VOL. XXVII, NO. 1
FEBRUARY 2017
PARK CITIES PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (PCA)
“But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” —Jeremiah 29:7
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Ring around the Boxes of Blessing
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“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.” —Isaiah 58:10
10 Years and 10,000+ boxes! n its tenth anniversary year, once again on the first Saturday morning in December, more than a thousand eager volunteers poured into the BCW warehouse for the annual Boxes of Blessing event. With Christmas music filling the air, old friends and new ones from across Dallas joyfully packed almost 11,000 boxes of food items—more than any previous year— and provided Gospel encouragement for families in need.The event was well attended once again—with people pitching in to help wherever they saw a need—putting food in boxes, taking out trash, encouraging the weary, and putting band aids on paper cuts. Children worked alongside their parents, Sunday school teachers, and others from the community putting their faith into action.
Will Dowell, PCPC member and executive director of ministry partner, Behind Every Door, stated, “We are so thankful to receive boxes from Boxes of Blessing. This year they provided us with an opportunity to say thank you to every home in the communities we serve. With the help of over 50 volunteers, we knocked on 874 doors and distributed 960 boxes. Additionally, we partnered with National Charity League
(NCL) to distribute a Christmas wreath to every home in Willow Pond. NCL handcrafted each wreath and then came to help distribute on a very wet and cold Saturday.
Each box was filled with 35+ different food items, enough to feed a family of four for several days. The boxes also included Gospel candy cane cards from the children’s craft tables and postcards providing access to the Jesus film in any language. Over 1,000 volunteers from PCPC, PCPC Ministry Partners, area churches and businesses arrived to serve. The morning progressed as assembly line volunteers were called to rotate on and off the lines to give rest to those who had been on their feet and let the newly energized engage. 2
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“The impact is different for each home. Some homes have kids participating in our after-school program. In those cases, this is a “thank you for trusting us with your kid” gift. Other homes are struggling to get through the month and this food provides a boost. Each door has a different story, but these boxes consistently provide a context for the love of Jesus. As Brennan Manning wrote, ‘We are loved as we are and not as we should be.’” Thousands of the Boxes of Blessing were distributed to PCPC’s ministry partners, including ACT, Voice of Hope, Young Life West Dallas, Dallas Leadership Foundation, and several more. Many of these ministries bring people to help out as well to give them the blessing of working alongside others and serving. Where they may not have the resources or money to give, they are able to give of their time and energy. Boxes of Blessing is a substantial ministry that enables PCPC members to serve alongside our ministry partners and other organizations for the purpose of meeting the needs of our community. It is one way to serve as the hands and feet of Christ, worshiping God in the form of packing provisions and loving our neighbors. —Charlotte Medley and Tracy DeBoer
Left page above, Mark Davis listens as Julian Russell opens the program at his last Boxes of Blessing at PCPC before leaving to be a missionary in the Bahamas. Left page below, the warehouse is fully packed with packers. Above, Carolyn Flowers cheerfully carries a box. Above middle, Lynn Gibson packs canned goods. Above right, Shepherd Meyer lines up boxes for delivery.
Scott Sowell Young PCPC member Scott Sowell loves Boxes of Blessing! According to his mom, Scott says Boxes of Blessings is his favorite event of the year: “We put it on our calendar the moment we finish one in preparation for the next. He loves working with everyone and loves helping to pack all the boxes, bring the boxes to the conveyor belt, and help with the trash. Seeing the room go from full to empty is always great. This year was a particular treat because he benefitted from being given a staff position. He took it so very seriously and wanted to be the first there and the last to leave. He loves to work!” This year he chose to give his extra giving money to Boxes of Blessings and said, “We should do this all year because if people need food at Christmas, they need food all the time.”
