The Day After

 

Can UCG Ever Restore Trust And Accountablity With Its Leaders?

Humble, servant leadership in the Church of God? 

What a novel concept!

When United Church of God split off from the Worldwide Church of God, they had a chance to boldly step out and reform the way the church operated and how it treated its members. Unfortunately, this never happened because the top men who gathered for a year before UCG's formation, planning their exit, were men already corrupted and tainted by the power structure and poor operational principles practiced by the church. Many in Pasadena watched these men and knew how they operated, but they wanted no part of UCG's formation. These men were not servant leaders but men who coveted their positions of power as a minister or as a department head.

Sadly, they took the same operational patterns over to UCG, where servant leadership never came to fruition. Their long-held belief was that members were there to serve them. There was and still is a total lack of transparency in how they operate. WCG ingrained this in them all too well. UCG ministers today feel they are no more accountable to the members than they were while in WCG.

Nathan Albright had this up on his blog around the time UCG was stabbing their former president in the back and seeking to elect a new leader who conformed to their desires instead of the members.

The recent decision not to confirm our widely respected president for another term, conducted behind closed doors and seemingly at odds with the will of many elders and members, has understandably created confusion and distress. When decisions that affect the entire body are made without transparent processes or clear explanations, trust inevitably suffers. Combined with concerns about financial stewardship, media strategy, and potential conflicts of interest, we find ourselves at a crossroads that demands thoughtful consideration of how we might better align our governance practices with our shared values and mission.

The Current Crisis of Confidence

Understanding the Root Issues

Before prescribing solutions, we must candidly assess the nature of our current difficulties. The non-confirmation of our president despite his popularity points to a disconnect between formal governance structures and the wider community’s perspectives. This disconnect becomes particularly troubling when:

1. Decision-making processes lack transparency
2. Resource allocation appears inconsistent with results (expensive rebranding versus cost-effective video production)
3. Technical expertise gaps exist in critical ministry areas
4. Informal power centers seem to exert undue influence over formal governance structures
5. Potential conflicts of interest threaten to compromise objective decision-making

These challenges are not unique to our church. Throughout church history, religious communities have struggled with the tension between institutional authority and communal discernment, between tradition and adaptation, between leadership continuity and renewal. The task before us is to address these tensions in ways that strengthen rather than weaken our community.

The Cost of Inaction

If we fail to address these governance challenges, the consequences could be severe:

• Erosion of trust between leadership and members
• Declining engagement and participation
• Reduced financial support
• Difficulty attracting and retaining talented leaders
• Impaired mission effectiveness
• Potential factional division within the church

Biblical Principles for Church Governance

Transparency and Accountability

Scripture offers clear guidance regarding leadership accountability. The apostle Paul’s instructions to Timothy emphasize that church leaders must be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:2), implying that their conduct should withstand scrutiny. Jesus himself taught that “everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed” (John 3:20). These passages suggest that while privacy has its place, secrecy in governance often works against the church’s spiritual health.

The Church of God has never practiced transparency. They got by with it all through the decades until people started having access to email and the internet. At that point, they could no longer hide things. Sure, they would lash out and disfellowship members who dared to question them and would publicly tell members not to read dissident literature or read stuff on the internet, but people ignored them, and they have never been able to stop the flow of information that surrounds the church to this day. They still try and hide stuff from members, but it gets out eventually and when it does the shit hits the fan. Literally! 

Servant Leadership

Jesus established the paradigm for Christian leadership when he washed his disciples’ feet and taught that “whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Mark 10:43). This model stands in stark contrast to worldly power dynamics where authority flows downward through command and control. In Christ’s kingdom, authority flows upward through service and sacrifice.

Servant leadership in Armstrongism is a joke. They love to talk about it all the time, but the broad majority never practice it. I remember to this day three of UCG's top men who, while in Pasadena before the implosion, would hand-pick the men who would wash their feet at Passover. We had to have warm water for them and large fluffy towels ready to dry their immaculate feet. These guys treated members with contempt at times. One who worked in the Church Offices would stand in the hallway after counseling sessions with members and laugh and joke with other ministers about the person they had just met with. Granted, there were a few men who did practice servant leadership, and members respect them to this day, whether in or out of the church. These men tended to be treated like dirt and sent off to the neither lands to run small churches.

Wisdom in Decision-Making

The Book of Proverbs repeatedly emphasizes the value of seeking counsel: “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” (Proverbs 15:22). The Jerusalem Council described in Acts 15 demonstrates a collaborative decision-making process that involved testimony, scriptural reflection, and consensus-building. These examples suggest that important decisions benefit from diverse perspectives and open deliberation.

Wise decision-making from church leaders and councils? What an oxymoron! 

