False Prophet Ronald Weinland

This is the third in a series of posts (Part One , Part Two) on Weinland’s governance tactics during his 2000 takeover of The Church of God Inc.   One of the former board members of The Church of God Inc. summarized the conflict succinctly.  Paraphrasing heavily:

“The entire issue was that Ron wanted one-man rule.  We weren’t having any part of that.“

One reference Weinland has made several times when discussing former associations is about “walking side-by-side to God’s house, in counsel blended sweet”.  This is a misquotation from Dwight Armstrong’s song “But As For Me, I’ll Call on God” which is derived from Psalm 55:14 “We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.”  To me the terms “sweet counsel together” or “counsel blended sweet” means a civil discussion where everyone’s opinion is respected and the truth determined.  Ron’s version of “counsel blended sweet” is when his followers counsel each other to observe the latest pronouncement from the mouth of their spiritual idol.

xHWA, who has contributed comments on this blog, was actually there during these events. I’m going to let xHWA contribute most of the material in this post.  First is some new material which summarizes an email exchange between Weinland and xHWA after the split.  After that, I have compiled some of xHWA’s comments on the previous post so you don’t have to sort them out from the other comments.

After the tumultuous events of Feb 5, 2000 and the following week, the bleeding still had not ended.  Life continued on, as xHWA relates:

We had a wedding to attend of a young lady whose family was split by this – half staying with Ron and half leaving. Ron refused to talk to us. He refused to shake my hand. He even tried to avoid eye contact. Then he left immediately after the service. .

xHWA has provided a copy of his email exchange with Ron Weinland after the wedding.  Here it is (emphasis mine):

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{02/21/2000 2:00 PM, a quick exchange during the afternoon }

xHWA: hey there! sorry you didn’t get to stay last night.

REWeinland: Why are you sorry? We left in order to make it a nicer evening for the family. Others have been so hateful and spreading so many lies that I thought it would be better if we were not there so others could be stirred up even more.

xHWA: well, I thought it was nice to see you again. I guess I can see where you’re coming from, though.

REWeinland: I really had no desire to be in an environment where so many who were there had on their smiling faces, acting nice to me when I know of some of the lies they have been spreading. It is really difficult being around such hypocrisy – kind of like a Judas kiss. Anyway, must go.

{Later that afternoon, xHWA to Ron}

Ron,

This whole thing really breaks my heart. Don’t take that lightly because not many things do. I’m really sorry that you feel the way you do about this. You could have sat with R and I during the reception.

Unless, that is, if you were trying to send me a message that you think I’ve been telling lies about you, and that you’re angry with me. You know, last night I said hello to you, and you didn’t even look at me. I had my arm extended to shake your hand, and you didn’t even care. I don’t mind. In the kingdom, God willing I’ll have the chance to shake your hand again. I can wait. But I’ll tell you something, if you have anything against me, you tell it to me. If I’ve spread lies about you, you bring it before me and prove it to me that I’ve done this thing to you (because I honestly do not have any knowledge of myself lying about you). Then I will apologize to you before God and the host of heaven. Until that time I pray you understand that this door is well able to swing both ways. Who’s supposed to be the bigger man?

Has everyone lied about you? If not, why then are you holding this against the innocent? I’m speaking of the ones who wanted to see you and speak with you, but didn’t get the chance because you left. Granted I understand why you left. You feel that you are being lied about. But you must understand that there are innocent people here who feel you’ve betrayed and abandoned them. Right or wrong, they feel that way for a reason. You’re not the only one feeling like a victim here. Do you think that was harsh of me to say? I hope you’re not offended because I’m not accusing you… I’m merely stating fact. It’s a painful truth, I know. It hurts me too. But you left more than just your old friends there last night.

If by any chance you are correct, and there are lies being spread about you, and this whole mess is not caused by what you’ve done… then why have you abandoned the innocent? Did you come to me personally and plead for me to see the truth? Or have you abandoned me? You think a sermon on the subject is enough? Have you done your part? Whom did you visit when this was happening? Which of God’s precious children, for whom God’s own Son was sent to be murdered, for whom the entire bible was written thousands of years ago, for whom all the glories of the universe are held in store, did you lay down your life to save… as God demands of you as a minister? Me? Have you ever visited me? You don’t even know where I live. My wife, who is so confused and young in the faith? L’s boy, J, whose condition makes it impossible for him to decide for himself?

