PCG: Micah Turgeon, Son of Wayne Turgeon and Gerald Flurry's Grandson Planned His Escape From Clutches of the PCG

 

Exit and Support Network has the following tidbits up about Micah Turgeon, son of Wayne Turgeon. He had apparently been planning for several months to escape from the cult compound in Edmond, Oklahoma. This departure added to the recent exposure of the UK financial statements for PCG and the crap has been hitting the fan.  Flurry has decreed that no more sermons, sermonettes. etc be shared online to anyone.

Here is the beginning:

Micah Turgeon Has Left the PCG:
July 12, 2022
Micah Turgeon, GF’s grandson [and and son of Wayne Turgeon], has left the PCG after months of preparation to “escape.” He was an H.W. Armstrong College student. –G.

Then the bit about Flurry canceling all sermons posted online:

PCG Makes Decision Not to Post Anymore Sermons Online:
July 13, 2022
Well, it looks like GF and his top idiots got sick and tired of reading ESN’s critiques of their sermons and Bible Studies. They recently posted this announcement:

Announcement:

Headquarters has finished posting weekly sermons and Bible studies at pcg.church. Pastor General Gerald Flurry made this decision after considerable discussion with regional directors. The service was important during government lockdowns, but regular Sabbath services and Bible studies have now resumed. Mr. Flurry understands that there will be a very small number of exceptions who will still require this service. If you believe that your situation is an exception, please contact your regional director. If your exception is approved, you will be able to continue to access the recordings. (All members continue to have access to announcements.) But for the large majority of members and their families, we look forward to seeing you more at services and Bible studies.

ESN has exposed them to the hilt anyway and their continual sermons are basically only a re-hash of things.
But Micah Turgeon left, so that’s huge!! hahaha
They can wallow in that for a while! –[name withheld]

Typical Narcissistic Rage:
July 13, 2022
I think it was an angry, emotional, impulsive decision to stop the online sermons and I believe it was the exposing of the UK financial reports [July 9 letter] and Micah Turgeon leaving that caused it. Close family like Micah leaving has to be a blow to their ego. Typical narcissistic rage. –Former PCG member

PCG is now on the warpath trying to discover who has been leaking sermons and other information. They are too dense to realize that in 2022 and with the proliferation of smartphones, internet services, and "dissident" sites they have lost all control now. I was told some time back that Flurry can ban smartphones all he wants, but many PCG members have kept them and still use them when they aren't around other church members. Many PCG members have resorted to leaving their phones in their cars when attending church services or other functions. They are losing control of their members just like all the other COG's currently are experiencing.

Another contributor to ESN had this to say when news of Micag Turgeon's escape spreads through the congregations, HQ, and the student body of HWA College:

July 13, 2022
As high on the ladder as Micah Turgeon was, you can bet there are members on the lower tiers that are thinking of bailing, too. Also, once the news of Micah Turgeon’s exit spreads, it might lead to more saying “I’ve had enough.”

As of right now most of Micah's articles are still up on the PCG site. As has happened in the past in the church as soon as someone who writes or preaches for the church ends up leaving, the church immediately scrubs their existence from all church offerings. It will be interesting to see how long he "exists" on PCG's website.

Another contributor made this astute observation about PCG losing control:

July 14, 2022
It is no happenstance that GF removed access to his secretive online sermons after ESN posted and analyzed their UK Financial Report [see July 9 letter above]. First, they shut down the tape libraries where even shut-ins couldn’t receive them; then the CD sermon tapes were ordered to be destroyed, then members weren’t to share their recorded sermons, next no smartphones were to be used, and now this. How many other tyrannical rules they’ve imposed on members is anyone’s guess. If this purported “one true church of God” is really “God’s Church,” then why are they hiding their sermons from outsiders, unlike what any genuine Christian church would do? The answer is because they reveal the sick control going on inside, including their Satanic no-contact ruling that causes untoward suffering. Yet, PCG will scream “Satan is persecuting God’s Church!” at any exposure of their evil deeds. I agree they will be unable to stop all info from getting out no matter how tight they try to control it. –A. R.

Micah joins a long line of COG children of top leaders who have planned their escapes from various COG's.  Their mental well depended upon it. COG leaders are so blinded by their abusive techniques that they have no idea of the collateral damage they are causing to their own children and members. The mental anguish builds up for so long and then the dam bursts.

The Churches of God are in such a rapid downward spiral that they have no ability anymore to recover from it. Like many others before us, we should take great pride in contributing to the dissolution of Armstrongism.

Previous stories on Wayne Turgeon, Micah's father:

PCG: Famine of the word will happen when Gerald Flurry's booklets are no longer available...Wut?

