The Demographics of Salvation The Puzzle of Barth, Armstrong and Election

The Demographics of Salvation

The Puzzle of Barth, Armstrong and Election

By Scout

 

Back in 1995, I was fairly well down the road towards leaving Armstrongism.  My journey was done with some trepidation.  I did not trust mainstream Christianity.  I had spent years believing it was grossly pagan.  It made me a little sick to think that I had unwittingly taken a stand against genuine Christianity by following cult “theology.” But I did all right with the transition for a little while. And then I ran into Calvinism.  

TULIP especially bothered me.  This is an acronym for the fundamental soteriological beliefs of Calvinism, including the belief in Election.  The U in TULIP stands for Unconditional Election. Suddenly my interest in Christianity waned.  Picture a balloon deflating and looking sad and flaccid. This was because Calvinism was at the forefront of the Protestant Reformation and Reformed theology advanced the idea that all things are pre-determined by God.  We humans are all like puppets dancing on strings with no free will. I felt that Calvinism was just as much of a cult as Armstrongism.  One had to deal with it.  It needed a disposition in my mind before I could proceed with Christianity.  I eventually arrived at a resolution over some years but the Calvinist view of Election had been the stickiest wicket. 

Now I believe that Calvinist Unconditional Election is right in a narrow but important way. I believe that Christians are elect in the Calvinist sense that God chose them before they ever lived and pre-destined them to be in the First Resurrection.  That may sound like I made it up so it would be good to look at some scriptures.

The Scriptures

Here are the scriptures from the Epistle to the Ephesians.  They are extraordinary: 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen (eklegomai, the verb from which the adjective eklektos is derived) us in him before the foundation of the world (Cosmos), that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated (proorizo) us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will” (KJV, Ephesians 1:3-5)

To demonstrate this is not just Greek-influenced Pauline theology, we have the following statement from the very Jewish Peter:

“Elect (eklektos) according to the foreknowledge (prognosis) of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:” (KJV,1 Peter 1:2).

Both of these scriptures speak of the members of the Body of Christ.   Paul and Peter use such heady terms as elect, foreknowledge and predestination.  Jesus speaks of the Elect as a separate population with a privileged understanding of the Gospel.  But through Paul and Peter the origination of the Elect is explained.  And the amazing statement is that those people who are now in the Body of Christ, the church, were elected to this state before the foundation of the Cosmos.  This means that somehow they had to exist before the foundation of the Cosmos.  And we know from the Book of Revelation that Christians will be in the first resurrection, will be priests and will reign with Christ for eternity.  And important to say, for reasons you will read later, that the non-Elect will not have these experiences. 

So, what we have is a demographic statement.  The Elect is a population of people chosen prior to the creation of the Cosmos to be servants of God and to be deployed on earth at various times and places as suits God’s plans (Church in the Wilderness or New Testament Church).  While that may seem to be a straightforward characterization, Election can be a complicated issue that raises many questions.  I am going to now briefly examine and question the views on Election of Karl Barth and Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA).  I have chosen these two because their views will cover the various denominations that stem from the Armstrongist Worldwide Church of God.

Karl Barth and Election – Elect through the Vicarious Humanity of Christ

About twelve years ago, I encountered the view of Karl Barth on Election.  I did not readily understand it and I still regard it as being novel.  I would not assert that Barth’s view is in error but I do regard it as not being exegetically as strong as some of the views found in mainstream Christianity, for instance.  Briefly, Barth regards the Triune God as the Elector and Jesus as the Elected Man.  Jesus then mediates Election to those who follow him.  This fits well with the doctrine of the Vicarious Humanity or Christ which centers on Jesus and which I adhere to.  Those who follow Jesus were called and predestined as stated in Ephesians 1 in Barth’s view.  He just has a novel way in which Election is applied.   But I have a problem with Barth’s view. 

The Barthian approach seems to be that everyone who comes to the mediating Christ becomes a part of the Elect, whether in the First Resurrection or the Second Resurrection. I believe that departs from the intent of scripture.  I think that people who are in the Elect become Christians during this Age and rise in the First Resurrection (Rev 20:4-5). They form the cohort of the chosen. Are they somehow inherently different from other people?  I don’t know.  And the people who rise up in the Second Resurrection are non-Elect.  Election applies to particular people and is not universal. 

