Herbert W Armstrong

"The Worldwide Church of God NEWS SUMMARY" has now been renamed "The Worldwide Church of God MEMBER'S HOTLINE. Actually, the MEMBER'S HOTLINE is a summary of special late-breaking news in God's Work which would normally be announced from the pulpit each week. Thus this publication, intended to be made available to heads of households in God's Church, allows our ministers more time for their sermons. Primarily, this publication has contained news updates concerning various aspects of the State of California's attack on God's Church. However, often other Church and College news from the Pastor's Report which should get to the brethren quickly is also summarized and included in the MEMBER'S HOTLINE.

CAMPAIGN SERIES GATHERS MOMENTUM

The current series of Personal Appearance Campaigns is gathering momentum, with new attendance up considerably for the recent Phoenix campaign, reports Roderick C. Meredith, Director of Pastoral Administration. Phoenix was the third campaign for Mr. Meredith and the sixth of seven in this series of "mini-campaigns."

Mr. Meredith said 105 of 540 persons attending the campaign the first night were "new attendance," while the second night saw 90 new people out of 525 attending — all despite the fact there was "no [outside] advertising whatsoever — not even one scratch in the newspaper or one word on radio or TV."

The last campaign of this current series will be held August 4 and 5 in Dallas, Texas, with Mr. Dennis Luker speaking.

MR. ARMSTRONG MAKES FURTHER CHANGES IN THE COLLEGE

Deputy Chancellor Raymond F. McNair informed the ministry that twenty-three members of the College administration and faculty had visited Mr. Armstrong in his home in Tucson. Commenting about the visit in the June 18 Pastor's Report, Mr. McNair said Mr. Armstrong encouraged and instructed the group to maintain God's way in the college.

"During our visit," said Mr. McNair, "Mr. Armstrong told us that he has come to realize that 'higher' degrees from this world's institutions have been detrimental to many of our faculty. For this reason, we are no longer requiring our faculty [as - did the former administration] to go 'outside' for degrees. In fact, the college will no longer subsidize any 'higher' degrees from this world's colleges and universities."

Mr. McNair also mentioned that in order for next year's students to receive a maximum of guidance and supervision from the faculty and administration, all undergraduate single students will be required to live on campus beginning next fall. Also, dual enrollment with other colleges and universities will be prohibited. "We feel that this will not only greatly enhance the unity of Ambassador's student body, but will also better enable students to participate fully in college activities," commented the deputy chancellor. Enrollment for the new school year, which begins August 27, is expected to be between 350 and 400.

The ministers worldwide were thanked for their input regarding prospective students from their areas, and Mr. McNair reminded them that it still isn't too late for "promising young people" to apply for entrance into Ambassador College for the coming 1979-80 college year. However, they would have to send their applications in very soon. Although, as always, "we require that all applicants be able to do college-level work... we are once again looking more closely at a student's overall qualifications (leadership, character, etc.)," concluded Mr. McNair.

A WAY TO PROMOTE THE PLAIN TRUTH

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong recently mentioned that he would like to see ministers and members alike recommending The Plain Truth to friends outside the Church, encouraging them to become regular readers. Reminding the June 18th Pastor's Report readership that "the most effective form of advertising is by word of mouth," publishing director Roger Lippross suggested that members use this very powerful tool of personal recommendation and to pass along their own copy of The Plain Truth. "Or, better still, try to get hold of any spare copies of the newsstand issue from your local newsstand coordinator."

Mr. Lippross noted that the newsstand issue is specially designed to introduce people to the Work and to encourage a subscription. Although we do want to get the message contained in The Plain Truth into more new hands, he cautioned that Mr. Armstrong does not want us to in any way "push or force our message onto others," such as one religious group that goes door-to-door. So discretion and balance were emphasized as very important in promoting The Plain Truth. Mr. Lippross mentioned that yet other ways for members to promote and encourage broader readership of the "magazine of understanding" are being considered.

SPECIAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM DEVELOPED FOR MR. ARMSTRONG'S BOOK

In a recent Pastor's Report the Director of Publishing reported that the Work has found it necessary to develop its own distribution system for Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong's book, The Incredible Human Potential. Although we have recently contracted to have some commercial bookstore outlets (Dalton Books, Doubleday and Walden Books) sell the book, we really need much broader exposure for the book to get the size and quality of response we are looking for.

"Most religious books published commercially in the United States, It said Mr. Roger Lippross, "are distributed through the Christian Booksellers Association. Unfortunately, The Incredible Human Potential has been refused entry into this private distribution system because parts of the book are not complimentary to the 'Christian' churches that back and support this association." And so the Work of God is faced with another challenge which "gives all of us another opportunity to overcome an obstacle which hinders distribution of this book and its message."

Our own distribution system has been worked out, and Mr. Lippross solicited each Pastor's support "to ensure that things go smoothly." This is the program: A small display box has been designed and manufactured to hold six books and be placed on a counter or tabletop. The box has a glossy promotional card which carries a photograph of Mr. Herbert Armstrong and advertising copy. The card slides behind the books. A small sales kit has also been assembled to go along with this package explaining the how and wherefore of this venture.

One obvious outlet for these books is where The PLAIN TRUTH newsstand program is already in operation, i.e. supermarkets and stores that have our racks on display. According to Mr. Lippross, we are therefore asking each of our 300 newsstand coordinators to try to get these books placed in as many of our newsstand outlets as possible. The book sells for $8.95, but the store owner or manager will be given a substantial reduction in price as an incentive to handle the book. Mr. Lippross concluded by stating that we want our "Plain Truth book distribution program" to be our "main thrust" because it holds the greatest promise of widespread exposure for Mr. Armstrong's book.

Armstrong still traveling

Last winter the front pages of the Star News were constantly reporting charges by deputy attorneys general that Herbert W. Armstrong and his assistant, Stanley Rader, of the Worldwide Church of God were "pilfering" church funds by virtue of the fact that they traveled extensively in the corporate jet, conferring with heads of state ad other dignitaries all over the world.

What puzzles me is that the Star-News apparently does not see fit to inform its readers that these same gentlemen are continuing their travels in the same manner.

For example Mr. Armstrong just returned from Morroco and Tunisia where he conferred with the prime ministers of both nations, presented them with the customary gifts, and hid the groundwork for humanitarian projects as he has with many other nations. A senior member of the Japanese Diet accompanied him and discussed plans for cooperative projects in the domain of nutrition.

The deputy attorney general calls this "pilfering" and started a lawsuit over it. Yet, Mr. Armstong continues about his business as if the attorney general does not exist!

I would think the Star-News should report on these facts so the attorney general may reflect on the merit and effects of his actions!

And certainly the good citizens of Pasadena would like to know when leaders of institutions headquartered in the area are received and honored by heads of governments abroad; and about significant humanitarian projects being planned by Pasadena institutions.

DAVID HUNSBERGER
Pasadena

(Editor's Note: The above letter from an employee of the Personal Correspondence Department here in Pasadena appeared in the "Your Forum" section of the June 24 issue of the Pasadena Star-News. We thought our readers would also enjoy reading it!)