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“Messy Church”

This update is from GCI-England Pastor David Bedford.

Seven years ago, our congregation in England moved to St. Andrew’s Church in Carr Clough and began to work together with them on combined outreach projects. Last year we began holding joint meetings the first Saturday of each month in what is known as “Messy Church” (www.messychurch.org.uk/).

Messy churchMessy Church (one of our meetings is pictured at left) is for younger children accompanied by at least one parent or other adult. A theme is chosen for the meeting. Our first one was Abraham. At the start, a brief ten-minute explanation of the theme is given. Then, for the next hour, or so, the children work on various craft items related to that theme. We had one craft of sticking stars on a page to make a pattern. Another was drawing a beach with the sea, sky, sun, etc., plus sticking real sand on the beach. They could also build their own personal family tree as Abraham was a father to many nations. There was the opportunity of coloring a picture of the three men at Abraham’s door, plus other craft work. About eight different items were offered. As the children enter we give them a brown paper bag with their name on it to leave on a table and, as they complete each craft, it is popped in the bag to take home at the close.

At the end of the craft section a fuller explanation of the theme is presented and the children are encouraged to ask questions and join in. Two or three children’s hymns are sung followed by a closing prayer. Following that, a cooked meal is provided, giving the helpers opportunity to sit down with the visitors to chat and get to know them. We have one collection box at the food counter and another at the reception desk for any donations.

Including the helpers, we were graced at our first meeting with an attendance of 107, of which 52 were children. This was more than twice as many as both congregations combined. We had planned food for 60, but God did a loaves and fishes’ act and we had enough.

As the Messy Church book states, “expect lower numbers after the first meeting.” They were right; our attendance dropped to 49, then 36, in large part due to summer travel. For that reason we’ll probably not have meetings in August in future years. In September our number jumped back up to 92, and for the months from October through May the numbers have fluctuated between the low 50s to high 60s.

The “fruit” so far? The churches involved have grown closer and some Messy Church participants have begun attending church for the first time or more regularly. Most importantly, seeds have been sown that God, no doubt, will water when the time is right. One child who attended said this: “I like Messy Church because it’s lots of fun. It teaches us about God’s story in a different way.”

Anthony Rice given 25 year honors

Athony Rice 25th presentationDuring one of the sessions of GenMin’s Louisiana Summer Camp held near New Orleans, Pastor Anthony Rice (who founded the camp and continues as one of its key leaders), was honored for completion of 25 years of GCI employment. During most of those years, Anthony has pastored GCI’s congregations in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana.

In the picture at right, Regional Pastor Ted Johnston (at right) is presenting Anthony (with his mother Ginny Rice at his side) his 25-year plaque and two watches (for Anthony and his wife).

GCI-France leaders meet

Leaders and their families from GCI congregations in France met recently outside Paris to review current activities and future plans. The conference was a time of much-needed reflection and fellowship with lots of laughter and good food!

France
Some of the French conference participants

During the conference, James Henderson, GCI mission developer for Europe (at center in the picture above), led interactive discussions on getting back to the basics of Christian ministry, and on comparisons between cultural and biblical Christianity. The group made plans for their annual worship festival in France—this year it will take place in Evian from October 17-24.

Don’t use 15-seat passenger vans

vanIt’s summer and youth and other church groups often take trips. Thus it’s a good time to remind pastors and youth ministers of the GCI-USA policy concerning not using 15-seat passenger vans (like the one at right). In recent years there have been many warnings that these vans are dangerous due to their high center of gravity and relatively short wheel base, making them susceptible to roll over, even at low speeds.

There have been many accidents, including tragic deaths and injuries, arising from using such vans. Some U.S. states now require that anyone driving a vehicle holding more than 10 passengers have a commercial driver’s license because of these safety concerns.

GCI congregations or camps may wish to rent or borrow a van to transport children, teens and adults. But please DO NOT use a 15-seat passenger van. The potential risk is simply too great. We must guard the safety of our members and their children and also that of other motorists who share the road. GuideOne, GCI’s liability insurance carrier in the U.S., recommends that policyholders use small school buses or minivans for group transportation.

Can you handle the truth?

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

joeandtammyIn a key scene in the movie A Few Good Men, defense lawyer Lieutenant Lionel Kaffee (portrayed by Tom Cruise) in cross-examining defendant Colonel Nathan Jessup (portrayed by Jack Nicholson), cries out: “I want the truth!” Colonel Jessup famously replies, “You can’t handle the truth!” Though we say we desire “the unvarnished truth,” what we often really want (as illustrated in the following joke) is truth that has been sugar-coated.

A fellow arrived home from the office just in time to receive a call from his wife who was about to fly home from Europe. “How’s my cat?” she asked. “Dead, he answered.” “Oh, honey, don’t be so honest. Why didn’t you break the news to me slowly? You’ve ruined my trip.” The semi-clueless husband replied, “What do you mean?” His wife gave him a bit of a tutorial by saying, “You could have told me he was on the roof. And when I called you from Paris, you could have told me he was acting sluggish. Then when I called from London, you could have said he was sick, and when I called you from New York, you could have said he was at the vet. Then, when I arrived home, you could have said he was dead.” Though never exposed to such protocol, the husband was willing to learn. “OK,” he said, “I’ll do better next time.” “By the way,” she asked, “How’s Mom?” After a long silence he said, “Uh, she’s on the roof.”

The Gospel accounts in the New Testament give examples of the disciples struggling to handle unvarnished truth. On several occasions, Jesus explained to them who he was and what was going to happen to him. At the Last Supper Jesus told them flat out, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). Earlier, he declared that if they would stay with him they would know the truth and this truth would set them free (John 8:32). Yet the disciples struggled to grasp what Jesus was telling them and to overcome their unbelief.

"Jesus Discourses with His Disciples" by James Tissot. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
“Jesus Discourses with His Disciples” by James Tissot (public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

The struggle to understand and believe continues. Like the iconic scene in A Few Good Men, many people in our world can’t handle the truth, yet they want its benefits—particularly the freedom it provides. Unwilling to face the truth of God, they invent other “truths”—imagining other means, ways, rules and regulations they think will lead them to freedom. But Jesus declares that he is the truth; he alone sets us free. He tells us that there is no other way to true and free life except in right relationship with God and humankind in and through him.

Most of us have had our own struggles to “handle the truth.” But such struggles never deter Jesus. We may not be able to handle the truth, but the Truth knows how to handle us! Jesus not only sets us free, but promises never to leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). He reassures us that no power or circumstance (not even our own doubts) can snatch us out of his protective hands (John 10:29).

Sometimes, seeking freedom, instead of paying attention to the authentic truth, people devise their own (erroneous) truths. Refusing to believe there are absolute truths that apply to everyone, all the time, they proclaim that truth is relative. Some even misconstrue the grace of God (and the true freedom it provides) as being without direction, boundaries, central norms and defining authority. For them, freedom is nothing more than freedom from any and all constraints—freedom to follow any inclination they may have at any particular moment. But such mistaken ideas grossly misrepresent what truth, freedom and grace are all about. Note what the apostle Peter wrote: “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 2:16 ESV).

When Jesus declared that “the truth will set you free,” he was not talking about freedom to do whatever we want. He was declaring the mind of the God who, having designed and created us with a certain nature, gives us great purpose and the calling to live out that purpose throughout our lives. The triune God created us to live in a growing relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit by which we would be transformed into the fullness and stature of Jesus. God created us to be loved, and to love God and other people in ways that lead to an abundant life of true freedom—free to know God, to walk with God, to know the way, the truth and the life, to live the way that leads to peace and joy.

Yes, when the Son sets you free (and you live into that freedom), you are free indeed. The freedom God grants us in Christ, is freedom from and for specific things in accordance with God’s good design for us. That freedom runs in a particular direction. Whatever takes us off that path takes us away from the freedom God grants his children. Those other paths ultimately lead to slavery, not freedom.

Of course, there are times we fall from that narrow path—the way of eternal life that brings freedom—and we start walking down the broad and wide path that leads to destruction. But the good news is that Jesus brings us back. Not wanting us to be enslaved by our sinfulness; he reminds us that he is the truth, the one source of freedom. Note Paul’s words: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). God doesn’t want obedient slaves—he wants children who live with him in freedom, grace and truth. He wants children who know what true freedom is—the freedom God has provided for us in Jesus.

In reading Scripture, we must keep in mind that Jesus is the ultimate source of truth and freedom. The Bible is rightly understood only when read through the “lens” of the life and teachings of Jesus as explained by those he appointed as his interpreters. Thomas Torrance put it this way:

We have no speech or language with which to address God but the speech and language called Jesus Christ. In him our humanity, our human understanding, our human words are taken up, purified and sanctified, and addressed to God the Father for us as our very own—and that is the word of man with which God is pleased (The Mediation of Christ).

Jesus is the truth spoken from on high; he also is the perfect human response to that truth. As Torrance wrote in Theological Science, Jesus is the truth “actualized from within the ontological depths of the fallen humanity he assumed in the incarnation.” Jesus Christ is both the objective revelation of God and the appropriate response and conformation of man to divine revelation. Jesus is the one human being in whom the truth of God and human knowledge of the truth “are fully and faithfully correlated.”

