Archive for the 'Knowing Christ' Category

“If God were to ask you why He should let you into heaven, what would you tell Him?” I’ve asked that question to many people and received many different answers. In Senator Edward Kennedy’s letter to Pope Benedict XVI, we gather what might be Senator Kennedy’s answer to God.

Kennedy knows that he is dying and asks the Pope to pray for him. In this remarkable letter he appears to assess his life. Looking back on his career he writes,

I want you to know, your Holiness, that in my 50 years of elected office I have done my best to champion the rights of the poor and open doors of economic opportunity. I’ve worked to welcome the immigrant, to fight discrimination and expand access to health care and education. I’ve opposed the death penalty and fought to end war. Those are the issues that have motivated me and have been the focus of my work as a U.S. Senator.

Perhaps reflecting on less savory aspects of his private life, he speaks of the role faith has played in his life.

That gift of faith has sustained and nurtured and provided solace to me in the darkest hours. I know that I have been an imperfect human being, but with the help of my faith I have tried to right my past.

Mindful of the huge disconnect between Catholic teaching on abortion and his own support of abortion, his advocacy of health care apparently includes access to abortion but,

I believe in a conscience protection for Catholics in the health field and I’ll continue to advocate for it as my colleagues in the Senate and I work to develop an overall national health policy that guarantees health care for everyone.

At the close of his letter Kennedy assesses his life as a Roman Catholic. He writes,

I’ve always tried to be a faithful Catholic, Your Holiness. And though I have fallen short through human failings I’ve never failed to believe and respect the fundamental teachings of my faith.

I think it is fair to say that the Senator wanted more than prayers on his behalf. This is a man facing eternity, not sure of his eternal destiny, asking for help from the man he thinks is best able to help him. You can read the full text of his letter here and the text of the Pope’s reply here.

Such is the despair and uncertainty of anyone who thinks he or she must earn their way to heaven. Have I done enough? Has my good outweighed the bad? Does my second half of life outweigh my first half? And the unvoiced question on Kennedy’s part, but clearly between the lines of his letter, “Will my support of the murder of countless unborn children be overlooked in light of the other political good I have done?”

The message of the Bible is terribly discouraging to anyone in any religion who would seek to go to heaven by trying to live a good life. You can’t do it. You might as well try to jump across the Grand Canyon as to try to earn the favor of God.

Jesus once was asked to summarize the requirements of God. If we can meet these requirements, then we can earn passage to heaven. Jesus said,

37And He said to him, “‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (NASB) Matthew 22:37-40Matthew 22:37-40
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
37 And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. ³⁸ This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹ And a second like [unto it] is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. ⁴⁰ On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets.  

WP-Bible plugin

The Bible makes clear that none of us measures up to this distillation of God’s requirements. We can fool ourselves by ignoring them or by inventing a less rigorous God but any of our efforts at escaping their implication will not help us when we actually stand before God. Paul makes it clear in his great letter to the Romans:

9What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; 11THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; 12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” (NASB) Romans 3:9-12Romans 3:9-12
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we before laid to the charge both of Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; ¹⁰ as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one; ¹¹ There is none that understandeth, There is none that seeketh after God; ¹² They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable; There is none that doeth good, no, not, so much as one:  

WP-Bible plugin

We chaff at this impossible requirement from God but it is actually a great act of mercy that enables anyone anywhere to be sure of an entrance into heaven. Romans 11:32Romans 11:32
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
32 For God hath shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.  

(NASB) reads, “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.” It is mercy we need, not a forlorn hope that somehow our good behavior will outweigh our bad.

God makes known a wonderful and sure way to know forgiveness and heaven in His Word. It is a way that has nothing to do with our efforts and everything to do with His mercy and grace. It is the way that is wrapped up and solely sufficient in the person of Jesus Christ, who was punished for anything and everything that would keep us out of heaven on the cross. Read the clear promise of Scripture:

4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together £with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (NASB) Ephesians 2:4-10Ephesians 2:4-10
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
4 but God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, ⁵ even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ , ⁶ and raised us up with him, and made us to sit with him in the heavenly [places], in Christ Jesus: ⁷ that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus: ⁸ for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; ⁹ not of works, that no man should glory. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.  

