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August 1999
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This is our August cover.
We use the phrase
"upward, inward, and outward" to describe our Christian lives, writes Pastor
General Joseph Tkach in this month's Personal.
Upward refers to our relationship with God. Inward refers to our relationship with fellow believers. Outward refers to our relationship with nonbelievers.
Mr. Tkach then relates how these can be expressed in words and in actions. Christian fellowship includes the practical issues of spiritual life. Sometimes I am up and can encourage others, he writes, while other times I am down and need to be encouraged by others.
God has called us to stand together to continually give hope, courage and support to one another. Pages 6 and 7.
In part 5 of
"Finding Peace in Christ," J. Michael Feazell looks at the Sabbath day and its
fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
The Sinai law is no longer the instructor of God's people (Gal. 3:24-25). Our instructor is Christ, who instructs us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). We are not under the Sinai law (1 Cor. 9:20-21). We are under the law of Christ (1 John 3:21-24).
Numerous descriptions of godly behavior, consistent with the law of Christ, which is the law of God for Christians (1 Cor. 9:20-21), are given in the New Testament (for example Gal. 5:13-6:10; Eph. 4:20-6:20; Col. 3:1-4:6).
These descriptions of the new life in Christ go much deeper than the Ten Commandments. They reach deeply into the intents of the heart, where the Spirit of God is at work to fashion us into the image of Christ.
The seventh day Sabbath was a temporary pointer to something permanent that has now become available through faith in Christ. Pages 8 to 13.
Randal Dick shares a report he received from Santiago
Lange, our national leader in Germany, about a trip he made to Bulgaria in April and May.
Mr. Lange spent a couple of weeks in Bulgaria with Nikolay Nikolov, leader of a group of Christians there.
After one service, Mr. Lange was asked to pray for a seven-year-old child with a cancerous affliction that affected one leg. The doctors did not give little Dimitri a chance to live. Mr. Lange later learned that the boy was miraculously healed and that because of the miracle even his grandparents have accepted Christ in their lives. Pages 14 and 15.
God is doing
so much through our fellowship in Africa, writes regional director James Henderson.
We have only one mission statement for Africa--simply to preach Christ crucified. Within that we have two priorities--to strengthen our existing congregations so they can be released to preach Jesus in their nations; and to explore new mission fields for the gospel. Pages 16 and 17.
Income in
June, which started with encouraging amounts, began to trail off during the last two
weeks, writes controller Ronald Kelly.
The daily average donation income for the month was $96,549. That brought the year-to-date average to $95,134.
We pray every day for the collective body of believers who make the Worldwide Church of God such an exciting group to serve. Page 22.
MIAMI, Florida--The following events took place after the murder of a black youth leader whose church rents its facility to the Miami North congregation.
He was married for less than two years and had a little baby. He served his church by picking up destitute children and bringing them to Sunday school.
By Charles Taylor
After the young man was killed in the housing projects, we dedicated time for praying for his family and the area where he was killed.
On Memorial Day morning as I was praying, the Holy Spirit moved me to get up out of bed and go to pray in the area where the young man was killed.
I was in tears because the inaudible voice of the Holy Spirit was telling me to do something that was out of my comfort zone. I asked God to tell me for sure that this is what he wanted me to do. He showed me clearly, so I got up from my bed, put on my clothes and went down to the housing project.
When I got there I parked in the alley. On the wall of the complex was written Welcome to Hell-- Home of the Nigga Killas (a common term used by gang members).
I sat in my car and prayed, then I got out of my car, jumped the wall and knelt down in the street of the complex and begin to pray out loud.
I forgot about being embarrassed and begin to cry out to God in a loud voice.
This may seem a little strange to some, but when so many of our youths are being killed every day, there comes a point where it's obvious that if we as the body of Christ don't start to make a difference in the streets of our cities, we're just playing church and preaching to the choir.
I continued to pray and cry out to God, and as I was praying I heard someone else praying beside me. As we continued to pray, I heard more and more people praying.
A group of children came up and they started to pray. Men and women stopped in their cars, and they joined in prayer. People started to pray and stretch out their hands on their balconies and pray. As a group we just prayed and worshiped God in song with joined hands.
I know that God is bringing healing to that community. By his love and glorious grace he will set the captives free.
As we were praying, a young woman walked up and just started crying. We prayed for prostitutes, drug dealers, gang members, parents and the children. This woman accepted Christ as her Savior, and I assigned two of the women there to mentor her.
As I was kneeling in the street on a corner where many drug deals are made, I saw a number of empty bags of crack cocaine scattered around my knees.
To God be the glory. We must pray and wail for the suffering for God's children who don't know yet that they have a Daddy who loves and cares for them.
Charles and Keysha Taylor pastor the Miami, Florida, North and South churches.
In the January 2000 issue, The Worldwide News would like to honor everyone in the Worldwide Church of God who is 100 years old or older (anyone born on or before Jan. 1, 1900 and all couples who have been married for 60 or more years (anyone married on or before Jan. 1, 1940).
UNION, New Jersey--The Union congregation, pastored by John Adams, will celebrate its 35th anniversary Aug. 21.
Services will be at David Brearly School, 41 Monroe Ave., Kenilworth, New Jersey, at 1 p.m.
The featured speaker will be Pastor General Joseph Tkach.
Music will be by the Union choir and children's praise and worship ensemble.
That evening a dinner and dance will take place at the Friar Tuck Inn in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.
The ticket price is $25 per person ages 12 and older. The meal is either prime rib of beef or stuffed breast of capon.
For more information contact Barbara Davis at 1-973-675-5476, Olga Jendrek at 1-732-388-0598, Rhonda Robinson at 1-973-675-4984, Rosilyn Vereen at 1-973- 674-7015 or Janelle Winston 1-908 753-0131.
By Susan Rader
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma--The Oklahoma City congregation welcomed Pastor General Joseph Tkach and his wife, Tammy, May 21 to 23.
Don Lawson, district superintendent, and his wife, Sue, provided a homecooked fresh fish dinner for the Tkaches' arrival Friday, May 21.
Saturday morning, Mrs. Tkach spoke to the congregation about the beginning of women's ministry.
"Women's Ministry didn't just come out of nowhere. Women have always served. It just has a name now," she said. "Anyone can lead a Bible study, lead a small group, lead worship services, counsel and pray for others.
"Anyone can have a ministry, regardless of gender, physical condition or location. Women's Ministry isn't just putting together a tea. God expects us to minister to one another."
After her comments, Mr. Tkach conducted a question and answer session.
"God takes everyone on the path they need to be on to come to him," Mr. Tkach said. "I see clearly in hindsight that God brought our family into the Worldwide Church of God. This is the path we've been on because this is where he brought us close to him."
On Sunday, Mr. Tkach's message covered the meaning of Pentecost. Attendance at Pentecost services was 216. Six church areas were represented by members from Ada, Lawton, Fairview, Ponca City and Sayre, as well as the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
OKLAHOMA CITY VISIT--Mr. Tkach with
Fern Riggs (center) and Wilma Lewis.
[Photo by Mary Pearison]
Guy
and Penny Engelbart serve the northwest district, which encompasses Washington, Oregon,
Alaska and a portion of Idaho.
In addition, Mr. Engelbart pastors the Olympia and Bremerton, Washington, congregations.
Guy and Penny first met at Ambassador College in 1959. Guy later transferred to the Bricket Wood, England, campus and was one of the first graduates there in 1961. They were married in October 1961, and were sent into the field ministry.
The congregations they have served in their 38 years of ministry include Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; Philadelphia and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Richmond, Virginia; Wichita and Salina, Kansas; Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo, Colorado; Cleveland, Ohio; and Tacoma, Olympia and Bremerton, Washington.
They have two sons: Karl, 35, who lives in Cleveland, Ohio, and has his own courier business; and Kevin, 29, who lives in Olympia, Washington, and works for Intel Corp.
Guy and Penny own a small acreage where Penny can enjoy her horse, two dogs and a cat. She also works part-time.
The following pastors, wives and congregations are in the northwest district:
Albany and Salem, Oregon: Wayne and Patty Mitchell
Anchorage, Fairbanks and Wasilla, Alaska, and Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada: Leonard and Sandy Holladay
Bellingham and Oak Harbor, Washington: Douglas and Diane Palser
Bend, Oregon: Robin and Sandra Chester
Bremerton and Olympia, Washington: Guy and Penny Engelbart
Clarkston, Pasco and Spokane, Washington, and Coeur d' Alene, Idaho: Glen and Connie Weber
Coos Bay, Oregon: Mark Villers, and Mark and Carla Johnson
Eugene, Medford and Roseburg, Oregon: Tracey and Jean Rogers
Everett and Seattle-Bellevue, Washington: Bill and Kathy Miller
Federal Way and Tacoma, Washington: Steve and Michelle Schemm
Hood River and Portland East, Oregon: Joel and Pat Lillengreen
Klamath Falls, Oregon: Lee Bailey
Portland, Oregon, West, and Vancouver, Washington: Dan and Marilee Fricke
Soldotna, Alaska: Tom and Michelle Landess
Dave
and Linda Fiedler have served the north central (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) district since
1995.
The district includes Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and parts of South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois. Mr. Fiedler also pastors the Lighthouse Community congregation in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Mrs. Fiedler is employed as an office manager.
Dave and Linda married in 1968 while she was attending nursing school and he was completing his degree in civil engineering. After working in the aerospace industry, Dave entered Ambassador College in 1970.
They have served the following congregations: Topeka, Kansas; St. Joseph, Missouri; Fort Smith and Fayetteville, Arkansas; Liberal, Kansas; Amarillo, Texas; Appleton, Green Bay and Wausau, Wisconsin; Toledo and Findlay, Ohio; and Milwaukee and Kenosha, Wisconsin.
The Fiedlers have three sons and daughters-in-law, Noah and Becky, Nathan and Cherrie, Nian and Beth; and a granddaughter, Gemma.
The following pastors, wives and congregations are in the north central district.
