Prayer is requested for Rannie Childress, lead pastor in GCI’s congregation in Attalla, AL. Rannie is hospitalized with pneumonia in one lung, resulting in extreme shortness of breath. He is retaining lots of fluid and they are treating him with antibiotics and steroids.
Rannie and Shirley Childress
Though he is doing a bit better, Rannie’s battle with illness continues. As he noted in an email informing people of his illness,
Christ is with us in good times and bad, including times of good health and bad. Let us trust our mighty God to move into, not around our troubles, and let him show us once again his mighty, awesome power!
Cards may be sent to:
Rannie and Shirley Childress 170 Grayton Street Springville, AL 35146
This update is from Rex Morgan who pastors the GCI church in Auckland, New Zealand, and manages the GCI New Zealand office.
Fifty excited people attended the 50th anniversary of GCI’s Auckland congregation on November 4—50 years to the day after its inaugural service. The event was held at the Mt. Eden hall where we have been meeting regularly for services the past 15 years.
After three baptizing tours in the early 1960s, Graemme Marshall came to live in New Zealand in 1967. On September 7 of that year, the first WCG Bible Study was held in Auckland, at the Workingman’s Clubrooms in Kitchener Street. The first Church service took place on November 4, 1967, in an upstairs room in Queen’s Arcade.
Fifty years later, lots of memories came flooding back to mind as members past and present enjoyed renewing old acquaintances and comparing stories. There was plenty of “mix and mingle” time, pleasantly enhanced by a delicious and abundant finger-food lunch. I read out messages of greetings from members unable to be present, including Don and Alix Engle, Gary and Pam Harvey, Kerry and Anne Gubb, Rod and Ruth Matthews, Bob and Sandy Morton, and Kerry and Anne Gubb. Rod’s message encouraged the attendees to “look around at one another, think of those who went before us and recall that we are but a part of a spiritual body so much bigger, immortal, as yet unrevealed, but flowering plants in the garden of God. We celebrate together this golden anniversary milestone on a journey as yet unfinished but with a sure destination.”
Brief addresses were given by David Wong, Barry Nottingham, Robert Thompson and National Pastoral Director, Dennis Richards, reminiscing on incidents and lessons gleaned during half a century of history. Then we watched a video from GCI President Joseph Tkach. Following that (see picture at right) an anniversary cake decorated in our theme colors of purple and gold was cut by five members present at the inaugural service: Barry Nottingham, Rex Morgan, Jeannette Findlay, and Noreen and Robert Thompson.
I noted in my address that 50th anniversaries are referred to as “golden anniversaries”—a reminder to us of how God is refining our character into spiritual gold for his everlasting temple at the center of the New Jerusalem, which is described as being made of pure gold. It was a wonderful day of golden memories. No one wanted to leave.
Thanks for praying for Cecil Pulley, GCI’s pastor in Bermuda (click here for the original prayer request). Here is a joyful update from Cecil’s wife, Senior:
Cecil and Senior Pulley
We are overwhelmed and speechless, not only because we have received so much love from our GCI family, but because our heavenly Father has answered our prayers—doing more than we could ask or imagine!
Cecil, our son Seth, and I travelled to Boston, where doctors at Lahey Hospital concurred that there seemed to be at least two blockages, which could hopefully be repaired by the insertion of stints. To make a long, amazing story short, on November 29, in the midst of a coronary angiogram, the doctors could find no place to place a stint. In fact, they could find no sign whatsoever that Cecil had suffered a heart attack! Earlier tests (which had confirmed a blockage) were redone, yet there were no signs of any blockage or heart disease. In fact, he was told that he had good, clean arteries!
The doctor’s instruction to Cecil was that he needed to get some much-needed rest, as stress sometimes mimics such drastic symptoms. Cecil is wholeheartedly taking those instructions to heart!
We wish to thank our GCI family for the phone calls, prayers, notes and love in standing with us during this trying time. Our God is indeed an amazing God!
Cards may be sent to:
Cecil and Senior Pulley P. O. Box MA 350 Sandy’s MA BX Bermuda
We were saddened to learn of the recent death of GCI member Mary Terry, mother of Pam Morgan, operations coordinator for GCI Church Administration and Development and wife of GCI Treasurer, Mat Morgan. Here is a note from Pam:
Mary with her granddaughter Jessica Morgan
It is with a heavy but peaceful heart that I write this. My mom, Mary Terry, died peacefully in her sleep early in the morning on November 16. She was an amazingly strong and faithful woman—a prayer warrior and a great example of unconditional love. She will be missed greatly, but I know she is in a much better place. A few days before she died, she told Mat, “I am moving.” When Mat asked her, “Where?,” she said “Upstairs to be closer to God.” I so appreciate all your prayers.
