Everything is Okey Dokey in Edmond

You might imagine that the editors at The Oklahoman might be able to distinguish between real journalism - concerns around a highly controlling local sect for example - and patsy PR pieces.

Apparently not.

Clever Gerry

In case you missed it, there's a new COG publication which launched in December. This one hails from the fringes of Armstrongism, the PCG. Of course, fringe is a relative term; compared with some of the others out there I guess Flurry is inner fringe.

In any case, The Trumpet Weekly joins the PCG stable, and it's a clever concept.

For starters it's available online, not in print, so no mail-out costs. In exchange for shelling out for an easily edited design template, PCG gets to produce a nice looking newsletter with few ongoing costs.

Clever Gerry.

Next Gerry elevates his "Young Turks" (son Stephen, Brad MacDonald, Robert Morley and Joel Hilliker) as columnists, complete with by-line and picture, giving the impression that they actually know something about what they're writing. Add in a slop-bucket full of fear and loathing-style political commentary, and there's a guaranteed knee-jerk from the target readership who have both their insecurities and prejudices stroked.

Clever Gerry.

Of course, by huffing, puffing and pouting, Gerry and his protégés then give the impression that they - and they alone - are in the know. Build up the straw man then knock him down.

Clever Gerry.

But you have to wonder at a headline like German Fascism Is Conquering Kosovo! After all, the author is Gerry himself, a supreme spiritual führer in his own bailiwick surrounded by obsequious, goose-stepping lieutenants: pot and kettle stuff.

A PDF of last week's Weekly is available for those with an iron constitution, a perverse sense of humor, or a world-view somewhat to the right of Attila the Hun.

A Flurry of foolishness

People all over the world are following the news of the fires ravaging Southern California. Disasters like this have a terrible impact on people's lives. You'd think nobody would think to use events like this to manipulate and finger-point. Unfortunately there are bible-quoting vultures circling, eager to find an edge and offload their hateful ideology on vulnerable individuals.

"Catastrophic wildfires, multi-year droughts, out-of-control deficits. Why is this happening to the Golden State? The answer will surprise you."
Gerry ("That Prophet") Flurry

Wicked Californians! Wicked!

The Romans only crucified Jesus, but you BAD Californians attacked Herbert W. Armstrong.

Do you know how naughty that was?

If not, Gerry Flurry will explain it to you. Gerry can do that because he's a prophet. Not just any old garden variety of prophet, mind you, but THAT prophet...

Boy, are you Californians in deep manure!

Which is why the grumpy old Deity keeps throwing His toys out of the crib in your general direction. We're talking FIRE here. You Californians deserve it because, after all, God is never wrong, and God is clearly hosed off. Gerry knows: he's got the inside word.

It might help if Arnie wears sackcloth, throws dust in the air and weeps at Herb's grave. Think of it as additional insurance against acts of the Almighty.

Here's how That Prophet puts it: "California is the only state that ever attacked Mr. Armstrong and his work. Actually, it attacked a lot more than that. California really attacked the living God! It also attacked its only hope—a hope beyond what mankind can even imagine! Could such an unjustified attack by the state have anything to do with California’s problems in the last several years? It certainly does, and you need to know why."
Yes, you guys ATTACKED GOD. What were you thinking?! No matter that it was decades ago, and some of you weren't even born then, Gerry's god has a long memory and He isn't big on the forgiveness and compassion thing.

Prophet Gerry's article explains it all, except for the one thing I most wanted to know: how come his god is such a vicious jerk.

Turning the lights up on Six-Pack

This item was forwarded from the WCG Alumni board.

We've been asked by a very longtime COG member to post his sad but heartfelt request for help by we ezboard members. Perhaps some of you may know him. Here's his message:

My father has been a member of PCG (Flurry's church) for over 10 years. During that time he has maintained contact with me. Since my mother died almost six years ago I have called my father regularly on a weekly basis even after he remarried four years ago. He is now 80 years old and just before the feast he told me that PCG has threatened to put him out of the church if he does not break off all contact with me. Since he believes that PCG is the true church and he doesn't want to be put out of that church he has stopped taking my phone calls since shortly before the feast. My dad knows this is wrong but he has no way to do anything about it.

