Tuesday afternoon of this week I was driving home to Bridgman on the westbound lane of I-94. There were actually three lanes in each direction and I was in the center. I had just gone under the Cleveland Avenue overpass and was approaching the one for Glenlord Road when I noticed a large, white, late-model car sideways across the inside eastbound lane. My first impression was that he was parked in the inside lane with his rear bumper in the middle lane and front bumper on the berm. In that split second I wondered, why would he park there on a busy highway? Then I realized he wasn’t parked, but was sliding sideways down the highway.
He had apparently just lost control. The car then went down into the median, hitting the bottom hard and bouncing up, then coming up out of the median onto the westbound lane. Fortunately, I was the only car in that part of the highway, but I quickly realized the scared-looking elderly couple was headed directly toward me. I was doing about 65 miles an hour (I was approaching a road repair area with a 60 mile speed limit) and I hit the brakes hard and quickly steered into the right lane planning to head for the ditch. However, the white car spun around in the center lane and slid backwards past me and into the inside westbound lane first, then across the berm and onto the dirt in the median, where it scattered dust and dirt clods before coming to an abrupt stop.
I looked into my rearview mirror to see the couple sitting there, apparently stunned and unbelieving they could have experienced all that and come out of it unscathed. I was almost as shook up as they seemed to be. I also noticed in my rearview mirror that about an eighth of a mile behind me all three lanes were full of traffic and two of them were at least two cars deep. If the driver had lost control a split second later he would have spun into a seven or more car pile-up and no doubt people would have died. I realized too, if we had collided in a head-on crash it could also have been very bad. As I drove on down the road, safe and with no damage at all, I thanked God fervently for his wonderful protection.
It could have been a very bad day, but instead it was a very good day and I give God all the glory. Praise God! From whom all blessings flow!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Monday, December 27, 2010
Confessions of a Christmas Lover
Guest Essay by Kathy Gray
I confess. I love Christmas—all of Christmas. I love decorating trees and fireplaces; I love twinkly lights and baking Christmas cookies. I love silly Christmas movies with silly stories. And yes, I love gifts. I LOVE gifts—unapologetically.
I love finding the perfect gifts and the excitement of giving them. I love the thrill of a gift-heaped tree and the anticipation of all the surprises. I love opening presents all morning and enjoying them all afternoon. And...
I think God enjoys it too. I think he's a Father in heaven that finds pleasure in joyful, excited kids, just like we do. And I believe we glorify him more in our overflowing joy, than our dour admonitions to "have the right focus."
What exactly is "the right focus" anyway? I'm curious. If someone went to a remote part of the world today and discovered a pagan holiday, imbibed it with religious significance, then declared that March 14th was the day we were all to observe this—would we be obligated? Would God expect us to focus extra hard on that specific truth because some Christian somewhere decided this was a good idea? God gave numerous celebrations in Scripture, loaded with spiritual significance, which we routinely ignore. But the revised pagan celebration from ancient England, which is nowhere to be found in the Bible—we endlessly admonish ourselves for neglecting. How ironic.
I love thinking about the incarnation. It is an awesome and stunning reality that deserves to be renewed regularly in our hearts. But I feel no more obligation to do so in December than I do in July. There is nothing Biblically binding about our Christmas celebration beyond the principles that apply to every day of our lives such as goodness, faithfulness, generosity, gratitude, contentment, peace, joy, patience, and kindness.
I'm not sure what it says about us when the pagans exhibit more joy in their holiday celebrations than we do. I think we should be the merriest people on earth, exhibiting such contagious joy that everyone around us is asking why we enjoy life so much. If I were an unbeliever, I would certainly NOT want to be a Christian during Christmas...with the incessant guilt-laden admonitions, dour expressions, and weary sighs. Nothing about this is attractive.
So no, I don't feel guilty in the least during the holiday season for not focusing enough on Jesus' birth. I feel the same freedom I feel every day of the week to focus on Christ in a whole array of ways. And yes, I love Christmas. I choose to focus on Christ by observing that he gave the most amazing gift to those he loved when he came to earth. Consequently, I want to have a generous heart towards those I love as well. I want to reflect his goodness by rejoicing in the fact that every good and perfect gift is from the Father above, and he gives these good gifts for our enjoyment. I want to honor him with exceeding joy and gratitude in the midst of all these good gifts. And if any unbelievers are watching, I want my joy and celebration to be irresistible.
Meet Kathy Gray. . .
Kathy Gray is our daughter, a home-school mom, a teacher par excellance, and, as you can see, an excellent writer—and a lover of Christmas. She, and our daughter Twyla, get their writing ability from me (and my mother) and their love of Christmas from their mother, my wife, Carol. (I actually enjoy it almost as much, but only because of how well Carol and the girls pull it off. They all three love to give gifts that fit and bring happiness to the people they love, and like Kathy, I think that’s a virtue to praise God for, not a behavior to be ashamed of.
Thanks Kathy, for a beautiful essay and a wonderful statement of faith. I love you!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
I confess. I love Christmas—all of Christmas. I love decorating trees and fireplaces; I love twinkly lights and baking Christmas cookies. I love silly Christmas movies with silly stories. And yes, I love gifts. I LOVE gifts—unapologetically.
I love finding the perfect gifts and the excitement of giving them. I love the thrill of a gift-heaped tree and the anticipation of all the surprises. I love opening presents all morning and enjoying them all afternoon. And...
I think God enjoys it too. I think he's a Father in heaven that finds pleasure in joyful, excited kids, just like we do. And I believe we glorify him more in our overflowing joy, than our dour admonitions to "have the right focus."
What exactly is "the right focus" anyway? I'm curious. If someone went to a remote part of the world today and discovered a pagan holiday, imbibed it with religious significance, then declared that March 14th was the day we were all to observe this—would we be obligated? Would God expect us to focus extra hard on that specific truth because some Christian somewhere decided this was a good idea? God gave numerous celebrations in Scripture, loaded with spiritual significance, which we routinely ignore. But the revised pagan celebration from ancient England, which is nowhere to be found in the Bible—we endlessly admonish ourselves for neglecting. How ironic.
I love thinking about the incarnation. It is an awesome and stunning reality that deserves to be renewed regularly in our hearts. But I feel no more obligation to do so in December than I do in July. There is nothing Biblically binding about our Christmas celebration beyond the principles that apply to every day of our lives such as goodness, faithfulness, generosity, gratitude, contentment, peace, joy, patience, and kindness.
I'm not sure what it says about us when the pagans exhibit more joy in their holiday celebrations than we do. I think we should be the merriest people on earth, exhibiting such contagious joy that everyone around us is asking why we enjoy life so much. If I were an unbeliever, I would certainly NOT want to be a Christian during Christmas...with the incessant guilt-laden admonitions, dour expressions, and weary sighs. Nothing about this is attractive.
So no, I don't feel guilty in the least during the holiday season for not focusing enough on Jesus' birth. I feel the same freedom I feel every day of the week to focus on Christ in a whole array of ways. And yes, I love Christmas. I choose to focus on Christ by observing that he gave the most amazing gift to those he loved when he came to earth. Consequently, I want to have a generous heart towards those I love as well. I want to reflect his goodness by rejoicing in the fact that every good and perfect gift is from the Father above, and he gives these good gifts for our enjoyment. I want to honor him with exceeding joy and gratitude in the midst of all these good gifts. And if any unbelievers are watching, I want my joy and celebration to be irresistible.
