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The Movie Of Life
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Youth And Leadership
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“All the world’s a stage,” said Shakespeare in As
You Like It, “and all the men and women [are] merely players: They have their exits and their entrances.”
I
A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
A
s a parent, I think one of the most difficult experiences is
when your children grow up and leave home. I was just
speaking to my friend whose daughter left home right after
high school graduation to live in Europe. Her daughter is living and working in Holland for a year and traveling around
the continent during her time off work. Today as I write she is
in Switzerland and her mom is trying to call her to see how she is doing.
The problem is her daughter is having such a great time that she forgets to email or call to touch base with her mom.
Many things go through a parent's mind when their children leave: Will
they be safe? Do they have enough money? What happens if they get
sick or lonely? And for many Christian parents: Will they continue to
remember God?
Le film de la vie
« Le monde entier est une pièce théâtre », a dit 3
Shakespeare dans sa pièce As You Like It, « et tous
les hommes et les femmes sont de simples acteurs : ils
ont leur sortie et leur entrée. »
Teens In Small Churches
15
Most weeks our 15-year-old son is the only teenager at church services. He has no friends even close to his
age and there’s none of the usual bait that churches dangle out to attract teens to church, like a youth worship
band or a zillion activities.
Youth Leaders, Take A Bow
16
Some say that Rule One for working with youth is:
Realize that most of your time with them is an investment.
Perhaps Rule Two is: You never know just how big your
investment will pay off.
Personal
Director’s Desk
Bible Study
Focus On Grace
The Journey
Theme Articles
Commentary
National News
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FRONT COVER:The challenge of the Christian Church is to provide the mentoring to allow its young people to become the future
leaders of the Church.
Cover Photo: © Designpics
Inside and Back Cover: © Designpics
Additional photos and illustrations:
JupiterImages © 2000 - 2005 unless otherwise noted
Northern Light magazine is the official magazine of the
Worldwide Church of God, Canada. It exists to share the
stories of our members and congregations on their
Christian journey. Northern Light does this by featuring
articles that encourage, nurture and inform.
In this issue of Northern Light we focus on our young people and their
involvement in the Christian faith. We try to answer the question, "How
do parents and the Church develop our future Christian leaders from
our young people?"
I don't think there are any easy answers—just like there are no
absolutes for success in life. However, from my own perspective the
answer is found in the idea of acceptance and inclusion. I grew up in a
small church congregation that didn't have that many young people
(most of the time there were 3 or 4 of us). We didn't have any fancy
"youth" programs. But what made up for that lack was the fact that we
felt accepted. We played volleyball and broomball (I think the term murder-ball would be more appropriate) with the adults. We were included
in the worship service. When the adults were having an event such as
a dance, speech club, or special supper, we were also included.
In a way, everyone adopted this small group of teenagers as their own
children. In fact even today as I get closer to being 50 years old, when
I am called "Billy" by someone in a church setting, I know it must be a
person from that time in my life. I know that I'm a Christian, doing what
I do today, due in large part to those people who accepted me back
those 30 years ago.
What I experienced first hand from the people of that congregation was
what all feel when they realize that God has come looking for them. I’m
sure there is some fancy theological definition for this experience, (the
effect of Grace, comes to mind) but I like to use the term "the theology
of where the rubber meets the road."
To say to a young person through our words and deeds: "You have
something to say and contribute," goes a long way in showing them
what the Christian faith is all about. It is a religion based on relationships. This relationship is lived out through our connective ness to God
through Jesus and secondly, to each other in a community.
By living this way, we will create a place where future leaders are nurtured to take the Church into the next generation.NL
Bill Hall
1
P E R S O N A L
By Joseph Tkach
Pastor General
“A
ll the world’s a stage,”
said Shakespeare in As
You Like It, “and all the
men and women [are]
merely players: They
have their exits and
their entrances.”
If Shakespeare had been a screenwriter
instead of a playwright, he might well
have said that all the world is a movie,
and we all come into the movie at some
point and exit at another. In one of
Shakespeare’s more cynical moments,
he has Macbeth say that life is only a
shadow on the stage, a “tale told by an
idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying
nothing.”
Is the movie of life really pointless? The
gospel says it is not—there is in fact a
grand purpose—and a triumphant conclusion.
The Movie Of Life
to be. As the Master Storyteller, Jesus
weaves us into the adventure of life eternal, the life of the never-ending age to
come.
arise, they see everything in terms of
whether or not it interferes with the pursuit of their own idea of happiness and
pleasure.
It is in Jesus that our lives have their true
meaning. His resurrection is proof that
he loves us. It is proof that he lives for
us, intercedes for us and transforms us.
In him our lives find their true meaning
and purpose.
When something gets in their way, they
get angry and try to force their selfish will
on others. They go through life stressed
out, fearful and upset, always worried
that they might not get what they want or
keep what they have.
So much of life is out of our control.
Things happen, and most of the time, we
have little or no say. The unexpected
and the unplanned-for happen, and such
events may be good or bad. We might
plan for and work toward a goal, but
because of circumstances beyond our
control, that goal may never be realized.
Life doesn’t have to be that way. If our
trust is in the Director, we can let love
and patience guide our responses to the
events and circumstances of our daily
lives. We can rest our spirits in the One
who works all things together for our
good. When things don’t go our way,
we’re free in Christ not to stress out.
We’re free to return good for evil. We
don’t have to be afraid, because we cast
all our cares on the One who loves us.
A movie of our own
We can’t control the stage, the scenes,
or the other actors. But we can make
decisions about how we will respond to
the events that happen to us.
Jesus is the great Screenwriter and
Director of the movie of our lives. He
created not only our roles, but us as
well, and he shapes the screenplay of
our lives into the grand epic he wants it
Many people respond to life with anger,
resentment and impatience, even bitterness. Instead of facing life with a tranquil
spirit and making wise decisions about
how to deal with whatever situations
The never-ending sequel
We will all exit the story of life, leaving
tasks undone, projects unfinished, stories incomplete. But on the other side of
the silver screen is another story, a story
into which Jesus Christ has written a
part for us. In that story, loose ends are
tied up, grief and tragedy are turned to
joy, and wounds and betrayals are
healed. It is a story of happy endings
always getting better.
It is God’s great pleasure to make us
part of that never-ending story. Even
now, in Christ we are learning to live
the kind of life appropriate for such
eternal joy. We are learning to love others just as Christ loved us and gave
himself for us.
May we all have faith to look beyond
the distress of the present moment and
keep our hearts set on the triumphant
finale, the finale that goes on forever.NL
2
NORTHERN LIGHT
ÉDITORIAL
Le film de la vie
«L
e monde entier
est une pièce
théâtre », a dit
Shakespeare
dans sa pièce As
You Like It, « et
tous les hommes et les femmes sont de
simples acteurs : ils ont leur sortie et
leur entrée. »
Si Shakespeare avait été un scénariste
plutôt qu’un auteur dramatique, il aurait
très bien pu dire que le monde entier est
un film, et que nous entrons tous dans le
film à un moment donné et en sortons à
un autre moment. Dans une de ses périodes les plus cyniques, Shakespeare
faisait dire à Macbeth que la vie n’est
qu’une ombre sur la scène, un « récit
raconté par un idiot, rempli de bruit et de
fureur, qui ne veut rien dire. »
Le film de la vie est-il vraiment inutile ?
L’Évangile affirme que non, que la vie a
en fait un but important et une conclusion triomphante.
Notre propre film
Jésus est le grand scénariste et
directeur du film de notre vie. Non seulement a-t-il créé notre rôle, mais il nous a
aussi créés, et il a façonné le scénario
de notre vie dans la grande épopée qu’il
veut qu’elle soit. En tant que maître conteur, Jésus nous tisse dans l’aventure de
la vie éternelle, la vie de l’âge à venir qui
ne finira jamais.
C’est en Jésus que notre existence trouve sa vraie signification. Par sa résurrection Jésus a prouvé son amour à
notre égard ; maintenant, il vit en nous,
intercède pour nous et nous transforme.
En lui, nous trouvons notre vraie raison
d’être et un but pour vivre.
En grande partie, les événements de la
vie ne dépendent pas de nous. Des
choses arrivent et, la plupart du temps,
nous n’avons que très peu ou rien à dire.
L’inattendu et l’imprévu se produisent et
ils peuvent être bons ou mauvais. Nous
planifions et travaillons possiblement
M A Y
J U N E
2 0 0 5
de Joseph Tkach
pasteur général
pour atteindre un but mais, à
cause de circonstances
indépendantes de notre
volonté, ce but peut ne
jamais se réaliser.
Nous n’avons aucun contrôle
sur la pièce, les scènes, ou
les autres acteurs. Toutefois,
nous pouvons prendre des
décisions sur la manière dont
nous réagirons devant les
événements qui surviennent
dans notre vie.
Beaucoup de gens réagissent à la vie avec colère,
ressentiment, impatience, et
même amertume. Au lieu de
faire face à la vie dans un
esprit paisible et de prendre
de sages décisions sur la
façon de traiter une situation
quelconque, ils considèrent
tout en fonction de la possible interférence qu’elle peut
engendrer dans la poursuite de leur propre conception du bonheur et du plaisir.
Quand quelque chose leur fait obstacle,
ils se fâchent et tentent d’imposer leur
volonté égoïste sur les autres. Ils vivent
stressés, craintifs et irrités, s’inquiétant
toujours de ne pas obtenir ce qu’ils veulent ou de perdre ce qu’ils ont.
Nous ne devons pas vivre ainsi. Si nous
avons confiance en notre directeur, nous
pouvons laisser l’amour et la patience
guider nos réactions aux événements et
circonstances de la vie quotidienne.
Nous pouvons reposer notre esprit en
celui qui fait concourir toutes choses à
notre bien. Quand tout va de travers,
nous sommes libres en Christ de ne pas
être à bout de nerfs, de même que de
retourner le bien pour le mal. Nous
n’avons pas à craindre parce que nous
nous déchargeons sur Jésus de tous
nos soucis.
La suite qui ne finit jamais
Nous sortirons tous de l’histoire de la
vie, ayant laissé des tâches inaccomplies, des projets inachevés, des his-
toires incomplètes. Mais de l’autre côté
de l’écran argenté se trouve une autre
histoire, une histoire dans laquelle
Jésus-Christ a écrit une partie à notre
intention. Dans cette histoire, les petites
choses sont réglées, les douleurs et les
tragédies sont transformées en joie, et
les blessures et les trahisons sont
guéries. C’est une histoire qui comporte
de belles fins qui embellissent toujours.
C’est le grand plaisir de Dieu de nous
faire participer à cette histoire sans fin.
Même maintenant, en Christ, nous
apprenons à vivre la sorte de vie appropriée pour une telle joie éternelle. Nous
apprenons à aimer les autres comme
Christ nous a aimés et s’est donné luimême pour nous.
Puissions-nous tous avoir la foi pour
regarder au-delà de la détresse du
moment présent, ainsi que pour garder
notre cœur orienté vers la fin triomphante, la finale qui se poursuivra toujours.NL
3
D I R E C T O R ’ S
D E S K
By Gary Moore
National Director
T
his issue of Northern Light
revolves around the theme of
youth. It has been said the
Christian church is only one
generation away from extinction. This statement is so true.
Yet, the mandate of preaching the
gospel and making disciples is to carry
on to the “end of the age.” That responsibility must cross the generational
line—even as it crosses ethnic, racial,
cultural and gender lines. So how can
Christians best disciple youth? How can
we most effectively help them become
followers of Jesus Christ and carry the
bright light of the gospel into the next
generation?
Above anything else, young people
need examples—examples of genuine
faith and integrity. Youth spot hypocrisy
very quickly and are highly sensitized to
any inconsistencies between what people say and what they actually do. We
can draw many insights from the way
God commanded the Israelites to teach
their children under the Old Covenant
(Deuteronomy 6:6-9), and apply them in
our New Testament context today.
First of all, the heart of the parent or
other adult must be centred on God and
Models Of Integrity
his ways (verse 6). We cannot pass
along something we ourselves don’t
have. As the old saying goes, a stream
can rise no higher than its source. If our
hearts are only partially committed to
God, we can only pass on a half-hearted
version of the faith to others. One of the
most powerful indictments of contemporary North American Christianity is the
lukewarm commitment levels exhibited
by many believers.
This half-hearted approach to faith
results in behaviors not much different
from the surrounding secular culture. On
the other hand, the behavior of deeply
committed Christians who do the right
thing even when they may not feel like it
is markedly different from the actions of
an average person. The transformative
power of the gospel is still as potent as
ever in our day, but is evidenced only in
the lives of deeply committed, wholehearted Christians. So, for effective discipling of youth to take place, we need
deeply discipled adults!
Second, the teaching context must be
far more than a weekly or even daily “sit
down” session (though that can be very
helpful too). It includes the whole range
of daily events—sitting, walking, going to
bed at night and getting up in the morning. The ways of God should permeate
all aspects of what we do, what we see,
and how we think and speak and treat
one another. They should define our
household in all aspects (verses 7-9).
This type of teaching is a natural
process of hands-on mentoring, where
an approach to life is taught as it is lived
and practiced.
You can talk to young people about God,
but what makes for real life-changing
impact is the example of how you apply
that faith to life. How do you react when
a crisis hits? Do you turn to God for
strength and guidance, or allow your
natural, carnal responses full reign?
How you respond to the ups and downs
of life will communicate far more about
faith than any amount of verbal teaching
done in isolation.
The greatest gift we can give to youth is
the model of a life of faith and integrity.
Being the wholehearted people of God,
in whom Christ lives, and through whom
his nature shines, is our high and noble
calling. Living out that calling is what
makes us useful representatives of God
in our world, and empowers us to be the
mentors and teachers today’s youth so
desperately need.
© Design Pics Inc.
