On lin eE di tio n
Evangel CHURCH OF GOD
November 2011
REAPING THE HISPANIC HARVEST THE BIBLE AND IMMIGRATION LATINOS RESHAPING AMERICAN EVANGELICALISM
ON MY MIND
Hop Till You Drop LANCE COLKMIRE EDITOR
PEOPLE COME TO A CHURCH ASKING, “WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO OFFER ME AND MY FAMILY?” IF IT’S NOT GOOD ENOUGH, THEY’LL CHECK OUT THE WORSHIPMART DOWN THE STREET.
You may contact the editor by writing to him at
[email protected] or by calling 423-478-7592.
O
NE OUT OF every seven American adults changes churches every year. Hop, Jane, hop. See Jane hop. Another one out of six adults attends a handful of selected churches on a rotating basis, reports the Barna Research Group. Hop, Dick, hop. Hop, hop, hop. To get a grip on this phenomenon, some churchy terms must be defined: • Shop: To look for a new church • Hop: To move from one church to another • Stop: To stay at one church for a few months, then go shopping and hopping again • Flip-flop: After stopping at a new church, to bad-mouth the church the person just left • Drop: After a lifetime of shopping, hopping, stopping, and flip-flopping, to give up going to church because there are no more places left to try What has turned so many American Christians into church hoppers? Here are five factors: 1. A rootless society. A century ago, most people lived and died in the town where they were born. Today people move from place to place—four times is the norm—as they pursue education and careers. 2. A consumer culture. Americans are always looking for the best price, the newest gadget, and the latest fashion . . . and the church is seen as one more place to shop. People come to a church asking, “What do you have to offer me and my family?” If it’s not good enough, they’ll check out the WorshipMart down the street. 3. Unwillingness to serve. As long as they can sit and soak, some folks are
content. But when they are asked to make a serious commitment of time, talent, or treasure, they look for another place of rest. 4. Short-term leaders. When the typical pastor hops to a new sheepfold every three or four years, sheep are prone to look for greener pastures too. 5. Fear of being known. God designed the church as a place to love and be loved, to know others. But that gets messy. Genuine relationships mean carrying one another’s hurts . . . being hurt . . . revealing one’s own sins and weaknesses. It’s easier to run away. In a Lee University course I once taught, I explained how church members should be in covenant with one another. One student was amazed at the idea that long-term church relationships should be the norm. She explained how her parents had always moved from congregation to congregation, “ministering” everywhere they went. So she thought bopping was normal. Sorry . . . I used another churchy term without first defining it. To bop means “to hop to different churches, stopping long enough to demonstrate one’s spiritual superiority before moving on.” After being bopped, long-term church members have to mop—“clean up after the damage inflicted by boppers, hoppers, or shoppers.” As a long-term leader at my church, I know how much it hurts to see people come and go. Why can’t today’s church be the body Christ calls us to be in Ephesians 4:16? “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (NIV). Stay, Dick, stay. See Dick stay. EVANGEL | November 2011
3
ONLINE EDITION
Contents
November 2011
volume 101
■
issue 11
COLUMNS
HISPANIC MINISTRIES
3 On My Mind Lance Colkmire
10 Reaping the Hispanic Harvest An unprecedented opportunity by Carlos S. Morán
6 Forward Together Raymond F. Culpepper
12 Providing Hope Through a Home
27 Where Are They Now? David G. Roebuck
Casa Hogar in Poza Rica, Mexico by Tony P. Lane
30 Creative Church Jerry Lawson
14 ‘The Firewall of Righteousness and Justice’ An interview with Samuel Rodriguez
16 Diary of an Evangelist’s Wife Trusting the Lord’s calling by Irma Macias
18 Walking in the Spirit on the Streets Serving a Hispanic community by Abel Cuen
20 God, the Bible, and Immigration A call to compassion by Miguel A. Vega
23 Doing What Isn’t Easy in Nogales New Life Home for Children by Yvette Santana
DEPARTMENTS 8 Currents 28 People and Events
FEATURES
24 Finding Financial Freedom Out of a half-million-dollar hole by Lance Colkmire
26 What I Am Thankful For Expressing gratitude to God by Homer G. Rhea
Subscribe to the Evangel by calling 800-553-8506.
PUBLICATIONS MINISTRIES DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR David M. Griffis DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Terry Hart
SPIRIT-FILLED HISPANICS FERVENCY IN WORSHIP, commitment to family, and a willingness to work hard are three traits of the Hispanic church that serve as an example for the entire Church of God: • Hispanic congregations typically do not rush through worship services. They forget about time as they sing, preach, and pray. • Prioritizing family relationships helps Hispanics to build strong commitments within their larger church family. • Hispanics are known for their hard labor in the secular workforce, and when this ethic flows into a church, its ministries are enhanced.
OCTOBER EVANGEL POLL RESULTS* Q. What is your belief about the Rapture of the Church? More prophetic events must be ffulfilled before fulf Christ returns. C Ch
The Rapture could uld take placee at any moment. nt.
83% 111%
I have a different belief. (3%)
The Rapture will Th T ttake place during tak t middle of the the Great Tribulation. (1.5%) The Rapture will occur at the conclusion of the Great Tribulation (1.5%)
*as of 10/29/2011 Participate in the current poll by visiting the pathwaypress.org home page.
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT David Ray MANAGING EDITOR Lance Colkmire CENTRAL DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Robert McCall CFO Wayne Walston PRINTING DIRECTOR Mike Burnett
EVANGEL STAFF EDITOR Lance Colkmire EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Elaine McDavid COPY EDITORS Tammy Henkel, Esther Metaxas GRAPHIC DESIGNER Bob Fisher
EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATIONS BOARD Stephen Darnell, Raymond Hodge, Ray E. Hurt, Timothy Brown, David Nitz , Tony Cooper, Jeffrey Robinson
INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Raymond F. Culpepper, Timothy M. Hill, Mark L. Williams, David M. Griffis, Wallace J. Sibley
CHURCH OF GOD congregations meet throughout the United States and in more than 180 other countries. To find a church and times of services near you, access the church website, www.churchofgod.org, or fax your request to 423-478-7616. Publication of material in the Evangel does not necessarily imply endorsement of the Church of God. The Church of God Evangel (ISSN 0745-6778) is edited and published monthly. ■ Church of God Publishing House, 1080 Montgomery Ave., P.O. Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250 ■ Subscription rates: Single subscription per year $17, Canada $24, Bundle of 15 per month $17, Canada $28, Bundle of 5 per month $7.50, Canada $11.25 ■ Single copy $1.50 ■ Periodical postage paid at Cleveland, TN 37311 and at additional mailing offices ■ ©2011 Church of God Publications ■ All rights reserved ■ POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Evangel, P.O. Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250. (USPS 112-240)
MEMBER OF THE EVANGELICAL PRESS ASSOCIATION AND THE INTERNATIONAL PENTECOSTAL PRESS ASSOCIATION
FORWARD TOGETHER
Hispanic Ministries and the Great Commission RAYMOND F. CULPEPPER GENERAL OVERSEER
THE SPIRIT OF GOD PLACED THE COUNTRY OF SPAIN IN THE HEART OF PAUL. CENTURIES LATER, THE SPIRIT OF GOD DIRECTED THE AFFAIRS OF THE NATIONS SO SPANISH MISSIONARIES WOULD BRING THE GOSPEL TO THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
I
N HIS LETTER to the church at Rome, Paul said, “Whenever I journey to Spain, I shall come to you” (Rom. 15:24 NKJV; see also v. 28). In the context of these words, the missionary apostle expressed four great-butpractical principles of fulfilling the Great Commission of the Church: 1. The mission of the Church must always extend to the unreached world (vv. 20-21). 2. Missionaries rely on fellow believers to be “helped on [their] way” (vv. 23-24 NKJV). 3. Believers who have been blessed should bless other believers in need (vv. 26-27). 4. Mission ministries bring the “fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ” (v. 29). Biblically, these principles guided Paul as the “minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles” (v. 16 NKJV). His twice-expressed desire to go to Spain was founded on his desire to preach the gospel “where Christ was not known” (v. 20 NIV). His passion was guided by the prophecy of Isaiah, “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand” (v. 21 NIV; cf. Isa. 52:15).
The Christian Church in Spain Greatly Influenced the World The Bible does not record that Paul reached Spain. But Clement of Rome said he reached “the extreme limit of the West.” This historical note provides credible evidence that Paul probably did indeed include the country of Spain in his missionary journeys. Certainly, his heart traveled there, as surely as his vision of “a man of Macedonia” compelled him to journey to Philippi (Acts 16:9-12). Regardless, history testifies clearly that Spain was one of the first Western European nations to receive the gospel. And, historically, missionaries from
6
EVANGEL | November 2011
Spain led the church world in modeling these significant principles of the Great Commission as set forth by Paul. Through the dedicated lives of Spanish missionaries, the Church journeyed to an unreached world. Thousands of unnamed ministers of the Word were “brought on their way” by those who had been blessed by the “fullness of the gospel of Christ.” Almost one and a half millennia after the death of Paul, on August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, a coastal port in the country of Spain, on a journey that would “discover” a “new world.” This historical voyage was led by an Italian believer who loved the Bible. His explorations ensured that Christianity would be in the forefront of the settling and developing of the Western Hemisphere during the next five centuries. Today, many people—especially in the United States—tend to downplay the Church’s significant impact on the New World. It is easy to forget that over 200 years before the Pilgrims landed in New England, Columbus landed on the shores of Hispaniola—the island that now comprises the two nations of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. However, historical names are one reminder of the significant influence of the Church in the early days of the Western explorations. Spanish mission outposts many times were fortified in order to defend the new inhabitants of the area, and they often bore the name of an honored “saint” of the Church. Such names denoted that the primary purpose was to serve as a mission of the Church rather than as a fortress of the country. Literally hundreds of these mission sites eventually evolved into major cities that continue to use the name of an early church father. Names that incorporate Santa, Santo, or San are easily recognizable. The first settlement in the New World was named after Isabella, the queen of
Spain. She was the matron sponsor of that historic voyage. However, within a short while it was renamed Santo Domingo in honor of Saint Dominic. He was the founder of the Dominicans—the “Order of the Preachers.” Other such cities in the Latin world today include San Juan, Puerto Rico; Santiago, Chile; Santa Cruz, Bolivia; San Luis Potosí, Mexico; Santiago de Cuba, Cuba; Santa Fe, Argentina; San Salvador, El Salvador; San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Santa Marta, Colombia; and so forth. In the United States, the nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine, Florida, is a similar testimony. Other cities in this nation whose names continue to testify to the influence of the church from Spain include San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, San Jose, Santa Fe, and so forth.
God’s Sovereignty Over the Nations Many skeptics today discount the role of the Spanish church in the discoveries and development of the Western Hemisphere. In the same manner, they downplay the importance of religion in Jamestown and the Plymouth colonies. As believers in the one God of heaven and earth, we should never forget that the unbelievers of the modern world see the events of history through eyes of flesh. They do not understand that man is not in charge of the affairs of this earth. However, I am persuaded that our God sovereignly directs the affairs of the nations of this world. Ultimately, the God of the universe accomplishes His will and fulfills His purpose. To this day, He looks at the nations of the world and declares, “Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance” (Isa. 40:15). He is the God who has “made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26).
