live A Baptist resource for women on a mission July - August 2020 · $3.50
Discernment in Mission How to join God’s venture in the city where you live (p3) Discernment and the Gift of Presence One woman’s call to mission (p5) Building Up the Next Generation Outreach to Chinese students in Germany (p13) Should I Stay or Should I Go! When answers come in the midst of crisis (p19)
Discernment
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in this issue COLUMNS/RESOURCES
2 CONNECTING connect to MISSION 3 Discernment in Mission How to join God’s venture in the city where you live 5 Discernment and the Gift of Presence One woman’s call to mission 7 Enough, Whatever the Outcome Practicing discernment 9 Listening to God in Someone’s Story An act of discernment 11 CHOSEN | HOLY | CALLED Rev. Lola Mather-Dyer 13 Building Up the Next Generation Outreach to Chinese students in Germany 15 A Window on Africa BIBLE STUDY 16 A Call to Discernment
FEATURES connect to god 19 Should I Stay or Should I Go? When answers come in the midst of crisis 21 Naming the Danger Within Spinning globes, doves and temper tantrums POEM 24 discernment connect to others 12 We Remember 12 A History Moment 20 Lisa Lohnes is new ABW executive director 23 Declaring the Goodness of God Report on Baptist Women’s first virtual Women’s Conference Cover photo: Unsplash.com/LetiziaBordoni
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cONNECTING As we prepare this issue for printing, we see the deep trauma of sisters and brothers who have been victimized by racism. Therefore, Renée has asked me to write a brief response on behalf of Baptist Women. First, with great sorrow we confess that racism exists in Canada, and in us. We affirm that: • The killing of black people must stop. • Violence against people of colour must be prosecuted. • Social policy must be enacted against systemic racism. It is fundamentally unjust that the colour of a person’s skin should make it more likely for them to be imprisoned and less likely to be hired. God hates injustice (Proverbs 6:16-19). He abhors those who profit from it (Micah 2:1–3). In fact, how we treat the vulnerable is the measure of the authenticity of our faith (James 1:27; 1 John 4:20). So how do we proceed? We need to learn about the complexities of the issues in a self-reflective way: What are the assumptions that blind us? How can we advocate lovingly but effectively? Then we advocate. Many policies on housing, poverty reduction, and policing are made at a regional or local level. That gives each one of us a unique opportunity to make a real difference. As Baptist Women, let us commit ourselves to ask God to transform our attitudes to the deepest core. Let us ask God to make us true listeners of others. May God make us flexible and ready to change so that everything we do and say will truly build up others. At this unique moment in history, we have the opportunity to make a real impact. Let’s take hold of it! Diane McBeth, executive director
VOLUME 93, NUMBER 4
live (formerly The Link & Visitor) began as The Canadian Missionary Link (1878) and Baptist Visitor (1890). Published bi-monthly by Canadian Baptist Women of Ontario and Quebec 5 International Blvd., Etobicoke, ON M9W 6H3 416-620-2954 Fax 416-622-2308 bwoq@baptist.ca baptistwomen.com Executive director Diane McBeth Editor and communications director Renée James 416-651-8967 rsejames@gmail.com Art director Donna Lee Pancorvo of GEPM Group Inc. (gepmgroup.com) Contributors Esther Barnes, Rev. Abby Davidson, Linda Ellsworth, Kristine Gonzalez, Rev. Lola Mather-Dyer, Diane McBeth, Susan Plumridge, Sandi Smoker, Dave Witt, Morgan Wolf Circulation and subscriptions Subscriptions 416-620-2954 live@baptist.ca Subscriptions Individual: $20* (direct or through promoters) US & overseas: $39 All currency in $C unless otherwise noted. The publication of comments, opinions or advertising does not necessarily imply CBWOQ agreement or endorsement. All material is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in print or on websites without permission. Advertising inquiries and freelance submissions should be addressed to the editor. Member, Canadian Church Press. ISSN 2293-5096. Canada Post Customer Number 1008592. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada for our publishing activities. *includes HST
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Discernment In Mission How to join God’s venture in the city where you live
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For the past 16 years Dave Witt has worked in partnership with congregations in Hamilton to develop the TrueCity network. TrueCity is a network of churches in Hamilton that have sought to live into its tagline of “being churches together for the good of the city.” In this feature article, Dave gives insight into how networks of mission-minded groups can discern God’s will together, build momentum, and impact the towns and cities in which they live. by Dave Witt Dave Witt works as a missional network developer for ITeams Canada. Dave and his wife Alison live in Hamilton’s North End neighbourhood.
