Thursday, December 27, 2012

Is David Hulme's Personality Cult Imploding?




Poor David Hulme has never been of any success since he walked out on the Worldwide Church of God in the mid to late 1990's.  Prior to that he had a large home on the college campus, drove a Jaguar, wore expensive suits and reveled in the high life.  His self importance was bigger than he was as a person.  For a while he was the public face of the WCG's new doctrinal changes and was an advocate of the trinity.  He was placed over the Auditorium Concert series which made his ego even larger.  One publicity stunt after another was done in the Auditorium in order to make him and the Church look legitimate in the worlds eyes.

Hulme went from living the high life with an office facing the mountains, to getting kicked out of United Church of God, to a small craftsman style house on South Marengo as his mini-cult HQ.  Like other COG's he started producing a slick magazine to appeal to the world.  Also, like other COG's, it was a magazine embarrassed to talk about Jesus Christ.  Long articles were written ending with a couple of paragraphs about some god that was supposedly really, really pissed at humanity.

Not long after his wife died he married a woman who was close to the same age as his daughter.  Tongues started wagging and some people left.  Because of the lack of younger members in the little group some members started dating outside the church.  Hulme did not like that and threw down a lot of edicts that isolated members even further from society.

Now word is spreading that the Hulmerous Church of God is losing members.  Silenced is reporting: Hulme's Cult Imploding?

We’ve received word recently, from some pretty reliable sources/ex-members of David Hulme’s Church of God, an International Community (COGIC), that the cult deemed the fifth largest COG group is quickly imploding. Word is that Hulme has taken a Flurry-esque turn and there’s been a sharp uptick in the number of excommunications and people heading for the exits.

What we’re interested in is to what extent that’s true, and what the current condition of Hulme’s cult is? We know it’s always been obscure, even for a COG group, and that it’s never flexed the same kind of media muscle as even RCG has. They have been very locked down since Hulme was fired from UCG’s presidency in 1998. What’s happened to it since then is rather sketchy, and we would love to know more. Breaching the information control of these little cults can be pretty difficult though.

If you have any information to share about the Hulmerous Church of God let Silenced know: Contact Us

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

and reviled in the high life

Revelled?

Oh, well, reveled, reviled -- it works either way.

Not mentioned was the reason he was kicked out of UCG: He had them spend $12 million or more on a special telecast production based in Jerusalem. It bankrupted United and they were within a month of going out of business after just barely taking off.

Because you can preach the trinity and then change to a bipolar -- oops! -- binomial... er... binary god, do strange things, but what you cannot do is threaten the flow of the spice... er... the money.

Anonymous said...

and reviled in the high life

Revelled?

Oh, well, reveled, reviled -- it works either way....

Well, David Hulme, and many high up in the ministry were handsomely paid..........by the tithes send in from the sheep.

Supposedly, United was to represent God's Church, a tax-exempt organization.......and non-profit, too! Why did David and others like him pay themselves so much? As exempt tithe-payers themselves, they robbed God; did they not?

The spin-off fruits of United and cogwa, etc., are now available for all to more openly see in the open.

By their fruits you know them...just a lot of SELF! They don't believe that one cannot serve both God and mammon. They still think they can "take their cake and eat it too," but I think God has something in store for them eventually over time:

"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock..." Ezekiel 34:10

If God says "You're fired," then what will they then do?

How will hire them?

John

Anonymous said...

Methinks that as these things have come to pass, Reverend Hulme should have observed the Armstrongist proscription against pork and not tried to live so high on the hog.

Assistant Deacon said...

It helps to have a compelling message. HWA could not connect in today's world. His style was perfect for the revival-tent, radio preacher era. People heard him and were stirred. It wasn't until they got into the nitty-gritty of membership in the church that the true nature of his theology became evident.

The lieutenants trying to continue with that message are finding that the holes in the theology inhibit it from really persuading and holding people. The various groups are dwindling down to nothing.

