What happens when a PCG church member wants to move closer to headquarters—and is told she does not fit the image?
A few years ago, I met a woman at a church festival who lived in Seattle, Washington. She told me she was close friends with Steven Flurry’s wife and wanted to move to the Philadelphia Church of God headquarters in Edmond, Oklahoma. Her employer was willing to let her transfer to its Edmond location, so she had a practical way to make the move.
According to her account, her local minister approved but said she would also need permission from the headquarters minister, Wayne Turgen.
She told me his response was that she “did not fit the image they were trying to project.”
She said she broke down crying. She was a heavy woman and believed the rejection was because of her weight. I cannot say whether that was his reason, but that was how she understood the remark—and it hurt her deeply.
Another woman, Jennifer Ladd of the Cincinnati congregation, also wanted to move to headquarters. She was a Montessori schoolteacher and administrator and believed her experience could be useful at the school on the PCG compound.
Jennifer told me she asked Regional Director Cal Culpepper for permission to move. According to her, he told her she was “not headquarters material.”
What does that mean? What makes someone “headquarters material”? Shouldn’t a religious community value a person’s character, kindness, faith, and willingness to serve?
These are two accounts shared with me personally by the women involved. I did not witness their conversations with the ministers, but I heard how they described the rejection.
To me, these accounts raise a serious question about priorities. When members are told they do not fit an “image” or are not the right “material,” where is the concern for the people behind those labels?
James 2:1–4 warns against favoritism in the assembly. First Samuel 16:7 reminds us that people look at outward appearance, while Yahweh looks at the heart.
A “church” should take those lessons seriously. Members are human beings with feelings, abilities, and a desire to belong. They deserve to be treated with dignity—not left wondering what about them makes them unacceptable.
2 comments:
See, now this is yet another damnable aspect of Armstrongism, and another one of my pet peeves! It's bad enough that there was no such thing as negotiation in these church cults, negotiation being a vital skill everyone needs in order to conduct normal business activities, and life in general! There was also no such thing as tact! This poor woman must have been crushed by Wayne Turgeon's tactless words! The fact that this story is even being shared with us shows me that it must have been very hurtful to her and those who cared about her. People have value that goes way beyond the scope of someone's concept of their little manufactured whitened sepulchre!
In my recovery from Armstrongism, I had to acquire negotiation skills, learn tact, and even brush up on anger management following my release from the Armstrong gulag! And, I'm told that we who only attended classic WCG had it easy as compared to what passes for qualifying as a Philadelphian these days!
When PCG goes down, I hope that Wayne ends up flippimg burgers or as a janitor in some decrepit old building. Karma can be a real bitch!
Pcog are anything but Philadelphia or brotherly love. A my way or the highway folks organisation. Pay your tithes and do as you are told. And let the minister make decisions for you. They are dying and declining in numbers by the week month and year. Good. The story told here would be fairly common I would suspect. The difference between the various cogs is the amount of control they exercise over the sheep. Pcog must be one of the worst out there. Sad story here.
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