God's most highly favored church in these perilous end times has been hit by COVID once more. This time it is several Council of Elders members. LCG had planned to have a face-to-face meeting next week with the Council. Now it's back to ZOOM.
Where was God's protection of these highly favored men? Gone are the days of old in the WCG when church leadership bragged about how its members and ministers were immune to so many health issues that the world suffered with.
The in-person Council of Elders meetings scheduled for this coming week have been postponed due to several recent COVID cases among Council members. We will instead hold online meetings this coming week and plan to have in-person meetings June 20–22.
Upcoming Council of Elders Meetings
As Mr. Weston mentions in his opening comments, the in-person Council of Elders meetings next week will be held online. Meetings will be conducted on Monday and Tuesday, May 2 and 3. Mr. Weston plans to hear reports from the International Directors as well as guide discussions on needs in the Work, growth in the Church, and other matters. Plans are being made for the next in-person meetings. Your prayers for next week’s meetings would be much appreciated. For your information, here are the current Council members:
Mr. Gerald Weston
Mr. Richard Ames
Dr. Douglas Winnail
Dr. Jeffrey Fall
Mr. Lambert Greer
Mr. Mario Hernandez
Mr. Jonathan McNair
Mr. Rod McNair
Mr. Rand Millich
Mr. Peter Nathan
Mr. Wallace Smith
Mr. Rick Stafford
Mr. John Strain
Mr. Rob Tyler
Mr. Stuart Wachowicz
Mr. Dexter Wakefield
20 comments:
How did Peter Nathan get onto the Council of Elders so quickly?
Didn’t he recently leave David Hulmes group?
As some may remember he was Regional director of NZ years ago.
When he was transferred there was much relief felt down under by us us mere mortals.
Blast from the past indeed.
I was under the impression that both he and Rob Tyler were both "observers". Also didn't RCM only have 12 members of the council? Why has Weston got 15? No doubt he has to reward loyal sycophants with positions of dignity to retain their loyalty, but isn't he going above the "number of government", being 12.
Comment on this blogsite on FRIDAY, JUNE 11, 2021 mentioned: "...We have been ragging on Doug Winnail's annual Friday night beat down of LCG members and things they have constantly been doing wrong.
Be Prepared! We are living in increasingly uncertain times, with unstable economies, job insecurity, storms, floods, droughts, and sudden terrorist activities. Due to our modern dependence on technology, these dramatic events can cause serious disruptions in our daily lives—thus we need to plan ahead for unexpected emergencies. This is reflected in the Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared! Solomon offered the same advice when he wrote, “Ponder the path of your feet”—think about where you are going and how to get there (Proverbs 4:26). Solomon also observed, “A prudent man foresees evil [danger] and hides himself [takes refuge], but the simple [the naïve and unsuspecting] pass on and are punished [they have to face the consequences of not being prepared]” (Proverbs 22:3). God’s Church has long encouraged members to prepare for unexpected emergencies—keep a supply of bottled water, a stock of non-perishable food, extra vitamins, first aid supplies, extra batteries for flashlights, a battery-powered radio, a camp stove or heating device, etc.—things that may be needed if normal public services are disrupted. While God’s people will look to Him for their ultimate protection, we also need to do our part to be prepared—so we are not taken by surprise.
Have a profitable Sabbath, Douglas S. Winnail"
******
Why does it appear that Doug gets no respect? He was smacking down the "living" members again with his style of fear religion.
And how about them council members? Do any of them, besides Doug, respect him? Don't they read Doug's smack-down messages, or do they think what Doug writes only applies to living members and not them ("dead" members?)?
Think about it. Doug, with his concluding words, advised members to: "...While God’s people will look to Him for their ultimate protection, we also need to do our part to be prepared—so we are not taken by surprise."
What? Were these council members surprised by their illness? Surprised by COVID? Surprised God's protection seems to be missing? Upset that they follow Doug's advice and like a former WCG hireling, little helper to God's servant HWA, couldn't even follow a Boy Scout's advice to "be prepared?"
