Gospel Assembly Church

The Beginning of the William Sowders Cult

As Written By Paul Simpson – April 2001

When a minister assumes the role of Messiah by inserting his authority over people by placing himself between them and Jesus Christ, thus making their dedication to Jesus Christ secondary to him, he is out of line and out of order with God. He has overstepped his boundary and this makes his church a cult. This is what Lloyd Goodwin did. "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and man, Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). "We have one shepherd, Christ" (Ezek. 34:23). "Therefore as the church (man) is subject to Christ" (Eph. 5:24). "And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church" (Eph. 1:22). A final scripture that settles the false doctrine of a false teacher, "But I would have you know, that the head of EVERY man is CHRIST" (1 Cor. 11:3). Therefore, the cultic leader who places himself and his authority between the church and Jesus Christ is indeed preaching another heresy. There is no final leader for the Christian except Jesus Christ. And ministers are forbidden to play the role of Jesus Christ. "I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not share to another, and neither my praise," (Isaiah 42:8).

Even the Apostle Paul never attempted or pushed his leadership to the point of controlling the lives of others: "Not that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy, for by faith ye stand" (2 Cor. 1:24). "Neither as Lord's over God's heritage, but being an example to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3). And he said, "But be not ye called Rabbi, for one is your father upon the earth, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called master, for one is your master, even Christ. And he that is the greatest among you shall be your servant--not your Lord." As for the Christian, the Apostle Paul said, "Not as men pleasers, but doing the will of God: with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men" (Eph. 6:6-7). "Ye are bought with a price, be not ye servants of men" (1 Cor. 7:23). And, "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and HIM ONLY shalt thou serve." (Matt. 4:10). Jesus Christ has set the Christian free, and no human self-appointed Messiah is enti­tled to take this freedom from him. The true Body of Christ is made up of those that will not allow themselves to be placed in an involvement of serving a human leader rather than Jesus Christ.

There are only two kinds of authority on earth, righteous and unright­eous. Righteous authority is God's delegated authority enforced by the Holy Spirit. You do not assume authority. God gives you authority.

Satan's authority, which is unrighteous authority, is enforced through witchcraft. What is witchcraft? Witchcraft is the control of people through domination, intimidation and manipulation, the precise way Lloyd Goodwin controlled the people within his cult and the precise way they are still being controlled under Glenn Goodwin, Lee Ray and many other Gospel Assembly Churches. "Oh foolish Galatians, who has be­witched you? You are under the influence of the evil eye" Gal.3: 1-5. "For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed" Isaiah 9:16.

Lloyd Goodwin's beginning in false doctrine began when he was a young boy growing up in Indiana under the teaching of William Sowders, head of a movement known as "The School of The Prophets", the same movement I grew up in as a boy under E.L. Mullineaux in Wichita, Kansas. While Sowders proclaimed his movement was built upon inspiration by God, it was instead built upon syncretism. He began his cult by synchronizing the doctrine of two well-known cults, The Jehovah's Witness and The Seventh Day Adventist. As proof, there are at least eight rules right out of their handbook that were made a part of the Sowders/Goodwin cult rules and government of their churches:

1) That members must "shun" former members who have left the church.
2) That single members can only date and marry members of the church.
3) That members cannot associate with people of the "out­side world,'
4) Heavy authoritarism.
5) Deception.
6) Independent thought
7) and college heavily discouraged.
8) Using guilt and fear as the number one tools to control and dominate followers.

Syncretism is a favorite cultic device and this is what William Sowders did. A syncretistic religion is NOT Christianity at all, it is a cult! "But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" 2 Tim. 3:13. William Sowders and Lloyd Goodwin were evil men and seducers.

