PCG's Dennis Leap Says, Obey PCG Ministers and Read PCG Writings

Awhile ago Dennis Leap wrote an article (Know Your Adversary). According to pcog.org this article is dated September 1996 and was published in The Philadelphia News but as will be noted below I have reason to believe that might be in error. Let's see what he has to say.

Leap assures his readers that Satan is out to get them and confuse them so that they will no longer be within PCG.

Leap insists that PCG members must let themselves be corrected by PCG ministers at all times.

All of us must be on guard against an attitude of self-righteousness. This is the most dangerous of attitudes. Here is why.

If we allow ourselves to slip into a self-righteous attitude, we cut ourselves off from correction. Paul shows us in the book of Hebrews that we cannot be in God’s Family unless we are willing to be corrected (Hebrews 12:5-11). Generally, this also means that we cut ourselves off from the ministry and God’s people. All of us desperately need God’s correction. In these perilous times, we need to be close to the ministry and other Church members. All of us need counsel, correction and assistance from others.

So Leap says, "All of us desperately need God’s correction." But who does the correcting? It is PCG's ministers. So really this means, All of us desperately need the PCG ministry's correction.

Leap recommends allowing oneself to be continuously corrected by PCG's ministers.

We should honestly seek God’s correction daily. When we pray for correction, we should not be surprised to see a minister come to us. We should not be surprised to have another member possibly point something out to us or even somebody in the world. We should never allow ourselves to slip into the attitude that we are better than anyone else. All of us have sinned in the past (Romans 3:23), and all of us will continue to sin until we are made spirit beings. If we deny this, the Bible says we are deceiving ourselves.

Leap complains that PCG members read the Bible and become convinced that they found some remarkable insight never known before. They tell PCG's leaders and it is not believed and the would be visionary becomes discouraged and leaves PCG.

Satan has been on the attack by motivating people to become vain in their Bible knowledge. It seems that Satan can sway a few this way each year. Here is how the scenario develops. Some individual becomes excited about a new truth he has discovered. Often this individual will spend hours studying this one subject. He enjoys telling others about it. The excitement builds. An extensive letter arrives at headquarters explaining how God has revealed this new truth to this individual. He becomes bitterly disappointed when the ministry does not agree with him. Some become so upset they begin to accuse the ministry of being false, or Laodicean. Eventually, if their thinking is not corrected, these individuals leave God’s Church in a bitter attitude. An attempt is always made to take others with them.

Why would such  person act this way? Maybe they are just trying to imitate Gerald Flurry? He constantly claims to be able to proclaim "new revelation" from PCG's God.

Leap responds to this problem by telling PCG members that only Gerald Flurry can discover "new revelation". It is the members' role to just accept what the PCG 1% tells them to believe.

Leap states that individuals members have somehow helped Gerald Flurry produce "new revelation" but all credit must go to Gerald Flurry.

Since the Philadelphia Church began, God has used different members to help Mr. Gerald Flurry see an aspect of new truth. However, we must recognize that the individual member did not show an entire new truth. God has consistently revealed every major prophesy or truth to Mr. Flurry. God always works through His own government. We all must learn that God always uses the office of an apostle or prophet to establish doctrines, new truths or understandings in the Church.

Leap tells PCG members that if they find some "new truth" by themselves that they tell the PCG ministers.

If you come across what appears to be new truth, please follow government concerning its unveiling. In others words, have it checked out by your minister before you become overly excited or talk about it with others. What if he does not agree with your understanding? Build your faith on Christ working through His ministry. Jesus Christ does guide and correct His Church. If your understanding is true, then in time everyone will come to see that it is true. In addition, focus your study to prove right what God has revealed through Mr. Flurry.

But what Leap really wants PCG members to do is to indoctrinate oneself in what PCG says and accept it.

How do we win against Satan’s attack through “knowledge” vanity? The best thing we can do is to keep our Bible study focused on Mr. Armstrong’s writings and on the literature coming out of headquarters. Jesus Christ used Mr. Armstrong to restore all things .... We understand this to mean the major doctrines established in the Worldwide Church of God while Mr. Armstrong was alive. These major doctrines have been encapsulated in the 18 Restored Truths. If we work diligently to fully understand these restored truths, along with the Trumpet, Royal Vision and all of the pcg booklets, there will not be much time for a lot of other study.

The pcg literature is Christ’s literature. Surely we all should have proven that by now. ... We must recognize the pcg literature represents Christ’s perspective and focus for our time. If we are not properly focused in the pcg literature then we will not be in step spiritually.
We should ask ourselves how well grounded we are in the pcg literature. ... The pcg literature represents the present truth for our time. Satan can never get to us if we are established in these truths. Mr. Armstrong’s writings and Mr. Flurry’s represent “trunk of the tree” knowledge. However, if we are pursuing twiggy issues, we could fall spiritually and lose out on eternal life.

