My name if Yvonne Hall, I am not going to hide behind a code name in fear that someone will know who I am or what I have to say. I have got to say that this is the most disgusting display of information that I have ever read and is quiet distrubing. I am not sure where many of you are getting this information on Pastor G or his family history. I am a member of the ROC and a proud one. The ROC has over 100 + ministries every week and they are always helping the community.

The thrift stores every week take in money and that money is used to feed the homeless, poor, and the down and out. Each week after church people go to the front of the church and they are given what they need to get as much food as they need. There is nothing lacking about the amount of food they give out.

The bus ministry goes to many locations in the city of Richmond and pick up children from the low income and projects and bring them to church to learn about Jesus. The buses then go back and and pick up others from the same locations and bring 100's of people to church that would otherwise not have a way to get to church to learn the word. These people are transported weekly back and forth at no charge to them.

They have a ministry where you can sponsor a child and every penny that you give each month goes to that child. Unlike many on tv where the child gets what maybe a dollar out of the money.

Pastor G takes not one penny from the sermons they sell or the books that he writes. It is not about the money for him it is about people coming to Jesus and learning his word.

As far as Samantha goes. She is a beautiful person with a beautiful voice. It is my understanding that she has been offer to sing for big name record labels and she has declined. That is not what they are about.

Where ever the information came from that Pastor G lives in a million dollar home is not true either. He is about as down to earth person as your would ever want to meet and he loves and cares about every person that goes to that church, whether they are a member or not. If you have a problem he is there to lend and ear. I might also say that he personally responds to his emails which is special in the sense that he takes the time to be involved in what is going on in the members lives.

As far as the speculation about him and his secretary that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard. His staff is a very close knit group and that is because they all started together and have been family for many many years. They have been through the worst of times together and in case no one out there is aware they came here with nothing and built The ROC to what is is today. Nobody twists anyones arm and makes them come to church there. I do promise you that if you go once you will never go to another church because it is the BEST church in the world. A church is what you make it. It is not about Pastor G it is about everyone there.

I am sure that many of you that have made these unjustified comments both about Pastor G and the church because you have never been there. Not only that what ever church you might go to, you obviously arent paying attention to what is being taught. Well then maybe you are. I myself and I am sure that Pastor G would consider what is on this site to be idle gossip. That is one thing that he hates. I am sure he would not find it offensive, just stupid.

The ROC is not the traditional church that everyone expects to go to and sit and be bord and feel like falling asleep. If that is the type of church you want then The ROC is not the place for you. With that in mind Pastor G will give you the advice in two words "ROLL OUT". I assure you that he whole heartedly means it. If you are not for the church you are against it and The ROC is not the place for you. Dont get me wrong everyone is welcome there and everyone is treated the same. It does not matter if you have a drug addiction, or an alcohol problem, or whatever it is, you are welcome. If you are coming there to criticize Pastor G, the staff, or the church please dont come. Negativity is not needed. The ROC is a very upbeat positive church. It is not a cult, or some kind of an off the wall religious group, or want to be christian motor cycle club, it is a plain and simple church with a lot to offer.

The ROC even has a group of staff in one the worst schools in the City of Richmond working with the kids that have needs that go beyond traditional learning. This group of staff members is truly making a difference in the lives of these kids. Please let me know, how many churches go into the schools and work with the kids, are willing to go to the low income and projects and pick up the kids and adults and bus them to church. The answer is none. That is because 99% of the churches today want and cater to perfect people or people who think they are. Do you think that churches lets say with people that consider themselves upper class would sit next to someone from the projects or offer to go and pick them up and bring them to church. If you answer yes, you are fooling no one but yourself. They dont want those type of people in their church.

All of the information that people have written in these blogs about Pastor G's family, the church, the staff, or the church family, if there is any truth or what is actually the truth we all at The ROC know. Pastor G does not hide things from the church, he is very open and knows that we all have things that we need to deal with and things that go wrong in our lives. So whatever is or has gone on in his life that is factual or true we know about. He makes no bones about telling the truth about and hides nothing. We all have a past and anyone who says they dont is lying. Apparently there are a few people on this blog that could use a trip or two to church to learn right and wrong. Please dont think that by telling these lies and talking about him and his family is going to take away from him. It is not. I am here to say that he is a man of GOD and he makes no bones about letting you know.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/14/2008 10:03PM by rrmoderator.

ylhall,

Isn't it possible, just a little bit, that some of the ex-members of ROC may be raising valid points of which you, as an apologist and active member, may be blind to? Learning that your god(s) have feet of clay is a horrible thing but necessary for your recovery.

