Printer-Friendly          E-mail this page

A Statement of Purpose

by John W. Ritenbaugh
Forerunner, "Personal," June 1993

As humans we possess a very powerful drive to separate people into clear categories. We label others to define them as belonging in a specific niche in relation to us. This is not intrinsically wrong. In this violent world categorizing a person as a friend or foe may mean the difference between living and dying!

We naturally categorize people according to sex, race and language. A person is not prejudiced simply because he does such a thing, since a label may be used merely as an identifier. We may know two people of the same name, but we categorize them according to race or ethnic group. We categorize people according to trade, profession, height, weight, personality, social status, fashion, athletic ability, morality, and of course, religion. The list of categories is virtually endless.

Subconsciously, we categorize others constantly. Through this process we manage to keep a part of life fairly well-organized. But it has a damaging downside too because we also have a strong tendency to judge in generalizations. We categorize people as good or bad, friend or foe, converted or unconverted simply because they "fit" into a certain broad category. Though it may seem incongruous, an area of life where this tendency is seemingly strongest is religion.

Schisms in the Church

Religious groups divide endlessly. The overwhelming majority of schisms seem to occur because an issue arises in which people take sides, dividing into the "good" and "bad" guys. Again, it is not intrinsically wrong that such things should occur. Jesus was certainly not wrong in founding the church of God as a separate organization.

But God's church has also split time and again. Initially, there was one church, one organization. How many are there today? Only God knows how many organizations claiming to be the church of God there actually are. Divisions have occurred largely because we have lost the purity of faith, love and doctrine that existed at its founding. They will never be entirely recaptured until Jesus Christ returns and sets the church aright.

A major development since Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong's death has been to examine every doctrine, policy, indeed his every act, in minute detail. This has not been done to discover what is right (like the Bereans, Acts 17:11), but to find flaws or supposed flaws. The result has been that the major body of God's church is rapidly heading into worldliness, and its members are leaving it to form new churches.

Even within the new groups, people are pushing for doctrinal changes, causing defections from them. Forgotten is that God through Mr. Armstrong delivered to us the "trunk of the tree," "able to make you wise for salvation" (II Timothy 3:15). God warns us through the apostle Paul, "[L]et us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God" (Hebrews 6:1). Instead of looking backward, we should be looking forward to continued growth in character.

What Should We Do?

Since this condition exists, what course of action should we take? Our first step needs to be an honest and humble acceptance of our lack of purity. This helps us to have a more tolerant approach to others because we can judge without as much perverted comparison.

Commonly, religious people try to ascertain as quickly as possible what a person believes or what kind of work he is doing, putting him into a convenient niche. But that, I believe, is the wrong approach. The approach should be, "Who do you believe?"

Peter boldly told the religious leaders of his day, "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). He did not say we are saved because we are part of a certain organization, or because we consider we are "preaching the gospel," but in different words he said, "For by grace you have been saved through faith" (Ephesians 2:8). This must be fundamental to the direction and attitude in which God's work is done.

The church of God continues to divide as its largest branch declines spiritually. Some, including ministers, are looking for a new spiritual home, no longer content to remain in an organization they feel is taking them back into the world. This has resulted in a variety of new church organizations being established. These groups all teach the same basic doctrines, those given by God through Mr. Armstrong.

So, what is the best course for us to pursue at this time?

Three elements need to be considered: 1) What would be the best policy to follow without overtly contributing to the breakup of another branch of the church of God by proselytizing its membership? 2) What would be the best policy to pursue that will not bring us into competition for members with our brothers who believe essentially the same things? 3) What approach best fits the times and fulfills the major responsibility of the church?

Only one function of the church fits all three categories at this time: to concentrate on "feeding the flock." Feeding the flock was always the first function of the priesthood of the Old Covenant church, and continues as the first function of the ministry of the New Covenant church.