Philadelphia Church of God Cult: Kicked out of PCG because she was a "threat to their cause"

PCG's Wayne Turgeon Gets His Comeuppance From Swiss TSA Agents

Philadelphia Church of God: Cal Culpepper, Wayne Turgeon - Gerald Flurry's Gestapo Agents

PCG Wayne Turgeon: You don't know who you are messing with if you mess with PCG

PCG: God Inspired Wayne Turgeon Into Forcing PCG Students To Work On Sunday

PCG's Wayne Turgeon's Ungodly Advice On Punishing Your Children: Because Silly Children Bring Shame Upon Their Human Father and the PCG

Wayne Turgeon: "...a man of low character..."

PCG Wayne Turgeon: Christ died only for PCG Members Though Only After They Have Read As Much PCG Literature As Possible Which Replaces Their Sin

PCG's Wayne Turgeon: "I sat up for hours waiting for some noise from anybody, and it was dead quiet."

PCG Wayne Turgeon Dares To Talk About Godly Families and Trust

Wayne Turgeon: Trust the ministry and learn to say "Yes, sir!" and do what your minister instructs

Wayne Turgeon On Being United With The Rock

PCG Wayne Turgeon Admits Church Can't Afford To Light Up HWA Auditorium For Church Members

Wayne Turgeon: Love Your Enemies But Ignore Your Family Members Who Are No Longer Part of PCG

One of the sad hallmarks of the current COG splinter group masquerading as the Philadelphia Church of God is its abhorrent treatment of family members and friends who are not part of the PCG, especially those who left the church for various reasons.

Fathers and mothers have turned against children. Children have turned their backs on parents and grandparents. The abominable edicts from Flurry, Turgeon and other goosestepping henchmen of the PCG have separated families so horrifically that it has led to suicide by several members. They have no problem with this and hold their heads up high and puff their chests out pretending to be enforcing God's standards.

Turgeon writes:

I have dealt with situations where I needed to love my “enemies.” Some of those relations have improved to the point where these people are now great friends of mine. It showed me, personally, that God will bless us if we follow this command. 

 

Verse 44 ends, “… and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” God’s Church will definitely face more intense persecution. When persecuted and unjustly accused, it can be hard not to become indignant and try to retaliate. Christ is clear that we must endure people’s mistakes as well as any intentionally hateful acts. There will come a time when the offender may repent, and we must be quick to forgive them. 

 

“That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (verse 45). All who ever lived are potentially God’s children, and He loves each and every one of them. We happen to be part of the firstfruits, but there will be many more to follow Christ’s and our example. 

 

“For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?’’ (verses 46-47). These publicans were tax collectors who most despised. There were also Gentiles at that time who were regarded as dirty, disgusting dogs. We have to have love for the whole world, not just those in God’s Church today. Anybody in the world can love their inner circle of friends and associates, but it takes the love of God to sacrifice for even those who hate you. Turn the Other Cheek

Here is the instructions  that Gerald Flurry commanded all of his followers to do:

July 22, 2016 

My mate has former friends from PCG who have told of a brand new ruling sent down from King Flurry that was announced last Sabbath. Jerry Flurry, in his "omnipotent wisdom," has ruled that now all contact with unbaptized children who have left the PCG is to be terminated immediately. 

It has been the policy for years that parents were still allowed to talk to children who have left the PCG only If they were unbaptized. Now Pope flurry has even taken away that small mercy. 

The talk amongst the children now affected by this judgment is that this will push many PCG families over the edge and force them to leave or get put out. Others feel that this will put one more nail in the coffin of Flurryism. Flurry is looking more and more like "mad King George" as his actions are ruining the PCG. All of his egomaniacal pipe dreams have come to nothing. The dig in Jerusalem has failed. The PCG radio station broadcast from the Edmond compound has failed. Membership has plummeted since the late 90s and there is almost no growth. Some wonder that in the end all that will be left is a small "Jonestown faithful" secluded on the Edmond compound. --Former PCG member. Exit and Support

To read more on the true Philadelphian love that the PCG exemplifies, check out the following:

Gerald Flurry Commands Cult Members to Cut Off ALL Contact With Nonmember Children

MaryAnn McCullough: Philadelphia Church of God Causes ANOTHER Suicide In Milton, Ontario Congregation

Gerald Flurry And PCG Have Blood On Their Hands AGAIN Because Of Another Suicide Of A Member

Philadelphia Church of God "No Contact Policy" Causes Another Suicide

Philadelphia Church of God Causes Another Suicide

Philadelphia Church of God Sinks to Another New Low

How Fred Dattalo, Cal Culpepper and Gerald Flurry Caused The Suicide of Janet De Gennaro

"Gerald Flurry, Fred Dattolo, Tim Oostendarp, Cal Culpepper, Eric Anderson, Jim Cocomise and John Chandler. I hold you responsible for the death of my daughter Janet De Gennaro."

PCG: Another Suicide Attempt Due To Aberrant Teachings

Gerald Flurry and the Philadelphia Church of God Sink To A New Low

Fred Dattalo Warns PCG Members To Get Ready For Persecution

PCG Suicide: More Information on Errol Concepcion and the Disastrous PCG "No Contact" Policy

The Most Disrespectful Church of God Dares to Teach About "Respect"

PCG: "...why is Flurry allowed to prosper and live the high life--buying multi-million dollar jets while people are killing themselves? Why is his pampered and arrogant children/grandchildren getting great jobs/perks at Edmond HQ ..."

