Comments on Ambassador Watch: WCG's best ministers

Wow! I guess I would have to say...I never met a p...

2010-01-02T00:52:35.180+13:00

Wow! I guess I would have to say...I never met a preacher I wouldn't like to see go down in flames. They (WCG, HWA, GTA and all of their authorized mouthpieces) threatened me all of my formative years (birth to 14)with burning in eternal flames so I figure back at you! All of the false, lying, abusive, pedophilic, sick twisted, sadistic, fear instilling bastards.

In Canada, Terry Johnson (pastor of Kitchener, Ont...

2009-12-28T06:22:16.163+13:00

In Canada, Terry Johnson (pastor of Kitchener, Ontario) church in the late 70s and 80s...did not seem to be an asshole. His wife was really easy to talk to....whatever happened to him

BTW he replaced Charles Crane (Crain?) because Cra...

2009-09-09T03:19:04.945+12:00

BTW he replaced Charles Crane (Crain?) because Crane was having an affair with a member of the church. She was married to one of the deacons. Best ministers? I guess I don't know any. I did learn of God, and to always search for truth. I learned that from my father, who I believe was inspired by God. He seen what was happening in the church long before everything went to hell, and left soon after I did.

Marc Masterson was my minister before he went to N...

2009-09-09T03:14:12.801+12:00

Marc Masterson was my minister before he went to New York, here in WV. I was going through hell in school, being skinny and religious in a southern town, you can imagine what everyone called me. The only 2 places I felt safe were the church and home. One night during a YOU meeting, Marc Masterson gave a little speech about what a man should look like. Not skinny, not me. Everyone in the group was looking at me, including him. One guy even reached up and grabbed my arm just to be sure I was aware I was skinny. "Homosexuals are skinny, and feminine." said Marc Masterson. I lost a safe place that night. I almost lost my life as well, it was the first time I tried suicide. Marc Masterson wasn't a good guy here. He was arrogant. He treated me like crap, and almost killed me. Can you imagine the humiliation, the pain a 14 year old has to feel to try to kill themselves? He caused that kind of pain, and that was the last time I went to church.

Dr. Roderick Meredith was obviously one of the bes...

2007-08-31T15:28:00.000+12:00

Dr. Roderick Meredith was obviously one of the best ministers in God's eyes. He is now in charge of the ONLY church that Jesus Christ is leading.
Pray that you will know what church Jesus Christ is leading in this end time and you will be moved to join the Living Church of God. Do you want to hold on to what you want to believe or do you want to know the truth? Pray sincerely to know which church you should be attending!

I just posted, and I knew I would probably forget ...

2007-07-11T18:35:00.000+12:00

I just posted, and I knew I would probably forget someone, ugh! John Cafourek counseled me, and with a real heart.

And since I don't have blog thing, I wish it be known that these heartfelt comments about Art, Dennis, Bob, Terrance, Camillo, Andy, and John; are from Ned Meacham. Anyone who knows these men, I would appreciate hearing you share your POSITIVE experiences in knowing them. NO negative thoughts please....there's too much of that out in COG-land. nedwm@hotmail.com

We were asked to lay aside negative and post who w...

2007-07-11T18:31:00.000+12:00

We were asked to lay aside negative and post who were in the ministry that we believe truly sought to act Christ-like as shepherds. There are men who I had the pleasure of coming to know as personal DEAR Friends, that WALKED the best they knew...being positive, humble exmaples: Art Braidic, Dennis Fischer, Bob Fergen (who passed in 12/06 without my even knowing he was ill..I will deeply this this man), Terrance Graves, Camillo Reyes, Andy Burnett. I don't know if I forgot anyone? Yet these men were "True Gentleman", in my own experience.

Now that L. McCulluough and C. Kilouh were seen lo...

2007-03-02T15:37:00.000+13:00

Now that L. McCulluough and C. Kilouh were seen looking at land in Dallas to buy for a new headquarters and college for the United Church, their members in Texas will likely be excited to have the United HQ in their state.

Agree with John Moskel as just a decent human bein...

