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October 2000
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This is our October cover.
Jesus said that we should die daily, writes Pastor General Joseph Tkach. We must take up our cross and follow him. That is what it means to cast our lot in with the Crucified One. Page 6.
Can God create a universe in which he is an active partner with humanity without determining the final choices humans must make?
Mike Feazell answers this question and others in Free in the Divine Freedom. Pages 8 to 11.
Here is a story too good not to share, writes Randal Dick.
It involves a wonderful woman with a beautiful attitude and a simple but profound faith. Pages 12 & 13.
The Philippines' worsening economy and other social problems are affecting everyone, including the WCG in the Philippines. We thank God for our people's faithfulness and their sacrificial, positive response. Pages 14 & 15.
Denominational leaders, Summer Educational Program camp directors and youth pastors gathered at headquarters Sept. 2 to 4 to pray, discuss and plan for a strategic focus on young adult, teen and children's ministries in meetings led by Dan Rogers. Page 16.
As we proceed with a process of strategic planning for youth ministry in the Worldwide Church of God in the United States we are asking three key questions:
1. Why youth ministry?
2. What should youth ministry be?
3. How should youth ministry be conducted?
Ted Johnston discusses these questions in Youth Ministry Values and Mission. Page 17.
Teen serviceSixty-two people gathered Aug. 12 for a reconciliation service for the teens and leadership of the Fort Worth, Texas, church, writes Adrienne Pickett. Page 18.
Prison
MinistryGod was opening a door into prison ministry, writes Pastor Roger Galstad, and I was compelled to go through it. The first visit with Eugene was unforgettable. Page 28.
Financial
UpdateAs has been the case in recent months, the regular donation income is coming in at a fairly predictable clip, writes controller Ron Kelly.
That's the good news, and I once again want to express my appreciation for the dependable giving pattern so many of you are practicing. The not-so-good news is that regular donations are falling 4 percent below our budget projections. Page 29.
Alyssa Akers
Liberal Studies
Pasadena
Matthew Dahlgren
Undeclared
San Jose, California
Jeremy Gay
Communications-Christian Film
Cincinnati, Ohio
began January 2000
Rachel Heidrich
English
Yukon, Oklahoma
Karen O'Dell
Music Performance and English
Amarillo, Texas
Erik Peterson
Computer Science
Seattle, Washington
Michelle Ross
Math Education
Gladstone, Oregon
By Ralph K. Helge
PASADENA--As most of you know, the Worldwide Church of God has been involved in litigation against the Philadelphia Church of God (PCG), because they produced at least 55,000 unauthorized and unlicensed copies of the entire Mystery of the Ages (MOA).
The only modifications they made from the book published by the WCG were that they deleted the name of the WCG from the copyright notice, deleted a notice that prohibited copying of the book and deleted a suggested reading list of booklets that could be requested from WCG.
From the very outset, the federal trial court held what, in my opinion, was an erroneous view of the law. In order to bring the matter to the quickest resolution possible, we filed a motion for what is called a summary judgment. This is a procedure whereby it is contended that there are no factual issues, only legal ones, and that the legal issues were in favor of WCG. PCG filed a cross motion.
On Feb. 8, 1999, our apprehensions came to pass, and the court granted PCG's motion for summary judgment, which authorized PCG to copy MOA for the time being. We filed an appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in order to correct the erroneous ruling.
Now our contentions have been justified. On Sept. 18, the Court of Appeals issued an opinion upholding WCG's contentions on every point at issue.
One of PCG's issues was the claim that what they had done constituted fair use. The court's opinion included an interesting quote from a U.S. Supreme court case which stated: "The fair use doctrine is not a license for corporate theft."
The opinion then went on to state that WCG was to be granted a permanent injunction against PCG's printing or distributing MOA, as well as a preliminary injunction pending the time until the trial court assesses damages and attorneys fees against PCG.
PCG does have certain limited rights to request the court to modify the opinion and for some other procedural matters, and we assume they will petition for such relief. However, for all practical purposes, it would seem to be final in all material respects.
We will keep readers advised as the matter progresses.
In the Window on the World column in the August WN on the "State of the Great Commission," Randal Dick indicated that it would be beneficial to consider what God is and has been doing in the area of the Great Commission, so we might better ascertain what he wants us, individually and as a fellowship, to do.
Campus Crusade for Christ International, headed by Bill Bright, produced the Jesus film, the complete Gospel of Luke scripted to this movie. It is one of the most effective non-denominational presentations of the gospel of the kingdom of God.
Peter F. Benson
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Thank you for the encouraging, clarifying and personal articles from Mike Feazell on "A Simple Matter of Trust" (April WN) and "Trusting God With the Problem of Sin" (June WN).
I was also moved by Pastor General Joseph Tkach's Personal on small churches in the June issue.
I'm always happy to read News of People, Places and Events and Window on the World. It is wonderful to hear from local churches whose members are blowing like spring flowers.
Yvonne Gerber
Berlin, Germany
I just finished reading "A Simple Matter of Trust." I just had to let you know how much I enjoyed that article and also others that you have written.
Reading these gives me so much peace and helps me just relax in Jesus knowing how much he loves us and does for us. I am so thankful we are not the way we used to be, and we can really get to know God and Jesus in ways we could not have before.
Praise God!
May God bless you and all the staff at headquarters and continue to write and inspire us.
Juanita Martin
Norcross, Georgia
Thank you for the Bible Study about Matthew 6 in the August Worldwide News, most importantly the comments about fasting.
Thank you for Mr. Tkach's Personal as well.
Herb Drisdale
Houston, Texas
Thank you for the article by Michael Morrison on the Sermon on the Mount in the July issue.
I have struggled with a literal understanding of these teachings of Jesus. Now I see what he meant for us to learn from this.
Bobby R. Mullins
Bolt, West Virginia
Robert and Jan
TaylorNASHVILLE, Tennessee--In 1999 Bob Taylor began the assignment of district superintendent for the Bowling Green, Kentucky, district. He and his wife, Jan, now serve the renamed Nashville, Tennessee, district, which encompasses parts of eight states. He also serves as senior pastor for the Nashville and Clarksville, Tennessee, and Bowling Green churches.
The Taylors have lived in and around the Nashville area for more than 30 years. Mr. Taylor was ordained an elder in 1978 and served for 17 years in the Nashville and Murfreesboro, Tennessee, churches before entering full-time pastoral ministry as the Nashville congregation's pastor in 1995.
Before 1995, Bob spent 36 years in the computer industry as a field engineer and had his own business designing custom turn-key computer systems.
Bob and Jan met in 1970 when they both began attending the WCG in Nashville. Little did they know that eight years later they would be married and eventually have three married children and five grandchildren all of whom live in the Nashville area.
Jan works as office manager for a civil engineering firm in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville, where they reside. She especially enjoys traveling with her husband and directing the Nashville women's ministry. Her passion in ministry is promoting prayer and an exciting, personal, intimate relationship with our Savior.
The following pastors, wives and congregations are in the Nashville district.
Lexington and Hazard, Kentucky: Ron and Linda Dick
Kingsport, Tennessee, Norton, Virginia, and Bluefield, West Virginia: Gary and Susan Endres
Somerset, Kentucky: Carl and Martha Fields
Knoxville and Harrogate Tennessee: Garvin and Sandee Greene
Charleston and Huntington, West Virginia, and Paintsville, Kentucky: Mike and Dana Greider
Mount Sterling, Kentucky: James and Phyllis Humphries
Pikeville, Kentucky: Donnie and Jean Justice
Morristown, Tennessee: Ellis and Dorothy Necessary
London, Kentucky: Charles and Gracie Shelton
Logan, West Virginia: Jeff and Debbie Vallet
Clarksburg, Mineral Wells and Summersville, West Virginia: Warren and Lorraine Wilson
Cookeville, Tennessee: Arlen and Jean Bryant
Huntsville and Fort Payne, Alabama: Paul and Pat Kurts
Elizabethtown, Kentucky: Merle and Doris Mullins
Clarksville, Tennessee: Stan and Saundria Murphy
Evansville and New Albany, Indiana: Rick and Cheryl Shallenberger
Madisonville, Kentucky: Anthony and Lisa Sizemore
Florence, Alabama: Roland and Shelba Stanley
Nashville, Tennessee: Jonathan and Beth Stepp (assistant pastor)
Belleville and Mount Vernon, Illinois: Jim and Grace Stokes
Bowling Green, Kentucky: Frank and Alvetta Tomes
Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Richard and Pat Weber
Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Paducah, Kentucky: Jeff and Abby Williams
By Joy Cryer
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana--More than 75 youths ages 5 through 18 and 35 adults from Atlanta, Georgia; New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and Jackson, Mississippi; joined for a weekend of fun and fellowship in New Orleans Aug. 4 to 6.
The tone for the weekend was set Friday evening, Aug. 4, when everyone gathered at a Pizza Hut. The youths broke into two groups and began a lively chant of "We love Jesus, yes we do, we love Jesus, how about you!" One 3-year-old boy not with the group was heard repeating, "We love Jesus, yes we do, we love Jesus, how about you!" as he left the restaurant with his parents.
Saturday began with a group devotional, after which the rest of the day was spent at the new Jazzland Theme Park.
