Dear Brethren and Friends,
It has recently been reported that at least 318 churches and “splinter groups” have split off from the Worldwide Church. It seems that every Tom, Dick and Harry has decided to appoint himself as a “spiritual leader” of a church or little group. Some ask: “Is there anything WRONG with this? Didn’t the early Christians meet in ‘house churches’?” What does God’s inspired Word tell us about this approach?
Scripture makes it very clear that the “house churches” described in the New Testament were NOT “independent” groups led by self-appointed leaders who were out of harmony with the Apostles at Jerusalem, for the Apostle Paul commanded the new Gentile church at Thessalonica: “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 2:13–14).
Notice two key points in the above passage. First, these new Christians “received” the teachings of Paul as the “Word of God.” They did NOT say to Paul—who had been directly trained by Jesus Christ: “Well, we have our own ideas, and we don’t want to follow any man.”
Ah, but such little groups always DO end up “following a man” (or a woman), only this person is usually the individual who decided to appoint HIMSELF as the “leader” and started his little group in the first place!
Second, Paul commended the Thessalonians on their willingness to “imitate” the “churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus.” So, in fact, all of the faithful churches in Apostolic times followed the lead of the Jerusalem Church of God where most of the Apostles resided for many years. The Bible makes this very clear!
Notice that the true Church was started at Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost under the leadership of Peter and the other Apostles who had been directly trained by Jesus Christ (Acts 2). Later, when the Apostles heard of Philip preaching down in Samaria, what happened? “Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit” (Acts 8:14–15).
Later, when the Apostle Paul had been converted and started preaching, what did he do? Did he try to start a separate church—in competition with the church at Jerusalem? NO. He immediately went up to Jerusalem to ally himself with the leading Apostles there and with the Headquarters Church! For God inspired Paul to write the Corinthians: “Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. Now I say this, that each of you says, ‘I am of Paul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Cephas,’ or ‘I am of Christ.’ Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Corinthians 1:10–13).
The UN-inspired actions of hundreds of self-appointed “teachers” have resulted in MASSIVE division among God’s people! But God tells us to “speak the SAME THING.” And He tells us that there should be “NO DIVISIONS” among us! Besides these clear biblical instructions, what else is WRONG with men and women getting “a new idea” in their heads and appointing themselves as spiritual “teachers” and raising up little church groups here and there? Every Christian should try to do this, right?
WRONG!
Throughout the Bible, God makes it clear that He chooses or “appoints” His ministers. Yet these self-appointed teachers have, in effect, appointed themselves as MINISTERS—for that is exactly how they are functioning! But Jesus told His ministers: “You did NOT choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (John 15:16).
God also tells us in the book of Hebrews: “And NO MAN takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was” (Hebrews 5:4). So those who would “appoint themselves” as leaders or spiritual priests—or as “ministers” as we call them today—should be VERY careful, as they are taking unto themselves what is contrary to the biblical example!
HOW God Selects His Ministers
Throughout the Bible, God reveals His mind and His approach to many things. We are told: “Let this MIND be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). Does the New Testament show us how God normally selects the spiritual leaders in His New Testament, Spirit-led Church? It certainly does!
Obviously, Christ was directly chosen by God the Father. Then, after praying all night for guidance, Christ directly “chose” 12 of His disciples to be the Apostles (Luke 6:12–13). Then, we find that the Apostles were guided to “appoint” various deacons (Acts 6:3–7) and elders (Titus 1:3–5). And notice that in His instructions to “appoint elders in every city,” the Apostle Paul gave Titus an entire list of qualifications for this office!
First, these spiritual leaders were to be “above reproach” and NOT “self-willed,” not given to wine or greedy for money (v. 7). Many of these self-appointed teachers consistently displayed “self-will” in our former association. They were not usually “good team players.” Some were PUT OUT of the Church by God’s Apostle himself. From their past behavior—their “fruits”—it is apparent that many of these men always wanted to “do their own thing.”
Later, among other qualifications, Paul states that any elder should be “holding fast the faithful word AS HE HAS BEEN TAUGHT, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict” (v. 9).
From my own personal observation of a number of these men, it is apparent that they are NOT holding fast the Truth as they have been taught. Many have gone off into aberrant doctrines regarding counting the Holy Days, teaching the use of Hebrew names for God, contradicting Mr. Armstrong’s teaching on “born again” and the nature of God and more.
Without thinking things through, some Church members have felt their “feelings” were hurt because of some correction or misunderstanding with the ministry or other brethren, and feel they can become a “big shot” in some little group of their own—or one headed by a close friend. What they utterly FAIL to realize is that in “branching out” in this way they are, in fact, causing DIVISION in the body. And they are definitely hurting the opportunity for God’s Church to do a truly powerful Work of preaching the Gospel to “all nations” (Matthew 24:14).
In addition, these teachers are demonstrating to the living Christ that they are self-willed, that they will NOT submit to God’s government and His Church and that, like Lucifer, they might later literally fight GOD Himself if given the power to do so! These independent teachers are, perhaps without realizing it, undermining the entire New Testament concept of the “unity of the spirit” and of “one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:3–4).