Today we find several groups of ministers still in operation and once associated with The School of The Prophets movement, now re-named the "Gospel Assembly Church" or close to that. Some still prominently dis­play a large picture of William Sowders in their sanctuary in worship of him. Each one of these different groups say they are the right one and all the others are wrong while they all teach the same false doctrine and say they are the Body of Christ when nobody has a monopoly on the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is not limited to people behind four walls with a roof over it or to any particular group of people. False teachers surely are not in the Body of Christ because they all have the same damnation and judgment pronounced upon them and reserved for them in the mist of darkness FOREVER, 2 Peter 2:17. This was Lloyd Goodwin's fate. He has no hereafter life.

Ministers that preach individuals can only be saved through them are preaching yet another heresy. We are not, and cannot, be saved by any human leader or Messiah on this earth, as Lloyd Goodwin claimed. God's word clearly says that the Christian is ONLY saved by grace through faith; it is the gift of God Eph. 2:8. Another heresy of-the false teacher is who a believer is. According to Goodwin, anyone who did not believe in Lloyd Goodwin or his doctrine was a non-believer. NOT SO!

The scriptures take issue with this kind of false doctrine. For very clearly the non-believer is one that does not believe in Jesus Christ. In John 3:18, we are told who the believer is and whom he must believe in: "He that believeth in him (Jesus Christ) is not condemned, but he that believeth NOT is condemned already because he hath not believed in the only begotten Son. Therefore, being saved or being a believer is surely not dependent up­on the Christian's membership or affiliation with any particular church, group or minister such as LLG or the GAC. But rather by, and only in, being a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Neither is the Christian backslidden, lost, or damned, based upon that fact, when he/she leaves a particular church or movement as cult preachers threaten when a member leaves their church. To the contrary, our salvation is still intact within us wherever we go move on to. "Neither shall they say; Lo here! Or lo there! For, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you" Luke 17:21. Threatening their members with damnation if they leave is one of the greatest tricks and lies that a cult leader perpetrates up­on them, when in fact, leaving is the only thing that can save them. Again I quote, Isaiah 9:16, "For the leaders of this people cause them to err, and they that are led of them are destroyed. So if you want to be destroyed, stay; if you want to be saved, leave. You have the bless­ing of God if you leave, as this is the only way you can be saved and not destroyed. This is the only way to get out from under the influence of the evil eye and witchcraft, Gal. 3:1-5. Threatening you with damna­tion if you leave the cult is just another scare tactic to hold you within their bondage, according to Ezek. 34:4, "But with force and cruelty have ye ruled them." Lloyd Goodwin was a cruel and evil man. His nephew, Glenn, and Lee Ray learned from him and adapted his nature.

Also, the basis of the Sowders/Goodwin doctrine, that members "shun" former members who have the cult, comes right out of the handbook of the Jehovah's Witness and The Seventh Day Adventist churches, the two cults the Sowders/Goodwin movement was founded upon. This is why my oldest daughter and son were forbidden to talk to me or have a relationship with me after I left their cult. My one daughter that is still in there is still for­bidden to have a relationship with me by Glenn Goodwin. My son no longer attends Lee Ray's church and no longer under his bondage, so will see what the future holds there.

Biblical illiteracy by cult members is one of the reasons for the success of religious cult leaders today. The false teacher knows this and therefore takes advantage of the opportunity to promote their own self-serving motives and entrap their followers into perma­nent bondage. They keep them ignorant of the scriptures by telling them which scriptures to read while omitting those that are detrimental to beliefs or control of power. Followers are to accept their leaders interpretation of the scriptures without question.

One definition of the word "cult" is: "Extravagant devotion to one singular person other than Jesus Christ." It is a heresy.
ELEVEN MARKS OF PERVERTED AUTHORITY
By: John Anderson

1. The claim of direct authority from God. Many today have set their "personal" revelation and experience above the final authority of God's word.
2. The command is to "submit to me," rather than "I will serve you
3. The method of leadership is to "order" people around, rather than to appeal for them to do the right things.
4. There is a dominating, domineering, "pushy" drive instead of a dependence on God to direct. 5. There is a sense of control, rather than a sense of support.
6. A gift is exploited so that others are made to feel dependent on it.
7. There is inflexibility - "don't question me - don't touch the Lord's anointed.,,
8. There is an unapproachability and intimidation - the "aural' around the leader keeps the followers in "awe."
9. There emerges an organization built around a man and his peculiar emphases instead of around Christ and his Word.
10. There will be cyclical challenges to the authority figure, which are immediately and forcefully purged.
11. There is more concern for maintaining the authoritarian structure than there is for caring about the people in it.

