Bob Thiel Thinks We Are All Bitter Meanies

Poor Bob Thiel.  He cant get over the fact that Rod Meredith did not like him and that those of us here know he is a  self-appointed spiritual fraud without truth.

He writes today:

03/05/16 p.m. The Banned By HWA corrected the date of its post below to today. Then Gary Leonard called me more names, as did some of those who post there. The bitter people over there have real problems with the truth--and yes, I do pray for them.

You are all such bad bitter meanies here!  Shame on you!!!!!

The Role of Women Writers in the the UCG

For decades women in the Church of God have been relegated to the back burner.  It was not until all the changes hit the church that women really got a voice.  Huge debates wrangled around in the Journal for several months over the roll of women in the church.  A surprisingly large number in the Church of God have no issue with it now, while others rebelled at the thought of women "teaching" men.

Now UCG needs to write up a policy and approve it for women to really have a voice.  It's 2016 not 1936 or 1966

Media and Communications Committee (MCC)—Rex SextonA MCC video conference was held on Feb. 11, 2016. Currently their responsibilities are to review the current Media Operation Plan and how it is being carried out. They also discussed flexibility in carrying out the Scopes and Responsibilities. The subject was discussed regarding the role of women authors in Church publications. There was a general discussion on the history of female UCG authors, and it was agreed that there exists no approved policy or guidelines on the subject. It was suggested that the Council consider an approved policy for Media and Communications Services, and there will be discussion on this topic in this week’s meetings.

False prophet Bob Thiel continues to be disgusted by the Cross, even the one on Mars

For several weeks now pictures have been floating around on news and web conspiracy sites about speculation that a cross and remains of a structure have been seen on Mars.  The fact that Bitter Bob, a certified false prophet, is searching conspiracy sites for his "religious" articles proves what a charlatan he is.

Anyone in their right mind knows that a cross would never be on Mars. But then, there's doubly  blessed Bitter Bob who in his hatred of the cross and that dude he never discusses in any of his articles or web stories has to use the story as an attack on the cross.  If ever there was enmity between Jesus and a COG leader it is has to be the cross.

So what is so evil about this non-cross on the desolate plains of Mars that has the prophet's knickers all in a wad?   Some Christians might use it as a tool of unification between Protestants and Catholics.  Say WHAT???????  Who's brain can imagine such absolute stupidity other than an entrenched Armstrongite?

The first is that it may have ecumenical and interfaith appeal. It may be that those that do may consider the Mars’ ‘cross ‘ (presuming it is not a shadow or something) as proof of its ‘universal’ nature.  This may encourage some to embrace the interfaith and ecumenical agendas that the Church of Rome is promoting.  Especially if the Vatican ever accepts the possible existence of this Mars’ cross as valid.

The second is that Catholic prophecy indicates that a cross will be used as a way to separate its supporters from others in the future.

Then in his outraged bitterness he makes this absurd comment:

The Bible is opposed to the idea of ‘holy relics’ like crosses. Here is one admonition from the Apostle John: 

21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols (1 John 5:21). 

John is no more talking about the cross than he is the Easter bunny.  What Bitter Bob, Meredith, Pack, Flurry and Kubik ignore when they push Jesus to the sidelines in favor of the law, is grace.

That cross is a metaphor for radical grace. Radical grace in Armstrongism has been bastardized into wanton licentiousness through its reinterpretation of it.  A Christian believes that through it, what ever has separated us from God has been taken away.  Wiped clean.  Something the law, sabbath keeping, kosher eating and holy day keeping cannot do.

Letter from the Scarboroughs

I received this today:

To Whom It May Concern

Patrick and I have decided to take down the Go Fund Me account this morning. It seems it has called into question our integrity which makes us feel badly. While much of the scrutiny is baseless (our lawyer isn’t working on contingency and we do not have millions of dollars in our bank account), it is still upsetting to be accused of “going back to court for a second helping” and other untrue statements which have been made to paint us in a negative light.

We tried for over a year to do everything possible to avoid this situation. We would have greatly preferred not to go to court but they left us with no other options because they were unwilling to even speak to us and we were unwilling to let our name be tarnished without basis.

Last Spring LCG put this whole ordeal into the realm of “worldly courts” when they sent us the attached release letter. The last paragraph is appalling. It was them, not us, which drew first (and second) blood and elevated this situation to this point. They not only wanted us to agree to their untruths but there was absolutely no indication that doing so would facilitate the initiation of the peace making process.

I would also like to take this opportunity to let people know that we had our lawyer write Mr. Meredith and Rod McNair a letter last summer stating that we had no desire to take this matter to court. We beseeched them to contact us within 7 business days to schedule a meeting to talk things out but they let the deadline come and go. We have made it clear that we do not desire to be reinstated as LCG members but that we just wanted to walk in peace, have our names cleared, and be able to openly love our few remaining LCG friends without them risking getting in trouble themselves.

From the beginning of this horrible ordeal with LCG, we have tried to do everything as rightly as we possibly could. The point of the lawsuit is to recover the sterling names passed down from two of God’s most devoted servants, Ralph and Patricia Scarborough. We want everything on the level in honor of their memory. We realize that at some point, everything we have done and said will possibly be made public. For that reason, we have strived especially hard to do everything with the best character we possible could.

We greatly appreciate the help of those who contributed to the Go Fund Me account in the short time it was activated. We have already paid over $10,000 in legal fees related to this lawsuit so every little bit helps.

Sincerely,
 Patrick and Elizabeth Scarborough

UCG Spends Thousands of Dollars for an Infinitesimal Return Rate in Nashville

Those fun folk in Cincinnati are back spending more tithe money for a return that is infinitesimal.  UCG is bragging about a recent campaign in Nashville to promote it's esoteric beliefs.  Out of the 1,792,649 in the Nashville metropolitan area and 602,000 in the city itself, UCG  is ecstatic that they had 45 people attend their recent campaign.

The Personal Appearance Campaign (PAC) in Nashville, Tennessee, last week drew 45 new guests who responded to invitations to attend via ads in Beyond Today (BT) magazine, BT subscriber letters, online advertising and Pandora radio ads. These campaigns provide a compelling and powerful way to preach the gospel because they are live and in-person. We come in direct contact with the public and can interact with them. It provides a safe way for people to approach us.

People are looking for a "safe" way to get in contact with a church?  Are they scared of being seen reading cult material or what?

Yep, thats effectively putting tithe money into use for the best return.

United Church of God: He's Baaaaack!

Never let the United Church of God tell you they are open to change.  For 20 years now the UCG has been run and governed by men who worked unethically on the Worldwide Church of God's dime while kicking out members and planning their own break away church.  For 20 years UCG has had the opportunity to do something unique and bold yet has failed at every turn they have taken.  New leadership should have been considered as many UCG members desire.  But no.  The old boy's club voted back in one of their own.  Vic Kubik is back agin.

Victor Kubik was reconfirmed to a second term as president of the United Church of God, an International Association , after a full reaffirmation process on March 2, 2016. This second term runs from 2016-2019. The Council of Elders looks forward to working with Mr. Kubik in furthering the Vision and Mission Statements of the Church.

Is Living Church of God suffering as a church because of its leader Rod Meredith?