Mary’s funeral will be held on Sunday, December 10 at 3:00 p.m. at Friends Church (where GCI’s Grace Life Church meets) at 827 S Lone Hill Ave., Glendora, CA.
Daphne Vidal, one of our members in Dominica, sent the note below, thanking her GCI brothers and sisters for helping GCI’s Dominican members recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.
Andy Williams (in turquoise shirt) helping distribute building materials
Warm greetings from the Nature Isle of Dominica. Nature is healing the wounds inflicted by Hurricane Maria and we can see hope in the leaves returning to what was once a beautiful rainforest. We are greatly encouraged by this sign. The Forestry Division will soon begin to implement the reforestation plan.
We joyfully report that we have received 250 galvanized sheets and 250 lumber planks purchased by members in Trinidad with money sent from GCI’s Disaster Relief Fund administered by folks in the Glendora office. We are truly grateful for this cooperative effort by different groups within the GCI family. We are finalizing with members their exact needs so we can start distribution next week so they can repair their roofs.
We also received the supplies sent by our GCI-USA family in Florida. From that we were able to prepare care packages for all the members and a few persons in need. Most of the packages were distributed today. While supermarkets and business places are open, persons in outlying districts do not always have easy access to supplies. We have also been blessed with the help of Andy Williams from the GCI Orlando congregation. We put him right to work and he was able to assist in clearing and offloading the building materials and supplies from the port.
A special thank you to our GCI family for blessing us during our time of need.
We are pleased to announce the recent wedding of GCI-Canada Pastor Bob Millman and Shelley Bradford. The ceremony was officiated by Al Nordstrom and a reception hosted by the Edmonton congregation followed. As seen in the picture at bottom, our Eritrean members honored Bob and Shelley in their traditional way. These members, who recently resettled in Canada, attend the Edmonton congregation where Bob is lead pastor. Congratulations Bob and Shelley!
This past Halloween, GCI’s congregation in Tipp City, OH (Grace Communion Tipp City), served 300 hotdogs, more than 450 cups of hot chocolate, and gave candy to about 600 children. The congregation’s church building is situated in the middle of the Tipp City trick-or-treat route, giving the congregation opportunity to reach out to most of the trick-or-treaters and their families. According to interim Lead Pastor, Rick Shallenberger, “Not only did we provide the hotdogs, hot chocolate and candy, but we also provided rest rooms and a place for families to warm up. It was great fun, and a great way to greet most of the children and families in the town.”
This announcement is from Jeff Broadnax, national coordinator of GCI Generations Ministries (GenMin).
In order for us to see more young adults actively involved in GCI congregations, and in ministry leadership roles in particular, we will need to provide more effective “on-ramps” for this age group to participate in GCI at the local, regional and national levels. GenMin is helping provide these on-ramps in several ways, including sponsoring two events that will be held in the U.S. in 2018 (see below). We encourage you to let the young adults in your congregation and other church networks know of these events, then help them attend as you are able.
GC Ignite
The first event, called GC Ignite (formerly GC Next), will be held over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend (January 12-15, 2018). GCI young people ages 18–30 will gather at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Camp near Dallas, TX, for worship, fellowship, equipping and challenge designed to “fan into flames” the gifts God has given them (2 Tim. 1:6), returning home to use those gifts in their congregation and region. For more information about GC Ignite 2018, go to www.generationsministries/gc-ignite.
GC Launch
The second event, called GC Launch, will focus on leaders within GCI congregations who are high school juniors and seniors. It will be held in December 2018 at the GCI Home Office in Charlotte, NC. We’ll have more information about this event early next year.
GCI President Joseph Tkach and his wife Tammy recently travelled to England for a conference attended by GCI members. As seen in the pictures below (click to enlarge), Tammy gave the sermon at a church service held in Watford. The next day, Dr. Tkach was joined by Dr. Alan Torrance (professor of systematic theology at St Mary’s College of the University of St Andrews) in addressing the conference, which was held in Borehamwood.
The first Sunday of Advent (December 3 this year), begins a new cycle of worship in the Christian liturgical calendar. Together with Christmas, Advent proclaims a key point of Christian doctrine—the virgin birth of Jesus.
The Apostles’ Creed
In accord with Matt. 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-2:20, The Apostles’ Creed affirms that Jesus “was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” Though not written by the original apostles, the Creed was widely embraced as an accurate summation of the first apostles’ core teachings. The basic content of The Apostles’ Creed appeared as early as A.D. 215 in a document used by Hippolytus in preparing candidates for baptism. Restatements of this basic teaching then appeared over the next several centuries in multiple places, including a commentary on The Apostles’ Creed, written by Tyrannius Rufinus in about A.D. 400. The version of the Creed he examined is quite similar to The Apostles’ Creed that is used today by many churches (GCI included).
