Armstrong followers divided over doctrinal shift.
Up to half of the 100,000 members of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG)—which has moved toward orthodoxy after 60 years of rejecting basic Christian beliefs—may bolt following the latest round of doctrinal changes, observers and former members say.
Two splinter groups, each claiming the mantle of WCG founder Herbert W. Armstrong, are poised to gain members and dollars in the wake of the anticipated exodus.
In a series of meetings during “the next six months,” according to WCG spokesman David Hulme, the Pasadena, California-based church will reveal to ministers and members “certain doctrinal information,” which eventually will be made public.
A survey of articles written by WCG pastor-general Joseph W. Tkach reveals the most likely shift will involve a new view of the Godhead that embraces trinitarian doctrine heretofore rejected by the church (CT, Nov. 9, 1992, p. 57). “The Bible teaching is that there is one God, who is the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit,” Tkach wrote. “It is not my idea, nor is it the idea of some fourth century theologians. It is the plain Bible teaching.”
Church observers also believe the group will drop a requirement that members adhere to Levitical dietary laws on “clean” and “unclean” foods.
In earlier moves, the WCG said it would stop setting dates for prophesied events and drop prohibitions against medical care, the celebration of birthdays, and interracial marriage. Also jettisoned were teachings that man was born to “become God as God is God” and that the Anglo-Saxon peoples of Britain and America were descended from two of the ten “lost” tribes of Israel.
Mass exodus?
The changes are expected to trigger a rush from the ranks of the church. John Trechak, who publishes Ambassador Report, a newsletter that chronicles the church, predicts losses ranging from 10 to 50 percent of the membership.
“There will be people leaving,” says Trechak, also of Pasadena. “I think people are disgusted” with the changes, which are “a 180-degree turn” from founder Armstrong’s doctrines.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if 50 percent—at least—walk out the door after [WCG’s fall] Feast of Tabernacles,” says Bruce Renehan of Tehachape, California, a 23-year veteran of the church who left two years ago. This fall he will publish Daughter of Babylon, a book refuting Herbert Armstrong’s doctrines. “The majority of the people in the church have bought into the things Herbert W. Armstrong taught. They believe he was God’s man.”
Roderick C. Meredith, a pioneer Armstrong lieutenant who now leads a dissenting group, the Global Church of God in Glendora, California, also foresees an exodus from WCG. “There may be thousands that will leave over the next two or three years,” Meredith says. “There’s the growing realization that Christ is not going to solve the [doctrinal] problems.”
Rival groups
The shifts, announced in the past three years, have led to two serious challenges to the WCG. In the past year, two rival churches have won members and contributions.
One, the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG) in Edmond, Oklahoma, fields a weekly television broadcast it claims reaches 150 million homes in North America and western Europe. The group has close to 20,000 subscribers to the Philadelphia Trumpet, a monthly magazine replete with reverent citations of the writings of Armstrong, who died in 1986 after leading the WCG since its founding in 1933.
Gerald Flurry, PCG founder and a 20-year minister in the WCG, says his is the only church properly revering Armstrong as a prophet of God and continuing the WCG’s work of “warning” the world about a prophetic climax of world events. Membership is between
2,000 and 3,500.
Meredith’s Global Church of God is coming up on its first anniversary. Meredith, who says he was forced out of WCG leadership in 1992 after 40 years of ministry, reports his church has the support of 2,000 people. The church produces a weekly 30-minute radio program aired on 16 radio stations.
Dissension a tradition
Dissenting movements are not new for the WCG. In the 1970s, scores of ministers and several thousand church members left over doctrinal disagreements. Most notable was Garner Ted Armstrong, Herbert’s son and heir-apparent, who began the Church of God, International, in 1978.
But where earlier WCG exiles have started their own groups or gone their separate ways, the Philadelphia Church of God and the Global Church of God are claiming the mantle of Herbert W. Armstrong and seeking those members disaffected by recent WCG changes.
In Pasadena, WCG director of communications Hulme says church membership remains constant at around 100,000 members, and the group does not fear a massive walkout. “We regret there are people who decide to take these courses of action,” Hulme says of the dissenters. “We wish they were with us.”
Those academics who have studied Armstrong and his followers agree that the WCG is engaged in an unprecedented exercise. “I can’t recall a movement that has made change from the top down in similar circumstances,” says Ruth A. Tucker, author of Another Gospel.
By Mark A. Kellner in Pasadena.
