Why Are Church of God Members Treated Like Adolescents?

There was an interesting comment on a Facebook page the other day about Church of God members and how they are dull to be around and how sabbath keepers are the biggest bores.

In another discussion, someone brought up the fact that most COG members have an adolescent theology.  They need to be told what to believe, how to act, and who they are to associate with.  Free thinking is NOT a hallmark of the Church of God.

Just look at the latest hysteria over Easter, April Fools Day, Halloween, Christmas, Purim and other days that send some COG leaders into fits of hysteria.  They trot out the same old silliness that Herbert Armstrong and others taught 60-70 years ago. Viewpoints dug up out of obscure books, poorly researched, and never "fact-checked" by church leaders.  Prank someone on April 1st and you are part of the synagogue of Satan.  Bob Amos Thiel can't stand April Fools Day, so he must really have been pushed over the edge to know that the younger staff at LCG HQ were pulling jokes on each other on April 1. How dare people have fun!

That adolescent mentality carries over into the latest issue of Bob Amos Thiel's rag that claims to restore the "truth once delivered."  It the latest issue he has to tell his very few members how they are to dress.  These are adults, mostly in the 50-70 years of age range and mostly black African's.  All people who know how to dress, yet apparently too stupid to know how to in Amos's sight.

Amos Thiel writes:

As far as dress for church services goes, basically, the historical Philadelphia era view has been that since we are to be God’s ambassadors and a royal priesthood, that the way one would dress as such is appropriate. This has had side benefits as well. Historically, this helped the church to be able to rent places for meetings as well as for the Feast of Tabernacles as communities feel better about those who dress in a more professional-appearing manner. 

While the Continuing Church of God (CCOG) does not mandate suits and ties, that is the normal attire for those males who attend the Feast of Tabernacles or other services in Western societies. Women normally wear skirts or dresses, and of course should not be wearing ones that are excessively short, or otherwise be dressed immodestly (1 Timothy 2:9). Immodest clothing is clothing that tends to be sexually provocative (such as being too sheer, too tight, or not covering enough skin) or intended as an excessive display of wealth (like certain outrageously-priced custom-designer items or excessive jewellery). The Bible, in Deuteronomy 22:5, also forbids what is known as ‘cross- dressing.’ 

Again, we do not mandate a suit and tie for males in CCOG, but we do believe that such dress in certain Western cultures is consistent with the scriptures that I have quoted here.

Let it also be stated that some people WANT to look poor and unkempt. Notice also the following: 

18 Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God. (Colossians 2:18-19)

While no one in the CCOG could be a true member if they worship angels/demons, people also need to guard against false humility.

As far as dress goes, basically we expect people wear clean clothes (not improperly sheer or tight) and dress nicely, though not more nicely than they can reasonably afford. If you are doing that, you meet what the Bible teaches (though I would add that most can afford to buy used ties, which is part of Western culture). 

Church of God members have never been given credit that they know how to think, act, and dress.  Someone mightier than they has always felt the need to tell them what to do and they do it, like adolescents.

Even the basic theology of most church members extends no further than adolescent theology.  They rely solely upon booklets, articles and sermons to get their theology from.  If the booklet or correspondence course said it, it HAS to be true. The church leaders and ministry are inspired directly by God and it is the only "truth."  Just look at the hysteria that Rod Meredith and Richard Ames gets into when LCG Members what to have Bible studies in their homes with friends.

The problem is that almost all Church of God leaders have a theology that is adolescent in belief.  They got their theological base from someone who had it passed down to them and which ultimately came from a guy who sat in a public library for six months while not supporting his family.  An entire belief system is built around books from a public library that was filled with tomes from the late 1880s.  It's a well established fact now that Herbert Armstrong was theologically bankrupt in his understanding.  While many have been able to disprove his theology with a minimum of research, most COG members still do not do that.  It's not right to question the leader because in doing so you are questioning God. Just as an adolescent isn't supposed to question their parents, COG members are not to question their leaders.

Why Does The Church of God Ignore Amos, Who Is In Our Midst?

The one thing that Armstrongism was able to do rather efficiently was give space for a myriad of men (and a couple of women) room to take on Old Testament personalities.  Over the decades we have seen men declare themselves Abraham, David, Joshua, Elijah, Habakkuk, and the Two Witnesses. Not once did they ever try to emulate Jesus Christ.

Prophets and sages galore have run off at the mouth over the decades with one failed prophecy after another. From Herbert Armstrong to Gerald Waterhouse; Rod Meredith to Dave Pack; Gerald Flurry to Richard Ames, very single thing these men have predicted has failed to come to pass.  One lie after another.