Sunday morning, the youths participated in a community outreach service by attending a graduation ceremony for children who had completed a summer Bible school program. The Atlanta teen choir as well as the New Orleans teen choir performed praise and worship songs for the event. Claire McDaniel did a reading titled Making a Difference, and Kristy Richard and Kara Lewis performed vocal solos.
The Bible school children and their families were appreciative and impressed by the support from the visiting youths.
The weekend ended with a visit to an IMAX theatre and the Aquarium of the Americas.
Death is a reality of life. To some, death is a horrible unknown. For others, it is a time of relief or rest. Death is a defeated enemy, yet we must all face it sometime.
I think about death every day--at least I ought to. Jesus said that we should die daily. We must take up our cross and follow him. That is what it means to cast our lot in with the Crucified One. We follow a Messiah who laid down his life for others and commanded us to follow him.
We don't save others in the way that Jesus did, of course, but we are still called to give our lives. Jesus said, "Those who lose their life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39, New Revised Standard Version). We are called to be losers--and only if we are losers will we be finders. The only way to live with Christ is to die with Christ. "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).
Have you given your life for Jesus Christ? "All of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death" (Romans 6:1). We may have given our lives to Christ many years ago--but we need to renew our death every day. Paul told the Christians in Rome, "If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Romans 8:13). We are to crucify the passions of the flesh (Galatians 5:24).
Paul said that we are living sacrifices, and the problem with living sacrifices is that they keep crawling off the altar. Old habits come back, and they must be killed again. So we need to say, Heave, ho, back on the altar you go. We need to examine ourselves to see whether our deeds are of the flesh, or of the Spirit.
Each day, we need to think about dying, about putting to death the deeds of the flesh, about plunging selfishness back into its grave. Whenever our ego is hurt, we need to remind ourselves, I died many years ago, and I am dead. They can't hurt me any more. I am willing to die today, too, because Christ died for me. I died with him, and I am dying with him right now. I choose to give up my pride and live not for self, but for Christ.
We must all come to the point of resignation: Not my will be done, but God's. We accept what he gives, no more, no less. This is not a doormat personality, of course, where we are willing to do what anyone wants. We obey God's will, not anyone else's. We serve others only as it is God's will.
Our daily death is not the end of personality, but it is the transformation of the will. It is a voluntary choice to be more like Christ--and thank God, we do not do this on our own. We have already admitted that our own way leads to death, so this transformation is not something we can do on our own. Rather, it is Christ at work in us, living in us, creating us as new persons.
The old and the new are side by side, competing for our time and our lives. We must choose which to obey: the old person with its lusts, or the new person with its willingness to serve, its willingness to copy Christ, its willingness to love others. It is a daily struggle, and a lifelong one.
We must crucify the way of sin, the way of self-reliance, the way of lust and pride. As we know, some sins are easier to forsake than others. We enjoy some sins more than others, but all must go. We have been bought with a price, and our bodies are not our own. We cannot do with them as we please, but we must seek to do what Christ wants. It requires thought, it requires self-sacrifice, it requires patience.
The Roman Christians died with Christ when they accepted him as Savior, and yet Paul still exhorts them to continue resisting sin: "Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions" (Romans 6:11-12).
Remember who you are, he says. When it comes to sin, remember that you are dead, and that your new life is for Christ Jesus. Sin has no power over us to force us to do its will--we can, with Christ in us, choose to do right. But it is not automatic, nor is it easy, nor is it possible to be perfect.
We are freed from the fear of condemnation (Romans 8:1), and exhorted to "become slaves of righteousness" (Romans 6:18). We obey because we want to, because the Spirit leads us, not because we are afraid of God. After all, he loved us so much that he sent his Son to die for us. We are motivated by his love, confident in the eternal life that he purchased for us.
The reason that we can sacrifice selfishness is because we have faith that God has something far better for us. We are willing to die each day because Christ lives in us, doing what he has done before: obeying the Father's will.
Today, think about dying--and about living with Christ Jesus in you.
By Vanessa Nichol
EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada -- Twelve youths, ages 9 to 17, decided to get together to learn more about Jesus Christ.
They formed a youth group named The Circle of Friends after the song by the Christian band Point of Grace. After some research, the 12, along with their parents, decided to try the Alpha youth program.
The Alpha course originated in London, England, at Holy Trinity Brompton, and is used widely by churches in North America and around the world. Adults and youths, Christians and non-Christians alike, use the course. The Alpha youth program offers a creative and interesting approach for young people to learn the good news of Jesus Christ.
The course had 14 sessions. Some of the topics covered were Who Is Jesus?, Why Did Jesus Die?, Why and How Should I Read the Bible?, Why and How Do I Pray?, How Does God Guide Us?, Does God Heal People Today?, and Making the Most of My Life!
Each was given an Alpha youth manual (for ages 9 to 14 the middle school manual, and for ages 15 to18 the high school manual). Each person was expected to study his or her manual each week to prepare for the coming session.
The group leader, Irene Nichol, had a reward system for those who did the work at home for each week's session. After four or five weeks, every member did the prep work so the reward system was no longer needed.
At the start, some weren't sure what to expect from the Alpha youth program.
Devin Schafers said: "At first I felt edgy about it. I thought that it was going to be boring, but as we went further into the program, it became lots and lots of fun."
Tamara Nichol said this about the program: "I went into it thinking I was just going to have fun with my friends, but after a while I realized I was having fun getting closer to God and I was thinking more about things." Tamara has been through the Alpha course twice now, the second time as a junior leader.
A visiting friend, Joanne Kunstek, commented, "Before we arrived at Alpha, I thought that it was going to be a bunch of people sitting around reading a Bible, but I was surprised to find that it was tons of fun, and not boring at all!"
Sara Bowes said that she loved the games, while others loved the singing. All in all, the youths enjoyed getting together with friends and getting closer to God.
The program finished Sept. 1 with a barbecue and camp-out, complete with fireworks. Each participant was presented with a certificate to recognize hard work and accomplishment.
The circle of friends has decided to keep the group going. Alpha was the springboard to bring the group together. With the strong friendships that have now been built, they plan to take what they've learned in Alpha and apply it in their daily lives and serve others through the group. They have now started a Christian character building study and have continued to plan for the future.
CIRCLE OF FRIENDS--Top, from left:
Seth Johnson, Vanessa Nichol, Rebecca Johnson
and Kyle Nichol; center: Tamara Nichol, Amy Teague,
Alison Teague, Sara Bowes, Devin Schafers and Andrew
Johnson; bottom: Jilene Schafers, Antoine Vachon and Brandon Nichol.
[Photos by Irene Nichol]
Vanessa Nichol
Second of Two Parts
By J. Michael
Feazell
Can God be sovereign and perfect and also be able to change a particular course of action?
Can God be completely in control of the universe and also give humans true freedom?
Can God create a universe in which he is an active partner with humanity without determining the final choices humans must make?
"Whoa! Will you please answer one question before you ask two more?"
OK, Let's answer all three: Yes, God can.
After all, God is God; he can do what he, of his own free will, decides to do in accord with who he is. Consider the fact that the Holy Spirit inspired biblical writers to record occasions in which God did, in fact, change.
Indeed the Bible shows us that God did create a world for himself in which he can and does abide, work, enjoy himself and rest. The universe depends upon God for every moment of its existence, yet God takes pleasure in what he has made and is quite actively involved in its life and journey.
Consider the biblical picture of God. He loves a cool breeze (Genesis 3:8). He walks and talks with people (Exodus 33:11). He finds out things about them (Genesis 22:12). He makes friends (James 2:23) and gets disappointed and hurt by them (2 Samuel 12:7-9).
This God, the God of the Bible, is indeed sovereign, yet not so "otherly" that he cannot enjoy the world he made. When he was done making it, he proceeded to rest in it. And he even calls on us to join him in his rest. He is a God who freely makes things and then sets out freely to use and enjoy what he has made.
Is such a God in control? It seems to me, and you may disagree, that such a God is in far more control, and has far more power, in fact, than the sort of God described by the TULIP.
As we said last time, TULIP, which describes a Calvinist view of predestination, is an acronym that stands for total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace and perseverance of the saints.
The TULIP God has to create what amounts to a grand videotape of entirely predetermined characters and outcomes that can't wrestle with him, talk back to him, challenge him, or, conversely, can't truly love him, except as he has written it all into the prearranged script. He is in control, to be sure, but of what? Of a magnificent cosmic screenplay.
But the God of the Bible, who, in his own divine freedom, has created a truly free universe with truly free people, exercises his awesome creativity and genius continually, because, in spite of sinning and rebellious humans, he does bring about his purpose for them.
In fact, in the lavish glory of his covenant faithfulness, he is constantly bringing good out of evil and light out of darkness through his indescribable grace freely demonstrated most supremely in Jesus Christ.
The God of the Bible does not force anyone to trust him. He doesn't remove anyone's freedom to refuse him. Yet, he is infinitely creative in his means of knocking on the doors of our human castles, inviting, even urging, us to invite him in.
This is the God who became one of us in Jesus Christ. This is the God who is united with us and in communion with us through Christ. This is the God who loves us.
God is free to be who he is. "I Am Who I Am," otherwise known as "I Will Be Who I Will Be," is who this God says he is (Exodus 3:14). He is free to create the universe and humanity and interact with them in whatever way pleases him, and what pleases him is to be faithful to and with his creation.
