When Is It OK To Criticize Your Pastor Or Church Leader?

We have all been reading the various comments on this blog lately as people react to the horrendous news coming out of the four biggest Church of God's: Living Church of God, United Church of God, Philadelphia Church of God and Restored Church of God.  Despite the stories of abuse directly from leaders of these various groups, some people willingly whitewash these stories and describe them all as "tests" that God is using to test their mettle.

Many of these people have witnessed this abuse for decades as they have jumped from one group to another seeking to find the "true" spiritual leader they long for.  They have witnessed horrible things happen yet will not say anything negative about the leader.  It is preferable to be blind, deaf and dumb to these things than it is to take a stand for what is right.

The common comment thrown out by the hyper-righteous is, "We are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling."  In other words you are not responsible for the abusive minister because it might just be a test to see how well you follow the power structure of the church.  God's government is from the top down and it all might be a test to see how well you submit.

¹² Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12

The church has always thrown this around more as a threat than an idea of comfort.  The Message Bible says this:

Rejoicing Together

^12-13 What I’m getting at, friends, is that you should simply keep on doing what you’ve done from the beginning. When I was living among you, you lived in responsive obedience. Now that I’m separated from you, keep it up. Better yet, redouble your efforts. Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure.

Pleasure is NOT something that most COG members have been told to experience.  It's one long list of "do and don't" with the "don't" list being 100 times larger than the "do" list.  Pleasure is not experienced when a minister tells a parent to kick their daughter to the curb, or abandon their disabled child at the mall so the government can take care of "it."  Pleasure is not watching a loved one die of a horrible and painful death because the leader of the church said not to use doctors.  Pleasure is not watching family members and friends shot to death in church because of a certain leaders sermon.

The other scripture that various COG's love to throw out is James 4:11 as an attempt quell any criticism.

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

Most COG members feel that they cannot "judge" or hold accountable abusive church leaders.  "God will handle it all in the end, I must endure and run the race" is the favorite belief of many COG members.  Is that really being truthful?  Covering up abusive pastors and leaders by sweeping it all under the rug with the "god will handle it excuse" is why so many have died at the hands of COG leaders.

One of the lessons from the Bible is that all men and women are fallible. Therefore, all people, especially leaders, need some form of accountability. Although pastors are called to lead their congregations, they are under the authority of God’s Word. When they act in a manner contrary to Scripture they need to be confronted, and improper behavior needs to be corrected. In 2 Samuel 22, the prophet Nathan confronted King David about his sin. In Galatians 2, Paul confronted Peter, the leader of the Apostles, for not acting in line with the truth. “Paul declared by this action that the truth always outranks position or title in the church. Truth and its authority are not rooted in personality or office. It is derived from the word of God and the truth it proclaims.”{8} Blue continues: “Paul taught that the body of Christ is a nonhierarchical living organism.”{9}  Abusive Churches: Leaving Them Behind

When will COG members ever hold their leaders accountable?

Here is an expert from the same article dealing with abusive pastors:

Philip Keller gave us a stern warning in his book, Predators in Our Pulpits: “The greatest threat to the church today is not from without but from our own leadership within.”{5} Often an abusive church is built around the leader who practices some unhealthy forms of shepherding. Many such leaders come from churches that were abusive or have an unmet need for significance. Many may have begun with noble intentions, but their unresolved personal issues cause them to become dependent on their ministry to meet their needs. In his book, Healing Spiritual Abuse, Ken Blue does an outstanding job identifying unhealthy leadership. Here are a few characteristics of an abusive leader.

Abusive leaders use their position to demand loyalty and submission. Ken Blue states, “I have heard many pastors say to their congregations, ‘Because I am the pastor, you must follow me.’ Their demand was not based on truth or the God-directedness of their leadership but on their title. That is a false basis of authority . . . any appeal to authority based on position, title, degree or office is false. The only authority God recognizes and to which we should submit to is truth.” {6} Other leaders use titles such as “God’s man” or “the Lord’s anointed” so that others will treat them with special reverence and keep themselves above accountability that others in the congregation are held to. “If by appealing to position, unique claims or special anointings, leaders succeed in creating a hierarchy in the church, they can more easily control those beneath them. They can also defend themselves against any who might challenge them.”{7} 

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Instead of feeding and caring for the flock, these pastors feed off the flock and use them to meet their needs for significance. Ken Blue gives an example of a “pastor whose church has not grown numerically in twelve years. Frustrated by his manifest lack of success, he turned to the congregation to meet his need. He has laid on them a building program in hopes that a new, larger, more attractive facility will draw more people. The congregation has split over this issue. Many have left the church, and those who remain are saddled with the debt.”{10}

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True spiritual leaders are defined by Christ’s example. “Whoever wants to be great among you must become the servant of all” (Matt. 20:26). Christ-like leadership is servanthood.

