Wednesday, October 26, 2011

GCI says "in spite of.......it worked."



Grace Communion (WCG) is patting it's self on the back on how they operated in the past and for their new "collegial" approach they now use.

I am surprised at how easily the past abuses can be glossed over by this defense, "in spite of the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants aspect of our approach – it worked."

Neil Earle has this to say: Pyramids and Webs

Fruit Bearing Activities

Even in our old days as Radio Church of God and then Worldwide Church of God (1968-2009) we knew we had to be active in God’s service, to bear fruit. This led us to do some things no-one else had quite done in the same way. In fact, we got a reputation for chaos and indecision both inside and outside our church that was due in large measure to our pioneering efforts – that we were pushing the envelope in many diverse areas.

In the 1960 we were among the first big mailing operations to get into computers. We set it up so well that IBM sometimes used us as a paradigm for some of their customers. Really.

In the 1970s we published seven foreign language editions of the same magazine full color every month on five continents. Even Reader’s Digest could not do that. This won us many articles of praise in publishing and trade journals.

In the 1980s, faced with sky-high responses to our media work, we invented such things as a Wide Area Telephone System or WATS Line. This device, staffed by attendants and even when not, handled thousands of telephone calls for lit on a twenty-four hour basis. Yep, there we were. Pioneering. Innovating. Learning and relearning and making inevitable mistakes on the way.

In the 1990s in a converted gun shop on a sloping hill in Pasadena the Arbitron people (TV survey experts) handed us the title as the most listened to religious TV program in North America. And we used only a half-hour of power not the full hour of our closest emulator.

We were off-base in many of our teachings and approaches, of course, but the call to fruit-bearing effectiveness was there. Even some of our staunchest critics conceded that. We had the old pyramid style of operating which (to oversimplify) was a simple pyramid with HQ at the top telling everyone below in the organization what to do. This worked, however. Yes, it led to lots of abuses and our hard-working employees were not given the kind of pensions and retirement security most normal workers received but – in spite of the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants aspect of our approach – it worked.

The Modified Pyramid

Today we operate under a “new pyramid,” to coin a phrase. And if you envisage the top of the pyramid remaining as HQ you could put the Pastor in the left corner and the Congregation in the other corner. Today we have a “modified Episcopal” structure or more collegial approach in place. This means there is a church hierarchy of course but the pastor and local congregations have much more input into the running of the local churches. Power flows up and down along both sides of this softer gentle pyramid. The way we appoint new pastors illustrates that. In the past, HQ said we’re sending you Pastor Soandso and that was pretty much it.

Today, if a pastor wants to retire our Church Administration Department (CAD) lists an opening in Sasquatch, Saskatchewan and licensed GCI pastors may apply for that post. Then the new applicant visits the area, speaks and interacts with the congregation and the church members get to vote Yea or Nay. Wow.

This is a striking departure from the past but seems to echo Acts 6 and the choosing of the first deacons much more closely than our previous approach. The casting of lots for Matthias in Acts 2 was also much more “democratic-seeming” than hierarchical.

And so it goes.

10 comments:

Byker Bob said...

Apparently one thing has never changed: These folks love to spin and sugar-coat.

Pushing the envelope is one thing.
Avante garde artists do that, sometimes by distorting the obvious and making the rest abstract. The difference is that artists do not enforce, or tell others that their way is the only way, under the most severe penalties known to man.

I remain convinced that WCG should have spent perhaps 1 year debunking the false doctrines which were based on Herbert W. Armstrong's unorthodox opinions and crackpot theories, replacing them with effective teaching of true doctrine, and then disbanding and selling off or distributing the assets amongst past tithe payers in such a manner that no one person or group had the ready financial ability to start a new church or splinter.

It amazes me that there are numbers out there who believe that if they could just find the right leadership and the correct doctrinal configuration, a particular splinter would begin to grow and once again have influence. The problem is that since such growth is a blessing from God through the Holy Spirit, designed by God to attract people to where He is doing His work, it will never happen to any group which continues to present a lying witness using HWA's extrabiblical theories such as BI, human church government from the top down, Simon Magus, Petra, and the deceptively titled True History of the True Church.

My words of encouragement to all past, present, and future members of the Armstrong movement would be that they would seek to build a personal relationship with God, and then watch what unfolds in their lives.