I am not a member of Flurry's church and I can do something about this. I have started an effort to protest to PCG and Gerald Flurry about this policy by writing them letters and by writing letters to the news media in the Edmond, OK area. One response I've gotten from the religion editor of one of the newspapers is that mine is not the first such letter but that he needs to contact some members or ex-members so he can get first hand information on this situation. If there are any current or any ex-PCG members who are willing to talk about the abusive policies and dictates of Mr. Flurry and his ministers please contact me by e-mail or by phone. My e-mail is
horstw@juno.com and my phone number is (919) 242-6273.

Thank you,
Horst Obermeit

Death cult?

Garth Macdonald, a young Australian in his twenties, son of John Macdonald, PCG elder in Perth, was granted the coveted opportunity to study at Armstrong College (formerly Imperial College) in Oklahoma. He is described by someone who knew him as “a very kind and well liked young man whom I believe had a lot of potential.” Another remembered Garth as “athletic and intelligent.”

Garth is no longer with us. These are the details as they have been posted elsewhere on the Web.

“He became very weak some short time before the start of the Ministerial Conference at Edmond in June of 2006. He had no medical attention, and probably didn't want to either or else it would be considered a "lack of faith." ... Garth's parents attended the Conference and were shocked to discover that their son was so emaciated. So Garth was put into a hospital somewhere in Edmond for "tests" which showed that he had a weakened immune system...

“The PCG brethren were asked to pray for Garth, and (due to the hospital giving him steroids) he picked up and people thought that God was healing him... The next thing anyone knew was that his parents were putting him on a plane with them to take him home to Perth... PCG brethren were shocked when he died, a few weeks later, as they believed that God was healing him, but it was because he stopped taking the steroids once he got back home to Australia. He had to be on them to have the strength to be able to get onto the plane...

“There was the stress of his brother getting kicked out of the PCG and college while he was there... One of Garth's three brothers is Brad Macdonald who is married to one of Dennis Leap's daughters.”

Perhaps there are factors involved that aren't apparent to those who've expressed these concerns, and there's no denying that this is a tragic situation for the family, or that their grief should be respected. But there are also wider concerns that need to be aired. These comments also come from a former PCG member:

“I attended PCG in Australia for approximately 10 years (as a child) and witnessed a number of members who refused medical treatment, and instead opted to rely on God to heal them, which in a lot of cases lead them to a slow and painful death. Not once did I see any miracles. Many of those members would still be alive today if they had of followed the doctor's advice and/or start treatment for their otherwise curable medical conditions. The PCG should be held accountable because of their healing doctrine. What they are doing to innocent and naïve people is just wrong. It's time for the PCG to come to an end once and for all. I hope and pray that becomes a reality before any more members die due to a lack of medical care.”

If there was any hope that incidents like Garth Macdonald's death might act as a wakeup call to PCG's leadership, they have been dashed with the release of the October issue of the Trumpet. Two articles by Robert Morley lambast medical science, emphasizing the rigid doctrine that faith and medical intervention are mutually exclusive. Morley writes:

“There is only one Being who has all the answers, the Being who designed and created man in the first place. It is He who created the physical laws by which our bodies function correctly—laws we should do our utmost to abide by. Following these physical laws does not merely treat the effects of disease and sickness—it eliminates the causes. These laws include regulating what and how much we eat and drink, upholding cleanliness and hygiene, getting plenty of sunshine and fresh air, sufficiently and properly exercising, sleeping and resting the right amounts, avoiding bodily injury, and maintaining a positive mental attitude.

“In addition, only God has the power to heal you—and in His Word, He has spelled out iron-clad promises to heal those who satisfy certain basic conditions. Herbert W. Armstrong expounded upon these in his booklet The Plain Truth About Healing, which we offer to you free upon request.”

