On pastoral visitations…

Over three years ago on my arrival to London I wanted to know and meet everyone in their natural setting – home, workplace, school. I attempted to visit everybody. Some were more open for the idea than others. Some were asking “Why?” “What did I do?” In the first year I visited almost every home, some more than others, especially those who were more actively involved in the ministry of the church. In some cases a visit required a few months of soliciting for permission.

After the initial year the focus shifted to fix and tune-up functionality of church infrastructures and my visits became more “business” oriented. Of course visits would be done “upon request” too, but not routinely. By now I don’t need the map or an address book to find your home, unless you moved. I keep expecting that people would call not only when sick need anointing, or family is in crisis, or in other extreme cases. But the busyness of life seems to prevent friendly relationship building visits.

I was surprised and encouraged as I saw an article in the Adventist Review this week about necessity of pastoral visitations. Bill Knott, the editor, lists 4 reasons why pastors have been visiting in the homes of fellow Christians for almost 2,000 years.

1. Faith Deserves Support. Faith takes a bruising every week as other, coarser options entice or overwhelm us. We cling to Christ like swimmers caught among the rocks—hoping, praying that the next wave will not undo our grip on things eternal. The pastor who visits believers worn down by the logic of disbelief brings solidarity when it is most needed; he or she is a lifeline and a symbol of hope. Faith requires companions—and specifically, a companion skilled in applying the promises and assurances of God’s Word to the human heart.

2. Sin Requires Rebuke. Only fools believe they can accurately diagnose their own spiritual maladies. It’s the greatest kindness a pastor can do to sit among the debris of failed relationships and fractured morals and firmly call the fallen back to grace. This can’t happen in the boardroom or the church foyer, or in the hearing of the curious or self-righteous. I’ll gladly hear the correction a godly man or woman of God brings me in my living room, even where it goes against the grain, for presence gives credibility.

3. Love Needs Modeling. Visiting believers in their homes present opportunities to teach the skills of reconciliation and peacemaking. Conflict requires no special training; but wisdom and forgiveness call for “special education.” Pastor should be able to say “Follow me as I follow Christ,” in the words of apostle Paul, showing that goodness, gentleness, and self-control are still the fruits of a Spirit-filled Christian. We also get to practice our better self when pastor visits.

4. Prayer Strengthens Hearts. When pastors visit, they call to a new way of seeing our lives. We suddenly remember that all our problems are surmountable with prayer, that all our sins are cancelled as we confess, that by interceding for others we join the ministry of the One who ever lives to make intercession for us. Prayer is the one essential of every pastoral visit—and the thing we miss the most when we neglect the gift of shepherding.

Let’s covenant again that we will not allow this cherished practice of pastoral visits of God’s church to disappear without a trace. Busy, hectic, harried lives require more pastoral care, not less. The grace of shepherding is needed now more than ever.

Family outreach

Some Christians are sincerely concerned about weekends like Easter, or Christmas. An evident pagan overtones and commercialization cause sincere believers sidestep these holidays. Certainly the Western date of Easter has more to do with pagan German observance of spring goddess Eastre, always pictured with a bunny-rabbit, than with resurrection of Jesus. There are also connections to Babylonian fertility goddess Ishtar (Biblical spelling Astarte).

The controversy over the date and rite of celebration goes back to the 3^rd century, just 200 years after Christ’s death and resurrection, when Roman bishop Victor excommunicated bishop Polycrates of Ephesus and the rest of the bishops of Asia Minor for their adherence to the Jewish date of Passover celebration on the 14^th day of Nissan.

A gentile-dominated early church did everything possible to become non-Jewish, often going to heretical extremes. Jewish Passover, during which Jesus was crucified, and rose from the grave will be celebrated this year April 20^th, a whole month apart.

So! What does it have to do with us, today?!

Reclamation! The process of reclaiming something from loss, or from a less useful condition.

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, devil tries to put his mark, his label, his stain on everything, everywhere, all the time. If possible he would take everyday of the year and turn it into nonsense. Ancient Israel had to deal with it first hand – reclaiming not only land, but holidays, music, songs, symbols, customs from neighbouring nations and giving it a new meaning for their people.

