Six Degrees of Separation
10/26/07 09:18 AM
I know - I haven't posted since Sunday night. Let's
just say it's been a strange, long week already. I
wrote a post about 6 weeks ago entitled, "The Pursuit
of Happyness," about Rob James, the young
man who showed up at our church in need of
help. Come to find out this week, the whole
situation was a lot more like another movie
starring Will Smith, "Six Degrees of
Separation." That movie was about a con man
who managed to convince a number of people
that he was the son of Sidney Poitier.
It's a rather long, involved story, but the whole thing started to unravel on Wednesday. I was supposed to take Rob to Charlotte on Thursday for his valve replacement surgery. That never happened. He called saying he had spent the night at Roper Hospital because he had passed out. Rob has a heart problem, but I'm not sure he ever had a physical heart problem. But who knows? Maybe he does. Part of a good con involves elements of truth. In the beginning, before he stayed with anyone from our church, we did our due diligence by doing a background check on him - no criminal record. And it did confirm certain elements of his story as far as his residence in Rock Hill and Columbia. And Rob does evidently have cooking skills. He got a job at the Fat Hen for about a week while he was here, and he did evidently work here in Charleston at another restaurant almost two years ago. Has he been here that long, conning innocent people? Was any of his story true? I don't know.
I do know he that lied to another Pastor and church in the area during the same time. We rummaged through some trash he left behind at Bill's apartment and found a Pastor's business card. I called the Pastor and found out he showed up there on a bike telling the same story. (He said he got the bike from a Pawn Shop. It was my bike!) They ended up giving him some food, vouchers, and a little money. He showed up later with a van. He told the Pastor an old friend from Columbia who found out about his situation gave it to him. It was the van that Justin and Sarah, from our church, sold him. Wanting to help, they told him to pay them when he could. He never gave them any money.
He worked with Patrick as a laborer for a couple of weeks. He showed up and evidently worked hard. He quit that job supposedly because he landed a primo job as the "chef de cuisine" at a very nice restaurant in downtown Charleston. It was a great job - great money and great benefits. About two weeks into the job he passed out and was rushed to the Emergency Room at MUSC, all of which led to the discovery of his arterial stenosis, and him having to leave that job. Sarah came and picked him up from the Emergency Room. The chef job was a lie. It was one of the most involved, detailed lies I've ever heard. After talking to the real chef de cuisine at the restaurant, he remembered a Rob James ("a tall lanky white kid") who worked there almost two years ago as a line cook. They keep their records on file and he faxed me copies. Sure enough it was him. Some of the information on the application was similar to what he told me, some was not.
I do know he went to the Emergency Room. I went to the hospital this time and talked to folks in the Emergency Room. He never spent the night there, however. Whether he went there for his heart or drugs or something else, I'll never know. He actually faked passing out at our church one day during the week!
I do know that he also fraudulently charged over $800 on Bill's credit cards. I do know that this will be the last time that he does not have a criminal record.
And finally, I do know that I am so proud of our church! So many people did the right thing for the right reasons - Bill, Justin & Sarah, Patrick & Jennifer, Courtney & Mark, Jeremiah & Cnydi, Andy & Miranda, our Prayer Team, and many others! Several people have commented to me, after hearing the story, how they can't get that picture of a Small Group and our Prayer Team gathered around Rob, laying hands on him, praying for his heart and upcoming surgery, one Sunday after church. You know what? I'll never get that picture out of my mind either. To me, it's not a picture of a con man. It's a beautiful picture of a community of believers doing what the church is supposed to do, no matter what.
Romans 12:17-21, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Maybe during that prayer we were simply heaping burning coals on his head. I don't know. That's between him and God. I do pray that God will heal his heart. And I do know that we will continue to feed, care, and love this world we find ourselves in no matter what. Like I said, it's been a long strange week. I've found myself shocked, embarrassed, extremely angry, and very sad. For the last couple of days, I feel like I've been on a covert operation. Today, however, is a new day and I find myself very proud to be a part of a church like Coastal. I love you! See you and your friends on Sunday!
It's a rather long, involved story, but the whole thing started to unravel on Wednesday. I was supposed to take Rob to Charlotte on Thursday for his valve replacement surgery. That never happened. He called saying he had spent the night at Roper Hospital because he had passed out. Rob has a heart problem, but I'm not sure he ever had a physical heart problem. But who knows? Maybe he does. Part of a good con involves elements of truth. In the beginning, before he stayed with anyone from our church, we did our due diligence by doing a background check on him - no criminal record. And it did confirm certain elements of his story as far as his residence in Rock Hill and Columbia. And Rob does evidently have cooking skills. He got a job at the Fat Hen for about a week while he was here, and he did evidently work here in Charleston at another restaurant almost two years ago. Has he been here that long, conning innocent people? Was any of his story true? I don't know.
I do know he that lied to another Pastor and church in the area during the same time. We rummaged through some trash he left behind at Bill's apartment and found a Pastor's business card. I called the Pastor and found out he showed up there on a bike telling the same story. (He said he got the bike from a Pawn Shop. It was my bike!) They ended up giving him some food, vouchers, and a little money. He showed up later with a van. He told the Pastor an old friend from Columbia who found out about his situation gave it to him. It was the van that Justin and Sarah, from our church, sold him. Wanting to help, they told him to pay them when he could. He never gave them any money.
He worked with Patrick as a laborer for a couple of weeks. He showed up and evidently worked hard. He quit that job supposedly because he landed a primo job as the "chef de cuisine" at a very nice restaurant in downtown Charleston. It was a great job - great money and great benefits. About two weeks into the job he passed out and was rushed to the Emergency Room at MUSC, all of which led to the discovery of his arterial stenosis, and him having to leave that job. Sarah came and picked him up from the Emergency Room. The chef job was a lie. It was one of the most involved, detailed lies I've ever heard. After talking to the real chef de cuisine at the restaurant, he remembered a Rob James ("a tall lanky white kid") who worked there almost two years ago as a line cook. They keep their records on file and he faxed me copies. Sure enough it was him. Some of the information on the application was similar to what he told me, some was not.
I do know he went to the Emergency Room. I went to the hospital this time and talked to folks in the Emergency Room. He never spent the night there, however. Whether he went there for his heart or drugs or something else, I'll never know. He actually faked passing out at our church one day during the week!
I do know that he also fraudulently charged over $800 on Bill's credit cards. I do know that this will be the last time that he does not have a criminal record.
And finally, I do know that I am so proud of our church! So many people did the right thing for the right reasons - Bill, Justin & Sarah, Patrick & Jennifer, Courtney & Mark, Jeremiah & Cnydi, Andy & Miranda, our Prayer Team, and many others! Several people have commented to me, after hearing the story, how they can't get that picture of a Small Group and our Prayer Team gathered around Rob, laying hands on him, praying for his heart and upcoming surgery, one Sunday after church. You know what? I'll never get that picture out of my mind either. To me, it's not a picture of a con man. It's a beautiful picture of a community of believers doing what the church is supposed to do, no matter what.
Romans 12:17-21, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
Maybe during that prayer we were simply heaping burning coals on his head. I don't know. That's between him and God. I do pray that God will heal his heart. And I do know that we will continue to feed, care, and love this world we find ourselves in no matter what. Like I said, it's been a long strange week. I've found myself shocked, embarrassed, extremely angry, and very sad. For the last couple of days, I feel like I've been on a covert operation. Today, however, is a new day and I find myself very proud to be a part of a church like Coastal. I love you! See you and your friends on Sunday!
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