MARCH/APRIL 2008
Partnership In The Gospel
Philippians
1:3-6: I thank my God every time I
remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because
of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, being
confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Membership Vs. Partnership
Member: one of the individuals composing a group. Membership
implies rights and privileges. VS. Partnership: Equal responsibility for the
outcome of the mission.
Here’s
a ten-question survey of the congregation to help determine if
people view themselves as members with rights and privileges or partners with
equal responsibility for the outcome of the mission:
1.
My major responsibility in being a church member is to attend worship and
support the church financially.
Yes No
2.
The pastor should provide for the majority of care of the members. Yes
No
3.
The pastor exists to serve the needs of the members. Yes No
4.
The church should be run like a business.
Yes No
5.
The church is a human organization built around the will of the members. Yes
No
6.
I attend church to be uplifted and supported by the pastor. Yes
No
7.
It is easier to give more money to the church than to give more time. Yes
No
8.
The pastor should survey the members, find out what they want, and then do it.
Yes No
9.
The major purpose of the church is to hold worship service and take care of the
members. Yes No
10.
I attend church in order to be blessed in worship.
Yes No
Biblically
all the answers should be NO! While some of these characteristic and
activities are true they are not the major purpose or reason for the mission.
What
does partnership mean? Partnership means that you have as great a
stake and responsibility for the outcome of the mission of Jesus Christ as the
pastor. You have a divine mission to
know Jesus personally, to mature into His disciple and to make disciple of
others. You take every opportunity to grow in faith and knowledge of the Gospel
so that you can communicate its truth and life-changing power. You take time to discover your talents,
spiritual gifts, and your place in the local church’s ministry.
It
further means that you are just as diligent in prayer and financial support of
the work of the church as possible. Partnership does contain rights and
privileges but those rights and privileges focus on your work for the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Tom Parrish, Stepping Into Eternity
Publishing & Ministry
Temptation
What is your plan to deal with temptation in
times of stress, pressure or great need? We need an effective plan for those
moments. An effective plan has five weapons to put the devil on the defense.
First:
We need to identify our top areas of temptation:
1. Perhaps it is a critical spirit of others.
2. You can always see the bad in others.
3. Even if they did ten things right you can always point out the one thing
they didn’t do.
Second:
Find one to three passages that teach us to be positive and loving toward
others thereby countering this temptation of criticism.
1. Pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of
one another. (Romans 14:19).
2. Show tolerance [forbearance] to one another. (Ephesians 4:2).
3. Do not complain against one another. (James 5:9).
Third:
Recognize the key words and phrases you use to express that critical spirit.
1. You always...
2. Why did you do it that way....
3. I would have done it this way....
4. You drive me crazy....
5. You fill in the blank.
(If you are really courageous ask several family members or friends, one on
one, to tell you what you say as you begin to express that critical spirit.
Fourth:
Ask the Lord Jesus to help you:
1. Hear yourself.
2. To stop you when start being critical.
3. To change your spirit.
4. To fill you will patience, kindness and love.
Fifth:
Practice, practice, practice. Pledge
to yourself that you will:
1. Keep you mouth shut for the next thirty days and just listen.
2. If you open your mouth and the negative begins to emerge you will stop the
moment the Holy Spirit brings to mind those passages you’ve memorized.
3. Back up, apologize if need be and go back to listening.
4. Continue this practice of turning to Scripture and letting God’s Word become
your words.
Tom Parrish
He was
homeless, smelly, and almost starving to death. But the worst thing was that he
knew it was all his fault. He thought his father was cruel and overbearing;
there were too many rules. He wanted freedom. He wanted to have fun, but his
father was all about responsibility and hard work. So, he asked for his share
of the inheritance. He didn't care about the farm; he just wanted the money. As
soon as he got it, he left. He could finally do what he wanted to do. But it
didn't take long and all that money was gone - partying is expensive. Those he
thought were his friends left as soon as he ran out of money. He was all alone
and miserable. He had two choices, and neither seemed pleasant. He could
continue as he was and hope he could scrape enough together each day so that he
wouldn't starve to death, or he could go back home.
He headed for home. He was prepared to
grovel, to ask to be just a hired hand on his father's farm. But he didn't get
the opportunity to do much groveling. As soon as his father saw him coming, he
ran out to meet him. He hugged and kissed him, and gave orders for a huge
celebration in his honor. The rebellious son had expected a cool reception. He
had expected an "I told you so." Instead he got what he knew he
didn't deserve: a joyous welcome home.
You and I are that young man who
rebelled against his father. We have all rebelled against our heavenly Father.
We have considered Him to be cruel and overbearing and having too many rules -
someone who doesn't want us to have any fun. We have all separated ourselves
from Him and broken His command-ments. Our consciences tell us that He is
angry, that we deserve whatever pain or suffering comes our way. Could our
heavenly Father still love us? Could He still welcome us to His eternal home in
heaven?
Jesus' story about the disobedient son
in Luke 15:11-24 is a short story that speaks volumes for our lives. It assures
us of God's love and our heavenly home. Our heavenly Father loves us so much
that He punished His obedient Son, Jesus, in our place so that He can welcome
us as His dear children and heirs of eternal life. Instead of giving us what we
deserve for our rebelliousness, He gives us what we don't deserve: complete forgiveness
in Jesus.