Little SH who is too young to really know what’s going on? But if you call after my Father’s children in a wrong attitude, I must stand opposed to you. As I have always stood opposed to those who would hurt you. And I will not give one inch to anyone who would think to abuse my family. I have no choice. If this doesn’t describe you, then it has nothing to do with you. Forget about it. But if it does.. God help you.

I cannot demand an answer of you, but I pray, for your sake, that you are confident that you’ve done right in God’s eyes. Because He will demand an answer of you. And this you will not be able to escape. I pray that you have done what’s good and just, because everything you’ve worked for, even your very life depends on it. And don’t think that I haven’t considered this very same thing of myself. That is exactly why I’m writing to you now. If you know that I’ve done wrong, prove it to me, so that I can repent and change my ways. I am eager to repent if that will help! But if you, who claimed time after time to be a watchman, don’t warn me, you will share my fate doubly, because you are supposed to be not just my brother but a minister. And you know what I say is true.

And now, consider what I say to you. I am a humble servant. I want to show a better example of service and selflessness. I’ve not spoken against you in this, and I’ve not entertained those who do. So if you consider me to be your enemy, so be it. Know that you are my brother and will always be. And if you ever find yourself in need, you can come to me. I will not allow anger and ill will to take me, as it has so many of my brethren in the past. And by what I see, yes I fear even you. I am not old and wise. I know God ONLY as He allows me to know Him. I am ashes and dirt, not even worthy to speak to my God. I wouldn’t even know this unless He told me so. But by the grace of God alone I am not blind either. God has been especially kind to me, giving me more than anyone else of my age. And I can tell you with confidence that if you don’t change your own attitude, it will destroy you, your health, your family, and your life’s work. Just as this crisis, your fault or not, has destroyed your congregation. I don’t care who’s fault it is, my point here is the mere fact of the destruction is indisputable. And I am not in any way accusing you of being at fault here. Dispute that with those who were there.

I humbly ask you to consider this battle that you fight. Is it worth it? Is it really a battle God sent you to fight? Have you done all that you can to save and heal God’s sheep? Have you done all that you can to repent for your own mistakes during this? And if it is worth it, have you done, in humble selflessness, as a servant crawling in the dust, for the sole purpose of benefiting your brethren, at the possible cost of your own human existence, without thought of gain or vengeance, all that you can do, as a meek and gentle caretaker of the children of the One Almighty God? Because God doesn’t need any of us. He can raise up stones to worship Him. But He has chosen us, the least of all the people of the earth. That should be your goal.

By now, if you’ve even read this far, you might be thinking of how proud and arrogant I must sound. How dare I accuse you? Or possibly even you might think that I have no idea what I’m talking about, and I’m only meddling with God’s government here. But I tell you, Ron, that I am not writing to you out of pride, or a mean spirit, but out of concern. I’m not trying to change your beliefs. It is not my right or place to do so anyhow. And I don’t care in the least bit what you do with tithes. That has never been an issue with me. Burn them on your front lawn for all I care! I’m not meddling in God’s government. I’m pleading for you to consider your own actions! I apologize if this letter is harsh, but I call out to you in agape love as if for a lost brother… that maybe I will gain him back. I would expect nothing less of you.
And Ron, I ask your forgiveness of me because I was slow in calling out to you. And I beg your forgiveness if I am wrong in any of this.

{That evening, 2/21/2000 10:00PM, Weinland to xHWA}

xHWA, xHWA.

You are so quick to judge. You are jumping to conclusions. Your mind is racing. I did not hear you if you said hello and neither did I see you hand stretched out to me to shake hands. I never accused you of lying. But to be candid with you, you have chosen to fellowship with individuals that I have disfellowshipped. Perhaps that isn’t important to you, but it is to God if I am indeed a minister of Jesus Christ. Either you believe that or you don’t. If you choose to have spiritual fellowship with people who have been disfellowshipped and if you choose to be around individuals who are spreading slander and lies, then that is your choice. But don’t expect me to condone your actions or look to them as being brotherly. — They aren’t!

Of course that all goes back to whether you believe I am a minister of Jesus Christ. If you don’t, then why are you even concerned? — And yes, your words are harsh and unjust. You are not righteous in what you say, neither are you accurate. You are in a spirit of accusation and harsh judgment. You have forgotten who your teacher in the Lord actually is. That’s too bad.

