From an LCG source:
Greetings from Charlotte,
Following the breakup of the Worldwide Church about 25 years ago, there were those who said the Work of preaching the Gospel to the world had been completed and that all we needed to do was get the Church ready for Christ’s return. However, in a report out of Canada, we learn some interesting facts. The Living Church of God in that country is now larger than those splinter groups who said the Work was finished. Over the last 25 years we have grown from 493 members up to 874, with attendance increasing 16 percent over the last five years, and nearly two-thirds of Canadian members have been baptized since the year 2000. Similar statistics can be seen in other countries around the world. While our Work is still very small, the evidence is there for anyone with eyes to see—God is still calling people from around the world to be His children. Mr. Armstrong died almost 35 years ago, and I’m sure when the resurrection comes that he will be pleased to know that Dr. Meredith and members of this Body carried on the Work. Perhaps those who made the false claim that the Work was finished need to rethink their decision and join us to continue the commission God has given His Church.—Gerald Weston
God's most highly chosen and doubly blessed prophet, Bobiniah Thiel will NOT be pleased with Weston's claim above! I can hear the steam escaping the holy ones head all the way down here!
Yep, it is amazing that LCG can only garner 874 members out of 37,000,000 people across Canada. Amazing job there big boy!! Oh, but I forgot, the church is small because few are chosen.
As for Herbert Armstrong being very pleased with Rod Meredith's rebellious attitude that led to two different COG splinter groups which have left a littered trail of broken lives in their wake, I can assure Gerald Weston that HWA would NOT be pleased. What a ridiculous thing to say.
Which COG is really carrying on the one true work that HWA would even recognize? He most assuredly would not say Dave Pack or Gerald Flurry are doing so. He would kick Bob Thiel off his homeopathic throne so fast that the only double blessing Bob would get would be two swift kicks on his self-righteous dreamy keister. Would HWA be pleased with UCG and COGWA? Not at all! It is sad that these guys all think they are doing the one and only work out there.
17 comments:
LCG Weston said, "Perhaps those who made the false claim that the Work was finished need to rethink their decision and join us to continue the commission God has given His Church".
MY COMMENT - Is Weston saying Herbert W. Armstrong made a false claim? Everything I can gather as an outsider is that HWA said that Matt.24:14 has been fulfilled. Fulfilled by whom? Fulfilled by HWA and the Philadelphia era WCG under HWA.
So who are we suppose to believe? The worldwide work of the WCG whose reach penetrated the Globe under Herbert W. Armstrong OR the very low wattage, non-impact, "no one ever heard of" work of Gerald Weston and the non-Living but dead COG?
Richard
10.46 PM
That Matt 24:14 had been fulfilled by non other than self exalting add man HWA is to be expected. Those in power historically twist and distort things in their favor.
Contrary to what Weston implies, I don't believe that HWA will be in the kingdom. And that's not because of some personal sins, but rather because he chose to run the church as an abusive cult. There has to be hidden foul attitudes to do something like that, including a Cain versus Abel attitude towards his betters.
Hey, at least he's not lying about numbers! Let's recognize that's he's not playing with numbers and giving the real attendance, for a change!
Jerry should give us the figures on membership in their largest country - USA.
How many baptized since 2000. Give us an annual count.
Annual deaths and annual departures.
I am fascinated that Weston gave actual numbers and that LCG has grown in Canada.
What's wrong with those few Canadians who can't use the internet to discover the truth about LCG?
Since Weston was recently over Canada, I assume he's taking credit for this explosive growth.
Even though the number is so small, Weston is bragging about it.
That tells me that if US numbers had increased, even a little, he would also be bragging about those numbers.
WCG used to report numbers for each region; the COGs that don't do the same today are trying to hide the facts.
LCG members are paying to do a work; but, their leaders withhold the actual numbers related to the impact that their money is producing.
Weston is corrupt and abusive.
By accepting the Weston version of reality, one must, by extension, sign on to the extraordinary narrative of high-school-dropout-HWA who claimed unique divine enlightenment: If this is true, there should be no reliance on the speculative ramblings of mortals in his theological system - which includes elements like the Cockamamie-Anglo.Israel-Theory - CAT - which should check out against immigration/census/genetics analysis, which it does - NOT.
Matthew 24:14 is yet to be fulfilled by the 2 witnesses. It won’t be fulfilled before then.
Erm.. Nope.
Standard COG practice is to give the number of new arrivals, sometimes even new baptisms. But never ever mention how many leave (dead or alive). So the ‘church’ grows!
