Exit and Support Network has a letter up from a man who left the United Church of God. The comments in his letter about how UCG acts are common statements made by many who leave UCG. UCG tries to portray itself as the "more enlightened" Church of God but it is anything but that.
I'm Leaving United Church of God
I’ve been a Sabbatarian pretty much all my life with a non-Armstrong church. My dad (a former WWCG member) began attending UCG a few years ago and as an adult I accompanied him for a couple years. I thought it was just my imagination, like I was being “stubborn and rebellious” to their instruction, but a few things have jumped out at me since Day 1:
Upon meeting UCG for the first time, some of them asked me if I was baptized by immersion. The answer happens to be “Yes,” but it seemed they were assessing my spiritual maturity and deciding whether I was deemed worthy in their eyes.
One time a deacon told a black man with long hair he couldn’t attend church unless he cut it. That bothered me a lot.
An 83 year-old man tried to convince me that “slavery was not as bad as how the history books portray it.” Classy, huh?
Overall, there were just weird things I tried to overlook, like a woman who introduced her adopted daughter to me as her “adopted daughter.”
A lot of these people are very tone deaf and lack situational awareness, as if they have been stuck in a time warp for 50 years (as you wrote). Let’s not forget
I was speaking to a Protestant co-worker recently and he just came right out and said that UCG sounds very much like a Mormon church in doctrine.1
A malignant and elitist sense of superiority pervades this congregation, even though I’ve seen a lot of them looking out the window and daydreaming during a sermon. The only consolation most of them have is the “fellowship” after services.
The main reason why I’m cutting ties with UCG is because they seem to believe Grace is a dirty word. It’s strange we have never sung “Amazing Grace” in church. I don’t even believe it’s in the hymnal. Secondly, UCG is absolutely obsessed with the Millennium and prophecy. It’s almost as if they’re relying on their scriptural scholarship to justify their salvation.
Letter reads really weird. How do we know it actually happened ? Evidence ? The UCG congregation might be better off without him if it's true.
ReplyDeleteThe writer would have to give names and dates as evidence. Most wouldn’t care to do that to an individual.
DeleteGranted not the best writing, but your dismissal of someone’s complaints and concerns because you don’t like them is worse. You have a “like it or leave it” attitude that is not Christian but is common in the cogs.
ReplyDeleteThe disUnited Church of Godlessness
(A sad story from the Laodicea era of the church.)
The basic practical problem with the UCG is that you probably won't meet many true Christians with the Holy Spirit in that organization, especially since the big UCG-COGWA church split around 2010.
Unfortunately, you almost certainly will meet a lot of unrepentant, unconverted, godless types like gossips, slanderers, weirdos, perverts, and stalkers. The old UCG ministers and newly-credentialed, fake, UCG “ministers” will want you to put up with all the perverts to “show love” to them and to keep the attendance numbers from collapsing.
The evil behavior within the UCG is actually so bad that it would be embarrassing to take anyone new to a UCG meeting, such as a family member, relative, friend or acquaintance. They might ask you why the UCG people behave so badly and wonder why you go to such a place.
Even worse, you could actually get kicked out of the UCG if you complain about a filthy old stalker, or if the filthy old stalker complains about you.
If there is not currently a UCG congregation in your area, there probably never will be one. The UCG cannot grow. Interestingly, the so-called UCG can only split and splinter.
UCG and other groups try to tell members how to live their lives.
ReplyDeleteI love when you get the outside looking in perspective at the COG. My girlfriend and now wife who attended my friends wedding commented on how many times the pastor said submit. This was not a word we heard in any of her sisters weddings or our wedding.
ReplyDeleteAlong with the racist and overly conservative talk radio conversations and holier than thou attitudes, it's little wonder that younger people are fleeing the COG.
"It’s strange we have never sung “Amazing Grace” in church. I don’t even believe it’s in the hymnal. Secondly, UCG is absolutely obsessed with the Millennium and prophecy. It’s almost as if they’re relying on their scriptural scholarship to justify their salvation."
ReplyDelete=========================================
They don't sing Amazing Grace because they probably think she's a loose woman of some sort.
The "Was blind but now I see" would also be too big of an admission so they don't go there either. They don't know how. Ignore-ance is not only what you don't know but you won't know. It is what you ignore and Grace tops their list of theological concepts in the NT they simple can't figure out what to do with being a law oriented, prophecy hooked, Jewish Christian sect.