You are not only wrong in all of what you say, but your asking forgiveness is contradictory. If you have sinned, you can ask forgiveness of God. I don’t hold anything against you, even thought you are wrong and passing harsh judgment on me. The matter is between you and God. Of course if you want to truly make things right, you may well apologize for your words, but only for your own good in order to have a right relationship with God. I truly don’t hold anything against you, but do hope you are able to get hold of the wrong spirit you are in. If you don’t you are going to begin loosing truth and understanding in a very rapid way. You will also find you are no longer working in God’s grace.

I hope you can understand what I am telling you. –But again the impact will only be good to the degree that you recognize me as a true minister of Jesus Christ — which I am. You will indeed have to judge that one for yourself.

By the way, the reason people may feel that I’ve betrayed them or abandoned them is because of their own personal choices before their God. They have abandoned their true fellowship. They have betrayed the true words of God and have chosen to believe liars and the lies they spread. That is a choice — one that only they can themselves make. No one else is responsible for each persons personal choices.

In God’s love and in the service of Jesus Christ,
Ron Weinland

{02/21/2000 12:00PM, xHWA responds to Ron}

Ron, my old teacher,

I’m used to you taking no interest in me. You never said anything about why you’ve never called me, or invited me to dinner, or even been to my home. I suppose I’ll never know. I watched you look at me from the corner of your eye as you ran past me last night. You didn’t say hello to R__ either. So all I can do is forgive you. Again.

You’ve disfellowshipped and refellowshipped. The last bulk letter I’ve received from you said that all disfellowshipments were off. So which is it? Disfellowshipped again? I see. You’ve thought to let these aweful liars back into God’s church, even for a moment? God forbid! And now they’ve taken even more people. Whose fault is that? J’s, right? Or S’s? Or R’s? All of them are well able to make this decision for themselves, isn’t that what you said? It must be their fault.

And as for my mind being racing? How I wish you would have taken any time to get to know me. We would have been fast friends. It took me 2 and 1/2 hours to erase the letters I wanted to send to you, and rewrite ones more correct. God is not letting me hang myself by sinking into an arguement with you. I will not do that. All I can say is God’s grace is not yours to give or take. My salvation does not depend on your ministry. The history of repeated harsh treatment and unrepentant attitude is not from me, I’m sorry to say. How I wish it were. Then I alone would have left the church. I would pray that I had the power to deny pride for just a moment and sacrifice myself in order to save others.

Do you want to know why I am concerned, even though I cannot recognize you as a minister? Because I don’t want to let you go as a brother. Stone me to death if you want, Ron, but I will not let your new position blind me as to the real truth behind Jesus’ message of love. You are my brother first and foremost before you are a minister. That’s why I care about you. I fellowship with those who you have disfellowshipped because I would have anyway. Just as Jesus didn’t come to save the righteous, I stay in contact with sinners. And I don’t think you understand what that means.

A wrong spirit is quite the thing to be in. People who are in a wrong spirit cannot see it. I hope that you hear someone, if not me. I was asking you, why. Why? Why, if you know that those men are liars, didn’t you come to my rescue? I would have come to yours. I’m trying now. I’m trying to forgive you. Listen to me now, Ron. I’m your humble brother, and God has only given me a little understanding. But what I will tell you now is that none who have left you feel abandoned. They feel saved. If these three men who accuse you are liars, then your brethren are abandoned. Is that what you would have me tell them? “Ron, who loved you and cared for you… gently correcting out of love when you were wrong… never showing his own personal weakness in losing his temper… selflessly laying his life down to serve and lead by better example as Jesus commanded him… treating each one of you as precious vessels in his care… without concern for tithes or status or primacy as a pope… says that you have chosen your own path, now you will have to accept your fate because he, in his tender mercy for you, does not want to see you again, and neither does God.” ??

But, I guess, as you’ve said, everything that I say is wrong. So I’m a fool. I’m sorry that I’m not going to get the chance to continue to learn from someone like you who is never wrong, and living without need of repentance.

