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Jeff USAF RET

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About Jeff USAF RET

  • Birthday 02/23/1962

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  1. Hey Jeff, How's it going? Nice to see that you are apparentyly doing well these days. God bless my friend...

    Sincerely,

    caribousam

  2. Hey folks, Thought you might like this... I came across this flash presentation to honor our military. Actually, it's the best one I think I have seen. http://www.clermontyellow.accountsupport.c...h/UntilThen.swf Spread it to anyone you think would be touched......let's pass it on...and keep praying for them. Bless ya! Jeff A retired Air Force Master Sgt
  3. I have started a new thread that is a letter from John Lynn. Posted with permission It starts off: To Whom It May Concern: As I begin this letter, my heart is weeping about the current state of affairs among the members of the Spirit and Truth Fellowship International Board of Directors, each of whom is one of my closest friends. What you will read is my best assessment of many conversations with the principals involved and/or reading more than 100 pages of their own words in correspondence back and forth among them. Here is the link: http://www.greasespotcafe.com/ipb/index.php?showtopic=12605
  4. This is a letter (position paper) from John Lynn. Posted with permission. Cover letter: Dear Brethren. God bless you in the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I am sending this email, with its attachment, to only a relatively few people at this time, each of whom I consider a committed stakeholder in our unique ministry. It is going to the Spirit & Truth Fellowship Board of Directors, the STF Staff, and others who have inquired of me, or who I have spoken with, or who I think should now be aware of what has been going on for the past 7 months in STF. I realize that as you read it, you may want to know if you have my permission to send it on to other people you think should be informed about this matter, and the answer is yes. I trust that you will seek the Lord's guidance about that. Thank you for your love and prayers. In his service, John Lynn From: John A. Lynn December 26, 2006 To Whom It May Concern: As I begin this letter, my heart is weeping about the current state of affairs among the members of the Spirit and Truth Fellowship International Board of Directors, each of whom is one of my closest friends. What you will read is my best assessment of many conversations with the principals involved and/or reading more than 100 pages of their own words in correspondence back and forth among them. My fervent prayer is that in a godly way I will bring into the light, and express my perspective of, this heart-rending situation. I pray also that God will preserve this unique ministry and dynamically increase its influence, which for 20 years now has been overwhelmingly positive for people all around the world. What I say herein is what might be called “small ‘t’ truth,” that is, what is true for me as I perceive this situation, about which my conscience compels me to speak out. If, as things play out, I find that I am wrong in my viewpoint, I will gladly account and repent. Since late September (when I first heard of this situation), in accordance with scriptures like Proverbs 18:13 and 17; 25:8, I have been listening to and/or reading the words of everyone on the Board as well as most of those on staff, especially those directly involved in what has transpired. I have taken notes, pondered and prayed, and have now come to the place that I am completely convinced about what I will share in this letter. I am assuming that many believers who read this are either very good friends of mine or people who know quite a bit about me and my involvement in this wonderful ministry, for which I was the original “point man” from its inception in 1987 until June, 2000, when my dear brother Mark Graeser succeeded me as president. I say that in order to give you some idea of how excruciating it is for me to see what is now going on, and how it is even more painful to write what I am compelled by my conscience and by my great love for each person I mention to write. If you are in pain, or incredulous, as you read, I completely understand how you feel, for I feel the same way. It was about September 21 when I was first informed that there was a division among the members of the STF Board of Directors (and spouses), with Mark and Karen Anne Graeser and Tom and Susan Resner having a disagreement with John and Jenivee Schoenheit, Gary and Karen Theisen, and Dan and Lori Gallagher. I initially heard that the main point of contention was that four of the other five Board members (John, Gary, Karen, and Dan) had asked Mark to step down from his presidential responsibilities for six months, move his office to his home, and, while still being paid the same salary, work on some very serious personal matters that, in their opinion, had, and still were, greatly hampering his ability to perform the required duties of president. He was asked to focus on writing the administrations book and the clergy ordination education curriculum. Mark declined to step down, however, and Tom stood with him in that decision. I know all ten of these people very well, and though it was immediately obvious that either four (Graesers, Resners) or six (Schoenheits, Theisens, Gallaghers) of them are now “off track” to some degree, it was very hard for me to believe that it could have come to this. Each is a mature, committed Christian with an excellent track record of service to God’s people. And yet I know that no matter how far one has walked with God, our very personal adversary knows exactly how to work on our weaknesses, and our spiritual equilibrium is only as good as our renewed mind faith today. As I began to listen to most of those involved, I carefully noted two things: (1) who did I feel was trying to persuade me or enroll me in their perspective, and (2) who spoke with what I perceived as any personal animosity or bitterness or innuendo about someone in the opposing camp. As I read many pertinent documents such as Dan’s letter of late September to Mark asking him specific questions pertinent to the situation, Mark’s reply to Dan firing him as CEO, Dan’s reply to Mark, Mark’s reply to that letter, Tom’s letter to the rest of the Board, etc., etc., I noted what I thought was godly, gracious, factual, and Word-based as compared to what I thought was personally attacking, acerbic, condescending, short on facts, and without biblical basis. For me, I never experienced the Schoenheits, Gallaghers, or Theisens trying to enroll me on their side, but I did with Mark. Nor did I hear anything from the former three couples but sadness and heartbreak about what they perceived as Mark and Karen Anne’s emotional instability, and a passion to restore them to wholeness and ministry work. But from Mark (and from Tom in his letter to the Board), I did experience a significant amount of personal innuendo. 1 Timothy 5:19 (NIV) says: “Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.” As I do my best to summarily chronicle why I have arrived at the perspective I have, space and prudence compel me to omit many incidents and details about how Mark and Karen Anne have showed up since last April, which I have heard corroborated by 12 credible, firsthand witnesses who I personally know to be faithful believers. As the reality of the situation became clear to me, I have prayed fervently that Mark and Karen Anne would wake up and humbly submit to the “multitude of counselors” lovingly imploring them to do so. That way there would likely be no more division, and none of God’s precious people would be forced to choose sides. Instead, they have entrenched themselves more and more deeply into their mindset, and have done all they can to substantiate it. Thus, I have made the decision to send out this letter. For years there has been a fairly widespread perception among quite a few people involved with STF that Karen Anne has been exerting an undue and negative influence on Mark, and others. Some have felt she is “running the ministry” via her prophecies, Many times I have vehemently (and, I firmly believe, rightly) defended her. Having been integrally involved in every major ministry decision from 1987-2000 and somewhat involved in many others from 2000-2005, I know that she has not “run the ministry.” That being said, I have of late been surprised to learn that the perception of her negative influence is far more pervasive than I realized, and, having been made aware of numerous incidents in which she has exerted undue and harmful influence, I no longer believe that this perception is groundless. In my opinion, a key factor in all of this is that while God wants to make our weaknesses into strengths, the enemy wants to make our strengths into weaknesses. Karen Anne Graeser has often spoken prophetically into my life and been right on the money, to my great benefit. And I have seen her do the same things for scores of other saints, as they too would testify. In that sense, her voice has been a strength. But I honestly believe that, in large part, it has now become a weakness, as many will testify that she has been meddling in things she shouldn’t, inordinately influencing Mark, relentlessly pushing her own agendas, and sowing seeds of division among the brethren. I believe that is coming out of her deep woundedness, and, given the depth of my love for her, my sadness for her is inexpressible. In that vein, I should say that I have heard that there are many prophetic words about this situation that have come in from various people during the past seven months, one group of which is obviously false, or at least off track, because they are pretty much the opposite of the words in the other group. I will say that it seems to me that the Graesers and Resners appear to be relying much more heavily than are the others on the words that support their position. I think, however, that we can make a rational judgment from looking at the facts of the matter. As the Word says, “by their fruits you shall know them.” And by the consistent testimony of about a dozen witnesses, and in my own opinion based upon Mark and Karen Anne’s written words, the fruit in their lives has badly deteriorated in the past seven months. During that time, several faithful and competent STF staff members have been adversely affected by the Graesers, the first being Jeff Blackburn, who for six years has been an invaluable asset to STF in many ways, not the least of which are his awesome administrative ability and his heart for God’s people. Does he have shortcomings? Of course, but from where I stand, it seems he was set up by Karen Anne and Mark, and, in retrospect, that is how Jeff feels. There are many details as to how it unfolded, but at the bottom line, as I see it, Jeff would not countenance Karen Anne’s inappropriate involvement in certain ministry affairs, and Mark, under pressure from Karen Anne, put pressure on him to resign, which he did, when it was not what he really wanted to do. Jeff finally asked Mark if he thought it was best for him to resign, and Mark said yes, so Jeff did. According to Dan Gallagher, the STF CEO at that time, Mark had agreed with him to take the matter to the whole Board, but instead went ahead and personally dealt with Jeff anyway. As the CEO, Dan did not like how Jeff was handled, and told that to Mark, citing the need for due process of any grievances, etc. Shortly thereafter, following a series of