Who Is Really Being Persecuted? Church Leaders or Well Meaning Members?

For the 30 some years I worked in Pasadena I saw hundreds and hundreds of kooks show up at HQ claiming they were Elijah's, Elisha's, Joshua's, the Two Witnesses, prophets, people filled with prophetic knowledge, people who dreamed dreams that God had appointed them to reform the church, people who claimed they were Satan, that the mantle of Herbert Armstrong had been passed on to them, and many, many more whack jobs.  Every single one of them were lairs.

Then the church ruptured into countless heretical splinter personality cults that were far more corrupt than anything WCG had ever been.  We have seen the Flurry, Pack and Meredith all claim that God had personally spoken to them to restore the faith once delivered.  No one was more qualified to do that job than they were.  Each one had some creature they called god telling them that they were especial and called out.  They were not.  We all have seen the corrupt fruit that these "so called" ministers have produced over the last two decades while their new churches were under their control.  Before that we saw the worthless fruit of the labors for decades earlier.

Even those that have ungodly nightmares now seem to think they are set apart.

False prophet and legalistic spiritual abuser, Bob Thiel still claims that because he had a nightmare/dream/hallucination, that his god now has now placed his mantle upon him to do some kind of amazing work.

He bitterly writes:

Consider that furthermore more in his latest rant against me, Gary Leonard falsely asserted that I and a woman from New Zealand (who I did not know) had nightmares. No, we had dreams. 

The self-appointed  false prophet. who was never ordained as a minister in the Living Church of God. then goes on to quote scripture to support his hallucinations.  Church of God ministers somehow think that buy posting countless scriptures that they intern justify their  beliefs.  It never has and they never  will.

Apparently Gary Leonard does not believe that God uses dreams, even though the Bible says God does (Genesis 20:3-7, 28:10-17, 31:10-13, 31:24, 37:5-10, 40:5-18, 41:1-32; Numbers 12:6; Judges 7:13-15; 1 Kings 3:5-15; Daniel 2:3-45, 4:4-27, 7:1-28; Matthew 1:20-25, 2:12, 2:13, 2:19, 2:22; Acts 16:9; see also Dreams, the Bible, the Radio Church of God, and the Continuing Church of God).

I can state for a fact that God never inspired any dream telling Thiel to start his own personality cult.  His own mind told him that he deserved to be a leader.   Even Rod Meredith knew Thiel was unfit to be a minister.

The self-appointed false prophet is also very unhappy at being referred to as "Almost Arrested."

Furthermore, he continues to refer to refer to me with statements like “Almost Arrested” to imply I am some type of criminal, without bothering to explain that I was almost arrested because I told government authorities that I would observe the biblical Day of Atonement  (details of this are in my post, ‘Banned by HWA’ continues to make false assertions–Matthew 13:19-21?, that Gary Leonard responded to, though he did not bother to mention the truth about this).

If he had bothered to check he would have seen the reason that so many call him "almost arrested."  had occurred many, many posts ago.   Even though he claims above that he almost was.

The tactics of Thiel, Flurry, Malm, Pack and most other COG leaders is to combine error with fact, truth with imaginative thinking,  proof-texting instead of well reasoned scriptural understanding.  They are sneaky an beguiling, just like Satan in the Garden.

He then continues on that those that have blogs, web sites, have written books, that speak out publicly at the abuse in the Church of God are guilty of stealing people's crowns and their chance to make it into the kingdom.

Sadly, various ones have let the anti-COG people “take their crown”–did not “endure to the end” as they should have. They allowed people once considered to be brothers to betray them spiritually. 

For decades the spiritual lives of church members have been raped and pillaged by unsound ministers  who betrayed them spiritually.  They have every right to walk away from Armstrongism and learn sound scriptural reasoning.  Tens of thousands of former church members have done just that!  They have been healed from the abuse.  They live truly fruitful lives and understand God better than they ever have.  Sure many have also left faith behind, but that no more makes them evil or unworthy.  After the crap that the church has pulled on them, they have every right to do such a thing!

True spiritual knowledge and a grounded spiritual life cannot be found in the Continuing Church of God no matter how much Thiel pontificates or  how special he thinks he is.  Salvation will never be found in the Continuing Church of God.  Redemptive life lies outside its doors, if they would only dare to look,  as they chuck Thiel's booklets and magazines in the bin.

He imagines himself to be equals to Jesus and the apostles and that he is being persecuted as they were.  Talk about a steaming pile of bullshit!

