Rooted Wings Sightings

May, 2011 - In Conclusion and Closing Prayer

2011-05-01T06:00:00.003-07:00

In just one month after three years since this website first saw the light of day, we have now re-published under this “Sightings” link almost the whole of Glad Hearts: The Joys of believing and Challenges of Belonging (Covenant Publications, 2003). What remains are two sections, “In Conclusion,” with three appropriate entries from my own writings, and a “Closing Prayer” from the pen of my beloved late brother Zenos (1925-1997).

In Conclusion

I STAND BY MY CHURCH

We are hearing a lot these days about the failure of the church. Some say it is doomed to die, because God is dead. Others predict its demise because of its lack of “relevance” to the modern day, whatever that means. Still others see the church as a great waste of time, energy, and money, the type of thing an “intelligent” person no longer has need for in our kind of world.

Such people are not so much against the church. They are simply ignoring it. It is no longer important to them one way or the other, no longer a thing to be reckoned with. We dare no longer pretend that such voices are few and far between. One can hear them everywhere, even when there is no speech.

The silent turning away of the multitudes from real and specific commitment is its own eloquent witness to their feelings about the church and its worth. We are near enough to the roots of our own heritage as Protestants to realize, almost instinctively, the danger of closing our ears to all this. We cannot afford to be caught napping, as the Catholics were. Nor do we want to be found defending something which God himself may have rejected. There is always a danger in being oblivious to constructive criticism. God may well be speaking to us now!

Yet, because of the pressure--and perhaps at least in measure because of our own sense of inferiority--we are much too prone to lie down before it all and cry, rather hopelessly, “Well, maybe they are right; we had best be careful; maybe we've been too sure; after all, who are we?” Thus the corrosion grows, fed by fear--like heat shed from a fire already begun. Our mouths are stopped by the roaring flames, and we retreat to wait and hope against hope for better days. Perhaps God himself will intervene.

Soon it is no longer the Church in general that is questioned--that we could stand without too much strain--but our church and our faith and our ways. Everyone has a word to add--more fuel for the fire–and each new spokesperson is sure beyond doubt that his or her word will settle tne issue. Has not God himself sent them? The old church staggers, but surely not only from crumbling mortar. We kick it and beat it and salt its wounds while the skeptics laugh in derision and unnerved friends chip away at the foundations.

Will no one stand to defend my church? Will all her friends be silent? Is criticism all we shall hear? Is no one being redeemed? Are none being nurtured? Is there death only at the heart, and not life? Where are the patriot's voices? Where are the friends?

I will be a fool! I love her, the Church. And I love my church. I love her institutions, though I am not unaware of their faults. I love her worship. I am revived daily by her quiet, yet constant fellowship. I love her hymns, and the Word she proclaims. I treasure her celebrations of the sacraments. I honor her teachers. I salute her servants. I stand behind her leaders. I laud her achievements and I love her aspirings.

She shall be judged, of course, and in many things found wanting. I know that, and I reserve the right to criticize her myself. She needs to be judged, and so do I. But we have been promised that not even the gates of hell will prevail against her, because she belongs to Christ and was built from the very beginning on that foundation. She cannot be destroyed from without or within--by us. We do not have the power to destroy her. Her parentage is divine and her foundations are secure.

If the Lord tears her down it will only be to build something greater. We must be ready for that. Yet for now, in this climate of unrest, when she suffers so much from foe and friend alike, let me raise her a song from the heart.

I stand gladly in her battlements. I participate joyfully in her wider ministry, and in the seeking with her of that renewal we all so sorely need. While many cry out the news of her death, let me hail her life. For I believe in her and love her, and will stay by her with joy until the end.

James R. Hawkinson (1930- ), “I Stand by My Church,” originally appeared in The California Covenanter, November 25, 1965; altered and republished in The Covenant Companion, January 1, 1983, p. 32.

PASS IT ON!

Our inheritance flows
Like a fresh, clean stream
From the heart of God.
Who knows where it begins
Or finally ends
In oceans of time?

Whatever we may say
Is inadequate
To trace it clearly,
Except that God once gave
And still is giving
Out of love for us.

We are never worthy
To receive or share
The fruits of such grace!
No wonder we long now
To offer God thanks,
"Thanks for ev'rything,"

And, after the off'ring,
To reach, teach, and love
Those yet without hope.

James R. Hawkinson (1930- ), “Pass It On!”, The Covenant Companion, June, 1991, p. 48.

TIME TO BE MOVING ON

[Years] have moved us further away, sequentially at least, from our historical roots as Covenanters. There is no avoiding that. Time, like the moving finger it is, has written yet another chapter in our lives and having writ, moves on. We can no more stay its hand than prevent the dawning of a single day.