My understanding of the expression, "many are called, but few are chosen" has changed since I was in the WCG (71-74).This is used to explain the LCG failure to attract members. Context of passages was not a serious concern with the WCG. Who was Jesus referring to? The Jews rejected Him. Who were the chosen few? Those were the ones who responded to the call. Imagine, the drill instructor asks for five volunteers among 50 soldiers. Twelve soldiers raise their hands, and he picks his 6 volunteers. All were called, few were chosen, choice was based on their response to the call. In the time of Jesus, the Kingdom of God was offered. Only a small number of Jews responded. The rest said, "We will not have this man rule over us." If you go over to John 6:44, is says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." The church taught that the membership was small because God wasn't calling a large number. But if you go to John 12:32, it says, "But when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw ALL men to myself." So now the call is not just to the Jews, but to all mankind. LCG failure to grow is not because of the limitations of the program, with few being called and few being chosen, as they might claim.
THE TONTO CHURCH OF GOD HAS GROWN TOO! ....
I weigh about 10 pounds more than I did back in 1995!
When LCG starts crowing about numbers, you know they must be in a world of hurt. This "look at us, we're growing" chest-beating is laughable. One can play with numbers all day to make something out of nothing. It's still nothing! So they have grown from 493 to 874 in 25 YEARS. WOW, that's 381 people over 25 YEARS. That's an average of 15.24 per year. Yep, that's God doing a mighty, powerful work! That'll change my mind about joining. Sign me up to join the LCG cult, where we'll abuse you, expose you to COVID, steal your money by insulting you for not giving MORE, then kick you out (or suspending until you repent to the minister, since they like to think of themselves as god.)
My response is NO THANK YOU.
Word on the street is their Spanish work is about 400 members strong. Far less than they would have you to believe. They'll tell you income is up 15% to 20% for the year and that's AFTER Monson's group left. Those poor Monson followers must be dirt poor or non-tithe payers.
We all know how LCG can craft up a lie to fit their narrative and their dumb sheep will eat it up like turkey on Thanksgiving. If they wanted to show growth, where is the LOVE for one another? Where is the spiritual maturity? Why not prepare your people for Christ's return? Crowing about the number of people who attend or the number of magazines you send out is probably not the type of growth Christ would expect from you.
Probably more like 20 pounds Tonto š
Comment made by Gerald Weston said: "... Perhaps those who made the false claim that the Work was finished need to rethink their decision and join us to continue the commission God has given His Church..."
Gerald's being impressed by numbers is meaningless. For example, assuming God's Church down through the centuries is to be composed of 144,000 individuals sealed by God's Spirit, who knows how many were called in each of the earlier eras/churches (Rev 2-3) of God's Church. Gerald's numbers only strive to build us "self" of the LCg...trying to impress the rest of us.
LCG hirelings perhaps b/c of another spirit (e.g. Doug Winnail), still preach belief in a Mickey Mouse Millennium saying Jesus (another?) will soon return to reign on earth for 1,000 years (another gospel?" LCg used to be called Global (some say "Go baal" as if inspired by another spirit as the prophets of Baal were).
So, Gerald Weston mentions "the work," which it appears their organization has made an idol of. Gerald mentions "His Church," but whose Church? How does Gerald know where God's Church is.
In reality, is it possible that LCg has been accursed/separated from the former WCG for a reason?
Galatians 1:8 "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
:9 "As we said before, so say I now again, If any [man] preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."
Is LCg just another separated splinter amongst other splinters? Time is telling.
Is LCg (GWeston and the rest of his hirelings) driven by another spirit to preach another Jesus (e.g. God who was made flesh) with a Mickey Mouse gospel?
Galatians 1:6 "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:"
Another poster above mentioned about all mankind to be called, so has LCg, if they ever really preached the true gospel ("Good News"), drifted away from the reality of the grace of Christ?
Time will tell...
John
I was in the WCG - in the late 70's and early 90's . I remember when HWA told the church that we had gone off the track. I personally believe they went off track and stayed off ever since. We were always being berated by the pastors ever since - so why didn't HWA get back to basics. It was more about our behavior and attitudes toward the pastors - nothing but constant corrections. HWA came tot eh Chicago area in 1983 -- when he entered the meeting hall - I could see such a stern look on his face and that attitude proceeded from there on. We left the WCG in 1985 and have not looked back since. Maybe HWA should have checked his attitude and proven whether he was "off the track".
H.K.
Question: If the Supreme Court finds the election unconstitutional because election laws were changed weeks before the election but not by the state legislatures. Will Trump get a second term? Will Trump's deadly wound be healed? Hmmmm.
Really George,
I attended a small lcg group and after ten years, counting deaths and kicked out the numbers are still the same.
Are you counting the ones who came, saw the spirit and left?
That little group has not grown.
"Question: If the Supreme Court finds the election unconstitutional because election laws were changed weeks before the election but not by the state legislatures. Will Trump get a second term? Will Trump's deadly wound be healed? Hmmmm."
Maybe his re-election in 2024 will be the healing of the deadly wound. Then he'll rule for 3.5 years which puts us around the end of 2028, nearly 2000 years after Jesus' death.
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