John Shrader 16: Flying Away in That No-Engine Plane

[formergothardite]

John wrote another long, terrible poem. I guess he is on a high now. 

The theme of all his latest poems seems to be that he doesn't think people are praying enough for him or letting him know when they pray. He is super judgy about everything. 

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For Satan does not tremble,
When you focus on politics
Or when you cheer for sports teams,
As they play with balls or sticks

He fears not all our programs,
As we hustle to and fro
And we expend a lot of effort,
As to the next conference or camp-meeting go

He doesn't fear our sermons,
If in flesh we laugh and joke
And spend the time telling stories,
That does not our enemy provoke

John thinks his mission is a flop because he doesn't pray enough. 

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I for one have seen my shortcoming,
How in prayer I've fervency lacked
How I've expended much effort for God
But God's genuine Power have lacked

How Satan has fought our service,
Here in Africa as we serve our King
And yet we have often been lacking,
His Power in our ministry

But my Father has graciously reminded,
And so gently helped me to see,
That I must constantly submit to His Working,
And let Him work through my humility

And then when I am enfolded,
And His Spirit's filling I see
Then Satan will then be fearing,
To see my on my knees.

This time John is.

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Historic Unaffiliated Biblical Baptist Missionary
Sub-Saharan Africa

 

[Gobsmacked]

So Dadfy G shrader is pissed off that John has screwed up in Zambia. Just added the past 4 years to his list of other failures in life? 

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

@formergothardite what are people commenting on his posts? 

[formergothardite]

1 minute ago, Milly-Molly-Mandy said:

@formergothardite what are people commenting on his posts? 

Nothing. His poetry page doesn't seem to get a lot of attention. I'm guessing most people don't read his long ass poems of complaint. 

[Palimpsest]

John's poetry page is Quill and Bible and is public. https://www.facebook.com/quillandbible/ 

People do seem underwhelmed by his epics and only a few comment.  I think he writes poetry in bed when things aren't going well.

And, Jesus wept, who would want to plough through thirty eight (38! I counted them!) stanzas of "Satan Fears the Bended Knee."  

But I missed one of his pomes and he worked really hard on it with all those Biblical references. 

 

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"I Am A Worm"

(With Scripture References for New Believers)

[An attempt to help serious hearted believers Biblically examine if we truly have the mind of Christ.]

"I am a worm" cried David
Prophetically speaking of Christ
In the twenty-second Psalm(1)
Writing of His atoning sacrifice
Yes Jesus was greatly humbled
His visage was marred and torn (2)
They ripped out hair from His beard(3)
They mocked with crown of thorns(4)
When at last He was lifted up
'Twas on a rugged tree
And there Christ hung in shame(5)
And suffered in agony
The cross was truly awful
But Christ was paying the price(6)
That those who have godly sorrow
Will repent and receive eternal Life(7)
For only Faith in the Blood of Jesus
Can wash your sins away(8)
If you have not yet done so
Turn from sin to Christ today(9)
And those who receive Jesus
Are given power to become God's child(10)
And such a wonderful thing
From self and sin now to God reconciled(11)
But many who claim salvation
Seem far from Biblical Truth
I cannot judge their heart
For that would be uncouth(12)
But Jesus said to judge actions
"Ye shall know them by their fruits"(13)
So we can examine the outward
But only God can know the root(14)
But as Samuel rightly noted
Man looks at the outside
And that's become the focus
So much is done in pride
We want to be respected
Our ears long much for praise
We want to be acknowledged
Our reputation raised
But is this following Jesus?
As in steps of suffering He trod
Leaving us an example(15)
As we traverse(16) this earth of sod(17)
For pride produces longing
To be admired and well known (18)
But what is our instruction
If in our life Christ would be shown?
Our Saviour was called "a worm"
And mocked with cruel hate
He did not make His own reputation
Seeking Himself to elevate(19)
For when He was finally lifted
It was on a cruel cross(20)
He was not lifted in honor
But raised as vile men mocked
And not only sought no reputation
But also a "servant" became(21)
Yes the Master washed his disciples filthy feet
On the night before He bore their shame(22)
But so often we're like Peter
Not wanting humility
But Jesus said to His Disciple
If not, you have "no part with me."(23)
Even I as a missionary
Must constantly examine my heart
Lest like Peter Jesus would tell me
That with Him I have no part
For God has recorded His hate list
And number one is pride(24)
And our own hearts can deceive us
Only God knows what's inside(25)
And even God's Own children
If found with Pride of Self
Will then by God be resisted
Thus can receive no help(26)
How sad if we as Christians
Are striving filled with pride
Maybe successful in eyes of men
But a failure for God inside
For God must have All Glory
He will not give it away(27)
But sadly in pride are found
Many in ministry today
Oh fellow servant listen
Please heed the words of Life
If we would follow His example
If we would be like Christ
Then we must have no reputation
Not seek for our own name
And take up towels of service
And humble ourselves today(28)
For Jesus clearly told us
To be great be a servant to all(29)
For one day maybe not distant
We at His feet may fall
And when we see our dear Savior
And look upon His Face
May it be said our lives have truly been
To the Praise of His Glory and Grace(30)