In God’s love and service of Jesus Christ,
-xHWA

{02/22/2000 2:00AM, Weinland stays up to respond to xHWA}

xHWA,

This will be my last attempt to respond, as it is quite evident your mind has been made up on many matters for some time. You are seeking to find fault with me. Why haven’t I invited you over or been to your house or called—? Is that what you are going to base your decisions on — is that how I am judged? It has been obvious to me that you did not recognize me as your minister. If I am not your minister, I am certainly not your brother. You can’t have one — in this case — without the other. You don’t seem to recognize your true relationship with God. A minister is to teach and instruct God’s people in His ways, but when those whom He has called are in judgment of His ministers, then instruction is obviously being rejected. You are in a spirit of bitterness and can’t even see it because of your self justification.

You have placed yourself in the position of the minister — of the teacher — you have elevated yourself above what God gave you. Read your letter again. You are now the teacher. Do you really believe that is how God works?

You even signed your name as a minister of Jesus Christ — in His service. You have never been ordained to that responsibility. You have truly taken too much on yourself and I do fear for you if you do not repent speedily for such presumptuousness. Do you think you can do this lightly before God and He not correct you mightily for it? xHWA, you have really gone way too far. In addition, it is quite evident from such a response that you are far from having any love for me as a brother, but instead you are in a gall of bitterness and it will eat away at you and consume you if you fail to repent.

Please don’t delude yourself by speaking about Jesus Christ, God and love, and do so in a railing manner with such sarcasm and anger.

By the way, no disfellowshipments were ever off. Only letters concerning whether individuals were in “good standing” were removed. If you would read all the letters again, you might come to understand what I was saying. Those disfellowshipped is quite another matter. They had no probation. They were fully disfellowshipped from the Church. That included JR, GB, DG, and GK.

In Christ’s service,
Ron Weinland

{02/22/2000 11:00AM, xHWA back to Ron}

Ron,

I’m sorry that you need to attack me. Every time I’ve ever spoken to you, written or over the phone, I started the dialogue. Better you attack me than my brethren, though. You can’t prove you’re innocent of the “lies”. You can’t because they aren’t lies. And you can’t save me, even if you wanted to. And here’s why:

2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
8 As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
16 I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Don’t reply to me. Your pride has no part with me. But if you ever need me, you know where I can be reached.

In the service of God and Christ, which no man is worthy of,
xHWA

ps. I was absent the day you gave the sermon on serving Christ was only for the ordained ministry. (referring to the signature) Too bad for me, because I would have walked out then.

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My takeaway is that unless you’re totally with Ron and totally against his enemies, then you also are an enemy and not worthy of fellowship with him.

Here is the compilation of xHWA’s comments from the other post.  xHWA responds to questions and comments from others, answering relevant details.

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[On legalities]

WO, just an observation,

I think that you sometimes confuse the PKG church with the PKG corporation. The two are not the same. One is bound by the laws of the Bible (ummmm… anyways), the other by the tax laws of the United States. The corporation only exists for tax purposes. One cannot write off their tithes as a charitable donation unless they were given to a church with a proper corporate organization that has tax exempt status.

You may view that Ron has spiritual authority to do whatever he did, and if he wants to be sole leader of his own church then he can make up his own rules or whatever, but the legal facts of the matter are that he did not have that authority within the corporate organization. When boards and ministers fight in corporations, like happened in PKG and UCG and Global and etc, it is always about money because that is the only thing the corporation exists for. The right thing to do was either to give it up and move on, or dissolve the corporate entity and start over (thus risking his power), or do what the Board did and write new by-laws. He still disfellowshipped them! Then he removed the voting members who opposed him before a vote could be taken to adopt the new rules the Board helped write. That’s not within the church organization, but in the corporate organization.

I just caution you to keep the two separate and distinct in your mind. Perhaps that will also help you to see what’s going on here.

Spoken directly by a member of the Board; a Board which I remind you was set up with by-rules specifically and intentionally in order to prevent one man rule like in the WCG (and in what PKG is now):

“Ron was not legally allowed to take the money according to the byrules of the church corporation. Ron very loudly and angrily accused the board of insubordination and etc by refusing to go along with his order to spend the money on publications. Ron had retained a lawyer and was actively trying to take the money. In order to do that, he had to fire the board and change the byrules. This he did by disfellowshipping them.”