Therefore, I believe that our sovereign God has directed the affairs of the nations of the earth in order to accomplish His desire for the church of His Son, Jesus Christ. The Spirit of God placed the country of Spain in the heart of Paul. Centuries later, the Spirit of God directed the affairs of the nations so Spanish missionaries would bring the gospel to the Western Hemisphere. And the Spirit of God is miraculously moving on the Hispanic Church of God in these last days.
Growth of the Church By the time of the Pentecostal outpouring at Shearer’s Schoolhouse in 1896, much of the church world in Latin America had
God during the second half of the last century was miraculous. Today, Church of God congregations are thriving from the Mexico/USA border to the southern tips of Chile and Argentina. Operating in 18 countries, the Latin American church has over 600,000 members and 8,500 ministers in 7,347 churches and 1,835 missions. The small country of Guatemala, with a population less than 14 million, has 233,831 members—well over twice as many members as the largest state/ region in the United States.
Love for the Word of God
One of the cardinal characteristics of Spanish believers is their love for the Word of God. It was not by chance Operating in 18 countries, the Church of God in Latin that the oldest city in the New World, America has over 600,000 Santo Domingo, is named after members and 8,500 ministers Mexico the founder of “The Order of the in 7,347 churches and 1,835 Preachers.” Dominic de Guzmán’s love missions. The small country of Guatemala, with a populafor the Bible is his greatest acclaim. tion less than 14 million, has This same love for Scriptures has 233,831 members—well over characterized the Church of God in twice as many members as Latin America from its earliest days. the largest state/region in the United States. The deep desire to study the Bible is reflected in the fact that our Latin Guatemala American churches sponsor some of Honduras the finest fully-accredited educational El institutions in the Church of God. Salvador The denomination has four levels Nicaragua of certification for its schools. Level III refers to degree-granting institutions and Level IV refers to graduate degreegranting schools. In Latin America, backslidden into a state of semi-paganism. the church has 10 degree-granting schools But in 1931, Maria Atkinson, a Spirit-filled with six of these offering graduate degree native of Mexico whose husband was from programs. In addition, the church has 29 the U.S., began the first missionary work of Level II and Level I certified schools and the Church of God in Mexico. By then, hungry literally hundreds of distinctive educational hearts were searching for the truth of the and training programs in local churches. fullness of the gospel of Christ. The Church That love for the Word also characterizes of God soon discovered that the countries Hispanic Ministries in the United States. of Latin America were fertile fields for the Ministers and laity have been greatly planting of the seed of the Word of God. influenced by the Hispanic Regional Bible At first, the growth of the Church of God Institutes that reach hundreds of students in Latin America was steady but slow. But each year. With a strong emphasis on the as social uprisings, revolutions, drug wars, Pentecostal message that exalts the joy of and persecutions began to rock the nations spiritual worship “in Spirit and in truth,” we of Central and South America, the message rejoice that Hispanic churches in the U.S. are of Pentecost was especially powerful. The expanding the kingdom of God. growth of the Latin American Church of EVANGEL | November 2011
7
Currents
The purpose of CURRENTS is to inform readers of trends and events influencing the culture.
States Scramble to Find Prison Chaplains ■ IN THE TWO MONTHS since North Carolina’s legislature laid off most of its prison chaplains, Betty Brown, director of prison chaplaincy services, has been crisscrossing the state searching for volunteers who can attend to the religious needs of Native American, Wiccan, and Rastafarian prisoners. State legislators had assumed volunteer ministries would jump in and help prisoners meet the ritual and devotional needs of their faiths. So far, that hasn’t happened. “It’s been tough locating volunteers for those faith groups,” said Brown, whose department lost 26 full-time prison chaplains as part of an effort to close a $2.6 billion state budget gap. Across the nation, religious life behind bars is changing as correctional departments
ing increasing workloads in tough economic times, even as the religious diversity of inmates continues to grow. In California, where about 130 prison chaplains are currently employed, there are three dozen vacancies. At the California Men’s Colony, a medium- and minimumsecurity prison in San Luis Obispo, Rabbi Lon Moskowitz, the Jewish chaplain, is helping fulfill the duties of a Muslim chaplain who died a few months ago. “Twice a month . . . I oversee their Juma prayer,” he said. During Passover and summer solstice observances, he said, some Jewish and Native American inmates were unable to attend communal events due to lockdowns in their yards prompted by budget-related shortages in guards. “They had to observe their religious service within their assigned housing unit,” said Lt. Dean Spears, a spokesman for the facility. Indiana’s prisons— which have nine vacancies among 37 chaplain positions—have had similar restrictions when overseen by skeleton crews at times when Inmates in Sugarland, Texas, studying the Bible inmates might have attended chapel, said the Rev. Stephen Hall, face budget cuts along with other state agendirector of religious services for the Indiana cies. Some states like North Carolina have Department of Correction. seen outright cuts. In other states, vacancies When there’s a drastic cut in chaplains, due to hiring freezes mean no replacements as in North Carolina, questions arise about for chaplains who die or retire. everyday religious concerns as well as special Gary Friedman, spokesman for the Amerior weekly observances. can Correctional Chaplains Association, said “Laypeople tend to think chaplains his organization distributes brochures to perform services on holy days,” said D. explain to legislators mulling cuts the benefits Craig Horn, a North Carolina legislator who of retaining correctional chaplains. “Chapopposed his state’s chaplaincy cuts. “My lains are getting caught up in all these budget view is that a professional chaplain adds reductions and staff reductions,” he said. “It’s stability and has a tremendous impact on going on all over the country.” promoting calm and providing prisoners Some states, such as Texas, were able to with counseling and direction.” spare chaplains in the budget negotiations. Pat Nolan, vice president of Prison FelBut in other states, prison chaplains are see8
EVANGEL | November 2011
lowship, said chaplains are the ones most likely to help inmates after riots, rapes, and other traumatic incidents or to facilitate special requests—like a phone call from a relative near death. “For the safety of the institution, it’s important that persons going through those horrible situations have someone to help them to defuse the situation,” he said. “Otherwise, tension can get really high or out of control.” Nolan said his evangelical organization—which also has faced its own staff cuts due to the economy—urged volunteers to contact legislators and fight for the Texas chaplains. With North Carolina, there simply wasn’t time: “It was a done deal before we could mobilize anybody.” The well-being and safety of prisoners aren’t the only reasons to keep chaplains. There are legal issues too, state prison officials say. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 puts government agencies on alert that they can’t get in the way of the free religious practice of prisoners. With no professional chaplains left in North Carolina’s medium- and minimumsecurity prisons, that legal requirement has become the biggest headache for Brown, the prison chaplaincy director. “Inmates have a right to practice their faith while they’re incarcerated,” said the Rev. Mark Reamer, a Roman Catholic priest who has celebrated Mass at a Raleigh prison for the past 16 years. “Chaplains ensure a certain fairness.” Tom O’Connor, a former Oregon prison chaplain who runs the company Transforming Corrections, said chaplains have to advocate more effectively about their contributions—not only supporting inmates but mobilizing volunteers and helping with reentry programs that can reduce recidivism. “Most of these prisoners are going to get out,” said Horn, the North Carolina state legislator. “We don’t want them to come back. That would be a lousy investment. The state of North Carolina needs to protect its investment.”—Yonat Shimron and Adelle M. Banks (RNS)
Mehdi Forootan
Iranian Christian in Prison 105 Days ■ IT WAS EARLY in the morning the day after Christmas. It was cold. Mehdi Forootan sat in the back seat of an undercover police car in front of his house in Tehran, Iran. He was barely awake. An officer pointed a camcorder at him. The officer had recorded the entire police raid on his house, where he and three other officers claiming to be from the anti-narcotics squad confiscated Forootan’s books, computers, and other important documents. Forootan, 33, had heard of Christian friends being arrested and released, and he thought he could manage being in prison as they had. The officers said they wanted to ask him some questions and that they would return him home in a few hours. Forootan thought he might make it back in time for the Christmas sermon he had prepared for a group of Iranian believers who were going to meet in a home that evening. The camera was still on him. “Do you know why you were arrested?” the officer behind the camcorder asked him. “I guess you arrested me for Christianity and my faith in Jesus Christ,” Forootan said. The officer turned off the camera and asked: “Do you want to come back to Islam?” “No,” Forootan said. “We want to take you to a bad place,” the officer said. “Do you know anything about Evin?” Forootan’s heart sank at the mention of the ill-famed prison, though he tried not to show it. “Yes, I know.” On Dec. 26, 2010, authorities had arrested Forootan in a wave of persecution against Iran’s underground church movement. It is estimated that Iranian authorities arrested over 120 Christians in a two-month period. Most of them were released within days, but Forootan was among a small group who were not. Without explanation, authorities freed him on April 9; a few others are still in prison. At Evin Prison, authorities ordered Forootan to change into a blue uniform and took pictures of him from the front, left, and
right. Authorities took him down a long corridor of single-occupancy cells and showed him his: two meters wide, three meters long. There was no bed, no chair, no table— only a thin blanket, a small toilet, and a metallic washing basin. There was a Koran and a Muslim prayer book on the windowsill. “Settle in and relax,” the prison guard told him. “You’ll be here a long time.” Forootan spent the first of many nights sleeping on the bare, cold floor. The next morning, Evin interrogation authorities brought him to a separate room to ask him endless questions. They told him he was charged with threatening national security because of his evangelization activities and his work with a Christian ministry. Forootan did not respond to his interrogators until three weeks into his imprisonment, when a police officer walked into the interrogation room with a stack of documents from a friend’s laptop. “If you continue to be silent, we can keep you in prison for two, three, four years,” the officer said. “You won’t have a lawyer. We can do anything we want.” That day Forootan wrote his first statement, one of many about his life as a Christian leader in Iran—trying to guess what his interrogators already suspected about him and his activities as a cell-group leader in Iran. “They are really afraid of cell groups in Iran,” he explained. “They say, ‘If you are Christian you can go to a [church] building,’ so they can monitor what churches do.” During one interrogation, an officer turned on a camcorder and pointed it toward him. “Tell us about your crime!” he said, ordering Forootan to speak into the camera.
