XIV. Analysis at 1973 Why So Little Growth? Seventh-Day Adventists are quick to point out the steady growth and success of their movement as a strong indication that their work is that of God. Today they number several million members worldwide. The Seventh Day Baptists have steadily declined since the early 1900's. The president of the Seventh Day Baptist Milton College, a former Seventh Day Baptist pastor, admits that Seventh Day Baptists are a dying church. This was even apparent in the early days of the Adventists, before 1860. O.P. Hull, a Seventh Day Baptist minister, attended an Adventist conference in Albion, Wisconsin and was greatly impressed by the fervor of the Adventists. He told Bates that Seventh Day Baptists could convince people of the legality of the Sabbath, but "they could not get them to move as the Sabbath Adventists did."1 The splits and schisms of the Church of God, Seventh Day, in the United States has, as its ministers admit, hindered growth. The largest (and most organized group, headquartered out of Denver, reported only 5,500 members in 1964.2 In 1971, a young ministerial student of Stanberry admitted that the member figure of the Merger Group was closer to 4,500. Other groups have far less. In November of 1969, the Bible Advocate went to only 2,225 paid subscribers. Despite the free Advocate program instituted in 1970, the 1973 figure was hardly up to 10,000 copies. This free magazine was published monthly, but in the 1920's the Advocate was weekly. The 1,000 new members added in 1923 has never been repeated. Divisions have caused many to leave the church altogether. The town of Stanberry itself shows the decline. In 1914, it had 2,200 inhabitants; in 1920, only 1,864; and in 1973 had about 1,400. Seventh-Day Adventist historian Loughborough presented a challenge to the Church of God, that must be answered. He maintained that the opposition to Ellen G. White came mostly from "those who have been reproved for defects in character, for wrong habits, or for some wrong course in their manner of life." They left the ranks, protesting that they were not as bad as her testimony said. At his writing (1892), Loughborough stated that the breakaway groups had made no success in spreading Sabbath truth. "If those opposing this gift are led by the Lord, why should they lose their spirituality, and backslide from God? . . . a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit."3 Later (1909), Loughborough stated that the organized opposition to Ellen G. White's testimonies had met "utter failure." And "after years of battling they have given no more evidence of spreading the Sabbath truth before the world than those of their kindred did 49 years ago [Messenger Party]. If theirs was the special work of the Lord, why has no more prosperity attended their message?"4 Grew Up on Dead Soil The period of the crystallization of the Church of God (Seventh Day) was from about 1840 to 1860. What was this period like religiously? "Toward the latter part of the 18th Century there was much spiritual unrest and the churches of America were dead in religious formality and certain Bible truths seemed all but lost."5 Ellen G. White noted that "the state of the churches at this time is pointed out in the Savior's words in the Revelation: 'You have a name that you livest, and art dead'."6 To awaken them, she believed, God sent "an American reformer," William Miller. What were the results of this "reformer"? Miller and the "Burned Over District" Churches during Miller's time generally believed (according to the contemporary theologian Bush) that the millennium would come not with a divine intervention and the return of Christ, but through "gradual steps" and the "moral regeneration" and conversion of the world. In other words, Christ would come after the millennium had been set up in the hearts of men.7 Miller's movement held that the return of Christ preceded the millennium. His date setting and fanatical supporters "turned off" great numbers of people to the truth, when the date he set failed to materialize. The period of religious enthusiasm had lasted from about 1800 and was centered in western New York (Rochester being the home of James White's paper, the Advent Review). After 1844, there was a noticeable decline of conversions, and the period of revivals came to an abrupt end.8 One historian notes that "For years [after 1844] the spiritual condition in some parts of the State of New York was not unlike that of a prairie after it has been swept by fire. All was blackness and desolation and death."9 It was, as Whitney Cross' book is entitled, a "Burned Over District."10 Western New York, and Ohio and Michigan, first on the westward road of migration, were the centers of this "Burned Over District," and were the birthplaces of the Church of God (Seventh Day). Seventh Day Baptist Legacy The Seventh Day Baptists, originally called the Church of God or the Church of Christ, were ancestors of the Church of God (Seventh Day). What were they like at the birth of The Messenger of Truth, and later, The Hope of Israel? As Dugger notes, "some among the oldest of these congregations . . . have, like Israel of old, departed, to some degree, from the old paths in which their forefathers trod. Whole they still hold to the true Sabbath and baptism these certain congregations have taken an unscriptural gospel, and several other important tenets of faith." Further, they "were growing cold and indifferent toward the truth, drifting toward the world, and becoming like the Gentiles around them . . . ." As a result, "some began gradually drifting away from the former piety and love for the Bible, and the Bible only, for their faith and practice, and took upon themselves another name besides the one divinely given of God."11 Seventh Day Baptists forgot the annual Passover that the original London church had observed. They forgot the conditionalist beliefs of their forefathers, and came to believe in the immortal soul. They neglected the Sabbath, the only sign