This is to inform you all that I have just e-mailed the following warning to the Rick Ross website and to the Geftakysassembly website. I have asked the webmasters to prominently post this on their websites. If you can think of any other websites where it shoud be posted, please speak up.
Here it is:
Advisory Concerning Geftakys Assemblies that Still Exist Regarding cults and cultic groups, there is one group that has recently undergone a major shake-up, the details of which can be read about below. The Assemblies of George Geftakys are a group of aberrant churches founded by Mr. Geftakys over the last thirty years. George Geftakys advertised these groups as “simple New Testament gatherings where we seek simply to obey the Scriptures,” but they have proven to be merely part of a religious empire, which George built for his own personal agenda. George exercised rigid control of these groups, both personally and by means of assistant leaders whom he appointed, and he used this control to abuse and take advantage of many members. This is well documented in the books “Churches that Abuse” and “Recovering from Churches that Abuse,” by Ronald Enroth, and on cult-monitoring websites such as
www.geftakysassembly.com and
www.rickross.com, where there is much more information posted concerning George Geftakys and his assemblies.
Between November of 2002 and January of 2003, it was discovered that one of George’s sons had been regularly abusing his wife, and that George himself, in addition to having covered up his son’s abuse for years, had been involved in immoral relationships which he forced between himself and several women in his assemblies. This behavior was discovered to have been ongoing for over two decades. Because of these things, some of the leaders of the Geftakys groups actually expelled George from his own organization, and many of the groups disbanded. However, some of the assemblies started by George still exist and are trying to continue as churches.
This advisory is written for the purpose of giving you, the reader, the information you need to respond intelligently if you or your son, daughter or other relative is invited to come to one of the church meetings or to join one of the assemblies which used to be affiliated with George Geftakys. The assemblies that still exist are in the following locations:
* Fullerton, CA (Sunday, Tuesday night and Wednesday night meetings at the Fullerton Senior Citizen’s Center). The Fullerton assembly has renounced George, but George’s son Timothy Geftakys still exerts considerable influence in this group.
* Placentia, CA (Sunday meetings at the Placentia Round Table, and Wednesday night and Thursday night meetings at 619 Shady Lane in Placentia). The leaders are Jack Hanson, Sterling Bennett, and Ron Womack, all long-time associates of George Geftakys.
* West Los Angeles, CA. This group continued to allow visits by George Geftakys until recently. It is led by Bill Bradbury, Greg Brislawn, Mark Geiger and Selvin Sotelo, all long-time associates of George. Mr. Bradbury is also very close to Timothy Geftakys.
* Riverside, CA. This group, although consisting of only one family and a few individuals, continues to allow George Geftakys to visit and preach, in spite of the irrefutable evidence of his criminal conduct. This group is led by Mike Almanzor, a long-time associate of George’s.
* Goleta, CA. This group has renounced George and refuses to have anything to do with him. The leaders are Wes Cohen, Mike Struven, and Randy Verhoeff. Wes and Mike are long-time associates of George Geftakys.
* San Francisco, CA. The leader here is Scott Testa, and his second in command is Jim Karditzas. Both men lived in George’s home and were personally trained by him.
* Sacramento, CA. The Sacramento group is led by Dan Mattson-Bose and Carlos DeLeon, who report to Scott Testa.
* Hastings, NE. The leader is Dave Zach, whose family has been closely tied to the Geftakys group for many years.
* Seattle, WA. This group, led by Mike Glesesner and Russ Pittman, has renounced George Geftakys, and is trying to reform somewhat. They are tiny in number, essentially two families.
* Pasadena, CA. This group is led by Jim McCallister, who co-led the San Francisco group, along with Scott Testa. Jim also lived in George’s home, and was personally trained by him.