“I started to tell them how, when I was a teenager, I struggled with substance abuse and how when I was in university I found Jesus and He saved me, and I have been free ever since,” Forootan said. “But he became angry and turned off the camera. He said: ‘I asked you to tell about your crime, not evangelize us.’” After 38 days of solitary confinement, Forootan’s prayer was answered to move to a group cell. For the next two months, Forootan shared a cell with about 30 other inmates. Some of them were Baha’i, some from alQaeda, and others from political groups like the Green Movement that protested Iran’s elections in 2009 and demanded President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad step down. “When I said I’m a Christian and I came out of Islam, they were really angry,” Forootan said of the al-Qaeda members in his prison cell. “After a week . . . I asked them why they kill people with bombs and guns. Is this really Islam? They started to talk about Koran, and I started to talk about Bible, and we became friends . . . because we all have one enemy in prison: the Islamic Republic of Iran.” After 105 days in prison, Forootan was released on April 9. He would not speak to anyone of his prison experience for fear that authorities were watching and would rearrest him again. His parents had given the deed of their house to authorities as bail. He and his fiancée decided it was best for him to leave Iran and go to Turkey as a refugee. For Forootan, this meant an illegal escape through the mountains, because authorities had confiscated his passport. When Forootan arrived in Turkey, he and his fiancée, also a convert to Christianity, got married. They found a house and were together for two months before she had to return to Norway, where she had been granted asylum. Forootan said the only thing more difficult than leaving his parents in Iran was not knowing what his future holds. He hopes he can join his wife in Norway one day and start a Christian family of his own in freedom. For now, as he seeks refugee status in Turkey, he said he feels stateless.—Damaris Kremida (Compass Direct News) EVANGEL | November 2011
9
HISPANIC MINISTRIES
T
HE LATINO population in the United States is bursting at the seams. This exponential growth is taking place in major cities, suburban communities, and in rural locations in almost every state. The more than 50.5 million Latinos in the United States are for the taking in many ways. The business world is fully aware of their trillion-dollar buying power and is quickly responding to their needs as consumers. Politicians— Democrats and Republicans, conservative and liberals—have taken note of their increasing electoral power and are adjusting their strategies accordingly. The current societal conditions portend a powerful move of God:
Reaping the HISPANIC HARVEST • The Hispanic population is growing at a faster rate than previously anticipated. • Hispanics are migrating to the suburbs in increasing numbers. • Hispanics have great financial challenges. • Hispanics are the group with the highest increase in Internet use in the United States. • Hispanics are showing more receptivity to the evangelical message than ever before; at the same time, the number saying they have no interest in religion has increased. Hispanics of Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban origin or descent remain the nation’s three largest Hispanic countryof-origin groups, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. However, while the relative position of these three groups has remained unchanged since 2000, the next four Hispanic subgroups grew faster during the decade. Hispanics of Salvadoran origin, the fourth-largest group, has grown 152 percent since 2000. The Dominican population has grown by 85 percent; Guatemalans, 180 percent; Colombians, 93 percent. Meanwhile, the Cuban and Puerto Rican populations have grown by 44 percent and 36 percent, respectively. Despite their first-place
10
EVANGEL | November 2011
The Church’s unprecedented opportunity to reach Latinos for Christ by Carlos S. Morán status, Mexicans are not the dominant Hispanic origin group in many of the nation’s metropolitan areas. Among the Miami metropolitan area’s 1.5 million Hispanics, half are Cuban. In the New York/northeastern New Jersey metro area, 29.4 percent of Hispanics are of Puerto Rican origin and 19.7 percent are of Dominican origin. In Washington, DC, Salvadorans are the largest group, comprising one-third of the area’s Hispanics. The Lord Jesus said: “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35 NIV). Can we Latinos plant more Hispanic churches that are multicultural, multiethnic, and multilingual? Si se puede—yes, we can! Our goal is to plant one thousand new
Church of God congregations in the United States.
Study the Composition of the Latino Harvest A great shift in the composition of the Latino community is under way. The formation of the second and third generation of Latinos in the U.S. is a demographic reality and evangelistic challenge. How the Church of God responds to this challenge is of eternal consequence. 1. In reaching Latinos for Christ, we must know their country of origin and its implications. 2. We should determine their language proficiency and preference— whether Spanish only, English only,
or fully functional in two languages (bilingual). Language proficiency and preference affects how Latinos interact and how they want to be approached. It is wrong to assume just because someone has a Spanish name or surname, or “looks Latino,” that he or she speaks Spanish. Further, their language in itself should not be seen as either a hindrance or an asset. 3. Latinos have proportionally the largest number of children and young people than any other ethnic group. Churches that are multilingual, multiethnic, and multigenerational are needed to reach the Latino harvest. A one-style approach to reaching Latinos is insufficient. 4. The composition of the Latino harvest fields calls for the development of effective strategies in evangelism, church planting, church growth, leadership training, and productive partnerships between Spanish-speaking regions and Anglo state and regional offices.
Know the Values of the Latino Harvest The immediate and extended family is the main unit in the Latino community, superseding the church, political organization, or any other societal group. Latinos usually think and act as family unit. In reaching them, this understanding can be either an obstacle or a benefit. If we try to reach a member of the family, the family ties and pressure make it very difficult for that person to make a decision for Christ independent of the entire family. However, a whole family may come to Christ when the elder or most influential member of the family is won first. Next to family ties, friendship networks occupy the most important place in social relationships. Families and friends celebrate the special times in their lives, such as quinceañeras (celebrating a 15-year-old girl’s transition into young womanhood), birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, baptisms, and so on. These social relationships can become a bridge through which the gospel message is communicated or a barrier that discourages a Latino person from responding to the gospel and joining our churches.
Another value is the important role emotions play in the everyday lives of Latinos. They are people of the heart (el corazón)—if something is not heartfelt, it is not accepted. Latinos like to understand and “feel” preaching and music expressing compassion and hospitality. Personal dignity, or respeto, is another value that characterizes Latinos—people should be recognized and treated with respect even if they are illiterate or poor. An individual is valuable regardless of educational standing, material assets, or social class. Generally, when Latinos are treated with respect, they respond in like manner. In Latin America, Church of God missionaries from the United States who took the time to establish healthy relationships of mutual respect with the national leaders have been highly regarded and appreciated. We must do our best to establish enriching relationships that will open the door for the reaching of the Latino harvest. Regarding citizenship, most Latino residents were born in the United States. They are the children and grandchildren of immigrants. Meanwhile, the number of foreign-born Latinos becoming citizens is increasing. The undocumented Latinos are very receptive to the gospel. They left their own countries because of persecution, poverty, or other social conditions. Gaining the freedom to attend the church of their choice and create friendships with other Christians, many find Christ. Churches providing practical ministries such as food distribution, health clinics, and computer classes provide a friendship bridge through which the gospel can be communicated. When the immigration issue is resolved by the federal government, congregations that provide English courses and citizenship classes will be in a strategic position to reach large numbers of Latinos for Christ.
Engaging the Latino Harvest Many Latino communities will not be reached without new churches. There are a variety of approaches to engage the Latino harvest and plant healthy churches.
Bob Roberts’ Acts 11 model of engaging society first is a good example. New churches should be embedded with the vision that every congregation must give birth to another congregation. In the Latino harvest, lay leaders play a crucial role in planting new churches. They have to receive the minimum instruction, guidance, and encouragement they will need to be effective church planters. While the Church of God Latino work has grown in recent years, we are reaching a very small percentage of the large Latino population living in the Unites States. Millions of Latinos are living without the direction, hope, and peace that can only be experienced through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many need churches where they can hear the gospel in Spanish only. Other Latinos need churches that are multicultural, multilingual, and multigenerational. What can we do? What is our responsibility? Christ commanded us to sow the gospel and make disciples of all nations, and planting churches is one of the most effective ways to do this. Look at the fields; they are ripe for the harvest. Let us pray to the Lord of the harvest to give us understanding, strength, and passion to reach the Latinos at our doorstep for His honor and glory.
Carlos S. Morán, Ed.D. (coghmcsm@ gmail.com) is international director of Church of God Hispanic Ministries. Resources for this article: —The Hispanic (Latino) Market in the U.S.A.: Generational View, 7th edition —21st Century Hispanic Realities; Daniel R. Sanchez and Bobby Sena —U.S. Hispanic Country of Origin Counts for Nation; The Pew Hispanic Center —A Future for the Latino Church; Daniel Rodriguez —The Hispanic Challenge: Opportunities Confronting the Church; Manuel Ortiz —The Great Commission Connection; Pérsida Morán —The Multiplying Church; Bob Roberts Jr. —Empowering Hispanic Leaders; Victor Cuartas EVANGEL | November 2011
11
HISPANIC MINISTRIES
Providing HOPE Through a HOME Casa Hogar in Poza Rica, Mexico
by Tony P. Lane
E
LIAS AND TERESA HERRERA have gone beyond the four walls and four children in their own home to obey God’s call to take hope to forgotten children in southeastern Mexico. Elias understands the street. At age 19, he was a drug addict and dealer. At a Christian conference, he heard the Word of God and accepted Christ. He cried for two hours as his heart was pierced by the claims of Christ. After attending a Bible institute, Elias started a pioneer missionary work in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, planting churches among the unreached Chinanteco tribe. His life was threatened and one of his coworkers was murdered. Due to poor living conditions among the people he was endeavoring to reach, his health suffered. Yet he persevered. God blessed, and additional churches in unreached tribal areas were started as the result of his obedience and sacrifice. For 20 years, Elias and Teresa served the Lord on the mission field. In 1989, the Herreras accepted a call to pastor the Iglesia de Dios (Church of God) in Poza Rica. There they founded a new mission—the Casa Hogar Alfa y Omega Orphanage. Poza Rica, a city in the state of Veracruz, is known for its oil refineries. Many men leave their families behind to work there, and often engage in prostitution. This has resulted in many unwanted children being left on the streets. They live by begging and stealing, sleeping anywhere they can. They try to escape their reality by inhaling paint thinner and taking cheap drugs. Many of the children chose the land beneath a bridge as their temporary home. 12
EVANGEL | November 2011
Girls dormitory
There God exposed Elias and Teresa to the great need. They began to take clothing and food to the kids. One 12-year-old girl had given birth to a baby and was raising her child under the bridge. As the Herreras developed relationships with the children, the children’s great needs became their call from God. The Herreras opened their home, the church parsonage, to give the children a place to live. There the children heard about Christ, experienced godly love, and were nurtured. Elias and Teresa Herrera
Though difficult to house children in such small quarters, they persevered. The children lived in two Sunday school classrooms from 1992 until 1998. Then God began to reveal His plan. As the Herreras and the children prayed, God provided. The Lord led them to property which was purchased with the assistance of many groups, including single adults in the Church of God, under the coordination of the International Youth and Discipleship Department. Plans were completed and the first phase begun. Here is the ongoing development to this point: • 1999—first dormitory built • 2001—director’s house completed, electricity installed, and road paved • 2003—girls’ dormitory completed • 2005—school building completed; classes begun • 2005—prayer tower dedicated • 2007—apartment added for orphanage workers • 2010—completion of living quarters for little boys
The Herreras have walked by faith since the ministry began. During the early years, they stretched their pastoral salary to meet the basic needs of their own children as well as the children they received. Often, they all shared beans or just the broth from the beans. But they have never complained and have continued to see God’s provision through the Church of God family. The greatest need for some time has been a dining hall. The present kitchen is not enclosed, so bugs and rodents are a constant problem for any food stored there. Also, because of the number of children, there is no place for everyone to eat together at one time. In June 2011, the Herreras broke ground on a multipurpose building which will house a new kitchen, dining hall, and chapel. This is being started by faith that God will provide the means to finish it. Since 1999, the Youth and Discipleship Department has coordinated missions trips to the orphanage two or three times per year, taking teams to minister and work. Hundreds of individuals have joined these teams. We have also set up a sponsorship program whereby families,
Staff and residents of Casa Hogar
Children praying for provision for new building
Sunday school classes, children’s ministries, and churches can sponsor children on a monthly basis to help meet their basic needs. Each January, we travel to Poza Rica to share Christmas gifts with the children and staff, as well as with families living
in the nearby trash dump, where the orphanage’s children and staff minister regularly. The Herreras’ son and his wife have been called to direct the New Life Orphanage in Nogales, Mexico, which opened this fall. It was part of the 2010 YWEA project. Their daughter and her husband, Omar Galvan, are serving as the Church of God youth and discipleship director for Mexico. I first visited Casa Hogar in 1999. Little did I realize that it would not be just a one-time venture. Attending as a representative for children’s ministry in the Church of God, I observed firsthand the Herreras’ God-given passion for children in need. The story was incredible and the faith exercised to follow God’s call was even more amazing. What touched my heart then continues to stir me 12 years later. So many children have been served by this ministry—lives are being changed for eternity.
