Archive for September, 2006

I thought it would be a good idea to sell my son’s 1988 Mazda RX7 on the internet.  The car was in perfect shape except for one minor detail—the engine was ruined due to overheating.  I listed it on AutoTrader.com, including a picture and an asking price of $989.

I was anxious to sell the car since it was sitting on a side street in Salem in danger of being towed.  So, I was extremely thankful when Ian Smith from Canada called and expressed great interest in the car.  I did wonder why a guy with a name like Ian Smith would have such a foreign-sounding accent, but no matter, he wanted the car and I wanted to sell the car.  We negotiated over the phone with me agreeing to take $900 for the car.  He said that he would send me a cashier’s check and would arrange for the car to be transported to Canada.  I didn’t tell him that I was thinking about having the car towed away and sold for $50!  I was thrilled that the car was about to be sold for close to the price I was asking.

Carole and I were in an airport terminal when my son excitedly called me up and told me that Ian’s cashier’s check had arrived but that it was for $2,900!  I wondered if he had misunderstood me but I didn’t think so.  I also wondered why Ian would be so trusting of a perfect stranger.  With these thoughts in mind, I immediately called him on my cell phone.  He told me that the extra $2,000 was for shipping and he tried to explain what to do over the phone.  Yet, I was in an extremely busy airport and Ian’s accent was so heavy that I told him that I could not hear him and asked him to e-mail his instructions.  He sounded disappointed but agreed to do so.  I told him because he had made the check out to me, I would not be able to do anything with the check until I was home.

Something just didn’t seem right!  I examined the check when I arrived home (just about the first thing I did) and it looked very good—just like I imagined a cashier’s check should look like without having seen that many of them.  I went to the bank to deposit the check and explained to the teller what had happened.  I asked her if she could put a flag on the check in case something was wrong with it.  She instead suggested that I speak to the branch manager.

The branch manager agreed that something was odd.  He said that the check looked authentic to him but that it should be “checked” out to see if it was real.  He told me of many such situations where people received fraudulent cashier’s checks.  A cashier’s check is usually deposited almost immediately to your account.  It can take upwards of a month to discover that the check is bad.  He told me that many people adamantly insist that the check is good and sometimes deliberately deposit the check knowing it might be bad.  Ultimately, they are responsible for the amount but it also costs the bank a great deal of money, especially if they fight to have the check recognized.  He thanked me for checking with him first.

The next week I learned that the check was indeed bad.  I have never heard from Ian again since I talked to him on the cell phone in the airport.  The check is somewhere in the fraud division of Wells Fargo.  I am not exactly sure how Ian would have gotten the extra money.  Certainly, he didn’t want a Mazda with a bad engine!  We have subsequently sold the Mazda to someone who lived in Salem and had cash!

I learned something more than the dangers of Internet fraud through this episode.  I really wanted that check to be good and the car to be sold!  I wasn’t tempted to keep the extra money but I experienced a subtle temptation to deposit the check and hope for the best!  I could see how people could easily fall for this sort of thing even when it sounds too good to be true.  Ian was clever in that the amount he sent wasn’t so large that it would raise immediate warning flags.  It was more like one of the tiny flies I used to use when fly fishing, size 22, barely large enough to thread the eye of the hook but still sufficient enough to catch the fish.  I could have been Ian’s fish!

I am reminded of Paul’s words to Timothy in 1 Tim. 6:6-10 (NASB):

6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.  7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.  8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.  9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.  10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.

My experience reminded me that I needed to guard against the love of money in my life.  Love for it can arise so subtly and craftily.  Such a love can result in evil much more serious than being bilked out of a few dollars.  Paul warns that it will even cause some to wander away from the faith.  We need to develop our contentment and guard against the love of money.