Here is a little bit more info for you to process.

[www.cultlink.com]

I am very happy at tne ROC and that is what matters. It is not for you or anyone else to judge me or the people at The ROC. If you have not been there then you should not have opinion. I know what I believe and I know what Pastor G believes. What matters is we are right with God and what anyone else thinks is not important. The ROC is not a traditional church and no one claims that it is. As long as the people going there are happy that is the most important thing. Who is to say that the past members did not leave under bad circumstances. There are three side to every story. Before anyone who does not know Pastor G or his family says anything about him they should now what they are talking about. The misconception that he preaches to his members to cover up his wrong doings is crazy and stupid.

It is very unfortunate that there are people in this world that act and think like the do. No one is perfect and no one claims to be. Maybe before anyone decides to jusge you should talk to ALL of the people that The ROC helps and check into the ministries that they have going on. I dont see any of the other churches in the area providing all of the services they do.

The website is www.theroc.com check it out for yourself.

ylhall:

Apparently you have come here to defend ROC.

Others here seem to feel quite differently.

You said, "ROC is not a traditional church..."

Maybe that's the problem.

The majority of Protestant churches have democratic church government, elected boards, denominational oversight and educational requirements for pastors, as provided by their bylaws.

When a pastor has no meaningful accountability through such checks and balances he may become little more than a dictator. And the church may evolve into a kind of personality-driven "cult-like" group.

The majority of Protestant churches also have financial transparency. That is, as provided through annual financial reports that disclose in detail the church's finances; such as salaries, any and all compensation and expenses paid out from church funds. Such published reports are frequently distributed to all contributors and many are independently audited by an outside accounting firm.

If you have not seen such a report you really don't know where the money goes, other than anecdotal stories, which cannot be verified.

More "traditional churches" for these reasons are often safer and pose less of a risk or potential for abuse than non-traditional churches without these safeguards.

It really doesn't matter where he lives but I have been to his house and he does live in a 1.34 million dollar home - don't know where you get your information. From an excerpt from a website at Shepherdserve.org
"We should be looking at the fruit of every spiritual leader in the church. Don't make the foolish error of "judging their fruit" by counting how many miracles they perform or by how many thousands of people attend their meetings. (or how many ministries, or homeless he serves, or people he feeds, yadayadayada) That is not the kind of fruit Jesus was saying we should be examining. Speaking of spiritual leaders, Jesus warned that many would say to Him, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy, cast out demons and perform miracles in Your name?," and He will say, "I never knew you" (see Matt. 7:22-23). Miracles are not the proof of God's endorsement of a minister. (According to Scripture, God may actually test our love for Him by means of false prophets who work miracles; see Deut. 13:1-4.) A big crowd may only be a sign of a big deceiver. The fruit of which Jesus spoke is the fruit of holiness (see Matt. 7:21, 23). Are spiritual leaders obeying Christ's commandments? Don't make excuses for his sins by saying we all sin and we are not to look at his sins, we are no better. No, we are no better however, he is called to a much higher accountability than us. Read Jeremiah 23.

Ask for a financial script - bet you won't get one. At leadership meetings, they flash it up on the board - he even coached his "close family" on how to ask some questions at a meeting that people had been asking him, - telling them what he was going to say, etc., - ask how 200.00 pair of shoes are bought, etc., He ain't as humble as you think. Ask for the bylaws - they state: interpretation of the scripture is at the discretion of the pastor to interpret - If you don't like what he preaches, it's not "roll out", it's get out. If you question anything that is done there, you will see. You don't know him, you don't know him at all. He is a great deceiver. I was where you are four years ago. You defend him not taking money - how do you know? Because he told you so.

You say that he cares about every person in that church. See if he cares about you when you decide to leave. See if you get a phone call saying hey havent seen you in a while just making sure everything is ok. Guess what? you wont. Your fooled and deceived and I pray God opens your eyes.

ylhall....have you ever been to G's house???

