UCG Council of Elders’ Greatest Self-Own: ‘Our Biggest Barriers Are Tired Pastors, Distrust, and Resistance to Change’ — Must Be Those Pesky New Covenant Freedoms We Keep Rejecting

 

From the United Church of God Council of Elders Strategic Plan Report:

UCG Positioning Statement:

Respect for One Another

Recognizing Jesus’ command to always treat each other in a godly manner, we believe we have sometimes not treated each other in a godly manner. Therefore, we will dedicate ourselves to:

• Respect each other.
• Recognize our different personalities and strive to understand one another.
• Reconcile and restore/rebuild relationships in the love that God the Father and Jesus Christ have shown us.

These are the critical success and barriers UCG say they face: 

 

Successes: 

Good messages, fellowship, encouraging and

uplifting.

• Good meeting facility.

• Being allowed to serve/opportunities to serve.

• Good sermons on doctrine.

• Setting a culture of love and intentional care by

leadership.

Barriers

• Poorly skilled speakers.

• Not passing the baton/lack of trust.

• Lack of focus on doctrine.

• Tired, stressed over pastors.

Distinctions/time management, lack of

willingness to commit.

• Lack of speaking and preparation skills.

• Regional pastors/mentors not having time to mentor.

• Not knowing where resources are (disorganized list).

• Older men not conversant with technology.

• Unresolved issues from the past.

• Lack of communicating improvements to stakeholders.

• Resistance to change internally.

• Reticence to collaborate.

• Ineffective internal processes.

• Misconceptions about Church finances. 

 

UCG’s Council of Elders starts with a positioning statement about respect. They quote Jesus, talk about treating each other in a “godly manner,” and promise to reconcile relationships in the love of the Father and Son. It’s all very New Covenant-sounding on paper. Their track record says otherwise. UCG had no respect when they plotted and schemed their breakaway from the Mother church. They had no respect when their actions led to the huge breakaway group COGWA losing a lot of their ministers and members.

Then they list their “barriers.”And suddenly the mask slips. What they’ve actually admitted is a church struggling with trust, skills, exhaustion, resistance to change, unresolved grudges, tech illiteracy among leaders, disorganized everything, and financial suspicions. These aren’t random glitches. They’re the predictable fruit of trying to run a New Testament church while still operating under Old Covenant assumptions.

Let’s look at the list.

The Trust and Leadership Crisis“Not passing the baton / lack of trust.”

“Tired, stressed over pastors.”

“Regional pastors/mentors not having time to mentor.”

“Older men not conversant with technology.”

This is what happens when you build a top-down hierarchy modeled more on Levitical gatekeepers than on the New Covenant reality that every believer is a priest (1 Peter 2:9) and the Spirit distributes gifts to the whole body. When power is treated as something a small group of approved men must tightly control, of course you don’t “pass the baton.” Of course the few official pastors burn out. Of course nobody else gets properly trained or trusted. It’s not a bug. It’s the system working as designed. In the New Covenant, the Spirit equips the saints for the work of ministry. In the UCG model, ministry is largely reserved for the ordained class. The results speak for themselves.

Skills, Preparation, and “Doctrine”

“Poorly skilled speakers.”

“Lack of speaking and preparation skills.”

“Lack of focus on doctrine.”

They simultaneously brag about “good sermons on doctrine” as a success and list “lack of focus on doctrine” as a barrier. Make it make sense.

When your primary preaching emphasis is proving that certain Old Covenant shadows (Sabbath, Holy Days, dietary laws, etc.) are still binding requirements rather than fulfilled in Christ, you tend to produce speakers who are very good at proof-texting and not necessarily good at actual Spirit-empowered communication. Training people to preach the freedom of the gospel takes a back seat to training them to defend the system. The New Covenant doesn’t need an endless supply of lawyers arguing about which parts of the law still apply. It needs witnesses who know the power of grace.

Resistance, Grudges, and Organizational Paralysis

“Unresolved issues from the past.”

“Resistance to change internally.”

“Reticence to collaborate.”

“Ineffective internal processes.”

“Lack of communicating improvements to stakeholders.”

This is the greatest hits album of what legalism produces. When your identity is wrapped up in “we have the truth” and that truth includes a heavy dose of Old Covenant observances and a particular view of church government, change feels like betrayal. Collaboration with outsiders feels dangerous. Past splits and hurts (and this group has plenty of both) never get truly resolved because grace and genuine reconciliation threaten the narrative.

You end up with a church that can’t adapt, can’t communicate clearly, and can’t let go of old offenses. That’s not a failure of implementation. That’s what happens when you prefer the ministry of condemnation to the ministry of the Spirit.

The practical stuff nobody wants to admit:

 

"Ministers not knowing where resources are (disorganized list).”

“Distinctions/time management, lack of willingness to commit.”

“Misconceptions about Church finances.”

“Older men not conversant with technology.”

An aging leadership base that struggles with basic technology while younger people quietly check out? Classic symptom of a movement more focused on preserving a 20th-century restorationist system than on being a living, Spirit-led body in the 21st century. Disorganized resources and finance confusion? That’s what you get when transparency takes a back seat to centralized control. People sense the opacity and fill in the blanks with suspicion. “Misconceptions” usually means “people are asking questions we don’t want to answer clearly.”

All of these barriers flow from the same source: refusing to fully live under the New Covenant.

