Greetings from Charlotte,
We have invited several ministers and their wives to visit Headquarters in recent weeks. Last week Mr. and Mrs. Bill Whitaker drove up from near Walterboro, South Carolina, to tour the offices and meet our staff. Mr. Whitaker gave the sermonette last Sabbath. He has served in the ministry for more than thirty years—in countries in southern Africa, and in the United States. This week, Mr. and Mrs. Wally Smith are here. Mr. Smith has been serving in the Kansas City area as a ministerial trainee and will be moving in June to become an Area Pastor. He will give the sermonette here in Charlotte this Sabbath.
CHURCH ADMINISTRATION
Night to be Much Observed. We have received questions about when dinner can begin on the Night to be Much Observed. That Night is a long-standing Scriptural practice of the Church (see Exodus 12:42). There is no Biblical command about when to start dinner that evening. If the meal does not start until after sundown (which can be quite late in more northerly locations) those attending will get home at a very late hour and must then travel to services on the next day. Some older people also find it difficult to eat meals late in the evening. These are some of the reasons why Area Pastors have been given the prerogative of having only one service on the Holy Day that follows the Night to be Much Observed. Where necessary, it would be appropriate to begin the meal before sundown that night because the meal and fellowship will usually continue until after sunset. The important thing to remember at this evening meal is what we are observing and remembering on this occasion—the joy of being able to come out of a sinful, deceived world.
Ministerial Moves. The following moves will take place this summer (probably in June-July). We appreciate very much the willingness of these families to move and serve God's people in different areas, and the love and support of brethren as ministers move.
Wally Smith—from Ministerial Trainee in Kansas City, Missouri to Area Pastor in St. Louis, Columbia and Rolla, Missouri
Scott Winnail—from Ministerial Trainee in Charlotte, North Carolina to Area Pastor in North Florida (Ocala, Live Oak, Jacksonville, Florida and Thomasville, Georgia)
Phil Sena—from Associate Pastor in North Florida to Area Pastor in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Temple and Corpus Christi, Texas
Keith Walden—from Area Pastor in Austin-Houston to Area Pastor in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona
Glen Gilchrist—from Area Pastor in New Mexico to Area Pastor in Oregon, Washington and Alaska
Announcing 2006 Festival Sites (USA and Canada). Here is a brief announcement concerning the 2006 Feast of Tabernacles sites in the United States and Canada. Please do not begin making housing reservations yet because the hotels at the site locations will not be ready to give you our discounted rates until our registration launch date. That registration date will soon be announced; God-willing, it will be in the first week of April. At that time, members who identify themselves with the Living Church of God will receive special rates. Hotels we have negotiated with will not activate the discounted prices until our launch date.
This year's sites for the U.S. and Canada are:
Daytona Beach, Florida; Paducah, Kentucky; Poconos, Pennsylvania; Copper Mountain, Colorado; Oxnard, California; New Braunfels, Texas; Canmore, Alberta; Orford, Quebec; and Western Shore, Nova Scotia.Visit to Monroe, Louisiana. Last weekend, my wife and I joined many friends and family members in El Dorado, Arkansas, to celebrate Don and Rosemary Wood's 50th wedding anniversary. Don Wood, a local elder serving in southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana, is married to my wife's sister. Fifty years of marriage, especially in this age, is not only rare but also a triumph. On the Sabbath, I preached in Monroe, Louisiana, a congregation of some thirty very faithful old-timers—part of the backbone of God's Church today—whom I have known for nearly three decades. As we returned home that evening, I remarked to my wife, "I have never seen so many grey-haired people in any one congregation." She retorted tongue and cheek, "Have you seen yourself lately in the mirror?" Hum…Maybe I should!—Dibar Apartian
From Fleet Services—Driving and Safety. Mr. Lehman Lyons, who coordinates the fleet program, pointed out that despite the many miles that our ministers are driving (up to 900,000 miles in 2005), we have a very low accident rate. In fact, Enterprise, our fleet service provider, has been surprised at how low! We have very few accidents, and those are normally fender benders in parking lots, caused by other drivers. God's blessing and protection is certainly evident, especially with the long circuits and thousands of miles driven by our ministry. We need to continue to ask for God's protection – and of course exercise every caution and care, to avoid accidents altogether!
MEDIA
We are happy to report that this week's television program "Does God Heal Today?" produced 2,944 responses. This is our highest response from this type of program.
Business Trip to England
We just returned from a successful and profitable trip to England. Suzanne, as the Church's Human Resources Administrator, needed to do groundwork for business matters in England, and I needed to find a more cost effective call-center to take our TV calls. In addition, we also needed to represent the Church at a special TV seminar in London.
We contacted three different phone centers in England, and found that all three of them could reduce our current phone costs substantially, as much as 50 percent, while at the same time increasing our call volume. We are still doing our homework to decide which one of the three is the best for us.
