Well Said

Each week I get an e-newsletter from a cherished friend in ministry.  Pastors Virgil and Judy Stokes pastor Faith Christian Fellowship in Tucson, AZ.  They have a real heart for missions that has resulted in an international impact that is worth emulating.  Please take a minute to hear this word of encouragement.

Posted: Saturday, November 22, 2008

Building People of Substance for Works of Power

Thank God for you! 

 

I went in for breakfast this morning and found Doña Maria Inez cooking eggs and chiles.  The odor of fresh tortillas was in the air.  We are in Nezahualcoyotl beginning the third day of a Bible School class: Sanidad Divina.  It is normal for her to be preparing breakfast, but what made this morning different was she was wearing an overcoat and head scarf because of the cold.  It has been chilly this trip, and in this humble Mexican home, there is no heat.  Last night, shortly before class started at 6, I was about to open my mouth to complain about my numbed extremities when I looked up and saw the room filling with students.  They were young and old, male and female, and all bundled up as they found seats in the stark concrete garage with double doors wide open for the cold breeze to blow in. Little kids played indoors dressed as if for a snowball fight.  I had to shut my mouth and marvel that 20 to 30 precious people were coming to sit for 2-4 hours a day on hard wooden benches in the dimly lit cold because they want to grasp a Message of faith that has the promise of freedom to them and the ones they love.

 

There is the pastor from Guerrero who rides a donkey up a mountain to preach, then walks to a bus, then a train to get here. Once here he sleeps in an unheated room with no door because he wants to be a better shepherd. There are the pastors of 2 churches where we will speak tomorrow.  There is 63 year old Don Roberto who will take us in the morning on his weekly 2 hour ride to another country church that he has started, and that is waiting for us to train a pastor for them.  There are teens preparing for ministry, children’s teachers, evangelists, musicians, and youth leaders, all striving to grow.  As we sit in our mostly padded pews this Sunday and enjoy the teaching of the Word over sound equipment oh-so-fine in auditoriums warm and comfy, it would be a good idea to utter a word of thanksgiving to the God who has entrusted us with such a precious commodity as this Word.  Never forget the high value that others place on the Message we so frequently take for granted.

 

Scripture Reading:  "Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." (1 Corinthians 4:1-2 NKJV)

 

Somebody Said:  "Some people are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple." - Barry Switzer

 

It is a privilege to be able to work with you in finding ways to get this Message to places and people that otherwise could not hope to receive it.  The sense of gratitude I have for what I have been given includes gratitude for each one who has teamed with us in the quest.  

Happy Thanksgiving.

Pastor Virgil Stokes

www.fcftucson.org

Welcome to Pennsylvania

Erie Pennsylvania has become home to a new pastor, a church pioneer, and a man whose love for God is only rivaled by his love for people.  Phil Richiuso and his lovely wife Elaine have moved to Erie, PA, on the coast of one of America's Great Lakes, from the coastal pain of New Jersey.  They are stepping out in faith to plant a new church with the Four Square Churches.

We have known Phil and Elaine for almost two decades.  They have served in missions in Russia, Belarus, and other Soviet Block countries.  They are strongly committed to missions and the fulfillment of the Great Commission.

These two understand the role and power of the Local Church.  They have faithfully served others, sown into the visions of those they served, and built the dreams of those who faithfully led them in the building of the Kingdom of God.  Now it is their turn to lead.

If you get a chance, come out, join the team, become part of the family and see what God will do.  Look out Erie, here comes the power of God!

Pastor Appreciation

The Scriptures say, "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news."  Have you ever looked at feet, ugly.  Having been to nations where feet are subjected to rougher treatment than we have here, this statement takes on even greater irony.  But I know how very precious those who preach the Gospel are.

Saturday night was our annual Pastor Appreciation Banquet where we had the chance to honor those who have stepped up to lead the church to the destiny God has for it.  It can be a pretty thankless job, and I am always blessed to see people honor their pastor.

Pastors are people just like those they serve.  They have the same challenges, fight the same battles, and are expected to get it exactly right every time.  They don't, any more than you do.  We, as the people they serve, need to get in behind them and make them a success.

Long-term Relationships

This passed week we had the pleasure of sitting under the ministry of friends of 17 years, missionaries to Belgium and Europe.  Steve and Karen Yohe always bring a word in season, but their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and willingness to yield to His leading makes them powerful ministers.

The Yohes have faithfully served in Belgium since just after we met them.  They pioneered a church there and have based out of Belgium to do outreaches to Poland, Germany, and France.  They have been an inspiration to many who have been privileged to sit under their ministry.

There is a lot to be said for faithfulness.  In the face of adversity, trials, and challenges, they have stayed in faith, clung to what God has called them to do, the vision God has given them.

Steve and Karen have met the ultimate measure of success, they have obeyed God.  The exciting part is, they are not done.  The best is yet to come!

Confrontation

What do you do when you run into a major point of contention in ministry?  It is a difficult question because of the people who are affected by our service.  Here are some basics to follow in navigating the hazards of strife.

First, is your issue addressed in the Word?  The things in the Word are black and white.  Either God allows and approves it or He doesn't.  What God approves, we approve, and what God forbids we forbid.  These things are non-negotiable.  We cannot compromise, even if it means we offend people or run afoul of what is culturally accepted.

