John Shrader Part 12: Empty Baptismal, Empty Brains

[Bethella]

13 minutes ago, Flossie said:

How far along is Esther?

She's due in December, so about 5 months.

[Flossie]

That sucks.  It sounds more like a miscarriage.

[Carol]

Well, the old Drama Queen is at it again.  It isn't related to Esther, it's ministry related.

John, those wall o texts are spot on.  You're an arrogant, self-centered prick who can't seem to learn anything from your mistakes.  Try harder.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

1 hour ago, Flossie said:

That sucks.  It sounds more like a miscarriage.

In the comments he says its ministry and not baby related. 

Other than broken hearts, he melodramatically comments they are ok. 

Ah @Carol posting at the same time as me. He is a drama queen isn't he! 

[Palimpsest]

New update.  Nothing to do with Esther and the baby and all ministry related:

Quote

Well, today the situations got much worse. I can honestly say that this has been the worst two days (in country ministry related) in our entire time in Zambia. Esther and I have cried until there seem to be no more tears.

We are receiving threats of and church members are as well. It's hard to process actually.

I can honestly say that God is bringing me to the end of myself through this.

I'm thanking Him for this tonight.

I also tremble to see what may happen here.

"Be not deceived, God is not mocked..."

"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a Living God."

"Our God is a consuming fire"

Please pray that Esther and I continue resting in God's Grace, Peace, and Love. He is keeping our hearts and minds in a way I've never experienced before.

Threats of what?  Threats from whom?  Why?  How is it that other missionaries don't experience these problems? 

Really, John.  If it is true you are being threatened, then you have alienated the local community so much it is time to hoist anchor.  Time to get those children out of there.

Or it's his usual storm in a teacup.  He's the boy who cried wolf.

[apandaaries]

I was worried about Esther, too, until I remembered that John basically only asks for prayers for himself.  

Wonder what threats he's alluding to.  How is it that John can be threatened in Zambia AND have his father receive a note written in blood threatening baby-John's life?  What happens to create such a response in other people?

I suspect he's on another downward cycle, and will have to take to his bed for a bit before God once again fires up his heart and sends him back out to keep preaching to his handful of temporary converts. 

[formerpastorswife]

Well, shouldn't John-Boy be used to threats on his life? After all, he's been getting them since he was a baby-- at least, if we take his poetic word for it... So what is so new and earth-shattering and buckets-of-tears-inducing about it now?

[Gobsmacked]

He must have seriously pissed some one off. We found the people in Lusaka to be warm and welcoming. 

[Carol]

The trouble with anything John posts is that it is almost always over the top dramatic to get the biggest response from his sheeple.   "We are receiving threats of and church members are as well. It's hard to process actually".

Translation.  An ex follower or another missionary/preacher told him that he and his congregation(all 2 of them) are going to burn in hell. 

Actually...not hard to process at all, John, not from where I'm sitting.  You have that effect on people.

[formerpastorswife]

I just discovered that I'm still FB friends with John and Esther (I unfollowed them a long time ago, obviously, but the Shrader family and mine go wayyyyyyy back-- though I've gone the path of John's younger brothers in breaking free from all of the craziness), so I decided to do a quick scroll through their his feed... all it takes is a quick scroll though to realize just how nuts John has truly become. Wow. If there was an FB prize for self-focused drama, I think John might just wrest the prize from JRod.

It also saddens me, because JShrade is still held up as somewhat of a hero in my family of origin.I'm going to refrain from diagnosing, but the words "histrionic personality disorder" definitely come to mind. He rides the pendulum back and forth between the two fundie extremes, "Satan is fighting me so badly, so we must be doing something good", and "I must have some deep innermost failings for God to not bless me like He is blessing everyone else." Either way, it's always "poor me", calculated to get the most sympathy and attention.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

Nothing to add. You are all magnificent posters and add so much to my enjoyment of John's downfall. 

I am not a good person

 

[Howl]

Quote

I also tremble to see what may happen here.

• "Be not deceived, God is not mocked..."
• "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a Living God."
• "Our God is a consuming fire"

John is afraid of how God might go all kick-ass on his followers?  Did John get sideways in somebody's marriage/divorce (again), i.e., converting the wife and pissing off the husband  or vice cersa?  Another preacher is calling him out....again?  Whatever it is, one can be sure that the root cause of the situation is John's

• utter cluelessness 
• lack of sensitivity
• mindless bloviating 
• absence of gentleness, tenderness, heartfelt compassion
• or maybe his grating fake Zambian accent got on someone's very last nerve

That said, I truly hope that no harm comes to any of them, and I hope he is not unnecessarily terrifying his pregnant wife.  He does have a LOT of possessions, especially autos of various kinds, printers and computers, that would give one the impression that he is rich, rich, rich, which could make them a target.  

But again, yes, John may be in one of his regular downward spirals. In a week he may bolt upright in bed and be ready to head to the bush, with visions of "da plane, da plane" dancing in his head.   He's throwing Johns and Romans tracts out all four windows of the Jesus Mobile as he races to remote villages on an epic soul-winning expedition, a giant dust plume billowing up behind him as he disappears over the horizon.    

[Gobsmacked]

That I would like to see Howl!!

[Palimpsest]

And Johnny shared an inspirational saying.  Something about our greatest successes coming from our greatest hurts.

Well I don't think John is being "threatened" at all.  I think he just his little feelers hurt again and is throwing a fit.  As usual.

