Living Church of God, World Ahead Weekly Update

Mr. Meredith and Mr. Ames both taped new Tomorrow’s World telecasts today. Mr. Meredith taped a program titled “Spirit Wars,” and Mr. Ames “Vital Keys for Bible Study.” Mr. King’s telecast last week entitled “Reaping the Whirlwind” is expected to draw more than 3,900 responses. Mr. Bruce Tyler reports that Mr. Rajan Moses had a successful trip to Northeast India where he was able to baptize 10 people. Earlier this week, Dr. Scott Winnail attended an accrediting conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. Last weekend was another encouraging weekend with more than 170 visitors attending Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations. In Kansas City, Mr. Rand Millich had 24 visitors for his follow-up presentation, “Where Is God’s Church Today?” Mr. Dan Friz had 29 visitors for follow-up presentations in Lansing, Michigan and Valparaiso, Indiana. Mr. Mario Hernandez spoke to an audience of 32 people in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sixty-three visitors attended the TWSP that I presented in Jackson, Mississippi entitled, “What’s Ahead for America?” and 34 visitors attended the TWSP in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This weekend, Mr. Rod McNair will make follow-up presentations in Jackson and Hattiesburg. Over the last two weekends, Mr. Weston and Mr. James Ginn presented TWSPs in Kingston, Ontario that drew 31 visitors. Thank you very much for your prayers for all the efforts to warn and inform this end-time generation.—DSW

Important Notice to All Pastors: This year the Passover Service will be observed on Sunday, April 17, in a little more than one week from now. Let us know as soon as possible if any of the congregations you serve will need additional Passover Service supplies (bread trays and/or wine trays or glasses) or a copy of the Passover Servicerecording. (Please note that this year we have a new recording of the Passover Service, given by Dr. Scott Winnail, available both in DVD and CD.)

Additionally, let us know of any scattered members who need to receive the Passover Service recording and letter instructions to observe it at home. Please direct your requests to Dorothy McNair at the Church Administration Department by e-mail at dmcnair@lcg.org or by phone at 704-844-1960, ext. 2248, as soon as possible to ensure timely delivery. Please note that a copy of the new Passover Service DVD and CD are being sent automatically to all Area Pastors.

Several moves will take place over the next couple of months. Mr. Dexter Wakefield will move from Florida to Charlotte to become the Work’s Director of Business Operations. Mr. Wyatt Ciesielka will move from Little Rock, Arkansas, to pastor the congregations in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that have been pastored by Mr. Wakefield. Mr. Jim Meredith will move from Altadena, California, to Charlotte to become Mr. Meredith’s Personal Assistant, and work with Festival planning.

Kansas City: We held our follow-up presentation, “Where Is God’s Church Today?,” on Sunday, April 3. Seventy-five attended, with 24 “new” individuals. Twelve of these people had attended Dr. Meredith’s presentation the previous week. Several commented that “we would see more of them in the future.” The feedback was encouraging for both presentations. Our brethren provided much needed support and encouragement for these potential “babes in Christ.” We appreciate the work of our brethren in helping make these presentations a success, with God’s direction, of course!—Rand Millich

Jackson and Hattiesburg: The Tomorrow’s World Special Presentations hosted by the Jackson, Laurel and Ocean Springs, Mississippi, congregations were given by Dr. Douglas Winnail on April 2 and April 3. The Rankin County Extension Center in Brandon, Mississippi, was the site for Sabbath services the morning of April 2 and the Special Presentation that afternoon. There were a total of 107 in attendance, including 63 guests and 44 members. Dr. Winnail’s presentation was well received by the audience. Afterwards, guests and members mingled and talked for more than 90 minutes. The C. E. Roy Community Center in Hattiesburg was the site for Sunday’s Special Presentation. Dr. Winnail spoke to an excited audience of 68 people—34 guests and 34 members. Please remember to pray for our follow-up presentations which are scheduled for Sabbath, April 9, and Sunday, April 10.—Ed Breaux

Lansing and Valparaiso: Mr. Daniel Friz gave TWSP follow-ups for Lansing, Michigan and Valparaiso, Indiana on April 2 and 3, respectively. In Lansing, 16 visitors joined 58 brethren, for a total of 74. Five visitors from the previous week returned, while 11 came for the first time. At Valparaiso, 40 people attended—13 visitors and 27 brethren. Four visitors from the previous week returned, while nine came for the first time. Several of the visitors plan to attend Sabbath services this coming Sabbath—three in Detroit, seven in Lansing, and three in Knox, Indiana. Of these, approximately five had a Church of God background.