We welcome you
to gather with us on Sundays and learn more about our heavenly Father's love.
WELS Evangelism
Oprah
"Oprah and Friends" To Teach Course
on New Age Christ
Oprah Winfrey will be letting out all the stops
on her XM Satellite Radio program this year. Beginning January 1, 2008,
"Oprah & Friends" will offer a year-long course on the New Age
teachings of A Course in Miracles. A lesson a day throughout the year will
completely cover the 365 lessons from the Course in Miracles "Workbook."
For
example, Lesson 29 asks you to go through your day affirming that "God
is in everything I see." Lesson 61 tells each person to repeat the
affirmation "I am the light of the world." Lesson 70 teaches
the student to say and believe "My salvation comes from me."
By
the end of the year, "Oprah & Friends" listeners will have
completed all of the lessons laid out in the Course in Miracles Workbook. Those
who finish the Course will have a wholly redefined spiritual mindset: a New Age
worldview that includes the belief that there is no sin, no evil, no devil,
and that God is "in" everyone and everything.
A
Course in Miracles teaches its students to rethink everything they believe
about God and life. The Course Workbook bluntly states: "This is a
course in mind training" and is dedicated to "thought reversal."
Teaching A Course in Miracles will be Oprah's longtime friend and special XM
Satellite Radio reporter Marianne Williamson, who also happens to be one of
today's premier New Age leaders. She and Conversations with God author Neale
Donald Walsch co-founded the American Renaissance Alliance in 1997, that later
became the Global Renaissance Alliance of New Age leaders, that changed its
name again in 2005 to the Peace Alliance. This Peace Alliance seeks to usher in
an era of global peace founded on the principles of a New Age/New Spirituality
that they are now referring to as a "civil rights movement for the
soul." They all agree that the principles of this New Age/New Spirituality
are clearly articulated in A Course in Miracles which is fast becoming the New
Age Bible.
So
what is A Course in Miracles and what does it teach? A Course in Miracles is
allegedly "new revelation" from "Jesus" to help humanity
work through these troubled times. This "Jesus" who bears no
doctrinal resemblance to the Bible's Jesus Christ, began delivering his
channeled teachings in 1965 to a Columbia University Professor of Medical
Psychology by the name of Helen Schucman. One day Schucman heard an "inner
voice" stating, "This is a course in miracles. Please take
notes." For seven years she diligently took spiritual dictation from this
inner voice that described himself as "Jesus." A Course in Miracles
was quietly published in 1975 by the Foundation for Inner Peace. For many years
"the Course" was an underground cult classic for New Age seekers who
studied "the Course" individually, with friends, or in small study
groups.
Here
are some quotes from the "Jesus" of A Course in Miracles:
· "There is no sin. . . "
· A "slain Christ has no meaning.”
· "The journey to the cross should be
the last ‘useless journey.’”
· "Do not make the pathetic error of
'clinging to the old rugged cross.'"
· "The Name of Jesus Christ as such
is but a symbol... It is a symbol that is safely used as a replacement for the
many names of all the gods to which you pray."
· "God is in everything I see."
· "The recognition of God is the
recognition of yourself."
· "The oneness of the Creator and the
creation is your wholeness, your sanity and your limitless power."
· "The Atonement is the final lesson
he [man] need learn, for it teaches him that, never having sinned, he has no
need of salvation."
Most Christians recognize
that these teachings are the opposite of what the Bible teaches. At this
critical time in the history of the world, the New Gospel/New Spirituality is
coming right at the world and the church with its New Age teachings and its New
Age Peace Plan. But this New Age Peace Plan has at its deceptive core the
bottom-line teaching from A Course in Miracles that "we are all one"
because God is "in" everyone and everything.
But our Bible is clear that
we are not God (Ezekiel 28:2; Hosea 11:9). And per Galatians 3:26-28, our only
oneness is in Jesus Christ - not in ourselves as "God" and
"Christ."
What Oprah and Marianne
Williamson and the world will learn one day is that humanity's only real and
lasting peace is with the true Jesus Christ who is described and quoted in the
Holy Bible (Romans 5:1).
Oprah
Winfrey's misplaced faith in Marianne Williamson and the New Age teachings of A
Course in Miracles is a sure sign of the times. But an even surer sign of
the times is that most Christians are not taking heed to what is happening in
the world and in the church. We are not contending for the faith as the Bible
admonishes us to do (Jude 3). It is time for all of our Purpose-Driven and
Emerging church pastors to address the real issue of the day. Our true Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ is being reinvented, redefined, and blasphemed right in
front of our eyes and hardly anyone seems to notice or care. If we want the
world to know who Jesus Christ is, we need to also warn them about who He is
not. There is a false New Age "Christ" making huge inroads into the
world and into the church. The Apostle Paul said that "it is a shame"
we have to even talk about these things, but talk about them we must (Ephesians
5:12-16).
If
people want to follow Oprah Winfrey and the New Age "Christ" of A
Course in Miracles they certainly have that right. But let them be warned that
the New Age "Christ" they are following is not the same Jesus Christ
who is so clearly and authoritatively presented in the pages of the Bible.