events surrounding their disagreement on this matter, Dan wrote Mark, asking him to answer a number of pertinent and vital questions. Mark responded to that on October 24 with a five-page letter to Dan in which he fired him as the STF CEO. After critically and objectively reading it, I would describe it as: authentic (that is, showing the true posture of Mark’s heart), generally factless, condescending, unkind, adamantly accusing, almost paranoid, and, in biblical terms, someone with a beam in his eye trying to point out a splinter in another’s eye. I then pored over Dan’s October 30 six-page reply and found it to be: gracious, loving, filled with facts and specifics, honest, imploring, and pleading for Mark to specify anything Dan had done wrong other than disagree with him and Karen Anne. I believe that had Mark received it with meekness, it could have been even soothing to him as he recognized Dan validating his love and support for him. I also read Mark’s lengthy rebuttal of what Dan wrote to him, and though it contained many more factual statements than his first letter, I was not convinced that his take on them was accurate. Nor did he specifically answer all the questions Dan had originally asked him. I then read Tom’s October 29 letter addressed to the Board, in which he set forth a number of alleged prophetic words from the Lord that were very derogatory to John and Jenivee, Dan, and Gary and Karen T., and which did not line up with the facts as I see them. I could write a lot about it, but suffice it to say that I was very disappointed by its immediate declaration that what would follow was what “the Lord spoke” to Tom, its dearth of facts, its caustic and accusatory verbiage, its feeling of imposing guilt, and its inordinate allegiance to the Graesers. Honestly, there were a few statements so outlandish that I never would have attributed them to my longtime friend Tom Resner had they not had his name on them. About mid-October, Rachel Collum Darr told me that Mark had fired her that morning. Mark had given me his version of the incident, but when I later asked Rachel to lay out the whole thing for me, I was very saddened to see how Karen Anne had factored in (even as she had with Jeff B.) by her insistence for several months that Rachel be fired, based upon her perspective of how Rachel had shown up at the Women’s Conference in April. I read the “History of Rachel Collum Darr’s Employment at STF” and also Dan and Lori Gallagher’s additions and corrections to that document (Lori factored in via her direct involvement in Rachel’s situation at the Women’s Conference). I was surprised to see how many key facts the original report contained that the Gallaghers then said were either not true or somewhat distorted. Very shortly after Rachel’s firing, Matthew Johnson, another loyal employee for six years, resigned after Karen Anne came to an office staff meeting and spoke for about 30 minutes about never having wanted Rachel to be fired. Matthew found this so dishonest that, as a matter of conscience, he decided he could not stay in the office for the remainder of his two-weeks-notice, and told Mark the next day that it would be his last. Knowing Matthew as I do, I called him and asked him to share his heart with me, which he did. Once again I heard a sad account of frustration with what he perceived as dishonesty on the part of Mark and Karen Anne in dealing with both Jeff and Rachel, as well as their handling of a pivotal staff meeting which Matthew felt was primarily an attempt by the Graesers to get testimony about how Jeff had hurt other staff members and thereby justify their position that he should resign. Bob Maffit has been a dear friend of mine for more than 30 years, and in recent years has been an invaluable asset to the STF staff, a “full time volunteer,” if you will. He has worked very closely with Mark, and, in an attempt to get all the information I could, I sought his perspective. Bob’s burning love for Mark was evident as he sadly recounted to me numerous incidents in recent months where, in his view, Mark showed up as incapacitated, dishonest, distorting reality, enrolling Bob against Dan and John, speaking evil of others, and asking Bob to give him information about what he (Mark) perceived as others’ disloyalty to him. Bob shared that he has often confronted Mark during these past months and, while generally experiencing him to listen, he has seen no positive change. I have pages and pages of notes from my conversations with many of the principals in this situation, and they are replete with incidents corroborating the emotional instability and resulting behavior of Mark and Karen Anne since last Spring, their great distrust of those who love them and are fighting for them, their distorting of many pertinent facts and conversations, and Mark’s refusal to accept the recommendation of four of his five peers on the Board. The annual STF Board of Directors meeting will be held the third week of January, at which time the annual election of officers will be held. Given the current state of affairs, there is little question that a new president will be elected. I pray that Mark and Karen Anne (and Tom and Susan) will not then leave STF and try to take others with them (I do not know to what extent they or others close to them have already tried to enroll STF people around the country). If they will see the light and change their attitudes, I know that all who love them will come around them and do everything we can to support their healing and restoration. Although Mark and Karen Anne have made it clear that they believe the Schoenheits, Theisens, and Gallaghers have been collaborating against them, and that Jeff Blackburn, Rachel Collum Darr, Matthew Johnson, and Bob Maffit are equally in error in their perspectives of