2007-02-28T08:46:00.000+13:00

Agree with John Moskel as just a decent human being, as was his wife, Jolie. When they were in Jacksonville/Wilmington, NC, they brought with them a humble and genuine, down-to-earth humor and rare thoughtfulness and intelligence that made us love them.

Anonymous 12:06, I was a dorm mate of John Moskel'...

2007-02-27T03:56:00.000+13:00

Anonymous 12:06, I was a dorm mate of John Moskel's back in '71-'72, and your portrait of him is 100% in line with what he was like when I knew him. I haven't seen him basically since the mid-1970s, but have had reports about him from people who were under his pastorates, and everyone genuinely loved John. Indeed, he would be one about whom it would be nearly impossible for me to envision having gone over to the "dark side" of power-complex ministry. Good to know that a truly wonderful human being remained so all through the years. John, if you're out there somewhere reading this site, here's a fond hello from an old buddy from first floor Manor Del Mar, so many years ago.

JOHN MOSKEL. One of the kindest, most thoughtful, ...

2007-02-26T12:06:00.000+13:00

JOHN MOSKEL. One of the kindest, most thoughtful, easy going, calmest ministers in or out of WCG.

I remember him being yelled at by a young guy who was having marriage problems. I mean the guy was spitting in his face and swearing black and blue. John just calmly listened, and when the guy had finished, asked if there was anything he could do to help.

His wife always said that she could fix cold noodles for him to eat and he would be grateful and give her a compliment on how nice they tasted. What a guy!

I'd nominate Howard Clark as one of the few minist...

2007-02-26T10:15:00.000+13:00

I'd nominate Howard Clark as one of the few ministers I knew at "headquarters" in Pasadena who was approachable, kind, friendly and honest. There were actually several, believe it or not, but he in particular stood out. I left in 1974 after 17 years in WCG and He and his family were some of the finest people you could hope to know.I recall our last Feast in Squaw Valley where my wife and I talked into the wee hours of the morning at the Clark's lodging over the impending fate of the disintegrating WCG.

Once we left WCG, we never looked back. I don't decry the experience, we lived and LEARNED. I was terminated by GTA - it was the best thing that could have happened. I see that clearly now, but at the time it was very traumatic and took about two years to get 're-oriented'.

The awful experiences so many had we avoided by simply staying to ourselves as much as possible and being friendly but 'cautious'. We learned very early who to avoid and who you could relax around. There were plenty of back-stabbers in the highly volatile atmosphere in Pasadena but you didn't have to be a psychic to recognize them. When I origianlly entered AC I maintained an attitude of 'prove All things'. That could get you in trouble with the heirarchy but it keeps you open to the Truth. I continue that approach to this day.

HSC 'not H Clark'

ummm, fear meant "revere" in 1611

2007-02-25T18:10:00.000+13:00

ummm, fear meant "revere" in 1611

I think I've stumbled onto the "Who can I blame fo...

2007-02-25T16:02:00.000+13:00

I think I've stumbled onto the "Who can I blame for my own personal dysfunction?" blog.

To Voicelost: To begin with, The World Tomorrow wa...

2007-02-25T14:18:00.000+13:00

To Voicelost:

To begin with, The World Tomorrow was NOT a biblical work of God. It was/is a CULT! A bombastic prophetic loudmouth's cult so full so sure of himself and his prophecies, then grandfatherly con man!

Con man HWA deserved to spend most of his World Tomorrow incarcerated in Fulsom Prison in a orange jumpsuit busting rocks after having relations with his daugher Dorothy! - or at the very least as a registered sex offender. He could then try to fly around the world visiting dictators on his own dime instead of on conned tithes stolen from the poverty stricken members.

Same thing for GTA who used his positional authority as a minister and school administrator to force relations on coeds at the Ambassador whorehouse of school of understanding.

GTA didn't do "the work of a warner", either. The one thing he should have been warning about would be to stay as much away from him, his incestous psychopathic father, Ambassador, and the WWCG as far as possible!

Your should have "searched the scriptures" blame the victim mentality is way off the mark explaining how the WCG worked. IT WAS AN AUTHORITY CULT! The Armstrongs were the unchallenged AUTHORITY on everything inside and out of the Bible! Just like their highly trained bastard ministers. It didn't matter if you read the Bible upside down, backwards and sideways, Armstrong beliefs are plainly the result of a personality cult of a true PSYCHOPATH - HERBERT W. ARMSTRONG!

fear and trembling. Stupid. If God loves me...and ...

