Missionary Messenger
NEIGHBOR L u ke 10 : 2 9 - 3 7
CONNECTING WITH OUR
FIRST IMPRESSION By T.J. Malinoski Every year the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church chooses a theme for the denomination to appropriate within the life of the Church for the next twelve months. Currently, we are using the theme “Go” based upon Hebrews 13:3, “So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is…” At the General Assembly meeting this June the theme will be “Connecting With Our Neighbor” based upon the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29-37. The theme and biblical text got me thinking of why and how we connect with our neighbor. Is it a sense of obligation? Is it to address a need? Is it to have more friends? Is it because of the old adage, “Two heads are better than one”? As Cumberland Presbyterians, we have a guide to help us better understand our faith in Jesus Christ that provides a means of thinking theologically and a way to articulate our beliefs. The Catechism for Cumberland Presbyterians expresses what our Church believes about God, Jesus, the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and the sacraments along with additional, meaningful matters of the faith. At least three aspects of The Catechism give us insight of why and how we can connect with our neighbor: Q: How do we share the love of God in Jesus Christ? We share the love of God in Jesus Christ by telling others the good news about Jesus and by helping those who suffer and are oppressed. Q: Why do we care about people outside the church? We care for people outside the church because they were created in God’s image and because Christ gave his life for all of us. Q: How do Christians relate to the world? Christians are responsible to live out their faith at home and in the world by creatively using their skills and energies in every relationship. According to The Catechism, we share, we care, and are responsible in every relationship by telling others the good news of Jesus and living out our faith; wherever one may find us. We are limited only by our skills and energies, yet motivated by the Christ who gave his life for all of us. Pretty powerful stuff in addressing the why and how we connect with our neighbor. The Catechism will only dispatch us to the threshold of connecting with our neighbor. We must be willing to launch ourselves into new visions of connecting with our neighbor and unfold existing ones so that we will be able to relate to the world through the love of God in Jesus Christ. MM The Catechism for Cumberland Presbyterians; Second ed. Cordova (Memphis): Cumberland Presbyterian Resources, 2012. Questions 78, 79, 81. S U M M E R 2 017
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Contents 6 WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
8 DUSTY SHOES
10 NAME AND FACES
12 RETREATS AND NEW LIFE
13 MEXICO TRIP
14 LOVING STRANGERS AS OURSELVES
16 THE WAY CHURCHES CAN GROW
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PERSPECTIVES by Milton L. Ortiz
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hen the expert in God’s law tried to justify himself he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” The question Jesus answered was, “who am I?” YOU are the neighbor is what Jesus said (Luke 10: 29-37). The Merriam-Webster defines neighbor as “being immediately adjoining or relatively near.” Jesus is asking us to be a merciful neighbor to others around us. The real question for us is “for whom am I responsible in issues of justice and mercy?” As important as this question is, we cannot assume that our Christianity is defined by what we do or don’t do. The Confession of Faith states that “Through Jesus Christ, God frees persons from the shackles, oppression, and shame of sin and sinful forces, from the guilt and penal consequences of sin, and enables them to have free access to God. This freedom, rooted in love, not fear, enables persons to become who God intends them to be, to bear witness to their Lord, and to serve God and neighbors in the vocations of their common life” (6.01). Sometimes, we ask these questions to others to make them feel guilty or to condemn, especially if they don’t appear to be merciful according to our own standards. The question that we should ask ourselves is if we are becoming who God intends us to be. Growing in our relationship with God through prayer, meditation of God’sWord, and in ministry with other Christians, is what enables us to bear witness, not only to the Lord but to be merciful to anyone next to us. It doesn’t matter who they are or where they came from.
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his issue of the Missionary Messenger calls our attention to connect with our neighbor “sharing the love of God in Jesus Christ, caring for people outside the church and relating to the world.” The Bible study “Gimme Shelter” highlights “the complexity of the human personality pulling back the layers of who we say we are and pointing us toward the people of who we can be.” Our neighbor could be here in our nation like in Naples, Florida or in one of our mission fields like Guatemala. An important detail we need to consider is that our neighbors have names and faces, “the focus is the spiritual hunger of Mary, the hardships of Juan and Laura, the trauma suffered by Jill, Mark and Ben.” Sometimes our neighbor is in our own church, presbytery or denomination. We sit next to her during worship at church or at a retreat or perhaps on a mission trip. The call to love strangers as ourselves, especially immigrants in our country, “requires intentionality, sensitivity, and love.” If you read this issue of MM, maybe you will recognize yourself as the neighbor in some of these stories. If so, “then go and do likewise.” MM
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Who is my neighbor or who am I?
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MISSIONARY MESSENGER {
VOL .6 , NO. 2
MISSIONS MINISTRY TEAM OF THE CUMBERL AND PRESBY TERIAN CHURCH
ART DIRECTOR Sowgand Sheikholeslami EDITORS Milton Ortiz ext:234 Pam Phillips-Burk ext:203 Lynn Thomas ext:261 T.J. Malinoski ext:232 Johan Daza ext:202 COPY EDITOR Jinger Ellis ext:230 8207 Traditiona l Place Cordova, T N 38016 -7414 phone 901.276.4572 fa x 901.276.4578
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Bible Study/Devotion by T.J. Malinoski
GIMME SHELTER A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. Luke 10:30 NRSV Oh, a storm is threat’ning my very life today. If I don’t get some shelter, I’m gonna fade away. The Rolling Stones, “Gimme Shelter”
• Read Luke 10:29-37 • What is happening before and after this biblical text that relates to the lawyer’s question?
