Download - United News · tinue the process of choosing a president, and to discuss recom-mendations for the ABC program as brought forward by the Education Committee. Choosing a President The

by Joel Meeker

Jim Franks, Doug Horchakand I held a ministerial seminar forpastors of the Remnant Church ofGod in Ghana from Oct. 29 throughNov. 1. We arrived in Accra onThursday night, Oct. 25. On Fridayevening I held an interactive Biblestudy with the Takoradi congrega-

tion, while Mr. Franks and Mr.Horchak held a similar study withthe Agona congregation.

The interactive Bible studiesgave us the opportunity to answerquestions from the members as wellas ask them some discussion ques-tions. In Takoradi local pastorJoseph Baah, pastor Azariah Coffie(who translated for those who did-

nÕt understand English) and I tookquestions about how to calculateGodÕs tithe and the festival tithe weput aside to use at the Feast ofTabernacles. Since these brethren inGhana have been keeping GodÕsFeasts for about three years now,the festival tithe is still a relativelynew practice. One question that

United News December 2001 1

United Newsª

United Church of GodP.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027

Phone (513) 576-9796, Fax (513) 576-9795

Vol. 7, No. 10DECEMBER 2001News of the UNITED CHURCH OF GOD, an International AssociationNews of the UNITED CHURCH OF GOD, an International Association

Teleconference Preparesfor President Interviews

Pastoral Seminar Held in Ghana

The Council of Elders metby teleconference Nov. 14 to con-tinue the process of choosing apresident, and to discuss recom-mendations for the ABC programas brought forward by theEducation Committee.

Choosing a PresidentThe procedure for selecting a

president is moving along asplanned. The Council announcedin its Nov. 1 letter the names ofnine nominees put forward bymembers of the GeneralConference of Elders. TheCouncil has now pared that list tofiveÑRoy Holladay, ClydeKilough, Dennis Luker, LesMcCullough and Richard Pinelli.

Part of the process involvessoliciting the input of the homeoffice staffÑthose who workmost directly with the president.

While some Council mem-bers spoke of the advantages of alive interview of the office staff,in the end the Council unani-mously opted for a written ques-tionnaire because of the advan-tage of anonymity.

Mr. Holladay asked GaryAntion, as chairman of theEthical Review/Roles andProcess Committee, to put thecommittee to work drawing upthe questionnaire.

Next stepÑwho will contactthe references given by each nomi-nee on his r�sum�? The Councildecided to submit a standardizedwritten request to each of the per-

sons listed as a reference for any ofthe five final nominees. If anyCouncil member desires furtherinformation he will be free to per-sonally contact the references.

Finally, the Council turnedits attention to refining the ques-tions to ask of each nominee atthe interviews to take place at thenext face-to-face meetings inFlorida, Dec. 5 to 12. (See page 3of the November issue for pro-posed agenda items for theDecember meetings.)

One potential difficulty wasresolved when Mr. Antion sug-gested taping the interviews withthe three nominees who areCouncil members, so that thesemen will not hear any of theresponses from the other nomi-nees until after their own inter-views have taken place.

The last item was a presenta-tion by the Education Committeeabout ABC. For information on themodifications being made, seeÒABC Preparing for an ExcitingThird YearÓ on page 2.

Doug Johnson

Jim Franks works with Richard Duah preparing paperwork to assist in the unification ofthe former Remnant Church of God into United. Above right, Mr. Franks feeding monamonkeys in Ghanaian rain forest. Right, Doug Horchak with Samual Nani and his son

The nine U.S. regional pastorsmet with the Ministerial Services(MS) staff in Cincinnati Nov. 11 to13. Topics included pastoral evalu-ations; manpower needs, health sit-uations and relocations; Feast ofTabernacles speaking schedules,Bible study topics and speakers;and progress and development ofthe leadership-training program.Most of the wives also attended.

Richard Pinelli, operationmanager of MS in the UnitedStates, began the conference byspeaking about the importance ofÒFinishing the Race,Ó quoting astory about an Olympic athletewho was very seriously injured,yet completed his race. Whenasked why he hadnÕt quit, sincethere wasnÕt any possibility ofwinning, the athlete said, ÒMycountry did not send me to MexicoCity to start the race. They sent meto finish the race.Ó

Mr. Pinelli stressed the impor-tance of remembering that olderministers need to continue to be onguard in the never-ending spiritualbattle aimed at controlling minds.ÒSeveral examples are giventhroughout the Bible of vanity andpride consuming men who startedserving God in their younger years,yet lost their humility much later inlife,Ó Mr. Pinelli said. ÒIt wasimportant to focus on this for myown benefit and that of the regionalpastors. The battle with Satan andhuman nature itself isnÕt over untilthe end of the race.Ó

President Les McCulloughgave an update of the work, andalso spoke on the importance ofhumility and endurance. TreasurerTom Kirkpatrick gave an update ofthe financial status of the Church,and also discussed budgeting forthe upcoming fiscal year.

Larry Greider, regional pastor

of the Central region and also over-all director of the United YouthCamps, provided information onthe success of the camp programthis past summer. He mentionedhow encouraging it is to see theminds of young people in theChurch so eager to deal with theimportant aspects of life, not onlyattending camps for the recreationalactivities.

The regional pastors then pro-vided updates on their regions, andbrought up manpower needs, healthissues and retirement needs, andpossible transfers. The regional pas-tors are: Denny Luker (Northwestregion), David Register (South-west), Larry Neff (Mountain), JimServidio (North Central), LarryGreider (Central), Ken Giese(South Central), Lyle Welty (GreatLakes), Paul Suckling (Northeast)and Harold Rhodes (Southeast).

Also attending the conference

were MS Team members DougHorchak and Jim Franks, andDavid Evans, MS administrator andassistant to Richard Pinelli.

Jim Franks gave a presentationtitled ÒLeadership Programs:Developing Servants for theChurch.Ó In it he discussed thethree-part program that was pre-sented to the Council of Elders inthe summer of 2000, including alocal leadership training program,ministerial candidate program andAmbassador College-type trainingand associate pastoring. He thenreviewed biblical teachings regard-ing leadership, changes in societyand in the Church over the years inrelation to leaders, expectations ofleaders and closing the leadershipgap.

Many comments were madeby regional pastors and wivesthroughout the presentation deal-

IN IN THISTHIS ISSUE...ISSUE...ABC Preparing for Third Year ..2Reports From the Field ............2International News....................3WhatÕs the Deal Breaker? ........7Aiming for the Mark..................8Principle of the Slight Edge......9Recapture Your First Love......10Local Church Updates............12Announcements........................14Letters ......................................15News at a Glance ....................15WhatÕs New on the Web? ........16

Next issue: Jan. 7, 2002

(See ÒGHANA,Ó page 6)

(See ÒREGIONAL,Ó page 7)

U.S. Regional Pastors Have Productive Meetings

2 United News December 2001

United NewsDecember 2001 Vol. 7, No. 10

United News (ISSN 1088-8020) is published monthlyexcept April and October by the United Church ofGod, an International Association, 5405 DupontCircle, Suite A, Milford, OH 45150. © 2001 UnitedChurch of God, an International Association. Printedin the U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction in anyform without written permission is prohibited.Periodicals Postage paid at Milford, Ohio 45150, andat additional mailing offices. Canada Post publica-tions mail agreement number 1487167.

Editor: Peter W. Eddington

Managing editor: Mike Bennett

Copy editor: Becky Bennett

UCGIA Council of Elders: Gary Antion, Aaron Dean,Robert Dick, Roy Holladay (chairman), John A. Jewell,Clyde Kilough, Victor Kubik, Les McCullough, Mario

Seiglie, Richard Thompson, Leon Walker, Donald Ward

President: Leslie L. McCullough

Scriptural references are from the New King JamesVersion (© 1988 Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers)unless otherwise noted.

Subscriptions: United News is sent automatically to mem-bers of the United Church of God and is free to all whorequest it. Your subscription is provided by the generous,voluntary contributions of members of the United Churchof God, an International Association, and their co-workers.Donations are gratefully accepted and are tax-deductible.To request a subscription, write to United News, UnitedChurch of God, P.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027, or to one of the international addresses below.

Address changes: POSTMASTERÑSend addresschanges to United News, P.O. Box 541027,Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027

International addresses:

AUSTRALIA: United Church of GodÑAustralia GPO Box 535, Brisbane, Qld. 4001, AustraliaPhone: 0755 202-111 Fax: 0755 202-122

BAHAMAS: United Church of God, P.O. Box N8873,Nassau, BahamasPhone: (242) 324-3169 Fax: (242) 364-5566

BRITISH ISLES: United Church of GodÑBritish Isles,P.O. Box 705, Watford, Herts. WD19 6FZ England.Phone: 020-8386-8467 Fax: 01257-453978

CANADA: United Church of GodÐCanada, P.O. Box144, Station D, Etobicoke, ON M9A 4X1, CanadaPhone: (416) 231-9379, (800) 338-7779 Fax: (416)231-8238

FIJI: United Church of God, P.O. Box 10-577, Nadi, FijiPhone: 723-678

FRENCH-SPEAKING AREAS: �glise de Dieu UnieÑFrance, B.P. 51254, 45002 Orl�ans Cedex 1, France

GERMANY: Vereinte Kirche Gottes, Postfach 30 1509, D-53195 Bonn, GermanyPhone: 0228-9454636 Fax: 0228-9454637 E-mail: [email protected]

ITALY: La Buona Notizia, Chiesa di Dio Unita,Casella Postale 187, 24100 Bergamo, Italy. Phone/Fax:0039-035-582140 E-mail: [email protected]

MAURITIUS: P.O. Box 53, Quatre Bornes, MauritiusE-mail: [email protected]

The NETHERLANDS: United Church of God Holland,P.O. Box 93, 2800 AB Gouda, The Netherlands

NEW ZEALAND: United Church of God, P.O. Box 22,Auckland, 1015, New Zealand. Phone: 0508-463-763

PHILIPPINES: United Church of God, P.O.Box 4774,MCPO, 1287 Makati City, PhilippinesPhone: (+63-82) 241-0150

SCANDINAVIA: Guds Forenade Kyrka, Mailbox 144,111 73 Stockholm, Sweden

SOUTHERN AFRICA: United Church of God,Southern Africa, P.O. Box 2209, Beacon Bay, EastLondon 5205, South Africa. Phone/Fax: 043 748-1694

SPANISH-SPEAKING AREAS: Iglesia de Dios Unida,P.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027, U.S.A.Phone: (513) 576-9796

TONGA: United Church of GodÐTonga, P.O. Box 127,NukuÕalofa, Tonga

Internet access on your computer:The United Church of God, an InternationalAssociation, has a home page on the InternetÕs WorldWide Web. The address http://www.ucg.org gives youaccess to general information and news about theChurch, issues of The Good News and United News, aswell as our booklets. The address http://www.ucg.caaccesses the ChurchÕs Canadian Web site,http://www.ucg.org.au the Australian Web site,http://www.labuonanotizia.org the Italian Web site,http://www.goodnews.org.uk the British Isles Web site,http://www.ucg.org.ph the Philippines Web site andhttp://www.ucgrsa.org the Southern Africa Web site.

Exciting changes are planned for thethird year of the Ambassador Bible Centerprogram, which begins with orientation Jan.6. We are making some adjustments partlyfrom graduate input concerning the intensityof the program. The seven-month course ofinstruction is the equivalent in class time of66 credits or nearly four semesters of collegeclasses, so we are trying to find ways to givethe students more free time without takingaway from the classes.

More Free Time; New InstructorsRalph Levy proposed giving the stu-

dents a free morning whenever we do nothave module instructors in that slot. Thatwill amount to a two-hour block of freetime on 25 mornings first semester and 22in the second semester.

In addition, every three weeks the stu-dents will be given the afternoon off.There are usually three classes in theMonday-Wednesday-Friday afternoonschedule. Two classes will not be taughtevery third Friday, and lunchtime will beused to conduct the remaining class. Thiswill allow students to catch up on anyneeded personal chores on that preparationday for the Sabbath.

Two instructors have been added.Matthew Fenchel will be teaching FormerProphets in the first semester and Acts of

the Apostles in the second semester. Hewill work part-time at ABC while main-taining his regular responsibilities at thehome office. Melvin Rhodes has agreed toteach a morning module on Daniel andRevelation. Mr. RhodesÕ insights into his-tory and prophecy should make this aninteresting class.

By sharing these classes with Mr.Fenchel and Mr. Rhodes, the full-timeinstructors will have a balanced teachingload. Gary Antion and Dr. Levy will teachthree classes each semester. (Dr. LevyÕsMajor Prophets class will be expandedusing the time previously filled byRevelation.) Les McCullough will contin-ue to teach Epistles of Paul in addition tohis other duties.

Applications and InternationalsThe number of applicants has

increased to nearly 90! We have accepted54 students with 10 more applications stillto be reviewed.

International students may not be ableto attend unless they can obtain a visathemselves. Currently ABC students arenot eligible for student visas. Our lawyeris working on obtaining that status, but wewill not likely have that until future years.Dec. 10 is the deadline for receiving appli-cations for the 2002 program.

Pittsburgh Mini-Sampler

The ABC mini-sampler held inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an over-whelming success. There were around 250for services. More than 17 congregationswere represented in the attendance. Themini-sampler conducted by Dr. Levy andMr. Antion was well attended, with some180 and 160 in attendance for the Saturdayevening and Sunday presentations.

Dr. Levy presented six lectures of top-ics in Genesis. Mr. Antion presented twolectures on friendship, three on under-standing Islam and one on Obadiah.

Members gave their written evalua-tions of the mini-sampler afterward. Therewere 99 percent positive, the most com-mon suggestion being Òhave more of thesein the area.Ó The instructors expressedtheir appreciation to Don Henson and allthe brethren who provided all the supportservices for an outstanding ABC mini-sampler.

The final mini-sampler for this yearwill be in the Los Angeles, California, areaon Dec. 22 to 23. We look forward to pre-senting information to the brethren on theWest Coast during that time.

We appreciate your prayers for a thirdsuccessful ABC year.

Gary Antion/Ralph Levy

Reports From the Field

Good News Caught Attention Even Before It Was PrintedIn early November I was talking with the person at the Donnelley plant who handles the films for our printing jobs. Out of the

blue she mentioned that she had been reading some of the articles in this latest issue of The Good News (about the Sept. 11 attacks)and found them very interesting.

She had noticed the ads for The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy and got a copy (presumably out of their files, sinceit was printed there) and had been reading it. She said it was really fascinating and she couldnÕt wait to finish it. She didnÕt say this,but I got the distinct impression she had been reading it when I called her.

SheÕs worked with our publications for about three or four years, and it appears that this issue of theGN really caught her attention. SheÕs never commented on our content before.

Scott Ashley

Religion Professor Requests 100 Copies of LatestGood News for His Students

I received a call Nov. 16 from Robert Oldham, a professor of world religion studies who teaches at twocolleges (Baptist and Methodist) in central Kentucky. He said he has been teaching for 30 years at various locations throughout theUnited States including the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

He obtained a copy of the November/December 2001 Good News and thought it was so well written that he wanted all 100 ofhis students to read it in light of the Sept. 11 terrorist incidents. He said he has many foreign students in his classes, includingChinese, Japanese, Brazilian, etc. I had 100 copies of that issue sent to him.

