Wednesday, December 26, 2012

UCG Budget cuts




 As the money continues to drain from UCG's coffers, they have instituted the following budget cuts.  I still do not see any budget cuts for UCG executives, Council of Elders, Evangelists or ministers.  When will they set the example?


• Reduce mileage reimbursement by 20%;
• Reduce subsidies overall for U.S. congregations by 16%;
• Reduce subsidies overall for international areas by 16%;
• Use online ministerial training in lieu of a ministerial development conference
• Postpone area ministerial conferences;
• Conduct Senior Pastor & UYC Camp director conferences by video conference
• Reduce travel reimbursement by limiting travel outside of church circuits
• Reduce travel budget to international areas by 44%.
Media and Communications Services: ($1.4 million):
• Reduce The Good News (GN) magazine from 48 pages to 40;
• Renew GN subscriptions more often to reduce the print run and related costs (as well as consolidate the mailing list with more motivated subscribers)
• Curtail direct mail card packs and outside magazine print advertising for The Good News and our booklets;
• Drop World Harvest Network for televising the Beyond Today program while maintaining coverage on WGN America and the Word Network
• Suspend home office paid Internet advertising for our literature in all areas outside of the United States to reduce GN and booklet circulation costs to those areas;
• Publish United News six times a year instead of ten;
• Move Vertical Thought, our teen and young adult magazine, from print to a solely online production for the time being;
• Publish the United Youth Camps brochure in the February issue of United News rather than as a separate item;
• Reduce the Spanish and Portuguese publishing budgets;
• Reduce funding for bulk literature sent to our international offices.
Aaron Dean identified other ways to economize:
• Modify healthcare program, adding employee premiums, raising deductibles;
• Transfer funding of international ministers’ travel to the annual meeting of the General Conference of Elders from home office to each international region;
• Conduct at least one video conference for the Council of Elders each year, and more when appropriate, to save travel costs;
• Visiting ministers will stay with home office employees during conferences and be served economical lunches and dinners at the home office to save hotel and restaurant expenses.

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

I guess our leaving UCG and not paying tithes is beginning to develop "fruits". More brethren need to leave this corrupt so-called Church of God.

Anonymous said...

Where is all the money going? Half of the ministry left to hook-up with COGWA and many of the spanish speeking members also left many of them are less wealthy then the average member in the U.S..The per person average income of those who remain in the UCG should be more and on top of that there are far fewer ministers to pay. Something just dos'nt ad up here.

Unknown said...

Unfortunately, all of the so-called Churches of God are corrupt.More of the "brethren" should be able to figure out that "tithing" and "ordained ministers" are just the tip of the iceberg of lies in the corrupt systems cut from the same Armstrong cloth.

Unknown said...

Anonymous said...
Where is all the money going?.... Something just dos'nt ad up here.

MY COMMENT: Many of the well-to-do "brethren" in Texas and Florida followed Franks. I'm sure that more than half of UCG's income went with him and his groupies.

Lake of Fire Church of God said...

I will play "devil's advocate" (pardon the pun) as I operate a profitable business myself. In my mind, the UCG list of budget cuts makes sense and they are only doing what every other business has had to do in these difficut economic times. Make no mistake, UCG is a business. So kudos for downsizing the business to adjust for a lower revenue stream from the dumb sheep tithe slaves jumping ship and exiting.

Now the criticism from this Fortune 500 business financial consultant:

1) I agree with Gary (No2HWA). Where in the Hell (Oooops, another pun) is the 10% haircut on ALL executive and ministerial salaries????

2) While a give UCG kudos for the list of cutbacks on No2HWA's post, I question the timing. Why in the name of God (and, I mean that very respectfully) weren't these cuts made a year ago? And let's be honest, many items on this list aren't actual budget cuts, but improved operational efficiencies to save money. The underlying assumption of these changes is that UCG is not operating in a cost efficient manner.

In light of #2 above, I have to again ask the very hard question: Why do the dumb sheep tithe slaves continue being a money machine to support a small group of idiots who have never worked a real job or run a real business a day in their lives and have openly admitted to pissing away their money?

Will a man rob God? Oh, that's right. God calls the weak and base things to be dumb sheep tithe slaves so that they can give (God's way is "Give") their lives and their money to idiots in the UCG to rob God through inefficiency, ineptitude, incompetence, favoritism and nepotism.

Richard

Anonymous said...

Reduce the membership by 100%.

The income is stable.

Repeat.

The income is stable.

What part of "the income is stable" doesn't the UCG get?

Keep it up, and the income won't be stable.

No indeed, judgment will set in.

Anonymous said...

Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Armstrong again...

Those were the days!

Anonymous said...

I have become to believe that UCG is similar to the Chicago style patronage system of awarding jobs to the Home office favorites.

The Ministers are unemployable in the private sector and are thugs with the church brethren. The bretheren are the suckers that make this possible. They pay to be tricked and abused. I see this every sabbath.

Byker Bob said...

In mainstream Christianity, there is a very heavy concept, a Biblical one: Good Stewardship.

Many of the reductions UCG is proposing could fall under the category of good stewardship.

There is also a peer review process which has been established to evaluate ministries, faith based charities, and evangelistic associations. Submitting to this is completely voluntary. The evaluations and ratings are very similar to what has been applied to other charities, and considers "loading" costs which can often consume funds most donors intend to go towards the core activities of the association. Executive salaries and perks can be a large portion of these loading costs, and the percentage spent on these can either enhance or degrade the rating given.

It would be nice to be able to report that all of the ACOGs, wanting to be transparent and exemplary, had subscribed to this system of peer review, but, the only one I've ever known to participate has been Ron Dart (not that this should imply endorsement of his doctrinal approach in any way).

You'd think these guys would want to be on the cutting edge in this, but they avoid such things as they would the proverbial menstruous cloth.

BB

Anonymous said...

And in that day, the Lord returned to those to whom he had given the talents. To the one who had gained 10 talents, he gave 10 cities. To the one who gained 5 talents, he gave 5 cities. The one who just buried it and gave it back, got nothing and was thrown out on his ear.

With the cult of Herbert Armstrong, we have something new: The Lord returns and demands to know how much the talent he gave has gained. And the CoHA says, gained? Gained?! We spent it. It's gone. We thought that's why you gave it to us!

Anonymous said...


With the bad attitude and bad behavior of so many members and leaders in the UCG there is really no need for any money. The UCG would never do any sort of good work with it anyway.

Anonymous said...

Funny church ad I heard this am.

"With the difficult economic times, God is going to have to bless the church even more. God is going to have to bless the Church with more money. So Please, give more. It's not your money."

Ok...so how did we go from "God has to bless the church to "you need to give us money."?????

Ohhhhhhh, that's how God does it!!! We have to give it.

I guess the church considers us gods after all!

Anonymous said...

Psalm 50:10

New International Version (NIV)
10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.


God owns the cattle on a thousand hills...let him sell some? I do know that if you reassemble a cow from the meat counter, they cost about $97,000 each !! :)

M.T.Corral

Lake of Fire Church of God said...

Douglas Becker said, And in that day, the Lord returned to those to whom he had given the talents. To the one who had gained 10 talents, he gave 10 cities. To the one who gained 5 talents, he gave 5 cities. The one who just buried it and gave it back, got nothing and was thrown out on his ear.

With the cult of Herbert Armstrong, we have something new: The Lord returns and demands to know how much the talent he gave has gained. And the CoHA says, gained? Gained?! We spent it. It's gone. We thought that's why you gave it to us!"

MY COMMENT - Great point, Mr. Becker. What you are really saying is Herbert W. Armstrong, all those who inherited the HWA legacy and its 700+ splinter groups PISSED AWAY all the cumulative tithe money from 1934 when Herbert and Loma started "the Work" TO THIS PRESENT DAY WITH NOTHING LEFT TO SHOW FOR IT!

Way to go guys!

Oh, but Mr. Becker, they didn't get thrown out on their ear! No, they will be thrown INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE according to Armstrong theology.

Richard

Anonymous said...

I love how all the little COGWA acolytes are coming out of the woodwork to bash UCG. Anonymously, of course......

And yet, I don't see anyone from UCG bashing COGWA on this forum or in this thread. I don't like UCG or their beliefs in the least, but certainly they seem to be a classier group of people (of course it's all relative, class and COG are largely exclusive of each other.)

Anonymous said...

Douglas Becker said "...judgment will set in"

Judgment set in a loooong time ago Dougie! And this is just another sign of it. The entire ACOGs are under judgment for their vain idolatry of Armstrong and his lies. Just wait for it in 50 years they'll be consigned to the history books seeing the way they're going is like the way of the dodo bird!

Head Usher said...

I love how "Anonymous" wrote:
"I love how all the little COGWA acolytes are coming out of the woodwork to bash UCG. Anonymously, of course...."

