A Cloud of Witnesses: An Introduction

Rather than make this one super-long post, and since I'm a preacher now preaching with a limited horizon of sermons, this post will become a short series, unraveling our ongoing story in light of the stories of various Biblical characters.

Cloud of Witnesses

As we raise support for the Netherlands, one thing is painfully obvious. We need a lot of financial support. :-) 

Equally obvious: We need a lot of PRAYER!

As I read the 12th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, I am stopped at the magnitude of verse 1. “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses....”

This is a summary of chapter 11 and it is meant to encourage us that we are not the only ones who’ve sacrificed to follow Jesus. Nor are we the only ones who’ve suffered to follow Jesus--imagine the disciple who was “sawn in two!” Gads!

I’ve been struck by this passage in a different way, though. The Dutch Church is small: 200-300 members total. And yet the Lord has worked in amazing ways in their midst.

WE are inviting you to WITNESS THAT !

Will you commit to PRAYing and/or PAYing for our ministry?

Don’t look at this as strictly a business transaction or another feather for your Prayer-Warrior hat.

See yourself as a WITNESS for this Church! Think of the amazing ways that God can use you to help encourage this small body of believers in the Church of God!

Through these efforts, I look forward to someday being able to paraphrase this verse:

“Therefore, Dutch Church, since we are surrounded

by so great a cloud of witnesses, 

May we not forget the Lord is a big God! 

He provides for his children and He loves his Church,

no matter her size or geographic locale!”

To support us, please click the Global Missions tab on the right side of this site.

Or visit chogmissions.org/kihm

Project # 42.10041

We're Famous! Round Four!

No sooner had I announced Round Three of our "We're Famous!" installments than I was given fodder for Round Four! So here it is:

Round FOUR!!!! (Pg. 20)

God bless Christian Women Connection!

We're Famous! Round Three!

After a crazy period of busyness, coupled with good old-fashioned writer's block, new ideas are rising to the top and will be published soon. But for now, our most recent blast of stardom:

WE'RE FAMOUS!!!! (Pg. 8)

If you are curious about earlier rounds, visit these links:

Round Two Here!

Round One Here!

If you are interested in supporting our ministry in the Netherlands, VISIT THIS LINK:

Global Missions Page

Beau[ni]ty

For those unfamiliar with the Church of God Reformation Movement (Anderson, Ind), let me give a brief overview of our history.

In the 1880s in the Midwest (USA), a preacher by the name of Daniel Sydney ("D.S.") Warner discerned the voice of God leading him to reform an established Church movement through promotion of Holiness (Ref.: Wesleyan Holiness Movement) and Unity.

The clarion call became: "It's not Luther's Church, or Wesley's Church, or ....Church, It's God's Church!" Hence the name, The Church of God (1 Corinthians 1:2).

In the 125 years that have since passed, though, The Church of God has not always demonstrated and practiced Unity all that well. I think any honest Church of God man or woman would confess that we have failed. Don't get me wrong: We can probably all recite some examples of Unity from our collective past and from our own experiences. But unfortunately that has all too often been the exception rather than the norm.

In our desire to fulfill the words of Jesus' prayer (John 17:11), we have allowed selfish motives, stubborn pride, and little 'petty' differences to get between us. This has resulted in separate congregations choosing to do their own thing, rather than come together under the banner of the Holy One in whom we are reconciled (Colossians 1:20). [If I was preaching, at this point I would say 'Amen?']

The reality is: Unity is a beautiful thing. I first experienced the beauty of unity ("Beau[ni]ty") as a 12-year-old boy in Wanblee, South Dakota, as my youth group came together as one to work at putting a new roof on a Church building on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I learned this again a few years later at Brownsea Junior Leading Training as a dozen random Boy Scouts were paired together to function as one cohesive unit for the week, determining amongst ourselves who would fill each of the needed positions to guide us, and to take care of building and maintaining life at camp.

I have since learned this lesson over and over, whenever Christy and I have led a short-term missions trip, or whenever our congregation has partnered with other area congregations even just for times of fellowship or worship.

It is a BEAUTIFUL thing to see God's Church UNITED!!!

In the hymn, "The Bond of Perfectness," D. S. Warner penned these words:

Oh, mystery of heaven’s peace!

Oh, bond of heaven’s union!

Our souls in fellowship embrace,

And live in sweet communion.

It is a BEAUTIFUL thing to see God's Church UNITED!!!

Over the years I've been in ministry, people have apologized to me for having to deal with unpleasant issues/situations, to which I have responded: "That's OK. It's par for the course. The Church is supposed to be messy because the Church is comprised of people."

And yet, we do ourselves and our Lord a disservice when we allow differences to get in the way of the Unity that we are mutually called to through our shared faith in Christ.

The Netherlands is no exception to this common practice (dis-unity).

And yet, when we were there for our site visit (READ HERE), the Church came together as one.

And it was indeed a beautiful thing.

Such holy moments are not only a foretaste of eternity. They are also a sample of the beauty and joy that can be ours here on earth.

Here are a few questions for us all to chew on:

How can the LORD use our gifts to fill our brother's weaknesses?

How can the LORD use our sister's talents to overcome our shortfalls?


How can we better draw together with other believers in Unity?

Missionary to EUROPE?!?

In October, I was on a riverboat in Cincinnati, OH, celebrating at the wedding reception of my childhood best friend, "Bucky." I voiced a prayer of blessing over the meal and the newly-married couple. A lady (whom I didn't know) asked my friend who I was. He responded that I was his friend, I was a minister, and I was a new missionary going to the Netherlands.

This lady came over to me and introduced herself. She wanted to know more about what we were going to be doing, and she was really taken aback that we were commissioned to serve as missionaries to the Netherlands. "You normally think of people going as missionaries to Africa or South America. I've never thought of someone going as a missionary to Europe..."

