WITNESS: November 1, 2016

VOL. XXVI, NO. 4

NOVEMBER 2016

SOJOURN: TOWARD AN ENDURING CITY

by Karen Antos

See page 5 to view more works of art sponsored by PCPC@WORK.

I N S I D E Will the Gospel rise in Japan?............................. 2

Healthy imaginations encouraged

Fixer uppers at PCPC..........................................................8

Teens take ICE trip to Asia ..................................... 3

in the workplace .......................................................... 5

Reflections on our city’s tragedy....................10

Learning while serving refugees....................... 4

Birthday time for our building............................... 6

A treasure to keep forever..................................... 12

PCPC WITNESS • NOVEMBER 2016

1

“EVEN THE DARKNESS IS NOT DARK TO YOU; THE NIGHT IS BRIGHT AS DAY, FOR DARKNESS IS AS LIGHT WITH YOU.”—PSALM 139:12

JAPAN: MODERN BUT NEARLY CHRIST-LESS

C

onveyor belt sushi. Rows and rows of bikes. Japanese maple trees. Businessmen power walking everywhere. Brightly colored shrines. Crowded metro stations. Endless seas of umbrellas. Cars driving on the left side of the road. Growing churches. These are just some of the now familiar sights the PCPC Young Adults witnessed in Nagoya, Japan, this summer.

On the surface, it’s easy to be discouraged by the state of the Christian church there. Despite the efforts of many faithful missionaries, the country remains an unreached people group. This means that less than 0.3% of its 127 million population is Christian. Since there are so few Christians, 95% of Japanese people have never heard the Gospel.

It is one of the most Christ-less cultures in the modern world. This geographically small island nation has the sixth largest suicide rate on the planet, and 85% of young people wonder why they even exist.

But the Lord is present and working, and Japan is ripe for the Good News. Our team’s main goal in traveling to Japan was to support missionaries who have committed their lives to long-term service. Because the nation resists change and the growth of the church happens very slowly, missionaries need a lot of encouragement. We served with PCPC home church missionaries Brett and Taylor Rayl and their team at Christ Bible Institute (CBI). Our first day in Nagoya was spent prayer-walking around the city. We prayed for churches, missionaries, specific cultural barriers that prevent the Gospel from taking root, and for hearts to be drawn to their Creator. The rest of our week was spent painting the Heart and Soul Café (a coffee shop that also serves as an outreach to locals), talking with missionaries and seminary students, learning about life on the mission field, leading a Bible-based program for young mothers

2

and their children, fellowshipping with members of a local church, encouraging teachers at a Christian school, cleaning the seminary at CBI, and hosting community barbecue dinners that allowed missionaries and church members to meet locals who otherwise would never enter a church.

REAL, IMMEASURABLE RESULTS Reaching Japan with the Gospel is difficult, but crucial.

In a recent trip recap meeting, the PCPC team discussed some of the ways we are different because of our time in Japan. We are deeply encouraged by what we saw. We are much more aware of the sacrifice made by missionaries in Japan.

We are excited about sharing the Gospel more frequently and eager to pray for its furtherance in Japan.

One team member mentioned that she is more determined to be fully present in whatever life stage she is in. Although we might never see the fruit of our labor this side of heaven, we know that “He who Top, Ellen Case, Becca Howe, Anna Christian, calls us is faithful; He Clint Gunter, Jenna Tenpenny, John Paul Schulze, Garrett Inman, Corey Page, Sandra Li will surely do it” (1 Thess. 5:24).

Above, the team paints the Heart and Soul ­—Jenna Tenpenny Café.

NOVEMBER 2016 • PCPC WITNESS

E

TWO TAKES ON EAST ASIA

ach summer, high school students have the opportunity to travel across the globe to East Asia through International Cultural Exchange (ICE). A group of 25 students begins the 13-hour trek with the intention of building relationships and sharing the Gospel.