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Finding Freedom in Redemption Groups
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Redemption Groups helped me tangibly see what I already knew God was calling me towards—life more focused on Jesus Christ and his Kingdom, rather than continuing to selfishly construct more ways to hide and cover up my own fears and insecurities. I now live with a freedom I was unable to fully understand before engaging in the Redemption Group experience. I am thankful for this curriculum and for the men in my small group who helped me see truth through open and honest communication. I highly recommend this 12-week program to anyone interested growing deeper in their faith. It is truly life changing. —Steve Owen Jr. What Meg and Steve had to share was a common experience for those who participated in this round of Redemption Groups. Hopefully it causes you to 4
offer deep discipleship in small group communities, where matters of the heart can be discussed
his fall we had over 40 people participate in Redemption Groups. At the final gathering, the Celebration, people shared about their life-changing experiences. Here are two examples: Fearing I was not wanted, fearing I was not worth knowing fully, fearing I was not lovable in light of past, current, and future brokenness; Redemption Groups on an individual and community level taught me to trust that God wants us in His family, finds me worth knowing regardless of circumstance, and loves me entirely as I am. The program model for studying Scripture, talking in community, and reconciling one’s life to Christ will continue to be of benefit to me, and I believe is applicable at any time to anyone. —Meg Weiss
“Redemption Groups
with Gospel focus and care.”
ask, “What are Redemption Groups?” Well, I am glad you asked!
T h e s e groups are a form of biblical counseling. We believe that Christ-centered ministry effectively addresses the way we think, behave, and feel. Key influences on the content of the curriculum, written by “We hope to address Mike Wilkerson, include teachthe isolation problem in ers like David churches by helping to Powlison, Ed Welch, and make it normal in church to Paul Tripp.
experience God’s mercy in
A new the midst of life’s deepest Redem ption round of 13 needs and move toward Groups are weeks of about your life Redemption others in deep need with connecting with Groups will be God’s mercy.” Jesus’ life in comstarting on Monmunity. Group particiday, February 13, pants actively engage with 7:00-8:30 pm. Please one another—listening, sharing, register in order to attend. You comforting, and challenging. Group dis- can register or request more informacussions tend to be very candid. The tion at redemptiongroups@pcpc.org. experience tends to help participants grow in how they relate to God, them- Through Redemption Groups, we hope selves, and others with greater love and to address the isolation problem in honesty. churches by helping to make it normal in church to experience God’s mercy The curriculum, Redemption: Freed by in the midst of life’s deepest needs and Jesus from the Idols We Worship and move toward others in deep need with the Wounds We Carry, follows the sto- God’s mercy. A thriving Redemption ry of Exodus, with the Israelites journey- Groups ministry can help transform a ing through the wilderness from slavery church culture into a robust redemptive to freedom. Along the way, again and community. We hope you will join us! again, we encounter our Redeemer, Je—Pat Hobin sus Christ. Director, Adult Ministry & Small Groups FEBRUARY 2017 • PCPC WITNESS
PCPC Marriage Ministry Finishes 2016 Strong The last quarter of 2016 was an exciting time for the Marriage Ministry!
