The answers are at the end of the blog. Have fun!!
According To the Bible (True or False)
1. Paul’s injunctions to women in Ephesians, 1 Timothy, and Colossians are based upon the unruly nature of women in those churches and the fact that “barbarians” were being saved, who themselves exhibited wild and unruly behavior in and out of church.
2. The church sanctuary or “altar” is a place of protection and refuge from secular authorities.
Dear Prayer Warriors,
These are exciting days in the ministry of Grace Community International. As we enter our ten-year anniversary, we look back on God’s blessings. We have grown from a ministry primarily in the US and a single foreign country, to over 25 countries and expanding. Our website now contains free ministry materials in English, Spanish, Russian, French, and Chichewa. God continues to bless. Macedonian calls continue to come in, and the ministry continues to grow. How we praise God for His blessings and for the privilege of ministering the Word of God in the harvest fields of the world!
The Family Discipleship Seminar (FDS) and Marriage Covenant Seminar have been what you would call our “flagship seminars.” However, the “Testing the Spirits,” “Word of God,” and “Witnessing” seminars are in greater and greater demand. There are many godly men teaching on these subjects, and we would by no means say that we have the final word, nor do we claim to be the only ones out there teaching the truth. We are one of many whom God has raised up to teach on these areas. Each minister has his own unique approach, and these seem to be the emphases that people appreciate about our ministry:
1. A commitment to the Word of God as the final authority; 2. A balance between Biblical teaching and practical application; 3. A pro-active approach, rather than reactive; 4. Workbooks and follow-up content are both evangelistic and discipleship oriented; 5. The seminars are developed to bless and grow others rather than to be “stand alone” events promoting the ministry of GCI.
God has blessed this ministry in the past year.
Russia In Russia, God has been using these seminars to restore families. Several families in which one spouse was a believer and the other was not have been restored in Christ, followed by active church membership. A problem Russian Christians face is that many have no personal Christian heritage on which to look back to help in making lifestyle decisions. There is no model for them. This is true for pastors and Bible teachers as well. Our seminars provide a practical Biblical template which fills this void. Here is an example of this ministry at work. “Boris” had received Christ earlier though the outreach of a Christian businessman. He, though, was not growing in his faith. He and his wife attended the seminar after being invited by a church member. They were so excited about the resulting transformation of their marriage that they began asking family members to attend and a second seminar was held, comprised mostly of their extended family and business contacts. Later that week, Boris’s wife prayed to receive Christ. Now they are both active church members.
Zambia In Zambia, many churches have an authoritarian church structure built on a combination of legalism and spiritism. The result is that many Christians are encouraged to be in church every night of the week, in neglect of both their marriages and children. Many wives minister apart from their husbands in different churches. One of the goals of our marriage and family seminars is to restore this imbalance to a Biblical model. Helping young couples find the center of their marriage in Christ and a church based on the word of God is one of the ministries we have in Zambia. Again, restoring families to Christ is one of the results of this ministry. One woman who attended the seminar had a husband who worked very high up in the government. Though a moral man, he was without Christ. It was through the transformation of their marriage, as she applied I Peter 3:1-2, that her husband became open to the gospel. Even as a non-Christian, he was so impressed with the impact of the Word on his family and marriage that he hosted a marriage seminar in his home. He also attended the FDS Conference and invited many of his friends. Later that week, I had the privilege of leading him to Christ.
Mike Daily traveled with us to Zambia this past May and ministered in the area of marriage and family. One of his greatest impacts, though, was in his personal example as a witness. He led someone to Christ on the plane coming over. He led a family member to Christ in the home where he was staying. (This resulted in the restoration of the marriage and the baptism of both this man and his half-brother. Mike met in counseling and Bible study with the couple for two weeks while he was in Zambia, and they were willing to travel to the Marriage Seminar in another city.) Mike led a government official to Christ who had come by the office where we were sorting Bibles for pastors - then Mike led a government official to Christ on the way home. As a result of this testimony and the training we gave, others began to witness and men and women began coming to Christ.
Cameroon “We did not know children could memorize verses and learn doctrine,” said a minister attending our Family Discipleship Conference. Richard Smith, a businessman from Oklahoma City, was ministering with me. His wife, Kathy, and his two grown children, Andrew and Amanda, trained the Cameroonians in practical applications of the FDS in terms of a children’s ministry. In far too many churches, the children’s ministry is mainly a play and crafts time. The Cameroonians not only received training in terms of their families at home but also in the church education department. As a result, the church experienced growth in Bible studies – not only in adult education, but also in children’s ministry, as parents saw their children’s lives transformed by the Word of God.