demonstrating that they did keep the commandments of God. They began to compromise as to keeping the Sabbath. The President of the Seventh Day Baptist Conference, Dr. George W. Post, said in 1904: "For a man to starve his family in order to keep the Sabbath is unnatural under existing conditions. It is also unnecessary." In matters such as smoking and drinking and the Old Testament dietary laws, the Seventh Day Baptist church in the later period failed to legislate, leaving the matter to "the judgment of the individual."12 The trend of "watering down" of religion had already far advanced among Seventh Day Baptists by the 1840's. Yet Samuel Davison initiated an appeal for the church to stir itself up. He was instrumental in pushing through a Conference resolution setting aside November 1, 1843 as a day of fasting and prayer that God would "arise and plead for his holy Sabbath." Another day in January, 1845 was also set aside for fasting. Earnest editorials in the Sabbath Recorder, such as the one entitled, "O Lord, Revive Thy Works," in the August 7, 1845, issue, tried to stir up the church, but to no avail. Davison, Cottrell, Sheffield and a few other Seventh Day Baptists were used to carry on the Church of God work, but there were few zealots during this time. The sleepy "small town syndrome," instead of big city evangelism, was a legacy the lethargic Seventh Day Baptists handed to the Church of God. Seventh-Day Adventist Legacy Starting on the blackened soil of Millerism and the lethargy of Seventh Day Baptists, Sabbath Adventists were faced with a greater threat from within: the visions of Ellen G. White and the harsh dictatorship of her husband. Feigned or not in her power to control, the visions turned many against the Sabbath and religion altogether. As Canright laments, "The natural rebound from fanaticism and superstition is into infidelity and skepticism . . . the ripe fruit of [Seventh Day] Adventism in the years to come will be a generation of infidels."13 This was to hold true in too many cases. William Brinkerhoff, B.F. Snook, Moses Hull, H.S. Dille and other early leaders in the Church of God fell away. For many, even contact with the Whites often proved to be spiritual poison. The legacy of the Seventh-Day Adventists to the Church of God was to prove far more deadly than either Millerism or Seventh Day Baptists. Joseph Marsh and the "Independent View" Since the Seventh-Day Adventists organized and changed their name from Church of God, those who would not go along with the White Party often were entirely against all forms of organization. Some Adventists could see that the name Church of God was scriptural, but could not come around to the Sabbath, probably because to do so would mean that there was only the vision-inspired White Party to ally with. Thus, the Age-to-Come group, calling themselves the Church of God, came into being as a very loose and unorganized church that did not formally organize until the 1920's. Joseph Marsh, the predecessor of the Age-to-Come Church of God, wrote in his paper, The Voice of Truth and Glad Tidings in May 21, 1845, that the name Church of God is the only name that the true body can be called. He wrote strongly against organizing with a statement of beliefs, which he felt was the first step towards religious persecution. Marsh's view was apparently picked up by many of the Hope of Israel party, as it wasn't until 1884 when the Church of God General Conference was organized, and 1900 when the church became incorporated. Still, "independent views" were allowed and in 1929 when some attempt to enforce unanimity was instituted, it was to no avail, and actually precipitated the 1933 division. The "I'll let no man or organization tell me what to preach" syndrome was to insure a disunited Church of God and precipitate the recurrent splits which exemplify Church of God history. A Dying Church The decline of the Church of God (Seventh Day) is not as apparent as the Seventh Day Baptists because there are so many groups to keep track of and membership figures are inaccurate or unobtainable. Certainly the widespread home and foreign missionary activity extant in the 1920's is no longer taking place. Few, if any, outside the Church of God (Seventh Day) or its Sabbath-keeping cousins have ever heard of the group. An interesting article in a Bible Advocate sometime in the early 1920's is entitled "A Dying Church." Written by O.R. Osman, then Secretary of the General Missionary Department, it states: "A Church that is doing nothing for the public is on its way to the cemetery. All its members who are doing nothing are acting as pall bearers. All who are so busy with their own affairs that they've no time to devote to the Lord's cause are making the mourning wreath. The brother who says noting at all is driving the hearse. The ones who are constantly drawing back when moves are to be made are throwing the flowers on the grave . . . . Brother, which of these acts are you performing?" Leadership can often offset serious problems. The dead soil -- Millerism, Seventh Day Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists and Age-to-Come "independents" -- upon which the Church of God (Seventh Day) grew might have been overcome had the church produced firm leaders who would lead the people in the right direction. When A.C. Long, Jacob Brinkerhoff, A.F. Dugger and others died, they had no dedicated replacements. A.F. Dugger's son, Andrew N. Dugger, was a horse of a different color. He admitted twice (in 1912 and again in 1929) that a certain doctrine -- Anglo Israelism -- was true, but refused to preach it because he felt the church would not accept it. The question of whether this doctrine is true or not is irrelevant; the point is that Dugger was not an honest and sincere leader. Religious hypocrisy in the top leadership certainly led to the downfall and splintering of the church. Individual hypocrisy had not been absent from the church either. Many continue to believe in Feast Days, Anglo Israelism and other