As mentioned above, some of these groups – namely, in Fullerton, Goleta and Seattle – have completely renounced George, and are trying to overcome the effects that George’s influence has had on them. The situation is in flux at present, and more progress may occur with these groups. They are openly and honestly discussing the things that were wrong with their assemblies and are trying to fix them. They are hoping that by this they might have a new beginning as churches. A new beginning may or may not be possible; however, if you or someone you know is invited to attend their meetings, it would probably be safe to attend if you choose to do so – provided that you keep your eyes open. Yet know this – a new beginning will take a tremendous investment of time, energy and above all, honesty on the part everyone involved.
It is a different story with the assemblies in San Francisco, Riverside, Sacramento, and Pasadena. Their leaders still allow George’s influence and teaching, and they discourage their members from asking questions or finding out the truth about these groups. Their leaders still exercise rigid control over their members. This includes the practice of setting up communal ‘training homes’, also called ‘brothers’ and sisters’ houses’ where inductees are ‘trained’ to serve the group. If you or someone you know has been invited into one of these assemblies, you should know that these are dangerous groups where intense cultic training takes place. It is extremely likely that someone joining one of these assemblies would experience some form of abuse.
The assemblies in Placentia and West Los Angeles deserve special mention. Their leaders have publicly renounced George, but they are unwilling to publicly discuss the history of their assemblies, especially with those who have newly joined. They are unwilling to publicly admit that they need to change anything about their groups. The leaders still practice manipulation and excessive control of members’ lives. The main decisions affecting these groups are still made
in secret by their leaders. Their lack of forthrightness is a very disturbing danger signal that perhaps the old abusive ways are still in place in these groups. Placentia also has communal ‘training homes’ with college-age residents being trained to serve the group. And both West Los Angeles and Placentia are actively reaching out to the community in an effort to recruit new members. If you or someone you know is being invited into one of these assemblies, the leaders may try to keep you from learning the history of these groups – thus preventing you from making an informed decision.
In conclusion, the Geftakys assemblies have been clearly proven to be abusive, dysfunctional churches where many of the leaders have abused the members. Since George Geftakys has been discredited, some of these groups are still trying to continue as churches. In order for these groups to evolve into healthy churches, a lot of honesty is required. As Jeff VanVonderen says in the book, “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse,” “…the message to addicts is, ‘Get honest or die!’” This applies to churches as well as individuals. If a member of one of these groups invites you to a meeting or to join their assembly, you might ask him or his leader these questions:
1. How much interaction is there between the assembly leaders and leaders of other churches?
2. Would you be uncomfortable if I asked leaders of other churches what they think about the assembly?
3. Do the leaders openly invite members to ask questions about the history of the assembly?
4. Are finances handled openly, with full disclosure of spending and freely available records?
Here are some questions you might also ask yourself:
1. Do the leaders give vague or pat answers to your questions?
2. Do you get the feeling that if you ask certain questions regarding the history of the assembly the leaders will accuse you of being 'suspicious', or use some other means to make you feel like you just crossed an invisible line that you weren't supposed to cross?
3. Do you sense that assembly history is a forbidden subject in the assembly (even when the leaders are not present)?
Finally, if you feel that it’s not safe to say “Yes” when someone invites you to one of these assemblies, you can always say “No!” And saying “No” might save you a lot of grief in the long run.
This is the warning, as it will appear on the websites I mentioned if the webmasters choose to post it. Now, as for why this warning is being broadcast, I am thankful that so much of the Geftakys machine has collapsed. But I don't think the job is quite done as long as certain groups continue with business as usual while trying to recruit new, unsuspecting members. Someone has to sound a warning to people at large regarding these groups. I know this will mean collateral damage in the form of friendships lost between me and some who are still in some of these assemblies, but the time for half-measures has long passed.
Now that I've taken this step, I am going to focus on other things, at least in the short term - things like how to deal with my anger over what happened and making things right with anyone I offended. Also, how to read the Bible and
really hear what it's saying (without the Geftakys assembly spin!)
Clarence Thompson,
aka mithrandir
former doorkeeper in the Fullerton assembly