PCG: While Some Members Struggle To Survive The PCG Elite Hire Private Chef's For NTBMO

PCG: Gerald Flurry and Elite Grandkids Travel In Luxury While Members Stay In "...nasty fleabag motels."

PCG Member Claims PCG is NOT A Cult and that PCG Families Are Made Happier By The Church

Gerald Flurry And PCG Have Blood On Their Hands AGAIN Because Of Another Suicide Of A Member

NOTE:  I will keep this at the top for a few days.  Newer entries are below this one.

We have all heard over the last few years the disgusting policy that Gerald Flurry has forced upon his members telling them to cut off all contact with ex-members whether they be family or friends.  It has had a devastating impact on the lives of many people, none more so than the following story of a suicide that happened recently in PCG due to its no contact policy.

PCG is deliberately LYING to members about this.

From Exit and Support website: Letters of those impacted by PCG:

Suicide in PCG Due to No Contact Ruling:

(Notice: Certain details have been changed in this letter due to further clarification.)

July 28, 2014
Janet C. Privratsky, age 30, a member of PCG, committed suicide on July 20 because she had to cut off her parents and only brother due to the no contact rule. She became depressed and then killed herself. Her husband's name is David. Someone I know (ex-PCG) attended the funeral and said it was heart rending to see the parents' grief. Not one person from PCG was in attendance. PCG is truly a sick organization. --[name withheld]

Members Being Told Death of Janet Privratsky Was Due to Heart Failure:

July 29, 2014

Just read on your site this morning about Janet's death being a suicide. Those in the PCG are being told it was "heart failure." People have been so saddened and shocked!

Believe me, I know how this will be kept on the "down low!" They will not want this out there, for many reasons. One of them being, PCG is in the process of purchasing property in the UK, raising up another college. This would not go over well at all. I am shocked--not once did this enter my mind.
It sickens me. Here it is in a nutshell: You obey the PCG rules because those laws, rules, judgments, anything that comes down from the "government" (which, believe me, members strongly and devoutly believe comes from God); if you go along with all this, you will get along just fine in the PCG, and love it there. But if you disobey and voice any disapproval, and do not agree, and do not give in, you cannot stay in the PCG; cannot be among the people.

Janet's parents and brother, for whatever reasons, were suspended from PCG. I do not know when. David and Janet would, of course, be told they could no longer see her mom and dad and her brother, since the ones who leave are considered to be "Laodiceans."

In their hearts, to whatever degree, David and Janet felt God (down through His "government") was telling them to do this. David, most likely still does, no matter how much he hurts. He'll just suck it up and draw closer to all his PCG family, with all their "love and support."

Everyone in PCG just hopes and prays no one in their family leaves. They don't want to go down the same path as Janet or want that for anyone in their family.

I can tell you right now, many in PCG do not agree with that ruling! But if you choose to leave and your family's in, you just cut yourself off from your own family! They'll turn it around and say, "We did not cut you off, you cut us off when you left us!" They believe firmly, Satan now has you.

If you have any more details or proof about this, let us know. I do know for sure that it was a PCG minister that officiated at the funeral.
Thank you. --Anonymous

UCG Antion: JW's Are Good for UCG Members To Emulate

Gary Antion, one of UCG's resident guru's has told the UCG membership that the Jehovah's Witnesses are worth emulating because of their desire to 'witness' to those around them.  The JW's have no problem spending countless hours a week in knocking on door to get their message across.  Is this something that UCG members are prepared to do?  Don't count on it!  The proven track record of Armstrongism is to talk about "a strong hand from someplace".  Armstrongism has always been embarrassed about it's god.  The JW's are not.

Every inhabited household of this country is a sign to a Jehovah's witness to visit two times a year and in fact they log on an average of 20 to 70 hours per month in witnessing.  They have spread their Watchtower magazine to 13 million people in a 103 different languages.  There are 7 million Jehovah's witnesses worldwide at least, those who claim to be adherents.  They take their name from Isaiah:43:10 where God says:

Isaiah:43:10 “You are to be My witnesses, says the Eternal God,” which is translated Jehovah by them or YHVH.  You are to be My witnesses.

Did you know you are supposed to be a witness too?  Not a Jehovah's witness necessarily, but you and I are called to be witnesses.

You have to wonder what is at the root of Antion's praise of the JW's.  Could it be something a little deeper? Could it be that the JW's have held true to the control over the membership that UCG and the rest of the COG's have lost control over?  JW's hold the exact same standards of ruling peoples lives as UCG used to be able to do.

Here is a list of eight things the JW's expect of their members.  Substitute UCG for the Watchtower name, or for that matter, any COG splinter cult name in it's place and you will have the same belief manifesto that Armstrongism has always employed!

