Check out the latest from Doug Winnail on how disrespectful people are to authority anymore. He starts off with how disrespectful the world is today to those in authority (who usually people who are abusing their power.) Then he delves into LCG members respecting those who are over them (usually men abusing their power.) Shame on LCG members not respecting Rod McNair! Shame! Or cow-towing to Lil Jimmy Meredith as he wastes tithe money. Or listen to Gerald Weston talk about sex, how to raise your kids properly, sex, and more sex. Even Wyatt Ciesielka is on this bandwagon (see the previous post).
They just can't get no respect!
LCG members and those in the other COG's can only respect that which is deserving of respect.
Respect for Authority: Today, we live in a global society where respect for authority and anyone in authority is in serious decline. Parents, teachers, police, judges, politicians, heads of churches and heads of state are portrayed and ridiculed as buffoons and liars or worse. While some of the cynicism and disrespect is deserved, much is fostered by an anti-authority attitude promoted by the media—that is unknowingly influenced by the god of this world, Satan the devil, who rebelled against God (2 Corinthians 4:4; Isaiah 14:12-15). The apostle Paul predicted that pride and disrespect for authority would be rampant at the end of the age—and that it would also impact the Church (2 Timothy 3:1-7; 4:1-4). However, this anti-authority attitude is contrary to God’s instructions in His word. Moses told the Israelites, “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people” (Exodus 22:28). Solomon advised, “Do not curse the king, even in your thought” (Ecclesiastes 10:20). James wrote, “Do not speak evil of one another” (James 4:11). The Apostle Paul instructed husbands to love their wives, and wives to respect their husbands (Ephesians 5:33). Paul also advised the Church, “we urge you, brethren, to recognize [get to know, acknowledge, value, respect, defer to] those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord… and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). The Scriptures indicate that God wants to see a very different attitude towards authority than we see spreading through our society today. Let’s recognize what is happening around us and strive to develop a godly attitude toward authority.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
18 comments:
LCG is led by a man who looks eerily like Vladimir Putin, but instead of embracing this truth and laughing about it the ministry becomes very upset when brethren dare to make even the smallest joke about the easily observable fact.
There are three words that ring out loud and bold: "In the Lord".
LCG ministers and their attitudes in so many cases and instances are not "In the Lord". One might even say many of their attitudes are "of the Devil". As such, once one sees that their fruits don't match their title - no respect or obedience or whatever have you is required. Just two feet to run out the door and a mouth to say "No."
They sit there on their pompous high horse demanding respect to their authority. Respect is earned. Not demanded.
If I saw an LCG Minister (or any other COG minister) in a restaurant, I'd see them as just another man. Their pompous act and ministerial air-of-appearance would be greeted by the worst possible thing I could do to them: Call them by their *GASP* FIRST NAME!!!!
Even if you don't believe in evolution, you can't deny that groups of human beings bear lots of similarity to groups of chimpanzees.
Chimpanzees naturally follow a leader. The problem is that within a troop there may be disagreement as to which chimpanzee should be the leader. Ultimately, the chimpanzee who displays the greatest leadership qualities will become the troop's leader.
Doug Winnail is currently butt-hurt because Gerald Weston and Jonathan McNair haven't respected his erudition and his Ph.D. as qualifying him to lead LCG's educational efforts. Winnail won't accept that he fails to earn respect when he engages in shoddy scholarship and promotes other teachers the LCG members consider liberal and compromised. Instead, he lashes out with whiny messages like this one. Instead of examining himself and understanding why he isn't earning as much respect as he desires, he prefers to project outward and put the blame on the people who aren't giving him the respect he craves.
Adam and Eve did not rebel against God in order to become leaderless. They simply chose to follow the wrong authority. Because of his personal butt-hurt, Winnail has greatly misunderstood what is going on around him.
By the time you have to demand respect, it is too late.
What is Winnail telling us about himself, his relationship to God, and his relationship to those under him, when he demands respect? Some of the kings of Israel and Judah demanded respect whether or not their conduct was respectable. Others earned respect. Winnail, Weston, Ciesielka, and other LCG ministers would do well to do a personal Bible study of the kings of Israel and Judah, lest they fall victim to making some of the same mistakes that were recorded in Scripture for our admonition.
