We were saddened to learn of the recent death of Larry Pate, pastor of GCI’s congregation in Tacoma, Washington.
Larry passed away peacefully on the morning of April 28. He had been fighting a long health battle. His wife Donna reported that Larry spent the day before he died with friends and family enjoying pizza and root beer.
Cards may be sent to:
Donna Pate C/O New Hope
31411 6th Avenue South
Federal Way, WA. 98003
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I see motherhood as one of God’s greatest creations. I was reminded of that recently when pondering what to send my mother and mother-in-law for Mother’s Day. I thought back to how my Mom would often remark how blessed she was to be a mother to me and my two sisters. She said giving birth to us gave her another level of appreciation for God, which I didn’t fully understand until I witnessed the birth of my own children. I recall marveling how Tammy went so quickly from the pain of childbirth to the awe of holding our son and daughter. Over the years I have continued to be awed by a mother’s love, which I confess differs in some ways from my love and the love I experienced from my father.
Given the depth and power of a mother’s love, it’s no surprise to me that the apostle Paul would use motherhood to illustrate important points about God’s covenant with humanity:
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman. But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise. Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. (Galatians 4:22-26 ESV)
As you know, Abraham (Abram) had two sons by two wives. His son Isaac was born of his wife Sarah (Sarai), a free woman, and his son Ishmael was born of his wife Hagar, a slave woman. According to ancient law and custom, the status of the mother affected the status of her son. But there is another significant factor about these two births. Ishmael was born the ordinary way, requiring no miracle and no promise of God, but Isaac was born as the result of both a miracle and a promise.
As Paul explains, these details tell us something significant about God and his purposes for all humanity. Since Sarah was beyond childbearing age, God miraculously intervened to fulfill his promise in bringing life out of her barren womb. As a result, Isaac was born, and thus Abraham, Isaac and Jacob became patriarchs of the nation of Israel. It’s important to note that all three had wives who were barren, necessitating God’s miraculous intervention for this lineage to occur—a lineage that led, ultimately, to the incarnation of the eternal Son of God. Note T.F. Torrance’s comment:
The supreme instrument of God for the salvation of the world is Israel, and out of the womb of Israel, Jesus, the Jew from Nazareth—yet he was no mere instrument in the hands of God, but very God himself, come in person in the form of a servant, to work out from within our limitations and recalcitrance, and to bring to its triumphant completion, the redemption of mankind, and our restoration to fellowship with the very life of God himself.
We see Jesus prefigured in the story of Isaac. Isaac’s birth was of supernatural intervention, while Jesus’ birth was of supernatural origin. Isaac was offered up as a potential sacrifice, while Jesus was the actual (and willing) sacrifice of atonement that reconciled humanity to God. There also is a parallel between Isaac and us. Isaac was born of God’s promise and supernatural act, while we have been given new (supernatural) birth of the Spirit, being made to share in Jesus’ own sonship (John 3:3, 5). We, therefore, should not live as children of bondage, as if our relationship to God was mediated by a written, external law. Rather, through the mediation of God’s Son incarnate, Jesus Christ, and by his Spirit, we have been adopted into God’s family and have an eternal inheritance and hope.
In Galatians 4, Paul puts the old and new covenants in perspective. He points out that the old covenant had its origin at Mount Sinai and those under its legal arrangement (the Law of Moses) were slaves, not members of the family, and thus had no promise of receiving an inheritance. Just as Hagar brought forth a slave son, so too did the Law. In contrast, the new covenant reached back to God’s original covenant promise to be Israel’s God and for them to be his people, and through them bless all the families of the earth. This fulfillment was God’s covenant of grace. As Sarah brought forth a free son born into the family, so too does grace. Grace brings about the adoption of children. These children really belong to God. As part of God’s family, they have an eternal inheritance through their connection by grace with the eternal Son of God.