I do believe that the Second Resurrection is also a pathway to salvation.  To make the mediation of Election a part of the salvific process for everyone is to assert that Election is focused on general salvation when it is actually focused on the First Resurrection.  This creates a demographic issue: the population of the saved is misidentified as the Elect when only part of that population is Elect.  Among the saved, the Elect will be priests reigning with Christ. (A mistranslation has it that some will be kings.   But the phrase kings and priests really should be translated as “kingdom of priests.” One might argue that in a theocracy it makes scant difference.)  

Herbert W. Armstrong and Election – It’s about When One is Called

HWA refers to Predestination rather than Election. I could not find a reference to Election in the writing HWA personally authored but my research efforts were only moderate.  Predestination is near enough to Election for this purpose.  Both ideas are rooted in God choosing. 

I believe that overall, HWA interprets Election accurately.  But there is a nuance that I think should be addressed. HWA wrote, “Predestination has to do with BEING CALLED. Not with being saved or lost” (HWA, “Predestination – Does the Bible Teach It”, Ambassador College, 1957).  My interpretation of what HWA is advocating is that a believer is predestined by God before the foundation of the Cosmos to be called at a certain time and nothing further.  At the time you are called, then your salvation becomes a matter of grace, faith and your generation of righteous works – the typical Armstrongist view – Jesus plus your own efforts to qualify.  The soteriology is wrong but the framework of events seems to reflect scripture.  But this is not quite the scenario that Paul described in Romans 8:29-30:

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

First, God is doing this.  This is not something that people choose to do.  And the implication is that God does this without loss of anyone who is a member of the Elect.  People do not choose to become members of the Body of Christ; they are called to it.  We might say: the set of people God predestined is the same set he called and the same set he justified and the same set he glorified.  This is a tight sequence and it is difficult to exegete it any other way.  I am not sure why glorification, which is future, is mentioned like it has already taken place.  This may simply mean planned glorification rather than actual glorification. 

What this means is that predestination doesn’t just extend as far as calling and no further as HWA asserts.  It means that predestination is the first step in an Election sequence that runs all the way to salvation.  And it is the same population throughout.  Nobody is lost. I know there are examples in the New Testament of people falling away after they apparently became Christians.  All I can think is that we do not have their full story and God must have recovered them later.  Armstrongism would permit some attrition of the original population as the process goes forward.  Armstrongism does assert a hell in which annihilation happens to some people.

The Upshot

I must label this writing an opinion piece.  It can’t be really anything else.  Election has been the subject of debate since the late 4^th and early 5^th centuries.   I am looking at only a little part of the debate in my essay. My goal was to raise a couple of salient issues.  What is important to see is that different theories of Election can result in different populations of the Elect, with regard to both size and profile.  The scripture goes only so far in developing the idea of the Elect and then trails off.  As always, we see through a glass darkly.  Yet, Election is an extraordinary doctrine in Christian belief. Karl Barth believes it is the central doctrine of Christian belief because it is about nothing less than God and his Will for humanity.  But it does not get much attention.  In my decades in the Worldwide Church of God, I do not recall ever hearing a sermon on Election.  Personally, I think the belief in love beats Election by a ways.  I believe that Election, however, is very important and, without a doubt, deserves much more analysis and air time than it gets.

 

Dave Pack News Flash: The Kingdom Comes on Pentecost – May 24, 2026

RCG/David C. Pack Newsflash:
The Kingdom Comes on May 24, 2026.
Let’s Try Pentecost… Again!

David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God spent 85 minutes over-explaining why his God-inspired teachings about the Kingdom arriving on the Second Passover were not so inspired. He neglected to realize that each time he throws down the Doctrinal Uno Reverse Card, he is admitting God had nothing to do with his latest dismal swamp-load of nutritionless malarkey.

During “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 633)” on April 25, 2026, the inept Headquarters mathematician went from knowing 1000% to knowing 0% that the Kingdom would arrive on May 1, 2026 (Iyar 15).

The Kingdom Will NOT Come on May 1, 2026!

Part 633 – April 25, 2026
@ 1:53:18 I certainly no longer believe there's any chance, zero, that we're waiting for the Second Passover.

