Greetings from Charlotte,
World events today are sobering to behold: an out-of-control fire in western Canada destroying a town of 80,000 people, torrential rains and droughts plaguing various parts of Africa and Southeast Asia, armed struggles tearing apart countries in the Middle East, ambitious politicians promoting themselves and assailing their rivals—while America and other "nominally" Christian nations fight over issues of "gay" rights and who is allowed to use which public bathrooms. The world certainly needs the return of Jesus Christ to restore peace and sanity to this suffering and mixed-up planet. Here in Charlotte, Dr. Meredith has returned from a profitable trip to Houston and is busy writing a semi-annual letter that will go to more than 500,000 subscribers. Latest figures on the Spanish language YouTube channel, El Mundo de Mañana, show the channel now has more than 18,000 subscribers and more than four million visitors. The Days of Unleavened Bread have been a very profitable time for God's people around the globe. Traveling speakers from Charlotte have returned with very positive reports from congregations they visited. Members of the Council of Elders will arrive this weekend for meetings that begin on Monday. Your prayers will be appreciated for these meetings.—DSW
Church Administration
Northeast Men's Training Camp 2016—August 26-28
We live in a time of crisis for men. The role, identity and the very purpose for being a man is being called into question. How do we fight the demise of men... as a man? Here's one way. Come and be part of this unique program this summer. Our spiritual "boot camp," August 26-28, is specifically designed to build and strengthen men through eye-opening and interactive learning. We'll learn what it takes to build bonds of brotherhood, serving God, our family and our brethren. It's time to stand in the gap and take action against the tide of cultural correctness sweeping over our nation.
For more information and to register, just go to www.nelcg.org and click on the Men's Training Camp link, or go directly to the following Web address: http://nelcg.org/?page_id=23802 (not an official LCG Web site). Or, call or e-mail me for more information (516-724-4452; [email protected]).—Jonathan McNair
Second Passover—Repeat Announcement
The Second Passover this year should be taken shortly after sunset on Saturday, May 21. This Passover is for those baptized members who were unable to take the first Passover due to unavoidable circumstances. The biblical instructions regarding this ceremony are found in Numbers 9:1-4.
Charlotte BRiC Weekend (an opportunity for singles)—Memorial Day Weekend—Repeat Announcement
Are you interested in insightful, spiritual discussions on Building Relationships in Christ? Do you desire to strengthen the relationships you already have with those around you? Do you also want to dance, relax, and enjoy a little fresh air? If you're single and interested in the above, then be sure to attend this year's BRiC Weekend, May 27–30.
Our theme for this year's BRiC Weekend is Building Relationships in Christ through a culture of servant leadership. You can register for the weekend, as well as find the details for the weekend, at charlottelcg.org/BRiC. If you have any questions regarding the weekend and its details, please e-mail me at [email protected].—Ryan Dawson
Internet Department
New Donations Interface
We have deployed a new online donations interface which is accessible from the links at the bottom of the TomorrowsWorld.organd LCG.orgWeb sites. Our goal was to provide a more user-friendly online donations service and also to eliminate some of the processing fees that were associated with the old interface. To use the new online donations interface, please note two important points: 1.) Log in to the new online donations system with your "MyLCG" username and password (not the username and password that you used for the old system). 2.) If you previously "bookmarked" the old donations interface (link) or made it a "favorite" in your Web browser, then you need to update that link with the new link from the new interface. We thank you for your faithful support as we all work together to preach the Gospel even more powerfully around the world! —Wyatt Ciesielka
Roku Advertising Update!—Repeat Announcement
As has been mentioned, we are currently advertising the Tomorrow's World channel on Roku. So far, this advertising has been very successful! Our current Roku advertising has produced rapid growth in our channel viewership with more than 650,000 "ad impressions" over the last few months and now more than 37,000 total installs! We are also now in the top five percent of more than 880 religious channels on Roku, which makes it much easier for people to find us. Although our many powerful commercial television stations and networks, such as WORD, WGN, VISION, CW-Plus, CBS stations in the UK, 7 Network in Australia, and others continue to be extremely powerful avenues to reach people, this Roku advertising is very important to help us reach thousands of new people who may not otherwise find us on network or cable TV. Many of those Roku viewers are requesting booklets and signing up for the magazine, so even during this advertising campaign, our "cost per response" with Roku is extremely competitive, and lower than many of our commercial television stations. If you own Roku, please be sure to install the Tomorrow's World app, and give it a "5-star" rating. This helps with our rankings.—Wyatt Ciesielka
Feast of Tabernacles
2016 Festival Registration Underway
Festival Registration opened last Sunday, May 1. As of this writing, 2,405 households have registered and been approved for their site of choice (consisting of 4,444 brethren and guests). Most Feast sites still have room for additional transfers. However, we currently do have limited seating capacity at two sites: Lake Conroe, TX, and Montego Bay, Jamaica. If you have applied for a transfer to either of these sites but have not yet received a transfer approval e-mail, you may wish to re-register at another site.
If you have any technical problems registering, please e-mail [email protected].
See Feast site videos and find out information about each of the sites by going to the Festival Web site: fot2016.lcg.org. (You can also access it by going to the Living Church of God Web site, lcg.org, and clicking on "Feast of Tabernacles.") If you do not have Internet access, please contact your Festival Advisor. If you do not know who your Festival Advisor is, please check with your local pastor.
Please do not make housing reservations until you have registered and been approved for your choice of site.
Living Youth Program
Ohio Teen Camp Staff Assignments
Staff assignments for the Ohio Teen Camp should be posted by Friday, May 6.