To understand better why this is the best course of action, one needs to see the current state of affairs in the church in the larger context of how God has operated in the past. He has been working out the same purpose from the beginning, recording in His Word clear evidence of His patterns of operation to provide hope and direction. We can be confident because God does not change from these basic patterns through which He reveals much about Himself to His people.

In the Beginning

God states His purpose in the first chapter of the Bible. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness . . ." (Genesis 1:26). Of course, mortal men, as represented by Adam and Eve, are only clay models. God's ultimate purpose of us being in His image must be worked out over thousands of years in the individual lives of all their descendants.

II Corinthians 3:18 adds, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." This is accomplished through the conversion process, requiring time, experience in living by faith and the fervent cooperation of the converted.

Israel in the Wilderness

When God led Israel by a cloud in the wilderness, He established a clear pattern, instructing His people for all time. Numbers 9:15-23 records, "And on the day that the tabernacle was raised up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the Testimony; from evening until morning it was above the tabernacle like the appearance of fire. So it was always: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, after that the children of Israel would journey; and in the place where the cloud settled, there the children of Israel would pitch their tents.

"At the command of the Lord the children of Israel would journey, and at the command of the Lord they would camp; as long as the cloud stayed above the tabernacle they remained encamped. Even when the cloud continued long, many days above the tabernacle, the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not journey. So it was, when the cloud was above the tabernacle a few days: according to the command of the Lord they would remain encamped, and according to the command of the Lord they would journey.

"So it was, when the cloud remained only from evening until morning: when the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they would journey; whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud was taken up, they would journey. Whether it was two days, a month, or a year that the cloud remained above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would remain encamped and not journey; but when it was taken up, they would journey. At the command of the Lord they remained encamped, and at the command of the Lord they journeyed; they kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by the hand of Moses."

To this must be added what Exodus 13:17-18 records: "Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, 'Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.' So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea."

These two passages establish two factors very clearly. 1) God leads His work; it moves or stops at His command. 2) He rarely moves it in a straight line, directly toward the goal. In fact, numerous passages show He moved His work in directions seemingly away from the goal! Why? Because He is working out HIS purpose.

God knows how to rear children so they grow into His image. If His purpose were merely to save Israel and place them in the land, He would have led them straight to Canaan. But His purpose also included leaving later generations a witness that He is building holy, righteous, spiritual character through faith. This requires time and experience living by faith.

God's pattern with Israel is a paradigm for the New Testament church to follow. Christian life is a pilgrimage, a process, having a beginning and an end. An individual or church's life does not always flow in the same direction. God is still Creator, leading His church through a variety of experiences through which He will accomplish His purpose.

The Rest of the Old Testament Period

Even a cursory reading of the Old Testament shows long spans in Israel's history when God seemed not to be working, when people seemed free to do as they pleased. However, this would be a dangerous assumption. Jesus completely refutes this in John 5:17: "But Jesus answered them, 'My Father has been working until now, and I have been working [I am always at work].'"

What sort of work has He been doing? "For God is my King from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth" (Psalm 74:12). God is always working out His purpose, and that purpose has always been the same. He just chose not to record what happened during those gaps.

But God occasionally made changes in the way He approached Israel. He made governmental changes: from judges to kings under Saul and later from Saul's line to David's. God established the Levitical priesthood, raising up prophets in times of need. All other times the priesthood continued without prophets. In other words, God's relationship with Israel was not always conducted in the same manner, yet it was always consistent with His overall purpose.

In the New Testament

The apostles asked Christ when He would establish the Kingdom in Acts 1:6. "Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, 'Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?' Jesus' reply follows: "And He said to them, 'It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth'" (verses 7-8).

Despite spending three and a half years of intense training with Jesus, the apostles retained the common Jewish concept of the establishment of God's Kingdom. Paraphrased, Jesus said, "God is working it out. You need to focus your attention on another area at this time."

