By Loren Adams, 25 April 2010
Scandal after scandal rocked the Church of Holy Rock. But
stubbornly the faithful remained loyal to Rev. George — the man caught
fleecing the flock, dipping donations, and lying perpetually to parishioners.
Even after leaving, Rev. George maintained a following which gave the next
preacher an especially hard time.
What was it about Rev. George causing members to remain
steadfastly loyal despite the obvious? Caught red-handed, Brother George spun
alibis instead of repentance — befitting a Toyota used car salesman. Made
no difference to the flock; they stood behind him no matter what. The church
was eerily cult-like in its praise for George — exceeding worship of God.
Perhaps it was Rev. George’s sermons — where he condemned
enemies, evildoers, terrorists, liberals, homos and baby-killers. They were all
lumped together. Whatever inflamed the faithful, he’d do or say.
Rev. George ignited the congregation with, “Whoever’s on the
Lord’s side say ‘Praise the Lord’! Say ‘Thank you, Jesus!’ By the way, if
you’re on HIS side, you’ll be on MY side, because God put me here. I want to
tell you, brethren and sistern, Jesus called me to this church, so anyone
disputing God’s word by attempting to throw me out has another thing comin’
— ‘cause the Lord’s wrath will be poured out on offenders. If you’re not
with me, you’re against me and with Satan. Can I hear an 'AMEN'? If you want to
join me in this HOLY CRUSADE against Democrats and the devil, follow me and
don’t listen to critics, the evildoers.”
Then they’d all shout in affirmation, “Amen! Hallelujah!” I
witnessed tears streaming down some cheeks indicating zealous devotion to their
shepherd.
On that cue, Pastor George would call for ushers to pass the
plate. Paying tithes and offerings at the peak of emotion was quite the trick.
Proof? Donations increased 10-fold.
Oh, the pageantry of flag-waving and cross-wearing during
his tenure! No one would be caught without a flag lapel pin and cross dangling
around the neck. Everybody had to be “patriotic” and “Jesus-lovin’” in Rev.
George’s book, and that meant SHOWING it (not necessarily LIVING it).
The pastor’s assistant staged every event, brought little
children to the sanctuary to stand behind preacher as he made his greatest
appeals for missions. Who could deny little children when the Reverend made his
call for poor, starving little kids faraway? The choir was also used as a prop
and rehearsed calculated responses on signal to gain the most impact. It was
all a setup.
But something smelled about Rev. George, the guy who hid
behind the cross and the American flag — those symbols most sacred to the
faithful. Yes, he had something big to hide if he relied on outward
appearances; some dark sinister secret was concealed. Oddly, only a few
detected. We were the silent minority who looked past the surface in search of
substance. Perhaps the rest were so programmed into the cult, there was no
possibility of sight.
Rev. George’s autocratic rule over the congregation grew by
the month. He based his grab for power on three things: (1) “I have a higher
Father to answer to, so I don’t have to listen to earthly vessels, elections,
or board members.” (2) “I don’t need a approval from anybody ‘cause my orders
come directly from Jesus. Those on the Lord’s side don’t need permission slips
when fightin’ the devil!” (3) “The deacon board serves no purpose other than be
an obstruction for me carrying out my mission from God.”
Strangely, he'd yell, “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” after services
where the congregation got the most wound-up emotionally (thus donated the
most).
Pretty soon the Deacon Board was disbanded and we didn’t
hold another business meeting while he was pastor. Rev. George handled it all
— from counting the collections to dispensing the dollars. There were no
checks and balances to his authority because most of the flock believed he was
a man of God and, therefore, “Anyone under God can do no wrong, right?”
And so it was, the Church of the Holy Rock fell under the
spell of Rev. George. Sure, scandalous rumors filtered in from time to time.
But all were dismissed under the powerful influence of Preacher George. It was
like he could do no sin. (At least, he'd never acknowledge and repent if he
did.)
Do you recall Jimmy Swaggart’s famous trysts and subsequent
cry-spells? Well, Rev. George had him licked; he was a professional at cover-ups.
Preacher was as talented a performer as Swaggart, ‘cept he couldn’t play the
keys or bellow gospel tunes like Jimmy. He could play the organ fine but not
the musical instrument sort, if you get my meaning. But his “divine” talent lay
in lies — he had the gift of deceit.
Maybe it was Brother George’s homespun charm and timely
jibes. A good laugh somehow covered a multitude of sins; his jokes were plenty,
but so were his sins. However, sins don’t matter with laughs to cover. At
least, according to churchniks at Holy Rock.
As it turns out, Rev. George was secretly stashing church
money into a private account at the Carlyle Bank of Halliburton. The preacher’s
father was one of the bank’s trustees, and together they were laundering money
and trading weapons with the most notorious gangsters in town: Irene and Ozzie
Beenlaid – to name a few. In fact, they had been doing business with the
crooks for 30 years but never caught ‘cause church folk had so much trust in
them.
So the church thing was just a cover. Rev. George would put
on the robes on Sunday and rob on Monday. And, boy, did he have the flock
fooled!
The sad thing is.... Even after all this came to light
— several members still believed the lies. Their brainwashing was so
irreversible, no de-programming could override their mindset. Poor lost souls.
(Jimmy Swaggart’s church still exists in Baton Rouge – as does Ted
Haggart’s in Colorado Springs. I rest my case.) The remaining remnant still believing George formed a new
cult called The Tea Party Movement.
Rev. George finally was defrocked from the flock, but only
after being offered a full retirement with benies. Pastor Barry took his place.
But the poor church struggled to recover. Its public image was tarnished beyond
repair, the treasury was drained, and the cash-strapped congregation had a
tough time avoiding bankruptcy and foreclosure. The new breakoff from Holy
Rock, The Tea Party cult, tried to blame to whole set of disasters on the new
preacher, Rev. Barry, and their disinformation campaign was quite successful.
Why? People prone to believe myths accept lies unembellished.
But the most unfortunate consequence in looking back –
the majority lost hope. “For a spiritual leader to cause the least of these to
lose his/her faith, it would be better for him to have a millstone tied around
his neck and be cast into the sea.”
Their faith was built on sand (Rev. George), but the sand
was blown away in an instant. Their financial foundation, spiritual anchor, and
their hopes for a better tomorrow were swept away out to sea. Rev. George was
actually not at fault, but the myth-believing movement that followed him. For,
they didn’t permit the struggling church to recover. Their faith was stubbornly
in George’s heretic beliefs rather than sound principles, and they in turn
fought like hell anyone that disagreed. The result was gridlock.