Here is a video of an interview with Jason and Julie Frantz discussing Jason’s experience with the GCI-USA Pastoral Internship Program, leading to his installation as the senior pastor of the GCI congregation in Kansas City, Missouri.
This video is found on YouTube at http://youtu.be/zJLmY4PyWCU.
Ray Meyer and his wife Carol recently celebrated Ray’s retirement after 40 years serving as a GCI pastor and several years as a district pastor. GCI’s Kansas City, Missouri church, where Ray last pastored, hosted the celebration, which included church members and Ray and Carol’s family. Congratulations and thanks to Ray and Carol! Here are pictures from the celebration:
GCI Canada recently held its week-long Silver Meadows Camp. Over 100 campers and staff participated. The campers included 27 children who participated in a VBS program based on the life of the apostle Paul. Camp chaplain Leigh Smithson (standing in the picture below) played the role of Paul, speaking to the campers from his tent where he worked to support himself while he preached the gospel in the city of Athens.
During camp, Sabrina Shaeffers of the Edmonton congregation was baptized by her pastor Bob Millman and Silver Meadows Camp chaplain Leigh Smithson. Sabrina’s mother, Valerie Shaeffers, was present for the baptism. She noted that camp has made a huge contribution to her daughter’s spiritual development.
According to GCI-Canada director, Gary Moore, Jennifer Pasanen “did a marvellous job” serving as director of Silver Meadows Camp. “She handled the responsibility with grace, good humor and wisdom.”
Many years ago, Tom Smith who pastors GCI congregations in Pittsburgh and Indiana, Pennsylvania, found himself hurrying to his first Saturday evening meal at Ambassador College when he heard a young lady named Pam call out to him. She had been invited to supper at the Walkers who were church members. Mr. Walker said, “I thought you would bring a date. How about him?” Tom shares, “Right then I was running towards them. Pam asked, ‘Want a home-cooked meal with me?’ I accepted and the rest is history.”
Tom and Pam started dating and as Tom notes, “My best friend throughout college became my wife.” Tom and Pam have been married for 42 years and have three daughters, Tonya, Carrie and Katie; and one son, Brandon.
Growing up in Bristol, Tennessee, Tom attended a Southern Baptist church most of his young life. “I was fascinated with the children’s church choir and grew up involved with their youth programs. I helped with the VBS each summer, was a leader of the youth (over 100), was involved in the Royal Ambassadors (similar to Boy Scouts), assisted the preteen choirs and served at the senior care home ministry during the 11:00 am Sunday service (it meant going to the 8:30 am service). I had a church girlfriend and life seemed sweet. UNTIL… we went to Radio Church of God. My former ‘church life’ as I knew it ended.”
Tom was a junior in high school when his dad started studying The Plain Truth and the Ambassador College Correspondence Course. “We were invited to attend the Radio Church of God in Asheville, North Carolina three hours away! Dad didn’t ask me to go with him. But to his surprise, I was up and dressed at 5:30 am on Saturday and asked him, ‘Can I drive?’ He smiled and said ‘Yes’.”
When it came time to apply for college, Tom applied and was accepted to the University of Tennessee Knoxville College of Architecture. But his dad wanted him to consider Ambassador College. “I had no interest but was sure they would not accept me, so I applied to appease my dad, thinking he might be more willing then to help me go to UT. It turned out that I was the first of seven young people accepted from the Asheville church.”
Tom attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas from 1966 to 1970. “I thoroughly enjoyed the college atmosphere and social life and travel opportunities. I went to Pasadena on three bus trips, including one that stopped by the Grand Canyon. I also visited Bricket Wood on the way to the first archaeological dig in 1969.”