John LaBissoniere

Feast Cybercast Has Unexpected BenefitsUnexpected benefits were observed following the cybercasting of Feast services from Bend, Oregon, and Gettysburg,

Pennsylvania. One man, who has been a part of another Sabbath-keeping organization, was not able to attend any Feast site, but didwatch the cybercasts from both sites. He was moved by the clarity of purpose of the messages, and after the Feast called the localUnited pastor to ask if he could begin attending Sabbath services there.

His wife, who has never been a part of the Church of God, was so intrigued by what she heard on the cybercasts that she hasexpressed some interest in coming with him to Church services to find out a little more about United! He was quite surprised.

ABC Preparing for an Exciting Third Year


by Kevin Ford

Nothing in this world lasts forever,certainly not a commercial office lease,as the Canadian National Office knewwell when they moved into their officesuite on TorontoÕs Islington Avenue inNovember 1996.

With the dramatic growth in theGood News mailing list during the fol-lowing years,necessi tat ingthe moving oflarge amountsof literature,the sixth floorsuite was be-coming an in-c r e a s i n g l yunsatisfactorylocation. Asthe end of thefive-year leasedrew close, amove appear-ed to be thebest option.

By summer, however, no obviousalternative had been found, so theCanadian Council decided to appointEric Livermore, a member from theOttawa area, as a Òtask forceÓ to findnew premises. Eric, whose wife, Carol,is a member of the Canadian Council,soon found a firm with its own build-ings located in a semi-rural location inHalton Hills, to the northwest ofToronto. The firm, Fishburn BuildingSciences Group Inc., had 2,400 squarefeet of surplus office space which hadjust become vacant, and was beingoffered for less than half the rent cur-rently being paid in Toronto.

After extensive reviews by Mr.Livermore, Canadian Operation Man-ager Anthony Wasilkoff, the office staffand several Canadian Council members,the decision was made to go ahead witha three-year lease, beginning Oct. 15,2001.

It was a hectic experience for theoffice staff, who also had to cope withthe extra work involved with the Feastof Tabernacles, but all hurdles wereovercome and the relocation took placeduring the final week of October.

The new suite is actually in twoseparate sections. The main floor areahouses reception and two offices, andthe larger basement area is where themailing and related operations and otheroffices are located.

The main floor is shared with thelandlordÕs staff, but they have proved

themselves very friendly and coopera-tive, and the arrangement has so farworked reasonably well.

Some office functions, such as mailpickup and delivery and banking had tobe reorganized due to our out-of-townlocation, but the staff have the compen-sation of walking through landscapedgrounds (complete with miniature lake)to our new front entrance, and even a

daily commute along the infamousHighway 401 is not so arduous, as weare driving out of Toronto at the time

that most of the traffic is heading in.We believe that God has blessed

our efforts to find a suitable locationfor the conduct of His work in Canadain these end times. We look forward tocontinuing the challenge of preaching

the gospel of GodÕs soon-comingKingdom to the second largest (interms of total land area) country in theworld! UNUN

International News...

Canadian Staff Moves to New Office

Left, Kevin Ford and Linda Wasilkoff at work in the new Canadian office. Above, the newoffice in Halton Hills northwest of Toronto. Above right, Anthony Wasilkoff, Canadian

operation manager (photos by Ed van Pelt)

UCGIA President Les McCulloughhas recently approved the addition of DavidBaker to the ministerial team working inAfrica. Mr. Baker, in addition to his pastoralresponsibilities in the Buffalo, Syracuse andElmira, New York, congregations, will now

make periodic visits to Kenya and Tanzaniato serve our brethren there.

There are now three men assigned toserve in different areas of sub-SaharanAfrica. Joel Meeker acts as regional pastorfor the central band of the African conti-nent. He also serves as pastor for the

French-speaking members in Africa,including our brethren living in Benin,Cameroon and Togo. Fred Kellers, pastorof the Nashville and Murfreesboro,Tennessee, and Bowling Green, Kentucky,congregations also serves as pastor for ourbrethren in Nigeria.

Another pastor based in the UnitedStates will soon be named to act as liaisonbetween the home office and the soon-to-

be-formed United Church of GodÐGhana.Other countries in the southern part of

the African continent and in the IndianOcean are served by ministers living inSouth Africa. Andr� van Belkum, NeilBecker and Peter Hawkins, in addition toserving the congregations in South Africa,serve our brethren and interested people inZimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana,Namibia, Swaziland and Mauritius. UNUN

Additional Pastor Named to Serve Sub-Saharan Africa

David Baker with Moses Nyaira fromMigori, Kenya, on the shore of Lake Victoria

Interest in the United Church of Godin Leyte, Philippines, continues to grow.The Sabbath service and Bible study weheld in Conalum, Inopacan, Leyte on Nov.17 showed an increase in attendance dueto the presence of nine visitors from othergroups. A pastor and a member from agroup from Agusan del Sur came toobserve and to ask questions regardingUnited Church of God.

Two Seventh-Day Adventist memberswere present, as well as two who are mem-bers of the Seventh-Day AdventistReformed Church. Three more from theJerusalem Church of God attended for thefirst time. Our attendance was 40 includ-

ing the daughter of a pastor from theJerusalem Church.

We are anticipating another increaseat the next meeting based on informationfrom members of UCG that there are morewho are planning to attend.

During the Bible study RaulVillacote, a member from Tacloban,Leyte, asked that we discuss the subjectof GodÕs annual feasts, why we keep thesefestivals and their significance tomankindÕs salvation.

Overall we had a very fruitful andsuccesful Sabbath.

Florante Siopan, elder, Bacolod andLeyte congregations

Interest in UCG Growing in Philippines

In early May the Australian Media andPublishing Committee passed its goal of8,500 subscribers for the last financial yearwith a total distribution for the May/JuneGood News of 9,271 copies. This achieve-ment was as a result of the excellentresponse to our February ReaderÕs Digestad, the diligent efforts of members in regardto the letterbox drop program, the establish-ment of newsstands and the waiting roomprogram.

Having attained a larger circulationthan planned, the Committee, in conjunc-tion with the National Office, embarked ona renewal of the least active subscribers onthe Australian list to ensure that thosereceiving the magazine really want it. AllAsian subscribers were also renewed.

In July, 1,426 Good News subscriberswere renewed in Australia and 447 in Asia.We felt that a 25 percent response to therenewal would be a good figure, since thosesubscribers targeted had not shown an inter-est in ordering additional literature. Wewere very pleased therefore to finallyreceive a 30 percent response.

The goal in the Operational Plan forMedia and Publishing is to reach a total dis-tribution of 12,000 Good News subscribersby June 30, 2002. With the mailing of theSeptember/October Good News circulationhad climbed back to 9,538 after falling backto just under 8,500 as a result of the renew-

al, placing us well on our way to achievingour aim.

Large Discount for FebruaryReaderÕs Digest Ad

The United States and Britain in BibleProphecy will be offered to the Australianpublic in the February edition of theReaderÕs Digest. A large advertisement hasbeen booked. We will have a reply-paid,tear-out card offering the booklet as well asa full-page four-color ad offering the samebooklet. The full-page ad as well as the cardwill ensure that, if someone responds bytearing out the card and mailing it, therewill be sufficient information left on thepage, with our free call number, a couponand an e-mail address, to enable others torespond.

The Australian Media and PublishingCommittee feels we were blessed by beingable to negotiate a very good price for thisad ensuring that we are making the best useof the money available to us to preach thegospel. Normally a reply-paid tear-out cardwould cost $20,330 (figures in Australiandollars) and a full-page, four-color ad islisted at a rate of $12,950. We were able tosecure the tear-out card for $15,000 and thefull-page ad for $7,000. The Media andPublishing Committee is in the process ofdesigning this ad and would appreciateyour prayers for guidance and inspiration.

The recent testing of an ad offering theWhy Does God Allow Suffering? bookletdid not bring in the responses we had hopedfor, with fewer than 100 responses so far.Since the vehicle used to advertise the sub-jectÑThatÕs Life magazineÑ has been suc-cessful before we feel that the public wasnot sufficiently interested in the subject andit did not strike a chord. This test ad ran justbefore the destruction of the World TradeCenter in New York. With the advent of theterrorist attacks the ad may have more

appeal now, but the Committee and advi-sors feel that The United States and Britainin Bible Prophecy is a more timely bookletto advertise in view of current events.

New Program for Bible StudyCourse Graduates

An exciting new program for graduatesof the Bible Study Course is being intro-duced in Australia. Six sermon audiotapesare offered to these graduates, one tapebeing mailed to them in the alternate monthto the mailing of The Good News magazine.As the Bible Study Course students com-plete lesson 12 they will automaticallyreceive an offer of the audio-sermon tapes.The initial offer of tapes was sent to 551graduates. The final acceptance rate of 39.8percent was more than expected and veryencouraging.

The tapes feature elders and pastorsfrom United Church of God congregationshere in Australia and were specially record-ed for our Bible Study Course graduates.The series consists of a set of 12 40-minutemessages (two messages per audiotape)which explore topics vital for Christiangrowth such as: ÒWalking With God,Ó ÒTheChristian Calling,Ó ÒWhat Is Faith?Ó andÒRepentance and the Holy Spirit.Ó Othertapes explain the Christian approach tomarriage and family and how to live as aChristian in the 21st century.

Other ActivitiesMembers in Victoria and New South

Wales are involved in establishing and run-ning personal newsstands. Sofie Banhamreported in early October that since thedestruction of the World Trade Center thenumber of booklets and magazines beingtaken from her stand has doubled. The smallcongregation of Newcastle is planning to testa poster in a local train station in the area andthere are new developments planned for theYouth Page on the Australian Web site.

Ruth Root


Growth in the Australian GN List Highlights Media Efforts

The Australian National Council metin Sydney on Aug. 18 and 19. The pastor,Bruce Dean, arranged a morning Sabbathservice at the St. George Rowing Club inArncliffe so that the Council and memberscould fellowship over lunch. Membersfrom Wollongong and Newcastle, and as faraway as Wauchope and Wodonga, attendedthe service and stayed on for the luncheon.

Since UCGIA Council of Elders repre-sentative Leon Walker and his wife, Reba,were scheduled to visit New Zealand tomeet with UCG-NZ trustees around thistime, the Australian National Council invit-ed Mr. Walker to attend the August meet-ing. His attendance was very much appreci-ated and Mr. Walker was able to add aninternational perspective to the meeting.

He took time to discuss the process ofdoctrinal change, pointing out that justbecause a doctrine or belief had not beencodified did not mean it was not in effect. Infact, the introduction to the FundamentalBeliefs of UCGIA points out that the book-let is not a comprehensive statement of thebeliefs of the Church. Mr. Walker alsotouched on the distinction between doc-trine, understanding and interpretation,stressing doctrine required substantialscriptural support. His comments in thisregard were very informative.

During the Australian NationalCouncil meetings Bill Eddington wasreelected chairman, Don Goodger wasreelected as deputy chairman and BarryWilliams was elected chairman of thePastoral Committee replacing GraemmeMarshall.

Since Graemme and Lynn Marshallwere scheduled to move to Canada inOctober, the Council also decided thePerth, Western Australia, congregationwould be more effectively pastored fromMelbourne. Barry Williams, as pastor, willbe supported by the four other elders inVictoria and Tasmania in serving this con-gregation.

As part of the youth program, theAustralian National Council has approvedfunding a scholarship to assist a worthyapplicant to attend the Ambassador BibleCenter program in Cincinnati. Selectioncriteria and an application form will befinalized at the November meeting afterwhich applications will be accepted.

Encouraging Financial StabilityIt is pleasing to see the positive trend in

income and the firm control being exer-cised over expenses in all areas. The steadyincrease in donors and coworkers reflectsthat subscribers to The Good News appreci-

ate the material provided and are becomingmore committed. Treasurer Drew Efimovwas able to recommend a reallocation offunds for the 2001/2002 financial yearincreasing the amount being spent on mediaand publishing activities by more than$20,000 (Australian). This reallocation wasmade possible in part by lower than expect-ed costs for the relocation of the Marshallsto Canada and Bill and Jenny Bradford toAustralia.

Streamlining AdministrationTwo software changes have immense-

ly improved our ability to more efficientlyhandle administrative tasks in theAustralian office. The first was changingthe financial accounting system from theone installed some years ago to a new,Windows-based system, which will signifi-cantly cut processing time and streamlinethe preparation of financial reports for theAustralian National Council.

The second change was moving ourGood News subscription lists from an oldsystem to one designed by RichardKennebeck at the home office in theUnited States. Mailing procedures are alsonow more efficient and have greater flexi-bility.

Bill Eddington

Australian National Council Meets in Sydney

GN mailing outgrows the Australian office. Karen and Carol Vaughan, Joan Wright, Jackie Mihalecand David Sandland with last mailing from the office. The next issue went from a mailing house

The first Australian YouthLeadership weekend was held fromFriday, June 30, to Sunday, July 1, at theScout Centre in Heathcote, south ofSydney. The camp was attended by 34young adults between the ages of 19 and30ish, as well as Barry Williams andDon Goodger from Melbourne, andBruce Dean and Doug Gray fromSydney.

The meetings kicked off on Fridaynight, with Mr. Dean dispelling anyideas about this being weekend getawayby explaining the timetable of gruelingback-to-back seminars to follow. Then it

began with the first vignette (short pre-sentation) by Felicia Stokes.

Characteristics of a TrueServant-Leader

Mr. Dean followed with a messagethat sought to establish the link betweenservice and leadership, showing somecharacteristics of a true servant-leaderand what it means to be greatest in a bib-lical sense (with Jesus Christ the ulti-mate example), and setting it against abackdrop of a self-serving world. Thismessage set the tone for the weekend.

The messages that followed specifi-cally focused on personal leadership,godly leadership roles within marriage,as well as within the Church community,structure and other team situations.Introductory vignettes were given byMarty Kusz, Peter Forster, KarenVaughan and most of the married cou-ples who attended. These were particu-larly rewarding, as couples were able tooffer the insidersÕ perspective to the restof the group on how marriage is proba-bly the most consistently challengingarea in which to apply principles ofgive-and-take, which are essential togodly service, and therefore leadership.

Message on MaritalCommitment

Mr. Goodger was able to build onthis further, delivering a frank accountof the ongoing commitment that main-tains a happy marriage as part of his

message on marital commitment. OnSaturday the young adults were split upinto gender groups for messages con-cerning masculine and feminine leader-ship roles. Mr. DeanÕs no-holds-barreddiscussion with the men was particularlyrewarding.

During Saturday evening, work-shops on effective team structures andpersonality types were given by ReneeDean and Mr. Gray respectively. Renee,with her workplace experience, was ableto shed light through a survey on whatteam roles best fit with individuals. Mr.GrayÕs survey of personality typesoffered insight into positive and nega-tive traits of four broad groupings ofpersonalities.

These messages went towards betterunderstanding of how to empathize andfunction in a practical way with others.

