How Many COG People Remember HWA in the 1970s

Many within the COGs want to believe that Herbert W. Armstrong was a man of sterling and noble character. A man chosen by God to restore many lost truths to the church after hundreds of years of persecution and marginalization at the hands of Sunday keeping false Christians.

The facts about Stanley Rader and of how close he was to HWA greatly tarnish this narrative. Because of this several major COG organizations, such as LCG and PCG, tend to willfully forget all about Rader, the same way they "forget" Herbert W. Armstrong's failed prophecy of 1972-5.

Recently I have read John Tuit's book, The Truth Shall Set You Free. It presents many facts and interpretations of facts that WCG members who stayed during the turmoil of the 1970s would prefer to forget or remember in an oblique manner.

During the turmoil of the 1970s many WCG members left. But many more stayed with WCG during these times. In the some of the following posts I shall analyze how the WCG members who stayed in WCG (and their successors) remember the turbulent events of the 1970s.

There really should be a term for WCG members who, despite all that happened in the 1970s, stayed with WCG and later left WCG during the Tkach changes, as distinct from WCG members who left under HWA.

The Fall of Meredith: Rader's Triumph (1979)

On August 3, 1979 Herbert W. Armstrong removed Roderick C. Meredith as head of the Office of Ministerial Services.

This announcement was published in the August 6, 1979 Pastor's Report, page 3.

Worldwide Church of God

World Headquarters

Pasadena, California   91123

Herbert W. Armstrong
President and Pastor

August 3, 1979

A DIRECTIVE FROM THE OFFICE OF THE 

PASTOR GENERAL

I am hereby installing Mr. Joseph W. Tkach in charge of the Office of Ministerial Services, with Dr. William Kessler as assistant.

Mr. Ted Herlofsen is too be transferred to a ministerial post in the field. This directive is to be effective immediately.

[Signature] Herbert W. Armstrong

Pastor General

HWA talks about his decision on this matter in page 13. He seems to me quite mad at Meredith here.

In the emergency [the receivership crisis], I set Roderick C. Meredith as head of the ministry until I could decide how to eliminate this POWER BLOC by having a man as "head of the ministry"-- which is virtually the same as being head of the Church and the entire Work. Such an office simply does not belong in God's Church.

Therefore I am ABOLISHING that office entirely. Christ's Apostle is the human head over the ministry, and MUST NOT BE CUT OFF FROM THE MINISTERS! Mr. Meredith is being transferred back as Dean of the Faculty of Ambassador College. 

(My word! HWA is referring to himself in the third person.)

Tkach does not speak for himself in this issue.

In the August 21, 1979 Pastor's Report, page 7, Joseph Tkach writes his first article in the Pastor's Report. (For some reason that is upside down.) Here we get a strong indication of what really happened and why Meredith was removed.

Notice how Tkach calls for WCG ministers to pray for HWA and Stanley Rader.

Stay close to God and remember always to pray for Mr. Armstrong. As the China trip draws near, pray even more earnestly for his health, success, and protection. Pray for God's guidance and protection for Mr. Rader as he makes advance preparations for these extremely important meetings with top officials of the Chinese government.

Your servant in Christ,
Joe Tkach.

Notice how Tkach ask WCG ministers to pray for HWA and then Stanley Rader. This shows quite clearly that at this point in time it was Stanley Rader who was the number two man in WCG, even though he was then only a lay member.

Maybe that was another reason why HWA removed Meredith? In some of the previous issues of Pastor's Report Meredith announced that non-career ministers (essentially retired ministers who continued to minister part time with reduced pay) would be abolished. Meredith emphasized that any such man from now on is to regarded as only a laymember.

Perhaps Rader was suspicious of Meredith's call for ex-ministers in good standing with WCG to be regarded only as lay members and interpreted this as an attack on his position of authority within WCG.

In a previous post we also saw how Meredith attempted to undermine Rader by spreading a rumor that had not been spread that widely before he publicly denied it, thus causing everyone to know of it.