Meet Kathy Gray. . .
Kathy Gray is our daughter, a home-school mom, a teacher par excellance, and, as you can see, an excellent writer—and a lover of Christmas. She, and our daughter Twyla, get their writing ability from me (and my mother) and their love of Christmas from their mother, my wife, Carol. (I actually enjoy it almost as much, but only because of how well Carol and the girls pull it off. They all three love to give gifts that fit and bring happiness to the people they love, and like Kathy, I think that’s a virtue to praise God for, not a behavior to be ashamed of.
Thanks Kathy, for a beautiful essay and a wonderful statement of faith. I love you!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
A Good Book to Read
I recently came across a book I really enjoyed and recommend to everyone who uses statistics about the church in your preaching or teaching. The book is “Christians Are Hate-filled Hypocrites…and Other Lies You’ve Been Told”, by Bradley R. E. Wright, PhD.
According to the information on the back cover, Dr. Wright is “Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, where he researches American Christianity.” His book de-bunks many of the negative things we’ve heard about the church through the years.
For years I have grouched and complained about how George Barna throws around what I consider to be bogus negative statistics about the church. If we believed him (I don’t but many preachers do) we would think God’s church was a total failure and was headed for extinction within a very short time.
I don’t believe him at all. I think, in spite of the fact there are failures among the congregations in our own movement and in every denomination, that for the most part God’s church is a marvelous success.
One example in which Dr. Wright challenges Barna’s writing is in the off repeated statistic that Christians get divorced as often as non-Christians. I’ve bored my friends and colleagues for years telling them this is simply not true! When I ask, “Is this true among the Christians you know?” they admit it isn’t, but they assume the statistic is true because someone wrote it down. As you can imagine, that does not make it true.
The interesting thing about the above book is that he challenges many of the negative statistics about Christians in general as well as the church and does it very intelligently, with a smattering of humor that makes it a little easier to read.
I’m a preacher myself, but I refuse to use statistics unless they both make sense and can be validated—otherwise I make it clear to my hearers that I am aware statistics are only as valid as the research on which they are based.
According to Dr. Wright, there is one area where the church is not very successful and that is in the area of bigotry. We have a problem loving people who are different than we are, that isn’t really a problem unless you consider the fact that loving people is the most important thing we are supposed to do. Unfortunately, I believe this statistic because I have seen it lived out in many churches.
In spite of this one weakness, the church is a highly successful organization, institution, movement, or whatever we want to call it. There is no doubt it is getting better all the time, it is growing rapidly throughout the world, and it helps people to be better people. I think we should praise God for that, and also thank God for Dr. Bradley Wright’s book. You should read it too. And he has a most enlightening blog you can read at www.brewright.blogspot.com. I also encourage you to check that out.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
According to the information on the back cover, Dr. Wright is “Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut, where he researches American Christianity.” His book de-bunks many of the negative things we’ve heard about the church through the years.
For years I have grouched and complained about how George Barna throws around what I consider to be bogus negative statistics about the church. If we believed him (I don’t but many preachers do) we would think God’s church was a total failure and was headed for extinction within a very short time.
I don’t believe him at all. I think, in spite of the fact there are failures among the congregations in our own movement and in every denomination, that for the most part God’s church is a marvelous success.
One example in which Dr. Wright challenges Barna’s writing is in the off repeated statistic that Christians get divorced as often as non-Christians. I’ve bored my friends and colleagues for years telling them this is simply not true! When I ask, “Is this true among the Christians you know?” they admit it isn’t, but they assume the statistic is true because someone wrote it down. As you can imagine, that does not make it true.
The interesting thing about the above book is that he challenges many of the negative statistics about Christians in general as well as the church and does it very intelligently, with a smattering of humor that makes it a little easier to read.
I’m a preacher myself, but I refuse to use statistics unless they both make sense and can be validated—otherwise I make it clear to my hearers that I am aware statistics are only as valid as the research on which they are based.
According to Dr. Wright, there is one area where the church is not very successful and that is in the area of bigotry. We have a problem loving people who are different than we are, that isn’t really a problem unless you consider the fact that loving people is the most important thing we are supposed to do. Unfortunately, I believe this statistic because I have seen it lived out in many churches.
In spite of this one weakness, the church is a highly successful organization, institution, movement, or whatever we want to call it. There is no doubt it is getting better all the time, it is growing rapidly throughout the world, and it helps people to be better people. I think we should praise God for that, and also thank God for Dr. Bradley Wright’s book. You should read it too. And he has a most enlightening blog you can read at www.brewright.blogspot.com. I also encourage you to check that out.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
A Nod to Heroes We’ve Met
Recently the nation of Chile became the focus of world-wide attention when it was discovered that thirty-three miners who had been trapped a half mile underground by an explosion, were alive. This event and the success of the effort to rescue them caused the word “hero” to be tossed around indiscriminately and I would like to consider the various heroes and heroines involved in this amazing rescue.
Heroes to consider:
-the miners, who stayed strong emotionally, physically and mentally and who helped with their own rescue.
-the world mining community who joined with their cohorts in Brazil to bring together all the knowledge, skill and equipment possible and who worked as an international team to pull it off.
-perhaps even the newsmen and women, who left homes and families to go to Brazil to show and tell the world what was happening.
-certainly the families of the men who never gave up hope and who prayed for their safety.
-But also, the prayer warriors around the world who did not know any of the men or their families, but who, nevertheless, prayed consistently through the many weeks of the rescue effort. They were the unsung heroes and heroines—faithful persons of great faith, from a multitude of church groups and even different religions, who prayed for the miners, their families, the rescuers and all those involved.
But mostly, praise be to God, the greatest Hero of all. Who is present wherever we find ourselves and who is always available when we open our hearts to Him.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Heroes to consider:
-the miners, who stayed strong emotionally, physically and mentally and who helped with their own rescue.
-the world mining community who joined with their cohorts in Brazil to bring together all the knowledge, skill and equipment possible and who worked as an international team to pull it off.
-perhaps even the newsmen and women, who left homes and families to go to Brazil to show and tell the world what was happening.
-certainly the families of the men who never gave up hope and who prayed for their safety.
-But also, the prayer warriors around the world who did not know any of the men or their families, but who, nevertheless, prayed consistently through the many weeks of the rescue effort. They were the unsung heroes and heroines—faithful persons of great faith, from a multitude of church groups and even different religions, who prayed for the miners, their families, the rescuers and all those involved.
But mostly, praise be to God, the greatest Hero of all. Who is present wherever we find ourselves and who is always available when we open our hearts to Him.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
God's Comfort
Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.”
Many times we try to spiritualize this beatitude and make it mean something spiritual in nature but I believe Jesus was dealing with a very important part of the human psyche that is often damaged by not knowing how to properly deal with loss. Grief is a normal part of life on earth. We’re in a temporary situation. People die. Things get lost. Favorite clothes wear out. Friends move away. Loss will always be a part of our lives as long as we live. None of us live forever in this life, so all of us will die and when someone dies, it is not only normal, but helpful, to grieve.
