This is a brief history of Dave McKay's group, from the early Eighties to about 1996.
"The Split. I wish they'd write a book. My memory is not 100%, I get hazy.
But the general drift:
Kevin as mentioned, didn't join. He was there. Kids have a mixture of
respect and disrespect for their parents.
Dave was surrounded by people who had joined, plus his kids. The general
admiration and worship he got from the joiners was spoiled a bit by the
questioning of the kids, who could also see through him, kind of. They also
knew him before he got into running a group.
In brief:
Phase 1:
They did - as you know - some work in India. Dave left them to it.
After months of hard, dangerous labor, the project was getting some
attention. The media arranged interviews etc. Kevin had been the focal point
of the group, and his wife Liz was pretty important in it all as she could
speak the language.
Kev was getting his material ready for the media. Suddenly, literally fresh
off the plane, there was Dave, literally elbowing Kev out of the way,
talking as if he were the one who did the work. Not a clue about the
details. Ruthless, embarrassing. Shameful. Unnecessary.
____________________
It takes about 8 hours to tell this story. Believe me.
____________________
Phase 2:
Back in Australia. Obvious tensions between the Indian team and the others.
Dave painted his own picture of what happened.
Kevin's wife drops JesusChristianity. They're all in a big house. Rent
needed. She gets a job, doesn't want to hand out leaflets any more. Dave
allows her to stay with Kevin, but she has to pay rent.
Dave gets the two to spy on each other and report back to him. It doesn't
work.
Dave meanwhile doing a massive PR job on his doting followers. Trouble is he
also has 4 kids who know him as a human father with failings, not as a
prophet.
Dave decides to do the old trick that some football teams and rock bands do.
You break up and reform a bit later without the person you want to drop.
Dave makes some fake agenda with Kevin, we'll do this that the other next
week, whatever. Same night he gets the others in his room and hatches a plan
involving massive deceit. The brother, Gary, and one sister Sherry run off
literally run from the place, in horror.
That was the split.
Now I'm compressing a 12 hour story there. It is heart-wrenching. Liz runs
away. Kevin can't find her. Etc. Dave keeps their furniture, her clothes.
Dave writes to the other JCs that Kev and Liz have removed every stick of
furniture from the house, probably sitting on Liz's chair, at her table
while writing.
________________________________
Kev has never been alone before. He and Craig get a house together. They're
still in the group mode. They still see themselves as believers. They still
follow the bible. They're still Jesus Christians, with a huge catastrophe
just behind them.
How do you cope?
_________________________________
WHY did it occur? Kev questioned his father. He didn't want to be the leader
of the JCs, although he did want to be the spokesman to the media in
relation to his own work.
He continued to question his father when back in Australia, just like we all
have been doing since we got involved.
Dave divided the community himself. He uses that somwone else wanting to be
the leader trick quite often.
Malcolm never wanted to be the leader either, although Dave claims it.
Malcolm more or less mutinied (is that a word?) on their 8 week desert walk
by faith. Another story."
"The Split. I wish they'd write a book. My memory is not 100%, I get hazy.
But the general drift:
Kevin as mentioned, didn't join. He was there. Kids have a mixture of
respect and disrespect for their parents.
Dave was surrounded by people who had joined, plus his kids. The general
admiration and worship he got from the joiners was spoiled a bit by the
questioning of the kids, who could also see through him, kind of. They also
knew him before he got into running a group.
In brief:
Phase 1:
They did - as you know - some work in India. Dave left them to it.
After months of hard, dangerous labor, the project was getting some
attention. The media arranged interviews etc. Kevin had been the focal point
of the group, and his wife Liz was pretty important in it all as she could
speak the language.
Kev was getting his material ready for the media. Suddenly, literally fresh
off the plane, there was Dave, literally elbowing Kev out of the way,
talking as if he were the one who did the work. Not a clue about the
details. Ruthless, embarrassing. Shameful. Unnecessary.
____________________
It takes about 8 hours to tell this story. Believe me.
____________________
Phase 2:
Back in Australia. Obvious tensions between the Indian team and the others.
Dave painted his own picture of what happened.
Kevin's wife drops JesusChristianity. They're all in a big house. Rent
needed. She gets a job, doesn't want to hand out leaflets any more. Dave
allows her to stay with Kevin, but she has to pay rent.
Dave gets the two to spy on each other and report back to him. It doesn't
work.
Dave meanwhile doing a massive PR job on his doting followers. Trouble is he
also has 4 kids who know him as a human father with failings, not as a
prophet.
Dave decides to do the old trick that some football teams and rock bands do.
You break up and reform a bit later without the person you want to drop.
Dave makes some fake agenda with Kevin, we'll do this that the other next
week, whatever. Same night he gets the others in his room and hatches a plan
involving massive deceit. The brother, Gary, and one sister Sherry run off
literally run from the place, in horror.
That was the split.
Now I'm compressing a 12 hour story there. It is heart-wrenching. Liz runs
away. Kevin can't find her. Etc. Dave keeps their furniture, her clothes.
Dave writes to the other JCs that Kev and Liz have removed every stick of
furniture from the house, probably sitting on Liz's chair, at her table
while writing.
________________________________
Kev has never been alone before. He and Craig get a house together. They're
still in the group mode. They still see themselves as believers. They still
follow the bible. They're still Jesus Christians, with a huge catastrophe
just behind them.
How do you cope?
_________________________________
WHY did it occur? Kev questioned his father. He didn't want to be the leader
of the JCs, although he did want to be the spokesman to the media in
relation to his own work.
He continued to question his father when back in Australia, just like we all
have been doing since we got involved.
Dave divided the community himself. He uses that somwone else wanting to be
the leader trick quite often.
Malcolm never wanted to be the leader either, although Dave claims it.
Malcolm more or less mutinied (is that a word?) on their 8 week desert walk
by faith. Another story."