The Meltdown Continues: AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF KEITH MALCOLM HUNT--- PART TWO

THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF

KEITH MALCOLM HUNT

Part Two

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

It was 1963 and I had become a member of the Radio Church of God. There was at that time no minister in Saskatoon.

We did have a couple men stop by in the summer, representing the Radio Church of God. So I did meet a few more members, a couple of families and some single guys like myself. It was nice to have some fellowship on the Sabbath day.

As that summer and fall came, we had more members to the Radio Church of God. Then we heard a full time minister was being sent out to Edmonton, Alberta. That was great news for we were soon told that minister would drive down to Saskatoon twice a month to conduct a Bible study.

Soon during that fall we had more and more in Saskatoon coming to those Bible studies.

My mind was sharp and though not having a photographic memory, I found it easy to remember Scriptures all over the Bible, of course growing up with the Bible also helped.

I was studying the Bible like never before, it was opening up to me with truths like never before.

It was during the late Spring of 1964 we were told that soon a full time minister would be sent to pastor the Radio Church of God in Saskatoon.

O how excited we were; and the church was growing by leaps and bounds. By the time our minister arrived we had about 150 in attendance on the weekly Sabbaths. The minister was a man of about 30 years of age; he was a friendly down to earth guy, and we all soon had a very close bond with him and his wife. Over the next year the minister and I developed a close relationship, and I was to become his right hand assistant. We travelled together near and far to meet people interested in our church and to answer their questions, most of them would finally attend our services. Our church grew and grew, and it was a very loving church, with the help of our minister. He would invite three couples over to his home on a Saturday evening in the winter time. And all would have a fun evening playing table games. He said to me once, “Keith I do this to get to know the brethren in a casual easy going way. I was told by the minister running the Vancouver office, when I was going to be sent to Saskatoon, that to be an effective minister you had to be down-to-earth with the people.”

It sure worked, our minister and members, had a down-to-earth love church.

I was put as Church service Hymn leader, and librarian over our book collection.

At our “Festival” [they were God’s Feasts of Leviticus 23] meeting, our members would travel to different parts of North America for the Feast of Tabernacles. It was at one of them that we from Saskatoon heard from the founder of the Radio Church of God. He was a humble man in those years. He had a son that was a dynamic minister who was by this time heard a lot on the radio program.

The years through the 1960s were good years but things began to slowly change by 1970. There was way way too much emphasis placed on the coming of the end of this age and the return of Jesus to rule the world. It was not specifically said in straight out plain words, but the talking and preaching was conveyed that the Great Tribulation could come by 1972/3 and so Jesus would return by about 1975. It was also taught there would be a place of safety for us, and our “head” minister, [by now called “apostle”] would lead us to that safe place.

I was always an independent thinker, and I became somewhat alarmed at the way things were being taught, as like the “head” minister had some special phone line link to God the Father.

The minister we had was transferred back into the United States. He told me he loved it in Saskatoon and did not want to leave. Reluctantly he did, there were many tears shed at his going away gathering we had for him. And him and I kept in touch.

The new minister was from England, he’d been pastoring the Dublin, Ireland congregation for some years. He was a nice man and him and I hit if off well right from the beginning. And so I became his right hand man also.

It was about six months into our new minister’s time with us in Saskatoon, when he got up to announce at one Sabbath service—— “We have to announce, and it’s sad to have to say that Bob Lay your first pastor has left the Church.”

We were all shocked, and some tears came into many of the eyes of our members.

I immediately wrote to Bob and asked him what had happened, he wrote back to me with few words but said, “If you are not happy you have to ask yourself why.”

Now I had come to know in various ways, that many of the ministers in the USA were acting like little or big Hitlers with their congregations.

I just put two and two together—— it made four!

Bob had found himself working with other ministers who were not building loving, down-to-earth congregations. He could not take that kind of ministry, and simply left. I was to find out many years later that was exactly the truth of the matter.

This now led me to question even more, if this Radio Church of God was going off the tracks of sound living and sound theology of the Bible.

By 1972 I was sure the Radio Church of God was indeed becoming a CULT!

The so-called “head” minister was now claiming to be the apostle of Christ, directly under Jesus Christ. Those near him were also stroking his ego and saying he was God’s only apostle, and even the Elijah to come! All the prophecies that they figured could well happen by 1972, were dismally falling apart!

It was now easy for me to see this church organization was quickly becoming a CULT!

Church organizations may start off well, but can easily end up in a CULTISH mode of governing.

This Radio Church of God was fast becoming a Cult!

There were other factors at play also….. in the summer of 1972 I departed from the Radio Church of God. I was not sure what the Lord wanted me to do for Him, but for 7 years I was on my own, meditating and watching world evens and the happenings inside the Radio Church of God.

I returned to England for a year and a half; I was told that was not the place for me by the Lord. I returned to Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, the last week of December 1974. There was an ad in the Oshawa paper wanting a full time “Guitar Teacher” at the “Conservator of Music”—— a fancy name that made me think twice about applying; but I applied and put it in the hands of God.

The owner said, “How are you with children?”

“I’m good with them.” was my answer.

“Well I have this guitar teacher that may play the guitar fantastic, but he can’t relate to children. If I give you the job, you will inherit about 100 students.”

I was given the job and started within days. To teach 100 students worked this way. There would be classes of student of about 5 or 6, from 4 pm to 8 pm, an hour long each class. I had individual teaching before 4 pm and after 8 pm. Most of the time I worked till 10 pm at night.

It was all just great; I taught the students to read music; I devised a structure of lessons that went from 1 to 8 grades. I had my students after each grade take a theory and practical exam. Most always did very well. Some of my students started with me at age 7 and many stayed with me to finish the 8th grade; by then they were about 15 years old. Some continued on with me just for the enjoyment of how I taught and the music they could play. I gave them everything from the instruction books up to grade three. Then devised my own grades from 4 to 8. They got a whole scope of music over those years.

In Ontario there were “festival competitions” and I often entered my students in them; they usually did very well, some up into the top three, and a few getting number one.

I now started on what would become my full time secular job for 12 years. And I had some really talented guitar students during those years, both male and female. But things were also moving with my spiritual life and God was leading me on a path that at the time I did not see fully.

It was 1979 and the Radio Church of God was “splitting” up—— other ministers and lay members were leaving, they also now saw that “Church” was being transformed into a Cult.

God told me to put an ad in the local Oshawa paper that would catch the eye of some who might also be questioning where this church organization was going. And I did get some responses. One single man and a couple of kids who just finished High school; O yes a man from out of town, and a few ladies.

They were all willing to meet with me, and discuss things from the Bible.

I conducted regular Sabbath Bible studies for a year. Those I’ve mentioned stayed with me. They saw I was genuine, down-to-earth, and understood the Bible very well.

We did form an official tax exempt local Christian “church.”

We were willing to work with other groups who had also left the Radio Church of God. One was in Rochester, New York state. I ended up conducting Sabbath services there twice a month. We were also working with a large church organization in the USA, who had also left the Radio Church of God. It was a time for me of renewed Bible study, trying to read the Bible from an open mind and to correct me where I needed to be corrected, from any false ideas of theology from the years of being in the Radio Church of God. It was all very exciting again, just reading and studying the Bible, and also religious books of many types, always open to new truth and corrections, as God led me. I was noted when in the Radio Church of God, as an “intellectual” student of the Bible. I was and still am not afraid to read Biblical articles and books by others, be they Roman Catholic, Protestant, or 7th day Sabbath observers.

From 1979 to 1987 were quite the years of study, research, and writing my own religious articles and even some 4 books. There was a one time Radio Church of God guy near Chicago, USA, who had a printing business and he printed and bound the four books I wrote, for a very low price, and so our Oshawa church could send them out to others, around the world free of charge. I also started a publication called “The Truth of the Matter” —— a 20 to 40 double-sided magazine [not fancy but very practical] to answer various arguments that many who had left the Radio Church of God and were now coming up with “strange theology,” and also to answer those who had Bible questions. All of this was years before the invention of the personal computer.