When Jesus told us to mourn, it was so we could experience comfort. He wanted us to know loss is important and should be dealt with constructively. For example, we can know a deceased loved one is with the Lord and doing well in eternal bliss, but we still miss them terribly and we need to grieve our loss in order to receive God’s comfort.
Jesus included mourning in his list of beatitudes so we could understand that grief is God’s gift to deal with the temporary nature of all things earthly. Since loss is a normal part of the human condition and it can sometimes be devastating, we need to learn how to deal with it.
Sometimes the loss will be minimal and fleeting—such as the loss of a beautiful flower that fades. You are sorry the beauty is gone and it must be discarded, but the mourning is minimal because it was expected and can be replaced by another flower or a work of art that pictures the flower.
But sometimes the losses are huge as we mentioned earlier, such as the death of a family member or friend. Or, the loss of a job we depended on for income and life purpose. In such tragic or difficult situations the pain can be excruciating and extended. If we ignore the pain or try to stuff it down somewhere into the inner parts of our psyche, the pain will not go away, it will just fester and boil until it finally breaks out in some physical or emotionally unhealthy way.
So, as Jesus said, we need to grieve our loses. The grief should be appropriate—we should not grieve to the point of being inconsolable for an insignificant loss, nor should we try to move on too quickly when the loss is considerable. But whatever the situation, be sure to grieve your losses so you can experience God’s comfort.
Notice Jesus didn’t just say “Blessed are they that mourn”. He continued with the encouraging words “for they shall be comforted.” Notice particularly that he said “be” comforted. This implies someone else is involved in the comfort and I think we can assume he meant God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we grieve our losses, we experience God’s comfort. When we help someone to grieve appropriately, we work together with God in his comforting work.
At the loss of a loved one, grief is God’s way of helping you through this difficult time to victory in the days ahead, so just let him love you and share your grief. Take the time you need to find healing. Grief is God’s process to bring you complete healing, but it takes time. Time is part of the healing, so don’t rush anything so significant.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Many times we try to spiritualize this beatitude and make it mean something spiritual in nature but I believe Jesus was dealing with a very important part of the human psyche that is often damaged by not knowing how to properly deal with loss. Grief is a normal part of life on earth. We’re in a temporary situation. People die. Things get lost. Favorite clothes wear out. Friends move away. Loss will always be a part of our lives as long as we live. None of us live forever in this life, so all of us will die and when someone dies, it is not only normal, but helpful, to grieve.
When Jesus told us to mourn, it was so we could experience comfort. He wanted us to know loss is important and should be dealt with constructively. For example, we can know a deceased loved one is with the Lord and doing well in eternal bliss, but we still miss them terribly and we need to grieve our loss in order to receive God’s comfort.
Jesus included mourning in his list of beatitudes so we could understand that grief is God’s gift to deal with the temporary nature of all things earthly. Since loss is a normal part of the human condition and it can sometimes be devastating, we need to learn how to deal with it.
Sometimes the loss will be minimal and fleeting—such as the loss of a beautiful flower that fades. You are sorry the beauty is gone and it must be discarded, but the mourning is minimal because it was expected and can be replaced by another flower or a work of art that pictures the flower.
But sometimes the losses are huge as we mentioned earlier, such as the death of a family member or friend. Or, the loss of a job we depended on for income and life purpose. In such tragic or difficult situations the pain can be excruciating and extended. If we ignore the pain or try to stuff it down somewhere into the inner parts of our psyche, the pain will not go away, it will just fester and boil until it finally breaks out in some physical or emotionally unhealthy way.
So, as Jesus said, we need to grieve our loses. The grief should be appropriate—we should not grieve to the point of being inconsolable for an insignificant loss, nor should we try to move on too quickly when the loss is considerable. But whatever the situation, be sure to grieve your losses so you can experience God’s comfort.
Notice Jesus didn’t just say “Blessed are they that mourn”. He continued with the encouraging words “for they shall be comforted.” Notice particularly that he said “be” comforted. This implies someone else is involved in the comfort and I think we can assume he meant God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. When we grieve our losses, we experience God’s comfort. When we help someone to grieve appropriately, we work together with God in his comforting work.
At the loss of a loved one, grief is God’s way of helping you through this difficult time to victory in the days ahead, so just let him love you and share your grief. Take the time you need to find healing. Grief is God’s process to bring you complete healing, but it takes time. Time is part of the healing, so don’t rush anything so significant.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Earth, The Cradle of Life
John tells us in his first letter to the church that "...God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." (I John 5:11-12)
In other words, life does not exist without Jesus Christ.
Physical life is dependent upon Jesus because He is both Creator and Sustainer of all life. Every living creature, all minerals and plant life exist through the life of Jesus. Apparently, if He would cease to live, all other life would instantly cease as well.
Does this mean the cycles of life—spring, summer, fall and winter might lose their consistency? Atoms, which make up everything physical, would dissolve? Planets and other heavenly bodies might fly out of orbit and explode into nothingness? I’m not sure, but I know without Jesus, creation would return to the void from which it came.
Jesus, of course, who is himself God, will always live as Creator and Source of all of life (both physical and eternal) because as God He cannot die. He created physical life as a cradle for eternal life. The cradle is temporary, as all cradles are, but it is God’s plan that during physical life, in Christ we discover a oneness with our Creator and begin to live in the fullness and abundance of His Life, which is not temporary at all, but everlasting, or eternal.
Paul wrote about it in Acts 17:24-28(NIV).
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'…”
In this life we all live in the Presence of God through Jesus Christ and enjoy the benefits of his Life even though many don't know him, or, if they know him, they reject him for some trivial thing they think is more valuable. However, as long as we live this earthly life, whether or not we recognize it, we experience God through Jesus Christ because He is the Lord of all creation.
Tragically some people leave the cradle of life without ever discovering its purpose—eternal life in heaven, the maturity of human life. Or, having discovered it, they reject it and go into eternity totally unprepared—living and dying without ever knowing the eternal life for which they were created, wastefully discarding the enormous efforts of God in our behalf.
On the other hand, those who find the true meaning of life discover in this cradle experience a freshness and vitality that flows freely from the Life of Jesus. And when we leave this infancy of the temporal it is not really death (although we call it that) but a casting away of the shackles of our dependence on temporary physical life and a joyful acceptance of our promotion into the fullness of the abundant, eternal life for which we were created.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
(This article was first published as a column in "Insights" in the Herald-Palladium newspaper, St Joseph, Michigan)
In other words, life does not exist without Jesus Christ.
Physical life is dependent upon Jesus because He is both Creator and Sustainer of all life. Every living creature, all minerals and plant life exist through the life of Jesus. Apparently, if He would cease to live, all other life would instantly cease as well.
Does this mean the cycles of life—spring, summer, fall and winter might lose their consistency? Atoms, which make up everything physical, would dissolve? Planets and other heavenly bodies might fly out of orbit and explode into nothingness? I’m not sure, but I know without Jesus, creation would return to the void from which it came.
Jesus, of course, who is himself God, will always live as Creator and Source of all of life (both physical and eternal) because as God He cannot die. He created physical life as a cradle for eternal life. The cradle is temporary, as all cradles are, but it is God’s plan that during physical life, in Christ we discover a oneness with our Creator and begin to live in the fullness and abundance of His Life, which is not temporary at all, but everlasting, or eternal.
Paul wrote about it in Acts 17:24-28(NIV).
