A Messy Mess
March 23, 2024 | by Marc Cebrian
The Restored Church of God experienced an exciting week when European minister Christophe Binette departed with a bold letter heard ‘round the world. It certainly jolted Bradford Schleifer out of bed before the cock crowed.
Jaco Viljoen was not fully awake when he drafted a deeply flawed rebuttal to the membership without pausing to consider the implications of what he accidentally admitted. RCG “ministers" are trained to under-react. Still, Headquarters forgot that philosophy in their desperate haste, so they swung into Damage Control Mode and revealed more than they intended.
And opened themselves up to a potentially messy legal action.
One serious implication of that poorly-crafted response letter is that The Restored Church of God exposed themselves to a lawsuit for violating pastoral confidentiality. Ministers are legally bound to keep information of counseling sessions private. Jaco claimed he and Cardboard Denee were working with Christophe, but then disclosed the nature of those discussions. Naughty, naughty.
The Restored Church of God ethically and legally violated its moral obligations as a religious organization by revealing private counseling information to its members.
This is not the first time.
Kenneth Orel is famous for revealing member secrets, and it could be a supporting factor in why he was so easily cast out from Wadsworth last year and was reduced to remote volunteer status. Some former members learned the hard way that if you counsel with Ken privately, he will use that content to flavor his sermon publicly.
Hearing your private story being divulged to the entire church while sitting in services is a traumatizing experience. Two former members approached me with their sufferings, but found it too painful to tell their side publicly. It is my hope that some day those stories come to light.
There are now three first-hand reports of this happening in The Restored Church of God. An attorney would better understand how many claimants you need to form a class action lawsuit. If anyone would like to take up this cause, I would gladly facilitate communication between the interested parties. Write exrcgwebsite@gmail.com.
That is a sliver of the abuses taking place within the walls of The Restored Church of God. Moral, ethical, and legal messiness is gaining traction on the already prevalent doctrinal mess.
David C. Pack enjoyed his drive home Sunday learning The Restored Church of God just shrank by 1%. When an organization is already in steady decline but reporting it as flat growth, how many more 1% losses can they sustain before financial collapse becomes inevitable?
RCG’s banks might also be smelling blood in the water. The more desperate shift in RCG’s financial policies and doctrines is a response to pressure from their loan holders, not coincidental revelations of biblical clarity from Dave’s god. Banks love steady, reliable income. The big, occasional Common check does not put them at ease. Dave may love it, but sound financial institutions do not.
The cold sweat on the wooden walls of Headquarters’ Third Floor of the Hall of Administration might just be steady, controlled panic at The Restored Church of God. They are not growing. Tithe income is not growing.
That is why they are considering preaching publicly for the first time after twenty-five years. Because they are being forced to. It has nothing to do with “the work” Herbert W. Armstrong did in the Worldwide Church of God. That is a plastic veneer to hide the rot underneath.
Let Stone Cold Math tell the tale.
The Restored Church of God uses business tools common to many corporate entities including Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. There are all kinds of easily accessible data stored within that environment for anyone interested to document.
As of March 2024, these are exact numbers according to The Restored Church of God.
Current Active Members: 1,254
Removed Members: 4,625
Prospective Members: 140
Church Inquiries: 6
Deceased: 442
Total Contact: 470,801
These numbers report worldwide data since the inception of RCG in 1999 and since they began tracking. The active member numbers do not include children, and these statistics are outdated because they have lost 1% of their members in the past seven days. The hemorrhaging is not over.
As a frame of reference, Bradford Schleifer delivered a Bible Study, “Your Work and The Work” in June 2022. Despite his painting a deceptively rosy picture of RCG’s prospects, it was apparent that he was fudging the numbers back then. How much more so now?
Your Work and The Work – Bradford Schleifer – June 24, 2022
@ 54:04 We’ve seen our Church Inquiries grow ’21 over ’20. And we're currently projected, with what we're seeing right now, to beat last year by about 35 percent.
As of March 2024
Prospective Members: 140
Church Inquiries: 6
Part 493 – David C. Pack – February 17, 2024
@ 2:01:37 So I'm telling you, some people are afraid to sell all. They won't. They don't have the faith. …If you are sitting on funds, extra houses, or cash, you are commanded by God to sell all. Or, at best, you will face four years of sore trial. Now, I don’t mean to be strong ‘cause I don’t need it. The church is doing fine.
As of March 2024
Total Active Members: 1,254
The Restored Church of God is a doctrinal mess wrestling with a financial mess. When the April 8, 2024, kingdom does not arrive, expect that to be the last straw for more members. If they keep losing attendance in 1% increments, expect the messy mess to get messier.