Along these lines, I recently read an excellent article about pastors and money by H.B. London in the Pastor’s Weekly Briefing.  You can subscribe to the e-mail newsletter at www.parsonage.org/forms/subscriptions.cfm.  Here is the article:

THE PASTOR AND MONEY
“Do we have a deal for you!”
I read a story the other day that profiled the alleged mishandling of funds by a pastor of a large church. It had to do with the misuse of a church credit card. Another case that was noted had to do with a pastor who took financial favors from a parishioner that bordered on the unethical.
In our role at Focus on the Family, we talk to pastors all the time who have mismanaged money or used church funds to cover their shortages or who, for some reason, take liberties with someone else’s money. Others are in trouble because they failed to file their income tax returns — or to pay their taxes.
There are some pastors I see who do nothing but talk about their financial holdings or businesses they have on the side. They do not talk much about the church or their ministry. When I leave them, I feel empty.
Oh, I’m not saying you can’t receive gifts from your church family or even an individual in the church — but you must keep it in perspective. What will it cost you in the long run? Will you be indebted forever, or will the lure of money take priority over the call of God in your life?
I remember once — many years ago — when members of my church came to me with a “can’t lose” business deal. “Don’t worry,” they said. “We will handle all of this for you.” Well, the deal went bad and I had to go to my dad for help with the $10,000 I lost. I was duped, but had no recourse because these men were in my church. So I just had to eat it.
Since that time, I have followed several guidelines:

1. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
2. If the search for financial gain becomes so strong it detracts from your ministry — it is wrong.
3. Under no circumstances should you sign church checks or have access to church funds without dual signers.
4. If you have a church credit card, it should have a limit and be paid off each month.
5. Do not fall for get-rich schemes.
6. The line between what’s legal and what is ethical is thin. Be careful.
7. If you pay taxes quarterly, save up! Don’t be hit with a tax bill at the last minute.

We have a Pastor to Pastor CD titled, “The Pastor’s Money.” We will send it free to the first 200 pastors who request it. (Click on reply or send it to pwb@family.org and give us your name, mailing address and zip code.) It will change your life. I promise.
We don’t talk about things like this very often, but I thought I should. Have a blessed weekend. —HBL
“Taken from the Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, [September 1, 2006]. Copyright © 2006, Focus on the Family.”

I have never been preoccupied with Biblical prophecy, as some Christians have been. I don’t look for sinister combinations of European countries nor do I assess each famous political person as to whether he might be the anti-Christ. I do not recall ever preaching a series on prophecy or the end times since I usually preached through books. Even when I preached through Revelation, I shied away from timetables and confident predictions of actual events, and instead focused on what this great letter revealed about God and His Son, Jesus Christ. Although I live with the expectancy that the Lord might return at any time, as all Christians should, I have never sat on top of a hill to wait.Yet, with the events taking place in the Middle East, I cannot help but believe that our time is short. Pain, power, and perplexity in the Middle East swell like a rapidly rising tide and seem to be greater than any other time in history. Fulfillments of prophecy cluster in the shadows, waiting only for the coming of Christ for His bride, the church.

Most troubling of all, prophecies about the apostasy of the church appear to be close to realization. Paul warns Timothy that the last days will bring perilous times with them. The chronicle of symptoms he shares sounds like an accurate diagnosis of our age. In 2 Tim 3:2-4 (NASB) we read,

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God . . .

Paul could not give Timothy a more accurate description of today’s world.After charging Timothy to “Preach the Word,” he warns him that hearers will not receive his message warmly. Paul tells him in 2 Tim 4:3-5:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.

Again, it almost seems as if doctrine is a dirty word in the church today. According to 2 Peter 3:3-5 (NASB),

Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.

These are enough passages to remind us that our world mirrors the troubling passages in the Bible concerning apostasy.Will we be prepared to handle apostasy when it comes? Some of our own evangelical leaders seem perilously close to drifting away. I make no judgment about him, but the hermeneutics George Barna uses in his latest book, Revolution, astounds me. He actually holds that the Bible does not teach the importance of the local church but only teaches about the universal church.1 Groups of committed Christians do not need the local church and he very favorably commends the trend he has detected. Andy Stanley believes, as reflected in a recent interview in Leadership Journal, that we should stop thinking of pastors as shepherds. He has never seen a shepherd and has no clue what they do. He would much prefer to think of a pastor as an executive.2 So much for the Lord being our good Shepherd!3

And so it goes. Pastors today experience a subtle version of Chinese water torture. There is the drip-drip-drip of the washing away and diluting of Biblical teaching until nothing is left. We wonder who holds to Biblical teaching. Certainly many of the Christian celebrities seem to be leading us in the wrong direction. Some of our people, fortunately few in churches served by Village Missions, prefer to be entertained rather than instructed from God’s Word.

