HWA Denounces Bob Thiel's Claim to be Magically Ordained by God

Bob Thiel got disgruntled at LCG and decided to leave and set up his own COG cult, this time centered around himself.

HWA would have denounced this claim by Bob Thiel. Notice what he wrote in the article 'Must God's Ministers be Ordained by the Hand of Man?', published in the January 1960 Good News.

That ONE BODY of Christ, carrying on HIS WORK, must function as a UNIT. It must work in harmony and unity, with teamwork, for God is not the author of confusion. There must be no pulling off in different directions by different men IN that one Body. There must be no competition, or division....

In order that this ONENESS -- this UNITY of purpose and action -- this HARMONY and co-operative teamwork, be maintained and preserved in GOD'S WORK, God has ordained GOVERNMENT IN HIS CHURCH. And He has empowered His Church with DIVINE AUTHORITY.
That government in God's Church is government from God, thru Christ, thru apostles, thru evangelists, thru pastors, thru other elders, IN THAT ORDER!

Pay attention, Bob Thiel, to these following words of HWA's:

Now suppose God did NOT have these various officers ordained by the hand of man. What would happen? One man in New York [or maybe California?] would APPOINT HIMSELF, and come up and say, "I claim equal office and authority with those ordained from Pasadena. I wasn't ordained by the hand of man, but direct by the hand of God." 

What a familiar situation.

And then this man carries on his own independent work. [Like the Continuing Church of God.] Such a work CANNOT be a PART of the work of GOD'S TRUE CHURCH, for the simple reason that sooner or later it will start pulling off in an opposite direction -- unless there is DIRECTION from Christ on down, in ONE CHURCH ORDER OF GOVERNMENT...

So you see, Brethren, WHY God always ordains men to office THRU HIS OWN CHURCH, THRU HIS OWN ESTABLISHED ORDER...! ... Any such claims to ordination or office are WITHOUT A SHRED OF SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITY!

So according to HWA, Bob Thiel has absolutely no authority to lead anyone.

Bob Thiel was never ordained as a minister by an Armstrongite church. He got around this problem by claiming that when LCG minister Gaylen Bonjour gave him an anointing to ask for God's blessing he said a few words that Bob Thiel interpreted as a sign that God had ordained him a prophet.

He ignores the fact that HWA taught that New Testament Prophets had no administrative authority but only directly related the words of God through visions and that there is now no need for such things because we now have the Bible.

All those working with Bob Thiel, in the USA, New Zealand, Kenya and anywhere else are openly defying what HWA taught that

• ministers must be ordained by ministers belonging to "God's Church". 

• and New Testament Prophets have no administrative authority over church members.

According to HWA, Bob Thiel has no right to claim the three tithes and offerings that he expects of his followers within the Continuing Church of God.