UNITY CONFERENCE REPORT

   The 24th Annual Unity Conference was held August 1-3, 2008, hosted by the Assembly of Yahweh, 7th Day, in Cisco, Texas. A very personal observation by the writer is that immediately upon arrival, we knew the deep south was alive and thriving (if not green)! It was 107 degrees (and that was not the heat index)! It was definitely noticed, however, that upon arriving back in Missouri where it was only in the 80’s—it FELT hotter than Texas! Humidity is a wonderful thing… Back to the task at hand.

   For anyone who has never attended one of the Unity Conferences, it is generally a highly-charged, intense weekend of study, debate and fellowship. Although (a guess here) the extremely high gas and food prices kept many from attending, it was still an intriguing, enlightening weekend. The Cisco Assembly did a wonderful job in making sure all were well fed and the accommodations were kept clean, neat and orderly. Thank you for a task well done.

   After a warm welcome by Elder Farris Wilks, Pastor Sam Graham gave a rundown on the history of the Conference and each individual was asked to come forward and introduce themselves. Pastor Sam did mention that Bob Wells is currently working on the third edition of the Word of Yahweh and the second edition has a concordance and maps.

   The first speaker was Roger Norman, Esquire who spoke about “blessings.” This was a powerful message which was extremely well-received. One thing pointed out that stuck with me is the fact that the word “bless” comes from an Old English Germanic word meaning to “hallow with blood.” Considering there can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood, which our Messiah shed for us, this knowledge had quite an impact on me. There are so many ways we are blessed and we can certainly bless others. Another factor pointed out was that when someone blesses an individual, they “enable” the person receiving the blessing. We cannot change someone’s free will—it is their choice in the long run; however, blessing them enables them to do what needs to be done. Roger requested participants to bless certain categories of people. Throughout most of the weekend, there were blessings given and I believe most of those in attendance, especially those in teaching and other positions of authority will give credence to this talk.

   Following lunch, John Hawkins presented one of his books entitled, “The Two Greatest Names,” and went into some detail regarding pronunciation of “Yahuwah” and “Yahushua.” He discussed how each letter of the Hebrew has a distinct sound which would give the Father’s Name an additional syllable (as opposed to what the “generally” accepted pronunciation is).

   George Garner then presented a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Zeus in Christianity and Judaism” which pertained to the name and pronunciation of “zeus” and how it is seen in various forms over many centuries. There was a lot of historical facts shown to illustrate what he has found to be true over the years.

   Erich Janzen gave an excellent message on Unity & Division where he speaks of the times when division is necessary and when it is not. There are certain issues which Yahweh’s people MUST disfellowship upon learning. At the same time, there are issues which many times create division and disfellowship which should not. He distributed a booklet which covered the major portion of his presentation. There are essential issues in scripture. We must, at times, sacrifice friendship for the altar. Another excellent point he made is that unity in the body doesn’t always mean unity in the Assembly—they are many times two different entities. Arguments are not always a bad thing—iron sharpens iron. He also warned against being careful that we do not reject truth or accept error.

   Prior to normal Sabbath Services, Dwayne Wilson gave a PowerPoint presentation on handling criticism. He spoke about Isaiah 1 and how Yahweh rejected Israel saying “your service wears me out…because your heart is far from me.” You can have an understanding of scripture and a spirit that is bitter and critical—your message will be severely hindered. He went through some basic principles regarding criticism—reasons for it, how to get to the real issue behind it; how damaging criticism can be to, for instance, a child where they spend a lifetime being hampered by criticism which was poorly or thoughtlessly given. He discussed HOW to criticize because we all know there are times when criticism is necessary. There are certain ways people commonly react when criticized and it pays to understand these reactions. His message was very well received from all in attendance.

   Following the regular Sabbath services and lunch, Frank Brown read a letter from Tony Suckla, who is doing a lot of work in India. His pray is to be able to attend the 2009 Unity Conference. He and the brethren are working on a translation of the Torah into their local language. The translation, however, will not be proofed and ready to print until he returns to in India at the end of 2009. In his letter, Tony also discussed the assemblies over there and especially the schools which are being run by him.

