A new Bernie Madoff in the Lakes Region?

[donnamatrix]

First, Bob2-thanks for the background on Farah and the Dane family. I thought it went to court- but have been wrong in the past!! He is definitely of questionable character.

Newbie: The Center Harbor Food Bank run out of the church on Bean Road is NOT like the Meredith Food Pantry or the Center Harbor Soup Kitchen. It is not a 501C-3 or any other kind of non-profit, do good group. The Center Harbor Soup Kitchen is not a registered nonprofit either, but the 3 women who founded and run it are all salt-of-the-earth. My understanding regarding the Farah/Bean Road church group is that Farah, who also collects "unwanted" food from Hannaford in Meredith, provides for the members of his congregation - not necessarily the needy of the CH area. I would be leery of donating money to them.

Anybody can form a "religious group" ... it can be a terrific IRS scam if you are savvy enough to work it and not get caught. Look at Jim Baker, et al.

[Newbiesaukee]

I knew it was not a 501 c 3; but I had hoped to help the community. Fortunately it was a relatively small sum

[Bob2]

A pastor does not technically need any formal or official designation ...anyone can call themselves a pastor. I'm not sure how much theological education Bob Farah has under his belt, but I can assure you that most of what he teaches comes from his own interpretation of the bible. A "priest" is a catholic term I believe, while "minister" is typically used in most Protestant religions.

Center Harbor Christian Church (and Center Harbor Christian Fellowship before that) is considered a non-denominational church--meaning the church congregation and its leaders are not accountable to anyone. In my opinion, this is one of the biggest problems with this church and others like it. They set their own rules (structurally as well as morally). Anytime you see the word 'pastor' used it is often safe to assume that person has been elevated or put on a pedestal by his/her 'flock'. It's kind of ironic how non-denominational churches refer to the relationship between their leaders and the congregation as the "shepherds" and the "flock". Sheep are not leaders...they are followers. If it is too painful for you to think for yourself then by all means you should join a non-denominational church (or most other organized religious institutions for that matter). Without someone leading/directing them and telling them what to do and how to do it they would literally die. The root of the problem here lies with handing over complete control to any one individual. In this case the pastor has been "ordained by god" as they say in the church world. In reality he/she has been "ordained" by man and man alone.

Careful who you put your faith in and how much of it you give them...regardless of whether it's money or your soul you're dealing with. Not to mention, take ownership of your own life...if we are all truly "created in the image of God" as the bible proclaims then you don't give God or yourself enough credit if you think that you weren't created with enough common sense and knowledge to make daily decisions without checking with a church 'leader' first.

and to the comments related to "not getting" my answer to questions about my original user name ("PastorBob")...if you really don't understand sarcasm then I'm not sure what to tell you. In all the news reports surrounding this story and "Pastor Bob's" replies I have yet to see anyone come to his rescue or that of the Farah family--I think that speaks volumes. Maybe the Lakes Region community finally sees them for who they really are. That said, the two other Farah sons have lived outside the area for many years so I can't speak to their characters other than to say that the middle son, Paul, was seen as the black sheep for most of his life. I would venture a guess that from the little I know of him now he is probably the most upstanding member of that family and that being the 'black sheep' has worked in his favor.

[Pineedles]

Are there any folks here who were part of the earlier exodus from the church and could provide first hand accounts? I am guessing that Bob2 wasn't, as he seems to be telling the story from a third party point of view. BTW, he has some good advice regarding putting your faith in people in his last post, but I am still wondering why we are directing the attention towards the father, rather than the son. I'm guessing that some think that he is directly involved?

Pastor Bob as opposed to the former Pastor Bob aka Bob2 is a neighbor of mine and I have never had any reason to distrust him. We are not close, and we have only spoken a few times but I would have thought I would have picked up on some defect in his character. In converations with my relatives, whom may know Bob better than me, they also have not related any negatives about the man.

I'm not coming to his rescue, but I wanted to insert my 2 cents into the conversation of what I directly know.