Scripture References and Notes
1 - Psalm 22:6
2 - Isaiah 52:14
3 - Isaiah 50:6
4 - Matt. 27:29
5 - Hebrews 12:2
6 - I Cor. 6:20; Isaiah 53
7 - II Cor. 7:10
8 - Rev. 1:5; Rom. 3:24-26
9 - Isaiah 55:1-7; I Thess. 1:9
10 - John 1:12
11 - II Cor. 5:17-21
12 - def: "rude, without grace"
13 - Matt. 7:16
14 - I Sam. 16:7 
15 - I Peter 2:21
16 - def: "to travel"
17 - def: "old word for soil, dirt"
18 - Matthew 23:5a
19 - Philippians 2:7a
20 - John 3:14-16; 12:32
21 - Phil. 2:7b
22 - John 13:1-5
23 - John 13:6-9
24 - Proverbs 6:16-19
25 - Jeremiah 17:9,10
26 - James 4:6-10; I Pet. 5:5,6
27 - Isaiah 42:8; 48:11
28 - Matthew 23:12
29 - Matt. 23:11
30 - Ephesians 1:6,12

Brother John Shrader
Zambia
October 2, 2018

I'll add a couple more Biblical references for John.  He missed them.

And to clarify for Shrader's new believers, poor things, Jesus was quoting Psalm 22 on the cross.  Matthew 27:47.  Remember the "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" bit.   That made Psalm 22 supposedly prophetic, because how could David have predicted what Jesus would say.  Or Jesus (who wasn't stupid) could have quoted Psalm 22 because he was claiming to be the Son of God and it added credibility.  Chicken or egg.

David goes on to say:  "I am a worm and no man; a reproach of mankind and despised by the people" (Psalm 22:6).   Yes, and David was a seducer if not a rapist, an adulterer, and the person who sent poor Uriah the Hittite to certain death.  A worm is a nice thing compared to David.

Worms are in Job too: "How much less man, who is a grub, the Son of Man, Who is a worm" (Job 25:6).

Jesus calls the concept of evil in mankind a worm several times in Mark.  The bit about being nasty to children:

"And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched.

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."

And then he goes on to talk about cutting off offending feet and putting out eyes in a manner that quite revolted me as a child.  That is Mark 9:42-48, John Shrader.  But don't take it literally, and please don't actually do that to your converts if they offend you.  It's against the law in most places and will get you in hot water in Kafue for sure.

 

[Lurky]

The scansion and structure of John's pomes gives me an itch on the inside of my skull.

[thoughtful]

8 hours ago, Lurky said:

The scansion and structure of John's pomes gives me an itch on the inside of my skull.

A regular William Fuckin' Wordsworth, ain't he?

[Palimpsest]

Africans (or I Pastored Lonely But So Proud)

I pastored lonely but so proud

My plane not flying high, more like tin cans,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of happy Africans;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Puttering and sinning in the breeze.

 

Continuous as the fires that burn

And crackle in the pit of hell,

My prayers never-endingly do churn

Along with many hopes that swell:

Ten thousand saw I at one glance,

Dollars, I mean, they me entrance.

 

The sins inside me danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling need to see:

A pastor cannot bear the fray,

For no-one else agrees with me:

I mused—and mused—but little thought

What wealth the "mission" to me had brought:

 

But oft, when on my bed I lie

In vacant or depresséd mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of mission-tude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

At thoughts of all those dollar bills."

Sorry, Wordsworth. @thoughtful made me do it!

[Gemini]

Tbf to John, his shitty writing has inspired the most amazing snark poetry 

 @Palimpsest That was awesome! 

