after work  an Ebenezer (Scrooge) Fellowship will be held....... followed by the traditional gift exchanging of  Georges books and tapes...the festivities will be crowned with the the big Assembly youth Bonfire where all non assembly approved reading material will be burned."and all the Saints said", Bah, Humbug !!

Does it really help anyone to make a mockery of DG???I noticed Rachel's name logged in and I think its got to hurt .I could be wrong. But he's still her Father...I only knew of David from the few times he spoke in Fullerton..Rachel was about 10  at the time. I sat next to Judy once and she drew fashion pictures for her kids..I wondered how it felt to be married to such a critically ill man..As we always prayed for David as if he could Go at anytime...perhaps he was a victim fo the system in some way..I really don't know ..But I do know we need to "Forgive our Depters as God has Forgiven Us"....Forgivness is Freedom...to release someone of the Depts...owed to us releases us to Gods Forgivness in our own lives.....whether they know it or not ....Nothing against  anyone...no one is worth holding a Grudge over..in light of God's Forgivness to Us....Peace -Out!!!!

Hi Summer

I can say for positive that David was never trapped in the Assembly.  He was there by choice, and it was his livelyhood, and a good one at that.  Good pay, paid vacations, 100% medical coverage, even for experimental treatments involving embryonic tissue from aborted fetuses.  He could choose his own hours and he had a place of prominence.  I do think he is relieved it's over in one sense, but I promise he misses his pay and benefits.

Interestingly, Tim G. has taken a pretty firm stance against his father's sin.  Tim is also working for a living.  While I am greatly dissappointed in him for not doing more to correct the false teaching, or apologize for the role he played in propagating it, he does seem to be standing firm with regard to his father, at least as far as I can tell.

For the record, I DO forgive David G, Tim and even George.  However, until they repent(especially George and David, who both did theatrical fake repentances)  I am not going to condone them or tolerate them in any way.  No fellowship is possible in their current state, although I daresay they would be welcomed and embraced if they repented.  For example, there are plenty of other leaders who have repented and who enjoy friendships with former saints.  One of the ex-leaders who excommunicated me, 18 months ago, is totally welcome in our home and even drives my oldest daughter to church on Sunday.  This man is totally clear about what he was involved in, and forgiveness is not even an issue.  We are friends and becoming better friends.

The same could be true for David and George, but the ball is in their court.  They are the ones who need to repent.  Now, should they repent----and I hope they do----and we still refuse fellowship with them, and hold a grudge against them, we have a problem!

However, your point on forgiving our debtors is well taken.  

Will you tell us who you are sometime?

Brent

I held back all day today, wondering how to put this.  First, Summer007 I appreciate your concern for me.  However, I am not in the least offended by the posts.  The truth is I was forced for years to sit and smile prettily making sure all I did and said praised my dad and protected him.  I watched countless people see right through my dad and say nothing, just let him continue on with his outrageous and abusive behavior.  Abusive behavior that was directed not just to us but to everyone in his sphere.  It was a perverted version of the story, "The Emperor's Clothes" where no one will admit to the obvious, that the Emperor is butt naked.  What was worse was I was punished when I said anything.  I have forgiven him (despite the fact that he has never repented or asked for forgiveness), and it is almost therapeutic to be able to finally admit what he really was and to hear others say they saw it too.  It confirms that I was not crazy, others witnessed it too.  It is even better when people are able to do so in a humorous way.  


My dad is not relieved that the assembly fell apart.  He was a victim of his parents to the extent that they abused him as a child and both (his mother in particular) controlled his life as an adult.  However, as an adult he had a choice which he made and is responsible for.  Also, in the assembly, he relished his position and was very upset when the assembly fell apart because it meant he had to get a job and actually interact with people who didn't "have to" be around him.  On the other hand, it fulfilled his persecution fantasies and the theory he clung to that he would be abandoned by everyone and would "stand alone" like David of the bible.  Also, if anyone has their eye on the cash box, it would be my father.  Through his mother, he continued to receive money for a long time after he was "asked to step down" as a leading brother and worker.  For all I know he is still receiving money today.  I know he had a verbal guarantee that he would always have his medical expenses taken care of.

So I am fine.  My family is what it is and I would rather be open and honest about that then go back to the "don't talk about it" way of life.

Thank you again for your concern.

Well! Retread, I sit corrected.
It is interesting that you make this comment: it wouldn't surprise me if Tim just didn't want to get caught going down with the ship.  Alas for poor Tim, I fear that it is still all about self.  
From my observations of the behaviour of other individuals I am inclined to make a similar conclusion about them. Since I am not allowed to dialogue with them, they will understand if I 'judge' their behaviour in this fashion.

Lord bless,
Marcia

Getting back to the topic of National David Geftakys Work Day,  NDGWD; I would like to share some of the amazing background behind this giant of free enterprise.  In other words, what is it about his past that makes him the man he is today?

David was a baker at Disneyland once, for a month or two.  (possibly his second to last job until recently)  We know this because he taught us how to properly pronounce "Crouissant," and cited his experience at Disneyland as his authority.  Suzie put me through Chiropractic school by working at high-end restaurants.  She was told that they were "Kwuhsahnts."  However, David told us that they are Crescents,  pronounced in the American way.   He insisted that the French pronounce them that way, and actually made a big point about us agreeing with him.  Instead of concluding the obvious, that this man was an ignorant ass, we looked at eachother and shrugged, and just didn't pronounce the pastry's name in his presence.

