John Shrader: Killing Snakes & Grifting Appliances for Jesus

[salex]

Today's post shares how John collected $50 at their church service, and another $10 "for missions" even though he HASN'T EVEN TAUGHT about giving yet! I'm guessing these attendees might have heard about offering from the Catholics or SDAs or whatever other form of heathen Christian John loves to hate on, but of course he isn't so quick to condemn when it means money in his pocket.

John probably dropped more money on the damn troopie than his entire church made last year combined, yet he still feels comfortable (even thrilled) to take money from them. He is truly a parasite.

I guess I never thought that missionaries to other countries took up donations from those in their mission field. Is that normal?

[Justme]

I guess I never thought that missionaries to other countries took up donations from those in their mission field. Is that normal?

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember something in his Visa said he was not allowed to accept funding from locals, he had to be fully funded by his home country (or other countries.) :think:

[salex]

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember something in his Visa said he was not allowed to accept funding from locals, he had to be fully funded by his home country (or other countries.) :think:

Probably why he made such a big deal that he hadn't taugght about giving yet... but as i recall he got that donation box built and installed months before he built his baptismal...

[formergothardite]

The Rea family has arrived in Zambia only in the last week or so. Interesting that John started talking about the plane at the exact same time that David Rea arrived.

That is true. I'm guessing Rea had the key to the plane but John didn't want to admit it. I would be shocked if he ever flies that plane.

[PrairieGirl]

That is true. I'm guessing Rea had the key to the plane but John didn't want to admit it. I would be shocked if he ever flies that plane.

Is it horrible of me to hope that Rea has the key to the plane, manages to get it in working/flying order, then flies it to John's neighborhood and proceeds to dive-bomb his house? And after that put on a fun airshow for John's neighbors, all the while dropping tracts inviting the neighbors to his (Rea's) church.

[Gimme a Free RV]

I could be wrong, but I seem to remember something in his Visa said he was not allowed to accept funding from locals, he had to be fully funded by his home country (or other countries.) :think:

This makes sense.

No, a missionary should NOT be soliciting funds from the people he/she is serving, unless those funds go right back into the work of serving said people. (I know we have differing views on what that service should be.) If he needs home improvements, claiming this is where his church is meeting, I call foul play. If these funds buy food for John's family, foul play! If these funds provide food, clothing, shelter, Bibles, medical assistance for the people, then I wouldn't see a problem with that, if those who gave the money did it to help those in their community.

Plus, John is supposed to keep an account on how his money from his stateside donors is being put to use.

[slickcat79]

I'm thinking John expects his Kafue church plant to eventually fund his trips to Zimbabwe or Burundi or wherever else. Or maybe help give Arcade or Kennedy the chance to spread the word elsewhere. I think that's a lot to expect from such a young church, but it sure would make John look good to his donors :roll:

Or maybe I'm giving him too much credit and he really does just want to take their money for the exact same projects that he's already doing.

[PrairieGirl]

This makes sense.

No, a missionary should NOT be soliciting funds from the people he/she is serving, unless those funds go right back into the work of serving said people. (I know we have differing views on what that service should be.) If he needs home improvements, claiming this is where his church is meeting, I call foul play. If these funds buy food for John's family, foul play! If these funds provide food, clothing, shelter, Bibles, medical assistance for the people, then I wouldn't see a problem with that, if those who gave the money did it to help those in their community.

Plus, John is supposed to keep an account on how his money from his stateside donors is being put to use.

I cannot speak for everyone here, but I feel pretty confident that the majority of us here agree that there is nothing that John is doing that can be considered "serving".

Also, has it been confirmed that he actually has a church? How many people attend faithfully every week? And are they there to hear the preaching or out of mere curiosity? I would be interested to know how many first-time visitors to his "church" actually return.

[snickerz]

Is John supposed to keep track of his donations and pay taxes on them each year? I don't know about lately, but he had to have raked in thousands before they got to Zambia.

[salex]

Is John supposed to keep track of his donations and pay taxes on them each year? I don't know about lately, but he had to have raked in thousands before they got to Zambia.

I'm willing to be he only has to pay income tax on the amount he takes as salary. Other expenses, including vehicle, gas, possibly even food while in Zambia etc, is likely considered owned by the ministry (and all things he does are part of the ministry) An accountant could give a better definition of it all. NO idea if Zambia taxes him in any way beyond possibly sales tax.

