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These informative letters are
important for discernment and show the crucial inside story, exposing the
deceit and propaganda regarding the
Worldwide Church of God doctrinal changes. #1 Letter to Janis from: L. A. Stuhlman (ESN founder) #2 Letter to Janis from D. Williams, ESN #3 Letter to Janis from Luke #4 Letter to Janis from Kelly Marshall, ESN Comments Concerning Janis Hutchinson's Letter to "Dear Friends and Former Members of the Worldwide Church of God" (regarding the new changes that were supposed to take place; covers a 10-page letter Janis Hutchinson received from Greg Albrecht at HQ) More information on the history of HWA and his WCG, along with reasons for the changes, can be found in the Outsider's Inside Update Newsletters and A Cult in Transition? Note: Pseudonyms have been furnished for some of the authors to protect their identity. The following lengthy letter contains much exposé regarding the reasons behind the WCG changes and history on Herbert W. Armstrong: Letter from L. A. Stuhlman, ESN Founder & Editor of OIU Newsletters [bolding added for emphasis]: February
16, 1996 Ms.
Janis Hutchinson Dear
Janis, My
sincere apologies for the delay in contacting you. When learning,
during our last phone call, that your meeting with the WCG was not
until March, I was relieved, as it provided me more time to complete
the Chronology of Change
for the Worldwide Church of God. As
you may have guessed, it is not completed. The
Exit & Support Network
may be internationally connected and have the capacity to serve
those in need from a distance, but we are greatly understaffed
in-house. Our responsibilities are vast and there is never enough time
to concentrate on all the priorities pulling our attention. Since
November, much emphasis has been given to one of the
WCG offshoots,
Church of God International. The leader of this group, Garner Ted
Armstrong (GTA), is the son of Herbert W. Armstrong. This individual
was one of the head leaders of the WCG in the 1970's. He was very
involved with financial opulence and sexual improprieties during that
time. He was cast out of the WCG in 1978
due to power struggles with Herbert W. Armstrong's chief aid
(Stanley Rader, WCG's legal counsel and head accountant at that time
all and from the Zionist-Jew faith). Since then, he independently has
run his own organization in Tyler, Texas plus continues TV evangelism
with "Armstrongism" as his message. In July of 1995 he
sexually assaulted a masseuse in the Tyler area. The masseuse reported
the incident and received legal assistance. The case was publicly
exposed and the past six mouths of activities surrounding this case
have placed burdens on the Network activities. Since November of 1995,
the members of his church (7000) have been in turmoil prompting
orally to seek information and assistance from the Network. As the
Network is also well in tune with the history of the WCG and its
offshoots, the plaintiff's in this case have been dependent on our
information and knowledge of the past as well. We have written several
reports on this case and have been solely responsible for providing
critical information to those caught inside the organization. We
have learned throughout these past few years that many are inspired to
review and scrutinize the doctrinal message when their leader is
caught in "sinful deception." Step by step, they are able to
gain critical thinking and take the steps necessary for the road to
freedom in life and in Christ. I
explain this situation so you will realize why there has been a delay
in getting pertinent information to you for your viewing. I could have
sent you much "information," prior to the report but elected
not to, as I know well that a pile of material on your doorstep will
only add to the fragmentation of thought regarding the WCG story and
not aid you with a clean, understandable outline regarding the
positions we discussed on the phone. The
Exit & Support Network is dedicated to the truth and rooting out
religious deception and exploitation in the name of Christ. In its
three years of operation, we have assisted hundreds of individuals
from the WCG conglomerate. Our effectiveness is attributed to the
extensive education we embraced in the areas of cults, religious
abuse, Christianity, Fundamentalism,1 abusive techniques used by these
groups, and the history of Herbert W. Armstrong and the Worldwide
Church of God. I personally have attended over nine major conferences
in various states surrounding these topics, including the Evangelical
Conference on Cults, held in Pennsylvania in 1994. The costs incurred
to gain the knowledge needed for this job are great, but necessary.
The research and investigative work has taken me to Washington DC government buildings over four times. I review this with you so you
will be assured at this time that the Network is serious about its
mission. I personally do not speak swiftly, without understanding of
issues involved when it comes to the Worldwide Church of God. This
organization has been around for over sixty years. It is a multi-million
dollar corporation with many sub corporations. The too few ex-members
who have the willingness, faith, and courage to stand against the
atrocities and deceptions of this powerhouse, are not armed with the
means the leaders of the group leave. Yes, there are many ex-members,
but few can devote their lives to assisting those crushed emotionally
and spiritually by the hands of the WCG leaders. I'm certain you
probably know what I mean. Without doubt I feel we have been blessed
and guided by our Lord, and He has lead us through many roads of
discernment. The
Network is available full time for phone calls, consulting, and has issued over 180,000 copies of printed
materials to those in need. We offer references and referrals to those
seeking assistance in spiritual or therapeutic matters. Along with the
exiting member newsletter, the Outsider's Inside
Updates, we continue
to catalog all our history archives to make it available for the
researcher who must prove all things. With all that said, and I left
out much, I hope you will understand why I am delayed in responding to
you. It:
is apparent that you will be at the meeting with WCG before you have
had a chance to really digest other critical information regarding the
WCG changes and agenda. While it would have been beneficial to have
been more prepared and in tune with the history and events that were
not told to you, I am confident that you and others such as Dr. James
Kennedy, will
not become pressured into endorsing the WCG with a clean sweep, based
on the personal meetings you have been invited to by the leaders. As I
said on the phone, I am hopeful that you keep your channels open
toward continued investigation and allow patience and time to reward
you with the much needed information and contact with others who were
recently part of the WCG organization. The WCG leaders may be in a
rush to convince the Evangelical community (at face value and
especially those with publishing clout) of the "historic
conversion," but undo haste can create great waste in the name of
Jesus Christ. Events of change are occurring, but the reason behind
then is the real issue. I
will, at this time, give you a brief synopsis
of what has been
occurring: The
WCG is over sixty years in the making. Its founder, Herbert W.
Armstrong (HWA) was involved in Ku Klux Klan activities in the 1920's. He
moved to Oregon during the time when Oregon was the strength of the
Klan. Following the Klan's demise in the mid twenties, he joined in
with Seventh Day offshoots until he was booted out of them for: 1)
introducing the racist doctrinal belief of British
Israelism and G.G.
