Dear Brethren Letter from Raymond F. McNair 07/25/04

Again, I wish to convey a very warm greeting to all of you! I hope all is going well with each of you as you continue to diligently serve your Creator with all your heart, mind and strength. My wife and I are praying that God will continue to strengthen and heal those of you who need to receive divine healing directly from the mighty hand of the Eternal God!

The Church was recently incorporated under the laws of the State of California. A few weeks ago, we received a certificate of incorporation as a not-for-profit corporation. Our certificate of incorporation is dated JUNE 21, 2004, and was signed by Kevin Shelley, the “Secretary of State of the State of California.” This document also bears “THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.” Incidentally, the State of California’s GDP (gross domestic product—of all goods and services) is greater than the GDP of the majority of the nations of the world. If California were to become a separate nation, it would rank as the 6th or 7th wealthiest nation in the world!

We are now in the process of filing various forms that will enable the CHURCH OF GOD-21stCentury to be granted “tax exemption status” by the State of California, and also the Federal U.S. Government. It will take a while to receive such exemption, which will provide a tax benefit to those who financially support COG21. This tax exemption status will enable contributors to receive a “tax break” when they fill out their State and/or Federal Income Tax forms. I would appreciate your prayers that God will guide us in all these matters. We want to be sure that we properly comply with both the higher LAWS OF GOD, as well as the LAWS OF MAN—as we are commanded to do in the Word of God (Rom. 13; 1 Pet. 2:11-17; 1 Tim. 3:1-3). Of course, God’s Word also reveals that if there is a serious conflict between the laws of God and the laws of man, then we must always “obey God rather than men” (Acts. 5:29 & Acts. 4:13-2).

The CHURCH OF GOD-21st Century’s Website (www.cog21.org) is now up and running! We have already had a very good response to our Site, and I am pleased to report that our new Website is now coming along extremely well. Already, many thousands are logging onto our Site, and we believe that, in the near future, this will increase to many hundreds of thousands who will be able to access this important material. We are now in the process of scanning and posting the six dynamic, helpful articles which have already been published in The Journal! We have received many excellent responses to those articles.

You will notice that we already have nearly 60 important “links” on our Website. Those links serve as a “road map,” showing what we now have, or soon hope to have, posted on our Site for the benefit of Church members, and also for the convenience of non-members who may wish to access our Website. You may also notice that about fifteen of those links are now fully operational. One of the links alone will eventually have over 150 articles posted on it. However, we still have over 30 links which are still in the process of being constructed.

It is difficult and time-consuming to scan all of the material to be posted on our Website. This includes over a half million words of my own written material, that must be scanned—in books, booklets, articles, doctrinal study papers, etc. We are very fortunate to have a number of dedicated persons, primarily in the U.S. and Australia, who have been very helpful in this task. You will also note that there is a blinking light on two of the links: 1) “America and Britain in Prophecy,” and 2) “Key to NW European Origins,” which indicates that these important books are ready to access by users of the Internet. Also, note that we have a SCROLL WINDOW on the lower part of the center column of the Home Page, which features a number of important articles that are in “scroll mode.” Click on any of the links to these articles or books, and they will open up for you to read, or if you prefer, you can print the entire article or book directly from the Internet.

Also notice that I have added another “link” to the Home Page of our Website, titled: CHURCH OF GOD Library/Archives. This Church of God Library/Archives will contain over 60,000 Web pages, plus more than 800 “streaming audio” files. It will also include, among other things, between 20 and 25 different Bible translations. But those foreign language translations are mainly of the languages of some of the nations of the “Third World.”

Brethren, we believe God is enabling the CHURCH OF GOD-21st Century to have one of the most interesting, dynamic and effective Websites to be found anywhere on the Internet. We would appreciate your prayers as we continue to develop this Site, endeavoring to serve hundreds of thousands (or later, perhaps millions) before our Work is finished. I also ask that you bear with us, realizing that it takes a lot of thought, time and labor to construct a truly dynamic Website. Fortunately, we have a number of dedicated servants of God helping us construct this Site, thereby taking only a few months to get it up and running. However, there is still a lot of work to do in order to finish construction of our Website—before we will have all the valuable and interesting material scanned and posted on the Internet. Please pray that God will continue to guide and bless us in this important project, which is a very effective tool, both in feeding the flock, and in preaching the Gospel to the whole world!

Many brethren long to see more understanding, tolerance, unity and brotherly love among the members of the Churches of God! During the past year, I have received numerous pleas from members of the “scattered Churches of God,” who say they are praying that God will somehow bring many of His people—who still believe in and practice what Mr. Armstrong taught—into greater harmony and unity—before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. My wife and I will continue to do all we can to encourage all of God’s people, both ministers and laymen, to begin tearing down the BARRIERS of separation, and building BRIDGES of understanding, reconciliation, cooperation and genuine Christian unity! However, this is not, and never will be, an easy task. Nonetheless, there are now many indications that a number of ministers and laymen of the “Churches of God” are sick at heart at seeing division, ill-will, accusations, and in some instances, open hostility of one Church of God fellowship toward a different Church of God.

