Enabler-in-Chief (Part 6) “Meat Shield”
September 24, 2022 | by Marc Cebrian
An unusual introduction by Andrew J. Holcombe was added to "The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 393)," which was recorded on the Sabbath of September 17, 2022. His brief comments were spliced into David C. Pack’s “just in case” babble.
Everyone inside The Restored Church of God watched one of Dave’s “young and inexperienced” assistants herald the coming of God’s Apostle. This strange occurrence is worth examining more closely.
In a previous article, these comments from Part 393 gave me a double-take.
David C. Pack
@ 03:37 I appreciate very much Mr. Holcombe giving some introductory comments. Sometimes it’s helpful to hear from the men on my team.Andrew J. Holcombe
@ 00:10 Wanted to Mr. Pack wanted me to stand up and give a few comments here, brethren.
So, Dave “appreciated” Andrew obeying him. I laugh when I think if Andrew had said, “No, Mr. Pack. I don’t feel comfortable with that.” The Coffee Kid was probably sweating a little because it would have meant his head was on the block next. Brad was warming up in the bullpen in case of emergency.
Since Andrew was supposed to give a sermon anyhow, he was the logical choice. No matter that it blew up his mental focus for his own introduction, he now had to carry Dave over his shoulders up to the lectern. Andrew is a strong guy and could physically do that, by the way.
During this bizarre message, another enabler at the Headquarters of The Restored Church of God was ordained. No longer just a Pepper Boy, Andrew J. Holcombe became the Meat Shield.
This is an article I have been reluctant to write. In fact, I have been putting it off while I ponder the implications. I have a personal connection to Andrew J. Holcombe and his wonderful wife. Before I dissect his words and give an analysis, I want everybody to understand it is not something I relish.
When Andrew first came to Headquarters as a young architect, he began working in the Media Production Services department while we were still on the bottom floor of the Hall of Administration. A bright young man, eager to smile, and an all-around team player.
I was "Uncle Marc," and he was "Cousin Andy." I did not realize until long afterward that he hated being called Andy. I will not call him that in this article.
He needed a new place to stay due to a plumbing issue and lived with me for about 3 months. During that time, I got to know him better. He is a decent guy. Genuine. Kind. Thoughtful. Sincere. Serving. Easy to get along with and easy to like.
I was thrilled when he and his future wife started to court because I was also a big fan of her. While watching them from across the room through my camera lens at the Feast of Tabernacles in Florida in 2013, I saw the sparks those kids had. It felt good to see love blossom.
This is Andrew and me at that Feast in 2013 when we both had more hair.
After I left in March of 2021, I had almost no contact with anyone inside RCG. During the funeral for Kory North that winter, Mrs. Holcombe was one of the people who saw me and hugged me immediately.
She is a rock star at RCG. She is sharp, dependable, eager to laugh, kind, and GOOD at what she does. When she has a project, you can rest assured it will be done on time and correctly. I would watch her in meetings at a table full of men, speaking up and giving sound advice. I was continually impressed by her great ideas. Some others in that room…not so much. She outshined certain "ministers," and I took note of that. It was always a pleasure to work with her.
I also have a connection with her dad, Andrew's father-in-law. A large man with a large heart, super friendly. I adore her dad. He and I had a few deep discussions, and I appreciated his generosity. Her mom is a sweetheart, also. Good people. These are all good people.
I have a personal history with Andrew. To not “call it as I see it" and acknowledge the horrific enabling Andrew has done felt like I would be "giving him a pass" unfairly. If Brad and Ed deserve some heat, Andrew does as well.
My analysis of RCG is personally driven, but I cannot let personal relationships interfere with the facts.
Andrew was a great guy when I knew him, but his proximity to David C. Pack has blinded him to reality. He is a fellow architect in biblical fraud alongside James E. Habboush, aka The Coffee Kid. Those two "young and inexperienced ministers" help Dave propagate prophetic falsehood and are instrumental in keeping RCG on the edge of Christ’s return in perpetuity.
The painful fact is that Andrew J. Holcombe is on Team Enablers at Headquarters and agreed to stand before everyone in The Restored Church of God to be a Meat Shield because Dave was tired of facing defeat alone.