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ith carefully chosen words and a highly polished form of writing, the author of the Third Gospel has a lot to articulate about human behavior. This gospel reveals the complexity of the human personality pulling back the layers of who we say we are and pointing us toward the people of who we can be.
In his conversation with a lawyer, Jesus dares the lawyer to be merciful. It is a dare to press the limits of our humanity to embrace the “freedom to trust, love and serve God and neighbors when it is compromised by distrust, hate and selfishness” (Confession of Faith 4.23). The very things that we abhor are precisely the things that prevent us from connecting with our neighbor. By pressing the limits of our humanity, we get to meet our neighbor openly and honestly giving mercy, compassion and love. Every time I read Luke’s description of Jesus’ conversation with the lawyer, I cannot help but hear the opening lyrics to The Rolling Stones’ song “Gimme Shelter” echoing lightly in the background of my mind. The song is a cry for shelter from some of the horrific labors of humanity including war, rape, and murder. The song reminds me of the man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and who blunders into marauders who deprive him of all his possessions, beat him and leave the scene believing he will not survive. I imagine his thoughts must be on survival and, at minimum, shelter. In the telling of this parable, Jesus indicates that being a neighbor is not a quality or characteristic in us but is simply a claim on ourselves. When the lawyer asks, “Who is my neighbor” the answer he gets is, “You are the neighbor. Go ahead and be merciful, compassionate, loving to others.” We yearn to know and experience the shelter of mercy, compassion and love. We want to experience the joy of becoming new persons, healed from our wounds, relieved from our status symbols and prejudices. “Gimme Shelter” is a cry pursed on the lips, whispered in an exhausted breath, or a coarse scream from both ourselves and our neighbor. We can escape the bondage of sin and share mercy, compassion and love. As Christians, we are the ones who are recipients of shelter God gives in Jesus Christ. We understand what this shelter means when he says, “Go and do likewise” in reference to being merciful. We get to be the “neighbor”; not because we have to but because we want to. • When have you been in need of a metaphorical or physical shelter? • Who was a neighbor to you during this time? • Read the Confession of Faith 4.22-4.23. Identify areas in your life where you have “distrust, hate and selfishness”. What does the Confession of Faith say about the struggle of sin? What does the Confession of Faith encourage us to rely on? • Read Luke 10:29-37 again. In what ways does the text speak to you differently? What phrases or key words stand out anew? Pray: Most Gracious God, you have called me to be a merciful neighbor. Place me in areas where mercy, compassion and love is lacking. Help me when distrust, hate and selfishness prevent me from doing Your will. Open me to be progressively transformed to the image of Jesus Christ, growing in faith, hope, love and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Amen. MM S U M M E R 2 017
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WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? AN INTERVIEW WITH REV. RAMÓN GARCÍA By Johan Daza
Ramón is a Cuban Cumberland Presbyterian minister. He and his family moved to the United States over seventeen years ago. He is the planter of Nación Santa Internacional CP Fellowship in Naples, Florida, a growing Latino ministry in Grace Presbytery. 6 M I S S I O N A R Y M E S S E N G E R S U M M E R 2 017
Not having any family or friends in Naples, Florida why did you decide to start a new ministry there? Why not relocate to a city where the Latino population is larger? One day I was praying and I received a word from God. I felt the Lord was telling me that it was time to move in a new direction. We were living in McMinnville, Tennessee where we started a church many years ago. The name Naples came to my mind many times, and being honest, I was not familiar with Naples. I felt in my heart that Naples was the place. As a Cuban, I know that there are many Cubans and many Latino churches in Miami. However, I was sure God had a ministry for me and my family in Naples. At the beginning there were many doubts in the presbytery about this idea of moving to Naples. Everything is expensive there. As a nation, we were in the midst of a recession, and it was also affecting the CP Church. However, the Lord´s fire in my heart for Naples was still there and I started praying for Naples. During that recession many people had to leave Naples. I felt the Lord insisting that this was a place in need for restoration. After three years of discerning and praying for Naples, I was invited to one of the board of missions meetings to share with them about my vision. The board members were moved in their hearts to start the exploration, and in 2011, Grace Presbytery decided to send me to start a new Cumberland Presbyterian ministry there in Naples.
