Labels

Call it curiosity; call it stupidity. Call it what you will. Political labels interest me. I have always prided myself on values orientation and conserving good values. Thus, I am intrigued by battles between liberals and conservatives.

Why do we designate others as right wing and left wing? To the left or right of what? Or who? … Me? This could go many directions, but let’s just follow one strand of thread--social relationships.

I grew up with black friends from childhood: brothers Alvin and Jimmie Clarke, Othel Shepherd. My father worked with their fathers. Among my close associates in high school was Don Brown. Don was an “African American” with whom I enjoyed frequent boxing brawls. We enjoyed each other‘s company and I felt badly when Don was killed in Army service.

When I went south in the late 40s, into the 60’s, I found segregation intolerable, but learned to accept Hispanics and “Spanish speaking.” Looking back, I remember multiplied references to such behavior as politically liberal, leftist thinking, up East, to the left of center.

How did social acceptance of someone “different from me” become politically liberal? Does that make them dangerous? Does that make me politically suspect? Does political conservatism accept only homogeneity, others like me?

Is it politically liberal to treat others as I want to be treated? How did rejecting others different from me become the standard measure of being right? Is treating others as I want to be treated now the rejected rule rather than the golden rule?

At minimum, this system of labeling others appears highly suspect, self-serving, irrational, unethical, and even immoral. It makes me wonder … why do we continue repeating such unworthy behavior … ?
Wayne

Remembering "God So Loved. . ."

I met Narcisco Zamora in June, a Peruvian Christian known as the Walking Man. His simple story impressed me and in July I introduced copies of his book at our local camp meeting.

Zamora describes his experiences in Latin America in Walking Man (Quilldriver, a $10 soft-cover book ($12.95 by pp mail). His journeys led him from the abject poverty, frequently accompanying delinquent behavior, to becoming an Assembly of God Christian and minister, and in 1984 a Church of God minister-missionary (Anderson).

His treks through the jungles of Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Cuba and elsewhere abroad. His story reveals raw, primitive evangelism. Frequently, he told his story of Jesus to people for their first time. As the walking evangelist, he clocked more than 1,000 miles of mountainous terrain, by day and night. During his travels he introduced the Church of God message into two new nations.

Traveling with minimal personal items, his preaching bible, and a packet of tracks, he walked. He upgraded to a mule when available, then a horse, being always in humble circumstances and distributing literature furnished by Christian Triumph Publishers of Corpus Christi, TX. (a ministry I have had associations with for more than half a century.

Describing Zamora‘s newest effort, Assist News Service reported:
"The role of American support in worldwide missions is important," said Zamora in the release. "I have partnered with many American churches and hope to continue to do so. Nonetheless, the Great Commission applies equally to Latin Americans, and I started the IMMS to prepare nationals to fulfill it, effectively and efficiently. We must be good stewards of God's resources."

Thinking about Zamora, I look at the bigger picture and see other issues within our Chog ranks: budgetary giving crunch threatening a shortfall, nationals like Zamora who serve mostly outside of national sponsorship, congregations with local mission projects (like Riverside, CA serving in downtown LA, Tijuana Mexico and Kenya).

Some struggle with “designated” giving, as opposed to budgetary giving, and worry about balance between congregational autonomy and support of mutually determined national ministries. As a pastor of 45 years, I well understand that struggle for balance. I know that Chog Ministries has a problem--facing accusations of controlling from the top down. They need our loyalty, but face congregations wanting to maintain an assumed autonomy.

A look at our history, as well as our predominant “thinking” should put much of this to rest. It isn’t our organization et al that we need to improve; we need to redefine and reaffirm our primary mission as a corporate Church Body. What I know is this: I have an injured right hand and a “gimpy” ankle, both from accidents.

It was my hand at first: two fingers require some adjustment for typing, which was my biggest concern at the time. After more than twenty years of dealing with “my” issues, I know this: when “I” tell my hands to type this message, my fingers coordinate their efforts to the best of their abilities and this message results. It isn‘t 100 words a minute, but I have written hundreds of pages and thousands of words.

When my “gimpy” ankle gets a notice from up above my shoulders, that I want to take a walk, my limbs coordinate their efforts and I “go for a walk.” As a result, I have probably walked thousands of miles. My general health is the better for it. Although I now walk slower and less than I once did, I still walk. I volunteer for special causes and I am the caregiver at our house.

What I conclude from this, is that we need to sweat the lesser issues less and focus on the really big issues of loving people in the name of Jesus. I have two questions: (1). What is God’s primary focus? (2). How do I (we) achieve that mission. Chog Ministries is not all of the ministry of the Church of God, but it is an important slice of the pie.

The greatest thing God ever accomplished culminated on that first Easter. That was when we began to understand the desire of God’s heart--the only mission we have. That focus will allow national and local ministries to co-exist side by side, a lot of foggy thinking and personal squabbles will fall away, and as a church body we will be liberated to say to Jesus, “Yes, we can!”
We could do a better job of taking care of God’s business, if we were not so involved in sweating the small stuff. We need to get our heads and hearts back in God’s ballgame.
Wayne

Finding a just Peace

America currently struggles to find a policy for terminating the Iraq War and establishing a just peace. David Andleman offers some lessons from history (David Andleman, A Shattered Peace. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., NY, 2008).