I work from a view that understands the word “mission” as big and pervasive. The word mission comes from the Latin for to be sent. The paradigmatic text is in John 20:21 where the risen Jesus breathes on His awestruck disciples and commissions them, “as the Father has sent me, I am sending you. Receive the Holy Spirit.” This is Jesus’ commission to the Church; our invitation to join God in His mission to redeem all of creation. The Holy Spirit’s presence and leading in our lives is the proof. Mission then, is not an area of specialization for a few, but the privilege extended to all of us who make up the Church, to join God in His mission. It is therefore not a question of if and when, but of where and how. That is where discernment comes in. Discernment is about recognizing God’s leading and acting on it. It works from the assumption that God is regularly speaking to us, not just in the big things, but in the small things too. Jesus captures this reality when He says in the midst of His teaching, “for whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (Mark 4:9, 23) How do we know when God is trying to get our attention, inviting us to join Him in a venture He is initiating? This is the question at the heart of discernment in mission. In April 2005 I had the opportunity to organize a conference with the goal of helping churches in Hamilton to learn to collaborate in mission. There were eight different breakout sessions planned. One of them was focused on welcoming refugees and one-third of all those at the conference chose to attend that session. Our friend Tom Albinson who has worked with refugees around the world for decades and was facilitating live • July - August 2020
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that session, said to us afterward, “This never happens. You should pay attention to what is happening here.” It was a prophetic statement. Within a year, a group of leaders from five different churches in the city founded Micah House, which, 14 years later, continues to provide a first home for refugee claimants when they arrive in Hamilton. Tom’s exhortation to “pay attention to what is happening here” is at the heart of discernment in mission. It is about recognizing when and how God is stirring His people to action and deciding what it looks like to “keep in step with the Spirit.” Discernment is rarely this clear, but for me, this story illustrates some of the key lessons we have learned. First, we have to pay attention to what is stirring our hearts, especially when it clearly reflects God’s heart. A number of individuals recognized that there was something about refugees that resonated with them. Going to that session was a simple way of acting on that stirring. Second, we need to be alert for others who share that same passion. That such a large group of the people at that conference were moved with compassion for refugees pointed to an important way God was at work in our midst. Third, we have to find tangible ways to act on that leading. This is often the toughest piece. That there was a group of leaders who used their gifts to create a way for many others to act on that initial leading made it clear that God was on the move in this area.
3 Steps Toward Discernment as a Spiritual Community of Women Gathered Around the Presence of Christ
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Pay attention when emotions ping One way we learn to discern is by paying attention to “non-neutral moments.” Missional discipleship advocate and author Mike Breen calls these “kairos moments” from the Greek word for “in the fullness of time;” God-moments where He speaks to us through a life event. When we live from a posture that expects God to include us in what He is doing, in His mission, then these kairos moments are powerful points of missional discernment. When those moments come, ask: “What is Jesus saying to me?” and “What am I going to do about it?”
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Pay attention … but do so in community Learning to discern as a community and as congregations is the deep water that God is nudging us to venture out into. If we develop good rhythms for practicing individual discernment in community then we are on our way to developing good rhythms for discerning as a community. The same principles apply—God is inviting us as communities and congregations to join Him in mission. We need to develop our capacity to recognize the ways He is speaking to us collectively.
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Pay attention to which stories resonate One of the ways our network of churches has found God speaking to us as a collective is when the stories we hear from other congregations resonate with us in such a way that they catalyze a response. We hear a story and it won’t let go of us. We find it has a hold on others as well. When New Hope Church wanted to find a way to serve the children in their neighbourhood they took a page from Hughson Street Baptist’s book by starting a youth soccer league. They adapted it to their context, but by paying attention to a story that resonated with them, New Hope discerned God’s leading. This has happened repeatedly in small and large ways in Hamilton as churches have learned to share the stories of how they see God at work in our collective midst.
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Discernment and The Gift of Presence One woman’s call to mission In 2019, Baptist Women supported Carolyn Van Der Heide’s ministry at Lakefield Baptist Church. She received a New Initiatives grant to support the intergenerational women’s lunch plus a Leadership grant to support her studies at Tyndale Seminary. As Carolyn Van der heide got to know families in the community around Lakefield Baptist Church, she could see how outreach would unfold: She would morph the summer Village Day Camps she’d been running since 2015 into faith-based camps (“The Lord was showing me how people were genuinely seeking faith.”) The campers and their moms would come to Lakefield Baptist Church on Sunday morning, be
embraced by all the wise women of the church, “and that is how it would be,” she laughs. But the deep conversations she regularly shared with those moms weren’t translating into Sunday morning attendance. A firm believer in discerning the needs of her community first before launching any ministry, Carolyn knew that these women wanted their children to know about God. Was there a way to equip them to share about God with their children while removing any expectation that they had “to do” Sunday morning? And could this be done with the support of the church? Yes and yes. For Advent 2017, Carolyn distributed 25 Jesse Tree Christmas bags to 25 mothers whose children had come to faithbased camps or with whom she’d built relationships.