ylhall:
Girl, open your eyes and you will truly see The ROC for what it is...Pastor G's playground. I went there for over 4 years, was involved with bus ministry every week, worked in Saturday school each month, never missed a service and would also defend The ROC to naysayers. But over time and the deeper in the circle I became, my eyes were slowly opened, as heartbreaking as it was (and still is). It is hard as a Christian to accept that what you have built upon was a lie. Most of the people on here are not just gossiping about the roc, we lived it and lived it 110%. On the outside, the roc does do great things, but those things are done by people like you and me who are truly serving GOD; leadership is there with their hands out. How is it that Pastor G lives in a million dollar home with a movie theater downstairs (think MTV cribs) while people in the homes often live without running water, heating problems, food pantry (which a few have been made severely ill from) and wear the same clothes day after day?? Who do you think pays for their custom made bikes, trips to bike week, disneyworld, costa rica, sam/chelsea & jammie's shopping trips to NYC and the revolving door of top name clothes?? That would be us, the ones who tithed diligently. Your cash offering is as good as is G's pockets, so he can take 'the group' to Chipotle after service. Same goes for the taped sermons, CD sales, In4Life merchandise, etc.. If you doubt where any money is going, please go ask for a financial statement....see how defensive 'they' become. I grew up in church and have never attended anywhere else where weekly/quarterly financial statements were not distributed. G will tell you, 'if you don't trust me, there's the door'. He is a very smooth talker and could sell a patch of swamp land to almost anyone--but he learned from the best, Phil Aguilar. It breaks my heart that so many unsuspecting people still go serve, tithe and believe his version of scripture. He has a great way of taking a verse & twisting it fit his needs/purpose. I will pray for you and hope that one day you will truly find a church home deserving of you.

Beloved ones -

It is with great sadness I have read the posts here about ROC. I am not a member, and have not visited much, though I know others who have. ROC appeals to impessionable young people, those in sin, and those who have grown cold in their faith, but who love the music and the preaching that is very easy to understand and deals not so much with theology but the practical aspects of living the Christian life. The presence of the Lord can be felt at ROC when you attend. There is enthusiam, excitement, and joy there, but unfortunately, that's not all.

For all the good this ministry may do, it does help to keep your eyes open if the rumors that are smoldering below the surface persist. Yes, anyone can have a past. But that past must be dealt with through repentance, counseling, mentoring, and accountability. If the person involved refuses such a plan by mature Christians, then his autonomy should be held in question. Confession is cleansing and purifying. Putting sin behind us and walking in the light of Jesus is God's way. But others must be drawn in to help.

If funds are misused, again, accountability should be demanded.

Don't fault someone for living in a nice house. If it was a gift, the gift (though perhaps not the giver) should be made public. To all outward appearances, the vehicles seem to be over the top. And often, one of the signs of misuse of funds is the secret use of funds. If you're not doing anything wrong with the money, you have nothing to hide. Make it public. If you keep it all a deep, dark secret, perhaps there are sticky fingers in the pot.

One of the things I immediately wondered about when I learned how ROC functioned was this: Why no worship on Sunday? Isn't that the Christian's day of worship? What do ROC people do on Sunday? Worship elsewhere? Reserve this day for play? Just curious. But what happened to "...on the first day of the week...???"

There seems to be many ministries at ROC. Why not do several things really well rather than so many outreaches? Not that Richmond doesn't need them all. It would seem to me Saturday would be exhausting for some ROC people.

And, yes, followup on those who come to know Christ through this ministry would be helpful. Anyone can get caught up in the moment at an "altar call", and then just go back into the same life lived before. A discipleship time for new converts to return and receive prayer, instruction, Bible helps and counseling could benefit those who come to Christ through this ministry. Anyone knows a hot coal left to itself will die out and get cold, but kept on the heap will continue to stay warm and burn. And, yes, the numbers of converts somehow seems to be inflated.

I have seen the glow of Christ on the faces of some people at ROC. It was obvious they had come out of deep sin. They worshipped the Lord in a way that was lovely to observe - with deep passion. How sad it would be to see them become disillusioned if their leadership should fall.

I do hope reconciliation will come. I have no investment in this issue, except as a member of the body of Christ. But as another Christian, with a heart for purity in the church, I would love to see what is good about ROC continue and what is not good be corrected. Soon, in a new facility, there will be more room and opportunity to reach Richmond. What a black mark it would be on the cause of Christ to have that building filled with controversy. Why not "clean house" now and get the old stuff out of the way and have repentance and restoration come quickly. The leadership may have to take some drastic humbling steps like asking for mentoring, public and private confession, asking for a legitimate accounting system, trading some vehicles, realigning and re-evaluating ministries. What a wonderful witness that would be not only to those in the church, but those in the community. Revival would break out.

I will pray for ROC. I suggest that for all of us who care.

To the one who has asked for help in becoming restored, I would suggest much time on your knees in prayer, much time in the word of God, and finding an older mature Christian to pour out your heart to. Ask for wisdom from the Lord. Pray more, speak less. Even the early church had its difficulties and sometimes separation occured, however, the Lord is more honored when we seek Him for His answers. Dwelling together in unity is beautiful to see. But each must do his or her part. Stiff necks don't turn toward God.

I send each of you my love and prayers for a bright future.