The market was already flooded with publications; better publications than we could afford to put out. The idea was not to waste money on magazines and TV, but to serve the needy. Ron didn’t like that. There was already a nice website and a newsletter and a tape/video program and a phone-hookup program and Ron did a little travelling to preach on the side. He wasn’t satisfied. The Board was well within its rights to object. Then Ron wanted to start a parallel corporation with himself in full control of the funds for all the “scattered brethren” (he was only thinking of the poor brethren – and the kids — and the puppies, don’t forget puppies). What was the need? Two corporations only adds bureaucracy and complication. The Board asked him why he wanted this and he refused to explain. Well, control of the money was the need! So, failing to get approval for that scheme, he secretly devised a way to oust the board, silence the opposition, and install himself as sole head of the whole ballgame.

[A new home for those who were kicked out]

“Just curious, when the board was disfellowshipped did anyone leave with them?”
Yes and no. They held a meeting early the next Sabbath to let their side of the story be known. They planned it so that everyone would have the chance to attend with Ron later that day. The people who received the “no longer members in good standing” letters were a bit confused as to whether or not they were still welcome to attend, but so far as a split went, no one conceived of the idea. We just thought the Board would go to UCG or something. As it turns out, their side of the story was so convincing, and the details Ron left out of his side were so incredible, well, the whole lot of us soon decided in the following days that we would just leave with the Board. I left when Ron accused me of fraternizing with the enemy (not in those words, but that was the gist of it) during a wedding party. He was really quite rude to me. And I’ll admit that in my frustration I was really quite rude to him right back. I added up all of the things I saw during 1999 (many more things than are presented here) and concluded that the man misrepresented himself as a minister and was not what he seemed.

“Were any other splinter groups created by anyone in the Board?”
No. They are all, in fact, still together today. Except for one man who left when he decided he wanted to pursue the belief that Jesus was a created being, and also got caught all up in the calendar issues.

The COG – Toledo, as a corporate entity, is headed by Mr. Gary Klar. He is aided by a church board which is elected by the members of the corporation. He has no control over the money at all, except for the ability to write small checks without board approval. (Small checks in the order of $500 or less, I think.)
The COG – Toledo, as a spiritual entity, is ministered by Mr. Gary Klar. He takes the advice of local Deacons closely to heart and defers to them regularly. A very wise thing, IMHO.

[Now this sounds more like "counsel blended sweet" to me.]

[Impressions of Ron's demeanor during the sermon]

WO “Does anyone notice the voice Ron uses throughout the sermon?”

Not only did I notice the voice he uses, I watched his face as he spoke it. He was convincing. Except for there was something about him that made me incredibly suspicious. I attended his church for a few years and watched him change from a person who appeared to truly care about the church into a man who spoke the words that he cared but it was obvious that he did not. (You’ll have to trust me on this that I’m privy to private information far and beyond just what’s here and it goes a long way to helping me form my opinion.) We’d seen his growing obsession with Herbert Armstrong. We weren’t the only ones who’d noticed. Other ministers in other areas were well aware of Ron’s attitude. I’d met my share of shady characters, and by that point Ron fit the profile. My wife and I passed notes back and forth about how something seemed to be up. Like crocodile tears or a politician’s smile.

Just to make it clear, I do tend to side with the Board. I think their decision was correct. They questioned him, he wouldn’t explain himself, they made it clear they couldn’t support him because of that. It was the right thing to do. The market was already flooded with publications. No one but Ron and a couple of his closest cheerleaders wanted the media machine of UCG recreated. We were beginning to understand that Christ is a single Spiritual Body of believers, not a single corporation. We were beginning to see that we were all divided, but all on the same team. So long as UCG had a media machine, that was serving the purpose well enough. No need to duplicate efforts. Ron apparently did not see that because he couldn’t see past his own ego. All saw the call as being one to get into the trenches and actually help those in need, in a way WCG should have been doing but failed to do. The Board saw the goal as calling people to Christ, and Ron saw the goal as calling people to his ministry. According to the intentions of the by-laws, the Board’s function was to advise him and question his decisions so that no one man could control the show. It was designed that way on purpose. Ron may say he was asleep, but “asleep” don’t cut it. One man rule was taught since the 1940’s and it was no secret. They purposefully and with forethought and intent went against that (in the corporation!) for a reason. One man rule led to Joe Tkatch Sr. and other shady characters like Rod Merideth and the Global fiasco. There was no sleep. It was done to protect everyone because “in the multitude of counsellors there is safety”. But I will readily admit the Board had their own problems. They weren’t telling anyone anything (until a week too late). They had a stand-offish air about them as well, carried over from the WCG days, that these events helped cure them of. It was very humbling.