Each bag contained crosses, ornaments and the Jesus Storybook Bible, along with the publishers’ Advent reading plan and guided questions and prayers she had pulled together. For five minutes every day during Advent, mothers and their children could build a Jesse Tree and read from their Bible. She knew that she couldn’t force the women to do this activity with their children. Even as she wrapped up those bags to deliver, she reached out to the “prayer warriors” at Lakefield Baptist Church; 25 older women whom she knew had a real heart for “wanting people to come to Jesus.” She partnered each prayer warrior with one of those 25 mothers and asked them to pray for their family five minutes each day during December. No one said no. For Easter 2018, she created
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Life of Jesus/Easter bags for those same 25 families and included an invitation to come out to church over the season. By Advent 2018, Carolyn had to make and distribute 50 Jesse Tree Christmas bags and ask some of her valiant prayer warriors to add another family to their December prayers. “I underestimated how much these older women prayer warriors were loving their families,” she admits. “God showed me the power of those kinds of connections,” she says; connections she began to deepen through her practice of hospitality. At 10 a.m. one Friday morning in falll 2018, she unlocked her front door and set out the first batch of fresh-brewed coffee for women in the community with whom she’d built and was building relationships since those Village Day Camps. She called this outreach Room at the Table; a simple inviting of women into her home for coffee and conversation in a safe, agenda-free space. Before social distancing became the norm, between five to 20 women were showing up every Friday and 10 a.m. coffee had widened to include noon soup followed by more conversation until 3 p.m. when mothers, Carolyn included, had to meet school buses or pick up their children from school. “You are doing church here,” said one minster to Carolyn. In April 2019, Carolyn’s call to pursue deepened relationships with these community 6
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families got a boost at Chosen | Holy | Called, Baptist Women’s Spring Conference. “The Lord was clear with me that I wasn’t just to introduce women to church, but to go deeper,” she remembers. “‘You need to get equipped and ordained and you need to do the work of evangelism and discipleship,’” He said to her. After that April conference, Carolyn enrolled at Tyndale Seminary, coordinated an early fall one-day mother-daughter retreat based on Psalm 139 and in November 2019, along with several volunteers, organized the first intergenerational Ladies’ Luncheon at Lakefield Baptist Church. Among the turnout were four mothers and daughters from the community who came and met their prayer partners for the first time—the women who’d been praying for them every day since Advent 2017. Carolyn saw the Ladies’ Luncheon as the beginning of a refreshed vision for women’s ministry at Lakefield Baptist. “I saw the need for younger women to be enfolded into the church through the older, wiser women—the prayer warriors,” she says. Then Baptist Women launched Soul Sisters 2, a confirmation for Carolyn that women’s ministry could happen in ways that felt safe for both community and church women. However, social distancing since mid-March has meant Carolyn has pivoted those plans. Room at the Table now meets every Friday over
Zoom. She leads virtual guided prayers five times a week for those Friday women. Several weeks in, she began offering a once-weekly virtual prayer time for their children—10 kids showed up for the first session! Carolyn remains surprised by everything that’s happening. “I didn’t plan it, though I am a planner!” she laughs. “The Lord broke ground,” she says. Families from the fun camps moved with the change to faith-based camps. “People were seeking.” When she offered her Friday women the chance to meet online for guided prayer, they were open. “I’m amazed at the spiritual hunger in people,” she says. And now their children pray with Carolyn before going to bed. What’s amazed her the most is how much God has used, and will use, the building of intergenerational relationships between the families in the community and those older, wiser women prayer warriors as a bridge of sorts between those families and Lakefield Baptist. “We give the gift of presence to each other. Don’t underestimate the value of just building relationship so that you know people,” she affirms. “Put in the hours it takes . . . because you love them. Invest in them just to bless them. From that foundation, they’ll know that everything you’re going to introduce them to is out of love. Don’t feel that you’re doing nothing.”
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“I just wish I had some clarity. I’ve asked the Lord for clear direction, and I’ll go ahead and do whatever God asks of me. But I don’t feel clear at all.” I listened to a friend describe the early days of her discernment process while she considered two options before her. She could stay at her church, continuing as worship director, or she could pursue an associate pastor position if one opened to her. As she sat with God morning after morning, she sensed growing excitement around
Enough, Whatever the Outcome
by Sandi Smoker Sandi interns as a chaplain at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver.
Practicing discernment
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leading others deeper in their faith journey through pastoral care, preaching and teaching. She longed to grow into God’s transformative invitation, deepening faith and practice. She sensed a shift in her vocational call.
Either way, she longed to honour God. When someone mentioned that an associate pastor position at a small church about two hours north was coming available, she prayed the Lord would guide her through the application process. She engaged with her community and they encouraged her to go slow and let the Spirit of God grant wisdom, advising her to pay close attention to red flags or signs indicative of her own compulsions or motives that did not serve God’s purposes. She identified her susceptibility toward performance and image-building. She confessed her sin and offered her life and the choices before her as enough, whatever the outcome. My friend delved more thoroughly into the Enneagram, hoping to discover her weaknesses, strengths, and ways she worked
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best with others. She lengthened her morning devotional times, extending the silence in which she could bask in the loving gaze of God and receive grace. She prayerfully imagined herself in each role and what each might look like in 20 years, inviting the Holy Spirit to show her how Christian values and virtues might bear fruit in each role. She sensed that whatever path she chose, God still smiled on her in love because either way— to stay or move on—she longed to honour God. She found the Tree Exercise particularly helpful. She drew a mature tree with large and extending branches, a wide trunk and a substantial root system on a piece of white paper. At the roots, she jotted down what she had learned and experienced of God, what she believed to be true of God, and all manner of things that rooted her in her Christian faith. On the trunk, she listed the practices that had grown out of those roots: attending to the Word, church, prayer, Communion, baptism and so on. Next, she drew leaves on the branches representing her desires. She revisited the tree over many days, adding details as they came to her, then journalled what emerged. To her surprise she discovered the necessity she felt to
provide herself a home of her own. This would mean a higher salary than she knew at present. She sat in prayer, and invited Jesus to guide her. In the end, she decided to apply for the role of associate pastor in the new church and then accepted the position. When times get tough, and they do, she returns to her discernment process, and rests in knowing that she discerned as best as she was able at the time. Is God in the mix? She would respond with a hearty yes! Is the placement perfect. No, not at all. But she has grown in the process and today, her pastoral and leadership gifts bless a growing church in a rural community.
