Queensland, Australia
December 2020
Dear fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
You will have recently received our letter concerning our daughter Rachel’s treatment by the NSW eldership in our church. We appreciate the many expressions of support that we have received from friends over the past weeks.
We stated in this letter that “it is highly likely eldership will do all in their power to find or falsify any information, to silence us, to discredit, defame, undermine and smear us and our daughter, in order to defect attention from their behaviour and the content of this letter”.
We have received a number of reports that this process has started and that some senior male and female workers are spreading stories that Rachel is planning to take legal action against the church in NSW resulting in compensation for the way in which she has been treated. Whilst we are not surprised that these stories are being circulated there is absolutely no truth in them whatsoever.
The tactics employed by the NSW eldership should surprise no-one.
After the Sixty Minutes program on CSA, some senior workers went to great lengths to spread stories that the victims were lying. Rather than practicing repentance, forgiveness and reconciliation, it appears the path that NSW eldership takes when faced with honest feedback is to further accuse and condemn innocent victims.
We have also updated the original letter to reflect a change on page 3 concerning confidential information which the Dr in question has asked us to remove. Whilst our original letter was private in nature and addressed only to the church in NSW, we are conscious that it may be shared. We are more than happy to accede to this request and have apologised to the individual for our mistake. The updated letter should be treated as private correspondence to the church in NSW only, as per Matthew 18: 15-17, and we would appreciate if it was not distributed more broadly. If you have shared the letter, we would appreciate it if you could make every effort to replace it with the updated version.
Thank you for taking the time to read our correspondence.
As we have stated, we stand by what we have written and choose to stand by God, His Son and His word of Truth.
Greetings,
The Taylors
the additional documents with the original letter remain unaltered, so we felt no need to resend them with this update.
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PO BOX 57
BEERBURRUM
QLD. 4517.
Dear fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Let us introduce ourselves, Reg and Denise Taylor, parents of Rachel Taylor, who has laboured in NSW and overseas for the past 18 years.
We write this letter to you with great distress in our hearts and our souls are appalled with the events we have faced of the past 18 months. We apologise in advance for the letter’s length but we invite you to please take time to read our letter and consider the contents. What is written here, can be substantiated by witnesses, emails, messages and recordings (legally made). We are more than happy to share them if requested.
To not inform you of the events which have occurred, and the suffering we have endured assists in covering up the truth of Rachel’s experience. We stand by Jesus word and teaching of Matthew 18:17, as Rachel and ourselves have stood by verses 15 & 16 with no satisfaction nor resolution. We are weary of the stonewalling by eldership.
We were not raised in meetings. We searched for God in religion for years before coming to Gospel meetings in 1972. For 48 years we have loved and willingly served God with joy in our hearts, enjoyed precious fellowship with His people and loved and respected His servants. Since Rachel’s dismissal and throughout the covid times we have continued to enjoy sweet fellowship together and feel very grateful that God at least, sees the hearts of His people. However, because of the recent behaviour within the NSW eldership, we feel we can no longer trust that the NSW eldership is following the pattern we are given in the New Testament of the ministry, nor do we believe their actions are led by God and consequently, we have lost confidence in their leadership and ability to behave as Godly men. We believe the time has come for the NSW eldership to be held accountable, and to address bullying issues that have been a scourge in the ministry for decades.
Last year Rachel brought the behaviour of her companion Joanne Campbell to the attention of Allan Kitto, David Saunders and Wayne Dean and begged them to get professional help for Joanne for her constant lying and manipulative behaviour. The men were fully aware of Joanne’s problem. Allan [Kitto] said he has spoken to Joanne about it on occasions previously and sisters in NSW have also spoken to eldership about Joanne’s behaviour. Rachel was consistently bullied and mentally abused by Joanne. When Joanne was removed from the field, Joanne then lied and smeared Rachel’s name and testimony to friends and workers.
The eldership has done nothing to get Joanne help for her problem, despite Rachel and others highlighting the problem. Eldership are aware Joanne has caused much harm to those who stand up and ask Joanne to stop her bad behaviour and Joanne has smeared other sister workers in the past, in SA, NSW and Mongolia/China. Rachel’s doctor and therapist suggested Joanne displays many characteristics and behaviours consistent of a person with a narcissistic personality (disorder). It is acknowledged at least one sister overseas has had a breakdown as a result of Joanne’s mental abuse, manipulative behaviour and lies.
NSW eldership is now fully aware, from multiple sources, of Joanne’s consistent damaging behaviour during her 26 years in the work. We respectfully ask the NSW eldership, before the whole church of NSW, to fulfill Rachel’s original request- “get Joanne Campbell professional help for her behaviour”, so that the work could be a safe environment for all. The elder of Queensland has recently acted on similar issues and we respectfully ask Graham Snow and Wayne Dean to show some Christian integrity and honesty and do the same.