Some find that sad. With eyes set on glories in the past, it is difficult for them even to survive the present, much less “strain forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13). Life in their view is something to be endured, not experienced and enjoyed. I have known that feeling at times. So, perhaps, have you.

We can be thankful the Bible is more forward-looking--not because it is any less realistic but because its focus lies elsewhere. Faith, it teaches, is a living thing, grounded in and fed by living relationships. God and his Spirit, God's people and his world--these are to be at the center of our concern. This year or last is not the key, or even next year for that matter.

What counts is living day by day into God's will for our lives and the life of his creation. If further away from our historical roots, the Bible would say, we are also nearer to our salvation than when we first believed (Romans 13:11). “We do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see Jesus” and we know that God has left nothing outside his control (Hebrews 2:8,9).

What our forebears experienced and taught us to love is but a foretaste of things which are yet to be. The woods we have been through, to use Robert Frost's lovely image, may well be calm and deep, but we have promises to keep, and miles to go before we sleep--yes, miles to go before we sleep. It is time to be moving on.

James R. Hawkinson (1930- ), “Time to Be Moving On,” The Covenant Companion, February, 1988, p. 32.

CLOSING PRAYER

GLAD THANKS

Our Father, we give you glad thanks for this unbelievable, imperishable, unmerited fellowship. Help us to continue to enjoy each other as we pasture in your meadows, in places that have been made available to us through your grace, because you love us--not because we earned it, but because you love us, because you are who you are. And help us thus to love each other even when we disagree, even when we see things differently, but understanding that we are sheep of the same Shepherd, even our Lord Jesus Christ. Help that whatever is said or understood [among us] may suffer the winnowing of your good sense, that what is good seed may fall into good ground, and what is nonsense may dry up quickly, blow away, and be forgotten. For we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Zenos E. Hawkinson, Prayer before a Lecture on “Uprooting” (1978).From Anatomy of the Pilgrim Experience: Reflections on Being a Covenanter, Edited by Philip J. Anderson and David E. Hawkinson (2000), p. 2.

April, 2011 - Stewardship (Part Two)

2011-04-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Work As Calling

Work is what we do during the day to produce something of value or offer needed services. The Bible assumes that work is a major and important part of life (Ecclesiastes 2:17-26). Christians are exhorted to work-and to do their work wen. There is no place for dishonesty or laziness in a Christian's work life. Although there is a wide variety of appropriate work for the Christian, work must not contradict or interfere with one's vocation.

The questions for a Christian to ask regarding work and money are those of motivation (Am I in it solely for the money?), origin (At whose expense is this money made?), and the amount (When is the amount of money too little or too much?). "Got to make a living" is a thoughtless phrase that squelches serious consideration of these questions. In response to questions about money in our jobs, several general observations can be made. First, there is nothing unchristian about making a lot of money from a job. Second, there is something unchristian about making money if it is done in immoral or unethical ways. Third, there is also something unchristian about the primary pursuit of money to the exclusion of the rest of one's vocation. Jesus taught that trust in God and not concern over money should be the motivating force in our lives (Matthew 6:19-34).

Bryce E. Nelson (1945- ) and Dwight A. Nelson (1948- ), “And What Do You Do?”: Biblical Perspectives on Vocation and Work (1984), p. 12.

Why do we need meaningful labor? Why, because it is in our labor that we chiefly glorify God; it is the offering of our available strength to the One who created us. If a human being has spent his or her entire week goofing off, has made nothing lovely to contemplate, how shall he or she come into the courts of the Lord on the Sabbath with a tongue fit to praise the Creator of the universe?

Let us be careful. God does not love us because we have been faithful at our labor, much less because we praise him with empty words. The best work of a transcendent genius is a poor thing compared to the handiwork of God. We do not work to earn God's approval. We work because a loving Father has gotten through to us with his love, and in the joy of that recognition, we do what we can in our limited ways, confident that as once we brought our childish scrawls to wise and loving parents we may bring the flawed offerings of our mature strength to him as a sign of our love and praise. That is what Chesterton meant when he said, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” We cannot be perfect. Therefore we can work. joyfully.

In the world as God intended it, every human being would have good work to do--good work meaning something with usefulness attached to it, and deep pleasure in the doing of it, a labor appropriate to every strength. In that world, the measure of a man or a woman would be the quality of their work. A joyfully effective street-sweeper would be honored before a slovenly manager, an honest carpenter before a crooked king.

Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), “He Satisfies of Strength with Labor” (1985)
From Anatomy of the Pilgrim Experience: Reflections on Being a Covenanter, Edited by Philip J. Anderson and David E. Hawkinson (2000), pp. 130,131.

On the train [to Omaha, July 15, 1902], among others I conversed with Nebraska’s most famous man, W[illiam].J[ennings] Bryan from Lincoln. I screwed up courage and introduced myself to him “and he was very glad to see me.” He was returning from Dakota where he had delivered lectures on the victorious nations. He thinks, speaks, and writes so vigorously that his hair falls all over his face. Usually he appears strong and healthy. He is an articulate and educated man, talkative and animated. His eyes alternate sharpness and kindliness.