The work of God was about to make a dramatic turn, occasioned by something that had never occurred before in the history of the earth. God was going to give His Spirit, visibly manifesting His power in many and simultaneously launching His church and the preaching of the gospel! His Family was about to make its greatest numerical advancement to that time. It was a time unique in history. It has not happened in that manner since.

A Shift in Focus

As shown in the first five chapters of Acts, the church immediately engages itself in intense evangelism and great growth in numbers follows quickly. With the ordination of the first deacons in chapter 6, the church begins to organize itself to handle its needs. Persecution intensifies with the martyrdom of the deacon Stephen in chapter 7. In chapter 9, Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, is converted and the conversion of the Gentile Cornelius and his family occurs in chapter 10. This momentous turn in the work of God shifts its focus from Israel to the Gentile world.

Regarding God's work changing its emphasis according to need and God's will, Acts 20:28-32 is especially interesting. "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified."

Predicting that conditions would not always remain the same, Paul warns that significant events would trouble the church after his death. He felt it was critical that they pay special attention to feeding the flock through the Word of God, and in doing so the people would build spiritual strength. Clearly, God's focus, the church's focus, shifts occasionally to meet the spiritual needs of the church and God's will.

What Is an Evangelist?

An arresting contrast exists between the evangelizing done in the early years of the first-century church and what gradually developed as the church aged. The early chapters of Acts give the impression that virtually every church member was evangelizing.

Evangelist means, "one who declares good news." To whom the good news is given is unimportant. In its broadest sense anybody can evangelize, whether apostle, deacon or lay member. One commentator remarked that an apostle was also a prophet and an evangelist: an apostle because he was sent, a prophet because he forth-told, and an evangelist because he brought good news. In the earliest years of the church this is how "evangelist" is used.

However, over time the church's usage of the term changed, as seen in Paul's writings, from a publicly performed function to a high-ranking office with or without the public function. Paul uses the term in II Timothy 4:5 to define Timothy's functions as an evangelist being focused on church brethren. In one sense, he was still evangelizing but to the church. Its use shifted to an administrative rank.

The advice Paul gives to Timothy and Titus focuses on how to pastor a congregation, not how to preach the gospel. Little in these books indicates that Timothy or Titus did any preaching to the public at large, bearing witness to the gospel, a responsibility that seems to have been a function of the apostles.

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong

Anyone familiar with the history of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG) knows that Mr. Armstrong used the term in the same way as the later New Testament writings. To him, "evangelist" was an administrative rank. In actual practice, Mr. Armstrong, an apostle, did the evangelizing, but evangelists administered offices as department heads. Their evangelizing was mostly confined to preaching to the church. They supervised others. Occasionally they would travel to local church areas to represent Mr. Armstrong, and would be traveling speakers during the Feast of Tabernacles. Local church pastors had more evangelistic contact with the public through Plain Truth lectures and visiting prospective members than did evangelists.

In Mystery of the Ages, p. 275, Mr. Armstrong gives an encapsulated account of the church's zigzag history. The church, like Israel in the wilderness, has not moved in a straight line toward salvation. During long periods, God allowed the church to continue without any public preaching of the gospel. He did not seem too concerned, for if he had, He would have moved the church to act for His Name's sake. In fact, Mr. Armstrong repeatedly claimed that the gospel was not preached for 1,900 years! He did not mean it was not preached at all, but it was not preached with the understanding, power, extent or duration until God raised him up to do it in this century.

Proselytizing

Although the Jews were engaged in it in Jesus' day (Matthew 23:15), proselytizing makes its first appearance as a biblical command in Jesus' ministry. Under the Old Covenant, God never established a function for proselytizing, partly because He limited His work to those who made the covenant with Him in Israel. But even so, Israel was to be God's witness before the nations: "'[Y]ou are My witnesses,' says the Lord, 'that I am God'" (Isaiah 43:12).

