The Children of Tyranny (Chapter 3):
Letters to John Morey, a Blind Leader!
What can I say about John Morey?
He's a man much older than me: a man whom I respected greatly over the years, especially for his teachings on marriage. However, I remember when Robert Grove and the men following Robert's "leadership" took aim at John and crushed him, like a small fragrant flower stomped upon by the hobnailed boot of a glowering giant.
And once he was sufficiently humbled, Robert began to rebuild John by rewarding him for his obedience until now John faithfully supports Robert Grove and does whatever Robert asks of him under the guise of "submitting to my brethren". Robert has done this also to many other men among us. And those who refused to be crushed, he kicked out with a ceremonial "marking" for avoidance by the assemblies to shame them into submission to his will.
I have prayed a lot for John. I know others, some much older than me, some who grew up with John, who, like me have been thrown out of the various assemblies across the country, yet continue to pray that John's eyes will open to the spell Robert Grove has cast on him. John was a man of God. But he was defeated and now he has become a man of Robert Grove, a man who simply does what he is told, not what Christ once taught him to do. A sycophant, who is afraid to act on the leading of the Holy Spirit; who is afraid to act period without the consent of "the brethren", and that being, in the main, Robert Grove.
And who is Robert Grove? I will reveal more about him in time. But for now, I wish to share with you some letters that have been exchanged between John Morey and myself. And, finally, between John Morey and Jim Johnson, whose father for years fought beside John Morey's father in the glorious and wonderfully good fight of faith to establish the many churches now controlled by Robert Grove. Only now it is Jim who continues the fight, for his dear brother and friend, John Morey, has been captured by the enemy of Christ, indoctrinated with lies, and made impotent where once he was among men like Sampson whom God used to defeat the enemies of His people. I ask those of you reading this, if you are "kings and priests" of God, to pray for John, our fellow "king and priest" who has fallen into captivity, whose eyes have been put out, who now is a "grinder in the prison" of modern day Philistines.
My first letter, before I began to learn of John's despicable condition, was written to him on June 4th, 2003, and it was an appeal for his help in lifting the "marking" on me for the help I insisted on giving to my own son who had been lost and was seeking from me, his father, the help he needed for getting back on his feet following a long period of hardships.
Here's the letter:
Dear Brother John,
Leader in the Long Beach, CA, Assembly
It has been many years since I've written you. Even so, you remain often in my thoughts.
I am not one to find words to express my deep felt respect and love for someone as others may be; however, I have always looked upon you like a father and have admired you for the many excellent qualities you seemed to possess and, yet, have feared that you would find this admiration in me for you distasteful from one so shameful as I am. Yet, I do want you to know that, as a man, I consider you among the greatest of men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
The quality I admire in you most is the apparent love you have for God and for the people of God. From all that I've read about our beloved Lord Jesus, He, too, manifested this admiration in His life toward His Father, our God, and for His creation. Sinners could approach Christ for answers without fear of oppression or rejection by Him like they experienced from the Pharisees and Sadducees. This is a unique quality made available to all who love Christ, but exercised by only a mere few. I believe, and have always felt from the first time I met you that your personality emanated the person of Christ and for that reason I was drawn to you and admired you so greatly.
Yet, I have always been afraid to approach you. Not because I was afraid of you as such, but because I have always felt so unworthy and so ashamed knowing that my presence would demean the reputation of a man such as I held you up to be. This, I know, contradicts my comparison of you to the quality I see in Christ; however, this has been the conflict within my heart and mind over the years, which has kept me from being a true friend and younger brother in Christ to you. Please forgive me my dear friend and brother, for succumbing to such human foibles and not trusting more surely in the salvation and freedom given me by Christ when I accepted Him as my Lord and Savior.
