Click to enlarge this great letter of Christian "Love"
I received the above "love" letter that Bob League and Rod McNair send out to all those people who need Jesus Christ's love the most during challenging times. Both League and McNair make me proud to be a Christian considering how much love drips from their hearts. They are just like Jesus Christ!
Commentary below was with the letter:
Note how the work "mark" is always in all caps as if to really drive home the point and how it's for the "protection of our members" (translation "to keep your unhappiness with our tyranny and doctrinal changes from spreading to others").
It's also somewhat amusing that the marked are not "allowed on church premises" as if they would want to be in the first place.
Then there's the line about contacting a minister if you want to counsel, which we all know didn't turn out too well for the Scarboough's based on the hand written letter from Mr. League essentially saying, "we know you want to counsel, but we don't want to talk to you, so please proceed to take a long walk off a short pier".
It's also of note that it says "based on biblical instruction". There is no such biblical instruction. "Mark" means to "take note of", not to shun and cast off to Satan like LCG interprets it. Taking note is not a tool to be used to rule with and to cast fear into the hearts of others who might disagree or have the nerve to think for themselves.
Christ sat with sinners. Ate with sinners. Admonished people to let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Preached that those that are well have no need of a doctor. Preached to forgive 7 times 70. Preached about love, mercy and forgiveness over and over again. But Meredith prefers to crush any and all who even annoy him in the slightest.
Such a Godly man. No wonder he is third in all the universe!
28 comments:
According to Armstrongite mythology the chain of command in the universe is thus:
God
Jesus Christ
Herbert Armstrong
Rod Meredith
which makes Spanky FOURTH in command.
Where does that leave Dave Pack and Gerald Flurry?
Someone should produce an "F U" form letter that anyone who gets one of these ridiculous marking letters could turn around and mail back to the buffoons.
This letter drips of arrogance and pomposity. What a disgrace the whole practice is.
"If in the future you feel you have repented and wish to counsel..."
Trying to imagine what it would be like to receive such a letter. Little hard to repent when you don't know what you did wrong. Just because Rod might feel I did something wrong doesn't really mean that much. But if I ever did have such a feeling, would I wish to counsel? Probably not.
I'm sure they're spending a lot of time praying for those cast-off souls.
Oh the tangly web we weavez, when we get into the religion biz to deceivez...for teh money!
A long time ago I determined that if a minister ever wanted to call me on the carpet, I wasn't going to submit to that. Happened once, and I just let him know that if he wanted to talk, it was going to be on my terms, not his. My terms were not acceptable to him (big surprise) so I guess he decided that whatever he had wanted to say wasn't all that important after all. He "suspended" me, and that was the end of that. No big whoop!
Again I say, WWJD? Definitely NOT this.
McNair and Meredith are horrible examples of Christians.
This is sickening.
And you know, we all can learn from these men What Jesus is Like.
Jesus must be so pleased to be represented by the stellar example of the leaders of the Armstrongist Churches of God.
Well, you know, Pentecost is upon us and these men represent the best of what the Holy Spirit has to offer.
It is understandable why League/Mcnair don't want to spell out the "Biblical Instructions," which simply say:
"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them" Romans 16:17
The Biblical Instructions are for brethren to "mark them."
For example, the letterhead states that Rod Meredith is some "Presiding Evangelist," but is that true?
No! The scripture tells us:
"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers" Ephesians 4:11
And the word "some" should be properly translated as "the" and the verse is really talking about "...THE evangelists..."
God already gave us the evangelists, and there has been no need for Rod Meredith to set himself up as thought he were some "great one:" Presiding Evangelist. Does Rod thing he is greater than "THE evangelists" mentioned Ephesians 4:11????? Does preside over them too?
No, God already gave us what we needed. Again, Rod isn't even a minister. He was a hireling when he was part of the WCG, but fled the scene, abandoning the WCG sheep. He set up his own manmade organization "Go baal", which subsequently disintegrated.
He then set up the Living group, which time may prove should have really been called the Dead group...especially if it too disintegrates like Global did.
So, the Biblical Instruction above on "mark them" is something for the brethren to do.
For example, I mark Rod Meredith as a cause of divisions and offences contrary to doctrine and the proof is obvious for all with eyes/ears to see/hear based on the past history of Rod/Globaal and the current history of Rod/"living", but time will tell. Time is not on his side.
So, I avoid him.
I like the poster's paragraph near the end where it was stated:
"...Christ sat with sinners. Ate with sinners. Admonished people to let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Preached that those that are well have no need of a doctor. Preached to forgive 7 times 70. Preached about love, mercy and forgiveness over and over again...."
That sounds like it would agree with something the apostle Paul told us:
"To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." 2 Corinthians 5:19
Jesus Christ never crushed the people around him. He understood who God was not going to impute trespasses in the final analysis. Rod Meredith, no real minister, does not understand that. Neither do League/McNair understand that 2 Cor 5:19, which is not any part of their gospel.
John
In a world of shrinking ACOGs, one would imagine that counselling skills would be being refined to the point that the counsellors would be as skillful as the good shepherd: Simply unwilling to lose a single sheep. Hello! Logic! How much does it cost to attract a new member? How much does it cost to be kind and ethical soas to retain an existing member?
