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June 2004 - Our 50th Issue Covering developments and advocating accountability in the Worldwide Church of God and related groups
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June 2004 - Our 50th Issue Covering developments and advocating accountability in the Worldwide Church of God and related groups
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25 June. O'BRIEN'S WEBSITE, HEALER OR CHARLATAN, MAILBAGCincinnati online: The new COG congregations pastored by Jim O'Brien now have a web presence of their own. Fred Patrick advises us that the site is still a work in progress, but it already looks quite professional. The URL is www.cogcincinnati.com. Included on the site are these comments from Jim:
There has been a lot of “Internet Ink” over the past few months concerning what has been happening in the Cincinnati and Lexington congregations I pastor. I wish I could address every possible question, but I can’t. What I can do is share with you my view on what has happened and the direction we are headed.
What Has Happened: In a nutshell, a substantial number of the members in the Cincinnati and Lexington congregations have asked to retain me as their pastor after the United Church of God chose to terminate my employment and revoke my credentials with that organization. From my perspective, this separation boiled down to four main differences:
1. There was a an irreconcilable difference of opinion regarding how congregations should be organized and the role of a pastor;
2. While I was willing to accept a transfer to another congregation in the area, I was not willing to move;
3. I was not willing to give up the leadership of the Winter Tournament nor agree to the desire of administration for revisions of format or control over speakers;
4. There was a substantial loss of trust on both sides that eroded our ability to continue working together...Candidly, it has been a challenge to work through the issues of this separation. In fact, we are still working out some of the matters. I certainly appreciate Matt Fenchel, an interim UCG pastor for Cincinnati North and Mark Winner, who is working in the Lexington area, and their willingness to work together in an effort to allow the brethren to choose where they would like to attend. Some of the brethren see choice as a positive development and will continue to attend both congregations and maintain close relationships.
Elmer Hinn or Benny Gantry? Dateline Pasadena has filed a special report on Benny Hinn, featuring some remarkable quotes. You can find it here. It's also comforting to note that that the good citizens of Brisbane, Australia have been given cautionary advice about this self-proclaimed "man of God". Excerpts from an article in the Courier-Mail.
A modern Christian "crusade" led by American television evangelist Benny Hinn, a self-professed miracle-worker and faith healer, will be unleashed on Brisbane later this month. More than 30,000 believers hoping for some kind of healing of body, mind or spirit, are expected to raise the roof of the Brisbane Entertainment Centre for two shows...
Although Hinn calls himself a pastor, he has no theological training...
Three years ago he was asking for $30 million to build a "World Healing Centre" and although the funds were raised the plans were abandoned.
"all types of snake oil" should be treated with extreme caution.
Apart from those watching television during the vampire hours, relatively few Australians know of Hinn although his Orlando Christian Centre ministry, founded two decades ago, earns up to $100 million a year and is said to have a weekly world TV audience of more than 50 million.
In the US "disbelievers" have marred his church and concert hall performances by protesting outside venues and accusing the 51-year-old Lebanese-born tele-minister of preying on the sick and elderly. Watchdog groups have been lobbying US Congress to pass legislation making it illegal to hawk anything that cannot be proven to deliver what it promises, and authorities have also been investigating his growing wealth.
His visit, along with that of fellow millionaire faith healer Kenneth Copeland next month, have been pre-empted by Australian church authorities who believe claims of miracle healings should be investigated by government.
Dr David Pascoe [St Paul's Theological College] said a secular authority was needed to test claims of "miracle healings" to protect people's rights. "Some (evangelists) appear to be their own authority and if one of the Government's charges is to protect people's rights, then a secular authority could do that – we do it for consumer goods," Dr Pascoe said.
Although Hinn calls himself a pastor, he has no theological training and therefore cannot have his claims censured by higher authorities...
In 1998 when Hinn, who claims God appeared before him when he was 11, was last in Brisbane he attempted to ban the media from entering the entertainment centre.
Hinn claims that during his stage shows he cures the seriously and terminally ill, those with long-time drug habits and leanings towards witchcraft. He asks for "gifts, your best seed (money) or donations" as he performs the acts. He imparts the Holy Spirit by touching people, with a small puff of the lips or by throwing it into the audience like a cricket ball.
Will another Christian leader, Joseph Tkach, have the courage and integrity to issue a similar statement when the millionaire evangelist appears... dispensing "snake oil" in the Auditorium which has been for decades a spiritual icon for members of the Worldwide Church of God?
Currently Hinn is requesting donations to enable him to take the Gospel to the ends of the Earth. Three years ago he was asking for $30 million to build a "World Healing Centre" and although the funds were raised the plans were abandoned.
Hinn says the massive donations (able to be given via credit card on his website) he receives are no different to those collected by mainstream churches.
Australian Catholic University theology professor Tony Kelly said despite the church almost accepting a long history of craziness on the fringes, "all types of snake oil" should be treated with extreme caution. "Bad publicity for the whole range of spiritual values should not be tolerated and churches need to be, while recognizing God can work in mysterious ways, explicit in not letting simple devout people be exploited and they must give firm guidance on this," he said. "Any person who is humbly trying to do the work of God needs some money but once self-promotion and amassing huge sums of money takes over, it is not a good sign. The work needs to be God-directed, non-profitable, and carry the spirit of poverty and humility."David Pascoe and Tony Kelly are responsible Christian leaders sounding a much-needed alarm. Will another Christian leader, Joseph Tkach, have the courage and integrity to issue a similar statement when the millionaire evangelist appears on his doorstep at the beginning of July - dispensing "snake oil" in the Auditorium which has been for decades a spiritual icon for members of the Worldwide Church of God?
Bose buys Aussie Office: WCG's Australian franchise has sold its offices on the Gold Coast to Bose, the corporation which makes high-end sound systems. Rod Matthews is quoted in the latest PG's epistle:
For almost a decade, as our income declined we have been well aware of the need to try to optimise the performance of our assets. Clearly, over time, the building has become too big for our needs. We have moved from housing around 36 staff at one time to now housing 7 or 8.
According to the report, WCG-Oz got a very sweet deal.
Weekly Mailbag
Everything is lovey-dovey: After reviewing the June issue of the United News from UCG, here's what I've concluded about the Cincinnati North situation.
Nothing happened there. Absolutely nothing. If something had happened in recent weeks, the publication surely would have said something. So Jim O'Brien still is Pastor there, and everything is lovey-dovey, right?
Thankfully Ambassador Bible Center is NOT teaching courses in journalism. If it did, more members of UCG would handle difficult or bad news the way North Korea does -- and hardly ever admit it.
A journalist by trade,
Richard BurkardSend Joe to ... Speaking of $$ and the WWCG. Wouldn't it make sense to move HQ to a different location?? That is if the leaders are serious about accountability. Joe and Co. would have to make nearly $100,000.00/yr just to afford the housing in Pasadena.
izzy
AW: Our suggestion would be Fairbanks, Alaska. Nice brisk climate, affordable office space...
The salary letter: In February 1997 Joe Tkach mailed [a] letter listing his salary as $99,000/year, thus allowing him to claim he was not making six figures per year. Big deal, eh? I live in Canada and that amounted to about $150,000 per year. What kind of Christian needs more than $10,000/month, while at the same time pleading for more money from those who make far less, and justifying it by uncritically proclaiming that "the worker is worth his hire"?
Todd Sauve
AW: Good point. Thanks for the letter, parts of which appeared in the previous upload.
Tire rotation: One nice thing to see about the Tkach era of dealing with thorny issues--they still follow the HWA model. In the current issue of the WN, the HWA model is deftly employed in the continuing exciting discussion on whether or not to ordain women. To utilize the HWA model for dealing with touchy issues, first you acknowledge the touchy issue, then you follow it with something completely irrelevant, like "The Nature of Leadership in the Church." Next time, perhaps Joe Jr. could follow up his WN intro on women's ordination with something far important like "What the Bible says about rotating your tires."
Scraping off The Great God: I can understand why they'd want to remove all traces of WCG from the dedication stone at the auditorium. But that last phrase, "dedicated to the honor and glory of The Great God", really confuses me. I thought Harvest Rock were at least ostensibly Christian. Why would that offend them?
Unless the auditorium has found a new caretaker that is much more fitting than we could have dreamed.
RussellAW: Maybe they could replace it with "Benny Jehovah" - see the new DP piece.
Deafening silence: Tkach's "magnanimous" adjustment of his salary to just barely below the much criticized 'six-figure' level shows a cynical contempt for the intelligence of his followers. It was a pathetic damage control move in the mid 90s when the issue became a hot potato as his church was literally falling apart. Missing from this "gut-spill" with his members were details of other perks and bonuses that were no doubt added to compensate for this. Also missing was details of the level of pay (rumored to close to half a million) from which they ramped down (to $105k). His deafening silence on the matter for the last seven years indicates that the secretive ruling elite of the WCG quickly ramped their secret salaries back up again.
Retirement plan disclosure: US law REQUIRES employers to disclose certain information regarding retirement plan vesting and benefits on a timely basis to the employees and the IRS. Some of the regs are intended to prevent officers of corporations from receiving benefits disproportionately higher than line level employees. There HAS to be a way to get some of this information out in a lawsuit along these lines. Also, another approach might be to get and publish some of the same financial info from Canada or England. The laws regarding forced disclosure of financial retirement and charitable statements may be more favorable than US law.