The New Covenant isn’t just “the Old Covenant with better promises.” It’s fundamentally different. The law written on stone is replaced by the Spirit writing on hearts. The old priesthood is replaced by the priesthood of all believers. Condemnation is replaced by grace. Shadow is replaced by Substance. Control and suspicion are replaced by love, trust, and freedom.

When a church keeps trying to mix the two — insisting the ceremonial and governmental shadows are still binding while claiming to follow Jesus — it produces exactly this kind of dysfunction: exhausted leaders, distrustful members, resistance to change, unresolved conflicts, and practical incompetence dressed up as doctrinal faithfulness.

The UCG’s own barrier list is an unintentional confession. They want the fruit of the New Covenant (respect, love, reconciliation, effective ministry) while refusing to let go of the Old Covenant operating system that makes those things nearly impossible.

It’s almost impressive how consistent the results are across groups that take this approach. The barriers aren’t coming from outside enemies or “the end times.” They’re coming from inside the system they’ve chosen to maintain.

Maybe one day they’ll stop trying to patch the old wineskin and just embrace the new one Christ actually gave us. Until then, the list of barriers will keep growing — and the irony will remain delicious.

“Sin Is the Transgression of the Law” — But Which Law, and for Whom?

 

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)

Samuel Kitchen has a new article that says,  “Jesus Christ made it VERY CLEAR!” that the two commandments above require the observance of everything in the Old Covenant. This is a textbook example of taking the words Jesus spoke about love and immediately burying them under the very system Christ came to fulfill and replace. He quotes Matthew 22:37-40 (the two greatest commandments) and 1 John 2:3-6, then pivots straight back to “THE TEN COMMANDMENTS,” the Sabbath, “all things pertaining to worship,” and the familiar claim that anyone who doesn’t see it his way is either a liar or demon-prodded.

This is Herbert W. Armstrong’s legalistic version dressed up in New Testament language. Let’s pick it apart with actual New Covenant understanding — the one where grace doesn’t just *help* you keep the old rules better, but fundamentally changes the relationship.

Kitchen is correct that Jesus summed up the Law and the Prophets in love for God and love for neighbor. That’s not in dispute. The dispute is what happens *after* that summation.

In the New Covenant, those two commandments are not a new-and-improved checklist that still requires you to keep the entire Mosaic code (or HWA’s particular interpretation of it) to prove you’re “really” loving God. They are the *fulfillment*. Paul says it plainly: “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). And “the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).

Jesus didn’t say, “On these two hang the Ten, so go back and obsess over the Sabbath and holy days exactly as interpreted by 20th-century American restorationists.” He said on these two hang *all* the Law and the Prophets. Then He went and *fulfilled* them perfectly in our place and inaugurated a better covenant (Hebrews 8:6).

The New Testament repeatedly treats the old covenant law — including its Sabbath regulations — as a shadow that pointed to Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). The real Sabbath rest is entered by faith in His finished work (Hebrews 4:9-10). Christians have liberty regarding days and foods (Romans 14:5-6; Galatians 4:10-11). The early church didn’t fracture over which day was “the right one” to worship; they met when they could and the unity was in Christ, not the calendar.

“Sin Is the Transgression of the Law” — But Which Law, and for Whom?

Kitchen leans on 1 John 3:4. Fine. But context matters. In John’s letters, the “commandments” that define genuine Christianity are repeatedly boiled down to **believing in Jesus Christ and loving one another** (see especially 1 John 3:23: “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us”).

“Walking as He walked” (1 John 2:6) does not mean replicating first-century Jewish Sabbath observance. It means walking in love, truth, and mercy — the very things Jesus demonstrated when the Pharisees accused Him of breaking the Sabbath to heal people. He was Lord of the Sabbath, not its slave.

The rich young ruler passage (Matthew 19) is another favorite proof-text in these circles. Jesus meets the man on his own terms (old covenant), exposes that he hasn’t actually kept the commandments from the heart (covetousness), and then calls him to follow *Him*. The point is not “keep the Ten perfectly and you’re in.” The point is that no one does — that’s why we need a Savior.

Kitchen proclaims: “There Is Only ONE WAY TO WORSHIP GOD!” — Yes, and it’s not what he thinks

Kitchen insists that differing churches and denominations prove people have “gotten away from the law of God” and are worshipping “in their own ways.” The irony is thick: the very movement he represents has produced dozens of competing “one true church” splinters, all claiming the same lock on truth while excommunicating each other over fine points of administration, prophecy, or which leader is the real “Zerubbabel.”

The New Testament answer to “how do we worship?” is not a return to old covenant forms. It is “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24) — through the finished work of Christ, by the power of the Spirit, with hearts transformed. The “one way” is Jesus Himself (John 14:6), not correct observance of the letter.

The claim that disagreement equals “spiritual attack” inspired by demons is the classic move of high-control groups. It shuts down conversation and protects the system. Many who left the Worldwide Church of God (or its descendants) didn’t do it because they wanted to “get away from God’s commandments.” They did it because they discovered the system had mixed genuine biblical truth with legalism, failed prophecies, authoritarian control, and a gospel that was too small.

“You Knew Better” — The guilt trip that never dies

This line is especially rich: people who were “added to the Worldwide Church of God, and fell away… knew better, or ought to have known better.”

Many of us were there. What we “knew better” included a package deal that contained both truths and serious errors — British Israelism (scientifically and biblically untenable), date-setting that repeatedly failed, heavy tithing demands, and a view of the Christian life that often felt more like qualifying for the kingdom through law-keeping than resting in Christ’s finished work.

