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"THE OFFICE OF A BISHOP"--MO March 9, 1973 NO.210--LTA
--1Tim.3
Copyrighted March, 1973 by The Children of God
P. O. Box 31, London WC2E 7LX, England or GPO Box 3141, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936
"ADVICE ON FINANCES, LEGAL MATTERS AND COUNCILS"
Dear Brothers Paul, Cephas, Elkanah, Corny, Caleb, Amminadab, Megiddo and Sisters Ruth, Shiloh, Ashah, Shalom, Lydia, Marsena and Mara, and All Our Dearly Beloved Bishops, Shepherds and Shepherdesses around the World:
1. Greetings in Jesus Precious Name! Thank you so much for your good letters, reports, tapes, birthday remembrances, pictures, news items, books, gifts, etc. Your thoughtfulness, faithfulness, diligence, loyalty, love and prayers truly warm our hearts! David indeed has the most wonderful children on earth and is blessed above all men as God promised! God bless you all! We love you, too!
2. Greetings to you all in the Name of the Father and of the son, Jesus, and of the Holy Ghost!--Greetings to you also in the name of the World Council of Ministers and the other Bishops, Brethren and Sisters--for whom I write. After some discussion and prayer regarding your recent communications, and after days of thoughtful consideration and prayerful planning in view of some of the questions you have raised and subjects you have mentioned on which you have requested our counsel and our advice, we write unto you that which seems good unto all of us and which we feel is the leading of the Spirit and which it has been agreed upon by the Council to suggest to you, and which we trust will seem good to all of you, as well, that we may be of one mind, one heart, one body, in the unity of His Spirit and with only one Head, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Praise God!
3. First of all, we rejoice in Him that hath called us, as well as in you that are called, that you have obeyed His calling so that we are now truly going into all the world and already preaching the Gospel to many creatures in approximately fifty countries on all six Continents and many islands throughout the Globe! Hallelujah! He is faithful to fulfill all His good promises!
4. IT WAS WITH THESE WORDS THAT WE ORIGINALLY OPENED THIS LETTER to you which we had intended to write about certain matters which we hope will herein follow. However, on that first attempt the Lord took over with His own right of priority by His Spirit and delivered to you His pre-empting burden on the "Wonder Working Words" and the urgent necessity that should take precedence over all others to get His Words that Work to the World--of which we shall have yet more to say also in this Letter, God willing.--So here we go again to try again!
MO'S TESTIMONY ON ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCES
5. I'M SORRY I'M NOT AS PERFECT AS YOU ARE, BROTHER KING--I make mistakes!--Neither am I as strong--in fact, I'm very weak.--Nor can I boast like you that I have total victory over the flesh and all my besetting sins--of which I have many. In fact, I sometimes wonder why God uses me at all, since I am so nothing, when He is so Everything! God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!--(Gal.6:14)
6. AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED, IN ME DWELLETH NO GOOD THING!-ROM.7:18--It's all Jesus! Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you! for I think that God hath set forth us the Apostles last...We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised!...We are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day!--I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you: For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel. Wherefore, I beseech you, be ye followers of me...For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power!--1 Cor.4. Read it all, and Chap.5 too!
7. Unlike you, I have really never cared to be an administrator, much less a King. I've always shunned administrative responsibilities as much as possible, and really preferred to let others run things for me. I particularly hate to have to handle finances or deal with business details or legal affairs, which is why we have almost always had someone else to handle these matters for us, so that I personally have not myself handled any of the official funds of the Family for many years--in fact, not since we were a very small Family of a only a few in the very beginning and under an entirely different name, when there was no one else to do it for us!
8. Beginning in Grandmother's little cottage at the very beginning so long ago when we were only a dozen or so, I turned all of these affairs of business, money and office administration over to someone else, and so it has been ever since. Since that time I have insisted that others handle the finances and business administration, which is really the work of deacons in the indispensable job of tending tables, while I myself preferred to devote my full time to the major ministry God has given me, that of an elder ministering the Word. I by far prefer, therefore, to sit high and alone atop my mountain hearing the words of God and feeding them to His sheep, rather than to become involved in the intricate and time-consuming business affairs of feeding them physically.