I
believe that the faithful Oprah followers will hang on every word of the
teachings. This is scary stuff! Please warn your friends and family to stay
away from Oprah's teachings. And let us all pray for Oprah. I think that she
really thinks that she is helping people!
selected
http://www.oprah.com/xm/mwilliamson/mwilliamson_about.jhtml
http://christianinformation.org/article.asp?artID=103
Two Thieves
Just
like there are two men crucified on either side of Christ, there are two
thieves of the Gospel. One is legalism and the other is leniency.
Tim Keller
Living
– And Dying –
For Jesus
Rachel Joy Scott of Littleton, Colorado, penned
these words in her diary exactly one year to the day before her death: "It
is like I have a heavy heart and this burden upon my back... but I do not know
what it is... Now that I have begun to "walk my talk", even my
friends make fun of me...I know what they are thinking every time I make a
decision to resist temptation and follow God. They call me "the preacher's
churchgoing girl..." I have no more personal friends at school. But you
know what? I am not going to apologize for speaking the name of Jesus... If my
friends have to become my enemies for me to be with my best friend Jesus, then
that's fine with me."
The
young man who shot her asked: "Do you believe in God?" She said,
"Yes, and so should you." Since that moment, the whole world has
heard this teenager's testimony.
www.racheljoyscott.com
Jungle Journal
Mt. Olive member, Missionary Terry Schultz, Lima, Peru
Mass Wedding, Part
II
It’s hard
enough trying to sleep at night in stifling, no-breeze, 100+ degree jungle
heat. But for jungle guide Brother Jose it was way worse, what with his
being convinced that an infuriated, evil spirit was circling our raised-floor
thatch-roof house like some rabid dog, intent on entering and attacking
us. I reassured Jose one last time of the mighty angels camped around
us. I needed to get some sleep before tomorrow’s huge 11-couple wedding
service and celebration banquet. The four of us, including Pastor Ronal
and boat pilot Brother Segundo, said one more round of good nights as we lay
under mosquito nets on a sheet of plastic spread over the floor of the raised,
open porch. And I do mean “open” porch: There was nothing between the
great outdoors and our exposed skin except the gauzy material of the mosquito
nets! Flashlights out, a thick layer of repellent on, we laid there
exhausted in the pitch-black darkness, engulfed in jungle sounds and swarms of
circling insects. Everyone dropped off to asleep before midnight. Well,
almost everyone. Troubled Jose, as usual, put himself on all night
guard duty! How do I know this?
About
3:00am I woke up, and quietly rolled over in the darkness to shine my
flashlight on my watch to check the time. The instant I turned my
flashlight on, Jose flipped his on and shined it in my direction to see if I
was alright! He had been up the entire night keeping watch! We
didn’t talk, for fear of waking the others. I turned my flashlight
off. Jose, satisfied that I was all right, then switched his flashlight
off. The man is absolutely incredible!
The
night passed without an evil spirit assault on the porch. However, things
did get a bit interesting around 4:00am. Now, there are a lot of things
that can wake you in the middle of the night while you’re sleeping on the
raised floor of a jungle dwelling: Birds, animals, and insects make
strange sounds all night long. But suddenly, a loud, startling “grunting
sound” hit me from directly under the floorboards! A dirty,
smelly, gigantic sow had wandered in under the porch and stuck its snout
up against the floor boards right beneath me!! The only thing
separating me and the back of this filthy animal was one inch of precious floor
board! Now there is no quiet way to shoo away a giant pig parked right
under your rump at 4:00 in the morning. If I started banging on the floor
boards, it would wake everyone up. I started whispering intense threats
at the sow, who somehow found that interesting and pushed its snout harder
against the floor! It was hopeless. I remained awake for the next
hour.
By
this time, the faintest hint of dawn could be seen in the sky. The
natives were starting to get up and head down to the river for communal bath
time. The highly anticipated wedding day had begun!
Jose
had been up all night, I’d been up half the night, while Segundo and Ronal
slept all night like rocks. By the time I got down to the river to wash
my face, everyone was gone except one little girl, not older than 6, who was
carefully, quietly washing a huge stack of plastic dishes in the river all be
herself. She worked meticulously. She carefully washed each dish,
put them each in a giant bucket over half as tall as herself, then grabbed the
bucket handle with both hands and stumbled up the steep muddy bank without
saying a word. Unbelievable.
The Great Wedding Event
Our
native brothers and sisters have come a long ways in their walk with the
Lord. They have a keen sense of living in His presence every day.
With their heightened sense of the supernatural world, the natives understand
that God with His mighty angels holds the devil and the raging demons in check
every day. (How often do you and I remember to thank God for keeping the
devil and the demons from destroying our lives?!) The natives’ beautiful
motive for requesting today’s wedding ceremony was simple: They felt that
God had not been included when they were married in front of the village chief
years ago. Nearly all of the couples didn’t even know God back
then. They had gotten married and not invited their Savior to be
there. The couples now wanted to say their vows in front of God in His
house. Their motive was simple yet moving beyond words.
