This is our October cover

In this issue

Terrorist attacks

Members in New York and Washington recounted their experiences during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

Pastor General Joseph Tkach said: "It is impossible to fully comprehend the level of devastation, or to express the feelings and emotions of those who experienced it." Page 3.

Prayer services

WCG congregations around the country conducted prayer services after the terrorist attacks.

Members in New York City area churches shared their experiences during the attacks.

The National Association of Evangelicals, of which the WCG is a member, urged its members to mobilize for a National Day of Mourning and Prayer, Sunday, Sept. 16. Page 8.

Meaning in tradegy

As we struggle to cope with the horror of catastrophic terrorist attacks against defenseless victims on American soil, writes J. Michael Feazell, we place our trust and hope in our Father in heaven who gave us his Son so that our grief and pain in the face of such tragedy will one day be replaced by the joy and triumph of eternal life. Page 12.

Window on the World

God does not waste the suffering of his children, writes Randal Dick in his Window on the World column, "Comfort Ye My People."

Each account is personally known, remembered and recounted in heaven. Page 14.

Members pour out love

By Craig Bacheller

QUEENS, New York—There has been an incredible outpouring of love and concern after the horrific and reprehensible events of Sept. 11. Members from Australia, England, Arizona, California and Pennsylvania, just to mention a few, have called expressing their sympathy and concern for their fellow brothers and sisters in the greater New York area.

Below are charities listed in the New York Times through which members can help victims' families:

 

New York Times 9/11 Neediest Fund

P.O. Box 5193 General Post Office

New York, New York, 10087

Children’s Aid Society

105 E. 22nd St.

New York, New York, 10010

New York City Fire Safety Foundation

555 W. 57th St.

New York, New York, 10019

New York City Police Foundation

345 Park Ave.

New York, New York, 10154

To donate blood, call the Red Cross at 1-800-GIVE-LIFE. To donate money to assist victims of the attacks, call the Red Cross at 1-800-HELP NOW.

New York & D.C.
members share
experiences after
terrorist attacks

By press time, the WN received the following accounts of WCG members near the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in the Washington, D.C., area during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. No WCG members have been reported killed.

Pastor General Joseph Tkach said: "We were all sobered by the tragic events that occurred yesterday in the United States.

"Most likely, we will all remember where we were and what we were doing when we first learned of the horrible terrorist attacks. It is impossible to fully comprehend the level of devastation, or to express the feelings and emotions of those who experienced it. Let us all commit ourselves to prayer of intercession. May God use us as instruments of his peace and comfort."

Craig Bacheller, Queens, New York, pastor, said: "So many lives have been shattered forever. God bless and hug your spouse and children a little longer and tighter today, and pray for God’s comfort for all those who lives have been affected forever."

Frank and Kim Ancona

My sister, Sue Pinto, who is not a WCG member, worked for the securities firm Cantor Fitzgerald on the 103rd floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. We have not heard from her.

Sue always went into work later because, as a single mom, she always took her boys to school first and then went to work.

My wife, Kim, and I watched the television reports in shock. I didn’t believe this was really happening and that my sister was in the middle of it.

My emotions roller-coasted. They went up when we saw Sue’s name on a website as alive, but critical. They went down when we were told by officials that the site was not reliable. They went up when Sue’s neighbor told us she saw Sue at 7:30 a.m. far from ready for work. They went down when we received word that one of her co-workers had phoned saying that there was lots of smoke but that she and Sue were about to leave with others organizing a rescue attempt.

We are in the process of submitting her dental records, X rays and other physical descriptions for identification. While I have hope because I serve a God of miracles, I wonder how much of this is inevitable. I may never see my baby sister again in this life. Praise God my hope extends beyond this life.

Dan and Alice Bierer

It has been hard to reach people the last few days. As far as we know, our members are safe even though we have not had contact with everyone. Some were evacuated from their buildings and have no way to call. Even if you have a working phone, getting through is still difficult.

It is hard to describe the things I felt inside as I crossed the George Washington bridge on Thursday, Sept. 13, for the first time since the terrorist attack on Tuesday morning.

It was a clear day—and it was also clear that the outstanding symbols of New York were no longer there and things would never be quite the same.

The bridge and highways were surprisingly empty. We had learned on Tuesday afternoon that our son, Stephen, who lives and works in Manhattan, was safe. Just a year ago he was working in the World Financial Center across the street from the Towers. He now works a safe distance away on Park Avenue.

We are grateful that our immediate friends and family are safe. Now it is time to reach out and help as many as we can.

We have only two people who work at the Pentagon—Hampton and Joann Haywood. Hampton was out of town on a business trip during the tragedy, and Joann decided not to go into work that day.

Like so many Americans I too am shocked and sobered by what happened. My prayers go out to all those who are affected either directly or indirectly. At the same time I am thankful we have a God who provides us with comfort in the midst of all adversity.

Craig and Mary Bacheller

My son-in-law, Stephen Patey, was close to ground zero. He fled for his life when the South Tower fell. He moved north and met up with his wife, Karen, our other daughter.

It wasn’t until after 6 p.m. that the bridges opened for foot traffic. We had to go all the way to Williamsburg to pick up the kids walking home from Manhattan.

Joe Lima is a bank examiner for the State of New York. He is a member of One in Christ Community Church, the Queens congregation. His office is across the street from 2 World Trade Center. This is the South Tower, and the first to collapse.

His building shuddered at the impact of United Flight 175 into the west face of the South Tower. His co-workers huddled at the windows to view the fireball and damage caused by this suicidal act of war.

Joe immediately called family members to assure them of his safety. While on the phone, he was ordered to evacuate his building. He and many of his co-workers stood in the street looking up at the Towers, never expecting that they would come down. To their amazement, a huge roaring sound filled the air and all kinds of debris, sand and pieces of the Tower began to rain down upon Joe and his co-workers. They ran south, for their lives.

The plumes of smoke overtook Joe and many of his co-workers. Everything was black. Joe pinned himself against a building and then by feeling with his hands inched his way to the entrance and then entered for safety. The air was thick with soot and dust and the smell like an electrical fire or electrical components burning.

When the initial shock wave subsided, he and his co-workers decided to move south to Battery Park, which is where boats and ferries leave for Staten Island and Statue of Liberty tours. Joe was unable to clean the dust and soot from his eyes, because his hands and clothes were covered. He heard someone yell, "Come in here." He saw through his bleary eyes a sink where many had huddled and were cleaning each others’ eyes so they could see. A young girl of Indian descent gently cleaned out Joe’s eyes.

They then decided to continue their trek to Battery Park. Suddenly, the kind woman who cleaned out Joe’s eyes fell to the ground gasping for breath. She was an asthmatic and was unable to get her inhaler from her office when she fled. All the foul air had blocked her lungs, causing a severe attack.

Joe, using his military training of 35 years ago, gave her mouth to mouth resuscitation, saving her life. She was able to move on and get on a ferry to Staten Island, as did Joe, where he spent the night with his daughter.

Bill Lowe seems like a member of the New York City Fire Department. He is always working with them providing water and refreshments to tired firemen, police, or rescuers. But Bill is a volunteer with the Salvation Army. He works closely with New York’s Bravest and Finest during times of crisis and trouble.

Bill’s beeper vibrated and he saw the message, "Airplane strikes Twin Towers." He punched out from his job and was asked by his boss, "Are you going?" Without hesitation, Bill replied, "Yup!"

Bill went home and picked up his truck with its supplies at the South Ozone Park fire station. He then contacted his captain for instructions on how to get into the city, and where to set up. Bill ended up near the towers on the West Side Highway. Bill had just set up his station when Tower 2 collapsed and everyone came running toward him, followed by the smoke and debris.

Bill decided to stay. After the shocks of the second tower collapse, Bill gave water to weary firefighters, police and rescue workers. He hung in there supporting those performing the grimmest of all tasks.