2007-02-25T11:35:00.000+13:00

fear and trembling.

Stupid.

If God loves me...and I believe he does, what do I have to fear?

"...but no one should ever mistake his preaching f...

2007-02-25T06:59:00.000+13:00

"...but no one should ever mistake his preaching for the perfect truths of God. He did the work of a warner; and introduced his understanding of God's truths to many hundreds of thousands. But from that point on it was up to each of us as individuals to "search the Scriptures, whether these things were so." "

AMEN!

if people would work out their own salvation with fear and trembling they wouldn't be so easily damaged by the shortcomings of Church leadership......and, they wouldn't have so many excuses for dropping out all together. ;-)

when God is our focus we aren't easily discouraged by the actions of others....but if our faith is in the man, then we are wasting out time.

I realize you are looking primarily for comments o...

2007-02-25T04:31:00.000+13:00

I realize you are looking primarily for comments on local ministers; however, the name of Garner Ted Armstrong deserves at least a mention in reply to your question.
It was the ministry of GTA that brought the Worldwide Church of God to the place of prominance it once enjoyed; and I have no doubt the foolishness of GTA had much to do with its eventual downfall.
God did a wonderful work through the ministry of Garner Ted Armstrong but no one should ever mistake his preaching for the perfect truths of God. He did the work of a warner; and introduced his understanding of God's truths to many hundreds of thousands. But from that point on it was up to each of us as individuals to "search the Scriptures, whether these things were so."
If from his preaching we accepted some error as truth, will we be able to blame it on his teaching? When we are asked to give an account of the spiritual failures of our lifetime will we be able to say: "Garner Ted told me and I believed him"?
Try picturing in your mind standing before our Saviour on the day of His return using the flaws and failures of GTA as your excuse; I can't even bring myself to wish you 'good luck' when you do.
I have in my files more than 100 of his old sermons and when I get sick and frustrated listening to the milksop crap being fed to us by the ministers of the many different and differing end-time Churches of God I go back to listening to the old GTA sermons.
No matter how many times I hear the same sermon something I missed before will come to my attention. Occasionally I wonder how he could have accepted an understanding that was so obviously wrong. At other times I wonder why I didn't understand what he was telling me more perfectly -- and every time I appreciate and enjoy his presentation.
At other times I want nothing more than to reach into the computer to grab him and give him a good shaking. He, (and his father before him) had a tendency towards using ridicule and bombast when disagreed with others; their ridicule of those whose looks, or actions, or beliefs opposed their own was somthing less than the compassion each of are supposed to have as God's children.
Then again, Garner Ted would be the first to laugh at any suggestion that he, the man, was in any way perfect before God. He had many flaws; and what's more he knew it!
I suggest to those who would harbour any animosity towards GTA (the man) you consider the one who will reign directly unders Our Lord in the Kingdom.
David, king of Israel, also had his flaws; but you'd do well to get over any animosity you may have towards having him as your king.

I would like to enroll Dennis Diehl as one of the ...

2007-02-24T16:25:00.000+13:00

I would like to enroll Dennis Diehl as one of the good guys. I liked him as a very friendly minister, and his sermons seemed to make us laugh and smile, so what that he told me once that he did not feel comfortable sermonising about prophecy (which seemed odd to me at the time, I liked him anyway because he seemed to be a member of the human race that I could relate to and approach). I lived in NK, Ohio in 1978-80. He was the minister for my wedding and baptized my wife. Thanks for the memories!, I appreciate him taking the time to share his thoughts on this forum. It's helped me alot to deal with the whole WCG, Global & LCG experience (for me mostly good but lately alot of baaaaad!! It's like being on one of those Disney rides where the doors open up and you go in the cave like thing and you are sitting in an open carriage that's on rails and you slowly snake through and at first it was alot of fun headin for the Kingdom. LOOK! on the stage it's HWA! He's smiling at us, he's Thundering at us! It's for our own good and actually I "didn't get it". Then he died,the end must be near! Then there was Joe he's smiling at us, nice man.Then he died.Another Joe.Then there was Rod, he's smiling at us, and after that we got treated to the real freak show aaannnd the torture room,lots of mental vomiting and more freak show stuff and it seemed like it just wouldn't end. THEN! the exit doors slam open and I squint in the bright sunlight birds are chirping and I'm out of that hellhole and never gonna git on that ride again. Take Care,Dennis.
from Jack Tremble

Garner ted Armstrong.

