Friday, December 31, 2010

Worldwide 2 Has it's Web Site Up Ready To Suck In All The Disenfranchised

It still amazes me that these fools cannot come up with an original name, without using something from the past as part of the name.  Stop imitating Herb and WCG and be original!

Mike Blackwell is working over time to get the Worldwide2's conference ready in Louisville Kentucky on January 9th.  More UCG members are expected to leave during or after this conference once it makes known it's new direction.






UCG HQ Srambling To Halt Members Leaving



To: Melvin Rhodes
Subject: Council of Elders Q&A

Greetings Fellow Ministers,

The Council of Elders has prepared a document (attached) with answers to some
of the more common questions asked of the Council in recent weeks. Council
Communications Committee chairman, Darris McNeely, has subsequently recorded a
video of the questions and answers for you to watch. The video is 15 minutes
long and is now posted on the Council of Elders Web site at http://coe.ucg.org/videos
Both an audio MP3 version and a Windows Media Player video version are
available for download at   http://coe.ucg.org/content/questions-and-answers-council-elders-darris-mcneely

. This may be shared with our members.

Thank you,

Melvin Rhodes
Chairman

---------------

From: Peter Eddington [mailto:peter_eddington@ucg.org]

Sent: Thursday, December 30, 2010 3:56 PM

To: Peter Eddington

Subject: Live Sabbath Service Webcast Available

Dear Fellow Ministers,

In order to help provide Sabbath services for our congregations and
scattered members, the Cincinnati East congregation is going to provide a
live webcast of both its AM and PM services for the near future.
Service times will be at 11 a.m. EST and 2:30 p.m. EST. You can access the
live service from our Sabbath webcast page at
http://members.ucg.org/content/sabbath-webcast . A link will also be
provided on the home page of our member’s Web site at http://members.ucg.org

Please note, if you are not able to connect during the live broadcast, or
the time is inconvenient, an archive of the morning service will be made
available for download very soon after the live webcast ends.

Since we pay for the bandwidth used during the webcast, we ask that this
service be provided primarily for those brethren not able to attend
services, or for your congregations which do not have a live speaker
available. Please pass along this information to the scattered brethren and
congregations in your area of care.

All the best for the upcoming Sabbath,

Peter Eddington

Media and Communications Services

Friday, December 31, 2010 UCG Terminations

UCG has removed all the New Zealand elders and Ralp Levy (UCG's resident scholar) was removed today.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Are UCG Members Catching On To Jumping Jack Salyer?


Salyer has jumped from one COG splinter group to another in the past few years.  It seems like once he gets in a new group all hell breaks loose and churches start having problems. Let's send him to Meredith and Flurry's groups next!  Maybe he can run back to Meredith 'with trembling lips' like Raymond McNair did.

This little tidbit was on a Yahoo forum :

Apparently it breaks down by area. I understand the Houston area, which is a large church area for UCG, has lost up to 70 % of the membership, as well as in the Kansas church areas the majority of membership has gone with Greg Sergeant. Whereas in Louisiana apparently, the church membership has stayed with UCG mostly, even though Mr. Salyer left.

Three More Before Bedtime

Shouting Matches, Ethical Ministers, Men of Integrity........NOT!



Imagine heading into church one day and having your former minister stand there and tell you that you would be having church in  the same place, same time, same minister, only the church name had changed.

The shouting matches are happening too.

Those ethical Christan ministers who left to form splinter personality cults would NEVER do such a thing would they?  No sirree Bob!  Ethics is the number one priority of all those splitting off UCG and for those remaining in UCG.  These are men of integrity!  Yep!  Men of integrity................excuse me as I puke......


In Bethlehem, PA, Roy Holladay spoke.  Paul Luecke had already resigned, but King Finlay [UCG elder and father in law of Clyde K] was there. After the meeting  there was a pot luck, and after that what amounted to a shouting match. Brethren surrounded Roy Holladay and barraged him with questions.  There were angry folks on both sides, but mostly on King’s side.  Roy Holladay reportedly maintained his cool throughout.

King Finlay announced that they would be meeting in a grange the next week, but in 2 weeks they would be meeting at the normal UCG place at the normal time and that Paul Luecke will be their pastor.  He said those remaining with UCG could meet at 10 in AM.  Since then, I have heard that some of the members going with King Finlay and Paul Leuke  and told them they didn’t agree with treating their friends that way.  Now they are going to meet at the grange and leave the UCG group with the normal meeting place. 

Reportedly, Bethlehem’s sister congregation, York [about 15 people] apparently the local elder there is going with Paul Leuke and they are combining with the Bethlehem group. 

In WV, John Foster got up in his congregations and told them they would be meeting same place, same time, same pastor, just in new church.
I was told that much the same thing went on in areas of Florida and Texas.
Local corporations were set up to facilitate this split and then will join loosely together in Jan.  Later as they prove unable to stand alone, a new conference will meet to reassess and build a stronger more centralized oraginization.

UCG Resignations 12/30/2010

The Start of Today's UCG Resignations 12/30/2010

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Jimmy - The Man Behind the Curtain?



Frankie is dancing around the fact that he has been implicated in the the background workings for the  formation of UCG's new splinter group.  Once again we get to see ministers lie through their teeth.  Ethics be damned!  Oh wait, I am talking about Armstrongism where ethic's is not taught or practiced.