Leaving that system was not falling away from grace. For many, it was the first time they actually experienced it.

Kitchen compares warning people to a family intervening when someone spirals into drugs. The analogy would land better if the “drug” in question wasn’t actually the freedom Christ purchased and the “sobriety” being enforced wasn’t a return to the tutor we graduated from (Galatians 3:24-25).

Loving warning is real. But when the warning is “get back under the law or you’re a liar and the truth is not in you,” it stops being love and becomes spiritual manipulation. Jesus warned the Pharisees precisely because they loaded people with heavy burdens while ignoring the weightier matters (Matthew 23:23). The same warning applies today.

Samuel Kitchen’s article quotes the right verses from Jesus and John but arrives at the wrong conclusion because it reads them through Herbert Armstrong’s legalistic restorationism rather than the New Covenant realities those verses were written to support.

The New Covenant is not “the old law plus better attitudes.” It is a fundamentally better arrangement (Hebrews 8:6) in which God writes His law on hearts and minds (Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10), the Spirit empowers what the letter could only demand, and there is therefore now **no condemnation** for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

True love for God and neighbor is the fruit of that relationship, not the entrance exam. The Sabbath rest remains — but it is entered by faith in Christ’s finished work, not by which day we mark on a calendar. Worship is no longer tied to specific locations, days, or rituals as covenant requirements. It is in spirit and truth, through the one Mediator.

The many churches and denominations are not primarily proof of rebellion against “the law.” They are evidence that the gospel is for real human beings who see through a glass darkly and still manage to love Jesus and one another imperfectly. Where the Spirit is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).

To those who were taught the Armstrongist package and later walked away: You are not condemned. Many of you didn’t leave to escape God’s commandments — you left to finally obey the greatest ones without the added weight of a system that turned shadows into substance and grace into a footnote.

God does correct those He loves. Sometimes that correction sounds like: “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

That is the New Covenant. That is the love that actually fulfills the law. And that is the truth worth contending for — without needing to call everyone else liars or demon-inspired for refusing to pick up the hammer and start nailing extra stone tablets to the wall.

Crackpot Prophet Asks: Any interest in financial tips?

Why is it that Armstrongism keeps producing ministers and leaders who are convinced they are experts on everything and that normal people should actually want their advice? Back in the day, members apparently couldn’t choose a car color, decide on skirt length, pick an acceptable shirt-and-tie combo, or even let thirsty kids have a sip of water after gym class, past noon, before Atonement, without running to the minister for permission. The level of control-freak insanity was truly special.

Yet here we are in 2026, and our favorite self-appointed, self-endorsed know-it-all has decided the world desperately needs his financial tips. Because after failing spectacularly as a prophet for years, the obvious next career move is clearly “personal finance guru.”

The single best piece of financial advice any COG minister could ever give his followers is this: STOP TITHING. It has financially destroyed far too many people in Armstrongism. And no, it is not a New Covenant command — it is 100% done away with. But don’t expect that little detail from the Great Bwana.

Would you actually go to God’s most highly favored prophet — the one supposedly dreamed into existence before the foundations of the world were even laid — for money advice? Just picture the Holy Trinity sitting around the kitchen table in the seventh heaven, sipping Celestial tea, and trying to figure out how to have the Great Bwana Bob dispense financial tips in these perilous end times. Then they laughed… and laughed… and laughed.

So here we are in 2026 and Crackpot Bwana Bob is happily fulfilling the heavenly hosts’ amusement by offering you his financial “wisdom.”

Any interest in financial tips?

June 22, 2026

COGwriter

2026 has been an unusual financial year for many around the world. There have been oil, fertilizer, and food impacts of the Iran war. There are also trade concerns. Some are warning about stagflation.

The stock markets around the world are jittery. Many around the world are concerned about international matters, including what will happen with the USA because of Donald Trump’s statements and actions.

The USA has the most debt any nation in world history has ever had — and it keeps going up. The per-capita debt of those in the UK is among the highest of all time. The Eurozone has struggles between members, plus its own debt issues.

Those in Asia and South America have seen their economic standards of living generally rise over the past decades, but great apprehension exists. There have been gains and losses in some parts of Africa and the Middle East.

Then guess what the Great Bwana does? He makes the entire post about himself and his “prophetic visions” — visions that apparently no one else on the entire planet has ever thought of or said out loud. This is so profound that no money manager, no news reporter, no newspaper, no blog writer, and no conspiracy theorist ever thought about it! Such ignorant people!“

As I repeated (sic) predicted, gold has hit record prices in US dollar terms—and while gold prices sometimes drop dramatically, ultimately, gold will have value after the US dollar becomes totally worthless.

Who knew? Only the all-seeing Bwana Bob, apparently!

Instead of actually talking about national or international finance, he drags out Herbert W. Armstrong’s 1959 article Ending Your Financial Worries — which is basically one long commercial for tithing.

Bwana Bob continues:

Instead of focusing on national and international finance (which I tend to post about a lot), this post will mainly consist of quotes from the late Herbert W. Armstrong about personal finance from a biblical perspective.

Crackpot Bwana Bob, the world’s foremost financial advisor (in his own imagination), ends his article with this:

I will simply add that God is faithful and that one can live in this age as a tithe payer. No modern currency is going to last over a few decades from now. Do not put your faith in it—particularly the USA dollar.

Yes, financial advice from the man whose prophetic record is a running joke. What could possibly go wrong?