Rader lashed out at Meredith and got HWA to remove him. Leaving him as Dean of the Faculty was not enough and he was later sent to paid exile in Hawai'i for six months. It was while Meredith was in Hawai'i that HWA sent Roderick C. Meredith a letter that harshly criticized him and among other things said that Meredith had no ability to run the church after HWA's death even though Meredith viewed things differently.

Stanley Rader also proceeded to take care of the problem that he was only a lay member.

Meredith's removal was the first move in a sequence of moves to strengthen Rader's power, culminating in Rader's ordination as an Evangelist by HWA and heir apparent.

The big news was really not much of a surprise. We predicted it in 1976, in our very first issue: Stan Rader was ordained an evangelist. The well-executed sequence of events went as follows:

First Roderick C. Meredith was removed as director of the WCG's ministry. Then all WCG evangelists were stripped of their rank. The hierarchical structure of the ministry was reorganized with Joseph Tkach, a preaching elder, and Kevin Dean, formerly a steward on the church airplane, elevated to top positions under HWA. (Both Tkach and Dean are proven Rader loyalists.) The board of trustees was purged of anti-Rader trustees (Meredith and Luker). (Raymond McNair remained, as he is now in the Rader camp.)

In his September 20 co-worker letter, Herbert Armstrong hinted that his life might soon be coming to an end (an amazing admission for HWA). Within days, it was announced that Rader had been ordained an evangelist along with Joseph Tkach ...

As we go to press, we have learned that Roderick Meredith has been given a six month "leave of absence" in Hawaii. Few believe he will ever return to any significant position in the WCG. Perhaps he will not return at all. (Ambassador Report 10)

Meredith tried to remove Rader from power and failed miserably. That is why he got removed as head of the ministry in 1979.

Roderick C. Meredith Disfellowshipping Jack Pyle and Bronson James (1979)

In the July 30, 1979 Pastor's Report Roderick C. Meredith writes the following:

On the sad side, it is my duty to inform you that Mr. Jack Pyle and Mr. Bronson James have both been disfellowshipped from God's Church. They are to be marked in all areas of their activity, as both consorting with and helping the enemies of the Work of God.

Somehow I can't believe Meredith when he pretend that he regrets disfellowshipping people. He seems perfectly willing to hunt out and viciously cast out anyone threatening his, and HWA's, rule over WCG members. If he just fired them, maybe it would be so much of a problem, but HWA and Meredith ordered WCG members to shun and avoid contact with people disfellowshipped by WCG's leadership, tearing apart peoples' lives simply to maintain their rule and authority over WCG members in order to exploit them more effectively by getting them to pay three tithes and more to them.

A Racist Ad in 1979 Pastor's Report?

I found this ad in the July 23, 1979 Pastor's Report, page 4:

A Local Elder of God's Church would like to have a middle-aged white lady (preferably a WCG member receiving third tithe assistance) to live in his home and help care for his wife who is partially confined to bed...

I can't help but wonder if this is racist. Does not having an ad like this break the law? Does this not count as racial discrimination? Why would they, it seems, not consider employing a non-white lady for this?

Meredith Disfellowshipping David Robinson and Others

Here Roderick C. Meredith announces the disfellowshipment of David Robinson in the July 16, 1979 Pastor's Report, page 1:

Mr. Herbert Armstrong just returned from a very helpful and profitable trip to visit the church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Our minister there, Mr. Don Mason, reported that Mr. Armstrong gave a very warm and loving sermon which encouraged the brethren a great deal. However, because of very serious wrong attitudes and wrong accusations he made, Mr. David Robinson, the former pastor there, has been terminated from God's ministry.

 Meredith discusses David Robinson again in the
 July 23, 1979 Pastor's Report. These are Meredith's words on pages 1-2.

Now for the perennial BAD news. ...

So here goes.

Dennis Pyle refused to come in on sabbatical and has resigned from the ministry. Jim Redus also refused to come in for his sabbatical and has resigned. Dennis Adams has been terminated from the ministry as he wants to pursue a secular vocation.

