RCG’s $500,000 Eyesore
September 2, 2022 | by Marc Cebrian
Dear Members of The Restored Church of God,
Your fundraising efforts ARE making a difference!
God’s people have been so creative with how they raise funds for The Work, it brings a tear to Kenneth M. Orel’s eyes. Yes, even the Chicago Heavy has a soft spot when it comes to money.
What an inspiring show of faith and determination when senior citizens knit doilies to sell. Ladies create their own cookbooks. Some make jewelry. Congregations organize swap meets together. Do not forget about those lucrative garage sales.
If you searched between your couch cushions with a flashlight or combed the beach with a metal detector to help out during the August Loose Change Challenge, David C. Pack salutes you. Every penny helps grow The Work. But you better give more than a penny.
A mother of four daughters sold her children’s winter clothes and gave the funds to The Restored Church of God because she fully expected Jesus Christ to return during the Feast of Tabernacles as Pastor General David C. Pack said. In 2019. When winter rolled around, her fellow Canadian brethren collected their spare winter clothes and donated them to that family.
This same woman was expelled from RCG when she did not spend her third tithe assistance “appropriately.” She begged them to let her come back. Headquarters chose judgment over mercy and pressured the field minister to abide by their decision. Then she died of cancer.
Her name is Manon Chaisson and her daughters are delightful. Real lights in this world. This story illustrates the destructive “fruit” of what David C. Pack teaches.
[Edit: Manon was re-instated as a RCG member just before she died thanks to the mercy of a field minister who advocated on her behalf.]
Common is taught as a “command of God” and all members are expected to give as much as possible to RCG so that the Work of God can continue to thrive. David C. Pack has said in the past that reverse mortgages and taking out loans for the sake of giving more to RCG are "okay." Your salvation is tied to Common and members of RCG take it seriously. I certainly did.
We should acknowledge these other unsung heroes of “cheerful giving.”
• Those who “gave all” of their Common just before the imminent return of Jesus Christ on May 30th.
• Those who “gave all again” just before the imminent return of Jesus Christ on Pentecost, June 5th.
• Those who “gave all again even more” before the imminent return of Jesus Christ throughout July.
• Those who “gave all again even more again” before the imminent return of Jesus Christ throughout August.
All of that money is going exactly where you would expect it to.
Not really. But that sure sounds nice.
It would be unfair to acknowledge the faithless, greedy wretches who have been holding back their own money waiting to see if the Day of the Lord really occurs on the Feast of Trumpets later this month. Perhaps they are waiting to see if David C. Pack changes his tune. Again.
In early August, I received word from members of the Wadsworth community that RCG was selling their property at 799 Hartman Road for $269,900. At that time, I published the article, Is RCG Strapped For Cash?
Update: This house listed as “closed” on Zillow for $280,000 on September 9.
After the article went live, I was notified of an even greater story that filled in the blanks. This has now been substantiated.
The big question: Did they WANT to sell the property or did they NEED to?
The answer: They NEEDED to.
The fruit of the membership’s generosity and tireless efforts have reaped a tangible reward. The Campus is now able to welcome a new addition to the RCG Family. No, not a future God being.
The Restored Church of God just purchased the property at 786 Akron Road for $500,000.
It was listed at $600,000 but Dave said, “Come on, man, we’re just a tiny little nonprofit. We can only afford a half of a million dollars. Do you think money grows on brethren?”
How does a $500,000 house on Akron Road help RCG? How does a $500,000 house support the Work of God? Does this $500,000 house assist in preaching the gospel? How will all the brethren across the world benefit from this $500,000 house?
The single logic-rich answer is the same for all of these questions.
This house will be as useful as the horses are.
Since this is no turn-key property, do not let your fundraising efforts wax dull. There is still a lot of work yet to do! Be not weary with well-doing. After all, have you seen the outside?
Yikes. The entire exterior will need to be replaced and that will not be for free.
The good news in all of this is that David C. Pack will no longer have to suffer an eyesore during his evening walks.
The property line is visible in aerial shots where the well-manicured Campus grass ends and 786 Akron Road overgrowth begins. That has been a thorn in the flesh of David C. Pack for years. That one sight was a source of constant irritation.
If only he could get those people to make the lawn and tree line look better, the Campus would be even more “millennial.” RCG even offered to the previous owner that they would maintain the grounds for free. That offer was rejected. Maybe just to spite them. Only they know for sure.
Dave wanted this house to get a more-perfect lawn and a more-pleasing tree line. That is all. Having a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house in the mix is just the cost of doing business.
Looking at that ugly line in the grass for years is enough to piss off anyone. Paying a half-million dollars seems like small potatoes compared to having that eyesore dealt with. Especially when it is funded by the sacrifices of brethren via bank loans.
Maybe in Dave’s mind having evenly cut grass all the way to the corners will help get members of The Restored Church of God closer to the Kingdom of God. Ha. He has never thought that.
For someone to claim they are God’s servant and then take the hard-earned and faithfully-given money of church members so he can have a trimmed lawn really takes gall to the level of spectacular. Maybe even craptacular.
The purchase of this property is a three-fold abomination.
First and foremost, it is solely a David C. Pack vanity project. He has coveted this property for years and the men close to him at Headquarters know it. Dave likes to “win” at all costs and having the previous owners accept a check from him is a feather in his cap.