Tony P. Lane (
[email protected]) is coordinator of discipleship and children’s ministries for the International Youth and Discipleship Department. EVANGEL | November 2011
13
HISPANIC MINISTRIES
‘ The FIREWALL of
RIGHTEOUSNESS and JUSTICE’ Samuel Rodriguez’s Perspective on Hispanic Christianity AS PRESIDENT of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), Samuel Rodriguez is the most prominent spokesperson for the Hispanic evangelical movement. The Evangel interviewed Rodriguez shortly before he spoke at the Church of God National Hispanic Congress in August. Tell us about your ministerial background. My mom grew up in the Church of God in Puerto Rico. I’ve ministered throughout my youth career and evangelism career in many Church of God churches, conventions, and conferences. I became a certified Assemblies of God minister when I was 16 years old, and sought my ordination when I was 23. Describe the organization that you lead. The NHCLC started in 1992 through the leadership of Dr. Jesse Miranda. It is the Hispanic National Association of Evangelicals in essence, armed with 34,218 churches and about 18 million constituents. We have seven priorities: • We have the priority of life. We defend life in and out of the womb in the Hispanic-American community. • Families are our second directive. We have been very busy legislatively with state constitutional amendments defending biblical marriage. In addition, we tackle the issue of pornography and 14
EVANGEL | November 2011
push back against the divorce rate in the Spanish-American community. • We prioritize fulfilling the Great Commission by preaching the good news. As a Hispanic-American church, we still believe there is power in the name of Jesus. We still believe Jesus is not a way, but the only way. We are committed to making sure the Hispanic-American community emerges with a biblical worldview. • Education, justice, stewardship, and youth—these are the other four items that make up what we call our seven directives. We have 57 denominational members, 48 other membership organizations, and about 15 universities and schools. What does the Anglo church need to understand about Hispanics? First, understand that the HispanicAmerican community in the 21st century will emerge as the firewall of righteousness and justice in America. That is not some kind of Pollyanic presumptuous rhetoric; it’s a statement based on demographics and research. Out of 50 million Hispanic-Americans, according to the 2010 census, approximately 18 million identify themselves as Evangelical; 30 million are Roman Catholic. Among the Evangelicals, 86 percent are Pentecostal. Among the Catholics, 52 percent are Charismatic. In other words, the majority of Hispanics in America are Charismatic or Pentecostal. That’s
very powerful when we see many Anglo churches declining in membership, while in many of our denominations we see the Hispanic church booming. The Hispanic church may well be the salvation of American Evangelicalism. Second, the Hispanic community is committed to both the vertical and horizontal elements of the Christian cross. We are both sanctification and service, both righteousness and justice, both covenant and community. We’re both John 3:16 and Matthew 25. Historically, white Evangelicals and white Pentecostals have focused on vertical issues, and AfricanAmericans have focused on horizontal issues such as social justice and education. The Hispanics say, “It’s not either or; it’s both.” The strongest part of the cross is where the vertical and the horizontal intersect—the nexus, the point of convergence. It is not the political center but the prophetic center, and that’s where we want to fit as a community—where righteousness meets justice and where the fishes meet the bread . . . where John 3:16 marries Matthew 25. At the end of the day, the vertical does trump the horizontal issues. So, when we see other communities focusing only on horizontal issues—poverty, education, and health care—we believe that salvation through Christ is the most important issue. The vertical cross alone will still stand, but the horizontal will fall on its face.
Samuel Rodriguez
Do you see your church as a microcosm of what is happening nationally? I do. The future of American Evangelicalism and the future of the American Pentecostal church is multiethnic. It needs to stay biblical in orthodoxy; we cannot dilute the gospel. We’re living in a time of moral relativism, of cultural decadence, of spiritual apathy. We’re living in the time of a lukewarm church in many areas and regions. We need to rise up with biblical truth. It has to be multiethnic because America is changing demographically. We also need to be multigenerationally inclined. We have to reach out to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and even Joseph if at all possible—three or four generations worshiping God in a single church. That will be powerful. My daughter is 19 years of age. She wants a cause that is greater than herself, and she is passionate for Christ. Let’s give her that. Let’s give her a cause under the canopy of Christ where she can serve com-
“THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY IS COMMITTED TO BOTH THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL ELEMENTS OF THE CHRISTIAN CROSS.” What do you see happening in the Church of God among Hispanics? What are the encouraging signs? We are seeing the emergence of some incredible, vibrant Hispanic churches such as Abundant Life Church of God (San Antonio, Texas) and New Life Church of God (Tucson, Arizona) that are taking the strong biblical message of salvation through Christ and the empowering of the Holy Spirit to the next generation. I see the Hispanic Church of God movement as catalytic, with the potential of being the leading movement in the Hispanic-American faith community. Tell us about the church you started in Sacramento, California, in 2010. I was speaking at a conference with Bishop T. D. Jakes, where there was a
great outpouring of the power of God. I was on the plane and doing my notes for a forthcoming conference when I heard from God in my spirit. I tested it, making sure it was not anything emotionally or internally driven—making sure it was God. I received a number of definitive confirmations that I could not deny. I heard God say, “I want you to start a work here that is multiethnic and Kingdom-cultural, not multicultural.” I also heard God say, “Bring them together, but do not quench My Spirit. Let my Spirit move freely.” We started the church in September of last year, and it’s a pretty fast-growing church. We give God the glory, knowing it’s all Him. We’re seeing African-Americans, Hispanics, Anglos, and Asians come together worshiping Christ. We’re excited.
munity for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission. National elections are coming next year. What potential influence do Hispanic Evangelicals have? The Hispanic evangelical voters may very well be the quintessential swing voters and the deal-making voters in states like Florida, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania. We as a [Christian] community will not in any way, form, or shape marry the agenda of the donkey or marry the agenda of the elephant. We’re only sold out to the agenda of the Lamb—our agenda is the agenda of Jesus Christ. We are pro-life, pro biblical marriage, pro limited government, pro religious liberty, and pro JudeoChristian values. EVANGEL | November 2011
15
HISPANIC MINISTRIES
M
Y HUSBAND, Ignacio R. Macias, was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and came to Michigan in 1959 on a student visa. The first week after arriving in Michigan, he was invited to a Hispanic Church of God service where he accepted the Lord and started reading the Bible fervently. He continued studying the Bible through Church of God correspondence courses, and in 1961 we were married. The next year, Ignacio accepted the Lord’s call into ministry. We began our first pastorate in 1964 at the Hispanic Church of God in Lansing, Michigan. Five years later, we accepted a pastorate in Toledo, Ohio. During our five years in Toledo, my husband served as district overseer and established five new churches. During the summers, he preached in migrant camps and invited the workers to come to church on Sunday. Many came, and some families found permanent work in Toledo so their children could continue to
Ignacio and Irma Macias
Diary of an
by Irma Macias
EVANGELIST’S WIFE
“I often wondered if my husband’s evangelizing was worth his absence from home.” be involved in our youth ministry. These families are still there; some of their sons and daughters attended Lee University and now have successful careers. In 1973, during a time of prayer and fasting, my husband felt the call to evangelize in Mexico. This frightened me since we had three small children; instead, I talked him into going to West Coast Bible College in Fresno, California, for further education. There was no Spanish-speaking Church of God congregation in Fresno at that time, and after six months, my husband felt led of the Lord to start one. We began with three Hispanic families 16
EVANGEL | November 2011
meeting in the cellar of a Church of God building. Within a month, we outgrew the cellar and moved into a storefront; but within another month, we outgrew that building and he started searching the city for a larger place. Ignacio found an Armenian congregation that was willing to let us use their lovely facility in exchange for the upkeep of the church lawn. This church had a seating capacity of more than 300, yet within three months, this facility was also full! After much prayer, my husband again felt the call to evangelism in Mexico and decided to leave the church before it was time to move the congregation into a
building program. This time I obeyed his calling, not really knowing what I was getting into. We left the Fresno church in good hands with a new pastor and, in July 1975, moved to San Antonio, Texas, from where Ignacio would travel back and forth to Mexico. In those days, the telephone service in Mexico was not user-friendly, to say the least. To contact us, my husband would have to find a public phone, and if our line was busy, his call would not get through, for there was no “call waiting.” He had to try again whenever he was in a city with a public phone service, which sometimes was days or weeks later.
Our sons were 8, 10, and 12 years old when he started evangelizing in Mexico, and they were not used to having their father gone for so long. Those were very hard years, and I often wondered if his evangelizing was worth his absence from home. Difficult situations happen when the head of the family is gone: the furnace breaks down on the coldest night of winter; the car quits and there is no money to fix it; a son breaks his leg on a church rollerskating trip (we had no medical insurance, but the church did!). Driving three boys to various sports activities, music lessons, tutoring sessions, and church activities was unending and often stressful. When the boys’ teenage years arrived and they started driving, there were fender benders but no serious accidents, thank the Lord. We still had to try to pay for the repairs so the insurance company would not drop us . . . which they finally did anyway. My husband was always sure to be home for the Christmas holidays, but was seldom home for birthdays or school activities. For 12 years, he evangelized all over Mexico by conducting revivals and preaching on radio stations. He was often gone for weeks at a time—sometimes for three or four months. Those years were emotionally draining for me, and there were times I felt I could not continue being mother and father. In August 2009, at the end of the Church of God Hispanic Congress in Oakland, California, the Lord sent Martin Andrade, pastor in Fresno, to speak to me. He was sent to tell me, not my husband, the testimony of his mother’s salvation that affected his whole family: Thirty years ago, Brother Macias came to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and rented the coliseum for a revival. The coliseum was full the night my mother, Mrs. Antonia Duarte de Andrade, came forward for prayer. She received her salvation and was baptized with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues that night. She had never read the Bible before then, but the Lord in His sovereignty was marking the beginning of a new journey of faith for her and her family. After the service, she waited to
speak with Brother Macias to ask him what had happened to her. He explained the plan of salvation and the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and suggested she attend the Church of God in Nogales, which she did with her whole family. It has been nearly 30 years since that revival. My mother has held on firmly to the biblical principles and is still persevering in the Lord’s ways. Since that time, we have seen God’s grace in her life; first, by bringing her husband, Ernesto, to Christ. He exchanged a can of beer for a hymn book, dedicating the majority of his time to music ministry in the church. His music ministry has taken him to several states in Mexico, and to the southwestern United States. Ernesto’s parents have eight children, and three have served as pastors in the Church of God. A brother, Hector Andrade, currently serves as a teacher for a Church of God Bible school. For 10 years, I have served as a pastor, district overseer, Bible school director, and camp director. The third generation of Andrades are serving the Lord as musicians in different congregations in the Phoenix, Arizona, area.
