The "New" Ron Lohr
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 what had been known as a Bible-based cult
(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.1 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 Accountability2, 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). This 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, Texas3
, 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, "There were many
painful memories of the AC and WCG experience and I have tried to
emphasize the positive (Philippians 4:8) by not asking, 'Why?' but 'What
can I do with the experience?'" 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, "Surely God didn't
play a practical joke on me in 1964 when I gave my life to Him only to
end up 3 months later at AC"." 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: "While pastoring I
never purposely hurt any young person or member." 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,
"When one is one of
'God's minister's in the one true church' one has to be very serious
about protecting the congregation and the sheep -- even from themselves.
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, "An attitude of
repentance is an attutude
(sic) I'll never outgrow while in
this life." 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
Worldwide News, January 21, 1997, p. 14. 2 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! 3 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.]
Historical and Revealing Background Info on
Worldwide Church of God & Herbert Armstrong
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.)
Exit & Support Network™
February 10, 2001
Last updated July 29, 2007