Jesus Said Come Unto Me. The Minister Said Not Without an Appointment!
By A Concerned Believer
There was a time in the Worldwide Church of God when some ministers apparently believed they had been issued something considerably more impressive than a ministerial credential. They seemed to think they had received the keys to the Kingdom of God, the authority to regulate access to Christ, and the divine responsibility to determine which unfortunate members were worthy of sitting in their congregations.
Apparently, Jesus Christ had delegated the business of deciding who could approach Him to a collection of local ministers who had become rather impressed with their own importance.
And if you happened to disagree with one of them, question his judgment, miss a service, grow a beard, have the wrong attitude, or otherwise fail to demonstrate the appropriate level of ministerial obedience, you might discover that your relationship with God was suddenly subject to administrative review.
Welcome to the Worldwide Church of God, where some ministers seemed to confuse shepherding the flock with owning the sheep.
When a Near-Fatal Accident Was Less Important Than Ministerial Permission
Consider the heartbreaking account submitted by Brad (at end of this article) concerning his nineteen-year-old son, who suffered an almost unimaginable motorcycle accident in 1986.
The young man struck a dirt mound, was thrown from his motorcycle, traveled through the air, and suffered catastrophic injuries. He lay outside overnight on frozen ground before being discovered the following morning. His injuries included a damaged aorta and numerous spinal fractures. Emergency surgery was necessary, and doctors had serious concerns about whether he would survive or remain paralyzed.
Two steel rods were eventually placed in his back. He endured tremendous pain, lost considerable weight, and faced a long recovery.
One might reasonably expect a Christian minister to demonstrate some compassion under those circumstances. Perhaps a few visits, a sincere expression of concern, a prayer, or even an occasional inquiry about how the young man was progressing.
But apparently that was asking too much.
The minister initially failed to visit, despite knowing about the accident. When he eventually appeared at the hospital, the young man was reportedly frightened by him.
After a remarkable recovery, the young man expressed a desire to attend Sabbath services with his parents. He was still recovering and needed to recline in a chair at the back of the room.
Some members initially spoke with him, although the family noticed that the congregation was not particularly welcoming.
Then came the minister's contribution to Christian hospitality.
When the young man subsequently missed a Sabbath service, his father approached the minister. The response was astonishing:
"I was surprised to see him here. He has to go through me before he can come to services. People just can't walk in here!"
There it is. A young man had nearly died, endured multiple operations, and was struggling to recover. Yet the minister apparently considered his attendance a matter requiring personal authorization.
One almost wonders whether Jesus needed to submit an application, provide references, and wait for approval before entering the building.
Perhaps the minister had forgotten that Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them" (Matthew 19:14). But then again, perhaps that particular instruction had been superseded by the local ministerial handbook.
The young man's father also recalled that the minister had previously delivered a lecture condemning motorcycle ownership, using the accident as an example of the dangers of such activities. Rather than demonstrating compassion toward a suffering young man, the incident apparently became an opportunity for a public lecture.
The young man never returned.
His family eventually left as well, finding considerably more peace and grace outside the organization.
That is quite an accomplishment for a religious organization supposedly dedicated to preparing people for the Kingdom of God. A young man survived a devastating accident, only to discover that getting back into the local congregation was apparently more difficult than getting back on his feet.
The Minister: Shepherd, Servant, or Self-Appointed Gatekeeper?
The real issue here goes considerably deeper than one unpleasant minister.
For decades, the Worldwide Church of God cultivated a hierarchical religious culture in which ministers occupied positions of extraordinary influence over members' lives. Their opinions could affect family relationships, church participation, employment decisions, personal conduct, and the way members understood their standing before God.
Members were repeatedly taught the importance of God's government, ministerial authority, and submission to those placed over them. In practice, this could create an environment where questioning a minister was treated as questioning God Himself.
What a convenient arrangement!
Imagine being a minister who can tell people what to believe, how to live, whom to associate with, which activities are acceptable, and whether they are spiritually fit to participate in the congregation. If someone objects, you can always remind them that resisting your authority is resisting God's government.
It is difficult to imagine a more effective arrangement for protecting an insecure religious hierarchy from criticism.
Of course, the New Testament presents a rather different picture of Christian leadership.
Jesus specifically warned His disciples against exercising authority over others in the manner of worldly rulers. In Luke 22:25-26, He explained that leadership among His followers was to be characterized by service, not domination.
Peter likewise instructed elders not to lord it over those entrusted to their care, but to serve as examples to the flock (1 Peter 5:2-3).
Apparently, some WCG ministers missed that lesson while studying the organizational chart.
The Internet Is Filled With Other Stories
Brad's account is not the only disturbing testimony published by former Worldwide Church of God members.
The Exit & Support Network has collected numerous accounts from people describing controlling ministers, spiritual intimidation, family disruption, unfair discipline, and experiences they considered spiritually abusive.
