Herald of Holiness Volume 81 Number 04 (1992)
Transcription
Herald of Holiness Volume 81 Number 04 (1992)
Olivet Nazarene University Digital Commons @ Olivet Herald of Holiness Church of the Nazarene 4-1-1992 Herald of Holiness Volume 81 Number 04 (1992) Wesley D. Tracy (Editor) Olivet Nazarene University Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/cotn_hoh Part of the Christian Denominations and Sects Commons, Christianity Commons, Church History Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Tracy, Wesley D. (Editor), "Herald of Holiness Volume 81 Number 04 (1992)" (1992). Herald of Holiness. Book 76. http://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/cotn_hoh/76 This Journal Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the Church of the Nazarene at Digital Commons @ Olivet. It has been accepted for inclusion in Herald of Holiness by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Olivet. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ■ APRIL 1992 Herald of Holiness ■ Good Friday: Enduring the Cross I The Resurrection: God’s Final Word I A Family Easter Basket I Easter Portraits I What Singles Need from the Church I Roses in the Desert N aza ren e C olleges a n d U niversities . . . . . . Pa r t n e r s in M in istry Nazarene colleges and universities are inseparably linked to the church in a partnership of ministry. This year more than 15,000 young men and women are enrolled in Nazarene colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. While on campus they are given the best in higher education in an environment of faith. Nazarene colleges and universities offer strong academic programs in over 60 areas of study, including religion, music, nursing, education, business, sociology, art, natural sciences, psychology, communi cations, mathematics, languages and literature, engineering, and many more. As graduates enter professions and graduate schools around the world, they also return to local churches for lives of service. This is a partnership of ministry that extends from the church . . . to the campus . . . to the church . . . and beyond. Take an active role in this important partnership by • praying regularly for our schools • encouraging our young people to attend • continuing the strong financial support provided by educational budgets and special gifts N a z a re n e I n s titu tio n s o f H ig h e r E d u c a tio n —U.S. a n d C a n a d a Canadian Nazarene College Eastern Nazarene College MidAmerica Nazarene College Mount Vernon Nazarene College Nazarene Bible College Nazarene Theological Seminary Northwest Nazarene College Olivet Nazarene University Point Loma Nazarene College Southern Nazarene University Trevecca Nazarene College Herald of Holiness C H U R C H OF T H E N A Z A R E N E Volume 81, Number 4 APRIL 1992 FEATURE ARTICLES Roses in the Desert P r is c il l a R a u e 24 44 A Family Easter Basket A Special Tie That Binds H. S c o t t R obert L in d a E b e r t 28 The Resurrection Is God’s Final Word P h il B e d s w o r t h POEM Nazarene Higher Education: Focus on People St e p h e n W . N 22 Easter Portraits ease I. M o o n e y Illustrations by Edwin B. Wallace Bea 10 Three Things Singles Need from the Church J a n i n e T a r t a g l ia 20 Good Friday: Enduring the Cross D on M. Aycock CONTINUING COLUMNS 8 G eneral S uperintendent’s Viewpoint J o h n A . K n ig h t 19 W hen You Pray 30 T he Fam ily Album E. D ee F r e e b o r n J erry a n d 31 Into the Word Roger 42 Lynda Cohagan L. H a h n 9 O bserver at Large W . E. M cC um ber E ditor’s Choice W esley D T racy 14-18, 38-41 News M ark G raham In a W om an’s Voice R e b e c c a L a ir d 43 DEPARTMENTS Tom 34 48 F elder T he R eaders W rite L ate News ROSES IN THE DESERT Nazarene Indian Bible College: The Family Campus Story and p ho to g rap hs by P risc illa R aue Al A ntone cam e to N azarene Indian Bible College in 1987, “just to check it out for one Z -Jm quarter.” He had “battled w ith the Lord .X. j L . ab o u t a call to the m inistry for at least two years— because o f the size o f my family and the need to support them.” But when his wife, D eanna, cam e hom e from a local cam p meeting and said, “Al, we are going to Bi ble college,” he resigned from his job the following week and was on this cam pus in the Rio G rande Val ley near Albuquerque, N.Mex., the next week. H e’s still there, w orking tow ard his associate of V isitors to N IB C soon beco m e aw are th a t this arts degree in biblical studies. “ But, 1 only need eight fam ily cam pus in the desert, w ith its 26 one-story m ore credits to graduate,” he says. sand-colored buildings (including trailers), is hom e He isn’t alone in his need to extend the three-year to n um erous children an d teens— som etim es ab o u t biblical studies curriculum into four or five years. A 100 o f them . A nd th a t keeps N IB C ’s 17 acres lively, m em b er o f the T ohono O ’o d h am (D esert People) som etim es even noisy, but hom elike. tribe, Al is one o f N IB C ’s older m arried students. Two o f those children an d a teenager belong to C ouples (20 o f them this year) m ake up m ore th an B arbara C h atto (Navajo), a single m o th er w ho m ust half the student body, and both spouses are en co u r work to su p p o rt her family, as well as to pay her aged to take classes. O ne person cam p u s rent and college fees. It’s m ust be a full-tim e student w ork not easy, b u t she says, “G o d really ing tow ard one o f the six degrees takes care o f us.” Ninety-six percent of o r c e rtific a te s c u rre n tly offered To help fam ilies w ith food and NIBC students grad and taking at least 12 class hours clothing, each N IB C household is per quarter. allowed 10 n o o n m eals a m o n th uate. At the nearby A ccording to Al, this schedule in the dining hall, an d the school “was hard at first, because I was operates a used clothing store. In state university, 96 so m any years out o f school.” addition, preschoolers can atten d percent of native T h e L o rd has h e lp e d h im to a lo w - c o s t d a y - c a r e p r o g r a m , keep his fam ily o f six children and w here an early c h ild h o o d e d u c a Am erican students a niece together in one o f several tio n specialist cares for 25 to 30 trailer hom es on cam pus. H e cur children, using stu d en t helpers. drop out. rently works as an NIBC m ain te School fees are kept low, b u t a nance m an. stu d en t taking 12 class hours m ay 2 H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss (Above) Barbara Chatto and her son, Andre, on the NIBC campus. (Left) Marcelline Frank with daughter, Cassandra. (Right) Al Antone working to keep the NIBC campus attractive. (Lower right) Enrique Mendoza. He started playing basketball with some Nazarene boys in Mexico and ended up at NIBC. (Lower left) Protessor Lloyd Commander prepares to teach a class in New Testament. Student Henry Yellowhorse paints an original design on a ceramic pot. Deep Spiritual Roots usic has always been important to Barbara Chatto and she’s never given up on the dream to become a gospel singer—a dream she’s had since she came back to the Lord in 1982. It was one thing that inspired her to come to NIBC. “I took voice training back in New York,” she said. “And, although I was disappointed not to have more mu sic here, I have gotten the Bible training I needed. “Everyone has been so supportive through the Bible training and my Christian education internship. Because of this and the fact that I’ve always gotten along well with children, I started Bible quizzing here on campus last year. “We worked together during the whole school year. And at the end of the year, we came in third in the zone com petition. I was so proud of the children, because they were competing only against Anglo churches. And, as far as I know, no other Indian churches have quizzing.” Barb now teaches a junior class at the First Indian Church of the Nazarene in Albuquerque, N.Mex. She said, “It will be a children’s Bible study, in which each one will keep a journal as we go through the Bible. We’re also do ing the missionary lessons and reading the books.” Barb confesses to “getting a little anxious now because I see that Indian students need more Indian teachers. I pray, ‘Lord, if I could stay here and teach, what would I do?’ But I still feel a pull toward being a professional singer when I hear a good concert. “Before I came back to the Lord, my life was full of struggles and life pressures. But after releasing all of my problems and struggles to Him, I experienced a peace I hadn’t known before. God healed me from lots of prob lems, and He’s still healing me. “The main thing now is, I want to be sure, no matter what God has for me to do, that my roots are deep and I’m really grounded,” she said. “I want to keep growing in Him.” M 4 pay as m uch as $700 to $800 for each o f the three q uarters th a t school is in session. H ousing rental is set up on a sliding scale, depending on the n u m b e r o f class hours the stu d e n t takes. For Barb, studying was easier th an for Al. "In New York, before I cam e here, I was alm o st a ‘profes sional stu d en t,’ often in college, b u t never g ra d u ating. I’m p ro u d o f th e d ip lo m a in ad v a n ce d lay leadership I received in 1991,” she said. She’s w ork ing now tow ard the three-year associate o f arts in C hristian education degree. However, she did fin d one thing difficult to accept at first. “It’s tru e th a t som e stu d en ts are high school dro p o u ts a n d w orking for G E D diplom as, a n d som e need rem edial study. But som e have had college and need to be challenged. "B ut the faculty is try in g to help us all do o u r best,” she said. “ I to o k one class w here hom ew ork was assigned every day a n d it h ad to be d o n e to pass. I sweated to com e o u t w ith a C, b u t I still re m em b er w hat was taught. It’s the h ard teachers th a t m ake you learn.” Barb spoke o f a teacher, D avid H offm an, as being “the best teacher I ever had. H e was a hard teacher an d gave a lot o f work. B ut he gave a lot o f in fo rm a tion too, an d was so helpful an d p a tie n t— an ideal C hristian m an.” “Because o f NIBC, I feel like I u n d erstan d the Bi ble better an d I’m n o t so scared to talk to som eone ab o u t it now — or to w itness either. I'm even c o m fortable in front o f groups,” R a m o n a said. M exican s tu d e n t E n riq u e M e n d o za also spoke ab o u t N IB C teachers. H e said, “If they see th a t one m eth o d d oesn’t work, they try another, a n d another, an d another. Here, if a student d o esn ’t m ake it in the end, the teacher feels b ad — as th o u g h he d id n ’t do his part. I love N IB C for this.” H e ra ld o f H o lin e s s Enrique, who is m arried w ith children, graduated in 1991 with the associate degree in biblical studies. Now he is w orking tow ard the new four-year degree in biblical studies. N1BC has also a d d e d a fo u r-y e ar b a c h e lo r o f Christian education degree, an d a n u m b e r o f recent graduates have retu rn ed to take advantage o f these two new p r o g ra m s . T h e y w e re m a d e p o s s ib le through N IB C ’s affiliation as an accredited ethnic extension o f N azarene Bible College in C olo rad o Springs. The one-year d ip lo m a in lay m inistries is attractive to m any spouses o f students. Enrique’s wife, Enedelia, was draw n to one o f the vocational program s— office occupations. A lthough she worked as a secretary for several years in M ex ico, she w ants to im p ro v e h er typing, office p ro cedure, and English skills. A d m in is tra to r a n d D e a n o f th e C ollege, Tom McKinney calls the ad d itio n o f the c o m p u te r and data/w ord processing p o rtio n o f th is p rogram “ a miracle.” “G od gave us 10 IBM M em o ry w riters plu s 14 computers and 6 printers! “T hat’s not all, though, G o d gave us a professor, with a Ph.D. from H arvard to teach the classes. Dr. Larry Scott w orks in a laboratory in A lbuquerque and teaches at N1BC part-tim e. H e’s the one who got scrap-piled co m p u ters from labs an d redesigned them especially for us.” M cK inney said, “ T h is fills a real need because some o f the best jo b s anyw here, even on the reserva tions, use c o m p u te r an d secretarial skills.” Students interested in this program have the op tion of com bining it w ith a lay leadership diplom a, because at N IB C all stu d e n ts are expected to b e come involved in som e type o f m inistry. According to M cK inney, “T h e forem ost fact o f life in Indian m inistries is th a t m inisters, b o th clergy and lay m inisters, m u st n o t only su p p o rt them selves but also know how to m ake needed repairs to their own hom es, parsonages, or churches.” So students are offered train in g in w oodw orking as well as electrical a n d p lum bing repair. A n o th e r v o c a tio n a l o p p o r tu n i ty is a v a ila b le through classes in the ceram ic w orkshop. Students made the first kiln from a 55-gallon d ru m . It’s still in use, though a new, larger one has been donated. They are hoping to find som eone w ith the expertise to do needed repairs a n d m ake the correct electrical hookup for the new one. Artistic students, such as H enry and Cecilia Yellowhorse, w ho are Navajos, create bells, m ugs, and pots in the old kiln. The ceram ic item s, along w ith silver jew elry m ade by In d ia n silv e rs m ith s su ch as P ete a n d R eg in a Riggs (Navajo), are eagerly snapped up by visiting Work and W itness team m em bers an d others. A Minister Preaches with His Life nrique Mendoza grew up in a Catholic home in Mexico. But as a young teen, he played basketball with boys at the Church of the Nazarene a half-block away. “At church, I found myself asking, ‘What am I doing here?’ So, on Sunday, I’d go to mass at 8 a . m . and then to the Nazarene Sunday School at 10:00,” he said. He was a natural leader at school and said, “This was so important to me that I felt a responsibility toward the other boys. I’d walk to school when there wasn’t money for the bus. But I was also a joker, and it often got me and others into trouble. “I didn’t really understand my spiritual need, but what was important was the people at the Nazarene church really wanted me there and were nice to me. . . . I was saved, but was still confused and kept going back to the altar again and again because my actions at school didn’t change much. “I knew it wasn’t right to act the way I did at school,” he said. “I remember times when I was praying at the altar and I wanted to go to heaven right then, because I knew I’d only act the same way tomorrow.” After finishing secondary school at age 15, Enrique sneaked into San Diego because there was no money to send him to preparatory school. “I couldn’t speak English, so there was no job for me and I had to stay in the home of my friend’s aunt. All I had for company was a Bible and a guitar,” he said. “The lady was very religious, and the whole household fasted until 3 r m . every day. Almost daily, someone would come and take me to a mountain or some quiet place to meditate and pray. Those three months actu ally strengthened me—it was a growing experience.” But Enrique’s illegal status bothered him, so he re turned to Mexico, where he was able to join a Christian musical group. “We played in all kinds of churches, and that meant I heard all kinds of preachers. I loved it, but I began to see that the preachers who helped me the most were the ones who seemed to be more prepared,” he said. “I saw that a pastor should learn as much as he can in order to meet the needs of a congregation full of peo ple with many levels of education. He needs to study whether he wants to or not because he is a leader,” he said. “I know Jesus really meets the needs and the pas tor is a helper, but the pastor represents God, and the people must see God in us. “Now that I’ve studied here at NIBC, I know that preaching is only one little part of a sermon. A pastor really preaches with his life. . . . You are really the mes sage, not just a messenger. “And I see that at NIBC. I learn not only in the class room but also from the lives of the staff and adminis tration. They are messages, not just messengers.” E continued on page 46 April 1992 5 Nazarene Higher Education: FOCUS ON PEOPLE B Y S T E P H E N W. N E A S E , C O M M IS S IO N ER O F ED U CATIO N azarene higher education at its best focuses on people! Our theological colleges, semi naries, liberal arts colleges, and universities worldwide unite in educating God-called men and women that they may effectively serve Jesus Christ in full-time ministry or as whose professions become a means of witnessing. Read prayerfully and joyfully excerpts from but three of many letters received by the International Board of Edu cation this year. These expressions from people on our Nazarene campuses are representative of the impact of Nazarene higher education on hundreds of others in our schools throughout the world. N From Sem inario T eologico N azareno Sudam ericano in Q uito, Ecuador: I am 25 years old and am a Venezuelan. I was converted in 1985. The Lord m ade a marvelous change in my life; He rescued me from sin, alco hol, and drugs. In 1986, in the third district assembly in Ven ezuela, God called me to the ministry. That same year I was married, and we were assigned to pastor a church that did not have a pastor—or members. We pastored there for four years. The Lord blessed us with a beautiful new group of believers, confirming our call. At the close of 1990 my district superintendent . . . re turned from Quito, Ecuador, where he .. . spoke to the seminary president about the possibility that I attend the seminary. . . . I was in my first year of CENETA (studies by extension). I began to make plans to leave Venezuela with my wife, Nancy, and our 18-month-old daughter, Leidy. The church leaders in Venezuela supported us, and although it was very difficult to leave, we felt it was an opportunity that the Lord was giving u s ... . We began classes in February 1991, and with that came an avalanche of new light and new challenges. The time that I have spent here has given me a renewal in my min istry, a greater vision, and a deeper consecration to the L ord.. . . At present, we are in our next to last class. .. . We are a 6 little tired, but grateful to God. The sacrifice of leaving our family, church, and country has been wonderfully re warded in our time here. .. . The South American Nazarene Seminary has been the wayJ that this is possible. „ . „ , — C arlos C ordero laypersons From Southern N azarene U niversity in Bethany, O k la„ U.S.A.: I cannot express how thankful I am for the generous scholarship that 1 received from the Board of General Su perintendents and the International Board of Education. When the Lord called me to preach and impressed upon me to go to SNU, I wondered how I would ever be able to afford it. The scholarship I received is an answer to prayer. I made a com m itm ent to the Lord when I came to school that I would study to the best of my ability for two reasons. The first is because I am working for the Lord, and I believe nothing short of our best pleases Him. The second is because I want to be able to be the best servant possible to reach out and win others to Christ. — Leon T. D ixon F rom A s ia -P a c ific N a za ren e T h eo lo g ica l Sem inary in M a n ila , the P hilippines: I feel very privileged to be B rad Elsberg. M edia International a ^ [g {q c o m e tO th is S e m in a r y . My time here has broadened my understanding of theol ogy and different contemporary philosophies that I would never have known if I had stayed in Samoa. At some time in the future I might then have been trapped by them if I had not compared them to biblical truth while a student here. This time has changed my perspective on life. Samoa is small. . . . Its people see themselves as poor, desiring what they do not have. I have learned that Samoans really have what they need and must learn to be content and thank ful. . .. My education has deepened my level of understanding theological issues and the Bible. The international setting has helped me look at other cultures and races without critical and prejudiced views. H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss My view of the church has also changed. The Nazarene church in Samoa is small. Now I see that I belong to an international church that is a real church with a signifi cant message that is needed in Samoa. I am proud to be a Nazarene, part of a church that is reaching so many cul tures and languages. . . . I'm going back to the battlefield in Samoa. The tough time is ahead. We need better teaching for our pastors re garding what our church believes. We haven't always fol lowed the paths that would make us the kind of Christians the Nazarene church wants to produce. We need more Sa moans who are well-grounded in the teachings of the church and its doctrines, biblical truths, etc. It is a joy as well as a challenge for me to go back and teach. The Bible college is where I am most needed, and it fits the dream of ministry that God has given me. — Peni Fakaua hi Progress Report on Nazarene Higher Education n establishing the International Board of Education, ■ Nazarene Theological College—Manchester (for the 22nd General Assembly stated that its purpose merly British Isles Nazarene College) has received was to serve Nazarene educational institutions world approval from the Council for National Academic wide, encouraging each institution to be all that it can Awards in London to offer a master of arts degree be in quality, achievement, and service to Jesus Christ. on “Aspects of Christian Holiness.” This will be the In fulfilling this responsibility to our institutions world only postgraduate degree in Britain that has as its wide, several outstanding accomplishments and events focus an in-depth examination of Christian spiritu in our worldwide educational enterprise are worthy of ality with particular attention to the Wesleyan tra your notice. dition. In cooperation with the council, it will be possible in the future for students at NTC-M to ■ Two campuses dedicated: Sem inario Teologico pursue a doctoral degree. Nazareno Sudamericano in Quito, Ecuador, with General Superintendent Eugene L. Stowe as speak ■ Kenya Nazarene Bible College in Nairobi gradu er; and the campus of the Proposed Africa Naza ated its first class of six students. Application pro rene University in Nairobi, Kenya, with General cedures are underway with the government to es Superintendent Jerald D. Johnson speaking. tablish Africa Nazarene University. ■ New presidents or rectors installed: Kenya Naza ■ Korea Nazarene Theological College announced in rene Bible College, where Dr. Al Jones has suc October that bachelor of arts degree certification ceeded Dr. Mark Moore who retired. has been received from the Ministry of Education. Korea Nazarene Theological College, where Rev. ■ Upon General Board approval, Nazarene Bible Lee, Ho-Jung replaced Dr. William Patch, who re College, Colorado Springs, Colo., U.S.A., has added mains as adviser to the president. a fourth year of studies leading to a bachelor of Dr. John Bowling has been inaugurated as presi biblical studies degree. The new program has been dent of Olivet Nazarene University, replacing Dr. approved by the American Association of Bible Leslie Parrott who retired. Colleges. Dr. Hal Cauthron now serves as rector of Nazarene ■ Significant new buildings have been erected on the Theological College, Muldersdrift, South Africa, campuses of Eastern Nazarene College, M ount replacing Dr. Bruce Taylor who retired. Vernon Nazarene College, Olivet Nazarene Univer Rev. Robert Collins now serves as director of Semi sity, Point Loma Nazarene College, and Visayan nario e Instituto Biblico da Igreja do Nazareno in Nazarene Bible College. Brazil, succeeding Dr. J. Elton Wood who retired. Rev. Lin, Ching-Tung now serves as president of ■ Northwest Nazarene College has been included in Taiwan Nazarene Theological College, replacing the U.S. News and World Report listing of “Amer Rev. Robert McMurdock. ica’s Best Colleges” for the second year. Dr. Millard Reed now serves as president of TreWe marvel at the leadership of the Lord in our edu vecca N azarene College, replacing retired Dr. cation endeavors, rejoicing in the dedication and abil Homer Adams. ity of our teachers, admiring the manner in which our Mr. Lodrick Gam a is serving as principal of Swazi educational and church leaders work to provide educa land Nazarene Bible College, replacing Rev. Peter tional experiences for all who come to the Lord and K. Walker. feel His call to service. Mr. Elliot Shongwe was recently elected to serve as Regardless of location, curriculum, or level of aca director of Nazarene Teacher Training College in demic work offered, our schools, colleges, seminaries, Swaziland, replacing Dr. Anderson Nxumalo who and universities are part of a great “system” of higher is now a professor at the University of Swaziland. education that exists for one purpose—to “go and Dr. Terrell (Jack) Sanders from Nazarene Theologi make disciples of all nations.” Each institution is deter cal Seminary in Kansas City, Mo., U.S.A., has an mined to retain its identity as an integral part of the nounced his retirement effective June 1992, and church. the process of searching for a new president is cur — Stephen W. Nease rently underway. hi I April 1992 7 s r VIEWPOINT Resurrection Power B Y JO H N A . K N IG H T n P h ilip p ian s 3:10, the apostle Paul ex presses his life’s pas sion: “ th a t I m ay know [C h ris t] a n d th e power pf[the] resurrection." Our age is fascinated by only two kinds of power: mechanical power and man power. It is “God-power” that we so mightily need—the kind of healing, redem p tive, compassionate energy that flows from the heart of the risen Christ through the hearts of His com m itted disciples. T he re s u rre c tio n o f Christ is the manifestation o f God-power. Jesus was “declared to be the Son of God with power . . . by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:4). It was God’s mighty power that broke the b an d s of death and gave the Savior His glori fied body. The apostle speaks of t h i s p o w e r a s G o d ’s “mighty power, which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead,” and it is “to usward who believe” that the “exceed ing greatness” of this power comes (Ephesians 1:18-20). For Paul, the resurrection was not merely a past event in history—something that happened to Jesus. Rather, to Paul, resurrection was a living power that operates on and in the life of the in I 8 dividual Christian. G od’s resurrection power is avail able to all believers. But beyond the conflicts and victories of our histori cal existence, the resurrec tion of Christ is the guaran tee o f th e life to com e. Christ defeated the devil, w ho h ad th e p o w e r o f death, and delivered those who through its fear were all th eir lives subject to bondage (H ebrew s 2:1415). Even more breathtaking is the truth that the resur rec tio n o f C h rist is the guarantee that in life and in death and beyond death the presence of the risen Lord is always with us. This is the fundam ental truth of the “power of [Christ’s] res urrection.” I am writing this article on New Year’s day. Many people are m aking New Year’s resolutions in an an nual attempt to be different or better than they are. We m ust move beyond mere man power. The power of Christ’s resurrection is the power of new life. This is what Paul found. What his heart could not find in striving for selfrighteousness, he discov ered in the grace of God. All that had seemed gain to h im b e f o r e , h e n o w counted but loss. The goal and center of his whole life were changed. Resurrection is a chal lenge of the “is” on behalf of the “ oug h t,” and the power to make us what we “ought to be.” It is G od’s movement in us toward the ideal of Christlikeness. The risen Christ sends the Holy Spirit in sanctifying lordship to the consecrated believer's heart. M ic h e lan g e lo d r a m a tized this tru th when he leaned against a great slab of m arble and rem arked, “There is a magnificent an gel imprisoned in this stone waiting to be released.” Furthermore, the power of C hrist’s resurrection is power for abundant life, for a full salvation. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make inter cession for them" (Hebrews 7:25). It is Christ, risen, ex alted at the right hand of God, who sends the Holy Spirit in sanctifying lord ship to the consecrated be liever's heart. Christ, the embodiment o f Love an d T ru th a n d Goodness, is through His Spirit, His “other self.” the effectual inward prom ise and power of our continu ing transformation. It is His Spirit that fills our emptiness, that opens the gate from death to life, selfishness to otherness, loneliness to com m unity, fragm entation to at-onement, narrowness to under standing, tim id ity to in volvem ent, phoniness to a u th e n tic ity . H is S p irit makes a way for us to move from an o bsession w ith things to a passion for peo ple, from p reo ccu p atio n with goods to a preoccu pation with the Good, from a thing-centered existence to a God-centered life. M echanical power and man power leave us hope lessly interred in our self created tombs, bound over for “ death, hell, and the grave.” But God-power, res u rre c tio n power, m akes possible the resurrection of men and women who are dead in the grave of “tres passes and sin.” “Hallelujah! What a Sav ior!” ^ H e ra ld o f H o lin e s s WESLEY D. TRACY A Preacher’s Kid Gone Wrong o, it is not a new story— one But the preacher’s kid of whom I more preacher’s kid gone write lived a long time ago. He was wrong. Usually we think a contemporary of Jesus. He shared that preachers’ children havesomething the special with Jesus—they best o p p o r tu n itie s to grow up shared the same first name. They straight and true. And, we expect also shared a mission. Both young more of them. men named Jesus wanted to deliver We feel a unique twinge of pain Israel from her oppressors— one when still another PK renounces through rebellion and slaughter, the his or her upbringing and strikes other through redeeming love. The two men made headlines on out like the prodigal son to wade in the same day. You remember the a pigsty. 1 d o n ’t know m uch about the story. It was part of Rome’s foreign preacher whose son is the subject of policy to release a political prisoner this piece. As far as I know, he faith during the Jewish high holy days. A fully studied and taught the Scrip paternalistic gesture, well-known to tures, was committed to prayer and colonial types. Pilate wanted to make the most to serving the community of faith. of this goodwill gesture. He would He was, as far as anyone knows, a not only release a Jewish prisoner, devoted family man. but he would let them He ministered in times of social choose who they wanted unrest and oppressive injustice. set free. The first "Jesus” Doubtless, he preached about free was well known to the dom and justice. people. Matthew called And it was, apparently, matters of him “notorious” (27:16, oppression and injustice that led to NKJV). Mark and Luke his s o n ’s d o w n fall. T he fa th e r point out his role among seemed too willing to wait for the th e r e b e ls w h o h a d “mills of the gods to grind slowly “com m itted m urder in away” toward justice. The young the insurrection” against man did not have the patience to R o m e ( M a r k 1 5 :7 , wait for prayer to work. NKJV). No one seems to know how he T his p reach er’s kid, first got involved with the subver apparently, was a popular hero for sive political groups that sought to the “resistance.” bring down an abusive establish But let M atthew pick up the ment. But once started, he soon story. When the crowd “had gath rose to some position of leadership ered . . . , P ila te said to th em , among the revolutionary guerrillas. ‘Whom do you want me to release Clandestine meetings, subversive to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is propaganda, revolutionary speech called the Christ?” ’ (27:17, NKJV). es, and sabotage soon dom inated The great proposition, as you his life. Inevitably, these led to ter read it in most translations, has just rorist activities, including sedition one omission. Those early scribes and murder. who have handed our scriptures His story ends like so many oth down to us did not want anyone to ers. He got caught, captured, jailed, share that name that is above all and sentenced to death. It sounds names with our Lord. So they sim like a story off the front page of to ply referred to Barabbas by his last morrow’s newspaper—anywhere in nam e only. However, in the best our world. early manuscripts— Sinaiticus, Vat- N icanus, Alexandrinus, Bezae, and others—Pilate’s question reads: “Whom do you want me to re lease for you? Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ?” R epresenting us all, the m ob made the wrong decision, the same one we have been making all these centuries. They raucously cheered for the release of the Jesus who wanted to deliver them through war. The Jesus who wanted to save them by redeeming grace and un conditional love was (and is) too much of a threat. We don’t know how to cope with Him —but vio lence and war we know. The choice between Jesus, the Son o f God, and Jesus Barabbas, I t sounds like a story off the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper—anywhere in our world. April 1992 the preacher’s kid gone wrong, still faces us this Easter season. We have a choice to make. But how do you know that Jesus Barabbas was a preacher’s kid? By his nam e, o f course. B arabbas means "the rabbi’s son.” We do not know whatever be came of Barabbas, the preacher’s kid gone wrong. Do you suppose he knew that he could kneel at the Cross and find forgiveness and sal vation and restoration? Do you suppose that all the PKs (and lay men’s kids too) who have lost their way know that they, too, can kneel at the Cross and find forgiveness, salvation, and restoration? ^ 9 An open letter to the Lord from the prayer journal o f one who is experiencing the trials and triumphs o f being single in the Church o f the Nazarene. ear G od, i You know I d id n ’t set o u t to be 39 I years old a n d single. As a little girl, I i had proposed to You m y “form ula for fulfillm ent.” — By 24, I was to be m arried to a m an w ith the spiritual fervor o f Billy G rah am an d the character o f D avy Crockett. — By 28, we were to have three adorable children who perpetually sm iled an d were p o tty train ed three weeks o u t o f the hospital. — By 30, we were to m ove in to a lovely h o m e w ith a garage the size o f a football field to fit our D tio n 21:7), m ore th a n a co n q u ero r (R o m an s 8:37), and com plete in you (C olossians 2:10). It is Your will th a t A LL SING LES, be they d i vorced, widowed, never m arried, o r single p aren ts find w holeness in You. It is also Your will th a t Your c h u rc h help p e rp e tu a te th is w holeness. M ay th e church be Your tool for: A F F IR M A T I O N — To co nvince singles they are valued an d needed C O N N E C T IO N — To p ro m o te m eaningful friend ships, and M O T I V A T I O N — To in sp ire singles to grow in C hrist by leading positive, productive lives Lord, here are. . . THREE THINGS SINGLES in d o o r sw im m ing pool, jacuzzi, sauna, yacht, and three sports cars. — By 32, I was to land a rewarding, high-paying jo b in television. At least one o u t o f four dream s cam e true. I did pursue a jo u rn alism career a n d for several years re ported news on stations th ro u g h o u t C alifornia. A nd, although I have so far n ot becom e a wife, m other, or the p roud ow ner o f a spraw ling hom e, I can h o n estly say I am fulfilled. It is all because one day I invited You, Jesus, to be m y Lord. In the last 10 years, You have been m y co n stan t com panion. You have been m y Escort to countless co u p le s-o rien te d ch u rc h fu n ctio n s, m y P ro te c to r w hen driving alone a t night, m y E ncourager w hen Satan a n d the w orld rem ind m e th a t m y biological ticker is ab o u t to tucker out. You have enlarged m y heart to develop m eaning ful friendships. You have given m e w isdom to p u t Your K in g d o m p rio ritie s above w orldly passions. A nd You have offered m e infinite patience to pla cate relatives who advise, “Honey, if he’s single and breathes, snag him !” In short, Lord, You have blessed m e w ith u n c o n ditional w orth. Regardless o f m y m arital status, You have redeem ed m e (Isaiah 43:1), m ade m e a new creatu re (2 C o rin th ia n s 5:17), victo rio u s (Revela10 L O R D , MAY Y O U R C H U R C H A F F IR M S IN G L E S Jesus, before You helped people, You to o k tim e to listen an d u n d erstan d them . A nd before the church can begin to m in ister to a n d th rough singles, Your pastors an d people need to take a closer look at who singles are, th eir struggles, a n d th eir dream s. I w onder if m ost pastors know th a t close to 65 m illion adults in A m erica are single. A nd m ore th an h a lf o f th at staggering n u m b er are singles w ho have never been m arried. Lord, You know firsth a n d th at ju st because som eone has never m arried does n o t m ean he or she is irresponsible, unattractive, or hos tile tow ard m arriage. I have friends w ho have chosen not to m arry be cause they, like P aul, w a n t to focus m o re singlem in d e d ly o n fu ll-tim e m in istry . T h e y g e n u in e ly seem fulfilled w ith the celibate life, despite incessant needling from saints trying to m atch th em up. O th er friends have p o stponed m arriage for a vari ety o f reasons, the first o f w hich is they have not found a com patible partner. T his m ay be linked to a significant dem ographic shift in o u r society. T here are currently 6.3 m illion m ore w om en th a n m en in A m erica. Even if a C hristian w om an m eets an el igible m an, b o th need to share values, interests, an d a co m m itm en t to Christ. A nd a healthy relationship H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss “I will never forget the church Christmas party at which I was seated at a table full o f children, apart from all the couples Jim Kersten, M edia International NEED FROM THE CHURCH B Y JA N IN E TARTAGLIA leading to m arriage takes tim e to grow. Lord, please tell Your c h u rch to give singles th a t tim e. R ath er than pressure, we need prayer. R a th e r th a n ju d g ment, we need acceptance for w ho we are and e n couragem ent to m ake the right choice— Your choice — for a godly m ate. Lord, w idow s a n d w idow ers c o m p rise a n o th e r large group o f singles for w hom You require special care by Your church (Jam es 1:27). T hose experienc ing recent loss need o u r quiet presence a n d sensitiv ity to th eir pain. M ay th e church be m obilized to re spond w ith counseling a n d sup p o rt groups. O ften the best care-givers are o th er widows a n d widowers “There’s more to life than news, weather, and who can e m p ath ize w ith the grieving process and can offer suggestions born from th eir own experi sports.” That’s what form er television newscaster, Janine Tartaglia, fou nd out while ence. D ivorced and separated singles are also adjusting covering the Iranian hostage crisis o f 1979-81. to loss, having been separated from once loving rela H er coverage o f Rev. Earl Lee, whose son was tionships. Lord, even though Your W ord states You a hostage in Iran, led her to a personal hate divorce (M alachi 2:16), I recall your com pas sionate m in istry w ith th e divorced w om an at the relationship with Jesus Christ. The Lee fa m ily ’s well. You offered h er resto ra tio n a n d forgiveness. fa ith made an incredible im pact on Janine’s Likewise, th e church should be an agent o f recovery. life. That ultim ately prom pted her to pu t down Som e fo rm erly m a rrie d s are facing th e tra u m a alone. O thers are raising children a n d teenagers in her reporting notebook, pick up a Bible, and single-parent hom es. All are in need o f and search share the G ood News in churches, colleges, and ing for support. conferences throughout the U.S. April 1 9 9 2 11 If a divorced perso n is a C h ristian , he m ay be seeking forgiveness from You, Jesus, o r possibly from him self, friends, o r from a fo rm e r spouse. M any singles tried to keep th eir m arriages together, b u t w ithout cooperation from th eir m ate, it d id n ’t w ork out. Therefore, they feel guilty an d need C hris tian guidance for healing. They m ay also need prac tical assistance w ith finances, child care, jo b place m ent, housing, an d future relationships. Lord, I pray every person w ho is single by choice o r by c irc u m s ta n c e c o u ld be e m b ra c e d by Y our church. I wish pastors w ould affirm us by speaking to an d o f us from the pulpit. So often serm ons are aim ed at the n u clear tw o-adult, 2.5-child family, a n d are n o t inclusive o f the experiences singles are facing. Testim onies from Spirit-filled singles in w orship services can help us all overcom e the negative ste reotypes o f singleness. T he presence o f singles on a pastoral staff, church board, a n d in n u m ero u s m inis tries tells us o u r gifts are needed. Frequent o ppor tunities to interact w ith couples also tell us we are welcome. L ord, I will never forget th e ch u rch C h ristm as party w hen I was seated at a table full o f children, ap art from all the couples. T hough I loved the chil dren, I m issed conversing w ith friends m y ow n age. I felt so isolated an d w ished I w ould have been al lowed to bring a m ale o r fem ale guest to the social, ju st so I could share the experience w ith som eone close to me. Singles are also assim ilated in to the church fam ily through sim ple courtesies such as couples inviting a few singles ho m e for dinner, providing m eals a n d baby-sitting for stressed-out single parents, an d offer ing single senior adults rides to night functions. A nd, Lord, rem ind us singles to affirm each other. S o m etim es we get so involved w ith o u r p erso n al needs an d in n er circle o f friends th at we fail to reach o u t to newcom ers. It is n o t easy to step in to a singles Sunday School class for the first tim e, especially for those w ho used to atten d church w ith th eir spouses. M ay we w elcom e all singles w ith a sm ile an d en couragem ent to return. A n in vitation to lunch after church says volumes. R em em ber, Lord, how devastated I once felt w alk ing o u t o f w orship am ong hundreds o f bustling peo ple w ithout a friend or place to go. I was so relieved w hen a carload o f singles stopped m e an d invited m e to jo in them . From th a t day on, I began to feel as if I really belonged. T he church w anted me. My presence was valued. LO R D , MAY YO UR C H U R C H C O N N E C T S IN G L E S IN M E A N IN G F U L F R IE N D S H IP S Jesus, the m ore I know You, the m ore vulnerable an d willing I becom e to share m y life w ith others. As a single, I can be tem p ted to com bat loneliness w ith busyness and to m ask feelings o f inferiority w ith an accum ulation o f possessions and d istant a cq u ain t 12 ances. Your W ord, how ever, d o w n p lay s aloofness a n d stresses the im p o rtan ce o f m eaningful relatio n ships. D avid an d Jo n ath an , N aom i a n d her d au g h ters-in-law, a n d Your friendship w ith Jo h n show m e th a t I do n o t have to be m arried to experience in timacy. In order to grow as a C hristian, I need to be involved in h e a lth y frien d sh ip s in w hich th e re is honesty, trust, a n d accountability. T h e church can h e lp c u ltiv a te th e se re la tio n s h ip s th ro u g h sm all groups, singles retreats, an d one-to-one prayer p a rt nerships. T here is a place for fun activities, b u t the church m ust also provide an atm osphere for singles to really get to know an d care for each other. We need a com fortable, safe setting to u n lo ad o u r hearts a n d be real. We need to laugh an d cry, to pray a n d pass on w hat we’ve learned to build each o th er up. About 65 million Americans are single, They have unique needs and untapped potential, L O R D , MAY Y O U R C H U R C H M OTIVATE S IN G L E S T O G R O W R a th e r th a n sim ply viewing singles as people w ho “need o u r help,” th e ch u rch needs to u n d e rsta n d how m u ch it has to benefit an d receive from singles. T h e re is a vast h a rv e st o f love a n d ta le n t to be reaped. W ith Your help, Jesus, singles can teach the larg e r c o n g re g a tio n a b o u t h a n d lin g p a in , liv in g alone, a n d leaning heavily on You. We can also teach th a t singleness is n o t a disease for w hich th e only know n cure is m arriage. It is a season full o f chal lenges an d opp o rtu n ities to grow in a variety o f ways. T he church helps singles grow spiritually through dynam ic Bible study. Jesus, we need sou n d teaching th a t em phasizes Your ability to deliver us from guilt, discouragem ent, a n d bitterness. We need to be re m in d ed a b o u t Your standards for m orality a n d holy living. U ltim ately, we need to die o u t to self-pity an d the drive to prove o u r w orth a n d be filled w ith the H oly Spirit. T h a n k You, L ord, for th e h a n d fu l o f s p iritu a l w om en You have placed in m y life to pray w ith m e an d keep m e close to the Cross. M ay all singles have close co m p an io n s w ith w hom we can be ac co u n t able. To foster this accountability, m y church paired older believers w ith young singles in a prayer p a rt nership for six m onths. T he senior adults co m m itted to pray each day a n d freq u en tly m ee t w ith th e ir “ad o p ted singles.” At th e end o f the prayer project, both age-groups had developed genuine friendships an d a new appreciation for each others’ needs. T he church can also p ro m o te grow th am o n g sin gles by sp o n so rin g singles conferences a n d w o rk H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss shops on grief, divorce recovery, and in n er healing. These short-term teaching an d training experiences can be life-changing. T h eir benefits will wane, how ever, w ithout ongoing follow-up. Singles need co n tinued op p o rtu n ities to discuss biblical principles re garding self-esteem , fin a n c e s, frie n d sh ip , d a tin g , marriage, an d sexuality. Beyond a d d re s s in g p e rs o n a l c o n c e rn s , singles grow when we live out o u r faith in fruitful service. It’s exciting to see singles teaching Sunday School, visiting shut-ins, singing in th e choir, serving the homeless, a n d p a rticip a tin g in W ork a n d W itness teams aro u n d the world. Lord, I know You care m ore ab o u t m y c o m m it ment to You th an m y m arital status. Regardless of whether or n o t I m arry, I am m o tiv ated by Your Word a n d e m p o w e re d by Y our S p irit to live an abundant life. May Your church help m e an d all singles to ac cept this season w ith peace a n d dignity. Jesus, give the ch u rc h Y our eyes to fo cu s o n o u r p o te n tia l rather than o u r problem s. G ive the church Your ears to hear o u r cries for love an d acceptance. A nd give the church Your heart th a t is willing to forgive, heal, and help us to be w hole adults w ho are redeem ed and destined for glory. Yours always, Janine hi Want to Learn More About Single Adult Ministries? Linda H ardin, denom inational director o f Single Adult Ministries, refers those who want to know more about ministering to singles to the following books: Singles Ministry Handbook, Douglas L. Fagerstrom, Victor Books, HH089-693-4373 $ 17.99. National Single Adult Ministries Resource Directory 1991/92, Jerry D. Jones, NavPress, HH 089-109-6167 $12.95. The Faces o f Single Adult Ministries, Linda G. Har din, editor, N azarene Publishing House, H H 083411-3627 $4.95. Linda also invites Herald readers who are single adults of all ages and walks of life— never married, di vorced, widowed—to attend the 1992 SoloCon retreats. The Memorial Day SoloCons are scheduled for West ern Indiana, Northeast Oklahoma, and Big Bear Lake, California. Cost is $ 105-$ 115 (see ad in the March Her ald o f Holiness). Labor Day SoloCons are scheduled in Virginia, Michigan, Minnesota, and Alabama. Linda encourages anyone who wants to know more about denominational resources and programs to con tact her at Single Adult Ministries 6401 The Paseo Kansas City, MO 64131 Telephone 816-333-7000, ext. 2257 T he more t h a n 3 5 0 S t u d e n t s / A d m i n i s t r a t o r s , F a c u lt y a n d S t a f f o f N a z a r e n e Theological S e m i n a r y w i s h to s a y to all the i n d i v i d u a l s a n d churches w h o ha v e g iv e n to the 1 9 9 0 S e m i n a r y Offerin g. W e e x i s t becaus e o f y o u r p r a y e r s a n d su ppo rt. O f fic e o f D e v e lo p m e n t, 1 9 9 2 April 1992 13 NEWS l \ l I— 1# W ^ NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS Church Opposes Nearby Clinic NAZARENE PASTOR LEADS FIGHT AGAINST PLANNED PARENTHOOD CLINIC M any people would tell you that you c a n 't fight city hall. At least one St. Louis area developer has decided that fighting city hall is m u ch easier than fighting the church. James Green ran into problems when he decided to move a Planned Parent hood clinic out o f the shopping center he h a d j u s t p u r c h a s e d in F a i r v i e w H e ig h ts . 111., ea st o f St. L o u is, Mo. Since other businesses were refusing to locate in his s h o p p in g ce n te r, G reen offered to build Planned Parenthood a new clinic if they would agree to move. T he site ch o sen for the new clinic w as ac ross the stree t from P a rk v ie w Church of the Nazarene. The property is also n ea r a city park, a residential area, another church, and church-relat ed offices. Immediately. Russell Brewer, pastor of the Parkview Church, notified other pastors about the proposed action. The pastors decided to oppose the move and encouraged their parishioners to attend a city council meeting at which the per mits were to be approved. "To our amazement, over 150 people a t te n d e d the c ity c o u n c il m e e t i n g , ” Brewer said. “ Many of those spoke up in opposition to the new clinic.” Russell Brewer (r., at pulpit) addresses the press conference called to protest a pro posed Planned Parenthood clinic across the street from the Parkview Church. Sev eral ministers from area churches joined the protest. 