Who do you see as your neighbor in Naples? How do you connect with your neighbor? My neighbor is any person who is in need of the good news of Christ. The majority of the people we have reached were unchurched people. The first week after we moved to Naples, without knowing anybody there, we made business cards with our information as a family. I remember my phone number was still from Tennessee. We shared those business cards with Latino people throughout the city. My prayer was, “Lord, we ask you for one family only, please bring us close to one family, and then they will start reaching out to others” and we are thankful to God that the first person we reached was Mariana Amparo, a sister from Dominican Republic. She called us and we prayed for her, then another family from Puerto Rico joined us, then another family from Mexico. The core group was formed, and we started growing. God´s grace is core in our ministry. We use a system called “Multiplication Five”. In Hebrew, five has a connotation of grace in the Hebrew alphabet. So in reality it is Multiplication by Grace. We developed a brochure about the security of salvation in Christ. If one person can reach out to five persons, and if each person does the same, we can grow as a community of faith in Christ by Grace. What communities have Nación Santa International Cumberland Presbyterian Fellowship been serving in Naples during all these years? We are serving different Latino communities. Our church is made up of people from Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, and United States. There are around eighty four members in the church. Worship services are in Spanish; however, we are using technology in order to translate our services into Portuguese and English because we have some members who don´t speak Spanish. We are a congregation focused on lasting relationships with family, friends, coworkers, etc.
One of your passions is music. How is music a part of your ministry in Naples? Yes, my ministry started with music, and something special is that Nación Santa Internacional has a strong music ministry. My wife who is leading the praise band is writing, editing and producing music. There is one professional singer who is also doing music as a way to reach out to others. There is one song we sing called “Esto no lo para nadie” (nobody can stop this) because God´s work is unstoppable and we trust the Lord is bringing a revival to Florida through the CP Church in Naples. What do you think is the impact of Nación Santa International in Naples and other places? Our ministry is focused on having houses of grace in the city. We are also sharing the good news of Christ with the community of Naples in English. There is love and unity in our ministry. We are working as a family. Currently, we are supporting three ministries in Cuba and one in Guatemala. We are reaching out to the relatives of our church members in their home countries through social media. We want to be part of God´s revival for Florida and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. As a ministry we want to reach out to Fort Myers, Valrico, Miami, and other cities. We are working intentionally toward that with the leadership, women, youth, and discipleship ministries. Growth is the vision; growth in leadership, number, and expansion. We are using the facilities of the First Presbyterian Church, and our vision is to have our own building from where we can expand and start new ministries in the surrounding cities. If you have the opportunity to encourage other Cumberland Presbyterians to love their neighbor, what would you tell them? The most important thing in our ministry, especially in church planting as servants of God, is prayer. If we do not pray, we cannot hear the voice of God nor follow God´s direction. That is what we are doing; we are looking for guidance through the Holy Spirit. The revival we experienced in our denomination in the 1800s is possible again today. We can bring revival to our own contexts, because when we see our community we must see our neighbors, regardless if they are Latinos or not. We are called to go to peoples from different nations living in this nation, to share the message of Grace. If Christ died for all the message of the good news must be also for all. We can do it because our strength comes from God, the creator of Heaven and earth. That is why we are praying for our denomination. We are the ones sent to share the good news of grace as Acts 20:24 says, “… I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.” God Bless you, Amen. MM S U M M E R 2 017
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ust 10 hours after leaving Guatemala City, Guatemala, traveling a few thousand miles through 3 major airports, and several miles of interstate highway I arrived home. I set down my suitcase and dropped my backpack to the floor. I bent down, untied my shoes and kicked them off at the front door entrance. It was at that moment I saw a “poof” of dust come from my shoes as they landed on the floor. In that moment, in that little cloud of dust I saw the faces of those I came into contact with along the dusty roads and alleys we had traveled over the past week. In that split second many memories flashed into my mind. There were eleven of us on our mission team representing medical, Bible school and construction efforts all interested in making a kingdom difference in Guatemala. We were there to meet people where they were, intent on bringing them doctors and medicine, a new roof to a needy families’ home, and joy to children through play, song and craft.
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Besides physical needs we were interested in spiritual needs of those we came into contact with. We wanted to share the story of Jesus to as many Guatemalan’s as possible. The medical team traveled to a different part of the city each day to offer free health clinics and medicine. They tended to the needs of many people, while at the same time offering prayer and spiritual counsel. While the medical team did their job, the Bible school team played with the children who were there for medical treatment for either themselves or their parents. Jesus was made known to the children through fun, songs, smiles and hugs. Both teams tended to physical and spiritual needs each day. The construction team met a huge housing need for one family in particular. The tin roof was in bad shape. There was no electricity or running water. Wood was rotten and termiteinfested. Their task was to remove and
replace the roof which happened within three days time. While working, relationships were easily built between the construction team and the family. The mission team also got to experience the hot lunch program. The program ministers to the children’s physical, educational, emotional, and spiritual needs. One teenage girl was very malnourished, but after a year in the program she had gained 26 pounds and much confidence. Children are also coming to know Jesus Christ as their Savior as a part of this outreach program. By the time work was complete on Thursday approximately 550 patients had been seen by the medical team, and almost 100 pair of eyeglasses given out. The construction team finished the roof in the three days it had projected. Besides praying and ministering to many needs there were seventy people who said “YES” and received Jesus into their heart.
