Vol. 9, No. 2 A newsletter for servants of the Almighty Eternal Creator, wherever they may be Mar/Apr 2003

Needed:SabbatarianEducationalEEnnvviirroonnmmeennttFor Young Peopleby Norman Edwards

This writer has had numerous con-versations with other believers

about the difficulties facing Churchof God young people today. How canthey make the transition from “chil-dren living at home” to a “contribut-ing family in a local congregation”?Four basic things are needed in orderto make this life transition:

1. a personal commitment to God2. a solid Bible education3. a good, Sabbath-compatible job4. a Sabbath-observing spouseThe first item, is something that

young people must ultimately do forthemselves, but their Christian parentsneed to play a big role that is oftenoverlooked. Some people come toGod after living lives of sin and knowthey would be nothing without God’sforgiveness and mercy. But Christianyoung people often do not have greatamounts of sin in their life. However,they do need to see Christianitywork—they need to see people getalong with the peace and harmony thatChrist promises. If their Christianfamily or local congregation does notprovide that (for whatever reason),parents need to make sure that theiryoung people experience it elsewhere.

It is also possible for young peopleto themselves take care of items 2–4,

Should Servants’News Continue?

by Norman Edwards

Ihave thought about writing an article like this for the past several years, andhave been sure that I would write it for the past several months. Our practice

of not asking for support and continuing our ministry as long as we have theresources needs to be reviewed. Our choices are to end the ministry, to go intodebt to continue it (which is neither wise nor a part of our original plan), togreatly scale it back or to write this article.

My family and I began Servants’ News in the spring of 1995. I had resigned

Continued on page 15

Continued on page 18

According to Supreme Court DefinitionChurches with 501(c)(3) Have

Agreed Not to Proclaim Anythingby Norman Edwards

Nearly every Church that appliesfor IRS tax exempt status under

section 501(c)(3) includes this phrasedescribing itself it its Articles ofIncorporation or equivalent:

…no substantial part of the activitiesof which is carrying on propaganda…In other words, these organizations

have promised not to “carry on propa-ganda”. When most people read thosewords, it appears that a church ispromising not to lie or deceive—as in“communist propaganda”. But whatdoes the Supreme Court say?

The statutory definition of “politicalpropaganda” has been on the books forover four decades. 16 We should pre-sume that the people who have a suffi-cient understanding of the law to knowthat the term “political propaganda” isused to describe the regulated category

also know that the definition is a broad,neutral one rather than a pejorative[negative] one (MEESE v. KEENE, 481U.S. 465 (1987)).Note 6 in this Supreme Court

Opinion goes on to say:6 All standard dictionaries include a

definition of “propaganda” as the sys-tematic or widespread disseminationor promotion of ideas or doctrines.

Also in this issue:

2 Truckers Bible Study

3 News from Local Congregations

8 Feast of Tabernacles Sites 2003

12 Letters and Responses

28 Literature List

Shelter in the Word follows the last page

Continued on page 17

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SERVANTS’ NEWS

Mar/Apr 2003

TruckersBibleStudyOak Grove, Mo.#116-119

The Trucker’s Bible Study is conducted weekly at the Texacotruck stop on I-70, Oak Grove, Missouri, by Arlo Gieselman,often assisted by Lenny Cacchio, the writer of this series.

February 2, 2003Today’s report will be a bit different, as we did not cover any earth-shakingly new ground to day. We had seven guests, a bit above aver-age, and I gave away more Bibles and literature than usual. The realstory in my mind has to do with the spirit of the meeting, which wasso very encouraging.

The day started off when I entered the lounge where we study anda young man was watching a movie on the TV. I handed him someliterature and told him I hoped he would stay for the Bible study. Heread what I handed him, a bit later got up to leave, and then I invitedhim to take a Bible with him. When he saw that I had some copies ofNew King James Version, his eyes lit up and he asked if he couldhave one of those. He said he had been borrowing his partner’s Bible,and his partner suggested that he get his own. I told him that he surecould take it, but why not stay for the study as well. Said he couldn’t.He had been up all night and needed to get some rest.

[Many in the Church of God groups do not have confidence in Godworking through us to repeatedly ask someone to attend a Bible studythat we are giving. I still personally struggle with this. I have heardtoo many men pitch the greatness of their message or their organiza-tion and found it to be a lot of human hype. But a simple study ofGod’s word is indeed great and worth a repeated invitation becauseGod is Great. — NSE]

Meanwhile, other truckers started to come in. But just as we weregetting started, lo and behold, the first driver came back in with his

Vol. 9, No. 2 Mar/Apr 2003

Continued on page 23

E-mail subscriptions also availableIn addition to the printed edition which can be received in the post, you can alsoreceive Servants’ News by e-mail in Portable Document Format (PDF), whichcan be read using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader (www.adobe.com). The PDFlooks the same as the printed copy.You can also receive an e-mail notification for when the latest issue is availableon the website (www.servantsnews.com). Thus the four options are:

1. snail mail only; 2. snail mail and link to website by e-mail; 3. link to website sent by e-mail; 4. PDF file sent by e-mail.

Please e-mail info@servantsnews.com to change your subscription option.

The purpose of Church Bible Teaching Ministry is to continue thework of the Church that was started by Jesus Christ (Yeshua theMessiah) and His Apostles in the first century. This work involvesexpounding the truth of the Bible by means of preaching, teaching,writing and music as well as taking positive action to help and serveother believers and all people of the world. CBTM and those peoplewho work within it are just a few of many parts of the Church, whichis the body of Christ. Servants’ News is a publication of CBTM.

The gospel should be given freely—you may copy thisnewsletter and give it to others. CBTM has nothing to sell, butis supported by free-will offerings of individuals. We do not haveIRS 501(c)(3) status, but Churches are tax exempt without thisstatus (see IRS Publ. 557, Nov 1999 ed., p. 15). Please makeofferings to Church Bible Teaching Ministry or send via PayPal toinfo@cbtm.info.Editor: Norman S. EdwardsProduction Editor & Website Design: David KingServants’ News Staff: Adriano Borean, Bill Buckman,

Marleen Edwards, Missi Lara, David Meidinger, Jon D. PikeWebsite Hosting: Gary Lesperance, garyl@mcsauto.comContributors: Many! Thanks to everyone!

Notice: The people listed above do not necessarily endorseevery item in this newsletter.

New articles and corrections to previous articles will beconsidered for printing. We do not return writings sent to us, soplease make copies of anything you need to keep. Send to:

Servants’ NewsP.O. Box 107, Perry, Michigan 48872-0107Phone: 517-625-7480 Fax: 517-625-7481

E-Mail: Info@ServantsNews.comInternet: www.ServantsNews.com

Magazine and literature requests may be sent to thefollowing addresses. Money received at these locations will beused for duplicating and mailing. Please make checks out to thename shown with the address:Australia: Dale Heslin, 9 Alice Jackson Crescent, Gilmore,

ACT 2905. e-mail: dale@pcug.org.auCanada: Cherie Zimmerman, 268 Pennswood Way SE,

Calgary, AB T2A 4T3. e-mail: uscazim2@aol.comPhilippines: Cesar Lumbuan; 2298 Flerida St. Balagtas,

Pandacan, Manila. e-mail: cogphil2003@yahoo.comU.K.: Jenny Whiteman, 2 Warren Road, Narborough,

Leicester, LE9 5DR. e-mail: 100623.734@compuserve.com

This publication is produced as a right of freedoms of religion,speech, and the press as protected by the first amendment. It isnot legal or professional advice or recommendations.Most Scripture quotes are from the New King James Version

Circulation mailed from the USA: 1919;Internationally reprinted: 127; e-mail: 232

Servants’ News is published bimonthly (six times per year).Issues are regularly sent free to people who request thepublication and are genuinely interested in it. Servants’ News ispublished by Church Bible Teaching Ministry (3690 Bath Rd,Perry, Michigan—this is not a mailing address). CBTM reservesthe right to refuse service to anyone for any reason. Periodicalpostage paid at Perry, Michigan (USPS 016-995, ISSN 1522-0621). Postmaster: send address changes to Servants’ News,PO Box 107, Perry, Michigan 48872-0107.

Possible Trucking Job for Sabbath-Keepers: I used to run forCostal Transport—Southeast Regional Flatbed. They do notforce you to run on Sabbath or Holy Days. Contact me for info:

—Gary McKinney, Finditgary222@hotmail.com

Beautiful Magazine, WebSite from the Philippines

Solid Bible articles and interestinglocal stories from the Philippines canbe found in Daybreak magazine or therelated web site:

www.skyinet.net/~maxzen/It is produced by the Church of God

Fellowship Manila; much of the layoutis by Philadelphia Cardona. It shouldbe very encouraging to anyone withties to the Philippines or who is teach-ing people from that country. Write:MCPO Box 3462, Makati City,Philippines.

— Norman Edwards

Telephone Sabbath Services While it is certainly better to meetwith other brethren, sometimes that isnot possible. If you find yourselfalone, but with a phone, you can callone of the numbers below to hear, andin some cases participate in, a SabbathService. We list three options, below.

Be careful to listen to the instruc-tions you hear when you dial the num-ber. Unless you want to say somethingduring a “question and commenttime”, you will want to mute yourphone so that everyone else will nothear every noise that you make. Eitheruse the mute button on your phone orpush the appropriate telephone buttonsto cause the telephone system to muteyour phone.

Also, all of these systems willrequire that you enter a code to gainaccess to the service. The code is givenin each case, below. If the code con-tains a number sign (#), please pushthat button on your phone, too.

All three services take place at11:00 a.m. Pacific Time, 12 noonMountain Time, 1:00 p.m. Central

Time or 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.Guardian Ministries (David

Antion), 918-222-7002,Code:1599#.You can connect 30 minutes early tohear music and the sermonette.

Association for ChristianDevelopment (Ken Westby), 918-222-7158, code 0566#.

United Christian Ministries, (RayWooten), 918-222-7424, code 3423.

— Norman Edwards

Sabbath Singles Adds E-mailI have just added a new email for-warding feature for you who areSabbath Singles Connection (SSC)Internet subscribers. This email for-warding service is provided to helpexpedite initial contact between SSCmembers that have email. You canhave an e-mail forwarded to any othermember who has the word “EMAIL”at the end of their profile. All otherlisted members (without email) mustbe contacted using the regular methodby clicking the “How To Contact SSCMembers” on the navbar.

Please go to the SSC website to readmore about this feature. It would be agood idea to check out your profile tomake sure it has “EMAIL” included init. Please note that Sabbath SinglesConnection (SSC) now has a newwebsite address.

www.sabbathsinglesconnection.comBoth the e-mail and regular mail

forwarding is to prevent unwantedcontacts. If you do not wish to respondto an initial communication, you donot have to, and your name andaddresses will remain secure.

If you do not have Internet access,you may still learn about and use thisinexpensive service by writing to SSC,PO Box 647, Biggs, CA 95917. USA

— Mike Kawasaki

Dean Blackwell Dies at 71

Dean Blackwell died on April 14,after a series of strokes. His wife,Maxine, had passed away four monthsearlier. He enrolled at AmbassadorCollege in 1952 and went on to serveas a minister and evangelist in numer-ous capacities until 1996.

I have vivid personal memories ofMr. Blackwell. He baptized me in1974 and taught some of the Bibleclasses I took at Ambassador, BigSandy. When Big Sandy closed in1977, I had planned to take two stan-dardized tests for the 12 course unitsthat I lacked, graduate, and go get acomputer job in Texas or Arkansas. Itwas Mr. Blackwell who convinced meto go to Pasadena, forever changingmy life. In 1979, when a courtappointed receiver was threatening toforcibly enter the Pasadena Hall ofAdministration with a large group ofpolice, Dean Blackwell preached forhours to several hundred of us—hop-ing that the receiver would not breakup an “ecclesiastical service”.

On the other side of the coin, Mr.Blackwell made trips to local church-es in the 1990s and humbly asked ifany of the local leaders had any diffi-culty with the new doctrines beingtaught from Pasadena. He gained theconfidence of many who expressedtheir disagreements to him—only tofind themselves relieved of signifi-cant church duties a few weeks afterhe left.

We can all be confident that we donot have to solve the riddle of others’lives, but that they are in the perfecthands of Jesus Christ who will see thehearts and reward and correct in right-eousness and mercy.

We also must realize that weyounger believers cannot rest on the

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SERVANTS’ NEWS

News from

LocalCongregations

This column includes information sent to us from a variety of groups. Servants’ News does not necessarily agree with the teachingsor practices of these groups. Please ask about them before attending their functions.

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Mar/Apr 2003

work of those that have gone before us,but that we must also be about thebusiness of preaching the Gospel andfeeding the flock.

— Norman Edwards

Rights for 19 HerbertArmstrong Books Sold to

Philadelphia Church of God

The long-fought battle between theWorldwide Church of God and thePhiladelphia Church of God over theright to print Mystery of the Ages andother books by Herbert Armstrong isfinally over. From a legal standpoint,justice was done, if one is willing tooverlook the evil of justice costingmillions of dollars.

The purpose of copyright law is toprevent one person from stealing thework of another. It was never intendedto be used as a means of suppressinginformation. While “testilying”—thepractice of testifying to whatever willhelp one’s court case regardless of itstruth—is a common practice in courtstoday, it was interesting to see that theWorldwide Church of God was caughtin their own net.

To the courts, the WCG insisted asfar back as 1997 that they were con-sidering republishing Mystery of theAges. They claimed that they were suf-fering lost revenue because peoplewere joining the PCG, rather than theirown church. But at the same time,Joseph Tkach Jr, published a statementin his book, Transformed by Truth, forall the world to see:

In February 1997 we filed suitagainst the Philadelphia Church of God… to block republication of Mystery ofthe Ages… We feel it is our Christianduty to keep this book out of print…because we believe Mr. Armstrong’sdoctrinal errors are better left out of cir-culation (p. 203).This is obviously their real opin-

ion: they disagree with the book, andthey do not want their members tobelieve it or even know what is in it.Fortunately, the judges had the wis-dom to completely dismiss the ludi-crous claims of an “expert witness”,John Crissey, that the WCG had suf-fered $7,600,000 in damages from thePCG’s publishing of Mystery of theAges.

On January 16, 2003, the PCGagreed to pay the WCG $2,000,000for the rights to 19 Herbert Armstrongbooks. (The WCG report said theyreceived $3,000,000. Without anysource documents, it is hard to be sure,but the lower figure seems more reli-able.) The PCG said that they spentnearly $3,000,000 over the last sixyears fighting the court battles—bringing the total cost to $5,000,000.The WCG indicated that their legalcosts were in the millions, so the$2,000,000 that they received for thebook rights probably just paid theirlegal costs. So even though justicewas done, it essentially cost the PCGfive million dollars.

The unfortunate part of this is thatthey have simply bought themselvesinto becoming another “frozen intime” church organization like theSeventh Day Adventists who reverethe writings of Ellen G. White, theMormons who revere the writings ofJoseph Smith, etc. It will be very diffi-cult for God to show them anythingnew, or for them to admit that HerbertArmstrong wrote things that were inerror. Those things would be contraryto Mr. Armstrong’s writings. Severalof the other Church of God groupshave essentially rewritten all of themajor booklets produced by HerbertArmstrong. If someone asks questionsor finds parts of them to be in error,they at least have the ability to correcttheir own writings.

This writer certainly acknowledgesthat he as well as thousands of otherslearned much from the work ofHerbert Armstrong. But it is alsoimportant to notice that God appears tobe completely dismantling his work.He allowed men who did not believe init to gain control of it. He allowednumerous WCG splinter groups. Hehas allowed the millions of dollars ofWCG property to be mismanaged sothat none of the groups could make useof it. And now after 6 years and$5,000,000 of copyright battles, he hasallowed just one of the smaller WCGsplinter groups to gain control of thewritings.

May all of these groups better learnto point people directly to God, ratherthan the writings of men or them-selves.

—Norman Edwards

Book from Jack Lane: Whatin the World is God Doing?