The armistice of 11 November 1918 ended WWI fighting. Six months later, at the conclusion of the Paris Peace Conference, the Treaty of Versailles took effect. The war officially ended 28 June 1919--5 years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, one of the events triggering the war

One of the more important and controversial provisions required Germany and its allies to accept full responsibility for causing the war. Articles 231-248 demanded that they disarm, make substantial territorial concessions, and pay reparations to those nations forming the Entente powers.

Historians suggest this Treaty was undermined by subsequent events. International competition began about 1922, and was widely flouted through the mid-thirties. The resulting competition resulted in sometimes incompatible goals and brought about compromises that satisfied no one.

Germany was neither pacified nor conciliated. It did not offer a promising future for either Germany, Europe, or the world. Eventually, Charles D. Teney, United States charge’ d”affaires in Beijing, cabled Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby, who succeeded Lansing during Woodrow Wilson’s last year as president, warning that

“The Japanese government and nation are drunk with ambition, They aspire to control the western share of the Pacific Ocean and the resources of the hinterland. . .[and seeking to control the trade of Asia, they dream] of the day when they can humble the United States and are systematically preparing for it” (Andleman, 281).

That conclusion, and reference to the conflict that eventually followed, comes from an observer of the process. E. J. Dillon described the signers of the Versailles Treaty as “a gang of benevolent conspirators, ignoring history and expertship, shutting themselves up in a room and talking disconnectedly” . . . each of them “striving desperately to come out on top over the other--but particularly over that paragon of virtue, and naiveté’, Woodrow Wilson” (Andleman/289).

They called Wilson many names, many of them for being whatever his critics considered politically unworthy. Much of the criticism was undeserving, whatever the politic. The powerbrokers considered him politically naïve for recognizing our need for world community, abusing him for his attempts at establishing accountability among nations through his so-called League of Nations.

“Each of the European Allies,” reported Andleman, “was determined to take care of the needs and the security of his own nation, as he perceived it--and everyone else be damned. Bismarck, in an earlier era, had tossed off the perfect description of all their feelings: ‘The whole of the Balkans is not worth the bones of a single Pomeranian grenadier’” (Andleman/290).

“The aim of most of the victors who began arriving in Paris after the armistice in November 1918 was to create an imperial peace (emphasis added). This was tailor-made to maintain British hegemony on the high seas, thereby protecting its global empire.

“It helped France dust itself off and establish its claim as the preeminent Continental power. And it mandated the rest of the world--especially those least powerful but no less endowed with natural or material wealth--to dispatch their tribute to the victors in the form of commodities, cheap labor, and expanding markets.

“We have paid the price for many decades now, “for all these. . . Who with great insouciance, dismembered nations and divided peoples carelessly and thoughtlessly according to a simple whim, or worse” (Andleman/13).

Some Americans like riding around the world like the Lone Ranger and Tonto, doing good works according to our standards. Others recognize the need for our nation, as well as all nations, to become accountable to each other on behalf of humanity’s common good. At the core, there are only two kinds of human beings, takers, or givers.

I did not know of David Andleman, when I picked up his new book. However, I found him to be a reputable journalist, a reporter with a long resume in international affairs. He documented his sources, like good writers do, and I found his descriptions relevant and his conclusions provocative of further thought.

The shattered peace he describes, which we endure as if a seeming necessity, offers legitimate charges against the much self-seeking of private interests. Andleman thoughtfully reminds us of our continued need to press forward with renewed peace efforts toward the common good.

During much of my life political powerbrokers and private interests have struggled for control of the political processes. The takers were more obvious than the givers. Most of all, Versailles proved to be a political power struggle where the biggest players controlled the deck.

By forcing smaller economic and political players (and the givers) to go along with their socio-political gaming, they produced no lasting peace. I can only imagine the frustration of a Palestinian, trying to get a hearing, finding no other “last resort” of protest than to self-destruct. Men like Father Elias Chacour help us understand Palestinian life under Israeli occupation--supported by the world powers. I do not wonder at all about Middle-east unrest!

I don’t approve of much of today‘s political conniving, but I try to understand (I too would want a political hearing). As Americans, we are experiencing a meltdown of unleashed capitalism. Commercial greed gobbles up everything in sight and threatens to self-destruct--taking the economy down with it.

Professor E. J. Dionne recently described this unvarnished greed as the biggest political story of 2008--getting very little media coverage. “It involves” wrote Dionne, “the collapse of assumptions that have dominated our economic debate for three decades. Since the Reagan years, he concludes, “free-market clichés have passed for sophisticated economic analysis. But in the current crisis, these ideas are falling, one by one, as even conservatives recognize that capitalism is ailing.

