"...these people are from the Worldwide Church of God. Leave them alone".

 

Samuel Kitchen writes:

We had felt the Worldwide Church of God was an organization that fell into the hands of apostates, and so we called ourselves members of the Church of God instead.

But we soon found out the question raised would be "which Church of God?" And "Are you a separate group?"

We didn't feel we were a separate "Church of God group", as we were just a family who were members of the Worldwide Church of God (under Mr. Armstrong) who were holding fast to God's truth. So we began to use the identity, given to us by Christ, given through the apostle.

People soon realized we were not supporters of TKACH or the apostates that had abused the name, who had been using it to gain assets of the Church.

Before we began publicly using the name Worldwide Church of God, we had a little incident.

After the feast in South Dakota we were heading home, and soon we found ourselves at a hotel, surrounded by military and government personnel.

The night before we had seen the military doing maneuvers in Sioux City, and had to make detours to get to a hotel for the night.

As we ate breakfast, the lobby was filled with apparent military and government personnel. One of the people there, was heard telling the others "these people are from the Worldwide Church of God. Leave them alone".

I heard the same woman tell the others in line at the buffet, "not these people".

We were kind of shaken. If we hadn't been members of the Worldwide Church of God, what would have happened?!?!? We had felt that an angel was informing these people not to mess with us on our way home.

So when I hear people mock and attack me for saying the Worldwide Church of God exists. If that woman wasn't an angel, we were already considered by the government as members of this Church.

If she was an angel, then what she said was even more important. We hadn't used "Worldwide Church of God" in publications or posts. We had been using "Church of God".

So we began to use it.

Now, after my parents and grandmother's death, and my brother's separation, I have one little brother who is with me. My personal family is small.

But realize this brethren, the Worldwide Church of God is my spiritual family. And that is what I am focusing on.

Nothing else matters. The family of God is priority. God added me to the Body of Christ. And so I desire to see my family reunited someday. I think Christ is not slack concerning His promises. Those promises are sure.

And so we began looking into all these groups, at people who were members of the Worldwide Church of God.

Aaron Dean, the assistant to Mr Armstrong, seems to be in a pickle, just like the rest of us have been. He is attending a group, which has kept him separated from the Worldwide Church of God. He is among a group of separated people from the Worldwide Church of God.

The only way we could exist as the Worldwide Church of God, was to be outside of these groups, otherwise we were some other church. Jesus Christ pulled us out and showed us this.

Out of all the ministry, Mr. Dean has NOT sought any kind of power, position, or control. He has been humble, kind, good hearted, and hospitable.

I have been in contact with him since 2012.

I'm just looking at the ministry who were ordained in the Worldwide Church of God, from the perspective of someone outside of these groups. From the perspective of someone who is a member of the Worldwide Church of God.

Aaron Dean, has a different spirit than the others. When I look at Victor Kubik, and what he says, it's totally different. When I look at Meredith, pack, Flurry, and the others who were there in the Church under Mr. Armstrong, they have demon spirits ruling them. I do not perceive that with Mr. Dean.

So now what? I'm just a member of the Worldwide Church of God. What happened to the ministry? They seemed to have either died, or are now seen joined with ANOTHER CHURCH.  

Those joined with ANOTHER CHURCH seem to believe the Worldwide Church of God is just an organization, and believe that the spiritual Church of God is now organizing into their newer group.

But the Philadelphia candlestick has not been destroyed.

Just because THEY ARE NOT organized as the Worldwide Church of God, does not negate the evidence it does exist without them.

And it's humbling to think that time spent being organized as another church was all in vain, if they cannot now organize as the Worldwide Church of God.

I believe perhaps being organized temporarily while waiting on God, is a good thing. Gerald Waterhouse seemed to have thought that about the UCG in 1995.

But when the UCG comes out, through Victor Kubik, saying the purpose of starting the UCG was to constrain "one man rule" from being established and concentrated to one man, then something was deceptive.

Someone was told a lie.

And when ministers of the UCG start voicing their disagreement with the government of God as it was established through Herbert W Armstrong the apostle of Jesus Christ, that is something of great concern.

So I see Aaron Dean, as a minister who did well, and perhaps there are more men who did well, as they held fast in whatever group they landed, but now unable to organize as the Worldwide Church of God without a catalyst, without someone standing up and taking the hits and raising the alarm.

We need to realize the dangers, those of us who are SEPARATED have armed against us. Satan seems to keep us separated and divided.

If you notice Revelation 12, a remnant is divided off because Satan's wrath can reach THEM. He cannot reach the Worldwide Church of God who goes into a place of safety.

So that's what I'm focusing on brethren.

