Ken Giese: UCG HQ "...demonizing anyone who would question their authority...

AN OPEN LETTER TO MEMBERS AND MINISTERS OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF GOD

November 26, 2010

Dear Friends,

It is with great sadness and grave concern that I write to you all regarding the current crisis gripping the United Church of God. Clearly, we are a house divided against itself and in danger of disintegrating. We have been told that there is a rebellion in our midst, led by wolves who are causing division and seeking to draw brethren to themselves in an effort to “start their own church”. Our current leadership continues to accuse dedicated pastors with decades of faithful service and experience of leading an organized conspiracy, while at the same time, dismissing some 2,000 Latin American brethren and their pastors without due process, demonizing anyone who would question their authority and demanding the support of members and ministers alike despite their egregious misconduct. The income of the United Church of God is dropping precipitously, morale is sinking and we are about to lose what we have all worked together to build under Christ’s direction for fifteen years. Enough is enough.

As many of you know, on November 4, 2010, I resigned from my responsibilities as an employed pastor of two UCG congregations (Reno, NV and Sacramento, CA) due to the fact that I could no longer in good conscience support the actions and decisions of the current Council of Elders majority or their appointed administrators. As I wrote to Dennis Luker and Victor Kubik, despite the fact that I resigned from employment, I wanted to retain my membership in the United Church of God as well as my status as a credentialed elder in UCG in hopes that the current Council of Elders and our administrators would accept responsibility for this debacle and seek reconciliation and peace rather than confrontation and war. Sadly, they have chosen the latter.

As one who has been identified as a wolf who is sowing discord, I would like to set the record straight. The last thing I or any of my fellow elders want to do is leave the United Church of God and start another organization. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. We (some current COE members, former administrators, regional pastors, concerned elders and members) have been working diligently behind the scenes to bring the current Council of Elders majority and our administrators to the table for frank discussions on our current state of affairs as well as exploring methods and means whereby we could all work together to bring reconciliation and peace, but our efforts have been consistently rebuffed and ridiculed. We desperately want to remain a part of the United Church of God, but we are being falsely accused and forced out by those who have clearly disqualified themselves as our spiritual leaders.

Therefore, I am calling upon the General Conference of Elders to step up and demand that the current Council of Elders and their appointed administrators be held accountable for bringing the United Church of God to the point of imminent disintegration. I encourage GCE members to fulfill their responsibility as the only “members” of the corporation – The United Church of God, an International Association. I encourage the GCE to call for a special meeting for the purpose of restructuring the organization with new leadership. Our current leaders have proven themselves incapable of correcting the problems that are clearly facing us all.

Please do not let the cries of “foul” deter you from taking these appropriate and necessary steps. If these actions do not take place, the United Church of God has little chance of surviving intact.

In light of my personal circumstances and the fact that roughly one-half of the Sacramento UCG congregation has stopped attending, I feel compelled to offer a place of refuge for myself as well as those members who feel they have been forced out of the United Church of God. At the same time, I would love to remain a member of UCG as well as a credentialed elder in UCG and work with the entire GCE in taking the necessary steps noted above, but I cannot in good conscience do so. Therefore, I hereby resign as a member of the United Church of God and as a member of the General Conference of Elders, effective immediately. This coming Sabbath, November 27th, I plan to meet with other brethren who no longer feel they can affiliate with the United Church of God. My purpose not to start a church . . . I am attempting to provide a place of refuge in hopes that we can eventually return to fellowship in a healthy, vibrant and Godly United Church of God.

May God bless and guide us all in these difficult and challenging times.

Sincerely,

Kenneth Giese

Another UCG Minister Resigns: "...no process of reconcilliation possible..."

Open letter to the Council of Elders and Administration of the United Church of God, An International Association

Bogotá, November 18, 2010

It is with great sadness that I write this letter.

