In the November 25 issue, we requested prayer for Christians in Bangladesh including those associated with GCI. Here is additional information from John Biswas, GCI’s national ministry leader for Bangladesh.
Pastor Barnabas Hemorn of Bangladesh recently received a threatening letter that included this message: “You, the Christian leaders, will have to bid goodbye to this world very soon…. We are going to finish off all, one by one, who are spreading Christianity in Bangladesh.” Over 20 church leaders and Christian workers in Bangladesh have received death threats like this one in the past two months.
Understandably, the people who received this letter are afraid for their safety. One commented: “I am not going out of the church campus at all… I spoke to others who like me were targeted in that letter. They are all frightened.” Police have been posted at his church.
Rev. Martin Adhikari, principal of the College of Christian Theology in Dhaka, received a text message telling him to “Eat your most favorite foods now. Only five days of your life are left. Not more than that.” Another text sent to him the next day read, “One day has gone by. Let us know if we have to arrange your burial as well. Or…will your family take care of your body?” Those sending these threats claim to be part of Islamist groups Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Islamic State. Their agenda is clear, as stated in the letter sent to Pastor Hemorn: “This country will be ruled only by the (Islamic) Sharia law.”
Although Bangladesh is a secular country and its legal system makes it one of the most tolerant Muslim-majority countries in the world, there are Islamist groups lobbying for the Islamization of the country. The situation has become increasingly volatile in recent months, and Bangladeshi Christians, who make up just 1% of a population that is 90% Muslim, are vulnerable targets.
On November 28 a Christian worker managed to escape unharmed after six masked men stormed a church in Manikganj district. Ten days earlier, an Italian Christian worker was shot in the town of Dinajpur, in northern Bangladesh. In the north-western Pabna district another Christian worker survived a knife attack in his home when three men pretending they wanted to learn about Christianity attempted to slit his throat.
Please pray for the safety of Bangladeshi Christians.
This announcement is from Gary Moore, national leader of GCI-Canada.
Gary Moore
A couple of years ago, Joseph Tkach began encouraging GCI’s mission developers and national leaders to think about the future leadership of the church. He advised us that by our early 60s we should begin to put in place a leadership transition plan. He made it clear that he wasn’t implying anyone needed to retire at 65, but rather that there should be in place a plan for transition before attaining that age.
As I thought about my transition plan, I was reminded that the role of national leader (sometimes referred to as national director) calls for a certain mix of gifts. Though no one person has all the needed gifts (I serve as testimony to that!), certain key gifts and skills are needed. Beyond the foundational characteristics of faith in God, understanding of his word, moral integrity and loyalty, good pastoral skills, an ability to work as an administrator and make a budget work, and ability to communicate both verbally and in writing are all important, even essential. And so in putting together my transition plan I considered all these factors plus knowing that the individual who would eventually replace me would need to be some years younger than I in order to provide for at least a number of years of stable service in the role.
Bill Hall
As I carefully went through all our staff and our fine group of elders in Canada, the one who seemed to most fit the requirements of the job was Bill Hall. Bill served in office and administrative roles for 17 years at the national office (1981-1998) and from then to the present (1998-2015) for over 17 years as a church pastor. So he has good experience in both the office and administrative environment as well as many years serving the membership in three Canadian congregations. Further, Bill has served as managing editor of GCI-Canada’s Northern Light and Northern Light Digest. He has excellent communication skills, both verbally and in written form.
I discussed the idea with Joseph Tkach and he was very supportive. The board of GCI-Canada also needed to be involved, as they are the legal employer. They expressed their full support. Bill Hall is willing to take on the challenge, which I greatly appreciate. The responsibility brings with it great days, and challenging ones, but I firmly believe that with God’s guidance and strength, and the support of us all, Bill will serve the church and ministry well.
The first phase of this transition is for Bill to assume the position of office/business manager for the church in Canada. He is scheduled to move to British Columbia on July 1 and begin to take on these duties. Once Bill adapts to this new role and is comfortable, perhaps toward the end of 2017, I’ll begin to introduce him to other aspects of the national ministry leader responsibilities. At this point, my plan is to retire at the end of August, 2018, following our Canadian national conference that summer.
We were saddened to learn of the death of Earl Coleman, father of Trish Campbell, wife of Brad Campbell who pastors GCI’s congregation in the Decatur, Alabama area. Mr. Coleman is survived by his wife of 50 years, Minnie (Stines) Coleman, a son, three daughters (including Trish), and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. Your prayers for their comfort are much appreciated.
Cards may be sent to:
Brad and Trish Campbell 3715 Aycock Cemetery Rd Leighton, AL 35646
This update is from Hector Barrero, pastor of GCI’s congregation in Bogota, Colombia.
