I only post the information that I know of personally or have been sent by a reader. If any of these ministers have been reinstated someone can inform me so I can make note of it.
Lance Dirks, Rich Hill, Missouri (he and his wife are on repentance.)
All of the Burns, KS staff (names please) What crimes are they charged with?
Lowell Koehn, Burns Ks (on repentance)
Charles Unruh, Clarksdale, MS (on repentance)
Bev Toews, Abbotsford, BC
Robert Koehn, Othello WA (now expelled)
Ray Frank, Nebraska
Ray Nikkel, Pincher Creek, presently living in KS
Milton Boehs, Lakin, KS (permanently benched)
Dale Unruh, benched at Brooksville, MS now living in Arizona (permanently benched)
Roy Koehn, Homeworth, OH
David Johnson, Almena, WI
Wayne Penner, Ontario
Sheldon Haynes, Uvalde, Texas
Sheldon Ratzlaff, Lobelville, TN (permanently benched, ordination annulled) CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS???
Nolan Ratzlaff, Clarksdale, MS (preaching again.)
Dean Reimer (deacon) Heart Valley, now living in Yuma, AZ
Orie Koehn (Clarksdale MS)
Randy Levings (Fairview OK)
Verle Peters, Walnut Hill, FL
Ervin Stoll, originally from Homeworth OH, now Hardinsburg Indiana, benched years ago, never reinstated, never expelled.
Dean Mininger, Brasil, permanently benched.
VOX POPULI 
Don’t know official reason Charles is benched. But DO KNOW he is a talented and useful man and some members from his congregation are not a bit happy that he very likely will NEVER preach again. And one of his fellow ministers is still preaching but has had two “stiff” writings. Would someone please enlighten me?
Thanks for the information. Indeed, we do wonder, why is loved and useful minister benched and one who is known to have issues allowed to continue on.
I’ve noticed you are adding to the list of benched ministers. My question is, what about the people in these congregations. Are they suffering? It seems to me like it is not fair to the people to have their minister be nonfunctional. Unless he was doing more harm than good. Even if that’s true, the people are still suffering. There must be a lot of confusion and doubt going on.
My question is, by whose authority are these ministers benched? Who is benching who? Who will one day bench the benchers? Why are they culling? What have the benched ministers done wrong? What do they have to do to get off the bench? And who is tending their flocks while they sit on the bench?
C C C benches them. But someone asked me the same question a few years ago. Who benches the benchers?
We had a revival minister in our congregation 2 years ago that openly said over the pulpit that the ministry had the God given right to “deal” with ministers, and that the laity didn’t have any say in this work. In other words, as we have been reading on these posts, the laity doesn’t have a voice. We are told from the top what to do and where we shall remain silent.
This is a classic example of powertripping. They have all these closed door meetings where they decide what is going on with the lives of the people, the ministers, etc. and they love to tell the people that they don’t have any say in it. The people are too terrified to ever open their mouths, no matter how much they disagree. lotsaquestions, can you tell us who is on the conference counseling committee?
This is where the fear comes into play again. Fear Fear Fear. Power. Power Power.
I would have to find my Conference Committee Book, (Who’s Who Book) All names and addresses will be printed in it. See if I can get one….
I have had lots of questions about the c c c for a long time. I and some of my family members have sat in front of a group of them and pleaded for mercy. God’s forgiveness was evident but we needed theirs! It seems that only they can prove if God has spoken. The person they are proving might not have it right. I know God calls men to preach and shepherd but I have yet to find out where they get the permission to do what they do!
Caged Butterfly, your story is heartbreaking. There is nothing more distressing than being told that you cannot rely on what God has spoken to your heart. There is nothing more disorienting than knowing that God has forgiven you and spoken peace to you, and then having that jerked away in a cool and calculated manner by stony faced preachers. This is an area that no man has a right to interfere with. There is of course a time for proving and sharing, but this happens all too often. A secret agenda to do away with someone leads to vague accusations, and a refusal to accept their testimony of God’s grace in their life. Men like this should be more honest and don their priest robes and allow themselves to be called Father. The Catholic priesthood is alive and well in the Holdeman church.