Nothing works, either politically or economically, as well as the principles of the Prince of Peace, who came blessing peacemakers and instructing his followers to practice God’s fundamental law of human relations - love one another---as I have loved you (John 13:34).

Thomas a Kempis concluded “In Jesus and for Him, enemies and friends alike are to be loved.” I agree.
Wayne

A Perspective on Politics and Faith

I have a question for digital diplomats out there. As we face our coming Presidential Election do we need to be less concerned with which political party wins and more interested in meeting human needs spiritually and socially?

* I have excerpted this from Will Braun, editor of Geez magazine, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Will writes from a healthy distance of 1,566 miles. He writes from the other side of an international border, and a curious cultural divide sets him apart from Capitol Hill, our global epicenter of raw power.

A Capitol-intensive Christianity makes Braun uneasy. Doesn’t the church have a higher calling, he asks: a calling qualitatively different than gaining maximum sway in the globe’s most intense pursuit of worldly power?

I’m not sure I should say this, admits Braun, “but I feel y’all. . .are too caught up in the phenomenon of “America” Obviously US politics directly affects the lives of many people and cannot be ignored altogether. On the other hand, super-power is not the ultimate power. As people of faith we have the luxury of a broader perspective. . .that allows us to operate on a plane beyond power-politics.

Sure Jesus went to the capital. . .riding a donkey. One can easily identify the political implications of what he said. However, Jesus modeled a seemingly counter-intuitive, paradoxical approach to power. In the conspicuous absence of revolution or a well-groomed lobbying campaign, Jesus offered a seemingly irrational death on the margins. Yes, he stepped on religious and wealthy toes, but those of his time who longed for political change ended up bitterly disappointed!

As Christians, let’s give less credence to the top of the power pyramid rather than more. Let’s resist the temptation to place too much of our hope in a revived. . .party. Instead, let’s claim the bottom: God is not a Republican or a Democrat. . .a backroom campaign strategist, or an American political pundit, or a lobbyist.

I take great solace, admits Braun, in knowing there is something entirely beyond the realm of Red and Blue (emphasis added), a higher plane that supersedes election cycles, frantic campaigning and the din of the lobbying frenzy.

And I, although I have spent a tremendous lot of time this past decade listening to political pundits, opposing the Iraq War and the increasing inequity in our United States, I take Braun seriously when he reminds us that "Ultimately our hope is in a paradoxical, unlikely power. And that is why I think the faith community has a higher calling than governmental politics."

Admittedly, I find the political policies of Barak Obama much more responsible and Christian than those of John McCain, but I will be neither blue nor red. As a staunch evangelical conservative I will more seriously consider the counsel of Jim Wallis (Sojourners) to be a Red-letter Christian.

What I believe and practice, I will filter through the red-letter lens of Jesus’ teachings, before I try to sort out the complicated thoughts and interpretations of Peter, Paul, Augustine, Luther, and any other company of political pundits.

That is where I stand firm.

Wayne

Electing a President

We face one of the most crucial elections in American history. Many issues are at stake, not least of which is our stance toward war and peace (which influences many other issues). We will either go into further decline as a nation or we will restore some hope of renewed national character.

We have two principle candidates before us. One candidate will hold the same line of confrontational diplomacy, preemptive strike against terrorism et al, with all the consequences globally and at home economically and otherwise. The other candidate opposed the war in Iraq from day one, but does not oppose war as a last resort.

I would support Rick Warren in his sermon commentary on the kind of leadership our nation needs in the next president, as reported by Assist News Service. He charged that "Today, most leaders are interested in image - what people think they are; but true leadership involves integrity, based on character and confidence, which is the number one need for leaders in America."

He said, "Integrity doesn't mean perfection - no one is perfect - but it does mean being honest, which leads to credibility and trust." According to Warren, the second biblical quality for leadership is humility, which is marked by service to others. "True leaders are known by how they serve, not how many serve them," he said. "Too many leaders start out in service that quickly evolves into 'serve us.' Humility doesn't mean denying one's strengths, but rather being honest about one's weaknesses. Humility is not thinking less of oneself, it is thinking less about oneself, and the way to do that is to think of other people.

"The worst sin one can have is pride, which makes us enemies of God," Warren added. "Humility is a declaration of dependence. Our president needs to be humble, and we should look for leaders who admit their dependence on God." According to Warren, the third needed characteristic for an influential leader is generosity. "Generosity is love in action," he said. "You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving; it is important that a leader give both his time and his money for others."

It may be that this election is more of a referendum on the American people than it is upon the two candidates. One thing is certain: our choice of candidates will certainly say a great deal about the American people and how we view ourselves.

I would hope in this election that the Christian Church would shake itself from its lethargy and become a new moral majority involved in issues of war and peace, of economic justice, and the issues or myths of things like global warming. I quite agree with Jim Wallis that “The Christianity of private piety, affluent conformity, and God Bless (only) America” has compromised the witness of the church while putting a new generation of Christians to sleep” (The Great Awakening/59).

