Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1939-09-15
CHURCH ANSWERS
REV. BOTHIC
Continued from Page u

church was unable to pay him. IT'S
true that the church still owes the
Rev. Wood as Rev. Bothic stated,
but it was Rev. Bothic himself who
stopped the payment of this bill.
1t was he who told the church that
they no longer owed this bill and
took upon himself, without the
knowledge of the church, to write
Rev. Wood that the church was not
in a position to continue payments.
When the four charges for his
resignation were recommended to
the church for its ratification, which
was brought on, when they saw
that his dictatorial tactics were
about to disrupt the working part
of the church, they had decided that
they could tolerate this kind of
leadership no longer. He knows too
well that he could not get along
with the choir. 1t is still fresh in
our memory, under the disguise of
the board, how he broke up the
choir and attempted to reorganiZe
it under his iron rule by forcing
every member before coming back
into the choir to pledge to be gov
erned by rules that he himself
wouldn't keep. We maintain that
he misused the truth when he told
his congregation that the Trustees
were not officers of the church,
when the church on his recommen-
dation made them so.
Why do you think a man of God
would make such statement? He
made this statement in order to
prove that the charge, he could not
get along with the officers of the
board, was untrue. In 1888 when
the trustees would not stand for
him using them to make fool out
Of the church any longer and told
him so, he went to the church and
succeeded in abolshing the trustee
board for the year in order to &C
comphsh his selfish aim.
No, my friends, this man who dis
graced the church at our associa-
ton last August in Omaha, Ne
braska, was not kicked out but was
given ninety days before his dis
charge was to become effective. We
feel that his false statements at the
Association about Mt. Olivet church
will come back to him some day.
If the church is as bad as he
tried to paint it, how could he stay
here as long as he did, and why is
it he tried so hard to stay after
the church had voted his resigna-
ton? The church is glad that he
spoke of saving his good record and
not his character. We feel that a
man who has labored so hard to
build up a church in the commu-
nifty and at one stroke tries to kill
its influence and make it hard for
another who some day must take
his place proves beyond a shadow
of a doubt that that man is not
worthy to be intrusted with carry
ing the Gospel. When the benedic-
ton was said on that last service,
his ninety days with pay was up.
Every cent that the church owed
him was his weeks salary, he was
paid that and babe Godspeed.
Why he would accuse one man of
being responsible for his release
when the church voted it is beyond
our knowledge. He forgot that
about the same number voted him
out voted him in. AS now, there
were some who didn't want him but
were willing to be governed by the
church. He did not tell you that
one man saved his hide three years
ago. That the same one man stood
between him and a disgraceful pas
torate here. That he himself and
about twelve members including
this one man called off the regular
business meeting of the church
when he heard that they were 60
ing to ask for his resignation. That
he got this same man out of bed
to try and stop the members from
holding same meeting. This same
man, hearing that the meeting was
held, found out what action had
been taken, came again to his res
cue by telling the board and the
church that it was illegal because
the pastor was absent. Of course
the church believed him. This one
man was his guarding angel at one
time. Rev. Bothic was afraid to
even open board meeting without
this one man who attempted to
Witty at his last opportunity.
We feel that he has been given
more than a fair chance. We feel
that he owes the church, as men,
her. an apolopv for all the false