Joseph W. Tkach
Encyclopedia
Joseph W. Tkach was the appointed successor of Herbert W. Armstrong
, founder of the Worldwide Church of God
. Tkach became President and Pastor General of the church upon the death of Armstrong in 1986. Tkach spearheaded a major doctrinal transformation of the Worldwide Church of God, abandoning Armstrong's unconventional doctrines and bringing the church into accord with mainstream evangelical
Christianity
. His son, Joseph Tkach Jr.
, continued his work and in 1997 the Worldwide Church of God became a member of the National Association of Evangelicals
.
During Tkach's tenure, the changes that he implemented stirred much controversy and significant dissent among those who continued to follow Armstrong's theology
. The dissenters labelled the changes as heresy and many left to form new church organizations. Within the mainstream Christian community, some have hailed Tkach's reforms, which brought a church from the fringe to orthodoxy, as unprecedented in the history of the Christian church.
, the youngest of five children and the only son of Vassil and Mary Tkach. The name Tkach (t) is of Carpatho-Russian
(Rusyn
) origin, but his parents were originally from Czechoslovakia
. The neighborhood where he grew up was composed mainly of blue-collar working people of Russian origin. He graduated from Tilden High School in southwest Chicago. He then served a short term in the U.S. Navy
near the end of World War II
and afterward returned to his native Chicago. On March 31, 1951, Tkach married Elaine Apostolos and had three children: Joseph Jr., Tanya, and Jennifer.
Tkach grew up in the Russian Orthodox
faith, but eventually his family, including his parents, became interested in the Radio Church of God through the radio broadcast of Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the church. The Radio Church of God would eventually change its name in 1968 to the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), the church that Tkach would lead. It was a church characterized by the strong influence of its founder and his unique doctrines based on his own interpretation of the Bible
. Initially Tkach was the only member of his family who was not interested in listening to the radio broadcasts. However, a purportedly miraculous event was to change him. At the time, Tkach suffered from severe ulcers and was required to stay on a special diet. His wife then suggested that God would heal him if he were to become a minister in Armstrong's church. Although skeptical, he accepted to become a minister and he found himself cured, never again to suffer from the ulcers. He was baptized by Radio Church of God minister, Dean Blackwell, on March 1, 1957. On June 7, 1961 Blackwell ordained him a deacon
in the Chicago congregation, and on June 3, 1963, Roderick C. Meredith
, who would eventually lead a breakaway church from the WCG, ordained him as an elder.
In 1966 Tkach moved his family to Pasadena
, California
, where he enrolled in classes at Ambassador College
, a state-approved, but not regionally accredited, college that was sponsored by the WCG. In 1974 he was ordained to the rank of preaching elder. Armstrong taught that the Bible endorsed "ranks" in the ministry, and elders could progress up the ladder from local elder to preaching elder to pastor to evangelist. The highest rank, apostle, was reserved for the leader of the church.
In the late 1970s a period of financial and leadership disputes occurred within the church hierarchy, with church treasurer, Stanley Rader
, at the center of many of the disputes. The gravest incident was when the church was placed in financial receivership by the Attorney General of California, George Deukmejian
, an action that was later disallowed in court. During this period Tkach took an active role in the defense of Armstrong, Rader, and the church headquarters' operations. He rallied the WCG membership to take action against the court proceedings. Armstrong recognized his effectiveness and subsequently, he ordained him to the rank of evangelist on September 27, 1979.. See Evangelists of the Worldwide Church of God
. In March 1981 Armstrong appointed him to the WCG's advisory council of elders, and eventually Armstrong named him Director of Church Administration, one of the most prominent administrative positions under Armstrong himself.
Armstrong had recovered from severe heart problems in the late 1970s, but by the mid-1980s he was experiencing rapidly declining health. By 1985 this was common knowledge among church members as the 93-year-old preacher had not been seen in public for several months. According to The Worldwide News, the official church newsletter, Armstrong told his advisory council on January 7, 1986 of his decision to appoint Tkach to succeed him in the event of his death. It was also announced by Armstrong in a letter to members of the church. Armstrong died on January 16, 1986, only nine days after naming his successor.
