For months now various LCG members and others are reporting how disunified the Living Church of God currently is. Turmoils seems to boil in Charlotte and elsewhere. As the LCG moves closer to the day that Rod Meredith dies, it is having to deal with dissension emerging from the ministerial ranks and the members. Many fear that Meredith's son will be pointed as successor.
Right before the Feast of Tabernacles 2014, Rod McNair preached a sermonette where he discusses those who cause division and how the church is to deal with them. He lists four categories of those who disagree with the church. This information is so serious that the LCG sent this sermonette out on tape and COMMANDED all the church areas play it along with a sermon by Rod Meredith..
He starts out though reinforcing the rule that the ministers have been placed OVER the members. They are there to ensure an atmosphere of unity. He tells LCG members that the ministry is also there to help stop them from being deceived. I had to laugh at that one since most of the ministry of the LCG is deceiving the members day in and day out with aberrant doctrines and other silly rules.
Authority of the ministry has a great responsibility and that includes disassociating people from fellowship....but members should always remember it is done in love......
Then he says, 'When a flyswatter will do - don't bring a sledge hammer." This too is laughable considering the heavy handedness of Meredith and others that have disfellowshipping hundreds and hundreds of people over the decades. Very few times was it done in "love." Most of the time is was for revenge. Meredith was particularly good at the revenge part in the late 70's when GTA got kicked out. Meredith went on a scorched earth policy kicking out all kinds of people who had the slightest association with GTA. I saw the letters that he sent to those people. They were shocked at the vehement attitude he exhibited.
The categories the LCG uses to disassociate people are:
- Those who drop out and leave, whether it be to another COG or just stop attending. McNair claims, "...we do not force people to stay in the church." He claims that if LCG members happen to meet these people in the store they are not to hide from them but are to look at them as they do anyone else in the world. This is all laughable again since the LCG and most other COG preach insistently that those who leave the church have the holy spirit taken from them. So when an LCG member sees these people in the store they immediately think what sorry creatures they are for turning their backs on God. The commendation is ingrained.
- Those who are suspended. If a person has done wrong or continues to do wrong they are suspended for period of time. It usually is for a couple of months so a person feels apart from the body. The person is not announced from the pulpit and members are not told to stay away from the person. The individual is told to keep away from members. Those close to the person may be told to not associate with them for a period of times though.
- Those disfellowshipped. They are not to return because of issues that can harm the church. he reason is not announced from the pulpit. Only close associates will be told to stay away from them. LCG members are not to hide from them if they see them in the store. Members are not to meet socially with them or to take part in any social media they are on. This comment stands out above every thing else McNair presents. Social media has wreaked havoc on the Churches of God over the last several decades. Many like Pack, Cox and Flurry see social media as dangerous and tell members to not read the Internet or participate in Facebook groups and other social media so that they be not corrupted. Social media right now is keeping the dissension in the LCG alive and flourishing.
Tough times are ahead for the Living Church of God as it tries to deal with the grumbling ministers and members. The more they kick out the less money will be coming in. That seems to be the most important factor in constantly talking about unity in the church. As much as they desire it, they will never have unity.
- Marked members. Those who cause deliberate division and who go against church doctrine or teachings. These people are sicked out and publicly marked in order to protect the church. Personal details are not supposed to be mentioned because "love covers a multitude of sin." Excuse me while I recover from laughing. There have been very few times this has ever been done on "love" towards the individual or families. It is almost always a weapon used to punish an individual or a family. It is deliberately done to embarrass them and to be a warning to other church members that they too can share the same fate. It has always been used in the Church of God as a tool of fear and intimidation.
You can listen to Rod McNair's COMMANDED sermonette here:
The other commanded sermon is by Rod Meredith and was on GOVERNMENT. It can be listened to here.
A sermonette on the authority ministers have in kicking people out and then a sermon by Meredith on proper government. Fear is definitely in the air in Charlotte as these two recordings are being used as a weapon of intimidation and fear. Tough times are ahead for the LCG members.