Remembering Dr. Fred Schmidt

As I write this I just received news of the death of a saint—Dr. Fred Schmidt, beloved former Superintendent of Lakeshore Schools, retiree, Realtor, retiree, and all the while, churchman extraordinaire. When Carol and I first came to this area, Dr. Fred was one of the first people we met. Many newcomers to First Church of God say the same thing. He looked for new people and made us all feel welcome with his friendly smile, warm handshake and cheerful voice. He had the gift of hospitality and used it for years in our congregation and throughout our community. Even people in our community who never knew Dr. Fred benefited greatly from his life through his positive influence on students, co-workers, and employees.

While Superintendent, Dr. Fred helped start Lakeshore Rotary Club. Their website reads, “In 1973, Bill Galbreath and Fred Schmidt both worked in the Superintendent’s Office at Lakeshore Schools. Bill commented to Fred, ‘We should have a Rotary Club in the Lakeshore Area’….Fred was convinced. Despite invitations to join the St Joseph/Benton Harbor Club, Bill and Fred persisted in forming a new club.”

I’m not surprised Dr. Fred helped start a “service” club. That fits.

Many people knew Fred and Norma as the friendly couple who drove the beautiful old car in the Blossomtime Parade and area events. This year, they were Honorary Grand Marshalls—once again riding in their 1930 Model A Sport Coupe.

Fred and Norma came to the area in 1973 to be Superintendent at Lakeshore School System. They quickly become a special part of our community.

Often when our church missionaries gathered to go on a mission trip to some far-off place like Mexico, Paraguay, Atlanta, or West Virginia, Fred would be there early to see them off and join in prayer for their safety, the success of their venture and for them to have a wonderful time doing good mission work. Most youth and even some adults probably knew little or nothing about Fred’s great contribution to our community and to our congregation—he was just the friendly man who exuded love and joy—and made them feel loved by the entire congregation.

Fred represented his Lord and Savior well in everything he did.

For years he’s been one of our best teachers—along with his beloved wife Norma. They were a marvelous team in the adult Sunday School class, and led one of our most successful, enduring and largest Life Groups.

When I visited him in the hospital just hours before his death, I asked how I should pray. He said, “Pray I can accept God’s will.” That was the story of his life. He always wanted to be centered in God’s will, serving him not only whole-heartedly, but with joyful exuberance. I’m just sorry I didn’t stay longer and be there for his promotion to Glory. I’m sure the Lord Jesus came personally to welcome him home and see him safely to the other side. It would have been good to be present for such a meeting, even if I couldn’t see all that was happening, I know it would have been a special moment—perhaps shared by his recently departed friend Don Goetz.

What Paul wrote to Timothy (II Timothy 4:7&8) could have been written for Dr. Fred: “⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Dr. Fred was a great example of practical sainthood. One of many I've known and a great example for all of us in this community he quickly learned to love. Goodbye Brother. We'll miss you, but we'll see you in the morning.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

Jeremiah's Prophecy

In Jeremiah we read a prophecy of the Christ and of the times in which we now live. The key verse is 34, which reads “No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

This is a prophecy of our time—a prophecy of Christ and of the times in which we live—the time from his resurrection to his return in glory. The prophecy has not been fully fulfilled but it is our task (the task of the people of God and our privilege) to help usher in the fullness of the Kingdom of God by the prayers of the saints, the witness of the risen Christ in our lives and in our testimonies, and, by the power of his Spirit fully revealed in the life and witness of the people of God!

Sometimes our hellfire and brimstone preaching sounds as if God is rubbing his hands in glee, thinking about the time when he can cast all those lost sinners into the lake of fire. But God’s word clearly states that his desire is for our salvation and for the salvation of the whole world. The Bible clearly states that hell was prepared, not for people, but for the devil and his demons. It is no place for people and God doesn’t want anyone to go there. Only Satan desires such and sin is the only thing that will put us there—not God.

Jesus asked us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now we know that in heaven everyone loves God and lives to praise him, so if the Lord ’s Prayer is answered, that means the time should come when everyone on earth loves God and serves him with all our hearts. I’m not talking about a future millennial age—I believe this is a prophecy for this present age.

