John Shrader: Lyin' King - Part 7

[16strong]

I don't keep up with Shrader threads too closely, as he pisses me off too much, but has it ever been confirmed that John got his pilot's license, and that he really was off training to be able to fly?

[Hortense Peyrac]

4 hours ago, Seren Ann said:

Yes. I have all the middle names for the girls, I can't remember how, probably from facebook a long time ago. It's Alatheia Joy, Agape Faith, Charis Elizabeth, and Sophia Joy (yes there is repetition). I don't have the eldest 4 boys' middle names though.

Strange, no Grace?????

There's a lot of Joy in this family, I think this is Esther's middlename too......

[formergothardite]

We aren't going to agree on the wisdom of shipping people off to convert people who already believe in Christianity to believing in another version of Christianity when there are plenty of people here in America who could be converted from Christianity to Christianity, if someone really felt led to do that. 

But, even if I did believe in missions, I would never support someone with as many kids as Rea. Financially it is a bad decision and his large family will be a drain on the mission fund. It cost more to fly his family over there, it cost more to support his family each month. I don't know the exact amount, but John did share how much it cost to fly his family over and it was a lot of money, and I'm guessing it was around that amount for Rea. It would cost less money to send a childless couple and in the long run more mission money could be spent on missions and helping those who need help. 

So Rea is sticking with the Muslims. At least he didn't run like John, but he seemed very uninformed about them and surprised that they shared so many beliefs with him. 

ETA: plus, if I was supporting a missionary, I would want to support someone whose primary focus was missions. With a large family that just can't happen. If the Reas are going to be any sort of parents they are not going to be able to devote a huge amount of their time to missions. And if they do devote a huge amount of their time to missions, they are not going to be able to make their children a priority. 

 

[clearingthingsup]

22 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

We aren't going to agree on the wisdom of shipping people off to convert people who already believe in Christianity to believing in another version of Christianity when there are plenty of people here in America who could be converted from Christianity to Christianity, if someone really felt led to do that. 

But, even if I did believe in missions, I would never support someone with as many kids as Rea. 

This is kind of getting off topic, and that's my fault, I'll admit. You assume no one is witnessing in America - that's just not true. My church is very active in serving and teaching our local community. We are here to LOVE people, as Christ did. 

As far as how we spend our money, that's kind of up to us. I've seen you guys get your panties in a wad over the way we choose to spend our money - how is that any of your business? Its the same as getting angry at a total stranger because you felt they wasted their money buying a brand new BMW. Why? It only stresses you out and doesn't actually affect the buyer in any way... 

Obviously, those who have spent the money have every right to get angry and hold others accountable when their money is wasted (like John and da plane!!!!). I just find it funny y'all get so emotionally invested in others bank accounts lol

[Palimpsest]

Well, doctrinal differences and the wisdom of converting saved by works Christians into saved by grace alone Right Kind of Christians aside, one of the people who should have known John the best is David Rea.  

Rea partnered with John in the first place, went with him to Burundi, chased domesticated pigs around camp sites in Missouri with him as they did their week of missionary "training," and lived in the church basement with him for at least 3 months, if not more.

I know that John and David have since squabbled over who got the idea for TeamZambia first, but they were full partners for several years.  We saw one tiny indication of Rea trying to rein Shrader back on Facebook - in that John publicly thanked Bro. Rea for chastising him over something after Burundi.  Nevertheless, David and Valley Baptist continued to endorse John as a member of TeamZambia.

I don't think much of David Rea either after the Burundi escapade.  He snickered with John at the locals, seemed culturally deaf, ate his way through just as many expensive meals at the expense of converts (Eddie and Arnaud, who we have never heard about since), and seems to have been happy to let John spin a gigantic failure into a brilliant success.

The trip to Burundi was when I started following the saga properly. I fault the supporters for negligence and naivety too after that.  All the signs were there that John was a disaster as a missionary.   Here's the thread - Burundi was high comedy as all John and David's grand plans for meetings with Presidents and multinational Crusades dwindled into legging it around Bujumbura picking up 4.5 converts!  

One of the very few things (possibly the only thing) I have to say in favor of John is that he did keep in contact with Arcade.  Arcade spent a few months in Texas, then went to Zambia ahead of John, and John kept his promise to "disciple" him.  I doubt whether he treats him as family, but still.

I still wonder what happened to Arnaud and Eddie.  Does Rea still keep in contact and pray for them?  No offence @clearingthingsup, but I have to say that while Rea is not nearly as stupid and out of control as Shrader, I don't think he's terribly praiseworthy either.

 

[clearingthingsup]

53 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

I still wonder what happened to Arnaud and Eddie.  Does Rea still keep in contact and pray for them?  No offence @clearingthingsup, but I have to say that while Rea is not nearly as stupid and out of control as Shrader, I don't think he's terribly praiseworthy either.

 

You have every right to make your own judgement and conclusions on the matter - just realize you can never have the full story as you were not there in person having experienced it. Internet is very good at warping our perception of things and people. 

