On the Pastoral Visits

I said to myself that this year I want to focus more on myself and my family rather than getting upset at the Church Leadership’s mismanagement but then it dawned on me that all their corrupt actions do affect me and my family. Every new vehicle they get, every shopping spree they go on and every family they expel does affect me. It affects my faith. It affects my service to God because it makes me angry and this is not the way to serve Him.

I try to not let these bother me but I think of the millions of hard working brethren who toil day in and day out, especially in the Philippines, where the average labourer earns less than $5.00 U.S. a day. And yet the Church Administration has the audacity to give away cars to Ministers while those gave the offerings walk.  And most especially the Man himself, the Administrator, EVM, jets about in his gargantuan Airbus. So let’s discuss this today if all these travels are truly justifiable.

Let’s be fair now. This is not about jealousy or bitterness. We will be logical and merely calculate numbers since the Administrator himself loves statistics.

Here is the premise: EVM travels all around the world with his family, his posse, mobile media coverage and all other cohorts because he wants to “visit” the brethren. Fine.  “Solicitous concern.” Or is it really? Is it really a Pastoral Visit or just a tour of the world?  Let us analyse this.

In 2016, EVM “visited” congregations outside the Philippines for  20 out of the 52 weeks.

• January 3 – Cambodia
• Feb 13 – Fremont
• Feb 20 – Bakersfield
• Feb 27 – Lubbock Texas
• Mar 5 – South Jacksonville Florida
• Mar 12 – Jersey City, NJ
• Mar 19 – Regina Canada
• Mar 31 – Jerusalem
• Apr 3 – Nicosia, Cyprus
• Apr 9 – Okinawa, Japan
• July 30 – Christchurch NZ
• Aug 7 – Sydney Australia
• Aug 20 – Johannesburg S. Africa
• Aug 27 – Cape Town, S. Africa
• Sept 3 – Fukuoka Japan
• Sept 10 – Gunma Japan
• Oct 16 – Hong Kong
• Oct 22 – Taichung Taiwan
• Oct 29 – Hamamatsu Japan
• Nov 5 – Chiba Japan

That means he was outside the Philippines for almost half the year. What’s wrong with that, you say? THINK CAREFULLY. If his motive is to really visit the brethren then should he not be visiting places where most of them are?

Do you know where the majority of the Church members are? That’s right, PHILIPPINES! The islands of the sea in the Far East. How much of the majority? Of the estimated 2 million total membership, those outside the Philippines does not even make 200,000.  That’s less than 10%!!

If you still don’t get it, let me put it this way; EVM is travelling AWAY from the 90 percent of the Church members for half of the year. Is that really concern for the flock?  Sounds like a rich man’s vacation to me

And how does he start the new year? In Brazil where there are less than 50 members. He will preach to them for about 1 hour, shake hands and then disappear for 6 days again.

Ah the life of the flying Shepherd is never done.

(SIDE COMMENT 1; Bro. EGM used to attend mid-week Worship Services in the Temple to listen to new Evangelical workers. Where does EVM go during the mid-week?)

(SIDE COMMENT #2; How does EVM start the New Year? Brazil…Mountain View California… up next… Illinois…shh! It’s a SECRET!)

“You eat the fat sheep and use their wool to make clothes for yourselves. You kill the fat sheep, but you don’t feed the flock. You have not made the weak strong. You have not cared for the sick sheep. You have not put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. Some of the sheep wandered away, and you did not go get them and bring them back. You did not go to look for the lost sheep. No, you were cruel and severe—that’s the way you tried to lead the sheep!

 “‘And now the sheep are scattered because there was no shepherd. They became food for every wild animal, so they were scattered.

Ezekiel 34:3-5Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)