NOVEMBER 2018 MUSINGS

OHIO “CHRISTIAN” CHURCH LEADERS FIRE PASTOR FOR SEEKING THE TRUTH

Pastor Nathan Wolfe

After five years of exposure, most Internet observers, personally involved or not, are aware by now of the lingering controversy regarding the true shape of the earth and whether the long held belief (500 years) by humans worldwide that the world is a spinning globe hurtling through space at astronomical speeds is a fact or mere theory. While the very large majority remain glued to their school educations and will scoff at such “ridiculous foolishness” without the slightest study of evidence, it seems that the only people who can believe that Copernicus fed the world a load of un-provable baloney are 1] Bible-believing Christians and 2] those who have studied the (lack of) scientific facts supporting that theory.

One who fits both categories is Pastor Nathan Wolfe of Ohio, whose story hit the Internet news in recent weeks. When the Elders at his allegedly “Christian” church learned from the grapevine that he and his wife had merely attended a conference where that topic was discussed (along with many other subjects), their explosive, knee-jerk reaction was to fire the pastor without a hearing – and that’s what this Board of “Christian” Elders at this 501(C)[3]- approved corporation did. Here was that initial announcement in late September.

We were intrigued by Pastor Wolfe’s story and caught up with him at a Bible conference in Auburn, Alabama on October 6^th where he consented to the following interview.

Pastor Wolfe told us that he, because of his mother’s influence while growing up, has been a believer in God since he was a small child. But at age 16 he had what he calls a “church challenge” (rather than a faith challenge) and stopped attending because of the hypocrisy he had observed of his teen friends leading “double lives.” Turned off by the “fluff” and “entertainment” he saw replacing the sanctity of the church, he spent his Sundays reading and praying for guidance toward Truth on his own. All of this led to his calling, Bible college graduation, marriage to a like-minded woman Jennifer, church and youth work, and finally in 2011 the pastoring of a small Church in the Toledo, Ohio area. It was there after seven years that he was fired not for false teachings but for pursuing the Truth of all things. We wanted to know more:

INI WORLD REPORT: Pastor Wolfe, most people, upon hearing that the earth is not a globe but flat, will dismiss the idea as absurd and ludicrous and refuse to “waste time with such a folly.” What spawned your interest in pursuing it?

Pastor Nate Wolfe: During those formative years, I had always been trying to study issues of Biblical truth, so my truth journey was ongoing all through my years of ministry. In 2016, after 5 years of being with the church in Ohio, I stumbled across the subject of “Flat Earth” while I was on a YouTube site researching the topic of the Genesis Flood. I immediately was struck by not only the science of Flat Earth, but by the many Scriptures that the content providers and videos were sharing! It was the Bible verses that really got my attention. After a few weeks, I was becoming convinced that I and the whole world had been lied to and indoctrinated not only for my whole life but for many preceding centuries! The Globe was a lie. So-called “Science” could not be trusted! The deception of Satan became apparent. After a few months of study and prayer on Biblical Creation, I was convinced: the earth is not a spinning globe and hurtling through space as astronomical speeds and dimensions. I was now accepting God’s word in the first chapter of Genesis over man’s fantasy derived from Lucifer.

INI WORLD REPORT: Did you keep all this to yourself or discuss it with others?

Pastor Wolfe: Only a few. Over the next year, I continued to study, pray, and discuss with my wife, my family, and a few select friends in the church who had the same opinion about Biblical cosmology. In late July of 2018, my wife came across an advertisement for a Truth Conference that was very near us. It was the “Take on the World 18” conference in Vermillion, OH. The organizers were a couple that we had seen on various truth videos and social media sources. It was short notice to the conference happening August 24-26, but we signed up and planned to attend. The conference was a mixture of Biblical and related truth topics such as Biblical Cosmology (Flat Earth), Studies in the Law of Moses and in the New Testament, Satanic ritual abuse, harmful effects of vaccinations, Biblical health, spiritual warfare, the influence of the occult, the rise of “Scientism,” and like subjects. There were 70 different sessions over the three-day conference. My wife and I probably went to only about 20 sessions. Most of them had to do with Biblical Cosmology. We were given much food for thought at this conference. Many of our beliefs were strengthened and other ideas were brought up for consideration.