what has been going on, particularly in the STF office, that is not how I see it. Rather, I perceive a lengthy litany of incidents during the past seven months that plainly involve the Graesers desperately posturing and maneuvering, distorting the facts, manipulating people, name calling/attacking other persons involved, refusing to be accountable for so doing, and exemplifying the pot calling the kettle black. Given our intimate relationship in this ministry these past 20 years (and another ten prior to that), I believe I am qualified to say that Mark and Karen Anne are not coming from the degree of wholeness that I have experienced from them during the many years when we have shared countless heart-to-heart moments. It is my carefully considered opinion that in order to most glorify God and love His people, Mark should embrace whatever the Board thinks is best for him in order to see the Lord’s healing in his own heart and in his precious wife. Their value to our ministry is inestimable, and, were they whole, no one I know can fill the gap that would be caused by their absence. The thought of going on in this ministry without them puts a knot in my stomach. Personally, I want my best friend back—the formerly self-described “balding window cleaner from no place theologically important in Florida.” I want the man who, until recently, has for me modeled much meekness, humility, godly introspection, a passion for spiritual growth, a pastoral heart for God’s people, a willingness to account and take responsibility, and who has loved me immensely. And I want the woman with whom I have been closer than a brother for 30+ years, with whom I often have stood side by side in the trenches of spiritual battle. Having myself been in a somewhat similar situation several years ago, and having felt it best for the ministry and my personal life to first resign from the Board and later to resign as an STF employee, I can painfully identify with Mark in this matter. Through the past 20 years, and among so many godly people with whom I consider myself to be intimate, Mark and Karen Anne have been my closest friends of all. As “iron sharpening iron,” they have often spoken into my life with great love and wisdom, and their example of so doing is one I call to mind as I now do my best to do the same for them. With the goal of reaching out to Mark as he has so often done for me, I went to him on December 9 and read to him what I have written above (slightly edited since then). He listened, but did not agree at all with what you have read, asking that if I send it to anyone that I would make that clear. He believes that I am deceived, just like John S., Dan, the Theisens, et al. On December 20, after reading Mark’s just-released 14 page paper titled, “Why I Cannot in Good Conscience Take a ‘Leave of Absence’ or Resign as President at This Time and Under These Circumstances,” I wrote the following (in brackets pp. 6-8, and now slightly edited) to him and Karen Anne, which I think you should see: [Dear Mark and Karen Anne, God bless you and yours. I’ve read your 14-page paper, Mark, and your reply to my birthday note to you, Karen. Were I able to hit the rewind button and go back in time to December 9 when I sat with you and read my letter to you, Mark, here is what I would have said first instead. As much as you can, please step back and hear my heart, which is imploring you as my dear friend of 30 years and brother in Christ and fellow laborer in this unique ministry. You, John S., and I made a whole, a good balance where none of us could get too out of bounds. Adding Dan to that gives us even more wholeness, and balance, like the four legs on a table. The enemy took me out of the loop, at least temporarily, and clearly, you are his next target. Satan has used an incident in your life and your subsequent emotional turmoil to skew your perspective, with the goal of taking you out. Mark, I’ve been there, and maybe I can help you see this, as I have come to terms with how the enemy has hurt STF via my failures. My part of the balance was taken out, and the thought of you also being taken out is terrible, for then half of us four are gone. Taking some time off in your duties to allow God to heal your heart and make things right in your family, would have been, and maybe still can be, a good thing. Humbling yourself before your peers is the way to stop the Devil from blowing up one incident to the end of removing your invaluable influence from STF. You are a strong person on the inside, and you are wise. You are smarter than this. Just own up and let God be God. God is simply saying to take care of your heart and your house, so please don’t be threatened. God is God, gracious and merciful. He doesn’t want you out of the picture, but you are almost surely going to be if you don’t see the big picture of what is really happening here. What does it mean that I have been temporarily taken out? What did I bring to the table, and whom have we found to fill my shoes? No one else is me, and no one else is you. If you are taken out, who will then fill your shoes? It is not that someone else cannot be president, just as you took over for me, but it is that no one else is you, the Mark whom God has called to greatness. All of us together are what makes STF what it is. Sure, we can rebuild without you, but how much better to do it with you? We can have the balance of the truth of the Word as the basis for healthy relationships. It’s not either/or. Everyone is feeling pushed and attacked—if you could just step back, you could see that together we can take this ministry in the right direction. We all need one another. It is all well and good to get the facts and see who is off base, but the bigger picture is the spiritual attack. The Adversary is trying to systematically