14 However, the council took no action on the matter. Ten days later Brewer and a group of area pastors called a press conference to p u b lic ly o p p o s e the p r o p o s e d m o v e . More than 300 people from 15 denom i nations attended the meeting, including 26 c le r g y , n e w s p a p e r r e p o r te r s , and reporters from all of the St. Louis area television stations. T o m m y C up ples, m issio n s director for the Metro East Baptist Association. J a m e s L o n g o f St. A lb e r t the G r e a t Catholic Church, and Brew er spoke at the press conference, which was held at the Parkview Church. “ D o n ’t th i n k th e b a t t l e is o v e r , ” B r e w e r to ld the c r o w d . “ L e t ' s g e t involved. L e t’s call on friends and get them involved. L et’s call our city coun cil m e m b e r s . A n d l e t ’s c o n t in u e to pray.” O ffic ials w ith P lan n e d P a re n th o o d d en ied that they intended to p erfo rm abortions at the new clinic. However, if the city council approved the m ove to the new site, zoning ordinances would a llo w su rg ica l p r o c e d u re s , in c lu d in g abortions. “If Roe vs. W ade is overturned, Mis souri could very well make all abortions i l l e g a l , ” B r e w e r sa id . “ W h e r e e ls e would they go except to their clinic here in Fairview Heights.” In the days that followed, the pastors m e t w ith r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s o f P la n n e d P a r e n t h o o d , b u t n o a g r e e m e n t w as reached. The developer also expressed Pastor Russell Brewer (I.) and Tommy Cup ples, missions director for the local Bap tist Association, stand in front of the Park view Church of the Nazarene. More than 300 people from 15 denomina tions attended the press conference at Park view Church. d eterm ination to co n tin u e his fight to build the clinic. “W e intend to pursue this,” G re e n ’s a t to r n e y M a r k G o l d b e r g sa id at the time. “W e d o n 't think they [city c o un cil members] have any reason to deny the building permit. W e are going to see it through to the end.” F o u r m o n th s a f te r the c o n t r o v e r s y began, Green withdrew his proposal to build the clinic at the new site near the church. A cc o rd in g to B rew er, G reen told F airv ie w H eigh ts M a y o r G eo rge Lanxon, “ I can fight city hall and win. but I cannot fight the clergy and churches and win.” “ I am e c s t a t i c ," B r e w e r said afte r le a rn in g th e p r o p o s e d m o v e was scrapped. "H ow ever, we will continue to attend city planning meetings to see where the developer might be going.” H e ra ld o f H o lin e s s EWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • f BY M A R K G R A H A M a n d T O M F E L D E R NWMS CELEBRATES RECORD YEAR WHILE LOOKING TO THE FUTURE The denomination must o f f e r m o re in n o v a tiv e options to local church es to help them fulfill the o b j e c t i v e s o f the N W M S , a c c o r d i n g to Nina G. Gunter, general NWMS director. Gunter presented her challenge to the General NW MS Coun cil during their recent meeting in Kansas City. "We must becom e revolutionary in our thinking," G unter said. "W e must e x p lo re a l t e r n a t i v e s f o r the l a r g e r churches, do all we can to help districts in world mission regions, anti expand the base in how we think as leaders.” In presenting her sixth report as gen eral director, Gunter reported 8,405 local NWM societies with a m em bership of 590,207, an increase o f 309 societies and 9,353 members. More than 6.300 churches reported an active prayer min istry and 66 districts achieved Mission Award status. A record 71 of the 203 districts in the world mission regions and 14 of the 85 U.S. and Canada districts paid General Budget in full for a total of more than $30 million. The P rayer M o b iliza tion Line also reported a record number of calls, aver aging 2,235 each month. Gunter reported that $15,300 has been received through the NWMS to provide Bibles for the Commonwealth of Inde pendent States. “ Nazarenes are helping make available Testaments, Bibles, and stories of the life of Christ that will have eternal ramifications,” Gunter said. World Mission Radio provides daily broadcasts in China and weekly programs in the C o m m onw ealth of Independent States. Around the world the denomina tion provides broadcasts on more than 1,000 radio stations in 40 languages and dialects in about 100 countries. " T h i s is no tim e to be w o b b l y , " G u n t e r told the c o u n c il. “ W ith the Lord’s enablement, NWMS can aggres sively fulfill its objectives in the decade o f the ’90s and enter the 21st century strategically positioned and enthusiasti cally poised as a visionary, dynam ic, and spiritual force o f m issions in the Church of the Nazarene." NEW YORK DISTRICT TOPS THRUST GOAL The New York District will close the final year of its Thrust to the City with the organization of seven churches, according to Dallas Mucci, district superintendent. The district began its Thrust emphasis in 1987 with a goal of 23 churches. At this point, it appears that 36 churches will have been organized as a result of the Thrust by the close of the ’91 assem bly year. The latest church was Patterson, N.J., THRUST TO THE CITIES UPDATE (As o f February 17, 1992) FOC* T o ta l" Chicago '8 6 ............................. .....15........... ................... 18 Mexico City ’8 7 ....................... .....11............ ................... 27 New York '8 8 ........................... .....34............ ................... 50 Los Angeles '8 8 ...................... .....25............ ................... 50 Paris '8 9 ................................... ....... 1............ ................... 13 Sao Paulo '8 9 .......................... .....29............ .................192 Toronto 9 0 ............................. ....... 3 ........... ................... 59 Seoul 9 1 .................................. .....2 4 ........... ................... 25 TO TAL.......................................... . . 1 4 2 ........... ..................4 5 2 "F0C = fully organized churches "Total new works including church-type missions, Bible classes, and preaching points April 1992 Bethel, a Haitian-speaking congregation. Three other churches will be organized before this y e a r ’s district a ssem b ly — they are: Spring Valley Haitian, Valley Community, and New Pulse Spanish. "D r. B resee a c tu a lly s p o k e in the building where Spring Valley Haitian is meeting,” said Mucci. “W e ’re not mov ing out and leaving the com m unity to the other religious groups." The churches begun out of the Thrust are d o in g w ell, a c c o r d in g to M ucci. Living W ord Church in Dumont, N.J., under Pastor Frank Bolella, raised more than $100,000 last year and is averaging 200 in w orship. T w o other churches. N e w a r k H a itia n C o m m u n ity (P a s to r Pierre Prophete) and Far Rockaway, N.J. (P a sto r W e n to n Fyne), are av erag in g about 120 each in services. Bible studies are beginning with Chi nese and Portuguese groups, and a new K o re an ch u rc h is d e v e lo p in g , M ucci reported. The New York District reported 47 fully organized churches in 1980. It will close this assembly year with 95. General Superintendent Eugene L. Stowe (I.) and James J. Hudson, Caribbean regional director (r.), traveled to Cuba in January to conduct the Cuba D istrict Assembly and v is it churches on the island. (See related story in March 1992 Late News.) Stowe and Hudson are pictured w ith Cuba D is tric t S u p erin ten d en t A rnaldo Miranda and his w ife. NEW CHURCH ORGANIZED AMONG CARIBE INDIANS A Nazarene church has been organized among the Caribe Indians on the island o f D o m in ic a , a c c o r d in g to J a m e s J. H udson, C aribbean regional director. T h is is the on ly e v a n g e l ic a l c h u r c h serving the Caribe tribe, Hudson said. Sixteen persons joined the church as charter members. W ayne Lawson, a Native American from the Cherokee tribe, has helped the you n g co n g re g a tio n secure property. M ore than 1,000 C aribe Indians live within walking distance of the new site. Lawson, who is in the Caribbean as part of the Nazarenes in Volunteer Ser vice program, will be meeting with the Caribe tribal chief to solicit his support in e s ta b l is h in g the new c h u r c h as a strong evangelistic center. Plans call for a W ork and W itness team from Alaska to build a chapel and d evelop a youth center for the entire tribe. Moses Archibald will serve as pastor of the new church. A successful busi nessman. Archibald recently received a call to preach. D o m in ic a is one o f the W in d w a rd Islands, which also includes the island nations o f St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Grenada. Wilvin Clarke serves as su perintendent o f the W indw ard Islands District. 15 NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEW ANBP PROVIDES ADVICE ON CHURCH EXPANSION P astor Rolston Roberts addresses the more than 350 persons who attended the d e d ic a tio n o f B o lan s C hurch of th e N a za re n e in A n tig u a , th e L e ew ard Islands. The church was built by a local work crew and a Work and Witness team from Grand Rapids, M ich., on land donat ed by the government. G uests a t th e d e d ic a tio n in clu d ed members of Parliament. D is tric t Superintendent Rosa E. Lee (seated I.) installed Roberts as pastor of the new church. MORE EXCELLENT WAY Christian Holiness Association 124th Annual Convention April 2 1 -2 3 ,1 9 9 2 H arrisburg H ilton and Towers H arrisburg, Pa. For more information, contact: Christian Holiness Association P.O. Box 100 Wilmore, KY 40390 16 More than 170 pastors and laymen front the East Central educational zone attend ed a seminar, “ How to Improve G o d 's H o u s e , ” r e c e n t l y on th e c a m p u s o f Mount Vemon Nazarene College. Spon sored by the A ssociation of N azarene Building Professionals (ANBP), the con ference provided practical help for local c h u rc h es p la n n in g to r em o d e l or e x pand, according to Rick Conklin, ANBP president. “Our intent was to bring state-of-theart information to the church by profes sionals who are actively engaged in the design and construction o f ch u rc h es,” Conklin said. W orkshops focused on a variety of issues related to building or remodeling churches. Some of the sessions included information on upgrading older churches, planning for future growth, financing a bu ild in g or re m o d e lin g p ro g ra m , and designing a building for evangelism. “This was most helpful to my board of trustees," said one pastor who attended the seminar. "M any important questions were answered.” The organization hopes to repeat the s e m i n a r on e a c h o f the e d u c a t i o n a l zones within the next two years. A N BP includes architects, engineers, builders, contractors, and others in con struction-related professions. A N B P is a f f i l i a t e d w ith C h u r c h E x t e n s i o n M in i s t r i e s in the C h u r c h Growth Division. GENERAL NWMS CONVENTION COORDINATOR SELECTED G w en Bass has accept ed the position of 1993 G e n e ra l N W M S C o n v en tio n c o o rd in a to r, a c c o r d i n g to N in a G. Gunter, general NW MS director. She will begin her new assignment July 1, 1992. A nativ e o f Red Deer, A lta., Bass c u r r e n tl y r e s id e s in O v e r l a n d P ark . Kans. She is a graduate of the U niver sity of Missouri and attended Eastern N az aren e C ollege. She and her hus- b an d . Bill, a tte n d K a n s a s C ity F irst Church of the Nazarene. As convention coordinator, Bass will act as liaison for the G eneral N W M S C o n v e n t i o n in m e e t i n g s c o n c e r n i n g G eneral A sse m b ly /C o n v e n tio n s. She will coo rdin ate inform ation and m a il ings to all districts and work with the g en e ral N W M S d ir e c to r and g en e ral council in theme presentation, special events, speakers, resolutions, and other items. She will also supervise person nel at the convention. JOHNSON RECOGNIZED BY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION B. Edgar Johnson, pres id e n t o f th e N a ti o n a l Association o f Evangel icals and former general secretary of the Church o f the N a z a r e n e , w as h o n o r e d r ec en tly with the 1992 P r e s i d e n t 's A w a r d by the R elig io us C o n fere n ce M a n ag e m en t A s s o c ia tio n ( R C M A ) . J o h n s o n w as recognized for his service to the Church of the Nazarene as general secretary for 26 years and his current leadership of the NAE, as well as service to RCMA. "B. Edgar Johnson is a talented and g e n e r o u s p r o f e s s io n a l." said M elv in Worthington, RC M A president. Johnson has been a key person in the d e v e lo p m e n t o f the R C M A from the organization's earliest days. MINISTERS’ 1991 BENEFITS TOP $27 MILLION A record $27 million were paid out in benefits from plans administered by the Board of Pensions and Benefits USA in 1991, according to Dean Wessels, direc tor. The $27 million included more than $6.7 m illion in “ b a s ic ” p en s io n plan benefits, over $4.3 million in TSA and IRA retirement plan benefits, over $1.1 million in life insurance and disability insurance claims, and more than $14.8 million for medical and dental claims. "Funds to cover these benefit distribu tions come primarily from local church es and districts who pay the Pensions and Benefits Fund, insurance premiums, and contributions to the Nazarene TaxS heltered A nnuity retire m ent plan on behalf of their ministers." Wessels said. " T h e c h u r c h c a n be p r o u d o f th e employee benefits that they provide to their Nazarene ministers." H e ra ld o t H o lin e ss • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS 1992 GENERAL BOARD HIGHLIGHTS The fo llo w in g represen ts item s o f s ig nificance th a t w ere m e n tio n e d in the reports p resented to the G eneral B oard at its 1992 session. for publication by the book committee • T h e H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss printed 12 issues with devotional helps, news, and articles on denom inational pro grams and social issues CHURCH GROWTH DIVISION Bill Sullivan. Director • 85,657 new Nazarenes • Reached and surpassed decadal goal of 10,000 new churches • $ 2 4 3 ,4 8 7 in g r a n ts d i s t r i b u t e d by Nazarene C o m passio nate Ministries in Canada/U.S. (CANUS) • 72 W o rk and W i tn e s s te a m s w ere involved in projects in the U.S. and Canada (1,229 volunteers) • 412 chaplains (154 full-time and 258 part-time) • 24 Nazarene chaplains were deployed during Desert Storm • 548 churches organized worldwide • 662 c o m m i s s i o n e d a n d r e g is t e r e d evangelists • 11,588 ordained elders and deacons worldwide (gain of 262) • 4.567 licensed ministers COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION Paul Skiles. Director • Publications International published four new S p a n ish b ook s; tw o new P o rtu g u e se b o o k s; and tw o new books in French • English as a Second Language co m pleted six projects for publication • Seven units o f Intercultural English materials completed • 8,600 b o o k s d is t rib u t e d th ro u g h "Books in Mission" program since its inception • Translated docum ents into more than 15 languages • Media International provided audio/ visual support for three major confer ences: L a y m e n 's Conference, N aza rene Youth International Conference, and Evangelism Conference • M edia I n te r n a tio n a l p r o d u c e d tw o public television spots for the Church of the Nazarene Canada • Media International produced prom o tional ads for N Y C '91 and Crystal Sea recordings • Media International p roduced audio and videotapes for a variety of educa tional and promotional purposes • 30 book manuscripts were approved April 1992 FINANCE DIVISION D. M o o d y Gunter. D ire ctor • 1,650 families assisted with wills by Planned Giving • $ 2 , 9 3 3 ,0 0 0 re c e iv e d in by c h u r c h e ntitie s th ro u g h m a tu red wills and trusts • M ore than 3,700 retirees served by the “ b asic" pension plan with total benefit paym ents o f more than $6.7 million • 91.45% denom inational paym ent of Pension and Benefits Fund with 12 districts paying 100% or more • 1,916 churches awarded the Stew ard ship Honor Roll • 3,027 churches in the U.S. and C ana da paid their budgets in full (59%) • 19 new loans added to the G eneral Church Loan Fund for a total princi pal amount of $ 1,348,900 • More than $9.5 million received for the 1991 T hanksgiving Offering for World Evangelism SUNDAY SCHOOL MINISTRIES P h il Riley, D ire cto r • 1,323,343 persons on Responsibility L ist ( e n r o l l m e n t ) — an in c re a s e o f 3,842 over previous year • Sunday School average attendance of 665,711 (increase of 7,745 over pre vious year) • 62,295 officers and teachers • 48% o f the S u n d ay S ch o o ls in the U.S. and Canada showed increases in attendance • 257,127 NYI members worldwide • $ 6 9 , 7 1 4 r a is e d fo r the A m e r i c a n Bible Society offering • 26,143 C L T credits awarded WORLD MISSION DIVISION R obert H. Scott, D ire ctor • 590,207 N W M S m e m b ers in 8,405 societies • R e g io n a l C o u n c ils and R egional Conferences held on each of the six world regions • 95 world areas • 608 missionaries • 203 W ork and W itn ess team s with 2,981 participants • M o r e th a n $2 m i l l i o n r a i s e d fo r Alabaster offering • $2.4 million given N azarene C o m passionate Ministries Fund • Nazarene Compassionate Ministries, Inc., was approved by the U.S. gov ernment to receive corporate agency gifts • First Nazarene missionaries appointed to Ukraine EDUCATION BOARD S tephen Nease, C o m m is s io n e r • 12,902 students enrolled in the U.S.. Great Britain, and Canada • 2,855 degrees awarded GENERAL SECRETARY J a c k S tone • C hurch m em b ersh ip grow th of 5.73% to 1,002,150 • 15 new districts for a total of 292 • $468,476,452 paid by Nazarenes for all purposes • 279 new elders' credentials issued in the U.S. and Canada and 118 in other world areas • Credentials o f 28 elders from other denominations recognized • 18 new deacons ordained in the U.S. and Canada GENERAL TREASURER N o rm a n 0. M ille r • $48.4 million total income • $13.4 m illion received for m ission specials • $29.7 m illion received for G eneral Budget (+2.14%) NAZARENE PUBLISHING HOUSE R o b e rt Foster, M a n a g e r • 533,879 books printed • L ill e n a s P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n y r e leased 10 new choral books, 6 key board collections, 10 dram a books. 14 choral octavos, and 17 recordings • I n tr o d u c e d n e w r e c o r d i n g s la b el. Crystal Sea • A p p ro x im a te ly 3 ,0 0 0 ca lls w ere received weekly on the toll-free sales line 17 NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS An artist’s rendering shows the new entrance to the Indianapolis Convention Center and Hoosier Dome and skywalks to nearby hotels and parking spaces. The expansion is to be completed before Nazarenes gather in Indianapolis for the 1993 General Assembly. The skywalks will connect the convention center with the Westin Hotel (r.) and the Hyatt Regency Hotel (I.). INDIANAPOLIS CONVENTION CENTER TO UNDERGO $43 MILLION EXPANSION When Nazarenes return to Indianapolis in 1993 for the 23rd General Assembly they will see se v e ra l c h a n g e s in the In d ia n a p o lis C o n v e n tio n C e n te r and Hoosier Dome (ICCHD). Construction has begun on a $43 million expansion and re n o v a tio n pro jec t at the center, accordin g to Indianapo lis conv ention officials. The expansion will include a m ulti p u r p o s e ro o m , f le x ib le m e e tin g and convention space, a new lobby and reg istration area, p refu nction space, and skywalks. Construction is expected to be c o m pleted in June 1993 prior to the General Assembly. T w o g la s s - e n c lo s e d sk y w a lk s will connect the convention center with the Westin Hotel and the Hyatt Regency. The pedestrian skyw alks will connect 1,068 hotel roo m s and 2.700 parking spaces to the convention center for the first time. A new 22,740-square-foot lobby and registration area will be added between the convention ce nte r's main entrance and the new meeting rooms. The new m eetin g ro om s will p rovide an a d d i tional 22,050 square feet o f space for up to 13 m e e ti n g r o o m s . T h is w ill bring the number o f meeting rooms in the convention center to 60. In addition to the m eeting space, a new m u ltip u rp o se room will be c o n structed, providing about 36,000 square feet of event space. This area will be su rro u n d e d by 18,300 sq u a re feet o f prefunction space, which can a c c o m modate up to 2,400 people. In addition to the new space, other i m p r o v e m e n t s w ill be m a d e to th e H o o s i e r D o m e , i n c l u d i n g tw o n e w video screens and improved ventilation and handicapped accessibility. Opened in 1972, the convention cen ter a d d e d tw o e x h i b i t h a lls an d the Hoosier Dome in 1984. The newest release in the Dialog series line, th is book takes an in-depth look at “ life-changing experiences” through the use of p e rs o n a l te s tim o n ie s . E ach c h a p te r d is c u s s e s how to be more than an overcom er when we face m ajor “turning points" in life , such as aging, death, birth, and fa m ily conflict. H H 0 8 3 -4 1 1 -4 0 1 1 $ 3 .9 5 H H 0 8 3 -4 1 1 -4 0 0 3 LE A D E R ’ S G U ID E $ 2 .9 5 ........ CHA TO BEGIN CABLE BROADCAST T h o m a s H. H erm iz , p re sid e n t o f the Christian Holiness Association, will be featured in a 13-part television series on the Vision Interfaith Satellite Network beginning Apr. 3 at 1 p . m . The series, titled “Aflame," will emphasize the teach ings of John Wesley. The sermons were taped at sum m er c a m p m e e tin g s and c o n f e re n c e s and edited for the 30-minute broadcast. Colleges, local churches, radio and T V s t a t i o n s , a n d i n d i v i d u a l s w ith access to a satellite dish can receive the 18 program on S A TC O M F IR , T ranspon der 5. The program may be recorded or retransm itted if credit is given to the VISN network. CH A is com posed of 15 den o m in a tions and 50 educational institutions in N o rth A m e r ic a . It is e s tim a te d that more than 11 million people are a part of the Wesleyan tradition worldwide. The 124th annual convention of the CH A will be held Apr. 21-23 in Harris burg. Pa. The theme o f the conference will be “The More Excellent Way." Great for personal reading or for use as an adult Dialog Series elective. N a z a r e n e P u b lis h in g H o u s e 1-800-877-0700 Prices subject to change Plus postage H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss E. DEE FREEBORN Praying Together his month I have been par ticularly bothered by the nagging notion that in all the writing I have been doing about prayer, someone might get the idea that prayer alone is more valuable than prayer together. Con centrating on the development of a secret prayer life and disregarding God’s people in prayer together is historically short-sighted and spiri tually dangerous. It has been argued that such no tions of privacy are, in fact, in er ror. Eugene H. Peterson, in his probing book Earth and Altar, de clares: “The single most widespread American misunderstanding of prayer is that it is private. Strictly and biblically speaking, there is no private prayer.” He goes on to point out there is a difference be tween “solitude” and “privacy.” Pri vacy involves insulating the self, moving away from others who dis turb us. Solitude is leaving others in order to be able to hear them more profoundly, to hear the whis pers of God that call us to serve humankind. The Scripture record is replete with illustrations of God’s people gathered in prayer. In the New Tes tament, for example, there is the fa miliar assembly on the Day of Pen tecost in Acts 2. Later in the chapter, we read: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the break ing of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42, NIV). The scene repeats itself in chapter 12 when Peter miracu lously escaped from prison and “went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying” (12:12, NIV). What a graphic picture of the power of the praying community T April 1992 while the participants were un aware of the electrifying results! There is another illustration of such group power in prayer in James 5:14-15: “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well” (NIV). I pray best when my prayer life is balanced between prayer in solitude and prayer in community. It is at this very point that Ben Campbell Johnson, in his powerful little book, To Will God’s Will, pro vided a new insight that I want to share with you. He suggests that we learn how to pray the or der of worship. I have tried it, and it made a profound difference in my worship and in my understanding of who the church is. When soli tary prayer is balanced with corporate prayer, our personal prayers take on a new dimension. The next time you en ter into worship, try praying the order of wor ship. At the invocation or call to worship, listen to the words used by the minister. Imagine it is Jesus Christ himself inviting us to wor ship, not just me alone, but all of us gathered together, calling us into the presence of God. Get a sense of the community as a whole. If it is a choral call to worship, let the words ring in your heart; hang on every word as if coming from God him self. As the hymns are announced, be focused and ready to sing the words as a prayer. Lift them as a sacrifice of praise to God. Let your heart sing out; let the words be your words. The music can lead us to prayers of praise, confession, and thanksgiving. As the minister leads in prayer, picture the body of believers before God, bringing to Him their deep concerns for persons of family, community, and the world. The pastor leads, but we pray too! We are involved. The offering brings forth the act of submission and giving. It is a moment of worship that professes our dependency on the sufficiency of God and God alone. We refuse to let our minds wander here; this is the symbolic offering of our selves to Him. L i f t them as a sacrifice of praise. Let your heart sing out. Let the words be your words. Now we are ready to hear the Living Word through the spoken word. Pray as the minister speaks, that his words will be made alive by the Spirit. Finally, let the bene diction send you from the sanc tuary to the world, realizing that is no small assignment! When I prayed the order of wor ship as a part of the community of faith, it made a profound differ ence! Would you be willing to try it next Sunday? E. Dee Freeborn teaches p ra c tic a l th e o lo g y a n d sp iritu a l form ation at N aza rene T heological Seminary. 