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Unsplash.com/NguyenThuHoai
Listening To God In Someone’s Story An act of discernment
by Rev. Abby Davidson Abby is the pastor of family engagement and outreach at Blythwood Baptist Church, Toronto. Abby presented this material in a workshop at our virtual Women’s Conference in April. Find the link at baptistwomen.com/events
Evangelism can be intimidating. We are all called to share the Good News and to preach the gospel, yet how do we do so effectively and with love? Growing up, I learned that evangelism was helping someone “cross the bridge” to get to God. The message I heard over and over again was that people lived on one side of a divide and God was on the other. As Christians, it was our job to show non-believers Jesus, so they could cross over that divide and enter everlasting life. The problem with this analogy is that it presents God as someone who is far away rather than a God who is active and involved with His creation. I was taking part in an Uptick training when I learned about the Engel Scale; a way of describing evangelism as a journey with multiple steps. I found that it was much more reflective of real life than the bridge analogy. For so long, I thought evangelism was about me saying the right words and when I left those conversations with no “conversion” at the end, I felt like I had failed. Learning about evangelism as a journey helped me see that sharing the gospel is not about converting people. Only the Holy Spirit can convert. Sharing the gospel is about helping others see God’s goodness at work in their own lives. It’s about people moving one step closer to God. live • July - August 2020
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Evangelism is about discernment In Luke 10, Jesus sends out His disciples. He tells them to look for a ‘Person of Peace’ in each town they enter. Mike Breen further develops this concept in his book Building a Discipling Culture. A Person of Peace is someone who is prepared to receive the Word of God. It is someone that God has been preparing for an encounter with one of His children. We need discernment to know who the People of Peace are in our lives. Sadly, there are some people who just aren’t ready to hear the gospel. It’s not up to us to make them listen. Jesus tells His disciples that if people won’t listen to them, they are to “shake the dust from their feet” and walk away. This might seem harsh, but consider Jesus’ words that “the harvest is plentiful and the workers are few.” There are people ready to know God, but they need an introduction. Why spend time with those who won’t listen when there are so many people ready to hear about God’s love? We need discernment in these conversations because a Person of Peace might be someone unexpected. It might be the person sitting next to you on the bus, or the teenager that lives across the street, or someone in your own family. We need to pray that God would show us who the People of Peace are in our lives. Once we - February 10 live • January July - August 2020 2020
identify them, we can then listen to their stories to see how God has been weaving their narratives into His own. Evangelism is about listening God is active in our world. He is always working, always doing something new. Many people walk around unaware that God pursues them. They don’t know that their Shepherd seeks them out, wanting to bring them home. There’s a theological term for this—prevenient grace. It’s the idea that even when someone doesn’t know God, He is working in their lives and showing them love. Keeping this in mind, when we encounter a Person of Peace, we can trust that God has already been working. Now it’s our turn to listen and to be messengers of good news. In this way, evangelism is more
about seeing and hearing than it is about speaking. It is important to know the gospel message and to be able to share it, but it’s not all up to us. We should focus on the who of evangelism, rather than focusing on the what. Who might be a Person of Peace in my life? Who is God leading me to? Who has been put in my path today? Listening isn’t easy, yet it’s how Jesus related to people during His time on earth. He would listen to their concerns and their needs and then He would respond with truth. The past few months have shown us how desperately our world is in need of redemption. Let’s be praying that God would show each one of us the Person of Peace in our lives, and that we will be attentive and obedient as the Spirit leads us.
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Chosen | Holy | Called Rev. Lola Mather-Dyer We continue to profile our ordained women clergy who serve in a variety of roles in our Canadian Baptist churches. Please remember to pray for them.
Tell us about how you experienced God’s call to be ordained. I was 16 years old and in Grade 11—a season in my life when I was trying to figure out plans for the future and what my education and career options might be. I was reading an article in Guideposts about a pastor who had invested in the community and saw lives transformed by Jesus. As I read that piece, I knew that was what God wanted me to give my life toward. Rev. Lola Mather-Dyer Rev. Lola Mather-Dyer was ordained in October 1991. She and her husband Bob were first called as co-pastors to the Bayview Pastorate in Nova Scotia (New Harbour, Seal Harbour, Goldboro, and Isaac’s Harbour United Baptist Churches). Upon their return to Ontario, Lola was called as pastor at Springford Baptist Church (Oxford Brant Association). She also finds deep satisfaction in serving as chaplain at Ridgeview Long Term Care in Stoney Creek. “I am approaching 13 years as pastor of Springford Baptist Church and am so grateful for all that God continues to teach me about loving Him and loving people, which brings me full circle in His calling on my life.”
What was your process of responding to that call? After high school, I attended Ontario Bible College (now Tyndale) for a year. Then I completed my BA at McMaster and my MDiv at Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia. All along, I continued to have confirmation of my call to ministry and ordination, through the encouragement of others, and through opportunities to serve. How has the Spirit kneaded holiness into your ministry? One of the consistent ways that God’s Spirit has “kneaded holiness” into my ministry is through the quiet times of reflection and prayer that I engage in each morning. I am repeatedly aware that God calls me to more than just “doing ministry.” I need to depend faithfully and humbly on God to make me more and more like Him, and I need to urge others to be more and more like Him-holy. What has challenged you most about declaring God’s goodness? Declaring it in the places of pain and heartache that people experience— dealing with terminal illness and the grief of losing loved ones; broken relationships; shattered dreams; loss of hope; depression and mental live • July - August 2020
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anguish; feeling misunderstood and misrepresented; struggling with self-esteem issues; deep disappointments in family. The obvious question is, “Where is God when we are hurting?” Each person’s pain is unique to that individual and tenderly known and understood by God. I have discovered over and over that He is right there with us in our struggles. Some of the most profound encounters with God and His life-changing love come in our darkest moments. What would you want a young Baptist woman seeking ordination to know? I would encourage any young Baptist woman seeking ordination to develop a practice of prayer and listening for God. It will be helpful to have people commit to pray for, support and cheer her on. When discouragement comes, she will need to remember Who called her and discern what God is wanting her to understand and to hear from Him.
