Psalm 133
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David.
1 How wonderful and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in harmony!
2 For harmony is as precious as the anointing oil
that was poured over Aaron’s head,
that ran down his beard
and onto the border of his robe.
3 Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon
that falls on the mountains of Zion.
And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing,
even life everlasting.
New Living Translation
Jesus said that he and the Father are one (John 10:30). Later, he said: "My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name; now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are." (John 17:9-11, NLT) He continued: “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!" (John 17:22-24, NLT) Hence, we can see that Christ clearly intended for his disciples to remain united.
Moreover, Scripture makes very clear that this is exactly where the Church began. Indeed, when the disciples came together after Christ's resurrection, we read: "When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place." (Acts 2:1, ESV) And, after Peter delivered his sermon, we read: "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." (Acts 2:42-47, ESV)
Unfortunately, people being people, things fell apart rather quickly. In the fifteenth chapter of Acts, we are informed that a dispute arose among the believers about whether or not Gentile Christians were obligated to observe the commandments of Torah. Moreover, although all of the apostles came to an agreement that Gentiles were NOT going to be required to observe the tenets of the Old Covenant, the other writings of the New Testament make clear that the issue continued to be a source of contention and division among the saints (see Romans and Galatians).
In Paul's first epistle to the saints of Corinth, we also see that cults of personality began to develop within that congregation. In other words, the saints began to identify more with a particular leader in the early Church and began to form groups within the congregation based on their allegiance to a particular leader. Paul wrote: "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, 'I follow Paul,' or 'I follow Apollos,' or 'I follow Cephas,' or 'I follow Christ.' Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?" (I Corinthians 1:10-13, ESV) For Paul, this divisiveness at Corinth was plainly NOT a positive development. On the contrary, he implored them to eradicate this behavior from their midst!
Paul went on to compare the ekklesia to a human body. He wrote: "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, 'I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,' that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, 'I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,' would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything? But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, 'I don’t need you.' The head can’t say to the feet, 'I don’t need you.' In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it." (I Corinthians 12:12-27, NLT) Clearly, for Paul, the body needed ALL of its parts working together for the common good!
Indeed, this was a common theme throughout the writings we have from the Apostle Paul. He wrote to the Christians at Ephesus to "“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3) Does that mean that unity requires effort? Paul went on to tell them that perfect unity was a goal that everyone should strive to achieve (Ephesians 4:13). Likewise, he wrote to the saints at Rome to "Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.” (Romans 12:16) He also wrote to the Christians at Philippi that they should "make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” (Philippians 2:2) Paul told the Jewish and Gentile saints of Galatia that they had been made into one people in Christ (Galatians 3:28). Finally, in his second epistle to the Christians of Corinth, the apostle urged them to "Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.” (II Corinthians 13:11)
We should also note that this notion of unity is completely consistent with Christ's expectations of his disciples. In the Gospel of John, we read that Jesus told his disciples: “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. This is my command: Love each other." (John 15:9-17, NLT) In fact, just prior to this discourse, Jesus had told his disciples that their love for each other would identify them to the world as his disciples! (John 13:35)
This is the sentiment that ALL of Christ's apostles echoed in their teachings. Peter wrote: "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.” (I Peter 3:8) John wrote: "If we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” (I John 4:12) The anonymous author of the epistle to the Hebrews wrote: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together.” (Hebrews 10:24-25) Likewise, James wrote to his readers that pure religion was to be found in taking care of those among them who were in need (James 1:27). He continued: “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.” (James 2:8) He also went on to say: “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16) In other words, God expected his saints to love each other and to live in unity and peace with each other.
Nevertheless, as we have already seen, the saints didn't waste any time in turning their backs on the unity and love which Christ and his apostles had demanded of them. Differences of opinion became grounds to exclude and shun each other. Once again, James laid his finger on the problem. He wrote: "What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world." (James 4:1-8, NLT) Clearly, for James, the source of the division was human nature, NOT God!