Paul makes another contrast in Galatians 4: Hagar stood for “the present” (first-century) city of Jerusalem—a city enslaved to Rome and in slavery to the Law—both offering no hope of citizenship or inheritance. But Sarah stood for “the Jerusalem above,” the mother of all the children of grace who belong to God and who have an inheritance. And that inheritance is far more than just a certain city. Our heavenly city, which one day will come to earth (Revelation 21:2), is “the city of the living God” (Hebrews 12:22). This heavenly Jerusalem is our home—it’s where we have our true citizenship. As noted in Galatians 4:26 (ESV), “The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” We are free to live as children of the Father because we are joined to the Son by the Spirit.
I thank God for Sarah, Rebecca and Leah—the three matriarchs of Israel who began the lineage that would lead to Jesus. Though these women were far from perfect, God used them, along with Jesus’ mother Mary, to bring forth the incarnation of the Son of God who, by the Spirit, makes us sons and daughters of God. This Mother’s Day, let’s praise our covenant-making God for his good gift of motherhood, thanking him for all mothers, including our own mothers, mothers-in-law, and wives. Motherhood truly is a sign of God’s natural and supernatural, life-giving goodness.
Thanking God for motherhood,
Joseph Tkach
Rannie Childress is lead pastor at New Outlook Christian Fellowship—a newly planted GCI church in Attalla, Alabama. Rannie and his team are being equipped by GCI Church Multiplication Ministries (coordinated by Heber Ticas), and supported with prayer and finances by three church planting support networks in the GCI-USA Southeast Region, donations from several congregations, and through grants from the GCI-USA GCnext fund. In these ways, Rannie and his team are receiving high levels of support to help this new congregation get off to a good start.
Rannie recently sent an update newsletter to his supporters. Here is part of what he wrote:
It’s been quite a ride! During the year spanning Easter 2015 to Easter 2016, we were blessed to baptize 12 people (see pictures below). We reached out to the surrounding community with a picnic at a local park, a free car wash, and distribution of free bottles of water. We also launched a Christ-centered support group called Life More Abundant (LMA). It meets every second and fourth Wednesday evening of the month. We also launched Bible Study and Becoming a Godly Man groups, a speech club and a twice-monthly Bible study/breakfast group for women.
We’re now at work incorporating principles for developing our congregation learned through the Outside the Walls (OTW) consulting services provided by our denomination, Grace Communion International. We’re expanding what we’ve been doing to reach out with God’s love into our local community, canvassing the area around our building to invite our neighbors to special events. We learned these approaches to community outreach at a recent OTW event held at GCI’s Jacksonville, Florida church. My participation in that event opened my eyes to possibilities for our development here in Attalla.
We currently average about 30 people in attendance at both our Sunday service and LMA group meetings (see pictures below). Some people attend both; some just one. As a result, we are serving about 45-50 people each week. Of course, we do not measure “success” by numbers alone—our primary goal is to bless our community at large while we focus on serving people involved in drug rehab and jail programs.
I thank God for the opportunity he has given us to serve him and his beloved children in these ways. I also am very grateful to all those who are supporting what we’re doing here through prayer and financial gifts. I thank Heber Ticas (coordinator of GCI Church Multiplication Ministries) and Ted Johnston (GCI SE Regional Pastor) for their ongoing mentoring and training as we move forward in seeing New Outlook become a church deeply connected to its surrounding community.
I’m excited about what we have planned for the upcoming Mother’s Day weekend (May 4-5). On Saturday we’ll have a free car wash, a bottled water giveaway and fun activities for children. Then during our Sunday service we’ll honor mothers, and on their behalf have a “blessing of children” ceremony.
I have a prayer request: Please pray for us at New Outlook as we seek to join Jesus in raising up additional leaders to serve the ministry needs of our surrounding community in the areas of music ministry, children’s ministry and teen ministry. Also please pray about our continuing financial needs.
We were saddened to learn that GCI Pastor Arlen Bryant died on April 26 in his home in Cookeville, Tennessee, following a long battle with brain cancer.