Anonymous said... 

lcg, like any other organization, is a reflection of the character of its leader; we all know this is not the first time dr. Meredith has been sued for this exact same kind of behavior...
when i attended lcg a decade ago there was a member who was disfellowshipped because they refused to stop eating swine; then in a sermon the minister mentioned this person and basically said negative things about this person, rather than just letting bygones be...
later, i was told either cut my long hair or i could no longer attend; i chose not to cut my hair, not because i wanted to merely keep my hair long, but as a matter of principle because i felt lcg, and wwcg in general did always choke on a gnat and wolf down a camel; 

i later wrote the minister and asked him not to slander me as he did the other member that he disfellowshipped, and warned him that if i found out that he did, i would consider legal action against him... 

dr. meredith, if you are not satisfied with the growth of the lcg you should look in the mirror and curse yourself; your own unkind, spiteful callous character has not only stunted the growth of lcg, and kept you from becoming the rightful leader of wwcg, but has indeed hindered the gospel... 

March 3, 2016 at 4:16 PM 

Rod Meredith: We are Christian Soldiers and Must Fight this Battle

Rod Meredith writes:

Dear brethren, let us fervently pray for one another! Let us do everything we can to forgive each other, to help each other and to build the attitude of love and unity, of which we have experienced so much recently. Thank God for the wonderful weekend we enjoyed! But, let us also realize that in the months and years just ahead, Satan will do everything he possibly can to destroy that attitude of love and unity. He will come after us with clever arguments and demonic capacity so that we will need God’s direct power to overcome. So we can overcome. And with God’s help, we will overcome! 

That is why—as I have said—we must be willing to fight. We must recognize that we are not just “nice people,” but that we are also “Christian soldiers.” We must ask God for the Spirit, the faith and the courage of the Apostle Paul who wrote at the very end of one of the most traumatic event-filled lives in the history of Christianity: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7–8).

Meredith wrote this before it became knowledge that the Living Church of God, he and Rod McNair were being sued.   He knew that the church was already in the midst of a lawsuit and yet hid it from the members and ministry by claiming that Satan was out to destroy the "love" that LCG was  built upon.  Of course the instrument for this persecution was Satan, though no mention was made how it was he, Rod Meredith, that was to be the cause of this  attack.

Living Church of God is not filled with love due to the decades of abusive leadership of Meredith.  That so-called "love" that Meredith has is what ripped the lives of the Scarboroughs apart and contributed to the mental break down of Terry Ratzmann.

This attack is  NOT the responsibility of Living Church of God members.  It is not their job to fight it or to contribute money through tithes to fight it. This is Rod Meredith's personal fight and he needs to accept full responsibility.  Though we all know he is incapable of humility, introspection, soul searching, and deep repentance.

Herbert Armstrong's Stinging Rebuke of Rod Meredith: Says Meredith Is Unable to Take What He Dishes Out

In 1980 Herbert Armstrong sent a letter to Rod Meredith who had been "banished" to Hawaii for a year to examine his self-righteous, narcissistic, and abusive personality.  Months into that "banishment" Meredith relayed to HWA that he did not understand why he was being punished.  This is HWA's response to him.  To this very day Rod Meredith still posses the same rotten attitude and hash mentality that HWA pointed out to him.  HWA is right in pointing out to Meredith that he is unable to take the same kind of abuse he dishes out.

That is playing out to this very day with scores of members leaving the LCG.  It plays out in the broken marriages and the deaths that are a result of his sermons.  His bombastic messages drove one man mentally over the edge the point he murdered LCG members in a church service.

Now we see Meredith refusing to acknowledge how his harsh actions have resulted in a a lawsuit by the Scarboroughs.  To this very day he still does not get it!

WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD WORLD HEADQUARTERS

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91123

HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG                                 Tucson, March 14, 1980
President and Pastor 

Dear Rod:

Your letters of February 1 and March 7 show, I am sorry to say, that either you still cannot understand WHY the living Head of God's Church, Jesus Christ, had you sent to Hawaii, or you are unwilling to see or admit — and I prefer to believe the former.

There is no point in telling you this letter is written in LOVE for YOU — for you ought to know that without my saying it. But out of love for you, and DESIRE to see you back as PART OF GOD'S TEAM, working in full co-operation and right attitude with the rest o[f] us; I shall take time and space to make it clear once for all this time.

I have tried to hold the mirror up for you to see yourself as others see you. But still you don't see in that mirror the same YOU that others see-or are unwilling — I hope not the latter. But now I must be SURE! I shall speak plainly, candidly. If this letter hurts, I quote from a letter the Apostle Paul sent to brethren at Corinth: "For though I made you angry with a letter, I do not repent... for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance, for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

"For godly sorry worketh repentance to salvation ... but the sorrow of the world worketh death." (II Cor. 7:8-10).

Now I'm going to come with plainness of speech as Paul said — in I Corinthians 2.

To overseas audiences, and to Kings, Emperors, Presidents and Prime Ministers, I simmer down the WAY OF GOD and the WAY OF THE WORLD in two very small words — "GET" and "GIVE." 

This world is geared to the way of "GET." That is the way of VANITY, SELF-centeredness, coveting, lust and greed, jealousy and envy, rebellion against authority, competition which leads to strife, violence and war. The way of "GIVE" is OUT-flowing LOVE, harmonious co-operation, serving, helping, sharing, giving.

In spiritual PRINCIPLE, the latter is the way of God's Law, the Ten Commandments-the former the way of Satan. I tell them that ALL the Unsolvable problems, troubles and evils in the world are caused by the fact the world lives by the "GET" principle.

Rod, WHY have so many who have worked [with you] said that you rub the fur the [w]rong way? You are DOCTRINALLY correct., But in II Corinthians Paul says we are not to live by the strict letter of the Law, but by the SPIRIT or obvious INTENT — the basic PRINCIPLE of it (II Cor. 3:6). You are a model of doctrinal correctness according to the LETTER — the strictness of the letter — but you do overlook the SPIRIT from the heart. You won the mile in a state high-school meet, You had know[n,] as Satan injects into us all from childhood, the spirit of competition. You b[e]came a COMPETITOR. In conversion you learned and accepted the strictness of the letter of God's Commandments. You wrote a good booklet on the Ten Commandments. But now I hold the mirror up for you to see in yourself what SO MANY who know you well see in you — the SPIRIT of COMPETITION is still there!

You are not going to like this, Rod. Members of your family will resent it. But I am the chosen apostle of Jesus Christ and in His name, I have to say these things to you, for I want to have you with us IN GOD'S KINGDOM — and there will be no contentions — no spirit of competition there! No one is going to be there who strives for himself to take over the CHIEF SEAT! 

Jesus Christ through me elevated you to the chief seat (which you had come to me suggestin[g] over the ministry of God's Church in what we then called CAD, you were a harsh task-master over the ministers. You, yourself, find it difficult and perhaps impossible to TAKE what you dished out. Dozens of ministers would testify to that. You rubbed the fur the wrong way! That has been your life-style!

In a sense, though I approved it at the time, you came to me [(]when Raymond Cole was trying to administer CAD from Eugene,[)] to jerk the rug out from under Raymond-and he feels that to this day. I knew, as did you, that CAD could not be handled from Eugene, and I approved your suggestion and put you in the driver's seat over the ministers of the Church when it was not yet so big.

When you were made second Vice President, it became a standing joke among leaders at Pasadena, the saying, "Well, after all, I am the second Vice President."

Jesus said, "And whosoever of you will be chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even th[e] Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister" (Mark 10:44-45). Jesus said further, "Beware of the scribes which wear long robes, ...and [love] the highest seats in the synagogue, and the chief rooms (offices-ranks-positions), at feasts" (Luke 20:46). Rod, am I qualified to call to your attention, these things? I came into the ministry more than fifty years ago, back in Oregon. I was never a member of the Church of God, Seventh Day, headquartered at Stanberry, Missouri. The church of Dugger and Dodd at Salem, W. Virginia, was an off-shoot, and, like Ted's present "church". Ray Cole's, and other's, NOT the true Church of God. However, I never became a member of the Salem offshoot. Half of the Oregon brethren (while all were in Stanberry) had incorporated as a separate church, "The Oregon Conference." I was ordained by them. Twice I was paid by them-about four months at $20 a week, and 15 mon[n]ths later, from February to July, 1933, at $3 per week.