I would suggest two responses. First, we simply need to persevere, despite the frustration and discouragement. Would we want our hands to be off the plow if our Lord returns? Do we have the right to give up because most only want their ears tickled? The Lord told Jeremiah his listeners would fight against him. The Lord promises Jeremiah that they will not overcome him. Isn’t that a promise for us as well? If we are in the end times, is it reasonable to expect great popularity and success? Why give up when the Lord might be just around the corner? Shouldn’t the fulfillment of prophecies about apostasy steel us and not weaken us?

Second, we need to deepen our commitment to ministry that reaches the lost and builds disciples. Some of what we do in the church seems to be wasted effort or trivial, especially if we are in the last days. We should be especially devoted to clear expositional preaching that calls for a response. We must respond as well, for we will need a strong, steady walk with the Lord if all around us are falling off the path. Using wise leadership, we must evaluate what we are doing in terms of eternal results. We should be even more earnest about our church becoming a Biblically effective congregation.

If we respond in these two ways, we will be as ready as we can be for the end times. Moreover, if the end times are not around the corner, we still will glorify the Lord by persevering and deepening our commitment to ministry.

1 George Barna, Revolution, (Wheaton, IL, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2005) Some quotes: “The key to understanding Revolutionaries is not what church they attend, or even if they attend (italics mine). Instead, its their complete dedication to being thoroughly Christian by viewing every moment of life through a spiritual lens and making every decision in the light of biblical principles.” (p. “Being in a right relationship with God and His people is what matters. Scripture teaches us that devoting your life to loving God with all your heart, mind, strength, and soul is what honors Him. Being a part of a local church may facilitate that. Or it might not.” (p. 37) “Again, one artifact of the mini-movement phenomenon has been that millions of people who are growing as Christians and passionate about their faith have come to recognize that the local church is not—and need not be—the epicenter of their spiritual adventure.” (p. 58) “So if you are a Revolutionary, it is because you have sensed and responded to God’s calling to be such an imitator of Christ. It is not the church’s responsibility to make you into this mold.” (p. 70) “If you mention that millions of deeply devout Christians whose lives are centered on knowing, loving, and serving God live independently of a local church, you can count on criticism from the church establishment.” (p. 112) “The Bible does not tell us that worship must happen in a church sanctuary and therefore we must be actively associated with a local church.” (p.114) “True Revolutionaries agree that being isolated from other believers—i.e., the Church (note the capital C)—is unbiblical. However, while they may not be integrated into a formal church congregation, they are not isolated from the Church. They may not belong to a specific collection of saints that engages in routines and customs at a particular location and under the leadership of a specific individual or group. However, neither are they spiritual untouchables who have no connection to the global Church.” (p. 116) “In the great awakenings of America’s history, the pattern was always the same: draw people into the local church for teaching and other experiences. In this new movement of God, the approach is the opposite: it entails drawing people away from reliance upon a local church into a deeper connection with and reliance upon God.” (p. 127) My response: As I said, his hermeneutics takes my breath away. He ignores the fact that almost every NT letter was written to a local church. How could church discipline be conducted in these loose affiliations? Would elders and deacons be selected? How about the preaching of the Word? Barna makes some good points about the church not producing committed Christians, but, mercy, how can he say that the NT does not teach the importance of the local church?

2 Leadership Spring 2006 Vol. XXVII Number 2 Interviewed by Marshall Shelley and Eric Reed, Stanley was asked, “Should we stop talking about pastors as ‘shepherds?’” Stanley replied, “Absolutely. That word needs to go away. Jesus talked about shepherds because there was one over there in a pasture he could point to. But to bring in that imagery today and say, ‘Pastor, you’re the shepherd of the flock,’ no. I never seen sic a flock. I’ve never spent five minutes with a shepherd. It was culturally relevant in the time of Jesus, but it’s not culturally relevant any more. Nothing works in our culture with that model except this sense of the gentle, pastoral care. Obviously that is a facet of church ministry, but that’s not leadership.” Stanley was then asked, “Isn’t shepherd the biblical word for pastor?” He replied, “It’s the first-century word. If Jesus were here today, would he talk about shepherds? No. He would point to something that we all know, and we’d say, ‘Oh yeah, I know what that is.” Jesus told Peter, the fisherman, to ‘feed my sheep,’ but he didn’t say to the rest of them, ‘Go ye therefore into all the world and be shepherds and feed my sheep.’ By the time of the Book of Acts, the shepherd model is gone. It’s about establishing elders and deacons and their qualifications. Shepherding doesn’t seem to be the emphasis. Even when it was, it was cultural, an illustration of something. What we have to do is identify the principle, which is that the leader is responsible for the care of the people he’s been given. That I am to care for and equip the people in the organization to follow Jesus. But when we take the literal illustration and bring it into our culture, then people can make it anything they want because nobody knows much about it.” My response: Stanley criticizes “shepherd” as being culturally outmoded, but then he uses two terms, “elder” and “deacon” that are equally outmoded. What kind of view of the inerrancy of Scripture is this? When God directed the writing of His Word and the use of figures of speech such as “shepherd” did He not anticipate our culture? Isn’t it our duty as a faithful student of His Word to understand the term “shepherd?”

3 Nathan and Molly Sahlberg, Village Missionaries, sent me an adaptation of Psalm 23 in light of our current difficulty in understanding the term “shepherd.” I love it! After reading Brian’s letter in the recent VM mailing, we were saddened that Andy Stanley thinks that pastor’s should be thought of as “executives” instead of shepherds. After thinking about this awhile, Nathan and I took this “executive model” of leadership a bit further and thought we’d see how well it worked if it was applied to the 23rd Psalm. Hmmmm, just doesn’t seem QUITE as comforting as “The Lord is My Shepherd.” But, all in fun. . .we had fun being creative.

Nathan and Molly Sahlberg

An Adaptation of the 23rd Psalm for the 21st Century American Ecclesiastic Executive (Formerly Pastor)

The Lord is my CEO, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in greenbacks.

He leads me beside Starbucks

He restores my 401k.

He guides me in the paths of power management practices for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of corporate tax law and shareholder meetings, I fear not declining stock values for thou art with me;

Thy cell phone and Thy Blackberry they comfort me.

Thou dost prepare a buyout before me in the presence of my competitors.

Thou hast anointed my head with monopolies

My stock options overflow.

Surely wealth and prosperity will follow me all the days of my life

And I will dwell in a mansion in Palm Springs when I retire.

Hebrews 13:17 (NASB) 17Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

A radical change in society’s attitude toward authority began with my generation. Perhaps the change started when young people realized that governments had brought us to the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis. An increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam alienated both those who opposed it and those who fought in it, as their lives seemed to be spent needlessly and thoughtlessly. Three assassinations of popular figures added to the distrust and feeling that society as a whole was bankrupt and destitute. Then Watergate communicated that corruption and sinister motives existed at the highest levels of government.

For a time I was one who rejected society and authority. I dropped out of society and attempted, along with many others, to create an alternative society. I indeed did distrust anyone over thirty. However, I soon realized that my generation would make as much, if not more, of a mess as the previous generation.

Our society left that era with a generalized distrust of authority and specifically, institutional authority. We tend to question every level of authority including parental, teacher, local, state, and national authority. Many, of course, question church and even Biblical authority. The divorce rate might indicate that children have some substantive reasons for questioning their parent’s authority. Continuing scandals in government and the recurring headlines that indicate that government favor is up for grabs to the highest bidder undermine trust in governmental authority. Unfortunately, continuing church scandals lead many to conclude that the church is no better than society.

I came to Christ just before my twenty-second birthday in 1972. Trusting Christ for my salvation, I subsequently, a few months later, placed myself under His Lordship and authority As I studied the Bible I began to realize that I would have to rethink my attitudes toward a host of authority figures. My most dramatic change, also brought on by some maturing, was a change in attitude toward my parents. Although no longer under their direct authority, I could still honor them and look to them for advice. I needed to respect the authority of my pastor and church leadership. I even needed to submit to the authority of the government and obey the laws. If I wanted a change and I could work and vote for a change.

