The COG and its whitewashed walls
The COG leadership call the members to sacrifice more money while they themselves especially the so-called elders earn upper-middle-class incomes and hide their salaries from their membership.
Perhaps the COG leadership's greatest failure is their unwillingness to take responsibility for the pathetic state of the churches. The COG are stagnant and/or dying. Clearly, the COGs are increasingly geriatric with relatively few young couples and children. All the members of UCG, LCG, and COGWA have to do is look around at church and see how few new people are attending church or being baptized. The handwriting is on the wall!
But you will never hear Jim Franks or Steve Myers (one of the more honest and talented COG speakers) or any others stand up and confess our collective incompetence, lack of hard work and good deeds, and unmitigated folly. Instead, we all -- lead by our leadership -- paint whitewashed walls.
"Everything is fine!"
Ezekiel 13:10-12
“‘Because they lead my people [COGs] astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash [The COG refrain "We are God's people"],
11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?”
Perhaps the one thing that will save the COGs besides a miracle is if the members stop funding them. Church income is the only metric the LCG, UCG, and COGWA leadership truly care about. Perhaps when the salaries, vacations, and other perks end the leadership will finally say they are sorry, love the membership and God, and truly change from their heart, and then maybe just then the membership will truly begin to work hard for God and love their fellow man!
Aristophanes
24 comments:
Steve Myers (one of the more honest and talented COG speakers)
>>may well be but not honest enough to face up to the fact he is still spreading Armstrong doctrine that is well established by now to be in complete error. One would have no objection at all if he said this in a less dogmatic way - but as always its presented as only us knowing and all of the others are deceived of Satan
I believe that more of these groups will eventually transform to the Dave Pack model, in which the ministers are not employed by the church, but have regular jobs.
A tactical error was made by HWA, when he decided that church and college employees would not be paying into the Social Security system because the end was so near. The ACOGs would not be weighted down with all these salaries today if all the geriatric ones were on SS and Medicare. As a gray church, the ministry would almost be a freebee to the organization.
You look around, and you wonder where these churches would be if the members had even accepted the Tkach changes just in the area of prophecy alone. But, you've probably still got all kinds of people running around talking about "when we go to Petra".
Even though Herb rejected paying SS, there was nothing to stop the ministers saving for their old age. I've seen a chart which compared SS with citizens saving the same sums, and the reasonably invested private savings handsomely beat the government system. So I shed no tears for the ministers.
I bet that by using creative accounting, retired ministers are being secretly paid by member contributions. Where's transparency? Many were voyeuristic by probing into their members lives, but demand secrecy with their own lives.
Can’t speak to the other COG’s, but can speak to UCG’s ministerial salary range. They most definitely don’t fall in the upper middle class category, which averages a salary of $119k/yr. They fall slightly to moderately above the average annual US salary of $59k/yr.
According to salary.com, the national average for pastors is $107k/yr., with the low end of the curve being $88k/yr. The top end of UCG’s pastor’s salary range is below the national low end average.
You can do the math on their range.
https://www.salary.com/research/salary/benchmark/pastor-salary
https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/family-finance/articles/where-do-i-fall-in-the-american-economic-class-system
9.37, but don't ministers get their rent partly paid for, plus car allowances and some FOT expenses? Who'se heard of a minister driving an older car?
They are also "paid" by prestige and respect that many don't deserve. It's my belief that some belong in jail for their mistreatment of members.
Hypocrite.
I notice how your very careful over not insulting Steve Myers. Why not? You've insulted so many since 2011. Why not Myers? Why tiptoe around Myers but not Frank's?
Because your from UCG and live a hypocrites life.
I don't know how saving for old age is regarded post 1975, but it was frowned upon and considered to demonstrate a lack of faith during the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Members who invested in securities were ridiculed for "playing" the stock market. If you didn't believe in "the end", you weren't considered to be all in.
This hypothetical regarding independent savings as compared to Social Security is largely a myth because 90% of the population lacks either the discipline or the resources to save consistently. Whole life insurance which accumulates real value as it comes to term is another form of disciplined savings, but so many people opt for term, which is purely death benefits.
Extremely conservative people who want all elements of Roosevelt's "New Deal" as well as Keynsian Economics abolished are always touting these independent savings plans, but SS is really the only way to make sure that the majority of seniors are taken care of.
@10:06
There may be other benefits that they get, but nothing that is going to put them into what is considered upper middle class. Even with the items you mentioned I'm guessing they're still in the 5 figure range.