Let’s not fail them!NL
4
NORTHERN LIGHT
CHRONIQUE
de Gary Moore
L
e présent numéro de Northern
Light gravite autour du thème de
la jeunesse. On dit que l’Église
chrétienne n’est qu’à une
génération de l’extinction. Cet
énoncé est tellement vrai.
Toutefois, le mandat de prêcher l’Évangile
et de faire des disciples doit continuer
jusqu’à la fin des temps et franchir le
mur des générations, tout en franchissant les barrières ethniques,
raciales, culturelles et sexuelles.
Comment les croyants peuvent-ils le
mieux former les jeunes ? Comment
pouvons-nous le plus efficacement possible les aider à devenir des disciples de
Jésus-Christ et à transmettre la lumière
éclatante de l’Évangile à la prochaine
génération ?
Par-dessus tout, les jeunes ont besoin
d’exemples : des exemples de foi et
d’intégrité authentiques. Les jeunes
remarquent très vite l’hypocrisie et sont
extrêmement sensibles à toute inconstance entre ce que les gens disent
et ce qu’ils font en réalité. Nous pouvons
tirer plusieurs leçons de la manière dont
Dieu a commandé aux Israélites d’enseigner à leurs enfants sous l’ancienne
alliance (Deutéronome 6.6-9) et les
appliquer au contexte actuel du
Nouveau Testament.
Premièrement, le cœur d’un parent
ou d’un autre adulte doit être centré
sur Dieu et ses voies (v. 6). Nous ne
pouvons pas transmettre quelque
chose que nous ne possédons pas.
Comme le dit l’ancien proverbe : un
ruisseau ne peut pas s’élever plus
haut que sa source. Si notre cœur
n’est que partiellement engagé
envers Dieu, nous ne pouvons
transmettre aux autres qu’une version de foi sans conviction. Une des
plus puissantes mises en accusation du christianisme nord-américain
contemporain est le niveau d’engagement tiède de beaucoup de
chrétiens. Cette approche d’une foi
sans enthousiasme produit des
comportements qui diffèrent peu de
la culture séculière environnante.
M A Y
J U N E
2 0 0 5
Par ailleurs, le comportement de chrétiens profondément engagés, qui font le
bien même lorsqu’ils n’en ont pas envie,
diffère visiblement des actions d’une
personne moyenne. La puissance transformatrice de l’Évangile est toujours
aussi convaincante aujourd’hui, mais
elle ne se voit que dans la vie de chrétiens très engagés et sincères. Nous
devons donc, pour faire de nos jeunes
des disciples efficaces, être nousmêmes des adultes qui sont de vrais
disciples de Jésus.
Deuxièmement, le contexte pour
enseigner doit dépasser largement les
assemblées hebdomadaires ou même
les rencontres journalières (bien qu’elles
puissent être très utiles aussi). Il comprend toute une gamme d’événements
quotidiens : s’asseoir, marcher, aller au
lit le soir et se lever le matin. Les voies
de Dieu devraient imprégner tout ce que
nous faisons, ce que nous voyons et la
manière dont nous pensons, parlons et
traitons les autres. Elles devraient définir
notre foyer dans tous ses aspects (v. 79). Ce type d’enseignement est un
processus naturel de mentorat, où une
approche envers la vie est enseignée à
mesure qu’elle est vécue et pratiquée.
Vous pouvez parler de Dieu à des
jeunes, mais ce qui influence réellement
le plus leur vie est la manière dont vous
appliquez votre foi à la vôtre. Comment
réagissez-vous quand survient une crise ?
Vous tournez-vous vers Dieu pour
obtenir force et direction, ou laissezvous vos réactions naturelles et charnelles vous dominer complètement ? La
manière dont vous réagissez face aux
montagnes russes de la vie communiquera beaucoup plus sur votre foi que
tout enseignement verbal donné individuellement.
Le plus grand cadeau que nous pouvons
donner à la jeunesse est le modèle
d’une vie de foi et d’intégrité. Être des
hommes et des femmes de Dieu
sincères, dans lesquels vit Christ, et à
travers desquels sa nature brille, constitue
l’appel élevé et noble qui nous est
adressé. Vivre cet appel fait de nous des
représentants de Dieu utiles dans notre
monde et nous donne la force d’être les
mentors et les enseignants dont les
jeunes d’aujourd’hui ont désespérément
besoin.
Ne les décevons pas !NL
© Design Pics Inc.
Des modèles d’intégrité
directeur national
5
B I B L E
S T U D Y
By Michael Morrison
Enslaved To Righteousnes
A Study Of Romans 6
I
n Romans 5, Paul says that Christ
saved us even while we were sinners. We are saved by grace, not
by keeping the law. He ends that
chapter by saying, “Where sin
increased, grace increased all the
more” (Rom. 5:20). God’s grace is
always larger than our sin.
In chapter 6, Paul deals with a possible
objection: What shall we say, then?
Shall we go on sinning so that grace
may increase? (Rom. 6:1). If grace is
so easy, should we bother to change our
ways? Whenever the gospel is clearly
presented, this question comes up. If all
our sins are so easily forgiven, why
worry about sin? Should we continue to
sin?
By no means! Paul exclaims. We
should avoid sin, even though our salvation does not depend on our success in
quitting sin. Obedience has a different
purpose. Of course, if faith in Christ led
to automatic victory over all sin, then the
question would not come up. But sin
continues to be a reality we must deal
with in our lives—a reality we must
resist.
Death of the sinful self
In verse 2, Paul says: We died to sin.
How can we live in it any longer? If we
want to escape death, then we should
also want to escape the cause of
death—sin. But more importantly, when
we believe in Christ, we become new
people. In the language of Romans 5,
we are no longer people of Adam, but
now we are people of Christ Jesus. We
are to live in him.
Paul explains this in verse 3: Don’t you
know that all of us who were baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into
his death? We are baptized not just into
the name of Christ—we are baptized
into him and united with him. When we
are identified with Adam, we get the
death that Adam brought. When we are
identified with Christ, we get the righteousness and life that he brought. When
6
he died, we died, and when he was
buried we were buried, and when he
rose we also rose. We were with him,
because he represented all of us.
We don’t tend to think of many people
being “in” one person, but this is the way
Paul is describing our salvation.
Because we are united with Christ, his
death counts as ours, paying the penalty of our sins.
Paul then draws this conclusion in
verse 4: We were therefore buried
with him through baptism into
death... Baptism pictures not only a
sharing in Jesus’ death, but also a sharing in his burial. But why is that significant for the question about sin?
Paul explains the purpose in the last part
of verse 4: ...in order that, just as
Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father, we
too may live a new life. In the same
way that we died with Christ, we also
rise with Christ into a new life, and this
implies that we should live in a different
way than we used to.
Although baptism could symbolize this
burial and new life, Paul’s point does not
depend on symbolism—it depends on
our union with Jesus Christ. Not only
does baptism unite us with Jesus in his
death and burial, it also unites us with
his resurrection and his life. The old self
is dead, and yet we live—we have a new
life, and that means a new approach to
life.
Paul explains more in verse 5: If we
have been united with him like this in
his death, we will certainly also be
united with him in his resurrection.
Our union with Christ brings not only justification, the benefit of sharing in his
sacrificial death—it also brings the benefit of eternal life, of sharing in his resurrection. This affects the way we live.
Paul seems to be saying something like
this: Why would anyone want to be
joined to sin on the one hand, and joined
to Christ on the other? Why would anyone want to live forever with righteousness, if they want to live in sin right now?
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin
might be done away with (v. 6). Our old
self was a descendant of Adam, a body
under the power of sin, and that was
killed on the cross. Our former identification with Adam is dead; we are no longer
his, but we belong to Christ.
Here’s why we were killed: ...that we
should no longer be slaves to sin—
because anyone who has died has
been freed from sin (vv. 6-7). In baptism, our former selves were given the
penalty of sin. Since the penalty has
been paid, sin has no authority over us.
Paul is introducing some new imagery:
slavery and freedom. Sin is not just
something we do—it is a power that
works against us, a power that enslaves
us, a power we must be freed from.
When we die with Christ, we are liberated from this evil slavemaster. We do not
go on serving it, but we live a new way of
life. We do not do it perfectly, but this is
what the Christian life is for.
Alive to God
Paul now starts to emphasize life. Now if
we died with Christ, we believe that
we will also live with him (v. 8). We will
live with him in the resurrection, but the
question in this chapter is about life right
now. So what is Paul’s point?
For we know that since Christ was
raised from the dead, he cannot die
again; death no longer has mastery
over him (v. 9). Jesus was not brought
back to mortal life, as Lazarus was.
Rather, Jesus was raised to immortal,
imperishable life. Death once had mastery over him, just as sin once had mastery over us. But Jesus has been freed
from that power, and as we are united
with Christ, we will be freed from those
powers, too.
NORTHERN LIGHT
B I B L E
The death he died, he died to sin once
for all (v. 10). Jesus paid the penalty of
all sin, completely. If we believe we will
live with Christ in the future, we should
also believe that he has conquered the
power of sin and death, and that he liberates us from these powers in this life.
Of course, we still sin, and we still die,
but those powers do not have the final
authority in our lives. Sin may attract us
at times, but it cannot force us to sin. We
are no longer slaves of sin.
Paul mentions the example of Jesus in
the last part of verse 10: but the life he
lives, he lives to God. This is the
choice set before us. We can serve sin,
or we can serve God, and this is the new
life we are to live.
So we are to model our lives after Christ:
In the same way, count yourselves
dead to sin but alive to God in Christ
Jesus (v. 11). When sin offers us something tempting, we are to answer: No,
that’s the old way, and I am supposed to
die to that. This is certainly not automatic, or Paul wouldn’t have to tell us to do
it. We must remind ourselves of who we
are: children of the Savior, not children
of the sinner. Just as Christ died to sin,
we are to resist sin day by day.
But the Christian life is not simply a matter of refusing sin, of playing dead. We
are supposed to be alive—alive to God,
because we are in Christ Jesus. Our
desire to live for him should be very
much alive!
Therefore, Paul writes in verse 12, do
not let sin reign in your mortal body
so that you obey its evil desires.
Paul’s conclusion is clear: Christians
should not continue in sin. We do sin,
but we can be confident that Christ has
already paid the penalty for us. Our salvation is not in jeopardy, but we are still
commanded to obey God and to quit sinning.
There is a battle going on for our bodies.
The old slavemaster, sin, has been
defeated by Christ, but sin continues to
M A Y
J U N E
2 0 0 5
S T U D Y
C O N T I N U E D
attack us nevertheless. It tries to rule us,
but we are not supposed to let it. Sin will
take over as much as we allow, so we
must resist it—not let it rule in our mortal
bodies. Paul says: Don’t give up. Fight
against it.
wouldn’t make any difference. So grace
gives us the freedom to escape from sin
and to live for righteousness. It makes
no sense to seek salvation at the same
time as seeking sin.
Do not offer the parts of your body to
sin, as instruments of wickedness,
but rather offer yourselves to God, as
those who have been brought from
death to life; and offer the parts of
your body to him as instruments of
righteousness (v. 13).
“What then?” Paul asks in verse 15.
Shall we sin because we are not
under law but under grace? By no
means! God does not want us to sin.
We are supposed to obey God.
There’s a battle going on for control of
your body. Will you let sin have its way,
or will you let God have his way? You
have been brought from death to life, so
let God win, Paul says.
How do we do that? By giving him our
bodies as tools or weapons he can use
for righteousness. We shouldn’t let sin
use our body parts as tools to make us
more wicked. Instead, we need to let
God use our bodies as weapons of righteousness, as people who work for his
kingdom.
For sin shall not be your master,
because you are not under law, but
under grace (v. 14). If we were under
the authority of the law, then we would
be condemned as sinners, and sin
would have the final say in our lives. We
would die. But we are not under the law,
and not under its penalty. Death has
been conquered, the power of sin has
been broken, and the captives of sin
have been set free!
And since we are under grace, sin is not
our master. Going back to sin makes no
more sense than running back to our old
slavemaster, or for a prisoner who has
been pardoned running back to his old
jail cell. In grace and in salvation, sin is
what we are getting away from.
If it weren’t for grace, we would be condemned whether we tried to do right or
not. If there were no grace, we might as
well continue in sin, because our efforts
Slaves of righteousness
Paul then develops the analogy of slavery a bit further to make his point: Don’t
you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as
slaves, you are slaves to the one
whom you obey—whether you are
slaves to sin, which leads to death, or
to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (v. 16).
If you choose sin, you are enslaving
yourself to a master who will beat you,
make your life miserable, and work you
to death. We are not independent of all
authority—we are slaves of one power
or the other. We have no choice about
that, but we do have a choice as who will
be our master. We can choose sin, or we
can choose God. Why not choose to be
a slave of obedience, a slave of doing
right? The rewards are much better, not
only in the next life but in this one, too.
The Romans had already made the right
choice: But thanks be to God that,
though you used to be slaves to sin,
you wholeheartedly obeyed the form
of teaching to which you were
entrusted. You have been set free
from sin and have become slaves to
righteousness (vs. 17-18). Obedience
is a normal result of faith (1:5).
Why was Paul using the analogy of slavery? I put this in human terms
because you are weak in your natural
selves. Just as you used to offer the
parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to
righteousness leading to holiness (v.
19).
7
B I B L E
S T U D Y
C O N T I N U E D
The Romans were weak—all Christians
are, in their natural selves. The Romans
were slaves of righteousness, and yet
they needed to be exhorted to continue.
We fight against sin as long as we live in
our mortal bodies. It is an enemy that
should be resisted. If we don’t resist, it
gets worse and worse—ever-increasing
wickedness.
We want to be enslaved to doing good.
That is because we are already saved,
not because we are trying to earn our
salvation. We do good works because
they are good, because our Savior
wants us to do good. And when we do
that, it gets better and better—righteousness leading to holiness.
