Another UCG Backlash In The Works?

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As everyone knows United Church of God suffered a major rupture and departure of thousands of members last year at this time. Somewhere between a third and to one half of  the ministry also resigned.  This left UCG with a huge drop in income, a church HQ that was understaffed and a field ministry that was pushed to the extremes.

Through all of this you would think the UCG leadership would have been cutting back, looking for any way possible to save money and going on a severe austerity program till income picked back up and membership increased.  Did they?  I think we all know the answer to that one.  It is NO!  The UCG administration went skipping along as if nothing had ever happened.

Families were ripped apart, friendships destroyed, confidences broken and lives ripped to shreds.  "But not to worry, they (COGWA was wrong and we are right!  God is on our side.  We need to move on to bigger and better things.  God says to leave the chaff behind and to shake the dirt off our shoes and that is what we as the UCG are going to do!"

Yesterday it was announced church wide that UCG is starting an expansion program at the Cincinnati HQ.

Income is down, members lives are ripped apart and the Big Boys want more toys.


Melvin Rhodes and Dennis Luker wrote this to the ordained elite:

There is a real need for a larger production area for our media department—particularly for our Web team and video and television production area—including a larger video recording facility. If you have visited Cincinnati and seen our very small recording studio, you will understand how cramped it is and how it affects the overall productivity of our media team. To be more effective, productive and efficient, we need to expand these areas.

A larger, better-equipped, multi-purposed media center would allow us to take advantage of the rapidly changing developments in Internet and broadcast media. A new recording area with multiple sets is envisioned. Included in the proposal is more of a "sound stage" area that could be adapted to handle all kinds of recording needs, temporary sets and future opportunities. The new media center would be one of the largest single areas at the office—reflecting our desire to preach the gospel even more effectively.

 In order to do this they now want members to send in more money. Rhodes and Luker asked these questions:

We want and need your advice and input. Please let us know by the end of January on the below website comment form how you feel about these plans. In addition, we would appreciate your feedback on funding this possible expansion and on the following questions:

·  Would your congregation support this expansion proposal?
·  Could your congregation donate monies from local accounts to help?
·  What are your thoughts on establishing a dedicated building fund?
·  How acceptable would it be to finance a portion of this proposal?

Apostle Malm is reporting that when this was announced in Garden Grove UCG there were a LOT of unhappy people.  They were disgusted that UCG would be doing such an expansion in these economic times and right after the upheaval the chruch is still recovering from.

Like I said before, the Big Boys want more toys and here is what they want:

After years of discord, United is now growing in the unity and stature of Jesus Christ (Ephesians:4:13) and we must preserve this. We are now at a point where we can preach the gospel by leveraging all the tools in our hands without hindrance. But before we consider expanding our media production facilities, we must know the thoughts of the ministry and members.

Expanding the home office at this time would fill important needs for the future. Equally as important, the proposal presented by the administration to the Council of Elders in December ensures that space requirements for the next decade and the foreseeable future would be provided "under one roof" without any need to relocate.

Apart from the media area, the proposal envisages remodeling the Ambassador Bible Center so that our ability to impart in-depth biblical truth to ABC participants is enhanced. An increase in the ABC area would also enable the simultaneous training of the next generation of ministers, instead of at separate times during the year, as happens now.

Remodeling the Ambassador Bible Center would provide the opportunity to have a larger auditorium to serve the purposes of the present auditorium, and also allow taping of Beyond Today specials. It could even be a home-office-based Feast of Tabernacles site if needed in the future.

Considering the many uses the building expansion would allow, the cost is not expected to be excessive. It is not a new building or relocation; it is an expansion of the current building in the same location. It would lay a foundation to meet the growth we hope for in the foreseeable future. Rough cost estimates are in the range from $2,000,000 to $2,500,000. More detailed work is being done to secure a more accurate construction bid for us. We would hope to pay cash for the bulk of the construction and finance as little as possible.