It was inevitable, really.

Anonymous said...

David Hulme has been naughty, so I think he'll be getting a visit from Krampus instead of Santa.

Norm

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoyLM4SnXjs&feature=youtu.be

Anonymous said...

Anonymous simply wrote:

"...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoyLM4SnXjs&feature=youtu.be..."

Ok, now what? The message is one of milk and not strong meat...spiritually-speaking. So, what's next?

Besides it's the same milk message HWA preached, so why is David Hulme after all of these years preaching the same milk message? Where's the beef?

It appears that David Hulme, like so many others, is striving to do a dead man's work. Why not move on to something else...like strong meat?

What if God completed in HWA what He wanted him to complete? If true, then why strive to duplicate it?

Maybe, as Solomon said: there is nothing new under the sun.

What if God completed in Joe Tkach Senior what He wanted him to complete? If true, then why strive to duplicate that? But David Hulme jumped ship, took his ball and bat with him, along with many others to form United Association....to go do his own thing.

Again, what is the purpose of the video? To show that HWA got something right? To show that David Hulme can do no better...whatever that may mean.

Despite all of that I enjoyed the video b/c at least it shows God's hand someplace in this creation as a reminder of His works, which He knows:

"Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world." Acts 15:18

So, I guess my final question is...does David Hulme's "works" fit somewhere in those works of God mentioned in Acts 15? Or, is David just doing "his own thing"....and still getting well paid for it?

John

Allen C. Dexter said...

Who the hell is David Hulme? He must have come into prominence after I departed.

Anyway, he seems another guy intent on reinventing something that is now very outdated and not cognizant that the world has changed dramatically sine the nineteen 40s, 50s and 60s. Those were the glory days of Armstongism. It's not going to happen again.

Allen C. Dexter said...

Just this much more. Notice what happens to the Westboro Baptist Church, an Armstrong-like batch of kooks. They open their stupid mouths and it all over the internet and TV in minutes. They catch a few other extremist kooks, but in the main, they're shot out of the water before they can get started.

Not so in the days of old Herb. He was free to propagandize with abandon and few took any real notice. He'd be under a super-microscope today.

Byker Bob said...

This is interesting to analyze, and has its own complexities. First, I'd normally applaud an ACOG minister who took the cuts, surrendered his wealth, and adapted a lifestyle which more closely resembled that of his parishioners. But, the motivation in so doing is also important. If he did it because he was leaving the Armstrong franchise package, and because his conscience told him not to exploit believers to his own advantage, then who wouldn't admire him.

I think I'd tend to admire him more had he stuck to the doctrinal corrections, rather than had he done as he did in returning to the bogus "truths" that HWA had supposedly rediscovered and built his empire upon.

And, now, it almost seems as if Hulme buys into the Rush Limbaugh approach that conservatives will win more converts by being more purely conservative, thus offering a "real" choice.

Alas, the only redeeming factor to knowing some of these really tragic detours from sanity comes about as I realize that "it's only Armstrongism". This is yet another guy who is caught up in the death spiral of our favorite toxic cult, and probably doesn't even realize it.

BB

Anonymous said...

Look at it this way: if you at one time held a highly respected position in the old WCG, and now had several thousand people clamoring to send you 10% of their income to fund the building of a private little kingdom that gives them their fix of COG religion that allows you a nice little secure position and income, what would you do?

Hulme's group puts out Vision magazine four times a year, makes a modest video every several years or so, and gives supporters a weekly message via church services.

It is shrinking in numbers and impact year after year, but I guarantee you there's a small core within it that lives in the delusional fantasy that Hulme is powerfully preaching the Kingdom of God around the world with great impact. I know there was at least one local elder who refers to him as an "Apostle" when he offers public prayers.

Meanwhile, in actual fact, Hulme's miniscule organization is growing more and more insular and weird.

So what else is new?

Anonymous said...

