Is it Time for a Better Path in the COG's?

 

Guest post:

Time for a better path

It is time for the members of LCG, UCG and COGWA to embrace a better path by truly following Jesus Christ's voice.

# 1 The power of good deeds.

The COG does not let its light shine. Although there are stellar individuals or ministers that care about the poor such as Daniel Botha or Wes White it is clear that most of the leadership does not.

The COG has all sorts of absurd rationales rooted in HWA's selfish greed to avoid helping others and doing good deeds. It is one of the major reasons they are so despised now and have such a bad reputation. But that doesn't have to be true for the members.

The membership should listen carefully to the voice of Christ,set aside the delusional rationalizations and traditions of their leadership that render the word of God of no effect, and do good deeds that honor God.

Matthew 5:14 Let your light shine. A city on a hill cannot be hidden . Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it give slight to everyone in the house. In the same way , let your shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

# 2 It is Time to be Better Stewards

Since the collapse of WCG in 1995 the offshoots have taken in at least half a billion dollars. What do we see for this huge investment? Unfortunately we have stagnant and dying churches. The COG talks about growth, but the truth is the churches are instead rapidly growing old and dying. Perhaps one of the reasons is the money is not going to do a work.

For example, to its shame COGWA only invests 10% of its resources in the public proclamation of the gospel and UCG is almost just as stingy with about only 20%.

One would have thought with all that money and time the COGs would now have a vast library of TV programs, books and other materials that are well researched and relevant for this generation. Sadly that is not the case for much of what has been produced (e.g., LCG's poorly designed materials). If you doubt this just show some of the church materials to teenagers and see how interested they are in them.

Christ told his disciples to let nothing be wasted (see John 6:12). But the membership of LCG, UCG and COGWA waste their time and money being involved in such unproductive churches. The members of the COG need to become better stewards, by carefully considering how their money is spent and vociferously demanding changes if it is being squandered or siphoned off. If things do not improve in your church then defund them, and donate to other biblical organizations that are bearing fruit.

# 3 True Repentance Needed

A mountain of evidence has come to light documenting the sins of HWA and the leadership of the former WCG and how the church treated people with brutality. One would think that this would have led to some type of public remorse and repentance on the part of the present COG leadership. Instead they ignore the plain admonition in Proverbs that fools mock making amends for sins (see Proverbs 14:9). If they are unwilling then the membership should humble themselves by expressing remorse, disavow any rationalizations for these sins, and make amends by treating people –especially the least among us -- with respect and love.

Aristophanes

OMG! Did Jonah get swallowed by the whale after he saw a woman eating gelatin while Ezekial was telling her not to get pregnant during Hanukkah because the Germans like to gamble at Golgotha while getting their COVID vaccines?

Bobaniah's ADD has kicked in big-time today. He has a new "sermon" up for his few faithful and it is a doozy! 

In this sermon, Dr. Thiel answers questions that have been submitted to the Church of God on many topics, such as:

What about using expressions like gosh and OMG?
Can Europe get together?
Is mercy killing (euthanasia) allowable?
What about stopping medical life support?
Is it alright to become pregnant during this time?
Why aren’t you supposed to boil a goat kid in its mother’s milk?
Did Ezekiel see the throne of God?
Can you participate in gambling games of chance?
Is bankruptcy acceptable?
Should Christians avoid gelatin?
What does “until Shiloh comes” mean?
Did Jacob engineer selective breeding?
Where did the Germans come from?
Is Germany the Assyria of biblical prophecy?
Where is the location of Golgotha, the site of Jesus’ execution?
Was Jonah swallowed by some type of great fish?
Did Jesus observe any national holidays, like Hanukkah?
What is the CCOG position on vaccines? 

 

Dr. Thiel goes through scriptures, facts, COG documents, opinions, and historical information to provide answers.

The dumbing down of COG ministers continues unabashedly! Imagine having to sit through this handwaving mind-numbing drivel and never hear anything about Jesus Christ, what he did, what he accomplished, and why no Christian needs to worry about any of this kind of crap in their daily walk.