Arlen was born on November 17, 1944 in Cookeville, to Walter and Catherine Bryant. He loved history, studied at Tennessee Technological University and taught school for 31 years. Arlen loved to travel. His grandchildren recently helped him develop a new hobby, raising chickens. He collected license plates and enjoyed researching his family genealogy.
Arlen became a member of WCG in 1971 and was ordained an elder in 1985. In January 2000, Arlen was appointed to serve as the bivocational pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship (GCI’s congregation in Cookeville).
Arlen was preceded in death by his parents and a brother. He is survived by Jean, his wife of 49 years; a daughter, Cathy (Steve) Jones; a son, Lewis (Annette) Bryant; five grandchildren; and one sister—all residents of Cookeville.
Cards may be sent to:
Jean Bryant
2054 Benton Young Rd
Cookeville, TN 38501
We were saddened to learn of the recent death of Adrienne Pickett, wife of Tom Pickett, Pastor of GCI’s congregation in Fort Worth, Texas.
Adrienne passed away on April 21. She was 71 years old. Her funeral will be at 11:00 a.m. on April 29 at Capstone Church, 4823 W. Loop 820, Fort Worth, Texas. Visitation will be at 6 to 8 p.m. on April 28 at Winscott Road Funeral Home, 1001 Winscott Road, Benbrook, Texas.
Adrienne is survived by her husband, Thomas J. Pickett (pictured with Adrienne at right); their two sons, Thomas David and Andrew; their six grandchildren, Courtney (pictured below), Christopher, Jewelyn, Chloe, Drew and Quinn; and Adrienne’s four sisters: Marilyn Canup, Judith Omasta, Elizabeth Coston and Jacquelyn Russell.
To leave a message in a guestbook, click here. Cards to the family may be mailed to:
Tom Pickett
1206 Sproles Drive
Benbrook, TX 76039
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Controversy arose following the Super Bowl this year when the losing quarterback stormed out of a post-game press conference. Though some defended him as an ordinarily humble person, others accused him of being immature and arrogant. That got me thinking about humility, so I googled the word and found several definitions. Common to all was the idea that humility means having a modest or low estimate of one’s importance or rank. As Christians, we understand that being humble means refusing to put others down in order to elevate oneself. It means being thankful for the gifts and talents God has given us, and even more thankful for what God has given others (Philippians 2:3 ESV). That being said, humility should not be equated with tearing oneself down, or with low self-worth.
As a gift of the Spirit, humility is an attitude of the heart that reflects the reality that we belong to and have our being in Christ. Our life in and with him is not about self-actualization through acquiring better personal skills and competencies. In humility we remember that all good gifts are from God and the goal of those gifts is always love. Therefore, in humility, we love all people as the beloved children of God they are, understanding that they too struggle to live out who God created them to be. With that humble mindset, how can we possibly think of ourselves as superior to others?
As we go through life we will observe limitations and vulnerabilities in others—some will be highly visible; others more hidden. Hopefully, seeing our own limitations and vulnerabilities, we will understand that only God is in a position to judge. Only he knows the struggles others face; only he knows how far they’ve come and how fully they have responded to him. We realize that we see only what is right in front of us, not what has been, what is, and what will yet be.
Humility comes from honestly looking at ourselves with eyes wide-open, seeing that we, like everyone else, are persons on a journey who have not yet arrived. God is not finished with any of us—we are not yet fully ourselves, for our true selves are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3). Self-generated attempts at perfection typically are wrong-headed, self-righteous strivings. In contrast, humility concerning our limitations leads to glad affirmation that any good we do is because of what Christ has done for us and what the Spirit is working out in us.
C.S. Lewis noted that when we are in the presence of God and his goodness, all arrogance, pride and vanity vanish and the result is “to forget about yourself altogether.” According to Lewis, a truly humble person “will not be thinking about humility—he will not be thinking about himself at all” (Mere Christianity, “The Great Sin”). Arrogance, pride and vanity are about comparing oneself to others in order to measure and prove one’s superiority. Vain people think about themselves a great deal. Carly Simon sang about such people in the hit song, “You’re So Vain,” which proclaimed to one (or perhaps more) of her less-than-humble boyfriends: “You probably think this song is about you!”