Initially there were few visible changes within the church. Tkach continued Armstrong's tradition of travelling abroad, although his emphasis was more on visiting church members and operations than on Armstrong's agenda of visiting world leaders to attempt to witness to them. The church entered a period of rapid growth during the early years of Tkach's administration. In fact, the membership peaked during his tenure at 126,800 members in 1988. The finances were stable, largely due to the church's teaching that members should tithe
, giving a tenth of their gross income to the church. The church magazine, The Plain Truth
, continued to serialize the final and most controversial book by Armstrong, Mystery of the Ages. Tkach also continued, at least in public, to promote the church's unique doctrines.
Tkach did not have the charismatic personality of his predecessor. Unlike Armstrong, who kept a strong hold of the reins, Tkach delegated many tasks, including the presentation of the church-supported television broadcast, The World Tomorrow
and the authoring of articles and booklets produced by the church. Although Tkach was not known as a theologian, and made no claims as such, eventually he was to have profound impact on the theological foundations of the WCG.
The first major change under Tkach's tenure was the WCG's doctrine on healing. Previously the church taught that true believers were healed by faith in God and not by doctors. Tkach asked the church leadership to study the question. Once Tkach was satisfied with the results of the study, he officially softened the church's teaching on the matter, encouraging members to seek proper treatment while retaining faith in God as a healer.
Another officially published doctrinal change was that women in the church would be allowed to wear makeup. In the earliest years of the denomination, Armstrong announced the prohibition of makeup for women. In the 1970s that prohibition was lifted, but in 1981 Armstrong reinstituted the teaching. In 1988 Tkach lifted the ban for good.
The first major sign of dissent occurred in 1989 when a WCG minister, Gerald Flurry
, published a manuscript outlining what he and others believed were disturbing trends in the work, including the beginnings of the doctrinal departure from what had been established by Armstrong. Flurry and another minister, John Amos, were disfellowshipped and went on to form the Philadelphia Church of God
(PCG). The PCG began an alternative radio program and magazine, and over the next several years a few thousand WCG members left to join the PCG. Despite this, Tkach continued to implement additional changes in thinking including: the deemphasis of observing world events primarily through the lens of prophetic interpretation
; the removal of the prohibition of interracial marriage
; the allowance of work on the Sabbath; the acceptance of the trinitarian
doctrine; the acceptance of the validity of other Christian denominations; among many other changes. Older Armstrong publications that supported the church's once unique doctrines were allowed to go out-of-print.
As these reforms were being carried out, questions arose as to whether the decisions were truly made by Tkach himself or by others in the church leadership. The church leadership at that time included Mike Feazell, executive assistant and editorial advisor to Tkach, Greg Albrecht, editor of The Plain Truth, and Joseph Tkach, Jr., the son of Joseph W. Tkach and church administration director. One conspiracy theory stated that the decisions did not come from Tkach himself but from the church leadership. Another stated that the ideas did originate from Tkach but he formed them early in his career, kept them hidden from Armstrong, and only allowed the ideas to come to fruition after Armstrong's death. Feazell claims that the reforms were initially driven by a reexamination of church literature that was mainly spurred by questions posed by church ministers and members. These examinations were done by Tkach and Feazell, but the final decisions and approval of materials for publication were made by Tkach. By 1990, Tkach authorized the formation of a "Doctrinal Manual Group", consisting of thirteen ministers and Ambassador College faculty members with the mission of assuring doctrinal consistency, refinement, and advice to the Pastor General. Tkach reviewed and made the final decisions on all recommendations made by the group.
