How Many Living Church of God Ministers Does It Take?

The Charlotte Ministerial Elite

Guest article:

It looks like LCG is preparing for the death of Rod Meredith by amassing ministers in Charlotte at LCG headquarters. What better way to ensure that ministers will ally with you in a split than to bestow upon them the honor of being brought to headquarters? It feeds their egos and makes them feel special and extra worthy. It is likely that the thought is that by keeping them close, they will retain them instead of losing them to other ACOG’s in the turmoil of the imminent LCG split after Meredith kicks the bucket. Although Meredith has recently named Ames or even Gerald Weston as his heirs to the LCG throne, most in LCG speculate that the split will be Jim Meredith vs Doug Winnail. I like to imagine the battle being like that episode of Star Trek where Kirk and Spock are forced to fight each other on Vulcan. Jim Meredith is impulsive, overly-confident and short-sighted but he carries the Meredith name. Winnail is slow to act but cunning and calculated. Oh the suspense!

At present there are somewhere between 115-125 ministers in the entire Living Church of God (which ironically is dying).  At last count there were nearly 20 ministers in Charlotte alone. It is rare for them to preach on the Sabbath (we are primarily subjected to one of 3 sermons Mr. Meredith repeats over and over again, hearing from anyone else is rare). Rod McNair and Mike Desimone are officially the pastors of the Charlotte congregation if anyone needs anointed or wants marriage counseling or whatever but most would rather suffer than call McNair and Desimone is still wet behind the ears. 

There is no real explanation as to why so many ministers would be in Charlotte when those left in the field are spread so thinly. It is frustrating because there are so many members out there, who never or very rarely get to see a minister; who are dedicated to a church that would rather keep bringing ministers to headquarters and inventing jobs and fancy titles instead of using them to feed the flock. It would make more sense to hire trained professionals to fill these positions than to take ministers from the field. It seems kind of backwards.  One would think that the ministers would, in fact, miss ministering if that is where their hearts truly were. Unfortunately and predictably, they get to headquarters and enjoy having a title, being part of the upper echelon and having their butts kissed because “they are from headquarters”.  Forget those long hours driving to meet remote members or to meet potential new converts. Forget all that grueling work counseling and anointing members, visiting the sick, helping the poor, etc. 

Sadly, coming to work at LCG headquarters always leads to a huge let down as they learn how much backbiting and politicking goes on. They soon realize that “God’s true work” isn’t really that Godly and that men who they always looked up to are frightfully carnal with enormous egos that demand to be fed daily. But hey, you still get a free company car and a free gas card even though you only have to drive 4.3 miles to get to work every day so it eases the pain just a little.

The following LCG ministers are already suckling from the Meredith power tit here in Charlotte:

• Rod Meredith
• Jim Meredith
• Richard Ames
• Doug Winnail
• Dexer Wakefield
• Rod McNair
• Scott Winnail
• Peter Nathan
• Mario Hernandez
• Wally Smith
• Gary Ehman
•  Gaylyn Bonjour
•  Wyatt Cesielka
• Dr. Germano
• John Robinson
• Mike Desimone
• Don Davis (was a minister but has his power stripped a few years back and has slowly been getting more and more responsibility again)
•  Charles Ogwyn (no longer works in the headquarters building but still attends the Charlotte congregation

Rod Meredith speaks out AGAIN on how disunified the LCG truly is.

 Double click to enlarge

The Living Church of God has had a lot of issues with "unity" over the last couple of years.  As Rod Meredith draws closer to death, that grumbling underground is starting to quake the church.  Many are upset over the watering down of doctrines, others claim the church is too legalistic and tries to control members lives, others are upset over the nepotism that runs rampant in the LCG HQ staff and with Lil'Jimmy hovering in the wings. Financial abuse and wasteful spending is draining the LCG coffers day by day.  Disunity is the name of the game now.

That disunity has been so bad over the last couple of years that there is an incessant supply of articles, sermons and letters decrying the grumbling that is spreading through the membership.

Rod Meredith is back again with ANOTHER letter commanding unity.  He claims Satan is out to destroy the LCG and that the membership needs to throw their support behind Richard Ames if Meredith dies.

Anytime a Church of God leader or minister starts bragging on how good some things in the church, it is a sure sign that things are in BAD shape!  Also, because of the continuing unease in the LCG over Lil'Jimmy possible taking the reigns after daddy's death, Meredith lays out the power structure he has set in place in case of his death.