I want the next president to allow for balance of powers between the Big Three of Congress, the office of President, and the Courts. I want him to pursue better economic equity between the most affluent and the least affluent. I want him to promote a new transparency in the office of the president, less media manipulation, and more integrity. I also want him to remember the statement in the Bill of Rights that says “deriving their powers from the consent of the governed” reminds him of “people sovereignty” and does not extend to him increased monarchial powers to supercede the Bicameral government--the English version of King George was quite enough!).

I will take particular note of how the presidential candidates approach the issues involved in Iraq and Afghanistan. I would hope he would recall the words of JFK, when the Berlin wall went up, spoken 6-22-1963. President Kennedy asked West Berliners “to lift up your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin. . .to the advance of freedom every where, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.” I want him to lift up that kind of vision for everyone, but with the qualities of leadership reaffirmed by Rick Warren’s sermon.

Meanwhile, I will advocate for peace! CNN reported on Cpl Joshua Bleill who lost both legs from an Iraq IED. Technology can be destructive, but it is also wonderful. Blue Tooth, shortrange wireless technology, helps transform hopelessness into hope. Bleill has 32 pins in his hip and a 6 inch screw holding his pelvis together. He is now learning to walk on prosthetic legs and aided by Blue Tooth technology will be able to have his hands free to use a cell phone.

I look at Bleill and thank God for technological progress; his life is not totally ruined. I also look at the collateral damages in war (many are less fortunate than Bleill), damage to our economy, damage to our reputation and diplomatic character among the nations of the world, the terrible losses of Iraqi civilians, not to mention the people of Afghanistan, or the excessive profits of companies slurping up the blood money profiteering from armaments, ammunition, and a host of subsidiary activities.

How will we vote? How should I as a Christian pray? Martin Luther said “Let us pray in the church with the church for the church, for there are three things that preserve the church and belong to the church. First, to teach faithfully; then, to pray diligently; and third, to suffer with earnestness.” Has the world not suffered enough already from the constancy of wars?
Wayne

What Happened

Having read something under a dozen books on the Bush political dynasty, and having some interest in the administration of George W. Bush, I was interested to read Scott McClellan’s perspective of What Happened ”Inside the Bush White House and Washington‘s Culture of Deception” (Scott McClellan, What Happened. Public Affairs: NY, 2008, p. 134).

I discovered a self-professed conservative Democrat, which in a southern state like Texas, spells Republican, since Johnson‘s Civil Rights Act of 1964. His mother, the former mayor of Austin, TX, and former State Comptroller, is the daughter of the longtime, highly respected, Dean of the UT Law School, Page Keeton. His roots in Texas politics run deep.

Moreover, I found much to admire in this decent, a high-minded and idealistic young man. Rooted in politics, he has a penchant for journalism. His eye for detail comes through with almost boring detail, especially in the early chapters.

As a member of the Bush Administration, he proved staunchly loyal to the man he obviously admires greatly. He reveals Bush as a seemingly rather progressive governor, uniting both sides of the Texas aisle and achieving some noteworthy victories, in spite of the fact that I find the Texas death penalty rate almost barbaric.

Reading McClellan, one senses a slow change to a very different form of politics inside the Beltway, as he processes his way through the early years. I was especially interested in 9-1-1, the launching of the Iraq War, and the Valarie Plame conflict involving Scooter Libby and VP Cheney.

In his processing, he discusses other issues as well, not least of which are the changes that took place internally within McClellan, and his eventual exit from the White House Staff, courtesy of John Bolton, the new Chief of Staff. What I found of most interest in this book, aside from his conclusions at the end on improving Washington politics, is the following lengthy quote:

P.134: “…In the permanent campaign era it was all about manipulating sources of public opinion to the president’s advantage.

“Of course, I didn’t see it that way at the time. Like most if not all of those involved, I viewed it as the way things were done to advance the broader agenda - simply part of the way Washington governed. I didn’t pause to think about the potential consequences of our campaign to manipulate the public debate. When you are caught up in the intense day-to-day experience of the White House and Washington your focus is on winning the daily battles, which make it extremely difficult to step back and have a clear-eyed perspective on the broader meaning of it all.”

P135: “We were more focused on creating a sense of gravity and urgency about the threat of Saddam Hussein than governing on the basis of the truths of the situation.”

Others may read this differently, but I read it as a nice way of saying the Administration failed to practice the moral ethical standard they proclaimed. Said more simply, in the heat of political battle, the ends justified the means, even if they had to control the media and deceive the public.

Having admitted as much as he does, McClellan still finds it almost impossible within himself to hold the President responsible for ultimately allowing the practiced deception; or, as Harry Truman said, “The buck stops here!” And since McClellan was one of those primarily responsible for the multitude of photo-ops of the President, he never deals with his own part in the ultimate deception of some of them, such as the President landing on the Air Craft carrier.

Although failing in his protest, he did have the good judgement to protest the President’s flyover of New Orleans and Katrina, although he never dealt with the governmental role in a crisis of such magnitude. Of course, many of this administration do not consider the government as having anything more than a minimal role at such times.

