Greetings from Charlotte,
Mr. Gerald Weston is wrapping up his visit to Canada this week, and we look forward to having him back in Charlotte next week. Over livestream, Dr. Douglas Winnail was able to join Messrs. Rod McNair, Rick Stafford, Paul Shumway, and Wilner Pierre, who were in Barbados for a successful Caribbean Ministerial Conference. More details about the conference are below. Note, as well, the announcement concerning Tomorrow’s World Presentations. We are keeping up 2022’s blistering pace, with more than 150 presentations so far in 2023—and 17 last weekend, alone! Also, good results continue to come in from our semi-annual offer of Mr. Richard Ames’ new booklet, Understanding Bible Prophecy, with more than 31,000 requests so far and much of the campaign yet to go. We have heard good word from our four adventurous Living Education students who are teaching this summer in Mae Sot, Thailand. They were granted approval by the government there to work and have already begun their instruction duties with the local school children. Many here in the office are taking some vacation time this summer, as surely many of you are as well; as you do, we pray for your safe travels.—Wallace Smith
Church Administration
Tomorrows World Presentations
Last weekend was a busy weekend for TWPs, with a total of 17 events. Twelve initial and five follow-up presentations drew 266 guests. Perhaps the most notable presentation was the one on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. For that presentation, given by Mr. Rick Stafford, we invited only 14 subscribers and drew 12 guests, a nearly 86 percent response rate! Also, we had five Canadian TWPs which drew 127 guests at a nearly 4 percent response rate. For context, in the United States, we generally expect about a 1.2 percent response. This weekend we will host five follow-up presentations. Thank you for your continued prayers and support for these presentations all around the globe.
Caribbean Ministerial Conference in Bridgetown, Barbados
A three-day ministerial conference in Barbados earlier this week was a great success. Ten participants from Jamaica, Barbados, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, and the United States were onsite, and Dr. Douglas Winnail attended via livestream. Dr. Winnail gave the opening address and several other messages and Messrs. Rod McNair, Rick Stafford, Paul Shumway, and Wil Pierre also gave presentations. Multiple Q&A sessions were helpful as well. The conference was edifying and encouraging for all involved, fostering camaraderie through fellowship, shared meals, and time together. Opportunities like this ensure that the ministry is unified in service and speaking the same thing in their respective roles, for the benefit of the body of Christ.
Feast of Tabernacles
2023 Feast Service Needed—Pianists for Hymns at Rockport-Fulton, Texas
The Feast site in Rockport-Fulton, Texas, needs pianists to play hymns at the Feast. If you are able to help fill this need and would be willing to transfer to Rockport-Fulton for the Feast, please contact the Festival Coordinator, Mr. Jonathan Bueno at [email protected].
Living Youth Program
TrainRight Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Training—Repeat Announcement
All camp staff members who are 18 years old and up are required to participate in an online training program for awareness and prevention of child abuse: TrainRight Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Training Program. It is an online training course that takes about one hour to complete. Once you have been accepted as a staff member at one of the camps, you will receive an email from [email protected] titled “Invite – Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Training Program” with a link to register for and complete the training online.
Note: The certification for this TrainRight course is good for two years: the year the course is taken plus the next year. For example, if you took the course in 2021, the certification was valid in 2021 and 2022. Therefore, you would have to retake the course in 2023 to receive your new certification for 2023 and 2024.
If you have any questions, please contact Jill Ewers ([email protected]).
Food Handler Training Program—Repeat Announcement
If you have received certification through an ANSI-accredited food safety program for the State of Texas as a Food Handler or Food Manger and will be attending Texas Teen Camp or Texas Preteen Camp in 2023, please send your certificate to Jill Ewers ([email protected]), copied to Joshua Penman ([email protected]).
First Aid/Lifeguard Certificates—Repeat Announcement
If you have a current certificate in First Aid/Lifeguarding, etc. and will be serving in this capacity at any of the USA camps in 2023, then please send a copy of your certification to Jill Ewers ([email protected]). The certificate must be current and valid through the entirety of the camp(s) where it will be used.