Some do not seem to understand that Jesus and the apostles faced intense criticism and false assertions–and that those who really want to follow Him will be subject to it as well (John 15:18-25).

There is NOTHING about Thiel that even compares to ANYTHING the Apostles or Jesus ever said or did.  According to scripture they were persecuted for speaking truth.  Thiel does not.  He and his personality cult are not facing persecution form this blog or the government.  Delusional COG "leaders" love to thrown that out to divert attention away from their inept actions.

Anyone thinking God dwells in the Continuing Church of God is in for a rude awakening.  God does not.

The Accuser of the Crazy Self-Appointed Ministers

Today started of with one of the most hilarious posts that Bob Thiel has posted in a long time.  The Almost Arrested Elisha Elijah Joshua Bob had an epic millennial melt down this morning.  His delicate doubly-blessed sensibilities were apparently severely tweaked by a post on this blog.  

The post that sent God's end-time, self-appointed prophet over the edge was:

Hear No Evil, See No Evil: 

Why does the ministry turn their back on abuse in the church?

Gary Leonard, the webmaster at the Banned By HWA site (an anti-Church of God website), seems to relish in posting false accusations and innuendoes against me and others.
Why do I think that?
Well, in my personal case, for some odd reason he likes to lump me in with others he apparently detests and then asserts that I have the same flaws he claims others have.  For example, here is something he posted yesterday:

The question that really needs to be asked is why do the leaders in various Churches of God keep silent as they watch Gerald Flurry, Dave Pack, Rod Meredith and others abuse their members.  Why do none of them speak out?

Flurry, Pack, Thiel, Malm, Meredith and many others are NOT their brothers.  These men are not brothers in the faith. They sit there and do nothing as one horrendous abuse after another is dished out upon COG people.   How many more need to die from suicide, die from lack of medical care, have their families ripped apart and marriages destroyed?

While I am not aware of all the details of the others listed above regarding all the alleged abuse, I would like to comment about myself (But as far as various positions and actions by the others listed above, readers can read the following articles Teachings Unique to the Philadelphia Church of God, Why Not the Restored Church of God?, Error-Ridden James Malm Not Doing an Elijah Work, Roderick C. Meredith’s Accusatory Letter to Bob Thiel, and What About the Living Church of God? Are there Doctrinal Differences with the ContinuingChurch of God?) 

In the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) I have repeatedly worked to NOT rip families apart, but to strive to keep them and marriages together (though not all who are married wish to listen). None I am aware of in CCOG have died from suicide, though that happens in and out of COGs.  And although I personally strive to avoid mainstream ‘medical care’ for myself, I have never taught members to not seek it if they wish. And I do care for the brethren (and pray for them daily). 

So Thiel claims he has makes an effort to never break families apart.  Well good for him.  The problem remains, which was the point of the entire original post was WHY do the ministers of the various COG's sit back and say NOTHING and DO NOTHING when they see the horrible abuses going on in the Philadelphia Church of God, the Restored Church of God, the Living Church of God and elsewhere.  Unnecessary deaths due to medical prohibitions, suicides due to aberrant teachings of sick ministers/evangelists, pedophile ministers who are mollycoddled by the big boys.

While Thiel may not do these things, the fact that he self-appointed himself as a splinter cult leader after a bitter row with his idol Rod Meredith makes him just as culpable of spiritual abuse as those who physically, and mentally abuse their members.

God no more appointed Bob Thiel as an end-time prophet/church leader, through the blessing of Gaylyn Bonjour during a simple prayer, than Dave Pack was personally educated at the feet of Herbert Armstrong.   Just because Thiel and a disturbed woman in the Southern Hemisphere had some nightmares, which they assume came from their god, it no more makes Thiel a prophet than the dream of my cat being made Supreme Leader of the Planet Argon I might have had several months ago.

The false prophet then writes:

Gary Leonard is an accuser of the brethren (Revelation 12:10), and often a bearer of false witness (Exodus 20:16).

Accuser of the brethren?  If anything I would say accuser of the corrupt, self-appointed, lying  ministry that DO NOT represent God in any manner whatsoever.  Ministers who teach aberrant heretical doctrines that enslave their members and actually work to turn them away from the grace and mercy of the Jesus, that most inconvenient dude they claim to follow, yet know nothing about.

From taking tithe money from struggling members for their own benefit or to use it to publish theological mishmashes of heretical doctrines.