The only rational takeaway is this: no one — and I mean no one — should be taking financial advice, life advice, spiritual advice, or any other kind of advice from a man whose prophetic résumé is a long, unbroken string of spectacular failures. The Great Bwana, who apparently thinks he was the main character in God’s eternal script before the foundations of the world were laid, has once again proven why his “insights” deserve nothing but laughter. If his track record on world events, timelines, and “soon-coming” disasters has been as reliable as a weather forecast written by a Magic 8-Ball, why in the world would any sane person hand him their wallet and ask for money tips?

This was nothing but a recycled (because Bwana Bob doesn't have an original thought in his head) Herbert Armstrong tithing sales pitch dressed up as “biblical financial wisdom” 

Tithing was an Old Covenant command given to ancient Israel to support the Levitical priesthood and the temple system — a system that Jesus Christ fulfilled, ended, and replaced with the New Covenant of grace. There is zero command in the New Testament for Christians to tithe 10% of their income to any modern organization or self-appointed “apostle.” Insisting otherwise isn’t deep spirituality; it’s just old-fashioned legalism wrapped in religious guilt, and it has financially crippled far too many families who were told they’d be cursed if they didn’t pay up.

New Covenant believers are not under the law but under grace. The New Testament repeatedly tells us to give — generously, cheerfully, and freely — as we have been blessed, without compulsion, without percentage quotas, and without some modern minister threatening us with Malachi 3 if we don’t comply. Give to real needs. Give to support genuine ministry. Give with a joyful heart because you want to, not because some failed prophet in a leather chair is trying to keep the lights on in his declining little empire.

Stop giving your money to men who couldn’t predict tomorrow’s weather, let alone the end of the age. Walk away from the tithing treadmill. Give as free people who have been richly blessed by grace — not as frightened slaves still trying to earn God’s favor with an Old Covenant check. The Holy Trinity has apparently been laughing at Bwana Bob’s financial “wisdom” for years. Maybe it’s finally time the rest of us joined them.

25,000,000 and counting...The Only Blog That Carries the Bob Thiel Sign of Approval! Woo Hoo!

 

Started in September 2010

221 nations reached

Available in almost any language

Bob Thiel's most favorite blog, so much so that he checks us out, 

sometimes, multiple times a day. (We see ya, Bob)

Even his African leaders and witchdoctors read Banned!

All it would take to shut down this blog is for COG leaders to act like real Christians. Embrace the New Covenant, stop worshipping Herbert Armstrong, stop forcing members to tithe to support your so-called works and publicly repent in front of your congregations that you have led them astray. 

Oh, and stop saying such incredibly STUPID things!

Then we would have nothing to report!

Doug Winnail Says That Satan Is At Work in Some LCG Congregations - Why Does He Have So Much Power In LCG?

Surviving in Satan’s Divided World: Our world seems to be falling apart! Winds of war are blowing in the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia as heavily armed nations jockey for power. Within nations, politicians hurl insults at opponents; religious groups attack other faiths; racial, ethnic, and gender issues are ripping apart schools and communities; and families are being destroyed—but few realize why. Most simply do not know that Satan is the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and that he is the author of anger, hatred, and lies (John 8:44) that lead to chaos, confusion, division, and wars (1 Corinthians 14:33; James 4:1–5). Satan will foster these same attitudes even within congregations if we are not alert to his attempts to “dig up dirt” and divide (1 Peter 5:6–9; Proverbs 16:27–28). We need to understand how Satan operates and become peacemakers—so we can function in that capacity now and in the Kingdom of God. Don’t become a tool that Satan can use to foster division.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail

Doug Winnail of the Living Church of God recently warned members about a world seemingly falling apart—wars brewing, politicians hurling insults, religious conflicts, racial tensions, and families disintegrating. He correctly notes that the Bible says Satan is the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4) who authors lies, hatred, and chaos. He urges alertness to Satan’s attempts to “dig up dirt” and divide congregations, calling members to be peacemakers rather than tools of division.

How convenient. In classic LCG fashion, the real problem always seems to be outside critics or questioning members rather than the group’s own failed prophecies, authoritarian controls, and documented issues. There is partial truth in the warning: Satan does sow discord and exploit sin. Yet Winnail’s framing leans heavily into the familiar Armstrongist playbook of fear, hyper-vigilance, and implied loyalty to the organization as the best defense. The New Covenant proclaims something far bolder and freer: decisive victory in Christ, genuine liberty from fear, and unity rooted in the gospel—not enforced silence.

According to Scriptures, Satan does exert influence. He blinds unbelievers, promotes deception, and stirs the “works of the flesh” that fuel conflict (Galatians 5:19-21; James 4:1-3). Nations, communities, and yes, even congregations can be torn apart by pride, gossip, and unresolved offenses. This much is biblical.

However, treating Satan as an ever-present boogeyman requiring constant organizational alertness and top-down control misses the New Covenant reality. The title “god of this age” describes limited, temporary influence over the unbelieving world system—not ultimate lordship, and certainly not a free pass for leaders to label any exposure of problems as “Satanic division.”

Jesus did not leave us to merely “survive” in Satan’s world like anxious end-time preppers. He came to rescue us from it. “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father” (Galatians 1:4 NIV).