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'…”
In this life we all live in the Presence of God through Jesus Christ and enjoy the benefits of his Life even though many don't know him, or, if they know him, they reject him for some trivial thing they think is more valuable. However, as long as we live this earthly life, whether or not we recognize it, we experience God through Jesus Christ because He is the Lord of all creation.
Tragically some people leave the cradle of life without ever discovering its purpose—eternal life in heaven, the maturity of human life. Or, having discovered it, they reject it and go into eternity totally unprepared—living and dying without ever knowing the eternal life for which they were created, wastefully discarding the enormous efforts of God in our behalf.
On the other hand, those who find the true meaning of life discover in this cradle experience a freshness and vitality that flows freely from the Life of Jesus. And when we leave this infancy of the temporal it is not really death (although we call it that) but a casting away of the shackles of our dependence on temporary physical life and a joyful acceptance of our promotion into the fullness of the abundant, eternal life for which we were created.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
(This article was first published as a column in "Insights" in the Herald-Palladium newspaper, St Joseph, Michigan)
Monday, May 31, 2010
Church of God "Identity"
My Comment on Church of God “Identity”
written by Lloyd Moritz for CHOG Blog
Brother Lloyd,
I enjoyed your “Identity” commentary on the “identity problem” in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). I think you’re getting really close to the issue. The real problem, as I see it, is that we aren’t supposed to have an identity except to be the people of God. Our identity as the church of God is to be the people of God along with every other believer in the world, regardless of what name they have over the door of their church, and to work together with all other believers to make every person on earth a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we try to have an identity other than that, we cease to be the true church of God.
D. S. Warner’s view of the church may not have been perfect, but he “saw the church” as the body of Christ, whose main purpose is to be the body of Christ by being his witnesses and making disciples in every culture, in every era—disciples that will continue to do the same as long as the world stands. We sometimes do other things, but everything we do, publishing, education, etc., should tie in with that central purpose.
Our identity is tied to the Lord Jesus Christ and his purpose. If we have an identity other than that we have lost our true identity.
Monday, May 31, 2010 7:42:00 PM
Additionally, here are some thoughts I have written in the past about the Church of God. . .
“Tell Me about the Church of God
By Rick Blumenberg
The Biblical word for church is Eklesia (Ek-lay-see’-uh). What it really means is a gathering of God’s people. So any time you find a gathering of people who love God and are doing their best to serve them you find the church of God. It doesn’t matter what name they use, or even if they have a name. All that matters is in whose name they gather.
So when we call ourselves the Church of God we don’t mean God belongs to us, we mean it is our earnest desire that we belong to God. We do not see ourselves as being God’s exclusive people, but as a people who want to belong exclusively to God. We don’t see other churches as being our competitors, but as brothers and sisters in the family of God who just happen to worship God in another place, and, maybe with a different name.
We are a church that believes God’s Word, the Bible, is the foundation of truth for all we do, teach and live. It is the first source of wisdom and the final authority in all of life. It is a book we love because it teaches us to know, love and serve God— Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with all our hearts.
We believe God wants everyone to come to know him as Savior and Lord of their lives and our reason for existence is threefold— to lead people to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, his Son and our Savior; to help them grow into fully devoted and Spirit-filled disciples of Christ; and to worship God with all of our being.
We believe a person is born into the church when they repent of sin and accept Christ as Savior by faith. We also believe every Christian should find a local church home in which they can grow in their understanding of God and serve him faithfully, in the church, in their homes and in the community.
We consider every believer to be a minister of the Gospel with spiritual gifts given by God to help us be fruitful in ministry and joyfully productive in God’s service.”
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
written by Lloyd Moritz for CHOG Blog
Brother Lloyd,
I enjoyed your “Identity” commentary on the “identity problem” in the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). I think you’re getting really close to the issue. The real problem, as I see it, is that we aren’t supposed to have an identity except to be the people of God. Our identity as the church of God is to be the people of God along with every other believer in the world, regardless of what name they have over the door of their church, and to work together with all other believers to make every person on earth a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we try to have an identity other than that, we cease to be the true church of God.
D. S. Warner’s view of the church may not have been perfect, but he “saw the church” as the body of Christ, whose main purpose is to be the body of Christ by being his witnesses and making disciples in every culture, in every era—disciples that will continue to do the same as long as the world stands. We sometimes do other things, but everything we do, publishing, education, etc., should tie in with that central purpose.
Our identity is tied to the Lord Jesus Christ and his purpose. If we have an identity other than that we have lost our true identity.
Monday, May 31, 2010 7:42:00 PM
Additionally, here are some thoughts I have written in the past about the Church of God. . .
“Tell Me about the Church of God
By Rick Blumenberg
The Biblical word for church is Eklesia (Ek-lay-see’-uh). What it really means is a gathering of God’s people. So any time you find a gathering of people who love God and are doing their best to serve them you find the church of God. It doesn’t matter what name they use, or even if they have a name. All that matters is in whose name they gather.
So when we call ourselves the Church of God we don’t mean God belongs to us, we mean it is our earnest desire that we belong to God. We do not see ourselves as being God’s exclusive people, but as a people who want to belong exclusively to God. We don’t see other churches as being our competitors, but as brothers and sisters in the family of God who just happen to worship God in another place, and, maybe with a different name.
We are a church that believes God’s Word, the Bible, is the foundation of truth for all we do, teach and live. It is the first source of wisdom and the final authority in all of life. It is a book we love because it teaches us to know, love and serve God— Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with all our hearts.
We believe God wants everyone to come to know him as Savior and Lord of their lives and our reason for existence is threefold— to lead people to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, his Son and our Savior; to help them grow into fully devoted and Spirit-filled disciples of Christ; and to worship God with all of our being.
We believe a person is born into the church when they repent of sin and accept Christ as Savior by faith. We also believe every Christian should find a local church home in which they can grow in their understanding of God and serve him faithfully, in the church, in their homes and in the community.
We consider every believer to be a minister of the Gospel with spiritual gifts given by God to help us be fruitful in ministry and joyfully productive in God’s service.”
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Intimacy With God
When Jesus met with his disciples for his final Passover feast he fully understood what was soon to transpire. The disciples, however, did not. They had no idea Jesus’ time as a human being would soon be over and he was preparing them to take over in his absence. His plan was to leave the work of the kingdom in their very incapable hands. He was also preparing them for a new intimacy with God that would make them fully capable.
They had no idea Pentecost was coming and what a tremendous difference it would make in the life of every believer and the world. Jesus knew, but they didn’t have a clue. Jesus told them later (John 16:7) “It is better for you that I go away....” No longer would the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—need to be the God “out there”. He would be Emmanuel—God with us! God within us! A new intimacy with God that the world had never before experienced, except in the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He, Jesus, knew what it was like and he wanted us all to experience it.
No longer would Jesus, the son of the only true and living God, be limited to one time and one place. Instead of walking with these few disciples on the dusty roads of Galilee, he would soon be able to live in them through the indwelling presence of his Holy Spirit, and not only these first century disciples, but every other disciple on earth who would accept him as Savior and welcome his Spirit into their hearts and lives. Instead of one Christ living in one place, at one time on earth, we would have a race of “Christs”— living, loving, working, and serving everywhere his people would be. Paul later described this new “body of Christ” that was no longer limited to one human body, when, in Romans 12:5 he wrote “…in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” So wherever we go, Christ goes. Instead of being limited to one body, Christ knew he would eventually be present in millions of physical bodies in every culture, in every geographical area and in every era of world history!