In August 2019, Rachel came to a place where she was unable to continue to bear the weight of the field she was in, suffering from PTSD, a result of Joanne’s mental abuse and bullying and also unhealed trauma from a similar situation she faced overseas. She felt she couldn’t adequately care for Melba, who was also unsupportive towards Rachel’s need. We were visiting in Rachel’s field and decided it best to take her home to rest. Allan Kitto spoke personally to us and told us to let Rachel take as much time as she needs. Rachel then wrote an email to Allan Kitto, David Saunders and Graham Snow detailing why she had become totally disheartened, explaining about the bullying and mental abuse she had suffered and included a medical professional’s report stating she was receiving EMDR treatment for her acute stress post trauma response (PTSD) as a result of the mental abuse.
Rachel’s SINGLE request in the email was that the elders make the work an abuse free and safe place for all.
The ensuing tsunami of ill will and hatred suffered by Rachel and us from the NSW eldership has broken our hearts and deeply distressed our souls. Our health has been affected and we are both shocked, appalled and have never ever witnessed anything like it. The depth of lies, the slander, the smear campaigns to discredit Rachel and the desperate cover up has both shaken and shocked us to our core. Allan wrote an email removing Rachel from her place in the work (sacked) and stated he would not be addressing the concern in her email thereby ignoring her request to please stop the bullying. See attached email. Allan also wrote an email to the QLD elder, Malcolm Clapham, stating that Rachel was mentally unstable, hence her return to QLD. Workers in QLD have shunned her as a result of Malcolm Clapham sharing Allan Kitto’s lies.
In her distress, Rachel rang Graham Snow (whom she knew from overseas and once trusted), and David Saunders. Graham Snow promised to intercede regarding Allan’s sacking email but when Rachel rang Graham Snow back days later, he also sacked her but for conflicting and falsified reasons to the reasons Allan Kitto gave. Fortunately, Rachel had the presence of mind to record this conversation with Graham Snow, (legal in QLD). She then rang Allan, (also recorded). Allan gave her more conflicting reasons which conflicted with Graham Snow’s reasons, which also conflicted with his (Allan’s) original email! Confused??? So are we… Utter madness!! We shake our heads.
Remember, all of this was just in response to an email Rachel wrote about being disheartened, asking for the bullying to be addressed and the ministry made a safe and abuse free environment for all. NOT ONCE since all this has happened, has Rachel’s email been attended to.
The men have gone out of their way to ignore Rachel’s request and have continued to smear and defame our daughter’s name and testimony. Allan and David have tried to promote our daughter as a mental, evil and wicked person. Pauline Brunsdon and Karyn Hazelwood travelled to friends’ homes with Allan to support him as he smeared and lied about Rachel. Women, who Rachel loved and served beside willingly and faithfully, working in their fields together. It broke Rachel’s heart. Neither sister has acknowledged their wrongdoing nor apologized.
David encouraged former friends of Rachel’s in Sydney and the Mid North Coast to spread falsehoods and also promote this idea of her being mentally unstable. The former friend in Sydney, a married woman, wrote to Rachel that David is one of her best friends and she will always support David. Our question is why would anyone support an elder in perpetrating evil against another fellow servant? This friend was fully aware that Rachel was not coping well at all at the time, witnessing Rachel’s distress, as Rachel stayed with her during special meetings. This friend discredited Rachel to others, sharing Rachel’s personal messages with those in her fellowship meeting and one meeting goer then spread around Mudgee convention that Rachel was mentally unstable. How can true Christian women behave this way?? Not once did this woman call Rachel to verify the veracity of her friend’s statement, nor did either woman reach out and show any Christian care, love or support to someone who was in desperate need of it at the time.
After Rachel was sacked, David wrote Rachel an email stating he and Graham Snow were organizing a reference for her. In the email, David wrote ‘I will mention that I did read your email just to Graham, trying to clarify your claims of what he said to you and that he is now aware that you recorded your conversation with him. Just in case it comes up between you in the future.’ Rachel felt she was being threatened. Graham & David then reneged on writing a reference and Allan Kitto wrote a glowing reference for Rachel (after sacking her for no honest reason). We have included the reference for you to read. We are totally confused about this utterly insane conduct from the eldership.
For the record, Rachel has never worked for “Christian Conventions” as stated in the reference, her labour was for God alone. Sometime later, we had a face-to-face meeting with Allan and David, where David was asked why he tried to blackmail our daughter to say she wasn’t sacked. David had said, “If Rachel would tell people she was resting, then the door of the ministry would remain open to her. If she told people she was sacked by Allan, then she was closing the door to the work for herself.” Rachel had stated that she would tell the truth and stand by the truth of events as they had occurred. David, knowing and confronted with this, evaded answering the question of blackmail, grabbed his bag and ran out of the house and down the street and we didn’t see him again.
Later, when things weren’t going well for them and eldership couldn’t avoid the truth of their bad behaviour and misconduct, David wrote in an email that he ‘hoped Rachel was finding some rest’ (How do you rest when you’re sacked from the work for no honest reason, then scapegoated by eldership?) He also wrote that ‘the whole “issue” has put us into a horrible pit with miry clay. Only the Lord can lift us out and put our feet on stable rock.’