Bible to grow in their relationship with Marriage, Expectations, Communicathe Lord and with each other. In our fall tion, In-Laws, Biblical Roles of Husband semester, 55 couples came together and Wife, Money and Stewardship, SILENT MARRIAGE RETREAT each Monday to study the topics of Conflict Management, and Intimacy. In September, eight married couples love, brokenness, grace, humility, forThirteen couples joined us in the fall for took part in a first ever couples silent giveness, commitment, communication, teaching time and small group discusretreat at Sky Ranch Camp Ute Trail conflict, and sion. Participants in Colorado. It was a time of growth intimacy. Each were given workthrough prayer and reflection as partic- week consisted books with short ipants took an oath to remain silent for of shared marassignments three days. This lengthy time of going riage testimony, that helped to without speaking was used to quiet music, teaching prepare them for PCPC PRE-MARRIAGE COURSE hearts through prayer, meditate upon and small group the teaching and reconnect. the Word, and journal about how the discussion. discussion each reignite. Lord moved in their hearts. Each eveParticipants week. Finally, ning, couples broke their silence for also had daily homework assigneveryone enjoyed a celebration dinner resurrect. one hour, coming ments, designed to as well as an interesting (and entertaintogether to discuss complement and ing!) panel discussion on the final night. how the Lord had expand upon the It is exciting to see the Lord working in worked in them that week’s lesson. We these couples as they consider and/or day. It was a wonare so thankful for prepare for building a future together! derful time, with the all the Lord is doing retreat ending in a through this wonNEWLY-MARRIEDS SMALL celebration feast derful program in GROUPS of testimony about the lives of married We are excited to announce that small each person’s excouples in PCPC groups are currently forming for newperiences. Couples left feeling rejuand throughout our community. re|enly married couples. These groups of venated in their marriages and in their gage will continue to be offered each five to six couples will discuss biblical walks with the Lord. fall and spring. marriage and the tools needed to have successful relationships. Groups will RE|ENGAGE UNION be facilitated by a seasoned married Our second semester of re|engage The Marriage Ministry also completed couple, meet weekly for 12-18 months, ended in December and continued to another UNION class in November— and focus solely on marriage themes. build momentum from the initial minisPCPC’s marriage preparation class If you are interested in joining one of try launch last February. re|engage is a for seriously dating and engaged couour Newly-Marrieds Small Groups, marriage enrichment program where ples. Every Wednesday night for eight contact Bill Bogart, 214-224-2559 or couples examine God’s design for weeks, couples enjoyed learning about bill.bogart@pcpc.org. marriage and apply principles from the topics such as The Biblical Meaning of —Melissa Abston Happy ending to the silent retreat
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Integrating the Gospel with professional callings Myrna Little, Ph.D., is a charter member of PCPC, as well as a clinical psychologist
Myrna Little and psychoanalyst in private practice in Dallas. A year and a half ago, Myrna joined the Pegasus Fellowship to gather with other members of PCPC to explore the integration of the Gospel and where God has called her to serve professionally. She was a great addition to the group and our discussions as she has spent years personally researching the connections between theology and her clinical work. Myrna has stored a wealth of knowledge and insight and at this stage in her career and is able give back in a huge way. All of the fellows are required to produce 6
a cultural renewal project, and Myrna was able to combine her experiences and desires to produced one of the best projects to date. She wanted to share what she had learned with others, but also to walk alongside them as they applied these truths to their own professional practices. This fall, we launched a vocational group for people in the listening professions who want to integrate the rich tradition of the reformed faith with current psychiatric knowledge and practice. This pilot group was made up of counselors, social workers,
and pastors. Dr. Little led the group and correlated knowledge of current neuroscience, psychoanalysis, and developmental psychology, with an understanding of the sovereign reign of God and the Person and work of Jesus
Christ. By sharing personal experiences, dilemmas, triumphs, and fellowship, the group set a foundation for what will become an ongoing group called Clinical Theology. It is a weekly meeting place for individuals in the listening and healing professions to grow in knowledge of the one true Healer and investigate their roles of vocational stewardship in this process. Myrna was able to design the curriculum in such a way that the hours spent discussing clinical theology can be counted as board-approved continuing education credits for the professional counselors in the group. Other faith and work ministries around the country are looking at this class as a model for serving professionals in various industries with continuing education while presenting the truths of Christianity. The Clinical Theology group will continue to run this spring, and again in the fall of 2017. The application period for joining the Pegasus Fellowship is open. Please go to pegasusfellowship.com to get more information about participating in this intensive, nine-month theological and spiritual development program designed to equip Christians for Gospel leadership in the world. It runs from September to May and includes devotionals, weekly readings and meetings, monthly Saturday gatherings, and three projects designed to translate theology into real life practice. —Jessica Sanders FEBRUARY 2017 • PCPC WITNESS
Gloria C
There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, Rough-hew them how we will. —William Shakespeare
hristmas presents the church with a rare opportunity when the music in the culture aligns with music in the church. Pop artists include familiar carols like “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night” in their holiday albums. Other pathways of cultural intersection allow for our Christmas concert to bring together unusual people for fascinating encounters with the Gospel—the “divinity that shapes our ends.”
