RCG: Andrew Holcombe - Enabler-in-Chief (Part 6) “Meat Shield”

 

Enabler-in-Chief (Part 6) “Meat Shield”

 

An unusual introduction by Andrew J. Holcombe was added to "The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 393)," which was recorded on the Sabbath of September 17, 2022. His brief comments were spliced into David C. Pack’s “just in case” babble.

 

Everyone inside The Restored Church of God watched one of Dave’s “young and inexperienced” assistants herald the coming of God’s Apostle. This strange occurrence is worth examining more closely.

 

In a previous article, these comments from Part 393 gave me a double-take.

 

David C. Pack

@ 03:37 I appreciate very much Mr. Holcombe giving some introductory comments. Sometimes it’s helpful to hear from the men on my team.

 

Andrew J. Holcombe

@ 00:10 Wanted to Mr. Pack wanted me to stand up and give a few comments here, brethren.

 

So, Dave “appreciated” Andrew obeying him. I laugh when I think if Andrew had said, “No, Mr. Pack. I don’t feel comfortable with that.” The Coffee Kid was probably sweating a little because it would have meant his head was on the block next. Brad was warming up in the bullpen in case of emergency.

 

Since Andrew was supposed to give a sermon anyhow, he was the logical choice. No matter that it blew up his mental focus for his own introduction, he now had to carry Dave over his shoulders up to the lectern. Andrew is a strong guy and could physically do that, by the way.

 

During this bizarre message, another enabler at the Headquarters of The Restored Church of God was ordained. No longer just a Pepper Boy, Andrew J. Holcombe became the Meat Shield.

 

 

This is an article I have been reluctant to write. In fact, I have been putting it off while I ponder the implications. I have a personal connection to Andrew J. Holcombe and his wonderful wife. Before I dissect his words and give an analysis, I want everybody to understand it is not something I relish.

 

When Andrew first came to Headquarters as a young architect, he began working in the Media Production Services department while we were still on the bottom floor of the Hall of Administration. A bright young man, eager to smile, and an all-around team player.

 

I was "Uncle Marc," and he was "Cousin Andy." I did not realize until long afterward that he hated being called Andy. I will not call him that in this article.

 

He needed a new place to stay due to a plumbing issue and lived with me for about 3 months. During that time, I got to know him better. He is a decent guy. Genuine. Kind. Thoughtful. Sincere. Serving. Easy to get along with and easy to like.

 

I was thrilled when he and his future wife started to court because I was also a big fan of her. While watching them from across the room through my camera lens at the Feast of Tabernacles in Florida in 2013, I saw the sparks those kids had. It felt good to see love blossom.

 

This is Andrew and me at that Feast in 2013 when we both had more hair.

After I left in March of 2021, I had almost no contact with anyone inside RCG. During the funeral for Kory North that winter, Mrs. Holcombe was one of the people who saw me and hugged me immediately.

 

She is a rock star at RCG. She is sharp, dependable, eager to laugh, kind, and GOOD at what she does. When she has a project, you can rest assured it will be done on time and correctly. I would watch her in meetings at a table full of men, speaking up and giving sound advice. I was continually impressed by her great ideas. Some others in that room…not so much. She outshined certain "ministers," and I took note of that. It was always a pleasure to work with her.

 

I also have a connection with her dad, Andrew's father-in-law. A large man with a large heart, super friendly. I adore her dad. He and I had a few deep discussions, and I appreciated his generosity. Her mom is a sweetheart, also. Good people. These are all good people.

 

I have a personal history with Andrew. To not “call it as I see it" and acknowledge the horrific enabling Andrew has done felt like I would be "giving him a pass" unfairly. If Brad and Ed deserve some heat, Andrew does as well.

 

My analysis of RCG is personally driven, but I cannot let personal relationships interfere with the facts.

 

Andrew was a great guy when I knew him, but his proximity to David C. Pack has blinded him to reality. He is a fellow architect in biblical fraud alongside James E. Habboush, aka The Coffee Kid. Those two "young and inexperienced ministers" help Dave propagate prophetic falsehood and are instrumental in keeping RCG on the edge of Christ’s return in perpetuity.