The Radio Church of God at the beginning of the 1980s had moved into a full-fledged “cult” and they were doing exactly what cults do—— you could not question them in any way, if you did, you were very abruptly thrown out of their fellowship, and their members were told not to speak or having anything to do with “disfellowshipped” persons; you can see the problem that arose in marriages. Many marriages did not survive, divorces were everywhere happening with couples in the Radio Church of God. Ministers who disagreed with “policy” —— they found themselves very very quickly without homes and cars. What went on during those early years of the 1980s in the Radio Church of God, would take two or three 200 page books to recall. It was as un-Christian as you could get—— actually demonic!

I sat down to study the subject of “disfellowshipping” — yes the New Testament does teach it; and then wrote a full-detailed article on the subject. The article was set to a man I had come to know in Vancouver, B.C. who had left the Radio Church of God. He then sent it to a minister who had left the Radio Church of God; who was living in Hollister, California.

One evening the phone rings.

“Hello Keith, I am Fred Coulter; I left the church you were in, some other ministers and many of the congregation left with me. We have formed the Biblical Church of God [BCG]. I was sent your study article on “disfellowshipping” and I am very impressed. Would you consider attending our Feast of Tabernacles next year?”

I answered after some seconds of thought, “Well okay, yes I will.”

That conversation was short, but to the point.

I never expected to hear from Fred Coulter for a while as it was many months to the Feast of Tabernacles. But Fred called again a week later, and called me a number of times over a few months.

The Passover of 1982 was over, and the next Feast of the Lord was Pentecost.

The phone rings and it was Fred again—— “Hey Keith, I’m doing a tour out your way, close to where you are in Ontario, to see some people in New York state. Pentecost is coming, can I come your way and celebrate it with you?”

“Yes, sure thing, you are welcome” I told him.

Fred arrived in Oshawa, a few days before Pentecost week-end. We had some interesting conversions as we got to know each other more. I brought the weekly Sabbath sermon, and we travelled the next day to celebrate Pentecost with the Rochester congregation. I brought the Pentecost sermon, as Fred said please go ahead, and ignore me. So I did just that. After the service, Fred came to me privately and said, “I’ve talked to the two congregations you serve, and they both agree that you should be ordained to the ministry of Jesus Christ. If the other Elders we have in the Biblical Church of God, agree, can we ordain you at the Feast of Tabernacles in St. Louis city this fall? And you and the congregations become part of the Biblical Church of God.”

“Wellll…….yes of okay” I responded.

Fred went home to California shorty after Pentecost was over; it was maybe a week or so, and he phoned me, “Keith, all the Elders here have agreed with me and your congregations that we will ordain you to the ministry of Jesus Christ at St. Louis.”

The summer was now here. I did not teach guitar in the summer time, always had July and August months off. Fred knew that, and he called me, “Keith, would you like to take a tour down into the USA for us. There are some people I’d like you to meet; especially two men, who may be fit to bring into our ministry; I’d like you to spend some time with them and see what you think.”

I told Fred my wife and I would love to do that tour.

I knew of the two men that Fred especially wanted me to stay with for a few days and see where they were spiritually after leaving the Radio Church of God. The others to meet were just folks that wanted to meet somebody representing the Biblical Church of God.

The first couple to meet were just over the border in the USA. We arrived and they made us very welcome. They were Mr. and Mrs Cuthbertson, the lady [forgotten her first name now] played the piano and sang “alto” -- I’ll call her Martha—— my O my, she was a perfect match with my singing voice; just lifted me up to hit the high notes; we blended fantastically well. Even my wife said, “O Wow….Keith, you hit those high notes right on.” I replied, “Yes….. Martha just makes me, she just pushes me to them…. she blends so well with me.”

We had a wonderful visit with that couple. Now it was time to move on to visit a couple Fred wanted me to see where they was spiritually. I do remember his name, David Smith. My wife and I stayed with David and his wife for a week. Plenty of time to see where they were spiritually. It was not long before we saw that David’s wife was not really interested in “spiritual” things and the Bible. David met her at a gas station while she and him were filling up their cars. David was tall and handsome, she was pretty. So a conversation ensued, and the rest is history as they say.

I found out very soon on that David had his own magazine going, pretty pro done it was. He was into stuff like new at the time, bar codes on things you buy, for him that was the “mark of the beast.” I was amazed how many people he had on his mailing list, and more shocking to me was how many people were sending him money, I mean a few thousand dollars and more a month.

David was into what I call “strange theology” and futuristic stuff what I say is from planet Pluto.

After a week with David Smith I reported to Fred Coulter, that he was not at all a good candidate to follow up on as trying to bring into the Biblical Church of God.

Our next visit was to a couple wanting to see someone representing the Biblical Church of God. It was a pleasant few days visit.

Our next stop was also to a family wanting to meet someone from the BCG. It was a Mother and Father, their son and his wife and their small children. We had a warm reception, and some very nice down-to-earth days with them all. We talked about Fred Coulter and the Elders with him and the BCG they had started. We mentioned our next visit was with John Trestuck and his wife; they were about two hours south in Oklahoma. Well they all knew of him, as he was doing a “work for the Lord.”

It was blistering hot in Oklahoma that summer of 1982. We arrived at John’s home and they were very friendly; they were happy for us to stay a week with them. Fred Coulter was also interested in them, maybe to offer them to become part of the BCG. By the middle of the week my wife and I knew exactly where John and his wife were spiritually—— they were taken up with Pentecostal stuff, speaking in so-called “tongues” and the demons were everywhere; if you got a flat tire it was a demon doing it; if you tripped over the rug, it was a demon doing it; if you dropped the milk jug, it was a demon doing it; the demons were constantly talked about by them.

My wife and I were glad when the week was over; they had taken us to a mid-week service, and it was all waving the arms, and some “faith healer” going about putting his hands on you to heal you or ward off the demons. When he got close to me, I stood up and left, my wife following right behind me.

Our tour was over, but for some reason we needed to go back to the people two hours north once more. We told them about John and what we had discovered. The son’s wife, looked at me and said, I have the gift of detection, I can see demons over people. I was taken-a-back somewhat, but thought well yes God can certainly give that gift to someone.

The family went on to say they were supposed to get to gather with them on the Sabbath, and the son’s wife said, “I will be able to tell if demons are working on them.”

I left it at that, and we headed back to our home in Oshawa, Canada.

I reported to Fred Coulter all that happened with our visit with John and his wife in Oklahoma. They were taken off the list of people Fred thought could be interested in joining the BCG.

A week or so later I heard from the family with the son’s wife able to see demonic powers; she said it was true John and his wife were under demonic influences.

The rest of the summer moved on quite nicely.

It was now time to head for the Feast of Tabernacles with the BCG at St. Louis.

It was at the very first service that Fred and another Elder had me come to the front and they laid hands on me, and Fred gave a great short talk, and I was ordained to the ministry of Jesus Christ. I was 40 years old, and had NOW come to see WHAT God had really called me to do in life—— it was not to be the next Roy Rogers, but to be a part of the ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ. I was brought through my own plans, which were God’s plans, to Canada, to Saskatoon, to be allowed for a time to enjoy the Western horse, to learn to trick ride; but ESPECIALLY to hear a religious radio program that would challenge me to new understandings of the Bible, and a Landlord that would blow me over with “Sunday is the first day of the week.”

God had worked with me from age 7, for a destiny that was far from my mind, but now at age 40, I was shall we say officially to do the work that was planned for me….. from….. way back when.

……….

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

So I was ordained to the ministry of Jesus Christ at age 40; a new life of spiritual work was fully put into first gear.