The book’s full title is: What in the World is God Doing?: AnIntroduction to the Mind of God. Why did I write this book? Seriously,aren’t there already hundreds ofbooks and booklets out there tellingpeople about the wonderful knowl-edge to be found in the Bible? Yes,there are. But frankly, many of thosebooks and booklets are difficult toread, or steer the reader toward a par-ticular church organization, or have astheir basis a particular doctrinalunderstanding that influences the waythe book or booklet is written. I’vetried to provide a balanced, well-writ-ten book that tells people what theBible actually says, without any per-sonal bias or unusual doctrines get-ting in the way.

What makes me think I can write abook like this one? I’ve been blessedto have had many years of writing,preaching, and teaching the precioustruths of God found only in Scriptures.I’ve also seen, with some sorrow, thatcountless thousands of church-goingChristians simply don’t read theirBibles, but rather rely on their reli-gious leaders, their local pastors, tele-vision and radio evangelists, or thewriters of denominational literature tobe their guides in biblical understand-ing. As a result of relying on othersrather than doing our own Bible read-ing and study, we have become, literal-ly, a nation of biblical illiterates!

I kept wondering, “What could I doto help correct this situation?” I hadpublished a newsletter whichapproached this issue, but I had tocease publication some years agobecause I simply didn’t have the timeneeded to produce the kind of high-quality publication I saw was neededto fill this niche. (Many of those arti-

Lots of Book NewsI have not read the books mentioned inthis article. Except for the last item, Ipersonally know the authors and feelthat they are men interested in truth.Even though I might not agree withevery word, I think there will be a greatamount of useful information. — NSE

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cles have been archived on our website, LivingTheWay.org.) Finally, theanswer to the problem became clear: Ineeded to write a full-length book forthe general public.

If you’ve ever wondered what theBible is all about; if you’ve ever pon-dered what plan God is working outhere on earth; if you’ve ever questionedyour place in the universe; if you’veever speculated about the meaning oflife and the purpose of our existence—this book is for you! What in the Worldis God Doing?: An Introduction to theMind of God* is a bookthat tells about God, Hisplan, where you fit intoHis plan, and what youcan do about it!

A variety of topicsare covered, including:The overall picture ofwhat God is doing;exactly what our rela-tionship to Him reallyis; what is the bestapproach to understand-ing the Bible; what the Old and NewCovenants are andwhere we fit into them; what thegospel message is all about; the rela-tionship between sin, law, and grace;why God allows suffering and death;how the evolutionary theory fits in;and some practical, down-to-earthsteps on how to be a true Christian. Allthis valuable information is written inan easy, shirtsleeve language readersfind pleasant and enjoyable.

I wrote the book for the averagereader. There are very few technicalterms, and these are thoroughlyexplained. The tone of the book is toexplain, in a friend-to-friend conversa-tional manner, just how to unravel themysteries of the Bible. There’s nopreaching, no condescending, and nofairy tales—just the straight story fromthe words of the Bible, laid out in astep-by-step sequence that makes theBible accessible to everyone.

The book contains no denomina-tional “spin”. Rather, it’s unique in thatit takes the reader directly to the Bibleand looks at what it says, without the“rose colored glasses” of traditions,customs, doctrines, and dogmas. It’s astimulating breath of fresh air amongbooks which claim to explain what the

Bible is all about.I tried to keep several things in mind

while writing the book, such as biblicalhonesty; plain and simple explanationsof the subject matter; relating the Bibleto today’s news and the fabric of ourdaily lives; and a realistic, believableapproach to knowing about God. As aresult, the book answers many of thequestions people have about life, theafterlife, God, and the Bible.

Even in today’s increasingly irreli-gious society, people always have afascination about God, who or what

He is, what He is doing,what His plan is, andwhat happens to usbeyond this life. Manypeople understand thatthe answers to thesequestions are in theBible; but often, they feelthey can’t make senseout of all the books, allthe characters, all the his-tory and prophecy, andall the questions thatcome up as they read.

Many readers of theBible experience a gener-

al feeling of being lost in a thick forest.Perhaps the statement I’ve heard mostoften from new Bible readers is, “I justcan’t make any sense out of it. Whatdoes it all mean?” This new book,What in the World is God Doing?, isdesigned to answer many of the ques-tions new Bible readers have, and toequip them with hope and encourage-ment as they read and study the Bible.

What does the book cost? The pub-lisher has set the price of the paperbackversion at $16.50; the hard cover ver-sion with dust jacket at $26.50; and theelectronic book version, readable withAdobe Acrobat, at only $4.95! Whenyou consider the prices of good studyBibles and other Bible referenceworks, these prices are not at all unrea-sonable. This is a big book, with 12full chapters and a valuable index tolocate key concepts for further study.

You can order this book now bygoing to my web site: LivingTheWay.org

Or, call 1st Books at 800-839-8640.— Jack M. Lane

New Book on Mideast PeaceMiddle East: Blueprint for the Final

Solution: The Coming Fall and Riseof Western Democracy has been writ-ten by Mike (Mordakhai) Joseph. Hewas born in 1944 to a strict biblicallyoriented Jewish Orthodox family inBritish Aden, Yemen. In 1949, hisentire family migrated to Israel and in1963 the author moved to Paris, Franceto study French. In late 1965, he movedto New York where, few years later, achange in his religious convictions ledhim to the Worldwide Church ofGod—a community practicing both theOld and New Testaments’ teachings ofthe Bible.

From 1970 to 1975 he served on the faculty of the Ambassador Collegein Pasadena, California—teachingModern and Biblical Hebrew, all thewhile pursuing his degree in Theology.After graduation in 1975, Mr. Josephbegan his service in the Field Ministryin the Pasadena area and other localcongregations. Later, between 1992and 1994, he served as an Elder in theGlobal Church of God.

About the Book: The Middle Eastconflict originated, literally, in thewomb of a beautiful woman—Rebekah, Isaac’s wife. Her ‘struggling’twins, from their mother’s womb, haveoften engaged in a love/hate embrace,scorching their lands with periodiceruptions of bloody conflicts. Theirdescendants, though gradually losttheir identity, have spread their strugglefor ‘the global inheritance’ into Europe,the Americas, and elsewhere.

The march of Islam, ofMuhammad,“the man of the sword”;the present Jew/Arab conflict; thePersian Gulf menace; fanatic Islamicworld terrorism and their main target –the West – are a direct result of thetwins’ struggle, which begun while intheir mother’s womb.

The chapter titles are: 1) TheMissing Dimension in the Middle EastConflict; 2) Jacob I loved, Esau Ihated—a Tale of Twin Brothers;3) Ishmael—the Man God Heard;4) Haman the Agagite —the Man WhoSought the Final Solution For AllJews; 5) Edom—the Story of Blood,Sweat and Tears; 6) Edom andJacob—a Love/Hate Relationship.Edom's link to Islam, Muhammad, andthe Koran; 7) Brothers and FriendsTurn Enemies—the Legacy of Lot;8) The Two Thorns in the Flesh of

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Judah and Israel; 9) The Modern Stateof Israel—a Human Effort or an Act ofGod?; 10) I am Joseph, YourBrother—the Biblical Story of the TenLost Tribes; 11) The Identity of theLost Tribes in Secular History.12) Joseph’s Tribes and their link tothe Royal House of David. 13) TheNorthwestern European Tribes of theHouse of Israel; 14) Edom and theSpanish Connection. 15) Jerusalem—The City of Peace.

The Book is available from 1stBooks for $34.50 hardcover, $24.50paperback or $6.95 e-book. Call 800-839-8640 or visit www.1stbooks.comand type in “Mike Joseph” into theauthor slot

— (info from www.1stbooks.com)

Craig White Book AvailableIn Search Of…The Origin Of Nationsis the first workever publishedproviding majorproofs for themodern identityof nations andpeoples whoseroots may becarefully trackedback to theancient MiddleEast.

R e v i e w e r shave claimedthat the subject of this book may oneday be acknowledged as the mostamazing work on the origin of nationsand peoples ever written.

The author has spent many years ofpainstaking in-depth research investi-gating and pulling together the manycomplex threads and strands of tradi-tion, linguistic, anthropological andhistorical fact and detail to assemblethe most overpowering anthropologi-cal detective work of this age!

With precision, incredible detail andanalysis, the author assembles an awe-some array of proofs for the true iden-tity of the three major races and themodern nations (the bibliographyalone contains over 700 items).

The interrelationships of the peo-ples of the earth and their destinybased on stunning ancient propheciesare discussed in a pacy but logicalstyle. These and many more questions

are researched and answered in aneasy-to-understand style—be preparedfor a few surprises.

• 496 pages• 15 chapters• 29 charts• 10 maps• Extensive footnotes• Quality paper and colour cover

[The outline of chapters was includedin the Mar/Apr 2002 Servants’ News.]

The author’s web address is:www.originofnations.org

In Search Of…The Origin OfNations may be ordered by clicking onthe link on the above web site, or bycalling 1st Books at 800-839-8640.Outside the USA and Canada call 812-339-6000. It is available in paperbackonly (8.5"×11") for $23.95 plus ship-ping. — (info from www.1stbooks.com)

Birth of theMultinational and

Foundations ofCorporate Empire

Many of you are aware thatChurch member Dr. DavidLewis PhD presented an excel-lent lecture series (together withMelvin Rhodes) on the “lost”tribes of Israel in Australia in1998. He has now co-authored 2books. Dr. Lewis has also con-tributed a number of entries

(about 30) to the BiographicalDictionary of Management publishedby Thoemmes Press in the UK.

— Craig White

Both books appear to be very valu-able for today. The Bible says that “thelove of money is the root of all evil”,so where we find people loving a lot ofmoney, we might expect to find a lot ofevil. Both books are available throughBarnes and Noble (www.bn.com) oramazon.com. Amazon was quite a bitmore expensive for the first book.Used book sites, like half.com, havesome for a few dollars as well. Mostlocal bookstores can obtain them. Thead material follows, and is itself veryinformative.

— Norman Edwards

Birth of the Multinational—2000 Years of Ancient Business

History: From Ashur toAugustus by Karl Moore & DavidLewis, 341 pages, hardback, ISBN8763000555.

This book covers an impressiveexpanse of history so far overlooked inthe history of the multinational and theworld economy: from 2000 B.C. to100 A.D.

It starts with the story of the firstknown multinational enterprise in thetimes of the Assyrian Empire andtraces the history of the rise and fall ofthe multinational enterprise throughthe four great empires of the ancientworld: Assyrian, Phoenician, Greekand Roman.

The authors, one from OxfordUniversity management college andthe other a historian, use the lens of theeclectic paradigm, the leading theoryof international business academics,which renders varied and highly inter-esting analyses and insights.Reviews:

… of great interest to two groups ofpeople: those who are involved in inter-national business (and) those historianswho will add to their understanding ofthe societies they study through theclear analysis of the many and variedforms of commercial structures found inthe different empires. (Paul Vatter,Professor, Harvard Business School)

A truly impressive feat of scholar-ship. It has certainly enlarged theboundaries of my thinking on the sub-ject. (Bruce Mazlish, Professor ofHistory, MIT)

For those who think that only lastyear’s case is relevant to modern busi-ness, here is the definite answer. (JohnKay, Professor and Peter Moores Director,Said Business School, Oxford University)

A must read for anyone interested inthe evolution and future of multi-nation-als. (Vijay Govindarajan, Earl C. Daum1924 Professor of InternationalBusiness, The Amos Tuck School ofBusiness, Dartmouth College)

Fascinating insights on the emer-gence of multinational enterprise. Putsthe whole issue of globalization in newperspective. (Gareth Morgan, Distin-guished Research Professor, SchulichSchool of Business, York University)

… a fascinating book, not leastbecause some of the things which wethink are modern are no so new after all!(Eric Nicoli, Chairman, EMI)

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SERVANTS’ NEWS

This book opens up a new andintriguing line of enquiry into the rele-vance of ancient history for the moderncorporation. (Colin Mayer, PeterMoores, Professor of ManagementStudies, Said Business School,University of Oxford)

This book shows that business glob-alisation is as old as the Pyramids.Modern readers can gain a much broad-er perspective on how to deal withtoday’s opportunities and challenges…(George Yip, Beckwith Professor ofManagement Studies, CambridgeUniversity)

Contents: • The eclectic paradigm • Reconstructing the story of the

ancient world • Birth of Assyrian multinational trade:

1900 B.C .• The coming of the Phoenician corpo-

rate state: 1100–850 B.C. • Melqart, CEO: The first intercontinen-

tal investment: 850–600 B.C.• Free-market revolution in the

Aegean: 800–400 B.C.• The return of hierarchy: The Roman

republic: 400–146 B.C.• One form of economy?

Foundations of CorporateEmpire by Karl Moore and DavidLewis, 288 pages, paperback, ISBN:0273639641.

Foundations of Corporate Empireis a grand, sweeping look across thehistorical vista of the development andrise of the multinational corporation. Itis a powerful demonstration of theimpact and ubiquity of what we knowas “the corporation” has had on globalcommerce and the shape of businessover time.

Foundations of Corporate Empireanalyses the development of the globaleconomy through the lens of thegrowth of multi-nationals from 2000BC to 2000 AD and presents a view ofwhat the multi-nationals will look likein the future. Contents: 1. Introduction: la Longue Duree2. International Business and the

Eclectic Paradigm3. Cradles of Civilization… and

Capitalism4. Cradle of Multinational Enterprise5. The Multinational Becomes

Intercontinental

6. Birth of Free Enterprise7. Overture to World Economy8. Rendering unto Caesar9. Dark Age Capitalism10. Merchants of Venice, Inc.11. China's Chance12. A Global Economy13. The Second Global Economy—The

“Hellenic” Free-Trade World of thePax Britannica: 1800–1931

14. The Second Global Economy—America’s “Legionary Capitalism”:1800–1970

15. World-Class Rivals—The PaternalisticCapitalisms of Germany and Japan

16. The Third Global Economy—Multi-nationals, Microchips and theInformation Age:1970–2000

17. Should the World become American?Suggestions for Further ReadingIndex

Reviews:This fascinating book should serve

as a timely reminder to those who seemto think that tomorrow can be managedwith scarcely a backwards glance toyesterday… compulsive reading forbusinessmen and politicians. (Sir DavidRowland, President, TempletonCollege, University of Oxford)

CEM Produces New HymnalA new hymnal that may be useful tomany Sabbatarian congregations isavailable from Christian EducationalMinistries (Ron Dart). It contains 207songs: many of the old Christian stan-dards plus some of the most popularmodern “praise and worship” songs.It is a high-quality hard-cover bookdesigned to last many years. Groupsthat are using obsolete hymnals or nohymnals might want to consider it. Itcosts $8.95 plus shipping for singlecopies—call CEM for bulk ordersof six or more: 903-509-2999.Website orders may be placed at:www.cemnetwork.com/ShopSite/product289.html

The hymns it contains, in alphabet-ical order are:

Abide with Me; Alas, and Did My SaviorBleed; All Hail the Power; All People That OnEarth Do Dwell; All the Way My Savior LeadsMe; All Things Are Thine, No Gift Have We;Amazing Grace; America, the Beautiful; AtCalvary; Battle Hymn of the Republic; Be Still,My Soul; Be Thou My Vision; A Beautiful Life;Because He Lives; Because I Knew Not When;Blessed Assurance; Blessed Be the Name; Blest

Be the Tie That Binds; Break Thou the Bread ofLife; Breathe on Me, Breath of God; Bringing inthe Sheaves; A Child of the King; Christ Arose;Christ Is Coming; Christ Is Made the SureFoundation; Christ the Lord Is Risen Today; AChristian Home; The Church’s One Foundation;Cleanse Me; Come Thou, Almighty King; Cometo the Feast; Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus;Come, Thou, Fount of Every Blessing; Come, YeThankful People, Come; Count Your Blessings;Crown Him With Many Crowns.

