http://dialogueireland.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/what-has-victory-got-to-do-with-it/
After posting the above Thomas Cooney makes contact. On the one hand he says he has not read the posts but feels they are plain lies. The result is the letter below.
I phone Thomas again wishing him a Happy New Year. He says he will get back to me. I do hear from him so get back to him and again he is concerned that inaccuracies are to be found on our blog but when pushed has to agree he has not read them! He also does not seem to understand that people are free to use our blog to comment without censorship, but if he finds anything incorrect he should either write up an article which we would publish in full or edit any inaccuracy he brings to our attention.
Again he agrees to go away and study things and get back to me. I raise with him the issue that it is difficult to understand his situation as because his Church is a Trust their accounts are not publicly available to evaluate his comments. He admits that he does drive a rather flashy car which confirms what was on our blog. He also tells us that his property was not purchased with Church funds and cost less than a €1m when he purchased it. Again I waited for a reply but on 17.01.12 I sent the following text to him:
17.01.12
Dear Thomas,
I was waiting to hear back from you concerning my open letter and my subsequent calls to you. I addressed a number of concerns you raised and offered you an uncensored response on our blog. If I do not hear from you before Friday I will treat your silence as a sign you do not wish to dialogue in regard to the victims and the ethical issues arising out of the collapse of Abundant Life, the involvement of Victory Dublin and of Victory Galway.
Regards
Mike Garde
His response was the following text:
18.01.12
Hello mike I am seeking legal advice about your blog waiting for my solicitor to get back to me
Pastor Tom
I will allow the words of St Paul to be my initial response to this text. I highlight the appropriate references:
1 Corinthians 6
New International Version (NIV)
1 Corinthians 6
Lawsuits Among Believers
1 If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!
7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. 9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?
I also outline for him the relevant section of the new Defamation Act:
See pdf below:
New defamation laws
The Defamation Act 2009, signed into law on 23 July 2009, has abolished the separate torts of slander and libel, replacing them with “the tort of defamation’; defined as “the publication, by any means, of a defamatory statement concerning a person to one or more than one person’: The Act provides that defamation is actionable in itself without needing to prove special damages.
The Act also created a new defence to an allegation of defamation, namely “fair and reasonable publication on a matter of public interest’: This defence has been welcomed by media outlets, who have long campaigned for reform of the libel laws. Significantly, the new Act also allows judges to guide juries on the amount of damages that may be awarded. A person who believes themselves to have been defamed can now seek a Declaratory Order from the Court that a statement was false and defamatory. This is a fast track procedure which can be heard by a sitting judge alone. The plaintiff must have sought and been refused a retraction/ correction/apology by the defendant. Plaintiffs seeking a Declaratory Order are not entitled to damages as the order itself is considered remedy enough. For the first time in Irish Law, Section 12 of the Act allows a company to bring a defamation action whether or not it has incurred a financial loss as a result of the alleged defamation. We wait with interest to see how actions of this type will be received.
Could I be so bold Tom to suggest this legal advice?
Tom Cooney must have sought and been refused a retraction/ correction/apology by the Dialogue Ireland. Plaintiffs seeking a Declaratory Order are not entitled to damages as the order itself is considered remedy enough.
Please reconsider and Dialogue Ireland is open to reopening dialogue at any time!
PS: It is interesting that the King of King’s Church in Tuam responded in a similar manner in 2003 when I visited the Church and delivered a summons to Ossie Sheridan the Pastor there requesting he appear before a Christian Tribunal to resolve issues raised by members, former members and relatives of members. I was told by his wife Mary they would be consulting lawyers!
Filed under: Faith Movement: Abundant Life, Victory Galway
A few things jump off the page with this development. Tom Cooney has not answered any of the questions put to him and just like King of Kings in the past when he is backed into a corner he lashes out threatning legal action.
You would be better served as would the ex members of ALCC and the general public by answering the questions put to you.
How Christian is it to go this route? Answer the questions put to you first of all Tom.
The contamination of Tom Cooney has begun.He had been advised not to sell his soul to the Hades and Victory.
Cooneys response to the questions put to him – threat of legal action. If you have nothing to hide why such an action?
strange very strange
You would have to question why a pastor of a church would react in such a way if they did not have anything to hide. Has Brendan Hade had a word in your ear about how to proceed? He is well experienced with the workings of the legal system so maybe he has guided Tom Cooney how to handle this.
