We all do some very stupid things. I am no exception, my choice to join the churches Spokesmen Club, which was a very important part of life in the Worldwide Church of God, turned out disastrously. However, I am getting a little ahead of myself and I need to start at the beginning…

All men (18 years and older) were strongly encouraged (actually it was a demand that the church placed upon the men) to participate in a speech club called “Spokesmen Club”. The title sounds very cool; however, the reality was not as favorable. To begin with, the purpose was to develop the whole man into roles of leadership within the church. A very noble cause and purpose, unfortunately all too often these were not an example of leadership at all but one of rulership and being a taskmaster.

I did not escape being cajoled into joining, and against my better judgment, I might add, I joined.

It did not bother me that I had zero public speaking experience. However when the need arose I was able to stand my ground with the best of them. It is just that I thought having some practical, and formal speaking experience would help break me out of the shell of isolation, and provide some sense of direction. However, the direction it went was a bit sideways and twisted; not what I anticipated or expected…

After the first several meetings, it did not seem to be terribly difficult to participate, although it did seem somewhat risky. That was because the director of the club took great, and I might add sadistic pleasure in the verbal battles of mind and will that took place during the Table Topics Session where the men openly expressed their ideas while others would attack and tear them apart. It was almost like a school of Piranha Fish feeding on a helpless victim.

The last event of the evening was the directors final evaluation of each speech. He seemingly enjoyed destroying and tearing apart each one (this was the same minister that I wrote about earlier “They Broke Our Hearts”). As he explained, he was trying to develop character in each of the speakers. But how does finding fault and embarrassing the speakers develop them into confident and capable men that are well rounded and balanced?…my question was not appreciated.

Not intimidated by this minister I had a brilliant, at least it was to me, idea. During the business portion of the meeting, jumping right in the middle of it all, I suggested that the next meeting be impromptu. That meant everyone would draw a slip of paper from a bag and on it would be his designated assignment for the evening. Everything was up for grabs. Each member had to prepare to give a speech or an evaluation of a speech, to MC the table topics session, to be toastmaster for the evening, or be prepared to act as an officer, etc. It all depended on the assignment they drew. There were 17 designated opportunities for that evening. No one knew which one he might draw from the bag. The director seemed to like the idea since it placed all the men on notice to be prepared for anything and everything.

At the next meeting, 20 out of 25 men showed up. Not surprising, there was a great deal of tension and apprehension in the air. Everyone was on edge as to what was about to take place. The dictator, oops…director (Al) passed a bag around that contained seventeen assignments and 3 blank slips of paper. Each man drew one slip. Since there were more men than tasks, the lucky ones drew a blank piece of paper. You could always tell who they were by the expression on their faces. The look of panic turned to a demeanor of complete and total relief.

As a twist of fate would have it I drew the position of president, I guess it was poetic justice since it was my suggestion that started the whole mess. This position was rather cool! The distinguished honor of being dictator with the title of president of the club (for that brief moment in time, and it was brief….getting a little ahead of myself) meant I was in charge of the club for the entire evening. My word was law…rather cool! The thrill and surge of being in charge, was amazing. It did not matter what I did or said I could never be wrong (the power of the office)…well not exactly. As a bonus I even got to sit at the head table, right next to the director, the master Al himself. Wow! I was impressed, and to be honest, just a wee bit nervous, well actually considerably nervous.

To make matters more interesting, this club meeting was a dinner meeting. This supposedly was to add to the atmosphere of the club, learning proper dining etiquette. It was not the dinner that set the tone of the atmosphere, it was the unsettling arrangements of the assignments that added a certain amount heaviness to what normally would be a light hearted evening (except for the final evaluations by Al).

He sat directly to my right at the head table. Now Al was a hardcore and militant leader. He did not lead by example, he lead by force and by fear. So sitting next to him was not a very comforting situation.

