Patriarchy in UCG Not Happy With Women Writing Biblically Based Articles

UCG has been letting women write articles for blogs and their main web site for some time now.  Some men in the church have been highly offended with this over the years and now it has reached a boiling point. How dare women write articles based upon bible teachings!  Men are only allowed to do that!

Chairman Webber welcomed those that joined the gallery for this discussion. He welcomed the media department and the women who came in to hear this session. Mr. Webber mentioned concerns had been raised in the Media and Communications Committee (MCC) regarding the role of women writers dealing with certain biblical subjects. His desire with the Council’s approval was to keep this in open session. 

Rex Sexton led the discussion as the chairman of the (MCC). There have been articles written by women in our official UCG publications (Beyond Today and United News) and that have appeared in our blogs (unofficial) on specific subjects that have been raised as whether being appropriate for women to address. The question was asked if there were any written policies for what kind of articles can be written. Currently there are no specific policies written up. One of the Council’s responsibilities is to have oversight and write policies when questions and needs arise. Input was already received from the media department, and Mr. Sexton thanked them for it.

Its a fact that there are many women in the Church of God who are better educated and understand scripture than many of the men.  This does not sit well with some of the men who feel that no woman should ever tell them what to believe.

Peter Eddington, operation manager of Media and Communications Services, mentioned the August 1999 Council report under the media section that was discussed by the Council. It was a non-issue for there to be women writers. Mr. Sexton asked if the substance of the content had changed over the years since then. Mr. Eddington said since 1999 we now have more women writers, and one of the reasons is because the media department wants more ways to relate women to women in our writings.

Robin Webber then enters the fray:

Chairman Webber desired to establish focus of what was being discussed. We are discussing the role of women in media, so we are looking at what might women do with our understanding of Scripture. We are not talking about women ministers or preachers or getting up now to give messages in services. We understand there is a structure in the Church that has been recognized through the ages, so we are not going there. We all agree with that. Now we are dealing with comments by Paul about women being silent in the Church. How does that apply to teaching through writing? Culture needs to responsibly move forward, and we have to look at the context of the Scriptures. What was the apostle Paul addressing, and why was he saying it? If we use our heads and hearts and trust the administration with monitoring, the one article that came to our attention on repentance was dealing with the heart and the approach. It wasn’t dynamically preaching to the world to repent. We need to use wisdom. He was concerned that we need to take our time with this. A year or two ago we had a policy on the role of women in the Church that was not complete in tone and emphasis, so we withdrew that paper. We need to be very careful about the policies we might possibly create.

Don Ward then weighs in with at lest a slightly more enlightened point of view

Don Ward advised that we be circumspect with what commentaries might be used and their rendering interpretations towards explaining the culture of Paul’s day. He advised some interpretations convey that Paul didn’t really mean what he said because of the culture of that particular time. We see the culture has shifted as a result of the Industrial Revolution and many other things that have come to pass. Dr. Ward does not see the Word of God shifting with the culture. Dr. Ward read from 1 Timothy:2:11-12 (KJV). The Bible does give clear instruction why Paul wrote that, and it wasn’t based on the culture of the day. The question is not if they can teach. Women teach in Sabbath school. Titus 2 gives clear instruction that the older women are to instruct the younger women. 

Mr. Bradford raised the questions we need to be asking ourselves are: 1) What are the unique reasons that women do not preach at church and, 2) Do the same principles apply in writing corrective articles? 

Then to backpedal and blame the woman who wrote the article, Rainer Salomaa  says it could have all "been a mistake or poorly written", all of which ignores the fact that a MAN approved the article to be printed in the first place.

Rainer Salomaa was asked if he had any comments. Mr. Salomaa said nothing really jumps out at him that has been a problem. Regarding the article in question there shouldn’t be hours and hours of time put into policy for one article. The article could have just been a mistake. It could have been stated better perhaps. He would just trust those in that position to monitor it. He’s not sure there needs to be a Council-driven policy. He then asked if they could get the input from some of the women in the audience. Robin Webber agreed that he was going to do that. He asked for a few comments from the women or media department in the audience. 

Then Beverly Kubik dared to rock the boat and asked some pointed questions:

Beverly Kubik asked if there was a well done study paper on the verses brought up today about women not speaking at church, because if you take these verses literally then women have to put gags in their mouth when they enter the building. She asked if there was a study paper and said we should have that when addressing this topic. Robin Webber agreed that there are many commentaries on this, and they could be put together. Mrs. Kubik said she would like to see an unbiased study into those scriptures. 