doctrines yet continue to be a part of a church which publishes articles against these beliefs. An article in the November-December, 1971 Messenger (Merger group paper) states: "The Church of God (Seventh Day) has always been a church with 'an open creed.' By that we mean we are ready to accept new light on the Scriptures and that our doctrines are subject to change at any time when Biblical evidence proves the need for such change."14 It is ironic that some in the Seventh Day Church of God have admitted that such and such a doctrine is true, but do not live by it. Call it personality conflict, call it doctrinal disputes, call it "independent spirit," the 1933 division marked a definite change, a downward thrust in the church, from which it has never recovered. As Church of God historian Charles Monroe states, "The division [of 1933-1949] had hindered growth in the Church of God, and it was as if the Sardis church described in Revelation 3:1 could be describing the Church of God! It was alive, yet dead!"15ê XV. The "Church Depression Period," 1974-1987 Fifteen years seemed like a long time to me in 1972-1973 when I wrote History of the Seventh Day Church of God at age 25. In 1987, at age 40, my perspective had changed somewhat. What happened to the Seventh Day Church of God in these fifteen years? The years 1973-1987 could be labeled the "Church Depression" period. The 1950's, and especially the early and mid 1960's, were periods of optimism and activity for the church. This began to wane in the late 1960's and early 1970's. By the mid-1970's, there was a definite lack of direction. By the late 1980's, optimism had virtually given way to the stark reality that things were not working out so well. The Seventh Day Church of God, as a whole, was not only unheard of by the world, but the church didn't know who they were, nor where they were going. What Is the "Seventh Day Church of God"? I use the term, "Seventh Day Church of God" to designate Sabbath-keepers originating from the Gilbert Cranmer, Hope of Israel, Messenger Party, Marion Iowa, and Stanberry, Missouri people of the Nineteenth Century. In 1987, there were at least four major segments of the Seventh Day Church of God: (1) Mainline Church of God Seventh Day groups, headquartered in Denver, Colorado; Meridian, Idaho; Caldwell, Idaho; Salem, West Virginia, and Jerusalem, Israel. (2) Worldwide Church of God, headquartered in Pasadena, California and its numerous splinter groups, (3) Sacred Name groups headquartered in Bethel, Pennsylvania; Rocheport, Missouri; Holt, Michigan; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, plus numerous other groups and independents. (4) Other groups and independents. The Appendix gives history trees for these segments. Our history has concentrated on the first segment, the mainline Church of God, Seventh Day groups. In analyzing the years of 1974-1987, more attention needs to be given to all four segments. It is not uncommon to find individuals who have been associated with several segments of the Seventh Day Church of God. We have seen that the different segments are affecting one another to a larger extent than has happened in the past. The Denver Group Mead's 1975 Handbook of Denominations showed that the Church of God, Seventh Day, Denver Group had 56 churches and 5,500 members. According to the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, in 1981 the group had 124 churches and 4,431 members and 111 ministers in North America. As reported previously, Canright said in the late 1800's that the Church of God had 30 ministers and 6,000 members. The 1986 Directory of Sabbath-Observing Groups reported 120 congregations and 5,200 members in North America. The 1980 Directory had listed 126 congregations and 6,800 members. Calvin Burrell reported that the Bible Advocate circulation grew from 2,400 in 1970 to 21,000 in 1981. For financial reasons, circulation was drastically reduced to 9,000 in 1984. It grew back to 14,000 in 1987. From all these statistics, it appears that the group is barely holding its own. Total 1987 membership of the Denver Group, as reported by Calvin Burrell, was 5,200 in North America, 18,900 in Latin America, 575 in Europe and Australia/New Zealand, 9,500 in Africa, 1,800 in India, and 1,900 in the Philippines. Midwest Bible College of Stanberry, Missouri was closed in the 1970's. In its place, the Summit School of Theology in Denver offers ministerial training courses. Robert Coulter was President of the General Conference from the 1960's to 1987. An aggressive, personable man, Coulter gave stability and cohesiveness to the Church. Under his leadership, the goal of doubling the church organization's membership by 1990 was set. No doubt a key element in that goal was the reunification of the Denver and Meridian Church of God Seventh Day groups, which if successful, would have been a big boost to church morale. In some areas of the United States, reunification was an accomplished fact. During the early 1980's, in the Portland, Oregon area, Emmett Samson of the Milwaukee, Oregon Church of God Seventh Day (affiliated with Meridian) joined forces and congregations with Nelson Caswell and the Portland church affiliated with Denver. Movement toward the Denver-Meridian reunification went through several years of meetings and discussion during the mid-1980's. However, a vote on the union was rejected in 1987 when the Meridians approved it by a simple majority, but short of the required two-thirds vote. Coulter stepped down as Denver Group President and the Bylaws were amended to allow lay members for the first time on the body's twelve member executive board. The bylaws allow women to serve on district boards which are limited to seven members. Coulter went to minister a church in Texas. His job was divided between Calvin Burrell and Jerry Moldenhauer. Burrell became General Conference President and also continued to serve as pastor of the Denver congregation. Jerry Moldenhauer became General Conference Executive Director, which