It must be amazing to be the most important man on earth who wields uncontrollable power like Rod Meredith. Did you know that Rod has the power to "mark" you, even though you are not an LCG member, for being a heretic, trouble maker or just an all around rebel-rouser? I am surprised that Rod did not "mark" me when he publicly lashed out at this blog....as if I care.
Marked
This category denotes the most severe of all actions of New Testament discipline (Romans 16:17). Why must we “mark” an individual? For strife or causing division among members or those who cause others to participate in their sinful ways (2 Peter 2:10-14) or because not doing so will destroy the faith of sincere members. Marking protects all parties and stops false rumors. Any marking before the congregation should be discreet, and with counsel from Headquarters. It may become necessary for the Pastor to carefully counsel the person’s associates. The minister should totally avoid any public or private references to the person, which could possibly be slanderous.
Note: ONLY the Presiding Evangelist, or in his absence or incapacity, the Director of Church Administration, is empowered to mark a person who is not a member, adherent and/or attendee of Living Church of God. Generally, Churches have no legal right to “discipline” non-members. However, churches retain the right to protect those who are members by warning them of spiritual danger.LCG Pastoral Manual pg 3-14
When the Pastor must mark a member publicly, he must not ad-lib an explanation. He should write down statements that have been carefully thought out, with counsel, and read a prepared announcement using the form provided via the www.cogl.org website. This safeguard helps to avoid making emotional statements that may be unfair or defamatory. When, or if, a disfellowshipped member is re-admitted to fellowship, statements made in marking him should not leave impressions in the minds of members that preclude forgiveness and reconciliation. A minister should always be concerned for the person’s welfare regardless of what he has done, as expressed in Romans 5:8. A minister should strive to provide for the person’s return to the Church congregation. Marking is normally necessary only in the Church congregation where the person attended. If the marked person affects people in other congregations, it may become necessary to notify the affected Pastors who would have to determine if the notice should be mentioned to their Church.
We have all seen how well disfellowshipping and marking individuals has went in LCG and other COG's Its one big smear campaign. There is no hope whatsoever that those disfellowshipped and marked would ever return after their reputations have been dragged through the mud. Their names have been permanently tarnished in the eyes of LCG members.
25 comments:
Mark me! Mark me!
If anyone is causing division for the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia, it would be me! (Well, OK, if anyone really has caused divisions, it's hard to think of anyone who has done more than Roderick Meredith -- if you know anything about Global.)
I thought so.
They don't have the juice to do it.
I guess I won't waste my time marking them again.
" The minister should totally avoid any public or private references to the person, which could possibly be slanderous. "
Yes. Slanderous.
And when you don't have the evidence to support the events that led to the marking because 1) they aren't true and 2) you use marking to execute personal vendetta it's even worse. Malicious. Dare I say evil.
Why do people let Meredith get away with this? Someone should sue his butt off.
" Its one big smear campaign. There is no hope whatsoever that those disfellowshipped and marked would ever return after their reputations have been dragged through the mud. Their names have been permanently tarnished in the eyes of LCG members."
So true banned. The purpose behind Meredith's marking is to let the congregation know that you are dangerous and to be avoided like an evil spirit or a criminal. "Marked" implies the worst if the worst in the COG world. We were told to disassociate with those marked, even on Facebook. It would be nearly impossible to repare your COG reputation Once you'd been marked. It's meant to destroy and completely ruin a person. Ask any COGer and they will agree. It's so sad to see it happen to people you know are truly God's people. They stay in my prayers.
How is Rod Meredith not guilty of church division with what he did in Global? Surely what he did is WORSE than reading the Book of Enoch, not bowing blindly to tge ministry or not buying into the Winnail version of the falling away.
I guess in Meredith land bad behavior is bad based on Ol Spanky's opinion and not the Bible.
Did Meredith learn nothing from the Leona McNair lawsuit???
"Generally, Churches have no legal right to “discipline” non-members."
Interesting statement. Does this imply that they feel Churches have a 'legal right' to "discipline" members?
Mark me LCg wankers!
His attitude and hard heartedness is the reason HWA did not give control of WWcg to him. He can't control the few people in lcg, how could he run WWcg?