I remember David Hulme. He was in my class at AC Bricket Wood. From my memory of those days, graduating class of 1972, David Hulme did not seem to be picked out for greatness by AC standards. He was quiet and didn't really stand out, except he was good looking.....
I was shocked to here he had gained some power way after I left. I think the competition had just being wittled down by then. Poor David, but as noted he did get to enjoy luxury and power for quite a while.

Anonymous said...


"Is David Hulme's Personality Cult Imploding?"


Personality? What personality?

Anonymous said...

All the ACOGs are imploding. Hulme should be glad he doesn't have LCGs problems. LCG is loosing members over doctrinal shifts, and over the lies being told about the doctrinal shifts. Not only is Rod Meredith being caught out in more and more lies, his children continue to damage the father's reputation. Reports from LCGs Charlotte Winter Weekend say Rod's son Jim displayed such arrogance at the event that a number of loyal LCG members were deeply offended and are reconsidering their support. LCG employees at the event told friends their stories of low morale, ministerial intimidation, and deceit. Rod and Jim are said to have threatened to fire any LCG employees who dare to tell the truth about LCG ministerial lying, and one key LCG employee has recently quit, probably as a direct result. Other's may quit soon, from what I hear. Hulme may be an egotist, but he is Mother Theresa when compared to Rod Meredith and his family.

All this, and Bob Thiel too!

Anonymous said...

Funny thing is that most of the LCG employees are related to Meredith . I've been hearing the same things about LCG HQ. Hope more will be revealed.

Anonymous said...

Interesting reading on cogwriter.com. Also read news affiliated with Global Church of God. LCG and Thiel are exploding

Anonymous said...



Bob Thiel has now started the Continuing Church of God (CCOG), which is already accepting donations. Perhaps the large number of visits to his Blog have got him thinking that this will translate into members and income for his new church.

Bob Thiel now claims to have had doubts about Rod Meredith's Living Church of God over the past year or so.

Luckily, I had my doubts about Roderick Meredith's LCG from the very start, and about Bob Thiel too.

Actually, it is not so much a matter of having doubts as it is a matter of being pretty sure that these guys both have serious problems.



Anonymous said...

"Bob Thiel has now started the Continuing Church of God (CCOG), which is already accepting donations."

...and the virus mutates once again

M.T.Hall

Anonymous said...

I've been reading and watching LCG for the past 6 mouths and what is happening now does not surprise me. Reading details of Meredith when he left Global, his behavior in Worldwide and his actions in LCG proves to me that his character is one of meanest and deceit. Meredith and his crew have fueled Thiel's belief that he is a prophet. Thiel finally admitted that it was Meredith who asked him to start cogwriter, something that was been denied by both sides for the last 10 years. Lies! They all lie!

Debra

Anonymous said...

Let's see now, that's (if I have this right) CCoGOaSaCS -- the new Booby church. A new Apostle. Like we don't have enough already. Although, in this case, "one sent forth" means that Roderick Meredith kicked him out (and, oh, sure, he left on his own).

As for the title of this blog entry, wouldn't it be better to shorten it:

"Is David Hulme's Personality Imploding?"?

Despice Mercator said...

Au contraire Monsieur Becker! Thiel est un prophète, qui est supérieur à un apôtre et évangéliste.

Anonymous said...

You should have added: "Pardon my French!".

I'm thinking that if Baron Karl zu Guttenberg isn't busy, he could run the office for the ccg.

Um. Er.

Maybe that's not a good name to shorten it to. I know the Canadian Coast Guard was disappointed they couldn't get ccg.org (true story).

Hey, and there's no conflict here: You can be a prophet and an End Time Apostle.

Heck, my cat is The Supreme General of The Supreme Cult.

The only possible conflict Dr. Bob could have is a conflict of interest.

Now we know that "2012: The Rise of the Secret Sect" had a whole lot more meaning than we could have imagined!