Returning home from St. Louis, within a week I had a phone call from one of the Elders in California.

“Keith, we have a problem with Fred Coulter. We are not sure if we are going to fly you out here or put you on conference call.” A day of two later the Elder called back and said I would be on conference call. All the Elders would be present, and all the local church members in Hollister, California would be present; it was going to be an open session of all Elders speaking one by one, and I would be the last to speak because I was the new kid open the block, and basically had no idea why all this was happening. And indeed I sure did not; I personally got along with Fred just fine; he was easy to talk to, no “airs” about him, down-to-earth as they say.

All this was going to take place the next weekly Sabbath day. My wife and I got ready, the amplifier speaker was on conference call setting. The time it was scheduled for had arrived—— the first elder introduced things and then was allowed to continue with “his side of things” as concerning Fred Coulter.

It was a 6 hour session—— as I think back now, that blows me away that it was six hours, before it was my turn to speak.

After 6 hours my mind could see what was happening here—— it was all “personality problems.”

I spoke and told everyone how it all came across to me—— personality problems; we all needed to humble ourselves, and get passed our personalities.

My talking was not long; there was a hush; then an Elder said, “We the Elders will now move to a private room for however long this takes.”

Maybe 15 minutes went by—— the Elders came back and there was an upbeat atmosphere, obviously smiles, then general joy was in the air. All seemed to be solved!

I was elated and relieved. We could all now get on with doing God’s work, getting the word of God, salvation, and the Kingdom, out to the world.

It was only two days later and the phone rang again. The same Elder as before who phoned me, said, “Keith, I am calling to tell you Fred Coulter has left the Biblical Church of God.”

I was stunned silent. I said northing but gave a “Thank you for letting me know.”

I was just devastated by this news.

I immediately phoned Fred; he had little to say, but I could tell he was crushed by what this, I guess “attack” on him from all the other Elders. I invited him to fly out to us, get away from it all, come to us in Oshawa.

Fred declined my invitation.

I just did not know what on earth this was all about. I got along fine with Fred.

It was about 6 months later that another Elder called me to fill me in on what was going on with all the Elders, concerning the subject of “deacons” in the church. All but this one Elder was saying there should be no deacons in the church. This elder was pulling out of the BCG. It was not long until the rest of the Elders were through one Elder, calling me on the subject. I told him the office of “deacons” is clearly taught in the New Testament. Well within a few weeks, I was told the BCG was going to fly me out to California, and before all the Elders I could present my proof for what I believed about the office of Deacons in the church.

I arrived and would be staying in the home of one Elder called Bruce Barret. None of the Elders had seen me, no photo of me was ever asked for. I remember Chuck Barret [brother to Bruce] on seeing me, after shaking my hand, said, “How old are you?” Now I’ve kept myself in good shape and at age 40 I looked like I could be about 28. I told Chuck I was 40. He seemed to then be okay with my age.

I was at Bruce’s home that Thursday evening and he and his wife and daughter about 18, or 19, were very friendly and warm. I remember his wife saying she loved England, had never been there but had photo books of England that stole her heart. I did tell her that indeed the countryside and gardens over there were magnificent.

The next day I was to meet the Elders and they would give me the chance to prove to them that the office of deacons in the church, was Biblical.

I had brought with me the one volume New Testament commentary by Albert Barnes, for me the best commentary ever written on the New Testament. I had my proof ready to go. I think it took me about an hour to prove “deacons” were in the first century Church of God.

Not one Elder tried to prove me wrong!

I was then told, I could do all this once more, the next day, at Sabbath services in front of the whole congregation. And so I did—— no one tried to prove me wrong; there was just silence after my presentation.

All the Elders I was told later, would be getting together for a relaxed Saturday evening.

And so it was. No official talk about “deacons.” But one Elder during the evening let the cat out of the bag.

“Keith, we are against the office of ‘deacons’ because in the Radio Church of God, we had some really bad ones, acting like demigods,” I agreed with him, it was true. I replied “Yes it was so, but that did not ‘do away with’ Bible truth.” He said no more to me about the subject.

A little later still, Chuck Barret came over to talk to me.

“Keith, if you should buy a building for Church services in Oshawa, it would belong to the Biblical Church of God, not your local church.”

“Are you being serious?” I asked him in disbelief as to what he had just told me.

He was indeed very serious!

I told him well that was just not going to happen; we would never be under some "head-quarters” church as it became in the Radio Church of God—— authority from the top down.

Chuck Barret said no more.

I began to see what was going on—— it was Chuck Barret that was wanting control of this Biblical Church of God organization.

Sunday afternoon the Elders met again, not one brought up the subject of “deacons” in the church.

I was to fly back to Oshawa, Ontario, the next day. Towards the end of the casual meeting, Chuck came over to me, and said, “Well Keith, I guess you’ve got a decision to make.” I replied I indeed had a decision to make. I knew what he was getting at, authority from the top down. I had actually already made the decision but did not tell Barret I had made it.

Arriving at the Toronto airport I was met by my deacon Jerry and a few others. I related the basic gist of it all to them—— a head-quarters, one man, rulership of the Biblical Church of God. Jerry looked at me and said, “You have to resign from them.” I fully agreed, and the next day sent out my letter to Chuck Barret to inform him that I had resigned from being an Elder with the Biblical Church of God. Our Oshawa church would now be an independent local Sabbath church.

A few months later I was speaking to a friend in Vancouver, who also had left the Radio Church of God, and knew all about the Biblical Church of God, and what was going on even more than I did. He knew about this debate on the “deacon” subject I had had with the Elders. And he also knew about this one Elder from Oregon, who had gone back to his church and said to his congregation, “Keith Hunt gave us proof of deacons in the church; no one could prove him wrong—— but we ain’t doing it anyway.”

My O My I could hardly believe what that friend was telling me. A supposed minister of God was given proof that the office of “deacons” in the NT church was true, but they were not going to follow the Bible on it anyway!

I lost contact with the Biblical Church of God, and as far as I knew within a few years it did not exist any more.

The church in Oshawa was now fully independent. We had a professional sign made to put out on the sidewalk, on Sabbath days, inviting all and everyone to come on in to our Sabbath service.

We had some very interesting events through the 1980s—— some I will tell you about next time.

…………………………

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

In 1983 our Sabbath observing church in Oshawa became independent; we were on our own. We rented an older building close to the apartment building where my wife and I lived.

Our little congregation played for a weekly “religious message” in the Oshawa paper. It was anywhere from 3 to 4 inches wide and 4 to 7 inches in length. It was not an ad but a Biblical message. We covered various Bible topics; they were often very up-front, pulling no punches as they say. Some were very plain, about what is sin, real repentance, abortion on demand is wrong, the true Sabbath, messages on the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Trumpets, Atonement, and Feast of Tabernacles. Messages on Christ’s return, the age to come, and sometimes prophecy. We had messages about what happens at death, do we have an immortal soul, about water baptism——and many other message fitting for events happening in the world, or for the seasons of the year, like observing Easter and Christmas are not taught in the Bible.

I remember this one guy phoning me, after we put a massage about Sabbath observing; he said, “Do you believe in the gifts of the Spirit?” I answered that I did. He then went on to say, “Well I have the gift from the Spirit of speaking in tongues, and I do not observe keeping the Sabbath day.”

Now to him this was his proof to me that observing the weekly Sabbath does not matter, that’s it “done away with.”

This kind of reasoning is impossible to reason with, because he just simply could not see or reason that Satan the Devil can perform miracles; he could not see that the spirit he had could be from the Devil and not from God.

We got some notoriety by the “religious” people in Oshawa, to the point that one fellow said I should have a public debate with the Christ of Christ pastor; he was quite willing for a debate. I said “Okay, so am I, let’s do it.”

