History of Governance in the Church of God

History of Governance in the Church of God

Stoned Stephen Society blog

While many churches of God consider WCG as the parent church, the WCG is actually a spin off from another parent church that was called the Church of Christ. Gilbert Cranmer is credited for starting our church in March of 1858. In 1831 at the age of 17, Gilbert was baptized in a Methodist church and started preaching. After 2 years, he quit over the trinity doctrine and joined the Christian Connexion or Christian Church which was made up of loosely affiliated Christians that had abandoned the colonial churches like the Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist.

In 1844, he joined the Adventist movement started by William Miller whose prediction of Christ’s return between 1843-1844, spread like wildfire. After the “great disappointment”, Gilbert moved from Michigan to Illinois to escape the ridicule and mocking from his neighbors when Christ did not return.

Sabbath-keeping started being preached by Joseph Bates in the 1840’s and 50’s among the Millerites/Adventists. Gilbert Cranmer began observing the Sabbath in 1852. James and Ellen G. White began raising up Sabbath keeping advent churches at this time and Gilbert Cranmer became associated with them. In 1858, the White’s refused to give Cranmer credentials to preach in the Advent churches because of his tobacco use. By 1860, Gilbert Cranmer raised up 12 congregations made up of mostly Adventists who wished to distance themselves from Ellen G. White’s prophecies and James White’s desire to create a top-down government structure for the church. It is interesting to note here that it was a government issue and prophecy that created the split from SDA and the creation of the Church of Christ. The first structure of our parent church was Congregationalist and strongly opposed Episcopal top-down governance. Over the next 24 years, congregations were raised up and by 1884, they came together under a General Conference. This is when they settled on the name, Church of God.

In Robert Coulter’s book, “The Journey: A History of the Church of God (Seventh Day)”, he says on p.109:

It is interesting to note that the Conference was organized as a membership movement that did not require negotiations, concessions, or preconditions among its varied membership in order to organize. The Conference came into existence as a spontaneous action of its membership rather than of its leadership, and it was to serve its membership rather than govern them. 

 

It was under the oppressive drive of James and Ellen G. White to define doctrine of the church for everyone else and concentrate power and authority unto themselves, that helped ensure a congregational culture and governance of the Church of God and led to publications that had an “open creed” where critical thinkers of the church could get Bible studies published. Any idea that truth could only be introduced into the church from the ministry was utter nonsense. This was the culture that enabled the Church of God to develop its core doctrines during its first 70 years in existence. This period was not plagued with politics, infighting, division and chaos. No, all of that happened under Andrew Duggers’ watch. He was the next “James White” to come along and try to concentrate power unto himself and dictate a new long list of official doctrines. Andrew Dugger managed to split the church in half by 1933. After 16 years, the church merged again but not after membership went from 40,000 all the way down to 10,000 thanks to Andrew Dugger’s “skills in governance.”

It was in the atmosphere of those divided and divisive years that HWA himself railed against Duggers’ oppression and believed as long as he received a paycheck from the Church of God, he would have to preach only what men ordered him to teach. HWA claimed he stopped receiving pay from the Church of God in 1933 and only loosely affiliated because he was not going to be told by men what to preach. But the truth is, and it is in the Church’s records, that he remained a credentialed and paid minister until 1938.

It is ironic but quite possible that some of those 30,000 members who left the Church of God during this time period because of the controls implemented into the church by Dugger, went with HWA because of his stance against top-down governance. HWA clearly railed against one man rule, top down government in his 1939 article, calling it the “image of the beast.”

HWA claimed later he did not know what church government should be and it wasn’t until the 1950’s that it started coming to him. In the GCG booklet on government by RCM in 1993, RCM says it was he and Herman Hoeh that essentially introduced top-down government into the church by a series of articles in the 1950’s. By 1978, HWA had taken on titles to himself like “Apostle” and later, “Elijah” and brought the church so in line with Roman Catholic Church governance that some began questioning this obvious heresy in the church. His delusional concentration of power, in my opinion, is the reason there was no smooth transition after his death and directly contributed to the collapse of ‘his’ church. Just like William Miller, James and Ellen G. White and Andrew Dugger before him, HWA came along to concentrate power, make false predictions in prophecy and the return of Christ (1975), enforce his version of truth, and ultimately cause mass confusion, politics, infighting and chaos.

The turbulent 1930’s in the Church of God produced 3 splinters from the church:

1. C. O. Dodd formed the sacred names movement.

2. Andrew Dugger established a headquarters in Jerusalem to convert Jews who he

    believed would be the 144,000 in Revelation.

