Our beloved Pastor Emeritus, the Rev. Dalton Grant, left this life and entered into heaven on Tuesday, March 28, 2017 where he will live for eternity with his Lord and all those there with him. We will forever be grateful for Dalton’s loving determination in pastoring and prayer, for his desire for relational well-being, and for his wisdom in looking at life both within the church and outside of it. Dalton has been the Pastor Emeritus at McLaurin Memorial Baptist Church for the past twenty years, and before that, served as the Director of Pastoral Care for many, many years. In so many ways, we will miss Dalton, and already are. Our prayers and support are with Ruby, their daughters Chalaundrai and Cynthia, and their grand-daughter and other relatives who are all in the United States.
Author: frontier
News & Notes Vol 13 No. 15
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News & Notes Vol 13 No. 14
Transitions
Dear friends,
I have an experience I would like to share with you today. Last Sunday evening I attended the installation of Callum Jones. Callum was formerly from First Baptist Penticton and is moving to Trinity Baptist Church in Vancouver. This was an event which took place at 7 PM in the evening which I would like to commend to you as an ideal time for people from a variety of local churches to attend such an event as this. Trinity Baptist Church is a multicultural congregation amid a very multicultural city. The event was a celebration of the city and the breadth of the kingdom of God. It was also a celebration of the excitement of 2 churches participating in the affirmation of a new season and calling for Callum and his wife, Catherine. I mention 2 churches because First Baptist Church in Penticton sent a delegation to give (as it were) Callum and Catherine to the congregation at Trinity Baptist in Vancouver. It was a lovely experience to see this occur. The exchange brought greetings and prayers from both churches and a dear friend of Callum’s (and a fellow colleague and minister from Summerland) Larry Schram, gave the message.
I would encourage each of us to think more carefully about timing these kinds of services so that more people can be involved in having a sense of exchange, of collegiality, of back and forth, of giving and receiving, as people move between churches. It was Rob Ogilvie’s last installation or induction (depending on the term you prefer) of a pastor in the BCY region. He did this as the BCY Regional Minister and he does these things so very well. This is the last of those kinds of events for him because he is about to assume the Executive Minister’s position on June 30. Pray for Rob and Bonnie as they prepare for the change in their lives.
One more thing about Callum’s induction… Larry introduced a very non-transcribable word which nonetheless was rendered as a phrase “steadfast love”. I think it is important to know the steadfast love the Lord has for us even as we are called, as Larry did, to offer steadfast love to all.
This is a week of transition and changes. It will be my last Board meeting with the CBWC and I am very grateful for this season of life. Even if that season doesn’t actually end for another 10 weeks it is significant to be saying goodbye to the last gathering of those I report to and my colleagues. Please pray for Laura Nelson as she leads her last Board meeting for the CBWC, and the nominations committee under Greg Anderson as he suggests to the Board the new slate for the next 2 years.
Many thanks to all for your prayers.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy
Finding our whole story in Easter
Finding our whole story in Easter
by: Anne Smith, pastor at Southpoint
When I grew up, I went to a little Baptist church that had only two liturgical days on the calendar: Christmas and Easter. Even as a child, this seemed strange to me. Suddenly, it would be Easter! We’d dress up, hunt for our Easter baskets, have a bunch of lilies around the cross, sing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today!”, be told that Jesus died to save us from our sins so that we could have eternal life, and then, next week, everything would be back to normal.
Increasingly, I find a wider, deeper meaning by living Easter from within the unfolding story of the liturgical calendar, which mirrors the life of Christ. We prepare for resurrection during Lent, we celebrate resurrection on Easter Sunday, and we practice resurrection during the season of Easter, which extends to Pentecost. Holy Week holds this all together. During Holy Week, we witness and watch the movements of Jesus as he makes his final journey to the cross. His passion reveals the full measure of God’s love, and his resurrection reveals the full measure of God’s power.
Eucatastrophe
Love proves stronger than hate, mercy stronger than judgement, forgiveness stronger than vengeance. The worst agency of the Evil One, death, becomes the agent of redemption. In this eucatastrophe, this sudden turning from sorrow to joy, there is room for the full breadth of my story.
Growing up, my sister was chronically ill. As I watched her suffer, I was comforted by this image of who God suffers with us on the cross. But, thankfully, the story does not end there.