entailed managing the Denver General Conference offices and coordinating United Ministries programs. Burrell's father, Lawrence Burrell, was in 1987 still the Treasurer of the Bible Sabbath Association. A native of Fairview, Oklahoma, Lawrence Burrell (b. 1909) held this post since the mid-1950's. Both he and his wife, Lottie (Davison) are descendants of pioneer Church of God (7th Day) ministers. Calvin Burrell said the main reason for the merger failure was the Meridians' fear of being overpowered by the larger Denver group. Although a standing invitation to merge was extended, Burrell did not expect the merger to go through in the foreseeable future. In other significant events, an International Ministerial Congress was formed, composed of representation from nearly twenty national Conferences. Each was recognized as a sister, rather than a daughter, of the Church in the United States. From 1970-1987, the following are some of the ministers deceased: Ennis Hawkins, Reuben Moldenhauer, K.H. Freeman, A.E. Lidell, Horace Munro, Julian Camero, Rudolph Haffner, W.W. McMicken, Floyd Craig, C.W. Wilkinson, Tiemen DeWind, A.N. Dugger and A.F. Dugger, Jr. Floyd Turner served as Editor of the Bible Advocate from 1970 until 1981, when Jerry Griffin became Editor. Ray Straub, son of the 1949 "Merger Engineer" E.A. Straub, developed into a very effective speaker and leader in the church during the latter 1970's. He might have succeeded Coulter. However, charges of immoral conduct resulted in the Marion, Oregon church removing him from the pulpit. He retained membership, but became mostly inactive. Meridian, Idaho Group The Meridian group continued to publish the Acts and Fellowship Herald magazines. The 1986 Directory states there were 26-30 affiliated congregations in North America and 5 in Latin America. Caldwell, Idaho Group Martin L. Ogren, a founder and long time leader of the group, died in 1982. Paul A. Woods assumed the role of leadership and editorship of the monthly magazine, Herald of Truth. Ten congregations were listed in the 1986 Directory: Watsonville, California; Caldwell, Idaho; Chicago, Illinois; St. Joseph, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; and Everett, Forks, Republic, Trout Lake and Wenatchee, Washington. The group published the Zion Faith College Bible Correspondence Course. A close relationship existed between the Caldwell group and J.O. Nwakeafor of Nigeria, who was overseer of an organization there, formerly led by R.D. Orukuwu. There were dozens of Nigerian ministers and thousands of members. Like Caldwell, the Nigerians kept the Feast Days, but used the Jewish Calendar which Caldwell rejects. The Nigerians keep Pentecost on Sunday and look both to Caldwell and Jerusalem for leadership and assistance. Salem, West Virginia Group The last official census of the group was in 1960 when it reported seven churches and 2,000 members. The numbers had apparently reduced considerably by 1987, as the 1986 Directory does not give statistics. The Advocate of Truth was still published in the 1980's. Jerusalem, Israel Group Andrew N. Dugger died about 1975. Leadership of the Jerusalem organization was assumed by his son-in-law, Gordon M. Fauth. A young peoples' singing group, the Jerusalem Sonbeams, traveled around Israel helping evangelize. Numerous "Third World" Sabbath-keeping Churches of God in Africa (Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana), India, the Philippines and the West Indies looked to Jerusalem for leadership, Bibles and support. Independent Sabbath-keepers in America supported the Jerusalem work. Perhaps as the older generation dies out, men who knew Dugger, support from the United States may wane. The group ceased to print the Bible Home Instructor and other Dugger books and tracts. The Mt. Zion Reporter magazine mainly dealt with news from Israel. An "Andrew N. Dugger Orphanage" in India received economic support from Jerusalem. Worldwide Church of God and Related Groups In early 1974, the roof caved in on the Worldwide Church of God. Dr. Ernest L. Martin, Al Portune, Ken Westby, George Kemnitz and a host of other leading ministers left the church, ostensibly over its failure to change its teachings on Divorce & Remarriage (D&R) and Pentecost, and church government. In an apparent effort to stem the tide, the Church's leader, Herbert W. Armstrong, at the behest of his son Garner Ted Armstrong, drastically liberalized the church's teachings on D&R, allowing divorce and remarriage for just about any reason, even when both were married in the church. Also, the date for the annual Pentecost observance was changed from Monday to Sunday. Many other doctrines were changed and/or liberalized. In 1977, Joseph Hopkins in Christianity Today listed 29 doctrinal changes or liberalizations, including a more relaxed approach to Sabbath observance. While thousands had left because the church had refused to change doctrines, hundreds more left for opposite reasons when the church liberalized its doctrines. All these departures produced numerous splinter groups. Those who remained were largely composed of those who would follow Herbert W. Armstrong no matter what he said. The Ambassador Report newsletter became an organ for a growing anti-Armstrong movement. In 1972, Garner Ted had been put out of the ministry and excommunicated from the church for marital infidelity, but was soon reinstated. In 1973, the elder Armstrong had turned over much of the reigns of church leadership to his son Garner Ted, yet still remained in top control. Conflict raged over the financial control of the church's vast assets and millions of dollars of annual income. Conflicts between Garner Ted Armstrong and Stanley Rader, the church's legal counsel and others led to Garner Ted's final ouster in 1978. He formed his own church organization, the Church of God International, headquartered in Tyler, Texas. In the latter 1980's it had several thousand members in the U.S. Garner Ted Armstrong continued to produce television sermons. In 