To NowISee.... yes, of course Nunya's friend feels like he/she is back at Set Free because Geronimo is running the exact same program at the ROC as he and his father ran at Set Free.

hello everyone. ive been reading this message board for a while now.

i used to attend the roc faithfully, and was a staff member there for about a year and a half. a ffew of the people i knew very closely and who were closely invovled in the ROC left suddenly, and when i asked why i was told to come to this website.

its amazing to me how much this has opened my eyes. i knew what kind of things were going on, but because of the way they teach at the roc i just pulled the sheild back over my eyes and ignored it, thinking "because the pastor does it, its ok".

reading these messages, it has brought back many things. things i would like to discuss with you all and maybe give/get some more insight to whats REALLY happening at the richmond outreach center.

i knew that sex, drugs, alcohol, ect. abuse was going on constantly. i remember being in my office, and the girl i shared my office with told me a story. she was walking with her boyfriend and got a text message. it was from the man engaged and supposedly inlove with the pastors sister in law. she opened it and it said something along the lines of "hey sexy i like the way your ass looks in those jeans" her boyfriend threw a fit about it. he went as far as going to pastor g about it. ofcourse, g made a huge scene infront of this man just to show that he was "going to handle it". well as most of you have alreadyguess, the outcome was nothing but a slap on the wrist, and he was told NOT to tell his fiance because she didnt need to know. some husband.

again, this same engaged man, his brother came in from florida. he called him and told him "im at the school(rsum) in your room about to have sex with this girl" the brothers response was "tell her to keep her mouth shut". when the sex-capade was finished the pastor somehow found out. this girl who was a student got nothing wrong done to her, and the brother got nothing but sent home. and the engaged man, just another slap on the wrist.

my now fiance was also a student there. we made sure we werent alone, made sure we followed the rules, and always had permission and a chaparone to go on dates. yet, he still got kicked out of the school, for expressing hhis feelings to the dean, and i almost lost my job because people in his "posse" were making things up, saying we were alone, sneaking around.

i was paid less then 100 dollars a week to work my tail off. worked approxamtely 60 hours a week. 6 days a week. and if something was wrong it was my ass. they so kindly gave me a 25$ raise seeing as how my mother started making me pay rent.

i did live in one of the homes, and i was grateful to be taken in when i had no place to go. sometimes though, as some of you havealready stated i had no bed to sleep in and had to sleep in the floor. in the winter, it was freezing, maybe 50 degrees inside. in the summer it was so extremely disgustingly hot.

i have since left the roc, and go back occasionally because i keep finding myself being DRAWN to it. im not sure if its the people i miss, or what. unfortunately, i do not pay attention suring the sermons beacuse all the pastor does is just reword the bible and does not TEACH what it says.


my point of this entire blog to everyone is, you dont really know whats going on until youre in it. you only know what they stand behind the pulpit and tell you. ive seen pastor g at outreaches say "great, another damn outreach" and then get on the microphone and fake himself to loveit. im very grateful for the part of the rcc that truly helpspeople and the part that god runs al through. butthe roc has two different sides to it. if you DO decide to go there, dont get invovled too much. you will get your heart broken at finding out whatthe church is truly about.

i also need some advice with something im going through after leaving the roc.. anyone who has some please!!

To XFan: I’m sorry about your experience. Your story is the same as many of us, different circumstances, but being totally deceived by the ROC and its main leaders.

First let me say, don’t go back! Ever. It’s hard leaving your friends, but they are encouraged not to have contact with you anyway. They are told that you don’t want anyone to contact you and that you want nothing to do with the ROC. I know. It happened to me. Geronimo teachs that according to Matthew 10:36-38, you should hate your family. According to G, the ROC comes first, not your family. But my bible says in Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another. My bible says to honor mother and father. It does not say honor the ROC with all that you have and all your time. It does not say spend every waking moment with the ROC and all its 100,000,000 ministries. Oh, excuse me, 100+ ministries. Who cares how many ministries? If your leadership is promoting its own agenda, not that of God, what good is it? If the pastor is living way beyond the means of anyone else in the church, what does that tell you. If he allowed 1 person to stand up and give a testimony for 45 minutes – {better than anything he could have preached he stated} simply because she has the funds to get the ROC out of debt, buy him a $1,000,000 house, extravagantly decorate same house, buy the Big House, renovate the Big House and buy him a $100,000 vehicle, why should he need any of us. Don’t go back. They don’t need you. They don’t really want you. You are a threat to the ministry. Time will heal the hurt in your heart. You belong to God, not to a ministry at the ROC and definitely not to the ROC.

I recently read this as it relates to abusive churches/ministries written by someone who apparently knows his stuff:

Does the group's leadership invite dialogue, advice and evaluation from outside its immediate circle? Authoritarian pastors are usually threatened by any outside expression of diverse opinions, whether from inside or outside the group. When outside speakers are given access to the pulpit, they are carefully selected to minimize any threat to the leadership's agenda. Coercive pastors are fiercely independent and do not function well in a structure of accountability. For the sake of public relations, they may boast that they are accountable to a board of some sort, when in actuality the board is composed of "yes-men" who do not question the leader's authority.

