Reply to: Withholding Good While Its in Your Hand to do it

The email below was sent in response to an EBF listener who heard a caller bring up a verse about not withholding good when it is in the power of one's hand to do it.

"I appreciate your note and understand-as well as sympathize with you and others who weren't able to watch the live stream of the Miami event or the Millville conference that just ended.

I have several reasons for why I think we needed to do this. The caller was bringing up Scripture so I focused on a Scriptural response without getting into all the reasons for this move.

What I was trying to get across was that God has a timetable for revealing truth. He does indeed hold back truth until He has determined to mete it out. Now we know that the Lord opened the Scriptures and revealed many things to Mr. Camping during the latter rain period. Mr. Camping taught studies at Alameda and other places before they were aired on FR. I don't know if FR ever aired any live studies.

Studies given at DITWs and conferences on west/east coasts were always recorded and then aired at later dates (sometimes months later). I don't think anyone would suggest that FR was holding back good that was by them-we realize FR and Mr. Camping were very careful before airing studies and also had a 24/7 broadcast that they needed programming to fill. Craig Huselbos used to call it a hungry monster. I remember going to the Tuscarora conference in August and hearing studies for the first time such as the end of the Church Age (in 2001) that Mr. Camping had taught months earlier at Alameda. That was definitely critical information for all to know. Yet it was meted out first in CA and then in PA. And even after the PA Tuscarora conference it wasn't shared with listeners on the radio for a good while after that. I think God works through these things.

It could be said all should have heard at once. Yet, I'm sure over the months in between-west coast to east coast-Mr. Camping's teaching improved on the subject as well as maybe correcting a few details. He was probably able to answer far more questions about it-by the time he taught it a 2nd time to us on the east coast. In other words those receiving the message later than others received a more refined (better) teaching.

Here's a few reasons why we decided to do it:

1. It gives us more programming-we are planning on a conference echoes type program-to air the studies-probably starting in Sept. (Note: since writing this email we have decided to call the program: "EBF Gatherings").

2. Attendance to our DITWs had dropped significantly. We were holding DITW's sometimes with about 20 people present-and around 15 of them were involved in putting it together (music, tech, speakers & their families). Speaking to a practically empty room is discouraging. I know I have thought about discussing with the board the topic of ending or scaling back in person DITWs. Doesn't seem to make sense for us to drive long distances to get there-with few listeners present. Much more sensible to do it online (by the way the conference that just ended had nearly double the people than last year's conference-and I heard from people there that they were very encouraged by seeing so many people come).

3. These kind of events are designed to meet listeners. Actually, for this year's conferences we had temps in the mid 90's-the first day was especially sweltering. Personally, if I had an option to watch on You Tube or go out in the heat/humidity-I'd probably watch at home.

4. I believe that coming to events like this encourages people to get more involved. I say that from personal experience. I listened to FR for 5 years. Never got involved. Then I heard about 1994 in 1992 and my wife and I decided to go to a conference at Lake Yale. We met people having Bible studies back in our area of Phila/NJ and started to attend. The trajectory of our lives was changed.

5. Lord willing, listeners who were unable to be there in person-can have a good experience once a study airs from the conference at a later date. It will be totally new to them. While another who heard it at the time-may not have as much interest or excitement about it at all.

6. Just about all (99%) of EBF's studies are presently available online on our various social media platforms. So regarding the point of having good available to give out-we do have a lot material people can dig into-I've heard from several people that EBF has so much material they find it hard to keep up with the studies.

Lord willing, we are going to live stream our next DITW (I think it’s in August). I'm planning on monitoring them. We'll see how it goes. If there's continued low turnout we might discontinue live streaming altogether and see if that helps attendance. Or we'll cut further back on in-person DITW's and go with more virtual in the future.

But special events like this conference or maybe an out of state DITW/Banquet like we had in Miami I think (for now) we will not be live streaming them for the reasons mentioned above.

Thank you.

May the Lord's perfect will be done,

Chris"