This dilemma truly has prevented me from delighting in your company, your wisdom, and your friendship all these years. Because I now see how deceitful these thoughts have been to me and how they've prevented me from rightfully befriending you as a brother, even as a father figure, in Christ! I have resolved, by the infinite mercies of our Lord, to redeem this little time remaining in our lives and convey to you the thoughts of my heart regarding this revelation. And, as Christ permits, and as you may allow, to be as I have not otherwise have been -- a brother who not only delights in you, but communes with you as well. I hope you find this acceptable and can, in your heart, receive my overture to build a friendship too long in the making with one as pitiful as I am. My heart is in it and I am willing to exercise myself in this regard. My hope is that you will find this overture to be acceptable and worthy of your most noble consideration.
My dear brother John, I find myself in a most difficult situation, one of which I should like to resolve, but find it most difficult, if not impossible to do without the help of elder counsel and intervention from outside this area. I am accused of assisting a "marked" brother and condemned and marked for avoidance by all in the churches for it. This brother was in dire physical straights and had asked for my help in setting his ship aright. This brother is my son. I have been "marked and avoided" for almost two years now because of this and because I refuse to say I've sinned for being a father to a son in desperate need.
My children have been encouraged by a young, unrestrained and zealous leadership here to withhold themselves and my grandchildren from me. My wife has even been pitied in words and in cards for being the wife of a "marked" and "rebellious" man. This has happened so much so that I've had to ask her not to open cards because it puts awful pressure on her and, subsequently, on me for seeing her anguish. Even though I have asked the Lord to sustain me through this, I have at times vacillated between being suicidal and homicidal; I've been in deep, dark depressions and have had moments when, in prayer, I've been embraced and comforted by the God of all comfort. I have also experienced intense anger and at times immense grief and, at such times, have lashed out as a wounded animal ensnared and helpless, for which I have subsequently been "marked" with an "attitude".
Today, my daughter came with her children to my house but would not come in because I was there. I bade her come in to spend time with her mother and let the grandchildren sit upon their Nana's lap with the understanding that I would leave and not come back until they had left. So, as I went out the back door, she came in the front door with her children. One of my precious little granddaughters ran to the back door and called out to me as I was leaving, renting my heart with anguish. All I could do was wave bye as she waved to me. I grieved immensely for her consternation and lack of understanding. I came back only when my wife had called me to say that they had gone.
I have been informed that the only way to my children and my grandchildren is through Tom Collins and Jeff Grove here in the Joshua, Texas, assembly. The conditions demanded of me for a return to fellowship is to acknowledge the leadership's rights over those of a father's and of a Samaritan's. I have been unable to do this and, even if I should repent for this occasion, if presented with another occasion to see to the needs of a destitute outcast seeking mercy and assistance, I could not help but see to his or her need with kindness and with unreserved love even without first seeking approval from the few among us who believe they have the right to allow or disallow such help to such people. In so doing, again I would be marked for avoidance for giving such aid and I would find myself right back where I am now.
My dear brother, I believe you are a wise and sensible man and I believe you are in communication with others whom you trust and respect for their wisdom as well. I am speaking as one who is castaway and despised by family and friends at the insistence of area leadership and treated as filth, but, my dear brother, I am God's precious child just like you are and I love Him for saving me and providing a place for me in His great house for all eternity. And because I am as you are in the eyes of our Great and Mighty and Glorious God, I am beseeching you to ask for an inquisition into my situation by elder brethren from your area whose judgment is not impaired by social entanglements here in this assembly.
I have asked that my crime be stated, then, supported irrefutably from God's Word. I believe God also allows for rebuttal before the church. I have been judged by a few men and condemned for exercising the "heart of a father". My judges have made themselves judges instead of deferring to the church. They have also withheld information from the church that would vindicate my actions and free me from this unjust discipline. I've rightfully asked to be judged by the church and I've asked for independent counsel in helping me prepare my case against those few who have judged and condemned me. I find it difficult, my dear brother, that a noble Berean would remain silent under such circumstances. If we are indeed free men, as we teach, then I have not had my day in court and I have been judged and condemned by a few without just cause. And these few have moved the assembly here in Joshua, Texas, to execute a judgment on a poor man without due process as granted in God's most Holy Word for controversies between disagreeing brothers.