WP-Bible plugin

Only God knows whether Senator Kennedy had the faith that rests in the finished work of Christ on the cross as the basis of acceptance before God. Tragically, from his letter, it appears that he did not. How I pray that everyone who reads this would find grace and mercy in Jesus Christ and not cling to the inevitable failure of their own merit before God!

In the July 18, 2009 issue of World Magazine, Marvin Olasky reflects on the tragedy of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford in an article entitled “Riptide.” The title especially caught my attention because over a year ago, while swimming in Florida, I was caught in a riptide and came close to drowning. In the article, Olasky refers to a riptide as an analogy to the “tide” that swept Gov. Sanford into adultery. He writes,

If it were just one clear, unmistakable line to be crossed, Sanford might not have ruined his marriage. But this gross sin, like all others, undoubtedly started in easy crossings of lines that seemed dotted rather than solid. Sometimes we don’t realize we’ve swum into a riptide until we’re pulled out to sea.

As one, however, who was caught in an actual riptide, the analogy has even more power.

For those who may not know, a riptide or rip current, is a strong channel of water flowing away from the shoreline, typically through the surf line. What did I learn from being caught in that “strong channel of water flowing away from the shoreline?”

First, I was overconfident in my ability to avoid danger. I grew up on Long Island and often swam in the ocean. Although the signs warned of a strong riptide, I thought I was an experienced ocean swimmer and could overcome any difficulty. My overconfidence led me to ignore the warning signs and overlook the danger. I soon was in big trouble. Further, I was not in as good a shape for swimming as I thought I was. I was much younger when I swam on Long Island! Much younger!

Pastors or any Christians for that matter are foolish to be overly confident in their ability to avoid serious sin. After mentioning a litany of things to which the Israelites succumbed, Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 10:121 Corinthians 10:12
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.  

: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Paul warns us in verse I Corinthians 10:14 to “flee from idolatry.” “Fleeing” is the response of someone who is not overconfident in his or her ability to withstand temptation. Paul warns Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:222 Timothy 2:22
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
22 after righteousness, faith, love, pace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.  

WP-Bible plugin

to “Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

Many Christians and perhaps even pastors today seem to be living life as close to the precipice as they can. They justify their behavior in the name of Christian liberty and anti-legalism. But my swim in the riptide taught me how easy it was to be smug about my ability to avoid danger.

Second, I learned that a riptide is deceptive. From a distance, you can see the riptide. Reading the warning sign as we approached the beach, I glanced up and saw the area of murky water that indicated its presence. But once in the waves, I lost track of where it was. One dive under a large wave and suddenly its powerful current had me in its grip.

I don’t believe David ever thought about the potential consequences of his sin with Bathsheba. His reign, his testimony, his family would never be the same. He would experience a time of terrible spiritual drought (Psalm 32; Psalm 51). Having that stolen time with Bathsheba seemed so good, so desirable, so deserved for a king! As Gov. Sanford experiences the wreckage of his marriage, the devastation of his children, the ending of his political career, and the “great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” will he think his sin was worth it? Hardly! Just like a riptide, sin can be deceptive in its ability to deceive and destroy.

Third, it is harder, much harder to get out of a rip tide then you think. Olasky quotes the standard rule for escaping a riptide. He writes,

The riptide analogy: “If you’re caught in one and try to swim directly toward shore, you’ll just tire yourself out fighting against the riptide’s power-and you might drown. But if you keep your head and rely on God’s providential limiting of the riptide’s breadth, you’ll know that by swimming parallel to shore you can escape the water’s pull and make it home safely.”

