SIX YEARS AGO my son, Garner Ted, and I often said, "As long as we two stand back to back TOGETHER, no one can overthrow God's Church!" How many times we said that! And as for me, I meant it! HOW was that close UNITY broken? Several times I said to my son in private: "Ted, I have often thought of the position we are in, as father and son. It should, if we will let it, be a HEADQUARTERS TEAM, just like the Divine Headquarters Team governing the whole universe — the Divine FATHER-and-Son TEAM of God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son. How WONDERFUL, if you and I could be TOGETHER as they are, that our HUMAN father-and-son team would be a HUMAN type of the Divine Father-and-Son Team. "But," I would add, knowing that my son was not in full harmony with his father, "God the Father and Christ the Son are PERFECTLY TOGETHER on every point, because Jesus said, "I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak" (John 12:49). "It was not a matter of the Son telling the Father what to believe and speak, but the Father told the Son — and in our case the human father is the one through whom Christ has put HIS TEACHINGS into the Church. In our case, it is the human father whom Christ has made His apostle." But always — and this conversation took place more than once — at this point my son would change the subject. For years, in our case, it was the father trying to stand back to back with the, son, but thy son drifting the other way. 1) He began to assume FULL control — forbidding any in the Work to take anything over his head. Many of those leading ministers who were loyal to Christ's apostle — and who held tightly to the DOCTRINES Christ had put into the Church through His apostle — were demoted in office or shanghaied away to another part of the world. Such men as Herman Hoeh, Raymond McNair, Roderick Meredith, Norman Smith, Dibar Apartian, Dennis Luker — just to name a few. But COMPLETELY SHUTTING OFF all authority above him, he shut JESUS CHRIST off. And: 2) He began to water down, liberalize and secularize CHRIST'S TRUE DOCTRINES! 3) And by these methods, he was causing great DIVISION in God's Church. 4) Although Ted had said to me, "Dad, you have never had to work with anyone over you," and I answered, "Oh yes I have, and even now I have the living Christ over me," — and in other words, I learned that Ted had a somewhat normal attitude of resentment against his father — notwithstanding all this, Ted was falling under the influence of liberals, who moved in and surrounded him. I do not believe that some 10 or 12 years ago Ted would have tried to liberalize doctrines and, in effect, put the living Christ out of God's Church and college. He has -accused his father of senility and being easily influenced. That is not true. But I have noticed that nearly always he who ACCUSES is GUILTY of the very thing he accuses in another. It has not been my mind that was going senile! Has he gone out and sought to proclaim the true Gospel to people we had never reached before? THINK ON THAT! His sole effort has been to DESTROY his father and GOD'S CHURCH, and draw tithe payers after him! The few radio stations he has gone on were in areas where Worldwide Church of God members were heaviest! He stood over me right here in my office and, said, angrily and with raised voice, "Dad, I could DESTROY you!" He has certainly been trying. Those who influenced Ted into liberalism and a conspiracy to "take over" are now out. I hope my son never falls under such an influence again. I have been asked, "If he repents, would I receive him back in?" A REAL repentance, yes! But NOT back into the ministry. However, three times before I have brought him back on what I honestly felt was a repentance, only to learn it was a temporary remorse — not a real repentance. I do pray continually for his REAL conversion, prefaced by a REAL repentance, and an honest faith. And I urge all you brethren to pray with me for that.
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