The seminar turned out to be the first of its kind ever conducted in England. The Inspiration Network International spearheaded a conference designed to help British religious ministries improve their television programs, from conception to completed transactions with viewers. They cautioned the attending British ministries that if they were not able or willing to strive for excellence in TV programming, that they should stay out of the TV business!
The president of Inspiration International Network announced that their network is going to build the most sophisticated television facility of its kind—in the religious world—right here in Charlotte on 93 acres of land. The project is estimated to cost $120 million and is expected to be completed in two major stages. The first stage should be done by the middle of 2008, and the final stage should be completed by 2010. Their mission is to reach every human being on earth with the gospel, and it looks like Jesus Christ is granting us favor with the network for us to be able to proclaim the true Gospel around the world, literally, from right here in Charlotte!—Wayne Pyle
COMMENTS
Do You Love Your Neighbor? Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God, and the second greatest is to love our neighbor (Matthew 22:36-40). Love for God involves obeying His commandments (John 14:15). Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another (John 15:12-17). He stated that love for others would identify real Christians (John 13:34-35). Regrettably—often before Passover—problems emerge and unchristian attitudes and actions erupt between individuals who claim to be Christians. The Scriptures state that if we profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ and hate (offend, despise, talk against) a brother or sister we "walk in darkness" and are deluding ourselves—we are not acting like Christians. The Apostle Paul said real love is without hypocrisy (claiming to be a Christian but not following Christ's instructions—Romans 12:9-20). Christian love acts with kindness, it is peaceable and forgiving, respectful and does not hold grudges, it is not rude to others and does not offend, speak or think evil of others (I Corinthians 13). This is how Christians who obey God's commandments treat their neighbors. Jesus said interpersonal problems should be straightened out before coming to worship God (Matthew 5:21-26). Sometimes a sincere "I am really sorry" is a good place to start. Let's remember these important commandments as we approach the Passover—and ask ourselves—"How can I show real love to my neighbor?"
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
NEWS AND PROPHECY—March 23, 2006
"Droughts, Rising Sea Levels, Deforestation Have Staggering Impact…" Global climate experts meeting in Mexico City discussed future world issues related to climate change. They predicted: "Droughts will worsen. We will see deforestation, forest fires, a loss of biodiversity and degradation of the environment." Experts fear less-developed nations will be hardest hit. AccuWeather forecasters are predicting another very intense hurricane season in the Atlantic, where waters are already 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than usual. They also predict a major hurricane will hit the northeastern U.S. this season (Charlotte Observer, Mar. 21, 2006). In India, some experts predict that by 2020 demand for water will outpace supply (Dawn.com [Pakistan], Mar. 20, 2006). Experts are also concerned that conflicts over water—not oil—could spark the next war. Israel, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and Jordan all hold water rights to the Jordan River—their primary water source (Financial Times, Mar. 21, 2006). Conflict could erupt of if one country takes more than its share, or if the river begins to dry. Bible prophecy is filled with references to the weather during the end times: famines and soil turning to iron (Mt 24:7, Deut 28:23-24), flooding in one location and famine in another, and destructive mildew resulting from too much rain (Amos 4:7-9). Notice the weather-related headlines pouring out of the news media. This is an indication of where we are in Bible prophecy.
Catholic Church Continues its Crusade. The Archbishop of Canterbury recently met with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome to discuss ecumenical issues. Both the Pope and the Archbishop seem eager to move forward with discussions about reconnecting the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. The Pope has been invited to visit Britain but, to date, no formal response has been given (The Times, Mar. 11, 2006). The book of Revelation reveals that in the end times, a great church, known as the mother of harlots, will play a major role in world politics prior to the return of Jesus Christ (Rev 17:1-18). The Catholic Church has for many years referred to the Protestants as her "daughters." The Pope (who is German) is also planning a visit to Germany in September 2006, where he will meet with President Horst Kohler and Chancellor Angela Merkel (CatholicWorldNews.com, Mar. 21, 2006).
World Crisis Ahead. According to a European think tank based in France, the next few years could see a massive global crisis. They use almost prophetic language to refer to events that they expect to occur over the next couple of years: a "monetary, financial, and soon economic crisis without precedent on a planetary scale" (Europe2020.org, Feb. 15, 2006). These forecasters base their predictions on the short-term and long-term implications of seven separate crises currently present on the world scene:
- Crisis of confidence in the US dollar
- Crisis of US financial imbalances (trade, debt, etc.)
- Oil crisis (world-wide)
- Crisis of the American leadership
- Crisis of the Arab-Muslim world
- Global governance crisis
- European governance crisis
Bible prophecies also indicate terrible trials that will be global in scope will explode at the end of the age (Mt 24:21-22; II Tim 3:1). We need to watch these trends.—Scott Winnail, Daniel Bennett