I guess maybe I have been under a rock for a while. Could someone please tell me, respectfully of course, what the issue was with Elder Folkenberg and what he did that necessitated him being "dealt with"? Is it somehow related to the issues we are seeing today with 3ABN?
[Edited and snipped content. Please refer to Johann's post above because he has actual information from Bob's time at the GC. Somehow I didn't see that before posting. I was not aware of the long-distance deal, only the kind of stuff that's documented in the AToday article. I know how things can be "spun," and I prefer to put the best, rather than the worst interpretation on the allegations.]
Johann's account rings true to the kind of thing I can imagine Bob Folkenberg doing, based upon my impression of him. [Edited: A question in connection with the allegations on AToday would be this: Does Bob Folkenberg lead a lavish lifestyle as the result of his "self-dealing." Or is it possible that he attempted to make money for the work of the church?]
Bob Folkenberg has an entrepreneurial bent. He's a go-getter. And he applies these qualities to the work of the church. When he was president of the Inter-American Division, that division started growing phenomenally, even though the word had been that it was a "difficult" place because of Roman Catholic control.
When Bob Folkenberg became GC president, he took that same spirit to that office. He broke new ground and accomplished more in his short stint than others did in a much longer stint. He's not a diplomat but will call things as he sees them. He will step on toes if those toes are in the way of what he sees needs to be done. He is no respecter of persons and will listen to a lay person as easily as to a division secretary if he sees that lay person as a thinking and committed individual.
Clearly Bob Folkenberg overstepped his authority in a deal that he thought would greatly profit the church as well as himself.
Because this resulted in a cloud hanging over his head, and he resigned, rather than having that cloud attached to the highest officer of the Adventist church.
I have met the man on several occasions and have observed him in action in various public presentations, including ShareHim training. He has a passion for evangelism, and he is a man of action. Such men tend to make enemies even when they don't do anything wrong. But such men often make more mistakes than their more careful (think "do-little") compatriots. They make more mistakes because they attempt more, and they get more done -- as Bob did during his short time in office.
I believe Bob Folkenberg to be an honest man, and what has bothered me is that the innuendos about him have left the impression that he was involved with shady dealings for his own benefit. [Edited: By what Johann shares, Bob's deal while in office was questionable at best. Does that mean that he is basically dishonest? Or is it a question of bad judgment and overstepping authority?]
I only know Bob Folkenberg from a few personal brushes with him, but I do know people who think highly of him. I don't know Gailon Joy at all, except from public postings about him and by him. But I sense that Gailon and Bob have a great deal in common in their personalities and characters.
I kind of stepped out on a limb with this post because I have
not seen the evidence Gailon says he has seen. However, I am very much interested in his thoughts on the matter -- whether my interpretation of what happened is a possible one, rather than the more negative one that implies that Bob Folkenberg is a man not to be trusted. (I recall that some like to paint Gailon that way too, and I believe they are wrong as well.)
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Topic: David Dennis and Robert Folkenberg (Read 23580 times)