Please, please, keep on pressing this issue!
23 June. SCRAPING AWAY WCG HISTORY, CN ASSETS TO BE DISBURSED, JOE TELLS ALL, TRUTH TELLERS
De-Herbing the Auditorium: This special report from Dateline Pasadena.
The Great God has left the building... enter the moneychangers
I think we had a small earthquake this weekend when Harvest Rock scraped the gold letters off the front lobby wall of Ambassador Auditorium. The Apostle must be rolling in his grave!
They've also installed a bookstore in the main lobby. Under Herb's reign selling inside the building was forbidden. Many considered it an abomination to sell anything inside the "House of God". That's why the ticket office was housed in the Hall of Ad and concession sales, music/video/gifts were sold outside on the bridges surrounding the egret fountain or on the mall.
It now only says "Ambassador Auditorium"
They scraped off"Made Possible By Gifts From The Worldwide Church of God
Dedicated to the Honor and Glory of The Great God"Cincinnati North - the final chapter? The following letter has been sent out by Rick Pratt.
Friday, June 18, 2004
Hello everyone!
Just to give you a quick update, the board of trustees of the United Church of God Cincinnati North met last evening in our home. Through much work and input from the board members, a decision was reached to dissolve the corporation. We plan to have one more board meeting on 6-30-04 at 7:30, at The Northern Hills Fellowship hall. This meeting will focus on dispersing the assets of the church. Let us continue to work on keeping the love and friendships we have developed over the last few years. Thank you for all your prayers.
We are asking all members to discontinue sending tithes to the local post office box. Any and all tithes received after Monday, June 21 will be returned. For those wishing to send tithes locally, we ask that you be patient with us until accounts & post office boxes are established. This should be completed in the next week or two.
As for services this week:
Mr. Jim O'Brien (Church of God - Cincinnati) will meet at 10:30am at the Northern Hills Fellowship hall.
Mr. Matt Fenchel (UCG - Cinti North) will meet at 2:30am [that's early! we assume pm was meant] at the Northern Hills Fellowship hall.
Please feel free to attend either or both services. There is no pressure for you to decide who you will meet with.
In Christian love,
Rick Pratt
The seven year glitch: The Bible says "ask and it shall be given." Just a couple of days ago we asked:
It’s interesting that the church has never, to our recollection, gone on public record with any kind of assurance about executive salary levels. Why not? If it’s good enough to feed information (or disinformation) through third parties, why not just come out and say it openly?
“The Worldwide Church of God does not currently provide salary packages to any employees or executives in excess of $100,000.”
There. Simple. Slip it into Ron Kelly’s next WN column, or even Joe’s. On the record. There’s nothing to lose by doing so and much to gain.
Okay, so here's where we eat crow... There is only one small glitch
Okay, so here's where we eat crow. A Canadian reader sent in a scanned copy of a member letter. And here is what the Pastor General actually says:
May I share a personal heartache with you? I have heard rumors that some have decided to stop giving to the church because they have heard that I am paid several hundred thousand dollars a year. Brethren, that is just not true, and has never been true.
Every person in the church organization earns less than $100,000. That includes me, and as pastor general, I am the highest paid. Whatever rumors you've heard to the contrary are simply untrue. I will keep no secrets from you. The church board did set the pastor general's wage at $105,000 (which was lower than the previous wage for the office of pastor general) at the time I became pastor general, but some time ago I reduced that to $99,000.
Some may still feel that this wage is far too high for any person to earn. Yet I realize that any wage would be considered far too high by some. Let me also explain that here in Pasadena, the salaries for 15 senior management and technically or professionally skilled positions in the church are set between $58,000 and $96,000. All other wages are less than these figures. Pastoral salaries in the U.S. range from $30,000 for beginning assistant pastors to $52,000 for seasoned senior pastors. These figures are base salaries, and do not reflect housing subsidies that some pastors in high cost-of-living areas receive, nor do they include pastors' mileage reimbursement for vehicle use.
We have to admire Joe for this straight-forward statement. There is only one small glitch. It was written in February 1997. However, in that Joe has set this fine precedent, it should be no great thing for him to update the material seven years later. After all, Joe himself says "I will keep no secrets from you."
Loyalty or Truth: A former WCG minister has sent in a fascinating article that every COG leader and aspiring-leader should read. This is a Christian perspective that is rarely expressed, and we highly recommend the essay. The link to the full text is http://www.cyberscripture.com/htt.htm. Excerpts:
Our responsibility to hear the truth from individuals around us grows in proportion to the sphere of our influence. The larger the influence, the more we need people around us to speak their perception of the truth to us and the less likely they are to do it. Leaders must teach and emphasize truthfulness or they will more likely get affirmation from their subordinates rather than truthfulness.
The leader must also recognize truth when it comes. It seldom will come in a nice package and identify itself as truth. Truth can come to us in the form of the unflattering opinions of others, angry words, criticisms and even slander. The speakers will almost always see themselves as telling the truth... sometimes the truth-teller will smite us. Nearly all of these kinds of smiting events will have an element of truth that needs to be discerned. The leader who is insecure will not glean the truth about himself and his organization from these uncomfortable truth events and can dishonor the person seeking to tell the truth. Embraced truth will set us free no matter what package it comes in.
...value systems are always observable in the behavior of leaders. For instance, if the leader judges the input of the truth-teller by how well he or she offered that input, the leader will receive decreasing truthfulness from those around him. He has taught by his attitudes and behavior that truthfulness is not valued. If individuals around him must earn the right to speak the truth to him by proven loyalty, he is training and producing subordinate leaders that will value loyalty over the truth.
Blindness is characteristic of organizations and leaders that do not value truthfulness in their relationships. This is because truth telling has been stifled in a loyalty-based organizations or individuals. Because there is no honest feedback, they will often be blind to their abusive behavior and honestly wonder why others are reacting. There will be no one to tell them that it is wrong to shift the blame for difficulties in the relationships to the victims of their abusive behavior.
The value of truth is what keeps a local church or any organization from becoming like a cult. Honoring the truth-teller is a characteristic of godly relationships. Dishonoring the truth-teller is a characteristic of cults. Cultic behavior, which always includes blindness, will result from an overemphasis of loyalty above the truth. Leaders must understand that their own desire for loyalty may overcome truthfulness in their subordinates.Individuals who strongly value honesty and truthfulness are unappreciated, and often rejected as disloyal. Some people are particularly oriented to truthfulness and may be seen as not being team players by those who highly value loyalty. This may create a value conflict in the organization between the truth-tellers and those who highly prize loyalty. The loyalty value normally wins over truthfulness in these kinds of situations because those in authority will often value loyalty over truthfulness. When the loyalty value wins over truth, it often takes the form of a suppression of free expression, particularly dissent. This does not make the elements of truth in dissent go away; truth will surface again and again in different, even more destructive forms, until it is dealt with properly.
22 June. JOURNAL REVIEWS CINCINNATI SPLIT
Wainui Park, New Zealand FOT venue
Wretched procedures exposed: The May 31 issue of The Journal is now available, and features in-depth coverage on the difficulties in the United Church of God. The division in Cincinnati North receives detailed coverage as does the disquiet in the Pennsylvania churches pastored by Paul Lueke. The accounts of "gag orders" and the wretched procedures foisted on unhappy congregations gives further cause for concern.
In the advertising section Raymond McNair spends two pages of small print answering (on God's behalf) the question "Should You Trust 'God's Ministers'?" Graeme McChesney from the Church of God (Auckland) goes one better with 3 pages on the faith of Abraham, but also mentions an independent Kiwi Feast site in the South Island. Although the Auckland church still seems to be without its own website, a web page with some FOT venue details can be found online. Anyone interested in further information could contact Jill Broadhurst.
20 June.
Editorial comment: How much does Joe Tkach gross in a year? How about Bernie Schnippert? And who cares anyway?
Few subjects excite as much indignation among former members of the WCG as the reputed salaries of the sect’s top brass. The trouble is no-one actually seems to know the extent of their remuneration. Which naturally opens the door to colorful and varied speculation.
It’s not helped by the ingenuous statements of the past. Many readers will clearly remember Herbert W. Armstrong editorializing one year about how he owned virtually nothing, but that the church generously agreed to provide him with a home!
Reality was somewhat different. Did third-tithe really go to “widows and orphans”? Was the church transparent about its books when the court-appointed receiver stepped in and tried to honestly assess the situation?
We know about the Steuben crystal, the jet-setting lifestyles and shopping sprees in exotic locations. We’ve heard about the casino romps, sweet deals and ordinations of convenience. And we know the level of incredible sacrifice it took from ordinary people to feed this modern Molech. It would be remarkable if we weren’t now both suspicious and jaded.
But that’s history, right? A new broom has swept clean. The abuses of the past have been weeded out.
I don’t believe WCG is currently doing anything illegal. The present administration is, to the best of my knowledge, “squeaky clean”
I want to state something upfront right from the start. I don’t believe WCG is currently doing anything illegal. The present administration is, to the best of my knowledge, “squeaky clean”. Things are not as awful as they were under Armstrong. Ron Kelly, Bernie Schnippert and Co. seem to run a clean operation.
But…
Legality is one thing. Transparency is another.
Does WCG publish full financial statements? Does WCG make those statements available as a matter of public record?