As far as cars, many of them do get a fleet vehicle, which is not uncommon for any employee whose job description includes significant driving. Have you seen any of them driving fancy 2nd cars?
A very nice friend of mine who grew up with a few tenets from Radio Church Of God & WCG, is now pressing themself to likely join the stodgy, stale, stuffed shirts tribe of LCG.
The friend ought to know whether they are rednecks or not @ LCG. When I shared to the friend of LCG's callous mis-handling of the tragic 2015 Morgan Montgomery boat accident under their watch, the friend says, "who spread those lies?" (& that's after I shared the error-free, undisputable links for news reports/court rulings/etc.) :
https://www.10tv.com/article/news/recovery-underway-australian-teen-presumed-dead-after-boating-accident/530-8a0118ad-6364-4248-a6c3-bdbc829edef7
https://www.delgazette.com/2016/07/07/driver-in-fatal-boating-accident-given-30-days-in-jail-and-250-fine/
https://www.clarkperdue.com/blog/boating-accident-results-in-wrongful-death-of-teen/
https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/boater-sentenced-in-alum-creek-death-of-teenager
Whitewashing, is surely how my friend has been tricked to think the "pristine" LCG is so bible-based (WCG-style), so future-oriented to the point where big burly LCG guys can freely abuse the lakes with excessive non-necessary boating hedonistic speeds unfit for man, (girl), or beast.
My friend insinuates I am "worldly-minded" if I don't marvel at LCG's "whitewashing" they promote..despite presiding over deadly events such as Alum Creek Reservoir recklessness blithely dismissed by now as "water under the bridge" I suppose.
The friend also reminds me of Africans who COG-hop around, shopping for the "best COG" who offers the best goodies...it's an auction where prospective members will only stop the spinning COG wheel o' fun to join up with the group who dishes out the best jackpot.
Is that a fair-weather friend, who joins the COG with the best hand-outs? Despite if that COG presides over lummox brutes who love excess boat speeds more than they love the wildlife or their own friends water-skiing near them on the lake?
To think that (local) news reports are all lies, is a form of being whitewashed. Of course, LCG will claim even small town Ohio news is a whitewash, so we have stalemate.
I know for a fact regional pastors in one of the larger COG groups had company cars. Highly likely to apply to all splinter groups.
Regional Pastors also had company credit cards to spend on schmoozing other lower level ministry.
I’m not entirely sure it was a church member that was captaining the boat. LCG could have done more to watch out for those under their charge of course. The bottom line is that LCG doesn’t protect its members. Another example is how children aren’t protected because ministry happily covers up for LCG pedophiles.
Blanket training is child abuse!
To the person who continues to bring up the boating accident: You seem to still be hurting. Was the young lady a girlfriend or relative? Is there a back story you would care to share? I just get the feeling that you'd like it acknowledged and maybe to have a deeper discussion of it. And, that might actually help you, so, please feel free.
Ok but overall, wasn't the lake event at Alum Creek Reservoir 2015 some kind of outing sponsored or presided over by the greater LCG on their watch...sort of like a mini version of the old SEP camps? Or possibly an LCG members Ohio area group event for either singles or families?
I never knew whether the speedboat operator was an LCG member. But the whole event, "if" it was semi-exclusive for mostly members of LCG, would have been organized originally by LCG members who ought to have stipulated in the arrangements, of safety-oriented speeds. With periodic pauses of all boats to briefly STOP after each round or u-turn, to scan for any who'd fallen off the water skis, treading water 1st before continuing the hedonistic excess high speeds she was shredded with.
A commenter here once mentioned about "spotters" they had or not had onshore, looking for dangers as a lifeguard does. "If" it was an LCG event, & semi-exclusive for LCG members, then LCG corporate should have been more safety-minded & have stipulated reasonable speed limits, spotters, & some kind of periodic scan checks for anyone treading water no longer skiing.
She did not need to die over someone's "freedom" or libertarian "rights" to enjoy such excess, exciting boat speeds. Rod or Gerald or Richard should have regularly issued top-down directives of a more safety-oriented mindset down to anyone organizing events where speed & flesh & machinery are all 3 are so closely intertwined razor-thin together.
This ain't got jack-squat to to do with the excess safety nowadays on padded playgound equipment either, don't be bringin' that one up.
