Recently the Living Church of God held one of their Council of Elders meetings. During this meeting it was revealed that the ultra conservative Gerald Weston would be taking over the reigns of the church at the death of Rod Meredith. Many were shocked at this prospect considering it has always been assumed Richard Ames was the heir apparent. With the declining health of Ames, this is no longer a possibility. Younger meat is necessary, though it is still aged too.
Weston has a long history of tyrannical leadership where he has left a trail of abused members in every single church he has ever pastored. Even with LCG’s history of being filled with abusive pastors, Weston stands out above them all. It is expected by many that once he is in power the reigns of conservatism will be tightened even further.
Rod Meredith apparently is still trying to figure out how to tell his membership what he has wrought upon them. As if right now only COE members know, the laity still in the dark.
Weston has already begun to look for a home in Charlotte and is expected to move to North Carolina some time next August.
Meredith and Ames will stay on at LCG but in a smaller capacity. They will likely come to the office for a few hours a day and focus primarily on writing articles.
This change in leadership in combination with major financial problems and a growing number of discontented members should be interesting to watch.