Rupert's doctrines, and 2) stealing money from the church till. By
1934 HWA started his own radio church ministry, which purported the
popular Aryan racist belief of the
Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. This is
better explained by the terra British-Israelism or Identity Movement.
As pointed out in The Encyclopedia of Religions, HWA was
the largest proponent of British Israelism in the country. Other
fundamentalist ministries were selling it, but HWA sold it best and
with the tag that HE was given the knowledge straight from God. HWA
was successful as he sold a product that was well-received post Klan
era. By 1947, he obtained stature in the heart of the wealthy Pasadena
millionaire arena. The college was started at that time to train
ministers as little HWA's. From 1947 to 1967, the Radio Church of God,
as it was called then, prospered by the millions. The origin of where
it got its millions remains to be seen. The 1960's was the hey day for
the church. There were no African Americans allowed in the group early
on, but as time evolved a few were allowed in as pressure mounted
regarding civil rights; however on the whole, it was predominantly an
Aryan organization stressing Anglo-Israelism. The
Armstrong teachings were defined in the 1950's. The year 1952 marks the
beginning of the massive propaganda booklet publishing. HWA was a
dictatorial leader, the government tactics and style of the
organization manifested a totalitarian regime with components of other
"isms" such as communism and fascism. [Note: HWA
studied Hitler's book Mein Kampf.] Once recruited under
the unique Armstrong coercion method, the victim/recruit functioned as
if in a hypnotic state with life or death allegiance to WCG and its
leaders. The members were used like slaves to build and pay as they
obeyed every command put forth as if their lives and salvation
depended on it--and to them, it did. A gentleman who was in the church
for over 35 years described it this way: "They
had me digging the hole for Loma Lake with my bare hands. I worked
until my hands were covered with cuts. We thought we were doing it for
God." Loma
Lake is a large man made lake located on the extensive lavish grounds
in Big Sandy, Texas. It is adjacent to the sprawling manicured golf
course and pristine homes provided solely for the privileged ministers--tax
free of course. The leaders currently own the massive property and
college setup in this area. Hundreds of others describe their
experience under the WCG government as devastating, life impacting,
and severely traumatizing as they explain what it is was like to lose
everything including their loved ones to a scam that posed as a
church. All
was moving along well for the leaders until its exposure of
corruption, which started occurring in the late 1960's. With the
exception of a few evangelical ministries during the earlier years,
speaking out against Armstrongism and his empire, he was able to dodge
being exposed on a grand scale. In 1958 HWA's first son,
Richard
Armstrong, died
due to neglect of
medical assistance after an automobile accident. Richard was slated to
assume the leading role within the organization following his father.
That same year, Mr. Stanley Rader, formerly employed with a Hollywood
accounting firm and as a Zionist Jew, connected with HWA as an
accountant. By 1967, this same man was privileged by HWA to receive a
law degree at Southern California University, which was paid for by
the unknowing members' tithes. In the late 1960's, GTA was moving into
a very popular position as the head evangelist on the radio and then
television. Unfortunately for him, he was gaining equal notoriety for
his sex escapades and financial improprieties within the church. The
very turbulent 1970 era is crucial to the understanding of what is
occurring today within this organization. Between 1970 and 1974,
GTA
was exposed by many high level (true believing) ministers within the
church. The corruption regarding extreme financial waste, opulence,
sex assaults, adulteries, and other very questionable practices in
many regards carne to the forefront in 1974.
[Read: Jack
Kessler's 1981 Letter to Worldwide Church of God Board of Directors]
After much upheaval,
seventy ministers exited along with 11,000 members. Along with their
discovery about the corruption, many learned that HWA's teachings were
nothing more than a pile of "borrowed" beliefs from other
sects and churches such as the Mormons. These individuals who were
leaders under HWA/GTA and Stan Rader, were not from the same stock
that prevails today. These men were sincere, committed to their
understanding of righteousness, and duped. When many of these people
learned they were duped, they immediately demanded accountability and
stood up to the deceit with professionalism. Many left a legacy by
writing their accounts, and the Network has been blessed to receive
them through a handing down process. The many tapes, documents,
letters and massive amounts of inside church materials have afforded
us proofs from various angles, as to what was occurring throughout
this decade. Thankfully, many Evangelical ministries started focusing
on the WCG as a destructive cult and mounds of literature were written
and passed about in the Christian arena exposing the doctrinal ills
and apostasy. The WCG held the title as one of the most destructive
cults of that era and rightfully so as hundreds of God searching
individuals were deceptively snared into the hands of deceit and
manipulation only to find their lives ruined in every capacity.
Hundreds died due to the LAWS set up by HWA with restrictions on
medical care, tens of thousands of families were destroyed by marriage
break-ups, poverty prevailed throughout the membership in severe
degrees, and note, please, these things alone pale in the significance
of the spiritual destruction that was forced upon the unsuspecting.
The ministers and leaders controlled the membership by high-level
abusive tactics. Fear, phobias, threats, and coercion ran through the
heart of the whole church. It was truly a cult from every perspective.
The goal of the church was to make it to the Place of Safety
during the "pending fiery Great Tribulation" which was to
occur with in the "next five to ten years" or often noted,
"In YOUR lifetime." The reality pending was no different
than the Jonestown Massacre. Following
the major shakeup in 1974, the church continued to falter throughout
the remainder of the decade. HWA and Stan Rader spent 300-350 days a
year traveling to communist government countries and the Middle Fast
under the pretense of "spreading the Gospel, which was called One
World Government." The fact is, the millions of members'
donations spent on the years of trips was nothing more than political
shenanigans which I will not delve into at this time. Garner Ted
Armstrong (GTA) was managing the church while HWA and Stan Rader were
involved in other more secretive agendas. By
the mid 1970's many
ministers and evangelists were questioning the doctrines and rebelling
against the harsh and cruel punishing system they were forced to
pursue on the membership. Considerable documentation is available
proving that all the current WCG leaders, and those who are leading
the extension groups were very well aware that the doctrines were
wrong. Testimonies and reports were written proving the strict tithing
system was a control method of gaining power and money to satisfy the
leaders' lavish lifestyles, opulence and power, and not Biblically
based as was not the Sabbath and holy Days. It
is important to emphasize that it was as early as 1970 that the
hodgepodge teachings and doctrines were being exposed within the
high-ranking ministerial arena. The "ministers" and leaders
of today who were involved with the WCG at that time, were well
abreast of the controversy over Sabbath, tithing, grace, laws, etc.
