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I was baptized first into the WCG in March of 1990. The day after I was baptized, a long time friend in the WCG called to tell me that I'd been
baptized into the "Laodicean church." I didn't know what that meant, but I
didn't like the
sound of it. I read Herbert Armstrong's booklets and became aware of
church
eras. The thought of having to go through a horrible prison camp
existence scared me, and I looked for ways to escape. Of course, some people would
say
that shows I just wanted to save my own skin. Quite the contrary, I
sincerely wanted to do whatever God lead me to do, and go wherever he
wanted me to go.
I became acquainted with the
Philadelphia Church of God within their first few months of existence. I became a member early on, and attended the
very first PCG Feast of Tabernacles in Oklahoma City in 1990. I lost my job
immediately upon my return home. My boss had become increasingly
displeased with me since I joined the PCG. I had been a front-office receptionist,
but suddenly had to give up a polished professional groomed appearance to
conform to what the PCG taught were "God's standards" of beauty.1 I
didn't really mind losing the job, after all I'd heard Gerald Flurry tell us at that
first feast that we'd be going to the place of safety very soon, in the next
one to four years.2
Some of the teachings I didn't
think were any big deal. I mean, although I didn't really see anything wrong with eating "unclean" foods,
if that little thing would stand between me and God, what's the big deal about giving
it up? So I left it behind without a second glance. Same with many other things
in my life, I didn't think they were wrong, but they were such little
things compared to the glorious future that I learned would await me, how could
I refuse? I learned more about church government: God was in charge and He spoke directly to
Gerald Flurry, who handed down
judgments straight
from God, down through his ministers under him. To disrespect a minister,
especially Gerald Flurry, would be like spitting in God's face.3
The healing doctrine left a
deep impression on my family. When my son was
around 8 or 9 years old, he became quite ill and began to have
hallucinations
that lasted in total around 6 to 8 months. Early on, I asked the
minister to anoint him, as I believed was right and had been taught. The minister
was quite concerned over the hallucinations, thinking maybe my son was
possessed by demons, but then he "tested" him and decided it was
something else--he didn't know what--and anointed him. I was told that it would be a bad
idea to take my son to a doctor, that they would use worldly treatments on
him and that God would see that I didn't rely on Him for healing. So my little
boy was sick for a long time, and I can't begin to tell you how it broke my
heart knowing he was seeing disturbing hallucinations, but there was nothing I
could do. It took me a long time to find out he'd had extremely severe
lead poisoning. The old building where we were living was condemned and we
had to move immediately. If only I had gotten him to a hospital early!
As it was, he lost so much time. There's about 2 years that he doesn't remember at all
when he was so sick.
We still held fast to all we
were taught. I sent in my tithes and offerings, and when my third tithe year
came around, I sent that third tithe in
also. By then I'd worked myself up to making a big $7.71 an hour, so you can
see I was very good at budgeting to pay tithes, taxes, rent, utilities,
daycare, and all the other expenses. There were times, though, that we didn't
have enough to eat, and I couldn't afford to buy clothes for a growing boy.
But it was okay, we were "doing it to help the Work." This was "God's church," and
we only had a short time left. At the end of my third tithe year, everyone
told me to expect a great blessing. I met a man, a church member, at the
Feast of Tabernacles, and all my friends convinced me that God had picked out
this man especially for me, as my third tithe year blessing, so I ended up
marrying him a short time later.
It was not exactly roses and
candlelight. It was a bad marriage from the
beginning, but I can't blame the PCG for that. What I can blame them for
is
their calloused way of telling me I had to stay in an incredibly abusive
relationship "to teach me a lesson." The regional director (at
the time it was Dennis Leap) thought that if I stayed in a marriage with a man who
was on drugs and threatening to kill me and my son, that if I stayed and
"stewed in my juices" for a while, then I'd be more--what? Pliable? Whipped? The
local minister, during the 5 years I was trapped in this loveless
relationship, was less than useless. I'd had 2 miscarriages, both while driving 1200 miles
each way to go to the Feast of Tabernacles, during that time. When I
found myself pregnant again, I went to him immediately because I could not
bear the thought of losing another child. He anointed me and told me that if I
had faith, God would not let this baby die. What relief, what calmness
overtook me! I knew beyond a doubt--not the slightest shadow of a doubt--that
everything was fine. I picked out names; I began to make baby clothes.
