Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders

Saturday, August 12, 2017

The Journal: Issue 197 Now Online


The latest issue of The Journal: News of the Churches of God is online.  It is hard to believe that The Journal is quickly approaching issue 200.

This issue covers the continuing controversy for some in the Church of God over "postponements" with an article written by Dixon Cartwright.


"If you haven’t yet heard about the calendar postponements, just wait a while. Questions about the Hebrew calendar and the touchy subject of its postponements are a hot topic in many of the Churches of God. To some people postponements are no big deal. To others they’re the mark of the beast. 
What are they? Do the brethren need to be concerned about them? Do they make any difference one way or the other? "

There is an interesting article by Benjamin Corey on "ghosting,"   a practice quite common in the COG and practiced by far too many members. He encourages members to NOT be the ones disfellowshipping.  This is probably the best article in some time.
Ghosting is something that can happen to anyone, in any social circle, or from any particular social group. However, we American Christians seem to have perfected ghosting to a finely crafted art. 
What is ghosting? You might not know the term, but you probably know the action. 
Ghosting is when someone abruptly ends a friendship with limited or no explanation, and when the former friend proceeds to quickly disappear from your life. 
Dixon writes about a former Air Force fighter pilot, now professional cartoonist, Earl Cayton

Lonnie Hendriks has a short blurb on former Armstrongites attracted to atheism, that I am sure will stir up a small stink.
I’ve noticed too that evangelical atheism has been particularly attractive to some of the former followers of Herbert Armstrong. 
I guess it’s a way for some of them to maintain their unique status as one of the enlightened (one of those who is not deceived). In short, they get to maintain their superiority over the ignorant, unquestioning masses. After all, it feels good to believe that my understanding is superior to yours. 
Moreover, ridicule and scorn are considered appropriate because the other side is ignorant and wrong. 
Hm, evangelicalism isn’t any more attractive in atheists than it is in theists, is it? 

Rex Jamerson, has an issue with slovenly dressed people at church.  You would not go to Buckingham Palace dressed like that, so why come to church dressed like that?  How many times have I heard THAT one?

COG members and leaders have been complaining about dress standards in the church ever since my family started attending in the late 50's.



Dave Havir as an article about leaders and people desiring to be "worshipped."  While this issue of The Journal was in the works before issues erupted in COGBS, it makes for an interesting read.


Some people (including religious people) have a lust to be worshiped and they overtly behave in a way to demonstrate their desire to be worshiped. 
Other people (including religious people) have a lust to be worshiped, but they are subtle in fulfilling their desire. 
Some other people (including religious people) do not have a burning desire to be worshiped, but they allow a group of people to draw them into sin. 
There is an article by Mrs Mokarow about her husband who died recently.

And, there is the usual nuttiness with some of the paid advertising.  What must a new convert think when they see this kind of malarkey?  Old time COG members laugh it off, but it portrays a disturbing mentality that has existed in the church for decades.



Friday, August 11, 2017

Herbert Armstrong Was RIGHT!!!!!!!!! Hitler Escaped To South America! HWA Vindicated!!!



Many in the Church of God have always had a fascination with alternative "news" sites, papers and books, as they promoted one conspiracy after another.  When I came to Pasadena in 1975, Gary North was the man of the hour.  Newsstands in Old Town Pasadena were filled with his books and WCG members and employees devoured them.  Anything concerning the Illuminati was sure to gather a COG following.  Then there were the Visions of Fatima crowd who thought Fatima had written down three prophecies with the final one sealed till the end of time.  This is the one that sends Almost-arrested and jailed Bob Thiel in orgasmic prophetic ecstasy.  Add to this the anti-Semites that filled the church who passed around the Protocols of Zion as proof that Zionists were trying to infiltrate the church.

