Always one to take advantage of a news event, Rod Meredith sent out a letter on Valentines Day to fill the Church coffers with more money. This Valentines Day letter included an envelope for members to send in their "tithe of the tithe."
This "tithe" has to be one of the Church of God's
most deceitful money making tactics it ever used. Poor members who
scrapped and went without in order to raise money for the Feast and other
Church Holy Days had to tithe on the tithe that they had already saved.
This money was sent in to keep the ministry afloat with trips and travel and
secondarily to help pay rent for rented meeting halls. It went to
ministers who did not have to tithe and did not save second tithe. The
COG has routinely given large amounts of tithe money to ministers so they can travel
around the world on Feast Days. These amounts can be from $5-10,000.00 a
shot. All the while the poor church member who double tithed were lucky to be able to afford a Motel 6.
This ploy of sending in "tithe of the tithe" money obviously did not work because Meredith had send out a letter a week later calling a church wide fast for February 23rd. Another letter followed a few days later. The church is suffering financially because the membership is still not sending in money as they are expected
Perhaps it is time that the leadership in Charlotte got off their high horses and lofty pedestals and got on their knees in front of their congregations and asked for forgiveness for the sins they have committed against the membership. Perhaps it is time for these men to humble themselves before their God and truly become servants of men and women and actually serve the membership without any expectation of receiving money or accolades. Perhaps then we will truly see who the real shepherds are in the Church of God. Just think what an example this would be for the spiritually raped and devastated members in Philadelphia and Restored Church of God. They would leave those dead churches so fast Meredith’s head would spin.
Imagine a grace filled life where you did not have to worry about what some Pope does or the gay couple down the street. Imagine not have to live in fear for our salvation from one day to the next because some evangelist is constantly trying to scare the crap out of you.
One can only dream………
February 14, 2013
Dear Brethren,Greetings from Charlotte, NC! With the resignation of Pope Benedict, prophetic events willprobably move forward faster than ever! The "Arab Spring" has brought about a new situation in North Africa and the Middle East to prepare the way for the "King of the South" (Daniel 11 :40). The financial and political upheavals in Europe will soon begin to prepare the way for the coming Beast Power to arise. In America, Maryland has just become the eighth state to approve same-sex "marriage"! Additionally, more and more parts of our society- including the professing Christian ministry-are ignoring or even approving homosexual practices and other perverted behaviors which are anathema to God Almighty! The end of this present age is certainly drawing closer-and we can be encouraged as we see these things occur. For, indeed, it does need to get "darkest just before the dawn."The Eternal God has said He would have a Church preaching His Truth to the very end. We in the Living Church of God-a vital part of the "little flock" (Luke 12:32) which Christ talked about-are having an increasing impact on the world through preaching God's message with increasing power over television, our publications, and now the Internet. The world desperately needs the message that we can give in a special way. We are doing the Work with "all of our hearts" as most of you know. So please carefully consider any way that you can "go above and beyond" in helping out Christ's Work at this time. As the Holy Days approach, we have the opportunity to show honor and worship to the great God we serve in the Holy Day offerings which He commands.As we have mentioned before, March is normally the first month when we begin to contribute the tithe of our second tithe. This-tithe is used-to help defray the common expenses in-conducting the annual Holy Days. As the Spring Holy Days approach, we use this tithe of the tithe to rent halls to meet in and to send ministers out from Headquarters. If you are able to send in a tithe of your second tithe to help with these festival expenses, it will be greatly appreciated!May the God who gives us life and breath lead you ever closer to Him. May all of us do our part with zeal in preparing for the coming Kingdom of God and giving our lives to the Creator as Jesus Christ gave His life for us at this very time of year.With Christian love,
Roderick C. Meredith
22 comments:
"Perhaps then we will truly see who the real shepherds are in the Church of God."
Oh, I think we can truly see that already, right now, just as it is. (None of the above!) And may I say, this is quite a glut of christian love letters you've been throwing our way. It's been a long time since I've felt with "all of my heart" so much of the love and warmth of jes- er, I meant, christ. I know I'm totally motivated now to "go above and beyond."
"I don't always use cliched catchphrases, but when I do, I put them in quotes."
To any LCG member reading this: Just don't pay.
Or at least cut back on paying. You need that money for yourself.
I wonder how this Oppressive - and Regressive - 10% tax jibes with the rumored HUGE SIX-FIGURE-SALARIES LCG executives are paying themselves?
Isn't time for the Fat Cats to take a paycut?
Pope Resigns:
The COGs should be so intelligent about the retirement of their top dogs. COG lone leaders who really consider "God's Church" to be the current product of their hard work, and thus are really their family enterprize.