“Birth of Christ,” by anonymous (public domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Though early versions of the Creed contained the same central doctrinal ideas (called the “rule of faith”), they varied somewhat, due largely to the need to defend against different heresies. Some of those early versions were quite long—here is the first part of one written by Tertullian:
Now, with regard to this rule of faith—that we may from this point acknowledge what it is which we defend—it is, you must know, that which prescribes the belief that there is only one God, and that he is none other than the Creator of the world, who produced all things out of nothing through his own Word, first of all sent forth; that this Word is called his Son, and, under the name of God, was seen “in diverse manners” by the patriarchs, heard at all times in the prophets, at last brought down by the Spirit and power of the Father into the Virgin Mary, was made flesh in her womb, and, being born of her, went forth as Jesus Christ.
Now, compare what Tertullian wrote with the opening lines of The Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth; I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.
Though The Apostles’ Creed is more succinct (which I appreciate!), both statements establish three key points of Christian teaching concerning Jesus: 1) that the eternal Son of God began his earthly life as a special act of God the Father, 2) that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and 3) that Jesus was genuinely the son of a human mother (Mary) who, at the time Jesus was born, was a virgin.
“The Annunciation” by Jean Hey (public domain via Wikimedia Commons)
The doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus
There are, of course, those who deny the doctrine of the virgin birth of Jesus (and thus reject The Apostles’ Creed along with the Nicene Creed). Then there are others who misconstrue that doctrine, claiming that Mary somehow is co-redeemer with Jesus in our salvation. However, as the Gospel of John declares, our salvation (which involves being “born of God”) is not a matter of “natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will” (John 1:12-13). T.F. Torrance comments:
The virgin birth… excludes the idea that God and man are co-equal partners [in salvation]…. What took place [in the virgin birth of Jesus] is an act under the sovereign will of God, in which God alone was Lord and Master, so that the birth was grounded in the sovereign will of God alone. (Incarnation, the Person and Life of Christ, p. 99)
Through Jesus’ virgin birth, God, by his own sovereign decision, joined himself with our humanity. Mary is thus not co-redeemer, though as T.F. also points out, she is an admirable model of obedient faith in response to the grace of God:
Grace takes a form in the birth of Jesus which we may take as a pattern or norm for all our understanding of grace. Here God takes the initiative and approaches Mary through the word of his angelic messenger—the word proclaimed to Mary is the word of election or grace: she is chosen and told of God’s choice. She has nothing to do in this matter except what is done in her under the operation of the Spirit. What Mary does is simply to receive the word, to believe, which she does not in her own strength but in the strength given her by the Lord, and she is blessed because of that, not because of her virginity…. The Word which Mary heard and received and obeyed became flesh of her flesh. That is the normative pattern for the believer in his or her attitude toward the Word announced in the gospel, which tells men and women of the divine act of grace and decision taken already on their behalf in Christ. (Incarnation, the Person and Life of Christ, p. 101)
Celebrating God’s work on our behalf
As the apostle Paul states in Ephesians 2:8, we are saved by God’s grace, not by our works. It is the gracious work of the Triune God on our behalf that saves us. Our works (and the works of any other person, Mary included) do not bring about that salvation. Instead, by faith (also God’s gift), we are born of God, receiving, through the Spirit, the salvation that has been accomplished for us in Jesus Christ. Note this comment from T.F.:
What happened once and for all, in utter uniqueness in Jesus Christ, happens in every instance of rebirth into Christ. Just as he was born from above of the Holy Spirit, so are we born from above of the Holy Spirit through sharing in his birth. (Incarnation, the Person and Life of Christ, p. 102)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer offers a similar perspective on the miracle of the Incarnation that we celebrate during the Advent-Christmas season:
Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that he takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly…. God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken. (God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas, p. 22)
To T.F.’s and Bonhoeffer’s words, I add my hearty, Amen.
Wishing you and yours a blessed Advent-Christmas season, Joseph Tkach
Update on 12/6/17: for more on this topic, click here.
The first event, called GC Ignite (formerly GC Next), will be held over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend (January 12-15, 2018). GCI young people ages 18–30 will gather at Mt. Lebanon Baptist Camp near Dallas, TX, for worship, fellowship, equipping and challenge designed to “fan into flames” the gifts God has given them (2 Tim. 1:6), returning home to use those gifts in their congregation and region. For more information about GC Ignite 2018, go to 
