Banned by HWA has revealed that Roderick C. Meredith has terminal cancer. Due to his advanced age of eighty-six and the current state of the disease he has decided not to seek "extensive treatment" but to rely on God. Being about 86 years old it is not surprising that it seems as though he will soon pass away.
It is saddening to think that his family and friends are in distress at this development. Despite feeling compelled to move away from his organization I had hoped he would live for a long time to come but that now seems less likely.
The irony here is that if Roderick Meredith had been right about his stance on religion and the future, he's destined for an afterlife so great that anything he's suffered in this life will be so far surpassed that it will be nothing but a vague memory. He looks forward to a glorious future. He should not at all be disturbed by his terminal cancer. As the Apostle Paul was reputed to have written, "death where is your sting?".
ReplyDeleteOf course, he's victimized and abused no one knows exactly how many innocent people, sometimes only as collateral damage of which he was totally unaware, and, frankly, rather clueless.
In terms of justice, judgment and equity, particularly in the light of "vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord", to let an evil perpetrator of misery for thousands pass with no pain and suffering of his own would diminish those he has harmed in ways that offend our sensibilities of fairness. Should he get away with everything he's done unscathed? Should he not be brought into account for how his sons have acted and the fact that he did nothing about it?
It's fine to have a spirit of kindness, mercy and forgiveness.
It may not be all that fine to waste it on the unrepentant, even if they are the clueless unrepentant.
There doesn't seem to be much else in LCG's future after Roderick Meredith dies except implosion and chaos.
ReplyDeleteIf Gerald Weston were smart, he'd head over to the vicinity of Cincinnati to have a little chat with Victor Kubic and the Council of Elders to seek to be absorbed into United. The top ministers in LCG would be just ordinary ministers and take their chances with advancement.
Weston himself would actually be better off to step down and let someone else run the show. It would be a whole lot less disruptive.
This absorption would likely really benefit the membership of the LCG: They could keep their friends in Living and restore their relationship with the people they knew in WCG that went to United. It could be a win-win for everybody.
No one should hold their breath. If they did, they would likely turn blue and pass out. Those in the 1% in control probably want to hold on to the power they think they are going to have in spite of the risk that they might not have anything left at all.
I don't think those who have worked their way up to a high position in any corporation would want to merge with another out of fear of losing their position. Even if it is for the good of the corporation, individual desires would come first for many. Jesus prayed for unity, not uniformity, among his disciples (John 17:20). Egos push for disunity if it diminishes competition for power, position, prestige, etc.
ReplyDeleteSteve, you are right about the individual desires. In my experience a merger also comes with opportunity within the new and larger framework. Usually in M&A the merger is stimulated with huge bonuses for those who should work to accomplish that goal. In WCG speak I believe that most of the proceeds of the AC Pasadena Campus went into the pockets of the top 10 men working for the "merger' with the national evangelic community. nck
ReplyDeleteSteve, to your point, the Armstrongist Churches of God are not spiritual, they are not of Jesus, they are corporations and, as such, the corporate framework is set. What you say about egos pushing for disunity if it diminishes competition for power, position, prestige (and not a little money too) applies to carnal corporate greed -- the very root of the Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia.
ReplyDeleteThe LCG is facing a no win situation just ahead, and you're right: It doesn't matter if it's good for 'the corporation' or, in this case, good for the 'brethren', the 1% leadership is going to be 100% selfish. The result? They will major fail and then who will they blame it on?
I'm certain you can come up with a list.
Make sure you keep God on the list, because they will tacitly blame God for their own selfish failure.
Hypothetically speaking, unless Rod is supernaturally healed and restored to vitality, in other words, if he actually succumbs to the cancer, then LCG will become diminished. The internal LCG factors which would be unleashed by his death are myriad. They've already been listed, and we're all familiar with them.