The church's traditions of following the Sabbath, the Old Testament
holy days, and tithing were initially retained. But some WCG ministers and members continued to express alarm over the doctrinal revisions Tkach had already made, and from time to time some would leave to create dissident branches. They included Tkach's one-time mentor, Roderick C. Meredith
, who formed the Global Church of God
in 1992. As various breakaway groups were established, additional clusters of church members followed.
had been largely modified or discontinued. However, the major bombshell was dropped during what is now called the Christmas Eve Sermon. Tapes of Tkach's sermon (dated January 7, 1995) were delivered to local congregations for viewing. In this sermon, he publicly declared that the Worldwide Church of God was a New Covenant church and, therefore, not bound by the terms of the Old Covenant
. Christian theology defines the Old Covenant as the Mosaic Law
embodied in the Torah
. Hence, by making this statement, Tkach officially dropped all doctrines based on Mosaic Law (i.e., the keeping of the Sabbath, the Holy Days, and the dietary laws), making observance of such practices an individual choice. He also dropped the requirement of tithing, declaring that giving as taught in the New Testament was voluntary. The last change had a significant and rather immediate impact on church finances.
These and other major changes brought about major defections among ministers and members, which in turn contributed to a further drop in church revenue. In order to bring the finances in order, major changes in the church infrastructure were implemented. The World Tomorrow, which had seen record numbers of viewers in the early years of the Tkach administration, was stopped. The Plain Truth publication runs were reduced. Staff at the church headquarters were laid off. The famous, church-subsidized Ambassador Auditorium
concert series was cancelled and offers were sought for the purchase of the Ambassador College
Pasadena campus.
, was created in 1995 by a conference of departing ministers and named Tkach's one-time associate and former The World Tomorrow presenter, David Hulme, as president. It eventually became the largest of the groups to break away from the WCG during this period. Although revenues continued to drop, Tkach remained steadfastly committed to the changes that he had implemented.
On May 12, 1995 Tkach had surgery to remove his gall bladder. Shortly thereafter he was readmitted to the hospital because of severe intestine and back pain. Surgeons then removed a grapefruit-size tumor from his intestines and discovered he had cancer. As Armstrong had done before him, Tkach named a successor to become pastor general in the event of his death. In this case, it was Tkach's son, Joseph Tkach Jr.
Tkach died on September 23, 1995.
The impact of Tkach’s tenure as the head of the WCG was notable. Church income dropped from a high of over $200 million in 1990 to $50 million by 1996. By then the church could only count 49,000 as members, less than half from its peak. The circulation of The Plain Truth, distributed free by subscription and via newsstand distribution around the globe, fell from a peak of 8,000,000 to less than 100,000 before it switched to a paid subscription status. Eventually the magazine was spun off into a separate, independent, evangelical ministry. The number of employees at the church headquarters fell from 1,000 to about 50. Ambassador University, as the college had become after earning regional accreditation in Texas, ceased operations in 1997 as the church could no longer provide its annual operating subsidy. The Pasadena campus was finally sold in 2004.
In assessing the work of Tkach, there are two points-of-view. The critics of Tkach, especially those who formed the splinter churches, see Tkach as the key person responsible for the collapse of the WCG. They believe that the changes he brought were a turn against God and say his rejection of Armstrong's unique doctrines were, at best, without biblical foundation.
Tkach’s supporters, including those in the leadership of the WCG, see events differently. The WCG describes Tkach’s tenure as “A Decade of Painful Change” and that the end result of his work was the reconciliation of the church with mainstream Christianity. Ruth Tucker, an evangelical leader and an early supporter of the changes which occurred in the WCG, wrote in an article in Christianity Today
that
Vern Bullough, a secular humanist and senior editor of Free Inquiry
, commented on the significance of the changes noting:
After his death, the WCG reiterated its full acceptance of the doctrinal changes implemented by Tkach and published an apology to current and former members of the church for the impact previous doctrines had had on members. As evidence that Tkach's work was instrumental in the move toward mainstream Christianity, the WCG was accepted into the membership of the National Association of Evangelicals
within two years of his death.
Herbert W. Armstrong
Herbert W. Armstrong founded the Worldwide Church of God in the late 1930s, as well as Ambassador College in 1946, and was an early pioneer of radio and tele-evangelism, originally taking to the airwaves in the 1930s from Eugene, Oregon...
, founder of the Worldwide Church of God
Worldwide Church of God
Grace Communion International , formerly the Worldwide Church of God , is an evangelical Christian denomination based in Glendora, California, United States. Since April 3, 2009, it has used the new name Grace Communion International in the US...
