The "New"
Ron Lohr
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Has Ron Lohr turned over a new leaf? He states he is now a "recovering legalist" and he calls his ministry Recovering Legalists Ministries. (RLM) Recovering Legalists Ministries
Brief History on Lohr: After being a pastor for 28 years in a Bible-based cult1 (Herbert W. Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God), Ronald Lohr resigned in 1997. He had just been ordained as a pastor in the Tulsa, Oklahoma congregation.2 For awhile Lohr was editor of the Good News Grapevine (now defunct), an apparent propaganda publication, which reached WCG members via the Internet. David Covington (a WCG pastor who resigned in May 1996) mentions the Good News Grapevine (GNG), Lohr, and some of the GNG's slanderous statements against him, in his June 1996 Letter to Greg R. Albrecht. Around 1999, Lohr wrote that he was now the Executive Director of Recovering Legalists, a ministry of Fellowship Christian Church, 6816 28th West Avenue, Tulsa, Oklahoma, with Warren R. Pellom as Pastor. Lohr said that he was an assistant pastor part time at this church. However, "Fellowship Christian Church" was not listed for Churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma and neither could the directory assistance operator find any listing for it in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In our quest to find out where Lohr's "Fellowship Christian Church" was located, we discovered there was a "Warren R. Pellom" listed at the same address in Tulsa and with the same phone number given for this "Fellowship Christian Church." An aerial view of the address shows this to be a residence located in the midst of the Page Belcher Golf Course in Tulsa. In 1997, Lohr started a company he called "Golden Rule International" (marketing preventive health care products) and said distributorships were being "set up in Oklahoma and around the United States and eventually internationally." (We were not able to find a listing in the phone directories or on the Internet for "Golden Rule International.") Then in 1999, Lohr began a new career as a sign consultant for churches and businesses. He stated that he had been full time in the business world and was also serving part time as assistant pastor of "Fellowship Christian Church" (Pastor Pellom being his pastor). His appeal was that, if possible, others should make a donation to the Recovering Legalists Ministries of "Fellowship Christian Church" at the address above. Lohr stated, "I can assure you that Pastor Pellom and the church elders are receipting each gift and are being good and faithful stewards with the funds." (There was no mention of donations being tax-deductible, nor end of year tax receipts to be issued.) In August 2001, Ron Lohr (Austin, Texas) gave a book review on Amazon and other book listings (for an Olympic Trainer book) where he signed as "Signtronix, District Manager, President of Golden Rule Resources, Inc." However, an article on the internet, showed that a class action suit was filed against Golden Rule Resources (a mining company) and related persons February 23, 1998, alleging Federal Securities Law Violations by "issuing materially false and misleading statements relating to Golden Rule's business operations." On October 1, 2000 Golden Rule Resources, Inc. (of which Glen Harper was chairman of the board and president) was dissolved and is now known as CDG Investments Inc. So which company was it that Lohr was actually President of? Golden Rule Resources, or Golden Rule International? It appears that it was Golden Rule International (the one that we could find no listing for). Recovering Legalists Ministries: RLM's theme of "recovering legalists" has been attracting those who were former members of Worldwide Church of God. Lohr even admitted that he "maintains friends" inside WCG and has gone back as a "guest." In 2005, Lohr stated that Recovering Legalists Ministries accepted donations and checks should be made payable to Recovering Legalists Ministries, 815 Moccasin Trail, La Grange, Texas 78945. (No longer in Tulsa, Oklahoma and no mention of "Fellowship Christian Church.") Lohr did not state if RLM was a member of Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability3, nor did he offer a financial statement for the year. As usual, the directory assistance operator found no listing for "Recovering Legalists Ministries" in La Grange, Texas, nor was it listed for the entire state of Texas. If Lohr is working with "a variety of churches" as he stated, why is there no listing of his RLM? (An aerial photo of the La Grange address shows it to be in a heavily wooded area with hardly any homes around.) By 2007 Lohr had shortened his Recovering Legalists Ministries website to three pages and since 2002 now gives the address as "1475 Sawdust Road, Suite 8102, Spring, Texas, 77380." No phone number is given. (Wikipedia says Spring, Texas is: "a census-designated place [CDP] and unincorporated community located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston.") In doing a search on the internet for this address, it comes up as Woodridge Park Apartments, appearing to be some type of condominium complex. Features we saw advertised at these condos or apartments were: "The best amenities and a variety of floor plans"; "resort-style pool, fitness center/sports court, conference center/theater, fireplace," etc. Strangely, there is no listing of Ron Lohr at this complex, but his phone# comes up in Houston, Texas, the city where the Presbyterian Church he is now attending is located (see email below). There is a Ronald D. Lohr listed at Zabasearch.com (recorded in 2006) as living