The Soon Coming Coming Destruction

At this time of writing, one of the most powerful hurricanes in modern history is devastating the Bahamas with winds of 185 Miles Per Hour - gusting to an unfathomable 220 Miles per hour at times. The images I have seen coming out of the storm have been nothing short of absolute devastation - homes demolished, extreme storm surge, people trapped. It is a worst-case scenario for the Bahamas - but they have been warned. 

All of this got me to thinking about another type of warning the Church has been blasting for over 70 years - a warning of extreme destruction, demolition, and damage due to what is known as the "Great Tribulation" - a "Great Near-Extinction Event" of nuclear war that immediately heralded the supernatural and very visible return of Jesus Christ to Earth and the beginning of Armstrong's version of the Kingdom for 1,000 years. 

Somehow, we believed that Herbert Armstrong and his successors had all the tools to know what was coming. We believed he had the satellite, the radar, the ground truth, the reports, and the understanding necessary to put everything together to make a solid forecast. Herbert and company sold us into believing he had the ability to interpret the radar, look at the satellites, read into the news, understand the models and through a divine calling, somehow see, just on the horizon, the Category 5 Armageddon about ready to unleash it's fury onto the world. 

The problem was, there was never a Category 5 Armageddon on the horizon. Sure, there were flare-ups, showers and storms, and dark skies on the horizon. But these all ended up to just be passing showers of little consequence. If Herbert and company had looked up beyond their tools, they would have seen that there was absolutely nothing of any significance on the horizon. They would have seen they were wrong. 

How could they have been wrong? The truth is very simple and profound. They were operating on flawed data from models that did not have correct information. 

We know what is happening with Hurricane Dorian because the signs are being interpreted correctly. There are satellites looking down. There are instruments collecting information all over the place - from weather balloon launches to hurricane hunter aircraft measuring everything from temperature to humidity to upper level winds. There are high-tech computer models crunching numbers day in and day out, plotting paths and curves to give a general idea of exactly what is going to happen. Radar shows the detailed features of the storm. Infrared shows internal temperature dynamics. Florida and all of the Southeast Coast are being warned that something is going to happen. And indeed, something WILL happen. Do they know exactly what will happen days out? Not precisely, but they have enough correct information to tell you that the hurricane IS coming, and actions need to be taken NOW. 

We thought we knew the same thing on a spiritual scale. We believed that Herbert had the answers. We believed the Church knew "the truth". We put our confidence, our hearts, and our minds into this warning message over and over again. Yet we know now - 70 plus years after 3 to 5 years repeated constantly on a never-ending loop - that the warnings were false. Not only in timing, but in causation, in depth, and in reality - they were false. But why? What false information did Herbert have? How did he get it so wrong? 

Herbert relied on a model we will call the USBP. The USBP Model stands for "The United States Britain Prophetic Model". This spiritual model predicted a particular outcome based on a belief of the United States and Britain meeting certain prophetic criteria. The USBP Model carved a path of destruction based on scriptural interpretation.The model was wrong. The problem is, even now, certain church leaders in Armstrongism are still relying on this false model to make their forecasts. It's stupidity in its finest form. If real meteorologists used an outdated model to predict the hurricane as Armstrongism uses USBP, there would have been no way of predicting where and when Dorian would go. So the first mistake was using outdated or inaccurate information. 

The real model they were using was the IITC model. The IITC model is the "Income Into the Church" Model. In order to keep the Income Into the Church Model high, they had to create the conditions necessary for money. This had to include the proper ingredients: Loyalty (to the Church), Fear (of leaving the Church), Hope (That the Church was correct), and Belief (in everything the Church taught), then they could accurately predict what really mattered to them: Income. The vision they had was of a materialistic Campus that was to be one of, if not, the finest in the world. They were able - with help with the SRM (Stanley Rader Model), to predict the only thing that really mattered to them - money - to build their vision at the expense of using a false model publicly to the Church. In effect, they used a false warning to create an internal financial windfall. You could lump all of this into one word: Deception, intentional or not. 

Unethical? Yes. Lies? Yes. False? Yes. Did they believe it? Yes. When you put your trust in falsehoods - which we know are falsehoods - Armstrongism is the result. Because they believed in an inaccurate, incorrect, and untruthful system, they ended up crying wolf over and over again - predicting a storm that never existed and was never in any danger of existing. Then again, Armstrong never had the degree or the knowledge to understand how any of his "models" worked anyway. He, literally, went to the Library, pulled out some textbooks, and without the aid of any instruction but of his own mind, worked out how everything was supposed to work, and literally went with it, bringing in a crowd of believing suckers who he convinced he was right. He cobbled up his own theories, and then created his own "Armstrong Channel" to promote his own "forecasts" on what he believed was the worst storm ever to hit the planet based on the way he saw the world and the Bible. 

