Exposing the underbelly of Armstrongism in all of its wacky glory! Nothing you read here is made up. What you read here is the up to date face of Herbert W Armstrong's legacy. It's the gritty and dirty behind the scenes look at Armstrongism as you have never seen it before!
With all the new crazy self-appointed Chief Overseers, Apostles, Prophets, Pharisees, legalists, and outright liars leading various Churches of God today, it is important to hold these agents of deception accountable.
Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web of Corrupt Leaders
Did you know that the Living Church of God has built a culture of "counseling" through its ministers?
Seriously, dude?
Oh, and they are making disciples of all nations. Who knew! Bwana Bob Thiel begs to differ.
110 Ministers and Wives at Final U.S. Regional Ministerial Conference Charlotte, North Carolina, was the host city for the fourth and final Regional Ministerial Conference held in the U.S. in 2022. The conference began on Sunday, August 28, and concluded on Tuesday, August 30. The 110 ministers and wives who attended came from the Eastern portion of the country. Mr. Gerald Weston and Dr. Douglas Winnail conducted the meetings, focusing on the purpose and mission of the Church, making disciples of all nations, developing leaders, and building a culture of counseling. Mr. Ames gave an update on the Work and covered other topics, and Mr. Rod McNair also gave helpful lectures. Regional Pastors Dan Hall and Lambert Greer spoke on the role of a minister’s wife and the importance of the body of Christ. Many expressed appreciation for the valuable training sessions as well as the opportunity to be together and grow as brothers and sisters—evidenced by the smiles, laughter, and warm embraces between friends old and new.
I wonder how many lectures they had on Jesus Christ and what his life, death, and resurrection meant. How many lectures did they receive on grace? How about going into great detail with the Book of Galatians? Most likely all they had were lectures on some magical kingdom soon to come where everyone would be keeping all of the law while Jesus twiddles his thumbs somewhere in Jerusalem.
Let's get back to that "counseling" bit. How many LCG ministers have legitimate training in counseling? Not the crap that the church has traditionally done, but REAL counseling. Look at the fields that are littered with the bodies of church members who have been subjected to that counseling. Look at what counseling did for Terry Ratzman.
How many LCG members actually counsel with ministry any more? Can you trust them?
The "work" marches on forward in power and glory, so much so that there is only ONE COG doing such a work today. Gerald Weston is so sure of this that he dares to ask if God is as pleased with your group as He is with LCG. This is a group so stupendously mindboggling that the gospel continued to go forth to the world even while 110 ministers and their wives were in Charlotte for a conference
Greetings from Charlotte,
The big news for most of us here in Charlotte this week was the last of the four United States Regional Ministerial Conferences (see below for more details). But the preaching of the Gospel to the whole world continued amidst this needed activity. The Work in the French language posted a new voiced-over telecast, “What Does God Want of Me?”; the Spanish El Mundo de Mañana magazine arrived for mailing; Editorial is putting the final edits into the October–November issue of Tomorrow’s World magazine; and I recorded a future telecast, “Would Jesus Choose Your Church?” Our small writing staff here and abroad continues to quietly research and write new articles, our Television Department edits and sends programs to stations, our social media staff prepares ads, and Mail Processing, Internet, Information Technologies, Record Information Services, and a host of other departments tirelessly do their jobs as we work together to fulfill God’s calling for His end-time Work. To a greater or lesser degree, this is also happening in our Regional Offices around the world. And, of course, there are all of you who pray and support this Work. We all have our part and every part is necessary. Thank you, to all of you.—Gerald Weston
Weston also brought up the question of whether or not God would choose your church in his co-worker/member letter in mid-August. Perhaps Weston should be asking himself if God would choose LCG above all other COG's.
The reason I ask that is that in his August letter he writes about how he was in Little Rock Arkansas recently where he had 48 guests (the majority LCG members) show up for his presentation. Weston remarks how shocked "some" of these guests were to find out that there was an actual congregation in Little Rock. Here is a church that claims it is preaching the Gospel in a powerful manner and yet people do not know anything about them. Here in LA, their presence is nonexistent. No one knows who they are.