Early on Tom was told he was not going into the ministry. “I was glad, since that was not my desire. Buck Hammer offered me a job in buildings and grounds on the Big Sandy campus. I took him up on it, asked Pam to go with me, built a home and had two children. In 1977 I remember telling Pam, ‘God has been good to us: new home, two children and a good job!’” That was the year Ambassador College Big Sandy closed, disrupting the life of the young family. “I went into sales with Motorola Radio and was three to four nights a week on the road. We sold our house and moved to Shreveport, Louisiana. Pam’s mother died and her father moved in with us (he was 61 with Alzheimer’s). Life got a bit bumpy then, but with God at the helm and Pam at my side, we plowed on.”
A year later Buck Hammer asked Tom to move back to Big Sandy and be his assistant until Buck retired. “We moved to Gladewater, Texas and became active in the Big Sandy church again: In-home Bible studies, game nights, helping seniors, youth leadership, Boys Club, choir, etc. Life was once again good; very good.” Then in1979 Tom was ordained. He talked to God about this new chapter in his life, “In 1970, they said I wasn’t going to be in the ministry! But since they aren’t paying me as a local elder, I guess it’s alright.”
Tom said he had the “wonderful opportunity to learn from Norvel Pyle, Hal Baird, James Duke, Don Ward and Burk McNair. For the next five years my ministerial training was superior to anything I could imagine. And oh yes, I can’t forget 12 years with Lynn Torrance (how’s that for colorful training?).”
In November, 1982, Tom was hired to assist Burk McNair in Big Sandy and Tyler, Texas. “Pam was never paid, but I certainly could not have done it without her. She has the gift of mercy and it spills over with all she meets. Everyone who knows Pam likes her. Even her name means ‘sweet thing.’ By this time our third child was six months old. We moved to Hawkins and I worked eight-hour shifts in the church office on the Ambassador College grounds. Life was good! Then in the spring of 1982 our son was run over by a van on a Y.O.U. track event. No worries, he was playing soccer within six months! (Do you see a trend here? LIFE IS GOOD! then WHAM!!!)”
God knew what he was doing when he called Tom to pastoral ministry. Tom has served many people for many years. What does he love most about pastoring? “Helping people come from conflict to resolution, whether with themselves or others.” Tom loves it when people have their “Aha moment,” when coming to understand their relationship with God.
When asked about a most memorable time, Tom talked about a camp experience. “In 1999 I was a counselor at a Release Time Bible Camp. One of my campers (age 11) shared what God and camp had done for him. His father was not a believer the previous year; he was abusive to his family and a drunkard. The camper had prayed for his daddy to believe Jesus and that week at camp he was glad to announce that his father was a sober camp worker and a believer!”
Tom was quick to point out that God is not done with him yet. “In August 2013, I will go bi-vocational, still serving as pastor with our retirement, but also working elsewhere to supplement our income, possibly as a chaplain.”
In addition to pastoring, Tom is passionate about writing. “I thoroughly enjoyed working with the Good News Grapevine, though that was more editing than writing. I plan to write a book about my experience in Christianity. I also enjoy working with preteens, camp, church (children’s sermons), etc. I was delighted to assist with the junior camp program we started in 2002.”
When asked when he feels closest to God, Tom said, “When I seek quiet time, at our home, in the backyard or in the woods. This quiet time often includes music; I love hymns, old and new.”
GCI Generations Ministries recently announced that M25:40 Missions has been chartered as a GenMin mission organization. This organization, led by Mary and Cliff Snyder, is based in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Mary and Cliff are experienced missionaries who have conducted mission trips to Ethiopia.
M25:40 has three primary areas of focus in partnering with local churches to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ:
For additional information, email Mary Snyder at msnyder72003@yahoo.com.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I believe that God heals. Healing was a significant part of Jesus’ ministry. It is one of the gifts of the Spirit mentioned by Paul in 1 Corinthians 12. Sadly, the Spirit’s “gifts of healing” (v. 9) have often been corrupted and distorted by opportunists and charlatans. We need to be careful.