Seminars and Evangelism God has greatly used the seminars in the area of personal evangelism. It is not uncommon at all for families to be united in Christ as one spouse or the other responds to the gospel as a result of the testimony of a changed life. In Japan, a pastor told us that it often takes ten years for someone to come to Christ. He then excitedly shared stories of conversions over a much shorter period, sometimes just months, as family members witnessed the transformation of lives by the Word of God. In a closed Islamic country, a pastor told me that one of the reasons he wanted us to return to give the Family Discipleship Seminar and Marriage Covenant Seminar (as well as to train his church leaders in giving them) was that it was the only seminar or Bible study that he knew of where Muslim men would allow their wives to attend and often they would attend as well. This again is as a result of the transforming power of the Word of God. In the US, one couple attended the seminar, and as a result of the clear teachings of Scripture, trusted Christ. They immediately became a source of derision by their extended family who were confirmed secularists. One by one, though, members of their family came to Christ. This couple’s marriage was so transformed and the behavior of their children became such a contrast at family gatherings that the rest of the family decided “there must be something to this,” and as a result, many came to Christ. I could go on and one with examples such as these.
Seminars and Equipping Pastors and Ministers One of the exciting events at our seminars is the time when we provide pastors and minsters with study Bibles and Bible study aids. It is hard to describe the presentations as they are times of shouting, joy and often tears as pastors receive for the first time their own leather study Bible (many times the value of these study Bibles far exceeds their monthly salary).
Next month, Cameroon! We return next month to give the Family Discipleship Seminar, Marriage Covenant Seminar, and to teach on discipleship and personal evangelism. Then on to Nigeria to teach the Family Discipleship Seminar. Home for the Christmas holidays; then to Russia in January, where we will minister in the areas of marriage, family and personal evangelism. Kazakhstan - this will be a new addition to our ministry. A former student in the seminary where I teach in St. Petersburg has a church in Kazakhstan. He has been inviting me to come and teach the Family Discipleship Seminar. After Russia, we will go on to Kazakhstan. South America – Board member and former missionary to South America, Dan Clark, has been passing on to us Macedonian calls from several South American countries. By God’s grace, these and Kazakhstan will be added to our 2014 itinerary.
God is greatly blessing the ministry. Our calls to minister reach four years into the future – Russia, Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, South America - God is blessing, and these are exciting days in which to minister the gospel of Christ. What a privilege it is to teach God’s Word, equip pastors and leaders for the ministry, build up families and marriages in the Word of God, and see the church built up and expanded through the fruits of evangelism. These are truly great days in which to minister!
By His mercy, II Corinthians 4:1 Rev. John S. Mahon Grace Community Int. – Preparing for departure for Cameroon
Answers to this week’s Bible Quiz
1. False – This is one of the biggest frauds foisted on the evangelical church in many years. The truth is that there exists no primary source material to support these allegations. They are the creation of liberal scholars as an excuse to escape the scriptural teachings concerning women in the home and the church. This teaching slanders the good Christian women of the church of Ephesus who have no recourse for their defense. Their depiction of the women of the church of Ephesus as wild and unruly has absolutely no basis in either Scripture or history. It is passed on from conference speaker to conference speaker in an attempt to free women from the constraints of God’s Word at the expense of the reputations of others. The most distressing thing about this trend is that those who propagate this false teaching know perfectly well that it is not based on any actual historical research but instead personal prejudice. In this instance, Romans 1:32 comes to mind “and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
2. False – Brought about by a number of recent TV episodes where criminals or someone “falsely accused” took “refuge” in the church. The police came and the pastor or priest boldly stopped them, declaring the church holy ground and sanctuary, over which the police had no authority - the presupposition being that the police have no authority in church or on holy ground. This is false on a number of principles: a. The “altar” and sanctuary were never a place of refuge for lawbreakers (Exodus 21:14). b. In the New Covenant, there exists no “temple” building in which men may take refuge. Each Christian is individually the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16). c. In the New Covenant, the church is not a physical structure but rather made up of believers (Ephesians 1:18–23; 4:12–16). d. The Kingdom of Heaven is not of this world, and therefore church ground/building is not neutral “diplomatic” territory. Pastors and priests have no diplomatic immunity as extended to them by the Holy Scriptures. Pastors, priests, and the structures they erect are subject to all the laws of the land (John 18:36). e. The Church is to support governing authorities (Romans 13:1–7).
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