I applaud McClellan’s recognition of the atmosphere of controlled media and deception within the Beltway. He acknowledges the vast majority of electees as good people, elected to unite, compromise, and “put our nation’s best interest above that of the party” (314).

“Once in office,” concludes McClellan, “the president must demonstrate an unyielding commitment to three important principles: (1) a high level of openness, forthrightness, and honesty when communicating with the American people; (2) a spirit of inclusiveness and unity, which reaches across partisan divisions and ideological differences to encourage cooperation among all groups and individuals; and (3) a readiness to consistently govern toward the center, seeking common ground from which to solve problems rather than appealing to a narrow base of opinion” (315).

Political rhetoric without supportive action is like religious ritual without walking the walk of faith. Thus, while McClellan concludes with constructive suggestions for changing the atmosphere of deception and partisan excesses, he does admit “President Bush is paying a heavy price for his failure to do so.”
Wayne

Our Changing World

Chogblog caught my attention when Lloyd Moritz mentioned Patrick Nachtigall’s new book: Faith in the Future: Christianity's Interface with Globalization. He purchased it “because it covers a compelling topic that I don't hear discussed much in our circles."

Nachtigall's purpose, Lloyd wrote, is to "look at some of the new things that are currently happening in our world so that Christians can be better informed and more prepared to engage the world with the gospel" (p. 2). Further along, he referred to the “many Americans who seem to be somewhat insulated from the global trends happening around them.

That started my loose marbles rolling. I recalled an older book I found in our North Avenue church library that told the story of a Ukrainian soldier who became a Jesus convert. His new-found faith led him to launch two generations of devoted non-atheist families, although living under the boot heel of atheistic communism

I heard about the “Siberian Pentecostals” when they were in the news back in the eighties. John Pollock, author of The Siberian Seven, shared the saga of suffering faithfully endured by two Siberian Christian families. That Ukranian soldier, linked first with Baptist Christians and later became a dominant Pentecostal leader in Siberia.

Their story recalls others--Gracia Burnham, widowed in the Philippines by terrorists. The number grows almost daily, Chinese Christians being the most recent focus.

The Siberians offer a model for all denominations, as they exemplify simple New Testament faith and practice. They are too exemplary for us to not learn from them, whatever we think of their theology or national politics.

Pollock conveyed their genuine love for God. He revealed the seriousness of their lifestyle of faith as they faced social rejection--a persecuted minority--rejecting ridicule. Although they lived as peasants, they presented a very credible witness.

The testing of their faith, and others--like the boy publicized by the Voice of the Martyrs--whose hands and feet were nailed to a board and abandoned because he held firm to his faith. Such examples should challenge every Christian to a new level of interfacing with our one-world global community.

Patrick Nachtigall happens to be a missionary, the grandson of Pastor Sam, Cleveland, OH. Patrick‘s father, Harry, once played in a popular AU Trumpet Trio). However, it isn’t solely a religious issue. I began reading Albert Gore in the late eighties, in Southern Baptist Home Missions magazine, alerting us to environmental issues. I just finished Scott McClellan’s book, What Happened (“Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception”). I will soon finish Kevin Phillips, the historian, as he follows what he calls Bad Money.

A common thread strings together religion, technology, history, politics, finance, the environment, and most issues common to humankind. We are on-the-scene witnesses to an extraordinary time in history. My two Golden Gopher grandsons will live in a substantially different USA, with its changing global neighborhood, than did my son and daughter.

Dramatic realignments could reshape politics, religion, and most human issues. Americans can no longer take our dominant role in the world and our “American Dream” for granted. Christians face ever new challenges, at home and abroad.

I have two conclusions to this: (1) Americans--Christians in particular--need to get their heads in the ballgame and begin learning how to interface with a global community that may look very different from what we have been accustomed to; and, Get Ready; God Uses Transitions.

I am not worried about the Who in charge of our universe, but I am concerned about those people--many Christians--living with their head in the sands of denial. I‘m satisfied they will ultimately find their lives rather drab and disappointing.

I am thankful to enjoy a few of the comforts of our culture. That means, however, I (we) must be prepared to share those blessings. As I finish my journey, I pray that I might bloom as beautifully as did the Siberian Seven, Gracia Burnham, the young African lad, and many faithful Chinese Christians, as well as others.

May I live as faithfully in my circumstances, as did those many others who struggle with more difficult assignments. Business as usual is no longer good enough--as Christians, as Americans, as world citizens.
Wayne

ETX Piney Woods

1958-2008 - CELEBRATING ANNIVERSARY AT CAMP POWERS, NACODOCHES, TX.
Weekend Services August 29--September 1, Evangelist Steve Nelson, South Shore, KY, Conference leader, Nelson Trick, retired MACU, and Music Evangelist, Dale Rector of Whitehall, TX.