3. Herbert Armstrong split over the Holy Days and British-Israelism.

Something important to realize is that while HWA claimed to restore 18 truths to the church by direct inspiration from Jesus Christ, the truth is, HWA came into contact with the Church of God in 1927 and began reading all the materials that church produced in its publications that had that “open creed.” He said when he came in contact with “Sardis”, they had very little truth. But the truth is, the focus and culture of the Church of God was to avoid “officiating” doctrines and beliefs held by the members. What that means is even though there was not a webpage with a laundry list of teachings one must agree to in order to fellowship or be initiated into a corporate body, almost every single one of HWA’s “divinely” restored truths were written about, published and discussed in the church; some of those ideas for many years. HWA did not leave because no one would believe his teachings on British-Israelism and the Holy Days. He left because the General Conference would not make them official doctrines as something everyone had to believe.

[John Keizs, who was a close friend and fellow minister of HWA from 1935-1945, says HWA had a persecution-complex and the church was glad to see him go as he was difficult to work with. Keizs also stated that HWA told him he planned to start a college where he could train men to teach only what HWA told them to teach.]

There were people in the church that believed those two doctrines and observed annual Holy Days. HWA learned it there! HWA continued sharing a feast site with John Keizs until 1945. And there are still people in the Church of God (Seventh Day) and the Seventh Day Adventist Church that believe and observe the annual Holy Days to this day.

As a prelude and summary statement about his research, Robert Coulter says this on p.18:

The history contained in The Journey, from the Church’s founding to the present, has not always been uplifting. Sometimes it reflects the triumph of the Christian spirit and faith. At other times it reflects the selfishness of human nature. But since the church, as a part of the body of Christ, is composed of frail human beings, the modern church, like the imperfect church of the first century, reflects both the goodness of God and the depravity of the human spirit and the need for Jesus Christ to recreate it after His image!

Herbert W. Armstrong died (40) years ago. The churches of God birthed from the Worldwide Church of God are but a shell of a former work and zeal. It’s time to look in that mirror and reflect on the truth of our roots and our history.

Something we have been hearing over and over for years now is, “If God has top-down government He plans to implement on earth during the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, why would He NOT want us to practice that government in the church right now?” I have three reasons why NOT:

1. We are not God. We are men and incapable of ruling justly over others. The proof of this is human history and the record of abuse in all top-down structures including the ones implemented in churches.

2. Only the ministry gets to “practice” this government now. The only thing the rest of us get to practice is I Peter 2:18-21 and quite frankly, I get to practice that enough in the world.

3. The New Testament does not clearly endorse any form of government and that is why we see evidence of multiple structures utilized in church history. [I have come to believe through further study that the New Testament does endorse Congregational Polity]

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. When you compare the Church of God (Seventh Day) early days of congregational polity and open creed, encouraging all brethren to study to show themselves approved to the years they dealt with James White and Andrew Dugger trying to concentrate power unto themselves and dictating doctrine; which approach bore fruits of growth and peace and brotherly love and which bred politics, division and strife?

The so-called "Sardis era" of the Church (Church of God: Seventh Day) has 400,000 members with congregational governance. The WCG legacy is an aftermath of roughly 30,000 people divided by a divisive ministry drunk with top down power and dependency on tithe payers for their livelihoods.

Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”

philosophy” is PHILOSOPHIA: “not philosophy in general but the teaching of a syncretistic religious group that claims special insight into God, Christ, astral powers, creation, that imposes a set of rules on its members and that bases the authority of its message on its age or esoteric (secret) nature. –p.1272, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament

Philosophia is what destroyed families because of an ungodly understanding of divorce and remarriage in WCG. Philosophia is what ruined thousands of brethren’s financial lives as they believed Christ was returning in 1975 in WCG. Philosophia is what enabled a whoremonger to remain the spokesman (GTA) of the WCG through the 1970’s because when he was initially removed, the income dropped 30% so he was rushed back. Philosophia is why one-man-rule, top-down government was used in WCG to maintain control and keep people focused on HWA as their mediator to Christ. Philosophia is what produced the “true church” doctrine that tied people’s salvation to membership in WCG and put people to sleep.

In Robert Coulter’s concluding statements in his book, “The Journey: A History of the Church of God (Seventh Day)” he points out that, “all churches have skeletons in their proverbial closets if their historians choose to reveal them.”

As long as LCG and all other splinters from WCG refuse to shine the light of truth on church history, an unforgiving internet will continue to do so for them. Unacknowledged ecclesiastical sins will never be forgiven. You will go down as the church who had a name for being alive (The Living Church of God) but continued only as the walking dead, arms outstretched, falling forward from the white-washed sepulcher of the Worldwide Church of God.