With some notable exceptions, the Pharisees thought about themselves a lot, granting themselves special status and privileges while self-righteously criticizing and condemning others. Sadly, there is a bit of Pharisaism in a lot of Christianity. But those who are humble see others through the compassionate eyes of God. Isn’t that what Jesus did in his encounters with the woman at the well, the woman with the issue of blood, and the blind man? Because of Jesus’ attitude toward these “outcasts,” the arrogant, self-righteous Pharisees plotted to have Jesus killed.
Occasionally you’ll hear some people proclaim that God is not humble—that being God, he justifiably seeks after his own glory. But the truth is just the opposite. In the communion of the Trinity each of the divine persons seeks the other’s glory, not their own. Jesus, who is God among us, said, “I do not accept glory from human beings” (John 5:41); and, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me” (John 8:54). My point is this: God, revealed to us in Christ, is the ultimate picture of humility. God’s humility is so huge that he took humanity into himself in the person of Christ. In his divine freedom, God was pleased, for our sake, to have all his fullness dwell in Jesus, and through his death on the cross, reconcile to himself all things in heaven and earth (Colossians 1:19-20). Note how Paul extols the immensity of God’s humility seen in Jesus:
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:4-8 ESV)
The eternal Son of God demonstrated the humility of God by becoming human and enduring on our behalf the most painful and shameful form of death. Paul then goes on to describe how followers of Jesus are to respond:
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling…. (Philippians 2:12 ESV)
Paul is not teaching salvation by works. He is noting that we respond to the free gift of salvation by living out the humility of Christ in all our relationships. Salvation is not about us or our accomplishments. It’s about realizing that all we have and all we are is because of God’s love for us. He gave us gifts for building relationships, gifts that enable us to participate in the work he is doing; gifts that enable us to serve, affirm others and love others. What Paul is telling us is that because we are saved, we are enabled to participate in working out the implications of our salvation by diligently using the gifts we have been given to help others see what their Savior has done for them. This call to participation in what God is doing becomes clear as Paul continues his thought:
…for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
(Philippians 2:13 ESV)
We cannot make ourselves more like God—only he can do that, and he does so by changing our desires and actions, by getting us to be more outward-focused and less inward-focused. CAD Director, Greg Williams, addressed this in a recent letter of his in Equipper: “God does not force us to enjoy the gift of salvation and to share the good news with others, but he enables us.”
The incomprehensible greatness of God is seen in the humility of the Trinity. The Trinity is humility in action as seen in these statements from Scripture: “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand”—the Son has come “not to do my will but the will of him who sent me”—the Spirit “will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears.” Humility is central to the divine nature of the Trinity, and Christ has invited us to participate in that nature as we are in communion with him. Along those lines, note this from the apostle Peter:
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
Here participate translates the Greek word koinōnos, which indicates fellowship, communion, sharing, partaking of, and partnering. As we participate in God’s divine nature, Christ’s own humility is being worked out in us. Peter challenges us to take full advantage of this gift. So, let’s do just that—let us put on the humble mind of Christ, esteeming others better than ourselves. That mind is the image of God that we want to share with others, for that humility points to God’s own glorious character.
Participating with you in Christ’s own humility,
Joseph Tkach
GenMin national coordinator Anthony Mullins reports on the Converge West conference held recently in Southern California. For more about Converge 2016, click here.
Converge West exceeded our expectations! The Spirit renewed our sense of togetherness and our hope for the future. We were blessed to share the conference with 86 women and men (see picture at right—click to enlarge). We met at the Holy Spirit Retreat Center in Encino, California with Mark and Anne Stapleton serving as our organizers and guides. Here are conference highlights:
Making a difference in the school system. Brandon Antwine (pictured at right), who directs our YES Camp in Louisiana, inspired us with a story about launching several clubs within the school where he teaches in order to help change the youth culture in his city. It was powerful!
