Announcements for April 24, 2014

MEDIA UPDATE

From Clyde Kilough: In June LifeHopeandTruth.com will be two years old. Thanks to the continuing contributions from many ministers and members, in that time it has now been built from scratch into a site that has, as of the week before the Feast of Unleavened Bread:

• 545 articles.
• 919 blogs.
• 126 “Speaking of…” commentaries.

Last month 90,000 unique visitors came to the LHT site, 70 percent of them brand-new, so we continue to be pleased with the rate of growth and new traffic.

As you know, though, statistics don’t always tell the entire story of anything; and having new visitors come to the site is only part of the picture. Of greater importance are issues such as how long they stay on the site when they come to it, how many pages they view, whether they come back as repeat visitors, etc. Of course, that kind of engagement has always been one of the key measurements of any form of media, whether it’s print, television, radio, personal appearance, etc. The truth of God is demanding—it always challenges preconceived ideas, and it can be quite prickly to some people. So, unless people are willing to invest time and deep thinking in the words of the Bible, they will likely move on to other things.

One of our continual considerations, therefore, is how we can make the site more attention-grabbing and engaging. From the outset, we’ve wanted to have a video-rich site, but that’s been one of the last areas that we’ve been able to address. However, we’ve recently had some productive discussions to answer these questions: Given our resources and manpower, what can we do to fill the needs on the LHT website? What can we do most effectively? How we can do it, and who can do it?

One of the main ideas is that those of us here at the office (plus possibly bringing in others) could each produce multiple series of videos tackling specific topics. Each one would be no more than 10 minutes, so it could also be placed on our YouTube channel. Plus, 10 minutes is probably the maximum attention span we should expect from any viewer (and they could certainly be much shorter). These videos could range from a single explanation to a multipart series. (For example, we could foresee something like a seven-part series on the Sabbath, breaking it down into segments. Each topic could stand on its own but also lead to another.) They would also need to be written so that we could provide good graphics and animation to heighten interest. After everyone settles back in from the holy days, we will continue with planning and, hopefully soon, production.

We are also going to redirect some of our writing efforts to create an online Bible study course. We have accumulated around 1,000 Daily Bible Verses over three years, so we are going to begin recycling those, and Erik Jones will focus his attention on coordinating the Bible study course development. This, too, will take some time, especially in designing it to be an interactive program; but we believe it would be of great interest to someone who is seriously looking to gain knowledge of the Bible and God’s way of life.

Please keep in mind, these projects are still in the developmental stages. And since they are new ventures, we haven’t nailed down production dates. But, still, I wanted to keep you in the loop on what we’re thinking as we continue to look for ways to improve the preaching—and reaching—of the gospel to people around the world.

Also, you will soon be receiving the third issue of Discern, and I believe you will be encouraged by the quality in production and content. Since it is the May/June edition, the focus is on the meaning of Pentecost, the Church and the Holy Spirit (and the false church that also arose).

Finally, on May 4 Rayshan Sanoon and I will travel to Jordan, where Cory Erickson has arranged for us to interview HRH Princess Sarvath El Hassan for a future article (and supplementary video) for Discern. Princess Sarvath, the wife of HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, worked with Mr. Armstrong from the beginning of our decades-long involvement with the projects associated with the Amman Baccalaureate School (ABS) and the Young Muslim Women’s Association’s (YMWA) Centre for Special Education. We will also be getting video of our current Foundation Outreach International (FOI) projects there, as well as footage of sites in and around Jerusalem that will be usable on Life, Hope & Truth. We’ll have more updates for you later on this trip and certainly appreciate your prayers for success.

SUMMARY OF MARCH PCD ACTIVITY

From Cecil Maranville: The Person¬al Correspondence Department wrote 48 emails in the month of March, with more than 100 left in the “inbox” at the end of the month. (As of this writing, that backlog has been eliminated, with the help of Mike Bennett.)

Writing to us about conversion, a man explained that he had been baptized many years ago (apparently in an evangelical church). In subsequent years, he slipped into committing numerous sins. Now he wants to get his life back on the right track, and he asked if he needs to be baptized again. We directed him to our article on rebaptism, and we encouraged him to review the steps of the conversion process using our LHT library.

We exchanged correspondence with a reader who sharply criticized a survey we cited in an article. We encouraged her to reread the article, pointing out that she had misread it. She sent a sharp reply, declaring she would no longer have anything to do with us! A day later, she sent us a humble apology for her arrogance, saying she had gone back to the article and discovered that it had been correct.

A person asked us if COGWA can cast demons out of a person today or if it is up to the individual himself to resist the devil. We explained that God still has the power to cast out demons and that He does so through His ministry. But we added that every individual always needs to personally resist the devil’s influence.

Having made the mistake of delving into pornography in the past, a person counseled with us about how to overcome his present problem of many tempting pornographic thoughts. We explained the process of overcoming and pointed him to articles that cover the principle so that he could study it further. We also explained that he has not sinned if he is rejecting the temptation before it takes form as a thought or action. This situation also opened the door for us to discuss the broader question of conversion, encouraging him to look into this fundamental issue.

We received a number of relationship questions. One individual wanted to know if you should give a person you once loved a second chance in light of his realizing his mistakes and making changes. She added that she wondered whether God would want her to do this. We pointed out God’s guidance on relationships, but explained that He expects us to make good judgments, based upon His Word, and that He does not predetermine every aspect of our life. There are a number of factors to consider when the word “loved” is included. We did not know if it was a marriage, a couple living together outside of marriage, a family relationship, or a friendship. Of course, in general, we should always be willing to forgive a person who has wronged us and to restore a relationship. But depending upon the circumstances, some relationships should end! So, we discussed several possibilities, pointed her to our articles in the “Relationship” library on LHT and invited her to write back for more specific counseling.

Another relationship question came from a person asking how to handle having been wronged. He listed several possibilities: remain silent, allow the grudge to grow, fight back or confront the offender. Because he gave no details about the relationship, it was impossible for us to give meaningful counsel beyond basic principles. Of course, we directed him to our online “Relationship” library. And we encouraged him to provide us with more details.

A person explained that she is aware of a family member who is committing Social Security fraud, and she wanted to know if she should report this individual. Obviously, she needs to be an honest and a responsible citizen, but there might be ways for her to report the problem without the family knowing the information came from her. She should consider the consequences, because her action would likely affect her relationship with many family members. We gave her some possibilities to weigh, as she decides what to do.

A man wrote that he had repented of his sins, “but not turned from them.” He wanted to know how God and how other people would view him. We encouraged him not to worry about how other people might view him, but that he should indeed be concerned with the repentance that God expects of us. We summarized what real repentance involves and pointed him to where he can prove the issue from God’s Word through our LHT articles.

In the unusual category, a woman wrote that she has “faith” in a guy who is not responding to her interest. In spite of his lack of response, she wants to know if it is God’s will for them to get together! Another reader asked us if we could tell her the name of the English poet who wrote “Cain: A Mystery”! And someone doing a research project asked us for a list of every scripture on the topic of “fear.” Lastly, someone wanted to argue with us that Deuteronomy was about the Jews, not about Israel.