Is there any doubt now why Armstrongism is being ignored? Is there any doubt why all of these splinter groups are absolutely insignificant? Let's face it. Let's be honest. They got it wrong. Absolutely, completely, and totally wrong. 

I am currently watching The Weather Channel of people who have been trained for years and hold actual degrees in meteorology on understanding how the weather works to REALLY warn people about a REAL threat. They have gone to school, learned everything they could about atmospheric sciences, were trained by the best of the best, and now live to warn the public. They know what they are doing and are saving lives using real information to help real people doing a real warning service. Armstrongism, on the other hand, was and is a scam, started by a high-school dropout who used a failed system to create an alternate reality of alternate beliefs that had no basis in reality and still does not today. Armstrongism isfake religion, and always has been, used to enrich their leaders and oppress the poor. And after seventy years, there are still people out there who are listening to the bad spiritual forecasts made from fake preachers teaching from an inaccurate model who were not trained to interpret a jot from a tittle. It's time people wake up and stop listening to bad forecasts and horrible warnings from unqualified "preachers" making a living off of lies while sucking the life out of those who trust them. 

Armstrongism is one of the few places where people actually pay boatloads of cash to other people, willingly, for bad information and false warnings. It's time this stops, because it is literally insanity to do so over and over, and over again, for something that is so obviously proven so fundamentally wrong.

submitted by SHT

Who Causes Division In The Church?

Who Causes Division?

The Church is a (Holy) Spirit led group of individuals defined in Scripture as the body of Christ that precludes human organization. Those who belong to Christ will have love for one another. They will do what it takes to fellowship with one another and not seek for reasons to divide. In my area, there are at least 4 (probably more) Church of God organizations that all meet in separate places and are all within 10-30 minutes of each other. Most of these people know each other and were all in the same fellowship at one time. Many still recognize those meeting 10 minutes away as their brethren. Many believe we should all be in one place to fellowship. So who has caused this division? Who is responsible? Who is able to cause division?

We are told we must all speak the same thing and be in one accord. How is that even possible? A new person certainly doesn’t think and say the same things that someone who has been around 40 years. And anyone who has courageously discussed Bible topics with others knows that there are many different opinions on doctrines and prophecies in the church. That is true even among the ministers. What is the bar setting to let us know we are all speaking the same thing? Does the Bible even tell us to all speak the same thing?

I Corinthians 1:10 is often misapplied in telling the brethren that we must all speak the same thing and that anything short of that is causing division and involves a spirit of rebellion. Is that really what Paul meant?

“Now I plead with you brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” 

“For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.” 

“Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul’ or ‘I am of Apollos’ or ‘I am of Cephas’ or ‘I am of Christ.’” 

“Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” 

“I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name.”

The division being caused is brethren that are upholding certain men as their leaders in unhealthy ways that would lead to oppression. We are not to follow after and idolize men. It would seem that early on, there was a desire among people to want an overseer that they could look up to and designate as a leader or a champion. This champion would usurp thinking and decision-making and the people would have it so.

Paul even tells Timothy in II Timothy 4:3 that, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers.” For many in top-down authoritative churches, Bible study and discussions are replaced with pontificating sermons. If that does not describe the organizations filled with paid teachers to satisfy itching ears instead of inquisitive minds that should be reading the Bible, then I don’t know what Paul means.

Paul states the solution to this problem at the very beginning.

“…that you all speak the same thing…in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

“Same” is used 3 times and is the Greek: AUTOS, which means “yourself”. The verse, based on the context, should actually read more like this:

“Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak for yourselves and that there be no divisions among you [whereby you are choosing men to speak for you] but that you be perfectly joined together by the use of your own mind and your own judgment.”

The truth is, this verse is the exact opposite of how it is used in sermons to quash critical thinking and questioning and just become one in a hive-mind. This is exactly what Paul believed how brethren should be, owning their own minds and exercising them: not allowing their minds to be usurped by the teaching of another man, including himself. The Bereans in Acts 17 were called “fair-minded” because they did not just accept anything that was told to them. They studied, cross-examined, things that were said to determine in their own minds if what they heard was true or false.

This was a huge concern to Paul; that leaders would come along to draw away followers in their own name. It is human nature to want to put off our responsibilities onto others. It is easy to hand over personal responsibility to think and study and discern and give that power over to a champion. Wolves in sheep clothing know this. Those who preach only out of selfish gain know this. In a Forbes list of top 10 occupations sought out by psychopaths, “religious leader” made the list!