This history of bickering and division has continued up to the present day - encompassing the entire two-thousand-year existence of the Christian Church. Over those centuries, there have been a number of heresies, opposing centers of power, church councils, and wars fought in the name of Christ and his Church. Like the Roman Empire itself, the Christian Church developed into a Western and Eastern tradition. The Western tradition centered on Rome, its bishop, and Latin. Likewise, the Eastern tradition centered on Constantinople, its patriarch, and Greek. (Now, while these designations are useful to us, it should be noted that they constitute an oversimplification of a more complex picture of East and West.) At any rate, these two halves of the Church coexisted for many centuries, and both regarded each other as constituting part of the Body of Christ. In 1054, however, theological and political differences resulted in both sides excommunicating each other, and the "Universal" Church was engulfed in the Great Schism - a division which has never been healed.
Later, in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his famous/infamous Ninety-five Theses to a church door in Germany, and the Protestant Reformation began. Then, over the next five hundred years, the Protestant Church divided into hundreds of different churches/sects/denominations. Among them, a group of Sabbath-keeping Christians emerged and were eventually known as Seventh-Day Baptists. A little later, one of the Millerite groups adopted sabbath-keeping and promptly divided into Seventh-Day Adventists, and the Church of God Seventh Day (which itself divided into two groups). Then, in the Twentieth-Century, a man named Herbert Armstrong broke away from one of the Church of God Seventh Day organizations and founded his own "Radio Church of God." Later, he changed the name to the "Worldwide Church of God" and ruled that organization until his death in 1986. After his death, the Worldwide Church disintegrated into a number of splinter groups, which have continued to splinter into smaller and smaller grouping ever since. One of these groups, the "Church of God International" has itself divided a number of times over the years. The most recent schism being Pastor Bill Watson of Medina, Ohio's declaration of independence from that group's Tyler, Texas headquarters.
What is the point of all of these Scriptural passages and history? That division is NOT of God! It is born of humans who have refused to follow Christ's commandments and teachings! In other words, division is ALWAYS born of SIN! Division is NOT consistent with Love. It is born of impatience, jealousy, anger, ego/pride, rudeness, unkindness, irritability, giving up, faithlessness, hopelessness, and a distinct lack of forgiveness (see I Corinthians 13:4-7). Schism within the body of Christ is also indicative of individuals who are NOT living according to the beatitudes outlined in Christ's Sermon on the Mount (see Matthew 5:3-10). In schism, we don't usually find much evidence of humility, hungering for righteousness, mercy, pure hearts, or workers for peace! Hence, we are forced to conclude that ALL schism is born of sin and is INCONSISTENT with Christ's commandment to love each other, and to help each other survive the pitfalls and suffering of this present world! In short, schism CANNOT be justified. None of the excuses offered by those who engage in the practice are ever sufficient to justify it! What do you think?
Christ told his disciples to follow his example of humility and suffering. Instead, too many of the folks who profess to be disciples of Jesus try to imitate the way that he kept the commandments of Torah (which is IMPOSSIBLE to do)!
In this connection, notice the following passages of Scripture:
Matthew 10:38 “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
Luke 9:23 “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.'”
Luke 14:27 “And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”
Matthew 16:24 “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'”
Mark 8:34 “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, ‘Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.'”
John 13:12-17 "So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, 'Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.'"
Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.'”
1 Peter 2:21 “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.”
Hebrews 12:2 “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”
John 6:38-40 "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:28-29 "Then said they unto him, 'What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, 'This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.'"
Galatians 2:21 "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
What about you? Are you following Christ's example? OR Are you trying to fulfill the Law which he has already fulfilled?
This is what the "ekklesia" really is. It is Not a denomination or other manmade organization. It is NOT a building or meeting place. It is composed of all of those individuals who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and have received God's Holy Spirit. All of its members stand before God pure, clean, and Holy!