The fact that God is able to create a windup, predetermined universe does not mean that he had to. The Platonic-Aristotelian concept of God, reflected in TULIP, demands that God had to.
It demands that a proper, logical, totally sovereign God could have done things no other way. That concept, in its effort to safeguard God's sovereignty, winds up tying God's hands by limiting him to one particular and nonbiblical way of being sovereign with his creation.
If, on the other hand, we are to take the biblical record of God's self-disclosure seriously, we must conclude that God is free to create and interact with his creation in any way he pleases, because he is free to be and do as he pleases in accord with who he is (and he is "I Am Who I Am").
Our freedom to be who we are in Christ is not a freedom that we have simply by virtue of existing. It is a freedom given to us by God, entrusted to us, and dependent upon God's own freedom to give it to us.
In other words, we are free to accept or reject God's grace only because God holds us in the palm of his hand, not because we have personal sovereignty in and of ourselves. You can reject God, but in rejecting God you are also rejecting yourself, because your freedom is upheld only by the God you are rejecting.
In our efforts to discuss and describe God we have no choice but to use analogies and comparisons to created things we know about. But we must keep in mind that in all our analogies and comparisons, God is not even on the same plane as any of the created things--whether objects, roles or passions--we might use in describing him. Even the pronoun "he" is only an analogy; we should not get the idea that God is actually male or female.
God is the source and cause of all being and existence. He brings everything into being without anything bringing him into being. He is pure Being, that "Is-ness" from which all other being flows. All things depend upon him for their existence, and he depends upon nothing for his existence. He can and does change as he, in his uncreated freedom, chooses to change. He cannot be changed by anything outside himself, as though he were a created being.
So, when we say that God is "immutable" (unchangeable) and "impassible" (incapable of feeling), we do not mean that God cannot change or feel. We mean, rather, that God cannot be changed or moved or hurt by anything outside himself.
But in his divine freedom, God can, of himself, change and feel. In other words, God cannot be acted upon against his will, but he certainly, in his divine freedom, acts.
In his eternal serenity and tranquility, God is not depressed, confused, worried, or bowled over by human sin, tragedy and disaster. After all, he knows his power and purpose and what he is bringing out of it all.
But, as Tom Torrance put it, "It does not mean that God in himself is devoid of passion, devoid of love, or devoid of mercy, that he is impassibly and immutably related to our world of space and time in such a way that it is thrown back upon itself as a closed continuum of cause and effect" (Ground and Grammar of Theology, T.F. Torrance, The University Press of Virginia, 1980, p. 65).
In other words, the universe is not "on its own." While there is indeed "cause and effect," "cause and effect" is not all there is. The universe functions according to general rules laid out by its Creator, but it is not detached from its Creator's free and gracious will and creatively sustaining presence.
God delighted to make things in such a way that they bump and collide their way through what we might call a sort of "randomly ordered" existence. Even our lives are subject to what we call "time and chance," yet we believe, as Christians, that these very real, and often painful vicissitudes of "time and chance" are the mysterious and gracious means through which our loving Father brings us out of darkness into his marvelous light.
The "God" of Plato and Aristotle could not change, because for "God" to change would mean that "God" was not already perfect. So "God" was called the "unmoved mover." But the God of the Bible has no problem with changing whenever he decides to, and he remains perfect and perfectly God all the while. He haggled with Abraham over the fate of Sodom, agreeing to change his plan under certain conditions (Genesis 18:16-33).
God changed his mind about saving the Israelites when they started worshiping the calf at Mount Sinai, then allowed Moses to talk him out of killing them all and starting the whole plan over with Moses' children (Exodus 32:7-14).
He accommodated himself to Israel's desire for a king (1 Samuel 8). He changed his plan regarding wicked King Ahab's punishment (1 Kings 21:27-29).
"Wait a minute. What about the verse that says, `For I the Lord do not change'? (Malachi 3:6)."
Well, God certainly is not saying he doesn't do what the Spirit inspired the Bible to record that he in fact did do. "For I the Lord do not change" and other passages about God's unchangeableness are declarations of God's faithfulness to his covenant promise. ("Therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed," he continues.) And within that unchanging faithfulness to his beloved people there are many ups and downs, twists in the tale, disappointments and surprises.
God's covenant faithfulness is the theme throughout the Bible. God made promises to Abraham, and those promises included the salvation of the whole world through the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:16, 29). The Bible is the record of God's faithfulness to those promises.
That faithfulness is, in fact, why God constantly relents from what makes good logical sense to do--totally wiping out rebellious sinners--in favor of forgiving their sins, even to the point of the ultimate self-sacrifice.
God is sovereign, but he is sovereign the way he chooses to be, not the way the greatest human thinkers conclude the ultimate cause of all things must logically be. God will be who God will be. (What else would you expect from a God who calls himself I Am Who I Am?)
And he has decided to be, for us and with us, the Father of Jesus Christ, the Sender of the Holy Spirit, the Forgiver of sins, the Lover of souls, our Savior, our Deliverer, our Comforter, our Advocate, our Helper, our Strengthener, our Righteousness, our Peace, our Hope, our Life, our Light, our Friend and many other good and wonderful things.
Why? Because he is I Am Who I Am (Exodus 3:14).
God doesn't behave the way we would expect. We cannot put him in a box. We cannot package him to make him more appealing. We cannot mold him into our imagined image of what a proper and respectable, board-certified God ought to be like.
God is not an unmoved mover who created a windup world of preprogrammed automatons. Nor is God "way out there," merely looking down and watching and judging us as some detached Superbeing.
He is the immanent one, that is, God with us. He is here, has been all along, and always will be. Why? Because he wants to be. Because he loves us. Because he made us real, to be real with him and in him and through him.
Far from some platonic impersonal "other," this God is ever active and involved in his creation.
He gets his hands dirty. He takes this reeking and sin-infested hovel we have turned the world into and by the power of the bloody and unjust crucifixion of his own incarnate self, cleans, redeems, transforms and ushers both us and it into the joy of his eternal kingdom.
In Christ Jesus, God brings humanity into union and communion with the very essence of who he is. We are one with him by his action on our behalf, not for our own sakes, but for the sake of Christ, who became for us the perfect human.
If we are in him, we are in union with God, not as Gods, but as humans in union with the God/man, Jesus, who is human and divine for our sakes.
Our continual communion, or fellowship, with him is a continual confirmation of and participation in that grand truth--we are God's children in Christ.
We must not get the idea that God has to create, or that creation necessarily (that is, automatically must, like a fire must produce heat) flows from him. God creates entirely in his divine freedom, not because he is a creation machine.
Nor must we get the idea that God creates because he is lonely, or because there was something "missing" in God that compelled him to create. God is not lonely. The triune God is utterly complete in every way, including in love, joy and perfection, without the creation.
God does not need the creation. God does not depend on the creation. The creation does not add anything to God that God "lacked." The creation happened because God freely made it happen in the abundance of his joy and love, not because he had to or needed to, but simply because he wanted to.
So when we talk about God's covenant faithfulness, we can begin to see how certain our trust in God can be. God brought the worlds into being for the sheer joy of it, redeemed humanity because he loved the people he made, and holds all things, all existence, including yours and mine, in the palm of his hand.
We can trust him because we know we exist only because he says so. If he has gone to all the trouble, while we were still his enemies, to redeem us through his death on the cross (the hard part), for crying out loud, how much more certain can we be that he will, now that we are his friends, save us by his life (the easy part) (Romans 5:8-11).
God creates and God redeems because he wants to, not because we asked him to, or got him to, or talked him into it, or convinced him to, or behaved really well. He did it because he is good, because he is love, because he is who he is.
Your behavior is not going to change who God is, nor who God is toward you. If it could, he would not be God, because God cannot be changed by any incantations or spells or nice or naughty deeds you can throw at him.
You cannot manipulate God or coerce him. You can only trust him and receive the good things he has given you, or not trust him and refuse the good things he has given you. You have that freedom, a created freedom that reflects and derives from God's own uncreated divine freedom. It is freedom to trust him, to commune with him, to love him. You can turn it into freedom to reject him if you want, but you don't have to.
If we take as true the biblical assertion that the blood of Christ covers all sin, that he atoned for the whole world (1 John 2:1-2), then we can begin to see how election, in the sense of being chosen by God to be his people only by his grace and not by works, applies, through Christ, to everybody (Ephesians 1:9-10). It is received and enjoyed only by those who accept it in faith, but it applies to everyone.
When it comes to assurance of salvation, we trust in God who justifies the ungodly, which we are. We are saved by grace alone, not by our works, so our assurance rests in the incontrovertible word of the God of free grace.
Here is what we know, then, by the testimony of Jesus Christ, to be certain: God loves us, and we do not have to fear that we won't be saved.
He saves us in spite of our sins because he is faithful and full of grace. The only people who will not enjoy his salvation are those who do not want to be caught dead with a holy God who consorts with sinners.
Now someone will say that in this treatment of predestination I have oversimplified a complex theological matter, and no doubt I have.
But God calls on us to trust him. Either he means it or he doesn't. I believe he does mean it. And if I am to trust him, I have to know that my relationship with him matters. I have to know that I am more than a hapless cog in a deterministic gristmill of human pain, sorrow and tragedy.