On a much more serious note, Daryll Watson has been terminated and disfellowshipped for disloyalty to God's Work. He is already actively cooperating with the enemies of Christ's Work. Jack Martin has also been terminated and disfellowshipped. He, too, was found actively assisting the enemies of this Work. And I am very sorry to report that David Robinson whom we worked with personally for many, many hours on his problems, has had to be terminated and now disfellowshipped because of gross disloyalty to Mr. Armstrong and this Work.  

Later David Robinson wrote the book, Herbert Armstrong's Tangled Web. WCG's lawyers unsuccessfully tried to block its publication. That book also first revealed to the public that Herbert Armstrong committed incest with his daughter, Dorothy for ten years, around 1933-43.

Meredith Praises Non-US Members for being more Loyal than US Members (1979)

On page 2 of the July 16, 1979 Pastor's Report Roderick C. Meredith praises non-US congregations as being more "loyal" then US churches. He also uses this to once again take pot shots at Garner Ted Armstrong and scapegoats him for the problems of the 1970s.

As though HWA's false prophecy of 1972-5, HWA's extravagant spending of tithe money to meet world leaders, HWA's vicious exploitation of church members by demanding three tithes and extra offerings, HWA's anti-medicine superstition which caused the unnecessary death of church members, intense suspicions of Stanley Rader's power, and other issues had nothing to do with these problems.

Speaking of growth and unity, the international areas have had the greatest amount of this in the last year or two. WHY?

Frankly, the answer is not hard to come by. Because of the fact that many of these areas--such as Britain, France, Germany, etc., have either had very little or no exposure from GTA--they have really been growing in membership, in financial income and in unity and brotherhood MUCH MORE than many areas in the U.S. Obviously, they were not exposed to the liberalism, playboyism and subtle spirit of self-will and rebellion which was spread so much from GTA and a number of his present followers over the last few years. The "put-downs", the negative attitudes and accusations expressed so often in many areas of the U.S. simply NEVER REACHED many of our international areas in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Africa, etc. Or, if some of these negative "vibes" did reach those shores, they were so diminished by the time they arrived  that it had very little to no effect--especially since we had positive, loyal and enthusiastic leaders in these areas to counteract such garbage!

John D. Siemasko's Disfollowshipment Ordeal (1979)

On page 9 of the July 2, 1979 Pastor's Report is the following notice.

If you or any members have questions regarding John D. Siemasko, a disfellowshipped member, please contact John D. Hammer at [phone number].

At present it is impossible for me learn the story behind this notice or why they felt it necessary to mention this in the Pastor's Report.

Ambassador Report 11 (March 1980) reports that a minister named John Hammer was disfellowshipped by WCG as announced on page 1 of the February 25, 1980, Worldwide News. Of course it is impossible to know if this is the same man.

(That issue of the Worldwide News has an absolutely disgusting article by HWA commanding WCG members to shun the disfellowshipped and claiming that God (meaning HWA's God) commands them to do so.) 

At present it is impossible to know the fear, the turmoil and the pain that lies behind this bland notice. I hope that he and those who love were able to overcome that ordeal and create happy and meaningful lives for themselves free of HWA's cult.

1979 Good News Circulation: 113,000

The above figure was reported by Roger Lippross on page 10 of the July 11, 1979 Pastor's Report.

The circulation is holding at about 113,000 worldwide. This is because of the present policy of offering the Good News to members and co-workers only. The breakdown is as fellows: the 83,000 U.S. copies are sent to 32,000 member households and 46,000 to co-workers. The remaining 30,000 go to our overseas readership and are shipped out from Pasadena each month.

COG Alexa Rankings (July 2013)

Here a new list of COG rankings.