Now we are blessed with Amos in our midst.  Though this false prophet doesn't come out and directly say he is Amos, he implies it.  This lying false prophet has a unique way of manipulating his readers into believing he is talk about himself even though he never directly claims he is.  This lying false prophet is Bob Thiel, or Amos if you want to call him that.

The doubly cursed agent of deception writes:

Amos was a prophet of God, but will you pay attention to the message?

Here is some information about him from Wikipedia: 

Amos, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah,[1] was active c. 750 BC during the reign of Jeroboam II,[1] (786–746 BC) making the Book of Amos the first biblical prophetic book written. Amos lived in the kingdom of Judah but preached in the northern kingdom of Israel. (Book of Amos. viewed 02/22/2014)

Before becoming a prophet, Amos was a sheep herder and a sycamore fig farmer. Amos’ prior professions and his claim “I am not a prophet nor a son of a prophet” (7:14) indicate that Amos was not from the school of prophets, which Amos claims makes him a true prophet (7:14). His prophetic career began in 750 BCE out of the town of Tekoa, in Judah, south of Jerusalem. (Amos the Prophet, viewed 02/22/2014)

It is interesting that he had to tell people that one becomes a true prophet in a manner that most did not expect. The Apostle Paul attempted to defend his apostleship that type of way (2 Corinthians 11:5, 22-29)–and that was to people who were supposedly in the Church of God.

So just who is the wanna-be Amos being talked about here?  Who is the only true prophet today that the people do not expect to be?  What group of people ignore this modern day Amos?  Who ridicule and revile him? Its the brethren's fault, as usual. Church of God members and ex-members.

No one expected Bob Thiel to be "double blessed."  No one expected him to stab Rod Meredith in the back, but he did.  Bob Thiel is the man of the unexpected.

Bob Amos Thiel continues:

One of the messages that Amos proclaimed is that the time would come when people would not be able to find the words of God: 

11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall not find it. (Amos 8:11-12)

I believe that the above warning is a reference to a coming internet censorship. And in the Continuing Church of God, we have already experienced some of this (see Letter to the Brethren: January 14, 2016).

What so-called "persecution" has the lying prophet received?  YouTube took down one of his malignant videos.  Because of that extreme persecution has hit the Church of God.  The end is truly here!  Brethren wake up!!!!!

Bob Amos Thiel then finishes with this:

Amos is giving a warning to those called by Jacob’s name (which was also Israel), whom according to Jacob himself, would seem to be a reference to the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh (Genesis 48:16). In modern times, this would be the Anglo-Saxon nations such as Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, and also the United States of America. The reference to trusting Mt. Samaria in Amos 6:1 could be a reference to trusting the USA to defend in the end. That will not end well for the USA or its allies of the Anglo-Saxon nations. 

Of course, few in those nations believe that they will be taken over and have such calamity. But that will come to pass. Most would not listen to Amos then, and most, sadly, will not listen to Amos now.

Amos Thiel is the ONLY true doubly blessed prophet on the earth today.  His is the ONLY Church of God doing anything of significance, even though an infinitesimal percentage of the world's population has ever heard of the deceiver.   A few hundred in the poor regions of Africa and a few hundred white Americans.

Oh but I keep forgetting,  a prophet is always without honor in his own country.

Living Church of God Shuts Down Hawaiian Feast Site: Jim Meredith Left Devastated

For a quite some time now we have been receiving information about Jimmy Meredith's intense fascination with Hawaii.  He had been spending many vacations in Hawaii at his own expense, but once he talked his daddy into making him a festival coordinator, he quickly assigned himself to handle the Feast site in Hawaii. Of course thus was all done at tithe payers expense. First class hotels beckoned to Jimmy as he spent countless days checking out their amenities in order to give LCG members a full report.

LCG members have been complaining for a long time now about Jimmy's lavish spending and escapades in Hawaii while on LCG's payroll.  As members struggled to pay their hotel room rates in lesser quality accommodations, Jimmy was staying in $300.00 plus resort rooms.

Those days are now gone.  As LCG's income continues to decline, what's Lil'Jimmy gonna do??????

A surprising omission from LCG’s list is Hawaii, organized by Roderick Meredith’s son, James. Neither has James been allocated another site, and in August his job as his father’s assistant will come to an end, when Gerald Weston takes over the rulership of LCG. He will then be left with only the winter festival to organize.