Rea does still have contact with arnaud (not sure about Eddie). Even arnaud thinks John is an @ss (pardon my French). 

Everyone has their faults. If your life was in the limelight (or any of ours) I'm certain someone would be able to dig up a few good ones to nitpick about for quite a long time. We are all human. No one is perfect - the best anyone can do is admit our mistakes and do the best to improve and better ourselves. Rea fully admits he overlooked some issues with John that he shouldn't have. Lack of experience and perhaps some naivety have an affect on that.

The harsh reality is that some people are motivated out of greed or other selfish motives. Others are motivated out of genuine love and concern. Spend enough one-on-one time with someone and you will learn the difference. 

[Gimme a Free RV]

@clearingthingsup, I think the most important question weighing on everyone's mind is:

 

**long drumrolllllllllll**

 

 

 

**crescendo-ing drumroll**

 

 

 

**cymbal crash**

 

 

WHO actually has the plane?  (Or...is there actually a plane?)

 

[ILoveJellybeans]

Im glad Esther had a safe delivery.

 

I like the names that the Shrader kids have. Theyre different, but in a nice way, not a weird way like Heistheway

[clearingthingsup]

21 minutes ago, Gimme a Free RV said:

@clearingthingsup, I think the most important question weighing on everyone's mind is:

 

**long drumrolllllllllll**

 

 

 

**crescendo-ing drumroll**

 

 

 

**cymbal crash**

 

 

WHO actually has the plane?  (Or...is there actually a plane?)

 

John has the plane. I asked around and it seems he bought a hunk of junk that is completely useless and in dire disrepair. Also his US pilots license is a pointless piece of paper in Zambia. He would have to complete flight training all over again for a Zambian license. 

[Gimme a Free RV]

17 minutes ago, clearingthingsup said:

John has the plane. I asked around and it seems he bought a hunk of junk that is completely useless and in dire disrepair. Also his US pilots license is a pointless piece of paper in Zambia. He would have to complete flight training all over again for a Zambian license. 

Now THAT is information we didn't yet have...but we kinda figured he had been duped in this purchase.  Do the people who gave money for the plane know this?  If so, what was the reaction?

John really DID go into all this uninformed and without adequately doing his research.  In some countries, there are people you can hire to get around all the red tape for you because they know how the government offices operate.  I'm not talking about a bribe.  These are people who you pay--not quite as an attorney but more of an "errand runner" who is familiar with the system and can get things done.  I would think such a person would be very useful to a naive, white missionary who would otherwise be a target for bribes and overcharges.

This would also explain the comment his father made to his church around a year ago, about John and Esther "having much to learn."

[Gobsmacked]

It's a shame that Johns father says that John AND Esther have much to learn. So unfair to blame Esther for his sons failings. Poor Esther probably ( or at least I hope not) had no idea what a  total pillock John actually is. He would have wooed and courted until he got her. Once trapped Esther has done as she was taught and been submissive etc,etc.............

As we have already ascertained Esther's father is utterly hopeless at reading the characters of his future son-in-laws, so he was no help at all.

Baby Isiah is totes cute. He is also holding his hands to his face silently asking to escape the bondage into which he has been born. One day he might meet Chloe Anderson, recognise his soul mate and flee to freedom with her. ( that truly would be a happy ending).

The photos of the new baby with his siblings show a book case full of bibles? In the background. If it is Johns famed bookcase I wonder how who from his "congregation " built it for him and if they were actually paid for a job well done?

Nosey minds want to know!

[infooverload]

The idea of not being able to question how a church spends it's money always rubs me the wrong way. The reason being they are 501C3's and almost every other 501c3 has to make financial records public. There are also tax laws and people have a more vested interest in weeding out misappropriation of funds. There seems to be an attitude in the churches of oh everyone's human and has problems when projects financed with people's money goes awry. Time and time again it happens and the guilty party who committed embezzlement rides into the sunset. The one major name in the states which comes to mind is recent crash and burn misogynist Mark Driscoll.

[Coconut Flan]

It rubs me the wrong way, too, for people to say it's no one's business how a church spends its money.  The churches I attend (not IFB by a long way) always make their budgets basically public or available to anyone who goes to the church office. 

 

[formergothardite]

It also annoys me that most of these churches brag about how children are a blessing. They support stripping women of rights because of this claim, yet how many of them stopped to make sure that the Rea and Shrader children were the top priorities in those families? I'm guessing none that supported them because if they all the churches treated those children as precious blessings that needed to be the top priority, those two wouldn't be on the mission field. 

The hypocrisy is astounding. 

The only reason Rea looks slightly good is because Shrader is just so horrible. If anything happens to those children because of John's idiot behavior,  the churches that helped him get to Zambia share in the blame. The red flags were all there waving high. 

[Gobsmacked]

I'm sending loads of likes for you post Formergotharedite. You have nailed it. 