Its the brethren that suffer and pay the consequences of these lying prophets.  For a church that claims to be restored first century Christianity, that has made a cottage industry out of mocking Christianity and its various divisions, it has turned the lives of hundreds of thousands of members upside down over the last eight decades.

Bob Thiel is no more a prophet or agent of God than Gerald Flurry is.  I can say that in confidence and with no fear of pissing off the god they claim to follow.

It's not the brethren who are accused.  It is the snakes in the grass that occupy self-appointed church positions that lead 3.8 million visitors to come here to find out about and comment on how they are abused.  Of course self-appointed prophets claim those people have bad attitudes and everyone should ignore them.  We have seen how well that has worked over the last 20 years as tens of thousands have left the COG.

Thiel is like Flurry, Pack, Malm and Meredith.  They all have an obsession with having religious status in the church.  They want to be seen as the revealers of truth and store houses of exclusive knowledge.  Every single one of them are self-appointed, whether they like it or not.

Thiel is an addict.  A religious addict, which is just as destructive to the soul as alcohol, sex and drugs.

Religious AddictionAnything that can alter our mood can become addictive. Religious behaviors can certainly alter our mood. Is that a good thing? Of course! Just like sex and food and work can alter our mood in positive ways, religious behaviors can also alter our moods in positive ways. But can religious behaviors also become a problem—become addictive? Absolutely. It may be easier to imagine what religious addiction looks like if you think about extreme examples such as religious suicide cults or religiously motivated extreme self-deprivations or self-injury. Our experience, however, suggests that religious addiction is much more common than you would conclude from looking only at the extreme cases. A wide variety of religious behaviors have the potential for mood alteration and therefore the possibility of becoming addictive. Evangelism, worship, personal spiritual disciplines, church attendance, service, and many other behaviors that are important and praiseworthy in a general sense can be subverted by the addictive process into very harmful and destructive parts of our lives. This is an important point. Just because prayer is good does not mean that addictive prayer is good. Just because worship is good does not mean that addictive worship is good. Just because evangelism is good does not mean that addictive evangelism is good. The addictive process can destroy the most precious of God’s gifts to us. Except perhaps as loose rhetoric, even getting “addicted to Jesus” is not the solution to our problems with addiction. Addiction to Jesus is just another addiction. God’s desire for us is not that we find the “right” addiction—Jesus. God’s desire is that we find a way to live without being addicted at all. Sobriety is the solution, not being in an addictive relationship to God. The addictive cycle in religious addiction follows roughly the same stages found in other addictions. The process begins with preoccupation. We alter our mood up by thinking about, focusing on, obsessing about our next religious experience, the next evangelism opportunity, the next worship service, the next retreat or whatever. This preoccupation, while it may alter our mood up may also distract us from important parts of life. In most but not all cases, religious addiction also involves a major element of ritualization. Our pre–acting-out behaviors can become elaborate in religious addiction. We may repetitively recite memorized prayers or biblical texts, we may engage in what seems to others to be very Godly or pious behaviors. Eventually our preoccupation and rituals lead to some kind of religious acting out. As we have already emphasized, the specific behaviors that are part of the acting-out stage can vary. Evangelism addicts may experience an enormous rush when approaching a stranger with a presentation of some kind, and with even more of a rush if the stranger responds positively. Worship addicts may experience profound mood alteration when the “Spirit descends.” But all addicts eventually find that their addictions lead to a stage in which their mood is altered down. In some cases, questions or doubts may trouble us or even plague us. We may become obsessed with whether or not we have done well enough. Shouldn’t we try harder and do more to stay out of trouble with God? We may leave church on Sunday to face the next week determined to live the Christian life, only to return the next week and hear once again that it wasn’t good enough. And for many, even if the reminder doesn’t come this week at church, it comes readily from the echoes in our hearts and minds of past religious training. Addictive religion never leads to soul rest. It always leads to trying, trying harder and trying our hardest. It always leaves us tired, frustrated and depressed. Just like addiction to alcohol and drugs, the acting-out mood alters up, while the entire cycle mood alters down.   When Religion Goes Bad: Spiritual Abuse

Bob Thiel needs to set the right example and be the first Church of God leader to seek counseling with a licensed therapist  for the mental issues that lead him to think the is called out, set apart, and God's personal hand-picked representative on earth.   I would suggest that Bob check out some licensed Christian therapists in Arroyo Grande that can help him work through his addiction to self-made religion.   Christian therapists would at least have some communal understanding when it comes to religion.

