Historical Note: What is referred to as "Global" in this email is the now defunct Global Church of God, founded by Rod Meredith in Rancho Bernardo, CA. Ministers who had defected from the Worldwide Church of God, unhappy with the changes made to the God-head doctrine towards a more standard trinitarian belief, had gone to Global seeking a new home more aligned to their traditional beliefs. These men, unhappy with Rod Meredith's authoritarian style, attempted a political coup-de-tat to replace him with one of themselves.

Rod Meredith left Global, took his tithe paying members with him, and started a new church called The Living Church of God and set up headquarters in Charlotte NC. Rod left the debts with the insurgents and emerged in a new organization free from his old debt. For all practical purposes the Living Church of God represents the same personalities that once controlled the Global Church of God minus the insurgents (who inherited the bankrupt corporation). The insurgents went on the United Church of God and other splinter groups purporting to carry on the traditions and doctrines of Herbert W Armstrong.

During the time period of this letter Rod Meredith's people had pilfered audio tapes from Earl Williams congregation, duplicated them, and sent them out to his people as proof of how far off The Worldwide Church of God had gone from Herbert W Armstrong's teachings. Which was true, in the case of Earl Williams, who had a wink and a nod from Mike Feazell in Pasadena for what he was doing..... Curiously this had an unintended consequence, Earl Williams church was deluged with hundreds of requests for more audio tapes from the membership of both WCG and the GCG. Earl could not have asked for better advertising than to be branded a heretic by an opposing Evangelist. Everyone wanted to hear the heretic! Officially we were not supposed to duplicate tapes (that Pasadena must control everything mentality). But it was clear to us that something was going on far beyond our wildest dreams and efforts and the entire congregation began duplicating audio tapes en masse. Sometime you just know what the right thing to do is, and you do it. The rest, as the cliche goes, is history.....

Personal Email

From: Drew Corrigan
To: William Ferguson
Date: November 1994

Hi Bill,

> Back in 1985 an evangelist made US$80,000. I doubt Global has enough to pay
> that yet.

Maybe that's why they keep begging (so I am told by some friends who are on
Co-Worker list but no members) for more money. There's ministers who'd like
to go over but Global can't afford them.

> Global is trying to get him [Earl Williams] kicked out of the WCG, and probably will succeed.
> That tells you how many sympathacisers there are in the WCG ministry.
>
> I am not familar with Brian Orchard, is he in Australia?

The last I knew he was in Pasadena. When he came out in July he was "advising" disenchanted people to move to Global. He was originally from Oz - very right wing - got moved to USA and is still there. His wife Gillian is sister to David Hume's wife. Both are daughters of Colin Sutcliffe who (the last I heard) is PCG's "Regional Director" for
Oz/NZ. I think Global would simply love to have another minister down here but the economics don't work out. All up they have about 200 people. 50+% of their income goes to support Bruce Tyler (my ex-pastor who left for Global) and the rest goes to their magazine or back to the USA.

> Global has been sending out Earl Williams tapes in an effort to prove
> how bad off the WCG has become. They have been mailing out Earl Williams
> series of sermons on the "How, What and Why of Christianity".

It is funny how Global likes to portray itself as "squeaky clean" and not stooping to mud-slinging like PCG etc., but it is also engaged in its own little political campaign. Terribly childish and not Christ-like IMO.

> People are finding grace liberating!

Yes, it is, once you start to understand it. Took us some time. I still have relapses back into "I'll never be good enough for God" thinking. We heard that for 5-years running, non-stop, form Bruce Tyler prior to leaving. A while back I went through some old sermon notes before
tossing them out. "God's Government" could be found as a theme or point in nearly 50% of them. Some pastors were worse than others.

> he [Earl Williams] expects to be fired this week)

Why is he going to be fired? I do not understand. Surely he is simply teaching what Pasadena is teaching ... grace etc. ... though maybe a step or two ahead. (I'm out of touch with what is current WCG thinking as I said earlier.) Is he just a scape-goat to please the conservatives? If so, there must be a pretty big power struggle going on.

> He forsees a culture war in the USA and he wants to do everything he can to stop that from
> happening. I think he is right about the culture war, personalities like Rush Limbaugh, Pat
> Buchannan are making people more militant towards those of other races, creeds, beliefs.

Wow - a culture war! Without trying to be offensive to you, I simply do not understand the USA way of viewing things. Although we have problems here and a bit of racial bigotry, by and large, Australia is a well integrated multi-cultural society and I think most people value
the diversity. We are even finally addressing the mistreatment of our Aborigines. People like Rush L. (from what others have told me abot him) disturb me ... I am grateful we don't have anyone like that here.

Oz is a pretty liberal society in most areas. We do have a few vocal religious politicians - who, on some issues have good points to make, but on others, seem to be one-eyed - but the general non-religious nature of most Australians acts as something of a damper to their
vocalness.

> I think this is probably garbage. I used to work with the salary files
> in data processing and if this were true everyone would know it. Plus
> it would have to be reported in the annual financial statement for the
> directors of the corporation.

Thanks for the info squashing this rumor.

Take care. Oh, and BTW, if you could re-send me Chapter 5 of Brimsmead in
text it would be appreciated. Thanks,

Drew.

This note is courtesy Drew Corrigan's backup tapes at Australian National University in Canberra, Australia.