Greetings everyone:
My profound apology! For some unknown reason (unknown to me at least) the system failed to mail the Update last Friday. Debbie "sent it" Friday afternoon, but the machinery just did not cooperate, and we were not aware of the problem until Monday morning.
I will add to it today and have Debbie resend it this week. That way you will save your eyesight for more important things.
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
San Diego: Mr. Meredith has now finalized his plans to visit Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines. He wanted to visit that area last year but decided to postpone the trip for one year. Mr. and Mrs. Meredith will visit that area during the Passover season.
MEDIA—ANNOUNCEMENT
COGL.ORG Update—
As many of you may have noticed, as of Thursday the "Member" button disappeared from the www.lcg.org Web site.
Member Resources information is still available, but from now on you will find it at www.cogl.org. No password will be required to reach the Member Resources information on www.cogl.org.
The www.lcg.org site is visited by many non-members, including quite a few with no Church of God background. Some of those visitors have expressed upset or puzzlement upon finding an area to which they were denied access. Since www.lcg.org, like www.tomorrowsworld.org, is a "public" site and is known to non-church members (it is even on our letterhead!), Mr. Meredith approved a suggestion from Media Operations that the member-specific information be moved to a new location, not mentioned in any public media. Thus the move to www.cogl.org.
Obviously, as before, non-LCG visitors will occasionally find and use this information, but unlike www.lcg.org and www.tomorrowsworld.org, the www.cogl.org site will not be advertised in any of our printed material for the public, nor will it be indexed in search engines.
The www.cogl.org site is not a "confidential" site, but we want it to be a fairly "private" site. As you know, some Church of God groups are super-secretive and place none of their member information online, while others maintain Web sites that give so much prominence to member communications that it can obscure their public proclamation of the Gospel.
With the www.cogl.org site, we hope to strike a balance between these two extremes.
And with this change, a Church-wide spelling lesson now comes to a close. Headquarters staff has been surprised over the years to discover how many different ways people try to spell the word Galatians (perhaps most commonly with an 'o' instead of the second 'a') when entering the old password! Of course we should not forget Galatians 2:20, but now we can remember it just as a key scripture, not as a password.
Please note that the www.cogl.org site remains the location for Church Administration (Ministerial Resources) materials; these, as before, require a ministerial username and password.
Note to the ministry: If you experience any problems with the new site, particularly with access to the ministerial resources area, please send an e-mail message describing the problem to [email protected].
TV production report—Mr. R. F. Ames
Wednesday's TV program topics taped were as follows:
- #135 - RCM - "What is God's Test Commandment?" Airing date will be May 19
- #136 - RCM - "Christ's Coming World Government" Airing date will be May 26
- #137 - RFA - "Is Human Nature Good? Airing date will be June 2
- #138 - RFA - "Must You Obey God to be Saved?" Airing date will be June 9
INTERNATIONAL
Republic of South Africa—Mr. Syd Hull
Tomorrow's World continues to be broadcast in Afrikaans on radio Tygerberg each Thursday at 1:00 a.m. Radio Tygerberg covers Cape Town and Stellenbosch, Republic of South Africa. The program has produced 4,000 regular subscribers throughout the Republic.
Republic Of Ireland—Dr. Douglas Winnail
"I traveled to London for services this past Sabbath. In spite of somewhat inclement weather we had a very profitable Sabbath and pleasant fellowship afterwards. On Sunday I made several visits in N. Wales. Responses to the UK ad for Tomorrow's World continue to come in. We are also looking at the potential for more radio coverage in the UK. Combined services are planned for the Irish brethren this coming Sabbath in Drogheda. Ray and Rhonda Clore will be visiting with us from Paris."
Trinidad—Mr. Jonathan McNair
Jonathan is currently making a Caribbean circuit tour of Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados. We were recently saddened by the loss of Mr. Donald Sohun, a host and one of our pioneer leaders in Trinidad, due to death by a heart attack.
COMMENTS
When a divisive person is disfellowshipped, ill feelings (regrettably) often follow. Biblical action normally taken by the Church noting that a divisive person is no longer a member in good standing is necessary. However, if a member voluntarily leaves our fellowship there may not be a need for any announcement, mitigating the likelihood of ill will. If one chooses to depart for personal reasons, a simple answer in response to interested individuals on a need to know basis should be sufficient.
The great danger in such a situation is unnecessary "talk" that descends into gossip. A certain amount of talk about a person's departure may be necessary in order to cover duties performed by the separated party, and to clarify our doctrinal understanding—if doctrine is an issue. We should, of course, guard our tongues against hurtful statements at all times. We should hold a sincere hope that we may soon be reconciled, in accordance with Christ's teaching concerning the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7).
I once saw a survey that revealed that in American Protestant churches approximately 6% of all "church members" change their affiliation each year. I suspect an equal percentage of members of the various "Churches of God" are now changing fellowship each year. Many are not entirely committed to the institution or program of the church where they attend.
When individuals choose to depart from our fellowship peacefully, I hope that we can deal kindly and respectfully toward them, in the hope that they may remain friendly toward us—or even be restored to fellowship in the future.
Further, we should be mindful that a departing member may leave family members in our fellowship. This places a special burden upon us to support the remaining family members, so that they may have peace in their family relationships, if possible.
We sometimes hurt through our sincere effort to help. I well remember a pastor who once hastened to comfort the widow of the deceased after the committal prayer for her husband at the graveside. He walked to her side and said: "Congratulations, Mrs. __________!" Now, congratulations were not what he had in his mind—and certainly not in order! What he intended to say was, "My condolences." He meant well! To my knowledge the widow did not hold a grudge toward him and forgave him his gaffe.
As we struggle through the shifting tides and vicissitudes of this life, can we "love one another" without reservation? We most certainly desire others to love and deal kindly toward us, so why not strive to deal kindly toward them? Jesus loved us (while we were yet sinners) so much that He paid the price of His life for ours.
It has been said, "He who forgets the language of gratitude can never be on speaking terms with happiness." If we forget the forgiveness afforded us, we are of all men most pitiable. For every hour, day or year we are angry and unforgiving we have lost one hour, day or year of happiness. Gossip and evil speaking may reveal anger, resentment or even hate toward another child of God.
Please travel safely, especially in the northern areas where there may be ice on the highways, and have a great Sabbath!
Carl McNair
P.S.
The following quotes from LEADERSHIP…with a human touch (October 30, 2001) I found insightful. Hope you enjoy them too!
"It is that confidence in the leadership of that man or woman who guides, that enables people to forget the perils of the journey and the darkness of the night." JEROME A WATERMAN– Business Executive
"When a person realizes their littleness, their greatness can appear." H. G. WELLS–Writer
"There is no necessary connection between the desire to lead and the ability to lead, and even less the ability to lead somewhere that will be to the advantage of the led." BERGEN EVANS—Lexicographer and educator [and maybe a bit of a cynic!]