For decades we heard COG leaders proclaim, "We are family!" Yet has there ever been a church that treated its member with as much disdain, at times, as has the Church of God? Never has there been a group of people who has been constantly beaten down as "unworthy" because "they just don't get it," or have so disappointed
Many ministers and evangelists used members as their own personal slaves, yet never deeming them worthy enough to invite them into their own homes. Through it all members were supposed to love one another, "as Christ loved the church." That love usually stopped the second you dared to question a minister or the church leadership, or God forbade something from the Bible.
How could members "love" one another and care for one another when its own leaders held everyone in such contempt? That love was never genuine and was usually the end result of fear mongering. Intense persecution, concentration camps, parents eating their children, and more gore awaited the brethren around every corner they turned. Satan was aways on the attack.
A Church leader gets caught in adultery...Satan is attacking the church. A church leader gets sent to prison...Satan is attacking the church. People refuse to acknowledge self-appointed dreamy false prophets...Satan is deceiving the brethren. Tens of thousands refuse to jump church fellowships to join a delusional narcissist...Satan is deceiving the brethren. God has been turned into a impotent cowering old dude sitting in the northern heavens while Satan has free reign. Satan is even more powerful that Jesus, at least in the COG's eyes.
Times are rough in COG land as Satan is preparing to wreck havoc with Brexit and Trump. At least in the eyes of Rod Meredith. Now it is even more important than ever for church members to love one another. Soon there will be intense persecution, famine and death.
In his latest member letter to the ever growing disenchanted LCG membership, he warns of this very thing. Fear and persecution start ripping the world apart in the very first couple of paragraphs. Terrible times are ahead as the LCG membership will be divided by battling factions within the church and with outside splinter cult leaders like Bob Thiel and Dave Pack seeking to con as many members as they can to their dark sides.
We Must Become Family!
Many of us realize that. God’s people will be tried and tested as we never have been before. We will be persecuted as never before in the years ahead—as God’s Word clearly predicts. Satan will try to “divide and conquer,” as is his usual tactic. He will not only try to divide different nations and ethnic groups, but he will surely go after Christ’s true Church and try to confuse, undermine and divide us in any way he can. Yet in the terrible times just ahead, we will all need the love and support of one another more than ever. We will need to become “family” more than ever, and I hope that all of us can fully realize that and pray that God can help us respond and become a true family under the leadership of Jesus Christ. God is reproducing Himself and enlarging His Family to ultimately include billions of human beings made in His image.I wonder if church member are getting sick of this "god is reproducing himself" nonsense after all these decades? Making such a claim totally invalidates anything Jesus ever meant or anything do with the new covenant. Anyway, back to the big powerful bogey man, the all powerful Satan, as he persecutes the chosen ones.
But right now, as religious persecution and harassment are going to increase, we will “need each other” more than ever. We will need a “safe place” to give us the help and human support that is so encouraging—certainly in addition to direct guidance and help from God Himself. Some of our brethren may lose their jobs or lose their homes. Some may even go hungry in the years ahead, as national upheavals become worse and worse in the various parts of the world, and some will go hungry even among God’s people. So we are held accountable by our Father in heaven, who will expect us to respond with love and show a “family” spirit in the way we interact with one another.Can church leaders truly ever have a "safe space" in the church? With all the back stabbing, gossiping and lying members who run to the ministry every time some people wipe their noses, can here every be a true "safe space?" It certainly will NOT be Petra. If they treat each other like crap now, just imagine the hell it will be when everyone is isolated for 3 1/2 years in a sweltering desert as hundreds of "doubly blessed self-appointed" leaders fight over who is in control. Then the winning team will hold all other church leaders and members at a lower level than their frozen chosen.
Will self appointed ministers in the church start showing love in the way they treat members? Don't count on it. The COG track record proves otherwise.
Meredith goes on to quote Paul and then makes the following bizarre comment:
So even though we certainly continue to use separate bathrooms as male and female—and there are, and should be, certain differences in purely physical matters—we are one family in God, who is our Father, and we are to let this spiritual relationship override physical differences as much as we possibly can within God’s Law and God’s teachings!