Dinner was served and I tried to start a conversation with him. However, he completely ignored me. This resulted in my feeling a little awkward; after all, I was still new to the group. I guess perhaps I was a little too nervous because when he called my name, to start the meeting, I jumped slightly and I accidentally dropped a whole fork double stacked with over cooked, soft, green peas onto his new light brown suit (he bragged about his new suit). To make matters worse, in my embarrassment, nervousness and haste I tried to wipe those suckers up with my napkin (bad idea). It just smeared them. Green smeared peas on a light brown suit looked rather disgusting. In desperation, I quickly tried to remedy the problem; I dipped my napkin in a glass of ice water to try to clean up the mess. The napkin got entangled with the glass and, you guessed it, I dumped the whole glass of ice water right in his lap. What happened next astonished everyone.

When the cold water hit his lap, within a blink of the eye he shot straight up and stood there before all the men. Of course, this got everyone’s attention and conversation ceased. All the men’s interest was drawn to the head table. They were expecting profound words of wisdom to flow from the golden and inspired lips of the director…

It was at that point it seemed like the spirit grabbed and took hold of him because the color of his face changed and he started to tremble. Even though I was right next to him I could not quite make out what he was saying, it appeared that he was trying his best to speak in tongues (actually I did understand, he was cursing me with ungodly profanity)….no one there could interpret what he was saying, actually no one dare to try. I wanted to tell him that it was unbiblical to talk in tongues without an interpretation but I felt it probably was not the wisest move to make.

The evening was not a total loss; I now held the record for the shortest club presidency in the history of Spokesmen Club. A record I might add that in over 50+ years was never to be broken. I was impeached and forever and I do mean forever, banned from the head table (at least as long as he was director).

For me, the club is now a memory of a collection of absurdities, humorous pranks, and meaningless conversations and speeches, and one very angry Al, which was the best part. It is also a memory of iron-fisted tactics used by the various directors to damage and destroy individuals for the sheer pleasure of seeing if the men could take the pressure, or would they crack.

Spokesmen Club, tomorrow’s church rulers, oops, leaders in the making!…It was a nice fantasy that they would develop into shepherds and watch over the flock; in reality they ruled mercilessly with a rod of iron. After all that was all they were taught to do by the leaders and overseers.

The only will and image we need, desperately need, to be conformed to is that of our Savior. He is kind and gentle. He always has our best interest at heart…however, if any individual acts like, and wants to be a child of the devil, He will not back down and He will treat that individual accordingly. He is kind, gentle but He is also fearless and just…He is the kind of leader we all need and should emulate.

 

 

It was a beautiful summer day. The air was clear, no smog, which is very unusual for Pasadena during the month of May. Taking a casual walk across the campus to the landscape office, I was enjoying the clarity of the clean air and noticing the wonderful fragrance of the Jasmine shrubs in full bloom. It made the walk very pleasurable. It was just one of those rare, wondrous and special days where everything was just perfect. It felt good to be alive and working in such beautiful surroundings.

Coming into the Landscape office, Alma the secretary gave a warm friendly greeting, “Hi Bob”. She was a beautiful young woman, cheerful and bright in her late teens or early 20’s. She would always cheerfully greet everyone with such warmth that it made them feel special and welcome.

We chatted for a while. She looked at her watch, (it was nearly noon); she smiled and mentioned she would like to run some errands and asked if I would be willing to watch the phone and office while she was gone. Having no real plans for the noon hour I found myself sitting at her desk as she walked to her car.

Alma’s desk faced south. Visible through the large office picture window was the beautiful rose garden. Thousands of roses, red, pink, yellow, white, orange and even some rare black ones and they were all in bloom, it was quite an impressive garden; it even won several prestigious national awards for the beautiful garden it was.

While admiring the garden the phone began to ring while I sat there finishing a report for the boss. There were several calls; none was of any real or special importance. However, when answering the last call one of the churches executive ministers walked into the office. He proceeded to bark orders, like some master sergeant yelling at a new recruit, while I was still on the phone. I held up a hand and motioned for him to wait. That was something no one dared to do, tell this self-important church executive to wait. Him wait…not a chance! So he became agitated, none-the-less he still had to wait until the call was finished.

Smiling I looked him square in the eyes and asked him if he needed assistance? The tone of his voice was quite hostel as he sternly informed that he wanted some roses from the adjacent garden and he wanted them now! The rose garden was one area on campus that was off-limits; no one could cut and take the roses. The only exception, of course, a minister of high rank (I always thought “rank” was a foul odor). Only they had the right (?) to take, at their discretion, any roses they wanted, for any purpose they deemed necessary. No staff worker was to ever question or interfere.

