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| From October 1964, page 2. |
Before he started up his own Armstrongite splinter group Gerald Flurry first wrote under the name Jerry Flurry.
In 1964 Jerry Flurry wrote two articles in Church of God News, Northern Midwest District, October 1964. An article on page 2 lists officers of the St. Louis Spokesman Club. On page 3 he has an article lauding the speakers in the Armstrongite Feast of Tabernacles in Big Sandy that year.
On page 3 Jerry Flurry praises Roderick C. Meredith's sermons at the Armstrongite feast. Later Gerald Flurry would start up his own Armstrongite sect and denounce all other Armstrongites as false for not being in his organization.
Below is Jerry Flurry's article about the spokesman's club.
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St. Louis Club Spokesman Club Officers
by Jerry Flurry
When Mr. Dean Blackwell comes to town, many activities usually occur. One of the most exciting events was the change of Spokesman Club officers.
The following men were appointed as officers of Section "A" Spokesman Club: Jerry Flurry, President; Jim Malone, Vice-President; Jim Carrington, Secretary; Lee Welshams, Treasurer; and John Thompson, Sergeant-at-Arms.
The new "B" club officers are: Roger Malone, President; Gerald McCormick, Secretary; Walter Darling, Treasurer; and Dick Pierson, Sergeant-at-Arms.
Mr. Hal Baird once asked us all a very pertinent question: "Can you picture a king who can't speak?" The answer is obvious. Mr. Dean Blackwell said in his sermon the following Sabbath that if we were not attending the Spokesman Club, we might just as well write "LAZY CHRISTIANS" in our notes, because that is EXACTLY what we are!
The new officers are filled with enthusiasm about their opportunities to serve in this significant way. The Spokesman Club is a vital part of God's work. When a job needs to be done, a spokesman is usually chosen—one who can take the "Message to Garcia."
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On page 3 of the same publication Jerry Flurry has an article praising the Armstrongite yearly convention they call the Feast of Tabernacles held that year.
Here is the article below.
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THINK-BIG-THEME At Big Sandy Feast
by Jerry Flurry
"This is the 1964 Feast of Tabernacles, and this is God speaking!" So began Mr. Norman Smith in one of his earlier sermons to set the theme for an entire feast that admonished us to THINK BIG NOW! Mr. Smith told us how God has, since the time of Moses, spoken through men and unless we believed this, we were wasting our time at the Feast.
Between 7500 and 8000 people motored to Big Sandy to attend this festival. The weather was hot and humid when we arrived, but a good rain cooled things off in the latter part of the week.
Last year, about the time of the feast, deep cracks veined much of the land around Gladewater. However, this year floods were raging in other towns around Gladewater, but God protected his people from them.
Mr. Roderick Meredith opened the feast, and in his first full length sermon told us to RULE our thoughts and emotions, our mouths and our time. We were told that our motto should be, "anything good is accomplished by God—ALL mistakes are ours." Our accomplishments are to be considered as dung (Phil. 3:8).
People there for the first time were absolutely awed by the content of the messages and by the authority with which God's ministers spoke. Of course, the old-timers weren't exactly unmoved when such vivid pictures of the coming Kingdom were portrayed.
Many spokesmen were used, and the organization was smooth—displaying the fruits of the clubs. Men were told to do a job and they did it.
After talking to many of the spokesmen club officers and members, they agreed that there has been much growth in the clubs. However, ONE main problem is a failure of many men to THINK BIG. No doubt this reflects a problem in the whole church and is why God gave us so many sermons on striving for the RIGHT GOAL.
Mr Meredith told us when we saw the sun and moon to think how we would shine like them in a few years. We must think in terms of the universe. If we are to be Gods, we must think and act like Gods. As Mr. Herbert Armstrong said, "The only way to the top is the hard way."
In the future, little men with little purposes are going to persecute us more severely. Mr Meredith told us how this stage of the church has suffered less than any other. Perhaps this is why so much emphasis was placed on THINKING BIG—unless we do, we can't possibly endure to the end.
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In 1971 Jerry Flurry also wrote the following two articles for WCG's recruitment magazine, The Plain Truth.
- Dear Mom and Dad: I'M COMING HOME, Plain Truth, April 1971.
- Unmasking the White Collar Criminal, Plain Truth, July 1971.
