I spent 15 years in the
Worldwide
Church of God. I
never attended any other church much, so I didn't know any better. I
followed their doctrine, trying to never miss a beat. I tithed
faithfully; in fact, so faithfully that I had a choice: give the WWCG up
or my house up. Most would think this would be a no-brainer. Who would
ever give up there home? I did. After all, the Church made it very clear
that the flames of the lake of fire awaited for anyone that left
"The Church." My wife and last son spent about 3 years in a
refurbished basement that was converted into an apartment.
My family went through many hardships because of the WWCG and its
"Ministers." Incidentally, since when do men who are cult
leaders one day become knowledgeable ministers of God the next day? My
children were deprived of many activities, such as celebrating innocent
birthday parties with other children in our neighborhood, or Christmas
and Easter activities at school. God forbid that they should have their
own birthday party.
Of course, life in the WWCG had its pecking order. It went like this:
first came the rich lay members--they ranked high on the pecking order,
higher sometimes than the WWCG graduate from Ambassador College. Next came
the brown-nosers--every where the ministers went, his loyal
brown-nosing tale-bearing extension was right behind. Then came the
local elders, the enforcers of the local church. They did all the leg
work for his majesty. And then came the lowly deacon. These guys were
the guys that were the pack mules for the elders and the minister.
Ordination into the deacon's office was a much cherished-after office by
the lay members. It was not as high rank as an elder, but at least was
not on the bottom of the heap. A lay member and you were treated with
some sort of respect.
The deacons were the "hit men." They ran the show, and believe
me, it was a show. Everything happened at the same time, the same way
every week at church service. And excuse the expression, but "it
was hell to pay" if things were not right. The minister had no
qualm about pointing out the culprit who stepped out of line, right in
front of the whole congregation.
When it came to brainwashing the WWCG was in my opinion the very best.
No one could do it any better. Once one minister literally said that it
was true, we were all being brainwashed.1 We all laughed when he did--you
had better laugh or you would be told about that too. Then after a quick pause
he added, "brainwashed with the holy spirit." This might be
hard for some to understand, but the Local minister was treated with
much fear and respect--after all, one swing of his axe and you were out
of there. Then you would be shunned by all your friends, well not really
shunned, more like snubbed.
I once heard a man say that if the minister told him to jump off of a
tall building, he would do it. I asked this man, "Why would you do
that?" He said, "Because if the minister said to do it, it
must be God's will."
Life in the WWCG was like a smooth ride on a sheet of glass. There was
never any bumps, or at least there better not be. Any problems in any
way would be swiftly addressed and the poor soul who caused these bumps
would soon become a marked man or woman. The ministry, however, never
had much trouble coming from the fairer sex, they knew their place. They
were treated like children--be seen, but not heard. Maybe, if they were
good, they might be put in charge of the coffee and refreshment table.
Then maybe someday they might even become a deaconess. This was just a
little higher in respect than a common lay member.
Have you ever sat through a 2-hour sermon, shaking your head at the
right time, jotting down all pearls of wisdom from a
"Minister" who, incidentally , was jotting down his own mental
note of your reactions, your facial expression, to later come and ask
you, what was your problem during service? God forbid that you were
caught chewing gum during the sermon, because the loving pastor would
not hesitate to "help you" by looking at you and making a face
of disapproval. Many a member swallowed their gum just by the unapproved
look coming from the pulpit. Sort of brings back school days in grade
school doesn't it?
I often think how could I have allowed myself and my family to be put
through the ordeal of the WWCG? It wasn't hard, after all they promised
us that someday we would become like God, as the God of the WWCG.
Herbert Armstrong put it, "To be as God Is God." Who would
ever want to turn that down? Well just like E. F. Hutton puts it: when
Herbert W. Armstrong spoke, everyone listened.
For many years I went out to nursing homes and visited them. I took
other church members with me. This did not sit to well with the WWCG
Ministry. They saw it, I believe, as a way for me to have a certain
amount of control and respect over those in the church that visited with
me. One day the minister came over to my house to counsel me. Now you
might think, "that was nice of him." You must understand that
usually when a member was called by the minister for a "counseling
session," it usually meant a butt-kicking was in store for him.
This was the case for me.
My knowing, all-loving minister, came to work me over.
He came to inform me that I was only to go out to nursing homes with his
permission. He said that he was in charge of the goings on of the
members of the church. He asked me, "If I asked you to stop
visiting nursing homes, would you do it?" I quickly got the point.
He thought that somehow I was usurping his authority by taking some of
the people from the congregation with me. After all, as he put it, He
was in charge of everything. We played a game that day, I told him what
he wanted to hear, and he let me go out to nursing home with people from
"his" congregation.
Soon after "the change" took place, my wife and I found a
ministry that went out to nursing homes and held church services. They
took us in with them. After about a year with them we quit going to the
WWCG. We started going to a church where the nursing home minister was
going. I have been recently ordained. I am now a full time worker in the
Nursing Home Ministry. We hold church services in 12 nursing homes. I am
with a ministry that loves me and my wife. It has been nearly five years
since I have left the WWCG. My wife and I are still having to deal with
the fact that our family, sons, daughters, son-in-law, daughter-in-law,
grandchildren, and son-in-law's family have been terribly affected by
the cult that is known as the WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF
GOD. There was never
even an apology other than a generic one from the pulpit.2
I did not have a job that had a retirement plan and I could not afford
to tithe 3 tithes and save for retirement too. So here I am, 60 years
old, no retirement to look forward to. What really gets my dander up
sometimes is that those false ministers of the WWCG will be receiving
their pensions, of which I helped pay for. Just two years ago I had a
stroke. I often think, wouldn't it be nice if I had some of the probably
$100,000.00 dollars I tithed to this cult. Now I am on disability, and
my wife is forced to work.
What have I learned from the experience? I'll have to tell you much
later because there are too many wounds that are still laid wide open.
My only prayer is this, that as I continue to grow closer to God that I
might truly be totally forgiving to those that lead us astray for so
many years. I think, however, that I can never be forgiving of what they
did and who was behind this terrible cult, Satan Himself.
I write this letter in the hope that others might see it, and if they
are still in this cult they remove themselves from it. In
my opinion this cult is more dangerous today than they were. Now
they are coming off like they are "Transformed by Truth" but
are they really? Only time will tell.
By John Miller
September 29, 2002
Also read: Is Worldwide Church of God Still Holding on to Some of Herbert W. Armstrong's Doctrines?
(Article by John Miller)
Footnotes by ESN:
1
Tkach Sr. also
mentioned "brainwashing" at the 1993 FOT.
Also, in 1995 he mentioned "brainwashing program" in his
video sermon to the members.
2
Read this part on
our site which covers some of headquarters' lame "apologies."
Letter to Worldwide
Church of God, Philippines
(On Apostasy--A Radical Proposal) (This letter was sent to
WCG's National Director in the Philippines and pastors in the area,
regarding the gravity of WCG's error in doctrine.)
Articles For Those Who Were Emotionally and Spiritually Abused
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