In a separate article Morley writes: “The question we should be asking is: What is causing our ills? Then the challenge is to really accept the hard answer that we are not living our lives the way God designed us to, and set our minds to fix that. That can truly give suffering individuals and their families hope.”

"Hard answer"? Indeed.

Well, he's certainly correct about needing to ask questions, but not the patsy ones suggested. PCG, by promoting an inflexible doctrine of "healing", continues to endanger the lives of its members. Contrary to Morley's glib claims, how many good, decent, trusting brethren will suffer because they take these articles to heart? This latest issue of the Trumpet – attractively laid out and appealing to people who desperately want to believe in PCG's literalistic variety of fundamentalism – is surely nothing short of a death sentence for many of these same folk.

Dennis takes a flying leap

Dennis Leap has gone. The PCG's Grand Vizier has been dumped by the Supreme Ayatollah, according to reports on the Web. There are rumors about depression, and the removal of ministerial credentials. Excerpts:

1. "It seems that the PCG just had a Ministerial Conference this summer and Dennis Leap was conspicuous by his absence. Absolutely no announcement has been made about him, but the speculation is flying through the PCG."

2. "I was told that Dennis Leap was at the 2006 ministerial conference in Edmond, Oklahoma, but that he had no speaking role, which was highly unusual for him. No one will say why, but it is strongly believed by others there that he has had a nervous breakdown."

3. "Saturday, the last tape of the Ministerial Conference was played. At the end of it, it was announced that Dennis Leap was no longer Regional Director or Minister. Nothing was said as to whether he was suspended or put out, or whether he would have to move out of his house. The members were further told that they had nothing to fear about reporting abuses directly to Flurry."

4. "There was a taped announcement about Dennis Leap in services this Saturday (August 26). It went something like this: Dennis Leap in a deep state of depression and has "suspended" himself. He will not be back to services."

5. "I can't help but wonder if Leap will now form a splinter group."

From the same source comes news of the death of Garth Macdonald, a young Australian studying at PCG's college. The sect's rejection of medical intervention is apparently a factor.

Then there's a lovely example of cult-think. The AICF (American-Israeli Cultural Foundation) has taken exception to the Flurry front organisation, Armstrong International Cultural Foundation, using its acronym. Ryan Malone writes: "We believe this is quite a positive step. Pastor General Gerald Flurry strongly believes God wants us to use Armstrong International Cultural Foundation and that not using the acronym will help people more quickly draw the connection between the PCG's college and its cultural efforts. Whereas using AICF might take a while before others started connecting it to us, having to use the full name allows us the opportunity to forge a more immediate connection with the community and perhaps even those in places where Mr. Armstrong worked with the Ambassador foundation."

So there you have it, the bad news is good news, Big Brother says so!

Wazzup in Flurryland?

Gerald Flurry was a minor figure in pre-Tkach WCG, but the first post-HWA player to gather his phylacteries about himself and set up a competing franchise: the Philadelphia Church of God.

Of course he hasn't been the last. Rod followed with the Global Church of God, then David Hulme surfed the tsunami of discontent to emerge as frontman for the United Church of God. Both groups quickly overtook the Flurry operation in terms of members and (more significantly) tithe generation.

But Global has gone, sacrificed on the altar of Baal's ego. Despite a messy end, Rod created the LCG as a new vehicle fit for his high calling and quickly lapped Gerry again! UCG lost David Hulme and is still trying to get the leadership formula right, yet it's remained the largest of the Armstrong movements (despite bits falling off with amazing regularity.)

Gerald Flurry, however, is still at the helm of his Oklahoma operation. The big question is, who will eventually climb into his throne - Dennis Leap or son Stephen? Place your bets!

Flurry's PCG is among the most secretive of the splinters, right up there with David Hulme's COG-AIC. But wouldn't you just love to be privy to what the Six Pack Prophet is actually saying to his ministerial clones!

Wonder no longer. Courtesy of ex-member Robert Kuhne The Pastor General's Report - including recent 2006 issues - is online for your delectation. http://www.pcog.info/PGR%20Thumbnails/index.html

Ain't the Internet a wonderful thing!