Day by Day; The Day of Resurrection; DearLord and Father of Mankind; Did You Think toPray?; Eternal Father, Strong to Save; Face toFace; Fairest Lord Jesus; Faith of Our Fathers;Farther Along; Footsteps of Jesus; For theBeauty of the Earth; From All That Dwell Belowthe Skies; Give of Your Best to the Master;Glorious Is Thy Name; Glorious Is Thy NameMost Holy; Go to Dark Gethsemane; God Be withYou; God of Grace and God of Glory; God of OurFathers, Whose Almighty Hand; God Will TakeCare of You; Great Is Thy Faithfulness; GuideMe, O Thou Great Eternal; Hark, The Sound ofHoly Voices; Have Thine Own Way, Lord!; HeHideth My Soul; He Is Able to Deliver Thee; He IsLord; He Keeps Me Singing; He Leadeth Me; HeLives; Heaven Came Down; The HeavensDeclare Thy Glory; Help Somebody Today; HereI Am, Lord; Higher Ground; His Way with Thee;Holy, Holy, Holy; How Great Thou Are; How ILove Thy Law, O Lord!; Hymn of Promise.

I Am Resolved; I Am Thine, O Lord; I GaveMy Life for Thee; I Know Whom I Have Believed;I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord; I Love to Tell the Story;I Need Thee Every Hour; I Sing the Mighty Powerof God; I Surrender All; I Was Glad, O, So Glad; IWill Sing the Wondrous Story; I Would Be True; IfI Take the Wings of the Morning; Immortal,Invisible; In My Heart There Rings a Melody; Inthe Garden; It Is Well with My Soul; Jesus CallsUs; Jesus Is Tenderly Calling; Jesus Loves Me;Jesus Paid It All ; Jesus Saves!; Jesus, Savior,Pilot Me; Joy to the World!; Joyful, Joyful, WeAdore Thee; Just As I am, Without One Plea; TheKing of Love My Shepherd Is; Leaning on theEverlasting Arms; Let Others See Jesus in You;Let the Lower Lights Be Burning; Let There BePeace on Earth; Living for Jesus; Lord, Our Lord,O’er Earth’s Vast Frame; Lord, Thy Church onEarth is Seeking; The Lord's My Shepherd(Crimond); The Lord’s My Shepherd (Evan); LoveDivine, All Loves Excelling; Love Lifted Me;

Make Me a Blessing; Make Me a Captive,Lord; The Mercy That Never Fails; A MightyFortress Is Our God; Moment by Moment; MoreAbout Jesus Would I Know; More Love to Thee;Morning Has Broken; My Country, ’Tis of Thee;

Continued on page 25

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SERVANTS’ NEWS

Mar/Apr 2003

Feast of Tabernacles Sites 2003Feast sites listed in this article, as far as we know, all welcome non-aligned Sabbatarians. Corporate church organizations’Feasts may be located by contacting their headquarters: The United Church of God-IA at 513-576-9796, the Living Churchof God at 704-844-1970; the Church of God International at 903-939-2929.

Please let Feast sponsors know now where you are planning to attend! It is very difficult to plan a Feast when the number of peopleattending is unknown. Time and money are wasted if attendance estimates are too high. Facilities become too crowded if estimates aretoo low. If you are not sure yet, it is better to notify the site you are most likely to attend, and change your mind later if necessary.

• Unless otherwise noted, sites use the Jewish calendar—the evening of Friday, Oct. 10th through Saturday the 18th.• We are happy to print information on other Feast sites that welcome all brethren regardless of organizational affiliation.• Please send information on any other sites to Servants’ News (see contact information on page 2 or back cover).

North Central USA

Manville, Illinois

The 2003 Feast will be observed atManville Camp, about 100 milesSouthwest of Chicago. It is not intend-ed to be a typical Feast with “morningsermons followed by expensive enter-tainment”, but an assembly of believ-ers who will spend eight days feastingtogether and learning from each other.The book of Deuteronomy will beread this year, as it has been sevenyears since we have read it at the Feastof Tabernacles (Deut 31:10). We willdiscuss both the physical as well as thegreat spiritual lessons found in thisbook.

We plan to write and record a songat the Feast and distribute it on CD.Last year’s song was about things weare thankful for—this year will beabout God’s law. Many messages andstudies are also planned. Questionsand comments from the brethren arealways accepted. There will be a vari-ety show that includes a play. Thecamp has volleyball, basketball, floorhockey and many other recreationalfacilities.

A variety of cabins, motel-likerooms and dorms are available. Allare modern and heated. Prices includethree good meals each day, Saturdaythrough Saturday. Costs for food andlodging for eight days are $270 peradult and $240 per child with a pri-vate bathroom. For those using themodern, heated, nearby bathhouse,costs are $240 per adult and $200 per

child. Those wishing to stay at motelsmay share meals for $170 per adultand $140 per child. Two motels areabout 15 minutes away and haveprices from $44 to $63 per room. Formore information, see the Nov/Dec2002 Servants’ News Issue or contactus at PO Box 107, Perry, Michigan48872-0107; info@servantsnews.com;517-625-7480.

Rapid City, South Dakota

Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles2003 in the Beautiful Black Hills ofSouth Dakota. This family-orientedfeast site is open to all. The site isbeing sponsored by members of theChurch of God Fellowship (Lansing,Michigan) and by members of theChurch of God from Berthoud,Colorado.

Services will be held at HolidayInn, Rushmore Plaza in Rapid City,SD. Service format will be a split-ser-mon message with a question andanswer period following the close ofservices. Inspiring song services andspecial music will also be presented.There will be daily seminars as wellas teen interactive bible sudies andchildren’s hands-on activities.

The Feast site is located near sev-eral major attractions: Mt. Rushmore,Custer State Park, Jewel Cave, WindCave, Devil’s Tower, Mammoth Site,1880 Train and the Badlands.

Please make your own housingarrangements by calling the HolidayInn Rushmore Plaza at 605-348-4000.Let the hotel know you are with theChurch of God to receive special

room prices. For more information, please see

our website at www.feast2003.com or callMatt Gaffney, 970-532-0522 orJohn Bensinger, 517-675-5758.

Colorado Springs, ColoradoOctober 12–19

This group has observed the Feastusing the visible new moon calendarfor nearly 20 years. For information,contact Church of God of ColoradoSprings, PO Box 9901, ColoradoSprings, CO 80932-0901; 719-577-9066, e-mail: jehines29@earthlink.net.

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin

This is one of the five Church of GodBig Sandy (Dave Havir) sites thisyear. More information is availablefrom 800-946-5545 or the web sitewww.BigSandyChurch.org. The loca-tion of this site is yet to be announced.

South Central USA

Conway, Arkansas

Points of Truth Ministries and theCrusade Church of God are sponsor-ing the Feast of Tabernacles this yearat Camp Beaver Fork, near Conway,Arkansas. There are 18 cabins avail-able at a cost of $7 per person, per day.There are also places for tents and RVhookups. Tent spaces are $5 per per-son, per day. There are full bath hous-es, a large kitchen and dining hallwhich will be open to all. Services and

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SERVANTS’ NEWS

additional activities will be held in thechapel. For those who wish to stay inConway, there are motels less than tenminutes away. Lake Beaver Fork isonly a couple of miles from the Campand offers boating, fishing and otheroutdoor recreation.

For more information, call Larry R.Lasiter at 479-498-4524, email:lasiter@pointsoftruth.com, or write Pointsof Truth Christian Ministries, PO Box102, Russellville, AR 72811. To seephotos of the Feast Site, go towww.pointsoftruth.com and click on“FEAST OF TABERNACLES”.

Lake Texoma, OklahomaThe theme for this seventh year atTexoma will be “Led by the Spirit!”

“For as many as are led by the Spiritof God, they are the sons of God”(Rom 8:14).

“Humble yourselves in the sight ofthe Lord, and he shall lift you up”(James 4:10).

We encourage activities for all tocreate a sense of family. The fun/talentshow, Sabbath school, seminars, biblestudies, fun-park, prayer meetings,floor-show, free cobbler, and fish frywill continue (if we catch any fish).“Getting to know you” was a newevent that was warmly received lastyear and so will be renewed for 2003.Volunteers are always welcomed forBible studies, seminars and activities.

For all who wish to participate, asmall group assembles each night forsongs, prayer requests, readingPsalms, etc.

Donations at the feast will be usedfor feast expenses and festival assis-tance. Additional envelopes will beprovided for you to designate “anoffering to the Lord” (Deut16:13–17).

The resort is on Lake Texomawhich spans the Texas-Oklahoma bor-der. It is on US Hwy 70, 13 miles westof Durant, OK. It has tennis courts,basketball, volleyball, an 18-hole golfcourse, horseback riding stables,miniature golf, go-carts and a beautifullake. There's also a fort nearby.

Accommodations: Lodge guestrooms $48, king rooms $58, cabanasrooms $80, studio cottages $52. Two-bedroom cottages $89. (No cooking oreating utensils are provided in the cot-tages.) Rates quoted per night withouttax. Lodge rooms and suite rates are

based on double occupancy. Eachadditional adult is $10 extra. They alsohave a state campground there. Forcamping information call 405-564-2566. There is a 3,000-foot runway forprivate planes. They have very nicerestaurant overlooking the lake, rea-sonable prices. There are two addition-al motels nearby. Please make yourreservation six weeks in advance ifpossible as our rooms are released tothe public after that date

Lake Texoma Resort Park: P. O.Box 248, Kingston, OK 73439-02481-800-654-8240 (4), (be sure to mentionyou are with the Church of God, Group#7103). Feast Coordinator: SteveKieler, 2193 Sheker Drive, FortDodge, IA 50501-8707, 515-576-5743, sskieler@dodgenet.com

Broken Arrow, OklahomaTallit Ministries, Inc. and MayimHayim Beit Midrash (Living WaterHouse of Study) is announcing theSecond Annual Midrash in theWilderness Sukkot 2003: A celebra-tion of the Feast of Tabernacles atSequoyah Bay State Park, Ft GibsonLake, Wagoner, Oklahoma. You areinvited to Join us for nine days ofpraise & worship, Torah study andfellowship as we celebrate thisMoedim of Yhvh. Anointed speakersand musicians will be ministering onthe theme “In His Presence.”

For a registration packet contact usat 2700 North Hemlock Court 111-F,Broken Arrow, OK 74012, phone:918-251-2002 (day), 918-357-3082(evening), fax: 918-251-6195, e-mail:tallit@tallitministries.com

San Antonio, Texas

The Church of God San Antonio(with the Churches of God OutreachMinistries—CGOM) will once againhost the Feast of Tabernacles in beau-tiful San Antonio. All brethren arewelcomed, regardless of organiza-tional affiliation. Join us for a FamilyOriented and intimate Feast whereOur Children will play an importantrole in our Worship Service. Inspiringsermons given in a spirit of love forone another and fellowship opportu-nities for the entire family are beingplanned.

Meeting Place: Comfort Inn—

Fiesta Park Area, 6755 North Loop1604 West, San Antonio, Texas 78249, phone: 210-696-4766,fax: 210-696-6698; E-mail: comfor tinnfiesta@aol.com; website:www.comfortinn.com. (Worship Serviceswill be held next door at the ElksLodge with break-out meeting spaceat the Comfort Inn.)

How to Make Reservations: 1.Call the Comfort Inn—Fiesta and tellthem you are attending the Feast ofTabernacles/Church of God SanAntonio, Group Number 2379. TheRoom rate is $45.00 plus 16.75% taxfor Single, Double, Triple, or Quad.Reservations accepted only with adeposit or a major credit card. Wemust fill at least 20 rooms by cut-offdate of September 19, 2003 in orderto obtain complementary meetingspace. Please help us serve you betterby making your reservation as earlyas possible. Early reservations willalso help us determine if we need toask for more than 20 rooms.

The Comfort Inn offers free deluxecontinental breakfast with newspa-pers in lobby; sparkling outdoorpool; exercise room; in-room coffeemakers, hair dryers, irons and boards;interior corridors; elevators and freeparking. For more information: contact Julian Cruz, 219 WhitefieldAve, San Antonio, Texas 78223,Phone: 210-333-7229, E-mail:jcruz@ix.netcom.com

Big Sandy, Texas

This is one of the five Church of GodBig Sandy (Dave Havir) sites thisyear. More information is availablefrom 800-946-5545 or the web sitewww.BigSandyChurch.org. The loca-tion of this site is the Church of GodBig Sandy’s building.

(no North East USA sites)

South East USA

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

This is one of the five Church of God

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SERVANTS’ NEWS

Mar/Apr 2003

Big Sandy (Dave Havir) sites thisyear. More information is availablefrom 800-946-5545 or the web sitewww.BigSandyChurch.org. The location ofthis site is the Ocean Reef Resort.

Sevierville, Tennessee

United Christian Ministries (RayWooten) will again be at theSevierville Civic Center andCommunity Center in Sevierville,Tennessee. If you would like to receivean area housing and attractions bookletand map, contact United ChristianMinistries, PO Box 1505, Pelham, AL 35124; 888-985-9066, E-mail: ucm3821@aol.com, website:www.unitedchristianministries.com

Destin, Florida

This is one of the five Church of GodBig Sandy (Dave Havir) sites thisyear. More information is availablefrom 800-946-5545 or the web sitewww.BigSandyChurch.org. The location ofthis site is the Pelican Beach Resort.

Destin, Florida

This Feast site is sponsored byChristian Educational Ministries(Ron Dart) and will be held at the newEmerald Coast Conference Center onOkaloosa Island.

Reasons for attending from theCEM website:

Sermons: You will be inspired,encouraged, uplifted, motivated andtaken deeper into understanding whatGod's Word can do for and through you.

Music The best congregationalsinging you will find anywhere. Ayoung spirited music major brings thebest out of every voice in praise toGod. Outstanding special music andgreat choirs for all age groups provideopportunities, pleasure and inspiration.

Seminars: Thought provoking, rel-evant seminars titillate your curiosity,prepare you for greater Christian ser-vice, and help with your spiritual andpersonal needs. These are convenientlyscheduled at the same time as YEAFeast Classes.

Activities: Many fun activities areplanned for every age group to encour-age friendships, fellowship and bond-ing—many are FREE. Check out the

“Activity” page on our website. YEA Feast Classes: Memorable

YEA Feast classes where kids age 3–19will discover God’s ways are best forthem and love every minute of it. Freefull color state of the art lesson bookswill be provided for every student.Focused, relevant themes address issueseach age group faces. Trained teachersfacilitate exciting active and interactiveclasses. No effort will be spared to reachthe hearts of every youth in each class.

Youth Activities: Kids need funopportunities to create relationshipsand to bond with others of like faith.Supervised activities have includedsuch things as a family skating partyand picnic with a clown and free char-coal broiled hamburgers and hot dogs.A teen beach party, dance, miniaturegolf, and go-carts are just some of theactivities designed to make your kidswant to return every year.

Youth Day: Youth empowerment isthe plan for Youth Day. The entire ser-vice is dedicated to our youth and con-ducted by them. Teen presenters willtell us how their walk with Christ hasmade growing up easier.

Housing: There’s a condo, motel,house, or great campsite to fit any bud-get in Destin and Ft. Walton Beach. Formore information check out“Accommodations” on our website.For excellent discounts in accommoda-tions as well as travel, call CEM's tollfree number 1-888-BIBLE 44.

Ambiance: A joyful Feast awaitsyou in a relaxed atmosphere. Clearblue waves caress the shores of one ofthe most beautiful, white, sandy beach-es in the world. The Emerald CoastConference Center is brand new, andprovides comfortable seats for everyservice. Rarely do you find such a greatpackage of amenities in one Feast site.

Welcome Mat: Everyone is wel-come to CEM’s Feast Site. It is a festi-val for the people of God! There is nopre-registration and no prior approvalneeded. Many of your friends and soonto be friends will be there to welcomeyou. They’ve learned that Destin iswhere action, learning and growingopportunities prevail in a warm,encouraging, friendly climate. It’s aplace where God pours out His Spirit.Don’t you think you should honor ourCreator and rejoice with us? We hopeyou do!