You can read more about Frankie's indignation on the Shining Light blog

From: Jim Franks <jimbfranks@                                                                                                 
 Sent: Fri, December 17, 2010 9:52:38 PM
Subject: December 17 Update


Hello,

I simply can’t imagine how things could get any more interesting!  Each day now brings a new twist.  Legal accusations, firings, resignations and suspensions are coming at us from all directions.  I have a couple of items to share with you this evening and then I will leave it until our meeting on Monday.  There are some important decisions that we will need to make in the next few days…

Next week we need to firm up plans for moving forward… 

Within the next few days we will need to discuss the following (among other things):

When should a general meeting take place?
Where should a general meeting take place?
Should we resign or should we wait to be terminated?  What should be the timing of a resignation?

Please keep in mind that all of this is confidential.  We have added another 12 men to the mailing list, which means it is even more important to be circumspect in any information that you share with others.

You should have received an official invitation for a meeting on Monday, December 19.  The time will be 12 Noon CST.  I look forward to talking with all of you soon.  Take care.

All the best,


When you read the comments on the Shining Light in regrades to Franks you see that this man has very few fans.  It is blatantly obvious to everyone that Franks was working for quit some time in the back ground while still on UCG payroll planning this.  This one post in particularly proves that Ethic's is not part of the picture.  Especially since Franks was also on the Ethic's committee for UCG!  What an idiot!

Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy what a huge mistake you made! This makes you look like an unscrupulous leader, and you were in the Ethics Committee?! As James has stated it won’t be long before many ministers and L.A. sympathizers realize they were duped.

UCG Resignations 12/29/2010


Tuesday, December 28, 2010

More UCG Resignations - Because God Is On Our Side!

Gloria in Excelsis Deo

I have always been fascinated by the Mormons.  Partly because when they made their trek west from Kirtland Ohio, their wagon trains came through the little town I grew up in as they made their way to Nauvoo on the banks of the Mississippi  River. I have been to Salt Lake City many times to hear them sing.

The  following video is excerpts from last years Christmas concert with Renee Fleming.  It is in their ten year old, 21,000 seat, conference hall. While their doctrines are just as crazy as Armstrongism's, they do make great music!

Keep the volume down till the ad at the beginning is over, then crank it up. Organ, orchestra, hand-bells galore!




Watch Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Faith & Spirituality  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com


Check out the HighDef picture of the conference hall.  Click on it a couple of times to get it to it's largest state:
LDS Conference Center interior panoramic

Conference Center

More UCG Resignations Today 12/28 2010

Was Jim Frank's The Snake In The Grass at UCG HQ?


Luker does not name the person, but word is that it was Jim Franks.  Information is supposed to hit the Internet tomorrow on this person.



The Council of Elders is in possession of irrefutable documentation that demonstrates complicity by certain ministers and members in secretive efforts to undermine and destroy the very organizational fabric of the United Church of God. We are greatly saddened to see this, as it hurts to know as a fact that some have essentially said one thing regarding reconciliation or resolution of differences while working behind the scenes with a completely different agenda.

This documentation, authored by a former home office administrator, lays bare organized efforts at a very high level to break away. It distorts the record and generally reflects a grievous state of mind among those who are fracturing current relationships and trying to influence members of the United Church of God into following them.

Sadly, if past events are any guide to the future, documentation will soon appear online, together with varied “analyses” of various stripes and colors, trying to again spin this documentation somehow into one more quasi-“proof” of the alleged evils of the Council of Elders. It is being said that we demand personal loyalty to men. This is not true—as we would not even sign a document that required that. We simply ask for the faithful service of our employees and ministry to the Church that employs them, recognizing that not everyone thinks alike but that we all need to work within the structure we all agreed upon in 1995.
Then Luker boldly makes the following predictions:



Please be comforted in knowing that we will continue to provide pastors and shepherds so that you have a peaceful and spiritually nourishing home in which to worship on each Sabbath and Holy Day. You have multiple sites to choose from to attend and participate in the annual Feast of Tabernacles. Your children have summer and winter camps available, where they can learn the truths of God and how to apply them as they grow and mature. You have the Ambassador Bible Center, where members can attend to obtain in-depth knowledge of biblical truth. You have a vast array of literature—available in print or online in increasingly interactive formats—together with a growing Beyond Today program that is reaching thousands of new people on television and through the Internet.

And that, we believe with all of our being, is only the beginning. Moving forward, we believe that we are being prepared by Jesus Christ for growth. How and when that appears is up to God and the living Leader of this Church, Jesus Christ. We must ready ourselves in renewed prayer, deep meditation and earnest fasting.

More UCG Resignations

Monday, December 27, 2010

HWA, Pyramidiology and British Israelism




A new web site is in the works regarding the Armstrongite doctrinal myth that has been perpetuated by many of the 700 some splinter groups of WCG over the decades.  It is a theory that was around for decades before Herbert ever discovered it.

During the late 1800's there was a profound interest in the Great Pyramid which also spawned numerous other groups into trying to prove events in world history according to the mathematical measurements laid out in the design on the Great Pyramid.  According to Herb's interpretation of the Bible, Job was the one who built the Great Pyramid.  Because Job built the Great Pyramid then it naturally had to be God inspired.

HWA got a lot of his information from Charles Piazzi Smyth books.  The old Ambassador library in Pasadena had numerous books about pyramidology.  It had many of Smyth's original books from 1870 (which goes to show how incredibly out of date the library was).  Some of these books had HWA's scribblings in the margins.