Dear Bill:
I heard the announcement you made in Medina this past
Sabbath (11/1/2025) regarding your decision to depart ways with the Church of
God International and starting a new organization. In your announcement, you
made some comments on some of the reasons for the decision. Since your
statements were public, I’m making this an open response. It has already come
to our attention that some of the church members appear to be quite concerned
after hearing you say that the CGI Board of Directors issued three “ultimatums”
to you and the Medina church. I want to take a few moments to address this.
The letter wherein the three options were mentioned was
written by me and sent to other members of the Board of Directors the same day
I sent it to you (August 6, 2025). So they did not read what I wrote regarding
the three options before you did. And since I wrote it, I can tell you for
certain that it never occurred to me that the three options I mentioned might
have even remotely resembled “ultimatums.”
Bill, I was merely bringing up the options you already had. Those were options available to you whether I
mentioned them or not. I was certainly not issuing ultimatums or mandates or
demands of any kind; I was merely stating what was! I even began my statement
with “It seems to me….” That’s just not the way one issues an ultimatum!
Ultimatum is
defined as “a final demand or statement
of terms, the rejection of which will result in retaliation or a breakdown in
relations.”
With that definition in mind, let’s look at what I said.
Here’s the paragraph mentioning the three options:
It
seems to me that if our policies
mean anything at all, you have three paths you could take: 1) You could
do what any CGI elder “in good standing” is expected to do—abide by the
policies for elders and chartered churches. 2) You could request of the MC to reclassify you and the Medina
congregation as an “independent affiliate.” 3) You could simply declare your independence and go your way. [Emphasis
added.]
I
was referring to the fact that you are presently operating outside the parameters
of the policies set forth for chartered churches in our Manual for Field Churches. Since you are not in compliance with
these policies, you automatically (not by “decree” from me or the Board) have
the option of bringing yourself into compliance—i.e., correcting the situation.
But you can, if you so choose, declare your independence from the Church of God
International. That’s another option you already had before I mentioned it. And
finally, should your choice be independence from the Church of God
International, you have the option of requesting that the Ministerial Council give
you the “independent affiliate” classification. Again, all those options were
already there before I made mention of them. They were not ultimatums!
You
will note that I said, “It seems to me….” I put it like that because there may
be other options, but as best I can tell (i.e., “It seems to me”) the only
viable ones are the three mentioned here. Again, neither I, as Chairman of the
Board, nor the Board of Directors collectively were giving you or establishing
options; I was merely stating that these are options you have.
You will recall that in the email I sent to you on July 8,
2025, I asked you to clarify for me your intentions. This is what the options
are about. I was asking you for clarity on what you wanted to do. We exchanged emails and letters, but you never
answered the question. Finally you sent an email stating you would give me an
answer after the Feast. About two weeks after the Feast, you gave me only a
partial answer. You said that the Medina Board agreed to change the name. I
then told you that this presumably means that option #1 was ruled out. I then
asked you if the Board expressed a preference for one of the other two options,
and you never answered…until you announced it last Sabbath.
You also stated in your announcement that “the Medina Board had been led to believe…that
our name, Church of God International, Medina, could be used in
perpetuity. That is, without expiration nor any stipulations. However, the
Texas Board made it clear to us the last few months…that this was not true,
despite their written statement of affirmation awarding Medina to use their
name.”
This is another
misunderstanding. Here is the written statement of affirmation I sent to you on
July 1, 2024:
This is to affirm that the Board of Directors of the Church
of God International has, for the sole
purpose of the purchase of a building, approved the use of the name “Church
of God International, Medina” by the Medina, Ohio congregation of the Church of
God International. [Emphasis added.]
You can see that the affirmation I sent to you was not unconditional.