How many outside speakers have ever been invited to the ROC? How often do you hear about the “yes-men” at the ROC? Geronimo says it ain’t so, but you know better. Is there a board at the ROC. No, there is none, only a board of deacons who are chosen by Geronimo. Why did some deacons leave. They understand what is going on at the ROC. Geronimo feels threatened by what they know, so he makes sure they are silenced, by whatever means necessary to get them to stop talking.

Is he accountable to anyone. Nope, not a single person is over the ROC’s pastor or his ministry. He has final authority on everything in the ministry and one has to wonder if he ever really seeks God’s guidance in decisions. And why does he allow no one to really know the truth about financial information? The people who are there serve out of their love for God and give from their hearts for that same love for Him. Pray that their eyes are opened to the truth and that the truth will be revealed to everyone that calls the ROC church their church. It will hurt them to know the truth, but only for a short while.

You are going to be okay. It just takes a little time.

Xfan listen to what thankfultobeout said and DO NOT GO BACK! I totally understand how hard it is to leave people that you love, but it
is a very unhealthy place to be and not safe for you.

Continue to pray and know that God is in control and He will do what needs to be done when He is ready. It is his timing, not ours.

Xfan you said that you needed some advice, but you really did not say for what. Please post your need and I am sure that someone
will be able to help you.

Those who read this, do you think that we should contact churches and organizations that the ROC is connected with and let them know
who they are dealing with? Do we just leave it alone? I am really wrestling with this and want to do the right thing.

I pray that everyone has a Blessed Holiday Season. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

God is in control and His timing is so perfect. Remember what truthseeker3 said back on page 1: If you want to know where the ROC is heading, check out what Set Free has been doing on the West Coast of late.

Read Deuteronomy 32:35, Romans 12:19, Hebrews 10:30, Psalm 94:1. As much as we want to "go tell it on the mountains" I believe God really doesn't need our help in this. Vengeance is His. We need to continue to focus on Him, try and erase the bad memories of the ROC and all the wrongdoings, speak the truth in LOVE, pray {as difficult as it can be sometimes} for those leaders who deceive and manipulate. Those in California are probably going to spend some time in jail again, though some out there might say it has taken too long. God can get the word out to churches, others and the people who have left the ROC aren't staying silent. I tell friends and acquaintances what happened to me. It may take some time before justice is served but I believe God can handle it, much better than any of us can. Geronimo is aware of what others are saying. He may say all of us are wrong, but are we? No, one by one we are coming out and speaking about our own experiences. It is a painful process, but God won't keep us in this time of mourning. We are better off because we left and we need to pray for those people still there and believing the lies because the truth has not penetrated their hearts yet. Just give it some time and they will be writing their own stories on this blog. We cannot stay silent when we ourselves have been totally deceived and manipulated. Just bring others to this site and let them read the stories of all these people. We are telling our own stories in hopes that others may begin to think a little more, a little deeper, and start to question the leaders, the actions, and the policies of the ROC. And we are telling our stories for healing in our own hearts as well.

God bless everyone and I too wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I am very interested in all that you guys have been discussing on this web site. I was a part of set free many years ago and it amazes me that Phil is still doing his thing. It seems that he will never stop. So I was very curious about Geronimo and his church. I thought that he was trying hard to do things differently than his dad, but it looks like a maybe wrong. I really would like to find out the truth because I have some friends who are involved in the ROC. If these things you are saying are true then it seems that he needs to be exposed for the person that he is. I would really like to know more about the affair that Geronimo is having with Jammie. That is completely wrong and something needs to be done about Geronimo thinking he can do whatever he wants to people.

I am glad I found this website. I actually read some of these things a few months ago, and I weighed whether or not to keep attending the ROC, but I felt that they were doing so much good in the community that they must be different than Set Free. I decided that Pastor G needed grace just like anyone else, and that he deserved the benefit of the doubt and that maybe he was truly reformed now.However, hearing what current or recent members have said on here, I will not be going back. I never got too involved with anything there(which I am now grateful for), just faithfully went to Six O Clock ROC and tithed, which I am kind of upset about, but God knows I was trying to be obedient to him. Now that I know, I cannot in good faith support the ROC anymore. I always had my issues with certain practices there, but my heart was quieted by the fact that so many people were being helped. The ROC even has an office in a public school where kids can go to them for help when they are having problems. They were named Church of the Week by the 700 club. So, you can see why it was hard for me to accept that it is being run by people whose intentions are not honorable. But I have to say that there was something in my spirit that didn't sit right with certain things, i.e. being saved just by saying a prayer, and not having any follow up to it..yes, some of the people do genuinely give their hearts to God, but many just keep on living in darkness, thinking that those two minutes they said "Yes, God" will spare them from eternity separated from Him. Also, it was hard for me to understand why he would have people who, for the most part, don't have much formal education reading exclusively out of the King James Bible, with its archaic language. I do think it is a perfectly fine translation, but maybe it would be okay for people struggling with the KJV to read something like the Message or the NIV. To me it sounds like what the Catholic church used to do in the Middle Ages: make the gospel inaccesible to the common man and just tell the parishoners what they wanted them to hear. It is a power move. So what is my responsibility here? I don't feel right about just leaving and letting others find out later that they are being duped.

