FAST Day 9/40--Praying Good for People and Naming Names for Good

Following Jesus to Confront Corruption
Take a Stand--Speak Out--Live in Integrity
Pod-Post 3

When someone gives you a hard time,
respond with the energies of prayer for that person.
Our Father is kind; you be kind. 
Jesus Christ
Luke 6:18,36   The Message

Don’t be intimidated.
Eventually everything is going to be out in the open,
and everyone will know how things really are.
So don’t hesitate to go public now. Jesus Christ
Matthew 10:26-27 The Message

Listen to the podcast here 
#integrityFAST  #CMCtoo  #HealUsToo

Warm greetings!

Here are some reflections on Day 9 of FAST. 
(combined food FAst and hunger Strike)

First, a reminder of the purpose of Into Integrity (In2) FAST. It is to call attention to--and confront--the lack of disclosures by specific organizations/leaders/people affected by the international Nordic Capital Investment KB fraud (NCI) as well as the related dismissals that Michele (my wife) and I have received. I am fasting for genuine contrition and striking for resolute action within the Church Mission Community (CMC).

Part One
Praying and Naming for Good

Praying and Plunging
Every morning during FAST I walk five minutes to the Atlantic shore (Long Island Sound, image above). As I walk and as I sit on a lone bench, all the while taking in the multi-sensorial majesty of the early morning, I pray for specific people and organizations related to FAST. I pray gracious prayers, prayers for good, prayers for courage. And then I plunge into the fairly chilly water, a gentle plunge. And next I walk back to the family home, invigorated, and with more prayers of grace.

Today for example I was praying a Scripture for specific people, Psalm 141:5, praying to the Lord that righteous correction will be seen for what it is: an act of kindness.

Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it,

for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.

So as I do my early morning prayers and plunges, here are some of my reflections about why it is important to name names—and to pray for mercy and that their best selves will rise up.

Paul Named Names

One of the last instructions to me personally from my close friend Dave Pollock, not too long before his untimely death 15 years ago, was from 2 Timothy 4. He reminded me about the variety of relationships that Paul  had with people--and especially Christians. Paul, writing from a Roman prison to his disciple and beloved fellow leader Timothy, mentions—calls out--specific people who have helped him and harmed him. He writes:

--Demas deserted him.
--Crescens, Titus, Mark, Tychicus, and Carpus were in other countries but still closely connected.

--Alexander did him great harm and “the Lord will requite him for his deeds.”

--No one came to his support at his first defense, but everyone deserted him. “May it not be held against them.”

--"Luke alone is with me.”

Shifting to a crucial event several years earlier in his life, Paul does even more than use his pen to name names. He takes on the Apostle Peter face to face, and publicly rebukes him for his hypocrisy in distorting the gospel and the resulting negative influence on others. Paul went public. He took risks I am sure, yet fully convinced that if he were still trying to please men he would not be a bond-servant of Jesus Christ (Galatians 1:10). In his love for people, and in his commitment to maintain the simplicity and purity of the gospel, he corrected, warned, and nurtured people, both with his letters and with his life.

I can certainly relate to what Paul wrote and did. I am sure many of us can too. It has been my experience over the last 12 years in joining with others to confront the NCI fraud and experiencing opposition and dismissals. It has not been easy. But better to fear and obey God than to fear and placate people. Note: I can also certainly relate to Peter's hypocrisy!

Part Two
Praying and Naming for Good

Naming Names: Requests for Good Practice and Assistance

I want to turn our attention now three public materials that name names for the good: The Shine the Light-Together petition and signatories, in circulation since 2012; the PETRA Statement from 2012 and signatories; and the PETRA People Network weblog which began in 2011. These written materials are relevant as they are important parts of the initiatives to call the organizations and people affected by NCI to assist, especially with disclosures and independent reviews in light of good practice principles. They name organization’s names. And the weblog names many people’s names who are being requested to assist. Let’s have a look.

