The Email Chain

Many people will bump into members of the Hope of Israel Christian Ministries as they sell bread at Farmers markets across the state.  One will see smiling faces, odd but pleasant people serving them as they purchase their genuinely wonderful bakery products.  Few will have any insight into who they really are, who David Kriss really was and, what they represent.


On at least three occasions I have heard from members of the Cult that David regretted his final interaction with me.  Indeed, I have heard that he hung around shopping centres near where I live in the hope of running into me.  Obviously I cannot tell how David was thinking or about his regrets, but I can tell how he has acted. 
I had an email correspondence with him some 13 months before he died.  We bumped into each other in a local Shopping Centre and had a brief and amiable chat.  He expressed a desire to meet up again, maybe for a coffee.  I tentatively agreed to this, figuring that we may be able to work through some issues.  Unfortunately, as you will see, the meeting never took place.  David had my email & my phone number, if he really felt regret or desire to reconcile, he knew where I was and, he didn't.  I wish that he did and I wish we could have chatted.  My last email went unanswered.


Here is that email correspondence.  For ease of reading I will paste it earlier to later.  I post this to give some insight into how David dealt with people, you will see the same methods in his followers.  His true colours begin to emerge in his last couple of emails.









The Email Chain:

From: davidkriss@hoicm.org.au
To: matt-harris@live.com.au
Subject: FW: Get together ?
Date: Sat, 9 Oct 2010 15:59:09 +1000

Hi Matthew,

It was good to see you the other day at the valley.

It seemed as though the Lord was trying to soften our atmosphere whilst we talked and I was thankful for that.

I mean you no harm in any way and do not condemn what you are doing now as you are doing it unto the Lord like me.

I am leaving on the 2^nd Nov back to WA for a bit and wandered if you, [my wife & Daughter] would like to join Ric myself, Helen and [a child] at our new house for a BBQ.

There would be no strings attached in anyway unless you have something to say, I would be willing to listen.

It is purely a BBQ and some social time.

If you can come could you get back to me ASAP about optional days so Ric can work around his bakery schedule.

Kind Regards and God Bless

David

[David annotated my reply in red:]

From: davidkriss@hoicm.org.au
To: matt-harris@live.com.au
Subject: FW: Get together ?
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 13:55:33 +1100




From: Matthew Harris [mailto:matt-harris@live.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 13 October 2010 10:28 AM
To: davidkriss@hoicm.org.au
Subject: RE: Get together ?
David,

It has been a long time since we have spoken and indeed , a surprise to see you at the Shopping centre in Morwell. Whilst I thank you for your invitation to a BBQ, I will have to decline it. That’s sad!

[My wife, Andrea] & Helen have been keeping in contact of late and I have, of recent times, sensed that I need to rebuild a relationship with her also. I came to this conclusion before meeting you and it has to do with family and support of my wife. Hence, I am keen to catch up with Helen and endeavour to rebuild some sort of relationship with her. This was my purpose in contacting her and passing on my email.

In all honesty, I think that there would be much to discuss between us before I am comfortable with any social situation It was Helens idea as much as mine knowing from Andrea that you wanted to connect with her, and [a young girl in the group] had just got a horse and she wanted to show it to [my daughter]. I think it would be quite disingenuous to act out a friendly BBQ without raising the very real issues between us I said in my email I was happy for you to share anything that might be on your mind at the BBQ. You have refused for this to happen in the past I have never refused you to speak to me on any basis except for your continuous attempt to make me stand down which I could never do without the confirmation of the rest of my fellowship, which I don’t have. Other than that I know I should hear all things from you if you have something to say. and I am glad - if I understand you correctly - that you are open to that possibility now.

Maybe we could meet before you go away, however, my priority, as I have stated earlier, is to begin to rebuild a relationship with Helen. Helen has told me that her main priority as is mine is to see us ( fragmented members of the body of Christ) reconciled out of love for Jesus and that is why she equally proposed the BBQ.

We all feel that the Lord would have us in unity to give him honour and that is why the whole concept came together.

Hoping in light of this you might reconsider.

David

From: matt-harris@live.com.au
To: davidkriss@hoicm.org.au
Subject: RE: Get together ?
Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 15:03:10 +1030

David,

I feel that I can only reiterate my position. The breach of unity between you and my family is significant. Having a brief chat at a social event where we ride horses, sip chardonnay and eat steak quite simply minimises these issues. Again, I respectfully decline an invitation for a BBQ, I am however, happy to meet with you and begin to unravel these issues.

Again, I desire to re-establish contact with Helen as my Mother-in-Law and the Grandmother of my children (of which I have 6, not 1). I am certain issues of faith will arise in conversation and it is my hope that some genuine spiritual unity can eventually be attained. I'll contact Helen when things slow down at work to arrange a time.

I am happy to meet with you David, perhaps we can begin this process appropriately, dealing with the issues rather than avoiding them under a pretence of unity that we do not share in reality.

Regards

Matt

[David was outraged by my email and got my mother-in-law (Helen) to ring my wife (Andrea).  Here is my response.]

From: Matthew Harris [mailto:matt-harris@live.com.au]
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 2010 7:47 PM
To: davidkriss@hoicm.org.au
Subject: RE: Get together ?