Expecting others to be attracted to His people, God made provision in the law requiring Gentile males to be circumcised if they desired to join Israel (Exodus 12:48-49). Deuteronomy 28:10 adds, "Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you."

God chose Israel to exemplify to the nations of the world a way of life that really works, but other than their personal witness, He made no provision to "preach the gospel" to the world. His experience with Israel ought to send us an obvious signal as to the importance of feeding the flock as compared to preaching to the outsider. As stated before, feeding the flock was always the first function of the priesthood of the Old Covenant church.

Israel failed because they did not live God's way of life and therefore could not be good witnesses. "Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward" (Jeremiah 7:24).

The next verse clearly establishes the prophets' major function: "Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them" (verse 25). The prophet's function, like the priest's, was to feed the flock, to strive to get Israel turned around—to put them "back on track"—so they could be proper witnesses.

In the New Testament virtually every admonishment, exhortation and command is given to encourage obedience and growth in godly character. Jesus states the responsibility of the Christian as, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:33).

The Key to Effective Witnessing

The key to effective witnessing is not preaching because God commands the church to do it, but being properly prepared to do so when it fits God's purpose. God spent thirty years preparing His Son for His public ministry. Jesus spent three and a half years preparing the apostles to preach the gospel. After Paul's conversion, he spent three years in the desert with Christ to prepare for his work. Preparation, along with God's will, is the key to preaching the gospel.

Preparation precedes going to the world. Otherwise, the witness will be no better than that given by ancient Israel under the Old Covenant. Israel failed! Their failure resulted from the miserable quality of their witness. It was insufficient, misleading and sometimes an outright lie because they were not living as they were taught by God. Their failure is understandable, however. They were not equipped spiritually to do what was required of them. "Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day" (Deuteronomy 29:4).

Neither are we fully equipped to do what is required of us. How can we preach when we can barely practice what we preach? The loving, serving, sharing example of the Christians in the first chapters of Acts is partially given to show their spiritual state in relation to the power with which the preaching was done. We are nowhere near that level of spirituality.

We have all come out of a spiritual organization in decline for many years, much longer than the time since Mr. Armstrong's death. Division in the church, doctrinal confusion and the lethargic attitude, allowing people to be virtually driven back to the world with hardly a murmur, are proof of this. Mr. Armstrong strove mightily in his last seven years to get the church "back on the track." Doctrinally, he succeeded to a great extent, but he never came close to succeeding in turning peoples' attitudes to what is right.

It is now the ministry's responsibility to strive to get church members to live God's way of life fervently again, growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ and holding fast what they have been given. When a pastor concentrates his attention on preaching the gospel, he cannot effectively feed the flock, whose attention will be focused on where the pastor's attention is focused. A man cannot serve two masters (Matthew 6:24).

A Subtle Danger

A subtle danger is involved when preaching the gospel to the world is the main focus. Though the individual member may feel good that he is doing something as part of a visible work, he may in reality be lured into neglecting his most important responsibilities: overcoming and presenting a godly personal witness to the world. The busyness of doing an external work subtly becomes equated with righteousness. Improving statistics become the measure of growth. As the body "grows," the need to eradicate sin seems to disappear. It seems as though "saving" other people is easier than working on the self. But we need to work hard at casting the beam out of our own eye before we start telling others of their problems (Matthew 7:1-5).

Formerly, the commonly held concept was that the lay member was to "pray and pay." Though I know of no minister who actually preached that, the members definitely felt it was true. Mostly, they were "out of the loop," a problem that can be blamed on governmental beliefs and policies.

However, each member is equally important to the body, as Paul shows in Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12. Each is given gifts by God to perform his function, with the primary function being to preach the gospel through one's personal example. The development of these gifts is a vital function of the church. We develop them as we overcome and grow, participate in feeding the flock and make a personal witness in our lives.

When these gifts are not developed, the overall function of the church becomes hollow, to say the least, and the church's approach becomes carnal. Thus, the individual's relationship with God must be promoted at all costs, or the quality of everything else suffers immeasurably.