In Tolkein’s essay, On Fairy Stories, he uses the word “eucatastrophe”. It’s a term he coined to describe a sudden turning from what looks like imminent failure to joy breaking in from nowhere, changing everything. When I first heard of eucatastrophe, I thought, “That’s Easter!” This turning began with the incarnation as Jesus entered fully into our humanity and became well acquainted with the grief that wounds and breaks us. The full manifestation of this solidarity happens on the cross. Yet into that suffering broke the resurrection. Joy pierced suffering, seemingly out of nowhere. Eucatastrophe.
As my sorrow is drawn into Jesus’ sorrow, I find comfort and belonging. As Jesus draws my life into his resurrected life, I find healing and life. Christ shares in my suffering, and I share in his resurrected life. Living the Easter story means embracing this tension between the suffering Christ and the victorious Christ. A year ago, just after Easter, two members of our church family died. So this year as we remember, I’m grateful for this story which holds both joy and sorrow, death and resurrection, yet is, at its heart, a story of eucatastrophe.
The sudden turn
The Gospels contain a series of resurrection accounts where Jesus appears to a variety of folk. People are surprised, of course, but more importantly Jesus’ appearance shifts their story. They don’t know yet that he’s alive. They’re in despair, grief, confusion, and crippling doubt. They’re puzzling about how it ended up so wrong when it had seemed so right. Then Jesus appears to them – eucatastrophe, the sudden turning! Thomas turns from skepticism to faith, Mary’s grief is instantly changed to joy, and on the road to Emmaus the disciple’s confusion becomes clarity. I love this. I find great hope in this unique dynamic of Easter morning.
These “turnings” are very powerful for me, both as a person, and as a pastor. Jesus draws near when we are in the worst straights, when our storyline has been blown to pieces. He joins us in our pain, picks up our shattered story, and begins to walk us in a new direction.
As a pastor, I’ve seen many people go through turns like these. Things are going well, we feel God’s presence, we are full of faith. And then dramatically, it changes. Some circumstance changes that shakes all of life. We feel how I imagine the disciples were feeling: confusion and despair, thinking, did we get duped by this guy who we thought was the Messiah? Where is God? Is God real? Into this darkness, Jesus somehow appears, pulling us into a new storyline. It might not be the same direction, but it’s a redeemed story that continues on.
Easter in community
At Southpoint, our celebration of Easter really begins on Palm Sunday. I get up early and cut cedar branches from the trees on Kingfisher Farm. Later, as folk gather outside, we pass out cedar branches, wooden blocks for banging, and long ribbons on sticks. We process into the sanctuary together, singing songs, beating blocks, waving our branches—we make a ruckus to celebrate the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem!
Then on Good Friday, we lay out a path of sorrow at Kingfisher Farm. The stations of the cross are tucked away in the forest and farmland, so folk walk the stations of the cross surrounded by cedar trees. There is a meditative space to sit and reflect on images of the crucifixion. In the room is a large cross, and all who gather are invited to place a hand print in red on the cross before leaving, symbolizing our own betrayal of Christ, as well as our fellowship with him in his suffering.
On Easter morning, we gather again for worship. The service begins as we cry out together, “Christ is Risen!! He is Risen Indeed!!!’ We begin to sing, and as we sing, children and adults bring the flowers and greens they have picked from gardens to the wire bound cross at the front of the church. We fill the cross to overflowing with flowers and greens. It is a messy, gorgeous display of abundance springing forth from the scarcity of the cross. We sing songs, proclaim the story, sing more songs, share communion – the broken body of Christ which has become the feast of resurrection life.
Observing Easter is inherently communal. It’s hard for me to conceive of it any other way. I feel like something intrinsic to the Gospel gets left out when we are too individualistic. Especially Easter. It was a social thing. It was instantly spread and shared and wrestled with, together. Mary immediately ran to tell the disciples, and they ran back and told people—it just feels that there needs to be a spilling over into one another’s lives to contain it, because it’s too big to be kept individual.
Together we are remembering the story, we are reliving the story. It is the story that unites us as Christians. So to tell it, live it, remember it, celebrate it together, with Christians of different stripes all over the world… That is powerful.
We proclaim this not just as a story from the past, but as the story of our present reality, and the story of our future hope. The story of redemption that holds all creation. Living it out as an individual is all good and well, but Easter was and always shall be a communal reality, not an individual affair. To celebrate as a people deepens the practice of resurrection.
Mission in the Arrivals Wing at YVR
Mission in the Arrivals Wing at YVR
“Last month, a middle-aged Mexican woman came to the door. I knew immediately there was something different about her; she was definitely in need of TLC, you know… just some loving care.” Dennis Kirkley says. He’s the lead chaplain at Vancouver Airport Chaplaincy; he’s also a CBWC church member. “I felt the Lord whisper to me, ‘care for this person’. So that’s what we did.”