Serious own goal if that is the case. Pastor Cooney would you be a good shepard and answer the questions put to you please? Otherwise people will just wonder why you took such an action.
You mantain you are concerned about the well being of the people from ALCC well your actions are saying otherwise.
Hade is ruling the roost now, not Cooney. Tom is just a puppet on a string
He really has become a pawn in a game of chess. Something somewhere has changed in his dealings with Dialogue Ireland. It sounded at the start he was willing to answer the questions put to him but now feels the best course of action is to threaten people. Well Pastor that is what the Sanfords did for years, they would use fear and threats to break people down. Is that what you believe is the best course of action?
Many have asked the question and I am going to ask again. If you have nothing to hide why would you not respond through Dialogue Ireland who from what I can see have offered you a chance to end this nonsense and answer the questions that YOU have hanging over your head.
Many questions stem around the finances and I have seen no evidence of a change of direction in fact it is fair to say that the ‘Trust’ set up allows Vicotory to hide even more than Abundant Life.
There is only one of two reasons why Pastor Tom would take the course of action he is taking.
The first is because he has been wronged and believes information on this blog is a misrepresenation of him. If this is the case why not set out your stall, answer the questions that still remain unanswered so that we can all move on from this mess once and for all.
The second is because he in fact has something to hide and does not like the attention of the level of questioning. It has hit a raw nerve no doubt but there is a very simple way of resolving this. Just answer the questions on finance, his business, the relationship with Brendan Hade and what he is going to do to help victims left in the trail of the Sanfords and Walter Hallam.
Why would you not just answer the questions if you had nothing to hide?
Surely Pastor Tom Cooney must see what has happened in Abudant Life of the pastor and flaws of the prosperity gospel that he also preaches? His new boss has a list of court appearances behind him as both a defendant and plantiff. So he was suing and being sued.
People suspect that Tom is now only a pawn in a game that he does not truly understand. He is an employee of Brendan Hade, his man on the ground in Galway. It is also suspected that although Tom did not like Kevin Sanford and admits that there were serious problems with ALCC. He is not really willing to do anything to help the people because if he does and they see the prosperity gospel and the world of faith movement for what it really is – he will end up losing more members than before which led him to having to merge his church with ALCC under the control of Brendan Hade in the first place.
Tom decides or actually was in Brendan?? That legal action is the way to go to stop the rot? Well it will not stop people talking until they see answers to the questions. Open the books Tom show people that your church has not been in decline. Open the business books show that your income is still as it is and that you are not struggling as people think. It is only by answering the questions. If you are in the right you will be able to show this and move on in harmony.
Kevin Sanford is gone now……… the questions are going to be pointed towards you and Brendan Hade now until such time as you answer the questions.
Do not make the same mistake Kevin and Heather Sanford made. They believed they did not have to answer to anybody. YOU DO.
You are the leader of a church that has serious questions hanging over it.
Anybody know how Pastor Hade got on in court yesterday? Has Pastor Cooney any comment on this situation?
Can I ask a question to all involved/interested? No, I’m not an ALCC supporter! but does anyone not feel that Thomas Cooney, although he may have a few skeletons in the cupboard, has been shafted by Hade, and left a right mess by the Sanfords? Now he is in the middle of what sanford and hade messed up drastically, and everyone is screaming at him for answers. I know thomas cooney, not personally, but I do know that he is by far, and a long stretch, a much nicer person than the sanfords (who lost touch with reality many years ago) and Hade who just got sucked into the greedy circle like the rest of them and the vast majority of Ireland? Dont savage this post, I’m just throwing it out there. No, Thomas cooney threatening the law is a bad move and not right, but, can and does he have the answer to the most important questions, or does we know who?
I think the problem is that pastor Cooney has continued on from where the Sanfords left off and ultimately he is now a hired man for hade. He is under pressure financially and the result is that he is nw going down a road that leads to ruins. The funding or lack of funding is an issue, the numbers in the church are going down week by week. This leads to more pressure for pastor Tom and everybody else. The more people that leave the more pressure for others. Get ready for the increase in expectation on us all if this continues. ALCC members are leaving in their droves already. The Sanfords are gone and we have more time to think of the harm they caused albeit how difficult it is to come to terms with it. Another wave of ALCC members are going to leave in the next few weeks fed up of the growing list of demands a requests. Many are afraid to discuss this openly for fear of retribution.
