WOW! I live in the Greater Greenville area and I've always heard that this church is extremely fundamentalist, judgy, sanctimonious and, according to some, 'cultish,' all descriptions (imo) of what a church SHOULD be. Here in the Bible Belt, we have churches galore, but most of them are comprised of decent pastors/ministers (most often Baptist or Methodist) with decent congregations which do nothing to raise eyebrows; the Redemption mega-church is NOT your typical southern church. I personally view 'mega-churches' with some suspicion, as the leader typically has a very nice home and car given to them, paid for with strict 'tithing' (10% of income); too often they become 'cults of personality.' (UGH!)... Anyway, when I first read the BIZARRE accounts of this pastor's diarrhea-mouthed, inappropriate, 'tell-all' address to his congregation, I was shocked that ANYONE could continue to support this man! The Apostolic/Pentacostal faith is far from mainstream and are generally viewed as extremists in many ways, so other Pentacostal ministers supporting this man didn't surprise me.... Most P'costal churches are relatively small, so this man with his mega-congregation (equaling mega dollars) is probably seen as a sort of celebrity to his local peers. They know their practices are often derided and seen by many as just one step away from handling snakes, so of course they cannot afford bad press, meaning of course they will stand together, at least publically. Reading the words of Mr. Ron Carpenter set my 'hinky meter' off from the get-go; seriously, to me his choice of words/descriptions fit right in with the famous quote from 'Hamlet'- as in ole Ron is certainly "protest(ing) too much," as in waaaaaay too much! Even if he truly believed everything he said, that his wife was unfaithful, that she was mentally unstable (his words pretty much infer that she's a raving lunatic, perhaps a nymphomaniac)- there's no getting around the fact that this 'sermon' is an all-out attack on his wife's character. He is making a persuasive speech, using many rhetorical 'tricks' to sway and control his audience's reaction so they will buy his smelly story, he is 'roping 'em in.' He even goads the congregation to collectively 'remember' her decidedly UN-Christian behavior-"YOU'VE seen it!" And he's sure to (supposedly) quote her shrink as stating her case was the WORST- worst what?!- adding no diagnosis, no treatment plan, no message from her, no contact info so his flock could send supportive cards and well-wishes to his wife in her time of need, no prayer circles and so on and now she has to get help for a YEAR somewhere OUT OF STATE because why exactly? I don't exactly get the feeling that this church has a large number of Ph.D's in its pews! I mean, who is dumb enough to fall for this BS? I don't have the text of his 'message' in front of me right now, so I'm going from memory, but didn't he finally get to his real points, all two of them? First he makes clear that he WILL NOT be accepting her back as a wife (seeing as how she's such a major *advertiser censored*, I guess, acc. to him and the 'doctor') and all I'm thinking is WHERE'S THE MISTRESS?? What lovely Christian miss is waiting in the wings to become the new (younger, prettier perhaps?) Mrs. Carpenter when timing permits? Hmmm. Then, as if to answer the question before it's asked, he also informs them that his ho-of-a-wife will NOT be returning to the ministry, at least not his! In so many words ; ) ... How Christian of this 'man of God,' hmmm? He completely ASSASSINATES his wife's character and then does his best to ERASE her from their midst, while blatantly 'sharing' the most slanderous and vile (also personal, private...sacred) dirty details he can get away with without being profane. But make no mistake, he is D-O-N-E with her, he has gotten rid of her and don't expect to see her in church ever, ever again. Sorry for all the caps, but this thread has gotten me seriously worked up! And I haven't yet even touched on questions of is she still alive? If so, doesn't she have family/friends to find her and report back on her safety and well-being, or best of all HER side of this *****storm? Is ANYONE challenging his account of why his wife has disappeared? Is he sneaking around with another woman? I cannot stand phony, misogynistic a-holes but I despise even more the ones who do their dirty work 'in the name of the Lord'! Jesus Christ himself castigated those who scorned the prostitute Mary Magdelene. He made it clear that she was just as worthy of God's love as anyone else. Meanwhile this p***k publicly insists that his wife is basically a *advertiser censored*- he says this IN CHURCH!- how many kids heard that trashy speech??- and apparently everyone at 'Redemption' is still saying that the emperor is fully clothed! Disgusting.
lease: messages from his 'church family' all positive! Here's what I posted (I was surprised I could post on his wall but I could and did- it probably is already deleted!) Anyway, I posted this:
