The ultimate fishing story

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Perhaps you remember Wayne’s World from the TV show Saturday Night Live. Comedians Mike Myers (as Wayne Campbell) and Dana Carvey (as Garth Algar) gave tongue-in-cheek compliments by kneeling and waving their arms in mock worship, proclaiming, “We’re not worthy!” People today exclaim “I’m not worthy” upon witnessing a particularly amazing feat. When I think of some of the skilled folks I’ve been blessed to fish with, “I’m not worthy” comes to my mind as well.

Of course, some not-so-skilled people tell exaggerated stories about their “epic” fishing trips. But let me tell you two fishing stories that need no exaggeration. The first story is a personal one, about the time I took my son on his first fishing outing. As attested by the pictures above, it was a good day. I’ll never forget the look on my son’s face as he reeled in his first fish. Rather large for a less-than-four-year-old boy, it nearly pulled him out of the boat! When we met some people back on shore, and they realized it was my son’s first catch, several jokingly proclaimed, “We’re not worthy!” Quite a fishing story, don’t you think? But nothing compared to the second—one I’m sure you know. It’s the incident where Jesus directed Simon Peter to a location where he and his companions then hauled in a record catch. Though Simon was the professional fisherman, Jesus gave Simon these instructions:

“Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. (Luke 5:4-7)

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes by Raphael (1515) (Public Domains vis Wikimedia Commons) — *The Miraculous Draught of Fishes* by Raphael (1515)
(Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)

Notice Simon Peter’s reaction (illustrated in the painting above):

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken…. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:8-11)

Peter’s response to Jesus was, in essence, “I’m not worthy.” Isn’t that how we often feel when encountering God’s love and grace? We know we’re sinners and there’s nothing we can do to make ourselves worthy in God’s sight. But Jesus’ intent is never to push us away, or to shame us, but to help us understand that our worthiness comes not from ourselves, but from him. Jesus makes us worthy.

“But,” some might object, “isn’t it true that God refuses to be in the presence of sinners?” Though this false idea is held by some, the truth, thank God, is that the Son of God came to live among sinners—to be in their presence, and through his presence to make them worthy. This doesn’t mean that Jesus ignores our sin; in fact, he hates it—he hates how it hurts us and distorts and denigrates God’s character and God’s purposes for us.

"Woman — *Woman at the Well* by Liz Lemon Swindle
(used with permission)

The fact that we are sinners does not deter Jesus from seeking us out and fellowshipping with us—drawing us to the Father, in the Spirit. And while it’s true that what is “dead in sin” cannot make itself holy, God is both willing and able to make that which is dead, fully alive—to make that which is unholy, truly holy.

Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus associated and fellowshipped with sinners, much to the dislike of the Jewish religious leaders of his day: “The Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them'” (Luke 15:2). Jesus, who is the ultimate “fisher of men” (and women), rubbed shoulders with the people (sinners all) he intended to “catch,” including the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:7-29), pictured at right.

The Bible describes more than one miracle of Jesus involving catching fish—you might say that Jesus is the author of the ultimate fishing stories! Unlike fishermen who are famous for exaggerated stories, Jesus has no need to exaggerate. He skillfully gathered in Mary, Martha and Lazarus. He took a group of men who normally would not associate with each other and soon had them “swimming” together. Jesus “caught” those who became his apostles: Peter, Paul and the others. Throughout history he has continued to make stellar catches including former atheists C.S. Lewis and Alister McGrath. And let us not forget how he caught you and me in his net for eternal life!

Though there is nothing you or I can do to make ourselves worthy, we rest assured knowing that God the Father, by his sheer grace, makes us worthy by sharing with us in Christ through the Spirit, his own holiness. Now that’s the ultimate fishing story, and it’s great good news!

Glad to be caught by God,
Joseph Tkach

BEA SoCal outreach

In addition to its ongoing gospel work in Bangladesh, the Bengali Evangelical Association (BEA), which is led by GCI members, holds multicultural gatherings for fellowship and worship in San Bernardino, California. Below are pictures from some of those gatherings. BEA also recently held a “Summer Kids Camp” in the same location.

SEP Rockies

Here is a video from GenMin’s SEP Rockies summer camp, held recently in Colorado.

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

GCI-Philippines

Here are links to reports on recent events in GCI-Philippines:

GCS News

Grace Communion Seminary (GCS) now publishes a newsletter titled GCS News. To download the first issue, in which new GCS president Gary Deddo shares part of his personal story, click here.

Church-in-the-circle

The following report is from Lee Berger, pastor of GCI’s congregation in Longview, Texas.

Not that many years ago (it seems) our congregation had over 200 members. We met in mid-size rented halls and movie theaters, had a fairly elaborate sound system, and sat in theater-style rows. That arrangement was appropriate for where we were at the time: all congregations looking alike with an emphasis on teaching and learning. Sitting in straight rows worked well for those purposes. But now we’re concentrating more on “relationship”—seeing our Triune God as fundamentally relational, and carrying God’s nature into our relationships with other people—including those in our church family.

Many of GCI’s congregations are small in attendance (ours averages 14), so awhile back our members discussed how we could most effectively worship in a group of this size. We began to experiment with various setups for church, and it seems we have found a good fit (for now) with what we refer to as church-in-the-circle. As shown in the picture above, we set our chairs in a circle, facing in. Doing so was a bit scary at first, but we soon discovered we like looking at each other’s faces (rather than backs of heads) as we sing, pray, comment and listen. We dispense with setting up an elaborate sound system. Instead we use a single microphone for the main speaker/facilitator (this helps our hard-of-hearing folks). Instead of setting up a video projector to display song lyrics, we sing out of songbooks put together in simple folders. The sermon speaker/facilitator remains seated, and the sermon generally allows for group interaction (reading Bible verses, sharing a story, and asking questions along the way).