Why you should not trust the numbers Bobaniah Thiel gives for his total membership (3,000+)

The Great Self-appointed Bwana and Savior of the Church of God, Bobaniah Thiel has proclaimed for many years that he has thousands of members in Africa. He has claimed he has 3,000+ members there. Bobaniah apparently uses the same counting system that Wade Cox uses when he claims 1/2 of the African continent, including untold numbers of Muslims, are his followers. There is one thing for sure about the COG and that it has always been good at fudging numbers and making them mean something other than what they actually are.

Bobaniah has this up on his blog in a letter to his African faithful. Notice the numbers they are reporting:

India, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Haiti, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia 

Per my request, various leaders have provided numbers of congregants in various lands. 

From our deacon in India: 

We have 39 members who have been baptised and another equal number who are co-workers who await baptism. 

Our feast participants number nearly 80.

From deacon Koang Deng, here are parts of two emails: 

Truly, we do have more number here in Ethiopia than that of South Sudan. 

 

Ethiopia has … Total number 88. 

 

For South Sudan {50}… 

 

He also mentioned also that there are another 52 in Ethiopia that expressed interest, but he is not convinced that they are yet faithful. 

 

In Haiti, we have 20 people. 

 

From evangelist Evans Ochieng: 

 

The church members in Tanzania are 65 they were 67 but two left. One died and another man … left. 

 

While in Uganda we have 8 people.From deacon Radson Mulozowa:

Zambia … Last time they report to have 50 brethren …

The fullness/full number of the Gentiles need to come in (Romans 11:25) and many are coming with the CCOG. 

 

Serbia

 

We have 6 regular Sabbath and Holy Days attendances in Serbia. Four members are baptized, one person is being prepared for baptism and another is having issues with Sabbaths and Holy Days off, but attends more-less regularly.

Remember though, the fields are white for harvest and Bobaniah will soon be bringing untold numbers of people for the final end times push. How many years have we heard that from Ron Weinland, Dave Pack, Gerald Weston, Gerald Flurry, and other failing COG leaders?

Bob Thiel and Horus Ruin Christmas

 

Living Church of God Cancels Annual Christmas Weekends in Charlotte and Kansas City

 

Well, the boys in Charlotte actually made a good decision in canceling their upcoming annual Christmas celebrations. Though I doubt it was as much their decision as being forced to by the current COVID State closures sweeping the country the past couple of days. Either that or they had a lapse in faith that God would take care of them during this fun time of the year. After all, hasn't the COG always claimed God protects the church and its activities?

Anyway, good move on their part.

Charlotte and Kansas City Family Weekends Both to Be Rescheduled

We’ve been in regular contact this week with our Charlotte and Kansas City pastors, Messrs. John Strain and Rand Millich, about the planned family weekends scheduled to take place at the end of December. As we have been watching the trend of growing government restrictions on nonworship meetings, some difficult decisions have had to be made.

According to Mr. Strain, “We regret to announce that it is now necessary to cancel the family weekend planned for Charlotte that was scheduled for December 24–26. Current North Carolina statewide government regulations are too restrictive to allow for our planned activities and will affect access to area restaurants. This, as well as the current rate of COVID-19 infections, which is expected to increase in the weeks ahead, make this the prudent decision for the present time. We hope to reschedule this activity in the not-too-distant future.”

Kansas City is in a similar situation, according to Mr. Millich: “As local Health Department guidelines have gotten tighter and more complicated, the reality is that we will simply not be able to conduct the family weekend as planned. A different hall is currently being sought for regular Sabbath services, and it should be large enough to accommodate a few extra visitors. For those

near the Kansas City area, the snow activity should be able to go on as planned. We plan to reschedule the Kansas City family weekend for a later date.”

Thank you to everyone who showed interest in the family weekends. We are certainly disappointed that we are unable to have them at this time, as initially planned, but we hope to reschedule for a future time.

"Would you possibly like to be protected? If so, will you ‘gather together’?"

 

And here we go again. Church of God members are too stupid to understand just WHO is the modern-day Zephaniah and heed his call. With so many prophets now running around the church these days how do we know who is the real one? Well, you are about to be set straight on just who the modern-day Zephaniah is and whom the ancient Zeph was speaking about.

The ancient Zeph spoke about a nation that is supposed to gather together when times get rough. In Armstrongite mythology it has been deemed to be about the church gathering together in the end times:

Gather together, gather,
    O shameless nation,
2 before you are driven away
    like the drifting chaff,[a]
before there comes upon you
    the fierce anger of the Lord,
before there comes upon you
    the day of the Lord’s wrath.