As the dust settled down around my shoes back home, I am aware of the blessings that surround me. I feel fortunate to be at home with a strong roof, good drinking water and electricity, and the love of my family as I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. As the dust from my shoes that walked the dusty roads and alleys in Guatemala City disappears, I know what I have experienced and the relationships I have made will not disappear. They will turn into prayers. That dust will encourage me to do kingdom work meeting the physical and spiritual needs of many people. I know God is real, and He reached down and saved me. This I want to share. “As it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news” Romans 10:15b. I wonder if their feet were dusty too? MM
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NAMES By Lynn Thomas
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he mission work in Colombia provides both effective evangelism and Christian based social services. In the past 10 years the work in Colombia has grown in active church members by 29%, resulting in about 5,000 current active members. There are half a dozen hot lunch programs daily feeding thousands of children in different Cumberland Presbyterian churches. There are three schools owned and operated by their presbyteries, serving almost 3,000 elementary and high school students. There is a senior citizens home, and programs to help single mothers. At the same time the churches in Colombia are among the most evangelistic in the denomination. Effective evangelism and social action have to be more than just methods and programs. When Jesus sent the 72 disciples out in Luke 10 he gave little instruction on evangelism or social services. Jesus said proclaim to those you meet that the Kingdom of God has come near, and provide them social services – heal the sick and tormented. Jesus did not provide a well explained evangelistic method or social program. Simply, the bulk of Jesus’ instructions to his missionaries were to “move in” with those they visited, be dependent on them, eat and sleep in their homes, and get to know them. In the book Mother Church: Ecclesiology and Ecumenism by Carl Braaten, he states there are three tensions in the Church. The Church can become so spiritually focused it becomes disconnected from the world. The Church can become so church focused it exists for itself, or the Church can become so concerned with reforming the world it becomes humanistic and self-loathing. Braaten, a Lutheran, explains that the solution is the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of God in us and in our church that creates faith and moves us out to connect with others. The fact is the Spirit often challenges the Church as an institution to be more relational. Sadly, we in the Church are often more comfortable addressing evangelism and society’s ills by methods, protest and programs. Not so much by moving in with the lost, the suffering and learning names and faces. It is too easy to study the best methods to share the gospel, or protest the suffering of the poor, or complain about the
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injustices in society, or support institutions that help those on the margins. Luke 10 outreach is based on names and faces. In that case the focus is the spiritual hunger of Mary, the hardships of Juan and Laura, the traumas suffered by Jill, Mark and Ben. Could it be evangelism and social action is often feeling sad about a nameless and faceless, lost and broken world? Is that effective? In all three of Braaten’s tensions in the Church the thing that is missing are names and faces. In a recent trip to Colombia and Asia the Missions Ministry Team staff asked pastors to tell us how they were doing evangelism. The churches in Colombia and the churches in Hong Kong are the fastest growing part of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. As different pastors shared, it quickly became apparent they had a traditional perspective on evangelism. They had a strong focus on personal evangelism led by the pastor and the elders of the church. It was person to person, presenting the gospel message and asking the hearer to respond in prayer and commitment to Christ. Recently, I asked one of our pastors in Hong Kong why he felt the presbytery had more than doubled in size in the past 10 years. He responded , “The pastor is the key, he/she is not just the pastor of their church, they are the pastor of their community.” He talked about personal engagement in the community where the church is located. He explained that pastors need to empower their members to love their community and get involved in their community. In both cases, Colombia and Hong Kong are talking about names and faces. As Colombia and Hong Kong demonstrate, outreach is relational. It is not just a program, a protest, a call for hands to raise, websites, or the number of meals served. It is easy to remain in our churches, plan, protest, support, promote and avoid human contact. Evangelism, as demonstrated in Colombia and Hong Kong, is name-to-name and face-to-face. This is the innovation of Luke 10, it is intimately and imposingly relational. All the hot lunch programs we conduct outside the US are located inside a CP church. Can you image feeding hundreds of children in your church social hall every day? Two of the schools in Colombia are located inside a church. The largest school, the Colegio in Cali, built a CP church on its campus so there would be a church in the school. All the Colombian schools employ CP pastors to be on staff as chaplains. In the Cali Colegio there are three full-time chaplains. The two school buildings in Hong Kong also house large CP churches. This speaks to the relational connection. What is the common thread between effective evangelism and effective social action? It is a name and face. It is not the poor, not the lost, not the hungry, not the broken, it is Mary, Juan, Ben, Alice, Rick, Gustavo, Yang, Kay… MM
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RETREATS AND NEW LIFE! by Pam Phillips-Burk
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Time for Everything! and Come…Rest for Awhile: these two themes called together two different groups of women for a weekend of retreat and fellowship. The first, A Time for Everything!, brought together 25 young women in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for a time to explore scripture and how God’s word can impact their lives. The setting was Camp Clark Williamson in West Tennessee Presbytery. There was worship, singing, study, creative art, hiking, sleeping (very little), good food, new friends, and much fun. This was the second retreat for this group of young women and we look forward to more in the future. Please keep this new ministry in your prayers and look for ways you can help it grow. Be an advocate in your presbytery/region. • Pull together a group to attend the next retreat. • Organize a daylong event in your area. • Create an email/text group and start communicating with these young women. • Support this ministry by giving financially to provide scholarships or offset some of the retreat expenses. • Host a meal. There are lots of ways that you can help or give new life to this new ministry with young CP women. Contact Rev. Abby Prevost for more information or ways you can participate (abbyprevost@gmail.com or aprevost@ cumberland.org).