On a weekend like this, when the authorities give all statutory holidays, and families have a chance to come together – take it and make it useful for God. As I drove earlier on Clarke Road I noticed that the Royal View Pentecostal Church has an ad on their sign “Egg-hunt.” Some may be very concerned that the church is doing a “pagan” ritual. But, who says it’s “pagan”? Here’s a church that is going out of their way to create an atmosphere of fun for their kids, who’s is focused on investing time into their children.

Last week we’ve been communicating that some 80 from over a 100 youth that were brought up in our church family are not walking with us, are not attending our church fellowship by their choice. During weekends like this – you have prime opportunity to influence them, as they come home for a visit. What are you planning for this weekend? How will you reclaim this Easter for Christ? How will you use the time available for your children, grandchildren, that they may know more of god, His love, and Christ’s work of Salvation? When people interact wit you this weekend, what will they see in your house?

Are we attractive enough for people to stay?

As we are gearing up toward the Year of Evangelism 2009, the main focus of congregations throughout North America this year is in building relationship with community, reclaiming and reviving our own pew, and reassessing or attractiveness quotient.

Recent Adventist Review article is quoting the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, compiled by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, that "of all Protestant families, Baptists, Adventists, and Lutherans have the highest retention rates." At the same time a comparative study, the American Religious Identification Survey shows that since 2001 there is a clear evidence of a dropout problem. Those raised in the Adventist Church and stayed in have dropped from 73% to 60%. Monte Sahlin, a director of research for the Ohio Conference says “the tendency of new generations of Adventists to not bond with our denomination is accelerating.”

How is it in our church family? Have our kids stayed? Where are the youth that were reared by this congregation? This year we are focusing on reviving the youth ministry and the ministry to our children. Churches rise or fall as their ministries rise and fall. A few successful ministries we can identify immediately: CHIP program, the Open House Community Outreach, Pathfinders Club; there is a new consistent beginning with the men’s ministry group. Things are developing in the traditional Sabbath School, children’s church, crafts club run by Viola and Mary Reeve, “Children’s Church” programming during the Sabbath worship hour organized by Lo Richards. The quality of our children program today determines who will be in our church a generation from now.

There are 78 youth ages 18-35 who were brought up in the Adventist family and still live in London (a very conservative estimate). Quite few of them are married now, some with children. Those who live elsewhere in Ontario and visit occasionally would add another 30 names. How many of them are committed followers of Christ? You know, they are your children.

Over the last few weeks the Sabbath School talked about discipleship under pressure, and the memory verse was from Jeremiah 12:5 "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the flooding of the Jordan?" If now, in the time of ease the youth God given to us is not committed to run with the Lord, how will they cop with the pressure of the end-times?

I wish our retention rate would be at least 60% - we would have 50-60 youth leading ministries in the church. We know reality here. They are our children! What will we do for to connect our youth and children to God?

Our Church’s world-wide initiative Tell the World introduces 7 elements, starting with No.1 “Spiritual Growth.” When we grow spiritually ourselves, we have story to tell. When we grow ourselves, our children see it. When the spiritual transformation is evident in our lives, it attracts others. I’ll end my appeal this week with a Bible quote that Clara Baptiste brings before leadership team consistently: “What have they seen in your house?”

Women Know Best….

Today many countries around the world celebrate the International Women’s Day. It is especially big in former socialist countries, as it started 100 years ago when 15,000 women marched through New York City in 1908 demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. Three years later the first International Women's Day was launched on 8 March in Europe. Over the century what started as a political cause turned to be a reminder of women’s place in our lives. Many churches focus on the empowering of women.

I am thinking about another special role women play – keeping the faith. Statistics for many years show that women attend church, support church community and are involved in ministering to the needs of people more (6:4) than men. Women know best the importance of community.

Sin separates people from god and each other and drives individuals into customized selfishness. Salvation, on contrary, reverses this separation, restores relationship with God and fellow people, and draws people into community with one another. Somehow in the last century as men abandoned their role as spiritual leaders in the family, women continue being keepers of spiritual flame in many families. Different pollsters confirm that more than 65% of families are kept together by faith commitment of a mother.