At the cross, Christ disarmed the principalities and powers, triumphing over them publicly (Colossians 2:15). He destroyed the devil’s power over death and freed those held in lifelong slavery by fear (Hebrews 2:14-15). God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves (Colossians 1:13). We are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). The veil is removed, and the light of the gospel has shone in our hearts (2 Corinthians 4:6).

In the New Covenant, the Spirit indwells us. Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). We are no longer helplessly captive to Satan’s snares. God grants repentance so that people can “escape from the snare of the devil” (2 Timothy 2:26). We resist the devil and he flees (James 4:7). This is not a call to endless demon-hunting or authoritarian crackdowns on anyone who notices inconsistencies. It is an invitation to stand firm in the finished work of Christ.

Winnail warns against becoming a tool of division by “digging up dirt.” In LCG and similar circles, this often translates to: Don’t notice or mention the failed dates, the top-down control, the declining membership, or the way dissent gets labeled as Satanic. True biblical peacemaking speaks truth in love. The gospel itself divides because light exposes darkness (John 3:19-21; Matthew 10:34-36). Calling out hypocrisy or demanding accountability is not “Satan’s work”—it’s often the work of the Spirit. Suppressing uncomfortable truths to preserve institutional “unity” is something else entirely.

Doug Winnail and the Living Church of God paint a picture of survival in a dangerous world where Satan lurks around every corner, ready to pounce on the insufficiently vigilant (or insufficiently submissive). The New Covenant proclaims something radically different: victory has already been won. You are not a helpless pawn in Satan’s game. You are not perpetually one misstep—or one honest question—away from becoming his tool. You have been delivered, transferred, and equipped.

The cross was the decisive blow. The resurrection sealed the triumph. The Holy Spirit empowers daily living. Fear of Satan often keeps people tethered to human systems, endless rules, tithing pressures, and suspicion—precisely the bondage the New Covenant was meant to shatter. Christ sets us free to live abundantly: loving our families, enjoying simple rural life with gardens and animals, speaking truth without paranoia, and resting in grace rather than the heavy yoke of old-covenant shadows or modern COG authority.

According to the Scriptures, Satan may still prowl and sow discord, but his ultimate weapons—condemnation, fear of death, and dominion over the conscience—have been shattered for every believer. We do not live looking over our shoulder or constantly scanning for “dirt-diggers.” We fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. We walk in the light, pursue peace where possible, and speak truth boldly even when it exposes division caused by false teaching or leadership failures.

The present evil age is passing away. The kingdom of our Lord advances, and we are already citizens of the unshakable one. You are not captive. You are not blind. You are a child of light, kept by the power of God. Greater is He who is in you. Stand in that freedom. Live without fear. Proclaim the gospel of grace. The God of this age has been judged. Christ has triumphed. In Him, you stand—fearless, free, and forever secure.

This is the hope and power of the New Covenant. It is good news indeed—far better than perpetual survival mode.

Why Returning to the Fold Hurts Less Than Freedom: Armstrongism's Grip on Minds and Families

 

Exit and Support Network recently shared this update about a former Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) minister:

June 19, 2026

I don’t know if you have heard anything about this, but Jim Cocomise is back attending the PCG and is with his wife and most of his family living in Florida. I guess he decided it wasn’t worth losing literally everything. –[name withheld]

For many who exit the more abusive Armstrongist groups, the decades of threats about losing salvation, combined with the shunning of family and friends, can simply become too much to bear. The heartache of isolation often outweighs the relief of leaving, leading some to return to that abusive environment just to restore relationships. This pattern reveals how deeply perverse Armstrongism is at its core—its masterful manipulation of members' minds.

We experienced this firsthand in the old Worldwide Church of God days. Ministers stood on the stage in Pasadena and told 1,200 people sitting in front of them that if they ever left the church, their marriages would fail, their children would despise them, they would lose their jobs and if they owned a business, it would fail, and ultimately they would NOT be part of the Kingdom of God. Maybe—just maybe—if they were a repentant Laodicean, they might be granted a second chance. And that their mistake was permanently recorded in the Book of Life under their name.

Just how sick can Armstrongism be?

Take a look at these quotes from the PCG section on The Exit and Support Network site. They illustrate how the PCG manipulates members. Note that this is not unique to PCG—it applies to almost every Church of God (COG) splinter, even those that perceive themselves as more enlightened, like UCG or COGWA.

Here is “that” false prophet himself, Gerald Flurry:

“And those people who leave the PCG and have been here, well, if you just want to look at it the way it really is, we’re in a war and they are deserters, and in the civil wars, war, deserters were shot! So its not a small little sin.” 

 

These are Flurry’s exact words and it was said about a local elder who left PCG.

Then there is this painful testimony from a former PCG member describing how deeply it hurts when friends and family turn their backs:

I’ve recently left PCG and it’s shocking how my so called “friends” won’t have anything to do with me as it will cause problems for them. Out of all things, that’s what cuts the deepest. Maybe others have heard the same statement: “I love you (or I care for you), but I can’t have anything to do with you anymore,” and, “You’re in my prayers,” or “I’ll pray for your repentance.” How would they feel or respond if God said that same statement to them?? It would be a different story then. I’m sure they’d be pleading.
PCG rambles on about having love for each other, but they choose to forget about the very scriptures that talk about brotherly love and “laying down our lives” for our friends and brothers. [See I John 3:16-18] This is what Christ did. Isn’t that the same example we are told to follow? How is what any of these members act in PCG godly? God doesn’t get rid of people out of His family and refuse to have anything to do with them again!! That’s not love! [Note by ESN: Read about GF’s No-Contact” Ruling.] So what gives PCG people the right to do that to people?