The very leaders running WCG's multi-million dollar conglomerate
today and who claim to be "reborn" have had
decades of first
hand knowledge of the rebellion against the deception, lies, and
manipulation by those who escaped the WCG control. They also were
aware of the many evangelical Christian ministers who tried with all
their might to assist the WCG regarding its satanic belief system. I
shall expound more on this shortly. In
1978, Stan Rader and GTA had a power struggle showdown as to who was
going to control the multi-millions following HWA, who by this
time was 88 years old. GTA was eventually kicked out of the church due
to the manipulations of Stan Rader, and the following year several
members brought a lawsuit against the church for the massive
corruption in the financial area. This resulted in a receivership
crisis, which permeated the newspaper headlines across this country.
The huge negative exposés impacted the church greatly, as it became
notoriously noted as a cult with the sex-escapades and scandals. A
group of Ambassador University students started an exposé publication
[Ambassador Report] exposing the evils of the church and its
leaders. This, along with
the massive newspaper exposés , placed HWA, GTA and the rest of the
WCG leadership in the spotlight. HWA and his empire were highly
publicized for incest with his
daughter, for scandalous sex-escapades
stories overseas, for the extreme opulence with gold and silver,
diamonds, furs, Rolls-Royce cars, air plane fleet, massive real-estate
holdings, salaries, Swiss bank accounts and gold mines in Africa,
extensive land holdings, multi-million dollar artworks--not to
mention his hob-knobbing with very controversial leaders of other
countries such as Mao Tse Tung, Fernand Marcos, the Japanese Diet,
Arab leaders (affiliated with Buddhism and Moslem beliefs) and Israeli
leaders to name a few. It
is vital to know what the membership totaled in the early 1970's as
the churches' membership was
far smaller than what had been
propagandized for years. The director of data processing 1972-1973
clearly documents that in 1973 the church had
no more than 53,000
members at maximum. That was before the 11,000-member fallout in 1974.
It is well documented that the church did not grow at all
during the 1970's and by 1979 the leadership was very concerned about
stagnant recruiting position. [Note:
Also see
this part in
OIU 2, Pt. 1 about "discrepancies with the growth picture starting around
1978."]
Stan Rader, HWA's first assistant,
clearly documented on tape and in writing that the church membership
was in trouble and did not grow throughout the 1970's. Many
more members left the fold during the receivership and the 1980 decade
started with a recession, which impacted income even more. During the
first half of the 1980's, the leadership attempted to "put the
church back on track" by instituting the very hard-line
approach of the 1960 era. Although it did not appeal to new
recruiting, it did however seem to hold the remaining church from
experiencing a high attrition rate. The scare tactic belief system was
put into high gear and remained that way for years following the death
of HWA in 1986 at 94 years of age. Newly appointed to the "Pastor
General" position was Stan Rader's assistant, Joseph W. Tkach.
Although HWA claimed that Stan Rader was "supposedly"
released from active leadership in the church in the early 1980's, it
is a fact that he was given a Consultant contract of $200,000 a year
until the year 2007 accompanying a lavish expense account. It is
strongly felt, however, that Stan Rader may be visually behind the
scenes, and much information indicates he is still managing every step
this conglomerate makes. Joseph
W. Tkach supported and retained the HWA hard-line position upon
assuming the top office and continued that same "speak"
until about 1993. The recruiting situation remained in severe shape
right though the 1980's. The WCG leadership changed their marketing
strategy every few months with their main recruiting tool, the Plain
Truth magazine and the World Tomorrow television show.
Joseph Tkach, Mike Feazell, Joe Jr., Greg Albrecht, David Hulme, and
select others, were employing every method possible to recruit into
the WCG under Armstrongism. Public magazine racks on corners in every
city, mass shipping of the Plain Truth and Youth
magazine to thousands of doctor offices, High Schools, Junior High
schools, colleges, direct sales marketing, and advertising in Readers
Digest and other publications are just a few of the sales stunts used
to lure new recruits into Armstrongism. Nothing was working, as the
Apocalyptic message wasn't selling for the desperate WCG leaders. They
changed the Plain Truth format from secular to Bible-based faster than
any market could digest it. The same held true for the World
Tomorrow telecast. Starting
from 1989 to about 1994, the inside church maintained its hard-line
approach, while the leaders initiated a newly devised marketing
strategy with a select group of publishing evangelicals. Members that
did question the few changes they detected, were disfellowshipped,
shunned, and often marked publicly for leaving the fold and going the
way of Satan. That continued until 1995. By
1988, the most astute members could pick up that there were a few
changes; however, "change" was not even detected by the bulk
of the members until 1994, and for some, not until 1995. The reason
being, is that the leaders, Joe W. Tkach Sr., his son, Joe Jr., Mike
Feazell, Greg Albrecht; David Hulme, etc., were drilling the members
that "nothing is changing, but God is giving us new insight to
enhance our understanding." 'The usual Armstrong theme about
the "one true church; obey God as I say or you'll be thrown
into the Lake of fire" was constantly drilled into the
membership." Lie upon lie was placed onto the membership, while
the duped believed their leaders. Constant propaganda, contradictions
and duplicity were the mainstay for those inside the cult while a
major PR campaign was being waged to the outside world. Newly devised
PR kits were sent to the cult-watching evangelical ministries
with publishing clout around 1989. Slowly, the WCG PR team started
recruiting individuals such as Ruth Tucker,
Hank Hanegraaff, Azusa Pacific and others with writing clout. The select leaders were
financing the way for many pertinent authors to visit at headquarters
for chats about how the WCG was changing its HWA doctrines. All the
while, within the cult, the same leaders were outright lying to the
members about change. As I said, propaganda was flying from every
direction. The leaders would say one thing to the Christian
Evangelicals and print the opposite in the member publications. The
three main front leaders today may claim that they were implementing
the changes slowly to prevent damage or loss; the fact is, all steps
were taken with the greatest deception and lies to boot. While
the PR team, Joe Jr. Mike Feazell, Greg Albrecht and David Hulme were
speaking "doctrine" to the outside world, the only push for
change seductively initiated into the hard-line system, was
"personal evangelism." This meant that the members were
getting newly trained on how to bring in recruits to the church.