And I lost the baby in the 16th week of pregnancy. And worst of all, I lost
the baby because my faith in God "wasn't strong enough." Now I had
to deal with the loss of the baby and guilt over it being my fault. This
minister caused so much emotional damage over that one thing, I'm sure he thought nothing
of it, but it haunted me for years.
My son still has much
resentment over the years the church insisted I stay with the abusive husband. The third tithe year had come around, and
there just wasn't enough money for everything. My husband made a decision that
he got first pick of food in the house, and what he didn't want then my son
and I could have it. He ate fine, but the two of us would go weeks at a time
without meat or vegetables or milk. Most days the two of us would just
lie down all day because we were too weak to even sit up. Although my
husband was well-fed, he certainly wasn't providing for us. The local minister
told me to rely on God to provide. When the regional director,
Wayne Turgeon
[Flurry's son-in-law],
came to town, I tried to talk to him about this, but he just brushed me
off, saying that it couldn't be as bad as all that, and "maybe I should
learn to clip coupons." It took him two years to come around to listening to
me before he would believe what I said. During that time, I thought
about suicide a lot. I felt I had no one at all, not even God.4 My son
became withdrawn, and although he is grown now, it has left a lasting mark on him.
Even years after leaving the
PCG, my son still suffers from problems associated with lack of proper
medical care--under strictest orders from the minister, Wil Malone,5 that
we would not be found worthy by God or be protected during the
Tribulation if we sought medical attention. His condition is
potentially life-threatening, and has resulted in two hospitalizations
this year alone. His medical problems were brought to the attention of
Gerald Flurry, who said to "pray about it in faith."
My son's life would have been
much better all along if he'd had proper medical treatment 15 years ago.
Instead, he not only went without medical care for the years we were in
the PCG, but he also was ridiculed by ministers, and verbally abused by
such high-ranking ministers as
Dennis Leap and Wil Malone, due to his
lack of athletic ability. His condition, combined with an orthopedic
problem he has had from birth, makes him a poor athletic, but he's still
a great kid in
every other way! Dennis Leap was a disgustingly abusive power-hungry
little bug who should never be in charge of teens in a summer camp
setting; i.e., Philadelphia Youth Camp.
From the time I got involved
with the PCG, the ministry and the members let
me know that I would have to break ties with my family and any outside
friends I had. They quoted Scripture about how two can't walk
together unequally yoked, things like that, and eventually, the more I
became indoctrinated into the PCG mindset, the less I had in common with
outsiders anyway. Just in flipping through my sermon notes I see
that (and I
have them ALL, every sermon I heard from 1990 to 2001).
Here's some
things that Gerald Flurry said:
April 1991: He said that your
relatives or WCG members will turn you in to the authorities and you
will be put to death.
September 1991: He said you must be willing to give up your family,
friends, everything you have, even your own life.
March 1993: He compared what was happening in Waco, Texas to the
persecution that would happen to us. He told us the
Branch
Davidians were an
example of the persecution coming upon us because they used many of the
same
terms we did. David Koresh talked about a "little book,"
he said the "lion roars," he said Christ was the "Key of David," he claimed
his predecessor was
"Elijah," and he preached about the "Millennium."6
Gerald Flurry also brought up
Jim Jones and
The Peoples Temple during his examples of the
persecution to
come, and he said Jonestown was their "place of safety."
Now that he is saying we are getting closer and closer to the end (and
who
remembers when it was revealed to him that we were in the "last
end" which
was before we were in the "last hour"?7
) and he is getting more
insistent about people giving more and more money, that if you don't
give until it really hurts, until you are sacrificing a lot, then your
attitude is wrong and God will not protect you during the Tribulation.
If you give your tithes and generous offerings on the holy days, then
you still aren't even doing enough, because that is only the minimum
requirement, and the minimum will have God calling you
"unprofitable."
Look at where the
"profits" are going, and then figure out who really thinks
you're unprofitable, and it's not God. Look who keeps claiming to
be humble, as he rides in limousines from his office to the new compound
site. That swimming pool is being paid for by thousands of underpaid
people who will never use it, most will never even see it. Gerald
Flurry made a choice to build a pool instead of bringing all the
ministers to the ministerial conference, as he did in years past.