WO “One thing is for sure and that is that Ron was truly concerned about the Church during the sermons.”

I disagree. It was obvious that something was up. It’s the odd glint in the eye, the pieces and details that don’t add up, the sense that it was all spin, add the evidence of the following week’s activities, the unsorrowful unapologetic attitude, the realization that he had hired a lawyer to find ways around the by-laws (it’s common knowledge now, but not then), and etc., etc., etc. It piled up real quick.

“How was the expression on Ron’s face during the sermon?”

Like I said, convincing. He was a man in agony. He’s a great actor and has charisma.

And crocodile tears, the tongue of a snake, and a politician’s smile. A whitewashed tomb. He’s as empty as a meeting hall after the Last Great Day.
Have you ever watched the movie Beowulf (Robert Zemeckis; 2007)? There are parts of that movie that are so real looking you would swear they are live action. But in those parts there is something not quite right about it. There is something that makes you know it isn’t real; a lie in the truth. That is how he looked.
A man in agony, with a gleam in his eye and a smirk on the corner of his mouth.

[Ron's hypocrisy]

To emphasize Ron’s blatant hypocrisy, I would like to quote Ron’s own explanation for his leaving the UCG which I have taken from a document titled “Recent History and Formation of the CHURCH OF GOD, inc.“. Keep in mind this was posted on the COG, Inc. website much less than 1 year before Ron’s epiphany that government by board is evil.

“In January of 1997, I addressed several issues of ethics, concerning the administration of UCG,aIA, with Council Members, Home Office staff, and the conference of elders. Those issues were not being answered nor openly addressed by UCG,aIA. Highest on the list was the mismanagement and improper depletion of reserves by $4.5M within one year. In most corporations there would by outrage, firings, and possible prosecution for such action. But within UCG,aIA there was no such reaction. Instead, there was a concerted effort to cover, excuse, and hush the truth. After waiting until the General Conference of Elders Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky in March, those issues were still not being addressed and I again sought action from the Council of Elders to take proper control of the Home Office according to the Constitution and Bylaws. After several months of inaction from UCG,aIA, I resigned May 30, 1997. I could no longer conscientiously support such an administration that was unwilling to carry out their responsibilities of decisive, prompt, and proper stewardship.”

According to Ron, the head of the church is the only valid leader and the board system is evil. If David Hulme (President of the UCG, AIA at that time) was hindered in an ungodly way by the evil UCG Council of Elders from spending that $4.5M referenced by Ron, then that expense was valid, and Ron’s defiant reaction was seditious and disobedient. He owes a lot of people an apology, not the least of which is David Hulme. In fact, he should repent and submit himself to David Hulme’s divine authority.

“In a letter, Ron indicated that there was an attempt by “some” to take control of the corporation. Yes, there was an attempt. But it was not an attempt by “some”, it was an attempt by “one”, Ronald Weinland”

Absolutely agreed!

Evidenced first by the report that Terry Wrozack knew “change was coming” before Ron discussed anything with the Board about the new governmental style he wanted. And second by the report that Board member John Ross and mole turned Senior Elder Terry Wrozack together wrote the new by-laws that were to be voted on BEFORE anyone was disfellowshipped.

The Board wrote the new by-laws and were disfellowshipped anyway, and the perceived threats in the congregation were eliminated as well. They weren’t happy about it, but they were cooperating. Ron said all he wanted was control of the scattered tithes. When asked if he thought of a new government style, he said he hadn’t thought about it. Next thing you know he’s the sole leader of the church. What did the Board get for it? The boot! …and a parting gift for playing.

The letters handed to the “no longer in good standing” were pre-made and brought to services. They amounted to “Dear Sir or Madam” letters. That tells me Ron had identified in advance who he thought was a threat. I got a call the next day telling me that I received a letter by mistake. FAT CHANCE! It was a 3 question survey. What mistake could you possibly make? I believe he didn’t read the surveys at all until later.

[A comparison with Herbert Armstrong.]

I tell y’all what, one foundational epiphany in my life was that Ron Weinland does nothing that Herbert Armstrong didn’t already do.

Did Armstrong take over the WCG? Not specifically, but HWA was a hothead who wouldn’t defer to anyone else. That got him “fired” from the COG7. He started his own church, railing against some overarching governmental control over local congregations, claiming it was the “image of the beast“, and derived from the Catholic’s worship of Roman imperialism and the tradition of Nimrod. And why not say that? He was over a couple local groups and was just “fired” by a larger governmental unit. It suited him to teach that way.

