Lookin for love…

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When I saw the picture of the two shops shown below, the song, “Lookin for Love (in all the wrong places)” came to mind. Depending on how they define the word “love,” a person entering either shop might be a bit embarrassed. Part of the problem is that our English word “love” covers a wide variety of meanings, depending on context. But that was not a problem in the Greek-speaking world of the first century. Their signs would have indicated that in one shop you would find eros and in the other you would find both filia and agape.

Eros speaks to romantic or sexual love and filia to brotherly love or friendship. Agape was a relatively unused word picked up by early Christians to speak of God’s kind of love shown especially in Jesus Christ. Agape is self-giving, perfecting love that is steadfast and faithful. Similar to the Hebrew word hesed, agape indicates God’s everlasting covenant love that is neither contractual nor conditional. Like a covenant promise, agape is freely given.

Had you walked into a first-century church looking for filia and agape, you might have been surprised to hear the preacher reading from a letter written by someone named Paul addressing the topic of law-keeping. Some in the congregation might be nodding in agreement while others are shaking their heads, shouting “No, no!”

The latter group holds a legalistic understanding of the Christian faith, grounded in a religious heritage that emphasized strict conformance to the ten commandments, with the Sabbath command being the ultimate test. To even hint that keeping the law of Moses was not God’s foremost demand for Christians would have sounded heretical to them. Their understanding of law-keeping was so ingrained that they would have dismissed any challenge to that view without giving it a fair hearing. Though they might not have put their hands over their ears or ripped their clothing (as Paul’s audiences sometimes did), many probably felt like doing so.

In his letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul explained that Christians are to fulfill the law of Christ, which is the law of love. That law is people-oriented rather than task-oriented—focused on relationships, not lists of rules (see Galatians 6:2). The law of Christ cannot be imposed according to an external written code because it is written on one’s heart by the Holy Spirit. A written code cannot encompass the law of Christ because that would mean doing the impossible: encompassing Christ himself—his whole heart, mind, purpose and wisdom.

Rather than a written code, the law of Christ is an internal principle that brings forth a life expressive of Jesus’ own “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Indeed, “against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV). The law of Christ arises out of a growing relationship of faith, hope and love with God through Christ Jesus and the working of his Holy Spirit within us.

While trying to explain this to Christians in Galatia, Paul became quite emotional. Some legalists with a Jewish background insisted that Gentiles must keep the law of Moses in order to be part of the new covenant people of God. Paul said “No!” and ended the third chapter of his letter by saying that Gentiles can inherit the promises of salvation without any need to keep the law of Moses.

For Paul, a Christian’s obligation is to love as God has loved us in Christ. Everything else is secondary—even the sacrosanct ritual of circumcision: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6). Now Paul is really meddling! But he was unrepentant. His press secretary (if Paul had one), would no doubt have groaned as he added, “I wish those who unsettle you would castrate themselves!” (v. 12, NRSV). Other translations try to make this sound a bit nicer, but that is what Paul said.

I can appreciate Paul’s anger here. Legalism truly is “looking for love in all the wrong places”—it is a false holiness. Sadly, some don’t recognize or understand that. Legalism is the equivalent of not being able to see the difference between death and freedom. When we have freedom in Christ, the person we used to be is uprooted and torn out. In Christ, we live in newness of life; we are a new creation. Our nourishment comes from being rooted in Christ who accepts us where we are to grow us up into his perfection of holy loving. In Romans 13:8-10 (ESV), Paul summarized his understanding of what it means for a Christian to abandon legalism in order to obey the law of love:

Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Thankfully, God has allowed us to understand, so we can find and enjoy his love in “all the right places.”

Your brother in Christ,

Joseph Tkach

Larry Hinkle

Growing up in the restaurant business, Larry Hinkle learned an important principle: “My mother taught me from her many years of hard work in food service to always tip waitresses well. ‘That’s what put you through college,’ she would tell me.”

Larry grew up in the Chicago area and his mother ran a soda fountain-restaurant at the back of a drug store in Winnetka, Illinois. “I recall one of my first job responsibilities was peeling and cutting potatoes down in the basement of that establishment.”

Love of sports influenced Larry’s choice of college. “My interest in sports ultimately led me to majoring in physical education. I began bowling in junior high school and on through the high school years worked in a bowling alley from where I participated in national tournaments. Although I have come close to bowling a perfect 300 on several occasions, that is still my goal. I also loved playing baseball and basketball and later played college-level baseball. I also developed a love for the Spanish language in high school and went on to minor in that subject in college.

