Another True Testimony / Horror Story From Yet Another Abused NTCC Victim

Original post 3/11/09

This sign should be posted over the front door to a good many New Testament Christian Church entrances.

Thread #4 Jeff wrote...

I talked to Truly Free for a long time today. He has elected to post under the screen name Truly Free for a very valid reason that I will keep confidential. A link to his original post is here: http://truestoriesoflifeinthentcc.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-am-interested-in-having-folks-tell-of.html

Truly Free has given me authorization to edit and re-post his message on the blogs homepage. He will read it and if there are any inaccuracies he will call me and I will change the message to reflect all accurate information immediately. My memory is good and I suspect that won't be necessary. This is a terrible story that needs to be posted with the hopes that it can be used to persuade folks to keep clear of this thoroughly destructive organization; namely the NTCC.

Truly Free said...

To expound on my last post (and this will surely give me away, but I know who protects me) I was one of the only naval officers in the NTCC church so I was a rare breed. Basically, like most of the young GIs they scout out; I was at my lowest point and romanced into the church and got saved. I had no idea what their agenda was until about a year in. I was convinced this was the only way.

My wife and I were attending services with the NTCC in Atlanta Georgia and that is where the real abuse happened. My wife was beaten almost every service from behind the pulpit about pride, and who does she think she is because she's smart. We were hammered for ever being a few dollars shy on the almighty tithe and offering! It was preached over, and over about how the woman were supposed to stay at home, and not work. That is until they found out how much money my wife made. ($$$)

All of a sudden the local pastor said that he contacted Graham and the NTCC leadership had decided to make an exception to the rule for her to work. When my time to relocate for the military came, I was asked by the NTCC pastor, to leave my wife behind for 2 YEARS to continue to work and pay the tithe and offering while doing Sunday school. The pastor’s wife didn't like teaching in the Sunday school so at all costs the pastor attempted to always have someone else in that position, even if it meant separating me and my wife for 2 years. Of course he needed the extra tithe money from my wife’s income because the church was going through financial difficulties having recently lost many tithe paying church members.

The pastor would tell me about personal counseling secessions that he had with other church members in an attempt to discredit the individuals that he spoke of. It was not my business to hear all about folks personal affairs that had been addressed in confidence with the pastor. That just let me know that he would tell folks about my personal business also. I lost complete confidence and respect for him.

Before I even left to go oversees, the pastor said that he wanted me to start an oversees ministry, and send the tithe money back to HIM in Georgia. He wanted me to help him start a group of serviceman’s homes targeting the Navy and he would be the overseer, receive all the tithe money and I would report to him exclusively until the NTCC sent someone else over there. I was a pretty good soul winner so I guess the pastor thought I could actually pull it off.

When I returned to the US I bumped into an NTCC minister, who I thought was a friend, who spread around, that it looked like the devil got the best of both of us. At first when I left I was told by Mr. Abusive himself that if I left him I would be right back out into the world.

Truly Free

The Spin Doctor, MCK

Original thread posted on 3-6-09.

Thread #2 I posted a comment on Mike Kekel’s blog about two days ago. It has not shown up yet. Now with that being said I trust that Mike will post my comment when he gets a little free time. Just so you understand, the practice of blog moderation is similar to the practice of COMMUNISM where folks do not have the freedom of speech and or expression. Communistic governments do not want information spread freely because information empowers the public which is not the goal of a communistic country or state. Freedom of information and speech does not appear to be a goal of Mike Kekel either where his blog is concerned. Mike: We had a discussion on phone the other day and I respect your views regardless of whether or not I agreed with them. I hope you respect my views concerning this subject because I'm convinced they are valid.

I am creating this thread as a place for people to suggest topics that they desire to have started. I will try my best to start the topic within no more than one day from the date the suggestion is made.

For example, if you desire to see a topic titled; "Why I left the NTCC" or "Why I remain a part of the NTCC", then I will quickly start that thread. I gladly solicit input from all parties. It does not matter if you are currently with the NTCC or not. The only thing that I request is that you have been a part of the NTCC at one time or another.