CGI churches have Amazing Grace in their Hymnal.
Delete
ReplyDeleteThe disUnited Church of Godlessness
(A sad story from the Laodicea era of the church.)
The basic practical problem with the UCG is that you probably won't meet many true Christians with the Holy Spirit in that organization, especially since the big UCG-COGWA church split around 2010.
Unfortunately, you almost certainly will meet a lot of unrepentant, unconverted, godless types like gossips, slanderers, weirdos, perverts, and stalkers. The old UCG ministers and newly-credentialed, fake, UCG “ministers” will want you to put up with all the perverts to “show love” to them and to keep the attendance numbers from collapsing.
The evil behavior within the UCG is actually so bad that it would be embarrassing to take anyone new to a UCG meeting, such as a family member, relative, friend or acquaintance. They might ask you why the UCG people behave so badly and wonder why you go to such a place.
Even worse, you could actually get kicked out of the UCG if you complain about a filthy old stalker, or if the filthy old stalker complains about you.
If there is not currently a UCG congregation in your area, there probably never will be one. The UCG simply cannot grow. Interestingly, the so-called UCG can only split and splinter.
Which is why zombie movies and TV series are so popular. They strike a chord with the audience who themselves have stalking weirdos in their lives. I agree that they are protecting the perverts to keep up their numbers and income stream, but from what I could discern while I attended services, many of these didn't even tithe. Church services was only a social club which gave them access to victims.
DeleteDennis C Diehl there is nothing wrong with have a Jewish Christian sect since that was the first kind of Christianity anyway.
ReplyDeleteOne time a deacon told a black man with long hair he couldn’t attend church unless he cut it. That bothered me a lot.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how long ago that was - but a few years ago, a UCG congregation had a black man with long dreads leading songs.
The writer is correct that Amazing Grace is not in the UCG hymnal. But people have sung it for special music.
Sounds like stuff mostly older people would say. The COGS (and most other churches protestant/catholic as well) are mostly gray hairs now. They can be a bit curmudgeony , square and stuck.
ReplyDeleteI see younger people in churches as being a bit more progressive and hip in regards to social interaction.
With most COG organizations the local congregation will function decently depending upon what minister you have. I live in the Southern USA, and the older minister in this area is well-respected and they have a wonderful congregation. I left UCG many years ago due to doctrinal issues with their home office.
ReplyDelete"..the local congregation will function decently depending on what minister you have."
DeleteThis is a restatement of Paul warning that wolves would step forward after his departing. So with a good minister the wolves lay low, but with a bad minister, they run riot.
What does that tell you about this church?
The United Church of God is very corrupt.
ReplyDeleteCorruption comes from within the ministry. Always has and always will. All of UCG troubles and splits have always come from within the ministry.
DeleteAnon 11:50 AM I agree with you.
ReplyDeleteAnon, June 25, 2021 at 6:16 PM, wrote:
ReplyDelete"...This is a restatement of Paul warning that wolves would step forward after his departing. So with a good minister the wolves lay low, but with a bad minister, they run riot.
What does that tell you about this church?
******
What does it tell us?
Is it telling us that possibly the organization may be run by an uncaring wolf, that it's many uncaring hirelings are all like wolves in sheep's clothing? That the association may be wolf-run? As in:
John 10:12 "But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep."
But where is the caring? Well, that is where the scattering comes from! United is scattered just like all the other scattered organizations that came out of the former wcg, and too many of the hirings really don't care:
John 10:13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.
Why don't they care? Following their "Daddy?"
1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil...
Yes, the wolf! The liar (John 8:44)!
How is it possible for that organization, like Doug Winnail of he living group, able to preach "another gospel" by "another Jesus?" Could another Spirit be involved?
Enter "another spirit!"
James 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
It dwells within, just like sin does (Romans 7:17, 20). And you've got evil too (Romans 7:21)!
When will all of the hirings become free of "another spirit?"
We can tell them by their fruits, and time will tell...
John
Don't need time to tell John. The fruits of the situation are here and have been here for decades if truth be told. But truth is rarely told.
ReplyDeleteThat's why the hirelings like and need to have all focus on the past and future but absolutely no focus or accountability on the now.
The vast silent body of the members throughout ACOG know this.
Snobbery and social climbing is counterfeit to true conversion.