at 1475 Sawdust Road (no phone number), but when you click on the name, it directs you to "Lohr Structural Fasteners, Inc. on Wilson Rd. in Humble, Texas. However, Lohr signed his name "Ronald A. Lohr" on a book review of God 101 at Amazon in March 2004 (which stated he was in Houston, Texas), and right below his name he gives the website URL for his Recovering Legalist Ministries. Lohr's Resources and Links: While Lohr states that his "primary career" today is "sign designer in promotional sales for Signtronix," he is still offering books and tapes at "no cost" from his RLM website. Let's take a look at some of these resources. One resource Lohr links to from his website is a liberal theologian and author ("The Chaplain") who states that the book of Revelation is "blasphemy and heretical," an "hallucination" and that it contradicts Jesus' gospel. This Chaplain has a "God-101" book which details a "God is your buddy" belief system. There wasn't anything mentioned regarding how the Holy Spirit draws people to Christ and will enable a believer to live for Him. Neither was anything said about the terrible price Christ paid for the sins of the world. Instead, the gospel is that Jesus "did what is necessary" to bridge the gap, faith is a "relationship" (i. e., "hanging out" with Jesus), and those in Jesus' church are there because of a "connection to God," which was made when people "met God" (discovered Him) and "felt Him in their heart." Doesn't Robert Schuller teach similar ideas? Oddly enough, we found no mention through Lohr's Recovering Legalists Ministries' website, which talked about the shed blood of Christ on the cross of Calvary or how one can have all their sins forgiven and receive eternal life. However, here is how "The Chaplain" explains it. He tells people to go to a private place, close their eyes, and tell Jesus they know He wants them to be with Him always, and then to ask Him where they can "meet Him." He says there will soon be a scene or memory in your mind and you are to look around "for Jesus." Jesus won't speak, but will give a "message" to show you he has always been your "traveling companion." When the scene fades, the person is to keep asking Him for more, until no more scenes appear. The next step, he says, is his God-10l book. Is this New Age thought? Also listed on Lohr's website is "The Reverend," a woman who is an "ordained minister and counselor/chaplain" that "assists in personal counseling" and points people to a "face to face" relationship with Jesus Christ. One must wonder if this "face to face" relationship she points one to will be anything like what the Chaplain describes. Lohr also links from his RLM to a Calvary church which endorses spiritual formation (i. e., contemplative spirituality and the emerging church). The church emphasizes spiritual disciplines and appears to expect a high level of commitment from those who join (becoming a member involves "5 steps."). One of their visions is "extending the Kingdom on earth" and they "demonstrate Kingdom principles." They have intercessory missionaries whose primary focus is "changing the spiritual atmosphere over cities through intercessory worship" and the pastor offers "resources, sermons, and equipping lessons on spiritual formation." (To understand more about spiritual formation and why it is considered dangerous, see our article, Last Wake-Up Call to Joseph Tkach Jr. Goes Unheeded and Lighthouse Trails Research Project). [Note: Richard J. Foster (co-founder of Renovaré and whose books WCG has promoted) is Professor of spiritual formation at Azusa.] This gives an idea as to some of Lohr's Recovering Legalists Ministries "resources and links." A Recovering Legalist? Since alcoholism is considered an addiction and "toxic faith" is considered a religious addiction, does that mean that the label "recovering legalist" parallels "recovering alcoholic" and consequently Lohr dare not take one "drink" of a legalistic doctrine lest he fall back into legalism again? Does he phone a fellow "recovering legalist" when there is an overpowering compulsion to "swallow" legalism again? Does Ron Lohr believe that former WCG members have accepted the label that he is now a "recovering legalist"? Has he ever stated, "I'm a recovering cult leader"? "Recovering Legalist" appears to be a clever new word that the WCG "history revisionists" have picked up on and have used to their advantage. (See: Myths in Transformed by Truth.) The Worldwide Church of God declares that they were only "former legalists" that imbibed "legalism." On the contrary, the WCG went far beyond legalism. They destroyed countless innocent lives. (See: Stories and Testimonies by former members.) Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of Worldwide Church of God, and his ministers used various mind control methods on the members in order to control and exploit them. People were ruled by controlling, manipulative (and in many cases abusive and hypocritical) cult ministers, not "legalists." Has Lohr ever considered that WCG members and former members need "recovery from cults," not "recovery from legalism"? Some exiters have questioned if Ron Lohr ever faced up to the pain and sorrow he caused others while he was a "minister" in the Worldwide Church of God? In other words, did he repent of past abusive cult behavior and personally apologize? Many who became ministers in the WCG came from abusive and controlling families. Then they turned around and were abusive and controlling with those under them who feared to speak up to "the authority." While it is evident that some ministers in WCG were themselves victims, this does not relieve them of taking responsibility