John Shrader 14: Preparing Toilet Paper for Zambia

[PennySycamore]

I was telling my husband who just got back from a mission trip to Tanzania about John.  (Some folks from the US go down to help the Anglican church in Tanzania occasionally.)  My husband had showed me a short video of the Tanzanian Christians dancing during the bishop's consecration.  I told him that the dancing would not be acceptable to John and why go to a country that is already majority Christian to convert them to your flavor of church.   I definitely have to remember to tell him about this literal Good Samaritan episode and how John failed so completely.

[Palimpsest]

A Potential New Low in the Endless Saga of the World's Worst Missionary: How the Selfishness and Thoughtlessness of John Shrader Nearly Denied Help to a Dying Man.

Well, John has done the impossible.  He's reached a new low.

His car is flagged down by people trying to transport a dying man to the hospital - and John, the World's Worst Missionary, refuses.  On the grounds that his car is loaded with too many material possessions (and John and Romans tracts) to help.

This is unacceptable anywhere.  In any culture.  In any nation.  Let alone for a supposed "Christian Missionary."  His "things" were more important than the man's life.

This is also as Poisonwood Bible as it can get.   It is up to the teenage boys to stage a massive intervention with the deluded fake missionary - and find the solution.

This wasn't an "act of kindness" as John claims.  It was the very least he could do.  But he also has to take advantage of the situation to proselytize.  I also doubt that the headman repeatedly contacted John.  I expect that John badgered the headman instead and invited himself to the village.

Things I find surprising:

• John didn't tell us that the poor man is now burning in hell because he wasn't saved when he attempted suicide.
• I think the first time that John has admitted publicly that all - every single one - of his converts victims in his last video are gone (except for Phellion, David and Brian, who is new.)  We noticed though.
• This is the first time he has been offered food at a village.  Wow.  I find that fairly astonishing and a sign that John isn't going down well with the local population. 

[Fascinated]

We only have John’s word that the man committed suicide, although that is a likely scenario.  It also might be a way to make John’s (lack of) response seem less horrific.  I mean, the guy wanted to die anyway, so no big deal.

[Palimpsest]

True.  I expect the poor man had tried to kill himself though.  Not a nice way to die.

My point is that it's really unusual for John not to squawk about burning in the fires of hell when anyone not personally saved by the Great White Shrader himself dies.

[formergothardite]

22 minutes ago, Palimpsest said:

My point is that it's really unusual for John not to squawk about burning in the fires of hell when anyone not personally saved by the Great White Shrader himself dies.

The only thing of is that John forgot since he was too busy focusing on the chance of new converts who will even give him food. I think the only reason John brought him up was as a way to explain how he got an invitation to the village. If the village hadn't allowed him to come he would have never told us about the guy he was willing to let die by the side of the road. 

[ILoveJellybeans]

That is horrible, I cant believe (okay, I can, this is John Shrader we are talking about) that he left a guy to die on the side of the road because his car was full of stuff so he couldn't take him to the hospital. Im glad his sons and the other teenagers in the car are better people than he is.

[Palimpsest]

17 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

If the village hadn't allowed him to come he would have never told us about the guy he was willing to let die by the side of the road. 

It is classic narcissistic behavior.  People aren't quite real to John, they are objects to be manipulated, so of course they can be left to die by the side of the road.  No-one appears in his narrative - unless in a story that is an attempt to make John look good.

In this case though he made himself look exceedingly bad and showed his true colors.  

[formergothardite]

John is high as a kite. He posted a video for his grandparents because it is their anniversary. Esther talks so much like Priscilla. They apparently have gotten a dog(I don't remember that being mentioned before) and John drags out his magical grifted accordion and sings a song with the kids. 

He also has written a poem for Esther. 

