By John B. Heath
Ambassador Portfolio
BIG SANDY--Representatives of the Church of God (Seventh Day), the parent organization of the Worldwide Church of God, visited the Ambassador campus April 11-14 to become better acquainted with the university and to seek common ground between the two church organizations.
Jerry Griffin, director of Summit School of Theology and former editor of the Bible Advocate magazine, guest-lectured in the Christian Denominations class, and met with faculty during the visit. He spoke to students at chapel services April 13.
Mr. Griffin was accompanied by Steve Kurtright, regional pastor for Texas and Oklahoma. Several times, Mr. Griffin pointed out that both church organizations face some of the same issues and difficulties.
In his chapel message, Mr. Griffin recounted how Pastor General Joseph Tkach apologized for the strained relations between the two church organizations over the past 50 years.
"It was inspiring to see that the people of our two churches can forgive and reconcile," said Benjamin Martinez, a junior from Miami, Florida. "It seems like there are a lot of Christ-centered churches out there, including us, that want to reconcile with all the other churches that cling to Christ as Savior and Lord."
The road to reconciliation of the two fellowships has been a long one. Herbert W. Armstrong was ordained by the Oregon Conference of the Church of God (Seventh Day) in 1931. Doctrinal friction and other concerns eventually led to Mr. Armstrong's separation from the organization several years later.
Though Mr. Armstrong was no longer affiliated with the Church of God (Seventh Day) in an official capacity, he continued to fellowship with some of its ministers. Among them was elder John Keisz, who spoke at the Feast as late as 1945.
Also, Mr. Armstrong encouraged early Ambassador students to attend Church of God (Seventh Day) services when a Worldwide Church of God congregation was not convenient.
Kenneth Herrmann, now faculty emeritus, visited a Church of God (Seventh Day) service the summer after his sophomore year (1950) along with several other students. He recalled that they were received "very cordially" by the church members.
Dialogue between the Worldwide Church of God and the Church of God (Seventh Day) was virtually nonexistent from the early 1950s until 1993, when several WCG officials visited the Church of God (Seventh Day) headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Among them were Joseph Tkach and Michael Feazell, director of Church Administration.
Since then, there has been an increase in communication on the organizational and individual levels.
The church operates two educational institutions. Summit School of Theology is a graduate level ministerial training school in Denver. Before 1972, it existed as Midwest Bible College in Stanberry, Missouri.
The church also operates Spring Vale Academy, a Christian boarding school in Owasso, Michigan. Richard Wiedenheft, a 1967 Ambassador graduate, oversees the operation of the school. Mr. Griffin indicated that because of the reconciliation of the two churches, some Spring Vale students, as well as other Church of God (Seventh Day) youths across the country, may begin to consider Ambassador as an educational option.
May 21, 1996, Worldwide News, page 15
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