The Coco's True Church of God

A reader here sent this to me.

I was out with some work mates today and we went to brunch at Coco's, a restaurant here in Pasadena.  In the booth next to us were a group of men who were former WCG employee's in Pasadena.  Some were from the legal department, some worked in the Auditorium and others in various departments or were church members.

For well over an hour I listened to these guys whine about the current state of the Church of God.  Of course EVERYONE is wrong except them.  They have extreme bitterness towards the WCG for making the changes they accomplished.  These guys all seemed to know the correct answer to all the problems in the church and that only they were holding on to the truth.

I know for a fact that some of them are still in GCI even though they hate everything it does and says.  Their thinking says, "God placed us here to support Herbert Armstrong and the true church.  It is not up to leave it."  So they stay and suffer and then get together to whine about it all.

What a sad group of miserable men these were.  There seemed to be no joy in their conversations.  Just bitterness and anger.  Its almost 20 years alter after the changes and they still are angry.

I am so glad I don't have to worry about this kind of silly stuff any more. Thanks to this blog and a couple of others my eyes were opened to the false beliefs of the church.  Keep it up!

DZ

God Instructs Convicted Felon's Church Men To Not Wear Jackets When Temps Are Above 70 Degrees

There are wars going on around the world, people are starving and Christians are being systematically slaughtered in Iraq, but God is more concerned about what a person wears to church.  Armstrongism's god certainly has better things to worry about.  Those people are going to die anyway because they are "false" Christians.  Besides, God is only concerned about those few hundred people in a little splinter cult who claims to  be the "true church."

Weinlands's god is so concerned about his "true" men that he does not want them wearing their jackets when it is 70 degrees or higher.

This brings us back to addressing how we come before God on the Sabbath. If we are in the privacy of our own home, perhaps with even a handful of people joining us for Sabbath services, it is not good to go into a private home “over-dressed.” Again, this is about a balanced and moderate example we are seeking to set for our neighbors. So there is a “balance” in this. We should not “dress-down” either, as with wearing blue jeans and a t-shirt, or other exceptionally casual clothing. In such instances, nicer casual clothing is fine and proper to be worn before God in such a meeting location. However, a suit and tie for a man or a dress or pant suit for a woman can be too much for such a private home meeting. In a “more formal gathering” of a special meeting location for the Sabbath, such as a hotel meeting room or other rental location, a suit (or sports jacket) and tie for a man is proper, as is a dress or type of dress suit (nicer dress pants and blouse) is proper for a woman.

The exception to this formal attire for a more formal gathering (not at a persons home) on the Sabbath is when temperatures outside are reaching the mid 70′s (Fahrenheit) or around 23 degrees Celsius and above. At such times, jackets need not be worn at all on the Sabbath. This also includes wearing a tie. There is no requirement for a tie on the Sabbath when temperatures reach such levels. The physical body does not function well under such conditions and at such times less will be able to be gleaned from sermons when people are so uncomfortable. It is far more important that we receive all the spiritual food we potentially can on a Sabbath without such encumbrances.

Convicted COG Felon Says God Has Told Him That Ministers Are Not To Be Called "Mr."

The Church of God's favorite imprisoned felon, Ron Weinland, says that God has spoken to him about members calling ministers "Mr."  Did you ever hear anyone calling Peter, Mr Peter, or Mr. Christ, or Mr. Paul?   This tradition of calling a minister "Mr." is unbiblical, according to Weinland, and is a hindrance to the gullible fools looking to join his rapidly shrinking personality cult now being led by his lunatic wife and money laundering daughter.

This matter of respect and honor shown where it needs to be shown is similar to something addressed early-on in the Church of God – PKG. God revealed that it was no longer necessary to address the ministry by saying “Mister” before a person’s last name, but that the ministry could simply be referred to by one’s first name. Using “Mister” before a name was more readily expected within society throughout most of the last century, but towards the end that was changing. The Church has always “stood out” as strange enough to others simply because of how God’s truth is so different from what the world knows and believes. Adding an unbiblical (not commanded) requirement of formality was not helpful in how the Church was perceived. We are to be moderate in most things and are not to be ultra conservative or ultra liberal.

Everything is now on a first name basis. 

As a Church, respect cannot be legislated within the mind by how someone in the ministry is addressed. Just addressing a minister by “Mister” does not mean that a person saying it has respect or is showing an attitude of honor toward one of God’s ministers. So the Church made the decision that we would simply address a minister by their first name, just as in the beginning of the Church when people simply addressed Peter, Paul, John, etc., by their name.

Sure thing Ronnie!