Roderick C. Meredith
| Living Church of God | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Independent Christian |
| Leader | Roderick C. Meredith |
| Region | International |
| Headquarters | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Founder | Roderick C. Meredith |
| Origin | 1998 San Diego, California |
| Separated from | Global Church of God |
| Congregations | 330 |
The Living Church of God (LCG) is one of hundreds of groups that formed after the death of the late Herbert W. Armstrong, when major doctrinal changes (causing turmoil and divisions) were occurring in the former Worldwide Church of God (WCG) especially during the 1990s. The LCG was formed in December 1998 and is an offshoot organization of the Global Church of God (GCG), which formed in December 1992. The Living Church of God is one of multifarious Sabbatarian Churches of God church groups that have sprung up from the former WCG, known today as Grace Communion International (GCI). And even from the LCG organization itself, several other split-off groups have resulted, each one of which is headed by a former LCG minister.
LCG's leader is Roderick C. Meredith.
Following his graduation from Ambassador College, Pasadena, California, USA in June 1952, Meredith was assigned by Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God, Herbert W. Armstrong, to start and pastor WCG congregations in Portland, Oregon; San Diego, California; and Seattle and Tacoma, Washington. On December 20, 1952, after summoning him back to the WCG's headquarters in Pasadena, California, from his pastorship in Oregon, Armstrong ordained him and four other men—including his uncle Dr. C. Paul Meredith — to the position of evangelist. These men were the very first evangelists of the WCG. Meredith was the youngest of the newly ordained men, and was the fifth personage to be ordained.
Over the following years, Meredith would help start up scores of WCG congregations throughout the United States. He would also conduct many baptizing and evangelizing tours in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Africa. From the early to mid-1950s, and again in 1960, he was assigned by Armstrong to live in Britain to start up congregations for the Church there. For years he was one of the WCG's leading theologians and top executives, and an instructor at Ambassador College. However, when overseeing the ministry during the 1960s, he began to gain a negative reputation for being too harsh.
After Armstrong died, WCG began to change many of its core doctrines, a process that brought the organization into the mainstream of Evangelical Christianity. However, many members objected, and hundreds of splinter groups arose as a result.
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