[subsaharanafrica]

Is John claiming that Wesco was specifically targeted for his beliefs? He just called him the “Martyred Baptist Missionary”. 

Does he know something we don’t or does he think being shot as an obvious foreigner in a car qualifies as martyrdom?

[Palimpsest]

2 hours ago, subsaharanafrica said:

Is John claiming that Wesco was specifically targeted for his beliefs? He just called him the “Martyred Baptist Missionary”. 

The whole Wesco family is claiming that Charles Wesco was martyred for his beliefs and specifically "targeted."  Officials in Cameroon are saying he was caught in crossfire as they were suppressing a riot.  Wrong place at the wrong time.  

John is just jumping on the same bandwagon as the family.  In their world view all missionaries are potential martyrs.

But -

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There is no evidence to suggest that Wesco himself, a newcomer to Cameroon, was targeted for assassination. Wesco was shot near the city of Bamenda, in northwestern Cameroon, which has been plagued by violence and unrest due to conflicts between the national government and local groups. Northwestern Cameroon is one of the English-speaking regions in the country (most of Cameroon uses French as the official language). In recent months, Anglophone areas in the country have been demanding better access to schools and public services. Many have been calling for self-rule or a form of federalism.

Amnesty International reports that government security forces have burnt down villages in separatist areas and have “indiscriminately killed, arrested and tortured” dozens of people during military operations, displacing thousands of civilians. Amnesty also charges that armed separatists have attacked and sometimes brutally tortured and killed hundreds of soldiers amid the government crackdown on the area.

https://heavy.com/news/2018/10/charles-wesco-cameroon/

His brother is a State Rep in Indiana, and I suspect this has caused more media coverage than usual.  https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/mishawaka-missionary-killed-in-cameroon-remembered-fondly/

And widow and children are all back.   The Go Fund Me raised $112,998.00 as of today and is still trending. 

[formergothardite]

Saying he is a martyr is easier than admitting that they made a stupid choice that resulted in him being killed. 

[subsaharanafrica]

56 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

Saying he is a martyr is easier than admitting that they made a stupid choice that resulted in him being killed. 

But it also cheapens the deaths of people who actually have been persecuted and died for their faith. 

I find it incredibly difficult to believe that in a country where 70% of the population processes to be Christian, with that number being even higher in the area where this happened, someone who had only been in the country for a week and a half would have been specifically tracked down and targeted for the specific brand of Christianity he espoused. If he was a threat why would they have given him a visa? Barring additional information the claim is untenable and kind of ridiculous. In all likelihood, all of the actors involved in this are/were Christians themselves. 

[formergothardite]

5 minutes ago, subsaharanafrica said:

But it also cheapens the deaths of people who actually have been persecuted and died for their faith.

A lot of these modern "persecuted" Christians seem to be okay doing that. John wails persecution all the time when it is nothing but him dealing problems he created. 

The 70% of Christians in that country weren't Christian enough for these folks so I'm sure the story they tell is: Noble white Christian went to save the heathen natives. Satan could not risk him bringing salvation to these souls so he attacked the family causing the man to be killed for living out his faith and trying to reach the vast ocean of unsaved souls that are ripe for the harvest. 

It doesn't matter if the claim as no basis in reality, what matters is that they create a picture where the white Christian was killed by the African natives who didn't have Jesus. That will make a good story to tell the sheeple and bring in lots of money to support the widow. 

[Palimpsest]

Of course it bloody cheapens the deaths of people who are persecuted and actually die for their faith!  Welcome to the delusionary world of missionary fervor.  The stories are re-written to justify folly All. The. Time.

And to add insult and to prove a complete lack of common sense.  Here's a message from the Widow Wesco:

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“She did not want to leave Cameroon, even after Charles died, because of her love for her savior and those dear people,” said Tom Needham, who has been a missionary in Cameroon for years. “Stephanie has asked me to appeal to you today, on her behalf, to consider taking Charles’ place as a missionary to Cameroon. When the blood of a missionary martyr touches the ground, the seeds of new missionaries are sprouted.”

“Amen,” some in the crowd softly replied.

“What happened two weeks ago was not what we wanted to happen,” Needham continued. “But it is what God has allowed to happen for purposes far greater than we can imagine.”

https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/mishawaka-missionary-killed-in-cameroon-remembered-fondly/a

Let's send more arrogant, ignorant, right kind of Christians to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in a country they know nothing about because Jebus.. 

Makes me sick.

It is not just IFB though. 