HWA was a failed business man that turned his marketing skills to selling religion for gain. HWA taught many truths that he learned in COG7D and pawned them off as having received them directly from Christ. HWA was a gnostic who pushed his own “philosophia” without grace and without love; two things unconverted men can never understand.

In Philippians 1:15-18, Paul says that there are those who preach Christ out of envy, strife and selfish ambition, while others, out of love. Paul asks what we are to make of this. Should we give up? Discard everything what was learned as lies? No. Paul says, whether in pretense or truth, Christ is preached. And I want to make that clear. I did not write this to take away from what Jesus has done for me by bringing me into contact with the churches of God. Despite the messengers, I learned many truths of the Bible. I am not advocating that there is a “best place to be." There is only the best place for you where Christ wants to put you in your journey. The most important thing is to never turn off the most important aspect of your humanity that is created in the very image of God. John tells us that the name of our God is “Rational Thought.” Please, don’t ever trade that in for a quick fix into the Kingdom of heaven promised by teachers. Work out your own salvation in fear and trembling.

V.

Did Herbert W. Armstrong Really Have the Power to "Bind and Loose" on Earth and in Heaven?

 

Did Herbert W. Armstrong Really Have the Power to "Bind and Loose" 

on Earth and in Heaven?

Samuel Kitchen claims that Herbert Armstrong had the keys to bind and loose things on earth and in heaven, but did he really?

Herbert W. Armstrong loved to position himself as Christ's one and only end-time apostle, complete with the divine authority to "bind and loose" doctrines, practices, and even people's eternal destinies. He didn't just hint at it—he declared it with the full weight of his office. In a November 8, 1978, member letter, he made it "OFFICIAL" that this authority belonged exclusively to "Christ's present-day Apostle," not to lower-rank ministers or the church as a body. In August 1978, he warned that any "separated individual believer" trying to get salvation on his own or by following some man or denomination was "CUT OFF" from the true teaching that Christ reveals only through His apostle.

He doubled down: Disagree on doctrine? You're out of harmony with God's one Church. And that Church, of course, speaks only what Christ taught His apostle. Nice setup if you're the apostle.

This wasn't some minor administrative quirk. It was the theological engine that powered the entire WCG system of one-man rule, mandatory tithing, prophetic speculation, and disfellowshipping anyone who dared question the party line. But was HWA actually qualified to wield this authority? And more importantly, is the way he framed it biblical—or is it rank heresy that has left a trail of spiritual wreckage across decades of Armstrongism?

The phrase comes from Matthew 16:19 (to Peter) and Matthew 18:18 (in the context of church discipline). In first-century Jewish usage, "binding and loosing" referred to authoritative teaching: declaring what Scripture forbade or permitted, exercising discipline, and pronouncing forgiveness or retaining guilt. It was never a blank check for one man to invent new doctrines, override the Bible, or act as a spiritual dictator.

Peter had a unique foundational role, but even that was shared. The church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets (past tense—Ephesians 2:20), with Christ as the cornerstone. Acts 15 shows a council of apostles and elders making decisions together. Church discipline in 1 Corinthians 5 and 2 Corinthians 2 involved the congregation, not a lone apostle issuing decrees from headquarters. The New Testament knows nothing of an ongoing "chief apostle" office that funnels all truth through one self-appointed successor.

True apostolic authority was confirmed by eyewitness testimony of the risen Christ and miraculous signs (Acts 1:21-22; 2 Corinthians 12:12). HWA met none of those qualifications. His "new truths" were often recycled British Israelism, calendar theories, and prophetic guesses that failed spectacularly. Scripture is sufficient (2 Timothy 3:16-17); we don't need a latter-day apostle to keep updating it.

By claiming exclusive access to "TRUE TEACHING" that Christ reveals only through him, HWA turned the gospel into a franchise operation. Step outside his church? Cut off. Disagree with the apostle? Out of harmony with God Himself. This wasn't shepherding God's flock—it was building a personality cult where loyalty to HWA became the litmus test for salvation.

This doctrine enabled decades of control: dictating marriages, finances, medical decisions, and even what members could read or think. It elevated one flawed man above the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9) and the direct access to Christ promised in the New Covenant (Hebrews 4:14-16). The Holy Spirit leads God's people into truth collectively (John 16:13), not through a Pasadena bottleneck.

The splinters have carried this virus forward. Whether it's Dave Pack's "apostle" delusions in Wadsworth, Bob Thiel's crackpot pronouncements, or any of the other self-appointed Elijahs and Zerubbabels, the pattern remains: one man at the top, binding and loosing whatever serves the current narrative, while members are warned against "following men" (except, of course, the right one).