The CCC expenses are like a U.S. military black hole project. I believe if the church members knew what the total travel expenses were it may be the start of a revolution. I wonder what the laws are relating to full disclosure of a non-profit. One other item I always found interesting. Nowhere in the financial and activities book will you find any travel expenses listed. I happen to have knowledge of one member of the ccc and his flight itineraries. The cost of those tickets were high as they are almost always booked at the last minute. The one I’m familiar with also kept his frequent flier miles for personal use.If I remember right the ccc expenses are not even listed in any place where a church member can look at them.
Amen!! The travel expences are sky high! They keep talking about modesty, simplicity and economy and I never could figure how this fits into that “triangle”. This goes for other boards too.
I’d like to see some accountability. Is there any way to get the committee to open these records to the church members? The members need to see their tax dollars at work.
As I review the list of benched ministers, I see three from Clarksdale MS. Charles Unruh, Orie Koehn, and Nolan Ratzlaff. Are there any ministers functioning at Clarksdale? Fairview Oklahoma is without a functioning minister, Randy Levings is benched and Leonard Koehn is expelled. There are numerous congregations in Canada that are without any staff and the congregation is being run by an elected committee. What is going on? Can anyone enlighten me to the reason for all the benchings? I was told that Robert Koehn was expelled after two years on repentance because he “did not have the grace for a deep enough repentance.” People, I am asking, what is going on? I would be very pleased to have one or more of these men post here and make some explanations. Surely at least one of them believes they have been unjustly dealt with. Bring forth your case here, gentlemen, for examination and proving.
Warren Schmidt is the only minister at Clarksdale and I hear he is trembling with fear and fights depression. I would also like to hear more. What is going on?? Is the “top” crumbling? “Revered” ministers are being benched. I don’t think you will get them to comment. I’m sure they want back in desperately bad. They ultimately suffer from their own system. Ironic, isn’t it? Pro or con, I would like to hear from anyone who has info on this.
The thing about this that is so sad is that the people suffer. I think Clarksdale is a fairly good sized congregation, and one minister, who is trembling with fear, and fighting depression cannot possibly be an inspiration to the people. This is tragic. My hope is that one day truth justice mercy and love will be more important to these men than recovering a piddling position that can be snatched away from them again at any time. If some of them would begin to speak maybe some of this would come to an end. And yes it is true, they seem to become the victims of the system they created…
Arlo Johnson(Brooksville) is retired—-not benched
Thank you for that information. I was told he was asked to retire. As I said, I can only post the information that is sent to me so I will correct this.
That’s interesting that you say Arlo is “RETIRED”! When he moved back the congregation was asked to vote whether they wished to accept him as a deacon. So, technically he wasn’t “BENCHED”, he was just not allowed to be a deacon in that congregation! What is the modern term for that?
Zombie, I think I’m voting for benched here. Just a sneaky way of doing it. The congregation didn’t care for his legalistic ways? Sounds strange to me. I do know I was told he very much wants to deacon. But he’s not allowed to, so what do you call that? Deacons typically do not retire unless they are super old.
You are right hzmb…. But that doesn’t reflect on Arlo in any way except that the congregation just didn’t like his legalistic approach. He is a retired deacon now and everyone is happy. Mr. Hiram should really send him a trophy for gracefully stepping down the way he did. This is a case where the sheeple outvoted the shepherds.
Charles Unruh is on Repentance. Nolan Ratzlaff reinstated. Sheldon Ratzlaff ministership annulled. Maybe annullment is the new modern. Beats me. This all is very pathetic. And inconsistant. If this is incorrect, speak up.