When you read the entire chapter of Zephaniah 2 you can quickly surmise that it is talking about a nation and not a church. It is a nation gathering together in repentance over their national sins.

Yet, in the land of make-believe that occupies the minds of some COG leaders these days, it is all about them and their own specific church.

He who is called Bobus is about to set us all straight.

You will notice as the rest of this blog entry goes along that this is all about himself and his little personality cult, i.e, the chosen ones.

This is a command for end of the age Christians!Although it has certain misunderstandings, the Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary realized that the gathering together was intended for a religious group or assembly:

Zephaniah 2:1

Gather yourselves together – to a religious assembly, to avert the judgment by prayers, (Joel 2:16, “Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders,” etc.) (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright © 1997, 2003, 2005, 2006 by Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.) 

 

When are they to gather together? 

 

2 Before the decree is issued, Or the day passes like chaff, Before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, Before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you! (Zephaniah 2:2)

If He who is called Bobus actually understood church history he would know that all of these things predicted to happen already have. But no, church mythmakers have to rewrite scripture to fit the deluded thinking of their tunnel vision minds.

Then, He who is called Bobus takes a huge leap and jumps to I Peter 2:9-10 and claims it is about the end times.

Who does God want to gather together?As stated before, the end of the age Christians. Notice what Jesus stated and something the Apostle Peter wrote:

19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:19, NKJV)

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10, KJV)

Of course, these verses ALWAYS have to talk about the COG because, after all, it is peculiar! 

He who is called Bobus then gets to the meat of the matter. He reveals just WHO in modern times are these peculiar people. It will not be a stretch of the imagination by anyone here as to just who he is talking about.

He who is called Bobus continues with his justification:

This is a peculiar people. These are people who the world does not desire. These are Philadelphian Christians. 

 

How do we know that Zephaniah 2:1-3 is related to Christians? Because the decree is for the end time and because of what else God inspired Zephaniah to write: 

 

3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. (Zephaniah 2:3a)

I will give you one guess as to WHO these Philadlphian Christians are..... ____________________.

The above is a reference to Christians as they are to be the “meek of the earth” (Matthew 5:5) and to Philadelphians who “have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility.” These are Philadelphian Christians who understand that church leaders need to have integrity and be willing to be humble enough to accept the authority of a church led by a low-level prophet in the absence of a clear apostle (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11-15). They are humble enough to not think that they should remain ‘independent,’ as many who once were part of the old Worldwide Church of God, during this Laodicean time, have done.

Since when has there been a COG led by a meek leader who has walked in justice, was righteous, and was filled with humility? Has there ever been a COG leader who has done this? Has there ever been a COG organization that has done this? All we have seen over the last 80 years is a trail littered with broken lives. There is no justice in any of that!

Has there ever been a COG leader with integrity? 

He who is called Bobus, expects us to believe that he is that person. The problem is that church members must be humble enough to allow him as a low-level prophet to be in charge. Sure thing, buckwheat! No way, Jose!  

He who is called Bobus then goes on to diminish and ridicule those COG members who remain "independent" from any of the  COG hierarchies at work today.  Most of them are gun-shy about joining up with these buffoons due to the damage they have caused and continue to cause. For some strange reason, He who is called Bobus believes that he is about to have a sudden influx of "independent" members who will suddenly wake up and see that he is The Chosen One.

Why does God tell them they may wish to be gathered together? So:

3…It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the Lord’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:3b)

Interestingly, the Hebrew words translated as Zephaniah means “Yahweh Hides” or “Yahweh Has Hidden” (Holy Bible: Vine’s Expository Reference Edition, p. 826). 

Do not allow yourself to accept the deception that you should be an independent Christian or one not truly truly part of the Philadelphian remnant.

If one remains 'independent" or is not part of the one true church, the improperly named "continuing Church of "god" then they are not part of God's chosen people.

He who is called Bobus is placing great emphasis upon the word "gathering" which he believes to be his peculiar people and his so-called end-time "work."

Why have I written that Zephaniah 2:1-3 has to do with Philadelphian Christians?

