As with many of my relationships with my former associates in the Armstrong Churches of God, my once cordial and friendly relationship with CGI's Vance Stinson has deteriorated over time. Why? Because I am seen as an adversary - a disgruntled former member with a "bad attitude." Unfortunately, most of the folks who are still there have zero interest in growing in grace and knowledge. They've found the "truth," and they're only interested in protecting and defending that "truth." What I formerly would have considered private correspondence, I now regard as evidence of my contention that these folks are NOT interested in growth, change, or repentance. Hence, what follows is email correspondence between myself and Vance Stinson over my last post. I am happy to allow my readers to evaluate our respective views of the scriptural responsibilities of Church leadership on these questions:
From: Lonnie Clayton Hendrix [mailto:lc.hendrix@yahoo.com]
Sent: Monday, December 02, 2024 11:45 PM
To: Vance Stinson
Cc: Mike James; Jeffrey Reed
Subject: Unbelievable
You publish a fantastic article by Mike James and follow it up by posting a message from Bill which totally contradicts it. If you really can't see the dissonance, then CGI is in even worse shape than I thought it was!
Lonnie
On Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 02:01:19 PM CST, Vance Stinson <vancestinson@cgi.org> wrote:
Well, Lonnie, I reckon we just think it’s good to try to keep our diverse little membership happy. The folks that don’t care for Bill’s stuff don’t watch it; they’re content with all the other material available to them. The ones who rush home after Sabbath services to watch the replay from Medina (when they know Bill is speaking) would be upset if it wasn’t there—yet those same folks think articles like the one from Mike (which, I agree, was excellent) are just fine and dandy. So it would seem that you’re about the only viewer who even notices the contradiction (if that’s what it is). Besides, does it really matter that Bill thinks Trump may turn out to be some kind of temporary “restrainer of lawlessness”? I hope he’s right. I don’t like lawlessness.
VS
Vance Stinson
From: Lonnie Clayton Hendrix [mailto:lc.hendrix@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, December 03, 2024 4:50 PM
To: Vance Stinson
Subject: Re: Unbelievable
Vance,
Thank you for replying. Yes, by all means, keep the little group of old folks happy and oblivious to what they are doing! As you know, the elders in the ekklesia who are doing God's work were placed there to nourish the spiritual life of the saints and help them to grow in grace and knowledge. You folks are NOT there to keep them happy and feed them what they want to hear (and I know that you know this - I shouldn't even have to say it). Christ's message was NOT meant to keep folks content and satisfied. His message is one of reflection, confrontation, and change. Is CGI preparing saints to be kings and priests in the Kingdom, or babysitting a bunch of geriatrics and feeding them pablum?
Diversity is a good thing - making everyone feel welcome is an imperative for the Church, but it should NEVER be employed as an excuse for confronting people with unpleasant truths (You folks don't seem to have any hesitation on that front when it comes to your beliefs about human sexuality). While it is certainly permissible and advisable to allow for the operation of each person's conscience in drawing the boundaries between spiritual and secular (as in let each person be fully persuaded in his/her own mind), it is, however, your responsibility as someone who claims to be a minister of Jesus Christ to remind your flock that they are citizens of the Kingdom first and foremost; and that it is dangerous for saints to become too involved and/or dependent upon any human system of governance.
Finally, I will admit that Bill is in good company in this regard. There are a great many ACOG folks who view Donald Trump as God's servant to make America great again and/or to buy them more time to preach the Gospel (Gerald Flurry being another proponent of the view which Bill subscribes to). Theologically, the problem with this should be apparent to you - Donald Trump is God's servant only in the same sense that Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Vladimir Putin, or any other secular leader is! Donald Trump is NOT in the Bible any more than Herbert Armstrong was a part of those writings. Once again, I know that you know these things (which makes your cavalier and dismissive attitude even worse). Yes, this headline prophecy stuff has always proven to be titillating to some folks, but it has done irreparable damage to the credibility of the Church and has led to unending speculation and disappointment over the years.
In short, turning a blind eye to this behavior or pretending that these positions do not contradict each other will come back to bite you in the hind parts. Think of how much easier all of this would have been to deal with twenty years ago if anyone had taken the initiative to do so back then. Instead, the objective has NOT been the spiritual health of the body, it has been to not piss off anyone - to keep everyone content! Let me ask you something, do you honestly believe that Bill and his supporters are happy/satisfied with the status quo? Do you honestly believe that Bill's detractors are happy/satisfied with this mealy-mouthed, lukewarm, fence-straddling course that CGI leadership has pursued. How many times has CGI experienced splits and very public catastrophes over the course of its brief existence on this planet? Some folks have observed that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome (I think they may be right).
I will await your reply. If I don't receive one, I'll assume that the above will serve as your reply to my post. Vance, in my estimation, you are a smart and sincere person, and you know the truth of what I have been saying. I am NOT and NEVER have been your enemy. Nevertheless, from where I'm sitting, you do very clearly have some enemies who are actively working against you.
Lonnie
From:
vancestinson@cgi.org
To:
'Lonnie Clayton Hendrix'
Wed, Dec 4 at 1:12 PM
Yes, I do well know that the elders’ job is to nourish the spiritual life of the saints and help them grow in grace and knowledge, and I think that’s exactly what the CGI ministry in general is trying to do, and most do a pretty good job of it. At the same time, I don’t see how keeping Bill’s fans happy interferes with the ministries of the rest of the elders. I might add that it’s a bit more than just keeping them happy; it’s also about preventing conflicts that will ultimately adversely affect the people we’re trying to serve.
VS
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