Part of working, is taking a vacation, and  David knew how to take 'em like a pro!  I was working full time, and David invited me and Suzie to go Skiing in Utah with them, in one week.  I thought it was too short of notice for my employer (first year as a chiropractor and I was working in someone's office) but David said something about how if I was going to be involved in the Work, I would have to learn how to sacrifice, especially at work.  If I couldn't take a stand on vacation,  how would I ever take a stand when I had to go on itinerary?

So, I got the time off.  Suzie was 4 months pregnant with Jill, and Shawn was 10 months old, so she couldn't ski.  She could cook, clean and shop however, which things it was her priviledge to do.

When we got to the ski chalet, there were two bedrooms, 2 bathroooms and a loft.  David immediately took to larger bedroom that had the attached bath, and made us share the bathroom with his three kids.  There wasn't enough room in our bedroom for Shawns little play-pen, unless we crawled over the bed to get from one end of the room to the other.  There was plenty of room in the larger bedroom, but this was needed for a Worker. This was convenient, because while Suzy was cooking breakfast, he and Judy could be in their bathroom getting ready.  (Judy took half of the cooking as well)

This is not that great a lesson, at face value, EXCEPT THAT WE HAD TO PAY EXACTLY ONE HALF OF THE EXPENSES!  His family took more than two thirds of the condo, but we had to pay half.  I learned alot about taking vacations, and splitting bills on this trip.  In following years, David managed to get people to drive  him to the tip of Cabo, in their cars, and rent houseboats with their money that he could vacation on.  Again, this isn't really work, but vacation is a  subset of work, and I think it adds flavor to the whole thing.

One of the most powerful stories I can relate, which really puts NDGWD into perspective has to do with David's training home.  In his home, the whole purpose was to train people to be in The Work of The Lord.  You can read Arthur's testimony to learn more about some of the details.  

Well, when a servant is out on itinerant ministry, he is not able to mow his lawn, or paint his house, let alone dig in the garden, build bunk beds, or shop for food.  So, David reasoned that in order for these people to be properly trained, they should have to "serve," when he was out on itinerate, or at a worker's function.  This amounted to 3 Saturdays per month.  On these Saturdays, the people in his home had to spend all day serving.....him!  They spent all day working on David's house, fixing David's things, and doing David'd bidding.  They had a lovely garden, designed by Judy, but the "trainees," did all the hard work.  They did the cooking, the cleaning, the washing of the car, etc.  This way, they could learn what it was like to be in the work.

In the Work, it's all about service.

David wanted me to come next door and serve at his house as well, but I explained to him that I had my own.  He became angry and said that unless I repented of that, I would never be able to be in The Work.  He should know, he was a Full-Time worker, afterall!

There is much more to tell, but it is going to have to wait!  

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!  God Bless!

Brent

NDGWD, which is all about the man and his work, cannot be complete without mentioning David's vast, self aquired knowledge of all things medical, especially as they relate to work.  At this time, David was working full-time as a "worker."

While I was in Chiropractic school, I was present at an outreach planning meeting, where David was teaching us how to do "gospel presentations."  Every gospel presentation must begin with an interest producing statement.  One sister started hers with, "Did you know that men have one less rib than women?"

Of course, upon hearing this I piped up and informed everyone that although this is an interesting statement, it is totally untrue, and therefore not a good idea to use as the opening statement for a gospel presentation.

David countered,  "It's true.  They just don't want you to know it.  They want to ignore it."

Brent,  "No, I just got done doing a total bisection of two human cadavers, and just had thoracic spine anatomy and palapation.  I guarantee that all of us have 12 ribs, men and women alike."

"Well, my mom studied to be a doctor in missionary school, and she taught me that men have one less rib."  Turning to Genesis,  "What does it say right here?  It says that man has one less rib."

Brent, "Well, perhaps Adam had less, but we all now have 12, and its been like that for a long time.  Egyptian mummies also have 12 ribs."

David,  "Ok, I have an anatomy book, let's look it up."  This was done with 4 or 5 people looking on.  David was putting me in my place, because I was obviously being taught  a bunch of junk in the worldly chiropractic college.  He turned to a 2 page drawing of the human skeleton....which showed 12 ribs.  "Well, this is a drawing, of course they don't want to put the truth here."

I went out to my 1971 VW van and brought in a thoracic spine x-ray.  We then began to count the ribs,  1...2...3...    Yep, 12 on the left side.   Then David actually counted 11 on the right!  I am not kidding, he actually skipped a rib, recounting several times, in order to arrive at 11 ribs on the right side!  Another brother, looking on, also counted 11, but the rest of us clearly saw that there were 12.

I got out a marker, and marked each rib, after we counted it, until even David had to admit that there were indeed 12 ribs.  I explained how the ribs matched up with the 12 thoracic vertebra and that each rib articulated with the demifacet on the anterolateral portion of the vertebral body, and that this joint was a fibrous joint, not a cartilagenous joint, etc.

The conclusion of the story is that David blamed his mom for teaching him wrong when he was 4 years old, and that for all this time he believed that men had one less rib than women.  The sister got a new opening line for her gospel presentation as well.

I should have realized that I was dealing with a strange family, especially when he did his creative counting, but I again just shrugged it off, and listened to his preaching the next day.  Now you get and idea of the wisdom that went into Betty's medical and dietary advice!  All part of The Work.

Brent