Because they are the only ones who will actually ‘gather together’ as they should. 

 

Why? 

 

Because it is they who will lead the final phase of the work and it is only to the Philadelphians that Jesus promises to protect from the coming hour of trial, also referred to as the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord

He who is called Bobus has been railing a lot lately about how stupid current COG leaders are (he at least has that right) and how they will be unable to know when it is time to flee to Petra for final training under his leadership. Most of us know this to be total bunk.

Notice that the Philadelphians are doing the work of God, have kept God’s word, have not denied Christ’s name/authority, and are persevering in the truth.Yet, other churches around at the end, such as the remnants of Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29) and Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) are not promised that protection. Nor are the many Laodiceans (Revelation 3:14-22)–even if they are somehow gathered together–as they have gathered together in places that Jesus did not wish them to. 

 

Are not all real Christians going to be protected? 

 

No. The Book of Revelation is clear that after the Philadelphians are persecuted (cf. Daniel 7:25a; 11:29-36), they will flee to a place of protection, while the rest of the true Christians will not flee and then be subject to severe persecution...

These "true Christians" are supposedly all COG members currently in the 400 some splinter groups and those who are independent. They are all going to be suffering horrendously in the tribulation while He who is called Bobus is teaching his little peculiar flock in the hell hole of Petra. Can anything be more depressing? It would be better to die standing up for truth than sitting in the hot desert of Petra while He who is named Bobsu flails his arms and hands preaching on 30 different subjects in one of his training sessions.

What kind of decree will be issued? 

 

A decree that may allow those who are gathered together and who listen to it an opportunity to be protected (Zephaniah 2:1-3). A decree that the Philadelphians will listen to and flee. 

 

When is a decree to be issued? After an event that Jesus told of that He tied to the writings of the Prophet Daniel:

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), (Matthew 24:15)

14 “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), (Mark 13:14a) 

 

What did Jesus say happens next? 

 

16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew 24:16-21) 

 

Notice also:

5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say: 

“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry, ‘Gather together,’
And say, ‘Assemble yourselves,
And let us go into the fortified cities.’
6 Set up the standard toward Zion.
Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will bring disaster from the north,
And great destruction.” (Jeremiah 4:5-6)

He who is called Bobus continues with the following:

By whom will the decree be made? 

 

The Bible says: 

 

7 Surely the Lord God does nothing,

Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

8 A lion has roared!

Who will not fear?

The Lord God has spoken!

Who can but prophesy? (Amos 3:7-8) 

 

The prophet may make the decree personally and/or pass it on to another authority in the church to make. 

 

Which is the only Church of God in the 21st century to teach all of this? 

 

The Continuing Church of God. 

 

If you are not with the group that is leading the final phase of the workwill you really be able to flee if you wait until the last moment? While that may be remotely possible for some, remember that God inspired Zephaniah to admonish God’s people to ‘gather together…before the decree is issued.’

Nothing seems to irritate the current batch of COG leaders more than not having everyone in their boat with them. It just galls them that people refuse to listen to them and to heed their call. How dare people ignore them! How dare they!

How many "end-time works" do COG members need. Is it any wonder why people remain independently comfortable as to where they are with God and see no need to join up with these guys?

Most will discount this and many will scoff. Most COGs do not have any they consider to be a prophet, and those other than the CCOG who claim to, have prophets that have been proven to be false.

There you have it! All COG's who do not recognize He who is called Bobus as your prophet are following false leaders. For shame!

Since no later than 2007 I have written that Zephaniah had to do with Philadelphians being ‘gathered together’ so that they would be protected from the coming trial that will hit the earth. 

In a direct slam at Doug Winnail and the Living Church of God, He who is called Bobus claims that HE and HE ALONE has the  "more sure word of prophecy." No Buckshwet, you do not!  

We in the Continuing Church of God “have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19, KJV).” 

 

Should we not be “exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25)? 

 

We in the Continuing Church of God boldly teach the need for Philadelphians to be ‘gathering together’ today. Will you heed God’s instructions as the Prophet Zephaniah was inspired to write? Would you possibly like to be protected? If so, will you ‘gather together’?

Would you gather with He who is named Bobus and his group? Can you imagine 3 1/2 years listening to him drone on and on about subjects that will at that time be irrelevant and useless? He has no other resources in his repertoire than the junk he now preaches. It will be a looooooooooooooooong 3 1/2 years!