She went on to comment that we encourage discussion of the sermon after service and, if we take those verses literally then women can’t talk about the sermon after services. She didn’t feel that interpretation of those verses make sense with the context of rest of the entire Bible. When Christ came He showed more respect to women than had been in the culture prior to that. She asked why that was. She asked why some women are called “prominent women.” Why were they prominent, and what were they doing in the churches there? She feels we are so fearful of anything that comes near preaching for women, yet we have no problem with women singing scriptural words. She would like to understand why these lines are being drawn, and she wants to know what is right or isn’t right. She isn’t trying to promote any idea over another. 

It will be interesting to see if the men can do what is right.  But this is the UCG after all.

You can read the entire March 2016 report here.

 

The Signs of a Sick Church

There is a fair probability that nearly every week, amongst every single COG congregation, there is at least one member who stops listening during the sermon to entertain that element of doubt that rises to the surface now and then.  Next come the questions... "Am I really in the right place?  Is this really the one true church?  If not, why do they continue to state this directly or indirectly so often?  How can it be the true church when there has been so much division?  How can it be if the leaders seem more interested in tithes than the members?  How can it be where so many 'truths' have changed over the years?"

Well, for anyone that may wonder whether they should continue attending their specific congregation(or organization), the folks at Bible Study.org have identified three signs that identify sick churches (which should be avoided).  The following comes directly from their website (posting titled "Signs of a Sick Church"):

1. Separation

The first characteristic of a sick fellowship, church or even religion is that it tries to separate people from one another or even tries to separate themselves from the world. One way a separation of people takes place is when a church disfellowships a member or members (throws them out and tells them never to return). Those remaining in the group are then strictly warned to STAY AWAY from the disfellowshipped or else THEY TOO will be thrown out!

2. Taking more than giving

The second characteristic of a sick church is that it TAKES more than it GIVES. I have witnessed people who were so pressured by religious leadership to give, give, GIVE that they gave to the point of poverty. Members may be harangued to 'sacrifice' for a denomination all the while the leadership leads a life of relative luxury. There have also been cases where brethren were encouraged to donate such a significant amount of their time in order to "serve" the church that it jeopardized their marriage, family, finances and even their health.

The purpose of a true God-focused church is to ENLARGE and ENRICH the lives of those they are blessed to serve. Jesus made it crystal clear that those who are TRUE leaders in God's eyes are those who serve the needs of others (Luke 22:24-27). One of the purposes of Jesus coming to the earth was to show humans not only how to live, but to do so more abundantly (John 10:10). One must be very wary of sick churches or groups who take far more than they give.

The Fear factor

The third and final characteristic of a sick church is that it encourages fear more than courage and even love. When was the last time your pastor or minister encourage you to do great things for others? A true godly group appeals to your love so that you are motivated to feed those in need, clothe those who are in want, visit and take care of the sick and do good to your neighbor (Luke 10:29-37; Mark 12:28-31).

Beware of any church, fellowship or even religion that appeals to fear. The only 'good" fear is that of God.

The three cures for a sick religion:

1.    Do not let a religious leader or church separate you from those you love, such as spouses, friends, family, or whomever.

2.    Do not let a group make you worse off than when you arrived! If you find that they are taking from you far more than they are giving back then it might be time to leave.

3.    Love is the cure for fear (1John 4:18). Do not let fear discourage you from fulfilling your responsibilities as a believer in Jesus Christ. A church or group is SICK if it feeds you more fear than the love of God.

 Guest column by Alan

PCG Suspends Convicted Felon Mark Nash

Things are not too rosy on The Compound lately.  The PCG recently suspended PCG minister Mark Nash.  Nash has a rather dubious background in the PCG. He went to prison for defrauding the IRS and through it all the PCG kept him on salary.  We now have two felon's in the Church of God sent to prison for the same thing, Ron Weinland and Mark Nash.

