Stanley Community Church Stanley, Iowa

Philippians 2:5-8

I started thinking about these verses when I heard some of the news reports involving “Black Friday.” I heard the story of one woman who “pepper-sprayed” several others, in her rush to get a good deal. In other locations, several were trampled, many were arrested, and people pushed and shoved to get the bargains they wanted for Christmas.

How could the celebration of Christmas descend to such a low level? How could the spirit of today’s celebration of Christmas be so opposite to the spirit of the first Christmas? Such questions are above me but I do know that the tendency to grasp lies deep within the fabric of my soul.

The One who had every right to supreme glory let go of that right to come to earth. Surrendering true riches, not the sham substitutes that break within a few months, He became poor for our sake (2 Cor. 8:9). I am so glad that He was willing to take “the form of a bond-servant” for us. I am to obey by having that same attitude.

I am so thankful that I have the privilege of serving Village Missionaries that have followed His example. They have followed Jesus to country places, often far away from family and with little in the way of recognition. They have gone to little Bethlehem-like places where they tell people of the One who emptied Himself to come to earth but now is exalted above every name. Through their efforts, many have willingly bowed the knee to Jesus.

I am also thankful for those who willingly pray and even give to advance the cause of Christ in rural communities. You demonstrate that you are ones who do not “grasp” but “empty” in obedience to our Lord.

Thank you for praying! I know that you are praying that God will call many who will surrender the things they enjoy and follow their Master on the downward yet upward path. I know that you are praying that many more will open their hands to give so that others will learn of the Christ of Christmas.

May you have a truly blessed Christmas and New Year!

The Congregation of Faith Bible Church Today

This summer, Carole and I traveled to North Lansing, NY to help Faith Bible Church celebrate becoming self-supporting. This means that the church is now able to cover our self-funded health insurance premium as well as the base salary of $1700 per month. Faith Bible Church reached this level in April 2011 and we joined them to celebrate this milestone on August 21, 2011. Village Missions assigned Jason and Kathi Berga to North Lansing in March 2004. You can see pictures and read a further account of this visit by clicking on this link.

Jason reflects on how God has worked in his report written just before April:

Well, next month we are beginning to pay the full salary. I never thought this church would get to the point that it is. It is just amazing what God has done. I still have the picture of my first Sunday. There was nine people total. One lady, Miss Carrie, was brought here to fill a pew since she was deaf. I never saw her again in the church but my kids and I visited her at her old farmhouse until the day she passed away. Another lady was on her way out. She was kind enough to stay through the VM transition since she was the only member with any business savvy. Interestingly enough, three years later not only did she return but her son and his family now attend. Another lady was on her second Sunday. The first Sunday she attended church she heard the VM associate announce that their permanent pastor was coming the following Sunday. Turns out, she was the piano player I had prayed for diligently prior to coming to the field. God sent her a week earlier to be acclimated. Then there were three other older single ladies; two divorced and one never married. There was one couple, the young ones of the bunch, in their late fifties. He was my only man and he assured me when I first arrived that he was a baby Christian…translation: I am not helping.

For close to two years we did not see one new person and frankly I could not blame anyone for coming and not staying. I began to wonder what I was doing here if I was to be honest. However, through this field, God did a tremendous work inside of me, reshaping my ideology about what precisely ministry is and what is truly important. We are beginning our seventh year this next month, and I am just amazed as to what God had done. Prior to coming to the field, I had a sermon series written on what a healthy church looks like. I am glad I arrived on Palm Sunday and had two weeks to scrap that sermon and begin over. What a discouragement that would have been to these folks!

The years of Bible school, Seminary, and many growth strategy seminars hardly prepared me for this field. The core of Village Missions’ philosophy is to teach the Word of God and love the people, and so, that is what we have done. Sometimes things physically grow and sometimes they don’t but that is not what is important. What is important is to serve God faithfully and obediently right where we are with the resources He has given us. As Paul reminds the Corinthians, we just plant and water, God will cause the spiritual growth. So, though there have been difficulties, I think of those that have been saved. I think of those that have been discipled.

