LCG: Seeks To Reign In LCG Members During Passover Season Who Continue To Question Doctrine

It is only a few days till the Church of God version of Passover happens and the Living Church of God has been plastering its member page with one "uplifting" article after another on how to "properly" prepare for Passover.  As the years go by the hoops members need to jump through get more and more frequent.

Did you know that questioning doctrine has the potential of making you take the Passover in a wrong manner? To do so means you refuse to submit to Gerald Weston, who is the FINAL authority on doctrine after Jesus Christ.

Isn't it refreshing to know that all doctrinal purity has descended to us today directly through Herbert Armstrong, Rod Meredith and now finally to Gerald Weston? No theological decision can be made without this mans approval.  No human on the entire planet has this much authority directly handed to them by Jesus himself. Both Dave Pack and Bob Thiel have been left whimpering in the corner.

Dexter Wakefield claims that LCG is always on a quest to "deeper and broader" in its doctrinal understanding, though for some reason they still refuse to follow the New Covenant teachings.

The notion that Living Church of God wants to go "deeper and broader" in their knowledge and understanding is a joke. They still are stuck in 1986 or earlier in all their actions and beliefs.

Beware of people who say that they have “new truth”—it’s usually old errors. The Church’s doctrines have been researched and thoroughly vetted for decades under Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, Dr. Roderick C. Meredith and now Mr. Gerald Weston, and we are convinced that we have God’s truth. With God’s help, we want to go deeper and broader in our knowledge and understanding—but we should beware when someone wants to go differently.

The Apostle Paul cautioned the Church in Corinth to be constantly vigilant for those who preach doctrinal error. “For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough” (2 Corinthians 11:4, ESV). Here’s an action item: Don’t put up with it!

And God forbid of some lowly church member has an epiphany and knows the church is wrong about something. That member must remain silent and and maybe let his pastor know, who will then, nine times out of ten dump it in the trash bin, or steal the idea and run with it himself taking all the credit.  But usually, the minister will claim to be more intelligent than you and set you straight.

We always want to grow in grace and knowledge, and from time to time, a member may think we’ve made a mistake. Or perhaps he believes he has found something new that we should look into. When that’s the case, there’s a procedure that should be followed. Don’t advocate your idea among the congregation; rather, discuss it with your minister. But be prepared for him to engage in helpful analysis. The minister may have seen your idea before and, as a result, may have a ready answer with scriptures or related doctrines that you haven’t considered. That’s often the case. Or, if you both think that the idea needs to be considered further, it can be sent on to his Regional Pastor and possibly the Personal Correspondence Department.

If so, be patient in waiting for a response. If it’s worthy of further investigation, the Council of Elders does consider study papers and thoughtful commentary.

Notice what LCG believes will happen if that member strike out on his own. It is the very same thing that Rod Meredith did himself!

Often, the leaven of false doctrine is used by individuals seeking to form their own little church group. They need a different doctrine or two to distinguish them from others in order to corral the sheep they need to support their small ministry. Those who have done this typically have several characteristics in common:

•  They assert some unique doctrine or “revelation” that distinguishes their splinter group from others.

•  Their evangelistic work is ineffective, and few new people join their group. So, they seek to take sheep from other organizations and fellowships rather than evangelizing the world.

• There is often a high degree of control of the group.

Speaking of control, the irony here is astounding!  Are they so dense that they cannot see this is exactly that they are doing to their members? And what about their evangelistic efforts?  Their "evangelism" is ineffective and draw in no new people other than drawing in disgruntled xCOG members who jump ships like fleas from dog to dog.

LCG then takes another swipe of Bob Thiel and others who have left to start their own personality cults.

Christ warned us about these false ministers when He said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15–20).

Obviously this never applied to Rod Meredith when he apostatized from the WCG to start two new COG's.  None of the scriptures ever seem to apply when the various COGs are doing exactly what is spoken about.

LCG members apparently don't trust HQ to make wise decisions when it comes to doctrine, because many still question them, even in 2018.

In the ministry, we have dealt with many of the same doctrinal questions for years: the proper dating of the Holy Days and calendar issues, private prophetic interpretations and many others. These issues come back year after year, decade after decade, as new people discover old errors. The Bible teaches us that Satan stalks about the fringes of the flock “like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Those who regularly search the Internet for doctrinal issues probably do not appreciate the precious truth we have and may find themselves within that lion’s range of attack.

Satan is the one behind all questions, so LCG members had better learn to be subservient and never question. Plus they need to examine their lives during this season to understand why they cannot submit to HQ.  Their salvation depends upon it.

God said that He uses His ministry and His Church to maintain doctrinal integrity. The Church is the bulwark of the faith. The Apostle Paul reminded the evangelist Timothy, “These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:14–15).

The ministry has both the responsibility and authority to maintain the doctrinal integrity of the Church. Even in the world, we don’t give a person the responsibility to do a job without also giving the authority that is required to accomplish it. Failing to do so would defeat our own purpose. And God is far wiser than we are.

