Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!
With all the new crazy self-appointed Chief Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, Pharisees, legalists, and outright liars leading various Churches of God today, it is important to hold these agents of deception accountable.
Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
Why is it that so many of the COG leadership have to wallow in fear-mongering? Where would the church be without famine, disease, pestilence, war and death? Where would Rod Meredith be without his jack-booted Germans hanging COG members on meat hooks as they are confined in concentration camps, or so starved from famine they eat their own children?
Herbert Armstrong set that narrative decades ago as a tool of control over the membership. It worked so well that millions of dollars poured in every time he wrote a member letter claiming intense punishment stopped come.
Dave Pack has been working over time doing this as he talks about his god slaughtering three COG leaders and about a young man arising in the church to become the man of sin who would then slaughter all the COG members in the various splinter groups that have jumped ship to join with Dave. Right now Almost-arrested Thiel is the youngest splinter group leader out there. Will he become the man of sin and slaughter COG members?
Here is why Dave says what he does in order to "wake up" COG members so that they can escape Thiel's wrath:
That’s why, brethren, I tell you before God…You need to understand me when I say this. You want to DO what Christ said to escape. If there are people, who are among us, who don’t believe these plain verses, then God be with them, because they’re going into the fire, and maybe we’ll see them later when they gain some wisdom, fear of God, and faith that when Christ said something, He meant it. Nobody has to preach these things. Let me just stop for a moment. Close your Bible. Set your notes aside. I just want to say something.
I’ve been thinking about this ever since I discovered this. I take no pleasure or joy of any kind in having to announce these horrible, horrible things. I could wish somebody else did. I look into the camera so I can talk to all of you people around the world…They told me which camera to look in, because I wanted to do this. Actually, I have a place in my notes. I don’t want to forget to say what I couldn’t have forgotten. The most horrific trial in the history of the world—an unrestrained devil, with unlimited power, is coming for God’s people…He comes and sits in God’s Church and attacks them—and God put him here, as surely as He unleashed the devil against Job.
I hate to have to say this. I hate to have to tell some of you, your friends are going to be butchered like hogs, but they’ll come back up soon…very soon. That’s the good news. And we haven’t talked about exactly how they fit into the resurrection of the dead and it’s very exciting. I would like to comfort you with those words. But they will not come up in the reckoning; but they do come up into a special status.
This video will be available, so I’ll just tell those in the splinters…I’ll name them. If you’re in the Living Church of God, PCG, UCG, COGwa, and others—take heed. You’re being warned. Brethren of God, now you know why Paul DIDN’T STOP for three years—with tears, warned everyone day and night. You got a better picture of why? Be warned. This man you seek…Maybe you think I’m wrong or it’s a joke, or you don’t fear God or look at the Bible. If you’re in those groups or the little groups—he is coming for your throat! And unless you escape, he’s going to get there and he’s going to rip your carotid out as he tries to catch your jugular on the way out! That’s the way it’s going to be. If that makes me a cult leader, so be it. I believe God…I believe God.
Even though the thousands of COG members who join up with Dave will almost immediately be slaughtered, then will arise again to work with Dave and his crew as they usher in the First Dominion where his "jesus" returns for the first 1,000 years, and then comes again for a second 1,000 years in the millennium that Herbert talked about. SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
Can you imagine being ensconced in your cult compound for several months and never venturing outside it because you are such a superfantabulous man who works every single day for the "work?"
This is what Super Dave is claiming:
Now recall…Now we’re going to look at something. We’re just going to look at some more serious things. Just what exactly is it you’re going to escape? And why do you want to run every time you go back and read Habakkuk 2? No trotting, no walking, no strolling, certainly no sleeping. I mean, you run! And it’s why I try…I don’t go to bed much before midnight every night. I don’t like to do anything but my job. You know, since I moved on campus, now three months and three days ago…I turned 68 this last Wednesday…I’ve been off campus four times in a little over three months. Once was to go to the Feast. So I pretty much stay here. But I have a wonderful existence here.
You know what? If you had a chance to live in a Kingdom like environment, would you go “off campus?” No! So this is my life. It’s what I do. But I understand it’s easier for me. I’m older, my kids are grown up, I’ve got grandkids. I’ve lived certain things in life. I don’t need more. I’m trying to run every day, and I know that if I do, I’m setting an example for others, and I hope I’m setting such for all of you. And I hope some of you will want to set examples for others, as well. But I just would tell you, as we go into what I’m going to cover, it’s horrible! It’s not anything that I saw. But I want you to understand why there is a reference to blood and violence.
I am certain he does have a wonderful existence there. His minions wait upon him hand and foot as they step to the side of the hallway as he passes. He lives in a church-owned home, maintained by church employees, and makes his subservient wife venture outside into the cruel world of the Giant Eagle to do the shopping. He does not even have to leave the gated driveway of his compound as he walks across the campus to his office suite. Life is soooooo tough being God's most important man in human history.