This is absolutely astonishing! An ordination annulled? How can this be? I think an explanation is required. How can the people I mean the sheeple sit still for this? If he was called by God and the people, who can rescind his calling? This is a shame and a disgrace. Did he do some grave sin? Was he simply a dull preacher? I have got to have input on this. If anyone can defend or explain this, please do so! Why is Charles Unruh on repentance? Did he sin, or is it simply that he failed to meet the undefined requirements for a thorough repentance, and who exactly is it that makes these requirements? This is INSANE! Good for Nolan Ratzlaff. He must have found the right words to say. Thanks for the information lotsaquestions.
Charles Unruh is being disciplined for Pride. What’s so crazy is that I know many a preacher that is proud. But they are’t being asked to repent. Could mention names but I won’t. Charles is a gifted speaker. He was used alot, but the conference made him that way if he is proud. He was called upon many times for lectures and talks. Guess they want to break to him. He almost is…….
It seems to me that the church is being restructured, but by whom and to what purpose? These are the burning questions. Continue to follow this page as we continue to uncover the hidden agenda of the hidden elite. I do believe a picture is eventually going to emerge that makes sense. At least to them.
Dum-da-dummm-dummmmmmmmmmmmmm……. Ominous conspiracies abound………….. maybe it’s the Hilluminati…….
lotsaquestions, the information you give is very disturbing. An accusation of pride is one of those things that is almost impossible to overcome. What it really means is that they want this man to lay his head down on the ground so that they can put their foot on his neck. He can repent of pride from now until the cows come home but if he is not sufficiently broken they will never let him go. This presents a dilemma for the brother because he probably cannot bring himself to lower himself far enough to get their approval. If he was being used, if he was loved by the people, if he was being called upon to speak, then what actually happened was that he aroused jealousy and fear. He may have spoken out in a meeting, questioning some things that were being done. Now he is sitting there, as others have been, like the man in the Kafka story, Joseph K. The doorkeepers stand guard and he can spend the rest of his life, if he is willing to do so, waiting on being allowed to enter that opening. I would like to see some of these men quit cowering, stand up and tell the truth about what they see. For you see, now that the man is on repentance, there is only one way to keep from being expelled, and that is to do what I described in the beginning, let them put their foot on his neck. I hope he has decided by this time that he cannot do that. It’s possible that he just hasn’t gotten quite low enough in his attempts to bow down, but I hope it is because his conscience will not let him do it. This is a sick and perverse thing that his happening, making boiled noodles out of strong and confident men who love God and want to help people. This isn’t the first time this thing has happened and it won’t be the last. A good man like Charles could stand up and speak out and bring things crashing down. Let’s pray that he will have the courage to do so.
Following is an email I got from someone regarding the case of Sheldon Ratzlaff from Lobelville…
Hiram, you are asking about Sheldon Ratzloff at Lobelville and his status. It is my understanding that Sheldon did not have a conviction to be a minister at all and was really struggling with it. This is a struggling congregation anyways. I am not sure if he was benched or asked for a break in the first place but he apparently has simply told them that he does not have a conviction to be a minister and never did. It is my understanding that he was fairly pushed into it a couple years ago, and has struggled with it ever since. This is why his ordination has been anulled. It appeared that he was installed because of who he is, not because he was called of God, and he apparently feels pretty strong about it. This has apparently happened quite recently as it was just a couple weeks ago that I was informed of the case at all.
Hope fully there is good coming from the dialogs that is beneficial to the true kingdom of God.
Thanks to the individual who came forth with this information. We now see that annulling is a legal action of the church. I have seen baptisms annulled before but not an ordination. Well, there is always something new!
