We have now been pushed out of our offices and into cramped aisles in the warehouse as our ceilings are in the process of being removed and replaced because of water damage related to the tornado that hit last month. Because of the construction, the church telephone line (which is analog) is not functional and probably may not be for a couple of weeks. However, email still works. Sorry for any difficulties this may cause some of you.
Satan is also continuing to cause problems with setting up a Feast site. The Great Bwana can't do one in Arroyo Grande, CA since Living Church of God will be there.
Let me add that we contacted another city in Texas where we are considering holding the Feast of Tabernacles for the USA in this year. Although we have gotten several responses from different locations, so far we have received no acceptable quotes (meeting room rates quoted were many times higher than appropriate) from the four cities we contacted in Texas. We continue to work and pray about this.
Why is it that the Church of God ministry and its leaders have always been so afraid of questions? If one dared to ask a question about doctrine, church issues, or the Bible, the spittle would start flying, faces would turn red with veins popping as they angrily shut you down. How DARE YOU question God's anointed! How DARE YOU!
How many times did you witness Herbert pounding his desk as he bellowed at the members? Remember red-faced Rod Meredith with his veins popping in his forehead yelling at members?
One thing I have always done at the church I attend when leading new member classes is to tell people to question. Just because a minister says something, does not mean you have to agree with it. It is not necessary to always have the answer and just when you think you have the answer another question should arise. That's the only way a person grows mentally or spiritually.
Armstrongism has always despised questions. Sure, they would allow questions at Bible Study services, but if a question was too deep or too close to the power structure, it was either mocked or placed in the "we will get to this later" pile. Most of the time mocking and ridiculing was the route to go. Humiliate people in front of others and they will never question again. Lesson learned.
I am an [elderly] man who was disfellowshipped from the Worldwide Church of God in 1974. My problem with the WCG ministry (or their problem with me) was that I refused to simply accept what they taught as if their words came directly from God’s lips. They tired (and were often seriously offended) by my constant questions, to the point where one day they simply asked (forced) me to leave the WCG.
Since then, (except for a hiatus of some twenty years), I have tried to keep abreast of the many changes and upheavals of the WCG and its many offshoots. Although I have had no affiliation with any of these groups, I have over the past fifty years tried to engage several of the ministry (about 12-14) in a discussion of their more egregious teachings. Not one of these men would honestly consider my concerns, let alone discuss them with me. They have collectively, for many years now, simply chosen to ignore my queries so that I no longer even try to reach out to them.
The anger and contempt I once had for the ministry has been replaced by feelings of disappointment and sorrow. And yet, no matter how wrong-headed I consider many of these men to be, I have chosen to believe that somewhere in their hearts and minds, some (perhaps even most) of them truly believe they are doing God and their members a service. Exit and Support Network
