I am a simple teacher of godliness and have come to restore that which has been lost and to reveal new truth....send me your money

Following is a post from our Chief Zealot of the church where he attempts to prove his special standing with his god to a leader of an African COG that asked the Chief Zealot some questions.

The church has a long history of men setting themselves up as agents of the creature god they follow, as if personally sent by it, to set the church back on track or to fulfill some end-times apocalyptic scenario.

Jesus wrote that a man of God is known by his fruits (Mat 7) and Moses wrote that a man of God is known by his fidelity to godliness (Deu 13, 17). I find that some today make claims of being prophets, apostles etc only to impress people to follow themselves, saying in so many words “I am a prophet, so follow me.”

Like any end-time prophet in the Church of God, Chief Pharisee and Zealot James Malm believes he has been sent by his god to restore all things lost, hold the brethren accountable, and to enforce slavery to the law upon his tens of followers.

I have not been ordained by any man; I am a simple teacher of godliness sent by God because so many men ordained by other men have gone astray. I have restored much that has been lost over time, revealed or further explained much that is new, told the truth to all, openly rebuked sin and called all people to embrace and love God enough to live by every Word of God.

However, I loath the deceit of those who make grand personal claims to impressive titles to collect personal followings and I do not want anyone to follow me, I want people to follow and embrace God and his Word. Therefore I have never claimed to be a prophet or any such thing.

The bullshit meter went off the charts here. He is so filled with vanity, like Bob Thiel,  that all of his posts are about him and what he has come to reveal as "truth." It is never about Jesus, but him and the law.

I am a student of the scripture continually learning and growing in knowledge and understanding. I do share what I learn and I do not hesitate to rebuke sin so I would agree that I am a teacher of godliness, I would also admit to watching and reporting on the ebb and flow of events and in that sense I am a watchman; but I will not misuse titles to deceive people as so many do.

As for financial support, everything that I say is provided freely and all of our literature is also provided for free download here, any support that I receive is given voluntarily, and believe me it is not nearly enough and expenses are usually higher than contributions, eroding my life’s savings. This is a work of love not a money making enterprise.

Except, that is, for the books he feels are so vital that people will pay to download them on Zulu and pay him a fee. He also expects his tens of followers to support him as he refuses to actively go to work.

This effort involves many thousands of hours of hard work to which I have devoted myself full time for years and it is written that the laborer is worthy of his hire; even Paul sponsored certain Nazarites in their vow to dedicate themselves to godliness (Acts 21:23-26), setting an example that we might do likewise and support those who have dedicated themselves in service to God.

In fact the true priesthood is the spirit High Priesthood of Melchizedek [Jesus Christ] and the Levitical priesthood was replaced by Jesus Christ when the spirit High Priesthood of Melchizedek was restored after Christ’s resurrection.

True there is no physical temple at this time, however there is a spiritual temple which must be served 1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? Those who serve in the temple whether in the physical or the spiritual temple have a right to a modest living by their service. 1 Corinthians 9:13 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
James

Open your wallets suckers!  It is his anyway!  As the watchman of god he deserve to be supported. Even by low-income African followers.

Why do people in power in the COG not like questions?

From Facebook, with permission:

We were talking about all the divisiveness in the world today and how if you ask questions publicly, you get shamed, attacked, or berated... 

She said... Yeah, that's how it was in the church during the big split. If you asked any questions, they were on you. They would send a deacon over every week to talk to me. He would ask me all kinds of things to gauge where I stood on the split. I knew to keep my mouth shut.

And then she finally told me why they left the church. They had a concern (my mom can't remember the specific concern) My father went to our minister and said.... I gave up everything to be a part of this church. Everything. My parents, my siblings, my past life, everything that I had... And now, you and the other ministers aren't willing to give up everything for us?

And they left.

So interesting how people of power don't like questions. Makes you wonder why...

This is something that many here have pointed out over the last 9 years.  Those in power in all of the splinter groups are in power because they did not want to sacrifice anything and that they do not like to be questioned. We have seen this recently with Gerald Weston.