So,
how does one conduct a wedding ceremony for 11 couples? Ronal and I
decided to take the couples in two groups. We were most concerned that
the ceremony be as special as possible for each couple. (Other than last
night’s “rehearsal”, they had never seen how we perform a wedding
ceremony.) The first five couples, all from the village of Louis Terry
came forward. Most of the women wore their special, traditional tribal
clothes. Some of them had toucan feathers in their hair or new pink
flip-flops on their feet. The men wore the nicest shirts in their
possession, whether it be a short sleeve polo shirt or even a second-hand
uniform shirt from a security guard company. Leonardo was getting married
in a white t-shirt with an enormous bald eagle on it. The shirt was given
to him by one of the American volunteers during last month’s church
construction project!
Ronal
and I arranged the first five couples in a semi-circle, spouses facing each
other as they said their vows. We were fighting back tears as we looked
over these precious friends of ours. Some of the couples had been together for
over twenty years. (Virtually all Chayahuitans marry in their early
teens.) Chayahuita natives are extraordinarily private, timid
people. But the intensity with which the spouses looked directly into
each other’s eyes as they promised to be faithful in good and bad times, in
sickness, health, and poverty, was astounding to see. Then again, their
public vows were in direct contrast to the attitudes and behaviors found among
many if not most of their neighbors. With their vows, these brothers and
sisters were witnessing not only to their love for each other but to their love
and respect for Savior God and His commands! What an intense
moment!
Now,
I’ve been saving one of the best parts of this story for last: At the
completion of the huge, exhilarating wedding ceremony, it was time to head down
the path to the river for SEVEN BAPTISMS! It has all been planned
ahead of time: With so many brothers and sisters gathered for the
weddings and, having a river close by, it was the perfect opportunity to “wade
in the water” with 7 believers, including a baby, a couple youths, and several
adults!
Baptism
by submersion in the river has always been the preferred method of baptism by
our jungle congregations. Not that submersion is a requirement of course.
However, the natives love the graphic image of “drowning the old Adam” and the
“new man” emerging. For our members, adult baptism gives public notice of
their rejection of the “institutionalized” sins of the villages, such as
drunkenness and other coarse behavior. They want nothing more to do with such
things. And so we gathered at the river.
Student
Pastor Tangoa and I carefully entered the cool waters of the river. The
rocks at the bottom were incredibly slippery. My attempt to roll my pants
up over my knees was useless. Besides, we needed to get in about waist
deep. (I forgot to take all the little papers and folding money out of my
pockets!) Let me tell you something: It is one huge thrill to wade
out into the river, and then slowly turn around to see and hear over 50
brothers and sisters standing along the muddy slope of the river bank, smiling
and singing to their Savior King! Pretty much every one of them had been
spiritually lost 3 or 4 years ago. Now, they will all be crossing Jordan
one day to enter eternal paradise!! Watching each of the 4 adults, one at a time
come wading out to meet us for baptism, was exhilarating beyond words!!
Of
all people, the first adult to enter the river is Luis Lancha! He is
perhaps the quietest, most timid men I have ever met. He is so shy, I
hardly ever see him talk to anyone. He is also dirt poor. (Luis
once saved his money in order to buy a new pair of tall, black, rubber boots,
the kind all the natives use for walking down the muddy trails during the rainy
season. I remember it well: Luis was so happy with his brand new
boots, at first he couldn’t bring himself to get them dirty. Instead, for
the first week, Luis walked down the muddy jungle trails barefoot, carefully
carrying the tall rubber boots in his hand above the mud. He took a lot
of teasing from the other natives, but he just kept carrying those brand new
boots.)
Back
to Luis’ river baptism: Luis looked supremely uncomfortable being the
center of attention. He answered all my questions about his faith in
Jesus with his head down and a quiet yes. I declared to the natives on
the banks that there was joy in heaven and earth as Luis publicly witnessed to
his faith in Jesus. Luis was submerged three times. Afterwards, he
squeezed my hand hard, finally looked me straight in the eye and said an
intense thank-you. He then waded back to the bank as quickly as he could
to join the others.
We
were right in the middle of the second baptism when, standing there in
waist-deep water, I felt something scrape against my ankle. It was almost
like a sharp pin prick. What could it be? -- A loose jagged pebble, a
thorny piece of water plant, a passing fish? Then it happened: The
unmistakable sensation of a dozen small fish biting at my leg!!
Absolutely willing myself to 1, suppress a loud yell that was welling up in my
throat and 2, not make a mad dash for the river bank, (I was in mid sentence of
a sacred ceremony!), I immediately started kicking around under the water,
hoping no one would notice. I looked over at Tangoa to see it anything
was happening to him. Nothing! I looked down into the clear water
to be sure it wasn’t a bunch of you-know-what kind of Amazon fish.
Thankfully, they weren’t piranhas! However, my eyes did detect a huge
swarm of eerie little transparent fish all around my legs that just kept coming
back to bite the moment I’d stop kicking! The snapping fish were
disconcerting to say the least. It felt like dozens of little insect
stings! However, I was not going to disrupt our baptisms! Praying
for strength, the ceremony went on. But talk about bizarre: From above
water, I appeared to be calmly, joyfully, reading through the baptism ceremony,
while under the water I was furiously kicking the snapping fish away every few
seconds! If would be a couple minutes before the swarm of fish
finally moved on!
The
Baptism and wedding ceremonies completed, it was now time for the huge
banquet! The enormous feast had been literally weeks in the making.