It does cause me to ponder, however, why his humpers don't ask what the "threat" is, whether the children are safe, and whether John has reported the "threat" to the police.  They just have a knee-jerk prayer response.  

To whit, John's donors are out in force praying for him.  This humper is among the most deluded:

Quote

xxx Satan is so mad! Our prayers go up for you and your family daily! Asking for God's protection and abundant blessings! There are many of those likeminded humans over here also! They seek to destroy a Christian's witness, peace ,testimony, and walk with the Lord. Using Satan s tools against us! We are praying for God to show His Power! As Bro Denny W. says, ' What are they threatening me with, Heaven'?' See Ya! ( my thought ; 'as You are burning and I'm sipping Lemonade in the shade

Isn't that sweet.  What a very "Christian" sentiment.

[Gobsmacked]

Perhaps Daddy shrader is struggling to convince his sheeple that they should continue to support/keep John boy's Zambian show on the road? Daddy's church is John's main/only supporting church?

[withaj]

My favorite gem from amongst the many comments on John's drama-llamaing FB posts:

"Bathing you in unquenchable prayer."

[clearingthingsup]

6 minutes ago, withaj said:

My favorite gem from amongst the many comments on John's drama-llamaing FB posts:

"Bathing you in unquenchable prayer."

In my mind's eye...... 

[clearingthingsup]

Better yet......

[gustava]

17 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

I can honestly say that God is bringing me to the end of myself through this.

I find this a tad worrisome.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

16 minutes ago, gustava said:

I find this a tad worrisome.

Oh but it's John so he's s drama queen who always manages to come out fine. It's so strange. But in a few posts he will be posting about some new toy he or his daddy have grifted him. 

So my next post is my 1000 (I'm assuming not since yuku?) and trying to decide if I'll spend it on JRod or John Shrader....who brings me more enjoyment? Such a close call. 

I mean Jill is like the worst. But so is John!  So tough. Might have to flip a coin.

 

[Lurky]

@Milly-Molly-Mandy I dream about a John Shrader-Jill Rodriguez crossover event!

[formergothardite]

35 minutes ago, Lurky said:

I dream about a John Shrader-Jill Rodriguez crossover event!

I would literally pay money to see that. Can you imagine them trying to out sing each other and John would try to drown Jill out with his accordion and Jill would bang harder on the piano to be louder than him. It would be great. 

And yeah, I'm not too worried about John. His wife and kids, yes. But Daddy is working hard I'm sure to find him a new toy or some new money to get him happy again.

[formerpastorswife]

12 hours ago, Gobsmacked said:

Perhaps Daddy shrader is struggling to convince his sheeple that they should continue to support/keep John boy's Zambian show on the road? Daddy's church is John's main/only supporting church?

I believe Daddy Shrader's church is their main supporting church. They may have a few other supporters, but I'm guessing at this point the others are starting to question their investment. I know Daddy's church would be questioning him as well, except that John-Boy is the Shrader Golden Boy (and the sole heir to the line of Shrader fundamentalism). But I wouldn't be surprised if even they were starting to wonder. Tri-County (Daddy's church) is notorious for grilling missionaries before they will support them, and then annually from then on-- on everything from whether or not their personal standards are high enough, to how they handle their money (to make sure the church is getting enough spiritual return on their investment, yaknow). So I'd be surprised if the deacons of the church would willingly suspend that scrutiny just because it's a Shrader. But then again, Daddy S. is the boss, so they may not have a choice.

[clearingthingsup]

24 minutes ago, formerpastorswife said:

Tri-County (Daddy's church) is notorious for grilling missionaries before they will support them, and then annually from then on-- on everything from whether or not their personal standards are high enough, to how they handle their money (to make sure the church is getting enough spiritual return on their investment, yaknow). So I'd be surprised if the deacons of the church would willingly suspend that scrutiny just because it's a Shrader. But then again, Daddy S. is the boss, so they may not have a choice.

I'm curious & I'm just gonna ask: how do you know/know of Shrader? Were you local to him or knew him from a distance? Of course your name has got me curious. 

[formerpastorswife]

Just now, clearingthingsup said:

I'm curious & I'm just gonna ask: how do you know/know of Shrader? Were you local to him or knew him from a distance? Of course your name has got me curious. 

I grew up as an IFB MK (missionary kid), and my family was supported by the Shrader's church for quite a few years. I can remember going back to the church on our furloughs and my dad being questioned by the deacons for two hours at a time. Granted, they did give more support monthly than most other IFB churches, so they obviously felt it their responsibility to make sure it got spent wisely. Their "questionnaire" also covered everything from making sure our clothing standards matched theirs, that we weren't watching TV or partaking in any such worldly pursuits, etc. etc. If you "measured up", they were quite generous (they even gave us kids gifts every time we were there, which was rare among IFB churches). But if not, you could expect a very stern warning from Pastor Shrader, and/or the loss of all support. I believe they ended up dropping support for my parents because they didn't follow the prescribed rules for the timing and frequency of missionary "prayer letters" (they must be sent out every two months, no more, no less, and not dated in the future [i.e. you can't send out a letter at the end of January dated Jan/Feb], etc.)

If I remember correctly, I believe there was a church split years ago over Daddy's insistence on unquestioning support for John-Boy. (I believe it was about the time they came back from WA and decided to go to Africa instead.) I was married and out of the family by that time, though, so I haven't heard much since...