Podcast 11 Transcript--Listening to the Spirit: “Do Whatever He Tells You”

Into Integrity Podcast 11
Listening to the Spirit: “Do Whatever He Tells You”

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.
John 10: 27-28

Opening

Welcome to Into Integrity.

This is Kelly and Michèle O’Donnell.
Thanks for joining us as we follow Jesus, living integrity and confronting corruption.
.

--How do you hear from the Holy Spirit?
And how do you know it is the Spirit, versus your own ideas, desires, or fears?
--What is the Sprit saying to the people, leaders,  and organizations, affected by the NCI fraud?
And asking them to do?
--What specifically might the Spirit be saying to you?
And asking you to do?

These important questions are central for today’s podcast.
Our theme is Listening to the Spirit: “Do Whatever He Tells You”

We share excerpts from three core materials which provide a good overview of NCI with documentation and good practice principles.

--1. The short article Loving Truth and Peace, a composite case study on corruption in mission that we did influenced by our experiences in the NCI fraud;

--2.  The Summary and Summons, an essential review of NCI to understand what happened and to consider what needs to be done;
--3. Suggestions for Going Forward, written in the early days of confronting NCI and asking people for help, is still very relevant today.

Our prayer is that you will carefully look over these materials, listening to the Spirit.   
And then follow the advice of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in her last recorded words in Scripture:
”Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:5)

Today is day 30 of the 40 day FAST. We invite you to join with us and others during Part Two of the FAST now, 6-26 December 2019.

A reminder of the purpose of the Into Integrity 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 we have received. This is a combined food FAst for genuine contrition and a hunger STrike for resolute action by specific people and organizations primarily within the Church Mission Community (CMC).

You can find more information and important links on the Into Integrity weblog.

It’s time for solidarity. Take a stand, speak up, and live in integrity. 

ONE
In the first item, I share excerpts from the opening part of our article, Loving Truth and Peace: A Case Study of Family Resilience in Dealing with Mission/Aid Corruption.

It was unbelievable and utterly disconcerting. Could respected and trusted mission leaders really act so uncharacteristically? Could the nefarious face of fraud really go undetected by “mature, Sprit-led believers,” hiding for years behind a mask of benevolence in the Christian mission/aid community? Would good people really deal with corruption (defined by Transparency International as the abuse of entrusted power for personal gain) by rationalizing their responsibility to help, protecting themselves and their livelihoods, and tolerating the discrediting and dismissal of their fellow colleagues who confronted it? Could resilient evil (complicity, cover-ups, and cowardice) really win the day over resilient virtue (perseverance, honesty, and courage)? The answer, sadly, is a resounding “yes.”

Alejandro (Alex) Pace, a middle-aged man living in Asia, a respected international leader known for his tireless efforts to create mission/aid networks on behalf of the poor, was ejected from the organization to which he had belonged for fifteen years. A trio of organizational leaders informed him that he had a mental disorder and was responsible for a long history of broken relationships, that he had willfully disregarded the instructions of his organizational leaders, and that he was in need of psychiatric care and spiritual direction.

Pace was dismissed—and by default his wife, also—his services were neither endorsed nor recommended, and no appeal against his dismissal was permitted. Almost all communication was by e-mail. With no warning, donor funds for the Pace family ceased to be passed on to them.

 
Previous to his dismissal, Alex Pace and Chandra, his wife of seventeen years, had asked to meet with senior leaders of the organization to discuss the impact on the organization of a long-running international multi-million-dollar fraud in the church and mission communities that had just become public. The fraud was essentially a Ponzi scheme, with payments made to earlier investors coming from subsequent investors’ capital, rather than from earnings from the capital investment itself. The scheme, available only privately, had been sold to people in Christian ministry with guarantees that their capital would be protected, that they would receive a 10 percent annual return on their investment, and that an additional donation would be made by the fund to a charity. The scheme had been presented in a low-key manner as a special opportunity for mission workers and for the Kingdom of God.

Their request for a meeting denied, the Paces had continued, along with others, to request organizational disclosure and independent review. Well-informed and committed to the organization’s health, the Paces were typecast as disloyal problem makers. Was their real transgression that they knew too much about the fraud (firsthand as investor-victims), were too influential, and could create instability in the organization by calling for transparency and accountability?

[Note:] This type of response to whistleblowers (i.e., retaliation) is very common, as observed by Warren Bennis et al. in their book Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor.

“Although whistleblowers are often exiled from their organizations for their unwanted candor . . . they almost always found the courage to speak out in their deep commitment to the core values of the organization. Even when labeled traitors by their colleagues, such tellers of unsettling truths often feel passionate loyalty to the organization and act because they feel the secret activity violates its mission and ethical core. . . . If dissidents aren’t called crazy, they are portrayed as disloyal. . . . The charge of disloyalty is as easy for leaders to bring against followers as it is difficult for the accused to counter and disprove. Moreover, as loyalty is typically an admirable trait, it is also a convenient blind for cowardly followers to hide behind.”