So we have a great deal of unity. The vast majority of our ministers and members all “speak the same thing.” And we are overwhelmingly involved in “giving ourselves” to “do the Work”! Brethren, I am extremely grateful to report to you in the name of Christ that we do have a greater sense of unity and harmony in this present Work than at any other time I can remember in the 63 years of my full-time service!

Most of you know that the man appointed to be my successor, Mr. Richard Ames, is extremely dedicated, balanced and loyal. I hope all of you will support him with all your heart unless he turns totally away from God as some men in recent years have done. However, those who turned aside a number of years ago had not been “tried and tested” in the way that Mr. Ames has. So I have every confidence that—although Satan will attack us and try to divide us and upset us in other ways—it will undoubtedly not be because Mr. Ames turns aside. So I ask you to give him every support and heartfelt prayers to continue on faithfully as you have done with me. Thank you!

Also, if anything should happen to Mr. Ames, another of the most experienced and dedicated leaders in the Work at this time is Mr. Gerald Weston, who has already been acknowledged by the Council of Elders to carry on in Mr. Ames’ place, if necessary, as Presiding Evangelist of the Living Church of God. Mr. Weston, also, has been tried and tested in many different ways. He has served faithfully throughout the United States, across Canada, and soon will be serving full-time in Britain, Europe and the Middle East. Do give him your support and your fervent prayers!

Meredith goes onto discuss "loyalty."

Lucifer was not loyal to His Creator. We must not be like that.

...we must do what we can to continue the wonderful spirit of unity, brotherly love and service 

...focus on doing with faithfulness that which is our own part—sincerely trying to support those who may have, at this time, a higher “rank” in the Work of God.

Only the "higher rank" men are the ones qualified to lead the church.  The dumb uneducated sheeple that have not been tested by the fires of Satan are not qualified to to lead anything.   Poor Lil'Jimmy, perhaps he can go and work for Bob Thiel since he and he alone is now doing the only "work" that is worthwhile on the entire earth.

Gerald Flurry: God Lovingly Punished the People of Nepal for their Sins

Another major disaster happened recently with the earthquake in Nepal that killed thousands.  As usual, the Armstrongite cult leaders start spouting their ridiculous nonsense on what it happened.

Gerald's god is a god that punishes.  He likes that god.  It validates the legalistic doctrines he forces upon his members.

Here is what Gerald Flurry says:

Because creation came from a Creator, it follows that environmental disasters have a spiritual dimension. Thankfully, the someone who created our planet and created us reveals Himself to human beings. He is God.

But a God who lovingly made creation would never allow humans to suffer. That is a false argument, based not on God’s actual nature, but on our own ideas.

God punishes. We can see that in the Bible, and we can see that in the news. Why? Because we sin. We sin so much that if God doesn’t intervene, we will drown in it. We are on our way to violently deleting ourselves from this planet, no environmental disasters needed.

So God uses something no human being can control to communicate with us: our environment. We just need to get the message: If your entire world is shaking, something is wrong.
 
When earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, mudslides, tornados and fires strike, does that mean God is lashing out at us in retaliation? No. It is God’s loving correction for those who will recognize it. Does it mean that the people who die as buildings collapse on them are extra-sinful people? Jesus Christ Himself answered this exact question. He said that those who die in such disasters are a warning to the rest of us that unless we repent, we will likewise perish.

The Final Phase of the Work Is Happening With Only ONE Church and its NOT With Rod Meredith!

With all the myriad of splinter groups out there and with all of them claiming they are the ONLY ones doing a real work, its hard to believe who is actually telling the truth. With that in mind we are supposed to suspend all disbelief and acknowledge that the doubly-blessed prophet Thiel is the ONLY one doing a REAL work on this entire planet.  No other Church of God out there is doing anything as powerful or as global encircling as he is.

Dave Pack must be trembling in his boots right now to know that Thiel has surpassed him in magnificence!  Being waylaid by surgery has some dramatic drawbacks when it comes to proclaiming a witness to the world!

The doubly-blessed prophet announces:

The final phase of the work is moving forward.  More information is being put together, more people are being reached, and people are being reached in more languages.

It is the highly dedicated in the real Church of God (COG) that will finish the human part of the final phase of the work before (Matthew 24:14-15) and during (Revelation 11:3-14) the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord. Presuming no significant organizational changes, for many reasons, the final phase of the work will be led by the Continuing Church of God

The false prophet feels he is the worlds foremost authority on everything pertaining to the Bible and prophecy.  When everything he has predicted has been accomplished the thing he calls his Jesus Christ will return.

