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11-1-1996 Herald of Holiness Volume 85 Number 11 (1996) Wesley D. Tracy (Editor) Nazarene Publishing House
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Recommended Citation Tracy, Wesley D. (Editor), "Herald of Holiness Volume 85 Number 11 (1996)" (1996). Herald of Holiness/Holiness Today. 35. https://digitalcommons.olivet.edu/cotn_hoh/35
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IS DADDY REALLY HOME? t - TEACHING 1 HOLINESS TO GENERATION X
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have sought God with all my heart, I “to perpetuate the noble virtues of have taken His promise by faith, and their beloved . . . comrade . . . caused by His grace I am living it every day.” this marble to be engraved.” few days ago, Bettye and I toured In St. Mary’s Church in the same A the York Minster Cathedral in city, I paused to read the 5-foot-high York, England. We love the cathe marble tablet engraved in the honor of drals. Bettye still likes the one at Ely Amos Green, Esq. His wife wanted best; Em partial to York Minster. It is him to be remembered “even after his a wonderful place to just sit and let friends are gone,” and she provided your soul catch up with you. Even the the memorial that is viewed by all chatter and sandal slapping of camera who take “The Story of York" tour. laden tourists don’t bother us. What higher tribute could Mr. Green I walked around the Minster, noting have been given? The polished gray D o r o t h y W h e e l e r w a s n ' t a great the memorials in crypt and pew to the stone testifies that Amos was a man cook, so I don't remember what she notable and famous. Most of the elab “unequaled in sweetness of manners.” served on that Sunday afternoon 55 orate statuary was dedicated to kings, Who could ask for anything more? years ago. Probably fried chicken, warriors, and priests. Leaders of I thought about Amos and the two mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, church and state were immortalized Henrys as 1 strolled through the Min sliced tomatoes, followed by choco from Eborius (the first “known” arch ster one last time before we left York. late cake— something like that. bishop of York, A.D. 314) to the first They must have been good men, their But 1 do remember two things from 15 kings of England. departure of this life indeed painful to the day Dorothy Wheeler had the The human thirst to be remembered, those who memorialized them. I nerve to invite the preacher and his the longing to count, the dread of being meant them no disrespect when I had wife and four hungry kids for dinner. forgotten had led to the ornate memori the wild impulse to move them over From where I sat, I looked across the alizing in the Minster of some who had and make room for a modest plaque in table over my mom’s shoulder at a done very little. But apparently their honor of Dorothy Wheeler. That good motto on the wall. Do you remember families and friends had those cheap mottoes that we used to the money to commis buy for 35 cents? They were made of sion a memorial. colored poster board, and the letters Take Lt. Henry Lees, were glitter sprinkled on glue. Dorothy for example, of the 3rd had mounted one with a blue-violet Dragoon Guards. What background in the dining room. I still did he do to garner a rem em ber its sparkly message: marble memorial? Lib Sanctifying grace can soothe the Only one life, 'twill soon be past. erate a city? Rescue a fever we have to be remembered. Only what’s done for Christ will garrison? Save a child's last. life? No, according to The second thing still glued on my his lavish monument, memory happened when my dad. the he went for a ride in pastor, right in front of everyone the park— Phoenix asked Dorothy about her experience Park in Dublin, to be exact. For rea woman didn't fall off a horse, drown of entire sanctification. I knew that sons unknown, the trusty lieutenant, in the Ouse, or get the label of un she had struggled a long time to find on September 30, 1876, fell off his equaled sweetness of manners (al sanctifying grace, but do you quiz her horse and died. Since his “loss was though she was indeed gentle and about that at Sunday dinner? But Dad deeply deplored” by his troops, they sweet). She wasn’t even much of a asked her anyway. Dorothy had just paid for his memorial in York Minster. cook, for pity’s sake. brought a plate of something and put Ensign Henry Whittam “in the 26th But she sought God with all her it on the table. She paused, dried her year of his age accidentally drowned” heart, claimed His promise by faith, hands on the apron that covered the on the 28th of May, 1800, in the river and by grace lived the sanctified life front of her blue checkered print Ouse, one of two murky rivers that every day. And she knew what be dress, and in her gracious way said, “I ooze through York. His fellow sailors longed on the dining room wall.
N o v k m b k r 1996 1 Contents
NOVEMBER 1996 VOLUME 85, NO. 11
FEATURES 16 Spending Time with Dad GLORIA H. DVORAK 18 Is Daddy Really Home? DAN SCHAEFFER 21 A Father’s Commencement KEITH SCHWANZ 22 Tell Time R AYM O N D L. COUEY 24 Time to Spare Ministries PEG de ALMINANA 28 Teaching Holiness to Generation X JOHN W. DALLY 30 Reaching Out to Single Parents VICTOR M. PARACHIN 32 Childless—Yes; Without Children—Never LINDA HARDIN CONTINUING COLUMNS
4 General Superintendent’s Viewpoint, donald d. owens
5 Nazarene Roots, stan ingersol
12 Into the Word, roger l. iiahn
13 Rhythms of the Spirit, m orris a. w eigelt
14 In a W om an’s Voice, m arlo m. schalesky
15 Masculine Journey, m ark m etcalfe
36 The Family Album, ierry and lynda cohagan
46 Observer at Large, iohn c. bow ling DEPARTMENTS
1 Editor’s Choice, w e s l e y d . t r a c y
3 Signs, MICHAEL R. ESTEP 6 The Readers Write 8-10, 44-45 News 11 The Quote Rack 38 The Question Box 40 Words and Music 42 Nazarene Family
47 Marked Copy, m ark graham 48 Late News POETRY
14 The Blessings That Remain, annie iohnson flin t
15 Thanksgiving, iean leathers P hillips S igns
November 1996 • Whole No. 3560 • Vol. 85, No. 11
Editor, Wesley D. Tracy
Managing Editor, Mark Graham Hitoshi “Paul” Fukue
MICHAEL R. ESTEP A missionary spoke. There was an Administrative Secretary altar call. Many went forward. Hitoshi Carolyn S. Hampton found himself at the front, weeping and repenting of his sins, asking Jesus Director to save him , prom ising a life in ser Division of Communications vice to the Savior. Michael R. Estep He grew by leaps and bounds. He became known as "Paul.” Mitsuko, his girlfriend, came to study at NNC. General Superintendents She, too, found Christ. After their Jerald D. Johnson wedding, they moved to Kansas City John A. Knight Michael R. Estep is director of the Com W illiam J. Prince munications Division, Church of the to attend seminary. Donald D. Owens Nazarene. In Kansas City they started a Japa- James H. Diehl nese-American Nazarene Fellowship. Paul G. Cunningham Many people came to Christ for the A s m a l l i s l a n d off the coast of main very first time, including a 70-year- land Japan, a broken home, and a old Japanese woman. Bible quotations in this issue: harsh dad were the early beginnings Upon graduation, they went home Unidentified quotations are from the KJV. Quota tions from the following translations are used by for Hitoshi Fukue. Eventually he to Koshi City, Japan, and planted a permission: joined his brother and sister, who Church of the Nazarene. Paul's moth ( n iv ) From the Holy Bible, New International were living with his mother. er, sister, brother-in-law, and brother Version» ( niv®). Copyright © 1973,1978,1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of An invitation to an English Bible came to Christ, along with many oth Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. study was Hitoshi’s first step toward ers. For 20 years they labored there,
( n r s v ) From the New Revised Standard Version of Christ. It was the first time he had except for 3 years at Boston Universi the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Chris heard about Jesus. He was fascinated ty, where Paul earned the doctor of tian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. All rights reserved. by the Bible, was very interested in theology degree. learning English, and the N ow Paul is pastor of pictures illustrating the Oyamadai Church in Bible stories impacted Tokyo. Paul counts him. Over the next several Oony, Disney, among his members the years, he returned often to son of the former presi the English Bible studies. Dunkin’ Donuts, dent of Sony Corpora Life took him to tion, who serves as min Tokyo's Sophia Universi and Dr. Paul ister of music; the head of ty. There he met Helen Tokyo Disney, leader of Wilson, who asked Hi Herald of Holiness (USPS 241-400) is men's ministries; and a published monthly by the NAZARENE PUB toshi if he would like to come to top executive in Dunkin' Donuts, who LISHING HOUSE, 2923 Troost Ave., Kansas America to study. Hitoshi wished he is a key local and district lay leader. City, MO 64109. Editorial offices at 6401 could go, but he couldn't. An invitation— The Paseo, Kansas City, MO 64131 Two years later, amid nationwide to study English, (816-333-7000, ext. 2302). E-mail:
N o v e m b e r 1996 3 S S VIEWPOINT
" ▲ ▲ ▲ A ▲ A HIV/AIDS: An Equal Opportunity Pandemic
by Donald D. Owens
hen I was growing up, cal, and economic lines."- and have committed to lifelong there were some things As parents and friends, we may not monogamy, is absolutely safe. There that we just did not dis know a great deal about how HIV/ fore, the current youth movement that cuss as a family. As I AIDS functions in the human body. stands for total abstinence until mar reflect upon it, perhaps But in this case an "ounce of preven riage is not only morally correct but we should have. Some tion is better than a pound of cure," also the greatest guarantee of avoiding things about life are since a cure is yet to be found. Still, the HIV plague, unwanted pregnancy, best brought to light in thewe security pray for a breakthrough in that re and remorse. and confidence of one’s own home gard— and soon. Please, God! As con Intravenous injection drug use rather than on the street corner with fessed novices in this field, where can transmits 23 percent of AIDS in the Wthe “experts." It is acknowledged that we begin? What about teaching plain, United States and 6 percent of AIDS some complex issues need to be aired old-fashioned, biblical morality as a worldwide. Dirty needles and experi and talked about with some degree of start? mentation with "friends" of the drug- enlightenment. Public education may set are an invitation to a condition that be very helpful with regard to health alters lives forever. A drug-free envi and hygiene; but some things, includ ronment will not com e in a quick fix. ing sex education, are better taught at Therefore values, education in the home. One subject that must be ad home and the culture, are essential. dressed somewhere— and with clari T h e c h u r c h m u s t n o t The Church must not be intimidated ty— is the matter of AIDS and person in this struggle nor become a silent al responsibility. BE INTIMIDATED IN THIS watcher as society crumbles. The truth of the matter is that AIDS STRUGGLE NOR BECOME What about those who have con can be avoided. But we must begin by tracted AIDS, from whatever source, not avoiding it. We must face it, talk A SILENT WATCHER AS and have fallen victim to a disease about it, read about it. We cannot close that may eclipse the black death epi our eyes to the fact that it is stalking SOCIETY CRUMBLES. demic in Europe and Asia in the 14th our planet like some consuming Go century? Not all those who have liath, bringing suffering, separation, AIDS have been promiscuous or into isolation, and death. We cannot assume the drug scene. This we know. But to that our children and youth are im all who suffer— the victims, the fami mune. The world is busily and expertly lies, the little children— the only bibli seeking to fashion our youth into its Dr. A. P. Waterson has said: “Ironi cal answer is one of love, compassion, mold— have you not observed that? cally this disease is essentially pre and personal acceptance. The people Let us pay attention, then, for we are ventable. The abandonment of sexual of God are those who feed the hungry, advised that the majority of people promiscuity, homosexual activity, and give drink to the thirsty, take in who die of AIDS are between the ages drug abuse could eventually stop it in strangers, clothe the naked, care for of 15 and 35.' In the mid-1990s, AIDS its tracks, though that is hardly likely the sick, and visit those in prison. The became the leading killer of all Ameri to prove an acceptable or practical so AIDS epidemic may provide the ulti cans aged 25-44. Among those aged lution."4 Unfortunately, his pessimism mate test of the spiritual maturity of 15-24, AIDS is the seventh-leading seems justified in the face of the ef the Church. cause of death in the United States? forts to make alternate lifestyles ac Someone has correctly observed ceptable in the culture. Reference Notes 1. Saleem A. Farag and Joel N. that the HIV (Human Immunodefi Sex with an HIV-infected partner Musvosvi, "AIDS in the Church in Africa," M inistry, July 1996. 12. ciency Virus) that causes AIDS (Ac transmits 75 percent of AIDS in the 2. Millie White, “AIDS: Wrestling quired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome) United States and 80 percent of AIDS with Fear and Grief," M inistry, July 1996, 14. "does not ask questions about our reli globally. Sex, then, in the sanctity of 3. Bruce C. Moyer, "Dealing with AIDS!" M inistry, July 1996, 3. gion, age, sex, lifestyle, or sexual marriage between two who have 4. Farag and Musvosvi. M in preference. It crosses all social, politi- maintained their purity, are HIV-free. istry. 12. I+ |
4 H k r a i .d o r H o l in h s s azarene Roots Nazarene Roots Nazarene Roots Nazarene Roots
Nazarene Roots The Sunday School Heritage
by Stan Ingersol, denominational archivist
unday Schools have always been important to Nazarenes as a means of outreach and Christian nurture. The People's Church of Providence. Rhode Island, our oldest congregation, set up Sun day School classes and elected a superintendent to guide them soon after its founding in 1887. A Sunday School committeeS of nine also was appointed. Their duties: approve books for the church library, keep Sunday School records, visit church and Sunday School-related families, visit those “in the community [who] neglect the house of God." and welcome strangers. The superintendent and church librarian were ex officio members of this com mittee. When Los Angeles First Church was founded eight years later and a conti nent away, a church school program de veloped there as Phineas Bresee drew upon his experience as a Methodist pas Classes of the John Wesley Church of the Nazarene, Brooklyn, rally before joining area tor. Rev. Lucy Knott edited a Sunday churches for the city’s annual Sunday School Union parade. The large banner in the background reads, “John Wesley Church of the Nazarene Sunday School, Brooklyn, N.Y. School column in the Nazarene Messen Organized October 4th, 1896.” If the banner is accurate, the Sunday School was established g er for many years. 11 days before the church was officially organized on October 15,1896. In I905 the Nazarene Publishing Company of Los Angeles began market ing Pentecostal Sunday School Litera central publishing house. Today’s Word new department, however, bringing ture, a curriculum published in Action series descends from that early prestige to a position he held for 17 Louisville, Kentucky, by the Pentecostal curriculum published originally in years. Publishing Company, a major holiness Louisville and then Los Angeles. The The Nazarene Sunday School has publisher. John Paul, a Methodist, was curriculum's early Nazarene writers and helped form disciples young and old, general editor of the line. The Holiness editors included E. F. Walker, E. P. molding Christian identity, teaching the Church of Christ (in the Souh) was using Ellyson, Emily Ellyson, and C. E. Cor ology, and instilling purpose. During the the same curriculum by 1907, when the nell. Mid-Century Crusade for Souls, the Nazarene Publishing Company pur The 1923 General Assembly created Sunday School was seen principally as chased the rights to publish it. The trans the Department of Church Schools. E. P. an evangelistic tool. In other periods, it fer of these rights marks the real begin Ellyson was elected to head it. Ellyson has been regarded as a potent force for ning of systematic Nazarene curriculum. had served a single term as general su teaching the Bible and creating a sense The Pentecostal Sunday School cur perintendent from 1908 to 1911 and was of Christian community. And in all peri riculum moved to Kansas City in 1912 reelected to that office in 1915 but de ods the Nazarene Sunday School has re after the General Assembly authorized a clined. He accepted his election to the flected some of each. tfc
N o v k m b k r 1996 5 The Readers Write
Mr. Sine refers to the Christian Coalition in a negative sense, yet the Christian Coalition is one of the best things that has hap pened in our society to help prevent evil and wicked people from serving as our elected officials. Great strides have been made al ready, and more can be if people like Mr. Sine ever wake up. Joe Seay Greenbrier, Ark. Aiding and Abetting 1 am writing in regard to Tom Sine's article "Back to the Gospel: Depoliticizing the Church in ‘96" in the August issue of the Herald. In my opinion . . . the church (mainline Protestant, including Nazarene) has been much too (///involved in the political process Sine Off for too many years, proving again the principle “all that is neces The article in the August issue of the H erald by Professor Tom sary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." Sine of Fuller Theological Seminary took the position that Chris I agree wholeheartedly that the first concern of the church tians should not become involved in politics. I wonder if he ever should be saving the lost. On the other hand, Christianity should read what Old Testament prophets had to say ahout national permeate the whole spectrum of our lives, including politics. leaders and moral issues. With the prevailing view in America I believe Mr. Sine is aiding and abetting the forces of evil by today that honesty and high moral standards in people in high of discouraging the church from becoming involved. fice are not important, it seems to me that now more than ever Samuel M. Saxon Christians need to take a stand. Tupelo. Miss. The professor is entitled to his view, but its appearance in the No Sidestepping H erald gives the impression that it is our official position. 1 would like to commend the H erald for having the “guts” to Clarence M. Killion Sanger, Calif. print an article like “Back to the Gospel . . .” Most Evangelical publications have sidestepped the issue or ignored it altogether. I Wish I Had Said That Unfortunately, many well-meaning Christians have been duped I have been very proud of the Herald of Holiness for the past by some of the philosophies of the religious right that are not too few years in your refusal to take sides politically on issues that much different from the rhetoric of the Pharisees in Jesus' day. affect Christians in America today. You have always printed Thank you for calling this issue to your readers' attention. news items that were relevant, even if they favored people that Rod get Hooker Sr. other Christian publications consistently “demonized.” I was es It’s the (lospel That Transforms pecially happy with the article in the August issue “Back to the Thank you for Tom Sine's fantastic article "Back to the Gospel: Depoliticizing the Church in ’96.” This is the article I Gospel: Depoliticizing the Church in '96." For too long, the reli wish 1 had written. I am so tired of watching Christian organiza gious right has used the terms “conservative" and “Christian" as tions get so carried away by hate and anger that they have com interchangeable. In their support for "traditional values," they pletely forgotten what Christ said to us about love and unity. In have forgotten that there are several traditions in America that the New Testament, we see that the two groups that Jesus got re ally angry with were the Pharisees (the conservative religious leaders of the day) and the money changers in the Temple (big business). He never condoned sin, but He always showed love and compassion to those considered the outcasts . . . of His day. What I see today is many Christian groups trying to . . . restore America with fear as a weapon instead of trying to win people to Christ and thereby creating real change. Jeanette A. Strong Cardnerville. Nev. Christian Coalition the Best 1 have been a faithful member of the Church of the Nazarene for over 30 years and always enjoy reading my H erald and the encouragement the articles offer. Can you imagine my surprise and shock when 1 read the article by Tom Sine titled "Back to the Gospel: Depoliticizing the Church in ’96" in the August issue. Mr. Sine is far off base and poorly informed. I suspect he. like many others, has been brainwashed and deceived by those left- wing "pro-choice mass murderers.” “anti-American liberals," or “family-hating feminists” that he refers to (his terms, not mine). Mr. Sine states that they (mainline denominations and now Evangelicals. Charismatics, and Pentecostals) are increasingly turning to politics to change society instead of relying on the gospel of Christ. I wish to challenge Mr. Sine. . . .