When you were slaves to sin, you
were free from the control of righteousness (v. 20). Each slavery has a
form of freedom. When we sin, it might
look like we are free from outside control, but we are really in slavery. What
benefit did you reap at that time from
the things you are now ashamed of?
Those things result in death! (v. 21).
Sin produces death, and we do not want
to serve that kind of master. What
looked like liberty, actually brought
bondage.
Why should we deny sin and obey God?
For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord (v. 23). If we serve sin,
we get what we deserve: shame and
death. If we serve God, we get eternal
life as a gift we didn’t deserve. Choose
life, Paul says. Let righteousness rule!
Be alive in Christ, not dead in your sins.NL
Questions
Does the abundance of grace encourage sin? Does it give me any motivation
to fight sin? (v. 1)
In what way is my life different now than
before Christ? (v. 4)
Do I feel freed from sin? Do I have habits
that enslave me? (v. 14)
In what way did Jesus die to sin? (v. 10).
How can I count myself dead? (v. 11)
In what way am I “under” grace? (v. 14)
What sins enslave people today? Are
there “respectable” sins?
Do I feel enslaved to righteousness? (v.
18)
But now that you have been set free
from sin and have become slaves to
God, the benefit you reap leads to
holiness, and the result is eternal life
(v. 22). Now, we are no longer under
sin’s authority. We are freed from one
power, but we are also under obligation:
We are slaves to God. However, his
benefits are infinitely better: holiness
and eternal life. The word slavery is useful as an analogy in that we should obey
God.
In what sense is eternal life the “result”
of obeying God? Paul would vigorously
deny that our obedience causes our salvation—he clearly says that salvation is
a gift, based on faith rather than works,
on grace rather than payment. Here,
Paul is simply making a contrast: obedience leads to holiness instead of shame,
and eternal life instead of death.
8
NORTHERN LIGHT
Étude biblique
Esclaves de la justice
de Michael Morrison
Une étude en Romains 6
D
ans Romains 5, Paul écrit que
Christ nous a sauvés alors
même que nous étions
pécheurs. Nous sommes
sauvés par grâce et non en
observant la Loi. Il termine ce
chapitre en disant : « Mais là où le
péché a proliféré, la grâce a surabondé »
(Ro 5.20). La grâce de Dieu est toujours
plus grande que notre péché. Au
chapitre 6, Paul adresse une objection
possible : « Que dire maintenant ?
Persisterons-nous dans le péché pour
que la grâce abonde ? » (Ro 6.1). Si la
grâce est si facile à obtenir, devrionsnous nous préoccuper de changer notre
façon de vivre ? Quand l’Évangile est
clairement présenté, ce problème est
soulevé. Si tous nos péchés sont si
facilement pardonnés, pourquoi alors
devrions-nous être concernés par la
question du péché ? Devrions-nous continuer à pécher ?
« Loin de là ! », s’exclame Paul. Nous
devrions éviter le péché, même si notre
salut ne dépend pas de notre réussite à
cesser de pécher. L’obéissance vise un
objectif différent. Naturellement, si la foi
en Christ conduisait automatiquement à
la victoire sur tout le péché, alors la
question ne se poserait pas. Mais le
péché continue d’être une réalité avec
laquelle nous devons vivre et à laquelle
nous devons résister.
La mort de notre moi pécheur
Au verset 2, Paul dit : « Puisque nous
sommes morts au péché, comment
pourrions-nous vivre encore dans le
péché ? » Si nous voulons échapper à
la mort, alors nous devrions vouloir
aussi échapper à la cause de la mort :
le péché. Mais par-dessus tout, lorsque
nous croyons en Christ, nous devenons
de nouvelles personnes. Dans le langage de Romains 5, nous ne sommes
plus en Adam, mais en Jésus-Christ.
Nous devons vivre en lui.
Paul explique cela au verset 3 : « Ne
savez-vous pas que nous tous, qui
avons été baptisés pour Jésus-Christ,
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2 0 0 5
c’est en relation avec sa mort que nous
avons été baptisés ? » Nous sommes
baptisés non seulement au nom de
Christ, mais en lui et unis avec lui. Si
nous sommes identifiés à Adam, nous
héritons de la mort qu’Adam a amenée
et si nous sommes identifiés à Christ,
nous héritons de la justice et de la vie
qu’il a amenées. Lorsqu’il est mort, nous
sommes morts, lorsqu’il a été enseveli,
nous avons été ensevelis et lorsqu’il est
ressuscité, nous aussi sommes ressuscités. Nous étions avec lui parce qu’il
nous a tous représentés.
Nous n’avons pas tendance à penser
que beaucoup de gens sont « en » une
personne, mais c’est ainsi que Paul
décrit notre salut. Puisque nous
sommes unis avec Christ, sa mort
devient la nôtre, parce qu’il a payé le
châtiment pour nos péchés.
Paul tire ensuite cette conclusion au verset 4 : « Nous avons donc été
ensevelis avec lui par le baptême en
relation avec sa mort […]. » Le baptême
dépeint non seulement notre participation à la mort de Jésus, mais aussi notre
participation à son ensevelissement.
Mais pourquoi cela est-il significatif en
ce qui concerne la question du péché ?
Paul en explique la raison dans la
dernière partie du verset 4 : « […] afin
que, comme le Christ a été ressuscité
d’entre les morts par la puissance glorieuse du Père, nous aussi, nous
menions une vie nouvelle. » De la
même façon que nous sommes morts
avec Christ, nous ressuscitons aussi
avec Christ en nouveauté de vie, et cela
implique que nous devrions vivre différemment de notre manière habituelle
de vivre.
Même si le baptême pouvait symboliser
l’ensevelissement de Jésus et sa résurrection, le point de Paul ne dépend pas
d’un symbolisme, mais de notre union
avec Jésus-Christ. Non seulement le
baptême nous unit à Jésus dans sa mort
et son ensevelissement, mais il nous
unit aussi à sa résurrection et à sa vie.
Le vieux moi est mort, et cependant
nous vivons – nous avons une nouvelle
vie, et cela veut dire une nouvelle
approche à la vie.
Paul élabore ce sujet au verset 5 :
« Car si nous avons été unis à lui par
une mort semblable à la sienne, nous le
serons aussi par une résurrection semblable à la sienne. » Notre union avec
Christ ne produit pas seulement la justification, soit l’avantage de participer à sa
mort sacrificielle, mais elle nous donne
aussi l’avantage d’obtenir la vie éternelle
en participant à sa résurrection. Cela
affecte la façon dont nous vivons.
Paul semble dire quelque chose comme :
« Pourquoi quelqu’un voudrait-il d’une
part s’allier au péché et, d’autre part,
s’unir à Christ ? Pourquoi quelqu’un
voudrait-il vivre pour toujours avec la
justice s’il veut vivre maintenant dans le
péché ? »
« Comprenons donc que l’homme que
nous étions autrefois a été crucifié avec
le Christ afin que le péché dans ce qui
fait sa force soit réduit à l’impuissance
(v. 6). Notre ancien moi venait d’Adam,
un corps sous le pouvoir du péché, et
c’est ce qui a été crucifié à la croix.
Notre ancienne identification avec Adam
est morte ; nous ne lui appartenons plus,
mais nous appartenons à Christ.
Voici la raison pour laquelle nous
sommes morts : « [afin] que nous ne
servions plus le péché comme des
esclaves. Car celui qui est mort a été
déclaré juste : il n’a plus à répondre au
péché » (v. 6,7). Dans sa mort, notre
ancien moi a reçu le châtiment du
péché, mais étant donné que le châtiment a été payé, le péché n’a plus d’autorité sur nous.
Paul introduit deux nouvelles images :
l’esclavage et la liberté. Le péché n’est
pas seulement quelque chose que nous
faisons, mais une puissance qui agit
contre nous, qui nous rend esclaves et
de laquelle nous devons être libérés.
Lorsque nous mourons avec Christ,
9
Étude biblique
nous sommes libérés du maître du
péché. Nous ne continuons plus à le
servir, mais nous vivons d’une nouvelle
manière. Nous ne le faisons pas parfaitement, mais c’est la raison de vivre
du chrétien.
Vivants pour Dieu
Paul met ensuite l’accent sur la vie.
« Or, puisque nous sommes morts avec
le Christ, nous croyons que nous vivrons
aussi avec lui » (v. 8). Nous vivrons
avec lui dans la résurrection, mais la
question dans ce chapitre concerne la
vie actuelle. Quel est donc le point de
Paul ?
« Car nous savons que le Christ ressuscité des morts ne meurt plus ; la mort n’a
plus de pouvoir sur lui » (v. 9). Jésus n’a
pas été ramené à une vie mortelle
comme Lazare l’a été. Jésus est plutôt
ressuscité à une vie immortelle et
impérissable. Il a été soumis à la mort
tout comme nous avons été soumis au
péché. Mais Jésus a été libéré de la
puissance de la mort et, comme nous
sommes unis avec Christ, nous aussi
serons libérés des puissances de la
mort et du péché.
« Il est mort et c’est pour le péché qu’il
est mort une fois pour toutes » (v. 10).
Jésus a payé complètement le châtiment pour tous les péchés. Si nous
croyons que nous vivrons avec Christ
dans l’éternité, nous devrions aussi
croire qu’il a conquis la puissance du
péché et de la mort, et qu’il nous libère
de ces puissances dans notre vie
actuelle. Naturellement, nous péchons
encore et nous sommes toujours soumis
à la mort, mais ces puissances n’ont pas
autorité finale dans notre vie. Le péché
peut être tentant à l’occasion, mais nous
ne sommes pas forcer de pécher,
puisque nous ne sommes plus esclaves
du péché.
Paul fait mention de l’exemple de Jésus
dans la dernière partie du verset 10 :
« Mais à présent, il est vivant et il vit
pour Dieu. » C’est le choix que Dieu
10
nous donne. Nous pouvons soit servir le
péché, soit servir Dieu, et c’est la nouvelle vie qu’il nous faut vivre.
Nous devons donc modeler notre vie
d’après celle de Christ : « Ainsi, vous
aussi, considérez-vous comme morts
pour le péché, et comme vivants pour
Dieu dans l’union avec Jésus-Christ »
(v. 11). Lorsque le péché se fait tentant,
nous devons répondre : « Non, c’est
mon ancienne façon de vivre et je suis
censé être mort à cela. » Ce n’est certainement pas automatique, sinon Paul
ne nous dirait pas de mourir à notre
ancienne vie. Nous devons nous rappeler qui nous sommes : des enfants de
Dieu et non des enfants du péché. Tout
comme Christ est mort au péché, nous
devons jour après jour résister au
péché.
Mais la vie chrétienne n’est pas simplement une question de refuser de pécher
ou de jouer au mort. Nous sommes censés être vivants : vivants pour Dieu
parce que nous sommes en JésusChrist. Notre désir de vivre pour lui
devrait être très vivant !
C’est pourquoi Paul écrit au verset 12 :
« Que le péché n’exerce donc plus sa
domination sur votre corps mortel pour
vous soumettre à ses désirs. » La conclusion de Paul est claire : les chrétiens
ne devraient pas continuer à pécher.
Nous péchons encore, mais nous pouvons être assurés que Christ a déjà
payé le châtiment pour nous. Notre salut
n’est pas en péril, mais Dieu nous commande quand même de lui obéir et de
cesser de pécher.
Un combat fait rage pour notre corps.
L’ancien maître, le péché, a été vaincu
par Christ, mais il continue toutefois à
nous attaquer. Il essaie de nous gouverner, mais nous ne devons pas le
laisser nous dominer. Le péché aura du
pouvoir sur nous dans la mesure où
nous le lui permettrons, alors nous
devons lui résister, ne pas le laisser
dominer dans notre corps mortel. Paul
dit : « N’abandonne pas. Résiste au
péché. »
« Ne mettez pas vos membres à la disposition du péché comme des armes au
service du mal. Mais puisque vous étiez
morts et que vous êtes maintenant
vivants, offrez-vous vous-mêmes à Dieu
et mettez vos membres à sa disposition
comme des armes au service du bien »
(v. 13).
Un combat se livre présentement pour
dominer votre corps. Laisserez-vous le
péché ou Dieu vous dominer ? Vous
avez été amené de la mort à la vie, alors
laissez Dieu gagner, dit Paul.
Comment laisserons-nous Dieu gagner ?
En lui offrant notre corps comme un outil
ou un instrument qu’il peut utiliser pour
la justice. Nous ne devrions pas laisser
le péché se servir des membres de
notre corps comme des outils pour nous
rendre plus mauvais. Nous devons
plutôt laisser Dieu utiliser notre corps
comme un instrument de justice qui contribue à l’avancement de son royaume.
« Car le péché ne sera plus votre
maître puisque vous n’êtes plus sous le
régime de la Loi mais sous celui de la
grâce » (v. 14). Si nous étions sous l’autorité de la Loi, alors nous serions condamnés comme pécheurs, et le péché
aurait le dernier mot dans notre vie :
nous mourrions. Mais nous ne sommes
pas sous la Loi ni sous son châtiment.
La mort a été conquise, le pouvoir du
péché a été brisé et les captifs du péché
ont été libérés !
Étant donné que nous sommes sous la
grâce, le péché n’est plus notre maître.
Retourner au péché est aussi insensé
que de retourner en courant à notre
ancien maître, ou pour un prisonnier qui
a été justifié de se précipiter vers son
ancienne cellule. Dans la grâce et le
salut, nous nous éloignons du péché.
Si ce n’était de la grâce, nous serions
condamnés que nous essayions ou non
de faire le bien. S’il n’y avait pas de
grâce, nous pourrions tout aussi bien
continuer à pécher, puisque nos efforts
ne feraient aucune différence. La grâce
NORTHERN LIGHT
Étude biblique
nous donne donc la liberté d’échapper
au péché et de vivre pour la justice. Il est
insensé de rechercher à la fois le salut
et le péché.