I am inserting a reply that I made to Adoptedheart on another post, “A Little Hiram.” It would be helpful for anyone trying to understand what is happening to some of these ministers to read the posts I have written about the Franz Kafka story. The information adoptedheart gave me matches the stories of some of the ministers who have been benched. I don’t know the behind the scenes stories of these people, but I have seen this scenario played out many times in my life. Some man is loved by the people, a kind and a good man, but suddenly he is benched for no apparent reason and there is no apparent way to be restored to the pulpit, except to bow all the way down to the ground. This is a very serious matter, and it appears it is happening more often all the time. Following is my reply to adoptedheart on the other post…
There are some people like you, adopted heart, who cannot perjure themselves in front of God in order to have their life returned to them. The sad thing is when we see how many people can do it. Once people lie in front of God to be returned to good standing with men, something in them changes. They have essentially committed blasphemy, as the scriptures define blasphemy as giving to Satan the work that was actually done by God. Read the ninth chapter of John to see how people feared being put out of the synagogue. This very same situation exists today. Do not anger the rulers or you will be put out. Read the third chapter of Mark to find out the definition of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. Jesus had been healing people on the Sabbath. He was charged by the Pharisees of having an unclean spirit and casting out Satan by the power of Satan. Now we know that he was doing his works by the power of God. Then in verses 28-30 he says this to them: ” Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.” We can see here that the Pharisees were trying to accuse Jesus and say that the works he did were of Satan when they were actually of God. Adopted heart, I can see that this is the thing you were facing, you were being asked to give Satan credit for the works that God was doing in your heart. Had you done so you would have been committing blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. You were not able to do this. That’s good of course, but we have to be honest about the men who were asking you to do this. Where do they stand in regard to blasphemy and how often does this happen?
Sheldon Ratzlaff was most definitely pushed into the ministry not even having the required percentage of votes to start with. He admitted at the time that he had no calling, didn’t know his bible and was totally taken by surprise at the nomination. Upon whatever grounds they asked him to repent initially I don’t know. He came to me personally one night and asked what I thought. I told him it was my conviction that he was improperly put into the ministry to start with and that for his own sanity and that of his family I thought he should lay it down and if it was of God it would be put back. I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors but I do know what I advised. Sheldon is a good man but not necessarilly a good preacher and in my opinion lacks the stability and wisdom of a few grey hairs for lack of better way to put it. The bible warns us not to put in a novice and someone with no known personal conviction or calling would in my opinion fall in that catagory. In Sheldons defense he did the best he could and manfully tried to wear the shoes that did not fit. I commend him for his efforts and honesty because he really did give it his best shot. As I watched him during the notice of him being elected there was shock on his face and dismay. As it settled on him and the weight of the call, he accepted it gracefully and did the best he could with an honest and sincere heart. I made the statement to him that I don’t believe a man should be put into the ministry of the cgcm until they have experienced first hand excommunication. If these preachers knew what they were doing I believe 98% of all excommunications would never happen. I further believe and have said, “There will be NO Holy Spirit led revival in the cgcm until it starts in the ministry and deaconery.” My reasoning being that the husbandman must be the first partaker of the fruit. Christ Himself being our example. I have spilled my own blood Literaly not figuratively for what I believe. Christ covered me with his blood when I was shot God alone decides who will live and who will die ! NOT the church hiearchy !! I refuse to bow and cannot bow to what I consider blatant heresy. My case is coming up next. your prayers appreciated as I hope to have my baptism annulled. May God be merciful to me a sinner. My salvation comes through the blood of Jesus Christ, the mercy and forgiveness of God alone without regard to “church” approval. I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that hHe is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day. My soul, my service to Him myself with all my problems warts and pimples. I find it interesting that “they say” and sing “Just as I am without one plea” then condemn you for the very same thing !!?? Somebody explain that to me ?
Thanks for you comment, anonymous. You mention that you are asking that your baptism be annulled. In light of the fact that the ministers have annulled the ordination of Sheldon Ratzlaff, I suggest that they have set a precedent for annulling and they have no choice but to respond to your request. Please keep us advised. This is most interesting.
Set Free has truly been set free, His membership has been annulled and he is free to be who and what he is, as he is. He is free to go forward in what ever God is calling him to do and go forth unhindered and fill his place in his family and the community as God leads him. It was done with the direction of the CCC and the other staff working in his community, not without some intrepidation but with the blessing of a number there. And great thankfulness on the part of his immediate family and close friends.
Dean Mininger, Brasil. Minister privilege permanently suspended.
I believe that the Dean Mininger family now resides in KS