But I did CO-OPERATE with the Stanberry people, from 1927 until ordained by the Oregon Conference, June, 1931-without salary, I co-operated with the Salem people after the start of the present Worldwide Church Of God (then called the Radio Church of God), and WITHOUT RECEIVING FROM THEM A PENNY OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT in any way, from 1934 (after both the World [T]omorrow radio program was going, and The PLAIN TRUTH was being published) until August, 1937. And after that, while building the present Church of God, Philadelphia era, I co-operated at my own expense with the Stanberry (Sardis era) people until October, 1945.

I DID NOT, as Ted claims (he was 5 years old when I ceased the co-operation with them because of the pressure of the Work in the present Church of God). I did not leave them to start something of my own. I continued working with them-GIVING, not getting-at my own exp[e]nse co-operating — GIVING — as long as my time allowed.

But the point I want to make is this: I SERVED — I HELPED — I co-operated. And I did not have or seek any high position. I always considered myself, just as the Sardis ministers did, that I was the LEAST of the ministers-the TAIL-ENDER!

When I conducted the campaign in the Firbute school house (36 seats) in 1933, I stopped receiving even the $3 per week salary from the Oregon Conference.

As the tail-end LEAST of the ministers, Christ started me in that little 36-seat school house, I constantly suffered persecution-first from Stanberry ministers, then again from Salem, W. Va.-ministers, then again from Stanberry. The 19 members we had from that Firbutte campaign was the START of the present Worldwide Church of God. The brethren at the start were my own converts-my own children in the Lord. NEVER in all my ministerial experience, I once sought a higher position.

Jesus Christ gave me the Pastor position at the start. The Church grew, as I held other campaigns in Eugen[e] and in Alvadore. Finally I appointed and ordained two other elders, one a preaching elder and one a local elder, at Eugene, beside two deacons. In those early years of this, our present Church, I served as pastor of a Stanberry church near Jefferson, Oregon. There I appoin[t]ed and ordained two elders, and two deacons — for THEIR church. All the time I "GAVE" — I did not "GET." Before that I had learned how Paul says, in II Corinthians 3:6, that we must obey the SPIRIT or obvious INTENT of the Law, not the letter. I had dedicated my life to "GIVE" and not to "GET." As the Work grew, Christ used me in founding Ambassador College. After their graduation I ordained m[y] son Dick, Raymond Cole, Herman Hoeh, Raymon[d] Mc Nair and his brother. From there you know the history, Your uncle and yourself came along about next, then others. I ne[v]er sought or moved up to a higher rank or office. Jesus Christ raised up the Church through me. I came to the position I hold as the simple result of what the living Head of this Church raised up through me.

But others have sought higher Position. There has been, it seems, NO END of worldly POLITICS at Pasadena Headquarters. As Christ blessed and prospered God's Church and Work, and we came to have better than $100,000,000 of net worth, and a near $80 million a year income, there devel[o]ped a mad scramble for ever higher and higher rank. Sure, I made some mistakes. I naively TRUSTED men like Al Portune, David Antion, my own son, Wayne Cole, many others no longer with us. But now, f[o]r the first time since about 1967, there is HARMONY and a spirit of Co-oper[a]tion at Pasadena. AND I AM DETERMINED TO KEEP IT THAT WAY!

Now back to you.

You have demonstrated, as seen clearly by many others, a spirit of rank-consciousness. In plain language that is coveting higher authority. I do not think you have coveted more money. I do not think more money is what Ted, Al Portune, Dave Antion, Ray Cole, Wayne or others really coveted. They coveted POWER — more authority — like a 15-year old boy coveting the POWER of a steering wheel and a throttle. We have gone through a House CLEANING. We now have PEACE and CO-OPERATION at Pasadena. And eight to ten others on the executive level there have voiced to me their fears and convictions that if you now come back to Pasadena, that PEACE, and HARMONY, and CO-OPERATION will be turned once again into constant contention, irritation, and HARM TO GOD'S WORK! I do not like to tell you this. I haven't mentioned this to all, but to those I mentioned your return, that is the unanimous feeling.

If I have you come back as Dean of the Faculty, several say you would delegate most or the real duties of the Dean, and devote yourself to trying to make yourself the LEADER and boss of the College, and even of the Chur[ch.] You have — and all are aware of it — been possessed with the idea that I will not live much longer, and that YOU are the "FIRST among equals" to take my place.

Rod, in frankest candor, JESUS CHRIST will NEVER put any one at the head of His Work on earth who is competitive, covetous of power and status, and [self-righteous]. In brutal frankness, you lack the charisma to lead God's work You do not attract-as I said before, you REP[EL-] people. You are a harsh taskmaster over those under you. THAT IS YOUR RECORD!

When I wr[o]te you [] that a change of ATTITUDE is needed, perhaps I have at last made myself clear.

You have said that you only said a few statements you probably should not have made, but you didn't think you had said enough to warrant this six months' leave of absence. Rod, I'm very well aware of the amount of words you said against Christ's chosen apostle. But Jesus said, "of the abundance of the heart (attitude) the mouth speaketh." What you did say, affirmed to me by two witnesses, was sufficient, coupled with many other things, to show me the [a]ttitude back of those words. You try to c[o]nvince me of how glowingly and how numerous were the times you have shown loyalty by the things you have said "hundreds" or "thousands of times". But in this regard your attitude reflected [] OMISSION rather than the sparse and sparing things you did say. Ted was leading a conspiracy to destroy my credibility before the ministers and the brethren by saying nothing about me — as if the human leader did not exist — and blowing himself up. Radio and TV programs went under his name-no longer The World [T}omorrow. He even started correspondence under HIS OWN [Letter head] NAME, rather than that of the Church or College. Now I do not want any of our ministers flattering me, or trying to see how often they can mention my name.

But neither do I want it deliberately AVOIDED in both speaking and writing, as if I did not exist. Jesus Christ — NOT MAN — has made me the human leader under Christ. A leader cannot be a leader if all under him IGNORE his very existence. I never did want anyone to go out of his way deliberately to mention me — as you profess to have done. That is not what I mean. But I do not want the other extreme, caused by a competitive feeling, and deliberate non-mention.

Now another thing you cover in your letters. You imply that in what few things you did say, you were FOLLOWING MY ORDERS. Rod, that is hypocrisy. It is not a matter that I CHANGED MY MIND. Let me tell you how it [ac]tually was. When I told you and Raymond, and perhaps another or two, that IF I were no longer among the living, I wanted you to be su[re] Ted did not slip in and take over. At that time, I had heard SO MUCH talk about my dying right away, perhaps started by Ted, that for a while I was overly conscious of it.

It is not that later I changed my mind. But as time went on I began to realize very deeply that God has not prepared ANYONE to take my place. You, Rod, could never take it. I know that is 100% contrary to your own estimate of yourse[l]f. You have a WILL to lead, but not the qualifications. I came to realize that God raise[d] me [from the dead-f]rom total heart failure-in August, 1977, FOR A PURPOSE.

I have felt like the Apostle Paul, when he said earlier in life it would be more profitable for him to depart this life — and in the next split-second of consciousness, be with Christ in the resurrection, but it was more needful that he stay.