Larry, pastor of GCI congregations in Port St. Lucie and North Broward, Florida, first became interested in the WCG/GCI in 1960. “As a teenager I began to listen to the church’s radio broadcast and was intrigued by the strong admonitions to believe the Bible. I diligently studied the church’s literature including the Correspondence Course.”

It wasn’t until his senior year in college that Larry started attending WCG church services in Louisville, Kentucky. “After graduation from a college in Indiana, I attended Ambassador College in Pasadena for one year. Since I held a teaching license in the Spanish language, the next year an opportunity to teach Spanish at both Imperial High School and Ambassador College was presented to me. In 1968, I became a faculty member in Pasadena and worked in that position for approximately 10 years. In 1976, a Spanish church was started on the Ambassador campus. The experience of serving in that congregation and travelling to serve various Latin American congregations made me aware of a calling to serve in full-time ministry. In 1979, we moved to Puerto Rico to serve in the Caribbean regional office under Stan Bass. From there I was called into full-time pastoral ministry serving various congregations in the New York City area including a Spanish church in Queens.”

In 1990, Larry and family moved to North Carolina where he served three congregations for four years. In 1994, they moved to Florida where Larry has served several congregations and now serves as the district pastor.

Larry and his wife Joanne just celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. They have two children. “Our daughter, Christi and our three grandchildren, Coty, Warren and Elizabeth live in North Carolina and our son Glen currently lives near Salt Lake City, Utah. Both my wife and my daughter have worked for many years in the field of physical therapy and my son in the area of computer programming.

When asked what he enjoys most about being a pastor, Larry said, “It is the opportunity to be a change-agent in people’s lives, helping them to know God’s love and to learn to enjoy all of his benefits (Psalm 103).”

Larry is excited about GCI. “What I enjoy most about being a part of GCI is witnessing the dynamic changes that God has brought about in our fellowship through our doctrinal understanding of God as Trinity. I see God’s sense of humor in bringing us full circle from a disbelief in his triune nature to fully embracing that reality. In the context of this doctrinal position it is exciting to see and to experience the many new pathways that have been opened up for us to participate in Jesus’ ministry.”

This love of pastoring and love for our understanding of the Trinity has formed Larry’s passion. “My passion is to help people come to know God better and to experience him more fully in their lives. This is the goal and purpose of the ministry that I’ve founded, Odyssey in Christ, Spiritual Formation for Leadership (OdysseyinChrist.com). This ministry continues to grow in scope and provides a way for those hungry for more of God in their lives to be exposed to means through which they can be spiritually filled and satisfied.”

Larry’s most memorable moment as pastor? “What comes to mind is a time when we had been about four years into our denominational changes and some Christian communities were doubtful that our transformation was for real. Upon being introduced to the ministry of the Walk to Emmaus in Florida, the church and I were fully accepted and welcomed with loving and open arms into that community. This experience and our church’s participation in that spiritually-focused fellowship over the past 12 years have been a highlight of my pastoral ministry.”

Asked when he feels closest to God, Larry replied, “I feel closest to God when walking in the morning hours enjoying his presence and peace through the beauty of his creation, and also when offering spiritual direction to individuals and to groups.”

Typhoon Haiyan aftermath

This update from GCI Philippines director Eugene Guzon describes the terrible aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (called Typhoon Yolanda inside the Philippines).

As you know, Typhoon Yolanda has devastated part of my country, the Philippines. The damage is particularly great in the area known as the Visayas. The typhoon left behind heartbreaking loss of life along with terrible suffering and massive destruction. The situation is chaotic. Many people lack food and safe drinking water. Many are dying from disease and injury. There is much desperation.

Many GCI members are among the thousands of victims in Tacloban, Samar, Iloilo, Aklan and other affected provinces. Though Tacloban was the worst hit, Samar also took a terrible beating, and several other areas in the Visayas were severely damaged.

Danny De Guia, a GCI assistant pastor and area superintendent for Visayas has just returned from visiting Tacloban. The GCI members he located there are alive, though weak and lacking basic necessities like food, electrical power and communications. There are some we have not been able to contact yet. We hope and pray that they are safe. Many of the residents of Tacloban are fleeing the area, though transportation is hard to find.

I talked with our pastor in Kalibo. Our members there also lack necessities. Some of them have lost their homes and had to flee to neighboring towns to find shelter. They were told that power will not be restored for a couple of months.

I have asked our pastor in Bicol and members of our staff inthe National Office to go to Tacloban to get more information on how we can address the needs of our members in Tacoloban. We are exploring setting up a supply center in nearby Samar to feed them and provide other necessities. However, it is still risky to bring these things into the area due to a lack of security.