I recall watching a 1991 ABC Primetime Live television program that exposed as fake the “healing” ministries of Robert Tilton, E.V. Grant and Larry Lea. One of the practices exposed was leg-lengthening. The evangelist would “diagnose” the person’s physical problems as related to one leg being shorter than the other, then ask God to lengthen the shorter leg. Lo and behold—before our very eyes—the shorter leg would began to grow. Wow!! Except that, as the program showed, this was just an old carnival trick masquerading as a miraculous healing.
The first time I experienced this trick, it was performed on me by my chiropractor as a joke. He had me sit in a chair and firmly grasped my legs and then held them together to reveal that one leg was two inches longer than the other. I marveled at how quickly he healed my leg by pulling and talking to my legs. I knew there was some kind of trick to this. I had been to medical doctors on a couple of previous occasions with sprained ankles and sprained knees. I’d had x-rays and MRIs and I knew that my one leg was not two inches shorter than the other. So I said, “Okay Doctor, show me the trick.” He quickly explained that it was an old trick used at carnivals. The more you practice it, the better you become at duping unsuspecting people.
There are plenty of videos that expose this practice. In one, former faith healer Mark Haville discusses his use of fakery and hypnotic manipulation (http://youtu.be/BCohlCPSLlo). Another shows two examples of the leg-lengthening hoax (http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=JC229FNU).
Over the years, I have met quite a few people who had been deceived by this hoax. I marvel that so large a number of people needing their legs lengthened did not sound an alarm in medical circles (actually, most people’s legs are slightly unequal in length, a condition that generally produces no significant physical ill effects).
The Primetime Live program showed that bogus leg-lengthening was only the tip of an iceberg of fraud. The investigative reporters examined every aspect of the three ministries, using hidden cameras and multiple interviews with experts and witnesses. They even examined the ministries’ trash bins and dumpsters, finding thousands of prayer requests that had been discarded (after removing the donations, of course). What masqueraded as Christian ministry was shown to be a racket that was making millions of dollars a year by preying on gullible people.
Why am I bringing this up? Because, although the three fake ministries were exposed, the use of their fraudulent practices continues, and leg-lengthening is having a revival. It is not my purpose to publicly expose those who practice these things; nor is my intent to call into question their sincerity. Some people who use these tricks believe they are performing genuine miracles. However, others know it is a fraud.
Whatever the motive, such practices have no place in GCI’s ministry. As elders, we pray for the sick. While praying we often anoint the sick person with oil and lay hands on them to signify God’s healing presence. However, we need to be aware of the potential pitfall in developing a ministry focused on “miraculous healings.” What may seem to be spectacular demonstrations of God’s power can open the door to profound disillusionment, turning people away from Christ and his gospel.
The gospel proclaims that God has healed our relationship with him and reconciled us to himself. We can begin to live in that new life in relationship with him beginning today. He will one day make everything new and wipe away every tear. That’s the reality. However, for now we have only temporary and partial signs of this coming hope. We have only the “deposit” (down payment, pledge or earnest) of his renewing and transforming Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5). While God does grant signs, they remain just that—signs. And God grants such signs in ways that are not predictable or controllable by us. God remains wisely sovereign over how and when he distributes extraordinary signs and does not simply hand them over to us to dispense. That being said, we can remain open to the Spirit’s working “as he wills” (1 Corinthians 12:11).
Jesus is truth personified and he is the one who sets us free. He is our healer who sends his Spirit to work when, where and how he sees fit—for his glory and our benefit. So though we do well to pray in his name for people to be healed, it is wrong to represent him with street magic and old carnival tricks, even if some foolishly think they can advance his reputation by doing so.
Your brother in Christ,
Joseph Tkach
Grace Communion Seminary recently reached an important milestone in graduating its first class of eight students who were awarded master’s degrees in Pastoral Studies. Seven of the students (pictured below) received their diplomas in a graduation ceremony held on August 3 during the GCI Denominational Conference in Orlando, Florida. The eighth student, Mervin Walton, received his diploma in an earlier ceremony because he was unable to attend the Orlando conference.