Let's call this what it is: a masterful theological con job that would make a used car salesman blush. Herbert Armstrong didn't just misunderstand "binding and loosing"—he weaponized it to crown himself the indispensable middleman between you and God. Forget the finished work of Christ, the sufficiency of Scripture, or the New Covenant reality of grace through faith. No, salvation required staying tuned to the apostle's latest epistle, checkbook open and critical thinking switched firmly to "off."

The sheer arrogance is almost comical. Here was a man who couldn't even keep his own prophecies straight, who changed doctrines more often than most people change socks, declaring himself the sole channel of divine truth while labeling everyone else "cut off." If that isn't the spirit of Antichrist—exalting himself above all that is called God (2 Thessalonians 2:4)—it's doing a damn fine imitation.

Thank God the New Covenant tears up this kind of spiritual extortion racket. No human organization or self-proclaimed apostle stands between you and the Savior. The Holy Spirit isn't on payroll at any headquarters. The priesthood of believers isn't a suggestion—it's reality. You don't need to "get your salvation all by yourself" in isolation, but neither do you need to submit to some modern-day pharisee with a mailing list and a God complex.

The wreckage is everywhere: ruined families, devastated finances, failed prophecies stacked like cordwood, and generations still trapped in fear because they were taught that leaving "the Church" meant leaving God. But the truth is the opposite. Real freedom in Christ begins when you stop following men who bind heavy burdens and start walking in the liberty purchased by the blood of the Lamb.

If you're still entangled in this mess—whether in a major splinter or some tiny "one true church" remnant—consider this your invitation to the exit ramp. Test everything against Scripture, not against the latest apostle's decree. The real Chief Apostle finished His work 2,000 years ago. He doesn't need a Pasadena successor or a self-appointed splinter apostle/prophet/chief overseer/pastor general.

Fiery Trials: Mandatory for Salvation or Just More COG Fear Porn? McNair & Thiel Edition

Crackpot Bob Thiel Touts Raymond “Buffy” McNair’s Tired “Fiery Trials” Sermon: More Proof Armstrongism Loves Suffering More Than Grace

Once again, the ever-reliable Crackpot Prophet Bob Thiel has dug up an old Raymond McNair article to “prove” that real Christians must endure constant “fiery trials,” severe persecutions, and endless pressure just to qualify for the Kingdom. Because nothing says “Good News” like being told your loving Father designed your life to be one long stress test.

McNair’s piece, titled something along the lines of “You Need To Know Why – Fiery Trials are Necessary,” is classic Worldwide Church of God boilerplate. It claims trials are mandatory blessings in disguise, compares spiritual birth to the pain of physical childbirth, trots out David, Paul, and Peter as examples of those who had to suffer mightily to “qualify,” and warns that without enough tribulation you’ll end up spiritually flabby—or worse, a “bastard” son whom God rejects. Comforting stuff.

Herbert Armstrong himself reportedly called Raymond McNair “Buffy McNair,” a jab that spoke volumes about how even HWA viewed his loyalty but limited brightness. McNair wasn’t exactly the sharpest lightbulb in the ministerial chandelier, and this article shows why. It’s a mishmash of proof-texting, stretched typology, and legalistic fear-mongering that turns the normal hardships of life in a fallen world into a mandatory qualification program for elite Kingdom positions.

What the Bible Actually Teaches

Yes, Scripture is clear that Christians will face tribulation. Jesus Himself said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). Paul told the disciples they would enter the Kingdom “through much tribulation” (Acts 14:22), warned that godliness brings persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), and Peter spoke of the “fiery trial” that tries faith like gold in the fire (1 Peter 4:12-13; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

Hebrews 12 discusses God’s fatherly chastening, and James 1 talks about the blessing of enduring temptation. Paul’s own catalogue of sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11 is sobering. No serious Christian denies that following Christ can bring opposition, refinement, and hardship. God does use trials to conform us to Christ’s image, build endurance, and draw us closer to Him.

But McNair (and Thiel parroting him) turns these realities into a crushing system. Not every believer is called to Paul-level shipwrecks and beatings. Not every trial is a special “fiery test” from God to prove your worthiness. And suffering is never the means by which we earn or qualify for salvation or high office in the Kingdom. That’s where Armstrongism goes off the rails into works-righteousness territory.

The New Covenant Difference

Under the New Covenant, our standing with God is based on Christ’s finished work, not on how many fiery trials we’ve racked up. We are accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6), complete in Him (Colossians 2:10), and perfected forever by His one sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10-14). Trials test and refine existing faith—they don’t create it or serve as a performance review for future rulership.

The childbirth analogy McNair leans on is strained typology at best. Being “born again” is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit through faith, not something we achieve by enduring enough pressure. God promises to limit our temptations (1 Corinthians 10:13), work all things for good (Romans 8:28), and deliver us from many afflictions (Psalm 34:19). He also gives peace that passes understanding and invites the weary to find rest in Him (Matthew 11:28-30; Philippians 4:6-7).