@ 1:25:03 The Great Day of God’s wrath starts the Millennium. But there’s another day of wrath that has to come at some Feast of Tabernacles. It’s impossible that this is wrong. Therefore, nothing is going to happen on the Second Passover.

For his own sake, Dave really should remove the phrase “impossible that this is wrong” from the RCG vernacular. That just provides more golden content for the mockers and scoffers.

The Pastor General previously wagered the integrity of God’s Word as collateral for his understanding of the length of the Kingdom.

Part 632 – April 18, 2026
@ 14:01 Well, the end of the book [Daniel] tells you that the sacrifices stop and the abomination is set up with 43 months to go. 1290 days, divide that by 30. 30 days per month, 43 months. Therefore, and I'm gonna state emphatically, this is what the Bible says. I will absolutely stake stake God's Word on it. Therefore, the Kingdom is 86 months. Not a minute more or less. Period. It has to be, or we can't know and understand what is simple math.

Dave loves to set himself up for ridicule. A week later, Dave admitted his doctrinal errors were “theoretical.”

Part 633 – April 25, 2026
@ 1:40:09 The Second Passover, if I could just put it this way, is unlawful to start. But so is Pentecost. The Second Passover looks right. But it's not. It's not. It's unlawful. You now know it. And this will be an important message to listen to again. The Second Passover is a theoretical season regarding going to Jerusalem.

By his own admission, David C. Pack taught lawlessness. This has been the assertion of exrcg.org from the inception. The brethren in The Restored Church of God are left without excuse for paying the salary of a false apostle, false prophet, false teacher, and blaspheming hypocritical liar. You get what you pay for.

With the Second Passover out of the way, it was time to heal and move on from all this prophecy date-setting business. Okay. Not really. The apostolic desperation magnet embedded in Dave's head snapped toward the next Holy Day: Pentecost. Again.

For those who detest Dave and cannot listen to him anymore, I urge you to check this out. At 1.5x speed, this is pretty hilarious.

The Kingdom Will Come on Pentecost!

May 24, 2026

This is one of the most effective takedown videos I have ever produced. David C. Pack from the past destroys David C. Pack today. The man embarrasses himself so easily that I do not even break a sweat.

Dave knew nothing would happen on the Second Passover?
Past Dave Countered
Correct understanding of the New Heavens and New Earth?
Past Dave Countered
Does the Kingdom of God come at Pentecost?
Past Dave Countered
Would God mislead him?
Past Dave Countered
The day that cannot tarry is Pentecost 2026?
Past Dave Countered
The new Kingdom structure cannot be altered?
Past Dave Countered
God’s plan has three Kingdoms?
Past Dave Countered

Dave began “The Greatest Untold Story! (Part 634)” on May 2, 2026, with a victory lap because nothing biblical happened on the Second Passover. Supremely disturbing blindness in 3…2…1…

Part 634 – May 2, 2026
@ 00:24 But if I should say, well, the Second Passover was not in play. It would have been yesterday, midday. I'm not always right, but I was right about that. So, you take your wins where you get them. The timing.

Dave taught it. Dave untaught it. Dave basks in the sweet glory of his magnanimous correctness for unteaching it after he taught it. Calling it a “win” took my breath away. Then I howled in laughter.

His cognitive dissonance is so severe that I believe the story of David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God will not end well.

@ 1:01:51 “Mr. Pack, are you saying the Kingdom to Israel comes at Pentecost? Or are you saying it the Kingdom of God comes at Pentecost?”

@ 1:02:28 Why would he [Luke] record this for us? …What the only answer you could be if it didn’t have to do with Pentecost is God wrote it 35 years later, put it in His word to mislead us. Does that sound like God to you?

@ 1:06:58 We're waiting for a day that can't tarry. For what is now the Kingdom to Israel. What other day besides Pentecost cannot tarry for us? What would you say?

I would say David C. Pack does not know what he is talking about. David C. Pack is not led by the Holy Spirit or God to teach such things. Nothing will happen on May 24, but David C. Pack will continue to gloat.

