Outbursts of anger by GG

[Oscar]

Folks,

In another thread VanDave posted some characteristics of what he termed "pathological liars".  One of them said,

Need for Stimulation
Living on the edge. Verbal outbursts and physical punishments are normal. Promiscuity and gambling are common.

I had two experiences where GG suddenly lost control of himself and shouted at me and/or others.

1. I once said something to him in a restaurant in the San Fernando Valley.  I do not remember what it was.  He said, "Let's go" and we went to his car.  He suddently began yelling at me and raced out of the parking lot onto Nordhoff blvd.

He turned across six lanes of traffic which forced several cars to brake hard.  They honked their horns at him.  He rolled down his window and began yelling out the window at them.

2. On another occassion, in Fullerton, I had eaten dinner with him at Mimi's on Euclid.  I expressed my concern to him about the education of my kids.  He was constantly reminding us of the dangers of the public schools.  I was still living in the SFV and could not afford the tuition at a Christian school for all my kids.

GG told me, "just trust the Lord".  He said this two or three times.  Finally, I asked him, "If one can "just trust the Lord" why are you working so hard at setting up a Christian school for your grandkids to attend?

Again, he said, "Let's go!".  When we reached the parking lot he began yelling in my face, berating me and telling me what a bad person I was.  After he had blown off some steam he calmed down, said a few less critical things, and left.  This was around 1984.

Years later, after the collapse of the Assembly, a sister told me that she had been in the lot that night and had witnessed the whole thing.

Has anyone else had this experience with GG?

T. Maddux

[Vandyyke]

   One evening during ch summary George was just starting to speak when Clarence turned off a microphone switch and turned on another microphone switch. (I think it had to do with recording the message) George jumped out of his skin, "Why did you do that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" at Clarence. It seemed as if George took it as a personal attack on himself. He thought to himself, "This Clarence guy is trying to make a fool out of me!"

If I had behaved in such a manner I would have been barbecued alive but George was considered "The Lord's Servant" and beyond reproach.


Years later I encountered men like GG in the Plymouth Brethren. I stood up to them! Right in their faces and ALL OF THEM BACKED DOWN!  They are really wussies!

[Oscar]

VanDave,

Several years before the "fall", a long-time leading brother from an Orange county assembly left fellowship.  I called him and asked him why.

He told me that his wife and another sister had sung a song together at a tent campaign.  Apparently GG did not like the song or the way it was sung.  So after the meeting this brother came out of the tent into a dark area behind it.  He encountered GG loudly chewing out his wife and the other sister.

He told me that GG was proclaiming something like, "This is my ministry and I won't allow that kind of music to be associated with it."

GG had a thing about upbeat music.  He frequently complained about New Song's attempts, and changed the rules on them frequently.  What was OK this time would be cancelled the next time, and vice versa.

T. Maddux

[Joe Sperling]

VanDave,



GG had a thing about upbeat music.  He frequently complained about New Song's attempts, and changed the rules on them frequently.  What was OK this time would be cancelled the next time, and vice versa.

T. Maddux

Regarding "upbeat music":

I remember once when I was in the Assembly someone brought a song into worship----it was a song where the sisters would sing one verse and the brothers another, etc. etc.-----it was actually quite beautiful.  By the next Sunday though we were told before worship that George was very upset that the song had been sung the week before and it would not happen again.  During that morning's worship someone started the song--abruptly, either George or Tim (don't remember which it was) stopped the song, and we had to sing another. I remember thinking it very strange as George always said that worship was to be "led by the Spirit"---and I remember thinking "does the Spirit of God only approve of the hymns in the hymnbooks for worship? is no other song acceptable?" To George the beautiful song was "soulish", and hymns were "spiritual", therefore, from that point on only hymns from "Hymns and Spiritual Songs" and "Hymns for the Little Flock" were allowed (at least I never heard any other song than what was in the hymn books from then on).

Kind of off subject from "outbursts of anger"---but it came to memory when I read the post.  --JS

[Vandyyke]

       Earl told me a simular story. He tried to reason with GG when GG yelled at him, "Listen brother, this is my church!"

[Vandyyke]

 It seems as if he is an extremely insecure person. When you consider how he reacted to Clarence changing the microphone. If anyone knows Clarence then they know he is the last guy on earth who would try to mess with anyone in such a manner.