The End of Mr. Armstrong's Ministry

Most of us have our spiritual heritage firmly anchored in the ministry of Herbert W. Armstrong. We owe very much of what we know and what we have become to the work God did through him. But he claimed that no man taught him.

In a long letter to brethren and co-workers he states, "No man taught me these truths. As the original apostles were taught by Jesus in person, so was I taught by Jesus Christ in writing. It is the same word—the same teaching" (March 19, 1981, p. 5). A little later in the letter he adds, "He used me in building the Philadelphia era of His church—and in proclaiming His gospel in all the world! . . . God has never removed a man called to a specific leadership or assignment or commission until his mission is completed."

Mark that last statement well. Mr. Armstrong's mission is completed—it cannot be revived. The church's mission has taken a turn.

The Bible contains multiple examples of the works of men like Noah, Abraham, Moses, Samuel, Elijah, the prophets and the first-century apostles. Did God allow them to live until they completed their work? Did those who followed these specially-commissioned men do the same job as they did? Did Joshua do the same job as Moses? Did David do the same work as Samuel? Did Elisha do the same work as Elijah? Did Nehemiah do the same work as Jeremiah, Ezekiel or Daniel? Did those who followed the first-century apostles do the same work? Does it follow that those of us following Mr. Armstrong will be doing the same work He did? Of course not! The biblical patterns show otherwise.

An era unique to God's church has ended. If God had wanted to continue His work as done under Mr. Armstrong, why did He not either allow him to live or appoint someone exactly like him? Obviously, God wanted a change of emphasis to occur in His work.

Why Change Now?

Why has God chosen to emphasize something else? We do not know exactly why, but we know a change has occurred. God did not tell Israel in the wilderness why He was changing directions. Now is a time to exercise faith and patience.

God may have made this change because He is working out prophecy. God says in Daniel 12:7, "[W]hen the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished." Again, in Amos 8:11, "'Behold, the days are coming,' says the Lord God, 'that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.'"

Taken together, these passages indicate that at some point a steady decline of hearing God's Word will begin (implying a decline in public preaching). If, as a reaction to Israel's hardness of heart, God is ordaining this to occur now, would it not be in vain for us to contradict His will? Would He strongly support someone striving against His will? Would He want us to preach the gospel—in a desire to witness to as many as we can—in spite of what He says He is bringing about? Would it not be better for us to focus our attentions on something we can accomplish by preaching strongly to the flock?

Mr. Armstrong's letter of March 19, 1981, adds, "I have gone to considerable length in this letter to show you how God does His work among humans through one man at a time. He specially prepared me for the work He has called me to do. I know of no one else who has been so prepared."

Hold Fast What You Have

God instructs the Philadelphia brethren: "Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown" (Revelation 3:11). He says, not hold fast to an organization, but hold fast to God's truth. How does one lose his crown? By failing to hold fast to His truth! This begins to clarify the main focus of the faithful as the return of Jesus Christ draws near.

Christ prophesied that as we approach the end that "because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). Paul confirms that the last days will be "perilous times of great stress and trouble [hard to deal with and hard to bear]" (II Timothy 3:1, Amplified Bible). Distractions will be available everywhere to grab the Christian's attention and choke the spiritual life, if allowed (Matthew 13:22). We will need all the focused attention a shepherd can give to keep us headed toward the Kingdom of God.

God records in Jeremiah 23:28-29, "'The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; and he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat?' says the Lord. 'Is not My word like a fire?' says the Lord, 'and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?'" The difference between God's Word and a prophet's dreams is as great as the difference between wheat and chaff. God's Word is like fire, penetrating, purifying and consuming evil. His people need to hear that Word powerfully expounded to help them through the end time.

Paul adds in his prayer for the church in I Thessalonians 3:12-13, "And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints." "[N]ow our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" (Romans 13:11), and "the night is coming when no one can work" (John 9:4).

