THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF
KEITH MALCOLM HUNT
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
It was 1963 and I had become a member of the Radio Church of God. There was at that time no minister in Saskatoon.
We did have a couple men stop by in the summer, representing the Radio Church of God. So I did meet a few more members, a couple of families and some single guys like myself. It was nice to have some fellowship on the Sabbath day.
As that summer and fall came, we had more members to the Radio Church of God. Then we heard a full time minister was being sent out to Edmonton, Alberta. That was great news for we were soon told that minister would drive down to Saskatoon twice a month to conduct a Bible study.
Soon during that fall we had more and more in Saskatoon coming to those Bible studies.
My mind was sharp and though not having a photographic memory, I found it easy to remember Scriptures all over the Bible, of course growing up with the Bible also helped.
I was studying the Bible like never before, it was opening up to me with truths like never before.
It was during the late Spring of 1964 we were told that soon a full time minister would be sent to pastor the Radio Church of God in Saskatoon.
O how excited we were; and the church was growing by leaps and bounds. By the time our minister arrived we had about 150 in attendance on the weekly Sabbaths. The minister was a man of about 30 years of age; he was a friendly down to earth guy, and we all soon had a very close bond with him and his wife. Over the next year the minister and I developed a close relationship, and I was to become his right hand assistant. We travelled together near and far to meet people interested in our church and to answer their questions, most of them would finally attend our services. Our church grew and grew, and it was a very loving church, with the help of our minister. He would invite three couples over to his home on a Saturday evening in the winter time. And all would have a fun evening playing table games. He said to me once, “Keith I do this to get to know the brethren in a casual easy going way. I was told by the minister running the Vancouver office, when I was going to be sent to Saskatoon, that to be an effective minister you had to be down-to-earth with the people.”
It sure worked, our minister and members, had a down-to-earth love church.
I was put as Church service Hymn leader, and librarian over our book collection.
At our “Festival” [they were God’s Feasts of Leviticus 23] meeting, our members would travel to different parts of North America for the Feast of Tabernacles. It was at one of them that we from Saskatoon heard from the founder of the Worldwide Church of God. He was a humble man in those years. He had a son that was a dynamic minister who was by this time heard a lot on the radio program.
The years through the 1960s were good years but things began to slowly change by 1970. There was way way too much emphasis placed on the coming of the end of this age and the return of Jesus to rule the world. It was not specifically said in straight out plain words, but the talking and preaching was conveyed that the Great Tribulation could come by 1972/3 and so Jesus would return by about 1975. It was also taught there would be a place of safety for us, and our “head” minister, [by now called “apostle”] would lead us to that safe place.
I was always an independent thinker, and I became somewhat alarmed at the way things were being taught, as like the “head” minister had some special phone line link to God the Father.
The minister we had was transferred back into the United States. He told me he loved it in Saskatoon and did not want to leave. Reluctantly he did, there were many tears shed at his going away gathering we had for him. And him and I kept in touch.
The new minister was from England, he’d been pastoring the Dublin, Ireland congregation for some years. He was a nice man and him and I hit if off well right from the beginning. And so I became his right hand man also.
It was about six months into our new minister’s time with us in Saskatoon, when he got up to announce at one Sabbath service—— “We have to announce, and it’s sad to have to say that Bob Lay your first pastor has left the Church.”
We were all shocked, and some tears came into many of the eyes of our members.
I immediately wrote to Bob and asked him what had happened, he wrote back to me with few words but said, “If you are not happy you have to ask yourself why.”
Now I had come to know in various ways, that many of the ministers in the USA were acting like little or big Hitlers with their congregations.
I just put two and two together—— it made four!
Bob had found himself working with other ministers who were not building loving, down-to-earth congregations. He could not take that kind of ministry, and simply left. I was to find out many years later that was exactly the truth of the matter.
This now led me to question even more, if this Worldwide Church of God [once called the Radio Church of God] was going off the tracks of sound living and sound theology of the Bible.