1979-1980, a conflict raged between the Worldwide Church of God and the State of California when dissident members convinced the State Attorney General to investigate alleged financial wrong doing and place control of the church under a court appointed receiver. Resistance from members plus a law passed by the California State Legislature put the quietus on the investigation. Herbert W. Armstrong continued his world travels, meeting with heads of state in Japan, Germany, Israel and elsewhere. In 1986, Armstrong died and leadership of the church went to Armstrong's last-minute appointment, Joseph W. Tkach, a relative newcomer to the church's leadership. The church had entered a period of tranquility which even the death of Herbert Armstrong did not shake. Former Worldwide Church of God minister Dr. Ernest L. Martin's Foundation of Biblical Research, later called Associates for Scriptural Knowledge, produced a stream of literature in the Protestant mold, purposely designed to tear down Worldwide Church of God theology such as the Sabbath, tithing, healing, Passover and Holy Days. Some of the many ex-Worldwide Church splinter groups were: The United Church of God, led by Richard A. Wiedenheft and others, who kept the annual "Lord's Supper" but abandoned the Holy Days. The Biblical Church of God, originally led by Fred Coulter (ex-Worldwide Church of God minister, no relation to Robert Coulter of the Denver Group). In 1982, Fred Coulter parted and formed his own Christian Biblical Church of God. Another division is the Biblical Church of God in Canada, headed by Keith Hunt. The Church of God, The Eternal, led by Raymond C. Cole, numbered about 500 members and had branches in Canada and Switzerland. Cole was one of the original graduates from Ambassador College and a former Worldwide Church evangelist and regional church director. This group originated with some of those who refused to go along with the 1974 Worldwide Church of God doctrinal changes, particularly Divorce and Remarriage and Pentecost. In 1976, Paul S. Royer broke off to form the Church of God, Sonoma. The Church of God Evangelistic Association, led by David Smith, published News Watch magazine. The group emphasized prophecy, especially the association of the mark of the beast with the universal price code. The Hebrew Calendar was rejected. One would think that the problems in the Worldwide Church of God and the creation of many ex-Worldwide splinter groups had created a golden opportunity for the Church of God Seventh Day mainline groups such as the Denver Group. Many ex-Seventh-Day Adventists became associated with the Church of God, Seventh Day during the early 1900's. However, few who left the Worldwide Church of God, or its splinter groups, affiliated with the Denver, Meridian or Caldwell groups. However, the 1974 doctrinal changes in the Worldwide Church of God and mass exodus of thousands of former members did affect the Church of God, Seventh Day, especially the Denver Group. For a while in the latter 1970's, Don Prunkard, former Worldwide Church minister, worked with the Denver Group. He wrote an article in the August, 1979 Advocate attacking the Feast Days, which he had kept while in the Worldwide Church but had by this time renounced. Prunkard later drifted away from the Church of God, Seventh Day. It appears that not many ex-Worldwide Church members migrated to the Denver Group. It has been my personal experience that the response of Denver Group people to ex-WWC members is not overly friendly. Calvin Burrell stated in a personal letter to me: "Most of our members with whom I speak have made compassionate efforts to help ex-Worldwide members adjust to our Church. Generally, we have not been very successful. Reasons for this, it seems to me, are more psychological than doctrinal (mistrust of organizations, baggage of the true-church syndrome, liturgical shock, negative focus of people hurt by W.C.G., etc.)." Many people were so badly hurt by the Worldwide Church experience that they rejected religion entirely. Many developed a total contempt for the ministry. As a result, some discarded all Truth they had. The average membership growth of the Worldwide Church of God, which had been +30% per year during the period of the 1950's and 1960's, suffered drastically and took a long time to reach its former level of about 100,000. Sacred Name Groups Sacred Name groups insist on using the Hebrew names for the deity. They often disagree among themselves just exactly how the Hebrew names YHVH or YHWH should be pronounced. Sacred Name group history is covered in Volume II of this history, part H. A few from the Worldwide Church of God and Church of God Seventh Day have joined Sacred Name groups, and vice versa. Jacob O. Meyer, whose voice was heard on the Sacred Name Broadcaster broadcast, published a magazine by the same name, and led the prominent Bethel, Pennsylvania Assemblies of Yahweh. His dogmatic stance and leadership style has been compared by some Yahwehists to that of Herbert W. Armstrong. In 1980, there was a division when Donald Mansager and others withdrew from Meyer to form Assemblies of Yahweh in Messiah in Missouri. Meyer launched a punitive lawsuit against the new group, claiming that Assemblies of Yahweh was a "service mark" and that nobody else could use this name or "any colorable imitation thereof", and that former members had stolen the address list. The two groups settled out of court when the Missouri group agreed to pay several thousands of dollars damages and change its name to Yahweh's Assembly in Messiah. The Missouri group continued to publish Master Key magazine. Other Sacred Name groups were centered in Holt, Michigan and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Why Are They Declining? The Worldwide Church of God North American membership in the latter 1980's was about the same in the early 1970's before its major internal problems. The Church of God Seventh Day and Sacred Name groups were holding their own, barely. Splits have been disastrous