Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Why Are LCG Ministers STILL Sitting On Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars Worth of Donations?




Ever since Rod Meredith lambasted his membership recently on why they had not sold their homes, businesses, cashed in retirement funds and investments, LCG members have been asking why the LEADERSHIP of the church have not stepped up to the plate first.

The latest picture sent is is of Dexter Wakefield's  close to 3,800 square foot home that he shares with his wife in a gated community.

The question that was asked is:

Why is Wakefield's 3800 square foot home with an estimated worth of $712,000 (with only Wakefield and his wife living in it) acceptable but the brethren are chastised for sitting on hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars and property?
While the lowly members are expected to sacrifice and disinherit children, the ministry still sit by their cozy fires night after night.  Sacrifice is not a quality any of them have.

See:

Rod Meredith: Personal - Pray for Our Financial Growth! 

Rod Meredith is not happy that LCG members are "sitting on millions of dollars worth of money and property" instead of giving it to the church

 LCG Fails to be good stewards of God's money.



Ron Dart Has Died (updated)


I believe in the resurrection from the dead, by which man's mortal and decayed body will be changed in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet into a new body that can never die.
I believe that the Greater Church of God is composed of all the saints, those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, who are called according to God's purpose.   

Of the many evangilists to pass through the doors of the Worldwide Church of God, Dart was one of the more friendly ones. While others in Pasadena would walk right by you, Dart would stop and say hello.


From his Facebook page:



From Allie Dart:

Ronald L. Dart died peacefully in his sleep early this Sabbath morning, January 23rd, from a prolonged battle with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. His remarkable gift of clarity and love and understanding of the Bible were devoted to teaching others.

Christian Educational Ministries, founded by Ron Dart in 1995, will continue to promote his timeless insights into God’s Word through the Born to Win program, his books, essays and audio messages. He was a gifted speaker and teacher who leaves a legacy of knowledge and understanding of the precious Word of God.





Friday, January 22, 2016

UCG: After 20 Some Years We Finally Realize We Should Love And Care For Each Other



A UCG member brought this to my attention.  Below has to be one of the most pathetic comments to come out of UCG in a while. There is so much wrong about most everything Vic Kubik said.

Its obvious their ministry is in sad shape.  Older ministers are dying off or retiring and UCG has finally realized after 20 years that they should have been hiring younger ministers.  Men with fresh ideas that are not stuck in pre-1986 models and who have new outlooks.  The tired and worn out models of the glory days of the Worldwide Church of God are epic failures in the 21st century.

The same tired and worn out writers from the old WCG have been writing the same worn out nonsense for the last twenty years.  These same worn out old men have produced epic failures in campaigns and other outdated practices from the past that have failed to bring in new members.

As usual, at the bottom of all COG lists is love and caring.  Its a little too late to decide to love and care for your members when you have already lost over 60% of them to other splinter groups and continued attrition out of the church.  When the law trumps Jesus every time, what more could we expect.

You will also be heartened to hear about how we are rebuilding our ministry, including the hiring of younger couples who are being trained to become the future pastors for our congregations. We are also actively training new writers for our blogs and publications. And, not the least in importance, will be our focus on loving and caring for one another, as this is the glue the bonds us one to another

Thursday, January 21, 2016

More Books by COG Members (updated)



What does a hot young ad agent do when he loses everything in the 1929 Stock Market Crash? He heads for California and starts a money-machine religious cult, leaving a trail of dead bodies and ruined lives in his wake.

His tragic fall in the late '80s marked the end of a kind of cult experience America rarely sees - or does it? Kids, read and heed before you're tempted to leave home, drink Kool-Aid, die in a hail of bullets, or give up your college money to a conservative, unaccredited institution....

Jumping Off Bridges by Carole Ritter




The Firescalds Road to the Sky will take you on a journey with a family. You will live with them on an old farm in the high mountains of the Appalachians. You will relocate with them to the flatlands of the eastern shores. You will see good times and bad revealed through the eyes of a growing youngster. Life experiences steadily send his thinking back to the Firescalds and all he learned there. They are there like a road map, helping him to turn away from the wrong choices, which become available.

The Firescalds Road to the Sky by Cleveland Jones



This triune aspect of salvationrescue, roots, and conscious co-creationis foundational to wholeness, building a satisfying life and to feeling like were doing what we were born to do.




