A UCG member had previously sent us information about the previous Billboard Campaign that UCG did that turned into a costly boondoggle of a mess. Now it seems they still have not been able to draw the public in without spending tons of money on them. I guess they think spending $400.00+ in tithe donations is well worth it to get a new tithing member. After all with UCG, it is all about the money and not the soul.
It seems that no matter how hard UCG tries, their message lands on unfertile soil. So one brainiac in UCG thought about having 15 minute "Ted Talk" style broadcasts to impress the public. TED Talks are usually fascinating subjects that cover a whole lot of information in a short period of time, all the while in an engaging style. UCG sermons are 1-hour butt-numbing marathons that should be paired down to 20 minutes. Even then, they still cannot present their theological mess in an appealing manner to engage new converts.
From the latest Annual General Council of Elders Report.
Public Appearance Campaign (PAC) Cost Analysis—Rex Sexton/Rick ShabiRex Sexton led the discussion of the cost analysis of the 22 PACs. The Council and the administration continually are trying to evaluate the effectiveness of preaching the gospel. There are four types of soil in the parable of Matthew 13. Our goal is to sow good seed on fertile soil. We see in the world that the soil is changing rapidly, and we are to see how we can improve to be as effective as we can be.The cost-per-response for the PACs came to about $420 per new attendee. Mr. Sexton said we have tried other ways to preach the gospel and asked if we are making the best use of our funds. We remain committed to reaching all peoples with the gospel.The Council discussed for about 30 minutes other methods that might be more effective.Mr. Sexton mentioned how popular TED Talks are right now. Maybe a 15-minute Beyond Today presentation could be tried to see how effective it could be.Peter Eddington stated that the $295,000 spent on the 22 PACs was about 1 percent of the media budget over the course of the campaigns, so it was a small amount used to try another avenue for preaching the gospel.Jorge de Campos mentioned trying the Kingdom of God seminars again at the local level.Mario Seiglie said the PACs in California were beneficial for the pastor and congregations as well. The presentations were encouraging to see how the three speakers approached the subject. He stated that he saw the PACs as more of a pilot program to help determine if the PACs would be effective.Peter Eddington mentioned that in the first PAC in Cincinnati they invited magazine subscribers and utilized billboards along with Pandora ads and Google ads to target the general public. The general public did not respond as positively as subscribers did, so the focus for the future campaigns was moved to inviting and targeting just current readers and viewers.Dan Dowd liked the idea of TED Talk type programs, where an ongoing series on our beliefs could be covered. Also radio is still a very valuable area to try again with possible podcasts.Tony Wasilkoff said name recognition does have an impact with the PACs. When they tried PACs in Canada there were several that wanted to see the Beyond Today presenter.Peter Eddington mentioned the bulk of the expense for the PACs is sending the invitation letters to get guests to attend. Over the course of 22 events, 52,000 letters were sent out three times at a cost of 50 cents per letter for printing and postage. One third of our total signups would occur each time the letters were sent out. About half of those that signed up to attend would not show up. So an additional challenge is getting guests to show after they have signed up.Jorge de Campos suggested looking at the option to e-mail out invitations and see if that could work better.John Elliott commented that the gospel message has to be preached even with low response. With different advertising approaches there is usually a 1.5 percent response, and our PAC response concurs with this. Sometimes the fruit comes later, but the gospel must be preached.Mr. Sexton thanked the Council for their feedback.
If you think the PAC is a waste of time, try sitting in a UCG service an listen to the 1 hour plus sermons. It is just the same canned crap they have been dishing out for decades. I spend more time drawing in my notepad than I do listening to the sermons any more. As soon as my kid's age out of the youth program we are gone! I can't wait to be free!
ReplyDeleteBe careful. There are UCG insiders who watch this website like hawks. They are relentless and seek to play mind games with any brethren who dare to say how it really is.
DeleteUCG can't afford to loose members, even the disgruntled ones. After all, who is going to pay their salaries and pet projects.
DeleteSet your kids free now. Let them be normal now. Dont wait. You are just making it eorse. Pull the plug
DeleteThe parable of the sower is just as applicable inside the church as well. Their never changing 'canned crap' sermons is one example of this. Hmm, which category is this?
ReplyDeleteMore like the parable of the fig tree that withered away.
ReplyDeleteIt needs to be cut down and send to the fire.
ReplyDeleteThe world does not need the godless people that the UCG is full of, nor does it need the UCG's stalkers.
The speaking quality has really gone down in UCG since scores of the more experienced pastors left in 2010. We were left with local elders and newly ordained people to speak and it just isn't the same...
ReplyDeleteMany UCG members listen to cogwa online sermons secretly to get some spiritual food. If you mentioned this to many UCG pastors they would harass you for that. There's a deep hatred of cogwa ministers among the UCG hierarchy..but not so much among the members. I don't use the word hatred lightly.
I still do not understand the COGWA / UCG split. It appears (on the surface) that you cannot pass a piece a paper between them doctrinally or socially. I know that COGWA claimed that UCG was going to "do away with the Sabbath" or the like, but after something like 7 years, this does not appear to be the case.