So it's nice he can keep secrets, especially if he planned this since last July when he decided to kick it with the LCG and Roderick Meredith.

Hey!

Are we trading one false prophet for another?

Just what we need: The Next Generation.

Byker Bob said...

In terms of human behavioral patterns, we only need to examine the stardom phenomenon. Life long secrets regarding some of the movie stars and rock stars, once revealed, had little or no influence on public opinion regarding those stars.

In COGdom, they treat their "apostles" and "evangelists" in much the same manner. I've often said that if police had documented evidence that they had found HWA in some seedy public park's men's room exchanging hellacious fellatio with a member of the GLBT community, to most of the membership it wouldn't have mattered one iota. Income might have dipped only temporarily, but once the spin machine got up and running, probably donations would have actually risen.

This is a phenomenon of human nature. It gets widely tested, but we here are probably most familiar with the test results within the ACOG community. Unless these guys simply turn their backs and walk away, in most cases they are guaranteed a following and some income for life.

BB

Byker Bob said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

For the most part I agree with Byker Bob's brief above analysis.

For some reason, probably involving a complex list of subconscious emotional needs and yearnings, most people seem drawn to look to gurus of various kinds to lead to "the truth" and tell them what to do. One observes this in both ancient and modern times, in the secular world (Stalin, Hitler, movie stars, sports celebrities, etc.) and especially in the bizarre world of religion, with all it's unprovable supernaturalistic claims.

I'm not a Freudian, but I suspect that if we could fully understand this underlying swirl of inner needs and drives occurring deep within the human spirit that trigger off this phenomenon, it would probably terrify us out of our wits!

In any event, it undeniably DOES happen, and for the foreseeable future we humans are stuck with it. And so if ALL the hundreds of COG groups would suddenly collapse into nonexistence within the next year, be assured that other equally loony groups and leaders would arise and take their place in order to supply this unending market niche so common in humanity.

Anonymous said...

Fundamentalist religion is a crazy universe built upon fear, ignorance, superstition and continual circular reasoning.

Clear thinking and simple honesty can bring about it's end, but what can be done when the deluded are willingly ADDICTED to the delusion?

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It is simply too painful to acknowledge — even to ourselves — that we've been so credulous.” Carl Sagan

Anonymous said...

I'm disappointed that Bob Thiel didn't settle on a more appropriate church name, such as "The Fucked-Up Twilight Zone Church of God"

Norm

Assistant Deacon said...

"Me."

That's what it comes down to. With Bob, Rod, Dave, Dave, Gerald, James, Ron, Ewwww, and all the others.

"Me."

They obsess over who they are. They try to fit a book that has nothing to do with them into their private scenarios for their lives.

Reading Bob's treatise on how he might be "the one" and a prophet is tragic. It's stupid. He's descended so far into his myopia that he can no longer see the forest for the trees, like all the rest.

Their proof-textbook says that God is not the author of confusion. What Bob and all the others have produced is mass chaos and confusion, which, in reality, started with their master HWA's arbitrarily and arrogantly flip-flopping throughout his life.

Wow. It's shocking that people would still buy into anything like what Bob has most recently written on his website. Grand delusion, that's what it is.

Byker Bob said...

Nah, Norm. He'd have to clean the name up, or his potential followers would think he was demon possessed.

You have to wonder if he will advocate for naturopathy as one of the disciplines which should be accorded to the temple of the HS, though.

BB

paul e lutes 111 said...

raised in the church from 1960-1972.i'll escape the madness perhaps when i die. family members are still stuck on stupid. I HATE them all. that is to say anyone still involved.cog has destroyed many lives, families, friends.all will notice that i am not afraid to say my name.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...

I'm disappointed that Bob Thiel didn't settle on a more appropriate church name, such as "The Fucked-Up Twilight Zone Church of God"

Norm
December 29, 2012 at 11:37 PM

HA!...DOWN SATAN, DOWN BOY!