We live in the best of times! The time of the indwelling Presence of the most High God, when everyone who accepts him becomes part of his spiritual body—one with every other believer in heaven and on earth! Every believer is in the family—a family made up of brothers and sisters of every race and culture.
The sad thing is that God’s plan is not yet accomplished. He desires all his children (every human being) to have the intimate relationship of his indwelling Spirit. Jesus asked all believers to pray for that to happen. He taught us to pray to our heavenly Father “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10(NIV) Jesus further clarifies God’s will in his teaching to Nicodemus recorded in John 3:16-17(NIV): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Later Paul wrote that God “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4(ESV)) and in II Peter 3:9 it is written the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
God created us to be eternal and wants everyone on earth to have this intimate relationship with him and begin the experience of everlasting life.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
They had no idea Pentecost was coming and what a tremendous difference it would make in the life of every believer and the world. Jesus knew, but they didn’t have a clue. Jesus told them later (John 16:7) “It is better for you that I go away....” No longer would the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—need to be the God “out there”. He would be Emmanuel—God with us! God within us! A new intimacy with God that the world had never before experienced, except in the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He, Jesus, knew what it was like and he wanted us all to experience it.
No longer would Jesus, the son of the only true and living God, be limited to one time and one place. Instead of walking with these few disciples on the dusty roads of Galilee, he would soon be able to live in them through the indwelling presence of his Holy Spirit, and not only these first century disciples, but every other disciple on earth who would accept him as Savior and welcome his Spirit into their hearts and lives. Instead of one Christ living in one place, at one time on earth, we would have a race of “Christs”— living, loving, working, and serving everywhere his people would be. Paul later described this new “body of Christ” that was no longer limited to one human body, when, in Romans 12:5 he wrote “…in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” So wherever we go, Christ goes. Instead of being limited to one body, Christ knew he would eventually be present in millions of physical bodies in every culture, in every geographical area and in every era of world history!
We live in the best of times! The time of the indwelling Presence of the most High God, when everyone who accepts him becomes part of his spiritual body—one with every other believer in heaven and on earth! Every believer is in the family—a family made up of brothers and sisters of every race and culture.
The sad thing is that God’s plan is not yet accomplished. He desires all his children (every human being) to have the intimate relationship of his indwelling Spirit. Jesus asked all believers to pray for that to happen. He taught us to pray to our heavenly Father “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10(NIV) Jesus further clarifies God’s will in his teaching to Nicodemus recorded in John 3:16-17(NIV): “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Later Paul wrote that God “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4(ESV)) and in II Peter 3:9 it is written the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
God created us to be eternal and wants everyone on earth to have this intimate relationship with him and begin the experience of everlasting life.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Monday, May 03, 2010
The Second Step
"...We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." —II Corinthians 5:20b, 21(NIV)
The Righteousness of God means God's type of righteousness (based on love not legalism); a God-provided righteousness (rather than human self-righteousness); a self-chosen righteousness (God doesn't force it); and a self-imposed righteousness (no one can impose it on anyone else). And, when God's righteousness is in human flesh, except with Jesus, it is always a righteousness in process.
The work Christ did on the cross was an act of God we benefit from when we accept it by faith. However, the work Christ continually does through His Spirit brings us in line with the character of God so that "in him we might become the righteousness of God."
The Holy Spirit helps us attain the Christ-like life in a two-step process some of us call sanctification. We say "I must sanctify myself" (alluding to consecration). Or, we say "I must be sanctified" (alluding to purification). Both are correct uses of the word and statements of what happens in sanctification.
To sanctify is to "consecrate" or set aside for a holy purpose (as in Leviticus 11:44a). In consecration we surrender completely to God for His Holy purposes—living all of life under the Lordship of Christ and under the leadership of His Holy Spirit. To sanctify also means to "purify" or make pure or holy, as in John 17:17 when Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
In this purifying part of Sanctification we depend totally on God to work in our lives and restore us to His image because it is a work we cannot do ourselves. We merely surrender ourselves to him and ask him to do it in us and for us. So the first part of sanctification—consecration, is a work, or surrender, we must do before God's Spirit can fill us, because the power of God's Spirit cannot be released into a life not surrendered to God. The second part of sanctification—purification, is a work God does through his Spirit when he is allowed to fully enter our lives.
This purifying work is also both an action and a process. The action takes place when we crucify our selfish unholy spirit (a work only we can do) and ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and give us a new nature (a work only He can do). Most failures in Christian living come when we try to do the Spirit's work—we surrender to God then proceed to reclaim the life we gave Him and try to make it good by our own methods, causing severe discouragement in Christian living. However much we try, we always fail because we can never become good enough by our own efforts. Salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit begins the process so God’s Spirit has freedom to do what will require a lifetime to fully accomplish.
The Holy Spirit's work of leading us "into all truth" is part of the sanctifying process. Jesus also said, "Your word is truth" so we can see by this that the Holy Spirit uses Scripture in the sanctifying process, not only teaching us what we should do but helping us do it. You can rest assured God's Spirit never does anything in us or to us without our willing permission, however, those who learn to trust God, know the best way to live is to give Him absolute freedom in all of life.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
The Righteousness of God means God's type of righteousness (based on love not legalism); a God-provided righteousness (rather than human self-righteousness); a self-chosen righteousness (God doesn't force it); and a self-imposed righteousness (no one can impose it on anyone else). And, when God's righteousness is in human flesh, except with Jesus, it is always a righteousness in process.
The work Christ did on the cross was an act of God we benefit from when we accept it by faith. However, the work Christ continually does through His Spirit brings us in line with the character of God so that "in him we might become the righteousness of God."
The Holy Spirit helps us attain the Christ-like life in a two-step process some of us call sanctification. We say "I must sanctify myself" (alluding to consecration). Or, we say "I must be sanctified" (alluding to purification). Both are correct uses of the word and statements of what happens in sanctification.
To sanctify is to "consecrate" or set aside for a holy purpose (as in Leviticus 11:44a). In consecration we surrender completely to God for His Holy purposes—living all of life under the Lordship of Christ and under the leadership of His Holy Spirit. To sanctify also means to "purify" or make pure or holy, as in John 17:17 when Jesus prayed for his disciples, saying, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."
In this purifying part of Sanctification we depend totally on God to work in our lives and restore us to His image because it is a work we cannot do ourselves. We merely surrender ourselves to him and ask him to do it in us and for us. So the first part of sanctification—consecration, is a work, or surrender, we must do before God's Spirit can fill us, because the power of God's Spirit cannot be released into a life not surrendered to God. The second part of sanctification—purification, is a work God does through his Spirit when he is allowed to fully enter our lives.
This purifying work is also both an action and a process. The action takes place when we crucify our selfish unholy spirit (a work only we can do) and ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit and give us a new nature (a work only He can do). Most failures in Christian living come when we try to do the Spirit's work—we surrender to God then proceed to reclaim the life we gave Him and try to make it good by our own methods, causing severe discouragement in Christian living. However much we try, we always fail because we can never become good enough by our own efforts. Salvation and the infilling of the Holy Spirit begins the process so God’s Spirit has freedom to do what will require a lifetime to fully accomplish.
