
"A woman returned to her car in a crowded mall parking lot and found this noteunder the windshield wiper. It said, "I have just smashed into the rear of your car. The people who saw the accident are watching me. They think I am writing down my nane and address. They are wrong." Letting God: Christian Meditations for Recovery (March 1), A. Phillip Parham
This Update provides resources for integrity and anti-corruption.
It continues the call for integrity, truth, and and healing
in the international NCI KB fraud.
Click here for the latest PPNet weblog entry
-----------------------
Greetings as we begin year 16
of the PETRA People Network and our regular Updates!
Note: Into Integrity Updates are now included as part of PETRA People Updates.
In the latest PPNet Update (Issue 93), we continue to share new and ongoing resources to support integrity and anti-corruption in your life, organizations, and spheres of influence. We also continue to feature material about the Nordic Capital Investments KB (NCI) corruption. See the PPNet weblog for more information and links to these resources.
Our focus in this issue is on faking integrity: thinking/pretending that you are living in light (acting virtuously) when you are actually living in darkness (acting deceptively). The three featured resources in Part One include 10 Tactics for Feigning Integrity and Accountability (UN Special), definitions of integrity and corruption (Global Integrity Day-9 June), and "Do Not Fear. Shine Your Light," a podcast from Into Integrity. We also continue to share material about the Nordic Capital Investments KB (NCI) corruption-fraud.
As with all of our Updates, we encourage you to take the time to review all the featured resources, dive deep into some of them, and discuss them and their applications with colleagues.
"The only thing necessary for corruption to flourish
is to do nothing about it—or to do some non-efficacious and non-resolute 'thing'
[often rationalizing our motives and actions as being 'noble and necessary']
and then move on, often with our consciences placated and our livelihoods protected."
Loving Truth and Peace: A Case Study (2013)
Tricks of the Trade
Tactics for Feigning Integrity and Accountability
how great is the darkness!
Matthew 6:23
"--Tactic 1. Delegate the matter to someone else. Diffuse it, distance yourself. Avoid any internal or independent review. Overlook whistleblower and grievance policies.
--Tactic 2. Dodge, reword, or repackage, the issues. Obfuscate the facts, muddle the main issues, or at least talk tentatively or vaguely about some “mistakes in the past” that someone could have dealt with better. Disguise any culpability.
--Tactic 3. Focus on minor or “other” things so as to look like you are focusing on central things. Punctuate it all with the language of transparency and accountability.
--Tactic 4. Appeal to your “integrity” and to acting with the “highest standards,” without demonstrating either.
--Tactic 5. Point out your past track record. Highlight positive things that you are doing now. Remind everyone that you are doing your best.
--Tactic 6. Ask/assume that people should trust you without verification. Offer some general assurances that you are looking into the matter. All is OK.
--Tactic 7. State that you are being attacked, being treated unfairly, and that people don’t understand. Be sure to remind folks that life/leadership is hard and full of tough choices and ambiguities.
--Tactic 8. Mention other peoples’ (alleged) problems, question their motives and credibility—especially if they are noisome question-askers or whistleblowers.
--Tactic 9. Prop up pathology and the “old boys’ club” on behalf of the “greater good.” Hold out until the dust settles and the uncomfortable stuff goes away. If necessary sack staff but don’t change thsystem.
--Tactic 10. So in short, don’t really do anything with real integrity and accountability. Rather, maintain your self-interests, lifestyle, affiliations, and allusions of moral congruity, even if it means recalibrating your conscience. Cognitive dissonance applies to others but not to you."
Defining Integrity and Corruption
How Much Do You Have--of Either?
Do not participate in the useless deeds of darkness,
but instead even expose them.
Ephesians 5:11

Integrity is moral wholeness—living consistently in moral wholeness—with honesty, humility, and all the virtues--and with an awareness of one’s potential to deceive and harm oneself and others. Integrity needs external moral referents--standards of virtue with accountability--and not simply positive self-appraisals--in order to safeguard us all from both blind and willful hypocrisy. Global integrity is living consistently in moral wholeness at all levels--individual, interpersonal, institutional, and international; across sectors and settings; local through global; the systemic and structural.
Corruption is moral rottenness, the opposite of integrity--the distortion, perversion, and deterioration of moral goodness, resulting in the abuse and exploitation of people and the planet. It is integroty. 'If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, then how great is your darkness!" (Matthew 6:23)
"Follow Me, My Beloved"
"Do not fear. Shine your light."
and where I am, my servant also will be.
My Father will honor the one who serves me.
