Making The World Smaller, Poorer and Meaner

 "Fundamentalist zealots always manage to make 

the world smaller, poorer, and meaner." 

 Seth Godin

ht: LCG source

Does Dave Pack and his ilk represent the Churches of God as a whole?

...and they think they are God's chosen ministers!

A reader here wrote:

Dave, and people like him, are fuel for websites such as this....he in no way represents The Church.

I believe that Dave Pack most certainly DOES represent everything the Church of God has come to be in the last 80 years.  This is the culmination of the legacy of Herbert Armstrong. Pack has taken all of Herbert Armstrong's teachings, embraced them and they enlarged them into the abomination we see today.

With Pack is still delivering a sermons series that is in the 250+ range now where he talks about "all things common" and his creature called "jesus"  returning 3 times and will also be showing up on the Wadsworth campus just before the shit hits the fan. This is what the COG has come to be.

Pack is not alone in doing this though.  We have Gerald Flurry rewriting HWA's books to make them fit his delusions. From being King of the church to embracing Irish Dance as the divine dance of God and first-century Christianity. Then there is Ron Weinland, one of the most pathetic prophets the church has ever seen, claiming he and his dingy wife are the two witless witnesses and his creature "jesus" is ready to return in the next few days. We also have Bob Thiel who created a church because his spiritual daddy turned his back on him and ignored Bob's demands that LCG change their teachings to fit his erroneous interpretations. On top of that, he also expects us to believe that he was doubly blessed to start a church and that his frequent nightmares are validation he is the final end-time church.

This is the legacy of the Church of God. A church now overrun with buffoons and charlatans that are leading people astray. So yes, Dave Pack does represent the entire church, as do these other peddlers of heresy.

The reason why so many COG's still exist

 

COG Bigshots: Dosen't Everybody Want To Be One?

Doesn’t Everyone Want to Be A Big Shot?

By

LonnieHendrix

Within the culture of Armstrongism, all of the men were/are expected to aspire to give a sermonette or attend Ambassador College. After all, the pastors and the leadership in Pasadena were held up to be the epitome of Godly manhood. All of the lesser men within the congregation were encouraged to emulate them or “to covet earnestly the best gifts.”

In the splinter groups, these notions about aspiring to participate in church leadership have taken on even more significance. In short, asking a man to give a sermonette or sermon is seen as a means of keeping people involved/interested/invested in the particular group. By stroking egos and flattering someone with an invitation to speak, it is hoped that they will not wander off or consider joining one of the other splinters.

Of course, these notions and practices are not peculiar to Armstrongism. Flattery and other enticements have been used from time immemorial to keep people engaged. After all, it is heady stuff to be placed in a leadership role – even if it’s only for 30-45 minutes on a Sabbath!

But what about the men in the church who never got wrapped up in this kind of thinking? What about the folks who don’t want to be in charge or speak? What about the men who had absolutely no desire to emulate Herbert or Garner Ted Armstrong? What about the guys who think that church leaders should serve members and exude humility?

“That man is dangerous!” the other men declare. “Everyone wants to be Garner Ted – he must have some kind of agenda!” “If he doesn’t want to deliver a sermonette, he must secretly want to run the whole show!” OR “He must be planning to start his own group or cultivate a following for himself!” They simply cannot understand anyone who is not motivated by the same kinds of things that motivate them.

Throughout my association with Armstrongism, I have never desired to be an apostle, minister or deacon. I have never desired to start a new church or accumulate a following. I have been asked numerous times by others to speak or write. “I will do anything I can to help you, but I have no burning need to speak or put myself forward,” I would always answer.

Sometimes that would evoke a knowing smile, but I remember one time when the pastor who had asked me to speak understood what I meant. He acknowledged what I was saying and then quoted Plato. “Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”

Unfortunately, many of the folks within the Armstrong Churches of God want to say something. They like the prestige and respect associated with standing in front of a congregation or being the one that folks turn to for advice. For them it’s not about serving and helping others, it’s more about being the big shot – the top dog. It would almost be funny if it weren’t so very sad/pathetic!

The Narcissistic Leader: Not as Good as He (Or You) May Think

We have all seen first hand the narcissistic leadership that has dominated the COG's over the last 70 some years.  Today it is  blatantly brought to the forefront by COG leaders such as Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Rod Meredith, Ron Weinland and others.  These men run their respective cults like tyrants, spitting and shouting to get their points across all the while claiming to be the most sinless, humble,  loyal servants of god on earth.

Studies have shown that people look upon narcissistic leaders as "good leaders" in the leadership department while disagreeing with their methods.

Here is an interesting article discussing a test that was done and three individuals and their groups to see how people perceived them as leaders.  Narcissistic leaders who withheld information tended to be lifted higher as leaders while those leaders who shared information, had empathy, listened and valued the opinions of the lone wolf,  had more dramatic results but were considered poor leaders.

What is discussed below is a good indicator on how we looked at leadership in the COG.  Strong dynamic leaders always withheld information from the lower masses, they were forceful in their management skills, walked all over people and tended to treat most people like pond scum, yet were looked upon as  effective leaders.