Although we mention it from time to time, we find that many people do not realize that there is an organized Church behind Tomorrow’s World. I was in Little Rock, Arkansas recently for a Tomorrow’s World Presentation and spoke on “Signs of Christ’s Return.” Several of the 48 guests were surprised to learn that we have a congregation in their city. Our congregations mostly go unnoticed since we choose to give the Truth away rather than spend money to build or buy meeting halls. We instead rent rooms and halls according to the size of each congregation.
LCG and most COG's go unnoticed because they do not care to integrate themselves in their local communities as people so filled with love and grace that they do endless good works. It is like the COG is embarrassed by its message and prefers to hide in the shadows all the time. Seriously, who really wants to attend church in a Masonic Lodge, a school gym, or a dirty movie theatre? None of these places are really that conducive to worshipping God.
Weston continues with this tidbit:
We admit that we don’t fit the mold of most Sunday morning religious programs. Some televangelists represent a single-city megachurch. Other ministries send viewers to “the church of your choice.” Sadly, some are mere charlatans hawking books, DVDs, prayer cloths, hats, and t-shirts. Tomorrow’s World is different. We have nothing to offer except the Truth and we give it away free of charge.
The bullshit is really deep with this one...
LCG hawks its booklets, its telecasts, magazines, and magical anointed cloth to true beleivers. The same magical voodoo that many other churches do. LCG booklets, telecasts, and magazines give you a direct conduit to God who will then convict your heart to say out loud that Herbert Armstrong and the Living Church of God is the correct true church... just like the Mormons do with their myths.
Sure they may give away things free of charge, but little do people know that once they commit to following Weston that their pocketbooks and wallets will soon be empty as they are made to tithe and give endless offerings and other money to the church. There is a LOT of baggage to that "free of charge".
Weston admits that their magazines are essentially useless tools in converting members into the one true church:
The overwhelming majority of our nearly 600,000 Tomorrow’s World subscribers benefit from the spiritual content of our magazine, telecast, and other resources, but never become members or co-workers. And that is perfectly fine with us. Only a few like you—and how precious you are—have voluntarily chosen to contribute so that hundreds of thousands can receive these free resources.
So let's ask ourselves, would God choose the Living Church of God as his own?
United Church of God's Rick Shabi is asking his followers to be honest and truthful when they respond to a questionnaire asking how well the UCG doing with its operations and care of members.
Many times over the decades the church has asked similar questions and never once in the entire time did they ever take to heart the concerns of members. If it did the church as a whole would not be having the deep issues it is having today.
We will soon read a glowing report on how superfantabulous the church is and how its ministery and care of the membership is the best it has ever been in 2,000 years.
The real question is: "Is what we are writing, publishing, and presenting beneficial to our members, coworkers, and others?"
Let UCG know!
At the August Council of Elders meeting, I began my presentation with Proverbs 27:23, which states: “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks, and attend to your herds.”
For the last few months that’s exactly what we have been doing.
Taking stock of what we do takes time. It’s something we should be doing continually in our personal lives, comparing our actions and behaviors to the standard set for us by Christ. Paul admonishes us in 2 Corinthians 13:5: “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (emphasis added throughout).
In order to remain viable and focused on their mission, vision and purpose, organizations, families and God’s Church need to take the time to examine themselves as well. Otherwise they can get off track, leading to dire consequences.
Poignantly, Judah took the time to assess their actions and behavior after their defeat and captivity by the Babylonians: “Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the LORD” (Lamentations 3:40).
And who can forget God’s warning given in Haggai 1:5 and 7: “Consider your ways!”
Individually—and as God’s Church—we must examine ourselves regularly. We are to be growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and we are to be doing His will His way, using all the resources He gives us wisely.
As we at the home office examine our operations and our methods, and as we assess the state of the resources God has provided us spiritually, technologically, financially and personally, we ask for and need your help.
God gave His Church the commission to preach the gospel to “every creature,” to make disciples of all nations, to baptize them, and to teach them to observe all things that Christ commanded. So, we are asking ourselves and seeking God’s input as we consider our ways. Are our congregations being cared for and taught the truth in the manner and with the zeal God expects? Are God’s sheep being fed a spiritually rich and edifying diet? Is the body of Christ growing in the “one-ness” and agape love that we must develop? How can we, as His servants, do better?
