Dennis On: "What's Missing From This Blog"

What's Missing From This Blog?

 

Someone finally asked me a question I have asked myself for years now and I believe it is time for a discussion on the one topic that NEVER comes up with respect to this entire WCG/CGI experience.  I was told personally that it was a miracle that  God and Jesus performed in the Church.  This by a man who I personally think would do whatever the church told him to retain his status and retirement, but that is just my view.  I responded by asking him if  God and Jesus were tricksters then after decades of praying to that same God and Jesus asking for them to "bless the work," "help me be the kind of minister I need to be,"  "Please inspire....",  and so on?  No response.   I told him it was no miracle but rather reckless change by men who were accountable to only themselves.  No response.

 

This won't take long.   Fill in the blank...

 

Herbert W Armstrong, Garner Ted Armstrong, (WCG) Roderick C Meredith  (GCG,LCG),_______________, _____________, (___) Gerald Flurry (PCG), Robin Webber (UCG), David C Pack (RCG), and a whole bunch of others who don't matter at this point.

 

Let me give you a hint or two, though I know you know...

 

These men got a pass for their part in all the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

These men were related, something which WCG never seemed to learn the lesson of the previous two men.

 

The men got a pass for their part in all the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

These men lied, at least to me, 100% of the time to 100% of the questions I asked them about what was up.

 

These men got a pass for their part in all the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

These men and five or six Little Rascals with them live extremely well off the sale of every physical thing our Grandparents, parents, ourselves and children contributed to WCG.

 

These men got a pass for their part in all the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

Man number 2 seems pretty proud of himself for pulling this off

 

These men got a pass for their part in the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

These men were never held accountable for anything nor showed one bit of regret for jerking the rug out from under good folk and merely reinventing a very old wheel to their own satisfaction.

 

These men got a pass for their part in the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

One of these when dying is said to have said, "I have been so foolish."

 

These men got a pass for their part in the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

The other of these men still lives high off the hog, pretends to be a theologian and serves no real purpose in the new and improved WCG, but is evidently in for life by his own decree, with much gain. Is also known to have enjoyed creating cognitive dissonance and enjoys the topic

 

These men got a pass for their part in the WCG upheaval and chaos

 

Fill in the blanks

______________ and _____________

 

WHY DID THESE MEN GET A PASS FOR THEIR PART IN THE WCG UPHEAVAL AND CHAOS ?

 

WHY DO THEY STILL REAP THE PHYSICAL REWARDS OF THINGS THEY NEITHER BUILT NOR FINANACIAL SACRIFICES THEY NEVER MADE?

 

WHY DO THEY GET AN UNACCOUNTABLE PASS IN THESE MATTERS?

 

denniscdiehl@AOL.com   

Ron Weinland: I Am In Prison and They Visit Me Not

ht: Painful Truth

Poor Ron Weinland, the Church of God's most infamous convicted felon, is whining that some of his ministers are not  visiting or communicating with him while he is in the slammer with Big Bubba.

Mike, on the False Prophet Ron Weinland blog,  has an excerpt from a letter that Weinerdude sent out recently to his fledgling ministry: Closer Service and Fellowship.

Ron is concerned that some of his disappointed members are "flirting with sin" and are filled with "bad attitudes". It seems some of Ron's devotee's are having a little fun while the boss is in prison while some are leaving the silliness while Ron can't do anything to them.

Yet not all have responded well and some are not growing spiritually as they should and could be. The greatest times of testing through some of the most difficult trials (in fire) provide some of the very best opportunities of overcoming and growth we could ever hope to have. Such things are (can be and should be) received as awesome blessings afforded to us by our great God and very loving Father. These are moments, while in God’s most loving care and concern for us, where the mind can receive some of the most exciting advancement in transformation of mind that is possible.

