THE BREWING STORM

Chapter One

THE BREWING STORM

The nineties saw the Church entering into a turbulent era. The winds of doctrinal changes had caused the once serene waters to become troublesome and dangerous. With the inception in 1966 of a higher educational institution, there came also a gradual weakening of the uniqueness of the divine essence of what the Church was all about. The once precious doctrine so closely guarded by Holy Ghost zeal began to be questioned by many who were being influenced by philosophies that seem inevitably to come with higher learning. It does not have to be this way, and should not be this way, but in spite of our insistence that “it couldn’t happen to us,” it did eventually take its toll. Forgetting that the Holy Ghost is ultimately the teacher, many opened themselves up to worldly wisdom and became ready targets of Satan’s deceptiveness. Some true-blue students came through intact and proved to be a real blessing to the Church. On the other hand, many more turned away from the Church and went to other organizations while some stayed and propagated their new “winds of doctrine” which they had learned. This steady influx of “new light” philosophy, although weak and very subtle, began to eat away at the moral fiber of the Church of God. After approximately two decades of this undermining influence, the inner resolve of the Church in general was affected to the point that its reason for existence was no longer important, except to the faithful few.

This worldly wisdom syndrome coupled with the material blessings which we were enjoying at the time seemed to be the predominant emphasis of our Church leaders and administrators. The ministry began to feel the pressure of being subjected to constant demands to upgrade themselves. More and more, academic requirements were being placed upon them. Along with this emphasis to refine the ministry academically, there began to be a noticeable worldly tone and powerless atmosphere creeping in among us. The stage was subtly being set for a major decay of the Church.

The Church as a whole had disregarded a plea made in the 1984 Assembly by the Questions and Subjects Committee who had been inspired by the Holy Ghost for a call to a church-wide repentance. The committee stated that we had drifted from a vital relationship with the Holy Ghost and that we could not continue the pursuit of our mission without convincing evidence of His presence and approval. The committee cited a scripture in Joel 2:15-17. “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly… and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach.” This fast and solemn assembly was never called, although some truly repented while others questioned what they should repent of. Still some daringly rejected the idea of repentance altogether.

God, who is infinite in wisdom and knowledge, knew who had truly repented. He warned us in 1986 about the Church inside a church (the repentant), the nation. inside a nation and the people inside a people. Ultimately the Church as a whole failed to meet God’s mandate of repentance. As a result, God was constrained to give His “heritage to reproach.” His divine favor was no longer with the Church in full measure. A steady decline could be witnessed right up until the time of the separation of the TRUE CHURCH from the apostate church. It isn’t any wonder that we began to see strange ideas and doctrines being hinted at and even introduced among us.

In January 1989, Tomlinson College made a presentation of strategic planning to the Questions and Subjects Committee and the General Headquarters staff. In this presentation the Church was depicted as being a product of culture instead of a divine unique organism. In this presentation much of the core doctrine of the Church, which has firm Biblical foundations, was portrayed as being cultural artifacts. For example, the “cultural artifacts” of the Church included such things as the flag, Fields of the Wood, the King James Version of the Bible, the covenant, feet washing, the right hand of fellowship, speaking in tongues, the General Assembly, unanimous agreement and the list goes on.

In the 1989-90 Assembly year a survey was made throughout the general church to determine how the Church as a whole was feeling about certain practices and policies. The results of this survey was tabulated and used as a basis for influencing Assembly decisions. The usual method of seeking God and studying the Word was relegated to second place in favor of popular opinion. By examining these events in retrospect one can easily see that the Church had indeed drifted from a vital relationship with God and began to rely on a worldly mind-set for its guidance. The Biblical pattern of “it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us” was replaced with a “we want to be like those around us” attitude. They seemed to forget that God would not tolerate a deviation from His plan. In their attempt to have it their way, they laid themselves open to the wrath of God. His sword of judgment was lifted over His Church and the punishment was ready to be meted out, but not before God would maneuver His remnant into their place to