Living Church of God
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The Living Church of God (LCG) is the second largest Adventist Church of God group formed by followers of the teaching of Herbert W. Armstrong. It was formed after dissent within the Worldwide Church of God (originally incorporated as the Radio Church of God) had torn that denomination apart. The presiding evangelist of the Living Church of God is Roderick C. Meredith and he was one of the first five evangelists ordained by Herbert W. Armstrong in December of 1952.
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Brief history
One of the main foundations of the Radio Church of God (later renamed the Worldwide Church of God), was a series of prophesied events as written by Herbert W. Armstrong and illustrated by Basil Wolverton in the booklet 1975 in Prophecy!. In the early 1970s when it became clear that these events were not taking place according to the written prophecies, dissenters began to leave the Worldwide Church of God. Others left in dissent over revised theological interpretations of doctrine. Some of these dissenters began to form alternative church organizations which still mirrored the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong.
The pace of dissent did not slow and following the death of Armstrong the Worldwide Church of God was torn apart as many new splinter groups appeared, incorporated and often split again. The second largest group to leave the Worldwide Church of God eventually settled upon the name Living Church of God. (The largest group to leave the Worldwide Church of God is known as the United Church of God.)
Global Church of God
Roderick C. Meredith was one the first five evangelists ordained by Herbert W. Armstrong and he assumed the leadership of the new Living Church of God. "Rod" Meredith, as he was called by his friends, had resisted changes in the Worldwide Church of God and claimed to be loyal to the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong who had been its only primary human leader. The new leader of the Worldwide Church of God had then stripped Meredith of his own position of authority within that organization. Believing he should stand up for the "truth once delivered," he founded the Global Church of God in December 1992 which had begun with a mere 12 attendees on its first Sabbath meeting.
In a booklet called When Should You Follow Church Government? (later renamed Church Government and Unity), Meredith described a church government that worked through harmony with leadership by example. In 1998 he found himself in dissent with the Global Church of God management and he took his own case to the congregation for which he was accused and subsequently fired for causing division within the membership of the church. However, approximately eighty percent of the membership followed Meredith and this sudden departure created a huge debt for the Global Church of God, resulting in its bankruptcy and demise.
New organization
The defecting members of the Global Church of God then organized and incorporated the Living Church of God in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Living Church of God has more than 200 congregations worldwide in Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe, North America, and South America. The church began producing a weekly half-hour television program calledTomorrow's World. It was anchored by Roderick C. Meredith and two other evangelists, Richard Ames and John Ogwyn. The church also publishes a bimonthly magazine by that name which was originally a title of a magazine published by the Worldwide Church of God.
Tragedy in Wisconsin
On March 12, 2005, a murderous rampage rocked a congregation of The Living Church of God who were meeting at the Brookfield, Wisconsin Sheraton hotel for Sabbath (Saturday) services. A lone unmarried gunman, described by mass media and news wire reports as a member of The Living Church of God and having been a member of various related Church of God groups for the past thirty years, opened fire from the back of the hall and killed the local church pastor, six members of the congregation and then himself.[1] (http://www.jsonline.com/news/wauk/mar05/309219.asp)
Doctrines
According to the church web site, members "view themselves as the spiritual heirs of the original Jerusalem Church of New Testament time." The mission statement of the church is to:
Preach, to all the nations of the world, the Gospel of the Kingdom and the true name of Jesus Christ; Preach the end-time prophecies and the Ezekiel warning, particularly to the "Israelitish" peoples; Feed the flock whom God calls, that all may be built to the stature of Jesus Christ; Be examples to the world, and to the Church at large, of Christ’s way of life; Learn and practice servant leadership in all our dealings with others; Build an atmosphere of radiant faith within God’s Church; Restore Apostolic Christianity, and all that this implies.
External links
Official links
- Official Web Site (http://www.lcg.org/)
- LCG Statement of Beliefs (http://www.lcg.org/files/beliefs.pdf) (a PDF file)
- LCG Mission Statement (http://www.lcg.org/mission.htm)
- Tomorrow's World (http://www.tomorrowsworld.org) website
- Tomorrow's World magazine (http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/mags.htm)
Critical commentary
- Center for Studies on New Religions summary (http://www.cesnur.org/2005/lcg_en.htm)