Archive for category: LivingEd – Charlotte

Author: Thomas White | Editorial Department, Living Church of God

For the most recent Living Education assembly, we watched a video about Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong, and if you’ve been a part of the Church of God for any significant amount of time, you’ve heard his name.

He’s been talked about in sermons, sermonettes, publications, telecasts—he can seem more familiar than certain contributors to the Bible.

Because Someone Guided You

In Acts 8, when Philip asks the Ethiopian if he understands the scripture he’s reading, his candid reply is, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” That one sentence reveals that even if God is calling us, we can’t come to a deep understanding of His truth just by reading the Bible. We need help. We need teachers, like the Ethiopian needed Philip.

I’m sure that’s not a surprise to you. Everyone in the Church can think of someone who served as their mentor in the things of God. We’ll always feel a deep connection to those people—God used them to either shape our lives or change our lives. Whoever comes to your mind as the person who taught you how to obey God, that person is your Philip, and you’ll never forget your Philip.

But you don’t just have one Philip. Actually, there’s a Philip you and I share—one that every single member of God’s modern Church shares, in fact. In an attempt to make that resonate a little more profoundly, let’s quickly play a game I just made up, which I’m going to go ahead and call…

Six Degrees of Mr. Armstrong

It’s like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but hopefully a little more meaningful. Ready? I’ll go first.

Who taught me the truth of God? That would be my mom, in the most fundamental sense. Okay, so, who taught her? Her dad, my grandpa. Who taught him? Well, originally, Mr. Garner Ted Armstrong, who my grandpa heard preaching the Gospel on the radio when my mom was a tiny kid. And who taught Garner Ted Armstrong the things of God? His parents—one of whom was, of course, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong. So, between me and Mr. Armstrong, there are really only four degrees of separation.

Your turn.

Maybe you didn’t grow up in the Church. Maybe you’re here because you saw a telecast, or read a magazine article, or befriended a Church member. But whoever introduced you to the truth of God, the right way of reading His word, I can almost guarantee you that there aren’t more than six degrees of separation between you and Mr. Armstrong—because many were his students.

So yeah—people still talk about him, and will continue to talk about him, because you never forget your Philip. And however any of us came into God’s Church, Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong is our Philip by no more than six degrees.

Thomas White was one of the onsite Living Education students for the 2018-2019 semesters. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Thomas currently works as an Editorial Assistant for the Living Church of God. According to his wife, he eats pizza in entirely the wrong way.

Author: Thomas White | Editorial Department, Living Church of God

Have you read a good book lately? In our latest Assembly, Dr. Douglas Winnail challenged the Living Education students to read. Read non-fiction. Read fiction. Just read good books.

But here’s a thought.

Even though we’re a small group of people who basically believe in the same fundamental truths and principles, we all probably have a slightly different idea of what constitutes a good book when it comes to fiction.

Uncertain answers

There are a lot of questions and no certain answers. Is it sinful to watch fiction of any kind? What about reading fiction? What if there are space aliens in the book we’re reading? What if there’s magic in it? What if a character fornicates or is a homosexual? What if a character is divorced, or says a bad word, or goes bowling on the Sabbath? Is the book evil if anybody kills anyone in it? Is a story fundamentally against God’s beautiful design of the universe if it contains a talking animal?

I’ll admit that I don’t know the answers. I mean, I have my ideas, my opinions, and so do you—but we could both be wrong, right? When it comes to this subject, we’re all learning. We all want to think like God, but we all have a long way to go. So, we’re not always sure.

Relaxed, yet ON

A few things, however, we can be certain of, and two of them go hand in hand—we all need to relax our brains sometimes, and we can never allow ourselves to turn our brains off. Let me put it this way: We all genuinely enjoy the company and conversation of at least one person outside the Church, right? Someone who doesn’t believe as we do. Maybe your dad is such a person for you, or your mom, or your brother or sister. If you’re close to this person, your brain is relaxed when you’re talking casually to them. You’re not obsessively analyzing everything this person is saying as they’re saying it, you’re just listening and enjoying.

But when this person you appreciate and enjoy says something like, “You know, gay couples should really just be allowed to live their lives as they want to,” something goes off in your brain, doesn’t it? Nope, says your brain. Not right. Not good. I disagree. Your overall opinion of this person’s mind doesn’t change, because you know there’s a lot of genuine value there, but you mentally slap a “’ Fraid not!” label on that particular part of their discourse and you move right along.

If our brains don’t do that when we’re relaxed—if, instead, we respond, even internally, with something like, “Say, that’s true! Gay couples really should be entitled to their lifestyle choices!”—then our brains aren’t just relaxed, they’re off. And when a brain is off, it’s just useless.

Low-power versus sleep mode

Like anything else, you can’t constantly run a brain at full blast—not if you want it to last, anyway—so we shouldn’t be afraid to relax it for a little bit. But while our brains are in low-power mode, we still have to resist the temptation to turn them off and stay alert to whatever Satan’s trying to slip in. When it comes to godly and ungodly fiction, there’s a lot that’s unclear, and a lot we don’t know, but I think we can all agree that just like anything else, fiction should never be consumed thoughtlessly.

Don’t be afraid to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t have it all right, or to read something that doesn’t either—but while you’re reading a good book, keep your brain on.

Thomas White was one of the onsite Living Education students for the 2018-2019 semesters. He also has a Bachelor’s Degree in English. Thomas currently works as an Editorial Assistant for the Living Church of God. According to his wife, he eats pizza in entirely the wrong way.