Joseph W. Tkach | |
|---|---|
 Second Pastor General of the Worldwide Church of God | |
| Born | March 16, 1927 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | September 23, 1995 (aged 68) Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Mountain View Cemetery and Mausoleum, Altadena, California |
| Spouse | Alice Elaine Apostolos (m. 1951) |
| Children | 3 |
Joseph W. Tkach (/təˈkɒtʃ/; March 16, 1927 – September 23, 1995) was the appointed successor of Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God. Tkach became president and pastor general of the church upon the death of Armstrong in 1986. Tkach spearheaded a major doctrinal transformation of the Worldwide Church of God, abandoning Armstrong's unconventional doctrines and bringing the church into accord with orthodox evangelical Christianity. His son, Joseph Tkach Jr., continued his work and in 1997 the Worldwide Church of God became a member of the National Association of Evangelicals.[1]
During Tkach's tenure, the changes that he implemented stirred intense controversy and internal dissent among the majority who continued to follow Armstrong's theology. The dissenters labeled the changes as heresy and most left to form new church organizations. Within the mainstream, Protestant community, some hailed Tkach's reforms, which brought a church from the extreme fringes to modern orthodoxy, as unprecedented.[2]
- ^ "NAE Accepts Worldwide Church of God" (Press release). NAE. May 7, 1997. Retrieved 2006-08-16.
- ^ Ruth Tucker, "From the Fringe to the Fold", Christianity Today, July 15, 1996, pp. 26–32.