Unity and Consensus

Paul’s letters frequently emphasize the importance of unity in the church. To the Philippians, he writes, “make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind” (Philippians 2:2). While unanimity on every decision is unrealistic, governance processes that seek consensus rather than mere majority rule better reflect this biblical value.

Albright ends his article with this vision he sees that the church can actually do. History proves it will not and is incapable of doing, but it's a good dream.

Conclusion: A Call to Faithful Governance

The governance challenges our church faces are significant but not insurmountable. With wisdom, courage, and commitment to biblical principles, we can transform this moment of crisis into an opportunity for renewed faithfulness and effectiveness.

The path forward requires contributions from everyone in our community:

• From current leadership: Humility to acknowledge legitimate concerns, courage to implement meaningful reforms, and wisdom to balance tradition with needed change.
• From elders and ministers: Constructive engagement with the reform process, patience during implementation, and commitment to unity amid disagreement on specifics.
• From members: Grace toward leaders navigating complex challenges, active participation in new feedback channels, and continued financial and volunteer support during the transition.
• From all: Prayer for divine wisdom, discernment of God’s leading, and recommitment to our shared mission and values.

The ultimate measure of successful governance reform will not be structural changes or process improvements, though these are important. Success will be measured by renewed trust, increased engagement, improved stewardship, and most importantly, enhanced effectiveness in advancing the gospel and making disciples.

Our church stands at a crossroads. One path leads to continued frustration, declining trust, and diminished impact. The other—the path outlined in this essay—leads to renewed vigor, restored confidence, and revitalized ministry. The choice before us is clear, though the journey will require sacrifice and commitment from all.

May we choose wisely, act faithfully, and move forward together in the confidence that God remains at work in and through our community, even amid institutional challenges. The future of our church depends not primarily on governance structures or leadership personalities, but on our collective willingness to pursue faithfulness in all aspects of our common life—including the critical dimension of church governance.

In the spirit of the apostle Paul’s exhortation, let us “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3) as we navigate these waters together. And may our governance reforms, like all our endeavors, ultimately serve to bring glory to God and advance the kingdom of Christ in our world. 

The entire article can be found here:  Restoring Trust and Accountability: A Path Forward for Church Governance

Was The Mantle of True Church Government Passed On To Samuel Kitchen?

 

Now we know why Samuel is so adamant about restoring the Worldwide Church of God. After the implosion with the Great Apostasy, true church government was preserved in his own family, with his father as the supreme head. At his father's death, that mantle was passed on to Samuel, and it is now his responsibility to restore the one true Worldwide Church of God as Herbert Armstrong envisioned it by permission from Jesus Christ.

The separation between church and organization. 

 

The WCG INC, along with Ambassador College, the ACIF, etc are corporate entities that were UNDER the Worldwide Church of God a/k/a unincorporated spiritual organism. 

 

This was recognized and declared by the chief officer of those corporations, Mr Herbert W Armstrong! 

 

Now why do so many want to disregard that separation? 

 

Mr Armstrong has the authority of Jesus Christ, as an apostle and minister of Jesus Christ! 

 

He created an Advisory Council of Elders to surround him and serve him within the Church! 

 

If he was to die, he delegated to them the power and authority to take full charge of the work and church and all assets! 

 

If you research the men in the ACE, you find they individually signed away their council powers to Tkach Sr, in 1991, and then individually left and attempted to gain full control by a new organization! 

 

The only man not to do this was Aaron Dean, who was on the council when Mr Armstrong died and had delegated authority and powers. 

 

He did not attempt to take full control! Everyone else was busy doing that. 

 

All the vultures were taking pieces of the body, swallowing as much as they could. Dividing it amongst themselves. 

 

One group offered Mr Dean a job, and it allowed Mr Dean to be like Daniel in captivity. 

 

He was unable to do his work as an Advisory Council Member. But he could deal with people one on one. 

 

I was born in 1991. 

 

1991 was the start of another 19 year time cycle. 

 

19 yearsrs later in 2010 Aaron Dean was hired by the United Church of God. 

 

In 2010 my family began warning brethren online of departures from the truth! 

 

We began stirring up the scattered membership of the Worldwide Church of God! 

 

Our work was organized through my father. 

 

It was the God ordained government in the family that ruled! 

 

In 2021 my father died leaving me in charge. 

 

So I’ve been warning brethren online ever since, and have been raising awareness of the existence of the Worldwide Church of God! 

 

And now I’m raising awareness of Mr Aaron Dean’s role and function in the Worldwide Church of God! 

 

And by my family, Christ has brought forth crowns to place on his head(Zech. 6:10,14), which simply represents authority and power in the Temple of God! 

 

How can the Worldwide Church of God be dead? When members are standing by, ready to support the ministry when they are restored. When there is a man who has delegated and appointed power, from the apostle, to take FULL CONTROL of the Work and Church! 

 

That means there must be a church! There must be a work! 

 

So that preparation has been done! It is being done.