. Tkach became President and Pastor General of the church upon the death of Armstrong in 1986. Tkach spearheaded a major doctrinal transformation of the Worldwide Church of God, abandoning Armstrong's unconventional doctrines and bringing the church into accord with mainstream evangelical
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. His son, Joseph Tkach Jr.
Joseph Tkach Jr.
Joseph Tkach, Jr. is president and pastor general of Grace Communion International , an evangelical Christian denomination based in Glendora, Calif. Since assuming his responsibilities in 1995, Tkach has overseen a period of radical change in the WCG that began during the administration of his...
, continued his work and in 1997 the Worldwide Church of God became a member of the National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals is a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations, and individuals. Its goal is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelicals in the United States. Today it works in four main areas: Church & Faith Partners, Government Relations,...
.
During Tkach's tenure, the changes that he implemented stirred much controversy and significant dissent among those who continued to follow Armstrong's theology
Armstrongism
Armstrongism refers to the teachings and doctrines of Herbert W. Armstrong while leader of the Worldwide Church of God , and is professed by him and his followers to be the restored true Gospel of the Bible. Armstrong said they were revealed to him by God during his study of the Bible....
. The dissenters labelled the changes as heresy and many left to form new church organizations. Within the mainstream Christian community, some have hailed Tkach's reforms, which brought a church from the fringe to orthodoxy, as unprecedented in the history of the Christian church.
Background
Joseph W. Tkach was born March 16, 1927 in Chicago, IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, the youngest of five children and the only son of Vassil and Mary Tkach. The name Tkach (t) is of Carpatho-Russian
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
(Rusyn
Rusyns
Carpatho-Rusyns are a primarily diasporic ethnic group who speak an Eastern Slavic language, or Ukrainian dialect, known as Rusyn. Carpatho-Rusyns descend from a minority of Ruthenians who did not adopt the use of the ethnonym "Ukrainian" in the early twentieth century...
) origin, but his parents were originally from Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
. The neighborhood where he grew up was composed mainly of blue-collar working people of Russian origin. He graduated from Tilden High School in southwest Chicago. He then served a short term in the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
near the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and afterward returned to his native Chicago. On March 31, 1951, Tkach married Elaine Apostolos and had three children: Joseph Jr., Tanya, and Jennifer.
Tkach grew up in the Russian Orthodox
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
faith, but eventually his family, including his parents, became interested in the Radio Church of God through the radio broadcast of Herbert W. Armstrong, the founder of the church. The Radio Church of God would eventually change its name in 1968 to the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), the church that Tkach would lead. It was a church characterized by the strong influence of its founder and his unique doctrines based on his own interpretation of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. Initially Tkach was the only member of his family who was not interested in listening to the radio broadcasts. However, a purportedly miraculous event was to change him. At the time, Tkach suffered from severe ulcers and was required to stay on a special diet. His wife then suggested that God would heal him if he were to become a minister in Armstrong's church. Although skeptical, he accepted to become a minister and he found himself cured, never again to suffer from the ulcers. He was baptized by Radio Church of God minister, Dean Blackwell, on March 1, 1957. On June 7, 1961 Blackwell ordained him a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
in the Chicago congregation, and on June 3, 1963, Roderick C. Meredith
Roderick C. Meredith
Roderick C. Meredith is the leader and founder of the Charlotte, North Carolina based Living Church of God. One of the first five Evangelists of the Worldwide Church of God, he was ordained to the rank in 1952 by Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Radio Church of God...
, who would eventually lead a breakaway church from the WCG, ordained him as an elder.
In 1966 Tkach moved his family to Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where he enrolled in classes at Ambassador College
Ambassador College
Ambassador College was a four-year, liberal arts college run by the Worldwide Church of God. The college was established in 1947 in Pasadena, California by radio evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong, leader of what was then the Radio Church of God, later renamed the Worldwide Church of God...
, a state-approved, but not regionally accredited, college that was sponsored by the WCG. In 1974 he was ordained to the rank of preaching elder. Armstrong taught that the Bible endorsed "ranks" in the ministry, and elders could progress up the ladder from local elder to preaching elder to pastor to evangelist. The highest rank, apostle, was reserved for the leader of the church.