John 12:26
:

Transcript HERE
"Our theme in this podcast focuses on following Jesus as children of light who courageously shine our light in the world. This is a special podcast that is permeated with prayer. We are praying for courage, purity, and power, to go into dark areas, venturing through the doors that God opens for us, doing good, confronting evil, for His glory. We are praying for specific people and organizations who we believe can join together in solidarity to assist in disclosing about the NCI fraud and to right the wrongful dismissals...
You can access all 14 podcasts/transcripts and more resources on the Into Integrity weblog.
--The Light We Will Not See: Being Blind to Being Blind (February 2019)
--Good Fraud-Day: Rationalizing Our Responsibility to Confront and Protect (April 2016)
--Betraying Well: Silence, Passivity, and Neutrality (April 2013)
--Confronting Corruption: Insipid Salt and Illusory Light (December 2011
See also the PETRA People website (Peace, Transparency, and Accountability--PETRA). Since 2011, this site has provided information and resources on integrity and corruption with a focus on the international fraud, Nordic Capital Investments KB (NCI).
We also recommend listening to any of the 14 Into Integrity podcasts that have done to advocate for truth, repentance, and healing in the past and ongoing NCI KB et al. corruption and related dismissals. You can listen to the podcasts HERE and you can read the blogposts HERE.
“Your task is to be true, not popular.
Luke 6:26,45, The Message
Going further--how can you help?
The informed, resolute responses to NCI by those in the church-mission community (CMC) can help bring healing to many people and the reputation of the CMC. The NCI fraud, like all corruption, will not simply go away on its own, over time, by ignoring it, or by keeping silent. Remember, the only thing necessary for corruption to flourish is to do nothing about it--or to do some non-resolute "thing" and move on, feeling self-justified, with our consciences placated and our livelihoods protected. What can you do?
1. Get accurately informed. Read the materials, court documents, and exchanges with specific CMC leaders calling for disclosures and good practice. Take the time to carefully review the Summary and Summons below.
2. Join with others and hold your organizations and leaders accountable to good practice standards (see the list of organizations and leaders in the Summary and Summons below).
3. Read, sign, and share the Integrity Petition. There is an ongoing call for signatures. See below and in Part Two.
4. Beware of the deceptive tendency to rationalize wrong behaviors and to distort our true and mixed motives. Hypocrisy. The heart is more deceitful above all else, and desperately sick; who can understand it (Jeremiah 17:9). Living in integrity and staying morally engaged involve scrupulously considering how we might be hurting people and the planet--unintentionally or even intentionally--and changing our ways.
--Some mixed and hidden motives: "I don't want to take risks. I/we might have my reputation and revenue negatively impacted. This would inconvenience me." And many more.
PART TWO
Summary and Summons
to understand what happened and what needs to be done.
but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
Proverbs 28:13
.
calling for integrity and action to confront corruption
in the church-mission community and in the international NCI et al. fraud.
Read, sign, and share this petition.
In light of the Swedish court documents, we are publicly calling for the following organizations to provide assistance by reviewing and disclosing how NCI has affected them. We are also asking them to review how they have responded to the NCI matter thus far. Authorizing independent and internal reviews is strongly encouraged. It is not helpful to simply try to “move on” and leaders and members are urged now to hold their organizations accountable. There is much to learn and many ways to help. We urge organizations affected by NCI to emulate the organizations in the “United Response” to the New Era Scandal: be transparent, accountable and cooperate to return money.
Individuals and organisations committed to integrity
should welcome the opportunity to help via open investigations and verifiable disclosures.
1. Mercy Ministry Associations (MM). MM International, with related associations in France, Holland, and Switzerland (set up in 1994, 1995) are related directly to Le Rucher in France. They received hundreds of thousands of NCI-related euros/dollars over nearly 10 years. Where is this money? How will past and current board members and staff help? Docs: Money Flows Confirmed by EBM * Examples of NCI Money Flows * Suggestions (see point six in this link)
2. New Generation Foundation (NGF, GF). A foundation/account was set up in 1997 at a Liechtenstein bank by a major YWAM and Le Rucher leader. Over time it received hundreds of thousands of NCI euros/dollars. Where is this money? Doc: Examples of NCI Money Flows
3. Youth With A Mission International (YWAM). NCI is an affinity-based fraud and YWAM is the main organization affected. It is seriously affected. In July 1995 Mr. Westergard presented NCI at YWAM Le Rucher during an international YWAM conference. Major YWAM leaders invested since at least 1996 and YWAM projects received NCI-related money. Senior leaders have consistently stated that senior/international leaders were not aware of NCI and that one of the major YWAM leaders actively involved in NCI (administering contracts, receiving NCI funds, etc) and YWAM Le Rucher in France were not properly part of YWAM. Hence, it is argued, YWAM has no responsibility. These assertions are hard to understand in view of the court and other documents. YWAM leaders (e.g., IFMLT, GLF, MMI), YWAM members, and YWAM donors internationally are urged to get informed and together call for an internal and an independent review of how YWAM has been affected and how it has responded, and to persevere until such reviews are done. Will they do this? Docs: Request to YWAM Leaders for Assistance 5 June 2011, with links to investors, projects, previous requests; see also this partial list of YWAM-related investors, based on EBM documents.