More in Revelation

In Christ's letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, only one message indicates strong public preaching (Philadelphia), while another alludes to what may indicate public evangelism (Thyatira). Some commentators argue that applying "open door" to public evangelism is not certain. Regardless, each message contains powerful admonitions to REPENT or exhortations to OVERCOME. Again, the emphasis is on getting ready.

In Christ's Olivet Discourse to His disciples about the years just before His return (Matthew 24-25), He emphasizes personal things: watching, praying, being faithful, being ready for the Bridegroom, developing one's talents, and serving the brethren. In fact, nowhere in Revelation, the book revealing end-time events, does Christ commend any evangelistic activity. He prophesies of the two witnesses, but the context shows their work not to be an organized church activity. If the seven thunders symbolize the witness of the seven churches, the two witnesses do not appear until after their final witness.

Obviously, preaching the gospel is included in the work of the church. But, from Christ and the apostle's instruction to the church at the end, it is not at the forefront of their minds. God's work has taken a turn for now.

A backward glance at the fruits of those who have left the WCG and formed their own groups is instructive. Have any of them "set the world on fire?" No matter how charismatic their personalities, how many radio or television stations they managed to get on, how big their organization, how many other prominent names went with them, how many years they have been at it, their impact has been insignificant. Though they have tried with varying degrees of intensity to preach the gospel, God has not appeared to have blessed their efforts to any great extent. This is not to imply that what they have done is evil. Most of them have continued to exist, but growth in reaching the world is minimal at best.

One question is in order: "Who are we that God should treat us any different than He has treated these others?" Are we it, that God should bless us above others in this area of His work? Our circumstance could easily become similar to Israel's in their second year in the wilderness when they tried to go into the land after God decided they needed more wilderness experience. Presumptuousness does not impress God. We must always remember that it is His work, and we are merely His to use. The tool should not dictate to the craftsman how it is to be used.

Sometime in the future, the work will take another turn, and preaching the gospel will again be at the forefront of His mind as He raises up the two witnesses. Today, the church is in a circumstance similar to a campsite on a long journey. It is not intended to be a period of passive waiting. We must be eagerly awaiting God's orders, peaceful, alert, girded, making intensive preparations and repairs, revitalizing ourselves, ready to move at a moment's notice.

What Should We Do?

I have repeatedly said that I am not against preaching the gospel to the world. However, apart from brief historical spurts, it has always been secondary to feeding the flock. It must be. Consider this analogy. It takes only a brief moment to conceive a child, but nine months of development to be able to live apart from its mother's body. How many years are needed before full physical, emotional and spiritual maturity is achieved—forty, fifty, sixty, or seventy years? Spiritually, the church's function of feeding the individual is involved from conception to maturity because it is the major part of its responsibility. Thus, the Bible devotes much of its instruction to overcoming and growing.

When my wife and I were considering if we should leave the fellowship of the WCG, a major issue we needed to resolve was whether that constituted leaving the church. Like virtually everyone else, we had it drilled into us that leaving the WCG is tantamount to leaving the church. Gradually, we came to see that the church is a spiritual organism, not bound by human corporate boundaries, and felt confident we could then leave the WCG without leaving the spiritual church.

When we left, nothing changed in relation to what I had been for almost twenty-six of the thirty-three years since being baptized in 1959. In 1966 I was ordained as an elder, and in 1969 I became a church pastor. That is where God placed me in service to His church. I am still in the spiritual organism and I am still a church pastor. God has not suddenly made me an apostle just because the fellowship changed.

Consequently, it is essential to look at some of our resources and examine what has been produced by this work in its brief existence. Very few of us have any background of professional experience in what we are doing. None of us is a professional writer. We have had to learn everything from the ground up.