But most of all, I think of how God has changed me, not just as a pastor, but also as a child of His. I know He does not need me at a big church and He does not need me at a small church because the truth is He doesn’t “need” me at all. It is a privilege. So, though I recognize things may progress forwards or even backwards here, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that my family and I continue to be faithful, loving, planting, watering, and recognizing what an amazing God we serve.

Group Photo Candidate School Fall 2011

Recently we held our Fall 2011 Candidate School in Dallas, Oregon. We accepted eight outstanding couples. They came from coast to coast and ranged from their twenties to their sixties. Some had some pastoral experience, either in a senior or assistant role, but some did not. Both husband and wife believed firmly that God was calling them into the ministry of Village Missions. The candidate school staff recognized God’s call on their life as well. You can view pictures of our school by clicking on this link.

They will now begin raising their personal support and in several cases, will begin selling or renting their homes. How I look forward to the time when we assign them to their first field!

I have a deep burden to improve our recruiting efforts. Eight couples is a good number but, given the great need, we could easily stand to have twice that number both fall and spring. We would have to have a big increase in funding but, given the way God has supplied and is supplying, I have no doubt that we could find the necessary donors willing to partner with us in transforming churches and communities.

I wanted to learn how these wonderful couples became acquainted with Village Missions because of my interest in developing our recruiting. As I asked them about how they heard about us, I could not find a pattern that drew these couples to Village Missions other than the leading of the Lord. I thought it might be interesting for you to learn how each one heard about our ministry.

Dave and Cindy Fraher had heard of Village Missions over the years, but saw our ministry first hand when Village Missions started serving Interlaken, NY where he had served before as an interim pastor. Wanting to get back into pastoral ministry and learning of the support that we provide our Village Missionaries, he and Cindy felt led to apply. They especially appreciated our desire to reach out into the community.

John and Kathy Mulvihill felt they had more years to give, although they could have retired, but every door to ministry seemed closed. One day John was looking at the Moody Alumni Job Placement website and our advertisement appeared. They found an open door with us.

Isaac Pederson and his wife Bethany are in their low twenties, newly married and newly pregnant. Isaac started to learn about Village Missions when he began cutting Don and Marylee Still’s lawn at age eight. Bethany learned about Village Missions by attending Stonecroft meetings with her mother. Don encouraged Isaac to attend Frontier School of the Bible. Originally planning to be an overseas missionary, Isaac sensed that God was directing him into pastoral ministry. After he worked through some discomfort with our appointment process (he wanted to choose where he would go), they applied.

Brian and Erica Dedera have been a part of Foothills Community Church (a Village Missions’ field near Spokane) for seventeen years while Brian served as their youth pastor. Recently the congregation chose him to be their pastor with the condition that he become a Village Missionary. Brian and Erica will serve at Foothills but are willing to go anywhere and affirmed that God had called them to our ministry.

Carl and Andrea DeyArmin have been living in the Tacoma area, where Carl had served as an associate pastor until about two years ago. His father-in-law was attending a class at Northwest Baptist Seminary (now Corban University School of Ministry). A Village Missionary also was attending that class (Carl doesn’t remember who). The more his father-in-law learned about VM, the more excited he became. He thought Carl and Andrea would fit our ministry perfectly. Carl spent a good deal of time checking us out and talking to Vern Wilkinson before he submitted his application.

Jeff and Nydia Black live in Mesa, AZ. Jeff had served at a large church as well as serving on staff at some overseas ministries but became dissatisfied with the “specialist approach” of such ministries. He decided to do an internet church on “small church” and “rural church” and our name came up first. God especially used the videos on our website to convince Jeff that he should apply.