PCPC’s Christmas Concert on December 11—Gloria—featured the adult, youth, and children’s choirs with orchestra alongside soloists Brian Post, Jenni Rasberry, Alicia Ucciferri, and Steve Williamson. David Bendor-Samuel hosted the evening as narrator. For the second time, the musicians presented two performances—4:30 and 7:30 pm. Even though all the free tickets were taken (by November 15!), in the end, all who came were able to get a seat. As is our tradition, the entire offering from the evening went to benefit PCPC’s Urban Ministry partners. Due to the generosity of those in attendance, we will be able to give away over $20,000.
Divinity shaping ends
There were several testimonies of God’s sovereign hand in the lives of concert
goers and performers—moving past the pleasure of beautiful sounds into the Spirit’s soul-crafting work. Lynda Fray recounts: “One of the players in the orchestra last night told me that he loves playing at PCPC because our church offers a unique combination of embracing faith and good music. He also told me that he values his opportunities to share his faith with those in the orchestra who are not believers, including the player sitting next to him. She asked him if he thought all religions were equal in offering access to God. He also said that when the children started to sing at the dressz rehearsal, tears welled up in her eyes. He said their singing touched a deep place in her that caused her heart to be tender to conversations about God.” A concert attendee wrote to us: “The concert was beautiful. God blessed my broken soul through every moment. I was abused as a child, and for the past 25 years I have been learning God’s freedom as I step out into the world away from my abuser. I thank God I came to know Him as Father before my abuse started be-
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Pictures by Larry and Terri Sengbush
cause that is how I have survived—by retreating to God as my Father through the great hymns and anthems of the faith whenever my father would abuse me.
“Every word of every anthem song last night touched me in a specific way, but “Give the King Thy Judgments, O God” specifically had me in tears: “The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor... truth, justice, honour be our statutes; laws for our people long decreed; deep in our hearts forever planted, as sons and daughters raised up and freed. We kneel before no tyrant’s throne, nor fear oppression’s sword, with one chartered heritage, one people, one Lord...Lord, for our world we Thy people pray, that truth and justice ever shall prevail; and we, who walk in freedom day by day must never rest, nor let our courage fail. “Thank you for serving as Christ’s hands and feet to me and so many others last night. It is never easy to break free from the chains of darkness that Satan creates during abuse, but God always finds a way to love and encourage me even if I hate crying in public. Thank you! Thank you! Godspeed.” —J. Marty Cope 7
We are honored to have Kevin DeYoung as a plenary speaker for the 2017 PCA Global Missions Conference to be held November 10-12 at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas. Find out more about the conference at pcpc.org/missions/gmc.
THE GLORY OF
PLODDING by Kevin DeYoung
It’s sexy among young people—my generation—to talk about ditching institutional religion and starting a revolution of real Christ-followers living in real community without the confines of church. Besides being
unbiblical, such notions of churchless Christianity are unrealistic. It’s immaturity actually, like the newly engaged couple who think romance preserves the marriage, when the couple celebrating their golden anniversary know it’s the institution of marriage that preserves the romance. Without the God-given habit of corporate worship and the God-given mandate of corporate accountability, we will not prove faithful over the long haul.
What we need are fewer revolutionaries and a few more plodding visionaries. That’s my dream for the church—a multitude of faithful, risktaking plodders. The best churches are full of gospel-saturated people holding tenaciously to a vision of godly obedience and God’s glory, and pursuing that godliness and glory with relentless, often unnoticed, plodding consistency.
My generation in particular is prone to radicalism without follow-through.