I did not CHANGE my mind. I did come to realize, as God caused me to realize, that He had raised me up as His instrument to raise up His present Church and Work — and that Work is not finished. So after my heart had completely stopped, my breath — no pulse — no blood-pressure — by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation I was br[o]ught back. I have not said I now believe God will keep me alive until Christ comes. I have said and I say now again, I do believe He will keep me alive AS LONG AS HE NEEDS ME!

You have taken the attitude that "some one GOT [you]." No one did but your own self.

I have tried here to make clear what I mean by a CHANGE OF ATTITUDE. I sincerely hope you "get the message" this time. Self-pity is not your need. A change of ATTITUDE from "GET" to "GIVE" is! If this letter does not get through to you, I shall not try again. So far you have not admitted a wrong attitude. Your RIGHTEOUSNESS you have maintained! But it has been only so much "filthy rags" to GOD! God said-rather, Christ to His disciples, that he who would seek the top seat should be the SERVANT of all. We should be as a little child.

So far, four months or more of your leave of absence has profited you NOTHING! Rod, in a candor, HAVE YOU EVER REALY REPENTED? To repent means much more than being sorry, or remorseful. It means a CHANGE OF HEART — a CHANGE OF ATTITUDE — a CHANGE FROM "GET" TO "GIVE." From competition, vanity, coveting power and position, to harmonious co-operation. BELIEVE ME, there is PEACE, and HARMONY at Pasadena now. Our men there do not want it disturbed. I have held up the mirror with BRUTAL frankness-in LOVE not only for you but also for GOD'S WORK! The Work is getting along wonderfully well now-without you. It can go on growing and pleasing Jesus Chris[t] an[d] prospering under His blessing WITHOUT YOU. I have written you are not coming back until I am CONVINCED BY THE FRUITS of a real REPENTANCE, and CHANGE OF ATTITUDE. I hope at last I have MADE IT PLAIN.

In deep LOVE as a father to a son,

In Jesus' name.

Herbert W. Armstrong

Scarboroughs Asking For Help Fighting Meredith's New High Priced Attorney's

Let me start by telling you a little about us. My husband, Patrick, is truly one of the most loving, kind, generous and God-fearing men I have ever known in my life. He has never met a stranger and would do just about anything to help just about anyone.  He's the type of person who always sees the best in everyone and keeps a positive outlook no matter how grim a situation is because of his profound faith in God. 

Patrick was a member of a small church called the Living Church of God (LCG) when I met him.  LCG is a splinter of a larger church that was called the Worldwide Church of God which was led by Hebert W. Armstrong.  Patrick's parents dedicated their lives to the church and Patrick followed in their footsteps. He made generous financial contributions, volunteered at youth camps, helped elderly church members and widows, etc.  When LCG moved its world headquarters to Charlotte, we sold our Kansas City home and moved there too. In short, we served LCG's ministers and members to the best of our ability for years. 

In September of 2014 a blogger wrote some unflattering things about LCG on his website.  LCG assumed that Patrick was the source of information  because of his close connections with the minister in question,  and then decided to "mark" both of us from the pulpit a few short days later in front of our congregation of over 250 people. 

 
"Marking" in LCG is similar to shunning in Amish communities. Being marked means that we are of such a vile and loathsome nature that we are considered enemies of Israel, enemies of the church, cast to Satan, beyond salvation. We were never counselled; just cast out without question. Church members are to shun those that are marked. To not participate in shunning a marked member is akin to making the conscious decision to disobey church ministry and in so doing risk your very salvation. 

With one fail swoop and on completely false accusations we lost every friend we had. We lost our church. Our children no longer had any friends (they are home schooled). We were cast out into the cold to wither and die. The heartache caused from such a profound loss was so great that we, in fact, felt like we were going to die. 

We contacted the blogger who promptly emailed LCG and posted a statement on his website stating that we were not the source of his information but the church refused to clear our names. 

We spent an entire year calling, writing, shamelessly begging and pleading for LCG to meet with us as Christians to try to work things out.  We were desperate. But it was all to no avail.  

Instead the church propagated more lies about us and spred them through whispering campaigns. They had to do as much damage to our reputations as possible to justify their completely un-Christ-like treatment of us to their members.  Especially when our reputations were that of generous, devoted, serving members who were well liked in congregations across the US and internationally. 

The Living Church of God continued to defame our character for over a year. After making many, many, many attempts to get them to work together toward peaceful resolution with no success, we initiated a lawsuit against them for Defamation of Character and Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress.  We want to restore our good family name and show LCG that it is not okay to use their power to bully their members. 

They have hired a powerful and expensive law firm to fight us. While they have a huge pool of tithe-payer funded cash to pay their legal fees, we do not. We have opened this GoFundMe account in hopes that people will help us fight for justice.  All money raised will go to pay our legal fees. If any should remain, we will donate it to St. Jude's Research Center. 

Please help if you can. We are most grateful for any assistance! The WCG and the LCG have left many hurt, broken, bullied and abused members in their wake.  Most felt they were defenseless and did nothing. We seek justice both for ourselves and for the many others whose lives have been negatively impacted by these organizations.

If you desire to donate to fight Rod Meredith then please go here:  Religious Persecution (LCG)

What is WRONG with Rod Meredith?

 For decades now every single sermon, article, TV broadcast, magazine article and booklet has turned to comments about sex.  Through out his years of lecturing at various Ambassador College's around the world's class sessions have been filled with sex. Students coming in for counseling sessions ended up getting grilled on their sexual practices.  Baptism sessions turned into discussions of masturbation.  Sex has been center most in his mind for decades now.  Nothing pushes him over the edge more than gays and lesbians.  For the last couple of decades that is what he has brought up every time he opens his mouth.  Not only do his regular members have to sit and listen to this malarkey, but so do his co-workers.

On February 18 he sent out a letter to his co-workers and members. Instead of writing a letter filled with grace filled, Jesus oriented messages and exhortations, it was another sex obsessed end of the world manifesto's.

It has rampaging Muslims and violent Mexicans. corrupt governments, brats, and queers.

But we have turned away from that God! We are spitting in the face of the God of the Bible in many, many ways. In an Op/Ed piece in this Sunday’s New York Times (February 14, 2016), I could not help but note a piece about the problems of “same-sex” couples. 

As a box inserted in the article states:  “Some married same-sexers want to be called wives, or husbands or partners; some ‘hersbands’ or ‘wusbands.’ Ask them.” Early in the article a man “who married his ‘husband’ in California in 2008” states:  “‘Secretly, for years, I kept referring to him as my partner if he wasn’t in the room,’ Mr. Valenzuela said. ‘There’s something deeply heteronormative about ‘husband’ that feels like a betrayal of my very queer identity. Like, if I say it, people will picture him wearing a cardigan reading the newspaper by the fireplace. I do say ‘husband’ more now, but a tiny part of me cringes with shame when I do.’” 

What a shame for this man to—as he himself says—betray his own “very queer identity!”

My friends, the Jesus Christ of your Bible is coming back to this earth soon! Then, this “queer” fellow quoted above will want to vomit when he finally realizes Who he has actually “betrayed” and his real “identity,” a male human being created in the image of God! We who are “called” now to understand and who fulfill our calling as true Christians will have the challenge and the opportunity to teach, to train and to genuinely help such confused and deluded human beings who will finally understand and want to fulfill their real purpose in life as potential sons of God!

What makes Meredith think that he and the members of the LCG are gong to be used in a capacity to "train" individuals in his "kingdom" to come.  People would be seriously deluded if they thought the they wanted to be found in his "kingdom."  Who would want to be in a world where they would ruled over by these "god's"?