This arbitrary authority thing has become so gratuitously destructive that the wielders appear to be certifiably insane. What part of "there are 700 splinters + the independents" do they not understand? Most of these ministers should know better, because they have been in multiple splinters themselves! None of the splinters is particularly special! They all teach nearly the same things, and they all accept tithes. What they don't realize is that some of these people whom they mistreat and alienate leave the tithe pool entirely! If there ever really was a work of getting out an endtime gospel message, it is constantly shrinking. I don't believe that they care about anything other than the preservation of their own authority!
BB
We regularly hear that LCG members don't leave. They're unhappy, but "there's nowhere else to go". This is a tribute to the phenomenal propaganda skills of Rod Meredith. Every 6-9 months, he puts out an article or sermon about how bad all the other churches are. And he uses the best technique of all -- telling you that you are right and they are wrong. That you will be in the first resurrection and they won't be. That you will be in the place of safety and they won't. You have the right government and they don't. You're Philadelphian and they're Laodicean. You're doing a work and they're not. You're serious about your Christianity and they're just a social group. This works very well by getting people to eagerly listen while you compliment them, and then injecting hate for others while their guard is down. If you are in LCG, you have been propagandized. You do not see it now. But someday you will. It is basically a hypnotism act. Mr. Meredith has to regularly give a must-play or lead article or a co-worker letter so you will keep focused on him, and then, just when you might be softening up on those other churches, he re-injects his hate. The man is a genius. The proof is how he has successfully deceived thousands of sincere Christians in LCG.
Anonymous 6:58, do you know where one might find such an article?
Translation of the verse is "take note" not throw out of church... Not shun.... Not treat as an enemy or one to be feared.... Not slander them or ruin their reputations... Not knock them to the ground like a golden gloves boxer.
The bible says not to add to or take away from the Word of God. Meredith/LCG are grossly adding to the intent behind this scripture.
Apparently no one in his group knows what their bibles say. Either that or they choose to take Rod's word over God's
I am from Philippines and when Bob League came here to handle Global Church of God then, I was so shocked to find how slowly the 398 years of Spanish and Catholic rule we left behind since Philippine independence in 1898 returned in this small and insignificant congregation. Such arrogance. I immediately knew that such church where League is cannot be the true church of God, it was but just a mirror of the arrogance of the Catholic Church when this church reigned during the Middle Ages. Those Living Church of God members are just that - living in the ignorance and superstition of the Middle Ages, no different from the Catholic Church.
The post from the person in the Philippines is spot on. I have many dear friends in lcg.....Most are blind or conditioned to thinking lcg is the be all and all. Conditioned to thinking the ministry are superior. Shame on those that pervert the truth
Good point BB
I am in LCG and at least once a year we get a sermonette or an offeratory message about "What Does $10 Do In The Work of God?"
The speaker usually goes on to say how many Tomorrow's World magazines can be printed or how many booklets can be mailed with $10, etc, etc
Recruiting new members is expensive. It seems that your point about making an effort to work together with people who may have issues with the church would be saving God's money, or at least putting it to better use.
Counseling together is free. Why in the world, as responsible shepherds of tithe money, would they not use this tool before just kicking people out?
Its a catch 22. If they allow people with differing opinions to continue in their fellowship these people might cause others to question the teachings of the group and cause more to leave. On the other hand if they put-out everyone that has differing opinions this will result in lower membership and less tithe money coming in also.
This is why is why Armstrongism will continue to decline. Armstrongism has failure built into it as a result of its mode of operation.
When the HECK is the Living Church of God going to get with modern times and technology?
Why are they not disfellowshipping via TEXT MESSAGE and saving money on postage?
Fortunately the LCG marking letter clearly states the reason you are given the boot. The letter should state, "since you know information about us, which could be embarrassing to us, or cause a significant drop in our income and lifestyle, you must GO NOW."
Yep, you're not kicked out for what you've done, but for what you've seen, or simply for the thought crime of having a differing opinion.
Rod & Co. are scared s-tless that their followers might come into contact with something other than his bulls-t, because he knows his bulls-t doesn't actually make any sense, and they don't want anyone to recognize that.
If you ever do, out you go!
I don't know who's letter this is but what I DO know is that LCG ministry try to convince us that they are praying for the "lost sheep" and that it is their earnest hope and prayer that these people would be back in "God's church" (I put this in quotes because it is plainly obvious that LCG is no longer God's church).
Unfortunately what they say and what the do are not congruent. The HQ ministery try to pretend that these wayward members left and don't want to be back. They try to pretend that they want them back and they try to project peace and concern. All this while continuing to perpetuate completely fabricated stories about several of them to justify their (the ministry's) reactionary and overly hard reactions. Many of us still maintain friendships with these outcasts and some of them want peace as evidenced by "the letter" posted on this blog and found in many of our inboxes.
What does it say about Meredith and McNair that people want to make peace but they refuse to while pretending to be sad about the poor little lost sheep???
Does this letter demonstrate the Fruits of the Spirit?
How did Christ say we would know His disciples?