Bismarck, North Dakota: Ron and Nancy Getsman
Fargo, North Dakota: Richard and Erma Siedschlag
Minneapolis South and Mankato, Minnesota: Charles and Linda Holladay
St. Cloud and Brainerd, Minnesota: Nevin and Jane Nolder
Minneapolis North and St. Paul, Minnesota: Doug and Betty Johannsen
Grand Rapids, Minnesota: Carrol and Carol Miller
Duluth, Minnesota: Gordon and Bonnie Lindquist
Sioux Falls and Watertown, South Dakota: George and Jackie Affeldt
Rochester, Minnesota, and Mason City, Iowa: Don and Alix Engle
LaCrosse and Baraboo, Wisconsin: Doug and Rosa Peitz
Wausau, Wisconsin: Don and Lou Mathie
Fox Valley, Wisconsin: Aaron and Vania Root
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Greg and Tammy Neller
Eau Claire, Wisconsin: Roger and June Galstad
Eagle River, Wisconsin: Greg and Vicki Gaetzman
West Bend, Wisconsin: George Isken
Sioux City, Iowa: David and Linda Husmann
Kenosha, Wisconsin, and Chicago, Illinois, North: Richard and Joyce Frankel
Chicago, Illinois, South: Willard and Brenda High
Joliet and Chicago Northwest and West, Ilinois: James and Karen Newby
Kankakee, Illinois: Archie and Joyce Hill
Janesville, Wisconsin: Carl and Lucille Cramer
Several house churches also meet in the district.
We use the phrase "upward, inward and outward" to describe our Christian lives.
Upward refers to our relationship with God. Inward refers to our relationship with fellow believers. Outward refers to our relationship with nonbelievers. Let's see how these can be expressed in words and in actions.
I'd like to begin with our inward responsibilities--the relationships Christians have with one another.
We relate to fellow Christians in two major ways--through fellowship and through ministry, or service. In other words, our relationships are expressed in words and in deeds.
As relationships develop, our conversations go beyond small talk, so we can discuss opinions, feelings and matters of the heart.
Christian fellowship includes the practical issues of spiritual life. Small group fellowship brings out discussions on such a level, because sharing such things helps us grow spiritually. That's why I encourage members to find a small group they can link up with or help form a new small group.
"Encourage one another daily," Hebrews 3:13 tells us. This involves giving and receiving encouragement from one another. Sometimes I am up and can encourage others, while other times I am down and need to be encouraged by others.
"Encourage" is a translation of the Greek word parakaleo, which comes from roots meaning to be called alongside, or to stand with. God has called us to stand together to continually give hope, courage and support to one another.
Hebrews 10:24-25 gives that purpose as a major reason that we should meet together: "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another."
Our relationships need to involve more than words, of course. It means helping people who need help. Each member is most at home in the body of Christ when he or she is involved in some type of service to others.
Ministry also applies to our outward relationships. We minister to our neighbors, to our relatives and to the people we work with.
On our jobs, we work not just for money, but also to help others.
Because we are God's children in the world, we want every place we live, and every place we go to be better because we have been there. This is not because we are so great, but because God has given us his love and called us to do the kinds of things he would do if he were you or I.
We do this as individuals, and sometimes we do it as whole congregations, too. It is so inspiring to read of the ministries performed by many of our congregations in the WN.
Our outward relationships also include words. Words can give strength, or they can destroy. "The tongue has the power of life and death" (Prov. 18:21).
Our words need to be truthful, filled with good report, avoiding obscenities and coarse jokes (Eph. 5:4). We are to be good stewards of our tongues.
One way to be a good steward of words is through evangelism. The gospel is a powerful message that we have been given and told to share. Paul says we have been "entrusted with the secret things of God" (1 Cor. 4:1), the message of salvation.
If we are living like unbelievers, it is unlikely that the gospel will have any impact on others' lives. If we lie and cheat, gossip and gripe, people won't tend to believe us when we share the gospel, no matter how convincingly we say the words. And if we ignore their practical needs, they will be skeptical that we care about them.
Inward and outward overlap in small groups, which are not only inwardly nourishing, but are excellent entry points for people interested in Christianity. Certain other kinds of inward service can also open doors for evangelism.
For example, I think of children's ministry. The volunteers share the gospel and give parents a practical service so they can take part in the worship service. Several types of ministry are accomplished at once!
Children's ministry provides an avenue for evangelism, too. Children can invite their neighborhood and school friends, which in turn creates a relationship between the church and the friends' parents. Members can also invite friends and neighbors to church, knowing their children will be cared for, given good teaching and have fun during the service.
Now let's talk about our upward relationship. Upward may also be divided into words and actions. Our words with God may be further divided into two kinds: God's words to us, and our words to him.
How does God speak to us? Primarily through Scripture. These writings tell us how God has spoken in the past, and how he has been perfectly revealed in his Son, Jesus Christ.
God speaks to us afresh, helping us apply the words to situations in our lives. Bible study is part of our worship response to God who has revealed himself and his Word to us in the Scriptures.
God speaks to us in sermons, too. Anyone who speaks to the church should seek to speak "the very words of God" (1 Peter 4:11). It is appropriate for us to listen, then, with the expectation that words of God will be spoken. We judge what is said by Scripture, our ultimate authority, but we still listen for what God may be saying through the imperfect speaker. "The others should weigh carefully what is said" (1 Cor. 14:29).
God may also speak through any member of the church. As we are called to exhort one another to good works, we are called to speak God's words of encouragement to one another. We often learn from one another what God wants us to do.
Through fellowship, through small group discussions, we can come to know his will better.
These words from God to us are part of our upward relationship: our worship. When we listen attentively, willing to obey, we are worshiping God.
Our worship includes the words we speak to God, too. In prayer and in song, we speak to God. We are telling him what we think about him, about ourselves and about others.
Last, I want to comment on actions we do in our upward relationship. The Old Testament religion stressed actions of worship: sacrifices, rituals, times and places. The New Testament has little of this.
Our rituals include baptism and the Lord's Supper. Some Christian traditions have more rituals--they may carefully follow a liturgical calendar, recite creeds and prayers in their weekly liturgies and have a more prominent place for communion. These are not wrong, but neither are they commanded.
Christian traditions vary, and each of them can be respected for the particular strength it brings to the fabric of the body of Christ.
What other actions form part of our worship? We offer our "bodies as living sacrifices"--that is a "spiritual act of worship" (Rom. 12:1). Everything we do is part of our worship, our service toward God. We serve him by obeying him and by seeking (as our motto says) to make a difference for his kingdom.
When our actions are done in obedience to God, they are an expression of our worship of him. When we use our time for his glory, to advance his glory instead of ourselves, we have actions of worship, actions that strengthen our upward relationship.
When we use money for his glory instead of for ourselves, we have actions of worship. In our words, in our time, in our finances, in our spiritual gifts, we want to use what God has given us to serve him. Stewardship in all these areas is a life-style of worship.
As a denomination, we want to be good stewards of what God has given. We want to be good stewards of the gospel in our local churches and in our publications and preaching and teaching. We want to encourage and edify our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Another aspect of good stewardship is the sale of the Big Sandy and Pasadena properties. So many things now hinge on the close of escrow for the Pasadena campus. Our employees will move, our Pasadena churches will be restructured, our financial structure will be revised, and many other things will change in a domino fashion.
I hope you do not get tired of the phrase "wait until the campus sells'' --it is truly a monumental moment in our history (or perhaps I should say our rebirth as a denomination).
As we near this milestone, we observe that it has been a tumultuous voyage, and many have not stayed on board this far. Dangers still exist as we sail the uncharted waters toward our harbor. Please pray for safe sailing, and please support us as we work together for the common good.
"So, as the Holy Spirit says: `Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts' " (Heb. 3:7). Let us look to Jesus, our apostle, our high priest, the author and perfecter of our faith.
Let us strengthen our arms and knees, and run with endurance the race set before us. For we have not come to a nation that will fade away, but to a kingdom that cannot be shaken, a kingdom of incomparable glory. Therefore, "let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe" (Heb. 12:28).
Friends, I pray for you daily. God is gracious, merciful and kind--there is none like him. We have a wonderful calling, the most significant that could ever be.
Let us serve him faithfully with joy, with love, with trust in his wisdom and care. He will reward his people even more abundantly than we can think to ask. Thanks to him, and to you, for your role in the work set before us.
By J. Michael
Feazell
Last month, we saw that the Law given to Israel at Sinai, which includes the Ten Commandments, was designed to last only until Christ came.
We saw that Christians are not under that Law, but rather are under the law of Christ and are led by the Holy Spirit. This month, we will look more closely at the Sabbath day and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
The question seventh day Sabbatarians have taken seriously is this: "Since the Law given at Sinai is the Law of God, then why shouldn't we, as Christians keep it as it is written?" Indeed, that is the issue at hand. If God commands, his people should obey.
But the answer that Sabbatarians have been taught is the wrong answer. They have been taught that since the Law given at Sinai is indeed the Law of God, then obviously Christians should keep it, and since the seventh day Sabbath command is part of the Law of God given at Sinai, then Christians are commanded to keep it too.
That is not the biblical answer.
The biblical answer is that the Law given at Sinai, including the Sabbath command, was the Law of God for Israel (Lev. 26:46; Deut. 4:13), and it was the Law of God for Israel until Christ came (Gal. 3:19). It was not the Law of God for all people, nor was it the Law of God for all time. It was for Israel, it was temporary, it was in force until Christ, and when he arrived it was transcended and therefore faded (2 Cor. 3:7-11).
Therefore it is no wonder that John, writing some 60 years after the resurrection of Jesus, was inspired to use such terms as "Jewish Passover" (John 2:13; 6:4; 11:55), "Jewish Feast of Tabernacles" (John 7:2), and "feast of the Jews" (John 5:1) in references to annual festivals.
Now that Christ, the Object and Purpose of the Law of Moses, had come, it was clear to John that the feasts of the Law had served their purpose, had been superseded by Christ and had become merely the feasts of the Jews.
The Sinai law is no longer the instructor of God's people (Gal. 3:24-25). Our instructor is Christ, who instructs us through the Holy Spirit (John 14:26). We are not under the Sinai law (1 Cor. 9:20-21). We are under the law of Christ (1 John 3:21-24).
Still, the Spirit uses the Law of Moses as one of the ways he instructs us. This is important to understand. It is right to say that Christians are not under the Law of Moses: Paul makes that plain in passages such as Romans 7:6 and 1 Corinthians 9:20.
However, it is also right to say that Christians fulfill the Law of Moses. They do not fulfill the Law in the sense that they keep it as it was given to Israel and in the way Israel was commanded to keep it. But they do fulfill it in the sense of what God was driving at with the Law, that is, the real intent and purpose that was always behind the details of the Law.
