Where would the Church of God be if it weren't for its American leaders telling the rest of the world how to worship God and be leaders in their churches? Apparently, they are still a little too backward to do things correctly so the Americans have to come to the rescue.
Mind you, this is the United Church of God, the epitome of bad leadership, that is telling the European brethren how to do things. This is the very same group of guys who in direct rebellion against the Worldwide Church of God and its leadership, conspired and planned their church while on the WCG payroll. They meticulously planned out how to take members and their money with them so that they, the dear leaders, could keep their income stream and their lifestyle of privilege intact when they jumped ship. Mailing lists and church supplies were taken with them, another violation of ethical leadership. Yet, UCG sees itself as the best leaders the church has ever had.
Here is what they are boasting about in the latest United News
Germany—On Dec. 22- 25, 2020, UCG-Germany conducted a leadership training seminar for 37 brethren from the German-speaking and Dutch-speaking regions via Zoom. The presenters were Gary Petty, Steve Myers, Peter Eddington and Gary Antion.
The need for training is essential and the time to develop leadership in congregations is now. Over the course of four evenings, presenters provided training sessions lasting 30-45 minutes. Participants were divided up into discussion groups. Each session closed with a short Q&A session.
The first presenter, Gary Petty, began with his presentation: “To the Measure of the Stature of the Fullness of Christ.” We are all given the commission to help prepare God’s people for works of service so the Body of Christ may be built up, and we can grow in unity and maturity. Everybody can contribute in the Church.
Christians have always understood that the Great Commission of the church is to "make disciples of all nations" and to "baptize". This is a concept known across Christendom. UCG departure from that commission is subtle, While it is important for followers of Christ to do good works, care for each there and grow in maturity, that is NOT the Great Commission of the church. These are the byproducts of what happens to people who have been touched by the grace of God.
Steve Myers discussed fellowship. The Greek word for fellowship is koinonia, which involves actively doing God’s will and accomplishing the God-given purpose of the Church individually and collectively. We are called to an all-in, united mission in the fellowship of the King Jesus Christ. As Dutch member Ronald Djikman put it, “You can’t eat soup with one finger. But five fingers can form a bowl” (Suriname proverb).
When church members understand the concepts of grace and justification, they would be joyful participants in the earthy reign of Christ, presently in their lives. They live their lives to the fullest, worshipping their God, sharing the grace they have received from God with others, and resting securely in their justification. It's an automatic willful and joyful sharing of the bounty of God's love. Not something that they have to be told how to do over and over again, but, because Jesus is always on the back burner, evening in liberal UCG, church members do not really know their purpose, which in cidently is NOT to become god's.
Peter Eddington provided insight into the challenges of preaching the gospel in today’s media landscape. Christianity is facing an uphill battle against secularism, atheism and other negative “isms.” In the Church of God, the battle is even more pronounced because the message we bring is at times unpopular. We have a divine, scriptural commission to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to as many people as we are able.
COG groups all still try and model Herbert Armstrong's methods of preaching to the world whether it be in video/radio form or in print. It is 2021 and they still cannot seem to connect to the world around them. Their greatest gift to spreading a gospel lies directly in their members and NOT in some self-important presenter on some cable channel that no one really watches. It is the members that can draw people in by truly living as grace-filled individuals who are SECURE in their hope of a better world to come. Their trust in that should be so amazing that they are overwhelmed to share it now in the world around them, with their neighbors, their communities, and all they come in touch with. Helping that kingdom break worth in the world today, one person at a time should be their ministry. The church does not need its evangelists, its ministers, its TV/radio presenters, or any of the false prophets parading around the church today.
The last evening concluded with Gary Antion’s presentation, titled “Leaders Are Needed.”
Leaders lead with love, enthusiasm and alertness. They delegate, evaluate and respect. A leader must lead and cannot stand behind. It is important to be alert to the needs of others. A leader is willing to enlist others to help. Leaders must respect those they serve and whom they are responsible for.
Leaders are certainly needed in the church and church members should NOT look to the present ordained ministry to be leading them. They have failed abysmally due to their previous conduct in the Worldwide Church of God, their duplicity in forming their own church money-stream, and their current lack of leadership skills.
The Body of Christ has always been its people and not its leaders. It is the members who are to be the ones spreading the Good News because they know their lives have been richly touched by God and they want to share that. Sadly, COG members have never been taught that and have always been told to submit to the chain of command of those over them. Government is the only true gospel of the Church of God, not Christ.
Absolutely NOTHING wrong with what UCG America did to try and help UCG Europe. They should be commended for it. NOT finding fault. It has been done out of LOVE for the brethren in Europe. To try and help them.
ReplyDeleteWhy write this NO2WHA ? Have others noses been knocked out of joint by this event happening. One ponders the reasons why.
All franchises are forced to conform to their headquarters specifications.. This includes church franchises such as Mac Herbism. And it's not done out of love but rather out of self preservation.
DeleteFranchises ? Why don't you try being converted. All Christians belong to the Body of Christ.
Delete"..works of service..Everyone can contribute to the church."