19 GOOD FRIDAY: ENDURING THE CROSS B Y D ON M. A Y C O C K enelik II was the em peror o f E thi H im . A fter the m eal was com pleted, Jesus to o k the opia from 1889 until 1913. News E le v en — J u d a s left a lo n e to c o m p le te his grisly reached him o f a successful new task— and w ent to the M o u n t o f Olives to pray. The m eans o f d isp atch in g crim inals. hours to com e w ould be the clim ax o f all He had T h e n ew s w as a b o u t a d e v ic e been ab o u t during His entire life. know n as an electric chair. T he em perorT he eagerly or o f w hat C hrist did for us w hen we sym bol dered one for his country. could do nothing for ourselves is a cross. It took ev U nfortunately, no one bothered to w arn him that eryone by surprise w hen the C h u rch was no m ore it w ould never w ork because E thiopia at th a t tim e th an a gleam in G o d ’s eye. T he C ross has becom e had no electricity. M enelik was determ ined th a t his the m ode through which G od gives h im self and, in a new purchase should not go to waste. He converted sense, d efines him self. I th in k A lister M cG rath is the electric chair into a throne. right on target w hen he says in T he M ystery o f the T here was an o th e r occasion w hen an in stru m en t Cross, “All h u m an conceptions o f w hat ‘G o d ’ m ust o f death becam e a throne. O n a Palestinian hillside be like are shown up as in adequate a n d ridiculous, ab o u t 20 centuries ago, a cross becam e a th ro n e for a n d we are th u s h u m iliated through the failure of one nam ed Jesus o f N azareth. To this day, th a t a n o u r reason a n d w isdom , a n d com pelled to consider cient in stru m e n t o f to rtu re an d death is converted G o d as he has revealed him self in the crucified and into a powerful sym bol o f life, hope, an d resurrec dying C hrist.” M cG rath calls the Cross “the sole au tio n . M illio n s o f p eo p le a ro u n d thorised sym bol o f the C hristian the world see the Cross as G o d ’s faith .” E xactly! W h a t we know way o f indicating His refusal to let a b o u t G o d th ro u g h C hrist is fil death and destruction have the fi te re d th ro u g h th e p ris m o f the Ihe traitor’s kiss nal word. Cross. It is m ysterious, difficult to O n th e last Friday o f H is life, com prehend, and even em barrass sealed the J e s u s w as fa c e d w ith a h e a v y ing. choice: th e decision to c o n tin u e Few p e o p le c o n s id e r th in k in g transaction and an d fulfill His m ission or to abort a b o u t G o d from the perspective of it a n d s a v e H is life . L a te o n suffering, degradation, a n d death. made the silver T h u rsd a y night, Jesus h ad been Yet, on the final Friday o f H is life, with H is disciples in Jerusalem for J e s u s g a v e u s a n e w a n g le o f jingle in his a m eal in celebration o f the Passv is io n — a new w ay o f th in k in g over. H e c h a n g e d p a rts o f th a t a b o u t G o d . H e d id c h o o s e th e pocket. m eal a n d re m in d e d th e Twelve fo o lish a n d lowly, as P a u l had th at they w ould never participate said. H e showed us a side o f him in it again w ith o u t rem em bering self th a t no one had noticed be M 20 H e ra ld o f H oliness W hat we know about God through Christ is filtered through the prism of the Cross. H. A rm stro n g R oberts fore. As M cG rath says, “T he cross reveals the funda mental u n c o n tro lla b ility o f G o d , w ho b reaks the mould o f o u r thinking.” Even so, C hristian s have alw ays tried to u n d er stand, at least a little, w hat G od did on the Cross to change people. T his change is called the A tonem ent. The A tonem ent is the effect th a t the life, teaching, death, and resurrection o f Jesus has on the life o f those who will ap p ro p riate the pow er o f those events into their own lives. T his results in the forgiveness o f sins at a personal level, a sense o f pow er an d victory over hostile forces, a sense o f having been redeem ed at an enorm ous cost, an d the possession o f an exam ple to follow. Jesus, as th e C hrist o f G od, did for men and w om en w hat they could not do for th e m selves; namely, becom e reconciled to G od. This, in broad strokes, is the m eaning o f the A to n em en t and what G ood Friday is all about. G ethsem ane A part o f the M o u n t o f Olives was an area know n as G ethsem ane. Jesus to o k the Eleven in to this grove and sta tio n e d eig h t o f th e disciples by th e o u te r ADril 1992 edge. H is instructions were simply, “Sit here while 1 pray” (M ark 14:32, NIV). W hatever else the G e th sem ane experience m ight have been, it was at least Jesus’ absolute victory in following His Father’s will to its com pletion. T he integrity th a t had given H im au thority on Tuesday also carried H im through Fri day. He prayed to m ain tain th a t integrity and urged His disciples to jo in the vigil. A rrest and T rials T he action in the G ospels at this point is co m pressed like a steel spring in a box. T here is a b u n d a n t p o te n tia l energy sto red there. A ctions were swift, if n ot too certain. D ecisions were m ade in a hurry. People gave their support to dark and d u b i ous work. Political intrigue was at its height. Som e reached F austian b argains for th e sake o f power. M any were confused. A few were crushed. In the end, only one m an stood out with His integrity in tact. T h e a rr e s t o f J e su s w as a c c o m p lis h e d e a sily enough. He was exactly w here Judas had told the continued on page 27 21 ' - Easter Portraits by Bea I. M ooney/Art by Edwin B. W allace Courtesy of the Wesleyan Advocate Peter’s Dilemma How quick his lie three tim es a lie and then the rooster crowed. Ashamed, head hung low, he could not lift the weight he bore. A sham ed that in his strength was weakness; he slunk away, darkness swallowed him. Alone he felt his deeds were cast in stone. His heart was torn. Far he wandered, desolate, his acid anguish churned; he beat his brow upon the rock where Jesus prayed. T hen because there was no other way, because it mattered not w ho saw, he stood before the Cross. Alone, lost in the noise and color o f the crowd. he willed his eyes to look an d caught his M aster’s gaze— that laser, healing, melting wholeness wrapped him in His love. There Peter stood his spirit aw ed— one look, a gift from God. Judas’s Alchemy U n d er the ancient tree he sat an d spat to clear his mind. Silver coins lay clinking, winking in his lap. He cursed their spell, now a trap; he d u m p e d th e m in the moneybag to hide them from his eyes. “ He could have saved him self— He d id n ’t have to die. He could have stopped m e — He d id n ’t have to die.” Wild, he rushed to return his gain so heavy in his hand, but blood coins no one would to u c h — blood coins were his; he’d bought th e m with a kiss. He slung th e m at their feet, he fled; hands on ears, he heard the clink; eyes closed, he saw th e m wink. His soul grew black, clinking, winking, clinking, winking. He raced to the tree where he’d sat an d spat to clear his mind. He noosed the rope. Yet he d id n ’t have to die. Shouldering Loads Striding u p the dusty road, dust swirls d ancin g in his wake, S im on’s goal was near com p lete— one league m o re to go. Then his pace was slowed. A raucous crowd strangled his way. Simon strode to o n e side over boulder, stubble, grass, oblivious to the sw arm ing mass. “ Hey, you, strong man! Here, carry this,” thundered a soldier, spear in hand. Simon neither swerved n o r answered but picked up his pace. By his ear he heard it sizzle thro ugh the air strike the path before him. Sim o n lurched a n d stopped. “ Halt, strong m an, o r die.” Sim on tu r n e d his head, saw the crowd break like bread revealing one w h o struggled with a rough-hew n cross, a heavy, awkward, m a n -h e w n cross. “ Me?” S im o n stood still. “You!” snarled the soldier. “ M ake haste.” Sim o n turned, trod through the broken crowd. “ Let m e bear this load,” an d held his wineskin to the stranger’s lips. T h en knelt a n d with a mighty heave shouldered the cross, struggled to sta nd— the cross was his m o m e n tu m with short fast steps for balance. “T h a n k you, friend; som eday I’ll bear yours.” Sim on picked up his pace, puzzled at the clear, soft word, for he knew this m a n w ould die. A Better Fragrance She staggered through the garden across the dew -drenched grass, head bent in light o f dawn. Shattered m em o ries askew, golden days gone, holding only o in tm e n t bought with care. Haltingly timid, she tiptoed in, head stretched forward to extend her sight— only cold, stone walls. H ow could she bear m ore sorrow? T he o in tm e n t fell a n d broke, its a r o m a pulsating through d a w n ’s gloom, wafting o n little winds from fragrance spilled on grass. M ary wept into her headcloth bitter tears out o f tu n e with the rising song of birds. T h en through the mist o f sadness were two beings bright an d white with in n e r light. “W hy do you weep?” “My Lord is gone.” With em p ty h ands an d anguished heart she tu rn e d to leave, but in her path a figure, clad in w orking clothes, stood straight a n d still. He spoke b u t one soft w ord— “ Mary.” Sweet joy bathed her spirit, spilled into her eyes. “ Master, You are here; You were near.” At His word she ran to share the news with the fragrance o f hope wafting after her. eed an Easter activity th a t the entire fam ily will enjoy and be involved in, th a t will increase the m eaning an d re m em b ran ce o f the E aster story, not take too m uch tim e, and can becom e a family tradition? T hen try doing a real E aster basket. Each day for nine days before Easter, the activity begins w h en you firs t read sc rip tu re th a t c o rre sponds to the events in Jesus’ life th at first week and, second, w ith an item h id d en som ew here in y o u r house th a t sym bolizes those events. It’s your chil d ren ’s jo b to fin d these item s and p u t th em in a large E aster basket. T h e basket can th en becom e your table centerpiece. Or, if you prefer, you can use the item s to build a dioram a or an Easter interest center, rather th an an Easter basket. A fter the Scripture reading, fam ily m em bers can w ork together to m ake item s for the Easter basket. Som e item s will have to be purchased ready-m ade. Such item s can be handled, passed aro u n d w ith di alogue ab o u t their significance. As a real E aster basket is used through the years, encourage your fam ily to com e up w ith their own sym bols th at rem ind them o f the Easter story. N Day 1: Saturday Before Palm Sunday Scripture: John 12:1-11 Topic: M ary anointing Jesus’ feet Item : perfum e 24 Day 2: Palm Sunday Scripture: Luke 19:28-44; M ark 11:11 Topic: Jesus’ entry in to a n d tears for Jerusalem Item s: palm b ra n c h (p lastic leaf); c o a t (doll clothes); toy donkey; teardrops (cut out o f felt or paper) Scripture: Luke 19:45-48; M atthew 22:1-14 Topic: tu rn in g over the m oney changers’ tables; the parable o f the w edding b a n q u e t Item s: coins; an invitation to a heavenly w ed ding b a n q u e t (write one and have a signa ture space for each fam ily m em b e r to sign an d date if they have accepted or w ant to accept Jesus’ inv itatio n ); a w hite robe o f righteousness (doll clothes or sew a sim ple one) H e ra ld of H o lin e s s Day 4: Tuesday Scripture: M atthew 24 Topic: Jesus’ teaching on the Second C om ing Item s: angel w ith tru m p e t; cloud, m oon, sun, star (cut o u t shapes in felt— a puffy cloud could be sewn a n d stuffed) Scripture: M atthew 26:1-16 Topic: a w om an a n o in ts Jesus’ head; Judas’ plot Item s: perfum e; 30 silver coins Day 6: Thursday S crip tu re: L u k e 22:7-13; J o h n 13:1-17; th e n back to Luke 22:14-65 Topic: the foot washing; Last Supper; G arden o f G ethsem ane; betrayal o f Jesus Item s: bowl and towel; bread and grape juice; angel; kiss (a lipstick kiss on a w hite piece o f paper); a sword (cut one out o f c a rd board and paint it); toy rooster Scripture: Luke 22:66-71; Luke 23; M atthew 27:3-5, 62-66 Topic: th e C ru c ifix io n ; th e to m b is sealed. (Since Jew ish days w ent from su n set to sunset, the P reparation D ay for the Sab bath was from sunset T hursday to sunset Friday. T hus, for the chief priests and Phar isees to have gone to Pilate and request a g u ard a fte r th e P re p a ra tio n D ay m e a n t th e y b ro k e th e ir ow n s tr ic t law o f n o t w orking on the S abbath in th e ir d esper ation to get a guard stationed at the to m b Friday night.) Item s: crow n o f th o rn s (single th o rn from a rosebush o r m ake a w reath from a rose b u sh b ra n c h o r ask a g re e n h o u se for a thorn); nail; cross (two sticks tied together in the m iddle); clothes a n d /o r dice; sponge; black p a p e r (for the darkness); lam b (to sym bolize Jesus as the L am b o f G od); cur tain; to m b and seal (Using an oven-baked clay th at is available at m any craft stores, shape a tom b. Shape a “stone d o o r” to fit an opening in the to m b and press on. C ut a piece o f tw ine to go across the d oor an d at- tach to th e sides o f the to m b w ith sm all pieces o f clay. Im p rin t these pieces w ith a ring. Bake as directed); R om an guards (two toy soldiers). B enefits Q uestion s Answered by Dean Wessels W hy a re reg u lar cost-of-living increases not given to recipients of “ Basic” Pension benefits? T h e f o llo w in g in f o r m a t i o n m a y g iv e a h e lp fu l p e r s p e c ti v e o n this q u e s tio n . T h e m a jo r ity o f U.S. p e n s io n p la n s c o n t a in n o p r o v is io n s fo r p e r io d i c b e n e f it in c re a s e s a f te r a p e r s o n is retire d . U s u a l ly w h a t e v e r b e n e f it is paid u p o n r e ti r e m e n t is th e b e n e f it r e c e iv e d for life. In rare c a s e s , s o m e p e n s io n p la n s p r o v id e l o n g - tim e r e tire e s w ith in c r e a s e s as f u n d s b e c o m e a v a ila b le . Scripture: Psalm 22:1-18; Isaiah 53 Topic: prophecy o f the C rucifixion; prophecy o f the suffering servant Item s: toy lions a n d lam b; w ater; wax; nails; dice Day 9: Easter Sunday Scripture: M atthew 28:1-15; Luke 24:13-49 Topic: the R esurrection; soldiers paid to spread the lie Jesus’ body was stolen; Jesus m eets disciples on the road to E m m aus, quotes O ld T estam ent prophecies concerning the M essiah an d breaks bread w ith them Item s: Initially the basket is em pty because He has risen! A fter the Scripture reading, p ut in the basket an angel; m oney; scroll (C ut a dowel in two equal lengths. C ut a piece of w hite paper slightly shorter th an the dowel and write “ Isaiah 53” on it. G lue the ends o f the paper to the dowels and roll up like a scroll, tying w ith a ribbon); bread To m ake these fam ily tim es m ore m eaningful: 1. Light a candle during each reading to sym bol ize Jesus as the Light o f the World. 2. Serve hot cross buns on Friday as a rem in d er o f the cross. T he yeast in the rolls is a sign o f new life. W hen Jesus is in o u r lives, He raises us to new life. 3. A ttend an Easter sunrise service. ^ 26 A s h a s b e e n d is c lo s e d m a n y t im e s , th e “ B a s i c ” P e n s io n P la n a l w a y s h as b e e n in a n “ u n f u n d e d ” p o s itio n . T h is m e a n s tha t, to d a te , th e r e n e v e r h a v e b e e n e n o u g h a s s e ts in r e s e r v e to e q u a l th e “ p r e s e n t v a l u e ” o f th e b e n e f i t s p r o m is e d . In fact, w h e n the p la n b e g a n in 1971. it d id a v e r y ra re th in g . It r e c o g n iz e d y e a r s o f s e r v ic e f o r c r e d it b a c k to th e v e r y b e g i n n in g o f th e d e n o m i n a t i o n , e v e n t h o u g h n o f u n d s h a d b e e n r e s e r v e d o r w e r e o n h a n d w ith w h ic h to m e e t t h o s e p r o m is e s . In a d d i tio n , sin c e 1971 th e re h a v e b e e n o v e r 3 0 im p r o v e m e n t s , 7 o f w h ic h h a v e in c r e a s e d th e b e n e f it f o r m u l a . E a c h raise p r o f it e d all c u r r e n t, as w ell a s fu tu re r e c ip ie n ts . T h is h a s b e e n a u n iq u e f e a tu re o f th e p la n . M o st p la n s g iv e r aise s o n ly to th o s e w h o re tire a f t e r th e d a te o f th e f o r m u l a c h a n g e . F u r t h e r m o r e , p r o f e s s io n a l a c tu a r ie s , w h o a n n u ally r e v ie w th e p la n , in d ic a te d last y e a r th a t “ B a s i c ” P e n s io n b e n e f i t s h a v e k e p t u p w ith the c o s t o f liv ing ( in f l a ti o n ) s in c e its sta rt in 1971. In o t h e r w o rd s , c u r r e n t p u r c h a s in g p o w e r f o r th o s e r e c e iv in g b e n e f i t s to d a y is as g r e a t o r g r e a t e r th a n it w a s in 1971. T h e a c tu a r ie s in d ic a t e d th is is a rare a c c o m p l i s h m e n t fo r a p e n s io n p la n th a t is n o t fully fu n d e d . A G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y C o m m i s s i o n c u r r e n tl y is s tu d y i n g v a r io u s p e n s io n issues. O n e iss u e is w h e t h e r o r n o t f u n d s a re a v a ila b le to in c re a s e the “ B a s i c ” P e n s io n b e n e f it f o r m u l a ag a in . T h e 1989 b e n e f it in c re a s e n e a r ly d o u b l e d th e u n f u n d e d liability. U n fo r tu n a te l y , th is o c c u r r e d at th e s a m e ti m e th e G e n e r a l B o a r d a n d G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y r e d u c e d th e f o r m u l a b y w h ic h local c h u r c h e s are a s s ig n e d p e n s io n fu n d a l lo c a tio n s . O f c o u r s e , th is r e su lte d in a d e c r e a s e in p r o je c te d f u n d in g s o u r c e s . T h u s , a n y f u r t h e r b e n e f it in c re a s e s w ill n e e d to be r e v i e w e d v e r y carefu lly . Q u estio n s abo ut ben efits m ay be sent to the Board of P ensions and B enefits USA, 6401 The Paseo, K ansas City, M O 64131-1284. H e ra ld of H o lin e s s Good Friday... continued fro m page 21 au th o rities to find H im . T he tra ito r’s kiss sealed the tran s a c tio n a n d m a d e th e silv er jin g le in his p o c k e t. A bove all, th e e v e n ts o f th e a rre st an d the “trials” are full o f iro nies, illegalities, contradictions, a n d tragedies. C o n sider som e o f these. The first tragedy was th a t Jesus was the victim o f a plot by the Pharisees to in crim in ate H im . T he plot also involved others w ho w ould serve as witnesses against H im . T h eir collusion broke dow n, however. W hen Jesus was before the S anhedrin, “ M any testi fied falselv against him , b u t their statem ents did not agree” (M ark 14:56, NIV). A second tragedy on th a t Friday was th a t Jesus was the victim o f evaded responsibilities. A fter His arrest, Jesus was hauled before six groups or persons for His “trials.” T he first was A nnas. Jesus was next taken before C aiaphas the high priest. C aiaphas sent Jesus on to the S a n h ed rin . T his g roup sentenced Jesus to death, b u t it had no pow er to carry out the sentence. They sent H im to the R o m an au th o rity for th at job. P ila te w as th e fo u rth p e rso n to see Jesus. He evaded his responsibility to be a ruler a n d allowed the m ob to choose. Pilate learned th a t Jesus was a Galilean and, therefore, u n d e r H erod’s jurisdiction. He sent the prisoner to H erod. It was a convenient way to pass a political/religious hot potato w ithout getting b u rn e d — or so he thought. T h e in te rv ie w b efo re H e ro d w as th e fifth for Jesus. He w ent back before Pilate for this sixth inter view o r trial. Pilate, to his credit, gathered the people who m ade the accusations against Jesus and said, “I have e x a m in e d h im in y o u r p re se n c e a n d have found no basis for your charges against him . N either has H erod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done n othing to deserve death. Therefore I will p u n is h him a n d th e n release h im ” (L u k e 23:14-16, NIV). In all six o f the so-called trials, one fact stands out. W hile everyone w anted to be in on the accusa tions, no one seem ed very w illing to take full re sp o n sib ility for e x e c u tin g Jesus. T h e S a n h e d rin hated H im b u t could n ot put H im to death. Pilate could have had H im killed easily, but he w anted no part o f it. Instead, he shuffled H im o ff to H erod for th e d irty w ork. H e ro d enjoyed th e sp o rt, b u t he would n o t co n d em n Jesus either, so he m arked H im “retu rn to sender” a n d sent H im back. Even the sec o n d tim e , P ila te w a n te d no tro u b le w ith Jesus. Evaded responsibilities were part o f th a t last Friday. T he last day o f Jesus’ life was th u s full o f travesties o f justice, the rule o f a m ob m entality, an d the be April 1 9 9 2 trayal o f a people’s deepest beliefs. U nusual alliances were form ed, a n d form er enem ies cam e together. Even nature itself seem disturbed. Hearing the Word Today G od decided to give him self to h u m an ity in a new way in the Incarnation. He fully accepted the risk th a t people w ould react to His Son in exactly the sam e way people react to everything— som e accept, som e reject, som e ignore. Even so, in love G od gave him self to bring us back to himself. T he results at first seem ed like failure because the C rucifixion ap peared so perm anent. Jesus died and was genuinely dead. Jesus accepted suffering as the way to bring peo ple to G od. H ad Jesus m erely w anted to save His life, He could have. But He had som e goal in m ind larger th an His own life. He accepted the suffering on the Cross in order for the transform ation o f sin ful people to take place. W hen all is said and done, we really c an n o t explain th at fact. We can only pro claim it. Don M. Aycock is a m in iste r living in Lake Charles, La. H e is the a u th o r o f the b o o k Eight Days That Changed the World. hi TEN STEPS TO BREAKING THE 200 BARRIER IBSTEPS THREE-YEAR w c m IB STEPS TMF/I BREAK- !?sa» i inn S&Rn! THE£iJB 8SRB!W B it ! M S u lliv a n A THREE SESSION VIDEO c alendar FOR B R E A K IN G , a . « * 88* ***. 8,11 V ID E O H H V A -2 2 0 0 $ 2 9 .9 5 B O O K H H 0 8 3 -4 1 1 -2 2 3 X $ 5 .9 5 STUDY G U ID E h h s -3 2 9 5 $ 2 7 .9 5 C A LE N D A R h h u -0 FREE! Poster, mailer, a n d p ro m o tio n a l m a te ria ls are a lso a va ila b le . Order these valuable church resource tools today! 