Church of God leaders live in their own little cocoons, separated from teh reality of society and out of touch with reality.
This is the world headquarters of the improperly named
"continuing" Church of "god"
Why is it that so many of the COG's out there have to hide their churches from the world? They claim they are God's chosen mouthpiece and are the possessors of endless end time knowledge that God somehow was too stupid to reveal to Herbert Armstrong or any of the men he apostatized from.
Just like Herbert Armstrong, they are too embarrassed to say who they are and what they do.
The above is the "HQ" of Almost-arrested Elisha, Elijah, Amos, Joshua, doubly-blessed but not ordained, dream weaver, naturopath, homoeopath, second witless witness, prophet, future martyr, Chief Overseer and bitter disappointing "son" to Rod Meredith, Bob Thiel. Instead of boldly proclaiming his church to the world, he hides behind his Doctor's Research where he dabbles in herbology, dispenses naturopathic, homoeopathic, and nutritional information, i.e., pills, pills, and more pills.
The COG has been rife with men peddling herbs and homoeopathic pills for decades. The so-called "Dr's" the church and college had on campus in Pasadena were chiropractors that peddled pills and herbs. Several others were members in Pasadena and made a fortune living off gullible church members who bought these pills over the decades. Being forbidden to uses real doctors, church members flocked to these men for advice. Who needs to see a doctor when cayenne pepper will cure most anything!
It is probably a good thing that Almost-arrested Bob hides behind his sign, otherwise, Satan and his demons would be able to find him. After all, demons seem to have more power in the Church of God than that inconvenient dude they claim to follow does.
The only good thing about Bob's HQ is that so far he has not attempted to build a mini-me auditorium or Hall of Ad.
From an LCG member: Bob Thiel is not licensed to practice in California, which many LCG members had always assumed. The papers he claims to have written have also not held up to "peer review" standards. Bob Thiel is a quack in every aspect of his life. Fake doctor, fake theologian, and a fake COG leader. He is a liar that every COG members should be wary of.
Before the age of television and radio, a charismatic minister, one who by the power of his own personality, ego and even his mental quirkiness or illnesses, tended to influence a relatively few people overall. Since these inventions, times have changed of course. Now we can be bombarded with the ideas, opinions, inspirations, knowings and outright stupidity of the sincerely misguided. The problem is that they reach millions and are supported by people who buy into their ideas, but never meet the man, attend his church or know what might be going on behind the scenes of the organization he has created.
Such men build Mega-Churches in their local communities and the sheer size of the congregation seems to be proof enough that the pastor must be right, must be really speaking for God and must be doing God's for sure, real, end time (again and still) work on earth. Surely something this big and with these many resources, which are mainly the tithes given to the man, who then decides just how to spend it with littler over site, has to be right and true.
For better or worse, the religious texts often give men more than they need to create a powerful, but false, and misguided belief system that then replicates itself and brings great ego pumping to the man who weaves the tale his way. They look into the Bible, both Old and New Testament, and what do they see? THEMSELVES! They see that, sure enough, just what Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are alleged to have said, is what I, am saying as well.
These misguided and often dangerous pastor types, and the danger is to one's finances and freedom of thought, often anoint themselves with various titles such as Evangelist, Apostle, Prophet, Watchman (watch out for this one as it's not what they watch that is so dangerous, but how they interpret what they watch to the faithful), and worse sometimes. Elections might be fine in government, but not for church. It does seem that the more bold a man or organization is, the grander the titles and the more authoritarian with YOU designated as a mere follower, it becomes... and the more dangerous to your real spiritual self it is.
Lets briefly remind ourselves of the traits a personality plagued with narcissism can bring to the Christian table.
"Feels grandiose and self-important (e.g., exaggerates accomplishments, talents, skills, contacts, and personality traits to the point of lying, demands to be recognised as superior without commensurate achievements);
Is obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, fame, fearsome power or omnipotence, unequalled brilliance (the cerebral narcissist), bodily beauty or sexual performance (the somatic narcissist), or ideal, everlasting, all-conquering love or passion;
Firmly convinced that he or she is unique and, being special, can only be understood by, should only be treated by, or associate with, other special or unique, or high-status people (or institutions);
Requires excessive admiration, adulation, attention and affirmation - or, failing that, wishes to be feared and to be notorious (Narcissistic Supply);
Feels entitled. Demands automatic and full compliance with his or her unreasonable expectations for special and favorable priority treatment;
Is "interpersonally exploitative", i.e., uses others to achieve his or her own ends; Devoid of empathy. Is unable or unwilling to identify with, acknowledge, or accept the feelings, needs, preferences, priorities, and choices of others;
Constantly envious of others and seeks to hurt or destroy the objects of his or her frustration. Suffers from persecutory (paranoid) delusions as he or she believes that they feel the same about him or her and are likely to act similarly;
Behaves arrogantly and haughtily. Feels superior, omnipotent, omniscient, invincible, immune, "above the law", and omnipresent (magical thinking). Rages when frustrated, contradicted, or confronted by people he or she considers inferior to him or her and unworthy. " (Malignant Self Love)
(If one cannot see these traits in certain Church of God Ring Masters they are blind and in denial as it manifests itself every week in every sermon and in every way everywhere.)
