The Signs of a Sick Church

There is a fair probability that nearly every week, amongst every single COG congregation, there is at least one member who stops listening during the sermon to entertain that element of doubt that rises to the surface now and then.  Next come the questions... "Am I really in the right place?  Is this really the one true church?  If not, why do they continue to state this directly or indirectly so often?  How can it be the true church when there has been so much division?  How can it be if the leaders seem more interested in tithes than the members?  How can it be where so many 'truths' have changed over the years?"

Well, for anyone that may wonder whether they should continue attending their specific congregation(or organization), the folks at Bible Study.org have identified three signs that identify sick churches (which should be avoided).  The following comes directly from their website (posting titled "Signs of a Sick Church"):

1. Separation

The first characteristic of a sick fellowship, church or even religion is that it tries to separate people from one another or even tries to separate themselves from the world. One way a separation of people takes place is when a church disfellowships a member or members (throws them out and tells them never to return). Those remaining in the group are then strictly warned to STAY AWAY from the disfellowshipped or else THEY TOO will be thrown out!

2. Taking more than giving

The second characteristic of a sick church is that it TAKES more than it GIVES. I have witnessed people who were so pressured by religious leadership to give, give, GIVE that they gave to the point of poverty. Members may be harangued to 'sacrifice' for a denomination all the while the leadership leads a life of relative luxury. There have also been cases where brethren were encouraged to donate such a significant amount of their time in order to "serve" the church that it jeopardized their marriage, family, finances and even their health.

The purpose of a true God-focused church is to ENLARGE and ENRICH the lives of those they are blessed to serve. Jesus made it crystal clear that those who are TRUE leaders in God's eyes are those who serve the needs of others (Luke 22:24-27). One of the purposes of Jesus coming to the earth was to show humans not only how to live, but to do so more abundantly (John 10:10). One must be very wary of sick churches or groups who take far more than they give.

The Fear factor

The third and final characteristic of a sick church is that it encourages fear more than courage and even love. When was the last time your pastor or minister encourage you to do great things for others? A true godly group appeals to your love so that you are motivated to feed those in need, clothe those who are in want, visit and take care of the sick and do good to your neighbor (Luke 10:29-37; Mark 12:28-31).

Beware of any church, fellowship or even religion that appeals to fear. The only 'good" fear is that of God.

The three cures for a sick religion:

1.    Do not let a religious leader or church separate you from those you love, such as spouses, friends, family, or whomever.

2.    Do not let a group make you worse off than when you arrived! If you find that they are taking from you far more than they are giving back then it might be time to leave.

3.    Love is the cure for fear (1John 4:18). Do not let fear discourage you from fulfilling your responsibilities as a believer in Jesus Christ. A church or group is SICK if it feeds you more fear than the love of God.

 Guest column by Alan

PCG Suspends Convicted Felon Mark Nash

Things are not too rosy on The Compound lately.  The PCG recently suspended PCG minister Mark Nash.  Nash has a rather dubious background in the PCG. He went to prison for defrauding the IRS and through it all the PCG kept him on salary.  We now have two felon's in the Church of God sent to prison for the same thing, Ron Weinland and Mark Nash.

Exit and Support has this:

Another person of interest is Mark Nash. He is a former Navy Seal or Green Beret, with all the "talents" taught to them. He went to prison for defrauding the IRS, and yet was not even suspended while in prison. In fact, he was allowed to give sermons while on leave for "good behavior." If any member on the bottom level was similarly put away, he would be put out for putting the "church" in a bad light. After all, even deacons are supposed to be "blameless" in the world and of "good reputation." What gives? What do these men know that keeps them in the "good old boy network"? These two men, at least, have knowledge that keeps them on the "inside." Otherwise, Flurry would have disposed of them long ago. Mark Nash now teaches Physical Ed and who knows what else.
It doesn't take much to realize that Gerald Flurry is over a barrel with at least these two men. --Former member WCG/PCG 

Update: We were told the following by a PCG exiter: "Mark Nash received full pay as a minister and office manager while he served his time in prison." See: "Transfer All Your Assets to Gerald Flurry After You Die" about an article Mark Nash wrote in the Royal Vision, January/February 2004. Update: In 2012 Mark Nash was a PCG HQs preaching elder and Festival Dept. Manager. In 2016 he was suspended.