True leaders gain the loyalty of the sheep because of the quality of their character and their attitude of servanthood. The members freely submit to Christ-like leadership and do not have to be coerced to follow. Good shepherds lighten the load of the sheep while false leaders add to the load on the sheep.

Narcissism is one of the biggest problem in the Church of God and always has been.  There was no bigger narcissist in the church than Herbert Armstrong.  Flurry, Pack, Kubik, Webber, Meredith and all the rest are full time narcissists trained by the greatest narcissist of them all.

Narcissism. The reason that many Christians have a problem with developing empathy skills is because they have a problem with narcissism. Narcissists are not necessarily bad people. Narcissism simply means that, for whatever reason, the person's only point of reference in life is himself. For the narcissist only his thoughts, his feelings, his perceptions are fully real. For him the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of others are less real. In the religious context, narcissists simply assume that what they think God thinks, and what they believe is Bible-based. They take it for granted that any idea that jumps into their heads is from the Holy Spirit and that they are only following the promptings of the Holy Spirit whenever they decide to do anything. The fact that other people may see their words as being less than holy, their motives as being less than pure, and their actions as being hurtful and injurious never occurs to them. When you believe that you are right and righteous, then all that you say and do is right and righteous. Any thought to the contrary never enters the picture.  Spiritual Abuse

Dichotomous Thinking. Abusive Christians in abusive church fellowships generally exhibit dichotomous (either-or) thinking patterns. With them everything is black/white, this/that, either/or, us/them, good/bad, etc. There are never any weeds among the wheat. When something is good it is all good; when something is bad it is all bad. Of course, dichotomous thinking Christians put themselves in the all-good camp, while others who may not agree with them on some minute detail of theology or Bible interpretation are in the all-bad camp.

With abusive Christians there are no ambiguities, no unanswered questions, no gray areas, no doubts. Everything is sorted, classified, and properly labeled. They are right, others are wrong; they are spiritual, others are not; they truly believe the Scriptures, others do not; they are thoroughly committed to Jesus, others are not; etc., etc. To disagree with them is to disagree with God. They are, of course, the final judge and jury of what the Bible says, regardless of subject matter. They have the exact interpretation of any given particular Scripture text; any other nuance or shade of meaning is considered heresy. Dichotomous thinking Christians believe they have everything all figured out (when they do not) and that they have everything properly classified and labeled, which is often not the case. They have the definitive Bible-based answer for every question, even when they have not understood the question. Dichotomous thinking Christians have a one-size-fits-all hammer for every problem, even when what is needed for a particular problem is a screwdriver.

Does your COG have any of these things happening in it?  If it does, then the reality is it is an abusive group.

1. Abusive church leaders in abusive churches are into power and control. Enroth writes, "The spiritual autocrat, the religious dictator, attempts to compel subordination; the true Christian leader can legitimately only elicit fellowership." Within a church context a legitimate leader promotes cooperation among church members, not dominate-submissive relationships. Legitimate church leaders have leadership rooted in trust. Enroth points out that legitimate Christian leaders lead with an entrusted authority.



2. Abusive church leaders in abusive churches are into dichotomous thinking. With them everything is black-white, either-or, this-that, us-them. Dichotomous thinking is generally expressed in overt or implied terms such as "we the true followers of Jesus" versus those others "who are not as spiritual as we are." Of course, dichotomous abusive church leaders are the judge and jury on who is or who is not spiritual, who is or who is not fully walking with Jesus.



3. Abusive church leaders in abusive churches are into legalistic perfectionism and perfectionist legalism. Again, legalisms are not about holiness; they are about power and control. Naturally, activities like fasting, keeping away from worldly amusements, attending numerous prayer meetings may in fact be spiritual and wholesome activities. However, when these activities are extreme, rigid, or excessive then we are talking about addiction, not spirituality.



4. Abusive church leaders in abusive churches have a tendency towards isolationism. Some of this isolationism may be more social than physical. Abusive groups will not mix with the impure or with the unholy. With them light has no fellowship with darkness, and they are very clear who is in the light and who is in the dark. Thus, they tend to isolate themselves from the world and even from other Christian groups.