I would rather spend 3 1/2 years with Gerald Flurry watching Irish Dance all those years than one day with He who is called Bobus!

 

Does Dave Pack and his ilk represent the Churches of God as a whole?

...and they think they are God's chosen ministers!

A reader here wrote:

Dave, and people like him, are fuel for websites such as this....he in no way represents The Church.

I believe that Dave Pack most certainly DOES represent everything the Church of God has come to be in the last 80 years.  This is the culmination of the legacy of Herbert Armstrong. Pack has taken all of Herbert Armstrong's teachings, embraced them and they enlarged them into the abomination we see today.

With Pack is still delivering a sermons series that is in the 250+ range now where he talks about "all things common" and his creature called "jesus"  returning 3 times and will also be showing up on the Wadsworth campus just before the shit hits the fan. This is what the COG has come to be.

Pack is not alone in doing this though.  We have Gerald Flurry rewriting HWA's books to make them fit his delusions. From being King of the church to embracing Irish Dance as the divine dance of God and first-century Christianity. Then there is Ron Weinland, one of the most pathetic prophets the church has ever seen, claiming he and his dingy wife are the two witless witnesses and his creature "jesus" is ready to return in the next few days. We also have Bob Thiel who created a church because his spiritual daddy turned his back on him and ignored Bob's demands that LCG change their teachings to fit his erroneous interpretations. On top of that, he also expects us to believe that he was doubly blessed to start a church and that his frequent nightmares are validation he is the final end-time church.

This is the legacy of the Church of God. A church now overrun with buffoons and charlatans that are leading people astray. So yes, Dave Pack does represent the entire church, as do these other peddlers of heresy.

Peeling the onion

 from Facebook

You have been warned! GOD IS BOSS IN ALL OF THIS so STOP picking on Bob Thiel!

 

This made my day!

From a loyal reader:

Whoever wrote that about Dr. Thiel, Richard, Steve, and Warren, I hope you don't fall into God's hands when He is angry. Pastor Bob Thiel preaches what the Bible says and doesn't hold anything back. God is definitely working through him and make no mistake about it, GOD IS BOSS IN ALL OF THIS...I hope y'all keep that in mind.

 

 Oh, I am so scared!

How A Marked and Disfellowshiped Employee of Living Church of God Is Making A Difference In The World

Back in 2013 the Living Church of God was in a disfellowshipping tantrum and was kicking out members and employees that Rod Meredith deemed unworthy to be in his presence.

A reader here in 2013 had this to say about the endless disfellowshipments going on in the various COG's:

Mini-lesson on ostracism: historically social ostracism has been the traditional way to protect the tribe from individuals who are deemed as dangerous by the leaders. It probably reached it's most sophisticated height as a cultural mechanism during the period of Athenian democracy of circa 500 B.C. The group psychology of ostracism has been defined as “any behavior in which a group or individual excludes and ignores another group or individual.”

Think about this definition carefully, and you'll see that it pretty much describes the history of the modern-day COG's - except that the procedure is just referred to by a different term, disfellowshipment.

The church has always used marking and disfellowshipping people as a way of "protecting" the church from the ravenous wolves they imagined were seeking to devour it. In the vast majority of the cases, it was about people waking up to the lies of the church and the leadership and taking a stand against some abuse going on. Spiritual and physical abuse in the Church of God had/has been going on for decades and people were and still are sick of it. That is why fewer and fewer people stay in the spiritually abusive cults of Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland, and other groups. Even the so-called "enlightened" groups led by Weston, Theil, Kilough, Kubik, Thiel, Hulme, and others, who imagine themselves to not be spiritually abusive, have been unable to keep members or draw in new cash cows members. After all, what this really boils down to is money flow. Disfellowshipping puts fear in "good standing" members and their wallets open continually open.

Those who have been under Rod Meredith's heavy hands over the decades have shared endless stories over the decades about how nasty and vindictive the man could be. One would have thought after his humiliating exile to Hawaii by Herbert Armstrong and his equally humiliating defeat in court after slandering Leona McNair and having the Worldwide Church of God pay all his legal fees, that he would have humbled himself. But no.  His nastiness carried over into breaking apart the Global Church of God after they got sick of his abuse and carried over when he lined up with other dissenters to form the Living Church of God. There his nastiness had a full reign as he was FINALLY in charge after so many decades of being sidelined and patted on the head as he was sent to field churches.