On May 19, Exit and Support received this letter:

Mark Nash Suspended:
May 19, 2016
I wanted to let you know that I heard about a month ago that Mark Nash, a minister at HQ, has been suspended. It was announced at services by Wayne Turgeon. It did not say his wife, just him. Wondered if you knew this or had heard anything? --Anonymous

All of the articles Nash has written over the years are still posted on PCG's web site.  Since one of them deals with PCG members making the church beneficiary in their wills, Flurry cant have it disappear until he has one of his boys rewrite it.

This is an earlier article I had on Mark Nash:  Philadelphia Church of God's Mark Nash 

How Not To Be Discouraged...According to the Philadelphia Church of God

Leave it to a fun loving privileged little white boy at the Edmond compound to tell the struggling Philadelphia Church of God members how not to be discouraged.  Discouragement can be eliminated if PCG members support the church.  Their spiritual lives will improve too.

Michael Cocomise writes:

Hearts in the Work 

If we lack vision, we lack hope. If we lack hope, we cannot do God’s Work. If we fail to do the Work, we fade spiritually. Hold on to the vision God gives us in the Bible by doing the Work. In the process, we will increase our depth of vision, and that will give us greater hope. 

Sometimes “put your heart into the Work” can become cliché and we shrug it off. You might be thinking right now, We hear that all the time! Just put your heart more into God’s Work. I am not at headquarters; I am not a staff member. How can I put my heart more into God’s Work? 

No matter where you are, you are involved in the most crucial aspect of God’s Work. The Work does not thrive at headquarters or in the field because of new machines or clever thinking. It thrives because of God’s people pouring their hearts into it through prayers! It advances because of God’s people deeply studying their Bibles, fasting on occasion, raising strong families, sharing godly conversation, raising funds together, spending time together. 

Cocomise then continues with this little list of vital things that you can do to stop discouragement.  As usual, Jesus is nowhere to be found.

Do not believe that you are not a vital part of God’s Work! That belief does not come from God. If you would like some specific ways to pour your heart into God’s Work more, here are three:

• You can listen to KPCG.fm 
• Read The Philadelphian (members only) 
• Listen to Stephen Flurry on the Trumpet Daily 

Doing these three things will eliminate most discouragement, however deep discouragement requires something harder.  You must FAST!

None of these tips replaces or comes before our most important tools in battling discouragement: prayer and study. Fasting may even be necessary from time to time depending on how discouraged we may get. Nevertheless, these additional tools can serve as a great method to boost our resistance to discouragement when it arises.

Cocomise can't bring in any scriptures by Jesus on how he makes burdens light and carries the weight, instead he has to resort to an Old Testament hero that PCG places more significance upon.

Baruch was right there serving as secretary to God’s prophet, Jeremiah. He was right at the center of God’s Work. They had the vision, yet Baruch still found a way to fall into discouragement. No matter who we are, we can get discouraged. Baruch became selfish, and God had to remind him that even though life might have been easier if he were in a different situation, the only thing that would save his life for all eternity was holding on to the vision and delivering God’s message. Our situation is no different. If we deliver this message, hold on to the vision, and faithfully support God’s Work, we will defeat Satan and his effort to crush us through discouragement. God is ready and waiting to encourage you through His Work!

Big bad meanie Satan is out to discourage PCG members.  Apparently that discouragement never comes from the perverse teachings of Flurry, the abuse of Wayne Turgeon, the arrogance of the ministry, and much more.  Great would be the day any of this "men" ever took responsibility for anything.