Numerous descriptions of godly behavior, consistent with the law of Christ, which is the law of God for Christians (1 Cor. 9:20-21), are given in the New Testament (for example Gal. 5:13-6:10; Eph. 4:20-6:20; Col. 3:1-4:6). These descriptions of the new life in Christ go much deeper than the Ten Commandments. They reach deeply into the intents of the heart, where the Spirit of God is at work to fashion us into the image of Christ.
Jesus was asked to identify the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses. He replied: " `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matt. 22:37-40).
On another occasion Jesus said, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matt. 7:12).
When he was giving instruction about Christian conduct to the Roman Christians, Paul wrote this: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
"The commandments, `Do not commit adultery,' `Do not murder,' `Do not steal,' `Do not covet,' and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:8-10).
Now we can begin to see what Jesus meant when he said he did not come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it (Matt. 5:17). To put our trust in Jesus and follow him in the life of godly love is the only way to be the true and real people of God (Gal. 3:26-27).
Only when we are one with Christ are we in fact walking in faithfulness to the covenant between God and his people, because only Christ is faithful to God. If we are to be counted faithful, we must be counted with him.
Who, then, puts his love in us and comes to dwell in us to teach us? God himself. Whatever God teaches us in person is not inconsistent with the Law he gave Israel. The same God deals with all humans in the way that is in harmony with his plan.
So the Sinai law is instructive and useful for Christians, because it reflects the heart of God for his people Israel as a nation. Yet, as we have seen in previous installments, that Law, as written, was specific to ancient Israel. Because it was specific to ancient Israel, many of its details are not intended for Christians, such as the priesthood, tabernacle and temple worship, land rests, dress requirements and seasonal celebrations.
The seventh day Sabbath is another example. That commandment was a temporary pointer to something permanent that has now become available through faith in Christ.
But isn't it a good thing for people to rest from secular work once a week and devote that day to God? I doubt many Christians would argue with the value of taking a day off and using it to spend focused time with God. But that is not the real question for Sabbatarians.
Their real question is, "Doesn't God command us to keep the Sabbath day?" And the answer to that question is "No." God did command the Israelites to keep the Sabbath day. But he never commanded the Sabbath for anyone else.
The Sabbath, as a sign between God and Israel, identified the Israelites as God's own people until Jesus came. When Jesus came, he opened the door to the real thing that the Sabbath command only presaged or foreshadowed. The real thing is for everybody, not just for Israel. The real thing is God's own rest--the kingdom of God--and Jesus now invites all peoples to enter that rest through faith in him.
The book of Hebrews tells us that Christians have entered into that reality of which the Sabbath command, now superseded, was only a precursor. God is interested in our entering his own rest, and his own rest is not a day of the week. The day of the week symbolized the rest God entered with his creation when he finished his creation work, but God's rest did not end (Heb. 4:3), and, paradoxically, it was a rest in which he continued to work (John 5:17).
This eternal, spiritual rest is the rest God offers believers, and it is a rest that is entered, not by setting aside one day a week, but by faith, by believing in the One whom God has sent (Heb. 4:3).
As we saw in part 3 of this series, many Christians make the mistake of thinking that the Sabbath day was changed from the seventh day, Saturday, to the first day, Sunday. In other words, they apply the Sabbath commandment to Sunday. But the Bible makes no such change.
In the Bible, the Christian Sabbath is not a day of the week. The Christian Sabbath is the kingdom life believers enter through faith in Christ. It is not one day in seven--it is the entire sum of one's life in Christ forevermore. The Bible is telling us that God invites humans to enter his own never-ending rest, the Sabbath rest in which kingdom work is the only kind of work that is done.
While the weekly Sabbath was important and had its vital place for a time, now that Christ has come, God doesn't want us to be content with a mere precursor--he wants us to have the real thing (Col. 2:16-17).
The precursor hinted at the real thing. It was a sort of glimpse into the eternal rest that God would one day make available through the Messiah. But now that the real thing is here and available, there is no point in insisting that we still need the hint.
That is what Paul was adamant about with the gentile believers in the Galatian churches. They were being told by certain Jews that they could not belong to the people of God unless they were circumcised and kept the Law. Paul says, "Not so!" To be bound to the Sinai law is not to be bound to Christ.
The Law cannot save. It can only declare that all are sinners (Gal. 3:19). Its role is ended (v. 23-25). Believers are bound to Christ, and not to the Law of Moses (4:24-31). The two do not match; they are not on the same level (5:2-6). One supplants the other. The old must fade away in favor of the new (2 Cor. 3:7-11). The tree cannot grow unless the seed dies and sprouts.
The glory of the second is so much greater than the glory of the first that the first has no glory in comparison. The law of Christ supplants the Law of Moses (John 1:17).
The whole counsel of God in the light of Christ regarding the Sabbath is that God's rest is no mere 24-hour day, but rather it is eternal life--the life of the new creation in Christ. It is entered in the here and now through faith in the Son of God, and after death, we will enjoy it forever with glorified bodies like that of Christ (Phil. 3:21) doing the works of God in union and harmony with him in a new heavens and new earth.
That is one reason it is so empty to insist that the weekly Sabbath day commandment is still in effect. To do so is the same thing as saying that we don't believe that the real rest is now available.
It amounts to the same thing as insisting that the sacrificial commands are still in effect, or that the clean and unclean meat laws and other purity laws are still in effect.
To say that would be like saying that we don't believe the real sacrifice has been made, or that the real cleansing has happened.
It is a little like telling the bus driver that I still need the bus token to remind me that there really is a bus and that I am really on the bus.
"But I can't let you on the bus unless you give me the token," the driver would say. "If I give you back the token you will have to get off the bus. That token has no other purpose but to get you on the bus. Now that you are on, that token is canceled."
Sabbatarians fully understand the point about the sacrifices. They know that the sacrificial commands are made obsolete by the once for all sacrifice of the Lamb of God.
But the concept that the real rest is now available through Jesus to all who believe is not something they are prepared to accept.
One reason is that many Sabbatarian teachers have missed the point of the book of Hebrews, especially in its discussion of the Sabbath rest that remains for the people of God.
A reading of Hebrews 3 and 4 shows us that the Israelites who died in the wilderness did not enter the rest God had for them in the land of promise. The reason they did not enter that rest was that they did not believe the promise of God (Heb. 3:19).
The story in Numbers 13 and 14 and Psalm 95 shows us that they did not believe that God could and would do what he said he would do for them. They did not believe God would rout the Canaanites before them and give them the land. They didn't trust him.
Using this story of Israelite unbelief as its illustration, Hebrews 3:12 warns Christians, "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God."
The point is made plainly that trust in God is required in order to enter God's promised rest, and that the specific disobedience that God's people are being warned about here is the disobedience of unbelief or lack of faith.
Further, the specific faith being called for in the book of Hebrews is faith in Jesus Christ for salvation (Heb. 2:1-4; 3:1, 14; 10:19-23).
And there is something else we should notice. The Promised Land of the Israelites is called God's rest (Heb. 3:11, 18). We begin to realize that the weekly Sabbath day pictured and pointed to a future rest far bigger than one day a week--even for ancient Israel. It pointed toward the "rest" of entering, possessing and dwelling in the Promised Land.
But there is an even bigger surprise. That rest of dwelling safely in the Promised Land, the rest that only those who believed God finally entered, was not even the final rest. "For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day" (Heb. 4:8). There was still a rest for the people of God, a final rest that all previous rests could only point toward.
"Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it" (Heb. 4:1). Who enters this final and greatest rest? "Now we who have believed enter that rest..." (verse 3). How can our entrance into that rest be challenged? By following the Israelite example of the disobedience of unbelief (verse 11).
God set a certain day for ancient Israel under Joshua, calling it "Today," when they could through faith enter the rest he had prepared for them in the Promised Land (Heb. 3:7-11). The previous generation had not been allowed to enter because of their unbelief.
Later, through the words of David, God set another day, also calling it "Today," when the people of God who would believe him could enter the rest prepared for them (4:7).
The Sabbath-rest that remains for the people of God (4:9) is a rest entered through faith in Christ, and it consists of eternal salvation. It is God's rest. It is the kingdom of heaven, the reign of Christ. We do not enter it through our own works (4:10), but through faith (4:3).
What is the point, then, of this passage in Hebrews about entering God's rest? Anytime we read a "Therefore" in Scripture we should read carefully what precedes it, because the "therefore" is the point of what has come before.
Hebrews 4:14 reads, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess." That is the point.
It is the point of the whole Bible: Believe in Jesus. The point is not that the weekly Sabbath commandment given to ancient Israel is binding on Christians, as Sabbatarian teachers try to say. Such a concept as that works against the entire message of the Bible. The Messiah has come. The shadowy figures have been obliterated by the brightness of the noonday sun.
When God finished the work of creation, he took rest in the good things he had made (Gen. 2:2; 3:8), and he gave Adam and Eve rest with him in the Garden (Gen. 2:8-9). It did not take painful toil to make the garden produce. They simply enjoyed its fruit as they took care of the ever-abundant Garden, and rested in the joy of their free and unrestricted communion with God.
But then sin entered, and with it alienation from God (Gen. 3:1-10). Adam and Eve were no longer at rest with God. They were expelled from the Garden and had to live by the sweat of their brow (Gen. 3:17-19).
In due time, God called Abraham and promised him that his descendants would one day inherit the land God showed him (Gen. 15:12-21).
Some 430 years later, God sent Moses to lead those descendants out of Egypt, where they had become slaves, into the Promised Land. Through Moses, God made a covenant with them in the Sinai desert (Deut. 4:13; 9:11).
The sign of the covenant was the weekly Sabbath day (Ex. 31:13). Every seventh day, the people of ancient Israel were to rest from physical labor (Ex. 20:8-10). They would remember that God created everything there is, and that there was once a time when humans were at rest with God in his creation (Ex. 20:11-12). They would remember that humans rejected God's reign over them and became alienated from him.
The Israelites would also remember that they had been slaves in Egypt, crying out under forced labor with no rest (Deut. 5:15). By resting from work on the seventh day, the Israelites experienced a taste of the divine rest--what life would be like if humans believed God and trusted in him for everything, if they were again at rest with their Creator.
The weekly Sabbath was the sign of God's covenant with ancient Israel. The body and blood of Jesus Christ is the sign of God's covenant with everyone who believes the gospel (John 6:53-57; Luke 22:19-20; Heb. 10:19-20). The weekly Sabbath was a foretaste of the divine rest in Christ (Col. 2:16-17). Through faith in him, we enter the divine rest (Heb. 4:3).
In order for ancient Israel to remain in the Promised Land, they had to continue to honor the Sabbath day (Isa. 58:13-14). So, one might reason, doesn't it make sense that in order for us to remain in possession of eternal life in the here and now kingdom of God, we should also continue to keep the Sabbath day? No, it doesn't.
That is precisely the point of Hebrews. In Christ, God has made a new covenant with humans. It is so much greater than the old one, that everything that came before is both taken up in it and completely transcended by it, so much so that the former covenant and everything that pertained to it are now obsolete (Heb. 8:6-13).
The book of Hebrews is a declaration of the utter superiority of Jesus Christ to everything anybody had ever thought to put religious stock or value in, and an admonition to put all our confidence and trust in him.
Consider what the book of Hebrews tells us: Jesus is superior to all previous forms of divine communication (1:1). Jesus is the exact representation of God's own being. He is God's agent of creation, the sustainer and ruler of the universe and the redeemer of sins (1:2-3). Jesus is superior to the angels (1:4-14).
Only Jesus saves his people, with whom he identifies and for whom he suffers (2:1-18). Keep your trust in Jesus, who is superior to Moses (3:1-6). Christians enter God's promised rest only by trusting in Jesus (3:7-4:13). Jesus is superior to the Israelite priesthood (4:14-5:10).
Inherit the promises of God through faith in Christ and patience in suffering (5:11-6:12). Our hope is secure and certain because of Jesus (6:13-20). Jesus is superior to the high priests of old, and the covenant he mediates is superior to theirs and has superior promises (7:1-10:18).
Because all these things are true, let us put our confidence, trust and faith in Jesus alone, enduring all trials and hardships with our eyes fixed on him (10:19-12:12).
In summary, we find that we, as Christians, have not come "to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire," that is, Mount Sinai (12:14-18).
Quite the contrary, we have come to "Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God."
We have come to "thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven."
We have come "to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect. To Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel" (12:22-24).
This is God's rest, the rest that remains for the people of God, the inheritance of the saints--and we have already entered it.
"See to it that you do not refuse the one who speaks" from this mountain, Mount Zion, we are admonished. Our hearts are strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods.
We eat from a new altar, an altar from which the former covenant offers no right to eat. We look for the Jerusalem to come; the former city has no place for us. Our sacrifices are sacrifices of praise, and they are offered through Jesus by lips that confess his name. The fruit of our lives is the fruit of love as God works in us what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ (12:25-13:21).
The point of Hebrews is decidedly not to command Christians to keep the seventh-day Sabbath commandment. The point of Hebrews is to urge and admonish Christian believers to maintain their faith in Jesus Christ despite all opposition and under no circumstances bow to pressure, even deadly pressure, from the synagogues to give up their faith in Jesus for something now weak and inferior that God has transcended through his own Son.
Some Christians refrain from secular work one day a week as a personal spiritual discipline to help them find special time for spiritual devotion. This is fine, but it is not the same as believing that the weekly Sabbath is commanded for Christians.
It is also not the same thing as pushing the idea on others that they will be more obedient or more faithful to God if they set aside a Sabbath day. What we choose to do as a personal spiritual exercise is a completely different matter from what is a law for all believers.
No longer does the Sinai law define the people of God. Now, neither circumcision, nor Sabbaths, nor dietary restrictions are signs of who belongs to the heavenly Father's kingdom. Instead, God has made Jews and gentiles his own people through a new means--Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote: "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations.
"His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
"He came and preached peace to you who were far away [gentiles] and peace to those who were near [Jews]. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit" (Eph. 2:14-18).
We have seen that Christians are not under the Sinai law, but are under the law of Christ and are led by the Holy Spirit. And we have seen that the Christian Sabbath is not a day of the week, but our eternal rest in Jesus Christ. Next month we will look at the purpose and content of worship.
"Jesus kept the Sabbath.
Shouldn't we follow his example?"
Jesus was a Jew, born under the law (Gal. 4:4), and he
did many Jewish things.
He: Attended synagogues (Luke 4:16).Observed Hannukah (John 10:22).Told people to obey ritual laws (Matt. 8:4).Went to Jerusalem for the festivals (Luke 2:41).Gave money to support the temple (Matt. 17:27).
As a law-observant Jew, Jesus would have kept many other customs, too.
He: Had a sukkah booth each year.Killed a Passover lamb each year.Wore tassels on his garments.
Jesus did these things, so should we follow his example in these things, too? No. We do not imitate Jesus in every detail. We don't have to follow him like that.
Why should we follow him in one respect but not the others? We do not have to keep the Sabbath "just because Jesus kept it," unless we find other biblical evidence that this command applies to Christians.
We should follow Jesus in his attitude of obedience. We want to obey God, but obey the instructions he has given us, not the rules he gave someone else. We do not have to keep old covenant laws unless they also happen to apply in the new covenant age.
In other words, the example of Jesus carries no weight on its own. As the above examples show, other biblical evidence is needed to see whether his example is something we should follow, whether it is commanded for us today.
We should also note that the Gospels do not preserve any example of Jesus "keeping" the Sabbath or "resting" on the Sabbath. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John apparently did not believe they needed to preserve such an example.
Instead, the Gospels show Jesus breaking traditions about the Sabbath,
and never teaching any restrictions. Jesus set an example of activity, not of avoiding
work. Indeed, he pointed out that God himself is working (John 5:17). God himself does not
keep the weekly Sabbath; it is not part of his character, and therefore not part of the
eternal and universal law.
Michael Morrison
'The Sabbath was made for man'
After the Pharisees criticized Jesus for allowing his
disciples to pick some grain on the Sabbath day, Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made
for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27).Was he saying that God made the Sabbath
for both Jews and gentiles--all human beings?
No, that was not the point. Jesus did not say that the Sabbath was made for all people. The Pharisees believed that the Sabbath was for Jews only. If Jesus had said that the Sabbath was made for gentiles, it would have created another controversy.
The Pharisees were concerned about the behavior of the disciples, not the gentiles. If Jesus responded by teaching that the Sabbath was made for everyone, it would have supported the Pharisees instead of refuting them.
The Pharisees were overestimating the importance of Sabbath restrictions. Jesus responded to them not by expanding the Sabbath, but by reducing it.
We can see what Jesus meant by looking at the next phrase: "and not man for the Sabbath." His point was that the Sabbath was made to serve people, instead of people being created to serve the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a servant, not a master. He was addressing the relative importance of the Sabbath, not which specific people were given the Sabbath.
We could just as easily say, "Circumcision was made for humans, not for angels." This statement is true, but we should not focus on the first half as if it meant that circumcision was made for all humans. It was given to Israel only, not the rest of the world.
Similarly, Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for humans, but he did not say, nor did he mean, that it was made for all humans.
Michael Morrison
From Randal Dick
Superintendent of missions
Earlier in the summer I received a routine report from Santiago Lange, our national leader in Germany.
The German-speaking churches (including the congregations in Austria and German-speaking Switzerland) have, for years, maintained a consistent and open-hearted outreach to their Eastern European neighbors.
Members have sent tons of supplies to refugees during the conflict between the Serbs and Bosnians. They have quietly but consistently shared their own resources with groups in Ukraine. They continue to assist in projects in Estonia.
One of the most interesting relationships that has developed over the last few years is in Bulgaria, with a group of dedicated Christians led by Nikolay Nikolov.
Mr. Lange spent a couple of weeks in Bulgaria with Mr. Nikolov, getting more acquainted with the brethren there, going from place to place with him.
While this story is interesting in its own right, it becomes even more so because during this journey, God made his love known in a powerful way. We never know when God will use ordinary people in ordinary situations to show his power and love.
Let's pick up the story from Mr. Lange's initial report:
Greetings from Germany!
I just returned from a most encouraging visit to Bulgaria. A main reason for this trip was to help us evaluate our relationship with Christian groups in the Balkan region.
I am excited to report that my positive expectations were not disappointed, quite the contrary.
I arrived in Sofia April 29. From the capital we drove east to the city of Jambol, home of Nikolay Nikolov.
Two weeks ago Nikolay went to Skopje, Macedonia, to deliver humanitarian aid to the Kosovo refugees. He delivered 240 bed covers, 5,000 bars of soap, 200 children's Bibles (the ones we had sponsored for print) and 200 copies of the Bulgarian magazine. The picture pages of the children's Bibles were removed from the binding and distributed to the children in the camp.
On the evening of April 30, I visited a charismatic congregation in Aitos with Nikolay. These 70 believers regularly read the magazine. In fact, as in the other congregations we visited, this has become their magazine.
Pastor Stojan Petrov surprisingly asked me to deliver the sermon (originally a prayer service had been scheduled). My message was titled Grace and Discipline. After the service we headed back to Jambol.
I feel strongly we ought to support the printing of a Gospel with parallel Bulgarian and Turk texts (no such translation is available in Bulgaria ).
Nikolay would like to begin with John. I asked him to send me an estimate of the costs involved to print 1,000 such Gospels. On May 1 we visited the Ravda widows, and Nikolay gave them several copies of the Bulgarian PT.
After an adventurous drive through the Balkan range, two flat tires, a dysfunctional starter and a broken headlight, we made it back to Jambol.
The halls were packed with 650 people. I was told by several people that the church has 1,000 members but not all could come because of a lack of space. I noticed that many were reading the magazine.
Pastor Tzonio Atanassov asked me to address the church. Seizing the chance, my message focused on the centrality of Jesus Christ. We partook of the Lord's Supper.
I pledged some modest help to the church in Jambol. Some orphan teenagers would like to study but do not have the means to do so. The WCG will donate a monthly sum for special needs.
Later we drove to Kotel, where once again I was invited to preach. Pastor Nikolov mentioned that I should try to make my message relevant to newcomers, as a few first-time visitors would be in the audience. I spoke on being born again and on becoming Christlike.
After the service, pastor Nikolov asked me to pray for a seven-year- old child with a cancerous affliction that had affected one leg. The doctors did not give little Dimitri a chance to live.
I laid hands on Dimitri and asked God to intervene on behalf of the child and his family. The boy's parents were in church for the first time. I think they came to God in a last desperate attempt to seek help for their child. I hope and pray that God will intervene mightily in this situation to his glory.
The visit to Bulgaria made clear once again, the tremendous need this Balkan region has for the liberating and comforting gospel message. The country suffers grave poverty and has a thirst for the spiritual.
The Bulgarian magazine has become an integral element in the lives of thousands of Christians. I feel, as does Nikolay, that the WCG-sponsored magazine provides a desperately needed counterweight and anchor against charismatic extremism.
While not negating the importance of the Holy Spirit, sound doctrine must center on the foundation of God's Word and not on emotional experiences, as enticing and wonderful as these might be.
I am sure that the WCG will be able to make further contributions to Bulgaria's Christian landscape. Nikolay's work is remarkable, and we must continue to do our best to support his efforts.
This morning I received a most encouraging call from Nikolay Nikolov.
It appears that God has heard our prayers. Nikolay told me that the boy has been miraculously healed and that because of the miracle even Dimitri's grandparents have accepted Christ in their lives. A final medical confirmation from the Sophia specialists is still pending.
Warm regards,
Santiago
I just received a letter from the boy's mother (apparently translated by Nikolay into German).
The English translation follows:
Dear Brethren of the WCG in Germany,
The person writing is the mother of the healed child in Kotel. His name is Dimitri. We want to give thanks for the wonderful service of Mr. Santiago Lange in our Kotel congregation.
We give thanks for the PT. It is a witness for the truth and God. As Mr. Santiago Lange prayed for our child I told myself that I would serve God if the child was healed. We were for the first time at the Kotel congregation.
The healing of our child has changed the lives of our family. We thank God, and we thank our brother Santiago for being able to experience this healing and for being able to find the truth in our lives.
The distribution of the PT is a wonderful thing, and we have found out much about God. We have felt that God loves us and that he can cure every disease.
The doctor's prognosis that our son would never walk again is not true. The Lord has acted through the hands of Santiago. We are feeling a never before experienced internal joy and peace in our family.
We have seen that God acts where there is repentance. We have the X rays as proof. Whether people want to believe us or not, is not important, since the healing of our son is a fact. We thank God for his grace and we praise his name.
S. Ivanka
Kotel, Bulgaria
I didn't relate this story to "wow" you, although I hope you are somewhat in awe at the love of God. Nor did I latch on to the only example of a recent miracle. I could relate half a dozen equally inspiring, documentable miracles right now.
I can look in my own life and realize that were it not for a loving Jesus who did much the same for me as he did for Dimitri, I would not be writing this to you right now.
My firstborn son, Chris, who was also dramatically healed, is a witness to my wife, Susie, and me every time we look into his face.
I would like to leave you with the thought that God is and has always been active in the lives of his people. He walks among his children and shows them mercy as he has since the beginning.
The miracles that change the most lives the most deeply, tend to happen within the fabric of people's everyday lives. When we, ordinary people, respond in humble service to our Lord, we become instruments of his extraordinary love in the lives of those we serve.
As you receive this August issue of the WN, the Fall Festival will be only about a month and a half away. We have been working hard to organize an exciting week of worship, inspiring messages, helpful workshops and lots of family fun.
If you will attend one of our eight-day Festival sites this year, and haven't registered, please call our toll-free number (1-800-507-2299) at your earliest convenience. Our staff needs to know how many will be attending to plan effective worship services, provide for housing needs and organize social events. When you call, you will be sent a packet of information on the site you wish to attend and you can then make your housing arrangements. The registration donation is $140 for each family and $90 for singles.
Our eight-day Festival sites this year are Saratoga Springs, New York; Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Hot Springs, Arkansas; Davenport, Iowa; Seaside, Oregon; and Palm Springs, California.
The Festival begins Friday evening, Sept. 24, and concludes Saturday, Oct. 2.
From James and Shirley Henderson
By James Henderson
LAGOS, Nigeria--Greetings from Lagos. This is an important time here--the peaceful transition, it is hoped, from military rule to civilian government.
Much could be said about Africa. God is doing so much through our fellowship. I wish I could take each of you on a tour with me to visit our churches scattered over this vast continent. I think you would love it, and you would celebrate how God is working in our midst.
As I cannot take all of you with me, I thought I would share with you a summary of my May diary. Perhaps you can get a flavor of the exciting things that are happening with your African brethren.
We have only one mission statement for Africa--simply to preach Christ crucified. Within that we have two priorities--to strengthen our existing congregations so they can be released to preach Jesus in their nations; and to explore new mission fields for the gospel. So here goes the diary bit....
Cold--winter beginning. South African council meetings at my home. Talks revolve around member input for the new constitution, the need for ministerial development and plans for the rest of year.
Bob Klynsmith, pastor of the Cape Town, South Africa, congregations, reports on ideas about church planting and discussion about a church planter's proposal to place two new churches under WCG pastoral care.
Moderate and pleasant. Meetings with ministers and leaders; sermon in Nairobi.
Discussions revolve around evangelism, the small is beautiful approach. John Amadala, pastor for Western Kenya, tells of continued growth of new groups, particularly of a large group in the Lodwar area, toward Lake Turkana.
Plans formulated for women's ministry conference in August, which would involve Uganda as well as all of Kenya.
Seasonal monsoon. Visit with small group of members. They want to become the nucleus of a mission, and we discuss with a lawyer possible registration to that end. Baptized Brian Chiang-Ty-Seng.
I rang Carlos Tavares, director of WCG mission in Portuguese. Carlos is concerned about the worsening situation in Angola and about the plight of Angolan refugees in northern Namibia.
Mentioned to him that our church in Malawi has contacted the leaders of two Portuguese speaking groups in Mozambique. (The Malawi members work with indigenous languages, and translated the Statement of Beliefs into Chikewa, one of Malawi's main languages).
Hot and humid. Pentecost weekend. Eleven hours through Nairobi to Douala, dropping off bulk copies of latest African Worldwide News for East Africa en route.
Ordained four new Cameroon ministers--now five ministers, one for each established congregation.
Visited group in Limbe near the volcanic explosion of Mt. Cameroon--lava on the road. Two hour question and answer sessions and sermons in each of four locations--Limbe, Douala, Yaounde and Makak.
Main discussions center on attitudes to polygamy and women in Africa. Jean-Jacques Ndoudoumou, president of church in Cameroon, gives updates of developments involving "Le Tam-Tam," their locally produced WCG radio program, which is widely broadcast there.
Some people who have heard the radio broadcast have been baptized. Interest has been shown from as far afield as Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Members singing and dancing wherever I go.
Also visited the water project donated by a member of the Lyons, France, congregation to the rural Makak congregation--the laying of a water pipe to the village so members can sell water to the community.
Unfortunately the water authorities have ceased temporarily to supply water to the pipe for technical reasons.
Hot, hot, hot! After nine-hour delay at Douala airport, plane eventually arrives at Cotonou two hours ahead of schedule because of re-routing!
Discussed approaches with Atsu Dravie, resident pastor for Burkina Faso, Benin and Togo, to the bad press about the church in the adjacent country of Togo.
Visited our new mission in the Torris language in the village of Lotin-Gbedjehouin (try saying that quickly!) where each week about 50 people gather under a tree for services.
This mission began by the efforts of Gabriel Mbabou, who through his personal evangelism gathered the group together. They are trying to raise US$350 to build a hall in a field.
Atsu Dravie and I ordained Arthur Adjibodou to minister to this mission and to the Porto-Novo congregation. We commissioned a pastoral team to take care of the Cotonou church.
Heat and rain. Gabriel Ojih, area pastor for West Africa, flies from Ghana for meeting. Gabriel tells of Ghana church's funding of a missionary couple, Francis and Margaret Ablordeppey, into the Ewe-speaking area of Hohoe for six months.
Their short-term mission is to train leaders and to build pastoral structures within the six groups we have there. Shortly after their arrival, they were asked by their landlady to lead worship and devotions three times a week for a school of 50 seamstresses who have rented the first floor of the house where they live. So now they are working with seven groups.
In Lagos, two days of sermons and meetings ending in a communion service with the leaders. Ordained Michael Fatokun to minister to the Agege congregation.
Lively worship sessions. Leadership meetings include afternoon questions and answers on new covenant teachings, and a discussion on the vision for the church in Nigeria in 2005 and ideas on how to get from here to there.
Too cold! Greet kids. Pat dog. Kiss wife. Sleep!
MALAWI--Statement of Beliefs in
Chikewa language.
SEYCHELLES--Brian
Chiang-Ty-Seng, newest
baptized member.
CAMEROON--Jean-Jacques Ndoudoumou
(center) with the four newly ordained men in the
Cameroon, from left: Francois Ongba, Nbarga Mengue,
Mr. Ndoudoumou, Jean Mvondo and Victor Balinga.
BENIN--Some of the Lotin-Gbedjehouin group
underneath the tree where they worship each week.
CAMEROON--Lucy Wole points to gases steaming from the crusting lava from the
eruption of volcanic Mt. Cameroon.
CAMEROON--La Borne Fontaine water
project in rural Makak.
BENIN--Gabriel Mbabou (right) in front of field where
the new Benin group hopes to build a hall for our WCG
Torris language mission.
By Ronald
Kelly
The first half of 1999 is now in the books. Income in June, which started with encouraging amounts, began to trail off during the last two weeks.
The daily average donation income for the month was $96,549. That brought the year-to-date average to $95,134.
While that is almost exactly at our targeted budget, it would have been nice to have a higher average that would help make up for the first quarter deficit.
The main reason we are running a deficit is that our expense budget exceeds our donation income. As I have explained before, we have only two major ways to deal with this kind of deficit: 1) terminate additional employees and church programs or 2) take the deficit from our already decreasing reserve fund. Of course, neither of these options is desirable.
We are thankful so many of you have been responding so generously. As I mentioned last month, if we all can continue our giving patterns of May, and now June, it will ease the financial tensions for the remainder of the year. So keep up the good work.
Our prospective buyers for the Big Sandy campus have once again requested an escrow extension. They are making good progress on their financial package, but still need to finalize their financial commitments to complete the sale.
It now looks like the earliest date we can close will be the last week of August. Please continue to pray that this sale will be successfully completed. On the brighter side, they have increased their escrow extension deposit amount that helps defray our costs.
The escrow process on the Pasadena property sale is coming along right on track. The first two stages of escrow have been met, and we are in stage three. This will be a lengthy process as the developers present more specific plans and designs to Pasadena city officials.
As we continue the sales processes, two major committees are working to prepare for the move to a new location. Bernie Schnippert, director of Finance & Planning, supervises both these committees.
The first committee is our Relocation Committee, chaired by Dale Trow, our facilities director. The second is the PRO Committee (Planning, Reengineering and Organizing Task Force), that I chair.
The function of the Relocation Committee is to evaluate space requirements for a leased or purchased office building. The church board of directors asked Mr. Trow to identify potential buildings within a 30 to 40 mile radius of our Pasadena campus.
The PRO committee will determine the staff size, equipment needs and procedures that may be different with a smaller staff in a smaller building. We are selecting 12 to 15 congregations to assist us with a pilot program to evaluate different procedures for our mail processing department.
We have both nostalgia and excitement as our headquarters team prepares to relocate. So please keep us in your prayers, as we do all of you. We pray for many of you individually as we hear of your needs, and pray every day for the collective body of believers who make the Worldwide Church of God such an exciting group to serve.
Save postage! If you have Internet access and a credit card, you can make donations to the church through our website.
Direct your computer to https://www.wcg.org/DonationForm.asp and give us your personal identification number, name, address, card number, expiration date and donation amount.
You can make a one-time donation, or set up an automatic monthly donation. You can choose which day of the month your donations will be effective, and if you already have a monthly donation established, you may change the credit card information or donation amount by submitting the new information.
WHITE LAKE, North Carolina--"A smashing success!" That's how Jeb Egbert, director of the Summer Educational Program, described this year's Discovery Weekend in White Lake.
Sixty-nine teens from North and South Carolina and other areas gathered at the Future Farmers of America (FFA) camp for a weekend of discovery and celebration April 16 to 18.
Pastor Greg Williams said that the "spirit and atmosphere was one of excitement, demonstrating that Christianity is the best way of life."
This year's weekend was filled with chances for youths to learn more about Christ, while growing closer together. Activities included canoeing, swimming, fishing, volleyball, a field day and a semiformal dinner-dance.
The Gallupi family from Cary, North Carolina, performed as a part of their clowning ministry.
In the midst of the fun and fellowship, the focus remained on Christ. Dr. Egbert led several discovery meetings, where teens discussed Christian living issues, as well as helping out by leading Christ-centered skits.
Pastors Paul David Kurts, Charles Taylor and Dr. Egbert led praise and worship services. The songs and messages all focused on Jesus Christ and how to grow closer to him.
For more information about helping with Discovery Weekend or about joining us next year, contact Warren McKoy at 1-919-776-2731 or by e-mail at realmckoy@salltel.net Micah Royal.
JACKSONVILLE, North Carolina--The Jacksonville congregation was host to a Swords of Truth youth rally April 24 that taught youths that abstinence is cool.
Seventy-five teens and parents attended. The featured speaker was Christian comedian Keith Deltano.
"When we started planning this we were thinking small, but it really ballooned," said Mary Lynne Walton, assistant coordinator.
Besides the featured speaker, teens were invited to participate in a talent show. The bands played contemporary Christian music, and some of the teens sang solos.
A dramatic recitation of Joan of Arc was performed by Raven Davis, a WCG teen. A dramatic enactment depicted Christ's trial and death with Satan thinking he was the victor. Then Jesus arose and vanquished Satan.
While teens enjoyed the talent, Mr. Deltano conducted a workshop for parents titled Keeping Your Kid a Virgin 101.
Dixie Marino.
BUFFALO, New York--Buffalo South teens had their second etiquette dinner dance, "Reach for the Stars," April 24.
About 30 teens, parents and youth leaders were in attendance, including teens from surrounding church areas and the community.
A four-course meal was served as the teens learned the art of table conversation.
This was followed by an evening of dancing.
Martin and Beth Koenig, Buffalo South youth leaders, organized the event; Jocelyn Buczek provided the menu and dinner decorations; and Mark Regoord was disc jockey.
Garret Hussak.
By John McKenna
It is amazing how often we read in the Bible this exhortation from God: "Don't be afraid. Don't be terrified!"
It seems that again and again we need to hear these words from the Lord: "Do not be afraid. I am with you!" The Bible is plain that we are called to follow the Lord God without fear.
But who lives fearlessly? We all find ourselves afraid at times as we are confronted with life's tragedies, traumas and crises. Reading the Bible, which assures us of God's never-failing presence in our lives, helps us through these times.
To know the God of the Bible is to be assured of his care for us, even when we have to face something that makes us naturally afraid.
"I will be with you!" If these words came from anyone other than the Lord God of our lives, we would have good reason to be afraid.
No one we know is with us forever. We are not even with ourselves forever, because we often betray ourselves.
If these words, "I will be with you," were the words of someone who is not God, we would find less comfort from them.
That is why we can have confidence when we read the Bible. The Bible is not another market niche magazine, nor is it merely a book among the books of the world.
The Bible is the Book among the books of the world. The Bible comes down to us through the many centuries of the history of God's people.
That history begins with ancient Israel's confession that her deliverance from slavery in Egypt was from her Lord and God.
The Bible creates through Israel a sure hope that has come to be known as messianic hope.
It is the certain hope that God will keep his promise to her and send his Messiah to her.
This hope is realized through Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has kept his promise to his people by sending them his Son. Through Christ, God is present with his people forever. That is why we can believe and not be afraid.
Every day, our God is present with us and will be present with us forever. Our reading of the Bible is meant to help us with this hope and belief. The Bible is the Book among the books of the world because it teaches us of Jesus Christ.
Every book of the Bible is given to us to teach us about and draw us deeper into Jesus Christ. Because Christ reveals the love of the Lord God for us, he is the center from which we may learn to know and love God.
In Jesus Christ, God has revealed the secrets about his ways with us. Jesus is the way God has chosen to be with us. "Do not be afraid, I am with you always, even to the end of this age."
If these words were not the words God has spoken to us, we would have much to fear. But because they are his words, we may be sure he has kept his promise to us, and he will never cease to keep his promise to us.
The more I read the Bible, the more he enriches me with assurance about his promise. The Lord God is gracious and faithful in the promises he has made to his people. The more I read, the more certain his hope grows in me.
The Bible has a way of mastering my fears and me. We do not read the Bible so that we can master it. We read the Bible because God has committed himself to comforting us through it. We read the Bible, and we find his comfort for us.
Great is the comfort of the Lord. He takes away our fears. He makes his presence known to us. He comforts us with the comfort that only he can give us.
"Don't be afraid, I am with you." God has given us the Bible so that we might hear his words of comfort for us. I like to think of it as listening to the greatest music we could ever hear. How amazing and thrilling it is to hear God speak with us!
Most of Paul's letters were written to churches that Paul himself had begun. The church in Colosse, however, heard the gospel from Epaphras (Col. 1:7). He told Paul about the faith and love of the believers in Colosse--but Paul also learned that some false teachings were bothering this young church. Paul wrote them a letter to better ground them in the Christian faith.
In chapter 1, Paul prays for their wisdom, understanding and Christian life (1:9-14). He reminds them of how great Christ is, and that they have been reconciled to God through him. Paul reminds them that he is working hard to teach everyone about Christ, so that they will know the truth.
To help set them straight, Paul wanted them to focus on Christ (2:6-7). They had already been taught enough about Christ. They needed to continue in that and strengthen that, rather than trying to add strange doctrines to it. Christianity is based on faith in a Savior who died for us. It does not need to be complicated with extra ideas.
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ" (2:8). The ancient world had a wide variety of religious ideas. Some were taught by philosophers who tried to show how sensible and practical their ideas were.
In contrast, Paul taught salvation through a crucified man. He taught that God existed in this man who was killed, and that God had brought him back to life. Paul taught that this Christ would return on some future day to bring everyone back to life and to judge the world.
Paul's gospel did not depend on human wisdom--it defied human wisdom. It did not depend on clever arguments, or on principles that most people already agreed with. It depended on Christ alone, on who he was and what he did.
Most religions try to figure out what people's problems are, and then what they need to do. But the gospel has a reverse logic. It begins with what Christ has done, and from that, it discerns what the human problem really is, and what we need to be saved from. It starts with Christ.
"In Christ," Paul writes, "all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority" (2:9-10).
If we have Christ, we do not need other ideas added on. Christ is superior to everything else, and Christians have fullness in Christ, and he is fully God. Christ is supreme and sufficient.
Paul then explains the practical significance of this: "In Christ you were also circumcised" (2:11). Physical circumcision isn't necessary, Paul says, since you have already been circumcised spiritually, through faith in Christ.
How were they circumcised?--"in the putting off of the sinful nature." Physical circumcision could only symbolize the removal of sin, but Christ performs the reality in our lives, making the symbol unnecessary. Through Christ, the sinful nature is cut off. The reality has been achieved, so the ritual is not needed. When we have Christ, we have enough.
Paul then says that Christians have "been buried with him [Christ] in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ" (2:12-13).
These are the results of faith in a Savior who is fully divine. The old person, corrupted by sin, is dead and buried. Through faith in Christ, we are united with him, and what he has done is effective for us. He died for us, so our sins are no longer counted against us.
In the death of Christ, our sinful self received the wages of sin. And in the resurrection of Christ, we live with him in new life. What God did in Jesus Christ, he also did it for those who believe in Christ. Consequently, our sins are fully forgiven. We do not need to do anything extra to kill them, pay for them or make up for them.
Paul elaborates this point by writing that Jesus Christ "forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross" (2:13-14).
The "written code" comes from a Greek word used for a note of debt. Our sins are like debts, and they are completely taken away in Christ. Those sins have no power over us; sins cannot impose regulations about what we have to do, because they were eliminated on the cross. Christians do not need extra rules to deal with sin--we have Christ. Our behavior changes, of course, but we do not have to perform any actions to deal with past or current failures.
"Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (2:15). The words "powers and authorities" probably refer to something the false teachers were saying--perhaps that Christians should do something to please or get help from some mystical powers. Paul is saying that Christ has conquered them all. When we have Christ, nothing else has power or authority over our lives.
The power called sin has no authority over us. We do not need special rituals to break that power--what we need is Christ, who has already triumphed over that power. When we have faith in Christ, our old sinful self is dead, and our new life is with Christ.
Paul begins the next verse with the word "therefore," because it is a logical result of what he has just said. Because our sins are fully removed in Christ, we should "not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day" (2:16).
The false teachers were apparently saying that avoiding certain food and drink could somehow help people deal with sin in their lives. But food and drink have no power to take away sin.
Paul is saying that we are fully forgiven in Christ, and we should therefore not let anyone judge us about what we eat and drink. Of course, we cannot prevent what people think about us. What Paul means is that we should not accept their judgments--we should not believe that our standing with God depends on food and drink regulations.
In the same way, because we are fully forgiven in Christ, we should not let others judge us with regard to festivals, new moons or Sabbaths. These, like circumcision, were part of the Jewish religion. Apparently the false teachers of Colosse included a mixture of Judaism in their ideas.
But how could people in Colosse observe festivals, new moons and Sabbaths? They could not do any of the sacrificial rituals in Asia Minor. Jews observed the weekly and annual Sabbaths by not working. The false teachers were saying that this cycle of annual, monthly and weekly observances would help the Christians deal with sin in their lives.
That's not true, Paul said. Abstaining from work does not help anyone deal with sin. It does not forgive past sins, nor does it give power to avoid sin in the future. Sin was dealt with completely by Jesus' crucifixion, and because of that, we should not let others judge us by what we do on days of the calendar.
Those days "are a shadow of the things that were to come" (2:17). The Jewish worship days were a shadow, a silhouette, of things to come. Paul does not say whether these days had any predictive value. He does not say how the new moons were shadows. No matter what Paul meant by shadow, no matter whether the things to come are past or future, the result is clear: these days have no effect on sin. We should not let others judge us regarding them--nor should we judge others. As far as sin is concerned, days are irrelevant.
Paul then makes this contrast: "the reality, however, is found in Christ." The Greek literally says "but the body of Christ." This part of the verse has no verb, so one must be added. Translators usually add "is," because Greek often omits "is."
Greeks also commonly contrasted shadow and body as terms for picture and reality. Paul's thought is that food, drink and days are shadows, but the reality is Jesus Christ. Christ deals with sin in reality; foods and days can do it only in picture. Paul is saying that Christ is important; the shadows are not.
But some have suggested that we should add a different verb: Don't let anyone judge you by food and days, but [let] the body of Christ [judge you]. They claim that we should let the church judge this. Ironically, most of these people have rejected the judgment that the church has given regarding foods and days. Paul has just explained that our sins are fully forgiven in Christ; he is not going to reduce that idea by saying that we should let the church judge us. This is not in his thought or in the context. His point is that Christ is the reality that foods and days could only hint at.
Paul ends this chapter with a warning about those who teach that religion must have restrictive rules. Such ideas might "have an appearance of wisdom ... but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence" (2:18-23). Rules about avoiding certain foods, or avoiding work on certain days, may sound wise. They might suggest that we have power over our bodies, but they cannot break the power of sin. Only Christ can do that, and he has done it fully and effectively on the cross.
Michael Morrison
By Russell Duke
What creates church growth? Are members responsible for growth of the body of Christ?
Jesus used an analogy from farming to explain the manner in which the kingdom of God grows (Mark 4:26-29). Once the farmer plants the seed, it grows by itself. Although fruit comes through the miracle created within the seed, the farmer has to work hard to prepare the ground for productivity.
So it is with church growth. The apostle Paul explained that he had planted churches, Apollos had watered, but it was God who gave the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6).
So how do Christians plant and water so God's kingdom can grow?
In his
book Natural Church Development, Christian A. Schwarz helps answer this question based on
research from more than 1,000 churches in 32 countries.
He identified eight characteristics that enable a church to grow. All eight must exist for a church to have healthy growth.
Here are those church growth principles:
Empowering leadership provides nurturing for Christians to attain their spiritual potential.
Pastors focus on discipleship, delegation and relationships to empower members to attain their spiritual goals. Lay members are not helpers to simply promote the pastor's goals, but rather they collectively establish goals for the church. Greatness in leadership comes through a genuine heart of service (Matthew 23:11-12).
Gift-oriented ministry enables members to serve where their God-given spiritual gifts can best flourish.
Joy in daily living was found to be closely related to being freed to serve in areas of one's strengths. It is important that pastors provide appropriate training for volunteers to enable their success. In this way members truly become the priesthood of believers (1 Peter 2:9).
Passionate spirituality ignites from hearts on fire for Jesus Christ.
Enthusiasm sparks their personal commitment to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30).
God's grace inspires serving, not the legalism of just doing one's duty. Prayer is an inspiring experience as a life of faith represents a genuine relationship with Jesus.
Functional structures provide order so productivity can thrive.
Adjustments are made as needed so everyone can function effectively to do the right things (1 Corinthians 14:33). Pastors focus on the continuous need to balance tradition with the need for change to enable beneficial growth. Department heads are appointed to coordinate each area of ministry so that groups function well. Each leader develops more leaders.
Inspiring worship services exalt Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Corporate worship nourishes the body of Christ, the church members (Ephesians 4:11-16). Attending church is enjoyable, not laborious or done out of legalistic requirements. An appropriate setting for the service frees members to worship and laud their King.
A friendly welcoming team greets members of the body, a competent worship leader facilitates collective praise and prayer, and a meaningful order of service highlights the gospel message.
Holistic small groups meet regularly to apply the Bible to the reality of living in today's society.
Collective prayer and discussion promote communion with God and reflection on his will. As cell groups grow, they split to enable continued effectiveness. As in the example of the early church, members gather in fellowship to praise God (Acts 2:42-47).
Need-oriented evangelism proclaims the gospel message of the kingdom (Acts 1:8).
Christians spread this special message to friends and acquaintances in existing relationships. The focus of evangelism is on the needs of non-Christians, showing them how Jesus fulfills our needs.
Although each member of the body of Christ should share with non-Christians, first by example and second by sharing their story, only about 10 percent of members appear to have received the gift of evangelism. Pastors assist in identifying those members who have received the gift and empower them to serve God.
Loving relationships come through sharing in thought and action, caring for one another (Matthew 25:37-40).
Friendships are developed and maintained through commitment of time, talents and emotion. True, unfeigned love fills their time together, even during times of hardship. Joyful laughter highlights those churches alive in Jesus.
Christian Schwarz concludes that interplay of all eight characteristics is vital if growth is to occur.
When all eight were at least at a 65 percent level, that church grew. This goal, although difficult, is attainable by focusing on qualitative growth within the present membership, leaving quantitative growth to God (1 Corinthians 3:6).
Ministers provide leadership to facilitate the growth of each member and the corporate body (Ephesians 4:11-13). But leadership is not limited to the ministry.
Consider these eight characteristics
1) Lead by empowering other members to grow.
2) Use your God-given gifts to serve God and your neighbor.
3) Be passionate, on fire, with joy and enthusiasm for the body of Christ.
4) Enable structure in the church to function effectively.
5) Participate as your gifts allow and pray for inspiration in worship services.
6) Join or form a small group to apply weekend worship to daily living.
7) Evangelize by sharing your Christian life by example and story.
8) Practice sincere love by sharing your joy with other members.
Which of the eight characteristics is your weakest? Ask God for strength and allow Jesus to lead you to grow. Which are your strengths? Use them to serve Jesus and his church.
It was a dark and painful time in my life. I had sinned greatly, deeply hurting people who trusted me. I was powerless to fix what I had broken. Deep in despair, I felt condemned. I doubted God's love, I felt excluded from his grace.
"Listen to God," someone advised. "He loves you. He wants to forgive you and bring good things even out of this sin. Listen for his voice and he will speak to you."
I thought about the voice of doubt, condemnation and criticism that constantly shouted at me inside my head. I had assumed that was God talking to me. But it didn't seem like the voice of love and forgiveness. Yet this voice of discouragement always seemed to have the last word.
I lay down on my back in the yard and looked up at the sky. Big black clouds were rolling in to cover the blue sky and the sun. Just like my life, I thought; the light, the hope, the joy are defeated by my darkness. Then I prayed: "I'm listening, Father. Talk to me about the clouds." And I waited.
And a little voice in my head said, "Clouds will come; but then they will go." I was surprised. This didn't sound like my usual inner voice of doubt and condemnation. This voice offered hope. Perhaps after all there could be light after the darkness.
Then the voice in my mind said, "When clouds come they bring rain; but the rain makes flowers grow." Again I was encouraged. Perhaps this present storm of painful tears might produce a fruitful harvest.
Then the voice of discouragement clamored for attention. "Lord," I said, "the clouds come and go, and bring rain to make flowers grow; but there is no evil in the clouds. How can I hope for good things when there is great wickedness in me?" And I wept bitterly.
And the quiet voice said: "There is wickedness in all my children. My grace is sufficient for all of them."
"But Lord," I cried, "my sin is too great. There is not supposed to be such wickedness in me."
And the voice said: "Listen to yourself! You are talking foolishness!"
And then I realized that while my sin was great, God's grace was greater. And God had the last word.
The author asked to remain anonymous
CINCINNATI, Ohio--The Cincinnati West Women's Ministry was host for an evening of fun, food, fellowship and entertainment for more than 170 women and girls at a Girls Night Out banquet, May 8.
Women and girls gathered at the Fairfield Banquet Center Tori's Station for dinner followed by an entertainment program. The four Cincinnati-area churches were represented: Cincinnati West, East, Central and Erlanger, Kentucky.
Several brought guests. Mothers and daughters attended, as well as mothers-in-law, singles, seniors, young marrieds and little girls. The ages ranged from two weeks to 88 years.
The entertainment program was made up of participants from each church area. Acts included vocals, skits, a signed interpretation, a dance, poetry and group renditions of songs.
Terri Westerhaus was master of ceremonies, while Susan Nouhan coordinated a number of drawings for door prizes. Libby Walker concluded with a performance of "Wind Beneath My Wings." Kenda Turner.
GIRLS NIGHT OUT--Lynda Olson and her
daughter Ashley perform a skit at the Cincinnati
Women's Ministry's Girls Night Out May 8.
CAMBRIDGE, Ohio--An Ohio Valley women's retreat will take place Nov. 5 to 7 at the Shenandoah Inn in the hills of southeastern Ohio.
The theme will be Women Who Follow the Master. Speakers will include Pam Smith, wife of Tom Smith, pastor in Washington, Pennsylvania; and Mary Ann Brown, wife of Steve Brown, pastor in Clearwater, Florida.
The cost is $75 for the weekend and includes two nights lodging and five meals. A $35 nonrefundable deposit is required by Aug. 31. After that date, the reservation cost is $95.
Rooms are double occupancy with separate beds. Secure baby-sitting is available on site.
For a brochure and reservation form, write Rose Harless at 65399 Lake Rd., Cambridge, Ohio, 43725, or call her at 1-740-439-4081, or call Lynn Mills at 1-740-439-7037.
