OK, here is my mini rant. you may skip it if you like
My biggest problem with Ron is this. He seems to be a man who is wrapped up in his image, his pursuit of fame and his prosperity. NONE of these things are things that I think of when I think of a good pastor.
To me, a pastor is there to minister to people and his community. To be there, have real contact with them, work alongside them, to be an actual person there, not just to be some big rockstar on stage telling THEM how to live when you seem to be pretty far removed from the everyday reality of their lives. And especially when his own life seems to have an awful lot of issues going on that he is ignoring or flat out lying about because he won't give up the center stage.
And then
selling them advice on marriage when he KNOWS his own is a sham. Oh but NO!
Most people in difficult times like these would ask for privacy, take leave and get their house in order, get right with God and their spouse and THEN they may be ready to get back into the rest of life.
But not Ron. In his own words to his congregation after his confession of the wreck of his life , he told them "
Let me heal in front of you". WHY? It does NOT serve the congregation to have him and all his long simmering issues and his obviously needy, attention hungry personality to be the focus of it. It only serves him.
He needs to step down till he gets his life in order or just step away. He loses credibility with each minute that he continues to talk, preach and try to convince us of stuff when we now know that he has been flat out LYING for at least 10 years.
He should have just quietly took a sabbatical and handled things, even if it was a divorce. After all, he and Hope have been preaching for 25 years. Why wouldn't he take a few months or a year of his life and just devote it to his wife. Let her just be a wife for a year, not be in the public eye and living up to everyone elses expectations.
I don't think they really ever were just husband and wife. There was always the pursuit of a church and congregation driving him. He was never home and if he was, he was probably tired or still doing churchy stuff like calls, sermons, etc. i get it, it is a full time job.
I have put a lot of time into looking up stuff on this church and it's practices and I am appalled at what a racket it is. It's basically a lot like a multi level marketing scheme for God.
And this prosperity gospel? I don't like it. I don't have anything against people having money but I don;t like greed, I don;t like hawking products that people don't need to people that cant afford them.
From what i see, Ron will never have enough. he preaches, sells his sermons to other churches for a hefty price, has another business ordaining people (and expects them to go out and preach and still tithe to him, heck, you can even open your OWN branch of RWOC if you have all of the money, building, business plan and you PAY HIM. he expects those profits!! It's basically like buying a franchise.
All I can see is that it is NOT about God really. Not at all... And that is freaking sad and disgusting. It's a disgrace.
And i think Hope is safe and hiding out. It is all coming out now. I know she isn't perfect, i never did think that.
Just drop the microphone and step away from the camera Ron. before you do even more damage to your already very deluded and disillusioned congregation.
But I do have to thank Ron for the education in the prosperity gospel. It has been quite enlightening.