ReplyDeleteAgain, it appears that both the UCG and COGWA boys were just engaging in another "who is going to be in charge of the sandbox drama" which has been the bane of the COG since the early 1970s. Hierarchy, power, money, and control, very carnal expressions have been the curse of all of the COG, including UCG/COGWA.
Public speaking is a gift, and so is creative writing for speaking. Most church groups expect their presenters to have both, and it is rare to find people like that. Church groups should have their most creative and interesting writers prepare scripted sermons for mass distribution to those who have power and confidence as speakers (but who lack creativity of content). Problem solved.
7:40 AM said, "There's a deep hatred of cogwa ministers among the UCG hierarchy..but not so much among the members. I don't use the word hatred lightly."
ReplyDeleteMY COMMENT - A good example of Philadelphian brotherly love. What happened to "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another (John 13:34)?
Richard
I agree with their belief that a low response is no reason to discontinue their warning. The prophets of old typically had low responses. Christ lamented over Jerusalem not repenting but He didn't blame the messengers.
ReplyDeleteThe point is that God warns and gives people an opportunity to repent.
2.35 AM
ReplyDeleteSo true, the withered fig tree is one of the categories in the parable of the sower.
Anon 7:40 is telling the truth because my experience in UCG is identical. There are new Ucg speakers who do not know or care what UCG fundamental beliefs are. It's a tragedy. The UCG website has articles teaching one thing then the live speakers are preaching the opposite. I listen to COGWA sermons online and have their app because UCG is confusing.
ReplyDeleteThen there are Ucg ministers who barely can contain their hatred for you if word is out you don't hate COGWA.
Anon 7:40 uses the expression deep hatred and describes this as not using the word lightly. I would describe it as a bottomless well of pure undiluted hatred. Mafia Godfathers feeling betrayed would spring to mind. I have actively gone out of my way to avoid a UCG minister who was clearly full of hatred. Then they wonder why God doesn't send droves of new people to their campaign's.
Mafia Godfather is a perfect description of many of the top leaders of UCG. They were godfathers while in WCG reigning without impunity and when they jumped ship to keep their paychecks they carried that attitude over to UCG. Now it seems they are worse! I am another one ready to leave UCG. I am sick of the abuse these men dish out and then they claim to have the most unified and uplifting Council of Elders meeting in church history. I call bullshit on that! You are wasting our heard earned tithe money on useless campaigns that do not bring in members. Instead of caring for those already member it is more important to continue to try and impress the world around us, whether it is Rotary, Lions CLubs, Interfaith work, etc. These guys don't impress anyone but come off looking like fools.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete“The world does not need the godless people that the UCG is full of, nor does it need the UCG's stalkers.”--6:19 AM
And nobody but nobody needs those newly credentialed, adulterous, killer “ministers” in the UCG either!!!
ReplyDeleteConnie Schmidt on May 18, 2018 at 8:49 AM said...“I still do not understand the COGWA / UCG split. It appears (on the surface) that you cannot pass a piece a paper between them doctrinally or socially. I know that COGWA claimed that UCG was going to 'do away with the Sabbath' or the like, but after something like 7 years, this does not appear to be the case.”
There are similarities between the UCG and the COGWA because most of the people were together in the UCG from its founding in 1995 until it split into the UCG and the COGWA in 2010. Apostate Tkach types like Kubik are in charge of the UCG now, which appears to have become a haunt of demons and some really perverse characters.
All laws of God were effectively done away with in actual practice in the UCG long ago by allowing the members and non-member attendees to behave as badly as they wanted to. The idea was that everyone was expected to keep quiet about all the bad behavior and not “judge” anyone else as they all ran wild and out of control.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous on May 18, 2018 at 7:40 AM said...“There's a deep hatred of cogwa ministers among the UCG hierarchy.”
Maybe the COGWA ministers took the Holy Spirit with them when they went, and left the newly credentialed UCG “ministers” with the evil, adulterous, murderous spirits.
Anon 7:39 That thought has crossed my mind more than once in the past eight years. It is a concern, as not all UCG members can escape so easily.
DeleteConnie
ReplyDeleteHaving some creative types write good material and having good speakers present the material means feeding the sheep. If you are envious of good things happening to people, and want the sheep kept ignorant in order to maintain control, feeding the sheep is a no no.
6.43 PM
Exactly, the UGC like the WWCG before I left, is about creating an alternate reality, a Paradise for crooks. The Paradise For Crooks Church of God.
Connie wrote: "...I still do not understand the COGWA / UCG split. It appears (on the surface) that you cannot pass a piece a paper between them doctrinally or socially. I know that COGWA claimed that UCG was going to 'do away with the Sabbath' or the like, but after something like 7 years, this does not appear to be the case..."
ReplyDeleteI know a United "member," who says COGWAss is totally based, and exists, on lies. United still observes the 7th day Sabbath, although some in the ministry have no problem with performing Funeral services, Memorial services, birthday celebrations, and spokesmen club sessions, etc. on the Sabbath now. some may say the United Ass has gone lukewarm, but the member I know appears to be "hot" for that Association.
