Category Archives: Church of God

Imported Capacity: Staffing and Coordination at Small Feast of Tabernacles Sites

Executive Summary Feast of Tabernacles sites differ widely in size, from large gatherings of several hundred people to small sites where fewer than a hundred worshipers meet in a rented hall. This paper examines a small site near St. John’s, … Continue reading →

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Divers Weights: How Symmetric Moral Judgment Becomes Self-Serving, with Vainglory as a Case Study: A White Paper

Abstract Moral vocabulary serves two purposes. It lets people examine themselves, and it lets them evaluate others. In its healthiest form a moral term does both with the same standard: the fault named in a rival is the same fault … Continue reading →

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Between the Trumpet and the Fast

[Note:  This is the prepared text for a sermon given to the brethren in the Dalles, Oregon congregation of the United Church of God on Sabbath, September 19, 2026.] Introduction Brethren, we meet today in one of the most unusual … Continue reading →

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A Day of Teruah

[Note: These are the notes for a sermonette given to the combined brethren of several United Church of God congregations in Kaizer, Oregon on the Feast of Trumpets, Sabbath September 12, 2026.] Good afternoon, brethren.  I hope you all had … Continue reading →

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Appendix B: The Assembly and the Marks: A Theological Appendix on Ecclesiological Application

The Bounds of Their Habitation — Appendix to the Whole B.1 Why this appendix exists Paper 1 established that the imperial marks are not size-indexed, and offered 3 John as the smallest complete specimen in the canon: a man in … Continue reading →

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Assumed, Assigned, and Out of Scope: Central Provision and the Jurisdictional Seam in Congregational Speaking and Music Coverage: A White Paper

Abstract A body of congregations that supplies its own speakers and musicians from the membership must solve a distribution problem: it must know who can do what, where they will be, and when they are needed. This paper describes that … Continue reading →

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I Have Set Before You An Open Door

[Note:  These are the notes for a split sermon given to the United Church of God congregation in Portland, Oregon on Sabbath, August 22, 2026.] Good morning brethren. One of the things you learn when you have to deal with … Continue reading →

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Judge Not?  Judge Better.

[Note:  This is the prepared text for a sermonette given to the Portland, Oregon congregation of the United Church of God on Sabbath, August 8, 2026.] Almost everyone who has spent time around the Bible has run into it. You … Continue reading →

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The Difference Between Dead and Asleep

[Note:  This is the prepared text for a sermon given to the United Church of God in The Dalles, Oregon on Sabbath, August 1, 2026.] Introduction: A Week Among the Dying and the Dead I have spent most of this … Continue reading →

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The Scarcity Tax on Participation: How First-Come Registration Suppresses Volunteering, and What Centralized Systems Can Do About It: A white paper on registration design for volunteer-dependent gatherings

Abstract When attendance at a gathering is rationed by limited space and allotted first-come, first-served, registrants rationally optimize for speed. Speed, however, is purchased by shedding every decision not strictly required to secure a place — and volunteering is nearly … Continue reading →

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