How dare you low life members dare to think for yourself! Interpret the Bible on your won?  Not on your life.  All correct biblical instruction can only come down from the leadership of the UCG (or PCG, LCG, Packism, Flurryism, etc.)

1. The Bible can only be understood via the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization.
   1. Quote: "Only this organization functions for Jehovah's purpose and to his praise. To it alone God's Sacred Word, the Bible, is not a sealed book," (Watchtower, July 1, 1973, p. 402).
   2. Comment: This is an amazing quote. Only the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization can properly interpret the Bible. It is saying that the Lord Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, cannot give a Christian a proper understanding of the Bible even though it is Jesus who opens the mind to understand Scripture (Luke 24:45). This effectively prevents the Jehovah's Witness (UCG, PCG, LCG, members) from thinking and interpreting the Bible for himself apart from the Watchtower organization's guidance.
2. Individuals are not able to rightly interpret the Bible apart from the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization.
   1. Quote: "Thus the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible," (Watchtower, Oct. 1, 1967, p. 587).
   2. Comment: The Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) restricts its followers from looking at the Bible by itself without the guidance of the organization's input. This is not freedom to think for oneself and it is a sure way to keep the Jehovah's Witnesses (UCG, PCG, LCG, members) intellectually in line with Watchtower teachings.
   3. Also, contrast the quote above with the following quote from the Watchtower: "The Vatican belittles Bible study by claiming it is the only organization authorized and qualified to interpret the Bible," (Watchtower, July 1, 1943, p. 201). The funny thing is that that is exactly what the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) does. It claims to be the only source of true spiritual knowledge.
3. If you don't understand something, meekly wait for the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) to tell you what the truth is, otherwise you are foolish.
   1. Quote: "We should eat and digest and assimilate what is set before us, without shying away from parts of the food because it may not suit the fancy of our mental taste...We should meekly go along with the Lord's theocratic organization and wait for further clarification, rather than balk at the first mention of a thought unpalatable to us and proceed to quibble and mouth our criticisms and opinions as though they were worth more than the slave's provision of spiritual food. Theocratic ones will appreciate the Lord's visible organization and not be so foolish as to put against Jehovah's channel their own human reasoning and sentiment and personal feelings," (Watchtower, Feb. 1, 1952, p. 79-80).
   2. Comment: Here, the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) tells us that submission is to God's "theocratic organization", the Watchtower organization, and that submission must be complete and meek. Undoubtedly, this is clearly teaching that independent thought is not welcome in the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) Organization.
4. The Watchtower (Tomorrow's World, Plain Truth, Good News) magazine is the means of God's communication
   1. the magazine called The Watchtower (Tomorrow's World, Good News, Plain Truth) is used for that purpose," (1939 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 85).
   2. Comment: This says that the Jehovah's Witness (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization is the means God uses to communicate on earth today. But, the Bible says that God speaks to us through His Son: Heb. 1:1-2 says it is Jesus: "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, ²in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world."
5. Cannot understand the Bible outside of the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization
   1. Quote: "We all need help to understand the Bible, and we cannot find the Scriptural guidance we need outside the 'faithful and discreet slave' organization," (Watchtower, Feb. 15, 1981).
   2. Comment: The Jehovah's Witness (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization has set itself up as the sole means of understanding the Bible. In contrast to this, Jesus opens the mind to understand the scriptures (Luke 24:45). It isn't the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization that does this, but God. Admittedly, we have denominational differences. But the differences are not in the essentials and we certainly are able to understand those essentials apart from the Watchtower.
   3. See CARM's article on the "Faithful and Discreet Slave," for clarification on this issue.
6. Those who think apart from the Watchtower's (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) guidance are like Satan
   1. Quote: "From time to time, there have arisen from among the ranks of Jehovah's people those, who, like the original Satan, have adopted an independent, faultfinding attitude...They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively, either alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, through such 'Bible reading,' they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom's clergy were teaching 100 years ago..." (Watchtower, Aug. 15, 1981).
   2. Comment: So, if you think independently, find fault with something the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) says, then you are like Satan. Is this freedom of thought? Is this how Christ works in the church? Hardly.
   3. Also, what are the apostate doctrines spoken of in the above quote? Of course, that would be the Trinity, the deity of Christ and the Holy Spirit, the physical resurrection of Christ, etc., all things the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization denies. So, if you read the Bible by itself, reading it for what it says, without the Watchtower guiding you, you will adopt these doctrines -- which the Watchtower says are not true!
7. If you love God, then you accept the Watchtower(UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) .
   1. Quote: "We cannot claim to love God, yet deny his word and channel of communication," (Watchtower, Oct. 1, 1967, p. 591).
   2. Comment: In other words, if you love God then you will be "in" the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization. If you reject the organization, then you reject God. Amazing! So, the Jehovah's Witness (UCG, PCG, LCG, member..) is urged to not leave the organization lest they end up rejecting God. Is this encouraging freedom on thought? No.
8. The truth of God can be known only through the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization.
   1. Quote: "All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the "greatly diversified wisdom of God" can become known only through Jehovah's channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave," (Watchtower, Oct. 1, 1994, p. 8).
   2. Comment: Here, the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) states that the only way to understand God's word is through the Watchtower (UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) organization. In other words, your thinking must be in submission to the teaching of the Watchtower(UCG, PCG, LCG, etc.) .  Does the Watchtower organization control the Jehovah's Witnesses' thinking?

