Rod Meredith and His Version of Shariah Law

Rod Meredith wrote another letter of encouragement to his members.   It has an angry god who is still pissed off and sex.   He titled his article: The Answer.

He starts it off with a comment about the kingdom of God he wants to come.

War, crime, inequity and hate pervade our human society. Only the Kingdom of God will bring to earth the peace, prosperity and harmony that will allow humanity to flourish, but Christians can have a foretaste of the Kingdom by living God's way! 

What he writes is a regular  theme that most Christians believe.  However, there is his version which is proprietary and exclusive and the version of God's kingdom that is grace filled and inclusive that most Christians believe.  That is the big difference in Meredith's kingdom where a few chosen ones will be taken to some hell hole in Jordan where they will be trained to rule with rod's of iron on some distant planet with a sheriffs badge, and the kingdom of God that many Christians want to bring to earth in this present age one person at a time. as they seek to heal and restore those around them.

Meredith continues:

All over the world, millions are beginning to realize more than ever that the world around them—the entire human society—is coming apart and coming to a bitter end unless massive changes come about soon. For entire governments are being overthrown right and left throughout the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere. The terrorist group widely known as ISIS has overthrown several governments and undermined the stability of others. Their model of governance is essentially a dictatorship, which rules under Sharia Law—a legal system derived from a particular medieval understanding of the Muslim holy book, the Quran, and subsequent commentaries. In practice, as millions can attest from personal suffering, this is a harsh and bitter way of life that oppresses not only women but in fact the healthy family and every part of society.  

Meredith complains about Sharia Law, yet the kingdom he expects usher in will be just as legalistic and abusive.  For decades Herbert Armstrong,  Meredith, Flurry, Pack and most other ministers have promoted a kingdom where specially chosen Church of God members will be rulers, lawgivers, AND punishers!  Even  as a child I remember Meredith bellowing about how church members would be taught to rule with rod's of iron in order to whip the sinful heathens of the world into shape.

Meredith's god and the god of the church has always been this one big pissed off diety that can't wait to wipe humanity off the face of the earth.  The law that Meredith wants to dish out in this kingdom is no better than Shariah Law.

Unlike Meredith, Christians have always been blessed by the grace and joy they feel and seek to bring a foretaste of that  kingdom to earth, one person at a time.  These are the ones feeding the homeless, caring for the destitute, encouraging the disenfranchised, healing the sick, giving those around them a foretaste of  the kingdom to come.

Joe Sanchez: On the "...total and complete lack of transparency by the ministry. "

I received this today from Joe Sanchez.  He has a web site up that tries to take the leadership of the Churches of God to task for their behind the doors shenanigans where they "exonerate or condemn members" behind closed doors without the ekklesia having a say in the situations.  This has lead to situations like Rod Meredith giving all of his kids hall passes for adultery, drugs and other issues while kicking out regular members over the slightest infractions.

He writes:

Gentleman, this system that the Church of God has used for over 60 years, where in the leadership of the church has been able to either exonerate or condemn members of the Church in secret has accommodated an untold amount of evil and has systematically dissolved trust within the membership. 

He has written letters to COGWA and Living Church of God detailing his take on this situation.

So what led him to take on this issue?  It seems a lot to have to do with his mother.  According to Sanchez she was a serial adulterer who had countless affairs while maintaining a glowing reputation in the church for her good works.

My mother was killed in a car accident with my step father in November of 1989. At the time we were living in Eastern Oregon. She was a mother of 4, solid member of the church, attended regularly and served often in our congregation. There was only one small problem. She was a consistent and frequent adulterer. It wasn’t until later in life that I was able to piece all of the memories together to try and get a count. I estimate she had somewhere between 7-12 affairs that I could put a face to. No doubt there were many more. She was married 3 times and the last marriage took place just a couple months before the accident. And so the question I have is: how is it that someone who was so active in the church, was able to remain a member in good standing and live like she did? My mother definitely had her good qualities but turning a blind eye to her sins didn’t help her at all. I believe it destroyed her.

He also writes:

In the 40+ years I have been in the church of God I have seen multiple churches divide and split time after time- for the same reason. I have seen sexual predatorsgiven hall passes. I have seen good honest Christians, who are just trying to serve God, kicked to the curb like a piece of trash after decades of loyal service. I have seen decisions being made by the Ministry that greatly affected my family, done haphazardly that have affected me still to this day. 

Reading his site gives the impression that he is looking for the membership to have a say in situations like this.  I can see it now, member courts who decide who and how members get punished.  This  creates an entire new set of issues that open the doors for more abuse.  Many members are as vindictive and abusive as the leadership.  This is quit apparent in the PCG, LCG and RCG where members will turn in fellow members for the slightest received indiscretion all to ingratiate themselves with the minister/leader.

This is an issue that will never be corrected in a Church of God.

You can read his site here along with study papers and responses form COGWA:  To the Ekklesia 

Richard Ames On What True Leaders Should Be In The Living Church of God

Richard Ames recently lectured Living Church of God members on what Godly service  and leadership is.  Apparently he has blinders on, since what he describes is not anything close to what LCG and his boss does.

The greatest is one who is a true servant—one who truly cares for and helps others! Notice that it was the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, who took little children up in His arms and who stooped over to wash the feet of His disciples. You can read about that foot-washing service in John 13. It was Jesus who sacrificed His life for us all! As the Apostle Paul wrote: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). 

Jesus’ example was one of service, sacrifice and love. “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Romans 5:10). 

Whatever position we may hold in this life, we will never find true success unless we have an attitude of godly service toward others. One of the measures of true success is the degree of godly service one is willing to give. False success depends on the get principle, the standard carnal condition—or “default characteristic”—of human nature.

When has Rod Meredith or any of the leadership in the Living Church of God ever been a true servant leader?  They certainly practice none of the things that are exemplary of Jesus as mentioned in the first paragraph.

What has the leadership of the LCG ever sacrificed?  From Rod Meredith, down through all of his children, to the leaders in Charlotte, none of them have scarfed anything.  Its the membership that is expected to sacrifice.  to sell their homes, refinance their businesses, cash in retirement funds and send it in for the "final push."  A "final push" that Meredith has been declare for 60 years now.

Will Richard Ames, Rod Meredith, Jim Meredith, Rod McNair and other leaders in Charlotte sell their fancy homes and sacrifice for once in their lives?  Will they actually become servants of the brethren?  We all know the answer to that.  Its a resounding NO!