I am not going to try to understand or reason it. I simply honour women in our midst who keep the faith strong, who keep the church family together, against of all odds. My recent visit to the mission field (Chile) made me reflect on immovable commitment women there have to their church. Often disparaged in a chauvinist culture (not allowed to go up on the platform, etc), they continue to remain the majority in the church.

Saying that women know best how important Church and Faith is for our collective well being I appeal today to all – do we realize importance of the Church? One of the immediate changes that Gospel makes is grammatical: WE instead of I, OUR instead of MY; US instead of ME. Love cannot exist in isolation, away from others – it will bloat into pride. Grace cannot be received privately, cut off from others it will become greed. Hope cannot develop in solitude, without community it goes to seed in the form of fantasies. We are the Body, and no parts, no gifts, no virtues can develop and remain healthy apart from community of faith.

The Reformation challenged ecclesiastical arrogance that “outside the church there is no salvation.” Looking back at what it caused over the last 500 years – some 34,000 disagreeing denominations – I wonder if the universal statement that “there is no salvation outside the church” was actually a spiritual common sense. True, the Church as an organization does not give salvation, Christ alone does. But we are saved into the Body, we grow in the family, we are built up together, as living stones into the Church, which is Christ’s body (Ephesians 1:22-23). I am thinking of John the Revelator, who saw Jesus in vision (Chapter 1), and could have moved individually to the ecstatic scenes of heavenly worship (Chapters 4-5), but instead was told to communicated to the Churches (Chapters 2-3).

Woman is a Biblical symbol of the Church. Women today lead us by example of creating community in the Church. Let’s honour and admire our women today by being more committed to this family of faith we call Church.

Questions from the Mission Field…

For two weeks I was not able to correspond with anyone here, at home. When we landed in Santiago, Chile I thought we had arrived. Very modern and advanced place. Then we got on the bus and travelled 10 hours south toward Antarctica. Next, we got into the mountains on the dirt roads, serpentine climb up. Then – the boat ride for 2 hours to the village. Two weeks rest from cell-phone, internet, e-mails, and other gadgets that supposed to assist us in our relationships. The phone service was too expensive and we had to rely on family calling in. During the two weeks the real relationships, face-to-face interactions with the team members grew stronger (felt like) than formal interactions in the home church.

I got to experience how the church must have been in the days of Apostles, when meals were shared and community of faith lived together. Biggest surprise was discovering that not all Maranatha Volunteers are Seventh-day Adventists. There were Catholics, Baptists, Pentecostals, and simply secular. Of course, the majority were Adventists, but our evangelism became real “for the people by the people.” Two of volunteer-translators were not Adventists, and, as they had to work their ways through sermons, they were learning themselves. During the final baptism a Catholic from Boston, Massachusetts was in the water by the pastor, helping candidates in and out. As I talked with him the day after, (he had a lot of questions about the book of Revelation), he was serious about studying to know more about biblical faith. What was impressive is that these people responded to the Three Angels Call message to go to all the nations, tongues, tribes and peoples. They have not responded to the “altar call” into a local church yet, but they are responding to go and care for people’s needs. In my opinion they are closer to fulfilling the Commission of Christ than Adventists who sit and talk about mission once every Sabbath in their class, and, maybe, get a $100 per month to send to the “missions.”

Throughout this trip I was thinking about our church family. I know we don’t like being compared, yet I could not help but learn that among 4 teams that were simultaneously in Chile, there were 3 churches whose members were on each team – majority on every location. Two from Washington State – Chehalis, and Centralia SDA, and West Niles from Michigan. What would it take for our churches to awaken and join the Great Advent missionary movement?

One of many things I articulated on this trip, was the fact that one cannot dictate people. I knew that all along, but never stated it this way. The only thing one can do is disturb people from their comfort zone and cause people to seek a new meaning. Still the choice belong to the people, to react, or not. That’s how Jesus worked – starting from the 12-years old experience with rabbis in the Temple – asking questions, suggesting a new meaning to old things.

My dear church family, what is the mission about? What is meaningful to you – a story in the book, or a live contact with people oversees? How meaningful is your church experience? Let’s talk about what’s meaningful…