The Work of God or the Work of Humans?

As the years go by and more and more people get disgusted with the corporate Churches of God corrupt leadership, and more and more blogs and web sites seek to be a unifying presence online, regardless of the corporate church one is tied to or may be attending.

The Work of God (The Work)

The corporate church of god organizations claim to be doing the work of God (or the work). Every time there is a request for financial support (tithes, offerings, special funds, etc.), their claims to be doing the work of God (the work) are front and center.

This work of God (the work) is, according to the church of God organizations, preaching the gospel, which costs money (Google ads with the keyword “God” do cost a lot, for instance) and includes brick and mortar overhead (about 80% of finances goes to salaries, expense reimbursements, housing/utility/etc. allowances, and insurance coverage, as well as maintaining, buying, and building new brick and mortar land and buildings).

There are many problems with this particular phrase, but the first is the phrase itself in light of scripture.

It’s incredible hubris, before we even look at scripture, to claim to be doing God’s work. As if God can’t do His own work (once again, the idea of God and His power, as well as Jesus Christ, being limited), and we, mere mortals in temporary, perishing tents, must help Him.

It’s an insult to Almighty God. To add insult to injury, most of what the church of God groups claim is the work of God (the work) is really the work of humans and has very little to do with God.

Now to scripture and what God says His work – that He and Jesus Christ are doing – is. The work of God – through His word, His spirit, and Jesus Christ – and this should always be at the front of our minds, because in the end, when we stand before Jesus Christ, it’s this work only and how much we willingly cooperated with, participated in, yielded, surrendered, and submitted to, and obeyed that will matter for eternity – is what is happening on the inside of each of us that God has called and chosen.

The work of God is the renewing of our minds, the changing of our hearts and spirits, and the development of God’s holy, righteous character. No human can do that. I can’t and you can’t. But God and Jesus Christ can and will. From Churches of God Lexicon Concretized Christianity

Concretized Christianity

Dave Pack Fails Again: What to do when my prophecies fail

RLDEA brings in COG7 leader to board and puts Allie Dart's Momey to use in the community

Update on the Ronald L Dart Evangelistic Association

Thank you for your inquiry as to the latest developments at RLDEA.  We are excited about things that are happening.

First of all, we are pleased that Joe Limon has been added to our board of directors.  I have known Joe since he was the assistant pastor of the Church of God Seventh Day in Oak Cliff, Texas in the 1990s.  As you can see from his bio on our website, Joe is now pastor of the Church of God Seventh Day in Cedar Hill, Texas.  

Joe brings a wealth of knowledge and pastoral experience to RLDEA.  Joe is not a pastor in the rational sense of the word.  Joe is truly a servant pastor.  Joe is a volunteer pastor who receives no salary for his service.  He has always been just a volunteer.  Joe is now retired and works full-time serving his church. 

The other new exciting development has to be prefaced with a bit of history. 

Before Allie died, she and I spent a lot of time talking to me about how she would like the money from her estate disbursed.  As you know, most of it went to RLDEA.

First, Allie made clear that she wanted Ron’s works promoted.  We feel RLDEA is doing a really good job of that thru our social media efforts.   Promoting the Gospel of Jesus thru Ron’s material has always been our top priority and it will always be our top priority. 

Second, Allie made it clear where she did NOT want any of her money to go.  She made mention of several religious organizations that RLDEA was not to donate to. 

Third, Allie made it clear that she also wanted money to go to charities.  She specifically mentioned St Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the American Cancer Society.  I am sorry we have not, up to this point, done anything in the area of charitable giving.  But this changed on April 5 when we made donations to St Jude’s Children’s Hospital and the American Cancer Society.   We will continue to support these two charities. 

Further, because of the hardships caused by the coronavirus, we are researching to determine which charitable East Texas organizations we might possibly send donations to -- organizations that assist people thru these difficult times. 

For example, right now we have a problem in that kids can’t go to school.  They are supposed to do their studies on line.  Many kids in our area don’t have tablets and don’t have access to the internet.  So we are making donations to local schools to help kids get tablets.  

We are also having an internet service installed at our Tyler Church of God Seventh Day building.  We are going to then invite kids in our neighborhood to access this internet so that they can do their homework there.  Even though no one is allowed in our building at this time, we have a nice front porch and yard where they can sit so they can access the internet to do their homework. 

We are long overdue in our efforts to helping local people. 

And let’s be clear that any contribution sent by the leadership of RLDEA is not something that we will be rewarded for when we stand before Christ.  It is Allie who will be rewarded for directing us to do this.   It was her money and we’re trying to spend it the way she directed. 

So again, we are excited about these new developments and ask for prayers that God will guide us into doing good works at RLDEA. 

Wes White
wdwhite49@yahoo.com

Personal Comment:  Ron Dart was about the only evangelist on campus that would spend time talking to the campus workers who were considered second class citizens by most other evangelists and church leaders. He was always friendly to all he met.

I also know that Wes sticks his neck out by posting here and commenting.  Some think it is abominable that he does this.  Ian Boyne, from Church of God International in Jamaica, was also a friend of this blog.  He and I had some interesting conversations over the years till he was tragically struck down by a heart attack. He discovered that we had more things in common than we do with differences.

Many in various COG's know the church has issues and they see that.  We may certainly not agree on some doctrine and some extra-biblical teachings, but the bond that goes deeper with our common heritage is far greater than those that want to keep dividing the church or that waste their time trying to get people to stop reading here.

I am also very glad to see that Allie Dart's money will be spent to help the community she lived in for many decades. The sad thing is that most COG's do absolutely NOTHING for the communities they are in. Their easy way out was always this comment; "God will fix things in the end, so why waste our money and time on them now,  They will get a second chance in the kingdom." If the Kingdom of God, that most of them long for is so fantastic, then why would they not want to share that with those around them as a foretaste of things to come?