Dear Brethren and Friends,
By the time you read this, we will have celebrated the tenth anniversary of the revival of the Work of God. A little more than ten years ago—in mid- December, 1992—God provided a “way of escape” for those who were troubled by the changes being made in our former association. My wife and I—with original founding Board member Mr. Don Davis—were literally overwhelmed with phone calls, letters and personal contacts from members all over the world who were deeply concerned about the mounting heresies. They deeply wanted, and needed, “somewhere to go.”
It was quite a time!
We had to step out in absolute faith in God—not knowing whether we would have only a few dozen or several thousand people joining with us in preserving the Truth and continuing the Work that Christ had begun through Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong so many years ago. In the early weeks of this Work, it seemed that every day was filled with phone calls and meetings, and writing letters, articles and booklets. Then, within a few weeks, we were able to go on radio and have a genuine “outreach” for the Work. About that same time, we were able to rent a very humble office space in San Dimas, near Pasadena, California. Within about six or eight weeks after going on KIEV radio in Glendale, California we were able to air our program on a big 50,000-watt station in Little Rock, Arkansas and then WOAI in San Antonio, Texas.
Retracing a few months, I should tell you that the first service of this newly organized Church was held in my living room and dining room—with exactly 19 people present, including children. Then, the following week—on January 2, 1993—we held the “official” opening service in a small hall near Los Angeles with 42 in attendance. Growth came quickly, and we had about 1,500 in attendance for the Feast that autumn!
During that spring of 1993, we were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Hegvold—long time servants of God who had remained faithful to the Truth and were happy to help us establish the Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Also, an outstanding elder whom many of you know, Mr. Davy Crockett, came with us, along with his wife, and helped establish the congregation in Little Rock. They were joined in this effort by another elder, Dr. Jeffrey Fall—who, with his wife, had to drive down from the Batesville area to assist Mr. Crockett in pastoring this fledgling congregation. A few other ministers came with us during that spring. Then, in late spring and early summer, Mr. and Mrs. John Ogwyn and Mr. and Mrs. Raymond McNair and others began to join with us. Mr. Ogwyn brought with him the largest congregation we had up to that point, and has done an outstanding job in Christ’s service ever since. Mr. Carl McNair came on board the following winter to help run Church Administration and help us begin to have a real “Church organization.” Mr. and Mrs. McNair helped immensely in organizing and directing the congregations, and have been very dedicated and loyal team players ever since.
After a year or two on radio, it became obvious that we should go on television to be able to genuinely reach most of the public. Immediately, the response increased tremendously and our magazine circulation began to shoot up into the tens of thousands. After I had been making the television program alone for a year or two, Mr. Richard Ames came on board with us and soon joined me in making the telecast. At first, Mr. Ames would fly out from his pastorate in Houston, Texas to “shoot” his programs. His excellent presentations added greatly to the telecast, and he was able to help the program—and me personally—with a number of ideas and suggestions, because of his former experience in doing the World Tomorrow program after Mr. Armstrong’s death.
During this time, a number of other dedicated ministers came with us, including Mr. Dibar Apartian, Mr. Charles Bryce, Mr. Gerald Weston, Mr. Lambert Greer, Dr. Douglas Winnail and many others.
In spite of the trials and tests that we have experienced over the past ten years, this Work has grown and grown from the “original” 19 attendees up to about 7,000 today, including some of our newer brethren in India and elsewhere around the world. We are very grateful for what the living Christ has done and is doing.
And now, at last, we have been enabled by Christ, and through a number of generous gifts from the estates of some of our very dedicated brethren, to purchase our own Headquarters building in Charlotte, North Carolina! We were indeed very grateful to begin remodeling this 38,000 square foot brick structure last November, and are thankful to have it as our World Headquarters. As all of you know, we are planning to move into our new Headquarters in early March—though we will have official “opening festivities” on Monday, March 17, 2003. As events move along, we can see that God has truly opened this door, and that we will be able to accomplish a great deal more in reaching the nations of Israel—and the whole world—because of the excellent financial savings brought about by this move.