I want everyone to understand that they have the liberty to assist me in building this blog. That is exactly why I am requesting suggestions for threat topics. It could be a very effective tool used to distribute information if folks would give me input, because I can use all the help I can get.

Update 6-21-2010: Over a year has gone by and my comment still hasn't been posted on Mike's blog. The spin doctor posts what benefits him and more specifically the NTCC and you can be certain that my comment would not benefit either.

Thank you

Jeff

Recirculation And Recycling Are Good Practices

That is exactly what I plan to do with these old threads; start them all over again. There is hardly anything new that hasn't been discussed anyway. So I plan to take the oldest threats and systematically move them back to the top. As you see I've already started with the 1st thread. If anyone has any ideas concerning new threads I'm all ears, but for now, (unless something else of interest comes up) I will be recycling the old threads.

Jeff

Graduation Day

Today is a very big day in the life of Mike Kekel's son; High School Graduation. It will be interesting to see what he is going to do after high school. Does anyone know? Of course for approximately the last 30 years or more the NTCC leadership has categorically stated that New Testament Christian Church parents were a complete failure if their children didn't attend the NTCS after they graduated high school. That is if they graduated at all. Just ask L.D. Jones; his daughter didn't graduate high school. Of course L.D. would explain away the whole thing by reminding folks that his child was a "GIRL". The NTCC has no problem with keeping women in a perpetual non-educated condition.

Mike Kekel has recently attempted to justify secular college attendance for obviously no other reason than to grease the skids for his son's potential slide into such institutions. It's just so sad that so many other NTCC parents were guilt tripped into refusing advanced schooling as even an option for their children whether they were a boy or girl. Let's just see if GK attends the NTCS? M. Kekel will probably come up with some crazy response along the lines that his son already graduated the NTCS by default, (due to all his church attendance) or he will be attending the NTCS by correspondence or Tanya the great NTCS professor has already instructed her son in all spiritual matters through private tutoring. Nevertheless any explanation or the lack thereof should be interesting.

Jeff

What kind of experiences did you have in the NTCC?

NTCC churches have a history of being run like "prisoner of war camps".

Thread #1 I am interested in having folks tell of specific instances where they have been unnecessarily, verbally abused by Pastors while attending church services with the NTCC. I am specifically looking for examples of abuse while church service was actually being conducted.

The reason that I am starting my blog with this particular topic is because I feel that the specific practice of "verbal abuse” is the most common mistreatment of church members inflicted by NTCC Pastors. The very practice incorporated by NTCC Pastors, of deliberately using their pulpit as a means to verbally attack their church members, is totally unacceptably. It is one of the primary reasons that my family left the NTCC permanently.

I will start this thread by giving my own personal testimony.

My wife was a Sunday school teacher in Atlanta Georgia while Mr. Mayers was the pastor. She was clearly the most faithful and organized of the few Sunday school teachers in the Atlanta so called "church". Mr. Mayers would hold evening meetings with the few Sunday school teachers regularly, and in the process of the meetings, he would consistently have grievances with the Sunday school teachers conduct. Now my wife has taught College ROTC and she has been a full time first Grade teacher having never been reprimanded by any her supervisors to my knowledge, but Mayers would constantly find something wrong with what she and all the other teachers were doing. Plainly put he was impossible to please.

He wouldn’t even allow me in the church building and I would have to stand outside, late in the evening and in the cold while the meetings were being conducted. He obviously didn’t want me to hear what was going on because I would take up for my wife and he didn’t like that one bit. My wife got sick and tired of his critiques to the degree that she no longer wanted to teach Sunday school in his church and I didn’t blame her. The other problem was that he had a married couple, who were both NTCC ministers, (the Cantrells) who would also teach, and the pastor would hold them to a different set of standards than he did my wife and the rest of the ladies.

I called him to give notification that my wife would no longer be teaching Sunday school in his church. What ensued next were THREE consecutive services where he point blank blasted my wife directly until my wife finally decided to continue Sunday school teaching in his church once again. His statement once my wife gave in was. “Now I can stop preaching”. What he meant was that he was "preaching" at my wife while telling her off from behind the pulpit. Shortly after this encounter we left his church for good.