Daniel Collette


Australian Youth LeadershipCamp Promotes Service in a

Self-Serving World

Campers at the first Australian Youth Leadership weekend listen to Bruce Dean givinghis final presentation

For members living to the west ofMelbourne, Sabbath Aug. 4 was a newbeginning, with services being held for thefirst time in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Thisnew location offers members who former-ly attended in Melbourne West and inBallarat the opportunity to meet togethercentrally.

Approximately 50 members attendedin the Senior CitizensÕ Hall in BennettStreet, with ages ranging from 18-month-old Chloe Vaughan to visiting seniormember Noel Webster. Song leader PaulVaughan introduced elder Bill Eddingtonwho gave a sermonette on ÒFreedom ofReligion,Ó followed by pastor BarryWilliams who spoke on ÒGodlyCharacter.Ó

The opening prayer was given byHoward Pope. He and his wife, Jan, saidthat the first service was held in a very

warm and positive environment. The clos-ing prayer was given by Bill Taylor. Heand his wife, Joan, remarked that it wasnice to be meeting in a relaxed atmosphereof a country town. Hymns were played byKevin Bate, with his wife, Jan, comment-ing that it was a very positive and friendlygroup. She said, ÒIt was great to see wehad some visitors from other areas, and weall enjoyed an excellent afternoon tea!Ó

Roy Hickford, who attended withMelbourne East members Ros Symonds,Wayne and Chris Matthews, Noel Websterand Pat Barclay, said, ÒIt is always inter-esting to attend the first service anywhere.The Bible is full of new beginningsÑbap-tism, resurrection, Millennium, Kingdomof God. In a small way, a new beginningfor a congregation always reminds me ofthose things.Ó

Ruth Root

In New South Wales, as in all statesin Australia, there are brethren who livefar from regular church services and near-by fellowship. Holy Days are usually theonly times they can get together with thosewho regularly attend services. Those whoare not too distantÑonly three or fourhoursÕ drive awayÑtry to attend the near-est congregation as often as possible andas finances and circumstances allow. Ifthere is somewhere to stay overnight, thejourney is less fatiguing and there is morefellowship to enjoy.

Being isolated isnÕt all negative.These members keep the Sabbath at home,studying GodÕs Word, singing psalms andlistening to tapes supplied by Inge Afiounifeaturing Sydney services, and those fromthe Australian National Office, whichinclude speakers from the United States.One isolated member mentioned that theadvantage of tapes is that you can listen tothree sermons on the Sabbath if you wish!Or you can listen to a particularly inspir-ing message more than once.

A big bonus is Bruce DeanÕs regularletters to the scattered brethren. These let-ters from their pastor keep them informedabout many things in both the local andthe wider areas of the Church. Like thesermon tapes and United NewsÐAustralia,they bring them into the general fellow-ship. One woman commented, ÒOften welearn things before those who have to waitfor announcements on Sabbath.Ó

The scattered brethren are not pre-vented from involvement in church activ-ities and many have contributed despitetheir isolation. Many have been involvedin the Waiting Room Program and let-terbox drops. All pray for the needs of

the Church and the individuals in it.An example of such an isolated mem-

ber is Peter King. He lives in Canberra,where there is no United Church of Godcongregation. Peter really appreciates thesermon tapes sent by Inge Afiouni. Healso appreciates the way the Church focus-es on doing the best we can do with theresources available to us. For example, thehelp weÕre given through the booklets andthe Good News magazine, which enhancesBible studies and makes keeping theSabbath when alone a special and spiritu-ally profitable time. ÒThese things reallyhelp make us part of the organization,Ó hesaid.

Mr. King manages a national trainingteam and has other middle managementresponsibilities in Canberra. He is highlyqualified in accounting and tax law and heuses these skills on the Australian NationalFinance Committee. Mr. King says, ÒI amvery aware, as an isolated member, of theneed to depend totally on God and Christ,and to use the Holy Spirit.Ó

Isolated brethren live all over the stateof New South Wales, whether in the coun-tryside or in towns. Ted and PamHayward, Dick and Val Reeve, Warrenand June Everson and Reg Brookhouselive in the north. The Sasse family wel-comes visitors to Goulburn. Others, likeMiva Barker, are isolated due to age orinfirmity, but all are remembered andcherished as vital parts of the Body ofChrist. Bruce and Jeanette Dean plan tripsto the country areas to visit new contactsand to see old friends. And, as God givesgrowth, the isolation will be turned toopportunities for fellowship.

Mavis Stucci

Getting to Know the IsolatedBrethren of New South Wales

New Australian CongregationBegins at Bacchus Marsh

by John Jewell

Following the Annual General Meetingof the United Church of GodÐBritish Isles atthe Feast of Tabernacles, the British nationalcouncil met at Worcester on Sunday, Nov. 11.

At a ministerial meeting held in themorning before the national council met, aministerial member of the council wasappointed. This was Frank Jarvis of theGloucester congregation. As the ministerialmeeting was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.,and as this was Remembrance Day, being the11th day of the 11th month (VeteranÕs Day inthe United States), the meeting stood for twominutes silence with the rest of the UnitedKingdom as a radio broadcast the time fromBig Ben in London. Then at the end of thetwo minutes a bugler played the Last Post.Once again we were reminded of the dread-ful suffering that man has inflicted on manÑso many families have suffered. Once againwe were reminded of the futility of war andhow much we need the return of Jesus Christ.

Frank Jarvis Chosen as ChairmanJohn Jewell, the CEO for the Church in

the British Isles, acted as chairman for thenational council meeting since appointing anew chairman was part of the business of theday. Early in the agenda he welcomed fournew council members who had been appoint-ed at the Annual General Meeting. Thesewere executive members, Bryan Ellams andDavid Payne, and non-executive members,Brian Greaves and David McDermott.

During the national council meeting Mr.Jarvis was appointed chairman of the nation-al council, with the appointment to runthrough to the 2003 Annual General Meeting.

Mr. Jewell on behalf of the councilthanked David Fenney very much for the

tremendous amount of work he had donewhile holding the office of chairman for thepast two years. Mr. Fenney is not only pastorof the Preston congregation, but has beenvery involved in assisting the treasurer inbringing accounting systems together. He hasalso been Feast coordinator for the past threeyears and has run the youth summer camps.His term as chairman ended at the recentgeneral meeting.

New Grange-over-Sands Feast SiteThe council dealt with many subjects in

the four and a half hours available. Among

these was a discussion regarding the Feast ofTabernacles. Tina Jewell had spent a consid-erable amount of time researching possibleFeast sites and she made a presentation to thecouncil concerning these. She pointed out theadvantages of thinking a lot further ahead.Many attractive sites were not available to usas they had already been booked by otherstwo and more years earlier.

After discussion the council made thedecision that the 2002 Feast of Tabernacles inthe United Kingdom will be held at Grange-over-Sands in the South Lakelands area ofnorthwest England. This is an area of thecountry of outstanding beauty. It is the coun-try of the poet Wordsworth, author BeatrixPotter and other writers and artists who have,like Wordsworth, been very inspired by thebeauty and the amazing light of the area.

Grange-over-Sands is a charmingVictorian resort easily reached by road, rail orby air as it has a direct train service to andfrom Manchester airport. Feast ofTabernacles information packs will not, how-ever, be available until the end of January, soplease donÕt write to us yet!

The council then asked Mrs. Jewell to goahead and make a presentation at the nextcouncil meeting of possible sites for the fouryears after 2002.

A youth summer camp was discussedand Mr. Fenney was asked to reserve thefacilities we have used before in Yorkshire.The camp will be July 26 to Aug. 4 at an out-door center which has permanent facilities.

Various administrative and operations

reports were presentedto update the council members and give themthe opportunity to discuss the issues and toask questions of those responsible for the dif-ferent areas. Jan Schroeder, circulation man-ager, reported that the responses to the renew-al were coming in very well and we shouldhave a healthy and active mailing list whenmost of those responses have been received.

Mr. Jewell, as senior minister, reportedthat the new congregation to the south ofLondon at Tonbridge in Kent had got off toa very good start. It is meeting twice amonth until the end of the year and then inJanuary will go weekly with all Holy Daysand the Passover being held in the area.Other areas for possible meeting places arebeing examined.

There are now seven areas in the BritishIsles where United Church of God servicesare held. In alphabetical order they areBirmingham, Bricket Wood (London North),Gloucester, Isle of Man, Preston, Scotlandand the new congregation at Tonbridge(London South).

It was a good meeting. A lot was done,but everyone left with the realization thatthere is a lot more to be done! And that to doit, we have to be looking very much to ourHeavenly Father to make possible what forus is not possible. UNUN


United KingdomÕs National Council Meets

Frank Jarvis was appointed as chairman ofthe United Church of God–British Isles

national council (file photo)

concerned them was how people who hardlyhave any money could take two tithes fromwhat little they do have. We read together thescriptures giving instructions and promisesabout tithing, including Malachi 3:7-12, andother scriptures about faith in GodÕs promis-es, including Matthew 6:25-34, Hebrews 11and Hebrews 13:5. These brethren seemedeager to put these promises to the test byfaithfully putting aside their festival tithe.

Following that I launched a discussionof the difference between the letter and thespirit of the law. The discussion was very ani-mated with very good participation from thecongregation. I was very favorablyimpressed with their knowledge of theScriptures and their desire to understand andaccomplish GodÕs will in their lives. Mr.Franks and Mr. Horchak told me they werealso favorably impressed by the interactionthey had with the Agona congregation, pas-tored by Benjamin Agyapong.

On the Sabbath several congregationscombined in Elmina for services. Mr. Franksand Mr. Horchak gave much appreciated splitsermons on topics concerning marriage andfamily life. Following that I had been askedto conduct the religious wedding ceremonyfor the last bachelor pastor of the RemnantChurch of God, Adonijah Blay-Miezah (the

state-required civil ceremony had alreadyoccurred). It was a very colorful and joyfuloccasion. We expressed our best wishes for awonderful marriage.

Sunday morning we briefly visited theKakum national park before traveling toKumasi for the seminar that we held with theRemnant pastors from Monday to Thursday.Subjects covered included pastoral planningthroughout the year, budgeting in order tomake the best use of funds, principles forunderstanding prophecy, expository preach-ing, as well as question-and-answer periods.

We also had several long interactive ses-sions to prepare the constitution and bylawsfor the soon-to-be-formed United Church ofGodÐGhana. In addition we prepared infor-mation and documents to be presented to ourUCG Council of Elders for its approval sothat these Remnant pastors can become rec-ognized elders of the United Church of God.

On Friday Mr. Horchak left for a longtrip north. He accompanied Reuel DimaAppiah back to his pastorate in Yeji on theshores of Lake Volta. Richard Duah, anotherpastor, went along to translate. Mr. Horchakheld a Bible study Friday night in Yeji. OnSabbath morning the elders and Yeji mem-bers took the ferry across the lake to have ser-vices with the Makongo congregation.

Mr. Franks, Mr. Coffie and I spent part

of Friday visiting the village of Fiema in theGhanaian rain forest. Monkeys there havelost their fear of humans. Small mona mon-keys will actually come down out of the treesand take fruit from the hands of visitors.

On the Sabbath Mr. Franks and Mr.Coffie left at 3:30 a.m. for the long drive westto the congregation of Sefi Esaase. They trav-eled with the Sefi pastor, Frank Arthur.

This congregation is the most remote ofall those in Ghana, and can be extremely dif-ficult to reach. This small congregation beganand grew as the result of a man who becamean elder. He had learned the truth in the con-gregation in Kumasi, and then returned to hishome in Sefi. As a result of his example, vil-lagers began asking questions, and the smallcongregation eventually came into existence.

Mr. Franks was the first Westerner tovisit the village in a very long time, so hisarrival caused quite a stir. After services withthe brethren he was introduced to the villagechief, who told him next time he came hewould need to stay five days according to thelocal custom so that he could be properlywelcomed and meet all the dignitaries.

I spent the Sabbath with one of thetwo Kumasi congregations, and was askedto give both the sermonette and the ser-mon. The Remnant congregations areadopting our UCG church service format,

and the sermonette is relatively new tothem, so they wanted a live example ofhow they should be.

It was exciting to see the congregationuse the UCG hymnal for most of itshymns. These brethren have obviouslybeen working hard to learn many of ourhymns. They are also in the process ofadapting to a shorter church service.Several pastors explained during the sem-inar that some members are concerned thatour two-hour format is much too short. Wediscussed how they could have a Biblestudy before the actual church service, asour congregations sometimes do in otherareas. A fair number of the brethren insome places cannot read, so collectiveBible study is even more important tothem than it would otherwise be.

On Sunday we had lunch with someof the area deacons and elders and also hada question-and-answer session with them.They were all very excited at the prospectof the Remnant Church of God dissolvingin order to become part of UCG.Following this we made the five-hourdrive back to Accra for our flight.

If all goes as planned, our next visitshould be in January, when it is possiblethat the melding of these congregationsinto UCG may officially take place. UNUN

ÒGHANA,Ó (Continued from page 1)


Each Feast seems to bring its ownunique lesson. Sometimes it is one ser-mon that speaks directly to you. Mentalcurtains lift and intellectual light bulbs goon, culminating in a sort of spiritualÒAha!Ó Sometimes the lesson comesthrough the events of the Feast them-selves, as circumstances work together tocreate an illuminating picture. Some-times, however, the lesson comes in theform of another person.

My family and I attended the Feast inCorpus Christi, Texas. As usual, we stakedout our seating on the first day and rarelydeviated from it. About the third day, anelderly woman seated herself behind us.We exchanged pleasantries, and over thenext few days a very encouraging storyemerged that touched me in profoundways.

The woman was lively and alert andthoroughly charming. She spoke withfrankness and strength. We eventuallylearned that she was 91 years old. God hadcalled her into His Church at the age of 76;encouraging proof that He has a time anda plan for each of us. For 25 years prior tothat, she had been a charter member of aPresbyterian church. SheÕd been veryactive in that congregation, not only play-ing the piano, but teaching the adultSunday School class as well.

Defending Her FaithShe told us that as a requirement for

leaving the Presbyterian faith, sheÕd had tostand before the congregation, friends ofsome 25 years, and give her reasons. SheÕdbeen required to defend her faith and herchoices in a public arena. The courage ofsuch an act, and at such an age, was deeplymoving.

Her husband hadnÕt shared her newbeliefs. Nevertheless heÕd stood with heras she faced their congregation. It was evi-dent in her voice that this had brought herenormous comfort. The commitment of ahusband to his wife was tremendouslyinspiring. HeÕd stood with her to face pos-sible condemnation, sharing in her burden,but not her choice or her conviction. It wasa reminder of the commitment that Christhas to us, individual members of HisChurch, collectively His intended bride.He took the burden of our sins uponHimself; sin brought about by our choices,not His. Yet He did not leave us to standalone.

In her final statement to them, sheÕd

reduced her reasons for leaving to onesimple fact. She told them that she couldno longer go on pretending that the BibledoesnÕt say what it says. That she could nolonger ignore plain scriptural evidencecontradicting doctrine she was expectednot only to accept herself, but to teach toothers. She could not do it, and she wouldnot do it any longer.