Philadelphia Church of God: Is Another Upcoming Split Of The Church In The Works?

Church of God News has a post up from a group that split off from Gerald Flurry's Philadelphia Church of God.

This group is the Armstrong Remembrancers and Keepers of God Foundation.  They are former PCG members who are mainly located in the Philippines.  They have had particular issues with John McDonald that I have reported about previously on here.  McDonald has a rich history of abuse towards the Philippines members and has kicked out close to 300 PCG members since he was sent there. He has a nasty reputation due to his callous and vengeful nature. Plus, PCG's track record in the Philippines has also taken huge hits with several suicides that have happened to members because of the implementation of the "no contact" policy that they implemented a few years ago.

The Remembrancers also recently restored Liberty Bell Park in Jerusalem that HWA and Ambassador Foundation had built decades ago.

Like any typical Armstrong related Church of God out there, it has selective enforcement of policies and doctrines.  Big money gives are always the first to be courted and tolerated for their mistakes that would have led others being kicked out of the church.

From Armstrong Remembrancers and Keepers of God Foundation (a PCG breakaway group in the Philippines) 20th March 2019: 

“SELECTIVE ADMINISTRATION OF SUSPENSION AND NO-CONTACT POLICY BY THE PHILADELPHIA CHURCH OF GOD 

If a member is a big tithe payer, the PCG ministers will do everything to keep him in the fold no matter what. But for a member who is more of a seeker of financial assistance due to his poverty, his expulsion from the Church is just hanging by a thread. Historically, there were nearly 300 PCG members in the Philippines who were excommunicated for the flimsiest reasons under the continuing reign of terror of John Macdonald, which was halted only when the Remembrancers burst in the scene and started exposing PCG’s wicked policies and rules. The majority of those members who were spiritually slaughtered by the PCG ministers were excommunicated primarily because of their poverty. 

Mr. Naciancino Guillar is a generous donor and obviously, the PCG cannot simply let him go or do something that will make him feel bad or hold grudges against the PCG ministers. The ministers visiting him in Pagadian City are well aware that Mr. Guillar’s son, Joel Guillar, who is a leading member of the ARK of God Foundation, has never been restrained from visiting his father. He can freely come to see him and talk to him anytime. The PCG ministers are very well aware of this, but they would not dare IMPOSE THE NO CONTACT POLICY on Joel Guillar. Mr. Guiillar does not believe in the need to CUT OFF his relationship with his son, and the PCG ministers know that, if they will insist on him to cut off his connection with Joel, the probability of losing a BIG TITHE PAYER is very high. So, they have been very lenient in the case of Mr. Guillar. 

Now that Mr. Guillar is threatening to bolt out of the PCG if Mr. Gerald Flurry will decide to split-off with his son Stephen, the more that they are very uneasy about causing Mr. Guillar to have any ill feeling against them. 

Let’s see what happens when Mr. Alex Harrison comes to the Philippines for the PYC. Will he take a trip down south (to visit Mr. Guiillar), or will he require their disabled, two-legged amputee, a senior member from Pagadian City to travel to the PCG office in Angeles City, Pampanga? Most likely, Mr. Harrison will take option 2, which will put the heavy burden on Mr. Guillar, while thinking it will discourage him from taking the trip because of his extreme physical disability. They will avoid a meeting with him at all cost while trying to keep him at ease in continuing his membership in the PCG.” 

While the above information is nothing new to the Church of God, what follows may be a brief hint at an upcoming split in the Philadelphia Church of God between Flurry and Lil'Stevie.  There have been hints thrown around for some time now that there is a strained relationship between father and son, much like HWA and Garner Ted.

A post on 11th March said this of Alex Harrison: 

“IS HE A MINISTER OF GOD OR NOTHING MORE THAN A GLORIFIED HIRELING? 

He is a Kiwi who is based in Australia and holds the rank of an Evangelist in the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG). He is the Regional Director of the Cult over Africa, Australasia, Oceania and the Philippines. 