This was also a period of time that saw a resurgence in British Israelism.  Great Britain was ruling the world.  Nations were being converted to Christianity and the Empire was riding high.  Of course this had to have a reason behind it. God was behind it all.   British Israelism reached it's zenith during this time too.

Scores and scores of books were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's trying to prove this concept. By the time Herb came onto the scene these books were well established in public libraries here and in England.  When Herb began his mind shattering six month study of the Bible, he would have had full access to these books.  It is no coincidence that the college library had these books, nor that his personal library and his safe in his basement  contained many of these books.

There were also books by Ezra Taft Russeell  in Herb's collection.  Russell was another splinter cult of the Millerites and SDA's.  It is also no coincidence that all various splinter cults of Miller (SDA, JW's, Armstrongism) all had many of the same beliefs.









HWA, British Israelism and Pyramidology
Anglo-Israelism and Pyramidology

Through the years, bizarre beliefs have sometimes become attached to Anglo-Israelism. Among the oddest has been pyramidology. Pyramidologists claim that if one correctly interprets the measurements of the inner tunnels of the Great Pyramid of Giza, one can know the future. Therefore, they believe that the Great Pyramid was inspired by God to help interpret biblical prophecy. Sad to say, this quackery found its way into parts of the Church of God (Seventh Day). (Martin Gardner's Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science provides an excellent critique of this belief.)

In spring 1927, The Bible Advocate published two articles that advocated pyramidology. The articles claimed that the Great Pyramid proved that the Great Tribulation would start on May 29, 1928.1 http://baonline.org/

The founder of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Charles Taze Russell, also believed in pyramidology. He used it to supplement the Scriptures in predicting Christ's return. After Russell's death, Judge Rutherford took over their organization. He didn't care for pyramidology and moved the main body of Witnesses to reject it. This led to splits within their church.

[In 1928] Rutherford...openly condemned resorting to non-biblical sources in the attempt to discover the will and plan of God. He specifically mentioned the Great Pyramid as an example. This provoked violent criticism from older members of the movement who had grown up under Russell's teaching and many of them withdrew (Charles S. Braden, These Also Believe, New York: Macmillan, 1949, 362. See also Edward Charles Gruss, Apostles of Denial, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978, 61-2).

Herbert Armstrong and the Great Pyramid
The pyramidology articles in the Bible Advocate did not go unnoticed. One reader who became especially interested was Herbert Armstrong. Wanting to learn more, he wrote to the author in care of The Bible Advocate. The Advocate forwarded his letter to Reverend Lincoln McConnell, pastor of the First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg, Florida. Reverend McConnell responded to Mr. Armstrong's inquiry on June 3, 1927. His letter set in motion a chain of events more momentous than either Mr. Armstrong or Reverend McConnell could imagine.

Yes, there are many strictly scientific proofs that The Great Pyramid is more than a mere tomb these days, and I advise you, if you want the REAL THING in the way of proof to send to the A.A. Beauchamp Pub. Co., 603 Boyston Street, Boston., Mass. and get Davidson's great book on The Great Pyramid.... Then you will have plenty to occupy your time for months to come and will also have the most recent as well as the most scientific work ever written on the subject....

The most recent book on The Great Pyramid and a much easier one to read if you want this, is by "Discipulus," and can be had of the same people.... Its special value lies in the fact that it connects Pyramid truth with "British"-Israel truth in a fine way. (Reverend Lincoln McConnell to Herbert W. Armstrong, 3 June 1927, Herbert W. Armstrong Papers collection [HWAP], #867).

To emphasize his point, McConnell added,

I must say that if you really want to KNOW your Bible you will have to get the books on "Anglo-Israel".... You will never know the real truth the BOOK is teaching without this key. This sounds radical perhaps, but you will see when you study it that it's simple truth.

Herbert Armstrong took the challenge. As was his custom whenever studying a biblical subject, he went to the Portland, Oregon public library, which held several Anglo-Israel titles, including J.H. Allen's Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright.2 Then, taking the advice of McConnell, he wrote to Beauchamp asking for more information on both Anglo-Israelism and on the Great Pyramid. He wrote:

I have heard that the most recent book on the Great Pyramids is one by "Discipulus," published by you. I know nothing about this book, but if it is authoritative, giving accurate and reliable measurements of the interior passages as well as other measurements, I want it.

I have seen the works by Smyth, and have read The Miracle in Stone by Seiss. If this book is equally authoritative and dependable, but giving more recent data and information, you may send it to me at once, C.O.D. (Armstrong to A.A. Beauchamp Publishing Co., 28 March 1928)

Mr. Armstrong's letter reveals a familiarity with the more famous pyramidology works. He has read Seiss' The Miracle in Stone, a popular book that underwent 14 editions. Mr. Armstrong also mentioned Charles Piazzi Smyth, who wrote the influential book called Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid.3 In reply, Beauchamp commented, saying that the "Discipulus"' pyramidology book was very good and up to date. Much of the information is based on a book by Davidson entitled The Great Pyramid: Its Divine Message. It...is one of the most remarkable and most interesting things that I ever read on the subject after Smyth's great work.... I am sending you...a series of articles by Davidson.... They confirm in every respect the noble work done by Piazzi Smyth and for which he suffered scorn and ridicule. (A.A. Beauchamp to Armstrong, 5 April 1928, HWAP, #874).