6 H k r a i.d o r H o u n k s s run contrary to the teachings of Jesus (racism, militarism, nation MS and General Assembly alism. etc.). 1 am thrilled to see Sine point us back to what I have just read the article “Running the Race with Patience" Nazarenes have always believed. Let's not forget that it is the in the August issue and felt that the Lord would have me write to gospel that transforms. you. The final paragraph of the article, which tells of a Nazarene Paul Stout pastor's struggle with multiple sclerosis, says, “Others who suf Jackson, Mich. . fer from a disease like MS may have given up . . . but not Duane Tremble in Shame Tulowitzky." I, too, have MS. It is now almost 17 years since it Contrary to Tom Sine's agenda, our Christian founding fa was diagnosed, and since then my condition has both worsened thers. via the Mayflower Compact, Declaration of Independence, and improved because of remissions and relapses. I can testify and Constitution, obeyed their biblical duty as “watchmen on the with all my heart that, far from giving up, I look back over the wall" and formed a free constitutional republic. last 17 years and praise God for the way . . . I now have such a Unfortunately, a decline to decadence followed precisely be confidence in Him that wouldn't have seemed possible before the cause Sine's message was embraced by nondisceming people. MS. . . . By the grace of God, I will be able to attend the General As Read Ezekiel 9 and tremble! We are the salt and light, com sembly next year. Prayers are being answered, and it seems as if manded to confront, oppose, and overcome. I say shame on the I will be able to afford to make the trip. I cannot tell you how 1 Herald of Holiness for printing Sine's deceitful message. long to be at the Assembly. Delsie Brooks Jean Brotherton Chalon Harris West Yorkshire. England Silence, Not Noise 1 was interested in your editorial in the September H erald, "Picking Them Green." Your comment "1 wonder if my genera tion really wants to revisit [the days of emotionalism] as much as THE HERALD OF HOLINESS we act as if we do" sounded a loud "Amen" in my heart. The “The Things That Matter Most” quotations you printed in which Barton Stone described the ex treme of demonstrative exercises in camp meetings was spooky. Fill out this form and mail today They made me think that in these days we would wonder if it to start receiving the Herald o f was the Holy Spirit or the devil who was inspiring those demon Holiness. For faster service, strations. And yet. much of the preaching 1 hear exhorts us to go back to at least the loud "Amens," "Hallelujahs," and "Praise the call toll-free 1-800-877-0700. Lords" that our grandparents shouted. Enter my subscription for While . . . we need to be responsive to the preached Word and □ One year, $12.00 the Lord's voice through His servants, 1 believe that Jesus comes □ Two years, $23.00 to us where we are. This is a different generation coming from a different environment. □ Three years, $34.00 Our world is full of noise. . . . Dr. Weigelt's editorial in the Enter a gift subscription at same issue of the H erald quotes Wayne Oates from Nurturing Si $ for year(s) and send to: lence in a Noisy Heart: "Our demanding world has so many voices that we can no longer listen to them all.” The thing we N am e______need now most of all is not excitement and noisy exhibition but Address quietness and silent reverence. If we knew that we could find City___ . State/Prov.. . Zip. quietness and confidence by entering a sanctuary of God, people would stream there, looking for it like fresh water. . . . If preach □ Bill me. ers want the best from a service, let them exhort us to creative □ Enclosed is my check for $____ . listening rather than trying to get us to act like our grandparents. To charge vour order to Visa or MasterCard, call toll-free 1 find myself responding with “Amen” and "Praise the Lord” 1-800-877-0700. sometimes . . . but it springs from a natural response, not a cheer Nam e______leader's shout. Cindy Jackson Address ______Vacaville. Calif. City______State/Prov.____ . Zip. Encouraged to Tithe Phone (____) ______In the September issue. "Waylaid by Malachi" brought tears to my eyes. A mixture of emotions flooded over me. The tears were Make checks payable to: Herald of Holiness tears of joy at the blessings God poured out on the Gochnauer The local Church of the Nazarene I attend is family— tears of wonderment, tears of conviction, and tears of Name of Church ______realization. Address Not only did God work through the ageless words of Malachi to encourage Cheryl and Terry’s tithing, but also He has worked City___ State/Prov. Zip through the Gochnauers and the Herald of Holiness to encourage If ordering by mail, clip and send to: me to tithe. The Herald of Holiness Thank you for doing God's will. Nazarene Publishing House Julia Hughes P.O. Box 419527 • K ansas City, MO 64141 Cabot, Ark.
N o v e m b e r 1096 7 Hews Prepared by H e ra ld Staff and the Nazarene News Service
Nazarenes Make Historic Visit to North Korea New General Board Member Elected
C. Wayne Rice was elected to fill a va cancy on the Gen eral Board, accord ing to General Secretary Jack Stone. Representing the East Central LI.S.A. Region, Rice fills the vacancy left by the death of Thomas Skidmore. Rice is the president and chief executive offi cer of the Greater Cleveland Hospital Association in Ohio. Rice is active at the local, state, and national levels of the Church of the Nazarene delegation in front of Bong Soo Church with Hwang Si Chon, director of Interna Nazarene. He is serving as the repre tional Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Korean Christians Federation. sentative at large on the executive com (Left to right) Gary Morsch, Bob Helstrom, Gen. Supt. Owens, Hwang Si Chon, Vijai Singh, and mittee for the 1998 International Lay Brent Cobb. Conference (ILC). Rice will serve on the Comm unica Donald D. Owens, general superinten opened the door for the Nazarenes to tions Department of the General Board. dent. led a delegation of'Nazarenes in a make this visit. historic visit to North Korea. The delegation met with officials of On August 13 the group of five several health and relief agencies and Nazarenes left Beijing, China, for an of with representatives of hospitals and Fighter Pilot Joins SNU ficial visit to North Korea. The delega clinics that had received supplies from Faculty tion. in addition to Owens, was com the NCM and Heart-to-Heart shipment. Todd Sheehy joins prised of A. Brent Cobb. Asia-Pacific The Koreans were amazed to learn the faculty of South regional director; Vijai K. Singh, super that Owens. Singh, and Cobb spoke their ern Nazarene Uni intendent of India's Delhi District; Gary language fluently. This was because versity (SNU) for Morsch. physician and founder of Heart- Owens had been a pioneer missionary to the 1996 fall semes to-Heart. a nonprofit relief agency; and South Korea. Singh had attended semi ter as adjunct in Bob Helstrom. layman and director of nary in Seoul and married a Korean, and structor and director the Helstrom Foundation. Cobb served as a missionary in Korea. of the aviation pro North Korea, known as the Democrat The highlight of the trip was the gram in the School ic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK). group's opportunity to worship with of Business. has not permitted outside Christian influ about 250 Christians at Bong Soo ences in 42 years. A Nazarene church Church, one of only two Protestant Before coming to SNU. Sheehy had been established in Pyongyang in churches in Pyongyang. Singh and served as an active duty fighter pilot in 1932. Officials today report only about Owens sang a duet in Korean. Cobb the United States Air Force. He flew 10.000 admitted Christians in the nation, brought greetings in Korean and pre over 40 combat missions during Opera although they indicate there are a num sented the beliefs and mission of the tion Desert Storm at the controls of an ber of house churches. Still, most North Church of the Nazarene. A -10 "Warthog” attack jet. He was one Koreans claim to be atheists. The group gave many Christian books of the most decorated combat pilots of Singh had visited the country four printed in Korean to officials. Singh re the Persian Gulf War. months earlier to see that a grain ship quested permission to open an office in Loren Gresham. SNU president, ment for thousands of flood victims, Pyongyang to operate as a nongovern made the announcement of Sheehy's ap which was coordinated by Nazarene ment organization and to restart the pointment along with six other new fac Compassionate Ministries (NCM). had long-closed Church of the Nazarene. ulty members: Mark Cranston and Craig reached the proper destination. Through Owens says. "We are praying that the Wiginton, Kinesiology and Sport Man contacts Singh made with the North Ko current isolation policy will be aban agement Department: Scott Daniels. Re rean embassy in Delhi, officials asked doned and that prevenient grace will al ligion and Philosophy Department: the Church of the Nazarene for help. A low Christianity and the Church of the Donna Eckhardt and Jude Miller. follow-up shipment of medicines, jointly Nazarene to bring peace and harmony in School of Nursing; and Mary Eskridge, sent by NCM and Heart-to-Heart. the peninsula." School of Education.
8 H e r a l d o r H o l i m -s s AP/Wide World Photos America Crown America Miss America 1997 Tara Dawn Holland Dawn Tara 1997 America Miss the music department of the University University the of department music the Miss reigning the as pageant the entered Tara Dawn Holland, a member of Col of member a Holland, Dawn Tara NTC and NNC Joins Agreement Partnership Miss Wins Nazarene competed for the title being broadcast on broadcast being title the for competed she As group. singles the joining Church, of Missouri at Kansas City. She is pursu is She City. Kansas at Missouri of lege Church of the Nazarene, Olathe, Olathe, Nazarene, the of Church lege to the congregation, “We want to pray pray to want “We congregation, the to Sunday her of members the television, middle graduation. upon level the school at music teach to plans with September 14 in Atlantic City, N.J. She She N.J. City, Atlantic in 14 September H olland started attending C ollege ollege C attending started olland H for Holland that she will be a model of of model a be will she that Holland for said Church, College at pastor K. Warrick, J. on. her cheering were class School music choral in degree master's a ing ass iy ra ya g t erl in enroll to ago year a area City Kansas Kansas. on America Miss of title the won Kans., N one to lead the way. Miss America is theis America Miss way. the lead to one some the for f looking o are today children and Star, arroll C ity C Diane ansas K riter w staff to According youth. a today’s as for model serve role and illiteracy eliminate help Christ.” of a disciple be to it means what potnt t tl t yuh n b that be and youth to talk to the opportunity have could I because America, Miss That’s to. look can they person perfect role model for them." model role become to me wanted God felt I why r e b m e v o Holland, 23, m oved to the greater greater the to oved m 23, Holland, A resident of Overland Park, Kans., Kans., Park, Overland of resident A oln wns o s hr e rl to role new her use to wants Holland 1996 Holland said, “Youth “Youth said, Holland xhne n collab and exchange between cooperation Theo Nazarene and dents for study and and study for dents ic academ other and consulting, research, teaching, for ff sta and faculty of oration includes colleges the resident P C N N to according Australia, Northwest joins ment agree partnership A colleges in the West. The rating was was rating The West. the in colleges for Australia to accord the delivered assistance a and form tion, in of published sharing research, stu of exchange for provides also ment agree The pursuits. The Hagood. Richard of llege o C logical ollege C e azaren N published in a recent issue of of issue recent a in published of College. president Theological Dunn, Nazarene Robert by signing management. and administration in Lillenas Announces Music and Drama Conference Drama and Music Announces Lillenas enrtdaog h tp 0 iea arts liberal 10 top the among again rated once been has NNC that announced so Religion, and Philosophy of NNC the of Division chair Neil, Ralph Hagood, advice providing in Conference demostrate new techniques. new demostrate Conference Participants at the 1996 Lillenas Drama Lillenas 1996 the at Participants After the agreement was signed by by signed was agreement the After ihr Hgo, N peiet al president, NNC Hagood, Richard Sam Dunn, NNC academic dean dean academic NNC Dunn, Sam Richard Hagood, NNC president president NNC Hagood, Richard losophy and religion religion and losophy .. ws ew N U.S.
(right), l rt. o p e R rld o W d n a competitive price. These ratings offer offer ratings These price. provides competitive NNC that “validates good, rat 10 Top a received has NNC years au ad ult, si Peiet Ha President said quality,” and value assurance to families that their college college their that families to a at assurance access and excellence academic seven in time fifth and year straight west Nazarene College." North Nazarene atwest spent well be will investment ing. Johnson, Dennis and Nan Allen, Steve Steve Allen, Nan and Dennis ses Johnson, conduct will leaders conference area. the City in Kansas 1997, greater 6-8, February Conference C ra ig -C la a r, R obert R ucker, Paul Paul ucker, R obert R r, a la -C ig ra C known nationally several that reports Drama and usic M annual its spon is soring Company Publishing Lillenas tins and a d ram a p erfo rm an ce by by ce an rm erfo p a scheduled. been has ram d Crosswalk a and tins Derric Fettke, Tom including sions, free number, 800-877-0700. and ask ask and brochure. conference free a for 800-877-0700. number, free ilr n al McCusker. Paul and Miller, Deborah Bennett, Roger Bowersox. “The com bination of rankings for for rankings of bination com “The John Mathias, director of Lillenas, Lillenas, of director Mathias, John seil ocr fauig h Mar the featuring concert special A For more information, call the toll- toll- the call information, more For look on. look (center), (left), n Rlh el car f phi of chair Neil, Ralph and signs agreement with NTC. with agreement signs This is the third third the is This 9
Wesleyan Higher Education Chic Shaver Honored for 20 Years of Explored at MVNC Personal Evangelism The school year for MVNC faculty be More than 340 Thanks for 2 0 Years of Evangelism gan with a one-day workshop on how people paid tribute Pastor Chic & Nancy being Wesleyan informs education the to Dr. Charles 4G;H semi an n u al dinner L u k e 1 5 3 2 ory and practice on a Nazarene college "Chic" Shaver on Bui We Had to campus. President LeBron Fairbanks the occasion of the Celebrate C- Be Glad. Because This Brother launched the meetings with an address 40th personal o f Vours Was Dead based 011 the last words of John W es & A lire .Aga/rtj evangelism ban He Was Lost & ley, "Best of all. God is with us." Fair Is Found quet held at lube I5d- banks challenged the faculty to make Kansas City First spiritual growth as important as profes Church on August sional growth during the school year. 29. This semiannu Resource visitor Wesley Tracy con al event of the past ducted sessions on encountering the 20 years celebrates Keith Wright, superintendent of the Kansas City District, along Wesleyan ethos and interpreting Wes with the individu with personal evangelism converts pay tribute to Chic Shaver. leyan principles into educational phi als who have losophy, learning theory, and method joined God's king ology. Bettye Tracy led a workshop on dom through personal evangelism. Christ when her friend Kami invited cooperative education and person-cen The banquet is sponsored by her to church. Erin said. "1 can't imag tered methods. Nazarene Theological Seminary as part ine going back to the way I used to of its evangelism instruction. Shaver, live." She shared her desire to help oth who teaches the personal evangelism ers experience what she has. classes at NTS and serves on the staff Peggy Kumor reported how Shaver at Kansas City First, mentors his stu had introduced her to the "God of com dents on how to win people to Christ fort and peace," who saw her through a through one-on-one contact. battle with cancer and life with seven Shaver, however, was surprised teenagers. Kumor said to Shaver. when he was honored at this special "Thank you for introducing me to a dinner. Keith Wright, superintendent of Man who not only changed my life but the Kansas City District, and Nancy became my life." Spencer Shaver (no relation to Chic MVNC Professors Alan Schrock, Beverly Shaver. Chic's wife, gave special trib Smith, and Naomi Hedrick work on making utes. Larry Campbell wrote and sang a Shaver) testified how, when he had de education person-centered. song “EvangelVision Man." cided to take his own life. Dr. Shaver Twenty people from the audience invited him to take hold of the new life came and stood behind Shaver to repre offered through Jesus Christ. And he sent the hundreds who have become did. He closed his testimony with his Christians as a result of Shaver's work own revised version of Luke 15:32. New WordAction Customer during the past 20 years. Thirteen indi “Let's party!" viduals testified how the personal wit The banquet kicked off another se Service Program Is ness of Christians led them to accept mester of personal evangelism training a Success Christ as Savior. where Dr. Shaver will equip seminari Erin O'Toole, president of her high ans and laypersons alike with the pas More than 3.000 churches signed up school class, told how she came to sion for winning souls to Christ. for the WordAction Priority-Plus cus tomer service program in less than three months, according to Mark Gilroy, director of WordAction Pub lishing Company, the curriculum arm of Nazarene Publishing Flouse (NPH). Priority-Plus is a new system where churches place a standing order with NPH and automatically receive the same Sunday School materials each quarter. The major benefit of enrolling for local churches is free shipping and handling, a savings of 5-10 percent. Another benefit is simplifying the or der process each quarter, yet allowing teachers to customize their orders.
10 H i r \i n o r H o l i n i s s “IN the cellars of the night, when the mind starts moving around prayers were answered. Then we should govern the universe and not old trunks of bad times, the pain of this and the shame of that, the God." memory of a small boldness is a hand to hold.” Harry Emerson Fosdick John Leonard The Meaning of Prayer New York Times "WHY do we people in churches seem like cheerful, brainless "THE great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the tourists on a packaged tour of the Absolute? ... other ages you've been." Madeline L’Engle “On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest "THE glory of Love is brightest when the glory of self is dim, and idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does they have the most compelled me who most have pointed to Him." no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the Ruby T. Weyburn floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet “HE who despises himself esteems himself as a self-despiser.” hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets.” Susan Sontag Annie Dillard Death Kit Teaching a Stone to Talk "THE task of future Christian leaders is not to make a little contribu tion to the solution of the pains and tribulations of our time, but to “IT costs God nothing, so far as we know, to create nice things; identify and announce the ways in which Jesus is leading God's peo but to convert rebellious wills cost Him crucifixion." ple out of slavery, through the desert to a new land of freedom.” Henri Nouwen C. S. Lewis In the Name of Jesus Mere Christianity
“SOMETIMES ... church leaders prefer that the church die in su “FIFTY years from now it will not matter what kind of car you perficial harmony than live in vigorous debate." drove, what kind of house you lived in, how much you had in your John B. Cobb Jr. bank account, or what your clothes looked like. But the world may be Becoming a Thinking Christian a little better because you were important in the life of a child.” Chicken Soup for the Soul “STORMS come and terrors come, Our frail beliefs are shaken; “OUR minds must be fixed upon grace, otherwise we will always But—in God’s hand we only dream— be overwhelmed and withdrawn from the Presence of God.” And, in His arms, we waken!” Margaret E. Sangster Francis Fragipane Holiness, Truth, and the “WHAT discord we would bring into the universe if all our Presence of God WILL Send faryour FREE WILL KIT today! WHERE THERE IS A Rev. Dr. Mr. _ M rs. M iss
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N o v e m b e r 1996 11 Devotion and Duty in Deuteronomy successful accomplishment of the basic goals in life. Food, shelter, and increas ing security are appropriate goals, but once they have been accomplished, it is easy to think of them as our own ac complishments. It is that satisfied feel ing expressed as, "Ah, look what I have accomplished . . that God sees as a Forgetting Is Easy haughty heart that has forgotten Him. Verse 19 defines forgetting as follow that are so intense they seem to wipe ing other gods. Perhaps the problem is ROGER L. HAHN away our memory of earlier stages. most difficult here. Israel never forgot There are also different kinds of memo the fact that her creed was monotheistic ry. Remembering facts of world history (Deuteronomy 6:4). Neither do we. but is not the same as renewing a relation like Israel, we also find it easy to give ship by remembering the precious mo the allegiance that belongs only to God ments that first made it so special. to ourselves, to other people, and to the Deuteronomy 8 focuses on remember things symbolizing security. ing— and forgetting. The call to remem The command to be on guard lest we ber is reinforced by a warning not to for forget the Lord seems rather unneces Roger L. Hahn is professor o f New Testa get. Moses, like my wife, was concerned sary to most of us. Our relationship with ment at Nazarene Theological Seminary. that Israel remember what God had done Him is so vital and intense that we can for them. Israel, like me, was confident not imagine ever forgetting Him. And. they would never forget. But Moses un to be sure, we will never forget the basic derstood that forgetting is easy. His de facts of our relationship with Him. But if forgetting God means failing to keep Be on your guard lest you forget the scriptions of forgetting remind us that Lord your God by not keeping his com remembering is much more than recall His commandments, if forgetting God mandments, his judgments, and his ing facts and faces. Remembering actu means feeling pretty satisfied about statutes, which I command you today. ally renews relationship by bringing the what we have accomplished, if forget Lest when you have eaten and been sat past intensity and intimacy of that rela ting God means dividing our allegiance isfied and have built good houses and tionship into present reality again. between Him and some other source of lived in them, and when your cattle and Deuteronomy 8:11 defines forgetting security, then forgetting God may be goats have increased and your silver as failure to keep God's command easier than any of us have realized. and gold have increased and all that is ments, judgments, and yours has increased, your heart become statutes. As Israel was haughty and you forget the Lord your about to enter the Promised God, who brought you out of the land of Land, the joy of having Egypt, out o f the house of slavery been delivered from Egyp (Deuteronomy 8:1 i -14).* tian slavery and the passion To exalt yourself or to promote of love for God made obe some security symbol to god W h en o u r c h il d r e n w e r e first learning dience to the divine com to talk, they said some amazing things. mandments seem reason status is to forget God. Their garbled pronunciations were highly able, if not actually entertaining. Every so often my wife desirable. The reality of would suggest, "We ought to write this whether Israel remembered down so we don't forget it when they get that joy and love would not older." I would always respond. "Oh, be measured by an objective test but by For further study: (/) Study Psalm we'll never forget this." After all. I can whether the people continued to keep 103. What are the benefits coming from still remember dates and persons of his and to cherish obeying God's com God that we arc not to forget? (2 ) Medi torical events that I have not studied for mandments. That kind of remembering tate on Philippians 3:13. What motiva over 30 years. Unfortunately (and as usu is more difficult than reciting the facts tion! s) to remember your relationship al), my wife was right. We can hardly re of the exodus from Egypt. with God do you find in the context of member any of our sons' cute phrases Verse 14 defines forgetting in terms that verse? (3) Write down some of the that I thought I would never forget. of a haughty heart or exalting oneself. most significant aspects of your rela Forgetting is easier than 1 realized. Again, if that is the meaning of forget tionship with God that you do not want The experience of our children's early ting, it will be easier to forget God than to forget. Covenant with God to review years was so intense that 1 thought I one realizes. The context makes it clear and renew your relationship with Him could never forget it. But each stage of that the issue is not arrogant rebellion on a regular basis. development brings new experiences against God. Rather, the problem is the ’Scripture quotations are the author’s own translation.