Among other matters he said: America's peril is its opulence and easy riches. Generally, show me persons who have come into wealth quickly and show me one of them with a good character or one who unselfishly serves his neighbor. Luck produces money and possessions without purifying character and motives of service. The great trusts take the bread of the working people and reduce their daily wages. In this way anarchy is fostered among us. The majority of America's preachers cater to the wealthy and neglect the ordinary people. That is why churches stand empty in many places. Preachers should put themselves in the working man's circumstances and work to rescue and help them out.

G. D. Hall (1870-1927), G. D. Hall, Pastor-Journalist: Reports Mission Meetings, 1895-1911, George F. Hall tr. (Typed Script, 1991), p. 84.

Whole Life Commitment

While whole-life stewardship encompasses more than what we do with our money, we cannot overlook the emphasis Jesus placed on money. The two most important theological documents we possess, other than our Bibles, are our checkbooks and our calendars. Nearly half of Jesus' parables (sixteen out of thirty-eight) deal with how we handle our money and possessions. One out of ten verses in the gospels (288 in all) focuses on how we gain, save, give, and use the financial resources that God entrusts to us. The Bible contains 500 verses dealing with prayer and nearly the same number dealing with faith, but over 2,000 verses concerning money and possessions. Obviously, money is important. Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.... No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:19-21,24). Jesus spoke directly and forcefully on this issue. He saw clearly that how people dealt with money would have an impact on their freedom and joy.

A Family Matter: An Exploration in Believing and Belonging (Inquirer’s Class Manual of the Evangelical Covenant Church, 1994), p. 25.

It is not sound Christian teaching to divide life into secular and religious parts. The whole concept of Christian stewardship is based on a proper understanding of the close relationship between secular action and religious faith. The steward of New Testament times illustrates a person in whom the secular and religious attitudes are united. He had the full responsibility of acting according to his own judgment, and he took things into his own hands. In this regard the steward illustrates the secular man. However, the things over which the steward exercised control were not his own. They belonged to his lord, to whom he was responsible for the proper handling of his charge. Therefore he also represents the religious man. His life could not be divided so that in certain areas he acted on his own and in other areas on behalf of his lord. He acted on his own in everything, and he acted on behalf of his lord in everything (Luke 12:42).

Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), Salvation and Secularity (1968), p. 24.

As long as Christ is exiled from life's central precincts in everyday living the cares of food, clothes, and shelter seem so important and decisive, whereas actually they are superficial. They seek to convince man he is only an animal--refined of course--but still only a physical being. If only be could be well-fed, well-dressed and well-housed he would have no further needs. All he needs is social security and with that he has arrived at his high station. From then on he is a sleek, oily specimen of the full life without a care in the world. The only thing wrong with that kind of existence is that it is a cruel caricature of man. In it the center of his being is hollow, and he is “a man of straw.” He must have a real center; a substantial core that gives strength; a Lord that unifies all vagrant impulses.

Clarence A. Nelson (1900-1971), “Did He Get In?”
From The Covenant Pulpit, G. F. Hedstrand, ed. (1954), p. 67.

When the owner of a large apartment building in Stockholm asked him [Paul Peter Waldenström, 1838-1917], “When is God going to get control of the hearts of Christian hymn publishers so that they give their proceeds to the Christian church?”, Waldenström answered: “At the same time that he gets control of the hearts of apartment owners so that they turn the proceeds of their apartment houses over to the Lord.”

Herbert E. Palmquist (1896-1981), The Wit and Wisdom of Our Fathers (1967), p. 28.

“...Present your bodies” (Romans 12:1). This is consecration.

Most of us have attended consecration services. The invitation is given. We have a prayer mssion with those who respond. They ask for forgiveness and cleansing, and consecrate themselves to God. Here an earnest youth confesses worldliness and lays a pack of cigarettes “on the altar.” Another puts two theater tickets “on the altar.” A young woman confesses her evil disposition and lays her bad temper “on the altar.” Then we all stand up and give our testimonies, and everything is going to be different from now on.

A young man comes home from such a service firmly determined to live for God. All goes well for a day or two, and then he suddenly discovers how monotonous this kind of “consecrated” living can become. He reaches for a cigarette.

“No, I can't do that. I put my cigarettes on the altar.”

How about going out with the gang?

“No, they are going to a show, and I put the theater on the altar.”

What kind of life is this, where a man cannot even become angry? He contents himself with reading the funny paper (which he didn't put on the altar) for an evening or two, but soon the monotony becomes too great and he is back to the old life again.

What is wrong?