My concern is this -- when I asked my wife how she viewed a person who chose not to follow the advice of a leader in a given situation, she responded that she considered it sin and that the leader had the right to "mark" such a person for avoidance to be executed by all, even his or her own family. Even when pointed out that a leader could be quenching the spirit in a brother at liberty to help a person in need, my wife said that it didn't matter, that we'd been taught over the years that leadership was to be followed without question.
As this is the prevailing thought among us, what hope have we for responding to the Holy Spirit with spontaneity and pure sincerity without fear of being rejected by a leadership that may disagree, especially with our not securing their approval first? And as leadership is made of humanity with all its dubious weaknesses, is it not capable of error and is it not capable of oppressing and abusing those it considers its following? The answer is yes it is capable. And it has been done here in this instance with my case, but not only with my case, but also with other cases that also should be carefully examined by outsiders whose minds are not biased by influencing allegiances as they are here in this assembly.
Has God not granted each of His children the right to ask for an opportunity to answer their accusers before the church? If, indeed, "where the Lord is there is liberty", then the few that lead here have acted presumptuously in denying this right to me. They have denied me this liberty by the "Great Reasoner" who Himself has proffered the offer -- "Come let us reason together...."
My dear brother, please consider all that I have reported here. I have also enclosed a paper entitled "The Zealot Priest" for your consideration, as this story is an accounting in parable form of the circumstances that lead to my "marking" and the obstruction of any good that I could do for my son. (I am thankful and glad to say that he is now working at a good job and taking care of himself; however, he is quite bitter and disillusioned by the hardships put on me by those few who call themselves leaders in this assembly. At this point, he is living in another town quite far away and has no plans for resuming fellowship with those in the assembly any time soon.)
In conclusion, I am asking for your intervention into this matter. Please present this to brethren in California in whom you have confidence and ask them if it would not be possible to look into my case to determine whether an inquisition is in order. And if so, then, if it is something you are at liberty to do, I am begging that you be to me a legal council and a voice when presenting this case before the church. If this can be done, I will abide by whatever the church's decision is; otherwise, if this situation persists, of necessity, I may be forced to seek, as the Apostle Paul once did, relief in this matter from our judicial system. I am not stating this as a threat...I am emphasizing the need to resolve this issue so that it is satisfying to all and glorifying to our Lord and Savior. However, if it can't be done in the church, then, a court of law may be the only other recourse.
I am not a wealthy man, but if need be I will come to Los Angeles to sit with some men of your choosing for a deposition.
Thank you, my dear brother, for taking the time to consider what has been set here before you. While I earnestly await your response, I remain,
Your most humble servant
And brother in Christ,
Richard Hudson
There are many things I could say about the letter I received from John Morey; however, I won't do that here and now. I will print the letter and let you be the judge.
I do want you to know that I replied to John's letter and he wrote back to me to which I again replied for the last time. These three letters, you should read and I will make them available to you in the next installment.
But I want you to be aware that even once you've read these, there is yet four other letters and it is these letters that squarely nails down the wickedness that has overcome our dear brother and, in the assemblies, many others who, like him, have become ensnared by the tyranny of a single man who embraces the doctrine of "extreme authoritarianism" as a means to control all who come in contact with him.
John's response to my letter came approximately 14 days later on June 18th. I have printed it as he wrote it:
To Richard Hudson, My Brother in Christ,
I have read your letter to me on June 5, 2003, many times and my answer is as follows:
You make many accusations in your letter. Can you produce witnesses to confirm these charges -- other than yourself? Scripture teaches that we are not to receive such charges, except before two or three witnesses. You seem to be lashing out against Tom and Jeff, because you have not been able to get your way. You have worked yourself up to "being suicidal and homicidal" and having "dark depressions", "intense anger and at times immense grief", and have lashed out as a "wounded animal ensnared and helpless" and have been marked with an "attitude". I would say you have brought it on yourself. You cannot vent yourself upon your brethren unrestrained. "Blessed are the peacemakers", our God says. Where is your part as a peacemaker?