 

The painful fact is that Andrew J. Holcombe is on Team Enablers at Headquarters and agreed to stand before everyone in The Restored Church of God to be a Meat Shield because Dave was tired of facing defeat alone.

 

This whole thing makes me sad. I hope Andrew, his wife, and his parents-in-law flee from RCG.

 

 

When I first began these articles, all quotes were verbatim. The stuttering was preserved to illustrate the scattered, disjointed thinking. As this evolved, the misspeaks were cleaned up to make the content more understandable.

 

But in the case of Andrew here, the stammering and poor grammar is essential because it solidifies that he comes across as nervous and reluctant. I suspect this was thrown into his lap at the last minute during the song before walking up to the lectern. That is the RCG way.

 

Andrew is otherwise a polished public speaker. He was a natural in Spokesman’s Club and increased his skills over the years as a “minister.”

 

Watching this painful 3 ½ minutes reveals how incredibly uncomfortable the guy is.

 

Hear his voice and see his body language during this 3:36 excerpt. Tell me if you think that is a man who wanted to be put in that position.

Some inside baseball: When a "minister" is nervous, they often say "brethren." Dr. Feelbad has a terrible habit of this. Andrew did this nine times within three-ish minutes.

 

Perhaps he was afraid of disappointing "Mr. Pack," which would lead to receiving wrath later.

 

@ 00:44 …he'll conclude the mess or conclude the service for about 20 to 25 minutes.

 

An accidental slip of honesty. Dave did not “conclude the mess” as we had all hoped.

 

@ 00:59 Because brethren, we've wrestled with a lot of things. We've wrestled with many different aspects of prophecy. But frankly, very little, if you think about it in the grand scheme of things, we've wrestled with very little in prophecy.

 

A patently false statement. Andrew and Dave have struggled with MUCH in prophecy. The three shepherds. The 1335. That Prophet. Elijah. The Man of Sin. How many Kingdoms of God there are. How long the Kingdoms are. Jesus Christ or the Father comes first. The Father judges us. Which Holy Day kicks all this off. When is salvation. The list goes on and on and on…far past “very little.”

 

Shame on you for saying that, Andrew. Shame on you.

 

At first, you speak the truth but wrap it up with an untruth.

 

Relisten to the “presumption confessional circus” in Part 392 and see if you agree with Andrew.

 

This is RCG spin and gaslighting and everything wrong with the enablers at Headquarters. They tell you something so far from the truth that you are almost beside yourself to hear it.

 

Would a “minister” knowingly lie to the members of The Restored Church of God? The greatest questions. Plain answers.

 

@ 01:15 A lot has been cemented and is and is correct that we have proven over the course of these these seven years almost coming up on almost seven years of the series in prophecy.

 

@ 01:27 But we've wrestled with little bits and pieces. How do certain verses fit, and how do we understand exactly certain bits of timing?

 

@ 01:35 So brethren, you'll find today Mr. Pack will explain in much more great detail. I'm just setting it up a little bit, much more great detail, much greater detail, that a lot of the "what" is exactly correct. We're just focused a little bit on timing.

 

Not “exactly correct” seven days later.

 

Timing is such a niggly little detail in prophecy. Only the passing of time makes the truth evident, Andrew. Without that, nothing is “cemented” or can be trusted as “correct” considering the track record of your boss. Spoiler alert: That track record ain’t good.

 

@ 02:16 And truly we can appreciate and understand the complexity, the difficulty that these verses have have given us, frankly, brethren think about it. These same verses have eluded all a lot of God's people for 2000 years. It's they've they've been hidden a lot of what we're going what Mr. Pack is going to explain has been hidden and is finally coming clear.

 

Today is Elul 28, and the Feast of  Trumpets begins in less than two days. That puts a big fat DOOH on anything you said last week about “coming clear.”

 

@ 02:44 So, brethren, we just wanted to say, don't give up. A lot has been resolved, and there is no reason to believe we're going another year.

 

Repeating this for nine years kind of makes the point lose its punch. Being wrong for nine years also does not build confidence in the source of information.

 

@ 03:00 …as I'm speaking, I believe he'll be going upstairs with Mr. Habboush, and I won't be there typing…he'll be preparing this message for what would truly be rushing to call out this final this final message to you and then to those brethren.