However, even after that email, David was still trying to convince people at Booyong convention that Rachel was mentally unstable, while telling others there that he would never say anything of the sort about anyone. Just before Booyong convention, Allan Kitto also demanded the staff to stand with him (in his mistreatment of Rachel, scapegoating her) and encouraging them to NOT support nor make contact with her, and Graham Snow has done similarly this year.
Why would men, who purport to be Christians and lead by God, demand the ministry show a loyalty to eldership above loyalty to God and Christ himself?? This is cult like behaviour. It has become obvious to us that all of the workers know that their place in the ministry will be threatened if they question the eldership’s decisions regarding Rachel or show her any strong support. Rachel has asked some workers not to contact her knowing what they have said and done against her, this distressing her beyond words.
Allan pretended he and Rachel’s former elder overseas had agreed to take her name off the 2020 workers list. This was just more madness, as when Rachel contacted this elder, he denied ever doing anything of the sort and was appalled about Allan’s lies. Allan never consulted Rachel about removing her name off the list nor did he voluntarily send her a 2020 workers list. The evil shown, to try and negate Rachel’s faithful service of 18 years is outstanding. Being a populist, Graham Snow did restore Rachel’s name to the list for a short time (presumably to save face for the eldership) but has since taken her off all staff emails, blocked her on his phone, continues to smear her name, and has written that it is impossible for her to resume her work in NSW – despite there being no reason now for Rachel not to return to her place in the work that GOD called her into (not Graham).
She has rested, received excellent medical help and is now free of PTSD. The madness of it all makes our heads spin and our hearts deeply grieved. Sadly, Rachel’s original email regarding her being disheartened, speaking about Joanne Campbell’s lying problem and asking for the work to be an abuse free and safe place for all still remains unacknowledged and unaddressed.
Why is this the behaviour of men who say they follow Christ and uphold his words? We cannot accept and normalize this consistent cruel, unchristian behaviour of eldership. We do not understand why God’s people treat the state elders as if they are infallible, (like the pope) or incapable of wrong when clear evidence shows otherwise AND has been admitted to. Friends have observed for decades that overseers have acted beyond the limits of what the Scripture allows & what Christ showed and taught. There’s no scriptural evidence that eldership is above any other person in any way. There’s no Scriptural basis for any claim that eldership has a higher anointing than any other person in the ministry and the scripture declares plainly that no person has the power to rule over any other person in God’s Kingdom.
WE RESPECTFULLY INVITE NSW ELDERSHIP TO SHOW THE CHURCH WHERE ELDERSHIP’S ROLE, PLACE AND BEHAVIOUR IS SUPPORTED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES. Christ is the Head of the Church & all power and authority & glory belongs to him. Jesus didn’t say follow ‘Christians’ or people, He said “Follow me.”
Because of the treatment we, Rachel and many others have received, is it not time for the eldership to be accountable for their behaviour and damage, firstly to God and then to the church? If they refuse to be accountable, we encourage God’s people not to stand by and support what we feel is the influence of Satan within the ministry. We read where Jesus spoke to his disciples about false prophets amongst his people. Matthew 7:15 & 16. Jesus was speaking to his disciples and acknowledging this influence could be inside the fellowship.
We see how the men have treated many, including ourselves, who have spoken up about problems in the Kingdom. These men portray an illusion of piety with their smooth, charismatic demeanour and words of God, like the Pharisees in Jesus day, whilst being ravening wolves in their behaviour and spirit towards members of the flock and ministry. The eldership has behaved with the cruelty of Satan, whilst they smoothly teach and preach the words of Jesus and speak piously about the Love of God in their meetings. Is this not pure hypocrisy?
We have letters from former sister workers, who have spoken to the eldership about the bullying in the past, only to be bullied out of the work, their mental health broken and left financially destitute after years of faithful service. Graham Snow has some of these letters in his possession, attached with extensive medical documents from health professionals stating the effect of the bullying and mental abuse they had suffered and then, facing more abuse because they had spoken up about it.
Graham, Wayne and the former elders Clyde, David and Allan have done nothing to rectify this scourge. It is not acceptable conduct and completely unchristian behaviour. Rachel has had excellent therapy, last year and this year, paid for (we have bank statements) by Graham Snow and Wayne Dean, these men acknowledging that bullying does exist in the ministry. They acknowledge bullying exists in the ministry, so why do they allow the abuser/s to remain in the work? It is their responsibility to act on the complaints of bullying and mental abuse, especially within the ministry. Workplace Health and Safety laws are in place for this reason within the normal workforce and supervisors/overseers are accountable to act.
There is a morbid spiritual sickness within the eldership, which many friends have observed over past decades. Some, who have been on the receiving end of eldership’s abuse, report this consistent kind of behaviour – There is always a smear campaign, lies and innuendo from eldership that discredits, undermines and defames the person seeking help for the problems within the Kingdom. Eldership normalize this ungodly and evil behaviour.