Question: How do you prepare food ahead of time for a one-hundred-guest
wedding dinner when you have no refrigeration to keep food from spoiling in the
jungle heat? What would you serve? Answer: Shoot all the
jungle animals you can and then roast them hard and dry ahead of time!
That is exactly what the natives did.
From
the looks of things, the natives had shot their way through the entire box of
shotgun shells we had bought them a month earlier. The animals that had
been shot, gutted, and cooked over a campfire the week before included
armadillos, monkeys, wild boars, tiny jungle deer, even a few ronsocos, -- the
largest rodent in the world. All these roasted animals were now being cut
into large pieces by the women and thrown into a huge boiling pot of water over
a fire to make the meat tender and juicy!
Two
massive platters of meat were soon laid out, one on a table under Maravi’s
thatched roof for the men to eat, while about 10 yards away, the women sat in a
circle on the dirt floor around a second giant platter of meat. (The wedding
couples did not eat together.) The men and women sat in their separate groups,
where everyone took turns grabbing huge chunks of meat from the communal
platters in the middle, while tossing used bones in every direction!
Not
only that, as I said, the meat was very juicy and, it was stacked over a foot
high on those two, two-foot long, three-inch deep carved wooden platters.
During the dinner, in both the men’s group and the women’s group, everyone took
a turn picking up the heavy platter with both hands. Each person would
carefully tilt the huge platter (meat and all!) towards one’s mouth in order to
slurp down a few mouthfuls of jungle meat juice! Now you may never want to find yourself having to say, “Please
pass the monkey gravy,” but Ronal and I had no choice. We smiled faintly
and each took a turn drinking from the platter, sampling that delightful blend
of armadillo, monkey, wild boar and giant rodent juices!
The
great jungle banquet went on for hours and hours. Ronal and I of course
didn’t need to bring cases of fine champagne for the wedding guests. But when we
started to remove the plastic from several packs of 2-liter bottles of vintage
orange and strawberry-flavored pop, the guests went wild! The entire
banquet was a huge success!
It
is no wonder that on several occasions, our Savior compared paradise to a great
wedding banquet. There is simply nothing like it. All that joy, friendship, love and laughter
shared with family and friends. The sight of all our Amazon brothers and
sisters whom God had brought to faith was simply overwhelming. By late
afternoon, Pastor Ronal, Segundo, Jose, and I were just sitting back, taking it
all in. Our joy could not have been greater. At one time or
another, we each had the same thought: This is all just a
prelude. The best is yet to come! Some day we will be together with
these brothers and sisters in the joyous heavenly banquet that never ends! What
an awesome God we serve!
Until
next time Amigos,
Terry
Name The Member
By Alexandra Janosek
Alex writes a “personality
profile” column for our church in Antigua.
She says, “I really enjoy learning about my fellow members – their lives
are so interesting. Each one has a little lesson (or more) to teach us.”
Even though we here at Mt. Olive
will not know this man, we too can benefit by reading his story. We did something like this for all our Mt.
Olive members many years ago. How many
of you remember? Maybe it’s time to do
it again?!
At the
age of nine or ten, our mystery member secretly enrolled in correspondence
courses offered on the Hoffmann Hour.
This was a Lutheran radio program broadcast from Puerto Rico. For the next five years, while he still
accompanied his sister, mum and dad to Salvation Army services, he studied the
Bible. “I discovered the difference
between how I was raised and what I was learning. Condemnation, damnation I
knew; I didn’t know anything about grace or love.”
A St. John’s native, born and raised, our mystery member this month has
followed a long, and sometimes patchy road with the Lutheran church.
His parents were staunch “Salvationists.” That is, they belonged to the Salvation Army, focusing on the Old
Testament. He learned about Baptism and
Holy Communion only through his Lutheran correspondence courses. When he was 14 or 15, he approached the
leader of his congregation and asked why they did not practise these in the
Salvation Army. “He didn’t have an
answer. This wasn’t pleasing to me – I
caught him flat footed. I asked him,
‘Don’t you study the Bible?’” After
this, he told his parents he couldn’t be part of the Salvation Army anymore.
He did not go to any church. “There was a void in my life for a number
of years.” During these 10 or so years,
he graduated from the Antigua Grammar School and went through a succession of
jobs. In the early ‘70s, he did social
work for the YMCA, and through this organisation, was paid to work at the Adelé
Mental Institute, a school for children with special needs.
It was through this job that he met his first Lutheran pastor. Daily,
while he ate his lunch off by himself, one nurse would join him. Her name was Carolyn Burch and she was a
Lutheran. She talked to him about God
and the church where her husband was pastor.
He told her, “Miss, I am not interested in your church now.” She was persistent, countering his
rejections with a simple, “Come and see.”
“One day, when I reached home, my mother told me a white gentleman came
in a blue, funny car with a white, skinny woman.” They told her they would collect her reluctant son and take him
to church on Sunday. Though he told his
mother that he would not go, she said, “If he come, you go!” She kept reminding him all week, “You go to
church this Sunday.” Come Sunday, the
whole Burch family, 6 or 7 in all, came to pick him up in the “blue, funny
car.”