It was neat to see students’ walls begin to fall as they stepped out of Dallas. The social pressures that have a hold on them every day seem to be nonexistent in the middle of East Asia.

Day 10 was very much a day that encapsulates the trip.

One of the team members was in physical pain, and the Gospel made its way in Our students began to share the Gospel, hand out Bibles, and explore spiritual things with the students. Two of the high school students pressed into conversations, and students became curious—a life-changing day for two young people from Dallas.

—Gillian Ard

M

ore than the Great Wall, pandas, and an aquarium, my favorite thing to see in East Asia was huge smiles on those kids’ faces as they learned about God. On our last day of teaching we had the ability to give a select number of students Bibles. After we gave the Bibles to the students, some started to run around showing and reading the Gospel to all of their friends.

One student, Bob, took his Bible to the back of class after the exam and started to read instead of going outside to play with his friends. He was so intent with what he was reading that the only thing that stopped his reading was a bat that one of the other kids had found. It was just so incredible to see that all the teaching we had done during the week had really effected these kids at a spiritual level.

I will never forget the sight of five of my students huddled around one tiny Bible smiling as one read aloud.

—Margaret Petty

Right, Lily Overton and Campbell Rolfe

Right, Becket Holmgren, Chase Ferguson, Brannon Farrow, and Clayton Petty on the Great Wall Below left, Lily Overton, Margaret Petty, and Grace Carillo try out chopsticks.

Below right, the team and some of their students

PCPC WITNESS • NOVEMBER 2016

3

MIDDLE SCHOOL TEAM SERVES REFUGEES

W

e packed our bags. We briefed the team on our mission. We loaded up in the vans and struck out for… Garland, Texas? This July, our Middle School leaders and 10 eighth graders spent a week partnering with For The Nations to serve communities of refugees in the Dallas area. The ministry works to give support to families and individuals who do not know English and who are learning their way around the city. Whether they are from the Middle East, Somalia, or Burma, For The Nations strives to help their transition to this new area, all while sharing the Gospel along the way.

The team spent the week in a variety of activities. In the mornings, the group would head to a local church and spend time with refugees from Somalia and the Middle East. Our team tutored kids in math and English, assisted in Bible lessons, and played games with the kids. In the afternoon, the group would cram into a small apartment with 50 kids from Burma and spend the afternoon tutoring and then giving swimming lessons. At the end of a packed week, we all went to a roller skating rink with the children from Burma and had a blast.

Along the way, our team certainly had to exercise patience and flexibility with each child and teaching situation, but every time we were rewarded with a unique and fun connection with kids from completely different cultures. Watching the eighth graders jump in feet first to serve and love the kids was amazing. They had incredible energy, understanding, and willingness to go outside their comfort zone. And after a few days of serving, tight living spaces, and a fun night of laser tag and go-carts, the team had grown closer than ever.

4

To say that the week was fruitful is an understatement—working with an incredible and loving ministry like For The Nations showed us all the true meaning of service and humility. Participating in a mission trip to our own city, to apartment complexes just a few miles away from our homes, certainly lends a new perspective on how we can have a mission mindset without boarding a plane. And now, with the opportunity to follow-up with the refugee children through year-round tutoring, it is clear that God has given us all a new perspective on who and how to serve the world: He is bringing the nations to us.

—John Lovell Top, Bible lesson time Middle, Lauren Washburn and Claire Lunceford teach Bottom, John Lovell tutors NOVEMBER 2016 • PCPC WITNESS

Artists Stewarding The Imagination Sojourn: Toward An Enduring City At PCPC@WORK we believe that all vocational endeavors are critical to the flourishing of our society. We also believe that artists bear the responsibility of developing a healthy imagination that is crucial to innovation in every sector and vocation. When artists create something beautiful, it has the ability to help us all experience something integral to our creation in the image of God and living in His world.

For this reason, we are excited to showcase work by artists that help us imaginatively communicate our churchwide theme of the sojourning experience.

Please take the time to check out three original paintings outside the PCPC Fellowship Hall.

