United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Meeting Report
August 26, 2004—Cincinnati, Ohio

Today's meeting focused primarily on doctrinal issues. During the morning Jim Franks and Tony Wasilkoff led the Council through a Doctrine Committee update and the discussion of four doctrinal study projects. After the lunch break Doug Horchak introduced the first draft of the "Evangelism in the Scripture" study paper.

The open session concluded with a brief discussion chaired by Peter Eddington on the topics of suggestions for the 2005 Feast of Tabernacles video and consideration of bookstore distribution of UCG literature.

Doctrine Committee

Mr. Franks, chairman of the Doctrine Committee, opened with a review of the committee's current and ongoing projects:

• Personal Correspondence Department project. The Doctrine Committee was asked to review and approve some 300 letters written by PCD so they can be provided to elders as resource material. The letters were given to the Advisory Committee for Doctrine, which made a few necessary edits and approved most of the letters. Sixteen letters were returned to the Doctrine Committee for further review. That review has been completed and recommendations have been made to PCD and Dave Evans, who is managing the project for Ministerial Services.
• Paper on interracial marriage. This paper was written by the Race Relations Committee, which was formed as part of the Focused Education Program. The paper has been reviewed by the Advisory Committee for Doctrine. The Doctrine Committee has also completed a preliminary review and will provide the authors with recommendations. A teleconference will be held with the Race Relations Committee after the 2004 Feast of Tabernacles to discuss the status of the paper. A copy of the paper will be distributed to the Council this week and a discussion of the paper will be scheduled for the December 2004 meetings.
• Paper on the meaning of the Greek term porneia. This paper was produced by the Family Life Studies Committee and was reviewed by the Doctrine Committee at the end of last year. Due to questions raised by one of the reviewers, the Doctrine Committee will review the paper again to resolve any lingering questions.
• Sacred names. There have been requests for more material on this subject. Several articles have appeared in the Ministerial Quarterly. A rough draft of a study paper has been written but is not ready yet to be presented to the Doctrine Committee.
• The calendar, new moons, etc. The Doctrine Committee currently has four papers/articles on this subject. A rough draft of one more article on the subject of postponements has been written but is not yet ready to be presented to the Doctrine Committee.

A United News article will be written before next spring on the count for Pentecost. In 2005 Passover is on the weekly Sabbath (observed Friday evening) and the First Day of Unleavened Bread is on Sunday, a pattern that occurs occasionally during a 19-year cycle. In 1974, when the Church moved to Sunday observance of Pentecost, it was determined that the wave sheaf must occur during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, not outside the Feast. Thus next year the count for Pentecost will begin on the Sunday that is also the First Day of Unleavened Bread. The article will cover calendar material relevant to this issue.

• Miscellaneous articles and papers submitted to the Doctrine Committee for review. Each quarter the committee receives about a dozen articles and papers that it is asked to review.

After reviewing the ongoing projects, Mr. Wasilkoff conducted a final discussion of a doctrinal statement titled "The Beginning of the Sabbath in Extreme Northern and Southern Regions." The Council suggested a few edits to the statement. Later in the meeting Mr. Wasilkoff brought the final draft to the Council for approval. The Council unanimously passed a resolution approving the statement, which will now be prepared for release.

Mr. Franks then reviewed a number of questions on the subject of the nature of Christ. The entire Council reviewed the questions and the answers that were given by the Doctrine Committee, while maintaining the confidentiality of those who posed the questions. The questions had to do with whether or not Jesus existed before His human birth. Mr. Franks expressed the Doctrine Committee's appreciation of the manner and approach of those who asked the questions.

The questions focused on the Church's explanations of John:1:1 and Psalm 110 as well as the monotheistic Jewish belief, whether elohim is a plural word and whether Jesus Christ was worshipped as God. Mr. Franks read portions of a lengthy letter that was written to answer their questions. The Doctrine Committee was unanimous in agreement that the Church's teaching is correct. The Council was given copies of the questions and the response and asked to review the material within the next two weeks. Mr. Franks further requested the Council members to e-mail him if they have any questions or see a need to pursue any of the questions any further.

Mr. Franks then led the Council through a final doctrinal review of the study paper, "The Nature of God and Christ." He provided each member with a listing of the 35 headings in the paper and asked them to consider whether the subject was covered thoroughly enough. He pointed out that at the meeting in May 2004 the Council reviewed the first 21 pages of the paper. He then led the Council through an overview of the balance of the paper. After doing so, Mr. Franks asked if there were any doctrinal issues. Since there were none, he asked the Council to review the entire paper once again and e-mail him any doctrinal questions or issues. When all the questions and issues are resolved he will turn the paper over to an editor who will prepare it for final Council approval in the December 2004 meetings.

The final doctrinal consideration for the morning dealt with a study paper submitted on the subject of the Hebrew calendar. The question was discussed in open session, but the name of the individual posing the questions remained confidential. The paper suggests that the calendar should be established by observation rather than by calculation and that certain adjustments need to be applied. Mr. Franks quoted from the response that is being prepared to be sent to the author. He gave copies of the paper that was submitted along with the draft of his response and asked the Council to review both. Mr. Franks said he would e-mail the Council members after these meetings to establish a timeline for completing their review.

Review of "Evangelism in the Scripture"

The afternoon portion of the meeting started with Doug Horchak conducting the Council's first review of the study paper produced by the Evangelism Task Force, "Evangelism in the Scripture."

Mr. Horchak reviewed the Council resolution that established the task force and specified its purpose. He commented that since the Council commissioned the task force and study paper, the paper would be reviewed by the entire Council rather than going through the Doctrine Committee. Members of the task force are: Bruce Dean, Peter Hawkins, Ken Graham, Tom Robinson, Jim Servidio and Doug Horchak (chairman).

