Rod Meredith has sent out a letter telling his loyal followers to basically shut up and quit whining about his decision to hire Peter Nathan, Steve Elliot and Bob Rodzaj immediately after they had just stabbed David Hulme in the back in order to start their own church.
All three of these men were already in the process of negotiating with LCG while they were were planing "conferences" for the Church of God Fathers Call. Once more we see the true COG ethics at work.
Living Church of God members are not to concern themselves with that however.
Notice how Rod has to get a dig in at David Hulme right off the bat. Meredith says, "...no real work was being done there, and that the full Truth was not being preached."
...it is now “leaking out” that a number of ministers, elders and members are coming with us from Mr. David Hulme’s church. We have in no way orchestrated this, but many of them have felt for months or years that no real work was being done there, and that the full Truth was not being preached. So, after checking us out, many are coming to the Living Church of God. Also, we are going to be able to employ at least three ministers who are coming with us to help out in this Work and in this ministry. I ask all of you, in Jesus’ name not to be alarmed or worried about this!
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If these men are fresh out a a splinter group that has never accomplished a "real work" and has never preached the "full Truth" then why are these men allowed to immediately enter the LCG ministry with full salary and housing benefits? A thinking person would assume that LCG would have given these men several months to fit in to the LCG way of understanding and to see how loyal they actually are. Even crazy as he is, David Pack makes his newly poached ministers go through a reeducation camp where they have to read and learn all of David's writings so that their "eyes are opened" to the truth David has delivered. Meredith doesn't. He has another standard on which he judged these men. Brunches, babysitting and being a faculty aide.So I hope all of you will have confidence that Jesus Christ—the Living Head of the Church—will lead those of us here in Charlotte in making these decisions. Christ does not want any of you sitting around being negative or “worrying” about decisions which have been thoughtfully and prayerfully worked out. Rather, we should all be very thankful that a few ministers in the greater Church of God are coming with us to help us do this Work and help us minister to the flock. So please welcome these ministers and their families whole-heartedly, pray for them and ask God’s blessing in this whole thing as He will guide us as we walk and yield ourselves to Him.
Frankly, each one who is coming with us full-time has been very well known to me, to Dr. Winnail and to Mr. Ames personally. So they are not “unknown quantities” in any way.
Never mind the fact that all three worked for Hulme and/or WCG as it was formatting the changes and helped promote the new teachings on the Trinity to church members. Then when Hulme decided he knew more than anyone else (no shocker there) he started his own group and these three jumped ship with him.
Here's Merdith's qualifications for hiring Peter Nathan...they took him and his wife to brunch...a lot! Oh, and they worked together in Big Sandy and socialized together...a lot.
What is Merdith's reason for hiring Steve Elliot? He helped babysit him when he was little! Oh, and Elliot is supposedly shocked at the lack of prophecy preaching in the church. Given the fact that EVERY SINGLE PROPHECY Meredith has uttered over the past 60+ decades has FAILED, you would think this would not be a major concern right now. Maybe preaching about false prophets, but certainly not predicting things.Because of this, both Peter and Karen would take my wife and me to brunch every time they would come back from New Zealand when he was the head of the Work in New Zealand under Worldwide for a number of years. After that, Mr. Nathan ended up working for me for a couple of years during my tenure as Deputy Chancellor at Big Sandy. We did a number of things together socially, in addition to our professional interaction.
So what about Bob Rodzaj? Rodzaj was Meredith's student aid during the liberal years of the church just before Meredith was shipped to Big Sandy. They worked together for a few months.Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Elliott are coming with us from the Chattanooga, TN area. I have known Stephen since he was a little boy as his parents had a number of us college “boys” babysit their own boys—as Betty Bates was the only girl in the college in those early years! So Stephen and I have been friends and associates and I have known his family for over 60 years. He, also, is very sound in the faith and was concerned for quite some time about the lack of preaching on prophecy and on other key matters in his recent association.
Those are the magnificent qualifications for immediate employment in the Living Church of God! Those qualifications did not sit well with a lot of the leadership in LCG and with members. Notice again for the quote above that there has been dissension in the ranks over the employment of these men:Mr. and Mrs. Bob Rodzaj from the Phoenix, AZ area are also coming full-time. Mr. Rodzaj was my Faculty Aide for a full college year back in the winter of 1985-1986—just before I was transferred to be Deputy Chancellor at Big Sandy. So we worked together for many months and I have found him always to be very sound in the faith, very dedicated and a fine and faithful minister of Jesus Christ.