He quickly learned why. Polly* was transgender, and had been recently disowned by her family after years and years of being unaccepted. Her mother died a few years ago, and her father finally told her to leave his house.
“She’d been living with her father for years because no one in her city would hire her. She had a degree—she showed me the paper. She could teach, but had never been able to get a job,” Dennis says. With no options left, a friend offered to buy a flight to Vancouver where they hoped Polly would have better luck. She arrived with no contacts, no plan, no job, and was noticed by Customs who directed her to the Chapel. Dennis and his team connected her with agencies who helped her prepare for the Refugee Claimant hearing, find accommodation, and complete paperwork to settle in Canada.
“When she returned the next day, refreshed for her final Customs interview, she told us, ‘You’re the first place that has cared for me.’” Dennis recalls. “That gave me opportunity to tell Polly how much God cared for her and has blessed our land, where all God’s people are treated with dignity and respect. When she left for her interview, she had a smile on her face and, I believe, hope in her heart!”
This is just one example of the work Dennis and his team do at the Chapel. Talk with him for any amount of time, you’ll hear story after story spill out, as he sketches a picture of the incredible range of human need they encounter. As an inter-faith ministry, the YVR Chaplaincy has met this need with spiritual and emotional support for 30+ years in International Arrivals.
“One thing about this job is, you have to be ready for anything. You have to be spiritually and emotionally ready. We get everything under the sun walking in the door, from people just popping by to say hello, to heavy, heavy situations,” Dennis says.
“We get women who are leaving an abusive relationship, people being deported, people who are grieving, carrying ashes of a loved one. There are people struggling with mental health,” Dennis says. “Just last week we had a guy who was trying to go home, but he was so disruptive that he got kicked off a flight. They were already taxiing to the runway, but he was so belligerent they had to turn around and kick him off. Then, of course they brought him to us!”
YVR is supportive of their work and recently decided to expand the current Chapel facility in 2018 and provide a second chapel past the security gates in 2020. That’s where most people in the airport are, so it’s a great answer to prayer. The current Chapel gets over 1,000 visitors monthly, and operates with a team of 35 volunteers, 10 chaplains, and 5 board members. Currently all the volunteers are Christians, though all faith groups are welcome to participate in this ministry.
The Chapel is also there to serve YVR staff. “We’re not trying to be a church or a mosque or anything,” Dennis says, “but it just so happens that there are a number of Roman Catholic Filipinos working at the airport on Sundays who want to attend mass. So for 7 years there’s a priest who comes down on Sunday afternoon at 4pm to hold a mass. And there are a lot of Muslim employees who come on Fridays to pray.”
To all CBWC churches, Dennis wants you to know they’re here to serve you. The Chapel is available for groups to gather and pray before a trip, or for goodbyes. They offer tours of their own space and the terminal—a few parking passes can be procured if you carpool.
“We hope churches will be more aware of us being here, so they can know what God is doing at YVR and they can pray for us. We will be in need of new volunteers as our facilities expand in the future, and we also need the support of area churches because we must raise all our own operating expenses.” Dennis is available as a guest speaker, with either a message or a mission report. “Ultimately we’d like to have churches aware of this marketplace ministry right in their midst.”
*Polly’s name has been changed to protect her privacy.
William Carey like you’ve never seen him before.
William Carey like you’ve never seen him before.
Deanna Storfie stars in a one-woman play about the legendary missionary, William Carey.
“His story is tragedy. It’s hardship. But it’s also a story of how the gospel can change lives and transform cultures,” Deanna says of William Carey’s mission in India. The play has grown out of her extensive research, and was commissioned by The Gathering’s organizing committee for this year’s meeting.
“It wasn’t an easy road to hold. There were entrenched superstitions and teachings that oppressed the people of India, especially women. So to come in with the Gospel with an understanding that God loves creation and people, no matter what our skin colour or gender, because we’re made in the image of God… was revolutionary.”
Bringing this gospel message of freedom didn’t come free for Carey’s family. The first number of years, Carey worked in isolation from other Christians. Even the British community in India isolated them, fearing the economic implications of his work against the caste system.
“That was detrimental to his wife,” Deanna says. “No support, being in a foreign country, having child after child. She really suffered from depression, and mental illness completely. Imagine how hard it would be, going on a mission like that, when it’s your husband that feels called, and you’re going to support, but don’t feel called.”