TWO
n the second item, I share a few excerpts (paragraphs) about “NCI Background” from the  Summary and Summons. This core overview of NCI can help you to understand what happened and to consider what needs to be done. It has been posted on each entry of the PETRA People weblog since August 2017 (in Part Two). It begins with this summary quote from the PETRA Statement 2011:

“NCI and related matters have brought serious confusion, disruption, and distrust into the international [Church Mission Community (CMC]). Healing in the international CMC 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. Our transparency and accountability now will also help prevent similar situations within the international CMC from happening in the future.” 

--NCI began in 1994 and functioned secretively as a ponzi scheme until it was publicly confronted in 2007. Several victims contacted governments about NCI in July that year (FBI in the USA, Serious Fraud Office in the UK, Fraud Police in The Netherlands, and Economic Crimes Bureau in Sweden). See also the initial 10 point overview about NCI at the top of the PETRA People website (this website also contains several documents from the Swedish court case, analyses, anti-corruption resources, etc.).

--An initial investigative review was done by a business consultant, Rand Guebert (2008). It is 120 pages and focuses on the serious problems in organizations affected by NCI including poor organizational governance and the discrediting and wrongful dismissals which Kelly and Michèle O’Donnell experienced in the [Church Mission Community]….[Note: The Professional Review is available to read on the Loving Truth and Peace weblog]

--The Swedish government (Economic Crimes Bureau--EBM) was the principle government that eventually took the lead to investigate (2008-2011). It prosecuted only one person, Kristian Westergard, the founder of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Sweden. The Swedish EBM determined that NCI was a long-term, gross fraud and sentenced Mr. Westergard to prison where he served a term for just over two years. Mr. Westergard was required to repay several of the victims listed in the case. But since he had very few traceable assets, very little money has been ever repaid to the 20+ plaintiffs. Other people who were affected by the fraud (net-positives) were not required to return money (by the governments or by their respective [Church Mission Community] organizations-ministries). Nor were there any prosecutions for other persons involved with Westergard/NCI (some perhaps innocently). Millions of dollars/Euros are still missing.

--The Shine the Light-Together petition  (2012-current…) and the PETRA People Network weblog (2011-current) were set up to help the [Church Mission Community] and the public understand corruption in general and the NCI case specifically. They have been emphasizing that different Christian organizations were and are “affected” by the fraud—specifically, that leaders and staff invested, benefited/lost money, ministry projects received [NCI] money etc. The reluctance of these leaders and organizations to disclose and to submit to independent investigation has also been highlighted. Their information could shed crucial light on what was happening with this fraud and by whom, and likely go a long way to preventing similar things though the lessons learned and bring healing.

THREE
H In this third item, I share excerpts from Suggestions for Going Forward. We wrote this short piece in the early days of confronting NCI and asking people for help. It’s 10 points are still very relevant today.

1. NCI and beyond. This international case is more extensive than the Swedish focus on NCI/Westergard. There are money trails and other people and organizations involved in NCI that the Swedish EBM did not fully investigate…

2. YWAM is seriously affected…A large group of investors are/were part of or associated with YWAM. This included people on five contents and senior/major leaders—regional, base, and global ministry directors—as well as leaders/staff in YWAM: Mercy Ministries, Frontier Missions, and University of the Nations…[I note Mercy Ships was part of YWAM officially until 2003.]

3. Independent investigations. YWAM has not yet investigated and disclosed how it has been affected by NCI. YWAM senior leaders have consistently declined to do this in spite of numerous requests for an independent investigation from staff/leaders, investors, legal/professional consultants, etc…[I note that all the other named organizations have also not conducted independent reviews.]

5. Help from Christian organizations. Many investors and others who are following this case are disappointed by the lack of response by some of the mission organizations and churches affected by NCI. In most instances staff and congregations have not been adequately informed; people have not been encouraged to share information with authorities; nor have independent reviews/audits been conducted...

7. Returning money to investors. One of the major unanswered questions is where did the money go—which projects and people benefited? The corollary question: Will net positives and projects, with the help of the organizations that they are part of, help return and recover money--perhaps through a special trusteeship that is established?...

9. Summary suggestions and concerns. The international church-mission community (CMC) has been seriously affected. People and organizations have invested, lost money, received questionable returns and money for projects. There has been a consistent unwillingness to get more informed and involved in dealing with NCI, including identifying/disclosing the money flows. The credibility and integrity of parts of the international CMC have been seriously marred. People have a moral duty to join with others to help. Will they do so and help prevent such things from happening in the future?

Closing

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Into Integrity:
 Listening to the Spirit--Do Whatever He Tells You.

You can access a transcript of this podcast along with related resources and links, on the Into Integrity weblog.

Our prayer is that you will carefully look over the three materials featured in this podcast-posting, listening to the Spirit. And then to follow the advice of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in her last recorded words in Scripture: “Do whatever He tells you.” (John 2:5)

Thank you again for your encouragement, prayers, and support as we continue Part Two of the Into Integrity FAST (6-26 December).

It’s time for solidarity.
Take a stand. Speak up. Live in integrity.
And spread the word.