People on the margins. Susan McSwain (pictured with her husband Jeff at right) shared the story of Mephibosheth as she led a group discussion concerning seeing people who live on the margins of society.
Communion. Mark Stapleton invited those over the age of 40 to serve the bread and wine to those under 40, then vice versa (see picture at right). The presence of the Trinity was palpable.
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Note: Thank you for your financial support of Grace Communion International. Your support allows GCI to, among many other things, provide resources to support youth-focused ministries and training for emerging leaders at Converge, summer camps, intern training events and other programs that bring young people together from around the world, helping them grow as young leaders and disciples of Jesus. Thank you for sharing so that others are blessed.
This update is from Rod Matthews, mission developer for GCI in Southeast Asia.
Nepal (see map below, click to enlarge) is regarded as the country with the fastest-growing Christian church in the world. 82% of its over 31 million residents are Hindu and perhaps 3% are Christian. The introduction in 1990 of a multi-party democracy brought a lessening of hostilities towards Christians although it’s still a challenging place to be involved in the work of taking the gospel to the people.
In March, my wife, Ruth, and I, along with our Southeast Asian pastoral coordinator, Wong Mein Kong and his wife, Chew Yeng, travelled to Kathmandu to visit our ministry partner there, the Himalayan Gospel Church (HGC), led by Deben Sam. As summer comes to Nepal, Deben has to make the most of the warmer months and takes trips to visit the rural congregations in the mountainous areas along the southern slopes of the Himalayas. So just prior to another of his trips, we had to squeeze a lot into a few days in Kathmandu.
On Saturday, March 12, we joined the Kathmandu congregation in their weekly worship service (see picture at right). Saturday is the day off from work for everyone in Nepal and all churches meet that day. About 80 people worshipped in the church’s facility, built on rented land. It consists of a U-shaped structure with a meeting hall, children’s room, kitchen, office, library, other rooms for guests, and restrooms.
Wong Mein Kong and I gave short sermons translated into the Nepali language by Deben’s brother-in-law, Raju, and Pastor Joseph. It was a delight to participate in the service, listen to the singing, and join in the offering which includes fresh food items donated to help the widows and very poor.
I had asked Deben if he could arrange a trip to a congregation outside of Kathmandu to expand our experiences and get a better feel for what the Holy Spirit is doing through HGC. We settled on a visit to the town of Manahari, about 120 km (75 miles) to the southwest of Kathmandu (pictured at left). Deben said that there was a new road in that direction that would cut down our travel time to less than 6 hours. I quickly discovered that I had added some built-in assumptions to the term “new road”!!
We left Kathmandu at 6 am “to avoid the traffic” – again a relative term. We wound our way out of Kathmandu on a narrow though sealed road passing through villages perched on the side of steep hills, with spectacular scenery in the morning mists – up to hovering peaks above us and down to rocky river beds hundreds of feet below. There was no safety barrier most of the way.
Then we reached the “new” road (pictured at left). It was so new that, in places, it was still being rebuilt, which added some further delays to the trip. The road was rocky with a deep layer of fine powdery dust. The rock was crumbly and subject to landslides, not helped by the earthquakes and after-shocks of last year, still being cleared away. Our four-wheel drive vehicle bounced and slithered around. So did we, inside. Some trucks and motorcycles, and even a few courageous cars were negotiating the road in both directions. I’ve been on some bad roads in my time, but this was a prize-winner!
We finally arrived in Manahari just before midday, and met the local pastor and his wife, who support themselves by running a small grocery shop in the main part of the town. The local church was in the process of constructing a building (pictured at left).
We learned that it was to be large enough to accommodate about nine orphans that the church is already caring for, and their guardians. The pastor from a church some distance away had come to Manahari to meet Deben and us.
Soon it was time to head back to Kathmandu, and I can’t say I looked forward to that road again. But the driver decided he would take an alternative way. Surely, it couldn’t be any worse, we thought. About 90 minutes out of Manahari, we turned off the established road and, literally, took a river bed instead (pictured at right). It was nothing but a track, but we were not alone—there was a row of four-wheel-drive vehicles winding along the valley, through scrub-land, over rocks, and fording the stream numbers of times. Another marvelous experience – a bonus off-road adventure that gave us a taste of the real Nepal.
