Are You Embarrassed To Say You Follow Sam Kitchen?

Samuel Kitchen has issued a clarification about how important he is.

Supporting Jesus and supporting him are the same assignment. Hesitate, and you have already failed both.

If you won't lose everything for Samuel, you obviously hate Jesus

There is a sentence some people say when a self-appointed restorer of the Worldwide Church of God asks them to go public: "I hope my life doesn't get screwed up because of this."

According to Samuel, that sentence is not caution. It is cowardice. It is shame. It is proof you are ashamed of Jesus Christ, that your life is an idol, and that Jesus doesn't need you anyway. The tell is in the wording. He does not say you are ashamed of the gospel. He says you are ashamed when you do not want people to find out you are a supporter of his work. The two have been merged. Question the merger and you have questioned the Lord.

The pastoral program that follows is admirably simple. Stand up. Lose everything. This is not your time to shine; it is your time to serve God, which in practice means it is your time to be useful to him. Build character. Shoot the damn dogs. Speak in boldness. Die serving God if the heathen get difficult. Any pressure that makes you wonder whether attaching your name, job, family, or pets to this particular project is wise? Demonic. Absolutely terrible. They should be tolerable toward you. They are not, so the mature response is to die, secure your crown, and stop loving anyone more than God - which is to say, stop loving anyone more than the man equating himself with the assignment.

The idolatry charge is the cleanest part of the tantrum. If you will not let critics, employers, relatives, or basic pattern recognition outrank your public allegiance to him, those people are your idol. Get rid of the idol. What he does not mention is the scoreboard those idols keep consulting: the flipped switches that did not flip, the resurrections of Herbert's church that stayed dead, the titles that multiply faster than the fulfilled dates. Embarrassment, in that light, can look less like hatred of Christ and more like literacy.

And the dogs. "Shoot the damn dogs" is not a metaphor that improves on a second reading. It sits in the same paragraph as the demand that you die serving God and the complaint that the heathen are insufficiently tolerable. The man in the kingly robe, mouth open, fingers pointing at the you, is not asking whether you love Jesus. He is asking whether you are embarrassed to be associated with him, and he has already graded the quiz.

Are you embarrassed to support him? He says that embarrassment makes you a hater of Christ. The rest of us can hold a simpler theory. Some people are not ashamed of Jesus. They are ashamed of being drafted as free advertising for a man who thinks loyalty to his work and loyalty to the Lord are the same invoice, and who offers dog management and a crown as the receipt.

IF YOU EVER SAY "I hope my life doesn't get screwed up because of this" when you don't want people to find out you are a supporter of HIS WORK! You are a COWARD, and you are ashamed of Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ doesn't need you! And your life shouldn't be above serving God! If you are really as committed as YOU CLAIM.

You have to be willing to stand up and LOSE EVERYTHING to serve Jesus Christ! This isn't YOUR TIME TO SHINE. It is YOUR TIME TO SERVE GOD, and an opportunity to BUILD GOD'S CHARACTER! 

SO shoot the damn dogs, speak the truth in boldness, and don't let the heathen dominate YOU. Oh you may die? DIE serving God. What kind of pressure are others placing on you, that makes you feel like you will die if you STAND UP and do what God says? That's demonic! That is absolutely terrible! THEY SHOULD BE TOLERABLE TOWARDS YOU! But they hate you, and you want them to hate you? Or maybe you can shift responsibility off to Jesus Christ, and get them to hate HIM, and LOVE YOU? Then aren't you a hater of Christ? That is the path and doings of a COWARD, and someone who does not Love God! We ought to love God above all else. And not let those who HATE GOD dominate that love you have towards God! YOU CANNOT LOVE THEM MORE THAN GOD! That would mean they are your IDOL!! SO get rid of your idol! and secure your crown with Jesus Christ!