Mike and Kim Krutsch were serving with OMF in their field office, after having to return from Cambodia because of health problems. Working in the area of mobilization, he became convinced that God was leading him into pastoral ministry. He had attended our former field in Edgewood, WA and at one time had considered serving with us. God wasn’t leading them towards us then but they are convinced He is now.

Many of you reading this will recognize the Easterling name. Tim is the son of retired Village Missionaries Bill and Ruth Easterling. However, there’s even more of a Village Missions connection! Debbie is Bonnie Canady’s sister! Tim and Debbie live in Montrose, CO where Tim works in construction. After their children left home, they became convinced God was leading them in our direction.

We will continue to develop ways to get the word out about Village Missions through advertisements, the internet, and word of mouth. This fall’s candidate school, however, demonstrates that God will ultimately make the connections and call people to serve with us.

Just recently Village Missionary Ken Ainsworth who serves the Canyon Community Church in Coram, Montana uploaded a song he wrote about his calling to ministry and about Badrock Canyon, where he ministers. I’m praying that God will do in a multitude of lives what He has done in Ainsworth’s lives. I encourage you to listen to this song!

Carole has been reading the biography of Adoniram Judson, written by his son. She pointed this quote out to me as I was marveling at the quality of the couples God had led our way. His son wrote, “It is a mistake to suppose that a dull and second-rate man is good enough for the heathen. The worst-off need the very best we have. God gave His best, even His only-begotten Son, in order to redeem a lost world. The most darkened and degraded souls need the best thinking. Christianity will advance over the earth with long, swift strides when the churches are ready to send their best men, and the best men are ready to go.” We received some of those best men and women this fall to join the ranks of the quality couples already serving with Village Missions.

Worship at Balsam Bible Chapel

Carole and I particularly enjoy visiting the missionaries and fields served by Village Missions. We observe how God is using Village Missions and the dedication of those who serve with us. We were able to visit several fields on our recent trip to Balsam, MN to be the speaker for the mini-conference. We visited so many fields that I only have space to highlight each visit briefly. I’ve included links to pictures and a travelogue of each field. Enjoy!

Our first visit was to Hokah, MN to visit Dave and Kathy Possing who have served there for thirteen years. We flew in to Chicago, arriving early Thursday morning, spent the night, and arrived in Hokah in time for dinner. What a treat to have retired missionaries Don and Marylee Still join us! Don and Marylee drive 1½ hours to attend their church. Don and Marylee served near us in Iowa, and then became our District Representatives for a short time before we moved to Colorado. Don also helped me transition into the position of Executive Director. It was great to see them again.

After dinner, the Possings took us on a walk over to their church. Their church is the only evangelical witness in their community of about 800 people. In the Summer 2011 issue of Country Matters, you’ll read the story of a young couple that came to Dave, asking him to marry them. Neither one had ever opened a Bible nor did they have any spiritual background whatsoever but they will now hear what God has to say about marriage and salvation from His Word! Coming from a Roman Catholic background themselves, the Possings are uniquely suited to reach the people of Hokah, who are predominantly Catholic.

Dave and Kathy took us for another walk in the morning to see more of the town. Just before we were to leave, I locked the keys in the trunk of my car. Fortunately, they live next door to a gas station and the guys at the station had us on our way in about an hour.

The next stop was Elk Mound, WI, served by Dale and Suzy Bussinger. After a delicious lunch, Dale and Suzy took us on a tour of Elk Mound and then over to Amy Chapel, which is located a few miles outside of town. Two years ago, the congregation dedicated their beautiful new building. The contrast between the old building and the new one is just amazing. You can hardly see any homes from the church but people are coming from all over to be part of this vibrant congregation.

Leaving Elk Mound (this sounds like a travel magazine), we traveled past Minneapolis to our new field in Glendorado, MN, served by Paul and Denise DeVall. Located on a gravel road, almost literally in a cornfield, the church has never had a full-time pastor. The church rented a wonderful farmhouse for the Devalls and their boys. They are hard at work, seeking to reach the area for Christ. It was a joy to take the family out for pizza in St. Cloud, where we spent the night.