HWA couldn't give it up until he was near dead and vulnerable to deceit by others. Tkach had no intention of giving up his place and then when push comes to shove, call in the children and pass the torch to them. Flurry passes it to his son. Weinland ordains most of his family. RCM seems to be grooming his son and Dave Pack has no one to hand it to at this time as his heirs have forsaken him.
The proof of the egocentric COGs are the many elderly presiding gurus who won't and can't give it up. They have no care for the members who would appreciate the passing of torches well ahead of the time of their demise. To do otherwise is to insure more splits, splinters, slivers, shits and splisms.
As in government, there should be a rule in Church Organizations that NO TWO PEOPLE OF THE SAME FAMILY CAN EVER BE PLACED IN CHARGE OF THE CHURCH EVER.
What do/did all but Dave Pack have going for them?
HWA/Joe Tkach Sr/Gerald Flurry/Ron Weinland/Rod Meredith.
They all passed the their version of the true church on to family. HWA would have had circumstances not negated that.
The COGs would learn much from a resigning Pope. The above mentioned would and will all go to their graves and endeavor to keep the family enterprize going by passing it on to their sons. However, there should be a rule that NO TWO MEMBERS OF THE SAME FAMILY CAN BE THE HEAD OF THE CHURCH. It should be a rule in politics as well concerning Presidents.
Dave Pack can't do this at this time as his heirs apparent have apparently forsaken him.
Unless the old, near drooling "your time is fast up," presiding types gracefully step down when they hurt more than help their cause and stop appointing sons to replace them, there will be ever so many more splits, splinters, slivers, shits and splisms.
They seem to have learned nothing from the Tkach/Tkach disaster.
Probably the pattern was set when the angry, snarky, cultic God of the Old Testament got old, out of style and left in the cold came up with a plan to pass the work on to his own son.
The first generation starts it.
The Second generation maintains it
The Third generation sells it.
Tithe of the tithe.
"One of the Church of God's most deceitful money making tactics," indeed.
More accurately, one of Herbert Armstrong's most deceitful money making tactics. It's simply been appropriated by men who have eagerly followed him, their hands perpetually in the till like his were.
It's nowhere near the spirit of the tithe of the tithe mentioned in Nehemiah.
The examples of the HWA/COG movement being wrong on doctrine after doctrine, policy after policy, are astonishingly frequent and relatively easy to cite. And yet people cannot, or will not, step out of the comfort zone they established in the movement to see things for what they were, and are.
Forget the tithe.
The first question to be asked is, is this little fanatical cult and its leader actually sane?
LOL, it's like people keep getting more and more bills for their ticket to the Kingdom!
I'm glad airlines don't operate that way. Imagine sitting in your jetliner seat and have the pilot announce,
"Ladies and gentlemen. This is the pilot speaking. We are encountering turbulence, so those who would like to arrive at their destination will please put lots of money in your special envelopes, and hand them to the stewardess as she makes her way down the aisle toward the cockpit. Those who don't pay will please move to the luggage compartment where the oxygen supply will be turned off. Thank you for your cooperation."
-Norm
The gospel of Jesus Christ is going out, just not the HWA gospel.
That has been all but silenced as God appears to be spewing the ACOG splinters from His mouth.
My suggestion to ACOG members is that if you believe you should tithe, at least send your tithes to teachers and organizations whose
gospel message is perceivable, effective, and changing lives around the world and in your own community! You may find that there are real blessings for doing this. The ACOG splinters are going to continue to worship and follow HWA as their quasi-
Biblical patron saint, and if they ever do actually find themselves in the presence of influential ones around the world, will only tell them about a strong hand from someplace. The kind of messenger who should be supported is the one who won't wuss out and miss opportunities. He's going to identify himself with Jesus Christ, and proclaim Jesus to such powerful people.
It's late in life for RCM, he should really reevaluate his life long beliefs if he wants God's blessings. Like the rest of us, although he was complicit, he was duped by a charlatan. That's the bottom line.
BB
No mention of redemption anywhere.
Dennis, the way the Catholics solved the problem of priests passing their positions down to their heirs was to require celibacy and pretend it was ordained by god through the example of Paul the apostle. If the Radio CoG had started out with that rule, it would be a very different sect today. Probably defunct, and thousands of people would be better off for never having heard of it.
The current crop of ministers (if they think about the possibilities) can be grateful it was HWA and not Gerald Waterhouse who founded the cult.
"Like the rest of us, although he was complicit, he was duped by a charlatan. That's the bottom line."
That's charitable BB, but it isn't the bottom line.