In the late 1970s a period of financial and leadership disputes occurred within the church hierarchy, with church treasurer, Stanley Rader
Stanley Rader
Stanley R. Rader , was an attorney, accountant, author and, later in life, one of the Evangelists of the Worldwide Church of God, then a Sabbatarian organization, which was founded by Herbert W. Armstrong. -Biography:...
, at the center of many of the disputes. The gravest incident was when the church was placed in financial receivership by the Attorney General of California, George Deukmejian
George Deukmejian
Courken George Deukmejian, Jr. born June 6, 1928) is an Armenian American politician from California who as a Republican served as the 35th Governor of California and as California Attorney General .-Early life:...
, an action that was later disallowed in court. During this period Tkach took an active role in the defense of Armstrong, Rader, and the church headquarters' operations. He rallied the WCG membership to take action against the court proceedings. Armstrong recognized his effectiveness and subsequently, he ordained him to the rank of evangelist on September 27, 1979.. See Evangelists of the Worldwide Church of God
Evangelists of the Worldwide Church of God
Historically, an evangelist was the highest ranking minister in the Worldwide Church of God under the pastor general, Herbert W. Armstrong from 1934 to 1986, and Joseph W. Tkach, from 1986 until 1995...
. In March 1981 Armstrong appointed him to the WCG's advisory council of elders, and eventually Armstrong named him Director of Church Administration, one of the most prominent administrative positions under Armstrong himself.
Selection by Armstrong
Initially there were few visible changes within the church. Tkach continued Armstrong's tradition of travelling abroad, although his emphasis was more on visiting church members and operations than on Armstrong's agenda of visiting world leaders to attempt to witness to them. The church entered a period of rapid growth during the early years of Tkach's administration. In fact, the membership peaked during his tenure at 126,800 members in 1988. The finances were stable, largely due to the church's teaching that members should tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
, giving a tenth of their gross income to the church. The church magazine, The Plain Truth
The Plain Truth
The Plain Truth is a U.S.-based magazine founded by Herbert W. Armstrong, who also founded the Radio Church of God , Ambassador College, and The World Tomorrow radio and television programs. Herbert W...
, continued to serialize the final and most controversial book by Armstrong, Mystery of the Ages. Tkach also continued, at least in public, to promote the church's unique doctrines.
Tkach did not have the charismatic personality of his predecessor. Unlike Armstrong, who kept a strong hold of the reins, Tkach delegated many tasks, including the presentation of the church-supported television broadcast, The World Tomorrow
The World Tomorrow
The World Tomorrow is a now-defunct radio and television half-hour program which had been sponsored by the Radio Church of God which ran from 1934 to 1994...
and the authoring of articles and booklets produced by the church. Although Tkach was not known as a theologian, and made no claims as such, eventually he was to have profound impact on the theological foundations of the WCG.
Doctrinal changes
Another officially published doctrinal change was that women in the church would be allowed to wear makeup. In the earliest years of the denomination, Armstrong announced the prohibition of makeup for women. In the 1970s that prohibition was lifted, but in 1981 Armstrong reinstituted the teaching. In 1988 Tkach lifted the ban for good.
The first major sign of dissent occurred in 1989 when a WCG minister, Gerald Flurry
Gerald Flurry
Gerald Ray Flurry is the founder and Pastor General of the Philadelphia Church of God , a small church based in Edmond, Oklahoma. He is presenter of the television program The Key of David, is editor in chief of The Philadelphia Trumpet magazine, is founder and chancellor of Herbert W...
, published a manuscript outlining what he and others believed were disturbing trends in the work, including the beginnings of the doctrinal departure from what had been established by Armstrong. Flurry and another minister, John Amos, were disfellowshipped and went on to form the Philadelphia Church of God
Philadelphia Church of God
The Philadelphia Church of God is an international church based in Edmond, Oklahoma. The Philadelphia Church of God was founded by Gerald Flurry and his assistant pastor John Amos and incorporated in the United States on December 20, 1989....
