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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, DECEMBER 18, 1981
PAGE 8
Mr. Armstrong began by saying that he had good news and bad news. The bad
news was that the Church was in FATAL DANGER. A spirit of lethargy and
liberalism had taken hold of us. Many were "doing their own thing"--what
was right in their own eyes and not what is right in GOD'S EYES. Members
were unsure who was in charge. God had withdrawn His blessings from the
Church.
Then he continued, "Now for the good news--JESUS CHRIST IS MOVING TO PUT HIS
CHURCH BACK ON THE TRACK!" Notice he did not say that Herbert
w.
Armstrong
was putting the Church back on the track. But Jesus Christ, the living HEAD
of His Body, the Church, was and is the One doing it. He said that Christ
had brought him back to life for Two reasons. One was "to revive you--TO
SHAKE YOU UP if I can: TO GET YOU TO REALIZE THAT YOU'RE IN DANGER!" The
other was to be used of Christ to redirect everything in God's Church to the
way Christ shows it should be, doctrinally and organizationally.
The Church was so sleepy, so dull of hearing and spiritually blind that most
did not comprehend what Christ was doing. Some don't see it yet. As lead
ers in the Church we must be awake and alert to Christ's direction. And
RESPONSIVE to it! We MUST be! Else we aren't leaders at all.
Two months later Mr. Armstrong wrote, in the August 7th, PASTOR'S REPORT:
This is the time of the trial and test of GOD'S PEOPLE!
(Dan.
12:9, 10.) We are in the processofseeing the living HEAD of
God's Church, Jesus Christ, enthroned once again along with the
GREAT MAJESTIC GOD in our hearts as never before! GOD'S CHURCH
is now striving with God's power to root out liberalism, secular
ism and spiritual lethargy and neglect from our midst!
God's
Church and Work has been completely turned around in the past two
months.
We are, praise to our Leader Jesus Christ, now making a NEW START
in the right· direction!
We need to be AWAKE and plunge with renewed vigor into the work
before us, for the night draweth on when no man can work!
God's Church has a job to do. One of the fruits of being "on track" is that
the efforts and resources available to the Church are concentrated on ac
complishing the TASK Christ has given us--the Great Cornrnission--to preach
and publish the Gospel of the Kingdom in all the world.
In announcing the special fast day in a co-worker letter, June 13, 1978, Mr.
Armstrong wrote:
Now the same Jesus Christ, the living HEAD of God's Church, is
VERY SOON--in our present generation--to RETURN as KING of kings.
Meanwhile, He has called us to proclaim that wonderful ANNOUNCE
MENT OF GOOD NEWS to the entire world. THAT IS OUR JOB! That job
is not yet finished.
Now He calls on us to GET OUR MINDS BACK on OUR PART in FINISHING
God's great OVERALL MASTER PLAN.