Servant leadership in the church?

Sometimes we have to have frank talks about church pastors. The following is not meant to hurt anyone’s feelings. It is for the purpose of helping Christians understand the role of pastors. 
 
AND… it’s to help pastors understand that – too many times – they can’t see themselves as they really are.

Recently, a pastor I know posted an article on Facebook that was filled with self-pity. This man had basically been run off by his congregation for being oppressive in his pastoring of that church. The brutal truth is that the brethren just didn’t want him anymore.

Apparently, he feels that church people expect too much from pastors. He claimed the following:

—Congregations feel the pastor must be perfect and can never make a mistake.
—Congregations expect a pastor to be available 24/7.
—Congregations expect a pastor to never get angry.
—Congregations expect the pastor to do all the work.
—Congregations expect the pastor to never miss church.
—Congregations expect the pastor to never take a vacation.
—Congregations expect the pastor to never get sick.
—Congregations expect the pastor to not drive a car that’s too nice.

He then quotes from I Thessalonians 5:12-13 which says: 

"Beloved Brothers, honor your leaders in the work of the Lord. They work hard among you and give them spiritual guidance. Have a lot of respect and of all heart show them love for the work they perform. And live in peace with each other."

In his post, he puts much emphasis on the pastor being THE LEADER.
And therein lies the problem. In his post, he never uses the word “servant”! He doesn’t understand that a pastor’s primary role is to be a SERVANT.

Oh, I’m sure he THINKS he is a servant. He thinks that his service is to be the boss – el jefe – the one who tells everyone how the church is to be run.
That is NOT the job of the pastor!

We must face the fact that the body of Christ is NOT divided into two classes: ministers and laypersons. That’s an outdated Catholic concept. Christians living in the year 2020 know better. Or at least, they should know better.

When this man laments that church members don’t give pastors the proper respect as LEADERS, he forgets what Jesus told His disciples in Luke 22:25-26: Jesus said, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.”

Granted, there are congregations that do not sufficiently appreciate their pastors. But there are also pastors who look down on their congregations as people who are inferior – children who need to be disciplined.

Like it or not, we must admit that we have many men serving as pastors who are NOT qualified to be ministers!!

I hope that the abusive pastors who are out there can come to grips with the concept that: “Yes, you are a leader in the church. But you are not THE leader. AND… your first job is to be a servant. Leadership is secondary (and even tertiary) in your ministry.”

Thank you for sharing.

Wes White

Was HWA Planning on Putting Aaron Dean Over the Church?

Apparently, we are supposed to believe that Aaron Dean was to have been the true successor to the HWA's throne.

How can we honestly take Dean's word for it considering how he worked behind the scenes to help undermine the church in order to deceive members into leaving and then to join the United Church of God?

Has the church ever had an ethical man in a top leadership position who has ever told the truth?

Now upon HWA's death in 1986, we find that Satan seized control of the corporation housed in California, using men who had crept in unawares into the ministry. The Bible warns of this. 

Now this psuedo ministry published a story that Tkach was chosen and picked by HWA. This is not true!

According to Aaron Dean, Tkach became Pastor General by default! All of the men on the advisory council of elders had been put into the role of "deputy pastor general" for an evaluation period. Mr. Armstrong was examining each man, and letting God show him who HE wanted to succeed him. Like the prophet Samuel evaluating the sons of Jesse, he went one by one through the men gathered together. 

God showed HWA how each man was not His pick. Now Aaron Dean was the man evaluated before Tkach Sr. He said HWA wanted HIM! Now if HWA was casting lots, as done through Samuel the prophet, looking for God's pick, why would he want Aaron Dean unless Aaron Dean was God's pick? 

Now Aaron Dean claimed he "talked Mr. Armstrong out of making him pastor general".   

Now during Mr. Dean's evaluation period, HWA had a stroke that was kept private. This is from Aaron Dean himself. But HWA recovered.Now after Mr. Dean, HWA put Tkach Sr into the evaluation period! Therefore he was put into the role of deputy pastor general, which upon the death of the Pastor General, HWA, the deputy pastor general (Tkach)would by DEFAULT become Pastor General.  

Now according to Mr. Dean, HWA commissioned him to ASSIST the next leader of the Church.   