To help everyone understand what is being proposed, we have created this page. It includes initial space plans and diagrams, a link to the video of the administrations report to the Council in December about this, and a box for you and our members to give their comments and feedback. In order to properly understand the space plan diagram, it will be important to view them in conjunction with the video explanation from the Council meeting

If the UCG leadership want this building then I suggest that THEY be the first to take a 50% pay cut in their salaries.  Let Luker, Rhodes, Webber and others give 50% of their income as an example.  Even at 50% these men would still be making over $50,000.00 a year!   Do they realize how many unemployed and underemployed people there are in their church that would LOVE to have this kind of money?

Apostle Malm had this to say about UCG leadership salaries:

CoE  SALARIES
UCG elders receive a minimum salary based on years of service, then then get additional amounts for other added responsibilities such as  Camp Coordinators, Feast Coordinators etc.

Regional Pastors get more, as do administrative officials [president, treasurer etc] and  members of the CoE and the Chairman; who is the real head of UCG [the president being merely and administrative assistant to the CoE].

CoE salaries are in the $120,000 range although this is just the base minimum salary and other possibilities for income are available to them.  Added to this income is a generous expense account.

110,000 plus per year  plus a 9% bonus and a generous expense account with tax deductible housing and utilities makes for a VERY good life for men called to SET AN EXAMPLE FOR THE FLOCK.

And then they beg the brethren to sacrifice!  Remember the words of Jesus Christ:  Mat 23:4  For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
 
These men should be tithing fully and sacrificing and doing whatever they ask the flock to do.
How many of you get to deduct housing and utilities from your taxable income?  Factor that into the remuneration mix.

Given UCG's past track record on misguided property deals (Texas) you would think they would stop and listen to people.  They claim they will, but ultimately they will not.  The Big Boys want their toys and they will prevail.  The members will be asked to sacrifice and dig deep.  Homes and businesses will be mortgaged to help pay for this "final push."

When will the people ever wake up to the con game?

UCG Crisis: Is This Really A Fight Between the Tkach Men and the HWA Men?

Interesting comments on the Shining Light blog today about the UCG crisis:

BACKGROUND TO THE FRANKS LETTER:  At the Dec 15th meeting between the two sides, Dennis Luker gave permission for the dissident meeting to go ahead for the purpose of  implimenting an amicable split.   Jim Franks was not present at this meeting between the two sides and had personally denied any association with the dissident group. 
This flow of events in no way absolves the dissident faction from working to split United, it only helps to explain the Franks letter; and the subsequent events.  In fact, BOTH sides have been working to split UCG for a very long time.

On Dec 7-8th Jim Franks resigned from the Council.   On Dec 15th a meeting was held between representatives of both sides and it was agreed to split amicably with Dennis Luker giving prmission for a meeting of the dissidents. Jim Franks was NOT present at that meeting and had denied any connection with the dissident camp. On Dec 17  Jim sent the email published earlier, showing his involvement in spite of his earlier denials. On Dec 19 the meeting of dissident leaders was held to make important decisions.  On Dec 21 Jim Franks resigned.  On Dec 23 the United Real Time letter was posted and the mass resignations began.

Certain people on this Council  were Joe Tkach men all along and were firing those who objected to the Joe T teachings right up until they jumped ship at the last hour to infiltrate the new organization being formed in 95-96.  This resulted in intense infighting within UCG from the very beginning. Fighting between the Joe T style men and the HWA style men.

Some of those who have resigned from UCG and are joining the new COGaWA are also in this group of Tkach types and are moving to infiltrate the new group.

This split was preordained from the very beginning; and now it has arrived.  Those who want an HWA style church [as evidenced by the choice of name] are leaving; the Joe T style men remain.

Those who want an HWA style of autocratic leadership are using the emotions involving LA and calls for “Servant Guide Leadership” to attract supporters.  In fact, the HWA style had absolutely nothing to do with “Servant Guide Leadership” and everything to do with maintaining a ministerial caste system over the people.  Those well meaning folks, taken in by the pleasant words will quickly find this out.

I am speaking of those in leadership roles and not of the overall elders or brethren here.  I do know that several elders who were actively disfellowshipping those who disageed with Joe T have resigned from UCG and joined the new COGaWA.  I am writing in broad generalities and I do understand that there are exceptions on  both sides. 