These are personal testimonies rather than independently verified findings in every individual case, but the recurring themes deserve attention.
One former member described a minister who demanded attendance at every service and even attempted to control the number of children the family had. Another account described ministers involving themselves in a woman's employment decisions, with consequences for her family's financial circumstances.
A former member reported that a church deacon had approached her inappropriately, only for the minister to accept the deacon's version of events and blame her.
Another former WCG member from Guadeloupe described an environment in which attending a relative's funeral on the Sabbath was considered unacceptable because services took priority.
There are also published accounts of sexual misconduct and allegations of abuse involving church personnel, including a testimony from a former member in Zimbabwe who reported that a minister was investigated and found guilty of sexual abuse.
These accounts cover different congregations, periods, and circumstances. They should not be treated as proof that every WCG minister behaved this way. Nevertheless, the repetition of similar complaints raises serious questions about accountability and the consequences of placing enormous authority in the hands of religious leaders.
The Exit & Support Network's collections from 2009, 2011, 2022, and 2025 illustrate how many former members have continued to describe painful experiences long after leaving.
The question is not whether every minister was abusive. The question is why a religious system could allow ministers to exercise such extraordinary influence without adequate accountability.
Disfellowshipment: The Minister's Favorite Spiritual Hammer
One of the most damaging features of the old Worldwide Church of God culture was the fear surrounding disfellowshipment.
Being removed from the congregation was not necessarily treated as an ordinary disagreement between a member and a religious organization. It could be presented as a terrifying spiritual catastrophe, with implications for one's relationship with God, family, and fellow believers.
For members who had spent years being taught that the Worldwide Church of God was God's one true Church, being cast out could be psychologically devastating.
And who frequently controlled the process at the local level?
The ministry.
This created a remarkable imbalance. A minister could become the source of a member's spiritual anxiety while simultaneously claiming to be the person responsible for that member's spiritual welfare.
What could possibly go wrong?
When a minister's judgment became confused with God's judgment, an ordinary disagreement could become a spiritual crisis. Members could be frightened into silence, discouraged from asking questions, or pressured to accept decisions they believed were unjust.
The ministerial position became more than a position of service. In some congregations, it functioned as a position of control.
Did These Ministers Actually Believe They Could Keep People Out of God's Kingdom?
This is perhaps the most disturbing theological problem.
There is a tremendous difference between a church establishing reasonable standards for participation in its services and a minister behaving as though he personally controls someone's access to salvation.
The young man in Brad's account was not asking for a minister to approve his eternal destiny. He simply wanted to attend services with his parents while recovering from a devastating accident.
Yet the minister's response suggested that even entering the congregation required his personal permission.
That is precisely the kind of attitude that deserves condemnation.
Christ did not establish a ministerial aristocracy in which local religious officials became spiritual customs agents, stamping passports for entry into the Kingdom of God.
Salvation is not administered by a local pastor's office. Christ is the Savior. He is the mediator, the head of the Church, and the one to whom believers are accountable.
Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 2:5 that there is one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus.
Not a minister in Pasadena. Not a local pastor. Not an evangelist with an impressive title. And certainly not a man who believes that a recovering nineteen-year-old needs to obtain his permission before attending Sabbath services.
The arrogance of such an attitude is difficult to overstate.
The Great Irony of God's Government
Armstrongism spent decades emphasizing the importance of God's government. Members were taught that God worked through a hierarchy and that submission to the ministry was essential to maintaining the proper spiritual order.
But there is an enormous difference between biblical leadership and religious authoritarianism.
A Christian minister is supposed to serve, encourage, teach, comfort, and care for people. He is not supposed to cultivate fear, demand unquestioning obedience, or make people believe that their relationship with Christ depends upon his personal approval.
Jesus gave a remarkably simple test of spiritual leadership: greatness was demonstrated through service.
Some ministers apparently preferred the perks of being in charge without bothering with the inconvenient business of actually caring for people.
Brad's son needed compassion. He needed encouragement. He needed people who were genuinely happy that he had survived an almost fatal accident.
Instead, he encountered a minister who apparently considered himself the gatekeeper of the congregation.
And the irony is that the very people who preached endlessly about God's love, obedience, and righteousness could sometimes demonstrate remarkably little of those qualities when confronted with an actual human being in need.
A Legacy That Deserves to Be Remembered
Brad's account also contains a painful later update. His son eventually passed away in 2008, leaving behind a family and many people who loved him. The minister, David R. Carley, died in October 2024, according to Brad's account.
Brad reported that the minister never apologized for the pain his conduct caused the family. It was also noted that the minister went on to write a book about "grace",
We cannot know everything that happened between these individuals, but we can recognize the hurt described in this testimony. A family remembered the treatment they received during one of the most frightening periods of their lives. That experience contributed to their eventual departure from the organization.