Armstrongist leaders loved weaponizing these passages to keep members anxious, tithing, and submissive. “God is testing you—don’t be lukewarm!” became code for “Stay in line or you’re out.” It fostered fear, guilt, and spiritual exhaustion rather than the freedom Christ promised.

Buffy McNair’s recycled ramblings, now promoted by Crackpot Bob, reveal the deep sickness at the heart of Armstrongism: a theology that magnifies suffering and human striving while minimizing the grace, rest, and finished victory we have in Jesus Christ.

True biblical Christianity does not demand that believers manufacture or seek out endless fiery trials to prove their worth. Life in this fallen world already supplies plenty of trouble. God sovereignly uses those difficulties for our growth and His glory, but He does not run a cosmic obstacle course where only the most bruised and battered contestants win the crown.

The New Covenant offers something far better: a loving Father who disciplines us as sons and daughters, yes, but who has already declared us righteous in Christ. Our endurance flows not from gritted-teeth determination to avoid being labeled spiritual bastards, but from abiding in the One who has already overcome the world.

This is the glorious freedom of the gospel. We do not have to live under perpetual pressure to qualify for something Christ has already secured for us. Trials will come, but they are not the proof of our sonship— the indwelling Holy Spirit and our faith in the finished work of Calvary are.

Reject the heavy yoke of Armstrongist fear-mongering. Rest in the grace of the New Covenant. The true Kingdom is entered not by those who suffer the most, but by those who trust the Savior who suffered once for all.

Thank God we are no longer under the bondage of “fiery trials” as a lifestyle requirement. In Christ, we have peace, purpose, and the sure hope of glory—without needing Buffy McNair or Bwana Bob’s distorted proof-texts to tell us otherwise.

Freedom in Christ beats endless tribulation theater every single time.

Perpetual Office Managers: The Rot That Afflicts Every Church of God Splinter

Perpetual Office Managers: The Rot That Afflicts Every Church of God Splinter

The United Church of God’s problems with entrenched, unaccountable Operations Managers aren’t a UCG-only bug. They’re a feature across the entire fractured landscape of Armstrongist “Churches of God.” Nathan Albright’s recent paper shines a much-needed light on the governance failure in UCG, but the same sickness—lifelong administrative fiefdoms, opaque decision-making, and resistance to real accountability—plagues virtually every major splinter. What began as a reaction against Herbert W. Armstrong’s and Joseph Tkach’s top-down authoritarianism has calcified into its own form of bureaucratic permanence. The result? Stagnation, groupthink, silenced dissent, and a leadership class more focused on preserving its own comfort than serving the flock.

As Albright rightly notes in his executive summary:

This paper examines a governance weakness within the United Church of God (UCG): the absence of term limits or genuine accountability for Operations Managers, particularly those overseeing Ministerial and Member Services and Media and Communications Services. While the UCG was formed in response to prior authoritarian abuses within the Worldwide Church of God, its own governing structure has permitted long-term consolidation of administrative power.

Replace “UCG” with LCG, PCG, CCOG, COGWA, RCG, or any of the smaller groups, and the paragraph still works perfectly. The names change, the letterhead rotates, but the pattern remains: a handful of men (almost always the same small circle) dig in for decades, shaping doctrine, ministry assignments, media narratives, and discipline with little meaningful oversight.

The Same Old Story Across the Splinters

UCG’s Council of Elders and General Conference of Elders were supposed to provide collegial balance. In practice, as Albright documents, Operations Managers over Ministerial and Member Services and Media become “semi-permanent and virtually immune to broad accountability.” They control pastoral assignments, credentialing, internal communications, public messaging, and responses to controversy. Dissenting ministers get reassigned, marginalized, or quietly sidelined. Media output stays tightly controlled to protect the approved narrative.

This isn’t unique to UCG. In the Living Church of God, long-serving administrators and headquarters loyalists have maintained tight control over ministerial culture and public image for years, even as membership and income trends tell their own story. In the Philadelphia Church of God, Gerald Flurry’s inner circle operates with even less pretense of accountability—after all, it’s “God’s government” in their telling. David C. Pack’s Restored Church of God takes it to cultish extremes, where questioning headquarters means questioning “God’s apostle.” Bob Thiel’s Continuing Church of God functions as a one-man (plus a few loyal lieutenants) operation where administrative power is simply whatever “Bwana Bob” decrees.