“So,” some will challenge, “what makes YOU any different from these independent teachers?” There is an ENORMOUS difference. Just as the Apostle Paul described his background, training and experience in defending himself against false ministers and their criticisms and accusations (2 Corinthians 11:1–6), let me explain mine. God has HUMBLED me many times, and allowed personal suffering to correct me. I thank Christ for His deliverance and guidance in my life, because of which I can serve Him, and you brethren, more effectively.
Unlike so many self-appointed teachers, I was directly taught and trained for decades under God’s end-time Apostle, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. I was NOT just “one of his students.” Rather, after the death of his first son, Richard David Armstrong, he appointed me as Second Vice President of the Church and Ambassador College for a period of some 12 years. Mr. Armstrong told me a number of times: “Rod, if anything should happen to me and Ted, you would be in charge of this entire Work!”
During those years, Mr. Armstrong instructed me a number of times to become well-acquainted with all of the departments in the Work so that I could have the overview of the entire organization. He invited me into many private meetings with businessmen and with our radio and television station representative, Milt Scott, so that I would be familiar with how to handle this part of the Work if I needed to. And, of course, during those years I was a member of the Board, of the Executive Committee and of virtually every decision-making body in the organization.
I was trained for three years at Ambassador College under Mr. Armstrong, who at that time taught ALL the Bible classes. Then I spent a number of additional years in graduate school under Mr. Armstrong while I was also teaching a number of undergraduate classes in theology.
Later, as Christ guided my life, I became the only person who ever served as Deputy Chancellor over each of the three campuses of Ambassador College.
As it turned out, I have personally taught Bible classes to more students at Ambassador College than any other individual. Also, I was made Superintendent of Ministers over the United States churches for 11 years. I had vast experience in working with our churches and field ministry—plus pastoring several churches personally over the years. So the living Christ certainly trained me extensively and gave me many valuable experiences to prepare me for what I am doing now.
After Mr. Armstrong’s death and the beginning of the most awful apostasy in God’s Church in modern times, I finally came to realize that—with all the training I had been given—I HAD to stand for the Truth and “revive” the Work of God. I felt that I would be turning my back on everything I stood for—on Christ, on God and on Mr. Armstrong as well—if I did not act. So, in FAITH, my wife and I stepped out to once again “preach the Truth” and “do the Work.” The rest is history.
Watch the “Fruits”
Jesus said that one should look at the “fruits” when evaluating any minister or any work. What are the “fruits”—or RESULTS—of all these self-appointed teachers and the hundreds of little groups scattered here and there?
I have already indicated a number of these “fruits.” In summary, these hundreds of little “splits” make the Church of God a laughingstock to many in the outside world! Mr. Armstrong used to decry the hundreds of denominations and sects in “mainstream Christianity.” But now we have done the same!
With all these little splits, headed primarily by untrained and unqualified self-willed men, we cannot and DO NOT “all speak the SAME THING” as the Apostle Paul commanded. By dividing and confusing God’s people, these self-willed teachers have made it MUCH more difficult to do a really POWERFUL Work of preaching the Gospel.
Note this vital instruction given to us through the Apostle Paul: “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?” (1 Corinthians 6:1–3). We are to “judge” people in the church just as Paul judged the fornicator in 1 Corinthians 5:1–5.
But today, if we in the Living Church of God find a continual fornicator, a drunkard or an absolute rebel and have to disfellowship him, he can just “run down the street” and be welcomed by some “splinter” group that welcomes almost anyone—and may in fact be entirely opposed to genuine Church government!
Meanwhile, the members of these little groups are often taught many other unbiblical and confusing ideas and doctrines. They are usually NOT being truly prepared to be kings and priests in Christ’s soon-coming government on this earth (Revelation 5:9–10). They are certainly NOT “overcoming” as Christ commanded and learning to submit to His government and help carry on His Work and proclaim the Gospel to “ALL the nations!”
And the self-appointed “leaders” of these groups will certainly have to ANSWER to the living Christ for the disorientation, the confusion and the DIVISION they have caused in the Body of Christ. So who IS God really “leading” to do His Work today?
He is leading those men and women who have been willing to follow the biblical teaching and pattern set before them by Christ’s END-time Apostle. Such individuals have NOT tried to “reinvent the wheel.” Rather, they are sincerely continuing the Work that Christ did through Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong over a period of 52 years. They are preaching the Truth “as they have been taught.” They are following, in principle, the way Christ guided Mr. Armstrong in doing a worldwide Work of preaching the Gospel. And they are practicing a genuine hierarchical form of government as the Bible directs and so showing FAITH in Jesus Christ to lead His Church as He always has. Therefore, they are—in all these ways—preparing properly for the soon-coming government of God to be set up on this earth.
P.S. Brethren, I have been asked to remind ALL of you Living Church of God members to attend our own Feast sites. We are even adding three additional sites this year for your convenience—in Ocean City, Maryland, in Florence, Oregon and in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Messrs. John Ogwyn, Carl McNair, Richard Ames and I will each speak at three different Feast sites—rather than two as in past years—so that you will have a strong speaking schedule at every major site. My wife and I will begin the Feast at Ocean City to kick off the new site. We will then travel to Panama City, and we will spend the final weekend at Lake of the Ozarks. At Living Church of God Feast sites, you will be receiving the kind of stirring Feast sermons and strong meat that Christ certainly wants you to have at the end of this age. So be sure to attend God’s commanded Feast of Tabernacles with the Living Church of God! Thank you in advance for your response and your loyalty.