   Jerry Healan then presented a report on his trip to India including a very interesting slideshow presentation. He discussed how he came to be involved with foreign missionary work. Jerry related that India has very little refrigeration. As a consequence, all milk is sold fresh. One brother there, a farmer who sold his milk in a nearby city, was accused by some of his customers of watering down his milk. His solution? Bring the cow into town so they could view the milk in all phases of production, proving their milk supply was not watered down!

   It was also brought out and discussed how there are many "professional" letter writers in India who do so for the sole purpose of soliciting funds. Jerry recommended donations to further the work in India be sent to reliable and dependable brethren. He suggested Tony Sukla as one of the most trustworthy people over there and provides financial statements to anyone who requests same.

   Later in the afternoon, John Robinson presented a talk on the “Weightier Matters of the Law,” which primarily dealt with realizing what is really important. Such as telling a fellow in the gutter from drinking too much that he drinks too much and doing little or nothing to help him. He KNOWS he drinks too much; perhaps he just needs some assistance in getting out of the habit. Yahshua’s judgment of the woman caught in adultery was not one of condemnation—“go and sin no more.” On the other hand, His judgment of the Pharisees and scribes was, “Woe unto you….” The weightier matters involve judgment, mercy and faith. Remember the scripture in Micah 6:8. Discernment is one of our greatest needs because life is full of judgment calls. His message was a very timely one in today’s scenario.

   Sunday night, David Bowling of Mark 16 Ministries, gave a talk and illustration of the E-Sword Plus program which basically took the E-Sword program developed by Rick Meyers out of Tennessee (www.e-sword.com) and added some extremely valuable tools including audio versions of Hebrew, early fonts and many more items. This program is available free of charge and may NOT be sold. You may receive the basic e-sword program by logging onto the e-sword site or contact David via their website www.m16m.com to request the E-Sword Plus DVD. This program is invaluable to show people and pastors the truth of Torah in a matter of minutes. You can show where one word is translated many different ways. He also went into a bit of history of how he and his family came into the faith and how they minister on a daily basis. Visits to Israel were elaborated on and he told of some fascinating events they had experienced while there.

   Sunday morning began with a message by Jake C. Meyer on Commitment. He stated we are entering a time when serious problems loom on the horizon. Yahweh wants a pure worship—not a worship of “earthly things.” Israel did not look higher than a man in their search for a ruler in Judges 8:22-23. Israelites have, as a character trait, an innate desire to have someone rule over them; however, that desire must be accurately channeled. If you acknowledge a power greater than yourself, Yahweh can work with that belief. When Yahweh tells us to do something, there are always consequences to deal with. We need to let Yahweh deal with the consequences as well as the problem. Abraham did what was commanded of him. He believed Yahweh would take care of things and He will IF you are following and answering according to His will—if we put Him first—ALWAYS. Yahweh will use people to fulfill prophecy. We are rapidly approaching a setup leading to Yahshua’s return. That means there are some here that may be actively involved in Yahshua’s return.

   There was a presentation by Tom Reynolds on Repentance and he passed out a booklet regarding his presentation. He mentioned among other things that we do not have fellowship with the Father and the Son if we do not have the presence of the Spirit of the Messiah in us. Those who do not answer the call, do not have the covering for their sins.

   The final speaker was John Hawkins who spoke just a brief time on the calendar and a few miscellaneous topics followed by a beautiful special by Tammy Robinson who is in our prayers always. There was a short PowerPoint presentation by Sam Graham along with one of the sisters on the results of a Unity Survey mailed out earlier in the year. The survey indicated that there is more unity than what some people believe despite our many differences. Next year’s conference will be held in Rocheport, Missouri, hosted by Yahweh’s Assembly in Messiah, and the date is July 31, 2009 through August 2, 2009 (Friday through Sunday). One suggestion for next year is that there is more advertisement for the Conference. Again, thanks to Pastor Sam Graham and the Cisco Assembly!

   Every year, sincere believers can see that unity is coming and we will all be unified one day. It will not be by force but by the awesome power of Yahweh and Yahshua the Messiah! HalleluYAH! Let us pray that day comes soon!

(To view more pictures of the weekend, click here.)

HalleluYAH!