Esclaves de la justice
« Mais quoi ? Allons-nous encore pécher sous prétexte que nous ne sommes
pas sous le régime de la Loi, mais sous
celui de la grâce ? », demande Paul au
verset 15. Loin de là ! Dieu ne veut pas
que nous péchions, mais que nous lui
obéissions.
Paul développe ensuite l’analogie de
l’esclavage pour expliquer son point :
« Ne savez-vous pas qu’en vous mettant au service de quelqu’un comme des
esclaves pour lui obéir, vous êtes effectivement les esclaves du maître à qui
vous obéissez : ou bien du péché qui
entraîne la mort, ou bien de l’obéissance
qui conduit à une vie juste » (v. 16).
Si vous choisissez le péché, vous vous
livrez comme esclaves à un maître qui
vous battra, qui rendra votre vie misérable et vous conduira à la mort. Nous
ne sommes pas indépendants de toute
autorité : nous sommes sous le pouvoir
d’un maître ou d’un autre. Nous n’avons
pas le choix, mais nous pouvons choisir
qui sera notre maître : le péché ou
Dieu. Pourquoi ne pas choisir d’être
esclave de l’obéissance, un esclave du
bien ? Les récompenses sont de loin
supérieures, non seulement dans la vie
future, mais dans celle-ci également.
Les Romains avaient déjà fait le bon
choix : « Mais Dieu soit loué ! Si, autrefois, vous étiez les esclaves du péché,
vous avez maintenant obéi de tout cœur
à l’enseignement fondamental auquel
vous avez étés soumis. Et, à présent,
affranchis du péché, vous êtes devenus
esclaves de la justice » (v. 17.18).
L’obéissance est un résultat normal de
la foi (1.5).
Pourquoi Paul a-t-il utilisé l’analogie de
l’esclavage ? « Si je parle ici à la
manière des hommes c’est à cause de
votre faiblesse naturelle. – De même
que vous avez offert autrefois vos memM A Y
J U N E
2 0 0 5
bres en esclaves à des passions
dégradantes et immorales pour vivre
une vie déréglée, de même offrez-les
maintenant en esclaves à la justice pour
mener une vie sainte » (v. 19).
Les Romains étaient faibles – tous les
chrétiens le sont dans leur nature charnelle. Les Romains étaient esclaves de
la justice et, cependant, ils avaient
besoin d’être exhortés à persévérer.
Nous lutterons contre le péché aussi
longtemps que nous vivrions dans notre
corps mortel. C’est un ennemi auquel
nous devons résister. Si nous ne lui
résistons pas, il ne fait qu’empirer, il
devient un mal toujours croissant.
Nous voulons être les esclaves du bien,
non parce que nous essayons de mériter notre salut, mais parce que nous
sommes déjà sauvés. Nous faisons de
bonnes œuvres parce qu’elles sont
bonnes et que notre Sauveur veut que
nous fassions le bien. Et lorsque nous le
faisons, nous devenons meilleurs – la
justice mène à la sainteté.
« Lorsque vous étiez encore esclaves
du péché, vous étiez libres par rapport à
la justice » (v. 20). Chaque esclavage
comporte une forme de liberté. Lorsque
nous péchons, il peut sembler que nous
sommes libres d’un contrôle extérieur,
mais en réalité nous sommes esclaves.
« Or, quels fruits portiez-vous alors ?
Des actes dont le seul souvenir vous fait
rougir de honte aujourd’hui, car ils conduisent à la mort » (v. 21). Le péché
produit la mort, et nous ne désirons pas
servir ce genre de maître. Ce qui
ressemblait à la liberté a en fait produit
l’esclavage.
« Mais maintenant, affranchis du péché
et devenus esclaves de Dieu, le fruit que
vous portez, c’est une vie sainte, et le
résultat auquel vous aboutissez, c’est la
vie éternelle » (v. 22). Désormais, nous
ne vivons plus sous l’autorité du péché.
Nous sommes libérés d’un pouvoir, mais
en même temps nous avons une obligation envers quelqu’un : nous sommes
esclaves de Dieu. Toutefois, ses avantages sont infiniment meilleurs : la sain-
teté et la vie éternelle. Le mot
« esclavage » est utile comme analogie
pour nous montrer que nous devrions
obéir à Dieu.
De quelle façon la vie éternelle est-elle
le « résultat » de notre obéissance à
Dieu ? Paul nierait vigoureusement que
notre obéissance produit notre salut – il
dit clairement que le salut est un don,
basé sur la foi et non sur les œuvres, sur
la grâce et non sur un paiement. Dans
ce verset, Paul établit simplement un
contraste : l’obéissance conduit à la
sainteté plutôt qu’à la honte, et à la vie
éternelle plutôt qu’à la mort.
Pourquoi devrions-nous refuser de
pécher et obéir à Dieu ? « Car le salaire
que verse le péché, c’est la mort, mais le
don gratuit que Dieu accorde, c’est la vie
éternelle dans l’union avec Jésus-Christ
notre Seigneur » (v. 23). Si nous servons le péché, nous obtiendrons ce que
nous méritons : la honte et la mort, mais
si nous servons Dieu, nous obtiendrons
la vie éternelle comme un don que nous
ne méritons pas. « Choisissez la vie, dit
Paul. Laissez la justice régner ! Soyez
vivants en Christ et non morts dans vos
péchés. » NL
Questions
L’abondance de la grâce encourage-telle le péché ? Me motive-t-elle d’une
façon quelconque à combattre le péché ?
(v. 1)
De quelle façon ma vie est-elle différente maintenant de ma vie avant
Christ ? (v. 4)
Est-ce que je me sens libéré du péché ?
Ai-je des habitudes qui m’asservissent ?
(v. 14)
De quelle façon Jésus est-il mort au
péché ? (v. 10) Comment puis-je moimême me considérer mort au péché ?
(v. 11).
De quelle façon suis-je « sous » la
grâce ? (v. 14)
Quels péchés asservissent les gens
aujourd’hui ? Y a-t-il des péchés
« respectables » ?
Est-ce que je me sens esclave de la justice ? (v. 18)
11
F O C U S
O N
G R A C E
By David Sheridan
Pastor, Grace and Truth Fellowship,
Red Deer, and Lethbridge congregations
Amazing Grace:
Empowered To Love The Lord
A
raid on a suspected marijuana
growing operation in rural
Alberta leaves four RCMP officers shot dead. It is the single
worst multiple killing of
Mounties in modern Canadian
history. Over 10,000 police officers from
across the country and the United States
gather in Edmonton, Alberta for a tearfilled memorial service that is broadcast
to a shaken nation.
The four brown Stetsons of the officers
are carried through a solemn sea of
scarlet serge and placed below the slain
Mounties’ portraits in front of a hushed
crowd of 13,000. The Prime Minister
says all Canadians owe a debt to these
four brave young men. Rev. Don
Schiemann recounts how his son told
him a year ago that if he ever died, he
wanted those at his funeral to hear
12
about Jesus and to hear about hope. A
singer sings Amazing Grace including
these words:
Through many dangers, toils and
snares
We have already come
’Twas Grace that brought us safe
thus far
And Grace will lead us home.
Tears flow freely as the nation pours out
its love on the families who had lost
loved ones. Haunting bugles play the
Last Post. Widows weep. Children
mourn.
Empowered to know God
Jesus speaks to the people in the temple area and tells them he is the light of
the world. The Pharisees challenge him,
saying his testimony is not valid. Jesus
tells them they are judging by human
standards. The questions keep coming.
Jesus says, “You do not know me or my
Father” (John 8:19). Nothing much has
changed in the last 2,000 years. Today it
is only by God’s grace that anyone
knows the nature of God and really
believes that “God is love” (1 John 4:16).
’Twas Grace that taught
My heart to fear
And Grace, my fears relieved
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.
By grace, Christians know the one holy,
loving, all-powerful and gracious Creator
God who exists in three Persons: Father,
Son and Holy Spirit. Everyone will eventually be drawn to Jesus and given an
opportunity to know their Savior.
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Saying Grace on a Meal
Jesus appears to his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias.
Empowered to love the Lord
Grace and undying love
After his resurrection, Jesus appears to
his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias. By a
miracle these fishermen catch 153 large
fish! After breakfast Jesus says to Simon
Peter, “Do you love me?” He replies,
“Lord, you know all things; you know that
I love you” (John 21:17).
The apostle Paul writes to the church
members in Ephesus, the most important city in western Asia Minor (now
Turkey). He wants to expand their horizons so they might better understand
the dimensions of God’s eternal grace.
In his final greetings and benediction,
Paul concludes, “Grace to all who love
our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying
love” (Ephesians 6:24).
By God’s grace, the disciples were
empowered to love the Lord. Jesus then
indicates the kind of death by which
Peter would glorify God. Peter asks
about “the disciple Jesus loved”—John.
Jesus answers, “If I want him to remain
alive until I return, what is that to you?
You must follow me”(verse 22).
The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
By grace, Christians love the Lord Jesus
for his direct and personal involvement
in their lives. He is the prophesied
Savior of humanity who died for our sins
and he can be trusted.
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When we’ve been there ten thousand
years
Bright shining as the sun
We’ve no less days to sing God’s
praise
Than when we’ve first begun.
Dinner is ready and Mom
requests a volunteer from the
children to “ask grace” on the
meal. Often a short prayer of
thanksgiving for food on the
table is called “grace.” God’s
grace is his favor and on a
planet where there is famine,
starvation and malnutrition,
having sufficient to eat is a
blessing. “Paul took some
bread and gave thanks to God
in front of them all. Then he
broke it and began to eat”
(Acts 27:35). God pours out
his grace on the entire creation because of his divine
love. “We love because God
first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
Pausing before a meal to say
grace is an appropriate way to
express love and gratitude to
God for his blessings.
The next article in the series will look
at how humans by grace enter the joy
of eternal salvation in the kingdom of
God.
The Prime Minister says about the slain
Mounties, “We are left numb that a single act of hate has caused so much grief
and interrupted so much love. Their
memory will be eternal.” By God’s grace,
Christians are empowered to know and
love the eternal God and Jesus Christ
with heart, soul, mind and strength.
Everyone is offered the gift of eternal
life. Amazing “grace”—how sweet the
sound! NL
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T H E
J O U R N E Y
By Phil Gale
Member, Victoria congregation
B
ack in the last century, when I
was but a toddler, I went to
Sunday school. I learned all
about Noah and the ark, David
and Goliath, and Daniel in the
lion’s den. One of the most
important things I learned was that God
created the heavens and the earth, and
brought Adam out of the dust in the
Garden of Eden. I was fortunate enough
to have been born into a family that had
some roots in the Church of England. I
became a chorister, and sang twice on
Sunday for matins and evensong.
I believed in God. That’s what I was
taught and I accepted it without question. As a pre-teen however, that’s as far
as it went, and I didn’t pursue a Christian
life until some 20 years later, when God
saw fit to open my eyes to the truth. I’d
attended church sporadically along the
way, but without any commitment or
understanding of God’s purpose for
mankind. Christmas was a time of celebration; Easter was all about the Cross;
but the profundity of it did not affect my
heart.
held on to what I had been taught in
Sunday school.
If my experience demonstrates how
early learning can affect our future
belief, then how important is it for us to
teach our children the basics at the earliest possible time? If we want our offspring to develop a Christian way of life
and make a commitment to serving
God’s purpose, then surely a solid foundation in the simplicity of his message is
vitally important.
God created the world! Christ was born
a child, proclaimed the Gospel of the
Kingdom of God, and delivered a message of hope for all people. He died so
that we don’t have to suffer eternal
death.
The previous paragraph is God’s purpose at its simplest. Children understand things in their simplest forms, and
that may be why the story of “Joseph
and his coat of many colors” appeals to
the minds of the young. It’s easy to
remember, as is the saga of Moses in
the bulrushes, Shadrach, Meshach and
Abed-Nego in the fiery furnace, and
baby Jesus born in a manger in
Bethlehem.
In the Victoria congregation of the WCG,
we have children’s church. It may be
small, with three or four potential adults
attending, but the messages are clear.
© Design Pics Inc.
My belief was tested one day when, at
the tender age of 9 years old, a school
teacher announced that the story of creation found in the Book of Genesis was
merely a Hebrew idea of how the world
began. For some reason my innocent
mind questioned that statement, and I
A Gospel Message For Our Children
14
Our teacher is Kathe Jodrell, someone
gifted in the art of introducing the Bible
to all age groups. She also conducts a
small group Bible study for adults. Kathe
utilizes Kay Arthur’s Precept Ministries
series, which is available for children
and adults alike. The children’s group
has covered many aspects of the Old
Testament and is now studying the
books of James and John in the New
Testament. Kathe presents Jesus as a
friend, and the Gospel is explained in
ways that show how it is relevant in our
lives.
Apart from Bible study, the youth are
also involved in Advent preparations
leading up to Christmas, they raise
funds for World Vision, the congregation
enjoys food which they prepare prior to
services, they assist in the technical
requirements of church, and Kathe uses
every opportunity to get them involved in
prayer.
In the UK WCG, members have introduced “Succeed Clubs,” based on the
men’s speaking clubs the WCG used to
sponsor. And two innovative young
women
have
launched
“The
Regeneration Program,” which is
encouraging growth, participation and
involvement from Church members (see
the UK web site of WCG for details).
It seems that we will always face a challenge when trying to pass on the message of salvation to the next generation.
But we do see successes, as we have in
Victoria, and as is evident in the UK and
many other countries.
The young of today are the adults of
tomorrow and even though that seems
an obvious thing to say, there is a profound truth attached to it. The commands of Matthew 28:18-20 and other
scriptures demonstrate the responsibility
God has given. Our Heavenly Father
wants us to pass on the message to our
children, and what an exciting message
it is. We can worship, praise and thank
our Creator for giving us life.NL
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T H E M E
By Jonathan Buck
Pastor Barrie, Huntsville,
North Bay, Peterborough, and
Sudbury congregations
Teens In Small Churches
M
ost weeks our 15-year-old
son is the only teenager at
church services. He has no
friends even close to his age
and there’s none of the
usual bait that churches
dangle out to attract teens to church, like
a youth worship band or a zillion activities.
