Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Rod Meredith Says To Be Wary of Non-Ordained Self-Appointed Wannabe's Who Have No Experience





The Living Church of God has an article up accompanying a photo of the current Council of Elders.  It also contains a letter from the Presiding Evangelist (i.e. ordained) Roderick C Meredith.  In the article he talks about the on the current Council of Elders and the qualities they bring to it.

 
Here are a few highlights.


Rod Meredith talks about the current men on the council and how they all get along so fabulously unlike the grumbling cry babies that jumped ship to Dave Packs cult or started their own splinter group.

The atmosphere of the Council is, consistently, extremely warm, loving and dedicated. Council members have commented that they can virtually “feel” the love and warmth among the members of the Council, and their dedication to the Work of God.
I can just feel the sunshine and lollipops right now!  I am so warm and fuzzy that I need some pink cotton candy right now!


No other Church of God on earth, including that non-ordained self appointed prophet, has as many dedicated and loyal men who trained at the feet of Herbert Armstrong than LCG has. Even the church raiding apostle in Wadsworth doesn't have as many loyal men in it.  Meredith also wants the membership to know that he has no "yes men" on the Council.  Not a single man on the Council ever expresses a dissenting voice in any decisions. They are united as one, unlike the non-ordained self-appointed upstart, who brought dissension and division into the Body of Christ.
The main purpose of the Council of Elders is to advise the Presiding Evangelist on doctrines, practices and important programs of the Church and Work of God. We have much hearty discussion on all of these issues. And we certainly do not encourage “yes men” in any way. Although we do have open and frank discussions, the underlying dedication and obvious guidance of God’s Spirit gives us an unusual unity of mind—for which we are very thankful. We want to fulfill the inspired comments of the Apostle Paul about God’s purpose for the entire ministry: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ” (Ephesians 4:11–15).
Meredith wants the membership to know that the LCG is far better equipped for the ministry of God than Dave Pack or the non-ordained self-appointed prophet's mini group.  LCG's men are men of distinction who trained with or worked with Herbert Armstrong, unlike the non-ordained self-appointed prophet Thiel.  LCG's men have thousands of hours of experience of sitting at the feet of Herbert Armstrong and learning from him while the non-ordained self-appointed prophet never even attended God's College!

Unlike the non-ordained prophet who is interpreting things along his own line of mythology, the LCG is not changing anything that HWA instituted, despite the warnings of the non-ordained self-appointed critic/prophet Thiel.
In the Living Church of God, we are doing all we can to strengthen our brethren, and help them understand “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Frankly, we are far better equipped to do this because most of the older ministers and those who worked directly with Mr. Herbert Armstrong came with us near the beginning of this Work! Men like Messrs. Dibar Apartian, Raymond McNair, Syd Hegvold, Carl McNair, Richard Ames—and others—were older, experienced ministers who worked with Mr. Armstrong or, as in Mr. Ames’ case, were even placed on the World Tomorrow telecast directly by Mr. Armstrong. We have had, collectively, thousands of hours of experience in meetings with Mr. Armstrong and the other leaders in God’s Work over a period of decades. We knew Mr. Armstrong, and we knew what he wanted for the Work. We deeply respect what Christ did through Mr. Armstrong and do not in any way intend to change—and will not change—any of the basic truths Christ revealed through him, such as the Sabbath, Holy Days, etc. Sadly, there are some former Worldwide members and ministers who, in order to advance their own particular agendas, have tried to portray a “different” Mr. Armstrong than the real one. We are grateful to have had a Council that has included a significant number of men who directly knew better than these self-appointed critics!


Then Meredith gets to the meat of his article. It is he, and only he, who is qualified to be leading such a ministry.  Unlike the non-ordained and self-appointed prophet Thiel, he never appointed himself to a higher office.  

No one has more experience in teaching Bible classes as he has.  Something that the non-ordained prophet has never accomplished.  

Meredith wants Thiel and others to know that he is the ONLY ONE in the entire COG that had been a Deputy Chancellor of all three colleges, a second Vice President of the WCG and Ambassador College for many years.  He has written hundreds and hundreds of articles over the years, unlike the non-ordained Thiel.  Because Jesus Christ has used him over  the decades he as the ability to bring stability to the church, instead of running to-and-fro like the non-ordained prophet is doing. 

 

Then best of all, the ORDAINED leader of the LCG wants the non-ordained prophet of the Continuing Ed Church of God  to remember that he is NOT ordainedSince Meredith is ordained he carries on a mantle that the non-ordained prophet cannot carry.  In other words, the non-ordained self-appointed prophet is an impotent little man compared to this mighty, masculine, ordained man.