I was a member of ALCC and I am beginning to wonder if Thomas Cooney’s approach is any different to Kevin or Heather’s? We have somebody coming to talk to us tomorrow evening during service about what we can do better to help our church. I am not sure what else we can do? I feel we are being pushed very hard and the ways of old are returning with some familar faces in the driving seat along with our new pastors. We seem to be under a lot of pressure to try and bring in money but I am not really sure what the money is for?? Is anybody else sure? I also have a problem with Pastor Cooneys approach – not impressed.
JESUS NEVER pushed anyone for MONEY ask yourself honestly is that biblicial.. Kenneth copeland says never push the flock for money look how prosperous he is ..we receive from our own giving from our own hearts not being pushed or manipulated
So you agree that all this pushing for fundraisers is unbiblical. The Sanfords did it last year with their non stop jumbles sales runs, golf days and what not and it looks like its the same old again despite us being told that the new church has a lot of financial backing. Why all the need for fundraisers and increased income if the finances are there. Pastor Kevin and Heather lied to us about the finances and i am beginning to suspect that Pastor Tom and Pastor Brendan are being dishonest also.
People people people do you not see when you are been fooled once again. Do we really know where the money we are being asked to raise is going? Are we any wiser this time around than we were the last time with the Sanfords? The Cooneys and Brendan Hade are relying (like the Sanfords before them) on the unwillingness from people to question them, afterall it is not for us to judge them but God on the final day – do you think that they might be relying on us not to question this? Has anybody actually seen the accounts for the Victory?
Thomas Cooney is losing control of the church bit by bit because of the need to satisfy the mounting debts. Greed fuels greed. Tonights gathering will be used to further galvenise us to this cause without truly understanding it. I am also uncomfortable right now that Tom Cooney and Brendan Hade have decided not to honour the outstanding debts left by the Sanfords.
Keep us so busy that we do not have time to ask questions – we need to sow the seed so that our church will grow out of the shadows of the past. It will not grow if we continue to have doubts and those doubts will exist until they are addressed. Tom Cooney needs to wise up, people are smiling to his face but behind his back they are talking just like what happened to Kevin and Heather.
If this person is in victory Galway why don t u go to some other church if u are not happy Pastor tom is a great man and a humble man doing his best to love the people he is a man of the people he has help so many people in Galway why don t you just ask the people.in galway
Kevin Sanford was a great man too! That is why he is in the mess he is in. Where is God in all of this? God does not bless or favour such men. Tom Cooney has fallen into the same cycle of greed and that is why the finance issue is left unanswered. The internal fighting and bickering continues. Another church will be left in ruins Tom is a mere player in a game and he is losing the control and support of so many already. The truth will set you free eventually once you are brave enough to admit it.
@Anonymous, on February 16, 2012 at 9:09 pm
So because we are not happy with something we should just leave the church? Considering Abundant Life members pretty much saved Living word church from collapsing with the 100+ people who came in to Victory Galway. Our pastor Kevin should be thanked for bringing us to help you! Remember that the next time you ask us to leave!
Pastor Tom and Maria are nice people but they are not a patch on Pastor Kevin and Pastor Heather in terms of anointing and giftings. I much preferred the old setup but we have to take the new church on board now as that’s the hand we have been dealt however i take offense if former Living word members are now posting here telling us former Abundant Life members to leave if we are not happy with Pastor Tom. Consider this, that if we all left Pastor Tom and Living Word would go back to being the same small struggling church it was before and any other church in Galway would be glad to take us as new members and wouldn’t be so quick to tell us to leave.
Living word church would be history if it not for the members of abundant life? Who is leading all the fundraisers right now? Who has provided all the talent and gifts during praise and worship? It is not the me,bers of living word? It is about time the members of living word appreciate and show the ALCC members a bit of respect. Your church is only existence because of our willingness to help and because of our love and devotion to Jesus.
The abundant life members are the ones that brought a bit of structure to the church. It is very obvious to see the old set up in Living Word lacked direction. We work our socks off in ALCC and always have. Now we are working hard under a new pastor and we are just getting on with it. Would the old church have lasted much longer without our involvement? Do we want a big thank you? No but I find it very sad and hurtful that the same brothers and sisters who sit beside me at church could be the very ones stabbing me in the back. This is what happened in Abundant Life because we bring certain skills to the table and because we are used to having things done on a much more professional level and standard and because we are trying to bring that to the new church is not a reason to ask us to leave. Be careful what you wish for! If some of us decided to leave what would you do then? I wish people from the Living Word that have a problem with this would realise that we saved their church from ruins.