The Jeremiah prophecy in chapter 31 verses 31-34 and especially verse 34, speaks of a time when everyone will know the Lord, when God will forgive our wickedness and no longer remember our sins. This can be nothing else but a prophecy of the Christ and his present kingdom.

It would appear that God’s heart is blessed more by vibrant faith than anything else and I think the reason is that it is God’s plan, through the faith, prayers, and witness of his people, to fulfill the kingdom as he saves lost souls through Christ and in so doing, transforms society, one life at a time. He is doing that now, all over the world! What a marvelous and exciting time we live in!

Just as God has poured out his Spirit into the lives of his people who have been saved through faith in Christ, he wants this same blessing for every human being on the face of the earth. God prophesied it long ago through Jeremiah and it is our glorious privilege to live in the time when the prophecy is being fulfilled. But it is not happening as fast as it ought to be!

It is not only our privilege, but our task, and our calling, to pray, as Jesus taught us, for God’s kingdom to come and God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. It is our privilege to be Christ’s witnesses as we live transformed by his Spirit to do good works and thus glorify our Father in heaven.

I am told approximately one-third of the people on our planet are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is marvelous when you think that Jesus began with twelve not very competent disciples only about 2,000 years ago! But it’s not good enough! God loves everyone on earth! May the prophecy of Jeremiah be fulfilled in our day and may we each be privileged to join God in what he is doing and hopefully, see this prophecy fulfilled in our lifetimes!

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

Attitude is the Issue

Following are words of a poem written by Daniel Sydney Warner sometime before 1895.

Some murmur when the sky is clear
And wholly bright to view,
If some small speck of dark appear
In their great heaven of blue.
And some with thankful love are filled,
If but one streak of light—
One ray of God’s good mercy guild
The darkness of their night.

Notice, Warner is really saying attitude is the issue. What situation we are in is important, but an even more important question is “How do we look at the situation in which we find ourselves?” Do we look only at the cloud or do we see the silver lining? Are we the type to complain about the one tiny cloud in a beautiful sky of blue? Or, the type to thank God for that one beautiful streak of moonlight shining through on a dark and lonely night?

The question we each need to ask is, What attitude do I have? When the sky is a beautiful blue with few, if any clouds, do I ignore the beauty and look instead at the small and insignificant clouds? What do I look for and expect? Do I notice the good or the not so good? When it rains is it a shower of blessing or do I let it ruin my day?

There are two kinds of people in the world (talk about a clique). But it really is true, as with most cliques! One kind always seems to look on the bright side, see the beauty, or the good, in every situation. Another kind always sees the bad, no matter how much good there is around.

The real questions is which kind of person do you want to be? What kind of person I am now is not as important as what I want to become. If I tell my brain what I want to be, this marvelous part of the human anatomy will work hard to help me become that. But we do have to tell our brains what we want. Our brains don’t make decisions for us. They merely obey what we tell them and work hard to help us achieve what we want. If I try to eat less in order to lose weight, but I continue to tell my brain, I am a fat person. My brain may help me continue to be what I tell it I am. Rather than cooperate with the diet, it will try to sabotage it.

That’s why attitude matters so much. Our attitudes communicate to our brains at a feeling level what is important to us and basically tells our brains what to work on. But the brain doesn’t just work on it, that marvelous brain of ours gets all of the other organs of our bodies working together to accomplish what it believes is important to us. If our attitudes say one thing, but our words say another, the brain trusts the attitude unless you tell your brain “My attitude stinks and I want to change it.”

Another thing that helps in this process of change is prayer. With prayer we can ask God’s help in the change process. However, God won’t always help. He only helps when the thing we desire is good for us. He is not like a brain to be bossed around. He is God. He loves us and wants what is best for us. It is better if we first ask God what is best for us and then seek his help to accomplish it.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . . and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

What it means to worship

When we worship God, and we can only rightly use the word “worship” in regards to God, because nothing and no one else deserves our worship. But when we do worship God, all we do is

appreciate God at the level he deserves!