On the other hand, can God not call our
son right just where he is? Does he have
to attend a church full of artificially
pumped-up action to win him over? Or
can teenagers in small churches turn out
just as balanced socially and spiritually
as the rocket-powered teens in large
churches?
But how do you keep your kids coming
to church when there’s nothing much for
them to come to? Oh, I hear what the
Christian youth gurus say, that it’s vital
we get our teens to “take ownership” of
the church and involved in the worship
service, but what if your child isn’t the
praying type, doesn’t like leading songs
or taking ownership of anything but the
food table? What do you do then?
Well, after thrashing all this around in
our minds and checking out youth programs in other churches, my wife and I
concluded that God knows our circumstances and he certainly knows our son,
so our best bet is to stay where we’re at
and love the lad, whether he comes to
church or not, and let God take care of
the rest. With that in mind, we’re not
putting any pressure on him to be somebody he isn’t, and whether he gets
involved in services or not, is entirely up
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© Design Pics Inc.
At times I worry he’s missing out on a
whole chunk of his life—spiritually as
well as socially. I’ve often wondered,
then, if we as a family should attend a
church with a high-octane youth program that offers missions overseas and
a summer camp with impressive baptism statistics. Well, why not, if it makes
life more exciting and increases our
son’s chances of becoming a turned-on
Christian?
large one. My wife and I can both vouch
for that, having also spent our teenage
years in a small church with only two
other teenagers. We loved getting
involved because the adults enjoyed our
company and appreciated our help.
to him. Frankly, we’re just glad our son
comes to church at all, for no other reason than it’s lovely to have him with us.
And if he doesn’t end up a spiritual
superstar, it doesn’t matter. Missionary
whiz-kid or disinterested observer, God
loves him either way.
Having said that, we also deeply appreciate even the tiniest efforts made by
others to make church attractive to a
lonely teenager and get him involved.
What made my son look forward to
church for many a month, for instance,
was a man in his 80s who always came
to church with a box of donuts and on
entering the hall each week he’d get my
son to taste one to see if they were up to
standard! It wasn’t much, but that one little gesture made a world of difference
for our boy, and I bet it stays with him as
a memory for life.
As a memory of what, though? Of knowing what it’s like to be loved. And isn’t
that what church is for? It’s the best
place on earth, outside one’s own family, for experiencing the heart of the
gospel, which is knowing you’re loved.
And knowing you’re loved can happen
just as effectively in a small church as a
And here we are, a generation later, with
our own son now helping out in church,
and clearly for the same reasons. He
shovels snow off the pathway to the hall
entrance, helps the soundman carry in
his equipment, sets and resets chairs
before and after services and sweats a
bucket keeping the little kids amused.
None of what he does is massively spiritual or exciting, but he does it without
being asked and without any incentive or
reward—and without any high-powered
youth program, either. It remains to be
seen if he’ll keep coming to church, but
in my mind the church has already done
its job because in knowing he’s loved my
son carries the heart of the gospel with
him wherever he goes—in the church or
out of it.
But what if geography and circumstance
land you in a small congregation that
isn’t youth-minded at all? Maybe the
adults are fed up with trying to “win the
youth to church” because they’ve done it
for years only to see most of their teens
leave the church anyway. It can be disheartening, but small churches have
taught me that any gesture of love by an
adult to a teenager can have a lasting
impact. I just asked my son, for instance,
what kind of donuts the 80-year-old man
used to bring. It took him just seconds to
remember!
Perhaps in small churches the impact of
adults on teens is greater and more frequent, too, because teens and adults
have little else to do other than work and
mix together. All available bodies are
needed and appreciated, just like a family. Having grown up in a church like that
myself, and now having seen the same
impact of a church like that on my son, I
am convinced the size of a church doesn’t matter. God can reach our kids wherever they are.NL
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T H E M E
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By Neil Earle
Youth Leaders
Pastor, Glendora, California
congregation
S
ome say that Rule One for working with youth is:
Realize that most of your time with them is an investment. Perhaps Rule Two is: You never know just
how big your investment will pay off.
Or so I have often heard. But one thing most pastors
can tell you for sure is this: No church makes a success of
youth ministry without capable, dedicated, utterly determined
youth leaders. Good youth leaders come in all shapes and
sizes, all ages and guises. They typically need the stamina of
a bull elephant, the watchfulness of an eagle and the compassion of a Florence Nightingale. (The cooking skill of Betty
Crocker helps as well!)
Extended family
The subject is very much on my mind because just this month
I was surprised to receive a fun e-mail from ancient Nineveh—
well, actually Mosul, Iraq (see page 18). It was from Dan
Thompson, one of our outstanding Calgary teens from the
1980s and those vibrant days in the Alberta Y.O.U. (Youth
Opportunities United, remember?). Dan has stayed in touch
and over the course of an active life with the U.S. State
Department (presently stationed in Malawi) and he volunteered to help set up an IT station in Forward Operating Base
Freedom in Northern Iraq. They asked for volunteers and he
ended up at the Regional Embassy office in Mosul. As his picture shows, he is very much part of the operation!
He gently teased me about beating me to the land of
Sennacherib, which he claims to remember from our Bible
studies back in the 1980s. (Someone remembers?!?) In return
I asked him to share some memories of how youth leaders
impacted his life. He did not hesitate to respond:
“For me youth
leaders created
a
sense
of
extended family
and community
that is often lacking in today’s
society of constant movement
and
broken
homes,”
Dan
reported.
“I
remember endless hours at
their
houses
after
teen
fundraisers and
potluck dinners.
They created an
outlet for socialization in a positive atmosphere.
Instead
of
spending a lot of
time one-on-one
with girls it created an opportunity to meet a lot of people without the negative
peer pressure.”
It gets better: “Being in their homes created positive boundaries as opposed to young people being out on their own all
the time. I think it also helped all of us learn how to interact with
adults in a mature manner.”
Dan is right. It is worth every church’s time to salute youth
leaders and their efforts quite often. That’s one reason for this
article—to offer a long overdue salute to our tireless, irreplaceable, absolutely needed, youth leaders. Over the years
I’ve been privileged to know some great ones.
Here are a few.
Life lessons
Meet Gary and Diane Sapusak and their two sons from just
north of Toronto, Ontario. In 1991 Gary and Diane and a couple of other families were asked to start a kid’s softball league
in their home church. Fourteen years later it’s still going strong!
Dan Thompson in Mosul, Iraq
(Photo: Dan Thompson)
16
“When we first started there were mainly children that played,
some as young as five years of age,” Gary remembered.
“Soon there were both children and adults playing together.”
This event is still sailing along. But it took some strategic thinking. “When the adults started playing we had a rule that they
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s, Take A Bow!
very depressed and voicing it. We
regrouped and had a pep talk and after
a cheer we got back into the game
and…guess what? We lost. But only by
two runs. By this our children learned
that no matter how unfair some things
appear, don’t give up and always do
your best.”
Games may come and go but life’s
lessons are forever. Thank you Gary
and Diane and your other helpers for
all you do.
Fun with purpose
Now let’s meet Leigh Smithson. Leigh
is a jovial, fun-loving family man from
Calgary, Alberta. He has attended the
Worldwide Church of God for over 40
years. For many years now Leigh and
his wife Heather have worked at and
directed the Silver Meadows Camp
located near Edmonton. (Silver
Family Softball in Toronto
Meadows has been primarily spon(Photo: Steve MacLellan)
sored by the Edmonton congregation
and
to a lesser extent by the other concould only use one hand to bat to make
gregations in Alberta).
it a little more fun for the kids. Plus we
would miss a ball or two every now and
then on purpose just to make things
interesting. But now everyone bats with
both hands and we have a rule that
allows the team batting to only get four
runs or three outs until the last inning.”
“We believe that Jesus had fun as a
teenager and so should our teens,”
Leigh reports, striking a proper positive
note from the outset. “For a full week
they are immersed in a safe and caring
environment. During evening group
prayer and discussion, fireside chats,
and being around adult mentors,
Christian principles are discussed and
passed on.”
A good Christian summer camp motto is
“Fun with Purpose.” Leigh knows this
approach works because he sees so
many former campers return as adult
workers and volunteers. “Many workers
comment on how the camp was, and is,
the focal point of their year. They can
hardly wait to get back. They want to
pass on their experiences to the next
generation.”
How do you reward people with that kind
of attitude?
Dan Thompson knows this approach
works: “I felt part of a community and I
felt valued. I came to know God through
the emphasis on prayer and study. I
Unity, fellowship and making life-long
friends are just some of the payoffs of
what these Torontonians now call Family
Softball. It has paid off rich dividends for
the local congregation as well. “When
some of the kids first came out they
were only knee high to a grasshopper.
Now they are grown up and going to college and still, some of them come out to
the games.”
Of course one of the “goes without sayings” in all youth ministry is the life
lessons learned through friendly, cooperative competition. As Gary recalls:
“There was one game that turned out
unusual as I was the only adult on the
kid’s team. After the fourth inning we
were losing 16-4. Some of the kids were
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Final Game Pizza
(Photo: Steve MacLellan)
17
T H E M E
C O N T I N U E D
quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to
become angry.” That applies double
when working with youth and, oh, how
we all slip up. But keep at it. Most youth
can be very forgiving.
Second, apply focused attention. Bring
teens in on discussions, set aside a time
just for them—a church service if you
are a pastor.
Third, expose them to positive role models. As Dan’s experience shows, kids
forget programs but they remember people. Next to parents, the biggest influence on teens is other people. That’s
why good youth leaders leave such a
lasting influence. So, youth leaders—
come on, take a bow. We need you more
than ever in the years ahead.NL
(Neil Earle served for five years as chaplain at a Summer Educational Program
for Canadian and American teens in Orr,
Minnesota. He stays in touch with youth
by teaching occasionally at Citrus
College in Los Angeles.)
Silver Meadows, Waterskiing
(Photo: Leigh Smithson)
have walked some dark roads in my life
and it is the connection of daily coming
back to Christ in prayer that has allowed
me to keep walking with him.” Parents,
youth leaders, the local congregation—
these are often God’s primary tools in
bringing young people to Christ. They
can make a winning team.
Dan has a word for youth as well: “It is
only in learning to make the sacrifice of
obedience that I have been able to
receive the blessing and joy of a blossoming marriage and the love of two
children. Everything I am enjoying in life
now, comes as a result of someone
teaching me the importance of building a
relationship with God early in life.”
18
Three for the journey
If youth leaders were to distill their accumulated wisdom in three simple points it
might come down to these. You can find
them expanded upon in a new book by
the Office of Reconciliation Ministries,
an adjunct of WCG, titled, Mending
Broken Relationships (See page 20).
Here they are:
First, as adults, we need to listen, listen,
and listen. Author Gerald Egan reminds
adults to remember their own childhood
years, “how unhappy they felt when fretfully chided.” He urges the older generation “to be young again in their feelings.”
James 1:19 says, “Everyone should be
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By Dan Thompson
Email From Iraq
Hi All,
Just thought I would tap out a few thoughts at the end of this week and attach some photos before I head to
bed.
Things in Iraq sound worse when I look at the news but you would not really know it by being on base. Much
of the violence is between rival Muslim sects and does not happen near where I am. For that I am thankful,
though I must admit it has been a little more active lately. Yesterday I heard the Army’s 155-mm cannons firing out from the base on an insurgent target, and I have heard an increased amount of small arms and
machine gun fire. I also heard a loud boom this afternoon, which may have been a car bomb from what I see
on the news.
We certainly are not told much here, though I suppose I could find out more if I really wanted to…I don’t, I’m
too tired! Though we hear more activity we don’t see any fire coming on to the base. Life here feels like a
giant construction project, only most of the people are carrying M-16s! Because this is declared a hostile zone
the soldiers must carry their weapons all the time…in the chow hall, in the gym, in the office, etc. No shortage of guns here!
Last night they turned off the generator to conserve fuel, as one of the tanker convoys didn’t arrive, so we
spent the night in the dark; that is actually the greatest deprivation we have endured so far, so life is not too
bad! Now if the T-bone steak and lobster tail truck doesn’t show up that will really be too much!
Life is really quite boring here—there is plenty of work to do, it just isn’t terribly exciting, lots of inventory. The
next month should pick up as we are installing a couple of new networks. The days pass quite quickly, as all
there is to do is work and eat and sleep.
Well, I’ll sign off for now as I’m going to try and get some reading done and hit the hay. Take care and enjoy
the pics!
Dan Thompson
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Book Review:
By David Bacon
Member, Vancouver congregation
Mending Broken Relationships
O
encourage the client to blame someone
else for his problems, whereas Christian
counseling stresses personal accountability. To be effective, Christian counselors are called to model ethical behavior and maintain spiritual disciplines.
n TV recently, I saw a report
that said in Canada 38 percent
of marriages end in divorce. In
the United States, an estimated
45-50 percent of children born
today will end up living in a one-parent
home (page 9 of the book). These
are just two depressing statistics that apply to our fastpaced, fragmented families
of the 21st century.
Teens want us to know
that respect is a two-way
street; Teens appreciate
adult attention; Realize
that teens experience
too
much
negative
instruction; Listen, listen, listen!; Expose your
teens to positive role
models.
But broken relationships are
not exclusive to the family
unit—relationships between
races, churches, classes,
cultures and political viewpoints are all affected—even
one’s relationship with oneself
can need mending!
Curtis May, director of
the
Office
of
Reconciliation
Ministries,
has
a
potent chapter on
“The Road to Racial
Reconciliation.” Race
is “America’s obsession,” according to
writer Studs Terkel.