destroy the well-rounded wholeness of STF. Rather than fighting my peers, I stepped down with the hope of being back in when I became more whole. I think some of your frustration is that you understand that without you there is going to be a big hole, and that is true. I think you are afraid of where Dan and John will go without your input, but clearly if you are whole you can provide your part of the balance we need. Just own up to your sinful actions in concealing something from the Board that that could have been a “molehill,” rather than having exacerbated it into a mountain, as you have done. If you will own up, I believe you can have the future input you should have in STF. If you don’t, that may not happen. Mark, that is what I believe I should have said first, and I am sorry that I did not, for perhaps it would have been more entreating to you, and easier for you to receive. And yet I know that a heart of meekness will receive godly reproof no matter the timing, the tone, etc. That being said, after reading your 14-page paper, I am more convinced than ever that what I wrote in the letter I read to you is the truth. Your paper was a smokescreen, a morass of posturing, shucking and jiving, shifting the blame, and, as I said in the letter I read to you, a gross example of someone with a beam talking about the splinters in others’ eyes. I love you with all my heart, Mark, and I pray that you will hear what I am saying, but I am now serving you notice that if you do not turn around, I will send this letter (edited somewhat) and the letter I read to you (edited somewhat) to those I think needs to hear it at this point. Perhaps I have taken too long to do this, but I am now completely in the ring fighting for the ministry that you, John, and I started by the grace of God. I will not stand by and let you do any more damage without asserting myself with the many people I know and love, and for whom we together have worked so hard these past 20 years. I believe that you, Karen Anne, and the Resners have built a house of cards here, and if you persist in the direction you are going, I think you will see it collapse around and upon you. Because of how you have acted in the past seven months, Mark, you are almost certainly going to be voted out as president at the January Board meeting, and may even lose your job. I do not believe that you are in alignment with the will of God in all of this, and if that does not change, I fear you will suffer grievous consequences. If you are planning to split off and take people with you, I am of the opinion that you do not have the support in the STF community you think you have. Time will tell whether or not John, Dan, the Theisens, and I have earned the love, respect, and trust of our precious constituents more so than have you and the Resners. But I am beseeching you, please do not force God’s precious people, including your own dear children, to make such a choice. God will stand with those of us who stand for truth and honesty, and He will bring us through all of this because He is invested in His Word and in those of us who stand for it. PLEASE choose to be among us. I love you more than you know.] On December 26, prior to sending out this letter to you, I spoke with Mark and asked him if my words had touched his heart and helped him change his overall stance. He was very gracious, said he thought I was misinformed on some things, and that I should do what I thought I needed to do before the Lord. I then told him I would be sending out this letter to him and to others I thought needed to see it at this time. Thank you for praying fervently for each person involved in this situation, and for our ministry as we reach out with God’s wonderful Word around the world. The future is as bright as the promises of God. Amen. Your brother in Christ, John Lynn A brief p.s. to critics of Spirit & Truth Fellowship: Given the way that documents such as this somehow wind up on the Internet, let me say a few things to our detractors who will use this current situation in STF to say “I told you so,” take potshots at us, and magnify our flaws above the good we are doing for people. First, God bless you, I love you. Second, be sure you know enough truth about the issues to make a rational judgment. Third, get close enough to the nucleus of STF leadership to see their hearts before you impugn them. Fourth, take an honest look at what we teach from the Word about whatever subjects are pertinent to this matter, like prophecy. Prophecy is prophecy, and to criticize “personal prophecy” as unbiblical, in and of itself, is contrary to Scripture. We have a book on Prophecy that deals with this subject in depth from the Word, which you can get from www.stfonline.org. In that vein, the reason I remain totally committed to Spirit and Truth Fellowship International is because I can find no one else with the “package” we have to offer, and I know the true heart with which we present it, as well as the liberating impact it has had on people around the world during the past 20 years. You will have to judge for yourself whether what we teach is sound doctrine, and whether we practice it in love. But you cannot do that from afar. I encourage you to dig into our work, and I exhort you to “stay tuned” and see if the hand of God is on us. Watch and see where He takes this ministry in the days ahead. I do hope that among the millions whose lives we hope to touch, we will be able to bless you, the only you God has. As to what is flying around cyberspace about me and my personal life, my email is jalces@aol.com and my home phone is 317-849-5707. If you know me and care about me, I’ll be glad to communicate with you. I will not, however, dialogue with anonymous people who lack the love and courage to identify themselves in interacting with me.