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Almost 50 women gathered at Camp McDowell near Jasper, Alabama representing 5 different Hispanic CP churches for a first-ever Latina retreat. For many women, it was the first time to ever attend a retreat of any nature! This group of women of all ages gathered for worship, singing, study, conversation, creative art, and enjoying God’s creation. We all knew and could sense that God was up to something with this event. The amazing thing is that while women knew each other from their own church, most of them did not know women from the other churches. We soon realized they were from many different countries. It was an amazing experience to watch God’s Holy Spirit at work as women shared their stories with each other. At the conclusion of the retreat the consensus was: “Let’s do this next year!” and “Let’s have a two night retreat next time!” There was just not enough time to do everything that they wanted to do. Please keep this new ministry in your prayers as well. You might consider visiting a Hispanic church one Sunday or inviting yourself to their women’s gathering. You might also invite them to your gathering. How about a tea or a fellowship meal? Don’t let language differences be a barrier. God is able to overcome that barrier quite easily. Let us rejoice over the new life that God is breathing into Women’s Ministry. It can be energizing for us all. Thanks be to God! MM
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At Convention in 2014, the CP Women’s Ministry accepted as a financial project the development of the Mexico Women’s Ministry. The project goal was to raise money during the 2015-2016 program year and give to the budding Women’s Ministry of the Mexico Council of Churches. In addition, the project included the plan to send representatives from the US to build important relationships with the Mexican women. As usual, CP women did not disappoint. Over $9,000.00 was raised over the course of one year. On March 23 2017, the delegation left the US for six days of ministry and important relationshipbuilding activities with the women connected to the Mexico Council of Churches. The first day was by Pam Phillips-Burk spent painting the sanctuary of one of the churches. The work was hard and exhausting but the host church fed us well and somehow we managed to communicate, joke and laugh despite the language differences. At the end of a very long day, we learned that the church was going to be the host of a “first-ever” retreat for women in the council. We knew there was going to be a day-long retreat. We just didn’t know we were creating the welcoming space for that historic event. The next day 50-60 women gathered in the newly painted and cleaned space to worship, sing praises, play games (yes, even women in Mexico love to play “Human Bingo” and “What’s in Your Bag?”). Robin Finch facilitated the games, Rev. Lisa Oliver preached the sermon for the day,
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and Pam Phillips-Burk gave a presentation on Women’s Ministry and missions in the CP Church. The retreat came to a close with a powerful and moving prayer service where it did not matter what language was spoken because the Holy Spirit interceded and interpreted for everyone! We had the pleasure of worshiping with two of the three churches in the Council on Sunday. Our day was filled with singing, praise and fellowship. A rare treat was the opportunity to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion in Restauration de Vida Church. After a delicious lunch of tostados and tacos, we hopped in our trusty van which we had come to know and love after spending countless hours in getting from one place to another in the mayhem of Mexico City traffic – to attend the afternoon worship at Iglesia Marantha. After a time of singing and prayer, Pam and Milton Ortiz, who had been made an honorary member of CP Women’s Ministry for his translation abilities, stepped up to preach/translate the evening’s message. Midway through the sermon a huge thunderstorm rolled into the area. The building had a tin roof so you can imagine what happened! One cannot preach or translate over rain and hail on a tin roof! We simply left the pulpit and waited the storm out with lots of laughter and shrugged shoulders! Overall, the trip was just what we had envisioned for this project-support for Mexico Women’s Ministry, building relationships, making friends and laying the groundwork for future joint ministries. We will welcome to Convention this year Missionary Reverend Luz Dary Rivera. It is amazing what one CP Women’s Ministry project can grow to become when the Lord is our focus. Thanks be to God! MM S U M M E R 2 017
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LOVING STRANGERS AS OURSELVES Above and right:
By Johan Daza
Japanese delegates visit the Birthplace Shrine and Bethel University. Below:
“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:34 ESV Have you ever experienced a mix of emotions in your life? Being an immigrant in the US today, makes me recognize that we are living in a very globalized world full of contradictions. Traveling around the world is cheaper and faster than before. I am so lucky that I have traveled to my home country twice in less than six months. Sometimes I do not have to speak in English at the airports in the US, because there are employees who speak Spanish. Apps for cellphones and Facebook are helping people with basic translation in order to communicate with persons who speak languages other than English. When experience all these things I feel loved. Being an immigrant living in the US is also difficult. I have noticed that in terms of communication, media and information move quickly and beyond national and language boundaries. The social media is able to reach out to foreigners residing in the US with messages that can hurt. For example, a Christian shares on Facebook that we are called to love
our neighbors, and then the same person shares a post that immigrants must leave the country because their presence hurts the nation. That is confusing and hurtful. Which of the comments is for me? The one where I am the loved or the one where I must leave the country because my presence hurts the nation? Confusing! Talking about immigration in the US today generates different opinions, emotions, and even contradictions. Therefore, loving strangers as ourselves becomes a very difficult task. However, God takes it seriously. The Bible is full of stories related to God caring for the widows, orphans, and strangers. These represent people in a vulnerable position. It is interesting that those “strangers” in the Bible can now be called immigrants. God loves and cares for the immigrants. God provides for their needs and He does it through God´s people. Independently from our own perceptions about the topic, immigrants are our neighbors before God, and regardless of their immigration status, God is calling us to love them as ourselves. Loving immigrants is a task for Christians regardless of who they are or their status. “Strangers” in the US come from different continents, countries, cultures, and languages. I
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Louisville JCC (Japanese Christian Church).