This final phase of the work seemingly will consist of identifying what is happening in the world (specifically also in Europe, the Middle East, and the Anglo-descended nations), finishing the proclamation of Christ’s gospel of the kingdom as a witness along with persecution (Matthew 24:9-14), the rise and work of the two witnesses (Revelation 11:2-12; which will likely overlap a few days with Matthew 24:14), the likely assistance to the two witnesses by the scattered flock (Revelation 20:4; cf. Luke 9:2-6), the three angel’s messages (Revelation 14:8-11; plus other angelic interventions), and the witness of those persecuted and martyred for Jesus (cf. Revelation 17:6). And then Jesus will return and establish the Kingdom of God.

Thiel also believes that his followers will be killed for the silly beliefs  he espouses:

Being killed as the result of persecution is seemingly also part of the final phase of the work that some of God’s people will endure:

12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. 13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” (Revelation 14:12-13; cf. 6:11)

Thiel has yet to reveal if he is one of the two witless witnesses, so we don't know if he thinks he will be killed, but it is something his followers get to look forward to.

Thiel is still suffering major butt-hurt with Rod Meredith.  He cannot get over the fact that Rod Meredith has not heeded and implemented all the teachings he wanted.

About a decade ago, evangelist R.C. Meredith and I were talking and he agreed with various points I was raising about the end time work. And back then, I was able to help lead him to essentially state that in the end it would not mainly be the message of the COG vs. the Protestants, but it would be the COG basically vs. the ecumenical religion that will rise up in the end that will likely (for a while) refer to itself as “Catholic.” In 2005, during the Feast of Tabernacles in Clearwater Beach, after a private lunch, we and our wives met at his hotel room and I also discussed various aspects of the final phase of the work with him–and I had other meetings, discussions, and emails related to that with the other Charlotte evangelists through December 14, 2012. Yet, even though he and others in his church agreed to take many steps related to the final phase of the work, few, if any, of the promised steps were taken by his group–this is a major part of why the Continuing Church of God needed to form.

Thiel also wants people to know that he is not afraid to speak boldly unlike the weak and impotent leaders of the various COG's...especially when it comes to weak and impotent Rod Meredith.

A bolder, yet truthful, willingness to “name names” and call out what is happening will need to happen than the official COG groups formed between 1986 and 2011 have done–and this would seem to have to be led by the Continuing Church of God. (I have emails from one or more LCG evangelists where they objected to doing parts of this themselves, as well as notes from a meeting where they told me, and one was Dr. Meredith, that they were afraid that I was could become too bold and that they did not want to take bold proclamation steps that could trigger the persecution that they teach is biblically prophesied.)

No other work in the Church of God is as powerful as Thiel and his little group.  No one has reached more countries, preached better sermons or published better booklets.  Thiel is the most powerful leader in the Church of God today!  Kneel in wonder at his magnificence!

The gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed more powerfully to the world as a witness and the end will come (Matthew 24:14). We in the CCOG are reaching people in over 220 countries and territories and expect to continue to lead the humanly-involved portion of that, and certain other aspects, of the final phase of the work.

Thiel then makes a veiled threat that he will be publicly exposing Baron Guttenberg as a false leader of the end times.  This will of course bring instant focus upon the Churches of God bringing intense persecution to Thiel and his group.

 Partially because the message of the COG, the people of the holy covenant, will enrage the upcoming prince/king of the North (Daniel 11:28-30). One or more associated with the Continuing Church of God will be identifying that the European “prince” (Daniel 9:26-27) who is rising up to become a king, will not be able to truly bring peace, but instead about bring war and will be in league with the final Antichrist. This will likely trigger major media coverage. Scrutiny of real, as well as claimed, COG literature will likely happen and various aspects of real and incorrect COG doctrines will likely be ridiculed.

Though as much as the prophet proclaims his message, hardly anyone in the United States believes his malarkey.  No one is supporting him here with their money.  His 900 members in Africa are a financial burden to him and do not contribute to his end time proclamation. 

 Will you support the final phase of the work?

Satan and the Laodiceans simply do not wish to properly support God’s work. Of course, many Laodiceans do not know that they are in that condition, and for many reasons will not understand the final phase of the work or who is leading it.

Satan is pissed brethren!  He and angry exCOG members are doing all in their might to inhibit the prophet Thiel and his message!