One of the author's greatest revelations of God's grace came from accepting and experiencing God s love and goodwill in a tangible way. This led to her making a decision 25 years ago to practice spiritual love. For those who have despaired and wondered if they would ever see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living as did the Psalmist of the Old Testament, "Taste the Grace" is for them. Those who have been tutored to accept the negative aspects of life, have little faith in goodness and love as it pertains to them, and have been groomed to expect more suffering can resist or sabotage heaven when it shows up for them. This book shows how anyone can taste and see that the Lord is good, as promised in the Scripture, and that the good life is there for the taking and the sharing. It is the understanding of God's grace that empowers us to experience more of the goodness of life that includes love, healing, abundance and fulfillment of purpose while on earth. To "Taste the Grace" is to take it in as nourishment. It feeds us spiritually, increases our faith and helps us rearrange and update our belief systems to make room for the good we seek. It brings heaven to earth, and God s love into our lives. This experience enriches us on every level and gives us the confidence to reach for our dreams. Grounded in this grace, we are sourced by lasting and unconditional love. Living from grace is living in love and this is what empowers us to feel good, do good and make good.

by Barbara Patton Unger




In Gems of a Lifetime, Barbara Patton Unger shares 'gems' of light that she has mined in her life. Her metaphor of Gemstones for these illuminations points to a glorious and loving God.She focuses on the precious jewels of light discovered from growing up in her hometown of Joplin, Missouri and gives voice to Oracles of Wisdom gained through, and sometimes in spite of, religious affiliation. She then honors the greatest light of all - the essence of the divine within us. She shows God's goodness IS 'OUR' glory; and these "gemstones" point us to our own days of Heaven on Earth. Awakened to the truth of our "spiritual DNA," she presents her treasures to help others recognize how, even in the midst of sorrows, God can enrich their lives if they look for, value and mine their own sparkling gems.

Gems of a Lifetime by Barbara Patton Unger



The 1993 government assault on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, resulted in the deaths of four federal agents and eighty Branch Davidians, including seventeen children. Whether these tragic deaths could have been avoided is still debatable, but what seems clear is that the events in Texas have broad implications for religious freedom in America.

James Tabor and Eugene Gallagher's bold examination of the Waco story offers the first balanced account of the siege. They try to understand what really happened in Waco: What brought the Branch Davidians to Mount Carmel? Why did the government attack? How did the media affect events? The authors address the accusations of illegal weapons possession, strange sexual practices, and child abuse that were made against David Koresh and his followers. Without attempting to excuse such actions, they point out that the public has not heard the complete story and that many media reports were distorted.

The authors have carefully studied the Davidian movement, analyzing the theology and biblical interpretation that were so central to the group's functioning. They also consider how two decades of intense activity against so-called cults have influenced public perceptions of unorthodox religions.

In exploring our fear of unconventional religious groups and how such fear curtails our ability to tolerate religious differences, Why Waco? is an unsettling wake-up call. Using the events at Mount Carmel as a cautionary tale, the authors challenge all Americans, including government officials and media representatives, to closely examine our national commitment to religious freedom.

Why Waco? by James Tabor and Eugene Gallagher



This fascinating examination of the earliest years of Christianity reveals how the man we call St. Paul shaped Christianity as we know it today. 

Historians know almost nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus, when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have—the letters of Paul—as well as other early Chris­tian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity. Tabor shows how Paul separated himself from Peter and James to introduce his own version of Christianity, which would continue to develop independently of the message that Jesus, James, and Peter preached. 

Paul and Jesus illuminates the fascinating period of history when Christianity was born out of Judaism.

Paul and Jesus by James Tabor



iSly is not just a compelling science fiction story; it wrestles with major issues of human survival. A resurgent Joseph Dane is on the case, with Bluegrass, his colorful sidekick, and TatarKhan, Hypernet Master. They must find the obscure origins of an epic, android shift, before disaster ensues. An android demographic has been built into society, giving humanity a desperately needed survival path: eSly androids working to save humans from the gridlock of financial meltdown, and huge enviro-disasters. But now it's all gone wrong—iSly, a superior line of androids, shifts out from eSly, starts to self-replicate, and plies a new, sinister path. The iSly 'droids start taking over. World leaders are horrified.  
Stanley Gerson is out of the starting blocks with iSly, a story set in the urban, grandeur, risen from a new, techtonic geography in Coos Bay, Oregon. 

iSly by Stanley Gerson




A perplexing aspect of early Christianity is the rapid and widespread abandonment of the practice of rest on the seventh day Sabbath, as practiced in the Jewish matrix of the Christian movement, even though the seven-day week was retained for time-keeping purposes. It is beyond dispute that this occurred, but there is no unanimity on the question of how and why. There is no passage in the sources to which we can turn to find an explicit answer to the question. This book proposes to explore the reasons for this radical shift in the worship practice of early Christians.