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On the drive home after the conference had ended on the last night, Jennifer and I both felt that we needed to stop being consumers of truth and consider somehow becoming involved in the spreading of truth. We decided that we would pray fervently each day for at least 40 days and ask God to reveal His plan for us, His will. We had also determined to pray about an opportunity to sit down with the elders at my church and ask them if they would be willing to do a study from the Bible about true Biblical Creation. This was our fervent prayer for almost 3 weeks. We prayed like we never had prayed before. We just wanted to know the truth and the will of God. We were ready to do whatever that entailed. At this time, I had no intention of leaving the church, but rather considering doing something in my free time that would fit with truth sharing. But we were in for a shocking development.

INI WORLD REPORT: Yes, we know what is coming and it wasn’t like you two had spent the weekend at a nudist camp or on a gambling junket to Vegas. Please give us the blow-by-blow description.

Pastor Wolfe: One the morning of Friday, September 14^th, I received a startling text from one of my five elders at the church. He had messaged me at 8:05 a.m., saying that all the elders would be meeting with me at the church building at 9:00 o’clock this same morning. This was highly unusual. My heart started racing and my mind as well. I was not a young, inexperienced minister. This was not “my first rodeo,” as they say. I smelled an ambush, and I don’t like to be ambushed! Who does? I picked up the phone and called one of the more level-headed elders with whom I had a closer relationship. I told him about the text and that I wanted to know what the topic and purpose of the meeting were to be. He refused to tell me but asked to call me back, and twenty minutes later he did. He had spoken with the other elders and informed me that they were not going to tell me the topic and that they would all be at the building at nine o’clock and that it was my choice if I showed up or not. I was floored! I then said, “So I am being ambushed!” His direct words were, “Yes, you are being ambushed.” I could not believe my ears. It was at that moment that I realized I was being fired; but for what? What could I possibly have done to deserve such treatment? I had not had an affair, not stolen money from the church, had not been watching porn and had not been involved in drugs or drunkenness or the cause of any drama in the church. The only thing I could think of was that maybe this had something to do with going to the conference.

We had specifically NOT told our kids what we were doing because a week earlier there had been a few ladies at church that had seen a post on an Instagram account Jennifer had started a few months earlier. This post had to do with flat earth and vaccines. Somehow a younger lady from church had come across this account and had deduced that it may have come from Jennifer. Another acquaintance had gossiped with this woman and a few other people from church about this Instagram account. Jennifer got wind of it and met privately with one to confront her about the gossip and share with her what she believed in brief. This was stressful for us and especially for my dear wife! We thought that we had snuffed out the gossip. She had handled it in a Biblical way. We were wrong. Apparently, the following week, this same woman that had gossiped about my wife’s beliefs had googled “Vermillion, Ohio.” I’m sure the first entry that popped up that weekend was the “Take on the World 18” conference.

Evidently, this woman (who for some reason had it in for us and was a malicious gossip), had then told the elders of the church about where we were. They began an investigation. They went to the conference web site and “watched the videos.” They had met without my knowledge and had already determined to fire me without ever talking with me directly!

INI WORLD REPORT: This doesn’t sound much like Christian behavior on the Elder’s part but rather more tyrannical. Sort of, “You are guilty until you prove yourself innocent, but we are not going to allow you to do even that.”

Pastor Wolfe: Yes, it was not only highly unprofessional, but it is not the behavior of “spiritual” men or “shepherds” of the body of Christ! Before I even had received the text that I was being fired, they had already determined to get rid of me. Can you see the spirit of these men? They first entertained gossip without checking the full facts. Going to a web site can only reveal certain information. There were 70 sessions by many different presenters at this conference. How did they know what topics/sessions that we had visited? How did they know what my wife and I actually believed? I had never taught in the church about my new beliefs in the truth of Biblical cosmology! I had been the pulpit minister for 7 years and had never been accused or suspected of teaching false doctrine. I had taught a Sunday morning class for several months dealing with Angels, Giants, Nephilim and Demons. I taught openly in a class of 20 people for 9 months. Not a single person in that class ever mentioned a concern about my teaching. No elder ever spoke with me about that class or my teaching. I backed up all my teaching in this class with Scripture. I had preached almost every Sunday morning, many Sunday nights, taught an adult Bible class every Wednesday night and on every Sunday morning for one and a half years since I came into these Biblical truth topics! If I was a false teacher who maliciously desired to hijack the pulpit, I had already had at least 150 opportunities to do so and never did. I would never drop something on the church that was out of the mainstream unless I met with the elders first and studied it out with them. They should have known this by now. They were reacting out of FEAR and out of POWER AND CONTROL. Their stated reason was that they were “protecting the church from error.” How closed-minded and foolish. When you look at their manner of behavior towards me and their unfair, unloving and unbiblical actions, you can see the FEAR and CONTROL.