Above
Christo Salva CPC, Memphis, TN.
Above:
Sudanese CPC in Gallatin, TN. Right:
Latino PAS students at Birthplace Shrine.
cannot pick and choose whom to love. God says love the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you as you love yourself. As a Colombian serving among other cultures in the US, I recognize that embracing other immigrants requires intentionality, sensitivity, and love. The term “immigrant” has become a negative label in the US. If as Christians we remove that label from people, we will be able to see God’s image in them and we will see opportunities to love them as ourselves. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church I knew before living in the US was very uniform, and very Colombian, because that was what I knew. The Cumberland Presbyterian Church I know today is a very diverse church made up of people from different nationalities, cultures, languages, and experiences of faith. It is time to honor who we are in Christ, in order to overcome the controversies and contradictions about immigration. In the same way that a family changes every time a new member is added, the Cumberland Presbyterian family changes every time new cultural identities are added. Have you thought about your CP Sudanese background? Or, your CP Latino, CP Chinese, CP Korean, or CP Japanese background? As Cumberland Presbyterians we are all of them, and many more, when we see the CP presence around the world. Loving the strangers as ourselves is the ability to see the strangers as no longer strangers but as brothers and sisters; human beings created in the image of God. I can say, “love immigrants”, because I am still one of them. However, the more important statement is that God loves immigrants and cares for them through you and me, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. MM S U M M E R 2 017
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THE WAY CHURCHES CAN GROW By T.J. Malinoski
Between what matters and what seems to matter, how should the world judge wisely? Edmund Clerihew Bentley, Trent’s Last Case Growth is natural to the church’s life. The church is called into being and exists to reach out to those who have not experienced God’s grace in Christ, and to nourish them with all means of grace. Confession of Faith 5.29 I have the honor, blessing and privilege to spend time with many Cumberland Presbyterian congregations and leaders in my role with evangelism and new church development. Frequently, a pertinent question comes up in general conversation, workshops, church consultations and conferences, “What is the denomination doing about the numerical decline in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church?” The question, legitimate as it is, is posed as a riddle to be solved, a puzzle to piece together, a symptom to be diagnosed and treated. What lies beneath this
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question are real feelings and emotions; a deep, genuine desire and hope for the Church to reverse the decades old trend of numerical decline coupled with a sense of fear and perhaps even helplessness of not being able to stop it. There is also something else just under the surface of the question being asked. That “something” implies that a fix can come from outside the congregation and its leadership. Better stated, the question is often asked in this way: “What is being offered to solve the problem of our dwindling membership? What
methodology, formula, program, or plan can be integrated into our congregation’s worship and life to increase our worship attendance and church membership?” This is what is really being asked in reference to the numerical decline of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Our church leaders, sessions, and congregations feel pressured, threatened and exhausted to produce public professions of faith and new members through their worship, preaching, pastoral care and church activities to the extreme that congregational life is measured by its output. And the congregation’s success is measured in terms of its numerical growth displayed and counted in its chairs, pews and additions to membership rolls. What if we broadened the existing paradigm for growth and offer different ways to look at our congregation? We first must begin by acknowledging three important fundamentals: 1) A congregation’s existence is predicated upon the imperative to witness to all persons who have not received Christ as Lord and Savior. 2) Any congregation that does not nourish its members and community with all means of grace will die. 3) Every congregation is different. Broadening the existing paradigm for congregational growth means to include other means for analysis. Church growth can be defined as impacting a few people’s lives at an exceptional level where life transformation occurs gradually over a period of months and years. Growth can be in the listening and the studying of the Scriptures like we never have before; individually and corporately. Growth is making connections between our faith, worship and the life of our community through dialogue, witness and action (Confession of Faith 5.28). These are areas of growth but a different type of growth. Church growth can be the shaping and culminating of our members with a renewed vigor in biblical studies, history and practical theology sending our members out to oppose, resist, and seek to change all circumstances of oppression - political, economic, cultural, racial – by which persons are denied the essential dignity God intends for them in the work of creation (Confession of Faith 6.30). Growth is in the seeking out the poor, the oppressed, the sick, the helpless in the congregation’s life and through the life of the individual members advocating for all victims of violence and all those whom the law or society treats