The Holy Spirit's work of leading us "into all truth" is part of the sanctifying process. Jesus also said, "Your word is truth" so we can see by this that the Holy Spirit uses Scripture in the sanctifying process, not only teaching us what we should do but helping us do it. You can rest assured God's Spirit never does anything in us or to us without our willing permission, however, those who learn to trust God, know the best way to live is to give Him absolute freedom in all of life.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The "Jesus Way" to Salvation
Jesus outlined the way to salvation when he explained to Nicodemus why his faith was not satisfactory. It was obvious Nicodemus had never experienced a spiritual birth, and Jesus seemed to find that astonishing, that a Jew who was a significant spiritual leader had never been born of the Spirit. You may be like Nicodemus or you may know someone like him, who is an earnest seeker after salvation and genuinely wants to know God in a personal way, but they are seeking it through their natural birth rather than a spiritual one. Let me explain what I see as the “Jesus way” to salvation.
Two Births are Required—
When Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be re-born Nicodemus assumed he meant a second physical birth, and he found that to be beyond comprehension, so Jesus had to explain. “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:5) I emphasize the “and” because I believe that is how Jesus spoke this sentence. I am convinced “born of water” was Jesus’ way of defining physical birth. I don’t believe Jesus meant baptism, although some Christians interpret it this way and they could be right. I think Jesus was saying, that being human is not enough. You are a child of God by “creation” a relationship that begins at conception, if not before. But he wanted Nicodemus (and us) to understand we must also be born “spiritually” or of the Spirit. He makes this even more clear when he went on to say, in verse six, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
You must be born again….of the Spirit”
The Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus. Everyone who believes in Jesus (Verse 15) will have eternal life. This is not a general or half-hearted faith, but a confidence that Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection are all a part of God’s plan for our salvation through Christ. “The Son of Man must be lifted up.” (Verse 14) shows us the essential nature of Christ’s death for our salvation. Without it we could not have the personal relationship with God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) that God makes possible through Christ. To be born of the Spirit is to allow the Holy Spirit of God to lead us into a personal relationship with the most high God. Verses 16-18 make it clear that until we experience that personal relationship with God, we exist in a state of condemnation through unbelief. Verse 21 shows us “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, our problem is that we sometimes let the “method” get in the way. Practically every different branch of the Christian church tends to have a different method to lead people into the light of Christ. Our methods also change with the times. Some use Christian Education, or catechism, some beginning almost from birth. Others use an altar of prayer or “mourner’s bench” and there are a multitude of other ways Christians use to profess our faith in Christ. The important thing, however, is the genuineness of faith and the relationship we have with God through faith.
The methods may vary and some may be better than others and each of us may prefer our method over others, but it is not the method, but the person that is most important. We must not place our faith in the method, but in the person—Jesus Christ. That’s why I call it the “Jesus Way” to salvation. And why I believe it is the only way there is.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Two Births are Required—
When Jesus told Nicodemus he needed to be re-born Nicodemus assumed he meant a second physical birth, and he found that to be beyond comprehension, so Jesus had to explain. “Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.’” (John 3:5) I emphasize the “and” because I believe that is how Jesus spoke this sentence. I am convinced “born of water” was Jesus’ way of defining physical birth. I don’t believe Jesus meant baptism, although some Christians interpret it this way and they could be right. I think Jesus was saying, that being human is not enough. You are a child of God by “creation” a relationship that begins at conception, if not before. But he wanted Nicodemus (and us) to understand we must also be born “spiritually” or of the Spirit. He makes this even more clear when he went on to say, in verse six, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
You must be born again….of the Spirit”
The Holy Spirit leads us to Jesus. Everyone who believes in Jesus (Verse 15) will have eternal life. This is not a general or half-hearted faith, but a confidence that Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection are all a part of God’s plan for our salvation through Christ. “The Son of Man must be lifted up.” (Verse 14) shows us the essential nature of Christ’s death for our salvation. Without it we could not have the personal relationship with God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) that God makes possible through Christ. To be born of the Spirit is to allow the Holy Spirit of God to lead us into a personal relationship with the most high God. Verses 16-18 make it clear that until we experience that personal relationship with God, we exist in a state of condemnation through unbelief. Verse 21 shows us “whoever lives by the truth comes into the light” of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, our problem is that we sometimes let the “method” get in the way. Practically every different branch of the Christian church tends to have a different method to lead people into the light of Christ. Our methods also change with the times. Some use Christian Education, or catechism, some beginning almost from birth. Others use an altar of prayer or “mourner’s bench” and there are a multitude of other ways Christians use to profess our faith in Christ. The important thing, however, is the genuineness of faith and the relationship we have with God through faith.
The methods may vary and some may be better than others and each of us may prefer our method over others, but it is not the method, but the person that is most important. We must not place our faith in the method, but in the person—Jesus Christ. That’s why I call it the “Jesus Way” to salvation. And why I believe it is the only way there is.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
New Beginnings—First Church at Benton Heights!
You can’t say that without an exclamation point! These two weeks have been days of excitement and glory as God powerfully touched lives. Many so touched are totally new to our congregation, First Church of God, St Joseph/Benton Harbor, Michigan. God is blessing big time and as Pastor Mary said for all of us, “I am so blessed and privileged to be part of what God is doing here.”
Hundreds have given uncountable hours cleaning, repairing, re-building and beautifying this wonderful old temple under the leadership of Pastor Greg Gordon and his marvelous voluntary crew. Dozens more joined Outreach Ministry Director Jenny Fry in creative and joyful ways to tell the community God loves them and so do we.
It all started when Benton Heights lay leader Brother Jim Benson called me, an associate pastor at First Church to ask if I could help Benton Heights by preaching for them until they got a pastor. As we talked I agreed to meet with them and see what we could do to help. I knew State Pastor and Overseer for the Church of God in Michigan, Reverend Bill Jones had been working with them and knew they were struggling to survive.
I also knew that for the past two years or so, First Church had been praying, dreaming and planning to begin a satellite ministry to Benton Harbor and all Berrien County. The question was where to begin. As soon as Lead Pastor David Colp heard about the Benton Heights request, a light came on in his eyes and he said excitedly, “Maybe this will be our first satellite site!” With Pastor Colp’s encouragement and blessing I met with Brother and Sister Jim (Lisette) Benson. They were very positive about the possibility of becoming a satellite ministry of First Church and assured me the congregation would whole-heartedly accept it. A subsequent meeting with the congregation’s leaders, Pastor Colp and other First Church staff, as well as Advisory Council Chair Jim Schueneman, affirmed that assumption and the process began in earnest.
Pastor Colp shared first with the Advisory Council, then with their enthusiastic blessing, with the entire congregation, and our new phase of outreach ministry began to take shape. The decision was made that regardless of what Benton Heights decided, this was the direction God was leading First Church. The First Church congregation enthusiastically supported the concept with their words of encouragement, prayers, financial support, time and talents. It was a small beginning that quickly became a total church effort.
The first day I talked with Brother Jim Benson was a Wednesday and that night I shared with my Wednesday night prayer group and asked them to pray for Benton Heights Church of God and for God to lead in what He wanted to happen there. That prayer mandate was enthusiastically accepted and it soon spread to the congregation as Pastor Colp began to share the vision, asking the church to pray for God’s direction.