Bernice’s Picks . . . Why Would Anyone Go to Church? A young community’s quest to reclaim church for good. by Kevin Makins (a CBOQ pastor who founded Eucharist Church in Hamilton) $15.99 A Beautiful Mess: How God recreates our lives by Danielle Strickland $10
ReadOn Bookstore is open online. Order online, call or email. Free shipping on your order (for now). All titles available from ReadOn Bookstore 5 International Blvd. Etobicoke, ON M9W 6H3 Tel: 416-620-2934 Fax: 416-234-8840 E-mail: books@readon.ca readon.ca
We REMEMBER
A History Moment
Each generation has the opportunity to fuel mission for the next. We are thankful for the following gifts:
“Searching and change-thinking is sensed among our BWMS women and staff. It’s an exciting painful time, to look at our future squarely and to move out boldly as we feel we are being led by God’s Spirit.” ~ Pat Cosman
In Memory of Edythe Fawcett, Burtch Baptist Church Marjorie Grannum, Toronto Alice Habermehl, Niagara Falls Florence Henry, Smiths Falls Lanore Johnson, Cornwall Carol Paulsen, Toronto Josie Sauciukas, Burtch Baptist Church IN HONOUR OF Ruth Ann Haley, Springford (80th birthday)
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From Our Heritage Becomes Our Challenge, by Esther Barnes (2013), page 282 Pat Cosman served as BWMS youth director (19751987). This quotation was lifted from her report in the April 1978 Link & Visitor. Change-thinking in the mid-1970s buzzed around feminism, ecumenism, evangelism, and especially, the role of women in church leadership and ordained ministry.
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Building Up the Next Generation Outreach to Chinese students in Germany CBWOQ has committed to supporting Pastor Xiaodan Gang and her ministry to Chinese students in Germany. Our target is $7,000. Read how to give at baptistwomen.com/causes.
Göttingen Kassel Marburg
Heidelberg
Map of Germany showing four cities where CBM’s Chinese Ministries Team reaches out to Chinese students. by Kristine Gonzalez (CBM)
Pastor Xiaodan Gang serves with Canadian Baptist Ministries (CBM) in Germany as part of its Chinese Ministries Team. Similar to the university students that she now cares for under her ministry, she was first exposed to the gospel as a Chinese national in a foreign land. Her walk with Christ first started while pursuing studies in Switzerland and it was there that she received theological training at St. Chrischona Theological Seminary in Basel. Pastor Gang is based in Marburg, a town located north of Frankfurt. Idyllic and picturesque, university students make up a third of its total population. The harvest in Germany There are hundreds of thousands of Chinese university students who have made Germany their temporary home while they advance their education. Germany is a popular academic destination for Chinese students because the country offers free quality education. And to them, Western education is still considered superior to the few higher learning opportunities that exist in China. The ministry to Chinese students in Germany is a wonderful chance to make the gospel accessible to a mostly atheist people group. Chinese students are often the only children in their families. This often means that they are highly individualistic and unaccustomed to the concept of looking out for others. They may struggle with building relationships and being independent. Often their first year as a foreign student can be extremely difficult. Many of them experience discrimination, isolation and loneliness. live • July - August 2020
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Some turn to substance abuse, premarital relationships and even suicide attempts to find an escape from their predicament. They need the love and salvation of Jesus Christ to give them strength and hope. This is what Pastor Gang is able to give them. The compassionate community she has built and nurtured is like a magnet for these students. Chinese ministries in Germany In partnership with a local organization called Friends of Mission to Chinese in Germany (FMCD), and together with local churches, Pastor Gang and other church leaders have formed and nurtured spiritual communities in the cities of Marburg, Heidelberg, Goettingen and Kassel. These communities soak in God’s Word through fellowship, Bible studies and Sunday services. These leaders have also created a training program to raise up leaders so that churches in Germany can become more sustainable. Sharing the gospel in word and deed Director for International Partnerships John Chan shares, “Pastor Gang is dedicated and she really persevered through many challenges. She braved the trials that ministry presented her. She really felt that God called her to minister to students, so even if it isn’t easy, she pushes on. She’s actually been offered more lucrative, stable 14 live • July - August 2020
ministry positions but she chose this path, even if it’s more difficult financially because she has to raise her own funds. Students take to her because she is someone who is genuinely interested in them. They feel safe and welcomed. They feel that she is an older sister that they can latch on.” This ministry is especially tricky because the community changes so quickly—what with students graduating and going back home to China, then new students arrive, only to return home after a few years. Before COVID-19 emerged, Pastor Gang’s day-to-day was filled with building and maintaining relationships with Chinese students. She was usually preparing to teach the students about the Bible in one form or another, with food and fellowship as key components. Ministry in Marburg meant inviting people to Bible study, meeting with them during the week and talking about faith. With relational community as an essential ingredient in leading students to Christ, COVID-19 posed a hurdle for the Chinese Ministries Team. Physical gatherings had to cease, school was shut down and students were making rushed plans to return to their home countries. Pastor Gang turned to online Sunday services, banding together with other churches, and connecting all four core ministry locations. Fridays are designated for online Bible study classes while
one-on-one counselling is provided remotely. She says, “It’s hard to build trusting relationships that way (online or over the phone), so people usually don’t tell you about their questions and doubts concerning faith. I hope that staying in contact with them during the crisis will make them join our face-to-face meetings after the crisis, where we can get to talk about faith more seriously.” Pastor Gang’s concerns were soon put to rest. Despite her misgivings, she has seen a greater pull towards the gospel. With students in isolation, online connections through Bible study groups suddenly became more enticing. COVID-19 forced students who stayed in Germany to selfquarantine in their apartments. “During the crisis I’m staying in contact with non-believers who talk with me about their fears and q Pastor Xiaodan Gang
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loneliness,” Pastor Gang shares. “I recognized that many of them developed a greater desire to join our (online) events regularly. After two months of quarantine many students have become less and less emotionally stable and struggle with depression. Luckily, I still have the opportunity, together with other people from our church, to prepare food and go around the town to meet students at the doorstep to bring them food, talk a little and pray for them.” Hope in extraordinary times Prior to COVID-19, a Chinese Ministries team member met a student on the bus who seemed especially interested in hearing the gospel. As they parted ways, they continued to pray for the gentleman, who later showed up to one of the Bible group meetings and continues to attend online meetings to this day. He struggles with remote contact as he prefers face-toface fellowship, but remains in touch with the team. Connection online has continued even as lockdown restrictions have eased. “Since the middle of May groups of 50 people are allowed to meet again, but under a lot of regulations,” shares Pastor Gang. “For example, visitors need to keep a distance of 1.5 metres from each other. Services can’t be longer than 60 minutes and we are only allowed to sing wearing face masks. We can’t really have any group talks or meetings. What the students long for most is close relationship. Right now, if we continue to meet online we are able to reach more people.”