These people are not letting Christ "live in them. It is most clearly a different spirit.
LCG members should be afraid.
I can't imagine how emotionally devastating it would be to receive a letter like this (which I'm sure is part of RCM's intent).
I feel sorry for anyone who gets a letter like this in the short run but in the long run I know they will be grateful. Hopefully they will come to know the God of love and mercy and learn the grace Christ affords us instead of the hateful fear and damnation that LCG rules its members with.
If the recipient is reading this, keep the Commandments and holy days if you like but look for a church that acknowledges grace, love and forgiveness.
God saved you by forcing you out of LCG. You now have the opportunity to improve your lives and your relationship with the real Jesus Christ.
Armstrongism was always a religion of extremes and worst case scenarios. Look at how they treated Deut.21:18-21. They seem to think that there was a stone-a-thon in ancient Israel, with rebellious teenagers regularly being physically stoned (as opposed to being euphorically stoned which often happens today).
The tradition amongst the Jews, based on their own historic records, was that the vast majority of these rebellious ones were actually lovingly counselled and worked with by the priests, who were considered to be perhaps the mental health professionals of those ancient times, later to be returned and mainstreamed back into their families. And, this is what happens in Jewish homes today, where the same laws of the Torah are taught, only with a much more loving understanding than what we learned in Armstrongism. No doubt the parents were also counselled, as aberrative behavior in young people is nearly always caused by conditions in the home. So, the whole family would have been worked with.
Armstrongist extremism painted God as being a zero tolerance, maximum penalty, swooping judge. This was the example which was taught and used as the basic pattern of enforcement. A judge such as that would be devoid of love for humans, and controlled by His love for law instead. He would bear no resemblance to the good shepherd. Rather than being concerned for all lost sheep, He would be placing relative values on their lives, as in "Well, that one is always straying off and wasting my time. Some of the other sheep are beginning to follow his example. I. think I'll just let him get eaten by the wolves!" The shepherd who would do such a thing would be most unskilled, a bottom-feeder in the realm of shepherdry.
When considering the character and sense of justice of God, and the way in which He values the lives of His children, church members need to give heavier weight to the parable of the prodigal son rather than all of the stoning penalties in the Old Testament. What kind of god would allow His Son to pay the penalty for mankind's past, present, and future sins? That would be a God of unconditional love. If the ACOGs believed that, and practiced their exercise of authority accordingly, the types of abuses we have experienced and continue to learn about would not be happening!
Who is it that actually wants to put obstacles in front of the children of God, and to see them destroyed? Could that be the individual who has inspired the types of church government we see practiced in the ACOGs? That surely seems to be the case!
BB
I can imagine LCG ministry saying things like, "we only did this because we love them and want to help bring them to repentance to save their souls" or "no father likes to spank their son but it is an obligation of parenting" or some other nonsense. The sleepy sheep will just believe that the ministry was actually trying to help whoever this is. The wiser old-timers and those capable of thinking for themselves will recognize that this type of behavior is wrong and a complete abuse of power.
BB LCG is completely unfamiliar with "the God of unconditional love".
They are, however, totally into unconditional obedience (to them).
Unconditional love requires humility and a willingness to forgive. Rod Meredith and Rod McNair are incapable of both.
Bob said, "Armstrongist extremism painted God as being a zero tolerance, maximum penalty, swooping judge. This was the example which was taught and used as the basic pattern of enforcement. A judge such as that would be devoid of love for humans, and controlled by His love for law instead. He would bear no resemblance to the good shepherd"
You just perfectly described the LCG HQ's ministry.
Have you been hanging out in Charlotte?
Anon @4:00, no, but I would certainly like to have been there on Sunday for the NASCAR races! The race was awesome, and the good folks in Charlotte have certainly not forgotten about God or our military heroes.
BB
LCG has marked several people in the last few years. I don't know who's letter this is. What I do know, is that NONE of the people that were marked that I know were guilty of mark-worthy crimes. I was around the marked people all the time and none of them were divisive or criminals, etc. It is painfully obvious to the masses in LCG that this was an abuse of power to execute personal vendetta.
I have been a little surprised that HQ's hasn't realized how damaging this type of behavior has been to their credibility. Not just in Charlotte but also throughout North Carolina and Missouri in particular.
As a person who likes to prove all things and analyze situation before drawing conclusions, I may be in a minority in LCG. But even the blindly obedient have started to wonder what is going on.
You have to wonder if some or all of these marked people aren't being preemptively punished for the sins of Bob Thiel. Bob, as a wealthy supporter, was allowed to participate through his much-resented COGwriter site as an unordained partner in the LCG ministry. From what we have learned, the Scarbroughs apparently fill a somewhat similar role through their Youtube archives of everything HWA. In a traditional Armstrongist sense, these people are beyond the control of senior management of LCG. To the extent that they stick within the narrow confines of the party line, they are useful to the organization, and receive their occasional pat on the back. The minute they begin seeing universality in their personal ministries, possibly embracing the membership of other splinters, they are no longer in the acceptable "satellite" mode, and are cut off and marked. Ah, just another theory. But, from a distance, it seems to fit.
BB
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