Not that it makes any difference, he will lie to the ministers in the conference the same way he has lied to us all along.
He has also lately given the ministry some very strict rulings
concerning what the ministers should do if a person in the congregation
talks to them about something they think is wrong. Gerald Flurry has
told the ministers that "even if the person is right," they should never
agree with the member because it would be disloyal to "God's
Prophet."
The sad thing is thousands of
people are trapped in the PCG because they were like me, people who
really wanted to be close to God, but who were deceived into believing
something totally wrong. When I entered the PCG, the World Wide
Web didn't exist, and I didn't have access to much of the historical
information that is available now to anyone who can connect
online. I would have never fallen for that story about church eras8
if I'd had a way to check their "facts" early on. I
gladly sacrificed for "the Work," which I thought was God's
work, but it really wasn't. I gave in to silly and capricious
governmental rulings, because I was convinced that "God would
straighten it out" if the ministry was wrong, and for me to dispute
with a minister was akin to asking to die eternally.
Some of the rulings were just weird. In the summer of 2000,
Gerald Flurry
cracked down on women wearing skirts too short, by which he meant that
he
could see a portion of a woman's knee when she sat down. He said
he was
merely holding fast to what Herbert Armstrong had taught, and read a
portion
of an old article by Herbert Armstrong. I was in the St Louis area congregation,
and the regional director, Wil Malone, put the full text of that long article by
HWA on the bulletin board, where it remained up through at least June
2001. In it, HWA specifically was addressing the middle-aged
women, and said that if a woman wore a skirt that was too tight, the
minister should take her in the back room, bend her over his knee, and
spank her! I honestly never heard of this happening, but when I
asked some of the other women what they thought of it, they said it
wasn't anything to worry about. Another situation where God would
straighten it out.
It's weird how the ministers all kept talking about how we needed to
grow
spiritually, but then since they were so concerned with regulating our
lives down
to the tiniest detail, there was no room left for a person to discover
on their own how best to live a life that pleased God. People were so
focused on conforming to the outward rules, that some of them (a lot of them)
were downright mean-spirited. Some were flakes; several had bizarre mental problems. But the main focus was on
conforming.
The last sermon I heard, the
one Stephen Flurry gave, the whole message gave me the creeps. I
take pretty good notes, and when I look over those sermon notes now, it
looks even worse than it did when I sat in church and knew I'd never go
back after hearing it. He said things like: "Most of our
time, in the last hour, when we are not sleeping, working, or at church
functions, should be spent with God. Family is secondary."
He said that you need Godly balance in your life, and if you are
spending time watching movies on TV, surfing the net, sports, or talking
to friends, this is not Godly balance. He said we are to pray
three
times a day, at morning noon and evening, and evening means sunset, we
are not supposed to pray at night (he quoted Psalms 55:16-179). He
said the book of Ecclesiastes was put in the Bible to teach us that we
weren't supposed to enjoy physical things. We are not allowed to
waste time. We need to spend our time in service, and the singles
and older people should spend even more of their time. People who
murmur will end up dead (he gave the example of Korah's rebellion).
I saw Gerald Flurry on Pentecost when he spoke in Columbia MO. He spoke to
us then again about the "Last Hour"; that this began when God revealed I, II,
and
III John to him on May 5th. He said a man had asked him what was
next, would he be giving a sermon entitled "The Last Minute"? He
laughed and said that if he did, he'd probably give the sermon and then we'd go directly to
the "place of safety."10
When the announcements were made in
2000 about the land that was
being bought for the college, one of the tapes from headquarters told us
a great deal of what was planned for the future of this land. They are putting in their
own sewage treatment system, so that, if things reach a critical stage,
all the members could stay on the property; they would be capable of
handling over 7000 people on site. There was also an old airstrip in the
property, which they thought could be refurbished and utilized to either
"further the work" or to fly people out to the "place of safety"
when the time came. The swimming pool
(announcement made in 2001) is
also to serve as an emergency water supply in case of fire or other
needs. Even the first time I heard these things, it gave me the chills.