All of us like to be appreciated. And I mean genuine appreciation, not flattery. There is a huge difference. An example would be if someone says to me “Rick, you are absolutely the handsomest man on the face of the earth.” It does not make me feel good because I know it isn’t true. And I know they know it isn’t true. Flattery does not make us feel good, it makes us feel lied to. But when someone says something that is both good and true about you, you feel validated, affirmed and blessed, because this person cares enough to notice something good about you.

So when we worship God, or

appreciate him at the level he deserves

we cannot flatter him, because all superlatives of good are true about God. He is not only the best God there is, he is the only true and living God. He not only Created the best world we have ever seen, he is the only Creator of the entire universe, and all that is good and beautiful and true, including that which is too far away for us to see, even with the Hubble telescope, or too small for us to see, even with the most powerful microscope!

He loved us so much he sent Jesus, the Christ, to be our Savior—the savior of the entire world! “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the whole world through him might be saved.

Jesus loves us so much he sent us his Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, to be with us and live in us.

Paul also helps us to understand that true worship is not only when we come together in holy places, but true worship is a life rightly lived in the purpose and power of God. In Romans 12:1(NIV) Paul writes, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

So we gather in holy places to worship God and in so doing, we worship him more effectively in every other hour of our lives and in every place we go because we now understand it is all holy ground.

Eternal God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—we have come to praise you! You, who are light and life and truth and beauty and so many other superlatives beyond our comprehension. All we can offer you is genuine love, enduring faith, hearts bursting with praise and thanksgiving for your goodness to us, and a life well lived in the power of your Spirit. We lift our hearts in genuine offerings of praise and thanksgiving to you. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's "My View from Tanner Creek."

Missions on the Edge

This is a guest article By C Stagner about one of the conferences at the North American Convention of the Church of God, beginning this Friday in Anderson, Indiana.

One World, One Mission: Missions on the Edge
by C. Stagner

What would it look like to be a Church of God congregation fully engaged in missions? How can a Church of God congregation be more fully involved in the global mandate of world evangelism and discipleship? Can Global Missions provide a platform to help you and your church live missions on the edge, entering the flow of what God is doing in the world? Yes, Global Missions can!

Global Missions will host One World, One Mission: Missions on the Edge on Saturday, June 25, in the Newberry Room at Park Place Church of God from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The $25 registration fee includes registration, a book, all materials, and lunch.

At the conference you will meet missionaries, international guests, missions pastors, and lead pastors with a heart that beats passionately for the world that God loves. Pastors and missions leaders from Church of God congregations will tell stories of how their involvement in Living Link (supporting missionaries), Project Link (supporting projects), and Eye on the World (global ministry trips) has influenced their church and given them a vibrant connection to global evangelism and discipleship.

When you attend this conference you will hear from people like yourself who have a global impact. You will get ideas as to how you and your church can enlarge your mission vision and participation. You will hear about cutting-edge ideas that are changing the way we do missions. You will receive a book and other materials to assist you in your mission involvement. You will enjoy lunch in the company of folks who are passionate about missions that fulfill our calling to global evangelism and discipleship.

Dr. Bob Edwards, director of the Global Ministries Group at Church of God Ministries, will introduce the guests and presenters at the conference and give an introduction to the day’s events. He will also give the latest information on the Global Gathering, a coming together of Church of God people from around the world that will take place in Anderson, Indiana, in June 2013. Guests from three churches will give presentations and share how their involvement in missions and partnership with Global Missions has given their churches energy, vision, and mission opportunities. There will be an opportunity for the audience to interact with the presenters.

Nathan Tatman, of County Line Church of God, in Auburn, Indiana, will present what his church is learning through the cohort his church and several other churches have developed to support and be involved in the ministry of Dave and Kathy Simpson, missionaries to Bulgaria. He will guide the audience to explore the concept and possibilities of cohorts and how they might affect involvement in missions.

You are invited to come, experience, participate, think, and learn in ways that will touch your heart and open doors of opportunity. To register, contact Candy Power at Global Missions: CPower@chog.org or 765 648-2129. You can also register online at www.chog.org; click on Events/North American Convention.

Rick's Note: I will be one of the presenters at this conference! I hope you can come!
I'm Rick Blumenberg,...and That's My View from Tanner Creek.

Yeast in the Bread of Society

My parents grew up as a part of the Church of God reformation movement, also known as the Church of God, Anderson, Indiana, which identifies us according to where our national offices are located, and as opposed to other groups that use the name Church of God, with denominational offices in Ohio or Tennessee and elsewhere. When Mom married Dad, a divorced man, they apparently felt they didn't fit any more and in the early years of my life our family didn’t go to church on a regular basis.

My first church memory and experience came at a Baptist Church in the Southern California town of Ontario. At that time it was a small, sleepy town rather than the bustling metropolis it has become. There, a neighbor took me to church and I was saved as a kindergartner at an altar of prayer. Although it was genuine, and had a permanent effect on my life, when we moved back to Southeast Missouri and the family didn't attend church, I didn't either, except occasionally. Dad started attending the Dogwood Methodist Church, near our Bertrand, Missouri home and my siblings and I attended with him. He even taught a Sunday School class for young boys. He wasn't really a born again Christian yet, but everyone assumed he was, because he was such a good man.

Later, my parents got serious about church attendance when we moved to Pinhook, a rural community near Pulltight, in Mississippi County, Missouri. We then began to attend church regularly at the little Pulltight Church of God where Mom and Dad had attended as young people when their families lived on nearby farms in the community. Before long, my Dad was saved at a revival service when my mom's brother Linvel Arington was the evangelist. My Mom also renewed her relationship with the Lord and they were both baptized in one of the local ditches at an outdoor service.

I gave my heart permanently to the Lord at the age of fifteen in a revival service at Mounds Church of God, where my cousin, Alan Hendrix was pastor. Our Uncle, Linvel Arington, brother to both our mothers, was the evangelist. All these events changed our lives in marvelous ways. I thank God that His Spirit continues to work in our lives even when we think we've turned our backs on him. My parents got away from the church for a while, but they could never get totally away from the influence of godly parents and church family and friends. When the time was right, God's Spirit, in His always perfect timing, drew them back to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his salvation. Their lives were blessed and they blessed the lives of countless others.

You can see from the family involved in our conversions, that our family was a religious one. Preachers are so common that family gatherings are one place where preachers, although respected, are just treated like one of the family—because they are. Our families can be our greatest spiritual heritage. If, as you read this, you are a new Christian who didn’t grow up in a Christian home, don’t despair. Just realize that something special has begun in you that will transform for good the lives of your descendants, neighbors, friends and family. You will be the yeast in the bread of society and because of what God has done in you, the whole loaf of society around you will rise and be better because of what God has done in your life.

If you aren’t yet a Christian, didn’t grow up in a Christian home and feel totally left out of the word picture I have drawn, you need to realize that you too, have a godly heritage. God, our heavenly Father, who is Creator of the heavens and the earth, is also your heavenly Father. He loves you and even though you are now a prodigal, he wants you to come home to him and to the rest of the family. When you accept Christ as Savior and Lord, you also accept his family, which includes people of every nation and tribe, denomination, race, and society. With all its flaws and failures, yes, but also with all its glory and good. And, you can be the beginning of a heritage of godliness that will last for generations to come and be a blessing both here and in eternity.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

Be All that You Can Be!

That great Methodist missionary to India and all Christendom, Dr. E. Stanley Jones once said,

“If the Holy Spirit can take over the subconscious with our consent and cooperation, then we have almighty Power working at the basis of our lives. Then we can do anything we ought to do, go anywhere we ought to go, and be anything we ought to be.”

I think Dr. Jones was saying we need total surrender to the Holy Spirit at the deepest level of the human psyche in order to get the most out of life. He (the Holy Spirit) will only do this (take control) with our permission and will leave if we (horror of horrors!) decide to send him away. God has given us complete freedom to be what we want to be and no matter how much it breaks his heart when we turn away from him, He allows it.

But to get back to Jones’ quote, when we have the courage to surrender fully and completely to God’s Holy Spirit and give Him total freedom to lead, guide and direct us in every area of life, then we open ourselves to the unlimited power of God. This is very different than serving God with all our power. This is serving God with all His power! “…according to his power that is at work within us,” (Ephesians 3:20(NIV)) Serving God in His perfect Will! Going wherever God wants us to Go! Doing whatever God wants us to do! Being whatever God wants us to be!

“But that’s impossible!” some say. “We are mere humans!” Not so fast there. Didn’t Jesus say (John 16:7(NIV)) “…It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” Sometimes we think Jesus was mistaken about this. Wouldn’t it be better if he had stayed with us? No. It is better that God live in us through his Spirit. Then we become like Jesus—the perfect combination of humanity and divinity. Once we are filled with God’s Spirit we are no longer mere humans. We are the “Laos” (from whence comes the word Laity) the Divinely empower, Spirit-filled, people of God.

Notice how Dr. Jones says “Then we can…do…go…be anything we ought to be.” Full surrender to God’s Holy Spirit releases us from our own limitations and empowers us to live in the unlimited power of God.

But how do we do this? We do it when we give unlimited permission. I come from a faith tradition that teaches Christians to give total surrender to God through “sanctification”. This means a total surrender of the new creation we have become through faith in Christ, so the Holy Spirit of the Father and the Son indwells us to help us be our very best, accomplish the very most, go where He wants us to go and in all the being, doing and going, enjoy the warm, loving Presence of the eternal God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It’s an incredible way to do life! Many other Christian groups use different terminology, but share much the same concept.

Does that mean we will never have issues, problems, difficulties, trials, etc.? No, unfortunately, it does not mean that. But it does mean we will never need to face our life issues in our own limited power or personal resources. Whatever we encounter in life, we do so with the unlimited resources of God’s Holy Spirit working in and through us for God’s (and our) good pleasure.

If we depend on the power of the flesh we will be limited to the power of the flesh. But if we depend on the power of the Spirit, we never find a limit!

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

Mama Still Sings

Thinking about mom, Mollie Callie [Arington] Blumenberg

“Does your mother always sing?”

The question was asked by a schoolmate who had come home with me for the night.

“Well no,” I answered, “but I guess she does sing a lot.”

As I thought about my friend’s question I realized he was right. Mom almost always sang as she worked around the house. It was so much a part of my life I really didn’t think about it until he mentioned it, although I knew I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was just one of the good things in life I had always taken for granted.

That conversation took place many years ago, but I still remember because it helped me realize another thing for which I was thankful. Throughout my life I enjoyed Mom’s singing more because my classmate’s question made me realize it was something very special.

Later, as an adult I became interested in genealogy and began to do family research. I had faint memories of my great-grandparents, but until I began to trace our family tree I knew nothing beyond that. As I searched, researched, and talked with the old folks, I began to see patterns emerging that made me realize Mom’s singing went back for several generations.

One of Mom’s favorite Aunts, was Grandpa’s sister, Ethel Elliot. She lived into her nineties and a couple of times I visited with her and listened to and recorded her family stories. Born in the latter part of the nineteenth century (1899), she grew up on various farms in Western Kentucky where her father was a tenant farmer and her grandfather, my great-great grandfather, was a Baptist Preacher, church-planter and farmer. Great-great grandpa Wiley Jackson Arington moved his family to Ballard County, Kentucky from Obion County Tennessee in the late 1860s, shortly after the Civil War. He was a farmer by occupation and a church-planting minister by call of God—founding pastor of First Baptist Church in Wickliffe, Kentucky.

His Granddaughter (Aunt Ethel) recalled growing up in a time when life was primitive and you had to make your own fun. One way they did it, that brought back such good memories for her, was when her Dad, my Great “Grandpa Jack” Arington would get out his pitch pipe and the family would sing together. They sang gospel songs and fun songs and Tennessee mountain songs—in the summer on the front porch and in the winter around the stove, in the fields as they worked, and in church when they worshipped.

So Mom’s singing was in her genes. Her brothers and sisters sang naturally and beautifully at the slightest opportunity, or as they would say “At the drop of a hat”. Many played instruments, not so much to entertain others, although they sometimes do that, but just to entertain themselves, for the sheer joy of singing, and to worship the Lord.

At an Arington family reunion there is always a lot of “pickin’ and singin’”— and the songs continue now into at least the sixth generation. The Arington Family Reunion is held every year on the Sunday of Labor Day in Cunningham, Kentucky. The first one was held at least some time before 1869, somewhere in Tennessee.

Mom died about six and a half years ago on July 31, 2004, after living for years with Alzheimer’s disease. In those last years she usually didn’t know who we were when we came to visit until we would tell her. But she still remembered the old songs and until the very last, if you told her it was your birthday she could still sing “Happy Birthday” to you in a voice that was sweet and perfectly on key.

Now she’s in heaven, and I have no doubt the angels often stop to listen as she sings. But she won’t notice, or be aware of their attention, because, as she sings, she’ll be putting something in the oven or maybe hanging out the white robe laundry.

Mom, we were so blessed to grow up in your home. Your beautiful songs were typical of how beautiful you were.

I’m Rick Blumenberg, and that’s My View from Tanner Creek.

The Idolatry of Creationary Evolution

The most widespread, vicious and prolonged attack on the concept of the Divine origins of our universe comes, not from atheists, but from those who claim to be atheists while espousing and worshiping the god of creationary evolution. Of course one hallmark of religion is the presence of faith—there are some things that cannot be proven and must be accepted by faith because there may never be objective proof or scientific evidence. Faith, however, to be worthy, must be rooted in something that is provable beyond reasonable doubt by evidence that is authentic and in enough abundance to not be an aberration. Creationary evolution fails miserably to meet such criteria. Creationary evolution scientists want us to accept by faith that the world came into being by purely natural phenomena. They insist that Darwinism is genuine science and Christianity, or any faith that teaches Creation by Divine fiat, is foolishness and fiction. They deride faith while actually being people of blind faith, if they really believe what they claim.

Now you may question why I call creationary evolutionists people of faith, but I ask you, where is the proof of their creator? Where is the evidence of their creation story? It doesn’t exist and only those who have blind faith in an unproven theory with no supporting evidence could possibly believe such nonsense.

Where is the fossil evidence of even one species that has mutated to a totally new species? Such evidence is a requirement for their claims to be taken seriously. Even Darwin, himself, I am told, said for his theory to be accepted as fact, it would need to be proven by evidence in the fossil record. Now, on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s theory, that evidence is still missing, but the blind faith of creationary evolutionists is so vocal and determined to obliterate any concept of Divine creation, that they ridicule scientists who believe in intelligent design. The resistance is sometimes so strong I’ve heard they seek to trash believing scientists’ careers and drive them from scientific professions. People of blind faith cannot allow critical analysis of their faith or it will be proven inadequate at best and at worst, totally false. If you are a creationary evolutionist, clinging to a fallacy on blind faith there is nothing more frightening than critical analysis of your unsupportable theology.

On the other hand, where is the evidence of Divine creation? Does the universe indicate the presence of a creator? How likely is a mixture of chemical soup to grow into such an amazing thing as a human body in all its magnificence, or a human brain that can contemplate such possibilities? And the galaxies of the universe—how could they just happen, with no intelligence behind them? There is much evidence there must be intelligence behind the creation of our universe.

The difficulty, of course, is that evolution is a proven fact, so the preachers and priests of creationary evolution try to parlay this into proof that creation came about through evolution and that is where their argument fails.

The concept of the separation of church and state was created by thoughtful people who wanted to protect genuine religion from the rule of politicians. Now the religion of creationary evolution is being taught in our schools under the guise of scientific truth but the primary purpose is not scientific truth, but the destruction of genuine faith in the Creator God. We need to recognize this religion and reveal it in the public square for what it is—a false religion and pseudo science. It is a false religion that seeks to usurp the rightful place of truth and reason—and replace it with the absurdity of creationary evolution.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

The Ultimate Question

It was a typical Wednesday in the church office—the normal hustle and bustle, but basically pretty quiet. The fire alarm went off and I thought “I don’t remember being told we would have a drill today.”

Moments later our executive pastor Greg came running down the stairs and I thought, “I don’t believe this is a drill. Maybe I should check this out.”

No one seemed to know the source of the alarm, so we all proceeded to empty the building as quickly as possible. The normal relaxed, friendly manner that is normal for the office, pre-school and the various activities of the day gave way to tense, hurry-up and get outside, anxiety prone, behaviors. The building was almost empty, except for the Women’s Ministries group, who went right on talking and visiting because they, like me, assumed this was just another drill for the pre-school. That is all except WM Director Sandy Mason. She came upstairs to check it out just in time to hear that it was a false alarm brought on when a child thought the pretty red box on the wall was something that looked like fun to play with. Sandy was still a bit perturbed that the ladies didn’t take it seriously so I gave her permission to give them a good scolding (which I had no authority to do).

Soon an email was sent out by Jennifer to let us all know “Today’s Fire Alarm was brought to you by a 2 year old who thought the lever on the wall looked cool.“

We all agreed it was a better fire drill than the normal drills because no one knew for sure what was happening. Now they’re trying to decide the ultimate question—should they discipline the two-year-old or give him an award for staging a successful fire drill?

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

Cussing the Cow and Changing a Life—Thinking about our Dad—Roy Blumenberg

It was sometime in the mid to late fifties—that idyllic time between the Korean War and the turbulent sixties. I was in the barn on our farm home in Southeast Missouri with my father. He was trying to milk a cow whose calf was stillborn and whose udder was swelling painfully from the abundant milk that was not being used. She was a young, fearful heifer who had never been milked and was no doubt painfully aware in some way that animals understand but cannot communicate, that her calf was gone. She was afraid of us, and was, no doubt, in intense pain, but the last thing she wanted was for somebody to milk her. She didn’t understand Dad was trying to help, or what he was trying to do and she did everything she could to prevent him from doing it, including kicking wickedly with her hind feet.

Dad was suffering from some of the licks she had gotten in and was about as angry as he could be. Some of the words I heard him say that day were not appropriate for a Christian to say and I was surprised to hear them. Dad had become a Christian just a few years before and I didn’t think he talked like that any more. I was, to say the least, a little bit shocked.

After more than an hour or so he got her milked enough that she was out of danger and finally got her to accept another calf he had purchased at the sale barn to replace the calf that had died. It was a tense, action packed morning, but it was finally over and came to what appeared to be (and later proved to be) a satisfactory conclusion. And then the most amazing thing happened.

My father, who was never a particularly articulate man, apologized to me for the language he had used. Rather awkwardly and stumbling a little with his words, he said something like this. “Rick, I know I said some things this morning that a Christian shouldn’t say. I lost my temper and used words I’m ashamed of. I’m sorry you had to hear it. I hope you know its not right for a Christian to talk like that. I’m trying to live a Christian life and I’m doing the best I can, but sometimes I fail pretty bad.”

I don’t remember if I answered Dad or responded in any way to his apology. I think I was too dumbfounded to speak. I also don’t remember any of the bad words he used. I know he didn’t use God’s name in vain, but they were words that were not appropriate for a Christian. What I do remember vividly was the humility of my father and the honor he showed me by his apology. There were times when that memory helped me ask my children to forgive my shortcomings. It was much easier for me because I had his example. Dad saw himself as a failure that day, but I’m convinced his heavenly Father was justifiably proud, as was I, that this fledgling Christian was growing into a genuine man of God and helping me along in the process.

I don’t remember ever again hearing my Dad use inappropriate language—other than an occasional "Son of a Buck!". (Those who knew him remember that very well.)

But there is something about confessing our sins in genuine humility to God, and when it has affected another human being, confessing to them as well, that cleanses us of that sin and gives us victory over it. God doesn’t ask us to confess our sins to embarrass or shame us, but to give us victory.

Quite often, “the things my heavenly Father teaches me” have come through my earthly father. Thanks, Dad. We were blessed to have you as our father.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

The Gift

My great-niece Molly Beth wrote on Facebook about her boyfriend giving her books and she said how much she loves reading. It reminded me of the incredible gift we received from our parents...a love of reading. We passed this love of reading on to our girls and I know Barry (Molly Beth's grandfather) and all my siblings did the same.

Years ago I contemplated what a marvelous gift Mom and Dad gave us, what a blessing it has been and what a privilege it was to pass that gift on to our daughters Kathy and Twyla. As I thought about it years ago, the Lord gave me an idea for a poem, I entitled it "The Gift". Here it is. I hope you enjoy it.

The Gift
By Rick Blumenberg

I received it from my parents
a lifetime ago.
The family read together—
It was part of being home.

One reading, others listening,
Or each with a book alone....
In summer ’neath the shade tree
In winter by the stove.

We gave it to our children—
this gift of love received,
before they could know or understand
the words that we would read.

Dr. Zeus and Eggemeir,
The Train that Tried and the Little Red Hen—
We watched their bright eyes sparkle
When reading would begin.

And now our children's children
Are readers once again.
I don't know when it started.
I hope it never ends.

I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .and that's My View from Tanner Creek.

Thank God for Protection on the Highway!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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 "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.

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.

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 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.

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.

By praying for them, we can bless all those we love. Praying, as scripture teaches, that they will prosper and be in health even as their souls prosper. We can help to accomplish God’s will on earth and for those we love, simply by praying.

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.

I say prayer is the most important work of God’s kingdom because every other good work depends on prayer for its greatest effectiveness. Without prayer no other work for God will have any great success. Preachers who don’t pray can’t preach anything worth listening too. Singers who don’t pray can’t sing with the power of the Spirit. Everything we do for God must be bathed in prayer if it is to be effective. Prayer is the most important work of the kingdom.

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.

Full Surrender

Surrender is vital to Christian maturity. Even after accepting Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit, the work of the Spirit is limited unless we remain fully surrendered to His work in and through us. God cannot bring us to Christ-like maturity unless we give His Spirit freedom to work.
Surrender is not a ritual where God arbitrarily blesses the obedient—nor a form of Holy magic where God waves a wand and we suddenly become super-saints. Neither do we pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps, then give God the glory just to be nice. Christian maturity is a blend of human and Divine surrender. We surrender our weakness. God surrenders His strength. We surrender our sin. God surrenders His holiness. We surrender our resistance. God surrenders his assistance. If we live in full surrender, God will continue to work in our lives.
The work of the Holy Spirit is similar to the power steering unit in an automobile. The driver decides when and where to turn and the power steering unit supplies power to accomplish it. However, when we go outside the will of God, God must withdraw His Spirit to avoid helping us do what is not His will and not for our good. When God withdraws the power of his Spirit from our lives it is like an automobile engine that dies while the car is still moving—the car becomes extremely difficult to steer. If life is not going right we need to carefully consider what the reason may be. Could it be we are outside the will of God in action, activity or attitude?
Life in Christ means becoming more like Jesus—our main task and the primary work of the Holy Spirit working in us. He constantly seeks to restore in us the image of God lost first by Adam through disobedience, and secondly by us when we personally choose sin. Our every disobedience distorts God's image in our lives, and the farther we go outside God’s will, the more work God's Spirit must do to restore us to what God created us to be.
The surrendered life helps us become more Spirit-directed in daily living. Learning to live under the Spirit's constant direction saves us from many heartaches as well as much wasted time and effort. After all, God knows everything—even the future. He knows the ramifications of all our possible decisions before we even make them. He knows what we should do to achieve the best for our lives. If our desires agree with His Will, we can count on God to help us accomplish them. When we live in disobedience to God we must live without God’s help. (Although not entirely, we could not survive at all if God totally withdrew his support for life. The Bible makes it clear that: “in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28(NIV)).
But when we try to live the Christian life without the infilling of Christ’s Spirit we ignore our greatest help, because the most significant help for spiritual growth is the active power of God’s Spirit working in believers’ lives. Is it surprising Jesus told his disciples to wait until they were baptized with the Holy Spirit to begin their witness?
The surrendered life also helps us become more useful in God’s Kingdom. If our desire is to be more useful for God we can depend on Him to be constantly refining us to make our lives pure spiritual gold.
Remember, we are created in His Image to the Glory of God; distorted by sin to the disappointment of God, redeemed from sin by the sacrifice of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and restored to His Image by the Spirit of God.
I'm Rick Blumenberg . . .
and that's My View from Tanner Creek.