     I suspect his reaction to the Tent-Meeting had to do with the fact that he didn't relate to the style of music, therefore it was "worldly".

    One Christmas Eve I was "greatly honored" to be one of the divorced guest over at his home. After dinner I'm sitting across from him having coffee and trying my best to make conversation. He's giving me a look! A suspicious look!  And all of a sudden he starts in on some story about a brother who took a sister (Beth Alex) out on a date? and brought her home after 10 P.M.!!!!!  "I took him aside and I told him a thing or two!!!!!!" "He knows better than to try that around me!!!!"   O.K. so I'm sitting there thinking "Oh $%%^# George thinks I'm out to mess with the sisters!" 


  To be honest, messing with the sisters wasn't even a temptation. I might as well break into Fort Knox! I mean common! In order to steal a doughnut you gotta have one in front of you!


   Dude!  How am I going to mess with the sisters? Even if I asked one to go out for coffee with me it would get into leaderships ears before she said no! But here is this guy ranting about how "I better watch out!"
Dude! You already emasculated me years ago! Why should I be a threat?

   The reality of the situation was all inside this perverts sick and twisted mind!






Now do you see why I want to kick his ass!
   

[Vandyyke]

  The only way I could of had a relationship with a woman in the Assembly would have to something like what took place in Orwell's 1984.

       The main character Winston is contacted secretly by a woman and they meet off someplace where they can't be seen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nineteen_Eighty-Four


     I read this book while I was "In Fellowship" boy it really upset me!

[outdeep]

  To be honest, messing with the sisters wasn't even a temptation. I might as well break into Fort Knox! I mean come on! In order to steal a doughnut you gotta have one in front of you!

:rofl:

[Flora]

This event isn’t about George’s anger; but more about his mocking ridicule. So I’m not sure if it fits on this thread, but I thought I would share it anyway.

Sometime between 1985 and 1987, at a meeting where George was preaching in Ottawa, a sister said a loud “Amen” at an inappropriate place in George’s message. It was one of those points where he was contrasting God’s power with the forces of darkness. The “Amen” sounded like a support for the forces of darkness.

This sister was sitting on one side of the room and I was sitting in the front row on the other side of the room. George stopped speaking, turned to me and publicly rebuked me using a lot of mockery and ridicule. It was not a one or two sentence rebuke. He went on and on for quite a few minutes. Although I was not the person that said the inappropriate “Amen”, I had to just sit there and take it, because as a sister, I couldn’t speak out in the meeting and interrupt the preacher.

After the meeting, a brother sitting near me said he was going to interrupt George; but decided against it, because he felt I could handle George’s rebuke better than the other sister, as she had only been coming a short while to the meetings. This sister told me later that her mind had drifted to other things, and when she brought her mind back to what George was saying he had paused in his speaking. So she thought an “Amen” would be appropriate.  After she saw how George rebuked me, there was no way she would admit to George later that she was the one who had said the inappropriate “Amen”.

In my opinion, a more proper way to have handled the situation would have been to wait until after the meeting was over, then correct the person in private. One or two sentences would probably be all that was needed. There was absolutely no need for public mocking and ridicule – long or short.

Lord bless,

Flora

[Vandyyke]

Flora,

   Your story reminded me of Robert Omera (Spelling?) Robert came into fellowship a very, very needy weak minded man. As time went by he seemed to progressively lose his focus on reality. He began calling out "Praise the Lord" "Amen" and "Alleluia" overly and abundantly during the meetings.Many times when it was inapropriate.  Then he stated saying things like "Thank-you God", "Thank-You Jesus", "Thank-You HolySpirit" Yet the brothers, and George couldn't get him to shut-up! 

                                                    It was quite entertaining while it lasted!

[Flora]

I'm sure most people, especially preachers, are familiar with chanting, such as: "Jesus, Jesus", "Thank You Jesus" and "Praise the Lord". Although it can be a bit irritating, it is often endured in silence. In the Assembly, we said "Amen" more frequent than what you will hear in most churches. I have frequently heard "amens" at inappropriate times, especially at seminars. Usually they were ignored or there was a brief chuckle from the people in the nearby seats. Also it was not uncommon for peoples minds to drift during George's preaching.