INI WORLD REPORT: So did you decide to go the meeting?

Pastor Wolfe: Yes, but backing up for a minute: after the second elder told me that I was being ambushed and had to choose if I would show up for the meeting, I immediately called my wife who was on her way to work. She turned the car around, and we prayed about the meeting. She came with me to the building and sat and prayed in another room while I met with the elders. When we first arrived, the elders of the church were standing around in the parking lot looking like the end of the world was happening. They were poker-faced and did not give any eye contact to Jennifer or me. They gave no greeting, said nothing but just began a stoical walk to the conference room. After we sat down one elder suggested that we begin with a prayer. I was a little encouraged by this and thought to myself that maybe I was overreacting. Maybe they were worked up about something but had misunderstood and were troubled but were going to sit down with me and ASK me questions about whatever was bothering them. THEY DID NOT. Immediately after the prayer, one elder took charge of the meeting while the other four sat motionless and emotionless in their chairs without giving me any eye contact. Not even speaking! The head elder began to roll out “facts” at me as if I was the accused on trial in a courthouse.

“It has come to our attention that on August 24^th-26^th you attended the ‘Take on the World 18’ conference in Vermillion, Ohio.” I answered YES and said that I had attended it with my wife and on approved vacation. I added that all expenses were paid on our OWN DIME. The elder did not acknowledge that nor did he care. He continued and stated that “We have been to the conference web site and have seen the videos.” He then said, “We cannot have a minister who has that kind of association. We can’t let you in our pulpit on Sunday.”

Wow! I could not believe my ears and eyes. He never explained what videos they watched or what their actual concerns were. He did not explain what “that kind of association” meant. I asked them, “When in over 7 years have I ever taught falsehood or hijacked the pulpit to teach something that would cause a problem in the church?” There was complete silence, even from the chairman of the meeting. They did not answer because the ONLY truthful answer they could give was that I had NEVER done so. Notice as well that they never brought up any of the Sunday morning class topics I had taught for 9 months on Angels, Giants etc. They did not cite a single instance in which I had done something falsely or anything to create drama or division.

At that point the elder leading the meeting refused to have any discussion on the matter. The elders never asked me a single question about why we went to the conference, what sessions we attended, what we actually believed on any subject, what our basis for those beliefs were or what my future intentions might be. This was unconscionable. It was outrageously unfair and unchristian. It was unspiritual. The mood, attitude and manner of talking to me was evil. There was hatred in that room towards me. There was anger in the words of the spokesman elder. What did he have to be angry about? I should have been the one angry! I was the one being burned at the stake without cause. The whole thing was like being in the church “twilight zone,” where normalcy and reality are not present.

The elder continued to talk and shoved an already prepared typewritten document at me that outlined that they were firing me and were giving me a severance. One sentence said, “Your employment situation is private, and we expect that you will exercise extreme discretion in your communications with others.” I was told to clear out my office and turn in my keys. I tried to begin a discussion with them several times and was shut down completely by this elder in charge. No other elder in the room said a word, which further indicated that their decision had been made before we ever arrived.

I signed their paper as requested as an acknowledgement of their decision but never agreed to keep anything “private.” I signed it to show I had received their communication to me, which was a letter they had written without my knowledge, without my input, and with terms they were DICTATING to me. These were their expectations and demands not mine. I had them all sign my copy as a witness against each man in that room — that they were present in the room and were in agreement with how I was treated that entire morning. They were all accomplices in the sinful and unchristian way that this was handled. The paper was not a legal document. It was not even written in anything close to legal wording! Nowhere on that paper did it state that the church promised to do anything or that I, Nathan Wolfe, promised anything. It was simply a communication telling me I was fired, telling me they were giving me severance, telling me what THEIR expectations were. How crazy is that? These men were so caught up in their power trip and so used to lording it over me that they were crazy enough to think that they could treat me so and then have the audacity to give me a list of their own expectations. I mean really, they were so deluded in their power-hungry minds that they really thought I would just submit to their evil behavior and control. The moment they told me I was fired, I was released from their grip and control! Hallelujah! May the Father be praised! I was no longer their hireling. I was now only in submission to God in Heaven. I was being emotionally abused by these men. There was an aggressive and angry tone in that room. I felt threatened. As I tried to open things up for discussion, the head elder started to raise his voice. He had a reputation of losing his cool and had done so against me in public once before. I did not feel good about being in his presence. All I wanted to do was get out of that room, pack up my office and leave that “church.” Funny how the name on the sign outside indicates that the church belongs to and represents Christ. Is that how Christ acted? Is that the type of behavior Christ modeled? My conscience is clear before Him. God will be the judge.