Cult or Sect ? (Part 3) - or "It ain't half hot Gerry"

If you were Gerry Flurry, eager to entice multitudes of eager tithe-paying members to rally to your cause, how would you do it?

Sociologist Rodney Stark has studied successful conversion strategies and reached some striking conclusions. The key is often in tapping into the members' existing social networks (friends and family). Stark makes a strong case that conversion often has less to do with being convinced by doctrine than with fitting in with significant others in our lives. Often, it seems, we only really convince ourselves after making a commitment, not before.

If that seems strange, consider the testimony of a Mormon mission president. When the missionaries make "cold calls" (doorknocking strangers) they recruit one time in a thousand. But when their contact is in the home of a Mormon friend or relative, the odds go up to 50%!

Think for a moment of people you know who joined the COG movement. How often did a parent follow after a son or daughter showed the initial interest? Think about those cases when one sibling followed another into "the truth", or one spouse followed another. Each may have been fully convinced that they were individually "called" into the faith proclaimed by Herb and Ted (or Gerry or Rod...), but the reality was more complex. Do we ever really understand our own deepest motivations? Stark suggests that those with weak social networks are the most likely to be attracted to a new religious movement - witness the efforts some cults put into recruiting on campuses where young people are away from familiar faces, family and friends. My own theory is that people tend to leave sects in similar circumstances - when they've moved away from their home congregation to take on a new job for example, and suddenly have the distance to get a clearer perspective.

"Most new religious movements fail because they quickly become closed, or semi-closed networks. That is, they fail to keep forming and sustaining attachments to outsiders and thereby lose the capacity to grow. Successful movements discover techniques for remaining open networks, able to reach out and into adjacent social networks." (Stark, The Rise of Christianity, p.20)

Poor old Gerry, hell-bent on cutting off all contact between the inmates in his religious ghetto and those in "adjacent social networks" - members and ex-members of other COGs. The tragic side is in torn and bleeding relationships - friends and family separated by the PCG's barrier of fear. However, on a positive note, the contagion of intolerance is also kept at arms length by that very isolationism. No wonder PCG has failed to grow - despite slick magazines, beautiful buildings, airtime on scores of TV stations and enough hot air each week from his client-ministers to inflate a fleet of Zeppelins.

As Sergeant Major Williams used to say on the classic British comedy series "It Ain't Half Hot Mum": "Oh dear, how sad, never mind."

Cult or Sect ? (Part 2)

And the results are:

Scientology (C) 81%
Presbyterian (D) 61%
Mormons* (-) 55%
Roman Catholic (D) 48%
Methodist (D) 46%
Assemblies of God (S) 37%
Jehovah's Witnesses (S) 23%
Worldwide Church of God (S) 10%

Which illustrates two things. Sects - like the old WCG which beat the populist drum - tend to recruit people with little formal education. But there are always exceptions (Robert Kuhn springs to mind), and it doesn't mean that most COG members are unintelligent: just that sects appeal less as educational levels rise. But look at Scientology... with 81% of members holding degrees. Sociologists have determined that these groups (cults, as described in part 1) recruit from a quite different cross section of the population - which just proves that a good education doesn't always deliver common sense.

So, in sociological terms, Herb Armstrong built a sect, not a cult. It would be nice to be able to label Flurry's PCG as a cult, if only because it sounds a lot more dangerous than sect (and it is arguably dangerous!) but PCG's pushing of conservative political and cultural buttons is a definite sectarian characteristic. There's neither originality or insight in evidence, only the beating of those same old drums again and again and again, just like an obsessively bored three-year old.

But there's good news too, great news! Flurry's PCG is heading full steam ahead into the trashbin of history, and Gerry shows no signs of hitting the brakes. In fact, Gerry is unknowingly doing all the right things to push his little sect over the cliff in a lemming drive. More on this in part three.

*Note: Mormons were placed outside the three categories as a special case.