Operation Cookie - The Great Cookie Crisis of the PCG

Listen to song here: The Great Cookie Crisis

PCG Ministry and the Cookie Comment

A personal account by Dan Moffett

 

Sometimes a small incident reveals why an organization feels controlling. For me, one of those incidents involved a few dozen cookies.

A couple of years after my wife died, I decided to take my two boys on a little vacation. The Southeastern region of the Philadelphia Church of God was holding a Fourth of July family campout, and I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to get away together.

After I signed up, the event coordinator emailed me a list of things to bring. One request was for a few dozen cookies.

I had recently lost a considerable amount of weight and had been dealing with health problems. With those concerns in mind, I suggested that cookies might not be the healthiest contribution and asked whether I could bring something else.

It seemed like a simple question about food for a family outing.

A few days later, however, I received a telephone call from my local minister, Aaron Eagle. As I remember the conversation, he told me not to bring up the cookie issue again.

I was shocked. How had a question about bringing a healthier alternative become something requiring a minister’s warning?

If the event coordinator objected to my suggestion, he could have answered me directly. He could have explained the menu or simply said that cookies were what they needed. Instead, my understanding is that the matter traveled through the following chain:

• The event coordinator contacted his local minister.
• That minister contacted Craig Winters, the Southeastern regional director.
• Craig Winters contacted Cal Culpepper, the Northeastern regional director.
• Cal Culpepper contacted Aaron Eagle, my local minister.
• Aaron Eagle then called me and told me not to raise the matter again.

I was not present for those other conversations; this is my understanding of how the matter reached my minister. What I experienced directly was the email exchange and the subsequent warning from Aaron Eagle.

By that account, two ministers and two regional directors became involved over a comment about cookies.

What troubled me was the disproportionate response. I had asked whether I could contribute something healthier. Yet the response left me feeling that even an ordinary question could become a matter of ministerial scrutiny.

I had wanted a little vacation with my boys after losing their mother. Instead, this incident became another reason I felt controlled within the PCG.

To me, it illustrated an atmosphere in which a member could be made to feel that asking a reasonable question was stepping out of line.

Today, I am grateful to be free from that atmosphere. I can make ordinary decisions about my health, my family, and what I bring to a picnic without fearing a telephone call from a minister.

A question about cookies should have been answered with a conversation—not escalated into a warning.

The ACOG Identity

 

The ACOG Identity

Long ago, the teachings of Herbert Armstrong were incorporated into the personal identities of certain individuals all over the United States and English-speaking world. I know, because I was one of them! Moreover, I believe that this explains why we continue to see a small group of Armstrong’s followers divided amongst a plethora of splinter groups whose personal identities still reflect their exposure to Armstrong’s teachings.

These folks are immune to the personal testimonies of individuals who suffered mental anguish and personal loss within Armstrong’s now defunct Worldwide Church of God. Likewise, they are immune to the many scholarly and well-researched treatises which have discredited Armstrong’s teachings/theology. Why? I believe it is because Armstrong’s teachings were integrated so deeply into their psyches that they became part of their individual identities.

Although Psychology Today admits that identity is a very complex phenomenon, there are enough generalities to shed some light on what happened to these folks. In their article on identity, we read: “Identity encompasses the memories, experiences, relationships, and values that generate one’s sense of self. This amalgamation creates a steady sense of who one is over time, even as new facets are developed and incorporated into their identity.” (Psychology Today: Identity)

Herbert Armstrong claimed to have the answers to the questions which are typical of those in search of an identity – Questions like: Who am I? Does God exist? What does God want from me? What is my purpose? Is there something beyond this present life? Can I be one of God’s people? Armstrong claimed that God had revealed the answers to those questions to him, and that a person’s acceptance of those answers meant that God was calling that individual to him. Now, for someone who is searching for answers, that is pretty heady stuff! Armstrong told these folks that if they obeyed some of the precepts of Torah (like Sabbaths, Holy Days, clean and unclean meats, tithing), that they could be part of God’s one and only “TRUE” Church – one of the obedient of God. Of course, the flip side of that was that EVERYONE ELSE was NOT part of that group!