as less than persons for whom Christ died (Confession of Faith 6.31). These are areas of growth but a different type of growth. Church growth can be in the acknowledgement of our need for repentance and forgiveness when our own convictions become hard, rigid, unforgiving and intolerant assuming to have an edge on knowing what beliefs and values should be instead of glorifying God and working for reconciliation through Christ (Confession of Faith 5.09). Perhaps this article would be bettered titled as “Trying Congregations”. This is where our congregations are trying to engage the Scriptures like never before, trying to impact lives in transformative ways, trying to make connections between faith and life, and trying to seek reconciliation through Christ. This is where our congregations are trying to let go of old habits that are hindering the Gospel message and trying to embrace and engage the community beyond the polarizations and separations found in politics, theology, gender, age and economics and nourish people with all means of grace. The defining of our churches and our denomination is more than the numbers we use to describe and measure. Where we gather for worship, study and fellowship gives us the unique opportunity to give witness to the mighty activities of God. In our congregations are places where we are to share the grace of Christ with one another, to bear one another’s burdens and then, moved by joy and excitement, to reach out to all other persons (Confession of Faith 5.10). Cumberland Presbyterians have held the keys to congregational growth for quite some time. These keys are never really intended to be a means for numerical measurement but a natural aspect of the congregation’s life. Growth can simply mean to become more of what God calls your congregation to be. Every congregation journeys at a different pace and travels different paths for doing ministry and reaching out to those who have not experienced grace in Christ and to nourish them with all means of grace. May our Cumberland Presbyterian congregations continue to be places where individuals can come together to be restored to wholeness, recover a sense of purpose, and be assured that we can grow in faith, hope, love and other gifts of the Holy Spirit. MM
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M I S S I O N A R Y M E S S E N G E R 17
NEWS
HICKORY LOG NEIGHBOR By Lee Hollingshed, Tennessee-Georgia Presbytery
God is doing wonderful things in Tennessee-Georgia Presbytery and has called us to connect with our neighbors at Hickory Log Vocational School. This is a personal care home for adult men with disabilities located near Bartow Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Rydal, Georgia. In December of 2014, God led me to ask if they needed a chaplain. From there, I began biweekly Sunday worship services and later added a weekly Wednesday evening Bible study. I soon began to discern that this is the ministry that God is calling me to do as a retired special education teacher: to continue serving people with disabilities. A typical Sunday sermon is centered on God’s Word and Wednesday evening services consists of Bible studies which relate to our everyday lives. We pray together for friends and family and regularly celebrate the Lord’s Supper with the help of Pastor Mark Rackley and Elder John Day. The Hickory Log Men’s Group also participates in art projects, plans to start a garden and has a vision to expand our ministry to include more community based activities. We also have a vision to begin our own outreach ministry and connect with our own neighbors sharing the love of Christ. Lee Hollingshed is originally from Rockmart, Georgia, and was ordained as Chaplain for Hickory Log Vocational School on May 28, 2017. She holds a BA from Berry College, a M.Ed. from the University of West Georgia, and will graduate from the Program of Alternate Studies in July 2017. She received her ministerial call at CPYC in July 2006. She and her wonderful husband, Glen, call Bartow Cumberland Presbyterian Church home. They have one son, Robert Armstrong. MM 18 M I S S I O N A R Y M E S S E N G E R S U M M E R 2 017
EVENTS
CHURCH STARTERS RETREAT AND CONFERENCE NOVEMBER 13-15, 2017 CRYSTAL SPRINGS CAMP, KELSO TENNESSEE
The Missions Ministry Team through the offices of Evangelism and New Church Development and Cross-Culture Immigrant Ministries USA is providing the opportunity for training, fellowship and recruitment for current church starters, presbyterial board of missions, pastors and lay leaders and those who may hear God’s call to be a church starter. In 2016, the
General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church urged each presbytery to budget funds for current and potential church starters and encouraged the presbytery to send individuals who express interest. For more information, please contact Rev. Johan Daza at JDaza@cumberland.org or Rev. T. J. Malinoski at TMalinoski@ cumberland.org.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: SCHEDULE begins Monday afternoon, November 13 and concludes before lunch on Wednesday, November 15. LOCATION is Crystal Springs Camp, Kelso, Tennessee. COST is $125 per person that includes lodging, meals and materials. REGISTER at www.cpcmc.org/mmt/starters/
DISCERNING GOD’S WAYS FOR MISSIONS FEBRUARY 9-10, 2018 ST. MARY’S SEWANEE RETREAT CENTER, SEWANEE, TENNESSEE
The 2018 retreat for presbyterial boards of missions will focus on missions in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, discover ways to better engage with mission work, and assist local churches in mission activities at home and around the world. Our guiding scripture will be from Isaiah 55:9, As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (NIV). We encourage every presbytery to send at least one representative to this retreat. It is our hope to make this an annual event so we can establish better relationships with those who serve in the area of missions within presbyteries.
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: SCHEDULE begins at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, February 9 to conclude before lunch on Saturday, February 10. LOCATION is St. Mary’s Sewanee Retreat Center, Sewanee, Tennessee (near Chattanooga). COST ranges from $65-$145 based upon room type. Room types vary from a room with a single twin bed and private bath
to a room with two twin beds and a shared communal hallway bathroom. REGISTER at www.cpcmc.org/mmtretreat. S U M M E R 2 017
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SECOND MILE PROJECTS Scholarship for Asian Youth – Project #34421 In August 2017, Cumberland Presbyterian youth and young adults from Australia, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Japan, Laos, Philippines, and South Korea will travel to Tokyo, Japan for a CP youth event. This youth gathering reflects the growth of the CP Church in Asia. The purpose of the event is to gather in one place to study God’s Word, pray for one another, and encourage one another to live every day knowing and loving Jesus. This Second Mile appeal is seeking financial assistance to help CP Asian youth from Cambodia and the Philippines attend the youth gathering. Some of the youth come from countries of financial challenge and they will need travel grants in order to attend this event. Please consider this Second Mile Offering as it would make a great youth group fundraiser where CP youth raise money for other youth and young adults to attend a CP gathering for Christ in Asia. The financial goal is $12,000. Total received $3,041.13.