And that is the tragedy of religious authoritarianism. People who come seeking fellowship, encouragement, and a relationship with God can leave carrying years of disappointment, fear, and spiritual disillusionment.
The Worldwide Church of God liked to present itself as a special people preparing for the Kingdom of God. Yet what good is all that talk about the coming Kingdom when some of its representatives cannot demonstrate basic Christian compassion in the present one?
Perhaps the greatest indictment of the old ministerial culture is not that its ministers made mistakes. All human beings make mistakes.
It is that some appeared to believe their office placed them above ordinary accountability, that their decisions carried divine authority, and that members were expected to accept their treatment without complaint.
If that is what someone understands by God's government, perhaps they should spend a little more time reading what Jesus actually said about leadership.
The Kingdom of God does not need arrogant gatekeepers. Christ does not need territorial managers. And the Church does not need men who mistake ministerial titles for personal ownership of the people they are supposed to serve.
A final thought: If a nineteen-year-old recovering from a near-fatal accident cannot find compassion in a congregation claiming to represent Jesus Christ, perhaps the problem isn't the young man who stopped attending. Perhaps the problem is the minister who forgot what Christianity was supposed to look like.
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SON REFUSED RE-ENTRY AFTER MOTORBIKE ACCIDENT
My son was in a motorbike accident at the age of 19 in 1986 He hit a dirt mound on his way to work, 5 miles away, was airborne 31 feet before rolling numerous times end over end (91 feet), and was thrown from the bike. He lay out all night on frozen ground, in and out of consciousness, and wasn’t found until the next morning by a friend who went looking for him when he didn’t show up for work. He wasn’t wearing a helmet but they say if he had of been, his neck would have been broken and he was have died for sure.
An elder came out to see him before he was moved to a second hospital and said his face “looked like raw hamburger.” Later that same day I got a phone call from the hospital saying his aorta was damaged and they had to operate right away and they said they wanted me to know he “might not make it.” After I fervently prayed, he came through it but was still on the critical list.
Due to his back being broken in a massive number of places, he was operated on two days later. It took seven hours because the surgeon had to pick the bones out of his back. We also didn’t know if he would be paralyzed for life. During the operation he had to have two steel rods placed in his back. All this time our minister never showed up, although he knew about the accident because we told him. But when we phoned him from the hospital he said he had really been wondering as they hadn’t heard. This minister did eventually pay a brief visit to the hospital, but my son said he was “scared” of him when he came into the room.
Needless to say, my son was in a lot of pain for quite awhile and lost 13 lbs. He couldn’t even get into his back brace at first due to the pain. The miracle in all this was that two weeks after the accident he was walking with a walker in the hospital and nine days from that time he was released from the hospital. It was hard to keep him down.
Two weeks after that we asked him if he wanted to go to services with us and he said “yes.” He had to recline in an awning chair in the back of the room because it was more comfortable. He hadn’t been attending for some time and said it was hard to go back. Our minister was out of town for a couple of weeks at the time, but we figured it would be okay if our son came. After all, he almost died! A few members were friendly the first time he came, but the second Sabbath when we had refreshments, only one teenager made an effort to come up to talk to him. I think the rest considered him “the bad apple.”
Well, our minister finally returned from his absence and didn’t say anything about him being there. (That is, until our son overslept one Sabbath and stayed home from services.) That day I went up to talk to him and he said, “I was surprised to see him here. He has to go through me before he can come to services. People just can’t walk in here!”
I remember how later how our minister just seemed to “forget about him.” He never asked how he was doing or anything. We had to bring it up first and one time when we started to tell him how our son was progressing, he just mumbled something like, “that’s good to hear” and shortly moved on.
A few weeks earlier, our minister gave a lecture to the whole congregation (while my son was in the hospital) about “how dangerous and foolish” it was for any kid in the church to get a motorbike and he added, “If any of you kids are thinking of getting a motorbike, maybe you’ll think twice now!!” And this was a minister that at first acted so nice when he visited my son in the hospital and asked how he was doing. So much for “God’s true ministers.”
What a terrible experience our son had to endure! He never went back to services after that. Many years have passed and he’s doing fine today with a family of his own and a good job. He is free to live his life without fear and judgmental attitudes from those who claim to be “God’s people” and our family relationship is so much better.
Oh, I forgot to say that a few years later we left also. There’s so much more peace and grace living in Christ than living in that so called “true church of God.”
By Brad
Update: I later found out that this minister whose name was David R. Carley died October 2,2024 at the age of 82. David Carley never said he was sorry or apologized for the horrible pain he caused my family. I am aware that he also abused others in our congregation. Our beloved son passed away in 2008, leaving behind many who loved him, including his family. Note: This minister is also exposed in the testimony: Pronounced “Unconverted.
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