Later, as it suited him, he denied ever being a “member” of the COG7 (he claimed he “worked in cooperation” with them but was never a member but that is demonstrably false since he was a credentialed member of “the 70″; the second highest tier of COG7 government at that time). Having built himself into the one-man ruling “Apostle”, he came out railing against the local congregations, saying it was unbiblical and evil. He actually praised the Catholics for their governmental style. So much for “image of the beast”!

And as Mike was correct to point out, the 1979 Receivership saw the “the appointed Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ and, … the spiritual and temporal leader of the Church from its inception” ditch the WCG in Pasadena to hide out in Tucson where he could collect funds beyond the reach of the California government (he stated his contingency plan was to start a new corporation which would have been called the Philadelphia Church of God). Directly in violation of law and court order, Herbert Armstrong called for all moneys to be sent to him in Tucson, addressed and made out to him personally. THIS WAS ILLEGAL!!! He sent out his henchmen to “make it legal” by claiming it was Godly to defy the law.

So why am I rambling on this way? 1) Ron defies the law as it suits him (it was illegal according to the corporate by-laws that set him as minister in the first place, to do what he wanted, so he schemed to have the by-laws changed), 2) Ron’s views on government change as he finds necessary to best benefit himself (boards were great when he was in UCG and when he was hired by the Board into the COG, Inc.; but later boards are bad! REALLY bad!), 3) Ron has no qualms about splits and starting new corporations (first he splits from UCG, then he wanted to split the COG, Inc. in two, then he re-formed into the PKG) — EXACTLY following the pattern Herbert Armstrong set before him!!

[If Ron had handled the situation differently.]

“do you think that most would have left with Ron if the board fired Ron?”
Your question is purely hypothetical, so I can’t really answer that with any accuracy. So, I’d rather not even attempt it.

Most people left after the Board explained their side. After the Board explained their side, it was clear that “Nothing Will Remain Hidden” was the largest case of misrepresentation since “The Never Ending Story”. Much remained hidden… like the fact that he’d retained a lawyer. How’d he pay for that? Not even the Board knew. To this day I don’t understand why he chose that title.

Don’t forget that Ron planned much of this in advance (unity’s sake?), he knew who he thought would leave, Terry Wrozack told the Board that changes were coming, all the Board wanted was a clear explanation which he refused to give, and what Ron did was unethical at best, illegal at worst.

“My opinion, and maybe xHWA will weigh in:
If on Feb 5 Ron had announced that he was resigning , and sent a letter to everyone explaining why, I think that he would have taken most of the membership with him. The 2/3 of the members who were from out-of-town would have gone with him because Ron was their interface. And probably a few of the locals would have as well, Terry Wrozek for sure.”

I didn’t want to get into this, but I’ve been thinking about it all night. I can’t see anything that would make me disagree with Mike’s assessment.

Obviously the Board and their families would have left. Then there were some older, wiser people who had seen this all before and who weren’t fooled by Ron. They would have stayed with the Board because they’d been down that road and knew where it leads. Just the same, there are people who would do anything Ron says, no matter how weird or wild, regardless. Then there was a middle group who didn’t really know what the heck was going on. I fit in there. I knew something was terribly wrong, and I was so embarrassed that my wife thought we were a church of crazy people, but I had no idea as to what exactly was going on. I didn’t get any real info until after the split.

I know that when Ron passed out the surveys I agreed with his three questions on a technicality. I still got a letter putting me in “member not in good standing” status anyhow (thus proving to me that the letters were made up in advance). Ron called me the next day telling me he misread my survey and reinstated me to normal status. At that point I fully intended to stay with Ron. Even after the Board had a meeting the next Sabbath to tell us their side of the story, I still intended on staying with Ron. Taking that into consideration, I think Mike is right. Most of the people would have stayed with Ron.

