THE CONCERNED FOR BIBLE DOCTRINE

Chapter Five

THE CONCERNED FOR BIBLE DOCTRINE

The Assembly of 1992 had come and gone. A multitude of frustrated souls were left in its wake. Many who had hoped for a more clear-cut pronouncement of change were frustrated, but even more frustrated were the faithful remnant who had resisted all doctrinal change and had stood up for “the faith which was once delivered to the saints.” By now, it was plain to see that doctrinal change was inevitable. The faithful Church of God saints were driven to seek God for divine intervention. The spirit of prophecy was at work in the faithful remnant as they began to formulate plans to meet together for fellowship, strength and direction from God.

As is true in all human interactions, a few leaders will emerge from among the mass of people to lead them in some systematic manner. This was the case with the Concerned. Some prominent pastors and ministers began to lay the groundwork for a series of meetings of the Concerned. There were four prominent meetings held by the Concerned. The first of these meetings was conducted at Jonesboro, Arkansas on October 14-16, 1992. This meeting was attended by approximately 250 people from 17 states. The meeting was power-packed with the Holy Ghost anointing in each session. This was the initial limited organizational meeting for the Concerned. No membership role was ever made. The key points of this meeting included the selection of representatives for the Concerned, a secretary and treasurer, starting a monthly newsletter and formulating a statement of identity and purpose.

The name of the group was changed from The Concerned to The Concerned for Bible Doctrine. The duty of the representatives was to take the grievances of the Concerned before the General Overseer and leadership of the Church. It was felt that a unified voice would be more effective in dealing with the concerns of the group as a whole rather than individuals airing their complaints in a hit and miss fashion. Six representatives were chosen. These were: Jerry Wilda, Chairman; E. Roger Ammons; Douglas Hogsten; Paul Lawrence; George Sadler; and John Wilkins, Jr. Walter Lofton was chosen as the Secretary and Treasurer. The name chosen for the newsletter was “The Evening Light.”

A statement of identity and purpose was adopted which is presented below:

IDENTITY

The Concerned is a group of ministers, members, and friends of the Church of God of Prophecy who are committed to the defense and preservation of the Church.

Until now this group has remained relatively anonymous to protect the individuals involved from reprisals by those who are against them and their purpose. It would have been easy for those in authority to deal with the small group in its infancy one at a time before the group was strong enough to prevent it from being destroyed.

It is time now to come out into the open and make its presence known. Time is short, the hour is late, and the Church must be about its business to finish the work and preparing for the coming of the Lord.

This group of concerned individuals is committed to preserve, in these changing times, those biblical doctrinal teachings which were revealed to A. J. Tomlinson and progressively through the years to the Church. They are the same today as they were yesterday because they are the unchanging and eternal Word of God. There is no intent to change the doctrine, but rather to strengthen it in preaching and teaching, and to earnestly contend for “the faith that was once delivered to the saints:” (Jude 3). That includes its doctrine, teachings and advice.

Inasmuch as theocracy has not been followed in the last two assemblies, we, The Concerned, are lifting up a large and unified voice rather than resort to a fragmented, scattered, isolated, and unheeded attempt to get the attention of those in authority. We feel that we cannot yield to a man or group of men who will not listen to a“multitude of counselors.”

(Prov. 11:14; 15:22) With one voice we can say; “I pledge allegiance to our church flag and to the doctrine for which it stands…”

The Concerned will be directed by a board, the members of which will be given certain specific responsibilities to see that it fulfills its purposes within the standards of the Bible as revealed to and committed to the Church of God of Prophecy.

The Concerned was not pre-planned but emerged as those who had common concerns about the Church began to see that it was necessary to take some kind of definite action to stop it from departing from its divine revelation and earthly commitment to God and His Word. This group does not direct its decisions and actions against any individual or individuals per se, nor against the administration of the Church in a personal way, but it speaks out against any and all departures and infractions which tend to thwart, contradict, deny, omit, or fail to embrace the avowed calling, revelation, purpose, and commitment of the Church of God of Prophecy.

PURPOSES

The purposes of the group known as The Concerned may be summed up in two words; information and appeal. The Concerned will endeavor to keep its constituency informed of matters going on within the Church of God of Prophecy which threaten or are harmful to it in any way. An effort will be made to define and explain those things which may be vague or subtle and otherwise unnoticed or misunderstood and which could result in damage to the cause of Christ and the Church.

The Concerned will make an appeal to the General Administration of the Church and/or to any and all other administrators or persons of responsibility to correct errors of infractions which it considers worthy of consideration.’’

PLAN OF ACTION

1. The Concerned will form a board of directors and assign responsibilities. On this board will be both active and honorary members.

2. A newsletter and/or an instrument of information periodical will be sent out to constituents to keep them informed about the activities of both The Concerned and the Church.

3. A telephone brigade will be formed in which designated ones will be given three or four numbers which they will call, and those called will in turn call three or four other numbers, thus covering a wide area in a short time with vital information concerning The Concerned and the Church.

4. Constituents will be informed of the necessity of supporting The Concerned with prayers and finances to keep the group operating.

5. Those who receive this communication are encouraged to contact other fellow ministers, members, and friends of the Church whom they feel would be interested in helping with this endeavor to write to: (the mailing address was given here).

The General Overseer attended a session of this organizational meeting with some of his staff. Their purpose was not to help find a solution to the problems but rather to discourage the group in their cause.

This meeting will long be remembered by most of those attending. A fresh spirit of love and appreciation was readily apparent to all. The old-time Church of God “feeling” was in the air. The very atmosphere seemed to be charged by a divine presence. This meeting seemed more like the old-time Church of God services we used to experience before winds of change began to blow within the Church.