We have dreams of changing the world, and the world should take notice accordingly. But we’ve not proved faithful in much of anything yet. We haven’t held a steady job or raised godly kids or done our time in VBS or, in some cases, even moved off the parental dole. We want global change and expect a few more dollars to the ONE campaign or Habitat for Humanity chapter to just about wrap things up. What the church and the world needs, we imagine, is for us to be another Bono—Christian, but more spiritual than religious and more into social justice than the church. As great as it is that Bono is using his fame for some noble purpose, I just don’t believe that the happy future of 8
the church, or the world for that matter, do with the church, its doctrines, or its rests on our ability to raise up a million poor leadership and more to do with our more Bonos (as at least one author sugunwillingness to tolerate imperfection in gests). With all due respect, what’s hardothers and our own coldness to the same er: to be an idolized rock star who travels old message about Christ’s death and around the world touting good causes resurrection. It’s possible we talk a lot and chiding governments for their lack about authentic community but we aren’t of foreign aid, or to be a line worker at willing to live in it. GM with four kids and a mortgage, who tithes to his church, sings in The church is not an “It’s possible the choir every week, serves on incidental part of God’s the school board, and supports plan. Jesus didn’t invite the church a Christian relief agency and people to join an anti-reneeds to change. a few missionaries from his ligion, anti-doctrine, anCertainly disposable income? ti-institutional bandwagon of love, harmony, and in some areas Until we are content with re-integration. He showed it does. being one of the million people how to live, to be But it’s nameless, faceless church sure. But He also called members and not the next them to repent, called them also possible globe-trotting rock star, to faith, called them out we’ve changed— we aren’t ready to be a of the world, and called and not part of the church. In the them into the church. The grand scheme of things, most Lord “didn’t add them to for the better. of us are going to be more of the church without saving It’s possible an Ampliatus (Rom. 16:8) or them, and he didn’t save we no longer Phlegon (v. 14) than an apostle them without adding them Paul. And maybe that’s why to the church” (John Stott). find joy so many Christians are getting in so great tired of the church. We haven’t “Love bears all things, a salvation.” learned how to be part of the believes all things, hopes crowd. We haven’t learned to all things, endures all be ordinary. Our jobs are often mundane. things” (1 Cor. 13:7). If we truly love the Our devotional times often seem like a church, we will bear with her in her failwaste. Church services are often forgetings, endure her struggles, believe her to table. That’s life. We drive to the same be the beloved bride of Christ, and hope places, go through the same routines for her final glorification. The church is with the kids, buy the same groceries at the hope of the world—not because she the store, and share a bed with the same gets it all right, but because she is a body person every night. Church is often the with Christ for her Head. same too—same doctrines, same basic order of worship, same preacher, same Don’t give up on the church. The New people. But in all the smallness and sameTestament knows nothing of churchless ness, God works—like the smallest seed Christianity. The invisible church is for in the garden growing to unbelievable invisible Christians. The visible church is heights, like beloved Tychicus, that faithful for you and me. Put away the Che Gueminister, delivering the mail and apostolic vara t-shirts, stop the revolution, and join greetings (Eph. 6:21). Life is usually pretty the rest of the plodders. Fifty years from ordinary, just like following Jesus most now you’ll be glad you did. days. Daily discipleship is not a new revolution each morning or an agent of global Rev. Kevin DeYoung is senior minister of transformation every evening; it’s a long University Reformed Church in East Lansing, obedience in the same direction. Mich. Rev. DeYoung blogs at The Gospel Coalition and is author of What Does the Bible It’s possible the church needs to Really Teach about Homosexuality? change. Certainly in some areas it does. But it’s also possible we’ve changed— “The Glory of Plodding”( http://www.liand not for the better. It’s possible we gonier.org/learn/articles/glory-plodding/), no longer find joy in so great a salvation. 1 May 2010 by Kevin DeYoung, Ligonier It’s possible that our boredom has less to Ministries. FEBRUARY 2017 • PCPC WITNESS
{TRANSFORMED} 2016 PCA Women’s Conferences
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CPC and PCPC Women were thrilled to be the official host of over 450 women at the southern region’s PCA Women’s Conference: {TRANSFORMED} November 11-12. The 2016 Transformed Conference was held in seven different churches across the country and in Canada. Nancy Guthrie was our keynote speaker, and she taught us by vulnerably sharing truths about Christ and His unending mercy for each of us. She challenged each woman to evaluate what captivates, motivates, and shapes our actions, heart, and self-worth. Is it our loving Father, or is it something else?