Since June I have been hoping and working for a process of reconciliation for me and the other ministers in Latin America. Mr. Luker’s letter of November 11th to all the Latin American ministers, in which he gives them an ultimatum, finally makes his intentions clear and reveals what the Council really thought of this entire process. That letter has nothing to do with what you, the President of the Church and the Council, had told me and had given me to believe would happen regarding Latin America. In fact, it goes completely against everything we supposedly agreed to during my visit to the home office on September 13-15 of this year.

During the last few months I have tried to honor and respect the letter of appeal that 168 ministers sent to the Council, requesting an opportunity for reconciliation with the ministers and members from Latin America. Their courageous and firm stand was important and significant and it has been constantly on my mind. And before God, with the support of the congregations I have the privilege of serving, we have been seeking a fair opportunity for everyone, but in the end it never came.

While it is true that Mr. Luker did not send that same letter to me, as part of the reconciliation process he and the Council demanded that I submit to Mr. Mario Seiglie and speak with him to resolve the situation. I suddenly find myself in the same situation as on June 23rd of this year when the Council, against all sensible judgment, wisdom, and every ethical principle, sent him as their representative in order to set things straight. The fruit of that decision is plain to see: the Work that God has carried out in Latin America through the United Church of God these past 15 years has been divided and splintered; there is chaos and confusion.

I have great satisfaction before God of having fought with the armor of light. Today I finally know that no process of reconciliation is possible because there is no desire on the part of the Council and the administration for that to occur.

It causes me great pain to have to resign as a minister of the United Church of God. Fifteen years ago it looked like a refuge, a place of peace, a remnant of the Church of God, the “pillar and ground of the truth,” in the midst of the tremendous chaos that existed at that time.
I know for certain that God will have mercy on his people, on the small and the humble, and that he will provide a place where we will be able to “worship him in spirit and in truth.” I hope that he will soon hear our cry and intervene on behalf of his people.

Sincerely,

Eduardo Hernández

The Thanksgiving Dilemma of Armstrongism

 

American Thanksgiving is fast approaching.  A day filled with cool crisp temperatures (usually), football, turkey, stuffing, and other gastronomic wonders.  A day filled with thanks for things seen and unseen and for blessings immeasurable.

It is also a time for certain COG splinter groups to start their anti-Thanksgiving messages which quickly lead to tirades against Christmas and New Years.

Several COGlet splinter cults write all kinds of stupidity about the day.

The Obedient Church of God states:

All the other COGS (Churches of God) have wandered out of the ways of God into the spiritual wilderness of: Darkness, confusion, and the adoption of Pagan ways, including the settler's Corn God Festival, cloaked under the name of thanksgiving. It is the "same" trap of Pagan ways that the original Israelites fell back into, via adding practices to God's Bible, which is exactly what all the COGS including TPM have done.

Some who have left the COG and still hold to Armstrongite mind-speak and have aligned with Messianic Judaism believe this guy:

Why do we need another fall harvest Festival?! God has given us Sucote (Lev. 23:33-44). It seems apparent that to keep Sucote, and then to keep, only 30 or so days later, another harvest day of thanks to God, is not only repetitious but very strange. Thanksgiving Day is an outright copy of Sucote. The Counterfeiter has struck again! Did you ever wonder why the majority of God's People don't keep the days He has designated as holy? The majority are deceived by Satan. The majority also keep Thanksgiving Day. For those of us whom He has called out of Babylon, this ought to be cause for concern. Seed of Abraham

Why is Armstrongism filled with such grumpy sad little people? They are not happy about anything.

COG/Armstrongism Stories Currently on the Web (Updated)

Some news stories floating around on the web that may interest some.

The first is about Billy Graham, a story about the interview with The Plain Truth.  The Plain Truth magazine is no longer associated with WCG /Grace Communion International.  It is an independent spin off run by Greg Albrecht.    One interesting side note is that one of Billy Grahams sons is married to a former WCG Pasadena HQ employee.  I imagine Herb is spinning in his grace over that one!  

