On Second Thought - Henry Sturcke

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Résumé :
What if this isn't the end of the world? Henry Sturcke suppressed this question as long as he could. For good reason: he was a pastor in a strict church that expected the imminent return of Jesus Christ to establish the wonderful world tomorrow on earth. Wrestling with questions while failing to live up to his expectations of a good pastor, Henry battled burn-out. Meanwhile, the denomination he served, the Worldwide Church of God, was wracked by upheaval. Soon after the expulsion of its public face, pioneering televangelist Garner Ted Armstrong, Worldwide became embroiled in a landmark church-state legal confrontation. Then Herbert Armstrong, Worldwide's autocratic founder, died. The fragmentation of Worldwide that followed took a surprising turn: Armstrong's successors repudiated much that he had taught, while myriad breakaways vied for the claim to convey his legacy faithfully. By this time, Henry had begun to face his doubts. As a self-prescribed therapy for a renewed bout of depression, he enrolled in theology courses at a nearby university, leading after years of uncertainty to a surprising continuation of his ministry. On Second Thought is the third book in a trilogy. The first book, Fooled into Thinking: Dylan, the Sixties, and the End of the World, tells of Henry's first exposure to Worldwide's apocalyptic message. The second book, Those Elusive True Values: Journey to the Heart of the Armstrong World, covers his study at Ambassador College, Worldwide's educational arm.

Biographie:
Henry Sturcke is a writer, photographer, teacher, and an ordained minister. As a journalist, he was a correspondent in Brussels and Washington, D.C., as well as an editor in the New York area.After entering the ministry, he pastored congregations for the Worldwide Church of God in the United States, Canada, Germany and Switzerland for twenty years. Prior to his resignation, he was regional pastor, supervising ministers throughout the German-speaking area. He became credentialed by the Reformed Church in Switzerland and returned to parish ministry, during which time he also served as dean for the Lenzburg area.Since his retirement, he has concentrated on teaching, mentoring and coaching the next generation of ministers and church musicians.