Too Hard?Before this sheÕd had a conversation

with her minister, in which she asked himwhy they were keeping Sunday, despite aclear biblical directive to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. His answer surprised her. Hesaid that he knew Saturday was the bibli-cal Sabbath, but getting everyone tochange would just be too hard. Her simplereply was a sterling example of faith.ÒWell, itÕs not too hard for me,Ó sheÕd toldhim.

Something about this minister sayingthat he knew what was right, but felt it wastoo hard to accomplish, struck a bone-chilling chord. I had a vivid mental pictureof standing before Christ our Creator, atthe day of judgment, and saying to Him,ÒYes, I knew what You required ofme...but it was just too hard.Ó

There is a well-known story in theBible that amplifies this lesson. It is thestory of Jesus and the rich man, and Goddeemed it important enough to be includ-ed in three of the Gospel accounts. It con-tains one of the most often quoted versesin the Bible: ÒIt is easier for a camel to gothrough the eye of a needle than for a richman to enter the kingdom of GodÓ(Matthew 19:24). The story is normallyused to illustrate the danger of riches. Andperhaps that is the paramount lesson. Butthe story has much more to tell us.

In Matthew 19:16, a rich man askedthis question of Christ: ÒGood Teacher,what good thing shall I do that I may haveeternal life?Ó Christ replied that if he want-ed eternal life, he should keep the com-

mandments. The man asked Him whichcommandments, although he undoubtedlyknew, because when Christ elaborated bynaming specific commandments from theten, he acknowledged that he had beenkeeping them from his youth. ObviouslyheÕd wanted no misunderstanding, butsought a clear mandate as to what wasrequired of him.

The man then asked Christ what heyet lacked. What still stood between himand eternal life? Christ told him to sell allthat he had and give it to the poor.According to Matthew 19:22, ÒWhen theyoung man heard that saying, he wentaway sorrowful, for he had great posses-sions.Ó

The Deal BreakerHe understood what was required of

him, he knew what was at stake, but stillhe walked away, sorrowful, because it wasmore than he was willing to give. It wastoo hard. He had found the deal breaker.

As tempting as it is to disdain thisman and his choice, we really canÕt affordto. Because the lesson is too sobering. Thiswas not a hardened and rebellious man. Hekept the commandments of God, and hadfrom his youth. Assuming he was truthfulin that claim, and bearing in mind Psalm119:172, which says, ÒAll Your command-ments are righteousness,Ó he must thenhave been a righteous man. Flawed per-haps, but striving to obey GodÕs law. Muchlike most of us? He was a righteous manwith limits as to the commitment he waswilling to make.

Would an honest search of our heartsfind limitations there? Things too hard todo? This is a deadly serious question forGodÕs people at any time, and especially ata time such as this. More troubled timesare coming. A time is coming that willchallenge all of our previous conceptionsof hard. At what point would we walkaway from the challenge sorrowful? Whatwould constitute a deal breaker? The death

of the American dream? Our childrenÕssafety? Persecution? We had better know.

Endurance Without LimitationChrist Himself said, ÒBut he who

endures to the end shall be saved.Ó Hemade this statement not once but twice, inMatthew 10:22 and Matthew 24:13. Bothtimes He uses it in the context of persecu-tion, from the world, for His nameÕs sake.The dictionary defines ÒendureÓ as Òto suf-fer without yielding.Ó ItÕs a stark statementwhen read this way: ÒHe who suffers with-out yielding shall be saved.Ó Christ warnsus that we will have suffering, but if wewant eternal life, we must not yield.

We must predetermine that nothingGod requires of us will be too hard. To dothat we must remove all limitations. Thereare courageous people of the Bible who setus this example. Shadrach, Meshach andAbed-Nego did not allow a fiery furnaceto become a deal breaker (Daniel 3). Joboffered up everything, saying ÒThough Heslay me, yet will I trust HimÓ (Job 13:15).And Esther did not fail in GodÕs will forher, instead saying, ÒI will go to the king,which is against the law; and if I perish, Iperish!Ó (Esther 4:16). All of them pre-vailed because they determined withintheir hearts beforehand that they would dowhat was required of them, without limita-tions, regardless of the consequences.

If we desire the Kingdom we can dono less. In Romans 8:18 Paul said, ÒFor Iconsider that the sufferings of this presenttime are not worthy to be compared withthe glory which shall be revealed in us.ÓHard things will be required of us in thefuture. Hard things are being required ofsome of us now. Our local prayer listsmake that sorrowfully clear.

But there is good news, although therich man left without hearing it. The disci-ples expressed doubt that anyone would becapable of being saved. Jesus assuredthem that Òwith men this is impossible, butwith God all things are possibleÓ(Matthew 19:26).

When hard things are required we canremember this. We can recall that Paulsaid, ÒI can do all things through Christwho strengthens meÓ (Philippians 4:13).We can remember Job and Esther andthree Hebrew men who would not bow.We can remember an elderly woman whosaid, ÒItÕs not too hard for me.Ó Because ifwe seek eternal life, there must be no dealbreakers. UNUN

WhatÕs the Deal Breaker?DonÕt let anything limit your commitment to God. Consider

the inspiring example of an elderly woman who said, ÒItÕs nottoo hard for me.Ó

by Janna Thomas

ing with what has been and is beingaccomplished, as well as the next steps tobe taken. A task force will be developed byMS to more intently focus on the ministe-rial candidate program.

Doug Horchak discussed the evalua-tion process of pastors in the United States(see the May 2001 United News, page 3).Over the past few months, regional pastorshave been meeting with pastors to conduct

formal reviews of the pastorsÕ self-assess-ments. Despite the newness and slightapprehension of the review program bythose involved, the reviews were well-accepted and encouraging to all.

Two videotapes were produced as partof the Ministerial Education program dur-ing this conference. Paul Suckling gave aseminar on baptism counseling and LyleWelty gave one on premarital counseling.These seminars will provide useful

instruction for those in the ministry whohave never received formal training, andwill provide review and supplementalinformation for those who have.

Other topics included planning for theFeast of Tabernacles, surveys recentlyconducted of the salaried elders and minis-tersÕ wives, and overall goals of MS andthe regional pastors.

On Monday and Tuesday, thoseattending the conference had ÒhomemadeÓ

lunches with the home office staff, givingthem the opportunity to get to know thosethey hadnÕt worked with and to enjoy thecompany of those they already knew.

The three-day conference turned outto be very productive in dealing withissues of immediate and long-term impor-tance in planning for the ministry and theChurch. Many attendees commented onthe warmth and exhilaration of the timespent together. UNUN

ÒREGIONAL,Ó (Continued from page 1)


Many years ago I had the opportunityto handle a professional bow and to learn justhow hard the sport of archery is for a begin-ner. We were enjoying an afternoon of recre-ation during the Feast of Tabernacles at Mt.Pocono and my brother-in-law, Roy, hadbrought along his archery equipment. It alllooked so easyÑjust place the arrow on thebow string, pull back and fire.

Easy? Just holding the bow steady wasthe first challenge. It was far heavier than Ihad ever expected. And pulling back thebowstringÉthat was like trying to bend apiece of metal!

After much muddling around I eventual-ly managed to make some kind of impressionon the rigid string. Fire. Or should I sayplopÉas the arrow meekly fell to the groundin front of me. I soon learned that archerywas not going to be my sport of the future andmy appreciation soared as Roy and otherswere able to actually hit the target.

Over the years I have often meditated onthe many analogies between archery and ourChristian lives. You might be surprised justhow relevant archery, in type, is to our spiri-tual life and future.

Missing the MarkThe majority of times the word sin

appears in our English translations of theBible, it comes from the Hebrew wordschattaah or chata. Those words carry theconnotation of Òto miss.Ó Literally to missthe mark, to miss the target or objective infront of us, just as an archer can miss thetarget he or she is aiming for.

When we sin, we miss a mark or targetbefore usÉa mark that we are expected tohit. If an archer never hits the target beforehim, then he could not rightly expect to evenbe called an archer.

GodÕs Master Archery TeamGod Himself is often referred to as an

archerÑa perfect archer, who does not miss(Psalms 18:14; 21:12; 38:2; 45:5; 64:7; and144:5Ð6).

In a figurative sense, God has called usto His master archery team. He wants us tolearn how to hit the targets He sets before us,specifically His laws, statutes and command-ments. To miss those targets is, simply, to sin.

But when God calls us to His Òteam,Ówe are just like I described myself.Absolutely useless at even projecting anarrow forward, let alone hitting any target.

Raw BeginnersNotice how Paul describes this amateur

condition. ÒFor when we were still withoutstrength, in due time Christ died for theungodlyÉwhile we were still sinners [stillmissing the mark], Christ died for usÓ(Romans 5:6-10). God calls us as beginnersand sets before us the challenge of perfectingthe Christian calling, just as an archer, whenhe starts out, needs to work long and hard toperfect the art of archery.

In 1 Timothy 1:15, Paul acknowledgedhow bad an archer/Christian he was whenGod called him onto His Òteam.Ó

Psalm 103:14 says, ÒFor He knows ourframe; He remembers that we are dust.Ó Godknows just how lacking in ability, in strength,in endurance we are when He calls us, just asan archery coach appreciates, understandsand accepts the fact that his new recruitsleave a lot to be desired.

How, then, does an archer, especially aspiritual archer, become proficient?

Learn About the TargetFor one thing, we need to learn where

and what the target is. There is no point inblindly shooting into the distance, hoping tosomehow miraculously hit some hidden tar-get. There is also no point in even learninghow to shoot an arrow, if we donÕt first con-sider the target to aim at.

God, as our Coach, shows us the targetof His law, revealed by His Spirit. Read 1Corinthians 2:10-16. God Òhas revealedÓ thetarget to us, Òyes, the deep things of God.ÓThrough that Spirit we can know what targetsto aim at, as fully explained in Psalm 119.

ÒYou havecommanded us tokeep Your pre-cepts diligently,ÓKing David wrote.ÒTeach me, OLORD, the way ofYour statutesÓ(Psalm 119:4, 33).

Paul recon-firmed the vitalimportance of lawthroughout hiswritings, such asRomans 3:31,ÒWe establish the law.Ó To break that law is todishonor God, just as an archer dishonors hiscoach by failing to hit the target. Romans2:23 says, ÒYou dishonor God through break-ing the law.Ó

If we take away those laws and com-mandments, we symbolically remove the tar-get set before us. That is just as illogical asremoving the target before an archer andtelling him to take aim, shoot and hit the tar-get. What target? Where? No, God ensuresHis targetÑHis lawÑis clearly seen and dis-cerned, through His Spirit, before the eyes ofa Christian.

In Philippians 3:17-19 we are thenencouraged to make sure nothing gets in ourway of aiming for and hitting that spiritualtarget. To miss that target is to sin.

An Archer Needs StrengthWe are encouraged to strengthen our-

selves by looking to GodÕs law (Psalm119:27-28 and 40). ÒStrengthen me accord-ing to Your word,Ó just as an archer, to

achieve perfection in his sport, must alsostrengthen his arms. Upper arm strength isessential in order to hold the bow steady asaim is taken and the arrow fired. Inner spiri-tual strength is also essential for the Christianto hit the spiritual targets ahead.

Good EyesightAs an archer also needs good eyesight,

so we need to develop good spiritual eyesight(discernment), to be able to understand andaccept the targets God has for us in our lives.Notice 2 Timothy 2:15: ÒBe diligent to pre-sent yourself approved to God [our coach], aworker [an archer] who does not need to beashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.Ó

In Romans 1:18-22 Paul explains thatGod has not hidden His target behind anobstacle to obscure our vision of that target.ÒHis invisible attributes are clearly seenÉsothat they are without excuse.Ó

Your Personal BestAn essential principle that applies to all

s p o r t s Ñ i n c l u d i n garcheryÑis the need for asportsman or woman toalways be striving fortheir personal best.Likewise, as Christians,we must be striving forour spiritual personalbest, always striving to dobetter and hit the targetmore regularly and moreprecisely. Not drinking asmuch, being a better dri-ver, a better parent andspouse, avoiding tempta-

tions and conquering bad habits. Aiming tohit the target more and more regularly.Achieving our personal best each and everyday.

EnduranceIn any sport, endurance is a vital ele-

ment in achieving success. Endurance isespecially important for us as Christians.Many of us, after decades in the Church, havebeen working on our spiritual archery skillsfor many years. But we always have anotherpersonal best to aim forÑespecially theexample of Jesus Christ.

Sometimes a sportsman is tempted toÒtake time out,Ó to sit back and relax. Butwhen he returns to his sport, the road is justas difficult. Training must never stopÑskillscan easily be lost and desire can wane.

Endurance is part and parcel of theChristian life, as explained in: Romans12:11-12; James 1:2-4 and 12, 5:7-11; Acts14:21-22; and 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5. Theseare just a few scriptures that encourage us to

be Òpatient in well doing,Ó just as archersmust be patient through their training, prac-tice and competition.

Along the way we always need to keepin mind that God, as our Coach, wants us tosucceed. He wants us to hit the target. Timeand time again. Notice Philippians 1:6:ÒBeing confident of this very thing, that Hewho has begun a good work in you will com-plete it until the day of Jesus Christ.Ó OurCoach will do all in His power to ensure wesucceed. Of that we can be confident.

Sure, there will be bad days along theway. At times our eyes will be sore, we willnot be able to clearly see the target. At othertimes we will simply be sloppy and not allthat focused. Our arms may ache from hold-ing the bow. At such times we have to take ina deep breath and resolutely determine to goon, to keep on training, to keep on perfectingour skills.

Our Coach understands.

Missing IntentionallyUnless. Unless we start to miss the target

intentionally. Imagine an Olympic archery contestant,

in the major event of his life, deliberatelyturning his shoulders ever so slightly andaiming away from the target. Maybe he hastaken a bribe to lose. Maybe he is bitteragainst his coach or teammates. And he miss-es intentionally.

How would you expect his coach toreact? He would no doubt be thrown off theteam and asked to leave the Olympic Village.

Likewise, if we miss our spiritual targetintentionallyÑafter years of coaching, per-sistence and practiceÑwhat should be ourfate? Hebrews 10:26-29 makes that fate quiteclear. ÒFor if we sin willfully after we havereceived the knowledge of the truth, there nolonger remains a sacrifice for sins.Ó Therewould no longer remain any room for us onthe team.

A seasoned, experienced archer isexpected to hit the target, just as a seasonedChristian is expected to be avoidingsinÉavoiding Òmissing the mark.Ó

And, in conclusion, we should considerwhat is the bullÕs eye of the target of ourChristian calling. Paul explains exactly whatthat bullÕs eye is, in 1 Corinthians 13:13,ÒÉbut the greatest of these is love.Ó Pure,undefiled love is the dead center of the targetGod has placed before each of us.

Why? John gives the answer in 1 John4:8. ÒHe who does not love does not knowGod, for God is love.Ó Without love we arenot even on the team. Without love we havenot even seen where the target is, let alonebegun to master the challenge ahead of us.

So let us be constantly taking aim at thatultimate target GodÑas our perfect CoachÑhas placed before us, the target of becominglike God, who is love. Emulating the exam-ple of the apostle Paul who tells us, inPhilippians 3:14, ÒI press toward the goal forthe prize of the upward call of God in ChristJesus.Ó

Along the way we will be perfecting theart of spiritual archery. UNUN

Aiming for the MarkThinking about archery can help us understand more about

overcoming sin.

by David Sandland


How much effort and time would ittake to begin to make needed changes in ourlives? Why is it that some people seem to beable to grow, while others do not? The differ-ences between these groups may be less thanmost have thought.