Now according to legal corporation papers, the advisory Council of Elders held legal power over the WORK (the California corporations) until 1991. In 1991 they signed full power over to Tkach sr. According to state records, and confirmed by Aaron Dean's testimony.  

In 1991, Rod Meridith and the ministers loyal to him (men of the Advisory Council of Elders) left and were fired from the WCG corporation. 

The created another corporation, to pay themselves a paycheck, and to lead a separate work.  

They started Global Church of God INC. That splintered into other groups including the LCG and RCG. Raymond McNair had incorporated a separate organization as well, but he shut it down, repented, saying that he was sinning against God by incorporating a new organization. He died shortly after, and i fully believe with his crown secured!Now other men from the ministry which was joined to Tkach, later rebelled and started a separate organization as well, and this was done to preserve payments to the ministry. This was admitted. The men who started UCG, waited until they received a bigger retirement check to fund their new UCG corporation, so they could pay their ministry. 

These ministers FIRST ensured their financial secuirty by creating a separate corporation! Then they drew members of the WCG congregations, into other congregations which supported a new organization. 

What happened to the WCG. Samuel Kitchen

Adult Sabbath School; Pastor Steve Waldron Sets the Record Straight on Darwinian Evolution

Say what?

Why Darwinian Evolution is Obviously Wrong!

Pastor Steve Waldron 

Say that again?

Oh Cousin Steve, Tell us you did not really say that!

Show him...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forensic_facial_reconstruction

Doubly Blessed Prophet No Longer Cursed By Torn Curtains

God's work marches forward!!!!!!! But, no one seemed to notice so the prophet had to write about it.

Major Recording Study Change? 

My wife Joyce was able to find some reddish-pink curtains on Ebay (no, CCOG did not pay for this) to replace the more crimson colored ripped ones we had for decades that are normally shown behind me when we make sermon and sermonette videos in our house. 

While I thought that perhaps some would comment about the change, we noticed that colors do not always come out clear on YouTube for the videos (for example, I was wearing green suit, green shirt, and green tie with spots that Joyce thought were black-gray as it appeared on a recent video when we played it). 

That’s fine, and I really was not looking for comments, but thought I would mention this small change. Actually, the new curtains seem to slightly help with certain curtain closing problems we have had while recording in the past. 

And no, we do not really have a ‘recording studio,’ as we simply record the videos where we happen to be on any given Sabbath, which is normally here in the Five Cities region of California.

Everyone Turning Their Backs on the First Family of the True Church

And they wonder why they have no friends...

Samuel W Kitchen

January 30 at 10:40 PM · 

In all honesty, i often feel discouraged when i think about God's people and how my family is treated. I sometimes feel like everyone hates my family;like we don't belong. 

We've become the dog no one wants around, it seems. 

It's hard not to tear up when thinking about how only a few we've come into contact with has show any passion for God's Truth! We've met thousands of people who have turned in hate and bitterness against God and who are hostile towards that truth! They call themselves members of God's true Church! Yet they've acted like enemies! 

I don't know sometimes. 

Why have we stood up to tell the truth when the opposition has been so great? 

Why have we endured such persecution?

Why have we forsaking everything, just to warn our brethren, and to remind them of what Christ has given the Church?

We havent started a new Church. We havent broken away in rebellion and started a new organization. We haven't tried to pull members away from other churches! We aren't in it for money! Or followers! Just look at our fruits!

All we have been doing is warning God's scattered people of how Satan seeks to devour them, and how the need to "HOLD FAST" is more urgent than ever!

It is hard brethren, to stand when everyone lays down; to swim when everyone is choosing to FLOAT!

Ive never had a real friend in my life it seems. The exception being, i have found some friendship with older members of God's Church in the past, and watched as many were martyred because they loved God's Truth more than the lies! 

I just wish that someone will respond to us, and say YES I LOVE GOD'S TRUTH!

But our job isn't to convince or to convert. Our job is to make known the TRUTH OF GOD.

It is up to the people to choose to believe it or not.

People get angry when we are confident in God's Word and Truth! They want is to compromise it, and conform to them.

I'd rather lay my life down for them now, and be raised, and they see what God is offering and that God is telling them the truth! 