Across the board, the absence of term limits for these key operational roles creates the very centralization the splinters claimed to escape. Albright nails the structural problem in UCG:

The Constitution and Bylaws do not specify term limits for Operations Managers nor mandate periodic reviews or reappointment processes… Long-serving individuals in these roles often shape the institutional culture to their own vision, marginalizing dissent and consolidating influence through internal promotions and informal networks.

The same bylaws-level vacuum (or outright disregard for accountability) exists elsewhere. Presidents, Operations Managers, Media Directors, and “counsel of elders” equivalents become de facto lifelong positions. Fresh ideas dry up. Emerging leaders with different perspectives are either co-opted or pushed out. Innovation dies. The result is the slow-motion decline visible in shrinking congregations, aging memberships, and increasingly desperate fundraising across most groups.

Biblical Leadership: This Is Not

The New Testament knows nothing of perpetual office managers lording it over the saints. As Albright points out:
 

Scripture consistently presents leadership as a responsibility, not a personal possession. The New Testament pattern emphasizes rotation, plurality, and accountability. Paul and Peter both warn against lording it over the flock (1 Peter 5:1–3), and Christ commands His followers not to exercise authority as the Gentiles do (Matthew 20:25–28).

Instead of servant leadership and plurality, we get administrative permanence that breeds exactly the kind of institutional idolatry and abuse of power the splinters once condemned in the old WCG. Media control becomes narrative control. Ministerial oversight becomes the ability to shape (or silence) theology and discipline. When these powers rest in the same unchanging hands for decades, spiritual vitality suffers and the church drifts toward the very hierarchical model it fled.

Consequences We’ve All Seen

Stifled innovation and fresh voices: 

• Talented ministers and members with new ideas hit the same entrenched wall.
• Lack of transparency: Decisions about discipline, doctrine emphasis, and finances happen behind closed doors with minimal reporting to the brethren.
• Groupthink and cover-ups: Problems (doctrinal drift, moral failures, financial mismanagement) get minimized or buried to protect the institution and its long-serving managers.
• Declining health: Membership stagnates or shrinks while headquarters empires remain comfortable.

This isn’t servant leadership. It’s bureaucratic self-preservation dressed up in religious language.

Time for Real Reform Across the Board

Albright’s recommendations for UCG apply broadly: term limits (five-year renewable terms with mandatory sabbaticals after ten years), transparent annual reviews with input from field ministers and members, clearer separation of strategic council oversight from day-to-day administrative power, broader involvement in appointments, and a renewed culture of servant leadership.

Until the Churches of God adopt genuine accountability structures—real term limits, independent reviews, and actual plurality—the pattern of “perpetual office managers” will continue producing the same sad results: declining churches run by comfortable insiders who mistake institutional survival for faithfulness to the Gospel.

The original break from the WCG was driven by a desire to restore biblical governance and avoid the abuses of unchecked power. Thirty years later, most splinters have failed to live up to that vision. As Albright warns in his conclusion:

The United Church of God has noble origins in resisting ecclesiastical overreach. Yet without meaningful reform, it risks reproducing the very patterns it once rejected. Operations Managers must not become unaccountable power centers.

The same warning applies to every Church of God group. The brethren deserve better than lifelong bureaucratic overlords. Real New Covenant freedom includes freedom from the heavy hand of perpetual office managers who have confused their own positions with the work of God.

It’s long past time for genuine reform—before more generations are ground down by the same unaccountable system.

Nathan Albright's paper: White Paper: Unaccountable Stewardship — The Structural Problems of Perpetual Operations Managers in the United Church of God

The German Blitz That Crumbled Before It Started – Thanks, Demographics!

For decades, Armstrongism has clung desperately to the long-held delusion that Germany will once again rise as a military juggernaut, invade the United States, England, Australia, Canada, and other so-called “Israelitish” nations, slaughter a third of the inhabitants, haul off millions of prisoners (especially the young and fit), and ship them across the Atlantic to serve as slaves for their European overlords. It even reached peak absurdity at one point with the claim that when the Germans stormed ashore, they’d be so dazzled by the Ambassador Auditorium and surrounding properties in Pasadena that they’d declare it the invasion headquarters. Heaven forbid they tear it down—after all, why destroy such a fine example of God’s (or at least Herbert’s) handiwork when you could just occupy it instead?

Herbert Armstrong kicked off this paranoid fever dream by repeatedly insisting that Hitler was still alive and hiding out in South America, most likely Argentina, plotting his comeback tour. Then Rod Meredith had what can only be described as a particularly vivid wet dream about Americans being cooked in Nazi ovens, hung on meat hooks to die slow deaths, and—because nothing says “biblical prophecy” like extra cruelty—skin from those with tattoos being turned into lampshades, just like the Nazis actually did in some concentration camps.

