Transformed
by Truth: The Worldwide Church of God Rejects the Teachings of Founder Herbert W.
Armstrong and Embraces Historic Christianity. This Is the Inside Story.
Gleanings for world missions from a wayward movement gone aright.
How does the American evangelical community respond when one
of its customary entries into The Kingdom of the Cults refutes its aberrant
doctrinal distinctives and repents of its abuse to those within their own fold? Or, more
narrowly, how do the congregants of this movement respond when presented with the
unpleasant reality that they no longer had the corner on Biblical truth and the sole keys
to the Kingdom?
The remarkable transformation of
the Worldwide
Church of God [now named Grace Communion International] never fails to
amaze us. Recognizing it as a God-ordained move, we thank the
Lord for the change of heart of the denomination's leaders and members
all over the world.
Here in this country, WCG remains one of PCEC's faithful partners in
the latter's efforts
to evangelize the whole Philippines. At the Council's 23rd general
assembly last year, the
denomination was granted an observer status to give the constituency an
opportunity to
learn more about the WCG.
It happened one evening early February 1996. I was reading the
magazine of the Worldwide Church of God, a group many Christians have traditionally
regarded as a cult. I was reading because it was, after all, my responsibility to keep track of and expose
legalism, unorthodox teaching and error whenever it was discovered.
The declaration I read, "A Church Reborn," authored
by the newly appointed president of the church, Joseph Tkach, caught me completely
unprepared.
The Inside Story of the Dramatic Turnaround
of the Church Started by Herbert W. Armstrong as told by its Leaders
by Dan Wooding in Los Angeles
In his latest column, international journalist
Dan Wooding interviews the leaders of the Worldwide Church of God to
get their unique insights on how their church changed from what some considered to be a
cult, to find the "pIain truth" of the Gospel and emerge from the
"fog" of legalism to a new-found freedom in Christ.
Imagine growing up, as I did, with the understanding that you are set
apart from the rest of the world by God. Some of the elements that identified me as one of
God's chosen people were that I never ate the unclean meats listed in Deuteronomy, and I
never attended any extracurricular school activities or employment functions from Friday
night sundown till Saturday night sundown.
National Association of Evangelicals Press Release, May 7,
1997
Transformed Church Finds Acceptance and
Fellowship in Evangelical Community
NAE Accepts Worldwide Church of God
WHEATON, IL The Board of Directors of the National
Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has voted overwhelmingly to accept the Worldwide Church
of God (WCG), headquartered in California, into membership. The application process
included examination of doctrinal changes which have taken place in the once-controversial
denomination.
During the past 10 years, the Holy Spirit has blessed
us with unprecedented growth in doctrinal understanding and in
sensitivity to the world around us, especially other Christians. Yet the scope and speed
of changes since the death of our founder, Herbert W. Armstrong, has confounded both
supporters and detractors.
Transformed
by Truth: The Worldwide Church of God Rejects the Teachings of Founder Herbert W.
Armstrong and Embraces Historic Christianity. This Is the Inside Story.
Imagine growing up, as I did, with the understanding that you are set
apart from the rest of the world by God. Some of the elements that identified me as one of
God's chosen people were that I never ate the unclean meats listed in Deuteronomy, and I
never attended any extracurricular school activities or employment functions from Friday
night sundown till Saturday night sundown. 
