In June of 2000, at a conference in Willard, OH, I delivered what was and continues to be the most controversial address of my life. None of the chiefs at the Concordant Publishing Concern could see eye-to-eye with me. Concordant manager James Coram wrote an article in "Unsearchable Riches" magazine attempting to refute my position. I refuted his refutation in a special edition of "The Idle Babbler Illustrated." The controversy crossed the Atlantic, roiling up the writers at "Truth and Grace" in the UK to add their own negative spice to the debate. As the years have gone by, however, more and more people have acknowledged the truth of what I presented that evening. My shocking revelation? The "new" doctrine that caused all the trouble? MEMBERSHIP IN THE BODY OF CHRIST ENTAILS BELIEVING CERTAIN THINGS.

 

This message was recorded on June 9, 2000, on magnetic (cassette) tape. This is part 1 of a four-part series. The tapes have been stuffed away in a storage unit in Canton, OH, since 2010. You would not be enjoying and benefitting from this important message, today, were it not for our fellow-believer Rodney Paris, of Texas. Rodney, learning of this tape series and approximately 100 other messages that I had recorded between 1993 and 2007, felt the urge from God to digitize it, set it to riveting video footage, and publish it on YouTube.

 

Rodney's artistic touch here is undeniable. Not only is the message itself powerful, but Rodney's choice of video footage and the accompanying text graphics hammer home this message like nothing else. Watching the video the first time, I was astounded at the power of the presentation. I believe that, through Rodney's work in bringing this series to a new audience, many more people will realize their predesignation as members of the body of Christ. Thus, God Himself has orchestrated. this project. God Himself wants this. Rodney and I are the human players in this particular drama of the eons, and we could not be more thankful to be used for such a noble purpose.

 

I am thanking my God and Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, that I feel the same zeal today for this message as I did twenty years ago. God made me bold then (it's the same boldness I possess today), to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, even that "wisdom" held by the majority of established, mature saints. What you are about to hear cuts through the lines of fact and fiction, truth and lies, life and death. Yes, it's that important.

 

Rodney and I commend this series to you, with joy.