I thank God for evangelist Ignacio Macias accepting the Lord’s call to preach the gospel, because it was through his obedience that the Andrade family’s destiny was changed forever.
As soon as Brother Andrade started speaking to me, the floodgates opened and I started crying uncontrollably. It was as if the Lord himself was telling me that nothing that we do for Him is in vain or goes unnoticed—even the sacrifices of daily living without the head of the family in the home. Besides the Andrade family testimony, there are many more testimonies we have heard over the years. I do not regret having obeyed the Lord’s calling on my husband’s life by staying at home with the family so he could evangelize in Mexico. After serving the Lord for 50 years, Romans 8:28—“All things work together for good . . . to those who are the called according to His purpose” (NKJV)—is very real to me. Irma J. Macias lives in San Antonio, Texas.
New Music for Hispanic Churches ANOINTED PRAISE Music and Pathway Press have collaborated to provide a wonderful new Spanish worship project, Anointed Praise Espanol. It contains exciting, fresh, and easy-tosing music. The collection includes upbeat and inspiring praise songs as well as slower worship songs that will help Spanish-speaking and bilingual congregations glorify the Lord. Worship leaders can teach their congregation these new songs in a short time. They were written and recorded by worship leaders who know what it means to flow with the Holy Spirit. Call 800-553-8506 to order. Ask for the Evangel special price of $15 for the book and CD (listening pack), or $35 for the book, CD, and split-track (performance pack). Thanks goes to Jay and Ben Garcia along with Greg Saez for their help in making this project possible.—Steve Holder
Ben Garcia, Steve Holder, Jay Garcia
EVANGEL | November 2011
17
HISPANIC MINISTRIES
Walking in the SPIRIT TREETS on the S Embracing a Hispanic Community by Abel Cuen
I
WAS A businessman for a customdoors factory in Tucson, Arizona, when the Lord called me into the ministry. For six months, my wife, Gabriella, and I prayed every day at 5 o’clock in the morning because the Lord told us we were going to be part of a group of people who would take the Hispanic Church of God to the next level for the next generation. We did not understand. We had never been pastors, although we had been in the Church of God all of our lives. One day, Brother Fidencio Burgueno (then the overseer of the Southwest Hispanic Region) told us about an opening at the Oasis Retreat Center. Somebody was needed to clean the bathrooms and wash the dishes for weekend retreats, and we sold everything to make that step of faith. We worked there for a year in the middle of the desert near Palm Springs, California. For those 12 months, we had the opportunity to be by ourselves, praying at night, just looking at the stars. It sounds kind of romantic, but it was that way. That’s how the Lord prepared us spiritually. We were ready to go and do anything for Him. In November 2006, the Lord brought us to Cleveland, Tennessee, to attend the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Three months later, Brother Fidencio (then serving as Hispanic Ministries director) told me, “There is an Anglo Church in Athens (30 miles from Cleveland) that is looking for a pastor for the Hispanic ministry. Would you be interested?” When I showed up for the interview, Pastor Clifford Waters told me, “You’re 18
EVANGEL | November 2011
the guy.” I was surprised. The Lord had everything prepared for every step of the way. That’s how we started leading the Woodward Avenue Church of God Hispanic Ministries. Five years later, we are pastoring a church that is heavily involved in the community.
Pastoral Challenges As a Hispanic pastor in the United States, my challenge starts with my kids—Amy, 17, and Alphonso, 15. They are Americans who speak Spanish, but they also speak English. They have the Hispanic heritage, but they also are part of the American culture. Every day
they go to school. They have iPods and iPhones. At home, they have computers and television. However, sometimes our Hispanic churches are like a time machine, going back 50 years. So, our church is investing in technology and in young people. Because Hispanics are family-oriented, we have good connection with our youth. The problem is keeping them when they are 18 years or older because of technology, language, and cultural issues. Another matter is how to integrate Hispanics into the American church. I thank God for putting me under the leadership of Pastor Clifford Waters. He has a Abel and Gabriella Cuen
heart for Hispanics. He understands the challenge we have as a church. Because our congregation is part of the Woodward Avenue Church of God, I do not have to worry about paying the utility bill and paying rent at the end of the month. Instead, I can concentrate on working in the school district and doing chaplaincy ministry, which makes a big impact in the community.
Community Ministry Because of my involvement in the McMinn County schools as a community service chaplain, one day I received a call about a student named Noah. He was going to be expelled because he had 25 absences without justification, along with many other problems. His mother, who does not speak English, did not know about all this. Finally, this situation reached court, where I was asked to be the interpreter. After the hearing, the mother asked to speak with me. Noah did not have a father at home. I began meeting with this young man and his family, and in three months, they started attending our church. They were born again! The older sister is now working in the media ministry. The youngest child is heavily involved, and the mother is there. Noah is singing in the choir. His schoolteachers are saying a lot of good things about him. He is making good grades. This did not begin at the church, but at the courthouse. We need ministers to stop being the pastor of the church and start being the pastor of the community. We need to walk in the Holy Spirit on the streets of our city. In Athens, we are developing a mentoring program for Hispanic kids with no father figure.
National Chaplaincy When the Church of God Chaplains Commission was looking for a Hispanic coordinator, I showed up at the office to meet with Brother Jack Popejoy. He had a lot of well-qualified applicants from everywhere (even outside the U.S.), yet once again I heard, “You’re the man.” This position began in 2010, and now the Chaplains Commission also has a
bilingual secretary—Deanna Cordova. She is doing an awesome job. We have Spanish-language chaplaincytraining seminars taking place all around the nation. As a pastor, I schedule my traveling around the country between Wednesday and Sunday because, even though we are still a small church, I want to be there. I recently came back from Chicago, where the Hispanic chaplaincy ministry is under the coordination of Alberto Arias. He is doing a great job. Since the last General Assembly, we have 250 new Hispanic chaplains in Chicago doing all kinds of work. It is amazing. Hispanics who want to get involved in chaplaincy have to understand things are different in the U.S. than in their country of origin. In my home country of Mexico, for example, ministers can go into the hospital freely, but not in the United States. That’s where chaplaincy training comes along. Chaplaincy ministry starts with the pastor. After the pastor becomes a certified community service chaplain, he can start his own chaplaincy chapter in his church. Individuals can have a very effective ministry in hospitals, jails, schools, and private industries when they are trained, certified, and recognized as chaplains. If you want to know the social needs in the Hispanic community, get involved with the schools, because that is where the kids are. It’s a gold mine! I believe every pastor in the Church of God needs to be a chaplain.
A Willing Spirit I wish I had better preparation as a pastor and a leader, and I know the Lord is going to give me that opportunity someday. So, I use myself as an encouragement for others: Don’t look at whether you’re ready or not; just be willing, and the Lord is going to help you with the rest.
Abel Cuen is pastor of the Hispanic congregation of the Woodward Avenue Church of God in Athens, Tennessee, and Hispanic coordinator for the Church of God Chaplains Commission.
An Ever-Expanding Ministry THE CENTER for Hispanic Adults Receiving Community Support is one of the chaplaincy outreaches that Pastor Abel Cuen has developed for the Athens, Tennessee, community. It offers various levels of education, counsel, and crisis intervention to the Hispanic community and beyond. Also, several chaplains from the Woodward Avenue Church have been installed into the pastoral-care services at the Athens Regional Medical Center. Others serve as chaplains in McMinn County schools. Meanwhile, the church is operating a crisis hotline for the community, with community-service chaplains serving as the mainstay, fielding calls from the distressed, impoverished, suicidal, and battered. This church’s chaplaincy ministry extends far beyond their local community. Immediately following the devastating tornadoes which struck Tuscaloosa, Alabama, in April, Chaplain Cuen took 25 chaplains to do counseling and hands-on ministry, where they served for three days. One man they helped told Pasor Cuen that his opinion of Hispanics changed as a result of their labor of love. Shortly after this outreach, a smaller group traveled to tornado-devasted Joplin, Missouri, to assist the homeless, injured, and traumatized.—Jake Popejoy
School chaplains in Athens, Tennessee
EVANGEL | November 2011
19
HISPANIC MINISTRIES
GOD, the BIBLE, and IMMIGRATION by Miguel A. Vega
T
HE THEME of immigration permeates the pages of Holy Scripture. Although a “theology of immigration” has not been developed by Christian authors, this is not due to a lack of biblical material. Sadly, this absence of Christian thinking on immigration reflects our prejudices. Nevertheless, it points out the need for us to do our homework and return to God’s Word to find just responses to the challenges of immigration.
God Is the Absolute Owner of the Earth As the Creator of all things, God is also the “owner” of everything. God places men and women on earth to take care of His creation. All people have the calling to represent God on earth as stewards or administrators, and we will all give an account of our stewardship to God. Therefore, biblical teaching does not totally agree with an extreme form of capitalism where the individual is the absolute owner of “private property,” nor with an extreme form of socialism where the state is the absolute owner. Within both “isms,” humanity—both individually and collectively—is called to use the earth according to divine principles. Because God is the true owner of everything and He has shared His creation with us, possessions under our stewardship should be wisely and generously shared with those in need. The affirmation that God is the owner of the earth was frequently repeated in the Hebrew Scriptures with important ethical demands for Jews and Gentiles alike. During their last years as “immigrants” in Egypt, the Hebrews suffered greatly under the unjust policies of the 20
EVANGEL | November 2011
Pharaoh. Moses’ goal, in his various interactions with the Egyptian ruler, was to teach the Pharaoh that “the earth is the Lord’s” (Ex. 9:29).* Therefore, even in Egypt where Pharaoh reigned, God would not tolerate subhuman policies carried out against immigrants. The affirmation that “the earth is the Lord’s” also made ethical demands on Jews. Far from being pampered as God’s holy people, they had to meet a higher code of ethics. Precisely because “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it,” only those who have “clean hands and a pure heart” will see God’s salvation” (Ps. 24:1, 4).
Every Human Being Has an Intrinsic Dignity Humanity is the apex of Creation because we have been created according to the image and likeness of God himself (Gen. 1:26). An image of God is borne by every human being—male or female; brown, black, or white; rich or poor; old or young. Consequently, every human being has an intrinsic dignity and is worth more than all the possessions in the world. Actions directed toward a human being are directed toward God himself (Job 31:13-15; Prov. 14:31; James 3:910). The clearest example of this ethical principle is found in Matthew 25:31-46, where Jesus identifies with the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger (immigrant), the naked, the sick, and the imprisoned: “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. . . . Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Then they will go away
to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (vv. 40, 45-46).
The Old Testament Shows Immigrants Should Receive Just and Humane Treatment Jews and Christians alike consider Abraham to be the founder or “father” of their religions. God established a special covenant with Abraham in which all of the nations of the earth would be blessed in him (Gen. 12:2-3). This “transnational blessing”—the humane and benevolent treatment by foreigners toward Abraham—is the prerequisite for receiving God’s blessing. In fact, Abraham is the perfect paradigm of an immigrant. He immigrated from his homeland of Haran. After passing through the land of the Canaanites, he lived as a foreigner in the land of Egypt. He was treated well by the Pharaoh in spite of lying to him concerning his wife, Sarah, in an attempt to protect his own life. Nevertheless, he did not learn his lesson and repeated the same lie to King Abimelech in Gerar. Again he was forgiven and treated well. Both kings received God’s blessing because they went beyond a narrow definition of justice in their treatment of Abraham and extended mercy to him. Years later, a famine spread throughout the land. The descendants of Abraham immigrated to Egypt. The Pharaoh received them with open arms through Joseph: “The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock” (Gen. 47:6).
Such generous hospitality from the Egyptians became part of the expectations for the people of God. The Hebrews were forbidden to mistreat or oppress foreigners precisely because they themselves had lived as foreigners in Egypt (Ex. 22:21; 23:9). The loving hospitality showered on Joseph and his family did not continue throughout the generations. The numerical growth of the Hebrews came to be interpreted as a threat to the Egyptians (just as the numerical growth of Hispanics in the U.S. is sometimes interpreted as a danger). This led to the Exodus. As the Hebrews left Egypt, many people from other races (“a mixed multitude” NKJV) joined them (12:38). These new immigrants were allowed to join the people of God with all of the corresponding privileges and responsibilities. In fact, every foreigner who desired to become part of the Jewish people would receive the same treatment under the Law. (Lev. 24:22).
The Bible recognizes that immigrants, along with orphans and widows, are frequently the victims of various types of oppression. For this reason, God is the defender of foreigners and demands that they receive the same treatment as citizens (Ps. 146:9). King David provides us with another pertinent example of unjust treatment of foreigners. He had sexual relations with Bathsheba, the wife of the Hittite Uriah. When she became pregnant, David tried to hide his sin, finally giving orders for Uriah to be killed so he could keep Bathsheba for himself. David was willing to cause the death of one foreigner so he could obtain another foreigner (Bathsheba) who was more valuable to him. David did not literally kill Uriah, but he did order Uriah to be left alone on the front line in order to be killed by the enemy army. This is a clear example of structural sin. God held David responsible for using structures to implement his sin (2 Sam. 11).
Something similar happens today. Many countries in the “global North” are willing to provide visas for talented and highly educated foreigners (athletes, medical and business professionals, the rich, etc.) but not for poor or illiterate foreigners. Although these policies that encourage “brain drain” are understandable, they undermine the truth that all people are created in God’s image and worthy of profound respect. The Book of Ruth cannot be properly understood without an awareness of Jewish legislation in favor of immigrants. Elimelech, a Jew, had immigrated to Moab with his family when a famine occurred in Israel. His two sons each married a Moabite woman. All three men died. Ruth, one of the daughters-in-law, insisted upon living with and providing for her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth immigrated to Bethlehem because she promised Naomi, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). In order to support herself, and her mother-in-law, Ruth began to harvest the barley grains in the fields. During this process she met Boaz, they married, and formed part of the messianic genealogy of Jesus (Matt. 1:5). The immigration legislation that forms the vital background for the Book of Ruth is found in Leviticus 19:9-10 and 23:22. Based on the truth that God is the owner of the whole earth, Moses had implemented the following legislation: “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:9-10).
If the Book of Ruth defends the rights of foreigners in Israel, the Book of Esther demonstrates the rights of Jews living in foreign lands. Jews were living in Persia, exiled and far from their homeland. When the Persian king Xerxes deposed his wife from the throne, he sponsored a kind of “Miss Persia” contest in which EVANGEL | November 2011
21
HISPANIC MINISTRIES
beautiful young women from throughout the empire participated. A Jewish woman, Esther, won the competition and became the new queen. Haman, one of the king’s cabinet members, successfully maneuvered Xerxes to issue a decree to “annihilate all the Jews” (Est. 3:8-13). Esther had the courage to place her own life at risk to intercede on behalf of the Jewish people. She succeeded, the decree was annulled, and in this way the Jewish immigrants obtained legal protection for their lives. The prophetic ministry of Amos is relevant for our contemporary discussion of immigration. He begins his prophetic denunciations by describing the sins of the countries that surrounded Judah and Israel. Although God judges His own people with higher ethical criteria, the Lord requires all nations to live according to basic moral standards of human interaction. In particular, the sins of Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon dealt with the oppression of immigrants (see Amos 1). Their unjust treatment of foreigners received a severe denunciation by the Subscribe to the prophet. Evangel by calling The mod800-553-8506. ern world is complex with many institutions (governmental, business, religious, etc.) that mediate actions between individuals. These institutions are not morally neutral. They also are evaluated according to God’s ethical principles. They may be structures of virtue and blessing, or perhaps they are conduits of structural sin and injustice. In the world in which Amos lived, human institutions came under divine scrutiny.
The New Testament Shows Immigrants Should Receive Just and Humane Treatment The story of the birth of Jesus says there was no room in the inn for Mary and Joseph. Christmas sermons today frequently chide the residents of Bethlehem for their inhospitality and then urge us to make room for Jesus in our hearts. 22
EVANGEL | November 2011
But, since Jesus said what we do unto “the least” of people we do unto Him (Matt. 25:40), it stands to reason that we make room for Jesus in our hearts by making room for immigrants in our nation. One of the few episodes of the infancy of Jesus narrated in Scripture portrays Jesus as an international, political refugee.
seed of the gospel to the four corners of the Empire (ch. 18). The missionary work of the apostle Paul would not have reached as far as it did if he had not possessed the freedom to travel as a Roman citizen. (If Paul lived today, he likely would have had trouble getting visas approved and crossing
“WE AS CHRISTIANS TODAY ARE ALSO ‘FOREIGNERS AND STRANGERS’ NO MATTER WHERE WE LIVE ON THIS EARTH, AND WE ARE CALLED TO REACH OUT TO PEOPLE FROM OTHER PLACES WHO LIVE WITHIN OUR NATION’S BORDERS.” In order to escape the infanticide ordered by King Herod, Jesus was taken by His parents to Egypt (again the country of hospitality). Jesus the Asian was well received in the African continent when His life was in danger. Although many immigrants migrate for economic reasons, some do so under direct circumstances when their lives are at stake. For example, during the 1980s, many Central Americans came to the United States to escape the dangers of civil war in their own countries. One of the best-known conversations that Jesus had took place with a Samaritan woman (John 4). The Samaritans and the Jews did not normally have dealings with each other. Nevertheless, Jesus purposefully led His disciples into Samaria in order to challenge the political and racial barriers that divided the two groups. He affirmed that people from all nations would be received by God if they worshiped Him in Spirit and truth. The gospel rapidly expanded throughout the Roman Empire, largely due to great immigration movements. The gospel spread out past Jerusalem due to the persecution that took place there (Acts 8:4). Later, Priscilla and Aquila, together with many Jewish Christians, were forced to abandon Rome, but they carried the
fenced borders, thus slowing the spread of the gospel.) In his first epistle, Peter recommended Christians to consider themselves as “foreigners and exiles”—people without a country—who had become the people of God (2:9-11). The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews said the heroes of the faith recognized they were “foreigners and strangers on earth” who longed for a better country—a heavenly one (11:13-16). God was not ashamed to call these people His own, and He prepared a special place for them. We as Christians today are also “foreigners and strangers” no matter where we live on this earth, and we are called to reach out to people from other places who live within our nation’s borders. Just as believers in Bible times placed their earthly possessions in God’s hands to be shared with their neighbors, we are called to follow their example. *Unless otherwise noted, scriptures are from the New International Version.
Miguel A. Vega is administrative bishop of the East-Central Hispanic Region of the Church of God.
Doing What Isn’t Easy in
NOGALES by Yvette Santana
A
S WITH MANY TOWNS in Mexico that border the United States, the amount of people crowding against you in Nogales to attempt to sell you something (anything) is overwhelming. The desperation in their eyes lingers in your heart long after you’ve crossed the border and returned to everyday life. My husband was waiting to cross at the border of Nogales, Sonora, into the United States five years ago when God birthed the New Life Home for Children into his heart. There he saw children selling food, candy, musical instruments, blankets, and any other number of souvenir items. The scene broke his heart. Not only were these children not in school, they were living on the street. My husband felt terrible about what he was witnessing. He wondered where they slept . . . what they ate . . . and if they were already addicted to drugs. He wondered d if some of them might be sold in sex trade. The Holy Spirit beckoned him that day, saying, “What will you do about it?” I am ashamed to admit (and convicted in my spirit) that when a homeless person is right in front of me, I often don’t make eye contact. I see their sign asking for help, but I try not to see them. I am willing to buy them something to eat, but not often willing to sit and have a conversation with them. Can you relate to that? This reminds me of when John the Baptist, who aside from being Jesus’ cousin was also a dear friend to Him, was executed for his faith (Matt. 14:1-12). Jesus was notified, and He wanted to be alone. However, the crowds followed Him. Even in His grief, the Bible says, “He had compassion on them and healed their sick” (v. 14 NIV).
In verse 15, the disciples told Jesus it was getting late and He had better wind things down and send the crowd away so they could find something to eat. But Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat” (v. 16 NIV). Wow! How easy it was for the disciples to ask to send them away. How easy it is for me, and perhaps for you, to avoid eye contact. How easy to change the channel when that commercial comes on with babies whose bellies are bloated and who are covered in flies. If I’ve learned anything in my walk with God, it is that He hasn’t called us to do easy things. Matthew 25:34-40 tells us we are called to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned. At the New Life Home for Children in Nogales, we are living Matthew 25 every
day by rescuing children from the streets and the gates of hell, and offering them a haven of rest and restoration. It is a place where God’s love, acceptance, hope and patience reign—a place where although things aren’t easy, they are not impossible! We do everything in God’s name and for His glory. What are you doing that is not easy? What are you doing to fulfill the command to clothe, feed, and visit? I challenge you to get uncomfortable, roll up your sleeves, and allow the Holy Spirit to quicken you to do something that is not easy! If you would like to partner with us and help fulfill Matthew 25 for the children of Nogales, please lift up the New Life Home for Children in prayer. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, you can do so via Church of God World Missions, P.O. Box 8016, Cleveland, TN 37320; project number 102-7079 (New Life Home for Children).
Yvette Santana and her husband, Samuel, serve the Southwestern Hispanic Region of the Church of God, where he is the administrative bishop and she is director of women’s discipleship. They reside in California with their two sons, Sam and David.