Contact Christian EducationalMinistries, P.O. Box 560 Whitehouse,Texas 75791; phone: 903-509-2999888-BIBLE-44, fax: 903-509-1139; E-mail: adm@cemnetwork.com.

North West USA

Sunriver, Oregon

The Sunriver Feast Site is not hostedby any organization. Rather it is orga-nized by a small core of brethren fromvarious Churches of God and volun-teers who attend the Feast. The hallrental, services, food, and activities areall funded by those who attend. Allcontributions are collected at the Feastand spent only for the Feast.

No organizations or person(s)receives any funds or gifts. Any con-tributions that are not spent one yearare rolled over into the next year’sFeast. This Feast site enables brethrenfrom many different organizations tocome together for eight days to wor-ship God the Father and His Son Jesusas their primary Goal.

Daily services are held at theThousand Trails Great Hall Lodge,about 5 miles south of Sunriver, at10:00 a.m. Services, sermons andBible studies are consistent with tradi-tional Sabbath-keeping Church of Godtheology and do not promote or criti-cize any Church of God organizations.

Contact: Jim Woods at: 480-998-3073, e-mail: jwoods88@cox.net.

Glendale, Oregon

Fir Point Camp will be the site of thisyear’s Feast celebration sponsored bythe Omega Praise Fellowship. Comefor an experience in worship, praise,teaching and sharing together. Therewill be plenty to do for all eight days.Messianic dancing will be taught tothose interested. This is a family expe-rience—living and eating together.Heated cabins have electricity andhold 6 to 12 people. Bathrooms are inthe bath house. Three meals per dayare provided. RV with electrichookups are available. The total Costis $240 per adult; children under 18 arefree. There are motels in the area forthose who prefer them.

Page 11Mar/Apr 2003

SERVANTS’ NEWS

Contact Jim or Florence Sorenson at541-837-3642, e-mail:jsorenson@mcsi.netor Gerry or Sharon Bonney, 541-825-3573, e-mail: sbonney@citlink.net.

South West USA

Angel Fire, New Mexico

This is one of the five Church ofGod Big Sandy (Dave Havir) sites thisyear. More information is availablefrom 800-946-5545 or the web sitewww.BigSandyChurch.org. The location ofthis site is the Angel Fire CommunityCenter.

International

This Year in Jerusalem, Israel

Christian Renewal MinistriesInternational will once again be cele-brating the Feast of Tabernacles inJerusalem. It is a non-denominational,non-sectarian site open to everybody.No matter what someone’s backgroundor affiliation is, we try to make every-one welcome. We are attempting to dowhat no one seems to be doing, andthat is to focus on Zechariah 8; wherewe, the ten tribes, go to our Jewishbrothers and say “teach us”.

[Comment from Norman Edwards:Zech 8:23 says: “Thus says the LORDof hosts: ‘In those days ten men fromevery language of the nations shallgrasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, say-ing, “Let us go with you, for we haveheard that God is with you.” ’ ” Ibelieve that there is much we canlearn about God from the Jews and Iwould enjoy this Feast gathering verymuch, but a Christian full of the Spiritof God should know that God is withhim, the Christian, too.]

Our teachers will be a mix ofOrthodox Jewish Rabbis, Professorsfrom Tel Aviv & Hebrew Universityand Orthodox Jewish scholars. Thereis nothing that compares to being “inthe land” for Sukkot. When we say“Next year in Jerusalem” it should bemore than a phrase said at the end of aHoly Day. We know that one day,(Zech 14), we will all be going to

Jerusalem to keep the Feast ofTabernacles, why not get a taste of thatstarting now?

This is not a tour. although we willhave tours and site-seeing every after-noon, our main focus will be to “keepthe feast”! We will be staying at onelocation the entire time, next to the oldcity, so you won’t feel like you are con-tinually packing and unpacking. Therewill be plenty of time to feel like youare part of the land, not just a visitor.In addition to our week-stay inJerusalem, we will be traveling both toGalilee and the Dead Sea.

We are a service ministry. Ourattempt is to provide the most prof-itable experience for the lowest possi-ble price. Our goal is for everyone tobe able to attend, so our pricing isabout half what you would expect tospend. Now, more than any other timein history, is the time to show our sup-port for Israel, and to build relation-ships that will help reunite to twohouses of Israel.

The cost of $1,950 per per-son Includes airfare from U.S.to Israel, bus transportation,hotel accommodations, 2 mealsa day, tours and workshops.Contact: Rick Richardson,CRMI, PO Box 111, Auburn,WA 98071; 253-839-6489;website: www.originsofourfaith.comE-mail: crmi@frugal.com.

Collingwood, Ontario,Canada

The Canadian Church ofGod, in association with TheChurches Of God OutreachMinistries, will again be host-ing an International Feast OfTabernacles in Collingwood,Ontario, Canada at the TorontoSki Club, our regular Feast sitefor the past six years. Everyoneis invited to join with us duringthese Holy Days for daily ser-vices with sermons deliveredby very inspired ministers,Bible studies, wonderful fel-lowship and other fun activities.The accommodation consists ofself contained units which arevery affordable and are locatednear to the meeting hall. For ourAmerican and other overseasbrethren, the affordability is

greatly enhanced by our low Canadiandollar. When making your decision onwhich site to attend, please take thisinto consideration and come toCollingwood. The setting is at the baseof the Blue Mountain far away fromthe distraction of the city, but close torestaurants, shops and recreationalfacilities. The atmosphere is very tran-quil and healthy, exactly what we needto take our minds off what is going onin this world, and to focus on therenewal of our spirit. For more infor-mation and some pictures of the Feastsite, please contact anyone of theseweb pages, www.info@cgom.org andwww.canadianchurchofgod.com or write toThe Canadian Church of God, P.O.Box 476, Don Mills Station, DonMills, Ontario, Canada M3C 2T4. Weare eagerly looking forward to havingyou join us to make this a wonderfulFeast. Local contact: Len Labunetz416-665-8362 or Veronica Martin 905-732-3308.

CCoommee UUpp ttoo JJeerruussaalleemm ffoorr tthhee FFeeaasstt ooff TTaabbeerrnnaacclleess

OOccttoobbeerr 1122-2233,, 22000033

$2695.includes

*Roundtrip air from Dallas(Great rates from other Gateway cities)

*Registration in Internatioonal Christian Embassyy Jerusalem

Feast of Tabernacles events* Deluxe Hotel Accommodations

* 2 Meals Daily* All Touring & Admissions

* All Tips & Taxes* Incredible Bible Study

On-ssight where it happened!

Pastors May Come Free!Contact us at

Travel@2Israel.org

We received the ad below via e-mail. It is inter-esting to see the Feast mentioned as a point toattract Christian tourists. Knowledge of the Feastis certainly growing. This is a Jewish group seek-ing to establish better relations between Israeland Americans.

Page 12

SERVANTS’ NEWS

Mar/Apr 2003

Lust for Money & False Religion

PHONE TRANSCRIPT: March 30, 2003Hi Norm:

I’ll just run this by you.I’ve been getting some strange vibrations

about the whore of Babylon. And I thinkwe’ve been dealing historically with a front-that it’s not really the church-the RomanChurch or the things directly associated withit directly, but that’s a front and the main thingis the commercial enterprise that underlies it.For instance, the dichotomy between Godand mammon-the fact that Yeshua, the onlytime he ever got physically violent is when hedrove the money changers and sellers ofsacrifice animals out of the temple.

The book of Revelation indicates that thecommercial interests are going to be veryupset at the end of Babylon. It’s not theBeast, but it’s an underlying element of thewhore itself. Run that through your personal“computer” there, and if it bears any fruit, letme know somehow.

— Gary Dubois, recorded on answering machine, 4:54 p.m.

RESPONSE: I realize that this is not aletter, but Gary asked for response and Iwould like to give one.

He [the second beast who had“two horns like a lamb and spokelike a dragon”] was granted power togive breath to the image of the beast,that the image of the beast shouldboth speak and cause as many aswould not worship the image ofthe beast to be killed. He causes all,both small and great, rich and poor,free and slave, to receive a mark ontheir right hand or on their fore-heads, and that no one may buy orsell except one who has the markor the name of the beast, or thenumber of his name (Rev 13:15–17).These verses are referred to in six

other places in the book of Revelation(Rev 14:9,11; 15:2; 16:2; 19:20; 20:4).All of these places have good things tosay about people who avoid worshiping

the image of the beast and avoid takingthe mark of the beast. Both things arementioned in each verse. Worshiping theimage is false worship, but taking themark is putting money before God. Itseems that God is equally unhappy aboutboth of these.

It is sometimes amazing to see peoplewho would not dare set foot in the doorof any organization that has anything todo with false religion—even thoughthere might be true believers there, buton the other hand, find no difficulty withgovernments attempting to require socialsecurity numbers, drivers license num-bers or other identification for many sig-nificant financial transactions.

I have heard “believers” say, “I don’tsee a problem with governments requir-ing an ID for every transaction—it willcut down on theft and fraud.” I believethis is making a god out of the state. Arenot we wise enough to realize that thestate is composed largely of carnal men,and if we give them great power, that wecan expect them to use it carnally?

“ For the love of money is the root ofall evil...” (1Tim 6:10, KJV). This trans-lation is clearer than the NKJV or NIVwhich say: “For the love of money is aroot of all kinds of evil”. In English, “allkinds of” is an idiom that means essen-tially “many different kinds of”, whereas“all evil” means “everything that is evil”.In a nutshell, evil is “wanting somethingthat is not yours”. People who lovemoney do not want to eat from the honestfruit of their labor, they want the power toeat the fruit of other’s labor. Those wholove huge amounts of money want thepower to control people through busi-ness, governments, armies, etc.

I agree with you that the only timeChrist actually took physical action tostop someone from sinning was whenpeople were using His temple as a meansfor dishonestly making money for them-selves. By contrast, when Jesus met theSamaritan woman who had major sins

and false doctrine (John 4:7-29), He toldher where she was wrong, but He spokekindly to her and taught her.

While I cannot explain the exactmeaning of the symbols of Revelation, Ibelieve that most Church of God brethrenhave a much better grasp of the danger offalse religion than they do of the dangerof evil economic systems. I hope to writemore about this in the future.

— NSE

Prisoner Makes Corrections

LETTER: February 24, 2003Dear Norm,

What a great surprise blessing to see yourarticle concerning my situation, in SN,Sept/Oct 2002 issue. It just arrived to me inthe mail on Feb. 18, 2003, but being dated asSept/Oct 2002 issue, I assume it was pro-duced long before my first letter to you onFeb 2, 2003. In that letter, I stated some ofmy situation and need, but obviously some-one reached you with my situation sooner.

First, I want to give you a major thanks forusing your paper space to try to help me inthis way. With that appreciation in mind,please do not take the following as criticism inthe least; it’s not. But there are a few errors,and I want to relate the corrections justbecause accuracy and consistency is soespecially important where everything I doand say as a prisoner is scrutinized under amagnifying glass of skepticism.

(a) Says I’ve spent nearly 30 years inprison. Actually it has been 20 years. (Thecorrection also works to my advantage forany prospective legal help, because thelonger its been, the more attorneys and oth-ers think it’s hopeless. And I emphasize thatit is not hopeless!)

(b) The heading says I need an honestattorney in southern California. My pointhere, is that it need not be “southern”California. It can be anywhere in California. Infact, my case emanated from mid-NorthernCalif., which is where all further ongoingactivity will take place on the case, even

We print a representative sampling of ourmail—both positive and negative. We donot include names unless we are fairly surethat the writer would not object.

To avoid any difficulty, writers shouldspecify how much of their name andaddress they would like us to print.

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though I happen to physically be located insouthern Calif. presently (and that alsochanges periodically). So, it’s important toemphasize that I need an honest attorneyfrom anywhere in Calif., not limited to anypart of the state (as most court actions at thisstage are done by mail anyway).

(c) The attacker’s name was Allred, notAlfred, but that is a minor point that doesn’treally matter concerning the article.

I’m quite amazed at your insights as tosome of the problems and realities about thecourt-prison industry, and I “second” the gistof your article overall. Hopefully, you couldmake these few corrections in a future issue.It well may be that an available attorney readthe article and would have helped, butthought he/she was excluded because theyaren’t in “southern” Calif.

Yes, it would be great for someone fromthe church to visit, as you made some refer-ence to. For about five years Church of Godpeople have promised to, and all so far let medown, and it’s reflected on the state of integri-ty of what they represent. I certainly don’tregard that failure beyond those specific indi-viduals, though some are COG ministerswho’ve led me on and broken promises.

I wholeheartedly welcome all skepticismabout my innocence, and wouldn’t have itany other way. If you give me the go-ahead,as soon as I can get copies (a big hurdle), Iwill send you ample irrefutable evidence ofmy character and of my innocence and howthe DA and defense attorney deliberatelyframed me for murder. Available to anyoneon request, as long as I can get copies.

Thank you again,— PF Lazor C73842

44750 60th Street WestLancaster, CA 93536

20 years in captivity without causeRESPONSE: Thank you for makingthese corrections. I still pray that some-one will see this and help you. I wouldlike to help you myself, but my ownwork is so far behind that I cannot. TheBible indicates that it was part of Jesus’mission to set prisoners free:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD isupon Me, Because the LORD hasanointed Me To preach good tidingsto the poor; He has sent Me to healthe brokenhearted, To proclaim lib-erty to the captives, And the open-ing of the prison to those who arebound (Isa 61:1).There are probably not very many

lawyers who read this, but there are quitea few people who know lawyers and

some might know an honest one whowould be willing to take a paying caselike yours. May God strengthen, blessand deliver you. May God bring speedyjudgement upon those who knowinglyprofit from prison injustice.

— NSE

Heaven and Hell Question

LETTER: January 20, 2003Dear Servants’ news,

I grew up in The Worldwide Church ofGod. But, since I’ve been married, I havebeen a Baptist for the past 8 years. I becamea Christian a few years ago. However, I amstill often very confused. I have 3 basicquestions.RESPONSE: That is understandable. Forhundreds of years a variety of churcheshave taught a variety of doctrines—andhave frequently resorted to social pres-sure or military force to get others tobelieve them, rather than patient teach-ing from the Bible.LETTER: Question 1: The parable ofLazarus and the rich man certainly does pointto immediate conscience “hell.” And manyChristians say this parable is not a parable?RESPONSE: I agree that many teach thisis a literal event, but even if so, it does notpicture the traditional “heaven” or “hell”.The rich man asks for a cup of water, notenough water to put out the fire.Absolutely nothing is said about Satan,demons, God or angels being present inwhat is supposedly “heaven” or “hell”.See my paper: What Does the Bible sayabout Eternal Judgment?LETTER: Question 2: The part in the Bibleabout (I forget where the verse is) “Woeto...your punishment will be more bearablethan theirs....etc.” Doesn’t this seem like eter-nal conscious punishment? RESPONSE: I think you are referring toscriptures like this one:

“But I tell you, it will be morebearable for Tyre and Sidon on theday of judgment than for you. Andyou, Capernaum, will you be liftedup to the skies? No, you will godown to the depths. If the miraclesthat were performed in you had beenperformed in Sodom, it would haveremained to this day. But I tell youthat it will be more bearable forSodom on the day of judgment thanfor you” (Matt 11:22-24).There are quite a few other scriptures

like this—I cover them in the “Eternal

Judgement” paper I am sending. I dis-agree with the WCG teaching in this area.They talked about a second resurrectionwhere people would just sort of say “oh, Iguess I was wrong, I repent” and all oftheir past sins and the effect of themwould suddenly disappear. Experience inthis life shows us that, although God for-gives our sins, the effects of sin rarely dis-appear—when a thief repents, the goodshe stole do not suddenly reappear to theowner; when a murderer repents, his vic-tim does not suddenly come to life; whenfornicators repent, children born from for-nication do not disappear—or suddenlyhave legitimate parents. The scripturesshow that it will take some people longerthan others to get into the kingdom:“Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectorsand harlots enter the kingdom of Godbefore you” (Matt 21:31).