(It is intriguing that Leap mentions Royal Vision here. As far as I understand it Royal Vision only started in January 1998. Perhaps pcog.org's dating of this article is in error.)

Leap then complains that Satan keeps making people unsatisfied with how PCG's ministers behave.

Unfortunately, some allow themselves to fall into a critical and judgmental attitude toward the ministry. No minister is perfect—all have persnoal [sic] problems, weaknesses and sins. Yet, they are still Christ’s ministers. They hold spiritual offices worthy of respect. ... God is very clear here. He will punish the unjust who “despise” His government. God is not complimentary toward those who speak evil of His ministers. He states they are “presumptuous” and “self-willed.” He compares them to “brute beasts” who should be destroyed. He says they lack understanding, are corrupt and will perish in their corruption. ...

Those rebelling against God’s government are called “filthy dreamers.” The rebellion defiles their own flesh. One lesson should be clear—rebellion brings spiritual corruption and eternal death.

The highlighted section is the only time in this article Leap makes any mention of the possibility that PCG ministers can abuse their power. But it is clear that Leap makes no attempt to address this problem in this article.

It seems Leap will be most unimpressed with any kind of dissent within PCG.

Leap then insists that PCG ministers are worthy of obedience and must be obeyed and respected. Leap even suggests being nice to them.

The Philadelphia ministry is the only ministry courageous enough to stand up for all of the truths of God. The work of the Philadelphia ministry has truly been one of faith. These verses show that we must have a deep respect for the Philadelphia men who are over us. We must learn to emulate their example. This verse also implies giving emotional support to the ministry as well. An encouraging word or a nice card can go a long way to uplift a minister.

When Gerald Flurry and John Amos were kicked out of WCG in December 1989 they advertised themselves to WCG members as willing to stand up for HWA's teachings against the Tkach changes then underway within WCG. As the Tkach changes progressed many other WCG members left to "stand up" for HWA's teachings. But most of them did not go to PCG. Their stand for HWA's teachings are ignored and denigrated for not joining (and paying tithes to) PCG.

It is insisted that if only the lay members do as the minister tells them then all will be well.

Every Philadelphia minister’s workload causes him to be spread very thin. Obedience and submission contribute to peaceful, healthy and smooth operations in local church areas. The most frustrating thing for any minister is to have individuals in a local congregation who refuse to follow even the smallest directions. This can be very discouraging. Satan really goes to work in a situation like that. However, when the entire congregation follows the minister’s directions, great joy is produced in the minister’s life and in the congregation. Behind every effective minister is a loving, supportive and obedient congregation. There is no room for satanic attacks when obedience and submission are prevalent.

Some wonder why do so many within PCG continue to stay there despite the many problems within PCG. Partly it is because they read words like this insisting that not obeying the PCG minister will open one up to the baneful influence of Satan.

It is insinuated that unless one is closely in touch with the group he or she will be devoured by Satan and will drift away from PCG.

We need to be sure that we remain close to our brethren. We should take advantage of every opportunity to fellowship. Of course we must be sure that this does not get out of balance as well. Fellowship should not interfere with our jobs, family time, prayer, Bible study or fasting.

We become an easy target for Satan if we allow ourselves to drift into a loner attitude. ... Peter uses the example of a roaring lion to describe Satan. Lions always prey on the isolated or sick animal. Satan desires to devour us spiritually. If he can maneuver us, separating us from the main body, then he can get us. So let’s be sure to remain close to each other.

This is an attempt to convince the reader to allow him or herself to be influenced by the group by remaining a part of it and being closely involved in group activities.

Leap ends this article by insisting that if one defeats Satan then all will be well.

We do not have to lose any battles to Satan the devil. He holds no power over us. ... If we remain close to God and resist Satan, he is required to flee from us. If you do the things suggested in this article, you will be resisting Satan. Now that we know our enemy better, let’s all get out there and win the war.

So PCG members are taught to view submitting one self to ministerial authority as a test to prove one's faith to (PCG's) God

What is most concerning about this article is Leap's lack of concern of the problem of the abuse of authority by ministers. This refusal to enforce PCG ministers to attend problems among the membership is a license to the minister to do whatever he wants and to know that those above him will not penalize him.

Seeing Leap's refusal to address this problem it is easier to believe the various horror stories about PCG that have been circulating over the years. PCG's 1% don't see it as a problem worth addressing.