(PCG). The PCG began an alternative radio program and magazine, and over the next several years a few thousand WCG members left to join the PCG. Despite this, Tkach continued to implement additional changes in thinking including: the deemphasis of observing world events primarily through the lens of prophetic interpretation
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
; the removal of the prohibition of interracial marriage
Interracial marriage
Interracial marriage occurs when two people of differing racial groups marry. This is a form of exogamy and can be seen in the broader context of miscegenation .-Legality of interracial marriage:In the Western world certain jurisdictions have had regulations...
; the allowance of work on the Sabbath; the acceptance of the trinitarian
Trinity
The Christian doctrine of the Trinity defines God as three divine persons : the Father, the Son , and the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct yet coexist in unity, and are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial . Put another way, the three persons of the Trinity are of one being...
doctrine; the acceptance of the validity of other Christian denominations; among many other changes. Older Armstrong publications that supported the church's once unique doctrines were allowed to go out-of-print.
As these reforms were being carried out, questions arose as to whether the decisions were truly made by Tkach himself or by others in the church leadership. The church leadership at that time included Mike Feazell, executive assistant and editorial advisor to Tkach, Greg Albrecht, editor of The Plain Truth, and Joseph Tkach, Jr., the son of Joseph W. Tkach and church administration director. One conspiracy theory stated that the decisions did not come from Tkach himself but from the church leadership. Another stated that the ideas did originate from Tkach but he formed them early in his career, kept them hidden from Armstrong, and only allowed the ideas to come to fruition after Armstrong's death. Feazell claims that the reforms were initially driven by a reexamination of church literature that was mainly spurred by questions posed by church ministers and members. These examinations were done by Tkach and Feazell, but the final decisions and approval of materials for publication were made by Tkach. By 1990, Tkach authorized the formation of a "Doctrinal Manual Group", consisting of thirteen ministers and Ambassador College faculty members with the mission of assuring doctrinal consistency, refinement, and advice to the Pastor General. Tkach reviewed and made the final decisions on all recommendations made by the group.
The church's traditions of following the Sabbath, the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
holy days, and tithing were initially retained. But some WCG ministers and members continued to express alarm over the doctrinal revisions Tkach had already made, and from time to time some would leave to create dissident branches. They included Tkach's one-time mentor, Roderick C. Meredith
Roderick C. Meredith
Roderick C. Meredith is the leader and founder of the Charlotte, North Carolina based Living Church of God. One of the first five Evangelists of the Worldwide Church of God, he was ordained to the rank in 1952 by Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Radio Church of God...
, who formed the Global Church of God
Global Church of God
The Global Church of God is a Sabbatarian church based in England. It was founded in San Diego, Calif., in 1992, by Roderick C. Meredith. Following the dissolution of most church operations in the U.S., the GCG's operations shifted to the U.K., and it reestablished a presence in North America...
in 1992. As various breakaway groups were established, additional clusters of church members followed.
Christmas Eve sermon
The doctrinal changes in the church occurred gradually, but by 1994, most of the concepts of ArmstrongismArmstrongism
Armstrongism refers to the teachings and doctrines of Herbert W. Armstrong while leader of the Worldwide Church of God , and is professed by him and his followers to be the restored true Gospel of the Bible. Armstrong said they were revealed to him by God during his study of the Bible....
had been largely modified or discontinued. However, the major bombshell was dropped during what is now called the Christmas Eve Sermon. Tapes of Tkach's sermon (dated January 7, 1995) were delivered to local congregations for viewing. In this sermon, he publicly declared that the Worldwide Church of God was a New Covenant church and, therefore, not bound by the terms of the Old Covenant
Old Covenant
The Old Covenant was the name of the agreement which effected the union of Iceland and Norway. It is also known as Gissurarsáttmáli, named after Gissur Þorvaldsson, the Icelandic chieftain who worked to promote it. The name "Old Covenant", however, is probably due to historical confusion...
. Christian theology defines the Old Covenant as the Mosaic Law
613 mitzvot
The 613 commandments is a numbering of the statements and principles of law, ethics, and spiritual practice contained in the Torah or Five Books of Moses...
embodied in the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
. Hence, by making this statement, Tkach officially dropped all doctrines based on Mosaic Law (i.e., the keeping of the Sabbath, the Holy Days, and the dietary laws), making observance of such practices an individual choice. He also dropped the requirement of tithing, declaring that giving as taught in the New Testament was voluntary. The last change had a significant and rather immediate impact on church finances.