Meredith then quotes Matthew 26 and adds this:
Notice that Jesus Christ powerfully instructs us, as His servants, to feed the hungry, take in strangers, nurture the sick, visit those in prison and help those “in trouble” in every way we can. He tells those doubters who try to water down what He was saying, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it toMe” (v. 40). When you take in brethren or any human being in this kind of circumstance, you are taking in and helping Jesus Christ Himself! We all need to meditate on this and try to “do better” in the way we help and serve one another. Brethren, pray fervently about this and ask God to help us to demonstrate—in every way we can—a more complete “family spirit” in the way we interact with each other and treat one another.
Will Rod Meredith, Gerald Weston, Richard Ames and others start taking in aimless to feed them and care for them? Will they welcome with open arms the prostitute down on that lonely Charlotte street corner or the gay, lesbian, transgendered teen recently kicked out of their home? Will church members cook food, feed them and give them warm beds to sleep in? Don't count on it. The answer is a BOLD NO!
Dear brethren, let us all try to develop an even greater sense of love, warmth and enthusiasm, and a total outflowing and “giving” spirit in the way we interact with another. This will not be easy. Do not “kid” yourself. Our natural tendency is to be selfish and to take care of “self” first and others last.
Let us “take action” now! For the times of trials and tests are coming upon us within the next few years. Again, we will “need” each other. We will “need” to have the help, the warmth, the encouragement and the physical necessities that we can share with each other in time to come. Let us not fail to serve Jesus Christ Himself, as He is present in each one of these situations. As Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).Since the church does not follow Christ it is going to be a hard them for them to emulate "Christ like" love.
20 comments:
Armstrongism totally destroys the real concept of family and attempts a very poor substitute: it's self!
Loving families were sabotaged by separation, as in all cults. The ones who became zombies pulled away from their shocked relatives, because "You now have precious knowledge that the world, including your unconverted relatives, doesn't understand. So, God's church is now your family, and it's a much deeper bond".
If that were not enough, the child beating principles then kicked in, causing a lifetime of having to deal with PTSD for kids raised in the church, a condition which is aggravated by having to be in the presence of the zombies any time throughout one's adulthood. This completes their family obliteration program, because "unconverted" relatives have deep memories of all the abuse they witnessed, and that's all they want to talk about during visits even decades later.
And, of course, Rod Meredith was a staunch advocate of all of the teachings and policies that produced these conditions, which are still very much "game on" in all the ACOGs. So, he's got a lot of damned gall even using the term "family". From his lips, it becomes an example if Orwellian doublespeak.
Next time your ACOG leader is preaching on family, and says "God's church has an app for that!", run if you can! Their "app" is full of virusses, trojan horses, and worms!
BB
Rod's letter reveals that he doesn't understand what is going on around him in his home state of North Carolina, which recently passed a law requiring people to use the bathroom that matches their chromosomes.
Previously, if a person was born female but had been taking testosterone to grow facial hair, and in all respects looked like a man, it was legal for that person to use either the men's or women's restroom. Some people would be freaked out by seeing a bearded person in the "women's" restroom, so such people (rare though they are) would often use a men's restroom. Just like a born male taking estrogen, with bosoms and long hair, etc., could legally use a women's restroom.
Rod has taken the standard conservative Republican position that the new NC law is a good one, and that it's better for hairy transsexuals to scare the women in a women's restroom than to use the men's room and remain low-key.
RCM musts: "We Must Become Family!"
This rings true just as demanding "You MUST relax!"
The must puts tension on the relax and the relax tightens up.
Rod is just telling members to fake reality with all this family talk. It's not there in substance. As I found out the hard way, all this talk of giving, helping, serving is a one way street. While a member, I spent dozens of hours giving members a lift in my car. When I had a car accident, and asked others for a lift, they were indignant that I even asked, with some making extortionist demands in return.
Be warned with this 'we are family' sermonising. It's the fox talking to the chickens.
They really ARE family.
It's called the Mafia.
In his properly named "What Lies Ahead" article, Rod Meredith tells us:
Remember, brethren, I have always said that there is no “perfect” church. But when you think about what to do—as most of you have—you must always keep in mind the three basics: (1) Which church is preaching more fully the complete Truth of God? (2) Which church is actually doing the Work of God more completely? (3) Which church is teaching and practicing the genuine Government of God in the church more fully than others?
1. If "Truth of God" means "what HWA taught" then COGWA is teaching much more of it than LCG is preaching. So are a few other of the tiny little splinters. LCG's "upgrades" to HWA's teaching actually undermine a lot of what HWA taught about the end of the age, but if you are spiritually asleep or dead like most LCG members you probably won't even notice.
