Melvin Rhodes
Chairman
Dennis Luker
President
August 15, 2011
Greetings Dear Brethren,
Many exciting things are taking place here at the home office this week!
On Sunday we held an orientation picnic for the Ambassador Bible Center (ABC)
incoming class of 2011-12 in the dining area and outdoor patio behind the home office. It was
followed by an orientation on Monday and classes beginning bright and early on Tuesday
morning. It’s always encouraging to see the excitement and enthusiasm of these young adults
who are eager to dig into the Bible and learn more about God’s way of life!
We’re also pleased to see that, in spite of the recent troubles, this year’s class is
substantially larger than last year’s and that it includes several international students who are
coming here for Bible training that they can take back to their countries and share with others
there. A total of 35 students are enrolled, of whom three are from other nations, including the
Netherlands, South Africa and Colombia.
We’re also glad to see how well our several new instructors, longtime pastors Frank
McCrady, Randy Stiver and Steve Myers, are fitting in. Each has a special love for and rapport
with young adults, and it shows in their classes.
This week we also have other guests in town. Darris McNeely and Gary Petty are joining
Mr. Myers and members of our media staff for the planning and recording of several more
Beyond Today television programs.
We hear an increasing number of comments from members about the effectiveness and
professionalism of the programs, and we’re grateful that doors recently opened for us to reach
new people with better times and stations in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
We very much appreciate your prayers for the continuing success of our television
programs and other media efforts. Since we started airing Beyond Today on nationwide cable on
WGN America last summer, we’ve received more than 48,000 responses requesting a
subscription to The Good News magazine and one or more of our booklets.
Speaking of booklets, this week we’re mailing our latest booklet, Is God a Trinity? to our
several thousand member households and shipping them to our international offices to be
distributed to members around the world.
Those of us who realize the fallacy of the Trinity doctrine rightfully find it hard to
understand why so many people believe in this deceptive teaching. You’ll be surprised at the
quotes in the booklet from theologians and others who firmly believe that the Trinity is a “litmus
test” for determining who is and isn’t a Christian, as they would define the term.
At the same time, many theologians and religious scholars candidly admit that the Trinity
is a “divine mystery,” incomprehensible to limited human minds. One of the most amazing
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quotes you’ll find in the booklet, taken from a book authored by a seminary professor and an
international missionary, is this: “He who would try to understand the Trinity fully will lose his
mind. But he who would deny the Trinity will lose his soul.”
This aptly demonstrates what a bizarre hold this confusing doctrine has on the minds of
so many millions of people!
In this booklet you’ll learn the equally strange story of how this doctrine came to be one
of the foundational teachings of this world’s Christianity—developed over several centuries after
the biblical writers had passed from the scene! You’ll also find many quotes from Bible
resources, religious scholars and historians who openly acknowledge that the Trinity as taught
today is simply not found in Scripture, but was developed and accepted long after the Bible was
written.
And of course, the booklet thoroughly explains how God is revealed in the Bible—as
God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, forming a divine family into which those whom the
Father has called and granted His Holy Spirit have the opportunity to enter. It’s a wonderful
future almost beyond our comprehension, and one that is obscured by the deceptiveness of the
Trinity doctrine.
This week’s activities at the home office—the beginning of a new ABC year, the
production of new Beyond Today programs and the mailing of this new booklet (our 34th)—
again show our commitment to our founding determination to preach the gospel and prepare a
people, sharing the wonderful truths our Creator has revealed to us with a world in desperate
need of the hope that lies within us.
As we approach the autumn Holy Days, now only six weeks away, let us always be
thankful for the wonderful truth we have been given and the awesome privilege it is to be a tool
in God’s hands to share these things with the world.
We deeply appreciate your faithfulness and prayers that make all of this possible.
In Christ’s service,
Dennis Luker
PS—Don’t forget to pray for the success of the Kingdom of God Bible Seminars coming up
beginning September 10. We’re now up to more than 150 congregations that will be hosting
them, not just in the United States but in several international areas as well. We’re seeing new
people sign up daily to attend! To stay on top of the latest developments, sign up for regular
updates at realtimeunited.wordpress.com by entering your e-mail address at the right side of the
page.
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