Friday, October 25, 2013

Living Church of God Smacks Down Bob Thiel, James Malm, and David C. Pack-- Again!




Poor Bob, James and Dave.  No matter how hard they try they just cannot poach members from the various COG's.  Dave's Great Reunification turned into the largest failure ever in Church of God history, right after William Millers numerous failed prophecies.  Bob Thiel's little personalty cult can't seem to move out  of his home spare bedroom studio with it's crooked bookcase. James Malm's legalistic mumbo-jumbo is the ultimate bastardization of the law which no one is interested in.

Now, Rod Meredith and LCG's staff are hitting back at Dave pack and Thiel warning members of deceitful men in their midst.
To Whom Do You Listen?
The Apostle Paul pointedly asked the Corinthian brethren, “Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1:13). Already in Paul’s day, the Church was being pulled apart by factionalism and personality worship or dislike. People were more interested in following their favorite minister, rather than maintaining a spirit of godly unity.

As the years went by, self-appointed leaders began to stray further and further from the foundation, as laid down by Christ and the apostles. Paul warned the ministers of his day to be careful of outsiders who would worm their way in to pervert the truth. The ministers were also to guard against deceiving themselves into thinking that they should be the focus of attention, rather than humble servants of God’s people.
Humbleness is certainly NOT a trait of any Church of God leader.  Never has been and never will be. Thiel and Pack do not have a humble bone in their bodies.

Next, the LCG staff and Rod call the message of Thiel and Pack "perversion."  OUCH!
...the problem of false ministers has been around since almost the very beginning. Even ancient Israel had false teachers who tried to deceive the people of God. The Creator sent true servants to prophesy against the religious perversions being taught, and to point the sons of Jacob toward the true worship of their God. “And when they say to you, ‘Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter,’ should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:19–20).
What's Rod's god going to do to Dave, Bob and James?
And what is the ultimate fruit of that selfish approach? God will spew such self-interested Christians out of His mouth! “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, `I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked”
 Then they slap the unrighteous trinity dudes with this:
Today, there are men who call themselves “prophets” and “apostles” and claim leadership in the Church of God, yet by their words and deeds we can see they have forgotten Who it is that can cause water to flow from solid rock. Instead of humbly yielding to God’s word and to those whom God has placed in authority, they presumptuously modify God’s instructions and seek to draw a following.
 The threesome have "strayed wildly from the truths of HWA...." Ouch!
In this “Internet age,” it is easy to find dozens and hundreds of teachers proclaiming their own messages, claiming to follow Mr. Armstrong but in fact straying wildly from the truths Mr. Armstrong taught from the Bible. Some would have you believe that the Work is finished.   Yet Christ made it plain that He expects His followers to be doing what He did—preaching the true gospel of the coming Kingdom of God (Matthew 24:46). Others have corrupted the gospel by teaching a message “about” Mr. Armstrong, while distorting Mr. Armstrong’s actual message—thus mimicking the same error that took first-century Christianity off the track!
LCG warns members to not listen to these self-appointed guru's and their asinine messages:
We live in a world where self-appointed teachers are free to say and publish what they want, contrary to God’s word. But we have a job to do. What should our approach be? Solomon said it well: “And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:12–14). Let us keep our eyes on the goal as we carry out our responsibilities, listening obediently to the true Shepherd, Jesus Christ!

10 comments:

Corky said...

Well, gosh...I had almost forgotten about the "authority" of the WCG's HWA being passed to Rod Merideath...no, wait

Unknown said...

WAIT! ...

Isnt RCM himself also self appointed???

HWA too???

Joe Moeller
Cody, WY

Anonymous said...

sounds to me like the pot is calling the kettle black.

Byker Bob said...

Normally, you wouldn't think there would be danger of members of a moderate group being attracted to one that is Pharisaic, extreme, or cruel. But, LCG seems to be vulnerable at this point, so it is natural that they would be battening down the hatches. There is probably particular animus towards Thiel, since he is also an LCG defector.

The big Kahuna, as go member-attractors, would be a runaway work that suddenly appeared to have the witness and blessing of God, breaking through into international prominence. This is the illusion Dave Pack attempted to create towards the end of summer and, of course, fell flat partially because he is in fact, Dave Pack, but also mostly because it was a crude and recognizable charade that was clumsily executed and lacked any sort of verifiable substance.

As there are fewer and fewer ACOG members, stakes are going to get higher and higher. These little rivalries could escalate into full blown wars for the tithe pie, as financial survival becomes more and more of an issue. Hang on to your seats, fellow travelers, it's fixin' to become a white knuckle ride!

BB

Anonymous said...

Could you people cite some sources regarding lcg's dwindling numbers and instability ? All I am seeing is a bunch of rumor and mockery...

Anonymous said...

Today, there are men who call themselves “prophets” and “apostles” and claim leadership in the Church of God, yet by their words and deeds we can see they have forgotten Who it is that can cause water to flow from solid rock

Impressive! I didn't know Roderick Meredith could do that!

He should win the church wars easily, if he can cause water to flow from solid rock -- he's certainly an expert in turning wine into water!

Unknown said...

In light of "Banned's" comic book portrayal in the original post...

An acting out by Rod Meredith as "BATMAN"...

***Commissioner Gordon: It could be any one of them... But which one? Which ones?

Batman Meredith : Pretty *fishy* whats happening to MY CHURCH! ...

Commissioner Gordon: You mean where there's a fish there could be a Penguin?

Robin: But wait! It happened at sea... Sea. C for David C. Pack!

Batman Meredith: Yet, again some website *was* pulling my leg...

Commissioner Gordon: That's Malm ,the Joker!

Chief O'Hara: All adds up to a sinister riddle... Riddle-... Thiel the.Riddler!

Commissioner Gordon: A thought strikes me... So dreadful I scarcely dare give it utterance...

Batman Meredith: The Three of them... Their forces combined...

Robin: Holy nightmare!

(smiles!)

Joe Moeller
Cody, WY

Byker Bob said...

Anonymous 4:47, figures have been provided from time to time here, and on Gavin's sites, and at the Silenced blog spot, amongst others. People inside the various ACOG groups do talk and share with their relatives outside the groups, sometimes even sharing written correspondence from splinter group leaders. And then, there is The Journal.

The gist of the growth topic, however, is this. HWA used his 30% annual growth figure as one of his "proofs" that his WCG was "God's True Church". If you accept that premise (which I do not), then none of the splinters even comes close to that figure. Even Dr. Thiel, when he was LCG's most vocal apologist, never suggested figures anywhere close to that. Time and again, when splinters (including LCG) have provided numbers for annual new baptisms, those numbers have not even been sufficient to overcome the natural attrition rate (people leaving, dying, etc).

Articles have been written by people of various mindsets to attempt to explain this phenomenon. Insiders have used church eras, or quoted verses from the Bible prophesying a famine of the word in the end times, while outsiders have cited increased sophistication of the general population who would be the target audience for the message, and the ready availability of information which counters and disproves primary elements of Armstrongism, just a few mouseclicks away on the internet.

You also need to consider what is and is not mocking or scoffing. Don't you agree that people need to be held accountable for their hyperbole when even their own figures do not match the boasting? Unfortunately, these guys' bizarre statements and behavior practically invites mocking, (not always for Godly reasons) and then when they are held accountable, they turn and invoke the mocking and scoffing scriptures, or label it as an attack from Satan.

BB

Anonymous said...

I've been waiting to see actual numbers for physical attendance at the LCG feast sites. In the past, I recollect seeing separate numbers: one for the total number of physical attendance; another for physical attendance plus internet streaming. All I've seen so far is an approximate number for combined attendance.

I pay more attention to the number(s) for physical attendance (even though, these are not all LCG members). The internet streaming estimates are just guesses. There's no way of knowing who were serious viewers, there by mistake or anti-LCG. Also, it is impossible to know just how many are viewing at each streaming device. These numbers are easily inflated.

The next issue of the LCG News should have some physical numbers. Hopefully, they will give the numbers even if there was a drop in attendance.

Byker Bob said...

Until then, you may want to take a look at the Alexa ratings that Redfox has published on his excellent blog: Living Armstrongism. These ratings are neutral, not informed by any agenda. I suppose groups could have their members swarm their own sites to inflate the numbers, but the latest numbers do not appear to contain any trends one might think of as counterintuitive. (I hope I didn't just give someone a bad idea there!).

BB