1- 800- 877-0700 NAZA R ENE PUBLISHING H OUSE 27 THE RESURRECTION IS GOD’S FINAL WORD B Y PHIL B ED S W O R TH t w as E a s te r 1 9 87. M y testified: “ D eath is stro n g — b u t church in Hesston, Kans., G od is stronger! T he final victory was filled to overflowing. belongs not to death b u t to G od. M ore th an 700 m em bers We die not into cold, em pty shad had gathered to celebrate ows but into the loving arm s o f two resurrections: th a t o f Jesus, o u r H e a v e n ly Father. C h rist is and my own. ris e n ; we n o lo n g e r n e e d fe a r S even m o n th s e a r lie r I h a d death. We can stop being afraid.” been diagnosed with chronic m y It is now Easter 1992. T he last elogenous leukem ia. T he progno five years have brought setbacks, sis was bleak. My only hope was a victories, a n d a b it o f w isdom . bone m arrow tra n sp la n t, a p ro R esurrection faith, I am discover cess th at w ould “kill” my faulty in g , s h a p e s n o t o n ly o u r a p im m u n e system. O n January 15, proach to death but also o u r ap 1987, I received m y tra n s p la n t proach to life. with my sister-donor, Beth. It was 1. Resurrection is G o d ’s fin a l successful, and I began the slow word. News re p o rts tell us th a t process o f recovery. p e o p le s p e n d th e g re a te s t p e r D u rin g m y h o s p ita liz a tio n , I centage o f their health dollars in h a d p ro m is e d m y s e lf a n d th e th e last six m o n th s o f life. I n ch u rch I w ould preach on Easter Sunday. How w o u ld I r e tu r n to th e p u l p it a f t e r a fiv e m onth absence? I found m y answ er in the c h ild re n ’s tim e. As th e c h ild ren c am e for w a rd , I s n e a k e d o n to the platform , covered by a b lan k et. Sue G ering, th e storyteller, to ld the c h ild re n a b o u t m o th s, cocoons, and butterflies. N oticing the large “ co c o o n ” b e h in d her. Sue helped the children call m e out. To the sound o f c o n g re g a tio n a l a p plause, I was “reborn.” My hom ecom ing ser m o n w as title d “ S to p B e in g A f r a i d .” W ith new found conviction, I I creasing n u m b ers o f sen io r c iti z e n s a re sig n in g “ liv in g w ills” o n ly to be o v e rru le d by fam ily m em bers. W hy is there this o b session with avoiding death? T he Shadow K eeper is an e f fective liar. D eath tears us away from those we love. D eath feeds us the illusion o f u ltim ate a u th o r ity. If death is indeed ruler o f this world, we should m ake every ef fort to p o stp o n e his advent. We s h o u ld e m p lo y every h ig h -te ch resource to prolong life. B ut th e a p p a r e n t v ic to ry o f d e a th is a sham ! T h e pow er o f death has been broken. T h e sting o f death has been defeated, once an d for all, by the light o f Easter m orning. We dare to confess with the apostle Paul: “For to me, to live is C hrist and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21, NIV). Let us not m isu n d er s ta n d P a u l. H is is no death wish. He had lots o f unfinished work. He c o v e te d th e c h a n c e to co n tin u e his m issionary service. Yet, if life cam e to an a b ru p t end, there w as a b e tt e r w o rld w a itin g o n th e o t h e r side o f the river. L ik e P a u l , I d o n 't w a n t to die. I w a n t to grow old w ith m y wife, Joyce. I w ant to see m y children, Sara a n d Ste ven, en ter college, m a r ry, a n d give m e so m e grandkids. T h a t p ro b a bly w on’t happen. I’ll be O) 'i H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss doing well to see 50. D eath will be a disap p o in tm en t. But it will n ever, n e v e r g a in th e v ic to ry . T hanks be to G od! We have the victory th ro u g h o u r L ord Jesus Christ. 2. R esurrection w ill bring rest and reunion. C hronic illness has p rom pted m e to th in k seriously a b o u t life a fte r d e a th . H eaven, once an afterth o u g h t on the pe riphery o f m y faith, is now a cen tral concern. In my childhood days, heaven w as “ u p t h e r e ” w ith g o ld e n s tre e ts a n d B ev erly H ills -ty p e m ansions. T here was lots o f sing ing but little w ork to do. H eaven would be one long vacation. T h a t w a s a lo n g t im e a g o . M oon flights a n d space shuttles have taught us th a t “u p ” is a rela tive word. T here is no “ u p ” be yond e a rth ’s g ra v ita tio n a l field. Im a g e s o f g o ld e n s tr e e ts a n d stately m ansions no longer c o m fort me. W hat does heaven m ean to m e n o w ? S im p ly p u t , h e a v e n is w h e re G o d is. W h e n I a m in heaven, I will be w ith G od. T he a u th o r o f H ebrew s speaks o f an “eternal rest” th a t G o d has prepared for G o d ’s children. I am g rea tly a ttra c te d to th is im age. T he daily struggles o f the last few years have often brought fatigue a n d w e a r in e s s . T h e w o rd s o f Psalm 55:4, 6, 8 (N IV ) have ta k en on new m eaning for m e. “ My heart is in anguish w ithin me; the terro rs o f d e a th assail me. . . . I said, ‘O h, th a t I had the wings o f a dove! I w ould fly away an d be at rest. . . . I w ould hurry to my place o f shelter, far from the te m pest a n d storm .’” Rest does n o t m ean inactivity. I e x p e ct to be bu sy in h eav en . W ith the busyness, however, there will be p eace o f m in d , th e c er tain ty o f G o d ’s love, an d the as surance o f being safe. H eaven, for m e, will be a place o f rest. It will also be a place o f relationship. I have been to m any f u n e r a l s in w h ic h p r e a c h e r s p ro m ise th e su rv iv o rs th a t they April 1992 will be reunited w ith those who h ave gone on before. T h is is a heartfelt yearning; is it a biblical expectation? T here are a variety o f New Tes ta m e n t passages referring to the R e s u r re c tio n . I ta k e d ire c tio n from a verse nestled in 1 C o rin thians 13 (NIV): “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully k n o w n ” (v. 12b). T h ro u g h o u t ou r earthly sojourn, G o d gives us s tre n g th a n d th e Spirit to grow tow ard the likeness o f Jesus C hrist. I do not believe s u c h a j o u r n e y e n d s a b r u p tly w ith death. W hatever m akes me “ P h il” will c o n tin u e. T he tim e table o f o u r resurrection and the I w ould be a household word. I w ould show the older generation how to steer m y d e n o m in a tio n into the 21st century. My b ru sh e s w ith d e a th have changed all that. D uring my hos pitalizations, 1 did not m iss the u rg e n t c o m m itte e m e e tin g s or guest sp o ts at c o n fe re n c e c o n v en tio n s. I m issed th e e v en in g prayers with m y children, coffee breaks with m y wife, o p p o rtu n i ties to talk serio u sly w ith d e a r friends. For m any years, I was a faithful advocate o f postponed living: a f ter college, a fter sem inary, after the kids have grown up. No m ore. I cannot assum e I have tom orrow to play w ith Sara a n d Steven. I c an n o t plan to visit a friend when it’s convenient. I d o n ’t know how m uch tim e I have. At our house, we speak o f “liv ing on the edge.” Occasionally, we Heaven, once on m ove back a step or two from the brink, b u t we never leave the cliff. the periphery of T h e shadow o f d e a th is alw ays there. O u r aw areness o f d e a th ’s my faith, is now a proxim ity can be a threat. It can also be a friend. central concern. T he certainty o f death prom pts m e to be a good stew ard o f my schedule. T his involves learning to say no. I am m ore cautious in frittering m y tim e away on proj shape o f o u r resurrection bodies ects about which I do not care. I rem ain a mystery. I am con fid en t am m ore generous in giving m y th at I will know and be know n. self to things th at m atter. I recog 3. T h e in e v ita b ility o f d e a th n iz e t h a t t h e t im e to c r e a te p u ts life's clutter in perspective. m em ories is now: to m ake every T h e re ’s alw ays th e te n s io n b e h o lid a y s p e c ia l, to c e le b r a t e tw een the urgent and the im por friendships, a n d to heal b ro k en tant. T he urgent cries o u t for a t relationships. Now is the tim e to tention. We divert o u r atte n tio n say, again and again, “I love you.” a n d o u r energy to pressing p rob T h e c e rta in ty o f d e a th r e a r lem s. It m ight be a d ead lin e at ranges priorities. I no longer care w ork, a cry for help, an e m e r ab o u t the big tim e. It is enough gency requiring o u r tim e, o u r en to live one day at a tim e. I am ergy, o r o u r money. T here are, in c o n ten t to be a good husband, a deed, urgent m o m e n ts to which good father, and, I hope, a faithful we m ust respond. However, it is servant o f Jesus Christ. easy to let the urgent crowd out Phil Bedsworth te a ch e s p art-tim e at the im p o rtan t. H e ssto n (K ans.) C ollege. The s to ry o f A fte r g ra d u a tin g from s e m i his b a ttle w ith leukem ia is to ld in the nary in 1977, I had dream s. I in book, Fight the Good Fight, H e rald Press, 1991. ten d e d to be th e prem ier p u lp i teer o f m y church. From Gospel Herald, Scottdale, Pa. U sed b y perm ission. Hi 29 THE FAMILY ALB A d v e n t u r e s in C h r i s t i a n P a r e n t i n g As Sure as Death and Taxes B Y J E R R Y A N D LYNDA C O H A G A N A p r i l 15. A n in d is p u ta b le , una v o id a b le reality. As cer/ M ta in as d e a th a n d fo u r .A . J m . m o r e y e a rs o f Q u a y le jokes. M y m i n d f l o u n d e r s in a p o o l o f n u m b e r s to ta le d a n d r eto tale d from s a v in g s a c c o u n t s , m o n e y m a r k e t s , C D s, an d m u tu a l funds. A n y w ay I shove t h e m a r o u n d , they j u s t d o n ’t to ta l th e “a m o u n t y ou o w e’’ o n lin e 65 o f m y 1040. A n d in a m o m e n t o f deep co m m ise ra tio n w ith m y wife, 1 glibly sp o u t, “ I h ate m y life.” G r e a t w o rd s o f c o m fo r t to m y life’s m ate. Slowly a n d p atien tly she coax es m e aw ay from th e s p re a d sh e e t o f n u m b e rs em b laz o n ed o n t h e c o m p u t e r sc re en . H o w c a n o u r w h o le life c o m e d o w n to a col u m n o f assets versus debits? Even the n u m b e r s glare b a c k in a b rig h t green as if to m o c k m e as t h e s u p p o s e d b readw inner o f o u r home. She w raps her a rm s a ro u n d m e a n d tries to h u g aw ay th e facts. My a r m s h a n g lim p. “ H o w c a n y ou j u s t p r e te n d th is p r o b le m d o e s n ’t exist? Life in th e real w orld d o e s n ’t w o rk like that. We c a n 't j u s t h u g a n d play m ake-believe!” A n g ry w o rd s fired o f f in f r u s t r a t i o n , n o t a t t h e c e i l i n g (w here th e y w o u ld hav e b e e n b etter d ir e c te d ) b u t a i m e d d e a d c e n t e r at th e h e a rt o f th e o n e 1 love. A q u ie t dinn er. W h ile she silently c le a rs t h e ta b le , I c o n t i n u e to m e th o d ic ally b e a t th e l u m p s o u t o f m y 30 m a s h e d p o ta to e s w ith m y s p o o n a n d g n a w at m y Swiss steak as if it w ere th e last r e m a in s o f a n IR S em plo yee . L a te r on , she su g g ests a d riv e a b o u t th e c o u n try sid e . T h e n u m b e r s o n t h e s c re e n refu se t o c h a n g e , so w h y n o t? I s l u m p d o w n o n th e p as senger side, refusing to drive. As we I w onder who is really the stupid animal. The cow or me? leave s u b u r b ia a n d th e s o u n d o f lawn m o w e r s a n d k id s p l a y i n g in e v e r y o th e r driveway, 1 b u r y m y s e lf d e e p e r in m y seat. L rom m y v an tag e p o in t I c a n ’t a v o id t h e fact t h a t t h e sky is p r e p a r in g to p u t o n a n u n d e n i a b l y b e a u tif u l s u n s e t. S he k n o w s b e t t e r th a n to d r a w it to m y a tte n t io n , so she j u s t c o n t in u e s to drive slowly a n d let th e ro a d lead us t o wherever. T h e k in k in m y n e c k is killing m e, so I finally sit u p a n d stare o u t the side w indow. 1 n o tic e a p a s tu r e full o f H o lste in cows. T h e y ’ve all m a n a g e d to stick th e ir n e c k s b e tw e e n th e b a r b e d w ire t o get t h e b e t t e r g rass a lo n g th e roadside. Stu pid, d u m b a n imals, I th in k . T h e n I n o tic e far o f f to o n e side o f th e field s o m e th in g else is ta k in g place. “ S to p th e car,” 1 say. O n e c o w is n o t b usy c h e w in g h e r cud. S he s ta n d s o f f from th e o th e r s w hile a sm a ll c a lf r o m p s all a b o u t her, n u z z l i n g h e r w arm u n d ersid e a n d th e n ru n n in g o f f a few feet o n ly to kick u p its heels a n d t h e n r e tu r n b a c k to its m o th e r. T h e s e tw o are different. S he a n d h e r n ew born are n o t c o n c e r n e d w ith g e ttin g th e b est grass. A t this m o m e n t in tim e , th e y are o n ly c o n c e r n e d w ith celeb rating each o th e r a n d p l a y i n g in th e s p rin g d u s k before light is gone. I w o n d e r if th e m o t h e r k n o w s t h a t this m o m e n t o f p la y , th o u g h m a k e-b eliev e , is special a n d lim ite d . A nd that soon enough h e r n e w b o r n will grow u p a n d ta k e its p la ce a lo n g s id e th e o th e rs w h o strain for w h a t is j u s t o u t o f reach, c u t tin g th e m s e lv e s in th e a t te m p t. A n d t h e n I w o n d e r w h o is really th e stu p id a n im a l. T h e c o w o r me? A pril 15 will c o m e a n d go. 1 rea ch across a n d rest m y h a n d o n m y wife's. She e n t w i n e s h e r fin gers in m in e , c e le b r a tin g w h a t is real. T h e su n s e t b u r s ts ac ro ss th e sky in streaks o f b lu e a n d gold, a m b e r a n d w heat, d e m a n d in g o f m e to a c k n o w le d g e w h a t is w o rth h o ld in g o n to a n d w h a t is not. Jerry Cohagan is o n e h a lf o f the c o m e d y /d ra m a duo, H ic k s a n d C ohagan. Lynda is a h ig h s c h o o l E n g lish te a c h e r in Olathe, Kans. rq H e ra ld o f H o lin e s s R O G E R L. H A H N Portraits o f Jesus in John Out of This World Jesus answered, “M y kingdom is not o f this world. I f m y kingdom were o f this world, m y servants would fight" ( J o h n 18:36).* i n d in g o u r p la ce in th e w o rld is o n e o f th e m a j o r ta sk s o f h u m a n d e v e lo p m e n t. R e c o gnizing a n d tr u s tin g th e w o rld o f the faces o f lov in g p a r e n ts a n d family is a sig n ific a n t proce ss for a n infant. N o r m a l d e v e l o p m e n t will m e a n t h a t a c h i ld ’s w o rld ex p a n d s to in c lu d e h o u s e a n d h o m e , the c h u r c h , th e n e i g h b o r h o o d , a n d school. T h e sc hool s h o u ld help in still a sense o f city o r c o u n t y pride, o f state identity, a n d o f n a t io n a l al legiance. T h e c i r c u m s ta n c e s o f s o m e p e o p le e x p a n d th e ir w o rld so t h a t th e y b e c o m e w o rld citizens a n d identify w ith all o f p la n e t earth . We m e a s u r e t h e m e n ta l h e a lth o f p e o p le in th e W estern w o rld by h o w well th e y fin d th e ir id e n tity in e a c h o f th e se “ worlds.” T h u s , Je su s’ w ords, “ M y kin g d o m is n o t o f th is w orld,” a re u n settling w ords. To p e o p le w h o d e fin e o u r success a n d id e n tity by h o w well w e fit in to a n d b e lo n g to th e w orld, th e se w o rd s a t ta c k th e very f o u n d a ti o n s o f o u r lives. B u t we c a n n o t follow C h r is t a n d dis m iss th e se w o rd s as idealistic a n d n o t a p p lic a b le to th e real w o rld in w h ic h w e live. Je su s s p o k e th e se w o rd s as H e w as o n trial for H is life. T h e y w ere n o t d e s ig n ed to save H is life; in fact, th e se w o rd s f u rth e r j e o p a r d iz e d Je su s’ life. T h e y reflect a n a b s o lu te ly essential t r u t h for C h r is t— a n d th u s for follow ers o f Christ. S uccess a n d id e n tity c a n n o t be m e a s u r e d by fittin g in to this w orld. Je su s c h o s e to live a n d die o n th e basis o f a n id e n tity a n d val ues th a t literally d o n o t b e lo n g to th is world. F A pril 1 9 9 2 Je su s’ following w ords clearly sh o w t h a t n o t b elo n g in g to this w o rld also m e a n s a reje ction o f h u m a n a n d w orld ly te c h n iq u e s. “ If m y k in g d o m w ere o f th is world, m y se rv a n ts w o u ld fight.” N ew Tes t a m e n t G r e e k c o n s tru c ts c o n d i t io n a l s e n te n c e s to sh o w w h e th e r th e r e a d e r s h o u ld a s s u m e th a t the c o n d i tio n is tr u e o r not. T h is c o n d iti o n is n o t true. J o h n ’s first r e a d ers w o u ld hav e read Je su s’ w o rd s to say, “ I f m y k in g d o m w ere o f this w o r l d — b u t it isn ’t — th e n m y ser v a n ts w o u ld f ig h t— b u t they w o n 't b e c a u s e m y k in g d o m is n o t here.” Jesus a n d H is followers will n o t fight for success, identity, survival, a n d p o w e r in this w orld. T h o u g h t h a t is th e h u m a n way, it is n o t th e w ay o f C h r is t’s k in g d o m . I d e n tity in th e king d o m o f C h r is t c o m e s f ro m o b e d ie n c e r a th e r t h a n from survival a n d success. J o h n ’s p o r tra it o f Je su s a p p r o a c h in g the C ross sh o w s n o w av e r ing, n o fear, n o u n c e r tainty. Je su s m a rc h e s res o lu te ly forw ard to w a rd H is d e a th sim p ly b e c a u se it is th e F a th e r’s will. T h a t is w h y H e dec la re s in J o h n 18:11 as H e is arrested, “T h e c u p th a t the F a th e r h a s given m e I’ll certainly d r in k , w o n ’t I?” T h e an s w e r is clearly a r e s o u n d in g yes. W h e n h u m a n success, c o m fo rt, o r a c c e p tance becom es m ore im p o rta n t t h a n o b e d ie n c e to th e Father, th e n o u r k in g d o m is o f this world. T h e p u r p o s e o f th e k in g d o m o f C h r is t is to w itne ss to th e t r u t h as Jesus states in J o h n 18:37. T h o u g h P ilate sarcastically asks, “W h a t is tr u th ? ” th e r e a d e r o f J o h n k n o w s Jesus h i m s e l f is th e t r u t h (John 14:6). G o d 's W ord s p o k e n is tru th. T ru th is th e gospel message that G o d loved the w orld so m u c h th a t H e gave His S on to die so th a t th o se w h o tru st in H im m ig h t have life. G o d loved th e w orld e n o u g h to offer d eliv eran c e to a w orld b o u n d u p in its ow n identity, success, a n d values. B ut th a t deliv eran c e is n o t o f this world. It will n eve r be o u rs as long as o u r ide n tity a n d success c o m e from this world. As C h ristia n s t u r n th e ir th o u g h ts a n d eyes to th e Cross, we m u s t never lose sight o f th e fact th a t o u r ide n tity is n o t o f this world. T h a t m e a n s we c a n n o t live o n th e basis o f th is w o rld ’s u n d e r s ta n d in g o f success a n d value. Jesus and His followers will not fight for success, identity, survival, and power in this world. For further study: (1) Study John 18 and 19. Summarize the verses that show Jesus in control o f His own destiny and functioning as a King. (2) List areas o f your life where you feel the pull o f this world more strongly than the pull o f the kingdom o f Christ. (3) Ask the Holy Spirit to begin to wean you away from this world and to place your confidence totally in Christ. ‘ Scripture q uotations are th e auth or's ow n translation Roger L. Hahn teaches N e w Testa m e n t at S outhern N azarene U niver s ity ^ 31 Do I Have To? B Y H. B. LO N D O N , JR . o I have to? As a parent of tw o very a c tiv e sons, i have heard th o se w ords m any times. in their early years, when certain things were expected of them that d id n ’t alw ays fit th e ir m o o d or pleasure, the response to a direc tive was, “Oh, Dad, do I have to?” Those days did not last forever. . .. Before my very eyes they grew up, became men, and now do as they please. For 31 years, I served as a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene. 1 had the privilege of sending more than 30 Work and Witness teams, o f raising over $4 million for world missions, and of traveling around the world and preaching the gospel o f Jesus Christ to soul-sick th o u s a n d s. My in v o lv e m e n t in th e w orld o u tre a c h an d evangelism mission of the Church of the Naza rene has been one of the most re warding experiences o f my m inis try. And to think there was a time in my ministry when I said, “Do 1 have to?” Let me explain. A lot of pastors and church leaders complain about p a y in g th e ir a ssig n e d b u d g e ts. They, too, say, “ Do I have to?” I said it in the early days of my m in istry when I thought the paym ent o f General Budget or a special mis s io n a ry o fferin g w ould w eaken other areas of our church’s minis try. In so m any ways I said those words. The truth is, no, we really d o n ’t have to. We do, how ever, have a m andate from Scripture to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature,” but we don’t have to. We do have a re sp o n sib ility to su p p o rt o u r 608 missionaries in 95 world areas, but we don’t have to. Or do we? I urge you to accept the General Budget and your 1992 Easter O f D 32 fering for World Evangelism as a wonderful opportunity to fulfill the m andate o f our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to say to our dedi c a te d m is s io n a rie s a ro u n d th e world, “We love you. We support you. We stand alongside you.” In my 31 years of ministry, the churches where I pastored never missed paying their General Bud g et o r m e e tin g an E a s te r o r Thanksgiving goal. How did we ac complish that? Simple: a. Present the need; set a goal. b. Establish the Easter Offer ing as a priority for the total con gregation. Include the children! c. S ta rt th e E aster O ffering cam p aig n early . . . fo u r to five weeks in advance of the offering date. d. Put an Easter Offering en velope in the hand of every church m em ber and friend. e. Invite folks who have been on Work and Witness trips, or who have visited foreign fields, to share their testim ony f. Give yourself! Do you have to? No, you really don’t . . . but in fact, you do. The Church of the N azarene depends u p o n y o u r g iv in g in th e 1992 E aster O ffering for W orld E van gelism so that together we can do what God, through His Son, Jesus, has asked us to do. I m iss m y “ m issio n in v o lv e m ent” m ore than I can say. As I look back, I only wish I could have done more and not been so prone in those early days to say, “ Do I have to?" H e liv e d ! H e d ie d ! H e ro se again! Jesus didn’t have to do those things either . .. but He did. Why? Because He loves you as though you were the only one in all the world to love! Have a glorious Easter! ^ CHILD S P O N S O R S H IP C O M PA SSIO N ATE M INISTF C H A P LA IN C Y M INISTRIES PASTORAL TR A IN IN G S T U D E N T S C H O L A R S H IP S P E NSIO NS AND BENEFITS C H U R C H PLANTING LO C AL C H U R C H E S W O R LD M ISSION RADIO IN TER N A TIO N AL PUBLICA1 H OM E M ISSIO NS M ISS IO N A R Y RETIREMEN1 NEW M ISSION FIELDS W O R LD M ISSION EDUCAT U .S./C A N AD A C O LLE G E S I SP E C IA L M ISSION PROJE( A N B P A N S W AN S R T H R U S T TO THE CITIES U S W O R LD MISS 1C N St:A N A Z A R E N E HOSPITALS EL CHILD S P O N S O R S H IP CC MPASSIQNAT1 M N I3W C H A P LA IN C Y MINISTRIES PAST: )RAL TRA NlNG S T U D E N T S C H O L A R S H IP ; These are just a few areas where your planned giving could help advance God’s kingdom. Write us for more information. N am e A dd re ss C ity _________________________________________ S t a te ___________________________________Z ip _ A /A /E D GIVING 6401 TH E PASEO K A N S A S C ITY, M O 64131 1 -8 0 0 -5 4 4 -8 4 1 3 H e ra ld of H o lin e ss NWMS R ecog nizes Ou t s t a n d in g D ist r ic t s The General NWMS Office reports that the following districts were outstanding in achievement in 1990-91. DISTRICTS PAYING GENERAL BUDGET 1 0 0 % OR MORE District Navajo Nation Central Florida Hawaii Pacific South Carolina Alaska Southern C alifornia Florida Space Coast Illinois Maine Northeastern Indiana Northwestern Ohio Sacramento Southwest Latin Am erican Virginia Percent Paid 109% 105% 104% 102% 101% 101% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. W est Virginia South Iowa W est Virginia North M ichigan Southwestern Ohio 100% 97% 96% 95% 91% DISTRICTS ACHIEVING WORLD MISSION SUBSCRIPTION GOAL IN 1991 ( 3 0 % of Church Mem bership) British Isles North Southw est Indian South Carolina 33% 31% 30% N orthw est N orthw estern Ohio Los Angeles South Carolina Kansas Southw estern Ohio Colorado New England Kansas City M ichigan 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Akron Illinois N ortheastern Indiana Oregon Pacific Southw est Indiana April 1 9 9 2 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Central Ohio Southwestern Ohio South Carolina N orthw est Oklahoma Southwest Indiana M ichigan Sacramento Kansas Eastern M ichigan Illinois 2,677 2,522 2,211 2,081 2,049 2,033 2,009 1,933 1,793 1,758 TOP T E N MEDICAL PLAN GIVING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. $18,872 15,835 14,980 14,184 13,389 12,491 12,415 11,756 11,729 11,656 WORLD M ISSIO N RADIO OFFERING TOP TEN— HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF PARTICIPATION SUBSCRIPTIONS CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE STEW ARDSHIP SERVICES TOP TEN W ORLD M ISSIO N RADIO GIVING 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. TOP TEN— WORLD MISSION South Carolina Northeastern Indiana Southwestern Ohio M ichigan W ashington Pacific N orthwest Southwest Indiana Oregon Pacific Eastern M ichigan Indianapolis $10,351 9,649 9,374 9,172 9,109 8,924 8,711 8,573 8,391 8,206 TOP T E N ALABASTER GIVING WORLD AREAS 95 / M ISSIONARIES 608 / W ORLD M ISS IO N DISTRICTS 192 / ORGANIZED CHURCHES 4 ,3 78 / BIBLE COLLEGES AND SEM INARIES 42 / MEDICAL CLINICS 35 / RADIO STATIONS 1,000 / WORK AND W ITN ESS TEAMS 374 SHARE THE JOY EASTER OFFERING FOR WORLD EVANGELISM 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Northeastern Indiana Akron Southern Florida Southwestern Ohio Michigan Eastern Mich'igan Colorado N orthwestern Ohio Tennessee Indianapolis $52,796 47,199 42,943 41,427 41,079 40,178 40,027 38,963 38,762 38,461 Hh 33 Inerrancy I want to express my appreciation for your discussion of “in errancy" in the “Question Box" (p. 33) of the January issue of the Herald. Your answer to the question was an excellent ex pression of our historic Wesleyan/Nazarene position. Three cheers also for Doug Samples' “Open Letter to Magic Johnson” on p. 18 of the same issue. This ought to be posted on the locker door of every high school student in the country. R o b L. Staples O verland Park. Kans. C lassic Inerrancy Your response to “The Question Box” concerning inerrancy is a classic. A well-rounded response. Great! M o n ty N eal Bristow. Okla. F undam entalism and Inerrancy I would like to address the issues presented in “The Question Box,” January 1992 issue. Fundamentalism is needed in the holiness church. We need to be rigid on Bible doctrines, as those in our “Articles of Faith.” More “inerrancy warriors” would help prevent the attack on the Word of God today, even by churches. Inerrancy is “an ac curate record of what was said” in the original autographs. “Ple nary inspiration” means all the words. How can holiness people be anything but “conservative” po litically? How can a Christian vote for liberal, left-wing poli ticians who stand for abortion, etc.? Most Christians are more loyal to their “political party” than to their God. . . . and encouraging. Please keep this type of reading coming. However, in my opinion, the cheap cartoon on page 21 is u n called for. Had I used language like "Heavens, no” my mother would have washed my mouth out with soap. M u rie l C u rry Griggsvilte. III. F am ily F inances The December issue of the Herald o f Holiness was very help ful to me. The article “Your Family's Finances” was excellent! 