“I was just visiting; I was not a Lutheran. I wasn’t ready to get seriously involved in religion again.” However, Pastor Burch had learned from his
visit with a garrulous mother that the reluctant son was good with
numbers. “After church that first
Sunday, he dumped all the church books in my lap on the way home and said,
‘help me.’” Help turned out to be more
than help. “I was hooked-hook, line and
sinker.” Pastor Burch continued to
visit our mystery member’s sick mother, and he gave our visiting brother bible
study courses for the next 2 years.
In 1972, our mystery member received a one-year scholarship with the
Canadian Save the Children Fund (CanSave) to take a child care development
course on St Vincent. “I am good with
children. I really wanted to work with
[them], but there is a strong bias in the Leeward Islands that males should not
do certain work.” So he was prevented
from working in this field in Antigua.
However, with this scholarship, he could live his dream. In St Vincent he did internships in
different Catholic Crèches, at the Kingston Hospital, and at the CanSave
Centre. His supervisors loved him – one
even keeping him 2 months longer than the course dictated. “Once you understand a child and their
behaviour, you can work with them. We
are so used to beating them that we never sit down and listen to them. I was good at listening.” After the year on St Vincent, he received a
scholarship to Canada for further study.
He fully intended to go – “I wanted to find somewhere that would love me
for myself and what I love to do; a place without prejudice.”
He learned that his mother’s illness was worse and so he returned to
Antigua to see her. He stayed. “They were the best 2½ years of my
life. I could sit down and talk with my
mother.” Before, in his early days, he
admits he was a flighty, obstinate son.
Now he could make amends. “I
asked forgiveness for certain behaviours... It was a time granted by God.”
Meanwhile, he attended Bible classes at Lutheran and was baptized for
the first time on 5 January, 1975. He
continued with the church books and taught Sunday School to the youngest. Sometimes, he would have as many as 32
children in a little room, and somehow he got them to behave. In his time at St. John’s he has gone
through all the positions, including serving as President of the congregation
for a while. He has worked with all the
missionaries and saw the start of the school and the arrival and departure of
every teacher that served there. He was
even the first Antiguan representative to the South Atlantic District Conference
in 1988.
It was in this year that he started his own lawn care business. “If you get the opportunity, bite the salt
and work for yourself. I would
recommend it to anyone.” To this day,
he supports himself. One of his
customers is St John’s Lutheran Church – you can see him cutting the church
lawn and the school grounds almost every week.
His favourite Bible verse is John 1:46b, where Philip, in recruiting a
dubious Nathanael to Jesus’ discipleship, tells him to “Come and see.” Carolyn Burch used these same words with our
mystery member to convince him to visit St John’s Lutheran. “I came, I saw, I liked, and I stay until
the Lord take me home.”
The History Of Camp Croix
The earliest record of a WELS sponsored camp dates back to 1951 when
Camp Whitewater opened between St. Charles and Weaver, Minnesota. Camp
Whitewater focused on growth in faith and knowledge of God's Word as well as
Christian fellowship. When Camp Whitewater was destroyed by a summer
storm, it was decided that another camp would be founded in the Minnesota area.
A camp located on the Wisconsin
side of Interstate Park across from Taylor's Falls became available and was
briefly considered. The location of the camp was close to the Twin
Cities, was surrounded by beautiful scenery, interesting hiking trails and a
supervised beach - there was a problem though. The buildings and
equipment were in terrible condition. Interstate Park had been built by
the Civilian Conservation Corps, a work program initiated by President Roosevelt
during World War II. The CCC constructed the camp out of native logs but
over time they had been left to deteriorate. Later, the camp fell into
complete disrepair and was officially closed.
At this time, the St. Croix
Conference began to discuss the possibility of purchasing a camp rather than
renting one. The Conference felt that by purchasing a camp, the
facilities could be made available to groups and organizations all summer
long. The St. Croix Conference turned down an opportunity to purchase Interstate
Park for the price of "one dollar" because it was so run down.
In 1958, Camp Croix changed
locations and operated a summer camp at Camp Tipi Wakan on the shores of Lake
Minnetonka, one mile south of Spring Park, Minnesota. The Christian
"Disciples of Christ" Churches of Minnesota had owned and operated
this camp for about twelve years. The camp location was convenient being
accessible from all points and had the added advantage of being on the
Greyhound bus route. Busses passed by the camp several times each day.
In 1960, Camp Croix was
relocated again, this time to Norway Point. The move was made because of
a substantial increase in fees levied by Camp Tipi Wakan. Norway Point
became home for a number of years until a lack of campers, counselors and funds
plagued the camp’s existence just as it had through the 1950's. Soon
after, the Minnesota State Park Association began to rent Norway Point to
parties based on certain priorities. Developmentally disabled children,
poverty-stricken or low income families and other special interest groups were
given first priority while the church camps received a lower priority.
Again, the St. Croix Conference began looking for another site.
In 1967, the property that was
to became Camp Croix went up for sale with an asking price of $125,000.
In January of 1968, the owners lowered the asking price to $95,000 and the St.