It is high time for this behaviour to cease. This behaviour is a scourge in God’s kingdom, it is of Satan (the father of all lies, a destroyer, an accuser of the Brethren and the author of Confusion) and has caused some sincere people who were true, faithful souls who loved God and His son, to lose their faith and some are irreparably damaged. The consequence for offending (causing faith to be destroyed) is in Luke17:1&2, Mark 9:42, Matthew 18:6. We would encourage the eldership to repent and rectify their errors before they have to face Eternity.
We invite you to read the accompanying article on scapegoating. It clearly identifies the behaviour of eldership, and how they deal with people raising issues that eldership clearly do not want to address. Rachel was not completely familiar with the method of scapegoating until her doctors in NSW and QLD both pointed out individually that the behaviour of the eldership was consistent with the practice of scapegoating & toxic leadership. Eldership continue to evade accountability for this behaviour. Why? It appears they would rather continue to discredit any individual who raises any concern; silence and cover up any issues rather than be responsible, accountable Christian men.
Friends & ex-workers have shared their experiences of eldership’s abuse with us and the commonalities are-
Those who speak up are branded as –
- troublemakers/ Rebellious/ murmurers/ mental or have mental issues
- not accepting authority [the only true, purely spiritual authority is God and His Son Jesus alone, as the scripture clearly states] / being out of their place (place- we are all God’s children in His family.)
- not able to get along with / not able to keep harmony with God’s people or the ministry scripture clearly states] / being out of their place (place- we are all God’s children in His family.)
- not able to get along with / not able to keep harmony with God’s people or the ministry
- causing problems, not willing to simply fit in, committing the sin of ‘rocking the boat’
- liars (eldership regularly promotes this phrase- “you can’t believe a word they say”)
They’re also branded as only telling their half of the story. (In Rachel’s situation, when numerous friends asked eldership for their [eldership’s] half of the story, the friends were stonewalled, told lies and different, conflicting, inconsistent details & irrelevant information and some even told that it is in God’s hands). Those who try to address problems are accused of having a “wrong” spirit in speaking up, accused of being bitter and told they need to forgive & forget, get over it (enabling eldership to continue to remain unaccountable for their wrong & offence, leaving any raised concerns unheard and unresolved). They’re also told to have the Abigail spirit and be a peacemaker, blaming the victim & again absolving eldership of any accountability &responsibility and problems remain unaddressed and unresolved.
One friend wrote- eldership always escape accountability & responsibility & put the blame back onto the victim. This is what has always happened with CSA issues & happens with bullying. The perpetrators get off free. It’s so wrong. Sadly, in the past 18 months, we also have experienced the same consistent type of behaviour from eldership, as outlined above. We ask Eldership to stop the lies, bullying, scapegoating, stop silencing the voices of reason and truth & address the problems in God’s kingdom.
It appears Graham Snow has a personal vendetta against Rachel because she has had the courage to stand for truth, be strong and show the courage of her conviction. She has highlighted the unsightly problem of bullying and mental abuse that is occurring within the ministry and will continue to do so. Remember, she ONLY asked for the ministry to be an abuse free & safe place for all. By his behaviour, Graham Snow has revealed that he, himself, behaves as a chief bully, trying desperately hard to destroy our daughter’s testimony at any cost, so he can then escape accountability for his own behaviour. He has lied, smeared and defamed Rachel’s testimony in emails and conversation, called her a ‘troublemaker’, wrote her to have a ‘meek & quiet spirit’ & has said to some, regarding Rachel’s concern about bullying, “she should just get over it”.
Wayne Dean fully supports Graham Snow in this behaviour. Graham has removed & is barring Rachel from returning to the ministry via a recent email because of his own baseless, concocted lies about her, which he pretends are the truth. This is evil, not justifiable, has no scriptural basis & we feel it is Satanic. False & defamatory claims under Australian law are a punishable offence; even so, this knowledge doesn’t appear to concern Graham. So we raise this question – Who has designated Graham Snow the position of God? What authority does he & others have, to dismiss at will, one of God’s chosen servants for only asking the work be made a safe place for all? This is dictatorial behaviour. Graham will remove anyone he cannot overrule & remove those who oppose his lies or seek to make him accountable to the flock and the ministry. We respectfully ask Graham Snow to stop crucifying our daughter & start behaving towards her as a Christian, as he claims to be. Galatians 4:16. Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth?
Jesus clearly taught that, He, the greatest leader, was amongst His disciples as one that serves not one that rules. Leadership is about humility, accountability, responsibility & setting an example of serving. What we witness of Graham Snow’s & other elder’s leadership is coercive control and domination, consistent dishonesty & avoidance of accountability. One of our friends commented, the only consistency Graham Snow has shown this year is in his dishonesty: His-behaviour shows the spirit of Satan, not the spirit of Christ. Elder brothers from overseas have told us that Graham Snow is a very, very dishonest man. Based on his behaviour towards Rachel & ourselves, we have to fully agree with their statement. He’s a master of manipulation, projection, deflection and illusion.
