I would love to hear from the 11.000 COG members who suffered through his church pastorates. I can be guaranteed that they have a different story than Dave does.
I’ve been a shepherd all my life. Mr. Armstrong’s background was not as a shepherd. His background was a businessman, and he began to work with the Church, and for a little while shepherd it, but pretty much got into colleges and trained others. The Church never got very large. The final man would have to be one who had spent his whole life shepherding…11,000 people…I know what I’m doing. Sometimes, I wonder why I don’t get to keep doing that. Except I understand that I can bring a grander application. I know how to do that. I’ve trained so many ministers, I don’t begin to have the fingers and toes to count them all. And I’ve seen bad ones and good ones, and men who progress, and don’t, and good ministers’ wives and bad ministers’ wives. I’ve seen monsters like this guy who just butchered his wife, and left an orphan…and all the while he was doing it, was standing behind a pulpit like I am now. No more converted than the very devil who was in him. I mean, I’ve seen at all! I’ve seen things you can’t imagine.It took a long time, over half a century, but I know how to shepherd. I’m trained to do it, and we have a lot of good shepherds among us, some in this room, and others around the world. If you’re blessed to have a minister near you, no matter how inexperienced he is, back him up, help him. You know, the big guys sold out, but he’s there, because he didn’t, and his wife the same. Many of them don’t even have wives. Their wives left them, or they never have been married.