It was to be a pro type of debate, a man from the Oshawa “Toastmasters Club” would be moderator. Both of us pastors would get 20 minutes each in turn and the debate would last for 2 hours; it would also be a debate of 2 night; Friday night and Saturday night.

There was a pretty good turn out on Friday night; even better on Saturday night because we had some Seventh Day Adventists turn up to hear the debate.

The Church of Christ pastor on Friday night was trying to move me off the topic of God’s law and grace. One of our young men from our congregation, said to me, “Pastor, he’s trying to derail you; stick to the topic no matter what he says.” He was correct when I thought about it. So the next night I just went straight down the line on the law and grace of God. Showing grace can only be because of law, that all have broken; without law that is no sin, and hence no sin then no grace needs to be offered. It was great to show how grace and law go together to make salvation.

I have said that our religious messages in the paper often pulled no punches. A few years later after my wife and I moved to a village north of Oshawa, there was a knock on the door one night about 9 pm. I opened the door and this young lady maybe in her early 30s told me her car had broken down, and could she use out phone to get some help. I said well of course you can, and is there any other way to help you. She used the phone and we talked for a few minutes afterwards. She asked my name. I said “Keith Hunt is my name.”

“O not the Keith Hunt that writes those religious massages in the paper are you.”

“Yes I am the same Keith Hunt.” I replied.

“You are so kind and friendly, just would not have known you were the same Keith Hunt.”

“Well for some religious messages I have to be pretty straight up and lay it on the line. Jesus at time also did.”

We exchanged a few more pleasantries and she was on her way.

During those years of the 1980s we had a few “odd” fellows walk into our Sabbath service. One of them came a few times within one month. Finally, after the third visit he said to me after services, “I do not accept the writings of Paul; actually I only accept the Gospels as the New Testament.”

We never saw him again.

Then there was the man, I would say in his 30s, who walked in one Sabbath, sat down, just before we were to have our Bible study, before the main Sabbath service. He raised his hand, “Can I ask a question” he said.

“Sure you can” I replied.

“Do you believe the writings of Paul are inspired?”

“Yes we do” was my answer.

He closes his Bible got up and walked out; never to be seen again.

One of the big events, well it happened twice over two years, a year in-between each. Big events because of what happened some few years later that all of North America [maybe other parts of the world also took note] was very aware of, on the news all the time.

Oshawa was the head town for Canada’s Seventh Day Adventists. I always went to see Dr. Samuele Bacciocchi when he came to town to speak. He has probably written more on the Sabbath Question than any one else in the world; thousand were converted to obeying the 7th day Sabbath through his work on that commandment. He took on debating with any one who would debate him on the weekly Sabbath question—— no one ever won debating with him. He was a one man recking crew for Sunday debaters. He was the first man EVER to be allowed to obtain his PhD by attending the Gregorian Theological School in Rome. What wanted his PhD on the Sabbath Question. They tried to persuade him not to do it, for 3 or 4 others had done that subject; but Samuele had discovered old documents in the back dusty rows of the Vatican Library; hence was given the green light for his study.

The living Pope at the time presented Samuele with a gold neck-piece for his outstanding work in obtaining his PhD; they even printed his first 500 book hard-cover called “FROM SABBATH TO SUNDAY.”

Samuele did not live a long life he died at age 73. But his 4 books on the Sabbath are classic gems. I have them all.

I had heard over the years that small groups would break away from the main body of the SDA organization, here and there over north America; and yes there was another that did so in Australia.

One Sabbath, at the start of our main 11am service, a middle age lady walks in; her name Lois Roden; there was a young man with her in his late 20s; and there was a mother and taught; mother middle age, daughter early 20s.

They listen attentively; after service I greeted them, and they were all respectful and polite. Yet as time visiting moved on, it was clear they were here to debate certain things. They were Sabbath observers and Feast of God observers as we were. So started out fine, then they tried to persuade us the “new room” day was also a Sabbath day. Now they got me into a debate on that question, I tried to prove the new month in the Hebrew calendar was NOT a Sabbath day, but should be noted and have some in home studies on that date, which we in our church had instituted, if people could and were able to attend.

They had a name and it was “Branch Dividian” and they had a compound near Waco, Texas.

Are some bells bringing to ring?

The following year in the summer they did the same, came to our services, and visited afterward to….. yes talk about the Bible and their growing number of followers, and their out-in-the-country kinda monastery, near Waco, Texas.

The mother and daughter from Oshawa, I found out by talking to them, were going to go to this monastery in a few weeks.

Some years went by and through the grape-vine somehow, I heard the lady that was their “founder” had died—— and now there was this charismatic, photo-graphic memory man, around 30ish in charge, by the name of David Koresh. Maybe red lights are flashing in your head.

By now there was a large following in this group, with children, housed in their monastery, near Waco, Texas.

All that happened there can be found in Wikipedia just type into your browser David Koresh.

The local mother and daughter that came with Lois Roden to our services, twice, did manage to save their lives in that horrible Waco tragedy.

^{At the time of this disaster at Waco, My wife and I were living in Florida; I would often say to her, the FBI and all those involved in trying to have the Koresh group come out, had no clue what they were dealing with; which was fanatical planet Pluto leadership and brain-washed individuals, and children. Following it all each day, I noted that some inside the compound were allowed to leave. One was the local mother in Oshawa that had attended our service with Lois Roden. And her daughter jumped out of a window when the fire started. They both survived the horror of it all.}

^{The story of Jim Jones [look him up on the Internet] was a leader of a religious group that started out well enough, served and helped people, but over time, he also became convinced he was God’s “special agent” and went off the into fanatical teachings and brainwashed those with him, unto the death of them all and their children}

^{I have a book called “Churches that Abuse” while not mentioning David Koresh or Jim Jones; the book is full of groups that are very similar to Koresh and Jones, and I could add similar to the Radio Church of God that eventually went the same way—— into a cult mind-set!}

^{BACK to my parents——}

^{Back to 1984 my parents had decide to immigrate to Canada, my Dad was given early retirement at age 63. They had visited the Kelowna in the Okanagan}^{Valley of B.C. a year earlier. They had returned home and had sold their house, and got things going with the immigration department. It was pretty simple for them. All I had to do was sign that they would not be on welfare for 10 years. That was no problem as my parents had money and by Dad a nice pension from the Mackintosh company he worked at, for 36 years.}

^{By 1984 my parents were landed immigrants in Canada, and went to live in the beautiful Okanagan Valley in B.C.}

^{By 1987 I knew my parents would never be living in the Oshawa area of Ontario. If I was to be near them I would have to move where they were, [I was an only child] so we made the decision to do just that. My right hand man would carry on where I left off in God’s work.}

^{We took a quick visit to Kelowna, saw the house market, and work situation, it was a buyers market. We sold up and packed up and moved out to Kelowna B.C. We looked after 3 somewhat mild young men with physical and mental troubles, for the first 1 and 1/2 years. All going very well.}

^{There was a pastor and his wife we had known from way back; they were pastoring a small congregation church in Penticton, about 45 minutes south of Kelowna; Des and Jean were their names. Knowing we were living now in Kelowna, he was happy to let me be his second pastor of the congregation. All was going smoothy in every way. Spiritually and physically.}

^{Then the Social Service Department decided, because we had done such a great job looking after the 3 men they gave us, they would put them out on their own. They came to us to ask what we thought. I told them there was no way these men could live on their own. But they had already made their decision, guess they had to do something to qualify for their pay-check.}

^{So they did what they had decided to do. It all turned out to be a disaster within a month. One example I’ll give. One of the lads loved “geto-blasters” as they were called back then. He would each week take the one he had and trade it in for another at the “second-hand store” down town. He had now been put on his own; given money to pay his rent and buy food. There was a knock on the door one Friday late afternoon. There he was——}