And has WCG ever disclosed information about the salary packages of its executives?
Given the grubby and shameful history, you’d think church officials would now be bending over backward to display clean hands. Full audited financial statements at a minimum. Is that the case?And wouldn’t you, if you were Pastor General, be desperate to assure donors that the leaders were exercising due restraint in matters of remuneration? Particularly when this administration has only succeeded in downsizing the church to a shadow of its former size. Out in the “real world”, operating under the kind of business model the church seems to cherish, Joe Tkach and his team would have been “down the road” years ago.
So how much are the big boys paying themselves?
It depends on who you ask. The church is saying nothing, at least officially.
If it’s good enough to feed information (or disinformation) through third parties, why not just come out and say it openly?
Unofficially the church maintains – speaking “off the record” - that nobody, including Joe Tkach, earns more than $100,000.
But others close to the coal-face believe the reality is far different. A recent document, provided to Ambassador Watch by a well-connected source, indicates that they have good cause for their suspicions.It’s interesting that the church has never, to our recollection, gone on public record with any kind of assurance about executive salary levels. Why not? If it’s good enough to feed information (or disinformation) through third parties, why not just come out and say it openly?
“The Worldwide Church of God does not currently provide salary packages to any employees or executives in excess of $100,000.”
There. Simple. Slip it into Ron Kelly’s next WN column, or even Joe’s. On the record. There’s nothing to lose by doing so and much to gain.
Any responsible member or donor should ask these questions, whether of WCG or any charitable organization
If the statement is true.
And then wouldn’t it be nice if the church could provide the long-overdue fully audited report at the end of the financial year – also out in the public arena.Meantime the dark suspicions will continue. Is the lack of information, accountability and transparency indicative of the need to hide “unpleasant facts” from the membership? Any responsible member or donor should ask these questions, whether of WCG or any charitable organization. Any organization that cannot provide appropriate assurances does not deserve their support.
Until the church comes clean, rumors will continue to circulate. And the church will have no-one to blame except itself.
19 June. PASADENA WEEKLY COVER STORY, BENNY IN BRISBANE, MAILBAG
Dunk & run: First it was rats, then ducks, but the world-renown Ambassador campus had another unscheduled guest recently. Here's an excerpt from Dunk 'n Run by Carl Kozlowski, appearing in the current Pasadena Weekly.
Even if lots of people stop practicing their religion as adults these days, most people I know seem to have been baptized at some point. One friend and colleague who I knew had not been touched by the holy waters of renewal, however: Pasadena Weekly's contributor, Jake Armstrong. Jake classifies himself loudly, proudly and more than slightly ironically, considering the founder of the Worldwide Church of God... is named Armstrong, but is no relation, as "an unbelieving Jew." I picked the grounds of Pasadena's Ambassador College campus, run by the Worldwide Church of God, because it was packed with fountains where we could easily pull off a dunk 'n run. We selected early Monday evening, a time we figured security would be light and unaware that we were on campus with PW Art Director Richard Garcia manning a camera to record Jake's blessed occasion.
Picking a fountain with a statue of the earth rotating above it, I threw on the robe and realized that I had no idea what to say. Jake didn't really want to be baptized and I didn't really want to risk burning in hell for joking around with the real words of the Catholic ceremony that I was familiar with.
We decided that it was more important to make sure we got a clear shot and I didn't drop Jake's head against the concrete bottom of the fountain than for me to actually say anything at this moment. So, on the count of three, I dropped Brother Jake backwards into the water, retrieved him from the fountain, and then...
I heard him cry out - in agony.
"Man, I can't believe how much chlorine they put in that thing!" he shrieked, rubbing his eyes in a frenzy.
I wanted to take mercy on Jake and declare him newly refreshed. Garcia, however, wanted him to get dunked again.
"Just in case. You never know when you need another shot," he said.
"Damn it!" Jake cried.
"Watch thy tongue," I corrected him.
Thank God the second shot worked.Well, despite Kozlowski's reservations, we suspect that this may have been one of the more valid baptisms performed on campus in recent years! The article then gets really bizarre. WCG's Ron Kelly is quoted on the subject of financial abuse in "DIY" religions:
Kelly believes that the potential for financial abuses is vast as ordained ministers can claim income-tax deductions on church donations annually, are allowed a tax-free parsonage allowance and have part of their salaries rendered tax-free.
"If you have a certificate hanging on your wall or a card in your wallet then someone might think you're a qualified counselor and you're not," said Kelly. "Someone who valued an education by being a graduate of a certified institution wouldn't stoop to this kind of credential."Ron, we couldn't have said that better ourselves! Did even the slightest hint of irony tinge your remarks as you stated them?
Zombie evangelists in Oz: Two of COGdom's finest ply their wares on Australian television. The late Garner Ted Armstrong entertains early morning viewers on Prime (Sundays at 6AM - obviously a "dead spot" for ratings), while Gerry Flurry brings his particular charms to incurable insomniacs at 4AM on Channel 10. (LCG's Tomorrow's World, in contrast, seems to have more patchy coverage in the Lucky Country.) Australian viewers are advised that Gerry has been classified PG (in this case "parental guidance", not Pastor General). No wonder, small children are too immature to discern fact from apocalyptic fiction. In fact anyone under the age of seventy-five would be well advised to play it safe and flip across to SpongeBob SquarePants reruns.
Brisbane's Courier Mail newspaper featured an evangelist of another stripe last weekend: Ambassador Auditorium cheerleader Benny Hinn. Benny, it seems, is coming to town. Journalist Mike O'Connor comments:
You know Benny, the evangelist in the sharp suits and pepperoni-pizza ties who performs miracles for a living... [on] his early morning television program in which, standing before huge crowds in the US, he beckons the limp, the lame and the infirm to come forward and be cured...
In between exercising his divine powers, Benny, the cost of whose wardrobe and jewellery would fund the invasion of a Middle East nation, pleaded for funds. The message was that if you're planning on making it to heaven, sending half your social security pension to Benny was as good as having a reserved seat in a corporate box in the hereafter.
Reserved seats in the hereafter? How blessed are the residents of Pasadena who don't have to wait that long. A nice seat in the "House of God" can be arranged next month where the saved can bask in the glow of the Holy Ghost refracted from Benny's cufflinks.
The cover cover-up continued: More details about the "millions" of Plain Truths in case you're interested re one of your reader's comments.
Plain Truth printing, like most large-scale printed publications of the day, was divided into "signatures." Publishing actually came up with a then-innovative idea of using an interchangeable black ink plate for the international editions of The Plain Truth. That way the other three plates could still be used (at least to an certain extent) with German, French, et al printed by changing the black ink plate.
The U.S. Plain Truth press run had an extra "signature" and thus more pages than the international edition. Because of spiraling printing costs, the Plain Truth went to a "self cover" in the 1970s, that is, a cover of the same paper stock as the interior of the magazine. It counted as four facing pages in "Sig 1." Because the cover generally always featured outside (I.e. not produced by Church members) artwork or photography and obviously is the most graphically important element of the magazine, a "mock-up" of the cover was always sent to HWA for approval. Concerning the Reagan cover, HWA dropped the ball on approval, or when in a sentient moment, exercised his legendary convenient memory (utilized many times while he led the WCG, including "I never saw nor authorized the STP project!") to claim he never approved the cover. In order to replace, the cover, the entire Sig 1 of 12 pages had to be scrapped. Plus, new artwork had to be hastily commissioned, new negs shot, new bluelines generated and finally new plates burned. Anyone who saw the 50th anniversary coverage of the Plain Truth also saw the enormous amounts of paper that had to be ordered for the printing of the magazine and gigantic printing presses that were booked. When HWA decided he didn't want to possibly offend President Reagan, all of that stopped. The magazines that were already labeled and on their way to be drop-shipped were shredded. They might have saved a few internal signatures and paper, but it wasn't much. The total cost of reprinting that issue was nearly a 10th of the entire production budget for that year's magazine's. Hardly something you could get away with in the real world.Crowned Dregs of Europe: My subject line ("descent from royalty") is a bit of a pun on Raymond McNair's "Ascent to Greatness." Okay, not that good a pun. Anyway, regarding Herbert Armstrong's descent from European royalty, his royal descent was no different from the royal descents of a very large percentage of ordinary folks throughout Europe, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, etc. In fact, statistically speaking, the odds are that most of the people living in Europe today are descendants of Charlemagne, whether they can prove it from written records or not.
Looking back, it's pretty pathetic the way Herbert Armstrong and the WCG burnished his royal pedigree and fictitious descent from King David as some sort of fulfillment of prophecy. Even if European royal families had proven descents from David (they don't), it wouldn't prove a thing theologically. After all, my own mother can trace her Scottish ancestry back to the Stewart dynasty through about 15 different lines, thanks to a lot of almost incestuous in-breeding and bastardy -- but somehow I have to doubt that means God has anointed me to lead God's lost sheep into heavenly pastures. (Indeed, that would seem to be an odd way for the Almighty to bring an Apostle into existence and anoint him -- through repeated acts of fornication and marriage of close cousins.) And as for descents from numerous different European royal families, well, royalty usually marry other royalty. Probably hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Scots and others with Scottish heritage, are descended from, say, the marriage of King James II and Marie of Guelders in the 1400s -- and Marie's ancestors include the royal families of almost every single nation in Europe.
The fact is, royal descent is not as rare as a lot of folks seem to think, especially since kings have tended to have plenty of access to willing and unwilling women. If you meet anyone who points out that Herbert Armstrong was descended from European royalty, all you have to say is, "So's yo' mama!" -- and odds are you'll be right.
Jared Olar
Royal BastardThe Lussenheide lineage: Fascinating stuff! Just one minor note. Bill wrote: "I myself have traced my family history back to 1350 using this site, unfortunately Lussenheide's are a long line of peasants and serfs from Osnabruck Germany . . . . Oh well, somebody has to harvest the potatoes for the bluebloods!"
Whatever they harvested back in 1350, it wouldn't have been potatoes. Spuds would have to wait for another century and a half -- until after 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Spanish conquistadores didn't export the tuber from the Inca Empire to the European kingdoms till the sixteenth century.COG-ME: I take great pride in announcing the formation of a NEW COG organization. After seeing so many others start their own, I am starting mine. It is the Church of God - Millionaire's Edition. (Or the COG-ME for short.) We will not try to be all things to all people. In order to join, you will need a net worth of seven figures or an annual income of six figures. Since we will be a small church, I will make myself available for one-on-one teaching. Just pay my way to your home, or we can meet at a mutually agreeable place (Hawaii, the Caribbean, etc). I am flexible in my teaching and will cater to whatever you want to hear. For more information, I am working on a website. You can use it whenever you want to make a donation, tithe-payment, gift, offering, seed-faith gift, etc.
JimAW: A truly irresistible offer ;-)
Christ-centered: After reading the Dennis Diehl letter to the WCG I find myself wanting to share my personal experience with the Jesus-loving Greg Albrecht of the WCG. When I first left the cult of Tkach, I was personal mess. I asked for help even though I was no longer a member. Little did I know that the Christ-centered Worldwide Church of God really did not give a rats ass about the people that were messed up by their teachings and then to add insult to injury, the changes were a 180 degree turn around to the crap Herbie and his adulterous son Garner Ted taught... To the membership that continue to use the WCG as a social club, I present the love of the Christ-centered Greg Albrecht. http://www.herbertwarmstrong.com/toxic_waste.htm
Reverend Kscribe.
Details please: You put the following on your website: I was told the other day that a local ICG group in MO. was told by Dr. Ricks that they had to go to KY. to meet for Sabbath because of Mark Armstrong being there for the weekend. As it turns out, the local host had already paid for the meeting room and a number of the members did not attend as they were told to. Since that happened the local host was told not to come back for 6 months and then only after they sat down and talked to him.
Is there any way possible that you can put on your website where in MO. this local church group is located? Also if possible the name of the ICG host who was told not to come back for 6 months.AW: The comments were made by a mailbag correspondent. We have no further information.
18 June. RIGHT-WING RANT?
Reagan remembered: CGI's Ian Boyne has written a column for The Jamaica Gleaner paying tribute to the late president and noting that "The right-wing Plain Truth magazine, which was always fond of Republican presidents, had a special place of honour for America's 40th president." You can find it here (this is a PDF file). In comments to AW Ian writes:
You recently wondered aloud whether there were any supporters of the Democrats and why almost every Armstrongite, at least in the US (among the Israelites, that is) is a Republican. I have written critically of the Republicans and, in fact, take a plague-on-all-your-houses approach to political parties, while not taking a reflexively obscurantist view of politics. But what I find palpably hypocritical and hilarious--if it were not so sad, really-- is to read the right-wing rantings of the leaders of the Churches of God and the blatantly political and partisan, pro-Republican propaganda, which is followed up with the statement that a Christian should not vote or take part in "worldly politics". Now after the leaders of some of these churches of God make such an impassioned case for the Republicans and use their publications as right-wing propaganda outlets, I ask: Which is worse, a single member's voting or the churches of God's influencing perhaps thousands of "unconverted readers" to vote Republican?
The above photograph appeared a few days ago in the Pasadena Star News. The caption reads, "Azusa police chief King Davis... points to a photo of himself as he was working protection for President Reagan during his 1981 inauguration." Nice magazine cover!
17 June. THE $100,000 QUESTION
The wall of disinformation starts to crumble: As we all know nobody at WCG HQ earns more than $100,000. We have that on authority of the retired evangelist who recently corresponded with AW. Even Joe himself, a paragon of thrift and self denial, makes less than a six figure salary according to this source.
I am assured that no executive makes more than Joe Tkach, who is the highest paid, and his salary is less than 100K per year. I was told the top seven paid managers made considerably less than Joe. Now this is where credibility comes in ... I believe him because I know him and because I know he knows.
Which makes the document we received today so interesting. Document? Well, we can't actually show you because it contains information that probably shouldn't appear online, but we're very confident it's "the real McCoy". How did we come across it? Hard to say really. It appeared today in the in-box. And who knows what strange adventures it had before it reached our desktop. Alien abduction? An attack by mutant hackers on the AS/400? Can't rule out those possibilities...
Now, let's see. Hey I recognize that name. Not exactly one of Joe's "gang of five". No-one nearly as exalted as Schnippert or Albrecht. And how much has this person grossed up till mid-May this year? Um... $43,000 plus. And we haven't even tried to factor in the lucrative "parsonage allowance" (is this fellow actually ordained?) or access to corporate credit cards. Very nice. Anyone got a calculator?
$43,000 and it’s not even the end of May... 7 months still to go. I'm no accountant, but that indicates total earnings of more than $100,000 (including bonuses) this calendar year for this particular guy. 2004 seems a very good year indeed for this second stringer.
So let's think, if this mid-level administrator is pulling in this kind of moolah, what exactly are the big boys getting? Certainly no less! In a rigidly hierarchical sect it's a fair guess the top dogs are getting the top dollars... and that’d mean - despite any protestations to the contrary - a good deal more than $100,000. How else could you explain the evidence, right here - in black and white.
And if we understand the covering note correctly there may be more unexpected disclosures to follow.
16 June. PACK'S AMAZING ANNUALIZED STATS, WE GIVE JOE WONDERFUL NEW RESOURCES
Astonishing increase? There can be few things more pathetic than a minor COG boasting about its "growth" by quoting website hits. Strangely enough, COGs that are downright secretive about their membership and attendance figures seem particularly prone to this form of backslapping. Check out this clipping from the Pack cult (Restored Church of God). It doesn't actually say web visitors, but, let's get real, that's the only kind of "visitors" Dave is likely to get.
So what do these figures actually mean? A "ubiquitous reporter" (his designation, not ours) comments:
An annualized expectation of 767,000 visitors means 14,750 visitors per week, whereas 1,108,000 means 21,307 visitors per week. So it isn't an increase of "341,000 people...in just 14 days", but we do admit it SOUNDS good!
After COGdom - then what?
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A helping hand for Joe: Poor old Joe Tkach, he must be boring himself to tears, let alone the rest of us, by cut and pasting the same old "doxology" into his weekly epistle time after time after time after mind-numbing time.
Please remember that prayer is the battleground where we fight the good fight. Let's encourage everyone to join together in prayer. Additional spiritual disciplines such as fasting and study draw us closer to God and strengthen us for what we must do. When more of us prepare individually, the stronger we move together collectively.
Love from my family to yours,
Joseph TkachHere at AW we like to be helpful, and after much rigorous exercise of "spiritual disciplines" we prayerfully and respectfully submit the following suggestions to the Pastor General. We absolutely guarantee that either will freshen up his weekly missive!
1. To encourage communication across the cultural divide, Joe could use The Dialectizer to accurately target the deep spiritual significance of his timeless words. For example, here's the standard message translated into "Elmer Fudd":
Pwease wemembew that pwayew is the battwegwound whewe we fight the good fight. Wet's encouwage evewyone to join togethew in pwayew. Additionaw spiwituaw discipwines such as fasting and study dwaw us cwosew to God and stwengthen us fow what we must do. When mowe of us pwepawe individuawwy, the stwongew we move togethew cowwectivewy. Wove fwom my famiwy to youws, Joseph Tkach
2. However, when money is being solicited Joe could try cut and pasting from the Biblical Curse Generator. This is sure to motivate tardy givers to cough up quick-smart. Examples:
Woe unto thee, O thou child of Jezebel, for you will see your pomegranates wither!
Hear this, O thou lying Girgashite, for you will be cast onto a steaming dung-heap!
No, no Joe; no need to thank us, its our pleasure!
13 June. OPEN LETTER TO WCG, HERB RELATED TO CROWNED HEADS OF EUROPE
Open letter: Former minister Dennis Diehl addresses the leadership of the Worldwide Church of God in an open letter, published today on The Missing Dimension. Dennis alludes to, among other things, the sale of the Auditorium to HRC, the track record of the Tkach administration and the incongruity of a "reconciliation ministry" in a church that has no will to reconcile its own estranged members.
A Right Royal Ratbag: Bill Lussenheide reports:
One legend perpetuated in the COG is one that HWA was descended from the Kings of England and Scotland. In fact, I even heard HWA make the claim himself in person at the Auditorium in Pasadena in a sermon. With [British Israel] a pivotal doctrinal position, having HWA descending from the "Royal Line" added all the more to the mystique of the theory. I decided to do some investigation, especially with the resources available now available on the internet. Results?? YES!