   The author uses the classic tools of the historical-critical method, supplemented by newer approaches such as narratology, for a thorough exegetical examination of the relevant passages, not only in the New Testament, but also from other Christian writings of the time (Barnabas, Thomas). The investigation demonstrates that previous models to explain the rapid disappearance of the Sabbath as a Christian worship practice have been inadequate. In their place, a more nuanced, polycausal model is proposed. This sheds light on the question of unity and diversity in the early Christian movement as it began its development from a sect within second temple Judaism to a faith community with its own identity.

Encountering the Rest From God: How Jesus Came to Personify the Sabbath
by Henry Sturcke



Designed to provide readers with a framework for exploring financial markets, this book describes the basic rules of the game in three of the major international financial markets - foreign exchange, Eurocurrencies and international bonds - and aims to convey an intuitive feel for market dynamics. The book blends theory and institutional accounts, considers the interbank market in foreign exchange and explains how to hedge with FX forwards, futures, and options. A new chapter explores aspects of the European Monetary System in two separate discussions: historical background and general features; and the technical details of the Exchange Rate Mechanism.




Songs and Stories Together connects songs to stories and classical music through activities especially crafted for children ages 3--6. This book will delight and charm your students with engaging music and art activities that build skills through singing, moving, listening, and playing classroom instruments. With reproducible pages included, the lessons are designed for all levels of teaching experience. Teachers who have a modest music background can easily teach most of the activities, and each lesson features an ensemble or extended activity meant to be taught by experienced music teachers. Songs and Stories Together is a winning combination!

Songs and Stories Together by Sally Guerrero



FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PUBLISHING HISTORY... Reversing 160 years of falsehood - sharing the true spirit of quantum science from Albert Einstein and Max Planck both, this book goes where no one has gone before, - showing not everyone even agreed with Darwin - especially not the most revered and famous science minds of our time... Event Horizon Publishing llc offers you a surprise here in Darwin’s evolutionary theory, that few realize. Did you know there are two sides on Darwin, even in the scientific world? The most famous and admired scientists over a century have criticized the theory in its non-scientific assertions. They share not from emotion or metaphysics but in science as it should be. Darwin’s Natural Selection idea is very poor. It’s factually porous. With the scientific analysis of the 21st century we see it’s based in mere assumptions. Then we realize it was contrived 100 years before DNA was discovered. DNA changed everything. Anymore, it’s not just the differences in atheist or deist views on evolution, it’s the world of science itself. It’s most recent facts take it apart brick by brick. Darwin’s idea has collapsed - not to stand again. It’s now irrefutable from Darwin’s own Fatal Admission, in his own words we will see it. Read now from Event Horizon Publishing what schools do not want you to read. Those professors in evolution class won’t be able to answer the questions and challenges from the students because they’re coming from science-awareness not mere agendas. Many in science gave immense consideration to analyzing Darwin’s ill-fated postulate. Reading this book we now understand not only the true logic of science’s reasoning in dissolving his theory, but we see an underlying agenda that Darwin had in imagining it. Darwin’s atheism is well known prior to his theory’s arrival; so to have a person with atheistic agendas creating a contrived scenario of Something coming from Nothing is not only self-serving of his views, but means he attempted to make science fit his belief-system. The scientific panorama here is eloquently shared in true simplicity. Based in Reason, in meaningful truth-seeking, it uplifts human feelings toward the exquisite. Elevating realities in Einstein’s quantum- world of light reveal our true-ground of being, liberating us from Darwin’s emptiness. Ask your self who would you believe, Darwin or Einstein? The new physics of life in cosmic consciousness herein, even warms our heart in daily living. Absorbing the meta-Physics of true knowing, shining here right now, we Smile in knowing, science and meta-Physics are not mutually exclusive of the other. Now you can enjoy that longed-for completion, in personal spaces of serene esteem... in this wondrous living universe that we all call home - one that truly inspires us into Awe, if we allow it.


