Striving for Perfection

This picture is a scan of the "Prefatory Notes" of the 101 General Assembly Minutes. I don't know if Bishop Smith wrote these notes, but his name appears above them so I guess he at least agrees.

Do the first three paragraphs jive with your experience of the 2006 Assembly? The notes say that the Holy Ghost gave the "greatly needed guidance". Does this mean that Bishop Smith is God's annointed and that the process of selection was God ordained?

The notes also quote Proverbs 3:34. Who are the "scorners"? Is this a reference to "The Stand"?

Is this the way the "laity" feel about the 2006 Assembly?

OfferingMonkey Asks For Clarification

OfferingMonkey asks:

I wonder why no respnse has been given to the previous posters question about taking minesterial expense being takin into account on the reports? Is this true Auto?

Well, looks like I didn't take ministerial exspense into account on the "Does the Tithing Test of Membership Apply to Bro. Estep?" post. I used the month of July 2002 for example due to having his report to Headquarters for that month. Let's look at the numbers again and see if I can get it right. Y'all help me now, post corrections to any errors you find.

The following numbers are taken from the July report of Don Estep to General Headquarters. You can view this report by clicking here.

Tithes Received were $0.00 (line drawn through the blank)
Offerings Received were $71.00
Tithes Paid to Hqts were $50.00
Tithes Paid to Local Church were $96.00

Ministerial Expense was $500.00

As you ministers know, you pay tithe on any money you receive from a secular job or any outside the church source to the local church where you are a member. So the "Tithes Paid to the local church" of $96.00 was from an external source.

As you ministers also know, you pay tithes on any money you receive from the church you pastor MINUS any ministerial expense. So in the report in question "Tithes Received" was $0.00, add to this "Offerings Received" of $71.00 and then SUBTRACT "Ministerial Expense" of $500.00 and you get a income of -$429.00 (a negative number). Even though he made nothing according to this report he still paid $50.00 tithe to General Headquarters.

The "rub" if you will comes when we look at the cancelled checks from the Willisburg bank account for that same month of July 2002. You can see both summary (page 1) and details of July (page 3) by clicking here (Enclosure 3).

Only certain things can be claimed as "Ministerial Expense". You can't claim your rent, phone bill, electric bill, etc. as ministerial expense. You can claim mileage in the ministry (not going to the grocery store), lodging required as part of your duties as a minister, meals required as part of your duties as a minister, etc.

Using the numbers from Enclosure 3 we see a different picture than the Headquarters report shows:

Personal (not Ministerial) bills paid by church clerk were $797.42
Checks made payable to Don Estep were $1,700.00
Total Income was $2,497.42
Subtract Ministerial Expense claimed on Headquarters Report of $500.00
Income AFTER Ministerial Expense was $1,997.42

Shouldn't the "Tithes Paid to Hqts" on the July report read $199.74?
Even if we doubled the "Ministerial Expense" amount shouldn't the titles paid to hqts be $149.74 instead of $50.00?

You ministers out there who figure this EVERY month, help me out. Please correct me if I am wrong on this.

Thank You, OfferingMonkey for bringing my error to my attention.

For the Record

At this juncture I feel I should make some statements to clarify my position concerning the present Kentucky Overseer of The Church of God.

Some of these statements I have made before in earlier posts. Some are new because of recent events.

I am not recanting my position that the present Kentucky Overseer should be removed, however....

• I am NOT happy he is having health problems, my sincere wish is that he regains his health and will be praying to that end.
• I have never nor am now advocating that he is not deserving of receiving the Federal assistance that he receives. I only feel he has not been completely honest in his dealings with and on behalf of The Church of God. I also feel we should be concerned about the public image of our leadership.
  
• He has never been my pastor or over me in the Lord until this appointment. So there is no "old wound" or axe to grind. This is not a "personal vendetta".
  
• I have only posted what I could document, not third party verbal communication or "I heard that so and so said thus and so to you know who".
• Some have said that I "hate" the Kentucky Overseer. This is just not true. This is spoken by someone "Anonymously" who doesn't know me very well. I am only interested in accountability, not mud slinging.

Administrative Changes

It has been suggested by a poster that we require those who want to post to have a Blogger acount with a "Display Name" so that we can respond to each other without getting mixed up. It does get difficult to ensure you respond to the right "anonymous".