Not only did Living Church of God pulling out of Hawaii; COGWA and UCG are too.

COGWA has also pulled out of Hawaii, and its venue, the $300+ per night Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, has been taken over by UCG - who will require on registration a non-refundable deposit of $325 plus $8 online processing fee per room. UCG will not be hosting a festival site in Hawaii next year. Church of God News

These three groups must preparing to join Davey Pack in Wadsworth for the next Feast.  Davey has prophesied that, so it HAS to be happening.

Cretin's for Christ: Ron Weinland--The Motherload of Whacky

LCG Preaches That Godly Love Is The Most Important Quality

Love...the four letter word in COG when it comes to abusive ministers like PCG's Cal Culpepper and LCG's Rod McNair.

From an LCG source:

Doug Winnail exhorts the loveless legalists in LCG that Godly love in his most recent Weekly Update (which is read during the announcements portion of church services each week). Another example of the profound disparity between what LCG preaches and what LCG practices.  

Winnail writes, "In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul states that Godly Love does not seeks the  its own way; it is calm and not easily provoked, it does not jump to conclusions or assign motives or sit in judgment of others. Instead, Godly Love is gracious and forgiving. It is positive and focuses on what is right and true. It never fails or falters. Godly Love is the most important fruit of God’s Spirit that we must nourish and cultivate if we hope to be like our Father and our Elder Brother Jesus Christ. God is love (1 John 4:8, 16)".  

Unfortunately,  the hypocritical LCG leadership ALWAYS seeks their own way, is NEVER calm, is very FREQUENTLY easily provoked, CONSTATNLY jumps to conclusions and assigns motives, and they SPECIALIZE in sitting in judgment of others. There are a lot of adjectives that one can use to describe Rod Meredith's character but gracious and forgiving are NOT amongst them. 

I wonder how many LCG members read this and wanted to puke.  

One thing is for sure, Godly love IS the most important quality and the fact that the highest ranking ministers in the Living Church of God are complete and utterly lacking it is further evidence that LCG is not the Church of God.

The Most Important Quality: God’s people understand the importance of keeping the commandments, the Sabbath, the Holy Days and the laws of health. Yet, sometimes in our zeal to obey the laws of God, we can overlook something even more important—the need to develop and exercise Godly Love. We are told in the Scriptures that without Godly love, all these other things will amount to nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). Here the biblical word for love (agape) refers to an unselfish outgoing concern for others. In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul states that Godly Love does not seek its own way; it is calm and not easily provoked, it does not jump to conclusions or assign motives or sit in judgment of others. Instead, Godly Love is gracious and forgiving. It is positive and focuses on what is right and true. It never fails or falters. Godly Love is the most important fruit of God’s Spirit that we must nourish and cultivate if we hope to be like our Father and our Elder Brother Jesus Christ. God is love (1 John 4:8, 16). We have been created to become like Him (1 John 3:1-3). Let’s ask God to help us learn to love Him and to love others as He does, so we can develop this most important quality—Godly Love. 

          Have a profitable Sabbath, 

          Douglas S. Winnail

Living Church of God: U.S. Members Kept In Dark Over Defection of Popular French Minister to COGWA

From an LCG source:

LCG suffered a major loss a few weeks ago when a popular European minister,  Mr. Roland Lecocq,  decided to resign from serving LCG and aligned himself with COGWA. Although Mr. Lecocq has been careful not to sway any of the LCG brethren to blindly follow in his decision to leave LCG, it is anticipated that a large majority of the brethren in the areas he served will go with him to COGWA.  There are also concerns that LCG will not be able to continue with their planned Feast site in Carry-le-Rouet, France as a direct result of Lecocq's departure. 

It is not known specifically why Mr. Lecocq decided to leave LCG after so many years of faithful service. Although, it has been widely speculated that the domineering, uncompromising personality of Mr. Rees Ellis in combination with his lack of agreement with LCG's doctrinal upgrades is to blame. Lecocq was a close friend and confidant to the late Dibar Apartian and Dibar's concerns over the direction LCG was/ is heading likely factored into his decision to leave. 

In true Living Church of God form, the American brethren have not, as yet been informed of this information. Meredith and crew are renowned for lacking transparency, openness and honesty. 

Gerald Weston wrote the following update but it was not shared with the Americans: 

Mr. Roland Lecocq, our minister in Switzerland, and his family have made the decision to move to another Church of God fellowship. We are saddened by their decision, but wish them well. They have served the Church faithfully for many years and we appreciate that service. Since he served as Secretary and Treasurer for the French association, he is continuing with those duties until they can be transferred to another individual in the next few weeks and he is being most helpful and faithful in the transition. Please show the upmost respect and love toward the Lecocqs as each of us must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

PCG: Good Posture Improves Your Chance Of Salvation: Men Should Stand Like MEN!