In 2017, in the various COG fringe elements, are those who still find solace in alternative news sources and Internet sites.  The three biggest whack jobs in the church today that do this are the Kitchen family, Almost-arrested and jailed Thiel and deluded Wade Cox.  WorldNetDaily is the go to source for news in many COG's today, from Almost-arrested and jailed Thiel to United Church of God.

Timothy Kitchen is crowing on his Facebook page that Herbert Armstrong was right and finally vindicated by offering "proof" that Hitler and Eva Braun did not die, but had escaped to Argentina where they died of old age.

Herbert Armstrong taught this nonsense for many years and the church even printed this idiocy in their magazines.  The church somehow thought that Hitler was in Argentina rallying his troops for the final invasion to destroy the United States.  This has always been the scenario that the Church of God salivated over.  It was as if they actually looked forward to seeing people hung on meat hook parents eating their children, having concentration camps packed with Americans and fiery ovens burning alive American, Canadian and Australian citizens. Nothing would have made the COG ministry more happy to see the youth of the United States carted off to Europe to be slaves to their new European masters.

Timothy Kitchen, posted a story from YourNewsWire.com about Hitler being alive.  Kitchen states:

"Proving God's Apostle and Church true once again."


Documents proving Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun fled to Argentina in a Submarine
Newly released FBI files claim that Adolf Hitler escaped by submarine to Argentina where he lived in a heavily guarded ranch at the end of the Second World War suffering from asthma and ulcers.
An amazing cache of files shows that J Edgar Hoover’s FBI classified files surrounding Adolf Hitler’s escape by submarine to Argentina.
Recently released FBI documents are beginning to show that not only was Hitler and Eva Braun’s suicide faked, the infamous pair might have had help from the director of the OSS himself, Allen Dulles.
In one FBI document from Los Angeles, it is revealed that the agency was well aware of a mysterious submarine making its way up the Argentinian coast dropping off high level Nazi officials. What is even more astonishing is the fact that the FBI knew he was in fact living in the foothills of the Andes.

YourNewsWire mixes articles with half-truths and outright satirical information.  A quick search of the Internet can tell the Kitchens this, but no, that is too hard to do since it does not fit their narrative. This is not the first time that the Kitchens have fallen for a satire site, and it wont be the last.  Almost-arrested and jailed Thiel still does this, as does Wade Cox.  Apparently, decades of listening to half-truths and outright lies from the pulpit have not equipped them to deal with reality.  Distorting the Bible, preaching personal opinion as truth, and deliberately lying to their members, has been the distinctive hallmark of the COG ministry.  Whether one is lying to members about Hitler being alive, deceiving a couple thousand Africans with myths and lies or preaching that the Koran is a legitimate book for Christians and that half of the African Continent is now Sabbatarian and COG members.  Millions of Muslims have abandoned their religion in order to become Sabbatarian COGites.

Can truth ever be found in the Church of God?  As it shrinks into oblivion, does any one care anymore?

Herbert Armstrong:  IS HITLER ALIVE, OR DEAD? 
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No Matter Where You Go In The World, We All Think The Same...





"it's so great that whatever church we visit 
in the entire world, 
we know exactly what all the other members 
are thinking."

The above phrase is one that was common in the Church of God.

Read it again.

Is this really something that is good?

No matter which COG you ever visited, anywhere in the world, everyone believed and thought the same.

No questions, no "what if's," no room for doubt, just accept anything the minister tells you as "truth."

"...And Knowledge Shall Be Increased" You Say That Like It's a Bad Thing


I believe most here can recall the great proofs that evolution could not possibly true because , well it just can't be true if Genesis is literally true. Top Church paleontologists  like Herbert W. Armstrong, Garner Ted and others with clever titles and in colorful, yet short, booklets, took on all worldly trained paleontologists, cosmologists and archaeologists and exposed their lifetime work in the field as nonsense. From the comfort of their office chairs and obvious ability to just make stuff up without proper inquiry, theories for the birds and whales of tales were exposed for the frauds they were.