Alex Harrison is a family man himself and he has a son who has left the PCG, but since he is a high-ranking minister, who can prevent him from breaking their own man-made law? He doesn’t apply the NO CONTACT policy to his son Paul of course. But he is zealous in applying it on the membership beneath him.”A comment on 17th March might give a reason for the suggestion of a rift between Gerald Flurry and his son Stephen: 

“Stephen Flurry abandoned his post as Regional Director of the PCG in Jerusalem. His father made great plans of establishing a Regional Office in Jerusalem as well as a base of operations for on-site Trumpet reporting. He was also given charge to undertake the initial steps in establishing a branch of Armstrong College in Jerusalem. The details of this plan were covered in an article in the Trumpet Magazine. Stephen Flurry came to Jerusalem for in early 2012 with all the staff and students to help in pursuing the plan laid out by his father, Gerald Flurry. Things seemed to run smoothly for a while, until we learned later than Stephen had decided to abandon Jerusalem in August 2013. The reason for this abrupt termination of the plans for Jerusalem was obviously Stephen’s burning interest in pursuing another work in England and Ireland. In short, Stephen Flurry chose Edstone over Jerusalem!”

Philadlphia Church of God Cult: Kicked out of PCG because she was a "threat to their cause"

We have had a lot on here over the years about how the PCG and particularly Cal Culpepper and Wayne Turgeon have treated members like dirt. Both of these men are particularly despised in PCG circles for their extreme nastiness and unbiblical ways of dealing with people. 

Exit and Support Network had this letter up from a young woman who was kicked out of PCG by Culpepper over mental health issues. 

The Church of God over the decades has treated members with mental health issues in appalling ways. From being told they are possessed by demons, telling them that medicines that could assist them were wrong, to outright kicking them out of the church because they "looked bad". The church looked down on mental health professionals and called them all kinds of names and disparaged their professions all the while claiming that all a person needed to do was to draw closer to God and stop sinning because that was the main issue of their mental health issues.

I Was Described as a Threat to PCG’s Cause:
August 15, 2021 

 

I am a child who was mentioned in Case #3 in “Abuses I Was Aware of in Philadelphia Church of God.” I would like to elaborate on that story and talk about where I am now. 

 

The reason I was thrown out was because of my mental health. I was deeply depressed, self harming nearly every day. It got to the point that I was admitted to a hospital. When the PCG found out what happened, my dad read a letter that was addressed to me. PCG described me as “a threat to their cause.” 

 

I had so many friends that I deeply miss from my time there, but I know I’ll never see them again. As far as my life after this, I’m finally getting help and going to therapy. I tried to go to a church to appease a friend, and as soon as I entered I felt an overwhelming sense of dread. I haven’t been back since. 

 

I don’t know if I’ll ever heal from it, but I’ve at least accepted that it happened. –Child survivor of PCG [name withheld]

Case #3: [This was as recent as 2013] 

This concerns a member from Louisville, KY. This man was a loyal servant of the congregation. He went to all of the PCG activities. He did the garage sale for the building fund, was in Spokesman’s Club, went to the cookouts, picnics, etc. He had joint custody of his 15 year old daughter. The girl was torn between her dad and mom. Cal Culpepper verbally abused the girl at a PCG activity in Ohio. The girl was then condemned by Culpepper and told to not come to services. The father was told not to have any contact with the girl (15 years old) at all. The man refused and was disfellowshipped. 

 

There are many more cases like this but these three will suffice to give a picture of the unbiblical and illegal practice of abandoning your minor teens. 

 

In a recent PCG sermon it was stated how the non-PCG performers who do the Concert Series at God’s House [Armstrong Auditorium] gush and rave telling the HQ people how they were “treated like Kings” with fine dining and accommodations while they stayed at the Auditorium. I wonder if these people were told how minor age children were being tossed out in the street by orders from PCG ministry? Would they still be willing to perform for the Philadelphia Church of God? 

 

I have witnessed much suffering amongst the youth in PCG. One girl in the congregation was told by Wayne Turgeon she could not go to the college because she was “too fat” and did not “fit the proper image of the church.” Many of the youth are leaving PCG. 

 

There are a lot of people with drinking problems in the PCG. One “contact person” in a Kentucky congregation sometimes comes to services high. But he attends Spokesman’s Club and is in good with the regime. 

 

There are ministerial scandals (especially in the North West region) going on. One minister was carrying on a two year affair with a woman in a congregation! He tried to get his wife to leave him. When that did not happen, he tried to convince the PCG that she was “crazy or demon possessed.” He took it to HQ and they suspended the wife. Then it came out about the affair and they kicked him out and let her back. 

 

Also, J. C., a member, was doing security detail at a HQ function in Edmond, OK a few years ago. Grant Turgeon1 (son of Wayne Turgeon) came into an area off limits to people. When confronted by J. C., the little Turgeon said, “Do you know who I am? My father is Wayne Turgeon.” Later, this member was accosted verbally by Wayne Turgeon for telling his son where to go and was suspended not long after. 

 

Whenever I walked into services, there would be no warmth at all; no encouragement from the podium, no mention even once that God loves us–just law, judgment, threats, and doom.

