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Articles added to the Grace Communion International / Christian Odyssey websites These articles are available in electronic form. You may print a copy for your own use, but please include our copyright notice. Do not copy files to any other web site. For permission to make multiple copies of articles or graphics, contact the editor. To receive email notification of additions to this website, click here. For Speaking of Life, You're Included and other videos, go to www.gci.org/media June-August 2010 TogetherConference update: schedule and topicsChurch Administration & Development: UpdateNew website launched (You are already on it, but if you want to see the article anyway, click here for the 11 x 17 pdf.)It looks like this: A Personal Care Pantry Ministry, by Sam and Denise Butler in Grand Rapids, MichiganRecent U.S. events:
Upcoming events:
Obituariesentire issue in pdf format (2 MB) May letter from Joseph Tkach God has blessed our fellowship of Grace Communion International not only by giving us fellow believers in approximately 100 nations and territories around the world, but also by making it possible in this age of rapid travel and technology to be able to have personal friends and relationships with one another. Click here for the letter April letter from Joseph Tkach
As the year 2009 ended, GCI had 330 congregations with
24,197 members in the United States, and outside the U.S. we had 366
congregations with 18,116 members. Last year 430 new members were baptized, 31
new elders were ordained, and 2,424 young people attended 34 GCI youth camps.
Let me give you an idea of the specific ways our headquarters staff serves our
churches. Here are our primary objectives...
Click here for the letter. April-May
2010 Christian Odyssey Cover story:
Will my
homeland live again? By
Marie Antoinette Monaus. My soul is experiencing a deep sense of loss
and grief as I see my people trying to recover from this devastation
without food, clean water, shelter, and medical help. Editorial: Haiti
- help and hope, by John Halford. If we are to really help
Haitians rebuild, there must be a stronger motivation than just feeling
sorry for them.
Where
was God? , by J. Michael Feazell. Where was God when tens of
thousands were being crushed, maimed and trapped in rubble until they
died of thirst or starvation if not their injuries?
"With
what body are the dead raised?" by Paul Kroll. Why do we need a
body in the afterlife?
I've Been
Reading:
I, Judas,
by Taylor Caldwell; reviewed by Kerry Gubb. What can we learn from a
fictional autobiography of the traitor?
Drawing first
blood, by Nan Kuhlman. The coordinator of the blood drive
reminded me that by giving a pint of blood that day, I had saved three
lives. Thinking out
loud: Do
it anyway, by Barbara Dahlgren. Life is full of things you will
have to do that you don’t want to do.
Label me loved,
by J. Richard Parker. God is not in the condemnation business; he’s in
the salvation business, and he’s good at what he does. Tammy's
turn:
More than a tool, by Tammy Tkach. God wants more from us than
simply doing the job - he wants a relationship with us.
So why go to
camp? By Greg Williams and Rick Shallenberger. Grace Communion
International sponsors 15 camps and three short-term mission trips.
Funeral for
a friend, by Kerry Gubb. God didn’t appear to be wringing his
hands, like we tend to. For the love
of God: a pastor's notebook:
A new look
at passion week, by Rick Shallenberger. The heroes were being
remembered for what they did—save lives—not for the suffering they went
through as they died.
Nobody
prepares you, by Greg Williams. Growing old is one of the great
challenges of this life, and death is the enemy because it separates us,
if only temporarily, from our loved ones. Bible Study:
The
Transfiguration: sneak peek at the resurrection:
a study of Mark 9:1-13, by Michael Morrison.
Entire issue
in PDF format (2 megabytes) Vol. 5 No. 2 April-May 2010 Together Sharing the good news in 2009: Media Update Becoming a community-based church, by Ken Williams Upcoming event: Church-Next Training
The Trinity: More than a doctrine Entire issue in PDF format (2 megabytes) March letter from Joseph Tkach I am writing from St. Andrews University in Scotland, where over three days we are taping 13 interviews for our You’re Included interview series, including three with Professor Alan Torrance, son of noted teacher, author and mentor, James B. Torrance. St. Andrews, with its famous university, was also one of the hubs of the Protestant Reformation, and therefore a witness to the often-bloody struggle between the major factions of Christianity. Click here for the letter Finding
Righteousness, by J. Michael Feazell
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February-March
2010
February-March issue of Together
International Conference: Orlando, Florida - July 22-25
registration is open until June 23
GCI Pastoral Internship Program, by L. Greg Williams
- Church-Next Training in California
- Best Practices conference
- Mini-mission trip to Mexico
- ACCM launches first class in Spanish
- Grace Communion Seminary classes for 2010
- Mission trip opportunity in Malawi
- Gathering in the Harvest in Myrtle Beach, SC
- Online worship blog
- Ice-cream social in Ohio
- Birmingham women's retreat
- Thanksgiving meals in Cincinnati
- Youth Christmas program in Tyler, TX
- Reconciling Africans and African-Americans
- 140 children blessed in San Fernando, CA
- Outreach to the homeless in Illinois
- Church anniversary in New Jersey
Achievements, wedding, anniversary, and obituaries
Entire issue in PDF format (2 megabytes)
February letter from Joseph Tkach
According to the Bible, it is the righteous who seem to do most of the suffering. Ecclesiastes 8:1, for example, decries the unfairness of life, mourning the fact that the righteous get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked get what the righteous deserve.” The book of Psalms offers whole chapters lamenting why the wicked seem to thrive while the righteous suffer. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous,” says Psalm 34:19. Click here for the letter
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Nov.-Dec. 2009 Together
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Catastrophic floods strike the Philippines
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Sports equipment in South Africa
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Church attacked in Bangladesh
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Members in China
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Refugee camp in Thailand
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Ordination in Singapore
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Camp in Estonia
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Festival in Italy
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Scotland SEP
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Bahamas mission trip
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Jamaica mission trip
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Developments in Papua New Guinea
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Adventure Camp in U.K.