LCG would undoubtedly be better off with Putin as its leader. For that matter, so would the US and many other nations.
A poem for the overlords....
Call me Mister!
You are my brother, but a lesser brother.
I am special, but you are a just a bother.
I am so wise, even Solomon is not match
You are scum, the worst of the catch.
God calls the weak, except for me.
You are stupid, so don't dare disagree.
Our COG is the best
You can disregard the rest.
Send all your money to us
Don't make a fuss.
We are the best, the very best.
So much better, better than the rest.
Every word we write or speak is gold.
Which is why we repeat it, it never gets old.
So disregard all these nasty words other people say.
Your function is to pay and pray and pay and PAY!
Why don't the brethren respect you very much, Doug? For one thing, you think so little of us that you usually recycle old messages each week instead of writing us something fresh and timely. Worse, you don't just recycle your old message; you change a word or two, here or there, as if this will prevent search engines from noticing the duplication. We know, for instance, that this week's comments became so much more relevant than what you published 11 years ago because this time you inserted a comma after the first word, which you didn't do on July 3, 2008 when you previously published almost identical comments. To be fair, you changed this week's comments much more than you usually change your old comments, so maybe this one is worthy of more respect than usual. But as long as you merely "phone in" your most minimal leadership, we'll merely phone in our most minimal respect.
TLA,
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
Obey me or burn in the Lake of Fire
Respect is a two way rather than a one way street. Members have natural God given rights that should be respected rather than stompt on by the ministers.
It's the old bully song of religiously respect my rights, but you have no rights.
The authority that church leaders give themselves is legitimate authority plus many perks such as lording it over others. This is common among work bosses as well.
It's not about respect. It's about control.
Here's another poem for the "overlords"
Crack a smile, crack a grin
Have a little humor, it's not a sin
Say a little joke, a chuckle or two
It's not disrespect, to lighten the mood
You want respect, well, here's the deal
Don't be like Malm, and never like Thiel
earn it, by being Christlike at heart
Not by acting like a grumpy old fart.
DennisCDiehl said...
"By the time you have to demand respect, it is too late."
July 13, 2019 at 2:31 PM
Seriously amiss.
One can't "command" respect, as they inculcated,
from anyone incapable of respecting others.
I was programmed to believe this, too, but now recognize, it's a tactic.
Am learning to recognize tactics... from a woman's point of view, which view may be unfamiliar in this zone.
I could overlook, guessing you're only focused on specific cult ministers.
But as a rule, it's a poor one.
Is a sort of "my perspective'" only, about "others."
Point is, it's assuming a malignant narcissist or even a psychopath would ever respect someone.
(Of course, there's a perverse truth if assuming everyone's incapable of respecting anyone but a bully... or as a new god/goddess.)
I hope everyone will realize their own worth, and insist on being respected or just walk away.
Agree Anon 7:08. It is always about control.
3:45pm, you're getting there but you still have a ways to go. The bible absolutely does not teach a "minister" class, a clergy vs. laity class. We are all to minister. We all have various gifts. The only "position" the N.T. even comes close to endorsing is a plurality of older/elder men to oversee the local congregation. Not to "govern" but to make sure everything in the local congregation runs smoothly, or as smoothly as possible.
There is no corporate structure in the N.T., if you were an "overseer" in your local congregation, that didn't make you one in all other congregations.
km
Respect is commanded in the military, as it must be to ensure functionality. The problem is that HWA set up his church government structure patterned after that military model. That type of government stifles the working of the Holy Spirit in individual Christians. That was perhaps the deepest and worst flaw of HWA's church.
BB
The goal of many religions is to have an in-group (leaders) and an out-group (followers). Those down below can be tricked into worshiping those above. According to Armstrong, your god is whom you obey. If you obey the ministry when they contradict the bible, you are worshiping the ministry. If you put them on too high of a level, letting them make up do-or-die commandments, taking on that divine perogitive, you are also worshiping them. Some churches even call their ministers "Reverend".
4:54pm said "Some churches even call their ministers "Reverend"."
Some churches even call their "ministers" Mr. (short for master)
km
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