It seems as though it should continue this way. We need time for the development of others to carry part of the load, which is being accomplished. People are contributing generously of their experiences and knowledge. They are growing and producing increasingly better material. The wisest choice is to keep this work narrow in its focus, so that our energies and talents are not wasted doing too many things and in the end produce nothing worthwhile.

We are doing a work none of the major groups who have left the WCG in recent years is doing. In producing booklets to feed converted people, we are teaching Christian living principles in a more detailed, specific and deeper way than others have attempted. Far from being self-centered, we are sharing what we have with others. The booklets and tapes are finding worldwide distribution. We are preaching the gospel!

Mr. Armstrong taught us that the gospel of the Kingdom of God is about its King, laws, territory and subjects, which covers just about everything in the Bible. Adding to that the wide variety of terms the apostles used to describe it, the gospel is the whole of God's Word, the truth. When it is preached to the world, they hear only a narrow sliver of that truth. The overwhelming bulk of the message is intended to be preached to converted Christians to refine and mature them.

We are doing an effective and important work, aimed at this time toward converted people. It is a necessary and vital work. In this manner, we are serving people as they need to be served to prepare themselves for Christ's return. The Bride must make herself ready. We are striving to insure that every member of Christ's body has a sufficient supply of "oil" available for his preparation. Christ says in John 6:63, "The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life."

Our Increasing Resources

If I were to judge solely by what this work has already produced, I could conclude that God wants us to remain in this mode. However, we are not blind to the fact that going to the world is also part of the church's responsibility. How large this responsibility is now is a question mark because of the times and prophecies of God. Indeed, one could even find himself fighting God! At times God told the prophets not to pray for Israel (Jeremiah 7:16; 11:14 and 14:11)!

God will open a door before us if it is His will—and that door will be commensurate with our resources. We are already preparing and our resources are being increased. We are producing a correspondence course and another large booklet. Some have submitted suggestions to us, such as tape programs or a series of basic booklets in which the basic research and writing is done by members of the congregation, then edited into final form by those of us in Charlotte.

You, brethren, are the resource that is increasing—most importantly in spiritual growth. Our closeness to God, the effectiveness of our prayers, our growth in love and faith will produce an effective witness, either to the church or world. Did not God's prophets and the Levitical priesthood spend their entire working lives serving what was then the church? God has not changed. He will respond and use our witness to His end. What we must do is please Him with our lives.

We need to get rid of the concept that the only way to do the work is to preach the gospel to the world. God's Word broadly defines what His work is: "Then they said to Him, 'What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent'" (John 6:28-29). He does not use "believe" in the sense of merely assenting to Him as Savior, but in the sense of trusting in obedience. Doing a specific work of God may change from time to time, but Jesus' statement never changes.

As we see our previous church fellowship continue its decline into worldliness, we know these are difficult times. Psalm 11:3 challenges us with this question: "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" People fear when direction and focus are blurred or lost. But the responsibility remains for each person to continue to search for God's truth, prove all things, love the brethren, be merciful, live by faith—in short, make right choices. Some things never change.

We desire to help. Jesus Christ wants us to be refined, to change, to grow in godly character and righteousness so that we will exemplify Him and be prepared, without blemish, for His return. A very high standard is set in Ephesians 4:13: ". . . to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." We all have a long way to go, but personal spiritual growth preceding the establishment of the Kingdom of God is the major focus of God's exhortations and admonitions. It may not be "flashy," but it is the most important. It forces each of us to live by faith to a greater extent than merely supporting someone else doing the work. This way, you are the work.

Paul writes, "[B]eing confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). Later, he adds, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. . . . And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:13, 19). We have every reason to hope. God urges us to do our part—seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. He never fails in what He sets out to do!

These times are more confused than normal. Since each person is responsible for choosing, we urge you to ask God for wisdom and give very careful thought to what you allow yourself to be fed.

© 1993 Church of the Great God
PO Box 471846
Charlotte, NC  28247-1846
(803) 802-7075

Printer-Friendly          E-mail this page