I suppose that is good advice and about the only thing you can do when caught in a riptide. But by the time I was in the riptide, I was already tired. I did not seem to be making any progress swimming parallel to the shore. Further, the riptide was taking me further out and I wasn’t sure I would have the strength to swim back from such a long distance away. I made the stupid decision to try to swim toward shore. Unless you’ve been there, you don’t realize how powerful the impetus is to do the wrong thing.

So it is with sin. David was even willing to commit murder to cover up his sin. He tried everything he could do to avoid its consequences, piling sin upon more sin. When we grieve the Holy Spirit, He withdraws the sense of His guiding presence. It’s amazing how spiritually stupid we can quickly become! Succumbing to sin, we can quickly set in motion a series of poor decisions that brings us close to the point of drowning.

Fourth, my family was completely unaware that I was in danger. Sarah and Caleb were initially nearby, but soon the riptide pulled me quite far away from them. Carole was watching from shore, but watching them and not me. None had any idea that I was in danger!

We can hide the spiritual danger we are in from those closest to us, especially if they are not on the lookout for that danger. We have a word for it-compartmentalize. We can live in a secret world of sin and function reasonably well as a husband, father, or even as a pastor. We had better give our family permission to ask us hard questions and account for unusual behavior.

Well, I’m writing this article, so I must have survived the riptide. It brings me to the final lesson I learned from a riptide in Florida. Always swim where there is a lifeguard present! As I tried to swim toward shore without making any progress, I noticed that the lifeguard was looking in my direction. In fact, he had left his perch and was standing at the edge of the water looking intently at me. I had a choice at that point. I could keep trying to swim in my own strength or I could call out for help. Realizing I was in danger and not wanting to reach a point of total exhaustion, I waved for help. Almost immediately, another lifeguard swam up to me wearing fins. He had stationed himself in the riptide for just such a foolish swimmer. He told me to grab his shoulder as he swam me to shore. I tell you, it was a good feeling to stand on dry land!

The best thing is to stay entirely away from the riptide of sin. It is also good to swim with a lifeguard present. A lifeguard is someone who will hold you accountable and will not be afraid to ask you hard questions. I was embarrassed that I needed help swimming in the ocean but I needed help nonetheless. The lifeguard asked the necessary but embarrassing question. I do my best to avoid the riptide of sin but I also have an accountability partner who can ask me tough questions.

I appreciate Olasky’s analogy of a riptide. I’ll leave it to others to speculate on the state of Sanford’s walk with the Lord and whether he is repentant or not. But from my own experience I know that a riptide is nothing to fool with and you can certainly get into deep trouble in a riptide of sin.

I don’t cry at weddings-guys just don’t do that sort of thing.  But as I sat with Carole in the Evergreen Community Church, a church served by Village Missions in beautiful Redland, Oregon, tears began to flow down my cheeks as I learned more of this remarkable couple who stood before the congregation to exchange vows. 

Consider, Travis, the groom.  Travis grew up in a godly Christian home, a farm family in eastern Washington.  In High School Travis became convinced that God was leading him to some type of vocational Christian ministry.  Acting upon that conviction, he applied and was accepted at Moody Bible Institute.  God soon directed him into pastoral ministry and then, more specifically, into rural ministry.

I met Travis when he was in his junior year and John James and I were representing Village Missions at the annual Missions Conference.  Travis was interested in learning more about Village Missions.  The chair of the Pastoral Department, Dr. John Koessler, highly recommended him.  We had just changed our policy about accepting single young men.  Believing that God was leading him to Village Missions, Travis applied and we accepted him.  We assigned him to serve an internship of one year with Village Missionaries Tony and Kathy Pinkham, serving in Kettle Falls, WA.

Consider now Jennifer, the bride.  She is the daughter of Village Missionaries Steve and Lisa Rief.  She felt from an early age that God wanted her to be the wife of a Village Missionary.  But where was he?  In High school she patiently waited upon God.  Each year at staff conference at Cannon Beach, as I addressed the teens and challenged them to become Village Missionaries, she would be one of the teen girls that would say, “But we have to have a husband that wants to be a Village Missionary!”