I can’t believe what i’m reading here. Not only is Pastor Tom under attack from outlets such as this but now Abundant Life members who are supposed to be submitted under him are coming on here boasting about how professional they are and how they are rescuing Living Word. I am struggling to find the right words and trying very hard to walk in love towards my fellow brothers and sisters in christ right now.
Firstly to say that Pastor Tom and Maria are not a patch on the Sanfords is disgraceful. It is well known about the stuff the Sanfords got up to and how they bankrupted their own church and abused their members for years. I don’t need to read the stuff on here to know that as it is common knowledge all over Galway. The only people who deny what went on are former members of that church. Pastor Tom and Pastor Brendan were graceous enough to take all of the Abundant Life refugees under their wings and try help them back into a more balanced and normal christian life and the thanks they get for this are some abundant life members boasting about how they are rescuing Living Word with all their work and professionalism and skills. There are certain people i see in church now throwing their weight around taken charge of things, telling people what to do now and acting as if they are still in Abundant Life. Those ladies need to know that they are submitted under Maria now, not Heather. Christianity is about walking in love towards one another. Abundant Life members were taught that working hard and being highly skilled put them on a much higher pedestal than other churches and christians. There arrogance was known for years and was offputting not only to Living Word but to other churches in Galway. I was heard that Pastor Kevin and Heather boasted that the Lord told them revival was going to come through them to all of Ireland. This is something i find strange seeing as they lost their church and all of their members to a more faithful pastor. I suggest to the posters above that you read your bibles and see what Christ admonished. Hard work and skill is to be admired but it is nothing without love. There are people from Abundant Life now in leadership who clearly lack the ability to walk in love right now as they are more focused on being accomplished and professional and deludly thinking they are “saving” our church. Instead you should all realise the Hades and the Cooneys are “saving” the Abundant Life folk from many of their own issues which are still actively present based on the ramblings of posts above.
Not only have the Sanfords destroyed their own church they have poisoned their own members with an idea of Christianity that is now based on works rather than faith. Its no wonder that certain people (who shall remain nameless for the purposes of this message) are constantly harassing us into signing for new departments, or prayer and fasting or fundraisers or bible schools. They think doing all these things will help bring them closer to God. Jesus looks for us to be Marys but now we have all of these Abundant Life Marthas complaining that we are not doing enough for Jesus! I’ll wager that i spend a lot more time in prayer and study of the word and fellowship with the Lord than most (if not all) of these Abundant Life blow-ins who have taken it upon themselves to be the leaders of our new church. We might not have been professional to the level of the old Pastor Kevin and Pastor Heather show, but at least we have always walked in love, something i see lacking from a few of our new members left over from the Sanford reign.
As a last note i also wish to say how terrible it is to have to respond like this and how aweful it is for Christians to be fighting like this publicly. We are supposed to let our light shine before men and what message does it send out if my fellow church members constantly come on here boasting about how great they are and how the Sanfords are better than the Cooneys. I would rather be a member of a humble church and i’m sure many more believe the same. I love my abundant life brothers and sisters i really do, but honestly pride comes before a fall and i would urge these same prideful individuals to seek after humility and love rather than professionalism and accomplishment.
God will command a blessing upon our church only if our Abundant Life friends walk in unity with us rather than to dominate us with their own agendas. I would urge you all to read Psalm 133 and start walking in unity with us.
1. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
2. It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
3. It is like the dew of Hermon
Coming down upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing—life forever.
Is it not sad that we argue in the darkness throwing arrows at our brothers and sisters? It is obvious that certain people have not embraced the new beginning that Victory brings to us all. This is our time to shine in togetherness and in love. How can we do this if we continue this fighting. The atmosphere is already so tense I am considering going elsewhere until it is resolved. Pastor Cooney needs to control and end this madness before it destroys yet another church.
Who are we to judge the Sanfords? Pastor Tom seems like an okay guy but he does not have an in depth knowledge of scripture as Kevin has. Pastor Tom goes off on tangents and lacks the punch that Kevin delivered. Comparing the Sanfords to the Cooneys is sad there is no comparison and I agree it is true that we seem to be doing most of the work right now. Some of the other members seem lazy and are happy for the same people to do all the work. If we don’t make the effort I doubt the other members who have been part of living word would be able to do anything productive on their own. So now we are refugees well are we forgetting pastor Tom’s recent sermon on wondering in the wildernes? living word would be in that wilderness without the involvement of ALCC members. Kevin led us to be part of victory under Pastor Hade. I am sure Kevin would be unhappy with Pastor Tom now trying to lead his flock and doing a poor job at that.