Twelve of our members recently completed our ministerial studies program. We presented them with diplomas at a church service (eleven are pictured below).
These students spent about two years in the program, completing eight classes covering theology and various aspects of ministry. Class titles included Biblical Panorama (introducing the books of the Bible), Pastoral Theology, The Life of Christ (the Gospel of Matthew), Acts of the Apostles (the work of the Holy Spirit), and Experiencing God (utilizing the book of the same name by Henry Blackaby).
Looking toward 2016, many churches will be making plans to conduct outreach events. In doing so, it’s helpful to note the caution offered by LifeWay president Thom Rainer in “Three Reasons Why Big Events Are Ineffective in Most Churches” online at http://thomrainer.com/2015/11/three-reasons-most-churches/. In the article he makes this comment:
When I speak with church leaders and ask them to describe how they reach their communities, many of them point with pride to a major event, such as those that take place at Christmas, Easter, or the Fourth of July. But when I ask them to assess how many people are currently a part of their churches because of past events, most often I get an awkward silence.
Rainer goes on to stress the importance of using each outreach event, not as an end in itself, but as part of an overall disciplemaking strategy.
Recently I began a series here on the topic of Christmas. This annual celebration of Jesus’ birth is an important reminder of the hope we have because God became flesh. In adding our humanity to his divinity, the Son of God became Immanuel—God withus, as one of us. And so shall he ever be.
From Daily News Twitter feed
The events last week in San Bernardino, California, were a shocking reminder of how much we need the hope only God provides. In a mass shooting just a few miles from our GCI home office, two terrorists murdered 14 people and wounded over 20 more. Many leaders, including U.S. President Obama, extended sympathy and called for prayer. As Karl Barth is credited with saying, “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” But the New York Daily News thinks otherwise. In its December 3 edition (pictured at left) the newspaper mocked the idea of prayer, implying that it is a naive substitute for concrete action to “fix” the problem of terrorism.
I won’t take time to deconstruct that ludicrous assertion, other than to note that it ignores the profound reality that God has a plan to bring evil to a conclusive end. Christmas powerfully highlights a vital step in that unfolding plan.
Evacuated workers pray near the site of the mass shooting (from Los Angeles Times)
God’s plan to conquer evil
Before beginning his work of creation, God knew that humanity would go astray. So he appointed a moment in history—what the apostle Paul refers to as the fullness oftime—when the Word of God would become flesh and a new creation would commence with the unfolding of the kingdom of God. We now live in the time of that unfolding, between Jesus’ birth (his “first coming”) and his promised return in glory (his “second coming”). During that time, though the kingdom is present, it is veiled, and evil continues, causing much suffering and tears.
We must think of the kingdom of God as having entered our world in the life and death of Jesus and as veiled in history. It is concealed behind the forms and fashions of this sinful world, so that we are unable to see it directly or immediately. The kingdom of God does not come with observation—not yet. Look out upon the history of these two thousand years culminating in two world wars of unheard-of magnitude and disaster. It is impossible to say, “Lo, here is the kingdom of God! Lo, there!” You cannot trace the lines of the pattern of the kingdom of God by inspecting the course of history. But in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day you can see, in spite of all that declares against it, that the kingdom of God has already broken into our midst and is already at work amongst us. (p. 13)
Because the Son of God became the Son of Man, the kingdom of God is present among us and at work. Because that is so, as Torrance notes, the Apocalypse (meaning “revealing”) has, in one sense, already occurred. Already, history has been invaded and conquered by the Lamb of God. Torrance elaborates:
Apocalypse means the tearing aside of the veil of sense and time to reveal the decisive conquest of organic evil by the incarnate Son of God. Apocalypse means the unveiling of the new creation as yet hidden from our eyes behind the ugly shape of sinful history. There is to be a new creation which is the out-working of the Cross in the teeth of all the principalities and powers of darkness. In the advent presence of Christ there is to be a new heaven and new earth. No doubt we are unable by mere outward inspection to trace the lineaments of the kingdom of God in history, but it is nevertheless a fact that even now God governs and orders the course of the world. When Christ himself comes, as come again he will, we shall see with our eyes that which we see now only by faith. (pp. 12-13)
When the Prince of Peace returns to earth bodily, everything will undergo a final, conclusive change. But until that time, we experience the tensions and conflicts of sin. Though we no longer are of the world, we remain in the world, and as a result we suffer as Christ suffered, even while we experience the hope and joy of being a citizen of his already-present kingdom. As Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” With these gospel truths clearly in mind, our celebration of Christmas has profound meaning.
When should we celebrate?