Many friends have spoken/ written to us and Graham Snow about their great concern. Graham deflects, lies, manipulates, stonewalls & refuses listen to the pleas of God’s people in NSW and QLD regarding how Rachel has been treated. Not once have the friends received any honest answer, nor seen Rachel restored to her place or supported by the ministry. Eldership have caused much distress amongst God’s people by their behaviour toward Rachel yet none of them have apologized nor tried to make amends for their harmful behaviour. It needs to change. Regarding addressing Rachel’s original email & her request to make the ministry an abuse free & safe place for all, we continue to wait.
As we have not been able to come to a satisfactory conclusion on this matter, we respectfully ask before you all, the church of God in NSW, as per Matthew 18:17, that the eldership of NSW make the ministry an abuse free & safe place for all, as Rachel requested in her original (yet still unaddressed) email, fulfill Rachel’s original request to get Joanne Campbell professional help & restore Rachel to her place in the ministry. We also request that the eldership acknowledge their behaviour, show accountability, stop scapegoating, lying & bullying those who speak the truth about real concerns in the Kingdom.
We understand that in writing this letter, it’s highly likely eldership will do all in their power to find or falsify any information, to silence us, to discredit, defame, undermine & smear us and our daughter, in order to deflect attention from their behaviour & the content of this letter. Their response will prove to everyone the Spirit they are of. Matthew 7: 15 & 16, as Jesus taught, by their fruits (behaviour) you will know them. We stand by what we have written & choose to stand by God, His Son & His word of Truth.
Your brother
Reg [Taylor, Rachel’s father]
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From: Allan Kitto
Date: 5 September 2019 at 9:12:57 am AEST
To: “Taylor Rachel “<rachtaylor74@gmail.com>
Subject: Thank You
Dear Rachel,
Thank you for your letter last Friday.
You have been in my thoughts and prayers and at this point in time, I do not feel it needful to go over and comment on anything that you have written.
We feel it would be best for you to remain with your parents and go to a convention in Queensland with the saints there, and then it would be a help if you could find some work which will be a benefit to your health.
I have told Malcolm Clapham that you are staying with your parents.
Thank you for your help in mission work here in NSW and for your care for souls.
Greetings from your brother in Christ,
Allan Kitto
NOTE: When questioned who the “we” was, Allan Kitto replied, “Myself and God.”
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CHRISTIAN CONVENTIONS
Representing Assemblies of Christians
and
Christian Missionaries
(Australia)
4 Domain Circuit
Bella Vista 2153
Australia
Phone: 02 9659 5952
Allan Kitto
XXXX
XXXX
AUSTRALIA
(Senior Minister)
Phone: XXX
30th September 2019
Letter of Recommendation and Testimonial of Character
For: Rachel Taylor
Australian Citizen (Passport Number xxxxxxxx)
Date of Birth: xxxxxxxx
Home address: xxxxxxxxxx. Australia
Phone: xxxxxxxx
I have known Rachel Taylor for some years both prior to 2002 and since 2002 when she began as a full-time Minister of the Christian Conventions in February of that year. She has worked amongst the community in NSW in cities such as Wollongong, Newcastle, Armidale, Dubbo, Central Coast and Coffs Harbour.
This work that Rachel and many others of us do, is benevolent work, supported by voluntary gifts from members of the Church. It is a full-time position which can occupy any time of the day in pastoral care, teaching and in helping the sick when needed.
Rachel went to Hungary on 26 April 2006 to continue in the same work in that country. She completed an intensive Hungarian language course and continued to study Hungarian both with a private tutor and self motivated study throughout her time there (about 8 years). She also worked in Germany and Austria from August 2014 to September 2016 and during that time engaged a private tutor to teach her German. In September 2016 she returned to NSW and since then has continued in the same work associated with the Church as she did before going to Europe.
Since finishing this work with Christian Conventions on the 5th September 2019, Rachel has moved to Queensland, to live with her parents. She has given herself unselfishly in her work and service to others throughout the past 18 years – and as such, as part of this Church, I recommend Rachel for any job, position or university study, especially where she would be able to further her studies if necessary.
Having known Rachel Taylor and her work here in Australía, I know that she has been solely dedicated to evangelistic work and pastoral care, and have every confidence in her integrity and commitment.
Allan Kitto (Senior Minister) allankitto@gmail.com
Signed: Allan Kitto
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From: Graham Snow
Subject: Plans
Date: 13 February 2020 at 9:11:09 pm AEST
Dear NSW Staff.
I’m now able to send a few lines to give an idea of immediate plans which are shaping up. Wayne and I hope to arrive in Sydney on Saturday the 29th of this month. We plan to drive ve across from the West. There is a car which was largely bought by someone in Switzerland to be used in for the Work and this person is happy for it to be used also in NSW, so we will bring it across. Two of the friends here will come with me as far as Adelaide where they have relatives, whom they would like to visit. From Adelaide Wayne and I will drive on aiming to be at Ron and Penny Garlick’s by late Saturday afternoon the 29th.
It is not clear to either Wayne or me, at this stage, what our first tasks will be, but we will just take it a step at a time. I sure hope to be able to go to the Newcastle field as soon as possible, but as already mentioned, step by step. When I went to the Netherlands back in 2004 there were a number of needs there to see to, but the advice for my zealous companion was stapje voor stapje? Step by step.