Darwin's Fatal Admission by Lachlen Paul French




Event Horizon Publishing llc, brings you a discovery that occurred in 1945 at the end of World War II, of which most of us have never heard. Imagine our belief-system being turned upside down. Many believe we’ve been told a true version of history the last 2000 years. Have we really? The Gospel According to Thomas (also known as the Thomas Gospel and the Gospel of Thomas), the first new biblical book in 20 centuries, was found in desert sand, in 1945. It was so shocking and amazing Hollywood made several films based on it. Yet 95% of us still do not know of it. The Gospel According to Thomas, from Christ’s brother, was found in the desert in the proverbial Earthenware Jar - and it revealed 46 Christian scrolls from 2000 years earlier, that the Roman editors left out of their version of the Bible, 400 years later, in 381 AD. This brought up scandalous questions of political intrigue. Aspersions were cast upon this scroll almost instantly by church officials, even before studying it (not very scholarly). When first reading this gospel from Christ’s brother, Thomas (in carbon-dated scrolls like the earliest New Testament), it’s amazing how similar the quotes are to Christ’s quotes in the Bible, in subtle mysterious beautiful ways. Many quotes are essentially identical; and some exquisitely, slightly different, bring new meaning – all are fascinating. They’re so similar to scripture, some experts say Thomas may be the long lost “Q” or the Source document from which Matthew, Mark and Luke arose. It’s believed the scroll was much larger back then. (The Bedouin who found it said several scrolls were burned for kindling.) It is even said Jesus may have helped create it. In reading it, it sounds like what Christ might teach around a campfire. There’s a brevity to its 114 verses. With great care and love, it comes out to you now. Its translation took nine years to complete. It truly engages our modern hearts. This gospel now enjoys current clarity for us, and spiritual continuity for our world. Its message is relevant to people of our day with our frame of reference. Enjoy its present-moment Form, its spiritual Context, along with its beautifully mystical Contents. You can read the original form of Thomas’ Scroll right here as well. Enjoy now Christ’s deepest and his most private teaching to his disciples. Prepare to be astounded.

The Gospel of Thomas: Christ's Recorded Sayings of Mastery

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Will We Soon Witness the Closure of Grace Communion International?



Several people have contacted us today relaying that they have received a letter from Grace Communion International (WCG) that the employee pension plan will be dissolved as of March 1, 2016.

We have also been told that the chance of the GCI totally dissolving as church is eminent.  GCI has been hemorrhaging members steadily for many years.  People are also not tithing or giving as the church had once expected.  Because of this there is less of a need for a "corporate" HQ overseeing the remaining churches.

One of the plans being considered is to let each church operate independently, keeping all the money in their own church area.  They could call themselves what ever they want and not be tied to the GCI denomination.

The West Valley GCI has always been the conservative church of the GCI, meeting on Saturday, keeping the holy days, and tithing.  Because they keep their money locally, they have $400,000.00 sitting in the bank.  GCI HQ has traditionally expected all church areas to send in 10% of their money, but now are asking West Valley to send in even more.  They are balking at that.  Their previous pastor retired and the churches now pastored by Ron Kelly for at least six more months.

Apparently Joe Tkach Jr. wants to step down, something he has been saying for the last 10 years.  With no one that can effectively step in and keep things as they are and not revert back to the old teachings, the next best thing is to dissolve the church.

This seems to be the trend in all the COG's right now.  With the soon coming implosion of LCG, UCG, PCG and COGWA, are we finally witnessing the total collapse of Armstrongism?  Attendance numbers are shrinking. None of the COG's can truly stand the other.  None of them want to give up control or power in order to merge.

For decades the church pictured itself being persecuted by the world and having restrictions placed upon it resulting in the "famine of the word."  Nothing like that has happened.  Instead we are watching them eat themselves alive and dissolve around us.  Hundreds and hundreds of little groups are out there doing nothing.  From whacky people like Stephen Gilbreath to the total nut jobs in charge at RCG and PCG, the Church of God is one complete mess. There is no need for some beast power or the  King of the South or North to rise up and persecute the church.  There is no need for the Pope to do anything.  The Church of God is destroying itself.

COGWA and LCG in Secret Meetings in Charlotte



This just in from Charlotte:


Rod Meredith has asked the leaders of COGWA to secret meetings here in Charlotte. The COGWA men have been at LCG headquarters in meetings both yesterday and today. As of now I am uncertain how long they will be in Charlotte. 

My 1st though is that Rod is so desperate to avoid bankruptcy that he might even be considering giving up a little power and control to merge with the financially successful COGWA. Perhaps Rod has calculated that at this time he wouldn't really lose too much since he is about to step down anyway into semi-retirement anyway.  

It's no secret that Doug Winnail has wanted to unify LCG, UCG and COGWA for years but he stands alone in his desire because none of the other men are willing to make compromises or relinquish even the smallest amount of control. In true ACOG fashion is ultimately boils down to money and power. None are willing to risk the things they worship above all else. 

If a deal is to be made, it will have to happen before Gerald Weston takes over in August because Mr. Weston has made it very clear to all who ask that he doesn't think UCG and COGWA are even COG's. He firmly believes that LCG is not just the "spear head" but rather the whole kit and caboodle, the ONLY COG on earth. 