Those who are duped by a charlatan do what the charlatan said. But the man who does what the charlatan did, takes the mantle of the charlatan for himself, and becomes a charlatan in his own right, that man was not duped. He saw the "man behind the curtain," and if he was not the worst offender in playing dirty church politics, he was certainly in a position to witness all of the ugly, unvarnished, Machiavellian games with open eyes the likes of which have always been played on the fourth floors of COG administration buildings.
Meredith is not like the rest of us. He's a sociopath who will say and do anything to get what he wants, just like his mentor.
What is the straight scoop on Gerald Waterhouse, anyway? As a WCG youngster and in my own hellish world of pain , I did look forward to his visits, because they seemed to be one sole example of positivism against the backdrop of an otherwise totally FUBAR church.
Back in the day, people would say that Gerald was "bound" (HWA's original divorce and remarriage doctrine). On some of our underground dissident/recovery sites, ex-members have speculated that he was possibly gay, and fighting it by immersing himself in his own special ministry. Now, Retired Prof seems to be indicating that Waterhouse might have chosen celibacy.
Does anybody know for a fact that he was "bound" and the circumstances?
BB
Whenever Gerald Waterhouse came back to town he was immediately surrounded by young men from the college. One gay student told a group of us that he saw Waterhouse at a gay bar in WeHo one time.
Whether he actually ever did anything is anyone's guess. I had also heard that he had chosen celibacy. When ever he was around the creep factor went up dramatically.
On the bright side...members are depressed and guilt ridden because they don't have any money left to "send" to God's apostles anymore. Yep, they are happy though, because the harvest of their money is past and now they don't have to worry about having any of that filthy lucre laying around the house.
Of course, there are some of those who won't be able to pay their utility bills and that is a little worrisome. However, I'm sure that Rod will "dig deep" into the third tithe coffers and help out those less fortunate - maybe not! But, I'm sure that "be ye warm and filled" will be in his next letter. He does love and care deeply for his flock, you know...
You know, it's a funny thing about people who are well off or rich...they don't understand why everybody isn't. After all, didn't everybody start out equal and have the same opportunities as everybody else? It's a "sin" to be poor, you know? And that's why you were born rich and given the same opportunities to stay rich like everyone else.
Anyway, now that some folk's money crisis it over, because they are dead, the church can move on to other suckers if they can find any. That's why you should send them your last dime...you do want other people coming in to help you pay for Rod's stuff, don't you? Well, if you are going to have any help bailing out Rod, you're gonna have to give 'til it hurts so that Rod can convert some new blood...
NO2HWA, we had 80 South Crass (what some of the indoctrinated young aspiring ministers called our off campus dorm at 80 S. Grand) in full swing in Winter and Spring of 1968. It was kind of like AC's version of Animal House, which is actually almost as non sequitur as "Republican Hippies".
Waterhouse had an apartment in that building, and apparently he stayed there whenever he came in from his tours. I saw him coming and going sometimes up the walkways, but like most of the other students, just allowed him his space. I know he was into handball, and some of the students who were also into that would meet up with him at the handball courts, which also housed the weight training room at which Harry Schneider regularly held court, and the weight room was my regular hangout.
I've learned that so much of what I saw in Pasadena was an illusion. The funny thing is, now we learn that all of the supposedly "good" ones had their tawdry little secrets. The idea that this was God's true church, or God's college was purely an illusion.
BB
When I was a student at AC Pasadena in the late 1960s, I was friends with a male student there who was bisexual. Years later he told me that Gerald Waterhouse was a well-known personality in the Atlanta gay community.
Glenn Parker
So which side of the "gate" was Joe Locke, Tkach's assistant on ?
Inquiring minds need to know.
Joe Moeller
Cody, WY
NO2HWA said:
"Whenever Gerald Waterhouse came back to town he was immediately surrounded by young men from the college"
Well, here you have a man at least who was not womanizing, at least publically. I did see him look a few women when he came to visit the local area. I hear that at the college, he would sit at the Student Center or whatever the lunch place was, and really when you think of it for people to talk with an evangelist openly would really have been what they thought a chance to learn. IMHO
Locke was a friend of Dorothy. That was well known.
"tithe of the tithe"?!?! Seriously just another example of HWA and all the ACOGs misinterpreting the Bible and taking advantage of people's gullibility and biblical illiteracy as a money-making scheme! The "tithe of the tithe" was given to the priests by the Levites from the tithe they were given by the Israelites (see Numbers 18). And the tithe never consisted of precious metal or paper money, but animals and crops (Leviticus 27:30-33). Poor deluded people.
I've got this lingering vision of HWA walking by a river with Jesus in the Kingdom, and Jesus is saying to him, "So, what's this I hear about a third tithe?"
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