As we preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to a world that so desperately needs that message of truth and hope, are we using the tools available to us effectively? Is what we are writing,
publishing and presenting beneficial to our members, coworkers and others? Are there better ways, better methods, other “doors” we should be trying? Are there things we have historically done that are no longer effective in this 21st century world? Are we using the financial resources He provides in the way He wants them to be used?
We don’t have all the answers to those questions, but we are looking to Jesus Christ who does have the answers. He knows where He wants His Church headed, and how to get there. So, we seek His way through prayer, studying His Word, in reflection and in asking questions.
As we go through this assessment and examination process, we ask for and would appreciate your help.
Beginning this Sunday, Sept. 4, we are launching an online member survey at this link: surveymonkey.com/r/UCGSurvey2022. The survey is intended for people of all ages who are associated with the United Church of God. We plan to close the survey right before the Feast of Trumpets, on Sunday, Sept. 25.
Please, as part of your service to God and His Church, make the time to take the survey and answer the questions truthfully and completely. Feel free to record your comments in the spaces provided. We welcome your honest, heartfelt input as fellow workers in this building of God’s spiritual temple.
Ha, Ha
The apostle Paul explains our role in the growth of the Body of Christ: “From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:16).
We all have our part to do in that “working” as members of His body. Taking the time to complete the survey is just one of the ways you can help and participate.
Thank you, pastors and elders, for announcing and encouraging your congregations to participate in this important survey, and thank you, members and others, for taking the time to help us assess “the state of our flocks.”
Have a wonderful day of preparation and an inspiring and uplifting Sabbath. Rick Shabi
The Philadelphia Church of God cult has a new article up today on "How Can I Get My Finances in Order?". Remember, this is a splinter cult of Armstrongism that demands 4 tithes and commanded offerings, and numerous special offerings. The average Church of God member in these ultra legalistic groups will be dishing our 40-60 of their income to their dear leaders so that they can live lives of luxury and flit around the world in private jets away from the unwashed masses and Laodiceans.
Of course, there is only ONE reason why they want COG members to have good finances in their households. The less money going out in mortgages, car loans, bank loans, etc. gives church members more money to give to the church. THAT and THAT alone is the ONLY reason members should have good finances as far as they're concerned. Forget about leaving a legacy to your children or to local charities and organizations that do good for others. God will eventually fix the world's problems at some point in the future so DO NOT waste your money on the worldly heathens because "god's" so-called church needs it more than they do so it can spread some kind of "gospel" message that they think the world needs to hear AFTER they pay for their jets and luxury lifestyles.
This is what PCG editors wrote (approved by Gerald and Lil'Stevie FLurry):
Perhaps the most heavily stressed biblical principle regarding healthy finances is to give generously. While giving may seem illogical as a step toward financial stability, God promises that when you sacrifice and serve others’ needs in whatever way you can, you will be rewarded (Luke 6:38). Therefore, give generously to others as your means allow. As your hard work and financial planning provides increase, share that with the less prosperous (Acts 20:35; Psalm 41:1).
Most importantly, give generously back to God. He created all things, and He claims the earth and its fullness as His, including all silver and gold (1 Corinthians 10:26; Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 10:14; Haggai 2:8). God can make us poor or rich (1 Samuel 2:7). By giving mankind dominion over and allowing us to use His creation, God has essentially made every man and woman His business partner (Psalm 8:6; Matthew 25:14-30). Keep God as your partner by tithing on your increase (Leviticus 27:30).
When you give God His portion, one tenth of your income, He shares in your profits and then reinvests even more in you and your ventures. God loves, blesses and promises to supply the needs of a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7-9). As tithe payers and the wealthiest men of their ages, Abraham, Job, King David and Solomon all found out that you cannot outgive God (Job 1:1-3; Hebrews 7:1-2).
On Saturday, August 27, 2022, David C. Pack of The Restored Church of God blew the minds of his audience when he delivered, “The Greatest Unending Story! (Part 390).”
The big takeaways according to Dave from the first half were that “God considers you a whole person at conception; A month in the Old Testament does not mean a full month, but merely a new moon.”
My big takeaways were, “Dave teaches the church things they already knew, but he forgot; He is right even when he is wrong; He corrupts the meanings of words to fit his latest theory.”
You are now caught up.
@ 23:12 I want to be exceeding careful with the Word of God.
At least the guy says he is trying. The fact that he is unable or not allowed to understand the Word of God is amazing and should be of concern to those in RCG.