For years we have known that God’s Word says His Church, the Bride of Jesus Christ, must rid herself of her “spots, blemishes and wrinkles.” Furthermore, she must be made “ready” for the soon-coming “marriage of the Lamb” (Eph. 5:25-27; Rev. 19:7). But what must be done to insure that God’s people allow the blood of Christ to cleanse them of all their sins—their spiritual blemishes of character? Can we do it on our own power and strength, or can only Almighty God give us the strength to do this, by the dynamic power of His Spirit (Zech. 4:6; Jer. 10:23)?

I will now quote a portion of a letter I received from a church member: “I recently lost my wife and family over this SCATTERING [of God’s sheep]…. Only God can get us through this life and on into His glorious Kingdom. God help us to remove the remaining spots and blemishes from our garments.” What, then, should God’s true ministers do to help His people remove their “spots and blemishes,” really start overcoming, and begin truly growing “in the grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18)?

We ministers have a very difficult, up-hill struggle in leading and inspiring God’s people to really “OVERCOME”: 1) this world, 2) Satan, 3) and our own weak, evil “human nature.” Some of God’s ministers are sincerely trying to do all within their power to stir up, inspire, and motivate God’s people to begin looking more to Jesus Christ, the Head of God’s true Church—and less to fallible men, some of whom call themselves God’s ministers—while neither setting a good personal example in their lives, nor preaching God’s Word faithfully and powerfully, in order to awaken thousands of spiritually blind and self-satisfied “Laodicean slumberers” (Isa. 58:1- 4)?

Just as Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong urged God’s people to truly “get back on the spiritual track,” so must we ministers first make real progress in overcoming sin in our own lives, setting a good example for others by letting our “light” truly shine forth (Matt. 5:14-16), through the power of God’s Spirit (Zech. 4:6; Eph. 6:11-18). It is high time we ministers first arouse ourselves from our slumbering, get some “fire in our bellies,” and go about encouraging, inspiring, admonishing and warning the spiritually wayward brethren—whether they be ministers or laymen. We can do this both by our preaching sound doctrines and by setting a right example, which will do far more good than all our preaching, if we first learn to lead rather than drive God’s precious “sheep,” His “flock” (1 Pet. 5:1-3)!

The Apostle Peter, who was both an APOSTLE and an ELDER, commanded the elders in God’s Church (Apostles, evangelists and pastors are also called elders.) to diligently look after God’s “flock”: “Peter…who am also an ELDER…[said]: Feed the FLOCK OF GOD which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being LORDS over GOD’S HERITAGE, but being EXAMPLES to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away” (1 Peter 5:1-4).

The Apostle Peter clearly revealed that the members of Christ’s body are God’s heritage, and are the “flock of God.” No minister can lay claim to being the “owner” of God’s sheep. They belong to God, not to us ministers. But God gives us ministers a solemn charge to nurture and protect His sheep, helping to shepherd them toward the soon-coming Kingdom of God! Will we ministers yet rise up from our slumbering, and set about the task of encouraging, building up, strengthening, protecting and guiding God’s people as they move forward toward God’s Kingdom? “Laodiceanism” did not just happen! It has taken hold of the “Churches of God” during this era of the Church because, unfortunately, many of us ministers have ourselves become “Laodicean” in mind, heart and attitude—and have somehow failed to really care for, nourish and protect His flock, as Ezekiel 34 and Jeremiah 23 clearly point out!

Once again, we all need to be reminded that God commands His people to highly honor the loyal ministers of God who have remained faithful—both in doctrine and by their example— to God and His Word. God says such true ministers are “worthy of double honour”: “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of DOUBLE HONOUR, especially they who labour in the WORD and doctrine” (1 Tim. 5:17, 18).

Less than a month ago, I received an interesting letter, with the following comments: The writer says, “Dear Mr. McNair, I just read your article, Are You Striving to Be a Philadelphian? as posted on the Web…. I did not remember reading that in The Journal, and I expected it to be something from the old days of WCG. It is not. It is indeed a timely, hopeful article, and means a lot to hear something like this from a minister.”

I strongly encourage, and would even urge, all of God’s people to avoid being unduly critical of one another, and also not to become hypercritical of any true, loyal minister of God! As we have already noted, God’s Word commands His people to respect and “honor” His faithful ministers who serve, inspire, encourage and protect His precious sheep!

Also, we ministers must always remember that we are dealing with fallible human beings who, like ourselves, have weaknesses and frailties; and we must be very careful not to say or do anything that might offend one of these “little ones” who believes in Jesus Christ (see Matt. 10:1-10). If a true shepherd has a sick or wounded sheep in the flock under his care, he will not blame the sheep, but will do all he can to nurse that sick or crippled sheep back to health. In like manner, may the Great God inspire us, the shepherds He has set over His sheep, to be wise, sensitive, tender-hearted and genuinely caring towards all of “God’s flock,” so that not one of them is lost (John 10:1-18).

More and more, I have come to more fully realize that we ministers—as well as you brethren—need to watch two critical areas in our spiritual journey toward God’s Kingdom: 1) We must take care to maintain the TRUE DOCTRINES, “as we have been taught” faithfully by Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong and by those who were trained under him. 2) Equally important, we must be careful to watch our ATTITUDES, by always striving, like King David, to maintain a right heart/spirit in all that we do (Acts 13:22). Even though we may believe and teach sound doctrine, yet if we aren’t careful, we ministers can become uncaring, or unkind toward those brethren whom we are shepherding into the Kingdom of God. We must be very careful never to let our “love grow cold” (Matt. 24:23; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 3:1-7).

The Bible has much to say about those who may possess numerous good “spiritual traits of character,” yet lack the most essential trait of all: genuine charity, that is, true Christ-like love; and if that is true of you or me, we are miserable and wretched in God’s sight, being absolutely “nothing” in His eyes (1 Cor. 13:1-13). Let us, therefore, steadfastly maintain the true doctrines of the Bible; and let us also be sensitive and careful to cultivate a concerned, loving, caring, nurturing heart and attitude toward all mankind and learn to “do good unto all men,” but especially those who are of the “household of faith” (Gal. 6:10)!

My wife and I want to inform you that we will be moving to a new address in about a month. Some time ago, we came to realize that the cost of living is so high here in San Diego, and that we could better serve God by finding a home & office outside of this large metropolitan area. Therefore, in late August we plan to move out of the San Diego area, and settle in a smaller city adjacent to Temecula, which is about 30 miles North of San Diego. Actually, our home, including our in-home office, will be located in Murrieta, which is a suburb of Temecula. But our new postal address, given below, will be in Temecula. The city of Temecula is within easy reach of the San Diego and Los Angeles International Airports! Fortunately, Temecula is a rapidly growing, bustling city of nearly 100,000 inhabitants, and is situated in a very peaceful valley away from the “big city” of San Diego, California, which is the 6th or 7th largest city in the U.S.

We ask your continued prayers, that our coming move will not be too difficult, especially for my wife. Unfortunately, even though I am steadily gaining in health and strength, I am still unable to do much lifting, and will therefore not be able to do any heavy work during this up-coming move.

[Note. A couple of weeks ago, my dear wife Eve, after many months of working too hard, became quite ill, and was at the point of exhaustion. We thank you brethren, who somehow learned of my wife’s illness, for your fervent prayers for her. But most of all, we thank our All-merciful God that He answered the prayers of His people and gave my wife a rather speedy recovery. She has been feeling much better for the last week or so, having learned that she must slow down and pace herself for the long haul. She is of great help to me here in our Church office, and has helped me answer many cards, letters and e-mails during the past few months—besides doing her normal home duties, and spending many hours in helping me to get back on my feet. Thanks to God, and thanks to the prayers of His people, and thanks to my wife’s diligent efforts as an understanding caregiver, I am slowly, but surely, recovering from the serious illness which overtook me in mid-September, 2003.]

There is still very much for both of us, and our co-laborers, to do in continuing to encourage and strengthen God’s “little flocks.” Please note that one of the important “links” on my Home Page is titled: “Serving God’s ‘Little Flock’” (Luke 12:32; Acts 20:28-30; 1 Pet. 5:1-3)!

Brethren, we heartily thank the many hundreds of you who have contacted us by e-mail, phone or letters, and have offered your encouragement and moral support for the Work which God is doing through the CHURCH OF GOD-21st Century. We also wish to thank all of you who have given financial support to this Work of God. As your fellow servants, my wife and I deeply appreciate all you are doing to see that God’s Word goes out in ever-increasing power and effectiveness. May God Almighty and His dear Son Jesus Christ, watch over, guide, protect, and richly bless all of you!

Important CHANGE OF ADDRESS notice!!

Our new address: After September 1, you should send all letters, e-mails, etc. to our new postal address, which is: Raymond McNair, P.O. Box 893909, Temecula, CA 92589.

Our old address: Please note that you brethren can still reach us (through August 31st) at our present postal address, which is: Raymond F. McNair, P.O. Box 502435, San Diego, CA 92150.