Did you know that the government of the Living Church of God is a blessing to its members? Rod Meredith thinks so. Tell that to the hundreds and hundreds that have suffered under his abusive hands. Rod McNair and countless others down through the decades have been the agents of Meredith's almighty graceless power. Meredith has left a trail of destruction that is anything but a blessing. People have literally died because of what Meredith has preached.
Rod Meredith is right about one thing below. He is NOT practicing true Godly government. A government built solely upon on grace and love. Love is NOT found in the Living Church of God. When Jesus is absent how can love be present?
One of Meredith's first proofs of his true government is to trust inAnd brethren, we do need to understand God's government. The true government of God is a blessing, and if we don't understand that and are not practicing that, we are not preparing ourselves for the Kingdom of God, we really aren't. What's the whole message that our tithes and offerings are going to do? To preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and the true name of Jesus Christ, and then to feed the flock with that understanding. The Kingdom of God, as Mr. Armstrong said again, and again, and again, and again, kingdom means GOVERNMENT – that's what it means. I came back several years from the United Kingdom of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II – the government, the government of Queen Elizabeth – it's the government that runs this whole area there over in the British Isles. So kingdom is a government, and we're preparing for a real government on this earth, and we've got understand government, and we understand it better by practicing and – by properly understanding and practicing it in God's Church today. So he tells us to do that there in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, why would you have outsiders judge matters? You're to learn to govern yourselves and to have the leadership of God right in the Church. He says here, it's God's government that matters. God's form of church government is a blessing. I say God's form, because some people say they don't need any right form of government, but frankly they don't have the correct understanding even Gospel of the Kingdom if they don't do that; I'm going to show that to you as we go along.
Did you know that as members of the Living Church of God you are too stupid to think for yourselves and to run the church? You MUST have Rod Meredith as your leader. Only HE is capable of knowing the truth.What are some of the blessings of God's government? If you're taking notes write this down; here are three blessings of the true government of God. Number 1, it teaches us to trust in Christ. I've been trying to urge you to learn to put your faith and trust in Christ. Christ is real, and as we'll see in Ephesians chapter 1 verse 22 and elsewhere, Christ IS right now the living head of the Church of God. Do you believe that; believe Paul in what he said, that God inspired that in his Bible? You either believe it or you don't. Christ is the head of the Church. Government teaches you to trust in Christ to guide that.
God's true government has Spokesmen Club in order for LCG members to train to be rulers of planets in the World Tomorrow. How can God's kingdom be set up without Spokesmen Club graduates running the world? The god of Armstrongism certainly is the most impotent god I have ever heard about. In other words, you are being taught to treat fellow members like shit, so that you can be true leaders in the World Tomorrow. Well, at least you will be if you follow the leadership of the top dogs of the Living Church of God!Secondly, it keeps the Church unified. Without government people wander off and they let some outsider come in or someone from some other organization and start upsetting people. I know Mr. Armstrong sent me – right after the autumn at least, after I graduated from college – up to Portland, Oregon; we had a wonderful elder up there, but he was a little older and he was a cartoonist, his name [was] Basil Wolverton. He said "Mr. Wolverton is having a hard time because ex-Adventist, and exPentecostal and ex-Church of God ministers are coming around picking off some of the brethren, so I want you to go there and pinch hit," he said. He was trying to lure me into the ministry, 'cause I'd always told him I didn't want to be a minister (snickering), but he said, "You pinch hit for Basil Wolverton." So I did for about seven months as a local minister in Portland, Oregon and I made sure those things didn't happen; I had to stop their mouths if someone came around and take the lead in the right way, the right way to keep God's Church together. It protects people [from] WOLVES coming in to pick off the sheep. You need a leader, you need a shepherd, and (means) that, and has that in his Bible, and it's part of his government.
Notice the words highlighted in GREEN below.
How many hundreds of LCG members have felt the swift hand of that "love" as they were kicked out of the church without any recourse or real explanation.?
As many in the LCG know, the words of Rod Meredith above in GREEN are a bald faced lie! Servant leadership is SORELY missing in the LCG. It's appalling that he even had the nerve to say such a thing!A third blessing of God's government: it prepares all of us to learn how to rule forever, because many of you men are coming along as leaders in the Spokesman Club or other activities; acting deacons or deacons – we can't lay hands on and give a title to everybody who serves, then we wouldn't have any laymen left (snickering), 'cause we hope everyone will serve. So we want to teach people leadership, and as you cooperate with the new people to serve them, and then older deacons and older deaconesses to cooperate with them and try to submit yourself to one another in the fear of God – submit to their guidance – you learn the whole pattern of God's government. God's government is based on love; it's there to serve. We practice servant leadership and that's a vital thing as I've explained in whole sermons – servant leadership – you lead by serving, you lead by giving, by helping people to have their lives work better, to have God's Church work better, to cause everything to work better. That is to be the attitude – servant leadership. So that's the point that God wants us to learn how to do now, but that's a great blessing in God's kind of government. It's not politicking; never in God's Church, or in the Bible does God talk about men getting together and making speeches and trying to have a voting to see who's going to be the minister or who's going to be the next elder; never, never ever, not one single solitary time in the Bible did that ever happen; God does not do that.
It's funny because Rod implies that to "trust in Christ" means you have to support RCM. I trust in Christ but I wouldn't trust Rod Meredith any further than I could throw him.
ReplyDeleteWhy does he think it is mutually exclusive???
That was the number one reason I ultimately left LCG.
RCM and his ministers feel they should be honored and obeyed by the brethren as if they were Christ Himself. It always bothered me when my friends would imply that not obeying Meredith would be akin to not obeying Christ.
I guess the brainwashing didn't take in my case.
Christ is Christ. Rod is Rod. And there is a HUGE difference between the two.
one thing i noticed is that he never quoted any Scriptures...
ReplyDeleteanother thing is that although i agree government is important, his message is very different from that of Christs, the Apostle Saul or any of the other apostles...
thirdly, the man clearly is obsessed with governing but, like typical leaders in the world, does not understand the power and signifigance of love in the governing process...
his idea of government is rooted in the notion of a carnal minded heavy hand, nepotism, and the trappings of power...
lastly, given the carnal minded behavior of a number of his children the man clearly needs to get his own house in order first before he can expect to administer the Government of God...
one thing i noticed is that he never quoted any Scriptures that justify his attitude and behavior towards lay members
ReplyDeleteanother thing is that although i agree government is important, his message is very different from that of Christs, the Apostle Saul or any of the other apostles...
thirdly, the man clearly is obsessed with governing but, like typical leaders in the world, does not understand the power and signifigance of love in the governing process...
his idea of government is rooted in the notion of a carnal minded heavy hand, nepotism, and the trappings of power...
lastly, given the carnal minded behavior of a number of his children the man clearly needs to get his own house in order first before he can expect to administer the Government of God...
The gospel of government. Boring in the seventies and boring now.
ReplyDeleteGovernment reaches its loftiest plateau when it is practiced by ones self.
ReplyDeleteBB
The definition of "Servant Leadership" - Dumb tithe slave sheep servants following their false leadership.
ReplyDeleteRichard
That government rules best which rules least.
ReplyDeleteYOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME! Ex20:1-3
ReplyDeleteListening to rod his god was hwa. Has anyone heard a sermon where he does not refer to hwa repeatedly. Since he refers so often to that he expects sheeple to use that as proof. He wants to be treated as God on earth. All lcg members treat him as an idol. No matter what they say, rod is their idol. Ministers are also supposed to be looked up to, and followed as god.
Obviously they aren't studying their bible!
"Number 1, it teaches us to trust in Christ. I've been trying to urge you to learn to put your faith and trust in Christ. Christ is real..."
ReplyDeleteI recently saw a video in which it was stated that the bible is constantly telling you how good its god is because if you just read the bible for yourself and it didn't tell you, you might not realize he was supposed to be the good guy. Same goes here. Churchmen have to keep reminding their flocks of how real Jesus—errr, I mean Christ—is, because if they don't, you might not come to that conclusion on your own.
"Secondly, it keeps the Church unified. Without government people wander off and they let some outsider come in or someone from some other organization and start upsetting people."
And by "wander off" and "upsetting," I mean, "no longer send their money into my coffers."
"A third blessing of God's government: it prepares all of us to learn how to rule forever..."
And by "rule" I mean "be abused."
So there you are brethren, consider your many blessings counted. Hallelujah.
Here is Rod Meredith's logic: Jesus Christ is the Head of the church. He can remove anyone anytime He wants. Yes, I am not perfect, but whatever mistakes I've made, they have not risen to the level that Jesus Christ has seen fit to remove me. Therefore, if you leave LCG, you are judging Jesus Christ and exhibiting a lack of faith that Jesus Christ is doing His job.
ReplyDeleteConsider this: God also installed and anointed Saul as king. Later, Saul sinned greatly and was rejected by God, but remained in power long after God's rejection. Would you have obeyed Saul and killed the 85 priests (1 Sam 22:18)? Would you have blamed it on God for God not having done His job? If you tolerated Meredith's blackballing of members, did you not do the same thing?
God will never remove a man's freedom of choice. They will all choose wrong, at least at times. Are you obligated to follow them when they are wrong? Are you afraid to get kicked out yourself? Lose your friends? Rod Meredith is counting on it in order to retain his power. He is not trusting in Christ, he is exerting intimidation. And it works on many! Will it work on you? Christianity is filled with tough choices. Will you obey God rather than man?