I asked a few Pilots in Botswana last summer about the feasibility of using a Pilots licence from another country to fly in Zambia. I also explained about the complete lack of usage of said licence once it had been obtained. The pilots just looked astounded then laughed. They thought I was kidding!! 

They did tell me that the licence would be useless in Zambia. The rules are the same/ very similar. Both countries pride themselves on their air safety records. 

There is no way that Shrader boy would get near the sky even if he had an air worthy plane.

Which we all KNEW he hadn't!!!!!!!!

[anjulibai]

13 hours ago, Seren Ann said:

Yes. I have all the middle names for the girls, I can't remember how, probably from facebook a long time ago. It's Alatheia Joy, Agape Faith, Charis Elizabeth, and Sophia Joy (yes there is repetition). I don't have the eldest 4 boys' middle names though.

Thanks for sharing that! Where did you find the middle names, if you don't mind my asking?

[anjulibai]

9 hours ago, Hortense Peyrac said:

Strange, no Grace?????

There's a lot of Joy in this family, I think this is Esther's middlename too......

It is and I agree. I'm surprised by the repetition, and I wonder if there is any among the boys. 

[Seren Ann]

28 minutes ago, anjulibai said:

Thanks for sharing that! Where did you find the middle names, if you don't mind my asking?

The thing is I can't remember, I collected all the info a long time ago and never wrote down the source... It must have been facebook, but which post and when ?

[anjulibai]

Just now, Seren Ann said:

The thing is I can't remember, I collected all the info a long time ago and never wrote down the source... It must have been facebook, but which post and when ?

LOL, no worries, I was just curious. It'd be interesting to find out.

[Tim-Tom Biblethumper]

Agape had her 8th birthday.  She and her sister made the cake (looks impressive), and John made "Love-sanga" which is lasagna in Shrader-speak.  Her "main present" was a foot-spa, which I thought odd for an 8-year-old, but she looks thrilled.  Seems she has a servant's-heart (who doesn't?) and loves to give pedicures to all.

[HerNameIsBuffy]

20 hours ago, klavierspieler said:

My former church did not support the Shraders, it was Bobby Bonner they supported. 

And I completely agree with the bit I quoted above. Additionally, IFB churches are all about that "I" in their names. Many of them pride themselves on being answerable to no other churches/mission boards, etc., and practices can vary wildly. I know many people have expressed that their church would never send a missionary with that many kids to the field, and I have no doubt that that's true. But for many IFB churches that isn't true, and especially given that IFB churches are the preferred denomination for the majority of ATI/quiverfull families, seeing missionaries with that many kids isn't necessarily out of the ordinary for a subset of IFB. My church did support one missionary (to Chicago of all places) with something like 12/13 kids, and you just didn't question it. God decided the size of the family, God called the family where he wills, God will therefore provide, and who are you to question God? 

Chicago?  Makes me wonder why I always paid for my own moves and living expenses....guess I didn't know I could get s church to foot the bill.

why would they send missionaries to Chicago?  If people here aren't converted it's not because we lack access to churches.  That's kind of hilarious.

[16strong]

What a douche. Someone asks him how the cake frosting color was achieved. He responded that they'd have to ask Esther and the girls, as if only women have the ability to frost cakes. 

[Tim-Tom Biblethumper]

2 minutes ago, 16strong said:

What a douche. Someone asks him how the cake frosting color was achieved. He responded that they'd have to ask Esther and the girls, as if only women have the ability to frost cakes. 

Why "ZAMBIAN food-coloring" of course!  
I'll raise you an eyeroll.  

[formergothardite]

21 minutes ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Chicago?  Makes me wonder why I always paid for my own moves and living expenses....guess I didn't know I could get s church to foot the bill.

why would they send missionaries to Chicago?  If people here aren't converted it's not because we lack access to churches.  That's kind of hilarious.

There was once a guy trying to raise money to go to Atlanta, GA because he claimed the people there were in dire need of hearing the gospel.  Because clearly no one in the Bible Belt has heard the story of Jesus.

Someone once figured out how much money John blew through before even stepping foot in Zambia. It was an astounding amount. 

David Rea claiming he ignored signs makes me roll my eyes.  He didn't ignore signs, he ignored massive flashing neon billboards announcing that John Shrader is bad news. We all realized from the start he was a narcissistic jerk, because he didn't do a very good job of hiding how he makes everything all about him and cares little about anyone else. 

 

[BabyBottlePop]

1 hour ago, Tim-Tom Biblethumper said:

Agape had her 8th birthday.  She and her sister made the cake (looks impressive), and John made "Love-sanga" which is lasagna in Shrader-speak.  Her "main present" was a foot-spa, which I thought odd for an 8-year-old, but she looks thrilled.  Seems she has a servant's-heart (who doesn't?) and loves to give pedicures to all.

Yeah. The poor girl doesn't even get a birthday present that's all hers. It has to be something she can share or serve with. *eyeroll*