Journal Out: AC Reunion, UCG’s Bob Dick, David Jon Hill, Birthday party, and ‘Alternatives’

The latest issue (says #178, print date November 30 2015) of The Journal was sent out electronically and received today.

Items covered included information on a future reunion for Ambassador College (AC) alumni, UCG’s Bob Dick, Feast of Tabernacles, David Jon Hill, a birthday party, and ‘alternatives’ to the true view of Jesus.

Here is information on the AC reunion:

Bob Gerringer of Altadena, Calif., one of several reunion organizers, reminds former students of the three Ambassador College campuses they need to start laying plans, if they haven’t already, for the big reunion in Las Vegas in 2017.

“As we officially announced this past June, students from all three campuses who attended AC during its first 30 years—1947 to 1977—are warmly and enthusiastically invited to attend the 2017 Reunion in Las Vegas, Nev.,” Mr. Gerringer said. Two websites are involved in the run-up to the event: acpasadenareunion.com (for Pasadena, Calif., and Bricket Wood, England, former students) and ambassadorbigsandyalumni.com (for former students on the Texas campus).

While my wife Joyce and I were WATS line volunteers at the campus in Pasadena, neither of us attended Ambassador College, so this is not something we would attend. I pray that those who do attend will “contend earnestly for the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

Here is information about Bob Dick of the United Church of God (UCG):

Robert “Bob” Dick retired from the full-time ministry of the United Church of God on Nov. 1, 2015, an- nounced an article in the UCG’s member newspaper, United News. Mr. Dick, accompanied by his wife, Dyanne, pastored churches for the Radio/Worldwide Church of God and United Church of God in Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon and Washington.

Lisa Fenchel, who wrote the United News article, noted that Mr. Dick was a founder of the UCG in 1995. He was a member of the church’s “transitional board” in ’95 and then the council of elders for 14 years, serving as chairman for eight of those years. He is still a council member.

Though I have had contact with various ones once in the United Church of God, I never had any direct dealings with Bob Dick.

The Journal re-ran an article from David Jon Hill who died November 23, 2003, that he had written for The Journal in 2003:

The first time I met Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Radio Church of God, I was 6 years old. My mother had been a Seventh-day Adventist but had become disillusioned with the SDAs and transferred her allegiance to HWA’s Radio Church of God, to which she listened as often as possible.

HWA, then based in Oregon, had a speaking engagement in Tacoma, Wash., and my mother took me with her to attend this meeting. She and Loma (Mrs. Armstrong) became friends at this meeting, a relationship that developed and continued until Loma’s death, in 1967. Being only 6, I didn’t have much of an impression of HWA. …

My impression of Mr. Armstrong with my more-adult eyes changed him into a father figure of sorts: his white hair (though he was younger than my dad), his obvious desire to coach his students, his warm smile, his dignified bearing. My open mind told me to listen to him. So I listened, in classes, Bible studies, Sabbath sermons, radio broadcasts and reading things he’d written. Loma, my mom’s friend, was always sweet, considerate and genuinely interested in each of us. …

Dick Armstrong, HWA’s oldest son, and I became fast friends. …

ll, time to grow up. Dick and I were almost inseparable during my freshman year. I often spent the night at the Armstrongs’ home, which is where Dick lived. We often came in so late we climbed the trellis to his room in the back to avoid disturbing anyone. Another thing about Dick, who was to die in 1957: He was the most empathic and sincere person who was genuinely interested in the welfare of others of all the people I ever met while associated with the WCG. I still miss him. As a sophomore in 1951, I was scheduled to give a sermonette at church HQ. Sixty-five were in atten- dance, including HWA. …

Friendly fellow

Raymond McNair was a friendly fellow, a true believer. He worked slavishly to improve his vocabulary; he tried learning 10 new words a day, had them on 3-by-5 cards and practiced using them on anyone who would stop to listen. He was an ad- mirable and sincere man.

Locate the tribes

Herman Hoeh had me puzzled. He was certainly intelligent, but not a mixer. If he had friends, they were academic. …

The world of words

I was editor of The Portfolio, the AC student newspaper. That started my writing and editing career. I got Basil Wolverton to create a masthead and a cartoon—he was famous for his cartoons—from time to time. I also later asked him to draw some cartoons for the Ambassador-Spokes- man Club manual, which was the thesis for my master’s degree.

David Jon Hill did a lot of research on Catholic private prophecies and how some of them will be used to mislead people in the end times. Two of his articles related to that were published by the old Radio Church of God. Here are links to both of them: Christ or Antichrist? and Will You Be Deceived by Antichrist? He also wrote about how to study the Bible: How to Study the Bible.

On the back page, The Journal reported a birthday party of Pam Havir, wife of COG Big Sandy Pastor David Havir.

The old Radio Church of God and Worldwide Church of God taught against birthday parties as still does the Continuing Church of God (see Did Early Christians Celebrate Birthdays?). Interestingly, today’s recommended CCOG sermon is titled: Birthdays, Christians, and December 25th. Early Christians did NOT celebrate birthdays, yet many non-Philadelphian Christian groups no longer hold to the original faith–but they should (cf. Jude 3).

The back page of The Journal also had an article titled “Seminar presents alternate view of Jesus.” This is about a unitarian seminar. One my criticisms of The Journal is that it excessively allows unitarians to promote their views, which I do not believe were held by early Christians and which also are in conflict with scripture (see also Was Unitarianism the Teaching of the Bible or Early Church?).

Anyway, The Journal also had some Feast of Tabernacles reports and the usual letters to the editor and other advertisements, various comments, and opinion articles.

The Journal itself is available by paid subscription (though Dixon Cartwright says some subscriptions are free to those who cannot afford it).

It tends to have a non-Philadelphian approach to many matters.