Meredith then says this:

Brethren, when we read the constant reports in the news about how corrupt governments all over the earth are crashing and hurting their peoples in the process, it is obvious that Almighty God will soon intervene! For the true God tells us in His Word:  “For I am the Lord, I do not change” (Malachi 3:6). So, Jesus Christ is coming soon (Revelation 11:15). That is truly the only hope for this corrupt generation!

How can LCG brethren be encouraged to be saved from corrupt governments when their own church is abysmally corrupt?  This corruption will soon be made manifest in court documents as the operations of the church are brought under the microscope for all the world to see.  Meredith's mental facilities will also be channeled.  If this case proceeds without a settlement LCG is in for some serious trouble.  The church really needs to be thinking about removing the man from office.

As the Church of God ages out and it's various splinter group leaders sink into old age, senility and consumed by Alzheimer's, the churches have a serious decision to make.  Bring in young leadership and reinvent itself or dissolve.

As a start, PLEASE shut up about sex!

Why the Two Witnesses Will NOT Come From A Church of God

With the recent release of imprisoned Church of God felon Ron Weinland who claims he and his wife are the two witnesses of Revelation, and the other false prophets of Armstrongism, Yisrayl Hawkins, Gerald Flurry, Bob Thiel, James Malm, and Dave Pack,  who have made outlandish unfounded claims about themselves, I thought it was appropriate today that the following article popped up in my news feed today.  Every single one of these men have self appointed themselves to their so-called prophetic positions.  God has had nothing to do with it, and certainly has nothing to do with any of them as spiritual leaders, regardless of how much they pontificate.

The Two Witnesses of Revelation - They're Everywhere, They're Everywhere

In my 26-year experience as a Pastor, I had managed to meet 23 of the Two Witnesses of Revelation. I am tempted to say 11 pairs and one who thought he was both, but that's not how it really was. Every one of these was a lone male, sometimes a pastor, sometimes a member, often times a lone religious renegade that no church would claim. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of the Two Witnesses, these are the two final humans, but some say they will be the literally resurrected Moses and Elijah, Moses and Aaron, or Amos and Andy depending,, who will tell all of us on the earth why the end has come. 

As the Bible says, "This Gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached to all the world, and then shall the INCOME, oops sorry, end come." The competition among those Pastors and Apostles that are hoping to win the title and at times behave more like competing to be Larry, Moe and Curly, but that would be Three Witnesses, will probably be more astounding than any Two Witnesses of Revelation. The description is found here in Revelation 11. 

REVELATION 11:3 "And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth." 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. (NKJV) 

While I personally feel that the chance of any two human beings being taken seriously in this role is about nil, it is none-the-less a very big part of the prophetic hopes of many literalists, especially those in what have become the remaining splinters of the now defunct Worldwide Church of God. It still exists, but it just doesn't know it has become irrelevant and uninfluential in the world of theology and religion. Tis more like a glorified Sunday School than a Church, but I spare you. The Two Witnesses would never come from the Worldwide Church of God because yelling, "woe unto you, we don't know the answer to that either, be warmed and filled..." etc, is just not a credible message these days and certainly not scary enough. The kind Jesus of the Gospels gets lost somewhere between John and Revelation as well. Angry books make angry churches.
However, even if there were ever such a modern day thing as the Two Witnesses, here is why it would not work. No two human males in the entire Church of God menagerie of splits, splinters, slivers and dust mites could ever get along long enough to come up with the same coherent message. Frankly, they would smite each other before they ever smote you and I. 

The Book of Revelation, which probably is not near as up to date for today as most think, nor written with the events of today in mind as many are taught requires the Two Witnesses to get along and agree with each other for a time of 1260 days or about three and half years. No way! I have yet to meet any two of the Church of God ministers, especially the Lone Rangers of "My Church is the one true church," mentality to be able to agree on anything or get along for much more than a few hours, if that. This is way short of the time these two men will have to live, eat and agree together on the next day's rants against the people. Let me illustrate what I mean. 

Ronald Weinland was a minister in the WCG, then a minister in the United Church of God (UCG), but a number of years ago declared himself a prophet--(even though I prefer the idea that Churches be NON-PROPHET) he did that many years after the Philadelphia Church of God's Gerald Flurry did the same. Both of these minister types were Worldwide Church of God pastors before the crash. Both went on to start their own one man shows. In an email inquiry of Mr. Weinland, by Dr. Robert Thiel of the Living Church of God, as to whether or not he claims to be one of the Two Witnesses, Mr. Weinland replies: 

"Yes I do make the claim. I am one of the witnesses. The subject is already covered in sermons on our website and will be covered far more thoroughly in a new book that will be out before next Feast of Tabernacles. 

So we have that settled. We have the first of the Two Witnesses, even though he was never on my original list of 23. So now we have 24. Hey nice! That's the same number of Elders around the throne of the Son, or the hours in the day around the SUN, whatever you like!" 

Next enter David C. Pack, founder and sole authority in the Restored Church of God, also a sliver offshoot of Christianity. While Mr. Pack has never said that that he is one of the Two Witnesses, he has said in sermons that they will come out of the Restored Church of God, come UNDER his supervision as Witnesses are not higher than Apostles, of which he is one, and that HE will train them for their 3.5 year assault on the world. 

Pretty cool stuff to spend your life planning I think! 

At any rate, Dr. Thiel goes on to note: 

"There is a rumor going around, which I never posted, that Ronald Weinland claims that David Pack is the other of the two witnesses. This is not true. When I asked him, I received the following response: 'No I haven't said such a thing about Dave. We are not going in the same direction.' 

I did post the above response so that those interested in the truth would realize that the rumor was false. I do have a concern that now that this rumor is out and now that Ronald Weinland claims to be one of the two witnesses, that it would not surprise me if one who has taken titles to himself (Gerald Flurry comes to mind) may decide they need to claim to be one of the two witnesses." 

So now we have problems. There are my 23 of the Two Witnesses, Gerald Flurry of the Philidelphia Church of God...maybe in time, Ron Weinland for sure and the two, yet to be announced in the Restored Church of God under Dave Pack. Let's see, 23+1+1+2=27 Two Witnesses. And these are just the ones I know of. Perhaps there is significance in 3×3x3 Witnesses, but I don't know what it might be so forget that. 

Ok, but here is the problem even bigger than too many of them. 

"5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. (NKJV) 

Of course people are going to want to harm these guys. At least if they are
the ones mentioned. And with that much firepower, well they say way too much
now in Church that can't be backed up with reality, so someone is going to get burned. Letting them smite us all "as often as they desire," is just going way overboard on God's part. I think some of the smitting could degenerate into a bad case of "oh yeah...blam," "oh yeah...bash," "Oh yeah...crunch." A Way too human a way of getting everyone's attention. Personally I think, with the bad record churches and men have for being false prophets and witnesses and just plain looney, I would prefer that God just call a weekend seminar, serve nice food, and personally explain to all of us just what seems to be the problem. I respond better to that kind of thing rather than having people I don't trust in the least think they can smite me at will for not believing them personally. I still feel that when we speak to God, it can be called prayer, but when God speaks to us, we might need medication and not a following... But the real problem and the real reason we don't have to worry about the Two Witnesses coming out of the Church of God movements that have sprung from the demise of the Worldwide Church of God is best summed up in the observation by Mr. Weinland himself. 

"'No I haven't said such a thing about Dave. We are not going in the same direction.'"
This is our salvation! The fact is that no two men in any of these groups can get along for even a minute is the key that unlocks the truth of Revelation on this topic! Mr. Weinland can't abide Mr. Pack. Mr. Pack won't credential Mr. Weinland or Mr. Flurry. Mr. Flurry can't stand Mr. Pack and doesn't know Mr. Weinland and my personal list of 23 all agree that no way are these new guys invited into the final contestants for the job! Can two walk together unless they be agreed? The answer is no, so in no way will any of these guys be the Two Witnesses for 3.5 seconds, much less years. 