UCG: 50,164
Philadelphia Trumpet (PCG): 89,076
RCG: 105,715
CGI/WCG (Tkach): 167,879
Tomorrow's World (LCG): 183,671
CGG: 263,048
Cogwriter.com (Bob Thiel): 309,685
LCG: 345,168
Real Truth (RCG): 435,144
PCG: 476,471
Life, Hope and Truth (Cogawa): 757,846
Cogawa: 762,263
TheEnd.com (Weinland): 830,376
COG-AIC (Hulme): 996,700
Shining Light (James Malm): 1,013,677
RonaldWeinland.com (Weinland): 1,047,506
CGI: 1,068,661
Herbert-Armstrong.org (Don Tiger): 1,087,933
Triumph Prophetic Ministries: 1,386,422
CBCG (Fred Coulter): 1,388,785
Hold Fast to All Things: 1,400,159
CEG: 1,558,095
Plain Truth Ministries: 1,585,894
COG Seventh Day: 1,762,403
Cogl.org (LCG): 1,903,097
COG-PKG (Weinland): 2,137,763
CCOG (Bob Thiel): 2,204,916
The Journal: 2,447,386
COG the Eternal: 3,062,178
Intercontinental COG: 3,213,028
CEM (Ron Dart): 3,255,385
COG Faithful Flock: 3,515,584
Enduring COG: 3,940,206
Kubik.org (UCG): 4,713,665
Foundation Institute (Cogawa): 6,057,422
FOI (Cogawa): 11,673,264
COGAIC.org (Hulme): 13,585,983
Faithful COG: 15,480,038
Biblical Truth (Weinland): 18,706,077
CGOM: 24,003,573

Compared with last month there's no sign of any great burst of activity in Dave Pack's RCG in anticipation of the reunification Pack has declared will happen August 30, 2013. Actually it has gone down from 87,220 to 105,715.

Also LCG.org has now overtaken Dave Pack's Real Truth website.

There's no sign anything astounding will happen at RCG on August 30, 2013.

The unordained, self appointed false prophet Bob Thiel has fallen behind John Ritenbaugh's Church of the Great God.

Roderick C. Meredith's $750,000 Libel against Leona McNair

This is the 600th post of this blog. Thank you to all readers for encouraging me to keep writing what I know in the hope that others may find the information presented here helpful. 

And now let us continue reading the June 25, 1979 Pastor's Report.

This report is notorious as, on page 6, it contains Meredith's infamous libel against Leona McNair. This libel plunged WCG into a thirteen year court case which forced it to pay her $750,000 in an out of court settlement.

Reading this Pastor's Report, at first I completely missed his vicious and false accusations against Leona McNair.

But now looking at it, and remembering the instrumental and vital role Roderick C. Meredith played in destroying families to impose HWA's divorce and remarriage doctrine I find it most fitting that Meredith should stumble into this costly and humiliating blunder by talking about WCG's policy on divorce and remarriage.

Meredith felt that WCG members and ministers were divorcing and remarrying too much and wanted to tell them that they could only divorce for "legitimate reasons," the few exceptions WCG allowed marriages to dissolve.

Now he knew WCG members and ministers could dismiss his words by saying, "But Raymond McNair got a divorce, and he did not have a "legitimate reason" to do so. Your words are hypocritical, so I will ignore them."

Meredith is trying to get around this objection by saying Raymond McNair's divorce was legitimate within "God's Church" and met his exceptions for allowing divorce.

But he did this by demonizing Leona McNair, saying untrue things about her.

These are Meredith's words on page 6.

Now, fellow ministers, I would like to discuss something that is becoming an increasingly critical problem within the ministry and within God's Church as a whole -- especially here in the United States. Increasing numbers of our church members are beginning to divorce their mates for, it seems, almost ANY conceivable reason! What's more, they then expect to "remain in the church" and probably REMARRY someone else in the Church -- perhaps their former friend's wife who has, by now, divorced him, and is also "still in the Church."

We are going to have long doctrinal and theological discussions with Mr. Herbert Armstrong to cover and thoroughly understand any legitimate reasons for divorce and remarriage. However, as of this writing, thee are only THREE that God's Church has officially recognized as legitimate:...

(III) Desertion -- by the unconverted mate -- although this was accepted and taught by the Church long before his action, a classic example of this would be Mr. Raymond McNair's situation. His wife refused to be a wife to him for over two years -- to sleep with him, cook for him, or even civilly communicate with him in a decent manner. Rather, she had left God's Church and was actively FIGHTING God's Church and Mr. McNair, turning his children against him and literally cursing him to his face. Finally, upon advice of Mr. Armstrong and Ted Armstrong, he was finally forced to make legal the already existing FACT that she had deserted him and was no longer his wife in any way whatsoever.   