I told about the event below to point out George's inappropriate response to the situation. Even if I was the guilty person (I was not), George's response of mocking ridicule was completely opposite to Christ's example. Our Saviour mocked and ridiculed the hypocrisy of the religious rulers; but He never mocked or ridiculed the bumbling mistakes of His followers.

George was completely out of line and needed to be reproved. However, I strongly doubt that ever happened.

Lord bless,

Flora

[Vandyyke]

  The following story isn't an "outburst" it's more of a "mean spirited comment story".

A friend of mine confided to me a situation, years after the matter, that obviously stayed with him.(I won't use his name but some of you will probably figure out who it is.)  It was in the very early days of the ministry. He was at George's home showing a film about "Sadhu Sundar Singh"  a Sikh who had converted to Christianity. My friend who was older than most of the "saints" at the time made a comment on how "My Dad used this same movie projector (the one that he was using at the time) to share the gospel."  Evidently GG took this as a threat! George thought to himself, "Here is this guy bragging about his godly heritage!"  George came up to him and under his breath said, "What happened to you?" In other words, Why did you turn out to be such a failure? (My friend was going through a divorce at the time) This is what GG was refering to when he said, "What happened to you?" My friend told me that at the time it made him feel 3 inches tall. It was like one minute he was rejoicing at what God was doing in his life and the next minute he was totally bummed out! Did GG know what he was doing? Did he know how much he was hurting my friend?  I believe he did! The bastard could be downright sadistic!  I bet he used to pull the wings off of flies when he was a kid!






   Now I am sure their are plenty of other situations where something like this took place. It was just a quietly spoken comment, yet it was mean spirited! It was ment to humiliate the person spoken to. Obviously my friend struggled with it for many years. He even told me that eventually he just  "Took it from the Lord!" 

    Would the Lord (Jesus) exalt himself at others expense?


   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadhu_Sundar_Singh
 

[Oscar]

VanDave,

Once my daughter Grace brought a school friend and her father to a tent meeting.  The father was a lifelong Presbyterian, (culturally), but had been led to make a personal commitment to Christ by his adult son a short time before the tent campaign.

After the meeting I was standing with him chatting.  GG came up and attacked the guy verbally!  He asked, "Are you a Christian?", but didn't wait for the man's answer.  Then he just took off on the guy and berated him for being worldly and backslidden person.  Then he stomped off. 

I think he did this because he was actually afraid to enter into a genuine conversation with an adult he could not control.

This man's response was interesting.  After GG walked away he turned to me and said, "Wow!, what an opinionated guy."  However, he did not seem to be disturbed or upset at all.  I think that this was because he was a mature, middle aged adult who had a good sense of who he was and what he believed.

This could well be why GG did not really want older adults around him. (At 13 years younger than GG, I got in under the wire.)  Healthy older people have a more developed sense of self and a broader life experience.  They don't just fold up like so many of us did under his (tongue) lash.

BTW, that was an aspect of "Mr. Wussy".  After having your head handed to you a few times you learned not to make yourself a target.

Tom Maddux

[Oscar]

VanDave,

  To be honest, messing with the sisters wasn't even a temptation. I might as well break into Fort Knox! I mean common! In order to steal a doughnut you gotta have one in front of you!


   Dude!  How am I going to mess with the sisters? Even if I asked one to go out for coffee with me it would get into leaderships ears before she said no! But here is this guy ranting about how "I better watch out!"
Dude! You already emasculated me years ago! Why should I be a threat?

GG had a thing about the sisters.  Two brothers came into fellowship.  One of them mentioned that he was interested in a certain sister.  He was immediately shipped out to the San Fernando Valley! 

The other one was already in the Valley.  He dared to show an interest in a sister by giving her a ride in his sportscar on an assembly Thanksgiving campout.  He was quite open about his interest.

He was told not to approach the sisters.  His response was to simply leave...a smart guy.  Years later my wife ran into him at work.  He now has a wife and four kids. (Way to go).

What was GG thinking?  What is wrong with a young healhty man in his 20's wanting to get married?  This was one of the nuttier aspects of GG's world.

Tom Maddux