Ministry In California

Melanie and I are in California, where I spoke at a pastor's retreat at Tayman Park Golf Course in Santa Rosa on Monday and Tuesday. The group of pastors and their wives were a warm, receptive group. It was refreshing to me to share with them and to see their enthusiastic response to the message. On Wednesday, I spoke at a local pastor's alliance.

I love speaking to pastors and other ministry leaders. I know that, when they get excited about the message of the grace walk, the potential for the message to be multiplied is exponential because each one represents a whole congregation or ministry.

Yesterday we came to Los Angeles, where I spent the better part of the afternoon with Greg Albrech, the editor of Plain Truth Magazine. You can check out Greg's ministry at www.ptm.org. You may remember that this was the flagship magazine for the Worldwide Church of God for many years. Are you familiar with the miraculous changes in the Worldwide Church of God in recent years? Joseph Tkach became their leader after the death of Herbert W. Armstrong. As he studied the Bible, he began to see that the group had not been a church at all, but in fact had been a cult group. This link will take you to the letter he wrote (called "Forgive Us Our Trespasses") renouncing their past beliefs and embracing Christ and salvation by grace -- http://www.wcg.org/lit/AboutUs/media/forgive.htm
It is the first time in church history that a cult has turned to Christ.

Today we head to Victorville, near Palm Springs, where I will spend time speaking and sharing with another group tomorrow. Afterward,we'll return to L.A. to visit with friends before returning home on Tuesday.

It is such a joy to share the message of our Father's unconditional love and incomprehensible grace with spiritually hungry people.