Beauchamp was an interesting character. Before his correspondence with Mr. Armstrong, he had converted to a now-defunct offshoot of Christian Science called the Church of Integration. His publishing house became the principal means by which the Church of Integration grew. Through his influence, Anglo-Israelism became the central perspective of the sect, while its prophetess, Annie C. Bill, became increasingly fascinated with pyramidology.4

Pyramidology in Mr. Armstrong's Writings
Mr. Armstrong's original manuscript, What Is the Third Angel's Message?, referred at one point to the pyramids. In explaining Matthew 21:42-45, where Jesus spoke of the stone that the builders rejected, Mr. Armstrong stated:

The Great Pyramid is here referred to and used as a symbol of the nation Israel. It is significant that the corner-stone, which is the top stone of the Pyramid, is MISSING, as if it had been rejected by its builders. (page 138B)

This is an extraordinary claim, but Mr. Armstrong offered no proof that Jesus had the Great Pyramid in mind. Somehow the distant similarity between Jesus' comments about a missing cornerstone and the reality of an uncapped pyramid was all the evidence needed.

He also referred to pyramidology in an early magazine. In 1934, in the Great Depression, he said that the Great Tribulation had already started! It began in 1928. He based that idea, not on the Bible, but upon the Great Pyramid theory.

And for Great Pyramid students...the present depression, or tribulation, is there symbolized as occupying the entire low passage continuing from May 29, 1928, when the tribulation struck Europe, until September 1936. (Herbert W. Armstrong, "What Is Going to Happen," PT, June-July 1934, 5)

With the world in the midst of the Great Depression, it was easy to believe the Tribulation had begun. Mr. Armstrong was certain that only Jesus Christ's return would end the Depression. When Mussolini invaded Ethiopia, Herbert Armstrong cried, "He is marching to Armageddon!"5

Endnotes

1 The Bible Advocate, 1 March and 3 May 1927.

2 When I visited the main Portland library in the 1980s, it had three separate catalogues. The newest was its computerized catalogue, another was the card catalogue that the computerized system had replaced, and the third was an even older card catalogue that apparently dated from the time of Mr. Armstrong's studies. That older catalogue was stored on the second floor. It had several Anglo-Israelite titles not found in the newer catalogues, including the 1917 edition of Allen's work.

3 "Our Inheritance is a classic of its kind. Few books illustrate so beautifully the ease with which an intelligent man, passionately convinced of a theory, can manipulate his subject matter in such a way as to make it conform to previously held opinions." (Martin Gardner, Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science, New York: Dover, 1957, 176)

4 J. Gordon Melton, Encyclopedia of American Religions, 4th ed. (Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1993), 669.

5 Herbert W. Armstrong, PT, July, 1935, 5.

by Ralph Orr

Copyright 1996 Worldwide Church of God

UCG Resignations Vol 4 Dec 27

More UCG Resignations

UCG Resignations Vol 2 December 27, 2010

Finally some more UCG ministers stepped up to the plate and joined Paul Suckling by resigning today.  Thanks guys for the ongoing soap opera!

Joel Meeker: YOU'RE FIRED!!!!!!!!



Joel:  Don't let that mustache get caught in the door 
on your way out!


Bad Theology = Bad Ethic's = No Relationship With God = Failure of COG's



The blog entry below is copied from a blog that was referred to the mentors of the Theology class I facilitate.

One thing I always tell those in my group is to question.  Question why a minister says what he or she says, question whether a belief is relevant to today's society, question dogma mired in the 16th century world that is irrelevant to their Christian walk today, etc.  So many people walk through the doors of a church and  check their brain in the vestibule.

Armstrongism created a world that lives in black and white issues.  The answer to everything has to come from writings of HWA or the ministry. There is no room for doubt, to question, or to have anger.

When you look at the early church Fathers and Mothers these were men and women who questioned, argued with and were sometimes angry with God.  Yet through it all they developed a deeper spiritual life.  There was room for growth and a desire to grow upward.

Armstrongism desires to shrink backwards.  It seems it cannot exist without reverting back to 1986 and earlier.  If Herb did not say it, then it is irrelevant to daily life.

It's time for UCG members and COG members as a whole to get off their butt's and start questioning your ethically and morally bankrupt Elder's/ministers, question your doctrines, and more importantly, question why you continue to allow yourself to be sucked into the cesspool that Armstrongism is sinking into.  There is freedom out there.  There is Grace.  It's there waiting, unconditionally.


Everyone Is A Theologian

There is a statement that I hear way too often, and it is one that makes me sad and angry:

I am not a theologian.

Most often, I hear it when I am teaching a class of some sort, and have shared a thought that seems contrary to what someone has spent most of their life believing.  Sometimes it is said when I have shared some information that someone has never heard before.  Most often, however, it comes when I am engaged in a conversation with someone during which we are sharing what we believe, and my conversation partner ends up “stuck” as they try to describe their understanding of something.

“Well, I haven’t really thought about it as much as you have,” they say. “I have a pretty simple faith. I’m not really a theologian.”

I hate that, and I try to never put someone who is earnestly trying to talk about God in that kind of place.  I would like to ask you to never say anything like that, ever again in your life.  I want you to remember something very important: We are all theologians. While it is true that some of us are more formally trained in theology (to greater and lesser degrees), this group of people are not the only ones who can claim to be “theologians.”  That title belongs to everyone, and we need to begin reclaiming it.

To be a theologian simply means that you “talk about God.”  That’s what the word theology means: (from the Greek) theos = god; logos = words or speech.  To be a theologian means that you try to put your ideas about God into words.  More specifically, because of what our scriptures say, we can say that the task of theology is our attempt to describe what we understand about God, what we understand about creation, and what we understand about the relationship between that two.  You can, honestly, have any kind of theology that you want.  There is no one, right way to think about something (despite what many so-called theologians might say).