—Blake Schwarz

SOJOURN: TOWARD AN ENDURING CITY

by Gwen Meharg

Each of the three nests represents a different understanding of home with myriad layers. Weekly we pray for God’s Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven.

We invite God’s Kingdom into our hearts and into our homes. While we long for the heavenly home of Hebrews 11, we are called to experience and express heaven in our earthly homes. I confess that I do not understand what this might look like. The sojourn theme invites us to reconsider “on earth as it is in heaven.”

Consider where we have come from, where we are, and where we are going.

ON THE COVER: SOJOURN: TOWARD AN ENDURING CITY

by Karen Antos

This is the third time I have tried to paint heaven. In this rendition, I am adding my own imagination to the scriptural descriptions. I took my cues from Hebrews 11 and 13 and 1 Peter 2. This vision of heaven includes current sojourners who will be peopling its environs. The nations of earth are its neighborhoods, and a sampling of nine of them is depicted in this section of The Enduring City, with their own distinct architectures surrounding the golden streets, the tree of life, the river of the water of life, and the gates of pearl.

Watch for the next PCPC@WORK Speaker Series luncheon, a Church in the City Lecture with Makoto Fujimura, Wednesday, December 7, 12:00–1:15 pm, Fellowship Hall.

PCPC WITNESS • NOVEMBER 2016

SOJOURN: TOWARD AN ENDURING CITY

by Martha (Muffy) Carlo Inspired by Hebrews 11:13-16, I looked for a visual image of the promised heavenly home and city. In Revelation 21-22, I found the description of that city. The foundations of the wall are adorned with twelve different jewels.

Each of the twelve gates is made of a single pearl. The street of the city is pure gold. As the revelation of our heavenly home unfolds an angel showed John the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city. The figure in the foreground is looking ahead with mountains yet to climb.

5

PCPC building having a birthday Shortly after the the first worship service PCPC held on May 19, 1991, the early organizers received a call from the pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church. He invited us to worship in his large Sanctuary at the corner of Oak Lawn and Wycliff at 9:30 am while his congregation was in Sunday School, then we would swap spaces at 11:00!

We accepted, and after two worship

JANUARY 1955

JANUARY 1955

services at Highland Park High School, we landed in what was to become our permanent home.

The building offered exceptional space, gracious hosts, and priceless stained glass windows. A few months later, the following article appeared in the March 1992 issue of PCPC WITNESS.

HOST CHURCH HAS RICH, LONG HISTORY We were six months old, much like a baby just learning to sit up and wanting to crawl. They were celebrating their 100th birthday, enjoying the rich heritage of their fellowship, reviewing the many places they had been. Last November members of Highland Park Baptist threw a big party for themselves, a well-deserved observance of 100 years of service to the Lord. Now that we are crawling, perhaps it is time to enjoy their memories with them.

In 1891, Grover Cleveland had just retaken the White House from Benjamin Harrison, and Dr. James Naismith would nail a peach basket to the wall and create the game of basketball.

That same year First Baptist Church of Dallas began a mission with 12 new members, the fourth Baptist church to be established in Dallas. They met on Payne Street just off Lake Avenue in a building vacated and given to them by First Baptist, and named themselves Lake Avenue Baptist Church. [Lake Avenue disappeared with the construction of Harry Hines Boulevard.]

By early 1892, the new congregation had hired its first full-time pastor who was paid the sum of $50 per month.

Half of his salary was supplied by First Baptist. Often two ladies of Lake Avenue church would climb in their buggies and visit their members in order to collect a quarter from each to pay the other half of the salary.

But the Payne Street location proved to have a problem: an insurmountable one. the noise of the new steam-driven street cars was a constant interruption to the worship service. So they picked up the building and moved. A site was found for the little church on Cedar Springs Road. The new location was an impetus to growth, and by 1895 the church had become completely self-sustaining.