Top paleontologist, cosmologist, biologist, archaeologist and theologian David C. Pack is the latest Top Church of God Scientist to tackle these fishy issues having learned the truth about evolution a full 50 years ago in Second Year Bible where the Church destroyed all doubt by having him outline Whitcomb and Morris's  The Genesis Flood   with no actual discussion on the contents ever as if they could.

However, Dave lost.....




Time for an update...


“Sit down before fact as a little child, be prepared to give up every preconceived notion, follow humbly wherever and to whatever abysses nature leads, or you shall learn nothing. I have only begun to learn content and peace of mind since I have resolved at all risks to do this.”


― Thomas Henry HuxleyLife and Letters of Thomas Henry Huxley - Volume 1


Short attention span theater



Longer attention span theater



Full Sabbath School Version


Thursday, August 10, 2017

Ambassador Properties For Sale

Former faculty home: LaRavia's and Tkach Jr.

Welcome to the Dr. Henry H. Sherk House. This is a unique opportunity to own a part of the Ross Grove Landmark District along the historic South Orange Grove’s Millionaire’s Row, across from the prestigious Tournament of Roses! Famous architect JJ Blick originally built the Dutch Colonial Revival in 1892, and distinguished Pasadena physician/surgeon (Dr. Sherk) later commissioned another renowned architect (Edward C. Kent) to expand the home in 1908 into its current spacious layout — 6 beds, 4 baths at 4,482 SF.
$2,495,000.00

268 S Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105


Terrace Villa:  former women's dorm

Terrace Villa, a lavish 1924 Italian Revival Villa designed by noted California architect Walter C. Folland. This 8,000 s.f. +/- residence, flanked by the grand Mayfair & Merritt mansions, commands sweeping views of the vast Great Lawn & San Gabriel Mountains & once overlooked Terrace Drive on Millionaire's Row. 
$4,800,000.00



Former women's dorm, home of Feazell's and Tkach Sr.

The Bella N. Scofield house, designed by famed architect Frederick L. Roehrig, is one of the largest remaining original homes on Millionaire’s Row. This home embodies the Prairie Style Craftsman architecture with its strong horizontal lines, sweeping porches and wide overhanging eaves with decorative details. 
$3,498,000.00



Ambassador Hall: Used for class rooms and receptions

The Merritt Mansion, one of Los Angeles’ most historic spaces, is currently for sale for just under $8 million. Location on South Orange Grove Boulevard, the 17,329 square-foot residence includes nine bedrooms, three bathrooms, two security vaults and an underground swimming pool decked out with locker rooms and all. Built in 1905 by celebrated millionaire Hulett C. Merritt who made his big money in the railway and steel industries, the property was featured in the opening scenes of "The Millionaire," a popular 1950's TV series.
$7,900,000.00



Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Allie Dart Has Died


From CEM

Allie Dart passed away this morning at 8:52, listening to Ron's sermon "A Good Marriage." She went peacefully with Sammie, her aide, by her side. Thanks for your prayers, flowers, and cards of encouragement for her during this trial. She has finished her race--she is no longer in pain as she waits for the resurrection.

Monday, August 14 at 10am at Stewart Family Funeral Home in Tyler with
Mr. Wesley White officiating. Visitation will be 30 minutes prior to the service.
Burial will follow at Whitehouse Memorial Cemetery. 
 
Monday, August 14 at 10am at Stewart Family Funeral Home in Tyler withMr. Wesley White officiating. Visitation will be 30 minutes prior to the service.Burial will follow at Whitehouse Memorial Cemetery.  
We have arranged for her service to be streamed live on the Internet via the funeral homes website.

Wade Cox: Yes, I am truly this stupid when it comes to uttering prophecies



Another Church of God minister who has been an utter failure is Wade Cox. He has made so many prophecies that have failed that he, Bob Thiel and Ron Weinland are in competition to see who is the biggest Church of God liar.