During the entire history of the WCG, no member was supposed to bring
individuals into the church. Recruiting was the sole responsibility of
the leaders. Between the years 1989-1994, any modifications or
supposed changes were conditioning patterns in preparation for
training the members for a "paradigm" shift. This shift was
necessary to train the members on how to recruit. Although the member
could not possibly detect the plan or strategy involving recruiting,
they could discern that "personal evangelism" was very
different than what they were accustomed to. The
Breakaways Gerald
Flurry, Philadelphia Church of God, was the first main break-away. He
was/is an Armstrong radical and rebelled against the duplicities
occurring within the Headquarters. After a year of planning, Rod
Meredith, evangelist, and one of the first four students to attend the
Pasadena College started by HWA in 1947, broke away with another HWA
clone group, Global Church of God (GCG). [Update:
Roderick Meredith
later founded
Living Church of God in 1998.] His breakaway was most
interesting in that it was well known on Headquarters property that he
was forming his own church for a year prior to the final breakaway,
which occurred following the WACO
disaster in 1993. Literally, until
the WACO occurrence in spring of 1993, the entire WCG was managed
identically as it had been in previous decades, preventing any
possible acknowledgment of change. Ironically, within a month
following WACO, the leaders started discussing a different position on
the "nature of God." This was basically the beginning of
awareness for most that the church was diverting from the Armstrong
teachings, which was actually five years after the leaders started
penetrating the evangelical community with blatant misinformation and
propaganda. Members
learned about the Global Church group through the constant commercials
from Joseph Tkach Sr., telling members to go over to Global Church (Rod
Meredith) if they didn't like it in the Worldwide Church of God.
Some members stated that had it not been for Joseph Tkach's constant
reminders of the Global Church of God, they would have never known
about the alternative. The timing of these events was most significant
in relationship to what was occurring within the WCG at that time.
Also, much consideration must be attributed to the leaders of these
breakaways, as their roles were most significant in the WCG.
Notice,
I said many did not detect changes until 1995. In January of 1995,
Joseph Tkach Sr. made a special announcement regarding New Covenant
teaching. Even though the launching of this new position in
"understanding" was filled with duplicity and contradiction,
many members became enlightened that something was going on, leading
them to upset and frustration. People were caught off guard and some
were angry. Because many knew nothing of any real changes happening
before this time, the church members were in a flux and traumatized as
to what was going on and why would God trick them. For many it was
analogous to being hit with a freight train. Suddenly, fast and
furiously a new doctrinal position was dropped in their lap. That in
itself was not as problematic as the stress and trauma stemming from
the fact that the leaders who were supposedly "God's only
anointed" (that was still being taught) were saying something
that was historically taught (to the WCG members) to be satanically
inspired. This traumatic event caused stress,
cognitive dissonance and
dissociation. For most it was received without any preparation. Ironically,
within six weeks the United Church of God (UCG) was formed and within
two months, over one half of the WCG ministers, (200 ministers) and
17,000 members (half of the total WCG population to our calculations)
changed corporations from the WCG to the UCG. Few are aware that
significant corporate ministers, while in the WCG, were fully involved
in setting up the new corporation in preparation for a sudden split.
It is imperative to note that those running these extension groups, as
I prefer to call them, are headed by the same WCG leaders that held
very high positions for the prior decade or two. The UCG leaders
claimed they, too, knew nothing of the changes that were occurring
with the Tkach regime. The fact is, every one of the UCG leaders were
very instrumental in the PR market strategy campaign implemented
around 1988-1989. Many outright lied to the UCG members and left their
lies on paper. David Hulme, head of the UCG, was one such evangelist.
He spearheaded the PR department in WCG and also ran the AICF
(Ambassador International Cultural Foundation) affairs. No other man
was more entrenched into the inner workings of the WCG organization
than Hulme. Upon departure from WCG, Hulme states on a resignation
letter that he had no awareness of the changes that were occurring and
felt the leader was being dishonest. Hulme left a paper trail of his
PR work with WCG that indicates that his excuse for leaving is an
outright falsehood. 1995
proved to be the pivotal year for the Tkach Co. new business strategy.
Within two weeks of the New Covenant announcement, the leaders
contacted the LA Times to place an article about how financially
destitute the WCG had become due to their new doctrinal changes. The
members were being blamed for the supposed financial stress due to
holding back their tithes. More deception permeated the media that the
members were rebelling from the changes and the income was desperate.
The next PR ploy given to the LA Times was that UCG was breaking away
in rebellion to the Church turning to Christ. Once again, it proved to
be ultra propaganda and timed to the strategy of the Tkach leaders. I
spoke with Larry Stammer of the LA Times and he told me that the
leaders contacted him and basically told him what to write. He said he
had no other way of confirming things and no documented materials to substantiate
the leaders claim of change. He stated that it was impossible to get
any financial accountability from the church and that he could not
investigate their allegations. The propaganda that the church was
losing members and money started within two weeks of the breaking news
to the members that the church was moving into "some" new
teachings. Meanwhile, HWA was highly esteemed and it was even stated
that these were the teachings that HWA requested before he died.
The
Tkach leaders wanted it publicly known that the church was doing
fine until they bravely embraced Christ's lead and made the
necessary changes despite what the outcome might be. Once the sudden
news of change was finally delivered to the members, the
leaders capitalized on this event to blame the members on the
church's financial decline, when in fact, it was declining for
years." Fortunately for them, those following the
turn of events had
no critical information or way of discerning the strategy while it
played out within the cult. Because of the secrecy and withholding
of information by the cult leaders, it is near to impossible to
counter the propaganda pouring from the church's headquarters. The
dual messages piped into the evangelical cult-watching arena for the
first quarter of 1995 was, "Look, we are no longer a cult, but now we are moving into true Christianity and
look what we are sacrificing because of our obedience to
Christ." In reality, the WCG corporation wasn't losing any more
money or people than they lost on a routine basis. While that may
have seemed impressive to some in the evangelical arena who had no
other facts, the truth is, the WCG leaders were liquidating the
assets and doing God only knows what with the millions of dollars
for years prior to this event. The many foreign bank accounts
received millions ongoing while the leaders lived like KINGS in all
their power and glory. Equally important to note is that
leaders
have always inflated the number of members in the Worldwide Church
of God. Careful calculations based on
the factual data available from the head of Data Processing in
1973, Mike Hollman, along with lack of recruiting from that point on
to 1995, and consideration regarding the massive attrition rate in
1974, 1978-79, and again following the death of the beloved leader,
HWA,
calculations indicate that there could not have been more than
40,000 members prior to the UCG split and that is a liberal
estimate. The UCG started with approx. 17,000 members, which in
turn, left the WCG with a possible 20,000 members remaining. The
hasty blame on the members regarding the "sudden"
financial problem in the WCG was another tactic that helped the
leaders look as if they were sacrificing deeply for their quest for
truth. The newly generated PR from the WCG leaders was also
indicating that they had to sell assets such as the jet airplane,
the ministers fleet cars, eliminate programs, cut back jobs etc.