The abundant life people feel the need to prove themselves after coming from a fallen church. We don’t have to prove ourselves. Why are we using the living word building? Oh that’s right because your pastor did not pay the rent and left massive debts that our pastors will now have to pay. Our pastors will have to clear up the mess left behind by others, paying their massive outstanding debts. I am trying very hard not to judge people but it is very hard when you see some of the nonsense currently going on.
Is this what all the fundraising is currently for? To pay back the debts of the Sanfords? Have the pastors actually said they will pay back the money owed by the Sanfords?
The fundraising is for work in underdeveloped areas that is all we know right now. Very loose statement – Is Galway not an underdeveloped area is Dublin not an underdeveloped area?
IF PEOPLE IN THE LIVING WORD AND VICTORY CHURCH HAVE SUCH HIGH OPINIONS OF THEMSELVES WHY DON’T THEY GET UP AND DO SOME WORK AND STOP COMPLAINING AT THE ONES THAT ARE DOING IT. THAT IS WHAT BUDDY WAS TALKING ABOUT- HOW MANY PASSENGERS ARE WE GOING TO CONTINUE TO CARRY? A SERIOUS LACK OF WORK ETHIC – WE ARE IN THIS CHURCH BECAUSE OF OUR LOVE OF CHRIST NOT BECAUSE OF A LOVE OF TOM COONEY – KEVIN SANFORD IS OUR PASTOR AND ALWAYS WILL BE – IF HE WAS NOT CALLED BACK TO THE USA HE WOULD BE HERE WITH US NOW.
@Anonymous Feb 21st 2012 at 1.58pm…..your opening line totally shows how much of a deceived Ex ALCC person you are, yes, ALCC is gone folks, good riddance, the abuse that went on in there was shocking! an ungodly establishment, wiped out praise God! you said get up and work and stop complaining (Shows you are a ALCC Martha) listen to yourself, wake up from your deception!! a serious lake of work ethic!! ( That you again Martha!?) we are in the church because of a love of christ…ye right!!, Kevin Sanford is not your pastor, Thomas Cooney is, Kevin Sanford had that opportunity and ran the church along with his wife into the ground! Wake up from your deception!
@Anonymous Feb 21st at 1.51pm…..the fundraising is not for undeveloped area’s in Galway, Dublin or anywhere. The fundraising is to try fix the undeveloped debt repayment of sanford, hade & cooney…..to pay off their massive debts, not just sanfords! Please be rest assured that none, yes none, of this money raised will be used to evangelise Galway or Ireland, or further afield!
@Anonymous Feb 21st at 9.08am…..good point on the building. Let me clear that one up once and for all. Kevin Sanford has a personal, judgement to the tune of €165,000 by the high court for unpaid rent on the Tower House building on the Tuam Road, Galway. So yes, their Pastor didnt pay the rent. Deception can never hide itself, the ALCC die hards are now running to another building, trying to convince themselves that nothings changed, work work work work work, lets continue to hide our heads in the sand!
@Anonymous Feb 20th at 8.04pm…..copied and pasted quote from above
“living word would be in that wilderness without the involvement of ALCC members. Kevin led us to be part of victory under Pastor Hade. I am sure Kevin would be unhappy with Pastor Tom now trying to lead his flock and doing a poor job at that.”
Am I the only one that smells the ugly stench of the spirit of Pride off the above statement? Does the above statement encompass the whole reason ALCC is gone forever? before the fall comes Pride? ALCC always maintained that they were the head church, sanford always believed he and heather would lead the pastors in Ireland, sure God had something to say about that. Really, is the stench of pride coming from the poster of this rubbish, overpowering?
@In Christ Feb 20th at 4pm………this post for me was excellently written, well done “In Christ”. You have your eye’s wide open to the deception, and I truly commend you for your discernment! I am going to take snippets from the post and elaborate where I can……my elaboration is in bold to the cut and paste quotes below.