1 believe that family finances is one of the major problems that face our families in o ur society today. I feel if every family would implement a budget system into their finances, the stress level would not be as high as it is in the home. 1 am personally going to, and have im plem ented some o f the ideas that Mr. Dean Nelson mentioned in his article. R ev D a v id Soren sen O akw ood. III. M a rk D B echtel Tell City. Ind. V ision and E xcellen ce I’ve been wanting to send this letter to you for some time, but procrastination and laziness delayed it until now. Then when I got my latest issue [January 1992] of the Herald I knew I could no longer delay. I have been in our great church all my life, and a member since 1949 when I joined at nine years of age. The Herald has always been part o f o ur family from childhood. . . . I really thank our leaders for the vision they carry for such great mate rial. To each of you, I just want to say “thanks” for carrying on such a marvelous heritage. The magazine is excellent in all ways. I especially appreciate the openness afforded to all sides of an issue, pros and cons . . . Please keep up the good ministry to the Kingdom through the Herald. E lw o o d C. O ’D ell H a in e s City. Fla. Pro and Con The article “The Church Endures” in the January 1992 issue of the H erald o f Holiness by W. E. McCumber is unusually good 34 “Pastor, we appreciate you so much! Before you came we didn’t know w hat sin was!” H e ra ld o f H o lin e s s T im ely I have been a lifetime reader of the H erald o f Holiness. 1 was very much impressed with the Editor’s Choice article “Justified by Love” in the February 1992 issue. This is a very timely article— also the others on marriage and divorce. Keep up the g 0 0 d w 0 r k ' C h a rlo tte R e id e l G reen leaf. H is. H o lin e ss D octrine While I’m at the typewriter, I would like to add that— In September, 1 enrolled in the “Joy Bible Study" class. 1 don't understand whether the teaching there is part of the “New Age” teaching or what, but I d on’t buy their teaching that once one comes to the Lord, he is “sealed” by the Spirit and, because he is “sealed,” he is forever safe. (To me, that sounds like the teaching of “eternal security,” which I can’t buy.) Also, they teach that when one comes to the Lord, he receives the Holy Spirit and at that time, he is “filled with the Holy Spirit.” What has become of the teaching of “Second-Blessing Holiness” and living the life hidden in Christ? T h at’s the reason that I’m so thankful for the articles o f the H erald o f Holiness; they’re inspiring, uplifting, and they give spiritual food for the innermost part of my being. I thank the Lord for truly Spiritfilled men and w omen and their contributions to the Herald. G eraldine B uhla N am pa. Idaho P rayer and Revival I really enjoy reading the H erald o f Holiness. Many articles speak to my heart and conscience. Often the articles are just what I need, and seem to arrive at just the right time. Wes Tracy’s editorials are usually superb! Thank you for your minis try! One request: Would it be possible to concentrate in an up coming issue on prayer and revival? This is the great need of the church today. „ n , B ruce P oling W altersburg, Pa. H e ra ld R eaders N ot D um b I think every issue of the H erald is significant, well edited, well written, and related to our Christian lives as we are living them. You are not shy about discussing controversial matters; and you respect us as readers. You do not seem to mind letting us all in on material that I suppose you used at times for your lectures when you taught at N TS—as I think you did in Jan uary in your article on the significance of preaching. I also think that is the same issue Dr. C. S. Cowles must have opened up to us all some o f his lecture material on preaching. Great! The Herald readers are not dummies. J. K en n eth G rider K a n sa s City, M o. W h ere th e P astors Went In response to November’s article “Where Have All the Pas tors Gone?” I can personally offer several answers. Some o f us had to get a job to pay the social security a church promised to pay and didn’t. Some of us decided we had to find a way to retire in dignity, even if it meant another occupation. Some of us got tired of our parents feeling sorry for us as they unselfishly purchased our clothes and other necessities 20 years into our ministry. Some of us could no longer smile and say thank you when the board decided that the only way to help the church financially was to cut the pastor’s salary. However, we all love the Church of the Nazarene and wish it didn’t have to be this w a ?' April 1992 W illia m D R e id Tell City, Ind. D eep ly Stirred First, I want to say that I think you are doing a great job as editor of the H erald o f Holiness. Keep up the good work. We have taken the paper all the 46 years of our married life and certainly would not want to be without it. When 1 read the article in the January 1992 issue of the Her ald titled "Every Woman’s Nightmare Became My Reality,” my heart was deeply stirred. I can hardly decide how to put into words what I want to write. 1 consider rape to be one of the most terrible crimes that can be inflicted upon a human being. Especially at gunpoint. This lovely servant of God shall never be able to recover from this awful shock, except through the grace of God .. . L aV erne S tierly D anville. III. A Stronger C hristian Thanks for placing me on your mailing list. I am happy to receive this informative and educational publication. Each arti cle I read makes me a stronger Christian and has equipped me to serve as a better pastor. I hope and pray that many more persons will be won for Jesus through this magazine. R h a w a se H arripa u l G uyana, S o u th A m erica THE HERALD OF HOLINESS H om e Is W here the H era ld Is Fill out this form and mail today to start receiving the Herald o f Holiness. For faster service, call toll-free 1-800-877-0700. Enter my subscription for □ O ne year, $9.00 □ Two years, $ 17.00 □ Three years, $25.00 □ Enter a gift subscription at $ fo r year(s) and send to: N a m e _____________________________ A d d re s s . . S ta te /P ro v .. C i t y ____ . Z ip_ □ Bill me □ Enclosed is m y check for $_ To charge your order to Visa or MasterCard, call toll-free 1-800-877-0700. N a m e _________________________________________________ A d d re s s . , S ta te /P ro v .. C itv ____ . Z ip . P h o n e (_ M ake checks payable to: Herald o f Holiness T he local Church o f the Nazarene I attend is Name of Church_____________________ A d d re s s ,___ City_______________ . S ta te /P ro v .. . Z ip . If ordering by m ail, clip and send to: The Herald of Holiness Nazarene Publishing House P.O. Box 419527 • Kansas City, MO 64141 35 The Cost of Caring O ttum w a Trinity Pays the Price T h e “ Basic” Pension Plan has e x is te d s in c e 1 9 7 1 , b u t th e a b ility o f lo c a l c h u r c h e s to m eet th e ir P& B F und a llo c a tio n has n o t b e e n w ith o u t sacrifice. T h e last 2 0 years o f th e n a tio n ’s e c o n o m ic h e a lth have been p u n c tu a te d w ith re cessions. Today in m any areas o f the U nited States, to say th a t “tim es are to u g h ” is an u n d e r statem ent. In tim es like these, som e congregations w o n d e r if it w o u ld be in th e “m inister’s b e s t i n te r e s t ” to ta k e th e m oney they w o u ld pay into the P e n s io n s a n d B e n e fits F u n d an d c o n trib u te it, instead, to a TSA a c c o u n t for the pastor. To gain perspective, lo o k at the Trinity C h u rch o f th e N azarene in O ttu m w a , Iowa. T his local church is representative o f the m ajority o f churches th a t faith fully su p p o rt the Pensions and Benefits Fund. C heck th eir his to ry and “tra c k ” w h a t this lo cal c h u rc h ’s “ Pension D ollars” provide. T his c h u rc h ’s su p p o rt o f th e P e n sio n s a n d B enefits Fund, tak e n along w ith 5 ,0 0 0 o th e r local N azarene churches, enables each to fulfill its initial responsibility for paying for the pensions o f its m inisters, b o th past a n d present. O ttu m w a T rin ity w as e s ta b lished in 1 9 5 4 and n o w has a m em bership o f 120. (A pproxi m ately 4 ,1 0 0 o r nearly 80 per c e n t o f N azarene chu rch es have 150 o r few er m em bers.) T his c h u rc h h as p a id its P e n sio n s and Benefits Fund in full for 32 years o f its 36-year Fund his tory. For th e 1 9 9 0 -9 1 assem bly year, its Pensions an d Benefits F und a llo c a tio n w as $ 2 ,0 4 5 . H ere is w h a t p aym ent o f these “ Pension D o llars” has en ab led this local ch u rch to provide: Since it began, O ttu m w a T rin ity has had 10 full-tim e m inis ters. O f these, 4 are retired and 1 is d e c e a s e d ( t h e w i d o w co n tin u e s to receive a pension). T hese 5 p eo p le rep resen t 156 y e a rs o f f u ll- tim e N a z a r e n e m in istry . By p a y in g its P & B Fund, O ttu m w a T rinity p a rtici p a te s in th e “ B asic” P e n sio n b enefit for each o f these indi viduals. In a d d i t i o n , F u n d p a y m e n t helps this local ch u rch provide its p a rt o f th e “ Basic” Pension b e n e fit fo r its re tire d d is tric t su p e rin te n d e n t. O th e r previous d istric t lea d e rs a n d th e ir sur- H era ld of H o lin e s s viving spouses also have fo u n d the plan a valu ab le so u rc e o f benefit. By paying in to th e F u n d , O t tum w a Trinity also provides for the fu tu re retire m e n t needs n o t only o f p re v io u s p a s to r s b u t also o f its c u rre n t p a s to r an d district su p e rin te n d e n t. O ttu m w a T rin ity , lik e m a n y N azarene con g reg atio n s, gener ally ho ld s tw o revival m eetings annually. B ecause o f this c o n g regation’s Fund p a rticip a tio n , every licensed N aza re n e evan gelist a n d song evangelist w h o has served this local c h u rc h e x pects a retire m e n t benefit. If O ttu m w a Trinity d ecided to take th e m o n ey it paid in to th e P e n s io n s a n d B e n e fits F u n d and p rovide o n ly fo r th e c u r rent pastor, th en they w o u ld no longer be c o n trib u tin g to th e retirem en t needs o f th e fo u n d ing p a s to r’s w id o w o r to each o f th e o th e r fo rm e r p a s to r s , d istric t lea d e rs, o r evangelists w h o receive re tire m e n t b e n e fits. L ook a t these estim ates based on a P& B Fund a llo c a tio n of a p p r o x i m a t e ly $ 2 ,0 0 0 : A p p ro x im a te ly 1 7 p e rc e n t pays for c u rre n t Basic G ro u p Term Life I n s u r a n c e , B e n e v o le n c e program s, an d certain ad m in is trative expenses. Ju st over 64 percent w o u ld be req u ired a n nually to care for th e p ro p o r tio n a te share o f th e retirem en t needs o f fo rm e r p a sto rs, th eir surviving sp o u ses, fo rm e r d is trict su p e rin te n d e n ts, m inisters serving in d istric t assig n m en t, April 1 9 9 2 an d evangelists. Paying for fu tu re , “already p ro m ised ” retire m en t benefits o f previous p as to rs yet to re tire w o u ld ta k e a b o u t 12 p ercent. T h a t w o u ld leave a p p ro x im ately 7 p ercen t o f $ 2 ,0 0 0 — $ 1 4 0 a year— to be used to care for fu tu re re tire m e n t needs o f th e c u rre n t pastor. From its sta rt in 1 9 7 1 , th e in t e n t o f th e “ B a sic ” P e n s io n P la n w a s t o in c lu d e a ll o r d a in e d a n d d i s t r ic t- l ic e n s e d m inisters a n d all years o f q u a l ifying service since th e birth of t h e d e n o m i n a t i o n in 1 9 0 8 . O ttu m w a Trinity C h u rch o f the From the earliest days, th e C h u rch o f th e N azaren e has recognized an obligation to provide financial assis ta n c e fo r r e tire d m inisters. O rig i nally, this aid cam e th r o u g h a sys te m o f “ b e n e v o l e n c e s , ” i.e ., c h a r i t a b l e , r e li e f - ty p e p r o g r a m s . M o n e y w as c o lle c te d a n d d is t r ib ute d only to th e m o st needy. M a n y tim es m one y ran o u t before every o n e got help. N azarene has helped to m ain ta in th is t r a d i t i o n o v e r th e years. T h ro u g h faithful su p p o rt o f th e P e n sio n s a n d B enefits F u n d , th is lo ca l c h u rc h c o n tinues to help provide for the re tire m e n t n e e d s o f m any individuals, n o t just the c u rren t parsonage family. T he “ Pension D o llar” certainly leaves tra c k s— tracks th a t origi n a te a t th e d o o r o f a lo c a l church an d lead to the d o o rs o f r e tir e d , f a ith f u l c h u r c h s e r vants. T he record stands. N aza re n e s c o n tin u e to c a re , a n d they co n tin u e to m eet th e cost o f caring. funds for retirement. A lthough par t i c i p a t i o n w as v o l u n t a r y f o r t h e ch u r c h a n d its em ployees, th e in c o m e g e n e r a te d by c o m p o u n d i n g in te re st allow ed p a r tic ip a tin g ser vants o f the church to supplem ent Social Security. Today, th e C h u rch o f the N azarene is fo rtu na te to provide a retirem ent b e n e fit p ro g ra m th a t includes n o t only a co n trib u to ry plan (TSA) for c h u rc h es a n d th e ir em ployees b u t also a n o n c o n t r i b u t o r y plan (the “ Basic” Pension). T h e “ Basic” Pen s i o n P l a n , e s t a b l i s h e d A p r i l 1, 1 971 , provides ministers w ith a re tir e m e n t ben e fit th a t is n o t based o n p e r s o n a l salary o r t h e size o f church served. O ver the years, the church strength e n e d its ability to p ro vide fo r the n e e d s o f r e ti re d m inisters. Begin n i n g in 1 9 5 5 , m i n i s t e r s in t h e U n ited States finally w ere allow ed to p a rtic ip a te in th e g o v e r n m e n t’s plan o f Social Security. As they be gan to pay in to this p r o g ra m , th e d e m a n d u p o n th e ch u rc h ’s old be T h r o u g h s u p p o r t o f th e P ensions nevolence system diminished. an d Benefits Fund, a “ Basic” P en T h e in tr o d u c tio n o f th e N azaren e sio n b e n e f it is m a d e p o ss ib le for R e t i r e m e n t P r o g r a m ( t h e T a x - over 3 ,7 0 0 retired N azarene minis Sheltered A nnuity Plan) in 1 9 6 3 es t e r s a n d w i d o w s o r ta b lis h e d a c o n t r i b u t o r y p e n s io n w id ow ers o f ministers. p rogra m for N az aren e ministers as C u r r e n t l y , o v e r $ 6 . 7 well as o th e r ch u rc h employees into m illio n is p a i d o u t in w h ich the local chu rch c ould place benefits annually. 37 NEWS OF RELIGION PASTORS GIVE CHURCHES LOW MARKS Most pastors feel that Christ w o u ld give the church low marks, according to a recent su r v e y by B a rn a R e se a r c h G r o u p . T h e su r v e y a s k e d p asto rs how Je su s C h rist w o u ld p r o b a b ly a s s e s s the effectiveness o f the Church in America today. L e ss th a n o n e h a l f o f 1 percent felt Christ would say ch urches are doing tre m e n dous. highly effective work. T h e m a jo r ity (53 p e r c e n t) said they felt C hrist w ould rate churches as having little positive im pact on souls or society. "M ore than $25 billion is spent in this co u n try every year by churches, with much em phasis upon reaching the u n ch u rc h ed and n o n - C h r is t ia n s ," said G e o r g e B arna. p r e s i d e n t o f th e B a r n a R esearch G roup. "Y et, we still see that m o re than 80 percent of all church growth th a t o c c u r s in th e U .S . is transfer growth— people mov ing from one church to a n other. instead of unchurched p e o p l e c o m i n g in to o u r church." B a r n a sa id his r e s e a r c h indicates that while there is no f a i l - p r o o f a p p r o a c h to c h u r c h g r o w t h , t h e r e a re some general principles. “ First, pastors c a n 't do it all them selves," Barna said. “Too many congregations sit back and wait for their lead ers to bring people into the church." Barna also suggested that church leaders need to figure out w ho they are try in g to reach and what they are try ing to accomplish. "Understanding the people y o u ’re tr y in g to re a c h can r a n g e fro m m e e t i n g t h e s e people fac e-to-fac e and e s tablishing relationships with them, to using sophisticated m ark etin g research te c h niques to gather key inform a tion," Barna said. "The cru c ia l t h in g is th a t, w ith o u t c o m p ro m isin g their beliefs, c h u rc h es m u st d e m o n stra te their relevance to people." PRIME TIME TELEVISION IGNORES RELIGION Prime time television virtual ly ignores the place o f reli gion in America, according to a recent study. S c h o la rs in c o m m u n i c a tions, psychology, and p s y chiatry from three universi ties reached that conclusion a fter v ie w in g 100 fictional s h o w s on th e A B C , C B S , NBC, and Fox networks. “ O v e r a l l , the m e s s a g e being prese n ted about re li gion by network television is that it is not very important because it is rarely a factor in the lives o f the c h a r a c t e r s presented on TV," the report states. That image is in sharp con t r a s t to c o n s i s t e n t s u r v e y fin d in g s that 94 perc en t of A m e r ic a n s b e lie v e in G od and 75 percent pray daily and 38 consider religion important. In the TV show s, alm ost the only kind of prayer por t r a y e d is a “ T h a n k G o d ! ” w hen the ch a ra c te r escapes disaster. The implication is that God is the last resort in a crisis. “T elevision’s treatment of religion tends to be best char a c te riz e d as a b u s e th ro u g h n e g l e c t . ” a c c o r d in g to the report. C o m m i s s i o n e d by the A m e ric a n F a m ily A s s o c ia tion based in Tupelo, Miss., the researchers condu cted a systematic content analysis of n e t w o r k p r o g r a m m i n g fo r one month in 1990. R ecently released results show that only 5.4 percent of the characters had an identifi able religious affiliation. AMERICANS ASKED TO OBSERVE NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER Thursday. May 7. will mark the 41st co n s ec u tiv e o b s e r vance of the National Day of Prayer. The National Day of P r a y e r T a s k F o r c e , w ith P re sid e n t and Mrs. G e o rg e Bush as its hon o rary c h a ir persons, urges all Americans to be involved in this nation al observance, especially by setting aside five minutes at noon on May 7 to pray for the nation. " A s A m e r i c a n s p ra y t o g e t h e r , w e ' l l f in d n e w strength and g uidan ce from G o d — b o th as i n d i v i d u a l s and as a nation." said Shirley D obson, ch a irp e rso n o f the National Day o f Prayer Task F orce. “ U n ited p ra y e r can help A m eric a renew our c o m m i t m e n t to o u r m o r a l and spiritual heritage so we can fulfill our potential as a nation." T he N a tio n a l Day o f P r a y e r T a sk F o r c e , a n o n sectarian group with no polit ical affiliation, says it is the right, privilege, and responsi V o n e tte B rig h t (I.) and P at Boone serve as cochairpersons of the N ational Day of Prayer Task Force. Shirley Dobson (r.). w ife of James Dobson, serves as the national chairperson. bility o f citizens to pray for the nation and its leaders. N ational days o f prayer have been traditional in the U .S . s i n c e th e f i r s t w a s declared by the Continental Congress in 1775. In 1952. b o th h o u s e s o f C o n g r e s s called on President Harry S. Truman to set aside an an nu al N a tio n a l Day o f Prayer. In 1988, Congress and Presi d e n t R e a g a n sig n e d an act d e c la rin g that the N ational Day o f Prayer will fall on the first T hu rsday o f May each year. SCRIPTURES NOW TRANSLATED INTO NEARLY 2 ,0 00 LANGUAGES At l e a s t o n e b o o k o f th e Bible has been translated in n ea rly 2 ,0 0 0 la n g u a g e s, according to the latest Scrip ture L anguage Report. The report, issued by the United Bible S o c ie tie s, sta te s that portions of the Bible are now available in 1,978 languages. T h irty -tw o la n g u ag e s r e ce ived at least one book o f the Bible in 1991 for the first time. O f those 32, six have New Testaments for the first time, and 26 now have Scrip ture portions, which usually constitute a complete book of the Bible. C o m p le te B ib les w ere reported for the first time in f o u r l a n g u a g e s : tw o fro m Zaire, one from G uatem ala, an d o n e fro m Y u g o s la v ia . This increased the number of l a n g u a g e s w ith c o m p l e t e Bibles to 322. “ It is wonderful to see the numbers increase and to real ize that w ith ea ch in c re ase more people are going to be able to read G o d 's Word for themselves in their own lan g u a g e s , " s a i d E u g e n e B. H a b e c k e r, A m e r ic a n B ible Society president. B u t, w ith an e s t i m a t e d 3,000 to 6,000 languages in the w o r l d , B i b le s o c i e t i e s still face a major task in the area o f translations, H abeck er said. M ore than 80 p e rc e n t o f the w o r l d ’s p o p u la tio n has access to at least one portion o f the B ib le in a la n g u a g e they can understand. H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss VITAL STATISTICS Deaths BETTY MARIE APPLEBY, 55. Jan. 27. Survivors: husband, Robert; son, M ark: (laughter, Donna Trujillo; to u r sisters; four brothers; four grandchildren. TED BALOF, 77, Russell, Ky. Survivors: wife, Mary; daughters, Kathy Patterson, Beth DeLong; two grandchildren. GUY M. BOLLER, 74, Ainsw orth, N e b r, Nov. 24. S urvivors: w ife , M ary; sons, Maurice, Marvin; daughter, Harriett S m all wood; six grandchildren; three sisters; one brother; six foster chidren. DONNA BOND, 95, Hammond, Ind., Jan. 6. Survivors: sons, Vern, Donald; daugh ters, Vera Kirk, Ruth Rigg, Eunice Bell. RICHARD W. CHERRY, 49, R iverside. Calif., Jan, 28 S urvivors: w ife, M aytie; sons. Stanford Clark, Trenton Keith, Ben nett Wayne; one sister. HARRY L. CHILDERS, 71, fo rm e r m is sionary and pastor. Oklahoma City, Okla., Oct. 3. Survivors: wife, Kathleen; daugh ters, Linda, Barbara. Kathy; five grandchil dren; six brothers; three sisters. ELSIE M. CRAWFORD, 75, Beaverton, Oreg. S urvivors: husband, Rev. Edwin, S r ; sons, Edw in, Jr., D onald. Jim ; nine grandchildren; two great-grandchildren. HELEN DRAKE, 83, N orth Tonawanda, N.Y., Dec. 31. Survivors: sons, Clarence, Jr., David; daughters, Barbara. Louise; 2 brothers; 2 sisters; 11 grand childre n; 15 great-grandchildren. ALPHA J. ELDER, 68 , B re c k e n rid g e , Tex., Jan. 31. S urvivors: w ife, D orothy; da ughters, O leta B auer, La D ora G rant, M argaret C athey; so ns, A lpha W ende ll, Dallas, David, M argil, and Dulan; 3 sisters; 1 b ro th e r; 17 g ra n d c h ild re n ; 4 g r e a t grandchildren. ANNA E. ‘ BETTY” FIKE, 93, Yucaipa, Calif.. Dec. 8. S u rv iv o rs : sons, Frank, Frederick; daughters, Evelyn Price, M ary Jane Canfield, Ruth Quarles; 12 grandchil dren; 12 g re a t-g ra n d c h ild re n ; 1 g re a tgreat-granddaughter. WM J D. GRESSER, Evansville, Ind., Dec. 19. S u rv iv o rs : w ife , O la; so n s, Ralph, Rev. D avid , G ilb e rt; d a u g h te rs , Phyllis Welden, Naomi Austrew; 10 grand children; 19 great-grandchildren. RUSSELL B. HARTZELL, 90, M o rg a n town. W.Va., Jan. 6. S urvivors: daugh ters, K a th ryn M o o re , Ju n e L o u g h ; fiv e grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren, DUFFIE HODGE, 86, M em phis. Tenn., Nov, 2. Survivors: son, Douglas; daugh ters, Stella (M rs. L. E.) Drake, Edythe H. Leddy, M elver (M rs. J. E.) Boone. AM ELIA HENRIETTA HUFF, 96, Yakima, W ash., Dec. 19. S u rvivo rs: daughters, Anne "S u s ie " W ilso n, Belle Broom ; son, Philip; 7 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchil dren. THERESA N. HUHNKE, 92. M onum ent, C olo., Jan. 18. S u rv iv o rs : d a u g h te rs, Geraldine, Alfreda Hanna; three grandchil dren; one great-granddaughter. ROY GOODWIN INGLE, 68, V ictorville, Calif., Dec, 21. S urvivors: wife, M uriel; sons, Marc, Mike; three grandchildren. FRANCES C. JIMENEZ, H udson, Iowa, Jan. 31. S urvivors: husband, Jim ; son, Larry; daughter, Susan; tw o brothers; four sisters; five grandchildren, Z IL P H IA P IT T M A N LIT T O N , 92. C ha rleston, W .Va,, Dec. 27. S u rvivo rs: d a u g h te rs , G e rry D e J a rn e tte , Jo y c e Carnes; tw o sisters; seven grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren. REV. W ALTER S. M acPHERS O N, 93, C larksville, Md., pastor fo r m ore than 46 years, Dec. 25. Survivors: wife, Maude; d a u g h te rs , E un ice O s te rh o u t, P ris c illa M acPherson; sons. W alter, Jr., Neil, David; 13 grandchildren; 19 great-grandchildren. COBURN W. M cPH AIL, 66, C arthage, M o., Jan. 4. S u rv iv o rs : w ife , Geneva Elaine; sons, Jeffrey, Ron, Steven; daugh ters, Linda