Thanks to the LDS Church and their exhaustive internet search records, I was able indeed to trace the Armstrong lineage back to the royal line! The line that I was able to trace does not come through the Armstrong name, but in fact through a paternal grandmother named Lydia Hole, who married Nathan Armstrong who in turn produced Horace Elon Armstrong who was HWAs father.
The HWA autobiography (final 1986 edition) has a picture of a very young HWA (age one) with his grandfather Elon Hole in the photo pages after page 120. Hole was aged 92 in the photo according to the autobiography, having him born in 1800, and according to the LDS site, dying in 1895, in Des Moines Iowa, (HWAs birthplace).
Hole's lineage goes back to 1400 to Devonshire England. Through marriage to the DeUmfeville line, the royal lineage starts to emerge. From the DeUmfreville line comes Maud, Princess of Scotland, Henry - Prince of Scotland, David - King of Scotland, and Malcolm 3rd, King of England way back to a time before 1000 AD! .
Additionally, if you trace these lines out, there are kings of Denmark and Sweden in the Armstrong bloodline!
Here is how to confirm this yourself. Go to this weblink, then type in the name Elon Hole in the listed spots. Click on the name when it comes up again and then click on "pedigree". Keep clicking on the arrows for the "Hole" family line, until it links up with the DeUmfreville line. Trace backwards from this line to find the royal links.
Fun stuff, I myself have traced my family history back to 1350 using this site, unfortunately Lussenheide's are a long line of peasants and serfs from Osnabruck Germany , whose only claim to fame was defeating the Roman Army in 9 AD near Westphalia. Oh well, somebody has to harvest the potatoes for the bluebloods!
King Josiah and the Jelly Belly: LOL! It sounds like a great title for a VeggieTales video. :o)
Maria
Precedent for proposal: Bob E. suggests that Gavin is either joking "or the one who submitted this resolution to the GCE will be right behind Jim O'Brien as the door slams him in the backside." Actually, there is already a precedent in UCG for a GCE resolution. During the David Hulme period, either in 1996 or 1997, a group of ministers got a resolution going to override the approved budget and have Hulme's television program put on the air. Apparently the proposal was turned down by a narrow margin. It seems that one of the main supporters of that failed resolution is now on the UCG council, so at least one council member would be amenable to the idea of a GCE resolution.
Paul StevensFrom rats to ducks: Hello from Pasadena, I remembered you showed a few pictures a few weeks back of a rat floating in the pool around the Auditorium. Well, last week I was walking around the campus and saw a Mother duck and around 12 little ones floating peacefully around the waters...
You might want to check out the details about a previous article you [published] regarding Mr. HWA destroying "millions" of Plain Truths when he didn't like the cover picture of then President Reagan. I remember the incident. If I remember right, Mr. Armstrong had R.R. Donnelley rerun the covers, but not the complete magazine. At the time, it seemed like the correct thing to do. The new cover looked far better.HRC's financial plan? Re Che Ahn, HRC, and gold fillings in believers' teeth: so that's how they're financing the purchase of the auditorium!
Benny & Jack: I see the Ambassador Auditorium is stepping up in class by featuring ministers of a much higher quality than those that have previously graced the fcility. It's out of the sewer and into the gutter for the Ambassador Auditorium.
For those interested in Benny Hinn's career, a frequently hilarious 2-DVD set is available at http://www.pfo.org/mfbh-dvd.htm. See why Benny is the most easily caricatured televangelist in the industry.
I had an interesting e-mail exchange with the Jack Hayford ministry a few years back. He had just televised a sermon about tithing, and I took exception. Here is the exchange I had with one of his flunkies.MAM
Sad trend: I have been following your site now for a little while and have seen a sad trend developing amongst the Churches of God. I am truly disappointed to witness the downward spiral that seems to be grasping the throat of UCG.
When people try to control an organization from one head office it is always filled with danger. Those in 'authority' nearly take on a 'sick building syndrome' with a thinking that says 'only head office can get it done and done right'. People in any Head Office have to remember that intelligence and understanding can be found outside of 'Head Office'. The higher that men get up the tree, in regards to authority within the man made structures developed by men for men, the further that they get from the people that are supposed to be their flocks. Aren't people supposed to come first?
UCG, and it is not alone, seems to be filled with the legacy of the past administrations and structures. We must feel pity for them because they have been so institutionalized from their past. They know no better. These people have never been known for their lateral thinking skills, because they disfellowship so quickly when they can't fix or understand the other side of a problem! Oops, your wrong, I'm right, Goodbye.
It must explain why those that were in the previous Head Office structure, now in positions of authority, need to rush back into this 'Controlling Head Office Mentality' as soon as possible. Just like a security blanket. The tragic thought process seems to infect them,which is 'If I follow the process or follow the procedure all must be ok.'
Does is ever matter what it says in the Bible? Does Agape Love ever get practiced, or is that something for the flock and people in Head Office don't have to practice it? They do have a long history of 'do as I say and not as I do'. This seems to carry into everything that they touch.
So I would like to ask the question, Why did UCG promote the local boards / committees in the early years saying 'We never want to repeat the WCG ways' but seem to be so eager to destroy local congregation boards when they do not follow the 'party line' or have a differing opinion?
Why do they seem so willing to loose brethren and excellent ministers to gain control?
There is a Hasidic saying: "There is no room for God in him who is full of himself."
This is sad to see and the unfortunate aspect of all of this is that those in the 'Head Offices' just don't seem to care.Joseph
Worth saving? Dr. Griffiths [Mailbag May 5] offers us nothing that would suggest that the UCG is worth saving: Why should we care? "A more Godly and ethical church"? Excuse me! Listen to yourself. We're starting with damaged goods here. What's the point? What would we be saving?
It took me a long time to see that UCG was offering a drug and the drug of choice seems to be marijuana. Most of the people are 'happy' in United. Oh, there might be complaints, but it's such a liberal place: You can do almost anything. Their response to problems seems to be "What's the problem, man?".
"What's the problem, man?"
The ministers do more than lay people in the church and that is why the dissident ministers are instantly expunged for not following the party line. The rest of the people can do anything they want and won't be thrown out because they are not perceived to be important enough to lead very many away. It's all about numbers [but some would be more comfortable if it were about Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy as well].
"What's the problem, man?"
Building a network such as Dr. Griffiths suggests would take real effort. The pathetic apathetic hippy dippy dips attending are drug lobotomized to the point that any effort of this magnitude is just too daunting. Reform is the last thing they could even begin to consider taking on.
"What's the problem, man?"
Individuals will leave and go their way. Entire churches will leave if the minister has enough get up and go to get up and go. The rest will sit there fat, dumb and happy absorbing what they know to be stupid, heretical and blasphemous in an abusive environment which is immoral, unethical and often illegal, letting the ministers and administration do everything for them. Reform is just too much work. I think I have a headache already just thinking about reform.
"What's the problem, man?"
United. The unrepentant leadership. The apathy. The all too accepting membership. But you already knew that. And you still won't leave. It's not worth saving. Time for rehab.Douglas Becker (from the MD Yahoo group)
Bow before the Anointed Heir! I was told the other day that a local ICG group in MO. was told by Dr. Ricks that they had to go to KY. to meet for Sabbath because of Mark Armstrong being there for the weekend. As it turns out, the local host had already paid for the meeting room and a number of the members did not attend as they were told to. Since that happened the local host was told not to come back for 6 months and then only after they sat down and talked to him.
It's a shame that they are turning to those tactics, sounds like the old WCG replaying again.
Fastidious Rod: When will Spanky ever learn some humility? It's unbelievable to see such a picture with the subject showing the ministry showing up for a photo, and who's the least humble that needs a cloth below his pants to avoid any "grease" from filthy earth???
Truly, Meredith thinketh way too highly of himself... Alas!Dot cog? Given the proliferation of the web sites for various splinters of the Churches of God, Icann should set up a new domain: .cog
Douglas
Exit strategies: Bill Hohmann failed to understand any of the points I made in my last e-mail. I hope this one will bring some clarification of the issues I raised.
1. The incest charge should not be used as a primary tool to get people out of the WCG and its spin-offs. As I have already explained, most people who are committed to any religion, will naturally defend the leaders against an attack. This is especially true if you accuse the leader of any type of sexually immorality. You automatically create a barrier between yourself and the potential exiter(s). He (or she) will see you as an enemy to be avoided, not as a friend that he (or she can reach out to in a time of need. It is wiser by far to be nice to the prospective exiter by showing genuine love for his (or hers) needs or concerns. Don't bring up any charge against HWA or the church. Build up enough trust and love between you and the would-be exiters to create a climate where they might be willing to confide in you. If they bring up the incest or any other accusation, then it's okay to discuss it, because they brought it up, and they're willing to consider it a possibility.
2. Bill claims most people leave the WCG was not the conflict between church teaching and reality but their sufferings at the hands of the cult leaders. I can't agree with this at all. When I and others left the Peoria, Il. church during in the late 1970's- early 1980's exodus, the main reason we left was that conflict that can be called the double standard. Nearly all of the Ambassador Reports published during that period will confirm this observation. If suffering caused anyone to leave the WCG, it has to be seen in the context of becoming aware of the hypocrisy that the church operates under to this very day. Also, another thing Bill needs to consider is that many WCG members stayed in irregardless of how they suffered. After all, we were told we would have to suffer for our faith. If we lost our jobs, our health, our our friends, our family, that was par for the course. Our sufferings confirmed that we had the true faith.