LCG members thought that finally after all the turmoil from the split from WCG to the break up of Global that peace had settled on the church. It did not last long.  The heavy-handedness and authoritarian control of Rod Meredith and the nepotism displayed through his family members brought about more dissension.

One of the people Meredith disfellowshipped was Tom Bacca from that worked in LCG's television department.

Bacca sent out a letter in 2013 preempting Meredith's soon coming "marking" from the pulpit.  Bacca wrote:

I know many of you will hear about me being declared an "enemy of the Church" which is NOT true... I've already been declared an "enemy of the Catholic Church" by my family many years ago... yet, I am actually an enemy of nobody except the evil one! 

I LOVE God's people, I do discuss biblical topics and issues, and if something is not 100 % according to God's word—I will say so... how horrible of me! I know LOTS of things that I could say, but I do NOT make it a habit of giving specifics about those things that I know... I just don't! I will NOT attack anyone, nor have I personally attacked anymore publicly already—I have been attacked myself though, by MANY for YEARS, and could have filed slander lawsuits against individuals... I never did, and I never will either—God says that we should NOT take our brethren to court, and that is why I forgave and forgot those incidents... even though I had many witnesses that would have testified in MY favor! 

I do understand if many of you, not knowing ALL the details or facts, do decide to unfriend me or block me—I will not be upset with any of you... I love you all, and I know that you will probably do as you're instructed. PLEASE do as you feel is best, that is what God would want you to do. I will be vindicated in time, I will trust in the God of Israel, He is my shield... so, I have total peace in this matter. 

Again, I love you all brethren... see you down the road :)

In Christian faith and love,

Thomas Baca II

One of the big myths that the church tried to pawn off on members over the decades was that when a member is kicked out of the church and disfellowshipped they would never have God's favor again and would live a life of misery and dejection.

Tom Bacca has bucked that trend and has done extremely well for him and his family AND  for those around him in the "world".

A reader here sent this:

I​ know​ Thomas​ Baca​ II​ very​ well, he​ has ​spent the​ last​ several years volunteering to​ help​ individuals and​ families​ suffering from​ homelessness and​ many​ other issues​ and​ teaching them​ about​ God.​ He​ served in​ Michigan for​ about​ 2​ years​ and​ then​ continued​ helping people​ in​ Asia.​ He​ is​ a​ giving and​ loving​ man.​ I​ have​ seen​ him​ serve​ others​ with​ my​ own eyes.​ He​ is​ honest and​ kind....He​ drove​ people​ in​ need​ of​ help​ during​ Michigan​ snowstorms​ during​ midnight and​ 3​ am​ to​ get​ to​ their​ jobs​ o​n farms and​ at​ dairys.​ He​ consuled people​ want​ing​ to​ commit suicide and​ helped them​ start​ their​ lives again.​ He​ gave​ money​ and​ care​ to​ elderly and​ widows.​ He​ helped​ people​ in​ other​ countries too.​ So​ much​ to​ say​ also​ but​ my​ English​ is​ not​ good​ enough.​ Follow​ link​ to​ see​ video​ Thomas​ made​ to​ also​ help​ a​ Michigan​ shelter.

Continuing Church of God...Things are not as rosey as Bob Thiel wants us to believe

 

Things aren't pretty in paradise

Its no longer rainbows, unicorns, and lollipops

 

From a reader and one of his members:

