Herbert W Armstrong

   Mr. Meredith was in Big Sandy, Texas this past Sabbath, March 10, and spoke to all the churches in that area including those as far away as Texarkana and Dallas. I spoke to him on the phone today (Monday) and he said there were 2,000 brethren gathered together for this special service there. He mentioned that his visit was very successful. I am sure he will be writing to you about it in the next Pastor's Report.

   Mr. Meredith asked me to go ahead and write something for the Pastor's Report. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for the cooperation and loyalty of the vast majority of you men in the field. This has been deeply appreciated! Those of us here on the Pastoral Administration team have a sincere and deep desire to do our very best in the jobs that Christ has given us. We really do want to humbly serve you men and help you in any way we can.

   I believe that Mr. Meredith has mentioned to you that all of us here on the P.A.D. team meet together almost every day at 3:00 p.m. in his office. This is a daily planning and coordination meeting in which we discuss your reports, phone calls, ideas and all the input from the area coordinators and all you men in the field. We are currently discussing and planning a series of campaigns for the U.S. churches and hope we can get them under way soon. We will have to wait until the weather is better in some areas. There are many things that we can do to strengthen the brethren and to stimulate the growth of God's Church, both spiritually and physically. We might as well take advantage of the publicity we have been getting and turn "lemons into lemonade," as Mr. Herbert Arm strong continues to say.

   As all of you know, the Passover is now less than one month away. The Passover service is Tuesday evening, April 10. I hope all of you are making proper physical arrangements for the Passover; but even more, I hope that you will take the few remaining weeks to prepare spiritually for the Passover. As you well know, we are commanded to examine our selves before we "eat of that bread and drink of that cup." Paul wrote in I Corinthians 11:31, "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." The next verse shows that if we do not judge and correct ourselves, we will be judged and chastened by Christ.

   Being a true minister of Jesus Christ is an awesome responsibility. I think most of you realize that. You have the power in your hands to teach people God's way and to inspire and motivate them toward God's Kingdom and eternal life. Or, you could become careless, and misuse your office and influence people in a wrong direction. Your life can be a positive example of strong faith in God the Father and the leadership of his son Jesus Christ, or you can reflect doubt, negativism and dis loyalty.

   I would like to mention what I feel is one of the most important teachings I have ever learned in God's Church. It is the lesson of God's government and authority from the top down. I feel this is the crux of everything we are going through now. I believe with all my heart that God is checking all of our attitudes in the ministry to see if we understand His government and recognize His authority in our lives.

   Do you have absolute faith that Jesus Christ is the head of this Church and this Work and that he is fully in charge? Most of you would say, "Yes, I believe that." Well then, do you trust Jesus Christ to guide and inpire Mr. Herbert Armstrong as our human leader? This is where I feel the problem lies with some of you. You doubt that Jesus Christ is really able to guide and direct Mr. Herbert Armstrong in the accomplishing and finishing of this great Work. I know that some of you wouldn't put it that way. But there are some who really do lack faith in Jesus Christ and his ability to guide and direct Mr. Armstrong. Because some of you hesitate to really back up Mr. Armstrong 100% and do not speak loyally in support of him as our human, spiritual leader, some members of your congregations doubt that you are totally loyal to this Church and Work.

   The conference in Tucson should have convinced all of you that Mr. Armstrong is very much alive and in good health. Mr. Meredith, Raymond and Burk McNair and I are striving to stay in close communication with Mr. Armstrong so that we can have his guidance in everything that we are doing. We call him regularly and seek his advice and instructions concerning the churches and ministers worldwide. Mr. Armstrong has given us a job to do, and to the best of our ability we are going to accomplish that job! Those of us here on the Pastoral Administration team are 100% loyal to Mr. Armstrong, and we believe this is the way Christ wants us — all to be in the ministry. Without loyalty to Mr. Herbert Armstrong under Jesus Christ, we cannot have the unity that we must have to go on and finish this great Work.

   So please take this time before the Passover, fellows, to examine yourselves. Are you truly loyal to God the Father and Jesus Christ? If you are, you will be loyal to the man that God called and chose 52 years ago, our "father in the faith," through whom He has called you and me into His Church and into His ministry. Thanks again for the loyalty of the vast majority of you. As I said earlier, we deeply appreciate the tremendous attitude of faith and loyalty that most of you have demonstrated during these present traumatic times.

Sincerely, in Christ's service,
Dennis Luker