The Canadian office of Living Church of God is looking for someone to fill the office of Business Manager in Mississauga, Ontario. Experience is needed in bookkeeping, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and knowledge of Quickbooks or similar bookkeeping program. If an applicant has Canadian citizenship, is married to someone from Canada, or is an ordained elder, this will expedite moving to Canada. We have a need to fill this position by June of this year as our current manager is retiring due to health considerations. If interested, send resumes to gweston@lcg.org.

Plans are coming together for the second annual Carolina Singles Weekend on Memorial Day Weekend 2011 (May 27-30) in Charlotte. All LCG singles are welcome to join us in May for fellowshipping and learning—a great opportunity not to be missed. You can see a list of the scheduled activities at www.charlottelcg.org (not an official Church website), or the Carolina Singles Weekend Facebook page. You can also contact Darren Brinson at darren.brinson@hotmail.com.

Attention all teens! Would you like to win a free summer camp tuition package? It’s easy! Just put your writing skills to work, and create an essay with the title, “What Is a Real Christian?”
The essay should be 500 to 600 words, using sound Bible principles, plus your own personal experience. The prize for the winning essay is free tuition to summer camp! Second and third prizes will be partial summer camp tuition. The deadline for the submission of your essay is Sunday, May 1. Start writing!—Jonathan McNair

As of Thursday, April 7, 5,533 brethren in the United States, Canada, and other International areas have registered for the Feast. You may be interested to note that out of that number, approximately half of all brethren are planning to attend their assigned site (2,849) and approximately half are transferring to a different site (2,786). Sadly, 294 brethren have noted that they will not be able to attend the Feast.

Preparations are well underway for the upcoming spring Holy Day season. The special green Holy Day offering envelopes were mailed to our members in the U.S. the week of March 11, so nearly everyone should have received them by now. We appreciate it very much when you use these pre-coded envelopes to give your offerings on the Holy Days, as it greatly speeds up the processing and recording of the donations. Also remember to tuck these envelopes in with your Bible and notes that you bring to services, so that you do not forget to bring them with you on the Holy Days! Please note that the processing staff assumes that donations in the green envelopes are specifically for the Holy Day unless you clearly indicate otherwise. If you include tithes or other offerings in the envelope, please also include clear direction as to your intentions, so that we may process your donation correctly.

If you have not received your green Holy Day offering envelopes by April 6, please let us know by sending an e-mail to donations@lcg.org or by calling 704-844-1960, ext. 2231. Holy Day offerings are a very important part of the funding used to accomplish the Work of the Church, providing about 20% of the annual revenue. In these difficult times, we deeply appreciate the generosity of our brethren around the world, who make it possible to preach the Gospel to this dying world and to feed the flock of the faithful brethren God has called now.—D. Jerry Ruddlesden

One individual will serve as Assistant Internet Operations Manager. The successful candidate will be a skilled organizer with a proven track record of success in managing the creation, deployment and maintenance of Web sites. This individual must be comfortable interacting with volunteers and outside vendors who provide services to our Web effort. The right candidate will be deeply conversant with search engine optimization issues and social media strategies, and should have a solid hands-on working knowledge of current Web technologies. This individual must be a capable team leader, yet must also be able to deliver measurable success when working alone on projects. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated previous experience in working with Drupal and PHP, and will have worked with one or more Adobe Creative Suite CS5 applications at an intermediate-or-better level.

Another individual will serve as a Web Applications Developer. This individual will be a “hands on” implementer of Internet Operations Department plans and programs. The candidate will be highly skilled in one or more Web programming languages, and will have sufficient design expertise to create and implement attractive and effective Web pages. Experience in implementing successful Web advertising campaigns is also desirable. The ideal candidate will have demonstrated significant previous experience working with Drupal and PHP, and will possess intermediate- to expert-level experience in search engine optimization issues and strategies.

One individual will serve as Managing Editor, assisting the Executive Editor in the planning, editing and production of the Church’s publications. A successful candidate will have an excellent understanding of Church doctrine, will be a highly skilled copy editor and an able writer, and will be comfortable doing page layout when needed. Experience with Adobe InDesign is strongly preferred; experience with MacOS X is highly desirable. Must be able to type at least 40 wpm.

Another individual will serve as Associate Editor or Editorial Assistant. A successful candidate will be a skilled copy editor and proofreader with a solid grasp of Church doctrine, and will be comfortable doing simple page layout when needed. This individual will have strong research skills (online and library-based). Experience with Adobe InDesign is strongly preferred; experience with MacOS X is highly desirable. Must be able to type at least 40 wpm.

The right candidates for each of these positions will be “team players” able to produce results quickly in a fast-paced and deadline-driven environment. These jobs are in Charlotte, NC; the Church will pay for reasonable moving expenses. Applicants must meet the legal requirements to work in the United States, and must be Living Church of God adherents, in good standing, who are truly dedicated to the Work.