Winnail would be smart to use his skills as a diplomat to secure himself a new job in COGWA while these men are in town. The writing on the wall spells splintering in LCG in the not so distant future. Old Dougie boy would be smart to get out unscathed while he still can.

Its interesting to read this.  Both LCG and COGWA consider themselves the ONLY true Church of God doing a work on this earth today.  Both imagine themselves to be the tools for God on this earth.  Both groups are totally unknown to the world.  Neither one is making any impact.

The reality is that both of these groups are filled with men who plotted and schemed while still on Worldwide Church of God payroll to secretly form new groups.  These same men disfellowshipped countless people while still in WCG because of the "new covenant" teachings. While they sat there as tools of the Tkach changes; they all knew that once word leaked that they did not agree with the changes they would be fired. Being the unethical men that so many of them were (and still are) they plotted and schemed on how to start a new group while secretly encouraging WCG members to leave with their tithe money, thus ensuring their comfortable salaries did not end.

Once the new corporation soles were in place they jumped ship and portrayed themselves as God's most humble servants that were only trying to preserve God's teachings. Yet both groups were filled with deceit and corruption with both ending up splintering off the churches they helped start.  Once they splintered off they set themselves back up once again as God's most important and loyal men to ever walk this earth.

Now both COGWA and LCG are facing internal conflicts that are ready to erupt. Abusive men have had power too long and people are getting fed up with them. A merger with COGWA and LCG does not bode well for the members of either group. The power structures in place will become more legalistic and abusive. People will splinter off again into another group or leave the COG entirely.  More lives will be ruined just so the bog boys can keep their salaries intact.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Homes of the LCG Elite


Rod Meredith


Several have been asking about the homes of Rod Meredith and others. An LCG member sent these.


Richard Ames


Lil'Jimmy's home.  Bigger than daddy's!



Once Gerald Weston gets settled in we will have more.

A Case of Mistaken Identity



A Case of Mistaken Identity

An interesting case of mistaken identity occurred 30 years ago on January 19, 1986 as we stood in Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, California awaiting the beginning of the funeral service for Mr. Armstrong.  Reuben Cerda, a member of the Long Beach congregation arrived a little late and had the fortune of being good looking, well dressed and driving a Cadillac.  In the last minute rush, he was mistakenly assumed to be a dignitary and was directed to the best parking spaces and escorted to one of the best seat near the casket.

He was not wealthy or an important public figure but a common member like those of us that were standing far from the center of the action.  We found it amusing that others could be fooled so easily.
Now, thirty years later, it is becoming much clearer that the mistaking of Reuben Cerda as being a dignitary was symbolic of a much larger case of mistaken identity that had occurred for most of the 4,700 people attending that service that day (and for the approximately 80,000 other WCG members that were not present that day).  We had mistakenly believed that Mr. Armstrong was what he had claimed for himself - God’s end-time apostle, the leader of the “one-true church”.

Mr. Armstrong claimed

·     He was the first to preach the true Gospel in 1800 years (how would he know?)
·     He learned from no man and he restored 18 truths (but it is clear that he borrowed most of   his teachings from other men’s writings)
·     WCG was the one, true church (but God is not limited to working within any of man’s corporate entities)

·     The church had been more accurate in foretelling prophetic events than all others (yet there are over 200 documented failures that HWA and WCG minister made)

·     WCG could trace its’ “Church of God” roots back through the ages (yet there “proof” was inaccurate)

·     Identity of Israel was the key to prophecy (yet it failed to yield accurate prophecies)

·     Doctors and modern medicine were bad (yet he had a personal doctor)

·     The WCG was God’s government on earth and HWA was God’s sole specially trained end-time Apostle (and yet we are still here 30-years beyond his death)

·     HWA completed his work in 1972;  1975 would be the end (and afterwards when this was clearly wrong he stated his claims were speculative, not definite – when, in fact he had been very specific and had spoken on the “authority of Jesus Christ”)

·     The church would not compromise 1/100% of the Truth (and yet it did repeatedly)

·    The WCG was doing the greatest work on earth (yet it has amounted to almost nothing by this point in time, except for 100’s of splinter groups and 1,000’s of split families).


·                   ·     HWA’s relationship with Ramona was God’s will (and yet he divorced her)

·                   ·     In 1979, the State of California’s investigation into fraud was “the most MONSTROUS 
                  conspiracy and attack Satan ever launched against God's Work!”  
(                 (when of course, it wasn’t)               

            
In his autobiography, HWA had indicated that he had wanted to be wealthy and important.  Through the RCG and WCG, it appears that he achieved his personal goals but at the expense of others.  And, was he God’s end-time Apostle?  If he had been, then we wouldn’t be here reflecting on his life.


-Ex WCG member