2 Timothy 3:7
Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
This is a perfect summation of the unending prophecy series. This and the next verse are so spot-on, they should give you goosebumps on your goosebumps.
Ephesians 4:14
…be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine…
2 Peter 3:16
… some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest…
Daniel 12:10
…and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Should the folks in RCG have a more clear and more certain understanding of the coming Kingdom of God after 390 parts? Do they?
The con is only as good as the con man.
The magic trick is only as good as the magician.
A real man is only as good as his word.
@ 39:21 You’ll never figure it out. You can’t go there. Because all you’ll do is come up with some other date and I been there and done that. And I determined I would never do it again ‘til I ran headlong into all these verses about “a month” and didn’t have time to go pursue them and find out that’s the number from which the kingdom is docked off.
So much for apologies. So much for making declarative statements that spoil sooner than milk left on the counter. He is already moonwalking his apology of Part 389.
I have pondered about writing an article titled, “Is David C. Pack A Man Of His Word?” I have so many quotes of him saying one thing, but doing another. Saying he will “never” do something, but does anyway.
By this point, that article is redundant and obvious.
David C. Pack is NOT a man of his word.
That is a fact and not an opinion. An open-and-shut case that is provable in a court of law. Here are a few examples from the past:
Part 172 – April 27, 2019
@ 1:03:50 I’ll never ever ever again say the day.
Part 175 – May 29, 2019
@ 49:40 I didn’t preach on prophecy Sabbath nor will I ever again. At least, not for a long time, if we’re still here, but we won’t be.
Part 192 – July 6, 2019
@ 2:08:48 …from after Wednesday there’ll be no more Sabbath Bible studies and probably starting Wednesday I’m only gonna go 90 minutes…
Part 232 – January 20, 2020
@ 1:16:11 …the return of Christ…could only ever be this coming weekend. Now, I realized I said that, and I'm gonna pause and say if it's not, you'll never hear me be able to talk about metrics again.
Part 248 – April 11, 2020
@ 1:16:42 I don’t see any possible way I could come to learn that Christ does not come during Passover.
Part 276 – December 26, 2020
@ 33:29 And I will submit to you, Joe Biden will never serve a day in office.
I have many many many more.
The lesson for the enablers at Headquarters and all the members of The Restored Church of God is clear.
Do not believe David C. Pack then.
Do not believe David C. Pack now.
Do not believe David C. Pack tomorrow.
Brad, Ed, Jaco, Ken, Ryan, Tim, Carl, Frank, Salasi, Jim, Andy: Am I lying or distorting?
Softening his apology for setting dates that lasted until the very next time he spoke, Dave exemplifies the concept of death by a thousand pinpricks.
Part 388 – August 23, 2022
@ 1:17:52 We’ll finish tomorrow morning with a very short conclusion for an earlier post than usual.
Every single part of that statement was false. It was not recorded in the morning. It was not “very short” but went 57 minutes. It was not the conclusion. It was not posted “earlier” than usual.
The announcement in Member Services this past Friday also supports the concept.
You can look forward to a brief message of about half an hour tomorrow evening.
Dave spoke for 64 minutes.
Luke 16:10
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.
How is anyone supposed to believe him with the “big” things if he cannot be trusted with the “little” things? So says the Bible.
David C. Pack tells you everything you need to hear to make a judgment call if he is true or not.
@ 43:09 So I think we have this other wonderful mile-marker that says, “Here we are.” So I don’t have to say the day and I mentioned to you that I was glad that I didn’t.
Glad that you didn’t? Who are you fooling here?
Dave has been setting dates since 2013. If he is talking about a one-time restraint last Wednesday, that seems like very little to be “glad” about.
Important considerations can be found when you are not completely overwhelmed by the continuous oral deluge. Ponder the weight of the next statement. He ties his own noose.
@ 43:27 I told you three days ago, I’m not commissioned to tell you the year. I’m not required to do that. It’s God’s job.Well, even better.
David C. Pack just admitted that he took on to himself a role that belongs to God. He just said that.
David C. Pack does not consider the profound implications of his own words.