Armstrongism has always filled its magazines with stories that have absolutely nothing to do with Jesus, redemption, grace or anything else that is tied to the new covenant.  This is especially true today in the more right wing personality sects led by Dave Pack, Bob Thiel and Gerald Flurry.

The Flurry camp in Edmond Oklahoma has for some reason decided that Joel Hilliker is morally and spiritually superior to the rest of the church.  As such a pillar of excellence, Hilliker has been given free reign to write some of the most useless articles that have ever filled a COG magazine.

The latest gem that Hiliker is lecturing PCG members that they need to stand tall and erect in daily life, aprtiuarly when they attend church.

Notice the pictures and paintings of the kings of England. These men who sat on the throne of David held a royal bearing that was visible. You see the king’s whole body is strong and upright. The same is true of the queens who have reigned from that throne.

Then there is this:

Now notice the posture of just about anyone around you. Uneven footing, stooped shoulders, arched neck, head dropped. This is not a royal posture. It isn’t even a manly posture. It’s a little closer to a chicken’s posture. 

Men should not stand like this. Men should stand like men!

Leave it to good old British Israelism to cause articles like this crap to be written. Herb always taught us we would be Kings and Priests in that whacky world to come, so we needed to act like one.  This is the  same crap that Hilliker is falling back on.

Since the men of the PCG are God's only chosen forms of true masculinity (sorry Bob Thiel...) they have to act like real godly men.  Given how effemoncat many of the men are on the Edmond compound, particularly in the leadership positions, this article may be sorely needed.

Since the men of the PCG are soldiers in god's new army, they need to learn to stand tall.

A 1946 War Department Field Manual instruction on posture training states, “A soldier is often judged by his appearance. The man with good posture looks like a soldier. He commands attention.” Compare an army of Beetle Bailey slouches to an army that stands like the Queen’s Guards.

How you stand makes a big difference in how you project yourself as a man. A slouched, bent posture reflects weakness and trepidation. When you see a man hunched over his phone, what impression is he creating? A man’s body language can communicate a lot—and most men are communicating with their bodies that they are weak, tired, timid, sheltered, awkward and/or ashamed. Good posture projects more vigor, more authority, more confidence and more power.

Bad posture causes your ribcage to push down on your organs, and they actually can begin to protrude out and push against your abdominal wall. Unmanly! Want to take some inches off your waistline—literally instantly? Stand up straight! Standing like a man reduces beer belly; improves your organ function; prevents humped shoulders; reduces pain in your neck, shoulders and back; and makes you about an inch taller.

Hilliker then even finds a Bible verse to prove his point:

Psalm 37:37 says, “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.” That means to observe, give heed, consider and inspect the man who is whole, lacking nothing in physical strength and beauty, upright, straight, correct or level in a physical or in a moral sense. Look for men who are physically and spiritually strong—and watch them! The word upright literally means “positioned to be straight up.” That means being vertical, erect in carriage or posture. What does such a man have in store for him? Peace, which can mean completeness, soundness, safety or soundness in body, welfare, health and/or prosperity.

Then in a direct slam at elderly PCG men who might have bad posture, Hillier makes this appalling comment:

If you are young and you are not very concerned about your posture in 10 or 20 years, just take a look at a picture of an old man who is not physically upright. Some of the more extreme examples of what age and bad posture can do to a man should make you sit up straight! 

So here's the plain truth on how to stand like a REAL masculine he-man:

Here is how to practice your stance:• Plant your feet shoulder-width apart
• Feel your weight in your heels (not your toes)
• Twist your heels into the ground (so the weight shifts to the outside of your feet) as you tighten your behind
• Allow your arms to hang at your sides and open your palms forward
• Spread your fingers and reach for the ground; feel the weight come off your shoulders
• Imagine you have a tennis ball between your chin and your chest; don’t let the ball fall
• Imagine someone pulling straight up on a hair at the top of your head
• Breathe 

Doesn’t this feel good? You are standing at the full height God made you! You are standing like a man! With practice, this will become how you naturally stand. But it will take practice and effort. You have to think about it.

This is the idiotic claptrap that PCG presents as spiritual meat.  When you turn your back on Jesus Christ, you have to write this kind of useless bullshit.