Vol. 2, No. 2 A newsletter for servants of the Almighty Eternal Creator, wherever they may be February 1996 WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD: CRISIS AND LESSONS By Samuele Bacchiocchi divided the Worldwide Church of God, give rise to two ques- A Ph. D. and Professor of Theology and Church tions: (1) What factors contributed to this sudden split in the History at Andrews University (Seventh Day Adventist) WCG? (2) What lessons can we Seventh-day Adventists learn from the sad experience of a church that has shared The Worldwide Church of God (WCG) has lost about with us such beliefs as the Sabbath, clean and unclean meats, 50,000 members and 500 pastors during this past year as a and the importance of obedience to God’s law? result of doctrinal changes in such areas as Sabbath keeping, To find answers, I contacted some of the leaders of the holy days, distinction between clean and unclean meats, and newly formed United Church of God. During this past year tithing. The church’s top administrators introduced these it has been my privilege to become acquainted with most of changes to bring their church more in line with the Protestant their pastors, since they mainstream. Enormous financial losses have followed, called me from across the causing the suspension of the church’s telecast, The World country to order sup- Tomorrow, the reduction in circulation of their outreach plies of my three magazine, The Plain Truth, from seven million to less than Sabbath books to Church half-a-million, and a substantial drop in enrollment at their meet the chal- Ambassador University in Big Sandy, Texas. The campus of Continued Ambassador College with its famous auditorium, located in page of God— a prestigious section of Pasadena, has been put up for sale. 9 A group of ministers and elders of the WCG who could not in good conscience preach the new teachings convened Adventist! in Indianapolis on April 30-May 2, 1995 and formed the United Church of God (UCG). David Hulme, former pre- The con- ity, the history of the Church of God and senter of the telecast The World Tomorrow, was cho- ventional Church Seventh-day Adventists has been inter- sen as interim Chairman of the Board. About of God view of twined throughout the last 150 years. 20,000 former WCG members have already Church history goes We in the Church of God have much joined the newly formed United Church of something like this: in the more in common with SDA’s then has God, and their number is growing daily. 1860s, the “good guys,” the been generally believed. By recognizing These rapid developments, which Church of God, and the “bad our common past, we should realize that have so dramatically weakened and guys,” the Seventh-day Adventists, we should work together in the present separated over the issue of the validity and in the future. IN THIS ISSUE: of Ellen G. White’s visions, and the This commonality was brought to 2 CGI Update name for the Church. Since that time, light in December, 1995, when SDA Dr. the theory goes, there has been little Samuele Bacchiocchi released his book, 3 Intersabbatarian Cooperation interaction between the Church of God God’s Festivals in Scripture and History. (COG) and the Seventh-day Adventists In his article, “How I Came to Accept 5 Oh How I Love Your Law— (SDA). Since the 1930s, SDA’s have the Holy Days,” Dr. Bacchiocchi said Part IV become more and more Protestant in he was surprised to find that “In every 13 Beware of “Friendly” Visits doctrine and practice, while the COG [SDA] church in which I presented my 14 Non-Aligned Feast Update has largely remained stedfast to its dis- seminars during the latter half of 1995, I tinctive doctrines. met some fellow believers who had been 15 Letters While there is some validity to the studying, and in some cases observing 21 Good Questions on above general statements, there have privately the annual Feasts. In fact, Nicolaitanism also been notable exceptions. In actual- Continued page 11 father could make the CGI broadcasts. Action Taken at Church They left shortly after speaking. After much discussion, the final of God, International Sunday morning session was devoted to drafting the statement which appears on Meeting in Dallas page 4. It was signed by all ministers pre- Thirty-five ministers of the Church of given 12 minutes to address the confer- sent—68% of the total CGI field min- God, International met in Dallas for a ence and every host 6 minutes. A istry. Though the document does not conference February 9, 10, and 11. The spokesman’s club timing light was specify action if the recommendations conference was organized independently used—a lot of men spoke into the red are not accepted, members discussed