I have to know that God loves me, that he loves me so much that he sent his own Son to bail me out of a lifetime of horrible decisions, fool's errands and sin by taking all of it on himself in my place, even though I didn't even begin to deserve such mercy. I tell you what, you can trust a God like that. You can throw in your lot with him and follow him to the ends of the earth, because you owe him your life now and forever.
Devoted and faithful Christian theologians have struggled throughout the centuries to find adequate words and concepts to inform our faith about how God exercises his sovereignty in the world. They do not always agree. Still the Christian struggle to understand and talk about God theologically is a worthy pursuit. It reflects our desire as Christians to use the reasoning powers God has given us to seek greater understanding of our biblically grounded and personally experienced faith.
Please do not take anything I have written here to mean that I think people who hold the TULIP position are in any way "lesser" Christians than those who don't. That would be a great mistake. Christians are people who put their faith in Jesus Christ, pure and simple. We are not measured by our theologies, but by God's grace freely given to us in Jesus Christ. Our faith is in him, not in theology books. Theology is important, but it is not the root of our salvation, Jesus is.
Though we may disagree with one another on certain nonessential points (none of us has perfect understanding), as believers we are all God's children, washed in the blood of our Savior, and he calls on us to love one another.
In Christ, we can respect one another's views, hear the issues that we each raise, form in humility our own conclusions, and still love one another as fellow partakers of the mercies of God.
Window on the
World
By Randal Dick
Superintendent of missions
Pardon a headline that sounds a little bit like The National Enquirer, but here is a story too good not to share. It involves a wonderful woman with a beautiful attitude and a simple but profound faith. I hope this story edifies you as much as it has my staff and me.
About a year ago I wrote a Window on the World article featuring a congregation in the Philippines that was determined not to reduce their financial commitment to the gospel, so they employed what they called a faith-promise program, thereby raising the necessary funds. (WN December 1999). A couple of months later, I wrote about the outstanding example of the Faith Orphanage in Zambia. Subsequently the message below was forwarded to me.
I am a longtime member. I have a faith promise that I want to send to Randal Dick for the Faith Orphanage Foundation in Zambia. I don't know who to make the check out to, nor do I know where to send it. I thank you for any help you can send me.
Love, hugs and prayers to all.
I wrote back offering to help the woman connect directly with the orphanage. I expressed an interest in knowing her story. She responded with the message below.
I am a widow and I am 63 and am not employed. God placed it on my heart to send something to the orphanage, and I said something like: How, Lord? I send money to the church, and I have no extra money to send to the orphanage. But I told him if he sent me the money, I would send it. It is a long story, He did and I will, so thanks for your help.
Love, hugs and prayers to all.
I wrote back to Mrs. X, telling her that I found her story inspiring and would she mind if I shared it with others in Window on the World? I received back the following:
I do not mind sharing my story. but please do not put my name on it if it is published, as this is something between God and me, and I do not intend for it to be talked about with others, but if my story would be encouraging to others, then share it, without my name, please.
If you do publish it, can you send me a copy of it? I have a webtv unit (I am a 63-year-old widow, and I am trying to learn this computer stuff, ha ha, don't want to be left in the dust) but I cannot print anything. I can just surf the net and send e-mails.
A little background, so you will understand where I am coming from.
I picked up the December 1999 issue to see what articles I had not yet read--only two or so, and one of them was yours on faith promise giving on pages 22-23.
After I read it, I thought, Wow, isn't that great? I started talking to God about it and then I told God something like, Father, I am on a fixed income. I am 63, a widow and because of health problems, I can't work, but I would love to do this, so I tell you what. You give me (x number of dollars ) and I will send it to the Faith Orphanage.
I don't know how you are going to do it. It will be exciting to see how you do it, because I don't know of any money I have coming to me from anywhere, but I will send that money as you give it to me, all at once or however you send it to me.
The next day or so, my uncle talked to me (he lives about 180 miles from me) and asked if I would help him, to go and check up on my aunt who lives on a farm. She is a widow and elderly.
I said that I do go every now and then, and will go more often if you wish. He said he wanted to pay me, and I said, No, you don't need to do that, I will be glad to do it.
He said, No, I couldn't do it for him if he couldn't pay me. So I said OK, I would. He is my only uncle left in the family now.
To make a long story short, I have done a lot of leg work for him, since he lives so far away, and emergencies have come up that he could not get down here for, such as plumbing problems and picking up tax papers and sending them to him.
When he paid me, it was more than I thought it should be, and I told him I would get change for the big bill, and he said, No, all of it was for me. I said that is too much and then I realized I had the beginnings of the amount I had promised God to send if he gave me the money. I was so happy and excited.
Since God is getting the glory and all the credit here, I will tell you the amount I told him I would faith promise to give to the orphanage--$500--and I have $100 of it already. I will keep in touch with you as God gives me the rest of the money to send to the orphanage.
Love, hugs and prayers to all, and thanks for all your help to me with this, it is much appreciated.
Well, today I wired the faith-promised money to Faith Orphanage Foundation. When I first went to my bank to find out how much it would cost to wire the money to Zambia, the woman said $40. I left and I was disappointed because I did not want to take $40 from the promised money just to wire it there.
So I e-mailed the Faith Orphanage to see if I just couldn't send them a check? I didn't hear from them for some time, so since I now had the full promised money I wanted to know what to do.
So I e-mailed them again. I got an e-mail back apologizing for the delay in answering me. They said that it was really best to wire it. As I went to the bank the thought came to me, Ask them since it is a donation to an orphanage, would the bank consider waiving the wire fee?
This time I had a different woman to help me, and I asked her and she didn't know, but she went to ask someone, and I silently told God, I will add the wire fee to the amount if I don't have to pay it.
She came back and said yes they would waive the fee to send it. I asked how much would it have been if I had had to pay, and she said $15, so I said to add $20 to the amount I am wiring and she did.
I faith-promised in March a certain amount. From March to this month it added up to that amount and a little extra, so even the $20 that was added to the faith promise amount was from God. None of this money was earned.
One day I found a penny and that was added to the faith- promise amount. God tells us if we are faithful in little we will be faithful in much.
Got to go for now. Take care. I send my love, hugs to all and prayers.
Mrs. X, it is inspiring to see how you seek to plant yourself squarely in the path of Christ's will. Thank you for sharing your story, and may God continue to richly bless your faith.
From Bill and Daphne Sidney
By Arlano S. Aquino
QUEZON CITY, Philippines - Two events have placed the Philippines before the international community.
One is the dumpsite tragedy near Manila. The other is tension between the government and a rebel group in the southern part of the archipelago. Both events dragged down what is already a bad economy. Though there is little trust in the current government, most of the poor still hope that the president will carry on with his promises for them.
The country's worsening economy and other social problems are affecting everyone, including the WCG in the Philippines. It has presented tough challenges to our church leaders and members alike. We thank God for our people's faithfulness and their sacrificial, positive response. We thank him also for how he has used his people's humble efforts to bless others.
In September last year the church moved to another office. This new office, once a residence, now belongs to the church. The move and sale of the church property cushioned the effect of the plummeting economy.
Income, however, was down for the opening months of the year. Several pastors retired from full-time ministry. We have had to dig deep. In the areas affected, pastoral teams were installed. Our men and women who have full-time jobs volunteered to help take care of the churches with no resident pastor.
Meanwhile, area coordinators were set up in the field ministry structure late last year to coordinate our full-time and bi-vocational pastors serving 60 churches and 23 outlying Bible studies. Five ministry areas were identified. Area coordinators are responsible for providing administrative leadership, encouragement and mentoring to ministers in the church.
Low income also affected the media work of the church. New Life--Asia, the church's flagship magazine, which started in January 1997, came out with its last issue in June. Until finances allow us to print the magazine again, NLA articles shall be posted on the Internet. Once the WCG Philippines website gets activated, we hope to post not just NLA articles but a Bible study correspondence course as well.
Regional director William Sidney summarized the church's present thrust with these words: Build up the local congregations and equip the brethren. Already many of our local churches are involved in various outreach programs. To sustain the efforts of the members, the local church, which serves as a base, needs to be strengthened and built up. To help increase their effectiveness in evangelism and witness, they need to be equipped even further.
The training arm of the church, the Leadership Development Institute, is currently running a Servant-Leaders Development Program. The program is open to all members and is given through local churches.
It is composed of 18 eight-hour modules composed of such topics as Gospels, family life, counseling, church administration and WCG Statement of Beliefs. The modules are grouped into four categories: Bible, spiritual formation, relationships and servant-leaders skills.
Every Wednesday night since May, we have conducted the Foundations for Christian Leadership (FCL) seminar at the regional office. Fifty of our servant-leaders throughout the Metro Manila area attend this weekly class. FCL, a non-formal training program for pastors, was designed by the International School of Theology in Asia, the seminary established by Bill Bright and Campus Crusade for Christ. Graduates and faculty of the seminary teach the program to our people.
The church continues to equip members with the Condensed World Mission Course. Three hundred of our members nationwide have completed the eight-day course.
We have at present five missionary families serving in several communities. One woman now serves as a teacher-missionary in China. A worshiping community has grown up in one cultural minority group in Bicol, an area in the southern tip of Luzon.