Also, dear brethren, as many of you know, December 20, 2002 marked the 50th anniversary of my ordination as an Evangelist of Jesus Christ. For a few months before my ordination, I had been pastoring the Church congregation in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Herbert Armstrong telephoned me and asked me to fly down to Pasadena to be there for the Sabbath of December 20, saying that he intended to ordain some of us as ministers of the Church. At first, I “argued” with him! For I did not know that he was an Apostle—and neither did he know it at that time. We did not fully understand Church government, but I deeply respected him.
However, I felt that I was “too young,” too inexperienced and “not yet worthy” to be ordained. I told him so. But he explained that I had been actually performing ministerial functions for the last several months—leading out a nationwide baptizing tour that previous summer, writing articles for the Good News magazine, raising up our local congregation in San Diego, and at the time of our conversation pastoring a congregation in Oregon, plus preparing to raise up an additional congregation in the Seattle/Tacoma area within a few weeks after his call.
After counseling with my uncle (Dr. C. Paul Meredith) and others, I decided to leave it in God’s hands and trust Him to guide Mr. Armstrong in this decision. And so, on the afternoon of December 20, 1952, God’s servant Mr. Armstrong first ordained Herman L. Hoeh as an evangelist, since Mr. Hoeh was the first male graduate of Ambassador College. Next, they in turn ordained Raymond C. Cole. Then, the three of them ordained Mr. Armstrong’s elder son, Richard David Armstrong. Next, all of them turned and together ordained my uncle, Dr. C. Paul Meredith. Finally, last and least, I was ordained as an evangelist in the Church of God. It was certainly fitting that I be last on this occasion, because I was physically the youngest and spiritually the newest as part of God’s Work. But I have been everlastingly grateful and thankful to be a part of that first ordination service, and to have had the awesome opportunity to help “build the Work” along with Mr. Armstrong and other leading men throughout the last 50 years of my adult life.
I have made many mistakes. I have shed many tears for being too strict during the 1960s, especially in regard to the “system” of having the ministers send in detailed reports and make quite a number of visits, which made their work exceedingly difficult—more than I realized at the time. But, through the years, God has humbled me, chastened me, worked with me and helped me grow and learn the lessons that I needed to learn—and there are, no doubt, many other lessons that I will still be learning up until the day of my death or the Second Coming of Christ!
What are some of the basic lessons that I can impart to you brethren that I have learned during my 53 years in God’s Church and my 50 years as an evangelist of Jesus Christ?
One of the outstanding lessons that has come into my mind, again and again, is the importance of always keeping our minds on the big picture. Please do not let other peoples’ personalities, or even minor doctrinal or administrative disagreements, “sidetrack” you! For if you allow yourself to get sidetracked or to get a spirit of bitterness, you could lose eternal life—or at the very least have a greatly diminished reward in the coming Kingdom of God. Through the years, I have seen many people “get their backs up” at Mr. Armstrong or other leading men. People did not think things through as carefully as they should have, and often allowed minor issues to sidetrack them or bring on a spirit of bitterness. Some of these individuals even tried—directly or indirectly—to “overthrow” Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, God’s Apostle, and somehow get control of the Work so that they would be the “big shots” and be able to exalt themselves. We have also had individuals—as you know—who have tried to “overthrow” me in this revival of the Work. All of these people seem to have forgotten God’s instruction in Proverbs 24:21–22: “My son, fear the Lord and the king; do not associate with those given to change; for their calamity will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin those two can bring?”
All of us, including those of us in the ministry, must constantly guard against Satan “working” on us and leading us into a spirit of bitterness. It does not make any difference what causes us to become bitter! Under no circumstances should we allow this type of spirit to grip us, for it is something that will destroy our ability to think straight, and will ruin our spiritual life and our opportunity for eternal life itself! We must constantly remember God’s admonition: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:14–15).