Cox is so far out there that he claims the Koran is a holy book for Christians to be using and that his "god" created a race of human Elohims who have been running around on the earth ever since creation.  They were actually created before his fake "jesus" was created.

Added to all of that wackiness is Wade Cox's prophetic timeline:

2012 Thirty-fifth year of the fortieth Jubilee. Sabbath year and end of the Mayan Calendar and the Sun system. The Whore is destroyed by the Beast from this date and finally by the advent of the Messiah after the period of the two Witnesses, perhaps by 2018-2019.  FAILED

2016  Passover is the probable last time for the two Witnesses to be in place in Jerusalem. Droughts of the two Witnesses commence.   FAILED 
2019 Probable last date for the return of the Messiah and the subjugation of the planet given the 2028 commencement for the millennial system and the time being cut short. GUARANTEED TO FAIL

Kings of the East called down to Jerusalem and destroyed.   GUARANTEED TO FAIL

2025  Perhaps less than 500 million people left alive on the planet. GUARANTEED TO FAIL 
2025/26  Treble Harvest year for the Jubilee  GUARANTEED TO FAIL 
2026/27 Sabbath Year   NOT  RELEVANT
2027    End Day 6    GUARANTEED TO FAIL 
2027/2028  Fortieth Jubilee since Messiah and Forty-ninth since the second Temple and Ezra/Nehemiah.   GUARANTEED TO FAIL 
2028  Beginning of the Jubilee of Jubilees from 1 Abib. The fiftieth Jubilee since the construction of the Temple and the restoration of the Temple and the Law under Ezra and Nehemiah   GUARANTEED TO FAIL

The one thousand year millennial reign of Jesus Christ begins. The planet is run in peace and prosperity according to God’s Laws for 1000 years.  GUARANTEED TO FAIL 
3015-3027 Satan is released and the last war of the end begins.   GUARANTEED TO FAIL 
3028 The General Resurrection of the Dead   GUARANTEED TO FAIL 
The 100-year Judgment.   GUARANTEED TO FAIL 
3127 The City of God is complete and the Universe is structured anew.   GUARANTEED TO FAIL

Here is what the Bible, the other book that Cox claims to follow, has to say about him and his teachings:


Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity [lawlessness]. 

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Ron Weinland: After Realizing His Members Are Not Sending In Enough Money, He Says: "Do you think I’m stupid as God’s apostle?"




Why is it that the Church of God has produced so many imbeciles pretending to be  God's chosen vessels? Between Bob Thiel and Ron Weinland, I have to wonder if the Church of God has finally scraped the bottom of the barrel. Can the Church of God have two bigger idiots in its midst?

After hundreds of failed prophecies, a prophetic 3 1/2 years in jail, married to an equally corrupt wife and the father to two money-grubbing kids, Ron Weinland still has a few hundred mentally ill followers.  Followers who are NOT sending in enough money to keep Weinerdude and his sick family in their accustomed lifestyles.

To this day there are people still stealing from God! And I think, “What are you doing? You think I’m ignorant? Do you think I’m stupid as God’s apostle?” Your time is running out. You’ve got just a few weeks left and you’re gone – all of you – because there’s more than one. There are too many and if you don’t get it turned around immediately and repent before God it’s sayonara, dos vedanya, auf wiedersehen. And I know you’re only speaking English so it’s goodbye. Sick. In God’s Church we serve God. We seek to obey God in everything we do. There’s no such thing as being able to have adultery in God’s Church. There is no such thing as stealing from God, and on and on it goes. Those things aren’t allowed in God’s Church! We can’t just come the way we are. God says we’re to change. We’re to think differently. If people don’t, and if people want to play games and go through the motions, like send in maybe 5% or 3% just to kind of keep in the doorway, just keep the foot in the door a little bit and say, “I’m doing it. I’m doing it.” You lying liar! Stealing from God Almighty! How on earth can anyone of a right mind do such things? That blows my mind! It really does.