Theologies are not created equal, however.  Some do a better job of describing God (at least according to other people), and they are instructive to the rest of us whose theological understanding might be lack in comparison.  There are many of these “better” theologies and they all have a few things in common.

They are consistent with the Bible. Any good Christian theology has its origin in the Bible.  The logic is sort of circular, but Christians believe that God was revealed to humanity in the person of Jesus Christ and that the Bible is the best witness we have to who Jesus was and what he did.  You’re theology does not have to be considered a “Biblical Theology,” but the themes of a Christian theology does have to be consistent with the themes of the scripture.

They are Good News. When it comes to theology, the opposite of Good News is not Bad News.  It’s Irrelevant News – news that is nice, but doesn’t mean anything important.

Imagine that you have just pulled into your driveway after being fired. You’re struggling with how to tell your spouse, and I run up to you and tell you that you daughter is at a friend’s house playing. That would be interesting news to hear, but, in the context of the moment, irrelevant.

Now imagine that you’ve just pulled into your driveway and your house is on fire.  You’re very scared and worried about your family, and I run up to you and tell you that your daughter is at a friend’s house playing.  In that moment, knowing where your daughter is constitutes good news.

Too often our theologies are full of interesting things that are true, but they are irrelevant to people’s’ lives.  They don’t address the situations in which people are living.  They don’t offer answers to questions people are asking.

They are humble. One of my favorite stories from the history of my religious tradition

A good theology will be one which says the best thing it knows how to say at the time, and, yet, leaves room for growth in our understanding of God.  There are things about God which I believe are eternally true, but I also believe that I don’t know what those are and that my ability to grasp what God is up to (hopefully) grows as I live my life.

If I have the same theology today as I did yesterday, then I need to take a hard look at some things.
They produce good ethics. One reality which I find very amusing is when I have people tearing me down for having what they deem as “incorrect theology.”  To them, anything I might say is an affront to the glory of God and I must be stopped at all costs.  I’m actually fine with them up to this point.  They are welcome to their opinion.  It’s the way they do it that I find wrong.

Jesus, himself, said that he came to do some things (give sight to the blind, set captives free, etc.).  Theology produces action, and if it is a faithful theology it produces good actions.  To my point above: if our theology allows us to treat one another badly, then we need another theology.

They are bold. No one ever came to understand the saving power of Christ because of an unassuming theological viewpoint.  Good theology shouts the Good News from the mountaintops.

We should never be afraid of messing up as we try to describe the great things God has done.  How is it wrong to try to tell the world all the marvelous things you’ve experienced?  Sure, we always try to be more clear and consistent tomorrow than we were yesterday.  But that should never stop us from speaking.  We’re not going to do God any harm be giving it our best as we proclaim Christ’s Grace and Peace.

Theology is actually something we all do, and something we all need to do. No one of us has a monopoly on thoughts and ideas about God.  Please share yours with each other so that, together, we might better share it with the world.

So…What do you believe about God, creation, and the relationship between the two?

The Metanoia Project   

Come on UCG Ministers! Don't Let Paul Be By Himself Today!

Is COG Worldwide Association Looking To Buy the Denton TX Property?




The devious and manipulative minds of the men who have been plotting for several months to start a new COG organization seem to have lot's of plans in their pockets.  With the new group now formed and all that tithe money coming in they will need a new HQ presence to make themselves look legit - instead of a P.O. Box or a residence address.

Voila!  Problem solved! I can hear them now.... "Let's work on buying the Denton property that UCG turned down.  It's really part of God's plan for us!  God inspired UCG to turn down buying the property so that we could buy it and start building our HQ there!  God also inspired the inventors of the printing press so that gay King James could publish the Bible so we could have free access to the scriptures which would allow us  to preach the TRUE end time message."

From: “ mdad@bellsouth.net ” < mdad@bellsouth.net >
To: Andrew Jenkins < andrewmjenkins@bellsouth.net>; mdjenkins83@live.com ; ARNOLD HAMPTON < ahampton49@yahoo.com >; wilson6746@att.net ; Michael Moore < mmoore@rci-together.com >
Cc: james haeffele < jhaeffele@comcast.net >; Rgdpad1234@aol.com ; rjrand@comcast.net ; Richard Thompson < ricthompson1142@embarqmail.com>; mcorreiro@hotmail.com ; Jim Cannon < james.d.cannon@comcast.net >; jimfranks < jimfranks@juno.com >
Sent: Fri, December 17, 2010 6:57:24 PM
Subject: New Org.
Greetings:  I wouild like to suggest that as soon as our new org is up and running as an International Church org that we make a bid on the property in Texas and make it our home office if it is still for sale.  Maybe we could put in a bid now.  How much would it take?

Dave Jenkins

UCG Now Suspending Members Who Click "Like" on Facebook Posts



Abigal Cartwright has this tale of legalistic horror on her web site.  Can the stupidity at UCG get any worse?

Member suspended for pressing "like" on a FB post

According to the member, "He (Mr. Dowd) called her up and told her that several people had contacted him and told him that she "like" 'd a post a fellow member put on his wall. It was the "Open Letter to Minister". He asked her if she still liked it. She said yes. He asked her if she still supported it. She said yes. That's when he lowered the boom."