Spoiler

Sixteen years God's granted us
to serve Him as our King
We've passed through joys and trials,
so very many things
We've been blessed with many children,
Number 11 is coming soon!
Still after many years and children, 
We're still on our honeymoon! 
God has led in paths so varied, 
from pastoring to Africa's Wilds
And He's always graciously provided,
through the tears and across the miles
No words can fully tell you, 
of my Esther's matchless worth
No one better could complete me,
that walks upon this earth 
I'm so thankful that I trusted,
in my Father's heavenly plan
That I followed the Bible's principles,
and not dating, a philosophy of man
I'm so very glad I waited,
for my Lord to bring HIS Will
And the precious gift He gave me,
is now far more precious still. 
I'm so thankful for my darling, 
she means so much to me
She helps me train our children, 
she helps them Christ to see
She works with Zambian ladies, 
teaching them God's Word 
She loves and teaches children,
seeking to lead them to the Lord 
She supports me as her husband, 
in so many countless ways
She truly shows me honor
and encourages me with praise 
With me she's been so patient, 
in our 5,840 days! 
I confess I am not worthy, 
to be such a Lady's groom
but I thank the Lord for giving, 
and for her patiently giving room
For me to grow as her husband, 
and love her as Christ displayed
By dying to self and meeting, 
Her heart's needs day by day

And not a single follower has seemed to catch onto the fact that John was going to let a guy die on the side of the road. 

[snickerz]

Wow, John, you've outdone yourself with that amazing recreation of the story of the Good Samaritan (or Bad Samaritan, in your case), combined with a bit of "there's no room in the inn."

Who was that guy (teen?) from a fundy family in the US that was going to go join our great Zambian missionary? I'm wondering what happened with that and if he's come to his senses yet or not.

[Palimpsest]

2 hours ago, formergothardite said:

John is high as a kite. He posted a video for his grandparents because it is their anniversary. Esther talks so much like Priscilla. They apparently have gotten a dog(I don't remember that being mentioned before) and John drags out his magical grifted accordion and sings a song with the kids. 

Really high.  He's posting up a storm.  Now the question is - when is he going to crash this time into blubbering sobs of self-pity.

That over-rehearsed video with the kids parroting his every word was really annoying.  There was a tiny little blooper at the end though.  Jovial John sounded quite snappy telling Esther to stop taping. 

I wish he'd quit writing awful poems.  I quite liked the intro though:

Quote

Words cannot adequately express the precious Jewl that God gave to me in my Love.

Or Jewel.  I expect John keeps his socks in a draw.

1 hour ago, snickerz said:

Who was that guy (teen?) from a fundy family in the US that was going to go join our great Zambian missionary? I'm wondering what happened with that and if he's come to his senses yet or not.

Bro. Theophil.  He's Canadian and looks very young.  I expect he's still on deputation.  It is probably too much to hope that he's seen through John.

[Lurky]

4 hours ago, EyesOpen said:

I cannot believe what I just read. He just told his followers that as a missionary he would leave a dying man by the side of the road. Then he switches vanes to complain about people he said left him (escaped is more accurate)

Same!   How on earth can anyone who calls themselves a Christian justify this? 

And that poem technically about Esther!   23 x I/me/my.  14 x God/Lord/He/His/Christ.   14 x Esther/she/her/Lady.   5 x we/our.   2 x children.  

[formergothardite]

1 hour ago, Palimpsest said:

Jovial John sounded quite snappy telling Esther to stop taping. 

I had to go back and watch the end, I only watched the first bit of it. He did sound a bit peeved that she didn't stop taping. 

[apandaaries]

@Lurky it's funny how numbers never lie, isn't it?  John's poems all have a central theme: John the White Christian Savior.

Thought it was kind of funny how the video used his bookshelves as a backdrop.  I was also curious about numbers, so I counted -- one shelf had 25 brilliantly bound books, another had 16.  There were four horizontal rows, six vertical rows, plus the top shelf. Let's say he has 25 books on average per shelf -- he's going to have a total of 600 books in the shelves, plus maybe another 100 on top.  Perhaps I undercounted, though, wildly.  Let's say there are 50 books per shelf, which would give him 1,200 in the shelves plus maybe 200 on top, giving him 1,400.  

Even the most generous (and clearly false) estimates fall far short of 6-7,000 books.  Also, those books were books for show -- pretty collections that are rarely used. Some had clearly seen human interaction, but most of those, nope. Pretty but neglected. Lying about your books and how much you read makes Jesus weep, Johnny boy!