Another vital lesson I have learned, through the years, is the importance of constantly asking God for genuine humility. Many people can “put on” an act of humility. However, over time, their “fruits” show that they are arrogant, self-willed and not willing to take correction from those over them. Often, they are not “team players” and willing to serve in whatever capacity God places them. Some are constantly “angling” or “politicking” for a higher position, more money or more prestige in whatever way. If we can constantly compare ourselves not to others, but to Jesus Christ, we will be in a better frame of mind. We will realize how terribly weak we all are, and how much we need Christ in us to amount to anything. So try not to “push” yourself into any office or position—especially any spiritual office in God’s Church! Remember God’s admonishment: “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is humility” (Proverbs 15:33). Also it is good to focus on Jesus’ powerful counsel: “And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12).
Dear brethren, without naming names I can tell you wholeheartedly that I have seen these principles “at work” over and over again in the Work of God! When men—even leading men—have tried to “exalt” themselves, it seems that God would often intervene and “jerk the rug” out from under them, so that they would fall flat on their faces. If they were willing to learn the lesson and truly repent, they generally then went on to “greater” things. But if their personal vanity and arrogance would not allow for that kind of repentance, then they nearly always either dropped out or had to be put out of God’s Church!
In this time of confusion among God’s people since the death of Mr. Armstrong, it seems that every Tom, Dick and Harry is trying to exalt himself and “appoint” himself to some leading position in the ministry, or even to “ordain” himself whether or not he has been ordained by legitimate authority! Frankly, brethren, this is a travesty! God’s own Word sternly warns against anyone trying to “put himself” into the ministry. Notice God’s inspired word regarding this very matter: “And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was” (Hebrews 5:4). The “fruits” of most of these self-appointed leaders or ministers are usually greater confusions and divisions among God’s people. And Satan—the author of confusion—is using the vanity of these misguided men to severely hinder the gathering together of God’s people so that a truly powerful Work might be done!
Also, over the years, Christ has led me to think again and again about a basic question: what would Jesus really do? For even in God’s Church, men and women take unto themselves responsibility to change the clear instruction of Jesus Christ—or to ignore it in their own lives. And they ignore His direct example in the way we all ought to live. So we all must constantly ask ourselves: “How can I genuinely serve the most, considering the talents and strengths I do have, and the weaknesses that are also apparent even to me?” With the background, the training, the talents and the experience you have had, how can you genuinely “serve” Jesus Christ and His people the most? Where and how do you have the most to give? As Jesus said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
It should be apparent that not everyone should try to be a minister, a teacher or some greater “leader” in God’s Work. Yet many feel “frustrated” if they do not have that opportunity in this life. Some are not able to grasp the fact that God rewards us according to what we do with the talents we genuinely have. He does not reward us if we “grasp” for higher things just for the sake of our own vanity and sense of self-importance. Always remember Paul’s instruction in Philippians 2:5–8: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
We all know that Christ was actually the Personality who had been with the Father from eternity. He was the One who said, “Let there be light” in Genesis 1. He was the One who gave the Ten Commandments. He was the One who was the God or “Rock” of Israel, and was that great Being to whom Abraham, Moses and David prayed and worshiped! Yet, as the correct Greek translation has it in verse 7 of the above passage, Jesus “emptied Himself” in order to better serve all of us. We must constantly think on this and try to find out how and where we can best serve our God and our fellow human beings.
In this regard, we must also regularly focus on Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” If Christ really lives in you and me, He will be helping, building and serving others in the way that is best accomplished within the strengths and also the weaknesses of each one of us individually. For we will not consider that we belong to ourselves, but that we have “given” our lives to Christ so that He may live within us.
Dear brethren, as I look back on the last ten years—and at the last 50—there are many other matters that I would like to share with you. Perhaps someday I may write at least a short autobiography, to share a more complete version of some of the main lessons I have learned through 50 years of ups and downs, trials and tests—and sincerely trying to “walk with God” during these last five tumultuous decades. Please keep praying for me, as I certainly need your prayers! And pray fervently for all of God’s faithful ministers and His people around the world.