9. I HAVE ASKED OF GOD NOTHING BUT MY ROOM AND BOARD and the barest necessities of life, and very little of that. These basic necessities were at first provided for by the Lord through my own earnings which I shared for many years with others, taking the needy into my own home and sharing my own room and board with them as members of my own family. Then, as our family grew larger, they no longer lived with me, but I with them, sharing their room and board, and such things that the Lord provided for all of us.
10. MOST OF OUR LIVES, I AND MY LITTLE ORIGINAL FAMILY OF SIX LIVED IN TINY TRAILERS, the equivalent of one room only seven feet wide and a mere ten or fifteen feet long, which was living room, kitchen, dining room, bathroom and bedroom for us all! As we began schools of witnessing for Christians we had to have more space for the students, so were compelled to rent larger housing to accommodate our larger Family, but my own little tiny family of six, even in these larger accommodations, continued to live in only one or two of the rooms, or in one of our little trailers parked in the yard.--And that was when trailers were still trailers and very small, and not the elaborate mobile homes of today!
11. STILL WE CONTINUED TO LIVE AND SUPPORT NEARLY THE ENTIRE WORK FROM MY OWN MEAGER EARNINGS as a travelling, poor and lowly television booking salesman, where I saved others millions while they paid me peanuts, but at least we were getting out the Gospel to hundreds of millions! Praise the Lord!--So, I'm not sorry. In fact, I'm very thankful for those years of preparation and fruitfulness, as David with Saul.
12. AS MY CHILDREN GREW OLDER AND BECAME TEENAGERS, WE MOVED INTO A LITTLE LARGER CAMPER, the inside of which was still only seven feet wide but now about twenty feet long, so we could house my growing family, who continued to travel with me in the Lord's work. But this still did not stop them from, in their joy and enthusiasm for God's service, inviting others to share our cramped quarters in order that they might forsake all and follow Jesus! We were often as many as ten in that tiny space, with even more out under the awning!--And we lived this way in this same camper for ten years, travelling hundreds of thousands of miles together for the Lord! Most of this time the Lord was financing this service by my own earnings from television. Living this close together, it's no wonder we learned to know, understand and love teenagers and young people--we had to! Hallelujah! God bless'em!--and still love'em!
13. Then as we launched into full time service with the little family by faith in our present youth work, we continued to live on some of our tiny savings, supplemented by equally tiny gifts and offerings from friends and churches where we ministered. When our family grew into our first large Colony, we simply tagged along and moved in together with them, still in our tiny camper, having our own little room thereby, and sharing their board, and eating what they ate, giving thanks! PTL! We never asked for any remuneration or salary or any kind of monetary compensation whatsoever other than these absolute necessities and needs, while others continued to manage the business and finances of the whole.
14. WHEN WE LEFT THAT COLONY, AND WENT INTO THE SECLUSION OF EXILE in foreign lands that the Lord might use us to teach them all by letters, as the Apostle did, we still asked nothing from them other than that which the Lord had already given and our own meager savings from former labours, upon which we continued to live under the humblest and almost unbelievably economical of circumstances! We lived in the tiniest and cheapest of rooms which no tourist ever saw, but shared by sailors and labourers and the poor! We lived like the hippies themselves and with the hippies in the very cheapest of boarding houses that the average tourist never heard of!
15. WHEN OUR OWN SMALL SAVINGS WERE NEARLY EXHAUSTED, OUR OWN CHILDREN OFFERED TO CARE FOR OUR PERSONAL NEEDS, AND HAVE CONTINUED TO DO SO ever since. We have absolutely no other personal income or resources than these little love gifts which they send to support us with the barest necessities, for which we are very thankful, for this is all we need. The two of us have lived on as little as less than a thousand dollars a year under these humble circumstances, something which the average tourist would consider impossible!--That's because we don't live like tourists, but rather like some of the poorest people of the land! The places where we live and eat we seldom even see tourists, for tourists rarely visit such places! we seldom move or travel, of course, except as visas necessitate and we hardly ever sightsee, which cuts out most of the expenses other tourists have. We are too busy writing letters for the Lord and his Children! Praise God!
ADVICE ON LEADERS HANDLING OF FINANCES AND MATERIAL MATTERS
16. We didn't mean to tell you our life story again, but we said all that to say this: We, as the Lord's spiritual Leader, have for many years lived on the barest of necessities and refused to have anything to do with the business or finances of our many families, except for advising and counselling them on how to handle their own in their individual Colonies, including our Office Colonies. I have always insisted that each Colony be completely independent financially and handle its own finances and business, except as it may have need for help from others, or as it may be able to share with others as they may have need.
17. Contrary to what many people think, we are a tight and disciplined organisation only in spirit, fellowship, message and method. Otherwise, as far as finances, individual business, administration and government of the local Colonies are concerned, each is totally on its own and strictly independent, except for their dependency on each other in love and its manifestation in mutual help of each other voluntarily--no more! God warned me of this long ago, that each should operate this way, so that the world could not accuse us of the very lies with which I knew they would try to accuse us some day: that we are some kind of religious racket making millions for someone's personal gain!--which as you know, we are not!
18. This is why I have always insisted that each Colony handle its own finances absolutely independently, including the Office Colonies, except as they help to support each other with voluntary gifts when so needed.--And this is also why we have refused to accept any personal remuneration whatsoever, except for their own little loving voluntary gifts toward the absolute minimum of our own personal barest of meager living necessities!
19. Therefore, we have also insisted that our various leaders should always live together within the Colonies of which they are members, sharing with them such things as they have, as the Scripture says, and as we did for many years personally until our present retirement in exile, and receive absolutely no other compensation or remuneration for their services, just like all of our other disciples. Like ourselves, we have always advised our other spiritual leaders also, Ministers, Bishops, Elders, Shepherds, etc., to have as little to do with the finances of the Colonies as possible, but let each handle its own under a Deacon appointed by each Colony for that purpose, who should bank all income in the name of the Colony, and who alone, with his wife or possibly another acting Deacon, personally sign the checks for the Colony's business and expenses.
20. SINCE OUR EARLIEST DAYS, I HAVE NOT HAD MY NAME ON ANY OF OUR COLONY CHECKING ACCOUNTS NOR BEEN A PERSONAL SIGNATOR TO SUCH CHECKS; and, if you are, each of you spiritual Bishops, Shepherds or Overseers, going to follow my example as a faithful Bishop or Shepherd of your flocks, and be the good spiritual counsellors and even business advisors that you should be to your Children in the Lord, you will have as little to do with the personal tending of their material tables as possible, including the avoidance of having your own personal name on the titles or deeds of any properties or vehicles or bank accounts, or the signing of your own personal name on any Colony checking accounts or checks! Amen? Let only your own local business Deacon or financial Minister do these material duties for his Colony at the agreed and united behest of all the Colony's local leadership according to his appointment for this purpose. PTL!
21. Personally, I have preferred to have so little to do with finances, that I do not even like to read their financial reports expect in times of trouble to help them find where they made their mistakes. In such cases, I may try to advise or counsel them on what they might do to rectify the situation, particularly spiritually, but I try to avoid any personal involvement whatsoever beyond such mere overseeing or supervision.--Let them do their own pick-and shovel work according to their own needs or desires and/or leadings of the Lord, while you stay in the spiritual background: This way you will neither get the credit for their successes nor the blame for their mistakes! You will just try to help them all you can, but if they don't want to follow your suggestions, there is nothing more you should do.--Let them do their own and learn the hard way in such cases!
22. OUR MINISTERS, BISHOPS AND SHEPHERDS SHOULD NOT BE DICTATORS NOR BOSSES, NEITHER LORDS OVER GOD'S HERITAGE, BUT RATHER THEIR HUMBLE SERVANTS, helping them all we can, but not doing it for them personally in matters which they themselves should handle. When I foresaw the downfall of the dollar, I strongly advised that if any of our Colonies had any large surpluses they should move them out of the Country into foreign accounts and exchanged into other more stable currencies abroad. Because some of them did not do this, thousands of dollars were lost in the subsequent devaluation of the dollar! Too little and too late some finally moved theirs, resulting only in the saving of a few hundred instead of thousands!
EACH COLONY INDEPENDENT ON INCORPORATION, TAXES, AND INSURANCE
23. WE ALSO ADVISED, LONG AGO, THAT EACH COLONY, IF NECESSARY FOR TAX PURPOSES OR OTHERWISE, INCORPORATE AND ORGANISE INDIVIDUALLY AS EITHER A LOCAL CHURCH OR NON-PROFIT RELIGIOUS ORGANISATION. Some which needed to did not do this, but had other ideas, and are now suffering the consequences!--and may now be too late! We also advised them not be become involved in any legal suits or court cases, if possible, and to try to do everything possible to settle such cases out of court, if it was to our advantage to do so, but some of these have not yet been resolved. WE BELIEVE EACH COLONY SHOULD ALSO INSURE ITS OWN VEHICLES IF REQUIRED; CARE FOR ITS OWN CHILDREN AND HAVE ITS OWN LAUNDRY ETC., but these suggestions aren't always followed!
POLICIES ON LEGAL PROBLEMS AND COURT CASES
24. On the other hand, as far as the court cases in which we are already involved, particularly the civil suits, some of these have been initiated by some Colonies as an endeavour to contend earnestly for the faith and stop the lies of our enemies. and to fight the good fight in order to discourage the liars themselves from telling any more lies. In so far as the present actions have gone, they have been so far fairly successful in accomplishing their purpose, as our enemies have been much more cautious in their lies against us since action against them was first instituted, and such corrective measures are sometimes a pretty powerful warning to the wicked and a deterrent against further transgressions and I believe this has helped some in that regard.
25. IF THE SCRIPTURAL INJUNCTION OF 1COR.6 AGAINST TAKING A BROTHER TO COURT WERE TO BE MISAPPLIED TO THE WICKED AS WELL, IT WOULD BE VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO HAVE ANY LAW, ORDER OR RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT of any kind, and it would be impossible for any Christian to be a judge, lawyer, law enforcement officer or almost any kind of governmental officer of the law if the law could not be enforced by just and legal court actions! Therefore, any form of righteous government would be totally impossible, much less Christian, if no Christian could take part in any form of legal government, law enforcement or the necessary court actions required to bring about justice to all!
26. Therefore, I believe any Christian is entirely within his Scriptural rights to seek justice or redress in the courts against the unlawful onslaught of the wicked, otherwise there would be almost no restraint of evil forces in their attacks upon God's Children! God's Word says definitely that we are to resist the enemy, and I don't believe that means to lie down and take everything and let the Devil's people walk all over us, otherwise you are condoning their present violent attacks upon us, using physical force, unlawful kidnapping, illegal incarceration and the demonic mental torture almost worse than the physical tortures of the Inquisition to which our enemies have subjected some of our Children!
27. WE ARE EXPLICITLY INSTRUCTED IN ROMANS 13 THAT WE ARE TO BE SUBJECT UNTO GOVERNMENTS AND THAT THE POWERS THAT BE ARE ORDAINED OF GOD, AND THAT THE OFFICERS OF THE LAW ARE MINISTERS OF GOD. Therefore, if we obey these injunctions, we must cooperate with the Government in the enforcement of its laws through its courts, and we have a perfect right to claim the advantage of its protection through the actions of the same as citizens of any country subject to any Government!-And in any democratic country, if you believe at all in trying to help bring about any form of righteous government whatsoever, you will certainly take the social action of voting for such reforms or changes or endorsements of such Governments by voting for the best man or laws to the best of your knowledge, or at least choosing the lesser of two evils, although sometimes it may certainly seem to be a choice between thieves! Nevertheless, in such voting, your every vote is a vote for some kind of law and its enforcement through legal actions, including the courts!-Otherwise, we could have no government at all-and yet His Word says governments are ordained of God! So I don't see how you can abolish the courts!
28. I believe that most people would agree that Paul's injunction in 1Cor.6 was obviously aimed against Christian brother going to law with Christian brother, and I can hardly see how these diabolical enemies who are fighting, persecuting, lying about and personally violently physically attacking God's own Children-I don't' see how they could possibly call themselves Christians in any sense of the word or by the wildest stretch of your imagination! They are obviously anti-Christ and therefore, unchristian, and so not under the protection of the name Brother as used in this passage against going to court with a Brother!
29. However, I agree with you and Christ's own admonition about agreeing with our adversary while in the way with him, lest he take us to court and we be jailed and/or fined, even though unjustly. I think it's far better to stay out of such difficulties if possible, and that these situations can often be prevented by a little more diplomacy, a soft answer, turning the other cheek, going another mile, or giving him our vest, also! But these are obviously milder cases!
30. In other more serious cases such as we have suffered, if we do not stand up for our legal rights and defend ourselves lawfully in our lawful endeavours with the assistance of God-ordained laws, officers and courts, the righteous of this world would be totally over-run! There would be nothing but absolute anarchy, and evil forces would reign supreme, as in the regime of Hitler and other anti-Christ tyrants who have been allowed to get that far because the righteous did not stand up to oppose them, but rather stood back and let them persecute the poor and the helpless and hated minorities like us! Don't you agree?
31. If, as God says, He has ordained governments, laws and officers as His ministers, how are we going to seek their protection as indicated, without court action? The laws of God-ordained governments are enforced by the courts and its officers. To say we should not resort to court action in our own defense is the same as saying that we should not try to restrain criminals or the violent or the depraved from attacking our wives and children, or the aged, the weak and the poor! This is ridiculous! To carry this logic to the extreme would result in an unreasonable form of insane pacifism in which you would have to tell me that, since you are against courts, you are also against laws, governments and the officers of their enforcement, so that if a maniac were to break into your home and attack your defenseless wife and children, you would not lift a finger to help them nor protect them!-Of course, you would!
32. I'M JUST TRYING TO SHOW YOU TO WHAT EXTREMES THAT SUCH A FALSE DOCTRINE COULD CARRY YOU, IF YOU REFUSE TO GO TO COURT FOR ANY REASON whatsoever under any conditions! You could not even call a policeman to help-you, for he would have to take the criminal to court and you would be asked to testify against him. I'm sure you must agree that there has to be a limit and there must be exceptions to how far we can suffer violence from the forces of evil, lest we be totally wiped out! Therefore, we as Christians have a perfect right to request the protection of the governments, laws and officers which God has ordained for this very purpose, including the courts through which they enforce them! Amen?
33. Nevertheless, I have always contended that, having challenged the Devil's forces and resisted the Enemy's attacks legally, and shown him up for the liar and lawbreaker that he is, exposed his wickedness, refuted his charges and brought him face to face with the just consequences of his evil deeds and the prospects of its punishments according to the laws, and thereby he is made to be genuinely sorry and sincerely repentant and promises to do it no more, it is possible to forgive him and drop the charges or the case that we have against him, with the possible proof of his repentance and a preventive against a repetition of such performances by the placing of a peace bond upon him!
34. In one case, where we have a civil suit for libel and slander damages against the lies and falsehoods of our enemies and their constant unlawful harassment, we even offered to drop the case if they would publish a written apology, but they refused-or have so far. If we were to now drop the case with no such apology, it would look as though we were guilty, and they might cross-file themselves for damages and costs and their resultant legal expenses, and we would be nothing but the losers, and I'm sure our enemies would rejoice, and God's cause would be poorly served! Only a good agreement between our lawyers could now resolve it!
35. So, dear Brother King, I'm very sorry, but I cannot agree with you that we cannot go to court and seek its legal protection for any reason whatsoever, otherwise we might not only be breaking the law ourselves, but also the laws of God Himself! Nevertheless, I would prefer that we did not have to go to court at all if possible, for I'm sure our enemies will only use such court scenes as propaganda sounding boards for publishing their evil lies and smearing us all the more, whether true or false!
36. BUT THERE COMES A LIMIT TO HOW MUCH WE CAN TAKE AND HOW MUCH WE CAN LET THEM GET AWAY WITH, LEST WE FAIL TO BE GOOD AND FAITHFUL SHEPHERDS AND ALLOW THE WOLVES TO REND THE FLOCK WITH NO EFFORT ON OUR PART TO DEFEND them! Is that not so? So I am absolutely in favour of pursuing the actual criminal cases which we have against some of them, where they have actually used force and physical violence against the sheep, tearing them away from the flock, forcibly illegally imprisoning them and rending their poor hearts with mental and spiritual torture! This I have said before in "Contend For The Faith", and this I still firmly believe!
37. Such legal action against them in hailing them into court to answer and be punished for their evil deeds of violence against us should act as a deterrent to both them and others against repeating such deeds! Whereas, if we offer no resistance whatsoever and allow them to do as they please without recourse to the law or the courts and their protection, we might soon find it impossible to continue to be witnesses for the Lord under such conditions! Usually if you give the Devil an inch, he will try to take a mile! In some cases it might do us less harm to let him have the extra mile, but in others it might do us more harm to even give an inch! So each case must be judged on its own merits by God's leading. I believe it would do us more harm than good to back out of some these cases now, whereas in others it might do us more harm than good to stay!
SUGGESTIONS ON REFUGE FARMS
38. I'M SO GLAD THAT YOU ARE HELPING TO GET THE SCHOOL BETTER ORGANISED, you folks there in Texas, and I know the students and their parents will appreciate it, as well as we! We're also happy to hear that some effective work is being done to get the refuge farms and their stocks and facilities better organised, supplied and manned, because I have an idea you're going to need them before long!-I'm sure you'll need them some day! You should be able to use them even now as leadership retreats, havens of rest for overworked personnel who need a vacation, or even weekend Family outings, etc.
HOW TO NAME OUR SCHOOLS
39. YOUR SUGGESTED NEW NAME FOR THE SCHOOL there in Texas is up to you and the leaders there involved, and we have no objection to it as far as we're concerned, although it sounds a little formal, still it may make a good front to present to the System accustomed to such terminology. In all such local decisions, the local leaders should join together for discussion and prayer, and then join together in unanimous agreement, if possible, according to whatever seems good to all of them, as they are led by the Spirit.
DECISION MAKING BY COUNCILS ONLY
40. ALL DECISIONS OF ANY KIND SHOULD NEVER BE DICTATED BY ONE PERSON, without agreement by other leaders and/or the rest of the body, as seems necessary. Conference together on such decisions is absolutely imperative and must be made on the level of the leadership whose authority and jurisdiction it is or within whose department or ministry it lies, and with any other departments or ministries whom it may affect or who might wish a voice in the making of such decisions. Any decisions made on the part of any individuals without such due consultation and agreement could be considered null and void because others affected were not consulted nor conferred with. This is the way we personally have always operated even within our own tiny personal family. I, as their spiritual leader, would first hear from the Lord what I thought His will, then pray together with them and consult with them for their agreement and confirmation. It works!
41. This is still the way we operate to this very day. The Council of Ministers meets together regularly for prayer, consultation, discussion and agreement on matters brought before it by various leaders and/or the Lord. Decision there-upon is usually made by unanimous vote in the unity of the Spirit. If there is any difference of opinion, it is discussed until better understood, or prayed about some more until they are better led of the Lord, some suggested changes may be made in the light of new facts revealed, etc., but all decisions are made by general agreement.
42. WE HAVE PROPOSED TO YOU THAT THESE PROCEDURES BE CARRIED OUT through all levels of leadership, from top to bottom or from bottom to top, and that no decision be made within any family, Colony, District, Region, Area or the World without consultation together and, if possible, unanimous agreement in the unity of the Spirit and in prayer in the presence of those affected, if possible, or their representatives, or to be referred to them for their subsequent agreement, and not to take effect until such agreement is obtained. Praise the Lord? Amen! Hallelujah!
THE NEW GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE
43. We have spent much time in prayer and contemplation of the map of the world and the areas where we already have Colonies and those areas where we are soon likely to have more Colonies, and remarkably enough, these have roughly fallen into twelve major areas of the world, which we have suggested that we may call Bishoprics according to the New Testament example, each of which would be supervised by a Bishop and his wife, making a total of twenty-four Elders, so to speak, believe it or not! Maybe that's where the Twenty-four Elders of Revelation will come from!
44. EACH BISHOPRIC WILL CONTAIN AS MANY REGIONS AS NECESSARY, each Region overseen by a Regional Shepherd or Shepherdess and/or their mate. Some Regions will contain Districts supervised by District Shepherds and/or Shepherdesses, and these Districts, of course, will be composed of the local Colonies and their Shepherds and/or Shepherdesses. Decisions made within a local Colony should be made by a Council of Colony Leaders, and some decisions should perhaps be made by the entire Colony to encourage their participation, cooperation and leadership training in the leader's often difficult task of decision making.
45. DECISIONS AFFECTING OTHER COLONIES WITHIN A DISTRICT REGION OR BISHOPRIC SHOULD BE DECIDED IN THE SAME MANNER BY THE COUNCIL INVOLVED, whether the district Council composed of the local Colony Shepherds and/or Shepherdesses; or the Regional Council composed of the District Shepherds and/or Shepherdesses; or the Area Council or Bishopric Council composed of the Regional Shepherds and/or Shepherdesses of the Area; or the World Council of Bishops composed of the Bishops of each Area; and finally, your World Council of Ministers composed of all of the Heads of our various worldwide Ministries-with the Lord as the One Great Head of all!
46. ANY DECISIONS ON ANY LEVEL AFFECTING ANY OTHER LEVEL AND IN WHICH SOME OTHER LEVEL MIGHT WISH TO BE CONSULTED, SHOULD PREFERABLY NOT BE MADE WITHOUT SUCH CONSULTATION AND AGREEMENT IF POSSIBLE. We would like for the suggestions made by the Council of Ministers to be submitted if possible to all levels involved for their acceptance and agreement, down to the lowliest Colony Shepherd and his staff and even his Colonists where feasible. These will continue to come to you in the form of the usual Advisories, and we will conclude that your silence breathes consent unless you object in writing to the Minister or Ministry involved, or even the Council of Ministers, who will consider your objection or suggestion as needed. Please don't use the phone for long distance calls unless it's a life and death emergency, or we're going to remove them!-And please always go through your immediate superior: You Bishops are equals answerable to each other, your Minister, or the Council-not to me! I will advise the Council when necessary, and I know the Lord will advise me! God bless you all!-Love, Mo.
P.S. TO THE BISHOPS OF THE AMERICAS ONLY: LTO
47. WE BELIEVE THAT THE FOREGOING GENERAL LETTER CONTAINS SUCH NEEDED INFORMATION FOR ALL OUR LEADERS AROUND THE WORLD, WE ARE THINKING OF SENDING THEM COPIES OF THE SAME, since they all need to know our exact and detailed position and convictions on the matter of court cases and legal actions in which they themselves may some day be involved, as well as the position each should take in regard to the financial affairs of the Colonies, bank accounts, and the signing of checks and legal papers such as titles, deeds etc. Also, they all need to know our position on corporations, insurance, childcare etc., and particularly our presently proposed worldwide structural organisation in regard to the positions, duties, jurisdictions, responsibilities and authority of each leader at each level of leadership, and to whom each is accountable, in love and the Lord.
48. HOWEVER THIS P.S. WILL PROBABLY ONLY BE SENT TO YOU LEADERS IN THE AMERICAS, AS IT HAS MOSTLY TO DO WITH CERTAIN MATTERS IN THAT AREA alone, but, of course, which could affect us all! I believe we have made our position clear on the matters listed above, but if you have any question about any of them, you are welcome to write us immediately to clarify it. We hope you have all understood what we have said herein, and how it applies to each of you personally, but if not, we'll try to make it a little plainer:
49. NO ONE THERE IS BOSS OF ANYTHING BUT HIS OWN DEPARTMENT or ministry, and none is even the sole boss of that!-No major decision should be made in any areas without the consultation and mutual consent of all the Bishops there involved. This means all the Bishops of the Americas-all six or seven of you and your wives, making a joint Area Council of twelve or fourteen at the present, composed of the six or seven American Areas or Ministries, the Bishops of whom were named at the beginning of this Letter, and all of whom are equals in authority, although they may be of separate jurisdictions, and who have equal voice in all decisions.
50. TO BE MORE SPECIFIC, SO THAT THERE BE NO FURTHER MISUNDERSTANDINGS, there is a Bishop of the West, Northwest and North Pacific Area; one of the Northeastern Area; one of the Midwest and Southwestern Area; one of the Central American and Caribbean and Northern South American Area; one of the Southern South American Area; one at the Central Office in Texas in charge of Personnel and Spiritual Affairs and another at the Central Office in Texas supervising only Business and Public Relations-nothing more! It's up to you to decide who's who!
51. THIS LAST ONE I BELIEVE IS YOU, BROTHER KING, AND I BELIEVE IT WOULD HELP A GREAT DEAL TO CLARIFY YOUR EXACT POSITION AND THE EXTENT AND LIMITS OF YOUR AUTHORITY SO THAT THERE BE NO FURTHER MISUNDERSTANDINGS in this regard. We understand that you are interested in every phase of our worldwide work, and we appreciate this and your efforts in behalf of each Department to give them your fatherly counsel and advice, even as I do. However, we of the World Council of Ministers believe that it would make for better relationships there amongst you all if you would be so kind as to please confine your activities, actions, involvement and endeavours particularly to the ministries of Business and Public Affairs, and try not to interfere nor become involved in any activities or Departments unrelated to your own and which is under the authority and within the jurisdiction of any other Bishop or his Department, ministry or Area. Thank you.
52. TO BE EVEN MORE SPECIFIC, THIS INCLUDES THE PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT AND ITS FILES, REPORTS, COMMUNICATIONS AND SUPERVISION, which I believe are presently in charge of Bishop Cephas: and this also includes the other major Bishoprics of the Americas which are each under their own individual respective Bishops and their wives. Brother Elkanah and Sister Ashah are to be considered your co-Bishops of the Central Office in matters of Business and Public Relations.-No one is boss, all are equals there. The Area Council of the Bishops of the Americas as a whole are boss! Amen?
53. As already outlined in this Letter, no decisions are to be made regarding any of these Bishoprics nor their internal affairs, including the Bishopric of the Central Office of the Americas, without the common consent, consultation and unanimous agreement of all of the Bishops of the Americas! There is no American Head of the work nor boss of the Americas other than this complete Council of all the American Bishops, and they are accountable only to their own World Council of Bishops of which they are a part, and they, in turn, only to the World Council of Ministers, and all of us to each other in the Lord in His love!
54. The World Council of Ministers has very prayerfully thought this out, and we believe we have the mind of the Lord on it. There is to be no division anymore between Eastern and Western Hemispheres, as though there were two bodies growing up separately under separate heads! We are all to be one in Christ Jesus, one body, with only one Head: Jesus! Under Him, the World Council of Ministers will provide your unified leadership of the world as a whole, as your servants in the Lord, to whom all Bishops and their respective Bishoprics in all parts of the world will be equally responsible. There is not to be a schism of Hemispheres!
55. WE BELIEVE WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS THAT THIS IS FOR THE GOOD OF ALL, THAT THERE BE NO DIVISIONS AMONG YOU, AND NO DISCORD AMONG BRETHREN. We are still young and growing and only now beginning to realise our worldwide responsibilities, and it is absolutely essential that we clarify all of these relationships immediately so that everyone will understand his place, in order that everything shall be done in decency and in order! Amen?
56. TO CITE A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE AGAIN, TO ILLUSTRATE HOW THESE RELATIONSHIPS SHOULD WORK: If any particular leader or group of leaders should wish to consult any higher supervisory authority on any matter relating to their particular ministry or jurisdiction, such as Personnel, or Business and Public Relations, or Childcare, or Publications etc., they should contact directly their immediately superior supervisory body or its supervisor, such as his or their Shepherd or Bishop or Minister who is in charge of this particular District, Region, Area or Ministry-and no other!
57. FOR EXAMPLE: IF BISHOPS KING AND/OR ELKANAH WISH TO CONSULT, CONFER OR DISCUSS ANY MATTERS OF BUSINESS OR PUBLIC RELATIONS ON ANY QUESTION upon which they need the help or counsel of some higher authority or leadership, they should contact first of all their equal counterparts, the other Bishops of the Americas, if the matter affects only the Areas of the Americas, and agree together on its solution if possible. If then they feel they need the approval of a still higher supervisory authority on the same matter for further authorisation, they should contact directly the Prime Minister on the World Council of Ministers who is their immediate overseer in matters of Business and Public Relations, who in this case happens to be Jeth. No one should skip over his head and try to contact me directly without first going to Jeth, who can in turn contact me personally if necessary for consultation or advice on the matter. Savvy?
58. WE ARE STILL HAPPY TO READ YOUR REPORTS AND PERSONAL LETTERS PERSONALLY OURSELVES, AND WE TAKE GREAT INTEREST IN THEM AND PRAY FOR YOU and your work very earnestly, and frequently make suggestions through the proper channels of Ministers involved regarding your problems or ideas. But please do not expect to hear from us personally in most of these matters, or you may be sorry when you do! When I have to take a personal hand in any affair, it has to be pretty serious and usually a last resort! So you may want to frame any Letters from me personally, as it may be your last one! May I also warn you again that you must satisfy your American NIT subscribers with a letter of apology for delay or a substitution of the NNN, or you can be liable for fraud!-Or send us the files and we'll send'em! And please be good to pioneers like Amminadab and Watchman-they're scarce! God Bless You!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family}