What the outsider's didn't know, is that the leaders were planning
for an entire business and marketing restructure for the past
several years in hopes to recover from the past two and one half
decades of massive decline. But
what about the multi-millions of dollars in income? In plain
English, your guess is as good as ours, although be assured we are
working on the truth behind who and what has been supporting this
organization all these years. You may be aware that the pounding law
of triple tier tithing was commanded without exceptions. Despite the
fact that the current leaders were approached for years by outside
Christians and ex-members who learned the New Testament
understanding regarding the faulty tithing system and the burden it
placed on the members, the leaders continued to exploit the members
through guilt and fear tactics to give, pay and pray. Even though
the members would strive to obey each rule (as their salvation
depended on it), it would have been impossible for the church to
accumulate wealth to the stint of $225,000,000 in income as it did
in 1989 and 1990. Even if the members totaled 50,000 in number,
which would again be a very liberal conclusion and considering the
average income per capita, the most the church would have generated
would be $100,000,000 each year. When we consider that Billy
Graham's income is more in line with the latter figure and Focus
on the Family with all its product development grosses approximately the same, we can see
that scrutiny and question is in order as to how the WCG is masking
such great wealth and better yet, what in the world are they doing
with it? [I
stress at this point that the tithing money and offerings were being
coerced from the membership through fear, guilt, and threat all
while it was a known fact that the system was false. In many cases
the money was used for despicable, sinful means under the false
pretenses that a Gospel was being spread to the world. In legal
terms, it is called fraud. Every trick in the book was used to
squeeze the last dime out of the unsuspecting members. Thousands, to
this very day, live in poverty, as they are unable to recover what
was knowingly stolen from them through deception. Every member was
expected to contribute what amounted to approximately 27% of
their gross income to support:
first tithe, second tithe, third tithe, offering, building funds,
SEP camps, special collection, and anything else that could generate
money.] Watching
the WCG events unfold from the inside out and vice versa allows one
to assemble the fragmented pieces together regarding the WCG agenda
or plan. One cannot step into the current events and critically
weigh the reason behind the events. The history of the WCG, its
leaders, its doctrinal origin, its past endeavors with foreign
country leaders, international dealings, its multitude of business
adventures--many of which were quite "unchristian"--and
other aspects of consideration are necessary to scrutinize before
one hastily accepts the current leaders' words (which we strongly
consider propaganda laced with verbal flavorings of
"Christ!" The
pivotal year of 1995 continued with more pronounced doctrinal
changes, again with total contradictions in church writings, blame
on the membership, duplicity and spin control at every level. One
month the publications would state one thing; the same month the
opposite might be stated in a sermon. I cannot stress the negative
impact toward healthy thinking these techniques caused on the
remaining members at large. Until this very day, newly exiting
members report to me that they are told by insiders, "nothing
really changed." The best description for the very thought out
approach to the leaders' strategy is called spin control. Throughout the 1995 summer months, the members were being told many conflicting stories about the illness of Joe Tkach Sr. The manner in which everything is told to the obedient members is with conflict, which in turn leaves one unbalanced, indecisive, in fear arid traumatized. Joe Tkach Sr. died in September (9-22-95) supposedly from cancer complications I say supposedly because of the many conflicting stories that surrounded his death and generated from the Headquarters church. This event also marked the beginning of the real "coming out of the closet" as Hank Hanegraaff and Joe Tkach Jr., the newly appointed Pastor General, embraced each other at the cult leader's funeral. [This picture is displayed in the October 3, 1995 Worldwide News2 on page 8] The
Christian Research Institute At this time, allow me to back up and give you an overview of some of the PR maneuvers that transpired these past few years. As I mentioned earlier, 1989 marked the beginning of the WCG reach out to the counter cult community. The initial evangelicals recruited were Ruth Tucker, Alan Gomes, Kurt VanGorden, Josh McDowell, among others. David Hulme, head PR man, was attending Tanner Lectures and writing notices often with polite threats to all who were placing WCG as a cult in their publications. Verbiage such as, "We don't teach Armstrong doctrines anymore," would be told to whomever. Mark Kelner, writer for Christianity Today (and ex-member of the WCG), stated that he believed the leaders at face value and that was all the proof he needed to know that they were changing. I personally spoke at length with Alan Gomes and Eric Pement from Jesus People USA who also claimed they were watching and scrutinizing the change. Time and again, these people claiming to be cult experts had nothing to substantiate their allegiance to the WCG leaders, other than the cult leader's word. These same people flatly ignored ex-members and their personal testimonies. While so many wonderful Christ seeking exiting members reached out to the counter-cult services for help, they were turned away and labeled "bitter" or "angry," which is the exact same brain-washing dogma that is used within the cult to keep the members obedient to the controllers while they shun and discredit those who speak out. While certain supposed counter cult watchers were feeling assured that the WCG was going to embrace Christian Orthodoxy, the members were being told repeatedly that the "law was not done away with" or "the Sabbath is here to stay," etc., etc. No counter-cult ministry was more damaging to the thousands who were highly victimized and exploited from such a corruptive group, than Christian Research Institute. In April of 1994, the Network was called by Paul Carden of CRI. He was scheduled to meet with the WCG leaders that morning. He was very rushed and diligently trying to obtain questions to ask the WCG leaders. I was quite surprised, actually shocked to learn how unprepared and uninformed the CRI had been regarding the Worldwide Church of God. Paul Carden clearly stated that the CRI didn't have any inside publications on hand other than a few older booklets and they did not receive regular mailings of the publications aimed at "members only." I relayed that careful scrutiny regarding the WCG was of the utmost importance as many lives were at stake. Paul Carden promised to return my call, but never did. Hank Hanegraaff never responded to the Network letters of pleas for assistance nor did he return any other answers to many who flagged his help. All were rudely ignored. [See letters to Hanegraaff] His rudeness left many discouraged as they could not understand why they would be ignored especially if his ministry was honestly researching the reasons behind the events. On May 5th, about one week after the meeting with Joe Jr. Mike Feazell; and Greg Albrecht; Paul Carden stated on the Bible Answer Man that the WCG embraced the Trinity. What a shocker to those who knew better as most members would not even remember how to spell the word after being in the Worldwide Church of God. The word "'Trinity" was not once stated in any church area or any publication other than it being Satan's deception, and here CRI was promoting a cult on the airway and passing unfounded misinformation. What could have been their motive, we pondered. With the exception of a few articles in the Journal and in Christianity Today (a very good friend of CRI), Hank kept a low profile for the following year with the WCG, until his "rekindled" relationship at the funeral of Joseph Tkach Sr. At least this was the first public indication that there were dealings between Hank and Joe Jr. The radio event served as a catalyst, which inspired the Network to research Hank Hanegraaff and CRI. To our shocking dismay, we learned many allegations waged in his direction surrounding abuse, corruption and financial improprieties. Included in this package of information is a compilation of material that will aid you in the awareness of some of the issues involving Mr. Hank Hanegraaff. I think it is important to mention, as you may already know, Hank Hanegraaff had a lawsuit brought to him by his ex-employees with many major allegations waged toward him. One of which was a possible layoff from another known cult to claim them free of cult status. The Hank Hanegraaff demise started in 1994, around the same time that the three leaders met with CRI, and the legal rage continued through 1995. This could very well be the reason why Hank kept a lower profile during this time. There are many details regarding this lawsuit and what transpired between the impoverished plaintiffs and the defendant's multi-thousand dollar defense. The lawsuit may have settled for reasons beyond control, but the continued allegations toward Hank Hanegraaff's behavior and practice has not stopped. The Network joins many true Christians who stand with courage and demand accountability from Hank Hanegraaff as his actions with the WCG have negatively impacted thousands of victims and he has demonstrated what many allege. I mention that no other counter cult ministry was as damaging as CRI and Hank Hanegraaff for several reasons:
You will find several letters and pictures that will verify the relationship explained above. I include the testimony and document package because it is obvious that CRI and WCG will continue to engage in financial endeavors in the near future. Hank may sound the trumpet that his relationship with the cult leaders is about doctrine, but the evidence is showing that it is more likely about personal wealth and gain. On a recent radio show Hank had Joe Jr. and Greg Albrecht as guests. Included in the dialog filled with distortions of truth, Joe Jr. states he looks forward to working on future projects together. Based on the history of the WCG and from what we have now learned about Hank Hanegraaff, as we continue to carefully monitor him and his actions, those projects will be about large sums of income. I see this letter has expanded in unplanned length so I will attempt to sum it up for you. The WCG rightly deserved its well-documented title of a very destructive cult. In over sixty years of existence, it has caused nothing but destruction and has left a mass of ruination of lives of thousands in its wake in every capacity imaginable. The WCG corporate empire afforded the leaders the power to continue in the face of opposition time and again. The string of lawsuits and court cases, the suicides, the investigations, the receivership, the double lives of the leaders, the allegations of homosexuality and sexual deviance, and the financial opulence and waste under a deception and shield of Christ, may have played into the hands of the leaders for several decades but it caught up with the corporate empire and led to the demise of a smoke screen church. The unique Armstrong message of Apocalypticism, British-Israelism, and One World Government ran dry as a product for the money men. It was dying on a continuing slide downward since the late 1960's. Doctrinally, the cult was always in flux as to accuracy of doctrines, which caused ongoing rebellions and steady attrition. While Apocalyptic churches espousing the Volumes of Fundamentalism will always be a part of the "religion" circuit, they will never attract a major following. It will hold a pinhead size share of the major Christian market. That pinhead share has not in the past, and will not in the future, pave the way for a $200,000,000 yearly income. How did the WCG gain the financial backing to obtain some of the wealthiest land holdings in Southern California; to erect multi-million dollar lavishly designed buildings laced with Crystal and gold leafing; many jet airplanes customized as if for the King of Kings; multi-million dollars in Artwork investments; sprawling ranches and scattered real estate holdings; huge arenas owned by the WCG corporations such as the Wisconsin Dells; hundreds of acres of manicured land in Texas; along with scattered parcels unrelated to the college; maintenance of a beautiful pristine golf course; building upon building holding college related activities (enrollment averaging 700 per year); the beautiful Bricket Wood estate owned and used as a college in England (which was sold several years ago [Note: It was sold in 1976]); the funding of offices in other countries; the lavish ministerial salaries ranging from $60,000 per year to $350,000 per year (the reported salary of the Tkach leaders); millions of dollars in payments to corporate employees who have left the WCG with a signed contract indicating silence; opulent cars such as Jaguars, Limousines, Rolls Royce, housing allowances and perks to boot for ministers, and on and on and on? The above doesn't detail the cost of managing all the land holdings and investments. It does not describe the additional corporations and businesses that are attached to the TAX-EXEMPT organization. There is so much behind the soft-spoken words that ring sounds of "Christ" that Joe Jr., Mike or Greg Albrecht do not mention. The WCG is a corporate empire! The leaders in the forefront today are the same leaders who have been running the show for the past ten years, very possibly under a higher layer of management such as Stanley Rader. Joseph W. Tkach Sr. did not meet with the counter-cult groups or evangelicals. Often, he was not aware of what was going on. He had a ghostwriter and did a few sermons yearly, which he read from paper. The Sr. Tkach functioned more like a PR man, as do the three men who have replaced him. The Articles of Corporation indicate the assets are under the Tkach men. Only randomly is any financial statement posted and it is, as Larry Stammer, L.A. Times indicated, impossible to find out what they are doing with the millions, impossible for those who do not have the financial means to hire the necessary investigators and full-time researchers. The WCG has an FBI file,3 quite thick I understand, as we continue to pursue obtaining it. Stanley Rader is quoted by many sources as being a 33°Mason. It is fact that some of the WCG's closest friends, such as King Hussein, is also. The WCG lost its product and had nothing to fall back on. That does indicate that it was financially dying. They set out years ago to downsize and change the non-income producing structure. The church, set up as it were, did not generate ANY additional income. When the leaders, current leaders included, squeezed every last dime out of the remainder membership, they set out to join the "religious market" that happens to be the fastest growing belief system in this country (SIRS survey: Is God Alive?). The WCG system did not allow for any means of growth other than the television show and Plain Truth magazine. When that stopped working, so did recruiting. No recruits, "no commanded tithes." Many do not realize that the church entity of the mega-million corporation is