Both sides are wrong!  One side is using many people’s respect for a man to establish themselves  in dictatorial power and authority; with the only doctrine truly vital to themselves: HWA’s take on GOVERNMENT. The other side is diluting the practical application of its doctrines, even more rapidly than the first side; until the people will agree to finally changing them in writing.

The Joe T folks who now control the Council continually say that they are not, and have no intention of changing doctrine.  Yet in practice both sides have already sidelined much doctrine.  The Happy New Years on facebook, the willingness to associate with paganism and participate in Christmas and other pagan festivals with the excuse of attending extended family reunions, the emphasis on grace and love to the exclusion of the Father and the practical definition of love as the keeping of God’s commandments; are clear trends toward the kind of Charismatic Evangelical nonsense that Joe led the WCG into.

The Buffet Churches of God

Check out Douglas Becker's latest article on the UCG Crisis:

Read the entire article here:  The Buffet Churches of God

As we head into 2011, things just don’t look that good for United. At current count, it appears that 30% of their ministry are fired or left. The UCG lost about 10% of their membership in Latin America due to a controversy over a couple owning a day care center who let their employees work into sunset on Friday nights in the winter and on Holy days. United said no and that the couple couldn’t be members in good standing. This is ironic, since the UCG is adamant that their own members not only can conduct commerce on the Sabbath by eating out in restaurants, but are encouraged to do so. One would think that this would be a glaring inconsistency and invalidate their entire eschatology, but somehow the cognitive dissonance is not just dismissed, but embraced. If you give it some thought, maybe this isn’t so weird, if you consider in what high esteem they hold Herbert Armstrong, the false prophet, who based his prophecies on the abundantly disproved heresy of British Israelism. Anyway, since United took such an intransigent stance with the couple, the ministers south of the border thought it so unfair and not just left, but formed their own CoG.

Amidst this turmoil, those left in the UCG are becoming restless. Some are saying that Dennis Luker is trying to destroy United. This is patently silly. He’s not trying. A number are beginning to have some difficulty with the doctrine of the UCG. What do you think it may be? Eating out on the Sabbath? Church Governance? No and no. You may be as startled as I was to learn that the newest issue causing division is… wait for it… Postponements. Say what?!? Postponements? That’s totally weird. There are other things you would think would come to the fore first, even though this issue has been fomenting for the last 8 years under the radar. It’s like Lutherans objecting to their religion because of Martin Luther not proposing to keep the Sabbath.

Was Jim Frank's The Snake In The Grass at UCG HQ?

Luker does not name the person, but word is that it was Jim Franks.  Information is supposed to hit the Internet tomorrow on this person.

The Council of Elders is in possession of irrefutable documentation that demonstrates complicity by certain ministers and members in secretive efforts to undermine and destroy the very organizational fabric of the United Church of God. We are greatly saddened to see this, as it hurts to know as a fact that some have essentially said one thing regarding reconciliation or resolution of differences while working behind the scenes with a completely different agenda.

This documentation, authored by a former home office administrator, lays bare organized efforts at a very high level to break away. It distorts the record and generally reflects a grievous state of mind among those who are fracturing current relationships and trying to influence members of the United Church of God into following them.

Sadly, if past events are any guide to the future, documentation will soon appear online, together with varied “analyses” of various stripes and colors, trying to again spin this documentation somehow into one more quasi-“proof” of the alleged evils of the Council of Elders. It is being said that we demand personal loyalty to men. This is not true—as we would not even sign a document that required that. We simply ask for the faithful service of our employees and ministry to the Church that employs them, recognizing that not everyone thinks alike but that we all need to work within the structure we all agreed upon in 1995.

Then Luker boldly makes the following predictions:

Please be comforted in knowing that we will continue to provide pastors and shepherds so that you have a peaceful and spiritually nourishing home in which to worship on each Sabbath and Holy Day. You have multiple sites to choose from to attend and participate in the annual Feast of Tabernacles. Your children have summer and winter camps available, where they can learn the truths of God and how to apply them as they grow and mature. You have the Ambassador Bible Center, where members can attend to obtain in-depth knowledge of biblical truth. You have a vast array of literature—available in print or online in increasingly interactive formats—together with a growing Beyond Today program that is reaching thousands of new people on television and through the Internet.