Carey saw very little fruit in the early years. He worked hard, preached to hundreds, but had no converts. “He often wondered, did he really hear God’s call? Should he be there?” Deanna says.
“His wife is going slowly insane, and his boys are running around with no parental supervision because he’s busy doing missionary work.” It wasn’t until another group of missionaries came to join him that things started to take off.
Ironically, given the personal cost his wife faced, women’s rights was a seminal accomplishment for Carey and his team, in partnership with Indian allies. At that time, the custom was for widows to burn alive on their husband’s funeral pyres, a practice known as Sati. Carey et al campaigned hard to make this practice illegal, and to convince women to reach out for help if their husband’s died.
“Husband is god. If your husband is sad you are sad, if your husband is happy you are happy. If your husband is dead, you must die,” Deanna says of the belief at the time. In her research for the play, she that learned it probably had more to do with economic burden than anything. In-laws had already paid the dowry, and didn’t want to pay more. This noble sacrifice for a husband’s honour was just a guise.
“To tell of Jesus who sacrificed himself for them, was so poignant,” she says.
Whose perspective will Deanna use to tell the story in her one-woman play? You’ll have to come to The Gathering to find out!
- WHEN: May 25-27, 2017
- WHERE: Westview Baptist Church, Calgary, AB
- HOW MUCH: $190 (whole thing) / $62 (single day) + food options
- REGISTER ONLINE: https://cbwcevents.sunergo.net/qry/sb_conf_registration.taf?_filter_conf_id=13
- REGISTER BY MAIL: https://cbwc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/2017GatheringRegForm_web.pdf
BC Yukon Regional Minister search
June will be a month of many changes: the strawberries will start to ripen, the days will begin to shorten again, Jeremy Bell shall retire as Executive Minister, Rob Ogilvie will become our new Executive Minister and some lucky duck will become the new BC & Yukon Regional Minister.
A search committee is in the process now of reviewing a good number of strong applicants, and will begin the first round of interviews in early April.
“We really appreciated the amount and quality of applications,” says Kayely Rich chair of the search committee. The committee has received nearly a dozen serious applications. “They’re quality people who have great ministry and life experience. They’re names we know because we’ve seen them in other contexts.”
It’s encouraging for the committee to see such a strong number of applications from within the denomination. “It really shows that we have a group of people who care about our denomination and want to be part of the future. It’s a great sign of health, to have people who have been part of our tribe want to be part of leadership,” Kayely says.
The regional minister position is a first responder for churches. They’re the first contact for everything from serious crises to the more mundane resourcing needs, so it’s important to have someone with the interpersonal skills to respond to whatever comes up.
“It’s a lot about trying to find a right fit, rounding out the rest of the leadership team.”
First interviews take place over a video conference, and second interviews will be conducted in person. The committee is aiming to have a decision made by mid-April.
News & Notes Vol 13 No. 13
Of Prayer and Many Other Things
Dear friends,
I had two very exciting experiences of public prayer in the last two weeks. They were so poignant and meaningful to me that I thought I would share them.
The first was at the Provincial Leadership Prayer Breakfast in British Columbia. I have experienced several Prayer Breakfasts in the past; the first at the age of 20 at the American National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC. I’ve been to Ottawa at the National Prayer Breakfast in Canada and in Calgary at that Prayer Breakfast and this one in Vancouver. The quite unplanned and seemingly spontaneous or spirit prompted (which might be more appropriate) theme of the Provincial Prayer Breakfast in Vancouver was that of hope and hopefulness. Many of the speakers spoke of being in desperate need to call out to God in times of personal need or comfort. The theme was quite powerfully engaged. It ran the gamut of people speaking of their conversion story of coming to Christ for the first time, and also of praying for the sick and the wounded, or the faraway, or just in moments, vocationally or personally, in which they were extremely anxious and worried.
There is a particular prayer that is used at the National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa, and at other Breakfasts including the recent one in Vancouver. It speaks of the “spirit of Jesus” but is not explicitly, or in a way I would prefer, clearly Christian yet, it is placed in the spirit of Jesus and the context of the Christian faith. Regardless of that it is a powerful prayer in so many ways. As a Christian I, both at the beginning and end of it, silently pray to myself these things in Christ’s name. The first is that prayer.
The second prayer is one that was spoken by a young woman at Southwest Community Church in Kamloops which I found particularly gripping, relevant, and personally encouraging. I thank Libby for her willingness to allow me to share this with you.