When the church was imploding, ministers started plotting behind the scenes to form new groups that they could step right into and still be paid. There was never any idea of sacrifice involved with any of them.  This would have been the prime opportunity for the church to start fresh.  It was fertile ground for growth.  But, not one of these men now in charge, in any splinter group, or the ministers that followed them have ever made a sacrifice, especially not like regular church members have made over the decades.

Church members lived in the real world and had to contend with church doctrine interfering in their lives, with school, and work.  Family relationships were broken up with "unconverted" relatives. Children had to deal with schooling as they had to leave right after school started up for the Feast. Members lost jobs due to all the inane sabbath and festival restrictions forced upon them.

Ministers never had to face that issue. They were in their own world. employed by a church that paid them to never have to worry about sacrifice.

When has Dave Pack ever made a sacrifice?  When has Gerald Weston?  When has Gerald and Stephen Flurry? When has Vic Kubik, Don Ward, or Robin Webber? When has David Hulme? When has Jim Franks or Clyde Kilough? Where was the sacrifice of the Tkach's? Where has Mark Armstrong or Bill Watson sacrificed?

Positions of power ruled the day and still do in the Churches of God. Men that are servant leaders are not something that Church of God members are familiar with. Men who are church leaders and who also allow questions are unheard of in the church. It is better to keep members living in fear and under control than having them asking questions and thinking on their own. After all, salvation is only available through the explicit permission of your minister or church leader. Think about that one for a moment!

Gerald Weston Sees This Story As A Teaching Moment

In the previous post, I had Gerald Weston's thoughts quoted about LCG members saying something on the internet and elsewhere that are disparaging to LCG ministry and leadership.  He just cannot stand people having a different opinion.

I did not include the following.  It is at the start of the article he wrote.  He thinks this is a cute and fun story that is a learning lesson for people to think before they speak. You can see how he thinks little of the guy who made the comment and approves highly of the awful conduct of the faculty member that was present.  This is typical Ambassador College methods of controlling dissent and shutting people down.  The minister is praised, the poor dumb student is mocked.

Dear Brethren,

Jesus declared, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). How true and how important a concept is contained in these few words.

I’m reminded of a high school friend who went on to attend Ambassador College. His speech class (“Ambassador Club”) held a Wild West–themed ladies’ night in the Frontier Room of Ambassador Hall. Various props were spread out on tables, including several rather old guns. During a break in the meeting, a high-profile faculty member was using the barrel of a pistol to dislodge the rusty safety device of another gun.

My friend owned a .22 caliber rifle and was very finicky to make sure that no scratches or rust developed on it. We used to go down to the dry riverbed in Santa Maria to shoot rabbits, and he always made sure to clean his rifle meticulously afterward. (For those who were “triggered” by that, trust me: No animals were ever successfully killed on our excursions.) Watching this faculty member working on the safety as he was, my friend could imagine that if his hand slipped, the gun could receive a deep scratch down the barrel. But how do you tell a faculty member twice your age that you do not think this is a good idea?

Inspiration suddenly seized him. The individual in question was known to have shot his foot practicing “quick draw” some years earlier while in the Navy, so my friend opened his mouth with what he thought was a tactful question: “Is that how you shot your foot?” In his mind, it seemed to be a good question, but coming out of his mouth it did not sound quite the same as it had in his head. The tone of his question betrayed a bit more than he would have liked, and he received a tongue-lashing as a result!

What comes out of our mouth—not only the words but the intent behind them—cannot completely hide what is in the heart. As the proverb says, “Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips is wise” (Proverbs 10:18–19).

The fact that Jesus warned the people of His day about their words indicates that there was a problem at that time. But how much more the problem is magnified today! It involves not only what comes out of the mouth, but what is typed into cyberspace. Social media demonstrates the problem all the time. How often individuals vent their thoughts on Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and other platforms. People are less inhibited “hiding behind” a keyboard and screen than they are in the presence of flesh and blood. They say things they would never consider saying to someone in person. For whatever reason, the Internet greatly reveals the problem of the heart.