Bill Reese is Dead.

This past week, for the first time in a long time, I thought about Bill Reese, or "Preacher Bill, " as he liked to be called. It was a fleeting thought, along the lines of "I wonder if he is still living." I knew that his wife, "Miss Fanny," had Alzheimer's and was being cared for by her daughters, and that their 3 daughters had experienced great amounts of pain and tragedy in their lives-from divorces to the death of husbands in various accidents. I grew up with 2 of the girls--they were as close as sisters to me, staying with us when their parents traveled to revivals and other church meetings. My mother sewed their clothes for them for most of their childhood, and Miss Fanny taught piano to my brother and me sometimes (but, we learned mostly from Mrs. Stiles, a saint.)

I wondered how Bill Reese lived with himself. He had conned older people out of their possessions, land, cars, antiques, and had built himself a "barn" to house his booty. He was the worst image of stereotypical southern "baptist" fundamentalist blowhard scheister preacher. I began to question his theology as soon as I could read the Bible for myself, and as soon as I had a decent vocabulary, I began to question his sermons and his wife's lessons. To say that he was racist, xenophobic, homophobic, nationalistic, misogynistic and often unintelligible would be kind. He was beyond all of those things, because he preached them with a loud voice, and he proliferated a network of "preachers" and "churches" which reached through the southeast like a flesh-eating bacteria. His words were/are destructive and evil, but, whenever family members mention him, they do so with distaste, but, with a hint of forgiveness for the "good" that he may have done. If he did any "good, " it was to cause many to vow to never be like this man, never think the way he thought, and never treat people with such disrespect as he.
His tool for submission was public humiliation, and the threat of "dis-fellowship" to church members. Along the lines of shunning, this was the worst possible wound for southern small town hearts. He was a master of plotting family members against family members, and my brother's own divorce and remarriage are stained with Reese's imprint.
He founded and lead a cult, loosely based on independent, fundamentalist Bible teaching, very loosely connected to Bob Jones University and the "Bible Baptist Fellowship." He, and others, taught that everyone is doing to hell except those who are a part of HIS church and churches like his. Catholics and Jews especially. Southern Baptists and Northern Baptists. Presbyterians and Lutherans definitely. Episcopalians, no question (they are just like Catholics, often called "the Roman Church that worships the Whore of Babylon.") His cult made him a wealthy man, and he used intimidation and manipulation to gain trust and gather contributions and converts.
He was persuasive, but, more manipulative. A kool aid event or other mass suicide would surprise me, and I have spent my life expecting that result from his influence. For a person or a family to leave the cult, they put themselves at a certain risk-economically, socially, and in their relationships with those still in the cult.
I feared him, and I feared the influence he held over my family.
I escaped when I was 17, and received letters and telephone calls from he and his wife telling me of my impending damnation, how I would burn in endless fire, how God would punish me for the rest of my days, which they prayed would be short. At 17, and 18 I heard words from these 2 people that I have never heard since, and words which should never be spoken to another human being. The scars have taken years to heal, and are continuing to heal.
I do the work that I do, especially with churches, to continually remind myself and those with whom I connect, that the Church should be a place of healing, not hurting. Leaders should be menders and equippers, not tyrants and dictators. Organizations should be held to higher standards, especially when they have a foundation in Faith. Families are more important than institutions, even churches, and words can be weapons, especially when wielded by mad men.

My mother told me that Bill Reese died this week. He died alone in his "barn" of his belongings. He had become paranoid about losing his possessions to theft, and so he had moved into his barn to keep an eye on his things. This is where he died. He was 78.
His wife has lost her mind. She cannot remember her children and grandchildren.
They were mean, selfish, dishonest and evil people.
A forgiving God has his hands full.