“Firstly to say that Pastor Tom and Maria are not a patch on the Sanfords is disgraceful. It is well known about the stuff the Sanfords got up to and how they bankrupted their own church and abused their members for years. I don’t need to read the stuff on here to know that as it is common knowledge all over Galway” TOM & MARIA COONEY, YES, MAY NOT BE AS SLICK AS KEVIN SANFORD, BUT THEY ARE DEFINITELY MORE PURE HEARTED AND GODLY. KEVIN AND HEATHER BANKRUPTED THE CHURCH AND MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN THEIR CHURCH FROM WHAT I HEARD, EMOTIONLLY AND SPIRITUALLY TO A HEART WRENCHING EXTENT ABUSED THEIR CONGREGATION. THIS IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE ALL OVER GALWAY, THATS WHY NO OTHER CHURCH WOULD GO NEAR ALCC.
“There are certain people i see in church now throwing their weight around taken charge of things, telling people what to do now and acting as if they are still in Abundant Life. Those ladies need to know that they are submitted under Maria now, not Heather”. HEARD THAT HEATHERS RIGHT HAND LADY IS THE LEAD IN THROWING HER WAIT AROUND. POSTER, YOU MAKE A VERY VALID POINT THAT THEY SHOULD SUBMIT UNDER MARIA, BUT THEY NEVER WILL UNFORTUNATELY, AS HEATHER HAS A STRONG DECEPTIVE/EMOTIONALY ABUSIVE HOLD OVER THEIR LIVES AND THIS IS EXTREMELY HARD TO BREAK FREE FROM.
” I heard that Pastor Kevin and Heather boasted that the Lord told them revival was going to come through them to all of Ireland” THAT CAME FROM THE FALSE PROPHET MINISTRIES OF JUDY JACOB AND HER HUSBAND (OR KNOWN TOO AS THE TUTTLES)
“Not only have the Sanfords destroyed their own church they have poisoned their own members with an idea of Christianity that is now based on works rather than faith. Its no wonder that certain people (who shall remain nameless for the purposes of this message) are constantly harassing us into signing for new departments, or prayer and fasting or fundraisers or bible schools” THIS IS FREAKY IT IS SO TRUE, WAS HEATHERS RIGHT HAND LADY THE POWER HORSE BEHIND THIS? SO SO TRUE, AND YOUR SCUM AND AN OUTCAST IF YOU DONT SIGN UP, YE? OH IN CHRIST, YOU TRULY HAVE CLEAR VISION! YE, LETS HAVE A FUNDRAISER TO PAY OFF OUR PAST STUPIDITY…..YIPPEE….OH YOU BROAD OF VIPERS!
“I’ll wager that i spend a lot more time in prayer and study of the word and fellowship with the Lord than most (if not all) of these Abundant Life blow-ins who have taken it upon themselves to be the leaders of our new church. We might not have been professional to the level of the old Pastor Kevin and Pastor Heather show, but at least we have always walked in love, something i see lacking from a few of our new members left over from the Sanford reign” OH SO SO SO TRUE, HEARTBREAKING BUT TRUE. NOT READING THE WORD BUT ASPIRING TO BE LEADERS, OH HOW THE PRIDEFUL HAVE FALLEN AND WILL FALL AGAIN IF THEY DONT WAKE UP TO THE DECEPTION OF THEIR PAST AND PRESENT. ALL THE OTHER CHURCHES HAVE NOT TRIED TO HAVE THE BIG PROFILE THAT ALCC TRIED TO HAVE, BUT THEY WALKED IN LOVE AND CARED FOR THEIR CITY AND NATION.
WELL DONE ALL THE ABOVE POSTERS. ILL KEEP MY EYES ON THIS POST AND ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS Y’ALL MAY HAVE. GOD BLESS, KEEP THE FAITH, THE DECEPTION WILL BE UNCOVERED, BE PATIENT, AND FOCUS ON GOD. BE THE MARY’S AND NOT THE MARTHA’S. GOD BLESS!