Since all ministers in ALL the splinter groups are now part of the "greater Church of God" will they too be allowed in without any test period? It is nice to know that they are ALL now equal in their ministries.So I hope all of you will have confidence that Jesus Christ—the Living Head of the Church—will lead those of us here in Charlotte in making these decisions. Christ does not want any of you sitting around being negative or “worrying” about decisions which have been thoughtfully and prayerfully worked out. Rather, we should all be very thankful that a few ministers in the greater Church of God are coming with us to help us do this Work and help us minister to the flock. So please welcome these ministers and their families whole-heartedly, pray for them and ask God’s blessing in this whole thing as He will guide us as we walk and yield ourselves to Him.
8 comments:
The answer here is quite obvious...
There surely are other men who have served for a long time in LCG who are qualified to be raised to minister level.
The 3 "new hires" brought enough people with them to justify their own pay, and more likely, provide a "profit" even above that pay to LCG/Meredith.
It all boiled down to the economics and profit of the transaction, its as simple as that. Mammon speaks very loudly in the COG.
Joe Moeller
Cody, WY
(2014 UCG Council - Write In Candidate)
"We have in no way orchestrated this, but many of them have felt for months or years that no real work was being done there, and that the full Truth was not being preached."
No real work was being done there [in David Hulme's "church"]? What a cushy way to collect a paycheck "for months or years." Probably for many years since the very start of Hulme's "church." These three slackers will certainly want to avoid David Pack's Restored Church. Pack might work them hard like they had never worked before in their entire lives.
The full Truth was not being preached [in David Hulme's "church"]? Was ANY truth being preached? Was anything at all being preached? Did anyone ever hear or learn anything at all from that group at any time? Or, was everyone's time, energy, and money just totally wasted there?
You have to wonder if this is an emerging trend, with ministers simply taking themselves, families, and congregations to one of the larger splinters, rather than starting their own group. I'm cynical. I wonder if Dave Pack, through his old contacts in Global, didn't know about these negotiations this summer, prompting the Haggai marketing campaign which we watched fail.
Score: 3 points for Rod,1 point for Dave (Dale Schurter).
BTW, lack of a physical vetting period for these 3 ministers could be interpreted by observers as a certain level of trust for God, though we know He has nothing to do with Armstrongism.
BB
Byker Bob said"lack of a physical vetting period for these 3 ministers could be interpreted by observers as a certain level of trust for God, though we know He has nothing to do with Armstrongism"
Makes me also wonder just how much looking into their pasts, especially the last 20 years or so, have they ever alluded to or named the good Doc or his church in their messages. Just a thought.
excellent choice of a photo for this entry.
These people don't know anything else but stupid! THE END.
This reminds me of a saying in the Mormon church, "Once the decision has been made, the thinking has been done." In other words, don't question any decisions made on high. No need to think; we'll do it for you. Greyhound Bus Line had a saying, "Take Greyhound and LEAVE THE DRIVING TO US." C of G say, "Leave the thinking to us."
So far as looking into pasts goes, Armstrongism was always known for its prying, gossip, and innuendo, and there are legendary stories regarding the setting up of spies. Though HWA always reviled the press and journalists because they got to the facts and oft refused to spin things his way, acclaimed reporters actually, through hard work, have always been able to uncover details about public figures which lay dormant or suppressed. In COGdom, if your godfathers liked you, they overlooked certain questionable things to get you through the vetting process.
I know nothing of Peter Nathan or Bob Rodjaz, but I do know that Steve Elliot lived his life in a way most entitled AC students would never have even contemplated, and I even include myself in that statement. Steve served as a machine gunner in Viet Nam, and also as a police officer with the Pasadena Police Department. Prior to that, he worked with one of the outside construction crews that was building the new men's dorm across the street from the AC Gym.
I knew some of the people (Joe Jr., and Steve) we read about here on a day to day basis as teenagers and young adults, but not in later life as they matured. Some of these guys were not the fair-haired children who automatically drank the Kool Aid and adopted the U.A.P. like the good little boys and girls who got married graduation day, received their leased Chrysler products and went into the field. They were to one extent or another rebel-outlaws like myself, but whose inner struggles eventually led them instead to return to the fold and to commit to it. They chose a different path from my own, but I would never question their sincerity.
BB
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