5. Abusive church leaders in abusive churches are obsessed with discipline and even excommunication. In some abusive Christian circles, to question the church leader(s) means questioning God Himself. Abusive Christians are so certain that they are right and that they have the mind of Christ that they can be extremely punitive if they are not obeyed.



6. Abusive church leaders in abusive churches discourage church members' having contacts with people outside the fellowship, including family members. Obviously, church leaders that tell young people "Do not listen to your parents, listen only to us" should be suspected.



7. Abusive church leaders in abusive churches install surveillance systems (read "pastoral care") within their fellowships. Of course, for abusive church leaders a surveillance system is all about a spiritual concern regarding people's souls and how to best pastorally and brotherly look after the sheep of the flock. However, these surveillance systems go way beyond pastoral care. They are about power and control.



8. Abusive church leaders in abusive churches promote a Pied Piper mentality, especially among young people. For example, a youth leader who becomes a Pied Piper and has all the youth of the congregation running after him is a bad scene. A legitimate Christian youth leader should want the youngsters of the church fellowship to be forming positive and healthy relationships with a variety of people in the fellowship, not just with himself. There is no room for a personality cult in a legitimate non-abusing Christian fellowship. Spiritual Abuse

Church  of God members need to get over the fear that they are disobeying God by holding their leaders accountable. Non accountability lead to Rod Meredith preaching a sermon that led a member to shoot and kill LCG members.  Rod McNair claims that elderly are possessed by demons.  Gerald Flurry and Cal Culpepper's actions and words caused the suicide of a beautiful young woman.  Dave Pack has robbed his members blind financially, ripped marriages apart and turned sons against mothers.

How long must this go on?  How many more need to have their families ripped apart.  How many more need to abandon family members.  How many more need to die before anyone steps up and holds these men accountable?

Why We And Others Call Out Rod Meredith, Gerald Flurry, Dave Pack and UCG Calling Them Abusive Liars

From: Mind Games of Abusers: When Words Have No Meaning

The problem, of course, is that most cult leaders claim that the Bible is their authority. But they also say that they alone interpret it correctly. They say that everyone else in the world is wrong—all unbelievers, of course, but also most other professing believers—because only he or she, the cult leader, has accurately divided the word of truth. He will claim that his odd definitions are correct because they are “spiritual,” “heavenly wisdom,” “truths expressed by the Spirit,” or some such appeal to biblical language which is actually a smokescreen for his own narcissism and pride.

You can’t win an argument against such a person.

He is insane.

He has stepped outside the boundaries of reality and your use of logic and reason will never reach him. Your cow will never become his monkey wrench.

But you might reach some of his followers. So feel free to restate what the leader has told you and compare it with actual events:

• When a cult leader calls criticism of his group “slander,” he is only using the word correctly if the statements about his group are untrue and are being said in order to defame the group. If they are true, no one has committed slander. Instead, the cult leader is a liar.
• When a cult leader calls outrage over his heinous behavior “persecution,” he is mistaken. He is not being persecuted; he is being called to account. This is justice.
• When a cult leader says that people can only be saved by moving to his church, repenting of all known sin, and doing works of righteousness, he is defining “salvation” in ways that the Bible never does. He can claim anything he wants, but the Bible says something entirely different. He is preaching a false gospel.
• If a cult leader lets a baby die by withholding medical help, or if he ignores allegations of sexual abuse and then tries to cover it up, and if he then says that he acted in faith and that he is a loving and kind person who can be trusted with other people’s children, he is a liar. His actions do not fit the biblical definition of love, nor any definition of the word used by sane people.

Gerald Flurry's "Gold of Ophir" Teaching And How Philadelphia Church Of God Members Are Dying Because They Think It Is True

This was posted on a private Facebook page and I have the author's permission to publish it.

If you think the face of evil that is Gerald Flurry can't get any more vile, read this.

I know of several people that died over the years because of medical neglect. Especially stick with me are the children and young people. One of my best friends died a long painful death when a pill a day would've saved him and made him normal again. This guy was one of the good ones… We traveled to several international and domestic feast sites, and he took time to make every girl feel special - not creepy but as a friend. I still hold dear the bracelet he bought me from a little girl on the streets of Tobago. He was just a great guy. But he was also the son of the strictest Regional Director in the PCG and and although he wanted to seek a doctor (I think he did, especially when in great pain), but his dad was was super strict. He got to the point where he was went to church in a stretcher. When he died, another main minister died a horrible death of throat cancer. They wrote an article in the Philadelphia Trumpet to say what wonderful examples and that God did heal them because the next time they were conscious they would have no pain, no infirmities. Still miss my friend...