Jennifer attended Ecola Bible School and still she waited.  Even at Ecola, none of the guys wanted to be a pastor.  Feeling that being a pastor’s wife was what God called her to be, she waited.  There was even a rock on the beach and Jennifer would go there, sitting on the rock, reading her Bible and praying.  Jennifer’s rock was not the rock she sat upon but the Rock of her salvation.  She cast herself upon that Rock, believing that if He had called her to that role then He would provide for her.  Would He?

Tony and Kathy Pinkham arrived at Cannon Beach in June 2008 for what would be our last staff conference for at least some time.  Travis stayed behind in Kettle Falls.  But as Kathy renewed ties with the Rief family at staff conference, and specifically Jennifer, she thought of Travis.  She mentioned Travis to Jennifer and he soon began to e-mail her.  They continued e-mailing and then met in person last September.

Now this young couple was standing in front of the congregation entering into the marriage covenant, led in the ceremony by Jennifer’s dad, Steve.  Their kiss, after Steve pronounced them husband and wife, was their first kiss.  They had waited until that time.

It was a holy moment and tears ran down my cheeks.  Holy, because it was before the body of Christ, faithfully ministered to by Village Missionaries over the years, and specifically by Jennifer’s parents, Steve and Lisa, since 1995.  Holy, because godly parents had raised them both in homes where Christ was preeminent.  Holy, because both were obeying God’s call to serve as Village Missionaries.  Holy, because both had waited upon God with trust and perseverance.  Holy, because we in the congregation powerfully glimpsed how much God cares about our individual lives, how much He cares about His church, how much He cares about marriage as the picture of His church, and yes, how much He cares about calling young couples to the great task of keeping country churches alive.

His act of generosity and sacrifice so inspired the early church that they started to call him Barnabas, for the encouragement he had provided through his selfless gift.  Evidently, a wealthy man, he had taken sold some land and given the money to the Apostles. 

Later, in Acts 9:27Acts 9:27
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.  

, he would see the potential in a broken but redeemed man named Saul.  Through subsequent years, Barnabas would mentor Saul, who later would be called Paul.  It is hard to underestimate the impact of Paul, but much of it was owed to a wealthy man who took him under his wing.  The Bible describes Barnabas as a “good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24Acts 11:24
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord.  

WP-Bible plugin

).

I’ve just met some modern day men and women who are like Barnabas.  In fact, they belong to the Barnabas Group.  The tag line for the Barnabas Group is “where marketplace leaders meet ministry opportunity.”  It is a ministry that helps ministries.  From their website:

The Barnabas Group  was created to bring diverse value to ministries locally and globally.  We provide our members with ongoing opportunities to use their time, gifts, abilities, network and/or resources to support pre-screened Christian ministries.

I presented the ministry of Village Missions at the San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles Barnabas Groups recently.  Several other ministries, large and small, local and international presented their work.  No one entertained these men and women.  They were there to learn about our various ministries and come alongside the ministries to provide help.

Actually, it was an extraordinary thing for me to observe.  So often, we have to entertain Christians or provide some sort of “dog and pony show” to get Christians to attend a meeting.  However, these Christian men and women came to learn how they could in some way partner with a Christian ministry that needed their help.  I came away from the meetings not only blessed by their help but also blessed by the reality that they were there to help!  If you are a Christian businessperson or professional reading this, I encourage you to learn more by going to their website at http://www.barnabasgroup.org/.

The Apostle Paul expected nothing but difficulty.  He only anticipated “chains and tribulations.”  Every step brought him nearer to trouble and hardship.  Yet, in his farewell address to the Ephesian elders, he made clear that nothing would stop him from fulfilling his God-given ministry.  He tells them,

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  (Acts 20:24Acts 20:24
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
24 But I hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.  

WP-Bible plugin

)

No fearful prospect swayed Paul from his course.  Paul knew that he found joy, not in hanging on to his life but in letting it go in service to the King.  He kept focused on only one thing-fulfilling his God-given ministry of testifying to the gospel of the grace of God.