Hey NunYa,

Keep your friend from california in your prayers. He just received his two weeks notice to leave. Apparently he was asking to many
questions in the class room at the ROC's school/bible college/public housing.

Quote
NowIsee

Quote
gzusslord
Did you hear. About the brall at the bar. What is ROC people doing at a bar? Remember Pastor G saying say away from bars? He was there with his posse and almost got in a fight. AND the f word was used. Over and over. I don't get it. I think sterroids make one crazy. He uses you know. Ask him. Tell him to tell the truth. His posse has him surrounded with guns under cover. Ask him. Why does he need body guards if he trusts Jesus with his life. Do we all need guards? When is he coming clean. Doesnt make sense. Sounds like the apple didn't fall far from the apple tree. Doesn't he know everybody knows? Lying makes one lie more, lie more, lie more. What a joke. His closet know but they don't tell. Why is that? Are they threatened? They get lots of favors. That's probably why. Do you think?

To nunya...your friend seems to be doing fine. He seems to feel like he's back at Set Free.
To gzusslord...what night did this potential fight happen on?

Were you at the Canal Club the night of the brawl?

man!!!I am glad the site came back up. Over 1000 people have viewed this site in the last two weeks. I hope they see the truth
behind the scenes soon. We do need to keep the people that are still at the ROC in our prayers. Especially the leadership. They
are important to the churchs stability. This goes for everyone in the leadership roll. All the leadership under Geronimo are being
manipulated to act the way he wants them to. Thats the only reason that your "DEACON"(servant of God) would never contact
you after you stop going there. All those who are Deacons and Board Members will have to answer to God one day for not speaking
up to stop the sinful practices that are taking place there. If you are in these catagories, then you have failed in your duties!!!!
Thats right, you heard me. You have failed to protect the integrity of the church and ministry that you where put in place to protect.
You have let the people of the ROC down...If you, as a leader, dont see all the things that are happening around you...OPEN YOUR
EYES. There are alot of things that happen at the ROC that are good. No body would argue that point. So when Geronimo says
"If you cant see all the good thats happening here at the ROC you must be hiding under a rock." Although that is true you could
also say "If you cant see all the immoral, unethical and illegal activities that are happening at the ROC you must be hiding
under a rock." The missuse of ROC funds is probably the single biggest problem they have. About 95% of the people that attend the
ROC have no idea of where and how the funds are being spent. Lets look at a few of them. Now grant it, the purchase of these things
may not be illegal, but, I dont think the hard working people of the ROC would want their tithes and offerings being spent to MAINLY
support "G's DIRTY DOZEN."

Samanthas Suburban.................... $50,000.00.............................30th birthday...................paid cash

G,s 2007 15 pass. van................... $37,000.00............................Tired Of Hummer..............paid cash...........owned and insured by ROC

Jammies jeep................................$27,000.00.............................not sure why....................paid cash.............." " " " " "

Michells Acura MDX........................$6,000.00...............................baby sitter.......................paid cash.............." " " " " "

G's 2009 15 pass. van....................$36,000.00.............................tired of the 2007...............paid cash.............." " " " " "

G's daughters car..........................$not sure................................college.............................paid cash.............." " " " " "

G's Mercedes G500........................$100,000.00............................his dads got one...............manipulated it......." " " " " "

G and Tims custom bikes...............$120,000.00.............................they are cool...................paid with check........insurance wont insure

2008 bike trailer............................$6,000.00..............................to take more bikes to the....paid cash
....................................................................................................beach with the inner crew.

There many other vehicles that where purchased or donated that are given to certain people to drive and yes, they are owned and
insured by the ROC. Most of these vehicles are even gassed up for them. Several of the top few vehicles, as nice as they are,
where not good enough. They had to have several thousands of dollars of custom rims, tires and stereo equipment installed.
I wont even get started on the meals eaten out constantly. After almost every church service the inner circle goes out to eat.
The ROC (I mean) G usually pays for the total bill, but rest assured that they appreciate your contribution to their lifestyle. In
the one and only business meeting that I remember ever having many people had questions. There where two lines that where
skipped over. Now keep in mind that this meeting was in April and these figures where year to date. There where no copies of
the finance report passed out for viewing. It was projected on a big screen. These two lines where 1st)Misc. travel-$61,000.00.
2nd) sattilite and cable tv-$2,300.00. This is in four (4) months. Whats up with that....... Noone was allowed to ask questions.
You where told to go see Tim if you had any questions.....HA!...Who would go see him?....