Mission work is a priority of the church. As God provides the means, we continue to reach out to people groups who have not yet heard of the gospel.
Incidentally, another kind of equipping was extended to the larger Christian community in the Philippines in July. Through the Leadership Development Institute, the church partnered with Food for the Hungry Philippines to conduct an event called Vision Conference: Biblical Vision and Skills for Wholistic Ministry.
The conference brought together church leaders and workers from two branches of Christianity in the Philippines: the evangelical and mainline Protestant denominations. Vision conferences were conducted in three key cities around the country: Davao, Cebu and Manila. A number of our pastors and members helped organized the seminars.
As of this writing, God has added to the church about 270 new people this year. This was made possible by the greater involvement of our brethren in personal and group evangelism. Our people are reaching out through Evangelism Explosion, the Four Spiritual Laws, and the Daily Vacation Bible Study program.
Many started with the Jesus film and followed it through with Bible study sessions. Others responded to the needs around them, providing relief goods or medical services. Some of our churches for instance pooled resources together to help those who lost homes and family in the country's Payatas dumpsite tragedy.
Another area where our brethren have made a difference is in childhood education. Two of our churches in Mindanao, the southern part of the country, have day care programs for the children in the community. The day care centers are now in their third year.
The church has also made its mark in helping people earn a living through the Federation of Share Cooperatives or FESCO. FESCO's livelihood program (through paper card-making and decoration) continues to help more and more people. One of our missionaries who serves in the Visayas, the middle part of the Philippines, has introduced the card program to the communities in his area. His work led the local government to tap him for its livelihood and moral recovery initiatives.
For the WCG in the Philippines, it is a time of rebuilding for the future. The transition of the last few years is now behind us. A growing peace now exists among our people. Local churches are settling down. People are coming back. New faces are coming in. We thank the Lord for his grace.
And by his grace, we will not rest yet. Much still needs to be done. We need to know more and live out better what it means to have Christ as the center and goal of our lives. We are learning what it means to be a praying, giving, worshiping and witnessing community. God is still teaching us how to walk and work together with brethren in other fellowships. Our skill in providing a wholistic ministry needs sharpening.
Furthermore, we need to reclaim our children and our youths. We need to regroup our singles and seniors. And we are learning what it means to live as a church family once again. One family--diverse yet one. With one soul and purpose. One God, one Lord, one Spirit.
NEW MEMBERS--27 new members were baptized Feb. 27
in La Union. [Photo courtesy of Jerry Ortiguero]
NEW PHILIPPINES REGIONAL OFFICE
[Photo by Edwin Orogo]
SAN RAFAEL--Bicol and San Rafael
brethren after the inauguration of the
San Rafael church Jan. 23.
[Photo courtesy of Abelardo Balisnomo]
ZAMBOANGA CITY--Graduates of the Little
Friends Day Care Center.
[Photo courtesy of Nilo Belarmino]
CARD DECORATING--Gloria Ortiguero, wife of
Pastor Jerry Ortiguero, conducts training on card decorating.
[Photo by Sheila dela Pena]
PASADENA--Denominational leaders, Summer Educational Program (SEP) camp directors and youth pastors gathered at denominational headquarters Sept. 2 to 4 to pray, discuss and plan for a strategic focus on young adult, teen and children's ministries.
The meeting was convened by Dan Rogers, superintendent of ministers, to address the need for involving young people in the mission of the church.
Mr. Rogers explained that "youths are not just the future of our denomination, they are our present. We want our youths to be actively involved in our congregations, in their communities, and in the world at large."
Ted Johnston, district superintendent from Akron, Ohio, facilitated three days of discussions pertaining to how the denomination plans to be more intentional about youth ministry. The discussions began with an affirmation that the denomination values its young people.
The discussion then focused on a denominational vision and mission for youth ministry. The consensus was that at least part of the denomination's mission is to minister to its young people by
* exposing them to the gospel and bringing them into the presence of Christ
* preparing, equipping and releasing youths for ministry in their congregations, their communities and in the world at large
* developing a committed Christian community in which all generations are valued and loved.
This was followed by a discussion of strategic plans to fulfill the mission.
Dave Smith, who has served in youth ministry in the Worldwide Church of God and has earned a master's degree in youth ministry from Azusa Pacific University, urged the team to remember that these efforts must not be confined to an inward focus on the denomination.
"We must look at every opportunity as an excuse to spread the gospel," Mr. Smith explained. "That includes many opportunities that are available outside our denomination."
Barb Egbert, assistant SEP director, expressed delight in the overt and intentional statement of values that came from the meetings. "We need to explicitly tell our young people how much they mean to us," she said. "These meetings are an important step in sending a clear message that our youths are very important to us, just as they are to Jesus."
The committee urges all members of the Worldwide Church of God to reach out to all of our young people and to affirm their value to God and to the church. They also asked Worldwide Church of God members to pray that God would do a mighty work in and through the young people of the church.
YOUTH MINISTRY SUMMIT--Youth ministry leaders meet Sept. 3 at denominational
headquarters to pray, discuss and plan for a strategic focus on young adult, teen and
children's ministries. Dan Rogers, superintendent of ministers, explained that
"youths are not just the future of our denomination, they are our present. We want
our youths to be actively involved in our congregations, in their communities, and in the
world at large." [Photos by Thomas C. Hanson]
By Ted Johnston
Akron, Ohio, district superintendent
As we proceed with a process of strategic planning for youth ministry in the Worldwide Church of God in the United States we are asking three key questions:
1. Why youth ministry? (What are our core values?)
2. What should youth ministry be? (What is our mission?)
3. How should youth ministry be conducted? (What is our strategy?)
Through much prayer and discussion during the last several months and in meetings in Pasadena over Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2 to 4, we are sensing new answers to these important questions.
In particular, we sense God leading us to understand that youth ministry in our fellowship is to be grounded upon the following core values and directed toward the fulfillment of the following mission.
We sense God leading us to base all we do in youth ministry on the following essential beliefs about God, God's will and the church's appropriate response:
* God deeply loves all youths.
It is the appropriate response of the church to value and cherish youths.
* By God's design, youths are relational beings.
It is the appropriate response of the church to provide a relationally based youth ministry.
* The Holy Spirit is drawing and gifting youths for lifelong, personal relationships of devoted service to Jesus Christ.
It is the appropriate response of the church to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in actively evangelizing and discipling youths.
* God is the Creator of families and often draws people to his Son working in and through families.
It is the appropriate response of the church to work with youths in partnership with their families wherever possible.
Grounded firmly in these core values we feel led to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in pursuing the following two-part mission for youth ministry:
* Create an environment in which youths are exposed to the gospel and brought into the presence of Jesus Christ.
* Prepare, equip and release the youths for ministry in their congregations, their communities and in the world at large.
By Greg
Williams
Pastor, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Dillon, South Carolina
One of the important strategic tools for youth ministry is to facilitate gatherings of youths where the mission for youth ministry can be pursued. One such opportunity that we see emerging is Discovery Weekends.
What is a Discovery Weekend? Simply put, it is a vehicle to provide strategic evangelistic ministry for our youths. These weekends are relationally based and offer quality recreational activities, but make no mistake, their primary purpose is to make Jesus known!
Why Discovery Weekends? The first step of our youth ministry mission is to create an environment in which youths are brought into the presence of Jesus Christ. Coming to a facility where creation can be enjoyed, and where a large group of youths are gathered for an extended stay sets the stage for some wonderful things to happen.
Then, we insert a gifted preacher of the gospel and a youth-friendly worship leader. This combination of factors has proved to be successful and is worth duplicating in all our U.S. districts.
Our youth ministry mission progresses further into discipleship and leadership training, ultimately launching our youths into ministry. This is the vision, but it begins with discovery, the discovery of Jesus Christ as personal Savior. We have to concentrate on doing this first step well or we will never get to steps two and three.
As part of the newly formed youth ministry advisory team, I am available to assist the various districts in the coordination of Discovery Weekends. As requests come in, I will develop a master calendar that will appear on the SEP website, and coordinate guest speakers and worship leaders who can come to share the gospel in a compelling way. Thousands of young people are out there who need to discover Jesus. Let's get started!
By Adrienne
Pickett
FORT WORTH, Texas--Sixty-two people gathered Aug. 12 for a reconciliation service for the teens and leadership of the Fort Worth congregations.
After much prayer asking for God's presence and direction, the service started with comments from Pastor Tom Pickett. Mr. Pickett apologized and asked forgiveness on behalf of our church for hurts that the teens had suffered because of our works-based approach to religion.
This was followed by comments made by elder Max Devereaux, in which he confessed and apologized for his participation in turning teens away at times of their deepest need for love and support.
Deacon James Godwin, of African-American descent, confessed his lack of standing up for his teen sons when he saw expressions of prejudice directed toward them.
Other church leaders made comments and confessions regarding the lack of honor and respect toward teens that has existed in our fellowship through the years.
Deacon James Welshans confessed that even though he did not have children of his own, he realized that he tended to avoid teens. He said a prayer asking for forgiveness and for unification between adults and teens.
Nicole Moore, a young adult who had grown up in the Fort Worth congregation, then stood. She expressed her appreciation for all the time and effort the adults had so lovingly given through the years, so that the teens could enjoy numerous fun activities.