ReplyDeleteThese are nice sounding words, but scratch the surface, and one finds ugly attitudes and behaviors. These pretty words are used to justify treating members as assets to be heartlessly exploited. I spent dozens of hours driving members around, as well as doing hall preparation dozens of times. But when I had a car accident and asked members for a lift to services, I was met with hostility and extortionistic demands. The helping thingy is a scam. All you have is the non winners robbing blind their betters.
I suggest members look long and hard at what's behind the curtain.
Meeting Summation Notes sent to me...
ReplyDelete“If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday,” that’s advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk him into town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity. If you can get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.
And if you planned the elephant’s walk, that’s marketing.”
The UCG is certainly not the best leaders the church has ever had, they consider themselves too good to think so.
ReplyDeleteThere is no Kingdom of God coming, they always say "sooncoming kingdom of God", but decades after Herbert W. Armstrong preached that no Kingdom has come and somehow it is still "soon" and has never come yet. People must obey the laws of Man as long as they don't contradict the laws of God, even though the UCG has criminals in its church and whose leaders are as false as Bob Thiel.
ReplyDeleteUCG's writings is ridiculous and they don't understand evolution or science they should feel ashamed to go out into the world making videos about things they don't know about.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThe disUnited Church of Godlessness is where unrepentant, unconverted unbelievers go to behave very badly while playing church.
This works out okay for the perverts and stalkers, but not so well for their victims.
By trying to attract and support bad people, the UCG has doomed itself to never amounting to anything.
The church that asks for all these tithes and offerings is making money from the people.
ReplyDelete"Let COG members be so excited about their faith that the Kingdom of God breaks forth in the world NOW in one person at a time."
ReplyDeleteAwesome statement, and I think that is coming. (Perhaps has always been).
UCG is a haven for criminals.
ReplyDelete12:27
ReplyDeleteI am a former member of UCG and I think points brought out in this post and in the comments are spot on about our leadership. Our leaders should have set the example for us, they have not. For us to export our Americanized version of leadership to them when they are entirely capable on their own is shocking. It is exactly like the missionaries that went to Africa to convert the "heathen". They took their British and European cultures to enforce their rules and values, never once working with the "natives" to understand their culture, dress, and nuances of leadership values, lifestyles, or beliefs. Whether it is Protestant or Sabbatarian churches in Africa, they all operate according to the Americanized version of dress, belief, and theology.
I'm 12:27 and it's clear you are a fake disgruntled rebel from within the ministry, pushing a apostate agenda. Own rule? It would be hell on earth for the members.
DeleteLike old wax russian Communist leaders the own rule agenda amongst rebels within the ministry has NEVER been supported by grass roots members. And NEVER will.
You are correct 3:15. I am still a member and also realize we do not have good leadership in the church.
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ReplyDeleteUCG “leadership”: Get the apostate Tkaches' goon Victor Kubik to run the UCG gong show into the ground.
Sorry to be repetitive. It is the province of old timers. My experience is that education at AC/BS back in the golden age of the Seventies was about how to live effectively and to personal advantage inside of an organizational hierarchy. I don't know what was taught in the classrooms but I know what was implemented in the organization. My conclusion is that the real education took place inside the social and work structure of AC not the classroom so the classroom instruction likely made little difference. A corollary is that this expertise in hierarchy was the really what the faculty exemplified. This corollary also comports with my experience.
ReplyDeleteIn this hierarchy the lay membership was seen to occupy the persona non grata level. The ministry resided in the top tiers then and for eternity. This is why the bottom tier always needed correction, always needed to be put in its place, never understood the important stuff, always needed to be put back on track, never understood their financial obligations, always needed a ministry to tell them what to think and how to do.
And the medicine for the incompetence, spiritual and otherwise, at the personal non grata level was seen to be disciple not leadership. It may be called leadership in the classroom but it was simply discipline. The term "leader" implies that the leader goes first like Jesus the author of our faith, the firstborn. It is not about "the commission to help prepare God’s people for works of service" as the post states. Its not about herding the reluctant with the shepherd coming last. A leader does "works of service" himself.
Being a leader is difficult and self-sacrificial. I have met very few leaders in my lifetime. Most have been men and women who are heads of families that are under stress. They are not cogs in an organization or people occupying a sinecure in a church ministry or people marketing a religious product. They are people who live Shakespearan lives. I recognize that I am not a leader. I am a dilletante. I see the need but have trouble putting on my overalls. It is a stretch goal for almost everyone who understands what a leader is.
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The UCG will continue to gradually fade away because it will never be considered as a mainstream Christian church just like all the other splinters. The main ingredient is missing that made the old WCG mildly successful, Herbert W Armstrong.
ReplyDeleteThe UCG doesn't bring Herbert Armstrong up very often, but I think he should be remembered more because he was the one who gave them so much of what they preach today, even though UCG compromised many doctrinal truths.
ReplyDelete"We are all given the commission to help prepare God’s people...".