Of course, as it turned out, what Meredith said was very misleading and inaccurate.

And later, when Leona McNair read about Meredith's words she was very upset and traumatized that he said such untrue things to the many people who knew her and that she knew within WCG.

A $70 million libel suit against the Armstrong organization was filed in July [1979] by Leona A. McNair. ... 

contacted Mrs. McNair requesting details of the suit but was told that she has been deeply hurt by the allegedly libelous statements made against her and does not wish to give the matter further publicity. (Ambassador Report 10)

On 23 August 1984 a Pasadena jury awarded her $1,260,000 in damages for Meredith's libel. The whole topic is extensively covered in Ambassador Report 29, hosted on the Painful Truth website. This issue contains much valuable information regarding Roderick C. Meredith and Raymond McNair.

This is how the divorce really happened.

What the McNairs discovered when they arrived [at Pasadena in 1973] was a church headquarters fraught with doctrinal divisions, political infighting, and sex scandals.
To all of this, Raymond turned a blind eye, remaining faithful to his mentor, church founder Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA). Leona's patience with the church's leadership, however, rapidly waned. Her high intelligence (Dr. McKelligott would later testify that her 143 IQ is equaled by only three in a thousand) and strong religious values conflicted with the role she was expected to play. She told Raymond she could no longer continue to support him in what she viewed as the perpetration of a giant fraud. She stopped attending Worldwide Church of God (WCG) services in 1974 and occasionally attended lectures given by such ex-WCG ministers as Dr. Ernest L. Martin.

Leona's disillusionment with Herbert Armstrong and her desire for religious freedom were intolerable to Raymond, and he made his feelings known. According to testimony by Leona, in 1975 her husband told her, "I am going to crush you until you are totally dependent on me!" (In court Raymond denied ever making this threat. However, third parties have confirmed hearing Raymond say the equivalent.) Raymond cut Leona off from access to their joint bank accounts, badgered her into giving back jewelry he had given her and then sold them, refused to give her adequate money for groceries, and moved into separate sleeping quarters. Leona also soon began to notice that many WCG friends would no longer have anything to do with her.

Communication between Leona and Raymond became increasingly strained. But in spite of this, Leona - concerned for the welfare of her children - put aside all thought of divorce or separation. Raymond, on the other hand, had different ideas. According to Leona's court testimony, and corroborated by her daughter, on a number of occasions Raymond took her to the door, opened it and yelled, "You're not paying the bills here. Get out!" The reason for this behavior was inexplicable to Leona until later when she realized that, although the WCG had for four decades prohibited all divorce, around 1974 church leaders began to discuss the possibility of allowing divorce for members deserted by nonmembers. Leona's suspicions were confirmed when Mrs. Nancy Tate, one of her close friends, told her how the wife of one WCG evangelist had confided, "If we could just get Leona to leave the house, we could get her on desertion." Before long, Raymond made his intentions perfectly clear. He flat out told her he would divorce her when the time was right.

The relationship was now a traumatic one, but Leona still had no intention of deserting her family. Nor was she lingering on for (what Allan Browne would later claim in court) a "free ride." She started attending college again in 1974 to reestablish her nursing credentials. And when those were obtained in 1975 she found work at a local hospital. But then, a few weeks later in June, Raymond McNair did something no WCG evangelist had ever done. He filed for divorce. 

It is terrible to think that Meredith simply lied and claimed the divorce was all Leona McNair's fault.

The issue of Ambassador Report also note how Meredith once, in 1960, gave Leona McNair a humiliating four hour shouting session at her that adversely affected her health.