This whole thing makes me sad. I hope Andrew, his wife, and his parents-in-law flee from RCG.
When I first began these articles, all quotes were verbatim. The stuttering was preserved to illustrate the scattered, disjointed thinking. As this evolved, the misspeaks were cleaned up to make the content more understandable.
But in the case of Andrew here, the stammering and poor grammar is essential because it solidifies that he comes across as nervous and reluctant. I suspect this was thrown into his lap at the last minute during the song before walking up to the lectern. That is the RCG way.
Andrew is otherwise a polished public speaker. He was a natural in Spokesman’s Club and increased his skills over the years as a “minister.”
Watching this painful 3 ½ minutes reveals how incredibly uncomfortable the guy is.
Hear his voice and see his body language during this 3:36 excerpt. Tell me if you think that is a man who wanted to be put in that position.
Some inside baseball: When a "minister" is nervous, they often say "brethren." Dr. Feelbad has a terrible habit of this. Andrew did this nine times within three-ish minutes.
Perhaps he was afraid of disappointing "Mr. Pack," which would lead to receiving wrath later.
@ 00:44 …he'll conclude the mess or conclude the service for about 20 to 25 minutes.
An accidental slip of honesty. Dave did not “conclude the mess” as we had all hoped.
@ 00:59 Because brethren, we've wrestled with a lot of things. We've wrestled with many different aspects of prophecy. But frankly, very little, if you think about it in the grand scheme of things, we've wrestled with very little in prophecy.
A patently false statement. Andrew and Dave have struggled with MUCH in prophecy. The three shepherds. The 1335. That Prophet. Elijah. The Man of Sin. How many Kingdoms of God there are. How long the Kingdoms are. Jesus Christ or the Father comes first. The Father judges us. Which Holy Day kicks all this off. When is salvation. The list goes on and on and on…far past “very little.”
Shame on you for saying that, Andrew. Shame on you.
At first, you speak the truth but wrap it up with an untruth.
Relisten to the “presumption confessional circus” in Part 392 and see if you agree with Andrew.
This is RCG spin and gaslighting and everything wrong with the enablers at Headquarters. They tell you something so far from the truth that you are almost beside yourself to hear it.
Would a “minister” knowingly lie to the members of The Restored Church of God? The greatest questions. Plain answers.
@ 01:15 A lot has been cemented and is and is correct that we have proven over the course of these these seven years almost coming up on almost seven years of the series in prophecy.
@ 01:27 But we've wrestled with little bits and pieces. How do certain verses fit, and how do we understand exactly certain bits of timing?
@ 01:35 So brethren, you'll find today Mr. Pack will explain in much more great detail. I'm just setting it up a little bit, much more great detail, much greater detail, that a lot of the "what" is exactly correct. We're just focused a little bit on timing.
Not “exactly correct” seven days later.
Timing is such a niggly little detail in prophecy. Only the passing of time makes the truth evident, Andrew. Without that, nothing is “cemented” or can be trusted as “correct” considering the track record of your boss. Spoiler alert: That track record ain’t good.
@ 02:16 And truly we can appreciate and understand the complexity, the difficulty that these verses have have given us, frankly, brethren think about it. These same verses have eluded all a lot of God's people for 2000 years. It's they've they've been hidden a lot of what we're going what Mr. Pack is going to explain has been hidden and is finally coming clear.
Today is Elul 28, and the Feast of Trumpets begins in less than two days. That puts a big fat DOOH on anything you said last week about “coming clear.”
@ 02:44 So, brethren, we just wanted to say, don't give up. A lot has been resolved, and there is no reason to believe we're going another year.
Repeating this for nine years kind of makes the point lose its punch. Being wrong for nine years also does not build confidence in the source of information.
@ 03:00 …as I'm speaking, I believe he'll be going upstairs with Mr. Habboush, and I won't be there typing…he'll be preparing this message for what would truly be rushing to call out this final this final message to you and then to those brethren.
I have watched David C. Pack sneak out the back door of the Main Hall to skip Sabbath and Holy Day Services. God’s Apostle literally “forsakes the assembling of ourselves together so much more as we see the day approaching.” He avoids a “commanded assembly” so often that they are not ashamed to announce this to the whole church.