Members Suspended For Clicking "Like" on Facebook

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Map of the 2010 Great UCG Cabal

Check out this web site for a Google Map on the locations of the UCG ministers that have rebelled against UCG HQ in Cincinnati:




Blue pins are UCG ministers 'still loyal' to UCG HQ. 
(i.e - until a better paycheck comes along then they will jump ship too)
Red pins are those who are in rebellion to UCG HQ





ca·bal

  [kuh-bal]  Show IPAnoun, verb, -balled, -bal·ling.
–noun
1.
a small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person in authority.
2.
the plots and schemes of such a group; intrigue.
3.
a clique, as in artistic, literary, or theatrical circles.
–verb (used without object)
4.
to form a cabal; intrigue; conspire; plot.

December 26 UCG Resignations (added Paul Suckling)

Late addition:  Paul Suckling


Saturday, December 25, 2010

Today's UCG Resignations

UCG is NOT Happy That Ministers Conspired To Lead People Away From UCG



The COE of United is not happy that various ministers and elders have been working overtime while on UCG payroll to lead people away into other churches or organizations.

These con-artists did the exact same thing to WCG in 1995.  They spent months parked in 360/380/390 apartments conspiring to lead members away from WCG into their new organizations.  They established themselves to not only divert members, but more importantly divert money into their new organization so they could continue to get a salary.

Now UCG is facing the exact same scenario, only this time they are on the receiving end.  They deserve everything that is happening to them.  Notice how they justify their rebellion in 1995 - just like the current splinter churches are justifying their breakaway UCG churches.  Same old, same old!


We believe that the current long and hard trial within the United Church of God is nearing its end. In the past few days we have received a number of resignations of ministers and former administrators. We do not rejoice in seeing these resignations. In fact, as the apostle Peter noted, we are grieved. It remains deeply painful to see new church groups start up in some pockets of the country and former ministers still publishing or putting on the Internet statements that have little or no basis in fact. Based on recent information sent to us from a number of sources, we now know with certainty that former trusted ministers have been and are now actively and openly trying to draw away faithful members, like yourself, to new groups. As they will find, separating into other groups will not solve their problems.

The Council of Elders is in possession of irrefutable documentation that demonstrates complicity by certain ministers and members in secretive efforts to undermine and destroy the very organizational fabric of the United Church of God. We are greatly saddened to see this, as it hurts to know as a fact that some have essentially said one thing regarding reconciliation or resolution of differences while working behind the scenes with a completely different agenda.

This documentation, authored by a former home office administrator, lays bare organized efforts at a very high level to break away. It distorts the record and generally reflects a grievous state of mind among those who are fracturing current relationships and trying to influence members of the United Church of God into following them.

Sadly, if past events are any guide to the future, documentation will soon appear online, together with varied “analyses” of various stripes and colors, trying to again spin this documentation somehow into one more quasi-“proof” of the alleged evils of the Council of Elders. It is being said that we demand personal loyalty to men. This is not true—as we would not even sign a document that required that. We simply ask for the faithful service of our employees and ministry to the Church that employs them, recognizing that not everyone thinks alike but that we all need to work within the structure we all agreed upon in 1995.

More resignations

Friday, December 24, 2010

UCG Has OFFICALLY Split! New Organization Formed



It has finally happened!  UCG has officially split.

They are already grubbing to divert money from UCG.

UCG has just got a dose of it's own medicine.  The leadership of UCG conspired for months while on WCG's payroll to form a new church organization.  Now the breakaway groups have done the same to United!   I love it!  Crooks and criminals all!





Richard Thompson has formed the  
CHURCH OF GOD, A WORLDWIDE ASSOCIATION, INC.
Principles: Mike Hanisko, Ken Giese, Greg Sargent, Roger West, George Evans


Filing documents:
Church of God, A Worldwide Association, Inc.

Today we are announcing the formation of new international congregation of believers, the Church of God, a Worldwide Association. Our church organization incorporated on December 23, 2010 and has members, congregations and ministers around the world.

The formation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, results from several fundamental disagreements within United Church of God, an International Association. After numerous efforts to engage in biblical resolutions and reconciliation, all efforts failed, and a separation became inevitable. We believe we have made every effort to avoid a rift, but the deep division over a number of issues has led us to this point. We are saddened and disappointed by this division that separates friends, family and loved ones, and we seek God’s mercy and His direction as we desire to live our lives in peace and service to God. Therefore, we are forming this new organization as a home for believers who share our mission, values and beliefs.

Our mission is to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to all nations and make disciples from among those whom God calls. Our doctrines are based in the first century teachings of Jesus Christ as practiced by the apostles. Our values are grounded in the biblical record. We will strive to humbly follow this example. We will be hosting a conference for elders January 9-11, 2011, in Louisville, Kentucky. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss options for the future for providing a spiritual home for members and elders who have become disenfranchised and disillusioned with the turmoil within the
United Church of God, an International Association.

To date several thousand members and dozens of pastors and elders have been fired or forced to resign over these developments. Their desire is to look to the future and continue to move forward together as an organized body. Elders who are dedicated to serving God and Jesus Christ in the commission of the church of preaching the gospel and making disciples of those whom God calls,
are invited to attend this important meeting.

We are asking all members and ministers to join us in fasting on a day of your choice between now and the beginning of this conference on January 9, to seek God’s will in decisions and actions
that will be taken as a result of this conference.