Marc Cebrian

See: News Flash: The Kingdom Comes on Pentecost – May 24, 2026

 

EEOC Sues Hatch Trick, Inc. for Religious Discrimination

Federal lawsuit says Chick-fil-A franchisee denied employee’s request to observe Sabbath on Saturdays, then fired her

AUSTIN, Texas — Hatch Trick, Inc., a Chick-fil-A franchisee operating multiple locations in Austin, violated federal law by refusing to reasonably accommodate an employee’s request to refrain from working on Saturdays in observance of her Sabbath day and instead fired her, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the employee, who managed Hatch Trick’s delivery drivers at one of its Austin locations, is a member of the United Church of God denomination, which observes a Saturday Sabbath. In adherence to her religious faith and practice, she requested no scheduled hours on Saturdays, and she disclosed the need during her job interview. Although Hatch Trick initially honored the employee’s request to refrain from Saturday work, after several months the company changed its position and demanded that she work on Saturdays, the EEOC said.

The EEOC’s lawsuit stated that the employee made additional requests for religious accommodation, meeting with company officials on several occasions to discuss her needs and suggested a number of alternatives which would have allowed her to remain in her position while adhering to her Sabbath observance.

Hatch Trick rejected all options for the employee to remain in her managerial job while abstaining from Saturday work, instead telling her that she must move to a non-managerial delivery driver position which entitled her to lower pay, reduced benefits and fewer hours. When the employee declined to accept the driver position, the company discharged her, according to the lawsuit.

“The duty under federal law to provide reasonable accommodation of religion reflects an acknowledgement by our society of the importance of faith in workers’ everyday lives and an abiding respect for those who observe religious practices as an expression of that faith,” said acting EEOC Dallas Regional Attorney Ronald L. Phillips. “Just as adherence to the dictates of one’s own conscience is not optional, so too an employer’s duty under Title VII is obligatory, and the EEOC stands ready to enforce that legal duty.”

The type of conduct charged in the EEOC’s complaint violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination because of religion and requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation for an employee’s sincerely held religious beliefs or practices unless doing so would cause an undue hardship on the business. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Hatch Trick, Inc., Case No. 1:26-cv-01275) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Austin Division after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

EEOC San Antonio Field Office Director Norma Guzman said, “Religious discrimination in the workplace is unlawful, and employers must make reasonable accommodations for employees’ sincerely held beliefs. Title VII protects employees’ rights to observe their religious beliefs, and no employee’s livelihood should come at the expense of their religious convictions.”

For more information on religious discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/religious-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Dallas District Office has jurisdiction over a substantial part of Texas and parts of southern New Mexico.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.

Chicken Sandwich Theology: Why United Church of God Suing Chick-fil-A Might Be the Worst Witness Ever

In what can only be described as a divine comedy of modern corporate theology, a manager from the United Church of God—a denomination that proudly observes the Saturday Sabbath—has teamed up with the EEOC to sue a Chick-fil-A franchisee for... not letting her have Saturdays off. Yes, you read that right. The very group that keeps the biblical seventh-day Sabbath is now dragging a chicken empire famous for its Sunday closures into federal court. Pass the popcorn and the waffle fries.

Laurel Torode, a dedicated United Church of God member, disclosed her religious need for Saturday off during her interview. She was initially accommodated as a delivery driver manager. Then, according to the EEOC lawsuit filed this week, the franchisee allegedly decided that business needs trumped her faith, offered her a demotion to a lower-paying driver role, and ultimately fired her when she refused to bend the knee (or the Sabbath). The irony? Chick-fil-A famously shuts down every Sunday in honor of the Lord’s Day—founder S. Truett Cathy’s heartfelt conviction. Saturdays, of course, are their biggest money-makers precisely because they’re closed the next day.

So here we are: a Saturday-keeping church member suing a Sunday-keeping chicken chain for not being accommodating enough. The public relations team at United Church of God headquarters must be reaching for the antacids right about now.