Meredith's testimony, less rambling than Raymond McNair's - but equally self-justifying - was particularly remarkable in its portrayal of the WCG as one big happy family. Meredith went to some length in describing the close friendship that had supposedly once existed between the McNairs and himself. But Ruth McNair-Knasin, when asked about the matter, said she didn't believe true friendship ever really existed between Meredith and her father. She described their relationship as one that would quickly evaporate were it perceived as getting in the way of "the Work." ...

The WCG may be one big happy family to Meredith, but Leona on the stand recalled how one evening in 1960 Raymond let Meredith into their home and announced, to her astonishment, that he had been invited in to "counsel" her. What followed, according to Leona, was four-and-one-half hours of railing accusation, authoritative preaching, sex-life interrogation, and high-decibel, humiliating verbal abuse from Meredith. Her problem? She was not a submissive enough wife and two ministers (unnamed) had found fault with her. She needed to obey his dictates because he (Meredith) was "God's number three man on earth" and would very likely remain in authority over her for all eternity! She needed to learn true submission! (Those who have seen Bryon Forbes' movie "The Stepford Wives" - referred to by Ruth McNair-Knasin in her testimony - will understand what Meredith was apparently aiming at.)

The 4= hours of harangue left Leona - then 2= months pregnant - in utter shock. She began shaking and hyperventilating. While Raymond slept well that night, she sobbed all night. The next morning found her still trembling. According to her court testimony, it was then that her nervous disorders began. In court Raymond claimed that Leona never had any emotional problems during their years in England. But a letter he wrote to her in 1975 specifically referred to her "emotional hangups." And Ruth testified how around 1970 her father had asked for her support in the event that he would find it necessary to have her mother committed.
On the stand, Meredith gave a very different picture of what happened. He described the 4=-hour session as nothing more than a friendly discussion lasting about an hour or so. Meredith's benevolent persona, however, stands in stark contrast to his reputation as a psychologically intimidating and harsh authoritarian in the performance of ministerial duties.  

 The Ambassador Report also notes other instances of Meredith's authoritarian behavior. Here is one.

Another former WCG minister told us that after a Meredith "counseling" session with his wife, she became so totally depressed he emphatically ordered her never to discuss anything privately with Meredith again. He explained, "Rod has the ability to somehow dig into a person's mind in such a way as to make them feel utterly guilt ridden and despondent. He seems to revel in this strange power to bring someone down psychologically." The same man also told us how once on a walk with Meredith, Roderick turned to him and said, "You may not realize it, but in all the universe, I'm number five, and you're number such and such." To us, at least, Leona's testimony was quite credible.

No wonder the jury awarded her $1,260,000 in damages for Meredith vicious libel against her.

WCG appealed and the case dragged on until 1992 when WCG paid $750,000 in an out of court settlement because of Meredith's libel. 

Mrs. Leona McNair's libel lawsuit against the Worldwide Church of God, Roderick C. Meredith, and her ex-husband Raymond McNair, was finally ended in December when the suit was settled out of court for $750,000 (Pasadena Star-News, 11/21/92). ... the WCG still refused to admit any wrongdoing, ... The victory by Leona was no small accomplishment...
 Leona McNair says she intends to get back to her career in nursing very soon. In the meantime, she is working on a book about tithing which she believes is a false doctrine that has cursed many Christians. Whether or not the book ever gets done, she has already written a short, but thought provoking, paper on the subject and she is distributing it to friends.

The best thing about her lawsuit coming to an end seems to be that, because she is no longer perceived as fighting against "God's Work," her two WCG-member sons are once again able to talk to their mother. Ironically, because Leona's ex-husband, Raymond McNair, recently left the WCG for Rod Meredith's Global Church of God, Leona's two sons are not supposed to talk to their father now because he has become "an enemy of God's Church." (Ambassador Report 52.)

Because Meredith left WCG shortly after this case was settled it is often asserted that Meredith stayed in WCG because of the libel lawsuit. Once the lawsuit was over he got out of WCG, which shielded him by paying the out of court settlement and paying to defend him and WCG from her libel suit, and started up his own COG offshoot group.

What a terrible legacy of shattered dreams and shattered lives this Roderick Meredith has left behind in his wake.  

How can anyone choose to follow a man who done such terrible things?