You weren't called to be an ambassador for world peace!
Last month, Banned by HWA posted a presentation about the evangelism of Herbert Armstrong entitled Herbert Armstrong Meeting World Leaders. As the title suggests, the presentation focused on the many meetings that Mr. Armstrong had with government leaders around the world. Through the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation, Armstrong gifted various cultural, educational, and archaeological programs around the world and was invited to meet with the leaders of those countries as a tangible demonstration of their appreciation. As part of those meetings, Mr. Armstrong also presented gifts of Steuben Crystal to those leaders. Of course, all of this was funded by the tithe payers and contributors of/to the Worldwide Church of God.
Now, among the various groups which emerged from the downfall of the Worldwide Church, Gerald Flurry and his Philadelphia Church of God have supported and underscored this aspect of Herbert Armstrong's "work" more than any other group. Indeed, they currently offer a booklet entitled Ambassador for World Peace (by Gerald Flurry) which recounts Herbert Armstrong's efforts as an ambassador without portfolio. The booklet opens with this introduction about Mr. Armstrong's travels: "In the 1970s and 1980s, one private citizen was jetting around the world and meeting with hundreds of world leaders. He met presidents, prime ministers, kings, emperors, princes, legislators, ambassadors, generals, officers, mayors, judges, scientists, educators, magnates and executives. He talked with heads of state and heads of government in their offices at their invitations."
A little further into the booklet, Flurry offered this justification for Mr. Armstrong's travels: "Despite the global reach among the English-speaking peoples, Mr. Armstrong was troubled by something. He wanted God’s message to reach Russians, Chinese, Indians, Japanese, Indonesians, Bangladeshis and others. But how could he reach them? In countries like the United States, Canada and Australia, the message could go straight to the people through television, radio or literature. Mr. Armstrong prayed earnestly about it and asked God to help him see how to reach them. God answered that prayer. He showed Mr. Armstrong that in order to be heard by the populations of these countries, he had to reach the national leaders first!" Flurry continued: "Sometime after Mr. Armstrong began praying about it, he received invitations to meet world leaders: one from a European king, then another from Jewish leaders. He couldn’t understand what was really happening or why. Gradually, the invitations began piling up. Yet he was still puzzled about why God was opening those doors. Finally, he made the connection: This was how God planned to get the gospel to those other nations! Mr. Armstrong frequently visited top government officials, including leaders who shaped the thoughts of their populations. These officials were in charge of communication; it was their responsibility to get information to the people."
Now, I don't know about you, but it seems to me that there are some obvious problems with Mr. Armstrong's evangelistic efforts directed at world leaders and Mr. Flurry's justification of those efforts. They are: 1) The commission was to preach the Gospel (Good News) about salvation through Jesus Christ - to go and "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20, ESV) In other words, there is NOTHING in these instructions about talking about an ill-defined "strong hand" intervening in world affairs someday! 2) Christ's original apostles preached to crowds of people. According to the New Testament canon, the only time that they appeared before secular world leaders was after they had been arrested and hauled before them by lower level religious and political officials who didn't like what they were saying! 3) Christ's original apostles also usually walked or traveled by boat to conduct their evangelistic campaigns. In other words, they didn't have access to a luxurious personal/private jet and the world's best hotel accommodations! 4) While there are a few instances in the Hebrew Bible where prophets were sent to the kings of Israel and Judah with a message, there is no Scriptural foundation for claiming that preaching to the leader of a nation satisfies God's instruction to carry his message to the people as a whole. On the contrary, according to the Bible, it was the responsibility of his servants to reach as many of the people as possible with the message committed to them!
It should also be noted that the Trinity Foundation, in their article Calculating the Cost of Ministry-Owned Aircraft Flights, had this to say about Gerald Flurry's group: "Philadelphia Church of God owns a Gulfstream GIV-X which is also known as a Gulfstream G-450. On March 19th, 2021, the jet made a round trip flight from Oklahoma City to Birmingham, England with a stop in Bangor, Maine on the return trip. The round trip international flight took 18.5 hours of flying time. According to Aircraft Cost Calculator, the Gulfstream G-450 has an hourly operating cost of approximately $4,363. Estimated travel costs are $80,716." Now, let's be clear, there is NOTHING wrong with carrying the Gospel around the world (or traveling by aircraft), but think about how much cheaper a couple of tickets on a commercial flight would have been! Moreover, if you're traveling to speak to the local Rotary Club, legislature, mayor, or prime minister about world peace, you may want to take another look at whether or not that would actually qualify as fulfilling the Great Commission!
Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix
