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Be sure and investigate further
into the inner workings of Living Church of God
because they won't tell you up front what you're getting into.

Living
Church of God (LCG) is an offshoot of Worldwide
Church of God (WCG), which was founded in 1934 by Herbert W. Armstrong
(HWA). WCG was known for decades as a destructive,
authoritarian Bible-based cult,
which claimed to be the "one and only true Church of God" with
HWA as "God's apostle." (Read historical and
background information on WCG and HWA.) LCG's doctrines and
belief system is rooted in the teachings of Herbert Armstrong, known as a
false prophet and false teacher.
Roderick C. Meredith (age 78 in 2007), founder of LCG, is a former
member of WCG. He graduated from Ambassador College (AC) in 1952. AC was
founded by HWA in 1947 to train ministers
and to carry out his publishing activities operation with his Plain
Truth (PT) magazine. Meredith was
also associate editor for the PT and wrote a
number of articles for WCG, especially on prophecy. These can be found online in Plain
Truth archives online. (See especially the 1950's and 1960's to read many of
his false prophecies.) Meredith was exposed as a false prophet in
Robert Gerringer Letter (search for the word
"Meredith").
In 1992, Meredith
founded Global Church of God (GCG) in San Diego, California.
(One insider
revealed that Meredith was paying himself $120,000 per year during the
time he was with
Global COG.)
(For more info on Global's beginnings, read:
Speaking
of Global...(Re-inventing the wheel) and
Letter to author Janis Hutchinson.) Meredith gave a sermon on
May 17, 1997 entitled "Where is the True Church Today?"1 In it he stated that the "true church" was none other than Global Church of God.
In November
1998, Meredith was fired from Global Church of God after an "authority conflict." Meredith
had felt he
should be the "unquestionable leader."2
In December of that year, he founded Living
Church of God (LCG) in San Diego, California.
In 2003, he left San
Diego and moved his LCG headquarters to its present location in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Rod Meredith
believes God chose him to "re-establish the true church"
and that his members are the "spiritual
heirs of the original Jerusalem Church of New Testament time" or "remnant"
of the Philadelphia era.3 LCG
believes they are the continuation of this Philadelphia era, which
Herbert Armstrong began in 1934.4
Meredith says LCG is carrying on the teachings of Herbert W.
Armstrong "more than any
other
group on earth."5
Living Church of God members have been known to refer to Rod Meredith as
"God's anointed."6
LCG produces a weekly half-hour TV program called Tomorrow's World.
They also put out a magazine by the same name. Both avenues are used in
recruiting potential members for LCG.
In 2007 Meredith founded Living University (LCG's college), which is
designed to train ministers and lay members into the belief system of
Herbert W. Armstrong (known as
Armstrongism).
LCG teaches that there is
only one true gospel which is "about the Kingdom of God," but
this gospel is in actuality centered on "God's government" and not on
the Person of Christ and His grace. Meredith says the
true church is to first, preach this "gospel of the Kingdom" and second to
preach the "true name of Jesus
Christ."7 He endorses HWA's "inspired" teachings
and believes in order to obey God members
must keep O.T. laws.
Meredith affirmed this teaching early on in his 1956 booklet, "Is
Obedience to God Required for Salvation?" ("Obedience" meaning
that the laws given to the nation Israel are still in effect on N.T. Christians.)
Meredith's
"faith plus works of the law" belief system is
clearly a false gospel and "another gospel." These teachings are in
direct conflict with the gospel of grace as presented in the N.T.,
especially in the Epistles of Paul. In Acts 20:24 the Apostle Paul said he
received of the Lord Jesus the gospel of the grace of God, and in
Romans 1:9 he called it the gospel of God's son. The New Testament
shows that the early Christians preached the Lord Jesus. (Acts
11:20) Paul affirmed that the gospel he preached was a "revelation of
Jesus Christ." (Galatians 1:11-12) For more Scriptures, see our answer
to:
The gospel of the
Kingdom is a gospel about government!"
Mystery of the Ages (a critical review)
will also go into detail about Herbert Armstrong's false teachings and how he
merely copied and plagiarized his "theology" from the Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism,
7th-Day Adventism, and Church of God 7th Day, added his own spin to it,
and then pawned it off as "new truth" or "God's restored truth." Read:
Herbert W. Armstrong's Religious Roots
(the origin of Herbert's unique doctrines).
Members are commanded to keep the 7th day Sabbath (Saturday) "holy."
This means they are not to engage in any labor (including a job), nor do
their own pleasure (only occasionally is it permissible for them to eat out
in a restaurant on that day), and attendance at LCG services is mandatory.
Saturday services usually consist of two hours in length (a sermon, plus
sermonette), along with fellowshipping before and afterwards with
members. Classic or traditional Christian hymnbooks are not used. (See:
WCG Took Jesus Away From Members
and accompanying links for more on the subject of hymns used by HWA).