Preparing for Passover: In just over one week, we will be observing the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. These annual Festivals are a memorial of the great sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for our sins and a reminder that we need to recognize and eliminate sin and inappropriate aspects from our lives. For the Passover period to be meaningful and profitable—not just routine—we must do our part to prepare for this important phase in God’s plan of salvation. To put the Passover into proper perspective, it will be very helpful to review the gospel accounts of the events that led up to the Passover, the crucifixion and the resurrection. Placing our own period of self-examination within this biblical context will help us appreciate the tremendous significance of Jesus’s sacrifice. The Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread provide us with an annual opportunity to examine every aspect of our lives in the light of God’s instructions in the Scriptures. Spending some time every day in prayerful study and reflection, as we go through this Holy Day period, will help us grow to be more like our Savior Jesus Christ.

The Czech Republic and the EU. The euroskeptic president of the Czech Republic recently warned that adoption of new economic policies proposed at the EU Summit in Brussels would lead to Political Union—something many EU nations want to avoid. In a scathing article, President Klaus told how he was coerced into signing the Lisbon Treaty with promises that no further integration moves would occur for at least 10 years. Now, just two years later, the poor financial climate across Europe is being used to further erode national sovereignty. A political union could erode most of the remaining national sovereignty enjoyed by EU nations. At the Brussels Summit last week, the Bulgarian president signed on to the new fiscal policies despite urgings to the contrary from his finance ministry and central bank. Greece and Ireland gave up considerable financial independence when they accepted “bailout” money earlier this year from the EU. Portugal is trying to “hold out” as long as possible, but is having great financial difficulty and may soon suffer the same fate (EUObserver.com, March 31, 2011). End-time prophecies indicate that a political union will occur in Europe and result in the formation of the final Beast power of Revelation. Ultimately, ten kings (or nations or groups) who are of “one mind” will give their power over to this Beast who will rule it for a short time (Revelation 17:12-13). The financial events currently plaguing Europe could be a powerful tool in building a foundation for this eventual political union.

Natural Disasters—A Sign from God? In the wake of Japan’s recent earthquake and tsunami, Tokyo’s governor referred to the events as tembatsu—or “divine judgment.” Mr. Ishihara subsequently apologized for his religious-sounding comments. However, many around the globe agree with Mr. Ishihara’s initial assessment. A recent poll of Americans revealed that about 40% view natural disasters as “a sign from God.” That number approaches 60% among Evangelicals, and drops significantly among Catholics and non-Evangelical “Christians” (Foxnews.com, March 24, 2011). As we approach the “end of the age”—as the Bible refers to it—students of the Bible understand that natural disasters, on land and at sea, will increase in intensity and frequency (Matthew 24:6-8; Revelation 6:5-8). The Caribbean hurricane season is predicted to be intense again this year and to start earlier in the southern Caribbean and western Gulf of Mexico. AccuWeather predicts “15 named storms from June 1 to November 30, eight of which will become hurricanes, with three major ones (category three or higher)” (www.nationnews.com, March 31, 2011). Although natural disasters will come, God also prophesies that a future time of peace will come when tears and sorrow will no longer exist (Revelation 21:4). God controls the weather and He will use it to punish nations that turn away from His laws. In the long-term, God will use the weather to bring blessings to nations that follow His laws. For more information on this important topic please review our intriguing booklet, Who Controls the Weather?

A Palestinian State by September? “For years, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has been a technocrat shaping institutions to be ready for a future Palestinian state. Now he is crisscrossing the West Bank like a prophet, telling his people the dream of sovereignty is about to be fulfilled.” Since 2007, Mr. Fayyad has put into place a western-style security force, restoring a semblance of order to the West Bank. Goods now flow more freely between the territory and Israel, and the Israelis have loosened their own security. Last year the reliance on foreign aid decreased by almost half, tax revenue increased, and the territory’s economy grew by almost 9%. Fayyad and Mahmoud Abbas are both working to create a situation where an independent Palestinian State will be seen as a legitimate option by the international community, despite internal opposition by Hamas–the controller of the Gaza Strip. Critics abound, but some say the Israeli president may concede to “provisional statehood” of Palestine this Fall, until a more permanent solution is found (Wall Street Journal, April 2-3). Scripture shows that near the time of the end, Jewish sacrifices on the Temple Mount will resume (Daniel 11:31, 12:11). For this to happen without igniting a war, some type of peace between Israel and the Palestinian territory might be reached. Could that temporary peace happen this September? This situation will be very interesting to watch!—Brian Scarborough, Deborah Lincoln-Strange, Scott Winnail

COGwriter, 2011

Back to home page