A WINDOW ON AFRICA
In 2015, African pastor Conrad Mbewe encouraged people to make a place in their prayers for Africa. In a short video at desiringgod.org, he divides Africa into three major parts with corresponding requests for prayer. You may find his suggestions helpful as you remember our prayer partners—the Baptist Women’s Union of Africa—over the summer. • The Islamic North, where the church is persecuted: Pray for resilience and courage in the face of opposition and pressure. • Urban Africa, where there is increasing development, young professionals, and Western influence: Pray that God would keep the young, growing church’s focus on Jesus and His mission. • Rural Africa, where there is poverty and lack of basic amenities (like running water, electricity and ease of communication): Pray that the Church will not end up in syncretism, but embrace the gospel in all its purity, not as a covering for false religion.
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CHOSEN | HOLY | CALLED A Call to Discernment What does discernment mean? Here are some definitions. The quality of being able to grasp and comprehend what is obscure: skill in discerning. (www.merriam-webster.com › dictionary) The ability to notice the finepoint details, the ability to judge something well or the ability to understand and comprehend something. (www.yourdictionary.com)
The ability to obtain sharp perceptions or to judge well (or the activity of so doing). Within judgment, discernment involves going past the mere perception of something and making nuanced judgments about its properties or qualities. (en.wikipedia.org›wiki›Discernment) by Linda Ellsworth Linda is the member care coordinator for Christian Camping International, Canada. 16 live • July - August 2020
“If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you willl understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” - Proverbs 2:2-5 Record your own definition of discernment: ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________
READ Hebrews 4:12-13 What example is given here, regarding the “nuances” of discernment as exercised by the Word of God? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________
Solomon: CHOSEN. HOLY. CALLED to Wisdom and Discernment READ I Chronicles 22 God’s Promise and David’s Charge to Solomon Would you consider David to have been a man of wisdom and discernment? Called “a man after God’s own heart,” you must consider his life and choices as you discuss… _________________________
_________________________ _________________________ Why did God not want David to build the Temple? (verse 8) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ What were God’s great and precious promises to Solomon through his father David? (verses 9-10) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Verses 11-13 contain the charge to holiness and obedience from a father for a son. Describe the amazing challenges and promises made to young Solomon. (He would have been between 20 and 30 years old.) _________________________
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_________________________ _________________________ Verses 14-19 contain David’s charge to Solomon and the people regarding the work to be done. Be amazed as you list the preparation that has gone into this feat. _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Considering everything you have read about the huge responsibilities placed on this young man, what are several areas in which Solomon would need discernment right from the beginning? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ READ I Chronicles 29 David’s Preparation and Presentation of Solomon After once again listing the tremendous preparation that had been done to build the temple (verses 1-6), David challenges the people to get busy (verses 7-9). What is especially touching about the response of the people to the challenge? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ How do I discern and respond to the challenges God brings my way? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ As David sings a song of praise (verses 10-19), he alludes to God’s
discerning nature in verse 17a: “ I know also, my God that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness . . .” How do you experience God’s “discernment” in your life? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ As David prepares to end his kingship and hand over the throne and the building of the temple to Solomon, he prays for his people that (verss 18): _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ And for Solomon, that (verse 19): _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ As Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, ever making intercession for YOU, how is He pleading for you? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Solomon both heard and heeded the words of his father David, as we see in the book of 1 Kings. READ all of I Kings 3-4:1 Solomon’s Preparation and Plea . . . God’s Response READ aloud verse 9: “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a
people?” (KJV) “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” (ESV) “Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” (NLT) As we read Solomon’s plea and the outcome of the famous court case, we realize that he: RECOGNIZES • the faith and wisdom of his father David ( verse 6) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ • his own inexperience and shortcomings (verses 7-8) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ • his needs (8-9) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ RELATES—his knowledge (and lack thereof), to his situation (verse 9) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ RELIES—on the God of his fathers to provide: (verse 9) live • July - August 2020
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_________________________ _________________________ _________________________ REACTS • by rendering judicious government (verses 16-28) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ • By giving God the glory (verse 15) _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ WHAT WAS THE RESULT? (verses 11-14) What an amazing picture of the love and grace of God in one man’s life! List God’s promises to Solomon. _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ Can you imagine starting your life/ career/ministry with the solemn promises God made to Solomon? The good news is . . . you can! As you seek Him with all your heart . . . a heart that is aligned with His . . . He will give you what you ask! READ Philippians 2:1-11 Called to the Mind of Christ How can I gain the mind of Jesus in everything I do? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________
READ Romans 12:1-2 Mind Transformation How is my mind to be “transformed and renewed? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ READ Hebrews 5:12-14 Maturation How do I become a “mature” Christian? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ _________________________
READ I Corinthians 2 Spiritual Wisdom and Discernment How am I to gain spiritual wisdom and discernment? _________________________ _________________________ _________________________ “. . . Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom . . . The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. ” James 3:13,17 (NKJV)
Oswald Chambers on the importance of discernment “We see where other folks are failing, and we turn our discernment into the gibe of criticism instead of into intercession on their behalf.” March 31 “It is a great deal better to fulfil the purpose of God in your life by discerning His will than to perform great acts of self-sacrifice.” June 8 “Discernment is God’s call to intercession, never to fault finding.” May 3 “. . . your part is to be so rightly related to God that His discernment comes through you all the time for the blessing of another soul.” November 15 From My Utmost For His Highest; Dodd, Mead & Co.; New York; 1961 For Further Study Spend time in the Book of Ecclesiastes (often sad, but so full of insight).