Ministers and CEO's with these traits, can rise to very high positions in the world of Religion, Government and Business, on the backs and at the expense of those who would not be inclined to think this way. They may be genetically predisposed to this way of being, but the world has paid a big price for allowing such people to include us in their exploits. Since they rarely if ever seek professional help and to suggest they do can get you everything from fired, disfellowshipped or killed, others don't insist they do to their peril.
My experience is a Pastor with emotional or mental health issues often scoffs at and demonizes those that would go to professional mental health care counselors. They view it as "being weak" and prayer, Bible Study and fasting are the tools one SHOULD use to address such things.
. I often wonder if mental health counselor types in Mega-Churches don't recognize the problems in Mr. Charisma, but override it because a quirky or dangerous mental disorder can look so spiritual in a church context.It looks like a zealous kind of obedience to God when in fact it is an personality disorder able to hide in a church setting. The same actions of Isaiah, Jeremiah or Ezekiel in your school teacher, mayor or boss would not result in someone saying they are inspired by God.
So what are the problems with a one man Ring Master Church of God minster?
1. The minister, used to being believed in every area that captures his imagination and chooses to comment on is an impediment to good science. Desperate to sound authoritative and glib in their presentation to the choir, they perpetuate ignorance for those content to let others do their thinking for them.
Dave Pack's series where he ventured into dangerous territory for his actual understanding of good science which contradicts is pathetic science is a good example of this.
2. The minister or Christian Zealot that goes unchallenged because he IS the Minister or Zealot, is a threat to a good education. They often bolster their own pronouncements by making fun of a formal education. They mock Plato, Socrates and others who are symbols to them of "human reasoning" as if there is reasoning is more than human. Dave Pack dismissed Einstein because he had "wild hair." Brilliant Dave... I realize they give the impression that God pours his mind, on a regular basis, into themselves, but this is an illusion and delusion.
"When you take into account what the so-called "educated" people don't know that's essential to know, and compare it with the vain "education" they do have, it becomes clear that they are quite dumb." -- Robert T. Lee, Anti education Christian Leader.
These types tend to use the words "so-called" and put parenthesis around the words "education" a lot. They will soak their congregants in the biblical verses that mock human wisdom and ultimately, when cornered, come back with "well, the wisdom of man is foolishness with God," and "God's thoughts, (which usually mean his thoughts at the moment you are questioning,) are higher than yours!" End of discussion.
3. Many charismatic and one man churches are a threat to your good health. They often stress that ill health is a function of the devil in your life or mind, when it really might be the fact that one believes that sugar, caffeine, alcohol and nicotine are the four food groups and spends a lot of money proving it. Anointing an obese person for bad knees is like painting a car with flat tires. It still won't move.
These spokesman for God emphacise that having hands laid on you is more important than a good check up or good treatment of maladies contracted in the course of living on the earth as a human or old age. Some teach that it's either God OR Doctors, but can't be both. Some mix it up but give false reasons in sermons for human illness and often cause a person to postpone getting genuine help and finding a solution to the problem. When these ministers contract an illness themselves, they tend to re-read the scriptures and hear the voice of God telling them that it's now OK to seek professional help and a good Doctor for themselves, and thus have to reveal this a new truth to the congregation who'd catch on if he didn't. When they need it, they tend to change over to "God has given us medical knowledge as a gift and we should recognize it...now and for me at least."
4. Charismatic and One Man Shows aren't accountable for their use of your generous tithes and offerings. As such, they are a grave threat to your finances. Such members often tell themselves after they send the money, "I just obey God and tithe, and what he does it it is none of my business. I trust God and his Church." That gives Mr. Charisma a free hand which is why we see Tel-Evangelists and Religious CEO's sporting hot cars, expensive watches and amazingly expensive homes in exclusive neighborhoods. Even the original scripture, "blessed are the poor, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven," was changed to "blessed are the poor, IN SPIRIT, ...." to give some very wealthy and materialistic ministers and churches some wiggle room throughout history. Somehow these men embarrass and anger us, but nothing is ever said or done that changes them and the giving goes on, along with the lifestyle abuses and offenses to common sense. Sheeple love Shenanigans I guess.
