Church of God International Capitulates

 

Bill Watson Has Won the War Over CGI’s Messaging

Lonnie Hendrix

The Church of God International’s long internal struggle over control of that organization’s messaging has resulted in a triumph for Bill Watson and his allies. For the last decade, Bill has been advocating a “conservative” political message for the church. Indeed, during that period, he has embraced Trumpism, QAnon conspiracy theories, authoritarianism, and anti-immigrant, anti-vaccination, anti-globalist, and America-First policy stances.

Why this fascination with extreme right-wing political beliefs? I believe that Bill’s views were forged in the fires of Herbert Armstrong’s teachings. In short, Bill believes that the English-speaking nations of the earth are the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh, capitalism is God’s system (and socialism is the Devil’s system), the church should be preaching a warning message which focuses on interpreting today’s headlines using biblical prophecies, illegal aliens and immoral people are destroying America’s Christian values and society, and most of the evils in the world are the consequence of elaborate and satanically inspired conspiracies.

Of course, some of the folks in CGI saw Bill’s partisanship as a potential liability. They believed that it was unwise to take sides in the divisive political and cultural wars raging in the United States. In other words, immediately alienating half of their potential audience did not seem like a wise course of action to them. Some of the folks in CGI leadership (like Vance Stinson, Jeff Reed, and Wynn Skelton) believed that the church should be preaching Christ’s Gospel message and avoiding the bankrupt preoccupation with headline theology which had resulted in so many prophetic failures for Herbert and Garner Ted. Many of these folks recognized that Anglo-Israelism had been thoroughly discredited and made its advocates look like a bunch of racists. Moreover, many of these folks thought that the church shouldn’t be taking any position on things like vaccinations and other public health measures.

Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that Bill’s views have prevailed within CGI. Indeed, in his most recent sermon, Defining the End Game, Pastor Watson delivered a detailed justification of his views, and the church posted it on their website! In his message, Bill’s longing for the “good ole days” of his youth was on full display. In short, the fear and grievances which have been the hallmark of Trumpism were front and center in his sermon. He noted that things are changing in America and around the world. He said: “This isn’t the same United States of America that I grew up in.” Watson then went on to reiterate: “We are living in a different country.” For Watson and his followers, America is morphing into something foreign and frightening.

The problem with this longing for the America of the past will be readily apparent to some of us. The truth is that America has always had its moral failings. While the 1950’s and early 1960’s may have been a golden age for folks like Mr. Watson, they weren’t so nice for people of color, women, and homosexuals. Those were the days when it was still acceptable to discriminate against, control, beat, jail, and lynch folks that weren’t white heterosexual males. Those were the days when it was OK to dump just about anything you wanted to onto the land and into the oceans, lakes, and rivers and into the air that we all have to breathe. Those were the days when the United States and Soviet Union were building great stockpiles of nuclear weapons capable of erasing all life from this planet and were engaging in proxy wars against each other around the globe.

According to Bill, too many folks simply cannot discern what is currently happening and are basically in denial about just how bad things really are for America. For Mr. Watson, it is incomprehensible that so many people cannot see this. In his view, they are like the frog in the pot of tepid water that is gradually brought to a boil. He declared: “I’m watching the United States slip away right before my very eyes!” According to Mr. Watson, bad people are changing our culture and the very nature of our social structure. For Bill, the culprits are homosexuals, transgender folks, abortion advocates, euthanasia advocates, and those nasty socialists and globalists.

What does all of that have to do with religion and things spiritual? Bill then proceeded to quote extensively from the seventh and eighth chapters of the book of Daniel and chapters 13, 17, and 18 of the book of Revelation. For Pastor Watson, these prophecies point to “Agenda 2030” and “The Great Reset.” Bill believes that corporations, governments, and the media are gaslighting all of us and are actively working to establish a socialistic system which controls everyone. He suggests that most folks will concede and conform to these controls, and that those who resist this governmental structure will suffer. Indeed, in this part of his sermon, his message sounded an awful lot like the Seventh Day Adventist’s predictions about laws enforcing Sunday observance.

Of course, the pastor completely dismisses any notion that folks like Soros and Gates are actually trying to help folks and prevent us from destroying ourselves. Once again, Mr. Watson believes that the objective of these folks is socialism and control. They are the servants of the Devil, and Bill and his allies are warning everyone about their nefarious activities. He quotes the very conservative Imprimis in the same breath that he quotes Scripture and doesn’t see any irony in employing the two together.

Finally, Bill ended his hour and fourteen minute long message by quoting from the twenty-fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew (an old Armstrongism favorite). For the pastor, Jesus was talking to the members of CGI in this passage – telling them to be alert to what’s going on in the world. Mr. Watson doesn’t want any of his followers to be caught off guard when Christ returns to this earth. Of course, Christ’s real message that his disciples should be prepared at all times – busily doing the things which he had commanded them to do – is completely lost on Bill. For Bill, this passage is an endorsement of his messaging – it validates his preoccupations with headline theology and right-wing politics.

Now, while it has been sad to see Bill and his allies go down this rabbit hole, it is even more disheartening to see people who know better providing a church platform for his messaging. Moreover, their website disclaimer seems weak, ineffectual, and pathetic when it is compared to the determined convictions of Bill and his allies. Yes, the website notes that the “information and opinions expressed on this website do not necessarily reflect the collective beliefs and doctrines of the Church of God International, its members, ministry, or leadership,” but that sure sounds like someone trying to justify something they know is wrong to me. For me, images of Pontius Pilate washing his hands and declaring his innocence come to mind. What do you think?