FWIIW, I read Victor Kubik's message titled: Update from the President May 17, 2018
Posted on May 17, 2018 by Victor Kubik
Within that update message, Victor wrote: "...I gave the baccalaureate, or farewell sermon on the Sabbath and pointed out that the experience of ABC is a planting of a tree that consists of new knowledge, increased skills, changed attitudes, values and behaviors—a transformation, a new person! As a result, we are taught to think differently as God described Caleb in Numbers 14:24: “But my servant Caleb thinks differently and follows me completely..."
I wondered regarding those ABC graduates and their new knowledge: Please give some examples of that “new knowledge,” b/c all xcogs appear to be in a holding pattern, and stuck in 16 Jan 1996?????????????????
United finally voted to be able to more easily amend their fundamental beliefs. Will that new knowledge tie into that new knowledge somehow? Time will tell. Has the "new knowledge" from past ABC graduates been playing any part in the changes the leadership is pushing for? HWA taught against voting, and voting is one of the first things the United Ass. did in 1995 when the ministers/hirelings (leaving their ministerial credentials behind in Pasadena) re-gathered "re-credentialed" themselves. I remember an individual at the Indianapolis asking Denny Luker, paraphrasing some: "Can this new Ass. prove they are part of some Levitical priesthood and be authorized to receive tithes?" Of course, Denny couldn't answer that question then, and said they'd look into it and get back to the individual...which they never did. Time did tell on that one!
Anyway, VKubik in quoting Numbers 14:24 turned a blind eye to some most important words: “…because he had another spirit with him..."
That servant of God, Caleb, wasn't just doing some total independent thinking on his own, but had to be guided and directed by God's Spirit; otherwise, why have any involvement of God's Spirit (Zech 4:6) in his life?
God thought it important enough to let people know He had some involvement in Caleb's life. It appears that Victor may disagree.
Well, who is God anyway? A trinity? A twinity? The Highest?
Time will tell...
John
I believe that knowledge grows with time, and I believe that the most profound growth occurs within each of us on a personal level. That seems to be true regarding both nature, and various applied philosophies. Those who have a greater capacity to discover or learn and process end up sharing with those who do not. Also in the mix will always be manipulative “orators”, who have the persuasive skills to lead people in false directions.
DeleteThe bottom line is that knowledge is often a snapshot in time. In nature, an organism which ceases to grow, is actually in the process of decline, or death. That ends up being a crossover principle which also applies to many other facets of life.
So what can be done in the specific case where a man has been declared to be God’s apostle for the endtimes, the restorer of truth? What happens if he dies, and does not lead the church to the place of safety and into the Kingdom as expected?
If you “canonize” what he taught at the time of his death (and some believe he had already left his own church by that point), then the only growth permitted is in better understanding of what HE taught. You can’t have growth in Biblical knowledge coming from other sources, including those who take up his mantle. But, without growth, death! If nothing else, changing times and social conditions require new interpretation and application. Given the basic rules and premises, what are you supposed to do?
What if the preservers can’t agree or work together to perpetuate an organization whose mantra was “God is not the author of confusion”? What if some begin to ordain themselves as apostles and prophets, supposedly giving them the authority to modify the teachings of the scam artist they all agreed was THE apostle? What if these issue false prophecies that fail? What if they forbid people with nearly identical beliefs from fellowshipping with one another?
What if tithes and offerings are collected to spread the gospel, and the message is like the proverbial tree falling in the midst of a dense and remote forest?
Herbert W. Armstrong’s church died when HWA died. Everything else that has happened since has been part of a nostalgia act. None of the ACOGs are that church. They are tribute churches. There is no way that the R/WCG was ever “God’s True Church”. The fact that God did not validate HWA in 1972-75 should have been the tipoff to everyone.
The original “I want to believe” poster was probably in someone’s basement office at Ambassador College in Pasadena way before Fox Mulder was ever born. The problem is desire is only the beginning of the process. Growth is the fulfillment of the process. It is a personal odyssey, which does not come from someone telling you how you must think.
BB
Stick a fork in it, it is done. They will never replicate the 1960s.
DeletePraise the Lord God opened my mind to how insane these churches are and I am now free. It's funny how they look slightly strange even while you're in them and then once you leave and the fog has cleared (and the hurt over all your "friends" no longer being friends subsides)these churches can be seen for what they are which is TOTALLY INSANE.
ReplyDeleteSadly, my husband is still totally entrenched in Armstrongism. For me, it's just a waiting game. The 3 main options, LCG, UCG & COGWA are all shrinking at such a rate that I can see the extinction of all things Armstrong coming in the near future. Maybe once that happens my husband will see them for what they are.
After all, it's pretty obvious that God is not blessing any of these organizations. It's also pretty obvious that the men an a large percentage of the people in these organizations aren't Philadelphian and don't know the 1st thing about Philadelphian love.
Interpersonal relationships speak to the level of Holy Spirit living in a person and we can see that these people can't get along with one another to save their lives.
God's Spirit has left the ACOG building (if it was ever there to begin with).
So for now, I pray for the blinders to be lifted from my beloved's eyes and for the soon coming extinction of these ridiculous faux churches. And I wait...