He should look at himself as the real cause of division in lcg.
Repent Rod now, before it's too late.
LCG and Rod are so behind the times!
Why don't they just have a giant map or globe, on the web, with all the disfellowshipped people shown on it with a pin or dot. One can zoom in or out, or search by name or zip code.
Sort of like a "Living Church of God ", "Meghans List" type of thing.
Or perhaps they could set up some sort of YELP system, where each member can be praised or criticized by fellow LCG members and ministry. At least with the YELP system, you would have a chance to correct or challenge a posting.
Finally, each minister should have a review online, sort of like Angies List. I can hear the slogan now ..."Check before you Tithe!"
I would like to mark Rod Meredith for being an ego-maniacal, hateful, racist, homophobe who has ruined dozens of lives with his thoughtless actions and slander (oh and the D&R nightmare wherein he ruined family after family.
All LCG members who read this should read the letter Mr. Armstrong wrote to Rod Meredith. HWA perfectly outlines how he felt about RCM. It might open your eyes if the events of the last year haven't.
There is a link to the letter on this website.
Do churches have a legal right to discipline members???
There's no contracts like in an employment situation so I don't think so but I was just curious if anyone knows for sure.
LCG is now disfellowshipping people who don't believe God is directly guiding the ministry as evidenced by their not blindly following all new doctrines or by having the nerve to ever make an observation of flawed behavior.
If you don't sit down, shut up and believe Meredith is like the Pope, you might be next.
These are nothing but terror tactics. The true is that 'no' present day minister in these organizations have any real authority from heaven. Their behavior has cut them off from Yahweh. Because they don't yet know it, does not make this untrue. These are the ones that we read of in scripture where Yahshua tells them to depart and that He never knew them.
Gashing of teeth would be their response. They will try to avoid their punishment by saying that did't they do this and do that, expecting forgiveness, when they refuse to acknowledge their wickedness and repent.
Many are going to find that all along Yahweh was with them even as these hirelings made life hell for them. Be of good cheer. Rejoice for even their master suffered wrong under
the wrath of insincere pompous no bodies that failed to realize that a mach truck was heading their way that would remove them and give them their just reward.
Fear not little flock for I will soon wipe away your tears and raise you up, so that the
evil ones will be forced to worship you, to know that I have loved you and your reward is with me. Walk away and stand back, so you are not included in their punishment. Serve the flock, protect them from those whose that have been disputably using you.
Free yourselves from them. They have treated the flock in a despicable manner. They have disgraced their calling and allowed Satan to overtake them to the extent that Yahweh no longer views them as His own. Let your conscience be the judge of all. Recognize the evil for what it is. Despise not the little ones, for they are precious in Yahweh's sight. Stand up and do what is right.
Yahshua? Is that from the same root as Yahoo? It certainly has nothing to do with Yahweh.
If you're going to go with something people made up in the 1900s, you might as well just stick with Herb.
LCG is now disfellowshipping people who don't believe God is directly guiding the ministry as evidenced by their not blindly following all new doctrines or by having the nerve to ever make an observation of flawed behavior.
More than one LCG headquarters minister has openly told his friends that Rod Meredith is no longer following God's direct guidance and that it's OK to reject the "upgraded" understandings of the last few years. How many of those headquarters ministers have been disfellowshipped?
A typical and overused LCG smear tactic is to start a rumor that those they kick out or those that leave of their own accord are going to "start their own church".
No one ever does but LCG is never held accountable so they continue in the lie in an attempt to justify their actions toward these people.
A typical and overused LCG smear tactic is to start a rumor that those they kick out or those that leave of their own accord are going to "start their own church".
No one ever does but LCG is never held accountable so they continue in the lie in an attempt to justify their actions toward these people.
I recall, back in the good ol' days before Herb died, when everything was just peachy, that there was a member who suffered from clinical depression. And, being the upstanding church member that he was, he "counseled" with the ministry about his depression, and he was anointed for it, more than once, I think. Although, if it doesn't work the first time, I'm not sure what the theory is behind subsequent anointings.