Something New for Young CP Women – Project #34396 Our goal is to create a ministry with young women in the CP Church (post-high school to age 35) focused on relationships – a relationship with Jesus, with one’s self, and with others. One way we are seeking to build these relationships is through a retreat setting. This Second Mile Project is designed to provide full or partial scholarships for young CP women who wish to attend one of these retreats. Registrations fees range from $75-$100. Your sponsorship of a young woman will go a long way in helping this “new” ministry become established in the church. The financial goal is $5,000. Total received $2,620.00.
Missionary Appliances – Project #34026 Your second mile contribution will be used to help Cumberland Presbyterian missionaries purchase new appliances upon their arrival on the mission field. The financial goal is $8,000. Total received $7,492.10.
Sacred Sparks – Project #34027 A ministry of relationships, spiritual nurture and pastoral care to those experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty in the Nashville area led by Cumberland Presbyterian minister the Reverend Lisa Cook. The financial goal is $15,000. Total received $3,861.49.
Weller Cottage – Project #34415 Weller Cottage serves as a retreat center for Coalition 2 0 M I S S I O N A R Y M E S S E N G E R S U M M E R 2 017
for Appalachian Ministries (CAM) providing lodging for volunteers helping with the ministries of CAM and is also available as a retreat site. There is an existing debt of $40,000 on Weller Cottage with the goal to pay it off in 2016. When that financial commitment is met, CAM can look to grow and expand in new areas of education, advocacy, and service in Appalachia. The financial goal is $40,000. Total received $1,250.00.
Choctaw Transportation – Project #34064 Our Choctaw brothers and sisters need your support to replace their current vehicle with a late model SUV or minivan. The Missions Ministry Team calls upon you, your Sunday School class, your youth group, your Women’s Ministry, and your congregation to take on this Second Mile Project to help purchase reliable transportation for the Cumberland Presbyterian Choctaws. The financial goal is $35,000. Total received $18,285.97.
Convention Offering – Building a Promising Future – Project #34051 This project is designed to raise awareness about domestic violence in Guatemala through educational training in the schools, churches, and communities. Educational programs will be established in local schools and connections made between the schools and the new Cumberland Presbyterian churches being organized in Guatemala and other locations in Central America. The creation of a unique Cumberland Presbyterian ministry called the Center for a Promising Future will be established to provide ongoing education about domestic violence, advocacy work, and the prevention of violence and abuse in Guatemala. It will also serve as a launching point for expanding the ministry throughout Central America. Funding Schedule: • First year (Convention 2016) - $5,000 – Total received $4,821.59. • Second year (Convention 2017) - $10,000 – funds will be used to expand the program into more schools, to train local teachers and leaders to implement the program, and to begin setting up the Center. • Third year (Convention 2018) - $20,000 – funds will be used to establish the Center in Guatemala and secure necessary resources to plant this Cumberland Presbyterian ministry of reconciliation and hope firmly in the soil of Guatemala and Central America.
For more information about all of these projects go to cpcmc.org/missions/2nd-mile.
• FOR MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT HTTP:// CPCMC.ORG / MMT/
• 8207 TRADITIONAL PLACE • CORDOVA, TN 38016-7414 • 901.276.4572
MISSIONS MINISTRY TE AM
CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
LUKE 10 : 37
“GO AND DO LIKEWISE”
NEIGHBOR
Luke 10:29-37
CONNECTING WITH OUR
POLICY: THE MISSIONARY MESSENGER is published for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church by the Missions Ministry Team. Opinions expressed by the individual writers are not necessarily those of the publisher or the editors. THE MISSIONARY MESSENGER does not accept advertising.
ADDRESS CHANGE: send new address and label from a recent newspaper to the Circulation Secretary at the address below. THE MISSIONARY MESSENGER (ISSN 08868344), (Publication permit number: PE14376) is published quarterly by the Missions Ministry Team of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 8207 Traditional Place, Cordova, TN 38016-7414. Periodicals postage paid at Memphis, Tenn. The magazine is sent free of charge to each household in the denomination. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: THE MISSIONARY MESSENGER, 8207 Traditional Place, Cordova, TN 38016-7414.
TO WALK AMONG THEM PRESENTING
STOTT-WALLACE MISSIONARY OFFERING FUND F E AT U R I N G :
The Wilkerson Family
The S ims Fam i ly
This film has been called: “Emotionally Moving”, “Inspirational”, “Challenging”, A film all Cumberland Presbyterian churches should see! Watch this inspiring 10 minute film that tells the story of the commitment and sacrifice of Cumberland Presbyterian missionaries serving around the world. From the above website you can download this film and share it with your congregation, Sunday school class, women’s group, youth group or others that have interest in missions.
https://cpcmc.org/mmt/sw