The ceremony in Orlando, which was presided over by GCS President, Dr. Russell Duke, was attended by about 300 of the graduates’ family members and friends. Congratulations to them all!
Below are pictures of the GCS faculty, board and administration members present at the graduation.
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I am writing this from Orlando, Florida where our denominational conference is winding down. About 1,000 people attended. As you know, we hold regular national, regional and district-level conferences for our ministers and members. But once every three years we come together from around the world for an international conference like this one. It takes a lot of work to pull it off, but it is well worth it. My sincere thanks to the many who worked so hard to make it so wonderful.
Though small in numbers, we truly are an international denomination. We are blessed with close relationships around the world—some going back many decades. But those relationships deteriorate unless we maintain them. That is why a conference like this is important. It helps us see who God has made us. We see what God is doing through our collective ministries around the world and our local ministries close to home.
Each day at the conference we enjoyed general sessions with inspiring worship and thought-provoking presentations from GCI leaders and guest speakers including Jeff McSwain and Gerrit Dawson. We also had a wide array of workshops facilitated by GCI leaders and guests. All these meetings focused on our conference theme: Participation-Fellowship-Communion. Recordings of many of the sessions will be posted on our website as soon as our media team can prepare them.
During meals we heard updates from some of our national leaders concerning what is happening in their area of the world. My friends and colleagues from all over the world shared their stories, showing what God has been doing as we strive to follow his lead.
Some areas, like Europe and Australia have become spiritual “stony ground” and the Christian church faces a challenge to survive. In other regions we are experiencing explosive growth. Kalengule Kaoma, our mission director in East and West Africa, told us of whole networks of congregations in Namibia, Tanzania and Burundi that are lining up to join us. We could be adding dozens of congregations in those countries in the next few years. This type of growth already has happened in Mozambique. Tim Maguire, our mission director in Southern Africa, told us that 96 congregations in that region have joined us in the last three years.
As the conference draws to a close, I am encouraged. Though we face many challenges, we are seeing many successes as we join in what God is doing to reach people and transform lives. Though statistics help measure progress, they don’t tell the whole story. As Kalengule pointed out in his presentation, the most important progress is made at the deeply personal and individual level, whether in an American inner city or in a remote African village.
You’ve probably heard the expression “the devil is in the details.” I disagree—in our gospel work, the Holy Spirit is in the details. He guides us to share in what Jesus Christ is doing to transform one life at a time. At this conference, we heard many testimonies concerning the Spirit’s work.
A conference like this reminds us that perhaps our greatest asset as a denomination is our relationships with each other. As one of our pastors posted on his Facebook page, “On earth, I get to know a bit more about heaven all the time in moments like this.” As we worshiped and fellowshipped we had many opportunities to deepen relationships with people we already knew and to forge friendships with those we were meeting for the first time.
In my address to a general conference session, I reflected on our miraculous transformation—from an exclusivistic sect, to an outwardly focused church that joins Jesus in his work to redeem and restore his creation. I am deeply grateful that God has shown us the foolishness of our former ways. Looking back, I find it hard to believe that we thought that was how God wanted us to live. I pray that he will continue to work through us as we join together in his mission throughout the world.
As Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth, “The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you” (2 Corinthians 5:17-20 The Message).
Our world needs that message. Our denomination is living proof that human beings can put their differences behind them and work together in harmony, love and mutual respect.
As I write these words, my friends are beginning to go home to their various responsibilities. God willing, we will meet again in three years. As we say our temporary “goodbyes,” we are reminded that God has given us this new life that will last forever. So there will always be a “next time.” And there will never be a “last time.”
Your brother in Christ,
Joseph Tkach
In his June 19 Weekly Update cover letter, Joseph Tkach highlighted the US Pastoral Internship Program. Here is a video with excerpts from interviews with several of our current interns:
Watch on YouTube at http://youtu.be/OuHccXlFI0U.