I do not believe that the scripturesshow punishment forever, but the Greekword means “age-ending”—they will bepunished until their time is up. The OldTestament talks about the various kindsof punishments for different sins. Peoplewho stole will need to work to restoredouble of what they stole—but it will nottake them forever. Punishment foreverfor a limited amount of sin is contrary toeverything the Bible teaches. However,if Satan and his demons are to be keptalive forever, and go on sinning forever,then they indeed may need to be pun-ished forever—or I think it is possiblethat God will get rid of them.LETTER: Question 3: And, finally, please tellme how many other denominations believe inthe true “second death” (besides churchesthat branched off from the WCG)?RESPONSE: The only ones that I’maware of are Seventh Day Adventists,Jehovah’s Witnesses, and ChristianChurches of God (which probably camefrom Armstrongs’s teachings).

There are hundreds of small Church ofGod groups that believe this doctrine.There are also many other non-CoGgroups that believe it. The doctrine ofUniversal Salvation—everybody willeventually be saved whether they want toor not—is also taught by many groups,some Sabbatarian and some not. I have along study paper entitled “The Originand History of the Doctrine of EndlessPunishment” by Thomas B. Thayer. Ihave not printed it, but I could send it toyou via e-mail. It shows the pagan originsof this doctrine and was written in 1855,

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long before the WCG groups.LETTER: I want desperately to believethat the two resurrections are God’s realplan. How wonderful that would be. My“worry” is that I might be wrong in believ-ing that! Look at the majority ofChristians; they believe you go to heavenor hell. They are the majority, so doesn’tthat make them right. If that many peoplebelieve this, it must be true, I’m afraid.

Any input would be appreciated,Thanks,

— Toni MordenRESPONSE: Two resurrections are aclear statement in the Bible (I don’taccept the WCG’s third resurrection):

5 (The rest of the dead did notcome to life until the thousand yearswere ended.) This is the first resurrec-tion. 6 Blessed and holy are those whohave part in the first resurrection. Thesecond death has no power overthem, but they will be priests of Godand of Christ and will reign with himfor a thousand years.... 12 And I sawthe dead, great and small, standingbefore the throne, and books wereopened. Another book was opened,which is the book of life. The deadwere judged according to what theyhad done as recorded in the books. 13

The sea gave up the dead that were init, and death and Hades gave up thedead that were in them, and each per-son was judged according to what hehad done (Rev 20:5-6, 12-13).Just because most Christians believe a

doctrine does not make it true. The vastmajority of churches today believe doc-trines that they can simply trace back tothe Roman Catholic church. For hundredsof years, that church ostracized or execut-ed people who taught doctrines that werein disagreement with her. Christmas,Easter and other doctrines common toChristianity can be easily disproven, yetthe majority of Christians believe them.

The teachings that people will go toHeaven or Hell at death is very useful forpeople who want to conquer others in thename of religion—it allows evil men tojustify forced conversion. Torturing andkilling people doesn’t sound “so bad” ifone is “saving their soul” for all eternity.To me, though, it is obvious that Godwants hearts of people turned to Him,not some forced confession on pain ofdeath—or some random act of luck. Forexample, suppose a Asian mountaintribesmen falls into a rushing river and

washes miles downstream where mis-isonaries find him and he accepts Jesusjust before he dies. What will his opinionof God be if he saw thousands of hisfriends and ancestors burning in hell for-ever because the missionaries neverreached them. Would it not be more justto punish all Christians for not reachingeveryone with the Gospel?

This is an important issue and I amglad that you are studying it.

— NSE

Observe Wave Sheaf Offering?

LETTER: April 25, 2003Hi Norm! Thank you for your email bless-

ings for Passover and Days of UnleavenedBread. I was sorry to hear of all the trials youhave been having lately. Wow! I thought I hada few trials but nothing like that! My regardsto Marleen!

I was interested in the celebration of all ofthe Days of Unleavened Bread—that has tobe a particular blessing!

During my study this year, I gave somethought to the wave sheaf offering—it is com-manded to be kept in perpetuity. It is not acommanded holy convocation. It perhapshas some bad connotations with Easter. Inthe WCG I don’t even remember studying it.Do you observe it in some special way? If youhave any articles on it, I would appreciatereceiving them, by email if possible!

Thanks, Norm for all your hard work onthe Servants’ News which I read from coverto cover.

— Carolynn Landgrebe, IndianaRESPONSE: The WCG never had anycelebration or commemoration of thewave sheaf offering. Because there wasno commanded assembly, it would havebeen difficult to require a church service.In general, the WCG did very littleteaching on the extensive symbolism ofthe priestly rituals. The only time I par-ticipated in such wave sheaf observancewas in a previous trip to Milwaukeewhen we did it at John Meritt’s house.There was a lot to learn from it.

I think it would be good to do this on aregular basis. But in our local congrega-tion, and others, there are probably manythings that we need to learn before this.Pentecost is counted from the WaveSheaf, so Pentecost arguments aboutcounting form the first annual Sabbath,the weekly Sabbath or when the barley isripe also affect the Wave Sheaf day. (MostSunday vs Monday Pentecost arguments

are only about how to count 50 day, notabout when the Wave Sheaf day is.)

If I write a book on the Holy Days, Icertainly will need to include an expla-nation of it.

Thanks for the encouragement.— NSE

Bovine Cartilage, Sabbath

LETTER: April 27, 2002The Nov/Dec 2001 Servants’ News, page

30 has a suggestion to use sharks cartilage inplace of pig or cattle. I understand that sharkand pig are unclean but cattle is not, so youshould be recommending bovine sources. Iuse a brand made from bovine sources and itworks well. I buy it at Sam’s warehouse. Thebrand is called Members Mark.

I would also like to mention somethingthat happened in our Sabbath group. A cou-ple years back we let it be known that sincemy wife takes care of mentally ill people thatonce or twice a year when all other employ-ees refused to work and it was a Sabbath,rather than leave them without care, shewould work. Some understood and some crit-icised it. One who criticised it was also anurse in healthcare who refused to work onSabbath under any and all circumstances.

But later he changed his mind. He becamevery ill himself on a Friday night and had toask others to take care of him. The Lord worksin mysterious ways and of course we all havea different set of faults and God knows whattrials we need. This was very encouraging forme as I believe I am going through trials nowthat perhaps this individual doesn’t need but Ido. Thanks for your magazine, through it wecan share such experiences as we becomeready to meet our savior.

— James A Rich RESPONSE: Thank you for sharing yoursource of bovine cartilage. There areSam’s stores all over the country, somany brethren should be able to find it ifthey need it.

I also needed emergency services acouple of times on the Sabbath. Onetime, I would have been better off stay-ing home, but another time was life-threatening. We prayed, and asked eldersfor anointing, but God did not answerthat time (other times, He has). I thinkthat if Sabbatarians are willing to use anemergency service on the Sabbath, theyshould accept Sabbatarians that work inthat field on an emergency basis (notevery Sabbath).

— NSE

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my job with the Global Church of Godin November of 1994 and we moved toArkansas. Our family agreed that Iwould not take another job, but that wewould use our family savings to sup-port ourselves and to buy what wasnecessary to start a ministry. If Godmade it possible for us to support our-selves through the ministry, then weplanned to continue.

During 1995 we spent $8,500 forprinting and computer equipment,$7,000 for paper, envelopes and print-ing supplies, $6,000 for postage (firstclass in those days), $2,000 for tele-phone bills (lots of people wanted totalk and e-mail was not common) and$2,000 on office supplies and othermiscellaneous items. That total min-istry cost of $25,500 was offset by$23,000 in offerings, leaving a net costof $2,500. However, the cost of main-taining our family of six was about$20,000 that year, so we essentiallyspent about $22,500 of our savings.

Nevertheless, at the end of 1995offerings were increasing, and wedecided to continue onward. The min-istry largely supported itself and ourfamily over the next few years.However, the circulation list increased,especially in international areas, whichcost several times as much to mail.Postage and paper costs have risen.The size of the publication grew, andwe added a second publication, Shelterin the Word. Also, as our childrengrew, the needs of our familyincreased. Autos, appliances and hous-es wear out and things need to berepaired or replaced. Children in highschool simply cost more than gradeschool. The printers and computersoriginally purchased for the ministryneeded replacing.

The amount of offerings and giftscoming to us to take care of the min-istry and our family was in the$60,000s each year, peaking at$71,000 in the year 2000. Since then ithas dropped off, and the present year’sprojection is for only $44,000. We arevery thankful to the 14 families thathave provided a third of our supportover the years—we clearly could nothave done it without you. Even so, halfof those are no longer helping on a reg-

ular basis. Another hundred or so read-ers make up the next third of our sup-port. The rest comes from those whohave made an offering once or twice,or those who simply try to pay the costof the literature they receive. Over halfof our readers never send anything.

While dealing with the decrease inofferings, we have gotten behind ingetting the issues mailed. Also, theamount of non-publishing work that Ido has increased. The number of peo-ple submitting articles, news items,papers, books and letters seems to beholding steady. I look at many, butthere are many more that are still wait-ing. I spent hundreds of hours studyingthe US-Iraq war—when an armymarches into the Middle East, Biblestudents should take note. (I realizedfrom the Scriptures that sometimesGod sends one nation to fight anotherto carry out a punishment, but there areother times when nations decide to goto war on their own—and God is veryconcerned about their reasons for it.)

The number of people calling to talkabout their local congregations or to askfor prayer has gone up. We have alsotaken on projects, which I consider to bevitally important, such as the LocalServants Directory, Scattered BrethrenContact List, the Holy Scriptures trans-lation, and now the SabbatarianEducational Environment. But proba-bly most of the time that I need has beentaken by efforts to further save money.

A Penny Saved Is a PennyEarned — Unless It Takes TooLong To Save ItI continually find ways to economize,both for the ministry and our family.We went to “bulk mail”, then to “peri-odical mail”, saving thousands eachtime, but adding complexity to mailpreparation. I found inexpensivesources for printing supplies, computerequipment, software, telephone ser-vice, etc. We bought used appliances,vehicles, even clothes for the family.After learning to bid on eBay Internetauctions, we were able to save evenmore. For example, a tube of printingink may cost $45 from the manufactur-er’s representative, but only $25 froma discount vendor. “Compatible” inkmade by another vendor is only $20per tube, but I paid as little as $5 oneBay. When using 100 tubes a year,

that is significant. But sometimes cheaper items have

difficulties. The cheapest ink is muchmore difficult to print with—if themachinery is not set just right, it tendsto bleed through and produce asmudgy look. Low-priced computerhardware and software tends to takelonger to install and maintain. My firstRisograph printer was $5,200 new andran over 5 million copies with very lit-tle maintenance. I have printed 5 mil-lion more copies with three usedRisographs bought at $500 each, butseveral times as much maintenance. I fix nearly everything that breaksdown in our ministry and family. I likeworking with mechanical and electron-ic things, but spending a day to learnhow something works when one ishoping to finish an article or newslettercan be very frustrating.

During the last couple years, I havefound myself out of time as often asout of money. Some of our readershave volunteered to help with web-sites, articles, etc., but it seems that Iam always so busy trying to get anissue out, or make some piece of soft-ware or hardware work, that I do nothave time to integrate them into ouroperations. Accepting help from some-one hundreds of miles away is notalways an easy task. A co-ordinatedsystem is needed to make sure thateveryone’s software is compatible andthat two people are not trying tochange the same document at the sametime. Distant help cannot use or fix myequipment, access our paper files or doother things that need to be done righthere. The vast majority of our articlesand letters are still not in electronicformat (and our scanner has notworked since we upgraded the com-puter it was attached to).

More to Do With LessAs it stands, our family has used upabout $29,000 more of our savingsover the past few years and I do not be-lieve there is enough left to continueoperating this way. Furthermore, wefeel there are new expenses that we be-lieve we must take on.

Our oldest son just graduated fromhigh school, and we have applied toput our next two sons into Spring ValeAcademy, a Sabbatarian High Schoolsponsored by the Church of God

“Should Servants’ NewsContinue?” from page 1

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Mar/Apr 2003

Seventh Day that is only 10 miles fromour house. Our family has consideredthis for several years, but our localpublic school was much better thanaverage, and we did not feel we couldafford the extra expense. It costs$2,810 per year per student who livesat home. (Most are boarding students,which pay $6,400 per year for Churchof God Seventh Day members and$10,000 per year for non-members).

Educating children has always beena dilemma for Sabbatarians. Homeschool is wonderful if parents have thetime and ability. Private schools can bevery good, but very expensive. Somepublic schools are terrible, others canwork out well for students who arelargely there to study and who have asocial life centered around church orfamily. However, much of the value ofschools occurs in their extracurricularactivities and in the diversity of peoplethat one meets there. Unfortunately,these activities frequently conflict withthe Sabbath and sometimes otherBiblical teachings. This is most criticalduring high school and college years,when young people begin to rethinkwhat their parents taught them anddecide for themselves what theybelieve and don’t believe, what theywill do and what they will not do. It isgood that young people establish theirown relationship with God, andbelieve things they see in the Scripture,not just what they have been told. Butif they spend most of their time amongpeople who do not share their parents’values, it will certainly affect them.

Specifically, our children excel insports, music, drama and other extracurricular activities. They have manyfriends. They want to rise to the top—not be bystanders. This is difficultwhen they are interested in activitiesthat are partly—or completely—onthe Sabbath.

Since there is no chance to “doover” the raising of children, we feelwe must act this year. I wish therewas an independent Sabbatarian col-lege for my children—but there isnot. That is why I wrote the page 1article in this issue on the SabbatarianEducational Environment.

Decision TimeWith declining support for our min-istry and a need of $5,620 more for

school tuition, I realize that I mustmake some decisions in the nextmonth.

I would very much like to continuethe work of Church Bible TeachingMinistry. About half of our new readersfind us via the website. I have receivedmany phone calls, letters and e-mails ofthanks from people who were greatlyhelped when they were leaving oppres-sive church organizations and/or start-ing up new congregations. Some had aChurch of God background, some didnot. Many find the doctrinal articlesand say they have never seen anythingelse like them. I have huge files ofideas and research for additional arti-cles that I would like to write.

I would like to expand the work ofChurch Bible Teaching Ministry andcould enumerate the ways—but Ishould not get too excited when I can-not afford to do what I am doing now.

On the other hand, there are nowfour independent SabbatarianNewsletters: The Journal: News of theChurches of God (Dixon Cartwright),The Churches of God News (RickBeltz), Church of God News (RichardNickels) and Darwin and Laura Lee’snewsletter. Maybe that is enough.

I want to do whatever I can do toserve God and His people the most.We have prayed and fasted that Godwill make His will clear to us.

I realize that God might have some-thing else in mind for us. I have alsoapplied to become a teacher at SpringVale Academy. They do have openingsand do hire teachers who are notChurch of God 7th Day members, but

I have not been offered a job and donot know that one will be offered.While the pay is quite low, teachersreceive a 75% discount on tuition fortheir children. It also gives summersoff, plus almost a month betweensemesters. If I took this job I might beable to produce two or three issues ofServants’ News per year, but wouldprobably end Shelter in the Word. It islikely that most projects, letter/e-mailanswering and telephone consultationswould largely end. I would gain morevaluable experience teaching youngpeople (my seven years of teaching atAmbassador College ended in 1988).This experience and contracts theremight be helpful in accomplishing theSabbatarian Educational Environment(see page 1 of this issue).

I realize that God has plans that I donot know about. Twenty years ago Iwould have insisted that I would neverhave had this newsletter ministry ofa job. I am in my mid-forties, so I hopeI can do another twenty years of goodwork. At this time, I have no idea whatthat will be. It may be best that I workwith young people now, especiallywhen my own children are at home,and then go back to researching andwriting when I am older.