This was a perfect example of an NTCC pastor who regularly used his pulpit to verbally abuse his church members who wouldn’t conform to his “double standards”. I look forward to reading your examples of the same type mistreatment. I'm sure mine is not an isolated incident.

Jeff

Original post 3/5/09

Mike Trusts His Pastors About As Much As I Trust Mike (Which Is Very Little)

An NTCC dude being used like a puppet. "Send your wife over to Mikes place to clean his bathroom." "Make sure she washes his dirty underwear also, Brother".

Mike wrote this on his blog...

"If you weren't envious, you wouldn't complain about what others have, sorry. There have been no Escrow accounts disappearing, and I get a weekly balance sheet showing what the churches hold. It's all right there, on deposit in each church's name. Just because it isn't available for any pastor to walk off with, (which is what they are designed to prevent and have proven effective) doesn't mean it disappeared. None of it goes to the Graham church, only the books are kept here. How would you have any knowledge of that, and why are you making a statement like that without basis? How much did you personally sacrifice?"

Jeff said...

Your reasoning is flawed Mike. Complaining about shady or questionable money handling procedures does not equate to someone being envious. Is a DA envious because he or she decided to question a millionaire in the MOB for example? Were the people envious who questioned the manipulators in the Enron Scandal who had planned and executed accounting fraud?

Was Vic Johanson envious when he asked your father in law (RWD) when the $10,000 was going to be restored to the church in Alaska right before your father in law replied "when the time is right". Was it ever restored?

Envy has nothing to do with it. That is just your super spiritual attack rhetoric that has been commonly used against anyone who questions any NTCC leader.

You seem to expect folks to never question you simply because of your holiness title which you believe should naturally result in everyone taking your word as gospel. If you don't trust your pastors then why in the world should we trust you? I'm not looking for an answer to that question because it was rhetorical and the answer is obvious. Folks shouldn't trust you no more than you trust your pastors which obviously isn't very much.

You actually insulted your pastors when you suggested that the escrow accounts were set up to prevent some renegade pastor from running away with the NTCC's precious money. Once again, this is what you wrote Mike:

"Just because it isn't available for any pastor to walk off with, (which is what they are designed to prevent and have proven effective) doesn't mean it disappeared."

The word "disappeared" in this case is just a figure of speech anyway and you know it Mike.

So you have so little confidence in your pastors who are supposed to be the example of truth and justice, that you had to create a counter measure designed to prevent them from running off with the NTCC's money? Do you consider yourself to be that much more trust worthy then they? Where is the counter measure that is set up to prevent you or your fellow partners from simply using the money for your own personal wants and desires i.e. "to disappear"? You obviously don't trust them but you expect people like myself to trust you? Is that some kind of joke? That is the problem Mike. You and your pastors treat folks as though they are so far below you and you guys can't even help yourselves from acting like that. You've been doing it so long it has become your nature and it is sickening. Essentially what you are saying Mike is: "Trust me because I'm the big cheese at Graham who is RWDs son in law but don't expect me to trust you and this escrow account is designed to keep you in check "PASTOR".

You also said that Casey ran off to Florida to play Golf. When did that take place Mike? Even if he did, is that any different then the Mayers running off to Flordia to go to Disney World or Universal Studios and Mayers wife having pictures of herself posted on the internet with fingernail polish and toenail polish? You want to highlight info on someone who has left your church but I don't see you highlighting the Mayers trip to Florida? Oh I almost forgot. Mayers made good money for your church (for a while) so he gets a break and his trip to Florida was OK. I remember when the money dried up in his church also and he started taking up more than one offering to pay the rent. Also, I saw the nail polish picture with my own eyes and there is no need to question my integrity. For the record I could care less what she wore or wears on her nails but I wasn't the wife of the guy who was preaching people into hell for the exact same adornment. It ain't like Mayers didn't see it. You guys are a bunch a double standard hypocrites.