^{“Hi Keith can I come and stay with you over the week-end?”}

^{“Wellllll….. I guess, okay.”}

^{The next words from him were, “O look at my great machine.”}

^{He had taken the $500 given to him from the Social Department for rent and food, and he had immediately gone out and bought a brand new geto-blaster!}

^{Monday morning I entered the Social Department office with him and his geto-blaster, and said to them, “Now you created this problem, now you fix it.”}

^{I learnt a week or so later he was living with another couple. Sometimes Social Service Departments are think in the head, and you wonder how they got their degree.}

^{Fortunately for me I was able to pick up a job as a Shoe Repair man in a new store just opening, and they needed a qualified man in that skill. I was also teaching guitar for a local music school.}

^{I was still publishing my 20 to 40 page magazine called “The Truth of the Matter” to our mailing list we had back in the Oshawa years; I had my own copying machine. I had about 100 people on the mailing list, most in North America but some in other countries.}

^{Must tell you this happening in the Penticton church.}

^{………………..}

^{CHAPTER SIXTEEN}

^{A man came into the Penticton church, a man about 5 foot 5 inches and stout. He began to come regularly; everyone got to know him. Including a single lady; he and her were in their top 40s to early 50s I would say, never did ask, no need to ask.}

^{They got friendlier and friendlier as time went on. Then I was informed they were engaged to be married. Everyone was happy for them. On a number of Sabbaths, after services I would sit across from them as we ate our refreshments. Normal Sabbath talk, and all seemed very normal.}

^{The wedding day had been set for a lovely place out of town and my friend Des the pastor was to officiate the service. My wife and I did not attend, we had something else on the go.}

^{That evening the phone rang—— “Pastor Keith, it’s June, [who just got married], he won’t take off his clothes….. O he is actually a she! What do I do?”}

^{“June…wow…you need to tell the she to pack their clothes and get the heck out of your home and immediately get an annulment of you marriage.”}

^{That was about all that was said between us.}

^{I had actually sat across from this person a number of time at our eating table after services; looked male, spoke with a male voice, absolutely nothing to detect the he was really a she. That’s how hormone drugs can do things; outwardly a she can be a he, and a he can be a she.}

^{A few days later I get a letter from Pastor Des in Penticton, saying I should mind my own business.}

^{I replied to him it was June who called me, and it was my business as a minister of Jesus Christ. I never heard from him again.}

^{I told my wife we would not be going back to that Penticton church until I knew June had done what I told her to do. About 6 months went by, and the man I knew in Vancouver called me to “chit-chat”—— he was the guy who knew everything about all the Sabbath churches once part of the Radio Church of God. I was relating how I was doing and the mockery of June’s wedding to a she, who was fooling us all by being a he. I told him we were not back with the Penticton church because I would not go back till it was all sorted out. He then said, “O Keith you do not know? “}

^{“What am I supposed to know, not heard from June.”}

^{“Well she did exactly what you told her to do. She did it immediately.”}

^{I was so glad to hear that.}

^{June decided to attend a Seventh Day Adventist church in Kelowna; she met a nice man there, and they were married.}

^{I was working as shoe repair man in my secular work. The man who was the owner was about 30 years of age, married and had two small children. It was a}^franchise^{deal he had. One day as we were working together, he blindsided with, “Keith, I have not made the kind of money the head company said I would make out here in Kelowna [he and his family were from down Toronto way], so I’m giving you lots of notice that in 6 months I will hand this store back to the head company. Now they will probably try to sell it again, and the next person or people may not want you.”}

^{I appreciated his comment and good notice he was giving me.}

^{And that is what happened; some single guy bought the store, and was going to run it as a one man show. I thought best of look fella, you have to be open and work 7 days a week, only one day off - Christmas day, when the Orchard Park Mall closed down.}

^{I heard he ran it for about a year, and then it was gone.}

^{Well all secular work for me had dried up, and there was just nothing in the Okanagan valley for me. Teaching guitar would not give us enough to live on.}

^{It was 1990 and selling houses in the valley there was super good money in it. What was happening was that rich people from Hong Kong were buying up houses in Vancouver for a high price [those people wanted out from Hong Kong before it was handed back to China by the British]. These Hong Kong people were buying old Vancouver homes for a very high price, so Vancouver people could buy a really nice home in the Okanagan valley, pay cash for it and still have two to three hundred thousand dollars in the bank.}

^{I said to my wife, “Look it would seem we are not mean to stay here any longer, there is no secular work for me any more. We need to sell this house while the market is a sellers market, and move on.”}

^{We tried for a while to hang on, two or three months, but it was useless. We did sell, got some nice cash in the bank, and so it was moving time again.}

^{It was nearly fall time; we decided to make our way down and across country to my wife’s mother and her new husband, who stay in Florida for the winter; they have a mobile home near Clearwater. I was also in touch with a fellow minister towards and near Florida; there was going to be a Feast of Tabernacles site, right on the way to Florida. The plans were we would observe this Feast with them and whoever else was there.}

^{We would make our trip down as enjoyable as possible, taking in the sights of areas neither of us had ever seen. We stopped in Idaho and had a day with one of the ministers who like me had left the Biblical Church of God. Our next big plan was travelling to Utah and Salt Lake City. We had the day there and went inside that famous Mormon Tabernacle where you can hear a pin drop, the acoustics are so amazing. Then it was on to the Grand Canyon. On the way we stopped at Brice Canyon, did not know it existed, and is certain very different. We arrived at the Grand Canyon early in the morning as the sun was rising. It was all very spectacular. Then it was down to Arizona, and Phoenix. Very different scenery for sure, the red rocks of all shape and sizes, some quite spectacular. We had 3 days in Arizona, hot and dry weather. Then on and through Texas. We were only in Texas a short while near sunset, and down came the rain, I mean I had never seen a rain like it, since leaving Britain at age 18. It was truly a wild storm, we were happy to get to a motel for the night.}

^{We arrived at the south coast town where the Feast of Tabernacles would be held. Nothing unusual over that period happened, all enjoyable.}

^{Now our sight were set for Clearwater, Florida.}

^{I well remember entering Florida for the first time; you got to the border of Florida and it was like a wet blanket was throw over you, just that sudden, like stepping into a steam-room, well not as bad as that, but it was hot and damp. We made our way to Clearwater and my wife’s mother’s trailer. We had a nice evening and then went looking for a motel. We found one.}

^{A few days later we see this “duplex” for sale. It was October 1990. The price was a give away price, the duplex was nothing fancy per se but nice and neat. One side we could live in over the winter months and the other side rent out; it was all a win win deal; we bought it, and settled in for the winter. There was a Sabbath church in Clearwater that once was part of the Radio Church of God. That’s where we decided to attend.}

^{We walked into a hornet’s nest.}

^{..............................}

^{CHAPTER SEVENTEEN}

We had arrived in Florida, bought a nice small duplex, on the edge of Clearwater, and we were heading for the Sabbath at a church under the umbrella of The Church of God, International.

CGI was the abbreviated letters it was known by. Now they were a group of ministers and lay members that had left the Radio Church of God about 1979.

The service was over, but not the talking—— their one time minister had moved to another part of the USA; his secular work had transferred him. This “deacon” stood up and ballasted their one time minister; his wife and some others were cheering him on. There was the opposite side voicing their opinion. Back and forth it went like cats on a hot tin roof trying to fight each other. I was shocked that this was happening. I could take it no more and finally told up and said, “I am a minister, and brethren this not the way to be going on, especially immediately after church service, with strangers in the room, like my wife and myself. You should be handling this in private, church members only present” meeting.

Well that got this deacon, and his wife, into more agitation. Within seconds I had become the enemy of this deacon and his wife.

I had no idea what all the rift was about, and at this point I did not want to know.

