LCG ministers are trained about government with this:
God’s form of government is clearly laid out in His inspired word, the Bible. God’s government begins with the father, followed by Christ, then down through the leaders that God puts in place in His Church. These leaders submit to each other, and ultimately to Christ and the Father. Government God’s Church is designed to mirror the Father’s relationship with Jesus Christ, teaching us more about Him. It includes the creation of offices and responsibilities in the church, and was designed to facilitate order, peace, and decency (I Cor 14:33, 40) and to eliminate confusion.
God wants His people to learn more about Him and His government. He outlined His form of government for the Church and the family, because His government will be implemented globally Tomorrow’s World. God’s form of government teaches us to humble ourselves before Him and to submit to each other—in accordance with the example that Christ left for us. Ultimately, following God’s form of government requires faith in the leadership that God places in His church. Godly leaders must earn and maintain that faith by exemplifying and practicing the fruits of His spirit, including love, patience, and mercy. These Godly characteristics should permeate and exemplify God’s government. Practicing God’s form of government now, not only enables God to work effectively through leaders in His Church to do His work, but it will also enable us to easily transition into His government in His Kingdom!
Optional Homework for Next Class:• Review and discuss (with a partner) the qualifications and responsibilities of ministers, deacons and deaconesses outlined in 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1 and elsewhere.
Quotes on the Importance of GovernmentThe state is a bankrupt institution. The only alternative to this bankrupt ‘humanistic’ system is a God-centered government. —R.J. Rushdoony
I am really surprised to see LCG use this quote by Rushdoony. He is an extreme far-right "dominionist" that advocates for total church control of society which includes stoning of adulterers, homosexuals, kids that talk back to parents, and much much more. Though it should not surprise me because one of the big proponents of dominionism is Rushdoony's son-in-law, Gary North from Tyler Texas. North's books were widely circulated on the Pasadena and Big Sandy campuses in the mid-70s - early 80s.
"Dominionism comes in “soft” and “hard” varieties. “Hard” dominionism (sometimes called Christian Reconstructionism), as Clarkson describes it, explicitly seeks to replace secular government, and the U.S. Constitution, with a system based on Old Testament law.
The father of hard dominionism, the late Presbyterian theologian R.J. Rushdoony, called for his followers to “take back government … and put it in the hands of Christians.”
Rushdoony’s legacy has been carried on by his son-in-law, Tyler-based economist Gary North, an unapologetic theocrat who in 1982 called for Christians to “get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political, and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God.” (North, founder of the Institute for Christian Economics, did not respond to my request for comment.)" The Radical Theology That Could Make Religious Freedom a Thing of the Past: Even devout Christians should fear these influential leaders' refusal to separate church and state.
LCG's minister training on government continues by quoting Rod Meredith as an authority on government. Rod Meredith is the last person in the COG movement that needs to be commenting on church government, especially considering how he disobeyed Herbert Armstrong, got himself exiled to Hawaii refusing to admit he had done anything wrong, and then proceeded over the following years to wreck people lives and run off at the mouth till he cost the church millions of dollars after he libeled Lona McNair. She sued him and he lost all because of his rebellious loud mouth.
Lord help us if Rod Meredith is going to sit in some lofty throne and pass judgment upon us all, as he claims below.
“Although democracy may be one of the best humanly devised forms of government, it is not the "wave of the future" by any means. Truly, we all need to learn and understand God’s form of government, for the true saints of God will soon be called on to administer that form of government in Tomorrow’sWorld.” Meredith, R.C. (March-April 2005). The Future of Democracy. Tomorrow’s World (p.27)“Throughout the entire Bible, it is made very clear that there will be no "democracy" and no "voting" in Christ’s Government. For as we read in Hebrews 13:8: ‘Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.’" (Meredith, R.C. (March-April 2005). The Future of Democracy. Tomorrow’s World(p.8).
Minister training quotes are from an LCG source.