We arent here to lie to people! That would be much easier, and we would be much more popular! The truth cuts, and nobody likes to be wrong. We all have been and can be wrong! We can only change ourselves. When Christ shows us, we must change ourselves! We cannot change you! You can change you!

But people are busy choosing for themselves what is right and wrong. When God's Word says something different than what they want, they turn away! Those with God's Spirit embrace God's Word and seek to OBEY IT. 

We are going through a purification.
A lot of dross is coming to the top. A lot of impurities. 

Im earnestly waiting for God's Church to "make herself ready". How much MORE is God and Jesus Christ for such a thing.

When will the truth matter? It matters to some. And to them i say...may God bless. Because they are going through real hell on earth now. Satan and his demons hate them! And they are the most blessed on this planet for having to endure such a persecution, because God is using that persecution to PURIFY THEM and to MAKE THEM READY FOR MARRIAGE WITH JESUS CHRIST!

It might get lonely. It might get hard and tough.
But God is watching and caring for you! DO NOT FORGET THAT! HE'LL SEE YOU THROUGH TO THE END!

Commercial Break: Human Ego and the Cosmic Perspective

"For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion,  however satisfying and reassuring."

Carl Sagan

"If you were depressed after learning and being exposed to the cosmic perspective,
you started your day with an unjustifiably large ego. You thought more highly of yourself than in fact the circumstances deserved"

God Has Appointed A FAMILY To Preserve The Truth...Wait Till You See Just WHO That Family Is!

This was posted on an xCOG Facebook page tonight and as soon as I started reading it I knew exactly who wrote it.  If you thought Armstrongism cannot get any crazier, just wait. 

The Church of God is sick and is getting sicker by the day!

-----------------------

If the ministry is off the track, and cannot be used by Christ at the moment, the next in the chain of command in God's government in His Church is the FAMILIES!

In Zechariah 3, those who is used by God to remove the filthy garments of Joshua, are under the direction of Christ. 

In Zechariah 6 the household is mentioned.
Josiah the son of Zephaniah is mentioned in verse 10, Hen the son of Zephania is mentioned in verse 14.

Biblical scholars agree these two names belong to one man. The focus on these scriptures is on the household performing the job of producing crowns to give to Joshua.

So "Josiah-hen" the son of Zephaniah.

Now if you know the genealogy of Herbert W Armstrong, you can trace his lineage back to Zerubbabel through the lineage of Jesus.
He is a descendant of Zerubbabel. 

Now "Armstrong" was a surname given to a man named "Siward Bjourn" whe he saved a King with "one strong arm" in battle.

The family name of Siward belonged to was the household of "Hen". A couple generations before Siward was a man named King Cole-Hen. A nursery rhyme was written of him. Ole King Cole.

Prior to Jesus Christ, this family was named "Josiah" as a descriptor of "HEN". Josiah meant "Supporter of Yah". They were the Levites of Israel. Hen means "grace".

When Jesus Christ was born, members of this family, including Joseph of Arimathea, changed their name from "supporters of Yah" to "supporters of Christ" or "KIT".

They became "KIT-CHENS". Joseph of Arimathea bought land in Brittanica and built an Abbey to house the regional headquarters of the Church of God. That Abbey later housed the Stone of Scone, and was later called "Scone Abbey". It is said that he built a large ROUND TABLE for the evangelists in the area. A conference table of sorts.
This round table later was used by the King of the land, King Arthur, in battle against Catholic inquisitions.

So the KITCHEN family was outlawed by the Roman Catholic Church, and so many took on different surnames to avoid persecution and martyrdom. 

The Armstrong line came off of the Kitchen family.

Now during the time when Christ is cleaning up the second witness, and the ministry, he is using this household to preserve the candlestick Zerubbabel was over- aka The Worldwide Church of God- Philadelphia candlestick.
They were to preserve it AND WORK A WORK, to store up treasures in heaven, crowns which Christ will bring with Him at His return, and they will share those crowns with JOSHUA.

Samuel Kitchen Facebook page

LCG: Brethren, do not be judgmental in how you judge others, like we never do...