For the first few weeks in November, 2009, I preached at Benton Heights and Lead Pastor David Colp arranged meetings between the leadership at First Church and Benton Heights. The fellowship was good and it seemed good to all to seriously consider joining our ministries to more effectively reach our communities. Instead of doing all the praching, I arranged for Pastors Bob Confer, Mary Shawl-Ranke, Bill Shepard, and Ryan Carrell to preach at Benton Heights, share the vision for their ministries, and tell how each of them and all our pastoral staff would cooperate to help the Benton Heights congregation move ahead. State Pastor and Overseer Bill Jones joined some of those meetings and encouraged Benton Heights to join forces with St Joseph First Church. He also explained how to handle the merger so we didn’t break any laws (or hearts) and so God would be glorified. His leadership, encouragement and expertise were invaluable.
On Sunday, February 7th, we held the last service as Benton Heights Church of God. It was a strange mixture of sadness and excitement. We knew something beautiful was ending, but something wonderful was also being born. Southwest Michigan State Pastor James Sparks came from Battle Creek, Micihgan to preach and encourage the congregation—thanking them for their sixty years of ministry, but also for their willingness to make drastic changes so they could continue to serve God effectively. Then for three weeks the congregation at Benton Heights joined First Church in St Joseph to, as Pastor Colp expressed it, “Experience the DNA of First Church at St Joseph”. That’s when Pastor Gordon’s voluntary crew of hundreds descended on Benton Heights to get it ready for the new normal. It was an amazing transformation and joyful prayer-filled labors as the two congregations worked together to renew the building for a new era of ministry.
Then Sunday, March 7, 2010, Rev. Mary Shawl-Ranke preached her first sermon as Campus Pastor to eighty persons (the Benton Heights Congregation and the “Core 50” from First Church). The next Sunday Pastor Colp preached on video (which will be the norm) with live preaching every six to eight weeks by Pastor Mary, sometimes Pastor myself, and ever so occasionally Pastor Colp. These first two services were a “soft opening” so we could learn to do church together as a congregation, before inviting the community to join us for worship.
And join us they did! A house full—158 people gathered for the “Grand Re-Opening” Sunday, March 21st! About ninety were new to the Church of God. Most were seeking a church home, but unsure they were welcome. Like a united nations of Berrien County many white families, a significant number of African-American families and several Hispanic families joined our warm fellowship. It was beautiful!
Brother Art Gift and the worship team led us in joyful, praise-filled worship of God, then Pastor Mary introduced Lead Pastor Colp (live no less) to preach his first sermon at the new First Church at Benton Heights. The congregation gave him a warm and welcome applause. The message was powerful and many responded to his encouragement to let God help them be the people He created them to be.
Thirty three children had their first experience at the new Benton Heights that day, led by First Church Children’s Pastor Bill Shepard (or Mr. Bill!), FCBH Ministry Director Ellen Russell, and their loving staff of children’s workers.
For our second Sunday, and the new normal First Church at Benton Heights, more than ninety people gathered. God has answered the prayers of his people—from both congregations, now one congregation meeting in five (count them) five different venues—Saturday night worship at 6, Sunday Sanctuary worship at 9:30, two 11:00 worships, one in the Family Life Center and one at Benton Heights, with the Young Adults, who gather at the Old Box Factory on a monthly basis to worship God and find warm fellowship. How good it is when God’s people worship together in unity, even when it is in several different locations!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Hundreds have given uncountable hours cleaning, repairing, re-building and beautifying this wonderful old temple under the leadership of Pastor Greg Gordon and his marvelous voluntary crew. Dozens more joined Outreach Ministry Director Jenny Fry in creative and joyful ways to tell the community God loves them and so do we.
It all started when Benton Heights lay leader Brother Jim Benson called me, an associate pastor at First Church to ask if I could help Benton Heights by preaching for them until they got a pastor. As we talked I agreed to meet with them and see what we could do to help. I knew State Pastor and Overseer for the Church of God in Michigan, Reverend Bill Jones had been working with them and knew they were struggling to survive.
I also knew that for the past two years or so, First Church had been praying, dreaming and planning to begin a satellite ministry to Benton Harbor and all Berrien County. The question was where to begin. As soon as Lead Pastor David Colp heard about the Benton Heights request, a light came on in his eyes and he said excitedly, “Maybe this will be our first satellite site!” With Pastor Colp’s encouragement and blessing I met with Brother and Sister Jim (Lisette) Benson. They were very positive about the possibility of becoming a satellite ministry of First Church and assured me the congregation would whole-heartedly accept it. A subsequent meeting with the congregation’s leaders, Pastor Colp and other First Church staff, as well as Advisory Council Chair Jim Schueneman, affirmed that assumption and the process began in earnest.
Pastor Colp shared first with the Advisory Council, then with their enthusiastic blessing, with the entire congregation, and our new phase of outreach ministry began to take shape. The decision was made that regardless of what Benton Heights decided, this was the direction God was leading First Church. The First Church congregation enthusiastically supported the concept with their words of encouragement, prayers, financial support, time and talents. It was a small beginning that quickly became a total church effort.
The first day I talked with Brother Jim Benson was a Wednesday and that night I shared with my Wednesday night prayer group and asked them to pray for Benton Heights Church of God and for God to lead in what He wanted to happen there. That prayer mandate was enthusiastically accepted and it soon spread to the congregation as Pastor Colp began to share the vision, asking the church to pray for God’s direction.
For the first few weeks in November, 2009, I preached at Benton Heights and Lead Pastor David Colp arranged meetings between the leadership at First Church and Benton Heights. The fellowship was good and it seemed good to all to seriously consider joining our ministries to more effectively reach our communities. Instead of doing all the praching, I arranged for Pastors Bob Confer, Mary Shawl-Ranke, Bill Shepard, and Ryan Carrell to preach at Benton Heights, share the vision for their ministries, and tell how each of them and all our pastoral staff would cooperate to help the Benton Heights congregation move ahead. State Pastor and Overseer Bill Jones joined some of those meetings and encouraged Benton Heights to join forces with St Joseph First Church. He also explained how to handle the merger so we didn’t break any laws (or hearts) and so God would be glorified. His leadership, encouragement and expertise were invaluable.
On Sunday, February 7th, we held the last service as Benton Heights Church of God. It was a strange mixture of sadness and excitement. We knew something beautiful was ending, but something wonderful was also being born. Southwest Michigan State Pastor James Sparks came from Battle Creek, Micihgan to preach and encourage the congregation—thanking them for their sixty years of ministry, but also for their willingness to make drastic changes so they could continue to serve God effectively. Then for three weeks the congregation at Benton Heights joined First Church in St Joseph to, as Pastor Colp expressed it, “Experience the DNA of First Church at St Joseph”. That’s when Pastor Gordon’s voluntary crew of hundreds descended on Benton Heights to get it ready for the new normal. It was an amazing transformation and joyful prayer-filled labors as the two congregations worked together to renew the building for a new era of ministry.
Then Sunday, March 7, 2010, Rev. Mary Shawl-Ranke preached her first sermon as Campus Pastor to eighty persons (the Benton Heights Congregation and the “Core 50” from First Church). The next Sunday Pastor Colp preached on video (which will be the norm) with live preaching every six to eight weeks by Pastor Mary, sometimes Pastor myself, and ever so occasionally Pastor Colp. These first two services were a “soft opening” so we could learn to do church together as a congregation, before inviting the community to join us for worship.
