Talking to the Queen About British Israelism

Armstrongism is not unique it it's absurd fascination with British Israelism.  The Revival churches in England are also into it.  Check out a great little video:

Revival Churches Discussion Forum

Melvin Rhodes Names More Ministers Kicked Out of UCG

Dear Fellow Elder of the United Church of God:

 It is with heaviness of heart that I must write to you. There are recent developments within the United Church of God, an International Association, (UCGIA) of which you need to be aware.
As of this date, besides the information that has already been reported to you via the Ministerial Journal, the following men have resigned from the General Conference of Elders:

Paul Carter
Pablo Dimakis
Ken Giese
Eduardo Hernandez
Jon Pinelli

 Additionally, the Council of Elders met in executive session on Tuesday evening, November 30, 2010. One of the agenda items was to discuss the UCGIA elders in the Latin American region. Each one of the elders (still listed as a member of the General Conference of Elders) was contacted and asked if he desired to remain with UCGIA or if he planned to go with another organization. As a result of each one’s response, the UCGIA ministerial credentials of the men listed below were removed (and thus they are no longer members of the General Conference of Elders). They are as follows:

Alfredo Arboleas
Eleodoro Avila
Alberto Gonzalez
Jaime Guiñez
Adan Langarica
Luis Mundo
Fermin Nain
Jaime Ortiz
Manuel Quijano

 The door always remains open to reconciliation should any of these men desire to talk with the Council of Elders and/or administration.

 I want to assure you that the Council of Elders, in coordination with the administration, is committed to serving all those who desire to meet with congregations of UCGIA around the world. The Council is also fully committed to preaching the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God to all the world. We hope and pray that His Kingdom will come soon.

 Respectfully and in Jesus Christ’s service,

Melvin Rhodes
Chairman

Melvin Rhodes Strikes Back At Grumbling Ministers

Dear fellow ministers,

Some of you have no doubt received a document titled “Petition for Resolution to GCE” addressed to the General Conference of Elders (GCE), and apparently authored by and being circulated by four non-salaried elders. You personally may not have received this petition if it was considered by the sponsors that you would be unlikely to support its aim—which is to put the majority of the current Council of Elders on trial.

The resolution associated with the petition seeks to create a “GCE Review Committee” to, in effect, conduct an open investigation to identify and determine if any actions by the Council of Elders or the Administration against anyone in the United Church of God since January 1, 2010, have “in fact” been done “contrary to the published requirements and procedures” of UCGIA or “contrary to Scriptural guidelines.”
No specific improper actions or “aggrieved parties” are identified.

The resolution contains no way of giving those who may be accused access to any sort of due process and there is no mechanism for protecting the privacy of anyone involved. In fact, on completion of the “investigation” (very little time is allowed) the Committee’s “findings” or “recommendations” are to be made public—no doubt spread far and wide via the Internet.

The proposed makeup of the Review Committee is obviously designed to be composed primarily of men who are known to be critical of the present Council and Administration. One could easily envision the proposed Review Committee’s investigation becoming more like an inquisition.

The Council stated, by resolution on November 30, that this petition is legally flawed and has decided, with the backing of the opinion of UCG’s general legal counsel, that the associated resolution is clearly contrary to, conflicts with, and is inconsistent with our governing documents and existing grievance procedures. Such procedures are already in place under the authority of the governing documents. Legal counsel advises that it would require an amendment to the Constitution and/or Bylaws before the proposed committee could be created and become operational.

The proposed resolution is fatally flawed and members of the GCE should not support it.

Consequently, in a separate communication, the Council has advised the sponsors that their petition should be withdrawn since it would be improper to allow the associated resolution to be balloted upon by the GCE.

It remains the case that Council members can be removed through the balloting process at the annual general meeting of the GCE if elders are dissatisfied with their service.     

Sincerely,
Melvin Rhodes—Chairman, Council of Elders