Particularly helpful for me during that time was Bill Gothard’s Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts. Gotthard mentioned an “umbrella of authority” in which God communicated to and protected those who submitted to the authority God had placed over them. Although I’ve since distanced myself from much of Gothard’s later teaching, I believe his teaching on authority is Biblical if not carried to an extreme, such as unquestioning obedience of a wife as opposed to Biblical submission. I came to believe that my attitude and submission to authority reflected and was part of my attitude toward the authority of Jesus Christ.

As I submitted to those in authority over me, God began to give me opportunities to exercise authority over others. I never had authority on the job—I was low man in seniority at the Highway Department and the only authority I exercised as a horseshoer was over the horse! At times, it was tough being under the authority of an individual who didn’t want to work very hard. Yet, in the late seventies I was elected to a position on the board of the Fernwood Community Bible Church. This was my first position of authority. I don’t remember much of my service on the Board—I certainly don’t remember dealing with any particularly difficult issues other than the decision to become self-supporting. I hope that the Village Missionaries who served in Fernwood, Ray Bell and Terry Majors, found me to be a supportive and helpful Board member!

God then called Carole and I to Moody Bible Institute where we had to come under the authority of the school. Although married seven years and living off campus, we still had to submit to Moody’s rules. We obeyed Moody’s dress code and its requirements regarding alcohol, movies, and cards. We were submitting to the authority of Moody.

When God called us into ministry with Village Missions, we agreed to come under the authority of Village Missions. I was in authority as a pastor and under authority as a Village Missionary. I was also under the authority of my board—a mutual kind of submission in which I provided leadership and they held me accountable for performing the duties of a pastor. I remember receiving a job description from them when I first arrived. Part of my duties included ringing the church bell and greeting folks after the service. I never found this dual authority onerous especially since Village Missions gave such freedom to me in carrying out my pastoral duties.

Now I have a different sort of authority as Director of Village Missions. I am still under authority—the authority of the Board. They are charged with holding me accountable and monitoring my performance as well as approving the proposals I submit to them. This is Biblically a very good thing and I consider it my responsibility to provide Board members with accurate information and to submit to their direction.

Since we have recently experienced some missionaries who have had problems with the authority of our Mission, this article is a gentle reminder that we need to be under authority. We can neither run rough shod over our church board nor can we remove ourselves from the authority of our District Representative. I assure you that we want you to succeed and be a Biblical blessing to the church. I also promise that we will work with you if you work with us. We are certainly open to constructive criticism, if it is given in a respectful manner. I am sure this is how you would want your congregation to approach you-mostly for their own spiritual benefit.

Personally, I hold my position with an open hand and have no desire to accumulate power or Lord it over others. I tend to react strongly when missionaries do not act Biblically and harm the body of Christ they serve. I also react strongly when the church does not act Biblically towards the missionary. We might require some correction of your behavior. It will be for the ultimate good of the body of Christ, as much as we can determine, if we do. Work with us as part of your responsibility to be under our authority.

Hebrews 13:17 (NASB) 17Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

I would like to begin this month’s article with an appeal to pray earnestly for our Mission. It seems to me that our Mission family in both our countries is under serious attack. Many missionaries have been stricken with serious and life-threatening disease. I recently attended the funeral service of long-time Village Missionary Sharon Hester who battled several years against cancer. Many other Village Missionaries are also battling cancer.

In addition, we have recently had to deal with some conflicts in our churches. It is amazing how quickly situations can deteriorate and polarize. Please pray for wisdom for all those involved—church members, Village Missionaries, District Representatives, Mike Jones, and myself as we navigate through these shoals of conflict in a God-honoring way.

We have also seen several missionaries recently resign or go on leave for various reasons including family issues and discouragement with the ministry. Suddenly we have many vacancies in our churches. Pray that missionaries will leave only if God clearly directs them to do so and not because of discouragement with the ministry. Pray that those on leave will find the help they need.

Perhaps we are under attack because of the great things God is doing through this Mission. Already through March, more adults and children have come to Christ than all of last year! Four hundred and forty-three adults and 725 children have professed salvation from July through March. God is drawing many to Himself in our churches.