but a very small part of the whole conglomerate. However, the "church" with its few members, provides a shield of armor that allows the business moguls to grow with self certainty analogous to the "Gilded Age" before taxation chewed the wealthy alive. You may now understand why the term "propaganda'' is appropriate to describe the duel messages given to outsiders and the insiders. Yes, there is a reason behind the event, but how would any true Christian in Christ have the means or ability to obtain critical information, pertinent to the understanding of the whole agenda? When the PR team set out to befriend the select few in the Evangelical counter cult arena, they appealed to vanity and ego. I say that sensitively, knowing how skilled these individuals, with their minimal degrees in psychology, are in the art of persuasion. They have made millions on duping the most skilled, most intelligent, most sincere people imaginable. After years of evangelical dissent toward the WCG, here come the "innocent leaders" claiming they too were victims of bad old Mr. Armstrong and now want to turn their life over to Christ. How can one not believe someone when they look one the eye, sound so sincere, and say all the right things? Thousands upon thousands who have been ripped off and destroyed by the same people, only with a different message at that time, have asked the same question, after the fact. The ministers from WCG and its extension groups are dependent on the salaries provided by these organizations. Take away their current career and they have nothing. We have witnessed more than half of the WCG membership, move snugly into the UCG or Global organization without missing a week's pay. The whole process was smoother than words could describe. I do not contend that every minister on the local level was deceptively maneuvering a conspiratorial play; however, we cannot look at Rod Meredith and David Hulme, knowing much about their history with the WCG, without scrutinizing the possibility of deception. The Tkaches were quoted often that they didn't care if they ended up with 5,000 left in the Worldwide Church or God. I believe that was a fair statement. As over one half of the WCG membership was quickly positioned into an organization much like "home" if you will, those remaining in the WCG would continue to fall out, with the smallest percentage hanging onto the current leader's every move. As the saying goes, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks," the actions of the leaders certainly demonstrated that their focus is on new young blood. Tom Lapacka, one of the current leaders once stated to several thousand in a sermon, "The WCG train is on the move and those hanging onto the caboose will be cut away." If the leaders were to be honest about the actual membership, it would raise immediate questions as to how they are maintaining such an empire. If the evangelicals were to pose scrutinizing questions, it might be easier to obtain a factual read on the organization and cut through any whitewash or smoke screens. I have asked several individuals such as Dr. D. James Kennedy4, to request copies of all current booklets and literature, all Worldwide News copies for the past two to three years, all Pastor General letters sent to the members, any and all study materials given to the members over these "eight years of change." I especially recommend to those being currently "wined and dined" about the new WCG, request copies of all financial statements and income statements over the past fifteen years. Certainly, this is a small request for such a massive empire. I would also think that the leaders who profess to be true blue in Christ would be more than thrilled to show that there are no skeletons in the closet. There is much in the line of question or documentation that could be posed to the current leaders (who now claim that they too were Victims), but what I listed above would be a great place to start for solid research. The Articles of Corporation also demonstrate questionable behavior. You may wish to have them send you a copy, along with any amendments of all the corporate papers from the inception of the church. If you run into problems, I can send you a copy. In conclusion: The leaders of the WCG have implemented a new market strategy and have beefed up their business tactics to match the 1990's and are preparing for the next century. Personal evangelism will be the main recruiting tool, under the guise of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It will provide a non-threatening approach to sign up new energetic, unsuspecting, Christ oriented people namely YOUTH. There will not be local churches, but replaced with home Bible studies. Slowly, a discipling method will be introduced that will manage the obedience in the church. The emphasis will be on bringing new members into "Christ's fold" (other words for recruiting). The newly recruited members will be highly involved in fundraising activities and all "the Gospel" activities will concentrate on bringing all the "tithes into thy (WCG) storehouse." The management setup will exemplify that of a multi-level marketing company. The sad difference here is that "Christ" will be used as the product of choice. The World Tomorrow may have been high on the Arbertron Ratings for awhile, but it didn't sustain new "bites" to its message, nor was is successful in the long run in recruiting. The WCG will attempt to penetrate the radio in the near future. It has already laid the foundation It has set up its own radio facility in Big Sandy, Texas and is filling the airways with messages of how the WCG is no longer cult but transformed into truth. The leaders desperately needed individuals such as yourself to stand up for them with credibility. The ploy is ingenious! After uniting with CRI and Christianity Today, the PR job became very easy and free of charge of course. All it took were a few words from the leaders, and many with publishing clout kissed the WCG with a good bill of heath. Many ministries also wanted to be credited as if they were the ones who helped bring this group out of apostasy. I wonder why they got that idea? The leaders will continue to manipulate double messages, as they are not ready to embrace the full orthodox understanding. They continue the Sabbath meetings with the excuse that to change it would also be legalism. They will continue the "Holy Days" schedule as it brings in a chunk of income from the seven commanded offerings. No doubt the future will see a slow change away from the many old practices that continue, but only after they have recruited enough YOUTH and new members to where is does not make a difference. A perfect example of the duality is the tithing issue. Yes, the members are still manipulated to tithe, only now that they understand Christ died for them, they should want to tithe even more than in the past. And that's the way it goes. Had the WCG "transition" been true, and for the right reasons, the conversion process would never have manifested such levels of lies and deceit. Christ would not have allowed the bulk of WCG members to be shuffled over under another Armstrong type corporation (or WCG entity) espousing legalism to boot. The leaders would have had true compassion for those they abused, rather than having placed blame and fault on the members for what was taught in the past. The Tkach Co. would have come clean regarding Herbert W. Armstrong as a false prophet and Apostle right from the beginning. They would have given a clean account of the doctrinal history, which they are fully aware, but still incorporate to some degrees. The multi-million dollar empire would have made financial restitution with those who were victims of theft in the name Christ, instead of blowing them off as dissidents, or bitter individuals without God's Holy Spirit. They would never have covered up the sordid true history of the WCG, nor would they have continued to employ some of the most abusive controlling men that have reigned and lorded over the deceived for years. Furthermore, every step implemented toward this multi-level marketing change that occurred these past few years, fostered trauma-inducing conflict, not Christ centered orientation. What transpired was not coincidence or by happenstance. It was engineered! They give the excuse they were trying to spare the church from undo loss, so the changes were made slowly; the fact is, the changes made are self-serving and intended to rebuild the new WCG empire. Allow me to sum it up by saying, Mike Feazell, Greg Albrecht, and Pastor General Joseph Tkach SR and JR failed your suggestions 1-11, starting on page 89 of your book. Out of the Cult and INTO the Churches. With all their money and publishing clout, why haven't they purchased 20,000 copies of your book to hand out to every remaining member? They could well afford it; one artwork piece sold would have paid the bill. The leaders live in the church mansions totally free of personal cost and make huge salaries; does their Christian love stretch far enough to give a little back to those they took so much from? Their computers log the names of all those who were disfellowshipped and cast out for questioning. They can freely send each victim a copy of your book, don't you think so? Or, how about the 30,000 ex-WCGers who have recently transferred to the extension Armstrong groups? What can they do to witness to them? I could write pages of examples that show clearly, this "transition" had everything to do with the multimillion-dollar empire and not "true conversion to Christ." It will all be said within time. The current leaders are the same abusers of yesterday. They are still not accountable to anyone. 'They have now embraced the religion market of evangelicalism (a bit of a hodgepodge at that) and will use evangelism as their main recruiting tool. We will see Hank Hanegraaff and Tkach team up for some big financial ventures in some capacity. The massive mufti-million dollar WCG computers and printing offices in Pasadena won't go to waste, no matter where the headquarters will be moved. The WCG is in the merchandising business now, and it has a new and viable product! I thank you Janis, for taking the time to read this and embark on continued research regarding the Worldwide Church of God. I have watched what some may consider reputable cult-watching ministries succumb to the political pressure in the Christian Community. I can't think of any of the cult-watching ministries who have their research away from their armchair. At times it played more like a game these past few years. So many espousing evangelical faith, never having been in a cult, yet setting themselves up as judges over doctrinal matters while ignoring the very heart and soul of this destructive group. There is no doubt that WCG will continue to forge ahead, the atrocity is that they will continue to seek the approval and credibility from those who should stand back and do their homework before judging and esteeming the WCG and its leaders in the name of Christ. This is a serious matter! GOD was the money machine for Armstrongism; JESUS CHRIST is the newly appointed money machine for the current owners of the multi-million dollar enterprise. I pray you are blessed with patience anti discernment as you attend the upcoming meeting. I know full well that much of what you observe and hear will be most impressive, so I leave you with this story. One day, the Chief Financial Officer of the WCG was making a visit to the local area here. Two weeks prior to his visit, the members were getting prepared and drilled by the Pastor as to what to say, how to act, how to dress, where to stand, how to approach this "important" man in charge of God's one true church, and even how to smile. The following week, all the above was reviewed so there would be no slip ups by the members. When Mr. Neff arrived, everyone did a perfect job, just like the Pastor expected, everyone followed the directions so naturally. If I were asked at that time if anyone told the me how to act, I would have said, "NEVER! I'm completely in charge of my life." God's blessings to you, Janis, and I extend much thanks on behalf of many. L. A. Stuhlman (founder of ESN) Encl: Newspaper Articles NOTE: Unfortunately, the last ESN talked with Janis she said she now "half-way endorses" the WCG. Did she succumb to propaganda? Be sure and read: A Cult in Transition? UPDATE: In November 2004 the Worldwide Church of God moved its headquarters from Pasadena to Glendora, California. (Pasadena Star-News, October 25, 2004) By May 2006 all their offices were moved to Glendora. (Together May-June 2006). They are now considering a name change. Read: Worldwide Church of God is Changing Their Name. Footnotes by ESN: 1 "In the 20th century Fundamentalism was the reaction of Bible believers to the Protestant retreat from the Bible." [i.e., modernism and liberal theology around the turn of the century] (The Soul of St. Louis, James R. Beller, p. 212.) True fundamentalists are not aligned with neo-evangelicals or the ecumenical movement; however, today some have given the name "fundamentalist" a bad name due to their extremism. Extreme Christian fundamentalist sects can have severe impacts on members. (Refer to the book Snapping.) Since this tape, ESN recommends our readers also research the origins of neo-evangelicalism, the New Age Movement and the modern Charismatic movement, as WCG has involved themselves with such. (See links under Apostasy in the Church and Booklist under "Special Interest" and "The New Age Movement/Occult.") 2 As of February 2005 The Worldwide News in the United States changed to a new format and its name was changed to WCG Today (news of the Worldwide Church of God). In May 2006 it was changed to Together (Worldwide Church of God News). 3 Ambassador Report #48, May 1991, has a section entitled, "The FBI's Files on the WCG." A follow-up AR revealed that these files were later released with much blacked out. (Ambassador Report #51, October 1992) However, a researcher in contact with ESN saw a copy of the original FBI files. (Read 2006 letter to ESN) The files are also mentioned in this offsite report: The Conspiracy Was Strong (search for the words "Worldwide Church of God") in Pt. I) 4 Update: D. James Kennedy died September 5, 2007 at the age of 76. Few are aware that Kennedy was a member of the CNP (Council for National Policy). Much more on the Council for National Policy (founded in 1981), plus a list of members, can be found in this offsite report and in the transcript Let's Focus in on "Focus on the Family." Comments Concerning Janis Hutchinson's Letter to "Dear Friends and Former Members of the Worldwide Church of God" (regarding the new changes that were supposed to take place; covers a10 page letter Janis Hutchinson received from Greg Albrecht) Unavailable! The Worldwide News - Prior to September 1995 (shows the contradictory and confusing statements made during the changes) Outsider's Inside Update 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.) Letter to Worldwide Church of God, Philippines (On Apostasy--A Radical Proposal) (Reveals the disturbing direction WCG is headed doctrinally; includes New Age authors WCG has endorsed. This Oct. 2006 letter was later forwarded to over 300 WCG ministers, including those at Headquarters. Includes May 2007 email reply from author Brian Flynn to a WCG Philippine deacon, concerning how we must be discerning concerning false teachings coming into the church.) Back to Research Letters Concerning Worldwide Church of God Changes
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