to all these Sabbath-keeping groups. Splits, schisms and internal bickering seem to be the continual rule of the day. It is ironic that Herbert Armstrong said in 1927 when he was converted, that the Church of God, Seventh Day was small, unheard of, not proclaiming the gospel to the world with power. At that time, the church was undergoing its greatest period of growth, and was engaging in unprecedented evangelistic activity. Thousands of people were being baptized. Yet the church was small and unheard of by the bulk of the population. But then, something happened. It appears that the economic depression of the 1930's contributed to a spiritual depression in the church. Unhappily, it has never recovered. They stopped spreading the faith. Some stopped keeping portions of the Truth that they once believed in, such as the Holy Days, because of economic difficulties. It is sad that in the late 1980's, when there was relative economic prosperity, that these groups of people nevertheless acted as if they were spiritually depressed. So little desire to work on overcoming the carnal self, and little enthusiasm to spread the Truth to others. The men who lead the various groups, are, with some exceptions, seemingly dedicated individuals who are definitely not like Jim Bakker of the ill-famed PTL Club, who gained notoriety in 1987 for religious playboyism and financial corruption. Why have numbers been relatively declining in the Church of God, Seventh Day, while other groups such as Mormons and Seventh-Day Adventists reported strong membership gains? Could it be a more conservative doctrinal stand plus just plain laziness? Granted, the church would be a little flock, Luke 12:32, and not a large political institution. Yet all of these splits, schisms, bad feelings and finger pointing are depressing! Does it have to be like this? Isn't there a better way? In the United States, religious enthusiasm increased during the 1980's, partly due to the influence of President Ronald Reagan. Yet at the same time, religious fervor and zeal in the Seventh Day Church of God declined. Why? My 1973 analysis showed that the Church of God, Seventh Day grew up on dead soil historically. The legacy of the Millerite, "Burned Over District" of western New York, the Seventh Day Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists and Church of God "independent view" with so many splits and schisms prevented much unity and evangelizing zeal. This coupled with bad leadership rife with lies and hypocrisy precluded substantial growth. In 1973 the Church of God, Seventh Day was a dying or dead church. In 1987, more so. Can We Recapture "the Good Old Days"? The Church of God, Seventh Day rests on its laurels of prior periods of evangelism, the so-called "good old days." The Denver Group does this. The Worldwide and its splinter groups do this to a limited extent. Then, powerful evangelists started small churches scattered across the country in various areas. The world of the 1970's and 1980's was centered on suburbs ringing the major cities. In 1950, some 44% of USA population was located in rural areas and 24% in suburbs. In 1984, these figures were reversed. The Church of God Seventh Day is NOT active in these growing suburb areas. For example, the Church of God, Seventh Day is still unheard of in the Saint Louis, Missouri, metropolitan area of 2.5 million people. Members in various American towns tithe to their local Church of God Seventh Day minister, to a headquarters organization, or get involved in some kind of vicarious missionary work in Jerusalem or elsewhere, and it stops there. Then there are numbers who just bank their tithes, waiting for Elijah to come. Where are the evangelists, the religious writers, the hard working dedicated people who care enough about the Truth of God they know to share it with others? They might be watching television or engaging in other frivolous pursuits. All the while continuing to show up for Sabbath services or annual religious meetings. In reality, these Sabbath-keepers today are doing very little to spread the gospel to the world with power and make the world aware of its existence. I am glad many people cared enough to help me come along the road to Truth with literature, fellowship and prayers. But so many today frankly don't care any more! If the Church only realized the sad shape it is in, it might do something about it. But we are like a frog in a pan of lukewarm water. The frog doesn't notice as the temperature is gradually increased, degree by degree, until finally he is cooked to death. A Great Spiritual Depression In the late 1980's close to 50% of the U.S. population was Catholic. America had fallen from the world's largest creditor nation in 1981 to the world's largest debtor, owing other countries $400 billion. These factors do not bode well for future growth of Sabbath-keeping groups in North America and the world. Many felt that the October 1987 stock market crash signalled the beginning of a worldwide economic depression similar to 1929. But for the Sabbath-keeping Churches of God, the period of 1974-1987 had already been a period of great spiritual depression. As a student of history, the more I learn, the more questions I have. I am sure that God will answer them all someday. There are lessons of history, but when will we ever learn them? There ought to be a way to avoid the lessons of history. There ought to be a better way, a way of love and compassion among the brethren, of respect and support for true ministers of the Almighty who will spread the true gospel to the world with power, and without splits, schisms, internal problems in the church. Is this a pipe dream or can it happen? Are We Dead, Lukewarm, Or Full of the Holy Spirit? The dead "Sardis" church mentioned in Revelation does nothing. The "Laodicean" church is lukewarm. It is difficult to distinguish between these two similar conditions. I don't want to be classified as either one! And yet, if each one of us is truly honest with ourselves, we will all have