Members
are expected to pay a first tithe (considered a "financial law"8) to LCG headquarters.
They also must save a second tithe, which is only to be spent on the O.T. feast days--predominantly the Feast of Tabernacles. Additionally, members (but not
ministers) pay
a third tithe every three years out of seven to HQ. They are taught, "God
places great importance on this tithe because He sets it apart for sacred use."9 Herbert Armstrong said this
third tithe was commanded by God in order to "help the widows and less fortunate"
members, but instead, the majority of
this tithe
was being siphoned off to subsidize
the luxurious lifestyle of the leaders.10
HWA said the "master key" that was
revealed to him was knowing we are "God's people, Israel." (Read:
British-Israelism: True or False?)
LCG believes they are "modern-day Israel" and are commanded to attend all
the feast days listed in
Lev. 23. These "commanded assemblies" are as
follows: Passover, Days of Unleavened Bread (first and last days are annual Sabbaths), Pentecost (annual Sabbath), Feast of Trumpets (annual
Sabbath), Day of Atonement (annual Sabbath), Feast of Tabernacles (first
day is an annual Sabbath) and the Last Great Day (annual Sabbath).
Generous offerings are to be given on all annual Sabbaths, and no work
is to be done from sunset to sunset. If one of these
holy days falls
during the week, members must still take off work to attend. Children are also
expected to be at services for all of these O.T. feast days. To not show
up is considered a grave sin. On the Day of Atonement (DOA) they must fast without food or water from sunset to sunset, along
with attending services.
The
Feast of Tabernacles (FOT) is observed as a seven-day assembly at LCG
sites around the world. Top ministers--but rarely members--stay in high
priced living quarters. This holy day is blown up to be the highlight of the year,
picturing when they will "rule and reign with Christ" in His Kingdom,
but in reality it is the major time of year in which members are further programmed into the
group's belief system. Read:
When We Attended the Feast (what did they
do to our mind?)
Immediately following the FOT,
they observe what they call the "Last Great Day" (the eighth day of the
Feast), which HWA said pictures the 2nd resurrection "when
ALL humanity will finally be given an opportunity to understand the
Truth."11
(This "truth," of course,
being what HWA said was revealed to him by God.) To read how HWA
came up with this "Last Great Day" see footnote #3 at bottom of
The Wonderful World Tomorrow: What it
WON'T Be Like.
Meredith teaches the doctrine of becoming God; e. g., "How can
you not be filled with ALL of the 'fullness of God' and not be God?
... This is the final fulfillment of the Gospel of Jesus Christ--the
ultimate Good News--that man can be born into the God Kingdom,
the God-level
of
existence."12 (bolding ours)
Herbert Armstrong stated in Mystery of the Ages (p. 171)
that the Kingdom of God was the "born family of God."
Along side this, he
teaches that members are "begotten" after conversion, but they not fully
"born again" until the
resurrection.13
This implies that those who have trusted Christ can be "aborted" and
lose the Holy Spirit and eternal life. Such teaching contradicts many
Scriptures in the Word of God which show believers have the assurance of
eternal life now; i.e., John 3:15; I John 5:13; John 10:28, and
that they are sealed with the Holy Spirit. (II Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13;
Eph. 4:30.)
LCG members believe it is
wrong to observe birthdays. Meredith states: "I
do not observe birthdays and I have never had a birthday party for myself
or any of my six children nor my wife or anyone else for over 51 years."14 Likewise, members do not
observe holidays such as Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, etc., calling
them "pagan." (HWA taught that only "traditional holidays" were
okay; i. e., Fourth of July and Thanksgiving Day.)
Members also observe the
law of clean and unclean meats as described in Leviticus 11.
LCG believes God can,
and will, restore miracles and gifts, which were given to the Apostles in
the first century as signs. This includes the
gift of
healing.15 Rod even wrote a booklet
called Does God Heal Today? The original booklet with this title
was written by Herbert W. Armstrong in 1952. Thousands of WCG members
suffered and died as a result of this healing doctrine.16
Children
and teens are strongly encouraged to attend LCG's Living Youth Camp.
(Read stories from those who
attended HWA's S. E. P. camp and how authority is strict in these camps.)
Members must decline jury duty and
are not to involve themselves in politics. They also refuse to participate
in war, believing it goes against the sixth commandment not to "kill."
Baptism can only be administered by LCG
ministers. If you were baptized prior to going into LCG (for instance, by
a minister in a Sunday keeping church), it is considered "invalid." LCG
teaches that the Holy Spirit can only be given to those who are
obedient to the government of God; i.e., to LCG headquarters teachings and
who are baptized in the LCG.
Members are admonished to only date and
marry within the confines of LCG.