Saturday we traveled north to Sebeka, MN to visit Dave and Valerie Wing. Blowers Chapel is another church almost literally located in a cornfield, or in their case, a cattle pasture. Yet it is obvious from how the Wings described their ministry and the facilities, that God is doing a great work here as well. Sunday mornings the church is filled with young people.

Saturday evening found us in Balsam, MN, location of the mini-conference. Balsam Bible Chapel has also built a new building. The people were so gracious in hosting us and ministering to us during the conference. I had the privilege of speaking Sunday morning as well as being the speaker for the mini-conference. One highlight for me out of many was being taken fishing by Loren, a church member, and catching a decent Northern Pike.

After the conference was over on Thursday, we drove to Land O’Lakes, WI where I would be speaking the next Sunday, passing by the church we serve in Watersmeet, MI, served by Skip and Venita Pullen. Frank and Lynn Puffer, who have been there six years, serve Land O’Lakes. The church is located on several beautiful acres and ministers to what is largely a resort community. Among many other things, Frank ministers to about 16 men who gather early each Saturday morning.

Saturday we were able to take a day trip up to Calumet, MI, served by Merle and Gyngr McGee. We have served this field for three years, when we assigned the McGees to their first field. I was surprised at how large this community is. Yet we learned that the little church we serve is the only evangelical witness in the community. Calumet was once a prosperous city due to the copper mines but now struggles to survive. We arrived during the “Pasty Days” celebration. A “Pasty” is a pastry with a beef and vegetable filling originally used by the miners for their meals in the mines. They are delicious!

Several common themes surfaced as we visited these fields. First were the deep and sometimes disturbing needs of the communities. Merle McGee told us that the local bar offers a free drink to anyone willing to surrender his or her thirty-day sobriety pin! Second was the dedication of our missionaries and their families. The DeValls told me a story of their son Alex leading a classmate to Christ. I was awed by the hard work and passion exhibited by each missionary we visited. Third were the tremendous things God was doing in the most unlikely places. In struggling communities as well as cornfields, in new fields as well as old, I heard story after story of changed lives. I personally witnessed two dynamic and alive congregations at Balsam and Land O’Lakes. We would have found the same thing at the other churches if we had been there on a Sunday morning.

Carole and I came away from this trip excited! God is powerfully at work through Village Missions and we had the privilege of seeing this work first hand!

Henry Cotton dispensing justice in Bengal (From Wikipedia)

A friend of mine recently gave me something he had copied from Peter Drucker’s classic work, “Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices.” Drucker has been a particular favorite of his, ever since he studied under him at Claremont. I was struck by the similarities between Village Missionaries and Drucker’s classic description of the Indian Civil Service.

The Indian Civil Service contributed far more to India than most would think possible. According to Drucker:

Politically, the history of British rule is a history of muddle, indecision, lack of direction, and, in the last analysis, failure. What kept the British in control and power for two hundred years was, in part, India’s weakness and disunity. But above all, the British stayed in power because of a supreme administrative accomplishment: The Indian Civil Service. In its greatest period . . . it never numbered more than a thousand men. Most were very young, mere lads in their early twenties, for life expectancy was brutally short for the white man in India’s hostile climate, in which malaria and dysentery were endemic and cholera an annual visitor. (Drucker, p. 403)

Likewise, Village Missionaries have done unlikely but extraordinary things in difficult places.

Like Village Missionaries, the civil servants ministered in isolated areas. According to Drucker:

Most of these young men of the alien race who administered the huge subcontinent were stationed in total isolation in small villages or on dusty crossroads in which they did not see for months on end anyone who spoke their language and shared their concerns. Only a few survived long enough to retire, with modest pensions, to the England whence they had come and of which they always dreamed. (Drucker, p. 403)

Thankfully, many more Village Missionaries survive until retirement but the work is isolated and the pension is small! Of course, perhaps things would have been different for the civil servants if they had Skype, Facebook, and cell phones!