Croix Conference showed interest in buying it. The camp in question was
initially a Gold Star Mothers Camp. The Gold Star Mothers were a group of
mothers and wives of World War II veterans whose sons and husbands were either
killed during the war or died shortly thereafter. The camp, which at this time
consisted of only the lodge, was built for them as a place where they could go
and relax. Money for the building of the camp was donated by various sources,
but of special interest was the donation of the camp's first dock. Hopalong
Cassidy donated the dock to the Gold Star Mothers for their use at the camp. As
the members of the Gold Star Mothers grew older the camp was used less and less
frequently until finally the camp became vacant.
At this time the area
surrounding Camp Croix was occupied mainly by people from Chicago who came up
for the summer to vacation in their summer cabins. A man who lived in the area
talked three men into investing in this camp for profit. One of the first
changes to the camp was the construction of the cabins which now stand at the
present site with the idea to build tennis courts, riding stables and all the
things many first rate camps had to offer. These men operated the camp for one
season charging approximately $175.00 per child for a week of camp. After only
one season the camp showed a loss.
The camp stood idle for two
years while Camp Croix continued to operate at Norway Point. An ad about a
summer camp for sale in Northwest Wisconsin ran in a newspaper and was brought
to the attention of the other committee members. The asking price of the camp
was $70,000. The owner wanted $10,000 as a down payment and agreed to finance
the rest at 6.5% interest with an annual payment of $5,000 each subsequent year
until the balance was paid in full.
Pastor Borchardt a Camp Croix
committee member had a philosophy about the camp and his philosophy influenced
the other members of the committee at this time. He said "Central in Camp
Croix is the cross of Christ. Our name, Croix, should be a daily reminder of
what God's Son did for us Christians".
Immediately the members of the
congregations in the conference were excited about the prospect of owning such
a camp and there was a tremendous push to get the program started. In May of
1968 a meeting was called at St. Croix Lutheran High School. That day, a number
of men gave written commitments and wrote out checks to Camp Croix amounting to
almost $10,000. The owner of the camp agreed to accept $10,000 as a down
payment on the condition that the other $5,000 would be paid by the first of
December. In May of 1968 they purchased the camp and Camp Croix had found a
permanent home.
After the purchase of the camp,
many improvements were made to the facilities. The athletic field as it stands
today is twice the size it was in 1969. The plumbing, insulation and rewiring
were done on the lodge, construction of the Athletic Building was done, and
painting of several cabins had been done.
The camp operated for years by
the hard work of the Camp Croix Board and the labor and supplies donated by the
congregations and organizations of the St. Croix Conference. There is also a
sense of pride and accomplishment that goes along with the development of the
camp.
By 1986 the property was paid for in full. In 1994-1995, a new "Red Cross" building was constructed. This building is probably the most extensive building project Camp Croix has ever undertaken. Camp Croix has truly been a spiritual blessing for the children of the St. Croix Conference, and a wonderful facility for the recreation of its congregations.Mt. Olive member, Ed Voss, was a member of the original purchasing committee. This May marks the 40th anniversary of our beloved “Camp Croix”. Time For A Little Humor We Made It!To all the kids who survived the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors, or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because, WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were OK. We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not poke out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them! Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law! These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! If you are one of them, Congratulations!received via email
A large company, feeling it was time for a shakeup, hired a new CEO. The
new boss was determined to rid the company of all slackers. On a tour of the
facilities, the CEO noticed a guy leaning on a wall. The room was full of workers and he
wanted to let them know that he meant business. He walked up to the guy leaning
against the wall and asked,
"How much money do you make a week?"
A little surprised, the
young man looked at him and replied, "I make $400 a week. Why?"
The CEO then handed the guy $1,600 in
cash and screamed, Here's four weeks' pay, now GET OUT and don't come back."
Feeling pretty good about himself, the CEO looked around
the room and asked, "Does anyone want to tell me what that goof-ball did
here?"
From
across the room came a voice, "Pizza delivery guy from Domino's.”
Someone took word combinations and, using all the letters, spelled
explanations that are amazingly witty.
DORMITORY: When you rearrange the
letters: DIRTY ROOM
ASTRONOMER:
When you rearrange the letters: MOON STARER
THE EYES: When you rearrange
the letters: THEY SEE
THE
MORSE CODE : When you rearrange the letters: HERE COME DOTS
SLOT
MACHINES: When you rearrange the letters: CASH LOST IN ME
SNOOZE
ALARMS: When you rearrange the letters: ALAS! NO MORE Z'S
A
DECIMAL POINT: When you rearrange the letters: I'M A DOT IN PLACE
ELEVEN
PLUS TWO: When you rearrange the letters: TWELVE PLUS ONE
(Yep!
Someone with way too much time on their hands!)
Two boll weevils grew up in South Carolina. One went to Hollywood and
became a famous actor. The other stayed behind in the cotton fields and never
amounted to much. The second one, naturally, became known as the lesser of two weevils.
A three-legged dog walks into a saloon in the Old West. He slides up to
the bar and announces: "I'm looking for the man who shot my
paw."
Attending a wedding for the first time, a little
girl whispered to her mother, "Why is the bride dressed in white?" "Because
white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her
life."
The child thought about this for a moment
then said, "So why the groom wearing black?"
A
little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could,
trying not to be late for Bible class. As she ran she prayed, "Dear Lord,
please don't let me be late! Dear Lord, please don't let me be late!"