When I have made statements, even up to the very last of the messages I gave in sermons, about some leaving “this way” even up to the very end, I know that such statements just do not “seem” possible to most. Yet, it should be sobering that we have just had two from the ministry who have chosen to leave this one and only true way that God has given to all of us. A little letting down here and there (a little slumber), some flirtation with sin, a bad attitude (from selfishness) that is allowed to express itself just too often, and then all of the sudden one is struck down.

Ron is demanding that his ministers maintain more contact with the members.  What more can Weinerdude expect from his so called ministers?  They have been well trained in the Church of God to look down their noses at the lowly members, to use them for their own purposes, and to wring every last dime out of them.  They are only following the example they have seen set by Ron himself! Instead of being servants they are task masters. Ron's ultimate concern is that the with every member that leaves the income drops.  Audra and Laura wont be able to have their expensive shopping trips anymore!

Are all of you seeking to sacrifice for other brethren? Do you push yourself and go out of your way (over and above) to fellowship (perhaps even longer at times) with others in person, by email, or phone conversation? Isn’t that part of your ministerial job, let alone part of your Christian duty? Is that part of what God expects from His “servants” who have been given opportunities to be a source of some added strength and encouragement to brethren? One may ask, “But what difference will it make if I do such small things?” It will do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING if you don’t do them! One’s life in the ministry is one of service and it is especially manifest in the “little things” one does toward others. If one isn’t continually focused on doing even the little things, then the BIG ones will never come. If we are “faithful” in a little, then we can be given much more. If not, then what? Is ordination in name only (for being esteemed before others) or does it carry great meaning and purpose from God and His Son toward us for the sake of the Body?

Then Ron does what I have been waiting on him to do since he was sent to prison.  He pulls out the Matthew 25:31-46 card to intimate his pathetic ministers.  He is pissed that some of them have failed to visit him in prison or contact him.  Their failure to "come to him" is a measure of their spiritual weakness that has serious spiritual ramifications.

There are some verses I am now going to refer to and you should read all in their complete context, but I am only going to quote a few here. The whole teaching of Christ in this is in Matthew 25:31-46.

 “For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in, being naked you clothed me, and being sick you visited me. I was in prison and you came unto me” (Mat. 25:35-36). Jesus was asked, by those who were living righteously, about when they had done such things unto him: “The King shall answer unto you, ‘In as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me’” (vs. 40).

In times past, I have referred to these verses to explain a lack of understanding of these verses, as this is first and foremost about those “in” the Church and of those being called into it. Doing as Christ said unto any of these is to do so unto him (his Body). The purpose for mentioning this here is because I have been more than a little dumbfounded that within God’s ministry there are some who have not communicated with me (come to me) here. This is only about “you” if this fits you. Do I “need” to hear from everyone? No. But everyone should have come (needs to have come) to me. The bottom line is that this is indeed a measure of where you are spiritually. If it is simply out of neglect or one of putting it off (or some other menial reason), then it is “still” a spiritual measure that should be sobering to every person.

Then to further lay a guilt trip on his disappointing ministers, he says that when they neglect to see him in prison they are actually neglecting Jesus Christ!  Every minister and his wife should have been visiting Ron in prison.  Since they have not they have been spitting in Jesus Christ's face.

This is not a matter of what I feel about such a matter (though I am in full agreement with God’s spirit), but it is a matter of asking how does Christ feel about your neglect toward him. In addition, this is “every” person’s responsibility in the ministry and not just of a husband or wife’s duty (of those ordained). Such attitude or neglect also reflects something that is spiritual. What kind of friendship, what kind of love, and what kind of gratitude does such a thing reflect? It reminds me of the ten lepers that I recently quoted. I’m not just speaking of that shown toward me, but toward Jesus Christ and God our Father. What does this say about that which God has provided to such a small remnant while all the others scattered are malnourished and suffering greatly from continued famine? What does this say about that kind of response toward the one God gave as an apostle to lead, feed, help mold, and to share his life with you? If one will respond to God’s physical leader on earth in such a manner, then please acknowledge that there is shown far less care and concern to the rest of God’s Family!

