Pastor General Joseph W. Tkach named his son, Joseph Tkach Jr., as deputy pastor general Sept. 5, after medical tests revealed that Mr. Tkach's cancer is more pervasive than doctors had first known.
In the Sept. 6 Pastor General's Report, Mr. Tkach told ministers that "a bone scan done with a radioactive isotope revealed some 50 spots on my bones. This is a different kind of cancer from the colon cancer and requires a different kind of treatment."
Mr. Tkach continues to receive chemotherapy for the colon cancer, but the spots on the bones require radiation. "I will need to make a decision about the radiation in the next few days," he said.
"This treatment can greatly reduce my pain, but it would also make me very weak. There is also the possibility that the radiation treatment can stop the cancer."
Nevertheless, the pastor general has responded well to the chemotherapy for colon cancer. "The doctors tell me that my blood is in very good condition and that my liver is still cancer-free," he pointed out. "But I want you to know the facts about my overall condition, and the news about the bones is indeed a setback."
Sept. 5 the pastor general met with Gregory Albrecht, Dean Blackwell, Michael Feazell, Ralph Helge, Herman Hoeh, Ronald Kelly, Joseph Locke, Richard Rice, Bernard Schnippert, K.J. Stavrinides, Mr. Tkach Jr. and Richard van Pelt.
He laid hands on Mr. Tkach Jr. and asked God to set him apart for the office of deputy pastor general of the Worldwide Church of God and to bless him in that office and the office of pastor general after his death.
As deputy pastor general, Mr. Tkach Jr. will become pastor general upon Mr. Tkach s death or inability to continue in his duties. Mr. Tkach Jr. continues with his present responsibilities as director of Church Administration.
"I know that God would have me make appropriate provision for the future in this way," Mr. Tkach said. I ask you to give my son the same prayerful support and encouragement you have always given me."
He continued: "Of course, we know that with God all things are possible. I belong to him, and if it is his will to heal me now, I praise his name. On the other hand, if it is his will to wait until the resurrection, I praise him for that, too.
"God has given me a rich and exciting life in his service, and whatever happens, I am at peace, knowing I am safe and secure in his hands."
Mr. Tkach told the ministers: "God has blessed me to see the beginning of the golden age of the Worldwide Church of God. He has given me the overwhelming joy to witness his Holy Spirit at work in a miraculous way to lead us out of entrenched doctrinal errors into the pure light of his glorious gospel!"
After expressing thanks to ministers and wives for their faithfulness in times of stress, the pastor general reminded them that Jesus Christ lives and works within people as the anchor of our souls, the Rock of our salvation and source of stability.
Mr. Tkach wrote: "Psalm 46 reassures us: 'God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.'
"There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress (verses 1-7)."
Mr. Tkach told the ministers that he has "never been more thrilled about the state of the Church! Our Lord and Savior has opened the doors of heaven to us, blessing us with untold spiritual blessings and bringing us closer to him as he prepares us for fruitful work in his gospel in ways we had never imagined."
He added that he is "definitely looking forward to our best Feast ever--a celebration in which we remember our spiritual need, in which we humbly acknowledge the abundant way in which our need is filled through faith in Christ and in which we let the Holy Spirit work in our hearts to produce streams of living waters. Let us rejoice and be glad, giving glory to our Lord and Savior!"
The full text of Mr. Tkach s letter to ministers will appear in the Sept. 26 Worldwide News.
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God, 1995