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There is also the "gold of Ophir" which was strong in biblical times. And mentioned in several scriptures about an article GRF made a big deal of the following article around Jake and Tim Thompson's death (the minister mentioned above in my original post). Tim Thompson lived on the compound as he was an evangelist, worked at GRF's right hand, and I think taught at AC (GRFs AC to clarify). I was in Edmond a lot around this time when Mr. Thompson was in his final days of throat cancer. He actually from his bed helped Hessong write the article and it was published (along with accompanying sermons and bible studies). He had throat cancer that was extremely painful but refused medical treatment and the couple times I visited him on his "good days" you could tell he was in agony as the tumor slowly grew to starve and suffocate him while in so much pain and coughing up blood, and since it went untreated, it spread to painful parts all over his body. Seeing something like that makes you angry and makes you think about where you stand on not just medical treatment, but euthanasia, not that they would take that route either. It's a long article but the gist of it is the Bride of Christ (the church) is adorned with the gold of Ophir, and for that gold to be called that it has to be placed in fire over and over to give it it's strength, and we have to be prepared for that kind of trial/sacrifice if it comes. And if we were to die, God did heal us in death (because healing is guaranteed for the "elect") that death, no matter how painful, if you are a "true PCGer" is healing in and of itself because the next moment they know, they will be God beings with no infirmaries.

"Yes, God tests us severely to get us to repent of sin. He allows serious circumstances to befall us at times. But remember, He tempts no man with evil (James 1:13). He only makes us endure spiritual calcining until we are fully ready for permanent use in the holy temple—then He “seals” us, either through death (reserving us for the resurrection) or through the miraculous transformation which shall happen to our body, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” if we are one of those who are alive at Christ’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

"It is during this stage in the refining process that God works to fully extract the dross of Satan’s nature from all aspects of our character. That is what qualifies us, through grace (unmerited pardon). Also, the parables of the pounds and talents (Luke 19; Matthew 25) illustrate that God will also reward us for our fruits, obedience and belief.

"Fiery trials provide the necessary opportunities to grow in faith. And there are essentially two ways we can choose to face such situations: obedience or compromise."  Being purified as Gold

   

Gerald Flurry Prefers To See PCG Members "ROT" From Sickness Than See A Doctor

Living Armstrongism has an entry up today from the Philadelphia Church of God cult based in Edmond, Oklahoma. It quotes from a letter that Gerald Flurry wrote in 2007 where he references another "book" that he wrote The Last Hour.  In that book and in the article Flurry attempts to expound on what it supposedly means to be a real "witness" is for HIS god. 

Like any good Armstrongite leader only HE has the answers because the rest of humanity/Christianity is too stupid to understand what a "witness" for God is.  That mind bent wreaks through in his very first paragraph:

Nobody in this world knows what it means to be a witness for God. Most of God’s people don’t even know!

Apparently Church of God members are stupid too.  In the eyes and minds of ALL the splinter group leaders this has ALWAYS been what the leadership has thought of its members.  The leadership really do believe that their members are all too stupid to understand anything, so therefore  THEY have to interpret scripture for these uneducated members.  God only works with THEM and not through any lower echelon members.

Armstrongism has always loved to use the threat of martyrdom at all of its members.  Only a true believer will die for their cause, or so they assume.

The end of John’s Gospel reads, “This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true” (John 21:24). The Apostle John gave true testimony.

The word testimony is translated from the Greek marturia, which comes from martus, meaning martyr. Sometimes the Christian life really is about dying for a cause. It is always about giving your life—about being a living sacrifice—for this cause. But being martyred is merely the end of a physical life. What follows is eternal life.
 
The word testifieth also means to witness, and is similar to the word testimony. John was a good witness. He was willing to be subjected to any trial—even death—in his testimony for Christ. This is the kind of witness Christ wants from all of us.

The words testify and witness reveal the depth of our commitment and love for Christ. The word witness is much stronger than the way it is commonly used today! We must understand what Christ means when he says “follow me,” or when we say we’re 100 percent behind God’s work.

What kind of a "witness" has the Church of God been to the world at large?  It is one of corruption, averse and vice for most of its entire lifespan.  The witness it has given is one of deep division that has resulted in hundreds and hundreds of splinter groups all picking at and devouring each other.  Countless books have been written about the corruption and false doctrines.  The "positive" impact of the church is almost nonexistent.

For Flurry, it is all about "law and trials"  Law is vitally important to Flurry as that is all that keeps his people in line and obedient.  Without that obedience to Flurry his members CANNOT become Gods....his words, not mine. 

No writer in the Bible even comes close to emphasizing the word witness as John does. He uses this word eight times in his epistles and 21 times in his Gospel; the other Gospels use it a combined total of 18 times. The Anchor Bible says, “The verb martyrein, ‘to bear witness, testify,’ and the noun martyria, ‘witness, testimony,’ occur a total of 64 times in [the Gospel of] John and the epistles (verb 43 times; noun 21). The 33 uses of the verb in [the Gospel of] John may be contrasted with a total of two uses in the three synoptic Gospels, a contrast that indicates the extent to which the legal law and trial atmosphere dominates [John’s] thought.” John talked a lot about law and trials. Why? Because it is through keeping God’s law of love and rejoicing in our testing that we become God! That is how we love God and witness to mankind.

I don't know where Flurry gets off on claiming he is keeping "...God's law of love..." When has "love" EVER been used in the Philadelphia Church of God?  How is "love" being preached when families are ripped apart by deviate ministers prohibiting members from associated with loved ones not part of PCG?  Where is the "love" that lets a minister tell family members to kick their teenage child out on the streets and turn their backs on her?  This list could go on and on, but we have all heard the horror stories or experienced them first hand.

The COG and Flurry continues to look down upon members as lower than pig slop in the scheme of things. They are a "stench" in God's nostrils.   Just read the following:

Most of God’s people today are dying spiritually. You can’t smell the stench of people dying this way, but God can see it vividly! For a Father, watching His sons die because they don’t love Him is the most terrible thing He could possibly see. That’s the worst stench of all to our Father!

Later Flurry explains what "love" means in the Philadelphia Church of God.  It means only one thing...GIVING and SACRIFICING  for the work of Gerald Flurry.  Its not being agents of grace that are the hands of God in this world who are bringing into reality the kingdom of God, but being financial backers of Flurry and crew.  Love in the PCG cult is insular and only available for the true believers.

We are honorable witnesses when we love others as Christ loved us! God is love, and we must express God’s love as a way of life.

Our witness of love—giving and sacrificing for God’s work—is how we come out of this world. This is a witness you see only in God’s very elect.

Flurry foolishly believes his group is filled with love and joy though deep down he knows it is not.

Is the pcg full of joy? It should be. Because we are about to help Christ fill this world with joy. That is why we write this message in a booklet, so we can study and penetrate to the depth of God’s love. Christ is about to return!

Satan has full misery, and he wants to destroy our fellowship with God and the full joy it brings.

Our ministers must set an example of joy for the members—to be helpers of their joy (2 Corinthians 1:24).

If you lack that joy, stay on your knees until you get it!

When has a minister of the Philadelphia Church of God ever brought joy?  Will Cal Culpepper please tell us how he brings joy to those under him?  Please?

Because of the abusive ways of Flurry, Culpepper and others the following is a prime example of what members of the PCG have to endure:

This is REAL, ABUNDANT LIVING—EVEN IF WE ARE DYING PHYSICALLY! Over the years in my ministry, I have seen a few people physically rot right before my eyes and yet remain loyal to God every step of the way to the end! Though it must be one of the most grotesque sights to see, at the same time it is one of the MOST MAJESTICALLY NOBLE examples ever on Earth, from God’s point of view! If someone is being loyal in circumstances like that, he or she is BEARING WITNESS OF THE FATHER! What a precious, extraordinary beauty that is! I know I will see those people again, and they will live FOREVER AND EVER! When resurrected, they won’t remember that trial for very long. They will have ETERNAL LIFE!
 
Are you prepared to trust God to heal you, now or in the resurrection? Well done, good and faithful servant, He will say if we trust Him to the end. (Gerald Flurry, The Last Hour, 2004, 2007, Chapter 5, p. 54.)

While church members "rot" in their beds at home, Gerald Flurry, Culpepper and others are out going to doctors and being treated for all kinds of ailments.  Its the same hypocrisy that Herbert Armstrong used against church members decades ago.  He forbid members going to doctors, yet had personal physicians that treated him with countless pills and other treatments. At his death I was given a large suitcase filled with his medicines to take to the amphitheater on campus and burn.  They did not want it getting out that he was on so many medicines.

The Church of God is rotten to the core, especially in the four larger church groups of UCG, PCG, RCG, and LCG.  The "rot" has been ongoing since the mid 1990's.  How many more need to die at the hands of the church?