And then, at a certain point, some minister or another decided to disfellowship and marked him. I think I was told at the time that "he wasn't doing his part to get well," or something to that effect. Looking back on it, I'm still puzzled about this episode. I still can't figure how clinical depression could be construed as a "sin" by any stretch, or if it were, how one would go about "repenting" of being clinically depressed. I can't even figure out what someone's "part" is in "recovering" from clinical depression, aside, of course, from seeking psychiatric help, which was prettymuch verboten. What is known to work wonders for clinical depression, however, is public shaming, the loss of one's entire social network, and isolation. Oh, did I say "clinical depression"? Sorry, I meant "suicide."
Upon reflection, I think what must have happened is it was apparent to all parties that the ministry had nothing to offer this man. Absolutely nothing whatsoever. Frustrated, he may have spoken something during "counseling" that approximated this truth a little too concisely. Embarrassed, they decided to "save face" by relieving themselves of the whole problematic situation by disposing of him, and if he were to commit suicide as a result, so much the better for them. Because "members" aren't real people anyway, and what happens to them doesn't really matter very much, right?
A number of years later, during which time I think HWA died and the Tkaches had begun to make changes, he paid my family a visit, which I thought was nice. No longer burdened by the church and any of its ridiculousness, he had moved beyond the quack "cures" offered by HWA's spiritual "healers" and gotten real psychiatric help. Even those methods were not as effective as one might hope, but they at least have the benefit of being progressive and results oriented, unlike ancient superstition. I was proud of him for moving on the way he did. After all, what is the difference between being anointed by a minister with greasy hands, and going to your local shaman or witch doctor? None that I can see. I think he recognized this too.
If you do not accept the upgrade to become a cyberman, you will be DELETED!
Say!
Is this what Revelation means by the mark of the Beast?
Why not preemptively disfellowship the entire world's population, except for church members? Unity at last.
"the minister should totally avoid any public or private references to the person, which could possibly be slanderous."
that sounds like legal speak, which clearly implies they fear potential legal action, and begs the question of true authority...
notice that religious organizations seem to always be subject to the power of the state, their claim to power being tempered by the reality thereof...
true righteousness has no fear because it would be blamelesss, not always looking over its shoulder, concerned about the negative consequences of its actions...
Whether you want to call it reaping what you sew or karma, the ungodly men in power at LCG will ultimately get what they deserve. They have broken at least 2 of the Commandments on a regular basis and they certainly know better.
To Anonymous above,
PCG believes that Depression is Demon Possession, I suffered from severe depression in that cult. All my so-called friends told me not to ever council with the ministry or I'd be "put out". Wow! Sure enough!
I just love how Dumb Ass womanizer Wayne Turgeon thinks he's a pcycologist!
After being around for about 22 years RCM's GCG/LCG still has only about 8,000 people. The GCG/LCG simply never grew much even after starting off with former WCG people, and it is not likely to “shake the nations” the way that shaky old RCM had wanted it to. The closest the LCG ever came to that was shaking the television news watchers with stories about a shooting in the LCG.
Several decades of RCM saying that you will start to see his prophetic ideas begin to happen in the next 3 to 5 years is enough to shake anyone's confidence in his prophetic guesses, especially when he then suddenly switches after all those years and says it could be another 15 to 20 years. Talk about “hope deferred.”
RCM is always trying to shake up HWA's teachings in order to put his own stamp on his LCG by saying that HWA would have wanted him to grow in knowledge and make doctrinal changes, but this just shakes up the LCG members who realise that there is something wrong with RCM since he starts off pretending and arguing that he is not making doctrinal changes when he makes his doctrinal changes. The only thing that is getting shaken is the LCG members as RCM continually makes what he calls doctrinal “upgrades” that immediately get downgraded by thinking people everywhere who remember what HWA had taught. It is dangerous for RCM to tinker with doctrines in his old age while his mind is so shaky.
The LCG will probably get shaken apart after RCM dies, or maybe even before then if he keeps up his bad behavior. Supposedly, things could have been even worse. If this is what it is like when RCM claims that he “never committed a major sin” since he was baptized, imagine how bad it could have been if he had committed major sins.
Step aside Shakin' Stevens. Shaky old RCM is here.
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