 

I have watched David C. Pack sneak out the back door of the Main Hall to skip Sabbath and Holy Day Services. God’s Apostle literally “forsakes the assembling of ourselves together so much more as we see the day approaching.” He avoids a “commanded assembly” so often that they are not ashamed to announce this to the whole church.

 

The folks at Headquarters know this is true. If you think I am exaggerating, just ask them about it. 

 

Andrew, how many Sabbath Services have you had to "cut short" because Dave wanted to talk, study, or whatever? I noticed that you and Jim would take turns with that. Brad would many times get roped in.

 

Where in the Bible are apostles exempt from obeying a command of God? Since when is it acceptable for a “minister of Jesus Christ” to skip a holy convocation? Yet, that is common practice at Headquarters. Believe it.

 

David C. Pack tells God, "I know this is Your holy time, but my time is more valuable than anyone else because I have to prepare my message since time management is not a personal strength."

 

He does not care about Sabbath Services unless he is the one talking. I have watched him read the newspaper during Services. I have watched him have a whispering meeting at the back of the hall during Services. He pulls men into the kitchen with him during Services.

 

One time he commented on hearing the special music “from inside the kitchen” that we had to cut out back when RCG cared about those types of things.

 

Sabbath Services are only for the little people in RCG. Giving your Holy Day offerings via your wife is acceptable if you are Elijah. Literally coming before God empty-handed, and that is no biggie.

 

They are so unashamed of that type of conduct that Andrew felt perfectly fine announcing that the Pastor General of The Restored Church of God would willfully leave Services. It must not be as "commanded" or "holy" as those same men like to preach from the lectern.

 

“You cannot keep the Sabbath at home; you can only break the Sabbath at home.”

 

When I realized that the rules do not apply to everyone at Headquarters, it further soured my opinion of what was and is still happening inside RCG. Even if this was "acceptable" during the Worldwide Church of God years, Dave takes that to a new level. He has the license to do whatever whenever he wants.

 

A command of God will not inconvenience him.

 

@ 03:25 Look forward to this.

 

One strange choice about this Andrew introduction is why it was done at the beginning of his sermon rather than at the end. It would have been more logical to say his three minutes and then have Dave come up immediately while the thoughts are still fresh.

 

Instead, he “gets the brethren excited” and “shares some insight," only to make them wait for another 74 minutes for those statements to be relevant.

 

Andrew, you made them suffer through your message while, in the back of their minds, they were wondering how much further Mr. Pack would separate them from their meal.

 

Poor judgment does certainly go forth. That is the RCG way.

 

@ 03:27 Time is not up. We're we're we're right there. It's very close, but don't give up. Don't give up on this year.

 

Not as close as you thought when you said these words. Elul 23 and Elul 24 have both passed.

 

By Tuesday this coming week, they should feel free to give up on this year. But I suspect Dave will not let them. And you will not either because you have a crucial role in stringing the members of The Restored Church of God along in this journey of biblical madness. You are doing that, Andrew. You.

 

 

All of this is eerily familiar. The reason is that during Part 249 on April 15, 2020, Andrew J. Holcombe made some "closing remarks" after Dave sat down and forgot a few points in his notes.

 

Here are some notable highlights from the 8-minutes of spin when the Days of Unleavened Bread were The Thing. Note the similarities repeated 144 parts, two years and five months later.

Andrew J. Holcombe – Part 249 – April 15, 2020

@ 47:04 And a case, a powerful case in some ways, could be made for even beyond today.

 

The "most powerful case" to go "beyond today" in 2022 is that Andrew is assisting a prophetic street magician who is so terribly awful at what he does that you can count on him to fail with 100% accuracy. The sun rises tomorrow. David C. Pack will be wrong again on Monday.

 

@ 47:11 Mr. Pack, I work closely with him…We’ve talked for hours over the course of these Days of Unleavened Bread…and it’s it’s a dynamic, dynamic process. It’s not easy.

 

Prophecy is hard. Choose another career.

 

@ 47:44 Is it possible that we do get outside the Days of Unleavened Bread? Is it possible? And as of right now, brethren, you and I, we’re in this boat together.