Amazed that his followers can't see the glaring parallels between the traveler on the road seeing someone who needs help.. No one noticed that Preacher John had neither compassion nor love for the dying man who was being transported to medical care by his friends.  I know his followers aren't stellar critical thinkers, but JFC, that is horrific even for John.

Spoiler

For posterity, I'm going to post the whole thing here.  FormerGothardite did a great job critiquing, but it wasn't until I read his words that I realized that the village Headman had been involved in the transport of the dying man.  For those who are interested:

A Potential New Open Door in the remote Village of Mpima (How the selflessness and thoughtfulness of teenagers opened a door for ministry in a new village)

Our story actually begins with a dying man being rushed (in bush terms and fashion) to the rural clinic in an ox-drawn cart near Mulamba, where our second missions church plant is. He had ingested poison, a crop pesticide, having lost all hope in his desperate situation and seeking to end his life.

Unknown to us, one of the men in that cart was a Headman, the leader and immediate local government official in a rural village in the Eastern Province of Zambia, about 5 hours away.

As we drove by, they asked for help to use our vehicle to more quickly get the dying man to care faster in an attempt to save his life.

I told them we had no room, as the Landcruiser was fully loaded both inside and out as we were returning from a missions trip to the Luangwa District area.

It was then that the young men spoke up. Three older teenage boys from our church here in Kafue and my sons, all offered to hang outside the vehicle off the rear bumper and sideboards, so we could get the man and two friends inside (we were off-road, so there was no danger as the road was bad and we had to go slow).

This act of kindness allowed us to witness of Christ to the men, as well as giving them John and Romans with Gospel tracts in both English and Nyanja.

Although sadly the friend died, the Headman later read the vernacular Nyanja tract carefully, and then contacted us, repeatedly asking us to come and preach the Gospel in their village. Finally, we were able to go.

As I traveled into the Eastern Province of Zambia, a journey of almost nine hours one way, many thoughts meandered through my mind.

We've now spent three and a half years here in Zambia, and though we've experienced rejection, heartache, and false accusations from both sides of the world, cast at us like arrows and firebrands, from both Americans, Zambians, and Burundians, we are at peace.

If you've seen our last full length video, "Fruit To Your Account," you know that things looked really good about one year ago.

We thought that God had brought us genuinely faithful men to teach and train to reach their own people, in Zambia, Burundi, and beyond.

Sadly, every man in that video except Phellion and David, the two men leading our second missions church plant in Mulamba village, have forsaken, stolen church equipment, and all of them gone into sin.

We've carefully handled souls with all the care and reverence we could, desiring genuine fruit that remains. We usually spend three to five hours or more throughly explaining the Gospel, knowing that Zambians are very agreeable, have been inundated with much false teaching of "salvation" through works, and we don't press for a decision, for we have seen that Zambians will quickly pray in order to "try" the next "version" of the "gospel" to see if this time, maybe, it will "work."

We've made almost half a million copies, printing Gospel tracts in both English and vernacular languages, four so far.

We've gone house to house, hut to hut, and village upon village and town upon town passing out the same.

It seems in some ways that we are just starting our ministry here in Zambia and beyond.

I was privileged to be invited and flown to preach in Singapore and Nepal recently, and God so greatly encouraged my heart.

I was so deeply encouraged by the genuine believers I met, especially in Nepal, which is an equally poor country like Zambia, and I'm very hopeful God is going to raise up such men and women here in His time.

I was so glad to know that those same young men were faithful and serving and witnessing in our church in Kafue even when I was out of the country preaching!

In the trip to Mpima village I took one man from our Biblical Baptist church here in Kafue, Bro. Brian, and the two men that lead our small missions Biblical Baptist church plant in Mulamba Village, David and Phellion.

We experienced a very good response in the Village, arriving at sunset, as the village is more than a one hour drive off the tarred road. The road was very bad in places, but God gave us the exact vehicle we needed to reach such rural places! As we drove into the village, we passed the small circular huts, made by weaving split saplings together, then coating with mud, then finishing with a elephant-grass thatched roof!