  5. Hey Rich n Chrispy, Loved your last post (and e-mail). I am thankful for your hearts and all these years of service. Gosh, you two have been around a long time and have a lot to say. Sorry you have not felt heard. I have heard Dan G. say that as a Board (at least the Theisen's, John Schoenheit, and Dan) want to get all the folks like you two and others together and get all this out on the table. We will just need to wait for the Board meeting on Jan 15 for a public announcement of what steps are being taken to sort all this out. I really think that no longer having Mark as President (also Karen ann) will go a long way to opening up the change we need. There does need to be a MUCH wider circle of accountability. Something Dan just told me a couple of days ago he is committed to seeing happen. This prophetic stuff has just gotten crazy....and they (Theisen's, Dan, and John S.) know that... More to come...... Merry Christmas folks!!! With love, Jeff
  6. Billy D is correct...... For those of you who don't know me, I was working on staff for 6 1/2 years until two months ago. Merry Christmas to all!!!! Jeff
  7. TherebutforGrace..... Thank you for the above post. It has touched me deeply. Keep in mind that Dave n Sue Carlson were such dear friends. We loved them. I watched them go through a lot of this and said nothing. Shame on me!!! I have read your post twice and sent it to a few folks.....I will print it off and ponder it some more. After being on the Home Office staff for 6 1/2 years and now being off for the last two months, I am seeing a lot of things in a whole new light. I am praying there is a change coming that will take the ministry I love to a much higher ground. Time will tell......praying to hear more and see more. God forgive me for not seeing so much of this sooner...and I am no kid....actually, I have a kid about to turn 20! This is my time to grow up and make sure Christ is really my head....I know I have looked to men and not Christ too many times in my life. Thanks again for your heart and insight. Sounds like I might know you???? Jeff p.s. I am reading and pondering all that is said here......may this never happen again.....
  8. Here is a letter that might shed some light on things. It is to Mark Graeser from Dan Gallagher (then the CEO). This was before Dan was fired and they were still trying to hold each other accountable. __________________________ Mark, I appreciate the meeting we had at the Home-office the other day as I know you do too. I know we are all a mixed bag with many motives, some known to us and, unfortunately many unknown. Both of us have made many mistakes in our lives and thankfully the Lord has extended great grace to us. I do not judge you to ever be intentionally operating in an ungodly way or with impure motives. Be that as it may, I do believe you have made significant errors of judgment and execution for a variety of reasons. It is my understanding that we are in agreement that neither you nor I have had any outstanding Matthew 18 issues between us. I stated in our meeting, and you acknowledged this as true and that any issues between us have been openly stated to each other before. You did confess to me a sense that I have betrayed you by not defending you when others have made statements about your lack of administrational ability. I have not defended you when others have made negative statements about your administrational handling because most of what is said is true, however, I indicated to you that I have never held this to your charge. We both have agreed that you are capable of “getting us by” with your level of administrational ability. I know that many have seen significant improvements over the past two years with my involvement in the affairs of the Home-office. Some have attributed this to me citing that I am gifted in administration. I believe that many have misunderstood what and how it is that I operate. I believe my ministry is similar to that of an orchestra leader. I don’t make the music but I get the musicians to play in harmony with each other. I am not the most talented one on the team but I know how to get the team to play in unison. I believe that is an aspect of my apostolic ministry. Some may want to call this administration but I see it as the ability to lead. I have stated on many occasions that I am a blocker. I take out of the way the things that impede each player’s ability to do their job. When I arrived there were many things in the Home-office that were hindering each team member from doing what they do best. I merely took those obstacles out of the way. The result was that Jeff was able to shine in his administrational gifts, Matthew was able to get the publishing unjammed, John Schoenheit was able to focus on his research and writings, Ryan was able to focus on website development, etc. The other day I spoke with Richard and extended myself to him, indicating that he could call me any time on any question and I would do my best to help. The fact is though that I have no idea how orders are processed, materials shipped, calls taken, or routed, websites engineered, etc., etc. As CEO it was never my job to do these things, rather I make sure the flow keeps going by getting everyone else to do their job. When I arrived we had many breakdowns and problems in the Home-office because the things that I did you hadn’t, and the things I do, you don’t. I believe you are a good leader in many ways but you are not good in the way that I am. Our competencies are different. One is not better than the other, they are just different, and we need both to make things happen. I do believe we have reached a point where we are stepping on each others toes and causing the ministry to stumble. I pray that we can work this out and we need the Board of Directors to clarify its role, the role of president and CEO, define our respective responsibility, authority, and most importantly, agree on the direction of this ministry. It is my belief that we are still in disagreement on some very important issues. Over the past few weeks there has been a lot of discussion about Matthew 18 and resolving our disagreements because they must be the result of personal offenses. Some offenses may be present but I believe this is not generally the cause of the Board breakdown. We must acknowledge that disagreements are not always the result of offenses. I believe this is the case with you and me. We have different perspectives and I am sensing that we are desiring the ministry to go in different directions. Listed below a few questions that I think need to be answered. 