That service was over and it was clear there were two fractions of this congregation opposed to each other. The CGI office was situated in Tyler, Texas. One of the men there I was equated with. This church rift of course got back to the Tyler office. The man I knew there, told the one time pastor of this CGI church in Clearwater, to get back to them for the next Sabbath service and try to sort out the problem.

The following Sabbath service arrived; their one time minister brought the sermon, I guess he and the Tyler office hoped it would fix things up. It did not. This man deacon and his wife immediately after services, was again accusing this pastor of this and that. The split in the congregation was at it again. It was sad to see nothing had changed. I well remember that pastor leaving very sadly, and going back home to wherever he was now living in the USA.

That local church was now divided over me, the deacon and his wife suspicious I had some secret agenda going on. I told this deacon to his face that I had no agenda at all. We were just visiting for the winter. He did not believe me or did not want to believe me. My wife and I just kept a very low profile from then on out. Some people in the congregation did warm up to us, and over the winter months we invited them over to our home for fellowship and a meal after services. Yet the deacon had his followers would not talk to us. Each Sabbath service you could cut the air with a knife. I sat down and wrote a letter to this deacon explaining again we were not there to do anything but to fellowship with the church on the Sabbath. My letter still never got through to him and his wife. For them they were the “good guys” and we the “bad guys.”

I did write to the man I knew in Tyler [his name was Ron Dart], and told him I had tried talking to this deacon and his wife, to no avail. I did tell him the trouble in this Clearwater church was most definitely being cause by the deacon and his wife.

The months went by, and it was close to Passover time. Ron Dart informed the Clearwater church he would come down and conduct the Passover service and stay for a few days into the Feast of Unleavened Bread and bring a sermon or two. I think the deacon and his wife and their followers, were thinking my wife and I would not show up, because for them we had some secret agenda to do something like take over the church and take it away from the CGI umbrella. Which was utterly ridiculous, but when demons are at work, anything can get twisted around in the minds of people.

Passover service came., so did Ron Dart; so did my wife and I.

The first day of the Feast of Unleavened bread, there were others there from out of town. Ron Dart brought the sermon. After services it was our custom to all mingle and fellowship with each other; we usually had drinks and finger food. At an appropriate time, when Ron did not have a group of people around him. I went to him to talk; we greeted each other warmly and had a conversation. I’m sure most everyone saw that Ron and I were good friends.

Shortly after I had walked back to my wife, a couple came over to us and said, “We are sorry, but we got off to a bad start with you, please forgive us, and can we start over again?”

“Of course we can” I replied.

We were good Christian friends from then on out.

After Ron Dart’s visit a few more warmed up to us; sorry to say the deacon and his wife did not; they were still at loger-heads with us and others, and they still had their group, but now somewhat smaller.

I said to the Lord, “I’ve done what I could, as Jesus said in Matthew 18, if you have problems with your brother. I’ve done it Lord, and now I have to leave it in your hands.”

So it was now Spring time, and time for us to move on.

We decided to go north—— way up to New Brunswick; we’d never been there before, but we knew a few people in the Saint John area. The travel north was uneventful. What was amazing was when we were over the top of New York city on Interstate 95, and I looked over to the city—— it blew my away as to land long the skyline went with sky-scraper buildings, for many miles, truly amazing.

We arrived at the town of Saint John, a town back then of about 75,000 people, with some smaller towns around, close by.

It is a lovely area of Canada, rolling green hills, a river running through Saint John. Fredricton is the capital city of New Brunswick, and driving across country to it from Saint John is just picture perfect, small farms amidst rolling green hills.

We were not sure how long we would stay at Saint John, we would play it by ear as the saying goes. We contacted the people we knew and they were delighted to see us. They gave us a tour of the area. We decided to stay for at least 3 months, and then make a decision if we would move along. As it turned out I meet the young couple who worked in their shoe repair store, in Saint John’s largest mall. And he needed help to keep up with the work. So I found myself offered a job. I decided to take it.

We were into the summer of 1990. Word arrived that my wife’s mother had died. We took off for Ontario, to a town called Orangeville, north and west of Toronto. The funeral was over. My wife inherited $20,000. Back we went to Saint John, New Brunswick. There was a house for sale in the village of Hampton, about 20 minutes from Saint John. It was an income property; a main floor with two bedrooms; and the lower level was two, one bedroom apartments. We bought the house, lived on the main level and rented out the two apartments. All was going well—— then—— the Refinery went on strike. Have to tell you about the Family that pretty well owns New Brunswick—— the Irvin family; they are the richest family in Canada. They started off with Grandpa’s having a corner gas station, and slowly moved up, invested etc. Now 4 generations later they own New Brunswick, in the number of businesses they own and the number of people they employ. The Refinery they own; the Ship building docks they own; they are into Forestry; into Potato Chips; they are into Oil; they build ship tankers to carry their oil around the world.

The Refinery goes on strike for reasons I never found out. It went on for some months, when people were going to loose their homes the Union caved in. The Refinery is back to work. Then the Ship building docks goes on strike. Now that reason I do know after talking to a carpenter in another Union, who worked on the ships. I was asking him why that particular Union went on strike. He told me, “Keith the Irvin family are very nice people, I’ve worked for some of them doing carpentry work in their homes. They found out that the men in that Union were only working about 4 hours out of their 8 hour shift. And the Irvin’s wanted the right to be able to fire them.”

“What on earth were they doing the other 4 hours—— playing cards in the corner? I kinda jokingly replied.

“That’s exactly what they were doing!” He answered.

He was dead serious, they were doing exactly that, playing cards for hours of their shift.

The Irvin’s told the Union they want to be able to fire such people; the Union said no, and said they would go on strike.

The Irvin’s replied, “You do that, we could care less, we are billionaires, and can have our ships build in Japan.”

Now you talk about some silly, stupid Unions—— that is one classic example.

But the damage to the local economy had been done. The young couple I was working for, they were having a hard time keeping me employed. I finally said to Terry [the man’s name], “Terry, you’ve bent over backwards to keep me employed but I know you just can’t do it any more; lay me off and at least I can collect Unemployment Insurance. Terry said thanks Keith, and so I was out of secular work.

The shipbuilding Union lost their fight; the Irvin’s got to fire those bumps who would not work their full shift.

I was out of work again. We had our income home, so we were okay.

It was now close to the fall of the year. A man at the age of 82, whom we knew from a local Seventh Day Adventist church, called us and said, “I hear you have a duplex in Florida with one side vacant. How about you taking me there for the winter months and I pay you for looking after me?”

We thought about it for a day, and told him yes we would do that.

So once more we were back in Clearwater, Florida.

We arrived at the CGI church for Sabbath services. A man in the parking lot, greeted us really warmly, kinda overly warmly. We got to the church door, and was again greeted with enthusiasm.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard?” One man said to us.

“No, not heard anything,” I replied.

“You know that deacon who had it in for you. Well only about 2 weeks after you left he came down with cancer from head to foot; he was dead within a week!”

My….O my, I was in total shock; I know I told the Lord I would have to leave the situation with Him….. but, my O my, never in my wildest thoughts did I expect that was how He would take care of the problem.

The deacon’s wife was a changed woman, you’d never have known it was the same lady. The atmosphere in the congregation was totally turned to humbleness, it was a 180 degree turn, and smooth humble joyfulness was everywhere evident. So it was, so it came to be in that church.

I’ve never said that prayer again when in uncomfortable situations with anyone, in or not of the Church of God.

We settled down to have a nice warm winter in Forida.

It was January 1991. There was a “For people older that 65” Retreat, not too far away. Our 82 year old man [forgotten his name, we’ll call him Tony], said he’d like to go to it for a week. We drove him there and said, “Have a great time Tony, see you in a week.”

A week later, we picked Tony up, and he had had a wonderful week, indeed so. He was quiet for a while in the car, then said, “I’ve met a lady over the last week; would you mind if I go back to Canada?”