Will these council members now request that Doug send them his Friday night Fear Religion messages? Anybody reading this "listening?"
Will the day come when all these former WCG hirelings, who fled Pasadena and left their ministerial credentials behind in Pasadena, along with their followers, eventually thank God that He so loved the world that He did not sent a council...or a committee?
Time will tell...
John
Tyler and Nathan are both Regional Directors, as are Wachowicz and Hernandez. Fall, Greer, and Millich are Area Pastors in the USA. The mystery to me is why Rod McNair, Jonathan McNair, John Strain, and Dexter Wakefield are on the Council.
Wakefield is a wealthy local elder brought to Charlotte by Rod Meredith, and his ego is even larger than his wealth. He likes to feel important, and he likes you if you acknowledge his brilliance and his importance. His Mercedes is usually the nicest car in the LCG HQ parking lot.
Strain is the local pastor in Charlotte. He has a reputation for being one of the nicer ministers in LCG, but there are dozens who would be more appropriate and effective participants in Council of Elders discussions. As a cancer survivor who used everything modern medicine would offer him, and as a man who spent decades as a successful salesman in the business world, he may come closest on the Council to having an ordinary member's perspective.
The McNairs have been frenemies for years. Neither is very bright, and both are very political. But Rod is a TV presenter (which may also explain Smith's presence on the Council) and Jonathan is in charge of LCG Education (though his only education after high school is his Ambassador College diploma).
RCM is the one who expanded the Council to 15, but it didn't matter because he didn't listen to them for serious ideas. Being on the Council was a political perk given by RCM, but at the end of the day he took his family members' advice and ignored the Council most of the time. We should probably be grateful that he didn't expand his Council to 70 members as the Mormons and COG7 have done.
Wow! There are more LCG council members that there are members in virtually any LCG congregation!
Old folks getting the flu! What a shocker! Been going on forever. The flu has been one of the top ten killers for a few decades now. There was no increase in mortality until the jab came out.
Wow! The secret council of elders membership is revealed!
I once asked Rod Meredith why he had a secret council of elders. His reply "It's not secret . . . we try to post a picture of the council once a year." Let's not forget that LCG is a one-man-rule organization. Weston decides who gets on the council and who gets taken off. The council is simply a way for Weston to expand his control. You earn your way on by sucking up, you get axed for not being sufficiently loyal. And nobody knows . . .
LCG vs UCG.
In LCG, the purpose of the local congregation is to support headquarters. HQ is doing the most important work in the world. If a pastor is doing a good job in the field, he will be transferred to Charlotte to consolidate power. That way, the man is more easily controlled. If he were to not parrot LCG's positions exactly, he is a threat. If he was popular and was to draw a following, that is dangerous and can't be tolerated. Better to swamp them with HQ bureaucracy and administrative tasks than to have them in the field serving the brethren.
In UCG, the purpose of the leadership is to support the local congregation. The local congregation is the focal point. There is no headquarters, and men are rarely brought into the home office from the field. The president's job is mostly administrative and inspirational. It is odd that men politic for the presidency or a spot on the council when there is little power in either.
In LCG the individual's relationship with God is at the bottom of the pyramid. That person supports the local pastor, who supports HQ, who reports directly to God, and for God.
In UCG the individual's relationship with God is at the top of the pyramid. The local pastor supports that relationship, and UCG's home office provides foundational support (salaries, feast sites, internet, magazine, summer camps, a solid set of established doctrine).
Anon 11:10 AM, will you pass me the Flavor Aid when you have finished drinking yours?
As Rev can't be used to designate a minister in the COGs, I see that Mr. is still used as code for a minister. E.G. Mr Richard Ames shows he is a minister, whereas plain Richard Ames would just be an 'ordinary' member.