God has given us, Village Missionaries and Village Missions as a whole, the ministry of testifying to the gospel of the grace of God to rural and once rural communities throughout the United States and Canada.  As I reflect on our history, I have no doubt that we have received this ministry from the Lord.  As I reflect on how God is at work on our fields, I have no doubt that He would have us continue testifying to the gospel of the grace of God. 

For example, I think of the rodeo cowboy and town drunk, Sam (I’m changing his name and the missionary’s name for obvious reasons) that came to Christ recently on one of our fields.  People were afraid of Sam when he went on one of his drinking binges.  Dennis, the Village Missionary, prayed with him when he was in the shoot, ready to ride the bucking bronc.  He won grand prize that day!  The next Sunday Sam was in church and he continued to show up most Sundays.  A few months later, in a drunken stupor, he was somehow shot in the leg.  He decided to dig the bullet out himself rather than go to the hospital.  Sam spent the long hours of the next days recuperating and thinking about his life.  He finally realized that he could have a different life and he went forward the next Sunday in church, loudly proclaiming that he had trusted Christ!

On the road into this cowboy’s ranch is a sign warning, “Trespassers Will Be Shot.”  But the newly saved rodeo cowboy carved “Except for Dennis” underneath “Trespassers Will Be Shot.”  

In some ways, it seems like our society has a big sign warning, “Trespassers Will Be Shot!”  Village Missions faces one of our most difficult time in our sixty-year history.  The loss of so much income from Stonecroft is a major challenge, but we also face many other obstacles to ministry in our post-Christian world.  Al Mohler discussed the recently released American Religious Identification Survey in his March 2009 blog (http://www.albertmohler.com/blog).  He considered the survey’s finding that now 27% of Americans expect a secular funeral.  He wrote:

The researchers are surely right to see this trend as related to a decline in “personal concerns about salvation.”  If anyone needed proof that many Americans now operate out of a secular worldview, this single data point should suffice.  There can be little doubt that when 27% of Americans “do not expect a religious funeral at their death,” this does indicate an absence of religious concern at the point of death.  Millions of Americans expect to die without God.

In a previous blog, commenting about this study Mohler concludes:

In any event, the ARIS report draws our attention to one great and undeniable fact — we are living in the midst of a vast mission field for the Gospel.  Of course, we should have known that all along.

For sixty years we have known that our two countries are a “vast mission field for the Gospel.”  No matter what obstacle or difficulty, mission wide or on an individual field, we simply must persevere, like the Apostle Paul, in our God-given ministry of testifying to the gospel of the grace of God.  People like Sam, who used to be the town drunk, but is now a new babe in Christ, impel us to continue.  It will be our joy!

One responsibility I have as Executive Director is talking to donors to Village Missions.  I am especially busy doing this toward the end of the year and at the beginning of the year.  Normally talking on the phone is not my favorite activity.  I would much rather visit in person, but I have enjoyed these year-end and year-beginning phone calls.  I have enjoyed them because I have met person after person (over the phone) who fulfill 2 Corinthians 9:72 Corinthians 9:7
English: American Standard Version (1901) - ASV
7 [Let] each man [do] according as he hath purposed in his heart: not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.  

.  It has been so encouraging to me to meet so many cheerful givers.

For example, I talked to one individual who gave a generous gift to Village Missions and to a Village Missionary.  Years ago, he had heard this missionary present the project at a Christian Women’s Club meeting.  God touched his heart about this couple and about our ministry and he has given to both over the years.  He couldn’t say enough about this couple and about our Mission.  He said to me, “I love what you do in going to little communities.  You are a “five-star” mission!”  Boy, that comment made my day!  What a cheerful giver!

