Dennis On The Concept of Church of God "Ranks"

"There is God, Christ, Herbert Armstrong, Garner Ted Armstrong , Myself and a few other leading Evangelists..."

Roderick C Meredith

Harmony of the Gospels Class

1968

That's the first time in my WCG experience I ever heard the concept of ministerial "rank" spelled out with names affixed.  I understood the God...Christ...part, but after that I recall as a young 18 year old, still basically Presbyterian kid, thinking politely, "WTF...?  Who does this guy think he is...?"    It was all downhill after that.  Even back then I knew the Bible said things like, "he that is greatest among you, let him be your servant,"  "pride comes before a fall," and concepts like that. 

I had heard often in the Presbyterian Church growing up:

Philippians  2:3-11

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ... 

James 4:6
 
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Matthew 23:12

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

2 Chronicles 7:14

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Corinthians 11:30

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness

Ephesians 2:8-9 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Luke 18:9-14

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ...

1 Peter 5:5

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Ephesians 4:2

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

James 4:10

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Proverbs 16:18 

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall

Luke 18:9-20

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ...

Something seemed lacking in the WCG Hierarchy and now even worse in the Splinters and Slivers that remain.

I never in my youth heard my minister indicate he was of any particular rank or in any kind of pecking order in the church.  I certainly never heard statements such as...

"And yes brethren...I am an Apostle"

"I am 'That Prophet'"

"I am a Prophet"

"I am the Two Witnesses"

("I are the Two Witnesses"?)

He's the Elijah to come

He was the Elijah to go

I am Joshua the High Priest

I am BSC (bat shit crazy)

and so on...

Of course, as time went by I learned there were Apostles, Evangelists, Pastor Ranks, Preaching Elders, Elders, Deacons, Deaconesses , Husbands, Wives, Children and Small Animals.  

I myself was "raised" from mere graduate to "Elder" at 23.  A ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...Anyway...  At 24 I became a Preaching Elder because I was preaching I guess and already had two churches.  When I left college, I was told that after the manpower meetings concerning me, "the sky is the limit for you.."  Somehow that troubled me and struck me as a strange comment for ministry.  I did not grow up with the sky being the limit for ministry.  See the above scriptures.  I think that mean in time I could be awesome of rank and power but rank and power were not my concepts and never were.  At any rate, Pastor Rank could not be far away after rising so quickly but somehow, not being in the inner circle and perhaps that being obvious after just two short years out of college, I never got raised in rank again!  I was not a Pastor while I pastored 13 congregations over 26 years.  I was merely a preaching elder.  By any measure in the ranks of ministry in WCG, I was a flop. 

I even tried to get a summer off once from all the drama in church by teaching swimming, canoeing, lifesaving, first aid etc which I had some great credentials in.   I had taught as a camp counselor for the Salvation Army camp and even a camp week for unwed mothers for three years when a kid. But...no banana.  They gave the job to a guy who could not actually swim and had no credentials that I could tell, but was better connected.  I learned something from that episode too.  

When I hear the Apostle Pack use phrases like "lesser ranked ministers," it awakens a bit of snark in me yet again.  With Joshua C Pack it is all about numbers and rank of course.  He grew quite concerned when he realized he might have a problem if an evangelist came into RCG and he was merely a Pastor Rank Minister.  Who ordained him that!  The sky was the limit for me not him!  lol.    I repent of my part in Dave's returning to the ministry after he was terminated shortly after he was hired, when my Regional Director in Chicago asked me what I thought the Director doing so. The Regional Director was close friends with Shirley Pack's father and seemed some kind of favor.  Anyway,...Solution to the Evangelist fear?  "And yes brethren, I am an Apostle."  Problem solved.  He also had to figure out where in the pecking order the Two Witnesses lay since they would spring out of RCG.  We can't have them being of greater rank so I suspect they might be evangelists at best.  Of course there is plenty of time for Joshua C Pack to declare himself both of the Two Witnesses with the appropriate length sermon.

Others along the way who were a bit more realistic and practical noted that rank was just another name for a smell.  This I found to be a more satisfying outlook and quite accurate.

In the actual New Testament, the men who seemed to have no rank such as ..oh...Jesus and the 12 disciples seemed to do the best.  Now of course they did get into who was the greatest and such, but that was just theatre and stage setting for Jesus to teach.  I can imagine the endless "well excuse me!" the brothers James and John got when mom asked the favor of her boys getting to sit on the right hand and on the left of Jesus in the Kingdom.  Oh mom!   Besides, those positions are saved for Herbert Armstrong and Joshua C Pack. 

I finally have figured out why God the Father has gotten little done on earth here since Jesus ascended back to the throne.  Jesus is sitting on God's right hand!  He can't get up!....sorry :)  Of course , according to The Surprising God Blog and Ted Johnston, Jesus would be sitting next to himself on his own hand..but I spare you.  I have no clue where the Holy Spirit sits, but possibly on God's left hand or on his own left hand too next to himself and himself.  Holy Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva Batman!  That rank thing gets confusing even at the Throne.

But seriously...Once men, and it's always men take on offices and ranks, it's all downhill from there in the world of religion.  Paul had a great time bouncing between being the least of the Apostles when he felt humble and the greatest when he felt threatened.  He was both the smartest pencil in the box and the most arrogantly humble.  He was all things to all men and also not a man pleaser.  His ranks messed him up big time I think.  Men of other rank meant nothing to him , were considered reputed pillars who added NOTHING to his message.  Kinda like the Apostle Joshua C Pack and Flurry among others.  

George Armstrong Custer--Some high ranking  bite off a bit more than they can chew

 and make all the wrong kind of history.

The "And yes brethren...I am..." baloney in the COGs will prove to be its downfall.  These men of renoun will come and go.  Their lofty titles and ranks among men of lesser rank will not save them or coerce any Jesus into coming back so Haggai or Zechariah can be proven to have predicted types of future nutcases in religion.  They have not and only the blind deaf and dumb who need to believe the untrue and unbelievable will fall for that to their harm.

La la la la..we're going with what the Apostle tells us

The concept of rank, be it Apostles, Prophets, Priests, Witnesses or ultimate fulfillments of characters out of the Biblical past like Elijah, Joshua or John the Baptist is just ridiculous.  That is that God again "trying" to get things going again when actually it is not so in reality. 

In my view, titles, rank and position are for weak minded and insecure humans.  "I am an Apostle" does not carry the real weight or maturity of "I am an average human being,"  "I have my shortcomings and strengths just like everyone else," or "I am willing to sit down before the truth as a little child and let it take me wherever it actually goes."  The rank conscious tend to sit down before truth, twist it up a bit, make it conform to their inaccurate view of themselves and shove it down everyone else's throats.  It ultimately does not work and does not take those who accept such foolishness on a genuine journey of self exploration and learning. 

“It is unwise to be too sure of one's own wisdom. It is healthy to be reminded that the strongest might weaken and the wisest might err.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

 

“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.”
― Winston Churchill

 

“Who is more humble? The scientist who looks at the universe with an open mind and accepts whatever the universe has to teach us, or somebody who says everything in this book must be considered the literal truth and never mind the fallibility of all the human beings involved?”
― Carl Sagan

 

“In the course of my life, I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet.”
― Winston Churchill

 

To believe you are magnificent. And gradually to discover that you are not magnificent. Enough labor for one human life.”
― Czesław Miłosz

contact Dennis at   DennisCDiehl@aol.com