God uses His faithful ministry to preserve the truth in His Church. That’s a big reason why the Church is the “pillar and ground of the truth.” And we’re required to judge who is a true minister of Jesus Christ, and, again, “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16). But what are our obligations when we identify a true minister of Christ? We gladly accept the authority and service that Christ provides through His ministry and His Church. Sheep flee a wolf but follow a shepherd.

The sheep should flee the wolf presently leading them astray and away from the New Covenant. The wolves have been devouring members for far too long now.  When will the captives be set free?

Former COG Member Now Part of Branch Davidians

American Cult: 5 Spiritual Groups That Went Too Far

I remember when the Branch Davidian siege was underway how some ministers in Pasadena were quite concerned.  They admitted that we had loose ties to the Davidians because of the Adventist Sabbatarian connections.  They had had some conversations with some COG ministers over the past and the church was concerned about being associated with them.  Plus, James Tabor was working with the authorities trying to get them to understand what was happening with David Koresh and his apocalyptic visions.

 At Bible Study With David Koresh’s Last Followers

Every Saturday afternoon, on the Branch Davidian sabbath, Clive Doyle drives to the North Waco home of Sheila Martin, where the two old friends study the Bible together, often joined by a small group of spiritual seekers and curious interlopers. Doyle grew up in Australia, Martin in Boston, but both are now in their seventies and have lived in McLennan County for decades. In the Waco area, where many residents would just as soon forget the tragic events that embroiled the Branch Davidians 25 years ago, Doyle and Martin are unique. They are the last two people living there—and among just a handful left in the world—who fervently believe that their former spiritual leader, David Koresh, was not a crazed cult leader, or a delusional narcissist, or even merely a gifted interpreter of scripture, but a genuine prophet of God.

One of these Saturdays, I drove up to Waco to join Doyle and Martin. Outside, it was cold and raw, with low-hanging clouds throwing off an occasional mist of rain. Inside Martin’s living room, the climate was far cozier, with potted plants, soft lighting, and religious paraphernalia cluttering the space. Martin—who is petite and African-American, and still speaks in a pahked-the-cah New England brogue—took her usual hostess’s position at a small table next to the kitchen, ready to accommodate anyone who needed a glass of water or something to eat. Doyle—jowled and a little stooped as he nears eighty—lowered himself onto a worn couch, taking charge of the room. Seated around the two Branch Davidians were Doyle’s roommate Ron Goines, a messianic Jew who first came to Mount Carmel in 1998, and Marlene Joyce, a former follower of Herbert W. Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God who has been attending Branch Davidian services since the mid-nineties.

Read the entire article here:  At Bible Study With David Koresh’s Last Followers

Here are various articles describing James Tabor's work on the Branch Davidians.

Waco Redux: 25 Years Later

April 19, 1993–Waco Branch Davidian Tragedy Going on 25 Years

Master’s Commission: Cult, Compound, Coercive

Sacred And Profane: How not to negotiate with believers.

James Tabor also wrote a book on the Davidians: 

Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America

Ummmm......

As a former pastor giving sermons every week, in hindsight, I found I was quoting scriptures for one reason or another for effect and yet many times the little observer in my head was asking while I was quoting it, "what exactly does that mean and how does that translate in real life? I am sure those listening may have been asking the same thing at the same moment.

The classic WCG practice of endeavoring to apply James 5: 14

"Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. ¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

,,,was particularly difficult to practice and to do it exclusive of medical opinion and help could be debilitating or fatal.  Personally I erred on the side of  "Lets get you to a doctor and I'll anoint you on the way..."  Thus no regrets personally in this area or horror stories I contributed to personally because of too rigid a view.  I have always been grateful for my more metered beliefs growing up before I came to WCG in such areas.  James 5:14 was way below the Presbyterian radar. 

Growing up, no Presbyterian would remotely think to only get anointed for "healing". My sense is that they had learned long ago not to take things too literally or seriously in  some areas and that some demands of scripture, even in the New Testament were based in the naiveté' of the times. . So they didn't and thus no drama, trauma and controversy over such things ever happened.   On so many topics in WCG, it was years of chaos over such topics with consequences for minister and member alike. 

Being sick and dying was even the result of not discerning the Lord's body correctly during the Lord's Supper or Passover depending on your Church.  What was the connection between that and being sick from time to time or even dying?  Both are quite normal things if you show up on the planet. 

I do know that when we did not receive all one asked for it was because ...

 …2You crave what you do not have. You kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

The following are also New Testament scriptures that I probably quoted depending on the topic yet quietly wondered, "what exactly does that mean?  It simply doesn't seem to be true or really work that way."  And yet still, when quoted, everyone somehow believed them though never quite knowing in what way they did or in what circumstance it was proved they delivered as advertised.  

1) And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, `Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.  “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” (Matthew 21:21-22 NAS)

2) Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8 NAB)

3) Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.  For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst. (Matthew 18:19-20 NAS)

4) Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours. (Mark 11:24-25 NAB)

5) And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-13 NAB)

6) And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it. (John 14:13-14 NAB)

7) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. (John 15:7 NAB)

8) It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. (John 15:16 NAB)

9) On that day you will not question me about anything.  Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.  Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. (John 16:23-24 NAB)

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