Now comes a not so flattering part of Drucker’s analysis. I wouldn’t say this about Village Missionaries but the world might think the same thing about our ministry and missionaries:

These young men who administered British India were rather dull and uninteresting. After a short apprenticeship, they were put into an assignment of their own to sink or swim. These men were younger sons of poor country parsons, with no prospects at home and little standing in English society. Their pay was low; and such opportunities for loot or gain as their predecessors had enjoyed in the swashbuckling days of the East India Company . . . had . . . been completely eliminated by both law and custom. (Drucker, p. 404)

“Dull and uninteresting,” “sink or swim,” low pay sound somewhat familiar to things I’ve heard about Village Missionaries.

Yet, how unexpectedly and how well did these Indian Civil Servants minister! Overcoming huge obstacles:

These untrained, not very bright, and totally inexperienced youngsters ran districts comparable in size and population to small European countries. And they ran them practically all by themselves with a minimum of direction and supervision from the top. Some, of course, became casualties and broke under the strain, falling victim to alcohol, to native women or—the greatest danger of them all—to sloth. But most of them did what they were expected to do, and did it reasonably well. They gave India, for the first time in its long and tragic history, peace, a measure of freedom from famine, and a little security of life, worship, and property. They administered justice impartially and, at least as far as they themselves were concerned, honestly and without corruption. They collected taxes, by and large, impartially and equitably. They did not make policy; and in the end they foundered because they had none. But they administered, and administered well. (Drucker, p. 404)

How much more could be said for Village Missionaries as they administer the things of God! Some have succumbed but many more have been used by God to accomplish great things for God’s Kingdom. Unnoticed by the world but, I’m convinced, noticed and appreciated by God!

Drucker then accounts for the success of the Indian Civil Servants:

The jobs the young men were assigned were big and challenging. There was enough scope in each of them to keep even a good man interested and occupied for many years. The job was the young man’s own job, and not a job as an “assistant” to anybody. He was accountable. He was responsible. And it was up to him to organize the job as he saw fit. Performance standards were high and uncompromising. A young, basically untrained and unprepared amateur was expected to give perfect justice; to be totally impartial; to maintain public order, safety on the roads and in the villages, and religious and civil peace. And he had to do this by persuasion, by the authority of his own person and by his mere presence; to have to invoke force, for instance to call in the military, was considered failure. And while the individual job was anonymous, the Service had high pride in itself and a deep commitment to standards and mission. It was imbued with the highest spirit. (Drucker, pp. 404-405)

How uncanny the similarities between Village Missionaries and Indian Civil Servants! Who could find a job with a broader scope or greater responsibility? A somewhat “untrained and unprepared amateur” is expected to “shepherd the church of God which He purchased with his own blood” (Acts 20:28 NKJV). And Village Missionaries do it all by persuasion but with no military as back up! Of course, we do have District Representatives! Moreover, every time I gather with Village Missionaries I marvel at the humility yet the “high pride” and the “deep commitment to standards and mission.” You can read about one such gathering by clicking on this link.

For many years our communications involving Village Missions, especially when it comes to recruiting, has tended to focus on the great need in rural areas. Great need does exist but great accomplishment has occurred as well! The accomplishment can only be attributed to God working through extremely dedicated and self-sacrificing servants in the often forgotten communities across the United States and Canada. What God has done through Village Missionaries has great significance not just for those communities and churches but also for the church as a whole.

We need many more Village Missionaries in this mold and when we have them, God accomplishes great things. Each of interested in Village Missions and rural communities needs to understand the importance of gathering a new army of Village Missionaries. Would you commit to pray that God would call not just anyone but new Village Missionaries in the mold of those who have so faithfully served? Would you commit to sending just such a Village Missionary out of your church? Would you commit to contacting anyone you can think of about becoming a Village Missionary provided they can serve as we expect them to serve?