This period of confession and repentance was followed by a ceremony marking the inclusion of teens as active, viable members of our congregation. An ornamental sword was used to represent the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) and the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12) expressing the leadership of Jesus Christ. This mantle of leadership was passed to the 17 teens in attendance.
Our adult leaders took turns passing the sword to individual teens asking if they were willing to accept the leadership being offered. All of the teens accepted the mantle of leadership. The adults then washed the feet of the teens. The evening concluded with adults and teens coming to and sharing the Lord's Table.
"It was a meaningful experience," said Andrew Fredrikson. His sister, Julia, commented, "It was an exciting and happy occasion." Daniel Starks said: "It was just a really healing time for our church. There has always been a gap between the youths and the adults. This was the first step in bringing us closer together."
Jason Orth said: "It was such an awesome night. The Holy Spirit was so alive in the building. I could feel the presence of God. The leaders showed that they and God care for us deeply. It was a great experience."
Jason's mother, Brenda, commented: "I think many will look back at this ceremony as one more step toward healing. The adults and children are learning to appreciate one another and not be afraid to speak from their hearts. The adults verbalized to the children how special they are to God and to our church."
At the end of this service, we felt that true reconciliation had occurred. We felt a sense of unity in the spirit of Jesus. Since this service, the teens have stepped forward and have truly become involved in our weekly worship service.
Regardt van den Bergh, director of Visual Bible's Matthew video, was a surprise attendee of the evening. He had spoken to our brethren several months previous, so he felt at home with us. He commented afterward that he could have made some comments, but felt he should just observe.
He said: "I felt like an outsider with my face to the window viewing a private, intimate family gathering. I was blessed by it."
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia--Twins Avery and Lydia Johnson were among seven recipients of scholarships from the Careers Through the Culinary Arts Program. They each received $40,000 to complete their education in culinary arts.
To qualify, the students had to display their cooking skills by preparing poached chicken, with chive sauce and crepes filled with pastry creme and chocolate sauce.
The Johnson twins, graduates of Bayside High School in Virginia Beach, will begin their studies at Johnson & Wales University in Norfolk, Virginia. They attend the New Creation Community Church, a congregation of the WCG, in Norfolk with their mother, Judy.
Avery Johnson
Lydia Johnson
By Mervin Walton
WASHINGTON, D.C.--WCG members joined 75,000 other Christians from around the country, and from as far away as Australia, at the CallDC in Washington Sept. 2.
The CallDC was a day of fasting and prayer for the nation, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a special emphasis on youths. It was conceived in part as a response to the Promise Keepers Stand in the Gap meeting in Washington in 1997, in which men were exhorted to lead their families in a walk with God.
The CallDC stressed reconciliation of the youths to their parents and a commitment to set a godly example on their school and college campuses, and pray for and evangelize their peers.
The rally began at 6 a.m. with prayer led by Pastor Che Ahn of Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena, one of the initial sponsors of the inter-denominational event. Corinthia Boone, a Washington area minister, officially welcomed the attendees to the city.
A cross section of the Christian church was represented throughout the day. Native American musicians and dancers led worship and prayed, Jewish Christians led in prayer for Israel, Catholic youths prayed, Asian-American, African-American and other ethnic groups were represented as well.
Youth leaders were prominently featured throughout the day, giving powerful testimonies of their walk with God and successful evangelizing of peers.
The day was organized around five major themes, revelation, repentance, reconciliation, revival and revolution. Prayer was focused around these themes, and giant television screens displayed the current theme at each transition.
Pastor Lou Engle, also from Harvest Rock Church, discussed God's inspiration for the CallDC, while Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) repented on behalf of the U.S. government for the 40 million abortions in our nation since abortion was legalized.
Coach Bill McCartney of Promise Keepers washed his son's feet as a sign of humility and reconciliation. Parents in the audience washed or kissed their children's feet. Parents repented of the sins of the Baby Boomer generation such as drug abuse that now affect the children.
Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ spoke of being a slave for Christ, and encouraged the youths to dedicate themselves to serve Christ totally. He described how God had used him to establish a major ministry once he and his wife, Vonnette, dedicated themselves to God's service. Ron Luce of Teen Mania challenged the youths to commit to a summer or winter short-term mission trip to reach the lost.
Christian artists including Rebecca St. James and Michael W. Smith led worship. Smith sang a tribute to Cassie Bernall, who was killed at Columbine High School. Darrell Scott, father of Rachel Scott who was killed at Columbine, also addressed the gathering. Students from Columbine lit a martyr's torch and presented it to him on stage, after which it was passed through the crowd.
At the close, youths were commissioned as student missionaries to their schools and colleges, given books and CDs to encourage them in their walk with God, and exhorted to start a spiritual revolution by being bold witnesses and evangelists in speech and life-style.
Worldwide Church of God attendees included Amy Arnold, Wes Leiter, Matt and Micah Royal, Fayetteville, North Carolina; Bill and Davina Winn, Greenville, North Carolina; and Mervin, Laura, Andrew, Aaron and Anthony Walton, Pasadena; and others from Kentucky and other eastern states.
Mervin Walton is an elder in NewLife Fellowship in Pasadena.
T-SHIRT--Anthony
Walton in official T-shirt.
[Photo by Aaron Walton]
THE CALLDC--A day of fasting and prayer. [Photos by Laura Walton]
TV SCREEN--Pastor Che Ahn.
WALTONS--From left: Anthony, Aaron,
Mervin, Andrew and Laura.
SAN
DIEGO, California--Basil Wolverton was elected to the Will Eisner Hall of Fame, along with
five other veteran cartoonists, at the Comic-Con International Convention here July 21.
Mr. Wolverton's illustrations appeared in many WCG publications in the 1950s and 1960s. He was author and illustrator of the Bible Story, published beginning in 1958, and re-released in six volumes in the 1980s. Mr. Wolverton was an established comic book artist in the late 1930s through the early 1950s. He created numerous features, the most popular of which were Spacehawk and Powerhouse Pepper. In the 1950s he produced several fantasy and science fiction comic works. His work also appeared frequently in MAD magazine, which continues to reprint his work from time to time. Wolverton, who died in 1978, was also inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1991.
Jack Kirby (now deceased) and Will Eisner are two of the most influential comic book artists in history. These awards recognize the masters of comic book art for their lifelong contributions to the field. The Eisner Awards are given in a broad range of categories, and are the comic industry's equivalent to the Oscars.
Mr. Wolverton's son, Monte, accepted the award on behalf of his father.
The letter to the Hebrews weaves theology and practical application. After each doctrinal section, it urges the readers to do something as a result. This often takes the form of "Therefore, let us do such and such."
As part of that pattern, chapter 4 begins with the word therefore, meaning that the exhortations we read in chapter 4 are built on a point made earlier. So our study of chapter 4 must begin with a review of chapter 3. Chapter 3 tells us to look to Jesus, because he is superior to the angels and to Moses.
To make the point, he quotes Psalm 95:7-11: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, `Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' So I declared on oath in my anger, `They shall never enter my rest'" (Heb. 3:7-11).
Don't be like your disbelieving, disobedient ancestors, he says. They refused God so many times that he set them aside and shut them out. Don't test his patience, he seems to say. Listen to what God is saying now.
To develop this point, he elaborates on the last part of the quote from Psalm 95: "They shall never enter my rest." What is this rest, and what can we learn from it in connection with Jesus? This brings us to chapter 4.
"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it" (4:1). We can paraphrase the thought in this way: God makes it possible for us to enter his rest, so we need to make sure that we accept his offer. If we do not keep our faith in him (the main exhortation of this book), we will fail to enter.
How do we enter? Verse 2 tells us, "For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith." The author urges us to be diligent, then he talks about the gospel. This implies that we enter God's rest by means of the gospel.
The ancient Israelites had the gospel in a veiled form, in symbols such as the bronze snake, the washings, the sacrifices and festivals. But despite the miracles, the people did not have faith in God and the message did not do them any good.
We do not have to make the same mistake. "Now we who have believed enter that rest" (v. 3). Believe what? Believe the gospel. All who look to Jesus, who have faith in Jesus, are entering God's rest.
But wait! Didn't God rest thousands of years ago? How can it be possible for us to enter something that is long gone? The author deals with this by bringing up the objection: "And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: `And on the seventh day God rested from all his work' " (vs. 3-4).
Genesis tells us that God rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2). That is, he had finished the creation. (He continues to work in the sense of upholding all things.) But the author of Hebrews observes that God's work has been finished ever since, which means that God is still resting.
God is still in his rest, and it is open for humans to enter. It was available for the ancient Israelites; otherwise there would be no point in saying, "They shall never enter my rest" (v. 5). Even though they refused to enter, God's rest was available to them.
God's rest is available to us, too: "It still remains that some will enter that rest" (v. 6). The offer is still open, and it is made even more clear and compelling through Jesus Christ.
The Israelites at the time of Moses, "who formerly had the gospel preached to them, did not go in, because of their disobedience" (v. 6). Their disobedience was evidence of their lack of faith. They did not believe that God would give them what he had promised.
"Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: `Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts'" (v. 7). Many years after Moses, God again spoke about rest, urging people to not harden their hearts and thereby fail to enter his rest. Hear him today, David urged. The offer was still good. People could enter God's rest, could be secure in his promise, if they listened with faith and willingness.
The author then eliminates another possibility: "For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day" (v. 8). The "rest" that Psalm 95 was speaking of was not the promised land. It was something that the Israelites, with few exceptions, failed to enter. They did not respond to God with faith and willingness.
The author then concludes: "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God" (v. 9). Is he bringing up a new subject? No--he is still on the same subject, using different words to develop it further. He is saying, Since people did not enter God's rest in Moses' day, nor in Joshua's day, and yet we are still exhorted in the Psalms about God's rest, the conclusion is that this rest still remains for the people of God today. It is still available.
Why does he call this a Sabbath-rest? He is not slipping in a command for the seventh-day Sabbath. That would be totally out of context. His exhortation throughout this book is telling Jewish people to look to Jesus. He is not urging them to do a better job of keeping Jewish customs.
The ancient Israelites, who had the Sabbath, did not enter the rest he is talking about. God's rest is entered by faith--by believing the gospel (vs. 3-4). The author is not interested in a day of the week--he is concerned about how people respond to Jesus. A person who keeps the weekly Sabbath but rejects Christ has not entered God's rest. We enter God's rest only by believing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Why then does he call this a Sabbath-rest? By using this word, he indicates that this is what the Sabbath pointed to. Just as the bronze snake pointed to Jesus' crucifixion, and the washings pointed to forgiveness, and the sacrifices pointed to Jesus, similarly, the weekly Sabbath pointed to something spiritual: our rest through faith in Christ.
It is available--we may enter God's rest. Don't put it off--do it today!
"Anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his" (v. 10). God rested from his creative work, but what kind of work do we rest from? What do we quit doing when we come to have faith in Christ? The work of trying to earn our salvation, the work of trying to qualify for the kingdom. When we look to Jesus for our salvation, we quit looking to ourselves.
The author again draws a practical conclusion: "Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience" (v. 11). Since the rest is available to us, let's enter it with faith. Ironically this requires effort, not passivity. If we disobey God by refusing his Son, we will fall!
Why should we be so careful to respond? "For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (v. 12).
Just as Psalm 95 said, we must hear God's message with faith and obedience. His word contains both promise and command. It calls for our response. And as Hebrews 4:13 says, nothing is hidden from God's sight. He sees everything we do and knows our thoughts, and we must give account to him. That is why we must respond, while it is yet today, with faith in Jesus Christ.
Then comes another practical application: "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess" (v. 14). Again, the exhortation is not to a day of the week, but to Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Here's the thought of the entire chapter: Since God's rest is available to us and God judges us on how we respond, we need to keep believing in Jesus, because he is the one we need. He became human, so he understands our weaknesses, but he lived without sin, so he can be our Savior.
Hebrews 2:16-18 tells us that Jesus became human so he could save us humans. "He had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
Since Jesus has done this, we can be sure that he will help us now. "We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin" (4:15). Jesus knows what it's like to suffer and to be tempted to quit. He can strengthen us, if we trust him.
We need rest, and Jesus offers us rest. Today, if you hear his word, believe it, and enter his rest.
Michael Morrison
By Susan Goodfriend
MIDDLETOWN, New York--For two and a half years, children in Middletown have been involved in a Hugs Through the Mail program where they create cards for those who need them (for example: get well, missing you, encouragement).
The children, ages 4 to 15, take blank cards and put their own designs and messages on them. After that I take them home and mail them on Monday morning.
People who have received these cards have said how much it means to them when they open a card from the children. The children have great joy in doing this program. They feel they are involved in the church, and they are sharing God's love with others.
Some of the older children help the younger children with their cards. This program shows the youngsters that they can let their lights shine as well.
If you know of anyone who could use an uplifting card, contact Susan Goodfriend at sgood42@juno.com or sue_goodfriend16@hotmail.com
PASADENA--Carmel Dizon, 12, a student at Linda Vista Elementary School, was honored for outstanding academic achievement in the President's Education Awards Program during the 1999-2000 school year.
Carmel received a
certificate and a letter
from President Bill Clinton.
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma--Young people from Oklahoma and North Texas attended a camp Aug. 4 to 6 called Teens for Christ 2000 or T4C-Y2K, put together by Joe Tollison of the Lawton, Oklahoma, church.
The theme for the weekend was God's love and his plan of salvation. In attendance were 53 teens, 15 young adults and 10 adults.
The 316 Praise Team from Oklahoma City and Crystal Cartwright from Texas led worship services. Ten young people shared their testimonies. Every testimony was met with tears of joy for what Jesus had done in their lives.
Mr. Tollison delivered four messages on salvation. After each message attendees gathered in small groups to discuss what was taught.
Christian videos were played during the weekend. On Saturday the group enjoyed a private swimming area with canoes and paddle boats and access to the Turner Falls recreational area. Ben Clagget, a Summer Educational Program dance instructor, gave dance lessons, and the day ended with a dance. Afterward, Rachel Heidrich, Sara Kelley and Cole Smith of the Oklahoma City Praise Team took requests for praise songs.
TEEN CAMP--Picture shows teens from various church
areas represented at the camp.
By Roger
Galstad
EAU CLAIRE, Wisconsin--"Place any metal items you have in this tray and then walk through the metal detector."
I complied with this command, but it wasn't until three failed attempts to pass through the detector without setting off the alarm that I finally discovered all the metal objects on my person.
In addition to coins in my pockets and car keys, I had to remove glasses, belt, pen, ring, wristwatch and finally shoes. Then I was allowed past the reception area of the Jackson Correctional Institution in Black River Falls, Wisconsin.
This was not a place I had chosen to come to. In fact, on several occasions in the months preceding my first visit to a prison, I had told myself that I would never serve in a prison ministry. The idea of serving in a prison ministry was not at all appealing. In fact a number of self-justifications had come to mind as to why such a thing would not be practical.
I simply would not fit in with the age, culture or interests of most of the inmates. That justification settled, I went on with other pressing requirements of the bi-vocational ministry and the necessity of making a living.
In March 1997, Pasadena forwarded a letter from a member inmate who was requesting a visit. He had been transferred to Jackson Correctional Institution from another institution.
"Oh no!" God was opening a door, a door into prison, and by his Spirit I was compelled to go through it.
That first visit with Eugene was unforgettable. Every door had to be opened electronically by guards behind control booths enclosed with bullet-proof-glass. The prison staff were trained to be wary of everyone they encountered.
Prison is a spiritually dark place. Most inmates seem to have no desire to consider coming to Christ. Of the more than l,000 inmates in the institution, about l00 attend the Protestant worship service and 25 to 30 attend the weekly Bible studies.
Eugene was imprisoned at age 22 for a murder he committed at age 20. He is a lifer, having been sentenced to life in prison for his crime. About l5 years ago Eugene was baptized by our district superintendent, David Fiedler.
Over the years Eugene gradually lost contact with the church and finally decided to recontact the church to ask for a visit.
I began seeing Eugene every four to six weeks. He was encouraged to participate in the Sunday evening worship service at the institution and the weekly Bible studies. In addition, I encouraged our members to write to him. All of this began to have a positive effect on him.
After a short time, the chaplain, Alan Minshall, began to notice the amount of time and attention I was giving to Eugene, and he invited me to speak on occasion at their Sunday service. Not long after that he asked me to conduct the Tuesday evening Bible Study twice a month.
Because of these opportunities, other inmates began to request personal visits and counseling. It was beginning to become clear that the Holy Spirit was creating a prison ministry, the ministry that I never wanted, and in fact had rejected until he opened the door.
This past December I asked our congregation to join in a 40-day fast. Each of us took one, two, three and even four of the 40 days to fast. The resulting blessings by God have been beyond our expectations.
In the past seven months, positive fruits have been born in both the prison ministry and in our congregation. First of all, I conducted the first baptism in the prison since its inception just over five years ago.
Since January we have had eight baptisms at the prison. In our Eau Claire congregation we have also had four baptisms since January. It is clear that God has been working mightily among us since the January fast.
After working with the inmates in the Bible study group for some time, I can't help but develop a strong affinity and brotherly love for each of them.
On occasion someone is missing, and I later find out that they were transferred to an out-of-state prison because of overcrowding here. It is sad that we had no time to express a good-bye, as they are taken away with little notice. My heart also goes out to those transferees and those released who I never really invited to accept Jesus as Savior. That error has been corrected. Now at every opportunity I boldly invite them to new life in Christ and offer my services to them for baptismal counseling.
In one Bible study I told them: "I am here for your spiritual benefit. If any of you want to come to Christ, be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit, I'm open for business!" This was greeted with cheers, with five inmates raising their hands and one shouting, "I want to be baptized!"
The main lesson I have learned in this God-inspired prison ministry is that we Christians need to make ourselves available to the unsaved and that we need to make it known in no uncertain terms, "I'm open for business!"
By Ronald
Kelly
As has been the case in recent months, the regular donation income is coming in at a fairly predictable clip.
That's the good news, and I once again want to express my appreciation for the dependable giving pattern so many of you are practicing. The not-so-good news is that regular donations, not counting festival and special offerings, are falling four percent below our budget projections.
That means we had projected mail income of $14,350,552 between January and August. The actual income for that period was $13,710,436, or a negative four percent. And while that might not sound like too much, it relates to $640,116 less than we have budgeted.