Am I an accuser of the brethren? No! Accuser of lying, deceitful, abusive ministers?  Yes!

You can read his entire post here.

UCG Still Struggles To Make Its Self Relevant

The minutes are out of the latest Council of Elder's Report.  Here are some of the highlights.

Chairman Ward welcomed everyone. He commented on the smooth transition from the previous chairman, Robin Webber, to himself as chairman. Mr. Webber has cooperated in every extent of the word and so has Gerald Seelig, the secretary. Transitions can have rough edges, but he thanked them both for helping make it go smoothly.

God forbid if they ever actually elected a newbie to the elite circle of men who keep rotating though this position. It's the good old boys club that never lets in the newbies.

Then they announce how mind-boggling spectacular the Ambassador Bible Center is.  This is almost as superfantabulous of Dave Pack's group!  This is UCG's pathetic attempt at imitating Ambassador College.  The ABC "college" only has 23 students!  Yes, you read that right...23.   Millions of dollars are being dumped into this failure, but no worries, gullible members will continue to support it with their hard earned tithe money.

Ambassador Bible College (ABC) will have 23 students begin classes next week. They are still waiting to hear about the student visa program for approval. New faculty members will include Scott Ashley, Randy Urwiller and Gary Petty.

23....sigh.

Every Church of God needs a piece of fine art in its lobby.  After all, Herbert did it, so why can't they?

The home office has seen improvement with new carpeting and painting and lighting in the entry way, hallways and conference room. There is also some new furniture. Much work went into it with a lot of work by Tim Sipes. Other improvements upstairs were done as well. There will be a glass sculpture designed with the Church’s Mission Statement for the entryway, to be completed soon. Mr. Kubik was thankful for the faithful service of all the home office employees, and he commented on the family atmosphere that is there.

Let us guess...a lion and lamb?  A crystal mosquito net in honor of Vic Kubik? A UCG minister on his knees washing the feet of a member?  Well we all know THAT will not be the subject of the sculpture! A crystal Mystery of the Ages or the US and BC in prophecy?

Next up, make sure you order your very own static cling window decal so you can advertise Beyond Today as you drive around town.  People will be sooooooooo intrigued that they will stop you and ask you questions.  Brethren, it is an evangelistic tool!  Every UCG member must show their loyal support of the rather pathetic TV show and print rag.

Beyond Today window clings: We still have a supply of Beyond Today car window static clings for ministry and members to apply to their car rear windows. They are available to be shipped to any pastor who requests them for his congregation. They are also going to be provided at all U.S. Feast sites at the literature and information table.

Check out this article about how sneaky and deceitful the Beyond Today program and magazine are:  
Beyond Today Magazine, United Church of God and Herbert Armstrong.

Next we come to a rather interesting admission:  UCG members just are not sending in as much money as they used to.  UCG is just as good at spinning numbers as their mother church was.

Fiscal year-end: The Church’s fiscal year ended June 30. For the year, Church income exceeded budget by $250,000; but it fell short of fiscal 2015 income. It was also noted that year-end cash balances and total assets for the Church were higher than they were in the previous year, for the fourth consecutive year.

UCG is buying more church buildings in the hope of making themselves part of the "community."   I hope they do due-diligence in checking out the contributors who will give them a lot of money.  UCG does not need a repeat of the Bluefield Church building that was built and paid for by a woman who embezzled money from the bank she was a manager at.  UCG had to surrender title to the building because the government was auctioning it off in order to recoup some of the outlandish sum that was embezzled.

Assets: The Church completed the purchase of the Portsmouth, Ohio, church building on Aug. 12. The Church also took ownership of a donated parcel of land for the church building in London, Kentucky. A complete listing of all the buildings and land owned by the Church was distributed.

7.4 billion people exist in the world. Millions have been spent on advertising on TV, Cable networks, Apple TV, Roku and other streaming devices and they added 95 new members.  95!

95 baptisms so far in 2016, which is 38 more than at the May meetings

UCG has been stagnating for quit a while.  All of their media campaigns have failed.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars spent to being in one potential new recruit.  There used to be twice that number at certain WCG Feast sites!

Average U.S. Sabbath attendance for June 2016 was 7,459. Attendance remains steady with no upward or downward trends.

Only Jelly can rescue the church, apparently.