The following is another of Doug Winnail's recycled posts on judging. Given the track record of how harsh Rod Meredith was towards others that he constantly judged and Gerald Weston's endless series of judging articles, the following rings really hollow.  Of course, Meredith and Weston learned this judgment from Herbert Armstrong and the Worldwide Church of God.  It is ingrained in them.  The necessity to devalue others in order to make themselves look superior is an endless task in the church.

The problem with Herbert Armstrong and Rod Meredith's endless judgefests, is that their own houses were a complete shambles.  Their personal lives, their families, and the churches they ran were a complete mess.  Yet they were never wrong and everyone else was and still is.

“Judging vs. Judgment: Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1–5). He admonished His disciples not to condemn, criticize, or sit in judgment of others, but to make sure that our own houses are in order. However, Jesus also warned that we must be able to spot false teachers who will be recognizable by their fruits (Matthew 7:15–20). This requires individuals to make decisions and judgments. A person who lacks judgment makes foolish decisions. Making wise decisions and judgments requires wisdom and spiritual discernment—and that comes from experience, from seeking and listening to wise counsel (Proverbs 11:14; 15:21–22), and from receiving, nourishing, and using the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 1:6–7). The Scriptures reveal that God gives His Spirit to those who repent and obey His instructions (Acts 2:38–39; 5:32). If we nourish God’s Spirit daily (2 Corinthians 4:16) and are willing to be led by that Spirit in our thinking and in our actions (Romans 8:14), we can develop the discernment that is needed to make wise decisions and judgments.

Have a profitable Sabbath,

Douglas S. Winnail”  

Deep Time: The 6000 Year Plan for Man or "We're Going To Need a Bigger Boat" Which?

The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation 

A relic of the Singularity 300,000 years after Inflation.

From my youth and certainly throughout our time in WCG, the world of us was created 6000 years ago beginning with a man created from the dust of the earth and a woman from a spare rib which the man would not miss.  It is significant, to assure that women understood their place in the Biblical scheme of things not originating  from any part of a man that would be missed or inhibit superiority. Fortunately for us all, we live near the end of those 6000 years of human experience and the 1000 year rest is soon, shortly and involve a coming quickly.

None of this is literally true.  The concept of Deep Time and Geologic time escape the average Church of and Fundamentalist/literalist mind.  It is not just that they don't know it but very much that they won't know it because it interferes with the story line they hold so dear.

We can't blame our parents for believing, as taught, that the Universe was just our Galaxy. It took Edwin Hubbell and others in the 1920's and on to reveal that we are just one of billions and now trillions of Galaxies in the Universe each teeming with billions and in some cases, a trillion, stars such as in our closest galactic neighbor Andromeda, visible to the naked eye 12.5 billion light years away if you know where to look tonight.

But if we now know better, we have only ourselves to blame for our ignor-ance, which is that which one ignores.

Like it or not. Understand it or not. Gorillas, Bonobos, Chimps and Orangs are truly our cousins sharing a common ancestor 6-7 million years back in Deep Time. The evidence is in our mutual DNA. While creation and human origin stories in scripture have meaning, they are not literally true. This concept is enough to rankle, terrify and anger  any Church of God minister, member or Bible literalist to the core.  And yet it is so.

Geologic Time and Deep Time

Personally speaking...

9000 year old flint knife from the bottom of a dry pond near Cornell University in Ithaca, NY

40,000 - 50,000 year old vaporized earth rock and meteorite from Meteor Crater, AZ

2 -16  million year old tooth of Megalodon  from South Carolina. Megs could be up to 60 feet long and weigh up to 150,000 lbs.  South Carolina seems to have been a haven for them back in the day.

450 Million year old Trilobites from Morrocco

2.5 Billion year old Banded Iron which shows the mix of oxygen creating bacteria with the free iron it rusted out of the early oceans creating our atmosphere

3.5 Billion year old Stamatolites, the earliest of bacteria that ate carbon dioxide from the early atmosphere and gave off oxygen as a waste product creating the previous Banded Iron

Ten lbs of Iron/Nickel 4.5 Billion year old meteorite from the core of an exploded star and/or impacted asteroid  that spend most of it's time orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter.  I cut this with a water jet to expose the iron through the burn crust and polished it. It saw the formation of our planet and moon out of the dust and debris cloud of an earlier sun that exploded and our newly born Sun. 

