Herbert W Armstrong

Herbert W Armstrong   Church of God

Born: July 31, 1892
Died: January 16, 1986
Member Since: 1928
Ordained: 1931
Office: Apostle

Herbert W. Armstrong founded the Worldwide Church of God in the late 1930s, as well as Ambassador College in 1946, and was an early pioneer of radio and tele-evangelism, originally taking to the airwaves in the 1930s from Eugene, Oregon.

   A new office and broadcasting studio is now nearing completion here in Tucson. I am setting myself to the task of producing six new half-hour TV programs a week, and also seven new radio programs a week, in addition to general executive management and oversight of the entire Work of the Church, Ambassador College and the Ambassador Foundation.
   Ambassador College is now "back on the track" and running smoothly. God's Church is once again GOD'S Church. And in connection with the foundation, the WORLDWIDE personal evangelism of the Church is leaping forward as never before.
   In a little over two weeks I shall be leaving on a visit to Jerusalem and to Cairo. First stop will be to Chicago [Ill.]. On the Sabbath during Unleavened Bread, I will speak to some four or five thousand members from surrounding churches at Chicago — then from there on overseas. When we come back, the plane will have its annual inspection and overhaul for some two or three weeks, and then off for Moscow and Warsaw.
   At Moscow, in addition to meeting some of the Kremlin leaders, we hope to arrange for a scholarship in the performing arts, where winners annually in such arts as ballet and gymnastics will make first performances at the Ambassador Auditorium, and the foundation will arrange for their bookings all the way across the United States, winding up at Lincoln Center in New York.
   Mr. Stanley Rader was in Moscow making first preliminary arrangements a week ago. In our visit to Moscow, as in China, we are to be housed in a government guest house, as guests of the U.S.S.R. They are very friendly to us in the Kremlin, but right now very hostile toward President Jimmy Carter and the government at Washington. At least that is the attitude they express to us. Mr. Rader also stopped over in Warsaw, and everything there is all set for our visit, and I will meet the very top officials and speak before groups of leaders.
   Mr. Rader called me the other day from Tokyo. He is now again in China, where he has speaking engagements before four University Law School groups — one in the far north in Manchuria, north of North Korea. Mr. Rader tells me that while speaking to law school audiences on international law, he does have the opportunity to get in announcements about the coming Kingdom of God.
   Mr. and Mrs. Rader will return by way of Moscow to finalize arrangements for my visit, and we will meet at Jerusalem. The Raders will continue from there with us.
   Obviously in a Communist country where there is no religious freedom and the national "religion" is atheism, I cannot use such biblical terms as "salvation," "repentance," "forgiveness of sins," etc. Yet God has shown me how to carry to them the GOOD NEWS of the Kingdom of God — the true GOSPEL — by using such simple terms as "GIVE" and "GET." I explain that the "GIVE" way is really outflowing "LOVE" — the way of serving, helping, cooperating and sharing. But the "GET" way is SELF-centeredness, vanity, coveting, lust and greed, jealousy and envy, competition and strife, which leads to destruction, violence and war, and rebellion against authority.
   In countries like China and Russia, they UNDERSTAND this. As a matter of fact, many professing Christians still do not really understand the meaning of "REPENT." It means MUCH MORE than emotional remorse or being sorry.
   A Methodist bishop was speaking in one of the smaller churches. His sermon was on "Repentance." But with all his scholarly explanation, he was unable to make these simple church people understand. A black man near the rear of the church held up a hand and asked if he could speak.
   "I think I can show the people what you mean, sir," he said. The bishop told him to go ahead and explain. The man got out into the aisle and began walking rapidly toward the pulpit, saying: "I'm going to hell! I'm going to hell! I'm going to hell!" Reaching the front he turned around and began walking rapidly to the rear, saying: "I'm going to heaven! I'm going to heaven! I'm going to heaven!" Then he turned back forward saying, "I think what you-all mean by repentance, sir, is to turn around and go the other way!" The congregation UNDERSTOOD!
   In foreign countries — especially atheistic nations where there is NO freedom of religion, I have to do as the apostle Paul did. He said, "Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law" (I Corinthians 9:20). I also have to speak a language that they UNDERSTAND — and a language that is PERMISSIBLE in their country.
   When I tell them that EVERY TROUBLE, EVERY EVIL IN THIS WORLD HAS COME FROM PEOPLE LIVING BY THE ATTITUDE OF "GET" — and that in the world to come, which world-famous scientists say (with a single-world government) is our only hope of PEACE, we shall all have to turn around and go the way of "GIVE," they UNDERSTAND, and I have preached not only the GOOD NEWS (Gospel) of the coming Kingdom of God, but I have also shown that all must REPENT — turn from the way of "GET" to the way of "GIVE." Some in Beijing next day were overheard saying, they never thought of that before — but turning from "GET" to "GIVE" is our only hope!
   In every way the Work of GOD is leaping ahead once again.
   Booklets that BUILT the Work during the 1950s and up to about 1967, which were either "killed," or, like the U.S. in Prophecy booklet, greatly reduced and the LIFE cut out of it — during a conspiracy to abolish everything I had ever written and substitute new LIBERAL doctrines following the "STP" [Systematic Theology Project] — all those booklets are being brought back into print. The TRUTH of God, not a watered-down liberal and secular teaching, is once again going out IN POWER!
   I have today gone thoroughly into the state of the Spanish Work with Mr. Leon Walker, and we have new advertising plans for pushing forward the Spanish Work, though it showed a big increase in 1979 over 1978.
   Advertising in newspapers and magazines and increase in radio and TV stations will be continued.
   As long as we PLEASE JESUS CHRIST, God's Work will forge ahead. And as we increase in the fervency and earnestness of PRAYER in the right attitude, the Work will prosper!