What are you going to say to such a request.

Tony was off back to Canada within a few days.

My wife and I sat at the table and looked at each other and said “Well what are we going to do now?”

The house in New Brunswick was rented out, all three sections.

“You are a shoe maker and orthotic maker; try looking for work here in this part of Florida” said my wife.

So I did. And yes I found work. Now someone in my situation at the time, this is how it worked then in the USA. The Federal Government put an ad in its system for someone of my qualifications, if it was answered the company wanting to hire me had to interview that person. They could refuse that person the job, but had to tell the Feds why. If there was no answer from that ad by the Feds, you then went the next step. The company wanting you, had to put an ad in the local paper, 2 inched by 3 inches; they could say whatever they wanted in the ad. If someone answered the company had to interview them; if they refused the person the company had to tell the Feds why. If no one answered the ad, then the company could hire me, pending a medical.

Not one person every answered the two ads.

I had my medical, passed with flying colours and was now employed in the USA.

There were a number of small churches in south Florida who had left the Radio Church of God at different times, for different reasons. So I was engaged to help them spiritually on the weekly Sabbath and Festival times. One congregation needed a pastor each Sabbath, over Fort Lauderdale way. So for about a year I was their pastor, and travelling from Clearwater to Lauderdale each Sabbath, the church there paying my expenses for travelling and one night in a Motel.

There was a pastor up north and west some, who was very happy to have me come once a month and bring a message and fellowship with them.

The spiritual work was full and rewarding over the 3 years that we lived in Florida, not without a few problems here and there, but when pastoring to a variety of congregations, you very seldom in my experience have no spiritual and physical problems, yet there was nothing of a serious nature to contend with. Not even close to the one I had in Clearwater the first time over that winter of 1990/91.

Florida was not in 1991 a prosperous state of the union, more of a senior retirement state. A young skilled carpenter who did some work on our duplex, told me that for all the skill he had, he could find no work that paid more than $12 an hour.

When you are the last to be employed, you are usually the first to be let go. Over those three years I ended up working for 3 companies.

There was one very good working job I did for the second company I worked for.

This older than middle age man came in to my boss and asked if he had a man who could make him shoes like he was wearing. My boss brought him to see me.

“I understand you are a shoe maker, but can you make shoes like these I’m wearing.”

“Yes I can” I answered.

“I mean really like these, not slipper type shoes, but like these I’m wearing.”

“Yes I can, I am trained in making exactly those type of shoes.”

“Well……. I’ve searched for you all over the USA. Everywhere I go I look in the yellow pages for shoe makers. When I get to see them they tell me they only make slipper type shoes. My shoe maker for many decades has died. I’ve search for you all over the USA. I am so glad to find you.”

I made shoes for him; his name was Jim Lynch. I made an extra cast and one extra upper, to keep for myself. I still have then on display here on my book case. Jim had one short leg about 1 and 1/2 inches shorter than the other. I incorporated a cork build up inside his shoe. I felt blessed to have been able to serve him; and I’m sure he felt blessed to have found me. It was one of those things that was meant to be. I was there when he needed me. God does things like that…..ah you bet He does.

Three years had gone by and jobs had run out on my trade. We heard from the people renting the main upstairs of our house in New Brunswick—— the roof was leaking. It was time to sell up in Florida and head back home to the village of Hampton, in New Brunswick.

…………………………

CHAPER EIGHTEEN

Before saying goodbye to Florida, I will share with you a few more interesting happenings, over the time spent there.

I became quite friendly with a minister around Daytona Beach area.

He was about 5 foot 5 inches tall and of slight build. I was with him one Sabbath when he was baptizing a person much larger than himself. He had the person go backwards under the water, which is I would say, the way all church ministers who baptize with full immersion, do it. I said to him afterwards, “You know there is no instruction in God’s word that says we must have the person being baptized fall backwards under the water; for people who are very large, it is not good to do it that way. I personally have the person I’m baptizing simpley bend their knees and go under the water.”

When I was with him a few weeks later, and he again was baptizing a person, he had them bend their knees and go under the water.

For my next interesting story I will have to back-track some. The so-called “apostle” leader of the Radio Church of God died in January 1986. He gave the baton to a minister that was not known but by only a few. The “new” guy did some changes to policy within a few months, actually changes that I thought were needed for a long time. Changes like the church should get involved in local helpful serving the community, such as “food banks” etc.

But as 4 and 5 years went by there appeared in the Radio Church of God inner magazine [to members only], a long and full article which “did away” with the weekly 7th day Sabbath. Of course this caused a huge tidal way within the organization of ministers and the general congregations. I sat down to answer the arguments of this new leader, which naturally ended up to be a small book, way more than just a counter-article. This was a serious theological subject, and though I had read and answered many people on this subject of the 7th day weekly Sabbath over my lifetime, this new leader had some unique arguments as to the belief the weekly Sabbath was now, today, in the Christian era “done away with.”

You will find my answer to all his arguments on my website under “Sabbath and Feasts of God” section.

Concerning the Sabbath; I had come into contact with a 7th day Sabbath group over Ft. Lauderdale way, above Miami. They were a group from Jamaica. Very British in many ways, as Britain ruled Jamaica for a long time. I learned from them that many streets had British names, but more importantly the educational system was British. All school children had uniforms as a dress code; so it did not matter if the child came from a rich or poor family. In school they all were the same. Most, well I would say all, Jamaicans in the USA are well educated. And hard workers. And they overall do not like the blacks of the USA, they stick to themselves as Jamaicans, and dread the day their children have to go to USA schools.

Now many of the ladies are nurses, or work in the retirement social housing sections of towns. When it comes to the weekly Sabbath, they are most adamant that they will not work from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. And they all have work! This is in contrast to Seventh Day Adventists, who do work on the Sabbath. Now I will say I was pleasantly surprised way back in the 1980s in Oshawa, Ontario, when the now late SDA Dr. Samuele Bacciocchi came to town and in an open forum was asked about doctors and nurses working on the Sabbath day, his answer was, “They should only be on call, and if called in to work, should give the money earned on the Sabbath to charity.”

Well these ladies from Jamaica, they were not about to work on the Sabbath for hospitals or Nursing Homes. And as stated, none of them were out of work.

There is quite the difference in attitude between the black Jamaicans and the general blacks of the USA. I was once in the Jamaican church one Sabbath for the whole day, yes those Jamaicans love the Sabbath day and rejoice in it all day. In the afternoon there was a “sharing” time. Could be anything you wanted to share. Their pianist was as black skinned as coal. He get up and shares this with us all.

“You all know I work for a construction company and I’ve worked along-side this white man for a long time. One day another white man joins us. In time the two white guys are talking about the blacks of America getting into trouble with the law. Then the new white guy finally says to the white fellow I work with, ‘O we better stop talking about the problems blacks have with the law, our man working with us is black.’ The white fellow I work with says, ‘O no he’s not black he’s Jamaican!’”

Well there was quite the laughing at that…..I mean the fellow relating this to us was as black as coal.

The new leadership of the Radio Church of God, wanted to “kick-out” one of the top men, who was close to the so-called “apostle” who had now died. They did do it, he was banished from the membership. Cults do such things, at their whim, for whatever is their reasoning. The guy kicked out was Rod Meredith. He was one of the first half dozen or so to hook up with the “apostle” when the “apostle” was founding a College in Pasadena, California.

So Meredith had no choice but to leave the old organization he had been part of for decades. I wrote to Meredith and told him he now had a chance to “do things right”—— build something based on Bible truths concerning “church government.” He did a few things that gave me hope he would indeed go the correct way, it maybe lasted for about two years, but his organization broke into two fractions that eventually split down the middle and each went their separate ways, and doing things the way the “apostle” ended up doing— being a cult unto themselves.