Scores of breathless articles flooded the Plain Truth, Good News, and World Tomorrow magazines, warning of the imminent German blitz. And who could forget Gerald Waterhouse’s traveling road show of unhinged stupidity, where he not only regurgitated these delusions but happily invented fresh ones for the flock? Even today, the usual suspects—Bob Thiel (a.k.a. Bwana Bob, the Crackpot Prophet), Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland, Alton Billingsley, Dave Pack, and a whole clown car full of other self-appointed know-it-alls—continue to peddle this nonsense as if it’s cutting-edge revelation instead of moldy 1930s-era geopolitical fan fiction. It should be painfully obvious by now that mental illness and grand delusions are occupational hazards for far too many Church of God leaders and evangelists.

These Church of God leaders need this German invasion to happen. It simply must occur! Only then can they finally declare victory and prove that every wild-eyed prediction they’ve ever made wasn’t the ravings of paranoid men living in perpetual fear of being exposed as frauds.

All of this stems from their stubborn refusal to leave the Old Covenant behind—those heavy chains of law-keeping, enforcement, and threats used to keep the sheep in line. Armstrongism’s allergic reaction to fully embracing the New Covenant is precisely why they keep recycling this apocalyptic garbage. Instead of finding rest in the One who accomplished it all, they prefer to wallow in fear and cower before imagined divine wrath.

They desperately need to see an invading army of jackbooted Germans marching down the streets of Charlotte or Grover Beach. But not once do they sit down and actually think this mythical scenario through. Germany currently fields around 1,000,000 active and reserve military personnel, while the United States has about 3,000,000. Oh wait, they always have an escape hatch: After Germany miraculously drops nuclear bombs on all the major military installations and cities, the number of defenders will be minimal. And of those who remain, many will conveniently perish from hunger and disease. Armstrongism has a convenient workaround for everything!

One thing these prophetic geniuses never had the intellectual honesty to consider is the current state of Germany’s military. This tidbit was on a German page on X:

“Germany can no longer raise an army, simply because of how many Muslims are now German citizens” 

 

“Now, allegedly, Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz has privately admitted that he's worried about the country's ability to raise an army, simply because Germany doesn't want to put weapons in the hands of hundreds of thousands of Muslim Germans. And he'd be right in worrying, because a recent study of young Muslim Germans showed that nearly half expressed latent Islamist attitudes, which are, you know, the kind of attitudes that turn Muslims into terrorists, and more than half said that their religious commandments were more important to them than even German democracy. And if you ask me, these don't sound like the attitudes of Germans. These sound like the attitudes of Germany's enemies”

Let’s get into the facts. A 2025–2026 German government-backed study by MOTRA, Radicalization Monitoring System, involving the Federal Criminal Police Office, found that 45.1% of Muslims under 40 in Germany hold either “manifest” (11.5%) or “latent” (33.6%) Islamist attitudes. This includes preferences for Sharia over the constitution, antisemitic views, and Islamist leanings. When you have a significant population of Muslims who hold a pro-Sharia Law mindset, you can’t trust them in your military.

In the end, the entire edifice of Armstrongist prophecy about a German invasion crumbles under the slightest scrutiny, revealing itself as nothing more than a fear-based control mechanism dressed up in biblical language. While these leaders continue to hype imaginary jackbooted hordes, the real world moves on—Germany grapples with its own demographic and security challenges that make conquering the United States about as likely as Herbert Armstrong returning from Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena to lead the charge himself.

The tragedy is that generations of sincere people have lived in dread, sacrificing time, money, and peace of mind to support a fantasy that has failed spectacularly for decades. The New Covenant offers rest, freedom, and security in Christ, not endless paranoia about European superpowers or nuclear doomsday scenarios conveniently rigged in favor of the “one true church.” It’s long past time for those still trapped in this system to step away from the delusions, embrace the finished work of the Savior, and leave the failed prophets to their increasingly desperate echo chambers. True peace doesn’t come from watching for German tanks on the horizon—it comes from the One who has already overcome the world.

Persecution Coming Within Four Years… Or Eight… Or Twelve… But Definitely Real This Time, Brethren!

