Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
Kenneth Giese
December 1, 2010
Since my resignation from employment with the United Church of God on November 4, 2010, various UCG ministers and administrators have expressed their disappointment over my "refusal" to accept the offer of a transfer to the three-church circuit (Mobile, Geneva and Pensacola) currently covered by Harold Rhodes, a long-time pastor and close personal friend of mine. Harold is continuing his recovery from the ravages of a flesh-eating bacterial infection that kept him hospitalized and flat on his back for almost nine months. He has endured the pain of multiple skin grafts over that period of time and is currently continuing his long and arduous recovery.
It has consistently been Harold's hope to return to serve those three congregations following his recovery. Several months ago, Victor Kubik assured Harold that any decision to retire or diminish his role in serving those three congregations would be his to make. In fact, Victor Kubik updated the entire ministry on Harold's condition in the most recent issue of The Ministerial Newsletter and Journal (November 24, 2010).
It should also be noted that Harold was completely unaware of his circuit being offered to me at the conclusion of Mr. Luker's and Mr. Kubik's recent visit to Sacramento (Sabbath, October 30th).
Here are two quotes from an e-mail message I received from Vic Kubik on Friday, November 5th (the day after I resigned from employment with UCG):
"Your characterization that we asked you to move because you didn't support the Council was not really accurate. Why would we ask you to go elsewhere if you were not supportive of us? Rather, the real reason is the continuously divided church after many visits with no end in sight. Our hope was that your taking another assignment, a fresh start to all, would be a solution. We did have the very needy circuit available in Alabama/Florida that has been without a pastor going on a year."
Please consider the following:
My concern over recent COE and administrative decisions and directives was well known to both Messrs. Luker and Kubik. However, I made a concerted effort to share my specific concerns privately with the COE and administration and NOT share them with my congregations. Essentially, I have the same question that Mr. Kubik posed in the above quote: Why would they ask me to go elsewhere if I was not supportive of them in the context of the total loyalty they appear to be demanding?
A "fresh start" was the solution arrived at by previous UCG administrators almost two and one-half years ago. After a year of sending in various pastors and administrators to solve the issues revolving around the previous pastor of the Reno and Sacramento congregations, Ministerial Services asked me to move here to resolve the situation
In my opinion, in the opinion of three out of four of the elders serving these congregations and in the opinion of over one-half of the Sacramento congregation, the conflict here could have been resolved had the current administration chosen to support me as pastor and hold the previous pastor accountable for his misconduct.
During their three-day visit to Sacramento, the current administration managed to accomplish the following: thoroughly discredit the former administration's efforts (of over four years) to resolve the issues present here, permanently divide these two congregations and leave at least one-half of the Sacramento congregation without a shepherd, endorse the inappropriate behavior of the former pastor and make it impossible for me to continue as the pastor of these two congregations.
Please ask yourself what you would have done, given these circumstances. To accept the proposed "transfer" was completely unacceptable as was the administration's handling of this entire situation. I chose to resign.
Dear Friends,
It is with great sadness and grave concern that I write to you all regarding the current crisis gripping the United Church of God. Clearly, we are a house divided against itself and in danger of disintegrating. We have been told that there is a rebellion in our midst, led by wolves who are causing division and seeking to draw brethren to themselves in an effort to “start their own church”. Our current leadership continues to accuse dedicated pastors with decades of faithful service and experience of leading an organized conspiracy, while at the same time, dismissing some 2,000 Latin American brethren and their pastors without due process, demonizing anyone who would question their authority and demanding the support of members and ministers alike despite their egregious misconduct. The income of the United Church of God is dropping precipitously, morale is sinking and we are about to lose what we have all worked together to build under Christ’s direction for fifteen years. Enough is enough.
As many of you know, on November 4, 2010, I resigned from my responsibilities as an employed pastor of two UCG congregations (Reno, NV and Sacramento, CA) due to the fact that I could no longer in good conscience support the actions and decisions of the current Council of Elders majority or their appointed administrators. As I wrote to Dennis Luker and Victor Kubik, despite the fact that I resigned from employment, I wanted to retain my membership in the United Church of God as well as my status as a credentialed elder in UCG in hopes that the current Council of Elders and our administrators would accept responsibility for this debacle and seek reconciliation and peace rather than confrontation and war. Sadly, they have chosen the latter.
As one who has been identified as a wolf who is sowing discord, I would like to set the record straight. The last thing I or any of my fellow elders want to do is leave the United Church of God and start another organization. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. We (some current COE members, former administrators, regional pastors, concerned elders and members) have been working diligently behind the scenes to bring the current Council of Elders majority and our administrators to the table for frank discussions on our current state of affairs as well as exploring methods and means whereby we could all work together to bring reconciliation and peace, but our efforts have been consistently rebuffed and ridiculed. We desperately want to remain a part of the United Church of God, but we are being falsely accused and forced out by those who have clearly disqualified themselves as our spiritual leaders.
Therefore, I am calling upon the General Conference of Elders to step up and demand that the current Council of Elders and their appointed administrators be held accountable for bringing the United Church of God to the point of imminent disintegration. I encourage GCE members to fulfill their responsibility as the only “members” of the corporation – The United Church of God, an International Association. I encourage the GCE to call for a special meeting for the purpose of restructuring the organization with new leadership. Our current leaders have proven themselves incapable of correcting the problems that are clearly facing us all.
Please do not let the cries of “foul” deter you from taking these appropriate and necessary steps. If these actions do not take place, the United Church of God has little chance of surviving intact.
In light of my personal circumstances and the fact that roughly one-half of the Sacramento UCG congregation has stopped attending, I feel compelled to offer a place of refuge for myself as well as those members who feel they have been forced out of the United Church of God. At the same time, I would love to remain a member of UCG as well as a credentialed elder in UCG and work with the entire GCE in taking the necessary steps noted above, but I cannot in good conscience do so. Therefore, I hereby resign as a member of the United Church of God and as a member of the General Conference of Elders, effective immediately. This coming Sabbath, November 27th, I plan to meet with other brethren who no longer feel they can affiliate with the United Church of God. My purpose is not to start a church . . . I am attempting to provide a place of refuge in hopes that we can eventually return to fellowship in a healthy, vibrant and Godly United Church of God.
May God bless and guide us all in these difficult and challenging times.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Giese