Please Return the EnclosedPageI am asking all of you who read this topray about it and tell me what youthink as soon as practical. In late Julyor early August I need to make a deci-sion. Our Manville, Illinois, Feast ofTabernacles’ plans are going for-

ward this year no matterwhat. The camp deposit hasbeen paid and we expect tohave a wonderful Feast there.

Please fill out the red page infront of this issue and return itin the enclosed envelope.Please return it even if it isjust to let us know that youwould like to keep readingServants’ News for as long aswe are able to produce it. Ifyou do not have time to answerall the questions, or the partabout the Sabbatarian Educa-tional Environment, that is fine.

Thanks to all of you whohave made this ministry possi-ble for over eight years.

Sabbatarian High SchoolIf you know of young people who needa Christian Sabbatarian high schoolenvironment, encourage them toconsider Spring Vale Academy. Its $10,000 cost can sometimes bebrought down with scholarships,sponsorships and on-campus work.Students may enter at any grade (9–12), but the most common year ofentry is 11th grade. For more information, contact SpringVale Academy, 4150 South M-52,Owosso, Michigan 48867; E-mail: svasecretary@chartermi.netWebsite: sva.cog7.orgFax: 989-729-6408; Tel: 989-725-2391.

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See, e.g., Webster’s Third NewInternational Dictionary 1817 (1976ed.) (“dissemination of ideas, informa-tion, or rumor for the purpose of help-ing or injuring an institution, a cause,or a person”; “doctrines, ideas, argu-ments, facts, or allegations spread bydeliberate effort through any mediumof communication in order to furtherone's cause or to damage an oppos-ing cause”; “a publication or displayhaving the purpose or effect of fur-thering or hindering a cause”); OxfordEnglish Dictionary 1466 (1978 ed.)(“any association, systematicscheme, or concerted movement forthe propagation of a particular doc-trine or practice”); Random HouseDictionary of the English Language1152 (1966 ed.) (“information, rumors,etc., deliberately spread widely to helpor harm a person, group, movement,institution, nation, etc.”). This Supreme Court case was

about the meaning of the words “polit-ical propaganda” in the ForeignAgents Registration Act, 22 U.S.C.611. The essence of this code sectionrequires “foreign agents” to registerand report on any “political propagan-da” that they distribute in the UnitedStates. The case arose when aCalifornia State Senator wanted to dis-tribute three films from Canada aboutacid rain and nuclear war, but felt hisreputation would be harmed if he dis-tributed films that had been officiallyclassified “political propaganda”.

The Senator called linguistic expertwitnesses who testified that “propagan-da” is negative in most people’s mindsand that some would not want to see afilm that was so classified. A districtcourt agreed with the Senator, so thecase went to the Supreme Court whereit was reversed. The Supreme Courtfound that the definition of “propagan-da” includes not only negative mes-sages, but anything that one mightpropagate. The Supreme Court specifi-cally stated that it is irrelevant that mostpeople do not understand the meaningas long as the law itself is clear:

Congress’ use of the term “propa-ganda” in this statute, as indeed inother legislation, has no pejorativeconnotation. 19 As judges it is our dutyto [481 U.S. 465, 485] construe legis-

lation as it is written, not as it might beread by a layman, or as it might beunderstood by someone who has noteven read it. If the term “political pro-paganda” is construed consistentlywith the neutral definition contained inthe text of the statute itself, the consti-tutional concerns voiced by theDistrict Court completely disappear. The class distinctions here are iron-

ic. Most church pastors refer to them-selves as “clergy” and the churchbrethren as “laymen”. Here, theSupreme Court opinion refers to non-lawyers as “laymen”, and says that it isnot responsible if “laymen” do notunderstand the law. How many hun-dreds of thousands of pastors havepromised the IRS not to “carry onpropaganda” and not realized thatthey have agreed not to propagateanything, including the Gospel ofJesus Christ?

Please realize that constitutionalrights are not an issue here. The FirstAmendment says:

Congress shall make no lawrespecting an establishment of reli-gion, or prohibiting the free exercisethereof; or abridging the freedom ofspeech, or of the press; or the right ofthe people peaceably to assemble,and to petition the Government for aredress of grievances.Churches are not required to

incorporate or file for tax exemptstatus. IRS publications say that.But if they want these things, there isnothing illegal about them promisingto give up their rights in exchange forthe “benefits” of incorporation and taxexemption. When Christian Echoeshad its tax exempt status removed bythe IRS, the 10th District Court said:

In light of the fact that tax exemp-tion is a privilege, a matter of gracerather than right, we [the 10th DistrictCourt] hold that the limitations con-tained in section 501(c)(3) withhold-ing exemption from nonprofitcorporations do not deprive ChristianEchoes of its constitutionally guaran-teed right of freedom of speech.(Christian Echoes National Ministry,Inc. v. United States, 470 F.2d 849(10th Cir. 1972); cert. denied, 414U.S. 864 (1973)).The Supreme court declined to hear

an appeal of the above case, letting theruling stand as a legal precedent.

Supreme Court SpecificallyAddresses Section 501(c)(3)

This writer could not find any caseswhere the meaning of “propaganda” insection 501(c)(3) was the main sub-ject. However, in the above case,MEESE v. KEENE, 481 U.S. 465(1987), footnote 7 directly referencesInternal Revenue Code section501(c)(3) [emphasis ours]:

7 We also note that Congress hasused the term “propaganda” in a neu-tral sense in a number of otherstatutes. See, e.g., 5 U.S.C. 4107; 26U.S.C. 501(c)(3), 2522(b), 4945(d);36 U.S.C. 1304. Likewise, this Courthas recognized the neutral meaningof the word in referring to a variety ofactivities as “propaganda”. See, e.g.,Lehman v. City of Shaker Heights,418 U.S. 298, 304 (1974); NationalAssociation of Letter Carriers v.Austin, 418 U.S. 264, 280 n.14(1974); NLRB v. Drivers Local 639,362 U.S. 274, 279 (1960).The “26 U.S.C.” highlighted above

is the Internal Revenue Code and the“501(c)(3)” is the famous section501(c)(3). You can also see the othercases cited in various years where“propaganda” has a neutral meaning.No cases or laws were cited where pro-paganda had only a negative meaning.The law is clear. The IRS can removethe tax exempt status of any churchthat clearly “propagates” any message.

Has the IRS even done this? Thiswriter believes so, but has not seen theofficial documents. They are not pub-lic record unless there is a court case.When the IRS removes tax exempt sta-tus, they usually do it retroactively forseveral years, resulting in a huge taxbill for the church and loss of deduc-tions for its donors. Often, the churchcorporation dissolves—sometimesmembers reform under a new name,sometimes not. But once a church cor-poration dissolves, its court cases end.

For More InformationThe Supreme Court cases cited in thisarticle can be found at the followingfree website:

www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.htmMore explanation is available in

our free 12-page paper, IRS CodeSection 501(c)(3) and Churches.Request order code IRSCHU.

“501(c)(3) Churches” from page 1

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above, but there is much that we“established believers” could andshould do to help them.

Today, it is difficult enough for anaverage young person to get a goodeducation and a good job, and find acompatible person who wants to marrythem. It is even more difficult for theChristian. Nearly all government-funded universities openly advocateevolution and promiscuity—and dis-criminate against those with strongChristian beliefs.

Many “Christian colleges” have amuch more moral and biblical envi-ronment, but will actually persecute astudent who believes in keeping theSabbath. There are Seventh DayAdventist colleges and a very fewother Sabbatarian colleges, but theseschools are largely focused on turningout people dedicated to their own par-ticular denomination. The concept ofyoung men graduating from a “semi-nary” in their early twenties and beingplaced in charge of a congregation isunbiblical (1Tim 3; Titus 1). The bibli-cal term for “elder” means older manand even Jesus Christ, in his perfec-tion, waited until age 30 to begin hisministry (Luke 3:23).

So what options are available to theyoung Sabbatarian who is just out ofhigh school? God has made as manydifferent kinds of people as he hasmade different kinds of flowers, but-they do not all need the same thing tosurvive and grow.

Some young people know early inlife what kind of work they want to do.They simply need to find a place tolearn it where they can keep theSabbath.

Some young people find the personwhom they want to marry early in life,and it is simply a matter of waitinguntil working situations make that pos-sible.

Some young people have a naturalcuriosity to study the Bible. Othersfind it difficult, preferring the popularliterature of the day.

Some young people have ampleopportunity for Christian service andwant to commit themselves to God.Others are slower and may need someencouragement.

Indeed, some young people arecapable of achieving these life goalswith only an handful of other believersas friends. Others can have numerousnon-believers as friends and still notbecome affected by them. Others havea great need to be in a community ofbelievers to focus on God, to findsomeone to marry, to get the right edu-cation, to get the right job, and to com-mit themselves to God.

What Our Young People NeedThe initial reaction might be “we needan independent Sabbatarian ChristianCollege”. That would certainly be agood thing. But in many ways, weneed more than that. And in someways, especially when the cost iscounted, we need less than that. Itwould be wonderful to have a Sab-batarian technical school, junior col-lege and “Harvard University” allrolled into one. But it would cost mil-lions, and academic accreditation re-quirements might ruin it.

Instead, this article proposes a Sab-batarian Educational Environ-ment—“SEE” for short. This is aradically different concept in educa-tion, not found anywhere else, to thisauthor’s knowledge. Requirements:The differences between SEE and atraditional college or technical schoolare numerous and will be expoundedbelow.

The purpose of SEE would be toprepare young people to “make thetransition” between home and adultChristian life in the four areas men-tioned at the beginning of this article:Bible education, earning-a-living edu-cation, finding a mate, and committingoneself to a lifetime of service to God.Obviously, no program can assure any-one that they will find someone tomarry, but throughout history, millionsof people have gone to a college hop-ing to find a mate—and did. Marriageis a vital part of the continuance of anysociety and must be integral to theplanning of young peoples’ futures.

Small-School LivingEnvironmentThe living environment will be similarto a typical small college: dormitorieswith a common dining hall. This is acost-effective way to take care ofmany people, and it provides a chance

for each person to meet a great manyothers. Private housing will be provid-ed for married students. They do notneed to “find a mate”, but they maystill need the Bible and job-educationand to develop a commitment to God.

Moral standards will be upheld.Students will be disciplined orexpelled for tobacco use, illegal druguse, theft, violence, fornication, etc.Students would be expected to observethe Sabbath. An effort will be made toincorporate parental requests in regardto specific standards that they want fortheir children.

On-campus recreation activities,including sports, will be provided asfacilities and funds permit. Optionaltrips to off-campus recreation activi-ties will also be made available.Students will be encouraged to orga-nize these events as much as possible.

The SEE staff will be commis-sioned to take a caring but not control-ling interest in social life of thestudents—helping to moderate theobnoxious, and bring out the quite andtimid students. A conscious effort willbe made to maintain a family atmos-phere where nobody is left out.

Required Christian CoreAll students will be required to takeBible classes appropriate for their yearof attendance. These classes emphasizereading the Bible and understandingwhat it says. They will avoid the com-mon errors of “traditional Christiani-ty”, but there would not be a specificattempt to teach the doctrines of anyone church organization. Students willbe tested on their Bible knowledge, justas other subjects include tests.

All students will be required toattend weekly assemblies to hearspeakers from within and withoutSEE. These meetings of everyone helpto build a family atmosphere. An effortwould be made to expose the studentsto a wide variety of Christian work.

Students will also be required tospend a few hours per week in someaspect of Christian ministry: visitingshut-ins, helping the needy, teachingchildren, answering Internet Biblequestions, etc.

In their second year at SEE, stu-dents will be required to take a class onChristianity and today’s law. As theapostle Paul knew his rights under

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Roman Law and used them for the fur-therance of the Gospel, so todayChristians should know rights undercurrent law and use them for the fur-therance of the gospel. The ministry ofJesus and the apostles was so powerfulthat the civil authorities feared thatthey would lose control and tried tostop their preaching by unjustly perse-cuted them (John 11:48; Acts 4:16–21)

Students will learn about the lawsand court decisions regarding how andwhere Bible studies can be held—school, workplace, home and else-where. The paperwork aspects of howto organize a local ministry will also bediscussed. It is not expected that stu-dents will immediately leave collegeand begin organizing Bible studies andlocal ministries—though some might.The goal is to teach these issues that areotherwise seldom taught, so they canhelp other older church leaders do it, orso they will know how to do it as theygrow into church leadership positions.

A Certificate of ChristianMinistry will be given to everyonewho completes their program. Thebiblical meaning of “ministry” is sim-ply “service”—not necessarily imply-ing a leadership role. From a legalperspective, this will clearly makeSEE an ecclesiastical institution, pro-tected by the First Amendment.

Everybody WorksStudents will also be required to spendseveral hours per week working. Thework will help reduce the costs ofSEE, but will also serve the importantneed of teaching young people to be onthe “doing” side of things, rather thanjust “watching” or “receiving”. Thegoal of SEE will be to provide enoughwork that a student with very minimalresources will be able to enter the pro-gram and work his/her way through.Three separate areas of work are possi-ble:

1. Campus maintenance: kitch-en, custodial, maintenance, officework and other jobs necessary to oper-ate SEE.

2. Campus improvement: Everyclass (year of students) will berequired to do a project for long-termcampus improvement. A plaque on theproject will bear their names for thelife of its existence. Such projectsmight include repainting a building,

putting on a new roof, remodeling aroom, planting a lawn, etc.

3. Work related to one’s field ofstudy. A great effort will be made toprovide work related to the variousfields of study. For example, studentswho are learning web site develop-ment may actually assist in develop-ment of real web sites. The goal formany students will be to leave the pro-gram with actual work experience aswell as education.

Accreditation Not PossibleNo accrediting organization would ap-prove the plans that have been statedthus far. Secular college accrediting as-sociations would not accept requiringstudents to work and to serve in Chris-tian ministry. Bible college accreditingassociations want to see the teachingof the Trinity and other traditionalChristian doctrines.

This program is simply too differentfrom traditional schools to fit into anycurrent standard of evaluation. Sowhat value will there be to educationwithout accreditation?

Two methods of providing studentswith effective ways of earning a livingwill be provided.

Internet College AccessThe number of well recognized uni-versities and colleges with Internetcourses is increasing all the time. (Cer-tainly there are bogus or very poorschools offering Internet degrees-thesewill be avoided.) SEE will researchand find the best and most cost-effec-tive programs in various fields ofstudy. Certificates, two-year degrees,four-year degrees or even advanceddegrees are all available on-line.

SEE will provide the computers andhigh-speed internet access to makestudying effective. When several stu-dents are enrolled in the same pro-gram, SEE will provide tutoring ifneeded. Some fields of study requirestudents to purchase expensive labequipment, books or software. SEEwill purchase these items and allowstudents to share them, reducing thetotal cost.

Students will have the best of bothworlds. They will live in a ChristianSabbath-observing environment, theywill benefit from group savings onmaterials, and they will be able to have

face-to-face contact with other stu-dents and tutors. Yet, their course workwill be accredited by the providingInternet institutions.

Technical EducationSEE will offer a number of technicalprograms, starting with a few forwhich there are interested instructors,and students. More courses will beadded as budget, staff and student in-terest allows. In many technical areas,a certification is established only bytesting. It makes no difference whetherpeople learn the information on a job,from an expensive course, from read-ing a book or from a Christian teacherat SEE. As long as they can pass thetest, they are certified.

Certifications via testing can comefrom several places:

1. Large Companies provide cer-tification for independent contractorsto service their products (for example,Microsoft has a Certified NetworkEngineer program).

2. State Governments have awhole host of areas of certification:appraisal, auto repair, construction,child care, heating & air conditioning,real estate, refrigeration, etc.

3. Professional Associationsoffer certifications for numerousthings from sports referees and campcounselors to computer and radio oper-ators to management and secretarialskills to legal and library services.