While she was running and praying, she
tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress.
She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again! As she ran she once
again began to pray "Dear Lord, please don't let me be late...But please
don't shove me either!"
An
elderly woman died last month. Having never married, she requested no male
pallbearers. In her handwritten instructions for her memorial service, she
wrote, "They wouldn't take me out while I was alive, I don't want them to
take me out when I'm dead.”
A
police recruit was asked during the exam, "What would you do if you had to
arrest your own mother?" He answered, "Call for
backup."
You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You
grow old because you stop laughing!
The Lutheran Home
Association Update
TLHA annual meeting
highlights
The annual
meeting was held on Tuesday, January 15, 2008. Ted Lau served as Mt.
Olive’s delegate. Highlights of the day
include:
· Incumbent
members of the Board of Directors, Rev. Elroy Conradt of Fountain City,
Wisconsin, and Rev. David Ponath of Stillwater, Minnesota, were elected to
serve three-year terms.
· Rev. Ronald
Ehlert, Chaplain at The Lutheran Home Campus in River Falls, Wisconsin, was
recognized for his 47 years of service in the ministry, 17 of those years at
the River Falls campus. He will be retiring from the ministry this summer.
· A governance
study regarding the role of TLHA’s Board of Directors (the principal governing
board) and TLHA Foundation is underway. The purpose of TLHA Foundation is
transforming and becoming more intimately involved with raising charitable
support to advance the ministry of TLHA.
· Updates were
provided regarding the Belle Plaine campus expansion projects and future plans
for TLHA’s other sites.
· Jesus Cares
Ministries has numerous chapters throughout the upper Midwest, serves more than
1500 individuals, and is quickly growing to other parts of the country. (Mt.
Olive is in the process of beginning a Jesus Cares Ministry under the direction
of Ann Karpenko.)
· TLHA has
developed a Bible study discussing Christian issues associated with prenatal
screenings for disabilities, especially the tests for Down syndrome. This new
resource was introduced at the meeting.
· Mary Braun of
Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, is the 2008 recipient of TLHA’s Care of the Soul
Leadership Award for her work within special ministry. She shared why
working with people with special needs is so vital within ministry, “Each of us
is handcrafted by our Lord with different gifts and abilities. We all need the
Lord; so also our Jesus Cares people. They especially need the security that
Jesus gives them as they depend on others for their daily needs. They love Jesus
and tell others about his love. Their sins need to be forgiven too.”
For nearly a decade Mary has
served as a Bible class teacher for two Jesus Cares Ministries programs at
Woodlawn Lutheran Church in West Allis and Atonement Lutheran School in Milwaukee.
In this role, she leads devotions and singing, teaches the upper level students
one-on-one, and does some craft projects. Each program meets twice a month.
For 38 years Mary was a Lutheran
Elementary School teacher in the WELS, serving three schools in Wisconsin.
During this same period, she also volunteered with youth programs and with
people who are deaf. Mary now provides respite and personal care for people
with disabilities, provides transportation to JCM activities and volunteers at JCM
camps. She also interprets church services and confirmation classes for
individuals who are deaf. Mary, an inspiration to all who meet her, truly
demonstrates Christian service.
Introducing Prenatal Genetic
Screening: How Does A Christian Respond? A Life Issues Bible Study
TLHA
has developed a new Bible study that addresses the prenatal testing and
abortion of persons with developmental disabilities. The Bible study is
entitled Prenatal Genetic Screening: How Does A Christian Respond? A Life
Issues Bible Study. We encourage
you to hold a special Bible study on this topic for your congregation.
Kingsway Retirement Living—Reservations
now over 50 percent
Work
continues on Kingsway, our new senior housing project offering independent and
assisted living for seniors 55 and older in Belle Plaine, Minnesota. We have
reservations for more than 50 percent of these apartments. I invite you to
learn more about this exciting project.
We
anticipate a grand opening on June 21, 2008. Our showroom is located just off
Highway 169 by the Dairy Queen and our thrift store. For more information,
please contact Karolee Coppoc or Norm Lindberg at (952) 873-2022 or
1-888-600-TLHA (8542).
We
thank you for your prayers, encouragement and support of our ministry.
Caring
about the Care of the Soul,
Michael R.
Klatt, President and
Chief Executive Officer
Vehicle Donation Program
The
Lutheran Home Association will accept drivable, running vehicles with no
maximum mileage limit. Other forms of transportation or equipment (i.e. motor-cycles,
4-wheelers and campers, etc.) can also be donated. For your tax benefit, washed
and vacuumed vehicles bring higher value for your charitable deduction.
It's easy to do:
Contact Karen at the National Ministry
Offices in Belle Plaine at (952) 873-4744. Someone from Office of Mission
Advancement will help you complete a few simple forms about the donation. We
will provide you with your tax-deductible donation forms.
Taste Of Missions
You
are invited to the 2008 Taste of
Missions (formerly Festival of Foods)
Richard Green Elementary School’s Central Gym
3400 Fourth Ave So
(door #15), Minneapolis
Dinner music provided by Stafford Christensen
Saturday, March 8, 2008
5:00 – 7:00pm
Come
sample a variety of foods cooked by the people benefiting from your mission
support:
·