I Corinthians 2:15, still within the context of division caused by following after men, Paul says, “But he who is spiritual investigates all things, while he himself is rightly investigated by no one.” In other words, a converted individual “proves all things” and by doing so, never allows himself to be judged by another man (possibly one who claims to be a special leader). The true Christian will not lazily follow any man or give up his right to question and challenge all things. We must each work out our own salvation and not give ourselves up to human idols and organizations that work against these Biblical warnings from Paul to not give up our individual sovereignty.

Diotrephes is the perfect example of what happens when we give ourselves over to human idols and is exactly what Paul was afraid would happen. Diotrephes became a cult leader who exalted himself, ran down other churches and other ministers, causing division and put people out of church if they didn’t blindly follow his version of truth.

Jude 19 talks about, “sensual persons who cause divisions, not having the Spirit.” These persons are described in verse 16 as, “grumblers, complainers, walking according to their own lusts; and they mouth great swelling words, flattering people to gain advantage.” The context in which this is used in sermons is usually that this is describing disgruntled laity. But what kind of effect would a lay member have going around with this attitude? Probably, not much.

“Divisions” in Jude 19 is APODIORIZO: which means, false teachers that cause division.

The context of Jude is a stern warning to be on the lookout for false teachers and leaders. Notice in Verse 11 that these false teachers, “have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit…”

David V. Barrett received a Ph.D. in Sociology of Religion. In his book, "The Fragmentation of a Sect: Schism in the Worldwide Church of God", he points out all splits in WCG to the present various churches of God could only be caused and were caused by the ministry. On pages 208-209:

"But in a family of churches where top-down authority has always been the norm...members were expected to follow their ministers."

"...it is primarily ministers who have actively left one church to join or to found another, and in many cases they took their members with them."

"...it is a feature of established sects that schism comes only from the divisions among the influential elite within each movement; no other person is sufficiently influential to cause division..."

"Schism must thus be from the ministerial ranks, and in particular from those at the center of the organization; the laity are too receptive and docile (accustomed to obedience) to initiate schisms, and have no opportunity to preach heresy, or to challenge organizational arrangement." 

The irony in all this is that an all-powerful ministry responsible for the schisms, created options for the brethren and are thus responsible for diffusing their own power and control. Ministers, being the cause of division, is the only thing (besides the internet) that has given the laity any kind of voice.

Our leaders place an inordinate amount of importance in loyalty and consensus. “Division” and “rebellion” are terms used to keep critical thinking to a minimum. This approach alienates members from each other and inevitably creates the culture of, “pay, pray, stay and obey.” Gerald Weston claimed in a sermon about what makes a church Philadelphian, that it was "right government" and of course that right government was the top-down, one-man-rule in LCG.

False claims that we are the “one true church” further alienates us from our communities. We meet in secret and do very little to reach people in our communities. After paying unbiblical tithes, there is nothing left to help people.

Laodicea has often been said to mean, “the people decide.” This has typically been explained by the churches of God that these are groups of people who refuse to submit to the government of God and are making their own decisions or they are in governments where there is voting or congregational polity. This is certainly how Gerald Weston would interpret it.

But let us look at this once again in terms of authority and Judes’ warning of false teachers who serve themselves. In Philadelphia, Jesus has the Key of David. In places where brotherly love exists with no major criticism, Christ has put His authority in those places. In Laodicea, what if the people making decisions are self-serving ministries in top-down churches? A self-serving, elite ministry would reject Christ’s authority and effectively close the door to the Kingdom for them and those that follow them.

“But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

Remember, Jesus said this in Matthew 23:13, right after directing the previous 4 verses to the disciples on not to seek rank among the brethren!

Yet, Christ in His mercy, knocks on the doors to these churches that have rejected His authority in hopes that there will be brethren inside who will wake up and leave the grips of these false teachers whom Jude warns us about.

I Corinthians 7:23, “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.”

Romans 14:12, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”

Is the Holy Spirit pouring out gifts in the churches of God? Are their governments set up in a way that forbids the Holy Spirit to work? Does the church reflect love and grace toward all men or is it an aloof and divided people meeting in secret, always wading through "us-and-them" scenarios?

The biggest problem with hierarchical governments is they attract narcissists and psychopaths who "act" their way into positions where they can then exercise oppressive power. Similar types who lack charisma and intelligence fill in the middle ranks as managers. When the charismatic and/or intelligent leader dies or is taken away, the void is filled with squabbling managers. These managers cause division.

