Pastors or designated associate pastors from about a dozen churches around Kootenai County, Idaho, gathered in Coeur d’Alene to seek the direction of Jesus Christ.

Glen Weber, Worldwide Church of God pastor in Coeur d’Alene, facilitated the event. Page 3.

As important as the conception and birth of Jesus are to our faith, that is not the primary focus we carry into the world, writes Joseph Tkach in this month’s Personal.

When Paul preached in Corinth, he preached a much more provocative message: Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23). Page 6.

Did it really happen? asks J. Michael Feazell in "Spread the Word: He’s Alive."

Because if Jesus Christ really died on a Roman cross and was raised again to life, it changes everything. Page 8.

Yong Chin Gee and Wong Mein Kong returned home to Malaysia Feb. 19 from a trip to Indonesia during which they conducted meetings with several pastors who desire to become part of our fellowship.

They have no denominational affiliation and represent scattered members over a number of Indonesian islands.

"We are pleased and privileged to have opened a dialogue with these pastors," Mr. Yong said. Page 15.

The latest Discovery Weekends took place in Prescott, Arizona; Estes Park, Colorado; and Bellefontaine, Ohio. Teens in Phoenix, Arizona; and Minneapolis, Minnesota, took part in World Vision’s 30-hour famine. Utica, New York, teens had a praise and worship service and lock-in. Pages 17 to 19.

Curtis May, director of the church’s Office of Reconciliation Ministries, participated in a training session for church leaders, missionaries, church planters and African Enterprise board members from 15 countries Feb. 12 to 17 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Mr. May is a member of the U.S. board of African Enterprise. Page 20.

February mail income was $1.48 million, down 14 percent from last year, reports controller Ron Kelly.

Our combined mail and seasonal offering income for the first two months of the year stands at $3 million. Page 24.

Why I love the WCG

I want to thank Geoff Pittman for that profoundly moving article ["Why I Love the WCG," March WN]. It is such a blessing to hear from someone who has chosen to stay with our fellowship and take part in the spiritual revival among our young adults.

As a member in her 20s, looking around at my local congregation it is a large comfort to know that there are still a few people willing to stick it out and champion our fellowship.

And as an Ambassador University graduate and single person, I can honestly say thanks for hanging in there and representing all of us who remain in a positive way that I know is making a difference in people’s lives.

Sara Dean

Sherman Oaks, California

Emotional struggle

The following is from Ted Johnston, superintendent of the Northern Lakes district.

I have been blessed and deeply moved by steps my youngest sister has taken. She lives in Tucson, Arizona, and had not attended a service of the WCG since she was a teen. She grew up in the WCG but was deeply hurt by our former legalistic practices. In the intervening years she has struggled emotionally to try to get some perspective and to try to forgive and move on.

It hasn’t been until the last couple of years that she has made significant progress. She has been helped by some caring and skilled therapists, but most of all she has been helped by the repentance and transformation of the WCG, which formerly hurt her.

I want share with you the following note she sent to me after she got up the courage to visit the service of the WCG congregation in Tucson.

Welcomed with open arms

I really had a positive experience going to the church in Tucson. The service was upbeat and sincere and friendly. They welcomed me with open arms. They gave me hugs, which I really got into. They were so genuine. It is so different than what I was accustomed to.

I was nervous as I drove the short distance, but when I stepped into the beautiful church in the foothills, and was greeted so nicely by a group of people standing at the door, I felt really welcome.

The music was so beautiful and uplifting. We did quite a bit of singing. I really enjoyed singing again, outside of the shower. Such wonderful singers sang at the front. Zita Mickens, who sat next to me, was so friendly and held my hand. She had such enthusiasm, along with the others.

Dee Bulante, the minister, and his wife, Christine, were so wonderful and welcomed me to their church. It was sad to hear they were being transferred, but happy that they are going somewhere else to help others. They came up and gave me a big hug too.

I really felt blessed to meet such wonderful people, who are filled with love and compassion. I look forward to next week. I told Zita over the phone, I would see her next week. She was so happy to hear I would be back.

I just wanted to share with you my experience. It was both of you [Ted and Donna Johnston], who inspired me to go to church this weekend. It took me a long time to get up the courage, but I did it. I am happy that I did.

Holly Jamison

Tucson, Arizona

I was deeply moved by her note and I thank God for the changes in our fellowship that make it possible for us to reach out to those we have formerly hurt and to help them find healing.

I draw your attention to what she found so helpful when she returned. Note the role music played and, above all, the role played by loving touch of the congregation, including the pastor. Holly told me on the phone that Zita stayed with her the entire time, held her hand and in other ways made her feel loved. She also called her after the service and thanked her for coming.

I think that’s what Jesus would do. I think that’s exactly what Jesus did do through that congregation, and I thank them for ministering so wonderfully to my sister who is now suffering from multiple sclerosis.

I hope these things encourage you as they do me.

Ted Johnston

Canton, Ohio

"I am pleased to say that a more proactive approach is being taken with regard to how evangelicals interact with the public media," Mr. Tkach said. "I am serving on an informal committee that interacts with corporate American sponsors to positively influence television and movie production."

Others members of the committee are Kevin Mannoia, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; Tom Minnery from Focus on the Family; Jerry Kirk from the Coalition Against Pornography; Ted Baehr from The Christian Film and Television Commission; and Roger Haskins, bishop of the Free Methodist Church.

The National Association of Evangelicals has also taken a proactive approach toward upholding marriage, Mr. Tkach said. This is in response to surveys that show that the divorce rate in American churches is equal to the divorce rate in American society.

"As evangelical Christians, we support the NAE’s declaration on marriage," Mr. Tkach said. (See box below.)

We believe that marriage is a holy union of one man and one woman in which they commit, with God's help, to build a loving, life-giving, faithful relationship that will last for a lifetime. God has established the married state, in the order of creation and redemption, for spouses to grow in love of one another and for the procreation, nurture, formation, and education of children.

We believe that in marriage many principles of the Kingdom of God are manifested. The interdependence of healthy Christian community is clearly exemplified in loving one another (John 13:34), forgiving one another (Ephesians 4:32), confessing to one another (Ephesians 5:21), and submitting to one another (Ephesians 5:21). These principles find unique fulfillment in marriage. Marriage is God's gift, a living image of the union between Christ and His Church.

We believe that when a marriage is true to God’s loving design it brings spiritual, physical, emotional, economic, and social benefits not only to a couple and family but also to the Church and to the wider culture. Couples, churches, and the whole of society have a stake in the well being of marriages. Each, therefore, has its own obligations to prepare, strengthen, support and restore marriages.

