From COG News
LCG’s Behind the Work video this year was uninspiring to say the least. Instead of information on congregations around the world and perhaps news of evangelism, it was just an extended version of TW Now, with the Presiding Evangelist, Gerald Weston in a studio with 3 other talking heads, having a general discussion on end-time prophecy, and recalling when and how they came into contact with WCG literature. For Doug Winnail it was when his younger brother handed to him a copy of Herbert Armstrong’s 1975 in Prophecy. Church members were supposed to go to a ‘place of safety’ in early 1972 of course, followed by 3½ years tribulation and the return of Jesus Christ in 1975, but over 40 years later these men were continuing to agree that Herbert Armstrong was right about biblical prophecy.
Gerald Weston and the boys in Charlotte feel that they are the most enlighted Church of God out there today. Yet, they seem to have no idea they are living in 2019, that Herbert's been dead 33 years, and that they are NOT living in the Worldwide Church of God glory days of the 50s-60s.
Never has there been a COG so completely out of touch with reality! This may be the reason Church of God a Worldwide Association had big uptick in Feast attendance this year.
Jim Franks of COGWA has announced that the total attendance for 2019 was the highest ever, with holy day offerings in the USA up almost 12%.
More people attended than actually registered, he said. At Park City, Utah, two overflow rooms had to be provided, while at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, registration was closed early at the 1000 mark, but space had to be found for another 100 who turned up.
Doug Winnail confuses me.
ReplyDeleteHe was impressed by HWA's [i]1975 in Prophecy[/i], but not impressed by HWA's decision that RCM wasn't fit to lead the church.
In hindsight, HWA was wrong about 1975, but was spot-on about RCM. So, why does Winnail follow only HWA's prophetic failures?
I have to confess. I found the BTW film so boring that we gathered the kids up and left. We had better things to do as a family than sit and be bored to death.
ReplyDeleteIs it true that the BTW film this year got downsized up because of staff turnover in LCG's Television Department? The way I heard it, the new minister in charge of LCG's TV Department is a guy who used to install air conditioners for a living. If true, this would explain a lot, as this year's BTW truly BLOWS!
ReplyDeleteWho needs to sit and watch a bunch of old windbags reminisce about days gone past? I have heard the same sermons for the last 30 some years and sure as hell don't care to sit and watch a poorly made video of these guys. They are bad enough in real life and horrible on video.
ReplyDeleteThis blog should make a "Behind the Work" movie.
ReplyDeleteOn its succes implementing the Great Comission to unleash or open the Gates of Hell on one denomination and successively increase another with 12 percent attendance.
That beats the ordinary 10 percent requirement of increase. :-) :-)
Nck
I enjoyed Gerald opining over some who say BI is not true. Then adding that nevertheless it is.
ReplyDeleteGerald's own magazine has endorsed DNA science in its latest issue. What is Gerald's scientific justification for accepting DNA evidence regarding human sexuality, but rejecting that same evidence regarding human ancestry?
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed Gerald opining over some who say BI is not true. Then adding that nevertheless it is.
ReplyDeleteRod Meredith trained Gerald well. In LCG, as in PCG and RCG and other ACOG sects, truth is whatever the Leader says it is, and if you dare to use facts and logic to point out the Leader's error you are showing yourself to be an unconverted rebel, headed for the Lake of Fire.
It is natural in the ACOGs for ambitious young ministers to start emulating the Supreme Leader. It happened with HWA. It happened with RCM. In PCG, it has gone so far that the ministers have started to grow beards in emulation of Gerald Flurry's new style.
ReplyDeleteLCG's ministers who patterned themselves after RCM are now facing a tough choice: Should they continue to do so, or must they become bland turds like Gerald Weston? This isn't as much of a problem for the ministers who emulate Doug Winnail, hoping to get ahead under his leadership, since Weston's blandness is very much like Winnail's and may explain why Weston is giving Scott Winnail much more prominence than RCM ever allowed.
In the ACOGs, a minister who draws attention away from the Supreme Leader will eventually find that his wings have been clipped. Dullness is a survival strategy, and it is apparently practiced very effectively by the ministry in LCG.
When "living in the '80's" means wearing 1980's suits!
ReplyDeleteANON @ 6:38 said -"It is natural in the ACOGs for ambitious young ministers to start emulating the Supreme Leader."
ReplyDeleteLooks like the boys at LCG need to become "Gold Glove Boxing Champions", "be healed of warts" & "rage against the homos" to start making the grade.
The author of this topic apparently hasn't read the book of Revelation, which decisively answers his question: And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. - Revelation 3:1
ReplyDeleteThere you have it, straight from Scripture! The church with a name that says it is alive is in fact a DEAD church. How could a dead church be anything but dull?
9.02 AM
ReplyDeleteSo we have the Dead church of God, the Disunited Church of God, the Restored Money Grab Church of God, and the Continuing crooked bookcase and cheap curtains Church of God.
Good point 6.38 AM. If any minister in a ACOG was to feed his congregation spiritual meat, he would probably lose his job. Only spiritual dullness is allowed. Envy by both the ministers and members must be behind this policy.
I haven't seen the LCG Behind the Work video but I have seen the RCG Behind the Work video. If what was portrayed was infinitely boring, that is telling. These organizations put out yearly on film what they think is of utmost importance. Old men sitting around reminiscing on the set of the television program is what the viewer is supposed to understand is the life changing message not heard anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteThe RCG Behind the Work video shows what is the utmost of importance after the intro when it goes a good 15 minutes talking about the beauty of the campus. Then of course it is beauty, campus ,beauty, campus all along for the next hour for the most part.
The RCG is fishing for people who comment on their YouTube videos something like this: "Your campus is so beautiful, I wish I lived close to you so I could attend your beautiful church".