3. Bill is correct that all cultists have an attitude of superiority. However, I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about exiters who become Christians who have a condescending attitude toward their former cult friends. Seeing yourself as "superior" because you know so much of what the cult is all about, will turn off your former WCG friends. It is far better to adapt the attitude of the Publican in that famous parable, "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner, (or ex-cultist,) than to have the attitude of the Pharisee who said, " O God, I give thanks that I'm not as the rest of men,... (especially my former friends in the WCG.) If an exiter can't get rid of this self-righteous attitude, he should not try to "help" his former brethren. He'll "help" them to stay in, rather than to get out.
Steve DaltonQuestioning the premises: Bill Hohmann of ESN recently wrote: "What causes most to leave cults is abuse suffered at the hands of a cult--not doctrinal issues or belief systems."
Unfortunately, this is all too true. Witness the exiters from one cult fleeing to shop for another cult where they again grab hold of the cultmaster's hand and for awhile feel comforted in a revised version of the madness. The cult leaders love it to be so as there will be a constant supply of pockets to pick and brains to scramble.
And the splits and re-splitting continue as people continue to fail to question the very false premises that drive them. I wrote about this failure to examine here - http://www.herbertwarmstrong.com/premises.htm. I also give a link to another exiter from the WCG who did question her premises and it is a most fascinating story. She is the wife of an ex-pastor of the WCG. http://humanists.net/jesuspuzzle/AORDareForeword.htm
These links have been posted before but they sometimes get swallowed up in the vast flow of material.
Jim Baldwin (WCG 1967-1992)McNair's website: Now that Buffy (Raymond McNair) has his own website, it's interesting to see some of the information that he has chosen to make public. For example, in the public WHOIS database of domain names, he gives a phone number for the whole world to see! ... So if you have a question for Mr. McNair, now you have a number to call. I'm glad he is making himself so available to the scattered brethren.
Interestingly, the WHOIS database confirms that he registered cogcentury21.com on January 19 (not January 16, surprisingly!), but only registered cog21.com as recently as May 10. It is also interesting that he DID NOT register cog21.org or cogcentury21.org (both of which are available for someone else to register, as of the time I write this note). Surely he understands that the .com suffix is meant for profit-making businesses, and .org is for non-profit organizations. Tells us a little about what he intends for his site, perhaps?
A final interesting detail for the technically-minded: his site (at least the www.cogcentury21.com version) appears to have been created with Microsoft FrontPage 4.0.
09 June. WCG AND RONALD REAGAN, RED OAK ENVY, A FORMER EVANGELIST CRIES FOUL
King Josiah and the Jelly Belly: As America mourns the passing of a former President, an AW correspondent reminisces about the Reagan Years in the Worldwide Church of God.
Visitors to the Reagan Library should check out the "Ambassador Foundation" brick with other contributors near the ceiling in the facility, courtesy of a six figure donation arranged by David Hulme on behalf of WCG tithe-payers. As a result, Joe Sr. and the 4th floor Hall of Ad gang all attended the formal by-invitation-only opening of the Library, where they received Jelly Belly keepsakes of the event. If he didn't eat them, perhaps Joe Sr. kept his Reagan jelly bean commemoratives (presented in a crystal jar) with the HWA autograph room in Memorial Hall on campus. Hulme privately met Reagan a number of times in his role as VP of Ambassador Foundation, including visiting Reagan's top floor Century City offices (the skyscraper profiled with Bruce Willis in "Die Hard"), where the WCG TV crew taped greetings from Reagan to Sam Wanamaker. Wanamaker was the driving force behind the rebuilding of the Globe Theatre in London, which Hulme supported through the Foundation. (After Hulme's departure from WCG, he remained on the American board of the Globe Theatre with Wanamaker, even though he didn't have access to WCG tithes for Globe contributions)
HWA himself ordered millions of copies of The Plain Truth destroyed prior to distribution because the cover featured a grimacing President Reagan over an illustration of The White House in the early 1980s. HWA, who had bought a special Western-style piece of Steuben Crystal in anticipation of personally meeting the President, feared that the President would be offended by the cover. Editorial and Publishing had a field day in covering that one up, and R.R. Donnelley & Sons received a nice "little" financial bonus to reprint the entire U.S. Plain Truth run (close to five million copies) with a different cover. The Plain Truth also ran an article comparing Reagan with King Josiah (II Chronicles 34-35), since Reagan was the 40th president and Josiah was the 40th king. Josiah, of course, restored the Hebrew religion, kept the Passover and defended the old Covenant. How Reagan figured into this, well...you couldn't vote in HWA's WCG, but your flagship publication sure could endorse a political figure. Amazingly, nobody got fired over that debacle, even though HWA was furious.Everything is just dandy in Edmond: Blessings are multiplied upon the faithful Philadelphian remnant in Gerry "Six-Pack" Flurry's PCG. From the cult's PR machine comes these tidings.
PCG mail operations are now officially being directed from the new Mail Processing Center, located on the northeast corner of the Imperial College campus. The opening of the mail center has made obsolete the PCG's nearly 20 storage sheds scattered around Edmond, saving thousands annually. For the first time, the entire stock of PCG literature is stored under one roof. The 17,400-square-foot warehouse contains all literature inventory along with offices for the Mail, Correspondence and Television staff.
This move has also freed up much-needed office space in the PCG's office suite in downtown Edmond for the Editorial staff, the Trumpet News Bureau and the business department. These operations will continue at this location until an administration building is constructed on the Imperial campus, scheduled to begin in the fall.
Stationed on the first floor, along with the warehouse, is the call center-with 23 work stations set up to handle response from the Key of David's toll-free number. The call center is making improvements to handle the increasing number of requests - one of those being more staff to handle the calls, including operators participating in the Church's in-home WATS (wide-area telephone service) program. The response team is taking 85 percent of the calls on viewers' first attempts - a significant improvement over past seasons.
Well, gee willikers, we hope you're as impressed as we are. But wait, there's more! Gerry has a really BIG desk and wow, you'd better sit down and take deep breaths, because Gerry is giving away free copies of the highly credible and super-accurate booklet Proof of the Bible! Woo-hoo!
On the mezzanine level of the Mail Processing Center sits one of the more beautiful aspects of the PCG's building program - the new Key of David television studio.
The spacious studio houses the set handcrafted by Delton Burch, a PCG member. Incorporating over 600 square feet of red oak, the set gleams with a glossy finish. The studio desk, 12 feet long and 5 feet deep, is more than twice the size of Presenter Gerald Flurry's previous desk.
The Proof of the Bible was one of Herbert Armstrong's most flawed booklets. Here's a link to the 1970s Ambassador Report article that documents the plagiarism and errors behind it.
The 900-square-foot studio is 21/2 times larger than the old studio. The size of the room allows for more camera angles, and a higher ceiling provides better lighting for the program. Dennis Whitney, a PCG member from California who works as a head electrician for CBS, installed the studio lights. About 70 strategically placed gray acoustical panels cover the walls of the studio, providing for better sound.
On May 4, only three weeks after the television department moved from the headquarters building in Edmond to its new home on the Imperial campus, Mr. Flurry broke in the new studio with a program titled "Noah's Flood-Myth?" which offered, for the first time, Herbert Armstrong's The Proof of the Bible. Despite being aired at the beginning of the "summer slump" of viewership, it gained the sixth-highest response this season.
Mr. Flurry plans to continue a regular filming schedule throughout the summer, setting a program record of over 40 original episodes this year.
Evangelist responds to AW item: It's not every day that an evangelist-rank minister writes to AW. Today we publish correspondence from just such a reader. He questions the credibility of one of our reports. We have a couple of things to say too. Could we have seriously misjudged the WCG administration? Here's the link.
08 June. GRAB YOUR POGO STICK AND DENTURES!
Harvest Crock: Dateline Pasadena has tracked down a couple of illuminating articles about Harvest Rock Church, proud new owners of Ambassador Auditorium.
The Lord's Apostle: Che Ahn
Hysterical laughter, being "drunk in the spirit," uncontrolled jerking, jumping up and down ("po-go-ing"), and even animal noises became the hallmark of this new wave of the Spirit
Interestingly, it seems that HRC's leading light, Che Ahn, is promoting himself as - wait for it - an apostle. How very apt!
Che Ahn, reflecting the beliefs of other restorationists who have become spokespersons for the renewal/revival, reported in a personal interview that he believes the last of the five-fold biblical offices is being restored to the church during this decade. While the 1970s saw the restoration of the office of evangelist and the 1980s, the of the prophetic office, the 1990s is witnessing the restoration of the apostolic. Although the nomenclature of "prophet" and "apostle" is used sparingly, it appears to be on the increase as routinizing forces become stronger in the movement... Ahn is regarded as one of the emerging apostles at the close of the millennium...
Mind you, Apostle Che might just be playing around...
If there is anything unique that characterized the renewal/revival that broke out in Toronto in January, 1994, that subsequently impacted HRC, it was its playfulness... the explanation for the unexpected outward displays of unusual physical manifestations was that "the Father was playing with His children." Hysterical laughter, being "drunk in the spirit," uncontrolled jerking, jumping up and down ("po-go-ing"), and even animal noises became the hallmark of this new wave of the Spirit that attracted the attention of the media first in England and then in North America. This same playful spirit was evident at HRC when I arrived for a three-month stay in Pasadena in early January, 1996 (a year to the day after John Arnott's first visit), and became a frequent attender at renewal services.