 

@ 48:01 And if something if it doesn't happen tonight, as we all still expect and believe, stay the course. We’re not here for just to hear what the next prophetic scenario is and then bail out.

 

And bail out everyone should.

 

The more times Dave and Andrew are wrong about a date, the more people inside RCG wake up.

 

As much as the date-setting is foolish from a strategic perspective, much like hiring an armed police officer to babysit the front gate during the UnOpen House, and much like using Common funds to purchase a $500,000 lawn, they will keep doing it.

 

It is an opportunity to point out inevitable failure. It is an opportunity to "make plain" that God is not behind the teachings of David C. Pack and the enablers at The Restored Church of God. It is an opportunity for more brethren inside RCG to send off their resignation letters.

 

The more dates, the more exits. The revised attendance numbers after the Feast of Tabernacles will give an accurate trajectory of RCG.

 

@ 49:09 Brethren, again, like I said, we are all in this together, and we all still fully expect Christ to come today.

 

Fewer and fewer inside RCG “fully expect” anything but “yet another Mr. Pack message.”

 

@ 51:25 If, for some reason, we get past tonight…and Christ doesn't return, there is a possible path forward. There is. So do not be discouraged.

 

@ 51:51 I just none of us can believe, absolutely none of us can believe we have another year to go.

 

Here we are two and a half years later. Those words ring more hollow each year they are repeated.

 

@ 54:10 If you feel discouraged, try to try to make yourself lift yourself up and encourage other people as well. But again, anything is possible.

 

Lift yourself up? So glad I counseled with the ministry on that one.

 

Anything is possible except for David C. Pack to get prophetic timing right. God will not allow it.

 

What an odd comment for Andrew to make when trying to support how "correct Mr. Pack is.” Back in 2020. “Anything” is outside what Mr. Pack was teaching. Maybe this is what he really thought.

 

@ 54:23 Many of us have already felt like we’ve been keeping the word of Christ’s patience, but it might be God's will that we continue to do so. And if that’s the case, it's not our will but God's will. So stay the course. Continue.

 

When all else fails, blame God. It is God’s will that Jesus Christ did not return during Unleavened Bread in 2020. It is God’s will that Jesus Christ does not return during the Feast of Trumpets in 2022.

 

When David C. Pack fails again, it is God’s will. I actually believe that one.

 

Andrew, you are a neat guy. I adore your wife. But you are on the wrong side of history. You are supporting the wrong guy. You are a Meat Shield to David C. Pack and nothing more. The moment you are no longer useful to him, watch him turn and eat you. He has done it before and will do it again. That is his nature.

 

Get out while you can. Stop encouraging biblical fraud. Stop perpetuating prophetic fraud. Stop supporting a man God is not supporting.

 

You are directly hurting people inside The Restored Church of God. You are assisting the system that uses fear and manipulation to control the minds and hearts of faithful people.

 

Stop being the Dave Pack Meat Shield before you get burned.

 

Leave, and I promise to buy you and your lovely wife a steak dinner. I know just the place.

 

 

RCG Overtime

 

On the evening of September 23, 2022 (Elul 27), another "Pathetic Update" was posted in Member Services, giving excuses as to why Dave spent another week being wrong and why the previous MS postings were also wrong.

 

There is a lot of "wrong" to spread around inside Headquarters.

 

The message lacked "oomph," but here are a few nuggets.

 

"Brethren, we are waiting for Trumpets…."

 

Dave appears to be holding the line, but that will all change by Tuesday. Count on it. There is no way Dave and company will sit and wait another year. That tactic does not bring in bookoo Common.

 

“Hours could be spent clarifying and qualifying all the terms that

we wrestled with for years, but that came to be so clear.”

 

This is pure comedy. The previous hours spent creating Part 1 through Part 393 were not enough. Only after Part 393 did that "come to be so clear." Ha ha ha ha ha ha. If only there were time left in the current world for Part 394. Maybe God will "give us more time," so more spewed biblical bile can ruin another tie.

 

"(Zech. 14:5-7)! For a long time, this day was only known to God

for all that it is! But now we have a full picture.”