I ask for continuing prayer for these people—please pray that they experience God’s grace, healing, relief, peace and provision at this difficult time. These are trying times for many of our brothers and sisters. When they hurt, we all hurt, for God has united us to one another. My prayer is that against this backdrop of pain, suffering and calamity, our love will abound even more.

Here is a related message from GCI treasurer Mat Morgan:

Thanks to previous generous donations to the GCI Disaster Relief Fund, we were able this week to wire about $35,000 (U.S.) to help our brothers and sisters in the Philippines recover from Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). This donation was in addition to ones sent earlier this month to help those affected by the recent earthquake there.

If your congregation would like to help us respond quickly to this and future disasters, please have your treasurer either make a donation through the online portal at https://www.gci.org/participate/donate or send a check to the fund at the address below. Your donations change lives by providing necessities to members who find themselves overwhelmed and in need.

GCI Disaster Relief Fund

P.O. Box 5005

Glendora, CA 91740

CAD leadership transitions

Several members of GCI’s US Church Administration and Development (CAD) team met recently in Denver for planning meetings. During the meetings, led by CAD director Dan Rogers, it was announced that Greg Williams (below left) will be serving as CAD’s Associate Director and Charles Albrecht (below right) as Assistant Director.

GCI president Joseph Tkach, who attended the meetings, commented: “We look forward to an orderly transition going forward as Dan Rogers plans to retire in January 2015. At that time, Dan will be ‘passing the baton’ of CAD director on to Greg.”

Arnold Clauson

This update is a follow-up to an earlier prayer request for Arnold Clauson from his wife Trish.

Arnold returned home from the hospital on November 8 with plans to receive dialysis three times a week at a clinic near home. But this is a challenge due to his lack of mobility. He is very weak and has lost muscle mass. He needs to eat to regain strength but his renal diet, which does not pair well with his cancer diet, makes eating difficult.

Through all the painful, convoluted circumstances and the roller-coaster of emotions and mental and physical fatigue, I have been learning that it is not this trial that defines for us who God is. Instead we understand that life happens and sometimes can be really hard.

God’s constant love, mercy and compassion is getting us through each day. Knowing that he is in control gives us freedom to step back and allow him to complete his will. Knowing that his only concern is our best interest tells us that no matter how things turn out, we will be blessed. Whenever fear grips me, I repeat over and over, “Be still and know that I am God.”

We thrive on everyone’s love and support. Thanks for the cards, prayers and other expressions of love. Every time someone tells us that we are loved, we go to tears. We need to hear that so much right now.

Our prayers and love to all of you.

-Trish

Cards may be sent to:

Arnold and Trish Clauson

109 Melrose Circle

Denison, Texas 75020

Suzanne Cozzi

Here from GCI pastor Luciano Cozzi is an update to the previous prayer request for his wife Suzanne.

Sue had her surgery last Thursday and is now recovering at home. Preliminary conversations with the surgeons (two worked on her) indicate that the cancer was well defined and isolated and had not penetrated deep yet. They removed more lymph nodes than initially planned—not sure why—and we are now waiting for the pathology. In the meantime, Sue is regaining strength and maintains her kind and positive heart. We are both deeply thankful for your prayers and words of support and encouragement.

Cards may be sent to:

Luciano and Suzanne Cozzi

4 Silo Lane

Coventry, RI 02816-8252

Horchaks’ daughter weds

GCI district and church pastor Mike Horchak and his wife Pam are pleased to announce that their daughter Holly Horchak married Deron Grafton on November 9. Mike officiated and Holly’s brother Jeff Horchak gave her to dad, who, in turn, gave her to Deron.

The ceremony was held in Covington, Louisiana, outdoors under a 300-year-old oak tree (see picture above). The weather was perfect and many family members and friends attended.

Holly and Deron’s love for each other includes a shared love for children. Holly has worked for many years as a nanny and Deron teaches disabled children.

Congratulations to Holly, Deron and their families.

Anne Stapleton ordained

During recent CAD team meetings held in Denver, Colorado, Anne Stapleton was ordained a GCI elder.

Anne asked that the ceremony be held in Denver so family and friends living in the area could attend. The ceremony was led by GenMin director Anthony Mullins and CAD associate director Greg Williams. Moving testimonies concerning Anne and her ministry were given by GCI leaders (including GCI president Joseph Tkach) and by others who have known Anne and her ministry for many years.

Anne and her husband Mark Stapleton pastor GCI’s congregation in the San Diego, California area. They also co-direct SEP SoCal—the GCI GenMin summer camp held in Southern California.

We join Anne’s congregation, family and friends in extending hearty congratulations. Here is a video with excerpts from the ordination ceremony:

On YouTube at http://youtu.be/FmKvel-XUHM.