for what they did to others. Ron Lohr emailed ESN on July 15, 2007 with the subject of "Greetings from Ron Lohr." He informed us that he has been a 4 year member of the City of Refuge Evangelical Presbyterian Church (an inter-racial church with a black pastor) in Houston, Texas4 , where he said he "gives an occasional sermon and teaches a Sunday school class." We noticed that he was listed on the church's sermon archives as being a pastor who gave a February 25, 2007 sermon on "Alcohol Deception and the Bible." Ironically, he is not listed on the church's staff or leadership. Lohr told us he believes "in the basics of the Westminster Confession." (One former member, who had read the long version of the Westminster Confession stated that it contained "convoluted reasoning" due to its excessive explanations, forcing preconceived beliefs into Scripture.) Let's look at some of Lohr's words in his email and see if he sidesteps the issues. He says,
First of all, Philippians 4:8 is not saying that we "emphasize the positive" by not asking "why," but is saying to think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of a good report. And who is all of these things? The Lord Jesus Christ. Lohr's statement to emphasize (or focus on) "the positive" is what the WCG ministers have told members and former members, and it is their way of avoiding the "whys" that they don't want to deal with, and instead telling them to "move on." Lohr adds,
One source told us that Lohr (as WCG pastor) used to tell the story about when he first heard Herbert W. Armstrong, how he was attracted to the Lion and the Lamb logo (that was used to represent the "World Tomorrow"), and how the lion didn't eat the lamb, etc. and he was so taken in by the message that he hitchhiked out to California where Ambassador College (AC) was. So did God play a "practical joke" on Lohr, or was it HWA? Lohr goes on to say:
Notice the words "never purposely." If it wasn't "on purpose," then it evidently didn't count. The "church" was wrong, but not Ronald Lohr. This has always been the typical words of ministers of WCG and spouse abusers who enjoy the power they have. In other words, "It was your fault, too. You caused me to do it." But what they most certainly did do was "hurt"; i.e., abuse others, and it left a detrimental mark on people's lives (many who still struggle with it to this day). If Lohr doesn't want to ask "why," then it allows him to not have to own up to what he cannot fully see. Lastly he says,
This is a very lofty statement. Those who have studied religious cults know it is common place for their ministers to get rid of those who cause trouble by not obeying "the government" (i. e., authority), or if they pose any kind of threat to expose the group. But what about the young people who were thrown out? How did Lohr "protect the sheep" by lording it over them--even traumatizing certain ones--just because they didn't tow the line and do everything he demanded? He ended his email by saying,
He mentions "an attitude of repentance." Nothing in Lohr's email admitted he was wrong, or that he is sorry for any kind of abuse he dished out while in WCG. Does he not see it? Or does he just not want to admit that he was guilty of such? Survivors Speak Out: ESN has had exiters email us about their dealings with Ron Lohr. To those who were never in WCG or any of its abusive offshoots these things may seem "trivial" and inconsequential. But to the ones on the receiving end of it, the experience was very wounding, and in some cases traumatizing, taking years to get over, and they were only able to begin healing after they were listened to and validated. For these reasons, we give these people a chance to air their grievances on our site. One person who had painful dealings with Lohr and his assistant recently sent us the following testimony: My Experience With Ron Lohr (July 2007 correspondence to ESN; also covers being propositioned by Lohr's assistant) To read what other exiters have written ESN about Ron Lohr, read: My Thoughts on Ron Lohr's Email to ESN (insightful article from former member) What it Felt Like to Be Kicked Out of the Worldwide Church of God (by child survivor who was traumatized by being kicked out by Ron Lohr) Ron Lohr: What Would Be Genuine Contrition? (July 28, 2007 letter from child survivor) WCG Lingo (Ron Lohr is mentioned in this June 28, 2004 letter to ESN) The true God and Savior (which was never taught in WCG) is able and willing to heal those survivors who have suffered at the hands of any minister in the Worldwide Church of God. By D. W. Footnotes: 1 The word "cult" is used in the context of a deceitful, abusive, mind-manipulating organization. 2 Worldwide News, January 21, 1997, p. 14. 3 It has come to our attention that The Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability (ECFA) "purports to work on behalf of the donor but in reality exists for the spenders." Read: The Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability - Con Artists! 4 The Evangelical Presbyterian Church holds to reformed theology, supports the charismatic renewal, and joined the NAE in 1982. This is similar to the "new" WCG. [Note: The NAE has now accepted the NCC (National Council of Churches) and WCC (World Council of Churches) members. The WCC is known as apostate and radically liberal. See: Letter to NAE and other concerned Christians.]
OIU Newsletters (Looking behind the scenes at the real activities and associations pertaining to the "transformation" of the WCG; shows how doctrine was used as a massive propaganda tool.) How to Recover After Exiting a Deceptive, Abusive Group
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