12 III k a l i ) iii H oi.im s ' Rhythms of the S pir it
plans, opinions, possessions, posi tions. . . . Subordinate your desire to find the truth, and your desire to have others do the truth, to your desire to Seek in Reading; do it yourself!" (In Search of Guid a n ce. Harper, 1993, 172). John of the Cross writes that the yearning that leads to reading results Find in Meditation in meditation. The text becomes the vehicle by which the Holy Spirit com MORRIS A. WEIGELT John is echoing the words of the municates with us. Susan Muto in Lord himself in Matthew 7:7, who vites us to identify both the elements # may well have been echoing Proverbs in the text that set our hearts to res I f /jz \ 2:3-5: “If you indeed cry out for in onating and the elements in the text sight, and raise your voice for under that set up resistance in our minds and standing; if you seek it like silver, and hearts and wills. “Seek in reading and ■ * ^ 'A search for it as for hidden treasures— you will find in meditation.” (7 then you will understand the fear of The next element in this intentional the L o r d and find the knowledge of search to know God is prayer: “Knock
W m - , G od" ( n r s v ). in prayer.” Prayer, to use a favorite Morris A. Weigelt teaches spiritual forma The motivating core of intentionali image of St. Catherine of Siena, is to tion at Nazarene Theological Seminary. ty is seeking or yearning. Only per realize that we are in the enveloping sons who have a deep yearning to presence of God, just as a fish is sur know God will intentionally spend rounded by the ocean. Prayer then be time in seeking. The hunger will draw comes an avenue to recognizing the
R e c o v e r i n g f r o m m i n o r s u r g e r y them to learn and grow. voice of our Father. A number of the condemned me to viewing rather ex Such a deliberate longing for the spiritual masters use marriage lan tensive segments of the Olympic knowledge of God requires sharpen guage to articulate this rich relation Games. Repeatedly, I was impressed ing our skill of listening for the voice ship with God. Communication is not with the intentionality of the athletes of God. Some persons have not yet a duty, but the highest of privileges. in preparing for their particular event. developed the silence necessary to “Knock in prayer and it shall be The women’s basketball team had hear His voice. Some persons only opened to you in contemplation.” spent 14 months in preparation. Sev want guidance when they are in trou Contemplation is different from medi eral individuals had interrupted their ble. Some persons do not listen be tation. It is the wonderful moment educational process for one whole cause they do not intend year to compete. Divers had done as to follow. But the gen many as 100 dives per day during uinely hungering heart preparation. Intentionality was written will tune in to God with in bold print all over the games. intentional care. In a recent radio broadcast, Gary John of the Cross, in The genuinely hungering heart Smalley was talking about intention the quotation cited earlier, will tune in to God with ality in marriage. He argued that highlights the four prima many marriages deteriorate because ry disciplines of reading, intentional care. they do not have goals— there is no meditation, prayer, and intentionality for the future. He spoke contemplation. Regular of the current goal of growing tender dedication to these re ness in his own marriage. sources will sensitize us to Where is intentionality in spiritual the voice of the Lord. when the divine presence rushes in growth today? Immersing myself in Persons who yeam to know God and renews and restores. "It is now no the spiritual masters from across the will intentionally invest time in for longer we who seek to grasp the Mys centuries, it becomes increasingly mative reading. It is learning to spend tery . . . but the Mystery that grasps clear to me that the absence of inten time with a text until the core and us. It draws us beyond ourselves to tionality is one of the reasons for shal heart of the passage begin to inform depths of intimacy understood ab low spirituality today. our lives and satisfy the yearning that stractly but now known experiential- St. John o f the Cross— a 16th-cen brings us there. Dallas Willard recom ly" (Susan Muto, A Practical Guide to tury spiritual master— wrote: "Seek in mends that we read the Bible “in a re Spiritual Reading, 283). reading and you will find in medita pentant manner.” He defines the Ask! Seek! Knock! It's better than tion; knock in prayer and it shall be process as follows: “Read with readi winning the bronze, or even the gold. opened to you in contemplation.” ness to surrender all we are. all of our yu
N o v e m b e r U W 6 13 's V oice
The Blessings That Remain
There are loved ones who are missing From the fireside and the Pickles or Peppers? feast; There are faces that have nation. Becky loved pickles. And to vanished, MARLO M. SCHALESKY her young eyes, the pepper looked an There are voices that have awful lot like her favorite kind. ceased; “It’s very hot,” I repeated. In a fraction of a second, she made But we know they passed forever up her mind. She knew better than I From our mortal grief and did. It was a pickle. So with one swift pain, movement, she shoved the pepper into And we thank Thee, 0 our Father, her mouth and bit down. Sure enough, a moment later her For the blessings that remain. Mario M. Schalesky is a Christian novelist eyes watered, her mouth burned, and and freelance writer. She and her pastor she was crying for water. "Waa! Hot!” Thanksgiving, oh, thanksgiving. husband, Bryan, live in Gilroy, California. she hollered, her hand grabbing for the closest glass in sight. That their love once blessed us Gulp, gulp, gulp, she guzzled down here, the water. But her mouth still burned. That so long they walked beside T h e room was crowded a n d the I shrugged my shoulders. It was too us, night sweltering as we took our fami late for my advice now. ly to Chevy’s Mexican Restaurant to Am I ever as foolish as Becky? Sin Sharing cveiy smile and tear; enjoy an evening out. Before long, a is like a jalapeno pepper. Sometimes it For the joy the past has brought sizzling platter of chicken fajitas was looks good, like a sweet, juicy pickle, us, placed before us with a mound of sour but it bums us when we bite into it. In But can never take away, cream and guacamole heaped to one Deuteronomy 5:29, God laments, side. And there, perched high and “Oh, that their hearts would be in For the sweet and gracious proud on top of the p i- clined to fear me and memories co de gallo, w as an keep all my com Growing dearer every day, enormous jalapeno mands always, so that pepper. Sooner or later, it m ight go well with Becky’s eyes lit up them and their chil For the faith that keeps us patient as she saw it. Soon her we all sit down dren forever!" ( n i v ). Looking at the things unseen, chubby hand reached In His Word, God Knowing spring shall follow across the table to to a banquet warns me against eat grasp the pepper in ing the peppers. He winter her fist. “Pickle!” she of consequences. wants my life to go And the earth again be green, exclaimed, a huge well. And He knows For the hope of that glad meeting smile spreading over that sin will always Far from mortal grief and her face. hurt me, no matter how harmless it I gasped. “No, no, Becky,” I ad may seem at the time. pain— monished. “It’s not a pickle. Here, But sometimes I think I know better We thank Thee, 0 our Father, give it to m e .” I reach ed o v er and than God. He says “No,” but I ignore For the blessings that remain. tried to pry the vegetable from her Him. As soon as I sink my teeth into —Annie Johnson Flint grip- sin, I suffer. Then I must endure the Immediately she shrieked her dis painful consequences that no amount approval. “Pickle! Mine!” of water can quench. Now, when “Listen to me.” I attempted to re faced with temptation, I remind my main calm. “That is a jalapeno pepper. self of Becky’s face, all wrinkled up It’s very hot. You’ll bum your mouth as she grabbed for the water glass. if you eat it.” Sin is not a sweet pickle; it’s a hot Her forehead furrowed in conster jalapeno pepper. tfc
14 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s M asculine J ourney
Thanksgiving
The psalmist sang with thankfulness Don’t Mix the when life was filled with cares. The Master prayed with gratitude Messages for heard and answered prayers. MARK METCALFE lief systems are created equal, rendering none of them absolute. But Christianity is less than equal in the new society because Witli grateful praise our hearts of its intolerance of other views. If Chris tianity will agree to keep its values but we lift drop the idea of its unique God, it can be to Thee, our Sun and Shield, welcomed into the new world order. our Source of all that’s good and 1 Perhaps some of you men think that I am being too much of an alarmist about right J issues of entertainment. What real effect in life, in sea, in field. Mark Metcalfe is a senior technical writer, do these amusements have on the Chris husband, and father of four who lives in tian life? Contrast the portrayals of Chris Nashua, New Hampshire. tian figures in the entertainment industry Our saving Friend, our House of with the portrayals of godless people or Rest, people of other faiths. our living Drink and Bread, N a za r en es d o n ' t g o to movies; we rent Men, our gluttony for entertainment is them. Many Nazarenes I know these days starving our souls. We should be con without whom earthly wealth is have ignored the admonition of the church cerned about the desensitizing forms of dust to avoid the movie theater. They reason entertainment that pollute our minds with that all forms of entertainment media are gratuitous foul language, violence, and il and life a vale of dread! airing some shows that are good and some licit sex. But there is a greater danger that that are bad, and we should be selective in "is crouching at . . . our door" (Genesis With bounteous hand the year is what we watch. Indeed, there is some truth 4:7, n iv ), subtly seeding our faith with an to it, but too often this reasoning is ig empty promise of a human-engineered blest nored. Few people have heaven on earth. Its mes with gain from field and tree. made the effort to look at sage seeps into the pews For these, Thy gifts, and for the church’s reasons for B e transformed by of our churches and at such a stand, dismissing tempts to merge itself thyself, the idea as archaic prud- the renewing of your with our Christian expe we lift our thanks to Thee. ishness. rience. Be careful! The We live today in a cul humanist message of the —Jean Leathers Phillips minds, so that you ture of merging ideals, power within ourselves and many entertaining may discern what is cannot be integrated with shows have an agenda of the Christian message of social reengineering. the will of God” human depravity and the Their alternative gospel need of salvation. n r s v ). says that humankind is (Romans 12:2, We need the grace of entering a new, enlight God in order to be resen ened period in history where the supersti sitized to “whatsoever things are true. . . . tious concept of God is no longer needed. honest,. .. just,... pure,.. . lovely, [and] Religious beliefs are ridiculed, and Chris . . . of good report" (Philippians 4:8a, tians especially are portrayed as unenlight kjv), instead of eagerly consuming the ened or stupid, hypocritical, and intolerant. tabloid gossip columns, adulterous soap The desire for harmony makes the new opera sagas, and lustful violence. “What gospel appealing to many in the church, ever is admirable— if anything is excellent such that the rush to embrace it has many or praiseworthy— think about such things" ignoring the realities of today’s society, (v. 8h, niv) so that you are feeding your which is presently disintegrating into mind a healthy, wholesome, and holy diet. moral chaos. The new gospel says all be Hh
N o v k m b k r 1996 15 SPENDING TIME WITH DAD
by Gloria H. Dvorak
sk any child today what fathers risk growing up with little fathers haven’t been thought de- he or she wants from a self-esteem. They become overly velopmentally important for father, and in most cas dependent on women. Melissa daughters. But research is showing es, the answer will be Manny, a social worker at the a woman’s sense of worth as a “to spend time with Boys and Girls Club of Venice, woman and as a person is rooted in me.” Too many children California, says that boys come up her experience with her father. live in fatherless homes with their own ideas, from friends “A grown woman will reenact where the mothers have toand try from to gangs. Nobody is show her struggles with her father over be both father and mother to their ing them what to do except to be and over later on with other men— Achildren. Mothers are forced to try drunk, deal drugs, or go to jail. lovers, husbands, teachers, em to glimpse into the world of the For girls, psychotherapist Joan ployers. We look for that same dy masculine gender. But time is a Minninger, coauthor of F a th er- namic as with Dad. The tension, luxury they can hardly afford. Daughter Dance (Putnam), be- the excitement for a woman is to find a man like her father" (USA Guy Comeau, who wrote Absent Today, April 5, 1993, “Dads and Fathers, Lost Sons, says, “It is esti Daughters’ Tricky Tango Through mated that one of every four chil Life”). dren lives in a single parent family and that 89 percent of these fami 1ATHERS SEND THEIR The Negative Father Image lies are headed by women.” With Knowing that men are so vital to so many fathers not present in CHILDREN TO CHURCH family life, the negative father im homes today due to divorce, death, ages that creep into society are abandonment, or demanding jobs, BUT TARE THEM TO quite troubling. Some scholars be children are missing out on normal THE CIRCUS.” lieve that fatherhood is more frag family life. If a child is lucky ile than motherhood and needs to enough to have a father in the be reinforced by society. More and home, you can bet that his job is more women say they are looking eating away on quality time with for sensitivity in men. Yet a lot of his family. The actual time in hours women do not know how to accept and minutes will depend on each lieves that fathers are the first men it, says Carlton Stuart Patton. “To family’s lifestyle, the father’s pro that daughters ever love and that day's woman is telling her man to fession, and if the mother is em fathers teach what men are. And open up. And when he does, she ployed too. On top of that, many these lessons last a lifetime. Min does not know how to react." says fathers are committed to a second ninger shares her controversial Ken Druck, a San Diego therapist job, a club, a sport, the church, the opinions on the father-daughter and author of The Secrets Men PTA, and so on. Hardly enough bond: K eep (Ballentine). time is left for his family. “It has been a common assump In today’s world, employers are tion that the mother is the crucial slow to understand the needs of fa How Boys and Girls See Fathers parent. She is the daughter's role thers. A prominent Washington ex A boy’s male image and role model. ecutive who took leaves of ab model is his father. Some psychol “While the father later becomes sence for both his children said his ogists suggest that boys without an important role model for a son. boss was very generous with the
16 H e r a l d o e H o l i n e s s I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN BECAUSE MY FATHER IS NOT A CHRISTIAN.”
We knew of some boys whose fa thers never came to a practice or a game, and we and some others adopted those kids for after-the- game treats. A father who goes to church with his family makes them proud. He sets a good example. Some have said, “Fathers send their chil dren to church but take them to the circus.” No wonder three out of four early teenagers drop out of Sunday School. One child, asked on a questionnaire if he was a Christian, wrote, “I am not a Christian because my father is not a Christian, and I am the same thing” (Leslie B. Flynn, Fathers). A Positive Father Image I have fond memories of my fa ther. When I was a child, we had a little game we played when he came home from work. I would hide in some remote place in our apartment, and my dad would try to find me. When he did, he made me feel like something special. I’ll always remember Dad having a great sense of humor and making The father-daughter bond is important because a woman’s sense of worth Kingswood Images people laugh. is often rooted in her experience with her father. 1 guess a true test of a good fa ther is what memories you have of him. Do you remember him as a grumpy old man or a good sport time, but he never let him forget it. he tried very hard to leave work and friend? I know I was one of He kept telling him what a great early two nights a week to coach a the lucky ones. My dad was a guy he was and that he owed him Little League team which each of short man (shorter than I), but he “big time.” Many men admit that our sons played on over the two stood tall in stature in “being a fa they lie to their employers about years. Even though time was a pre ther." He loved all his children and their family commitments. They mium, both boys knew that Dad grandchildren and spent time with say they are going to a meeting, was sacrificing what little time he them. He was a faithful member of but they are actually going to a son had with them. Both sons are the church and made time for or daughter's sports event. grown up now and have a very those in need. Everyone needs to My husband loved sports, and close relationship with their dad. spend some time with Dad. ^
N o v e m b e r 1996 17 IS DADDY REALLY HOME?
by Dan Schaeffer
Comstock
hy is it that the ordi dae when you're on a diet. nary moments in life I had just managed to become seem to be the most thoroughly engrossed in an article momentous? when my young son walked in. His request was simple. Could I please help him with his spelling words? He explained that all 1 had I was reminded of to do was let him write his spelling W this- recently as I sat words on my back with his finger in my office at home while I tried to guess what they reading the newest edition of my were. It seemed simple enough. favorite journal. In my occupation, My next move was instinctive time is always at a premium. To •| g linger over an article seems almost H i r a i .i ) o i H o l .in h s s sinful, like eating a hot fudge sun- and reflective of the pattern of one of this would have af fingered out the letters to the busy daddies and mommies every fected me much except for words on his back. Several times where. I looked in his eyes with what happened next. My son he giggled and squirmed as my the loving expression of a father Ndutifully and carefully traced the fingers tickled his shoulder blades. who is always available to his chil word on my back and then asked I smiled and laughed. When I fin dren— and lied through my teeth. me what word it was. ished spelling out “there,” he “Sure, Son, go ahead. I'll turn I wasn’t expecting this. I was proudly announced the word. around, and you start writing on hoping he’d just race through the Ouch! My eight-year-old son my back.” words, say “Thanks, Daddy,” and had already guessed more words What I said and what I proceed leave. But when he finished the than I had, and we’d just begun. ed to do were two different things. first word, he asked, “Do you Each time he guessed a word, I I never had any intention of inter know what it is, Daddy?” winced inside. It was over soon, rupting my luxurious moment of “No, I sure don’t, Son.” I hadn’t and he left. reading pleasure; I was just keep been paying any attention, except I’d like to say I didn’t finish the ing up appearances. to my journal. He wrote another article, but I did. I just didn’t enjoy As I turned my back to this qui one and asked again. it as much. God kept nagging at my et, affectionate little fellow, I re “Nope, you got me on that one,” heart. There was something to be turned to my reading, feeling con I mumbled distractedly. learned that He didn’t want me to tent that I was a noble example of miss. He gently reminded me of the concerned and available father catatonic state I enter when my hood. I would have remained bliss hand grips the television remote fully in this little bubble had the M y son thought that control. He reminded me of how of next few moments gone differently. ten my wife or kids try to talk to My son was laboring under the BECAUSE I WAS WITH HIM me, but I am distracted and inatten conviction that he had his daddy’s tive. undivided attention, so he began PHYSICALLY AND ANSWERED One of the greatest miracles of fingering the words on my back HIS QUESTIONS RATIONALLY, my faith is the fact that at whatev very slowly and carefully, giving er time, whatever place, and what me every opportunity to guess HE HAD MY ATTENTION. ever situation I happen to be in, I their identity. He figured, natural ly, that because Daddy’s lights can immediately turn to my Heav were on, he was home. enly Father and have His full at tention. I can know that He is not I could feel those tiny fingers only listening but also hearing me. gently tracing letters on my back. And so it continued until he was Those fingers that even at the age finished. I’m ashamed to say how With all the significant and cata of eight seek to hold mine when we relieved I was. Now I could read strophic events occurring all over walk; those fingers that labor for without interruption. But apparent the world at any moment. He still hours drawing the pictures that ly I hadn’t been listening. waits to listen patiently and with grace my walls; those fingers that “Now it’s your turn, Daddy.” out distraction to me over the most penned the words on my wall, “to “My turn for what, Son?” I insignificant of issues. dady I like you Becose. your very mumbled from the far-off pages of In the mystery of His divine na fun and nice to-me from: Andrew.” my magazine. ture, He’s always available to any Had Daddy actually “been “Time for you to do me.” and all who seek Him out. His home,” he would have put the “What?” I said, suddenly aware promise is that if I come near to magazine down and spent five de I was going to be further interrupt Him, He will come near to me lightful minutes of fun and educa ed. (James 4:8). I guess that’s where tion with his best buddy. But he “Now you are supposed to write my human weakness becomes ap wasn't, and it wasn’t the first time. the words on my back, and I guess parent. For there is no guarantee My son thought that because I them.” I sighed and smiled. He that if my children give Daddy was with him physically and an had me. I could not do this while their undivided attention, then swered his questions rationally, he reading my journal. Daddy will return the favor. And a had my attention. When I turned I knew it wouldn’t take long, so I favor it truly is— a temporary gift my back, little did he know I was turned around, in a hurry to get of inestimable value. gracefully tuning out. “He’ll never done. He was grinning, excited, and I understand I am unable to du know,” I reasoned. “He’ll think expectant. I had all his attention. plicate my Heavenly Father’s I’m really paying attention and be Prompted by momentary guilt, I flawless Fatherhood, but it serves just as happy.” The sad part is that set the article down and took the me well as a compelling model. As I’ve pulled it off enough times for list of words. He turned around He is my Model, so I, right now, it to be true. with a smile on his face as I slowly am my children’s.