Mr. Horchak suggested that since this is the Council's first review, it would be most helpful for comments to focus on the substance of the paper rather than on copy editing matters. He reviewed the major headings and provided an overview of each section of the paper:

• Introduction
• What Is Evangelism?
• Evangelism in the Old Testament?
• Evangelism in the NT: What the Greek Words Euangelizo and Kerusso Reveal
• What Is an Evangelist?: A Look at the Word Euangelistes in the New Testament
• Local Evangelism: What Does the Bible Say?
• "General Membership Involvement"
• Appendix A—Modern Christianity's Historic View of Evangelism
• Appendix B—The Church of God's Approach to Evangelism in Modern Times
• Appendix C—Philosophical Drift in the Church
• Appendix D—Kingdom Not Preached Until John the Baptist?
• Appendix E—Evangelism: A Sacred Duty, Not an Option
• Appendix F— "Make Disciples of All Nations…"
• Appendix G—All New Testament Occurrences of Euangelizo and Kerusso

As Mr. Horchak reviewed the general content of each section, there was some discussion about Appendix C—"Philosophical Drift in the Church." The appendix gives a timeline of the changes in doctrinal and philosophical approaches to evangelism in the Church beginning in the early 1990s.

Victor Kubik questioned whether the appendix was necessary and also stated that he didn't feel it accurately portrayed the events that took place in the Church in that time period. Joel Meeker stated he felt that the historical context was useful since a few did bring varying ideas on evangelism into United. Richard Thompson agreed that some United members were affected by the approaches that had been introduced earlier, such as local evangelism. He felt the historical explanation would be helpful. Mr. Kubik maintained that the paper should be positive and not dwell too much on what happened in the past. Mr. Horchak agreed that the paper should have a positive tone and that if the Council agrees, no mention need be made of our previous affiliation.

Mario Seiglie commented that a statement early in the paper overemphasized the point that in the past Church members were discouraged from personal witnessing and preaching and de-emphasized scriptures that describe member involvement. Clyde Kilough referred to a summary statement at the end of the paper and pointed out that there needs to be a distinction between formal preaching and informal witnessing, especially since it's clear that many were introduced to and eventually came into the Church through personal contact. Aaron Dean agreed that in the past members were discouraged from personal preaching, yet they did have a major impact on others coming into the Church. Mr. Thompson stated that members were told not to try to "witness" as some Christian groups practice, but it was emphasized that we should be a good example and be ready to answer questions. Mr. Kubik pointed out that this is a long-awaited study paper and that explanations need to be worded carefully because it will be scrutinized very closely.

Mr. Horchak acknowledged that explanations and wording are important and also emphasized that as the Council members take the time to carefully read the entire paper, they will notice that it focuses on member involvement. He emphasized again that the tone of the paper will be positive.

Mr. Horchak read extensively from the first half of the paper and covered the second half more quickly. He requested that the Council read it thoroughly to be prepared for further discussion in the next meeting.

2005 Feast Video and Bookstore Distribution of Literature

Peter Eddington then led a brief discussion seeking Council input on selection of an international area for the focus of the 2005 Feast of Tabernacles video. A few ideas were presented and the Council quickly focused on Southern Africa, including the work of the Church in Malawi, Zimbabwe and other nearby countries. It was felt that the region would provide an interesting mix of developed and developing nations and is an area where the Church is experiencing exciting new growth. The Council tentatively agreed to focus on that region for the 2005 video, reserving the final decision until after the 2004 Feast.

Mr. Eddington then introduced discussion of the concept of repackaging some of our literature (for example, Jesus Christ: The Real Story) and making it available for purchase as either a paperback or hardback book. He stated that he wanted to get Council approval before pursuing this opportunity.

He pointed out that everything we publish would still be available free to anyone who requests it, and that the bookstore market would expose the Church to a different audience. There would be no expense involved, since money generated by sales would cover the publishing costs. Mr. Eddington reviewed a handout that described the process of getting a book published and distributed, as well as a summary of printing expenses.

Discussion focused on the success of previous similar efforts and whether it was philosophically acceptable to sell our literature.

Joel Meeker asked what the results were when some of Herbert W. Armstrong's books were sold in bookstores. Mr. Dean responded that sales weren't strong, but some books did sell. Larry Darden commented that selling books would not affect the Church's nonprofit status.

Mr. Franks stated that even though Mr. Armstrong's books were sold in stores, it did cause some ripples of concern within the Church. He questioned whether it would do more harm than good to try selling our literature again. Mr. Thompson said that he is certainly in favor of preaching the gospel, but fundamentally and philosophically opposed to selling our literature. He felt that doing so can put us in the same category as television evangelists who "hawk" their products on air.

Mr. Seiglie asked whether selling literature is an evangelizing tool and, if so, was it effective in the past. Mr. Dean commented that Mystery of the Ages did have some impact, but the Church lost money in trying to sell the book. Tony Wasilkoff allowed that it seemed like an interesting idea, but it would probably do more harm than good. He pointed out that since we aren't mainstream, we're not likely to get any of our books into a Christian bookstore, and people don't generally shop at secular stores for books on Christian subjects.

Les McCullough stated that he, too, is philosophically opposed to the concept of selling our literature. He also pointed out that to his knowledge, Garner Ted Armstrong's newspaper answer column and attempts to sell his book, The Real Jesus, both resulted in very little response.

Mr. Eddington took a straw poll, which indicated that the majority of the Council members were not in favor of pursuing the idea.

Open session concluded for the day at 4:15 p.m. as the Council went into executive session.

Don Henson

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© 2004 United Church of God, an International Association