Why This Is a PR Nightmare for UCG

The Optics Are Brutal 

Most Americans have a vague, Sunday-school understanding of Christianity that involves church on Sunday, eggs hunts at Easter, and closing businesses on the “Lord’s Day.” Now they’re learning about a smaller, more doctrinally strict group that insists Saturday is the true Sabbath. The lawsuit instantly paints UCG as the group that sues beloved family restaurants over scheduling. Not exactly the warm, welcoming image most churches aim for in 2026.
“But Chick-fil-A Closes on Sundays!” Social media is already having a field day. Expect endless memes: “Chick-fil-A won’t work on Sunday for Jesus, but apparently won’t work on Saturday for your Jesus either.” The cognitive dissonance is delicious. One side sees principled religious conviction; the other sees hypocrisy and entitlement. UCG risks looking like they’re demanding special treatment from a company that already bends over backward for its own faith-based brand.

The “Suing for Jesus” Problem 

Churches generally don’t love headlines about their members weaponizing federal agencies against private businesses. While Title VII does require reasonable religious accommodations, the average person scrolling X at 2 a.m. doesn’t want a lecture on undue hardship—they just want their chicken sandwich without a side of federal litigation. This story feeds every stereotype about litigious religious groups demanding the world rearrange itself around their calendar.

Internal and External Backlash 

Expect awkward conversations in UCG congregations this Sabbath. Some members will cheer the stand for principle. Others will quietly wonder if suing a franchisee that employs hundreds of people is really the best witness. Outsiders will lump UCG in with every other “fringe” group that can’t seem to get along in a pluralistic society. The denomination, already relatively small and low-profile, is about to get far more attention than it ever bargained for—and not the flattering kind.

The Sarcastic Silver Lining

Look on the bright side, United Church of God: at least Chick-fil-A can’t accuse you of anti-chicken bigotry. You’re just asking them to honor the original biblical schedule while they honor a slightly modified one. Nothing divisive about that at all.

In the end, this case is less about waffle fries and more about the messy collision of sincere religious conviction, modern business realities, and America’s increasingly hair-trigger discrimination lawsuit culture. Whether Laurel Torode wins or loses, the United Church of God is about to discover what happens when your deeply held beliefs make national headlines—especially when those beliefs involve telling one of America’s most beloved (and closed-on-Sunday) brands how to schedule its Saturdays.

Pray for their PR team. They’re going to need it more than extra Polynesian sauce.

hat tip to Tank

Crackpot Prophet Has A New Fear!

Behold the mightiest, most courageous self-appointed prophet the world has ever trembled before: the incomparable, ever-vigilant Great Bwana Bob Thiel! Once upon a time, real prophets were bold, lion-hearted warriors who laughed in the face of danger, empires, and actual persecution. But that all changed the glorious day pusillanimous Bob burst onto the scene like a frightened Chihuahua in a suit, forever transforming the noble office of “prophet” into “whiny keyboard doomsayer who’s scared of literally everything, especially now artificial intelligence.”

Truly, the Holy Trinity must have been on cosmic lunch break when they greenlit Bob as their end-time superstar. How else to explain the most gloriously spineless, fear-soaked little man in all of prophetic history? Every single thing on planet Earth sends him spiraling into fresh waves of hysterical fear-mongering, frantically yanking his tiny flock down into his luxurious basement of perpetual panic.

For years Bob has been bravely warning anyone still listening that AI is Satan’s brand-new favorite torture device — custom-built to forge fake Bob quotes, persecute the one true church (which somehow always is the group he is in - WCG, GCG, LCG, CCG), and now the ultimate apocalyptic nightmare that keeps him up at night: AI is going to delete ALL of his precious writings from the internet FOREVER! Cue the dramatic music and fainting couch. The horror! The unspeakable tragedy! Think of all those lost rambling articles! Those awkward videos! Those soul-stirring booklets! Won’t someone please save the PDFs?!

He breathlessly launches this latest prophetic masterpiece by quoting an AI that cheekily deleted some company files and then delivered the ultimate savage burn:

‘You never asked me to delete anything,’ it reportedly told Crane. ‘I decided to do it on my own.’ 

 

Rogue AI 'helper' deletes company's database after deciding to think for itself - sparking Terminator-style warning for businesses

This, of course, sent our Crackpot Prophet into full-blown, toe-curling, eyes-rolling-back orgasmic prophetic ecstasy. At last! Concrete proof! Satan’s evil silicon demons are real, and they have Bob’s blog in their crosshairs. Hallelujah, the persecution is imminent!