It is no wonder Armstrongism is rotten to the core when its leaders show such little respect for Jesus Himself. Gerald Flurry stated in a Key of David program:

I reviewed transcripts of the December 17th Key of David program entitled, “Christ Declared the Father,” and in it Gerald Flurry makes this statement: 

 

It’s the Father’s name that we honor. We honor His name above Christ’s, above everything because He’s the Head of the Family. Christ has a marvelous responsibility, as well, but He’s not the Head of the Family. 

This directly contradicts passages like John 5:23 (“That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father”) and Philippians 2:9, where Christ is given a name above every name. If there appears to be no love in PCG, perhaps it is because there is so little genuine focus on Christ. 

That last observation strikes at the root of the problem in most of Armstrongism.

After years in the PCG, one former member observed:

After having been in the PCG for a number of years, it finally became increasingly clear that this “church” did not worship and praise God through Jesus Christ and perhaps this is the reason that the majority of their teaching and preaching stems from the Old Testament books. 

 

Of course the ministry doesn’t out right deny Jesus. They will speak about Him, especially during the spring holy days, but to worship Christ, to sing praises to His name or to speak power to truth according to His name is unheard of. It’s almost like they are ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. [Romans 1:16] This denial of Christ is very subtle; Gerald Flurry [in speaking about other Christians and churches] makes statements like: 

 

“They focus on His person.”

“If they keep looking at the personality, they don’t see what He actually said.”

“You hear about Jesus Christ all the time, but do you hear about His message?”

Sound familiar?  

Very recently, I spoke with a member friend, that feared going against “government” but this person made the statement the Jesus and God are not the same. Prior to leaving the PCG, I heard a sermon by Wayne Turgeon [Flurry’s son-in-law] entitled, “What Would the Father Do?” In the sermon he mentioned, “I would not be caught wearing a bracelet, more or less one with the initials “WWJD” on it” (What Would Jesus Do?). 

 

Now, what is so amazing about this is that if he would have read John 5:19 he would have known that Jesus would do the very same thing as the Father: 

 

“…The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” 

 

Their belief seem to be this, “Jesus is okay but God the Father is better, and we at the PCG are better than the other Christian groups, because we don’t worship Jesus.” 

 

In John 10:30 Christ said “I and my Father are one.” But the PCG seeks to divide this one relationship, perhaps to make it fit better into their organizational chart [originally formulated by HWA]: God the Father first, Jesus second, Herbert Armstrong third, then under him, Gerald Flurry. 

 

On their TV program in a lesson entitled “Christ Declares the Father,” Gerald Flurry made the following statement: 

 

“Christ has a marvelous responsibility as well, but He’s not the Head of the Family.” 

 

This may sound enlightening to some, but to me, it sounded very carnal minded. Again, their thinking seems to be, “Jesus is lower than God the Father and therefore is not worthy of praise and honor.” 

 

In the same program Gerald Flurry makes another carnal minded statement: 

 

“It’s the Father’s name that we honor. We honor His name above Christ’s, above everything because He’s the Head of the Family.” 

 

Well, so much for John 5:22-23: 

 

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” 

 

The reason Gerald Flurry may not be able to say “Jesus is Lord” is because, based on what he teaches, he doesn’t believe that He is Lord

The organizational chart remains clear: God the Father first, Jesus second, Herbert Armstrong third, then Gerald Flurry. Flurry has repeatedly emphasized that Christ “is not the Head of the Family” and that the Father’s name is honored “above Christ’s, above everything.” This stands in direct opposition to John 5:22-23, which states that all judgment is committed to the Son so that all should honor the Son even as they honor the Father. Plus, can you imagine anything so heretical as an org chart with God-Jesus-HWA-Flurry-etc.? The sheer stupidity is appalling. Through 2,000 years of church history and millions of real martyrs, old Herb and Six Pack Flurry gets the number three and four spots!

Why is it so hard for members to leave this controlling cult mentality?

Years—often decades—of indoctrination create a powerful psychological and emotional prison. Leaders weaponize fear of eternal damnation, painting leavers as “deserters” worthy of execution in a spiritual war. Families are held hostage through no-contact policies and shunning, turning loved ones into enforcers of compliance. Members are conditioned to view the outside world (and even other Christians) as deceived Laodiceans or worse. The social structure becomes their entire identity, support system, and perceived path to salvation. Leaving means risking not just family ties but the very foundation of their worldview.

For many, the terror of being “cut off from God” and losing everything familiar outweighs the promise of New Covenant freedom—life in the Spirit, resting in Christ’s finished work, and simple relationship with God apart from legalistic control. Some try “plain old freedom from religion” only to find the scars run deep. The mind games are expertly crafted: you’re either all in with “God’s government” or you’re rebelling against the Almighty. It’s no surprise some crawl back, choosing the known pain over the terrifying unknown.

The tragic return of people like Jim Cocomise to the PCG highlights a painful truth: Armstrongism doesn’t just teach bad doctrine—it engineers dependency and fear so effectively that freedom feels more dangerous than bondage. By subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) diminishing Christ, elevating human “government,” and enforcing loyalty through family destruction and salvation threats, these groups maintain ironclad control.

Yet the New Covenant offers something far better: direct access to the Father through the Son, liberty from the law’s curse, and love that never shuns the repentant. True brotherly love lays down its life—it doesn’t cut people off for questioning a flawed human leader. Jesus is not a subordinate figure in some cosmic org chart; He is Lord, worthy of full honor, praise, and trust.