[wifi]

Originally Posted by Bob2

.... Anytime you see the word 'pastor' used it is often safe to assume that person has been elevated or put on a pedestal by his/her 'flock'. It's kind of ironic how non-denominational churches refer to the relationship between their leaders and the congregation as the "shepherds" and the "flock"......

I disagree, the word 'flock' appears in the Bible (Lk 12:32, for example). Because a church is non-denominational or does NOT belong to a 'major' religion does not imply absolutely its 'wrong'. I do believe the person in question had a home study course, but please don't paint everyone with such a broad brush.

Originally Posted by Bob2

.......if we are all truly "created in the image of God" as the bible proclaims then you don't give God or yourself enough credit if you think that you weren't created with enough common sense and knowledge to make daily decisions........

WOW!, Wonder how Hitler or Stalin, (or some such) would use this statement to their advantage?

I've hit delete a bunch creating this post, trying to skate on thin ice. Please don't make one bad apple spoil the many who are really doing good

[Bob2]

Quote: "I disagree, the word 'flock' appears in the Bible (Lk 12:32, for example). Because a church is non-denominational or does NOT belong to a 'major' religion does not imply absolutely its 'wrong'. I do believe the person in question had a home study course, but please don't paint everyone with such a broad brush."

I never said it was 'wrong' I said that those churches are not accountable to any standard but their own. I've been a member of many non-denominational churches and that was the one thing that was consistent with each one. I also never said the word "flock" did not appear in the Bible. It has simply become an overused term in the lingo of "Christianese".

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob2 View Post
.......if we are all truly "created in the image of God" as the bible proclaims then you don't give God or yourself enough credit if you think that you weren't created with enough common sense and knowledge to make daily decisions........
WOW!, Wonder how Hitler or Stalin, (or some such) would use this statement to their advantage?

...I have no earthly idea why Hitler and Stalin were brought into this thread. I never said every human being is perfect or that ANY of us are perfect for that matter. What I was alluding to is that if that scripture is true (and remember...you can't pick and choose what you want to believe from the Bible if the rest of us can't do the same)...we are all born with the 'tools' needed to make good decisions. This does not mean that everyone chooses to use those tools. Honestly, I don't see how Hitler or Stalin could use that statement without shooting themselves in the foot.

Lastly...no need for anyone to walk on "thin ice" for my benefit (unless you're afraid you're going to fall in). I'm not angry at all, just voicing my opinion which I think gets to the heart of the Scott Farah issue (and yes...in my mind, chances are very good his father is involved on some level).

To Mr. Farah's neighbor: you and your relatives/friends have had very limited interactions with him. He has been able to base his pastoral career on the fact that he can be charming and friendly when he wants/needs to be. As a person you might run into on the street I don't doubt he is friendly, I never said he wasn't a friendly person. He is just not a trustworthy one and he is an expert of a hypocrite.

[Pineedles]

Originally Posted by Bob2

To Mr. Farah's neighbor: you and your relatives/friends have had very limited interactions with him. He has been able to base his pastoral career on the fact that he can be charming and friendly when he wants/needs to be. As a person you might run into on the street I don't doubt he is friendly, I never said he wasn't a friendly person. He is just not a trustworthy one and he is an expert of a hypocrite.

Bob2,

First of all my screen name is Pineedles, but you can call me Pine if it is easier.

It appears to me that you have been wronged by either the son or the father. It's OK if you have a beef with either. Let's get to what you know or what has happened to you out in the open.

As far as what you seem to want to credit me with saying. I don't doubt he is friendly, I never said anything about friendly.

I said, in my previous post "I have never had any reason to distrust him. We are not close, and we have only spoken a few times but I would have thought I would have picked up on some defect in his character. In converations with my relatives, whom may know Bob better than me, they also have not related any negatives about the man."

As far as your assumption that my relatives have had limited interaction with him, that is an assumption on your part that is incorrect. I never said they had the same limited interaction with him, I said I did.