The final prayer is taken out of the “Gathering for Worship” book. It talks about Christ coming to make things new. I pray that as we continue in the Lenten series and season and as we pray for those who do not yet know Christ we will in fact be called to see that Christ is making all things new.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy
A Prayer for the Province (BC Leadership Prayer Breakfast):
Almighty God, we once before you in prayer, in the spirit of Jesus, for the leadership of British Columbia and Canada. We declare our need of you and pause this morning to give you thanks.
We thank you for blessing us with a free country, a rich diversity of people, abundant natural resources and a beautiful environment. We pray that as leaders we will be wise managers and good stewards of all that your hands have provided.
We pray for our nation and our world. Lord, where there is division, conflict, bitterness and hatred, both in this country and abroad, may you bring your wisdom, justice and healing. Where we have been party to this division, conflict, bitterness, and hatred, we ask for your forgiveness and reconciliation.
We pray that you might give wisdom and discernment to all those who govern and administer our country, our province, our towns and cities. Give wisdom and discernment also to those who are in Opposition. We pray that all may be men and women who, themselves, are led by you; who do not seek prestige but service, and set the good of the community above the good of any individual or group.
We pray for all people who work, study or volunteer in this province. We pray that we might use our faith, skills and resources to correct iniquities, bring hope, and work toward justice and righteousness.
Help us to be worthy of the inheritance that we have received from you through our First Nations and ancestors. May we protect all that we share, so that we may pass on an even finer province to those who will inherit it from us.
May we lay aside all private interests and prejudices. Unite us in all our diversity under your sovereign rule, to love you and to love others. May all who are called to serve as leaders throughout British Columbia have the courage to lead us in truth, peace, and humility. Strengthen us all, we pray in the name of our Blessed Creator, Provider, and Sustainer. Amen.
This is the prayer spoken at Southwest Community Church Sunday morning service on March 26th:
Beloved Lord and Saviour,
We bow our hearts to you, the one who is seated far above the rest, you are worthy of the praises we sing today and for the rest of eternity. Messiah, we want your kingdom come, we pray in earnest that your rule would be over all situations around the world. We lift up the attacks in the UK, may your peace be a healing and soothing balm over the many wounds, may your sovereignty reign in all forms of government and leadership, and may your sense of justice prevail over our own. It’s easy to see where your reign is necessary around the world, yet in our own hearts, we find it difficult to relinquish power, claiming we do a good enough job as leader of our lives. We have a prepared list of reasons why we’re good at being in control. We can be like the Israelites, wanting to go back to Egypt even after witnessing your divine guidance through the Red Sea. Father, you have shown us your worthiness, may we put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature since we have taken off the old self with its practices and put on a new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator. Jesus, you are described as the one who fulfills everything in everyway, and may we honour you as such, may we obey your teachings, and love our brothers and sisters. May we hold our control in open and joyful hands. We invite your will to be done, and we do so with hopeful hearts, knowing that you are the Good Shepard and will not lead us astray. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Gathering for Worship: Opening Sentences for the Lord’s Supper:
Among the poor,
among the proud,
among the persecuted,
among the privileged,
Christ is coming to make all things new.
In the private house,
in the public place,
in the wedding feast,
in the judgement hall,
Christ is coming to make all things new.
With a gentle touch,
with an angry word,
with a clear conscience,
with burning love,
Christ is coming to make all things new.
That the kingdom might come,
that the world might believe,
that the powerful might stumble,
that the hidden might be seen,
Christ is coming to make all things new.
Within us, without us,
behind us, before us,
in this place, in every place,
for this time, for all time,
Christ is coming to make all things new.
News & Notes Vol 13 No. 12
Transitions & Thankfulness.
Dear friends,
In the first newsletter of this month I outlined some major changes that were unfolding at the CBWC. What I was not free to speak to at that time was that Bob Webber will be transitioning out of his role as Director of Ministries. Bob and his wife Faye have been active and involved in Baptist family life for years. Bob grew up in First Baptist Calgary, AB. His first job after university was as Director of Gull lake Camp in Alberta. I have worked with Bob for over 8 years and found him to be so committed to his Lord, his church, his family, and this larger CBWC family that he has given his energy, time, wisdom, and great good laughter as gifts to us all. Personally, I am very appreciative of Bob’s commitment to the local church and the enrichment and energy he brought to the Executive Staff, the Camp Committee, the CBWC Foundation, the Finance Committee, and the CBWC Board. Thank you, Bob, very much for your deep commitment and long service which will continue in a variety of forms for many years to come.