Spoiler

In my husband's family there was an RC priest who "died for his faith" back the 1960s in Central America.  Both his order and some surviving members of his family keep trying to get him beatified, if not cannonized.  They log "miracles" that supposedly happen when people pray to a statue they erected where he died.  In fact, if you read the story with only a bit of common sense,  Father B was well known to drink too much.  He got into a fight with the owner of a bar over failure to pay his large tab.  And stopped a bullet fired by said bar owner for his sins. 

 

[squiddysquid]

So I talked to a friend today who is originally from Cameroon. She said things are exttremely unstable right now and she wouldn't be surprised if a war would break out soon.

Apparently their "president" has been in office for over 30 years and refuses to step down. He doesn't really care about the country and sometimes spends 8 months out of a year in Europe while their social system and especially their health system is collapsing.

She has a toddler but she hasn't brought him to Cameroon yet to meet her family, because it is too dangerous right now. Her family is black, they're not a minority of any kind and live close to the - compared to the rest - relatively stable part of the country and still she, who knows the place, was born there - chooses not to visit.

So yeah, going there to live out your white saviour complex with eleventy kids in tow is phenomenally stupid for an abundance of reasons.

[gustava]

Let's enter one of John's pomes in The Joyce Kilmer Bad Poetry Contest:  http://www.columbia.edu/cu/philo/kilmer/

[formergothardite]

John annoyed a person who is Muslim for two years until they finally gave in and let John give his little speech about his version of Christianity. 

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I was given the opportunity to witness to my dear Muslim friend. He was intrigued by God's Grace. Please pray

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I've been trying to share the Gospel with him for two years! This past Sunday night, he sat down with me...and listened! Please pray for him and his family. It's a terrible situation, but has led to that meeting...and he's willing to meet again. Thanks for your fervent prayers. - js

John also printed a shit ton of tracts. They all seem to be in English. 

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I'm thankful to be printing 8,500 tracts today, leaving for the remote Western Province tomorrow morning, about a ten hour drive to Mongu, then another three to Sioma on Friday. I'll be preaching in the Chief's village Sunday, and working in that area with Bro. Boyd this Friday to next Wednesday.

Thanks for your prayers.

js

 

[Gobsmacked]

So poor Esther is left with all the children whilst Johnboy has another jolly jaunt. John is a pillock. 

[Ozlsn]

32 minutes ago, Gobsmacked said:

So poor Esther is left with all the children whilst Johnboy has another jolly jaunt. John is a pillock. 

Or alternatively Ester has one, possibly more if John is taking any of the boys with him, fewer child to look after. Hopefully she has a bit of a break! (Didn't she just visit the US with one or two kids? I can see John seeing this as fair play.)

[Gemini]

3 hours ago, formergothardite said:

I was given the opportunity to witness to my dear Muslim friend. He was intrigued by God's Grace. Please pray

Being a Muslim, he’ll know all about God’s grace John. Could it be that you’re confused and he was actually intrigued by your stupidity... 

[Inky]

1 hour ago, Gemini said:

Being a Muslim, he’ll know all about God’s grace John. Could it be that you’re confused and he was actually intrigued by your stupidity... 

Either that or he figured he had to listen to John to make him shut up.

[Flossie]

8 hours ago, Inky said:

Either that or he figured he had to listen to John to make him shut up.

That usually doesn't work.  It's been my experience that once you give someone like that a single hearing, they take that to mean that you actually want them to work on you harder, and they pout big time if they finally figure out that you were just being polite and really don't want to hear about it anymore.

[formergothardite]

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It's a terrible situation, but has led to that meeting

From this line I take it something tragic happened in the man's life and John exploited the opportunity. 

[formergothardite]

John has made a facebook live video while driving where he seems on a high again. He is beaming, thrilled with himself and not watching the road at all because he keeps watching himself in the camera and trying to read comments. He keeps saying how excited he is about all the amazing things that are happening in Zambia. 

He is in the Western Province and a little church is being built there. Don't worry! John isn't paying for it. A church in Kafua is sending the money. 

He is going to examine the salvation of some chief to make sure he is really saved. 

He wants everyone to not forget him on Thanksgiving, pray for him. 

He starts rambling about salvation, lordship salvation and stuff like that. I skipped around because he is boring.  

John won't stop talking. Has anyone ever heard a preacher who would say "my last point" making it seem like he was almost over but he keeps going another 30 min? That is John, he keeps saying he is going to stop the video but doesn't.