Concerned Sister writes:
The example of HWA's 1939 article as mentioned above (in the post Welcome to COG, Incorporated) illustrates the flip-flop of reasoning he did on not just the issue of church authority and government but also on the control of financial resources as well.
"There is not one single HINT in the NEW TESTAMENT of any Church BOARD with authority to rule, to govern, to decide doctrine, or to handle tithes and church finances (the whole church)..."
He is lashing out against a centralized "board" since that is the type of organization the COG7 utilized at the time. He pushes for local autonomy of each congregation, with no single congregation or authority having centralized control over the others.
It is indeed damning to go from teaching that the principle of church government is the "image of the beast" basing itself on the "IMPERIAL MODEL" with the church being defined as "...the collective body of individual saints who are sanctified and CLEANSED by Christ!" and a plea to "Let us stop speaking of some organization as "the Church", or "our Church!", and "let us drop all effort to BUILD UP A MOVEMENT or AN ORGANIZATION! Let us quit working FOR organizations, and work FOR THE LORD ---and the salvation of souls!" to seeing the rigid hierarchy of the WCG and most of the splinter groups we are all familiar with, where one guy is primarily in control of the group, and a "council of elders" at least in theory is consulted occasionally over administrative and doctrinal issues.
This however, is not the only time a minister has done this kind of bait and switch on this subject over the course of time. It usually happens when an individual or group of ministers leaves one organization and needs to justify to the congregants the creation of another. I have in my possession a booklet published by Rod Meredith in 1995 called "When Should You Follow Church Government?" This booklet was in circulation for just a little while during and after the split of the WCG, but then ceased to be published and made unavailable. A PDF of this document can still be found online.
In this booklet, Meredith reveals that he and Herman Hoeh were instrumental in helping to shape the direction on church government that WCG took.(pg.5) He then has this to say concerning church government on pg.9... "But, we unwittingly went too far. We began to compare Mr. Armstrong with Moses-a special prophet God talked with face to face. “...”We confused the position of Herbert Armstrong with Moses..." And on pg. 10... "Many ministers began to use the example of Korah's rebellion and similar examples to imply that if anyone ever left this Church even in hurt or confusion-they were REBELLING against the "Government of God" just as surely as Korah and his followers..." Later on pg.11... "If we look into the New Testament with an open mind, we find a warm, brotherly, service-oriented approach to church administration. This different approach affected the way the early brethren and ministers interacted with each other, and the way they handled disagreements." Pg.12... "Was there in the New Testament Church any example of a human leader acting as a "Moses figure" or a "Pope Peter," who towered over the other apostles and elders, giving them orders, threatening to "fire" them? I cannot refer you to any Scripture illustrating this style of "church government" because it IS NOT THERE!"
Men tend to say whatever is necessary at the time to attract the followers they covet. They then change their tactic in order to control and keep those people. When they leave a group the "church" becomes a "spiritual organism" not to be confined to a single organization. Later on the "church" is contained within the new group, and those that dare to question that "authority" are charged with rebellion against "God's government"
12 comments:
Great leaders eat the same food as their troops and do not have different sets of rules and exceptions for themselves ,
Yeah. And don’t tell them about tithing until they are snared. Especially don’t tell them about 2nd and 3rd tithes, and be sure not to tell them that Jesus already conquered Satan and his demons. We gotta keep ‘em SCARED!!! Scared to leave! Aaaaah, money, Money, MONEY!!! We’re gonna be RICH! RICH, Ya hear me? RICH!
The challenge of torturing the scriptures to show how Peter was still numero uno when James - not even one of the 12 - made the final decision in Acts 15.
Beware of the collector-types, who seek to ensnare and enslave their fellow humans.
As it applies to religious teachers, it is very possible to provide knowledge without claiming those who learn from you as being your own. Unfortunately, the collectors in our former religious life even equated themselves and their work with God, in an effort to spike their collecting abilities!
BB
Do these splinter leaders ever ask themselves why from their perspective, God has allowed the WWCG to fragment on HWAs death? It obviously hurt the 'work,' so God must have put some consideration above this gaol. Observing the result, the splintering has loosened the tyrannical minister control over members lives. Every minister knows that excessive abuse will result in members jumping ship and joining another group.
The splintering is an open rebuke from God.
Four legs good, two legs bad... then bad becomes better...
"... and be sure not to tell them that Jesus already conquered Satan and his demons."
yes, Jesus did, and His future is secure.....you, however, have not, and your future is not secure if you are not following God's instructions, the instructions by which Jesus will judge you.
this whole "Jesus finished everything at the cross" is one of the biggest lies ever perpetrated.... but it's easy, all you have to do is walk the aisle and get dunked, then you're free to do whatever you want because you're "saved"......gonna be a lot of surprised folks in the not too distant future.
Hoss, quoting Animal Farm amongst a group where most probably have no clue? 😄
km
"Hoss, quoting Animal Farm amongst a group where most probably have no clue? 😄
km"
We had Animal Farm shown at the Feast of Tabernacles (I believe 1978 or 1979 ish) as a night activity, square dance was the other day.
People enjoyed themselves very much and my kin employed by the Church had tears rolling over their cheeks.
I doubt people understood what the story is about.
On the other hand I am not known for underestimating people.
nck
Anon 5:30,
You know people like this? People that claim the redemption that comes from the Lord and then "do whatever they want"?
Most Christians, particularly Bible based Christians, do have changed lives and look to God to direct their lives. Moreso than those in the COGs I have known.
7.14 AM
Actually, I experienced many 'do whatever you want' members in Herbs church. This includes many 'do whatever you want' ministers and elders. They were a noticeable segment of the church.
I can't speak from personal experience, but I question whether 'changed lives' Christians would be followers of Kenneth Copeland and friends.
Anon 10:33 Copeland gives off bad vibes to me. I'm not sure how many Bible based Christians listen to him regularly. The more someone follows or identifies with a man, the more likely their behavior will be poor as they may tend to focus on a man (or group of men) than on Christ. I know far too many Spirit led Bible-based Christians who don't focus on an organization or man to fall for the COGs' lies that they are the special group. Sadly, I think it is quite the contrary.
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