When God Changes His Mind, Who Gets Notified?

The subject of this post sounds like it could be about the NAC and Johann Bischoff's utterly failed and disastrous "Botschaft" - but it isn't, it's about weddings and how the "rules" for faithful New Apostolics have changed over the years without any good explanation as to WHY.

 

Recently the daughter of the "District Apostle" Leonard Kolb was married. Her wedding generated quite a bit of discussion on the NACBoard, partly because of the fact that the wedding was held on the same day as the much-vaunted "Service For The Departed", and also because of some photos that were taken at the reception which showed people engaging in activities that just a few short years ago would have sent every NAC minister running for the exits in order to shun any evil practices (like dancing or drinking) that might sully the blessed event or cast a sinful shadow on God's Blessing™.

 

A little background information may be in order. In the New Apostolic Church, everything you do in your life is assumed to be under the purview of "The One Who Goes Before You". Haircuts, skirt length, people you date, cars you buy, homes you purchase, jobs you take - all of these things you are expected to bring before your "Bearer of Blessing" ("BoB") so he can give you his Godly Insight and ultimately God's Blessing™  - if you do as you're told. Failure to do as you're told shows that your "heart's attitude" isn't right. Here is an example of the kind of control the NAC likes to exert over its members with regard to weddings - this letter is from 2002, so it's less than a decade since this was the law of the land for New Apostolics. Here is an older example from 1991, but it clearly shows that only classical music could be played at the wedding reception, with NO DANCING and NO OPEN BAR.

 

These are just a few things that were denied "God's Children" (code name for New Apostolics), there were many BoBs who took it upon themselves to enforce even more trivial legalistic things, from songs to be sung to what kind of flowers could be used, completely removing any joy others received on a day that was supposed to be exactly the way they wanted it and imagined it to be. And "District Apostle" Leonard Kolb and his father, retired "Apostle" Kolb (don't get me started on the nepotism aspect of the NAC!) were Holy Enforcers of God's Will. I wonder how many people were told to change plans they had made for their wedding day by these men - "God's Servants". How many bitter tears were cried over hard decisions to be made that were forced on them by men pretending to know the will of an imaginary deity, how many threats were made of a wedding blessing being witheld unless there was total compliance with their edicts? I know plenty of people who were affected, some in my own family.

 

But just look at the pictures from Kolb's daughter's wedding! Apparently God has finally changed his mind, just in time for Kolb's precious angel to enjoy her special day! Why, even God's "apostles" enjoyed some hooch and cut a rug! The only explanation that makes any sense is that God revealed to his "apostles" that he was no longer displeased with dancing, that Satan had no hold on it. Where just a few years ago drinking and dancing at a wedding reception was just asking for Satan to cast his evil pall over the wedding blessing, God MUST have changed his mind, and somehow he told Lenny that everything that was once verboten was now blessed and holy. Where God previously enabled a European "District Apostle" to interpret scripture (only NAC "apostles" have the authority to interpret scripture - try not to choke to death laughing at that one!), I am left scratching my head wondering where the corresponding interpretation of scripture removing the sin from dancing can be found, and who got this blessed and joyous notification?

Why was dancing displeasing to God for thousands of years, and when did he decide that it didn't displease him any more? What celestial event caused God to change his mind? What words of reason can God offer to all those who were denied the pleasure of dancing for several millenia? Exactly who was told about this change of mind, and how was the message disseminated from on high?
 

I know I'll never get a satisfactory answer to my questions because deluded, irrational thinking runs rampant in the NAC (as it does in any religion). Yesterday they called something black, today it will be white, it's anyone's guess what it will be tomorrow, but rest assured, anything the NAC "apostles" tell the faithful comes directly from God! And as long as the faithful turn off their brains and blindly follow in lockstep with "Those Who Go Before Them", no hypocrisy will ever be challenged or exposed. Only the bliss and happiness that mindless idiots feel will be their share, which comes from pretending they're doing "God's Will" whenever some hypocrites in black suits tell them so in order to keep the sheep slumbering and distracted, barely noticing when their leaders change God's mind for him.