I guess the LCG is fishing for people who see their video and comment something like this: "Your men are so relaxed and confident and wise looking, I wish I lived closer to you so I could be like that".
There is an old saying "you get what you pay for". The RCG members have got a beautiful campus. The LCG have got beautiful "old windbags".
Who thought doing a long TW Now program was a good idea? I had to laugh...they showed Winnail, Ames and Weston walking around like kingpins at the beginning and I thought, "There is the 3 biggest problems in the church."
ReplyDeleteAll 3 of them admit fear (prophecy) is what motivated their "conversion." That speaks volumes. At one point, Winnail said the church was criticized for prediction addiction and prophecy attracts the wrong kind of people. Ames then said, "I guess were the wrong kind of people." I wanted to yell, "You said it, Dick. You said it!"
My head nearly exploded when they defended HWA prophecies and said The church understands prophecy more than anyone else. These men are so clueless. Ames defended the 1975 in Prophecy booklet in a sermon just a couple years ago! I didn't think they could top last years propaganda hit piece using our children but I think maybe they did. The lying was so blatant that a member only in several years was in tears later that evening as we talked about it.
We talk about generation gaps between parents and children but there is a definite conversion gap in COGland. The old gaurd was "converted" by fear and imitated the bully tactics of narcissist HWA. Those born in the church since the 70's and those who have come as adults since the 90's (gen x'ers) do not relate to these head cases. We are children of the information age. Your generation was the last one that could be fooled by the proverbial snake oil salesman. Prophecy and fear does not resonate with us. The truly wonderful attributes of God's love, mercy, patience and gentleness embodied in the life of Jesus is what motivates us. We might not shout you down but we know how to research. We are waiting for you tired, selfish, frightened baby boomers to die off so we can reform the church or shut it down completely.
We don't have to shout you down. We just have to stop tithing and and play COG musical chairs. More and more of us know the COG HQ's are all the same so we choose affiliation based on local groups of people we want to fellowship with. The AC alumni can't live forever.
What a great comment
DeleteI’m down for reforming the church. However, it better be half men and half women controlling and making the top decisions. I’m sick of women being the admin. So ridiculous. Studies have shown companies perform better when they have more women leaders or half of their workforce are women. Maybe that’s why JC picked women to help him. He even let women be the first to witness him resurrected. And asked Mary to instruct the decouples where to meet him after his resurrection. Sounds like she was the leader to me. When you go to any church around the world, you will see the majority of attendees are elderly women. Also, we need to be striving to be more like Christ and not so focused on the end times. No one knows that date or time period and she not be predicting it. Basically, the church needs to start to understand and learn AGAPE LOVE for the entire world. We need to be praying for JC’s return for those who are suffering NOT to receive our reward. Still, I do believe in the Sabbath and Holy Days and commandments. Let’s reform!
ReplyDeleteLet's not Anon 12:36. You've clearly never worked under the rule of a female boss.
DeleteI never said the boss needed to be female. I said it should be run by a balanced amount of men and women. Not 100% men in power and 100% women as “secretaries.”
DeleteStoned Stephen @8:31.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting comments. A question I have is why do you and others of your generation choose to affiliate with any COG group/s at all? You wrote that you affiliate based on local groups of people we want to fellowship with. Why do you want to fellowship with a COG group? Why not some other Christian church group? Family ties? Why attend church at all?
Glenn. Great questions. I have wrestled with those for several years and will continue to do so. For me, it is simply the people I know. They have become family after several decades. I would rather stay and try to be an influence for things that need to change than just abandon them. But I am not judging anyone that leaves. I get it. I won't even say that my approach is the right one. It is simply what I have chosen to do for several reasons. My recent post may shed more light on my thinking of why I stay, even if it is flawed.
ReplyDeletehttps://stonedstephensociety.blogspot.com/
That little lady in the red dress would be so cute if she shaved her head and wore a small gold nose ring and large hoop earrings. I guarantee you that if such a thing were allowed in the ACOGs, there would be much more life and vitality. Armstrongism actually kills off most of the zest for life, and attempts to replace it with the Armstrongism itself. If attire matched the philosophy, Armstrongites would either dress like the Amish or the Goths.
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ReplyDeleteAnon 12.36 Is Banned by HWA the correct place to discuss reform? In which church? Living? Or another? all of them? Or one of them?
Reform is quite a broad description. What do you mean by reform? Has not Grace Communion reformed their women leaders roles? Is that reform the type others should follow?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous Nov. 9, 5:12 PM said...
"Let's not Anon 12:36. You've clearly never worked under the rule of a female boss."
Well, I have worked under the rule of several female bosses. In a university, bosses range in rank from department chairs on up through program administrators to deans and the chancellor. Only one woman, the chancellor for three years at the university where I worked, was spectacularly bad. The others were not, on the average, much different from male administrators. Some better than others. Some were among the most competent and fair bosses I ever had. The chairmanship of my old department is now held by a woman, and everyone admires both her abilities and her character. I did not serve under her but I can proudly say I served on the committee that recommended hiring her as a colleague. The policy our system followed to make sure to give women job candidates equal consideration to men has paid off.
It's probably true that making sure women's outlook is included in decision-making improves the decisions. But even if not, casting a wider net in the hiring process certainly increases the chances of finding excellent people to do the job.
I work with a number of female business owners, managers, and department heads. In my line of work, you gain much more traction with authority figures if there is mutual respect. I work with managers of all different races, belief systems, sexual orientations, and both genders.
ReplyDeleteI've found that the pre-World War II stereotypes do not apply. A female manager must often fight headwinds, and work twice as hard on the average to be successful, and often does not receive equal pay to her male counterpart. I've encountered mostly good managers, but there were pretty much equal percentages of bad males as females. Macho know it alls are just as plentiful as women with PMS.
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