Main image from the Shine the Light-Together petition

First, the Shine the Light-Together petition. Also referred to as “The Integrity Petition.” I quote:

“This petition is a call to many organizations and people, especially in the church and mission community (CMC), to assist by transparently and verifiably disclosing how they have been affected by Nordic Capital Investment KB fraud (NCI). In addition, members of these organizations (including past and present staff, leaders, Boards), donors, partners and the public are asked to help by respectfully and resolutely calling for the assistance of those affected by NCI. 

NCI was set up in 1992 and began to be publically confronted in 2007. An important part of it was successfully prosecuted in Sweden (2010-2011) and declared to be a longstanding fraud. Only one person was prosecuted and imprisoned, however--a Swedish man. There are thousands of pages of court documents (available to the public in 2010-2011) that shed light on the far broader aspects of this international fraud. Millions of euros and dollars are still missing. See the core materials/links on this site for more information.

Corruption such as the NCI KB fraud does not simply go away on its own, over time, by ignoring it, or by keeping silent. All of us can and must act with integrity--the consistent, highest level of moral wholeness. And we can and must hold our organizations and leaders accountable to do the same. This petition is a key tool to help.”

Second and linked closely to the petition, is the is PETRA PETRA Statement. PETRA as you may know, is a Greek word used in the New Testament meaning bedrock. “Upon this “petra” I will build my church, Jesus said (Matthew 16:18). And it as an acronym we use for PEace, Transparency, and Accountability. Here are some excerpts from the Statement.

“This [Statement] is not implying any wrong doing but rather it is a direct and public request to take ethical action—to do what would be expected of any other organization, church, or person of integrity to do in a similar situation.

In light of the Swedish court documents, we are publicly calling for the following organizations to provide assistance by reviewing and disclosing how NCI has affected them. We are also asking them to review how they have responded to the NCI matter thus far. Authorizing independent and internal reviews is strongly encouraged. It is not helpful to simply try to “move on” and leaders and members are urged now to hold their organizations accountable. There is much to learn and many ways to help. We urge organizations affected by NCI to emulate the organizations in the “United Response” to the New Era Scandal: be transparent, accountable and cooperate to return money.

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--1. Mercy Ministries Associations (MM). MM International, with related associations in France, Holland, and Switzerland (set up in 1994, 1995) are related directly to Le Rucher in France.

 --2. New Generation Foundation (NGF, GF). A foundation/account was set up in 1997 at a Liechtenstein bank by a major YWAM and Le Rucher leader. Over time it received hundreds of thousands of NCI euros/dollars. Where is this money?

--3. Youth With A Mission International (YWAM). …Major YWAM leaders invested since at least 1996 and YWAM projects received NCI-related money…YWAM leaders (e.g., IFMLT, GLF, MMI), YWAM members, and YWAM donors internationally are urged to get informed and together call for an internal and an independent review of how YWAM has been affected and how it has responded, and to persevere until such reviews are done. Will they do this? 

--4. Mercy Ships International (based in Texas USA and including Mercy Ships in the UK, Switzerland, and France). An Austrian court document from 2001 and other Swedish documents indicate that Mercy Ships (part of YWAM until 2003) was to benefit from NCI funds related to a three million US dollar transaction that was frozen by the Austrian government in November 2001…

--5. Youth For Christ (YFC) in Coppet, Switzerland. The name “YFC” and its physical address in Switzerland were used for a substantial amount of NCI-related correspondence (by a person actively involved in NCI but not part of YFC). Why? [Note: There is an update in Part Two of the latest PETRA People weblog (June 2019) summarizing some recent interactions with a YFC leader in response to these and other concerns.]
--6. Churches in Holland and France. One example of a church that can really help is Crossroads church in Ferney-Voltaire, France.

--7. Individuals, families, ministries, projects, charities, foundations, and other organizations. Those that have been involved with and/or benefited from NCI—that have or may have received NCI-related funds—have key roles to play in sharing information and helping to locate missing money.

NCI and related matters have brought serious confusion, disruption, and distrust into the international church mission community (CMC). Restoration will happen only as we walk fully in the light with both God and humans as witnesses: to establish the facts, admit any errors and wrongdoing, share perspectives, and help return/recover money for investors. Individuals and organisations committed to integrity should have nothing to fear and should welcome the opportunity to help via open investigations and verifiable disclosures. Our transparency and accountability now will also help prevent similar situations within the international CMC from happening in the future.”