In other words, the folks who became a part of Armstrong’s group formed friendships/relationships with the other folks who had adopted his answers. Over time, their tithing, rituals, and eating habits became habitual and were internalized as an integral part of their individual identity. Likewise, over the same period, their memories became saturated with festival attendance and the experiences associated with Holy Day observances. Hence, we can see that their personal identity became so associated with the people and experiences of the Armstrong Churches of God that many of them simply could not imagine themselves outside of that tradition! They were so integrated into that system that they became part of it. For many of these folks, Armstrong’s teachings represented who they were – heart, body, and soul!

Indeed, Herbert had even convinced many of them to stop searching for answers – to stifle their intellectual and spiritual development. “You already have the answers,” he reasoned. “Why read or consider what anyone else has said or written about these things?” Moreover, Armstrong repeatedly warned them that they could “LOSE” the “truths” which had been gifted to them, and that doing so would condemn them to the Lake of Fire! Fear, ego, and personal identity kept them committed to Armstrongism; and NOTHING or NO ONE could “steal their crowns from them!”

Thus, as someone who was forced to form a new and independent identity, I understand why some folks continue to be impermeable to any appeal to come out of the cognitive dissonance that is Armstrongism. Unfortunately, for many of these folks, it is simply too much a part of who they are – It is an integral part of their identity as a person! In short, it is very hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but it is NOT impossible! Hence, it is incumbent upon all of us to follow the advice of the Apostle James: “Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.” (James 5:20)

-       Loud Scouting Pilgrim

The Best Feast Ever, Again: The Oldest Liturgy in the Churches of God

The Feast of Tabernacles is over. The suitcases are in the trunk, one final check of the hotel room, and the brethren are rolling home on the interstate, enriched and euphoric, already rehearsing the praise they will say at church the next Sabbath.

They will not have to wait long for the official version from HQ. Within days the member letters and magazine articles will arrive, most of them drafted before the last speaker left the podium. This was the Best Feast Ever. Attendance was encouraging. The messages were powerful. The offerings brought in more money than ever. The brethren have never been more united, never more fired up, never more solidly behind the Work. Change the letterhead and the same paragraph will be issued by every headquarters that still owns a mailing list.

This is not a new enthusiasm. It is the oldest liturgy the Churches of God have.

In November 1953 the Good News announced the "Greatest Feast of Tabernacles in 1500 Years." About a thousand people had gathered. The preaching was better, the music was better, the spirit was better, and there was "no friction or opposition or lack of harmony." The article did note, with regret, that only about 650 stayed the whole eight days. God, it was explained, commands the entire Festival, not parts of it. The empty chairs were already being edited into a moral lesson.

By November 1960 Garner Ted Armstrong was telling readers it seemed impossible there could be a Feast better than 1959, "but the Feast this year really WAS the greatest ever." Seven thousand one hundred at Big Sandy. Attendance up 30 percent, exactly as Mr. Armstrong had expected. In October 1962 Roderick Meredith topped it: the greatest spiritual Feast in centuries, the best organized, the most joyous, "with the most POWERFUL sermons given so far in this era of God's Church." Fifteen thousand. Seven ordinations. The superlatives were already on a schedule.

Herbert Armstrong kept the tradition in his own hand. In October 1979 he reported that the Festival "seemed the BEST EVER," sermons and sermonettes exceptional, and closed by looking toward "another even greater Feast NEXT YEAR." A year later the Pastor General's Report ran a piece titled "WHY THE 1980 FEAST WAS THE GREATEST EVER," built from member letters about satellite hookups, unity, and "a return to the joyful camaraderie so characteristic of God's people." HWA himself wrote that reports from around the world showed it was "in reality the greatest Feast of Tabernacles in our time," that division and suspicion had vanished, and that the Church was "once again truly ONE Body of Christ." The sermons, he added, were somehow inspired to be the best ever.