Make sure everyone is ready scripture and not just the supposed “solid set of established doctrine” by UCG. Booklets aren’t scripture. When the Bereans checked to see if these things were so, they checked the OT scriptures, not booklets or doctrines of an organization.
Yes, in LCG we had sermons which instructed members that we must call a minister, "Mr". The same sermon the minister gave us 5 ways to appreciate our minister more- including "appreciating all the small things he does". Also he said that criticising the minister was "blasphemy". My mouth dropped open.
Yep, the suck up. The rubber stamp! You either agree 100% with the leader and his agenda, or you become an Eino (elder in name only) and get dropped from the council! So much for providing perspective and the wisdom which accompanies age and life experience.
A council full of "yes" men. When was the last time they rotated anyone new to their council? About a 1/3 of them have been in place since the very beginning of LCG. No wonder LCG is a dying or in most cases, a dead church. No spiritual growth! They're ALL stuck in the past. As to COVID, let them ALL come down with it. Suffer a little, like many in LCG have done lately.
WHO made up the Council of Elders in the Bible??? Do tell!! There is NO precedence for this but it is instead a figment of the imagination of the CORPORATE churches!! There WAS NO Council of Elders listed in the Bible!! Utter NONSENSE!!
Lots of diversity on that council, too bad it doesn't look like Acts 2. Heck, even Fox News has more diversity than they do.
In the UCG if the local congregations are in control why don't all of them become independent. Why is there even a need for a "home office"?
Wouldn't the best form of church government be total control of each congregation by its local members. Why have a "home office" at all? Funds would stay in the local area to totally fund the local congregation. A "home office" is totally unneeded unless it is used to control the local churches.
In the UCG if the local congregations are in control why don't all of them become independent. Why is there even a need for a "home office"?
Wouldn't the best form of church government be total control of each congregation by its local members. Why have a "home office" at all? Funds would stay in the local area to totally fund the local congregation. A "home office" is totally unneeded unless it is used to control the local churches.
Indeed. An interesting fact that came out of the 1995 Indianapolis foundation of UCG was that there was a dispute about whether it should be the "United Churches of God" or the "United Church of God". One set believed that it should be a voluntary association of independent congregations. The other side wanted a more centralized government. Over the next 15 years, several congregations did indeed leave because there was too much centralized authority. This led to the larger UCG conference of elders electing non-central-authority men to the council of elders. This is why COGWA was formed. COGWA wanted more centralized controlling authority, with leadership not accountable to anyone except God, and of course, without the abuses that came with WCG.
Anon Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 4:24:00 AM PDT
In the UCG if the local congregations are in control why don't all of them become independent. Why is there even a need for a "home office"?
AND
Anon Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 7:14:00 AM PDT
Wouldn't the best form of church government be total control of each congregation by its local members. Why have a "home office" at all? Funds would stay in the local area to totally fund the local congregation. A "home office" is totally unneeded unless it is used to control the local churches.
******
Once upon a Time (1995), I had the opportunity to attend the Indianapolis conference when the United Ass. was established by former wcg hirelings, who fled pasadena's WCG corporation, leaving their ministerial credentials behind.
At the conference, it was determined that the local congregations would be set up as independent, take care of their financial needs locally, and whatever was left over would be sent to a central office, called home office.
Then, over a very short period of time thereafter, it appears that the decision was reversed and local independent boards had to shut down as the United ass. strives to become what appeared to be wcg 2, which today looks like the original wcg; however, there is not much good news any longer available.
Since 1995, how many of those former Wcg hirelings, and the scattered members, grown in any new knowledge, new understanding, and new wisdom to amount to anything?
I suppose we could still include CoGWAss, living, dead, flurry, etc.
Most of them, who seem to turn a blind eye to Christ's second coming to Earth, which lasted about 40 days after His murder and resurrection, and expected Jesus to return years ago to rain on Earth, but it hasn't happened.
Many still have faith in their mmm, some expecting Jesus to return to reign on Earth very soon, within weeks, within months, within years, within decades?
Time will tell...
John
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