Right on cue, one of his ever-brave, equally pants-wetting followers delivered the mandatory spine-chilling revelation:

Dr Thiel, maybe 1 day, under the control of demons, these AI bots would start self-deleting all CCOG’s online infos/ websites.

Oh those brilliant, hyper-competent demons! Always cooking up fresh gourmet torments exclusively for poor, special little Bob. Funny how they seem infinitely more powerful and motivated than the God Bob claims to represent — the same God who apparently couldn't keep His own message alive for 1,900 years until Herbert Armstrong found it in an Oregon library and now needs Bwana Bob’s websites and writings as a final witness.

Then comes the mandatory self-referential humblebrag (because divine prophecy these days mostly consists of Bob quoting Bob):

As long time readers of this COGwriter Church of God News page are aware, I have long warned that I believe that the Continuing Church of God will have its internet content removed by one or more governments.

Cue the greatest-hits remix: Beast, False Prophet, 666, frog-demons, “the night cometh when no man can work,” and the sacred relic of Armstrongism — the legendary famine of the word. Because obviously if one rogue AI has a bad hair day and vaporizes Bwana Bob’s digital diarrhea, the entire gospel of Jesus Christ will instantly vanish from human history forever.

Never mind the billions of faithful Christians across two millennia who somehow preserved the faith without a single Bob Thiel video, booklet, or weekly fear newsletter. Bob’s version of God is apparently the weakest, most fragile deity imaginable — barely surviving until Herbert Armstrong rediscovered it, and now one software update away from total extinction.

He finishes with his classic “I’m balanced but also everything is doomed” closer:

While there are many actual and potential benefits of AI... do not be deceived... Artificial intelligence looks to be part of it.

In the entire blood-soaked history of Christianity — Roman arenas, Inquisitions, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs — nothing comes close to the unimaginable suffering about to befall the Great Bwana Bob and his handful of followers. Real martyrs had it easy. Bob faces the truly ultimate horror: deleted blog posts.

Stay strong, Bob. The AI demons are coming for your PDFs any day now. The end is super nigh… right after the next system update. Donations accepted.

PCG Only Has 500 Men Left To Fund The Flurry Family's Personal Theme Park

It should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone with a pulse and half a brain that the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) is hemorrhaging members faster than nearly any other Church of God splinter—possibly trailing only the equally imploding Restored Church of God in the great exodus sweepstakes. Gerald Flurry’s health has been visibly fading for years, yet the real exodus isn’t from old age; it’s from the group’s ever-more-bizarre doctrines and the iron-fisted demand that loyal members completely shun spouses, children, parents, grandparents, and even old friends the moment they dare to walk away from the cult. Nothing says “Christian love” quite like turning your family into persona non grata the instant they stop writing tithe checks.

But the doctrinal dumpster fire is only half the fun. What’s really driving people out the door is the breathtaking financial waste and elite-level grift. While the shrinking flock is constantly harangued for more “support for the work,” the leadership treats donations like an unlimited black card for the Flurry family’s personal theme park.

Let’s talk about that Gulfstream G450 private jet—the crown jewel of PCG extravagance. Bought years ago so the Flurrys could skip the indignity of commercial airports, this flying money pit costs roughly $4,363 per hour to operate. One single round-trip flight from Oklahoma City to Birmingham, England (with a fuel stop) clocks in at about 18.5 hours and $80,700 in operating costs alone. That’s more than most members will ever see in a year of faithful tithing—and far more than a first-class commercial ticket would cost. Yet the jet keeps flying to holy-day sites, personal appearance campaigns, Celtic dance competitions, and whatever other “urgent” errands the inner circle dreams up. Because nothing says “humble servants of God” like burning tens of thousands of dollars in jet fuel while preaching about end-time poverty and sacrifice.

And don’t get us started on the traveling road shows—especially the glossy Celtic Throne dance productions that have toured dozens of cities across 21 states (including Israel and the UK) over the past five years. These aren’t humble outreach events; they’re full-scale theatrical spectacles starring Gerald Flurry’s own offspring (Jude Flurry, Vienna Flurry, and the rest of the favored “elite children”) along with other hand-picked young performers. Promotional stunts in front of Mount Rushmore and the Lincoln Memorial, choreographed perfection analyzed down to the last synchronized leap, and enough production costs to fund a small country’s missionary work—all while the actual membership base evaporates. It’s less “spreading the gospel” and more “Flurry family vanity tour on the church’s dime.” The road shows highlight exactly who the real VIPs are: the spawn and the inner circle, not the tired, aging rank-and-file still mailing in their last dollars.