Exit and Support has this:

Another person of interest is Mark Nash. He is a former Navy Seal or Green Beret, with all the "talents" taught to them. He went to prison for defrauding the IRS, and yet was not even suspended while in prison. In fact, he was allowed to give sermons while on leave for "good behavior." If any member on the bottom level was similarly put away, he would be put out for putting the "church" in a bad light. After all, even deacons are supposed to be "blameless" in the world and of "good reputation." What gives? What do these men know that keeps them in the "good old boy network"? These two men, at least, have knowledge that keeps them on the "inside." Otherwise, Flurry would have disposed of them long ago. Mark Nash now teaches Physical Ed and who knows what else.
It doesn't take much to realize that Gerald Flurry is over a barrel with at least these two men. --Former member WCG/PCG 

Update: We were told the following by a PCG exiter: "Mark Nash received full pay as a minister and office manager while he served his time in prison." See: "Transfer All Your Assets to Gerald Flurry After You Die" about an article Mark Nash wrote in the Royal Vision, January/February 2004. Update: In 2012 Mark Nash was a PCG HQs preaching elder and Festival Dept. Manager. In 2016 he was suspended.

On May 19, Exit and Support received this letter:

Mark Nash Suspended:
May 19, 2016
I wanted to let you know that I heard about a month ago that Mark Nash, a minister at HQ, has been suspended. It was announced at services by Wayne Turgeon. It did not say his wife, just him. Wondered if you knew this or had heard anything? --Anonymous

All of the articles Nash has written over the years are still posted on PCG's web site.  Since one of them deals with PCG members making the church beneficiary in their wills, Flurry cant have it disappear until he has one of his boys rewrite it.

This is an earlier article I had on Mark Nash:  Philadelphia Church of God's Mark Nash 

How Not To Be Discouraged...According to the Philadelphia Church of God

Leave it to a fun loving privileged little white boy at the Edmond compound to tell the struggling Philadelphia Church of God members how not to be discouraged.  Discouragement can be eliminated if PCG members support the church.  Their spiritual lives will improve too.

Michael Cocomise writes:

Hearts in the Work 

If we lack vision, we lack hope. If we lack hope, we cannot do God’s Work. If we fail to do the Work, we fade spiritually. Hold on to the vision God gives us in the Bible by doing the Work. In the process, we will increase our depth of vision, and that will give us greater hope. 

Sometimes “put your heart into the Work” can become cliché and we shrug it off. You might be thinking right now, We hear that all the time! Just put your heart more into God’s Work. I am not at headquarters; I am not a staff member. How can I put my heart more into God’s Work? 

No matter where you are, you are involved in the most crucial aspect of God’s Work. The Work does not thrive at headquarters or in the field because of new machines or clever thinking. It thrives because of God’s people pouring their hearts into it through prayers! It advances because of God’s people deeply studying their Bibles, fasting on occasion, raising strong families, sharing godly conversation, raising funds together, spending time together. 

Cocomise then continues with this little list of vital things that you can do to stop discouragement.  As usual, Jesus is nowhere to be found.

Do not believe that you are not a vital part of God’s Work! That belief does not come from God. If you would like some specific ways to pour your heart into God’s Work more, here are three:

• You can listen to KPCG.fm 
• Read The Philadelphian (members only) 
• Listen to Stephen Flurry on the Trumpet Daily 

Doing these three things will eliminate most discouragement, however deep discouragement requires something harder.  You must FAST!

None of these tips replaces or comes before our most important tools in battling discouragement: prayer and study. Fasting may even be necessary from time to time depending on how discouraged we may get. Nevertheless, these additional tools can serve as a great method to boost our resistance to discouragement when it arises.

Cocomise can't bring in any scriptures by Jesus on how he makes burdens light and carries the weight, instead he has to resort to an Old Testament hero that PCG places more significance upon.

Baruch was right there serving as secretary to God’s prophet, Jeremiah. He was right at the center of God’s Work. They had the vision, yet Baruch still found a way to fall into discouragement. No matter who we are, we can get discouraged. Baruch became selfish, and God had to remind him that even though life might have been easier if he were in a different situation, the only thing that would save his life for all eternity was holding on to the vision and delivering God’s message. Our situation is no different. If we deliver this message, hold on to the vision, and faithfully support God’s Work, we will defeat Satan and his effort to crush us through discouragement. God is ready and waiting to encourage you through His Work!

Big bad meanie Satan is out to discourage PCG members.  Apparently that discouragement never comes from the perverse teachings of Flurry, the abuse of Wayne Turgeon, the arrogance of the ministry, and much more.  Great would be the day any of this "men" ever took responsibility for anything.