to admit that each one of us is part of the problem. As the Pogo comic character stated: "We have met the enemy, and he is us!" We cannot look at the record of mankind in the Bible, and history of the New Testament Church from its foundation on 31 A.D. and say we are much better than they were. Paul's epistles are full of internal church problems that boggle the mind. We are no better than they. This history of recent day Sabbath-keeping Churches of God further confirms the fact that history does repeat itself. The record of the entire Bible is that we must learn to be submissive to God's authority. Obey God, and you will be blessed. Disobey God, and you will be cursed. The Bible is the historical record showing that NOTHING ever comes out right when you disobey God, and the ONLY way to blessings is to obey God, through the Messiah our Master. The Eternal says to US, in OUR day: Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found your works perfect before God . . . . I know your works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will [am about to] spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: . . . As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Revelation 3:2, 16-19. Will we learn the lesson of history? XVI. The 1990's: Spiritual Abyss and Rays of Hope The 1990's were generally not happy years for Sabbath-keepers. Many slipped into a spiritual doctrinal abyss by abandoning or watering down their former beliefs. And yet there were a few precious rays of hope. Herbert W. Armstrong, the most famous Sabbath-keeping minister of the twentieth century, died in January of 1986. His successor, Joseph W. Tkach, instigated monumental doctrinal changes in the Worldwide Church of God. Scores of doctrinal teachings were changed, liberalized, and watered down. Among many other things, the Church edged close to accepting the Protestant doctrine of the Trinity, accepted "born again" theology, abandoned its former teaching of Anglo-Israel identity, and recognized the use of crosses as appropriate Christian symbols of worship. The changes were vast, yet perhaps only 10% of the membership was motivated to leave the Worldwide Church. Gerald Flurry in 1990 led a departure of "fake conservatives" who worshipped Herbert Armstrong's (liberalized) teachings as of his death in 1986, and continued aberrant prophetic speculation. He lambasted the Worldwide Church of God as the "Laodicean Church." To be a member of Flurry's Philadelphia Church of God, you had to believe that Herbert Armstrong was the end time Elijah. It is shocking that any Worldwide Church of God people would leave a church gone doctrinally off track for the "frying pan" of Flurry. Yet several hundred desperate people did just that. Former Plain Truth writer William F. Dankenbring's Triumph Prophetic Ministries had, in the late 1980's, created a stir in the Worldwide Church of God. His prophetic teachings, insistence on keeping Pentecost on Sivan 6 in line with Pharasiac Jews, plus keeping Passover on the 15th of Nisan, is still another departure and represents an extremist position among Worldwide Church of God splinter groups. In early 1993, Roderick C. Meredith, one of the original Worldwide Church of God evangelists, broke with the Worldwide Church of God and established his own Global Church of God. Evangelists Raymond McNair, and later his brother Carl McNair, joined, along with numbers of former Worldwide Church ministers. Soon, there were dozens of congregations and hundreds of members in the new group. Their World Ahead magazine, patterned after The Plain Truth, demonstrated the group's adherence to much of Worldwide Church teaching prior to Armstrong's death. However, Meredith and McNair continued to teach wide open divorce and remarriage, as Armstrong had from 1974 to his death in 1986. This prevented many doctrinal conservatives from joining the new group. But considering the alternatives, it appeared that Meredith would succeed in garnering most of those leaving the Worldwide Church of God because of its massive doctrinal liberalization. Less well-known were two other ex-Worldwide Church groups, who concentrated quietly on feeding the flock with spiritual food. John Ritenbaugh of Charlotte, North Carolina, began his Church of The Great God in 1992. Fred Coulter of Hollister, California continued with his Christian Biblical Church of God which stemmed from his 1982 ouster from the Biblical Church of God, a 1979 offshoot from the Worldwide Church. Both Ritenbaugh and Coulter produced excellent tapes and helpful literature. Coulter's excellent book, The Christian Passover. What Does It Mean? When Should It Be Observed -- the 14th or the 15th? was published in 1993, and clearly presented arguments in favor of a 14th Passover. Garner Ted Armstrong's Church of God International, begun in 1978 when GTA was ousted from the Worldwide by his father, had mixed results. Because of an extraordinary donation, a new building and ministerial training school was constructed on Lake Palestine, Texas. However, numbers became disenchanted and left the CGI to start other groups. The Church of God, The Eternal, led by Raymond Cole (an original Worldwide evangelist who left in 1975) and Bryce Clark, appeared to be barely holding its own, after losing several ministers and members in the early 1990's. Although much more conservative and closer to the original Worldwide Church of God teachings than any other splinter group, their presentation of doctrines lacked clarity and conviction. The group continued to have a number of members who were not enthusiastic about the church's leadership and activities. Sacred Name groups appeared to be holding their own, and perhaps growing a bit. Jacob O. Meyer, head of the largest group, the Assemblies of Yahweh of Bethel, Pennsylvania, was on television. There were sacred name groups in Poland and other places in Eastern Europe. Jewish beliefs and practices (such as wearing the tallith) were emphasized by the Hawkins Sacred Name groups in Texas. The