After we set up our tents by the headlights of the vehicle, then the Headman took us to the Nduna, an assistant to the Chief over the area, a "Senior Headman" of sorts. We obtained his permission and blessing to minister in the area, and he even sent men to listen to the preaching that night, and gave us a good report the following day.

We had two preaching sessions the following day.

They even fed us, which never has been offered in the villages we have gone into before. This is the first village, though, where the invitation came to us first, and from the Headman himself.

There were no decisions, but we were able to lay a clear foundation in sharing about Sin, Judgement and the need for God's Righteousness, as our righteousness is as "filthy rags," and the Headman exhorted the people to listen carefully and make their own decisions.

People even came from other nearby villages to hear the preaching!

The final service, at night, was attended by between 60-80 people. It was hard to count because it was so dark!

The Headman plans to erect a shelter for us to meet under, as the rainy season is beginning shortly. He is very anxious for us to return.

We will be going back in two or three weeks, so please pray for the village of Mpima.

I'm excited what God is going to do this next year. No matter what happens, we are certain that we are firmly in the center of God's perfect Will for our lives!

Thanks for your prayer support, it is truly our greatest need!

Bro. John Shrader 
Zambia

 

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

Well thank goodness someone said it!

 

[formergothardite]

John will either go on some sort of rage where he starts changing the story or he will delete the comment and block the person. 

[Ali]

Blocked in 5...4...3...

[Georgiana]

If only Jesus himself had LITERALLY told a story about a man who was dying by the side of the road, in desperate need of assistance, while two gentlemen pass him by and refuse to help because they cared more about their possessions than about the man.  Maybe THEN John would have known to act differently!  Like if it was a REALLY FAMOUS parable.  Like maybe THE MOST famous, even!  

Or maybe John just doesn't LIKE the story of the Good Samaritan because the point is that non-believers who ACT in a more Christian manner are superior in the eyes of the Lord to those who claim "righteous beliefs" while their actions leave a man to die.  

[Gobsmacked]

7 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

It is classic narcissistic behavior.  People aren't quite real to John, they are objects to be manipulated, so of course they can be left to die by the side of the road.  No-one appears in his narrative - unless in a story that is an attempt to make John look good.

In this case though he made himself look exceedingly bad and showed his true colors.  

This ++++++++++++. I spent a few hours today with my totally narcassistic mother at her eye hospital apointment. To recover I spent the evening drinking wine with my younger sister. I know we three siblings are just " things", "objects" to my mother. I had to sit and listen to her lies about my brother. Yes, I can fully imagine, in full and glorious technicolor what happened in Zambia. 

Go to hell John Shrader. Sooner rather than later. 

3 hours ago, formergothardite said:

I had to go back and watch the end, I only watched the first bit of it. He did sound a bit peeved that she didn't stop taping. 

Could you post it for us blocked folk? 

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

This is probably the most sickening thing he has done yet. 

He must be a narcissist as I can not imagine how anyone would leave a person to die because ‘busy/stuff’

[samurai_sarah]

9 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

(snip)

His car is flagged down by people trying to transport a dying man to the hospital - and John, the World's Worst Missionary, refuses.  On the grounds that his car is loaded with too many material possessions (and John and Romans tracts) to help.

(snip)

What the everloving...?!?

At this point, I think John is a good missionary, because he made this atheist going "I hope to God you'll get judged".

[apandaaries]

1 hour ago, samurai_sarah said:

What the everloving...?!?

At this point, I think John is a good missionary, because he made this atheist going "I hope to God you'll get judged".

Some people out there just make you long for a vengeful God.  I also hope John's God judges John just as harshly as John promises he will -- it'd be nice to see him judged according to just how well he lived in Christ's image and followed Christ's examples. 

[SPHASH]

John is a cunt.

[nastyhobbitses]

I could understand being skeptical of people flagging you down at first, since carjacking is a thing, but the second it's clear that a person's in distress and it's not a scam/setup to harm you, you're duty bound as a goddamn human to help.

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

1 hour ago, SPHASH said:

John is a cunt.

I don't know. Don't cunts give life?

[subsaharanafrica]

What a gem of a human being.