UCG and its leadership problems



Recently at a UCG conference, Vic Kubik made the following comment:
Mr. Kubik showed his appreciation for the spirit of fellowship amongst the elders.
He touched on the reasoning for the recent Church-wide fast and pointed to
the spiritual purpose of fasting: “to humble ourselves before God and draw closer
to Him and to make His purpose our purpose.” Mr. Kubik emphasized that what is
important is that we develop strong relationships among God’s people and that we
are ready to pass on knowledge and the work of the Church to the younger generation
when the time comes. Mr. Kubik also touched on the questions about the
structure and function of Ministerial and Member Services.
If this was actually a practice that UCG wants to see happen, then WHY does it still pad the Council of Elders and other management leadership with men who were part of WCG?  No new younger faces ever appear in any of the updates to the Council.  Just the same tired old men who played with WCG members lives while they plotted and schemed in the background to start a new splinter group.  Most of these men were without ethics or empathy when they were WCG ministers and it is no different now.

The World's Foremost Prophet and Trumpologist, Bob Thiel and the 101 Dalmatians



Oh, wait....wrong story!

Almost arrested and jailed Bob Thiel is on his blog today bragging about how he has scored his 101st radio interview.  The idea that any radio host would deem Thiel a legitimate theology/prophecy source shows how little research these hosts have actually done.

Habakkuk Thiel imagines himself an impeachable authority on President Donald Trump.  His prophetic utterances on Trump are so significant that he wrote a book on the subject, which in turn led a radio host to interview him.
As long-term readers are aware, I, Dr. Bob Thiel, AKA COGwriter have frequently been a radio guest. However, because of scheduling and other issues they are usually not announced here.
But sometimes they are. 
Today, I am scheduled to be on The Morning Show with Mike Hogan. This would be on KHUB 1340 AM out of Freemont, Nebraska. August 8th 9:30 am CDT/7:30 am PDT. The host and I expect to discuss prophetic aspects Donald Trump’s presidency and items related to my book Donald Trump and America’s Apocalypse.
Unless it is preempted or something, this will be the 101st radio appearance since the formation of the [improperly named] Continuing Church of God on 12/28/12. My 102nd radio interview is scheduled for the Republic Broadcasting Network (RBN) Friday, August 11th at 12:00 pm CDT. 
I guess in a way it is good that Elijah Thiel is getting on these programs and letting the world further see what a theologically bankrupt fool he is.  

So why is the dubiously blessed prophet hopping on the radio to share his false prophecies?  Because Herb did!  Who would have guessed?

Of course, being on radio is something that COG leaders have done since no later than the 1930s. Radio was used so much to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom and other biblical messages, that after he left CG7, the late Herbert W. Armstrong initially named his group the Radio Church of God.
Bitter Bob Thiel then trots out a quote from Leroy Neff from 1959 about how God opened a door that no man can shut.  Remember the myth that the church used to teach that radio was specifically invented so that the church could spread the gospel, just like the printing press was invented so that HWA could send out mimeographs of his "Plain Truth", or that airplanes were invented so that HWA and other prophets of the church could fly around the world witnessing to world leaders.  Apparently, Elisha Thiel still is stupid enough to believe this. The door cannot be shut on his church, even though he insistently is whining that it is about to be.