By Chris

For more first hand abuse check put these addtional letters and articles on Exit and Support Network:

Recommended Material:

Profile on a Sociopath (A number of abusive, religious leaders may exhibit many of these behavioral characteristics)

Grant Turgeon Has an Attitude (2013 letter to ESN)

Crazy statement by Wayne Turgeon (What Wayne Turgeon once said)

Related Testimonies:

Cal Culpepper Continues to Threaten and Intimate Members (5-14-14 letter to ESN)

Fear and Dread in PCG (5-24-13 letter to ESN that covers Culpepper)

Frightening Incident With Cal Culpepper (4-29-13 letter to ESN)

Why I’m Ex-PCG (8-28-14 testimony; cruel and cold-hearted abuse by Culpepper)

True Love Lacking in PCG Members (3-6-07 letter to ESN)

Footnote by ESN:

1 Read: Grant Turgeon Has an Attitude (1-3-13 email to ESN)

Gerald Flurry and the Philadelphia Church of God Sink To A New Low

Just when you think the perverseness of Gerald Flurry and his cult cant get any more debased along comes another horror story.  This one involves the Flurry and the Philadelphia Church of God commanding members to NOT pray for a family who lost two children.  The idea that ANY church member would submit to such a vile admonition is beyond comprehension.

This is from the Exit and Support website and is a letter from a former Deaconess in the PCG..

PCG Continues to Tear People's Lives Apart:

August 18, 2014

Dear ESN, I wrote a letter on January 6th of this year about the heartache caused by the PCG's cut off policy. The recent news about Janet Privratsky is another perfect example. Some have commented on the lack of response from family or friends. I remember when the Bacon boy died [Jason Bacon  SEE BELOW], and we were actually told via a HQ CD NOT to pray for them. When is there ever a time that you cannot cry out to God? Within days his sister Crystal also committed suicide. PCG claims to be giving a message of hope, but the fruits show differently, and you'll know them by the fruits. [Matthew 7:16-20]

I recently heard of a beautiful family (he an ex-PCG minister now put out) going through divorce. I wonder if he had just seen enough of this nonsense and couldn't go along with it any more. Now another family is being torn apart. Where is the "God family" vision in that?! My oldest son was in his freshman and sophomore year with Janet at AC in Edmond. We knew the DeGennaro family from going to family dances in Canada. I've looked back through the Envoy, and my heart aches for that family. PCG has said only the very elect "sigh and cry" for the abominations in the WCG as the organization split. Now I sigh and cry for the abominations in the PCG, RCG, and every other WCG splinter I can think of. I remember obeying every detail, cutting off family, fasting and seeking only to be told by Cal Culpepper that it wasn't good enough. He actually said I would have to bend over backwards! Where does the Bible say that? When I actually did, his response was that he was not buying it.

It's been over four years since two of my adult children have spoken to me due to this cut off policy. I recently heard that my daughter is planning her wedding to a HQ member. Like the DeGennaros, we are not to have any part of these special life events. I miss them so. Isn't sharing your life what family is about? Dan DeGennaro's letter to ESN said he will make sure the truth is known. I hope so. We should write another book called, "Creating More Ruins," as a sequel to Stephen Flurry's book to show how the PCG has continued to tear people's lives apart all in the name of God. Our sincere condolence to the DeGennaros. We would like to let them know that we will support or help them in any way possible. --Ex-PCG deaconess, Lori Miiller

Deaths of Siblings in PCG:

May 15, 2010
I, too, heard about the recent deaths in PCG. [Jason Bacon and Crystal Bacon] The boy (only 21) had just been allowed back in PCG after being suspended and cut off for "sinning" for who-knows-and-who-cares-what. He went back because he didn't like being cut off from his family.

He was out of town with a friend, celebrating his birthday and a new job, and fell from a balcony. He was in a coma and died a couple weeks later. The ministry corrected his friend and wouldn't let him go to the hospital. He wasn't even allowed to go to the funeral!

Edmond people came to the funeral on Friday and there was a memorial Sunday. His older sister, who's been suspended and cut off before too, died Monday morning. The father, in another offshoot, was allowed to come, but they went back to cutting him off after the weekend. --Anonymous

Comment: Jason Read Bacon was born April 7, 1989 and died April 25, 2010. The obituary on him can be read here. A cached copy from stilwellonline.info had more info and said he died in Las Vegas, NV, had a graveside service April 30 in Westville, OK, with PCG minister Robert Brown presiding, and that he had 3 sisters and 3 brothers. 

Members Corrected for Asking Prayer for Jason Without Permission:

May 16, 2010
Members were "corrected" for asking for prayer for Jason without the ministry's permission. I sometimes wonder if PCG reads the same things I read in Revelation about the Nicolaitanes (Revelation 2:6,15), or even if they understand it. --Impacted by PCG

More on PCG Deaths:

May 16, 2010
Jason had been suspended and was back. He fell from the 8th floor onto the 4th floor swimming pool deck around 3:00 a.m. His older sister Crystal is dead, too. Cause of death not known yet, but she was an alcoholic prone to depression. She had been suspended before; not sure if she currently was. That may be the case and more reason for her "possibly" taking her own life. --Friend of Jason

Gerald Flurry Disfellowshipment Policy And How He Deliberately Destroys Families

Some excerpts from The Journal article about Gerald Flurry's stance on disfellowshipment and how it relates to family members.  Flurry is truly an appalling sick man.

