Update from Dr. Meredith Date: 11/27/98 7:10:17 PM Pacific Standard Time From: rcmcommunication@hotmail.com (RCM Communication) November 27, 1998

Dear Fellow Servants of Christ,

Greetings from San Diego! In view of the recent massive accusations against me from Larry Salyer and the "Board," it is important that I set matters straight so all of you can know what is happening.

However, it is vital that we back off from the immediate crises and try to see the BIG PICTURE. At the beginning of Global, as you know, I was the founder and Presiding Evangelist. The Living Christ used me to get the whole thing started and as these men came to Global, I assigned them to their positions and, over time, nominated them to the Board and the Council of Elders.

Mr. Raymond McNair and others who came said they would "hold up my hands" and be loyal to me as they were to Mr. Herbert Armstrong.  For about the first three years, we worked well as a team and they respected me as the leader of the Church. They could all see that I was preaching the Truth and doing the Work. WHY, then, would they start maneuvering and politicking to usurp the authority which Christ has always given His primary servant in any given situation? Remember, the Bible NEVER speaks of "Government by Committee." Rather, as Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong explained again and again, God has ALWAYS worked primarily thorough one man—Moses, David, Peter, Paul, etc. There was NEVER any "Board" or "Committee" watching over them or threatening to dismiss them if they didn’t go along with the Board.

As a sidelight, it is interesting that Mr. Salyer kept referring to the "Board," NEVER to the Council. When I established the Council of Elders, it was supposed to be the HIGHEST body to deal with both the spiritual and administrative direction of the Church. In a number of their recent decisions, the Council was completely by-passed by the Board, which in fact, USURPED the authority of the Council in setting the spiritual direction of the Church! In that carnal and hostile climate, I felt it imperative to act just as Mr. Armstrong acted in 1979 when another group of men tried to take over the Church of God. Both then and now these men wanted to take the Work of God in a different direction. They were putting the one Christ chose to start and lead the Church in a "box." Whenever I resisted, they would "tighten the screws" on the box. As I clearly explained in my previous letter, I sometimes voted with them in the interest of UNITY—knowing full well that I was going to be outvoted anyway!

As I said in my previous letter, I was wrong! And I have repented of this before God and do sincerely apologize to all of you. I finally had to draw the line when they removed my wife from the Board, changed the by-laws so they could fire me with a 75% majority, or more recently when they put Mr. Carl McNair off the Board, since he was my ONLY ally on the Board! I should point out here that at that point the MAJORITY of the Council of Elders supported me—not these men on the Board. NO WONDER they wanted to by-pass the Council of Elders! Among the members of the Council of Elders who supported my leadership are Messrs. Carl McNair, Charles Bryce, John Ogwyn and Dick Ames.

As our strong differences of opinion came to a head in recent days, I asked these opposing Board members to RESIGN several times and leave the majority in peace and UNITY. This they steadfastly refused to do even though they ADMITTED that the majority of the ministry and brethren were loyal to me! After I rejected a few very unsatisfactory offers they made to get me to stay, they FIRED me as the President and Chairman of the Board! These men who I had brought in to help were finally able to oust me.

In the final Board meeting they began to accuse me of doing horrible things because—as President of the Church and as an authorized signer of our corporate checks—I signed three checks to repay three individuals the LOANS they made to Global Church of God. One of the loans to be repaid was to a 74 year old widow who will really need this money to ensure her future. NONE of the money was for me personally, or for relatives of mine. Then they accused me of authorizing the transfer of half a million dollars with the intent of signing additional loan repayment checks. When our accounting manager pointed out that these checks were written during business hours and that the additional funds were to help us meet the payroll, they made the partial retraction which you probably read in the e-mail from Mr. Salyer.

Mr. Salyer also accused me in his letter of telling people to send money to my home address. This is totally untrue. My letter states clearly that brethren who wish to could send their tithes and offerings to a Post Office Box. I have NEVER used a Post Office Box as my personal mailing address! On page five of Mr. Salyer’s letter, he states that the primary issue is our disagreements about Church Government. Then he comments on my original booklet "When Should You Follow Church Government?" and then states that reading this booklet was why many came to Global.

I think most of you know that the VAST MAJORITY of those coming to Global have done so because we were teaching the FULL TRUTH and were at that time determined to do a powerful Work. Mr. Salyer then indicated that I virtually repudiated my statements in this booklet. That is not true. What I kept reminding them of, and what they seemingly did not want to hear, was that in the introductory paragraphs of the booklet, I clearly pointed out that this was written to help people understand when NOT to follow the misuse of Church Government. It was not intended to spell out the positive application of Church Government in a truly Bible believing Church. Please find and read my article on Church Government in the Sept./Oct. 1995 Global Church News. This article went to the entire membership of Global and it updated and superseded the earlier booklet.

When I pointed this out to these men on the Board who finally got control, their eyes glazed over and they seemed unable or unwilling even to acknowledge that this updated article had been published and sent to the entire membership. On page six of his letter Mr. Salyer states, "A lot of our members, and perhaps a lot of you, don’t care much about (Church) Government structure." However, brethren, I know personally that thousands of you DO CARE about the Church governmental structure.

You do want to have and to follow a strong, dedicated leader. You do want that leader to basically follow in the footsteps of God’s apostle, Herbert W. Armstrong. And so many of you have told me that you do NOT want "Government by Committee."

You do not want the politicking and back stabbing that occurred in other church fellowships. So it is obvious that those few men on the Board are "out of step" with YOU! And they are certainly out of step with God who always worked primarily through one dedicated man and NEVER through a "COMMITTEE"!

Well, I could go on and on, but I think you get the overall picture. I would encourage all of you to really STUDY the obvious pattern of Church Government in the Bible. And please PRAY that God will stay the hand of Satan who is powerfully trying to distract and confuse God’s people. I will be praying for all of you, and will appreciate your personal prayers for me in this trying time. I may have to write one or two more rebuttals to these ongoing accusations against me personally, but our primary purpose now should be to continue the end-time Work of Jesus Christ through his faithful servants.

With Christian Love,

Roderick C. Meredith

P.S. It is has just been reported to me that someone has changed at least some of my e-mails to say "send your tithes and offerings to Paul Miller…" in Spokane, WA. Please warn the brethren not to do this and to be aware of any spurious addresses or messages. We are obviously in a spiritual war for the survival of God’s Church and His Work!