I’m not sure if you are aware that a visit to Europe had been planned for me towards the middle of the year. Recently the European convention list was sent, where my name figured at conventions over a period of 4 months and I had hoped to stay on a bit longer, however I do not feel it would be appropriate to be away so long from a new field, so have cut it down to two months. This means I will leave immediately after the NSW special mtgs and come back two months later. D.V. Having spent 54 years in Europe it envelopes a big part of my life, but it now seems, it is time to withdraw from over there.
Trust you are all well and those who are struggling with health issues, that you are on the upward path
Your brothers
Graham [Snow] and Wayne [Dean]
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Rachel shared this email with us out of deep concern. Please read the above underlined sentence. Graham Snow used sanctified money from Friends to purchase a luxury car that he uses for himself. Graham writes of Swiss friends largely giving money for his car in above staff email of 13/02/20. He has also told God’s people that friends in WA bought the car. Irrespective of who gave the funds, Graham has misused what is sanctified, given by friends, to buy a luxury vehicle for his own personal use.
The money given by God’s people to the ministry is sanctified and for the use in the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ, not to be used by workers for luxury or their pleasure. Graham Snow leads by such a wrong example, normalizing inappropriate behaviour and conduct.
We raise these questions-
- If there were enough field cars in WA, a simple “No thank you” would have sufficed when the Swiss friends offered Graham Snow the money.
- If there was a dearth of field cars for the work in WA, why did Graham Snow then bring the car to NSW and keep it for his personal use?
- If there was a desperate need for a car in WA, why was a VW Tiguan late model worth $50,000+, purchased with sanctified money, when a much lesser expensive but reliable car could have been purchased?
- NSW friends supply more than enough vehicles for the workers to use. There is no dearth of field cars in NSW for the workers use.
- Why is there one rule for the rest of the ministry and one rule for Graham Snow?
Graham Snow serves in a ministry, according to the scripture, that is homeless, asset less and there is no scriptural basis for him to misuse sanctified funds. Graham Snow’s misuse of sanctified funds amounts to theft from the church. This theft is committed against God himself and not in keeping with the pattern of the New Testament ministry that Graham Snow purports to be a member of. Explanation needs to be given to the church as to why Graham Snow misused the sanctified funds for a luxury car for his own personal use. Every worker is accountable to the church and each other, in how they would handle and use sanctified funds.
Many friends feel it would be best for Graham Snow to sell the car and return the sanctified money to the friends it came from. Alternatively, if the Swiss friends, or WA friends, whoever gave the funds, do not want the sanctified money returned, it could be divided and given to those sister workers who were bullied out of the work, defamed by the eldership and left destitute. Rachel has provided Graham Snow with a list of ex sister workers who were bullied in the work, broken and left destitute by eldership.
As a Christian, what do you follow and why? We have made a study to better acquaint ourselves with God’s word and to know what is truly scriptural.
We realise that what is scriptural is life giving. If we follow something that is not substantiated by the scripture, it is not of God and has no power of God in it. We choose to follow what is life giving, what is written in God’s word.
What is the name of our congregation?
We have no official name. In Acts 4:12 (10-12), it states there’s no other name under heaven by which we will be saved. We believe in Jesus Christ and if we were to be called anything, we’d probably accept this title they gave to Jesus’ followers in Acts 11:26 called Christian. The Greek word Xplotiavóc (Christianos), meaning “follower of Christ”.
What is the role of the ministry, why do they live like they live?
We believe in the ministry that Jesus instituted. He promised he’d be with them till the end of the world, so that same pattern of ministry is the one that brings Christ to the world and through which people receive salvation.
Conditions of the ministry – found in Matthew 10, Luke 6, Mark 9.
Homeless, asset poor (going in faith to preach faith) taking only enough clothing and possessions as is practical for a moving, homeless ministry. etc. The spirit of the ministry is equally if not more important also. Matthew 10:16.
Jesus sent them (Apostles, then disciples) out together (2) first to the Jews, (hence the command for healing. Always done by a Jew or for a Jew- proof the messiah had come because the Apostles had power over sin, which caused sickness). The natural healing bears no relevance for non-Jews. The healing we believe in is the healing of our soul, God through his word making us whole spiritually. After the resurrection Jesus sent the ministry/ apostles to all parts of the Earth. Acts 1:8. He told them in Matthew 28:18-20 to go into all the world …teaching all nations, baptising them….and teaching them to observe all that I’ve taught you.
The reason Jesus sent his disciples together (2) was John 8:17 The testimony of two men is true. Bearing witness of God, the Son, Jesus & the Holy Spirit. That same pattern today is followed to be true witnesses for Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:21 God’s wisdom to save people by the foolishness of preaching.
Congregation?