2. If "Work of God" means preaching the "Truth of God" then LCG is disqualified because its Work preaches far less truth than some others. Even if "Work of God" simply means "outflowing concern" and "spending money on media instead of church activities" then UCG has recently snuck ahead of LCG, and PCG is ahead of them both. No, PCG isn't preaching what HWA preached, but then again neither is LCG.
3. Practicing the genuine Government of God? Let's see. God the Father doesn't give top jobs to liars or perverts. God the Father doesn't turn one angel against another angel by spreading lies and half-truths. God the Father doesn't let His Sons get away with un-Godly behavior while still continuing to rule in the Family business. LCG does all of these, which are characteristics of the Government of Satan, which rules from the top-down by spreading lies and hatred and fear.
LCG members, why will you not see that Rod is telling on himself, just like Dave Pack so often does? If you look at the three areas Rod asks you to, you will have to conclude that LCG is not anywhere close to being the best place a Christian could be.
You still need to keep moving if you want to be stiller than still,...still. Being stilled doesn't even depend on what state you are in, still. ...deeper now, ...stiller now, stilled stillness, we are always still stiller than still. now.
The only thing greater than the TV in inducing catatonia is church services. Especially in the cult of irony.
DBP
The Manson Family was family. Just saying...
"Be warned with this 'we are family' sermonising. It's the fox talking to the chickens."
I have experienced situations like that myself. You are to treat them like family, but in return, they will only treat you like family if they deem you worthy. Climbing that ladder to the top is all that is on their mind. If you are beneath them, you are just dead weight!
DBP
The Churches of God do behave like families...
Like the way the Hatfields and McCoys did!
Anon, from what you wrote, there's more happening in the state of North Carolina than you seem aware of. My gay aunt lives there, and in terms of character is head and shoulders above the awful COG people in our family. Due to pushback against progress once made, it's now again legal there to discriminate against gay people.
Hopefully, the continued anti-homophobic boycotts will further affect North Carolina's economy and bring the conservative homophobic leaders to despair and ruin.
Mafia is a meme; family is not.
Transgender Schoolhouse
Nature boycotts LGBT. Yet, every single one of them came into existence by being born by heterosexuals. Even pedophiles and furries.
DBP
"Practising the genuine God of God??????" No, robbing members of their adulthood and treating them like children is not of God. It is of Satan. Associating such mis behaviour with God is blasphemy.
The Rod of God said, "Many of us realize that. God’s people will be tried and tested as we never have been before."
MY COMMENT - I heard RCM make a similar statements in the 1970s. Doesn't he realize after 45 years, people don't take it seriously. Did he ever hear of the story of the little boy who cried wolf?
Richard
And Meredith reverts to the Tkach-era "We Are Family" creepiness. You'd think anyone who lived thru the early 90s in the WCG knows better than that.
This is Don Carlene. Like Rod, we believe in family as well. Any family member that doesn't submit to our genuine government, wakes up with a horses head in their bed. Kapish!
Remember when GTA in a "must play" sermon wanted members to copy the Mormon "Family Home Evening"? The only thing I remember after that was when a friend told me about a dysfunctional Mormon family he knew.
Rod says, "Dear brethren, let us all try to develop an even greater sense of love, warmth and enthusiasm, and a total outflowing and “giving” spirit in the way we interact with another. This will not be easy. Do not “kid” yourself. Our natural tendency is to be selfish and to take care of “self” first and others last."
What a freakin hypocrite!!!
Rod Meredith is the least loving, cold hearted taker that I have ever known. Literally.
I'll give him points for "enthusiasm" but it's enthusiasm for money, power, control and the tribulation. He's also pretty enthusiastic about becoming a spirit being so he can strike those who don't submit to him with bolts of lightening.
When he speaks of taking care of "self" first and others last, I almost want to puke. What a hypocritical liar.
Do people in LCG really buy this? Or are they all sitting around rolling their eyes?
Take care of self first and others last? Of course it should be that way, since it's the way God has defined reality. It's natural. Should a man put another woman before his wife? Of course not. That would be adultery. Likewise a man should not put others before self. All this give talk is the predatory foxes in the church talking to their chickens.
In practise, it means the same group always doing the giving, and the same group doing all the getting.
The church-slave-givers are asked to work on the plantation for the benefit of the takers, with Rod being the chief plantation master (or is it Pharaoh), and his ministers and bootlickers being the slave drivers.
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