New N ew Life Liffe Home Li Home for for Children Chilild Ch dren
EVANGEL | November 2011
23
by LANCE COLKMIRE
Finding Financial Freedom One Couple’s Incredible Story
W
HAT DOES A couple do when they are a half-million dollars in debt—including $125,000 in credit card bills? That’s where Ed and Marilyn Dunn found themselves in the early 1990s. The better first question is, How did they get in such a mess? “Our story begins in the early 1950s when I was called to preach,” Ed said. “I pastored several churches in California, and then, in the late ’60s, I became a national evangelist for the Church of God.” Ed married Marilyn, who is also an ordained minister, and they preached, sang, and taught in churches throughout California in the late ’70s. Ed says, “In 1981, we felt led to start a church in Garden Grove. Together, we made three decisions. First, we would start the church with our own funds. Second, my wife would continue to work and support us. Third, I would take no salary from the church. “As we look back on this decision, we are not sure it was the right thing to do, as we took the financial responsibility from God and placed it on our own shoulders.” Pastor Dunn continued, “We plodded along for years and rarely asked the people for offerings. We paid all our own expenses for travel and daily living. Many times, we subsidized the church’s rent and paid its bills. “We began our journey of using credit cards to pay for things that were not needed; not just for us, but for the church as well. We were under the misconception that if we had lots of things, God was bless-
24
EVANGEL | November 2011
ing us. We believed the word-of-faith movement’s idea that if we gave much, we could speak to our bills and they would go away.” However, those bills did not vanish. Instead, when the Dunns finally stopped and looked at the crisis they had created, “it was astounding,” Marilyn said. “We were overwhelmed.” It was 1993. Realizing their home mortgage, debt on two cars, and creditcard bills had them on the brink of bankruptcy, at first Ed and Marilyn tried to blame each other. Then, “after the dust settled, God brought us back to sanity, and we decided to work this out together and with God,” Ed said. Marilyn admitted, “By trade, I am an accountant. I thought, How in the world did we get into this mess? It was extremely embarrassing at first. Ed has tremendous faith. He would say, ‘I believe God is going to take care of this.’ I was thinking, You don’t live in the real world like I do.” They asked for God’s forgiveness and His council, turning to His Word. Several scriptures became part of their daily worship: • “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. . . . For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:19, 21).* • “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these [other] things shall be added to you” (v. 33). • “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20). • “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken
together, and running over will be put into your bosom” (Luke 6:38). The Dunns believed each scripture, and walked in the faith that the Lord would bring them out of debt. They stopped buying unnecessary items and started living on a budget. They confessed their financial mistakes to the church and asked members for prayer support, but did not ask anyone for money. Instead, “We only shared with the church so they would not go down the same path that we were on,” Pastor Dunn said. “Many were already headed in that direction.” Ed had a vision of being debt free in 1993, but when the year ended, they were still buried in red ink. Yet they continued living on a budget, not overspending, believing in God’s Word, and giving to His kingdom. Ed recalls, “In the late 1990s, things began to pop. First, someone felt led to give us $25,000. We cried and thanked the Lord for this, and promptly applied it to our credit-card accounts. In a couple of months, someone else settled a lawsuit and gave us $10,000 for our debt. Another person gave us $25,000 for the same purpose. This left us owing $65,000 in credit-card debt. About a year later, one of our church’s young people, who had been saved and filled with the Spirit, received an inheritance and came to us with a check for our personal use. We looked at it and our mouths fell open—it was for $65,000!” In early 2002, the Dunns received a notice from the Church of God-sponsored
Ministry to Israel about an urgent need. They sent a couple hundred dollars, thinking it would be just a onetime donation. The next month came, and they felt the Holy Spirit prompt them, “Do it again,” and they did. Then came the third month,
“As an accountant, if I tried to figure out, line by line, how everything happened, I could not do it. To see what God has done has opened up another dimension of spirituality to me.”—Marilyn Dunn
and the Lord said, “Do it again.” The Dunns have continued giving to the Ministry to Israel for 10 years now. Ed said, “The Bible says, if you bless Israel, you’re going to be blessed. God honors His Word. It was not a formula. It was
just something we felt the Lord called us to do.” Meanwhile, the Dunns sold their large three-bedroom home, giving them the funds to pay cash for a smaller manufactured home, pay off their cars, and put some money in savings. “In 2003, I felt the Lord was urging me to retire from pastoring,” Pastor Dunn said. “Marilyn and I sat down and again studied our finances. We looked at each other and simultaneously said, ‘We are debt free in 2003!’” The financial blessings did not stop there. The Dunns were given a piece of property which they sold for $80,000. They tithed on it and gave to missions. Ed testified, “In 2008, before the big crash, when everyone was losing money in their 401(k)’s, we prayed and felt led to change our funds to some very conservative ventures. Our 401(k) remained stable and even made a little interest.” After Marilyn’s dad passed away in 2006, the Dunns moved to Cleveland, Tennessee, where they were able to pay cash for their retirement home. Based on their experiences, what financial advice do the Dunns have for young ministers? Ed says, “Put God first. Work yourself into a budget. Stay within the lines and do not go into debt. Tithes and offerings are mandatory, the Word teaches. The offerings come from where the Holy Spirit is leading you. My heart’s desire is that when people read this, many will begin to support the Ministry to Israel.” Marilyn observed, “As an accountant, if I tried to figure out, line by line, how everything happened, I could not do it. It’s not black-and-white like accounting is. To see what God has done has opened up another dimension of spirituality to me, because I work on a more practical level. “We’re not rich, but we have no debt. Sometimes there will be a need and I will think, Oh, we can write a check for that. What an incredible feeling!” *All scriptures are from the New King James Version.
EVANGEL | November 2011
25
by HOMER G. RHEA
What I Am Thankful For H
AVE YOU COUNTED your blessings lately? Here are a few things for which I am thankful. I am thankful circumstances are as good as they are. Sometimes life deals us a heavy blow, but things could be worse. Robert A. Meyer’s children taught him this lesson. He and his wife were enjoying a second cup of coffee after breakfast on Thanksgiving Day while their five children played in the next room. Shortly after the sound of a brief scuffle, Mary, their 3-year-old, burst into the kitchen in tears. “Mommy! Daddy! Christopher hit me!” she sobbed. Before either of them could reply, the calm voice of their 9-year-old daughter came from the next room: “It’s Thanksgiving. Be thankful he didn’t bite you!” I am thankful for my country. People from all over the world read the Evangel. Each has reasons for being grateful for the country in which he or she lives. I happened to be born in the United States. I love my country and I am thankful for the opportunities it affords its citizens. When Mort Myerson became the president of Electronic Data Systems, his 95-year-old grandfather was there. Mort’s grandfather was forced to flee Russia many years earlier because he was a Jew. 26
EVANGEL | November 2011
He lived in an attic in Brooklyn for 18 months, working as a tailor so he could earn enough money to buy a train ticket to Fort Worth, Texas. And now Granddad was there to see Mort become president of a major corporation. At the end of the meeting, Mort’s grandfather came forward with tears in his eyes. He hugged Mort and said, “Son, through you I have fulfilled all of the dreams I had as a young man when I came to America.” I am thankful for those who have influenced my life. P. O. Lombard, Sr., was my pastor in the formative years of my life. By his example, he taught me never to go to the pulpit without something worthwhile to say and how important it is to live a godly life. Persons I have pastored, colleagues I have worked with—all have made my life richer. In The Clergy Journal, Robert W. Stackel wrote about Melvin Stewart, who won an Olympic gold medal in swimming in 1992. But Stewart wasn’t going to keep the medal. He planned on giving it to George Baxter, a 76-year-old businessman who financed Stewart’s education and pushed him to be a good student. When Stewart climbed out of the Olympic pool a winner, he searched the stands until
he found the Baxters. Then he waved to them and mouthed the words, “I love you.” In this way, Stewart showed his gratitude to Baxter publicly. I am thankful for joy and peace in Jesus Christ. There is an old European story about a traveler who came upon a barn where the devil had stored seeds that he planned to sow in the hearts of people. Various bags were marked “Hatred,” “Fear,” “Doubt,” “Despair,” “Unforgiveness,” “Pride,” and “Greed.” The devil appeared and struck up a conversation with the traveler. He gleefully told the traveler how easily the seeds he sowed sprouted in the hearts of men and women. “Are there any hearts in which these seeds will not sprout?” asked the traveler. A melancholy look appeared on the devil’s face: “These seeds will not sprout in the heart of a thankful and joyful person.” So many other things for which I am thankful could be mentioned. I want to spend more time counting my blessings and giving thanks to Him who has so abundantly blessed my life.
Homer G. Rhea Jr. is a Church of God minister and former editor-in-chief of Church of God Publications.
WHERE ARE THEY
NOW? by David G. Roebuck
H
UNDREDS OF delegates gathered in Athens, Tennessee, August 4-6, 2011, for the 14th National Hispanic Congress. Representatives of the 1,000 Spanish-speaking Church of God churches and missions in the United States recognized both the 125th anniversary of the denomination and the 100th anniversary of the first-known Spanish-speaking congregation. The theme for their celebration was “Honoring Our Heritage: History and Heroes,” and Hispanic Ministries coordinator Carlos S. Morán paid special tribute to some of those living heroes. Antonino and Dora Bonilla were among the honored guests. Antonino’s family was Church of God pioneers in Mexico. His maternal grandfather was saved at the first Church of God established in Sonora. Missionary Maria Atkinson planted that congregation and frequently visited the Bonilla household. Other influencers in Antonino’s life included missionaries J. H. Ingram and Vessie D. Hargrave. g
Faithful Heroes and Available Servants Antonino and Dora Bonilla
Without financial resources, when Antonino’s family came to the Lord they dedicated his life as a thanksgiving offering for their salvation. After making a personal commitment to the Lord and the call to preach the gospel, Antonino began to work closely with his father in pastoral ministry. As a teenager, he attended Instituto Biblico Mexicano in Mexico City and then International Preparatory Institute (IPI) in San Antonio, Texas. Antonino and Dora met while they were both young teens. Saved at the age of 8, she gained ministerial experience singing on the radio, working with children’s ministries, and serving as secretary and treasurer for her congregation’s women’s ministries. Her accounting and secretarial skills later provided opportunities for her to work as the executive secretary of the Latin American Department as well as other offices where the Church of God appointed Antonino. g While attendingg IPI, Antonino began
working in Church of God Latin American Department, which was then located in San Antonio and oversaw the ministry of Spanish-speaking congregations worldwide. The department provided songbooks, literature, and the periodical El Evangelio de la Iglesia de Dios. After graduation from IPI, Antonino served as pastor of congregations in Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Texas. A gifted leader, the Church of God appointed him as youth and Christian education director of Mexico, then Mexico and Central America, and finally all of Latin America. He initiated the first youth camps among Spanish-speaking congregations. Other appointments included missionary, overseer of Northwest Mexico, superintendent of Mexico, and overseer of the South Central Hispanic Region in the United States. Following his administrative leadership, he served as a national evangelist and then in a lengthy pastorate of the Bethesda Church of God in San Antonio (1986-2007). Throughout these years, Dora led women’s ministries and was a frequent teacher and lecturer. Although these heroes of the faith officially retired in 2007, they remain actively involved in the multicampus congregation Abundant Life, which their son Eliezer serves as pastor. Antonino is a zone director of four Spanish language districts, continues to preach, and travels extensively throughout the United States, Mexico, and Central America. When asked about his current activities, he laughingly replied, “I’m available!” Together these heroes of the faith remain committed to their call.