Third, the PETRA People Network weblog names many people's names, calling for assistance. Some of the main ones are in Part Two of the recent PETRA People weblog entries. The excerpts below are from the letters written in 2014 to several mission/church leaders, signed by myself and two others in the Petra People Network. I quote:

--Youth With A Mission:  Loren Cunningham, Darlene Cunningham, Lynn Green, Jim Stier, Tom Hallas, Iain Muir, John Dawson, Steve Goode, and YWAM leaders/staff around the world.

--Mercy Ships: Donovan and Mae Palmer. “We would be grateful if you could please review the petition and its links to core documents and share it with members of the international Mercy Ships Executive Committee and others Board members (e.g., Don Stephens as President, Myron Ullman as Chair, Rosa Whitaker, Francoise Andre, Ian McColl, and Peter Schulze as Vice-Chairs, etc.). 

--Youth For Christ: Geordon Rendle and John Duncan (and with Larry Williams in 2015).  “We also believe it would be very important to share the petition with other board members/officers at Youth for Christ and the previous staff at YFC in Coppet, Switzerland.” 

--Crossroads Church (Ferney-Voltaire, France):  Larry Lloyd and Ian Rutter. "We would be grateful if you could please review the petition and its links to core documents and then share the petition with other current/former elders and officers at Crossroads and current/former members and attendees at Crossroads.” 

Final Thoughts

I encourage us all to pray for mercy and for the good of specific leaders, specific people, and specific organizations. I pray prayers of grace that they will change course, repent as needed, and make amends. In many cases regarding the protracted NCI fraud, this wold be done publicly via verifiable disclosures for transparency and accountability as well as humbly responding to the long-sanding requests–especially embodied in the Shine the Light petition and its signatories--for independents reviews.

And please pray for mercy and good for those who have discredited and dismissed Michele my wife and me. More on this last point in an upcoming Into Integrity posting-podcast.

Remember, as emphasized in the previous posting and podcast: It’s not too late. Obey the Spirit. Truth is your greatest ally. Make sure you are on the right side of moral history. Love never ceases

Take a stand. Speak up. Live in integrity.
And spread the word.

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Integrity is moral wholeness—living consistently in moral wholeness. Corruption is moral rottenness, the opposite of integrity--the distortion, perversion, and deterioration of moral goodness, resulting in the exploitation of people.

I am doing FAST in the spirit of the consecrated fast and repentance called for by the prophet Joel (Joel 1:14).  And I am doing it in line with the concerns and requests in the Shine the Light-Together petition and by its signatories.

Thank you for your prayers, encouragement, and support. I will be regularly sharing updates via brief posts and podcasts in the coming days. Please spread the word.

Kelly

Notes

--For information/updates on NCI and anti-corruption resources, see the latest postings from the PETRA People Network.

--A Summons to a Global Integrity Movement: Fighting Self-Deception and Corruption, our article  in the Lausanne Global Analysis, March 2018. "In this article we distill some of the lessons we have learned over the past 15 years in promoting integrity and confronting corruption. Why is it hard to live up to our moral and ethical aspirations? We reflect on the reality of dysfunction and deviance, highlight the challenge of self-deception, describe anti-corruption resources, and summon the church-mission community (CMC) to a global integrity movement marked by righteousness and relevance.

--Jesus' words in Luke 6: 17-49 and Mathew 10: 16-42 (The Message) have been so helpful to me, providing  instructions, warnings, perspectives, and motive checks especially about hypocrisy. Some excerpts: 

"Don’t be intimidated. Eventually everything is going to be out in the open, and everyone will know how things really are. So don’t hesitate to go public now. Don’t be bluffed into silence by the threats of bullies. There’s nothing they can do to your soul, your core being. Save your fear for God, who holds your entire life—body and soul—in his hands. (Matthew 10:26-28). Your task is to be true, not popular….It’s who you are, not what you say and do, that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds” (Luke 6:26,45)