5. The One Man Show can define the world to the members as it serves him. He can spew out why the world is this or that way and just what exactly God is doing and thinking. He can motivate the masses with the imminent (again) return of Jesus. Everything is watched with baited breath and is just around the corner. The world can't go on for more than 3 or 5 or 10 or 15 more years, so give, give, give, give. Of course the numbers of years "just ahead" never change and often match the number of years the minister wants the show to go on for him, but no one notices or cares. Granted, it's a dangerous and discouraging world, but frankly it is the Christian, Jewish and Islamic religions that want their form of peace on earth to come that are pushing us towards the edge. As I have said before, they might bring nothing but a sanitation problem for their false efforts and beliefs about what God might be thinking.
6. The One Man Show can leave you high and dry when they DIE! Uh oh...now what? These men often act as if they simply can't die "before all be fulfilled," and rarely make provision for a change in leadership, if that is what the group wants. Why would you have to make provision for new leadership when you are the End Time Apostle or both of the Two Witnesses of Revelation? I once asked a group that was just smitten with the talent and "knowledge so called" (sorry couldn't resist) of their pastor in his Mega-Church. I asked if they had a plan B. I asked what they would do if he failed to live up to his own press or died and they simply insisted that would never happen. Uh huh...It's the people who work for such jerk that end up paying the price in having given their lives to a false vision and were lied to about the outcome. Of course, life is choices and we make our choices don't we? If your grand poopa minister does not have a way to be replaced, you need to make a way, for your own good and spiritual safety. If he refuses to entertain the idea, he's an idiot and you need to vote with your feet. (See Narcissism above.)
7. A One Man Show presupposes that you must see life, religion, God, the Bible, the world, your family, your thoughts, your finances and every other aspect of your personal freedom to be who you are, through his eyes. You really don't have a life. You have HIS life. You aren't a player in your own life. You are a player in HIS life. You can't see the world and receive knowledge as see fit. You have to receive knowledge and receive it from HIM and as HE sees it. In short, you have given up your mind and all you now are is an agreerer. You just agree with your ministers views, opinions and perspectives on who and what God is and when Jesus simply must come back for all of the big US, not them. If he says dinosaurs are less than 6000 years old and fossils are deceptions as is any book outside of the Bible, you just say, "yes sir." If you are really hooked by the one many show, you become a virus for him and spread it to others. If he says one man is God's political leader, but the other is Satan's, you just say "well ok," and vote as the minister says you should, for GOD. It's all bullshit, but many love bullshit and smear it on themselves every week in church as a Holy Excrement, I mean Sacrament. (Hey, that was pretty good!)
8. And finally, the one man show is dangerous because men are men and women are women and when they fall from grace, they tend to take everyone with them in one way or another. People are people and get into all sorts of wants, needs, desires, lusts and experiences. Religion and the need to be good, godly, perfect, righteous and sinless, well at least not "big" ones, forces people wear masks.
No man is above being normal, but the demands of religious obedience is abnormal in a real world. The congregation can "sin" until the cows come home and often, but they expect the pastor to be their sacrifice for sin by his living an unreasonable life full of unreasonable expectations and unresolved personal needs. The reason so many ministers "fall from grace," is because few can meet the expectations of religion and the few that think they can, can't but won't admit it. Many are pushed from grace by ego.
Don't be overly impressed by the religious who know everything and demand you pay, obey, pray and stay just because they say so. Question religious authority and those that demand your righteousness at the expense of your sanity. The person demanding your devotion or obedience is just a human being as well with all the foibles that go along with that.
An LCG member sent me this. It is a list of possible sermonette topics for speakers in LCG to talk about. For a church that claims to follow Jesus Christ there is verily a scant reference to Jesus anywhere except around Passover and even then they leave him beaten and battered on a pile of broken matzo's on a gym stage.
I also find it interesting that it talks about the speaker speaking to his "audience" and not as members or brethren. The church elite has never thought of the members as brethren but as a commodity. Church has always been a spectator sport instead of a community, particularly in the more legalistic splinter groups.
1. Select positive, uplifting, inspiring subjects that excite you and will interest the audience!
Sample Sermonette Topics
Difficult Scripture Types
Gen. 1:30 Should we be vegetarians?
Gen. 2:17 Explain “in that day”
Gen. 3:15 Explain “It shall bruise your head, you shall bruise his heel.”
Gen. 5:24 Explain how Enoch “was not found”
Gen. 9:3 Does this disprove “unclean meats?”?
Gen. 9:24 Why did Noah curse Canaan?
Gen. 14:18 Who was Melchizedek?
Gen. 17:10 Just a token of the covenant?
Matt. 1:18-20 Holy Spirit member of the Trinity?
Matt. 3:11 What is the “baptism by fire”?
Matt. 3:17 Was this the Father speaking?
Matt. 4:17 How was the Kingdom”” “at hand”?
Matt. 5:32 Explain the word “fornication” here
Matt. 11:12 What does it mean for the kingdom to suffer violence?