As I explained to you in an email (around August 20, 2025), the part in bold
allows us to withdraw approval should the Medina church go independent. Of
course it goes without saying that as long as you’re officially a Church of God
International congregation, we not only approve your use of the name, we prefer
and encourage it. The name-change requirement applies only if you decide you
want to operate independently of the Church of God International. That seems
like a reasonable requirement to me. It also seems to me that any group parting
ways with an organization would want
a different name so as to avoid confusion. However, I must add that if the
Medina Board had not agreed to the name change, we would have just left it
alone. It’s not something worth arguing over.
You also stated that there had been “years of…growing
tensions between the boards of Texas and Medina.” I was completely unaware of
any kind of “growing tensions” between these two boards; this is news to me.
The tensions I am aware of have been between you and the Board and/or home
office and have concerned primarily organizational and procedural matters. In
more recent times, the tensions have revolved around your non-compliance with
the policies established by the organization that issued your credentials and
paid your salary and expenses, though you once endorsed and upheld these
policies. I’ve gone over the specifics with you, and will not repeat them here.
In the end, we were unable to come to agreement on the matters I brought up to
you, and your recollection of history as it pertains to these matters is quite
different from my recollection or that of the Board of Directors or home-office
personnel.
Nevertheless, I would like to apologize to you on one
point—something I mentioned in my letter to you but would later realize was
inaccurate. You briefly mentioned it in your announcement but did not
elaborate. I had stated in my letter to you that your policy violations
included soliciting donations from outside your area by posting a “donation
tab” on your previous website. I had my “facts” wrong. It was not a donation
tab (like the one on your new website); it was this:
Our address for written correspondence and donations:
Church of God Intl, Medina
PO Box 1162
Medina, Ohio 44258
Please specify on check where you would like the donation
to go.
Example: Helping Hands, Tithe, Etc.
I would call the above (which was posted on the front page
of your old website) a policy violation, but I was in error when I referred to
it as a “donation tab.” So I apologize for that.
My initial email to you was for the purpose of getting
clarity on where you stood with us and what your intentions were going forward.
Follow up communications were for the same purpose and to openly and honestly
set before you the issues and concerns that have contributed to the tensions
between us and led us to the present situation. I initially believed the best
option for you would have been the first one of the three, but because of our
inability to come to terms on the issues and the history surrounding them, I have
to say, sadly, that your decision to part ways was probably best for all
parties concerned.
I wish you and the Medina brethren the best.
Sincerely,
Vance A. Stinson
Throughout our history, too many Americans have had much too high an opinion of themselves and their own righteousness as a nation. Unfortunately, the history of the United States is one of many national sins. In considering this question from the perspective of our entire history (I am a historian), it occurred to me that both the Ten Commandments and the Seven Deadly Sins of Christianity would provide an excellent framework for such a discussion. Please consider the following:
1. Idolatry or making the nation into an object of worship and devotion - which manifests as extreme nationalism/patriotism, elevating service to and participation in the national arena a kind of civic religion. We see this in things like the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, the playing of the National Anthem, Hail to the Chief, and the promotion of patriotic mythologies.
2. Pridefulness - which manifests as pride or boasting about the nation's political system, wealth, military strength, history, education, natural resources, power and influence on the world stage, etc. Americans actively believe and promote the notion that they constitute the greatest nation on the face of the earth, and the corollary view that all other nations are inferior to them.
3. Greediness - which manifests as the relentless exploitation of both natural and human resources. Slavery, child labor, disregard for workers' safety and hygiene, human trafficking, and inadequate compensation and housing for workers are all examples of the exploitation of human resources. Mining, logging, polluting, intensive farming of marginal lands, wanton destruction, waste, and ignoring all problems relating to sustainability are all examples of the exploitation our natural resources.
4. Violence and vengefulness - which has manifested itself in the nation instigating many unjust military actions both within its own borders (think raids against and massacres of Native Americans) and around the world (think Mexican-American War and Spanish-American War). The United States killed large numbers of its own citizens and damaged vast stretches of countryside as a consequence of the American Civil War. The United States also has a reputation for having one of the highest incidences of violent crime of any industrialized nation in the world, and its populace is armed better than most of the nations of the earth!