What if the Word is silent?  I have yet to find an issue that is not addressed in the Word, so I have to say this is a question that comes for people looking for self justification.

Harder questions are found when they are based on relational and values differences.  Just because we call ourselves Christian doesn't mean we truly measure up to the standards of what God calls Christian.  These issues often cause us great stress and trouble.

Not everyone in the Church shares the same values.  This isn't a new problem, and I imagine it is something that has existed as long as there has been flesh on the earth.  Differing opinions of when a deviation from the truth becomes a lie, what constitutes theft, when not keeping one's word is acceptable, and so on.  Often I have heard that I was not walking in love or forgiveness when I have been forced to confront such departure from the standard of the Word.

Paul gives us great insight in how to deal with such matters.  He "calls a spade a spade" and reveals the biblical standard to which we must adhere, and held both the individuals and leadership accountable accordingly.  He advocates private confrontation followed by a witnessed confrontation.  If these do not produce repentance and a return to biblical standards, a public action is in order.  As a last resort, an obvious extreme action, the offender was to be excluded from fellowship for the sake of the body.

Now understand, the goal of any confrontation is reconciliation and restoration.  While we cannot guarantee that one who is in error will turn back to the truth, we must stay in position to restore those who do. 

Don't be afraid of confrontation, but make certain you get it right.  Approach every confrontation with prayer and discernment.  Rely on the power and leading of the Holy Spirit to guide your actions in love and compassion.  But, don't hesitate to confront the things that need to be addressed.

Let me give you an example.  A minister is in financial difficulty and asks to borrow $100.00 dollars from you.  In your compassion you loan him the money with the understanding that you will be repaid within 30 days.  By the end of the month you have received $75.00, and the minister apologizes profusely and promises to make good on the debt within two weeks.  It is the last you hear from him on the matter.  What are you to do?  If you immediately think forgiveness, I must ask, would you forgive it so easily if it was 100 times as much.  The principle of integrity and faithfulness is the same.  Even if you choose the course of forgiveness, you need to confront the offender.  If you don't, you become complicit in the crime.

The biblical pattern of Matthew 18 now comes into play.  1.  Go to the offender and confront him.  Ideally, this is where repentance happens, the debt is paid, and all is well with the world.  If not ... 2. Take a witness and once again confront the offender, presenting your case, and seeking reconciliation.  Again, ideally, repentance is the result.  If not ... 3.  Take it before the church, that is, bring the issue before the local church to which this person is connected.  This not only puts additional pressure on the offender, it gives more witnesses, gives more opportunity for discernment, and makes the Body aware of the problem.  If that still does not result in a change in behavior and satisfaction of the debt, the next thing to do is to act to exclude the offender from fellowship until they repent and reconcile.

This can seem harsh, can result in additional problems, and can be costly, which may be why so many people don't bother.  Ask yourself, do you love them enough to help them overcome their destructive and offensive behavior?  Do you care enough to turn them from their hellish path?

We need to be committed to upholding God's measure of a man's character, God's standard of morality, and godly integrity.  Together we can be a people of biblical values, of godly character, and of life God approves of.  May we pay the price of integrity ans see God pour out His favor on the Church as a result.

Cheer Them On

Some people in our lives just make our day.  They are beacons of faith and hope in our world.  When the turbulence of life becomes overwhelming, we look to them as the lighthouse of hope and find our way through the storm.  For us, Cliff and Christie Graham (http://unisonharvest.com/) are just those kind of people.

Cliff and Christie are missionaries to the youth of the world.  They design and build youth rooms in local churches, do youth conferences and camps internationally, and travel at breakneck speed around the globe for the sake of the Gospel.  They deserve to be in the category of heroes for their tenacity in the face of adversity, their passion in the midst of an ambivalent world, and for their unwavering commitment to take the Good News of the Gospel to those who are shaping the future.

I have watched them go through things that would have sidelined the average minister and bankrupted the common believer, but not them.  They clung to the truth of the Word, encouraged themselves in the faithfulness of God, and accomplished the impossible.  We love them as if they are our own family, because they are.  We have the same Father.

Pastors, believers, this is the kind of ministry that we should be supporting.  No they aren't celebrities, they don't have a mega-church, they don't do the Christian TV circuit, but they are getting the job done, just doing what Jesus called us to do.  If you get a chance, sit down with them, hear their heart, let them challenge you to a new level of faith, a new level of service, and a new perspective on what it means to take this Gospel to the nations.

Coastal Family Church

We got the chance to meet the folks at Coastal Family Church face-to-face for the first time. (http://www.coastalfamilychurch.com/main.html)  It was a time of encouragment in the Word and celebration in the Holy Ghost that made us feel right at home.  Pastors Stephen and Tiffany are leading a group of people who are sold out to seeing the Gospel taken to all the world while changing their local community.

We couldn't help but feel like we had been at CFC before due to its similarity to our home church, Believers Fellowship Center.  I found myself identifying individuals by the person who filled their role at BFC.  What you may not know is that BFC is our home, the root we cling to to measure whether or not we are staying on track.  They are the ones we identify with as family.  To have CFC feel so closely like our home before we have had a chance to put down roots in the OBX is to have a tie to our new community via DNA that can only happen via the Holy Ghost.  We look forward to what the future holds with these folks when we move.

If you get a chance to stop in or hear Pastor Stephen, jump on it.  You will be blessed.