But now things have really changed. I do not have to live in fear
of the Germans coming to get me, or worry if my family will turn me in
so my own government will kill me (like
Waco or Jonestown), or live
in abject submission to the whim of a man in order to "develop
patience." I can finally begin to make plans for the future.
I can finally believe there will really be a future to plan for.
What a relief!
Their "work" is a sham. Now that
the compound is being
built, I expect they
will get all the media attention they want. These people will
truly follow him to their deaths.
The only parting words I have for Gerald Flurry are: "YOU HAVE NO
POWER OVER ME!!!"
To anyone else out there who is wavering: Do your research. Check into the
historical groups they claim are various eras of the true church.
Most of the early ones did not keep the Sabbath, did not observe the Old
Testament holy days, did not even have that name "church of
God," which was supposed to be some sort of sign. There was
not any sort of direct line of any kind from the apostolic age to
Herbert Armstrong. The only references you will find that say those
things existed were either from someone in Herbert Armstrong's
organization, or someone from another of his earlier churches. The
doctrine is false; the whole church system is false. Get out while you
still can!!
By Sue Hensley
July 2, 2001
Last updated June 11, 2004
NOTE:
Shade
of His Hand: For the Comfort of the Sorrowing
by Victoria Booth
Demarest (she lost two
young children) and Death of a Little Child
by the late J. Vernon McGee (he lost a
firstborn baby girl at birth) are recommended. Order the last booklet from
Thru
the Bible Radio Network
for a small fee.
Footnotes by ESN:
1
More about PCG's makeup rule is covered in the story: Had
to Observe Makeup and Tithing Rules
2
Flurry is now figuring another 19 year cycle from Jan. 16,1991, which
means he is suggesting January 16, 2010 as a target year. Jan. 16 is the
month and day that Herbert W. Armstrong died in 1986. (The
Philadelphia Trumpet, July 1995, "The Place of Safety." Ezekiel, The
End-Time Prophet," pp. 87-88. Ezekiel--The End Time Prophet, by
Gerald Flurry, 2002, p. 142; "The Mantel of Elijah," Royal
Vision, July/August 2003.)
3
Read: Why does PCG
emphasize the government of God? (Q&A)
4 PCG
teaches a false, cruel god. The true God, whose Love is
everlasting, and who is full of mercy, grace and compassion, manifested
His Love to us by revealing Himself through His Son, Jesus, who saves us
eternally by His grace. Read: It's Hard to Get to
God After Being in Philadelphia Church of God.
5 Wilbur
Malone, a pastor in Philadelphia Church of God, died on January 27,
2004. He was previously a minister in WCG, joining PCG in April 1990.
6
David Koresh and his members all kept the Seventh Day
Sabbath and also believed the books of Daniel and Revelation had been
unsealed. They claim to have the Key of David. They teach that the Daily
(a.k.a. the "Continual") has been taken away. They give the identification of the tribes of
Israel today. They teach about the Elijah messenger. They hold to clean
and unclean foods. They teach about the two trees, and the two
witnesses. They also claim to understand the firstfruits harvest. They
claim New Truth and New Revelation. They distinguish their faith as
special and unique and they believe they are God's chosen people and are
living in the end times. [More
can be read in: "An Open Letter to our Acquaintances in The Church
of God"]
7 According to Flurry, the "last hour" began on May 5, 2001.
(Update: Flurry later claimed that the last half of the last hour began
on June 4, 2005.) (The
Last Hour, 2004; Dear Brethren and co-workers in Christ,
2/2/04; Jude, 2005, PCG sermon by Wayne Turgeon, 12/24/05, etc.)
8
Herman Hoeh, evangelist in Worldwide
Church of God, was the one who began teaching the 7 church eras to
members in 1958 (with WCG supposedly being the Philadelphia era). Today
a
number of splinter groups, especially PCG, claim to be the "Philadelphia era."
9 "As for me, I will call upon God; and the
LORD shall save me. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and
cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice." (Psalms 55:16-17)
10 Read: Philadelphia
Church of God and the Place of Safety.
Do
Philadelphia Church of God Husbands Abuse Their Wives?
Without
My Informed Consent! (Would you
have gone into the group if you had known what the stipulations were?)
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