THE SEVEN TRUE CHARACTERISTICS AND INDICATORS OF A CULT
By Paul Simpson

1. Teaching that the leader is the only one God will use to head his church and that all other churches are enemies of God.
2. Claiming to be the only one through whom God works to save man or bring him enlightenment.
3. Robbing God of glory and office by claiming to be the truth or supreme authority over all the true church.
4. Claiming the right to cancel, reverse, or alter Bible principles or commandments.
5. Claiming the right to be the only one with the right to interpret the Bible.
6. Requiring members to abandon their right to think for themselves and accept everything told them by their leader without question
7. Turning over to their leader all rights, decisions and property, trusting him entirely for salvation and knowledge of the truth.

Concerning #4 of the above, "Claiming the right to cancel, reverse, or alter Bible commandments; Lloyd Goodwin made a good example of this one by telling my daughter to ignore the fifth commandment to honour thy father - and that it did not apply because I was no longer in the cult and it would only apply if I were. How utterly ridiculous for anyone to believe that when in fact, it is a commandment with a promise - a promise of long life if obeyed, not a commandment with qualifications as Goodwin would have them believe. That is indeed altering Bible commandments. This commandment say's to, "Honour thy father and thy mother that thy day's be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.,, Nothing there that say's to honour thy mother only because she is in your church. So what my daughter, son in-law and son should be concerned with in dishonoring me as their father is that they are also dishonoring God in doing so. For Romans 2:23 tells us: "Thou that makest boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God." In James 2:10, "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is GUILTY OF ALL.'

The false teacher is described in the word of God as being unstable, sexually oriented, covetous, heretical, a slave to corruption and damned forever. "For God has already judged them and for them is re­served the mist of darkness FOREVER," 2 Peter 2:17. Lloyd Goodwin once said from the pulpit that anyone who dies before the age of 70 would die under the judgments of God. He was 67 at death. As promised in 2 Peter 2:17, he was already judged, damned, and died under the judgments in the mist of darkness forever. Other false teachers who were or still are, associated with the Sowders/Goodwin GAC movement will also die in the mist of darkness forever as Lloyd Goodwin did, for God has already judged them, and you.

Being sexually oriented well describes Lloyd Goodwin before his death. Glenn now calls his uncle Lloyd a great man who actually was a child molester and rapist among other things. Glenn also calls a convicted pedophile, Tommy Jolly, "a great man." Lee Ray also said that Lloyd Goodwin was the greatest man I've ever met and the most dedicated man to God I've ever known." How could that be? Lets take an exam to see about Goodwin's dedication to God: The Apostle Paul told Timothy that the first character quality of a Bishop or minister, is that his "life be blameless, above reproach, of good report and of good behavior. (He's already flunked the exam). They are NOT to be adulterers (flunked again), NOT A LORD (flunked again), not a heretic, not a tyrant, not a dictator, or an idol (flunked again on all counts). They are to be a SERVANT to the flock, be chaste and an example in word, faith, spirit and PURITY (flunked again on all counts.)

Lloyd Goodwin loved to bully his members. He called them dung, dogs, hogs, worms and garbage from the pulpit. He loved to intimidate his members publicly from the pulpit in front of the congregation and was the meanest spirited man I ever met. He was the most exalted, ruthless, egomaniac I ever met with an unmatched grandiose arrogance and ego. He was not godly in nature, in personality, nor godly in character or how he treated people. He was paranoid, cruel, and had an utter lack of remorse. He lacked any moral sense or conscience, and would lie, cheat, and exploit people without remorse. One needed to only displease him for him to pour out his anger and wrath upon them. This was the man I knew as Lloyd L. Goodwin. He was only dedicated to himself, not God, and was certainly not the greatest man I have ever met.