We follow the pattern of the bible for the church in the home and the pattern for the fellowship meeting in 1 Corinthians 14:26. Psalm (hymn), doctrine (God’s word), tongue, revelation and interpretation ( sharing with others what God has revealed to us personally, by his Holy Spirit). When people believed the message of the ministry that Jesus sent, we read in Acts in various places, the believers (first called Christians at Antioch) who became born again, met in homes and had fellowship together. They met together on the first day of the week (Sunday for us) just like Jesus instituted in John 20 and broke bread. Partaking of the Lord’s supper, just as we do that in these days. The bread and the cup. Luke 22:19 We do it to remember Jesus, as he asked his disciples to.
Homes where the believers met .1 Corinthians 16:19. Romans 16:5. Colossians 4:15. Philemon 1:2. As Jesus did in John 20. The churches in the homes have come into being when the ministry sent by God, came to the area and people believed their message. The ministry is an itinerant, salary-less ministry according to and as instituted by Jesus. Moving from town to town, place to place as Jesus commanded his apostles to do. Churches in the home come into being firstly when people who listen to the message from God’s true servants, believe the message and become born again. If there are more people in the area who have experienced being born again of the Spirit and word of God, through the preaching of the Gospel, they have the privilege to meet together in homes, as clearly is the pattern in Acts of the Apostles and other places in the New Testament. We pattern ourselves on these early congregations.
Eldership and Elders?
Elders mentioned in Acts were firstly the Jewish elders that stood against Jesus …. then Christian elders (elders of each church in the home) that liased with the apostles and the church to come to decisions regarding the church. It’s clear that everyone worked together with the leading of the Spirit, to resolve issues. Sometimes it was the apostles and church elders, sometimes it was all three bodies, but always under the influence of the Holy Spirit and unity between both apostles, church & church elders. The apostles had some administrative duties but they never had single rule over elders of fellowship nor the church itself. Their chief role in the New Testament was to evangelise / preach and live the gospel.
The first reference of Christian elders of the church-
Acts 11:30 responsible for the welfare of the church and in Acts 15:2,4,6,22, 23 &28 – with the apostles, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to make decisions and then decisions taken before the whole church for approval.
Acts 16:42 groups again- apostles (ministry) and elders of the church.
Elders of the Church- Titus 1:5, 1 Tim 5: 17,19, 1 Tim 3:6, Acts 14:23, 1 Thess 5:12, Acts 20: 17 &28- overseer or Greek-bishop, Acts 20:25 a number of church elders at Ephesus
There is no place in the New Testament where major choices, decisions or problems were resolved without all the church, elders of the church and the apostles coming together under the Holy Spirit. According to the New Testament, it does not fall on one man to make decisions for the church, elders of the church nor the apostles as a whole. There is no hierarchy that Jesus created when he instituted the ministry and sent them out. Why does an eldership and ministry hierarchy now exist, which rules over the church? This is not substantiated nor consistent with the Apostles/ ministry in the New Testament? We cannot find any scriptural basis for the role and behaviour of the Eldership, as we know it.
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HOW SCAPEGOATS ARE CREATED IN THE WORKPLACE.
Scapegoating often exists in a workplace environment with an unhealthy culture. The culture is usually established by leadership, and if leadership doesn’t put an end to scapegoating then they are most likely allowing it and even encouraging it. Most of these types of work environments are led by people who promote this type of dysfunction.
Wherever people go, they create systems. And many times, they create very toxic systems – ones that replicate a dysfunctional family and tend to be cult-like. Rules in dysfunctional workplaces, where scapegoating is frequent, include the following:
- Make a case against someone.
- Create an atmosphere of seriousness and urgency regarding this person.
- Keep secrets. Be careful about who knows what.
- Create rigid rules
- Gossip.
- Triangulate.
- Exclude the scapegoat from developing close alliances within “the group.” This is a type of ostracizing.
- Over-react to every little thing the target does and act as if it is an “unforgivable sin,” worthy of grave consequences. Act outraged whenever the target takes a supposed false step.
- Filter out the good about the target and magnify the bad.
- Use only selective listening when dealing with this person.
There is usually a leader of the pack who sets the scapegoating in motion. This leader has power – it is usually a supervisor of some sort, or a close ally to a supervisor. This person creates a narrative, with an air of “watch out for so and so,” leaving the feelings of, “this is very concerning and can’t be tolerated.” There is a sense of self-righteous indignation and outrage directed toward the victim.
Other people are willing to go along with it for a few reasons:
1.They want to be part of the “in-crowd.”
2.They want to please the leader; akin to being the teacher’s pet.
3.They like feeling superior and special by being in a position to judge someone else.
4.They are glad they aren’t being the target; it’s a relief.
Why are certain people targeted? The person being scapegoated usually doesn’t care about those things listed above – at least the first three. They usually don’t care about being popular or being part of an in-crowd. They are probably satisfied with just being friends with anyone. They probably aren’t interested in being best friends with the leader. They don’t want to judge others but see everyone on an equal playing field. And last but not least, they are never going to be interested in hurting another person by ganging up on them and scapegoating anyone else.