 

Dave and the enablers always seem to have “a full picture” until they realize they don’t. It’s “correct” until it isn’t. It’s “clear” until it isn’t. Dave is “right” until he isn’t. Well, even when he is wrong, he is right.

 

David C. Pack will never have “a full picture.” Monday will come and go, and nothing will make the national news from Wadsworth, Ohio. With Atonement and the Feast of Tabernacles on the horizon, the anvil will strike Dave on the head again to give him more “clarity” to keep dragging the members of RCG around the prophetic desert.

 

Dave has run out of ideas. His only course of action is to repeat the past and travel in circles. Watch.

Marc Cebrian

See:   Enabler-in-Chief (Part 6) “The Meat Shield”

Commercial Break: Passages... A Meaningful Metaphor

 As if it never happened: The Return to Cobble Beach 

25 years ago I took my LaStone Hot Stone Massage training and receive my set of basalt stones from the Pacific Ocean. I always promised myself when I was finished with them, I would return them to the Pacific out of gratitude and respect for them being so good to me and my practice as used on hundreds of clients over that time. 

I could not just sell them to someone or even give them away. They had too much of myself and clients in them through some difficult times of transition and challenges as my own WCG crisis unfolded personally.  If I have a soul, these stones contained part of it.

I never could imagine how I would end up in a position to actually return them to the Pacific being in the Carolinas, but...  end up there I have and so back they went this week.

At 17 million years old they gave me a mere 25 years and now seeing them on Cobble Beach, it's like nothing ever happened. 

Cobble Beach just South of Yaquina Head Lighthouse

I found myself there alone at sunrise. Not a soul in sight but pelicans and the occasional sea lion. 

Cobble Beach is quite the unique and violent rock strewn part of the Oregon Coast

Guarded by Dinosaurs...

Cobble Beach is made up completely of smooth basalt cobbles, no sand, that are eroded from the cliffs over thousands of years. Trying to walk on them is almost impossible and is like walking on snow during an avalanche. A hiking stick is all that saved me.  When the waves wash over the cobbles and retreat, it causes the stones to click against each other on every outgoing wave. Very nice sound.... ticka...ticka..ticka...ticka........

My massage stones, hardly discernable from those already there and giving minor hints as to their having a past unlike those that have ever been only on Cobble Beach. 

Once I put my basalt massage stones down on the beach, they immediately started their return to the sea. They are the line from bottom to top of somewhat elongated and a bit off color stones but fit the beach cobbles nicely. In a few hours, the high tide will remove any residual oils from massage and they can spend the next million years with their budds and keeping the secret they hold as to what they were up to in the past. 

In many ways, it is like it never happened.

It was a meaningful experience to me, alone on Cobble Beach at sunrise in a place I never thought I'd ever see again. A few years back I placed some of my parents cremains at low tide in a tide pool there and watch the tide come in and take them away. Another meaningful and deeply profound experience personally.

Cobble Beach, to me, is a very special place, a metaphor of sorts, for the brevity of life and the respect we should all have for each other and the time we have to enjoy it. 

Sunset that evening on the Pacific...

 Thanks for tolerating the share. I am sure there will be more COG BS to report on shortly! :)

 

God's Two Pillars Are Currently In Jerusalem At This Very Moment!

If you thought Armstrongism could not get any crazier after the silly antics of Bob Thiel, Gerald Flurry, and Dave Pack, think again!

The Kitchen Clan (Samuel, Timothy, Timothy Jr) have really stepped in the red heifer do-do this time. They have long imagined themselves as the TRUE Worldwide Church of God carrying on with the name after WCG apostatized and became Grace Communion International.

They even have stolen as many works of Herbert Armstrong that they could collect to pass off as the "official" registry for all things Herbert. They justify this theft as "fair use".

They see themselves as having a ministry far better than even Bob Thiel's little fledgling church. The Kitchens have Herbert's truths while Bob has only his dreams and a diploma-mill theology degree from India.

The Kitchens are currently in Jerusalem and have set themselves as 'the two of a family" from Jeremiah 3:14. As the Two Pillars, they will use Herb's materials to "preach" the truth and usher in the return of Christ. Poor Bob Thiel is always a day late and a dollar short.

Somehow, I think they believe Herb will be resurrected to preach a final witness to the world. It's hard to tell from their nonsense below, but it is pretty obvious.