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that He might be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” —Romans 11:33–12:2
Erin Fray, Carley White, Rachel Smith, and Matt Fray led us in beautiful and holy times of worship, singing praises to our Lord and proclaiming His goodness and power. Breakout sessions were taught by an incredible list of teachers, who opened up about their own lives, taught what God has been teaching them, and challenged the women. Workshop leaders were Brenda Bogart, Shannon Geiger, Kristen Hatton, Elizabeth Robinson, Ellen Schuster, Andrea Stimson, and Lynelle Zandstra. It was a beautiful weekend where the Lord did BIG and powerful things, and we were honored to play a small part by opening our doors to host women from the PCA churches in our region. —AnnCarolyn Williams Above top, Erin Fray, Carley White, Rachel Smith, and Matt Fray lead worship. Above middle, Andrea Stimson teaches a breakout session Left, a spontaneous prayer time in the hall for a sister in need
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Message in the Window (Ed. note: This article was first printed in PCPC WITNESS, January 1994)
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f you are among the fortunate who have visited the great Catheral of Chartres, France, you might be led to reminisce about your trip as you ponder the beauty of our Great Rose Window at PCPC. The twelve-petal design and smaller center circle you see there are clasical symbols first developed at Chartres. If you haven’t seen the original, climb the stairs to the balcony someday and take a few moments to be inspried by this treasure we are gaining as we purchase this building.
Alpha and Omega Former Highland Park Baptist minister Dr. Charles Pitts, who designed the window in 1954, desired that it be a clear depiction of the Gospel and the Person of Jesus Christ. The centrally located Lamb of God in white radiates the glow of the sun and stands in front of a golden cross from which hang the letters Alpha and Omega. The message is clear: because of His obedience, Christ reigns through all eternity. Radiating from the center, twelve petals represent the spreading of the Gospel by the twelve apostles. The petals’ predominately deep red color reminds us of the apostles courage and sacrfice, while the 10
golden thorns between them keep us mindful of Christ’s suffering for us. Within the petals are numerous traditional symbols of each apostle, built upon what we know of their lives and particular missions or the means of their deaths. As our eye continues to move outward, we come to the clusters of blooms sprouting green and gold leaves surrounding a center rose. These clusters terminate in six symbols, which display six attributes of God and name each attribute in golden letters against blue and green. At the top on the left appears the burning bush with its name WISDOM. Balancing
this attribute on the right is the shepherd’s crook surrounding the red heart below, on which appears the word LOVE. This juxtaposition symbolizes that, through Christ, the cherished gift of wisdom is to be tranformed into the redeeming power of love. On each side of the rose in the middle appear the two symbols on the left of the crown and scepter with the word MAJESTY, while balanced on the right appears the symbol of the rainbow and the word MERCY. Here we find a visual representation of a great truth: God, in His supreme majesty and sovereignty, revealed Himself to man in Jesus Christ, who expressed His power in humility, sacrifice, and saving mercy. The strong tower, with the word POWER, appears on the lower left of the rose, while on the lower right appear the sword and the balance of scales with the word JUSTICE. God’s unlimited power is always administered in complete aligment with His perfect justice. He is holy in all that He is and does.
The Calling of the Church Next in the consecutive circle spreading out into the rose window appear the twelve clusters of fruit. The colors and forms vary widely in them, signifying twelves types of fruit found among the leaves of the tree of life. Each fruit represents FEBRUARY 2017 • PCPC WITNESS
a month of the year and the ongoing, yet seasonal nature of the church’s mission. The petals thus symbolize the leaves of the tree of life, meant to serve in the healing of the nations. Between each branch of fruit in six directions can be seen blue petals, which balance the white cross surrounding four additional white crosses. These symbols together represent the missionary impulses of the church throughout the centuries.