These and other major changes brought about major defections among ministers and members, which in turn contributed to a further drop in church revenue. In order to bring the finances in order, major changes in the church infrastructure were implemented. The World Tomorrow, which had seen record numbers of viewers in the early years of the Tkach administration, was stopped. The Plain Truth publication runs were reduced. Staff at the church headquarters were laid off. The famous, church-subsidized Ambassador Auditorium
Ambassador Auditorium
Ambassador Auditorium is located on the historic Ambassador College campus in Pasadena, California, USA. It was built under the guidance of Herbert W...
concert series was cancelled and offers were sought for the purchase of the Ambassador College
Ambassador College
Ambassador College was a four-year, liberal arts college run by the Worldwide Church of God. The college was established in 1947 in Pasadena, California by radio evangelist Herbert W. Armstrong, leader of what was then the Radio Church of God, later renamed the Worldwide Church of God...
Pasadena campus.
Final days
The Christmas Eve sermon only served to accelerate the departure of church members. A new branch, the United Church of GodUnited Church of God
The United Church of God, an International Association is a Christian denomination based in the United States with members in various countries around the world...
, was created in 1995 by a conference of departing ministers and named Tkach's one-time associate and former The World Tomorrow presenter, David Hulme, as president. It eventually became the largest of the groups to break away from the WCG during this period. Although revenues continued to drop, Tkach remained steadfastly committed to the changes that he had implemented.
On May 12, 1995 Tkach had surgery to remove his gall bladder. Shortly thereafter he was readmitted to the hospital because of severe intestine and back pain. Surgeons then removed a grapefruit-size tumor from his intestines and discovered he had cancer. As Armstrong had done before him, Tkach named a successor to become pastor general in the event of his death. In this case, it was Tkach's son, Joseph Tkach Jr.
Tkach died on September 23, 1995.
Assessment
In assessing the work of Tkach, there are two points-of-view. The critics of Tkach, especially those who formed the splinter churches, see Tkach as the key person responsible for the collapse of the WCG. They believe that the changes he brought were a turn against God and say his rejection of Armstrong's unique doctrines were, at best, without biblical foundation.
Tkach’s supporters, including those in the leadership of the WCG, see events differently. The WCG describes Tkach’s tenure as “A Decade of Painful Change” and that the end result of his work was the reconciliation of the church with mainstream Christianity. Ruth Tucker, an evangelical leader and an early supporter of the changes which occurred in the WCG, wrote in an article in Christianity Today
Christianity Today
Christianity Today is an Evangelical Christian periodical based in Carol Stream, Illinois. It is the flagship publication of its parent company Christianity Today International, claiming circulation figures of 140,000 and readership of 290,000...
that
The "changes"—as they are referred to by insiders—are truly historic. Never before in the history of Christianity has there been such a complete move to orthodox Christianity by an unorthodox fringe church.
Vern Bullough, a secular humanist and senior editor of Free Inquiry
Free Inquiry
Free Inquiry is a bi-monthly journal of secular humanist opinion and commentary published by the Council for Secular Humanism, which is part of the Center for Inquiry. Philosopher Paul Kurtz is the editor-in-chief and Thomas W. Flynn the editor. Feature articles cover a wide range of topics from a...
, commented on the significance of the changes noting:
The shedding of almost every doctrine the Worldwide Church of God once clung to is a story almost without parallel in American religious history.
After his death, the WCG reiterated its full acceptance of the doctrinal changes implemented by Tkach and published an apology to current and former members of the church for the impact previous doctrines had had on members. As evidence that Tkach's work was instrumental in the move toward mainstream Christianity, the WCG was accepted into the membership of the National Association of Evangelicals
National Association of Evangelicals
The National Association of Evangelicals is a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations, and individuals. Its goal is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelicals in the United States. Today it works in four main areas: Church & Faith Partners, Government Relations,...
within two years of his death.