November 12, 2003

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah—J. Michael Feazell, national publications director, spoke to 45 Salt Lake City area pastors at the Embassy Suites hotel on Nov. 12. The meeting was sponsored by  Standing Together, a ministry promoting unity among Christians in Utah. Greg Johnson, director of the ministry, visited WCG officials in April (see photos in the June WN) and had arranged the meeting.

Dr. Feazell shared highlights of the WCG transformation, and afterward he conducted a question and answer session and made comments about the mindsets of people at the time, and how to preach the gospel in a culture of doctrinal dogmatism.

That evening, about 50 friends and supporters of Standing Together spoke with Dr. Feazell about key elements of the transformation of the WCG. The next day, Dr. Feazell met with officials of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints: Robert Miller, a professor at Brigham Young University, and Bill Evans, LDS church public affairs. Mr. Johnson  said the LDS officials were particularly interested when Dr. Feazell spoke of the WCG thinking of itself as the “one true church with the only end-time apostle.”

That evening, Dr. Feazell gave a similar presentation to a gathering of 250-300 Christians from various churches in the Salt Lake City area. The event was sponsored by Standing Together and hosted by the Salt Lake City Calvary Chapel. A number of WCG members and former WCG members were in the audience.

Mike Kuykendall, the WCG Salt Lake City pastor, also spoke during this event. He later commented, “One of the comments I heard from WCG members was that they didn’t realize the emotional impact and difficulty the ministry had with the changes.”

Greg Johnson, who visited WCG officials in April (see photos in the June WN) and invited Dr. Feazell to speak in Utah. He said that “each time Dr. Feazell spoke, he became more passionate and more articulate about the story of the major thing that God has done.”

Two of the people at the Nov. 12 meeting were Joel Kramer, pastor of Living Hope Fellowship in Brigham City, Utah, and Scott Johnson, co-director of that church’s video ministry. They were so excited about the changes in the WCG that they decided to create a video about it.

In December they came to church headquarters in Pasadena to videotape interviews with about 20 employees and members to record their experiences and reactions to the transformation in the WCG. They plan to use these stories to make a videotape that helps people come out of doctrinal errors and into the gospel of grace. “We are looking for God to do something here like he did in the WCG.”

Mike Kuykendall, the WCG Salt Lake City pastor, gave an inspiring testimony about his experience as a pastor during the WCG transformation. [Photo by J. Michael Feazell]	Scott Johnson and Joel Kramer, of Living Hope Fellowship, interview J. Michael Feazell about the changes in the WCG. [Photo by Thomas C. Hanson]

      Information is available at www.wcg.org/wn