2007-02-24T15:31:00.000+13:00

Garner ted Armstrong.

As a teenager, I heard the World Tomorrow, subscri...

2007-02-24T13:53:00.000+13:00

As a teenager, I heard the World Tomorrow, subscribed to the PT, did the Correspondence Course, got some booklets and coworker letters, then invited a minister over for a personal visit to find out more about it in 1972, when I was only 16 years old. How naive and stupid I must have have been! Wolves looking for fresh meat for the WCG grinder. The average age survey shed some light on the cult recruiting methods Armstrong used. The tactics worked well on many idealistic young people, so I can say I had some excellent company, Gavin.

A constantly smiling. right out of AC ministerial trainee in his early twenties, single, pulled up in his late model sedan in front of my parent’s home. He introduced himself, then requested the door be closed so my parents wouldn’t hear our conversation. Amongst other things, he wanted to know if I smoked and a few other unmemorable details, then invited me to services the following Saturday. He told me I didn’t even have to drive myself there; as he probably could arrange for a member who lived nearby to give me a ride back and forth. How conveenient! A member of God’s True Church lived nearby. How lucky can a chap get? I didn’t realize it, but I had just been kidnapped into a cult! Which is why they didn't want me driving alone to services, thinking for myself. Why leave that to chance? My parents were Christians, and had little knowledge of the WCG or how cults operate in general. Reluctantly, they agreed to this shocking (for them) ride sharing arrangement for me to attend Sabbath services.

After this one initial contact, this AC ministerial trainee had basically kidnapped and dumped me into the WCG gulag. It was against the wishes of my parents, who he should have at least consulted. He never took the initiative to personally phone or contact me or my parents again to inquire about how things were going. Nor did he ask if could he help me out in any way, explain things, answer any questions or concerns. Many of the youth I subsequently met at services, literally suffering and abused under Armstrongism for many years, must have thought I was nuts for wanting to attend the WCG! I probably was. At least the teens told me they respected my decision. Learning the WCG Talmud one detail at a time, about unclean meats, having the best Feast ever, how to observe a peaceful Christmas, birthdays, and holy days with family members were issues rolling just around the corner.

B.H. wasn't a good minister. There were no good ministers.

"The fact that there is over 100 comments on this ...

2007-02-24T09:36:00.000+13:00

"The fact that there is over 100 comments on this thread and not many mentions of 'good' ministers speaks volumes."

More about the people commenting caught in a cycle self pitying therapy

The fact that there is over 100 comments on this t...

2007-02-24T08:26:00.000+13:00

The fact that there is over 100 comments on this thread and not many mentions of 'good' ministers speaks volumes.

Not to defend the indefensible but I would guess that a good many of the ministers, both good and bad, were as duped as the rest of us.

Someone made the point that many A/C grads were far too young for the responsibility of pastorship. True enough, however young age is not exclusive of good leadership. When I was a young rifleman in the Marines, I had many good officers and noncoms that were only in their early to mid twenties...The difference was probably that the military has a much better process for getting rid of those who don't measure up.

Mel said, "...The different times in life that we ...

2007-02-24T08:23:00.000+13:00

Mel said, "...The different times in life that we have known these various WCG ministers. People change, over time."

I beg to differ. The despots who were in WCG for years moved to UCG, LCG, and various other splinter whore groups, and were never any different than they were in the WCG. The leopard's spots don't go away. I've NEVER seen a changed "minister, except change for the worse, and I've been around for many years.

Steve K

One reason Mike's sermons were so good was he had ...

2007-02-24T08:20:00.000+13:00

One reason Mike's sermons were so good was he had something meaningful to say.

And he could say it in a shorter period of time than most ministers.

anon poster