When we oppose ourselves

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I couldn’t resist sending you the picture below. Haven’t we all met people who do crazy, self-destructive things? Such people don’t need enemies—they are their own worst enemy! They go through life tripping themselves up and inflicting catastrophe after catastrophe on themselves.

How do we help people like that? They can try a pastor’s patience and it’s tempting to think we must “do something about them.” Perhaps we need to be reminded of Paul’s instructions to Timothy: “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26 KJV).

Note the emphasis here. Paul does not say, “Tell these people to get their act together and start living properly. Or else!” Rather, he tells Timothy to be patient, tolerant and humble, reminding him that even though such people may be their own worst enemy, they are not God’s enemy. They may be unable to acknowledge their problem and so become easy prey for the devil. They may reject and resist advice, but that does not give a pastor the right to abandon them. We may not be able to open up their minds to see their problems, but God can.

Gently relating to such people is an important part of being a pastor. We are reminded that we are shepherds of God’s flock, not “lords over God’s heritage” (1 Peter 5:3 KJV). If we remember this as we serve those who “oppose themselves,” we will become more aware of God’s unrelenting and unconditional love for all of humankind, including ourselves. If we are brutally honest, we must admit we too have our moments of self-opposition.

One of the most awesome dynamics in our lives comes when we recognize and acknowledge that, in Christ, God says “YES” to the question of our reconciliation with him and our eternal salvation. Then when we see what God is doing with us in Christ and say, “yes” and “thanks be to God,” he says “YES” right back to us—for eternity.

Trouble is, having accepted God’s big “YES,” we often respond with our little “no’s.” Paul lamented this reality in Romans chapter seven. Though wanting to respond to God’s “YES” by living a life worthy of our calling, the more we try, the more we become conscious of our failures.

Paul gives voice to this struggle: “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (vv. 18b-19 NIV).

Even seasoned, mature Christians oppose themselves at times and so Paul continues the lament: “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work in me. What a wretched man I am!” (vv. 21-24a).

Sounds hopeless, doesn’t it? But that is not where Paul ends—he had learned that God never gives up on us: “Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (vv. 24b-25).

When people oppose themselves, they think and behave as if they can cut themselves off from Christ. They are not living in communion with God even though their life, breath and movement is dependent on him (Acts 17:28). God is the sustainer of every life and no one lives outside of his relationship with them, whether they know of or acknowledge that relationship. God loves sinners. That is why he sent Jesus to save and redeem us. He will never give up on us and he never stops loving us.

The wonderfully reassuring dynamic of our relationship with and to God is that when we say “no” to his reconciling and saving “YES” to us in Christ, he won’t take our “no” for an answer. We cannot change the fact that God loves us and has, in Christ, reconciled himself to us. No matter how angry, disbelieving and denying we may be toward God, it does not change the reality that God is our Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer. God is faithful even when we oppose ourselves.

Your brother in Christ,

Joseph Tkach

Stuart Mahan

Here is a short video with Stuart Mahan who pastors GCI’s congregation in Toledo, Ohio. Stuart talks about becoming a pastor and about reaching out to his friends.

On YouTube at http://youtu.be/eOTYG9J4qwY.

The Rock summer camp

This update is from GCI pastor Linda Rex. She reports on the recently held US Generations Ministries summer camp named The Rock.

My daughter and I recently returned home from spending more than a week at The Rock summer camp held in Westfield, North Carolina. The camp provided many opportunities to be challenged with something new and “out-of-the-box.” High ropes, giant swing, rock wall and an evening banquet all challenged the campers. God’s Spirit was actively at work throughout the camp, bringing healing, comfort and deliverance to many.

The highlight of each morning was the camp chapel service, where the campers met to share positive moments through shout-outs, singing praise songs and to hearing God’s word for the day. The theme for the camp was “Built on the Rock.” At the first chapel service, camp chaplain Rocky Ray talked about the way God knew and planned for each of us before the world began, giving his Son, Jesus Christ to be our Savior. At another chapel service, Jeff Broadnax, a regional coach for Generations Ministries, gave a message that looked at how Jesus is the foundation for our lives, including our relationships with God and with others. As co-chaplain, I gave a chapel message reviewing how God prepared the ground and Jesus is the foundation. I noted that we need to build our lives on this foundation using the quality building materials that God provides: faith, hope and love.

To illustrate these chapel messages, campers and staff built two small houses; one on a foundation of sand and the other on a foundation of concrete. Camp director Stephen Webb then gave a chapel message about the storms of life that God allows to come our way and how they show if our lives are built on sand or on the rock of Christ. Following his message the campers went outside where Rocky Ray blasted the two houses with a pressure washer. The one built on sand fell, but the one built on concrete stood firm.

On Friday, campers and staff shared moving testimonies about how God had worked in their lives during the week. The consensus was that God had shown his love and power throughout the week. Campers were encouraged to be positive influences in their world, building up their friends, families, communities and country. Built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and bound together in the Spirit, they are and will be transformers of their world.

For more information about this camp, click here.