Read those pieces in order and the formula is naked. Attendance must be a record, or at least "encouraging." The sermons must be the most powerful yet given in this era. The spirit must be the warmest. Friction must have vanished. Unity must be declared at the precise moment it most needs declaring. And next year must already be scheduled to surpass this one, so the claim never has to survive contact with the previous claim.

The splinters inherited this liturgy with the hymnals when they split off.

They no longer have Big Sandy or the Auditorium, no longer have Mt Pocono or the Dells Feast sites, no longer meet in Squaw Valley, Tucson or St Pete where 10's of thousands meet together in what WCG's PR Dept claimed made it "largest conclave on earth" which sounded plausible even to the bitter apostates. (The Mormons actually gather more people together in person and online than any other church when they hold General Conference.) 

Armstrongism still has the adjectives. Living Church of God closed its 2025 Feast report with the usual testimony harvest: love, unity, answered prayer, and a member in Florida who said every Feast "just seems to get better and better." United Church of God has published under the title "The Best Feast Ever" and has sermons explaining the old in-house abbreviation BFE FOT, Best Feast Ever, Feast of Tabernacles, on the theory that the best Feast is always the present one or the most recent one. That is not a recollection. It is a rule. The Feast is not allowed to have been ordinary.

What the letters never mention is the other half of the parking lot. The family that drove twelve hours and left after the second day. The empty rows in the afternoon session. The minister explaining why last year's timeline was almost right. The second-tithe argument in the restaurant. The quiet count of who still believes the date and who has stopped tithing on the gross. Those details are local. The official memory is national, and it is always triumphant.

By the time the first "Best Feast Ever" email hits the inbox, half the attendees are already back at work and the euphoria is thinning into an ordinary week. The other half will forward the letter to someone who did not go, as proof that the church is healthier than the chairs suggested. Next fall the same letter will be written again, the year updated, the adjectives reused.

It has to be. In a movement that has been announcing the greatest Feast in 1,500 years since 1953, a merely good Feast would be an admission. The myth is not about the eight days. It is about the Work. If the brethren have never been more united, then the splits did not count. If the sermons were the most powerful yet, then the failed dates in last year's sermons did not count. If this was the Best Feast Ever, then the Church is still the Church, and the drive home is not the beginning of another year of waiting.

The suitcase is in the trunk. The letter is already in the mail. Both of them say the same thing, and only one of them has to be believed.

The Last Great Day: When the message about God's plan for humanity somehow keeps finding its way back into your wallet

The Last Great Day will soon arrive in the improperly named "continuing" Church of God, the way it always does: a sermon about the incorrigibly wicked, and a second sermon about your wallet.

On Crackpot Bob's site today, Ritchie White's Last Great Day offertory is bolted directly onto Bob Thiel's Brisbane sermon, "Three Resurrections: The Third Resurrection." One video tells you who gets the second death. The other tells you where to mail the check. The join is seamless. Judgment for them, PayPal for you.

They open with a confession and then ignore it. "Although the term 'Holy Day Offering' is not in the Bible..." Fine. Honest, even. Then, in the same breath, the Bible is said to command the thing they just admitted it does not name, via Deuteronomy 16:16 and "Exodus 23:4-16."

Deuteronomy 16:16 told Israelite males not to show up at the central sanctuary empty-handed for three pilgrimage feasts. That was land, altar, Levitical priesthood, and agricultural Israel. It was not a standing order to fund a California nonprofit's video channel. And Exodus 23:4 is the law about returning your enemy's stray ox. Verses 14-17 are the feast calendar. Citing "23:4-16" as a holy-day collection text is the sort of precision you get when the real scripture is the donations page.

From there the questions write themselves, and every answer is a mailing address. Who is to contribute? You. Does God bless the giver? He will, if the giver uses the link. Do we reap what we sow? Sow it to Grover Beach. Are we to do good to the poor and the household of faith? After the work is supported. "The work of God is continuing, and God expects His people to support that work with their finances."

