I hope that your Pentecost weekend was inspiring and spiritually profitable! This is a festival we have long shared with most of the Christian world, a festival celebrated as a memorial of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the church.
Pentecost reminds us, among other things, that the Holy Spirit is given to us not to exalt ourselves but that we might be witnesses of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). The church is not simply a place to be taught principles of sound and virtuous living; it exists for the purpose of proclaiming the praises of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:9). Becoming a better person, though it is one of our goals as we walk and work in the Lord, is definitely not the only goal we have. Christians have a mission--a mission empowered by the Holy Spirit, who inspires us to declare the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring the message of reconciliation through faith in his name to the whole world.
This is a wonderful lesson that has been hard learned by our fellowship. We no longer declare ourselves the main body of the true and faithful people of God. Rather, we declare the glory of our Lord and Savior. No longer is the "true history of the true church," or the "right day of worship" the focus of our preaching-- Jesus Christ is the focus of our preaching. What grace and blessing our heavenly Father has poured out on us! Of course, this doesn't mean that studying church history or sabbathkeeping are bad; but they aren't the focus or object of worship.
On May 17, as he neared the end of his first year in office, the board of regents had the pleasure of formally inaugurating Russell Duke as the president of Ambassador University.
The inauguration was preceded by a lecture given by Hank Hanegraaff, president of the Christian Research Institute. Hank spoke on the "Essentials of Christianity," encouraging everyone to know what they believe, why they believe it and how some people deviate from basic Christianity.
I then had the honor of officiating at the inauguration ceremony, introducing Dr. Duke, who spoke about his vision for Ambassador's future as a Christian liberal arts school.
Ambassador strives to provide an academic and social environment in which young people can prepare for their careers while they also strengthen their relationships with God and with other students and learn to look beyond self-interest to serve others. Russell explained that Ambassador's goal is to integrate the academic, spiritual, social and occupational aspects of student life.
Three days later, commencement exercises were held on the Ambassador campus. Dr. Les Blank, dean of the C.P. Haggard graduate school of theology at Azusa Pacific University, gave the commencement address exhorting students to build their lives on Jesus Christ: "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it" (Mark 8:35).
Dr. Blank encouraged the students to become agents of change-- influential leaders--in a fast-changing world. "The future has already begun," he said.
The commencement ceremony was inspiring, to say the least. While I was in Big Sandy, I had to reflect on the recommendations by some of our members that the church cease all subsidies of AU so the money can be spent on more immediate needs of the church.
I definitely sympathize with those concerns, and the church board has had long discussions on the topic. At the same time, I also believe that Ambassador is important to the long-term future of the Worldwide Church of God. It is my firm conviction that a healthy church must steer a balance between immediate needs and preparing for the needs of the future.
Wisdom urges all good stewards to plant some seeds instead of grinding all of them to make flour. The cost of university education is like that--not only for the university students, but for the community as a whole. In our case, I believe the Worldwide Church of God will reap benefits from the investments (not only financial, but also emotional and prayerful) we make now in Ambassador.
These young people are part of the next generation of workers for the harvest, learning to understand and use their spiritual gifts for effective service in the army of God. Ambassador is beginning to lay the groundwork for programs that will prepare students for service as lay Christian leaders in a variety of specialized areas, ranging from youth work to mission work.
I believe the future for Ambassador will be as bright as our collective vision will allow it to be. The Holy Spirit has opened a world of possibilities for Ambassador, and we will all need to prayerfully consider what route he is prompting us to follow.
I would like to close by calling your attention to two more items. First, on page 10, is a study paper that deals with the important issue of lay ministry and the priesthood of all believers.
As Bernie Schnippert explains on page 3, the majority of all donations go to the support of local congregations: pastoral salaries, hall rentals, ministerial expense, accounting and legal costs, etc. When the campus is sold and the magazine and Ambassador University become self supporting, which are among our long-term goals, the percentage should even go higher.
Your prayers for this media ministry, this important work in the body of Christ, are needed and appreciated. And please remember, the church is directly subsidizing the cost of PT subscriptions for all church members.
We in Pasadena pray for you, laboring to serve you in your needs.
June 18 Worldwide News, page one
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