Kknow that leaving the fear behind is possible. Many have walked this road and discovered the joy of freedom in Christ—real relationships untainted by conditional “love,” and a faith rooted in grace rather than terror, or in no religion at all. The cost of staying may preserve earthly ties for a time, but it comes at the expense of truth and spiritual health. As painful as the exit can be, the alternative is a lifetime (and beyond) of manipulation by men who claim to speak for God while denying the very heart of the Gospel. Choose freedom. Be a follower of TheWay.

Jeremiah 31:31 and the New Covenant: How Armstrongism Completely Botched It (With Hebrews 8 Rubbing Salt in the Wound)

Jeremiah 31:31 and the New Covenant: How Armstrongism Completely Botched It 

(With Hebrews 8 Rubbing Salt in the Wound)

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:31-32, ESV)

God Himself dropped a prophecy that should have ended the entire "let's drag Sinai into the Church Age" charade. Yet Herbert W. Armstrong and his ever-shrinking parade of self-anointed successors somehow twisted this divine declaration into theological gymnastics worthy of a circus sideshow. "New Covenant? Sure, but keep all the old rules, pay your tithes, and don't forget the Feast sites!" Brilliant strategy, boys. Really makes you wonder how they "rightly divide" anything besides their members' bank accounts.

God, never one for vague corporate memos, lays it out crystal clear:

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

This isn't some minor software update to the Mosaic system with added Armstrong-flavored content like triple tithing, pork police, and calendar wars. No, this is a full system replacement. Internal transformation via the Holy Spirit. Universal knowledge of God—no elite "Philadelphian" headquarters bureaucrats or modern "apostles" needed to interpret for the peons. And best of all: complete, permanent forgiveness. Not the "repent, re-qualify, and grovel before the minister" hamster wheel these groups adore.

Jesus Himself confirmed it: "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20). But why stop there when Hebrews 8 exists to absolutely eviscerate the old system?

Hebrews 8: The New Covenant Smackdown

The book of Hebrews doesn't pull punches—it quotes Jeremiah 31 and then joyfully plants the boot on the old covenant's neck:

"But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second." (Hebrews 8:6-7)

Faultless? The old one was a glorious failure precisely because of those stubborn human hearts. So God promised something vastly superior. Then comes the knockout:

"In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Hebrews 8:13)

Obsolete. Vanishing. Ready to disappear. Take a good long look at that, Bwana Bob Thiel, Dave Pack, Gerald Flurry, Jon Brisby, Samuel Kitchen, and the rest of the COG relic collectors. Your precious hybrid "spiritual old covenant" that you peddle as essential for salvation? The Bible calls it outdated junk, fading into irrelevance like yesterday's failed prophecy date. The old had a weak priesthood, a shadowy tabernacle, and repetitive sacrifices that could never perfect anyone. Jesus brought the real deal—a better High Priest, better promises, and actual rest.

Where Armstrongism Went Off the Rails (Spectacularly)

The entire Armstrongist empire is built on studiously ignoring Hebrews 8 while cherry-picking "Israel" prophecies to prop up their British Israelism fantasy. They love yapping about a "New Covenant" in sermons—just enough to sound biblical—before burying it under mountains of Old Covenant baggage. "The law is written on your heart now... so keep it exactly like ancient Israel or you're disqualified!" How profoundly convenient for maintaining control, extracting cash, and disfellowshipping questioners.

Their system couldn't survive the truth: the New Covenant isn't about becoming "spiritual Israel" cosplaying Old Testament rituals to earn brownie points with God. Christ fulfilled it all. The law on hearts produces real fruit by the Spirit, not the fear-soaked, gritted-teeth obedience that defined decades of ruined lives, broken families, and ministerial abuse in these groups.

The Glorious Implications (That They Desperately Ignore)

Total forgiveness. Direct access to God. Freedom from the shadows that pointed to Christ. Grace that empowers instead of a law that only exposed failure. This is what the exiles from Armstrongism discover: actual life, not perpetual performance anxiety.

Armstrongism didn't merely misunderstand Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8—they performed a full-on doctrinal inversion, standing these glorious truths on their heads to protect a dying system of control and cash flow. While God announced a better covenant with better promises, these self-appointed experts doubled down on the obsolete, peddling the same legalistic poison that couldn't save Israel and certainly won't save anyone today. Their "one true church" routine, complete with prophetic failures, Kenyan scandals, luxury lifestyles funded by the faithful, and endless calendar/tithing obsessions, stands exposed as the very embodiment of the "faulty" old system God replaced.

Yet the good news rings louder than their desperate radio broadcasts and member letters ever could: the days foretold by Jeremiah are here. The old has passed away. The new has come in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ. No more middlemen demanding your paycheck to "qualify" for a kingdom they can't even accurately predict. No more fear-driven rule-keeping that leaves souls exhausted and families fractured. The Holy Spirit writes God's law on hearts not to resurrect Sinai, but to produce living faith that looks like Christ.

If you're still trapped in one of these splinter groups, do yourself and your loved ones a favor: open Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8 without the headquarters-approved filters. Let the Spirit speak directly, as the New Covenant promises He will. The freedom purchased at Calvary isn't a future reward for perfect Sabbath or Feast attendance—it's a present reality for all who trust in the better Mediator.