By 1972 I was sure the Worldwide Church of God [originally the Radio Church of God] was indeed becoming a CULT!
The so-called “head” minister was now claiming to be the apostle of Christ, directly under Jesus Christ. Those near him were also stroking his ego and saying he was God’s only apostle, and even the Elijah to come! All the prophecies that they figured could well happen by 1972, were dismally falling apart!
It was now easy for me to see this church organization was quickly becoming a CULT!
Church organizations may start off well, but can easily end up in a CULTISH mode of governing.
This Worldwide Church of God was fast becoming a Cult!
There were other factors at play also….. in the summer of 1972 I departed from the Worldwide Church of God. I was not sure what the Lord wanted me to do for Him, but for 7 years I was on my own, meditating and watching world evens and the happenings inside the Worldwide Church of God.
I returned to England for a year and a half; I was told that was not the place for me by the Lord. I returned to Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, the last week of December 1974. There was an advert in the Oshawa paper wanting a full time “Guitar Teacher” at the “Conservator of Music”—— a fancy name that made me think twice about applying; but I applied and put it in the hands of God.
The owner said, “How are you with children?”
“I’m good with them.” was my answer.
“Well I have this guitar teacher that may play the guitar fantastic, but he can’t relate to children. If I give you the job, you will inherit about 100 students.”
I was given the job and started within days. To teach 100 students worked this way. There would be classes of student of about 5 or 6, from 4 pm to 8 pm, an hour long each class. I had individual teaching before 4 pm and after 8 pm. Most of the time I worked till 10 pm at night.
It was all just great; I taught the students to read music; I devised a structure of lessons that went from 1 to 8 grades. I had my students after each grade take a theory and practical exam. Most always did very well. Some of my students started with me at age 7 and many stayed with me to finish the 8th grade; by then they were about 15 years old. Some continued on with me just for the enjoyment of how I taught and the music they could play. I gave them everything from the instruction books up to grade three. Then devised my own grades from 4 to 8. They got a whole scope of music over those years.
In Ontario there were “festival competitions” and I often entered my students in them; they usually did very well, some up into the top three, and a few getting number one.
I now started on what would become my full time secular job for 12 years. And I had some really talented guitar students during those years, both male and female. But things were also moving with my spiritual life and God was leading me on a path that at the time I did not see fully.
It was 1979 and the Worldwide Church of God was “splitting” up—— other ministers and lay members were leaving, they also now saw that “Church” was being transformed into a Cult.
God told me to put an ad in the local Oshawa paper that would catch the eye of some who might also be questioning where this church organization was going. And I did get some responses. One single man and a couple of kids who just finished High school; O yes a man from out of town, and a few ladies.
They were all willing to meet with me, and discuss things from the Bible.
I conducted regular Sabbath Bible studies for a year. Those I’ve mentioned stayed with me. They saw I was genuine, down-to-earth, and understood the Bible very well.
We did form an official tax exempt local Christian “church.”
We were willing to work with other groups who had also left the Radio Church of God. One was in Rochester, New York state. I ended up conducting Sabbath services there twice a month. We were also working with a large church organization in the USA, who had also left the Worldwide Church of God. It was a time for me of renewed Bible study, trying to read the Bible from an open mind and to correct me where I needed to be corrected, from any false ideas of theology from the years of being in the Worldwide Church of God. It was all very exciting again, just reading and studying the Bible, and also religious books of many types, always open to new truth and corrections, as God led me. I was noted when in the Worldwide Church of God, as an “intellectual” student of the Bible. I was and still am not afraid to read Biblical articles and books by others, be they Roman Catholic, Protestant, or 7th day Sabbath observers.
From 1979 to 1987 were quite the years of study, research, and writing my own religious articles and even some 4 books. There was a one time Worldwide Church of God guy near Chicago, USA, who had a printing business and he printed and bound the four books I wrote, for a very low price, and so our Oshawa church could send them out to others, around the world free of charge. I also started a publication called “The Truth of the Matter” —— a 20 to 40 double-sided magazine [not fancy but very practical] to answer various arguments that many who had left the Radio Church of God and were now coming up with “strange theology,” and also to answer those who had Bible questions. All of this was years before the invention of the personal computer.