Now Mr. Pack insists that he will select the Two Witnesses and train them out of his own Church. I doubt that because Mr. Pack so loves titles, "The Watcher", "End Time Apostle"' "Mr." etc, that I am sure he'll want to be, hmmm...both of the Two Witnesses himself. There is more control over what is said, less overhead and less dispute over who is the chief smiter, firebreather, plague giver, blood maker and drought causer. 

Somewhere and somehow, Mr. Pack will find a way to give a four to eight hour sermon on how the Greek word for "two" is really the word for "twoo" as in "true" and Witnesses is really supposed to be singular. It is the Twoo Witness, which of course, will be Mr. Pack. 

The good thing will be that if the others oppose this, he can incinerate them with the word of his mouth and plague 'em. Well maybe not in that order. Well anyway, won't happen in reality. 

So relax everyone! Since no two male ministers of the same group or Church of God, and certainly no two in opposing groups can get along long enough to remotely fulfill the 3.5 years the Two Witnesses of Revelation will have to work together, we are all safe! Any two from this bunch will plague, drought, smite and incinerate EACH OTHER long before the sun goes down on the first day of their prophecy!  Dennis Diehl 2006

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/348380

Living Church of God: Satan Is Cleverly Deceiving LCG Members By Trying to Divide Us From Within

Rod Meredith is back with a new post on LCG's web site talking about a recent Family Weekend that was such an outstanding success that Satan is now extremely pissed off and is attacking the church.  Satan is soooooooooo mad that he is resorting to little tricks in order to deceive LCG members.

The entire weekend was inspiring and brethren were very vocal about how much the outstanding seminars helped them, along with the special Bible Studies held on Friday night and Sabbath morning, and then the final sermon on Sabbath afternoon. So we have much to be thankful for, but we certainly need to ask God’s direct blessing on the “follow through” of this presentation so that people around the world may be moved to act on the Truth—not just hear about it and enjoy it.

However, brethren, a very real Satan the Devil is fully aware of what we have been doing. More than most humans, of course, Satan knows where God’s Work is being done in a powerful way and where the greatest impact is being felt in His Work around the world. I am sure that he was not pleased at what we were doing at the special weekend event. He is not pleased that we have been growing through our increasing impact on the Internet, our outstanding television programs, our large circulation of Tomorrow’s World magazine, etc. In his time, Satan will react and try to “bring us down” if he possibly can. He always tries to divide and conquer. We know that. So we should all be praying fervently for God’s protection and deliverance from his vengeful attacks against God’s people and God’s Work. 

The question that needs to be asked right now, is Satan really ticked off at LCG for the family weekend  or are the problems LCG now currently facing a result of the looming court trial hanging over Rod Meredith's head?  The church has always used Satan and other issues to divert attention away from controversies that the church brought upon itself.  Many think this is exactly what Meredith is deceitfully talking about here.

Rod Meredith wants all LCG members to believe he is the most humble and most sinless Church of God leader to ever have trained at Herbert Armstrong's feet.  It's always important when a Church of God leader writes an article or preaches a sermon to invoke Herbert Armstrong.  People are supposed to be impressed. The problem with Meredith is that Herbert Armstrong did not think Meredith was a good leader.  HWA rebuked him many times, even sending him to Hawaii for a year for his continual bad attitude.  When HWA was looking for a successor Meredith was deliberately overlooked because of his atrocious treatment of church members.

Meredith has never taken any responsibility for his abusive actions and mistreatment of members.  Instead he blames everything on Satan.  Satan is the one currently confusing members with the lawsuit. This lawsuit is happening because Satan is trying to divide the church.

Through the decades I served in God’s Work under Mr. Armstrong—and ever since, as well—I have often noticed how Satan is able to confuse people and somehow divide them if he possibly can. He will cause many to become upset about basically little things, and yet turn them aside from their part in God’s Work. Satan is extremely clever at this!

Who really is dividing the LCG right now?  Satan, troublemakers or abusers of the brethren from within the organization?

You can read his entire letter here: Personal: Overcome and Grow In Unity.  Its the usual rant where gays, Muslims, and rampant sexual immorality are his target.  For some reason he always glosses over the rampant sexual immorality going on right under his nose or has covered up the sexual improprieties of his children that are well known throughout the LCG.  Meredith needs to get off his sex bandwagon.  60 years of these endless rants prove there are deeper issues going on with the man than any of us have ever thought.

Living Church of God: The Story Behind the Lawsuit...The Scarborough Letter

This is the letter that the Scarboroughs sent out in March of 2015 detailing what the Living Church of God, Rod Meredith, Bob League and others did to them.

Dear Brothers and Sisters In Christ

Patrick and I have recently run into several of the Charlotte LCG brethren in different places while running errands around town. We were shocked to learn that they consistently believed that we had left the church and didn’t want to come back. I’m not sure if these was assumption on their parts or, if that is what people are being lead to believe from leadership. Nonetheless, we wanted to clear things up so you would have our side of things to put an end to the speculation once and for all. 

We love and miss ALL of our LCG brothers and sisters more than you will ever know. We think of little else. We truly considered all of you to be our family. We love you so much. Patrick and I have mourned the loss of our church and our friends like a death. The last 6 months have been absolutely awful. I cannot count the times I’ve cried or verbalize to you the profound gut wrenching sadness we have experienced over this loss. Our hearts are truly broken. We NEVER WANTED TO LEAVE LCG. We never even knew we were in threat of being dis-fellowshipped.

There have been many rumors as to why we were marked and dis-fellowshipped. At first, they believed we gave Cogwriter information about Mr. Apartian’s negative views of LCG at the end of his life which were posted on his blog. LCG called Bob Thiel and he fully exonerated us of all charges.  Next they believed that we had tried to get Charles Ogwyn to leave Living and to start a new church with us.  Again, there was not a shred of truth in this. Patrick spoke with Mr. Ogwyn and he confirmed that he had absolutely NO RECOLLECTION of any such conversation. He told us that he was going to tell Mr. McNair that his information was inaccurate and he is an honest man so we can only assume that he did exactly that. Next we were accused of causing division in the Charlotte congregation. There is again, no truth in this. I told them that they could interview all 250 Charlotte brethren and not one of them would say that Patrick and I were divisive. We fully agree with church doctrine. These offenses would possibly have been worthy of dis-fellowshipping but we were not guilty of any of them. 

To this day, 6 months later, we have still never been given so much as one truthful reason that warranted receiving the worst, most strict punishment available to LCG leadership; being completely cut off, being robbed of all our friends, having our names and reputations dragged through the mud for THINGS WE NEVER EVEN DID WITHOUT SO MUCH AS EVEN ONE COUNSELING SESSION. 

Initially, we truly believed that LCG had been given mis-information and that as soon as they became knowledgeable of our innocence they would make everything right and we would once again be in the fold of LCG brethren. Sadly, this didn’t happen. They are now fully aware that we had no hand in these things. Many of our friends all over the US have been questioned by church administration about our character, attitudes and loyalty. All have attested that we were not in any way divisive or in opposition to church doctrine.  Again we hoped that coming into that knowledge would soften them and help us return to the fold. Again, it had no effect.

For reasons that we do not understand, Mr. Meredith and Mr. McNair have hardened their hearts toward us and it appears that no amount of truth revealed can change their minds. 