The folks at Headquarters know this is true. If you think I am exaggerating, just ask them about it.
Andrew, how many Sabbath Services have you had to "cut short" because Dave wanted to talk, study, or whatever? I noticed that you and Jim would take turns with that. Brad would many times get roped in.
Where in the Bible are apostles exempt from obeying a command of God? Since when is it acceptable for a “minister of Jesus Christ” to skip a holy convocation? Yet, that is common practice at Headquarters. Believe it.
David C. Pack tells God, "I know this is Your holy time, but my time is more valuable than anyone else because I have to prepare my message since time management is not a personal strength."
He does not care about Sabbath Services unless he is the one talking. I have watched him read the newspaper during Services. I have watched him have a whispering meeting at the back of the hall during Services. He pulls men into the kitchen with him during Services.
One time he commented on hearing the special music “from inside the kitchen” that we had to cut out back when RCG cared about those types of things.
Sabbath Services are only for the little people in RCG. Giving your Holy Day offerings via your wife is acceptable if you are Elijah. Literally coming before God empty-handed, and that is no biggie.
They are so unashamed of that type of conduct that Andrew felt perfectly fine announcing that the Pastor General of The Restored Church of God would willfully leave Services. It must not be as "commanded" or "holy" as those same men like to preach from the lectern.
“You cannot keep the Sabbath at home; you can only break the Sabbath at home.”
When I realized that the rules do not apply to everyone at Headquarters, it further soured my opinion of what was and is still happening inside RCG. Even if this was "acceptable" during the Worldwide Church of God years, Dave takes that to a new level. He has the license to do whatever whenever he wants.
A command of God will not inconvenience him.
@ 03:25 Look forward to this.
One strange choice about this Andrew introduction is why it was done at the beginning of his sermon rather than at the end. It would have been more logical to say his three minutes and then have Dave come up immediately while the thoughts are still fresh.
Instead, he “gets the brethren excited” and “shares some insight," only to make them wait for another 74 minutes for those statements to be relevant.
Andrew, you made them suffer through your message while, in the back of their minds, they were wondering how much further Mr. Pack would separate them from their meal.
Poor judgment does certainly go forth. That is the RCG way.
@ 03:27 Time is not up. We're we're we're right there. It's very close, but don't give up. Don't give up on this year.
Not as close as you thought when you said these words. Elul 23 and Elul 24 have both passed.
By Tuesday this coming week, they should feel free to give up on this year. But I suspect Dave will not let them. And you will not either because you have a crucial role in stringing the members of The Restored Church of God along in this journey of biblical madness. You are doing that, Andrew. You.
All of this is eerily familiar. The reason is that during Part 249 on April 15, 2020, Andrew J. Holcombe made some "closing remarks" after Dave sat down and forgot a few points in his notes.
Here are some notable highlights from the 8-minutes of spin when the Days of Unleavened Bread were The Thing. Note the similarities repeated 144 parts, two years and five months later.
Andrew J. Holcombe – Part 249 – April 15, 2020
@ 47:04 And a case, a powerful case in some ways, could be made for even beyond today.
The "most powerful case" to go "beyond today" in 2022 is that Andrew is assisting a prophetic street magician who is so terribly awful at what he does that you can count on him to fail with 100% accuracy. The sun rises tomorrow. David C. Pack will be wrong again on Monday.
@ 47:11 Mr. Pack, I work closely with him…We’ve talked for hours over the course of these Days of Unleavened Bread…and it’s it’s a dynamic, dynamic process. It’s not easy.
Prophecy is hard. Choose another career.
@ 47:44 Is it possible that we do get outside the Days of Unleavened Bread? Is it possible? And as of right now, brethren, you and I, we’re in this boat together.
@ 48:01 And if something if it doesn't happen tonight, as we all still expect and believe, stay the course. We’re not here for just to hear what the next prophetic scenario is and then bail out.
And bail out everyone should.
The more times Dave and Andrew are wrong about a date, the more people inside RCG wake up.