BB

DennisCDiehl said...

The following was not written by the real Dennis Diehl. It is being written by me, his PAINBODY. He pretends not to have me sleeping quietly until the right button gets pushed, but I'm here and he let me out to write this...

Please humor me while I remind Joe Tkach and Ron Kelly what "don't worry about retirement. We will take care of you.."

Earle says..."Today, if a pastor wants to retire our Church Administration Department...(no longer will screw you over as in the past where we were less than pioneers in honoring the hard work and sacrifices of good people. We no longer have you sign away social security because as a church we can save even more money on ministers costs. We no longer will lead you along the path and tell you every year, not to worry about your latter years. We no longer, as The Reconciliation Dept used to say, "be warmed and be filled and we will pray for you..good luck.")

Ok the (....) segment was mine.

Sorry, touchy topic and one of many reasons I wish I had never heard of the Armstrong, Ambassador College or CGI formerly known as Prince.

Ron Kelly told me they would like to give retirement, but "Jesus worked a miracle in the church and we lost a lot of income." He failed to answer me when I asked how much money they made selling the entire campus in one of Southern California's most amazing locations.

Perhaps someday I'll have NO2HWA publish the papers I had to sign to get the severance for groceries and rent for six months. It reads like I'm a criminal and they are covering every opening that might allow me to sue them.

Ok, still painbody here..not the real Dennis...

I loved it when the lawyer I took it to to have a look came back and said. "This is a Church? Really? You're F----d." I said Praise Jebus I knew that...

Ok, Dennis has to go to class so I'll turn it back over to him and go back into hiding....for now. He's never gonna get rid of me..hehe.

Hi troops, Dennis here...gotta head back to class to teach Massage law and ethics. All the text above this paragraph has been blocked out and I don't know what I said? Oh well, Sometimes that happens when PAINBODIES get ahold of a keyboard and start farting around with thoughts and such. But I don't have one so that can't be it.

Peace, Love and Namaste... :)

Anonymous said...

I guess when a lawyer says you're f'ked, it pretty much confirms you have no hope. As far as "miracles" go, it always depends on which side of the fence you are on when it happens. I wonder if Ron Kelly would still be a member had he lost his job. I have a feeling he would be a member of United, or whatever splinter would give him a job.

D said...

Ron Kelly was not about to leave and join one of the splinter cults. He stuck around until he got his full retirement which was over 60% of his last years salary. Not a bad income for the rest of your life when you were make close to 100,000.00 already.

Anonymous said...

So you are heading off to teach ethics to your students. Perhaps you could teach GCI and the rest of the churches of god ethics since NONE of them have any!

I never understood why people who claim to be God's true church could be so ethically and morally bankrupt.

DennisCDiehl said...

I had thought of the "teaching law and ethics things" but I resisted.

I do know personally that RK did stay with the church and would change to whatever to get the retirement. He practically told me this in so many or few words and actions.

It is what it is but it will get difficult in time I suspect.

Anonymous said...

A minister said from the pulpit during the Feast that farmers in the church who tried to keep the land Sabbath went bankrupt and many lost their farms.

Apparently, this little slice of Old Testament Christianity simply does not work. Anyone who tries it will find that God will not give a double income blessing in the sixth year and you will either borrow or starve in the seventh year if you follow the seventh year land Sabbath as a farmer.

If the land Sabbath isn't honored by God to give a blessing, what about all the other rules, laws and practices, if Christians attempt to keep them when they belong to a covenant they do not have and cannot make as the Israelites did?

It never worked. Just like 1975 in prophecy. It never worked and never will. And if you want to try it for yourself, well, let's hope you have a lot of money lying around.

Anonymous said...

The Windows of Heaven don't exactly work as advertised nor does olive oil and prayer for disease.

Lake of Fire Church of God said...

D said, "Ron Kelly was not about to leave and join one of the splinter cults. He stuck around until he got his full retirement which was over 60% of his last years salary. Not a bad income for the rest of your life when you were make close to 100,000.00 already."

MY COMMENT - That is an outrageous retirement income for someone who never did anything productive in life and never contributed anything to society. What a scam the WCG is and was.

Richard

Anonymous said...

Maybe the hinges on the windows of heaven are rusty and you can use the olive oil to get them unstuck.