Auditorium services should be quite something from now on! Another big plus: HRC apparently has a really cool dental plan.
Any gold fillings or gold dust appearing at your church? Seems like I am encountering the phenomenon through several sectors — messages about Toronto, at Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena...
That reference is to the miraculous appearance of gold fillings in believers' teeth: One of [Margaret Poloma's] students at the local Pentecostal college near San Diego had brought the story to her class. She and her sister and mother doubted the new fad in their church, but when everybody else was putting a Kleenex on the tooth they expected to turn to gold, they said, why not? Voila! The tooth filled with gold, the student reported.
Margaret Poloma (University of Toronto) has written a fascinating paper on HRC, from which the first two quotes come. And if you doubt the gold fillings story, check out the Fall 1999 issue of Spirituality & Health.
Excruciating struggle: The writer of the recent Journal articles on homosexuality has his own website, which includes the text of the two pieces.
What I didn't know, but would soon come to learn, is that my homosexual orientation -- and my calling into the Church -- were on a collision course that would result in a personal and excruciating struggle to become a part of the Church of God.
06 June. BENNY HINN TO GRACE AMBASSADOR
Glory or just Gory? Who is America's most loathsome, reptilian televangelist? Well, that's a matter of opinion of course, so let's drop the question and talk about Benny Hinn instead.
Benny is coming to Ambassador. Harvest Rock has scheduled Benny as a major draw-card. Behold!
Rats in the reflecting pool somehow seem quite tame by comparison.
05 June. RAY TRIES FOR 5TH TIME LUCKY, CRAZY ROD? KNOWLES ON ORGS, LETTERS FROM A DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, MAILBAG
Buffing up the franchise: Way back in 1974 TIME magazine reported the creation of two schismatic bodies separating from the Worldwide Church of God: the Associated Churches of God and the Twentieth Century Church of God. The ACG morphed into the Association for Christian Development, which still carries on a low key ministry under the direction of Ken Westby. Al Carrozzo's Twentieth Century church seemed to vanish in a puff of smoke shortly after it appeared.
And so it is with some amazement that we note that two new bodies have suddenly appeared out of thin air bearing similar names: the Affiliated Churches of God and the Church of God - 21st Century. Both seem to be the brainchild of Raymond McNair, who has finally taken the plunge and stepped into the exciting world of COG franchising.
McNair formerly headed up the Church of God - a Christian Fellowship in the wake of Rod Meredith's defection from the Global Church of God to create the Living Church of God. McNair subsequently abandoned the CGCF ship to climb aboard Meredith's life raft. His separation from LCG was reported at the beginning of this year. This is McNair's 5th attempt to work as an evangelist in different COG bodies.
Information on the COG21 site is still sparse. We're guessing that COG21 is Ray's personal vehicle, while likeminded supporters can incorporate locally and then join his Affiliated network. Has anyone affiliated yet? Probably not, but we'll keep tabs on developments.
The Spanky Code: While other fundamentalist preachers are still shrieking and gibbering about the terrible historical and theological errors in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, the Grand Mufti of Armstrongism, Roderick C. Meredith, has grasped "this fascinating novel" firmly in both hands and is using it to beat mainstream Christianity about the head and ears.
"But that is all fiction!" you might say. "Where did this crazy author get all these strange ideas? I am sure that my religion is based completely upon the Bible!" Please, my friends, do not be too sure!
We assume "this crazy author" is Rod's reference to Brown rather than himself... The article, "The Two Babylons", features in the May/June issue of Tomorrow's World.
Organized religion: What's the alternative to organized religion? Disorganized religion? Maybe Brian Knowles can throw some light on the question. His latest column, The Problem with "Organized Religion", is available on the ACD site, and will presumably feature in the next issue of The Journal.
Conversations with an evangelist: Following an item that appeared May 28 we were approached by a retired WCG evangelist who wished to present a more positive assessment of the current WCG leadership and administration. A lengthy correspondence has followed, and the 1 June item "The Apocryphal Acts of Joe" was written in the context of this dialog. We have invited the former minister to compose a letter for publication that succinctly expresses his views on the issues that concern him. To date his comments have followed on from issues raised in personal correspondence with the editor, and are not entirely appropriate as they stand for inclusion in the mailbag. This gentleman, who we believe to be totally sincere and well-intentioned, has also asked that his identity be kept in confidence. AW considers this a reasonable request in that the May 28 item was also unattributed.
In the absence of a suitable stand-alone post, AW will be running excerpts from the evangelist's letters (who will be identified only as "Mister A") and the two sources he quotes ("B" and "C") in an upload next week. This is part of our commitment to give a fair hearing to all.
Archival COG links: Selwyn Russell has advised us that the venerable Archival Christianity Study Library is still available at this address. He writes:
A change in the ownership of wwa.com and change in account types resulted in discontinuation of updates of the library in late 2001. It has historical value and contains links to articles now stored on Wayback which are otherwise difficult to find. With the passage of time, some of the links to external sites have broken.
All2true June editorial: Another dose of wit - and a tonic for any confused COGger (though it might help to own a cat!) Check out Business as usual.
Dominican aid for Californian cult: Oh great! Now Joe is accepting money from a struggling WCG fellowship in Dominica, to help the struggling U.S. churches... Check out JWT's June 2004 member letter at : http://www.wcg.org/lit/church/letters/0406mem.htm Has anybody informed these naive folks in the Caribbean that the Ambassador campus just sold, and that (according to quotes from recent Star News articles) Bernie's been bragging about how the denomination has plenty of money now and is in good financial shape?
Giant leap: Joe talks about a "giant leap". Yeah? Right! More like a "lurch", a "stagger", or a "stumble" than a "giant leap"!
Maybe a 'great sneak' as they run off with all the goodies! Possibly a 'giant leak' too! Then, the only 'leaping' will be by certain 'rats' as they load their loot into their lovely lifeboats, and leave the listing, sinking, luxury liner.
Watch them leave as the ship leans, lurches and leaves our sight forever. "Giant leap"! What a bunch of hooey!
OzGrassroots: Given the continuing decline of UCG it is time for all those who care about the future of the church to begin a reform process. The first step is to break the information control that the leadership still retains over many UCG members, and to set up an alternative communication network in the church.
Reform minded UCG members should work quietly to gather the names, addresses and emails of all members of their congregations, and then work to insure everyone in their congregations receive copies of relevant articles from the Journal and posts on Ambassador Watch.
Reform minded UCG members should then network with other likeminded members with the goal of connecting all the congregations in United into an grassroots communication network dedicated to reforming the church into a more Godly and ethical church.
Dr. Richard F. GriffithsMaybe Matt is starting to get it! Matt Fenchel stated: Regardless of what the board chooses to do, individual members have the privilege of making their own decisions regarding which fellowship they attend. So to give the impression that the congregation as a whole will make one decision or another is not accurate. Individual members will make their own decisions. Some already have.
No matter what any board, including UCG-AIA, or minister representing a board chooses to do, people should make their own decisions. Maybe Matt needs to relay the message to the high-ups.
JH
Resolution: Just read the Revolutionary Resolution. Come on Gavin, are you pulling our leg? Either that, or the one who submitted this resolution to the GCE will be right behind Jim O'Brien as the door slams him in the backside.
Bob E.
AW: See the follow-up piece June 3.
"Emotionally divorced": I just learned of your website after hearing that Jim O'Brien was fired, and have found it very interesting reading.
Regarding the 32 splits: I think it would be interesting to learn how many still attending ucg are actually "emotionally divorced" from the organization. In other words, they still attend due to not knowing what else to do, or because their family attends, or their divergent beliefs and "philosophical differences" haven't been found out yet, but they are no longer actively supporting the organization. I know of many, including myself. Some have quit tithing, some vehemently disagree with sermon content and administrative decisions, some meet elsewhere after services to have the true fellowship that is not possible to enjoy under the watchful eyes and ears of tattlers. We are all at different stages of disappointment, disenchantment, and disagreement. I sense, and hope, there are thousands who are on their way out of this business organization that calls itself a church.Splintering splinters: Bob E's list of splinter groups: Number 16 on the list, Modesto California, has also splintered. I think it was late 2002 when they split the sheets. Don Billingsley retained control of the Modesto group, and Steve LeBlanc runs the rebel church.
Oddly, the church's website, "cog-eim" ("eim" meaning "established in Modesto"), was retained by the rebel group, while Billingsley's group created a new URL called "cog-ff" ("ff" meaning "faithful flock"). Optimistically, both churches seem to believe they are the only end-time true church left, and each apparently plans to finish the commission of Matt. 28...
...which seems a little odd, since Herbert Armstrong declared that task complete before he died.
John BHi Mom! Hey Gavin, just a couple notes: Workin' for a living is hell, huh? Been VERY busy and just got caught up reading on your AW.... You're doing good stuff... Nice new logo there, btw :) Mein Gott! Machinations and politics, salary cuts and then not, the ole Campus sale! UCG and Rod and Splinters upon Splinters! It's enough to make ya a blood suckin' atheist, I tell ya!