Christian Living Types
Why do we sing songs at services?
Why do we ask a blessing on the meal?
How to count the cost
How to “remember Lot’s wife”
How to fast
How to prepare for the Sabbath
How to study the Bible
Honesty and keeping our word
What is meditation?
Should we “recite the “Lord’s Prayer”?”
What is the proper position for praying? Does it matter?
Praying for the sick
Pray for world leaders
What does it mean to “”pray without ceasing?””?
Analysis of a parable
A foot washing attitude
Laying down life for a friend
Explain why we do not eat pork
Explain why we are not vegetarians
Why do we not keep Christmas?
Why do we not keep Easter?
Why first tithe? second tithe? third tithe?
Why do we not speak in tongues?
Godly sorrow versus worldly sorrow
One of the parts of the armor of God
One of the fruits of the spirit
Think on these things (Phil. 4:8)
Providing for our house (I Tim. 5:8)
Historical/Analogy Types
Characteristics of salt (we are compared to it)
Characteristics of water (Holy Spirit)
Characteristics of an ambassador (we are ambassadors for Christ)
Characteristics of a lamb (Christ, the Lamb of God)
Characteristics of a mustard seed
Characteristics of a servant (we are the servants/bond slaves of God)
Characteristics of light (light symbolizing good, darkness symbolizing evil – John 3:19)
Characteristics of a bride (we are the bride of Christ, individually, collectively)
Characteristics of a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1)
Characteristics of leaven, as sin
Characteristics of a building (Christ chief cornerstone, of the Church)
Characteristics of a temple (our body and the Church is the temple of God)
Background of person of Bible – David
Background of person of Bible – Samson
Background of person of Bible – Paul
Background of person of Bible – Peter
Background of person of Bible – Jesus Christ
Background of person of Bible – Gideon
Background of person of Bible – Joshua
Technical/Definition Types
Meaning of the word for “baptism” (baptizo)
Meaning of the word for “spirit” (pneuma)
Meaning of the different words for “love”
Meaning of the word “character”
Explanation of the personal pronoun for Holy Spirit (should be “it” not “He”)
Explanation of the word “unworthily” (I Cor. 11:27)
Explain the “fear and trembling” in Phil. 2:12. Are we to be scared of God?
Youth-oriented Type sermonette
Following the Father’s footsteps
Heroes of the Kingdom
Building a good foundation for the future
Supporting your family
How to treat your siblings
“He who is faithful in little will be in much”
Importance of time (avoiding procrastination)
Investing in education
Avoiding the pulls of the flesh
Resisting peer pressure
Lessons from Daniel
Lessons from Samson
Lessons from David
Lessons from Timothy
Lessons from Ruth
Lessons from Esther
Passover
What is a foot-washing attitude?
What is humility?
Have you forgiven your neighbor?
How to go to your brother
Why is Christ compared to a lamb?
Characteristics of a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1)
Characteristics of a lamb (Christ, the Lamb of God)
How to become a lamb and not a goat (Matt 25)
Importance of Jesus’ sacrifice
Ceremony of sacrifices in Old Testament
Explanation of word “unworthily” (I Cor. 11:27)
Unleavened Bread
How do we de-leaven our homes?
How to come out of sin
Resisting sin
Words for “sin” in Scripture, and their meanings
Characteristics of leaven, as sin
Pentecost
Why is the Holy Spirit compared with wind?
Why is the Holy Spirit compared with fire?
Why is the Holy Spirit compared with water?
Why is the Holy Spirit compared with oil?
Characteristics of a temple (our body and the Church is the temple of God)
Should we speak in tongues?
Historical background of harvests (first fruits harvested at Pentecost)
Explanation of the personal pronoun for Holy Spirit (should be “it” not “He”)
Matt. 3:11 What is the “”baptism by fire?””
Feast of Trumpets
How will it feel to be “changed”?
How to be at peace with our family members
Rooting out anger (the spirit of war)
Description of the blowing of the trumpet in O.T. times (historical)
Gen. 5:24 Explain how Enoch “was not found”— did he go to heaven?
Are there saints in heaven already? (Explaining the resurrection)
Matt. 11:12 What does it mean— for the Kingdom to suffer violence?
Day of Atonement
Discuss the meaning of the word “Azazel”
Discuss one of the devices of Satan
Why is Satan compared to a “roaring lion”?
How is Satan a deceiver?
How do we become “at one” with our neighbor?
How to fast
Feast of Tabernacles
What will your city be like?
How to rejoice during the Feast
How to share with others during the Feast
How to be a light during the Feast
What will it be like to be a teen in the millennium?
Young heroes for God’s Kingdom
How to benefit from spiritual meat (studying and praying during FOT)
How to get the most out of the messages
The importance of fellowship at the Feast
Infrastructure of society during the Millennium
Last Great Day
Hope for your relatives
Taking care of strangers (to prepare to serve the billions)
Infrastructure of society during the Last Great Day
What will be the first thoughts of those resurrected to physical life?
Analysis of scripture of a child living 100 years
Why will Gog and Magog fight against God?
Offertories (any Holy Day):
Giving cheerfully, happily
Being generous
Giving according as you are able
Counting your blessings
Giving for the Work
Can the leadership of the Living Church of God EVER say anything positive to the membership without denigrating them, week after week? Once more, LCG members are doing things wrong. It is never the overlords in Charlotte who seek to make life so difficult, but it is the back-sliding members.
Brethren usually follow by example. When they see the ministry being truly loving and grace-filled, people respond enthusiastically, when they see ministers acting like stupid jerks, they start ignoring the ministry and criticize it. Truly, when has the ministry every led by the right example?
Do You Love Your Neighbor? Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another, and He stated that the capacity to show love for one another would be a sign that would identify His truedisciples (John 13:34-35). This command from Jesus takes on even more meaning when we realize that this instruction was given at the Passover—the last meal the disciples would have with Jesus until after His crucifixion—and in light of the fact that the disciples had actually been arguing among themselves at that dinner about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom of God (Luke 22:24). Regrettably, these same attitudes of strife and competition are still with us today, even within the Church, the body of Jesus Christ. According to the Scriptures, if we profess to be Christians and followers of Jesus Christ, but continue to hate (offend, despise, argue with, talk against, or be jealous of) our brothers and sisters in the faith, we are deceiving ourselves and actually walking in darkness (1 John 2:9-11). The Spring Holy Days that we have just completed are designed to help us identify and root out these wrong and sinful attitudes so we can more faithfully follow Jesus’ instructions to love our neighbors. Let’s strive to live up to this commandment in the days and months ahead.
Every time the Living Church of God thinks they are proclaiming a "forceful" message, Satan steps in and makes life difficult. Gerald is not too happy that the LCG broadcast has been censored in the UK and Australia for subjects and graphics used that might be offensive against Parental Guidance standards. This is sure to send Malm and Almost-arrested Thiel into yet more meltdowns. Malm will claim LCG is pussyfooting around by not being bold and forceful and Elijah Thiel will claim it is yet another attack by Satan and those damn Catholics against the true church. Oh, wait, LCG is NOT the true church, the improperly named "continuing" Church of God is. It all gets so confusing as to who is right and who Satan is attacking the most.
Life is getting back to a more normal routine now that the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread are over. We have experienced some difficulty with our television stations in Australia and the United Kingdom. Apparently some subjects and/or graphics used on our programs do not meet their Parental Guidance standards. This is rather remarkable when you see what else is allowed under PG standards, but the stations have control of the situation and we have to work within their scruples. I mention this because some members think our programs need to be stronger, not realizing that we try to thread the needle between preaching the Gospel and warning the world, and maintaining our presence on television. Even the Internet is not as free as one might think. Dr. Meredith and Mr. Ames have done a remarkable job over the years in threading that needle. Some of us who are newer at it are having to learn. And at the same time, standards of what is allowed and what is not are becoming more constrictive in our politically correct world. Dr. Meredith continues to keep up with news as best he can from home. Mr. Ames mentioned today at lunch how much the cards and letters he has received mean to him.—GEW
The LCG, like all the other COG's get as close to the world as they can in order to seem legitimate. They have learned to "thread the needle" well after watching Herbert talk about a "strong hand from someplace." The phantom in the sky had more credence than that inconvenient dude they claim to follow.
If, and I say IF, Gerald Weston truly believed his message was so vital for the entire world to hear in these, the most disgusting of end times, then he and the LCG would not care if the UK or Australia took offence at the message they supposedly are boldly proclaiming, but he won't. It is easier to pussy foot around and play the victim and blame Satan rather than admit ineptness. The Church of God has truly never been proud of its message. Truth has never been a vital concept.
Several LCG members have commented to me about how appalling they think this invasion into their lives is. It is all about control. Members are still too stupid to make good decisions on their own.
The Bible tells us that good counsel is critical for making good decisions (Proverbs 1:5; 11:14; 12:15). Marriage is one of the most important decisions of one’s life (second only to baptism). The ministry must never become a “blessing factory,” just putting the Church’s stamp of approval on a marriage, no matter what. Rather, the ministry is here to help couples seeking marriage discern God’s will as they consider making a covenant with each other, before God.
While the Church has historically suggested premarital counseling for all couples considering marriage, it makes much more sense to seek pre-engagement counseling. The intended purpose of counseling has always been to help couples themselves better determine if they are “right for each other” in God’s sight and to increase their opportunity for success in a potential marriage.
Regrettably, in all too many cases, once a couple is engaged, the couple’s focus is no longer on evaluating their relationship and whether or not they are right for each other. When their main concern is planning the wedding, they are far less evaluative of their relationship. Counseling can be simply an afterthought.
Pre-engagement counseling makes far more sense. The couple may be dating seriously but they have not yet publicly committed to marriage in an engagement and they are much more open to honestly evaluating themselves as potential marriage partners. This, in turn, gives much more opportunity for God to guide their decision-making. To better serve our membership in these critical decisions, the Church requests that all couples considering marriage seek pre-engagement counseling from the ministry before any formal engagement.
God is NOT guiding their decision making, it is the minister, plain and simple. It is his opinion and has nothing to do with God. Just look at the horrendous mess Rod Meredith made in the church with his "divorce and remarriage" policies he instituted in the 1960/70's. Could there have been anything viler? Given that sickening track record, why would ANYONE even think about using an LCG minister for pre-engagement counselling?
A reader here had this observation about Living Church of God's Charlotte HQ.
My husband worked there for over 5 years and he never saw a bigger group of backbiters and cut-throats.
Rod Meredith promotes an atmosphere where if you stab your co-worker in the back, but give him your version of the story 1st, they other guy gets pushed down the ladder and the bully gets exalted.
Everyone is so insecure and selfish that they expend huge amounts of energy making sure that no one steals their piece of the pie. Working to make sure you get noticed before someone else takes credit for your work is a constant struggle.
If one were to randomly pick ANY worldly work office it would be more harmonious. Typically the people you work with aren't on the same level of self-righteousness, arrogance or filled with as much selfish ambition as the leading men at LCG headquarters.
It truly is a "brood of vipers".
All the vipers have their little pet projects that feed their egos. It's disgusting.
It was hard being a member in LCG knowing what its headquarters was like. If the average member glimpsed a peek of the lies and other shady behavior that goes on their so frequently that it's become common place, they might think twice about sending in those tithes.
Below is a recent comment by an LCG source recently. The things said below are not new and are common in the LCG community.
"He has built one of the finest families in the entire Work of God. He sets a superb example in all these ways, and at the same time has attained a spirit of humility, sacrifice and service rather than letting any of this go to his head".
Oh brother! Now I want to puke.
I don't only think that Rod McNair isn't Christian. I'd go a step further than that. He's evil.
He will lie, cheat or steal to gain more power.
He is the epitome of a boot-licker which is why Meredith thinks he's so swell.
He is suspicious and quick to over-react.
He ALWAYS uses a sledge hammer instead of a fly swatter when it comes to disciplining members and he will do so for the flimsiest of reasons (sometimes for completely made-up reasons!).
He commands respect and thinks it's owed to him and that he is responsible to do nothing to earn it.
He refuses to admit when he is wrong.
He corners wives in an effort to get them to turn on their husbands.
He tells wives to keep journals of all their grievances against their husbands and then to share all those little secrets with him.
He keeps files on anyone he feels isn't fully submitting to LCG (not to be confused with submitting to God) or anyone who dare have an opinion or anyone who asks questions or thinks for themselves.
He is egotistical, not humble.
He's never sacrifices a thing! He was born into a COG power family and has had everything handed to him on a silver platter.
It's great that RCM thinks Rod's power hasn't gone to his head but that might be the most laughable of all the ignorant statements in that quote. I have never met a more power hungry, egotistical BULLY in all my life!
Funny thing is, even ministers in LCG can't stand him and will say so behind his back. But until RCM dies they just bite their collective tongues.
Rod McNair is a horrible human being and I wish with all my heart that I had never heard his name or had him in my life. He is an inflictor of pain and a total liar.
Gerald Weston was well trained by his mentor (Rod Meredith) in fear mongering his flock. He recently sent out a member letter on April 19 outraged over Cadbury's "Easter" controversy and how supposedly a couple in the UK had their foster kids taken from them for refusing to say the Easter Bunny was real. Instead of being outraged at the homeless situation in Charlotte, or being outraged that low income families can't feed their kids or provide adequate housing, or that LCG members are struggling to survive financially because of all the money they are expected to send to HQ, or expressing outrage at how families are being ripped apart by LCG's draconian legalistic laws, he is upset over Candygate.
Then after the usual screed about pagan Easter, he dumps on "lukewarm" LCG members. LCG members should face the fact that they will NEVER be able to do anything right in the eyes of the church leadership. They are too dumb, too lukewarm, and too Laodicean, at least in the eyes of the leadership.
Brethren, the world is about to explode! It is a dangerous mess! We are being overwhelmed by the news. No more of those handpicked single "major" news stories of the day; now people can find instantaneous news from thousands of sources. Much like LCG members can find instantaneous news about the corruption of the LCG leadership, of which, Weston is none too happy about.