The leader usually picks on someone very independent; usually the type of person who “beats to their own drum beat,” and is very much oblivious to being a rule-follower, and tends to be guileless in nature. Dysfunctional leaders with a need to have power are inclined to absolutely hate these people. The reason is because controllers often hate those they cannot control. A scapegoat tends to think of him or herself as an equal to the leader, and usually just assumes the leader feels or believes the same. Wrong. A supervisor in need of power and control will take great strides to ensure this “unworthy subject” is put in his/her place.
Dysfunctional leaders often have huge egos to massage. Victims of workplace scapegoating are frequently unwilling to massage anyone’s ego; and, honestly, are usually oblivious to the need for catering to someone in that manner.
In the beginning of the targeting process an original case will be made against the target. It will probably be fabricated out of thin air. The case will be enlarged and magnified to the point of being made into an “impeachable” offense.
The victim will be caught completely off guard. He/she will be shocked and confused. “What?!? I’m being accused of what?!?! That doesn’t make any sense!!! Who did this? Why?”
The entire experience for the scapegoat is befuddling.
The chosen scapegoat will often leave the workplace, either because of being fired, or forced to resign, with a complete sense of confusion over the entire ordeal. This is mainly because the reasons for the scapegoating have nothing to do with reality, but are merely a form of abuse.
At the end of the day, a scapegoated workplace employee is a victim of abuse; psychological abuse; and oftentimes financial abuse, because if you lose your form of income, you usually suffer financially. The psychological abuse results in feelings of devastation, betrayal, confusion, and outrage. It affects the person’s sense of personal worth and self-esteem.
https://pro.psychcentral.com/recovery-expert/2020/06/creating-scapegoats-in-the-workplace/
See also: Rachel Taylor’s letter that got her sacked from the ministry
This is the response of Alexander Helms, a brother worker who laboured in NSW, where Rachel laboured.
From: Rach Taylor
Date: 2 December 2020
To: Alexander HELMS <alexghelms@gmail.com>
Subject: Regarding your message to Reg and Denise
From Alexander Helms:
Reg and Denise;
I’ll keep this short; your letter is, and already has discouraged many young people in NSW. This is a difficult time, and in a drought it doesn’t take much to kill a tree. Let alone a sapling.
However true your letter might be, in the process it is discouraging many! The old and established can perhaps take it. The ones you are poisoning are our youth, my friends, the hope of the kingdom. I am not judging or accusing, but informing you.
If it saddens your heart, it will sadden the heart of another. In youth this often translates to; I don’t want to have anything to do with that. Yes uninformed. But Jesus spoke much of offending the little ones.
Alex Helms
Rachel’s response:
Hello Alex,
My parents and I find your message (above) strange, and you lack clarity about people’s discouragement. The blame for discouragement, poisoning of a person’s spirit and offence rests squarely on the eldership, who refuse to make things right with us, as Jesus taught us to do in Matthew 18:15-17. What the eldership have done is the greatest offence that we all have ever faced in our lives.
Speaking and upholding the truth, following scripture to try and sort an offence perpetrated by eldership, will not discourage nor poison people whose faith is in God, nor will it cause offence. It’s actually the Godly, Christlike way to behave.
However, if a person’s faith is in men who call themselves Christians who lie, slander, scapegoat, bully and try and destroy a servant and child of God, then that person has every right to be discouraged and their spirit will be poisoned because that kind of behaviour (lies, scapegoating. Etc.) is in fact Satanic and will cause people to be offended and lose their faith in God. Our faith and confidence should be in God and Christ only.
As per the letter, my parents have encouraged everyone in the church to adhere to the scripture, follow what Jesus instituted and follow what is written in God’s word. How can that be discouraging? What is of God (truth, clarity, transparency, Love for God’s word) is life giving; what is of Satan (lies, illusion, hatred [and bullying]) is what takes the heart out of people and destroys faith. People are discouraged because they are seeing and reading what eldership really are- untrue men. And yes, it sure is discouraging to realise these men aren’t what they pretend to be. We hope it will encourage all of God’s people to get closer to Him and find their direction and answers from God.
We ask permission and would like to share your message with those who have also been scapegoated and bullied by eldership over decades and have never had an apology or the offence made right from eldership. There are many out there who have suffered at the hands of the eldership and some no longer have a living faith in God.
You’d do well to encourage the young friends to deepen their faith and connection with God, and not to put confidence in men who are hypocrites who lie, bully, cover up and scapegoat. Having confidence in such people will only lead to discouragement and poisoning of a person’s spirit.
One would hope that the eldership have the humility to repent and make amends for their misconduct and behaviour, before they reach eternity because as Jesus taught, it would be better that a millstone be hung around your neck than to offend one of Christ’s little ones.
Your grandmother Leona would be disgusted with the rotten behaviour of eldership and wouldn’t have tolerated it. She would’ve addressed it and made sure the eldership apologised and repented. She loved Truth and didn’t tolerate nonsense or evil behaviour. We all loved her dearly .
Keep close to God, Alex. I’d encourage you to seek to have Godly empathy and compassion for those who have been broken in life, rather than sit in the seat of judgment. Satan will deceive many before Jesus’ return- don’t become one of them.
Regards,
Rachel
LINK to Rachel’s Letter that got her sacked from the ministry