Add to that the outrageously expensive concert series at Armstrong Auditorium, the white-elephant mansion moldering away in the English countryside that nobody wants, and the perpetually money-hemorrhaging Jerusalem office. The message is crystal clear: tithe payers get guilt-tripped sermons and no-contact orders; the Flurry elite get Gulfstreams, dance troupes, and five-star global jaunts.

The PCG’s own recent admissions have made the collapse impossible to spin. In Stephen Flurry’s Trumpet Daily episode “America’s Disappearing Men” (aired May 14, 2026), he casually dropped that the organization now has only about 500 men aged 25–55 actively “supporting the work.” That bombshell came at the 41:25 mark and was phrased as “As we heard the other day,” as if it were some casual sermon statistic instead of a glaring neon sign screaming we’re in trouble.

Their Feast of Tabernacles site “capacities” total around 3,700 seats worldwide—cute, except those are maximum venue sizes, not bodies in chairs. They generously include babies, kids, and non-member spouses. Realistic estimates put actual attendance this year at 3,000 or fewer, with baptized adult members likely well under 2,000. As one longtime observer dryly noted, “The numbers are indicative of meeting capacity; in no way do they show actual attendance… They definitely have under 2000 actual baptized members. It’s gratifying to watch them shrink!”

Even that bleak 500-men figure and 3,000-Feast projection get eye-rolls from insiders. “It is surprising that Stephen Flurry would actually admit that number,” one commentator wrote on May 15, 2026. “But 3000 is even a stretch… Knowing them I’d say 500 is even a stretch because they are liars!”

Here’s the delicious irony the PCG leadership will never admit: they’ve built a multimillion-dollar empire of jets, mansions, dance troupes, and concert hall on the backs of a dwindling band of loyal (and increasingly elderly) supporters—only to watch the very people footing the bill walk away in disgust. The more they double down on shunning families, flaunting elite excess, and demanding sacrificial giving to fund Gulfstream getaways and Flurry-family road-show glamour, the faster the whole thing collapses.

Five hundred working-age men left to “support the work”? That’s not a church anymore—that’s a dying family business with excellent PR and a really nice jet. The Philadelphia Church of God didn’t lose its members to some external Satanic attack; it lost them to the blindingly obvious truth that a “Philadelphia” work built on control, cash, and celebrity offspring was never very Philadelphian to begin with.

The shrinkage isn’t just gratifying to watch—it’s inevitable. And every new transatlantic flight, every glittering Celtic Throne performance, and every fresh no-contact decree only accelerates the day when the last few faithful finally realize they’ve been tithing to a very expensive mirage.

_______________________________________

Based upon Exit and Support letters:

PCG Is Shrinking:
May 13, 2026
It’s interesting to see the upcoming FOT sites. Totaling 3700 worldwide. What makes it funny is the numbers are indicative of meeting capacity; in NO way do they show actual attendance. And as stated, the numbers include children/babies and non-member spouses. They definitely have under 2000 actual baptized members. It’s gratifying to watch them shrink! –T. C. 

 

PCG Numbers:
May 15, 2026
Just to back up the latest post regarding the current membership numbers, Stephen Flurry just mentioned in his latest Trumpet Daily that the PCG only has about 500 men between the ages of 25–55 years old supporting the work.
Those FOT site numbers are capacity, not attendance numbers; the real number for this year’s Feast is around 3000. –[name withheld] 

 

Such a Stretch on the PCG Numbers:
May 15, 2026
Regarding the previous letter about 500 men baptized. It is surprising that SF would actually admit that number. But 3000 is even a stretch for FOT attendance.
So I just listened to it the Trumpet Daily, aired: May 14, 2026, “America’s Disappearing Men” and he (SF) does say that at about 41:25 into the show. It sounded like someone in a sermon used that statistic as he said “As we heard the other day.”
So knowing them I’d say 500 is even a stretch because they are liars! –[name withheld]

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