Joyce S m ith, Kathy M ouller; m other, Clenna Gibson; tw o brothers; one sister; seven grandchildren. RUTH MEEKER, 75, B ettendorf, Iowa, D ec. 30 . S u rv iv o rs : d a u g h te r, Lind a W ilm es; sons, Ralph, Brian. CYNTHIA LOUISE M ICHAEL, 35, Dec. 13. Survivors: husband, Stephen; sons, B rett, S eth; d a u g h te r, Ja cklyn ; parents, Rev, and Mrs. Richard James; tw o sisters; tw o brothers. ROBERT R MOORE, 77, Bethany, Okla., Dec. 15. Survivors: son, Paul; daughters, Pat D eitrick, Kay H enderson, Beth Byler; 12 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren. ALM A E. ROTH, 89, Overland, Mo., Dec. 31. Survivors: son, Perry, Jr.; daughters, R hoda R in e b a rg e r, E laine M cC ann; 10 grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren. REV. ROBERT C. SEELIG, 64, Desert Center, Calif., pastor fo r 37 years, Nov. 13. Survivors: wife, Margaret; daughter, Car PUBLISHING HOUSE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY The Nazarene Publishing House has an opening lor an experienced Litho Pressman. This is an exceptional opportunity for Kingdom service through the church. Qualified applicants should reply to: Director of Human Resources Nazarene Publishing House P.O. Box 419527 Kansas City, MO 64141 olyn E brahim i; son, Rev. S tephen; fo u r grandchildren; one sister. IVA MYRL SENTER, Bonham, Tex., Dec. 13. S u rv iv o rs : h u sb a n d , Ja m e s; one brother; one sister. STEPHEN B SMITH, 48, R ockford, III., Dec. 3. S urvivors: w ife, Pamela; sons, Stephen “ Skip,” David; foster son, James Ward; m other, M arjorie Sm ith. REV. LEONARD SPARKS, 92, Dec. 7. Survivors: wife, Pearl; daughters, Jennifer M cDonald, Pearl Shelly; son, David; eight grandchildren, TREVA A. SPEER STRA, 94, L o w e ll, M ich., Dec. 7. S urvivors: 3 children; 6 grandchildren; 13 great-g ra ndch ildren; 4 great-great-grandchildren. CH. GORDON TINK, 54, Mankato, M inn., Jan. 15. S u rv iv o rs : w ife . Hazel Ruth: daughters, Paulette, Laurette Waddle; par ents, Albert and Eunice Tink; one sister. KENNETH R. W ATTS, 44, R ive rsid e , Calif., Jan. 5. Survivors: wife, Mary Lou; daughter, Shelly Marie; son, Tim othy Ray. JANE HOPE W IL LIA M S , 67, M arshall, Tex., June 29. Survivors: daughters, Mary K o e h le r, Ja y W illia m s ; so n , R oy; tw o grandchildren; tw o sisters. DONALD E. ZEIDERS, 45, Dec. 24. Sur vivors: wife, Darlene; son, Mark; daughter, Beth; parents; one brother; tw o sisters. DARLIENE J. ZIM M E R M A N , 66, M in neapolis, M inn., Jan. 6. Survivors: hus band. A rthur; father, M arion Jenson; one brother; one niece. Births to JIM AND BECKY (GREEN) BEALS, Grants Pass, Oreg., a girl, Dena Marie, Jan. 16 to SCOTT AND DIANE (COUCHENOUR) BOSWORTH, Olathe, Kans., a girl, Briana Ranae, Jan. 5 to REV. RICK AND LINDA (NUTT) COLE, Antioch, Calif., a girl, Clare Elizabeth, Dec. 7 to DAN AND S A N D R A (C O LS TO N ) DAVIS, Spring, Tex., a boy, Austin Daniel, Aug. 6 to M IK E AND G IN G ER (H IN D S ) FLUHARTY, C lin to n, M d., a g irl, A lliso n Ann, Oct. 3 to CHIP AND DEBBIE (SIMMONS) GAR RET, Lothian. M d., a g irl, K ristin Nicole, Jan. 21 to JERRY AND ROBYN (K IR B Y ) G INTER, East Stroudsburg, Pa., a boy, Andrew Patrick, Jan. 16 to KEVIN AND JOYCE (LINGENFELTER) GROSSKOPF, N orth Tonaw anda. N.Y., a boy, Steven Arthur, Dec. 31 to JEFF AND PAM HIATT, M adison, Fla., a boy, Nathan Jeffrey Charles, July 5 to CAPT. TIM AND RUTH ANN (KEPPLER) HURSH, Ogden, Utah, a boy. Mikal R y a n ,J a n .3 to HARLAN AND RONDA (GROSSMAN) KENYON, Colorado Springs. Colo., a boy, Allan Scott, Dec. 24 to JA M E S AND LL O R A (O 'N E IL ) KRANICH, Bourbonnais, III., a girl, Jenna Katherine, Feb. 6,1991 to REV. JIM AND LIN DA McGAFFEY, Iowa Falls, Iowa, a girl, Julie Ann. Nov. 5 to STEPHEN AND ANNETTE MORLEY, O klah om a C ity , O kla., a g irl, E lizabe th DeNay, Feb. 3 to RODNEY AND SARAH (VAN METER) REED, Madison, N.J., a girl, Rebecca Mae Oct. 27 to JOHN AND CECILLIA RIVAS, Kansas City, Mo., a boy, Jonathan James, Jan. 14 to CAPT BRIAN AND KAY (EMMERT) SATTLER, A le xa n d ria , Va., a g irl, A m y Katherine, Sept. 24 to FRED AND KARLA (FIN KB E IN E R ) SLONAKER, W enatchee, W ash ., a boy, Kurt Frederick, Jan. 24 to CHUCK AND M A R IA (JEFFCO AT) URBANEK, W. Cola. S.C., a g irl, T ristan Shea, Nov. 20 to CHUCK AND VICKIE WATSON. Bed ford, Tex,, a girl, Heidi Joy, Nov. 21 to CHAP. PAUL AND KATHY YACO VONE, F ort D rum , N Y., a boy, Jo shu a Paul, Dec. 20 Anniversaries ALFRED W. AND MINNIE M. JACKSON celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary Jan. 28. They have tw o sons and seven grandchildren. EARL AND MARY BOW MAN, W ichita, K an s., c e le b ra te d th e ir 6 5 th w e d d in g anniversary Dec. 26. They have three chil dren, seven grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren. IRA AND SARAH C LARK. C h a rlo tte , N .C ., c e le b ra te d th e ir 5 0 th w e d d in g anniversary Dec. 20. M A R V IN AND M A R Y ETTA DELK. M uncie, Ind., celebrated th e ir 50th w ed ding anniversary Feb. 2. They are the par ents of Lloyd, who is deceased, and David. They have five grandchildren. REV. AND M RS. PAUL A. M AD DEN . Land O'Lakes, Fla., celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary recently. They have a son, Paul, and thre e d a u g h te rs, Donna (M rs. D arrell) W a llin g fo rd . W ilm a (M rs. Alan) W hitlatch, and Dorothy (M rs. Dan) M cDowell, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. BEN AND FRANCES M O SER , C edar Rapids, Iowa, celebrated their 50th w ed ding anniversary Jan. 18 w ith a renewal of vows hosted by their daughter and grand children. R IC H A R D AND RU BY N IK K E L, K else yville , C alif., celebrated th e ir 50th wedding anniverary Dec. 5 w ith a reception hosted by th e ir sons, Lynn and Rodney. They pastored 39 years in C alifornia and W ashington. They also have fo u r grand children. JOHN AND MABELLE SPARKES, New Brunsw ick, Canada, celebrated their 50th anniversary July 28 with a reception. FOR THE RECORD Moving Ministers KEVIN M. ANGEL, from student to associ ate, W aynesburg, Pa. FREDERICK J. BANEY, fro m stu d e n t to pastor, Springboro, Pa. MARK S. BERNHARDT, from Eagle River. Alaska, to Monterey, Calif, KUHRMAN K. COX, from Carthage, Tenn., to Vicksburg (M is s ) First MICHAEL F DAVIS, fro m associate. Hot Springs (Ark.) First, to associate, Benton (Ark.) First W AYNE L D AW SO N , fro m a s s o c ia te , Atlanta (Ga.) First, to associate, W ichita (Kans.) First MARK EAST, from associate, Fort W orth (Tex.) Liberation Com m unity, to pastor, M iddlesboro, Ky ELMER B. FERGUSON, fro m K e n tu cky Heights, Ky., to Olive Hill, Ky. DAVID W GARNER, from Evansville (Ind.) Trinity, to Louisville (Ky ) Southeast DANIEL H. GREENE, from C alifornia Cal vary, Pa., to Pittsburgh (Pa.) Terrace ROY D. HARRIGER. from Highland. Mich to Mercer, Pa. JOHN T. HAYES, fro m A sh la nd. Ky., to W aynesburg, Pa. R. JEFFREY HIATT, from student. NTS, to pastor, Madison (Fla.) First JOSEPH H. HOLOWAY, fro m Santa Ana (Calif.) Edinger Avenue, to Salinas, Calif. ROBERT A. JONES, JR., fro m M illcreek, Pa., to Jerome. Pa. DAVID T. KONECHECK, fro m associate, Franklin, Pa., to pastor, Penns M anor, Pa. RANDY MARSHALL, from associate, Des Moines (Iow a) Southside, to associate, Harris Chapel, Ind. DENNIS D. M IDDLETON, fro m R oyalton (III.) First, to Centralia (III.) First G. SCOTT NEWKIRK, from Jackson (M ich.) Grace, to Bolivar Drive, Pa, KIRBY POPPLEWELL, fro m M ontezum a, Ind., to Robinson, III. ARTHUR T. ROXBY III, fro m stu d e n t to pastor, M illcreek, Pa. RAYMOND E ROWE, from pastor, Greater Pittsburgh, Pa., to evangelism PETER J. SCHARLER, from Jerome, Pa., to Phillipsburg, Pa, D O U G LAS B SEDO RE, fro m p a s to r, M elfort, Sask., to student BARRY W. SW ANSON, fro m associate, Bethany (Okla.) First, to education, NNC C H A R LE S J. W H EELER , fro m p a s to r, Hawthorn, Pa., to evangelism MALCOLM H. WHITE, JR., from student to pastor, Colchester, Conn, PA U L A. W IL LE T T E , fro m S a ra to g a Springs (N Y.) Grace, to North Haverhill (N.H.) Trinity HENRY E. W ISNER, to pastor, Oswego, Kans, W DAN WRIGHT, from Monroe (La ) First to Brownwood, Tex. Announcements M O U N T A IN CHURCH (H A M IL T O N , ONT.) w ill celebrate its 40th anniversary Apr. 24-26. A banquet w ill be held Friday evening, and a m usical concert w ill be held Saturday evening. Sunday services wil be at 11 a . m . and 6 p . m . F orm er p a sto rs , members, and friends are invited to attend or send greetings. For m ore inform ation, contact the church at 910 Upper Sherman, H a m ilto n . O ntario . Canada L8V 2L8, or phone (4 15)389 -69 81. BUTTE (M O N T.) FIRST CHURCH w ill celebrate its 50th anniversary May 3 with an all-day celebration. For m ore inform a tio n , c o n ta c t P a s to r A. P. L illie , 1914 Texas, Butte, MT 59701, or phone (406) 723-5088. SONOM A VALLE Y (C A LIF .) CHURCH w ill celebrate its 50th anniversary May 2-3 w ith special speakers, m usic, fun, food, and fellow ship All form e r pastors, m em bers. and friends are invited to attend or send g re etings. For m ore in fo rm a tio n , contact Rev. W ilfred Stukas. P.O. Box 10, El Verano, CA 95433, or phone (707) 9967515. DUPO (ILL.) CHURCH w ill celebrate its 40th anniversary May 17. John Hancock, district superintendent, w ill preach in the m orning service, which w ill be followed by th e no o n m e a l. F o rm e r p a s to rs and friends w ill share in the 3 p.m. service. For m ore in fo rm a tio n , co n ta ct Rev. Edward Stovall, 201 Richard, Dupo, IL 62239, or phone (6 18)286 -46 98. HARRISBURG FIRST CHURCH (M ID DLETO W N, PA.) w ill ce le bra te its 50 th anniversary May 16-17 For m ore in fo r m a tio n , c o n ta c t th e c h u rc h at 1901 Rosedale Ave.. M iddletown, PA 17057, or p h o n e (717)939 -37 40. Recommendations The follow ing have been recom m ended by th e ir re sp e ctiv e d is tric t s u p e rin te n dents: BRIAN ARNER, registered song evange lis t, 1861 Lake Ave. S., C le a rw a te r, FL 34616, by Gene Fuller, Central Florida Dis trict, MICHAEL BENSON, evangelist, 2927 W. 24th Ave , Emporia, KS 66801, (316) 3422858, by W. T. Dougharty, Kansas District. LARRY HUMRICH, evangelist, 3302-G C irc le B ro o k D r. S .W ., R o a n o ke , VA 24014, (703) 989-5068, by C L, Thom p son, Virginia District. W. RILEY JAMES. JR., evangelist, H.C. 69, Box 1140, Inez. KY 41224. (606) 2983089, by C. Harold Sm ith. W est V irg in ia South District. UDELL MOSS, evangelist, 1980 S. New F lo ris s a n t R d., F lo ris s a n t, MO 6 3 0 3 1 , (314) 524-6159, by Hiram Sanders, M is souri District. STEVE STEVENSON, evangelist, 6276 W arrent St., Groves, TX 77619, (409) 9624630, by J. W. "Bill" Lancaster, Houston District. CURTIS W IL L IA M S , eva n g e list, 3536 Evansville, Dayton, OH 45406, (513) 2763410. by Harold B. Graves, Southwestern Ohio District. Moving Missionaries BENNETT, REV. STEPHEN and CH RISTI A N *, P h ilip p in e s , F u rlo u g h a d d re ss: 6401 The P aseo, K a n sa s C ity , MO 64131 HOWERTON. REV NORMAN and JOANNA, Argentina, Furlough address: c/o Lynda L a n g fo rd , B ox 8 5 1 7 5 7 , Y u k o n , OK 73085 IRWIN, DR, GLENN and RUTH. Papua New Guinea, Field address: P.O. Box 456, Mt. Hagen, WHP, PAPUA NEW GUINEA KRATZ, REV. ELDON and KAY, Brazil, Field address: Rua Souza Doca 115, 90,000 Porto Alegre. RS. BRAZIL POWER, REV. RICHARD and VICKI*, China M in is trie s , F u rlo u g h a d d re ss: 13815 Chittam Oak, San Antonio, TX 78232 SCH M ELZENBAC H, REV. HARM ON and BEVERLY, Kenya, Field ad dress: P.O. Box 20025, Nairobi, KENYA SCHORTINGHOUSE, REV KENNETH and LEANNA, New Zealand, Field address: 30 Riverhills Avenue, Pakuranga, Auck land, NEW ZEALAND SRADER, REV. DUANE and LINDA, Portu gal, Furlough address: 6401 The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64131 SWAIN, REV. AL and ARLENE, Peru, New Field address: Apartado 21-00 65 Lim a 21, PERU V A N C IE L, REV. BR IA N and E V E L Y N *. Samoa, Furlough address: 660 W elling ton, Porterville, CA 93257 W E LC H LY , M R . JA M E S and D O N N A *. C om m onw ealth of Independent States. Field address: The U kraine. YKPAIHA 252116 KNIB, 11IOAYAEHKO. 16, K820 •Specialized Assignm ent Personnel DIRECTORIES BOARD OF GENERAL SUPERINTENDENTS Office: 6401 The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64131. John A. Knight, chairm an; Donald D. O w e n s , v ic e -c h a irm a n ; W illia m J. Prince, secretary; Eugene L. Stowe, Jerald D, Johnson, Raymond D. Hurn. GENERAL SUPERINTENDENTS EM ERITUS: G eorge C o u lte r, 93 1 0 C a n te rb u ry, Lea wood, KS 66206; V H. Lewis, 1406 Cam bridge, Olathe, KS 66062; Orville W. Jenk in s, 2 3 0 9 W . 1 0 3 rd S t., L e a w o o d , KS 6 6 2 0 6 ; W illia m M G re a th o u s e , 1 1 7 9 Rosewood Trail, M ount Juliet, TN 37122. Notice Vital Statistics are printed as soon as possible after they are received. W hen s ubm itting inform ation, please observe the following guidelines: DEATHS: Please provide nam e, age, hom etow n, date of death, and the names of survivors and their relationship to the deceased. B IR T H S : P le a s e p ro v id e p a re n ts ’ nam es, hom etow n, name of child, sex of child, and date of birth. CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS: Please s ubm it church announcem ents at least three months prior to the issue you want the notice to be printed in. Please include your name and phone num ber when subm itting inform ation for the Vital Statistics pages to: Herald of Holiness 6401 The Paseo Kansas City, MO 64131 40 “The New Testament-On-Cassette helped some, but ever since I got this ‘Prayer-On-Tape’ series, my devotional life has really taken off!” H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss CHILDREN’S M INISTER HONORED . . . Pat V erbal was honored recently at the 11th Annual C hildren’s P as tors Conference in Denver, with the “ Excellence in M in istry to Children" award. A resident o f Glendora. Calif., Verbal has served as children's pastor at Pasadena First Church of the Nazarene and Orlando, Fla., Central Church. Verbal currently presents seminars in local churches and education conferences such as the Greater Los Angeles Sunday School C o n ference, the Association of Christian Schools Interna tional Conference, Children's Ministries University, and the Nazarene General S un day School Convention. Verbal specializes in ven triloquism, puppetry, and drama. She has hosted the Southwest Regional Puppet F'estival for the past three years, training more than 400 puppeteers. ENCORE! . . . (J. Bradley G ar vin, a m em ber of Oak Park. 111., Church o f the N aza rene, was recently se lected as “ Young Per former o f the Connecticut,” an operatic com petition conducted by the state. A graduate of Olivet Na/.arene College and the Indiana School o f Music, Garvin is currently pursuing a doctor ate at Yale University under a full scholarship. He has appeared with the St. Louis Opera Com pany and has been invited to appear at the Baniff Fine Arts Center in Canada. BEST OF THE BEST . . . Dean Thompson, director of social ser vices at T ra dition House Healthcare in Joplin, Mo., was recently selected as the "Best of the Best" nom i nee by his coworkers and residents. Thompson, who is also a Nazarene elder, received a diamond pin and w ill advance to the regional competition. The com peti tion is sponsored by the Hillhaven Corporation, a national healthcare company. A graduate o f Southern Nazarene University, Thompson has been in the ministry for nearly 25 years. He has pastored churches in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Arizona. He and his wife, N orm a, and daughter, Tara, are currently involved in evangelistic work. The Del Rey (Of The King) Sun day School class at Pasadena, C a lif ., F irs t C hurch of th e N azarene c e le b ra te d its 50th anniversary recently. The class started in 1940 w ith 53 m em bers. Currently, the class has 1 3 0 m em b ers and a v e ra g e s about 80 each week. The class is taught by Carol W agstaff. A pril 1 9 9 2 Close to Home News About Nazarenes BY TO M FELDER Pat Verbal and her ventriloquist doll. USAF HONORS NAZARENE DENTIST . . . Major Scott E. Gray was recently selected as Junior Dental Officer of the Year by the U.S. Air Force. He was honored for his military and dental achievements in 1991. Gray was deployed during Desert Storm to a contingen cy hospital in England. He also served as chief of the restorative section in an advanced education in gener al dentistry program and as program director for the USA F clinical operative den tistry postgraduate course. Gray and his wife, Cyndi, are graduates of Mount Ver non Nazarene College. They live in San Antonio, Tex., with their two daughters. PASTOR HONORED FOR 25 YEARS OF SERVICE . . . Gar den City Church of the Nazarene in Roanoke. Va., held a surprise reception recently in honor of Pastor Robert E. Field and his wife, Zella. Rev. Fields has served as pastor o f the church for 25 years. Nearly 150 people attend ed the reception including family members, fellow pas tors, and friends from around the country. Former District Superin tendent Reeford L. Chaney was the keynote speaker. Letters from the general Major General Donald J. Butz (I.) presents a plaque to Major Scott E. Gray honoring him as Junior Dental Officer of the Year in the USAF, as his wife, Cyndi, looks on. Lindsey and Lauren. The Grays attend San Antonio First Church of the Nazarene, where he serves on the church board. superintendents and current District Superintendent C. L. Thompson were read. The church presented Rev. and Mrs. Field with S I.000, an engraved wall clock, and a scrapbook. Rev. Robert and Zella Fields D EL R E Y jrji40 41 m REBECCA LAIRD a When Does God Draw Near? here once was a woman who went over the theological words, wanted to meet God. What and walked with a controlled, even would she wear? “Your gait down the street. She felt con Sunday best,” everyone told her. fident So God would meet her there. she went shopping. Trying on Sure enough, just as she turned many different styles, she finally the corner, God was coming to settled on a dark, modest suit, ward her. God was very close. She black pumps, and a fashionable was so excited she wanted to dance hat. They weren't the kind of with joy, but she remembered her clothes she would normally wear, manners and stood politely and but they seemed appropriate for quietly. God came closer and she meeting God. wanted to shout out a greeting, but After the woman knew what to she kept still, just like she’d prac wear, she wondered what God ticed. God was almost to her! Her would want to talk about. Theol heart pounded, but she forced a ogy, of course. She checked out polite smile. She was doing every several books on religion. She actu thing perfectly. Surely God would ally learned when to use words like stop. justification, hermeneutics, eschaBut God walked right by. He tology, and entire sanctification. walked right by her! She didn’t normally use such The woman watched in words, but she wanted to make disbelief. She had behaved sure she and God could speak the perfectly and God walked same language. right on by. How could Then it dawned on her that she God do this to her? Why? hadn’t been to church in a while. The woman dropped to How did one act when one met her knees right there on God? She must brush up on her re the curb and sobbed and ligious manners. So she visited sev sobbed until she thought eral churches and, by watching, she her heart would break. picked up what seemed to be ap Several moments passed. propriate behavior. One didn’t laugh Then she felt a hand on much, cry loud (except to shed one her shoulder. She looked tear quietly in a handkerchief), and up. Her face was puffy and her one never got angry. Most of all, hands wet from her tears. There one smiled politely, kept still, and was God. nodded in agreement to everything “My child,” said God, “what has the minister said. There was no made you so unhappy? It pains Me dancing in the aisles and very little to see you this way.” talking or movement at all. The woman, sputtered, “You The woman normally laughed a walked right by me, God! I was lot, cried when she hurt, yelled standing right here, and You when she got angry, and danced walked right by and didn’t even when filled with joy. But appar stop!” ently God didn’t like people acting God replied gently, “I didn’t stop that way. At least, that’s what she because, with those clothes, that learned in church. polite smile, and put-on airs, I Now the woman felt ready to didn’t recognize you. I didn’t think meet God. She put on her suit, it was you!”* T 42 Who of us hasn't felt inadequate when drawing near to God? Who of us hasn’t tried to impress God with our behavior, propriety, and piety? God knows how we look in our bathrobes, and God doesn't care if our hair is messy or our teeth un brushed. God doesn’t even care whether or not we own a dark suit. We come to God as we are. God wants to talk to us about anything that is of concern to us. We can speak to God in everyday words. Last, God is not afraid of our emotions, even the powerful ones. God designed our emotions as a special means of communication. S h e wanted to shout out a greeting, but instead she gave a controlled, polite smile. Through our feelings, we discover the hard and happy truths about our lives. God often speaks to us through them. Ultimately, this story reminds us that our humanness is nothing to be ashamed of. God made us in the divine image, and none of our im perfections can ever keep God from recognizing our authentic love and honest openness to Him. *This sto ry is one that has been p a ss e d a n d retold in the oral tradition. T he source is un kn o w n Rebecca Laird is a p ro fe s s io n a l w riter a n d e d ito r S he lives in S an F ra n c is c o a n d is a lic e n s e d minister. rq H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss W. E. M c C U M B E R The Son of God ecently, 1 r e a d th r o u g h , for th e u m p t e e n t h tim e , m y . favorite G o sp e l, t h a t o f M ark. Its brevity, r a p id pace, a n d clear m essage h a v e e n d e a r e d it to m y h e a r t for decades. We used t o sing w ith th e c h il dren, “ E v e ry b o d y o u g h t to k n o w w ho Jesus is.” T h a t, in essence, is th e p u r p o s e o f th e G o s p e l o f M a rk . T h e G o s p e l is n o t a biography, th o u g h it d o e s c o n t a i n rich b io graphical m a teria ls. It is n o t a his tory, t h o u g h v a lu a b le h isto ric al m a terials a b o u n d therein. T h e G o s p e l o f M a r k is p r o c la m a tio n , w h a t sc h o lars call kerygm a, w h ic h is a G r e e k w o rd for preaching. ( E v e ry b o d y o u g h t to know at least o n e G r e e k w ord, so if you d o n ’t h a v e o n e in y o u r v o c a b ulary already, k e r y g m a is a g o o d one to a d opt.) M a r k w as w ritte n to p roclaim w ho Je su s is. T h e a u t h o r d o e s n o t fool a r o u n d . H e gets to his t h e m e in th e o p e n ing sta te m e n t: “T h e b e g i n n in g o f the gospel o f Je su s C hrist, th e S on o f G o d ” (1:1). Jesus (th e h u m a n one), C h rist (the a n o i n t e d O n e , t h e M e ssia h) is the S on o f G o d . T h is is w h a t M a r k in te n d s to sh o w b y w h a t h e writes. E verything t h a t follows th e o p e n i n g s ta te m e n t e lu c id a te s this, enlarges u p o n this— t h a t Je su s is t h e S on o f G od. To this t r u t h th e F a th e r bea rs positive w itness. W h e n Je sus is b ap tize d a voice s p e a k s from heaven, saying, “ T h o u a r t m y b e loved Son, in w h o m I a m well pleased” (1:11). To th is t r u t h d e m o n s b e a r n e g a tive witness. “ W h e n e v e r t h e evil spirits b e h e ld h im , th e y fell d o w n before h i m a n d crie d out, ‘You are the S on o f G o d ’” (3:11, N IV ). R April 19 92 T h r o u g h t h e a u th o r, th e c h u r c h — th e in sid ers— b e a rs w itne ss to th e u n i q u e s o n s h ip o f Jesus, as we n o te d in th e G o s p e l’s o p e n in g s t a t e m e n t (1:1). T h e c e n t u r i o n in cha rge o f th e C ru c ifix io n , a m a n o f th e w o rld — a n o u ts id e r — b e a rs c lim a c tic w it ness. As Jesus died, this soldier ex c la im e d , “ S urely th is m a n was th e S o n o f G o d ! ” (15:39, N IV ). In d o ing so, c o n v e r s io n to C h r is t w as a t tested. By th is succession o f w itnesses th e id e n tity o f Jesus, th e m a n from N az a re th , is disclosed. H e is th e Son o f G od. M a r k ’s p r im a r y c o n c e r n is n o t to sh o w t h a t Je su s o f N a z a r e th is th e M essiah o f Israel. R a th e r, h e i n t e n d s to sh o w t h a t Jesus o f N a z a re th , th e M essiah o f Israel, is th e S o n o f G o d . H e is n o t m e re ly th e S o n o f D avid, H e is L th e S on o f G o d . H e is n o t o n ly th e S o n o f M a n , H e is th e S o n o f G o d . All H is n a m e s , all H is titles, all H is f u n c tio n s are s u b o r d in a t e to, a n d expressive of. H is id e n tity as t h e S o n o f God. W h a t it m e a n s to call Jesus th e S o n o f G o d b e c o m e s clea r as H e p u r s u e s H is m ission, w h ic h reach es its pow erful a n d p r e d e stin e d c lim a x in H is c ru c ifix io n a n d resurre ction. E v ery th in g flow s o u t fro m this p o in t, e v e ry th in g flows b a c k to this p o i n t — t h a t Jesus is th e S o n o f God. W h o Je su s is sta n d s revealed by w h a t H e does. B u t w h a t H e d o e s is d e t e r m i n e d by w h o H e is. H is b e in g u n d e r lie s a n d gives m e a n i n g a n d valu e to H is doing. T h a t m e a n i n g a n d valu e re a c h th e ir cli m a x in H is d e a th a n d resurre ction, a n d these c o n s titu te g o o d n e w s — th e gospel. H is d e a th a to n e s for sin a n d r a n so m s th e s in n e r from bondage. His re su rre c tio n billb o ard s th e F a th e r ’s a c c e p ta n c e o f H is a t o n in g sacrifice. It also illu m in a te s th e S o n ’s id e n tity for H is disciples, a n d t h u s it inspires— in d e e d c re a te s— th e faith by w h ic h th ey are saved. T h e r e is a n e m p h a s is o n p o w e r in M a rk 's G ospel. In a single c h a p ter, for e xa m ple , we fin d stories th a t exalt th e p o w e r o f Jesus over d e m o n s , disease, a n d d e a th (ch. 5). To rea d it is to k n o w th a t a u n iq u e p e rso n is at w ork, a tta c k in g a n d c o n q u e r in g th e strongest forces o f evil in th e w orld. H e c a n be n o o th e r t h a n th e S on o f G o d in a reached its powerful and predestined climax in His crucifixion and resurrection. sense th a t n o o th e r is o r ca n b e co m e. T h a t is th e g lorious tra c k on w h ic h th e r e a d e r sets his feet w h e n he sees— o r h e a rs— th e o p e n in g t r u m p e t blast o f M a r k ’s book: “T h e b e g in n in g o f th e gospel o f Jesus Christ, th e S on o f G o d .” To follow t h a t tra c k w ith o p e n m i n d a n d rev e re n t spirit is to reach a n a g r e e m e n t w ith its in sp ire d a u tho r, a n d to offer o n e ’s life in service to its d iv in e Subject. W. E. McCumber is a preacher, teacher; author, a n d fo rm e r e d ito r o f the Herald of Holiness. 