(and, LCG in general should have pressed HEAVILY for Rod Meredith to relent when he reportedly refused to offer LCG funds toward her funeral costs)
THAT, is why I'd hope my friend does NOT join LCG yet if they are too rednecky to press a curmudgeon leader to do the right thing in times like Alum Creek Reservoir 2015.
(pop quiz for LCG : will the "Kingdom" have speedboats dashing & slicing around where people may have fallen off a water ski?)
She's a relative & sister to us all as humans.
LCG from the beginning with Rod Meredith has paraded around as a whitewashed apostolic succession of Christ when most of the LCG men are wanna be Republicans & rednecks who approve of many US foreign CIA sponsored wars. That mentality pervaded the boating event, and the events of hiding pedophiles that someone else complains about often regarding LCG.
Often it is claimed that Mr. HWA never would have approved of Rod Meredith presiding at top hierarchy there or anywhere, but the guy busted in on it anyway. And the LCG people should have also sensed that about the guy instead of pledging light allegiance to his so called "mantle".
LCG's redneck mentality got into Terry Ratzmann's head too.
Maybe LCG keeps holy days & sabbaths correctly but I should have asked the late Mr. Sasha Veljic to elaborate on the extremely long list of LCG discrepancies even he could notice and spoke about a few times.
LCG never should have assembled under Rod Meredith after even a guy like HWA couldn't fully trust such.
It's upsetting that a COG fair weather friend of mine is ready to join LCG mostly because they offer a few extra bucks of help & so called aid more than the other COGs the friend sampled.
So many LCG online sermons are done by big, stuffed, overweight food gobbling men who look like their shirt buttons underneath the tie could pop any moment.
But again, we're told time and time again that not even HWA trusted RCM, & Rod's brusk attitude pervades not only the entire LCG to this day, but pervaded the group at boating event too.
No one's funeral expense should ever be considered as low a priority as where Mr. Meredith placed that one.
No she was not my girlfriend but likely was someone's. I don't like church groups who think excess speed at recreation is a libertarian right.
(added to my 3:29 Anon.)
No, LCg/WCg/UCg/etc after 100 years STILL don't have the holy days right. Briefly:
The fixed times (Hebrew "moed") of God: 3 feasts (chag): Passover/DUB Nisan 14-20, Pentecost, FOT; annual sabbaths: Tishri 1, 10, 22, never named "feasts" in the Hebrew.
"She did not need to die over someone's "freedom" or libertarian "rights" to enjoy such excess, exciting boat speeds."
Yeah sure, use a woman's death to smear freedom and rights.
All bad things are caused by freedom and libertarian rights. There'd be heaven on earth if it wasn't for freedom and those pesty libertarian rights.
3.29, I'II pay for your one way ticket to North Korea where your dream society is fully implemented. God is allowing it to exist for a reason.
There's a thin line between Libertarianism and anarchy. The ideal in a free society has traditionally been balance so that there are just enough laws that the rights, lives, and safety of all citizens are protected. Basic guideline for speed has always been that if you hit something or someone with your vehicle, having been unable to stop your vehicle in time to avoid a crash, you were driving at a rate of speed unsafe for conditions. Libertarianism with speed laws is not a defense, it's admission of blatant guilt!
However, I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around one thing. Libertarianism amongst a bunch of Old Covenant Christians who virtually worship the law? Seems really misplaced in an oxymoronic sense. I could understand the phrase "ACOG falsely so called" if someone wanted to create that figure of speech for this situation.
Also, Rednecks are not monolithic. Some of them are pretty cool. Just so long as they're not racist. Jackson Browne had some good insights into it all.
Who's writing about 'fancy 2nd cars' ?? Clearly trying to justify the freebies. Freebies that are still to this day shrouded in secrecy.
& 6:49, I'll pay for your gas money so you can keep attending LCG to hear Wallace, Richard, & all the NC stuffed shirts
No wonder I had so much trouble in WCG...it was a bunch of libertarian law-keepers.
As if a policeman was dangling not a carrot but a series of free tickets to attend illegal activities in front of you...then ready to slap the cuffs on if you took the bait (6 days wk. that is, or after svcs.)
I think I would smear boating speed freedoms where people often have fallen off the skiis. Wasn't meant to refer toward a myriad of other freedoms.
I have a good friend who is of the libertarian persuasion, and I tease him often for seemingly not being able to have a conversation about anything without it coming up. I swear, they're worse than vegans. :)
Better Rastafarian than Libertarian!
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