Philippine mission trip

In April, eight members representing several of GCI’s Philippines congregations participated in a short-term mission trip to the Philippine city of Borongan. The team was led by Pastor Ronald Hernandez.

The mission team conducted several outreach meetings (one of the groups is pictured above) where they shared the gospel and taught those attending how to make soap and fertilizer. As a result of these meetings, at least six children and three adults committed their lives to Christ. Plans are being made to disciple these new believers.

GCI Philippines national director Eugene Guzon and missions director Rey Taniajura frequently state that it is GCI’s aim to engage the churches of GCI in the Philippines in missions through training followed by short-term mission trips like this one.

Octogenarian members honored

On June 23, Living Grace Church, GCI’s congregation in Vermont, honored four octogenarian members with a luncheon, cards and a cake.

left to right - Barbara Lamore, Edwin Nelson, Ruth Tatham, Virginia Elms — Left to right: – Barbara Lamore, Edwin Nelson, Ruth Tatham and Virginia Elms

Paul Metzger on evangelism

Trinitarian theologian Paul Metzger wrote recently about evangelism on his Patheos.com blog:

Paul Metzger

Recently Christianity Today asked me to list five books that have impacted me most in terms of evangelism. One will not find here a list of how-to books. Evangelism is not a technique, but a way of being in word and deed that leads people to Christ. Certainly, it involves content, bearing witness to Christ and his claims on our lives, including the apostolic witness (Matthew 10:32-42; Luke 14:25-35; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11).

Such claims should humble us and lead us away from a power play posture. Humility should mark our lives, though not humiliation or shame concerning the Gospel’s claims. Jesus’ call to follow him calls the entirety of our lives to account and should lead us to move beyond speaking forth words in a vacuum. Rather, we need to create space with our lives for our views to be heard. This is especially true in our post-Christendom context, where many people are suspicious of Christian claims in view of Christendom’s power moves of the past and its waning and desperate reactions in the present. We Christians need to move beyond trying to take back America from our enemies to laying down our lives for them in view of Christ’s love for them and us. It is not about them vs. us, but about Christ—and his desire to bring us all home.

With these points in mind, we must come to realize that the verdict that Jesus is Lord demands evidence in our lives that he is Lord. May we not be the stumbling block to people coming to know him; may they stumble over him so that they can be broken and transformed in relation to Christ and journey home

To see Paul’s recommendations for books on evangelism, see the Christianity Today article at http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/june/paul-louis-metzger-my-top-5-books-on-evangelism.html.

For a GCI You’re Included interview with Paul concerning evangelism, go to http://www.gci.org/yi/metzger49.

Disaster relief in Haiti

This update is from GCI Caribbean mission director Charles Fleming.

Below are pictures of a house in Haiti being built by member, Serge Jacques. Construction is being supported with money from the GCI Disaster Relief Fund. The house replaces the one Serge lost in the terrible earthquake that devastated Haiti several years ago. He often hosts GCI Bible studies and other gatherings in his home.

Though incomplete (due to difficulty in obtaining building supplies) the house is significantly better than the one it replaces. Our pastor in Haiti, Joseph Franklin, pointed out some of the home’s features, which the Jacques family now enjoy:

The Jacques are now lodged in two bedrooms+living room+porch+unfinished flush toilet. They send their thanks. Once again we are reminded that God’s love opens the way for even tragedies, like earthquakes, to transform the way we live.

Thanks to the generosity of donors to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund following the earthquake in Haiti, we are able to continue providing appropriate support for this and other ongoing GCI relief projects in Haiti. If you would like to help GCI prepare to help others in similar disaster situations, wherever they may occur, your congregation is welcome to send funds to: GCI Disaster Relief Fund, P.O. Box 5005, Glendora, CA 91740.

Disaster relief in West Virginia

In this update, Linda Nichols-McCarty, an elder in GCI’s church in Ripley, West Virginia, reports on the work her congregation did in helping the community of Spencer, West Virginia recover from recent flooding.

The clean-up in Spencer continues. The first floodwaters hit on June 13th; another came on the 18th. The two nearby dams could not control the 7.5 inches of rain that fell in about 45 minutes. Many members from our congregation helped in the clean-up.

Following the first day of flooding, many elderly people rescued from an apartment building were brought to a temporary shelter wet and in muddy clothes. We helped them get dry clothes and some food. We also gave them lots of hugs and words of hope. We made many trips that first day to various places, taking care of basic needs like medications, dry clothing, snacks and meals.

I met one family that lost their home and all their possessions. My husband and I own rental apartments and one was vacant. So I got air mattresses, bedding, towels, toiletries and we told them they could stay in the apartment for as long as they needed it. The wife begin to cry and said she had never experienced such love. I replied that many times through disasters like this, God’s love is pronounced and magnified.

Many members in our small congregation rolled up their sleeves, waded through mud, carried ruined items to the street to be hauled off—acts of love and concern for the many in need. I thank God that we could be of service in this way. God is so good to allow us to be included in the love that he is. Our little congregation has been blessed to help people in need as far away as Uganda and as close as our next-door neighbors.