tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post7829788104826987090..comments2023-07-13T00:09:18.439-05:00Comments on Preaching the Gospel: COGWA Governance Decision Wraps Up UCG Splitauthor@ptgbook.orghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13775228362728122027noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-28520251376784574472012-04-25T18:49:05.757-05:002012-04-25T18:49:05.757-05:00Hi. Fwiw, while I appreciate your post, I disagre...Hi. Fwiw, while I appreciate your post, I disagree with some of what you wrote. <br /><br />I do not believe that Christ led Mr. Armstrong to make that selection as you state.<br /><br />I believe Christ allowed it. <br /><br />But, that is not the same thing as leading it.<br /><br />The selection was not made based on scriptural criteria, and, imo, that is one of the lessons that seems to be overlooked. <br /><br />It's possible to select leaders who aren't what one thinks or who go astray. But, I'm not aware of any evidence that that selection was based on any scriptural criteria whatsoever.<br /><br />Anyway, just some thoughts, fwiw.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-4591589009503624872011-07-24T15:31:55.104-05:002011-07-24T15:31:55.104-05:00@ "Almost half of the ministry favored final ...@ "Almost half of the ministry favored final selection by random drawing."<br /><br />If they really were wanting to put this in Christ's hands as the head of the church & these are the only options they could come up with--then the one above makes more sense--God would guide the selection thru this method. the fact that this was "voted down" should tell us how this organization is going to go.<br />However there is something missing in this whole comment about why all of this has happened. that is the #1 priority the COG was given---that is the preaching/public proclamation of the Gospel! UCG drug their feet on this for years and when it finaly began to do something toward that end, Satan immediately began to stir the pot. I have personal and face to face confirmation that one who was on the council and resigned (now in COGWA) was very oppossed to using TV/spending money to do this. Have any of you noticed that they are still not putting any real effort into doing this even though the first HD offering was set aside just for that purpose? It was announced just yesterday that they are still "haggling" (not their words) over how to go about this. they don't even have a link on their website designated "Gospel" even thought their claim has been that as their commission. to me that is the bigger problem and very well could be the reason behind the Split. As far as "Dallas" is concerned--God may very well have given them a window of opportunity through the first "vote" and they blew it by the second. The second "vote" proves to me that at least half of them were not really looking for God to guide the "Votes" in the first place.<br /><br />Anony JonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-91523736533901784062011-07-19T01:35:56.520-05:002011-07-19T01:35:56.520-05:00The whole premise for moving to Dallas was that it...The whole premise for moving to Dallas was that it would provide more room for expansion. Expansion means more staff, more elders on site, bigger budget, more facilities, more money, more power at the centralized location. Again I bring up the example of LCG, where the center of the world is Charlotte. They don't hesitate to transfer field ministry to Charlotte where they do not pastor or speak, but it serves to consolidate Meredith's power. No matter that it leaves the churches in the field high and dry. In LCG the field churches exist to support headquarters. In UCG, the home office exists to support the field churches. This all hinges on how one interprets Ephesians 4:12. Do the members exist to support the work of the leaders? Or do the leaders exist to support the work of the members? It remains to be seen, but I see COGWA moving toward the ministry-centric position similar to LCG.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-64158522689630315752011-07-18T17:58:12.474-05:002011-07-18T17:58:12.474-05:00Good observation. This would answer a lot of ques...Good observation. This would answer a lot of questions. But if Dallas is about centralization, how would that work? Is there something about Dallas that would facilitate a more centralized administration over Cincinnati? Or did it become symbolic?author@ptgbook.orghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13775228362728122027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1081631727760066049.post-89526222310767593412011-07-17T17:43:33.095-05:002011-07-17T17:43:33.095-05:00From my perspective, the split was about governanc...From my perspective, the split was about governance, although not in the official sense. The new UCG believes in a decentralized government where the home office has less power and acts instead as a service office, coordinating the publications, feasts, web sites, youth camps, etc. The COGWA men wanted a more centralized home office, where more power is concentrated at the top, a la WCG, LCG and others. This difference is what Dallas was all about. Further, the COGWA people saw WCG's problem as doctrinal. The UCG people saw WCG's problems as doctrinal and structural. That dichotomy has persisted all these years. Along those lines, my observance is that the COGWA ministry believes most knowledge and understanding comes via the ministry, whereas the UCG ministry deliberately stays away from Bible studies in order that the spirit-filled brethren may learn from each other, in addition to learning from the elder's sermons. Frankly, I think we will see a COGWA very similar to LCG. LCG also believes all knowledge and understanding comes via the ministry. Their Bible studies and leadership courses are nothing more than lectures with handouts. They are not interactive, and LCG does not believe they should be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com