question of when to observe the Passover, on the 14th or the 15th, plagued the Sacred Name groups as it did many other Sabbath-keeping groups. A bright spot in the Sacred Name groups was Donald Mansager's Yahweh's New Covenant Assembly, of Kingdom City, Missouri. The YNCA's quality magazine, Light, went to 5,200 subscribers. Some 160-180 attended the group's Feast of Tabernacles in Missouri, and the group had an aggressive overseas outreach to assemblies in the Philippines and the West Indies. Paul Woods, son-in-law of Martin Ogren, continued to lead the Seventh Day Church of God of Caldwell, Idaho. In 1993, some 147 people attended the group's Feast of Tabernacles, which was held near Washougal, Washington. The group's magazine, Herald of Truth, went to less than 1,000 subscribers. The Caldwell Group continued to be associated with a black church group in the Chicago area. The 1993 death of J.O. Nwakeafor, overseer in Nigeria, created a leadership vacuum, which the Caldwell Group sought to fill with an experienced native elder. Woods said that the church is struggling in America, as people do not want holiness in their lives. They rebel against a strong message against the sins of Sodom. The people are lax, and don't want to be told their sins. There is a general falling away from the Truth. On a recent trip delivering Bibles to Mexico, Woods noted that Mexicans, who previously had been very receptive to the gospel, more so than rich Americans, had cooled somewhat, as they now want to be like the Americans. Numbers of Sabbath-keepers in Hyderabad, India, and south India, appeared to be increasing. In the Boise valley of Idaho, the Caldwell Group was still fellowshipping occasionally with the Meridian Group, but the Denver Group church in Nampa had pulled out of regular fellowship with the others. Mike Ahlborn, grandson of Clair Ahlborn, was editor of the Meridian Group's paper, Acts. Ron Burnham, son of Mark Burnham (now in his eighties), pastored the Meridian church. Although some Meridian churches had joined with Denver, it appeared that the Meridian Group was still functioning, although with reduced numbers. In 1993, the Bible Sabbath Association's magazine, The Sabbath Sentinel, underwent an improved format change under the leadership of its new editor, Sydney Cleveland. The BSA planned a 1994 update to its Directory of Sabbath-Observing Groups. The BSA continued to be the most objective source of information for the searching Sabbath-keeper for information about different groups, although it suffered from a reduced membership list. The Salem, West Virginia Group continued to exist, although its size was probably half or even less than half the 2,000 members claimed in 1960. The Jerusalem, Israel Group continued to publish The Mt. Zion Reporter. It appeared that its scope of operations was somewhat reduced from former years. The Church of God (Seventh Day) Denver Group increased membership in the 1980's. This was augmented by six to eight of the leading ministers from the Meridian, Idaho group (including Roy Henderson, Larry Childers and the Palmer brothers) joining forces with Denver, along with about one hundred Meridian Group members. Calvin Burrell, President of the General Conference and leader of the Denver Group, was pleased that the Worldwide Church of God had made overtures to the Denver Group. After decades of rivalry and sometimes bitterness, Burrell reported that "the Cold War is over" between the two groups. He applauded most of the doctrinal changes in the Worldwide Church. Joseph Tkach, Jr., son of WWC leader Joseph Tkach, attended the General Conference meeting of 1993, and forged friendly ties with the Denver ministry. Worldwide Church ministers were encouraged to develop cordial relationships with their respective local Church of God Seventh Day ministers, and some of them did just that. In the 1990's, however, the Church of God Denver Group was barely holding its own, still clinging to about 6,000 North American members. Like the Seventh Day Baptists, they are not a growing church. Although the Meridian Group continued, there was less partisanship between the groups, and more co-operation. The defunct Denver Group ministerial college at Stanberry formerly had up to twenty students. Its replacement, Summit School of Theology at Denver, usually had only five to ten students. Roy Marrs, nephew of Burt F. Marrs, became the editor of The Bible Advocate. In the eastern United States and lower Canada, about a dozen black Churches of God Seventh Day, mainly comprised of transplanted Jamaican Sabbath-keepers, worked together in a "Joint Church of God Fellowship," led by Lael Tikili and Pastor Whaid Rose of Brooklyn (a supporter of Denver). Some of these churches were independent, and others were affiliated with Meridian. Their enthusiastic style of worship prevented them from fully integrating with any American group. Katherine Kiesz, wife and evangelistic companion of John Kiesz, died in 1993. In 1994, L.I. Rodgers, one of the old timers in the Church of God, was still living at 98 years of age in Greybull, Wyoming. Rodgers believed in keeping the Feast Days, and also taught that one in not born again until the resurrection. Although these doctrines were more in line with classical teachings of the Worldwide Church of God than the majority of beliefs in the Church of God (Seventh Day), his esteem among the Denver Group shows that such ideas have long been extant. Few former Worldwide Church of God members seemed interested in the Church of God (Seventh Day). Calvin Burrell summed up his feeling of the lack of religious commitment of Sabbath-keepers in the 1990's when he told me that "the appetite for doctrine" was not very strong. As the Seventh Day Church of God approached the Twenty-First Century, there were some rays of hope. But, so many Sabbath-keepers had slipped into a doctrinal abyss, that only a strong hand from somewhere could possibly regather the lost sheep of the House of Israel. -- written by Richard C. Nickels