The Worldwide Church of God at the beginning of the 1980s had moved into a full-fledged “cult” and they were doing exactly what cults do—— you could not question them in any way, if you did, you were very abruptly thrown out of their fellowship, and their members were told not to speak or having anything to do with “disfellowshipped” persons; you can see the problem that arose in marriages. Many marriages did not survive, divorces were everywhere happening with couples in the Worldwide Church of God. Ministers who disagreed with “policy” —— they found themselves very very quickly without homes and cars. What went on during those early years of the 1980s in the Worldwide Church of God, would take two or three 200 page books to recall. It was as un-Christian as you could get—— actually demonic!
I sat down to study the subject of “disfellowshipping” — yes the New Testament does teach it; and then wrote a full-detailed article on the subject. The article was set to a man I had come to know in Vancouver, B.C. who had left the Worldwide Church of God. He then sent it to a minister who had left the Worldwide Church of God; who was living in Hollister, California.
One evening the phone rings.
“Hello Keith, I am Fred Coulter; I left the church you were in, some other ministers and many of the congregation left with me. We have formed the Biblical Church of God [BCG]. I was sent your study article on “disfellowshipping” and I am very impressed. Would you consider attending our Feast of Tabernacles next year?”
I answered after some seconds of thought, “Well okay, yes I will.”
That conversation was short, but to the point.
I never expected to hear from Fred Coulter for a while as it was many months to the Feast of Tabernacles. But Fred called again a week later, and called me a number of times over a few months.
The Passover of 1982 was over, and the next Feast of the Lord was Pentecost.
The phone rings and it was Fred again—— “Hey Keith, I’m doing a tour out your way, close to where you are in Ontario, to see some people in New York state. Pentecost is coming, can I come your way and celebrate it with you?”
“Yes, sure thing, you are welcome” I told him.
Fred arrived in Oshawa, a few days before Pentecost week-end. We had some interesting conversions as we got to know each other more. I brought the weekly Sabbath sermon, and we travelled the next day to celebrate Pentecost with the Rochester congregation. I brought the Pentecost sermon, as Fred said please go ahead, and ignore me. So I did just that. After the service, Fred came to me privately and said, “I’ve talked to the two congregations you serve, and they both agree that you should be ordained to the ministry of Jesus Christ. If the other Elders we have in the Biblical Church of God, agree, can we ordain you at the Feast of Tabernacles in St. Louis city this fall? And you and the congregations become part of the Biblical Church of God.”
“Wellll…….yes of okay” I responded.
Fred went home to California shorty after Pentecost was over; it was maybe a week or so, and he phoned me, “Keith, all the Elders here have agreed with me and your congregations that we will ordain you to the ministry of Jesus Christ at St. Louis.”
The summer was now here. I did not teach guitar in the summer time, always had July and August months off. Fred knew that, and he called me, “Keith, would you like to take a tour down into the USA for us. There are some people I’d like you to meet; especially two men, who may be fit to bring into our ministry; I’d like you to spend some time with them and see what you think.”
I told Fred my wife and I would love to do that tour.
I knew of the two men that Fred especially wanted me to stay with for a few days and see where they were spiritually after leaving the Radio Church of God. The others to meet were just folks that wanted to meet somebody representing the Biblical Church of God.
The first couple to meet were just over the border in the USA. We arrived and they made us very welcome. They were Mr. and Mrs Cuthbertson, the lady [forgotten her first name now] played the piano and sang “alto” -- I’ll call her Martha—— my O my, she was a perfect match with my singing voice; just lifted me up to hit the high notes; we blended fantastically well. Even my wife said, “O Wow….Keith, you hit those high notes right on.” I replied, “Yes….. Martha just makes me, she just pushes me to them…. she blends so well with me.”