The Blogger acount is FREE and will not expose your true identity, just setup the account and use whatever alias you want. "Billy Bob", "Suzie Q" or whatever.

I have also turned on "Word Verification" to stop automatic spam.

I will be posting again soon, and no "Anonymous" I have not abandoned the blog, just letting my last post sink in a little. Did you like it?

Time to Put Up or Shut Up

Because of my vocal opposition to Don Estep as Kentucky Overseer and my posting of documents I believe bolster my opposition, I have been called to task for doing so. My honesty in my personal business at best has been questioned and at the worst I have been called a liar, a cheat and a hypocrite. The pot calling the kettle black if you will. It is interesting that those who
use the pot/kettle analogy have yet to show that the kettle is white, they only claim that the pot is black.

In response to these accusations I will be sharing personal documents about myself that I would not post about Don Estep even if I had access to them. I posted only documents that are either public knowledge or church property. Local newpapers print lots of things I am sure some would rather they did not. Bankruptcies, traffic violations, DUI, etc. I have not posted private SSA communication, tax returns, etc. of Don Estep because these are not for public consumption.

As for myself I will be posting the following:

• Proof of my handicap (reason for receiving disability)
• Written communications with the SSA concerning my earnings from being self employed
• Excerpts from the SSA regulations showing how I comply with the law
• Details of how my wife's business is setup and my relationship to it
• Details of both how much I earned last year from my contract work for Automata and how much my wife earned as owner of the business
• Net income of Automata for 2005
  

What I will not be posting about myself are items that could cause identity theft due to the nature of the Internet. I will not post tax returns, SSN, bank statements, etc. I am sure there will be those who will not be satisfied with the data I provide. They will say "Well, you just pocket the cash and don't report it". To them I say "Report me to the Elizabethtown, Ky SSA office. Report me to the IRS." If the detailed documentation that both I and my wife keep is insufficient to convince them that we have nothing to hide, then I want to be corrected, pay what I owe and move on.

Who I am.

My name is Randell Hazel. I am married and have two boys. My wife's name is Sherry and we as a family attend The Church of God at Willisburg Ky. We live in Bardstown Ky and my wife is the owner of a computer service business called Automata. My relationship to the business I will detail later in this post. I have been a member of the Church since the age of 12 and I am now 43 years old. I was disfellowshipped from the Church of God of Prophecy because I renewed my convenant with The Church of God. I have been disfellowshipped from The Church of God because I would not acknowledge Don Estep as Kentucky Overseer. My whole local congregation was disfellowshipped in one fell swoop for the same reason.

My work history

While I was obtaining a Bachelor of Science I drew SSI during the school year. This was due to the fact I was "legally blind". During the summers I obtained a summer job to help with education and did not receive SSI when I was employed. After graduation I discontinued SSI and obtained a job with the DOD. I worked for the DOD for 12 years in various engineering positions. I then went to work for DuPont Photomasks as a Information Technology (Computer) professional and was employed with them for 6 years. The plant where I worked has since been closed and I was downsized. After paying into the Social Security system for 18 years and being out of work I decided to apply for Social Security Disability to survive while trying to find another job. After a year of no luck finding a job my wife and I decided to move back to Kentucky and try self employment. I had the technical knowledge and my wife had the business knowledge so we would give it a try. That is where it now stands.

What makes me eligible to draw Social Security Disability

Two things. One is that I was born "legally blind". The second is that I paid into Social Security for 18 years. SSD is not the same as SSI. The following letter is one of many that I have received over the years that certifies from a medical professional that I am legally blind.
You can find what the SSA considers "legally blind" on page 47 of the "Redbook" at the following link.

SSA Redbook

In 2001 I was involved in a car accident the caused me to completely lose my right eye. I wear a prosthesis for looks, but I have only one functioning eye. I worked at my job at DuPont Photomasks for 2 years after that accident, but after being downsized and unable to find a job I did what I had to do, I applied for SSD.

How can you work and draw SSD?

Once again SSD does not have the same rules as SSI. Also the rules for those drawing SSD who are "legally blind" are different than those drawing SSD who have normal vision. The SSA wants those on SSD to find "Substantial Gainful Activity" or SGA. The SSA determines what I am allowed to make and still draw SSD. I have to report my earning to them and keep them informed of any changes that will affect my SSD.

