Greetings everyone,
Mr. and Mrs. Meredith are in Charlotte, North Carolina this week. They celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary Wednesday, and I believe they have found a house there.
Everyone involved in moving is very busy. Some of us, having spent a lifetime in the field ministry, "feel their pain," because of our past experiences. We are certainly willing to share the experience with others!
MEDIA
A Reminder about the new booklet
Please note that all Church members who receive Dr. Meredith's semi-annual letter will AUTOMATICALLY receive a copy of the new "Middle East in Prophecy" booklet. You SHOULD NOT return the enclosed reply card, as this will only cause extra work for the data entry staff.
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Tahoe Singles Weekend
The deadline has come and gone for applications submitted for the Tahoe Singles Weekend. However, if you haven't gotten yours in and are interested in coming, please mail your completed forms right away to Rod McNair, P.O. Box 63, Sutter, CA 95982. Spaces are filling up fast, so don't delay! The activity will run from Friday evening, December 20, through Tuesday morning, December 24, in beautiful South Lake Tahoe. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to meet and fellowship with other LCG singles. For more information, call Rod McNair at 530-822-0530, or send him an e-mail to [email protected].
INTERNATIONAL
Report from Mr. Bruce Tyler, Australasia Regional Pastor
All is well here. We're very busy getting the semi-annual letter out this week.
Feast 2003
Also, it looks like we will have next year's Feast in Sydney… [at the] Jamberoo Valley Lodge up in the mountains behind Kiama… Michael Gill is negotiating [with them], as their first proposal was way out of our reach.
Television
Michael recently talked to one of the major TV networks and they seem most keen to have us on their stations. They were actually trying to sell themselves to us. I will let you know what happens when the time comes for contract renewal.
Healing
We had a remarkable healing happen recently. A young lady who's had a "hole in her heart" since birth had a major scare and was admitted to hospital. She's not yet baptised but did call for an anointing and I sent an anointed cloth. At the hospital her medical condition improved and the doctors could find no reason for the symptoms she'd experienced. They ordered more tests be done, especially on her heart, and the result of the tests showed there was now no "hole in the heart"! They were bewildered and said this sort of thing just doesn't happen. They did more testing than normal but still couldn't find any "hole." The doctors were asked if this could be a miracle, but they shook their heads in disbelief and are totally perplexed. We bless God and thank Him for His mercy and many benefits.
Myanmar
The two buildings our members in Burma use for Sabbath services are in need of repair. Thomas Tiel Hoe did not indicate what the cost would be but we hope to discern that before Rajan visits Burma in February.
Papua New Guinea
I have asked Rod King to look after the members in Papua New Guinea—it's very expensive to travel there. It will cost us about US $2,500 per trip. Rod is heading up that way for a 2-week visit. He will visit most all the members and a number of prospective members who have been patiently waiting. It's over 15 months since they've seen a minister. Rod is also investigating how to get the church registered in PNG (we've had such difficulty trying to do it from here) and also set up a bank account.
Computer and Mailings
Joshua Penman has been here with us since the Feast helping to get us set up so our database is compatible with Australia Post mailing requirements. All our mail will now be bar-coded which will be a great savings to us now and in the future. Our savings will be between 25 to 50 percent depending on either volume or weight calculations.
Australasian Regional Ministerial Conference
Last week I got all the ministers together for a regional conference. The following report from Kinnear Penman will give you the gist of our meeting:
From Sunday afternoon, 10th November, until the following Wednesday morning, ministers from the Asia/Pacific Region met in Bateman's Bay, New South Wales with Regional Director, Bruce Tyler.
Those able to attend were Rajan Moses (Malaysia), Ken MacLeod (Perth, Australia), Kinnear Penman (New Zealand), Rod King (Melbourne, Australia) and Michael Gill (Canberra, Australia). Also present was Rob Tyler who is employed in the Brisbane office. Unable to attend were Dayrell Tanner (Brisbane, Australia) and Thomas Tial Hoe (Myanmar).
Incidentally, Mr. Hoe has never been able to leave Myanmar, which is a military dictatorship. Passports are often very expensive and difficult to obtain.
Mr. Tyler called the conference to allow the ministers, separated by vast distances, a chance to formulate common policies and practices and to get to know each other better. As Christ says, through Paul, we should "all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among [us], but that [we] be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." (1 Cor. 1:10) If the ministry are united in doctrine and practice then unity can more readily be achieved within the membership in general.
Mr. Rod King presented guidelines for developing a useful, personal library and how to really read a book to extract maximum information from it. This led into a discussion of what books have been found helpful by individual ministers.