Mr. May, who has
counseled Native
Canadians
in
Halifax, describes
several
different
kinds of racism,
including:
In fact, there are so many different kinds of broken relationships (at least 15 by the book’s
count) that the author and his
eight co-contributors can only
scratch the surface by addressing a handful of chosen subjects.
Mending
Broken
Relationships is in this way a
highly readable overview of
counseling from a biblical point of
view.
The book is relentlessly positive
and upbeat, thanks to Dr. Eddy’s
straight-shooting style, which
leaps off the pages. Dr. Eddy, we
learn, is something of a legend in
the counseling field, having
marched with Martin Luther King,
Jr. and served as a minister for over
50 years. More recently, he has
worked with professionals who
counsel military personnel returning
from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The book addresses the conflict in
approach between secular counseling
and Christian counseling, and makes a
strong argument for the latter. While
some of secular counseling’s methods
might be useful, there is a tendency to
20
year (page 48). Solutions to the problems must be rooted in family and community. The chapter discusses five principles to keep in mind when working with
teens:
Topics addressed by the book include
weight loss, sex wars, and building
happy families (told from the point of
view of an adult child of divorce). The
chapter on youth highlights the drug
problem, “the single biggest killer of
Americans,” causing 600,000 deaths a
Unaware racism:
for example, ignorant or insensitive
comments,
or
subconsciously
avoiding contact
with other races;
Cultural racism:
patterns
of
behavior
and
characteristics of a certain
group of people. It turns negative when
the dominant racial group lacks respect
for other groups and uses racial slurs;
Internalized racism: when an oppressed
race believes negative stereotypes
about it and acts them out;
Institutionalized racism: historically,
this refers to lynchings and the fact that
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Youth Friendly Congregations
“the designers of the U.S. Constitution
accepted the proposition that a black
person was 3/5 of a person” (page 80).
Today, it refers to subtle, yet discriminatory practices in the workplace, government, legal system, etc.
California pastor and writer Neil Earle
contributes a vibrant chapter on addiction support groups, based on his successful experience with the “Invitational
Bible Study” in Toronto in the 1980s. A
member of this Bible study provides,
over several pages, the most candid
description of alcoholism I have ever
read.
Who is this book for? Certainly, any minister or youth worker would benefit. But
the book is general and practical enough
to make it a good read for any “layman.”
As the book points out, the healing effect
of counseling takes place not only in formal settings, but often occurs without
our thinking about it, in everyday conversations and interactions. In that
sense, we are all counselors.NL
Mending Broken Relationships: FaithBased Counseling for the 21st Century
by Dr. John Paul Eddy can be ordered
for a suggested donation of $15 U.S. at
www.AtimeToReconcile.org.
A
ll Christians share in the challenge and responsibility of
making our congregations
places where people of all
ages are encouraged and
enabled to become increasingly mature disciples of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. That mission
involves helping others meet Christ,
know Christ and serve with Christ.
4. Jesus showed in his earthly ministry
that youths are to be full participants in
the work of the church. By scolding his
disciples for making it difficult for children to come to him, Jesus shows us
that the church is to be a place where
children are sought out and welcomed.
Why should we care?
Four essential needs
Before looking at how we can create
youth-friendly congregations, let’s first
ask, why should we care? Let me share
some important answers to this legitimate question.
Having addressed the why of making
our congregations more youth-friendly,
let’s now discuss the how by asking,
what does a youth-friendly congregation
look like? Following are several indicators for your consideration.
1. People need the Lord—and that
includes young people. Jesus came to
seek and save the lost—and children
and teens who do not know Jesus are as
lost as adults apart from Christ. We
share in Jesus’ work to seek and save
lost youths when we invite, bring and
welcome lost youths into a youth-friendly congregation.
3. As workers in Jesus’ harvest of souls,
we are sent to go where fruit is both present and ripe for harvest. The experience of the church throughout Christian
history shows that children and teens
are a significant harvest field.
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God is doing a particularly fruitful work
among children and teens—throughout
the world—including our fellowship. We
have both the opportunity and responsibility to join him in this important part of
the harvest.
A primary aspect of this disciplemaking
challenge is to engage youths (children,
teens and college-age young adults) in
the life of each of our congregations. If
we are to do that, we each need to contribute to making our congregations
more youth-friendly. This article is written to help us in this important work.
2. The church is always one generation
away from extinction and thus youths
are the church’s future. While we do not
fear extinction (believing Jesus’ promises that the church will prevail), we do
have the responsibility to work to see
that the church continues into the next
generation.
M A Y
Studies show that most Christians in our
culture come to Christ before age 18
(with most of those doing so before age
14).
A youth-friendly congregation works to
meet the four essential needs that are
shared by all youths. (The basic content
of this list and some of the ideas for the
rest of this article are taken from The
Youth Friendly Parish by Michael
Anderson.)
First, young people need a sense of
belonging. They need a meaningful
place in a group that they value—where
they feel they belong. For us, this means
they are able to say, “This is my church.”
But many young people don’t find a
sense of belonging in church. They
might be more apt to say, “This is my
parents’ church.” Our goal and challenge
is to help them find a sense of belonging
in our congregation.
Second, young people need respect
rooted in valued skills. They need to be
helped to develop skills to serve within
the group, and then they need to have
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T H E M E
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Note that it is important to train them for
these tasks so that they do them well. As
they perform well, tell them. Show
respect based on real achievement.
2. Look for opportunities to affirm young
people—send them the message that
they are special and essential to you
and thus to the congregation.
Photo: Colin Wallace
We often send a contrary message by
ignoring young people, interacting with
them only when we need to correct
them. But for them to feel loved and
appreciated, positive interactions need
to far outnumber the negative.
those skills affirmed as valued by the
group. Many youths in church feel like
unneeded
and
unappreciated
appendages. Our goal and challenge is
to equip our youths and then give them
a meaningful place in real ministry.
Third, youths need a sense of self-worth.
This is related to the second need, but
goes even further, where youths feel
accepted and valued for simply being—
for their presence as people, not merely
for their contribution as workers. Our
goal and challenge is to consistently
show our youths that they are deeply
valued and loved as individuals.
Fourth, youths need reliable and predictable relationships. In particular, they
need a few relatively close relationships
with members in the group. Our goal
and challenge is to see that each youth
is connected to other youths in friendships and to at least one adult in a mentoring relationship.
Youths spend much of their lives—particularly during their teen years—search-
22
ing out the fulfillment of these four
needs. To do so is not selfish, nor
ungodly. Rather, these needs are part of
how God has made us.
Certainly youths can seek to meet these
needs in unhealthy, ungodly ways (in
gangs or cults, for example), but in our
congregations they should have these
needs met in ways that help them come
to know Jesus and then grow as his followers.
Reaching out
Let me encourage each of us who are
adults to ask how we might reach out to
youths in our congregations to help them
meet these needs. In addition to the
ideas noted above, consider the following:
1. Give youths opportunities to learn and
then to perform tasks that are valued
within the congregation. For example,
they might participate in scripture reading, music performance, ushering, gathering the offering or serving as a greeter.
We can have positive, affirming interactions in various ways. For example,
remember and use their names; send
them birthday cards or handwritten
notes any time of year. Spend time talking with them—give focused attention; if
they are small children, get down on
their level, eye-to-eye. Ask for their input
and then use it.
3. Pray with and for the young people.
Have a list in your congregation of
youths for whom you are continuously
praying. And let them know you are
praying for them (but don’t brag about
it)—ask them for concerns and needs
they have that you can address in your
prayers.
4. Spend time with a few youths. Many
youths spend little time with adults. Try
to provide a few youths with such opportunities and do not confuse taking a kid
along on an adult activity as spending
time with them. Get into their world—and
be a mature, wise, caring and consistent
presence with them where they are. It
will pay big dividends in their lives.
5. Learn about their world. Respect the
youths enough to go to the effort to get
to know their concerns, culture, needs,
preferences and challenges. Find out
what they watch on television and in
movies; what they listen to; what they
read. How do you do that? Ask them and
then listen lovingly and non-judgmentally.
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C O N T I N U E D
cil? Think about how youths can be
active in all the ministries of the congregation.
Photo: Colin Wallace
Much more can be said about helping
your congregation to be more youthfriendly. I will stop here, however, and
simply ask that you take this challenge
personally. You cannot do everything,
but you can do something.
The point here is not for an adult to act
like a teen (trust me, teens hate that)—
rather the point is for the adult to understand the teen. A second part of this
approach is to look for what is good and
godly in the youth’s world and then use
that as a bridge to connect your world of
Christ with what is consistent with Christ
in their world.
6. Really listen. One of the greatest
desires of young people (teens in particular) is to be heard. Youths are often
timid around adults, so it will take some
time for them to learn to trust you with
their inner thoughts. Therefore, be
patient and keep an open ear.
small group could meet before or after
services, or during the teaching part of
the main service (though the better strategy is to make the main service entirely
teen friendly and then have the teen
small group before or after main church).
I ask that you pray about this, asking
God what he would have you do, given
your circumstances, your abilities and
your gifts. God wants to use you to cominister in his disciplemaking work with
children, teens and college-age young
adults. Seek his direction and he will
grant it to you.NL
The author, Ted Johnson, is co-director of Generations Ministry for the
US-WCG
2. Provide times when youths can get
away together and with caring, mature
Christian adults. Retreats are great. So
are trips to fun places. Many groups of
congregations
offer
Discovery
Weekends, SEP camps and other
events for youths. Take advantage of
these opportunities to build closeness
among your youths and for them to bond
more closely with adult sponsors and
leaders.
Working together
Having considered some ways to meet
the needs of youths, let us now consider
how we can work together to see that
these things are happening more consistently and intentionally in our congregations. I recommend to you the following specific strategies:
1. Provide at church a setting in which
teens can gather to express and discuss
their needs and fears. Providing a teen
small group moderated by a caring and
mature Christian adult can do this. The
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3. Plug your youths—your teens in particular—into meaningful, consistent ministry within your congregation. Do not
just have a youth day at church a couple
of times a year when the teens take over
the worship service. Rather, give them a
place in ministry week-in and week-out.
For example, do you have youths on
your worship team? How about a drama
team? Are youths frequently offering
congregational prayers and helping with
ushering. Do you have a mature youth
on your congregation’s advisory coun-
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By Leigh Smithson
Member, Calgary congregation
T
here is more to SEP camps
than meets the eye. The physical activities are only part of the
reason the camps exist.
Workers and organizers are
already at work preparing for
the SEP 2005 programs. Here is an
analogy that might help explain why the
SEP camp program needs to be encouraged and nurtured.
Have you ever had a chance to sail
through or watch ships being lifted and
moved through the great locks in the
Panama Canal? The idea of lifting ships
is profoundly simple and effective. Using
water to lift ships is an ancient idea. It
requires little effort to transport heavy
loads. Canals are so effective that they
helped propel the industrial revolution
into a world-changing, well, revolution!
I like to compare the function of canals
and locks to the function of SEP camps.
It is an ideal venue to help fulfill Jesus’
commission of making disciples. A ship
operates under its own power—it
decides when, where and how it will turn
and where it will go. It is free to travel the
oceans in an uninhibited manner.
However, when the ship is faced with an
obstacle, like how to get from the Atlantic
side to the Pacific side of the continent,
Youth Camps Are “Lifting Waters”
it cannot do it on its own. It cannot go
fast enough to leap over the land mass
and it cannot ram its way through.
Instead, in order for its journey to be
successful, the ship has to relinquish its
control to the little tugboats and the
power of the water to lift it over the
obstacles. The ship has to shut down its
propeller and allow itself to be lined up
for entry into the lock by the tugboats.
Once the ship is lined up, it is then harnessed up to small “train engines” that
gently pull the boat into the lock. Then
the ship is secured inside the lock and
water is used to raise the vessel.
This is similar to the way discipleship
works. Disciplers help nudge, guide and
direct while the Holy Spirit provides the
lift of encouragement and hope. The
water that holds up the ship is similar to
the Holy Spirit, who gives us a “lift” and
makes our life easier to travel.
SEP (Spiritual Enrichment Camps,
Summer Educational Program, etc.) is
designed to be a time of high activity
with many challenging and fun
moments. Teens need lots of food, fun
and friendship. There are plenty of these
items at the SEP camps, but that is not
the main reason the camps exist.
Instead, they exist to disciple teens and
to teach teens how to disciple others.
SEP camps bring Christian mentors and
workers together to gently nudge or
guide teens in areas of spiritual and relational importance. Teens are able to see
life from a different perspective, a life
that is focused on Jesus the Savior.
They quickly see that many people,
besides just their parents and relatives,
care about them and their lives.
One other interesting part about the
canal analogy is that ships have to sail
to the canal and locks; the canal and
locks cannot travel to the ship. Similarly,
SEP is a place teens travel to; SEP cannot go to them. (There are many SEP
camps within the fellowship of the WCG.
Check our website, www.wcg.ca, for
more details.)
There are three fundamental reasons for
our involvement in summer camps:
1. It is an ideal venue for teens of similar
life circumstances to get together and it
sets the stage for lifelong friendships.
2. It connects Christian adults with teens
for the purpose of mentoring and sharing
experiences and faith. As well, many
adult workers have empathy with teens
because of their personal life experiences.
3. Finally, and most importantly, SEP
camps are a great place to help teens
build a personal relationship with Jesus.
SEP camp is not just for physical activities, it also stimulates and promotes
spiritual growth and thinking.
Each generation of teens has its unique
characteristics, but one thing never
changes: they need to know they are
loved. Jesus instructed us to love one
another and SEP provides the venue to
show love in a safe and caring environment. Love involves nudging, praying,
talking, communicating, sharing and living our faith with others. The result is
that teens see Christian adults in
action—adults who live with hope and
faith in Jesus.