We are moving forward in areas that I am sure Satan would have us avoid such as Navajo ministry, Alaskan ministry, and quite possibly, further Hispanic ministry. The church is weak or virtually non-existent in these three areas. At our Hispanic church in Avenal forty-five adults professed Christ in March alone. We have hired Pastor Nelson Betoney to serve as a consultant in working with the Navajos. Many of our missionaries who attended our cross-cultural training in the fall are seeing progress in breaking through cultural barriers.

Glenn Daman is also seeing progress in the Center for Leadership Development. We are developing arrangements with several Bible colleges and seminaries. He has conducted several valuable conferences and seminars.

We are about to introduce several new communication pieces that will help us communicate Village Missions clearly to people who are unfamiliar with our ministry. You will soon be seeing a new logo and a redesigned Tempo magazine that will be called Country Matters. We will have a new general brochure and a recruiting brochure as well as a case statement that individual Village Missionaries and we can use in connecting with potential donors. I am optimistic these new ways of communicating our Mission will connect with many more people.

I want to report on the Canadian and US Board meetings in this article as well. Both the US and Canadian Boards were extremely unified during their recent meetings in early May. Although both boards are aware of the difficult challenges we face, they were extremely confident in God’s working in our Mission and His ability to overcome the challenges.

The Canadian Board is quite pleased with the progress made in the Canadian office. We are not aware of any ongoing issues and the Board thanked Don Fairholm for his efforts in this area. We will be conducting another survey of the missionaries to make sure that the transition is complete and continuing to work well. Canada is also moving forward to secure the services of a Director of Stewardship. A Board committee is working on the finalization of the job description and contacting interested individuals. Work is also beginning on a policy manual for Canada.

On the US side, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Neil Schaffner as Director of Stewardship. From 1992 to 2000 Neil served as Regional Sales Manager for Morton International and then from 2000 to 2002 as Corporate Accounts Manager for Rohm and Haas Co. He took early retirement in 2002 to devote a good portion of his time to ministry at Tanwax Country Chapel, one of our fields. He has served as a board member, Sunday School Superintendent, Youth Group leader, and Project Manager of their future Christian Education building. Neil will bring a committed walk with the Lord, experience in sales and management, and personal experience with a Village Missions field to this position. I am praising the Lord for Neil’s willingness to use his gifts in service to the Lord through Village Missions.

The Board considered raising the minimum base salary once again but decided instead to raise the amount we reimburse lower income Village Missionaries for travel to $200 per month. The Board was concerned that a third consecutive raise in the base salary might be too much for the churches to absorb, especially given the raises in the self-funded benefit package. We were also concerned about the affect on the Mission. We have noticed a slowing of the movement toward becoming self-supporting on the part of our churches. Normally, after we raise the base salary, the amount we pay in supplement spikes and then lowers. We have not seen a lowering of the amount of supplement lately. Encouraging churches to move toward becoming self-supporting is good for their spiritual health and good for the finances of the Mission. Raising the travel allowance affects the Mission more directly. Yet, we can direct this help toward Village Missionaries who need it the most.

The Board voted to pursue membership in the Association of North American Missions or A.N.A.M., an association of mission organizations who primarily serve in North America. I believe that it will be increasingly important for like-minded missions to collaborate with one another and to work together to make sure that ministry to North America is not neglected. Membership in A.N.A.M. will provide further credibility as they certify member organizations.

The Board approved some changes to the Associate Missionary program to allow travel reimbursement for serving a field and some opportunities for receiving personal support. We are still working on additional retirement housing in Maine, although we are facing some zoning challenges. Finally, the Board appointed a new Board member—Don Stuart. Don is a long-time member of our field in Yale, WA. I will provide more of background on Don in a subsequent issue of the Family Newsletter.

I close this lengthy article with the Scripture I included in my Board report as I asked Board members to pray. Paul teaches us the importance of prayer in advancing God’s kingdom. He writes to the Thessalonican church in 2 Thessalonians 3:1-5 (NASB):

1Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you; 2and that we will be rescued from perverse and evil men; for not all have faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. 5May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.