ReplyDeleteThey did not say that this was the Great Commission. The term "the Great Commission" indicates the existence of lesser commissions; otherwise, it would simply be "the Commission". It's not unreasonable to believe that the Church has other tasks besides "Go ye therefore into all the world...".
Also, the words could indicate that the organization's leaders, and the congregation leaders, are the ones being talked about as having the task of preparing the general body of members, which is not an unreasonable notion.
To say that the line refers to the Great Commission is yet another example of reshaping what was said to fit a narrative, with no evidence to support the idea.
ReplyDeleteLOVE
The Worldwide Church of God under Herbert W. Armstrong taught that the Ten Commandments show how to love God and neighbor.
The so-called “United” Church splinter group has changed drastically in actual practice. It wants to bring in godless perverts. Everyone else is expected to “show love” to the godless perverts by putting up with them and their bad behavior. Anyone who does not play along is accused of “not showing any love to anyone.” This is why the so-called “United” Church splinter group keeps stalkers and kicks out their victims. It has totally warped the meaning of love.
Ucg is a fraud they are not united they have had many divisions over the years where their brothers disagreed with them so much and they were so divided that they split up and then happened several times before the end and therefore they are not united but Disunited, Cogwa and the others had to leave UCG because the division In UCG let's remember that a house divided against itself cannot stand and also Remember, the sheep of the true Christ know the voice of the true Christ, and can distinguish from a strange voice spoken by another Jesus.
ReplyDelete11:57 AM
ReplyDeleteSituations as you describe happens in all the ACOG groups big and small. It's the way of the world.
The pastors in UCG don't like having son exposed. They tend to defend the perpetrator. That is a true failing in much of UCG, because they don't teach Matthew 18 as it is written.
ReplyDeleteThe problem 12:27, is that adults should not need assistance from the UCG. It seems the COGs made the problem of maturing adults being discouraged to investigate/think for themselves as a Christian normally would. Instead the COGs apparently introduced these individuals to something called "the Truth", showed them the importance of HWA and the hierarchy of roles and duties. And then they were hooked to believe everything else that they call "the Truth".
ReplyDeleteBut, then "the Truth" becomes the organization and the practices of the organization such as sabbaths and tithing. AND being careful not to be pulled away from the organization. Remain vigilant! Do not perform your own study without COG guidance of some sort lest something strike you as different than what the COGs told you.
Now, apparently, memories of specifics have waned and UCG believes leadership in Europe is necessary now. But, after all these many years they do not know the UCG teaching because hearing the same thing over and over diminishes Biblical interest as you are not reading for insight because the insight has already been told to you.
So says you. The is no problem. Only courrpt apostate power Putin's would get jittery and complain over mere Leadership training.
DeleteWhy is building up Christian congregations throughout the land such a problem ?
Frankly, because they continue to teach false doctrine and exclusivism. And because they doubt the power of belief and faith in Christ, somehow believing that is a cop out to the rigidity of their false beliefs.
DeleteWow 9:51. Didn't expect a reply. But thanks anyway. "Cop out" that's quite a cultural term used.
DeleteSo basically what you want is nothing done, no congregations, nope nothing. Nothing built up at all. Not even attempted. Wow. Do nothing because actually doing something, anything, is rigidity to you.
Also because you don't believe in the doctrines at all.
Well well, this is why all the walls of ACOG are torn down. Nothing I hadn't realised myself but thanks for putting it in writing.
May God deliver His people from such corruption. I genuinely pray about this.
No, “doing something” is not rigidity. The problem is that the very same people who figuratively removed the very organs (brain and heart) of the Christians they indoctrinated, now believe they are up to the task of creating those functions in those people without the necessary organs.
DeleteWhere will the critical thinking come from? Where will the spirit of passion come from?
Not from these UCG guys; their rigidity of indoctrination has already caused enough damage.
Christ and His Spirit will need to be rebuilt in the people of these congregations; God can do it, but not with the help of those that diminish or remove necessary functions.
Anon,June 14, 2021 at 1:48 PM, wrote;
ReplyDelete"There is no Kingdom of God coming, they always say "sooncoming kingdom of God", but decades after Herbert W. Armstrong preached that no Kingdom has come and somehow it is still "soon" and has never come yet. People must obey the laws of Man as long as they don't contradict the laws of God, even though the UCG has criminals in its church and whose leaders are as false as Bob Thiel."
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United's"...soon coming kingdom...", like that of former wcg and now Living group's Weston, Winnail, and Flurry, Pack, Thiel, Franks, Weinland, Coulter, etc. still preach Satan's counterfeit kingdom of "another Jesus" very soon to reign in earth for 1,000 years.
These guys still aren't "woke!"
What will these professing leaders think when they finally learn they bought into lies to support their false theory/gospel?
What will they do when they eventually realize God's kingdom won't exist on earth until after all enemies are subdued, Satan exits the pit, and is again put down? Oh yes, after them 10 kings, these false hirelings are still looking to very soon arrive, fulfill God's will of Rev 17:17, which isn't their choice to modify? Shall we continue to hold our breath?
Time will tell...
John
ReplyDeleteFOLLOW the *******MONEY*******!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!