Not only because of the need but also for the great things that God will do!

Ed Allan writing note to Village Missionaries after praying for their prayer request.

After forty years of faithful service, Ed Allan retired from his position as member of the board of directors and chairman of the U.S. Board at the spring 2011 meeting. Ed has served on the U.S. Board of Village Missions since 1971 and as chairman since 1991, when Rev. Walter Duff stepped down as chairman.

Ed told the board that he wanted to retire without fanfare but the board overruled him with a small celebration in Dallas, Oregon, where our office is located. We had dinner at a local restaurant in Dallas and invited former board members Alton Williams and his wife Jackie, Paul Cochran, and Margaret Rayburn. Dr. Jack and Norma Canady were invited but unable to attend. Instead, Dr. Jack sent a letter, which I read during the dinner. Board members shared their recollections and appreciation of Ed and Nancy’s service. We played a short video of Ed’s reflections on the ministry of Village Missions, taken from an interview on our 60th Anniversary. This video has been posted on YouTube here. You can also view a longer video (10 minutes) where Ed speaks about the legacy of Rev. Walter Duff. A plaque recognizing Ed’s forty years of service was presented to him. Glen Hanson, our new board chair, closed our recognition meeting in prayer.

Ed grew up on our field in Dalkena, WA. Village Missionaries Bob and Margaret Rayburn were particularly instrumental in his life and he considers them his spiritual parents. Margaret shared at our retirement party that they had great hopes for Ed to go into ministry with Village Missions. They were quite disappointed as he began to pursue a career of law at Whitworth College in Spokane. As they observed his testimony for Christ in his profession and as he began to provide considerable legal help to Village Missions, however, they realized that God had led him to exactly where he was supposed to be.

I have had the privilege of working with Ed since 1998, first in my service on the Board and then in my service as Executive Director. I have found him to be consistently committed to the ministry of Village Missions throughout the years. In his tenure, he has provided extremely helpful legal advice and spiritual advice, both to Village Missions as a whole and to individual Village Missionaries. He has always expressed deep love and concern for Village Missionaries and for the churches they serve. He has led our board meetings with grace and wisdom, always fostering open and frank discussions and never once pushing his own agenda. His wife Nancy has always had an encouraging word for my wife Carole.

In Ed’s remarks during the dinner, he told us why he was stepping down from his positions. He said, “The simple answer to the question is that my sole consideration and motivation is the future well-being of the mission. Over the years, I have seen folks who were in a position of leadership in both the church and Christian organizations who held on and held on to their position while the organization floundered and in some cases died. It died because the leadership continued to administer the ministry as it had for the last 50 years resulting in a failure to keep up with the changing needs of the people and groups, which it was organized to minister to. I do not want that to happen to Village Missions and from time to time I have noticed that my own thinking does not approach nor analyze issues and problems like the younger minds about me.”

Ed challenged and encouraged the board in several areas but made it clear what was most on his heart: “Never, never, never forget that Village Missions is an evangelistic organization. Simply put, it exists solely to bring people to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. That was in Rev. & Mrs. Duff’s hearts and in both Mrs. Helen Baugh and Ms. Mary Clark when VM was organized. That vision had been ingrained in the Duff children by their father and Village Missions was simply a way to implement that vision. Each and every decision of the board members and of the administrators must have that sole goal in mind as the reason for the decision.”

Thank you Ed and Nancy for years of dedicated service to the Lord and to Village Missions!

He passed by our display, scarcely noticing the brochures, pens, and sticky notes. Stuart needed to get to class and besides, he knew after graduation he was going on to seminary. He ignored the inner voice that told him to pick up a brochure. He walked further toward class. Again, the whisper, “Pick up a brochure.”