Torrance’s point is that Jesus is both the revelation of God to us and the response of humanity to God. The knowledge of this reality dispels the dangerous half-truth that says we need Jesus to bring us to God, but then it’s up to us to get to Jesus. If that were true, we would never get to Jesus! In fact, people say “no” to Jesus all the time. But thanks be to God, Jesus says “no” to our “no.” He knows we don’t understand what we’re saying “no” to. Jesus, who is the way, makes the way for us. The Holy Spirit convicts us that Jesus truly is Lord and Savior. Through the Spirit, Jesus seeks us out when we are lost, helpless, alone and unbelieving.

We don’t come to Jesus through our own efforts. Jesus, through the Spirit, finds us. And when we respond by coming to Jesus, he says, “Whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37). As Jesus continues to say “no” to our “no,” he is reinforcing God’s big “yes” to humanity: Yes, you are forgiven. Yes, I accept you. Yes you are my dearly beloved child. God’s goal is that we will shout out our “yes” to him in response, understanding and embracing the truth that sets us free to be who we truly are in Christ.

It’s vital to understand that we can’t “handle” Jesus—he “handles” us! Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, welcomes and invites us to respond in a receptive way to him and to what he offers. Our triune God gives us the freedom we crave, but are incapable of achieving on our own. As C.S. Lewis notes, God grants this freedom by transforming us from the inside out:

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but he is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself.

Now that’s truth we can handle!

Loving the Truth,
Joseph Tkach

GenMin camps

Epic Story logoIn the U.S., GCI Generations Ministries (GenMin) is sponsoring several youth camps this summer. Here are reports on two held in Tennessee.

Higher Ground

This report is from camp director Natalie Sturgeon.

Higher Ground 2015 was EPIC! With 128 campers and 47 volunteer staff, it was a year for firsts in our second year in Townsend, Tennessee. We started camp with a flash mob lip- syncing the song Geronimo by the group Sheppard. I told the story of the origin of the word Geronimo, which fit well with the Epic Story curriculum. All week long campers yelled Geronimo! as they jumped off the diving board, climbed the high ropes and played laser tag.

Higher Ground

On Sunday night we had a Block Party with campers running around doing silly games to gain points. On Monday the oldest boys dorm explored caves and the day conclude with a whole camp dance. On Tuesday the oldest girls explored caves, then Tuesday evening we held our most popular event, the Color Run Obstacle course. Wednesday was filled with gagaball, 9-square, laser tag, swimming, archery, cooking class, arts and crafts, climbing wall, high ropes, low ropes, hiking to the waterfall, dodgeball, kickball, ultimate frisbee, flag football, and blacksmithing. The day ended with a Variety Show, complete with our camp magician. Thursday was full of several firsts including canoe battleship in the pool and a lip sync contest. These activities gave the campers a great opportunity to learn a bit more about being who we are in communion with the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Friday featured pool parties and Highland Games (Caber Toss, Sheep Toss, Toss the Hagis and Kilt Run). Saturday morning everyone was sent off with final few words about being “dipped cones”—dipped in the Father, Son, and Spirit, surrounded by the love of the Trinity. Just like peanut butter is to jelly in a sandwich, we cannot be separated out from our Triune God.

Here is a Higher Ground 2015 video (on YouTube at http://youtu.be/2GdsjoBIly0):

Base Camp

This report is from camp director Wayne Wendt.

It was a joy to see what our Lord did at camp this year, once again held at Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park near Eva, Tennessee. We had 46 campers served by 24 staff members as we gathered an Epic adventure that will likely inspire our youth for a long time to come. With 23 girls and 5 boys making up our youth campers and 15 girls and 3 boys making up our teen campers, we set out on an adventure that included a block party, our historic “Night Furry,” an all camp dance, and for the first time this year, “Clan Wars.”

Base Camp

Epic Story was our curriculum, and we found the ideas and videos of great help in presenting the topic of God’s Trinitarian love for all humanity. To have the opportunity to share that love both in story and activities was nothing short of “good times.” Activities included crafts, journaling, team-building, nine square and target practice.

Following camp, one parent commented, “I’ve never seen a camp where the kids have fun and didn’t argue with the leaders!” Although we had fewer campers this year, we witnessed lives being changed as campers and staffers were given the chance to see how their stories fit into God’s Epic Story. Most importantly, the campers went away knowing they are loved.

Here is a video from Base Camp 2015 (on YouTube at http://youtu.be/V-xh7TFWbgI):

Culture trumps vision

culture trumps visionAs noted in a recent Leadership Network blog post, culture—not vision or strategy—is the most powerful factor in any organization (churches included). Culture determines receptivity to new ideas, unleashes or dampens creativity, builds or erodes enthusiasm, and creates a sense of pride or of deep discouragement. Ultimately, the culture of an organization shapes morale, teamwork, effectiveness and outcomes. To read the post, go to http://leadnet.org/culture-trumps-vision/.