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T H E M E
Just as canals and locks gently guide
and lift ships to help them go places they
could not reach on their own power, SEP
is a place where the Holy Spirit gently
guides and lifts teens to enable them to
explore new spiritual horizons and enter
into a higher relationship with Jesus.NL
Leigh Smithson has been attending
the Calgary WCG fellowship for over
40 years. He is an elder and has a
B.A. in Leadership and Ministry. He is
in his last year of his Bachelor of
Education program. Leigh and his
wife Heather are the directors of the
Silver Meadows SEP camp program.
C O N T I N U E D
Silver Meadows SEP Logo Winner
We are pleased to present the winning entry for the Silver Meadows SEP logo and
motto for 2005 to Karen S. Karen has been a loyal attendee of the Silver Meadows
SEP program for several years and is now approaching her final years as a
camper. Karen has made everyone smile at one time or another with her antics
and great sense of humor.
Karen’s entry displays the fun and energy which is always evident at camp. Wait till
you read why she designed the logo as she did, you will be impressed!
“My theme statement is based on the word REACHING.The logo consists
of three branches of reaching that I feel happen at camp in the most
wonderful ways: reaching UP, reaching IN, reaching OUT.
1. Reaching UP toward Jesus Christ. The guy in the middle with the
blue shirt is reaching with his hands up towards God, pointing as we
often do at camp during praise and worship, striving to be closer to
Jesus. This is the main reason we come to camp. As well I made the
“CH” in REACHING larger and in yellow to stand out and represent
CHRIST and Christian Hospitality!
2. Reaching other Christians IN the body of Christ, the universal
church. The guy in the red shirt is reaching in to other Christians for
fellowship with each other. This is another reason to come to camp.
Teens coming together with other teens who all share a love and passion to learn more about Jesus. We come together at camp in love
under Jesus to build relationships and friendships that will last forever, and then play sports together!
3. Reaching OUT to non-Christians and non-church goers. The
girl with the pink shirt is reaching her hands out to those who
do not know Jesus. This we do a lot at camp welcoming our
friends who don’t attend any church to come to our camp and
have a good time playing sports and learning about Jesus.
Camp if you ask me is a great place to reach OUT!
The letters SEP are joined together to symbolize the unity and
coming together of all ages and backgrounds that happens at
camp.”
Karen S.
Karen’s winning logo has earned her a fully paid tuition to be used
at camp this year. Congratulations and thank you for your work.
We would be remiss if we did not thank all those who entered the contest. All the
logos demonstrated deep thought and understanding of why the SEP camp exists.
The non-winning entries will all receive a gift certificate to be used at SEP this year.
Camp starts on July 17th…are you ready?
Leigh Smithson
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C O M M E N T A R Y
By Michael Feazell
Publications director, US-WCG
I
f God loves people, why does he
wipe them out? The devastating
tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004, has
shaken the faith of religious people the world over. What kind of
God would kill 200,000 people in a
single stroke?
If God Loves People...
Kiang flooding of 1887. The smallpox
epidemic in France in 1870-71 killed
500,000. One million died from the Irish
famine of 1845. The Iran earthquake of
1780 killed 200,000. Ten million died in
the Bengal, India, famine of 1769. The
Shensi, China, earthquake of 1556
“God didn’t do it; he
just allowed it,”
some say. Maybe
they think that’s a
good defense. I
don’t, and I doubt
you do. Allowing
something that you
could stop is not
much better than
doing it yourself.
When something
bad happens, we
want someone to
blame. When the
bad thing is a natural disaster, there’s
no one left to blame
but
God.
Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, tidal waves, lightning
strikes. The insurance companies call
them “acts of God.” Nobody is to
blame—nobody except God, that is.
The recent tsunami is just one example
in a long line of history’s mind-numbing
natural disasters. Looking back, more
than 3.5 million died in the North Korean
floods and famine of 1995-98. More than
900,000 died in the Ethiopian famine of
1984. Two hundred forty-two thousand
died in the Tangshan, China, earthquake
of 1976. The Ethiopian famine of 1974
claimed 200,000.
The Bangladesh sea flood of 1970 took
200,000-500,000. China’s famine of
1960 took 20 million. One million died in
the flu pandemic of 1957, and up to 100
million died in the flu pandemic of 1918.
Earthquakes in Nansan, China, in 1927
and in Gansu, China, in 1933 killed
200,000 each. Up to one million died in
Huayan Kou, China, in the Yang-tse
26
claimed 800,000. And the black plague
of Europe and Asia in 1346-42 took 25
million lives.
People ask, why does a loving God let
such astounding mayhem happen?
I have another question. Why does God
let anyone die?
I recently attended the funeral of a
woman who was celebrated for her
many personal ministries of love. She
died of cancer, and her suffering was
nothing short of horrible. Last month a
teenager died in a fiery car crash on
slick winter roads. She was on break
from a Christian college, and I’m sure
her suffering and the grief of her parents,
relatives and friends was every bit as
real as the suffering and grief of any individual who died in the tsunami.
Why did God let Mother Teresa die?
“She was old,” someone might say. “It’s
the natural way of things. We grow old
and die.”
Yes, it is the natural way of things.
Bodies wear out. Plaque builds up in
arteries, and if enough builds up, it cuts
off the blood flow and causes strokes or
heart attacks. Sometimes cells get
mixed up and go crazy, becoming cancer cells and disrupting the tissues and
organs
around
them. Over time
bones lose their
density and an accidental fall can break
a hip. Joints lose
their elasticity. Eyes
lose their sharpness.
The ground erodes
too, and the earth’s
crust shifts. Water
evaporates. Rain
falls. Rivers rise.
Winds blow. Even
healthy people and
young people can
get hit by falling
rocks
or
flying
debris. People get
caught in flash
floods, mudslides and collapsed mineshafts. People fall off roofs, out of windows and off scaffoldings. Sometimes it
happens when they are doing humanitarian work, trying to help or save someone else. And God, far, far more often
than not, sits by and watches it happen
without lifting a finger to stop it.
When someone we love grows old and
dies of “natural causes” we accept it as
the way God has designed the creation—there’s a time to be born and a
time to die.
But when someone we love dies before
growing old, we ask, “Why would God
allow this to happen?”
Not a ‘Stepford’ creation
No doubt, God could have made the universe in such a way that nothing ever
went wrong. But he didn’t. He created a
world that is free to be itself—and to
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C O M M E N T A R Y
express its identity in continually fresh
and creative ways. For some reason, he
thinks that is good.
Maybe that’s because it takes such a
world, a wild and free world, to be the
breeding ground for things God values in
human beings—things like courage,
devotion, loyalty, self-sacrifice, kindness, generosity, hope, trust. By anybody’s reckoning these are a few of the
noblest features of humanity. Would they
be in a world without risk, danger,
calamity—and death?
And where would love be? Love isn’t just
a matter of getting along. Love is made
real in the crucible of suffering, of selfsacrifice, of loyalty and devotion against
the odds.
“Oh really,” someone might say. “If God
thinks that is so great, why doesn’t he
just come down here and go through
what we go through in his so-called
good creation?”
Well, that’s just what Christians believe
he did. And just like death happens to
every one of us, he died. But Christians
believe that his death changed death
itself. He made death a pathway to resurrection, to new life, to a new creation
in which “there is no more death or
mourning or crying or pain.”
As much as we hate to admit it and hate
to talk about it and throw stones at those
who do, we all die. We all die of something. Whether we die of “natural causes” or of “natural disasters” makes little
difference in the end. Either way, we die,
and nothing will stop it, regardless of
how kind we are or how mean we are or
how smart, careful or wise we are. But
the good news is, regardless of how or
when we die, Jesus resurrects the dead.
God could stop all natural movement of
earth, air and water. He could stop
humans from making mistakes, making
unwise decisions, being selfish, or stubborn or rude.
M A Y
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God could have made a “Stepford” creation. But he didn’t. God created a world
in which something far more valuable
than long physical life could exist. He
made a world in which love can exist
and grow. In love, humans pull together
and respond to suffering and calamity. In
love, humans forgive one another, help
one another, encourage one another
and stand by one another.
God suffers with us
God is not a stranger to human suffering. Christians believe that God became
a man, suffered as a man and died as a
man, and that from that time, humanity
itself has been taken up into God’s own
being. In Jesus
Christ, God in the
flesh, humanity’s
cause has become
God’s cause. When
we suffer, God suffers with us.
C O N T I N U E D
deprived now, stifled now, cheated now,
will find their fulfillment in the life of the
new creation. That is the Christian hope,
and Christians hold that hope in faith—
faith that God who freely took up our
human cause as his own, even to the
point of dying like a criminal as one of
us, is true to his word.
In that hope and in that love, we extend
compassion and help to others. As we
do, we experience the deepest riches of
true life, riches that are unseen but more
real than physical security and safety.
Love truly does “make the world go
’round.” NL
God loved the world
so much, John the
Gospel-writer
recorded, that God
gave his Son that
whoever believes in
him would have
new life. God sent
his Son to save the
world, he added,
not to condemn it
(see John 3:16-17).
Death is part of life,
and every person
who lives will also
die. Even you and
even me. But death
is not the end of the
story of our lives.
God did not make
human
beings
merely for this life of
suffering and grief—
he made us for his
new creation of fulfillment and joy. The
lives cut short now,
27
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N E W S
Discovery Leadership Weekend
Thirty-one youth and eleven adults
stepped up to the plate and took
increased personal responsibility for
their spiritual development during the
Discovery Leadership Weekend held at
Camp Vendee, Quebec, October 1-3,
2004. Following the summer camp’s
theme, this weekend was titled Live God
Loud 2 (see report in Sept. Oct. 2004
issue).
In the opening chapel, Marzella Martin,
recently home from a year at Teenmania
Ministry’s “Honor Academy”, challenged
us to not simply know a lot about Jesus,
but to commit to advancing a deepening
relationship with him. Following morning
worship, led by Rob Brockman and his
ensemble of Greg Yandt, Courtney
Demers, and Judith Lawrence, Dennis
Lawrence urged a commitment to daily
‘quiet times’ in order to connect with
Jesus. Following Jesus is not an academic exercise of wondering what he might
do, but involves the reality of discovering
what he is doing in and through each of
us.
Kathy Brockman taught us about the
vital position of prayer to connect us with
God, and showed how we can use the
“Lord’s Prayer” as a guide. She reminded the listeners that each of us is a
leader and prayer is a vital tool for effective leadership.
28
During the afternoon sessions, Lynn
Lawrence got everyone into groups and
into the Bible, to discover what God says
about various very relevant topics. She
followed this by discussing the reality of
“absolute truth” and that truth springs
from the nature of the One giving the
truth.
Between these sessions, Greg Yandt led
a participation game that led to a measure of frustration and lots of laughs!
Saturday evening,
Phil Baldwin fielded
questions
and
showed how clearly
the Bible answers
many
significant
questions,
but
leaves us to trust
God on many lesser
matters. Following a
brief period of worship singing (which
concluded
an
almost solid twelvehour day), weekend
Discovery Weekend participants enjoyed
cards,
games,
music and being together with friends.
During Sunday morning’s chapel, Lynn
Lawrence reviewed the weekend and
encouraged us to take personal responsibility for being leaders in our lives and
making a positive difference in our
world. Kathy Brockman explained how
we could make a public commitment and
urged us to support one another in making such a commitment. She then
encouraged us to light a candle, from
the Jesus candle and declare personal
commitments, springing from the weekend. Communion concluded the weekend.
We are grateful to Charles and Carol
Chappelle, who worked hard to provide
excellent meals, nourishing our bodies,
while Jesus took care of nourishing our
spirits.
Dennis Lawrence
Thanksgiving Celebration In Moncton,
New Brunswick
We eagerly anticipated the gathering of
our fellow brethren for our Thanksgiving
weekend celebration. Finally, it arrived!
What an inspiring event. It all began with
a Friday evening worship service where
our minds were prepared spiritually to
partake of the marvelous meal that our
loving Father had prepared for us.
Opening services began with Mrs. Edna
Vautour and Ms. Martha Milton leading
us in song-filled worship and praise to
our Father in heaven. Gary Moore, our
national director, talked about the
Passion and sacrifice of our Lord and
Savior, and why we need to meditate on
the depth of Christ’s sacrifice as we partake of the bread and wine. Mr. Moore
spoke about Christ’s suffering and the
supreme sacrifice he gave so that we
can have meaning in this life and eternal
life in the world to come.
Saturday’s theme focused on how
Christ’s presence transforms us. Mr.
Moore talked about how the youth of
today will be touched by the Gospel
when they see authentic Christianity
lived out in each of our lives. He stated
the importance of living the Gospel by
our actions and using only words when
we need to.
Mr. Moore emphasized that our desire
not to sin should not only be for fear of
the consequences of sin, but because
sinning does not bring glory to our loving
Father. Mr. Moore pointed out that we
should never be the reason why someone would not want to respond to our
loving Creator. In fact, others should
want to know Jesus Christ because they
see us living authentic Christian lives—
this gives glory to our Father in heaven.
Mr. Moore graciously shared with us the
loss he has felt as a result of his wife
Tamara’s passing. He talked about how
her life was a tribute to our great
Creator, and that it is his desire to live
such a life that pleases God fully.
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N A T I O N A L
After our spiritual nourishment, we gathered together for a meal of physical
food, fellowship, fun and games at the
Dieppe Rotary Club. The evening was
relaxing, refreshing and uplifting. On
Sunday morning we all gathered for a
breakfast and workshop at the Moncton
Hotel. The theme of the workshop was
“The Gospel or Religion – Which Is It?”
Our Thanksgiving weekend celebration
was all to God’s glory. We give our
heartfelt thanks to our loving Creator
who has made it possible for us to glorify and worship him. We lift our hearts in
praise to you, oh God.
On Sunday afternoon Linda Campbell
and Phil McPhee of the Cape Breton
congregation lovingly led us in our worship service before the final spiritual
meal of this Thanksgiving weekend that
our Savior had prepared for us.