Meredith's sermons and newsletters are
filled with end time prophecies and frightening scenarios, telling how
"time is short" and
the
"end will soon be here."17
This is nothing new as he has been giving false prophecies for the last 50
years. For example: "You might as well wake up and FACE FACTS! The world
you live in won't be here 15 years from now!" (The Plain Truth,
December 1963).
According to the May-June 2005 issue of
The Biblical Evangelist
(Robert L. Sumner, editor),
Meredith sent a video to his members (approximately 6-7,000),
telling them they were in the "final push--surely in the next 5 or 6 years." As a result of this repetition and fear, members are manipulated into
believing they must continue paying tithes, send in generous donations, obey
"God's
government" (i. e., LCG headquarters), have faith, etc., because God is soon going to punish
the "modern descendants of the House of Israel," which Rod claims are
America, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.18
Meredith teaches that they, "as
Philadelphians," will be protected during the great tribulation for 3 l/2
years--presumably in Petra, a
wilderness and rocky place of caves in Jordan--and the "lukewarm Laodiceans" (who do not keep God's Ten
Commandments) will not be
protected.19 This was an early teaching in the WCG.
In fact, Herman Hoeh (evangelist in the Worldwide Church of God) wrote an article
in The
Plain Truth,
June 1963 entitled "If World War
III Comes--There is a Way of Escape." The April 1962 and October 1963 Good
News both carried articles on Petra, including photos of the area.
The latter article told how Petra had "no water" and "no visible food
supply," but "plenty of caves."
It was only by "absolute faith in God" that
the members would get there. (Read:
Memories
About Petra and additions at bottom of that article to learn more about what Herbert
W. Armstrong taught
about this "place of safety.")
Those in LCG believe that the other "churches
of God" (WCG splinter groups) that keep only
some of Herbert Armstrong's doctrines are
"Laodocian" and that those people will end up in the "Lake of
Fire" (to be annihilated) if
they don't repent. Ironically, there are a number of other totalistic
WCG offshoots, such as Philadelphia
Church of God and Restored
Church of God, which believe the exact same thing about their
"church."
Roderick Meredith goes so far as to
claim that
Herbert Armstrong was an apostle and the
"greatest minister, perhaps, in the past 1800 years."20
On the contrary,
our section Questioning Herbert W.
Armstrong reveals how HWA has been exposed as a false
prophet, a false teacher, a hypocrite and an habitual liar who exploited
thousands. There have also been
several factual books written about
HWA and his exclusive organization.
Members study LCG's literature diligently,
listen to long sermons (usually one hour in length), attend twice a month Bible studies, submit themselves
unquestioningly to the
authority (LCG's "government"), strive for perfection, give
excessively, and believe the end is near. As a result, their personality
is altered, critical thinking skills are suspended, and they remain
under mind control.
Educate yourself on
thought reform
and the identifying marks of an exploitive, abusive
group, so that you don't end up a casualty
in Roderick C. Meredith's Living Church of God.
By D. W.
Exit & Support Network™
January 18, 2003
Last updated
June 19, 2007
Also
read:
Letters regarding the Living Church
of God shooting spree that occurred during Sabbath services in
Brookfield, Wisconsin on March 12, 2005 (includes:
"Info on Rod Meredith")
NOTE:
Living Church of God has
been known to meet in Masonic temples or buildings (as did Herbert
Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God).
Freemasonry is
considered a religion but not a Christian religion. Roderick Meredith
confessed to being initiated into the DeMolays, a Masonic club for boys,
when he was a teenager. ("Trust Christ's Leadership," taped sermon
by RCM, July
6, 1996.) Some believe that groups such as the DeMolays are "feeder groups"
for the Masons ("...being groomed for potential membership in Masonry and the
Eastern Star when they reach adulthood." Hidden Secrets of the Eastern Star by Cathy
Burns) Also see our tapes:
Freemasonry
and the Cult Connection. Could Dr. C. Paul Meredith (Roderick
Meredith's uncle) perhaps have been a Mason himself? C. Paul Meredith
was appointed director of the Ambassador College Bible Correspondence
Course in 1954 by Herbert W. Armstrong.
The AC Bible Correspondence Course was used in recruiting
others into HWA's organization.
It is
alleged that many groups known as "cults" are fronts for a hidden agenda
and work together to create a passive people. Is it any wonder they
have similar methods of deception, manipulation, abuse, and related goals? Author Alex Constantine has stated:
"That cults are dangerous has been proven time and again. That they are
often fronts for intelligence activity is indisputable (as anyone who has
dug into researching CIA mind control experimentation knows full well)." Read
more about this and WCG / HWA activities from OIU Newsletter #6.