The following letters are examples of the "Up Front" communications I have had with the SSA since day one of being self employed. The first letter is their acknowledgment of my reporting to them my work status had changed.
The second letter is the SSA requesting the required information about my working so that they could determine if I have entered the work trial period and if I am making enough money for it to be considered SGA.
The information I send to the SSA is contained in their form SSA Form 820 "Work Activity Report" A sample form can be viewed at:

SSA Form 820

The third letter is the SSA sending me their findings as to my status. They found that I have completed some of the Work Trial Period and that my SSD will continue. The third page of the letter details what I am allowed to make and still receive SSD.


As you can see I have provided all the information that the SSA has requested and am still eligible to receive SSD. The information about how much I made since starting work is shown in the next illustration.
This is the information I provided to the SSA. I have details available to the SSA such as customer invoices, pay stubs from Automata, etc. which show a clear and precise trail of the hours I have worked and have been paid for.

How is Automata setup and what is your relationship to it?

My wife Sherry is the sole proprietor of Automata and has all exclusive control of the company and all it's assets. I am a independent contractor to Automata and am paid on an hourly basis. I have no access to any of the business assets. We hired an attorney to create a contract between Automata and myself in order to ensure clarity to the SSA and the IRS of what I am paid. The rates are based on what the market will bear in Nelson County in Kentucky. Automata has hired a CPA to do the business taxes and to ensure we are completely within the law and that all our affairs are open and transparent to the IRS. Because I am an independent contractor to Automata I pay for my own liability insurance so that any inadvertant damage I do to a client's equipment is covered.

It has been said that basically I do all the work and the business is my wife's in name only. The SSA rules say that my wife is free to make whatever she can and it will not affect my SSD. This is what my critics say we are doing. I do the work, my wife keeps the money, my wife does nothing to earn what the business pays her and we sneak the money into the bank. Sherry does ALL the following:

• All paperwork (Billing, Invoicing, Collections, Purchasing, Bookkeeping, etc.)
• LAN and phone cable terminations (I can't see well enough)
• All printer mechanical repairs (you guessed it, I can't see well enough)
• All web design (no I can see good enough, just not good a graphics design, actually I dislike it as well)
• Provides all transportation (once again, I can't see well enough)

I could go on but you get the drift. Sherry EARNS what she gets. Lets look at what she got paid last year.
Anybody who knows ANYTHING about running a business knows that the owner gets paid LAST. Employess, contractors, vendors, creditors, etc. all come first and the owner gets what is left over. If Sherry and I were really trying to lie to the SSA and steal some money why didn't we make me the owner and her the contractor or employee? I could have done MORE work and claimed all kinds of expenses, paid her an inflated hourly rate and justify me making "zip" with "Well the business just isn't doing well". Our business, our earning, our setup are all known to the SSA, the IRS, our attorney and CPA. What more can we do to try and be legal and ethical?

Because Automata has only been active for about a year it has made very little profit. For example, Automata's net profit for 2005 per our CPA was $1,129.

The Bottom Line

I have provided as much information as I can without compromising my financial security. Will it be enough to satisfy the "hard core" Estep supporters who accuse me of being a crook. No, it won't be enough. They will just respond with "Well, this is all just a smoke screen to enable you to steal from the SSA". To them I say:

• Report me to the SSA Office in Elizabethtown Ky, ask for Ms. Chancellor. Per the letters from the local SSA office she is my contact.
  
• Report me to the IRS

I will let the SSA and IRS see any records they want and put them in contact with my attorney and CPA.

Once again, Don Estep's supporters are not interested in the truth about me, they only want to REDIRECT your attention away from him.

Step Up to the Microphone - Part 2

In response to my plea for documentation, to prove that my assertions about Don Estep I are false, I have received the following two responses in particular:

Dear Randy Hazel,
Is christian brother hood meant to slander other brothers and sisters in christ? As far as finacial status I believe you munipulate the government by having a computer bussiness in your wifes name while you draw dissability. My opinion of you is your a liar, if you draw dissabilty because you can't work you should'nt have a computer bussiness. Maybe some other hypocritical member such as yourself may dig up a little on you.(you man of God) My opinion is you should spend more time on your knees praying for your church and the wrongs in it and less time researching your brother in Christ's financial situation, and less time looking at your computer. Randy does the theocratic government mean anything to you? I believe Don Estep was put in office by Brother Pruitt who prayed for divine appointment.

