UCG Still Doesn't Know What It's Members Think After 10 Years of Surveys

You would think that the United Church of God knew what their members thought and felt.  Apparently not.  Its been 10 years now and they still can't figure out how to survey their members correctly, so they are giving it another shot, not that the UCG Big Boys really care what members think.  If they did why would they continue to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year on wasted campaigns and personal appearance campaigns?  That money has been wasted due to its inability to attract new members from the public.

Bill Bradford, as the chairman of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee (SPFC), led the discussion looking to improve and prepare for the future survey for 2017. The SPFC has consulted with Julie Brown to work through this process. After 10 years of utilizing the same basic survey with occasional edits, it was felt best that we produce a new survey that specifically will meet our needs in serving the brethren, the ministry and the home office employees as we evaluate its input for the major strategic survey in 2017. They will also move up the time schedule to send to the brethren so that the Council will have additional time to review its content before the winter meetings of 2017. The emphasis is serving the brethren. There was much input to the topics they would like to know more about for the future survey.

If the Big Boys of UCG really want to serve the brethren why don't they go out and paint the poor members homes, help them repair their cars, buy food for their tables and truly be SERVANTS!  Better yet, how about becoming a 100% volunteer ministry instead using tithe money for your own personal interests.

Living Church of God Annual Christmas party

LCG is getting ready to have another wonderful Christmas at the Renaissance Hotel in Charlotte. There will be games and fun for all! Lil Jimmy is even planning a Hawaiian luau (Lil Jimmy LOVES Hawaii after all and he just can't get enough hawaiiana, even after a tithe payer vacation in Kauai from before Atonement until a week after the Feast [nearly a full month]). See: Living Church of God: Lil Jimmy Has A Great Feast In Hawaii (Again) 

People will travel far and wide to celebrate the season surrounded by Christmas trees, nativities and plenty of faux fireplaces for Santa to come down to deliver gifts to a the good LCG boys and girls (if he can find any). Although I'm guessing Rod McNair and Spanky will be getting lumps of coal.

LCG members and ministers have flooded Facebook with articles and videos about the evils of Christmas but for some reason, instead of "coming out of the world" as they admonish us to do, they have decided to immerse their members and children in  a super Christmas environment for a little seasonal fun.

Armstongites view themselves as superior, more enlightened, more Godly than the "people in the world".  They look down their noses at all the "blinded" worldly "so called Christians" who "worship Pagan God's" by putting up Christmas trees and by commemorating the birth of the Savior on December 25th because it coincides with the winter solstice. In true LCG form, all the Christmas regalia at the Renaissance is okay because it suits their purpose. But they withhold the right to judge others for doing the same thing should it suit their narrative in the future.

Your average LCG member agrees with all the points made in the Dead Babies, Nimrod's Testicles, Satan's Snake and Christmas article posted on this site earlier this month (Dead Babies, Nimrod's Testicles, Satan's Snake and Christmas) but no one seems to object to having their Charlotte Family Weekend in this Christmas wonderland. It seems a bit hypocritical but hypocrisy is LCG's strong suit.

Many of us can't wait to hear LCG's inflated, outlandish attendance numbers. Is there any way we can get the entire front desk staff, all managers and hotel wait staff in the banquet room during services at some point so that we can count them? Or maybe we could count the non-LCG people having coffee in the hotel lobby? Whether it exists or not, we must show growth brethren! 

Living Church of God: Gerald Weston the New Dictator in Chief

Recently the Living Church of God held one of their Council of Elders meetings. During this meeting it was revealed that the ultra conservative Gerald Weston would be taking over the reigns of the church at the death of Rod Meredith. Many were shocked at this prospect considering it has always been assumed Richard Ames was the heir apparent.  With the declining health of Ames, this is no longer a possibility. Younger meat is necessary, though it is still aged too. 

Weston has a long history of tyrannical leadership where he has left a trail of abused members in every single church he has ever pastored. Even with LCG’s history of being filled with abusive pastors, Weston stands out above them all.  It is expected by many that once he is in power the reigns of conservatism will be tightened even further.

Rod Meredith apparently is still trying to figure out how to tell his membership what he has wrought upon them. As if right now only COE members know, the laity  still in the dark.

Weston has already begun to look for a home in Charlotte and is expected to move to North Carolina some time next August.

Meredith and Ames will stay on at LCG but in a smaller capacity. They will likely come to the office for a few hours a day and focus primarily on writing articles.

This change in leadership in combination with major financial problems and a growing number of discontented members should be interesting to watch.