Footnotes:
1 Tape with ESN.
2 The Journal,
August 1998)
3 "...we
are the 'remnant' of the Philadelphian Church living over into the
Laodicean era" (Living Church News; July-Aug 2003, "Wait on God,"
by Roderick C. Meredith, p. 3.) However, LCG believes that in order to be
considered a Philadelphian, individual members must "do their part, and
must not allow their lives to be cluttered by the cares of this world so
that they themselves become lukewarm (Laodicean)" (Living Church News,
Jul-Aug 2001, "What is a Philadelphian?" by Robert Thiel, p.15). Note:
"do their part" is construed to mean, "obey the government of God."
"It is clear
that God's government throughout the Old Testament--AND in the soon coming
World Ahead--was (and will be) a hierarchical government under God's
direction, based on the Holy Scriptures..." (Global Church News,
Sept-Oct 1995; pp. 5,7,8) Read:
Why does PCG emphasize the
government of God?, which can also apply to LCG.
4
LCG Official
Statement of Fundamental Beliefs, Church History, 11/14/02.
5
All or Nothing Statement by
Roderick C. Meredith.
6
March 21, 2005 letter to ESN.
7
Do You Believe the True Gospel? by Roderick C.
Meredith, 1995. "We must never forget that Christ's teaching was not
primarily about Himself, but was a message about the coming world
government which He will soon set up here on this earth." (January 16,
2005 Dear
Brethren and Co-Workers letter by R. Meredith)
8
"God's People Tithe!" by
Roderick C. Meredith
9 Living Church News, November/December 1999, "The
Blessings of Third Tithe" by Gary F. Ehman, p. 10.
10 Third
tithe was rarely ever used for its intended purpose. Instead, it
was used to subsidize the luxurious lifestyles of the leaders. The articles
Fleecing
the Flock and
Southern
Exposure in Ambassador Report #2, 1977
showed this was true. (Note: Please be aware that the AR is now posted on an
agnostic/atheist website.)
11 The
Holy Days—God's Master Plan by Roderick Meredith, 1998.
12
Your Ultimate Destiny by Roderick C. Meredith, pp. 31,
33,1996. Meredith also teaches (as HWA did) that
"God's
purpose is that He is reproducing Himself..." (Official Statement
of Fundamental Beliefs of the Living Church of God. March 2004).
13
LCG
Official Statement of Fundamental Beliefs, The Meaning of "Born Again,"
11/14/02; Your Ultimate Destiny by Roderick C. Meredith, 1996; p.
9.
14
AUE [Audio tape in English] 123, 3/31/01, "Faith for Healing" by Roderick
C. Meredith.
15
June 24,
2002
Member Letter from Roderick Meredith.
16
"Did Herbert W. Armstrong Abuse His
Flock? / The WCG's Healing Doctrine" (also read footnote #1 in
the article with accompanying links)
17
Following is
a sampling from Meredith's newsletters: "The very end of
this first 6,000 years of human experience will soon be here." (December
8, 2004 Dear Brethren and Co-Workers letter from Roderick Meredith)
"Alternating storms and droughts, firestorms and earthquakes, disease
epidemics and increasing terrorism will afflict our peoples in
a manner unprecedented in modern history!" (June 17, 2004 Dear Brethren
and Co-Workers letter from Roderick Meredith) "Millions of people
all around you will become increasingly alarmed and afraid as the wars,
the acts of terrorism and the drought, famine and
disease epidemics all become more and more serious." (July 21, 2004
Dear Brethren and Co-Workers letter from Roderick Meredith.)
18
Dear
Tomorrow’s World Subscriber by Roderick Meredith, November 1, 2004.
19 Living
Church News, July-August 2001, "Is There a Real Place of
Safety?" by John Ogwyn. "As you zealously respond to God’s instruction in
His word, you will become a faithful 'Philadelphian Christian' whom God
will supernaturally protect from the soon-coming Great
Tribulation prophesied to come on the world." (July 21, 2004 Dear Brethren
and Co-Workers letter by
R. Meredith)
20
VTE [Video tape in English] 131, May 19, 2001, "The Elijah Question" by Roderick C Meredith.
Lifton's Eight
Criteria of Mind Control (includes how it
has been used by controlling offshoots)
How Did Herbert W. Armstrong Recruit People (shows
the step by step process that certain controlling offshoots of WCG still use)
Identifying
Marks of an Exploitive, Abusive Group
Worldwide Church of God
(condensed historical and background info on WCG)
Prayers
for Freedom From Spiritual Strongholds (very
effective in gaining liberation from many strongholds and oppressions due to
involvement in any harmful cult or occult practices; includes moral issues)
Articles For Those
Who Were Emotionally and Spiritually Abused
DISCLAIMER:
Posted to facilitate researchers and others with inquiring minds
concerning Roderick C. Meredith and Living Church of God and is for educational and informational
purposes only. Readers are
encouraged to use discernment and research widely in order to make their
own evaluation.
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