Hierarchical pastors will rarely view a strong opposing viewpoint without screaming division and rebellion because he doesn't have to. Managers are small-minded, order-takerers that fear debate, fear being exposed, live in an us verses them world, thrive in hierarchical structures, believe they know all the answers

Scholars thrive on healthy debate and love fellowshipping, especially with other free-thinkers. They are not insecure about not knowing everything. They thrive in congregational settings where everyone believes each person is sovereign and responsible for their own salvation. Scholars know authoritarians cause division.

The legacy of WCG and its splinters is division caused by squabbling managers and a support group of lay-members who are happy to have it thus. The scholar is silenced or forced out for rebellion and "causing division."

by Stoned Stephen Society

UCG: Another Example Of Why It Is Such An Inconsequential Little COG

Below is from the latest COE report of United Church of God. With all the important things they could be focused upon as a church and even as ministers, this is where they place some their focus.  Apparently some ministers are sending in papers that have a negative or off-putting "tone" to them.  And, many of the ministers have an off-putting tone to their voice when they speak. Instead of being agents of grace and mercy they come across far too often as authoritative little jerks that turn off UCG members.

Tone Chart Update and Discussion—Dan Dowd

The discussion of the media department’s tone and voice chart was another follow-up discussion. Dan Dowd led the discussion picking up where Rex Sexton left off in the May meetings.

Darris McNeely had invited Dan Dowd to meet with the media department about this topic at the home office on July 8, which he did. The tone and voice chart goes back to 2008 with a desire to have a consistent approach across all our preaching efforts because we no longer have one personality like Mr. Armstrong.

Tone is the manner the voice is heard and how we present the material. Voice refers to the person using it with everyone having a different personality.

Mr. McNeely was introduced to explain the voice and tone chart. He read the tone and voice chart and mentioned that it describes how we come across to those through the message going out. He explained that content is separate from tone and voice. Voice has many different components from loving and caring to authoritative at times which depends on the topic.

Mr. Dowd mentioned one of the comments from the media department, that our publications are not primarily for our members.

Peter Eddington explained we take a “milk to meat” approach. The Beyond Today (BT) is often the first introduction to the Church and the United News (UN) has additional, deeper doctrinal material. Then, many of our booklets go into greater doctrinal depth, more of the “meat” of the gospel. And this has been our historical approach.

Chairman Ward mentioned the main reason this topic was brought up to the Council level was because some long-standing ministers have had their articles turned down because of their tone but they were not told why. The articles were for the UN where more meaty doctrinal articles are to be sent. Dr. Ward asked who decides whether articles are accepted or not.

Peter Eddington said the UN content team is Vic Kubik, Darris McNeely, Peter Eddington, Justin Palm and the editor of the publication, Ariana Del Signore. There is a variety of reasons certain articles may not be published. We are trying to introduce the gospel message to the world. Every issue of the UN has a content meeting and sometimes judgment calls need to be made regarding what can be included. Sometimes there is simply not enough space in an issue to fit the articles that were submitted.

Mr. McNeely said the articles go through doctrinal review and the doctrinal review team for the UN is David Mills, Rex Sexton, Tony Wasilkoff, Jerold Aust, Gerald Seelig, Darris McNeely, Peter Eddington and Vic Kubik who are seasoned ministers.

Dr. Ward asked for improved communication when articles are not accepted.

Ariana Del Signore, the new associate editor of the UN, said she would communicate who reviewed the article if they are not accepted.

Scott Ashley said some articles sent in have good ideas, but they aren’t written well or are untimely for what is needed for certain issues.

Mario Seiglie mentioned that anyone who writes knows that not everything will be used. He encouraged writers to not take it personally and to keep submitting articles.

Jorge de Campos said that the feedback he has received for our publications is very good. Those producing them are doing an outstanding job. He encouraged anyone who has concerns to apply Matthew 18 instead of raising issues directly to the Council. He complimented the administration for what they are doing.

Dr. Ward reminded everyone the issue is how to communicate back to the ministry when an article is not accepted. If an article is not accepted because of tone then the ministry should have a copy of the tone and voice chart, so they know why.

Mr. Ashley said writer’s guidelines could be given to the ministry and writers. It can be passed along and posted online.

Mr. McNeely recommended also posting a link for writers to a 50-minute writer’s class about tone and voice given by Scott Ashley.

Mr. Dowd concluded by mentioning good communication back and forth will go a long way in helping resolve future situations. He also suggested distributing the tone and voice chart to all writers and this was agreed upon.

Keep it up boys! After 25 years you have this to celeberate on how awsome UCG is above all other COG's!  Woo Hoo!