Then the menu, printed twice in case reverence made you skim:

• Continuing Church of God, 1036 W. Grand Avenue, Grover Beach, CA 93433
• Continuing Church of God, P.O. Box 109, Grover Beach, CA 93483
• PayPal
• Venmo
• ccog.org/donations

Two street addresses in one post. The little flock is not to fear, but it is expected to know which box the fear-offering goes in. This is not a one-day lapse. The same pipe runs on Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles: act of worship, walk by faith, honor God with your resources, then the Grand Avenue address and the button. The holy day changes. The checkout does not.

Behind the speakers, the banner still says "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom," with a portrait and a field of sheep. Luke 12:32 was about the kingdom, not a processing fee. In the photo, the hands are already up. In the sermon, the hands are out. The sheep are there for atmosphere. The Venmo link is there for the point.

Then, having passed the plate, the site pivots to eternity. Thiel's hour-and-fourteen-minute sermon asks whether there are three resurrections, whether the third is only for the incorrigibly wicked, and the second death, what happens to people who die after the hundred years of Isaiah 65:20, whether death is sleep, and whether a few Jewish scholars can be stretched into a three-tier chart. "Even most in the COGs do not fully understand the third resurrection." That is the house style. The doctrine is rare, the teacher is rarer, and the rare teacher has a donations tab.

Revelation 20 already has a first resurrection and then the rest of the dead at the great white throne. The "third resurrection" is a Church of God filing system laid over that chapter, with Isaiah 65 pressed into service as an extra waiting room. Early Christians taught resurrection of the body and a judgment. They did not teach seven collection days payable to a Grover Beach mailbox. Turning "not appear empty-handed" into an annual invoice, then parking that invoice beside a lecture on who burns in the second death, is the whole method. 

Fear is for the wicked. The faithful get a QR code.

The Last Great Day is supposed to picture mercy for the bulk of humanity. In this edition, it pictures a man smiling under a "do not fear" banner while the copy underneath explains, twice, how not to appear before the Lord empty-handed. The kingdom, we are told, is the Father's good pleasure to give. The offering, we are told, is the Father's expectation to receive. One of those is in Luke. The other is on PayPal.

Where In The World Is Aaron Dean?

 

Remember, not long ago, in the ever-changing face of the Church of God, how Aaron Dean was the most important man alive, a holdover from the one true Council of Elders? The man who was destined to return to the one true Worldwide Church of God and restore the faith once delivered. The man who would stand on the newly purchased Ambassador Auditorium stage and preach the final word of warning to the world before the terrible end times hit. The man who had literally touched and been in the presence of God's most holy and important Apostle in human history.

We were endlessly bewitched by the incessant begging for Aaron to return to the truth once delivered and abandon the heretical apostate United Church of God, that rebellious upstart not worthy of such a great man.

Yet, here we are today, a few hours away from the Last Great Day that symbolizes the Great White Throne Judgment. A judgment that Aaron will now have to face because he remained in the apostate UCG and refused to join up with Sammy. 

Aaron's apostasy no longer matters since God has now officially appointed Sam Kitchen as God's last remaining mouthpiece to bring the huddled masses back to the church and take all of their money (currently two women in Canada), restore the truth once delivered, and lead the chosen people into Petra while he hops over to Jerusalem to be one of the Two Witless Witnesses.

Isn't Armstrongism grand!!!!!!!!

David C. Pack spoiled another Feast of Tabernacles

David C. Pack's Three Could-Bes

Rather than brethren enjoying their time at the Feast of Tabernacles, they had to ponder the nonsensical speculations of their human idol. Just the way he likes it.

David C. Pack spoiled another Feast of Tabernacles for the brethren of The Restored Church of God when he theorized three possible "could be" options for the coming Kingdom of God.

During "The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 650)" given on September 19, 2026, the Pastor General was "foretelling" when he taught that the Kingdom could arrive on the Opening Night, during the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, or on the Last Great Day.

Three prophetic failures in the same week is not his record high.

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