Our temporary headquarters is located in Palm Coast, Florida, and the church is organized as a church organization within the meaning of Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3). Individuals wishing to support the church may do so at this time. Tithes and donations are gratefully accepted and may be sent to:

Church of God, a Worldwide Association, Inc.
P.O Box 781885
Orlando, FL 32878-1885

All donations postmarked on or before December 31, 2010 will be acknowledged as year 2010 contributions for purposes of donor contribution acknowledgment letters, which donors may wish to use for any applicable tax deduction benefits.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

More UCG Resignations


Church of God Orlando Roy Demarest Saga



The Orlando Saga
Demarest conspired in the background with Orlando group before he was finally terminated by UCG.  Another shady fraudulent 'pastor.


Dear fellow members of God’s church in Orlando,

You have already seen Mr Demarest’s announcement of his resignation from the United Church of God.  As I told you last Sabbath, the decision was his to make and he is the one who took the action to leave.

In the spirit of transparency that so many say they want, it is necessary to bring to light another sad and disappointing fact in this situation.  It came to my attention yesterday morning, from a source outside our local church, that on December 7 (two weeks ago) a very small group of members from our Orlando church, apparently with the blessing and approval of Mr Demarest, who was in the employ of the United Church of God at that time and who allowed his address to be used in the corporate filing as "principal address and mailing address"  formed a new church corporation.  In Article III of the papers filed that day, it is specifically stated, “The corporation is organized as a church.”  If you are interested in seeing the official corporate filing and the list of directors for this new church, it is available at the link I provide at the end of this letter.

Please again note that the papers were filed on December 7.   The filing date indicates that this had been being planned by these individuals even before that date.  Knowing what had been done that prior Tuesday, and knowing the people involved, these members attended our Sabbath services on December 11 (the Sabbath before last), and Mr. Demarest asked an officer of that new church to give the sermon that day.  These facts might also provide an answer concerning the activities and conversations of certain individuals following services on December 11, which some of you have commented to me about.

Please also be aware that to this day, including in the email Mr Demarest sent to you earlier tonight, neither he nor any of the founding members of this new church have made any mention to anyone regarding the filing, plans, and actions they had taken two weeks ago that are now confirmed.   A couple of those people were even at our services last week and made no mention of their part in the planning of a new church.

To repeat a phrase that was written to you last week, today is indeed a “sad day” in our local church now that we realize the actions that have been committed against God’s church here in Orlando by a few of our local people. 

Nevertheless, the United Church of God in Orlando will continue, striving to live the life and fulfill the purpose God has called us to.  We will continue to prepare the people of God, continue to teach the doctrine and follow the principles and example that Jesus Christ established for His church, we will continue to preach the gospel as Christ commanded, we will continue to provide a safe, peaceful, place for our brethren to worship and fellowship each Sabbath, and we will attend to every member’s need.  The Home Office has asked me to assure you that the UCGIA will continue to provide a shepherd/pastor for our congregation as we move forward. 

Services this Sabbath will be at our usual location at the North Metropolitan Church of God, and at our usual time– 2 pm.   There will be a sermonette by one of our local members in good standing; and I have been asked by the Home Office to give the sermon.
We hope to see all of you there, as you continue to follow God. 

If you have questions, I will be happy to talk to you about them this Sabbath, or you may email me or call me. 

If you need any ministerial services (anointing, assistance, counseling, or other) please do not hesitate to contact me either by email or by phone at 386-986-1441.  I will make sure your needs are met.
Fellow members of God’s church in Orlando, I am sorry to have to report all this to you.  But many have asked for transparency and it is necessary to make you aware of all the facts concerning what has apparently been in the works in this area for several weeks.  It is disappointing that our former pastor did not feel the need to disclose his actions to you or me himself.

If you would like to review the official corporate filing documents for the new church corporation, please click the link below.  It will take you directly to the new corporate filing site for the State of Florida.

We remain in your service.

Your brother and friend,
Rick Shabi

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Dear Fellow Members of God’s Church in Orlando:

Good evening.  A few allegations have been made tonight, and as a member of the board of directors of Church of God United, Orlando, Inc., I would be remiss if I did not respond.  Earlier, I talked to Mr. Demarest, our pastor, about this issue.  He requested that I respond as a member of the Board of Directors.  After I set the record straight, we expect him to follow up with his own remarks.  Contrary to what has been suggested, nothing unethical has been done here.  Foolish allegations don’t typically merit a response, but then again these are peculiar times.  These allegations are perfectly ridiculous and, frankly, childish.  Paul had a Greek word he used for it: skubala. Before I proceed, let me just say that we all love and respect Mr. Shabi, and I am thankful for the service he has provided to our congregation as a local elder.  I mean that from the bottom of my heart, which make this situation very awkward.  He has the heart of a servant, and however he chooses to serve our great God in the future, I know he will do a fine job.  We should all wish him the very best.  None of us wanted to see our congregation divided by the unfortunate antics of the UCGiA Council and Administration, and what they have done over the past several months has grieved us all very deeply. So, we find ourselves where we are, right now, as involuntary participants in an ugly corporate divorce.  Many of us disagree with the point of view expressed by our brother in Christ, Mr. Shabi. 
However, I respect his right to have his own point of view, and sometimes Christians simply disagree.  I accept the emotional and edgy nature of his communication, because I myself have produced such messages in moments of frustration.  Rick, I know you are sincere in your point of view.  Please know that those of us who see things differently are just as sincere as you are, and I hope you’ll come to accept that and not hold it against us.  I only hope that when we all stand before the throne of Christ, he will have mercy on us all.