We tend to be equal-opportunity bashers. All the ACOGs seem equally deserving. So, lots of UCG bashing, although I can't tell if those doing the bashing are "COGWA acolytes" or not. Are you a UCG acolyte?

I am sure to have to be making these cuts is pretty galling to UCG. They want to bill themselves as the church that god likes the best and therefore is the healthiest and wealthiest. I'd be willing to bet that they have delayed making these cuts for as long as possible so they could continue to pretend that they were unaffected by the COGWA split and everything was rainbows and lollipops.

"Many of the well-to-do "brethren" in Texas and Florida followed Franks."

If that did prove to be true, it would be that much more galling to UCG leadership, because both UCG and COGWA are very competitive with each other, and they're both going to be very anxious in the future to prove which one is the "better" church, which one is the more prosperous, doing the better "work", has the most "members", etc. If UCG becomes #2 behind COGWA they're going to be very unhappy, will probably start quarreling, and will probably split again.

But don't worry Anonymous, I bet COGWA will probably be about ripe to split again too, just for different reasons.

Anonymous said...


Anonymous said...

"And yet, I don't see anyone from UCG bashing COGWA on this forum or in this thread. I don't like UCG or their beliefs in the least, but certainly they seem to be a classier group of people (of course it's all relative, class and COG are largely exclusive of each other.)"



I'm not with either UCG or COGWA, but I have seen what many of the local UCG people are like. What a collection of some of the worst, godless, lying, slandering, backstabbing, malicious and vicious perverts around. I had originally thought that the better believers would have ended up in the splinter groups, but now I am reminded of what someone said about Satan moving some of his best agents over to the splinter groups. You must have dung for brains if you think that the UCG is classier than COGWA. About the only way for that to be possible would be if the COGWA people were outright Satan worshippers.




Anonymous said...

I'm not with either UCG or COGWA, but I have seen what many of the local UCG people are like. What a collection of some of the worst, godless, lying, slandering, backstabbing, malicious and vicious perverts around.

Funny how I could say exactly the same thing about COGWA. Richard Pinelli, for example, helped cover up the sexual assault of a young woman by protecting the perp and by threatening the family of the victim with retaliation if they went to local law enforcement.

Horchak and Franks are liars and had a direct hand in slandering Melvin Rhodes. Again, I have no love for either COGWA or UCG, but based on years of personal interactions with many of the key players, I can say without any hesitation that the most autocratic, perverted, and dishonest leaders chose to go with COGWA. That says something to me.

Hopefully one day soon the whole lot will cease to exist. UCG, LCG, COGWA, WCG/GCI, PCG, all of them. Most of these people should be in prison for the abuses they have committed.

Anonymous said...


"Hopefully one day soon the whole lot will cease to exist. UCG, LCG, COGWA, WCG/GCI, PCG, all of them. Most of these people should be in prison for the abuses they have committed.
"



The crimes and abuses are numerous and great in the various splinter groups. Things will not be getting any better either. Like I said, I am not with either UCG or COGWA. There are some very bad people in both groups, high and low.

My major experience was with the UCG years ago. It was already absolutely rotten back then and quickly growing even worse all the time. James Malm is now predicting that the UCG is going to try to get people to turn away from the laws of God. He does not seem to know that many people in the UCG were already doing this in actual practice over ten years ago. The UCG-COGWA split of a couple years ago should not have surprised anyone.

What do you mean by accusing people of "slandering" Melvin Rhodes? To slander someone is to say something that is untrue about them to try to defame them. The commandment says not to bear false witness against others. Telling the truth about someone and their sin is not the same thing as deliberately making up lies about them to try to discredit them. If Melvin Rhodes broke the commandment against adultery, that was his sin, and he besmirched his own reputation with it. If you accuse others of "slandering" him for telling the truth about the matter, you have sort of slandered them yourself.

Why do you complain about the sexual predators in the church being protected and their behavior covered up, but then also complain when sexual predators in the church get exposed and forced to resign? You seem to be double-minded, and inconsistent, and contradict yourself.

Anonymous said...

CoGWA is just as bad as UCG. I attended once and the minister from their "headquarters" flat out lied -- it was jaw dropping.

The bottom line is nobody can really trust any of the Armstrongists.

As for judgment, there really isn't much evidence of that -- just a few bumps along the way -- the fields of tares waving their cheery little heads and all.

Maybe some day, some terrible enemy will come along a sow wheat in the fields of tares.

Not holding my breath....

Anonymous said...