God’s inspired word tells us: “Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:7–8). Brethren, I have never tried to “appoint myself” as an apostle or to any other high office. But many of you realize that even throughout the extended Church of God fellowships around the world—there is no one who has had the depth of experience I have had as one who has spoken the word of God to you. In spite of my human weaknesses, Christ has used me to teach more Bible classes than any other human being in this age. I am the only one who has been Deputy Chancellor of all three colleges, and was Second Vice President of the Worldwide Church of God and Ambassador College for many years. I have written literally hundreds of articles and conducted hundreds of evangelistic campaigns all over the world. The living Christ has used me as a human instrument to do these things. Although I seldom mention this in such detail, I do want you to realize that Christ is in charge of our lives and has guided me—as He has guided all of us—in this way, so that I can bring this kind of experience of stability to the Church, which I have sincerely tried to do now for more than 20 years of the Global/Living Church of God Work. As most of you know, my entire ministry goes back more than 60 years—as I was ordained an evangelist by Mr. Armstrong on December 20, 1952.

Then in another direct slam against the non-ordained self-appointed prophet Thiel, Meredith says this:

 God’s word also tells us, “Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you” (Hebrews 13:17). Certainly, this inspired warning should give pause to any of those who are tempted to become “self-appointed critics” and constantly look for the “loose brick” as they eagerly seek to find any, any fault they can criticize.  We must not let ourselves become confused or distracted by those who try to position themselves as “superior” to the ones Christ is actually using to do His Work.
There you have it LCG members!  Do not let yourselves be confused by non-ordained self-appointed upstarts who do not have any experience!



19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I still think that Meredith tricked Bob into splitting off because Bob was getting problematic and was popular and something had to be done about him. But why kick out a popular member and upset LCG members in the process? Better to get rid of him in a more subtle way. Just tell him he could be prophet, and that a number of people think he's a prophet. Then when he starts his own church, just deny you said that, and tell people he's a kook and is losing his balance. You get rid of him and discredit him at the same time. Perfect. Dirty, but perfect.

Anonymous said...

I don't think Bob was greatly liked in the LCG. A large number of LCG members were disgusted by him. Sure a few latched on to his words, but by and large, they saw though his craziness.

DennisCDiehl said...

RCM notes:
In spite of my human weaknesses, Christ has used me to teach more Bible classes than any other human being in this age"

I've sat by the hour in those classes which no, after years of actual study, were simply running commentaries while merely reading the Book. You didn't ask questions and RCM never understood anything about the Gospels origins, problems and contradiction. He didn't and doesn't include this in his "teaching" because he knows nothing about them. I know of no COG minister who has actually studied the problems of scripture or at least admitted to it. They are trained Bible readers, not students. IMO and in hind sight

RCM has never been able to understand how anyone could come to a different conclusion from that which he taught them. He really gets puzzled by this and always has.

He said to me once in a letter...

"As you said, I have my own experience with WCG and that has left me skeptical of many things. However, Dennis, for your sake, please back off and try to see the “Big Picture” and realize that God is intervening just as He said—and that—in spite of human nature and human failings—He has always had and does now have faithful servants who will proclaim the Truth and do the Work.

I say all the above not to “recruit” you—for you may choose to go to United Church or elsewhere if God calls you back to the Truth. But I do have concern for the hundreds of people I taught, and hope that God will guide your life to come fully into His will before the end of this age.z'

I appreciate his concerns of course, but he rarely appreciates the concerns of others or questions that go a bit deeper than Gospel reading.

Even the Pope knew when to fold em and let others take over. This concept never occurred to HWA and certainly won't , for the sake of his Church, happen either.

The surpurlative resume is typical RCM reminder.




Anonymous said...

Everything is bullshit. Even the news is bullshit. Bob and Rod and the other COGs get their view of "prophecy being fulfilled" from the news media, yet the news media has been proven to be full of lies. The link below is proof that CNN is PAID propaganda, not news. Yep, here is a CNN reporter stating that several governments have PAID CNN to report the news they way those governments want it reported. Don't ya love the free market? Everything is for sale, the White House, the Congress, the Senate, and even the News Media.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFDC7zmJgQg

If the link changes, google this: Amber Lyon reveals CNN lies and war propaganda

So Bob and Rod, you really don't know jack about what's going on, do you?

Anonymous said...

"I don't think Bob was greatly liked in the LCG."

Well, that might be, I don't know. When I said he was "popular" I meant that he was well known, and therefore could be problematic. If the LCG kicked him out, they would need a good reason, or a good cover story, or it would have raised a lot of concerns.

Head Usher said...

If by "tricked into splitting off" you mean treated badly and disrespectfully, I'm not sure that was a "trick" or not. I don't think any of these mucky-mucks know how to treat someone who isn't signing their paychecks with respect, and that includes Bob. This is the story of Armstrongism, is it not? I don't know if Meredith was necessarily consciously scheming that if he did this and that, then Bob would leave on his own. He might have. It is possible. I'm just saying that it's equally possible that Meredith doesn't know how to behave any better, so everything he did was just normal SNAFU Meredith.