Why did you assign yourself a commission that belongs to God? What other commissions are you still trying to fulfill that also belong to God? Does this mean God was NOT guiding you this whole time with date-setting? What spirit has actually been driving you to do so? What else do you attribute to God that is also just from yourself? How can anyone trust you if “God’s Apostle” cannot tell the difference between what belongs to God and what belongs to a man? How can you have spent the last several years speaking with certainty and then brush it off but still think you have any of God’s authority?
David C. Pack does not consider the profound implications of his own words.
He saw this as an excuse to weasel his way out of responsibility for failure after failure after failure. Maybe it is just the antichrist serpent in me, but I just heard David C. Pack throw God under the bus for the string of prophetic fraud going back to 2013.
God was not doing His job because Dave was doing it for Him. And doing it poorly.
@ 43:35 I’m not commissioned to give you the day. I’m commissioned to tell you it’s close. God supplies both of those.
How gracious that he is finally letting God do His job after almost ten years. I wonder how long Dave will be able to let God have the spotlight.
Letting the mechanic fix the car after you made it worse is not an optimal circumstance.
What he said here conflicts with his point at 39:21, “I determined I would never do it again ‘til I ran headlong into all these verses…”
How is it possible to say, “I’m not telling you the year” and “I’m not telling you the day” but also, “It’s close,” all at the same time?
Dave just invented his own biblical paradox.
You are not supposed to say “the day” or “the year”? Then who needs you? What good are you to anyone? I guess you will need to invent another slot in the Government of God to make sense of that.
If anyone inside RCG slows down to digest his words, they will be able to see the sheer ridiculousness of his premise. Do not buy into it.
Dave then ponders the prophetic elements of his speaking. The days of his voice. Three is the number of finality. Part 390. The final Sabbath ration. Micron. And more.
Listen to how many concepts of his own importance he can cram into 89 seconds.
Part 390 – Prophetic Speaking
Why is it that everything he does is somehow biblical? He speaks three times in a week, it is biblical. He speaks for less than an hour, it is biblical. He gets COVID, it is biblical. He refrains one time from declaring Jesus Christ is coming this (past) weekend and that is also biblical.
Oh my!
When Dave steps across the hall and forgets to wipe himself, is that biblical, too? The guys trapped with him in the Third Floor Executive Imaginarium would know for sure.
He continues to try to convince himself the series is over. But since he got something as monumental as to what his commission by God is, why would anyone in RCG fall for this again?
@ 44:59 …when you hear what I cover, you tell me if this doesn’t sound like finality.
This doesn’t sound like finality.
@ 45:03 I got the best news of the entire series, I’m gonna cover in just a minute.
Dave has this interesting habit of celebrating what he has not yet done. He is selling the audience that what they have not yet heard is a big deal. It is a psychological influence to prep people to accept it as a big deal. If they do not receive it as a big deal, then the fault is theirs.
@ 48:32 In Revelation 14:6, an angel flies through the heaven as I recall and calls out the gospel to the world. An angel does that on top of the Two Witnesses after the Kingdom has been here twice? I wish I had noticed those verses, it woulda changed my ability to see the first kingdom is the Kingdom of God.
Even Dave admits that careful reading of the Bible staves off problems. The great teacher of the Bible does not read the Bible carefully. Take note of that dear members of The Restored Church of God.
Here is a summary of his last two wowzers for the end of Part 390:
1) All miscarried and aborted fetuses since the dawn of time will be resurrected into the Kingdom of God.
2) The Kingdom of God will expand across the entire universe forever.
Fact-checking the statistics and medical science behind, “3 of every 4 conceptions spontaneously abort,” is beyond my scope.
I will cheat and say, "That is not my commission."
However, my commission as a non-prophet/non-psychic is to declare that the Greatest Unending series is not over. David C. Pack will not remain silent between now and the Feast of Trumpets. No way.
More “understanding” will be “revealed to him by God” making it necessary to “further end the Mystery of God” during even more “days of his voice” as he continues to “rush and call it out” as God’s apostle.
To really step out on the ledge, I am certain he will increasingly walk back (if not fully renounce) his apology for setting dates during Part 389. He started doing that here and that signals to me that he is not truly convinced.
He has been wrong since 2013.
He says one thing but does another.
He takes upon himself commissions that belong to God.
He changes the Bible to mean what he needs it to.
David C. Pack is floating through the prophetic cosmos untethered and unable to change his trajectory.
Rather than follow him, just wave as he passes by.