Finances
Online Donations—Repeat Announcement
Great news! The Church's Web site is rolling out its new Online Donations page, which should be easier to use and result in lower processing costs to the Church. Just click on the "Donations" links at the bottom or side of the TomorrowsWorld.org or LCG.org home pages. In addition to the new Online Donations Web page, we expect to have the Recurring Donations feature of the Donations page ready to use in a month or two.
The bank charges the Church a small processing fee for each transaction, and the new banking arrangements associated with the new Online Donations page will result in a considerable reduction in these banking costs. We appreciate the good work of our Internet, Accounting and IT staff in making this possible.
Online donors may want to know that of the methods of online payment we offer—ECheck/ACH, credit card and debit card—the ECheck/ACH results in the lowest bank processing fee. In addition, compared to opening and recording mail income, processing online donations is more cost-effective for the Headquarters accounting staff, since it saves significant administrative time.
We greatly appreciate all that God does for His Work through the faithfulness and generosity of our members, co-workers and donors, more and more of whom are using the Internet to make donations.—Dexter Wakefield
Comments
Trials Test Our Faith: The Apostle Paul warned, "know this, that in the last days perilous times will come" (2 Timothy 3:1). Jesus predicted that the end of the age would be marked by increasing trials and turmoil on a global scale (Matthew 24). Jesus also wondered aloud, "when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8), and He prayed that Peter's faith would not fail when Peter encountered trials and tribulation (Luke 22:32). When the challenges of life begin to mount, we need to remember that faith is one of the fruits of God's Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and that God gives His Spirit to those who trust Him and obey His instructions (Acts 5:32). We must do our part to stir up God's Spirit to help us overcome our trials and fears (2 Timothy 1:6-7). We can also ask for more faith (Luke 17:5). We need to remember that faith comes from hearing (and studying) God's word (Romans 10:17), which states plainly that God is faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9) and that He is like a rock and a fortress that protects and preserves His faithful people (Psalm 31:3, 23). James wrote, "the testing of your faith produces patience" (James 1:3-4). Let's do our part to build faith by studying the examples of faith recorded in Hebrews 11, as we strive to please God and stay focused on His power and His plan.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—May 5, 2016
South Asia Drought: "Sweltering temperatures and a severe water crisis have claimed more than 300 lives in India. Officials have banned daytime cooking in some parts of the country to prevent accidental fires that have killed 80 more people… temperatures since the start of April have reached 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit)" (Deutsche Welle, May 1, 2016). "The water crisis is very bad here. Wells have dried up in almost every household. The water from hand pumps is not fit for drinking or for other chores. The few areas which have access to water also don't get usable water" (ibid.). "Vietnam's breadbasket southwestern region has [also] been hit by the worst drought in 90 years, badly damaging the nation's economy" (Business Insider, April 27, 2016). "Water levels in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, a region that accounts for 50% of the country's rice and fruit production, 90% of its rice exports, and 60% of shrimp and fish exports, are at their lowest levels since 1926… 'People in Indonesia and the Philippines will go hungry if the Thais and Vietnamese don't produce enough rice,' Richard Cronin, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, told Bloomberg" (ibid.). Famines are one of the many signs of the last days predicted by Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:6-7). Sadly, each of the signs will be accompanied by much human suffering. This is why Jesus taught His disciples to pray "Your kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10). For encouraging news about what the world will be like after these end-time catastrophes, watch "The Soon-Coming Utopia."
The FLASH of Life: "Human life begins in bright flash of light as a sperm meets an egg, scientists have shown for the first time, after capturing the astonishing 'fireworks' on film. An explosion of tiny sparks erupts from the egg at the exact moment of conception… Not only is it an incredible spectacle, highlighting the very moment that a new life begins, the size of the flash can be used to determine the quality of the fertilised egg" (Telegraph, April 26, 2016). "To see the zinc radiate out in a burst from each human egg was breathtaking," Professor Teresa Woodruff of Northwestern University observed (ibid.). However, the same scientists who are amazed by the observation of "the very moment that a new life begins," propose to use this flash of life to determine the strength of human eggs fertilized through in vitro fertilization. Thus, the weaker "new life" can be terminated early, leaving only the strongest embryos to survive. Doctors and scientists know the creation of human life is truly a miracle. King David once wrote, "I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well" (Psalm 139:14). The fact that God made human beings in His own image (Genesis 1:26) gives each human life an intrinsic value, which is why murder is condemned (Exodus 20:13). Modern science has lost this vital perspective. When Jesus Christ returns to this earth to establish His Kingdom, He will restore respect for human life. For more on this topic, read "The Deception of Abortion."
Heavy Social Media Use and Depression: Recent research on social media usage has "determined that the more time young adults use social media, the more likely they are to be depressed… exposure to social media can cause depression—which leads to more social media usage" (Forbes, April 30, 2016). Social media studied included Facebook, Google Plus, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr, Pinterest, Vine and LinkedIn. Heavy social media users were almost three times more likely to experience depression than their counterparts. "Why would heavy social media usage cause depression? The exposure to 'highly idealized representations of peers on social media elicits feelings of envy and the distorted belief that others lead happier, more successful lives,' says the study. People that engage in activities of little meaning on social media makes them feel like they are wasting time. Spending more time on social media increases the exposure to cyber-bullying, thus causing feelings of depression. And social media fuels 'Internet addiction'" (ibid.). The Bible warns against comparing ourselves with others (2 Corinthians 10:12). Yet, modern cultural practices actually promote these unwise behaviors. The Scriptures also warn against spending time viewing "worthless things" (Psalm 119:37). While social media does have benefits, we need to be extremely careful when using it. For more on this topic, read our commentary on "Facebook Consequences."—Scott Winnail and Francine Prater