ReplyDeleteProbably each of the leaders of the largest ACOG splinters believes or fantasizes that some miracle would cause all of the believers in Herbert W. Armstrong to see the errors in their own ACOG, and to be drawn to the "true" one, their own. They only see a short term game plan, partially due to the advanced ages of their key people. Even the "baby busters" (tail end of the baby boomer generation) are in their late 50s. Rod, as the St. John last survivor type, is the draw to LCG. If he is taken out, that pretty much elliminates LCG as spearheading what the ACOGs see as being the final push. Other ACOGs will suddenly have greater draw and possibilities as being "the one".
This situation most likely has many more implications than are readily seen!
BB
Yes. Many banks have special units specialized in "family operations", since they are particularly vunerable to ALL the mistakes COG's make in the succesful transfer to the next generation. nck
ReplyDeleteCould the post-Meredith LCG break up as did the post-HWA WCG? Whatever, the 8 or so WCG years could likely be compressed into as many months for LCG. Hey, some may even go to CCOG! RCG? Never!
ReplyDeleteHoss, if the LCG follows the post-HA WCG template, it would break down into 152 individual spit off sects (or thereabouts). It might not do that and just vanish like the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland.
DeleteGerald Weston really needs to consider being subsumed into the UCG. If you remember, I was the one who gave United much of their corporate business process at a time they were recovering from the time they were one month away from total bankruptcy because of the $15 million or so David Hulme sank into the one video visiting Jerusalem. Businessmen in the UCG in Washington State were tapped to rescue them from the situation and they were successful in the recovery. I had worked with Robert Dick to pass along a lot of the Corporate process I had learned as manager at a Fortune 50 Company -- which had the framework based on 'if you do the same things under the same circumstances, you will achieve the same results'. If it weren't for the concerted efforts of the business men and their advice along with the process gleaned from a Fortune 50 company, there would be NO United Church of God today. It was gone and only extreme measures saved it.
That is why Weston should take my advice. I've been all through this. I know what I'm talking about. LCG as they know it is doomed and will never be the same after Meredith dies, the very same as the WCG was never the same after Herbert Armstrong died. Entropy will cause the LCG to crumble into sand. There's not enough to hold it together upon Meredith's departure from the scene.
Or has everyone forgotten Global?
Utter fools.
Nice work Mikey. One of the most satisfying things about good advice is when someone actually takes it.
DeleteIn contrast to COG splits, during my post-Catholic, pre-WCG Protestant years at home, I experienced three denominational mergers, and each used a variation of ‘unite’ in its final name.
I’ve read a few posts over the years about executive visits between United and LCG. And each visit was followed by a denial of any plans involving merger or acquisition.
Hoss, actually I'd have been much more satisfied if United didn't take advice and did go bankrupt. We all would have been better off.
DeleteThe 'executive visits' of the past were mainly Dennis Luker and Roderick Meredith getting together. My suspicion, which can never be confirmed and will remain idle speculation, is that they had a common bond in hating Garner Ted Armstrong -- at least they had that in common. Meredith did his best to stamp out the UCG early on. Maybe he just decided at some point that it wasn't worth it and gave ground.
Even with Meredith in the picture, any potential merger would have been extremely iffy at best and now, I suspect, again, idle speculation, that Weston will dig in and refuse to give up and surrender to a take over, hostile or not. Without Meredith, though, there's not much to really hold the people in LCG together. He was the anchor in that he was there with Herbert Armstrong at the real beginning of the Evil Empire -- that's where his creds lie. What does Weston have? A nod from Meredith is hardly a solid foundation to build upon. At least Flurry and Pack can sort of claim a connection to Herbert Armstrong. Weston, not so much.
Meredith has been very lax, particularly with his children, but also his lieutenants supporting his little cult. Too many people are angry and frustrated with Charlotte and have good reason to split if and when Meredith dies (the inside joke is that he'll last another 3 to 5 years). The handwriting has been up on the wall reader board for almost a decade and Meredith is actually quite unprepared to leave any sort of real legacy. He was the glue that held them together.
Actually, that's not quite accurate: They weren't glued together, they were screwed together.
True, there is always the schadenfreude high in told ya. I've had the times when I was paid for advice that wasn't followed and then paid more to clean up the resulting mess.
