Preacher Guilty of Road Rage

I know nothing about this preacher other than what's in the article. I'd like to say I'm surprised the man is a pastor but, sadly, I can't. I'd also like to be surprised that people attend his church, but having seen it for myself with another man and another church, I can't say that either. What does surprise me is the number of warning signs of narcissism that such a small article contains.

Thomas Howell, founder and preacher

By itself, this doesn't seem all that narcissistic. Many sincere people found and serve in organizations who aren't narcissistic. But this man's position does mean he created a place for himself where people would follow him, see him as an authority figure, listen to his sermons as being messages from God and, in general, hold him in high esteem.

[The other person involved in the incident] testified the preacher pulled up alongside her car, pointed a gun at her, called her a name and asked if she knew who she was messing with before threatening to shoot.

Apparently Mr. Howell believes his position, the one he created for himself, is such that he should be treated differently. Then, there's the matter of calling her a name. The article doesn't report if it was an expletive, but it seems logical that the name wasn't something polite like "ma'am" or "miss" or even "hey lady". Mr. Howell is again claiming a position of superiority over this woman. Lastly, there's the threat. Mr. Howell seems to believe that he has the right, the position, to determine this woman's punishment and to carry it out. Is this beginning to sound like a so-called God Complex to anyone else?

Next "[t]he cars chased each other through parts of Clifton, Avondale and Walnut Hills." During this time, the other person involved in the incident reported that Mr. Howell pointed the gun at her several times. I'm not familiar with the area, but it appears Mr. Howell had some time to think over the situation, reconsider his actions. Following the car chase, he repeated his initial threat:

He said, 'You don't now who I am,' called me another (name) and said ... 'I'll shoot you.' "

This belief that he is extra special is obviously strongly held since he repeats it. The chase ends when Mr. Howell parks his car near his church and the other party runs to a nearby store to call 911.

When police arrived, Howell told them he had a gun - it was in a holster strapped to his hip - and he had a permit to carry it.

Following the typical narcissistic pattern, when confronted with a misdeed, change the subject.

Howell denied to police and at Monday's trial that he ever pointed his gun at her. In fact, he said he never removed it from his holster that day.

Then, when he can't successfully change the subject, lie. But more on that below when the case goes to trial.

Then how, the judge wondered, did [the other person involved in the incident] know that Howell - a man she'd never met before - had a gun.

Oops. Big logical fallacy here. But, you see, when one is in a position of ultimate power as the founder and head of an organization, one's words usually aren't questioned so making sure one's lies are plausible doesn't matter.

I may know nothing about Mr. Howell other than what I've read in this article, but I do know that his deacons/elders should remove him from his position. This assumes that the deacons/elders actually have any power to do so, and I suspect they don't.

The other thing I know about Mr. Howell is that he needs lots of prayer. For a man who leads First Commandment Church of the Living God, it appears he has problems not only with the first commandment, but also at least the sixth, ninth, and tenth.