Byker Bob said...

I like the way he uses the "trained under Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong" phrase as if that is the highest recommendation.

Actually, it simply demonstrates the blindness of the entire movement. They follow a man who glommed together every reject doctrine ever entertained, pondered, or considered by the greater Christian movement.

BB

Francis said...

The government PAYS the media to report the news?!?! But I thought this was a democracy?!?
I thought we had a free press?!?

Reminds me of one of the best ever speeches describing American democracy!

Francis said...

Take 2:

The government PAYS the media to report the news?!?! But I thought this was a democracy?!?
I thought we had a free press?!?

Reminds me of one of the best ever speeches describing American democracy!

Unknown said...

"Rod Meredith Says To Be Wary of Non-Ordained Self-Appointed Wannabe's Who Have No Experience"

If Rod had lived in 27 AD...What then would have been Rod Meredith's opinion of JESUS CHRIST? ...

Would he call Jesus a Self Appointed Wannabe, with no experience?... which by the way was the same thing that the Pharisees said about Jesus??

Joe Moeller
Cody, WY

Anonymous said...

Rod Meredith said: "... We want to fulfill the inspired comments of the Apostle Paul about God’s purpose for the entire ministry: “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers..."

Rod was quoting from Ephesians 4:11–15, but when is somebody going to advise Rod that the word "some" in the quote above should actually be the word "the?"

In other words, Rod considers himSELF to be an evangelist, some evangelist; whereas God had already provided us all with "the evangelists," and Rod is not one of "the evangelists" listed there in Ephesians 4.

Rod still appears to desire to "glory in his own flesh" and wants all of us to think of him more highly than he really is.

I'd rather continue to learn from "the evangelists" than "some evangelists, and life continues on...

John

Byker Bob said...

I can't wait to see how the inspired, ordained "real" successors of HWA prophesy the future activities of the new pope.

Imagine if the African cardinal had been chosen! Boy, wouldn't these knuckleheads have a field day linking that somehow with President Obama, and some sort of world conspiracy.

But, what can they really say? That Pope Francis will be radical because he is Jesuit, or comes to the Vatican from South America? Will they attempt to link him with Hugo Chavez? Is he going to be the first pope to embrace Chrislam?

I'm sure they are preparing their articles and sermons as we speak, and they will be designed to be perhaps the most unsettling yet, keeping all of the people who pay all of those extra tithes totally on edge!

BB

RSK said...

Cog highrankers post-HWA have used this argument repeatedly against various splinter groups.

My favorite exchange to date, though, has been Stephen Flurry's wiggly-wormy comeback: "Well, Lucifer was trained at GOD's feet!"

RSK said...

AS for Thiel, he already has his defense cooked up: "That since a prophet is higher in "spiritual authority" than an evangelist, that those who believe in hierarchical governance would support a prophet of God over an evangelist, irrespective of how long he has been an evangelist."

Anonymous said...

Rod Meredith said: "Brethren, I have never tried to “appoint myself” as an apostle or to any other high office."
Wrong. In the very first member letter Meredith sent out after starting Global, he declared himself "Pastor General".

Anonymous said...

Some COGs will have a lot to say about the Jesuit pope. As I recall, some have preached strongly against Jesuits in the past.

G.G. said...

The leaders of the various COG's are arrogant pigs who drove some children in the WCOG to suicide through their mind control tactics. And it was all so these fool leaders could feel powerful. By the way, I am starting the FWCOG (Feminist World-changing Church of Godesses). I will be chief Goddess and only women will be in high places of authority, while men change the diapers. Women will be encouraged to wear a lot of make-up and tight clothes (Kardashian style). Children absolutely WILL NOT BE HIT! modern methods of behavioral management will be taught to parents. Positive reinforcement, natural consequences, and a consistent, loving, non-punitive parenting style will be encouraged. No more old, white, "Christian" men will be in control. Obama will be strongly supported, with the possible exception of the drones.

Velvet said...

"Meredith wants Thiel and others to know that he is the ONLY ONE in the entire COG..."

...who was disfellowshipped AND marked, and STILL managed to weasel his way back into Church administration, with absolutely no change in the attitude problem that got him the boot in the first place. The verse about ravening wolves is instructive.

Velvet said...

"Some COGs will have a lot to say about the Jesuit pope. As I recall, some have preached strongly against Jesuits in the past."

What are "jesuits"? Regardless to what the splinter groups say now, nothing pinged the Church's radar on that when I was growing up.

And can we not do the look-who-the-Catholics-hired thing? I really don't care, and am sick of seeing it all over the news.