We had a wonderful visit with that couple. Now it was time to move on to visit a couple Fred wanted me to see where they was spiritually. I do remember his name, David Smith. My wife and I stayed with David and his wife for a week. Plenty of time to see where they were spiritually. It was not long before we saw that David’s wife was not really interested in “spiritual” things and the Bible. David met her at a gas station while she and him were filling up their cars. David was tall and handsome, she was pretty. So a conversation ensued, and the rest is history as they say.
I found out very soon on that David had his own magazine going, pretty pro done it was. He was into stuff like new at the time, bar codes on things you buy, for him that was the “mark of the beast.” I was amazed how many people he had on his mailing list, and more shocking to me was how many people were sending him money, I mean a few thousand dollars and more a month.
David was into what I call “strange theology” and futuristic stuff what I say is from planet Pluto.
After a week with David Smith I reported to Fred Coulter, that he was not at all a good candidate to follow up on as trying to bring into the Biblical Church of God.
Our next visit was to a couple wanting to see someone representing the Biblical Church of God. It was a pleasant few days visit.
Our next stop was also to a family wanting to meet someone from the BCG. It was a Mother and Father, their son and his wife and their small children. We had a warm reception, and some very nice down-to-earth days with them all. We talked about Fred Coulter and the Elders with him and the BCG they had started. We mentioned our next visit was with John Trestuck and his wife; they were about two hours south in Oklahoma. Well they all knew of him, as he was doing a “work for the Lord.”
It was blistering hot in Oklahoma that summer of 1982. We arrived at John’s home and they were very friendly; they were happy for us to stay a week with them. Fred Coulter was also interested in them, maybe to offer them to become part of the BCG. By the middle of the week my wife and I knew exactly where John and his wife were spiritually—— they were taken up with Pentecostal stuff, speaking in so-called “tongues” and the demons were everywhere; if you got a flat tire it was a demon doing it; if you tripped over the rug, it was a demon doing it; if you dropped the milk jug, it was a demon doing it; the demons were constantly talked about by them.
My wife and I were glad when the week was over; they had taken us to a mid-week service, and it was all waving the arms, and some “faith healer” going about putting his hands on you to heal you or ward off the demons. When he got close to me, I stood up and left, my wife following right behind me.
Our tour was over, but for some reason we needed to go back to the people two hours north once more. We told them about John and what we had discovered. The son’s wife, looked at me and said, I have the gift of detection, I can see demons over people. I was taken-a-back somewhat, but thought well yes God can certainly give that gift to someone.
The family went on to say they were supposed to get to gather with them on the Sabbath, and the son’s wife said, “I will be able to tell if demons are working on them.”
I left it at that, and we headed back to our home in Oshawa, Canada.
I reported to Fred Coulter all that happened with our visit with John and his wife in Oklahoma. They were taken off the list of people Fred thought could be interested in joining the BCG.
A week or so later I heard from the family with the son’s wife able to see demonic powers; she said it was true John and his wife were under demonic influences.
The rest of the summer moved on quite nicely.
It was now time to head for the Feast of Tabernacles with the BCG at St. Louis.
It was at the very first service that Fred and another Elder had me come to the front and they laid hands on me, and Fred gave a great short talk, and I was ordained to the ministry of Jesus Christ. I was 40 years old, and had NOW come to see WHAT God had really called me to do in life—— it was not to be the next Roy Rogers, but to be a part of the ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ. I was brought through my own plans, which were God’s plans, to Canada, to Saskatoon, to be allowed for a time to enjoy the Western horse, to learn to trick ride; but ESPECIALLY to hear a religious radio program that would challenge me to new understandings of the Bible, and a Landlord that would blow me over with “Sunday is the first day of the week.”
God had worked with me from age 7, for a destiny that was far from my mind, but now at age 40, I was shall we say officially to do the work that was planned for me….. from….. way back when.
……….
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