This wasn't the first time I had heard such a comment.

Why the Netherlands?? When I present our ministry to congregations, I tell them that we are only going to the Netherlands because that is where the Lord has directed us to go. Clearly, we've got nothing against missionaries being sent to other parts of the world, or ministers staying in their home culture and ministering there (wherever "there" is). However, that is not what the Lord has directed us to do.

A second question to confront is "Why Europe? Is that necessary?!?"

As I have written previously (HERE), the very nature of what we will be doing in Holland is obviously quite different from the stereotypical missionary to sub-Saharan Africa, i.e. However, it is of equal importance in the Kingdom of God.

Consider this quote I just came upon:

"In reality, Europe is a mission field today, and should be regarded as such. There are pockets of vital Christian life and work, leavening centers. But that is about all, for most of Europe has been de-Christianized to an alarming degree.

And what about America? Are we traveling the same road? Is our Christianity becoming too superficial to deserve the name? Is secularism in the saddle? Will genuine revival come, or are we destined also to become a mission field, perhaps one served by the more fervent and younger churches of Asia and Africa?"

---Harold L. Phillips (1913-2006), published in The Gospel Trumpet on November 19, 1955.

1955...

Harold Phillips was a long-time editor of Warner Press, and specifically The Gospel Trumpet, a publication of the Church of God (Anderson, IN). While I never knew Harold, I attended his funeral in 2006 at Park Place Church of God along with many others who in some way are who we are partially because of the way his life was lived as a Follower of Christ.

He wrote those words (quoted above) in 1955, almost 60 years ago. And yet, they still ring loudly true today.

"There are pockets of vital Christian life and work....[but] most of Europe has been de-Christianized to an alarming degree."

In 2013, in Three Worlds, we use the term "Post-Christendom," not "de-Christianized." But Harold Phillips hit the nail on the head with his assessment. He prophetically saw the hand writing on the wall when it was maybe the 7 o'clock hour (1900 hrs). Now, 6 decades later, the spiritual status of Europe is more or less at the 11 o'clock hour (2300 hrs).

That is why it is not just good, but necessary and vitally important that we serve the Church as missionaries in Europe. Physical needs may not be lacking, but spiritual needs certainly are.

In the diverse worlds of Europe, one thing is almost universally true: Secularism.

For the congregations of believers who have remained faithful down through the ages, they are majorly swimming against the stream, proclaiming Faith in Christ in the midst of an overwhelmingly secular society.

One of our primary responsibilities is simply to strengthen these congregations and help them as they strive to be the Light of Christ in a very dark world (Matthew 5:14-16).

Additionally, one of the reasons why this is so important is referenced in the second paragraph of Harold Phillips' quote: "And what about America? Are we traveling the same road?"

It is pretty easy to see that the cultural shifts occurring in North America are leading these countries evermore towards Secularism as well. The Post-Christendom World of Europe today is the Post-Christendom World of the US tomorrow.

The experience we will soon gain navigating ministry in secular Europe will serve as guidance for Church leaders in North America in the coming years (Read prior blog post HERE).

O, may Harold Phillips' quote from 1955

be laughingly irrelevant in 2055.

We're Famous! Round Two!

We were interviewed for Church of God Ministries, along with many other new missionaries.

Check it out HERE!

An American Preachin' to Africans in Europe. Huh?

Part of our site visit included a Sunday. As a minister, not to mention the nature of our visit to the Netherlands, the obvious assumption I made is that I would be asked or expected to preach somewhere. This did not disappoint. In any way.

I was asked to preach at the Congolese Church. This, as I understand, is a congregation that grafted into the Church of God within the past year or so. (See press releases HERE and HERE.)

Furthermore, while being in the Netherlands, this is a truly Non-Western congregation. It is made up largely of immigrants (or children of immigrants) from the Congo, Angola, and Ivory Coast.

One more thing. While being comprised of Dutch citizens/residents, the primary language for most of these people, and therefore the language they worship in, is Français!

The reality of Europe is that the whole continent is so multi-cultural and international in residential makeup. This could be expected, but is still an initial shock to the system for a midwesterner.

Here are a few pictures of our time together.

The pastor's wife and children and others leading in worship!
The spirit of worship was so enthusiastic and upbeat! Not to mention LOUD! :-)
Okay, okay, I'm getting old. In all seriousness, the Spirit of the Lord was present
with the people of God, and I was drawn into a holy experience of bringing
praises unto the King. And I can only imagine how great it would have
been if I knew Français!!!

I began by sharing the good news with them: My sister, Jolie, is fluent in Français!!!
Then I shared the bad news: I am not. :-)
One of the pastor's daughters is hiding behind me in this picture--She served as my interpreter.
You can see a little of her in the next picture.

Regardless of language, some things are universally known and understood. I preached on John 8:1-11 and the
Grace of God that is so lavishly poured out upon us, even when we are wholly undeserving.
As the Church, our job should be to mimic our Lord.This plays out through sharing Love and Grace with people before we attempt to speak correction into their lives.
Jesus rescued the adulterous woman from the crowd's anger and rage. Then he too pardoned her. Then, He told her:
"Go, and from now on, sin no more."
Holy living is important, and Truth needs to be shared.
BUT first we must establish loving relationships which earn us the right to be heard.

Regional Coordinator Jamie Nachtigall and I standing with Pastor Jacques Zola on L. Gathered with us are many members of this congregation, Eglise La Lumiere du Christ. Unfortunately, Sofie was hungry. So Christy was preoccupied, feeding the future playmate of some of these children!

After this picture was taken, we had to say Au Revoir to these saints! We genuinely look forward to serving alongside them in the future!