1. In the last six months numerous negative events have transpired with in our Home-office and faith community. • Karen Anne’s coming into the Home-office to discuss Rachel Collum’s job performance at the Women’s conference. • Jeff’s resulting offense with Karen Anne concerning their private “backroom” meeting. • Jeff’s continued breakdown with Karen Anne (via the telephone call). • Jeff’s breakdown conversation with Anita. • Mark and Karen Anne’s resistance and objections to Dan’s procedural methods in the handling of the Jeff matters. • Mark and Karen Anne’s breakdowns regarding Dan • Mark’s failure to recuse himself for six weeks from the Jeff matters, in spite of Dan’s numerous requests to do so (noted that you did recuse yourself when Tom suggested it one time). • Disruption and disunity in the Home-office staff (a great sense of team cohesion has been lost). • The Home-office staff involvement and resulting angst in Jeff’s leaving. • The staff’s concern over their Board’s ability to govern this ministry. • The present atmosphere of distrust of the Board in general. • Many of the Board members lack of confidence in you as the president. • The distraction of the Board from being able to move any of the normal ministry business forward in any significant way (i.e. event planning, calendar setting, ministry priority planning, etc.). What role, if any, have you contributed to or are responsible for the above? 2. You have admitted publicly to agreeing with John Lynn to conceal from your wife and the Board of Directors your sexual involvement with Elizabeth Lynn twenty years ago. a. Given our history with The Way and what has happened with John Lynn, what actions do you believe our faith community would expect us to take concerning the president of this ministry deceiving his wife and the Board, and conspiring with another clergy member to do so? b. What would you recommend for another ministry officer, Board member, or clergy member if they did this? c. Accounting is one thing and amending another. What steps do you believe should be taken for trust and amendment to be made? 3. In light of the Elizabeth Lynn disclosure you have experienced great turmoil personally, martially, and throughout your family. I highly commend you for you ability to compartmentalize and to continue to play wounded and to show up no matter what. In spite of this I have the following questions; d. Do you believe that you have been able to operate professionally with objectivity and proper judgment? e. How has this crisis affected you in your professional life? I wish we could all be together to discuss these issues face to face but I am honoring your request to put my questions of you in writing. Much love in Christ, Dan ____________________________________________________ I have no idea how Mark replied...other than Dan is no longer the CEO (Mark fired him). Jeff
  9. He does have a letter that went out that detailed a lot of things. I will not ask him to post it and I will not post it. It will take us wayyyy off topic.....they have been divorced for years now. But thanks for asking..... Jeff
  10. At the time I did not think that there was undo pressure. The marriage was a mess..... Looking back and reading over all the info I have, I now know that Karen Ann really wanted the divorce to happen and that the dreams played a big part in making that happen. Karen Ann had a huge falling out with Elizabeth. This was before she found out that Mark had kissed her then best friend. I will let you ask John Lynn - JALCES@aol.com - how much Karen Ann factored into his decision to divorce Elizabeth. I can say that Karen Ann has had a HUGE say in the running of CES / Spirit & Truth. She is a very out spoken and driven women. Her husband, Mark, is much softer spoken. She can be VERY pushy with her prophetic read on things..... Hope this helps... Jeff
  11. Trust is earned....and a lot of trust has been broken. I (we who care about CES / Spirit & Truth) will have to wait and see how this all plays out. After all, I was part of the problem as well since I was on staff for 6 1/2 years as the shipping guy and then as the office manager. I know my hands are not clean but I have gone before the Lord and repented. I am sick by thinking about the part I had to play in the whole Elizabeth thing. [edited by modcat5] I have been spending a lot of time as of late with John Schoenheit and Dan Gallagher. I am also in contact with John Lynn. I wish it did not have to come to this but I am praying it will make CES / Spirit & Truth a much stronger ministry. We have some amazing Partners that are helping us reach out all over the planet with some much needed clear Bible teaching via the TruthOrTradition.com site. This area of the prophetic needs to be aggressively looked at and brought under control and it is being looked at.....that is part of the reason why there is a huge split on the Board. Keep in mind Tom Resner (a Board member) is also head of the Prophetic Council. The split is Mark and Tom against John S. Dan G. and the Theisens. However, getting to the root of all this has not been easy when Karen Ann is the current Presidents wife and all of this has been "slow cooking" for such a long period of time. It is now out in the open....let's see what happens..... I was blind....but now I see....God forgive me! Blessing to ya! And please, e-mail away.....! Jeff p.s I do go to a local church (not connected to CES / Spirit & Truth)...and have been in a Baptist church for five years when I was stationed in North Dakota. We also go to the church (when not going to a church in Indianapolis) that John Schoenhiet has on Camp Vision in Bloomington, IN every Sunday - and it is AMAZING!