The bottom line is that all religions are humanly devised filled with imperfect people that can be said of Armstrongism and even main-stream christian churches.

Churchs are like any imperfect institution filled with imperfect people.

Anonymous said...

The real problem is that the Armstrongist cults are based on the worst of the Corporate Model implemented badly.

Totally ignored is the "spiritual" if there is any such thing, at if you are a part of them, there is a total lack of anything really "spiritual" but there is a LOT of politics.

Disgusting.

Anonymous said...

The question was asked: "...When will they set the example?

Perhaps after they read the following verses:

Heb 13:7 Remember them which have THE RULE OVER YOU, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

Heb 13:17 Obey them that have THE RULE OVER YOU, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

AND THEY REALIZE THAT "THE RULE OVER" means to guide, assist, help the sheep and NOT to "RULE OVER YOU!"

If today is anything like it was back in WCG days, none of those leaders, if they still believe in making the sheep tithe, pay tithe themselves. What kind of an example was/is that? If they did "their part" perhaps they'd all be in a better financial situation than they are today.

God is not a respecter of sons and daughters, so why should the leaders be that way?

And some think God will give them a double portion of His Spirit????

Think about it....

John
John

Anonymous said...

Oops, this belongs here:

UCG-COGWA Post-Mortem

What happened: The UCG GCE (all credentialed elders) started to support the "new guard" (the ones now in control of UCG) and reject the "old guard" (those formerly in control of UCG). This change in support was demonstrated by these events (among others): the election of Robin Webber to the council, the defeat of Larry Salyer, the rescission of the move to Dallas, and the election of Aaron Dean to the council, despite the old guard's suspension of him just prior to the election. When this trend became clear, the old guard had a choice. They could either support the new council even though they disagreed with some positions of the new guard, or they could leave the church. Although the new guard always supported the council when they were in the minority, the new old guard (now in the minority) decided to leave UCG and start their own church. The most critical issue then became how they would get people to follow them. They couldn't just outline the differences between the two groups, for then no one would follow them. The differences were: The new guard wanted a sizable increase in spending on preaching the gospel, the new guard wanted less centralized power (symbolized by the Texas headquarters), and the new guard wanted better relations with other COG groups. The old guard knew they would not get any followers if they pointed out these differences, so they had to make up other, far more dramatic differences. So, they started anonymous internet sites and started voicing the unfounded propaganda that the new guard was going to change doctrine and do away with the law. That they would try to finish what Joseph Tkach started, and everyone should be very wary. The old guard could not come out openly with these accusations as there was no basis in fact, thus the need for the anonymous forums. And, as history has shown, if one repeats something often enough and loud enough, people begin to believe it. The old guard even got willing dupes like James Malm to believe them and support their cause. This propaganda gained traction in part because Robin Webber and Victor Kubik never repented and apologized for their disfellowshipment of brethren and ministers who did not support Tkach. And it worked. Thousands followed the old guard into COGWA. What has happened since? UCG has not changed one iota of doctrine. UCG has increased its spending on preaching the gospel from 19% to 31%, although that has taken a recent hit. UCG has passed minor administrative changes to decentralize power. One was the Aaron Dean rule where pastors are now permitted to speak outside of UCG without first getting home office approval. Another was the prohibition of being in the administration and on the council at the same time. As for more cooperation with other COGs, nothing of substance has occurred (it takes two to talk). Also, James Malm continues to ratchet up his blind hatred for UCG with totally unfounded allegations, probably because the alternative is to admit that he was duped.

Hector said...

"Oops, this belongs here:"

Dear UCG acolyte-

No, it doesn't belong here either. Gushing over current UCG leadership's righteousness and adherence to doctrine doesn't belong anywhere on this site. Maybe there's a facebook groupie page where you could post such propaganda?

Retired Prof said...

Hector, I appreciate UCG acolyte's contribution. It makes the site a little like a Faulkner novel in which we get the same story from several points of view. Then we can have the fun of trying to guess how much of each one to believe.

I appreciate the freedom this site gives to express our opinions freely. It's much better to invite countervailing arguments than to tell those holding opinions different from ours to go away.

Anonymous said...


Anonymous said...
"Oops, this belongs here:
UCG has not changed one iota of doctrine...UCG has passed minor administrative changes...."



Very smooth.

Did you previously ghost write for the Tkaches too back in the WCG?

Do you have to use a laxative to get the BS to flow that smoothly?

Anonymous said...

Maybe UCG money is fleeing to a Place of Safety?

Lake of Fire Church of God said...