And that, we believe with all of our being, is only the beginning. Moving forward, we believe that we are being prepared by Jesus Christ for growth. How and when that appears is up to God and the living Leader of this Church, Jesus Christ. We must ready ourselves in renewed prayer, deep meditation and earnest fasting.

UCG Soon To Loose 150+ Congregations?

Current State of Affairs In UCG HQ

UCG's GCE has hit back at Luker's letter.  There is a far more serious division going on than Luker is admitting.  With more than 150 elders now having signed the letter to Luker, there are serious issues that UCG is facing.  Just like in WCG when all the changes came down. People followed those men that they thought were Christian leaders.  WCG/UCG has always had ministers that had their fan club base.  It is guaranteed that these men will draw UCG members away with them when they form a new church organization through The Ambassador International Outreach.  More lives being wasted over stupid men and their stupid unbiblical doctrines

What Really Happened In Latin America

What Are The Real Issues

What Were the Real Efforts to Seek Reconciliation

"It is estimated that a number of firings will take place soon and that as many as ½ of the paid elders will eventually leave or be fired.  As many as ½ to 2/3rds of their approximately 300 congregations are expected to join them."

110 UCG Elders Sign Letter Stating: "...we are left with no other conclusion than that...our differences are irreconcilable."

So far 110 UCG Elders and Ministers have signed an "Open Letter" to Dennis Luker.  There will be others that will sign soon too.  Many honestly do not see any chance of reconciliation and that a major split will be occurring within the next month or so.  Both sides of this issue are filled with greedy, self-serving men who are only out to make a name for themselves.  I have seen them in action and they truly are a sorry lot!  All of them! How many more lives will they need to destroy before church members wake up and leave?

An Open Letter to the President of the United Church of God, Dennis Luker

Dear President Luker,

This open letter is being sent to you as the chief executive officer of the United Church of God (UCG) from current pastors, former pastors and otherwise employed elders in good standing of the General Conference of Elders of the United Church of God, an International Association. We write with deep concern over the conduct of the current administration and the Council of Elders, a concern shared by numerous non salaried elders, many of whom would readily add their names to this letter.

We have supported the governmental system agreed upon in 1995 and this letter is a confirmation of working within that system. Our deepest hope is the complete healing and the effective continuation of the UCG.

The biblically mandated responsibilities of pastors and elders compel us to state our concerns, as do those duties specified in our governing documents, which do not permit us to allow the present situation to continue. As our Constitution states, “God has established the office of elder to provide care and oversight to the congregations. Thus, the General Conference of Elders is responsible to God to ensure that His people are served and their needs attended to” (Article 3.2.2.3). We consider resolving these concerns to be the greatest need God’s people under our care face at this time.

No one doubts that the UCG is in a dire crisis. We believe that the steps necessary to resolve the crisis are in your hands and those of the Council. Over the last year there have been repeated attempts to bring genuine concerns to both you and the Council. We believe that those concerns have not been addressed in a way that is appropriate for the established leadership of the UCG—or any Church of God.

Your letter of November 4, 2010 attacks the ministry in general and contains a number of misleading and false accusations. Among them are attempts to link ministers and members who have sincere disagreements with the administration to a handful of people posting extreme or ungodly views on Internet sites. Less than two decades ago, most of us were accused of being divisive, rebellious and satanic in our previous association, and it deeply grieves us to find ourselves in a similar toxic environment in the UCG.

While there have been some improper comments made on Web sites, none of us have made or encouraged them and we do not condone them. And we will not join you or the Council in condemning ministers or members who respectfully ask questions, challenge wrong behavior or who simply post factual material.

Both Scripture and our historical origins have taught us that Christianity is a matter of individual conscience, conviction and action. Members have rightly been encouraged to think for themselves and that is exactly what many are doing (Philippians 2:12; 1 John 4:1). Those who have spoken out responsibly should not be accused of causing division. Nor should they be charged with unthinkingly following sowers of discord, when their conclusions are often based upon what they have witnessed personally.