4. Mercy Ships International (based in Texas USA and including Mercy Ships in the UK, Switzerland, and France). An Austrian court document from 2001 and other Swedish documents indicate that Mercy Ships (part of YWAM until 2003) was to benefit from NCI funds related to a three million US dollar transaction that was frozen by the Austrian government in November 2001. How does this transaction and other NCI-related money flows relate to this respected organization and especially the refitting of the African Mercy hospital ship, including a $10 million USD matching grant (matched between 2002-2004)? Docs: See the “NCI Documents” section on the PETRA People web site, and then open up the “Austria case” folder in the attachments.
5. Youth For Christ (YFC) in Coppet, Switzerland. The name “YFC” and its physical address in Switzerland were used for a substantial amount of NCI-related correspondence (by a person actively involved in NCI but not part of YFC). Why? YFC is a respected organization yet it has not fully investigated and verifiably disclosed what their relationship was with NCI and any possible benefits. Will they do this? Docs: Two Swiss addresses used for correspondence (Note that there was overlap between Board members of YFC Coppet Switzerland, Board members of Mercy Ministries related to Le Rucher, and the Elders Board of Crossroads Church in Ferney-Voltaire, France by Geneva).
[YFC update June 2019: There have been exchanges with one leader in YFC over the past few months about the concerns above and the concerns shared in the paper trail August 2014-current. Although not willing to request an independent review, this leader nonetheless pulled together previous YFC responses and his current responses to the concerns. We see it as a helpful step in the right direction. We also believe it would be helpful for YFC to summarize and publicly share these responses in one document. Other organizations would do well to follow the example of YFC.]
6. Churches in Holland and France. One example of a church that can really help is Crossroads church in Ferney-Voltaire, France. Members of and people attending Crossroads church were aware of NCI and many of them have invested over the years. The former pastor for example helped by sharing how he was approached to invest in 1995. Will this church do a review, inform their past and current members/attendees about NCI, and seek information from them to help? Several church leaders in the Geneva/Lausanne area were updated in 2010, 2011. Docs: Letters to church leaders
--Youth With A Mission: Loren Cunningham, Darlene Cunningham, Lynn Green, Jim Stier, Tom Hallas, Iain Muir, and YWAM leaders/staff around the world. “We would be grateful if you (YWAM leaders/staff around the world) would carefully review the petition and Statement with links to core documents.” Click here to view the list of international offices from the organization’s website, many which link to specific leaders.
--Mercy Ships: Donovan and Mae Palmer. “We would be grateful if you could please review the petition and its links to core documents and share it with members of the international Mercy Ships Executive Committee and others Board members (e.g., Don Stephens as President, Myron Ullman as Chair, Rosa Whitaker, Francoise Andre, Ian McColl, and Peter Schulze as Vice-Chairs, etc.). Click here to view the list of International Board Members and the Executive Committee from the organization’s website.
(PP Net Update Aug-Sept 2012, excerpts-introduction)
(a link to excerpts and quotes for good practice, to support YWAM leaders) What can all those associated with YWAM do? Here are four suggestions to keep in mind as you review and respond to these materials:
We recommend reviewing the Summary and Summons--The essential review of NCI et al to understand what happened (including documentary evidence) and what needs to be done (Part 2 in the PETRA People weblogs over the past several years). See also the PETRA People website (Peace, Transparency, and Accountability--PETRA). Since 2011, this site has provided information and resources on integrity and corruption with a focus on the international fraud, Nordic Capital Investments KB (NCI).
We also recommend listening to any of the 14 Into Integrity podcasts that have done to advocate for truth, repentance, and healing in the past and ongoing NCI KB et al. corruption and related dismissals. You can listen to the podcasts HERE and you can read the blogposts HERE.
PETRA People Network