This is what the Kitchens posted on Facebook yesterday:

Jeremiah 3:12-18

" Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever. 

 

"Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord."

The ONLY VOICE GOD HAS USED in the last 80 years is the voice of Herbert W Armstrong!!!!

Continue.. 

"Turn, O backsliding children(A PEOPLE WHO HAVE KNOWN THE WAY OF GOD, AND HAVE SLID OFF THE TRACK), saith the Lord; for I am married unto you".. Christ is married to the Church!!!!

What people has known the way of God and had heard Mr. Armstrong? God's Church! He is speaking to those who ARE OFF THE TRACK!

Let's continue... 

"I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion".

Now interesting enough, this is speaking of bringing God's Church to Jerusalem!

Some news... My brother Tim and myself are now in Jerusalem! We are TWO OF A FAMILY! These scriptures are very alive for us and we are here for a purpose! These scriptures are about the membership of the Worldwide Church of God coming to Jerusalem NOW! 

Notice as God's people gather together in Jerusalem... "And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding...(So we dont have to worry about ministers brethren, God will bring the right ones. God will nourish his Church for 3 1/2 years. Read Revelation 12)

"And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land(AS GODS PEOPLE TRAVEL TO JERUSALEM), in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more."

Now this is IMPORTANT! God's people are looking toward Christ's return!!

"At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord"

JESUS CHRIST IS COMING TO DETHRONE SATAN! Satan's seat and throne is going to be deposed!

Now if Christ's throne is Jerusalem that means Satan has moved his seat to Jerusalem! What this means is after the Church comes to Jerusalem, armies will come and surround Jerusalem, and the beast and False prophet will appear HERE IN JERUSALEM!

NOW unto Jerusalem: "all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart."

THIS IS SPEAKING OF YOU BRETHREN! IT IS SPEAKING ABOUT US! THE WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD!

"In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north(GOD'S CHURCH GATHERS)...AND GOES WHERE?

"...to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers."

Unto Jerusalem.

After arriving, we can read where we go from there, what Christ says to those IN JUDEA and also what we read in Revelation 12.

The foundation of the Temple has been LAID! Christ used Mr. Armstrong for that purpose of restoration. Now let it be known the pillars of philadelphia are here to lift God's banner and voice up in Jerusalem!

We are closer to world events crashing down! But it is because God's Church coming to Jerusalem that the United States of Europe will rise up and try to destroy the Church, and when that fails locally they will go back to AMERICA amd CANADA and the UK, and AUSTRALIA, back to the countries where God's Church was living, and then nuclear war will break out and invasions. War will be waged by Satan on those of the Church WHO DID NOT COME! WHO DID NOT HEAR GOD'S WARNING!

SO PAY HEED BRETHREN! BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!

Well, crap! How many more of these blithering idiots does the church need to make itself look even more stupid than it already is?

Double-click on the letter below to read it in larger print.

Living Church of God Sees The Fourth Reich Emerging

A recent mailing from Living Church of God.

Where would the Church of God be without having Germany as their go-to villain of the day? Rod Meredith spent decades moaning about the rise of Germany and how they would eventually attack the United States, taking citizens back to Europe as slaves, throwing others into concentration camps, and others destined to die in gas chambers and ovens. Who can forget his rants on citizens being hung up on meat hooks in these camps!

Even Bob Theil who was trained at the glorious feet of Meredith carries on this hysteria. These guys get excited about the prospect of this happening as validation for their corny prophetic teachings.

Some of the Churches of God have spent decades using fear as their motivator to get people to join and keep them in the church. Anyone who questions them or dares leave the church will soon be fodder for these rampaging Germans and the hoards of Chinese that will be here doing the same thing. It will be a real-life version of The Man in the High Castle. 

The church lives in a constant state of fear and needs that fear in order to survive.

Here is what happens when church people are subjected day in and out to fear...

