Dear Brethren and Friends, As I have previously reported, God is beginning to give us more growth in "brand-new" prospective members than ever before! Our ministers are now receiving hundreds of visit requests from people who never before heard of Mr. Armstrong or the Worldwide Church of God, and who were never involved in our former association. Also, scores of former WCG members are requesting visits, as that organization continues its unrelenting campaign to turn away from virtually all the truth Christ taught us in decades past.
So, we are grateful to God for this growth and for this opportunity to welcome and to serve these new visitors—and potential members!
But how do these people perceive us when they come into our meeting halls and interact with Church members for the first few times? Are they warmly and enthusiastically welcomed? Are they made to feel "at home"? Or do some of us scrutinize them very carefully, and even "evaluate" them by the way we look and act and talk as they mingle among us?
"First impressions" are very important!
So, we need to ask God to help all of us welcome these new prospective members enthusiastically, even though they may sometimes look or act a little "different." Remember, they are also absolute "babes" as far as the Living Church of God is concerned. They may need months or even years to fully understand and respond to some of our approaches in the way we dress, act and worship God.
I have heard and observed that many of the brethren do very well in welcoming new brethren. Yet some entire congregations are far more cheerful and "welcoming" than others. But I am sure that all of us want to help and serve these new people God is bringing into fellowship with the Living Church of God.
Sadly, reports indicate that some of our members tend to be stiff and cold around new attendees. They "stay apart." They do not enthusiastically go forward to warmly welcome these new people who are—so to speak—"dipping their hand in the water" for the first time to see what we are like. Some of our brethren are a little bashful, and stay among their current friends because of a fear of meeting new people. However, this makes the newer attendees immediately feel like "outsiders" who may not be truly welcomed—who may not truly be loved and wanted.
How would you feel if you attended a totally different kind of church for the first time, but were met with "cold stares" by some of the members and greeted by only a very few? What would be your first impression? Would you want to come back again the next Sabbath?
Brethren, all of us need to think and to pray about this vital issue!
Christ's Special Command
Near the end of His human life, Jesus Christ gave a very special instruction to His disciples: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34–35).
God Himself sees whether we are keeping His commandments, and the "sign" of His Sabbaths. But to the carnal human beings around us, Sabbath-keeping may just seem "odd" and unfamiliar. People around us will notice whether or not we show outflowing love—enthusiastic warmth and concern for our fellow human beings. That is why Jesus focused our attention on that special sign: "By this all will know...." If we love one another, and new people who come in among us "see" that love being expressed toward each other—and toward them—they will much more likely feel the genuine "family spirit" and love of God that should be expressed continually among God's people.
Brethren, in the next few years, as Christ brings in among us perhaps thousands of "brand-new people," it is vital that we demonstrate this love to them—and to one another. And it is vital to our personal salvation, too. Remember, Jesus Christ Himself focused on this issue not only in the above verses, but throughout the gospels—and it is emphasized also in many key passages of Scripture written by His original apostles!
Jesus' dear friend, the Apostle John, described this kind of love again and again. He wrote: "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death" (1 John 3:14). John then explained the consequence of such love: "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (v. 16). And then: "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (v. 18). So we are not only to "have" love in our heart—invisible, as it were. We are to show that love by enthusiastic warmth and service to our brethren and to our fellow human beings!
Yes, we do need to be "careful" in the kind of new people that we allow to continue to attend services in the Church. But that care is primarily the responsibility of the minister serving the congregation. If some new people genuinely cause division, that would be a problem. But if they merely come into our midst appearing "worldly"—perhaps women wearing short dresses, or young men wearing earrings— then we need to recognize that this is simply "normal" for the thousands of people around them and the associations they have been having perhaps all their lives! We need to show them our love and our positive example while the ministry works with them—we should not drive them away!
Brethren, as we are sincerely able, let us try to build deep friendships with these new people—and with one another—as we are all to become members of God's Family eventually in His Kingdom. God tells us: "A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24). So we must show friendship—personal interest in the well-being of others, kindness and sincere concern—in order to have friends. We must be willing to put forth the effort and give our time and service to other human beings in order to build a genuine friendship with them. It is important—not just for these new people, but among ourselves—that we learn to do this. Then, and only then, can we have the genuine "family spirit" that we all desire in God's Church.
God also tells us: "What is desired in a man is kindness, and a poor man is better than a liar" (Proverbs 19:22). The original Hebrew reads: "What is desired in a man is loving kindness." This aspect of sincere concern, warmth and "loving kindness" will certainly be a blessing to the one who has it, and will vastly encourage those to whom it is shown. May God help all of us to build this quality within our lives through the help of His Holy Spirit! May God help all of us to show this attitude and warmth to all of the new people whom Jesus Christ is calling and whom He may bring among us. As spiritual "babes," they genuinely need a special love and concern as they fellowship, perhaps for the first time, with a group of people involved in a different church, a different way of life and with different people than they have ever known before.
More LOVE and Less "JUDGING"
Almighty God tells us that the attitude and approach He desires in us, when we fast, is to "loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke: Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday" (Isaiah 58:6–10).
If all of us not only give of ourselves in doing the Work, but also "reach out" as described above to help people whom God is calling, most of these people will truly want to "bond" with us and remain with us! We should want to welcome them wholeheartedly. We should want to be those who "share our bread with the hungry." We should want to "cover the naked" and have a positive approach to those around us. We must be careful to avoid "the pointing of the finger" and trying to "catch" our brethren—especially newer Church members—in some minor offense or problem. Rather, we need to "extend our soul to the hungry" and do all we can to show genuine "loving kindness" to all our brethren—especially to the newer members whom God brings with us.
Brethren, we need to reread the parable of the "lost sheep" which Jesus gave in Luke 15:1–32. Let us always remember His statement: "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (v. 10). Do we have that deep joy and feeling of gratefulness when we sense that God is calling someone "new" to come among us? Or when a brother or sister who has "strayed away" returns and comes back into God's Church again?
The parable of the man with two sons shows the attitude we should have when this occurs. For many of our own children, grandchildren, nephews or nieces may have indeed "strayed" from the path of God and drifted into drinking, smoking, illicit drug use, illicit sex and all kinds of things as they have been overcome by the temptations of the world.
Are we going to give them the "evil eye" when they finally repent and come back to God's Church? Or will we have confidence in the minister whom Christ has set over each congregation, trusting that he will wisely welcome them while being sure that their conduct is satisfactory for someone in the process of returning? Remember that when the father in the parable of the two sons welcomed his repentant son back, he did not berate him in any way whatsoever! He simply "had compassion" on him and "fell on his neck and kissed him." For this righteous father—obviously a "type" of God, our Father—stated: "'For this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry" (v. 24).
So please, brethren, let us all have a sense of deep joy when God brings new people among us, or when those who have strayed repent and return! Let us "reach out" to them, enthusiastically welcoming them into the Church. As we have opportunity, let us welcome them into our homes, or take them out to a meal or work out a situation where we can do something with them and help them to feel "part of the family." For God's Church is the begotten family of God.
As the Apostle Paul was inspired to tell us: "But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually" (1 Corinthians 12:24–27). Let us be sure, indeed, that we care for one another in the body! And let us recognize the fact that we should study, pray, and work together in every way we can to build a deeper sense of "family" within God's Church.
This care will help all of us grow spiritually, and it should definitely reflect outward toward all of those whom God may bring with us—and should help us to sincerely and enthusiastically welcome them among us, far more than some of us have been doing. This will help them feel like a genuine part of the "family" Christ is preparing— part of the ultimate Family that will become the Kingdom of God!