In an hour-long sermon before the headquarters congregation of the PCG, Pastor General Gerald Flurry, 70, expanded church policy to prohibit any kind of fellowship with former PCG members and all "Laodiceans," even if they are members of a church member's immediate family.

 

PCG members may no longer associate with their own children, parents or siblings if their children, parents or siblings are disfellowshipped PCG members or members of the WCG or any of its splinter groups other than the PCG. 

 

Mistaken notion

In his sermon Mr. Flurry, a native of Oklahoma City, explained the new, or at least clarified, policy on fellowshipping and disfellowshipping.

"In the past," he said "some members" have operated under the mistaken notion that "relationships" with family members are permitted "as long as religion is not discussed." But "that is not what God says."

The Bible "makes it clear that there should be a complete cut-off" of contact with any family member, no matter how closely related, with only two exceptions.

• One exception is an apostate or Laodicean spouse of a PCG member. Scripture, Mr. Flurry said, dictates that "that relationship should be preserved as long as the [disfellowshipped or Laodicean] mate is pleased to dwell." He cited 1 Corinthians 7:10-14.

A wife who is "pleased to dwell" with her PCG husband is one who is willing to live peacefully with him, with no tendency toward hostility or contentiousness. 

"But if that mate becomes hostile or stirs up contention, it [the marriage relationship] should be cut off," Mr. Flurry said. "Where there is hostility you must cut off every time."

• The other exception to the disfellowship rule is "unbaptized children" and other former PCG attendees who may have been baptized but were not "validly baptized."

Mr. Flurry noted that Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God, in whose footsteps Mr. Flurry conscientiously endeavors to walk, "had a relationship with his daughter" only because Mr. Armstrong "believed she was never converted." 

The fruits of Mr. Armstrong's daughter's lack of conversion "were there," said Mr. Flurry.

Mr. Armstrong had two daughters, Beverly Gott, who died in 1992, and Dorothy Mattson, who lives in Sun City, Ariz. 

Mr. Flurry did not say which of the two he was speaking of, but Mr. Armstrong did have working relationships with both his daughters in his lifetime. 

Mrs. Gott frequently traveled with her father on his trips to visit world leaders and the Ambassador College campuses in Texas and England, even though many members of the Radio/Worldwide Church of God did not consider her to be a member of the church. 

"As long as they [unbaptized or invalidly baptized former church attendees] were unconverted, we can have a relationship there," Mr. Flurry said, "but we do have to be awfully careful."

If church members aren't cautious in their dealings with these kinds of relatives and friends, they can fall into grave error by promoting fellowship--ungodly fellowship--with somebody who really had been converted. 

Therefore church members must make sure anyone they have contact with who formally attended the PCG was never converted--that is, was either never baptized or was invalidly baptized--because "we don't want to use this as a cop-out." 

Mr. Flurry said it again, just to make sure the brethren understood: 

Although they may associate with their children as long as they were never converted, "if your children have been baptized and left [the PCG], that relationship should be severed. We must obey God's command." 

He explained what he meant by "God's command" in this context by quoting the apostle Paul in Romans 16:17: "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, and avoid them." 

It just amazes me that PCG members would go to their minister to ask for help in the following areas.  What right does a minister have in telling you who you are allowed to visit with in your own family?

He did mention that the PCG could encounter some legal problems if church members prevent their Laodicean parents from visiting with their children; that is, the Laodiceans' grandchildren. 

In such cases, the PCG ministry could evaluate the situation and might allow the Laodiceans some contact with the members' children, as long as the Laodiceans are not hostile and contentious toward the Philadelphian church members. 

Mr. Flurry also talked about church members who work for Laodiceans. To preserve their livelihood, the members may continue their employment with Laodiceans (or, analogously, with employers who have been disfellowshipped), but they should work toward finding a new job as soon as possible. 

"The principle, remember, is this," Mr. Flurry said: "There should not be any contact with converted church members who have left, and that includes family members other than a mate."

Mr. Flurry did say that, when shunning disfellowshipped and marked former members and Laodiceans, PCG members should take care to be "as inoffensive as we possibly can and as kind and loving and as considerate as we possibly can, regardless of what attitude even they may have."

The exception to this rule would be if the ex-members or Laodiceans began "attacking" the PCG members.

In that case the PCG members do not have to be as inoffensive, kind and considerate as they would normally be.

Shunning, disfellowshipping, marking and avoiding Laodiceans serve the higher purpose, said the PCG leader, of sending an important message.

"Avoiding these people . . . get[s] a message across to them that they are influenced by the devil and we don't want to have anything to do with them."

If situations come up that he did not cover in this sermon, Mr. Flurry said, then members can check with their regional directors for more clarification of church policy. If a regional director cannot answer a question, he will pass it up the line to Mr. Flurry for a final resolution.