Our nation is threatened by a high divorce rate, a rise in cohabitation, a rise in non-marital births, a decline in the marriage rate, and a diminishing interest in and readiness for marrying, especially among young people. The documented adverse impact of these trends on children, adults, and society is alarming. Therefore, as church leaders, we recognize an unprecedented need and responsibility to help couples begin, build, and sustain better marriages, and to restore those threatened by divorce.

Motivated by our common desire that God's Kingdom be manifested on earth as it is in heaven, we pledge to deepen our commitment to marriage. With three quarters of marriages performed by clergy, churches are uniquely positioned not only to call America to a stronger commitment to this holy union, but to provide practical ministries and influence for reversing the course of our culture. It is evident in cities across the nation that where churches join in common commitment to restore a priority on marriage, divorces are reduced and communities are positively influenced.

Therefore, we call on churches throughout America to do their part to strengthen marriage in our nation by providing:

a. Prayer and support for stronger marriages

b. Encouragement for people to marry

c. Education for young people about the meaning and responsibility of marriage

d. Preparation for those engaged to be married

e. Pastoral care, including qualified mentor couples, for couples at all stages of their relationship

f. Help for couples experiencing marital difficulty and disruption

g. Influence within society and the culture to uphold the institution of marriage

Further, we urge churches in every community to join in developing policies and programs with concrete goals to reduce the divorce rate and increase the marriage rate.

By our commitment to marriage as instituted by God, the nature of His Kingdom will be more clearly revealed in our homes, our churches, and our culture. To that end we pray and labor with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

May the grace of God, the presence of Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit be abundant in all those who so commit and be a blessing to all whose marriages we seek to strengthen.

The incarnation of Jesus Christ is often celebrated on Christmas, even though the incarnation would have actually begun when the pregnancy began—by traditional calendars, on March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation (formerly called Festum Incarnationis, or Feast of the Incarnation).

Christ crucified

As important as the conception and birth of Jesus are to our faith, however, that is not the primary focus we carry to the world. When Paul preached in Corinth, he preached a much more provocative message: Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23).

The Greco-Roman world had many stories about deities being born, but they had never heard of one being crucified! It was preposterous—like saying that people could be saved by believing in some executed criminal. How could anybody be saved by a criminal?

Yet that was just the point—the Son of God died shamefully on a cross like a criminal, and only then was he resurrected to glory! Peter told the Sanhedrin: "The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead.... God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel" (Acts 5:30-31). Jesus was resurrected and taken to heaven so our sins could be removed.

But Peter did not omit the embarrassing part of the story: "whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree." The word tree would no doubt remind the Jewish leaders of Deuteronomy 21:23: "Anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse."

Ouch! Why would Peter bring that up? Peter did not try to sweep the public relations problem under the rug. Rather, he made sure that he included it. The message said not only that Jesus died, but that he died in a shameful way. That was part of the message; in fact, it was essential to the message.

When Paul preached in Corinth, he characterized his message not merely as proclaiming that Christ died, but that Christ died by crucifixion (1 Cor. 1:23).

In Galatia he apparently used some visual aids: "Before your eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified" (Gal. 3:1). Why would Paul go out of his way to describe a hideous death that the Scriptures call a sure sign of God’s curse?

Was it necessary?

Indeed, why had Jesus suffered such a horrible death? Paul had probably thought long and hard about that question. He had seen the risen Christ. He knew that God had approved this man as the Messiah. But why would God allow his Anointed One to suffer a death the Scriptures call cursed? (In a similar way, Muslims do not believe that Jesus was crucified. They believe he was a prophet, and God wouldn’t allow that kind of treatment for a prophet. Muslims believe that someone else was crucified instead of Jesus.)

Indeed, Jesus prayed in Gethsemane for some other way, but there was no other way. Herod and Pilate did only what God had already "decided beforehand should happen"—that he should die in this accursed way (Acts 4:28).

Why? Because Jesus died for us, for our sins, and we, because of our sins, came under a curse. Even our petty sins are as hideous to God as a crucifixion. All humanity is accursed because of sin. The good news, the gospel, is that "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us" (Gal. 3:13). Jesus was crucified for every one of us. He took the pain, and the shame, that we deserve.

Other analogies

But this is not the only analogy the Bible gives us, and Paul explains this particular view in only one of his letters. More often, he simply says that Jesus "died for us." At first glance, this phrase looks like a simple substitution: We deserved to die, Jesus volunteered to die instead of us, and now we don’t have to.

But it is not quite so simple. For one thing, we still die. And from another perspective, we die with Christ (Rom. 6:3-5). In this analogy, Jesus’ death was both representative (he died in our place) and participatory (we are included in his death by dying with him). The main point is quite clear: We are saved by the crucifixion of Jesus, and we can be saved in no other way than through the cross of Christ.

Another analogy, one that Jesus used, was that of a ransom: "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). It is like we were held captive by an enemy, and Jesus’ death secured our freedom.

Paul uses a similar analogy when he says we were redeemed. This word would remind some readers of the slave market, others of the Exodus. Slaves could be redeemed from slavery, and God redeemed Israel from Egypt. The Father paid a price by sending his Son. He absorbed the penalty of our sins.

Colossians 2:15 uses a different analogy: "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he [Christ] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." The picture here is a victory parade: the victorious military leader brings the captives into town, disarmed, in chains, humiliated. The point in Colossians is that Jesus Christ, by means of his crucifixion, has broken the power of all our enemies and given us victory.

The Bible is giving us images of salvation, not precise formulas that we must insist on. Substitutionary sacrifice, for example, is only one of the many pictures that the Bible uses to get the point across.

Just as sin is described in several ways, the work that Jesus did to remove our sins can also be described in several ways. If we think of sin as violations of law, we can think of the crucifixion as payment of a penalty. If we think of sin as a violation of God’s holiness, then we can view Jesus as an atoning sacrifice. If sin makes us dirty, then Jesus’ blood makes us clean. If sin is bondage, then Jesus is the redeemer, the victorious rescuer. If sin creates hostility, Jesus brings reconciliation. If we see sin as ignorance or stupidity, then Jesus is the one who enlightens us and makes us wise. All these images are helpful.

Appeasing God’s wrath?

God has wrath against ungodliness, and there will be a "day of God’s wrath" when he judges the world (Rom. 1:18; 2:5). People who "reject the truth" will be punished (v. 8). God loves them and would prefer that they change, but he punishes them if they are obstinate. If the truth of God’s love and mercy is rejected, the result is punishment.

He is not like some angry human who needs his "pound of flesh" to calm down. He loves us and provided the means by which our sins could be forgiven. They were not simply wiped away—the sins were given to Jesus, and there were real consequences for them.

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus became a curse for us, became sin for us. It’s like our sins were given to him, and his righteousness was given to us "so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (same verse). We are given righteousness by God.