Stuart began to take notice. He had learned to listen to this voice after he came to Christ. For several years, he knew that God wanted him to leave a high paying position, sell his home, and go to Bible school. It took longer for his wife Jennifer to surrender to God’s promptings and leave their beautiful home and neighborhood. Once they both agreed, God had provided and directed in amazing ways.

Their plan was to go on to seminary after graduation. He knew his direction, and even knew the seminary. However, the still, small voice continued its prompting to pick up a brochure. Having reached the classroom door, he finally turned around and went back to the display table. As he read our brochure, his soul burned within him. This was ministry as he had always envisioned it should be. He never realized that there was such a deep spiritual need in rural North America. A growing conviction stirred that God wanted he and his family to serve with Village Missions. When Jennifer read the brochure, the same fire stirred within her and they became convinced that God was leading them to Village Missions. They had never heard of us before Stuart read our brochure and saw our display.

I first heard this story as Jennifer and Stuart shared it at our candidate school chapel service this spring. God continued to confirm their call to Village Missions. I had the privilege of sending them their acceptance letter. Stuart will graduate in May 2011 and begin raising support. He has already been promised much of that support. We accepted five wonderful couples at this school. Each told their story of how God called them into the ministry of Village Missions.

I often worry about our recruiting. The burden of empty fields weighs upon me most heavily. I observe the slow decline of our numbers and wonder when it is going to reverse. Yet, the story of Stuart and Jennifer is a powerful reminder to us that God is still calling people into our ministry.

God seems to be powerfully at work. We are in a strong financial position. We have received several requests for help from churches. God is still dramatically calling couples into our ministry. It is most amazing, given the overall economic and spiritual climate within which we minister.

We hold no illusions that ministry during these days will be easy. The need for child abuse prevention (we are currently implementing this mission wide) and the horrible events that have occurred in our world should quickly disabuse us of that notion. Yet, Jesus Christ is still sovereignly building His church, and He is using Village Missions to do so. God appointed the Apostle Paul in the beginning of the church age and He will appoint Village Missionaries at what may be the end of the church age to proclaim Christ to the lost in rural communities.

The Camera I Used for Uploading

I started a long overdue project recently that has caused me to reflect on the passage of time.  I converted all of our family analog 8 mm videos to digital DVD’s.  Like most projects, this one turned out to be more involved than I expected.  First, our old video camera would not start no matter what I tried.  After a fruitless search on E-bay for a replacement camera (they were too expensive), I finally was able to borrow a really old and big camera from a friend.  At least his worked—sort of!  The camera would play the tapes for a while but then would stop.  That meant I would have to check the progress often and crop portions if there was a time of empty recording.  It took much longer than I expected to finish transferring all the tapes.

The tapes went back as far as 1992 when we received the camera as a gift.  Most of the tapes covered our time in Red Feather Lakes.  Each year I seemed to record the same events: several concerts and recitals, Thanksgiving, the day after Thanksgiving finding and cutting a Christmas tree in the woods, decorating the tree with me up on the extension ladder (we always cut about a 14 foot tree), birthdays, many school programs and graduations, and, occasionally, our vacations.

As I watched portions of the tapes being recorded, it was as if a portion of our life passed before me.  My kids were young and cute when the videos started (eight and four years old) and I had darker hair and more of it!  People and events I had forgotten came flooding back, often with a feeling of nostalgia for those long ago times.  I wisely remembered that a video only captures the highlights and not the “lowlights” that we tend to forget.

This intensive, video induced trip down memory lane has caused me to reflect on Ephesians 5:15-16.  I realize that although I can edit those videos (perhaps shorten them), I cannot edit my circumstances, my responses, my attitudes, or anything about the way I used my time in the past.  In a sense, I am a product of all that took place but none of it can be undone.  I can only resolve to improve my walk, my movement through life in the future.  This passage speaks of four ways that we can improve our movement through life in 2011.