As the Lord blessed their congregation with new members over the next several years, yet another move became necessary. The property at the corner of McKinney Avenue and Routh Street was dedicated with a

6

NOVEMBER 2016 • PCPC WITNESS

cornerstone in 1905. The Panic of 1907 brought construction to a standstill, but in 1913 the original building was completed. Having roamed afar from Lake Avenue, the congregation changed its name to McKinney Avenue Baptist Church. Today that building with its many additions, now holds the famous Hard Rock Café, which followed The Wrecking Bar as occupants. [Hard Rock is now gone as well.]

for the merged churches. The first service in the new building at Oak Lawn and Wycliff was held in March, 1937.

end of the Main Hallway] the congregation used to conduct summer Sunday night services on the roof.

The new name reflected the goal of the enlarged congregation—to seek “the higher ground” as expressed in the hymn of that name. The watchword of the church remained what it had been from the beginning, “Have Faith in God.”

Lifelong member Marguerite Roby remembers this church from her childhood. Her mother told her the story of being married there. Because there was no paving, and she insisted on a white wedding dress and shoes, her groom had to roll up his pantlegs to carry her across the mud and into the church. Of course, he forgot to roll them back down for the ceremony!

The original Sanctuary of Highland Baptist Church was what we now know as the Chapel. Worshippers entered from Wycliff, and the pulpit was at the south end. The space now occupied by the Parlor, Room 212, and the smaller rooms lining the Chapel were all part of the original Sanctuary.

Not until 1956 was the present Sanctuary built. It was dedicated during the summer of that year. The beautiful stained glass rose window facing Oak Lawn was designed by the pastor, Dr. Charles P. Pitts.

Still one more name change was to be written into its history. In 1986, the congregation voted to become Highland Park Baptist Church to more accurately reflect its geographical location on the southern edge of Highland Park. [It has since changed its name back to Highland Baptist Church and is now located on Boedeker across from NorthPark Mall.]

Marguerite relates memories of Sunday night services held in the back lot under a string of lights and a new young minister named Fred Eastham who “really had a way bringing people in.” One Sunday morning in 1928, 50 people joined! But she and sister Evelyn were too busy with the youth group to remember the size of the congregation at that point.

After several years of growth for the McKinney Avenue Baptist Church, a mission congregation of like-minded Baptists became a partner on a merger. The Oak Lawn Baptist Church, meeting at the corner of Hall and Knight, joined McKinney Avenue Baptist on August 16, 1936, bringing 50-60 new members. Another name change resulted—this time Highland Baptist Church—and still another move resulted, to the present site built

Highland Park Baptist, in every place and under each new name in its history, was always a mission-minded church. Various Baptist outreach efforts have been supported, members have gone out themselves, scholarships have been given, and two thriving churches now exist as a result of its church-planting efforts. And still another mission is thriving in its loving hospitality—Park Cities Presbyterian Church. Surely as we share When space for more Sunday School this building dedicated to the glory of classes became God, we seek the a problem, an higher ground toLord, lift me up and let me stand, appeal was gether of building By faith, on heaven’s tableland, made on Sunthe church of Jesus A higher plane than I have found; day morning Christ. for the $50,000 —Terri Speicher Lord plant my feet on higher ground. needed to —chorus from the hymn “The Higher Ground” buy the steel for construction of the basement under the Sanctuary. It was raised the same morning! Mrs. Roby remembers that the children’s wing was once one-story, and where the nurseries now rest [now the area of offices at the JUNE 1991 MAY 1956