Righteousness of God displayed

The gospel reveals the righteousness of God—that he is righteous to forgive us instead of condemn us (Rom. 1:17). He does not ignore our sins—he takes care of them through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The cross demonstrates God’s justice (Rom. 3:25-26), and it demonstrates his love (5:8). It demonstrates justice because it is appropriate for sin to be punished by death; it demonstrates love because the person who forgives is accepting the pain.

Jesus paid the price of our sin—the personal price of pain and shame. He achieved reconciliation (a restoration of personal fellowship) through the cross (Col. 1:20). Even when we were enemies, he died for us (Rom. 5:8).

Righteousness involves more than legal requirements. The Good Samaritan did not have a law telling him to help the wounded man, but he acted righteously when he did so.

When it is in our power to rescue a drowning person, we should do so. And when it was in God’s power to rescue a sin-enslaved world, he did so by sending Jesus Christ. "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). He died for everyone, even while we were all sinners.

Through faith

In showing mercy, God is showing himself to be right. He is right to consider us righteous even though we are sinners. Why? Because he has made Christ to be our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30). Because we are united to Christ, our sins are transferred to him, and his righteousness is given to us. The righteousness we have is not our own, but it comes from God and is given to us by faith (Phil. 3:9).

"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:22-26).

Jesus’ sacrifice was effective for everyone, but only those who have faith in Christ receive the benefits of his sacrifice. It is only when they accept the truth that they can experience the mercy. We see his death as ours (as a substitute and as something we participate in), we see his punishment as ours, and we see his victory and resurrection as ours. In this way God is true to his nature: merciful and righteous. Sin is not ignored, nor are sinners ignored. God’s mercy triumphs over legal requirements (James 2:13).

Through the cross, Christ has reconciled the whole world (2 Cor. 5:19). Indeed, through the cross, the entire universe is being reconciled to God (Col. 1:20). The entire universe will experience redemption because of what Jesus has done (Rom. 8:21). That expands our understanding of the word salvation, doesn’t it?

Born to die

The bottom line is that we are saved through the death of Jesus Christ. In fact, he became flesh for this very purpose. In bringing us to glory, it was fitting that God have Jesus suffer and die (Hebrews 2:10). Because he wanted to save us, he became like us, so he could save us by dying for us.

"Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death" (2:14-15). It was by God’s grace that Jesus experienced death for everyone (2:9). "Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God" (1 Peter 3:18).

The Bible gives us many ways to think about what Jesus did for us on the cross. We do not understand exactly how all of it "works," but we accept that it does. Because he died, we can enjoy eternal life with God.

I’ll close with one more way to think about the cross—as an example: "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another" (1 John 4:9-11).

On the best authority

It’s funny how we can sometimes believe things that don’t make sense or that have no supporting evidence whatever. Conspiracy theories abound today, and the tabloids do a multi-million dollar business tantalizing believing readers with a steady diet of the sensational, if not the ridiculous. You’ve seen the headlines: Elvis is still alive. JFK was abducted by aliens. Hitler is still alive. Miners discover an opening to hell. Half alligator, half human baby. World to end in 1999.

And then there are the facts that we simply take for granted in our modern scientific world: The world is a sphere, not flat like a pancake. The earth revolves around the sun, not vice versa. A virus causes measles. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Abraham Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address on the back of an envelope.

Most of us believe these things, not because we have personally proven them, but because we trust the authorities who tell us they are true. We use the phone; who invented it doesn’t really matter to us. We go to the doctor when we get sick; it doesn’t matter to us who discovered a given vaccine. And we can enjoy a beautiful sunset without giving much thought to planetary dynamics.

A fact that matters

We live in a world of facts, but most of the facts we know have little, if anything, to do with who we are and how we choose to live.

The resurrection of Jesus is different. It may be easy to "believe" Jesus was raised as though it were just another fact for a history exam. But this fact is not like other facts. It changes everything. If Jesus Christ really was raised from the dead, then he is far more than just another great figure in history. He is who he claimed to be—the Son of God. And if that’s so, then he, and everything he said, has to be taken seriously.

The resurrection of Jesus stands at the heart of Christian faith. We believe in Jesus because Jesus did not stay dead. He told his disciples he would be raised on the third day after his crucifixion—and he was! The fact of his resurrection verified his claims: He was indeed the Son of God. And it verified that God had acted decisively to deal with human sin.

Celebrate!

If there is any one characteristic that is universal among Christians of all denominational stripes, it is celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus. The celebration may occur in a variety of ways, but ever since that first Sunday morning when the tomb was found empty, Christians have remembered. And it is much more than memory. It is participation.

On the night before he was betrayed and arrested for trial and crucifixion, Jesus ate his final Passover meal with the disciples. As he blessed and broke the ritual bread, he told his disciples, "This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19). As he lifted and blessed the cup of ritual wine, he told them: "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:27-28).

There is rich meaning in this simple ceremony we call the Lord’s Supper (Jesus’ final meal), communion (communion through Christ with God and fellow believers), or Eucharist (thanksgiving). Paul wrote: "Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16).

When we eat and drink the bread and wine (or grape juice) of the Lord’s Supper, something wonderful, yet incomprehensible, is going on—communion with God. Through Jesus Christ, we are united with God and with all believers. Participating in Jesus’ command to "eat his flesh" and "drink his blood" not only keeps us in memory of what God has done for us, it also brings us, together with all believers, into intimate fellowship with God.

In Christ, we have been made "one" with God and "one" with one another. In the communion, we participate in that graciously created unity in an unseen, indescribable way.

Baptism too

The Christian practice of baptism is also rooted firmly in the prime facts of the faith—Jesus, the Son of God, died for us and was raised again to life. Paul wrote: "We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Romans 6:4).

Coming under the waters of baptism symbolizes a death and burial—our participation in the crucifixion and death of Jesus. But this entering into death with Jesus is merely preparation for entering into new life with him. It is the old self that is put to death in the watery grave of baptism. "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin (verses 6-7).

We humans know about slavery to sin. We know the invisible, yet humanly invincible chains that bind us in self-destructive habits and cravings. We know about the pride, the personal walls, the ego-defenses, the crippling envy, the resentment, the greed, the burning lust. We know the powerlessness, the failure, the frustration, the depression. We know the loneliness, the isolation, the fear. And we know about the end of it all—the final darkness and separation we call death.

God, who loves us, knows it too. That’s why he sent his one and only Son, who, without sin, subjected himself to the cruel and unrelenting environment of our sin-darkened world. God’s love is why Jesus took our broken condition on himself, yet without sin, and walked in our shoes and suffered, even to death, at the ignorant and violent hands of us sinners. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it (John 1:5).

