Did UCG Force Randy Stiver To "Retire" From His South Dakota Congregations?

 

Church of God News is reporting how the United Church of God has "forced" Randy Stiver to "retire".  Though, reading through the story below it doesn't make a lot of sense when it declares he was forced out of a job and then goes on to say he is still a pastor.

“Mr. Randy Stiver, long time minister, Council of Elders member and teacher at Ambassador Bible College, has been forced to retire from the ministry of the United Church of God. Mr. Stiver had been assigned to pastor UCG’s South Dakota congregations in the spring of 2021.  

Some members of the eastern South Dakota congregations began a campaign of opposition to Mr. Stiver early on, messaging their grievances to the Church’s Operation Manager, Ministerial and Member Services Director Mr. Mark Welch and others. The opposition reached a peak shortly after the Feast that year when members of that group solicited support from other members for the purpose of presenting an organized unified front. The result was a visit to the eastern South Dakota congregations by Mr. Welch and Regional Director Mr. Mitch Knapp. Many members were unaware of what had been happening, but as those loyal to Mr. Stiver became aware of the situation they began to make their support known to home office leadership including then Church President, Mr. Victor Kubik.  

The division over Mr. Stiver’s leadership continued through the spring holy days and into the summer of this year. Mr. Kubik was replaced as UCG President by Mr. Rick Shabi. Mr. Shabi was informed of the situation by those on both sides of the issue. He visited the churches this summer, giving a sermon to the combined congregations and holding an open bible study soliciting input from members. Two weeks later Mr. Shabi visited again this time accompanied by the current UCG Council President Len Martin. They delivered split sermons to the combined eastern South Dakota congregations urging reconciliation by all parties. Shortly after that it was announced that Mr. Stiver was retiring and being replaced by long time South Dakota elder Mr. Ken Skorseth. Several families within the congregations loyal to Mr. Stiver are now reassessing their relationship with UCG.

So what’s all the fuss about?

“A group of people didn’t like that Mr. Stiver was “old school” in his structure of the local congregation. They just didn’t like him being in charge from the start. They are more ecumenical and liberal (even Protestant if you will). They had been given positions of influence by the former Pastor and Mr. Stiver wanted to restructure the group. They were able to gain the “ear” of Mark Welch and then Mr. Shabi and Mr. Martin. Mr. Stiver wouldn’t budge on the administrative structure he wanted locally.  

Mr. Stiver is a long-time minister going back to the 1970s. He was NOT introducing any new or controversial teaching or doctrines. He supports United’s “Fundamentals of Beliefs”. He has served on their Council of Elders and taught at Ambassador Bible College in Cincinnati. It’s a case of the “people rule”. Some would say “laodecian”. It wasn’t doctrinal, but personality based. 

Shabi, Welch and Martin are part of a liberal movement in United and didn’t like Mr. Stiver being “old school”. They went along with the locals. 

Bizarre as it sounds, it’s as simple as that.  

Mr. Stiver is NOT totally retired. He has been given Rapid City, SD to pastor and a limited stipend. Rapid City was part of his original South Dakota circuit. Interestingly, they did not and do not have a problem with him. Just the influential group in Eastern South Dakota. United is experiencing a shortage of ministers. He is being monitored by Shabi and has to be careful about what he says and does.  

United has many younger ministers in charge who don’t have a sound foundational understanding for what the “Church of God” is. Locals describe it as a “church home”. More local people throughout the congregations are becoming cognizant of United’s liberal ecumenical trend.  

Mr. Skorseth, the new minister in charge, is being monitored closely by Shabi, Welch and Martin. He gets approval from them as far as the speaking schedule and has orders about how to proceed.  

The situation in the South East South Dakota congregations remains unresolved. We’ll see.

LCG Says It WIll Be Spiritually Rewarding If You Put The Church In Your Will

 

An anonymous LCG source sent the following regarding Living Church of God's recent push to get vetted members to put the church in their wills.

Some months ago the area pastors and local elders were talking about and promoting leaving your estate to the church, and they were sending out a pdf file (attached to this email), it is a booklet with instructions on how to put LCG in your will and encourages people to do so. It is not available on the LCG website. I have heard a great amount of LCG income comes from estates. 

 

It is only given to members or people they have vetted. When I read it I was somewhat horrified honestly, by how they encourage elderly people who are some of the most vulnerable amongst us to leave all their money to the church, they even say in the booklet how this sets a good example to family.