When we hear about adults who are oppressed with fear we have every reason to suspect that something is wrong. It may be a battered wife who walks on eggshells to avoid upsetting a volatile husband. A young woman who has been assaulted sexually may find it difficult to go anywhere alone, particularly after dark. Then we come across congregation members who long to hear something reassuring and comforting in church about the care and generosity of God. What they sometimes do hear is a message that is constantly putting them on edge. Salvation, they are told, is something that can be removed very quickly, apparently according to the whim of the Church pastor. Chris once mentioned a theology which could be summarised by three words, ‘turn or burn’. This kind of teaching is rooted in fear. At its most optimistic it offers a safe place in heaven in return for keeping on the right side of the church leader. Words like obedience and submission may describe the relationship that is expected of the church member towards the leader. This submission is also expressed through the compulsory tithe. Other demands on the family’s income and its free time may be demanded. All these rules are followed, not for reasons of joy or gratitude towards God, but simply because the relationship has become one based on fear. The pastor controls his flock with this weapon of fear. The sense of dread is very real. On this side of the grave there is fear of expulsion from the congregation through shunning. On the other side it is the fear of endless torment in hell. 

I have been recently reading on the topic of the susceptibility of mentally fragile people to religious messages. When a person has a history of mental distress, it is not difficult for a Church leader to control them by working on their fears. The initial friendship offered by a controlling pastor may seem very attractive and important to someone with a precarious mental history. Such individuals are however extraordinarily vulnerable to the abusive controlling techniques used by some religious leaders. Quite often there is an appeal to demonic forces as the explanation for symptoms of mental distress. If the individual buys into this explanation, the state of bondage is complete. Emotionally and psychologically they are in complete thrall to this religious leader who appears to offer them a way forward. Sometimes the help of specialised Christian institutions who specialise in demons are called upon. Few seem to emerge from such places with much in the way of healing. More often the mentally disturbed descend into a cycle of self-harm and even suicidal behaviour as the result of this kind of attention. 

 

The use of fear as a means of control in a religious context is an appalling abuse of power. While such fear-mongering is most quickly absorbed by the mentally fragile, a message involving fear can reach almost anyone, vulnerable or not. Unfortunately, Scripture does possess some narratives that seem to validate the use of these means of control. In America there were published a series of novels which were read by millions of people. These were known as the ‘Left Behind’ novels. The basic message of these books is that the Second Coming of Jesus is imminent. Large numbers of people will be either snatched up into the air or left behind on earth to suffer the most appalling events. The two words ‘left behind’ are a kind of threat directed at people who, by not following a millennial reading, will not be among the Elect. These are the chosen, as determined by the pastor, to qualify as ‘true’ Christians. These are those who agree with him and his teaching. 

 

To summarise this post, I would say that the moment an individual is made to feel fear in a church context, then I suspect that someone is likely engaged in spiritual abuse. Of course, we need to learn responsibility and good judgement in the way we live our Christian lives, but this never needs to involve the deliberate cultivation of fear by leaders. The use of fear as a weapon is, to my mind, a technique of spiritual abuse and there is no excuse for this. The Christian faith is a message of love. This love that we experience and preach is meant to cast out all fear. Were that to be true in all our churches! Fear and control in church -understanding Spiritual Abuse

Hat tip to an LCG source...

Tiny Little Prophet Continues To Be "Shadow Banned" By Big Tech!

 

The world's foremost authority on Christianity, church history, the Mayans, red heifers, the CERT accelerator, the Catholic Church, Satan's chair, the EU, world financial issues, food production, medical issues, and homeopathic mumbo jumbo is back today telling his few faithful how Big Tech is persecuting him as they try and stop him from spreading his lies. Someone is NOT happy in Grover Beach!

Never has the Church of God had a more powerful man speaking the truth than it does in Bwana Beto Bob today! Never has more truth been spoken than in this present moment in the history of humanity and Christendom. Satan and his minions are trembling at his presence and are seeking every avenue possible to destroy him through Big Tech.

Bwana Beto writes:

While we are being shadow-banned (made so we are hard to find) by Google and YouTube (otherwise that video may have had ten or more times that number of views), we have about 6,000 subscribers on the YouTube channel that would have received some notification and apparently most viewed it. 

 

By the way, to see if we were still being shadow-banned, yesterday I did that a search which showed our video in the number 2 spot and a related article on the number 3 spot of the first page of Duck-Duck-Go. Yet, we do not come up until the sixth page with a Google search of the same search terms, even though our YouTube video had more views than all but the first search result on the first page of Google. 

 

Big Tech is working to suppress our messages, which, as mentioned before, we are looking more at other media, like radio. Yet, Matthew 24:14 will be fulfilled.

 

LCG Members Still Do Not Know How To Dress For The Feast And At The Beach

 

Big Brother seeks to control every aspect of members' lives. No one is allowed to think for themselves. This silliness reminds me of the current situation in Iran right now with the killing of a young woman for not dressing "properly". The church needs to stop lording itself over members' lives in every manner possible.

Appropriate Dress for Feast Services 

 

While Scripture teaches that God looks on the heart, dress and outward decorum are also important (Matthew 22:8–14). As we prepare to be “lights to the world” at the Feast, it’s good to review some basic principles for attire at Feast services. For men, in most modern cultures, coats, collared shirts, ties, and nice slacks are considered appropriate on special occasions. This may vary somewhat in tropical climates. For ladies, 1 Timothy 2:9–10 explains that dress should be “modest apparel, with propriety and moderation.” Short, tight, form-fitting dresses, necklines flaunting cleavage, bare shoulders, backless dresses, crop tops, etc., are not appropriate for Church services. We come to services to worship God, not to display our bodies. Our challenge as Christian men and women is to come out of this world (2 Corinthians 6:17) and be lights to a world that has lost its way (Matthew 5:14–16). This is especially true as we gather to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles—picturing Christ’s glorious reign on earth! 

 

 

What About at the Beach? 

Appropriate beach attire for women and men at the Feast of Tabernacles is swimwear that is modest and in good taste. We should be guided by the two great commandments—to love God and love neighbor (Matthew 22:37–39; Mark 12:29–31)—so as not to offend God or neighbor in our dress at the Feast. Accordingly, following our Living Youth Programs policy, beachwear at the Feast for ladies should be a modest one-piece or a modest tankini (covering the mid-section), and for the men, no Speedo-type suits (unless pool facility rules require them, as is the case in some countries). Fathers and husbands have a responsibility to be leaders in their families to teach and guide regarding what is appropriate and what is not (Ezekiel 22:26).

LCG Struggling To Keep "Students" Interested In Bible Study Course

 

It seems like LCG is having issues keeping people connected to the church no matter what they do. From intense disinterest in public speaking presentations in the U.S and Canada to enrollees of its Tomorrow's World Bible Study Course (a cheap imitation of the old Worldwide Church of God's rather sad, proof-texting extraordinaire, Correspondence Course).

Greetings from Charlotte, 

 

The Tomorrow’s World Bible Study Course has garnered thousands of new students over the last three years, but most who begin the course do not continue all the way to the end. Most attrition occurs with students who do not progress to the second set of lessons. Our dilemma is, how do we move people along past good intentions? Recently, we began sending letters of encouragement to students at varying lengths of time after they receive their first set of lessons and found what seems to be the optimum time to touch base with them. We have since then seen a dramatic increase in those moving on to the second set of lessons and are on pace for September to set an all-time record for students requesting lessons five through eight. 

Weston never mentions what "dramatic" actually means. An increase of 1-2% would be dramatic for a course that fails to keep enrollees interested.  If the majority are requesting lessons 5- 8 that means they still have 2/3 of the enrollees not engaged.

Many ministers are traveling at this time. Mr. and Mrs. Dexter Wakefield left Tuesday to spend the Holy Days and Feasts in Kenya and Uganda. Dr. Winnail will be visiting Cincinnati for the Sabbath and Cambridge, Ohio, for Trumpets. Mr. Richard Ames is scheduled to be in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where four congregations will meet together for Trumpets. Be sure to keep up with, and be praying for, your Regional Directors and other ministers in your area who will also be traveling during this busy season. 

 

Our brethren in Haiti are living in a failed state, with unchecked crime spiraling out of control. Puerto Rico was hit hard with massive rainfall from Hurricane Fiona, causing landslides, road closures, and loss of electricity. The Dominican Republic was also badly hit by the hurricane. Please pray for our brethren in Haiti, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, that they will still be able to meet together for the Feast of Tabernacles.—Gerald Weston