ASSIST MinistriesMONTREAT, NC (ANS) -- Back in 1997, I had been invited to a media event at his at Billy Graham’s mountaintop home in Montreat, North Carolina to write a cover story for Plain Truth magazine about Mr. Graham and also to ask him what it meant to be “born-again.”
This cover piece was to help re-launch the magazine, and that in itself was quite an historic event as Plain Truth had once been a publication arm of Herbert W. Armstrong and had at the time just became the first “cult” in history to change to an Evangelical theology and had even joined the Evangelical Press Association (EPA). 

Billy Graham story in Plain Truth

Armstrong, who also founded the Radio Church of God (later renamed the Worldwide Church of God), Ambassador College and The World Tomorrow radio and television programs, had originally called the magazine The Plain Truth, and following his death in 1986, it ceased publication by the Worldwide Church of God and began as publication by the non-denominational Plain Truth Ministries (www.ptm.org).
The new Plain Truth was to have radically different editorial content, and mainstream Christian teaching, featuring a variety of Christian authors.
Before the media event began, Mr. Graham had kindly shown a group of us around his modest home and I marveled at how humble it was. Here was a man who was a world figure living in this simple log cabin with his wife Ruth, who has since passed on.

Dan Wooding meets with Billy and Ruth Graham after the interview at their home

Then, about 50 of us journalists, gathered in the back yard, and Billy took his seat on the porch and began taking questions under the supervision of his long-time media man, A. Larry Ross.So now, as Billy Graham has recently celebrated his 92nd birthday on Sunday, November 7, 2010, I thought it was time to re-run the story, with a few light edits to bring it up to date.
So here it is as it appeared in Plain Truth in their 1997 March/April edition:


Read the rest of the story here:  Just As I Am

From Here & Back Again: The World is Ending in 2012 … or is it?

By Jim Coufal

There have been many predictions of the end of the world; they have all been wrong. But they do provide both humor and pathos and the opportunity to reflect on human nature. These include prophesies/predictions of the end of the world, Armageddon, the rapture, the coming of a messiah, the second coming of a messiah and other such world-ending events.

In America today, perhaps the most thought-provoking prediction is that of Jesus, who said, “Verily, I say unto you, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Matt. 16:28).

This implies Jesus’s second coming during the Apostles’ lifetime, and they expected it. It did not happen.

Yet there are those today who believe the Bible is the literal, unerring word of God.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, foresaw the millennium beginning in 1836. It didn’t happen.

One missed millennium date leads to another.

William Miller, leader of the “Millerite Movement,” predicted the return of Jesus sometimes between March 21, 1843, and March 21, 1844, allowing himself a little wriggle room. Wriggle or no, it didn’t happen.

But Miller had gathered thousands of devotees, and when Jesus failed to show, the cult experienced a crisis of faith and began reinterpreting the prophecy and aggressively proselytizing. An offshoot became the Seventh Day Adventists of today. Perhaps it would be fair to call our major religions “cults” – grown large and powerful.

Skipping plenty of other prophecies and moving ahead to times in which many of us have lived, Herbert W. Armstrong of the Worldwide Church of God told his followers that the...Read the rest of the story here: From Here Back Again. The World is Ending in 2012

The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ – His True Grace, Not the Watered Down Religious Version!

Image : http://www.flickr.com

I was a member of a legalistic cult, known as The Worldwide Church of God, for seven years, where the ministers behaved like Pharisees and regularly laid guilt upon us through Old Covenant teaching i.e. trying to get us to keep the Old Covenant Law under our own strength. We, the congregation, were as those described in Galatians1:6 (foolish Galatians) only most of us, in all fairness, had never heard the original true message of grace in the first place. In defence of the cult, what I will say is that we learned Old Testament scriptures very thoroughly indeed, which in itself, as a study, was not a bad thing. I will also add at this juncture that cults do not have a monopoly in legalism – they are not the only grace killers, but I have digressed somewhat – just a little about my background.