Jesus does love a Mary and not a Martha. Abundant Life members exhalt Marthas over Marys. The recent Buddy Bell meeting was an example of this. I’m dissappointed that Pastor Tom would have someone in like him to try and convince us to work harder and be better servants all to increase the church. That is the what our new Abundant Life members are all about and they know no other form of christianity. Its about walking in love first and foremost and putting our relationship with christ before our relationship with the church. Abundant Life members (the ones in our church now) seem to value the church relationship ahead of the personal relationship. From what i know the Sanfords trained people to serve them personally in every way unlike the Cooneys who actually server their members – something the Sanfords would never do. I ask you this, would you ever see the Sanfords bring home cooked meals in to church to feed the people working hard late into the evenings? Tom and Maria are humble enough that they do things like this regularly but i’ll bet Heather and Kevin never once did that. In fact from what i gather they would deem that to be beneath them and would require that people feed them after they finish work. Jesus was a feet washer to the servants. So are the cooneys. I find it disturbing that former Abundant Life members now in Victory are telling us how much greater the Sanfords were over the cooneys. In God’s eyes i’m sure he values humility more than anything and humility is not something a former Abundant Life member would know as they never really learned that from Heather and Kevin as they never served the flock like Tom and Maria but instead had the flock server them. A shepherd should be taking care of the sheep. It was never meant for the sheep to tend to the care of the shepherd. Thats why the Sanfords were never good Pastors in my eyes as they didn’t take care of the sheep, but instead demanded the sheep take care of them. The Sanfords were unfaithful so God removed them and gave their members to a much more faithful couple in the Cooneys.
To anyone that is in Victory and talks negatively about their own pastors now in the Cooneys i would humbly ask that you find a church and a ministry whose Pastors you can submit to without murmuring. The Sanfords made mistakes and they are gone. If you can’t deal with that then maybe you should join them in Texas if your relationship to them means so much.
Looks to me like Tom Cooney needs to get the ALCC crew under control from what i read above because I can’t see them going to Texas as the Sanfords still don’t have a church. I’ve heard from a close friend in Abundant Life La Marque who is appraised very well of the situation that Pastor Hallam is not happy with all the stuff going on in Ireland and the debts that have been left as he needs to clear some of them. I understand that he is getting very itchy feet about the Kevin working in El Paso. Although he is happy for Kevin to work there in a preaching capacity only he does not want Heather involved in any shape or form due to the way she operates and her history over here so he has not offered her a job. He is said to not be a fan of Heather at all and does not want her working for him. The problem is she is the baggage that comes with Kevin. Assuming Kevin agrees to not have his wife involved he will have the El Paso church but just in case Pastor Hallam is trying to look at other options right now to protect himself particularly as Kevin as been a little bit greedy in his financial demands from Pastor Hallam.
Well I think pastor Tom and pastor hade deserve great praise for paying the debts left behind by the Sanfords. It is the right thing for us to do so we can move on in Jesus name amen.
I’m all on for moving on, but seemingly ALCC was put into liquidation!, the creditors dont get paid, and if they do, its only an extremely small percentage. Sanford still has the huge judgement against his name. Cooney and hade arent paying any of the debt left behind by sanford, they have the unenviable position of trying to pay off their own huge debts themselves! Hence all the church fundraisers in the name of Jesus.
So where is the money going from the fundraisers? Is it being used to pay debts that you mention for pastor hade and Cooney?
Didnt take long for you all to forget Pastor Cooney’s words. Do you want to spend 40 years wondering around in the wilderness. So now we have the Sanford supporters, the Cooney and hade supporters and then people who seem to be supporting both sides. What will all this internal fighting do? You all need to grow up. Tomorrow we will all be under the one roof at midweek service and the same on Sunday looking at each other with suspicion
We all are aware of the precarious position/past that our pastor cooney has with his ailing business interests and the much documented recessionary woes hade has, as well as impending court cases, on top of the very suspicious wording of the cause for which the our church is doing all these fundraisers, yes, I think there are very strong grounds to believe that our church is working hard doing these fundraisers to pay off our pastors, and hades debt…….if thats actually possible!
@Shut up and March Feb 21st 6.43pm……Oh your a sanford shirt alright…..their moto too was shut your mouth, dont ask questions, and keep marching buster! dont question the leadership. Maybe rather than preaching these condemning messages, cooney and hade should stand before the people and answer the questions all want answered! Then maybe you can sit beside your brother & sister in peace. Let the hidden thing be revealed.
As an onlooker this sort of internal bickering and fighting is the reason i won’t have anything to do with a church like ALCC/Victory/Living Word. It seems these churches and there members are more concerned with status and reputation than effectively ministering the gospel. What a bad witness this is for an unbeliever to see Christians fight amongst themselves. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.
