I have heard of stealing sheep, but the whole church? This is ridiculous.
For nearly a decade, members of Ripon's [CA] First Congregational Church bared their souls to Pastor Randall Radic. But clearly it didn't work both ways. There were certain things he wasn't telling them.That became obvious a year ago, when Radic pleaded guilty to betraying his flock and secretly selling the church and its rectory out from under them. He used the money to buy himself a brand-new black BMW and a laptop...
[...]
"This is a town with a lot of faith," said Navid Fardanesh, president of the Ripon Chamber of Commerce. "People had a lot of trust in him, and unfortunately he took advantage of the situation."
First, Radic faked documents giving him possession of the parsonage, and used the property to take out about $200,000 in personal loans, prosecutors said. Then he forged papers saying he had the power to sell the church, and sold it to a couple for $525,000.
I do not know what to find most extraordinary...this pastor's bravado; the naivety of the couple who bought the property; or the fact that the new pastor lives in a motor home. You can read the whole AP report here.
(HT: Ken Fields)
8 comments:
Hmmm... Can you say no accountability???
Yes, no accountability, but what disturbs me even more is the evil heart of this man who set the mechanisms in place for this thing to happen; the building up of trust intentionally to deceive, the love of filthy gain, and the deliberate taking advantage of the goodwill of God's people.
Sigh.
Thanks for dropping by.
I agree, this is awful.
I wonder if this was actually something that this man went into with the intent of taking advantage of these people all along... That's hard to imagine. I would think that if you were this blantantly dishonest you could make more money in the secular marketplace. That's what makes me wonder about his original intentions.
Be blessed...
Brandon
Brandon,
Those were some of my initial thoughts as well. It is hard to believe that a pastor would stoop so low. I think he fits the description of the hireling pretty well.
Thanks for the follow-up!
It's almost scary to think that a pastor can fall this far away...But I guess that's why God gave us Judas' example. When Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray Him, they all said, "Is it I?"... Perhaps we should all be mindful of that and keep our guard up lest we too fall to the temptations of the world, the flesh or the devil...
It's sad to think about how God might have used this man in this town... What a shame. I never read the AP link, was he repentant or does it say?
Thanks again for the dialog.
Be blessed...
Brandon
He was far from repentant!
Get this--he gained a fellow inmate's trust and then used it against him, persuading him to confess to a murder and then used it against him to enter a plea bargain. He will testify against the guy and get off pretty much scot-free.
Last month he signed a book deal chronicling this stage in his life, kind of a memoir.
That leads me to believe that he planned it all from the beginning...I mean, he will profit from his sinful behavior.
I guess we should file this under let's just see how stupid we can make God's people look or like Ken Fields said, why people don't trust church leadership.
Oh; his lawyer said he was remorseful and regretful. Of course he did!
Good grief!
Wow... Sounds like a pattern of manipulation for ill gain. Apparently it doesn't matter if it's the church or a fellow inmate, everyone is fair game.
I hope he gets everything he wants from all of his exploits. They will cost him far more than he ever plans to pay.
Be blessed...
Brandon
Brandon,
You are correct my new friend, his sin will cost him much more than he desires to pay.
Thanks for the follow-up. Blessings...
Post a Comment