Reepicheep Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> changedagain Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > BTW, aside from weathering criticism from those
> > who lost their life savings in the mine
> > debacle...did John take a significant financial
> > hit? I recall an allegation in the divorce
> trial
> > that he was worth 30 million. Even if that
> number
> > was grossly inflated, and he was worth say 4-5
> > million, that still puts him in a much better
> > financial state than the average church member
> at
> > the time. Do you recall John stating in a
> "living
> > word" that the ministries should live a
> lifestyle
> > similar to the people they are ministering to?
> I
> > guess those were just words.
>
> I do remember JRS making that statement,
> changedagain. I also remember GH making the same
> statement. Both tended to attach themselves
> closely to the wealthiest members. In JRS' case,
> the one I was most aware of was John McKune from
> Yucaipa. With G&M, Hank Machal and the Greys come
> to mind. Were they making rules that only applied
> to others? Or were they rationalizing that a very
> small minority of members were more well-off than
> others? Or most likely, it was all B.S. to make
> people believe that they were living sacrficially.
>
> And no, I don't believe that JRS took a big hit. I
> think the members bore the loss, as per usual.
This is standard operating procedure in any confidence game. I remember RD (San Diego) doing the same thing. He continued to “milk” one girl in the congregation who had a good job and was a willing supporter. I felt bad for her after a while, he routinely went back to her.
Most of these guys were natural salesmen with a salesman’s flair and a well developed ability to read people. The question for me has always been is whether JRS and RD (the ones I knew the best) did this deliberately or whether they had drank so much of their own “Kool-Aid” that they deceived themselves into believing it was actually God.
-------------------------------------------------------
> changedagain Wrote:
> -------------------------------------------------------
> > BTW, aside from weathering criticism from those
> > who lost their life savings in the mine
> > debacle...did John take a significant financial
> > hit? I recall an allegation in the divorce
> trial
> > that he was worth 30 million. Even if that
> number
> > was grossly inflated, and he was worth say 4-5
> > million, that still puts him in a much better
> > financial state than the average church member
> at
> > the time. Do you recall John stating in a
> "living
> > word" that the ministries should live a
> lifestyle
> > similar to the people they are ministering to?
> I
> > guess those were just words.
>
> I do remember JRS making that statement,
> changedagain. I also remember GH making the same
> statement. Both tended to attach themselves
> closely to the wealthiest members. In JRS' case,
> the one I was most aware of was John McKune from
> Yucaipa. With G&M, Hank Machal and the Greys come
> to mind. Were they making rules that only applied
> to others? Or were they rationalizing that a very
> small minority of members were more well-off than
> others? Or most likely, it was all B.S. to make
> people believe that they were living sacrficially.
>
> And no, I don't believe that JRS took a big hit. I
> think the members bore the loss, as per usual.
This is standard operating procedure in any confidence game. I remember RD (San Diego) doing the same thing. He continued to “milk” one girl in the congregation who had a good job and was a willing supporter. I felt bad for her after a while, he routinely went back to her.
Most of these guys were natural salesmen with a salesman’s flair and a well developed ability to read people. The question for me has always been is whether JRS and RD (the ones I knew the best) did this deliberately or whether they had drank so much of their own “Kool-Aid” that they deceived themselves into believing it was actually God.