The number of possibilities isalmost endless. The goal of SEE willbe to find certifications which

1. are of interest to a significantnumber of Sabbatarian young people,

2. are possible to teach with avail-able instructors, and

3. provide good job opportunities.SEE will also persue fields of work

where few certifications exist, but anindividual may easily obtain a jobbased upon samples of their work (e.g.a photographer or layout artist mayoften obtain a job based upon a portfo-lio of previous work.)

Possible technical study areas forthe near-term include:

Audio TechnologyChild CareComputer Assembly and RepairComputer NetworkingComputer ProgrammingCosmetology & Skin Care

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Graphic DesignHouse PaintingMusic of Various KindsParalegalPhotography (Film & Digital)Refrigeration RepairSmall Engine RepairSports OfficiatingWeb-Site DesignWord ProcessingMore complex programs for the

future might include:Auto RepairCarpentryCabinetryElectrical WiringFood ServiceHeating & Air Conditioning RepairPrintingShoe RepairSolar/Wind Energy InstallationVideo ProductionAs these technical course areas are

developed, it is hoped that SEE canobtain practical on-campus work inthese areas. For example, SEE maytake on outside contracts for computerprogramming, word processing or website design where students will be ableto work on them. Also, SEE may makearrangements with local vendors torepair refrigerators, computers orsmall engines. This will provide stu-dents with the ability to leave withactual work experience in addition totheir education.

Technical Education OftenBetter than a College DegreeSome people may object to the idea oftechnical school saying that “peopleneed a well-rounded education in his-tory, literature, math, science, the arts,sociology and ethics—they should notjust learn about a job.” One or twohundred years ago, colleges and uni-versities may well have been produc-ing a well-rounded education. TheBible and Christian literature were re-quired reading at Harvard, Yale andother prestigious schools. Today, manyof those things are replaced by evolu-tion, political correctness, government& corporation “worship” and maybe ahomosexual or new-age agendathrown in. Today, Christian youngpeople who go to secular colleges anduniversities usually are less negativelyinfluenced in technical programs withfew general education requirements.

The age when a person needs to goto a school to learn worthwhilethings is over. Years ago, much signif-icant knowledge could only be foundamong the teachers or libraries of uni-versities. But now, through the Internet,a person can have access to an incredi-ble amount of original informationonline or be able to buy just about anybook that was ever written. If a personor a small group is willing to limit theirentertainment, they can learn aboutalmost anything they desire.

Nevertheless, there is still a needin our society for the standard uni-versity or college degree. Some pro-fessions, such as engineering,medicine, education, etc. utterlyrequire a traditional degree. Other pro-fessions are possible but very difficultwithout a degree. But obtaining a col-lege degree in a field that does notrequire one is not the “key to a goodjob” that it once was.

Over 150 years ago, almost anyonewho finished high school could have agood job. In general, only the brightand the diligent stayed in school thatlong, and those hiring knew it. Over 50years ago, anyone with a collegedegree would receive a well-payingjob. Again, most people who finishedcollege were either talented or diligent,and they would make good workers.But now, with massive amounts of aidprograms to help people though col-lege, many are graduating who are notparticularly talented or diligent, andthose hiring realize that a collegedegree is no guarantee that a personwill be a good worker. While a bache-lor’s degree or a master’s degree cer-tainly qualify an individual for jobs notavailable to others, they no longer“guarantee” one a job.

Today, less than half of the studentswho graduate with a bachelors degreeremain employed in their field of studyfor four years after graduation (statis-tics from http://nces.ed.gov). Abouthalf of them owe money upon gradua-tion—averaging about $14,000.Average salaries are in the low$30,000s. A person with two years ofauto-repair school and two years ofexperience could expect to be makingmore than that—and probably muchless likely to still be paying for hisschooling.

Technical schools generally rate

themselves by the percentage of grad-uates that they place in jobs. Collegesgranting degrees do not always evenkeep such statistics. Those that do keepthem may not prominently displaythem. It is still quite possible to spend4 years and $40,000 to obtain a degreethat does not really qualify one for anyjob. Part of the problem is that univer-sity programs are often designed andapproved by professors and accredit-ing associations made up of older col-lege professors and administrators.These college officials may be out oftouch with today’s industry or theymay simply include subjects that are ofinterest to them. There is also a ten-dency for academics to add require-ments for more and more advancedcourses, which increases the need forexpensive teachers and materials.Since so many people see college asthe key to a good job, they pay thecosts that are rising much faster thaninflation. But is it always worth it?

Additional SEE CoursesAdditional courses will be offeredthat will nicely compliment the tech-nical courses. Unfortunately, theycannot count as electives for thosetaking Internet college programs, butthey will be valuable enough thatmany students will want to take themanyway. They will be of especiallygreat value for those who plan to runtheir own business.

What are the additional courses?Much of the information that would

be of the most value to our society israrely taught in schools or anywhere.Large corporate businesses frequentlytry to influence what is taught at uni-versities by funding research projects,professorship, etc. Hence, universitieshave a tendency to teach students to goto the “professionals” for accounting,legal, medical, psychiatric and otherkinds of advice. Their purpose is toeducate people to keep the moneygoing to them—the “professionals”.Universities tend to teach very littleabout where “professionals” go astrayor where less expensive alternativesare available.

To give some examples: The rightcomputer program and a few hours ofinstruction may produce the samereports as a professional accountingfirm, but at a fraction of the cost. Our

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founding fathers were tired of the abusefrom the professionals who represented(or misrepresented) them in Englishcourts, so they made sure that in theUSA a person could represent them-selves; but today, almost everyoneteaches the use of lawyers and almostnobody knows how to represent them-selves. Heart bypass surgery andchemo/radiation cancer treatment rep-resent multi-billion dollar businesses;while other less expensive treatmentseffectively used in other countries golargely ignored. People may spendthousands on psychologists, when theirproblems could be solved by repen-tance, a proverb and/or a prayer.

This is not to say that all or evenmost mainstream university teach-ing is bad—or that all “alternative”:methods are good. Many “alterna-tive” practitioners do a good job ofpointing out the errors and inefficien-cies of the mainstream, but then theyoften go on to introduce panacea solu-tions which are also expensive and/orineffective.

Somewhere in the middle, oftenfound in small clinics or moderatelypriced books and videos, are thosewho have studied and found effectivesolutions to some of the problems ofour day. There is often not a lot ofmoney to be made in showing a personthe best way to solve problems. Butthis is the kind of information thatChristians should want to learn and toteach their young people. Solomonunderstood that there is little glory inhumble, wise solutions:

There was a little city with few men init; and a great king came against it,besieged it, and built great snaresaround it. Now there was found in it apoor wise man, and he by his wisdomdelivered the city. Yet no one remem-bered that same poor man (Eccl9:14–15).

Get wisdom! Get understanding! Donot forget, nor turn away from the wordsof my mouth (Prov 4:5).Additional SEE courses will

include such things as:Biblical Marriage and Family in

Today’s WorldChild Rearing TodayCreation Science: Combating

EvolutionCreative HomemakingNavigating the Medical Maze (an

honest look at cost and successof common medical practicesof our day)

Personal Purchasing (how to buynew or used autos, homes,appliances, insurance etc.)

Representing Yourself in Court.Running a Small Business. Searching the Internet.

Teachers Will be GoodChristian ExamplesTeachers will be selected for theirChristian example, ability to teach,knowledge, and desire to help youngpeople. This writer has sat in the class-room of instructors with doctoral de-grees who had a terrible timeexplaining almost anything they knew;but has also learned profound conceptsfrom men and women who never fin-ished high school, though they active-ly continued learning throughout theirlives.

Because there is no accreditinginstitution, SEE leadership will be ableto use biblical standards and concen-trate on teachers that are best for theirstudents.

Every effort will be made to hireChristian, preferably Sabbath-observ-ing teachers. However, there may betimes when an unexpected departureof a teacher requires the speedy hiringof a replacement in order to allow stu-dents to complete their course of study.In other cases, a non-Christian or non-Sabbatarian teacher may be the onlyone available to teach a specific pro-gram that is greatly desired. SEE lead-ership will simply have to use Godlywisdom in making these decisions.

Teachers that violate Biblical moralstandards or who are a bad example tothe students should be expeditiouslyreplaced.

Custom Plan for Each StudentEach student entering SEE will need tomake their own custom educationalplan. The goal will be to allow enoughtime to a good job of classes and work,to have an uplifting social life, but notleave enough time for students to getinto trouble.

The number of years required mayvary from one to as many as six orseven. Everyone must take therequired core in addition to their cho-sen Internet degree program or techni-

cal program. Also, campus work willtake up some time—a lot of time forthose depending upon it to pay theirway through school. Nevertheless,some diligent students who do notneed to “work their way throughschool” may be able to finish a two-year Internet degree in two years.

On the other hand, students whoneed to work a lot or who want to takea lot of SEE’s additional courses maytake substantially longer than normal.For example, a person may want to doa two-year internet degree program inthree years. Or they may want to do afour-year program in five or six years.

Technical school programs willvary greatly, from as short one year toseveral years. Again, these will dependgreatly upon how many additionalclasses a student wants to take andhow much work he or she does.

Every student must submit a plan toSEE. Then, they must either stay withthat plan, or make a new plan.

Students will be permitted to marryand continue attending SEE, providedthat housing is available and they areable afford it. The old philosophy of“finish your schooling before youmarry” made sense when people werejust finishing high school—or just highschool and a four-year college. But themodern practice of going to college tillone is 25 or 30 to obtain an advanceddegree, then working hard to pay offschool loans and then finding someoneto marry has not always worked well.Some women have more difficultybearing children in their 30’s, and fam-ily size is often smaller for those mar-ried then. Staying up all night with acrying child is much more difficult atage 40 than it is at age 20.

Parents: do not worry that yourchild will go off to school and then callhome someday and tell you that theyare married. Read on.

Parental InvolvementBecause SEE does not answer to anyaccrediting institution, and becauseeach student makes a custom plan, par-ents can have a level of influence ontheir child’s education that is fargreater than most schools. If parentsdesire, they can routinely receivecopies of their young persons impor-tant documents: custom educationplan; grade reports; work completed

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and disciplinary actions (if any). Par-ents may also ask to be informed ofany obviously serious opposite-sex re-lationships.

Ideally, young people would keeptheir parents informed about all ofthese issues anyway. However, werealize that does not always happen.And in those situations where familyrelationships are strained, it is proba-bly not good for parents to try to pre-vent their children from attendingsome place like SEE just because they“don’t know what will happen”. Bynotifying parents of significant eventsin their young person’s education, itallows them to talk things out, and inextreme cases, insist that the youngperson change or come home.

The purpose of SEE is to educateyoung people to better serve God, toqualify them for a good job, to givethem opportunity to find a mate, and toreturn them to the area from wherethey came, so they can becomeChristian leaders there. Obviously, ifstudents from opposite parts of thecountry end up marrying, one of themcannot go back to live in their homearea. (The only solution to this prob-lem is for everyone to marry someonefrom their home area; with smallSabbatarian churches, there often isnobody in a home area that a youngperson wants to marry.) Parents, aswell as SEE staff should encouragestudents to take courses of study thatwill lead them to jobs that are availablein their local area.

One reason why serious relation-ships and marriages are not discour-aged at SEE is to increase the numberof students that return home and toavoid the “single graduate hangout”phenomena that otherwise occurs.When institutions have a “no marriagetill your out” rule, it does not makesense for students to get serious aboutmarriage until their last year or so. Butrelationships do not work by the clockor by the calendar. A person may lookhard their last year, and find that theyjust cannot find anyone suitable—whois not already spoken for. Or they maythink they have the right one, but theninsurmountable differences are found afew months before graduation andthere is simply not time to find anoth-er. So when graduation comes, they donot want to return home, because they

know that they do not want to marryanyone at home. So they move to a“single graduate hangout”—usually acity near their school where other sin-gle graduates go for jobs and a sociallife. This may indeed be a reasonableplace to find a mate, but it is probablynot as good as the school, and eachyear in the “hangout” is one more yearaway from home, and one more steptoward finding a reason to never returnhome.

What Will This Cost?No educational entity ever started by abunch of students paying enough tu-ition in advance to purchase the neces-sary facilities and pay the instructors.Campuses and teachers are expensive,and most students do not have a lot ofmoney.

The only way something like thisSabbath Educational Environment(SEE) can be created is by able peoplewho are concerned about the future todecide to do it.

If it were all to be done with cashofferings, it could cost a couple mil-lions dollars to start. It does not allhave to be done with money. Someperson or group might be able to makea campus available. Others might beable to help get it into working order.Some capable retired people mightvolunteer to spend a few good mean-ingful years teaching or working onthe new program. There may be otherswho have flexible jobs who couldafford a year to help with their particu-lar expertise. Someone else may haveinherited a working auto or electronicsshop—which they were intending tosell at auction, but could give to SEEto start a program in that field.

People are needed to serve as anadvisory council and to promote theidea to others. Yes, there will alwaysbe a need for money. Maybe someonewould rather leave a place of Godlylearning as their legacy than hang ontoa piece of property, a boat or some-thing else that really makes little dif-ference in their life.

Church Bible Teaching Ministrydoes not have the resources to do this.But we can compile the ideas andoffers to help from those who read this.We can pray for God to show us hiswill. But if there is enough desire fromSabbatarians—of whatever group—

SEE can come to be.The goal is to make the program as

inexpensive to students as possible.SEE students taking Internet classeswould be largely responsible for thecost of that tuition, but it is usuallycheaper than attending a university(young people don’t prefer it because itis so boring to do it all alone at home).If Sabbatarian students who alreadyhave a college fund could pay the dif-ference between university andInternet classes to SEE for room boardand Bible classes, it would help to startthe program.

Let Us Hear from YouPlease return the red page at the frontof this issue and let us know about po-tential students, teachers, course infor-mation, facilities, supporters, etc. Theideas in this article came about fromdiscussions with a variety of Sabbatar-ians—both independent and denomi-national. While some of theSabbatarian church organizationsmight have some reservations aboutsending their young people to an edu-cational facility that they do not con-trol, it ought to be better than sendingthem to state or private non-Sabbatari-an schools which they do not control.If a Sabbatarian church group wouldlike to provide a man to conduct Sab-bath services for their students or toteach doctrine or Bible classes specifi-cally for them, that would fit within thegoals and purposes of SEE.

May God help us to work togetherand to pass on to our young people thatwhich is most important.

Lots of SEEs?A proofreader of this article asked,

“What if someone takes your idea?”The answer is that it would be wonder-ful if one or several groups would takethis idea and make it work. We needthousands of people willing to investmoney in things that will bolster thespiritual and family lives of our youngpeople. Many believers attempt toteach their children at home and in theircongregations, but most of the moneythey spend on them is largely directedat entertainment and helping them fitinto this world’s economic systems.They need more than that.

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partner, and the partner asked if hecould have one of those “King” ver-sions too. And both stayed for theentire study.

Let me give you some generalimpressions. I was sitting in a roomtoday of men and women who werehungry and thirsty for the word ofGod. They are seeking the Father’sface, have faith in Jesus Christ, and arestriving to learn to do his will. One ofthe men today is 22 years old and hasbeen in God’s Word for only threeyears, yet his first love and enthusiasmglowed from his face. And his insightin scripture was commendable for oneso new. And the glow was there notonly for him, but for all those in theroom today.

I believe God honors that attitude,and I am beginning to see this moreand more. Maybe I’m seeing it nowand not earlier because I’m looking forit now.

Yesterday as I was taking mySaturday morning walk through theneighborhood, I saw an acquaintancefrom a Wednesday morning Biblestudy that I have been attending forseveral months. He has been studyingjust over a year and is planning onbeing baptized soon. Again, he literal-ly glows with enthusiasm and gratitudefor the Father, the sacrifice of his Son,and is hungering and thirsting for moreunderstanding of the Word of God. Hesimply drinks in the Word of God andcan’t get enough.

A couple of weeks ago my sisterback in New York called me. Herdaughter befriended a Bible believingcouple who have literally turned herlife around, and my niece is now heavyinto Bible study, and what was evenmore touching for me, my sistercracked open a Bible and has begunthe adventure herself. I could feel thejoy and enthusiasm in her voice. I wasmoved to my core by this wonderfulnews.