And join us they did! A house full—158 people gathered for the “Grand Re-Opening” Sunday, March 21st! About ninety were new to the Church of God. Most were seeking a church home, but unsure they were welcome. Like a united nations of Berrien County many white families, a significant number of African-American families and several Hispanic families joined our warm fellowship. It was beautiful!
Brother Art Gift and the worship team led us in joyful, praise-filled worship of God, then Pastor Mary introduced Lead Pastor Colp (live no less) to preach his first sermon at the new First Church at Benton Heights. The congregation gave him a warm and welcome applause. The message was powerful and many responded to his encouragement to let God help them be the people He created them to be.
Thirty three children had their first experience at the new Benton Heights that day, led by First Church Children’s Pastor Bill Shepard (or Mr. Bill!), FCBH Ministry Director Ellen Russell, and their loving staff of children’s workers.
For our second Sunday, and the new normal First Church at Benton Heights, more than ninety people gathered. God has answered the prayers of his people—from both congregations, now one congregation meeting in five (count them) five different venues—Saturday night worship at 6, Sunday Sanctuary worship at 9:30, two 11:00 worships, one in the Family Life Center and one at Benton Heights, with the Young Adults, who gather at the Old Box Factory on a monthly basis to worship God and find warm fellowship. How good it is when God’s people worship together in unity, even when it is in several different locations!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Saturday, March 06, 2010
Steps to Salvation
I believe a personal relationship with God comes through faith in Jesus Christ. When you see a person who is happy and contented, lives a fulfilled and productive life, handles difficulties and tragedies with grace that seems extraordinary or totally unbelievable, rest assured, what you see is not human strength, but the grace that comes from God. It is available to everyone who will accept it by faith. In the next few paragraphs I would like to share how you can experience this for yourself.
The first step is confession of sin. The Bible tells us “If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) So confession to God—admitting the sin in our lives—is the first step.
The second step to a personal relationship with God is repentance. The Bible says “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. (Acts 3:19a) In other words, we tell God we are sorry for our rebellion against him, our neglect of a relationship with him and our tendency to do our own thing with no regard for what He knows is best for us. There may also be specific sin that should be confessed. God already knows all about us, but for our own sake, we confess sin so we can be rid of it. Sin destroys people and it is something we all have to deal with until we surrender our lives to God. Even after we make a full surrender to God, our enemy Satan will try to interfere and it is important that we depend on God’s Spirit to be our friend and companion and give strength and guidance for whatever we face.
The third step to salvation is to “Believe on the Lord Jesus,…” (Acts16:31a). Belief, however, is more than mental agreement. This belief is a firm acknowledgement that Christ is the only means of salvation. But, and this is important, he is also all that is needed. Jesus Christ, God’s son, came to earth with the express purpose of making salvation available to all.
The remainder of this verse (Acts 16:31b) continues “and you will be saved—both you and your household.” We are saved from a life of sin, not by our own good works, but through faith in Christ, and a commitment to serve him to the best of our ability for the rest of our lives. That is not a life sentence, but a promise of an abundant life that is also eternal. Heaven really begins when we accept Christ as Savior and as long as we trust in him we live, even when we die. When we accept Christ as Savior, death becomes a mere doorway through which we walk into an even greater life.
I encourage you to pray through these three steps. Just talk, personally and from your heart, with God as if he were sitting right there with you. He is.
The final step in the abundant life with God is to continue to live your life surrendered to him. He loves you and wants what is best for you. You can trust him to guide you and give you the strength you need to serve him and be the best spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, worker, boss, etc. that you can be. God’s power will flow into and out through you, to help you be all he wants you to be, and do all he wants you to do. Trust him that what he wants for you is what you would want if you knew as much about life and the future as He knows.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
The first step is confession of sin. The Bible tells us “If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) So confession to God—admitting the sin in our lives—is the first step.
The second step to a personal relationship with God is repentance. The Bible says “Repent therefore, and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out. (Acts 3:19a) In other words, we tell God we are sorry for our rebellion against him, our neglect of a relationship with him and our tendency to do our own thing with no regard for what He knows is best for us. There may also be specific sin that should be confessed. God already knows all about us, but for our own sake, we confess sin so we can be rid of it. Sin destroys people and it is something we all have to deal with until we surrender our lives to God. Even after we make a full surrender to God, our enemy Satan will try to interfere and it is important that we depend on God’s Spirit to be our friend and companion and give strength and guidance for whatever we face.
The third step to salvation is to “Believe on the Lord Jesus,…” (Acts16:31a). Belief, however, is more than mental agreement. This belief is a firm acknowledgement that Christ is the only means of salvation. But, and this is important, he is also all that is needed. Jesus Christ, God’s son, came to earth with the express purpose of making salvation available to all.
The remainder of this verse (Acts 16:31b) continues “and you will be saved—both you and your household.” We are saved from a life of sin, not by our own good works, but through faith in Christ, and a commitment to serve him to the best of our ability for the rest of our lives. That is not a life sentence, but a promise of an abundant life that is also eternal. Heaven really begins when we accept Christ as Savior and as long as we trust in him we live, even when we die. When we accept Christ as Savior, death becomes a mere doorway through which we walk into an even greater life.
I encourage you to pray through these three steps. Just talk, personally and from your heart, with God as if he were sitting right there with you. He is.
The final step in the abundant life with God is to continue to live your life surrendered to him. He loves you and wants what is best for you. You can trust him to guide you and give you the strength you need to serve him and be the best spouse, father, mother, son, daughter, worker, boss, etc. that you can be. God’s power will flow into and out through you, to help you be all he wants you to be, and do all he wants you to do. Trust him that what he wants for you is what you would want if you knew as much about life and the future as He knows.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Most Important Job in the World
Many good things are happening in the church and in the world. More living people know Christ as Savior now than at any time in the history of the world! The gospel is being published more broadly than at any time in the past. But that doesn’t change the urgency of the evangelistic task because there are also more people who are lost today than ever in the history of the world, simply because world population is growing faster than we are evangelizing.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Even though much good is being accomplished in the kingdom, I am convinced that the most important task for Christians, is to pray. To pray for the good of the saints, for the salvation of the lost and for the success of every godly effort. But even more than all that, we pray just for the sheer joy of talking to God! What an awesome privilege we have, to talk personally at any time with the Creator of the universe, who is also our Father and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Again, what an awesome privilege.
Jesus taught us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. I think that means God wants everyone to be saved, so we need to pray for that on a regular basis. Paul wrote to Timothy that God “desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4(ESV)) and in II Peter 3:9 he wrote that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” So a relationship with God through Christ is the first priority of God, and should be of every Christian. That won't happen unless people pray.
The wonderful thing is that prayer is also a work every Christian can do! Isn’t it marvelous that God makes the most important work the work of all Christians? He didn’t reserve the best and most important work for a few elite people, instead he allowed it to be a work we all can do.
Imagine if every Christian, every day, would 1) Pray for all the saints, 2) Pray for all the lost people on earth to be saved, and 3) Pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven! There is absolutely nothing we can do that would have a greater effect for good and for God!
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