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European twist on speech club
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Tour of Israel
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Newark, NJ, church to celebrate 10th anniversary
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Army medic speaks in Minnesota church
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Youths in Gadsen, AL, "do hard things"
Achievements, wedding, anniversary, and obituaries
Entire issue in PDF format (3 megabytes)
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September/October/November 2009 Cover story: It can't be depression... I'm a Christian. But it can, and you need to know how to recognize it and what to do about it. By Mark Mounts, LPC. Editorial: How to be effective and memorable, by John Halford. Show or tell people something they don’t know, about something they are interested in, in a way they can understand. The Yoke Was on Me! By Kerry Gubb. Poor exegesis and my enthusiasm for a metaphor had misrepresented the extent of Jesus Christ’s mediation. The Lady with the Lamp. By Bernie Schnippert. For about 20 minutes two years ago, in a hospital room, in the middle of the night, I was visited by "the lady with the lamp." |
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I've Been Reading: Magnificent Desolation, by Buzz Aldrin; reviewed by John Halford. It is a story about the conquest of inner space. In Other Words: Mako Ndi Mako, by Kalengule Kaoma. Your mother is still your mother even if one leg is shorter than the other. Thinking out loud: God's Masterpiece, by Barbara Dahlgren. being God’s "workmanship" has deeper meaning than God bringing us into existence. Silk Purses From Sows' Ears, by Al Doshna. Some lessons from "the worst movie ever made." Home Base: How Are You Today?, by Jeb Egbert. "I'm teaching him that he should begin his conversations by demonstrating an interest in others." Mirror, Mirror, by J. Michael Feazell. What we see in the mirror is not what we really are. Worth a Million Words, by Mike Swagerty. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a visit is worth a thousand pictures. Give Now? By Mathew Morgan. Why do some people respond to uncertain economic times with generosity? Bible Study: Staying on Track When Others Are Not: a study of 2 Timothy 3, by Michael Morrison. Companion article: The Greeks had a word for it: Theopneustos. Some of the strongest evidence for the gospel is the example set by people who believe it. Hmm... Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and he has thereby already made you his own... Entire issue in PDF format (2 megabytes) |
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September-October issue of Together Three Video Programs Highlight the Good News
Births, ordinations and obituaries Entire issue in PDF format (3 megabytes)
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Vol. 4 No. 4 July-August 2009 Together "Speaking of Life" Nears Three-Year Anniversary
Entire issue in PDF format (1.5 megabyte) |
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New booklet A Brief Introduction to Trinitarian Theology In one way or another, we all have a theology. And certainly every church and denomination has a theology. It’s the framework that undergirds and informs their doctrines and practices. "Trinitarian theology" is a particular approach to theology that sees the Trinity, as revealed in Jesus Christ, not merely as one point of doctrine, but rather as the central and foundational doctrine that forms the basis for how we read the Bible and how we understand all points of theology. Trinitarian theology deals with not only the "how" and the "why" of doctrines and practices, but most importantly, it begins with the "who." Trinitarian theology asks, "Who is the God made known in Jesus Christ, and who are we in relation to him?" Click here to read the booklet. |
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June-August Christian Odyssey Cover story: Duty of Care? What is the Christian responsibility to the environment? By Dennis P. Gordon. Will God simply discard the material world? Does it exist simply to serve our needs? Editorial: The Church's Leaky Basement, by John Halford. Are we more concerned with sin, than with salvation? What are our priorities? Where Are We Now in Prophecy? By J. Michael Feazell. Is this the "end time"? What should we be doing about it? New Glory: How becoming a citizen helped me understand the Christian faith better. By John Halford. "My whole attitude toward the law changed. I wanted to live up to the finest ideals of my adopted country." I've Been Reading: I Don't Believe in Atheists, by Chris Hedges; reviewed by Neil Earle. Some atheists seem to have a fundamentalist mind-set. Thinking out loud: Text Speak, by Barbara Dahlgren. Acronyms can be useful in communicating with a new generation. Home Base: Go Ahead—Spend, Spend, Spend, by Jeb Egbert. Creative ways to spend time with your family. In Other Words: Ever See Roasted Corn Grow?, by Kalengule Kaoma. Roasted corn is a metaphor for good deeds, which produce more good deeds. She Made Home Happy: An important lesson from an unusual epitaph. By Kenda Turner. What was the secret of her happiness? A Message the World Forgot, by Neil Earle. Forty years ago, one man on the moon spoke unforgettable words. The other did something equally momentous. Confessions of a Youth Evangelist, by Greg Williams. Do we form relationships for an ulterior motive, or is the relationship important in itself? Give Me a Break! by Sue Berger. I look at the hand-written IOU, tempted once again to just throw it away.
Bible Study:
Work Hard
for the Lord: a study of
2 Timothy 2, by Michael
Morrison.
Companion article:
The Greeks had a word for it: Orthotomeo. Entire issue in PDF format (2 megabytes) |
Editor for this page: Michael Morrison
Copyright 2010 Grace Communion International