At the heart of our immediate concern is a pattern of wrongly equating loyalty to God’s government with submission to human organizational authority and then labeling as disloyal or rebellious any who express concerns over leadership’s decisions and methods. Recent home office documents, letters and recorded sermons have repeatedly contained negative accusations about supposed plots to sabotage our governing documents, to start a new church and that there is a spirit of rebellion in our ministers. This barrage of accusation and inaccuracy is disheartening the members; it is wearing down the church and it is causing increasing frustration among the ministry and the membership.

Unknown to many members, the administration has engaged in punitive action against certain pastors, accusing them of disloyalty to Christ, when what they have done—conscientiously and respectfully—is voice disagreement with doctrinal statements that they deemed unsound. Or, they expressed concern over administrative decisions that these ministers believed to be outside the bounds of our governing documents or Christ-like management. This pattern of punitive behavior does not follow the biblical or organizational standards. Men have been accused of and/or punished for “disloyal behavior” on the word of a single witness or on mere rumor. In contrast, Scripture is explicit: “Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses” (1 Timothy 5:19). Punishments have been administered at the highest level—suspension followed quickly by decredentialing, instead of our traditional and biblically mandated pastoral attitude of working with someone to address the issues at hand in an effort to resolve them and to retain every minister if at all possible.

This has rapidly accelerated to include several resignations by church pastors who felt they could no longer in good conscience work for the church. Others have been terminated by the administration, greatly increasing an environment of tension and uncertainty for the ministry and the membership.

Undoubtedly, the most damaging administrative action that was taken in plain view of the membership (as opposed to Council actions taken in executive session) was the wholesale removal of the Latin American members and ministers—approximately 10 percent of our entire church! The ensuing stream of paperwork from the home office has not mitigated the alarm or the bewilderment caused by the removal of loyal people from church membership for no justifiable biblical reason and by the severance—without warning—of the financial support that the UCG had promised to some of our poorest members in that part of the world. We should all imagine ourselves in their shoes.

Funding for the Latin American work and ministry was cut off on July 1, 2010. Yet most of the Latin American elders remained members of the GCE until November 30, 2010 when the Council decredentialed them. This adds to what we ministers and many of our lay members can only describe as inconsistent and bizarre.

Lengthy and differing explanations from the home office for these actions have left us unconvinced that the church leadership action was fair, decent, gracious—or even legitimate, whether according to biblical standards or the UCG Rules of Association.

What is seen as a conspicuously offensive error has only been compounded by the administration sending representatives throughout Latin America to convince members and elders to “join United” when they believed they already were part of the UCG. The glaringly obvious conflict of interest in your choice for the primary administrative representative in this matter is evident to thousands of UCG members, and seems to indicate a callous disregard for the clearly expressed objections of the Latin American brethren and ministry.

When 166 pastors and elders appealed to the leadership to bring the Latin American members and ministers back into our fold, the president and chairman of the COE acknowledged receipt of the appeal and said they would get back to the senders soon. That gave hope to the entire church (especially to the UCG in Latin America), only to have their trust dashed when the appeal was answered with a letter—not to the 166 ministers, but rather to the entire church membership. The response falsely accused the signers of being part of a rebellious conspiracy, a political caucus and an attempt to undermine our governing system. In contrast, many ministers and members understood the appeal for what it was: a sincere request for reconciliation with our brothers and sisters in Christ. The fact that no serious attempt at reconciliation has ever been made adds to the disillusionment.

The so-called “white papers” on the doctrines of fasting and Sabbath observance generated great concern about our doctrinal purity and integrity, without which the UCG cannot truly remain part of the Church of God. Valid questions from members and ministers alike have been met with ridicule, unproven and unreasonable assertions that “one or two people” are stirring everyone up and with repeated statements that questions about the papers are not worth answering. This demonstrates that the administration does not perceive the serious doctrinal errors within the papers. It further illustrates a troubling lack of respect for discerning pastors and members who have been dismayed by these papers.

