come to confess before coming on board. I'm not sure any real man or
woman would become such a lap dog in service to Dave and not feel a twinge of
"what the hell am I doing?"
At any rate, everyone now knows how much of your
being, your soul, your integrity and your own unique journey through the WCG
experience you had or will have to give up to conform to Dave Packs standards
of "repentance." This is not repentance from anything.
This is brainwashing of the worst spiritual kind. No wonder Dale Schurter
disappeared for awhile after losing his common sense to come to Dave's way of
being. We now all assume you 16 have equally provided a written copy of
just how much of your brain and mind you were willing to take out and throw in
the trash for Dave.
Personally I don't believe you lost your ability
in the past to discern good from evil as Dave asks. I believe you have
lost your ability to discern good from evil now that you have sold out your
being and unique life and experiences.
These parts are my favorite.
" Are you willing to temporarily or
permanently become an associate pastor?
In case you all forgot, Dave wrote extensively
about his own demotion to associate Pastor and I'm not seeing where he was all
that willing or happy about it being temporary, much less permanent. I
include a chunk here for your memory refresh. This from Chapter 27 of his ,
"this is how I remember it all anyway," autobiography. You can
read or reread it all here:
He called it 'the Big Grapple," but expects
those of you who he would force into this position to not see it that
way. Just know, Dave Pack never accepted in his life what he expects you
to accept in yours. Kinda weird huh? No more weird to me however
than calling himself "Mr Pack" and "The Packs" throughout
his own autobiography. Perhaps someone else actually wrote it I don't
know and forget it was "auto" and not "unauthorized."
I suggest you read it all before you accept his
terms of employment. Personally I think in his mind it is payback time
and you will be treated as he bemoans his own treatment in the past when
challenged with getting back into someone's good graces after years of
complaints from his church members about him and his heavy hand in all things.
"Uncertain of the future, the
Packs returned to Buffalo. Weeks later, on a Friday afternoon in August 1985,
they received a telephone call that would dramatically alter their lives.
It was from Mr. Tkach. Mr. Pack
knew instantly that he was not calling with good news. Mr. Harold Jackson, an
elderly evangelist and Mr. Pack’s friend, was also on the phone.
“Dave, are you seated?”, Mr. Tkach began.
The field minister said, “No, but I can sit down.”
Mr. Tkach wasted no time: “We’ve heard some complaints. We think
there are some lessons you need to learn, so we are sending you to New York
City as an associate pastor.”
Mr. Pack could not believe the news. Yet another gross
injustice, this time a plain demotion, and it had been stated in such a
matter-of-fact manner—a terse notice that they would need to leave Buffalo as
soon as possible—within a month. Mr. Tkach offered few explanations as to what
were the problems, what lessons needed to be learned, or which brethren were
upset.
“I was more shocked at this moment than at any other in my life
to that point. I suppose in a way I feared it was coming, but the actual
arrival of such an unbelievable injustice was the single most difficult
experience in my life—or that of my wife. I had experienced injustice before,
but NOTHING of this order. I knew that I had been the victim of a conspiracy of
evil thinking, but would only learn later just how great that evil would be.
“What
was worse, and what drove the moment indelibly into my mind, was that, while on
the call, my 11-year-old son, Robby, ran into the house crying. Both sons had
been playing a football game with neighborhood friends in the backyard—and
Robby had snapped his collarbone—for the second time! He was simultaneously
pleading for my help, while holding his shoulder as the bad news was being
received. I did not realize the seriousness of his injury, and told him to go
upstairs and I would be with him later.”
Mr. Pack hung up and walked upstairs in a daze to check on his
son. Seeing his condition, the parents took him to the hospital. It was in the
emergency room waiting area that the reality of the life-altering phone call
sank in.
“I understood that New York City had been selected for my
assignment because the goal of this maneuver was an all-out attempt to destroy
my life. I would have no understanding of the true level of evil I was dealing with until years
later. It was only in the apostasy that I fully understood the devil’s role
acting through one of his chief agents in trying to destroy my ministry, in
trying to get me to give up. Strangely, I was better able at that later point
to more completely forgive the man for simply following the alien spirit that
was probably always leading him.”
Reconsidering the Demotion
The next morning, without her husband’s knowledge, Mrs. Pack
called the Ministerial Services Coordinator. Again, her family had known him
since 1959 in Milwaukee, back when the Ochs family first came into the Church.
She pleaded with Mr. Tkach. Here are her words describing her
call in a summary:
“‘You’ve known me for a long time, Mr. Tkach. I’m telling you,
the reports you’re hearing are false. Why are you allowing these lies to be
treated as truth without hearing our side? It is unfair and I don’t understand
why you would do this to us.’
“I
questioned him as to why my husband was being transferred when there was so
much growth in Buffalo. I told him of senior ministers who had visited and
praised him for all that was accomplished and explained that the decision made
no sense.”
Assuring her he understood her concerns, Mr. Tkach said he would
reinvestigate the decision.
Mrs. Pack hung up under the impression he was going to honestly
reconsider the transfer. She could not have known that something much darker
was unfolding.
A “Promotion”
The following Monday morning, Mr. Pack received another call
from Mr. Tkach, only this time he was cheerful.
“I
have good news!” he said. “We’ve been thinking about the situation over the
weekend and I’ve received some additional counsel. We have decided to
promote you.”
Alas, the
"promotion" was a demotion in disguise but clever. Dave did
pick up on the clever part.
(16) Are you willing to be
excluded from the ministry until you requalify?