At the recent round of regional confer-ences, Richard Pinelli, Ministerial Servicesoperation manager, read the following fromThe Sharp Edge of Success, a book aboutsuccess in business: ÒI was just a little betterthan the other fellow. ItÕs the principle of theslight edge. The differences that separatehumans are far smaller than what is ordinari-ly supposed. In its simplest form, the princi-ple of a slight edge is: we donÕt have to be alot better to succeed over others. It is self-feeding. Like the atomic reactor, once youhave a little, it multiplies. You often find thatsuccessful people have achieved by manysmall steps. It gives you a realistic goal. Keepyour next goal realistically close to your pre-sent position.Ó

LetÕs restate this principle from the pointof view of Christian overcoming and growth:We donÕt have to be a lot better to begin toovercome and grow.

A Parable About OvercomingLikely, all of our readers are familiar

with the parable of the talents, recorded inMatthew 25. ÒTalentsÓ as used there isnÕtmeaningful in our everyday language, butread a selected portion of the parable fromThe Living Bible (TLB).

ÒAgain, the Kingdom of Heaven can beillustrated by the story of a man going intoanother country, who called together his ser-vants and loaned them money to invest forhim while he was gone. He gave $5,000 toone, $2,000 to another, and $1,000 to thelastÑdividing it in proportion to their abili-tiesÑand then left on his trip.

ÒThe man who received the $5,000began immediately to buy and sell with it andsoon earned another $5,000. The man with$2,000 went right to work, too, and earnedanother $2,000. But the man who receivedthe $1,000 dug a hole in the ground and hidthe money for safekeeping.

ÒAfter a long time their master returnedfrom his trip and called them to him toaccount for his money. The man to whom hehad entrusted the $5,000 brought him$10,000. His master praised him for goodwork. ÔYou have been faithful in handlingthis small amount,Õ he told him, Ôso now Iwill give you many more responsibilities.Begin the joyous tasks I have assigned toyou.Õ Next came the man who had receivedthe $2,000, with the report, ÔSir, you gave me$2,000 to use, and I have doubled it.Õ ÔGoodwork,Õ his master said. ÔYou are a good andfaithful servant. You have been faithful overthis small amount, so now I will give youmuch more.Õ

ÒThen the man with the $1,000 cameand said, ÔSir, I knew you were a hard man,and I was afraid you would rob me of what Iearned, so I hid your money in the earth andhere it is!Õ But his master replied, ÔWickedman! Lazy slave! Since you knew I would

demand your profit, you should at least haveput my money into the bank so I could havesome interest. Take the money from this manand give it to the man with the $10,000. Forthe man who uses well what he is given shallbe given more, and he shall have abundance.But from the man who is unfaithful, evenwhat little responsibility he has shall be takenfrom him. And throw the useless servant outinto outer darkness: there shall be weepingand gnashing of teethÕÓ (Matthew 25:14-30).

The Parable Is for UsClearly, the characters in the parable

were to overcome and grow. I believe that thesymbolism of the currency is twofold, repre-senting the knowledge of God and His HolySpirit. When we read what Christ said in theparable of the sower and the seed, itÕs clearthat the parable of Matthew 25 and its com-panion in Luke 19 apply to us as ChristiansÑmembers and children of members.

We should stop to ask why Christ pre-sented the information in these parables withsuch passion, warning of dire consequencesfor failing to grow. PaulÕs comments inRomans 12:1-2 help us to understand.Through growth, weÕre able to discern GodÕswill for our livesÑÒbe transformed by therenewing of your mind, that you may provewhat is that good and acceptable and perfectwill of God.Ó Conversely, we might well losetouch with what is acceptable to God, ifgrowth and overcoming arenÕt ongoing.

The Christian responsibility to over-come sin and human nature and to grow inthe divine nature is a repeated biblical theme.

Another Ògrowth parableÓ adds to thepicture: ÒNow here is the explanation of thestory I told about the farmer planting grain:The hard path where some of the seeds fellrepresents the heart of a person who hears theGood News about the Kingdom and doesnÕtunderstand it; then Satan comes and snatchesaway the seeds from his heart.

ÒThe shallow, rocky soil represents theheart of a man who hears the message andreceives it with real joy, but he doesnÕt havemuch depth in his life, and the seeds donÕtroot very deeply, and after a while when trou-ble comes, or persecution begins because ofhis beliefs, his enthusiasm fades, and hedrops out.

ÒThe ground covered with thistles repre-sents a man who hears the message, but thecares of this life and his longing for moneychoke out GodÕs Word, and he does less andless for GodÓ (Matthew 13:18-22, TLB).

ÒBut he who received seed on the goodground is he who hears the word and under-

stands it, who indeed bears fruit and pro-duces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, somethirtyÓ (Matthew 13:23, NKJV). The ultimateharvest may be a hundredfold, but it all startswith the growth of the smallest of roots.

Christians Must GrowThe first six verses of Proverbs 2 but-

tress the concept that all Christians mustgrow. LetÕs relate these instructions to somemodern analogies. If a message or a song isbeing broadcast that you want to hear, youwill turn up the sound. If an item is beingmarketed that you would dearly like to have,you will invest whatever time and money youneed to obtain it. ÒCry out,Ó the Proverb says.Be as assertive as a baby crying when it needsto be fed. Search like you would for hiddentreasure, the Proverb says. Know that Godwill respond to such determination.

The context of PeterÕs familiar charge toÒgrow in the grace and knowledge of ourLord and Savior Jesus ChristÓ implies thatthe human mind and spirit are always learn-ing, either in negative or positive ways (2Peter 3:16-18).

Christians need to grow, just as babiesneed to grow (Hebrews 5:12-14). Christiansneed constant spiritual nutrition and to exer-cise all of our senses in applying it to life.Implied here again is the combination of theknowledge of God with His Holy Spirit.

Members of GodÕs Church and theirmaturing children should not settle into Òacomfort zone,Ó like a turtle in its shell, butrather should always be growing. Jesus Òsetthe barÓ for us at our FatherÕs divine natureand character (Matthew 5:48).

Because we understand ChristÕs intentthat we overcome and grow, the UCGIA hasbeen emphasizing education in four cate-gories: ministerial, member, youth andÒfocused.Ó The information that Mr. Pinelligave obviously addresses the ministerial cat-egory, but also affects members and youth.

Success Is a DirectionOften, weÕre easily discouraged by a

lack of growth in ourselves, and our discour-agement causes us to pull back even further.LetÕs bring in the principle of the slightedgeÑwe donÕt have to be a lot better tobegin to overcome and grow. As expressed inThe Sharp Edge of Success, Òsuccess is adirection, not a destination.Ó

As we consider that, bring in the infor-mation found in the last part of Ephesians 4.Notice again the concept that Christians whoarenÕt growing in a positive manner areÒgrowingÓ in a negative one (verses 22-23).

As with the human body, the healthiestgrowth occurs when every part of the bodycontributes what is needed (verse 16).

Through Christ, the ministry must growin feeding the saints (verses 11-15). Membersand the children of members are beingequipped with the godly knowledge and spir-itual power that enables everyone to grow inservice to the entire Church, unity, immunityto doctrinal corruption, a godly motivationfor declaring the gospel and the capacity tointeract lovingly with each other.

Understand, we are succeeding when wehave begun to move in this direction, for wewill not be perfect until our change at theonset of the Kingdom. The principle of theslight edge is: We donÕt have to be a lot bet-ter to begin to overcome and grow.

As Christ taught us through the briefillustration of Matthew 13:31, 33, Christiansare to have the same effect on whatevergroup they find themselves in that leaven hason a lump of dough. WeÕre to see ourselves asthe tiny seed of the mustard plant, ever con-scious of the fact that weÕre to grow to serveand benefit many others.

GodÕs people are doing well, but we canalways do a little better. Remember to keepyour next goal realistically close to your pre-sent position.

What If?To drive the principle of the slight edge

home, here are several practical suggestions.Any number could be inserted into these sug-gestions, but I selected the small number offive to illustrate the point.

What if you were to spend five addition-al minutes in prayer and five additional min-utes in Bible study every day? What if youwere to fast five additional days in the year?

How helpful would it be to the Churchfamily and to you for you to entertain peoplein your home five more times in a year? Whatdifference would it make to the Church andto you for you to arrive at services five min-utes earlier and stay five minutes later? Andgreet five additional people at every service?

For some, a goal of attending servicesfive more times a year would be implement-ing the principle of the slight edge, becausecircumstances have damaged their trust andcommitment. These can be reconstructed.

What difference would it make to theChurch and to you for you to forgive peoplefive more times this month?

What difference would it make infinancing the work for everyone to add $5 tothe Holy Day offerings this year?

What difference would it make to yourhealth if you were to lose five pounds? Whatif you were to exercise five minutes morethree times every week?

What difference would it make to yourfamily if you were to play games or do activ-ities that require conversation five moretimes every month? What difference would itmake to your marriage if you were to go on aspecial date five more times every year?

Practice the principle of the slight edge:We donÕt have to be a lot better to begin toovercome and grow. UNUN

The Principle of the Slight EdgeThe inability to perceive that weÕre making progress in overcoming canbe profoundly discouraging to Christians. One reason for failure is thatwe may be trying to do too much at once. Read this encouraging article

about a simple principle on how to succeed in overcoming.

by Cecil E. Maranville

LetÕs examine the universalspiritual advice Jesus Christ

gave for Christians of alltime in his message to the

church in Ephesus.

by David Treybig

Many people today think of JesusChristÕs messages to the churches in thebook of Revelation as simply historicalwarnings to the specific congregationsaddressed. While it is true that thesewere warnings to specific congregations,there is also a much broader application.The messages to each congregation arerelevant today to all the people of God.This timeless instruction is strikinglyapplicable to events Christians continueto face.

ChristÕs admonition: ÒHe who has anear, let him hear what the Spirit says to thechurchesÓ is repeated within the messageto each congregation (Revelation 2:7, 11,17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). This warning tells usthat we need to carefully consider andheed all of the messages. LetÕs examinethe universal spiritual advice given byJesus for Christians of all time. To betterunderstand what Christ is telling us todaythrough these messages, it is helpful toexamine the history of a specific congre-gation and then consider ChristÕs instruc-tion as we make the spiritual applicationfor today. LetÕs take a close look at themessage to Ephesus.

Ephesus was a large and importantcity on the west coast of Asia Minor.According to NelsonÕs Illustrated BibleDictionary, ÒA number of factors con-tributed to the prominence which Ephesusenjoyed.

ÒThe first factor was economics.Situated at the mouth of the river Cayster,Ephesus was the most favorable seaport inthe province of Asia and the most impor-tant trade center west of Tarsus. Today,because of silting from the river, the ruinsof the city lie in a swamp 8 to 11 kilome-ters (5 to 7 miles) inland.

ÒAnother factor was size. AlthoughPergamum was the capital of the provinceof Asia in Roman times, Ephesus was thelargest city in the province, having a pop-ulation of perhaps 300,000 people.

ÒA third factor was culture. Ephesuscontained a theater that seated an estimat-ed 25,000 people. A main thoroughfare,some 35 meters (105 feet) wide, ran fromthe theater to the harbor, at each end ofwhich stood an impressive gate. The thor-oughfare was flanked on each side by rowsof columns 15 meters (50 feet) deep.Behind these columns were baths, gymna-siums, and impressive buildings.

ÒThe fourth, and perhaps most signif-icant, reason for the prominence ofEphesus was religion. The Temple ofArtemis (or Diana, according to herRoman name) at Ephesus ranked as one ofthe Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.As the twin sister of Apollo and the daugh-ter of Zeus, Artemis was known variouslyas the moon goddess, the goddess of hunt-ing and the patroness of young girls. Thetemple at Ephesus housed the multi-breasted image of Artemis which wasreputed to have come directly from Zeus(Acts 19:35).

ÒThe temple of Artemis in PaulÕs daywas supported by 127 columns, each ofthem 60 meters (197 feet) high. TheEphesians took great pride in this grandedifice. During the Roman period, theypromoted the worship of Artemis by mint-ing coins with the inscrip-tion, ÔDiana of EphesusÕÓ(electronic database, articleÒEphesusÓ).

Earliest BeginningsThe Church of God at

Ephesus likely beganthrough the efforts of Pauland the husband-wife teamof Aquila and Priscilla inA.D. 50. The Scriptures indi-cate that these three workedtogether in Corinth as tent-makers (Acts 18:1-3) whilePaul also preached and taught in the localsynagogue. After some time in Corinth,the three sailed to Ephesus. Upon arrival,Paul preached in the synagogue and thenleft Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus whilehe returned to Jerusalem to observe one ofGodÕs Holy Days. Paul promised to returnif God so willed (verses 18-21).

While Paul continued his travels toJerusalem, then on to Galatia and Phrygia(verses 21 and 23), a zealous and giftedspeaker named Apollos came to Ephesus.Though he had a good knowledge of theScriptures, he understood only the baptismof John (verse 25). Priscilla and Aquilathen took him aside and explained to himÒthe way of God more accuratelyÓ (verse26). This combination of ApollosÕ speak-ing and Prisicilla and AquilaÕs instructionbegan to bear fruit.

When the apostle Paul returned toEphesus, he found a number of disciples,including about a dozen men (Acts 19:1,7). Paul then began an extensive ministryin Ephesus by baptizing these disciplesand laying his hands on them for thereceiving of the Holy Spirit (verses 5-6).From this exciting beginning, Paul spentthree months teaching in the synagogueand then two years in Òthe school ofTyrannus.Ó This was one of the apostlePaulÕs longer stays and the results wereimpressiveÑÒall who dwelt in Asia heard

the word of the Lord JesusÓ (verses 8-10).It also appears that Paul wrote the book of1 Corinthians from Ephesus (1Corinthians 16:8).

Noteworthy EventsDuring PaulÕs ministry in Ephesus

several other noteworthy events tookplace. Here, it is recorded that ÒGodworked unusual miracles by the hands ofPaul, so that even handkerchiefs or apronswere brought from his body to the sick,and the diseases left them and the evil spir-its went out of themÓ (verses 11-12).When seven sons of Sceva unsuccessfullytried to follow PaulÕs example of exorcis-ing evil spirits, they ended up fleeing thehouse Ònaked and woundedÓ (verse 16).The result? ÒThis became known both toall Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus;

and fear fell on themall, and the name of theLord Jesus was magni-fiedÓ (verse 17).

In the wake ofthese events, many inEphesus turned fromtheir practice of magicand burned their bookspertaining to that craft.It is recorded that thevalue of these booksamounted to Òfiftythousand pieces of sil-verÓ and Òthe word of

the Lord grew mightily and prevailedÓ(verses 19-20).

The truth of God made such an impactin the area that local craftsmen who madereplicas of shrines to Diana soon becamefearful that this teaching would put themout of business (verses 23-41). After thisÒgreat commotionÓ (verse 23) died down,Paul left Ephesus for Macedonia (Acts20:1). PaulÕs teaching in Ephesus hadmonumental success. It was also the mostprobable foundation for the establishmentof other congregations in Asia Minor.