As for the Continuing Church Of god and its leaders' credibility and counseling abilities, as a longtime COG member and a believer (in general terms), I did attend with them. I saw their people and their increasingly fixated and marginal work such as it really is. What of one of their foremost leaders, Richard Close? Years ago Richard was ordered to divorce his wife because his church minister--forcing some church policy--said he had to divorce her if he wanted to be a baptized church member. So, snap like that, he divorced his wife. Richard Close, now a leader in CCOG, chose to put his corporate minister's orders above the Bible's command in Matthew 19:6 which says: "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must never separate." He put a minister's word above God's holy Word. some years later when the church's policy on d&r changed, Richard Close's minister gave him his permission to remarry his ex-wife. So, he did. This is not simplistically just a case of love having won out. It is an avoidable, tragic example of a man caving into ministerial hegemony--spiritual bullying-- as the so-called "government of God" having been placed above God himself and God's holy Words. If Richard Close had not been given ministerial permission to remarry his ex-wife, he would not have remarried her. what kind of a COG leader is this? ( Like the plodding, dutiful, and obedient Boxer from Animal Farm.) this is not railing and nastily throwing someone's mistakes at them in a mean-spirited way. For, nothing, in essence, has changed. Consider the implications of such men in church "over" God's laypeople. LCG and other churches are really no different.

What of yet another of CCOG's top leaders, Steve Dupuie?

 

Steve comes across as being not unfriendly, but he is insecure and therefore pretentious and hollow about his church intellect and his knowledge. Therefore, he has been so desperate to prove himself intellectually and in the field of knowledge that he completely minimizes and excoriates the very best and the nicest and most gentle of people who raise points, even by way of friendly discussion.

 

In one case, Warren from Ontario--a good and gentleman in whom is no guile--merely raised a friendly possibility of an idea being extrapolated and not directly stated in the Bible. Immediately, in public and on CCOG's e-mail group, Steve Dupuie accused Warren of being a force of dissension and discord among the brethren. Steve does this regularly to anyone who can out-do him in church writings, knowledge, and Bible studying, which could include everyone. He can't get his way and be the foremost, so he slights and belittles others who are far better than he, and of whom the world is not worthy. the good news is that neither Steve nor anyone has to be seen as being superlative in knowledge and church intellect. Insecurity. Consider the implications of such a man in the church "over" God's laypeople.

I could write of more ... for instance of the CCOG leader I know well who petulantly hacked another COG member's e-mail account and put a trace on it, and taunted him, because he was sore at the member.

Aside from their superficial, fizzling claim to continue the teachings shown by god through Mr. Armstrong and doing "the Philadelphia work", how do these CCOG leaders show Jesus to others? If some read this, perhaps they can explain and help us to understand.

 

 

Why Do Self-Appointed COG Leaders Have So Many Requirements To Belong To Their Groups When Jesus Only Requires One Thing?

Any student of the Bible, regardless of one's theological training, understanding, or lack of, immediately sees that Jesus only required one thing in order to be his follower. Everything else was secondary. Yet, in COGland, various upstarts and self-appointed messiahs and prophets publish long lists of requirements in order to gain followers to be a money cash machine for their organization.

This brings us today to our favorite prophet that is God's most highly favored in 6,000 years of church history.  No other human even compares. No, we are not talking about Super Dave, but once again our very own Bawana Bob, the Great Savior of Africa, or as he is known here in the United States, He who is named Bobus.

The great one recently sent out a missive to his few followers letting them know exactly what they need to do to be followers of his way. The list is long and laborious, as everything he writes and says. He even admits it is long.

A couple of weeks ago, while doing research, I noticed that a Sabbatarian group had a link about how to be part of their church. While the article had some serious errors, it did trigger the thought that we should have an article on that topic.

So, we now do. The article is about ten times as long as the one the other group had, but it better reflects scripture and has more information that potential members should know. Here is a link to that article with its long list of silly steps that need ot be taken: How Do I Become a Member of the Continuing Church of God?

If God is calling you, and you will learn, continue, and seriously do the other items mentioned in this article and what is taught in the Bible, you can be a member of the Continuing Church of God.

In summary, if you are not already a properly baptized part of the Church of God, in order to be considered a real member of the Continuing Church of God, you must:

1. Be called of God.
2. Be willing to seek first the kingdom of God.
3. Repent of your sins.
4. Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
5. Strive to live as a loving Christian.
6. Be persuaded that our beliefs are biblical.
7. Contact a CCOG leader for counseling.
8. Be properly baptized and have hands laid upon you.
9. Support the work of Matthew 24:14, Matthew 28:19-20, and other aspects of the Philadelphian work.
10. Continue to live as a Christian and endure to the end.

The truth of the matter is if Christ is calling you it most certainly is NOT into the improperly named "continuing" Church of "god." Run the opposite way as fast as you can. Your sanity and salvation depends on it