 

Why Bob Thiel Is Convinced His Tiny Sabbath-Keeping “Philadelphian Remnant” Will Be Persecuted Within the Next Four Years (And Why He’s Been Wrong About Every Single Deadline Since the Last Ice Age)
Oh look, brethren—er, I mean, the three dozen faithful who haven’t yet fled to another city—real persecution is coming. Again. This week’s recommended sermon from the Continuing Church of God’s very own Dr. Bob Thiel (PhD in made-up prophecy) is all about “prophecies related to Sabbath-keepers,” which is Thiel-speak for “please keep tithing while I recycle the same 1970s Armstrongist fear-porn and pretend it’s fresh revelation from God.”
The man who once claimed God gave him a dream that he was the prophesied Elijah-to-come (before quietly walking that one back when it got too embarrassing) is now dusting off Matthew 10:23 like it’s a brand-new text hot off the divine press: 

When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

 Jesus was talking to first-century apostles. Bob Thiel reads it and hears a personal four-year eviction notice aimed squarely at his living-room Zoom Bible study in Arroyo Grande. Because nothing says “humble servant of God” like turning a travel advisory for the Twelve into a personalized persecution countdown clock that somehow always lands on “within four years… or maybe eight… or twelve… but definitely soon, brethren, send more money.”
But the real comedy gold comes when Thiel drags out Daniel 11:28-35—the passage every failed end-times huckster has been misapplying since the ink dried. The king of the North gets mad, pollutes the sanctuary, persecutes the “wise,” etc. In Thiel’s special translation (the one with the invisible asterisk that says “*This means me and my 47 followers first”), this somehow proves the “bulk of a relatively soon coming persecution (perhaps within four years)” will hit the Philadelphian remnant Christians before anyone else. Why? Because Revelation 3:8 says they have “a little strength” and have kept His word. Translation: Bob’s group still meets on Saturday, avoids bacon, and tithes like it’s 1974, so obviously Satan has them circled in red Sharpie on the global hit list.
The logic is airtight if you’ve had a lobotomy:

1. Bob Thiel = the Philadelphian remnant (he checked the dream journal). 
2. Daniel 11 says the remnant gets hammered first. 
3. Jesus said flee, so pack the freeze-dried manna. 
4. Therefore, within four years the government, the Vatican, the UN, the Illuminati, and probably the local HOA will burst in demanding Sunday worship and Easter ham while forcing everyone to work Saturdays in matching “666” T-shirts. 
5. Don’t forget to buy Bob’s latest book on the subject. It’s only $29.99 and comes with a free “I told you so” sticker for when it doesn’t happen.

What’s especially hilarious is how Thiel’s four-year windows have the structural integrity of wet toilet paper. He’s been peddling this “persecution is right around the corner” schtick for over a decade now. Every failed prediction gets quietly memory-holed while a shiny new sermon series pops up: “Why the Great Tribulation Is Still Coming—Just a Little Later Than the Last 47 Times I Said It Would.” Some random European law, a papal handshake, a TikTok about Sunday laws, or the fact that Walmart sells hot dogs on Saturday—all of it is “proof” in Thiel’s fever-dream theology. He even wrote an entire article called “Persecutions by Church and State” that’s basically a greatest-hits album of out-of-context Ellen White quotes, Herbert Armstrong fever dreams, and Bob’s own self-referential footnotes.
And the lies? Oh, the lies are the real miracle here. Thiel has claimed divine dreams proving he’s a prophet more times than most people change their socks. He’s predicted specific wars, economic collapses, and end-time events with calendar precision—none of which have arrived on schedule. When they don’t, he simply moves the goalposts, reinterprets the dream, or blames the brethren for not praying hard enough. It’s the prophetic equivalent of that friend who keeps swearing “this time the check is in the mail” while his bank account is overdrawn into next year.
Meanwhile, the rest of Christianity—billions of people who also claim to follow Jesus—gets a free pass until Bob’s elite little flock has been sufficiently thinned out. Because nothing screams “the true church” like believing the entire planet’s apocalyptic drama revolves around whether your micro-group in California gets raided before the Baptists do. The arrogance is almost impressive. Almost.
So yes, real persecution is going to come. Any day now. Within four years. Or eight. Or twelve. Just keep fleeing to the next city, brethren. The Son of Man is right behind you—probably stuck in the same prophetic traffic jam Bob Thiel has been directing since he split off from the Living Church of God because they wouldn’t crown him Elijah 2.0 fast enough.
Pass the popcorn. And maybe some bacon. You know—for the non-remnant who aren’t living in Bob’s perpetual four-year countdown to nowhere

Great News Out Of Edmond, Oklahoma!!!!! PCG Income Continues Spiraling Down

 

Courtesy of Dan Moffett

From The Exit and Support Network

June 7, 2026

Fred Dattolo (Chief Financial Officer) recently stated in the June 5 Friday Philadelphian: “Meanwhile, the decline in first tithe continues. Consequently, total income for the year is barely keeping up with last year, while some expenses are rising.”

Then Dattolo added: “So, your generous holy day offerings have been appreciated!” (I.e., members are to “take up the slack.”)

I’ve noticed lately that HQs is talking more and more about “the Work,” telling members to pray for every last thing PCG is doing, or planning on doing. This serves the purpose of keeping members’ minds and prayers continually focused on “the Work.” –[name withheld]