of the Tyler headquarters after repeated light (time is up), but none received the forming a new “international” group or requests for a conference were refused. buzzer (30 seconds overtime). Everyone working as locally autonomous congre- Local congregation hosts and brethren was allowed to ask questions during an gations. were welcome at the conference, with an open “question and answer” session. The Dallas conference is available on average of about 100 attending each The main purpose of the conference tape for $15 (15 audio tapes) or $75 (12 meeting. was to determine what to do about the video tapes) from Betty Martin, DFW In addition, eight letters of support for bad name that the Church of God, Church, 7415 Hillstart Circle, Dallas, TX the process were read from ministers International and the Church as a whole 75217. Call 800-687-0150 for more who could not attend, including letters are receiving from the activities of information. from England, Australia and Canada. Garner Ted Armstrong since the Tyler Just prior to the conference, seven CGI The initial Friday night session was board of directors has not decided to ministers and 3 other members were able used to determine the conference rules of remove him. to see the Robertson video. The ministers order and agenda. Each session began Vance Stinson and Mark Armstrong were Chuck Beyer, Topeka, Kansas; Bill and ended with three men each separate- spoke for 12 minutes each on behalf of Fowler, Wichita, Kansas; Ian Hufton, ly leading in prayer. A few times, when CGI headquarters. Stinson read six letters Tyler Texas; Jim Ingle, Lake of the the debate grew heated, the conference that opposed the conference and Mark Ozarks, Missouri; Tom Justus, Springdale, stopped for prayer. Every minister was Armstrong explained why he felt only his Arkansas; Gary Porter, Pocatello, Idaho; Bill Rollins, Des Moines, Iowa. The min- ister that we spoke with confirmed that the video was as the Robertson suit alleges. Since the attorneys for CGI are paid with the tithe-money from the members, CGI members may have legal rights to see any of the information in the attorney’s files, Vol. 2, No. 2 A newsletter for servants of the Almighty Eternal Creator, wherever they may be February 1996 including the video tape. They may con- Servants News is published monthly by Friends of the Brethren. Subscriptions are free tact CGI’s attorney’s: J. Shelby Sharpe, to individuals interested in obeying their Creator as described in the Bible. We believe His Dean Spurlock and Kimberly D. law is the basis for living a life that is pleasing to Him in harmony with our neighbors. We Norris; 2400 Bank One Tower, Fort believe the holy spirit gives us the power to live such a life as long as we continually repent Worth, TX 76102; 817-338-4900. of our sins and accept the salvation provided through our Messiah and Savior. We believe in living “by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Deut 8:3). Court documents may be obtained We believe the gospel should be given freely: you may copy any or all of this pub- by contacting Brad Burger, District lication and give it to others. Friends of the Brethren is financed by donations and has County Court House, 100 N. no ties with any of the other organizations listed in this publication. Broadway, Tyler, TX 75702, tele- Editor: Norman S. Edwards phone: 903-535-0613. Production Editor: Norman A. Brumm, III In a related matter, Ian Hufton was Associate Editors: Marleen Edwards, Phyllis Brumm, Robert & Christine Feith fired from his job as CGI mailing man- Contributors: Many!! And “Thanks” to everyone involved. ager on January 22. The reason given Servants’ News accepts articles for publication. Include a self-addressed stamped was his supposedly unbearable man- envelope for items that you want returned. We do not publish materials that attack indi- agement style, but we found this reason viduals or organizations, nor do we publish materials that claim there is only one human in conflict with the facts that within the organization through which the Eternal works. We are happy to print corrections for last year he had been placed on the any significant errors. Address articles, letters and subscription/literature requests to: executive committee, appointed co-pas- tor of the Tyler congregation, and made Friends of the Brethren Phone: 501-872-1003 director of the “Camp Challenge” pro- PO Box 6516 Fax: 501-872-1004 gram. From our perspective, it appears Springdale, AR 72766-6516 E-Mail: [email protected] that the firing was directly related to the Subscription and literature requests may also be sent to these addresses: letters sent out to the ministry and oth- Canada: Friends of the Brethren, R.R.