Revelation 3:7-13: “And to the angel of the Church in Philadelphia write these things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that OPENETH, and no man SHUTTETH; and SHUTTETH and no man openeth.” The great door that God has opened to this work is the facility to go into all the world and preach the gospel; the door of radio, the door of the printing press, plus many other such doors. God has set before us an open door and no MAN can shut it. God can shut it, and He will when the work is finished and the Philadelphia Church goes to a place of safety. “I know thy works: Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name” (verse 8).
Notice that this Church has works. It has works of ZEAL and of REPENTANCE. This Church has only a little strength. But, by contrast, the Church of Laodicea believes that IT is increased with goods and has a great deal of strength. Philadelphia has little strength to do this great work that God has given it to do. God has opened the door, and yet look how insignificant, how weak, how little strength we as a Church have to do that work. How much we lack in every way, and yet God has opened the door and has given us certain vital, supernatural, spiritual gifts. Very often we lack enough money to pay the radio bills and other expenses. WE ARE FEW IN NUMBER, while many other eras of the Church of God numbered in the hundreds of thousands. We indeed have little strength. And yet, look at the great power that God has placed before us. (Neff L. What Is the LAODICEAN CHURCH? Good News, August 1959) 
Ah yes, that same worn out story that "we are few in number" and therefore MUST be the one true church.  It was a lie then and is still a lie today. 
We in the [Improperly named] Continuing Church of God are going through the open doors in radio as well as with the printing press, the internet, travel, and personal contact.  This includes to areas, like Africa, with Gentiles.
How long do we have to wait for false prophet Thiel to be jetting off to see world leaders with a piece of Steuben Crystal in his briefcase or his big thick Bible so he can thrust it in the face of world leaders?  If Gerald Flurry can be setting himself up to do this, why can't Amos Thiel?  But then, Flurry is a liar and a false teacher just like the African Bwanna Thiel is.



Church of God Big Sandy Scandal Continues


From a Texas source:

Church of God Big Sandy Scandal Continues

            The situation in the Church of God Big Sandy continues to draw attention.  And not just because David Havir III was determined to have acted “inappropriately” with a minor girl by Wood County, Texas, Judge Jeff Fletcher on July 6, 2017.  (Case number 2017-357).   
There are now questions about David III’s relationship with the minor girl’s older sister, Karina, who is 19 years old.  In the same way that David III says he is a father figure to the younger sister, he also claims his relationship with this older girl is the same.  He has told others that she lives with him and his wife and daughter.  
It may be relevant that a COGBS board member abruptly resigned recently.  No public explanation has been given for his resignation.  Some have wondered if it could be because he disapproves of David III’s recent behavior.  This board member has two young daughters who have been involved in the COGBS youth program. 
            Further, questions about COGBS have now moved from morality to finance.   In order to understand this, it is important to understand the inner workings of COGBS. 
            COGBS has always had an elected board.  From its very beginning, the board would set an annual budget.  Within that budget was a private fund for the pastor to administer.  The board members were never allowed to review the expenditures (which are done at Pastor Dave’s sole discretion) of this private fund because Pastor Dave said it would be a “violation of minister/parishioner confidentiality”.  Pastor Dave insists that any money given from the fund to a recipient should be done with complete privacy.  
The exception to this privacy rule was Treasurer Don Mishnick.  Don reviewed all transactions out of Pastor Dave’s private fund.  This exception to the minister/parishioner privacy rule is interesting because Don is not a minister.  Nevertheless, since Don was the treasurer and perhaps the biggest contributor to COGBS, the board has always just shrugged its collective shoulders about this policy and gone along with it.  They assumed that, if there were an improper expenditure from Pastor Dave’s private fund, Don (who is notoriously frugal) would quickly blow the whistle and get the problem corrected. 
            This arrangement went on for many years until Don resigned from the board and also gave up his membership at COGBS.  He now attends church elsewhere because he had a falling out with Pastor Dave over (get this) David III’s spending of church money to take his youth group to Winter Family Retreat in Lexington KY.  
            And who has since taken Don’s place in overseeing Pastor Dave’s secret fund?  You guessed it.  Several months ago, the board of directors appointed David III to be the treasurer of COGBS!   It is now David III who provides financial oversight over his father’s secret fund expenditures!  
What a sweet deal the Havir family has fallen into.  If only David III could have hung on at CEM, the Havir family would be sitting in tall cotton with access to the funds of two of the biggest ACOG groups in east Texas. 
            Like too many churches, the attitude of COGBS leadership has been, “We all know each other.  We trust each other.  Surely we can trust our brothers and sisters in these matters.”  Anyone with any sense knows that this attitude can lead to disaster. 
            From all of this, it can be reasonably deduced that the current (and past) members of the COGBS board do not understand their responsibility as board members.  The bylaws of COGBS clearly state that the board of directors manages that church.  This is clearly written within the first lines of the bylaws.  The bylaws do NOT give management of the church to the pastor, even though this has been the de facto situation during most of COGBS’s existence.  
If the current board is to really perform its fiduciary responsibilities to COGBS, they will ask the following questions to the Havirs in an open board meeting and not in closed executive session.  The membership of that church and contributors to that church deserve answers to these questions: 
1)    Who paid for David III’s legal fees in his recent court hearing regarding his judicially-declared inappropriate relationship with the minor girl?  If these fees were paid for by COGBS, did the funds come from Pastor Dave’s secret fund or was it an expenditure that was approved by a vote of the board?  (The current board has three new members who were not on the board when the David III scandal began so they might not be aware of the previous board’s actions.) 
2)    Has David III ever received financial assistance from Pastor Dave’s secret fund?  If so, how much has he received?  It is no secret that David III has had problems finding and keeping jobs over the past five years. 
3)    Has David III ever been employed by COGBS?  This question is germane because Pastor Dave once vowed never to put anyone else on the church payroll again.  This was after the church had hired a part-time sound man and then let him go.  After that incident, Pastor Dave made it very clear that, from that moment on, he would be the only person employed the COGBS.  So, if David III has received funds from COGBS, did he receive these funds as an employee or contract worker?  Or did he receive them as a “needy person” under the auspices of financial aid from the secret fund? 
4)    Besides widows, who has received money from the COGBS secret fund?  If a non-widow has received funds, how does the amount compare with how much widows usually receive? 
5)    Are COGBS bills being paid late at this time?  If so, is it because of a cash flow problem or is it because of mismanagement by the church treasurer?  Have any of the widows’ checks recently been late? 
            It was no secret that, as long Don Mishnick was present to financially prop up COGBS, the church would do just fine in the area of income.  They might continue hemorrhaging members, but they would be kept financially afloat.  Now that Don is gone, it is feared that this church organization will eventually go bankrupt.  Is it possible that the Havir family realizes that inevitability and they are now milking as much money out of the COGBS treasury while they can?   Do the Havirs see the handwriting on the wall and are they preparing to bail?  
            An outside, external audit is needed for COGBS.  There is no one currently on the board who is qualified to review the books to determine whether or not there have been inappropriate expenditures.  Any audit should be done by a qualified accounting firm that has experience in business audits.  
            If an outside audit exonerates the Havir family and if the board of directors unanimously concludes that all post-Don Mischnick expenditures are on the up-and-up, the church should say so via a public announcement in a publication such as The Journal.   Even though the Journal no longer has a significant number of subscribers, any such announcement in The Journal would subsequently get spread on the internet for all the various ACOGs to see.   
            In the meantime, any parent whose child is involved in David III’s youth program should be wary.   Parents should be asking whether or not it is wise to send an underage girl to the COGBS annual summer camp at Timberline Baptist Church in Lindale, Texas.  
And, until a professional audit is completed with all questions answered, anyone who contributes money to COGBS does so at his/her own peril.  
            If the Havir family and the COGBS board of directors are truly desirous of doing the right thing and avoiding all appearance of evil, they will take the proper steps to assure their church members (and the public) that this church organization, its leadership, and its policies/procedures involving money and underage children are above reproach.   
            Let’s see if the COGBS board of directors is willing to step up to the plate and do its job.  It’s never happened before with a COGBS board, so this could be a first.  By giving the Havir family unchecked power to run that church, the COGBS has entered into a Faustian Bargain that will come back to haunt them probably sooner than later.