Entire article is here: The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Ron Weinland continues to make a jackass of himself.  The God Discussion is discussing him now.

Worldwide Church of God Offshoot: Jesus Is Returning on May 27, 2012, Mockers Are Issued a Stern Warning

Filed under Interesting Stuff25 comments

The Worldwide Church of God, once led by the late Herbert W. Armstrong, was considered by many to be a cult.   It allegedly had over 140,000 members in its prime.   The church changed its doctrines after the 1986 death of Armstrong, which led to numerous people leaving the church and the formation of various "splinter churches."   The Worldwide Church of God  changed its name to Grace Communion International, probably a move to cut its ties to its cult reputation and the dozens of Armstrong splinter groups.  The new organization is not considered to be a cult, but more in line with mainstream Christianity.

Although Armstrong has been dead for over 20 years,   those familiar with his church are still passionate about his influence.   Some staunchly cling to his teachings; others feel abused, disillusioned and/or angry.   Various websites and blogs continue to provide news and support for former members.

The various splinter churches that rose from the ashes of the old version of the Worldwide Church of God each appear to be proclaiming to be "the one true church" and true champions of Armstrongism.  They are strict Friday  sunset to Saturday sunset Sabbath keepers.  They continue to follow the "holy days" set forth in the Old Testament.  They follow Armstrong's teachings about the Trinity, dietary laws, tithing and other subjects, including a belief in "the tribulation" and end times.  Read the rest of the story and comments here:  Worldwide Church of God Offshoot: Jesus is Returning on May 27 2012

Unique Book Of Inspirational Sermons Now Available Through Christian Archives

NILES, Michigan -- Christian Archives (www.christianarchives.org) has debuted Inspirations Volume One, a book of sermons for everyday living.

The collectible book contains more than 20 inspirational sermons, each hand-picked from submissions from pastors and religious leaders world-wide. Mark Batterson, National Community Church; Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia; Dr. Johnny Hunt, Southern Baptist Convention; Dr. William H Willimon, Grace Communion International; and Doug Batchelor, Amazing Facts Ministries are just a few of the notable contributors to this publication.

Proceeds from the book will go to Christian charities and continue to support the goals at Christian Archives.  

“We hope this collection provides comfort and inspiration to readers,” explains Brian Callahan, co-founder of Christian Archives. “We worked with members of the religious community to create a book that will be well-read by Christians everywhere.”

Christian Archives has been providing churches with an easy-to-use online platform for storing and serving sermon files and other content to their membership and the online Christian community. Since the demand for sermons online has been growing and inspiring.

Rest of article here:  Sermons

Smackdown 2010: Leon Walker vs Mario Seiglie

Letter from Leon Walker regarding UCG accusations:

11-19-10
Hello everyone,

As you know, Denny Luker sent a letter to the Spanish ministry still credentialed by UCG demanding that they choose between him or me—as though that was the issue. The letter contains many errors regarding this issue—including the concept that I have formed a group in competition with UCG. This is totally false. I have not formed any new group. I have visited with and spoken only before United Church of God congregations in Latin America, pastored by ministers still credentialed by UCG. However, Mario Seiglie has traveled to Latin America and formed groups in competition to the UCG congregations—contrary to the UCG Rules of Association.

This morning Mario began a telephone campaign calling the Spanish ministry and asking what they plan to do regarding Mr. Luker’s letter. Mario attempted to intimidate them by stating that if they reject the Council of Elders they are rejecting the government of God. How arrogant! Did Mario believe that when he rejected the WCG Pastor General in 1995 that he was rejecting the government of God? Rejection of a system that has gone astray from God is not rejection of the government of God. Mario even attempted to intimidate one minister by implying that his rejection of Mr. Luker will send him into the Great Tribulation.

However, the ministry in Latin America will not be intimidated by such bullying.

Warmest regards,

Leon Walker