In my calling, I sometimes have the privilege of witnessing “God-incidences.”  I called one first time donor from Dallas, Texas.  I learned that David L. was the son of Village Missionaries Roy and Amanda L.  David spoke highly of his time growing up as a Village Missionary kid.  He expressed to me how thankful he was that he could now give to our mission.  He mentioned that he was a boyhood friend of David Duff, president of Ecola Bible School and son of our founder, Rev. Walter Duff, and asked about him as well as other Village Missionaries.  I was able to give him some contact information so that he could renew ties with missionaries he had known.

The next morning I was going through my Inbox, which always has a mysterious way of filling to overflowing.  I found a wonderful card from a couple thanking me for the ministry Village Missions has had in their life.  I could hardly believe it as I read:

 We loved the card VM sent out to us this year.  So reminds us of Camp Creek Church.  We first attended in 1974 after just building a home here on Camp Creek that year.  We wanted to be a part of community here and what better place to begin at church.  My husband, came to accept Jesus into his heart as his personal savior under Ray and Amanda L’s pastoring-we shared so many wonderful times with them, especially thru a Bible study in our home.

How about that!  Just after talking with the their son, I read a note about the impact of his parents!  What a privilege I have of glimpsing how God has used Village Missions in people’s lives!

Webb returned my call after I called him to thank him for a note he had written with his gift.  I wrote about his note in a previous blog.

You can tell by his note and by talking to him on the phone that Webb truly loves the Lord.  He knew Rev. Duff and was so appreciative of the ministry of Village Missions.  He thanked me for sending Richard and Ellen Hayes to Foothills Community Church, where he attends.  As we talked, I learned that he was a rock hound.  I discovered that he had dug for “star garnets” in Fernwood, ID where Carole and I lived and attended the Fernwood Community Bible Church, which is still served by Village Missions.  He even knew my next-door neighbor, Shorty Sextant, who had a tourist garnet digging enterprise on No-Name Creek.  Shorty was quite a character and we had fun reminiscing about him.  Another reminder of the small world we live in made much brighter by godly men like Webb.

Well, as I write this, the economic news is not improving.  I am sure Village Missions will continue to face financial challenges.  However, I am just as sure, as I talk with these “cheerful givers” that God is gathering a mighty band who will pray for and support this ministry in the coming year.

I received this note with what most would consider a small gift of $10 to Village Missions:

Dear Brian,

This little mite is truly all this 90 yr. old man can give, but it is given with love and appreciation for VM.  I became a member almost 40 yrs ago, and have supported in the past.  But now I really have no past, just a very bright future with my Lord.

In His Wonderful Love,

Webb

May we all have such an attitude of trust!

Sunday we visited Morning Star Community Church in Red Feather Lakes, CO, our former field. Ten years ago, almost to the day, the new church we had built burned to the ground. Being at the church brought back memories of that challenging time, some painful and some wonderful.

The charred cross that survived the fire still hangs in the entryway. It was a beautiful mahogany cross, built by one of our members. Our construction manager, Dean, found it in the ashes. The fire had been unbelievably hot, so hot that water from a 2 ½-inch hose vaporized before it reached the flames. Yet the cross survived, with all four ends charred but still in the shape of a cross. I wrote a tract about how the charred cross was a much better picture of our salvation than an ornate one. Someone at the church mentioned Sunday that God is still using that tract.

Every year Carole’s brother and family would come up to Red Feather Lakes for Thanksgiving. One of the church members would give us a homegrown turkey, usually over forty pounds. I think the turkey that year was forty-four pounds! Stressed out in the aftermath of the fire, I threw out my back lifting the turkey into the oven! The aftermath of the fire and my back made for an interesting Thanksgiving!

But many heart-warming memories survive! Earl, an electrician in his eighties, who did most of the wiring, came to me and said, “Well, I guess we just have to build it again!” Employees at the Beaver Meadows Resort Ranch put on a fundraiser for the church, with employees themselves giving to help us rebuild. Later, other businesses in the town also raised money for the church. The church was rebuilt in less than a year. The congregation came out of the fire stronger and more unified than before the fire.