We tended to look down upon those men who were empathetic, had deep concern for others, allowed questions, and who tended to get down and get their hands dirty right along side the rest of the membership.  While we might have liked those qualities, we actually looked upon these men as ineffective as strong leaders.  Rod Meredith certainly would not have liked them!

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  The Narcissistic Leader: Not as Good as He (Or You) May Think

  
  

  Maria Konnikova in Artful Choice

  In most circumstances, narcissism doesn’t go over well. We tend not to like individuals who exhibit arrogance or too much dominance or hostility—all traits associated with the narcissist. But there’s one big exception to the rule: leadership. For some reason, when we rate narcissists on leadership ... Read More
  
  
  
  
  

  

   

Dave Pack: God's Greatest Gift To Humanity

 There is something not quit right about this guy!  It shows in his face and demeanor.

Poor Dave Pack. he gets no respect!  But one can only respect that which is honorable and there is NOTHING honorable about Dave Pack.  Arrogant, pompous, self-serving, liar, false teacher, false apostle, and wanna-be HWA clone, are just a few of the words one could ascibe to Pack. He considers himself to be the worlds foremost Biblical scholar and his web site contains more Biblical information than any other site in the entire world.


UK Apologetics had this to say about Pack:

According to his own website, after attending Ambassador College, David C. Pack,

"...entered the Worldwide Church of God ministry in 1971 and was personally trained by Herbert W. Armstrong. He has established over 50 congregations, authored more than 20 books, written hundreds of booklets and articles, and appeared on The History Channel. As Editor-in-Chief of The Real Truth magazine and voice of The World to Come program, he has reached millions around the globe with the most powerful truths of the Bible, unknown to almost all."

There is appalling arrogance there. If somebody other than Mr Pack wrote these comments he needs to move quickly to remove the arrogant tone. But if - as one suspects - the comments appear with his approval, one can only gasp at a man who would claim that he alone reaches "millions around the globe" with an authentic Bible message which is "unknown to almost all." To be frank, this is typical of the amazing arrogance of the armstrongists. So, according to the reasoning which the "Restored Church of God" encourages us to accept, forget about Aquinas, forget about Luther, forget about Calvin, forget about John Wesley, CH Spurgeon, Martyn Lloyd-Jones and all the rest - until Herbert Armstrong came along we knew virtually nothing about the Bible and now - how wonderful! - Mr Pack is devoutly and selflessly continuing in his path. Herbert, of course, was full of an arrogance and (entirely misplaced) confidence just like that so it is perhaps no shock to find his disciples inheriting the very same trait.
In the very same, Who is David C. Pack? article on his website, Mr Pack (or, one presumably writing with his authority), modestly points out that in order to attend Ambassador College, he declined an invitation to attend Dartmouth College, as well as an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy, plus numerous other scholarship offers. Hmm. What a very able and clever young man! Continuing in the same line of modesty, the article further tells us that,

"...he has traveled the world, pastored thousands and conducted many public Bible lectures. Mr. Pack has also held a number of leadership positions that have given him a wide range of ministerial and administrative experience."

Yep, while this may all be perfectly accurate, the impression is that this is real 'CV' material of the most embellished kind. Moreover, we are told that Mr Pack's writing is,

"Published on the most extensive biblically based websites in the world, Mr. Pack’s and the Church’s materials address the everyday concerns of the average man and woman..."

Of course, the unpalatable truth (for the armstrongists) is that no "biblically-based website" would allow any material coming from Mr Pack or any armstrongist disciple anywhere near their website unless the purpose should be to critique it, as we are doing right here.

Pam Dewey has this to say on her Field Guide to the Wild World of Religion: Worldwide Church of God Family Tree page:

Although Pack did have some folks follow him out of the GCG, that was a bit surprising for many people.

Here is how the Ambassador Report put it back in 1985 when Pack was still a minister in the WCG:

 

"For a number of years now, no WCG minister's name has  appeared more often in letters written to the Report complaining of  ministerial abuse.  A group of members was even so brazen as to  circulate an open letter detailing his abuses and calling for his  removal.  According to this group, he "intimidated members, used threats  and mind control, was given to emotion outbursts, disfellowshipped  members for trivial faults, prescribed diets while playing M.D., put  down women," etc., etc.

The letter quoted Pack as saying, "Everyone who has challenged me has  either died, been seriously injured or has been eliminated from the  work...God backs me even if I am wrong."

 

Someone who had been an insider in the Global Church of God, before Rod Meredith left to form the Living Church of God, confirmed to me that Pack's reputation was identical within that organization at the time, with numerous complaints from people coming in about his tactics all the time.  

In spite of all that, Pack did gather a following. Over the years since then there have been numerous defections from his ministry, but he has also gained more supporters, both from other WCG splinter groups and from the public via the Internet.

Like Gerald Flurry before him (whose claims Pack mocks) David Pack claims to have inherited Herbert Armstrong’s mantle. He also claims that his organization follows the teachings of Herbert Armstrong more closely than any other WCG splinter group.

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As of an astonishing sermon given in February 2005, he declared himself to be the only Apostle of our time, and insisted that he will be personally "training" those two individuals who will end up being the “Two Witnesses of Revelation.” You can see a detailed overview of that sermon on the Exit and Support Network website.