Craig Bacheller: commented: I have known Elizabeth Clements since she was a preteen. She has attended One In Christ most of her life. Like her father, Joe, I was bursting with pride when she graduated from St. Vincent’s College and took her place as a nurse with St. Vincent’s hospital, close to ground zero. Elizabeth is presently in her master’s of nursing program.

Elizabeth spoke of the more than 1,000 victims that had come through St. Vincent’s hospital in the past seven days.

Stanley and Jean Marie DeVeaux

I was at a meeting today on housing at Riverside Church in uptown Manhattan that was to start at 9 a.m.

Just as the meeting was about to start, James Forbes, senior pastor, announced the sad news about the World Trade Center tragedy.

Jean Marie’s office is at 45th and Lexington, about 60 blocks from the tragedy. She walked nearly three hours and 100 blocks to meet me at the Riverside Church because buses were crowded and the subways were not running north.

Once she met up with me, our concerns were getting back on Long Island. Thankfully, the authorities were allowing traffic out of Manhattan. As we rode over Throgs Neck Bridge, we could see the smoke rising where the Twin Towers once stood.

Walter and Kathy Dolengo, who worked in the Towers, are OK. Kathy was unable to go to work on Tuesday because of an illness. Walter escaped by God’s grace, Mr. Bacheller said.

I have worked on Wall Street since 1963 and have been a member of both the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange. The exchange community is one where many people know each other, making this event even more personal to many.

It was a typical work morning. When I got to the top of the stairs of the subway, I saw both towers on fire. This had to be just after the second plane hit the second tower.

After a while I finally made it to my office building. I walked through glass at times. It was beginning to look bad.

Security wouldn’t let me go up to my office, so I walked to the trading floor of the American Stock Exchange, which is on the same block. People were just mulling around because there was no trading, and they felt safer there. After a while I could smell smoke, but only mildly.

Then things got wild. People who were standing by the main entrance of the AMEX and just outside of it came rushing inside. Their faces showed great fear and panic. They thought a bomb had gone off. This caused a rush on the trading floor toward the rear of the floor and to the side exits. They were closed because of the debris and danger outside.

Smoke started filling the trading floor. Hundreds of people were going up and down various stairs to exit the building. Yet through all this, people were not trampling each other.

My nephew, Ben, who is one of my partners, said, "I have to find my mother." I said, "I’ll go with you." So he, a broker named Diane and I finally left the trading floor. When we got outside, ashes and cement dust were in the air. What caused that panic and fear that I mentioned was the collapse of the first tower.

As we were traveling to 39 Broadway, where Ben’s mother, Fran, works, we were getting covered with the ashes and cement dust. We found my sister-in-law in the lobby of the building along with our firm’s accountant, Paul. Fran was visibly shaken. There were now five of us in our group.

We all had cell phones, but they were of little use because of the number of people trying to phone out. After many tries, contact was made with Fran’s daughter, my niece. She told my family that I was safe.

We remained there for a while, talked and comforted each other. At one point I was standing by the entrance of the lobby when all of a sudden, the ground started rumbling. It was the second tower falling. I ran back farther into the lobby.

As I looked out through the glass doors, I saw what looked like a blizzard at first, going horizontally from left to right. Then it turned black as midnight outside. In reality it was an absolutely gorgeous sun-shiny day, but not from our perspective. A man with the building maintenance crew had a couple of boxes of facemasks and handed them out to the people in the lobby. We could now breathe without inhaling the ashes and cement dust.

We heard that the R Train was running, so we decided to check it out. The five of us left the building and walked through the new debris from the second tower to the Whitehall Street Station where the R Train stops. We were covered even more with dust and ashes. We found a train, but it was not going anywhere. There was power to the third rail, but not to the switches.

After some time, we decided to go to Battery Park, where we heard that the Staten Island Ferry was running. It was close to the subway station where we were.

When we got there, not only was it running, but tugboats were giving rides to various places in Brooklyn and New Jersey. We took a tugboat to Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. While I was on the tugboat, I looked at the skyline and didn’t recognize it. The entire experience of the day was surreal.

Ahmad Taylor, Brooklyn member, was in the World Trade Center. He was evacuated after the first plane struck. When the South Tower began to collapse, he was only two blocks away. He ran for his life and found refuge in a building in which all the glass was blown out, only to be inundated with the smoke and debris. Everything was pitch black, and he could not see. After the shock wave, he was covered in gray soot and he then began to flee for his life northward.

Gladys and her husband, John, had taken a later bus than normal to get to work. As they were coming though the tunnel from Brooklyn into Manhattan, the traffic stopped.

As they came out of the tunnel, Gladys, who was sitting by the window, saw the plane hit the building. She works on the 69th floor and that is just about where the plane hit.

Her husband told Steve Botha, Brooklyn pastor, that if they had caught the earlier bus, Gladys would have been in the building at her desk much earlier.

They are deeply grateful for the series of events that kept her out of the building. Of course, with the rest of the community, they mourn the tragic loss of life and are deeply saddened by the incredible suffering that so many are enduring.

Thank God for his protection. When the train I was on arrived at the World Trade Center, I began to smell something like gas. As I made my way up the escalator, I heard loud voices saying, "Get out of the building now!"

When I was outside and across the street, I looked up and saw a huge hole in the building with fire and smoke gushing out. Unfortunately, I also saw people jumping from about 70 to 80 stories up. I contacted my wife, Leslie, to let her know that I was OK. We also contacted members of the Newark congregation.

I thank God because he also protected me from the first terrorist act on the World Trade Center in 1993.

Other stories can be told. So far as we know, our members are OK. We won’t know for some time, but at this point it would appear that family and friends of the members are OK as well. Everyone has been expressing their gratitude for the outpouring of prayers.

I arrived in New York City, Monday, Sept. 10. I came to New York to visit my cousin Annie in Greenwich Village. On Tuesday morning, she went to work in New Jersey, and I planned to go shopping. She called me from work just after the first plane hit, saying I should change my plans. Minutes later, after the second plane hit, she called again and said I shouldn’t go anywhere.

After that I was glued to the television and called family and friends back home to let them know I was safe. A little later I woke up my cousin’s roommate so she would know what was going on. With my cousin stuck in Jersey, I spent the entire day with her roommate. I consider it a blessing that she was there so that I wasn’t stuck in the apartment by myself. And she later told me how glad she was that I was at the apartment as well.

Michelle’s mother, Judith, said: "The news of the terrorist attack on the Towers put fear in my heart. My mind and heart filled with prayer. Fortunately my daughter was able to call me shortly after I arrived at work. What a relief!"

I heard the news of the first attack on the Trade Center shortly after arriving to work at Peterson Consulting in Washington. Then talk began circulating that the Pentagon had just been hit.

Our office was evacuated. Out on the street we could hear sirens in every direction, but couldn’t yet see any smoke. Confusion began to set in, cell phones and pay phones weren’t working and people didn’t know whether to take the Metro, walk or hide. I couldn’t go home because the Pentagon is between my office and my apartment.

A small group of us began walking from our downtown office, which is no more than a mile from the White House, away from the government buildings toward Georgetown. After a few minutes we could hear jet engines overhead, which caused some concern until we saw that it was a fighter plane.

As we walked up the hill toward Georgetown we could now see the massive plume of smoke coming from the Pentagon. As we came over Key Bridge into Virginia, people began streaming back the other way into Washington.

Finally someone told us to turn around, that police were evacuating the area because two hijacked planes were only a few minutes out and heading straight for Arlington. This was the only time I sensed any panic in what had been an otherwise orderly and strangely calm evacuation of the city.

Our group decided against going back over the bridge and decided to head inland into the suburbs instead, where we found a place that was both open and had Cable News Network. After some time we finally found a working pay phone and managed to get through to relatives to check in and get an update on what had happened. By this time the mood had gone from worry to indignation and anger at the fact that we had just been evacuated from our own capital.

Message from Joseph Tkach

"We express our profound sympathy for the victims and families of those who were in the hijacked planes, those who were in and around the buildings that were destroyed and for the firefighters, police and rescue workers who have given their lives in trying to save victims.

"It is indeed inspiring to witness the self-sacrifice and courage of New Yorkers and others around the nation who are pulling together to offer assistance in this crisis.

"Let us pray for and stand behind President George Bush and his advisers as they work to meet this challenge, and for the people of New York for what they will face in the hours and days ahead. Let us pray for the nation, for the recovery and comfort of all who are suffering, and for Christians to demonstrate the kindness and love of Jesus. May we rest our faith in our Lord God who will see us through our times of trial when we trust in him."

International Response

Pastor General Joseph Tkach received the following messages offering condolences and prayers:

During this terrible time of crisis for the American nation we wanted you to know that your brothers and sisters in Germany and Austria will be keeping you all in our prayers.

The cowardly terrorist attack is a poignant and representative reminder of the violence around this world and of our need for God’s kingdom in its fullness.

All members of the Worldwide Church of God in France are deeply shocked by the savage and arrogant terrorist attacks against the people of the United States. As one French columnist wrote this morning in Le Monde, "We are all Americans." Your grief and your sorrow are ours.

We pray that God, as the Comforter, may bring peace and strength to the survivors and to the grieving families who will have to cope courageously with this horrible ordeal.

The churches and members throughout Africa are praying actively for all the U.S. members and also for the U.S. people and government at this time. Everyone is horrified by the terrorist attacks, and we are praying for you in the midst of your national and private pain and suffering.

We were shocked here in Cameroon by the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. We watched them on television.

Jean-Jacques Ndoudoumou, leader of the WCG in Cameroon, and all the members are praying for the American people, the U.S. government and the church there.

Greetings from the members in West Africa. On the terrible violence perpetrated against the people of the United States, please know that we share in your shock, horror and grief and pray that the Lord our God will comfort, encourage and heal you all, especially the victims.

We know that our members are safe in the hands of our loving Lord. The congregation in Accra is praying for you this evening.

David and Nancy Silcox

I sit here wondering what to say. I am stunned and lost for words. America and things American have been so much a part of my life for the last 40 years that it seems like this has happened around the corner.

On behalf of all the churches in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Middle East, may I express our condolences to our brothers and sisters in the United States. We pray for all those bereaved and injured in this shocking atrocity.

It is inconceivable that members of our own fellowship have not been directly involved in this tragedy and we pray for them at this time as well.

Please pass on our concern. May God help us all. God bless America.

WCG congregations
conduct prayer services

National Day of Mourning and Prayer, Sept. 16

The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), of which the WCG is a member, announced from Washington, D.C., that it urged its 51 member denominations and 43,000 churches to mobilize for a National Day of Mourning and Prayer, Sunday, Sept. 16.

"The Scriptures call us to ‘pray for those in authority,’ so we urge prayer as well for President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and our government leaders through this national tragedy," said Edward L. Foggs, NAE’s chairman of the board.

The National Association of Evangelicals joined with National Prayer Committee, the National Day of Prayer and the Mission America Coalition in sponsoring a full-page advertisement in the newspaper USA Today Friday, Sept. 14, calling for a National Day of Mourning and Prayer on Sunday, Sept. 16. This advertisement can be seen at www.nationalprayer.org

Ken and Nancy Williams

Sept. 12 through 16 pastors of our New York City congregations brought members together to pray, give testimony to their faith in Jesus, and comfort and encourage each other to seek the Lord, reported Ken Williams, district superintendent.

God graciously spared our pastors and members during the heinous terrorist attack against unsuspecting, defenseless citizens of New York City. We give thanks to our merciful God because he protected all our pastors and members. Sadly we have learned that some extended family members and friends are among the New York Trade Center missing.

Tragically some of our members witnessed desperate people leaping to their death from the Twin Towers rather than being burned alive. None of our members was injured physically but the heartbreak and resulting emotional scars remain.

New York City pastors encouraged members during services Sept. 15 and 16 to seek the Lord and his will for our lives. I attended two of our three New York City church services after the crisis.

Our Manhattan church conducted a service Sept. 15 giving members the opportunity to give testimonials to the power of God. Pastor Dan Bierer explained that God permits people to do evil. He reminded us that God is sovereign and larger than any evil committed by people. He also reminded us that God can take this awful act of terrorism and turn it into a kingdom-expanding work that he will accomplish through Christians who seek the Lord’s will and strength.

Some members had walked through the valley of death Tuesday morning and perceived God’s presence during and after the crisis. Luis and Gloria Rosales expressed their gratitude as they alternately sobbed and then told the story of how God spared the life of their 12-year-old son, Bryan.

Lionel Rambaran soberly expressed his acceptance of the news that his niece, Renee, is on the list of the missing. An elderly woman broke into sobs as she cried out to the Lord to care for the children that were being watched in the World Trade Center day-care center. Their lives were spared but their parents are among the missing. They are now orphans.

The One in Christ Community Church, our congregation in Queens, was host for a citywide gathering of members for mourning, prayer and remembrance to seek the Lord Sunday morning, Sept. 16. It was a time when members of our three congregations could gather to share their mutual woe, and faith in the Lord.

Pastor Craig Bacheller told us that in a time like this, unprecedented in our lifetime, we are reminded that we need the Lord. This theme was emphasized as members gave vivid testimonials of God’s deliverance and sustaining strength. God alone saved during a time when national security and their own strength failed them.

I was sobered and encouraged as I listened first to the near death experiences and then response of God the Holy Spirit in our members. Like other New Yorkers, our members are seeking to do what they can to help. One in Christ Community Church collected about $2,500 to aid charities. It was a day to express the disbelief, shock and depth of fear experienced as we witnessed first the attack and then the collapse of the Twin Towers.

We realized that our faith can be placed in the living God alone. I gave the following prayer during the service, which seems to reflect the hearts and minds of all who worshiped together:

"We are attacked and besieged. Fear and mourning have gripped our souls. Tears and anger flow with abandon. Life and liberty have been severely challenged.

"O God, in such a moment of shock we hardly know what to pray. And yet we know, in you alone we will find hope, courage and strength.... In your grace, bless us in this time with your holy and life-giving presence. For blessed are you, O God, and blessed is all that you do."

Fellowship of Faith, the Independence, Kansas, church, participated in a candlelight prayer service Wednesday night, Sept. 12, the day after the terrorist attack on New York and Washington, D.C.

The service was sponsored by the Independence Ministerial Association. About 500 people attended.

The service included prayers for the families who lost loved ones, President George Bush and the nation. Those who attended were led in singing "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

Charles Rice of Fellowship of Faith and a past president of the Ministerial Association, challenged the crowd to consider how suddenly our lives can be taken from us, that perhaps the real tragedy was not those Christians who lost their lives in the attack, but rather those who never accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The crowd was encouraged to consider their own personal relationship with Jesus and to realize that we cannot wait until tomorrow or next week or next year to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, because tomorrow may never come. That holds true for our families, friends and neighbors. We need to be about our Father’s business and share the gospel of God’s loving grace.

The program ended with the singing of the national anthem.

Peter Whitting

The weekend of Sept. 15 and 16 was for members in Baltimore and Chewsville, Maryland, a moving and inspirational moment in our congregational life, reported Pastor Peter Whitting.

I would have to say that we simply "tarried in prayer, praise and the word" to the extent that each service was about three hours long. We all felt a great need to be together in prayer. We sang, we prayed and let the word of God minister to our needs and to the needs of the nation.

The prayer time was truly moving. Some said it was the first time they were able to grieve and cry, because for some time they felt emotionally disoriented and angry. Here was time to have our thoughts and emotions channeled by the word, and concern for others.

Billy Graham during the service conducted in Washington, D.C., Sept. 14 thanked President Bush for calling the nation to pray, and I say thank you to the President as well. Each service was closed with communion and congregational reading of a prayer given to us by the National Prayer Committee.

As I drove from the Sunday morning service in Chewsville I thanked God for the miracle he has worked in our denomination, and for the fact that he opened to all of us the Great House of God that exists across denominational lines. I also thanked him that the new covenant has taken such deep roots in the congregations that he has allowed me to minister to.

Jonathan & Bethany Stepp

In response to President Bush’s call for a national day of prayer and remembrance, members of the Nashville, Tennessee, church gathered at the home of Josh and Bonnie Welch Friday, Sept. 14, to pray for our nation and all those affected by the tragedy.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., members dropped by to pray, read scripture and discuss the events of the week. As on previous National Days of Prayer, members sat in chairs in the Welches’ front yard while they prayed.

"I especially like that part of our prayer times at the Welches," said Pastor Jonathan Stepp. "Being outside when we pray means that others in the Welches’ busy neighborhood will see their home as a place of prayer in that community."

During Nashville’s weekly worship service, the congregation took extra time during intercessory prayer to talk about their feelings and offer thanks to God for several relatives and friends who could have been hurt in the attack but were not.

Several members offered prayers praising Christ for his protection, asking for his peace. They prayed that all those who live in the spiritual darkness that leads to this kind of violence would come to a knowledge of the light and peace of Christ.

Brad Rosenquist, assistant pastor, based his sermon on the gospel reading for the weekend from the Revised Common Lectionary: Luke 15:1-10. In these two parables Jesus compares God to a shepherd who seeks out the one lost sheep and a woman who searches for one lost coin.

The congregation was deeply moved when Pastor Brad illustrated the sermon by comparing the determination of those seeking to rescue people from the destroyed buildings in New York to the determination that God shows in seeking to rescue people from the destroyed world of sin in which we live.

John Young

The Milton, Florida, fellowship had an emergency prayer service on Tuesday evening after the attack. Although it was short notice, 25 members, including several teens, attended and experienced a moving praise service followed by a spontaneous prayer session led by Pastor John Young.

Prayers were lifted up on behalf of all the families affected by this tragedy, as well as for the Arab nations and Muslims in particular. We sought God’s grace and his peace for all who are suffering and searching for answers.

Karl and Carla Reinagel

Des Moines members joined with our brothers and sisters in the Evangel Chapel Foursquare Church, where we meet for worship, for a joint prayer meeting the evening of Sept. 11, reported Nona DeVries.

Pastor Karl Reinagel and Pastor Wanda Ross of Evangel Chapel met after a combined prayer meeting for pastors in the city that afternoon to plan a service for church members and neighbors that evening. Calls went out, and more than 40 members and guests attended.

The pastors read and commented on a number of scriptures that helped us understand and focus on God’s work in the world. Pastor Wanda then reviewed a detailed outline of the areas for which we need to pray, including the victims and their families, the rescue workers, President Bush and other national leaders, the military who would be called to act and for pastors throughout the nation, especially in the New York area.

After listening to President Bush’s address to the nation at 7:30 p.m., the assembly lifted these concerns in prayer.

James & Phyllis Humphries

The Mount Sterling, Kentucky, church had a prayer service Sept. 12 for our country and for the victims of the terrorist attacks.

Members also helped with a community prayer service at noon Sept. 13. That evening a candlelight prayer service was conducted on the lawn of the courthouse in Morehead, Kentucky.

Pastor James Humphries spoke briefly and gave a prayer for the nation and for the victims and families. The event was covered by all three television stations in Lexington and aired later that evening.

Members also participated in three community prayer services on Saturday and two on Sunday.

Some headquarters employees met for prayer at 9 a.m., Friday, Sept. 14, in the third floor conference room.

Pastor Lucious Smith opened Friendship Baptist Church (where the Pasadena congregation meets) from noon to 1 p.m., Sept. 14 and welcomed WCG members.

Pasadena’s NewLife Fellowship had a prayer service Sept. 16. Merv Walton spoke on praying for repentance; Tom Hanson spoke on praying for the nation and leaders; and Pastor Bermie Dizon spoke on praying for revival in the church. The congregation broke into groups of three or four to pray after the first two messages.

Rayminda Reyes was worship leader as Hearts of Praise led the congregation in worship.

The Los Angeles and Pasadena NewLife Fellowship congregations donated $1,770 to American Red Cross disaster relief.

Hasadore Hall

The Asheville, North Carolina, church, pastored by Hasadore Hall, conducted a service devoted to mourning, prayer and reflection Sunday, Sept. 16, reported Anna Stillwell. The American flag was presented by Daniel Israel, who completed basic training for the Marine Corps, while the congregation sang "The Star Spangled Banner." One our our young members, Kelsey Stillwell, read the 23rd Psalm.

The congregation sang songs of praise and hymns that reminded us of God’s sovereignty and protection. God strengthened our faith as we read his word aloud as a church family. We were reminded that God can comfort those who mourn and that he brings beauty from ashes.

The members, wearing ribbons of our national colors, then bowed their heads as several members prayed. We heard a heartrending prayer of confession that we haven’t sought God as a nation. Intercession was made for those who died violent deaths and for thousands of families that are now without loved ones.

We then prayed for President Bush and those who lead our nation. A grateful spirit was lifted to heaven for those who sacrificed their own peace of mind to work among the dead and the wreckage and for those who will put themselves in harm’s way to protect and defend our national freedoms.

We then prayed for our enemies, asking God to turn their hearts toward Jesus so that they and their people could be blessed.

The congregation collected $400, which was donated to the American Red Cross.

The Greenville, South Carolina, church gathered Sept. 15 to honor those who affected by the tragedy. The service began with Tim Titus reading a prayer used by many churches in our nation to seek God’s presence and to lift our hearts toward him as our Savior and healer.

We were then led in national hymns that give glory to God for all our blessings, and special music from Judge Dean and Marylouise Kozma.

Next, members led prayers to confess our national sins; to remember those who died and their families; for President Bush and our national leaders; to remember those who put themselves in harm’s way in protecting and rescuing people; and a prayer for our enemies.

Members made a donation to the American Red Cross.

Eric Larison

My husband, Eric Larison, pastor of the Syracuse, New York, church, received a phone call from a WCG member Friday, Sept. 14, at 5:30 p.m., asking if he would be available that evening to come to a nursing home for terminally ill seniors. They were asking for 40 candles and a minister to speak at a candlelight vigil at 7 p.m., reported Sue Larison.

By 6:45 p.m., my husband, our four-year-old son, Stephen, and I arrived at the James Square Nursing Home in Syracuse. Already residents were gathering in the courtyard in their wheelchairs. We expected to have about 40 in attendance, but the number soon grew to 125 residents and staff. It was impossible to fit any more wheelchairs into the courtyard.

My son and I, along with Ben and Chris Trevino, also from the Syracuse church, handed out candles, while Eric and one of the residents began the service by leading the residents in singing "God Bless America."

In the next 10 minutes he gave many words of comfort to the seniors. Most of them had no family with them, little hope and much concern about the tragic events of Tuesday. Eric also preached the gospel in a powerful way. He told them about God’s love and Jesus’ sacrifice for us. The service finished with a loving prayer and the singing of "God Bless America" once again.

HEADQUARTERS—Church employees pray Sept. 14. [Photo by Thomas C. Hanson]

PASADENA PRAYER SERVICE—
Clockwise from bottom: Jaime Ferrer,
Steve, Stephanie and Aaron Golden and
Willie Jacinto. [Photo by Thomas C. Hanson]

Finding Meaning
in Tragedy

By J. Michael Feazell

As we struggle to cope with the horror of catastrophic terrorist attacks against defenseless victims on American soil, we place our trust and hope in our Father in heaven who gave us his Son so that our grief and pain in the face of such tragedy will one day be replaced by the joy and triumph of eternal life.

The whole tenor of Scripture tells us that God can be trusted to take good care of those who put their faith in him. But the Bible makes no bones about the fact that it takes faith, because the actual path of human life, even for the faithful, as we know so well, is regularly fraught with trouble, trial and pain.

So often, when we look back on a dark period of suffering in our lives, we begin to discover that the awful journey we have had to make led us to a place of peace and maturity—a sense of intimacy with God and security in him we could never otherwise have known. And as we know, some journeys of faith are the kind in which that discovery lies only on the other side of death.

Experience has taught us that life sometimes becomes a raging, stormy ocean of pain, grief and depression, dragging us into its dark and merciless depths. In the swirling confusion, we cling with sore, tired arms to a ragged plank of faith, a faith that whispers in our drowning ears that somehow God is there, somehow he knows and somehow he won’t leave us. It is all that gets us through, this flickering little flame of trust in an invisible God who promises deliverance and security and hope.

When the storm finally ends and a bright sun warms the calm sea, we begin to see, maybe for the first time, the ways in which the gentle hand of a loving Father was holding us the whole time. But it is not easy. No one ever said it would be. That is, no one who knew what they were talking about.

God loves us, the Scriptures tell us. But when the doctor informs us our five-year-old has cancer, or we find out our abusive spouse has also been molesting the children, or we wake up in a hospital to learn we lost our legs in a car wreck, or our mother is killed in a tornado, or someone we love is burned and crushed to death trying to rescue others after a horrific terrorist attack, all this talk of "God’s love" can seem crushingly hollow, if not downright offensive.

Who is this God who lets trauma and disaster devastate the hearts and hopes of people who love him and trust in him? Who is this invisible, silent God who claims to never leave nor forsake us? Where is he when we really need him?

"What terrible sins have you committed?" we have heard some Christians ask of hurting people, "that such punishment has come upon you?" Some Christians can’t imagine that God would allow bad things to happen to "real" Christians. But—aren’t we all sinners, even "real" Christians?

So why are some of us "punished" with disaster while others, guilty of the same sins or worse, seem to "go scot-free"? Thank God the people who think every human tragedy is "God’s judgment on sinners" are not God, and do not speak for God.

Still, it does raise a troubling question. We do know we are sinners, and we do know we don’t deserve anything from God, and sometimes that makes us wonder whether the reason God hasn’t delivered us is that he doesn’t really care about us. After all, why should he? We know we are sorry excuses for godly people. We know it and God knows it. So why should God bother himself with our problems?

In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul explained it like this: "For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:6-8, New American Standard Bible).

God loves us sinners—so much that Christ died for us to bail us out of our sins. And he was raised from the dead for us, too—to establish us in a new life in him.

So the sin argument holds no water. In fact, it raises the ante, because if God went to all that trouble to save us from sin and spiritual death, why does he so seldom lift a finger to save us from the here and now tragedies and traumas that constantly rip us apart?

As Christians, we believe that God does rescue us. But we believe he rescues us from what we actually need rescuing from, not from what we think we need rescuing from. Still, when our child is dying, we rightly want rescue from that, not some invisible, spiritual thing. And if that rescue does not come, how are we supposed to continue trusting in God’s power and love?

The Bible tells us that our lives—our families, our health, our fortunes—are indeed important to God. It tells us that God is very concerned about our here and now circumstances, but he is also concerned about far more than our present circumstances—he is concerned about us—forever. We are assured that he made us, and that he made us because he wanted to, and that he loves us because we are his.

When it comes to life and death matters, the gospel assures us that Jesus Christ is the Resurrection and the Life; he takes care of restoring our lives. The gospel also assures us that God is making us into the image of Christ (Colossians 3:10)—a whole, strong, together person, a person who is everything we were made to be and ought to be and wish we could be, but never, in this life, actually seem to be. That may be invisible, but it really does happen as God works within us—from the inside out (Colossians 3:1-4). And suffering plays an important role in that process.

The gospel assures us of an unassailable inheritance of salvation that awaits us in heaven (1 Peter 1:3-4), and it assures us that God protects us through faith, not necessarily from the trials and traumas of this life, but from whatever might attempt to wrest from us that salvation (verse 5).

It is in the hope—and assurance—of that eternal salvation that we can take joy in this life, despite the evils that might befall us in the meantime (verse 6). Peter calls our faith, that is, our trust in God’s faithfulness to keep his word to us, a faith that is forged in difficult, or "fiery" trials, "more precious than gold" (verse 7). Peter admits that we are asked to believe in a Savior we cannot see (verse 8), but assures us that our trust in and love for our invisible Savior gives us a present joy that is beyond description. And he assures us that it will climax in glory and honor and salvation (verses 7-9).

Who is this God who lets his people suffer even though they cry out to him for deliverance? He is Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God—the one with the nail holes and the spear wound. You’ll recognize him by the bloody mass of gashes and lacerations and the crown of thorns. He’s the one they ridiculed and lied about. The one they spit on, beat up and murdered.

He is also the one who stays right by our side in all our pain and anguish. He suffers along with us through our every grief and heartache. He doesn’t leave us—not even in our darkest nightmare (Deuteronomy 31; Hebrews 13:5). But his presence is invisible.

Instead of bailing us out of our here and now catastrophes, he walks through them with us (Matthew 28:20). He cries with us; he aches with us (Hebrews 2:18).

Our hope, as Christians, is in the resurrection. It is this hope—a hope fueled by trust—that makes life worth living and gives us what it takes to keep going when everything in us wants to give up.

That is why we can, even in the midst of our pain, trust in our invisible Savior and reach out to help, support and encourage one another (Ephesians 4:31-5:1). The inspiring stories of heroism and courage we have heard in the aftermath of our recent national tragedy are a testament to the invisible inner strength, brotherhood and fortitude of humanity that is rooted in the humanity of our risen Lord in whom we all live and move and have our being.

Because Christ suffered for us, our tragedies are not meaningless, but are part of the fodder, the raw material, of our spiritual wholeness (Hebrews 2:14-15). We emerge from them stronger and wiser and lovelier, and as we keep our trust in our God who promises to be our salvation, we are, in his love, forged into unity with Christ and with one another.

With all Americans and America’s allies around the world, we rest in God’s mercy and grace, praying for healing and comfort for the victims and families of the terrorist attacks, and for courage, wisdom, resolve and unity on the part of our President, our national leaders and our citizens to face the challenges ahead.

With thanksgiving, we praise God for the inspiring sacrifice and courage of those who have given so much, even to the point of sacrificing their own lives, to rescue and treat survivors of the attacks, and for the solidarity of New Yorkers and the nation as a whole in this time of crisis.

Window on the World

From Randal Dick, superintendent of missions

'Comfort ye my People'...

God does not waste the suffering of his children. Each account is personally known, remembered and recounted in heaven.

Let’s look at one of those accounts through the eyes of Serge Volpe, a WCG member in Queens, New York: I was at work at the Bank of New York adjacent to the Twin Towers when the first plane struck. Some of us were upstairs in the cafeteria buying breakfast when we heard a whistlelike sound and then a huge explosion. Our building shook (much like it did eight years ago after the first World Trade Center attack) and then an enormous fireball went up from the impact.

As we watched, some people gathered by the huge hole in the building. Apparently the heat became too intense for them and they joined hands and jumped. This was about 75 to 80 stories from the bottom. Many of us in my building observed this, and many wept openly and some began to pray and cry out to God.

I prayed and went back to my desk to call loved ones to ask for prayers, but the phones were dead and cellular use was nearly impossible.

Then the second plane struck the other tower with an even greater explosion. By then the people in the streets were running, and some were just staring in shock or disbelief.

Emergency announcements in my building were advising everyone to remain calm and recommended all remain in the building. But after observing more victims jump to their deaths, I decided I didn’t want to be on the 16th floor so I went down to the lobby.

Because I was there during the first terrorist attack eight years ago, and I remembered how nearly impossible it was to leave the area, I decided to leave the building and walk north.

By then the streets were filled with people and confusion ruled. There was little in the way of crowd control or police presence yet, and those few officers on the streets were urging everyone to head north.

I walked over to City Hall and saw that the subway station was still open. I went down the stairs to try to catch a train heading north just as the first tower began to collapse.

I made it as far as the south Bronx when it was announced that all subway service was suspended. The buses by now were overcrowded, but everyone remained calm and civil. The prevailing mood among people was shock, horror, sorrow and anger.

Serge, and millions of the rest of us, will never be quite the same. It is important for us, as Christians, to recognize that the stress of what we are experiencing right now in the United States is rending a huge hole in the hearts of many. The Christ in us creates a need in us to respond in some meaningful way, but how?

We can give blood, write letters and pray, but what directly spiritual help could we give someone without hope at a time like this?

It is ironic that one of the biggest mistakes we make in this country, evangelistically speaking, is that we try to force-feed spiritual food to those who are not spiritually hungry. Now we have people whose spiritual malnutrition has rendered them emotionally incapacitated, and we don’t know what to do.

You may ask, "In what way can I serve Christ in the process of making disciples?" First let me suggest what not to do. Well-intentioned Christians will be inoculating thousands of people against Christ because what they say (in an effort to lead a person to Christ) will convey the message that we care more about you being in our church than we do about you.

This is not the time to run around trying to get "decisions" for Christ, by asking people if they know what would happen to them if they die tonight. They will get a lot of decisions from scared people who later reject being manipulated. Some will be more concerned about their doctrine than people.

I was disappointed to see a major religious figure being interviewed on national television after the attack. The morning show host was asking for any spiritual guidance and comfort that the religious figure might be able to give at this time. All he seemed to be able to focus on was the need for people to get right with God so they could face him at the judgment.

He said: "I know that some of those people in that tower are in heaven right now … and they wouldn’t want to come back."

This is no help to the living who are struggling to understand where God was when this tragedy occurred.

The unbelievers in that tower, their family and friends are the ones that need the gospel now, and all you can do is tell them that their loved ones are lost eternally?

Is fear the basis for the grace of Christ? I thought perfect love casts out fear. It would seem to me that the power of Christ’s decision to save is greater than the power of Satan to blind. But this leader’s theology has them in hell for eternity at this point. What hope or comfort could he offer the families of those who did not know Christ? None.

What about the families of the ones he thinks are in heaven now? Where is the comfort for those who are left behind? If this is the best we can do, in terms of helping unbelievers know our God, then it’s no wonder that many people find organized religion of little value.

In order to overcome the obstacles in our path, this nation needs to draw close to God. Those who are lost need a path. They need some light on that path, and they need someone who is already on that path to offer to walk with them for a while. Christians should be sought after, not considered part of the pain.

Let me leave you with some simple truths that hurting and lost people need to hear at this time—presented to them in a sensitive, unconditionally supportive manner.

The love of God is the critical component that transforms us from fearful to faithful, from wandering to being secure in all aspects of life.

Jesus as a person is the self-revelation of the love of God, expressed in a way we can perceive. That’s why he is so important. It is through him that we perceive who we are and how much we are loved.

Express relationship with God. Avoid the mistake of putting God in transactional terms. God is not contractual— he is covenantal.

Too many take the tremendous security that is in a relationship with Christ and reduce it to a series of transactions. Repent—and you’ll be saved; pray—and God will intervene; obey—and you’ll be rewarded; disobey—and you will be punished.

People need to know that their God knows all the depravity that is in humanity. Help them sense what the prodigal son experienced when he returned home. He came home to ask to be a servant. He knew he was disqualified to be a son.

But the father said, "No, you’re coming back, but as my son, not as a servant." That assurance is what lost and hurting people need, not to be dangled over the fires of hell.

Convey to people the reality of Isaiah 40: "Comfort ye my people." Tell them that their warfare is ended. Sure, we experience all the depravity of humanity, we get sick, we will die. And sometimes we die senselessly. But the price has been paid and the outcome has been secured the moment that Jesus burst from that grave.

People need to know that their iniquities are pardoned. The power of God in Jesus Christ to save is greater than all the evil in whatever form that could be hurled against us. People need to know that God gave the ultimate gift to demonstrate his commitment to us. Christ took on the suffering that humanity has brought on itself in order to conquer it.

Isaiah says we should make for the hurting person a highway to our God. Make it a known, navigable path. Most people deep inside know how guilty they really are. To be led to Christ, most people need to know just how special they are to him—in spite of all that guilt.

At this time, masses of people who don’t know Christ are hoping he really exists. Even those who are angry at God and reject him, are hopeful. If there was no hope or desire, they would be matter of fact, not angry.

Now is the time for us to be available and transparent to the unbelievers around us. As in the parable of the Good Samaritan, will we hurry past the one who was beaten up and robbed, taking comfort in our own assurance?

Or will we love them and assure them that if they grasp the feet of Christ, he will uphold them through the warfare in this life and free them from the anguish and fear that comes from feeling they are alone in the universe.

WHERE SERGE WORKED—Bank of
New York building, where Serge Volpe
worked. Seven World Trade Center
collapsed in the distance. [Photo by Bill Lowe]

Regional Snapshot

From Bill and Daphne Sidney

Philippine churches
equip leaders and
plant churches

By Pedro Melendez

MANILA, Philippines—This has been a year of great opportunities for the churches in the Philippines to serve and grow despite major political, social and natural upheavals.

After a failed impeachment trial begun late last year, President Joseph Estrada was ousted Jan. 20 through a popular people power movement dubbed EDSA-2. (EDSA stands for Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, Manila’s biggest thoroughfare).

No sooner had Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sat as new president than a mass-based EDSA-3 May 1 threatened, but failed, to unseat her. Crisis after crisis has since challenged the new administration: kidnaps for ransom, the eruption of Mt. Mayon volcano, flooding in many places, political wrangling and the falling currency (peso), among others.

Meanwhile, WCG members have kept on equipping local church leaders for more competent and greater service to God, members and countrymen. Some congregations have continued missionary or evangelistic outreaches; others have started new congregations.

Through networking with other evangelical churches and parachurch organizations by Rey Taniajura, manager of Leadership Development and Church Relations, our local church leaders have been participating in Foundations for Christian Leadership (FCL), a program developed by the International School of Theology (ISOT)-Asia. It is endorsed by the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC), of which the WCG-Philippines is a member.

FCL seeks to fill an urgent need to provide basic theological and administrative competence for church pastors who have not had solid pastoral training. While many churches have been raised here through enthusiastic evangelizing efforts, the training of would-be pastors has lagged behind. FCL fast-tracks the training for pastoral competency.

FCL has benefited our many leaders who serve on pastoral teams. Because of the dip in income over the past several years, many of our salaried pastors have been retired. The alternative has been to form volunteer pastoral teams. Various stages of the program have been conducted in Baguio, Manila and San Pablo for the Luzon churches; and Cebu and Bacolod for the Visayas and Mindanao churches.

Another leadership training program, more basic than FCL, is the Servant-Leaders Development Program (SLDP). This was put together by our own team at the Institute of Family, Leadership and Biblical Studies (IFLBS). Several of our church leaders in Cebu and Manila have finished this program, and many more are undergoing this training, with WCG pastors and other leaders as teachers.

We also have on-going studies to broaden members’ appreciation of the ministries that God makes available to every member. More than 300 members have finished the eight-session Condensed World Mission Course, some are currently taking it, and others begin in October.

At least four WCG members are enrolled at the Asian Theological Seminary, and several others are enrolled in other seminaries. Two are taking doctor of ministry classes at the International School of Theology—Asia. In April, 40 pastors and leaders completed a class on pastoral counseling taught by Stewart De Boer by special arrangement with ATS’s Lay Institute.

Several have also undertaken training in conducting daily Vacation Bible Schools and other ministries. Members in Metro Manila and Pampanga have been undergoing training in Evangelism Explosion (EE) as well.

The first National Women’s Conference in Baguio City March 30 to April 1 helped women appreciate their gifts from God that have enabled them to affect their families, congregations and communities. Helen Jackson and Helene Kiyono from the United States and Mila Paunil from the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches were resource speakers.

As a natural overflow of our members’ equipping, with the help and power of God’s Spirit, God has opened many doors to reach out to our fellow citizens—and our Asian neighbors—who need to know the love of God through Jesus Christ.

Most outstanding has been the work God has done through our missionary in Sorsogon, Enrico Mercader, now assisted by Joe Basera. In his initial contact with members of the Cimmarron tribe in San Rafael, Sorsogon, Mr. Mercader shared the gospel with them and helped them improve their living conditions.

Eventually a church was established there. Last year, Mr. Mercader learned from tribal chieftain Wellington Bien that the other tribal communities in the area were also interested in having God’s Word shared with them. Outreach Bible studies thus opened in Matnog, and then in Pieto-Diaz, both in Sorsogon, in November.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Indigenous People (NCIP) had gotten wind of Mr. Mercader’s efforts. Impressed by the holistic ministry of the church, Silverio Garcia, Sorsogon NCIP chief, asked to have the WCG partner with his office to help improve the lives of the 44 tribes under his jurisdiction.

Several other church leaders are reaching out to other indigenous tribal communities elsewhere in the Philippines. They are Onesimus Galit (among the Manyan tribe of Mindoro), Perlito Bayeta (among the Palawan tribe), Joe and Norma Salvador (among the Maguindanao people in Mindanao), and Boni Gonzales and Abelardo Balisnomo (among the Aeta tribal people in Iriga, Camarines Sur).

We have two WCG witnesses to China: Elizabeth Leyva and Cecilia Bangay. Both teach English at the college level in the southern region. Soon we will officially have a third witness, in Diody Silva [see box]. Two other missionaries are soon to leave for their mission fields: Delora Sales to Thailand and Malou Leyva to another Asian country.

The regional office, combining its resources with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, arranged for relief goods to reach victims of Mt. Mayon eruptions in Albay, Luzon, in June. The WCG was among the first church groups to respond to the needs of those affected by the calamity.

The women’s ministry in our Pangasinan churches, led by Pastor Rudy Salisipan’s wife, Belle, conducted a daily Vacation Bible School in Urdaneta and San Carlos during the school break in April.

The Manila church also conducted a medical and evangelistic mission in Santa Ana, Manila, in April. Outreach Bible studies are ongoing there with several families who accepted Christ as Savior. 

SERVANT LEADERS—First batch of
graduates from the Servant-Leader
Development Program

RELIEF EFFORT—Members give to
victims of Mayon eruption.

Pedro Melendez is senior pastor of the Manila, Philippines, church. He also teaches in the church’s Institute of Family, Leadership and Biblical Studies.

Missionary returns from China

Diody Silva was a marketing agent in Bacolod City when God gave him a burden to reach out to the lost. In May 1999 he left his job to study missions at the Asian Center for Missions in Iloilo City. He visited China on a missions exposure trip in August that year.

Returning to his native Batangas City, Diody underwent more training in evangelism and discipleship. He returned to China in September 2000. He got free housing from a missionary couple whose home also served as a house church. Diody also led a cell group of students and professionals, among whom four have been converted already.

Diody hopes to go back to China for more language studies early next year. While studying in China, he met a Filipina missionary, Lina Alde, who is now his fiancee. They plan to get married in October. Lina also has a heart for the Tibetans. To share the gospel with the unchurched in Tibet is the vision of Diody and Lina. Let’s keep Diody and Lina in our prayers!

CONVERT—Diody Silva baptizes first convert from his small group.

CHURCH SERVICE—Diody Silva preaches in a house church.

John McKenna
ministers in Russia

By John McKenna

PASADENA—Flying into the Moscow airport, the city appeared like any number of cities in the U.S. Midwest. Plots of green farmland marked off by dense forests surrounded by the symmetry of buildings suggested a well-planned and neatly maintained achievement. Evidently, it appeared, Russians possess a civilization much like our own.

Once on the ground, however, the resemblance was quickly destroyed. An air of the love of authority greeted my psyche even in the airport. Authority is coveted in this place. It costs money there to get done anything unauthorized by that strange ultimate authority called "they."

My visa had a typing mistake, probably made in the Russian Embassy in San Francisco. It took four levels of authority and the spending of an hour and $100 to correct it. It was the beginning of my taste of this authority in the land.

I quickly named it the Land of Nyet (No, in Russian). It was in the air with the same intensity that the Can-Do spirit hovers over the country we call home.

I went to St. Petersburg for two days before I began teaching in Ryazan, a city two or three hours south of Moscow. I took an overnight express train to St. Petersburg with Daniel Lee, one of the Koreans who helped arranged my teaching assignment.

We were put into a compartment to be berthed with two Italian women. There was no way to explain the discomfort we felt about it to the conductor. His idea was that the railroad had ruled that we were to spend the night with the two women and it was against its authority to conceive of changing the arrangement.

When we tried to spend some time in a restaurant car without drinking vodka, we were turned away. The rule was that no one drinking only water or a soda could take up a seat in the car, even though the car was empty of customers.

No, no, no, the tall and stalwart waitress kept saying to us. We retired to our berths in the little compartment with the Italian women. Fortunately, they occupied their territory with great grace, and I was even able to sleep soundly a while as the old train rocked and rolled its way toward St. Petersburg.

I arose early to stand outside the compartment and watch the landscape go by. It was a lovely morning. I saw forests of birch trees and occasionally small towns, but few birds and animals along the way. I kept thinking about Russian poet Alexander Pushkin and his love of freedom and the monotony I felt making itself apparent to me in this Land of nyet, nyet, nyet. My reveries were broken at last by our arrival in the St. Petersburg station.

St. Petersburg will celebrate 300 years of history beginning in 2003. The city of Peter the Great is the way Russia has greeted the West. The Tzars’ symbol is a two-headed eagle because from his city he could, he thought, reign over both the East and the West of the world.

The city is alive with restoration. Tourism will flourish over the graves of the Tzars. The Russian Orthodox Church is free to restore its great Byzantine domes over the grand old architecture the Russians love along with the ballet and the violin. Natashya Sapronova, our guide to the city, explained this history with an interest that possesses no judgment of Russia’s past.

As for the former KGB building, it was known as the tallest building in St. Petersburg, because from it you could see Siberia. As for the Egyptian sphinxes placed across the river from the prison, where so many innocents were jailed, it was a mystery why such things as these could happen. Russia’s history was presented to us as simply interesting now. Natashya would have us look forward to the new Russia and the restoration of her beloved St. Petersburg.

Netsky Prospect is the favorite street in the city. People walked and shopped and dined along this wonderful street late into the nights, especially long into the famous white nights of St. Petersburg. Along this street we found the Literary Cafe with a wax likeness of Alexander Pushkin seated beside his top hat at a table in a corner of the cafe. If you take a seat across from him, they take a picture of you with him. "Why?" I tried to ask Russia’s great poet.

Natashya also took us to a synagogue being restored along with the rest of the city. Two rabbis and a young woman greeted me. The rabbi gave me a yarmulke to wear, and the young woman led Natashya, Daniel and me into the sanctuary.

I could not explain what happened to me. As I walked toward the Torah, I felt great sobs rising up within me and I went and sat down quickly in a pew so that no one would see me. I knelt in the pew sobbing and struggling to gain control of myself. I did not want my colleagues to see me. They might think I was a crazy man.

When I did gain control of myself, I realized that both Daniel and Natashya had observed my weeping. I was a man from the Worldwide Church of God in Pasadena in St. Petersburg to teach the gospel in Russia weeping aloud for the Jews of this land.

On the express train back to Moscow, we shared the berths of our compartment with a young American couple delighted to begin their study of Russian at Moscow University. Opening up the mysteries of Russia was exciting for them. Again, we slept well in the rock and roll of the train.

In Moscow, we were met by Pastor Euri, assistant to Pastor V.P. Fokin, director of the Seminary in Ryazan. He drove in two hours a distance that takes a normal person about three hours. He was the first real "yes" I met in Russia. At their church, where we conducted our class of some 25 students, we were greeted with Russian warmth and welcome. It is a deep and hearty embrace that they have for you.

For 12 straight days I taught the Russian pastors in a seminary begun by Korean missionaries from the Oriental Mission Church in Los Angeles. The students, however, were not all Russian. One man had fled from the Congo and was married now with a child in Moscow. As a black man, he experienced quite a challenge in Russian society.

Another man from Pakistan was once a great lawyer famous for his defenses of Mafia figures from Moscow to Kazakstan. He had become a Christian only a few years ago. He was also something of an artist seeking to have his wife and children join him in Russia safe from the growing Muslim persecution in his land.

The others were men and women from Pentecostal or Baptist communions, many of whom had become pastors of their various churches fairly recently. Something new, they felt, was going on in Russian Christianity. All the students had university degrees. All were devoted Christians. All were deeply committed to learning to articulate the gospel. I admired them very much.

And I could not have asked for a better interpreter. His name is Arthur Matorin. He is 23 years old, born and raised in the city of Ryazan.

He had an independence about him that I admired. He was a rebel in his youth with the support of his family because his father never liked communism’s authority in Russian life, even without being a Christian.

As a result, Arthur got into the nightclub life and drugs and the self-destruction such people know so well. It was in the midst of this kind of life that he came to Christ. There is in Ryazan, believe it or not, a Calvary Chapel.

From age 15 until about 19, he learned the gospel with this church and knew all the music it had produced in Southern California. He had been a pretty good guitar player. He told me that he eventually left Calvary Chapel because of the lack of depth in the growth of his brothers and sisters.

Since his hair was too long for the Baptists, he began his own fellowship, and it was not the only unregistered church in Ryazan. It was made up of mostly ex-night club people, and they met in their homes and tried to evangelize their generation. He had taken up the study of the violin in Ryazan and hoped to become a composer who writes Christian music with some depth to its humanity.

When I gave him Pastor General Joseph Tkach’s book Transformed by Truth he read it in one night. He was interested in the movement experienced by the Worldwide Church of God because it resonated well with what he saw as the kind of changes Russian Christianity must experience. Because of him, I had frequent opportunities to share what God was doing with our church in America. I had great confidence in him as a communicator of my thoughts to the pastors, and we indeed experienced God’s blessing on my teaching with these wonderful pastors.

How can I report this ministry without reference to the 70-year-old couple who gave Daniel and me their living room while we were at the Ryazan Seminary? If you stand before people who throughout the Revolution and the Great Patriotic War attempted to stand in their witness to Jesus Christ, you cannot fail to feel that in comparison your life has been a walk in the park.

Peter and Tanya were among those Russians who suffered Siberian or some other form of hardship right up until the time of President Mikhail Gorbachev. Tanya quickly became a mother to us. Peter was proud to share what he had with us. There was no hot water, but the food was recently harvested and plentiful and their love for Jesus Christ touched us doubtlessly.

I returned to Pasadena amazed by my experience. I report it with some trembling, knowing I can tell only a little of what occurred. I hope this is enough however to give you a taste of it and to let you know why I had to promise to return and to thank you for your prayers for me and these wonderful Russian Christians.

The full text of Dr. McKenna’s report is available on the Internet at www.wcg.org/wn/russiatrip

FELLOWSHIP--From left, Arthur Matorin,
John McKenna and Tolmachov Bichkali in Ryazan.

SEMINARY CLASS—The class at the Moscow-Ryazan
Seminary taught by John McKenna Aug. 13 through 24.

CLASS IN SESSION—Arthur Matorin (left) translates
for John McKenna.

Basic Christian Beliefs

The Written Word of God

By Mike Morrison

How do we know who Jesus is, or what he taught? How do we know when a gospel is false? Where is the authority for sound teaching and right living? The Bible is the inspired and infallible record of what God wants us to know and do.

Perhaps you’ve seen newspaper reports about the "Jesus Seminar," a group of scholars who say that Jesus didn’t say most of the things the Bible says he did. They used different colors of beads to vote on whether various sayings are authentic. Or perhaps you’ve heard of other scholars who say that the Bible is a collection of contradictions and myths.

Many well-educated people dismiss the Bible. Many other equally educated people believe it is a trustworthy record of what God has done and said. If we cannot trust what the Bible says about Jesus, for example, then we will know almost nothing about him.

The Jesus Seminar began with a preconceived idea of what Jesus would have taught. They accepted the sayings that fit this idea, and rejected the sayings that didn’t, thereby, in effect, creating a Jesus in their own image. This is not good scholarship, and even many liberal scholars disagree with the Seminar.

Do we have good reason to trust the biblical reports about Jesus? Certainly—they were written within a few decades of Jesus’ death, when eyewitnesses were still alive.

Jewish disciples often memorized the words of their teachers, so it is quite possible that Jesus’ disciples preserved his teachings with reasonable accuracy. We have no evidence that they invented sayings to deal with early church concerns, such as circumcision. This suggests that they are reliable reports of what Jesus taught.

We can also be confident that the manuscripts were well preserved. We have some copies from the fourth century, and smaller sections from the second. This is better than all other historical books. (The oldest copy of Virgil was copied 350 years after Virgil died; of Plato, 1,300 years.) Comparison of the manuscripts shows that the Bible was copied carefully, and we have a highly reliable text.

Jesus was willing to argue with the Pharisees on many issues, but he did not seem to argue with their view of the Scriptures. Although Jesus disagreed on interpretations and traditions, he apparently agreed with other Jewish leaders that the Scriptures were authoritative for faith and practice.

Jesus expected every word in Scripture to be fulfilled (Matt. 5:17-18; Mark 14:49). He quoted Scripture to prove his points (Matt. 9:13; 22:31; 26:24; 26:31; John 10:34); he rebuked people for not reading Scripture carefully enough (Matt. 22:29; Luke 24:25; John 5:39). He referred to Old Testament people and events without any hint that they were not real.

Scripture had the authority of God behind it. When Jesus answered Satan’s temptations, he said, "It is written" (Matt. 4:4-10). The fact that something was written in Scripture meant, for Jesus, that it was an indisputable authority. The words of David were inspired by the Holy Spirit (Mark 12:36); a prophecy was given "through" Daniel (Matt. 24:15) because its real origin was God.

Jesus said in Matthew 19:4-5 that the Creator said in Genesis 2:24: "A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife." However, Genesis does not describe this verse as the words of God. Jesus could say that God said it simply because it was in Scripture. The assumption is that God is the ultimate author of all of Scripture.

The evidence throughout the Gospels is that Jesus viewed Scripture as reliable and trustworthy. As he reminded the Jewish leaders, "the Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). Jesus expected it to be valid; he even upheld the validity of old covenant commands while the old covenant was still in force (Matt. 8:4; 23:23).

The apostles, like their teacher, considered Scripture authoritative. They quoted it repeatedly, often as proof of an argument. The sayings of Scripture are treated as words of God. Scripture is even personalized as the God who spoke to Abraham and Pharaoh (Rom. 9:17; Gal. 3:8). What David or Isaiah or Jeremiah wrote was actually spoken by God, and therefore certain (Acts 1:16; 4:25; 13:35; 28:25; Heb. 1:6-10; 10:15). The law of Moses