Since church-in-the-circle was new to us, we initially used it only on fifth Sundays. But we soon found we liked it so much we moved to once-a-month, then to the first, third and fifth weeks of the month. For now, we continue to use a traditional lecture hall setup twice a month with full sound and video systems. This allows us to show video segments (such as GCI videos) and provides a part-time familiar setup as we transition to what works best for our congregation.

Yes, it was scary at first to try something so different. It took a few tries to work out the bugs. The risk and potential shock was not really about how we arranged the chairs, but rather being ready for the intimacy of looking into the faces of people with whom we have spent decades worshiping together. These days I hear nothing but positive comments, and I see ongoing benefits (for our aging members) in the reduced hall setup, and increased intimacy and interaction. Now when someone shares a prayer request, we see the tears well up in their eyes. This gives us a clearer view of the requester’s heart as they ask for help in the situation.

Church-in-the-circle may not be the best fit for every small church, but I feel it would be a rare one that would not benefit from this personal, family setup. So give it a try. Circle up and worship!

Note: for an issue of Equipper that addresses a related topic, click here. For some resources related to conducting church in a circle, click here.

Death of David Perry’s father

We were saddened to learn of the recent death of John M. Perry, father of GCI Pastor David Perry.

11838557_1678733165694035_6609540825637664543_o — David Perry with his father John Perry

John M. Perry was born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1924, the son of Oval Robins and Martha Adams Perry. John married June Orcutt in 1949 in Watseka, Illinois. They were married for nearly 66 years. John farmed for many years near Woodland and Donovan, Illinois. Later, he moved to Champaign, Illinois, where he worked in maintenance until he retired. John enjoyed music, traveling, garage sales and playing with his two furry Shih Tzu grand-dogs, Max and Kona.

John served faithfully for 40 years in various capacities in GCI’s Champaign congregation and recently attended First Baptist Church in Champaign. He was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers and one sister. John is survived by his wife June; his son J. David (Jonnie) of Avon, Indiana; his daughter Peggy Ellen, of Champaign; and several nieces and nephews.

John’s funeral was held on August 7 in Champaign. His son, Pastor J. David Perry officiated.

Cards may be sent to:

David & Jonnie Perry
6935 Karyn Dr
Avon, IN 46123-8596

Minkes’ son Brent in accident

We received the prayer request below from Craig and Debbie Minke. Craig pastors GCI’s congregation in Surrey (Vancouver), British Columbia.

Last Sunday evening our 18 year-old son Brent had a terrible accident on his mountain bike. Unconscious for five minutes, he was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. A CT scan showed no brain damage, thank God! He did, however, suffer a concussion, broken nose, broken upper jaw, a one-inch gash on his forehead and a three-inch gash in his mouth that did nerve damage. He was a mess.

A few days later we saw an oral surgeon and another CT scan showed that either he has a cracked tooth or root. His nose and jaw had not shifted although they were broken—another miracle! The doctor glued a splint onto his front teeth that will remain for six weeks as his teeth heal.

Aside from swelling and pain, Brent was recovering steadily last week until Friday, when infection set in. His tooth and/or upper jaw were abscessing, causing fever, swelling and severe pain. The surgeon drained the area (very painful) and now Brent is on antibiotics and strong pain killers. He’s now feeling somewhat OK, though he’s still swollen and the infection is still active. Please join us in praying for Brent, asking the Great Physician to healing him, in his mercy sparing him from permanent repercussions.

Cards may be sent to:

Craig and Debbie Minke
22899 – 14th Avenue
Langley, BC V2Z 2W8
CANADA

Death of Don Engle’s and Susie Dick’s mother

We were saddened to learn of the recent death of Patricia Wilson, mother of GCI Pastor Don Engle and of Susie Dick (wife of former GCI Pastor and Administrator Randal Dick). Here is a note from Don.

It is with great sadness that I let everyone know that my dear mother Patricia Wilson recently passed away at the age of 85 in a hospice facility in San Antonio, Texas. She died peacefully surrounded by her daughters Susie Dick, Becky Campbell and Janie Yale.

Mom was buried in Fort Worth, Texas, on July 11 next to her sister Cassie. We had a beautiful celebration of her life at a graveside service. I gave a message based on Isaiah the prophet’s words of encouragement: “He will swallow up death in victory” (Isaiah 25:8 KJV). Marty Yale, my brother-in-law, sang and played guitar on a beautiful rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

We miss our mom dearly, remembering all she meant to her children and grandchildren. We look forward to being with her again.

Cards may be sent to:

Don & Alix Engle
1665 East Kay Street
Derby, Kansas 67037

Susan & Randal Dick
101 Browns Point Blvd NE
Tacoma, WA 98422-2502

Arlen Byant

Here is an update from GCI Pastor Arlen Bryant concerning his ongoing battle with brain cancer (click here for an earlier prayer request with additional detail):

I want to let you know about my progress with radiation and chemotherapy. I completed treatments three weeks ago and am now waiting to have an MRI to see what has happened with the tumor. The doctor will then fill me in on the results and discuss further treatment options. He says I can’t have any more radiation, but we could increase the chemotherapy. I don’t look forward to that.

Thanks to everyone for their prayers for me and for my wife Jean.

Cards may be sent to:

Arlen and Jean Bryant
2054 Benton Young Rd
Cookville, TN 38501