The next one
simply means are you will to buy into the bullshit I have made up since coming
to power in my own mind. It means nothing else.
(17) Are you familiar with the new teachings that God has
added to His Church on top
of what Mr. Armstrong taught?
- Which ones?—and do you agree?
(18)
If your ordination(s) is(are) invalid, are you interested in being re-trained
for Christ’s true
ministry?
Very
favorite. Point 19 is a formula for disaster in your future. Most
of his office staffs haven't quit in the past because they loved and deeply
respected the boss no matter what he did or said. I think Mr. Pack is
making rules to avoid this problem in his future. Of course it can't be
avoided by real men.
(19) Do
you believe ministers should be able to voice opinions to others about:
- Where
Headquarters is “wrong”?
- What
Mr. Armstrong taught/said/did “wrong”?
- What
Mr. Pack teaches/says/does “wrong”?
- Where
your boss is “wrong” or harsh, etc.?
- Where
you disagree doctrinally?
20 is outstanding. You'll find it
difficult to cut your own throat and hang labels on yourself you hadn't even
thought of until Dave brought them to your attention. Personally I
smell some burning pants on this one in Dave's own behaviors but maybe it's
just me. You will learn in time that the eye that sees, does not see
itself.
(20)
Do you consider yourself as having been (rate yourself from 5 being best to 0
being worst):
- Weak
- Cowardly
- Slothful
- Covetous
- Confused
- Compromising
- Foolish
- Political
(And did you ever “run for office” in a splinter?)
- Heretical
- Deceitful
- Easily
deceived
- Betrayed
your calling
21 is awesome. Be sure to use words like
"in the bonds of Satan," "I had shit for brains,"
"I was so deceived and afraid." DO NOT say you thought
Jesus/Christ would fix it in time and you wanted to support the brethren
through difficult times. No..no, no..no...no...that will just be
considered A and B and x,y,z excuses.
(21)
Why did you lose the ability to “discern good from evil” (Heb.
5:13-14)?—and for so long?
For number 22 and
just for the fun of it, why not put in "Abraham to come," "Moses
the Magnificent," "Aaron of God," "One of the Two Witnesses
You Will Train," or maybe "Amos of Tekoa Reborn," or
"Spawn of Zerubbabel." Rank is REALLY important but
please don't say anything above "Pastor."
(22)
What do you consider to be your ministerial rank?
Ÿ
Evangelist Ÿ Pastor Ÿ Preaching Elder Ÿ Local Elder Ÿ Local Church Elder Ÿ “Elder”
Ÿ Ministerial Assistant
For the next one
here, you might consider a side note: "I will if you will..."
(23)
Are you prepared to dedicate the rest of your life to serving God’s flock and
fixing completely the horrific mess you helped cause in so many lives?"
Go ahead, make
Dave's day. Fill it in and send it in. You can also go to bed every
night knowing Dave has a copy stored somewhere. He may not want you to
share it with anyone, but I'm not so sure he wouldn't. And if you show up
employed, we'll know how you got there and how much of your soul , your
experience, your own journey and your mind you have thrown away to get there.
I can't speak for
any save myself and the few ministers I actually know. But in my own journey through
WCG those I knew were sincere. They came into the church out of the hope
it seemed to glean from scriptures and those things were important to
them. Most made compassionate ministers, that I knew, with right
motives. The whack jobs tended to rise to the top in WCG or at least
stand out like sore thumbs. I always faulted someone for not actually
telling some they simply were not for the ministry. They were not helpers of
anyone job but thorns in their sides. Rather than moving them around and
inflicting them on yet another congregation, tell them they aren't cut out for
the job. Never happened. There was never a mechanism I ever saw for
even testing a guy for even having the personality or heart for a pastor in
reality.
Dave Pack was
brought back into the ministry after a layoff in 1973. Dave has a
tendency to see the spectacular in the mundane.
"The
field ministry was undergoing a restructuring in 1973, and, after careful
consideration, the new Regional Director (RD) in Chicago requested Mr. Pack for
an assignment in Rockford, Illinois. This was, in a sense, a significant
promotion that sent the young ministerial assistant beyond where he would have
been had he not been laid off." Autobiography Chapter 15.
I can't speak for
the spectacular promotion this was as this is how Dave saw it, but I was
there. The RD (George Kemnitz) was from Milwaukee and close friends with
Shirley Packs father, Peter Ochs. Wonderful guy. George asked me, as I
was "spectacularly promoted" to being the RD's personal assistant and
taken from Minneapolis to do so about bringing Dave Pack back into the
ministry. I don't recall offering much of an opinion. I was 23 years old
and having my own miserable experience in Chicago with my
own "promotion." But Dave was brought back also as a
family (dare I say nepotism) favor as far as I could tell. I was going to be
sent to Rockford , Ill which is about 90 miles from Chicago because I told the
RD I had had enough of the lifestyle and wasn't a johnny on the spot type. My
days there consisted of babysitting, car washing, lawn mowing, going to the
YMCA and sitting in the sauna and staying up until the wee hours of the morning
which I don't do well. Chicago was where I learned to drink. It was
a joke. Then all hell broke loose, I got fired with George, got rehired the
next week and sent to Eire , Pa but rerouted to Findlay, Ohio where I
actually could be a pastor with wonderful folk. Dave got the Rockford job
in that way. Chicago in 73 and 74 was a nasty place to be a young
minister.
At any rate, off
topic. You 16 and those that follow should think long and hard about what
these 35 demands on your soul will do to you and your families down the
road. Amen.