But once again it appears that the father is the target rather than the son. Is pastor Bob the guy that wronged you?

[SAMIAM]

Why are you guys being so hard on Bernie and Scott???.....Nothing wrong with a little Ponzi. Your government has been doing it for years, legally. There is not a dime in the SS account. It's all been transferred to the general account and spent. All social security payments are made by "new investors" just like Bernie Madoff.....only he's in jail.

[Pineedles]

I assume when you say Your government, you haven't figured a way of being governed by some other entity? Unfortunately it is Our govenment, and when enough people realize it is not their government we might see some meaningfull change. Not the false "hope for change" that they have elected.

[fatlazyless]

Today's www.Citizen.com says the NH attorney general has filed a petition to place Financial Resources into federal bankruptcy court as an involuntary bankruptcy. The lawyer for the principal says his client has been away, under a doctor's care, and will return.


When the Bernie Madoff scheme first came to light, a couple europeans who were duped into investing their client's millions & billions with Madoff went to the slow and painfull extreme of suicide by slitting their wrists while seated, fully clothed, in a bathtub without water. That could be a French traditional manner for expressing one's personal regret ......so sorry about the mess & bon voyage!.....

Gee whiz...why not have the State of NH jump in, & bail out Financial Resources with a big injection of 23-million dollars of state cash, just like the feds did for AIG, Citi, Bank of America, GM, Fannie & Freddie.....but not Lehman Brothers or Washington Mutual who are now pending in bankruptcy court.

...and how much risk is too much risk? ...and if the decision-maker did not have a go-to backer behind them, would they have taken on so much risk? So, where do investors go to get their money back?

So, what exactly happened to Financial Resources, and where exactly is the presumably lost money now? Where did it go? Where is the money? Was it accidentally thrown out with the morning trash? Was it secretly buried up the hill, behind the big pine tree? Was it loaned out to people who can no longer repay their loans for some unknown reason and now Financial Resources cannot make its' monthly payouts to its' investors? Like, what happened? Where's the money, and where did it go, and how did it get there?

Hey, the Sunday Nov 22 www.concordmonitor.com has a long article on this. It is longer than 1/2 of a newspaper page.....that's long for a NH paper....and full of info.

[trfour]

now reads, 149 years +.

Somewhere in the United States Constitution, you will find the words, "and I quote", "We The People"... If we all ever needed to get involved, that day in time is Now! Summer vacations are Over!

"WE, and only WE", are resposible for our future!
I would strongly suggest at this time, everyones involement and support!

Todays issues in the Lakes Region,
Terry

[Lucky1]

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

Why are you guys being so hard on Bernie and Scott???.....Nothing wrong with a little Ponzi. Your government has been doing it for years, legally. There is not a dime in the SS account. It's all been transferred to the general account and spent. All social security payments are made by "new investors" just like Bernie Madoff.....only he's in jail.

I guess I do not believe that the United States Government is doing a Ponzi Scheme. Didn't the current citizens on SS have to pay into social security? Not sure.

Are you saying that you do not think the Government will be there to pay for new people as they retire? The Government seems to be wanting to pay more benefits (Health Care etc) not less? I agree that it is hard to know where the money is going to come from though.

Of course we do not have a choice in paying into the Government like one has in a Ponzi Scheme. The Government takes it out of our pay in tax.

This is a bit off topic anyway. Hope anyone who is dishonest has a punishment to pay. Don't know the people who are being discussed or the circumstances so cannot make an intelligent comment on guilt.

[SteveA]

Originally Posted by donnamatrix

Anybody can form a "religious group" ... it can be a terrific IRS scam if you are savvy enough to work it and not get caught. Look at Jim Baker, et al.

Interesting... Frankly, fair or not, my "what the heck is this really all about" alarm went off after spending a little time on my-pastore.com


http://www.my-pastor.com/pastor-robert-farah.html

I don't find any answer to the questions raised here on his pastoral training and education. Maybe I just missed it.