By Joseph Tkach
For the past two years, the church has been facing numerous crossroads.
We have been at a major turning point doctrinally, a major turning point administratively, a major turning point in our relationship with other denominations, and a major turning point in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
By the grace of God, the church has been given new life. We rejoice and praise our Savior.
At this momentous time in our history, it is fitting that our major communication vehicle with the ministry be given a new name. We have chosen the name Cross Road, because in two ways it describes where we are as a church.
First, the word crossroads conveys the turning points we face, the decisions, in the presence of God, that determine the future of our denomination. The Holy Spirit has brought us to the most significant decisions already, but there are still decisions to be made administratively, financially and elsewhere.
A church that is alive and growing in the grace and power of God will continue to face decision points as it seeks to preach the gospel to changing cultures in changing times.
Also, each of us as individuals and as ministers of the gospel will continue to face crossroads in life. We have decisions to make regarding how we serve our Savior and the people to whom he asks us to minister.
Although the title of this pastoral newsletter aptly describes our situation in the mid 1990s, I believe that this title will continue to be keenly relevant as long as we live.
Second, the title Cross Road indicates that our "road" in life must always be leading us to the cross of Jesus Christ, symbolic of his life, death and resurrection for our salvation.
You might note that the graphic (see insert) is intended to convey the same play on words. In one view, it might look like the intersection of two roads. In another, it is like the shadow of a cross.
Though we have different spiritual journeys, we are in one sense all on the same road--a road that takes us to the cross for reconciliation, where in the shadow of the cross we are empowered to carry the message of reconciliation to others, so that they might join us on the same spiritual road.
As a church, we have come to the cross. We are not ashamed of the cross or of Jesus, who hung upon it. We are eager to direct other people toward the cross.
We may not be experts at evangelism, but God does not expect us to be experts before we begin to bear witness to our Savior. We become more effective only through practice, both corporately and individually. This is the road we are now on.
Christ sends us forth on different roads--some to North and South Americans, some to Asians, some to Africans, some to Australians, some to Europeans, some to the haves and some to the have-nots.
All peoples need the message of the cross, and as we serve in the diverse regions in which God has placed us, we travel different roads--and yet all the roads lead back to the cross. That is where we point.
As disciples of Jesus Christ, we carry a cross wherever we go. No matter what road we travel, it is a road of the cross. That is part of the life (and sometimes death) of a minister of the gospel. For the joy set before us, we are willing to bear the burden, for Jesus is with us, and he enables us to do whatever is needed.
As individuals, we continue to need the cross of Christ. We were justified and sanctified when we first came to faith, but we still need the cross. Through the Lord's Supper, we are regularly reminded of our Lord's death for us. We need to remember what a price was paid.
Each day, we take up the cross. We have fresh encounters with the Lord who conquered death through the cross.
We hope the new name for this newsletter will convey something of the new commitment our Redeemer has given us to him and to his Word. We want it to be a regular reminder of something we believe to be extremely important, even definitive for the work we do, and a statement of where we are and whom we serve.
Oct. 29, 1996 Worldwide News, page 15.
| WCG Home | Issues | Contents |
Copyright © Worldwide Church of God,1996