On Wednesday, August 11, 2004, sixteen ladies and one young baby traveled
to our church camp in Vendee, Quebec
to enjoy four days of fellowship, prayer,
praise and worship. This year our participants came from congregations in St.
Catharines, Barrie, Toronto East, Sarnia
and from Cornerstone Christian
Fellowship (Toronto West).
Each morning began with group prayer
usually set the tone for the day. This was
followed by a number of organized activities including a trip to Mont Tremblant
and St. Jovite, a visit to nearby Lake
Cameron and its surrounding area, and
on site activities including canoeing,
swimming, and hikes around the water’s
edge.
Mr. Moore emphasized that our lives
should be an act of worship to God. We
need to live graciously with those of
other beliefs, while not compromising
what we believe. Remember that our citizenship is in heaven. Mr. Moore reminded us that we must do our part and
remain faithful to God, even if we don’t
see a response from those we come into
contact with. He encouraged us with
some final words: “Don’t give up—you
never know the effect your life has on
others.”
In the evenings, supper was followed by
a praise and worship session organized
by the Women’s Ministry of the
Cornerstone Christian Fellowship. Most
of the evening meals were prepared by
the participants from each congregation
taking a different night. This enabled
everyone to have time to relax. After the
praise and worship sessions some
women stayed on to play card and board
games or to relax and tell stories around
a bonfire outside the main building.
God blessed our Thanksgiving celebration with sunshine, love and a deeper
understanding of what it means to live
an authentic Christian life in our homes,
at work and with whomever we come
into contact with. Thank you, brethren
from all parts of New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and
especially Mr. Moore, who helped to
make our Thanksgiving celebration so
very special.
On Saturday morning, we were joined by
Bill and Linda Rabey from the Ottawa
congregation and enjoyed a beautiful
brunch. Pastor Rabey then conducted a
church service at the end of our brunch.
That evening a formal supper was put
on by the women of the Barrie congregation. Marian Stockdale, a member
from Barrie, took us on a part of her journey with the risen Lord. Her message
was, “Trust Him and He will take you
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through the rough times, because He is
preparing you for His work.”
We hope that many will choose to come
to Vendee from August 14th to August
18th to be a part of this wonderful experience.
Esther Farrell
Vedee 2004—Let Your Love Grow
Mr. Vautour and Mr. Moore encouraged
us to offer our thoughts on the Gospel
and what it truly means. Mr. Vautour
asked what we would take from the
workshop in terms of how to apply
authentic Christianity in our daily lives.
The brethren responded with various
comments, from stating it’s how we treat
our family and friends, to even how we
treat our enemies. By living out authentic Christianity, the lives of others will be
changed.
N E W S
Annette Joyal, Angelina McMayo, and
Frances Hamlin
La célébration Vie dans le Fils 2004
Quelle poésie de couleurs, de louanges
et de prières ! La célébration Vie dans le
Fils 2004 des Églises francophones du
Québec se déroulait dans une petite
érablière située au nord-ouest de
Montréal soit, à St-Eustache. Notre
thème cette année était « Unis en
Jésus-Christ ». 174 membres en provenance des Églises d’Abitibi, du Bas StLaurent, de Québec, de Trois-Rivières et
de Montréal se sont retrouvés le samedi
9 octobre en après-midi pour louer Dieu
avec enthousiasme, entendre un message sur l’Unité dans l’Église livré par M.
Claude Rochon, pasteur associé des
églises de Québec et Trois-Rivières,
puis fraterniser autour d’un souper
animé et chaleureux. Le repas fraternel
fut suivi d’une soirée sociale où jeunes
et moins jeunes en ont profité pour
s’amuser, danser ou bavarder entre
frères et sœurs, alors qu’une température clémente nous permettait de profiter
d’une belle soirée d’automne.
Le lendemain, 10 octobre, 140 membres
ont maintenu leur participation à cette
deuxième journée, alors qu’une session
de louanges en avant-midi s’est
déroulée dans la ferveur générale. Un
brunch excellent et généreux a permis à
tous de se restaurer et de faire une
pause avant de pouvoir écouter en
après-midi un message vidéo du pasteur général, M. Joseph W. Tkach, qui
nous fut traduit par M. Roger Labelle,
pasteur des Églises francophones du
Québec. Ce dernier message portait
également sur l’Unité dans l’Église. Un
moment fort en cette fin de week-end fut
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celui du Repas du Seigneur où toute
l’assistance a pris le pain et le vin pour
clôturer ces journées de partage et
d’unité. Dieu règne dans Son Église et
demeure à l’œuvre dans le cœur de
ceux et celles qui l’honorent, le
respectent et le glorifient.
Que son grand nom soit loué et porté
avec conviction dans nos vies quotidiennes !
The 2004 Life in Christ Festival
What a tapestry of colors, praises and
prayers! The 2004 Life in Christ Festival
of the French-speaking churches in
Quebec took place in a small sugar
shack located in St-Eustache, northwest
of Montreal (Quebec). Our theme this
year was “United in Jesus-Christ”. 174
members from Abitibi, Bas St-Laurent,
Quebec City, Trois-Rivières and
Montreal met on Saturday afternoon,
October 9. We praised God with enthusiasm, listened to a sermon on unity in
the Church by Claude Rochon (associate pastor of the churches of Quebec
and Trois-Rivières) and fellowshipped
during an animated and convivial dinner.
The fraternal meal was followed by an
evening social, where young and not-soyoung danced, chatted and generally
had great fun. The weather was comfortable and allowed brothers and sisters
to benefit from a beautiful fall evening.
The following morning, 140 members
fervently participated in a praise and
worship service. After a delicious and
generous brunch, we listened to a video
message by Pastor General Joseph W.
Tkach, which was translated in French
by Roger Labelle (pastor of the Frenchspeaking congregations in Quebec).
This sermon also dealt with unity in the
Church. An awe-inspiring moment came
at the end of the weekend when everyone gathered to partake in the bread and
wine: the Lord’s Supper fittingly closed
these two days of sharing and unity. God
reigns in his church and remains at work
in the heart of those who honor, respect
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and glorify him.
May his great name be praised and
borne with conviction in our everyday
lives!
ments ensured everyone stayed for picture taking and visiting. A banquet later
that evening gave added opportunity for
fellowship.
Robert Millman
Thérèse G. Cayer
SEP Eastern Canada: Bilingual Camp
Edmonton Congregation Celebrates
Forty Years
Saturday October 30th the Edmonton
WCG congregation celebrated forty
years of service.
Less than two hours northwest of
Montreal, nestled in the gentle
Laurentian Mountains, and beside beautiful Lac Windigo (Spirit Lake), lies the
village of Vendée, which has been the
home for our Eastern Canadian youth
camp for many
years.
In this final year at
this location, we’re
planning a special
camp for 2005,
before we move to
another location for
2006.
Our camp is bilingual: the worship,
education and activEdmonton: First Attendees
ities are in French
and English. Camp becomes a workFounding pastor Richard Pinelli and his
shop for you to broaden your language
wife Mary flew from Cincinnati, Ohio to
skills. Do you want to see how two
share an afternoon of reflections and
“nations” can work and live side-byreminiscences. Willi and Ingrid Mandel,
side? Camp is a pattern for what, we
first deacon ordained in the congregabelieve, God wants for all humanity, and
tion, traveled from Kingston, Ontario for
you can be part of it.
the occasion.
Our camp accommodates 80 campers
Richard and Mary moved to Edmonton
for 10 days (July 16-25) for $275
in October 1964 after Richard conducted
(Canadian). For this, besides the friendBible studies in the Phoenix Hall in the
ships you can gain and enhance, you’ll
months leading up to the start of the new
have tennis, volleyball, soccer, baseball,
church. Pictures from the early years
dance, canoeing and water-skiing as the
prompted many to share stories and
main activities of the day. Our camp
insights with present day members.
seeks to build the campers’ relationship
Twenty eight who were present for the
with their God and Savior. Campers will
first service posed for a group picture
participate in daily worship services and
and were presented with pins and pens
Christian education.
as tokens of appreciation for their service.
Our goal is to not only help someone
come to Christ, but to begin a personal
Richard and Mary cut an anniversary
walk as a disciple. The planning team
cake and congratulated all in attenwants campers to become forces for
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God’s kingdom work in their own churches and communities. Youths need opinion leaders, and we help campers
understand how to be one and suggest
ways and venues for standing out as
one.
We will provide leadership and camp
ministry training for our older campers.
Our hope is that some will decide to not
only have Christ in their lives but will recognize a call to ministry too. We will
articulate the reality of how special it is
to be involved in ministry. For the past
two camps, we have had a special time
with this group of campers and will be
enhancing this for Camp 2005.
Campers have come from far and wide
over the past few years. All the
provinces of eastern Canada have been
represented, as well as the American
northeast and California. Flying into
Montreal can be affordable, and we will
work with parents to arrange for camper
pickup, and transportation to and from
camp.
Why not think about a nearby, but international camp for 2005? You can get an
idea of last year’s camp at
www.wcg.org/youth/campvendee.
For more information contact:
Dennis Lawrence
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (514) 425-5371
Dennis Lawrence
Bass Lake Camp-out in Ontario
Spend some time in the great outdoors
at the Parkers’ annual summer family
camp to be held from 2:00 p.m. Friday,
July 22nd to 12:00 noon, Monday,
August 1st. All are welcome to attend as
much or as little of the nine-day-long
camp as your schedule will permit.
Beautiful secluded Bass Lake Provincial
Park near Orillia, Ontario, is again the
site for this year’s enjoyable, relaxing
week of fun and good times. Activities
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include some group dinners, evening
bonfires, swimming, waterskiing and
tubing, and nature hikes.
There is also shopping: the park is only
a five-minute drive from the malls and
Tim Hortons! Private Group Site #3 has
been reserved for the duration of the
camp. Feel free
to bring fishing
equipment (most
adults
18-65
require a fishing
license), boats,
canoes, bicycles,
and a sense of
fun!
Those joining us
need to send a
$25 non-refundable registration
fee (to help pay
the group site
reservation fee)
as soon as possible to:
Ken Parker
2088 Killarney Beach Road
Churchill, ON L0L 1K0
Phone: (705) 456-1168
Email: [email protected]
Registration is mandatory and, due to
limited space, is on a first come, first
served basis.
N E W S
C O N T I N U E D
For more information contact:
Steve Parker
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (705) 737-1059
2nd Annual Ambassador
College/University Reunion
First Annual Jasper Reunion
Mark your calendars for the 2nd annual
Ambassador
College/University
Reunion taking place in spectacular
Jasper, Alberta from June 29 to July 5.
This is an excellent opportunity for
friends and families to gather, renewing
old acquaintances and starting new
friendships in the scenic outdoor setting
of Jasper and the Canadian Rocky
Mountains.
When you arrive you must check in at
the park office and payment is due
when you register with the park officials.
Currently the group camping fees are
$4/night per adult; $1/night for youths (6
to 17) and $3/night for seniors (65+).
In addition, all vehicles require a separate provincial parking permit, available
for $3/night or $2.25/night for seniors.
This reunion is open to all AC/AU alumni and faculty, anyone who has ever
attended Ambassador College or
This averages out to $117 (plus the $25
registration fee) for a family of four with
one vehicle who stay for the entire nine
evenings.
The world-renowned Jasper National
Park offers endless opportunities for
activity and adventure. Awake to the
sight of elk grazing outside your tent or
cabin. Hike the thousands of trails in the
beautiful alpine environment. Take a ride
out onto the Columbia Icefields and
University for any length of time. It is
also open to any family and friends of
alumni and faculty and their friends and
family. Group activities have been organized for most days—subject to interest.
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stand on a glacier of ice that is a thousand feet deep. Hike to the world
famous Edith Cavel glacier, where
avalanches can be heard and seen
every couple of minutes. Take a boat
cruise across beautiful Maligne Lake,
hike the Maligne Canyon and marvel
over the mystery of Medicine Lake. Visit
the Jasper town site as we celebrate
Canada Day with a morning parade and
evening fireworks. Take a gondola ride
to the top of Whistler Mountain. You can
go horseback riding, mountain biking,
whitewater rafting or golfing. The Jasper
townsite has many unique shops as well
as fine restaurants to enjoy.
Make plans to join us for this memorable
reunion.
For more information and application
forms contact:
Craig and Debbie Minke
22899 14th Avenue,
Langley BC V2Z 2W8
Phone: (604) 532-3750
Email: [email protected]
2005 Green Lake Christian Campout:
The Retreat For All Ages
site at Green Lake Provincial Park is
only 14 paved km off Highway 97 at 70
Mile House. Green Lake boasts
Mediterranean blue water, beautiful
beaches and is one of the larger bodies
of water in the southern portion of the
Cariboo.
Everyone is invited to participate in this
fun-filled camp-out hosted by members
of the Worldwide Church of God. Come
to renew old acquaintances and meet
new friends. Go canoeing, fishing, hiking, swimming or just relax on the beach
during the day. Participate in our
dynamic group studies. Play games and
toast marshmallows over the fire at night
while sharing stories and laughter.
N E W S
C O N T I N U E D
For registration forms and more information contact:
Craig and Debbie Minke
22899 14th Avenue,
Langley BC V2Z 2W8
Phone: (604) 532-3750
Email: [email protected]
If you are a parent who just needs a
break, a single person who wants to
relax and meet people, or if you are
senior who loves the great outdoors,
come and join us.
This year we are planning to run some
semi-organized activities for children
and youth, to add some challenges and
new opportunities for our younger
campers. Basic instruction in canoeing,
camp craft, orienteering and soccer will
be offered, as well as other activities. If
you are interested
in volunteering by
coordinating
or
helping in one or
more
organized
activities please let
us know when you
register.
Green Lake Campout 2004
The 12th annual Green Lake Christian
Campout will take place July 29 to
August 7, 2005 on the beautiful shores
of Green Lake, B.C. Located in central
British Columbia, the reserved group
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