The birth of Jesus by Cornelis de Vos (public domain via WikiArt)
Speaking of celebrating Christmas, some say December 25 is not the right time. But let me comment on the idea of “right time.” Recently I joined in celebrating a friend’s birthday. Because of schedule conflicts, the party was held several days after the actual birth date. I know many couples who have celebrated wedding anniversaries months before or after the actual date. In my own family, we’ve celebrated significant dates both early and late. But this timing has never taken away from the significance of the event itself or detracted from the joy of the celebration.
It’s not uncommon to celebrate the birth of famous people on a day other than the actual birth date. Though born on April 21, the Queen of England’s birthday is celebrated on June 17. In America, we celebrate the births of presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington on February 18, though Lincoln was born on the 12th and Washington on the 22nd. Though Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, we celebrate his birth around the 21st.
There’s an interesting symmetry in not knowing the precise dates of Jesus’ first or second comings. Certainly it’s not necessary to know the exact day he was born in order to celebrate Jesus’ birth with great joy on December 25 (as is done in the Western Christian church). However, I want to note that there is substantial evidence that Jesus was born in the winter, and very possibly on December 25. Dr. Harold W. Hoehner (Dallas Theological Seminary professor and expert on biblical chronology) wrote this:
It is clear that Christ was born before Herod the Great’s death and after the census. In looking at the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke one would need to conclude that Christ was born of Mary within a year or two of Herod’s death. In looking to some of the other chronological notations in the gospels, the evidence led to the conclusion that Christ was born in the winter of 5/4 B.C. Although the exact date of Christ’s birth cannot be known, either December, 5 B.C. or January, 4 B.C. is most reasonable. (Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, 1981, p. 27; for a longer quote, click here)
The idea that Jesus was born on December 25 dates back to as early as Hippolytus (A.D. 165-235). Luke 2:1-7 mentions a tax census ordered by Caesar Augustus. It’s likely that the census records were then stored in the civic archives in Rome. Cyril of Jerusalem (A.D. 348-386) requested that those records be reviewed and he reported the results: Jesus was born on December 25. Unfortunately, the records no longer exist, so we are unable to confirm that claim. In A.D. 386, Archbishop John Chrysostom also declared that Jesus was born on December 25 (though he offered no corroborating evidence). As a result of Chrysostom’s declaration, December 25 became the official date in the Western Christian church for celebrating Jesus’ birth (the Eastern church celebrates the birth on January 6, also in winter).
An objection often raised against celebrating Jesus’ birth in winter is the claim that in Palestine, sheep were usually taken into enclosures from November through March and thus would not have been out in the fields at night (as noted in Luke 2:8). But this argument is not as conclusive as it sounds, as we have noted in an article on our website at http://www.gci.org/jesus/whenborn.
We celebrate the event, not the day
Because we can’t know with certainty exactly when Jesus was born, many speculations have arisen. My personal favorite is that he was born on September 11 in 3 B.C., which was a new moon and Rosh Ha-Shanah (Jewish New Year). But such speculation is irrelevant, for a celebration is not the reality, but a sign that points to the reality in which we believe. The celebration (sign) of Jesus’ birth points to the stunning reality of the revelation in time and space (history) of the eternal Son of God in the person (flesh and blood) of Jesus of Nazareth. O, come let us adore him!
The Adoration of the Shepherds by Matthias Stomer (public domain via Google Cultural Institute)
No matter what day Jesus was born, it was just the “right time.” Note Paul’s statement:
But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4 ESV)
With the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, God’s glorious plan of redemption began to unfold in time and space (history). In accordance with that plan, Jesus was born as a whole, complete human. It is the event of Jesus’ birth (the reality) that we celebrate—not the day. After all, we are Christians not astrologers!
That the Son of God became flesh (the Incarnation), and through his birth came into the world, is an event that not only fulfilled prophecy and the old covenant—it was the “event of all events” in determining our eternity. Regardless of the actual day of Jesus’ birth, we in Grace Communion International join the rest of Christianity in celebrating this great event each year. We do so on December 25 in accordance with the Western Christian worship calendar.
Looking forward to celebrating Christmas, Joseph Tkach
We were saddened to learn of the recent death of Jim West, a long-time WCG/GCI employee and elder.
Jim died of heart failure on December 1, just short of his 76th birthday. His wife Madeline wrote, “He apparently knew his time was over in the earthly realm because he blessed each family member on Thanksgiving. It was as if he was saying goodbye.”