Related to the theme of roles, every 2 or 3 years we publish a set of Organizational Charts which help people put names to faces in the work we do together. The leadership of the denomination is clearly from the Executive of our Board (shown below).
A final comment… I have heard some comment that yet again an Executive Minister is located on the West Coast or “Left Coast” (unflatteringly and inaccurately called, given our Provincial Government). I have heard a comment that the majority of staff are in the Lower Mainland in British Columbia. 5 out of 8 Executive Staff are in Alberta; 2 (including our new Executive Minister, Rob Ogilvie) are in British Columbia; and 1 (Mark Doerksen) is in the Heartland. There is a considerable balance of influence and engagement given that the CBWC Foundation is based in Calgary as well as the Ambrose Undergraduate Initiative, and 2 of our camps. All these things suggest a broad dispersal of resources and personnel.. We are striving to be very conscious that our governance, staff, and ministries are cognizant of geographic diversity and ministry experience.
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy
News from the Family: Please pray for Louanne Haugan as we shift to a new benefits system and join with the other Canadian Baptist denominations in caring for our staff.
Quote of the Week: From a poem by August Wilson:
When the sins of our fathers visit us
We do not have to play host.
We can banish them with forgiveness
As God, in His Largeness and Laws.
News & Notes Vol 13 No. 11
Balancing Between Extremes
Dear friends,
Today’s newsletter is a devotional and reflection on contrasting choices we are faced with I trust that it is helpful and meaningful. It tends not to be a newsy newsletter but a more reflective and indeed theological and practical newsletter this week. Thanks for your patience. God be with you.
I am constantly being surprised and perplexed by the “either/or” thinking that is used to discuss complicated topics. Take for example the simple notions about evangelism. Charles Haddon Spurgeon once remarked that he was a Calvinist on his knees and an Armenian on his feet. That is to say he prayed God’s will in desiring that God would turn people’s hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet while he was preaching he believed that with passion he could persuade that the spirit had one part of the conversion narrative to accomplish and that his own willingness to share had the other part. What Spurgeon was practicing was not commonly referred to as a balanced approach but indeed holding two very different yet complementary things in tension. Life is very much like that. Jesus often spoke in metaphor and indeed hyperbole. His own disciples were often confused as to what his message or point was; particularly in the parables.
Charles Simeon, an Anglican Evangelical from the 19th century, was famous for his comment that the truth of any topic was not in the middle of two extremes but in fact in both extremes. That sounds awkward but it’s not. Think back to the comment we just made about Charles Haddon Spurgeon: a Calvinist on his knees and an Armenian on his feet. Simeon is right in far more areas of life that we would like to think. The practice of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the advice of Charles Simeon, and in fact our wisdom from the ages and from elders must give us pause to think. They are thinking. Indeed, the behavior that followed their thinking if you read their history and ministry has a great deal of application today: from the areas of church life, personal prayer, and devotional life to the public realm in good governance and to the political battles that are waged in all parts of the world.
Since we are so near the time of the inauguration in the United States it is interesting to note how Harry Truman chose scriptures from two parts of the Bible for his inauguration. He had in fact 2 Bibles open to him and laid his hands on each; 1 was open to the 10 Commandments and the other was open to the Beatitudes. I think it’s obvious on 1 level the contrast between those 2 passages. Yet there is this complementary nature of what God expects of us and how he also in his call to holiness and piety from the 10 Commandments calls us to that deeper meaning of life, compassion, and humility in the Beatitudes. I would draw us and our attention to that wonderful sermon in the final verses of the Beatitudes:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16
(And the 10 Commandments: Exodus 20:1-17)
We are all called to be salt and light. You know the depth and meaning of those phrases. I indeed find that to be a prophetic and passionate call from Jesus to be that which preserves and gives flavor. Furthermore, without salt there is no long-term viability of life. In addition, without light, not simply in the natural order of things (the photosynthesis of the sun which gives us the basic building blocks for life itself) but in Jesus this gift of life and light that comes to us… without him there is indeed no life.
“All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.” John 1:3-9
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”” John 14:6-7
Warmly,
In Christ,
Jeremy
Quote of the Week: Martin Luther King Jr: “If you can’t fly, run. If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk then by all means start moving.”
News from the Family: Please pray for Sam Breakey and team in the church health and renewal work, and for the renewal that they are seeking in the life of our churches. For those churches currently being encouraged by this process, pray especially that the Holy Spirit would help people discern where the church is presently at and what future steps they should be undertaking in the power of the Spirit to see new things happen and God’s powerful presence in their lives flourish.