I have written literally DOZENS AND DOZENS OF LETTERS pouring out my heart, begging for forgiveness for whatever offense I committed, pleading for them to at least meet with us to talk. We have called over and over again beseeching them to counsel with us. We even called Mr. Meredith directly one day (he knows the extension from having once worked at headquarters) but he said “I can’t talk” and hung up on him.  How can you mark someone you’ve never even spoken to? One would think that marking would be a last resort after trying repeatedly to work things out! There are even men who have, in fact, left LCG to form their own groups taking with them LCG members; and THEY aren’t marked but we are.

We met with Mr. League and Mr. McNair one time the week we were dis-fellowshipped. It wasn’t a counseling session but more of an interrogation session. There were a lot of things going on at the time and they asked us of our involvement in them (we weren’t).  I fully admitted to having had a negative attitude over things that had happened to me in the past. I explained why we had been attending outlying congregations and why I didn’t like attending in the Masonic Temple but I also explained that I had IN NO WAY BEEN TRYING TO GET OTHERS TO STOP ATTENDING IN CHARLOTTE. There are others, including ministers, who share my discomfort of worshipping the Almighty from a Pagan Temple. Dr. Winnail told me specifically, in writing, that others shared my concerns. They didn’t get dis-fellowshipped. There is an altar filled with ash from offerings right behind the curtain where ministers are standing to preach to us every Sabbath. The hall is a temple. One only has to scratch the surface of research to discover the abominable things that happen there. There are so many scriptures that outline what God thinks about being worshipped from Pagan temples (Deut 12:2 , Exo 23:24, Exo 34:13, Psalm 78:58 , Deut 7:5, 2chron 31:1, 2kings 18: 4, 1corin 10:20 ). I never judged others for attending in that temple.  I never tried to cause division over this issue. I just quietly made the personal decision not to attend in Charlotte after studying my Bible on how God feels when His people worship from Pagan temples. I was told from an evangelist AND a high ranking minister at headquarters that there was NO RULE THAT I HAD TO ATTEND MY LOCAL CONGREGATION and that it was okay if we kept the Sabbath in outlying congregations if it made us feel more comfortable. 

That night, Mr. League and Mr. McNair never alluded to the fact that we were in any trouble; never hinted at dis-fellowshipment or even suspension. In fact, Mr. McNair said that 100% of the people he had talked to corroborated that we were in no way involved with any of the divisions or heresies that were going around at the time. As a side note, the people that were involved ARE STILL SITTING IN THE CONGREGATION. They were willing to write over $20,000 in checks to earn forgiveness and avoid being kicked-out while others guilty of the same beliefs and behaviors that had no money were dis-fellowshipped.  In order for “justice” to appear to be fair, the same crimes have to have the same punishments. Otherwise it looks like favoritism or vendetta.  Proverbs 11:1 says, “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but just weight is His delight”.

As we left the meeting we were all hugging and talking about plans for the Feast which was just a few weeks away. We had no idea that we were going to receive a phone call from Mr. League and Mr. McNair the next morning saying that we were dis-fellowshipped per Mr. Meredith. We were caught completely off-guard and totally devastated. There was no mention of being marked. But then, two days later we were marked from the pulpit by Mr. McNair without ever being told. We found out from a shocked member of the congregation who immediately sent us a text message notifying us of the marking. We subsequently received a Fed Ex’d letter a few days later notifying us of the marking. By this time we had already begun to call and write feverishly begging for counselling; begging to work this out as Christians, as brothers and sisters. None of our letters were replied to. None of our phone calls returned. However, they hand wrote this at the bottom of our marking letter so at least we know they were aware of the fact that we wanted to counsel.

We didn’t let the letter discourage us. We continued to believe that this was all just a big mis-understanding and that eventually we would be called in to talk. I continued to write them on a nearly weekly basis; always begging for forgiveness; always pleading for mercy, love and grace; always expressing how much we love LCG and want to be a part of it; never getting a reply. Everything in us wanted to be back in our church; back with our brothers and sisters. We told them that we were “willing to do anything to clear our names”. They jumped to the conclusion that that meant we were going to sue them and so they started to spread that rumor throughout the church. To clarify, WE ARE NOT SUING THE CHURCH. 

As the 6 months drew closer, we were excited and hopeful to finally begin to work toward reconciliation. I wrote Mr. McNair again telling him how hopeful we were that we could work things out in time to keep the spring holy days with LCG. Again I poured out my heart in apology for my negative attitude and outlined many of the lessons this trial has shown me in my pre-Passover examination. My last letter got a reply, but not the one for which I had been praying for months. Rod McNair writes, “We are recommending another six months for you to examine yourselves, pray, fast, and ask God to grant you repentance”. ANOTHER 6 MONTHS?!? It was like being punched in the stomach.  How do you tell someone, we understand you want to counsel toward reconciliation but we’ve decided that we won’t even speak to you for AN ENTIRE YEAR??? Actions speak louder than words – their actions say “we don’t want you, stop begging to be back in the church”! The act of making us wait an entire year before even having a conversation with us is not love. It’s not shepherding. It doesn’t show mercy, kindness, forgiveness or any other attribute of Christian character. It’s hard and it’s mean spirited. God tells us in in John 13:34 that we are commanded to love one another and in that love He will know we are His disciples. Do LCGs actions toward us show this love John speaks of?

God says that He doesn’t even want to lose one! The job of a shepherd is to go after lost sheep, help them and counsel them so that they can remain with the flock. Not push them off the edge of a cliff, never looking back. Ezekiel 34:4 is about irresponsible shepherds and it says, “The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them”. I feel that this scripture perfectly describes what happened to us.

Even if the church truly believed that they had a genuine grievance with us they are incumbent in the spirit of Matthew 18 to at least TRY to work things out as brethren. Simply refusing to talk to us or return our emails is not a demonstration of following Christ. We should know the accusation and be given the opportunity to face our accusers, if for no other reason, than to be able to apologize to them. 

God says in Romans 12 that Christians are not to repay evil for evil. Verse 18 says “if it possible live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay” says the Lord. Therefore if your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”.  If the Living Church of God really thought we were in trouble or slipping in anyway, the Bible instructs that they should have helped us. Matthew 5:43 admonishes us to do good to those against us. If LCG felt we were enemies worthy of marking, they should have showed us the love, mercy and “goodness” that Christ is speaking of AND THEN GONE THE EXTRA MILE. They should have showed us the fruits of the Spirit in kindness; NOT throw us out to the world to die. Again I tell you, WE NEVER WANTED TO BE OUT OF THE CHURCH. 

Forgiveness opens the door to reconciliation. An unforgiving spirit blocks the flow of God’s Spirit in our own lives. An unforgiving heart is paramount to the unpardonable sin. Mercy acknowledges that mistakes have been made BUT FORGIVES ANYWAY. True leadership is character in action. 1 John 4:20 says that if someone says ‘I love God’ but hates his brother, he is a liar. Mr. Meredith and Mr. McNair may say they love us, but their actions show otherwise. Friends who have dropped us like lepers may say they love us, but their actions say otherwise. 

Matt 5:23 says not to make an offering to God if you remember that your brother has something against you. First we are to make peace with our brother and then return to the alter to make the offering. This is God’s instruction, not our opinion. Not working to make peace is a direct violation to obedience to God.  Matt 22:9 says that the greatest commandment is love. The entire law and commandments are based on love. It’s legalistic to strictly keep the Sabbath and Holy days but to completely neglect the weightier matter of the law. THAT IS WHAT THE PHARISEES DID.

The God we worship cannot be pleased. The Christ I know prayed “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”. In His love and mercy He found forgiveness for the very men that were calling for His death!  His disciples betrayed Him, denied Him AND YET HE FORGAVE THEM. He is our perfect example. Yet LCG can’t find forgiveness for Patrick and me AFTER 6 month of shameless groveling, begging, pleading, praying for the trite crime of having a negative attitude???