N o v e m b e r 1996 19 This is what He wanted me to see. He knew there was no malice intended, just relational laziness. But God pointed out the cost of this laziness, and He did it with an eight-year-old boy. I’m good at pre tending to be attentive, but is this a trait I wanted to change or pass on? 1 realized that 10 years from now, those spelling-on-my-back moments are the ones I will want to remember. The magazine arti cles I can always come back to, and the TV shows are often better left unwatched. The funny thing is, I can no longer remember what the article was about, but I can still feel those little fingers on my back, and I can still hear the giggles as he wiggled beneath mine. day when my pass into her private looked her squarely in her eyes, he other day I took a giant world is revoked. which were just inches from first step and made an amaz What at times may seem annoy mine. I noticed how grown-up her ing discovery. As my older ing distractions are really trial runs expressions were and how often T for the future. I will be attentive they changed as she talked. She daughter spoke to me about some thing that I admit I had little interest when my daughter starts showing had interrupted me in the middle in, I noticed my gaze begin to shift an interest in boys, but will I still of something, but 1 can’t remem from her to other things in the room. be invited into her private world? ber what it was. But I remember Then it struck me that wherever I will if I start looking in her her face and her momentary sur my eyes go, so goes my attention. eyes when she talks to me and start prise to have Daddy drop every It was so simple it had eluded me. hearing what she says. I will if she thing and look at her so fully and I quickly adjusted, looked her realizes that I really want to hear completely. And she talked, and 1 straight in the eye, and actually lis what she has to say. She is nine listened, and she knew it, and so tened. I saw a lovely young girl of years old. In another nine years, did I. nine who was growing up quickly she’ll be making some of the most Things I pay the most attention and who wanted to talk to me. She was hoping I would be interested in her life, her interests, her! She tells me funny things that S h e w a s h o pin g i w o u ld b e in t er e s t e d happened to her at school and then laughs with the grin that is hers IN HER LIFE, HER INTERESTS, HER! alone. Do I think it’s funny too? I'm ashamed to say that too of ten I have smiled and nodded yes when in reality 1 didn’t pay atten important decisions of her life, and to are the things I remember the tion to one word she said. It didn’t I’ll desperately want her to seek longest. My wife and I have three occur to me that she was paying me out. I want that private pass in treasures to enjoy for a few more me the highest compliment possi to her world, but I know I’ll have short years, and there will be far ble. She was inviting me into her to earn it, and I start earning it more unguarded, unplanned mo private world at school, in which I now. Perfect pearls had been ments with them than the other am a foreigner. spilling through my fingers, and I variety. I think I’m just beginning But she doesn’t want that world hadn’t even noticed. Fortunately, to realize that those are our real to be private; she wants to let me God had. moments. It is the accumulation in. It won’t be long before she is of these moments and their mem able to realize when I'm really lis ot long ago, I sat my ories over time that leave the tening and when I’m just pretend youngest on my lap and, greatest impressions of us, and on ing. My guess is that will be the Nquite out of character, us. Hh
20 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s A Father’s Commencement W o r d A ctio n
arla achieved a major goal last June. For 13 years, she worked for the day she would re ceive her high school diploma. In the last few Kweeks, it has been the dominant topic of dis cussion. Many memories enlivened our conversations. We looked at Karla’s school pictures and saw the graphic growth. We've gone through the folder in which we placed awards she received. We talked about events that at the time didn’t seem significant but now are special memories. Some elicited a smile, some feel ings of amazement. DKOOVERTHEWORD Throughout these weeks. I’ve done some reflection WordAction recently surveyed teachers of about myself as Karla’s father. I’ve become increas adult Sunday School classes in the Church of the ingly aware that this is a pivotal point not only for Nazarene. One of the questions we asked them was Karla, but also for me. As Karla received her diploma, what they believe the most important elements of I had the sense that I was at the end of a school year, a curriculum need to be. and my report card was about to be sent home. Eighty-four percent of our teachers surveyed cited biblical content as one of the three most im As Karla prepares for the increased independence portant—if not the single most important—ele that comes with the first year of college, my parenting ments in Sunday School materials. This was the report card may become a public document. highest response by a significant margin. Have I equipped my child for life? As Karla’s par At another point in the survey, we asked what ents, Judi and I have systematically provided Karla is the most important contribution Sunday School more privileges and responsibilities. But we’ve always makes to the life of a local church. The teachers been nearby, calling out encouragement or warning, strongly indicated that what Sunday School does ready to shield her from forces that might overwhelm most effectively is foster spiritual growth. her. Now she'll be on her own, living in another city. When you put those two dynamics together, Alone. Have I filled her toolbox with what she needs the outcome is a reaffirmation that Sunday School to build a healthy, God-honoring life? is at its best when leaders and learners discover Have I crippled my child for life? I’ve warned Kar God’s Word together. If we want to grow spiritual la in the past couple of years that she’ll find some ly, we must dig into God’s Word. And a good things for which I’m responsible that she’ll have to place—though not the only place—for that to hap work through. I have some regrets, and I’ve apolo pen is Sunday School. gized. I wonder about the excess baggage I’ve placed Dr. Talmadge Johnson and his staff in the Sun on her shoulders that she’ll need to discard to be day School Ministries Division recently renewed healthy and independent. their theme as Discover the Word. That’s a great When Karla was an infant, we carried her to the call to Nazarenes to reaffirm Sunday School as a front of the sanctuary and placed her in the arms of place where people are cared for—and God’s Word our pastor. We really were placing her in the arms of is taught. God. As the father of a recent high school graduate, I —Mark Gilroy WordAction Director am intensely aware of the need to release my daughter into the care of a loving God. I wish we had a ritual that would help me express the utter dependence on God that I feel now. I guess a private one will have to do as I regularly ask Karla's Heavenly Father to pro vide everything she needs. W o b p A c t io h PUBLICATIONS I expected to feel a little more closure as my child moves out of the house. Now I see that Karla’s com For a FREE WordAction catalog mencement was really a new beginning for me too. call NPH at —Keith Schwanz 1 - 800 - 877-0700 Milwaukie, Oregon
N o v e m b e r 1996 21 TELL TIME
by Raymond L. Coucy
y wife and daughter male quest for the biggest, the not the clever patter of a new life can hardly bear to newest, the best, and the most huckster, that convicts persons of miss the TV situa powerful, 1 must admit that I my sin. tion comedy that self am puzzled. I am puzzled by The biggest, the best, the most portrays the misad the never-ending parade of church supercharged tool for evangelism ventures of Tim Tay growth studies, seminars, and and church growth is still the same lor. His quest to su how-to clinics, all designed to pro one that worked so well on the percharge every tool, vide turning the newest, it best, and most ef Day of Pentecost. When Spirit- into the “most powerful” tool of its fective tools to build a church in filled Christians speak out boldly Mkind, intrigues us. We have even today’s world. (and continually) to proclaim begun dreaming up new tools and In no way do I frown on train Christ and the salvation He offers, gadgets for Tim to foul up while ing, education, or skill develop they are assured of making two souping up. The other day Donna ment. But I do grieve over the mis things— converts and enemies. said, “Wouldn’t it be funny if Tim conception that Christians must be Yesterday was tell time. Today tried to combine a stun gun and a trained before they can be effec is tell time. Tomorrow will be tell pager and ended up getting tive witnesses. In our search for tim e. Every day from now until shocked every time someone the most effective tools for evan Christ returns is the perfect tim e paged him?” gelism, have we forgotten the lim for every Christian to tell someone While part of me duels with the itless power of God’s Holy Spirit? about the salvation that Christ of women of my house to defend the It is the work of the Holy Spirit, fers.
Rev. Stephanus Hartoyo, district superintendent, addresses pastors and other workers who minister in the 60 Nazarene churches and preaching points in Indonesia. Gustavo Crocker The atheistic religion of Buddhism has ruled in Indonesia, but the light of the Son of Righteousness is dawning Gustavo Crocker
Having served as a Nazarene Some of our fastest-growing growth at home. At times, the missionary in Indonesia for the last churches have been pastored by church on some of our mission 17 years, I have been thrilled by our best-educated ministers. Some fields has not grown as quickly as the constant growth of the church of our fastest-growing churches our home church. Yet, regardless in that country. During that time, have been pastored by ministers of the temporary statistics at home our church has grown from 2 orga still struggling to meet their ordi or abroad, our church remains nized Nazarene churches and 4 nation requirements. All of our faithful to the command of Christ Nazarene preaching points. Today, fastest-growing churches have to evangelize the world. Histori through the power of God, there been pastored by ministers who cally, it has been our goal for are over 60 churches and preach were avidly proclaiming the every local church to spend 10 ing points. At the Indonesia Dis gospel of Christ. percent of its funds on world evan trict's last assembly, our superin The constant growth of the gelism, providing a balanced effort tendent. Rev. Stephanus Hartoyo, church in Indonesia is a miracle of between local and world missions. was quite concerned that the dis God’s grace, the power of the Holy Now that I think about it, 1 real trict's increase in average Sunday Spirit, and the effectiveness of fer ly don’t see anything wrong with morning worship attendance was vent testimonies. The miraculous striving for the biggest, the best, “only" 9 or 10 percent above the church growth in Indonesia is only and the most powerful. Striving to previous year. True, that was the a small part of the great worldwide have the biggest heart for missions smallest annual percentage in spiritual harvest being reaped is a good thing. Striving to give crease in the district’s history. But through our church. the best to our Lord and Savior is a it is also true that the church in In I am so glad to belong to the good thing. Striving to make the donesia has been under ever-in Church of the Nazarene! Our 1996 Thanksgiving Offering the creasing opposition from the coun church steadfastly believes in the greatest ever is a good thing too. try’s Islamic majority and under Great Commission of Christ to go As we approach this Thanksgiv ever-tightening rules and regula and make disciples of all nations. ing season, it is my prayer that tions designed to restrain the At times, our growth on one field God's Holy Spirit will supercharge growth of the church. Even so, the or another has been remarkably our service to Him and electrify our church has continued to grow. rapid, outpacing our church witness for Him. It’s telI time. ^
N o v e m b e r 1996 23 TIME TO SPARE A Gift of Time
by Peg de Alminana
hether they are joking sure get the best of you, get orga extra hour or two each day by cook with television per nized, plan ahead, and get your prior ing dinner ahead. Robin and Julie sonality Robin Marsh ities in line with the Word of God. cook four times per year and freeze on KW TV’s T oday’s Robin understands time pressure. their delicious meals. They have O klahom a, preparing She is a fourth-generation Nazarene self-published a cookbook titled sweet-and-sour chick who works full-time, runs a min Seasonal Cooking, which contains en for Paula Zahn on istry, is a mother and homemaker, their plan. CBS’s This Morning, orand speaking a nursing student. “When we’re Their ministry has touched a Wfrom pulpits to women’s groups overwhelmed and overburdened, we need. They are booked to speak throughout the Oklahoma City area, lose our ability to hear God speak,” nearly every weekend, and their their message is the same: “You can Robin says. cookbook is in its fourth printing. beat the clock and find Tim e to Robin and Julie have created They have been interviewed on local Spare.” Time to Spare Ministries to help and national television. The two Robin McMurry and Julie Glover women regain control and focus on women are also working on a second of Oklahoma City have a message for what matters most: God and family. book about home organization, today’s stressed-out, overtaxed home They have developed a cooking plan called If You Have an Excuse, Don't maker. Instead of letting time pres designed to give hurried women an Use It.
W h a t a r e t w o WOMEN WITH A COOKBOOK DOING IN THE PULPIT? PREACHING TO OTHER BUSY WOMEN ABOUT HOW TO FIND TIME FOR CHRISTIAN SERVICE.
24 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s MINISTRIES
R o bin m c m u rry a n d ju l ie g l o v e r h a v e a m e s s a g e fo r TODAY’S STRESSED-OUT, OVERTAXED HOMEMAKER.
Cancer Comes Calling to do with each other.” throat. “Deep inside I knew some Robin attends Western Oaks When Robin’s daughter Erin, now thing was really wrong,” Robin said. Church of the Nazarene, pastored by nine, was just three years old, Robin The test revealed cancer had Greg Ricky. She sensed a call to began coughing up blood. “I knew blocked 98 percent of one of minister to other women about the right off the bat I had cancer,” she Robin’s lungs. The cancer never ap preciousness of time after hers near said. Doctors reassured her that she peared on X rays. Because it was ly ran out. At the age of 25, Robin had merely broken a blood vessel in slow growing, the surgeon opted to was told she had lung cancer. In a her throat. “When I mentioned lung keep it in check with laser treat stunned moment, she sensed her cancer, the doctor chuckled. I ments. “The doctor told me he faith, purpose, and priorities were thought my suspicion must be unre would try to buy me time until my changed forever. “Cancer ages you alistic,” she said. daughter was seven. He felt little in a way that years cannot,” says Robin returned to the doctor re girls needed their mothers until they Robin. “Most people who have had peatedly throughout the following were seven,” Robin said. cancer speak of their lives in two year as her symptoms grew increas Robin fell apart in the car on the distinct segments, the life they had ingly worse. Finally, an allergy spe way home. “My head was pounding. before cancer and the one they have cialist scheduled a cancer test in Between sobs I said, ‘I’m not brave now. Usually the two have very little which they put a scope down her enough. I can't go through this.’”
I f y o u c o o k ju s t FOUR TIMES A YEAR, YOU HAVE MORE TIME FOR MINISTRY AND FAMILY
N o v e m b e r 1996 25 Scott, Robin’s husband, slammed on the brakes. He said, “You need to get ahold of yourself. No, you’re not brave enough, and you can’t do it. Not today. All you have to do now is what you know to do today. You can be a little strong and a little brave and a little bit determined today.” Robin experienced the typical emotional stages cancer victims go through. First is shock and denial. She bargained with God, pleading for more time. Then she became an gry. The cancer also created a chem ical imbalance in her body, causing depression and panic attacks. “I grew up in a very ‘works ori ented’ church. I believed that if a person did this and didn't do that, bad things would not happen. 1 be came really angry when I got cancer because 1 felt as if 1 had done all the right things. 1 told my husband, ‘1 have never smoked a cigarette in my life; I’ve never tasted any alcohol. 1 didn’t have sex until 1 was married. In every way I’ve been a faithful dation. “He assured me that even That evening, they met again for Nazarene girl.’ I felt indignant. I though it seemed that my faith had pizza. As Erin played outdoors, kept asking, ‘Why me?” ’ vanished, it had not.” Robin shared her fears. “I'm Scott called her a boiling pot. After four years, her daughter scared,” Robin told her mother. Whether someone cut in front of her then seven years old, Robin returned “There’s a seven-year-old girl over while driving or she came home and to the doctor to discover that the there who won't understand that her found toys on the floor, she would cancer had consumed her lung. “It mommy didn’t want to go away. All boil over. was just a routine visit, so I was sur she’ll know is that she’s gone. She'll “I felt as if God had betrayed prised when the nurse asked me to forget what I looked like, what I me,” said Robin. “I felt totally aban put on a gown.” The doctor dropped sounded like, what I felt like. If I doned. I had kept my end of the bar Robin’s thick file on the counter. die, please tell her that leaving was gain, but God hadn’t kept His.” “Your cancer’s back. My colleagues the hardest thing I ever did.” Scott told Robin, “To you, God is agree that it would be best to remove “I’ll tell her,” Robin’s mother like the mob. You pay Him off with your left lung.” promised. your tithes and your good behavior, Robin thought, “Did he flunk “And don’t let her father pick out and He protects you.” Break It to Her Gently 101 or her school clothes! He has horrible Robin called her faith her “par what?” taste,” Robin added with a smile. ents’” religion. Before her cancer, Just as Robin was feeling like a Robin had bargained for four she understood little about a person little girl in need of her mother, the years, until Erin was seven. She felt al walk with God. “My relationship nurse poked her head through the as if her time was up. “I had begged with God totally ended. I didn’t trust door. “Your mother is here. Should I God for more time, and He granted Him anymore. Meanwhile, I kept send her back?” Robin was unaware me four years. What did I do with going to church, but I had no feeling that her mother knew her appoint the time? I was mad, bitter, angry, at all,” she said. ment time. “It’s funny,” said Robin. and resentful. 1 hadn’t grown any. I Out of the midst of Robin’s crisis, “Mothers always seem to know realized that without change, more her interim pastor, Don Dunnington, when you need them.” time would not make a difference.” helped her rebuild her faith based “Hi,” she said. “Thought you Robin made a commitment. If she upon an understanding of God’s could use some company.” lived, she would make every remain love, acceptance, and mercy. It had “I have cancer again, Mom,” said ing minute count. taken a lifetime to build her “works- Robin. “They want to take my Two nights before Robin’s surgery, based” understanding of God, and it lung.” Secretly, Robin wished her Erin came into her bedroom shaking took a few years to lay a new foun mother could make it all go away. and crying. “I called, and you didn't
26 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s come,” she sobbed. Erin dreamed questions into her ear. Robin opened that her father returned from the hos her eyes and quipped, “They re pital and told her Robin had died. moved my lung, not my eardrum.” “I'm all right," Robin told her. “It Scott grinned. “She’s back.” was just a bad dream.” Her little In some respects, it was not the heart pounded as Robin pulled her same person who returned from the close. Through the darkness, she hospital and rummaged through whispered, “Mommy, who will Christmas boxes to remove post come when I call in the night if you mortem letters. never come home again?” “God taught me a lesson about “It broke my heart," Robin said. trusting Him through my experi- "She didn't ask who would cook her meals or who would put clean socks in her drawers. I knew that while her dad could learn to cook and clean for her, and even to hear her when I NEVER SMOKED . . . she called in the night, he could nev er learn to be her mother." NEVER TASTED ALCOHOL, "I lay awake for a long time after that,” said Robin. Unable to sleep, I DIDN’T HAVE SEX UNTIL she sat at the kitchen table and wrote letters to her husband and daughter I WAS MARRIED. I’VE BEEN for their next Christmas, one for Erin's wedding day, and one for Erin A FAITHFUL NAZARENE to open when she had her first baby. GIRL. WHY M E?” "1 wanted her to know that dying was not the hard part. Leaving her behind was far more difficult,” said Robin. She sealed the letters and Three months of timesaving dinners, all cooked in one day, stored in the McMurry tucked them into the Christmas box ences with cancer that might not freezer. for her family to find. "I went back have been possible otherwise,” said to my bedroom and watched them Robin. “He didn’t instantly take sleep, wondering if they could make away my cancer. He didn’t save me the journey through life without me. from lung removal. But He took a Robin was declared cancer free "1 went to the hospital and had my scared young woman and made her a following the surgery and given an lung removed, and I survived." said little brave. This is proof that God excellent prognosis. Robin. In the recovery room, the has the power to change us if we Time to Spare Ministries nurse shook her awake and yelled have a willing heart,” said Robin. If you see Robin McMurry today, it will probably be on your TV screen or behind a lectern or pulpit The McMurrys on in a church. She will likely be with the CBS This her partner, Julie Glover. They may M orning show, where Robin be laughing about losing a diamond cooked sweet ring in a tub of beef Stroganoff or and sour chicken describing the looks on the faces of for Paula Zahn and Harry Smith supermarket clerks when they buy (left). enough food to feed their families for four months. Their delivery is humorous, but their message is seri ous. They preach hope to a genera tion of women who often feel over whelmed by the stress of working outside of the home and raising fam ilies in a pressure-cooker society. Time to Spare Ministries was birthed when Robin cooked enough food for her family for four months
continued on page 37
27 Kingswood Images TEACHING HOLINESS TO GENERATION X
stands for the unknown. Television Trained They have been exposed to a mil And although sociolo One of the reasons for this confu lion commercials and have chuck gists and advertisers sion over the 18- to 26-year-olds is led as the media ridiculed moral have been studying that they are a product of the televi and traditional values. them like mad, genera sion age. They have seen countless Self-centered Individualism tion X, otherwise acts of violence, the destruction of known as the baby bust cultural icons, and an unrelenting Baby busters aren't attracted by ers, remain a mystery. criticism of almost everything. causes, nor do they follow the
X28 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s by John W. Dally, pastor, Faith Church of the Nazarene, Burbank, California
crowd. Disinterested in politics Calvinists and Wesleyan-Holiness churches. With the vast majority of and international affairs, their own people, although brothers in the our churches under 100 in atten careers and personal comforts hog Lord, see the world quite different dance, how can we reach these their attention. They are accus ly. These differences are what pro busters with our limited resources? tomed to the good things of life duced the Wesleyan movement. And more importantly, how do we and treat technology that once The airwaves are filled with pro keep them? We can no longer rely would have dazzled consumers grams from the Calvinistic point of on loyalty or tradition. That is not like common household appli view. The most popular authors part of the busters’ makeup. ances. Most of all, they are indi are Calvinist, and most of the reli vidualistic, the product of self-help gious publications are too. This How Do We Reach the Xers? concepts. means that baby busters are more Barna discovered an interesting trend. Between 1991 and 1992, Private Ethics likely to hear a Calvinistic mes sage than a Wesleyan-Arminian there was a 12 percent increase in In George Barna’s 1992-93 re Holiness message. interest in religion and an 8 percent port, some troubling discoveries Generation X presents a real increase in interest in the Bible about generation X are revealed. challenge to our churches. Not on among baby busters? After years Barna found that 66 percent of ba ly is it our future as a denomina of declining interest in theology, by busters believe that all things are negotiable. In addition, he found that 71 percent believe that nothing can be known for certain except the things you experience in your own life.1 This presents a challenge to the concept of holy living and to the very experience of entire sanctifi cation. If all things are negotiable, who needs moral absolutes? If en tire sanctification is just a big question mark, why seek it? Church Is OK Another challenge has to do with church participation. While 41 percent attend church each month, only 23 percent attend Sunday School, and 16 percent at tend a small group. Yet during the same time, 80 percent will have at tended a movie. The survey in cluded feelings toward denomina tions. About 39 percent had tion, but also it is our sons and we are experiencing a turnaround. favorable feelings toward Protes daughters. If they are not there to How can we take advantage of this tant denominations.2 This com take their place in the Holiness trend? By holding up our distinc pares with a 66 percent favorable churches of tomorrow, who will? tive Wesleyan-Arminian Holiness feeling toward the Ford Motor Other churches have found ways theology. Here are some ideas. Company. to attract the young. Mega-church 1. Keep our theology promi What kind of Christianity has es with vast programs ranging nent. generation X heard about? The from athletics to job training are Holiness churches exist to de vast amount of exposure to Protes drawing the busters, even those clare the message of holiness. It is tant faith in America is Calvinistic. who have been raised in Holiness continued on page 35
N o v e m b e r 1996 29 REACHING OUT TO SINGLE PARENTS
D Jeanene Tiner
woman vividly recalls Countless questions blurred in my And in the New Testament, James the day she sat in a psy- head. I was sure I couldn’t do it.” writes, “Religion that God our Fa chologist’s reception The memories of those fears, ther accepts as pure and faultless is room waiting her turn anxieties, doubts, and panic attacks this: to look after orphans and wid to see the counselor. are expressed by Bobbie Reed in ows in their distress” (1:27). She was experiencing her book Single Mothers Raising Behind the biblical call to help great hurt and anger at Sons. The same issues are echoed single parents is a profound aware having to cope with an impendingthrough the lives of an increasing ness that children can suffer terri divorceA because her husband had number of single parents. Although bly when deprived of the love and decided to end the marriage. While parenting is always an unending support of a m other o r a father. struggling to hold back tears, this challenge, for those who raise chil Recent research verifies the bibli realization hit her with the force of dren without the support of a lov cal concern. Among the grim sta a physical blow: ing spouse, the daily struggles and tistics being cited about single par “After the divorce, I would be a triumphs are magnified. The writ ent households are the following: single parent! I couldn’t do it! My ers of Scripture understood clearly • Three out of four teenage sui sons were only four and six. What the pressures faced by single par cides occur in households where did I know about raising sons ents, especially single mothers. there is an absent parent. alone? I had never been a little The Bible urges the people of God • Eighty percent of adolescents boy. I panicked. How was I going to help. “Learn to do right! Seek in psychiatric hospitals come from to support all three of us on my justice, encourage the oppressed. broken homes. meager salary? How was I going Defend the cause of the fatherless, • Five out of six adolescents to teach them all they had to plead the case of the widow,” de caught in the criminal justice sys know? Was I wise enough to cope? clares the prophet Isaiah (1:17*). tem were raised by one parent.
30 H r r a l d o f H o l i n e s s For those reasons, Vanderbilt took them to their Sunday School come of a traditional fami University political science profes classes, invited the three of them ly— $18,069 versus $39,000 per sor Jean Bethke Elshtain says, for lunch after church, and fol year. By exercising some imagina “Father absence is the single most lowed up with a trip to the park.” tion and sensitivity, you can allevi important risk factor for children.” • Befriend singles. Seize the ate economic stress by making a Clearly, Christians can and must initiative. Talk to single parents. financial gift. Consider the re do more to assist heroic single par Ask gentle questions about their sponse of one single mother: “I ents who, against great odds, are work, family, and other interests. was surprised and uplifted when 1 attempting to be faithful to their Invite them to sit with you at went to pay my monthly child care children. Here are some ways of church, visit with them during the bill and was told that an ‘anony reaching out to single parents. coffee hour, bring them home for a mous’ friend had paid it. It was a • Be positive. Do not allow sta meal. Even though a single parent great blessing, because it was De tistics to create within you a nega may have several children, they cember, and I just didn’t have tive view of single parents. Al still feel lonely and long for adult enough money to buy gifts for my though there are social problems company. Let single parents know two sons. Not only was their child that can emerge from families with you want to be their friend. Keep care bill taken care of, but also I only one parent, when there is in mind the observation of Mother had money to brighten their enough extended support, accep Teresa of Calcutta: “Loneliness Christmas Day. Ell always remem tance, and love, those issues can be and the feeling of being uncared ber my anonymous benefactor.” reduced and eliminated. Try to for and unwanted are the greatest Other ways to help a single view single parents and their chil poverty.” mother financially are by giving dren positively. Look at single par • Provide financial help. The gift certificates to a fast-food ents as courageous individuals who majority of single parents are restaurant, a gift that is always want what is best for their children. women, and most find themselves popular with children. Or consider Let your mental and spiritual for in considerably worse financial giving tickets to a zoo, museum, or mation about single parents be circumstances than when they other special event that a mother shaped by Scripture. Remember were married. Single parents typi and children would enjoy. If you the example of Job: “I was eyes to cally earn less than half the in continued on pat;e 34 the blind and feet to the lame. 1 was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger” (29:15- Kingswood Images lb). “I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who Passersby have left daisies and a 7-Up at the Eleanor had none to assist him ” (v. 12). Rigby monument in Liverpool, Keep in mind that God has special England. “Eleanor Rigby” was affection for single-parent families. a Beatles song protesting “all the lonely people” ignored by In Psalm 68:5, God is described as the church. Is the song passe? "a father to the fatherless, a de Are there any singles in your fender of widows.” In Psalm 146:9, church who need flowers and a 7-Up? the psalmist declares that God “sustains the fatherless and the widow.” Our concern and care for single parents should mirror that of G od’s. • Respond boldly. One pastor was proud of the way his church members responded to a new sin gle parent who visited his church. "When the single-parent mother appeared on Sunday morning after having at last gotten her two little girls dressed for church, some of the congregation's surplus grand parents embraced those children,
N o v c m b k r 1996 Just because you never give birth or never father a child does not mean you have no obligation to kids, Kingswood Image: CHILDLESS—YES WITHOUT CHILDREN—NEVER by Linda Hardin
willingly accepted the invitation to care for Saturday evening alone. She missed her friends. She Seth while his mother, Darlene, attended an In flipped on the TV and with popcorn and Diet Pepsi ternet literacy conference. The conference found a “wedding industry” expose was on. The cam started Saturday evening, and Darlene would era followed a young lady as she purchased a wedding pick up Seth from school on Wednesday. Since dress. There was a trip to the florist to choose flowers we attended different churches and I assist and candles. The next stop was the caterer to decide with a class of first and second graders, I need the reception menu and finalize plans. In addition to ed to work out the plans for Sunday morning. Aftergiving facts regarding the costs of a wedding, the some negotiating, Seth agreed to attend my church in commentator discussed how little girls are pro Iexchange for selecting the restaurant for dinner. grammed early to dream of their weddings. Just before bedtime on Saturday I heard, “I’m going As Susan thought of weddings, she thought of to bed, Linda.” Seth awakened in a cheerful mood on young Amanda and wondered if she missed their Sunday. He ate breakfast and dressed for church with weekly walk along the beach. Amanda was the daugh out spilling or ripping anything. As we walked into ter of Susan’s college roommate. She had hated to the sanctuary, the greeter asked, “Is this your grand leave Amanda behind. They enjoyed playing in water son?” Now that was one reality check I didn’t need! and looking for shells as the tides came and went. * * # * * *
Susan’s new job had required a move to Milwau Bill and Haley’s friendship developed as they at kee. She had unpacked the last box and faced the first tended single adult parties and prayer group meetings.
32 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s When Haley’s nephew came to live with her, Bill was be identified as mentoring ones. At this stage, preteens there to help as Darren adjusted to the move. Bill need friends who are available to listen and help them taught Darren how to throw a football, wrestled with figure out what it means to “grow up.” Adolescents him, and took him for double dip strawberry ice cream need individuals willing to listen to their rambling. cones on hot August evenings. Now a teenager, Dar What we call rambling may be part of the process for ren speaks fondly of Bill and the time they spent to a teen to think through beliefs and values. gether. Mentoring is important— but so are the other rela tionships! Not every helping relationship will blossom What do Susan, Bill, and I have in common? We into a mentoring one. The needs of children vary with are among the never-married persons who have cho each phase of life. What difference would it make if sen to invest part of our time and energy in children. every child in your neighborhood or your church For some, the children are nieces, nephews, or knew there was at least one adult, other than a rela cousins. Others invest in the children of friends— mar tive, who really cared about them personally? ried or single parents. Several choose to become a big My first career was teaching elementary school in brother or big sister to help a child needing adult at suburban Indianapolis. During those years I saw many tention. For all of us, the adults and children, mentor changes. The younger children were more mature ing satisfies a thirst in our hearts. each year. No longer were kindergartners innocent The children benefit as kids. My fifth graders another adult chooses to talked about dates, going invest time in them. Dur steady, and boy/girl par ing my teaching career, I W hat d iffer en c e w ould it ties. More frequently, the watched children point out girls extended rest room parents and grandparents MAKE IF EVERY CHILD IN YOUR breaks with their primping. who attended their activi The boys soon competed ties. There was, however, a NEIGHBORHOOD OR YOUR CHURCH for spending extra time in difference when the chil front of mirrors. In conver dren pointed out that spe KNEW THERE WAS AT LEAST sations with former col cial mentor. The kids leagues, I learn these be walked taller. ONE ADULT, OTHER THAN A haviors are displayed even Single parents benefit as earlier now. they discover time. Time RELATIVE, WHO REALLY CARED Today’s children face to spend alone. Time to problems and temptations work uninterrupted in the ABOUT THEM PERSONALLY? that some of us faced as garden or a personal jour young adults. They brood nal. Time to shop leisurely. over wars, terrorism, and Time to paint the bedroom. starvation. Some experi Those of us without children experience the love ence separation from parents through divorce, military they so freely give. We love ’em, spoil ’em, and send service, or distant jobs. In many communities, kids 'em home! What fun! have to cope with gangs. And what kid can make it to Businesses and schools are working together to of the fifth grade without knowing about drug use in fer students the opportunity to explore career options their own school? in the business world. Churches provide similar activi Allen and LeAnn are the parents of three boys un ties as professionals work with young people, giving der the age of 10. Marilyn is their godmother. Each them a hands-on introduction to what various voca week she spends time with the boys. Once a month, tions are really like. Marilyn and each boy spend the evening together. Mentoring is what we usually call this kind of min Sometimes it’s reading a book or working on a hobby istry. Mentoring is more than being a friend, teacher, or school project or walking or playing. The boys buddy, or coach. It involves a close relationship focus know Marilyn cares about them. She’s investing her ing on total life development. Bobb Beihl, in M entor life in the future of her godchildren. ing: Confidence in Finding a Mentor and Becoming It’s a cold, hard fact of life: Some of us will never O ne, defines mentoring as a close relationship “in give birth to or father a child. That which a mentor helps a protege reach her or his God- doesn’t negate my responsibility to given potential" (Broadman and Holman, 1996). It’s be faithful to those who follow me. I not cloning another person to become another me. It’s will live my life childless, but I will helping individuals determine and achieve significant never be without children. life goals. Beihl suggests individuals will mentor 1 to Linda Hardin is director of Women's Min 12 persons in a lifetime. istries and Single Adult Ministries for the When helping preteens, the relationships should not Church of the Nazarene. ^
N o v e m b e r 1996 33 SINGLE PARENTS continued from page 31 are moved to help with a sizable frigerator go out, call me.” this year so far. Since we couldn’t financial gift, do it anonymously. • L isten. “One of the best ways go out of town to visit the chil Keep in mind Jesus’ directive: to demonstrate God’s love is to lis dren’s grandparents, it was delight “When you give to the needy, do ten to people,” says minister and ful to spend those holidays with not let your left hand know what author Bruce Larson. Single par other families.” Also, be sensitive your right hand is doing” ents face many pressures, and one to family celebrations such as (Matthew 6:3). Anonymity in giv way to reduce those is by confid Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. ing keeps the recipient from feel ing in another person. Be a single’s Single parents and their children ing overly obligated and does not confidant. Let him or her share often feel uncomfortable and even lower self-esteem. feelings, express concerns, reveal pained as those days highlight who • Help with chores and er personal information. Your will is missing in their lives. Make it a rands. If a single is moving from ingness to listen will be a great point to spend some extra time one home to another, offer to help source of comfort, encouragement, talking with single parents on out. Volunteer a few hours a week and inspiration. those days. If possible, have them so that a single parent can run er • Remember holidays. Many join you and your family for the rands without having to drag chil single-parent families have day. dren along. One man faithfully nowhere to go at holiday times. Finally, by reaching out to sin Economics may prohibit an out-of- changes the oil in a single moth gle families, you will be God's er’s car every other month. He town trip to visit extended family. chosen vessel through whom their buys the oil and filter. “It’s not Tight finances may also preclude anxiety, frustration, and loneliness much for me to do, but it will keep entertaining others on holidays. In will be transformed into hope, joy, her car running well,” he says. A clude single parents and their chil and friendship. Also, the children grandmother volunteers to do dren in your holiday celebrations, of single parents will benefit from sewing and mending for a busy whether it is Thanksgiving or La your involvement by having an single father of four children. An bor Day or Christmas. One single other adult role model to emulate other grandfather approached a mother fondly recalls: “My chil and learn from. single mother after church saying, dren and I were invited to join oth ‘All Bible quotations are from the New International Version “If your washing machine or re er families for most of the holidays (NIV).
Resources for Single Parents and Their Children
► Single Adult Min for a network of support name of a registered di Not limited to Catholics. istries, Church of the groups; $15 annual rector in your area. ► American Associa Nazarene, Attn: Linda membership includes ► Parents Without Part tion of Marriage and Hardin, 6401 The Paseo, support group informa ners, 8807 Colesville Family Therapists, 1100 Kansas City, MO 64131; tion and subscription to Rd., Silver Spring, MD 17th St. N.W., 10th FI., 816-333-7000, ext. the bimonthly news jour 20910; 800-637-7974. Washington, DC 20036; 2257. nal Single Mother. For a Over 650 local chapters 800-374-2638. Member ► The Nurturing Net free copy of Single offer support to both ship includes a variety of work, 800-866-4MOM. Mother send a SASE or custodial and noncusto mental health profes This organization is call their 24-hour hot dial mothers and fathers. sionals such as psychol specifically for single line. They publish Single Par ogists, psychiatrists, and pregnant women who ► Rainbows for All ent magazine. For more social workers who spe wish to give birth. They God’s Children, 111 information, write or cialize in the family. can provide temporary Tower Rd., Schaumburg, call. They will send a list of housing, counseling, and IL 60173; 708-310- ► North American clinical members in the other practical help. Call 1880. Peer support Conference of Separated zip code area you speci for more information. groups for all-aged chil and Divorced Catholics, fy along with The Con ► National Organiza dren of single parents 80 St. Mary’s Dr., sumer’s Guide to Mar tion of Single Mothers, (four through college) Cranston, RI 02902; riage and Family P.O. Box 681. Midland, led by trained group fa 401-943-7903. This or Therapy. NC 28107; 704-888- cilitators. Call for further ganization has groups in —Victor M. Parachin KIDS. A clearinghouse information and the almost every diocese.
34 H e r a l d o i H o l i n e s s HOLINESS AND GENERATION X coming of the Holy Spirit upon the holiness. Sound difficult? If the continued from page 29 disciples on Pentecost. This also pastor is faithful in presenting ho gives time to more fully develop liness to his or her congregation, the understanding of holiness. the teachers will understand. the Christian’s greatest hope. If we 5. Youth leaders need to be Should our teachers be required to lose this distinction, we lose our theologians. study books like H. Ray Dunning’s identity. Without a clear holiness Youth leaders are usually the Layman s Guide to Sanctification, theology, we are left to compete pastor of the teens. Should we ex Kenneth Grider’s Entire Sanctifi with other churches on their terms. pect any less of them than the se c a tio n , William Greathouse’s Teaching the tenets of our doctrine nior pastors when it comes to Sanctifying Grace, and The U p not only will lay a foundation of teaching (and modeling) holiness? ward Call: Spiritual Formation understanding and hope but also Our teens are our future. We need and the Holy Life ? Such books will keep our people from drifting to provide them leaders that will present sanctification in under from church to church, looking for promote the doctrines of the standable ways and are easily ob the latest seminar or the most pop church they represent. One of the tained through the Nazarene Pub ular personality. major areas for such opportunity is lishing House. 2. Keep our terminology up- summer camps. Nazarene camps We face a real challenge. Our to-date. provide a week of opportunity future as a viable, discernible How can we expect the new away from the temptations back voice depends upon our willing generation to understand holiness home to hear and learn the holi ness to face the challenge. We if they do not understand the terms ness gospel. Retreats are another need to produce a people who are we use, such as second blessing setting for teaching our doctrines. informed and transformed. holiness, pure heart, and Christian Let’s take advantage of these No worldview, no theology, no perfection? We cannot afford to times, and maybe we can hold on doctrines that I know of address assume that people know the to our youth. the unique needs of generation X meaning of the terms used to de 6. Holiness must be taught at as well as Wesleyan-Holiness scribe holiness. We must either ex all levels. teachings. It’s time for us to speak plain them thoroughly and often, Sunday School is the teaching up and speak to the hunger in the or we may need to change some arm of the church. Holiness should hearts of a disillusioned but terms to make them current with be found in all levels of teaching searching generation. today’s ways of understanding. material on a regular basis. We 3. Every ordinand should be References should always use Nazarene cur 1. George Barna, The Barna Report 1992-93 (Ventura, able to clearly articulate the doc Calif.: Regal Books, a Division of Gospel Light, 1992). riculum materials. Most others are trine of holiness. 2. Barna used the Presbyterian, Baptist, Lutheran, and Calvinistic and teach a worldview Methodist Churches in his survey. As for the Catholic Church, We cannot expect people to un the favorable response was 57 percent, showing another point that is drastically different from of concern for our Holiness churches. derstand holiness if the men and 3. The report was even more encouraging for boomers, ours. who showed an 8 percent increase in interest in religion and women who occupy our pulpits do 10 percent in the Bible. The numbers for 46- to 64-year-olds Our teachers should understand were 13 percent and 17 percent. not understand it. Our colleges teach the doctrine of holiness as a requirement for graduation. The ministerial course of study for reli gion majors requires the study of holiness. There are many good books on the subject. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that before we ordain a person in our church, that one should be able to articu late our defining doctrine. 4. Our preaching should in clude an annual holiness series. There are many things to preach on in a year—Christmas, Pente cost, Easter, Reformation Day, and others. Why not make a special time for preaching on the doctrine of holiness? A good time might be “Forgive us our ‘debts’ sounds like a money issue. the time between Easter and Pente Forgive us our ‘trespasses’ sounds like a property issue. cost Sunday. It naturally follows How about ‘forgive us our no-no’s?’” the Atonement and leads up to the
N o v e m b e r 1996 35 The Fam ily Album
Adventures in Christian Parenting that if I stepped on that particular stair, spiders would come out of that hole and attack my foot. That same night after I had first noticed the knothole, I was Mickey Mouse, having a nightmare that thousands of spiders had come out of that hole and were camping underneath the bed where my sister and I were sleeping. The spi Spiders, and Visa Bills ders in my dream were starting to crawl all over us when, in reality, my sister JERRY AND LYNDA COHAGAN ing! WRONG! We knew the strategy threw up in the bed. Talk about waking had not been the best when Tori planted from one nightmare to another! In all all 34 pounds of herself squarely in the the middle-of-the-night trauma, my walkway, stomped her foot, and an dream was totally forgotten— or so I nounced, “I don’t like those rides! thought. But on every summer visit They’re scary! I’m not going on any thereafter, 1 never stepped on that mid more! EVER!” dle stair. Oops. We should have known better. And when I was 21, during a summer After all, this is the kid who insists on visit to Grandpa and Grandma’s, I was sleeping with her closet light on. We halfway up the staircase with one foot Jerry Cohagan is one half of the comedy- should have endured Small World for on one step and the other two steps drama duo, Hicks and Cohagan. Lynda is her sake before we forced her to ride above it when all that memory flooded a high school English teacher in Olathe, Space Mountain for ours. Next time back to me. I turned right around, went Kansas. w e’ll know better. back to the kitchen, and told the whole In the meantime, the intensity of story to my parents and grandparents. Tori’s fears reminded me of my own We all laughed. childhood. Throughout the first 21 years But when I visited my grandparents
T his pa st s u m m e r , we took the all- of my life, I was deathly afraid of spi the next summer, I noticed that Grand American vacation. We packed up the ders. I mean, it was genuine arachnipho- pa, who was a carpenter, had patched kids and the credit card and went to Dis bia. Whenever I saw one, I was para the knothole. neyland! Jerry’s still coming to grips lyzed with fear. 1 would just stand still I will tell that story to Chase and Tori with the Visa statement, so I am writing and scream. My parents finally learned because I want them to know that their this article to soft whimpering in the that no amount of talking or reasoning mom has been afraid and they are not background about “45 bucks for hot would work. They knew they had to kill alone in their fears, whether it has eight dogs and a lemonade .. it. Mom and Dad never We arrived at Disneyland shortly after knew why I was so afraid of it opened— 8:19, to be exact. By 8:24 spiders— neither did I, for w e’d taken the kids’ pictures with Mick that matter— until I was 21. ey Mouse, and we were feeling great Every summer as I was about our timing. We walked right onto growing up, Mom, Dad, the Star Wars ride with Chase greeting and my sister Karen and I It’s nice to have a carpenter R2D2 and C-3PO as if they were long would go to Kentucky to around. lost friends. As we fastened our seat visit my grandparents. I al belts, both kids’ faces were bright with ways slept upstairs, which anticipation. Then it started. Chase’s was fun in that old farm face remained bright with excitement house. The upstairs was one and awe, while Tori’s face quickly be big room, which ran the came embedded in her father’s armpit. length of the house. You could go to bed legs or goes bump in the night. Fear is It’s all perspective; to one kid, traveling watching the sunset out one window and real; rational or irrational, it makes no light-speed to hyperspace was “AWE wake up to the sunrise out the other. difference. I want them to know about SOME! Can we do it again?” and to an When I was a small girl, probably their great-grandpa. who was a carpen other, it was dark and bumpy and loud close to Tori’s age, I noticed a small ter who fixed fears. Sounds like another and “I'm scared! I don’t like that!” knothole in the pine wall of the staircase Carpenter we know, doesn't it? It was still early, so we grabbed the leading up to the bedroom. It was par We will also remind them as their opportunity to ride those “popular” tially covered by the middle step, so it fears arise that that Carpenter has a lap rides while the lines were still short. We looked like a half circle the size of a big enough and arms strong enough to rode the Matterhorn roller coaster and quarter. In my childish imagination, it comfort us in the midst of the journey. Space Mountain, and it wasn't even looked like a perfect place for spiders to In fact, He yearns to come along for the 10:00 in the morning! What great tim live. When I was five or six, I just knew ride. tfc
36 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s TIME TO SPARE______can last up to 14 hours. Afterward, continued from page 27 Robin’s husband, Scott, kindly does the cleanup while the women rest. Although it’s a great effort, they will just before going to the hospital to Seasonal not cook again for three months, and have her cancerous lung removed. their families will have delicious, “I wanted my family to have food Cooking home-cooked meals every evening. while I was gone,” said Robin. Recipes One busy weekend of cooking “When I woke up, the doctor said, ‘I gives Robin and Julie many stress- got all the cancer, and I think you’re Here are two of Robin and free evenings. “This cooking method going to be all right. But who is go Julie’s favorite recipes: is just a tool,” said Robin. “The goal ing to eat all that food you put in the is to help women gain hours in their freezer?’ While I was home conva Lasagna day. Your children are not going to lescing, I didn’t have to worry about 1 pkg. ricotta cheese (15 oz.) remember the time you spent every cooking, and it was a blessing,” said 2 eggs night cooking for them or cleaning Robin. 3 c. mozzarella cheese (divided) every Saturday. They are going to Robin’s friend Julie Glover had 'A c. grated Parmesan cheese remember when you had time to sit helped with the cooking. The 2 Tbsp. parsley down and talk with them.” women were inspired to develop a 4 c. spaghetti sauce Gaining control creates time for prepare-ahead cooking method they 1 pkg. lasagna noodles (8 oz.) ministry. “Having food prepared nam ed Seasonal Cooking. T hey Directions: Combine ricotta ahead allows us to take it to people shop and cook dinner four times a cheese, eggs, 2 cups mozzarella who are in need,” said Robin. year, freezing the entrees in throw cheese, Parmesan cheese, and “Church people are so busy that we away containers. In minutes, Robin parsley to make cheese mixture. don’t have time to minister to one comes home from work and pre Cover bottom of 9" x 13” pan another’s needs. I think that is what pares healthy, satisfying meals. with 1 cup of sauce. Top with un is missing today. People are falling Robin and Julie begin by plan cooked noodles. Pour 1 cup of through the cracks every day.” ning. They chart their meals on cal sauce over pasta. Spread on half endars. Then they make a grocery of cheese mixture. Repeat layers. Christians often neglect prayer list of all the ingredients they will Top with pasta and remaining and Bible reading when their lives need. They pride themselves in mak sauce. Sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella are too busy. “We want to help cheese on top. Freeze. ing few casseroles and having great women get to the point where they can have time to just sit and be still. variety. Once their plan is complete, To prepare fo r serving: Bake cov they shop for all of the food at ered at 350 degrees for 60 min When you are running, all the time, once—four months’ worth. This utes. Let stand 10 minutes. you don’t have time to hear God, and God doesn’t speak very loudly,” slashes ongoing grocery costs and Servings: 8 to 10 shopping time. said Robin. After going through menus and Julie announced to the audience Chicken Pot Pie that Seasonal Cooking permits them slides at their seminars, Julie opens 2 c. cooked chicken (chopped) to feed a family of four on a weekly her Bible and reads: 1 pkg. frozen mixed vegetables [Martha] had a sister called budget of $48. Robin interrupted, re (16 oz.) minding Julie that cooking for her 1 can cream of chicken soup Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet cost $2,500 when she lost her ring in (1074 oz.) listening to what he said. But the food. 1 c. milk Martha was distracted by all the Seasonal Cooking also saves a 2 unbaked pie shells (9") preparations that had to be made. bundle on eating out costs. “The She came to him and asked, Directions: Mix together chicken, way I used to do ‘once a month “Lord, don’t you care that my sis vegetables, soup, and milk. Pour cooking’ was to cook one night and ter has left me to do the work by into pie crust. Seal with remain myself? Tell her to help me!” eat out the other 29,” quips Robin. ing crust. Freeze. After the food is purchased, the “Martha, Martha,” the Lord an women return to Robin’s kitchen, To prepare fo r serving: Cut slits swered, “you are worried and up organize the cans and packages, and in top of pie for escape of steam. set about many things, but only get ready for their cook-a-thon in the Cover edge with foil. Bake at 350 one thing is needed. Mary has morning. degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or chosen what is better, and it will until crust is golden brown. When cooking, they divide the not be taken away from her” recipes. Each person makes enough Servings: 6 to 8 (Luke 10:39-42, n iv ). for both families. They cook the en Time to Spare Ministries can be trees and immediately freeze them in reached at P.O. Box 6964, Moore, throwaway containers. The cooking OK 73153; 405-691 -5127. *
N o v e m b e r 1996 37 THE QUESTION BOX CONDUCTED BY WESLEY D. TRACY, E d it o r
a string of Metropolitan Community Churches, to pro I’ve been hearing the phrase “postdenomina- vide an arena where homosexuality is celebrated and or tional age.” What is that all about? dained. The social class struggles gave us liberation the ology and various other justice theologies. .A .* I can’t tell you all about this phenomenon. I don’t On a somewhat different level, religious and political have the time, space, or knowledge. But I will try to issues have given birth to cults with loyalties fiercely speak to one dimension of this issue. We live in an anti- stronger than denominational ties. The antiabortion, en institutional age. Listen to the television network news vironmentalism, creation science, and family values on any day, and it will be largely an attack, challenge, or movements collect like-minded people whose loyalties expose of several institutions (the banking system, to the cause outweigh their loyalty to any denomination. schools, hospitals, police departments, corporations, Many observers celebrate the weakening of denomi etc.). Denominations have become just another multina national walls. Ecumenism is conquering sinful denomi- tional institution for us to hate or at least ignore. nationalism, they cheer. But is that really true? Rather Denominations have long been hailed as “sinful divi than ecumenism, it looks to me as if we may be simply sions’’ of the church. And in some eras and some places, developing a new tribalism. Will the new religious com they have lived up to their bad reputations. Denomina- munities based on gender, race, class, sexual preference, tionalism reached new peaks in North America. The Eu or single issues build more exclusive walls than the de ropean churches were made up of persons clustered nominations have built? Can the Christians of Women- around a confession of faith, a creed. The dominant ones Church and Promise Keepers find fellowship? were usually state churches. In America, church and Denominations have their weaknesses. They have state were (more or less) separated. That resulted in fron made their mistakes. But they also keep good traditions tier America being open for religious free enterprise. No alive. Could we ever drift away from justification by government was going to back a church, no taxes were faith alone as long as the Lutherans are among us? Can collected and distributed to churches. It was a religious any neotribal group consumed with gender rights, the or free-for-all that sometimes made current Madison Av dination of homosexuals, or picketing abortion clinics enue huckstering look like a Sunday School picnic. The teach the Body of Christ as much about sanctification as “cola wars’’ between Coke and Pepsi are mild compared the Wesleyan tradition? to some of the slamming that sometimes went on in fron In response to the center of gravity shifting to neo tier America among Methodists, Baptists, Disciples of tribalism, some Christian groups are renewing their em- i Christ, and the Presbyterians. In that atmosphere of ecclesiastical entrepreneurial- phasis on doctrinal teaching through new looks at cate ism, anyone was free to start a new denomination. It chisms. The Roman Catholic Church and the could be built around doctrines (deity of Christ, sanctifi Presbyterians seem to be leading the way in catechetical cation, predestination, etc.) or around a practice, such as renewal. baptism by immersion only, speaking in tongues, the True Christian unity is a great value, highly prized in right to hold slaves, or closed Communion. the Wesleyan tradition. Christian unity around classic Observers today tell us that the center of gravity in the Christianity (as Thomas Oden has been preaching lately) Christian community has shifted from denominational has a great deal of appeal. But before we get too intoxi loyalty to shared needs and concerns. That is, rather than cated with the center of gravity of the Christian commu gather around a set of Christian doctrines or even sectari nity shifting away from denominations to neotribalism, an practices, people gather around felt needs and social we need to look out the windshield and not just in the commonalities. rearview mirror. If the denominational age is over, what Gender, race, sexual preference, social class, cultural comes next is not necessarily progress. Tribalism unfet distinctives, and political and religious issues attract and tered is what we see in Rwanda and Bosnia. Neotribal capture the loyalty of persons across denominational ism may do little more than launch another generation of lines. Gender concerns have created new theologies that cultural wars. mean more to their devotees than the label Baptist or There is much more to be considered in the “postde- Lutheran. Feminist theology has created such new move nominational age” discussion. I do not have the final ments as Women-Church and the Sophia ideology. Male word, but I do want to raise a caution, since few others theology, in movements like Promise Keepers, proudly seem interested in doing so. proclaims that male bonding is stronger than denomina tional walls. Race has produced new theologies includ Are the chapter divisions and the verse num ing Black theology and Asian theology. Sexual prefer bers in the Bible part of the inspired text? If not, ence has produced gay and lesbian theology, along with where did they come from?
38 H e r a l d o f H o l in e s s .A .# The chapter and verse designations are not part of FEED THE the inspired text. In fact, they sometimes interfere with the flow of thought, making each verse look like a sepa rate paragraph and each chapter like a separate essay. For many centuries, however, those who studied, preached, and taught the Holy Scriptures have devised HUNGRY! many different ways to divide the text into usable parcels. For example, Jerusalem scholars arranged the Old Testament books into 452 lessons to be studied in a What you feed a body determines three-year cycle. In Babylonia, the Hebrew congrega how it grows. It takes more than a tions divided the Torah into 53 or 54 lessons to be read in a year of worship services. diet of milk and formula to develop The New Testament has also undergone numerous di visions in order to make it available in consumable spiritually mature Christians. It takes chunks to students and disciples. Our oldest manuscript a hearty diet of holiness—the meat of of the Greek New Testament (Codex Vaticanus) contains divisions according to when the topic changes. For ex the gospel. ample, Matthew has 170 divisions, John 80. Eusebius, a . d . 260— 340, prepared a division of the Gospels based In a world full of ministry fads, on passages that treated the same topic or event. The ma quick fixes, and easy answers, the Body terial in the Book of Acts, in its oldest forms known to us, was divided into 36, 40, or 69 chapters. The letters of of Christ is hungry for leaders who will Paul were divided into a series of chapters whose num bers run continuously through the text. (Ephesians, for give them something of substance. It example, starts with chapter 93.) One Archbishop An takes passion, commitment, and hard drew of Caesarea in Cappadocia (ca. a . d . 600) divided Revelation into 24 chapters, one for each of the 24 elders work to prepare well-balanced meals mentioned in Revelation 4:4. Cardinal Hugo of St. Cher and Stephen Longton, two from the Word of God. 13th-century Christians, devised systems in which each At NTS you will develop the book was divided into seven chapters with seven (or four) subsections lettered A, B, C, etc. skills and knowledge to offer the Numbered verses for the Old Testament books were created by Rabbi Isaac Nathan in 1440. Arabic numerals transforming grace of the gospel of were added by Joseph Athias in 1661. The modem sys Jesus Christ to a hungry, needy world. tem of chapters and verses for the New Testament came about in Greek and Latin Bibles published in Geneva in 1551 and 1555. Robert Stephanus assigned verse num Are you called to feed the hungry? bers for these Bibles as he journeyed from Paris to Lyons. His son later claimed that some of the awkward Answer the call! verse divisions were due to the lurching of the horse. The divisions of Stephanus were adopted by the English Nazarene Theological Seminary editions of the Geneva Bible in 1557 (New Testament) and 1560 (whole Bible). These arrangements have been with us ever since. “COMMITTED TO I asked Roger Hahn to help me find the answer to your question. He referred me to The Oxford Companion HOLINESS MINISTRY” to the Bible, 1993. You can.find more information about these matters there. Nazarene Theological Seminary
The views expressed in the responses in this column are those of the editor and do not 1700 East Meyer Boulevard constitute official statement by or for the Church of the Nazarene. The editor is not able to send replies to questions not selected for publication. Address: H e ra ld o f Holiness, Kansas City, MO 64131 6401 The Paseo, Kansas City, M O 64131. 1-800-831-3011 [email protected]
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N’<>\ i:\iBFiR 1996 39 WORDS & MUSIC Reviews of recently released books, music, and tapes
More Ralph Twigger Stories and Both cassettes are available di Paul was ENC to the core; however, Five Fabulous Folktales rectly from Melea’s own Right Side he would have applauded any Melea J. Brock (Right Side Up Sto Up Stories, 260 South Lake Ave., Nazarene college celebrating a sister ries, $10 each cassette, plus S&H) Suite 185, Pasadena, CA 91101; 1- institution. I believe this book sug Melea Brock is a gifted Nazarene 800-369-9230. gests the cooperation and community storyteller, and her talent radiates in —Mark Graham that characterizes our mutual mission two cassettes now available— More in Nazarene higher education.” Com Ralph Twigger Stories and F ive Grace in the Academic Commu missioner of Education Jerry Lam Fabulous Folktales. Many H erald nity: Festschrift for Cecil R. bert, in his foreword, also commends the book: “How appropriate that a life readers will remember Melea’s story Paul that spoke so clearly to the church he “Ralph Twigger, Innkeeper” from Maxine E. Walker, ed. (Point Loma loved should inspire his colleagues in the December 1994 issue. The story Press, 1996, paperback, 254 pages, the academy to . . . offer to their of how a widower finds Christ HH096-526-6909, $19.95) through the love of a lady and her church the fruit of their own creative two children comes alive as Melea thinking about the things that matter tells it, enhanced by a musical back most.” This “feast of ideas,” as Lam drop. ■■■ . •• n bert calls it, contains chapters by Ger 4 GRACE I f ard Reed, George Lyons, Tom •;^|| IN THE ACADEMIC ■ ,' , Barnard, Samuel Powell, Stephen W. H COMMUNITY , Nease, and others.
Five . ^ b a lo u s Adventures of a Semi-Reformed Folktales Overachiever LaNelle C. Stiles (Ann Arbor, Mich.: Vine Books, Servant Publications, 1996, paperback, 174 pages, HH089-283-9155, $10.99) msHEFSrKE: “We’ve tried to have it all (some The Wesleyan Center for Twenty- body said we could) and do it all first Century Studies at Point Loma (nobody said we couldn’t). And This cassette features another sto Nazarene College has released its ry about Ralph reaching out to a first publication, Grace in the Aca tough kid on a Work and Witness demic Community: Festschrift for AlfENTItfS trip. Both stories are excellent, but Cecil R. Paul. This collection of es “Ralph Twigger, Innkeeper” will be says honors the work and life of Ce one of your favorite stories to listen cil Paul, teacher-scholar and presi m n m m to with loved ones during this holi dent of Eastern Nazarene College day season and for years to come. until his sudden death in 1992. Five Fabulous Folktales (Told Twenty essayists from various from My Front Room) are just that. Nazarene colleges have written on significant topics in Nazarene higher Melea shares folktales in front of an uncut rftints audience at her home. The interac education: “Naming the Mission,” tion between artist and audience is “Confronting Central Questions,” dynamic. You will find yourself “Living the Vision.” PLNC Presi while w e’re doing it, we have to loudly laughing at the story of “The dent Jim Bond begins the collection look good and stay slim and young.” Worriers” and sobered by the truths with his essay on “The Nazarene This excerpt captures the tone of learned by the faithful and unfaith College President as Servant Nazarene author LaNelle C. Stiles in ful daughters in “The Grain of Leader,” and Dr. Paul’s eldest son, her latest book of 34 witty and out Rice.” Melea paints beautiful can Bruce Paul, finishes the festschrift rageous short essays. vases with her words. Young and with “Reflections on a Life.” Stiles is a high school English old alike will be entertained and Maxine Walker, festschrift editor teacher in Waynesburg, Pennsylva challenged to new levels of faith by and PLNC professor of literature, nia, where she lives with her hus her stories. notes in her acknowledgment, “Dr. band. They have two grown children.
40 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s Martha Bolton calls this book “a worship, evangelism, fellowship, Wonderful Name, a Christmas mu terrific humor break for anyone try ministry, and discipleship; and sical for two-part choir, is an excel ing to survive the hustle-bustle of changed lives. lent choice for the church with small the ’90s.” The tapes are divided into 10- to musical forces. Much of the choir The book was written for women, 15-minute segments. They are excel work is unison, and the two-part sec but LaNelle says a surprising num lent for stimulating discussion groups tions are cleverly written to sound ber of men and teens have enjoyed among key leaders in a church. They bigger than they are. The work is the book as well. also have remarkable coherency heavily orchestrated and will bring through the dialogue. Both salaried an exciting event to the sanctuary The Tides of Change: Riding the and volunteer church leaders will that boasts a good sound system. Next Wave in Ministry find enrichment in these tapes. Drama and narration are included, Leonard Sweet and Rick Warren —Kendall Hughes making it a perfect vehicle for par (A b in g d o n , 1995, two audiotapes, ticipation by non-choir members. HHTA-I868, $19.95) Let Every Voice Sing Christmas The use of traditional carols such Don't ask God to bless what you Beverly and John Darnall (Lillenas, as “Joy to the World,” “The First do. Do what God is blessing. The 1996, HHMC-97. $4.99) Noel,” “Silent Night,” and “Hark! audiotape set shows how the church The church music department the Herald Angels Sing" make this a flourishes when we catch the wave seeking a good buy should consider good investment for the church of what God is currently doing. Let Every Voice Sing Christmas. It is choral library. These pieces can be Much church growth material tries a set of six pieces, three standard used in future years when a quickly to “create a wave.” "Impossible,” carols and three new offerings, all in rehearsed anthem is needed to aug say the expositors. Waves of the a contemporary setting. The mon ment the busy Christmas music sea Spirit are sovereign acts of God. We ey’s worth comes from the flexibili son. Accompaniment tracks on both merely recognize and ride them. ty inherent in the work, which can CD and cassette and a full orchestra An entertaining and stimulating be performed in its entirety or sepa score are available. dialogue takes place between the —Michael Graham cream of the Baptist church and the Holiness Movement. These two Works of John Wesley on Com movements that together swept the pact Disk American frontier in a few decades (Providence House, 1995, HHTROM- are happily reunited for two hours. 795, $149.95) Rick Warren is a fourth-generation Providence House’s new Works o f Baptist pastor. He is the founding John Wesley on Compact Disk allows pastor of the Saddleback Communi the average student to do in seconds ty Church. After 15 years, they have research that once would have taken more than 9,000 members and have scholars months of painstaking work rately as anthems. It is excellent planted 23 churches. Leonard Sweet to dig out. The speed of the search youth choir and young adult materi is the son of a Pilgrim Holiness engine is truly impressive for Win al with some exciting horn arrange evangelist. He is now a leading dows-based software. It easily out ments led by Nashville's Sam church historian and dean of the performs the latest Bible study com Levine, a leading jazz musician. The Drew Theological School. puter software, despite the much first piece, “O Come, All Ye Faith It may surprise some to hear a larger database it must search. ful,” would also make a good sanc mega-church pastor and a historian We are in debt to Providence tuary choir introit for the Advent saying, “Healthy churches today House for making available to a new season. Sound track and orchestra don't copy others or the past,” and generation of students and pastors the parts are also available. “The future’s worst enemy is the still powerful works of the father of success of yesterday.” So don't —Michael Graham what is arguably the most influential sanctify the methods. God often us theological tradition in contemporary es opposite methods to produce Wonderful Name Christianity. Almost all evangelical health in different cultures and Richard Kingsmore and Christopher Christianity has been profoundly times. Effective churches are in Machen (Lillenas, 1996, HHMC-95, shaped by Wesley’s vision of “practi touch with their cultures and shape $4.99) cal divinity.” It is only appropriate the handle of the container in any that this CD should be the first at and every possible way that enables tempt to make the virtually complete people to grab hold and receive the corpus of the founder of such a sig unchanging content. nificant theological tradition readily Sweet and Warren avoid the pit available to the computer generation. falls of subjectivity by showing that The Oxford don, John Wesley, who this health can be measured. It is re adapted himself to minister to simple vealed in the percentage of members coal miners, would have approved. in ministry; the balance between —George Lyons
N o v k m b i -.r 1996 41 Nazarene Evangelist Honors Richard Harper Cited as Tom Landry Chaplain of the Year
Richard Harper, a marketplace chap lain. received the Chaplain of the Year award for 1996 from the Church of the Nazarene. In his position. Harper over sees 18 chaplains throughout east Texas, including nine client companies. i l i i i He serves 1.800 employees who. when family members are added, total some 5.000 persons. Coach Tom Landry (center) w ith wife and "It takes a unique personality with a Rev. Roediger varied background to be a successful Rev. Terry Roediger, Nazarene evan Holland Lewis Honored chaplain to the workplace,” stated Gil gelist, gave a special tribute to Tom Landry, former coach of the Dallas Cowboys, at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet in Dallas. Roediger stated that it was a "dream come true” to put into words his feel ings and that of thousands of others in honoring Landry, an NFL legend and Christian gentleman. "He [Landry] has Holland Lewis and wife, Mary been a hero of mine since I was a young boy,” said Roediger, "an inspiration (Leftlo right) Curt Bowers, director of Chap Rev. Holland Lewis was honored Au through my athletic career, and an ex laincy Ministries; Jerald Johnson, general gust 18 on the occasion of his 35th an ample of Christ to this day." superintendent; Mrs. Harper; Richard Harp niversary as a licensed minister. The Mrs. Landry said that the award was er; and David Nixon, Dallas district superin West Valley Church of the Nazarene. one of the most meaningful that her tendent Yakima. Wash., planned an evening of husband had received and would be on celebration to congratulate their pastor. display in his office. Strickland, president and founder of Joining Lewis for the occasion were his Marketplace Ministries. "Richard Harp wife. Mary: three daughters. Cassandra. er is that kind of man. He is a talented Candance. and Crystal; a son-in-law; and committed man of God. Your de and two grandchildren. Lewis had the nomination has every right to be proud privilege of dedicating a new grand daughter that evening. of individuals like Richard Harper. We are proud of him too." Chaplain Harper is active in his local Perfect Attendance in Sun church. He does some supply preaching day School Awarded and also teaches occasionally in the Kil LaGrande, Oreg., Church of the Nazarene gore, Texas, campus of the Dallas ex dedicated their new facility in June 1996. tension of the Nazarene Bible College. Marshall Vaughn is the pastor.
Teens at Northbreak, British Isles North Dis Wanda Kohrn of the Lima. Ohio. trict family camp, pore over the July Her Community Church was recognized for ald of Holiness. That 4(: years of perfect attendance in Sun issue carried three day School. Presenting the award is feature articles about Melvin Miller (left), SS superintendent, churches and people and pastor. Wayne Sharpes. from their district.
42 H e r a l d o i H o l i n e s s Ordinations (Below) M 9 6 Michigan District ordinand class (I. to r): Gen. Supt. John A. Knight, Rev. Marc and Michelle Muelman, Dist. Supt. C. Neil Strait, and District Secretary Randall K. Hartman.
(Above) 1996 Northeast Oklahoma District ordinand class (I. to r) Dist. Supt. Russell Human, Rev. Brad and Mollie Coates, Rev. Brad and Alaina Bennett, Gen. Supt. John (Above) 1996 Southwestern Ohio District A. Knight. ordinand class (I. to r.) Gen. Supt. John A. Knight, Dist. Sect. Carlton D. Hansen, Rev. Dennis and Melinda Wilson, Rev. Douglas and Judy Shope, Rev. Gary and Pamela (Below) 1996 Maine District ordinand class Huff, Rev. Jeffrey and Patricia Frampton, (I to r.): Dist. Supt. Clarence C. Hildreth, Rev. Paul and Sharon Watkins, Rev. Larry Lillian and Rev. Alan Malcom, Becky and and Vicki Windie, Rev. Robert and Karen Rev. Philip McGlauflin, Gen. Supt. Paul G. Lewis, and Dist. Supt. Harold B. Graves Sr. Cunningham.
Send Stories and Photos to: (Above) 1996 Northern California District Nazarene Family ordinand class (I. to r.): Dist. Supt. Clarence Herald of Holiness J. Kinzler, Rev. Richard and Sharon Bean, 6401 The Paseo Rev. Rodney and Angela Gilliam, Rev. Kansas City, MO 64131 Thomas and Janine King, Rev. Dennis and 816-333-7000, ext. 2304 Tracey Christian, Rev. Tim and Robin Is bell, Gen. Supt. William J. Prince.
Enjoy a distinctively unique col lection of traditional songs that celebrate the birth of our Savior. Some classical, others contemporary; all per formed by orchestra and chorus, to provide you with classic listening enjoyment for the holiday season. - - 1 800 877-0700 Double-length Cassettes and CDs value priced. Cassettes $1.99 h h t a -4004c CD $3.99 HHDC-4004 NEWS OF RELIGION
The Bible in Prime Time lin e , a resource for “renovating and Lethwaite and Kane have ap peared on a number of radio and tele The telecasts of Genesis: A Living creating new rituals from groups tra Conversation with Bill Moyers con ditionally marginalized or ignored.” vision programs regarding the slave trade that they exposed. They report tinue through December 22 on PBS. The series explores the stories of Gen Farrakhan’s Challenge Ac that Nation of Islam members have esis from Adam and Eve in the Gar cepted: Slave Trade Docu bombarded the stations with calls of den, to Jacob wrestling on the banks mented protest. The Baltimore Sun has called for of the Jabbok. to Joseph strutting in Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation an arms embargo against Sudan, a his coat of many colors. of Islam in the U.S., declared in a U.N. monitoring team empowered to After the dramatization of the sto speech to the National Press Club that curb slavery, and the freezing of all ry, the implications for today are dis slavery did not exist in the Sudan. He Sudanese assets held in international cussed by seven Bible scholars, theo challenged the press to go to that war- banks. logians, psychologists, artists, and torn African nation and “find proof." Slavery plagues other African na writers such as Walter Brueggemann. The Baltimore Sun decided to take tions. Reports say that in the West Marianne Meye Thompson. Robert the challenge and sent reporters African country of Mauritania, some Alter, Faye Kellerman, and Lewis Gilbert Lethwaite and Gregory Kane 90,000 persons are owned outright Smedes. on what their editor called “a very and another 200.000 are indentured Evangelicals will certainly not risky assignment to a very nasty servants qualifying as slaves accord agree with every opinion expressed, place." A war between the Islamic ing to the U.N. definition. but there is rea government and Black-African tribes son to rejoice in made the investigation more haz seeing today’s in ardous. But with the assistance of Teen Pregnancy Law tellectuals focus Christian Solidarity International, Seven teenagers have been charged in ing on the Bible. they reached their destination. Even a Gem County, Idaho, for breaking the Moyers says, “Al civil war could not curb the slave anti-fornication law. Prosecutor Doug most every other trade. las Varie, in an attempt to cut down on human endeavor is Lethwaite and Kane were able to and advertise the problem of teen the subject of con purchase two half brothers, Garang pregnancies, has invoked a 1921 law tinuing coverage Walter Brueggemann Deng Kuot, 10, and Akok Deng Kuot, that makes fornication illegal. by the media: eco 12, for about $1,000. Photographs of "1 didn’t even know what fornica nomics, politics, . . . business, . . . the transaction in the Sudanese village sports, sex, cooking, consumer inter tion was,” said one 17-year-old when of Manyiel have appeared in the S u n handed a 30-day suspended sentence, ests, physical fitness, movies and en and other publications. The two re ordered to take a parenting class, and tertainment, war, crime, . . . and now porters delivered the Kuot children beach volleyball. But religion as a put on probation for three years. The back to their father. crucial force in American life; as the Evangelical Press News Services re The Arab slave trader, Adam El wellspring for values . . . as the inter ports that the action has stirred con Haj, claimed that the abduction of pretation of experience itself— for this troversy in the community. children was organized by the Islamic view of religion, there is on television government and that he was in the no room at the inn.” business so that he could free slaves. Pastors Judged on Feelings Nevertheless, he accepted the $ 1,000. A study reported by the Clergy Jour Gay Rites According to the Anti-Slavery n a l claims that 75 percent of church A new book published by Westmin Group. Human Rights Watch/Africa, members judge their pastor not on tal ster/Knox provides rituals for gay and and the U.S. State Department, tens of ent, track record, or education but on lesbian ceremonies for such events as thousands of people are owned as how they “feel” about him or her. “coming out” services, covenants be chattel slaves in Sudan. Most of them These persons have learned to trust tween couples, lesbian and gay pride are youths who are captured and their feelings and depend on them to programs, worship experiences, and forced to serve in the military as the make decisions about pastoral work. empowerment for homosexuals. The Muslim government tries to subdue Author Robert Jeamby recom book, edited by Kittredge Cherry and the rebels. Other slaves are forced to mends direct and personal preaching, Zalmon Sherwood, is called E q u a l serve as domestic and farm workers. pastoral accessibility, careful listen Rites: Lesbian and Gay Worship, Cer According to Current Thoughts and ing, and a person-centered rather than emonies, Celebrations. It is, according T ren d s, many of the slaves are chil minister-centered theology of pastoral to Publishers Weekly Religion Book- dren of Sudanese Christians. care.
44 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s V ital Statistics
Deaths County Daily Record for Cottage Grove, Oreg. Address: 134 Rue de Champigny, 94430 6 years. Survivors: wife: EDDIE R. JONES, to pastor, Huntington (Ind.) Chennevieres-sur-Marne, France REV. PAUL A. ALDRICH, 67, pastor in M is Helen; sons, David, Tim; Northside KERR, JILLIAN, Switzerland, Field Address: souri, Ohio, and Texas brother, Reid; sisters, GARY E. JONES, from associate, Nampa (Idaho) ENBC, Postfach 60, CH-8238 Busingen, for many years, St. June Reinhart, Jean First, to pastor, Nampa (Idaho) Karcher Switzerland Louis, Mo., May 14. Campbell; six grandchil MICHAEL P. KEFFER, from associate, Hunting KROEZE, JON and MARY-LOU, Rwanda, Field Survivors: wife, Dorothy: dren; seven great-grand ton (Ind.) First, to associate, Parkersburg Address: 6 Jardins de Merici, No. 215, Que son, Bradley: daughter, children. (W.Va.) Broadway bec City, PQG1S4N7 Paula Pletcher; brother, DANE E. MATHEWS, to associate, Huntington KROMER, LARRY and LARK, Switzerland, Field Rev. Robert: sister, He (Ind.) First Address: ENBC, Postfach 60, CH-8238 len Schoenborn; two Announcements DANNY K. McDOWELL, from Montpelier, Ind., to Busingen, Switzerland grandchildren. KANKAKEE (ILL.) EASTRIDGE CHURCH (for Richmond (Ind.) First LAFORCE, WAYNE and CONNIE, Japan, Field JOSEPH BRAND, 80, Orlando, Fla., July 1. merly Fairmount Avenue) will celebrate its 50th WILLIAM C. MEAD, from Cortland; Ohio, to Address: 1198-2 Aza Yoshihara, Chatan Cho, Survivors: wife, Norma: sons, Jack, Tom; daugh anniversary Nov. 10 in the morning service, fol Danvers, Maine Okinawa Ken, 904-01, Japan ters, Sharon Hoppe, Kathy Wooten; sister, lowed by dinner and an afternoon celebration. JEFFERY C. MIHELICH, from Pocatello (Idaho) LEHRKE, CAROLYN, Swaziland, Field Address: Martha DeGroot; 12 grandchildren; 2 great Former pastors, members, and friends are in First, to Woodward, Okla. Box 14, Manzini, Swaziland grandchildren. vited. For more information, contact Madeline LOUIS and ANN PFLEGER, from LeMars, Iowa, LOWRY, THOMAS and ETHEL, Kenya, Field Ad LILLIAN V. CARSON, 76, Lovettsville, Va„ Howard, 412 N. Cleveland, Bradley, IL 60915, to Interlachen, Fla. dress: c/o Africa Nazarene University, P.O. Aug 23. Survivors: husband, Percy: son, 815-932-7240. RICHARD PUCKETT, from pastor, Clay City Box 53067, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa George; daughter, Ruth Ann; two grandchildren. SPRINGFIELD (ILL.) SOUTHSIDE CHURCH (Ind.) Union Chapel, to associate, Seymour MERCER, TIMOTHY and MARY, Korea, Field LOLA E. CASSADY, 97, Pensacola, Fla., Mar. w ill celebrate its 55th anniversary Nov. 17 with a (Ind.) First Address: Kuk-dong Apt. Bldg. 104, Apt. 1402, 6. Survivors: sons, Leon, Rev. Joel; daughters, 10 a.m . service followed by a carry-in dinner and WILLIAM J. (BILL) PURSELL, to pastor, Newber 209 Chong-su Dong, Chonan 330-190, Re Ruth Martin, Doris Cassady 2 p .m . service. Music will be provided by the ry, Ind. public of Korea IVA M COOK, 82, Sandusky, Ohio, June 3. Harvest City Boys. CLARK E. RABE, from pastor, Davenport, Okla., MESSER, DON and BARBARA, South Africa, Survivors: husband, Rev. Paul; sons, John, Former pastors, members, and friends are in to chaplaincy Field Address: P.O. Box 21562, 1733 Douglas; six grandchildren; eight great-grand vited. For more information, contact Laura Fox, KEVIN C. RODGERS, from chaplaincy to pastor, Helderkruin, Republic of South Africa children 2609 Sandgate Rd., Springfield, IL 62702, 217- Kingfisher, Okla. MILLER, TIM and DONNA, Romania, Field Ad GEORGE R. FARIS, 72, Colorado Springs, 528-3582. TERRY SCHAKELAAR, from associate, Birming dress: Int. V iilor Nr. 4, Bucharest Sector 5, Colo., Aug. 9. Survivors: wife, Jo Albright Faris; ham (Ala.) First, to pastor, Cleo Springs, Okla. Romania sons. Dennis, Donald, Terry, Wayne, Gerry, PERRY J. SCHMITT, from pastor, Elko, Nev., to MURUGAN, JOSEPH and ALICE, Trinidad, Field Roger; daughters, Suzette, Stephanie; 19 grand FOR THE RECORD chaplaincy Address: CNTC, P.O. Box 3781, Cantara, children; 5 great-grandchildren. Moving Ministers JOHNNY D. STEPHENS, from San Antonio (Tex.) Santa Cruz, Trinidad, W.l. DEBORAH WILSON GROBE, 95, daughter of East Terrell Hills, to McLoud (Okla.) Twin MERVIN G. ADKINS, to pastor, Deep River, Iowa NOTHSTINE, TOM and LAURALEE, Madagascar, former general superin Oaks KEN BERGSTROM, from student, Nazarene Bible Field Address: B.P. 5102, Antananarivo 101, tendent W C. Wilson, College, to pastor, Mechanicsville (Va.) E. DALE TAYLOR, from Richmond (Va.) West Madagascar V isalia, C alif., Aug. 4. End, to Riverdale (Ga.) Timberlake Hanover NYHUS, GREG, Switzerland, Field Address: Survivors: sons, Robert, TIM W. VAN HOOSE, from Orleans. Ind., to WILLIAM S. BEVILLE, from Georgetown, Ind., to Postfach 1217, Postburo, 8207 Schaffhausen, Rev. Donald, Rev. El- Georgetown, Ind. Taylorville, III. Switzerland wyn; daughter, Jane RONALD J. BLAKE, from Huntington (Ind.) First, MITCHELL L. VERNIER, from Hollis, Okla., to Elk OBOTTE, WELLINGTON and HELEN, Tanzania, Sheldon; brother, Mal- City, Okla. to Indianapolis (Ind.) Westside Field Address: P.O. Box 871, Mbeya, Tanza lalieu Wilson; 10 grand BYRON BLOOM, from Rockhill (S.C.) West JILL WALTZ, to associate, Daleville (Ind.) Mid nia children; 19 great Main, to Valdosta (Ga.) First dletown OTTO, FRED and DONNA, Ghana, Field Address: grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren. MARK and BETTY BOLERJACK, to pastors, Ato BURL WARD, from Scottsdale, Pa., to Freedom P.O. Box 7847, Accra North, Ghana ALFREDA M. HUNT, 72, Fishkill, N.Y., Aug. ka (Okla.) First (Pa.) Deer Lakes PARK, MICHAEL and DO-YEA, Kazakhstan, Field 2 Survivors: husband, Paul; son, Jerry; daugh TIM L. BOURLAND, from associate, North Ver KEN WHEELER, to associate, Nashville (Ind.) Address: Kazakhstan, Akmola, 473024, Box ters, Judy Peterson, Carol Keenan, Dorothy non, Ind., to associate, New Castle (Ind.) First Parkview 574, Church of the Nazarene Strever; four grandchildren; two great-grandchil CHARLES BOWE, to pastor, Columbia (Ind.) RON E. WILLARD, from missionary to pastor, PESADO, DANIEL and MARGARITA, Spain, Field dren First Little Rock (Ark.) Cornerstone Address: Calle Pelicano #26, 28025 Madrid, DOROTHEA KUSCHNER, 71. La Quinta, GREGORY E. BREEDEN, Irom Metropolis, III., to Spain Calif., Aug. 22. Survivor: husband, Rev. Allard. Harrisburg, III. READ, TERRY and JOAN, Kenya, Field Address: INA LUCILLE (PUMMILL) McCASLIN, 69, CHARLES T. and NANCY COYLE, from Vander Moving Missionaries Box 20025, Nairobi, Kenya, East Africa Apache Junction, Ariz., Apr. 19. Survivors: hus bilt, Pa., to Clymer (Pa.) Penns Manor BERG, DANIEL and DORIS, Stateside Address: RICH, HARRY and MARION, Stateside Address: band, Allen; sons, Rob, Mark; daughter, Margo KEVIN C. DUNLOP, from Alexandria, Ind., to c/o Mary Berg, P.O. Box 67, Deer Park, WA R.D. 1, Box 254, Carmichaels, PA 15320 Rabe; six grandchildren. Huntington (Ind.) First 99006 IDA ELIZABETH PERRY, 96, Birmingham, RICHARD G. FORSYTH, from Durand, Mich., to BURKHART, LYNN and RUTH, Stateside Ad SERVIS, MIKE and RENEE, Kenya, Field Ad Ala., Aug. 4. Survivors: son, Howard; daughter, associate, Sturgis, Mich. dress: 901 W. Third, Edgerton, KS 66021 dress: P.O. Box 53067, Nairobi, Kenya, East Ruth Burleson; five grandchildren; six great MARK GRAHAM, from general-assigned, Kansas CAMPBELL, JONATHAN (RAMBY) and KAREN, Africa grandchildren. City, to pastor, Greensboro (N.C.) Rolling Malawi, Field Address: P.O. Box 302, Lilong SHMIDT, LYNN and SHEARON, Botswana, Field BEUALH RENEY, 85, Providence, R.I., July Roads we 3, Malawi, Central Africa Address: P.O. Box 2113, Gaborone, Republic 28. PHIL HAMNER, from student, Nazarene Theolog CARDOSO, NATANAEL and RITA, Portugal, New of Botswana NELLIE MAY SIMS, 81, Batesville, Miss., ical Seminary, to pastor, Evansville (Ind.) Dia Field Address: Rua Saragoca, 24 Cave, 3000 SMITH, JIM and PATRICIA, South Africa, Field June 4. Survivors: sons, Ted, Denny, Paul; mond Valley Coimbra, Portugal Address: P.O. Box 668, Honeydew 2040, Re daughter, Juanee Pearson; five grandchildren; JEFFERY M. HAYNES, from associate, Daleville CRUZ, PEDRO and JUSTITA, Costa Rica, New public of South Africa five great-grandchildren. (Ind.) Middletown, to associate, New Albany Field Address: 1810 N.W. 23rd Blvd., Suite STARGEL, SCOTT and LINDA, Haiti, Field Ad NONA E. SOUTHWORTH, 94, Colorado (Ind.) Eastside 167, Gainesville, FL 32605 dress: MFI-Nazarene/Haiti, Box 15665, West Springs, Colo.. Aug 1. Survivors: husband, J. STEVEN HAZELTON, from Brownsville, Tex., GAILEY, ROB and WANDA, Stateside Address: Palm Beach, FL 33406 Merrill; daughters, Juanita Hughes, Alice Brush, to Athens, Tex. 6501 Woodland, Kansas City, MO 64131 STEVENSON, HENRY and GRACE, Ireland, Fur Maxine Schlientz; 11 grandchildren; 17 great STEVEN HOFFERBERT, from pastor, Corydon, HUDSON, TERRY and TAMARA, Albania, Field lough Address: 23871 Colchester, Farming grandchildren; 7 great-great-grandchildren. Ind., to missionary Address: c/o MAF for Tirana, Postfach 157, ton, Ml 48336 RUSS WHITE, 80, Bella Vista, Ark., Sept. 4. KENNETH L. HORNING, from Kingston, Mo., to CH-5022 Rombach, Switzerland TREDOUX, GIDEON and JEANETTE, Africa South White served more than 30 years in the produc Montpelier, Ind. JAKOBITZ, ARLEN and JOYCE, India, Furlough Field, Field Address: P.O. Box 2512, Acorn- tion department at Nazarene Publishing House MANUEL JOHNSON, from Albany (Ga.) First, to Address: 1913 N. Osage St., Ponca City, OK hoek 1360, Republic of South Africa before retiring in 1981. He also wrote a weekly Cleveland (Miss.) First 74601 WALKER, KEN and LINDA, Swaziland, Field Ad article, “Layman’s Viewpoint," for the Benton SCOTT D. JOHNSON, from student to pastor, JOHNSTON, TREVOR and MARY, France, Field dress: P.O. Box 1460, Manzini, Swaziland
N o v k m b e r 1996 45 Observer at L arge
But wait a minute— wait just a court room minute! If this is an allegory and we are the widow and Satan the adversary, that makes God the Judge. If you followed the logic, it would mean that God, like the judge, is not really interested in our The People s Court situation. After all, He is very busy. He has a universe to run, angels to keep in statements: he did not fear God, and he line. It's best if we do not bother Him. did not respect other people. If, however, we are really desperate, And this man was the widow’s last we can always do what the widow did: resort. we can pester Him. We can even ask our It makes one want to say to her, friends to pester Him for us. "Don't waste your time going into Sooner or later, we may wear Him court. The judge is probably in cahoots down and somehow wrench a blessing with your adversary. He'll throw out from His hand. Eventually, He may your plea, and you'll end up in worse open the windows of heaven and shout. shape than you are now.” “I can't take it anymore! Here is your John C. Bowling is president of Olivet That is exactly what happened. blessing.” Nazarene University. Hurt and shocked by the judge’s be No! havior, she said to herself, "1 don't have The whole purpose of this parable is any other options. This judge is my only to tell us just the opposite. This is a hope. Somehow I must get him to pro word from the Lord that says we never Then Jesus told his disciples a para tect me." have to pester our way into His pres ble to show them that they should al But how? ence. ways pray and not give up. He said: “In “I know what 1 must do,” she You see this story is a parable of con a certain town there was a judge who thought. “I'll pester him. I'll nag him. trast. It is given not to tell us what God neither feared God nor cared about I’ll follow him as thunder follows light is like but to show us what He is not men. And there was a widow in that ning.” like. We don't have to pry a blessing town who kept coming to him with the So that's what she did— and it from His hand, to somehow pressure plea. Grant me justice against my ad worked! She pestered that judge until Him into giving up what He would versary.’ one day he raised the window in his of rather keep for himself. “For some time he refused. But final fice and shouted, “I can't ly he said to himself. 'Even though I take it anymore; this don't fear God or care about men. yet woman is driving me because this widow keeps bothering me. crazy!” I will see that she gets justice, so that The happy ending of the If you don’t know the difference she won't eventually wear me out with story is that this crooked, her coming!"' (Luke 18:1-5, n iv ). uncaring judge finally gave between comparisons and the widow protection. contrasts, you may just miss the It is never easy being a widow; it was What's the moral of the particularly difficult in the first century. story? Bible’s point. A widow in those days generally had Luke says that Jesus told no education, no job. no money, no this story to show His disci property, no power, no status. To make ples “that they should al things worse, in Jesus' story, the widow ways pray and not give up" (v. 1). The Word of God says just the oppo had an adversary. Some unnamed villain That seems to say, “If you want site. At the end of the parable. Jesus was harassing her. something, stay with it! Don't give up, gives a bit of commentary: The woman had no way to protect give in, or give out.” And will not God bring about justice herself, no relatives to see her plight and It implies that we as humans are like for his chosen ones, who cry out to him offer help, no governmental organiza the widow: impoverished, powerless, day and night? Will he keep putting tion to come to her aid. with no status, no connections. We are them off? I tell you, he will see that they She had only one way of warding off beset with an adversary, Satan, who of get justice, and quickly (Luke 18:7-8, this adversary: she could plead her case ten seems to have the upper hand. We NIV). before a local judge. are unable to handle our problems How true it is that Before they call I And that is what she decided to do. alone, and we feel that we have will answer: while they are still speak Jesus described the judge in two crisp nowhere to turn. ing I will hear (Isaiah 65:24, Niv). ^
46 H e r a l d o f H o l i n e s s A Salute m arked^opy^
wrote a letter a few years ago to Notes from an editor’s journal I Dr. Talmadge Johnson, then super intendent of the Tennessee District. I by Mark Graham, Managing Editor wrote to recommend for ordination a young man named Mark Graham. In that letter I told Talmadge, “I intend to keep Mark on the H e ra ld staff as On Our Journey long as 1 can, but 1 know that one day he will come into my office and tell hen Cathy and I picked leave our many good friends in the me that he has accepted a pastorate.” up everything we had Kansas City area. Our denomination I was right. Mark is now the pastor (including a six-month- is blessed to have the dedicated peo at the Rolling Roads Church of the old) and moved to ple who serve faithfully in the offices Nazarene, Greensboro, North Caroli W Kansas City almost 13 yearsof ago,our itHeadquarters. Many do the na. Because of Mark's skill and expe was so that I might attend Nazarene work of two or three individuals. rience in print and broadcast journal Theological Seminary. The truck we They work long hours, they serve in ism, the church kept giving him moved in broke down twice, and it assignments in that arena. For 13 their churches, they tithe and pay years he performed them with dis snowed on our first faith promise, and they tinction. He saw them as a ministry, morning in Missouri. raise families. They but the call to preach, to pastor, just Needless to say, we We feel a lot have been our family, would not go away. wondered about the fu and we will miss them. ture. like Abraham We venture into a That November morn new area, one for ing seems like a lifetime and Sarah. which we have pre ago. Since then, I have pared, with the assur T h e w o r k d o es not completed seminary and have been or ance that God is leading us. To be VALIDATE THE WORKER; dained, Cathy completed a master's sure, we feel a lot like Abraham and degree in education and has taught ele Sarah. We don't know all that lies THE WORKER VALIDATES mentary school (a lifelong dream), we ahead, but we know that we have a have raised a son (at least we've got true Friend to show us the ropes and THE WORK. him to his teens), and we have had a to be there for us all along the way. second son (the joy of our old age). I will miss the opportunities to vis We came out here so that I could it with you, our readers, every prepare to be a pastor. Along the way, month. I have been amazed to meet I worked as a journalist— first for the so many folks across the nation and If I told you how closely we Nazarene News Service, then as man around the world who know me and worked on the H era ld , how well we aging editor of the H era ld . I enjoyed my family through this column. Your worked together, you would think I the jobs and tried to apply my minis phone calls and letters have been an was just making it up. Let me just say terial gifts to them and in such areas encouragement to me. that we were two well-matched as teaching and occasionally preach Pray for the good people of our workaholics who actually enjoyed ing, but I never got away from the new church— that they will have looking at 52 blank pages every call to pastor. patience with us and will love us month and then trying to create some Recently, I received a call from the even when the sermon is too long or thing of value to fill them. We also good folks at Rolling Roads Church too boring or when we mess up in fished and played golf together. I of the Nazarene in Greensboro, North some other way. And pray for Cathy, taught him how to trout fish, but I Carolina. We bundled up the whole Joey, Rob. and me— that we will was never able to teach him to play brood and flew down south to the trust God with all our hearts and golf. My game is as downright awful beautiful Piedmont area to meet with always allow ______as his. I'm hoping that his district su some of the finest folks I have ever Him to lead us on perintendent, Mark Barnes, will fix met. They liked us, we liked them, Graham’s hook and slice. To your right is the final "Marked they prayed, we prayed, they voted, Copy" column. If you wish, read and we prayed some more, and now we critique it and send Mark a note at find ourselves packing for another 2207 Rheims Dr., Greensboro, NC one of the big moves in our lives. 27407. I would be lying if I said I wasn't —Wesley Tracy, Editor afraid of change. It is not easy to
N o v i m h i .r 1996 47 Late N ews Prepared by H e ra ld Staff and the Nazarene News Service
Eby Joins Herald Staff General Board Member Dies J. Wesley Eby, 59, is the new managing and newsletters. He has written or edit in Auto Accident editor for the Herald of Holiness, ac ed 24 books for the limited English cording to an announcement from proficient, including Handbook for Rev. Neville Wil liams, superinten Michael R. Estep, director of the Com Teaching Bible-based ESL, published munications Division, and Wesley Tra by Chapman Press. dent of the West cy, editor of the Herald. Eby holds an A.B. degree from TNU ern Cape District "Eby’s experience in publishing, his and a master of arts from Northern Ari of the Republic precision as an editor, and his mastery zona University (NAU) and has earned of South Africa of the English language will prove to be credits from seven other colleges and (RSA), and three a great blessing to the H e ra ld and its universities. He has served part-time family members readers," Tracy said. faculty assignments at NAU and w ere killed in a Before beginning his duties at the Nazarene Theological Seminary. car accident on Sunday, September 29. H e ra ld in September, Eby served for He continues to hold a number of Williams was traveling to an annual nine years in Publications In district and general church church meeting when a minibus blew a ternational where, as director service and committee as tire and hit the Williams vehicle. of Chapman Press, he super signments. Eby has served as Williams, his wife, Noalene, and vised the denomination's in- NWMS president of the daughter, Alana-Lee. were killed in tercultural English publica Kansas City District since stantly. A son, Eugene, died several tions. Prior to that. Eby, who 1994. hours later. The Williamses are sur comes from a long line of Eby and his wife, Roberta, vived by two adult sons, Quinton and Na/.arene preachers, mission are active members of the Stuart. aries, and teachers, spent 22 Overland Park. Kansas, At the time of his death. Williams years as an educator on the Church of the Nazarene. was a member of the General Board, Navajo reservation in Ari They have four grown sons, chairman of the RSA National Board, zona and New Mexico. Dur three daughters-in-law, and and chairman of the Board of Trustees ing those years he received a number of four grandchildren. for Nazarene Theological College of special achievement awards, including "We were very happy that Wes felt South Africa. Educator of the Year (1986) from Ari challenged by the H erald assignment," "Neville Williams was a true servant zona TESOL (Teachers of English to said Michael Estep. "He is a capable of the Lord and a devoted Nazarene," Speakers of Other Languages). Eby has editor and a dedicated churchman— 100 said Michael Estep, director of the held several offices, including president percent Nazarene." Communications Division. "His ser of the Mid America TESOL organiza Eby replaces Mark Graham, who vices to the African church and our tion. Presently, he is serving as parlia served as managing editor from July general church will be greatly missed." mentarian for the international TESOL 1989 until September 1996. Graham re organization. signed to become the pastor of Rolling ONU Student Killed Eby has authored and edited many ar Roads Church of the Nazarene, Greens ticles in several professional journals boro, N.C. Christina Key, 21, a student at Olivet Nazarene Univer Butler Assumes NBC First Baptismal Service sity, died Septem Held in Kazakhstan ber 24 as a result Position of injuries in an Dr. D. Martin But Missionary Chuck automobile acci ler is the c h ief Sunberg in Russia re dent near Bour- fiscal o fficer at ports that the first bap bonnais. Illinois. Nazarene Bible tismal service was held She is survived by C ollege in C o l in Kazakhstan, one of her husband. Donald, a former student at Olivet, and their one-month-old orado Springs, Co the newest world mis daughter, Emerald, who were both in lo.. assuming this sion areas for the Church of the Naza jured in the accident. position Novem rene. On August 25. 19 people were Key, a sociology major, would have ber 1. baptized, and 50 were in attendance at graduated in 1998. “Christina personi Butler had been vice president of in the service. fied all that a student of social work stitutional advancement at Eastern Missionary Michael Park moved to could be,” said Michael LaReau, asso Nazarene College since 1994. Prior to this former Soviet republic to begin the ciate professor of sociology and direc work for the church in May. With the tor of Olivet's social work program. the ENC assignment, he had been the help of students from Korean Nazarene "She was active in the program and director of Planned Giving for the Bible College, the first Nazarene helped in our service projects. She w ill Church of the Nazarene in Kansas City. church has been started in Akmola. be sorely missed."
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