Following this meeting, many encouraging letters and phone calls were made all around the country to loved ones in an effort to stimulate their spirits and encourage them to fight the good fight of faith. The first edition of the newsletter, The Evening Light, was published and mailed in November, 1992, with an initial circulation of 125 copies. This newsletter was well received. It was copied and re-copied with many others receiving the good news. God was at work among His people as they were endeavoring to obey Him and remain faithful in the midst of heavy persecutions from those who misunderstood their cause to remain loyal to God’s Holy Word.

The aftermath of this meeting resulted in the revocation of several more ministers licenses. Some were removed from their pastorates or other positions in an effort to force submission. These actions seemed only to fuel the fire with more devoted determination to stand for the truth.

The second major meeting was scheduled for January 20-22, 1993 at Bessemer, Alabama. As this meeting was advertised, several State Overseers sent letters to their Pastors asking them not to attend. Some were threatened with disciplinary action if they attended. The meeting was well attended with at least 800 in attendance from 24 states. Some estimated the crowd to be around 1,000. This meeting was primarily for fellowship and worship with no noteworthy actions forthcoming. Some hinted at re-organization into another church entity, but not enough interest was shown toward such a move at that time. Although this was God’s plan eventually, the time was not yet ripe for God to re-establish His Church in theocracy. This would take place in July at the Solemn Assembly in direct fulfillment of prophecy. The convening of the Solemn Assembly was not yet known to us at the time. God was to reveal this to us a little later on.

The third major meeting was held at Lexington, Kentucky, May 6-8, 1993. The attendance at this meeting was estimated at 250, with at least 16 states represented. This was another meeting of great encouragement to our souls as we were under heavy fire by this time. The highlight of this meeting was a powerful move of God as He spoke to us from Heaven. This meeting was awesome in that God spoke to us that we were His jury and the verdict was that the present administration was guilty of departing from theocracy. We were led to pronounce them “GUILTY” before the great court of heaven which was in session on that memorable day. The sad fact was that Almighty God was performing a surgery on His Body, the Church of God, and cutting off some who had become dead in trespasses against Him. A heavy spirit of weeping and travailing settled upon the congregation as they prayed and agonized before God in a long session before the throne as they struggled for the souls of their beloved brothers and sisters with whom they had labored for many years.

The last of these meetings was conducted May 14-16, 1993 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Approximately 200 attended, with about 12 states represented. Powerful preaching and anointed worship was prevalent throughout this meeting. One brother was Spirit-pressed to mention the verse of Scripture where Christ told the Jews to“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Afterwards there was great rejoicing by the congregation as the Spirit manifested Himself to them. Some who have looked back upon that scene feel that God was using this to point to the restoration of the Church in the three days of the Solemn Assembly.

The resolve of the “Concerned’’ could appropriately be expressed in the following excerpts from a letter of one of the concerned ministers to the General Overseer: “There are those of us who will NOT be lured away from the Truth, we still have the visions, and thus we will do whatever is asked of us by God to preserve the ‘Divine Revelation.’ Please understand there are those of us whose face is set. Our pace is fast. Our goal is Heaven. The road is narrow. Our way is rough. Our companions may be few. However, our guide is reliable, our mission is clear.”

“We cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. We will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity. Please understand, we’ve stepped over the line, the decision has been made. We’re members of His Church and we know it. We won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away nor will we be still. Whatever means it takes to preserve and protect the Church of God will be pursued.”

They felt that God had raised them up for such a time as this. Their determination to keep the Church on track was firm. The Concerned for Bible Doctrine was truly a group raised up by God to do a specific work in preserving the Church through one of Her most difficult times. In the Holy Ghost message which called for the Solemn Assembly, the Holy Ghost specifically stated that God had raised them up, and He warned us not to point a finger at them (evidently to accuse or belittle them). Although they made mistakes as most groups do, overall they obeyed God and their mission was accomplished. Their last official statement came during the Solemn Assembly in the form of their report to that body. It is quoted here for historical purposes: “The basis upon which The Concerned came into existence was to preserve the doctrine. After exhaustive efforts to secure explanations, or answers to the obvious departures of doctrine and theocracy, these were refused and ignored. The exhaustive efforts being agony and travail before God, the only avenue to bring into focus the departures to the general membership was the legal action. To keep the investigation and information and to preserve the doctrine, “The Concerned” came into existence. Based upon the happenings July 24, 1993 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, “The Concerned’s” mission has been accomplished, thus the representatives of The Concerned is dissolved. All funds in The Concerned’s account will be submitted to the church treasury. Full authorization to the use of The Evening Light is promoted and authorized by what has been The Concerned.” The names of the representatives were included at the end of this statement. The amount of funds turned over to the Church treasury was $3,618.39.

The eleven-month period from August 20, 1992 to July 25, 1993 was a unique time period in the Church. This was a time of standing in the gap for the Church of God and upholding the precious doctrine which we so much love. During this time there were intense communications through a series of meetings, saturated mailings, telephoning and visiting one another. The overall theme was standing in the “old paths” in accordance to Jeremiah 6:16. This brief time span was a fulfillment of prophecy recorded in Malachi 3:16: “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.”

The 17th and 18th verses go on to reveal some future events the Church will experience as she continues on in the “old paths.” These prophetical fulfillments include the ingathering of the sheep into one fold, the escape from the awful tribulation period, and the return of the Church with Christ to rule and reign during the millennium. “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.’’ This will indeed be a glorious time for all who are faithful to the Lord and His Church during the remainder of these trying times which we must endure in this present world.