JUNE 1956

PCPC WITNESS • NOVEMBER 2016

7

Scout Hodges and Emily Waller

High School Room Gets a

redo

e

arly this summer, Scout Hodges, a student involved with PCPC youth ministry, cast a vision for painting a mural in the high school meeting room in Oak Lawn East. Being both a gifted artist and a natural leader, Scout rallied support for her vision and employed my help as one of the youth residents on staff. Scout and I brainstormed ways to incorporate PCPC’s mission to spread the Gospel to “Dallas and to the world” into the mural. Scout hoped to fill the blank wall with lots of color, so she painted a small demo of a sunset over the Dallas skyline. Over the skyline, she sketched the words of Matthew 5:14: “You are the light of the world, a city set upon a hill cannot be hidden.” Over the course of two weeks, we collaborated to get the mural on the wall. Scout worked tirelessly to perfect the brightly colored sunset that she envisioned. Finally, after an entire summer of brainstorming, reworking, and painting, the mural was completed. Every Sunday morning, high school students are welcomed into the room to worship and fellowship with a visual reminder of our mission statement right before their eyes.

8

The High School Room also got some updating with comfortable seating that made it a welcoming area for both students and for staff to use as a space for relaxing and holding informal meetings throughout the week when it is available.

—Emily Waller Top, Scout Hodges and Emily Waller present their artwork.

Above, Brent Baker and Christen Nutter meet in the newly decorated space.

NOVEMBER 2016 • PCPC WITNESS

Elementary Area Gets a

makeover L

ast spring, a decision was made in the Elementary Ministry regarding how we would handle the increasing numbers of children attending our Sunday programming. Growth is always a great thing, but it means needing to adjust—from the way children get dropped off to the way that we organize and have them sit in the chairs. We took on a fun project of redesigning aspects of our Room 104/106 (Kids Court) to promote the core principles of our ministry, but also to accomodate the needs that come with a growing ministry.

My two favorite pieces in our new Kids Court are the colorful backdrop wall and our Scripture memory mural. Andrea Stimson, a very talented artist and calligrapher at PCPC, brought the room to life with her floor-to-ceiling mural. We believe in the importance of God’s Word, and we wanted to showcase how memorizing Scripture is foundational in our lives. Our kids are

challenged each month to take a section of Scripture and commit it to memory. At the end of the school year, they have the opportunity to recite all nine verses and to receive the honor of having their name added to the wall. As our congregation grows and our children are being equipped to become future leaders of our church, we get to see the incredible legacy and covenant that God has established with His people. Seeing these snapshots of His work in our lives helps us to draw our attention and praise to Him as we sojourn toward the enduring city.

—Matthew Stathem Above, the artwork on the Scripture memory wall Below, Matthew leads a Kids Court session in front of the new wall art.

PCPC WITNESS • NOVEMBER 2016

9

our city’s tragedy

Pursuing good to magnify Christ

L

ess than 18 hours after the horrific murders of police officers in downtown Dallas on July 7, 2016, Golden Gate Missionary Baptist Church and Park Cities Presbyterian Church were meeting together to pray. Perhaps some of you attended the service at Golden Gate’s place of worship. I remember praying inside my truck, stuck back in my hometown in Oklahoma after a vacation over Independence Day. I had just returned from several days in the Colorado wilderness, bringing back a great sense of peace, joy, and rejuvenation—only to be struck with the news. This headline, however, was altogether different.

This time, ground zero was in my city.

As soon as I heard about Golden Gate’s and PCPC’s response, I wanted so much to join with those in

10

Dallas and to be physically present with them after the heartbreaking tragedy. Five days later I got my chance to do so, as our churches met a second time to worship God and kneel before Him. Arriving at the prayer service, I was bringing a single question to God that was proceeding from my time in Colorado: “Lord, how may I serve to magnify Your name in Dallas?” I was not fully prepared for how God would answer—specifically through Vincent Parker, the pastor at Golden Gate.

me. He said that when those unaffected by racism disbelieve reports of racism as exaggeration, the victims feel akin to a wife whose deepest pain is being ignored and disbelieved by her husband. This statement cut into my heart, because I knew that I had often regarded racism as a “thing of the past,” and surely an exaggeration in the present. As a white American, I realized that I knew little of the true pain that my minority brothers and sisters have been experiencing.

Then what Pastor Vincent shared lifted my head from that conviction of sin. He said that the only lasting answer to racism must never be expected from any source but the Church of Jesus Christ. God, working through His own people, is the only hope for change in Dallas.