43 Recognize i t . . . Acknowledge i t . . . Propagate i t . . . A SPECIAL TIE THAT BINDS! B Y R O B E R T H. SC O TT, D IR EC T O R , W O RLD MISSION DIVISION aybe it should be called p art o f the “ g e n iu s ” o f th e C h u r c h o f th e N azarene. W h at ever you call it, it is true: N azarenes o f the world fe e l a special tie to each other. E veryw here I have gone in th e w orld am o n g “o u r fam ily” I have seen it. In deed, we are family. A nd we love the “ family m eeting.” We are one in a special bond o f His love. You have seen it and felt it if you have been to a G eneral As sembly. D uring 1991, I saw it and felt it in the six regional confer ences a ro u n d th e w orld. N azarenes who have never seen each o th e r before fin d in g an in sta n t relatedness a n d e n jo y m e n t w ith each other. T h at relatedness and enjoym ent energized th em to go out to do a better work for God! Surely, it is part o f the “genius” o f the C hurch o f the N azarene. Doubtless, m uch has been co n trib u te d to th e p e rp e tu a tio n o f th is sp irit by o u r m issio n aries. They go to distant places to rep resent us all. They return in years o f fu rlo u g h to r e p o rt o n w h a t they have seen and w hat H e has done. They show us the “faces” o f people m ost o f us will never see. They tell us their stories. As they do, these distances and differences m elt away, a n d th is unique N azarene “oneness” takes a deep root w ithin ou r hearts and m inds. T here is, indeed, a special tie th at binds. M T he “ Family S pirit” at R isk But in a com plex world, filled w ith c o m p e titio n a n d n a ti o n 44 alism, this tie can be in jeopardy, not because we wish it w ould go away b u t because we becom e too busy to recognize it an d acknow l edge it and propagate it. N one of us w ould w ant to suffer this loss. All o f us m ust take on the task of preserving the fam ily feeling. O u r very success in developing s tro n g a n d s e lf - s u p p o r tin g ch u rch es a n d d istric ts in w orld areas can inadvertently place this spirit in jeopardy. N azarenes have a c le a r p h ilo so p h y o f m issio n s th a t ru n s d iam etrically opposite to colonialism . We do not place m issionaries o r establish in stitu tio n s w ith i n te n t to e s ta b lis h p e rm a n e n t d e p e n d e n c e o n th e m issio n a ry or o n an e x p a tria te support system. We sow His m ustard seed faith fully and carefully. We lay solid f o u n d a t i o n s fo r r e p r o d u c tiv e evangelism a n d holy living. We establish local churches an d Bible schools an d clinics an d even hos pitals. But even as we do this, we pray for a n d expect th at one day th e lo c a l N a z a re n e s w ill ta k e charge o f their own ecclesiastical destiny. We hope th at soon there w ill be s u f f ic ie n t n u m b e r s o f m e m b e rs w ith t h a t a u th e n t ic N azarene spirit th at enables them to o p e ra te th e ir ow n p ro g ra m s and institutions. This, o f course, allow s th e m is s io n a ry a n d th e m issionary dollar to m ove on to other new frontiers w here people have not yet heard the clear call o f the gospel. “ I n d ig e n i z a t io n ” is th e big w ord th a t d efin es this m issions philosophy. We believe in it. We a r e p r a c t i c i n g it a r o u n d th e world. Is it really w o rk in g o u t th a t way? Well, did you know th at o f th e 95 w o rld a re a s w h e re th e C hurch o f the N azarene is now at work, 47 o f these have no foreign N a z a re n e m issio n a ry presence? T h at is a sign th at we are serious a b o u t in d ig e n iz a tio n . T h a t is a m ark o f o u r success as a church c o m m itte d to c re a tin g a w o rld holiness m ovem ent based on the strength and auth en ticity o f local N azarenes everywhere. Rev. Rosa Tee and the Nazarene Family in Antigua I have traveled in m ost o f these 95 areas over th e past years. In such events as the 1991 regional co n feren ces a n d co u n cils, I am often w ith N azarenes th a t com e fro m all o f th e s e w o rld a re a s. W hat we have is indeed a “fam ily,” b o u n d to g e th e r by tie s o f love, c o m m itm en t, an d m ission. W herever o u r “fam ily” is found, it is ev an g elizin g th e lost, p r o c la im in g a n d liv in g th e life o f C h ristian holiness, paying G e n eral Budget, and feeling a special in sp iratio n from know ing it be longs to a “fam ily” th at is w orld wide in scope. So, le t’s p ra is e G o d fo r th is a ch iev em en t. T e t’s recognize it, acknow ledge it, and propagate it. A few m o n th s ago, I was on the tiny island o f A ntigua in the C a r ib b e a n Sea. A n tig u a is w h ere N azarenes have a lady district su p erintendent, Rev. Rosa Lee. She a n d her faithful p a sto rs are e n gaged in sincere attem p ts to evan gelize th e peo p les o f th is place H e ra ld of H o lin e ss (Upper left) Several Nazarene pastors confer with their district superintendent, Rev. Rosa Lee. (Above) One of Antigua’s scenic harbors. (Upper right) Beacon Light Church of the Nazarene. (Right) Dr. Robert Scott, director of World Mission Division, and District Superintendent Rosa Lee. w ith its u n iq u e g e o g rap h ic iso lation. As we shared a delightful lu n ch e o n fellow ship, one o f th e young pastors asked m e a p ro b ing question. “Since there are no m issionaries here to take o u r pic tures a n d stories to o th e r N aza re n e s in o th e r c o u n tr ie s , how does o u r N azarene fam ily aro u n d the w orld know ab o u t o u r tin y is land? H ow are o u r special prayer requests m ade know n? H ow are o u r special victories and burdens shared?” It was, I told him , a very good question. I reco u n ted for him and the others o u r c o m m itm e n t to be April 1 9 9 2 a w orld fam ily connected by ties th a t bind. I told him ab o u t World M ission m agazine, the H erald o f Holiness, the m issionary reading b o o k s, th e N W M S , a n d p ray e r line. I even told him ab o u t the positive dim ension o f the “N aza rene grapevine.” I m ean th at in form al system o f co m m u n icatio n by w hich if one N azarene know s ab o u t good news (or bad), soon all N azarenes know it. We rem ain connected, I assured him . We are a family. We w on’t forget o r a p p re c ia te less th e g row ing areas su ch as th e irs from w h ic h th e m issionaries have m oved on. We will m ake the m ost o f the special philosophy o f m issions an d inter n a tio n a liz a tio n th a t we have adopted and affirm ed in each of o u r recent G eneral Assemblies. I believe I told the young pas to r in A ntig u a w hat you w ould have w anted m e to tell him. A nd he was glad to hear th at message. Now it is up to us all. T his spe cial tie th a t binds? L et’s be agents to recognize it, to acknowledge it, and to propagate it all aro u n d the world! It is part o f a N azarene ge n iu s th a t we c a n n o t a ffo rd to lose. ^ 45 Roses in the D esert. . . continued from page 5 C a m p u s v isito rs o fte n a ssu m e all s tu d e n ts at NIBC are Navajo, since it’s so close to the Navajo N ation and over 50 percent o f the students com e from that tribe. But eight different tribes are repre sented, in clu d in g M ojave, C herokee, Seneca, and Papago (Tohono O 'odham ). Tribal differences m ay not be apparent to white visitors, but they are real. Barb C h atto spoke about how these differences affect students: “It’s always a little hard at the first o f the year, because everyone is getting used to one another. But as the year progress es, we do get closer to each other.” A ccording to C harles S tu art, d e a n o f students, m o st In d ia n stu d e n ts do e x p erien ce som e crosscultural problem s. “T here’s personal tension w hen they try to m ake C hrist real in their lives. It’s differ ent for everyone, especially with their different tribal backgrounds. “ Som e have to deal w ith h u n tin g a n d farm ing legends— and especially w ith beliefs ab o u t the C re ation. O thers m ust w ork through experiences with alcohol and drugs, som e o f th at in connection with fam iliar Peyote doctrines. “O u r goal is to develop C hristian Indians w ithout taking away their heritage. So m uch tribal life is re ligious, and C hristianity c a n ’t ju st be added. C hrist m ust becom e central,” he said. Barb C h atto recalls facing som e questions o f her own. “ I rem em b er asking m yself d u ring one class discussion, ‘W here does the Indian C hristian fit in? W here does culture end w hen you take on C hris tianity; and, where does C hristianity end w hen liv ing in the culture?’ Each o f us [Indians] m ust experi ence his o r her own guidance from G od. We c a n ’t ju st set o u r heritage on a shelf.” Professor Lloyd C om m ander, the school’s only In dian teacher, teaches A m erican Indian History. He said, “W hen we talked about C olum bus’ com ing to this continent, students asked, ‘How can som eone discover a place th a t's alread y p o p u la te d ? ’ M ost w hite m en d o n ’t u n derstand there were com plex In dian cultures long before the w hite m an got here. “Indian cultures are ju st part o f the m any cultures in A m erica. Som eone has said, ‘T he tru th is, the U.S. will never be a m elting pot, b u t a stew pot.’ A carrot in a stew still tastes like carrot, but it’s e n hanced by the flavor o f the o th er vegetables and it, in turn, enhances the flavor o f the others,” C o m m an d er said. “ Like any college cam pus, this is n o t a perfect place,” D ean M cK inney noted. “ In any given year, three or four students will stum ble. But we m ust be redem ptive. If a student repents and is willing to be counseled, we’ll w ork w ith him or her. People m ay 46 Nothing to Brag About— Except God’s Redeeming Grace ohono O’odham Indian Al Antone says, “I hate to even mention the things I used to do— it’s nothing to brag about. But I’m a living testimony of what the Lord can do in someone’s life, and that’s what I brag about.” For 13 years, Al was a member of a drug smuggling ring. “I knew it affected my whole family,” he said. “And because of this, my wife and three sons began go ing to church in 1984. “One day, my son came home from church and asked if I knew what a particular scripture meant. He read it for me. ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’ (John 3:16). Just hearing it through his young voice made it come alive to me. “I began attending church, too, but didn’t end my association with the gang. Then, in 1985, everyone else was arrested and sent to prison—some are still there.” Al accepted the Lord that year, but he said, “I didn’t give Him everything. Then, one day I questioned the pastor about the peace and joy they all claimed to have, and he asked if I had really given God my all. I began crying and, when he asked if I'd like to, I said yes. From that time I’ve felt that peace and joy myself” Al has a burden for the people he’s hurt in the past, and he regularly phones and writes to those in prison. “They sometimes ask why I don’t preach to them. But I wait for them to ask about the change in my life; then, I can testify and let it all come naturally into the conversation,” he said. And God has given Al a burden for his people. He has talked to tribal elders about his new faith. T n ot u n derstand this, but ‘we m ust obey G od, rather th an m en.’” This obedience has led to the school having an a t trition rate any college can be proud of. O nly ab o u t 4 p ercen t o f the stu d e n ts w ho begin as freshm en leave before graduating. T h at looks pretty good, es pecially w hen c o m p a red to 96 p e rc e n t o f N ative A m erican students leaving the nearby U niversity o f New M exico before graduation. C harles Stuart, though p roud o f b oth the school and students, said, “ No place is perfect. Every c a m p u s, ev ery w o rk p la c e , ev e ry c o m m u n ity , ev e ry church has its problem s. W hen I was studying at B ethany Peniel College, som eone told m e, ‘You’ll fin d roses o u t th ere. S om e will blo sso m a n d be beautiful, b u t others will be very thorny. You m ust deal w ith a n d accept both kinds.’ It’s been good ad vice. Here, we are cultivating roses in the desert.” Priscilla Raue is a se m ire tire d jo u rn a lis t livin g in Merrillville, Ind. She h o ld s a c o m m is s io n as m in iste r o f C hristian e d u c a tion in the C h u rch o f the N azarene. rq H e ra ld o f H o lin e ss Herald of Holiness People M ake the Difference at NIBC e d ic a te d p eo p le. G o d - d i r e c t ed p e o p le . P e o p le w ith a sense o f m ission. T h e y ’re th e r e a son th e d o o r s at N I B C a re o p e n today. A d m in is tr a to r s lik e T om M c K in n e y ( a d m i n i s t r a t o r / d e a n o f th e c o lle g e ) a n d C h a r l e s S t u a r t (dean o f stu d e n ts), a lo n g w ith o t h ers, ta k e for g r a n te d th e fact th e y ’ll often be called u p o n to “ fill in th e gaps” w h e n lack o f f u n d s req u ires extra w ork. R e g u la r t e a c h e r s a n d a d m i n i s trators travel m a n y m iles in to th e rese rv atio n s several w e e k e n d s a y e a r t o t e a c h e x t e n s i o n classe s. P re sen t e x te n s io n classe s are aim ed at p rep a rin g In d ian s w ho c a n n o t a t t e n d th e sch ool for o r d i n a t io n . H o w e v e r, la y t r a i n i n g classes m a y be offered soon. S ta f f m e m b e r G e n e C o p e ( d i r e c to r o f d e v e l o p m e n t ) in c l u d e s te a c h in g a n d c o o r d i n a t i n g W o rk a n d W itn es s efforts in his jo b. M a n y te a c h e r s a re p e o p le w ith reg u la r fu ll-tim e jo b s, w h o use th e ir exp ertise a n d e a r n e d degrees to te a c h at N IB C p a rt-tim e . P rofessors fro m o t h e r colleges, a lo n g w ith p a s to rs w ith specialties to share, visit th e c a m p u s to te ac h sem inars. Several v o lu n te e r couples, su c h as W a y n e a n d V irginia Faul, Cecil a n d F reda Miller, a n d th e c o u p le w h o r u n th e d in in g hall, d e d ic a te th r e e - q u a r t e r s o f every y ea r to serving N IB C . S te v e a n d C a t h y B o w m a n o f L a r i m o r e , N .D a k ., p u t t o g e t h e r N I B C ’s q u a r t e r l y n e w sp a p e r. S a cred Jo urney. N u m e r o u s W ork a n d W itn ess t e a m s f r o m all o v e r t h e U n i t e d S tates c o m e to k e e p th is c a m p u s th e a ttra c tiv e place it is. T h e r e 's n o w a y to n o te all th e w ays p e o p le m a k e a d iffe rence to N IB C . B u t e v e r y o n e w ith a vision for th is m in i s tr y c a n h a v e a p a r t th r o u g h th e n ew “ Seed J a r ” p r o j ect. F or in f o r m a ti o n , write: K a r e n C o p e , N a z a r e n e I n d ia n Bible C o l lege, 231 5 M a r k h a m R d. S.W., A l b u q u e r q u e , N M 87105. April 1992 D Whole No. 3554 • Vol. 81, No. 4 E D IT O R Wesley D. Tracy V Here is a book that w ill help you ef fe c tiv e ly fo c u s your in te rp e rs o n a l w itne ssin g s k ills in the w orkplace. From the boardroom to the sw itch board, this book w ill provide valuable encouragem ent to be a living exam ple of Jesus Christ. H H 0 8 3 -4 1 1 -4 3 0 5 $ 7 .9 5 M A N A G IN G E D IT O R M ark G raham A D M IN IS T R A T IV E S E C R E T A R Y Judith Perry D IR E C T O R D IV IS IO N O F C O M M U N IC A T IO N S Paul Skiles G E N E R A L S U P E R IN T E N D E N T S Eugene L. Stowe Jerald D. Johnson John A. K night R aym ond W. H u rn W illiam J. Prince D onald D. Ow ens B ible quotations in this issue: U nidentified quotations are from K.JV Q uotations from the following trans lations are used by permission: (NIV) From The Holy Bible. New Inter national Version, copyright © 1973. 1978. 1984 by the International Bible Society. (N K JV ) From the New King Jam es Ver sion. c o p y rig h t© 1979, 1980, 1982. T hom as Nelson, Inc.. Publishers. C o v e r P h o to : Christopher Griffin A u th or Neil W isem an provides 40 proven m ethods fo r reducing stress in our lives. The underlying them e p o in ts ou t our need to d e velop a deeper frien dship w ith God to help us in fighting the external pressures of the w orld. H H 0 8 3 -4 1 1 -4 2 9 1 $ 1 4 .9 5 Order your copies today! 1-800-877-0700 Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City Prices s u b le t to change A pril 1 9 9 2 • Plus postage Herald of Holiness (USPS 241-400) is published m onthlv by the NAZARENE PUBLISHING HOUSE, 2923 Troost Ave_ Kansas City, MO 64109. Editorial offices at 6401 The Paseo. Kansas City. MO 64131. Address all correspondence concerning subscriptions to Nazarene Publishing House, P.O. Box 419527, K ansas City, MO 64141. Copyright 1992 by Nazarene Publishing House. POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to Herald o f Holiness, P.O. Box 419527, Kansas City, MO 64141. SU B SCRIPTION PRICE: $9.00 per year. Second-class postage paid in Kansas City, Mo. Litho in U.S.A. 47 NEWS LATE NEWS NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • NEWS • IS! NEW MISSIONARIES COMMISSIONED One of the largest missionary classes in recent history was commissioned by the General Board o f the C hurch o f the Na/.arene during its 1992 ses s io n . T w o o f the c o u p l e s were com m issio ned for ser v ic e in the f o r m e r S o v ie t U n io n , a n o th e r c o u p le was commissioned specifically to serve the Chinese people. T h irty -o n e in d iv id u als w e re c o m m i s s i o n e d in the special service. They include: David and Sandy Allison fr o m C a n a d a , a s s i g n e d as agricultural m issio n arie s to Bangladesh Dr. A b r a h a m an d Ju d y A th ia ly from I n d ia n a p o lis , assigned to Asia-Pacific Naz arene Theological Seminary, Manila, Philippines C h a rles and V era Brow n from O la th e , K an s., to the Dominican Republic Rev. Jim and Betty Cooper from Enid, Okla., assigned to the South America Region R e v. R a n d y a n d L in d a G a n t fro m S o m e r s e t , Ky., a s sig n e d to the M in iste ria l T ra in in g C o u n c il, N airo b i, Kenya Thirty-one individuals were commissioned by the 1992 General Board for missionary service. Two of the couples were commissioned for service in the Commonwealth of Independent States and another couple was commissioned specifically to serve the Chinese people. (See story) Rev. John Haines, who has been serving as a missionary in the E u r a s i a R e g io n a l office, was given career mis sionary status R e v . D a v id an d S h e lly Hayes from Nashville, Ind., were assigned to the Eurasia Region for Arabic language studies R e v . E ric a n d P a u la Kellerer from Hailey, Idaho, a s s i g n e d to A s i a - P a c i f i c R e g io n , T h a i l a n d C h u r c h Growth Council MVNC STUDENT DIES IN CAR CRASH A M o unt V ern o n N az arene C o lle g e stu d e n t w as killed and another seriously injured F eb . 3, in a car accident so u th o f the campus. Susan Ann F a r m e r . 19, w as pro n o u n ce d dead at the scene. E i g h te e n - y e a r - o ld M ich ael K e e n w as t r a n s p o r t e d by LifeFlight to the neurological in te n siv e care unit at O hio S ta te U n i v e r s i t y M e d ic a l Center in Columbus. K e e n , a f r e s h m a n fro m Spencerport, N.Y., was driv ing the car when he reportedly lost control and crossed the center line. Farmer, a fresh48 man from Triadelphia, W.Va., was killed when the car was hit by an oncoming van. The four occupants o f the van were treated and released fro m a lo c a l h o s p i t a l . A fourth p a s s e n g e r w as eight months pregnant. She deliv ered a baby boy the following day. Fanner is the third member of the MVNC student body to die in an automobile accident in the 1991-92 school year. Ron H o l m e s an d D a r r i n Brooks were killed in a headon collision Sept. 5. Keen and Farmer reported ly were returning to the cam pus f r o m N e w a r k , O h io , where they had gone to pur chase an engagement ring. R e v . a n d M rs. D a n ie l Miller o f K ansas City, Mo., assigned to the Africa Region, S en eg al C hu rch G ro w th Council D a v id and S y lv ia P o tte r fro m K a n s a s C i t y , M o., assigned to the Asia-Pacific Region. P apua N ew G u in ea Medical Council Rev. Rick and Vicki Power fro m G e o r g e t o w n . T e x . , a s s ig n e d to M a n d a r i n l a n guage studies, Taipei, Taiwan Rev. Chuck and Carla Sunberg from Austin, Tex., to the E u ra sia R eg io n, M oscow Church Planting Council Rev. Ung and Susan Kim Ty from Long Beach, Calif., to Asia-Pacific Region, C a m bodia Church Planting Coun cil Jim and Donna Welchly of San Antonio (who have been serving several months as lay missionaries to the Ukraine) assigned to specialized mis sionary contract. Kiev R e v . D a v i d an d G le n d a W e sle y from O rlan d o , Fla., assigned to Hispanic language school Rev. and Mrs. Larry West fr o m K a n s a s C i t y , Mo., a s s i g n e d to A s i a - P a c i f i c R e g io n , I n d o n e s i a C h u rc h Growth Council W o r ld M is s io n D iv isio n D irec tor R obert Scott intro d u c e d the n e w ly appo in ted m is sio n a rie s to the General B oard w ho u n a n im o u sly a c c e p te d the r e c o m m e n d a tions o f the W o rld Mission Department. A prayer of ded ication was prayed by Gener al S u perin te n d en t Raymond W. Hum. PICKENPAUGH IS NEW D.S. OF MINNESOTA S am P i c k e n p a u g h , 58, has been a p p o in te d s u p e r in t e n dent o f the M in n e so ta D is trict. The appoin tm ent was made by General Superinten d en t R a y m o n d W. H urn in c o o p e r a t i o n w ith the M i n n eso ta D istrict A d v iso ry Board. Pickenpaugh replaces R ussell H u m an w ho was appointed superintendent of the Northeast Oklahoma Dis trict. Since 1987, Pickenpaugh had se rve d in a specialized m i s s i o n a r y a s s i g n m e n t as superintendent o f the W est ern Australia District. Begin n in g in 1988. he w as also su p e r in t e n d e n t o f the A u s tralia N orthern Pacific Dis trict. He an d his w ife. G ra ce , have a daughter, Charlotte. H e ra ld o f Holiness NAZARENE PUBLISHING HOUSE Features of the Month C h / i/ lu il d M s O iSTOf>y SONGS FROM THE - 0l-0 TESTAMENT . >>®§SFr<#. Adventure-Time Tunes for Kids JES FROM JO N A H , JAW S, A N D T H E G IA N T — Fifteen f u n , m e m o r a b l e Old T e s ta m e n t sto ry son g s f e a tu re Bible a d v e n tures a n d c h a ra c te rs t h a t m a k e God's W ord c o m e a liv e to y o u r c h ild re n . I n c lu d e d are: " H u m b l y G ra te fu l o r G r u m b l y H a te fu l? " "Moses, You're Not Listening," "By Faith," a n d m ore. L 'cumEm M JESUS, JO H N , A N D T H E JA IL B IR D S Help y o u r k id s learn a n d u n d e r s t a n d t h e m e a n i n g b e h i n d selected New T e s ta m e n t stories a n d p a r a b le s t h a t f e a t u r e m u sic fo r l is te n in g a n d s i n g - a lo n g . I n c lu d e d in t h e 15 se lec tions are: "If You Believe," "He Loves Me," "Listen to t h e Story," " J o h n 3:16," a n d more! SPECIA L PR IC E fo r b o th o n l y HH M U -9 12 Regular price $12.98 $19.96 BEACON HILL PRESS OF KAN SAS CITY Brief from G en es '5 The God of New Beginnings By W. E. McCumber E . n ic C U M B I* W i th c h a ra c te ristic w it a n d in sig h t, th e a u t h o r offers 36 brief, h a r d - h i t t i n g m essages o n th e great p ersons a n d events f o u n d in G enesis a n d Exodus. T he s im p le t r u t h of God's r e d e m p tio n is the c entral focus of th e book. H H 0 8 3 -4 1 1-3651 $6.95 TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THESE FINE MONTHLY FEATURES TODAY! Call us at 1-800-877-0700