Shortly afterwards there was a wedding where both sides attended. Ron was acting like (the only thing I can liken it to is “a jerk”). He was rude to me that night. And his later comments (and to my shame I was rude back) led me to believe it was because I sat with the people he disfellowshipped. After much deep introspection I finally put it all together and accepted that Ron was not representing himself truthfully, he wasn’t a man I could trust, this was precisely why the original by-laws were written as they were, and I had better go. Rather than go to the UCG I chose the path of least resistance and went with the other group. In the end, I never voted on the new by-laws one way or the other (I suppose you could say I voted with the majority, then).
I say this to stress that there are times when it takes a sizable amount of information to convince a person to leave the comfort of status-quo. In this hypothetical alternate-universe where things played out differently (and Ron wore a Van Dyke goatee to indicate that he was dubious), I think that comfort would have convinced more people to stay with Ron than it did.

About the out-of-town people, this is what has kept me thinking about this all night. It never dawned on me that Ron really was their source of info. Especially for Cincinnati. None of them teamed up with the COG – Toledo that I am aware of. There were people in Detroit that left, but as I understand it that was mostly because there was a second source of info with Detroit in the form of congregation members who had close relationships between Toledo and Detroit (relationships that still last today, and they still sometimes visit) [and I will miss them dearly]. This clearly irritated Ron. It is my opinion that only the people locally, who had the opportunity to meet that morning and listen to the Board tell their side of the story, could have the info they needed to make a truly informed decision. This played out in an article in the February 2000 edition of The Journal, but even that didn’t do it justice.

I have to agree with Mike – either way the chips fell most of the out-of-town people would have gone with Ron, and in the alternate timeline more local people would have stayed with Ron.

[Feelings on Weinland viewed through the lens of time]

“Ron and everyone else was asleep then. Everyone fell asleep spiritually at the time. Ron himself admitted this.”

Then how is it that I recall something about him claiming to be a prophet since 1997? A sleeping prophet? A prophet in what way if he was so wrong before God?
With his track record lately, perhaps he’s still asleep.

If they were asleep because of government style, then the UCG was never valid at all, nor was his being set up as minister of COG, Inc, therefore as a non-leader of a non-group he had no authority to do what Mike reported about above.

Gerald Flurry and Rod Meredith for example had the “right” government model. How were they asleep? Why not address that? He should seek those men out and let them know their correct understanding of church government was a beacon of light to the COG universe. Instead he calls down death on them. He claims “right” government style, which they had before he did, as if it were something he came up with. Seems to me that he only makes himself all the more illegitimate by admitting anything.

“Do you ever feel Ron taught what you believed, that God’s church worked in various organizations?”

Yes. It’s not so black and white as I always did or else I never did. Ron takes that tact in his letters to people who question him. Either he is their minister and they fall in line, or he never was and they should leave. I disagree. Remember how Christ died for His enemies. If Christ acted with that attitude like Ron does, we’d all be dead.
He was a different man before 1999. Before the money. I met Al Buchanan of Belleville COG through Ron’s reaching out to other organizations. Ron reached out to other ministers and groups regularly. You keep reading those News Watch newsletters and you’ll see that he understood the Body of Christ was not limited to a corporation. That changed when the money came in. Or else I was more deceived by Ron than I realize.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I have nothing against him personally. I forgive him completely for anything he may have done to me, real or perceived, direct or indirect. I may be hard on Ron at times, but only within certain boundaries. He has in his grip people that I care a lot about. The fact of things as I see them is that he is a Christ peddler and I will oppose him until he lets his captives go free.

BUT if he were to repent and admit that he is a false prophet, step down from his leadership role, stop accepting tithes, and sit in the congregation as a regular member … I would not only leave him perfectly alone, but extend my hand to him in peace. I don’t ask that he return the money. I don’t ask that he pay penance. All he has to do is admit that he was wrong and change because of it.
I hold out that hope, so I do not condemn him. I may appear harsh at times but I do not think for a second that he is damned or hopeless. I have hope for him that he will repent, and if he does he will certainly be accepted.

There are things you had to be there for. There are things that are private and I will not tell publicly. There are things that I’ve already spoken about on Escaping Armstrong. I suggest people read those posts.

My intent isn’t to bury Ron, or even smear him, but just give out important info. I intend only to help the people he’s hurt. And to go on helping them. To that end I’ve already given out plenty enough info that anyone should be able to piece it together and come to a realization. My flurry of activity recently is simply to tie up some loose ends. I intend to leave it up to Mike who excels me at this by far!

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xHWA, thanks for the good words.  And most of all, thank you for the details you’ve provided. I wouldn’t have been able to do this without your help.

Tags: Government

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