  12. I have also heard that the pressure coming from those that are e-mailing is getting some good results. Please let YOUR voice be heard!!!!! I know these three are doing a lot of work to get to the root of this mess. John Lynn - JALCES@aol.com John Schoenhiet - john@stfonline.org Dan Gallagher - dan@stfonline.org The current President said he will not step down even though the Majority of the Board has asked him to. The next legal elections are not until Jan 15th. But what is the right (moral) thing to do? Why wait until the elections if this has gone on under his watch? Do you agree with his decision? You can e-mail him at: Mark@stfonline.org There will be much more to come....please stay posted.... Jeff
  13. Here is a "prophecy" that Karen Ann gave to Dan Gallagher after four members of the Board (Dan was one of them) asked her husband to step down as president a few months ago. Mark and Tom have pointed the finger at Dan as being some kind of ring leader. However, all four Board members asked him to step down for a period of six months due to some VERY serious problems the Graeser's were having with their marriage this year. ________________ Delivered to Dan verbally by Karen Anne Graesesr on Saturday, October 21, 2006 Dan, Son stop! You are on a path of vanity that will lead to shame. Stop before the braying jackass leaps over the fence and runs wild. Don’t revisit the lessons of the past. I’ve delighted in you, prospered you and blessed the work of your hands. I have given you a mighty provision and have plans to give you even more. But you have gotten greedy and used underhanded tactics to take what is not yours. Humble yourself before I humble you. Take the path of submission; it’s the path of real peace and power that leads to true apostolic servanthood. Don’t sell out for artificial power using your natural gifts for the praises of men. If you continue on this course I will still provide for you as a loving father would for a good but foolish son who wasted his inheritance. If you don’t humble yourself and interrupt this path I will cut off your ministry and what could have been a mighty tree will be a bush. I will have brought you along so carefully only to be brought down by your own pride. A six month leave of absence? How about you? Head into the wilderness for 6 months and return a vessel more suitable for my purposes. Karen Anne Graeser ______________________________________ She has to stand before the Lord for giving a "word" like this to someone. I think she is to emotionally involved.... Time will tell..... Jeff
  14. Hey Jonny Lingo! Check out this link: http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.ph...mp;new_topic=27 CES / Spirit & Truth is all about Jesus! I think that a lot of what is going on with the Board is the Lord getting them / us back on track that he is the head and not the current President's wife / Resner's running it with the dream stuff. Somehow it just got wayyyyyyyyyyy out of hand. I think what was said about the slow cooking of error is correct. However, this shift has been going on all year and is just now coming to a head. Actually, John Schoenhiet and Dan Gallagher have been trying to get it shifted for years. I can't speak for the Theisen's, but I know they now see it and are working to get the balance back. Bless ya! Jeff
  15. There is a paper going around from the Graeser's and Resner's as to why Mark should not step down as President before the Board of Director's meeting / their position paper. I don't have a copy of it but I know it starts off with: We (the majority) of the Ordained community of Spirit & Truth..... Just so anyone knows that might get this e-mail / letter, the "majority" spoken of there is: Mark Graeser Karen Graeser Tom Resner Susan Resner (a VERY close friend of Karen Ann) Nancy Berwid (another VERY close friend of Karen Ann) That makes 5 of the ordained community. The other folks are: John Schoenheit Dan Gallagher Gary Theisen Karen Theisen So it's the same basic Board of Directors split of 4 / 2. They (Mark Graeser and Tom Resner) just add in their wifes and dear friend Nancy so they can say the "majority of the ordained community of Spirit & Truth." Bless ya! Jeff
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