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Should I Stay or Should I Go? When answers come in the midst of crisis
StoryBlocks.com
by Esther Barnes Esther is an award-winning writer and the previous editor of this magazine.
I landed in the Czech Republic on March 5, eager to begin my twelfth three-month term teaching English in the 800-year-old town of Litomerice. Two weeks later, I was back on Canadian soil. I phoned my sister Anne: “I’m home!” She was, to say the least, relieved. “I always thought you shouldn’t have gone there this spring,” she confessed. Not go? The question had never entered my mind, partly because, at the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus hovered over distant horizons, but mainly because my heart was drawn by a renewed call to volunteer service with the Litomerice Baptist Church. I first went there in 2011, for the most unspiritual of reasons: I wanted to see Prague, and joining a team of Baptist women leading an English camp in Litomerice, an hour north of Prague, seemed like a fine way to do it. But God was working in me during that camp. When the local director said they needed a volunteer to teach English on a long-term basis, I felt God’s tap on my shoulder. Ten terms later, in 2018, I sensed that it might be time for a different teacher to take on this outreach ministry. I “retired,” turned my attention to a need that had arisen in my Toronto church, Yorkminster Park, and organized a ministry of “free, friendly and fun” tutoring, matching volunteers with English learners in and beyond our pews. That Christmas, my friend Julie, another Baptist editor-turned-ESL-teacher, wrote that she would attend an ESL teachers’ conference in Liverpool in April 2019. That sparked a firework of vacation ideas: I could go to the conference with Julie; revisit the people, places, and church I had known when my husband studied near London in the 1970s; and celebrate spring in the live • July - August 2020
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country for which I was increasingly homesick. I skipped the conference because I couldn’t comprehend the workshop titles, but England and Europe still beckoned. Litomerice was my first stop. My 19-day schedule was crammed with reunion events and visits to cafes and homes. I learned that my “replacement” teacher had not worked out, that the ESL outreach was facing an uncertain future, and that God still had a place for a veteran volunteer. Me! I committed myself to serve for two more years (for the biblical total of seven), until the pastor’s proposed retirement and my next milestone age, and resumed teaching there last September. On Sunday, March 8, the Litomerice Baptists welcomed me with hugs, elbow bumps, foot kicks, and smiles which would soon be hidden by homemade masks. The coronavirus had reached our doorstep. On Tuesday, my second day of classes, the Czech government closed all schools. Within the week, gatherings were restricted to 100 people, then 50, then 5. The church had to close its doors and on March 16, cancel my classes. I pondered my options. Could I stay and teach online, like the Methodists’ volunteer who arrived a month before me? If I stayed, would the virus find me? Discernment came by email on March 17, when the Canadian Embassy in Prague urged Canadians to go home while commercial flights were still available. My Expedia website opened directly—miraculously—to affordable Prague-Toronto flights. By 9:00 the next morning I was on a KLM plane to Amsterdam, with boarding passes to New York and then Toronto. But KLM wouldn’t let me fly to New York because I could be stranded there—my Toronto flight had been cancelled! They put me on standby for a direct flight to Montreal, gave me a business class seat, and flew me to Montreal in time to catch a plane to Billy Bishop that night. Throughout my hasty exodus from Litomerice, God had confirmed His guidance, provision and protection. But He has not abandoned His people there. He knows my heart’s desire to keep my promise to see them in September. Meanwhile, some friends in Toronto need my help with their English. Should I have gone to Litomerice this spring? After many poignant phone conversations with students and friends from breakfast to bedtime on March 17, I can only answer “YES!”
Discernment came by email
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LISA LOHNES APPOINTED NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR ATLANTIC BAPTST WOMEN (UNITED BAPTIST WOMAN’S MISSIONARY UNION) We are delighted to announce that Lisa Lohnes is the new executive director for Atlantic Baptist Women. She began her post on June 1, 2020. She’s no stranger to Baptist women in Ontario and Quebec as she served us through her role as vice-president—Day of Prayer promotion, project grants and prayer partners during her tenure with the North American Baptist Women’s Union (now BWNA).