SPECIAL 50TH ANNIVERSARY SERVICE AUG 30, 2 P.M.
(co-hosted by Ray / Maggie Rector, senior area pastors).
For Detailed Information call:
Camp Mgr, Clyde Smith: 936-564-8028 or cp 936-615-1906

Ray and Maggie, at the request of the District Pastors have gone all out to plan, prepare, and promote an event worth your attention. We cannot attend, but would in a minute, except we can’t do both and I have a priority in KY, where I will be reorganizing the Archives at Reformation Publishers into expanded facilities--as quickly as Steve says he‘s ready!

We would attend -- if we could (our kids cut their eyeteeth in youth camp here, in times good and bad). I remember that evening when my daughter discovered a Timber Rattler in the sand in our Brush Arbor Tabernacle (A quick-thinking neighbor stomped it before anything could happen).

Our kids used to love getting into the watermelon patch (they really grow watermelon in Texas). Over below San Antonio I saw watermelon by the trainload…

Also recall directing some youth camps. One weekend camp meeting, I took my Jr Hi youth, led by my daughter, Sandra Barnes (FtW) and some others. Those kids earned both my respect and admiration as they washed, dried, and had fun earning their keep--just for the fun of being there--125 metal GI food trays 3 times a day, in conditions that have no comparison to what my kids later enjoyed at NorCal's Diamond Arrow, or that we enjoy today at Warner Memorial over at Grand Junction, MI.

Those kids did not have Lester Lake to swim in, or Lake of the Ozarks, but they loved the beautiful Olympic-sized pool on the campus of Stephen F. Austin University nearby. I got a little static for allowing mixed bathing (swimming), but we ironed that out and moved on.

What I know from those and other experiences through the years is that after our kids flew the coop to WPC, AU, and away from our home nest, they could hardly stand it to know dad and mom went off to camp without them ) from NAC to the bottom of the list, it didn’t matter), they still BELONGED!

I just had to do this. “Someone online” needs an alert to the possibilities down in the Piney Woods. In addition, I can guarantee that church life is not all a bunch of dull stuff……….
Wayne

Turn on the Lights

The Andrea Doria steamed determinedly toward the United States with her 2,234 passengers and crew of 575. A veteran of 50 voyages to New York City, the luxury liner cruised at 22 knots. Captain Franco Calamai, 58, felt fully confident of his radar system, despite dense fog.

Surging through the same fog, another liner, the Stockholm, forged ahead in the same fog, outbound from a stateside port. The Stockholm sliced the hull of the Andrea Doria, shearing her bow like a butter knife. Disengaging, she continued her journey as she disappeared in the fog.

On board the Andrea Doria, passengers quickly sensed something wrong, but only slowly comprehended what had just happened. Someone thought a ship’s boiler exploded. The Captain resisted sounding an alarm for fear of spreading panic. He dispatched an immediate SOS, thinking to save his ship.

Three small ships responded--not enough to hold his passengers. At the last possible moment, another Europe-bound ship responded to Captain Calamai’s SOS. By now several hundred passengers were beginning to feel their lostness.

As their ship listed over more perilously, hundreds of distressed passengers suddenly began to cheer, while some wept. Peering into the darkness, they read the lettering of a French liner--the Ile de France. Aboard that French liner, Captain de Baudean ordered every light set ablaze.

“Turn on the lights, all the lights, let them know we’re here,” he commanded.
De Beaudean’s crew rescued all but 52 people before the Andrea Doria sank to a depth of 225 feet at 10:09 on July 26, 1956.

Nice story, you say, but I remember it because it was the rescue of the Rev. & Mrs. Ernest LaFont. I never met Ernest but I knew Frank and wife Margaret. They were all fellow alumni from Warner Pacific College, and Ernest and his wife were returning stateside from missionary service in Egypt on that trip.

“You are the light of the world,” Jesus told his Sermon on the Mount congregation (Mt 5:14) Hiding a city located on a hill makes for a difficult and deliberate task. You just can’t hide light! Today, the Church of God is on a mission, called by Our Lord to serve and minister-to broken humanity. Economic insecurity is everywhere today for all but the wealthy. Times are difficult and the church feels the crunch as well. Distrust, disbelief, and fear of too-much Church of God Ministries dominates the thinking of many.

Need we be reminded that we have no hierarchy, no headquarters, no Pope to make up our minds? Jesus Christ is Lord of the Church--we are His family! Because most of us believe we can do some things better together than by ourselves, we elect from our peers, and charge them with administering our cooperative ministries like global missions, educational ministries, publications, pastoral care, etc.

Currently, there is chatter about the video from Dr. Duncan and the projected shortfall. Well, I know more than I want to know about shortfall, even agency failure and distrust. I also know my small pension means survival and I’ve known a lot of agency through the years that I would trust my life with.

Online, I’m reading words like headquarters, accountability, congregationalism, even distrust, to mention a few. Everyone has a reason, for feeling hurt, distrust, and a lot of other non-essential stuff. Some of have issues to talk about that we feel are essential. I have all of the above!