Douglas Becker said, "Maybe UCG money is fleeing to a Place of Safety?"

MY COMMENT - Yes, hide your wallets brethren in a place of safety. The UCG is doing a shake down. In WCG tradition, the Great Tribulation and the return of Christ is always closer when "God's Church" needs more money. Just an observation.

Richard

Anonymous said...


"This propaganda gained traction in part because Robin Webber and Victor Kubik never repented and apologized for their disfellowshipment of brethren and ministers who did not support Tkach."


It must be scary for the little sheep to look up and see those two wolves ruling over them again.

Anonymous said...


"Richard Pinelli, for example, helped cover up the sexual assault of a young woman by protecting the perp and by threatening the family of the victim with retaliation if they went to local law enforcement."


The UCG policy has always been that no victims are allowed to complain about the perverts in the UCG. However, any perverts in the UCG are free to complain all they want to about their victims talking and get them quickly kicked out.


Anonymous said...

-If today is anything like it was back in WCG days, none of those leaders, if they still believe in making the sheep tithe, pay tithe themselves.-

Junior Tkach has made it mandatory for all ministers in WCG/GCI to be forced into tithing. 'Free will donations' are anything but!

Anonymous said...

In reply to the anoymounous comment ( the really long one) you stated the allegations against Ucg going evangelical are totally unfounded. That's complete Rubbish, ucg has well and truly gone evangelical. Many are in on it ALREADY .
Get real, I've sat in UCG services and heard the speaker preach from the book of Jasper. ! A well known fourth century fake.
I've witnessed ucg ministers behave in foul moods on Gods Holy Days since the split. During unleavened bread was the worst. So called men of God behave in a terrible way on Gods Holy Days now, they brazenly gossip about brethren to their cronies whist the brethren they are bad mouthing are in the room having to listen to them. This NEVER went on before the split.

Anonymous said...


"I've witnessed ucg ministers behave in foul moods on Gods Holy Days since the split."


That's strange. You'd think that the demons behind these UCG ministers would be happy to have wrecked another COG and returned it to the world. It sounds like some demons are never really happy no matter how much evil they do.

Maybe the better members and ministers left for COGWA, and the demons miss having someone to harass.

Gideon said...

Reading contributions herein reminds me of the ''good'old WCG days: gossip, backstabbing, slander, church politics, following men + hearing Armstrong over preached + Christ UNDERPREACHED! Wow! You blokes/girls really go at it! It's still as I remember it, paraphrased: "Are you for this minister or THAT minister, GTA or HA?" Law was taught, nothing wrong with that; WEIGHTIER MATTERS OF GOD'S law less preached. Folks, settle down, some deep breaths, have a 'cuppa'let me disseminate some facts to you. Disclaimer: I'm NOT member of any church, was WCG + attended UCG about one year till 2002. History teaches us: ignoring history's lessons results in repeating errors. History of the sabbath keeping church[es] of God from Dugger down shows the same track record as WCG + others as described by you folk.Politics, slander, divisions, schisms, enmities are mentioned in the Bible: IN GOD'S Church at that time. Nothing new under the sun.It seems to me that what outwardly appears simple, following two great commandments:[1] Love God with all our spirit, mind, brain + body. ]2]Love neighbour as ourself. Proves in reality very hard for humans to live. My observation/experience in WCG was that brotherly love generally, was lacking; there were some folk living true brotherly love there. Post WCG I learnt that this was an area I was sadly lacking in. UCG, my experience, was a far more 'balanced' church.....
H.Armstrong + Dugger= friction=breakaway..H.A + GTA =friction = splinter..Tkach WCG + Meridith along with several others=LCG PCG/UCG/etc, etc adinfinitum. It's the history of the churches of God. Still it continues! Surely, we may ask this isn't a history of TRUE CHRISTIANITY! Ergo,is this a history of non true Christianity? Or is this a history of GOD'S TRUE CHURCH being divided, weakened, confused + often defeated by Satan + false ministers?
Politics, slander, gossip, adulating men + putting mammon before God Mt. 6:19 -21 + 24. Aren't God's way. Most folk of mature age, who've 'lived' in the 'real' world. Know from experience, as do I. That in NON churches of God as mentioned herein: friction exists, along with all the other baggage + foibles of human nature. Sporting clubs, lodges + charity groups experience the same garbage! True Christians however war against Satan + therefore against our own human nature within ourselves. How Christian, righteous + spiritually sound [or not] any church is depends on its members...Over to you folks!