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Naming the Danger Within Spnning globes, doves and temper tantrums Unsplash.com/BillOxford
by Morgan Wolf Morgan is a writer from Calgary. She blogs about her faith and writing at anothergratuitousmdash.blogspot. ca. Morgan has just published her book, Altruism in Gophers.
Even as a child I wanted to hear God’s voice. I was promised in Sunday school that He was interested in each one of us and that He spoke to each one of us through His Word. Looking to test this, I would pull my Children’s Explorer’s Bible off the bookshelf and flop down on my bed; open the book at random, and drop my finger somewhere on the exposed pages to see what God had to say to me. I didn’t really think it worked like that—the spiritual equivalent of spinning the globe with your eyes closed to find out where you should live—but I thought it was worth a try. These days I find myself doing slightly more sophisticated versions of the same foolish thing because I still want to hear God’s voice speaking live • July - August 2020
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directly to me. I want Him to talk to me about the things that are close to my heart and the things that are close to His. Sometimes I think I’m listening to the Holy Spirit, but I hear my own heart instead. Few of the deceptions that we face in life are as unvarnished as an email from an obscure Nigerian
Real deception invites your emotions to dance prince with an inheritance to bestow upon those who reply with their banking details. Even the slickest of con men seeking to swindle the unsuspecting out of their money are only mere entrylevel deceivers. True deception—the kind you really need to be on guard against—has a far subtler hand. It oozes in through the cracks in the brickwork of your life; it pushes open the unlatched gate; entering through the broken places you just haven’t gotten around to mending yet. And it isn’t after your
money, but rather your soul. “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV) Culturally, the heart—the seat of our emotions—is lauded as the most trustworthy organ of decision. Following one’s heart is the irrefutable defence; the final say on a matter; the trump card that has no equal. The heart is the means by which the unbelieving world chooses its way. Absent the Holy Spirit, the world must feel its way forward, rather than discern what the Spirit of Wisdom is saying. The biblical warning against the heart is not an embargo against emotion. Human beings are made in the image of God and our emotional capacity finds its original template in the Most High. But real deception invites your emotions to dance. It offers you its hand through offence, jealousy, fear, anger, lust, despair, or pride— until it whirls you about in a flurry of feeling and confusion; never tiring— in order that the room never stops spinning. Emotions are a powerful
counterfeit for truth because they feel so true—and we feel powerful when we feel so much. Wisdom, however, promises no such affectation. Discernment is the spiritual means of perception, and it is a function of the Holy Spirit. It is the ability to differentiate the whole truth from the half-truths—the genuine from the counterfeit— amid the cacophony of emotional noise. It is the only remedy against deception. It is the still small voice that reveals what is true as opposed to that which only feels true. It’s worth contemplating then, that the Holy Spirit came to rest upon Jesus as a dove—a sensitive creature apt to take off at the slightest surprise. No dove ever came to rest upon someone in the middle of a temper tantrum. Likewise, the Spirit of discernment cannot be heard when an emotional reaction has been given free rein to guide. The voice of Wisdom is heard by the quieted and humble soul who longs to hear. It’s not complicated, but it is hard.
One Year At A Time Discerning during years of silence “Learning to be aware of God, and learning to read the life He provides as we walk, is a challenge that relaxes when we remember we abide in Jesus and the Holy Spirit abides in us. Abiding in the Lord is not only the first step in living as Christ’s follower. It is the continuing reality that makes discernment possible.“ Read more from writer and poet Susan Plumridge as she shares about the importance of rest and attentive waiting. Access her story at baptistwomen.com/blog 22 live • July - August 2020
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Declaring The Goodness of God Baptist Women’s first virtual Women’s Conference Tuesday April 21 – Saturday April 25, 2020
To view the plenaries and workshops, visit baptistwomen.com/events
When Baptist Women board and staff made the necessary decision to cancel its in-person spring Women’s Conference, they decided to shift much of its content online. In this virtual version, plenary sessions with worship and a theme speaker would launch and close the conference, and three workshops would run in the evenings in between. All who worked on pulling together this event will testify to God’s goodness. He helped staff make quick decisions around the format of the conference—twice—as they first gleaned best practices and formats from Baptist churches that had moved their Sunday morning services online, and then, had to ensure that each gathering would be secure. Original plenary speaker Dr. TaNikka Sheppard and worship leader Tameka Williams both said yes when asked to take part. Workshop leaders Rev. Abby Davidson, Jess Hartwick and Kathy Gust also agreed to adapt their presentations to an online audience and format. All these leaders agreed to hours of coaching and rehearsal with Baptist Women’s conference coordinator Laura Matthews. So did Baptist Women’s intrepid board. At the Year in Review session, Sarah Westman-Liu gave her last financial report as treasurer. We thanked outgoing finance committee chair, Samantha Helmann and board member Shannon Stewart, and welcomed our new treasurer, Keisha Cooper-Chotoosingh and new board member Sandra Mok. In a first, women voted online on a variety of motions and approved the 2020 budget. 153 persons gathered online on April 21 to watch YouTube or listen in via telephone to the first plenary session Knowing God’s Goodness. One month later, the recording of that session has had over 800 views. To date, the three workshops have received 400 to 900 views each. God is good.
Unsplash.com/WilliamLuis
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discernment children playing red light green light - Susan Plumridge
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21 (NIV)
Unsplash.com/PawelCzerwinski
In a time when how we connect with each other has had to change, live magazine keeps our bonds lively and strong. Let a woman in your community know about live magazine. A subscription costs just $20. Pay at baptistwomen.com or call the editor, Renée James. Choose from three formats: print, audio (CD) or online.
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