Mr. Meredith used to always say, “follow me as I follow Christ”. I tell you brothers and sisters, Biblical principles HAVE IN NO WAY BEEN FOLLOWED in this situation.  Matthew 18 was not adhered to. As I mentioned, we still don’t even know what the accusation worthy of marking/dis-fellowshipping is. We were never given the opportunity to face our accusers or the opportunity to try to work things out as brothers in Christ through counselling or conversation.

We have been shocked at the number of very close friends who have completely severed ties with us to follow Mr. Meredith’s instruction even though they know we are good people, totally converted and not guilty of any crime worthy of the punishment we have received. I ask you, is that Godly character? Is it better to follow a man or to follow the instructions that our Savior left us with in His short time on earth? Christ preached that love was more important than even faith and hope. Christ preached that love covers a multitude of sins. Christ preached that we are to forgive our brother 7 times in a day if he repents and asks forgiveness.  We have felt completely abandoned by so many that we believed were true friends. It’s been devastating.

I understand and respect government but if what they are telling you to do is un-Christian and un-Biblical should you blindly follow? They are trying to put government over God’s written instruction. God is grace, mercy and abounding love and fairness. What is more important, man’s government which is tainted with ego, pride and self-will, or the Word of God? If a fallible man tells you to shun us but you know that it’s wrong, will you do it anyway? If they tell you we are bad but you have never seen evil in us, will you believe what they say or what you know based on personal experience? Sometimes God puts us through trials not just to see our reactions but to see if others will do the right thing. Will you stand for what is right or condone questionable behavior in blind submission? If you know the truth but don’t act on it God says you are just as guilty as the one telling the lie. 

Many of you will say, “I want to be faithful to the church, that’s why I’m choosing to shun you”. Faithfulness means to God, not to an organization of men. To confuse that can cost you your salvation! They do not speak for Christ. There is but one mediator between God and men and it’s not LCG. It’s Jesus Christ (1 Tim 2:5).

As individuals we ask you to remember what you know of our character, review what God says about forgiveness and then decide if you are going to believe that we are enemies of Israel, dangerous and to be avoided; or, if we are begotten children of God, your brother, your sister; worthy of your love and your friendships. We love you all so much and pray you will choose the latter. 

We have come to the sad realization that LCG does not want us based on their actions and refusal to speak to us for a minimum of one year. We have done everything we know to do to try to get back into the church. I can’t force them to meet with us or forgive us any more than I can change the orbit of the earth. We have prayed our hearts out. Many friends have also prayed their hearts out. For reasons we may never understand, it is now clear that we won’t be allowed back into LCG.

Many have advised us that we should not attend with other groups as it will prove our loyalty to LCG. We have 2 children at impressionable ages so we must attend church. We have attended with COGWA and UCG and had excellent sermons across the board. It is clear that they too are God’s people. There are good and bad in every group but the good by far outweighs the bad. We can’t tell our kids that we have to obey God by keeping the Sabbath and the holy days and then stay home alone. We want them to love God and keep His ways so we need to set the example. Again, expecting us to stay home from church for AN ENTIRE YEAR would be suggesting that we put the word of man above the word of God. That is something that we are not willing to do. Besides, we will all be judged as individuals, not a group or corporate organization.

We love and miss all of you so very much. We realize that you cannot openly be our friends out of fear of retaliation from the authority. Ruling by fear instead of leading by example is a scary precedence.  People have literally told us that they want to see us and that they love us but that THEY ARE SCARED THAT THEY WILL GET IN TROUBLE if Mr. McNair or Mr. Meredith find out.  I don’t think they realize how crazy that statement sounds. We are each responsible for our decisions and our friendships. They do not have the authority to scare you into staying away from converted brothers and sisters for unfounded reasons. There are multiple members of the council of elders who know our character and know that we are not guilty of any offense worthy of dis-fellowshipping but they too are scared to openly defend us.  It leaves us wishing that people had more courage but that is beyond our control. Will no one stand up when they see blatant injustice?

Hearing those types of words definitely throws up red flags. Telling members that they can’t fellowship with us even after they know we are not guilty of causing division is very much like the obedience demanded by people like Gerald Flurry. Members being “scared” of the ministry is cause for question. Anytime friendship is contingent on membership in the same group, it’s cause for alarm. Shepherds are to teach you right from wrong ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD and then trust that you are mature intelligent adults capable of discerning good from bad, right from wrong. You should all be free to make your own decisions. It is a shepherd’s responsibility to seek out the truth; to be slow to act; to avoid false accusations of the brethren. Only pride, arrogance, inability to admit they have made a mistake and plain out-right meanness is to blame for the refusal to show Philadelphian love; the refusal to be peacemakers.

Over the years we have been completely dedicated to the Living Church of God. I used to spend hours baking so that I could fill each hotel room with snacks and bottled waters when there was a ministerial conference. Patrick worked at headquarters at his own expense for nearly 5 years. He provided computers, paid for all his own business expenses for trips to set up Feast sites and to attend  the Religious Conference Meeting Association conference each year to network for better deals for the church and its brethren. We used our personal vehicles as a church taxi service for years at all hours of the day or night, rain, sleet, ice or snow anytime anyone was in need. I would make snack packs for ministers to enjoy as they arrived to their 2^nd or 3^rd Feast site completely worn out from travel and work. I hosted cocktail parties and dinner parties, not for myself, but so that visiting members would have a place to fellowship instead of being stuck in a hotel room with nothing to do as was often the case. We opened our home like a bed & breakfast FOR YEARS to visiting ministry. We single-handedly paid for the Tomorrow’s World television program to air on Kansas City channel 29 for a long time. We helped brethren be able to attend the Feast of Tabernacles when they otherwise would not have been able to afford to attend. Patrick paid to hire a software programmer to develop what you know as the Festival Registration Program when the church was stuck in the dark ages using paper registration forms that had to be manually entered to figure out how to plan on the correct numbers of brethren at each Feast site. Patrick has always been there when ANYONE needed him. He took care of widows, installed fireplaces, laid carpet, graded backyards with a Bobcat, cleaned houses, poured yards and yards of concrete to build patios, towed cars, fixed cars, picked up brethren the side of the highway after they totaled cars, etc, etc. The list goes on and on. We have always tried to be there for our brothers and sisters in need. We did these things NOT because we are enemies of the church trying to cause division but rather because we loved the church, believed they were doing the Work and loved our brothers and sisters. 

Some will say that this very letter is divisive. That is not the message we hope you take away. We feel we have a right to say our side of events without being accused of causing division. After all, they proclaimed their side when they stood in front of 250+ members and read our names as enemies of the church. Justice is blind. One should have both sides prior to making a determination. Shining the light on how wrongly this situation has been handled will likely upset them.  They don’t want you to know how hard we have fought to be back in the church because it makes them look bad. We have not attempted in any way to cause division. Separating best friends, brothers and sisters... that’s divisive. Not following Matthew 18 and not showing mercy and love to fellow begotten children of God… that’s divisive. If anything, THEY are causing division by acting unfairly and unequally with the brethren.

We didn’t leave LCG and we never committed any crime worthy of being dis-fellowshipped or marked. We pray you will remember who we are, truly are, instead of believing the false narrative that is being portrayed. We treasure our friends and understand the fear that many have expressed regarding openly being our friends. We would love nothing more than to continue positive brotherly private relationships with our LCG family members; summer BBQ’s, boat rides and family fun. We love you all!

Patrick & Elizabeth Scarborough