The time is short. The end is near. We have heard this mantra shouted out by Rod Meredith for 60 some years. Not once in that entire time has he ever been right.
Dear Members and Co-workers, our world is getting crazier with each passing day! We never know what new shock may greet us each morning! Journalists once strove to publish the one major news story for the day. Sometimes they really had to scramble to find one, and we would often comment, “This must be a slow news day.” Not anymore! Today it is a matter of which major story takes precedence over the others. Will there be a war with North Korea? Will the U.S. and Russia have an incident that sparks a major conflict between the two antagonists in Syria? Will war break out between Israel and its neighbors? Then there is the specter of a terrorist attack at any time and nearly anywhere.
Those who study the Bible should understand that we are truly living in the last days. The Apostle Paul warned us, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come” (2 Timothy 3:1). What we see today is only the beginning. It will get much worse. We cannot know every twist and turn world events will take, but the Bible gives us the outline and the outcome. One troubling trend is that the very people of God will be lukewarm, neither hot nor cold at the time of the end (Revelation 3:14-19).
How strange! One would think that it would be just the opposite. People should become more zealous toward God and doing His will as they see end-time events descending upon them. Such is not the case.
What can Weston expect when he, Meredith and the COG as a whole have lied to its membership for decades? People are following God and are still zealous, just not in LCG or a COG. That is a bitter pill for COG leaders to swallow.
Of course, there is the big bad bogeyman Satan who is the cause of all of this.
There is a real spirit being directing the course of this world (Ephesians 2:1-2). He is a master of distraction. He gives us every physical toy we could ever imagine. Television, once considered the greatest time waster, now competes with Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, Instagram and a host of other electronic devices and programs that vie for our attention. No technology is evil in itself, but taken together without exercising character to set proper priorities, people wear out before they get to those things that are important.
LCG members and COG members as a whole are worn out because of the constant abuse levelled at them by the church leadership. Legalism trumps grace every time. The "rules" must be followed over showing love to one another. Love and grace are four letter words that COG leaders despise.
So what is important in your life? What is your passion? What demands the greatest devotion from you? Is it your hobby? Is it your family? Family is certainly important, but is it the most important?
Apparently many in the LCG are placing an emphasis on their families and doing things with them instead of taking that money and sending it in to Weston. How dare they! How can Jimmy Meredith spend thousands of dollars every year skiing, snorkelling, boating, and travelling to exotic locales when that money should go directly to Weston's church fund? He has a message to get out Lil'Jimmy! Get on board!!!
At some point, we all come to the place where one question stands out above all else. Is there life after death? The Bible says there is. Does it not make sense to investigate the possibility? Hobbies, while of temporal value, will not get you there. The trappings of success, such as money and material possessions, cannot get you there, and you cannot take them with you beyond the grave. Even family is of no lasting value if you put family before God. Read Jesus’ own words for yourself: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate [love to a lesser degree by comparison] his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). Is there life after death, and what must I do to find it?
What will it take to stir each of us to take action and go all out to serve the living God? Jesus tells us, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together” (John 4:34-36).
Living Church of God members are asking just how much Gerald Weston, Lil'Jimmy, Rod McNair and others will sacrifice for the work? LCG members have never seen these guys or the leadership as whole set any example. Instead, LCG members and employees have experienced this:
My husband worked there for over 5 years and he never saw a bigger group of backbiters and cut-throats.
Rod Meredith promotes an atmosphere where if you stab your co-worker in the back, but give him your version of the story 1st, they other guy gets pushed down the ladder and the bully gets exalted.
Everyone is so insecure and selfish that they expend huge amounts of energy making sure that no one steals their piece of the pie. Working to make sure you get noticed before someone else takes credit for your work is a constant struggle.
If one were to randomly pick ANY worldly work office it would be more harmonious. Typically the people you work with aren't on the same level of self-righteousness, arrogance or filled with as much selfish ambition as the leading men at LCG headquarters.
It truly is a "brood of vipers".
All the vipers have their little pet projects that feed their egos. It's disgusting.
It was hard being a member in LCG knowing what its headquarters was like. If the average member glimpsed a peek of the lies and other shady behavior that goes on their so frequently that it's become common place, they might think twice about sending in those tithes.
What Gerald Weston and the leadership of the Living Church of God needs to do is to get on their knees this coming sabbath in front of their congregations and ask for forgiveness on how abusive they have been to the members. Then every single minister and church leader should fast to prove to the members just how sick and degenerate they have become spiritually and STOP making the membership fast for you! Sadly, this will never happen. Egotism and narcissism cannot allow these "men" to admit they have a weak side or are wrong. Humility has no room in the ministry of the LCG. If you want proof of that, just go up to your local minister this Sabbath and ask him if he is a humble man. No LCG member should ever again fast for the leadership to get its act in gear. They will always refuse to. All you are doing is making yourself hungry.