Then and even now, ten years later, the Morning Star Community Church fire is a reminder that God often does His most meaningful work out of ashes. The charred cross hangs as a reminder for all of us that what seems to be the worst may actually be God’s best.

I received the following e-mail from a Village Missionary.  I changed some details to protect anonymity.

I want to share a story with you that few people know.  I shared this with my District Representative (DR) while it was happening as a DR and a friend in confidence.  When we joined VM, it was with some hesitation.  I believe there was close to two years between the formal and informal applications.  I grew with the ministry at the VM church I was attending while finishing my education, earning a Masters in Theology and one in Christian counseling.  When we arrived on this field, it is as if God pushed us here.  He left us a little choice at the time…it was that obvious.  We are here our first Sunday and come to the realization that there are only eight people.  The congregation consists of older women with one man who immediately made it known to me that he was neither a leader nor a mature believer.  There was a cloud of legalism that hung over this church.  The first few months I was confused and felt that I was wasting resources, both VM and mine’s on this particular church.  I prayed to God and said, “If there aren’t 50 people in two years, I am out of here.”
 
Two years, almost to the date of that prayer, and only at about 18 people, I get a call from a church I had preached at a few years back.  They asked me if I would be interested in candidating.  I thought about my situation and my prayer and told them that I would not have pursued anything else but that I would not close the doors since God may have a plan.  For about three months, I go through a number of phone meetings, all the while praying that God would close the door or make it obvious.  After the VM conference, my family went there and was treated extremely well.  We were looking for a reason to turn this offer down but could not find it.  The church and the huge parsonage was on the water.  Our salary would have at least been four times as much as what we are at now (throughout the process I told them not to mention the salary to me), and it was a church of about 160 poised for growth. 
 
My family comes back.  I go one last time to preach and teach.  They fly me out there and I am energized at the evening time of teaching.  There were about 80 people and they loved to reason through Scripture.  What a difference!  Yet at no time did I feel like God was saying, “Yes, go ahead.”  My wife had that same sense.  The week I was supposed to give them my answer I told them that clearly God was not allowing me to leave this ministry.  That “no” meant that I was going to stay in a “not so ideal” parsonage.  That no meant that my family would continue to financially struggle.  My kids would not have nice things or vacations.  That “no” meant that I am in a church that could care far less about my education as opposed to how much grass I can cut in a day. 
 
After the hardest decision I ever had to make, I came back, still not knowing if I had done the will of God for my family.  A call goes off and I find myself in the red glow of the back of a fire truck looking at faces.  Knowing that none of these people would ever step foot in a church or have a relationship with someone that knew Jesus Christ personally.  This helped bring me back to reality.  I rode back home with my neighbor who asked me out of the blue if I was leaving soon (I know he knew nothing because no one did, it was kind of creepy), of which I could absolutely and honestly tell him, “not for a long time.”  That Sunday the church gave us a gift of encouragement.  That same Sunday, following the service, we had a potluck.  My youngest daughter, who is two, began to choke and we could not get it out.  I called 9-1-1 and though my wife finally got it out after what seemed like an eternity, people came from the woodwork because they knew who put that call in.  And there that first Sunday after making the decision were the two biggest groups I minister to…the church and the community…in particular the fire department.  And that “no” meant that God had given me the wonderful privilege of being right here for Him.  Right here where He had always meant for me to be, serving with VM.  I am confident of this more then ever. 
 
I share this because, first, I appreciate the expedience of the video so that we missionaries can be informed, and secondly, I know that you have had to make some very difficult decisions.  I think you have done a great job with this.  But I have to tell you, more then any business savvy you may have, more then any fiscal plans the mission comes up with, more then anything…..I appreciate your heart.  This ministry is tough and life is short and God will provide.  He already is.  The temporal sacrifices we will have to make in the upcoming years is nothing compared to the eternal benefits.  I for one am just glad that I am a part of a mission where I believe the “men” have separated from the boys and we do things a little different with much faith.  And I am thankful that we have an executive director who has the wisdom to perceive that God will do things, in spite of us at times, as we strive to obediently serve Him.  I am praying for you and those that make decisions and I hope that you are encouraged, because though the mountaintop is always the best view and where we like to be the fruit is grown in the valley and I look forward to that day of harvest.  Thanks Brian.