 I informed him the cutters were on the entry table in the office and that he was welcome to take whatever roses he wanted. I turned back to my report for it was nearly finished…he impatiently interrupted again. “No, he said! I want you to cut me some roses, and I want you to do it NOW!” I was surprised by his forceful request; no actually, it was more like a command than a request.

Explaining to him that normally I would be happy to cut him some roses; however, I volunteered to watch the office for the secretary while she ran some errands. It would not be possible to leave the office until she returned. Once again, pointing out where the cutters were and again stating that he was welcome to use them.

Well that did it; he became furious. How dare anyone challenge and ignore his authority! His face began to turn red with indignant anger. He said, “Don’t you know who I am? Get out there and cut me some roses!” Knowing who he was and that he held a powerful office, which presented a potentially serious problem. I reluctantly responded by telling him the title of his office, and that I was fully aware of who he was. So I simply said “yes and…”(Implied, that does not change anything). This just exasperated his anger and impatience; did not change anything. I could and would not leave the office even for him.

It was then his anger turned into what was almost uncontrolled rage and he threatened to have me fired and kicked out of the church. While this was a little unsettling, because he had the authority to do exactly what he said. His attempt at intimidation did not work. He next tried to bully his way, which did not work either. I stood my ground.

Next cane an apology for the delay (a business like courtesy) and for inconveniencing him. I explained that I would not leave the office and betray the secretaries’ trust; because I gave her my word that I would remain here until she returned. This reason proved ineffective. It made very little difference, if any in calming him down.

Before another word was spoken, Ellis the manager of the Landscape department returning from lunch walked in. After briefly explaining to him why the minister was so hot and raging, he immediately grabbed the cutters, (almost in a panic) and escorted him out to the garden where he cut him the best two dozen roses the garden had to offer, and made sure all the thorns were removed.

This minister made an arrogant point of walking past the office door with his roses and glaring with his most contemptuous look. OK, no problem; he is what he is. Felt very sorry for him, and especially those that had to work for him. Their nightmare continued on a daily basis. You might even say it was a living hell for them (Had a good friend that worked for this minister. The stories he would tell were both frightening and sad.).

When Ellis returned to the office, after defusing the situation, he wanted a more detailed explanation of what happened. While I was explaining to him the events, he gave me the strangest questioning look. It was as if he was silently asking, “How did Bob survive that without being fired?” No one survived standing up to this minister in the past. The outcome of the incident was a bit miraculous (I think my guardian angel was working overtime). Nonetheless, it felt like I did some serious battling with the devil himself, or at least one of his chief representatives.

You need to understand that, in this cultic church, the ministry was revered and almost treated as a God-like personage. I guess they never understood that Satan is the god of this world. He is the one that is demanding, self-centered, hot tempered and unforgiving. This was the very attitude and frame of mind this minister reflected, and not the heart and mind of the Savior.

Not judging the man’s heart, but his actions, and they were anything but Christ like; which in itself may be a reflection of his heart…only the Savior knows. Nobody pulls the wool over His eyes for He intensely sees into very core of a man’s heart and judges accordingly.

Only Jesus is worthy of our deepest honor, respect and worship. His true ministers will always reflect His heart and mind. They are the ones that the members should treat with respect for they are kind, patient, gentle and long suffering.

When you reflect on the ministry and leadership of your church, do you see the heart and mind of the Savior? If not, maybe it is time to consider what you are really missing by putting up with a counterfeit, and one that leads to discouragement and despair. Now might just be the time to search for the real and genuine article. That is His ministry, the ones that will treat you with the dignity and respect you deserve.

Alma finally returned and thanked me for watching the office. I smiled and we talked about the incoming calls and the follow-up she needed to do. Then I told her about the unholy guest…she simply rolled her eyes as she was all too familiar with his type. I told her it was a pleasure, and for the most part, it was, watching the office for her. As I was leaving the office, I once again noticed the fragrance of Jasmine that filled the air. The sense of euphoria returned. It was the kind of day it just felt good to be alive.

Life on campus was at times difficult and emotionally draining, but it was far from being dull.