Monday, August 24, 2015

Living Church of God Pays Armed Security For Sabbath Services



Those wild and crazy folk in Charlotte are at it again!

The Big Boys in Charlotte have given orders to lock all doors to the congregational meeting area on Saturdays.  God forbid if you left you Bible in the car by mistake and have to run outside and retrieve it!  The only way you can get back in is to ring a doorbell and wait for an usher to come and verify who you are.  Then you might be let in, after a stern warning of course.

Things are even more serious in the Kansas City LCG church.  They have hired ARMED security guards now to patrol the area while services are going on.  Apparently it is OK to PAY outside contractors to do your dirty work on the Sabbath.

Putting one's faith in and relying on God's protection is NOT something that the Living Church of God seems willing to do.  It lets the LCG members and the world know that there is a COMPLETE lack of faith by the leadership of the church.  This seems rather odd considering that LCG considers itself to be the purest and most Godly Church of God in this dispensation.  Is Meredith and crew anticipating Satan to commit a major attack on the church?   The only trouble LCG has ever seen has come from within, not from the world around them.

It is understandable that many LCG members are outraged with these latest developments.

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, come on now.

Herbert Armstrong had hired security with real loaded guns to protect him.

What sort of protection from God do you think a cult should expect?

Anonymous said...

They have enough faith to be healed without doctors, but not enough to be protected without security guards.

Anonymous said...

No doubt, they are worried Mr. Pack will strike them dead. Obviously, the leaders know that God will not protect them what so ever. They also have no ability or faith to strike their enemies dead. Sorry boys and girls it is all a charade.

Byker Bob said...

They should take a look at what frequently happens in the banking industry. Criminals, knowing that a body and a gun stand between themselves and their objective, either bring superior firepower, or a team member who has an abundance of training.

The hypocrisy which I see involves an organization which teaches that its members are not to join the military because they will be required to carry a gun and to kill people would employ a person very possibly to do those exact same things in their defense. it is inconsistent, to say the least, especially considering Jesus' example, and his reprimand of Peter, who used his weapon in precisely the manner that LCG's armed guard would be expected to do.

Also, when ACOG members die unexpectedly, either from an accident or an illness, members and the ministry generally speak of the lack of healing as having been God's will. Or, even a blessing, as it means the dead will not need to go through the tribulation. Of course, we all realize that these are simply hollow excuses to make members feel better, even though they are commanded not to grieve. But, if the people who say these things really deeply believe them, wouldn't the same words also apply in explaining the lack of protection in the middle of a shooting spree? Of course they would!

This latest piece of information speaks volumes about the mental workings of the leaders. What is next? Acquisition of weapons and ammunition just in case people don't make it to their place of "safety"? The precedent has already been set. What is the difference between a deranged gunman, and German soldiers? How could people be so idiotic that they would be willing to change their understanding of a commandment for purpose of their own defense, but not even take a second look at what is apparently even more of a sacred cow for them, British Israelism? Somewhere deep down, I think they know that their collection of beliefs is in reality junk theology.

BB

Anonymous said...

One man now on the council of elders spoke with pride about the Milwaukee incident: "Satan has singled us out. We are the one place that is doing the work Satan seeks to destroy." I thought to myself, "Wow. I guess Milwaukee was a good thing. Think how great it would be if it happened again!"
LCG has security guards out of arrogance.

Anonymous said...

Rather than LCG trusting Jesus about who comes to church, no, they have to screen potential attendees. They are thumbing their nose at Jesus being the head of the church. "Stay out Jesus. We decide who comes to church, not you." It is no surprise then, that Jesus might say, "OK. How has that been working out for you? Lots of growth? Congregations meet in safety? Peace in your midst? Any shootings?"

Redfox712 said...

This is a terrible move on LCG Kansas City's part.

How do those LCG members know that those guards will do their work properly? Only one of them needs to mess up for some tragedy to occur. I dearly hope nothing like that will ever happen.

The mere fact that there are armed guards there means some kind of mishap could occur involving guns.

If I was in charge of that congregation I would never allow guns within the congregation.

Unknown said...

AN IMPORTANT QUESTION FOR OUR TIMES!...

Should the Living Church of God be allowed to develop and possess NUCLEAR WEAPONS??

Is our nation at risk, and should we put sanctions on them now to deter this process??

NO LCG said...

Are they having services in a bad area of the city? Perhaps, this is about there vehicles being broken into?

DennisCDiehl said...

In reality, "trusting God" with your finances, healing,safety, right choices, advice given against your own better judgement, "to lead God's minister, Watcher, Elijah, Zerrubablel, Evangelist or self absorbed and delusional Apostle is a formula for mental, emotional and physical disaster....as well one should know by now. Whatever "sign you simply can't miss" is coming up from Dave Pack would be the next thing to come to mind.

Knowing Dave, perhaps he is finding the upcoming end of the 7 year Shemitah cycle during the last two weeks of September and during some of the Holy Days as the time for the overarching and awesome movement by God to give his true people the right sign...this time. He likes that stuff and any man that sees himself spoken of in the scriptures is quite capable of seeing himself in all the upcoming baloney. While the economy may or may not be melted down by then or into October, as is often the cycle for reasons un-God related, I imagine Dave is getting very excited to reveal "what was never understood the last time I screwed up."