To further reinforce this blasphemy by his ministry he warns them that they will "not enter the promised era".

So, will there be even more within the ministry itself who will not enter into the promised era (promised land) that is right before us? I for one pray that such will not be the case, but without repentance it will be.

 Maybe none of them are interested in spending eternity with Ron in the lake of fire!

The COG Marine

Here is an excerpt from an article on the Painful Truth web site about "Image First".  Sadly this is not an isolated case in the Church of God.  This kind of behavior happened all the time and still does today in the various splinter groups.

Michael

Michael stood alone in the middle of the foyer of the Seattle Masonic Hall, people swirling around and past him without interacting with him, a solitary island in the midst of a sea of people. I noticed he was new and that apparently, no one was interested in getting to know him. It made me feel sad. I went over and introduced myself to him and began learning about him. Over the next few weeks and months, I had him over to dinner with my family several times and we even went and worked out together at the gym. I learned about this “good guy” and he had a lot of depth that most people would not expect.

Michael shared with me his story about how he entered into the Marines at the age of 30. It was a matter of honor that his mates referred to him as “the Old Man” because they respected the fact that he stayed in there with them even though they were mostly a decade younger than he. He wanted to be a Marine. His father was a Marine.

Before the Passover I had broken my toes and at the Passover Service it was Michael who was to wash my feet. He looked me in the eye and said, “I ain’t gonna mess with no broken toes,” whereupon he washed my one foot without the broken toes. I washed his feet.

It was during the Days of Unleavened Bread that he showed up in our apartment complex in the parking lot. My wife and I looked at each other in dismay at him on the heavy duty motorcycle he had ridden on. He was all excited about it. He was a sincere believer who was going to take his brother out in the woods and talk to him about his new faith. We didn’t say anything and hoped for the best.

It was shortly after this that we learned that he was on his way on his motorcycle to prepare to go out to the woods when he got clipped on his head with the mirror of a semi. It removed the top of his head and he ended up in a coma in the hospital. His face had not been affected so it looked like he was in a peaceful sleep.

Each day for nearly 40 days, I would go down to the hospital after work in the afternoon and would sit with him and talk to him because I had heard that those in a coma often heard those talking to him. I would describe the Spring afternoon and the sun shining. At the last, I was not able to get to the hospital and he had changed doctors. He died shortly afterward from the trauma. I believe it was about 40 days.

What I did not know is that Michael had shared our friendship with his family: His dad, mom, sisters and brothers. I was the only one from the church in to see him at the hospital. I had talked with his family when they were there and we got to know one another as best strangers could under such circumstances.

Because Michael was a Marine as was his father, he was given a funeral with full honors with Marines in dress uniforms giving the gun salute with rifles.

Afterward, I prepared an obituary for the Worldwide News. I learned that I had to give it to the minister. It was a paragraph and told part of his story of being in the Marine Corps.

It turns out that I gave it to Dennis Luker after services on the Sabbath. He told me that he had met the family and when they told him about me, he said to them, “Oh, he’s so quiet!”. This produced laughter from Michael’s family and they instantly knew that Dennis Luker knew neither Michael nor me. He was attempting to cash in on an opportunity by pretending to be someone and something he wasn’t and got caught at it.

Eventually, the obituary made it to the Worldwide News. It was a sentence long. It was a brief sentence at that. Michael _____ died…. That was about it. Name, no rank, no serial number. It was crisply impersonally efficient.

During my brief discussion with Dennis Luker, he did something odd: He stroked my stomach as if it were a bowling ball. It was weird and creepy. Very weird and creepy. Very very weird and creepy. I just stood there and allowed him to do it. After all, this was God’s Evangelist of the Worldwide Church of God — the very Work of God. Many of us had been conditioned to be subjected to authority without question — to accept what was truly unacceptable, because the Very God of the Universe would support them even if they were wrong.

I vaguely felt as if I had been raped.

You can read the rest of the article by Douglas Becker here:  Image