I like the way that clown wrote on your blog that I made a deal with the devil. When are you and your zombies going to get tired of using all this NTCC, super spiritual, mumbo jumbo rhetoric? Exposing you and your crooked, abusive pastors has nothing to do with the devil. Many of your pastors act like the devil but I didn't have to make a deal with the devil to figure that out. The devil didn't ask me to report the NTCCs crooked deeds either. I've never spoke to the old dude. The devil probably has more decency than some of your abusive, control monger pastors who you've done little or nothing to stop. Have you forgot Mike that you admitted to me on the phone that some of your pastors are in fact abusive? Oh but it's ok as long as you ain't the one on the other side of the pulpit. The old devil would probably rather I didn't expose you guys because he is having a ball watching you guys use people while you Mike Kekel twist the truth while willfully telling outright lies.

Jeff

How Things Change

It's funny how soon folks forget and then the change takes place.

Mr. Kekel has decided to try and capitalize on some favorable comments made by Nellashara on his blog. When I say favorable, I mean comments that reflect favorably upon the NTCC. He wants to exploit her as the forgiving kind the likes of which he suggests we all should be. Now to Kekels credit, he did apologize to her. So is that proof that the almighty NTCC was wrong? Couldn't be. Read the statement below and you decide. Well the funny part is that it was on the 27 of May, nearly one year ago that Nellashara wrote the statement found below right here on this blog, and of course it is archived for all to read. A link to the thread can be found directly below.

http://truestoriesoflifeinthentcc.blogspot.com/2009/05/fort-riley-and-junction-city-kansas.html

On the 27th of May, 2009, on this blog, Nellashara wrote:

Dawn,
I think we had a somewhat similar experience..except mine under Rev Boles.

He was abusive. He told us we were a dry church, because we didn't clap and yell at every word he said. We were "punished" with soul-winning and revivals because we didn't bring enough people to church. Who then were run off. Your contacts looked a you as being a friend and couldn't understand why you would bring them to a service to be verbally assaulted. Bro Jeff...that was the worst feeling in the world. I still feel some guilt over it.

He called one sister a whore in service in front of her husband because she disagreed with the standards. He told us who to talk to and when...(not that we listened) If your spouse left the church, you were to treat them in such a manner that would cause them to divorce you. Dude I really thought he was looking on the back of a cereal box and making this up!

We had multiple meetings with him...still didn't change. Then finally he said "Folks this is what I was taught.." I saw the look on his face. He was sincere, frustrated...something clicked I began to feel sorry for him. He was truly repentant...yet he could not understand what he did wrong.

It was a very painful time in my life.

Jeff wrote...

That statement was certainly highly unfavorable where the NTCC is concerned and how things have changed. It was one of the most scathing statements written about the NTCC right here on this blog to this very day. Now for the record, I understand why Nellashara has decided to move past all that and I can respect her decision. That doesn't mean I take the same stance because obviously and justifiably I don't. There have been too many times that similar treatment was dished out by NTCC pastors in addition to (Boles the Jerk), for me to simply forget and not warn others to avoid such abuse. How do you avoid such abuse? Simply don't go to the NTCC for any reason. There is no way on Gods green earth that I will ignore such abuse knowing fully good and well that it continues to go on within the NTCC. Nellashara can move on, and be the good Samaritan, and speak favorably about the NTCC, but I'm not the one, and I haven't forgot nor will I. The NTCC is one seriously sorry organization masquerading as a church.

And by the way; these NTCC traveling revival ministers often act like "Prima Donnas". "I want my coffee fixed just like this". "I want my food fixed just like this". "The Home needs to look just like this". "Sister, you need to fold the towels just like this". I saw so much of that stuff it practically made me puke. It was more then just making things nice for the so called "man of God". It was egotistical, Prima Donnaism and it was expected.

If you want to have it "your way" go to Burger King you pompous Prima Donna and get up and fix your own coffee or drink it the way I fix it and be happy about it. Half of those guys just want to be catered to and it's flat out disgusting and I witnessed it just about every single time they came by the serviceman's home. Taking up all these special offerings for the traveling minister when the NTCC INC is nothing but a cash cow and the local pastor and three quarters of his church members are essentially broke. The NTCC INC should pay for their travel and "ALL" expenses. BLAAAAAT. That was me puking up dinner cause it makes me sick.

Jeff