5. Covetousness - which has manifested itself in the forced acquisition of Native American lands, the internal imposition of the principle of eminent domain on its own populace, the misappropriation of public resources (think lands and forests), and imperialistic policies toward the other nations of the earth.
6. Lustfulness - which has manifested itself in the promotion of prostitution, pornography, advertising, movie making, television programing, misogyny in the workplace and home, abuse of power, pedophilia, the flourishing of serial rapists and murderers, divorce, promiscuity, teen pregnancy, gambling, lotteries, etc.
7. Overindulgence - which has manifested itself in the fact that as high as forty percent of the population suffers from obesity, and large numbers of people have suffered the ill effects of diabetes, smoking, and the consumption of food and drinks with high sodium, sugar, and fat contents. Likewise, this phenomenon has manifested itself in large numbers of folks who regularly abuse alcohol and other mind-altering substances (drugs).
8. Laziness - which has manifest itself in extreme apathy about voting (it has been estimated that more than a third of the eligible voting population didn't vote in the last presidential election), the reluctance of many citizens to fill jobs in certain labor-intensive sectors like agriculture and service. The reluctance of large numbers of people to train for available jobs in the medical or high-tech sectors of the economy. The overall decline in the work ethic of the folks who do participate in the work force (something which is hard to quantify but is readily discernable to employers).
9. Unrighteousness of leadership - which has manifested itself in numerous dirty tricks against political opponents, intentionally lying to the public and each other, the ruthless pursuit and persecution of enemies, marital unfaithfulness, widespread graft and corruption on a grand scale, back-stabbing, and an overall failure to put the country before one's own narrow personal interests or aggrandizement.
10. Hatefulness - which has manifested itself in numerous failures to love America's neighbors. Instead, America has often pursued its own interests at the expense of her neighbors' interests and well-being (think oil and strategic interests related to it). In particular, Americans have often failed to show love to their African brethren - exploiting them for free labor in times past and often ignoring their interests and concerns altogether more recently. Likewise, Americans have often failed to welcome immigrants and political refugees from other nations into their midst (think Chinese, Japanese, Irish, and Latin Americans more recently).
What do you think?
This blogger has watched and commented on Bill Watson's journey into the fringe of the ACOG movement for years. Over those years, Bill has absorbed and embraced extreme right-wing politics in the United States and many of the conspiracy theories endemic to that group. Simultaneously, Bill has resisted any modifications/changes to the core Armstrongist theology of the old Worldwide Church of God. In other words, he has stubbornly refused to let go of teachings (like Anglo-Israelism, headline theology, ministerial authority, etc.) from which others have tried to distance themselves or repudiate altogether.
We have also reported on Bill's efforts to quietly disentangle himself from the Church of God International - the very group which credentialed him as a minister. Bill quietly diverted tithes and offerings away from CGI headquarters in Tyler and began accumulating funds in Ohio in anticipation of forming his own independent ministry. During this period, he also began organizing his own independent feast site for the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles by his followers. He also quietly repaid Tyler the funds used to purchase the building where the Medina congregation meets. More recently, he also abandoned the internet platform provided for him by CGI and created his own website. Moreover, seeing the writing on the wall, Tyler has itself pulled back from Bill and quietly distanced themselves from some of his more extreme teachings.
Now, as is the pattern amongst ALL of the Armstrong Churches of God, Bill has finally pulled the trigger and taken the last official step toward complete independence - He has formally formed his own ministry. Bill's church is now known as Church of God Independent Ministries. Likewise, Tyler has removed Medina, Ohio as one of its United States congregations (Columbus is still listed on their website). More schism, more rancor and bitterness - this is the legacy of the ACOGs. The death spiral continues, and it isn't pretty to watch!
