Church of God – the royalty free franchise business

With over 400 splits and splinters, the COGs have become one of the best franchises to own, especially when you consider there are no royalty fees and the marketing materials are free.

The owners have the advantages of running a pyramid style business where the benefits flow to the top tier without any fear of prosecution associated with the pyramid marketing model because it is run as a church. The other big advantage is the elimination of most business taxes because of non-profit and church taxation rules.

In the guise of church management and preaching, the owners get free travel, free cars, and tax reductions on their personal living costs.

There are several models:      

· Multiple congregations – collect money from each local group and send to HQ
· Single group – not as much money, but simpler lifestyle, plus can be run without added employee expense.
· Prophet model – need to claim some special revelation.

Marketing model is well established:

· Free literature (these days you can use pdfs which eliminates mailing costs).
· Threaten end of the world scenarios with only your followers escaping.
· When money gets tight, threaten followers with the lake of fire if they don’t send you more money.
· Claim 10% of all income, claim a portion of 2ndtithe, add a third tithe, plus 7 Holy Day offerings, plus special offerings, special project offerings, and building funds.
· Persuade people to leave you money in their wills.

If you go with the HQ model, you can have amazing perks like your own TV show, personal plane, and even your own university where the teachers can further indoctrinate your followers.

Biggest problem to overcome – since having “Church of God” in your business name is a requirement, with over 400 existing businesses in your franchise model, it is getting really difficult to come up with a unique name.

One suggestion is to use the city names used by the 7 churches in the book of Revelation.

Philadelphia is already taken, and no one wants to be called Sardis or Laodicean, but Ephesus and Thyatira are more positive names.

Otherwise you are left with adjectives like:

      · Continuing (taken – isn’t that amazing!!!)
· Bloviating
· Windy
· Sustaining
· Lasting
· Persevering

·     Loving – no forget this one – it just does not fit



submitted by TLA

Herbert Armstrong's "Different Gospel"

Herbert Armstrong taught the following in a May 13, 1978 sermon:

And so it is. Adam had made his choice. In other words, Adam said to God in effect … And let me just paraphrase it in my own words. In effect, he said: “God, I want you to keep your nose out of my affairs. I will not accept you as my ruler. I reject you as my king, as my ruler. I reject you as my God for salvation. I reject you as a source of knowledge to tell me what is good and what is evil, and I will decide it myself.”

And God said, “Well, I’ve given you the choice.” Now, instead of choosing character, he chose the wrong way; and God allowed that. God has not going to force you to choose the right way. Adam was able to choose whatever he pleased, and so are we. But, if you make the wrong choice, you’ll never have the character of God. And God is able to take care of that too.

From then in effect, God said, “Okay. You have rejected me. You have said you will create your own knowledge. You rejected me as your ruler and my government over you. You have rejected me as a Savior and a God and as the source of knowledge. So now I sentence you and your children after you – THE WHOLE WORLD that will come (and we have all come from Adam) – to 6,000 years of being cutoff from ME. All except the few in the world that I will decide I need to call and choose to do something for me in my service. Them I will call. But otherwise, ALL HUMANITY will be cut off from me.”

Is THIS the truth according to scripture? Is this the message of the Gospel? Is this what the New Testament boldly proclaims? Is THIS the Gospel of reconciliation? 

The entire theme of the New Testament is what Jesus did for ALL of mankind. John 3:16 says God so loved the world, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. In Acts, we read how the Holy Spirit was poured out to not only Jew but Gentile. We read in Galatians that there in neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free - nor male or female - that all are one in Jesus Christ. We read in 2 Corinthians that God has reconciled the world to Himself through Christ. We read in Romans how we are no longer enemies to God but reconciled through Christ. 

Herbert's teaching that the Whole world - from Adam forward 6,000 years in his teaching (of which time we have now past, by the way), is cut off. ALL humanity. This is a doctrine that is the exact opposite of what the New Testament teaches. It is in exact opposition of what the Holy Spirit did when He came to not only Jew but Gentile. If Herbert's teaching was correct, then Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female is incorrect. If Herbert's teaching is correct, John 3:16 is woefully false. This teaching is contrary to the essential teachings of Paul, the decisions of the Apostles at the Jerusalem council, every missionary effort by Paul through the foreign lands of the Gentiles, every move of the Holy Spirit to Gentiles, every martyr of the founding fathers of Christianity, and the action of reconciliation of mankind to the Father through Christ. Herbert's teaching basically invalidates scripture after scripture of Good News for all of mankind. 

Herbert's "different Gospel" sideswipes what Christ did, what the Spirit has done and is doing, eliminates any reconciliation of the Gentiles, places bondage and restrictions on the Gentiles (which the Spirit and the Jerusalem Council outlawed, by the way!), reaffirms differences between Jew and Gentile in relation to Christ, and rejects any "Gentile" as defined in scripture as apostate because of their differences with Jewish/Mosaic Law. Herbert's teachings are pharisaical and are in absolute opposition with every teaching and effort that Paul had with great effort taught to the Gentile Church who accepted and believed in Jesus Christ. 

Herbert's teaching, along with the teachings of the Judaizers, was that observances of rituals and ceremonies and the Law was commanded and required for Christians. This very argument was resolved in the Jerusalem Council. The reality is, according to scripture, that the teachings of Herbert Armstrong - that man continues to be cut off from God - ALL of mankind - ALL of humanity - except for an infinitesimal few - is nothing less that absolutely ANTICHRIST, Anti-Spirit, Anti-New Testament, Anti-reconciliation, and anti-truth. It is the opposite of what the truth of the Gospel is - and what the Old Testament pointed to - that Jew and Gentile both have been accepted to God through the reconciliation of mankind through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the Father. The very fruits - and current status - of Armstrongism bear witness to the futility and result of going against what Jesus Christ Himself accomplished, and what the Spirit had done, is doing, and will continue to do through the Spirit of God through those - ALL those - whomever and wherever they may be - who believe - whether Jew, Gentile, Slave, Greek, Male, Female, American, British, Australian, African, or any other person on the face of this Earth who has heard and who has accepted and believes in Jesus Christ, Son of God, and for that, we give thanks.

Submitted by SHT

Dave Pack; Part 2 - After the failure, more lies