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Worn Shoeleather
01-29-2007, 07:49 PM
(Heavy sigh)

Well, the avalanche has started.

Another former member of my old church (not a relative!) has started a blog to air the "truth" about our former pastor.

My father found about the blog through a friend (my dad is not internet savvy and had to contact the person again to get me the web address) and; wow! I wasn't surprised to see that so many other people had experienced eerily similar hurts and injustices at the hand of this supposed man of God but it was still shocking to read them. Of course, the blog is peppered with comments by the pastor's supporters but any objective reader can see that there must be "something" going on when the strongest critic(s) is/are former:

Youth pastor
Missionaries
College Ministry Pastor
Worship team members
Numerous other ministry leaders

...voicing complaints about the actions taken against themselves and/or the former teaching pastor (who established a thriving congregation before the current man took over in a nasty "coup") and my father, an Executive Pastor (before he was "fired") and still a church elder.

It was both heartening and discouraging to read so many responses but mostly, it was just plain exhausting.

My dad is feeling somewhat better now that he knows his wrongful termination is NOT going unnoticed but he's already received several phone calls and e-mails from various people (among them the pastor's wife and a young elder who supports the pastor) "asking" him to put a stop to:

"...the lies and misinformation being disseminated" by "members of your own family."

HA!

Only one member of my family has added his own response to this blog (so far, I'm still contemplating my own response) but what did these people expect? Did they really think that an injustice done to a man with a LARGE EXTENDED FAMILY would not trigger a response from that family? As to the lies...what lies? The bloggers are telling the truth!!!!

Sorry everyone, just had to get it off my chest.


Shoe

jane
01-29-2007, 07:56 PM
well, it is great that your father is being validated.

wish that were the case at our old church....

people still leave wounded but like a slow trickling stream....

wish the whole sordid truth would make it all tumble down.

GO AHEAD AND POST!

WHO SAYS FAMILY SHOULDN'T RESPOND!

That is their way of controlling MORE truth from coming out...

speak it out loud!

jane

Carmen
01-30-2007, 07:37 AM
Jesus told the truth, just look at the series of "Woes" he let out at the Pharisees. They didn't like it either. That was after he gave them a chance to believe, just like all the other sinners. There is a time for everything, maybe this is the time for those that abused you to be exposed.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6.

Jesus is The Truth. Anyone that follows him will not want to hide the truth indefinitely.

The truth! The truth! Woo hoo! :D

Patty
01-30-2007, 07:51 AM
Wow, very cool. I can only imagine what might have been had I had the internet available back when all of the SA hit us like a mac truck (1990). Even when we went through it again in 2001, I was very much afraid to post anything for fear of reprisal and more attack.

SpinningHead
01-30-2007, 08:18 AM
Your father has no control over what other people do. And if other people want to post what they have experienced and witnessed, Ms. Pastor should pay attention to that!

I'm glad you dad has people who are willing to air the truth. When people are quiet about such things, it can be so hurtful.

Patty
01-30-2007, 08:26 AM
If you don't mind, what's the blogs' address

Worn Shoeleather
01-30-2007, 08:56 PM
Thanks everyone, I truly appreciate all your responses.

Patty, if you really are interested in the address I can send it to you (or anyone else) in a pm. After many years of web surfing I've racked up a lot of experience with "trolls" so I no longer post addresses to sites with religious content on public boards.

Thanks again,

Shoe

Voyager
01-30-2007, 09:03 PM
This reminds me of the beginning of the end of my former church. Once the accusations of abuse and corruption were aired on a website, it was all over with. Within a matter of a year, the church went from 450 members down to 50 members, and the pastor was terminated.

Would to God this would happen to all the spiritually abusive churches out there.

:cool:

Voyager
01-30-2007, 09:05 PM
Patty, if you really are interested in the address I can send it to you (or anyone else) in a pm.
I would like to see it Shoe, if you don't mind.

:cool:

Carmen
01-31-2007, 01:17 AM
Shoeleather,

I would like the address too. :)

jane
01-31-2007, 06:57 AM
me too.

jane

Worn Shoeleather
02-01-2007, 09:35 AM
Sooooooooooo tired.

Am I supposed to feel so tired? On the one hand, it's sort of a relief to know I wasn't the only one who felt hurt by this organization but on the other hand, it hurts to finally know just how many others were hurt too.

Does that make sense?

Ugh.

The blog just keeps growing.

ARGH! I feel like I'm betraying God by even supporting this yet ....

I can't think that way.

Sorry, having a moment of weakness,

Shoe

SJPEERYVA85
02-01-2007, 09:42 AM
I'm very new here but I would like to have the addy as well. I would like to compare it with my experiences.
The tiredness could be a result of the spiritual warfare going on around you. It can get intense. Just hang on Shoe!

InTheory
02-01-2007, 09:43 AM
Worn-would love to have a look.

Thanks!

-Dan

Anna Marta
02-01-2007, 04:48 PM
Hi Shoe,

Cats are not very amenable to being controlled... so when one gets out of the bag - there's no way to stop it, especially when it's a BIG CAT! (lAslan, The Lion of Judah)

God is light and truth. Things covered in darkness and the fog of lies can look pretty ugly "out of the bag' and into the light.

I hope your dad can feel a sense of peace at seeing God do what He does best for his own kids. Give him a big Norwegian bear hug from the Viking and I.

Love and Hugs
Anna Marta

Worn Shoeleather
02-06-2007, 12:35 PM
Thank you everyone for your replies!

I don't know what's going on but apparently the unknown people responsible for the blog I mentioned in my original post have changed their security features so that only "friends" can now access their site. (Strangely enough, I asked to be included on their friend list before I even knew what that meant so I can still access the blog but several others I know are no longer able to do so.) I do have the address to another blog run by a former member that is still open to outsiders and it is frequently quoted by this locked one.

Thanks again for your support.

Shoe