MIAMI, Florida--The Miami North congregation conducted its second mother-daughter prayer breakfast June 5. The theme was Touching the Heart, based on Isaiah 40:11.
The program consisted of songs of praise, several prayers for mothers and daughters, a skit by two youths and reflections from a daughter.
The keynote speaker was Elaine Byrd, a facilitator with the women's ministry at Koinonia Worship Center, and a primary facilitator for the Christian African-American Homemakers of Miramar, Florida.
The organizer of this event was Lois Lanier, a deaconess in the Worldwide Church of God.
Mattie A. Johnson.
DALY CITY, California--The Daly City congregation, which began six months earlier as a church plant, had 24 in attendance June 27, when district superintendent Mike Swagerty and his wife, Sandy, visited.
A group of eight members began an outreach ministry on Saturdays to a shelter that feeds the homeless and other hungry people. At the same time they began to meet for services at one of the members' homes on Sunday morning.
At first it was just the same eight people who faithfully ministered to the needs of the poor in their community and met together for worship. When Mr. Swagerty attended June 27, 24 were in attendance, including eight children. Two were former members befriended by Richard Roberts, the facilitator.
Two others were from Richard's place of employment who wanted to be part of the group. Two teens were there because one WCG member serves in a big brother program, and they wanted to come along.
"What really inspired me was the church service itself," Mr. Swagerty said. "I caught a new vision of what the first century church must have looked like meeting in someone's home.
"We sang, prayed, studied, fellowshipped, shared and broke bread together. There was a real sense of family. And what an ethnically diverse group of people. Represented were individuals from Czechoslovakia, the Ivory Coast of Africa, Trinidad, the Philippines, Samoa, African Americans and various European Americans. Truly a rainbow of God's family here on earth. And yet nothing but love and mutual respect for each other, united in our common love of Christ.
"I have no doubt this group will continue to grow," Mr. Swagerty said, "as they love to worship, and love to reach out and serve. They patiently form relationships, and then wait for God to spark an interest in the person, which they can then use to draw the person to Christ. "I know we all need a little encouragement, and this was a real shot in the arm for my wife, Sandy, and me."
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana--The Indianapolis P.M. and Hope congregations served at the Billy Graham Crusade in Indianapolis June 3 to 6.
Early this spring, 30 members began taking the crusade-sponsored Christian Life and Witness classes to become counselors at the crusade. Not everyone ended up counseling, but the classes were valuable for teaching how to evangelize one on one and how to help someone rededicate his or her life to Jesus Christ.
Twenty-four members served at the crusade as ushers, on the co-labor team, in the choir, as counselors and on the administrative staff.
For many it was a first-time experience to lead others to commit their lives to Jesus and to help many rededicate their lives to him. Carma Pollard and David Perry.
PARTICIPANTS--Indianapolis P.M. and Hope, Indiana, members
who served at Billy Graham Crusade. [Photos by J. David Perry]
ORR,
Minnesota--Jonathan Whitney, 19, died unexpectedly of severe respiratory arrest, June 29,
while working on the staff at the Summer Educational Program (SEP) in Orr.
For most of his life, Jonathan had battled respiratory problems because of allergies.
At the time of his death, Jonathan was a sophomore at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, majoring in computer information technology and business.
His parents, David and Yvonne Whitney, flew to SEP with their family Friday, July 2. The next day a memorial service was conducted at the camp in Jonathan's honor.
Mr. Whitney gave a eulogy in which he extended heartfelt appreciation to the SEP family for their efforts to revive his son. He spoke of Jonathan's lifelong health challenges, but also of his refusal to be limited by what others viewed as a handicap.
Jonathan's mother shared that he was driven to achievement by anything that posed a challenge. She said it was useless trying to convince him that he would be better off avoiding certain activities.
Jonathan was buried in Leiding Cemetery in Orr, overlooking Pelican Lake and the eastern shoreline of the SEP camp.
A scholarship fund has been set up for youths in need to attend the SEP camp. Send contributions to the Jon Whitney Memorial Fund, c/o SEP Office, Box 2211, Frisco, Texas, 75034.
Jonathan was originally from Goffstown, New Hampshire. In addition to his parents, he is survived by three sisters, Katherine, Jessica and Kristen; one brother, Justin; grandmothers Dorothy Whitney and Rita Brodeur; and many aunts, uncles and cousins. David Whitney and Jeb Egbert.
ST. LOUIS, Missouri--Ten WCG ministers and wives participated in five days of intensive instruction in evangelism and discipleship at the Billy Graham School of Evangelism in St. Louis, June 21-25.
Karl Reinagel,
pastor of the Des Moines and Chariton, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska, congregations, said:
"It was like a second honeymoon with Jesus Christ."
David Fiedler, district superintendent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, said: "This conference deepened my appreciation for prayer, broadened my contact with the larger Christian body of Christ, and turned my eyes toward a dying world in need of Christ. I'd recommend it to anyone."
WCG ministers and wives in attendance were David Fiedler; Calvin and Nona Devries of Des Moines, Iowa; Al and Suzanne Kersha, Columbia, Kirksville and Jefferson City, Missouri; Jim Lee, Lake St. Louis and St. Louis South; Mark Queener, Belleville, Illinois; Karl Reinagel; and Jim and Grace Stokes, Belleville and Mt. Vernon, Illinois.
The school was host to 800 ministers and lay leaders from 42 states, two provinces in Canada, 16 other countries and 56 Christian denominations.
PINELAKE, Florida--Seventy-five members, pastors and lay leaders gathered at Pinelake Retreat Center west of Orlando for an inspirational weekend, June 11-13.
District superintendent Bob Persky and his wife, Kay, gave presentations based on the conference theme of Becoming an Agent of Revival.
Larry Hinkle, pastor
of the Port St. Lucie and Boca Raton, Florida, congregations, shared his training from
Evangelism Explosion in how to lead a non-believer to Jesus.
Mrs. Persky shared the story of her son Brad's healing and how that has enriched her zeal for worship. Mr. Persky gave presentations on Discovering Your Ministry Identity, Team Building and The Joy of Salvation. Ken Smylie.
FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina--The Fayetteville congregation celebrated Pentecost, May 23, by gathering with the Advent Christian congregation.
Members of both churches attended the Advent Christian Church's Sunday school, met for a joint Pentecost service and shared in a potluck meal.
Bobby Murray, the Advent Christian pastor, and a combined choir, led the Pentecost service. Special music was performed by Linda Whipple of the Wilson, North Carolina, congregation, Julie Averitt of Fayetteville, and the combined choir.
Jonathan Stepp, associate pastor of the Fayetteville congregation, gave the sermon. Micah Royal.
MUSKEGON, Michigan--After pastor Norm David gave the sermon at Pentecost services in Muskegon, he invited everyone to join him in rededicating themselves to God and the new Worldwide Church of God.
They all held hands as Mr. David prayed for the congregation. Then they shared communion and broke into groups of four to six for prayer.
May 29 six members of the congregation united with other Muskegon area churches for a prayer walk to pray for the concerns of the residents in the area, at their request, and for peace in the community. Michele Templeman.
MOBILE, Alabama--A graduation ceremony and brunch took place May 16 for seven members who completed a church leadership training program.
The course was designed to train lay members in works of service to the church and to prepare them for community service and outreach. The course consisted of 20 hours of instruction and spanned six months.
The training included multi-cultural awareness, small group formation, outreach and effective music ministry.
The graduates Mary Adkins, Andrew Britton, Bobby Edmonds, Mary Foreman, Cleveland Frison, Rosylen Frison and Barbara Thornhill. Many of the graduates have already assumed new areas of responsibility within the congregation. Frederick Moore.
 Edward Faulk |
LORAIN, Ohio--The Lorain congregation had a testimony service May 1. Jim and Naomi Owens were worship leaders.
Nine members shared experiences from their personal lives. They are pastor Edward Faulk, Laura Lee, Rueben Hall, Andy Lebanik, Kathy Johnson, Jerry Stephens, Jolyn Haslage, Mike Smith and Kim Skinner.
The newly formed Women of Grace chorus, directed by Kim Skinner, performed special music. Kitty Smith.
PASADENA--More than 100 WCG members from Southern California joined with about 5,000 brothers and sisters in Christ from other denominations at Lake Avenue Church, May 22, in Pasadena, to learn about developing leaders of excellence and integrity among the laity.
John Maxwell, author and lecturer, started the daylong seminar with the three signs of a great church: 1) people receiving Jesus Christ as Savior, 2) lay people being involved in ministry; and 3) lay people answering the call to service.
Mr. Maxwell gave examples of how impossible it is for pastors to do everything and the need for leaders to replicate themselves by developing a winning strategy to establish a lay ministry within their church.
Mr. Maxwell said, "Give me 20 of your lay members and I will give you back 20 ministers." Ron Grove.
BONN, Germany--The Worldwide Church of God in Germany was granted guest status in the Working Group of Christian Churches (Arbeitskreis Christlicher Kirchen) June 8.
Also, the Bonn congregation has been invited to become a member of the Evangelical Alliance Bonn. This membership extends only to the Bonn congregation and can later be expanded to more WCG congregations in Germany.
"I believe that God had his hand in opening these doors for us," said Alois Mair, administrative assistant in the Bonn Office. "No longer is the WCG classified a sect or cult here in Germany, but we are now accepted as Christians by other churches.
"Our membership in both of these Christian Associations will make it easier for us to reach new people, rent halls and take part in joint evangelistic activities. I believe that fellowship with other Christians will enrich us and vice versa."
NEW ALBANY, Indiana--The New Albany Women's Ministry, led by Carolyn Burgess, has found that by designating specific months for clothing and food drives they can contribute to more than one community program without overwhelming their small congregation.
A February food drive helps St. Vincent de Paul's Open Hands Kitchen in Louisville, Kentucky, feed the hungry in the tricounty area.
The center also provides shelter for the homeless and educational programs to help recovering alcoholics and addicts re-enter the work force. Members donated hundreds of clothing items to these programs this year.
The Home of the Innocents drive in July benefits homeless, abused and special needs children by providing items that range from diapers and personal care items, to children's clothing, books and toys.
In addition, the congregation has a coat drive in the fall, as well as an on-going drive to collect pull-tabs from aluminum cans. These help the Brown Cancer Center send children with cancer to summer camp.
The Women's Ministry also sponsors an adopted child in Rwanda. Peggy Head.