On the barely-somewhat related subject of church hierarchy, and on a slightly personal note: My dear Mom and her congregation had a pleasant gathering over the Pentecost holiday, and all are safe after their travels to and from afar. They are enjoying their new local building and their...uh... independence... She also sent me a link to your website asking me if I'd been aware of it, to which I replied, "But of course, Madam." She expressed that she really liked your work here, so it looks like you have a new Reader :)
Mom is also getting married in September! Just shows, you're never to old to live, to think, to be free... Some parts of life are pretty dang good, eh? Please say hi to Mom for me in your Mail Page, and best wishes to her and Joe.
Your respectful and appreciative, blood-suckin', virgin-sacrificing, atheist fan
Mike Minton
Editor, The Painful TruthAW: Mike, put those virgins down IMMEDIATELY! Your mother is watching!
Tangled Web: G'day, I came across the Painful Truth site recently and to say that I was stunned by the material in it would be an understatement.
Could you help me out? Is David Robinson's book "Herbert Armstong's Tangled Web" available, and where I could obtain a copy?
2. If you know of any research that has systematically compared Armstrong's "US and Britain In Prophecy" book with J. H. Allen's "Judah's Scepter and Joseph's Birthright" to prove Herbert Armstrong's plagiarism?
I would appreciate any help you can give.John Karagiannidis
AW: Mike Minton is the man to contact, which I assume you already have. There is a short excerpt from Tangled Web (about the incest story) here. You can get a copy of "Judah's Scepter" here and then judge for yourself.
Reply to Steve Dalton: Some will take the responsibility to examine the fruits of their leaders seriously; many will not. And whether the incest story is considered stupid and dangerous by some, there is still a command in scripture to expose the works of iniquity... I do not know where Steve Dalton got the idea that most who leave cults do so because the teachings conflict with reality, but it is not true. Such conflicts ironically tend to reinforce the commitment of those in cults to their cult leaders. What causes most to leave a cult is abuse suffered at the hands of the cult; not doctrinal issues or belief systems. Steve would be well served to read up on cults. A good start would be Steven Hassan's "Releasing the Bonds." ... Many exiters end up going into other cults, so their attitude of superiority would not be surprising. Also, it is a matter of perception. One of the greatest truisms from Scripture is that of accusing others of what one is guilty of themselves. Those in cults tend to be very condescending and superior in their attitudes and behaviors. This will therefore be perceived in those they believe are against them and their beliefs. If those of us who are trying to educate those within cults to see the organizations they are in for what they are, are labeled thus in response, so be it.
Bill Hohmann
Exit and Support NetworkMark Graham's departure: (1) For what it is worth, the story was that Mr. Graham did not want so many of his hymns in the hymnal but was "outvoted" by other members of the music committee.
As regards the value of the auditorium, it is basically zero. The WCG constantly subsidized the music programs there and without that subsidy it was uneconomic to operate the building in its intended use. If the City had wanted the building, they would have purchased it. The Harvest church estimate of the market value confuses replacement cost with economic value or price. The two are not always the same. My guess is that they overpaid for the auditorium. I agree with full disclosure, but I certainly understand why the WCG wanted it to be quiet.
Positive Dennis
(2) Maybe Mr. Graham should begin to "count his blessings" that no one did contact him and maybe...just maybe...he can get on with the rest of his life as everyone else that has proceeded him on "that road"? Maybe someday he will begin to understand the possibility that the "end of that road" could actually be the beginning of his newly found, un-obscured understanding? Don't go away mad, Mark, for your own good, just go away!
Evil booklet: I've just received a letter from the Australian branch of the Living Church of God offering me a book called 'Does God Heal TODAY?' I was shocked - to think they would reuse the title of one of the most evil books the Worldwide Church of God ever published!
Eligius
03 June. DOLLARS & SENSE? MYSTERY REMIT TO GCE
New Financial Model takes "Great Leap": From PG Joe's weekly update comes this announcement from Ron Kelly.
As a result of the successful sale of the east campus and the sale of a portion of the west campus, we are now taking steps to implement our long-desired decentralized financial model. Last year we took a “small step” toward that goal...
This year we are hoping for, not just a “small step,” but also a “giant leap!” ... we can now initiate the final planning stages for a new financial model that concentrates member donations at the level of the local congregation.
Please understand that we cannot yet set an exact date because there is an enormous amount of work that still needs to be done... This means that exactly when and how we can implement the new model depends on numerous details of the process...
However, our financial and computer staffs plan to begin the rollout of this program as early as July and then bring all our congregations into the new model within four months, unless circumstances beyond our control force a delay.
We plan to implement the new financial model in stages, beginning in order of districts based on the Regional Conference schedules. In other words, we will begin with the Southwest District where the Regional Conference has already taken place. That was followed with Chicago, Portland and New Jersey. We now have Lexington, Denver, Dallas and Orlando on the schedule...
By using 2004 as the “ramp-up” year, we hope to have all our congregations up and running before the year ends. Then, 2005 will be the first full year of operations under the new model. In 2006, we plan for the apportionments to be reduced as delineated in the Financial Manual. Of course by making the “giant leap” in 2004, the “small step” program of 2003 will not be held over and is now considered fulfilled. “Small step” funds that have been earned from January through April or May will be sent to qualified congregations in June.
As you can imagine, the final stage of this transition is going to take place over a very condensed period of time. In advance, we want you to know that we appreciate your patience in this regard. In the coming weeks you will receive a number of requests to update, confirm or provide information for us. Some of this may seem to be repetitious, although we will certainly try to keep repetition to a minimum. But when dealing with things like Internet site access and banking information, we do want to be 100% certain that our data is correct. Therefore, we ask that for the next couple of months you respond immediately to requests for these pieces of information. As our transfer is now scheduled to happen over weeks instead of months, this will be tremendously helpful.
GCE remit: Last month we published a proposed remit to go to the UCG General Conference of Elders. At that stage we had little information about it other than the text. Today we received the following:
...my reliable sources in UCG indicate that several UCG elders have discussed privately the desire to "float" this proposed resolution or one with similar wording to "test the waters". If sufficient support is attainable, then the resolution would be put to a ballot of all UCG elders in the GCE. To achieve this, about 115 elders would have to sign on for a ballot to take place. In the minds of the concerned elders, the handling of the O'Brien situation, the dissolution of a local advisory council in Pennsylvania and also the potential for a nasty situation [in another congregation] are just the latest cases that prove the point the resolution is intended to address.
01 June. FOG LIFTS IN CINCINNATI, YET ANOTHER "NEW BEGINNING", DARWINIAN ABUSE, TALL TALES & TRUE, MIDDLE AGE SPREAD
75 in Cincy North: Around 75 people turned up on Saturday morning to hear Dave Havir talk about Barnabas (the guy who "went independent" from Paul) and Stages of Maturity: the first service not held under the Home Office umbrella. Havir, somewhat unexpectedly, gave both messages, with announcements by Jim O'Brien. Writing on the Likeminds group, Linda Pratt gave her impressions: Today felt totally uplifting! We finally have emerged from the "blanket of fog"! Attitudes were great, spirits were high!
Pentecost in Louisiana: This weekend also marked the formal inauguration of the GTA splinter group Churches of God, Worldwide. The faithful remnant gathered in Gretna, LA to hear George Trent, Tom Kerry and Phil Dunagan set out their agenda.
Last in Abuse series online: Douglas Becker has published the final segment in his series on abuse. This one is called Evolution. Douglas focuses in one section on Wade Cox's Christian Churches of God, providing some information that hasn't appeared online before. It's probably only fair to add that AW's impressions of this sect have been a good deal less positive than Douglas'.
The Apocryphal Acts of Joe: One of the many problems that inevitably crop up when a church is run in a non-transparent, hierarchical style is that it can be difficult for observers to sort out fact from fable. This past week we received some unexpected feedback (from a well connected source) on our May 28 item about the non-appearance of documentation for the WCG retirement program (announced in early March.)
Imagine our surprise when we heard that such documentation had been provided "almost immediately." But there was an even more stunning claim: the executives at WCG had taken a ten percent salary cut last year when things had looked financially shaky.
there was an even more stunning claim: the executives at WCG had taken a ten percent salary cut last year
Electrifying stuff! Could we have horribly misunderstood the situation? Strangely enough, though, nobody we've been able to reach could confirm this altruistic action. In fact, nobody had even heard the salary cut story. Imagine the wasted publicity coup: Joe writes to the membership imploring them for greater sacrifice in light of the selfless example set by Bernie, Greg and himself.
We were able to confirm that there was indeed a significant cut in some incomes last year, but not for the sect's executives. Those affected were the people least able to handle the razor slash; individuals on the discretionary assistance program.
And what about the missing documentation? As we understand it, the only "hard copy" WCG employees have received to date is the overview of the plan.
Addendum: the claim that WCG executives took a 10% salary cut has now been withdrawn by the source, who concedes that this was incorrect.
We turn 50: No, we haven't been around 50 years, but AW has been around for 50 issues. At various stages we've been producing occasional, weekly and now monthly editions (updated every few days). To mark the half century we've adopted a new logo which will start to appear on the site beginning today (scroll down a bit!)
Another change is the redesigned book page. This will now be updated approximately every month to include new material (and highlight some older titles also available on Amazon).
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