Other sources of income have been a little higher than projected, so our total income for the year now stands at $20,238,171, which is one percent under budget projections.
Last month I mentioned that our financial planning team, which includes some of our district superintendents and field pastors, is working hard to create a new model for church finances once we have sold the Pasadena property and have relocated to a much, much less expensive facility.
As we work on that new financial model, our goal is to provide a means by which local congregations will have funds available for local evangelism and outreach, perhaps better meeting facilities, and other uses local administrative teams will determine. The amount of funds available will be based, of course, on the amount of total donation income each congregation contributes, minus their share of corporate overheads and fixed expenses.
For example, once a congregation has reached a certain minimal level of donations, contributions in excess of that amount will be available for local determination and use.
What we are working on now is the level of donations necessary to establish an appropriate base level of income that will then allow funds to be available at the local congregation level. Those base amounts will be determined by a formula that takes into consideration donation amounts from 1999 and 2000. The number of members on a local church roll and regular attendance might also be part of the equation.
When we presented this potential model to the district superintendents, they were excited about the possibilities for congregations to have funds available for local outreach and evangelism. They wanted to present our models to their pastors right away. However, the models were not fine-tuned enough to present an actual financial picture.
In the meantime, we are plugging in real donation amounts from each congregation and creating levels or types of congregation for determining base amounts.
I wanted to discuss this new financial plan with you now, hoping it will encourage you to realize we are moving ever closer to our goal to provide local church funding. I also hope you will realize that the amount available for local use will depend on your donation amounts as a congregation.
Your pastor receives a monthly report showing the amount donated by the congregation. He receives only total amounts, never what individual members or families contribute. That report shows how much the congregation donated for the current month vs. the same month one year ago. It also shows how much the total for the year-to-date is compared to the same period the previous year. It will be important for congregations to have that information so they will know what base amounts are necessary before local funding is possible.
For the Month For the Year-to-Date
Income
Donation Income $ 1,796,497 $ 15,955,592
Other income 205,974 4,282,579
Total income 2,002,471 20,238,171
Expenses 2,721,528 22,686,623
Net loss to bank reserves $ (719,057) $ (2,448,452)
ARIMA Trinidad--Attendees at an Evangelism Explosion clinic July 24-29 shared the gospel and as a result 186 people accepted Christ, according to Caribbean regional director Charles Fleming.
The clinic was sponsored by the WCG in collaboration with Coral Ridge Presbyterian church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the National Evangelism Explosion Association of Trinidad and Tobago. Evangelism Explosion is an international ministry that trains church leaders and members to evangelize.
Coral Ridge sent six of its experienced trainers, while the National EE Association of Trinidad and Tobago provided coordination and additional trainers. Seventy-three of the 76 people in attendance are WCG members who came from 15 congregations in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Dominica, Guyana, Martinique, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Venezuela and Antigua.
"The other three are from other churches and represent our commitment to open our training conferences to members of the larger Body of Christ," Mr. Fleming said.
Evangelism Explosion involves on-the-job training. On three successive days, trainers took participants to present the gospel to members of the public, and 186 people accepted Jesus Christ. Members of the Arima congregation will offer discipleship training to them. Some attended the WCG weekly service July 29.
Twenty-eight of the EE participants are teens and young adults, and many of them stayed over in Trinidad for a youth conference July 30 and 31.
"The purpose of this conference was to hear from the youths how we can improve our service to them," Mr. Fleming said. Sixteen teens were baptized during the conference.
FUQUAY-VARINA, North Carolina--Members in the Mid-Atlantic district in their late teens, 20s and 30s gathered at Agape camp Aug. 4 to 6 for a weekend event titled Hearing the Call of God. It focused on young people finding their own place in the work of the gospel and becoming empowered to serve in ministry.
Young adults from Greenville, North Carolina, led praise and worship. At the first service, Friday evening, Aug. 4, Micah Royal explored Isaiah's calling to be a messenger of God and the implications that calling has on our own quest to discover our own calling from God.
In the second service, Saturday evening, elder Mervin Walton of the Pasadena NewLife congregation showed how prayer is an important part of our calling as believers.
The Sunday service brought the weekend to a conclusion as the group joined in a statement of commitment and gathered at the Lord's table to partake of the signs of Christ's body and blood.
The weekend also offered three studies of where and how one can experience Christ's calling to new life and to Christian service. Saturday morning, Matthew Royal led a discussion on how in worship we can hear God's call and also be called to serve. In the second seminar, Micah Royal led a discussion on how relationships with others in the Christian community can be used to point us toward what God is calling us to do.
Mr. Walton led the final seminar, on Sunday, on the calling we have to share our faith. He discussed prayer evangelism, foreign evangelism, prayer for foreign missionaries, middle class street and neighborhood evangelism, and street evangelism to the homeless, runaways and prostitutes.
Some of those in attendance have expressed how the Spirit has moved in their lives, how they feel more empowered to share the gospel with others, how they have been strengthened in their prayer life and how they have made renewed commitments to Christ. Micah Royal.
VALLE CRUCIS, North Carolina--As they have for the past five years, members from the Boone, Hickory and Marion, North Carolina, churches participated in the American Cancer Society's 24-hour Relay for Life, June 9 and 10.
Relay for Life raises money to support research, education, advocacy and patient services.
The WCG relay team had 12 members. They raised more than $4,000 and walked 100 miles. Members participated in several other areas, including Chief Terry Combs of the Cove Creek Volunteer Fire Department, who provided traffic control.
Pastor Paul David Kurts gave the invocation, and Brian Clark sang the national anthem. The walking began with 150 cancer survivors, including member Carolyn L. Tedder, a four-year survivor, making the first lap around the track. After the survivors completed their first lap, others joined in the walking.
The luminary service was next. Luminaries were purchased for $10 before the relay in memory of loved ones who have lost their battle with cancer or in honor of survivors who have either won their fight or are still fighting. After the luminaries are lit, they burn all night.
Two WCG team members, Laura Price and Patrick Miller, unannounced to the rest of the group, changed their October wedding date to June 10. Mr. Kurts performed the ceremony.
MIAMI, Florida--The North Miami church has a ministry, the Children's Missions of Central America. Each week donations are collected for this mission. So far 373 pounds of new clothing, shoes and school supplies, along with $1,991.75 have been sent to Honduras and Guatemala for this cause.
TACA Airlines shipped the supplies for $130, a 50 percent discount. The North Miami church donated the shipping costs.
Juan Laguer, an elder in North Miami, arrived in Honduras June 22 to bring joy and gladness to many. He visited Democracia, a community in northern Honduras where a mission supports 55 children. About 80 percent of the children here have come to Christ apart from their parents.
That evening, Mr. Laguer gave the sermon, then got together with the children and played Christian music and games using a gift of a portable entertainment center. Each child has a Bible, and the North Miami church plans to send more to accommodate the new children.
Next Mr. Laguer went to St. Angel, where Mr. and Mrs. Torres are deacon and deaconess. They care for 22 children from one-parent homes. They have Sunday classes for the children, and have asked for the congregation's help as they need Bibles and school supplies. The congregation there has about 40 members.
Mr. Laguer arrived in San Salvador June 25 and stayed with Pastor Arguello for a week. Here they have disabled children who need medicine and vitamins. The North Miami congregation will help with donations of clothing, Bibles and school supplies. Business suppliers will donate medical supplies and vitamins.
Next, Mr. Laguer went to San Andres, Guatemala, arriving there Sunday, July 2. He then visited Villa Nueva and met with the pastor. About six members meet weekly.
Mr. Laguer then went to visit the Alana family in northern Guatemala. The father, Edwin Alana, is suffering from a broken shoulder from a farm accident. The mother, Tita, suffers with gastritis and a hernia. They need medicine and trips to the doctor, which isn't easy as they live about six hours by bus from Guatemala City.
For more information, contact Jim or Linda Brann, 14630 SW 14 St., Davie, Florida, 33325, phone 1-954-472-4069, e-mail jimbrann@ email.msn.com Jim Brann.
BEND, Oregon--Jim and Sue Brannan left for Arequipa,
Peru, Sept. 22 to serve as full-time missionaries.
"One of the more rewarding aspects of pastoring a church is seeing those whom God has placed in your care grow and mature in their Christian walk," said Pastor Robin Chester. "After having gone on several short-term mission trips, Jim and Sue Brannan have responded to the Lord's call upon their lives by becoming full-time missionaries."
The Brannans were accepted as field coordinators by Missionary Ventures International. As field coordinators, they will function as a bridge between North American involvement and the local Christian leadership.
The Brannans will be hosts for team mission trips that will assist them in the establishment of Christian leadership, churches and ministries, and channel resources such as tools and equipment and financial support to these churches.
Mr. and Mrs. Brannan will get to know pastors and churches in Arequipa to understand their needs to determine how MVI can support them in helping their own people.
You can send e-mail to the Brannans at jbrannan@coinet.com
BONN, Germany--The Bonn church took part in the annual Muensterplatz-Festival (named after the main cathedral on Muensterplatz) Aug. 15, organized by the Evangelical Alliance (EA) Bonn.
This was the first time the Bonn congregation had a booth. They offered their bi-monthly magazine Nachfolge (Discipleship) and other WCG literature and showed WCG videos.
"I believe we all were able to witness that the WCG indeed has a fu