Covert Congregations - A Display Of Disingenuousness?

What does a church do when it is afraid of its core message being discovered and ultimately rejected? It starts covert congregations that don't reveal their affiliation with the parent church, in an effort to "win the souls over" first before telling them about their real doctrine and beliefs. At least that's what the New Apostolic Church did in New Braunfels, Texas. Apparently they took former "District Apostle" Richard Freund's words to heart when he said:

 

"You cant walk up to a guest and say, Do you know you've never had your sins forgiven? Do you know you haven't been sealed with the Holy Spirit? Now surely those things are true, but that isnt any way to draw souls. Thats going to make them think we think were better than we are. And thats not getting the foot in the door. The foot has to go in the door quietly and nicely and then win their hearts and then comes the time to talk about how it should be and how it is and what we believe."

 

They called themselves the "Compass Congregation", led by New Apostolic "priest" Patrick True, with a website (now defunct) that preached "God's message" and "Christ's message" (are they two different messages?), encouraging people to come dressed however they felt comfortable. What was interesting to the denizens of the NACBoard was that no mention of apostles was ever made, nor was their affiliation with the NAC to be found anywhere on the website.

 

A few of us wrote to Pat True with some questions about the Compass Congregation, but he chose to ignore our e-mails because in typical NAC fashion, silence always makes a situation better. Basically all we wanted to know was A) if this was a case of Pat True striking out on his own, or did the hierarchy know about it, and B) if Compass Congregation was eventually going to be a NAC congregation, when were they going to tell their new members about apostles being necessary for salvation and forgiveness of sins? Those simple questions proved too difficult for Pat True, so queries were sent up the NAC chain of command.

 

In less than 2 weeks, the official word from on high was pronounced by church media representative Peter Johanning, relaying the official excuse as offered up by "District Apostle" Leonard Kolb:

 

"The story behind Compass (New Braunfels) is as follows: This rector (Pat True) asked if he could try an experiment. The word 'apostolic' strongly denotes Pentecostal in the southern regions of the USA and we believe has deterred people from visiting our congregations. His idea was to make a sign called Compass Congregation (in larger letters) of the New Apostolic Church (in smaller letters) to see if it would attract more guests. This rector professes our faith and our apostles and in no way is trying to create an independent organization. His aim was to experiment with signage and some of the organizational matters to open the way for better guest attendance."

 

This is nonsense. If the Compass Congregation website is any indication of the "signage" used, there was no mention of the New Apostolic Church at all anywhere in their name or logo. If the perceived problem was with the name, when were they planning on introducing new members to the NAC? Besides, a google search shows that Pentecostal churches don't seem to be hurting for new members in the Southwest, so I don't see how that could be a problem. And the NAC is a Pentecostal church, despite their silly denials - they claim their "Godly authority" comes from people who flopped around on the floor and had visions and made prophecies in the 1830's. That's Pentecostal by anyone's definition.

 

So after some initial embarrassment for the NAC hierarchy, Compass Congregation's future is unknown. The real slap in the face was to the NAC reformers, who lately are seeing a return to the hardline days of the Kraus 70's, with "apostles" all the way up to the "Chief Apostle" telling members that if they don't like the NAC the way it is, they should leave. That's great advice, and they're well within their rights to say such a thing. If only they'd stop lying and tell the truth when approaching new marks.

 

It seems disingenuous at the very least that when they want to lure in new suckers, they feel the necessity to hide their true beliefs, and incorporate some of the initiatives the reformers have been seeking all along - more talk of Jesus and less talk about "apostles", praise bands, less insistence on black & white "uniforms" being worn, etc. When you're dealing with people who lie for a living, I suppose you should expect that lying is second nature to them, where telling the truth becomes an option that is reserved for a later day, after the "foot is in the door". 

 

And the hierarchy wonders why that flushing sound is getting louder and louder with each passing day.