On Monday, we visited the medical clinic that serves the very poor that the HGC has been running for about 10 years with support from GCI in the US and Australia. It was established to provide free medical consultations and medicines to people working in the brickyards and on the streets, focusing mainly on mothers and children. It was established simply to be a tangible expression of the love of God for the most disadvantaged of people, but over time some have asked why we offer a free service. A few have become church members as a result.
The owners of the original clinic location needed to utilize the site again after the earthquake last year, so Deben had to look for a new location.While he was doing so, Deben took the opportunity to assess its long-term future. To survive in the long term, the clinic needs to be financially self-supporting. So he has moved it into an urban area in the location shown at left.
Convenient to those shopping nearby, the clinic charges for medicines and consultations. It will also serve as a base for a mobile clinic which will take medical services even closer to those in need than before. It is Deben’s plan that eventually the income generated by the clinic will fully support the mobile services for the poor. In the transition, GCI will continue to fund it as we are able.
We also visited Deben’s farm (pictured at right) where he provides land so the poor people can raise tomatoes to sell to support themselves and the church. Deben also has a farm animal facility, which financially supports his extended family, including the 15 orphans from rural areas who live with him (pictured below). Deben mentioned that after the tragic earthquake of April last year, he found numerous children in rural areas where there are HGC congregations who had lost at least one parent in collapsed buildings, and that HGC is providing various forms and levels of support for another 80 children.
On Tuesday, we had the privilege of visiting the Himalayan Bible School (HiBiS) in session. Twelve men and women had been chosen from the locations where his mobile Bible school had conducted sessions last year in rural villages, to attend a three-month intensive course of Bible and Pastoral education in Kathmandu. It runs from February to May each year. Afterwards the participants go home with a small stipend to help support them for nine months while they use what they have learned in support of a local congregation and in community evangelism. Ultimately, Deben hopes to have the resources to hire a few of these graduates for full-time service in ministry in rural Nepal.
Nepal is an exciting and exceptionally challenging country in which to be part of Jesus’ ministry. One of the congregations in the northwest that Deben visits necessitates a 12-hour bus ride, followed by a one-hour plane ride and then three days of walking. Even places close to Kathmandu are not easy to reach, and Kathmandu itself is still recovering from the severe earthquakes of 2015, with much greater needs still outstanding in the regional areas. Doors are open everywhere you turn, and ministry has to be a matter of priorities according to the gifts and resources God gives to each part of the body of Christ.
We deeply appreciate the partnership God initiated between GCI and HGC, and the vision, sound management and courage to take up new opportunities that Deben brings as leader of a wonderful team of people. I know they all appreciate your prayerful support of the work God is doing in Nepal. As the former principal of Nepal Ebenezer Bible College, Rev. Manoj Shrestha, explained in an address at Calvin College (Grand Rapids, Michigan) last year, the gospel has reached “the highest point on the earth [Mount Everest in Nepal] from the lowest point on land on the earth [the Dead Sea].”
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Note: Your financial support of Grace Communion International allows the denomination to support Rod Matthews and other Mission Developers so that they can connect with people around the word who are interested in learning more about Jesus’ love for them. Thank you for sharing so that others are blessed.
In churches as in neighborhoods, in order to build community, it’s vital to get outside the building and onto the “front lawn.” This “front lawn” mentality is vital in a post-Christian era when people rarely take the initiative to come inside the church. We must go outside to them and there build community. For a helpful Christianity Today article on this important topic, go to http://www.christianitytoday.com/local-church/channel/utilities/print.html?type=article&id=133798.
Leadership Network recently announced that on May 17 (at 1:00 pm EST) they will be conducting a free online webinar that will discuss how congregations can conduct effective marriage ministries. For information about the webinar and to register, go to http://leadnet.org/marriage/.