As much as the date-setting is foolish from a strategic perspective, much like hiring an armed police officer to babysit the front gate during the UnOpen House, and much like using Common funds to purchase a $500,000 lawn, they will keep doing it.
It is an opportunity to point out inevitable failure. It is an opportunity to "make plain" that God is not behind the teachings of David C. Pack and the enablers at The Restored Church of God. It is an opportunity for more brethren inside RCG to send off their resignation letters.
The more dates, the more exits. The revised attendance numbers after the Feast of Tabernacles will give an accurate trajectory of RCG.
@ 49:09 Brethren, again, like I said, we are all in this together, and we all still fully expect Christ to come today.
Fewer and fewer inside RCG “fully expect” anything but “yet another Mr. Pack message.”
@ 51:25 If, for some reason, we get past tonight…and Christ doesn't return, there is a possible path forward. There is. So do not be discouraged.
@ 51:51 I just none of us can believe, absolutely none of us can believe we have another year to go.
Here we are two and a half years later. Those words ring more hollow each year they are repeated.
@ 54:10 If you feel discouraged, try to try to make yourself lift yourself up and encourage other people as well. But again, anything is possible.
Lift yourself up? So glad I counseled with the ministry on that one.
Anything is possible except for David C. Pack to get prophetic timing right. God will not allow it.
What an odd comment for Andrew to make when trying to support how "correct Mr. Pack is.” Back in 2020. “Anything” is outside what Mr. Pack was teaching. Maybe this is what he really thought.
@ 54:23 Many of us have already felt like we’ve been keeping the word of Christ’s patience, but it might be God's will that we continue to do so. And if that’s the case, it's not our will but God's will. So stay the course. Continue.
When all else fails, blame God. It is God’s will that Jesus Christ did not return during Unleavened Bread in 2020. It is God’s will that Jesus Christ does not return during the Feast of Trumpets in 2022.
When David C. Pack fails again, it is God’s will. I actually believe that one.
Andrew, you are a neat guy. I adore your wife. But you are on the wrong side of history. You are supporting the wrong guy. You are a Meat Shield to David C. Pack and nothing more. The moment you are no longer useful to him, watch him turn and eat you. He has done it before and will do it again. That is his nature.
Get out while you can. Stop encouraging biblical fraud. Stop perpetuating prophetic fraud. Stop supporting a man God is not supporting.
You are directly hurting people inside The Restored Church of God. You are assisting the system that uses fear and manipulation to control the minds and hearts of faithful people.
Stop being the Dave Pack Meat Shield before you get burned.
Leave, and I promise to buy you and your lovely wife a steak dinner. I know just the place.
RCG Overtime
On the evening of September 23, 2022 (Elul 27), another "Pathetic Update" was posted in Member Services, giving excuses as to why Dave spent another week being wrong and why the previous MS postings were also wrong.
There is a lot of "wrong" to spread around inside Headquarters.
The message lacked "oomph," but here are a few nuggets.
"Brethren, we are waiting for Trumpets…."
Dave appears to be holding the line, but that will all change by Tuesday. Count on it. There is no way Dave and company will sit and wait another year. That tactic does not bring in bookoo Common.
“Hours could be spent clarifying and qualifying all the terms that
we wrestled with for years, but that came to be so clear.”
This is pure comedy. The previous hours spent creating Part 1 through Part 393 were not enough. Only after Part 393 did that "come to be so clear." Ha ha ha ha ha ha. If only there were time left in the current world for Part 394. Maybe God will "give us more time," so more spewed biblical bile can ruin another tie.
"(Zech. 14:5-7)! For a long time, this day was only known to God
for all that it is! But now we have a full picture.”
Dave and the enablers always seem to have “a full picture” until they realize they don’t. It’s “correct” until it isn’t. It’s “clear” until it isn’t. Dave is “right” until he isn’t. Well, even when he is wrong, he is right.
David C. Pack will never have “a full picture.” Monday will come and go, and nothing will make the national news from Wadsworth, Ohio. With Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles on the horizon, the anvil will strike Dave on the head again to give him more “clarity” to keep dragging the members of RCG around the prophetic desert.
Dave has run out of ideas. His only course of action is to repeat the past and travel in circles. Watch.