When Paul left the area, Timothyremained to care for the congregation atEphesus. PaulÕs pressing advice forTimothy was to warn the brethren tobeware of false doctrine (1 Timothy 1:3; 2Timothy 4:3). In a brief, final trip backthrough the region, Paul also met with theEphesian elders, telling them, ÒFor I knowthis, that after my departure savage wolveswill come in among you, not sparing theflock. Also from among yourselves menwill rise up, speaking perverse things, todraw away the disciples after themselves.Therefore watch, and remember that forthree years I did not cease to warn every-one night and day with tearsÓ (Acts 20:29-31).

ChristÕs Message to EphesusA number of traditions hold that the

apostle John lived in Ephesus toward theend of the first century (NelsonÕsIllustrated Bible Dictionary, 1986,Thomas Nelson Publishers, articleÒEphesusÓ). When Jesus appeared to Johnand gave him the vision recorded for us inthe last book of the Bible, John was on theisland of Patmos off the coast of AsiaMinor. As the vision unfolded, John musthave been surprised as Jesus vividly andaccurately described the challenges facingthe congregation where it is likely he mostoften attended.

Christ began by telling them, ÒI knowyour works, your laborÓ (Revelation 2:2).Jesus knew how powerfully the gospel hadbeen preached in Asia Minor. He was wellaware of the impact of the truth upon theentire city of Ephesus. He also knew howthe whole congregation was involved. Hecommended them saying, Òyou have per-severed and have patience, and havelabored for My nameÕs sakeÓ (verse 3).

Jesus also praised them for rejectingfalse teachers saying, Òyou cannot bearthose who are evil. And you have testedthose who say they are apostles and arenot, and have found them liarsÓ (verse 2).They had obviously heeded Paul andTimothyÕs advice to beware of such teach-ers. They had successfully faced this chal-lenge and had not become weary throughthis taxing process (verse 3).

Now we come to an important admo-nition. Even though Ephesus was greatlycommended, Jesus also said,ÒNevertheless I have this against you, thatyou have left your first love. Remembertherefore from where you have fallen;repent and do the first works, or else I willcome to you quickly and remove yourlampstand from its placeÑunless yourepentÓ (verses 4-5). They had lost theirinitial excitement and zeal for doing GodÕswork. Over the years their enthusiasm hadwaned. Jesus warned them to return totheir Òfirst loveÓ so they wouldnÕt losetheir place as part of the Church of God.

Next, Jesus again praised them forhating the deeds of the Nicolaitans (verse6). Who were these Nicolaitans?According to the ExpositorÕs BibleCommentary of the New Testament, ÒTheclose association of the name with theBalaamites in 2:14-15 may suggest eitheridentity with this group or similarity totheir teachings.Ó As we will later see, thosewho follow BalaamÕs example are oneswho compromise GodÕs instructions. TheEphesians didnÕt accept this insidious wayof thinking.

Finally, Jesus concludes His messageto Ephesus saying, ÒHe who has an ear, lethim hear what the Spirit says to thechurches. To him who overcomes I willgive to eat from the tree of life, which is inthe midst of the Paradise of GodÓ (verse7). Just how can we apply JesusÕ command


Message to Ephesus: Recapture Your First Love

to adhere to this instruction originallygiven to the church at Ephesus? What isthe modern application?

Modern ApplicationLike our spiritual brethren in Ephesus

at the close of the first century, GodÕs peo-ple today must reject modern false teach-ers and their mistaken ideas masqueradingas Christianity. The United Church of Godtoday strives to continue in the path fol-lowed by the Body of Christ throughoutthe centuries. It is our spiritual convictionto hold fast to the true doctrines of Christand reject those who attempt to annul andalter His teachings.

Now we come to what is perhaps themost important consideration for GodÕspeople today in the message to EphesusÑthe warning to return to our Òfirst love.ÓThis term, Òfirst love,Ó refers to love forand among our spiritual brethren and forour enthusiasm in doing the work of God.It does not mean one doesnÕt have anylove. It simply means he or she doesnÕthave the same amount or degree as before.

When we face trials and difficulties,apathy is a common result. We become tootired to expend the same energy as before.We can tell ourselves that it is no longernecessary to preach the gospelÑwe canjust hold fast until Christ returns. YetChrist tells us to Òrepent [regret our recentactions and change] and do the firstworksÓ (Revelation 2:5). This is done byreturning to our initial love of ourbrethren, of God and of doing His work.To better grasp the magnitude of ChristÕsdirective, letÕs consider the characteristicsof a Christian in his or her first love.

The Meaning of ÒFirst LoveÓ Just continuing to go through the cor-

rect motions of loving and obeying God isinsufficient. Jesus expects His followers tozealously conduct their lives in light of theinspiring reward He has in store for them.John wrote, ÒAnd everyone who has thishope in Him purifies himself, just as He ispureÓ (1 John 3:3). How does one purifyhimself or herself? Just what are the char-acteristics of a Christian in his or her firstlove?

One of the first characteristics ofChristians in their Òfirst loveÓ of GodÕstruth is their excitement. They equate theircalling to this way of life as their pearl ofgreat price (Matthew 13:44Ð46). Do weview GodÕs truth the same way today? Dowe thank God in our prayers today thesame way we did when we were firstcalled? Or have you lost your enthusiasm?

Another characteristic of Òfirst loveÓis a humble, teachable spirit. When Godfirst begins to open our minds to Histeachings, we may spend hours reading,studying and asking teachers to explainbasic concepts. Christ illustrated this prin-ciple when He set a child in the middle ofHis disciples and told them, ÒAssuredly, Isay to you, unless you are converted andbecome as little children, you will by no

means enter the kingdom of heaven.Therefore whoever humbles himself asthis little child is the greatest in the king-dom of heavenÓ (Matthew 18:3-4).

But humans are not always teachable.Too often we would rather do things ourown way than be taught. In our modernsociety, it is quite common for people todevise their own doctrinal ideas and prac-tices instead of finding an instructionalsource where GodÕs Word is taught. WhenGodÕs people have successfully rejectedheresy or been faithful for many years, it isalso easy for us to think of ourselves asself-sufficient and no longer in need ofbeing humble or teachable. The apostlePaul provides us an inspiring example ofhumility and willingness to be critiqued byothers.

After 14 years of preaching, Paulwent to Jerusalem to have his ministryreviewed by his peers to see if he wasdoing something wrong. As Paul

explained, ÒThen after an interval of four-teen years I went up again toJerusalemÉand I submitted to them thegospel which I preach among the Gentiles,but [I did so] in private to those who wereof reputation, for fear that I might be run-ning, or had run, in vainÓ (Galatians 2:1-2,New American Standard). Are you stillwilling to be taught by human leaders Godhas placed within the Church for that pur-pose (Ephesians 4:11-12; Acts 20:28)?

Another characteristic of people intheir Òfirst loveÓ is their eagerness to par-ticipate in everything related to theChurch. In many cases, members faithful-ly drove long distances to attend services,mid-week Bible studies, clubs and evensocials. Sadly, that level of commitmentseems to have disappeared. In some cases,health or other equally valid situationsdonÕt permit people to attend and such cir-cumstances are understandable. But itÕssad when members, who are capable of

attending, choose other options that pre-clude being with their spiritual family.

Being in oneÕs Òfirst loveÓ is alsoassociated with regular prayer and Biblestudy. As God began opening our minds,we freely talked with God and it seemed asif those new things jumped off the pagesof our Bibles. If we grew up in a Christianhome, our conversion may have reflecteda deeper appreciation and joy from ourbiblical studies. Whatever our situation,we took pleasure in our relationship withGod through prayer and study.

Our initial relationship with God like-ly included simple, trusting faith. We com-mitted our problems and wishes to Godand expected answers. Does this pure faithremain?

Still another characteristic of thosenewly called is their love of the brethren.In John 13:34-35 Jesus said, ÒA new com-mandment I give to you, that you love oneanother; as I have loved you, that you alsolove one another. By this all will know thatyou are My disciples, if you have love forone another.Ó

From the beginning, it seems weloved everyone and gave everyone thebenefit of the doubt. Yet the longer weremain in the Church, the more opportuni-ties we have for anger, grudges and cyni-cism. Some today seem to be carrying a lotof baggage in these areas. Some distrustorganizations, ministers or anyone whotries to approach them with religion. Someblame human mistakes on God instead ofrealizing all humans will make mistakes.The honorable, godly quest is for humansto strive to do better. We must learn to for-give and be forgiven. Church is a place forpeople who are striving to continuallychange and grow into the perfect spiritualfamily of God.

Still another characteristic of those intheir Òfirst loveÓ is their willingness toserve others. From the outset we counted itan honor and privilege to be asked to help.Whether it was passing out songbooks,ushering, parking cars, hall setup, arrang-ing flowers or taking care of a motherÕsroom, we were happy and pleased to beinvolved. We learned that service is impor-tantÑservice to God and service to ourfellow man.

The major admonition of this messageto Ephesus is to hold on to our first love. Ifwe have lost it, Jesus tells us to repent andrecapture it. This passage also carries theinspiring message that this can be done.Christ would not ask us to do somethingthat is impossible. In order to apply thismessage, we need to examine ourselves tosee if we are maintaining the same excite-ment, participation, prayer, Bible study,humility, teachable spirit, service and loveof our brethren as we had when we werefirst called. Jesus says, ÒTo him who over-comes I will give to eat from the tree oflife, which is in the midst of the Paradiseof GodÓ (Revelation 2:7). We can do whatAdam and Eve failed to do. We can eatfrom the tree of life. UNUN


The Descriptions of Jesus Christ inRevelation 2 and 3

The messages to the seven churches of Revelation 2 and 3 offer an interesting col-lection of names for Jesus Christ. Each message begins with an explanation of who themessage is from and in each case different terminology is used. Their commonality isthat they all refer to Jesus Christ.

¥ In Revelation 2:1 to Ephesus, Jesus describes Himself as ÒHe who holds theseven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands.ÓThis is a reference back to the Revelation 1:10-20 where Jesus, the Son of Man, revealsHimself to John in His glorified state.

¥ In Revelation 2:8 to Smyrna, Jesus describes Himself as Òthe First and the Last,who was dead, and came to life.Ó These descriptions refer to His death and resurrection.For additional scriptures on these events see Revelation 1:18; Ephesians 1:19-20; 4:8-10; Colossians 1:18, 21-22; 2:12.

¥ In Revelation 2:12 to Pergamos, Jesus reminds us that He Òhas the sharp two-edged sword.Ó This description mirrors His initial revelation to John in Revelation 1:16.Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12 liken the Word of God to a sword. Revelation 19:15and 21 describe how Christ will use His swordÑGodÕs Word will be the basis for judg-ment and destruction of those who disobey GodÕs law. Revelation 19:13 reveals anoth-er closely associated name for Jesus: ÒThe Word of God.Ó

¥ In Revelation 2:18 to Thyatira, Christ describes Himself as Òthe Son of God, whohas eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet like fine brass.Ó Here is another reference backto His initial description in Revelation 1:14-15, but now He adds that He is Òthe Son ofGod.Ó Revelation 19:12 gives a similar description of His eyes and adds that there is stillanother name for Jesus to be disclosed at His return.

¥ In Revelation 3:1 to Sardis, Jesus says He Òhas the seven Spirits of God and theseven stars.Ó Once again, this refers back to Revelation 1:20 which says, ÒThe sevenstars are the angels of the seven churches.Ó This reminds us that Jesus is the head of theChurch (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18) and that He controls the angels that rep-resent each Church.

¥ Revelation 3:7 records JesusÕ description of Himself to Philadelphia: ÒHe who isholy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, andshuts and no one opens.Ó This not only represents JesusÕ absolute power and control ofevents, it also reveals that He is part of DavidÕs ancestry. Jesus is called Òthe Son ofDavidÓ numerous times throughout the Bible. As a partial list, see Matthew 1:1; 9:27;12:23; 15:22; 20:30; 21:9, 15; 22:42. In Revelation 5:5 He is described as the ÒRoot ofDavidÓ and in Revelation 22:16 as Òthe Offspring of David.Ó

¥ In Revelation 3:14 to Laodicea, Jesus is called Òthe Amen, the Faithful and TrueWitness, the Beginning of the creation of God.Ó This passage tells us that Jesus hasfaithfully carried out His FatherÕs business (Luke 2:49). Jesus did the will of His Fatherin submitting to His crucifixion (Matthew 26:39, 42; John 5:30). We must also do theFatherÕs will if we want to be in the Kingdom of God (Matthew 7:21). Because Jesuswas the Creator and the first to be resurrected (Colossians 1:15, 18), He is called ÒtheBeginning of the creation of God.Ó He is the firstborn of Òmany brethrenÓ (Romans8:29) and His Church is called the Òchurch of the firstbornÓ (Hebrews 12:23). UNUN

The Ko FamilyÕs RoadLed From Burma to

Raleigh

HowÕd you like to pack your bagsand move to a faraway land, leavingbehind your family members, your cultureand language, everything familiarÑknow-ing you probably would never return inthis lifetime? Meet Thomas and Esther Koand their five children, who attend theRaleigh, North Carolina, congregation.

Thomas and Esther were born in theearly 1950s in Burma (now namedMyanmar). Burma had just gained itsindependence from Great Britain in 1948.Soon afterward, friction developedbetween the Burmese government and theminority ethnic groups, the largest ofwhich was the Karens. Eventually sizablenumbers of the Karens fled to the Burma-Thailand border. Thomas, a Karen medic,fled to the border in 1973, and helped theinjured in this political struggle.

It was at the border that Thomas andEsther met in 1975, and they were marriedin January 1979. A little later that same year,they met three people at the border whowere members of theChurch. They soonbegan to read many ofHerbert W. ArmstrongÕsbooks, booklets andarticles. Both Thomasand Esther had grownup in families that wereBaptist, one of theminority Christian de-nominations in Burma.The majority of Bur-mese are Buddhists.

After proving theSabbath, Holy Days,clean and uncleanmeats and other basicdoctrines, Thomas andEsther were baptizedby Herman Hoeh inJanuary 1981. Theykept the Sabbath andthe annual Holy Days with three otherfamilies. In 1986 Ambassador Foundationpurchased 12 acres of land inside Thailandnear the border and helped them to build asmall house. For several years their cir-cumstances were a little better, and theywere even able to keep the Feast ofTabernacles in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with300 to 350 others.

Thomas and Esther lived at the bor-der for more than 20 years. All of theirfive children were born during this time.Living at the border was actually verydangerous, with varying aspects of thepolitical struggle nearby. The Ko familylived in constant fear of being appre-hended and killed. They were not safe

and could not sleep well at night.In 1995 unrest developed in their area,

and in 1996 Thomas, Esther and their fivechildren moved to Bangkok. Between1996 and 1999, they were cared for by theUnited Nations High Commissioner forRefugees (UNHCR), where Thomasworked as a volunteer Myanmar inter-preter/translator.

It was at this time that Thomas andEsther began noticing the doctrinalchanges in the church. Though they didnot accept these changes, they did losecontact with the church for a couple ofyears. They didnÕt know what to do. But in1998 they met with Aaron Dean, whomthey had known since 1986, who was vis-iting in Thailand. They inquired about theteachings of United Church of God andhow to become members.