Comments
Satan's Devices: God raised up His Church to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (Mark 16:15), to warn the world of a coming judgment (Mathew 24), and to prepare a people to reign with Jesus Christ (Luke 1:17). Satan has tried to thwart this mission down through history by attacking Jesus and His disciples and using misguided individuals to spread rumors and false doctrines to disrupt the Work of the early Church (1 Corinthians 1:10–13; Galatians 1:6–9). Satan’s goal has not changed. Today, we are in a spiritual war with a cunning adversary (Ephesians 6:10–20) who is still using the same devices (2 Corinthians 2:11). This is why the Apostle Paul urged the early Church to be of “the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10) and to “hold the traditions which you were taught” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). Peter warned that we must be able to recognize and resist Satan’s efforts to thwart the plan of God with his divisive devices (1 Peter 5:8–9). We must all strive to avoid being instruments in Satan’s hands—if we want to be in the coming Kingdom of God.
Have a profitable Sabbath,
Douglas S. Winnail
News and Prophecy—June 15, 2023
The Coming “Brain Chip”: Elon Musk’s Neuralink company just received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to study the effects of this new technology in human subjects (BBC, May 26, 2023). The tech firm intends to implant microchips in the brain to address certain health conditions such as paralysis and blindness and to enable access to computers by the disabled. Some instances of this technology are already working. Recently, “a 40-year-old Dutch man who was paralysed in a cycling accident 12 years ago” received implants which helped him regain the ability to walk (The Guardian, June 7, 2023)!
However, there are concerns about where this technology is headed. A director of the Information Commissioner’s Office in the UK recently noted, “Neurotechnology collects intimate personal information that people are often not aware of, including emotions and complex behavior. The consequences could be dire if these technologies are developed or deployed inappropriately.” Yet, through Neuralink, Elon Musk is hoping that his company’s implants will become a “general population device” with the potential to serve as “a backup drive for your non-physical being, your digital soul”!
Humans have long desired to play God—not unlike Satan the Devil, who tried to usurp God’s throne (Isaiah 14:12–15). While this neurotechnology may allow mankind to cure previously incurable diseases, human beings need to be careful about assuming god-like prerogatives—because there is a real God. The Scriptures record that God intervened powerfully at the tower of Babel to stop the direction that godless society was going and limit humanity’s capabilities (Genesis 11:1–6). Few today in our increasingly secular world sufficiently recognize the dangers of allowing our technological growth to outpace our moral capacity to wield new technologies in an ethical way. To learn more about the foundation of morality we have rejected, read our free resource, The Ten Commandments.
Humans Not Designed for Outer Space: As mankind “boldly goes” to space to study and learn, scientists are studying the effects of microgravity on the body and the brain. They have found that spending long amounts of time in space (six months or more) causes changes in the brain’s anatomy (Reuters, June 8, 2023). Results from NASA-funded research show prolonged exposure to microgravity causes body fluids to pool in the brain and cause the brain’s ventricles to become enlarged. Scientists also discovered it takes three years in Earth’s gravity for the brain to recover. This led researchers to suggest that astronauts should not go on back-to-back extended trips to space.
Researchers have long known that age-related expansion of brain ventricles leads to decreased cognitive abilities. So, it appears that space travel may negatively impact the thinking ability of those spending extended time in space. Some scientists are encouraged that ventricular changes in the brain do not increase further between six months and a year, which may bode well for extended space travel, for example, to Mars. However, there is no data on brain recovery time after these longer trips. Scientists also know that time spent in space causes “bone and muscle atrophy, cardiovascular changes, issues with the balance system in the inner ear and a syndrome involving the eyes. Elevated cancer risk from the greater exposure to solar radiation that astronauts may encounter the further they travel from Earth is another concern.”
Human beings have longed to travel to the stars. However, as more research is conducted, it is becoming obvious that the human body was not made for space but was designed to operate on Earth. Mankind may one day venture into space, but not as flesh and blood human beings. This will only come when humans are changed from mortal to immortal after the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:50–54). To learn more about mankind’s future in space, read “The Universe and You!”—Scott Winnail and Francine Prater