I'd rather bleed for my family to make it, than to see all of you not escape what is coming because I wanted a life of my own. So realize brethren what is coming. And realize that being divided, is of Satan, and being separated from the Worldwide Church of God has been only used to destroy the Church.

Do you trust counseling with your minister?

 

In the Church of God movement it was and still is consistently reinforced that members should counsel with their ministers about their problems and not go to licensed counselors and therapists. The COG said that since these people were not church members they were incapable of counseling and actually used Satan's deceptions to lead true believers away from God.

In each of the respective COG groups out there today you can count on one hand the number of ministers who have received training from licensed counseling professionals. Almost all ministers had their "training" from another minister who also had their "training "from another minister and so on. 99% of them had no real counseling training at all. David Antion is one of the standouts who has had professional training and runs a highly successful counseling service on South Marengo in Pasadena.

Do you agree with the Living Church of God's statement below? Are LCG ministers, or ministers in any COG actually dispassionate and without bias?

Sometimes, it is good to have someone outside our context take a look at how we might do better. Couples who are struggling in marriage can benefit from inviting their minister in to look at the problem dispassionately, without bias. 

"...this theater of the absurd that we call Armstrongism "

 

The As Bereans Did site has a most excellent post up today about how we seem to be on an endless loop in Armstrongism that keeps repeating itself.

They start off with this observation:

 ...one cannot read the articles at Banned and not get the impression that this has all happened before.

There is not a day I wonder why I still do this, yet almost every single day some Church of God leader or member says or does something so appallingly stupid that it cannot be left on the sidelines as if it was just an innocent COG thing. People are still being lied to and spiritually damaged by every single one of these larger groups that make up the face of the church today. They all try so hard to be little mini-me Herbert Armstrong clones and yet none of them can do it and never will.

The article says this:

How many times do you have to be lied to, fleeced, stepped on, and taken for a fool before you say "enough already"? How many times will Jesus not return next month before you say, "Huh, maybe this guy isn't a prophet after all, and I might do well to question other things he says,"? A 504th sermon? A 900th? How many more duplications of Ambassador College or the Plain Truth magazine or the World Tomorrow television program will it take before you say, "Huh, maybe that wasn't the best use of millions of dollars, and I might do well to question if this organization is really being led by the Spirit,"? How many self-aggrandizing leaders need to rise up, with their petty in-fighting and their posturing, before you say, "Huh, these people aren't any different than that Herbert Armstrong guy, and none of this looks like what I see in the New Testament,"?

Then there is this: 

If you're staying because of the Sabbath, I've written articles since day 1 recommending you try it over at the Church of God - Seventh Day. See for yourself that they aren't like this. They did the right thing and fired Herbert Armstrong in the 1930s. Here we are almost 100 years later and many still haven't learned that one simple lesson. 

 

What became of these men? What became of Herbert Armstrong, Garner Ted Armstrong, Rod Meredith, Gerald Waterhouse, Herman Hoeh, Gerald Flurry, Ron Weinland, Dave Pack, etc etc etc etc? Did their work pass through the fire or did it burn up? Do you suppose those wells gave fresh water or bitter?

All we have seen, at least in this latter-day dispensation of Armstrongism, is division, back-biting, self-aggrandizement, and superiority complexes as its major minor players thump their puffed-out little chests and bellow at us as to how great they are.

The article continues:

I want you to take an inventory of the past 100 years, an honest inventory, and ask if these are the fingerprints of Jesus you see. Was it Christ who got the prophecies wrong so many, many times? Was it Christ who caused church leaders to struggle for power and influence? Was it Christ causing these men to say "I am Elijah", "I am the Inkhorn", "I am the Two Witnesses"? Was it Christ who caused so many divisions? Was it Christ who misrepresented the facts of history and scripture over and over again? Was it Christ who ruined families financially?

Or maybe was it not Christ at all. Maybe, just maybe, is Jesus Christ to be found elsewhere?

Sadly, very few of the present-day COG groups are even actively looking for Jesus. Their personal interpretations of scripture, their assumed superior knowledge on all kinds of ultimately useless topics, their obsession with legalism, and their blatant narcissism prove that Christ is not part of the picture. 

Some are waking up and leaving the church and there are others seeking to replicate it every day.

That's why I continue to post stuff about Armstrongism and its absolutely CRAZY legacy. If they are going to be dumb enough to say, I am going to post it. The longed for glory-days-of-old that so many look fondly back at were days of zero accountability. Those days are over and many today actively hold their feet to the fire, whether it be this blog, As Bereans Did, The Painful Truth, and the numerous xCOG Facebook pages where people share personal stories of spiritual and physical abuse at the hands of the church.

Read the entire article here: What Will It Take?