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If I was a false teacher, why did the elders not present Bible verses to me showing me my error? If they considered me a brother, why did they not at any time show concern for me as a person, as a soul, as a teacher of the Word? Why did they not lovingly confront me? They were dead wrong. They sinned against me repeatedly on that morning. However, God was in control. He allowed me to be completely and immediately severed from that church. He had a plan for me, and I know now that it is a plan that involves speaking out for TRUTH.

INI WORLD REPORT: So what is next for you? How do you intend to implement God’s plan for you?

Pastor Wolfe: My new ministry has already begun. Let me tell you: within a few short hours, the word got out swiftly that I had been fired for simply attending a conference. I spoke with 3 individuals that morning: an author and speaker who had been praying for me, the organizer of the conference, and one of the speakers who had reached out to me and given me his phone number.

A few hours later, I spoke with several additional leaders of this truth community. Most of them were also speakers at the “Take on the World 18” conference. They listened, supported me, shared their thoughts with me and prayed for me! They treated me like they had the spirit of Christ. I was thankful. I was amazed at why they would take time out of their busy schedules to speak with me about my firing. At the time, I had no clue about how big this event had actually been. I was told by a few of the speakers and leaders that they had been fervently praying for a fired minister to take a stand on truth, be convicted, and speak out publicly on the matter. Not that they had prayed for me to get fired, but rather that a fired church minister would have the courage to come forth boldly.

INI WORLD REPORT: You lost me there, Pastor. Why would you or any other outed preachers not come forward to report what happened to you?

Pastor Wolfe: You have to understand, I am not the first. Many ministers who had been fired for similar truths had reached out to the leaders of this truth movement and had desperately sought support in their abuse and firing. Sadly, not even one of them was willing to speak out. I get it, I really do. They were afraid. They were focused on not wanting to be further attacked, ridiculed, or shunned. They were likely concerned about getting another ministry position to provide for their family financially, and they had done the math: what church would hire them if they went public?

INI WORLD REPORT: Of course, and it is not unlike the world view that anybody who questions the long-accepted historical teachings has to be goofy. Meanwhile, you and others are discovering more and more every day that it is they that are preaching a false doctrine of Biblical cosmology.

Pastor Wolfe: Exactly, but since that day, September 14^th, the Father in Heaven, my Most High God has been working powerfully in our lives. He has provided emotional, spiritual and financial support. He has put things in motion that could only be by His all-knowing and powerful hand. I am amazed. My family is amazed. The believers who truly believe in the Word of God and believe that the world has been deceived about the true creation of God have been amazed.

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Since that time, I have done several interviews sharing my truth journey, my firing, and about what God is doing. This conference here in Auburn, Alabama is my latest, but I have been to Flat Earth meet-ups in Cleveland, Ohio and the South Bend, Indiana areas. I gave my first Biblical Creation lesson on Genesis 1 in video form and have posted it on my YouTube channel “FiredforTRUTH.” I have received hundreds of personal messages of support. I have spoken on the phone, emailed, and met in person with many in this truth community. God has helped us to weather strong spiritual attacks against us from deluded and hateful individuals and by demonic forces. So much has happened in a month’s time! Our lives have been changed in ways that we could have never imagined! May God open the eyes of those who have been deceived by the great deceiver Satan, who “deceives the WHOLE world” (dumbed-downed Christians included) – Revelation 12:9.

And also, I find it amusing to add that several of the church members, after overcoming the initial shock of my firing, have now begun to watch some of the videos and study God’s word versus man’s lies in order to learn what is really true about this world.

INI WORLD REPORT: Well, that’s good news. What will be even more refreshing is when one of the robot Elders awakens enough to do the same thing and sees the egg on his face every time he looks in the mirror. When that happens, please let us know that we might contact him for an interview, if he has grown to be honorable enough to grant one. Thanks for your time, Pastor. May the blessings of God continue for you and yours.