First, we must move through 2011 with a careful walk. Paul commands us to “walk circumspectly” (vs. 15a).  This speaks of an accurate and exact assessment of our movement through life.  We must have alertness and exercise great care.  Often, I’m so wrapped up in the busyness of life that I live it without much assessment.  I’m about to have my annual physical, which is meant to be an accurate assessment with the idea of discovering any problems and making some corrections.  Suppose we conducted an annual spiritual, marriage, parental, emotional, and financial assessment—in short, a “whole-person” assessment and made some corrections!  Such an assessment would certainly be fulfilling the command of this verse.

Second, we must move through 2011 with a wise walk. Paul tells us we are to walk “not as fools, but as wise” (v. 15b).  For any believer and especially a Village Missionary, wisdom is putting Biblical truth into practice in our life.  The world’s wisdom surrounds us and constantly seeks to get inside like a termite trying to eat its way into our inner structure.  Worldly wisdom regarding our value, our identity, how we measure success, the response when persecuted, the importance of acclaim, the importance of money and security may affect our thinking as Village Missionaries and sabotage our ministry.  Would that Biblical wisdom govern every response to the unforeseen circumstances of 2011!

Third, we must move through 2011 with a profitable walk. Paul tells us we should be “redeeming the time” or in the NASB, “making the most of your time” (v. 16a).  This is literally “buying up or redeeming the opportunity.”  In the words of one commentator, we are to “purchase all that it offers.”  The word used for “time” is not hours and minutes but fixed periods or seasons.  Thus, a profitable walk is a strategic walk in which we use our time on earth to its greatest advantage for God’s Kingdom.  Today I regret missed opportunities in 2010 to share Christ with the lost.  Will I lose similar opportunity in 2011?  I regret I did not redeem more opportunities with my children in those years covered by the tapes.  Will I be strategic in this coming year?

A friend recently told me of a business opportunity he missed a few years ago.  The old story—if he had only invested such and such then it would have quadrupled its value now.  We possess unlimited spiritual capital but so often fail to do anything but keep it buried in the ground (cf. Mat. 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27).  Perhaps not in 2011!

Finally, we must move through 2011 with a guarded walk. Paul warns us “the days are evil” (v. 16b).  The word “evil” speaks of “vicious, active wickedness.”  True of Paul’s day, it is equally true of our day.  How easy it is for us to fall!  How easy it is for us to begin a self-deluded journey that destines us for the self-destruction of our marriage, family, and ministry!  Perhaps we would not succumb to internet pornography but could easily succumb to the lust of pride.  Financial impropriety might never be a temptation to us but we might quickly subscribe to faithless discouragement.  We must be on guard in 2011, knowing that the enemy of our souls has enough ammunition within and without us to cause our harm if we are not alert.  “Be on the alert!” is a command that often rings out from the pages of Scripture.

We seem to take family videos very infrequently now, although our digital camera would allow us to do so.  The days of concerts, graduations, etc. are over for us until perhaps grandchildren come around.  Yet, whether captured on video or not, our days in 2011 are precious gifts that will pass all too quickly.  Let’s walk carefully, wisely, profitable, and guardedly in the year to come!

Pierceville Federated Church

The greatest joy I have as Executive Director is traveling to one of our churches to meet the people, visit with our Village Missionaries, and see first-hand what God is doing.  Traveling to Pierceville for their annual missions conference was very special for us.  We had the privilege of staying with Doug and Saundra McGraw.  Doug is one of our board members on the U.S. Board.  The Village Missionaries, Terry and Martha Major, were our Village Missionaries in Fernwood, Idaho for a short time before we left for Moody Bible Institute.  The church is filled with wonderful, dedicated believers.  And, boy, do they cook!

To read further about the visit and see pictures click on this link.  Once at this site, click on the first picture to enlarge it, read the caption, and then click “next” to view the following pictures. Enjoy!

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.