One thing is for certain when it comes to Church of God leaders: they know they are not like the rest of us. The plebs in the seats exist to send in their hard-earned money so the anointed can live the lifestyles to which they have become accustomed. After all, they are specially set aside by God Himself for the awesome, exhausting duty of leading the one true church. What else can we expect when their spiritual godfather, Herbert W. Armstrong, surrounded himself with European treasures and American antiques, much of it purchased at premium prices from Harrods of London? The man even had his kitchen dish towels flown in from Harrods to Pasadena. Only the best for God’s best men!
When Pentecost ended this year, Sheldon Monson promptly went missing. He even skipped his assigned speaking schedule. Members were solemnly informed that he was “sick.” Then the entire family vanished. No one could reach them—not by phone, not by any normal means. Radio silence from the Monson compound.
Teens being teens, of course, eventually let something slip. The other young people at church latched onto it immediately. Big Daddy had promised his daughter a cruise… and a full month-long trip to Italy. Nothing unusual there, right? Every COG parent does that for a high-school graduate. Totally normal.
Amateur detectives among the membership started digging. Which cruise lines offer a month-long trip to Italy right after Pentecost? Turns out there was only one that fit the timeline:
- Cruise line: Silversea
- Ship: Silver Nova
- Departure: Miami, Florida - May 31, 2026
- Arrival: Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy - June 24, 2026(24 nights)
Key ports (among others): Praia da Vitoria & Ponta Delgada (Azores), Funchal (Madeira), Lisbon, Cádiz, Málaga, Barcelona, Marseille, Monte Carlo, Portofino (Italy), Livorno (Tuscany/ Italy), then Civitavecchia/Rome.
cruisetransatlantic.com
And the price tag for this little “family graduation gift”? Roughly (at a minimum) $12,000 per person. Just chump change for the average COG member scraping by on one income while still faithfully sending in first, second, and third tithe. It pairs nicely with the extra-large Suburbans the Monsons apparently require. Only the best for God’s best!
Now, if you were a seasoned Church of God leader in the grand tradition, you would of course write the entire excursion off as a legitimate church expense. After all, someone has to scout potential Feast sites and evaluate luxury cruise lines for future “educational” opportunities. I’m not saying that’s what happened here. I’m merely noting that this is precisely how the COG has operated for decades.
The question that keeps arriving in my inbox is simple: Did members’ tithes pay for this?
Picture the elderly widow carefully counting out her last dollars to mail in her tithe. Picture the family of six cutting corners on groceries so they can still “pay God what is His.” Meanwhile their spiritual shepherd is sunning himself on a Silversea balcony in Monte Carlo, recovering from the crushing burden of… missing a speaking assignment.
This is not an isolated episode. It is COG history on repeat.
Herbert Armstrong set the gold standard with his private jet, English china, and Harrods shopping sprees. David Pack has poured millions into the Wadsworth campus while members were told to “sacrifice.” Other leaders have long enjoyed luxury vehicles, high-end homes, first-class travel, and Feast of Tabernacles stays that look more like five-star vacations than humble holy day observances. The pattern never changes: the sheep tighten their belts; the shepherds loosen theirs.
Church of God elites simply do not care about the optics. They are God’s anointed. They deserve the best. They work so hard. The rest of us should be grateful they are willing to endure 24 nights of gourmet dining, ocean views, and Italian sunshine on our behalf.
Tithe money well spent, brethren.
4 comments:
Told myself they won't respond but about 3-4 weeks ago after reading their 3rd tithe doctrine I emailed.........Levites, 2% of the population who received all the tithes, were given tithes only once every 3 years; that was enough for them - Num 18:21; 31:30; Deut 14:28-29; 26:12.......and the Levites distributed those tithes as needed to the alien, fatherless, widow........but the poor were supposed to be cared for all the time - Deut 15:7-11. There was no 3rd tithe....no 3rd tithe for the poor.
No response so far.......too busy in Italy?
Why did they lie and say Sheldon Monson was sick when he had actually gone awol on a cruise? Mr. Jerry Weston did that when Ross Abasolo left lcg and went with Mr. Bryce's group. Weston lied to the congregation and said Ross was taking a leave from LCG because he was sick, some kind of heart thing. Ros himself was clear in all this stuff, it was Weston.
Wow, a multi day cruise to Italy. Lucky b*st*rds lol. My ‘cruise’ through Italy was in an old 60s VW combi van. Had a ball, weather was perfect. Money was tight, we were young, almost broke but had a gass. Even visited the Vatican, didn’t see the Pope, too many tourists every where to be seen. Unlike cog ‘LEADERSHIP’ our Italian adventure was definitely not first class ha ha. Herb and co certainly lived the high life, and we paid for it. As a side note, if I’d had been a cog member at the time, it’s highly unlikely I’d have stepped inside the Vatican lol. Couldn’t associate with the great unclean masses….
Just a ding dong danged minute here! In the only example of a cruise to Italy during the exemplary first century Apostolic times, wasn't the minister under arrest, and wasn't he a prisoner being taken to Rome for his trial before Caesar? Did not this incarceration happen to him for the sake of the gospel??? (Acts 27-28)
Oops, forgot! That minister was the Apostle Paul, not someone who had rebelliously left a splinter that some other rebellious minister had started in rebellion against a board of directors in another splinter that had been started supposedly to preserve the original doctrines of HWA when the man HWA ordained as his successor made some long overdue corrections.
Like I've said many times, all these guys never repent of the old man's sins and iniquities! Anything HWA ever did is considered to be permission, including his rich man's lifestyle! And so, they end up following the example of a false apostle instead of one of the real ones! P-U! Sheldon, this just stinks, no matter how you sell it! And, I suppose the teenagers who exposed it have demon problems, correctimundo?
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