So the story so far….. The Sanfords leave town because of mounting debts and complaints of abuse.Kevin introduces Brendan Hade to us as our new pastor who then denies he has taken over the church. Brendan then brings in Kevin’s nemesis in Tom Cooney who runs another ailing church. Cooney not echoes an employee of Brendan Hade receiving a wage to run the show in Galway only for the linchpins of Kevin and Heather to run the show and take control of the new church. Brendan in the mean time brings in Buddy to try and turns around the fortunes of victory. Brendan meanwhile continues the fight in the ongoing high court case against him. The 3rd such case in as many years involving Brendan. Gerry Byrne a pastor in Victory Dublin and long term friend of Brendan is also involved with this case. He was also on a tax defaulters list from the revenue commissioners in 2001. Meanwhile back at the ranch or somewhere slightly smaller than a ranch Kevin and Heather have been left in limbo by excessive demands of Walter Hallam who is the pastor of Kevin and Brendan Hade. Could you make this stuff up?
I can’t believe what i’m reading above. If some of you members would spend more time praying and fasting along with the church over the next 21 days and coming to our daily prayer at the church then perhaps your focus would adjust back to the things of God. I hate seeing my fellow believers disagree like this. We should be of one mind and one accord. We have a lot to do as a church and we need every body working together to reach our city.
To the comment above, it is not your place to judge the Cooneys, Sanfords, Hades or Gerry Byrne. These are anointed ministers of the Gospel and you should treat them with the respect they deserve. Whatever courtcases or tax evasion and debt problems are going on are not your concern. Let God deal with that and you just deal with yourself. Focus on the things of God, not the things of man. These people are not perfect but they are Pastors so we must honour them in every way.
Matt. 7:1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”
This is history repeating itself all over again. Do you not remember fasting and our prayer chains in ALCC? Our daily prayer meetings over the last number of years – what were they for? Probably the same reasons they are taking place now! In the light – I am not sure if you were in ALCC or Living Word but let me point out one thing for you….. God has already judged these individuals and what is worse is they know it. God took the Sanfords from us and showed that prosperity did not shine on them just like it does not shine right now on Cooney or Hade – why do you think that is?
For those of you who believe the monies raised from the latest round of fundraising including the fashion show and Lord knows what else they will come up with will not solve the every growing divide and financial hole that these churches find themselves in. The money raised is NOT to pay off the debts of the Sanfords – that would be the honourable thing for Cooney and Hade to do but they are not doing so. This money is to fill in their own holes. People need to ask a few more questions and get an exact view on where the money will go – for you to accept ‘Money used in underdeveloped areas’ as a acceptable in light of previous sins and abuse of the past is showing how controlled you are. My God lets me make decisions for myself and free of terror and reign from these type of people.
I am not judging these people – God is judging them and the results are there for everybody to see.
We have brought some much needed professionalism to the new church. Nobody can deny that the old set up was not in keeping with a modern day church. The building itself looked shabby before we got involved and rolled up the sleeves. People should be proud of what we have managed to do in such a short time. I do feel that some people are doing more than others and it is obvious the pastors felt the same that is why Buddy Bell paid us a visit. Kevin and Heather will form their new church in El Passo and touch the lives of people there just like they did here. I don’t think many of us are happy with the new set up and I would much prefer if things were like of old and we were in our own church with our own pastors. Pastor Cooney is a very nice man and he walks in the grace of God. Pastor Kevin and Pastor Heather also walk in this grace and they have been with so long. Yes I woudl prefer to have them as my pastors because I believe they have a better command of the bible and we were used to doing things a certain way under their direction.
Pastor Kevin told me before he left he intended to come back to Ireland to his church and I look forward to that day that happens. I think Pastor Kevin and Pastor Heather would work well at the helm of our church with Pastor Cooney supporting their efforts. I think it would bring a lot of harmony to our church. I believe this is the future for our church and that Jesus Christ our saviour will bring us on this joyful journey together.
God bless
IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE LEADERSHIP OF VICTORY GALWAY WHY NOT DON’T YOU FOLLOW YOUR PASTOR TO TEXAS. OUR PASTOR TOM MAY NOT BE WHAT YOU WANT OR EXPECT BUT AT LEAST HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY DEBTS OR OWES MONEY TO PEOPLE LIKE KEVIN SANFORD DOES. NOBODY IS MAKING YOU COME TO OUR CHURCH SO PLEASE STOP MAKING OUT THAT YOU HAVE TO ATTEND.
is brendan hade in financial trouble along with leadership of victory????