I relate these events because I wantto share with you a metamorphosis inmy thinking that has been a wonderfulresult of my usually weekly trips to thetruck stop. I used to be like Job’sfriends. “No doubt but ye are the peo-ple, and wisdom shall die with you.”(Job 12:2 KJV). I know “stuff” that

they don’t know, so that makes me bet-ter than they are. What I didn’t under-stand, though, is something verystrange about knowledge. Paul said it.“We know that we all have knowledge.Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies”(1Cor 8:1, NKJV). Yes, there is a cer-tain arrogance that comes fromknowing secret knowledge,and too often it does nothingmore than feed one’s ego. Itmade me into one of thefew special, exclusiveacolytes, and like a littlebrat I effectively ranaround chanting, “Iknow something youdon’t know.”

I don’t think God was pleased withthat attitude. But I’ll tell you what Godis pleased with. He is pleased with ahumble and contrite heart, like myfriend here in the neighborhood whotells me that the changes God is mak-ing in his life is bringing reconciliationbetween him and his family. Or theyoung truck driver’s love for God thatglows from every pore. Or my sisterand her daughter who now have a pur-pose in life and for the first time real-ize that God hears them and lovesthem, and that they do not need to gothrough a priest to get there.

Yes, knowledge puffs up, but loveedifies.

I have learned through this truckstop ministry that I limited God in howhe can work. And I have learned thathaving all knowledge and all truth willnot get anyone into the kingdom. Godis looking for humble and contritehearts, and in the years we have donethis ministry, God has shown me hun-dreds if not thousands of such hearts.And those hearts did not depend onhow much they know or how muchthey think they know. Instead itdepends on love for God and love forfellow man. That is, after all, whatJesus meant when he talked about theweightier matters of the law.

God is bigger than we are, and weshould not limit him to our own petdoctrinal babies.

[This is a wonderful message that Ihave tried to convey myself manytimes. It should be obvious that Godgives believers truth at bit at a time,and that He does not give the sametruths to every believer at the same

time. Truth is important and those whohold to error, even unknowingly, dosuffer because of it (Hos 4:6; Luke12:48). But it often seems that Churchof God brethren are too intent on find-ing every last bit of truth, and do not

realize that they aretoo judgmental

of others.“For withwhat judg-ment youjudge, youwill bejudged;a n dwith the

measure you use, it will be measuredback to you” (Matt 7:2). If a believerdies holding to only one false doctrine,but has condemned others as unbeliev-ers for their false doctrine, will Christjudge him with his own judgment, andcall him an “unbeliever” because ofhis false doctrine? Whereas, if a manbelieves ten false doctrines, but holdsout help and hope for others with evenmore error than he, cannot Christ, inthe judgement, correct his ten errorsand accept the man to rule with Him?— NSE]

February 9, 2003It was a bit downbeat at the beginningtoday. People are on edge over the warand need encouraging. I’m not aprophet and don’t claim to be, so I re-frain from making any predictions. Ido know, though, that God has a plan,and we need to be in tune with thatplan. Part of being in tune is to dealwith the stresses and doubts that thisworld brings. I am fascinated withPaul’s letter to the Philippians. Thisletter was written from prison, yet Paulcontinually refers to his joy. That’s in-credible, if you think about it. That wasa function of being in tune with God’swill.

One of the drivers today is fromCanada, and I asked him about theCanadian impression of American reli-gion. He said that Canada is not at all areligious society. It is illegal in Canadato quote certain scriptures, and some ofthem are wondering if it will even belegal for them to meet in ten years. Ata recent memorial event, the ordercame from the Prime Minister that noone was to use the name of Jesus

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Mar/Apr 2003

Christ. The view in Canada is that theUS uses its religion as an excuse tointervene.

It is certainly interesting to note thatas secularized as the US has become, itis less secularized than most otherWestern nations. It is also a fact thatthere are forces in this country whowould love us to go down the samepath as Canada, although there is con-siderably more vocal resistance to ithere than there was there.

[Both statistics and numerous testi-monies from our readers in othercountries agree: the USA is abandon-ing God, but other nations are farahead of us. Sabbath-keepers need torealize that it is largely Sunday-keep-ers that have fought for rights forChristians to mention God and theBible in public places. Sabbatarianshave fought primarily for rights tokeep the Sabbath and Holy Days, andto avoid military service. But even asthese Sunday-keepers have mistakes intheir doctrine, the majority of themincorporate their churches and applyfor tax exempt status with the IRS. Thiseffectively places all significant activi-ties of their church under governmentcontrol—in a noose that is now loose,but that can be tightened at will.Sabbatarians, who often desire to digout biblical truth and historical factcan use their skills to help allChristians see these facts and toencourage them to form churchesdirectly under God. — NSE]

March 2, 2003There was a talkative and well-spokenbunch this morning, which made myjob a lot easier. I would get the discus-sion started and let them talk it out,maybe putting in a comment or ques-tion or two and let them carry the day.This is ideal when it happens right be-cause it gives these men and women achance to talk about what is importantto them and also to minister to eachother. The problems they face a are dif-ferent from many of us in their lack ofability to fellowship with other God-fearing people when they are on theroad, and it is a real service if they canjust vent and share and study together.

The flip side of this from my per-spective (control freak that I am) is thedifficulty in controlling the agenda. Asan example, one point of discussion

revolved around the busyness of ourlives and how difficult it often is to settime aside for God and to reflect thetruly important things. This was awonderful lead-in to a discussion ofthe importance of a Sabbath rest andall that it implies, but the discussionwas so animated that I couldn’t get inmy two cents until the discussionmoved to a different topic. But God’sways aren’t my ways, and surely myneed to control is often at odds withGod being in control.

One of the men relayed a problemgoing on their church which sounds alltoo familiar to me. They hired a newpastor (who had never before been in apastorate) who has come in and ismaking wholesale changes in thismore than 100 year-old congregation.Membership rolls total 200, but atten-dance has dwindled down to 50. He istaking it upon himself to rewritebylaws, and wants the ability to disfel-lowship people on his own authorityalone. He has big plans for new build-ings and change in worship styles, andhe has begun to meddle in the youthgroup to the extent that the kids areturning away from him. Little regard ispaid to those with concerns and arecontemplating leaving. The truck dri-ver is inclined to work things out, hav-ing gone to him privately, but hissuggestions have not been considered.I know there are two sides to everystory, but when I heard that the pastorwants the sole authority to kick peopleout, that sent up a giant red flag aboutwhere he is trying to take this thing,and I stated my opinion. This type ofchurch trouble I guess is not unique tothe Churches of God. If we can acceptthat, we might be a bit more sanguineabout things that have happenedamong us.

[This sounds like the parable inJudges 9:7–15. Good people in thechurch are too busy doing good thingsto govern, so a thorn-bush becametheir king—or became their pastor inthis case. As the saying goes: “theprice of liberty is eternal vigilance”. Ifgood people want good governance,they have to take part in it. The OldTestament laws required people to takepart in appointing judges and officers(Deut 16:18–20), to rebuke theirneighbors when they are sinning (Lev19:17), to stand against the majority

when they are wrong (Ex 23:2), toexpose false religion (Deut 16:6–8)and even to participate in executingthose found guilty (Deut 17:7). (Beforeanyone throws stones, please realizethat our nation has not agreed to fol-low these national laws as ancientIsrael did, so we are not bound tocarry them out.) The new “pastor” ofthat church has his authority frommen, so when his congregation real-izes that he is not leading them in aGodly way, they can ask him to changeor take his authority away from him.Yes, it will take them out of their previ-ously comfortable environment, butthat is probably what God wants. —NSE]

I am often impressed with the faithso many of these people have. Manyknow very well what is going on in theworld, but are honestly putting theirtrust for personal deliverance in thearms of God. As one of the men said,even if he had to pitch a tent and live init, he knows God would provide hisneeds. There is something to be saidfor people who have to struggle dailywith trials. So often they build a child-like trust in the One who sustainsthem.

A husband and wife team who werewith us for most of the study are whatI would term seekers. They have areligious background of sorts but real-ize that it doesn’t go very deep and aretrying to do something about it. Peoplelike this are always wonderful to meet,and they also remind me of the simplebut difficult questions that are com-mon but often challenging to answer.[1] Why doesn’t God just end all thesuffering and war in the world if he isso good? [2] How can I believe in aGod I can’t see? In other words, astudy like this will bring out the oldmossy-horns who have been aroundthe block a few times and the newbabes. It’s great to get them all in thesame room.

[Indeed, such studies are wonder-ful. Short answers to the above ques-tions: (1) God wants us to learn to begood, and we will not do that unless wecan see the results of our sins—and theworld we see is the result of a lot of sin.(2) We can see what God has done.Study biology, chemistry, nuclearphysics, astronomy or some other sci-ence that delves deeply into how the

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physical world works. When one seesthe complexity there that defies humanimagination—yet continuously func-tions without human intervention, onesees the work and nature of God. “Forsince the creation of the world Hisinvisible attributes are clearly seen,being understood by the things thatare made, even His eternal power andGodhead, so that they are withoutexcuse” (Rom 1:20). — NSE]

March 30, 2003We had three guests today, which wasa little below normal. I was talking be-forehand with one of the men whosaid he was “lost”, and was concernedabout it. He sins, and he is concernedthat he shows no remorse. I tried topoint out to him that the very fact thathe came to the study and was con-cerned about it is proof enough that infact he is showing remorse. When theother drivers arrived, we changed thesubject, but I did want to touch on thesubject of sin and how we all strugglewith it in the course of the study, andhopefully this first man was encour-aged by the discussion.

The discussions today coveredwide-ranging topics, but I wanted gen-erally to talk about what they wantedto talk about. Concern regarding thewar is on everyone’s mind, and there isobviously an unease about it in mostquarters, which is understandable inwhat I still believe is generally a com-passionate society. One of the men,who used to be a youth pastor, believesthat President Bush is fulfilling somekind of destiny—and in fact thePresident himself believes it—and thatdestiny ultimately leads to the end.None of us, of course, know for surewhat is going to happen. After thestudy I asked him how anyone whounderstands the Bible and prophecycould possibly want to be president.Frankly, I’m not sure this president hasmuch understanding of prophecy. Thetruck driver believes that he is talkingto ministers all the time (which I amsure he is) who are telling him, “Doyou know what you’re doing?” Well,maybe. We may never know for sure.

[I have also read that Bush believeshe is fulfilling prophecy in some way.But we must remember that Jehu ful-filled prophecy for God (2Kngs 9–10),“But Jehu took no heed to walk in the

law of the LORD God of Israel with allhis heart; for he did not depart fromthe sins of Jeroboam, who had madeIsrael sin. In those days the LORDbegan to cut off parts of Israel; andHazael conquered them in all the ter-ritory of Israel” (2Kngs 10:31–32).What Israel needed then, and what theUSA needs now, is not a few militaryvictories, but to depart from our sins—NSE].

I asked them, “if these are the lastdays, what should we be doing?” InJohn the Baptist’s day, people believedthey were in the end times, and westudied Luke 3 and John’s response tothe people’s question “What shall wedo?” Essentially the answer was totreat each other fairly and honestly,which is no different than what weshould be doing if it isn’t the last days.

[That is the same answer that isgiven in multiple other places in theBible—not to have prophecy figuredout and be waiting, but to be doing theworks of Christ.]

One of the men had a prayerrequest regarding a soldier recentlydeployed to Iraq whom he knows. Hiswife gave birth a couple of weeks ago,and the baby has developed life-threatening respiratory complications.As of yesterday they had not yetinformed the father. This is a familythat needs our prayers.

— Lenny Cacchio,L_cacchio@yahoo.com

705 NE Bryant Drive Lee’s Summit, Missouri 64086

[War is a great sacrifice andshould only be made when the lives ofa people are really at stake. The USmission to Iraq is very questionableas to whether it is about saving livesor protecting industry oil interests. Itmay be worth being away from one’swife and ailing baby to save one’snation, but not to increase long-termoil profits. —NSE]

My Faith Looks Up to Thee; My Jesus, I LoveThee; My Savior’s Love; The Nail-Scarred Hand;The Name of Jesus; Nearer, My God, to Thee; NoNight There; Nothing But the Blood; Now the DayIs Over; O Come, All Ye Faithful; O Come, MyPeople, to My Law; O Come, O Come,Emmanuel; O For a Closer Walk With God; O Fora Thousand Tongues to Sing; O God, Our Help inAges Past; O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go; OWorship the King; O Zion, Haste; O, How I LoveJesus; On Jordan's Stormy Banks; One Day!;Only Trust Him; Onward, Christian Soldiers; OpenMy Eyes, that I May See; Praise Him! Praise Him!;Praise Ye, the Lord, the Almighty; Put God First.

Redeemed; Rescue the Perishing; ReviveUs Again; Rock of Ages; Safely ThroughAnother Week; Savior, Again to Thy Dear Name;Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us; Send theLight; Shall We Gather at the River; Shine,Jesus, Shine; Since Jesus Came into My Heart;Softly and Tenderly; The Solid Rock; SomeGolden Daybreak; Some Sweet Day; Spirit ifGod, Descend upon My Heart; Spirit Song;Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus; Standing on thePromises; The Statutes of the Lord; Surely thePresence of the Lord; Sweet Hour of Prayer;Take My Life and Let It Be; Take the Name ofJesus With You; Take Time to Be Holy; TeachMe to Pray; Tell It to Jesus; Tell Me the Old, OldStory; There Is a Place of Quiet Rest; There’s aGreat Day Coming; There's No Friend LikeJesus; This Is My Father’s World; This Is the Daythe Lord Hath Made; Thou Didst Leave ThyThrone; Through the Love of God, Our Savior;Thy Perfect Will Be Done; Thy Word is a Lamp;Thy Word is Like a Garden, Lord; ’Tis Midnight;’Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus; To God Be theGlory; To the Work; Trust and Obey; Turn YourEyes Upon Jesus; Victory in Jesus; We GatherTogether; We Give Thee but Thine Own; WePraise Thee, O God, Our Redeemer; We’ve aStory to Tell to the Nations; What a Friend WeHave in Jesus; When I See the Blood; WhenMorning Gilds the Skies; Wherever He Leads, I’llGo; Whosoever Will; Wonderful Words of Life;Work, for the Night Is Coming; Yield Not toTemptation.*

Sabbath-Friendly Trucking CompaniesJohn Bouknight of Columbia, South Carolina wrote suggesting that we might findcompanies not requiring drivers to work on the Sabbath in the Seventh Day AdventistReview. He gave the number of a Seventh Day Adventist “help line”, 800-732-7587.The help line gave the numbers of three Seventh Day Adventist trucking companies.We do not know if they are hiring drivers, but anyone could call and check:

Turner Moving and Storage, Napa, Calif. 707-963-2701.Russ Durham Movers, Apopka, Florida, 407-884-0089.Stephen’s Worldwide Van Lines, Boise, Idaho, 888-345-4544

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Mar/Apr 2003

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Mature LiteratureASABB—Assembling on the Sabbath by

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Miscellaneous Items of Limited InterestMERLET—March 14, 1980 Letter to Rod Meredith

from Herbert Armstrong Armstrong letter sayingMeredith was not to become head of the WCG, notbecause of specific sins, but because Meredith was too"position conscious". Yet HWA writes paragraphsabout the importance of his own position. Recentlyadded Aaron Dean letter verifying Armstrong’s letter.

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PASGID—Pastoral Guide on True Shepherding and Caringfor the Flock of God with Servant Leadership and "BeingHelpers of Their Joy!" by Bill Swanson, 16 pages. Bibleverses and practical points for anyone who ministers or desiresto minister to others. This book would radically change theimage of corporate churches if it were followed.

THIDEA—The Theological Marketplace of Ideas or, theThree “C’s” of Ministry by F. Paul Haney, 11 pages. Whatis necessary for former WCG members to reach the world?

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