Jennings, MI was once a thriving community in the early 1900’s with several plants and mills related to the lumber industry.  When the lumber ran out all the plants closed and the lumber company moved over 75 homes to nearby Cadillac.  Jennings began to morph into a forgotten community known for poverty, crimes, and drugs.  A small church tried to shine the light of Jesus Christ, but when their pastor retired, the church was ready to close.  Jennings was sinking into further despair and darkness but God had different plans!

After the church asked Village Missions to provide leadership, we sent Larry and Kathy Shetenhelm to Jennings in January 2006.  Jennings was the first church served under our Sliding Scale program, where we not only provide salary support but also cover the health plan.  The church moves forward first in contributing toward the health plan and then the salary according to a scale that adjusts for various ministry costs.

The turnaround in Jennings in two short years is nothing but a miracle.  Sunday morning, April 20, I spoke to a church full of people excited about Jesus Christ and what He was doing in their midst.  I met John, who Larry led to Christ and baptized last summer along with his wife Dorothy.  Neither John nor Dorothy had any spiritual background whatsoever.  Neither he, nor his parents, nor his grandparents ever attended a church but now John is a new creature in Christ and hungry to study the Bible.  You can see pictures of my visit to Jennings and some of the people I write about in this blog by following this link.

Larry led Jeff to Christ through his jail ministry.  When Larry first met Jeff in jail, he was arrogant, proud, and disruptive.  Coming under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, Jeff trusted Christ and became humble and hungry for the Word of God.  Pray for Jeff and his family as he serves his sentence in a federal jail in Chicago.

I’ve never been in a church where so many had recently come to Christ.  The entire back row was filled with teens who have a reputation for being part of the wild crowd but were hungry for love and something different in their lives.  Bob wore a neck collar because of a botched operation on his neck.  He had battled with workmen’s compensation for years, which left him extremely angry and bitter.  Larry and new Christian John cut, split, and hauled wood for Bob.  Bob started attending church after they did that.  Larry visited him in the home and Bob trusted Christ.  He now is also a changed man-in just a short time he has read the Bible through three times and Larry is going through the Pal Plan with he and his wife.  He bought 200 copies of the Daily Bread, put a label on them with Jennings Church information, and distributed them throughout the area.

Jennings is one of our pilot churches for the Awana club program.  This winter they averaged 22-25 children every meeting.  We will have to work with Awana to make some modifications-none of the kids knew the slightest thing about the Bible.  Teenagers especially, who wanted somewhere to go, came to Awana, but had no background knowledge.

God has led Larry and Kathy to help the community in other ways.  Interested parties contributed to a project to haul away trash and tires from Jennings.  They rented the largest dumpster they could rent and men volunteered to go around the community picking up trash from homes.  This is how they met and befriended John, who has very bad knees and couldn’t clean up his property.  They cleaned up his property on Saturday and Sunday he and his wife were in church.  Very few other people in the town wanted any help but within two nights, townspeople filled the dumpster to overflowing.  They borrowed a front-end loader to pack down the garbage and shortly they filled it again.  They also took away 110 tires!

Already the congregation is covering the Benefit Plan and sometimes contributes to salary.  The mission statement of what is now the Jennings Community Church is “Proclaiming and demonstrating hope in Jesus Christ.”  Hope has come to Jennings through a dedicated Village Missionary couple and the ministry of Village Missions.

We are facing extremely difficult financial and recruiting challenges in our sixtieth year as a mission.  We have invested over $51,000 in Jennings since January 2006.  What has happened in Jennings as well as in many other places we serve reminds me that God is still very much at work in and through us.  Together, as we look to God in prayer and jointly seek ways to move forward, may He enable us to continue to serve places like Jennings!