Finally, again in the outermost circle, small crosses appear, grouped two-by-two in six directions around the window, reminding us of the first missionaries sent out by Jesus in pairs. Not only is the dominant theme one of spreading the Gospel, the crosses speak to us of brotherly love and the Church as the family of God. We will be known by our love for one another.
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As we gaze at our Great Rose Window, we see depicted the centrality of Jesus Christ and the surpassing greatness of our God. Just as the petals spread out from the center and fruit appears, we are called to bear fruit because of the person of Christ at work in each of us and to radiate His good news outward from this building to a needy world. —Terri Speicher 11
A New Year’s Resolution
Go on a J0G
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f you’re like my wife and me (and millions of other people), you begin each year by thinking of a list of ideas that will improve your life in some way over the coming 12 months and then set some goals to turn these ideas into action. Ultimately, each of these “resolutions” are made with the intent to make us happier. At least we hope they will. Well, here’s a question that my wife, Megan, and I came across last year at a conference we attended in the spring: “Have you ever met an unhappy generous person?” It’s a rhetorical question, right? But it leads to a logical follow-up question: “Why have you never met an unhappy generous person?” Trying to answer this second question will lead you on a journey which reveals the joy found in living a life of biblically-based generosity. In fact, that’s exactly the purpose of going on a JOG. No, I’m not talking about lacing up your shoes and finding a track. I’m referring to a Journey Of Generosity (JOG). So what exactly is a JOG? Here’s what it is not—a way to ask you for money or to tell you what to do you with your money. In fact, on a JOG, you will never be asked for money. Rather, a JOG is an overnight experience (an afternoon/evening followed by a morning session) with your peers discussing generosity. A JOG can take place in a home, a retreat setting, or any place your group of 12-20 can comfortably set aside some time to engage in Scriptures, stories, and videos that facilitate discussions about generosity. It is through these discussions that the Holy Spirit illuminates hearts
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to truly understand what Jesus meant when He said that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). For Megan and me, when we returned home from the conference, we were excited to pursue the possibility of participating in a JOG with a small group and were grateful when the opportunity presented itself last summer with some fellow members at PCPC. Our group met in a home for a few hours one evening (with several breaks) and then reconvened the following morning for three hours. We were amazed at how quickly the conversations moved beyond the surface as everyone began to engage in the material that was provided for all who attended. Through the various sessions, we all began to see how the generous life results in freedom and joy. Even more, we began to understand that the reason that we should even desire to be generous in the first place is because we serve a generous God. As it says in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world He gave…” Generosity is the heart of the Gospel! Anxious about anything? Personally, during the JOG I began to ask myself what keeps me from being more generous—and the answer for me was anxiety. I tend to be less generous when I feel that I’m at risk of running low of certain resources. If I’m short on time, then I’m less willing to volunteer to help others. If I’m worried about money, then I’m less inclined to give financially. Ultimately,
this anxiety is borne out of an insufficient understanding of my identity in Christ as a child of God. As a child of God, I am a co-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17) to immeasurable riches and thus have an inheritance that will never depreciate in value. Further, by being generous, I can provide myself with resources that do not grow old (Luke 12:33). I truly am storing up for myself treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20) when I sacrificially use the resources God has entrusted to me to bless others. While it may sound counterintuitive, generosity for me became the antidote to anxiety. The result was much peace and deep joy. Megan and I both left the JOG greatly encouraged; and, in turn, we want to encourage others to share in this experience. We know that the message of Gospel-centered generosity is truly evangelistic since the true happiness that it produces in our lives is attractive to others searching for it in so many other ways. We’ve witnessed the joy in others and have experienced the freedom in our lives when we have stepped out in faith and become generous givers. Doesn’t growing in generosity sound like a goal worth pursuing this year? If you really want to be happy in 2017, resolve to find a few friends and go on a JOG—and feel free to leave the running shoes at home! — Kyle Manley For more information about a Journey of Generosity, visit generousgiving.org/ small-gatherings. If you’d like to participate in JOG, contact: Pete Deison (pete.deison@pcpc.org) or Bill Bogart (bill.bogart@pcpc.org).