Two simple questions Out of one evening of extended prayer with my brothers and sisters, God has planted two simple questions in my

When Pastor Parker shared his heart with those gathered for prayer, two of his statements remained with

NOVEMBER 2016 • PCPC WITNESS

heart, and they are rooted in the heart of the Christian life. 1) As a member of God’s family, from what sin must I repent? 2) Through faith in Jesus, what good must I pursue for His Kingdom?

Over the last months since the shooting, I have seen God bring first fruits to that which He planted. I have seen doors open to deeper friendships with nonbelieving coworkers through simple confession to them of my sin.

And I have shared the joy in again worshipping God with the members at Golden Gate.

On Sunday, August 4, a group of PCPC members joined Golden Gate to worship, and we were welcomed with open arms. We sang together and shared communion. We saw Pastor Parker kneel down to welcome and encourage a brand new believer and give her a certificate of baptism. And we were all challenged together by his passionate sermon to have joy in our hearts because our Savior lives.

Looking back over these shared services, will you consider with me the connection between my first desire to magnify God’s name and Pastor Vincent’s desire to see repentance and belief in Christ working through us? I am reminded first of Jesus’ words,

“Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7), and again, “There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

Jesus says that repentance produces joy in heaven! Why does He highlight this? Because Luke 15 puts on display the God who loves repentant sinners.

Paul also made this connection in his first letter to Timothy: “It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am the foremost of all... Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:15, 17).

his life that he could not move from thinking about it until he magnified the God who saved him.

Consider this connection for yourself, specifically with regard to our brothers and sisters at Golden Gate. Are you repenting and believing in Jesus?

Are you pursuing good in order to magnify His name in Dallas? Please continue to pray for unity in God’s Church and for continued fruit from our relationship with Golden Gate.

And wherever you find yourself in corporate worship, come expectantly with the heart of the psalmist: “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3)!

—Max Megee

far left, Pastor Parker and his family left, Libby Schulze arranges hymnals during worship at Golden Gate below, the group of young adults at Golden Gate in August.

Paul was so affected

by Jesus’ work in

PCPC WITNESS • NOVEMBER 2016

11

Periodical Postage Paid at Dallas, Texas

Vol. XXVI, No. 4 • NOVEMBER 2016 PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 4124 OAK LAWN AVENUE DALLAS, TX 75219 WWW.PCPC.ORG

T

his past month, we loaded 85 fifth to eighth grade students into two charter buses and headed to Sky Ranch for a little thing we like to call the PCPC Middle School Retreat. As a first-year youth resident, I was introduced to middle school retreat staples like the epic shaving cream fight, the sumo wrestling balloon battle (looking at you, Mary Kate and Press), and, of course, the legendary Cheerio game. There’s no denying that fun was had that weekend, but I was encouraged to hear that many students’ favorite activity was not a goofy game or the gold vs. silver competition, but rather having the chance to connect with fellow students and gain a new perspective on their walk with God. The weekend theme was FOREVER, which unpacked the truth found in 2 Corinthians 4: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you..”

Danny Stimson, our Middle School Ministry director, spoke about the eternal perspective that we should have as Christians.

We were reminded that the things of this earth will pass away, so our focus should be on eternity rather than the here and now. Students were given time to process Danny’s messages during individual cabin times, where we talked through why it is hard to live with eternity in mind, as well as ways we can keep our eyes focused on God even when distractions or struggles come our way. It was awesome to see students encourage each other in their struggles and questions regarding eternity with God. For many students, the weekend helped them refocus their eyes on God; for others, this weekend signified

the first time they were called to follow Christ altogether. What a beautiful and encouraging reminder that God is at work in the lives of these students.

—Kat Williamson Top, Joan Henson, Rachel Garvey, Rachel Harper, and Emerson Andrews Above, Sarah Vandercook, Madeline Alfonso, and Scarlet Randall