While in the Bateman's Bay area, Messrs Tyler and Gill checked potential Feast sites. A site in this general area would reduce the very great distances that members from Adelaide and Melbourne must travel to the Feast. There are several very lovely sites in New South Wales, south of Sydney.
COMMENTS
I understand that the office building in Charlotte has been cleaned and a great deal of work has been done by the John Dubry family and other volunteers in the area. God has given Living Church of God many people with a "serving heart." It brings to mind the example of the people of Israel when Moses requested material and skilled workmen for the Tabernacle (Exodus 35:21-35):
"And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the LORD'S offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.
And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered an offering of gold unto the LORD […]
"And all the women that were wise hearted did spin with their hands, and brought that which they had spun, both of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine linen. And all the women whose heart stirred them up in wisdom spun goats' hair. And the rulers brought onyx stones, and stones to be set, for the ephod, and for the breastplate; And spice, and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the sweet incense. The children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the LORD, every man and woman, whose heart made them willing to bring for all manner of work, which the LORD had commanded to be made by the hand of Moses. And Moses said unto the children of Israel, See, the LORD hath called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; And he hath filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship; And to devise curious works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, And in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work. And he hath put in his heart that he may teach, both he, and Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. Them hath he filled with wisdom of heart, to work all manner of work, of the engraver, and of the cunning workman, and of the embroiderer, in blue, and in purple, in scarlet, and in fine linen, and of the weaver, even of them that do any work, and of those that devise cunning work."
We must never forget the thousands of God's people who have gone before us, who were of "a willing heart" and whose hearts were "stirred up" to serve God. Most of them neither asked nor received public praise or accolades, but they have "treasure laid up in heaven" (Matthew 6:20 and 19:21). They sacrificed much for us—and the millions who were witnessed to through His Work of God.
Speaking of sacrifices, have you heard the story behind the naming of Chicago's O'Hare airport—according to Paul Harvey? In his The Rest Of The Story (copyright 1977 by Paulynne Inc.), he tells the story of Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare, a fighter pilot stationed on the aircraft carrier Lexington. On February 20, 1942, Butch O'Hare attacked nine Japanese twin-engine bombers alone, downing five and was attacking the sixth, when he ran out of ammunition. By that time his comrades arrived "to finish the job." Butch went down in aerial combat a year later. O'Hare airport, the busiest airport in the United States, was named in memory of Butch O'Hare. But now, from Paul Harvey's pen, THE REST OF THE STORY:
"Chicago, The Roaring Twenties. The time and territory of gangster Al Capone.
And of all the Capone cronies…of all the unsavory soldiers who served in that army of crime… only one earned the nickname 'Artful Eddie.'
Eddie was the fast lawyer's fast lawyer. Through his loopholes walked the most glamorous rogues in the gallery of gangland.
In 1923, Eddie himself was indicted on an illegal booze deal, two hundred thousand dollars' worth, but he won his own reversal.
Later, Al Capone picked up Eddie and put him in charge of the dog tracks nationwide. You see, Eddie had already swiped the patent on the mechanical rabbit.
Pretty soon Artful Eddie, as the Capone syndicate representative, became known as the undisputed czar of illegal dog racing. Nothing could have been easier to rig in favor of the mob. Eight dogs running…overfeed seven…it was a simple as that. In no time, Artful Eddie became a wealthy man.
Then, one day, for no apparent reason, Eddie squealed on Capone. He wanted to go straight, he told the authorities. What did they want to know?
The authorities were understandably skeptical. Why should Artful Eddie, the pride of the underworld, seek to undermine his own carefully constructed dog-track empire? Didn't Eddie know what it meant…to rat on the mob?
He knew.
Then, what was the deal? What could he possibly hope to gain from aiding the government, that he didn't already have? Eddie had money. Eddie had power. Eddie had the pledged security of the one and only Al Capone. What was the hitch?
That's when Artful Eddie revealed the hitch. There was only one thing that really mattered to him. He'd spent his life among the disreputable and despicable. After all was said and done, there was only one who deserved a break.
His son.
So Eddie squealed…and the mob remembered…and in time, two shotgun blasts would silence him forever.
Eddie never lived to see his dream come true. But it did. For as he cleansed the family name of the underworld stain, his son became acceptable to…and was accepted by…Annapolis. He became the flying ace who downed five bombers and went on to win the Congressional Medal of Honor."
Have we learned that money, power and fame are like ashes in the mouth? Some have. Jesus said, "…if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:24-26)
When life ends, deeds that reflect one's character and "treasure" expended in service to God and one's fellow men are all that matters.
Have a great Sabbath! And please drive safely.
Carl McNair