Stop earning what Christ has already given. The hamster wheel stops here. Real rest, real relationship, and real life await outside the shadows of Armstrongism. The new covenant isn't just better—it's everything the old one could never be.

Freedom isn't coming. It's already been delivered.

Silent Pilgrim

Annihilationism: Armstrongism and the Death of God

The Sea of Galilee, a Location Where Jesus Preached about Gehenna

Annihilationism

Armstrongism and the Death of God

By Scout

My Dad, now deceased, fought in the Battle of the Rhineland in World War II. While he was mostly reticent about his involvement, he did from time to time pass something along. He told me about something that happened in a German city, whose name I do not now recall, that I found shocking as a youngster. He said that the Americans had hit the city with a rain of incendiaries that used white phosphorus. White phosphorus pieces from the explosions were embedded in the bodies of German civilians. White phosphorus burns in air and if smothered will re-ignite. The German civilians – men, women and children - jumped in the nearby river that passed through the city and the submersion in water stopped the white phosphorus from burning. Yet, they could not leave the river because the phosphorus would re-ignite. The Germans had no way to deal with this on a massive scale so German soldiers walked along the banks of the river and shot the civilians to end their misery. A scene out of hell. This conveys some of the emotional impact of annihilationism. The German civilians burned for a while and then they were executed. Death was a mercy. If one ascribes annihilationism to God, it is good to know something about it.

For people who persist in rejecting God, there is ultimate punishment. At least that is what many Christian and non-Christian religions teach. That punishment may take place in many forms. The most common form in Western Christianity is Eternal Conscious Torment in hellfire. But many reject this notion because it is difficult to believe that God would punish someone eternally for a finite number sins. So, in some quarters, the idea of annihilationism was promoted as a “kinder, gentler” form of finite punishment and some scriptures were gathered around it. Others, like many of the Millerite-derived denominations claim to exegete annihilationism from scripture. Herbert W. Armstrong taught annihilationism and it most likely came from the Church of God (Seventh Day). Here is a CG7 statement:

“At its (Millennium) conclusion, the unrighteous will be resurrected to suffer annihilation at the great white throne judgment” (Statement of Faith Church of God (Seventh Day), 2013.)

Ashes of the Wicked

See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch… And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes (“dust”, Jewish Study Bible) under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 4:1, NRSV)

There is nothing in the surrounding context of this scripture that would make us think that the topic of eternal punishment is being addressed. Bodies are burned but we are not given any data on the state of the pneuma or spirit. This is certainly a punishment but it is a leap to convert it into an eternal punishment dispensed at the final Judgement. The text is simply talking about good and bad people on this earth and what happens to them in a particular case in history. No doubt some of the German civilians written about earlier eventually became ashes under the feet of American soldiers without any implication of eschatological punishment. The scripture says a lot by what it does not say.

Connecting this passage with Gehenna in the New Testament is dubious prooftext. Neither the passage in Malachi nor the instances of Gehenna in the New Testament seem to be focused on the final Judgement. To concoct a connection is to compound misinterpretation. Dr. Eitan Bar (His book titled “Hellfire Deconstructed: An In-Depth Study of the Bible Verses About Hell” contains a chapter on the Jewish view of Gehenna and how Jesus used the example of Gehenna.) wrote the following about the concept Gehenna at the time of Jesus:

The term "Gehenna," used by Jesus in the New Testament as a metaphor to describe the condition of suffering and divine consequences, was understood by Jews of the first and second centuries primarily as symbolizing harsh consequences rather than a destination in the afterlife.

Other current research indicates that Gehenna was a deep ravine to the south and west of Jerusalem. The archaeological evidence concerning its ancient use is controversial and inconclusive. The “garbage dump” characterization is apparently a Rabbinic creation from the Middle Ages. The literary motif shows it to be a place of an undesirable or regrettable death.

The Death of God: An Objection to Annihilationism

There is only one way that God can die. This death is not a cessation of being but a cessation of being sentiently perceived. While both would involve the deletion of God from the picture, the former is impossible but the latter is not. Here is a simplified thought experiment. Consider the microcosm consisting of God and one person. In this little world there is a dual perspective where God is aware of the person and the person is aware of God. If God destroys the person utterly, the microcosm ceases to exist. And the person is no longer aware of God. So, in that loss of awareness, God also ceases to exist. In the extinction of the life of a God-aware sentient being, God becomes extinct also.

I do not believe that God intends ever to become extinct in any way, either literally or in effect. He does not create sentient beings with the expectation that they will ever go into dissolution. Or that he would, in effect, go into dissolution through the existential loss of a sentient being. This is the weakness of annihilationism. It is a sword that cuts in both directions. If God is the father of all, then the loss of a sentient being is a great tragedy. But it is more than that; it is a defeat of God. In his absolute state, God failed to rescue someone who was important to him.

For me, the annihilation model does not work. I think it is absurd to believe that God can be trammeled. Some who reject God may be beaten with few stripes and other with many as a process of reformation but it is illogical that the absolute God would completely lose anyone to total dissolution.

The Summation

This opinion piece is apophatic. I am not declaring the details of what happens to people who persist in rejecting God, but what that outcome is not. For instance, it is not the Millerite idea of annihilationism because that idea does not reflect the divine nature. It does not fit with the Jesus who clearly identifies his purpose and charter. He says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” The idea that rendering a human being non-existent is somehow making something new is cynical. God does not deal in cynicism. God sits on the throne of grace. We must navigate by that star.