DeleteMy understanding is that LCG will be in the unique position that the front man, ceo is not the actual owner of the corporate. (although I have not read the bylaws personally) This would be the first time in decades of cog history and if true create a unique and new dynamic. I will be observing the aftermath of the transition from a professional standpoint. In the same manner that I followed the Flurry copyright infringement case with heightened interest. I knew they would never win since the ownership question is sacrosanct and fundamental to our current society and entire economic system. Still I have read every iota of the opinions of the judges since the COG provide for such unique and bizar case studies. nck
ReplyDeleteHonestly, the ignorance, the ignorance. Stupidity should hurt so not as many people would wallow in it.
ReplyDeleteIt's the Corporation Sole! Corporation Sole! It's not new:
The Corporation Sole is one of the oldest forms of a Corporation in the world. The initial genesis of the Corporation Sole dates back to Roman Emperor Constantine in the year 323 AD (After Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire). It was first used by the Pope for use by the Bishops of the church for ecclesiastical purposes and, in particular, holding church property and other assets. The Bishop was authorized to act on his own authority, absent the control of a typical board of directors.
When the Bishop resigned his position, died, was incapacitated, or was forcefully removed from office by the presiding pope or archbishop, then title to the property passed not to the bishop’s heirs (even though Catholic bishops were not permitted to marry, it was not uncommon that they had several children), but to a successor that is designated by the corporate sole (usually another bishop). While the office of corporate sole held title to property, that property did not “belong” to the bishop personally. Rather, he held the property in trust for the church. In this sense, the bishop was very much like a trustee. Those ancient Corporation Soles were often formed under canon law (church law) and, therefore, absent the permission and jurisdiction of the state.
After the debacle of what happened to the WCG, Stanley Raider got Herbert Armstrong to engage in the Corporate Sole. After that, many of the spit off Cult of Herbert Armstrong Mafia sects established the Corporate Sole. The LCG is likely a Corporate Sole, but absolutely is not unique within the cog history.
In fact, based on events here locally and across in different places in the United States, the Church of God Seventh Day FINALLY declared itself a Corporate Sole after several individuals seized control of some of the local churches and took all the assets. I'll bet you didn't know that. That has happened in the past 5 years.
The ACoGs are bizarre but not as unique as some have surmised based on their limited, careless and ignorant superficial investigations (evidencing a total lack of understanding in research protocol). Most corporations sole are church-related (for example, the Archbishop of Canterbury). The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) also uses the corporation sole form for its president, which is legally listed as "The Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". The Church of Scientology is franchise acting as a Corporate Sole which gained 501(c)(3) tax exempt status with the IRS. Scientology has broken that concept up into local organizations in the same way that diocese are organized.
It stands to reason that a scammer would be highly interested in the Corporate Sole. There's so much fresh opportunity.
Yes, that is an excellent explanation of the Corporate Sole. Regarding my point. Will it not be so that Weston will have limited power within the LCG sole as compared to HWA within the WCG sole,? (either Californian or the Colorado one) My point is, IF his powers are limited by the actual heirs, there will be a different dynamic in the aftermath.
ReplyDeletenck
nck
The reason I used the word corporation because I was referring to the wcg bylaws.
ReplyDelete"This corporation is chartered by and subordinate to the Church of God, a/k/a Worldwide Church of God, an unincorporated association"
"There shall only be one class of corporate members. They will be referred to as the "Members of the Corporation."
"Ecclesiastical Decision" shall mean a decision that requires religious considerations. Such decision shall be within the sole"
My impression from the blogs chatter is that perhaps the next article is different in the LCG after senior Meredith.
"The Pastor General shall have the sole power and authority to appoint and remove officers of the Corporation. He may exercise said power and authority at any time, with or without cause or notice."
nck
Coining a phrase from Star Trek Wrath of Khan, in the Armstrongist cult, nothing ever changes.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people here do not understand how lcg is set up ( government of the coming kingdom is the blue print) and the reason they will never be absorbed into a corporation type church. Sorry to dash your hopes. God bless
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