They "encourage" elderly members to leave all their possessions to the church in their will, or better yet, while they are still alive, why wait to die, give them your money now! What's the point of having savings during retirement anyway... as page 10 says "An unrestricted, lump-sum gift during your lifetime is often the easiest and most efficient way to meet your charitable goals. Also, this allows your resources to be put to use immediately to achieve your goals and the Church’s mission" 

 

Read on page 6 . "Church congregants who are not officers, employees, managers, agents or official representatives of the Church may serve as executors." I know firsthand of an elderly couple that has left church members in charge of their estate and given them power of attorney over them, the local elders encouraged this. 

Note also on page 8 how they are sure to encourage you to not add any restriction of use of the money, so they have full liberty to use it as they wish. " An unrestricted bequest is the most helpful and permits the Church or its institutions to use your gift where the need is greatest. This flexibility allows the Church to respond to changing needs as they arise. 

 

Example: “…to be used for the benefit of the Living Church of God as it determines.”

On page 11 they even suggest you add them as a beneficiary to your life insurance policy! "You can also designate the Church as a partial or full beneficiary of a life insurance policy"

 

 

If you read through the PDF I attached you will find the statements above and much more. 

 

If this weren't bad enough, I know so many seniors in LCG who are already in financially vulnerable positions and even on government assistance and are told on high days to "not come before the Lord empty handed", they go through so much hardship just to be able to give offering and attend the Feast. They claim 3rd tithe helps those who cannot afford to attend the Feast, yet I have seen so many denied Feast assistance because "they didn't put forward enough effort on their own to accumulate 2nd tithe", I have yet to meet someone who has received Feast assistance. Then they go on to say how it is appropriate to use 3rd tithe to pay for hall and "the levites" (aka the ministers), which is where I imagine all this 3rd tithe goes to.

Thank you for the work you put into your website and for exposing these organizations for what they truly are. I hold hope that many more will come to understand what I have understood, that they are living a lie.

Regards,

Anonymous

 

Commercial Break: Uh Oh... Catholic Tainted Bobalonia Challenges Dr James Tabor On the Virgin Birth

Big Mistake should Dr. James Tabor ever responds to Bob's lack of understanding concerning Jesus Birth Narratives in Matthew and Luke. The problems with them as well as the motive and intent of them is not difficult to research. 

Mark has no birth narrative of Jesus and Paul says Jesus was "Born of a Woman", so nothing unusual there. 

Dr Tabor's point is that the Apostle Paul paved the way with his Cosmic Christ in the Heavens and certainly not the Jesus of the later written Gospels.  Paul merely comments once that Jesus was "born of a woman".  Nothing unusual there. 

It's an easy study and Dr Bob Thiel had better hope Dr James Tabor does not challenge him on his rebuttal of the origins of and problems with the Virgin Birth stories of Jesus. 

One fun one is that the Gospel of Mark portrays a Mary that forgot what she pondered in her heart in Luke when Angels had a chat with her concerning her pregnancy. Mark's Mary and Jesus' brothers showed up in Capernaum to take Jesus home, "because they thought he was insane" Mark  3:20-22

While Matthew and Luke copied Mark 90% and 80% respectively, this story was never again repeated, and they wrote to refute such an embarassing tale in Mark. 

Dr. Tabor on whether the Apostle Paul ‘invented the virgin birth’

COGwriter

Dr. James Tabor, once part of the old Worldwide Church of God, does not believe many doctrines it once taught. He had an article published titled Did Paul Invent the Virgin Birth? Here is some of what it said:

Paul never explicitly refers to Jesus’ virgin birth nor does he ever name either Mary or Joseph. What he does affirm is that Jesus pre-existed before his human birth and subsequently gave up his divine glory through his birth as a human being. He writes that Jesus “though existing in the form of God” emptied himself and took on human form, “being made in the likeness of humankind” (Philippians 2:6-7). He says further “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). He has to be referring here, metaphorically, to the “riches” of Jesus’ pre-existence with God, since all our sources have Jesus born of a poor peasant family. Paul also writes “In the fullness of time God sent forth his Son, made of a woman . . .” (Galatians 4:4). The implication of these texts is that Jesus’ mother was merely the human receptacle for bringing Jesus into the world. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-d-tabor/did-paul-invent-the-virgin-birth_b_2355278.html

While Dr. Tabor does mention the accounts in Matthew and Luke in his article, he also suggests that Roman mythology may have played a role in the “virgin birth” doctrine.

The Bible, and early writings, clearly support the fact that Jesus was born of a virgin (Mary). And the first suggestion of it precedes the Apostle Paul by centuries.

Was the Virgin Birth Prophesied?

Was Jesus’ birth from a virgin prophesied?

It was if you believe what was written by the prophet Isaiah:

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14, NKJV throughout).

According to Matthew’s writings, Jesus fulfilled that prophecy: