Recently, a long time Deacon and "soul winner" Morris Mills called me as his heart was burdened. He was concerned about specific comments Jeff Arnold made during a meeting they attended.
This meeting involved 27 key Deacons and the Pastor and occurred around June 2006. I was asked to "set the record straight" by meeting with Jeff Arnold concerning his comments about Mark Sharpe and myself during that meeting. After much counsel and prayer, I met with Jeff in love and I believe in the right spirit on July 6, 2007. We met for several hours and the transcripts of that meting are below. Please compare those transcripts below with the May 2006 transcripts listed below as well.
Again, I hope this too will set the record straight once and for all about what was said.
Your Friend and Brother
Richard Emerson
This is what he said in the May 10th 2006 meeting (Click here) Totally opposite of what he says below in July 2007. No wonder Morris Mills was bothered since the meeting of the 27 deacons that Jeff addressed last year. Knowing that I say different.
(Transcript excerpts below) from July 6th 2007 meeting with Jeff at Starbucks
There are two Jeff’s I am referring to the younger Jeff Arnold.
Jeff Arnold: I remember sitting there thinking, WOW! What in the world? What is this all about? What is going on? And I sat there wondering, on more than one occasion…and I may have said this…that night with the “27” or whatever count it was. (This refers to a meeting called by the pastor with 27 of the most influential deacons to persuade them to take sides causing discord among the brethren). That I really pondered or prayed over whether to stop or ….the meeting.
Jeff Arnold: Boy I tell you I can just remember sitting there thinking should I stop this meting? Well I can remember thinking too, I don’t think it’s my place to stop the meeting… I mean.
JA: It was degrading (the meeting), it was embarrassing, it was humiliating…again I don’t know if I… I can tell you with absolute certainty that not one time since that meeting have I said uh anything about you or Mark Sharpe character uh now you know your approach…your wisdom…I’ll tell you just like I’ll tell Mark Sharpe I don’t think any of you were wise that night…that’s just my personal opinion…I don’t think it was appropriate the way it was handled…
JA: Words like assassination…uh I don’t think I used that word that night uh…but I will tell you that uh…that that was… it was…that would have been on my mind…that you guys were definitely hitting on our pastor4 now whether or not that…I don’t know that you cam in for the throat but um…boy you sure came in and gave him a pretty good beating.
Audio MP# Click Here
Richard Emerson: Jeff did we do the right thing by coming today?
Jeff Arnold’s response: Now that…that…that I can tell you uh…I know that wasn’t the question now it could have been…
Yeh well… but I can tell you uh.. Richard that uh..that we can split that I can tell you right now… I did not walk out of that meeting thinking you guys did the right thing…absolutely not.
May 10th 2006 Jeff said (Audio Click Here)
July 06th 2007 Jeff said (Audio Click Here) Note: No wonder Morris Mills was concerned. He is familiar with # Nine: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Jeff Arnold: All I know is… that meeting was a very bizarre meeting…It was a meeting that unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of… I was totally caught off guard by what took place… As I know Steve was totally caught off guard… I think when ya’ll walked out… we looked at each other… and went like… what are we doing here? I mean what in the world? What happened?
Richard Emerson: My question to you is, if I let certain people hear the recording
Jeff Arnold: Who would they be Richard:
Richard Emerson: I don’t know.
Jeff Arnold: let’s do it this way, I’ll tell you what we’ll do. First of all, I mean I didn’t know there was a recording, I don’t care whether there was or not. I wouldn’t have a problem if uh somebody had a recording of me although I am far from it… Let me say this, I would be ashamed and embarrassed but not for any of these reasons but I would be embarrassed if somebody had a recording of my thoughts..
Richard Emerson: Right, Right.
Jeff Arnold: uh.. But uh, and I certainly don’t with my words… um I would have a problem if I said something and and and if I did change my mind it would be easy for me to say well you know I was just wrong here and I changed my mind… that’s not the case or if I said something that wasn’t true and came back and said something contradicting which I know I haven’t so therefore then I’ve got nothing to hide now I just think that at the end of all this hearing that there is a recording and you know you give confirmation that there is a recording played or whatever… I just think that’s probably the way it will go… and that’s fine.
Richard Emerson: I don’t have any, you know, I don’t have any problem with… have I done some things that I would change, absolutely???, you know I would change… I’m not perfect and none of us are… I’m not ashamed of anything in that meeting I wouldn’t be ashamed of different people to hear that tape and I would say you know what let the record speak for itself you figure it out you see who, and form your own opinion or whatever and I could walk out of there and I’d see this person or this person at church or this person in the mall and I’m not ashamed because you’ve heard everything I’ve heard.