O yes, before Meredith’s organization broke into two, and ministers were “coming over” into his new organization, I had met this elderly couple. They told me they had been a part of the Radio Church of God, and one of the ministers going over to Meredith’s group was Raymond McNair. Yes I remember him from way back in the 1960s. Now this elderly couple knew he had a book collection of about 2,000 books—— I could hardly believe someone had that many books. The elderly couple knew it would be a huge job to pack up that many books, and they would be willing to help him. Somehow I had McNair’s phone number, I said I would call him and ask him to let them help him [he was moving from Florida to Meredith’s group out California way].

So I called—— McNair’s wife answered; I told her about the elderly couple and they wanting to help him pack. His answer through his wife was—— “I don’t have anything to do with anyone not belonging to Rod Meredith’s church.”

Again how the mind of Cults work!

I’m glad to say, these attitudes have died with the men who had them, they and their attitudes are now 6 feet under as of 2021.

The elderly couple had a son in a certain business, which he did from one of those rental bay compartments; they are different sizes for whatever your needs are. They wanted me to meet their son. I was at the bay meeting him, and seeing what kind of business he was into. Shorty after another young man came by and I was told he once worked for this son. I was talking to him about various things, he mentioned he worked for the City of Ft. Lauderdale. I asked him if he had any trouble entering the USA [he was by sight and sound from South America, but forget now which country], he answered no, as he came under the back seat of his brother’s car through the Canadian border. I then asked how on earth did he get a job working for the City of Ft. Lauderdale. His answer—— “The city has certain jobs that Americans will not take, and also, way too many Americans are not dependable, so the men at city hall decided to look for men who would work and be dependable, with no questions asked.”

There you are—— party how America does things, no matter what the Feds say; of course we’ve heard this from governors of States where Americans will not take the jobs of picking the fruits, or whatever is the harvest.

Canada has the same type of problems, but the Feds are open to allowing them a working visa.

I told you I had put out a magazine called The Truth of the Matter—— I published it for 7 years— 1983 to 1990. I had of course copies of each publication over those years, which amounted to about 6 publications a year. One day I get a letter from the College in Texas, that belonged to the Radio Church of God. They had by now done away with the weekly Sabbath day and all the Feasts of God, and were continuing to march back into Protestantism. Somehow they got wind of my magazine, which answered their arguments of their Protestantism theology. They wanted to have a copy of each magazine for their library. They would pay me whatever amount I would charge them. I suppose they wanted my studies so their students could read the other side of the coin, as to what they were now teaching. I was surprised to say the least, but okay if they wanted all my editions of The Truth of the Matter I wrote back and told them, it would be $200. Within a few weeks I received a check for $200. I copied all the editions and mailed them out to that College.

The College there in Texas was closed, well sold actually, within a few more years, and I have no idea whatever happened to my magazines I sent them; most likely in the burning barrel.

During the last year in Florida, a group of ministers in the Radio Church of God, secretly got together and planned their exist from the now Protestant Radio Church of God. They knew approximately how many “church members” would follow them; it would be in the thousands [it turned out to be about 15,000]. They had the day and month all planned to resign from the Radio Church of God. It was going to be at a set day in 1995. That I will come back to later.

It was also during the last year in Florida, that a theological study came my way. It was to do with counting to Pentecost, when the Feast of Un-leavened Bread started on a Sunday and the last day of that feast would end on the next weekly Sabbath.

We had stated for many years that the rule was you count from the weekly Sabbath that fell during the Unleavened Bread feast. Now the question was what if the weekly Sabbath is the last day of the Unleavened Bread feast. This does not happen but once or twice in a 19 year time cycle. The year 1994 was one of those years.

I figured it was pretty simple, you do not change the rule—— so you count from the day after the weekly Sabbath, which for 1994 would be the Sabbath at the end of the Unleavened Bread feast.

But the problem was most did not want to keep the rule, they figured the counting must start within the feast of Unleavened Bread. But nothing in God’s word says that it must be so.

I was then telling my readers that the Pentecost feast would be such and such a date—— making my date one week later than the majority were going to observe.

While all this was going on I somehow found [cannot remember now how] a writing or study on this by a man called John Ritenbaugh. It was a very detailed study, all arguments answered; he agreed with me. I read some of his other writings over 3 or 4 months and found them to be very fine. He had left the Radio Church of God in 1992. And most of those he had pastored over some years also left with him. He had I think 8 or 9 Elders in his organization called The Church of the Great God.

I was impressed enough to say to John I’d like to attend the Feast of Tabernacles, in San Antonio, Texas, that fall of 1994.

And to my pleasant surprise I was sent one thousand dollars.

It was hot that fall in that part of Texas, but it is a dry heat. One lady said, “O it is so hot” and I replied, “No you don’t know heat until you’ve lived in Florida.”

The people at the Feast were very nice; the Elders were all pleasant, but a few I discovered had a leaning towards the idea that Jesus was going to return by the end of this century, or at least the Great Tribulation would come by the end of this century, and we all know then there is only about 42 months before Jesus will return. I carefully tried to mention that such an idea was not going to happen.

Meeting John Ritenbaugh was more than interesting. We was medium height and of slender build, like myself; he was in private a quiet, if not a shy kind of person. But when he got up to preach behind that pulpit, it was like he did a 180 degree turn. It was not that he became more dynamic, it would have been nice to say that’s what happened, but it was not, it was a 180 degree turn in a worse way; his whole mental mind and his voice behind it, became more of a cult leader. I was shocked and sad that it was so. It was the “apostle” of the Radio Church of God showing up again.

In private he just withered back into his shell, was not talkative, and was just not a relaxed, easy-to-get-along-with guy. Him and I did not socialize much at all during that Feast. He did not put himself out to even give a hint of wanting to socialize.

Yet it was a fine Feast for others did socialize, and I soon got to know those that had the shadow of the “apostle” hanging over them, and just kept away from them.

Over the next years every Elder but John’s son had left him. He is still alive as I write and is of 2021 88 years old.

The Feast of Tabernacles was now over for 1994; my wife and I headed back to Florida, to decide if it was possible to stay there, yet I think deep down we knew the chances were slim, and the roof of our income home up in New Brunswick needed to be re-shingled.

We were on the Interstate that goes above New Orleans. We decided to take the opportunity to go and visit this famous city, famous in my mind for the jazz and musicians playing on the streets.

It was not long before we found that right at that time the ladies, equivalent to the “barbershop quartets” were in town competing against each other, a national competition. And some of them were singing on the street corners or just inside some building; they were practicing for the evenings competition. And of course there were a few jazz bands playing outside in the down town, but not near as many as I thought would be playing, that was disappointing.

We walked to the river, took a look at some of the work barges going about their days activities. We never took notice of realizing the city could be easily flooded if a fierce storm ever came their way [which it did some years later - the storm called Katrina in 2005].

We then made our way to the lower end of down -town. We did not know where we were going, except it was the heart of the city. Then we started to walk north up the main street of the town. It was getting to be sunset, and I said to my wife that we’d better get back to the car, which we knew was to the east.

I said, “Well let’s go this way, on this street heading east.” And so we did.

I had no idea what street we were on. All I knew was it went east. Now the sun was just about fully down. And all of a sudden it seemed, the street was alive with people, and dim lights, redish, bluish, purplish—— then ladies, young, in their 20s, outside doors, all made up with lipstick and the works; they muttered something, but could not make out the words. I then started to look to their left and right and behind them. I was shocked beyond belief, these were night-clubs with live sex on stage. I had heard there were such places in some Europe cities, but I had no idea there were such places in America.

Years later when Katrina blew New Orleans off the map, I had to wonder if God had had enough of sex city.

I was not impressed with New Orleans in any way, there was not even very many playing jazz in the streets.

I was glad to get back to the car and pull out to head for our home in Florida.

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CHAPTER NINETEEN