During these three years in Bangkok,Thomas was seeking a way to bring hisfamily to the United States throughUNHCR. Eventually, between March andAugust of 1999, the family was taken intoa holding camp, which was badly over-crowded, hot, with impure water and lotsof mosquitoes. By August it was arrangedthat a group in Chapel Hill, North

Carolina, would serve as their sponsor;and the Church World Service Immi-gration and Refugee Program loaned them$3,507 for their airfare. The Ko familywas on its way to the United States!

They arrived in Raleigh on Aug. 20,1999. Soon after arriving in NorthCarolina, the Ko family began to do some-thing they had never been able to doÑattend Sabbath services regularly everyweek. It required two vehicles each weekto provide transportation for this family ofseven, and several of the local membershelped to make it happen. The local con-gregation also assisted and supplementedtheir sponsor, as the Ko family becamesettled in their new country.

By May 2000 Thomas had a state dri-verÕs license and was driving a used van.After a few job changes, Thomas has set-tled into a good job as operating roomassistant for the University of NorthCarolina hospitals, and Esther works withhousekeeping on the UNC campus. Theyhave been totally self-sufficient since June2000. And inOctober 2000,the Ko familyattended theFeast of Taber-nacles in JekyllIsland, Georgia,their first Feastsince 1995. Thisyear they attend-ed in Gatlinburg,Tennessee.

T h o m a sand Esther aredelighted to behere, though itÕsbeen challeng-ing for them andtheir children.At first English was a foreign language atschool, but now the children have becomequite proficient in English. Thomas saysthey feel much safer hereÑthey can sleepat night. He and Esther like their jobs. Andthey appreciate the tolerance and opportu-nities here in America.

ItÕs an intriguing story of how the Kofamily of Myanmar and Thailand came tobe a part of the Raleigh congregation!Truly God is calling people from allnations to be in His Church, as the gospelis taken Òto the end of the earthÓ (Acts 1:8).

The Raleigh congregation is delightedto add the Kos to the local Church family.It now seems very natural to see this fam-ily sitting there each Sabbath, on the fronttwo rows, right hand side. Maybe youÕllget to meet this warm and friendly familyat a future Feast of TabernaclesÑor ifsometime youÕre able to visit the Raleighcongregation.

David Mills

Melbourne East BrethrenEnjoy Echuca Getaway

A weekend winter getaway took 13Melbourne East brethren through theAustralian state of VictoriaÕs northernwheat lands to Echuca on the Murray. Italso began the process of bringing togeth-er a group of diverse people. A SabbathBible study and subsequent discussionwith Don Goodger around a cozy open firewas most informative. Leisurely walksthrough the red gum forest and along theriver gave time for valuable one-on-oneconversations and a chance to take in theabundant bird life and the historic atmos-phere of this inland port.

Then came the usual tourist thingsÑvisiting the famous wharf and its well pre-served precinct of old hotels, bond storesand shops followed by a river cruiseaboard the paddle steamer M.S. AlexanderArbuthnot with its wood-fired steamengine. The ladies chatted and enjoyed thedistinctive winter scenery while the men

found a common interest in examining thefascinating old engine.

Our stay in the century-old hostel pro-vided a window into life as it was lived acentury or so ago and proved that theenterprising spirit of the early pioneers,the river men and the bush rangers is stillalive and thriving along the Murray.

Everyone pulled their weight andblended well, forming the basis of firmerfriendships and a host of happy memories.

Dawn Goodger

Queensland MembersForm Tenpin Bowling

League

Australian brethren from Brisbaneand the Gold Coast formed the inauguralUnited Church of God SE QueenslandTenpin Bowling League. We had partici-pants aged from 5 to 70 in the competition,which was held over a four-month periodfrom April to July this year.

The nights were organized in a socialformat with a potluck meal after churchservices for everyone, followed by the ten-pin bowling league for those participating.We had an average attendance of 44 play-ers for each of the three nights, two ofwhich were held on the Gold Coast andone in Brisbane. All were encouraged tocome along and enjoy the fun and fellow-ship, especially those who had not bowledbefore.

We concluded the league in Augustwith a sausage sizzle at which we present-ed trophies and awards. We plan to holdthis activity again in 2002.

David Barton


The Melbourne East adventurers who traveled to Echuca: (from left)Dawn Goodger, Harold and Barbara Ingham, Geoff Kevill, Norm Stringer,

Muriel Kevill, Don Goodger, Betty McQueen, Maria Broekstra, Wendyand John Leggo and Sophie and Rod Banham

The Ko family’s story is an intriguing one! From left, Michelle,Melissa, Eric, Thomas, Esther, Josiah and Magnolia

Local Church UpdatesÉ

Basketball Is Her SecondGoal... Her Religion Is

Number One

Sports have been a big part of life forJenny Stewart.

So have her religious beliefs.When she entered high school it was

pretty much expected that Jenny wouldplay for her school basketball team.Always in the back of her mind was thecloud of conflict that games wouldinevitably be scheduled on the Sabbath.

That time came when she entered hersophomore year at Clark County HighSchool, located about 45 miles fromLexington, Kentucky, the home of theUniversity of Kentucky Wildcats. Somesay that is the heart of basketball country.Jenny was a rising star in a sport that madeher name a household word in her com-munity. But the dreaded conflictreached Jenny and she made adecision she believed was irrev-ocable. She quit the sport sheloved. She decided faith and fam-ily were more important than bas-ketball, even in Kentucky.

When her junior year began,the coach asked her to return to theteam. He was willing to workaround her religious beliefs. Hewould not bench her for missingFriday night games. Miraculously,Jenny was again able to play thegame she loved through her juniorand senior years. The local newspa-

per The Winchester Sun wrote glowinglyof her achievements:

ÒStewart missed Friday nightÕs gamebecause of her faith. The religion she prac-tices observes the Sabbath from sundownFriday to sundown Saturday and it pro-scribes such activities during that time asbasketball....

ÒVery few people in Norton GymMonday night would have known thatStewartÕs 23-point performance againstthe Montgomery County High SchoolLady Indians in the opening round of thedistrict tournament would be the last timeshe ever played on her home floor in aLady Cardinal uniform.

ÒAnd it was vintage Jenny Stewart

Monday night, her patented stop-and-pop-pers, her leaning, floating one-handedjumpers in the lane, her graceful layups onfast breaks.

ÒThe Lady Cardinals could have usedStewartÕs services Friday, but it was noproblem. They knew it was somethingJenny had to do, and they respected that.Ó

After the game Clark coach LarryAllison said, ÒItÕs never been a problem.ItÕs an understood fact. As a coach IÕvealways told my players that basketball andathletics are great parallels in life. And asa coach there are two things that comebefore basketball and thatÕs faith and fam-ily. I know how much Jenny loves thegame of basketball. She knows sheÕs miss-ing a game for a reason. She is doing whatshe thinks is right. And I donÕt know ifcoaching her has made me a better coach,but it sure has made me a better person.Ó

You hear a lot about tal-ented athletes. Their stories and picturesappear with regularity in the local newspa-per and on the evening news. Sometimesyou hear about people with character. Butwhen talent and character come together inone person, a leader emerges. Jenny didnÕtgo to school to change anyone else. Shejust wanted to obey God and play basket-ball. When a conflict arose, she chose obe-dience to God. And then the coach learnedsomething about life from the student.

ItÕs been a year filled with honors forJenny. She was nominated for theWendyÕs High School Heisman Award, aswell as several state and county honors.In April she sat at a table in the schoollobby surrounded by family, coaches andher high school principal. As camerasclicked, she signed a letter-of-intent toplay basketball for Alice Lloyd Collegein Kentucky. They know she wonÕt playon the Sabbath!

Jim OÕBrienThis article previously appeared in

the October 2001 issue of Us Teens(www.ucgcincy.com/USTeens/).

ÒGrannyÓ Nix Featuredin Newspaper

Irene ÒGrannyÓ Nix, 89, a member ofthe Ocala, Florida, congregation, was fea-tured in the September 2001 issue ofSenior Living newspaper. The article,titled ÒÔGrannyÕ Nix: Local Woman Actsas Surrogate Grandmother,Ó includesquotes from Mrs. Nix, the now-grown kidsof her neighborhood she helped raise andtheir parents. The author, Nancy Kennedy,interviewed them during a ÒGranny NixÓreunion.

Mrs. Nix and her late husband, Frank,never had children of their own. ÒIÕvetaken care of children all my life,Ó Mrs.Nix says. ÒMy family just drew kids. Welived out on the farm and the city kidsÑwhen school was outÑtheyÕd come out tothe farm. I played with them when I waslittle; their mamas would leave them withme when I wasnÕt very big either.Ó

When they moved to Ocala, she andher husband cared for babies while theirmothers worked and older children beforeand after school. The article says, ÒTheytaught them how to cook and how to getalong. They talked openly about matters offaith and morality.... They were truegrandparents in every sense, except bio-logically. But love is greater than biology.Ó

One of the mothers, Susan Clements,said, ÒHere I was, a single mother. IfGranny hadnÕt helped me with my twogirls, IÕd have never made it.Ó

One of the fathers, Luther Willis, said,ÒWe knew what kind of values Ms. Nixhad and that we didnÕt have to worry aboutany bad influences. We knew our kidswere going to be protected here.Ó

The article ends with, ÒThe childrenare mostly grown now, but they still stop byto visit Granny Nix. SheÕs since stoppedcaring for children in her homeÑshe saysshe canÕt hardly take care of herselfÑbut

sheÕll always care for them in her heart.... ÔIsure do love Õem all,Õ she says. ÔBlack andwhite, yellow and green. Kids just comeand get up in my lap. We never did havemuch money, but, boy, we had fun.ÕÓ

Dallas Young AdultsSponsor Texas Hospitalityfor PresidentsÕ Weekend

The Dallas, Texas, United Church ofGod young adults invite you to the firstannual Texas Hospitality weekend onPresidentsÕ Day weekend, Feb. 15 to 18,2002.

Please see our Web site that has beenrecently updated with full detailsÑhttp://youngadults.topcities.com.

The Web site contains information onall events, links to the hotel and ranch,costs for all events and housing, and an on-line or printable registration form.

Events include a welcoming receptionFriday evening, Sabbath buffet breakfast,two Bible study sessions, Sabbath services,Saturday evening get-together, Sundaybrunch with guest speaker Mike Moore fol-lowed by breakout sessions on the themeÒMoving Beyond the Status Quo.Ó Sundayafternoon there will be a Texas ranch BBQand dance at Canyon Lake Ranch, includinghorseback riding, hayrides and a bonfire.For those who wish to stay Monday, a tourof Dallas is being planned.

The United Church of God Dallas con-gregation has over 70 young adults whorange in age from 18 to 35. With the youngadults from Ft. Worth, there are well over 100young adults in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Wewould like to extend an invitation for allyoung adults to join us for a great weekend offellowship, learning and fun.

Questions? Send an e-mail [email protected].

Doug Horchak


Jenny Stewart

Several members of the ABC class of 2000 , along with faculty member Don Ward, enjoyed amini-reunion at the Feast this year in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. “In addition to gaining more spiri-

tual knowledge at the Feast, we classmates were able to fellowship with each other onceagain,” said Myrna Miller. “It was a most enjoyable time.” From the left, Greg McCloud, VinceThompson, Belinda McCloud, Dr. Ward, Phyllis O’Bryan, Ken O’Bryan, Myrna Miller and Bill

Miller (photo by Laura Thompson)


BirthsOur best Feast gift ever! Mark

and Heather (Carman) Wine, ofDallas, Texas, are delighted toannounce the arrival of their firstchild, Anna Kate. She was bornSept. 24, 2001, and measured 7

pounds 8 ounces and 19 inches.Happy grandparents are Joe andLoretta Shuster of Winchester,Virginia, and Stan and Janet Carmanof Dallas.

William and Jacqueline(Pachinger) Stetter, along with bigsister Jordanne, are thrilled toannounce the birth of Camryn GraceStetter. A last-minute FatherÕs Daygift, Camryn was born on June 17,

2001, at 11:48 p.m. She weighed 8pounds 5 ounces and was 201/2 inch-es long. Grandparents are Alan andPauline Pachinger of Cleveland,Ohio, and Ray and Shelby Stetter ofSan Antonio, Texas.

Joel and Jodi (Anderson) Coxof the Phoenix, Arizona, East con-gregation, are pleased to announcethe birth of their son Joshua David.He was born July 9, 2001, weighing9 pounds 11 ounces and measuring21 inches long. Big sister JaydecouldnÕt be happier about the addi-tion. Grandparents Robert and RuthCox of Wrenshall, Minnesota, and

Dan and Barbara Anderson ofPhoenix are all proud to have theirfirst grandson.

EngagementsCharles and Linda OÕGrady of

Nashville, Tennessee, are pleased toannounce the engagement of theirdaughter Elizabeth to Basil Kopeyof Laurel, Maryland, son of Vera

Kopey and the late AlexanderKopey.

The wedding is to take place onthe evening of May 25, 2002, inNashville.

K. Chad Tate from Harrison,Arkansas, and JoLyn Hirschler fromSpringfield, Missouri, invite every-one to their wedding. The weddingwill take place in Branson, Missouri,

on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2002, at 2 p.m.The location will be the GuesthouseInn Convention Center on TangerBlvd. ChadÕs parents are Ken andJanice Tate from Harrison. Hisgrandparents, Harold and InezBarnes, also attend in Harrison.JoLynÕs mom, Kathryn Hirschler,attends in Springfield. Mike Black-well will perform the ceremony.

WeddingsMr. and Mrs. Dan Saldivar of

San Antonio, Texas, and Mr. andMrs. Jay Holmes of Dallas, Texas,would like to announce the weddingof their children Daniel Saldivar Jr.and Rita J. Reyes. The wedding tookplace on June 16, 2001, and was per-

formed by Gary Petty. The coupleresides in San Antonio.

Thomas Bulharowski andTracy Thornton were united in mar-riage on Aug. 19, 2001, at the EagleRock Seventh-Day AdventistChurch in Los Angeles, California.The matron of honor was TracyÕsbest friend, Michelle Carlen. ThebrideÕs other attendants were Julie

Nelson and Jenny Ngo. The bestman was TomÕs brother and bestfriend, Paul Bulharowski. ThegroomÕs other attendants were JackBulharowski and Emery Kujiraoka.Peter Eddington, of Cincinnati,Ohio, performed the ceremony.

Anniversaries

After services on Aug. 8, 2001,the Portsmouth, Ohio congregationenjoyed a cook-out. As part of the

activities, the congregation honoredtwo couples who have completed 55years of marriage. Lee and Christine

Evans were married on Aug. 9, 1946and Ralph and Mid Smith were mar-ried on Aug. 11, 1946. Special giftswere presented to them during ser-vices and a cake honoring theiranniversaries was part of the dessert.