The question currently in the minds of a growing number of elders and members is, “What do we do now?” You have said you are willing to talk. But in reality, the present administration and the Council have rebuffed or ignored specific requests to talk from individual ministers; from all of the 10 U.S. regional pastors at the time (including you, Mr. Luker), as well as several requests from approximately a dozen men, serving in the previous administration as well as on the Council of Elders.

The workable—and what we believe is biblical—pathway to proper functioning as a church has repeatedly been proposed to you and the Council privately and publicly. That is, an open (not executive session) face-to-face meeting between current and past leaders of the organization for the purpose of identifying and removing the obstructions that impede the function of the United Church of God.

Sad to say, every such proposal submitted to the Council has either been significantly altered, ignored or rebuffed, publicly or privately. Even you, Mr. Luker, proposed such a meeting to the Council, only to be denied. On the other hand, the method the administration and Council has chosen to deal with the situations previously mentioned is one of confrontation, seeking to impose control with no attempt to resolve the underlying issues.

If you and the Council deny the viability of meeting to discuss openly the issues that have divided the ministry and the current leadership, then we are left with no other conclusion than that you and the Council of Elders have already decided that our differences are irreconcilable.

Is that your conclusion? If so, what would you have us do?

Respectfully submitted this 4th of December, 2010,

Signed by:

1. Dan Anderson
2. Dave Baker
3. Neil Becker
4. Andre van Belkum
5. James (Bud) Beymer
6. Gary Black
7. Mike Blackwell
8. Dempsey Bruton III
9. Andy Burnett
10. Arnold Burns
11. Todd Carey
12. Jeff Caudle
13. Jim Chapman
14. Tom Clark
15. Martin Cole
16. Dave DeHart
17. Roy Demarest
18. Thomas Diaz
19. Glenn Doig
20. Behrman Doucet
21. Osmonde Douglas
22. Kevin Epps
23. Cory Erickson
24. Don Erickson
25. Dave Evans
26. Eric Evans
27. George Evans
28. Steve Ferenchiak
29. Herchial Fisher
30. John Foster
31. Jim Franks
32. Alonzo Gjesvold
33. Bruce Gore
34. Larry Greider
35. Jim Haeffele
36. Arnold Hampton
37. Mark Hampton
38. Mike Hanisko
39. Charles Haughee
40. Alton Head
41. Don Henson
42. Bernard Hongerloot
43. Doug Horchak
44. Jim Hudson
45. Michael Isaac
46. David Jackson
47. Bill Jahns
48. Bill Johnson
49. David Johnson
50. Doug Johnson
51. Ron Kelley
52. Clyde Kilough
53. Dick King
54. Morgen Kriedemann
55. William Kubon
56. Dennis Kuhns
57. Larry Lambert
58. Ralph Levy
59. Tony Levy
60. Scott Lord
61. Paul Luecke
62. John Lusk
63. Mike Machin
64. Cecil Maranville
65. Kingsley Mather
66. David McCarble
67. Gary McConnaughey
68. Tom McCrady
69. Melton McNeely
70. George Meeker
71. Joel Meeker
72. Chris Moen
73. Dave Myers
74. Larry Neff
75. Leroy Neff
76. David Pavlik
77. John Pentlin
78. Bob Peoples
79. John Perry
80. Frank Pierce
81. Richard Pinelli
82. Maurice Ledet
83. Richard Rand
84. David Register
85. Phillip Sandilands
86. Floyd Satterwhite
87. Greg Sargent
88. John Seiver
89. Tom Seltzer
90. Jim Servidio
91. Donald Shaw
92. David Smith
93. Neville Smith
94. Jim Springer
95. Blaney Sproul
96. Paul Suckling
97. Greg Swartz
98. Britton Taylor
99. Richard Thompson
100. Dave Treybig
101. Ken Treybig
102. John Trotter
103. Art Verschoor
104. Tim Waddle
105. Don Waterhouse
106. Lyle Welty
107. David West
108. Roger West
109. Jack Willoughby
110. Mark Winner