I have one benefit that Rick did not have when he formed his point of view: I WAS THERE. Rick was not.  I was there when certain concerned brethren in Orlando first began quietly discussing ways we could protect ourselves as a local congregation.  I was there to witness the alarm, the anguish in the eyes of our brethren who were seeing the writing on the wall, and who knew that absent a miracle, it was only a matter of time before this administration suspended our pastor, and by extension, attacked our local church family, which existed as a spiritual body before UCGiA was even a glimmer in anyone’s eye.  I was there in a coffee shop a few weeks ago when some young adults seriously suggested that we form a local corporation, “just in case,” for our protection.  As the saying goes, you never know.  Except we did know, and we did not suspend common sense or deny the manifest facts that were then emerging on an almost daily basis.  We knew that unless God intervened, and unless humility and repentence led this Council to change the way it was relating to the brethren and its superiors (the GCE), our congregation, including our widows and vulnerable members, would be thrown into a vortex of chaos and confusion, and forced to function as sheep without a shepherd.

With God as our witness, we were not about to let that happen.  Not on our watch.  As members, we are our brothers’ keepers, and we look out for each other.  We are not dumb, defenseless sheep, and if someone messes with our congregation, we are going to strike back (Psalm 44).  We don’t trust in our own spiritual implements of defense, but we trust in God.  Even so, as King David was skilled in using his implements of defense, so must we be. 

I was there when a local pillar approached me with an anguished, somber, and yet sound request that we go ahead and reluctantly take necessary and proper measures to protect our local family.  It was a contingency plan to incorporate locally.  We prayed that we would never need to partake of that plan, but God did not give us the answer we were hoping for.  It only cost $70.00 to incorporate.  If God intervened and repentence happened, then we would happily forfeit the $70.00, nix the corporation, and carry on as usual with a stronger UCG. 

In order to minimize controversy and unrest, and in order to locally promote the conditions within which reconciliation could occur, the Board of Directors made a unanimous decision to not publicize the formation of this local corporation.  Except for the requirements of law, it was our decision to allow this corporation to remain “idle” until such time that Mr. Demarest was fired, or until such time that he resigned.  Again, I was there.  So were the remaining directors and officers of the corporation: Mike Machin, Jerry Ross, Amy Ranew, Debbie Kobernat, and Katrina Schultz.  These directors and officers would be happy to confirm what I just said.  Of course, if the Council repented and Mr. Demarest was reconciled to the leadership of United, then the corporation was going to quietly fade into the twilight forever.  We did not want this corporation.  We wanted the UCGiA that was conceived in Indianapolis back in 1995. 

Mr. Demarest held no position on the corporation prior to his resignation.  He agreed to allow us to use his address for a corporate address.  I asked him if this would be okay, and he agreed, because in the unwanted event that he was fired and would then be hired by our local corporation, a local address would be needed, and his was a logical choice due to the contingency that he would be asked by the Board to become our pastor.  Incidentally, the principal address of the corporation will be changing soon since we are presently making hall arrangements. 

Neither I, nor anyone else on the Board, is inclined to be lectured by agents of this Council on the issue of ethics.  I’ll just leave it at that.  I will sleep with a clean conscience tonight, and I’ll be able to look at myself in the mirror tomorrow morning.  So will Mr. Demarest.  Our ethics derive from the Bible.  You know, the idea that we should keep the Sabbath properly; the idea that we should not bear false witness; the idea that we should not covet authority that is not ours, such as that which is vested in the GCE; the idea that we should deal honorably with our fellow man, and do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and the idea that we should not follow man, but that we should follow our ministers only as they follow Christ.  Our pastor is a rock.  His ethics are solid.  Any suggestion to the contrary is absurd, disrespectful, and shameful. 

In summary, let me just say that I did not enjoy writing this message to you all, but we felt it was necessary.  I look forward to the day when hostilities die down and this recent unpleasantness is water under the bridge.  For now, God has give me a job, and I’m going to do it–my job is to be my brother’s keeper, and that is a job given to us all as members.  As a member, I will protect my brethren and our congregation.  I will protect my pastor.  I will follow him as he follows Christ, and I am satisfied that he follows Christ as well as any minister in the Church of God.  We are all free to make up our own minds.  If you believe that integrity is doctrine, then please come this Sabbath and worship with us.  On the other hand, if you believe that our brethren in Latin America are dispensible, if you believe that God’s faithful ministers are fair game to be cut off and thrown to the trash heap, only because they spoke and acted according to conscience, if you believe in a naked, authoritarian manner of governing the brethren that knows no bounds, mercy, or tolerance, then you may want to consider aligning yourself with a congregation other than ours.

Our local corporation was formed as a safety net, and one we never wanted to use.  We are saddened that we are now using it.  We did not want this, we did not ask for it.  However, we are happy that we are now using it, at the same time.  We are very thankful for what God has given us.  As it says in Proverbs 22:3, “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.”  We saw danger, we took refuge.  After he resigned, Mr. Roy Demarest was hired as our local pastor for the purpose of continuing on with business as usual.  He accepted our offer.  We look forward to seeing him behind the lectern once again this Sabbath.  
     
Mr. Demarest has his own comments to follow tonight or tomorrow morning, but let us pursue peace and respect with those who may disagree with us, and I am excited about seeing everyone at the holy convocation this Sabbath at the Hilton.  See you then.  Let’s roll!

Jason M. Ranew
Director, Church of God United, Orlando, Inc.