Richard, your son made his own decision as to how he would live. He professes to belong to Christ, therefore, he is, like us all, subject to God's Word. If his conduct is not in agreement with God's Word then he is judged by it and by his brethren. There are consequences to carnal actions in this life and you know that.
Your present condition is self-inflicted, but there is a solution: "The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding. The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honour is humility." Proverbs 15:31-33. Therefore, humble yourself, Richard. Over the past years you have done yourself harm, caused your wife sorrow and grief and disappointment, your children the same, and the church the same. Yet they love you in Christ, have forgiven you, tried to be loving and faithful to you, and want to see you and your son restored on God's terms.
If what I have written to you is rejected by you, remember that I have written to you with love in my heart, and a desire to be faithful to you. You asked for it from me. Can you take it? Often our memories are very faulty and short-lived, but you have many, many brothers in Christ who have known you for years, and they can read you very well. They do have your best interests in view, and want God's best for you for they truly are your friends.
"DIVISION AMONG THE MEMBERS OF THE BODY OF CHRIST HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS: THE LORD'S GRIEF, THE SAINT'S SORROWS AND THE DEVIL'S GLEE." Think about this!
Conclusion: In your letter I see bitterness, self-will, pride, hatred, self-pity, and a lack of appreciation for your ministering brethren who have helped you so many times. Wake up, Richard, before it is too late! Your letter to me breeds what God hates. Think upon these scriptures; check your heart with them. Proverbs 6:12-19, "A naughty person, a wicked man; walketh with a forward mouth. He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his finger: Forwardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy. These six things doth the Lord hate: yea seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, and a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren." Also, Prov. 13:10, "Only by pride cometh contention, but with the well advised is wisdom."
Richard, I know what it is to be humbled and shamed because of failure and sin in me. I know what it is to be dealt with by brethren who must rebuke my wrongs. But I thank our loving God for such brethren who stood against me when I needed that faithfulness to wake me up, that I might get right with God, and repent of the wrong I had done. Thank God for such brethren and friends!
Your Tract, "Home Wreckers for God!" is shocking and a spiritual crime against your brethren, for it bespeaks of the frame of mind you are in at this time in your life. It does not honor Christ at all; it shows your confusion and carnal-mindedness. You know that you will answer to God for such charges against His MINISTERS! Richard, at this time in your life, you would be the last one that God would call forth to correct His MINISTERS, especially after looking at your track record over the years!
"Examine yourself, whether you be in the faith; prove your own self. Know you not our own self, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobate? But I trust that you shall know that we are not reprobates." 2 Cor. 13:5-6.
"Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and Peace shall be with you." 2 Cor. 13:11.
I will continue to pray for you and your son, and all your family, that there will be restoration and unity, peace and joy in our Lord Jesus Christ for you all.
Your Brother and Friend in Christ,
John Morey
Copies to Jack Hobson, Dr. Steve Bishop, Tom Collins, Jeff Grove, Jim Maurer, Robert Grove.
Had I not become aware at how cults employ guilt to subdue souls, this letter would have stopped me in my tracks. It was not written to help. It did not address my request for assistance in presenting the church with the issue for their judgment. No, it condemned me. It ridiculed me. It was designed to take me down, to crush me with unreasonable and unjustifiable guilt in order to annihilate me, knock me totally out so that I would loose my will to contest the injustice and simply submit to the control the "leadership" wanted over me.
I just could not allow that to happen. An answer! I had to give an answer that would provoke John to rethink all that he had written to me. That answer will appear in next month's Battered Sheep installment.