But, it all boils down to this: In the Church of God we are all fellows (and girls) in the same ship. Those several ministries that we do better together than solo need us to act like the “Body” we claim to be. And, we all know how the body functions!

Ron Duncan is simply trying to rally us around our common cause. Headquarters, Chog Ministries is not. The Bishop, Dr. Duncan is not, but he is the leader we elected after we dispensed with Bob Pearson the visionary.

If you want to know the faults of our Movement, ask my Pastor (no names). Soooooo, I was just a little surprised Sunday when a guest preacher showed up and presented the congregation a certificate crediting them with giving over half a million dollars--upper 4-5% of givers (I forget).
That is better than anything I ever achieved as a pastor and I thought it was pretty neat.

More than that, my friend Kirk Bookout (Chog Ministries) reminded me of something I’ve always believed: we do some things better together than by ourselves. Designated giving is fine for churches that have funds for special projects, but the churches I served never had enough to cover those things we considered essential; thus we always gave “undesignated” - to the budget - even when I was among those most hurt.

Recalling the rescue of the LaFonts, half a century ago, I have no problem seeing that French Captain ordering lights everywhere on his ship And in all the din--the cacophony of today’s strange sounds, I hear Our Captain loudly crying to the church - “Turn on the lights! Let everyone know we’re here. Let no one be without a light by which to see.”

I saw it that way when I accepted my first mission charge in AR in 1951; I saw it that way through years of small churches (we didn’t call them missions then). although I retired in 1996, if I could do it all over again, I’d jump at the chance because I believe in it!
Wayne

Interpreting the Text

We were having a serious discussion about the book of Revelation. My friend takes a church historical approach and divides history into numerous time periods that result in the evening light, when the church reappears out of the darkness under the beast of Roman Papacy.

I read Revelation through the historical lenses of Church History. This strengthens, rather than lessening, the uniqueness of the Reformation of the Church of God (as we know it). It links us directly to the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus.

I suggest it more correctly reveals the orthodoxy of our lineage. It finds us as bible-believing Christians from the first centuries, wending it way through an endless list of reformers that introduce Martin Luther. It postdates Luther, and finds its way through those Radical Anabaptists, and others the ilk of Wesley, Winebrenner and Warner.

I saw my friend’s problem in his opening paragraph: “You recognize the reticence of scholars to accept the numbers and name the Papacy as the beast prophesied.” I suggested that he failed to grasp the foundational statement of biblical interpretation, which I quote from George Kufeldt, a scholar on the prophets and the prophetic (Callen/ Listening To The Word of God/AU-Warner Press/1990):

The construction of such a system of eschatology
through proof-texting: the biblical text must be,
interpreted in the light of its context.

Biblical interpretation must be viewed first through the author’s lens, and the context of his times. With both Revelation and Daniel, my friend, with his Church Historical view, was looking through a lense later than the writer’s and more in keeping with his own contextual times.

If we read Revelation through John’s contextual lens, it predates the 1260 years of the Papacy and applies to the 1st and 2nd century World Powers (including the Roman Empire, of which Caesar worship was a part). Same for Daniel.

That is not to say the Papacy does not apply; it does, but it was not the primary prophecy. There is a direct correlation between the adoration given the Pope and that first given Caesar. It serves as a secondary--contemporary--application, rather than a prophetic word.

My friend was looking through his own lens to read-into history the 1260 years. He was stacking one period of history onto another and making a projected timeline, the same one by which the first Millerites and later Adventists established Christ‘s second Advent.

An exaggerated illustration of this might be made by looking at the four gospels. Ordinarily, we view them as four views of the same event--like any good accident report, but only one life and ministry of Jesus (definitely not four lifetimes of Jesus).

A more accurate reading of the text reads times, time, and half-time as repeated references (just different terms) to the same message, rather than each referring to a different time and then stacking time on time into 1260 years, with an eventual timeline for D. S. Warner coming on the scene in 1880.

With a little tweaking of that methodology, we could also be among the 7th Day Adventists. Warner got that idea from reading Uriah Smith of the Battle Creek Adventist College.

Regarding the unsoundness of the Year-Day theory; Kenneth Jones wrote: “This method of calculation is usually supported by reference to Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:4-4, and Daniel 9:25. However, none of these presents a general rule, and all of them together are negated by other passages in which a day is not a year, and a year is not a day (italics mine). Cf further ref: Isa 7:8; 16:14; 23:15; Jere 29:10; Daniel 8:2; and Mt 20:19).

Jones comments further: “this method has repeatedly led to predictions of the end that have been proven wrong by failure.”

Just in my lifetime, I have heard these constantly readjusted and compounded. Theories abounded with WWII and continue to change with the evolving of history. By using this contemporary lens, Hal Lindsey excited multitudes about the reestablishment of Israel in 1948. He wrote reams about it, only to be proven wrong and finding it necessary to tweak his own teaching).

When you begin with the wrong road, you seldom get to the right destination. Thus, I suggested to my friend that what was wrong with his interpretive journey was that he could not come out at the right place when he began with a misinterpretation. It skewed his whole journey!