It is the oldest thing a human being can touch 

Truth Matters

“The only thing that scares me more than space aliens is the idea that there aren't any space aliens. We can't be the best that creation has to offer. I pray we're not all there is. If so, we're in big trouble.”

― Ellen DeGeneres

UCG Claims The Best 25 Years Are In Front Of Them As They Reinvent Themselves

Those fun boys in Cincinnati are getting all twitterpated about the endless opportunities laying at their feet as they march forward into their next 25 years. If the past is any indication, they are are in for a hard struggle ahead of them. They have been an utter train wreck this past 25 years.

It is kind of comical reading their expectations and also rather sad. They have had minimal impact in their "witness" for 25 years now and as they face another 25 years spent ignoring that inconvenient dude they claim to follow, they will continue to have minimal impact.

What Millennial, GenX or GenZ out there truly cares about what they have to say? I guess Jelly is the road to the hearts of the new generation. It sure isn't Jesus.

There has been much discussion about the next 25 years in recent months here at the home office. In a September letter, Victor Kubik said he believes “the best years of the United Church of God still lie ahead.” He asked three major questions: “Where have we been? Where are we now? And perhaps most importantly, where are we going?” 

Additionally, at the August Council meetings, Chairman Donald Ward commented on the importance of the Church “reinventing itself to address . . . critical societal changes and provide highly relevant spiritual tools for young people to survive and thrive.”

25 years ago these boys had the opportunity to reinvent themselves and truly start fresh. They did not. The old boys club continued to reign and continued the abuse of members that they carried on while in the Worldwide Church of God. Not one thing new happened with them.

Mr. Kubik has also recorded several podcasts with Darris McNeely about looking forward to the next 25 years. These can be accessed online at ucg.org/ inside-united-podcast. They have discussed the current leadership transition of this organization, passing true doctrine on to the next generations, reinvigorated preaching, the development of the pastoral ministry and preaching the gospel in a way that reaches people where they are without compromising the truth.

Passing "true" doctrine on? Seriously?

Reinvigorating its preaching? Seriously? UCG members on COG Facebook pages beg to differ. How many times can these boys preach the same sermon they have preached over and over for 25 years?

The UCG ministry is now "pastoral"? Double seriously?? These are the same guys who disfellowshipped people left and right while in WCG as they defended the changes. Then, once money was set up for them to transfer paychecks, they did. The old WCG values stayed with them and they continued abusing members. Look at how "pastoral" they were when they kicked people out during the COGWA explosion.

Mr. McNeely noted in one pod- cast, “The Bible is full of transitions. You see the transition from Moses to Joshua . . . from Elijah to Elisha . . . decisions that are made today impact the years ahead of us and the next generation.” You may have noticed more pastoral development programs being held all over the U.S. and abroad in recent years. These events rep- resent the intentional effort to train future spiritual leaders.

Reflecting on the next 25 years of the Church, Mr. McNeely also talked about the importance of meaningful relationships to preserve unity and to develop the empathy to “address relevant issues that are impacting the world today—from the foundation of the Word of God.”

Empathy? WHEN has the Church of God EVER had empathy? Since the 6 months Herbert sat in a public library while neglecting his family? Not much empathy there and certainly NO example for anyone to follow.

You can read this rather sad article and discover this new direction starts with a green masthead for their newspaper! Whoopie! I can just see the new members flocking in as UCG members hit the pavement showing off their new masthead as they convert new members on the sidewalks of their towns. Oh, and they moved the page numbers to the top! Hallelujah! Isn't the gospel message great!

How could this publication help contribute to the development of a church going forward—full of Christians who are pursuing their calling, pursuing baptism and gospel in genuine ways whenever they can and making meaningful relationships?

The decision to migrate to a green masthead and color scheme aims for consistency with the members website...

We found it was time to holistically look at every design element in the UN and assess its value to the reader.

With this new layout, we strove for a cleaner feel that puts more focus on content, and visually harmonizes UN with our website and other media. We moved the page numbers to the top, we reduced the size of the masthead, and we redesigned low-contrast graphics elements so they are now easier to read.”

Jesus must be so excited! Heck, he may even stop in Cincinnati on his way to Wadsworth. What a glorious time to be alive!

 

United News January/February 2020