Rest assured, he was the only one at Headquarters pushing for this deal. My poor friend Carl is probably losing sleep over the situation. Plenty of Tums are being passed around the Business and Accounting Office these days.
Secondly, it is a faithless and hypocritical act on the part of The Restored Church of God leadership. The bid for the house was placed on July 20, 2022.
What was going on in RCG right before this date? Well, I am glad you asked.
David C. Pack said this three days before The Restored Church of God put a bid on the property.
Part 382 – July 17, 2022
@ 09:38 …and I’m gonna tell you why I still believe that Jesus Christ may just be, in essence, hours away…brethren, you cannot change July 28th…about eleven and a half days from now.
He was teaching that Jesus Christ was “hours away” and that the Day of the Lord would occur on July 28. Eight days after the bid was placed.
David C. Pack did not believe what he was preaching. That should be one of the dozens of red flags for the members of RCG.
Thirdly and most importantly, to put a bid on a $500,000 property, you have to make sure you have the funds to cover it and secure the bank loan. Who did all of that? The brethren.
As of September 1, the property was listed on the M. C. Real Estate website for 78 days. Using a calendar and counting (as Dave can appreciate), you land on its listing on June 15.
Why does June 15 sound so familiar?
It was the day after a “Jesus Christ is returning” failure during the Ministerial Conference. You know, the one after May 15, May 30, and June 5 all also failed to produce anything of substance.
Here is another reason June 15 rings a bell. It is probably just a crazy coinkydink.
Part 378 – June 15, 2022
@ 30:57 But I would just say to all of God’s people, you know, you’re gonna hafta sell all.@ 32:10 And God’s people around the world, I’m telling you, if you’re sitting on funds, don’t! You’re gonna lose it soon after, anyway. So, why not gain eternal life with it?
David C. Pack has often tied eternal salvation with Common even though the Bible never does. Some unbelieving skeptics may suggest that Common is “buying your way into heaven” which is a call-back to what the Catholic Church did for centuries.
He urged the brethren to give Common immediately so they could “gain eternal life.”
Where did that money go?
David C. Pack used Common and
Pentecost offerings to buy a house.
Let that sink in.
When you connect the dots, the events look something like this:
• On May 28 during Part 371, David C. Pack pushes Common with Pentecost approaching so that he could pump up that Holy Day offering.
• On June 15 during Part 378, he pushes Common again while telling the brethren that Jesus Christ was returning soon and their salvation depended upon them taking action.
• On July 17, he tells the church that the Day of the Lord is July 28th and Jesus Christ was only “hours away.”
• On July 20, RCG submits a $500,000 offer on the 786 Akron Road property.
• On August 4, RCG puts the house at 799 Hartman Road up for sale at $269,900.
• On August 31, RCG begins work on the 786 Akron property after closing the deal.
• On September 2, the 799 Hartman Road house is vacated.
• On September 9, the 799 Hartman Road house is listed as closed.
Hopefully, that helps to put this house-purchasing situation in the "proper perspective."
The Restored Church of God is now revealed to be not as financially sound as Dave and the Enabler-in-Chief would have you believe. They have just exposed their precarious financial situation. They HAD to sell the Hartman house to purchase the Akron house. Period.
Not enough cash on hand. Not enough reserves under the mattress. Not enough “Scout’s honor” promises for the bank. They sacrificed one house for the sake of another.
David C. Pack has passed the Rubicon. This current development exposes that RCG has reached its purchasing power cap. The Campus expansion has come to an end.
Here are some reasonable scenarios. The bank could have told RCG:
“We will not give you any more loans unless you can provide more funds to cover the new property.”
Selling one house helps pay for the other.
“We will cover the purchase, but not extend the loan to cover the remodel and landscaping.”
Despite spending a half-million dollars, the house still needs a lot of remodeling inside and out. None of it is up to the current “RCG standard” and will take tens of thousands of dollars to do. So, they sell one entire house to fix up the other.
“You have maxed out your line of credit.”
RCG has to put more money down on the house than they would have liked and needed the Hartman house to decrease the loan amount. A hand-shake overlap was allowed so that the sold house did not need to close before the purchased house.
Or perhaps the pressure was internal.
“Mr. Pack, we cannot support that additional cost as an organization.”
Regardless of whether or not the decision was bank-dictated pressure or self-inflicted, the outcome is the same. They have reached their financial saturation point.
The walls of RCG are now set and fixed. They can only recede in the future. Or crumble depending upon how many more Common “big fish” they can land.
This cannot be good from a business standpoint. Try living on maxed credit cards, even with a great job, and see how much economic security that provides.
Ignoring the financial risks, Dave had to have it. What a prime example of how a wise steward handles God’s money.
How many of the brethren did Headquarters call privately and ask, “Hey, can you give a little extra?” The Common Task Force has been on high alert.
If this happened to you during July and early August, then congratulations on your new home. Okay, not YOUR new home.
For those interested in helping The Restored Church of God during these tough financial times, please consider donating and participating in “the blessing” of fundraising.
Increase your efforts, brethren. Look around your home. What can you sell? Gold, jewelry, memorabilia, artwork, furniture, or even clothes. There is still so much left to do for God’s Church at the end of the age.
Why did The Restored Church of God buy this $500,000 property?
To satisfy the arrogant covetousness of one man.
And because of your willingness to sacrifice, Dave does not have to.