False teachers such as Goodwin and Lee Ray have always treated the women and girls of their church as their personal property belonging in their harem. I have never known of any cult leader without this trait and kind of activity in sexual involvement and exploiting of the women and girls of their church.

Sexual involvement by ministers with women and under aged girls of the church is tantamount to family incest. The dynamics are the same. Ministers are expected to provide a nurturing, caring environment and a safe refuge. They are supposed to be in the business of helping people, not destroying them. However, the false teacher is not remotely concerned with a person's soul, welfare, salvation, family or home. They are only concerned with their own self-serving motives and interest, such as sex, money, control of member's lives, and to build an empire unto themselves. These are the things, which drives the false teacher as it did Lloyd Goodwin, now Glenn Goodwin and Lee Ray.

If I were a married man still in one of these GAC churches, I'd take my wife, daughters, and sons and get the hell out of there, but fast. For your wife or daughter could be the next one approached, molested, and sexually abused or raped. It's still going on and no doubt in your church. If you value your marriage, wife and home, you'll not attend one more service. Why would you continue to subject your wife and daughters to a pedophile or rapist, or to a man who proclaims that a rapist and pedophile is a "great man" not to mention he is an adulterer and a home wrecker with at least two divorces to his credit. Therefore, Lee Ray certainly does not meet the character qualities of a minister according to the Apostle Paul. His life is not blameless, not above reproach, not of good report, not of good behavior. He acts as a Lord, is a heretic, a tyrant, a dictator, and would like to be an idol. He is not chaste or an example in word, deed, faith, spirit, and certainly not in purity. Therefore, Lee Ray does not meet or possess the character qualities of a minister that the Apostle Paul said he is to possess, thus making him unfit for the ministry. As previously said, Biblical illiteracy by cult members is the single greatest reason for the success of cult leaders today. Therefore, I encourage every reader to search the scriptures for yourself as I have, and no longer rely upon human leaders for truth who have only self-serving motives and are not remotely con­cerned with truth, your soul, your welfare, your family, or salvation.

We are admonished in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 and John 4:1, "to prove all things for myself." And there is only one whom you can put your trust and faith in, Jesus Christ. For we have only one shepherd, Christ, "And I will set the Christian free, and no human Messiah is entitled to take this freedom from him. The Christian is warned: "Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of truth, supposing that gain is godliness; from such withdraw thyself" 1 Tim. 6:5.

Not only did I withdraw myself from men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, I have scriptural rights in Eph. 5:11-13, to REPROVE, REBUKE, and EXPOSE the false teacher and the fruitless works of dark­ness. I have not only the right, but it is my responsibility and obliga­tion to expose the unfruitful works of darkness and false teachers. We are also to refuse profane points of view and old wives fables, for these false teachers are guilty of doctrinal error and of subverting the members of Gospel Assembly Church into heresy. Only those who leave this GAC cult movement remove themselves from the final resurrection of damnation. Just as the Apostle Paul said in Gal. 2:11: "When Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." This, I am doing and will continue to do with Glenn Goodwin, Lee Ray, and any other corrupt false teacher that gets in my way or I come into contact with. For the Goodwin's, Lee Ray and many other ministers are to be blamed and exposed for doctrinal error and subverting the members of Gospel Assembly Church into heresy, including my daughter and son. I have now withstood them to the face. Also remember, if you are still a member of one of these churches with a false teacher as your leader, you are being dominated by witchcraft and are under the influence of the evil eye and being destroyed. Also remember, if you are still a member of one of these churches, your minister is already judged by God, and damned forever and for him is reserved the mist of darkness forever. As for me, I will "Stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and will not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage" Gal. 5:1.

PAUL SIMPSON



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