But for Jesus, death was not the end of the story. And because of Jesus, it is not the end of the story for you and me either. Jesus was raised to life, and through him, we too are raised to a bold and fresh and glorious new life—eternal life.

Life of the age to come

We often think of "eternal life" as something God will give us in the future. But the fact is, Jesus said that those who believe in him, those who "eat his flesh" and "drink his blood," have already entered into eternal life. "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:54). Being raised up at the last day is something promised to those who already possess eternal life!

Maybe we tend to limit our concept of eternal life to the future because the words eternal life sound like something we don’t yet have. After all, we are still mortal, and we know we are going to die before we receive immortality. But "eternal life" and "immortality" are not the same thing.

Immortality refers to our physical bodies. At the resurrection, our mortal bodies will be changed to immortal. But eternal life—or the life of the age to come—is something we entered the moment we became believers.

Eternal life might be easier to understand when we realize that the Greek words John used in quoting Jesus, aionios zoe, are more literally translated, "the life of the age to come." When we became believers, we passed from death to life. We entered into the new life, the life of the age to come.

That life, which is a life of joy and self-sacrificial love in the power of God, will fill all the universe after Jesus returns. And it has already begun in his believers. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Luke 9:23).

Because he lives

Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life" (John 5:24).

Greater words of comfort have never been spoken! It doesn’t matter how far from God we have been. It doesn’t matter how dark and vile our sins have been.

When we believe the word of God, the good news that God has redeemed sinners through his Son, we can rest in God’s forgiveness and acceptance and receive the fresh, new life he has for us in his eternal kingdom.

We have it on the highest authority, the very highest, that on the day of judgment we will not be condemned. Jesus says believers have already crossed the great divide separating death from life, and because he lives we are now on the side of life!

The kingdom of heaven has already begun to show itself in the world in the lives of those who have entered it. Not perfectly. In fact, sometimes we make a rather rotten show of it. Sometimes we drop our cross, or maybe even throw it down, but the Spirit of Christ in us always moves us to pick it up again and follow on. The fact is, now we are his, and he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).

Alive with Christ

Our citizenship is already in heaven, Paul tells us (Philippians 3:20). And even as we await the glorified body we will receive at Jesus’ return (verse 21), we have already entered and begun to experience, in a limited way, the life of the age to come—life in the presence of God. That’s what Scripture calls "the kingdom of God," "the kingdom of heaven" and "eternal life."

In his letter to the church at Ephesus, Paul explained it this way: "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-7).

Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have been forgiven of sin, reconciled with God and made spiritually alive in him. We have been brought into the presence of God and embarked on the grand, never-ending adventure of coming to know and experience the infinite joy of his grace and love even as we share in his sufferings.

Right now, as Paul said, we can see only a "poor reflection" (1 Corinthians 13:12). But at the second coming we will be given new, gloried bodies, and we will see him as he is (1 John 3:2).

The crux of our faith

Our Christian faith and hope are based squarely and entirely on the fact of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. On that central truth hangs everything we believe and for which we stand in earnest hope. Because he lives, we live too!

That is why the Easter season is so important to us. It is a time of reflection. It is a time of self-evaluation. It is a time of rehearsing the essentials of our faith and of recommitment and rededication. And above all, it is a time of thanksgiving and joy in the unsearchable riches of the grace of God!

He died for you and me. And on the third day, he destroyed forever the power of sin and death over us. In him we, together with all the saints, even as we tread the path of the cross, possess the greatest hope imaginable.

I wrote that enthusiasts generally don’t remain enthusiasts permanently. But there are exceptions. The late Ron Robinson of Newark, New Jersey, was the finest example of a lifelong enthusiast I have ever seen.

I first met Ron and his wife, Doreen, in 1983 at the festival in St. Lucia. This was a difficult year because the hotel we were using had gone bankrupt, and the already leisurely pace of service had ground almost to a halt. Most of us were concentrating on suffering gracefully. Ron, on the other hand, was a constant generator of joy and goodwill.

Ron would get up every morning at dawn and go out to walk the beach and pray. It seemed that every day he would report seeing the most beautiful and inspiring rainbow (it was a rainy year, so this was entirely possible) while he was out praying.

Of course, most of us were fast asleep as the sun rose, so we didn’t see the rainbows. But Ron did, and it earned him the title of Rainbow Robinson among some of his friends.

The nickname stuck, not so much because of the rainbow sightings in St. Lucia, but because Ron, though a level-headed realist, never failed to see how God could use a situation to his glory.

Ron went on to become an elder in the church, and remained a pillar in his congregation. Every time I would hear from Ron, he was looking for ways to make his own life more effective as an instrument of the kingdom of God.

I ran into Ron Robinson again, along with several other WCG leaders, at the Crowns of Beauty Conference in 1999. Ron, now showing some gray in his hair, was more enthusiastic than ever. He was determined to find a way to reach out to the distressed poor in the inner cities where he lived. He came to this conference to be equipped to penetrate that community.

I spoke with Ron on several occasions after that conference. Each time, he had become more involved with the most downtrodden of the unbelievers around him. He was ecstatic that there had been enough response to begin a new, very poor, but very joyful congregation in Newark. Ron grew with them to the point where Senior Pastor Dan Bierer appointed Ron as pastor of the new congregation.

Then, Ron was taken from us. While I feel a sense of personal loss whenever a friend or loved one dies, I found myself particularly burdened when Ron died unexpectedly of a heart attack Nov. 27.

It was like what happens when one of a group who are carrying a heavy burden drops out and those who remain feel the additional weight descend upon them. One thing is certain—when you see someone like Ron living his life as a true enthusiast in Christ, you come to appreciate and treasure what they bring to the Body of Christ.

AN ENTHUSIAST IN THE WCG—
The late Ron Robinson (left) with
missionaries Eric and Anna Sponheim
and their daughter Abigail.

In November, only six months after being installed as the pastor, Ron Robinson suddenly passed away. In spite of losing their pastor, the church is continuing Ron’s vision of making the gospel known to "the least of these." Ron had been training Franklin Howard to serve with him as a church leader. With Ron’s passing, the mantle of church leadership has fallen to Franklin.

Ron was an electrical supervisor with the Essex County Public Works, an adjunct college teacher, and a businessman. He was active in the National Day of Prayer, Promise Keepers, the reconciliation movement, Concerts of Prayer, and Cooperative Community Development Association. He was well known in the black community for his Black Inventors’ Exhibit, which showed children many of the inventions made by African Americans.

Ron served on our Newark advisory board. He wired our computer lab and new classrooms for our Newark Christian School. He cochaired our summer festival. Ron had a special burden for the education of community students at Newark Christian School.

Vanuatu cyclone disaster

Rod Matthews, regional director, John McLean, church development director, and Aub Warren, media director, presented reports on the church’s regional, church, college and media operations. David Jordison, Support Services director, provided budget details.

The annual review highlighted some encouraging news on several fronts:

Challenges

The board members expressed their thanks in prayer for the many blessings God has bestowed upon our fellowship this year.

"It has been another challenging year, but it seems clear that there is a new, positive atmosphere, with more people becoming more actively involved in our work together," said regional director Rod Matthews.

They have no denominational affiliation and represent scattered members over a number of Indonesian islands.

Here are excerpts from Yong Chin Gee’s report:

Mein Kong and I returned from a profitable Indonesia trip Monday afternoon. We met Wim Anthony Sahetapy to discuss his proposals in joining the WCG. He had invited a few church leaders to meet us the next day, Friday, to get to know more about our history, doctrines, teachings and practices.

On Friday morning we met Wim Anthony’s wife and daughter, Frans Orangon and his wife, and five church leaders who came to listen to what the WCG is all about, our vision and mission especially for the work of Christ in Indonesia.

After lunch Wim Anthony left Jakarta by train to go to Yogyakarta to arrange our meeting with Pastor Jerry G. Pattisina and his church members Saturday afternoon. We continued our meeting with the church leaders, who expressed some interest in joining our church. However, they agreed to discuss it further with Wim Anthony, whom we mutually appointed as their coordinator.

The next day, Saturday afternoon, we met Soegito (one of our members) and his son, Joni, who is studying in the university in Yogyakarta. Joni expressed the intention to be baptized. We arranged to meet the next morning to have counseling in the home of Yantje, another member in Yogyakarta.

In Yogyakarta Wim Anthony and Pastor Jerry met us at the hotel. Together with Soegito we attended their church service. Pastor Jerry has a group of about 17 members meeting in a member’s home. Jerry has a master’s degree in theology.

He broke off from the Seventh- day Adventists many years ago and some members followed him. Though he is 75, he is healthy and alert. He invited Mein Kong to introduce himself and our church and asked me to give a sermon.

We met Wim, Pastor Jerry and five other church leaders and members from other areas, in the music lounge of our hotel. We discussed the WCG’s history, teachings and changes. We gave Pastor Jerry a lot of printed material concerning our church’s history, doctrines, vision and mission to be translated into Indonesian and the Javanese language. This material could then be distributed to people who are interested in joining our organization.

Wim Anthony and Pastor Jerry expressed their conviction and their commitment to join our church.

Wim Anthony told us that he and Pastor Jerry studied into our teachings and agreed with us. That was why he wrote to me that he would like to join us to do the work of God in Indonesia if we accept him and Pastor Jerry. We are glad it turned out to be a positive meeting with Wim and Jerry on this trip.

We are pleased and privileged to have opened a dialogue with these pastors. It could ultimately lead to a formal association or even a complete integration of their ministries with our fellowship.

This offers a new experience for us in this region. We would appreciate your prayers that God will give us wisdom as we get to know what he has been doing through these people over the past years, and how we might achieve more for him in Indonesia as we work together.

"In His Presence" is the theme for this year’s conference and featured speakers are Barb Egbert, Trish Clauson, Adrienne Pickett, Susan Booze and Sandy Orban. Their messages will not only inspire us to fellowship more intimately with our Savior, but will also encourage us to help our children with their Christian walk.

The cost for this one-day conference is $10 and includes a hot lunch provided by the Dallas men’s ministry, as well as morning pastries and door prizes.

Send your check (payable to LCAF-Dallas Central), along with your name and address, to Sherry Hebert, 429 Larchbrook Dr., Garland, Texas, 75043. Registration deadline is April 27.

Instead of having the teens ask members to sponsor them in the famine, they asked them to buy $5 tickets for a homemade chicken dinner and to buy raffle tickets for $1. The teens served the food restaurant style, and the parents worked in the kitchen. The raffle drawing took place after dinner.

On Feb. 23 seven teens and two of their friends went to the home of Terry and Nancy Larson to participate in the famine. They had a study and discussion and game time that evening.

Katie Rounds and Laura Burke led the worship service. Affinity, a praise and worship band from Long Island, New York, provide music for the service. Band members are Danny and Jon Mayo, and Joey and Jason Underdue. Joel Sutherland, from Georgia, accompanied them.

Syracuse, New York, teens, presented a skit done to the song "Make Us One." The main point of the skit is that Jesus takes away our imperfections and sins on the cross. Performers were Suzette, Larissa and Tom Maybury, Greg Williams and Jon Gross (from Rochester, New York). Jon also gave the sermon.

From Utica, the group traveled to Rome, New York, for pizza and wings, volleyball, basketball and fellowship. This was followed by a fireside chat. Jennifer Burke led the group in icebreakers, and then they broke into smaller groups for inspirational skits about situations young people face.

After the fireside chat, the group left the gymnasium area for another part of the facility for the lock-in. Some gathered to sing songs of praise and give testimonies. Others enjoyed table tennis, foosball and fellowship.

Pastor Rand Holm gave an inspiring motivational message proclaiming salvation in Jesus Christ, Friday, Dec. 29, and Jeb Egbert, Summer Educational Program director, followed with more of the same Saturday and Sunday.

The purpose of the weekend was to share the gospel of Christ, equip young and old alike for ministry, and build networks for prayer and encouragement.

The Holy Spirit was evident in praise and worship. Praise band members were Hector Amaya, Joe and Katrina Weber, Tom Kuipers, and Ashleigh Wheat. Aaron Burnsides set up the sound system and provided music for a Saturday night dance.

"The Holy Spirit has worked wonders through praise and worship in our congregations, SEP and many Discovery weekends all over the country," said Jason Haas, who coordinated the weekend with his wife, Teresa. "The same was true at our Arizona Discovery Weekend. We praised God and he responded by sending his Holy Spirit and touching the lives of the participants."

The young people cheered each other on in the challenge course, and others participated in basketball, volleyball and hiking. Ben Russel was activities coordinator, and his wife, Alison, was the camp nurse.

Saturday night was music, drama and testimonial night. Jesus and the gospel were celebrated in every skit and song. Jeremy Gay ended this session with a bold testimony about keeping our eyes focused on God and not letting the problems that humans have caused to get in the way. The answer is Jesus, and he has won the victory for us. This victory is absolute and secure. The evening ended with a dance in which Aaron Burnsides was host.

The weekend concluded Sunday with a final round of praise and worship. This session had more than one encore as participants did not want to stop singing praises to God.

Dr. Egbert concluded with a message about the saving blood of Jesus Christ. The teens were encouraged to take this home and shine the light of Jesus in their families, peer groups, congregations and communities.

Steve Kramer shared a testimony about confessing sin to God and to a trusted brother or sister in Christ. Mr. Kramer shared the freedom he experienced when he did this. He also pointed out the need for a change in life after sins are confessed.

Mission Possible
Discovery Weekend
in Ohio

The weekend had the theme Mission Possible, focusing on identifying and pursuing our God-given mission in Christ’s service. The weekend progressed through a series of four worship celebrations followed by small group gatherings for discussion and prayer led by young adult counselors. Recreational activities included a dance on Friday night and either skiing and tubing at a ski resort or movies and games on Saturday night.

At the opening service Friday night, Jason Franz, a college-age young adult counselor and praise team member, brought a message from the book of Habakkuk to help participants understand the nature of a Christian’s mission in the world.

Saturday morning, 19-year-old counselor Evan Centers shared the example of Elijah the prophet as he challenged the audience to be attentive to the gentle whisper of God urging us to discover our part in Christ’s mission.

Saturday evening Pastor Jim Valekis encouraged participants to connect deeply with God, seeking his wisdom in finding and pursuing one’s mission. He was followed by 19-year-old counselor Tina White, who gave a presentation on identifying one’s spiritual gifts—the abilities God gives us to pursue the mission.

In the final worship service Sunday morning, Ted Johnston, district superintendent, reminded the audience that the mission is defined by the Great Commission, and each follower of Jesus has a part to play in its fulfillment.

He then presented the plan and the power of the gospel for salvation and invited all who had not yet put their trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior to do so. Nearly 20 responded to this invitation and were invited to the rear of the hall to spend time in prayer with evangelism counselors who awaited them.

During this time of prayer, Mr. Johnston challenged those who were already believers to more actively follow Jesus into the fullness of his mission for their lives. That mission is not impossible—for with God, all things he has planned for us are possible.

With this challenge the audience was invited to the Lord’s Table for communion. With tears of joy new believers were welcomed and all came to a deeper appreciation of what Jesus has done and is doing.

In a candle-lighting ceremony after communion, the audience was invited to commit themselves to bearing the Light of Life, Jesus, into a sin-darkened world. Indeed, that is the mission.

The weekend included several dramatic skits and powerful testimonies. Musical presentations included the worship leading of the CrossRoads Praise Team from Dayton, Ohio, that includes several youths as members.

Jessica Loter reported on the weekend and quoted Evan Center: "It shocks me that in 72 hours people can hear so much, see so much, taste, touch and feel so much because God works in his time. God showed me my mission, and now I prepare as I accept. Thank you Jesus!"

She also quoted Annie Bria, who said: "This weekend not only reunited me with old friends, but it also reunited me with Jesus and reminded me that it does not matter where you are or how cold it is, he is always there and always worthy of praise."

Jill Holmes, a counselor, added: "Christ’s fire is burning in our church all across this nation!"

The Dayton and Tipp City, Ohio, congregations were hosts. David Gould, a young adult from that area, was event director. A similar event is planned for President’s Day weekend in February 2002, and many in the group will help conduct the five-day long youth events at Summer Festival 2001 in Athens, Ohio, Aug. 15 to 19. Ted Johnston.

Mr. May was invited to the training session by Archibald Hart, U.S. board chairman of African Enterprise and a Fuller Theological Seminary professor. Mr. May was accompanied by his wife, Jannice.

The focus of the conference was the Personal Life of the Leader. Some of the topics covered were Managing Change, Coping With Depression and Disappointment in Christian Leadership, and Personal Health and Character of the Christian Leader. Mr. May spoke on Reconciliation and the WCG Journey and Passionate Commitment.

Some of the countries represented were Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Australia, Canada and the United States.

"The diverse group represented a number of fellowships and ethnicities, but they had one thing in common, a deep desire to share the gospel with those who don’t know Christ," Mr. May said.

"Several participants said they came to the conference with doubts about the sincerity of the WCG in its changes. One attendee, a member of an evangelical association, said she had doubts about our transformation until she heard we had apologized. After the question and answer session these participants had become convinced of our passionate commitment to our transformation," Mr. May said.

During the trip Mr. May spoke about reconciliation to combined churches in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Harare, Zimbabwe. He also assisted James Henderson, regional director, in a three-day training session in Zimbabwe on effective ministry. (See article, page 32.)

During that three-day period, Mrs. May, Shirley Henderson (wife of the regional director) and Susie Dick (wife of Randal Dick, superintendent of missions international) conducted a conference for ministers’ wives sponsored by Connecting and Bonding, which is directed by Mrs. May. Other guest speakers were Esther Howard-Brown and Neela Govender, well-respected ministry leaders from South Africa.

Following are three newly assigned chapter leaders in the Office of Reconciliation Ministries International.

James Henderson

James Henderson is superintendent of African Missions for the WCG. He and his wife, Shirley, travel from their base in Johannesburg to many countries throughout Africa, where he conducts seminars and conferences on leadership and ministry.

Mr. Henderson has facilitated several reconciliation meetings, and had this to say about reconciliation: "Within Africa reconciliation is not just about race alone, but we also need tribal, generational and gender reconciliation. Of course, the greatest reconciliation Africa needs is reconciliation with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son. The WCG in Africa is seeking to address these vital issues as the Holy Spirit leads us into opportunities to do so."

Owen Willis

Owen Willis is the new chapter leader in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Mr. Willis was born and brought up in Kenya as a white African, and served the church in Africa for nearly two decades. This brought him into direct involvement with the liberation struggles in Zimbabwe and South Africa where he encouraged reconciliation initiatives between the tribal and ethnic groups.

Since moving to Canada in 1992, he has maintained an interest in such issues, serving as a committee member of the Canadian Ecumenical Jubilee Initiative (CEJI)—part of the global Jubilee 2000 initiative. CEJI’s focus this year is on restoring right relationships with aboriginal peoples, the First Nations of Canada. He is also involved with the settlement of African refugees in Halifax.

In February the WCG took part in a racial reconciliation weekend called Healing the Racial Divide, which involved civic and church leaders in the city. In March, Dan Christmas, a church member and spokesman for the Mi’kmaq Nation, conducted a seminar titled Restoring Right Relationships for WCG members in Halifax.

Olivier Carion

Olivier Carion is the new chapter leader in North London, England.

Mr. Carion said: "London is a vast multi-ethnic megalopolis, and it is no surprise that most of the five WCG congregations that meet in the London area reflect such ethnic richness. Spiritual bonding in such a situation is a wonderful blessing, but looking at reconciliation in the context of such a big city full of tensions can be daunting."

Mr. Carion noted that several bridges have been built between the WCG and other parts of the Body of Christ in the London area.

During an earlier visit to England, Mr. May spoke about the history and development of reconciliation ministry to the North London congregation.

"His message started us thinking more seriously about the matter of reconciliation," Mr. Carion said.

"Today we are at the stage of humble beginnings," he continued. "We have a Prayer Task Force of about 20 people seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance on matters of reconciliation, looking for issues to be addressed at several levels of church and city life. At its regular meetings, the London area pastoral team discusses and prays about the matter of reconciliation, seeking ways to facilitate it both inside and outside our fellowship."

At the Annual Day Dinner organized by London’s Indian YMCA, Jim Lamb, director of the YMCA World Urban Network based in Geneva, Switzerland, gave a moving presentation on racism and peace in Christ. Mr. Carion closed the evening on a prayerful note of forgiveness and reconciliation. This event drove home the cry for reconciliation in many parts of the world, he said.

AFRICAN ENTERPRISE LEADERS—From left: Gottfried OseiMensah, board chairman; Jannice May; Archibald Hart, U.S. board chairman; Curtis May; and Michael O’Dell, assistant operations manager. [Photos by James Henderson]

As always, we look forward to inspiring presentations, Greek hospitality, good food, dancing and the captivating beauty of landscapes by the sea and in majestic mountain regions.

Our hotel is on the beachfront, and you can have a bungalow right on the sand. The dining room is also along the seafront. Coffee shops and snack shops, a supermarket and garment shops are there too, with a swimming pool, tennis courts, indoor and outdoor bars, and other attractions.

Our costs are the lowest possible, so that more people can afford to be with us. In round figures, a single person will pay $690 for the entire conference, a couple $1,164, and a family of three adults will pay $1,670. These prices include hotel lodging, breakfast, dinner, bus tours, the sea cruise and entrance fees to archaeological sites. These prices do not include air fare.

Please do not send money at this time. We first need to ensure that we have the minimum number of participants for the prices we have negotiated. Then we can send registration forms to you.

By placing your name on the list of interested participants, you allow us to estimate the interest. You also ensure priority of registration, in case the site is filled. You will receive your package early enough to be certain of a place.

The sale of the Pasadena property is progressing slowly. We must have passed through three or four dates to close escrow. The completion of the sale keeps getting set back farther and farther. And although the developer has a positive attitude about closing by midyear, other parties remind us it could go even longer. That’s the day late part.

As for the dollar short, our February mail income total was $1.48 million. The mail income for February last year was $1.73 million. That is about a 14 percent decrease.

As I have often mentioned in these financial updates, our prayer is that we find a consistent level of giving and that we can then build our future budgets on a dependable level of income. But, alas, we don’t seem to have reached the bottom yet.

Our combined mail and seasonal offering income for the first two months stands at $3 million. That, coupled with our other sources of income, such as estate donations, Legacy Partner’s escrow extension payments and an auction sale in January, has kept us close to our projected income budget of $3.7 million.

Our projected expense budget for the first two months this year was $4.5 million, but because some annual expenses are paid in the first quarter, we have had to dip into our reserve fund for just over $1 million.

To avoid additional cutbacks in operations and to keep all current salaried pastors on the job, we plan to have expenses exceed income by almost $4 million between January and the end of June, when we anticipated the close of escrow.

For every month beyond June, we can expect to impact our reserve fund by about $700,000. If escrow were to extend to the end of the year we could decrease our reserves by $8 million! I think you can see that would be a major financial blow to the church.

Therefore, as I write this month’s column, in Finance & Planning we are working on a variety of budget scenarios to discuss in management meetings. Needless to say, all the scenarios mean reduction of staff and projects.

Please do not become discouraged at the slow pace of the property sale. Believe me, Bernie Schnippert, church treasurer, and his staff, along with Legacy Partners and Grubb and Ellis sales personnel, are doing all they can to complete this project. We are all just as eager to see this come to fruition as you are.

On a more positive note, we are continuing work on a restructured financial program that is more locally focused. Some congregations are ready to participate in pilot programs that will be implemented nationwide in 2002 and fully implemented by 2003 (at least those are our target dates).

Turning to a different subject, we haven’t said much about income tax deductions for a while. I think you are all aware that the U.S. government allows a tax deduction for approved charitable giving. The WCG has had Internal Revenue Service approval for more than 50 years.

However, to claim this deduction, charitable giving, along with other deductions such as home mortgage interest, property tax, business expenses and other deductions, should exceed the standard deduction that taxpayers generally receive. The new Bush administration budget plan may include a regulation that will allow some tax deduction for contributions to approved charities, even though a taxpayer may use only the standard deduction. This could be a financial blessing to millions of people who contribute to charities.

Paul was happy to remember these needs, for it gave gentile believers an opportunity to have some involvement with Jewish believers. Since the gospel began among the Jews, it was appropriate for gentile Christians to acknowledge and be thankful for the Jewish people. They could do this by sharing some of their material blessings.

Therefore, as part of his work with the gentile churches, Paul coordinated an offering for the saints in Jerusalem (Rom. 15:25-28; 1 Cor. 16:1 etc.). He described the importance of this offering in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9.

Poverty and generosity

He began by describing how generous the believers in northern Greece had been: "And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity" (8:1-2). Although they were very poor, they were very generous, and Paul attributes this to the grace of God. God had given them the willingness to give what little they had, and to do it with joy.

"For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints" (8:3-4). Since the Macedonians were poor themselves, Paul did not ask them to give anything to the poor in Jerusalem, but they learned about the collection and wanted to help. They gave more than Paul thought they could. (We can read Paul’s thank-you in his letter to the Philippians.)

"And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will" (8:5). Why did they give? Because they gave themselves to Christ, which would include a willingness to use all that they had to further his work. As they submitted themselves to Christ, they wanted to participate in this offering.

Paul no doubt wanted the Corinthians to follow this example. The Macedonians showed that spiritual maturity leads to material generosity. The Corinthians had more money and should be even more generous.

Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians

"So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part" (8:6). Titus had apparently begun the work of collecting the offering in Corinth, so Paul asked him to finish it. By calling the collection an act of grace, Paul connected it with the gospel and suggested voluntary generosity.

Paul then appealed to the tendency of the Corinthian Christians to think of themselves as better than others. "Just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving" (8:7). Some of the Corinthians boasted about superior faith, speech and knowledge. Paul says they should also strive to be sincere, loving and generous. They should demonstrate their faith by the way they live.

"I am not commanding you," Paul says, "but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others" (8:8). Paul did not tell them how much to give, but he would know how much they gave, and their quantity would be a reflection of their quality.

Many people today do not want to be compared to others, especially when it comes to donations, but Paul apparently felt that Corinth would be helped by a comparison. Their contributions showed their sincerity.

Paul then used the supreme example, Jesus: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (8:9). Although Jesus enjoyed equality with God, he willingly gave it up to save us (Phil. 2:5-8). He became a curse for us so that we might escape the curse and be blessed instead (Gal. 3:13).

Through Christ’s willingness to give, we share in his riches. Grace is not an abstract theory—it is practical. It had physical results in the life of Jesus, and it should have physical results in our lives, too.

According to ability

Paul then appealed to the Corinthians’ previous generosity: "And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it" (8:10-11). In other words, keep up the good work.

Paul then added a qualification: "according to your means" (8:11). Give according to your ability, for God looks on the heart, on the willingness, not the amount. "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have" (8:12).

Paul did not want the Corinthians to impoverish themselves (there was probably little risk of that), but for them to share some of their material blessings. "Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality" (8:13). If the wealthy Corinthians aimed for equality and gave according to their ability, their gift would be generous.

At that time, they had plenty and could share. But the time might come when they would be needy, and other Christians would then give to them. "At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality" (8:14).

Paul then adds a quote: "As it is written: ‘He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little’ " (8:15; Ex. 16:18). This quote is from the story of gathering manna in the wilderness; it is not about people sharing with one another. Paul quotes it not as a proof, but as a proverbial saying that illustrates equality.

Three trustworthy men

To help the Corinthians be confident that their offering would be used in the right way, Paul put in a few good words for Titus, who would accompany the offering: "I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative" (8:16-17).

Titus was concerned not only for the offering, but for the Corinthians themselves. He volunteered to travel to Corinth and serve as a security guard for the collection.

Paul then mentions a second person, whom he does not name: "And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help" (8:18-19).

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians also served as a letter of commendation for the couriers he sent. He expresses his confidence in them, so that the Corinthians can also be confident that these people were trustworthy. Here, Paul mentions that the churches chose this man to accompany the offering to Jerusalem—and Paul reminds them that his own motivation is to serve the Lord and to help his people.

"We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men" (8:20-21). Paul had been accused of improper motives when he preached the gospel; he was even more likely to be accused when taking up a collection. So he took precautions, much as we today might use an auditor to verify that the offerings are being used for the purpose for which they were collected.

Paul then mentions a third man: "In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you" (8:22). Paul commends this man in terms of his attitude to God and in his attitude toward the Corinthians; both are important in this offering.

Paul closed this chapter by praising the men again: "As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it" (8:23-24).

We are proud of you, Paul says, so please give the kind of generous offering we know you are capable of. This will show the sincerity of your love not only to these three men, but will also be an example to other churches. Just as we told you of the Macedonians’ generosity, we will tell others about you.

Fund-raising is often a thankless job, but it is essential. In order for the people who have an abundance to share with those who have need, church leaders must communicate those needs, and must encourage people to be generous. Paul used several methods of persuasion: his own relationship with the givers, their relationship with God, their reputation with others, their desire to excel and prove themselves, the example of Christ, the example of others, and assurances of faithful handling of the offering.

Why would Paul, who focused on the cross of Christ, use so much of his letter asking for donations? Because he understood that there is a logical and spiritual connection between the cross and Christian behavior.

Jesus’ willingness to give is an example that believers are to follow. Our priority in life is not our own comfort—it is service, and we are to serve Christ by serving others. His grace toward us should be reflected in our grace toward others—grace not only in forgiveness, but also in the material blessings we have been given and should share.

Our attitude about offerings has spiritual significance. Paul says it is evidence of our love—our concern for others. We all need to excel in the grace of giving.

Michael Morrison

For a study of the next chapter, see www.wcg.org/lit/bible/2cor9.htm 

Mr. Taylor was a computer instructor at Twenty-First Century Academy. The situation received public notice as Mr. Taylor became a symbol of the need for improved pedestrian safety in San Francisco. The incident’s timing focused city and state officials on the issue, since it happened May 22, on the eve of the city’s pedestrian safety summit. Mr. Taylor was featured on the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle and received substantial media attention. His wife, Takako, appeared on television and was quoted in newspapers.

Mr. Taylor was in a coma for three months, then began a waking up process. He became alert and cognitive, although a tracheotomy prevented him from speaking clearly. When he died, an article then appeared in the Chronicle, and featured quotes from Mayor Willie Brown, the board of supervisors president and the principal of Mr. Taylor’s school.

Mrs. Dolengo was on her way to Wall Street to work at the American Stock Exchange around 6 a.m. The alleged attacker cut Mrs. Dolengo’s face from her temple above her eyebrow down across her eyelid and into her nose. The doctors said it was a miracle that her eye was not cut.

The alleged attacker has a history of assaults. Witnesses said that the woman spewed out hate speech toward white people.

In spite of the tragedy, Mr. Dolengo said that God had protected his wife in a series of small miracles. The first was that a retired New York City police officer was standing on the platform near Mrs. Dolengo. He was too far away to prevent the attack but came to her aid after the incident, keeping her attacker at bay, preventing a second attack.

After leaving her in the good hands of another bystander, the retired police lieutenant then chased Mrs. Dolengo’s alleged assailant to the street where he flagged down a police car and assisted in arresting the woman, who was still holding the knife. Without the actions of this officer the assailant would have slipped away in the morning crowd.

During this time another bystander gave first aid as he walked Mrs. Dolengo to the police station. She was met by another police officer who just happened to be an ex-paramedic and who knew how to properly bandage the wound. The doctors and nurses in the hospital asked who did such a good bandaging job thus protecting the wound.

The alleged assailant was later taken to Bellevue Hospital for treatment of a head wound received in the arrest and then remanded to Riker’s Island, a New York City jail.

Another small miracle was that Mrs. Dolengo was taken to New York University Medical Center rather than the closer hospital.

HARARE, Zimbabwe—Despite political uncertainty and heavy rains, about 50 leaders from Zambia and Zimbabwe gathered in Harare Feb. 16 to 18 for part two of a three-part Principles of Effective Ministry conference.

The WCG Zimbabwe Ecclesiastical Council was host, and Raymond Munengwa was organizer. Regional Pastor Kalengule Kaoma led worship, and James Henderson, WCG superintendent of African Missions, chaired the meetings. Returning to Zimbabwe for a second time in 12 years was guest speaker Curtis May, a U.S. district superintendent and director of the WCG’s Office of Reconciliation Ministries.

Mr. May gave a sermon called The Samaritan Woman to more than 300 people at the Harare church service, and gave leadership presentations on the subjects of Passionate Commitment, Empowerment, and Reconciliation. Mr. Henderson spoke on Prayer Under the Old and New Covenant, Parables for Pastors (part 2) and Reflective Leadership.