[GeoBQn]

Latest update (public on Facebook):

Witnessing, Weeping, and Wondering...

Witnessing:

We handed out around 2,500 Gospel tracts at the 89th Annual Lusaka Agricultural Show as a family today. It was such a blessing to see my children getting excited about handing out the tracts. We thought we were prepared, but could have easily given out 5 times that number!

Weeping:

It broke my heart to see some of the tracts thrown on the ground and being trampled underfoot, but then the Lord reminded me from His Word thad the seed does not always fall on good ground. Sometimes it falls on the rocky soil, but we can't get discouraged because some don't want to hear. It did emphasize in my heart though how important individual one-on-one soul winning is, and I'm so thankful for the opportunities the Lord has been giving us to do just that.

Wondering:

We are wondering who had been "blessed" with a new (to them) Swiss Army backpack, as we had one of ours stolen as we were there at the showgrounds. I also was pickpocketed and lost some cash. It was in a side BDU style pocket that I thought was secure. We thought we were ready but boy those guys are slick!

Would be worth it all if just one precious soul is delivered from sin.

Thanks for your precious prayers beloved friends.

Bro. John Shrader

Zambia

[Gobsmacked]

I'm not at all surprised that John fell victim to pickpockets. Show grounds all over the world attract opportunists. John will stand right out from the crowd. A very well fed, not local, loud person.

Dressed quite well with umpteen reasonably well dressed children trailing behind him.

Possibly in his "hunting jacket " with many pockets to hold his tracts.

He might as well just hang a sign around his neck saying choose me, choose me.

:?

[Gimme a Free RV]

I'm not at all surprised that John fell victim to pickpockets. Show grounds all over the world attract opportunists. John will stand right out from the crowd. A very well fed, not local, loud person.

Dressed quite well with umpteen reasonably well dressed children trailing behind him.

Possibly in his "hunting jacket " with many pockets to hold his tracts.

He might as well just hang a sign around his neck saying choose me, choose me.

:?

You took the words right out of my mouth. I'm not at all surprised that he was robbed and that the backpack was stolen.

I wonder if he's still wearing that gold signet or class ring I've seen in pictures since he's been in Zambia. How smart is it to wear gold jewelry out in public in a crowded third-world scenario?

Also, WHY would he be so surprised to see his tracts thrown on the ground?

Has ANYTHING John has said, worn, eaten, touched, purchased, driven, sung, planned, or created since he's been in Zambia been done keeping the cultural context in mind? Anything?

I wonder if anyone back in Katy, TX has a brain they'd like to donate to John?

[Peas n carrots]

That was a laugh - made my morning!

[PrairieGirl]

Latest update (public on Facebook):

Oh good, a healthy dose of self-righteous idiotness to start off the morning. :angry-banghead:

So......John, why did you think that only 2500 tracts would be enough? It sounds like the Agricultural Show is probably a pretty big thing considering it is in its 89th year. Something like that would attract very large crowds. Don't get me wrong - I am glad that they were not able to pass out "5 times more than that". But he is just so unprepared for absolutely everything, it is unreal.

Weep, weep, weep away, John. Go home and weep to your freezer. Were you not all prepared for some - if not most - of your precious tracts to be tossed? You moron.

Crime is never funny, except when it is. Those thieves were in the wrong, but I am sure John was there with the assist. And am I reading it right? Is he now grifting for a new Swiss Army backpack, since he is unable to keep possession of his? He is such a fucking lazy loser.

[freealljs]

Oh good, a healthy dose of self-righteous idiotness to start off the morning. :angry-banghead:

So......John, why did you think that only 2500 tracts would be enough? It sounds like the Agricultural Show is probably a pretty big thing considering it is in its 89th year. Something like that would attract very large crowds. Don't get me wrong - I am glad that they were not able to pass out "5 times more than that". But he is just so unprepared for absolutely everything, it is unreal.

Weep, weep, weep away, John. Go home and weep to your freezer. Were you not all prepared for some - if not most - of your precious tracts to be tossed? You moron.