David,

I have just spoken with Andrea, as I am working late tonight. I think that it is much better for us to communicate, rather than messages being passed on through others. As I have said previously, I am happy to meet with you, at your house or a place of your choosing, just not in the context of a family social gathering. I apologise if I was not clear with that. If you want to contact me to propose a time, place & date, either email me or ring me on my mobile (04** ******).

This way we can avoid potential misunderstandings and communicate effectively with one another.

Regards,

Matt


P.S. Please be aware that professionally I do not have access to my Mobile phone during classtime. If you leave a message or text I will get back to you as soon as I am able.

From: David Kriss [mailto:davidkriss@hoicm.org.au]
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 11:10 AM
To: 'Matthew Harris'
Subject: RE: Get together ?

Matthew,

After all these years it is sad to see that you have demons of arrogance, mockery, and bitterness still just sitting underneath the surface.

I praise God that we have moved on from there long ago.

Leaving that all aside for now we better get back to the meeting that I invited you to have.

The only meeting I could possibly have with you would be one that builds reconciliation in a spirit of humility, grace, and mercy for one another, not a Nuremberg trial.

As I said, you're invited to a barbecue at our house where there would be a spirit of openness and grace for everyone.

We would take one issue at a time to share about, understand our differences, and pray to the Lord together for it to be discerned and understood who is wrong, repent and get past these things.

We also want our children to be there to see how adult Christians humbly share difficult things in a spirit of mercy, and loving understanding, so that when they grow up they too can learn how to have difficult meetings that are managed properly and approved by God.

As Ric myself and Helen discussed this morning how we should answer you, the spirit touched us that we should also have an equal time to share our great burdens he put upon us about your lives.

The Lord has shown us that you have been captured by principalities and powers in a massive deception.

That both of you and your children are oppressed by many spirits.

Now that we know how to deal with these spirits, the Lord has told us to reveal it to you so we can help you as we progress through our meetings to liberate you and ourselves as we confess our sins one to another.

All our goal is that we should be reconciled before God no matter who's at fault so that he can give glory in the efforts and we make for him.

I am happy to be shown all wrongs which you also need to be happy to see all yours, we could then hear each other and take every thought captive to Christ and he will reveal to us our individual Need to repent.

It is the Lords will that these would be camp David styled meetings with food drink respect knowning full well that the Lord is listening to every word, as we get together for him.

I know that you believe that God deserves better than what we have, and so do we.

So it is up to you, if you see the meetings are honorable to God rather than each other then I have suggested a good thing.

If on the other hand you don't want to participate in something that God would be pleased with then obviously the meeting will not take place and we would not get right before God then your agenda is just personal satisfaction.

If this turns out to be the case we will not have fellowship with you obviously, Helen will not take calls or responses from you, and because Andrea was in complete agreement with everything you say, Helen will have no fellowship with her either.

Remember this is a meeting I suggested and if you have a heart from God you will see that it is well-intentioned.

To God be the glory

David

[In my final email, which went unanswered, I tried to clarify my position]

From: matt-harris@live.com.au
To: davidkriss@hoicm.org.au
Subject: RE: Get together ?
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2010 22:02:54 +1030

David,

I must confess to being shocked at the slanderous tone and hubris of your last email. There are many things that could be said in response, however, they (God willing) can be brought up in conversation at a later date. I do not want to be distracted from the issue that is before us.

It seems to me that your email sets up a false dilemma; either,

we have a family BBQ at your house that will honour the Lord or
we have a 'Nuremberg Trial' which is laced with my self-seeking agenda.

You have set up a false dilemma because there is a third option, namely, you and I can meet together, outside of a family gathering, for the purpose of having meaningful dialogue about our differences, in a spirit of honesty, truthfulness and desire for genuine reconciliation in Jesus. I have never inferred anything else.

The point of objection to a BBQ, is its social nature. It cannot be denied that there are issues between us David, issues that go to the very heart of salvation, righteousness and redemption. It is dishonourable to Jesus, in light of the sacrifice He has made, to have these issues obfuscated by a social occasion. I simply do not believe that it is either God-honouring or righteous to subjugate these serious issues to a social agenda.

Moreover, whilst I respect Phil & Sue's choice to educate [their daughter] in the manner that they wish. I think it wholly inappropriate that there is a crowd or audience in such a discussion. The disagreement is between you and I and, in accordance to Matt 18, should be treated as such. A meeting of this nature should not be done as a teaching tool, or as entertainment for a crowd or a group that one can 'play up' too. Rather, the meeting should be in private conducted in a spirit of honesty & humility. A social setting is simply not conductive to that.

Of course, you are entitled not to meet with me, not to hear what I have to say & to instruct Helen not to take my calls. However, you are doing so solely because I've declined a BBQ invitation. This seems incredibly petty, inflexible, ungracious and unwilling. I'm sure than I must be misunderstanding you as you appeared far more understanding in the Shopping centre the other day, when you invited me out for coffee.

You said in your email: "I have never refused you to speak to me on any basis except for your continuous attempt to make me stand down... Other than that I know I should hear all things from you..." In light of this, your previous statement seems strange, as you are refusing me now, based on nothing more that not agreeing to a social time.

So, again we return to my willingness to meet with you to discuss the things between us, together, before the Lord.

In Christ

Matt