Pray Harder and condemn less
Sincerely,
Timothy Marple

Previous Posters Comments....
"Workman is worth his meat, To get by means so the govt dosent know so they can adjust his Govt check I believe is wrong"

Huh.... Perhaps you should question the beloved saint Automaton on his business practices. As I know it, this lovely little saint opperates under his wifes name, claiming himself to be a part time worker, turning in only the hours and $'s allowed under his govt check regulations, when in fact he is the cheif technician doing the bulk of the work and the backbone and founder of the company. Sounds a little shady to me. In essence, a legal way to be crooked. Theres always a loop hole for every crook to sneak thru.

Before I respond to each post individually I would like to point out something both have in common. What they have in common is the use of a technique called REDIRECTION. The two most successful practitionars of this technique are magicians and politicians. The hand is quicker than the eye, especially when the magician directs you to his right hand so his left hand can hide something up his sleeve. The politician takes heat away from himself by "exposing" some dreadful tidbit about a rival and then showing moral distaste for the brute. You will notice there is no substance in these posts to exonerate Don Estep or to dispute the documentation I have presented, only REDIRECTION.

Post #1

• Addressed to "Randy Hazel". My identity I will leave to another post (Coming Soon)

• I have "slandered" Don Estep. You might want to know a word's definition before you use it. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=slander

• I am manipulative, a liar and a hypocrit. How can I act in Christian brotherhood or have a brother or sister in Christ? Do you believe in sinning Christians?

• If I am a liar and a hypocrit how would my praying for the church help? Shouldn't I be praying for my own salvation instead?

• I must at this juncture point out that Timothy Marple is not a member of The Church of God. He is PERHAPS sharing the opinions held by some of his family, who are members of The Church of God.

• All the statements are predicated on "My opinion" or "I believe", there is no hard facts of either Don Esteps innocence or my guilt.

• The lack of continuity and logic in the post is classic redirection.

Post #2

• Once again I am a sneaky crook and a liar. Proof? No, just "as I know it" and "sounds a little shady to me". You should look up the definition for slander as well.

• From your detailed description of my "questionable business practices" you are either a client or making statements about things you have no knowledge of. So are you helping me to "cheat" the government by giving me work that I shouldn't do or are you lying about my business practices?

• "turning in only the hours and $'s allowed under his govt check regulations" Unless you are my CPA, with the IRS or the SSA how could you possibly know what I "turn in"? More allegations, no proof.

• Vitriol, another classic sign of redirection.

Summary:

How does my being a manipulative, lying, hypocritical, sneaky crook exonorate or clear Don Estep of the questions I have posted on this blog? It doesn't. If they can make me look "just as bad" or better yet "worse" than the person in question they REDIRECT your attention.

What about the allegations made against you?

I will answer those in my next post.

Step Up to the Microphone.

In response to the information that I have shared here I have received the following Selected posts from anonymous posters:


Brother Don Estep is a true man of God. I wish this site would just leave him along.I am glad he is my Overseer! We need more true Saints like him.

PLEASE LEAVE BROTHER ESTEP ALONE PRAY FOR HIM INSTEAD OF SLAMMING HIM.

PLEASE LEAVE BROTHER ESTEP ALONE.

Don Estep is a great man of God! Just as his FATHER was.


First off I must say that I believe in EVERYONE'S right to their opinion and am glad to have received these posts.

Let's look at some facts about these posts:

The posters are supporters of the Kentucky Overseer

There are common themes between multiple posts

• LEAVE HIM ALONE
• He is a "man of God"
• He is a "True Saint"

One in particular says:

• We need more like him
• They are glad he is the Overseer

For those indicviduals who have posted these comments and others who agree with them I say:

STEP UP TO THE MIKE

Dispute my information, prove me wrong with facts, not retoric. Send me documentation to my email address and I WILL post it for you to comment on.

If your proof is compelling and causes me to question my facts I will make whatever retractions or apologies that are necessary. I will do so on this forum and personally to the wronged.

As of right now I have seen NO proof that exonerates Bro. Estep from the issues I have raised....

Is there a court-martial coming?

Looks like Private Pyle is in Trouble...

Sargent Carter didn't go away like HQ thought he would. Looks like it's time for the Joint Chiefs of Staff to step up and start court-martial proceedings.

What about the other "sabateurs" at HQ, are they any less quilty?

What do you think should happen?

As Sgt Carter would say:

I CAN'T HEAR YOU !!