Crime is never funny, except when it is. Those thieves were in the wrong, but I am sure John was there with the assist. And am I reading it right? Is he now grifting for a new Swiss Army backpack, since he is unable to keep possession of his? He is such a fucking lazy loser.

Wow. So he goes to the Lusaka Agricultural Show, an event it seems where people mostly go for business reasons, and expects that his tracts will suddenly make all of those agriculture enthusiasts turn to Jesus (especially John's version of Jesus). Then he expects whoever stole his backpack or someone who knows who stole it, to actually read his online post. He does sound bitter about the whole experience: being robbed and seeing his precious tracts being trampled on.

Why can't he witness in people's houses, respect the culture and businesses there, or actually help the people of Zambia with his printing press? He could print stuff for the local schools, large print news articles for those who are vision-impaired. Then maybe he'd win more people from their Christianity to his Christianity.

[PrairieGirl]

It's not at all surprising that most of his tracts were turned to trash (I mean, I throw at least 5 or 6 brochures/tracts away every American parade I attend), but I wonder how his "supporters" feel about this. All their money just being flushed down the toilet. And didn't a man take a second job in order to buy Grifter tons of paper?

And to make matters worse, now he needs a new damn backpack. And why does it have to be a Swiss Army? Is that a special kind? It sounds expensive.

John is literally a human money pit.

[slickcat79]

If the way he normally treats other people's money is any indication, he was probably careless as shit with his cash. Assuming anything was stolen at all. Prayer$ needed!

Oh, and the "heartbreak" of the tracts on the ground is just setting the stage :violin: He can justify not soul-winning on a large scale because INDIVIDUAL one-on-one time is way more successful. And when the printer breaks and he doesn't know how to fix it, it'll be ok that he can't print tracts because most of them will just get thrown out anyway.

[PrairieGirl]

If the way he normally treats other people's money is any indication, he was probably careless as shit with his cash. Assuming anything was stolen at all. Prayer$ needed!

Oh, and the "heartbreak" of the tracts on the ground is just setting the stage :violin: He can justify not soul-winning on a large scale because INDIVIDUAL one-on-one time is way more successful. And when the printer breaks and he doesn't know how to fix it, it'll be ok that he can't print tracts because most of them will just get thrown out anyway.

The thing is - I don't think John really connects with people on an individual basis either. Okay, he must have some charm about him because he has conned people out of literally thousands of dollars. However, he really doesn't give a shit about the "precious" people of Zambia and they know it. It may take a few one-on-one times with John, but his neighbors and congregation in Zambia are soon going to realize that John is all about John. If you don't have a free Coke, freezer, Swiss Army backpack or airplane for him - well, you can hit the road!

[GeoBQn]

Swiss Army backpacks. Lowest price is $50.

http://www.swissarmy.com/us/app/categor ... acets=true

[formergothardite]

I can't feel sorry for John.

[Gimme a Free RV]

And to make matters worse, now he needs a new damn backpack. And why does it have to be a Swiss Army? Is that a special kind? It sounds expensive.

It has to be a Swiss Army backpack because, like his stupid safari hat and vest and his gold ring and slicked back fundie hair style, it calls attention and makes him stand out like a bull manure in a cow pasture. If he didn't carry a Swiss Army backpack, that would mean he'd sort of be resigned to blend in, somewhat, to the culture in which he lives.

I've lived in a third world culture and learned that you do NOT carry a backpack of any kind on your back. You turn it around and carry in the front, like a baby, to avoid having the pockets opened up and robbed. Same with purses. In this setting, no one should ever carry money in their hip pockets, much less carry an entire billfold.

For a man who thinks he knows it all, he sure is extremely naive--probably thanks to the sheltered life he's lived up to this point.

[thoughtful]

Witnessing, Weeping, and Wondering...

Witnessing:

We handed out around 2,500 Gospel tracts at the 89th Annual Lusaka Agricultural Show as a family today. It was such a blessing to see my children getting excited about handing out the tracts. We thought we were prepared, but could have easily given out 5 times that number!

Weeping:

It broke my heart to see some of the tracts thrown on the ground and being trampled underfoot

[Gimme a Free RV]

Well, whatd'ya know? I've been unblocked from the Shrader FB page. Hmmm... They must need donations badly! Or maybe they're hoping I'll ship over a Swiss Army backpack.

[happy atheist]

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