ObituariesJoyce Seelig, 71, a member of

the San Antonio, Texas, congrega-tion, died of pneumonia, brought onby cancer, in her home Oct. 26,2001. Mrs. Seelig was a member ofthe Church of God for over 48 years.She viewed her impending death asGodÕs way of taking her to a place ofsafety. Mrs. Seelig lived the admoni-tion to esteem others better than selfthrough her service and dedication

to the needs of others, both in theChurch and in the community. Hertireless efforts will be greatly missedby all who knew and loved her. Mrs.Seelig was preceded in death by herhusband, Bill, and two sons. She issurvived by four sons, three daugh-ters-in-law and eight grandchildren.

It is with great sadness that theBricket Wood, England, congrega-tion announces that Robert DouglasHarper, 51, died unexpectedly onOct. 23, 2001. Bob was taken ill atthe Feast of Tabernacles on the Isleof Wight. On his return home he wasadmitted to the hospital. In spite ofthe efforts of the medical team, hedied there two weeks later.

Bob began to attend Church in1967 as a teenager, and subsequent-ly attended Ambassador College,first in England and then inPasadena, California. His work as acomputer analyst gave him theopportunity to travel all over theworld, making many friends inmany countries. He began attendingthe Bricket Wood congregation in1996 and made a substantial contri-bution with his sermonettes andsong leading, as well as his cheerful-ness and sense of humor. Bob willbe sadly missed.

On Sept. 23, 2001, GladysEsther Lehmann of Perth, WesternAustralia, passed away peacefully.Born in 1914 in Coffs Harbour, NewSouth Wales, she was only threeweeks short of her 87th birthday.She would be the first to agree thatshe had received from God a veryfull life, the last 60 of those yearshaving been shared with her hus-band, Ray. They celebrated their dia-mond anniversary in June.

It was in 1962 that Mrs.Lehmann, along with her three olderchildren, Raya, Valya and Rex, firstheard Mr. ArmstrongÕs radio pro-gram. Rex attended AmbassadorCollege in Bricket Wood in 1965and was later followed there byyounger brother, Bruce. Mrs.LehmannÕs youngest daughter,Naline, and her husband also joinedthe Church of God later in the Õ60s.Mr. and Mrs. Lehmann lived inMelbourne until their move to Perthin 1986, to join Naline and Valya.

Independently active until shestarted to become ill in July, she wasadmitted to the hospital on theMonday before she died. Gladys issurvived by her husband, now 90,five children, 14 grandchildren andseven great-grandchildren.

AnnouncementsÉ

Joyce Seelig

Rita and Daniel Saldivar

Joshua David Cox

Chad Tate and JoLyn Hirschler

Anna Kate Wine

Camryn Grace Stetter

Thomas and Tracy Bulharowski

Ralph and Mid Smith

Elizabeth O’Grady and Basil Kopey

Christine and Lee Evans


Report From theTreasurer

The income received at the home officeof the Church remains steady. ThroughTuesday, Nov. 27, the category one income ofthe Church (consisting of regular tithes, offer-ings, contributions to the assistance fund andmiscellaneous income) is approximately 9percent above what it was at the same time inthe last fiscal year. This is slightly ahead ofwhat we had budgeted for this year, but theexpenses are also running slightly ahead.

Category two income (the Holy Dayofferings) is right on budget. The four fallHoly Day offerings just about exactlyequaled our budget, and represented a growthof about 4 percent above last year. Categorythree income (festival fund, ABC tuition,interest income, camp income) is runningabout 2 percent below budget. We continue toencourage all employees of the Church to dowhat they can to keep costs under control andnot exceed the budgets for expenses. We aregrateful for the widespread cooperation wesee in that effort.

If these trends continue for the rest of thefiscal year, it is likely that we will end theyear at just about break even.

Overall, this is a good picture, given thesomewhat shaky nature of the U.S. economy.At the end of November the National Bureauof Economic Research officially describedthe U.S. economy as in a recession, confirm-ing what many observers have believed formonths.

In the midst of all this, we thank God forHis continual provision, and the brethren andother supporters of the work of the Churchfor their faithfulness. The work before usremains undiminished in its enormity, as doesour need to look to God in faith and fervencyto provide the resources we need to do Hiswork.

Tom Kirkpatrick

Camp Dates AnnouncedDates for United Youth Camps for the

next year have been announced.Williams Bay, Wisconsin (Winter

Camp): Dec. 23-27, 2001.

Pinecrest, Missouri: June 13-20, 2002.Oakhurst, California: June 23-30.Woodmen, Alabama: June 30-July 7.Teton Challenger, Wyoming: to be

announced.Carter, Texas: July 21-28.Davidson, Oregon: Aug. 4-11.Heritage, Pennsylvania: Aug. 11-18.Williams Bay, Wisconsin: Dec. 22-26.A camp magazine will again be mailed

in March 2002. For more information, seewww.ucg.org/youthcamp/.

New Internet AdvertisingBrings in 13,000

Subscribers in November

In November, 13,000 GN subscriberswere added using new Internet advertisingservices such as myfree.com and iwon.com.They are being added at a cost of only $1 to$1.40 each. The 2001-2002 budget will beabout $17,300 for this method of advertising.Please see the graphic below for one of ouractual offers.

We are also currently advertisingthrough pay-per-click services on the follow-ing Web sites: Overture, America Online,Lycos, AltaVista, Netscape, Hotbot, Cnet,Microsoft Internet Explorer, Ask Jeeves,

Compuserve, Earthlink and many more. Ouroverall average using this method for the lastthree years is about $1.75 to $2 per new GNsubscriberÑamong the cheapest cost perresponse of any of our advertising programs.Our 2001-2002 budget will be about $12,000for this method of advertising.

In addition, we do receive thousands ofnew GN subscribers each year at no cost.These are people who sign up for the GNafter finding our Web site through varioussearch engines, from TV ads, radio ads, etc.

The overall Internet portion of our bud-get this year is around $95,000, which isabout 3.5 percent of the media budget.

Peter Eddington

GN Plans UpdatedIn the wake of recent events, weÕve

been going through the content originallyplanned for the GN for the next few issues.The November/December issue was com-pletely revamped, and weÕve had very posi-tive mail from it. After what has taken placerecently, some of the issue themes no longer

seemed as relevant as they once did, so weÕrereshuffling the next three issues.

For the next issue, January/February2002, the cover theme will be ÒTheMiddle East in Prophecy.Ó This subject

should be a real attention-grabber amongreaders.

For the following issue, March/April,we have a lot of good material relating toPassover and ChristÕs sacrifice, plus a pair ofgood articles on archaeology relating to theExodus. These lend themselves to a covertheme of ÒIs the Bible True?Ó WeÕll no doubthave some more current-events articles.

For the May/June issue, we plan to usemost of the content on the theme of theimpact of media that was originally planned(and mostly laid out) for theNovember/December issue.

Beyond these three issues, our tentativethemes are as follows:

¥ July/August 2002: ÒWhat HappensAfter Death?Ó

¥ September/October 2002: ÒPeace: AnImpossible Dream?Ó

¥ November/December 2002: ÒCrime:WhoÕs Really in Prison?Ó

Of course, all of these are subject tochange to keep up with current events.

Scott Ashley

Congregation SaturationMailing Tested

Since August, 18 U.S. congregationshave been involved in a test of ÒsaturationmailingÓ of Good News brochures. Each con-gregation was shipped 10,000 newlydesigned tri-fold brochures to mail to house-holds they selected in their church areas.Many brethren have been involved in workparties to label the brochures and addpostage.

Brochures have been designed as self-mailers, which means they do not need to beplaced in envelopes. Each brochure is simplystamped Òpostal customerÓ for rural loca-tions, and for some urban areas a Òsimplifiedcity-styleÓ address (address required, but noname) is used. Postage costs have been aslow as 6 cents per brochure.

So far, in the early stages of this test,1,042 Good News subscriptions have beenreceived at the home office. We will keep youupdated on further results of this newestmember participation test program.

John LaBissoniere

News at a GlanceÉ

Good News advertisement on iwon.com is bringing in thousands of new subscriptions

Front Page PhotoJust received our shipment of the latest

United News [November]...and I must com-ment on the photo on the front page. Thesmiling couple singing at the New ZealandFeast of Tabernacles site are Doug and EveGray. Eve has been fighting cancer these pastcouple of months...just a week or two agounderwent serious surgery. They are a lovely

couple...and I could not imagine a better sur-prise, for any better people, than to see theirsmiling faces on the UN. WeÕd appreciate theprayers of all of GodÕs people for her speedyand complete recovery.

Australia

Discovering United Church of GodThank you so much for all your good

work! I am so excited about discoveringUnited ChurchÑI contacted a minister inmy area and will attend a meeting. Yourstatement of beliefs is the only statementof beliefs that I have ever read that actual-ly reflects ScriptureÑon every count! Ihave other friends frustrated with main-stream churches and will tell them of you!Thank you againÑGod bless and I will be

praying that this good work will grow andprosper!

Internet

LettersÉ

Letters may be edited for length and clarity.Comments and suggestions to improveUnited News welcome. Mail to: United News,P.O. Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254-1027, or e-mail [email protected].


Update on U.S. FeastSites for 2002

To help members plan for next yearÕsFeast and to keep members updated, here isthe current status for U.S. Feast sites.

The following sites will remain for2002: Bend-Redmond, Oregon; Branson,Missouri; Escondido, California (we areconsidering other options for 2003);Gatlinburg, Tennessee (we will not bereturning to Gatlinburg for 2003); JekyllIsland, Georgia; Panama City Beach,Florida; and Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

It is definite that Keystone, Colorado,will replace Breckenridge, Colorado.

Corpus Christi most likely willremain as a site, but we are consideringmoving to another building.

Gettysburg will probably be replaced.A new location is being researched and weare awaiting final proposals to be submitted.

There is a small possibility we willmove the Hawaii site to Maui from Kauai.

Negotiations for a site in Alaska fellthrough, and alternate hotels were notavailable this year.

Comments are always welcome bysending an e-mail to [email protected] calling (970) 484-5878.

Charles Melear

Six More RadioPrograms RecordedGary Petty was in Cincinnati Nov. 5

to 8 to record six new radio programs toair in late December and early January:

¥ Why Does God Allow Suffering?(includes an interview with Scott Ashley).

¥ Why Evil? (includes an interviewwith Mr. Ashley).

¥ AmericaÕs Values War.¥ Islam and the West (includes an

interview with Darris McNeely).¥ GodÕs Message to America

(includes an interview with Mr. McNeely).¥ Origins of the Arabs.Additional news material is also pro-

vided from time to time by David Palmerand Galen Morrison. It is cut into some ofour programs to add interest.

Also, three new stations have beenadded to our line-up bringing us to 11 sta-tions overall: Birmingham, Alabama; SanBernardino, California; and a shortwavestation out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Two stations have been discontinued:Akron, Ohio, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

We have added 2,390 new GN sub-scribers so far this year. Our best responseweekend was on Sept. 23, with 122 callersinquiring about What Happens After Death?(This particular program was also our previ-ous high weekend when it aired!)

You can listen to all of our programsat www.ucg.org/radio.

Peter Eddington

Largest GN Direct MailCampaign LaunchedOur third and most ambitious direct

mail campaign is now underway. OnWednesday, Nov. 21, letters and replycards were mailed to 386,670 U.S. house-holds. The number mailed is 42 percentlarger in volume than our first effort inJuly 2000 and 102 percent larger that oursecond campaign in February 2001.

For this latest effort, we are mailing tolists that responded well in our second testand to several ÒlifestyleÓ or ÒreligiousinterestÓ ones. We rented 31 lists of cur-rent and former subscribers to variousmagazines such as Coastal Living,Countryside, Ideals, Mother Earth Newsand World and various mailing lists suchas Christian Book Distributors, CurrentProduct Buyers, Home School FamilyDatabase, Nightingale-Conant andParsons Technology.

Our last direct mail effort produced a5.5 percent response at a cost per responseof $5.49. We hope to improve on thoseresults in this current campaign. Yourprayers for GodÕs blessings would begreatly appreciated.

Peter Eddington/John LaBissoniere

Periodicals Postage paid at Milford, Ohio,

and at additional mailing officesUnited News

WhatÕs New on theWeb?

On www.ucg.org¥ Check out the new home page layout, withnew menu bar and navigation tools, updatedsearch engine capability, revised forms androtating news stories and literature advertise-ments. http://www.ucg.org

¥ View the video presentation on ÒEating DisordersÓ presented by Rachel Quast, nowavailable on the ABC class lecture page.http://www.ucg.org/abc/classes.html

¥ Visit our Live Cybercast Information page to see a directory of live Sabbath ser-vices of UCG congregations. http://www.ucg.org/RealAud/cybercast.html

¥ See the German page for the November-December 2001 issue of GuteNachrichten available in PDF (964K) format.http://www.ucg.org/html/deutsch.shtml

On vcmagazine.org¥ The December Virtual Christian Magazine has articleson: ÒFour Thousand Years of Christmas,Ó ÒThe World HasChanged Forever,Ó ÒA Little Help in a Big Storm,Ó ÒWhatCancer Cannot Do,Ó ÒSon, You Never QuitÓ and ÒReal Men DonÕt Cry.Óhttp://vcmagazine.org

Other Helpful Linkshttp://www.ucg.org/radio (Good News radio program site. Listen to Real

Audio files of the program and see the radio log.)

http://ucgyouth.org (Youth and young adult site)

http://youthmagazine.org (Youth United e-magazine site)

http://gnmagazine.org (Good News Web site. Sign up for e-mail notification!)

http://www.ucg.org/a/localc/multimedia.htm (Check out the local multimediaefforts by United congregations: Tomorrow television by Portland, Oregon; Good Newstelevision by Beloit, Wisconsin; World News and Prophecy radio by Donald Ward; andThe World Tomorrow on MANX radio on the Isle of Man.)

http://www.ucg.org/a/news/news.htm (News page with Council of Eldersmeeting reports, PresidentÕs Letters, Home Office Updates, etc.)

If you have any questions or comments, please contact: [email protected]

News at a GlanceÉ

ArbitronMarket

Birmingham

Chicago

Cincinnati

Dallas

Harrisburg(shortwave)

Indianapolis

Memphis

Nashville

New Orleans

Riverside/SanBernardino

Tulsa

State

AL

IL

OH

TX

PA

IN

TN

TN

LA

CA

OK

CallLettersWERC

WJMK

WKRC

KRLD

WINB

WIBC

WREC

WLAC

WWL

KEWS

KHJM

StationFrequency

960 AM

104.3 FM

550 AM

1080 AM

13570 KHz

1070 AM

600 AM

1510 AM

870 AM

1350 AM

100.3 FM

Power(watts)5,000

4,100

5,000

50,000

50,000

50,000

5,000

50,000

50,000

5,000

6,000

Scheduled Airtime

Sundays 7:30 a.m. EST

Sundays 11 p.m. CST

Sundays 6:30 a.m. EST

Saturdays 9 p.m. CST

Saturdays 10 a.m. ESTWednesdays 8 a.m. EST

Sundays 7 a.m. EST

Sundays 9 a.m. CST

Saturdays 9 p.m. CST

Saturdays 9:30 p.m. CST

Sundays 8 a.m. PST

Sundays 1:30 p.m. CST

The Good News Radio Log

Download - United News · tinue the process of choosing a president, and to discuss recom-mendations for the ABC program as brought forward by the Education Committee. Choosing a President The

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