Pray if you must but take your own common sense precautions and remember, when your head tells you one thing and your stomach something else, your stomach is telling you the truth.

Anonymous said...

LCG KC does not meet in a bad part of town.

Dr. Winnail was visiting KC. Maybe the guard was there for him?

Anonymous said...

Armed guards outside Sabbath services is a pretty drastic step. Have there been threats?

Byker Bob said...

Worldwide/HWA never really practiced Shemitah acoording to the Jewish understanding. As I understand it, the church's farmers were to date their fallow year from the time of their baptism into Armstrongism, much the same as third tithe years were figured.

There is all manner of nonsense on the internet regarding the Shemitah and the so-called blood moons which are supposedly coordinated with the Jewish holy days this cycle. I suppose most people who are familiar with this would see it as more authoritative than the things that people who consider themselves as prophets of Armstrongism just make up from wholecloth, but there is that same Armstrongian flaw of attempting to craft and match news events to make them appear as if they fit with the Shemitah. Basically, Armstrongism grasps at everything and anything that would justify the wasted lives of members, and this is yet one more example. A couple of years ago, it was the Mayan calendar. Where was all of this so-called "understanding" back in 1972-75?

BB

Anonymous said...

LCG touts themselves as the bride of Christ. Would the bride of Christ need to be protected by an armed guard?!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
LCG touts themselves as the bride of Christ. Would the bride of Christ need to be protected by an armed guard?!

Absolutely! Christ has left the bride waiting at the altar now for almost 2000 years. She's lonely and beginning to think the wedding is off. She could use some protection as her fiance isn't around to provide it.

Oh...and all churches tout themselves as the Bride of Christ. That's standard NT fare.

Anonymous said...

If the Bible says you never know when you're in the company of angels, how does LCG justify their "closed door" policy. It seems it would be more Christian to allow anyone who wants to attend admittance. But hey, when has LCG ever worried about demonstrating the Christian spoken of repeatedly in scripture? The answer: never.

Anonymous said...

Anon August 25, 2015 at 7:17 PM,

You wrote: "LCG touts themselves as the bride of Christ. Would the bride of Christ need to be protected by an armed guard?!

Absolutely! Christ has left the bride waiting at the altar now for almost 2000 years. She's lonely and beginning to think the wedding is off. She could use some protection as her fiance isn't around to provide it.

Oh...and all churches tout themselves as the Bride of Christ. That's standard NT fare."

But, really, all churches touting themselves as the Bride of Christ is some "standard NT fare"? What a "divided house," or bride that would be!

I hadn't thought about it that way before, but those churches are all deceived, because the Bride of Christ hasn't even been fully built yet. Why do they claim to be Christ's Bride? Are they blind?

That Bride is still a work in process/progress. It is not built. It is not alive as a Bride. It isn't yet prepared or readied or completed for doing anything as some Bride. The Bride won't exist, and be fitly formed together, until the first resurrection is completed, and time will tell.......

John

Anonymous said...

There have been armed guards at Headquarters in Charlotte too. Several times. So sad

Anonymous said...

LCG in KC meets at a school. Maybe it's school security patrolling the parking lot.

Anonymous said...

Got this from someone in the KC LCG congregation - There is a man that was a member or at least attended there in KC and apparently started becoming paranoid over something and started making some types of threats against the KC group. Not sure what types of threats or against whom, but this is my understanding why they have an armed guard there, at least for the foreseeable future. My guess, after the death of Morgan Montgomery and the memory of Wisconsin, they don't want another calamity of some sort, even if it does go against the premise of "fully seeking God's protection". I guess you can only blame Satan so many times before personal works and steps like this are taken, even if it does fly in the face of their "beliefs".

Anonymous said...

Why would a school pay to have a guard on a Saturday when school isn't in session? They wouldn't. This was an LCG special.

Anonymous said...

The hypocrite Meredith has posted a sermon on the LCG facebook page on increasing faith.

"Do as I say minions. Not as I do! You people need to invrease faith. I'll hire armed guards and go to doctors."

R.L. said...

I know of at least one UCG congregation that also locks the door once the service begins, for security reasons.

A sign is posted saying if you would like to enter, you can dial the deacon's cell phone and he'll let you in. Of course, this assumes you have a cell phone to contact him.

This is probably happening in more church groups than we know - even mainstream ones - in light of recent violent incidents, like what happened in Roanoke this week. In places with a strong Muslim influence, it can be a matter of life and death.

Would it be better for the speaker to surround himself with guards, like Louis Farakkhan does?

Anonymous said...

The churches of God would not allow its members to serve in the military or in any law enforcement organization, yet they are comfortable paying someone else to carry a weapon to protect them? Is not this like saying, "We are pacifists, but we will pay others to use force on our behalf." I guess it is OK to hire a hit man if you need one, but not do the killing yourself. There is something wrong here.

Retired Prof said...

Herbert was fond of saying "America has won its last war" (one of his few prophesies that may pan out), but he was all gung ho for the country to fight wars, even if they were futile. He just wanted his followers to be exempt from participating in them.