David G. Roebuck, Ph.D., is the Church of God historian and director of the Pentecostal Resource Center in Cleveland, Tennessee.
EVANGEL | November 2011
27
people and events Pickin’ and Praisin’ Gospel Jam
Pickin’ and Praisin’ Gospel Jam BAINBRIDGE, Ga.—It is about 5:00 p.m. Cars start filling up the parking lot and car trunks start opening. Instrument cases of all sorts start appearing. Soon there is a host of “pickers” breaking out tuners. What is going on? It is time for “Pickin’ and Praisin’ Gospel Jam” in Bainbridge. The Port City Church of God hosts this exciting event for folks who love Southern gospel, country gospel, or bluegrass gospel music in the tri-state area of deep southwest Georgia. In early May, the Lord impressed upon the heart of Jerry Murkerson and his friend, Deborah Cox, to seek out a place where musicians could bring their instruments and play for the Lord on Saturday nights. Pastor Joe Tatum provided that place. Murkerson said, “I have been playing gospel music in the Bainbridge area for 25 years. I contacted many of my fellow musicians and singers about the idea of a ‘gospel jam.’ The response was overwhelmingly favorable. The jam is held on the third Saturday night of each
28
EVANGEL | November 2011
month. Many denominations are represented. ‘It’s All About Jesus’ is the theme, being inspired by a message preached by Assistant General Overseer Mark Williams at the 2010 district camp meeting in Bainbridge. “The instruments range from banjos to trombones, from accordions to acoustic and electric guitars. The fist jam drew about 70 people in May, and had grown to more than 170 by August. About 15 pickers are usually on stage, and we have about 20 singers. “Community involvement is increasing. At the August jam, Beulah-Thomas Baptist Church furnished cakes for the refreshment time during the intermission. Meanwhile, Baindrige TV station WMGR (channel 22) videotaped the August jam for replay four times each month.” Pastor Tatum said, “The monthly jam brings positive publicity to Port City Church of God and gives anyone interested an opportunity to use their talents to give praise to Jesus. . . . That is what the Port City Church is here to do—lift up Jesus.”
For daily news updates about what’s happening in the Church of God and Evangelical world, visit FAITH NEWS NETWORK, at www.faithnews.cc.
What do the musicians and singers say about the monthly gathering? • “I have made new friends who have come from 80 miles away, and they are great musicians. The gospel jam is now my favorite place to play.”—Tommy Thompson • “The gospel jam means putting God first in my music. For me that’s a very big change because I used to play Southern rock and heavy metal. My life has changed since those days, and it feels good to be a part of something that is so good and feels so real.”—Tim Dickens
• “I’m no professional singer or musician , but once a month I get to be with others just like me to give my best back to God.”— Larry Harrell • “The gospel jam is an inspiration for the city of Bainbridge where people can come together in song and spirit to praise the Lord. These songs have a message.”—Mike and Sandra McComb • “I’m so glad that Jerry Murkerson answered God’s call to start this gospel jam. I love string music—even more, gospel string music. Let’s keep praising Jesus.”—Mark Ward
House of Refuge Reaching Thousands DILWORTH, Ala.—Our new pastor, Nelson Kimberly, had gathered the lay leaders of the Dilworth Church of God to complete a survey regarding the congregation’s goals and visions. While many topics were being discussed, Sheila Cook, twice-widowed, said, “Pastor, I have always wanted to feed the community Thanksgiving dinner. Can we do this?” From this one statement, the “House of Refuge Food Bank” was born. This ministry is now in its seventh year serving Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, providing Christmas gifts and school supplies for children, operating a clothes closet, supporting “Shoes for Orphan Souls,” and offering free medical clinics. In our first food bank, we served 76 families out of a small Sunday school room. This outreach now has its own building, and this year the House of Refuge has provided food to 50,000 people.
Most importantly, many souls have been saved for God’s glory. Through a young widow’s dream to feed the community, our heavenly Father has done a great work. Sheila Cook has won the battle over cancer through God’s miraculous healing, and remains active as the warehouse supervisor at House of Refuge. —Denise Gilliland
Sheila Cook
From Ruins to Redemption CLEVELAND, Tenn.—When an unprecedented line of tornadoes moved through Bradley County on April 27, Wayne Johnson lost not only his home, but also his wife, Evelyn. They had been married 11 years. Wayne tells about their last moments together—how they were discussing it was hard to believe that storms were predicted on such a beautiful evening. As he walked to the front door, he heard a noise like a freight train and the house began to be sucked into the sky. Wayne was thrown under his wife’s car, which served as a shield from the unrelenting twister. Less than a minute and it was over. The Johnsons’ home, which had been paid off just a few weeks earlier, was a pile of splinters. Wayne’s truck had been thrown 300 yards. Evelyn was dead, her body lying several yards away from the remains of their home. Unlike her husband, Evelyn had been a loyal church member. In the hours after the storm, Wayne was a bitter man. He felt like God “made a mistake” by letting his wife die instead of him. Trying to cope in the days following the storms, Wayne was bombarded with Christian love. Dozens of volunteers removed trees, separated items, and cleaned Wayne’s property while he grieved the loss of his wife. One volunteer he encountered every day was Charles Hollifield, head of operations for the Church of God International Offices. Charles tried to console Wayne with the love of Christ. One day, Charles walked with Wayne to the site where Evelyn’s body had been found.
“Wayne, Evelyn’s life may have been lost here, but you can find your life at this same spot,” Charles said. “God spared you because of His great mercy, love, and grace. Your life was spared to keep you from going to hell. God is giving you another chance.” Following a short prayer, Wayne was gloriously saved. Wayne told Tommy—his drinking buddy and Evelyn’s brother—about his salvation experience, and Tommy accepted Christ. A few weeks later, Tommy and Wayne were baptized by Charles in the above-ground pool at the new home the Lord provided for Wayne. Wayne says he is a new person: “Because of Jesus, I don’t think like I used to and my desires are not the same desires.” Wayne’s testimony does not stop there. Back at his devastated property, the recyclable and salvageable materials were sold for more than $2,000! Wayne told Charles, “I want every penny of it to go to Church of God Disaster Relief. God’s love has been demonstrated to me, and I want to show my appreciation by blessing someone else.” Wayne Johnson (left) preparing to be baptized by Charles Hollifield
North Georgia State Office Hosts Georgia Legislature Representatives ATLANTA, Ga.—At the Georgia State Capital on August 16, a luncheon took place for representatives of the state legislature who are connected to the Church of God. Hosted by the North Georgia Church of God State Offices, among those attending were state senators, state representatives, lobbyists, and leadership and staff members from various state departments. In addition, Church of God pastors for each of the legislature representatives were present. “The purpose of the luncheon
was to recognize, connect with, and affirm these individuals for their distinguished public service,” said Michael Baker, state administrative bishop. “As a result of the event, we are planning for an annual opportunity for connectivity, affirmation, and dialogue—with the goal of expanding the circle of leadership to include other Christian leaders in the Georgia legislature. This time together proved to be extremely beneficial for future engagement of the Church of God and significant Georgia government leadership.”
DECEASED MINISTERS and COMPANIONS AMISON, J. Don; 76; ordained bishop; Tennessee; Wilma Amison (wife)
MCINTOSH, Alex H.; 80; ordained bishop; Indiana; Irene McIntosh (wife)
CASTEEL, Paul Eugene; 67; exhorter; Florida; Jeanean Casteel (wife)
POPLIN, Marshall R.; 89; ordained bishop; North Carolina; Margaret Poplin (wife)
CLARKE, Gilbert S.; 82; ordained bishop; Indiana; Lucille Clarke (wife)
PUETTE, Lane Napoleon; 94; ordained bishop; North Carolina; Delores McNeal (daughter)
HALL, Margaret; 76; exhorter; Georgia; Janice Hall (daughter)
WATKINS, Lloyd Birl; 79; ordained bishop; Alabama; Melba Watkins (wife)
JOHNSON, Coral; 78; exhorter; Bahamas; Leslie Norville (daughter)
WEBBER, Wedis; 77; exhorter; Georgia; Bryan Webber (husband)
LAMBERT, Maynard E.; 72; exhorter; Michigan; Connie Lambert (wife)
EVANGEL | November 2011
29
CREATIVE CHURCH
The Curse of Knowledge By JERRY LAWSON
OUR UNDERSTANDING ABOUT OUR CHURCH SUB CULTURE HAS MADE IT REMARKABLY DIFFICULT FOR US TO REACH THOSE WHO LACK THIS KNOWLEDGE.
JERRY LAWSON is lead pastor of the Daystar Church of God in Cullman, Alabama. 30
EVANGEL | November 2011
W
ITH THE American church culture firmly in the grips of steep organizational decline, few argue the fact that something needs to change. But many differ on the question of just what is wrong with the Western church, or our version of it. May I suggest the following? We are actually not doing anything wrong. Church as we are presenting it to the lost world is just perfect . . . for 1987. The message is timeless. The love of God knows no language or time barriers. God’s Spirit moves in every generation just as He moved on the waters in Genesis 1. But if our way of communicating the perfect news remains outdated, emerging generations will be left on the outside looking in as they grip tightly to the world’s message while ours appears to be irrelevant. It’s not that our message is imperfect in any way; it just lacks the handles needed for lost people to catch on. While the message is not flawed, we (the messengers) are. We have the “curse of knowledge”—our understanding about our church sub-culture has made it remarkably difficult for us to reach those who lack this knowledge. In their book Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath say, “Once we know something, we find it hard to imagine what it was like not to know it. Our knowledge has ‘cursed’ us. And it becomes difficult for us to share our knowledge with others, because we can’t readily re-create our listeners’ state of mind.”
We are cursed with knowledge that our “target”—lost people—do not have. We know what time worship starts. We know that Brother Bob gets to church late and tunes his guitar during the first song because he works the night shift on Saturday. We know where to park in the parking lot. We know that we always sing the first, second, and fourth verses on the hymns. (By the way, who wrote all those horrible third verses?) We also know all of the inside language. We know what the pastor means when he says, “As it was in the days of Noah. . . .” We know how to “get under the spout where the glory comes out.” We know that “deliverance” is a good thing, not just an icky Burt Reynolds movie from the 1970s. What we know is not a bad thing. However, if we are not careful we will design worship experiences that are built on this expected knowledge base, and those who are far from God and do not have a church background will be completely confused. We must teach deliverance to our people. We must experience the glory of God. We must recognize the days we are living in. However, we cannot do it by leaving the lost (our mission) behind. As church leaders, we must examine ourselves—examine how we act, how we speak, how we communicate the love of God. Since God’s love is the greatest gift ever given to humanity, should we not take great care in how we share that gift? Shouldn’t we communicate God’s love in the most effective way?