Jim majored in engineering at Portland State College and served for six years in the Oregon National Guard as a squad leader. In the mid-1960s he began working in the printing industry in Portland. He was hired at the Ambassador College Press in Pasadena in 1969 and moved his family to California where he began employment as a pressman and later advanced through various supervisory roles until reaching Print Buying Manager in WCG’s Publishing Administration. After Plain Truth Ministries separated from WCG, Jim worked as a circulation analyst for PTM until his retirement in 1997, having worked for our church and affiliates for 28 years.
Jim and his wife Madeline and daughters Rhonda and Michelle (pictured above) made their home in San Dimas, California for many years, and became pillars in GCI’s Glendora congregation. Jim was ordained an elder in 1995. The family was active in Spokesman and Graduate Club, Women’s Ministry, YOU and just about every other activity the church offered. The family moved to Kentucky in 2004.
Cards may be sent to:
Madeline West 11298 Franklin Road Franklin, KY 42134
This update is from Doug Johannsen, pastor of GCI congregations in St. Paul and Champlin, Minnesota.
Christy Merry
GCI’s four Twin Cities, Minnesota, area congregations (Edina, Bloomington, Champlin and St. Paul) gathered recently for a combined worship service, a meal and good conversation.
The sermon was given by Christy Merry from the St. Paul congregation. Christy has been involved in several church plants in various denominations and was asked to give a message reflecting on what the younger generation needs from the older generation. Though most of us would consider Christy in the younger generation (she’s in her late 30s), she says she feels more like the generation “in between.” She drew lessons from the stories of Moses and Jethro, and Ruth and Naomi, illustrating how they listened carefully to one another to arrive at mutually-satisfying courses of action. All of us (young, old and in-between) need that kind of heart—one that is open to listening deeply to others.
Left to right/top to bottom: Carolyn Lane and Carey Arnold (Champlin) provide worship music; Pastor Charles Holladay (Bloomington) serves communion; the group meal; Pastor Don Ratliff (Edina) leads a debrief in which the group expressed a desire for more combined services in the future.
Here from GenMin director Anthony Mullins is a reminder about some upcoming events of interest to our youth and young adults (and those who join them in ministry).
Converge East registration is now open. You can register by completing the online registration process at http://gci.org/go/converge16e. This regional Generations Ministries event will be held at Deer Creek Lodge and Conference Center near Mt. Sterling, Ohio, on March 4-6, 2016. Pricing and lodging details can be found on the registration site. For those living west of the Mississippi River, you might want to consider attending Converge West, which will be held in Encino, California, on April 15-17, 2016. Details for Converge West will be available at a later day. Questions about Converge East can be emailed to Jeff Broadnax at converge.east@gmail.com.
Journey With the Master to be held in Rochester, Minnesota. GCI’s Rochester church, along with Northern Lights camp, is hosting a Journey With the Master retreat on December 4-6. Troy Meisner is event organizer and Anthony Mullins is facilitator. For information about JWM, go to http://www.generationsministries.org/leader-development.html or email Anthony at anthony.mullins@gci.org.
CrossWalk Camp recently held its final camp session at Our Lady of Guadalupe facility. CrossWalk has had a wonderful working relationship with this Catholic facility and it was with a measure of sadness that CrossWalk learned that the facility will no longer be available to them. Please pray for the Lord to open facility doors for CrossWalk so they can continue providing an amazing camp experience for families in the Oklahoma and Texas area. You can visit their website at www.crosswalkcamp.com.
Grace Communion International regional conferences will be held in 7 locations in 2016:
February 19-21 in Ontario, California (Los Angeles area)
March 11-13 in Portland, Oregon
April 22-24 in Northbrook, Illinois (Chicago area)
May 20-22 in Morristown, New Jersey (New York City area)
GCI members from Mississippi, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin gathered recently in Titusville, Florida, for Experiencing the Trinity—a retreat facilitated by Odyssey in Christ ministry. The 72-hour retreat was held at the St. Stephen Christian Retreat and Conference Center. Five GCI members attended in person and two joined in online.
Retreat participants were led through teaching sessions and spiritual exercises that created an environment for experiencing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in close, personal ways. From an extended time of silence, to meditative prayer and praise, to creative expressions in community and transforming prayer, the participants came away, as Carolyn Lane said, “with valuable tools for deepening our daily walk with the Father, Son and Spirit. We truly experienced being in the presence of God in a very intimate, tangible way, which left us thirsting for more.” In the words of Tom Fallon, “we were visited and dwelt in by the very real presence of the Holy Spirit.” John Novick commented that the retreat “was a magnificent 72-hour journey with God that can change one’s life forever.”
Looking toward 2016, many churches will be making plans to conduct outreach events. In doing so, it’s helpful to note the caution offered by LifeWay president Thom Rainer in “Three Reasons Why Big Events Are Ineffective in Most Churches” online at 