The message of God’s grace, mercy, and sufficiency is abundantly clear in the Book of the Apocalypse (Revelation). However, I found my friend’s stream of interpretation polluted at its source.

Some have looked at this problem and declared if the Church of God Reformation Movement was not prophesied in Scripture, we have no biblical distinctiveness as a Reformation Movement. Perhaps so, but I contend that it does not diminish our distinctiveness at all.

By rooting ourselves in Church History--from the first century til now--we simply connect (reconnect) to the lifeline of Biblical Orthodoxy. John 15 describes life in the vine and we are only showing our living link to the True Vine--where the real life exists in the historic community of generic (if you will) Christianity.

The remnant of faithful, bible-believing, holiness witnesses thread their way from the earliest centuries, through the dark ages (Pre-Reformation), the Lutheran Reformation, Radical Reformers, and the holiness umbrella of Wesleyan reform).

As a Movement we are not static; the renewing winds of God’s spirit blow through the tree tops. I stood at historic Warner Camp recently and watched majestic tall trees sway gently in winds I could not see. Again, I prayed for a sense of God’s renewing Spirit in our midst. I may not see it when it happens, but I can go to waters nearby and adjust the sails on my little craft, and that gentle breeze will take me where I need to go.

Let us go forward with the Mission Statement God wrote when Jesus journeyed between Bethlehem and Calvary. We celebrate Christmas and Easter as we do because it was there that God modeled true love and meaningful gifting.

Let us renew our embrace of generic Christianity. Let us share God’s supreme gift of love. Let us passionately unite in the quest for holiness and unity--rather than compete for exclusive rights to it. Let us become a truly united church for a divided and segregated world. Let the Lord Jesus Himself be the doorkeeper of our fellowship.

Creeds affirm theological beliefs, but they are inadequate as tests of fellowship. Membership documents are helpful, and every believer needs to be part of a close-knit fellowship. But only Christ Himself can be the glue that binds us together. Only His Love expressed in our lives will adequately translate His Word for a hurting world in need of healing.

A Tribute

I listened to former missionary to the far East, Ann Smith, speak at our North American Convention this past June. Ann represents a lot of special people among us that are worthy of a word of tribute.

I met Ann’s husband Nathan in the late 40s. I knew of his military service and his call to return to Japan--a peacemaker. Through the years, I noted the tragic death of the wife we knew.

Later, Nathan married the sister of my jovial friend Joe Espy, unknown to me at that time. Of course, we followed Nathan and Ann in their years of Missionary service to the Far East.

Eventually, a day came when we hosted the retired missionary couple at our church. They shared some of the hard lessons they profited from through the years--Nathan’s Multiple Myeloma, his life expectancy of six months to four years, the collapse of several vertebrae in his upper back, the result of his illness. Yet, he battled back, as vigorously as possible.

He endured two long years of chemotherapy, unable to walk for weeks. Losing more than half his blood supply, he faced eventual hepatitis, resulting in cirrhosis of the liver. Shingles attacked his right side. Months later, they struck his left side. His weakened immune system created additional problems.

Monthly chemotherapy brought eventual improvement and Nathan began to mend--slowly regaining some of his former strength. The cancer in his bloodstream diminished. Finally, the doctors began oral chemotherapy and discontinued his monthly hospital visits. This allowed Nathan to pursue a routine of daily activities relatively pain free.

Now four to five inches shorter than formerly--physically diminished but spiritually fortified--Nathan joined Ann in traveling about the country sharing their common faith for sixteen more years. Prayer, bible reading, and fellowship, enriched by friends and family, sustained them as they shared whenever opportunity presented.

Five positive practices guided Nathan as he and Ann sought renewal for each new today:
1. Find others to cheer.
2. Keep a positive attitude.
3. Eat and exercise properly.
4. Keep goals ahead.
5. Learn to relax and laugh more.

God works at reconciling people to himself, just as he fortified Nathan and Ann to create a new and improved future for themselves--until Nathan‘s untimely death. Since then, Ann has pressed forward, from her home in Anderson, IN, modeling ministry for all--a choice prophet of God in her own right.

Thank you, Ann Smith, for your example, your patience, fortitude, and for the beautiful spirit with which you influenced many of our lives across the Church of God. While God calls each of us to build patiently and creatively wherever life has planted us, we sometimes find the lessons hard to learn.

Charles Kettering, the electrical wizard, was also a pioneer in creative possibilities. One day, he gave one of the shortest speeches on record. He confessed to a leadership conference, “I am not interested in the past. I am interested only in the future, for there is where I expect to spend the rest of my life.”

With that he sat down to a thunderous applause, but his speech rings with the creativity Ann Smith has lived since Nathan’s death. Her example, and that of countless others, challenges us to living by our positive values while we continue focusing on the future.

We may live in a male-dominated culture, but you have taught us well. And, we salute you for being the messenger and model that you are.
Wayne