Come with me back to the “altar” and I will show you what is wrong. There “on the altar” lies the sacrifice: a pack of cigarettes, two theater tickets, and a bad temper! What a perfectly magnificent gift to offer to God “on the altar”! What, may I ask, do you expect God to do with a pack of cigarettes, two theater tickets, and a bad temper?

What is wrong? This was no consecration. These things certainly do not belong in the Christian life, but giving them up does not constitute consecration!

This is consecration, “That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice.”

“Lord Jesus, I give thee my hands. They are not the most beautiful hands in the world. They may not carve magnificent sculptures nor paint beautiful pictures. They are just ordinary hands, and they have the ordinary skills apparent only in the dishpan or on the tractor, or with the hammer, or the typewriter, or the broom. I give my hands to thee for they are part of my body. Teach me to do the tasks that fall to my lot to do, not just to get by, but so that men may see that a Christian has done them, and glorify God. These hands are no more mine, but thine.

“Take my feet, Lord Jesus, and direct them where to go and where not to go. Take my lips. I may not be a silver tongued orator nor a golden voiced singer, but I want thee to have control of my lips, so that it will be natural, without my having to make any effort, to glorify thee even when I talk about the ordinary things of life. Keep them from boastfulness, blasphemy, and scandal. Keep them from empty religious phraseology, and teach them to speak simply, kindly, and honestly that men may thereby be encouraged to come to my Savior.

“Take my heart, Lord Jesus, and teach me to love thee devoutly and sincerely, and to love my fellow men in a way that is practical, helpful, and Christlike.”

This is consecration, and it is anything but monotonous. It leads to exhilarating, satisfying activity and makes life seem worthwhile.

Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), “A Living Sacrifice”
From The Covenant Pulpit, G. F. Hedstrand, ed. (1954), pp. 84,85,86.

Jesus talked a lot about money. Students of the gospels say he talked about it more than anything else. No doubt about that! And when he got on the subject he wasn’t raising funds. He talked priorities. He talked values. He talked loyalties. But he did not ignore the economic needs of people. How gentle he was with his disciples’ worries. In the Sermon on the Mount he addressed those anxieties and told them not to worry about food, housing, or clothes. And they lived a hand-to-mouth existence. Survival was a close concern to them. His answer was explicit: put the Kingdom of God first–material needs will follow (Matthew 6:24-34).

...Survival isn’t at stake here; priorities are.... I’m not saying we may not need more money, especially in inflationary times. But a Christian has first to come back to a fundamental question: where is my ultimate trust? Do I recognize God as the source of my life and my well-being? Do I recognize my brothers around the world as sharing in this common need? Some time ago my wife and I felt the need of reviewing our own economic situation, our spending habits, our stewardship, and the witness of the telltale check stub. We got the courage to invite an accountant friend of ours into our confidence. We were anxious to know what our true situation was. He didn’t come asking spiritual questions but he got down to basics: income, fixed expenses, living expenses, giving. Facts, facts, facts. With calculator in hand, he went at it...dispassionately. Whereas we had emotionalized the data, a clear head helped us see our situation lucidly and hopefully. More than ever now we want to seek first the Kingdom of God in the realm of our possessions. The wolves had growled and the angels ministered to us.

Arthur W. Anderson (1920- ), Wild Beasts and Angels (1979), 25,26,27,28.

I hope you will believe me when I say that it is not my intent to be hurtful to anyone--in this article, or, God help me, in anything else I do or say. But there are times when I feel matters so deeply as to want to share with my “family” of fellow believers--to share in the sense of raising issues and questions and thereby helping to shape my own convictions.

Moral lifestyle. The word is one whose time has come. I spend a goodly portion of my professional life (as a medical communicator) attempting to convince the general public that changes in our physical lifestyle can and will result in positive health benefits. End of that sermon.

But what about our moral lifestyle? I pick the word “moral” to heighten the choices I am concerned about. I am not caring, at this point, about alcoholic beverages and x-rated movies. I am, instead, caring about choices related to material possessions--cars and houses and all that goes in them and with them. And I am not speaking to those who make no pretense about any commitment to matters other than those of the world at hand. I am addressing those of us who claim to be a people “set apart” and I am specifically concerned about how we witness to that separation in terms of our material possessions...

Riches can, of course, provide marvelous opportunities for investment in the Kingdom of God. And I personally appreciate the talents of those whose riches flow into efforts to help others; the church desperately needs that kind of talent and commitment--and more of it all the time.

But what I am really concerned about, more than riches in general, are riches in particular--as I said at the beginning, riches like cars and houses and all that goes in them and with them. That's the arena that most of us deal with when we think of “riches”--and that's what most of our neighbors and friends and acquaintances notice....

How do we witness today--apart from words, which are cheaper than ever--to the freedom we have in Christ, to the hope we have that is not dependent on possessions or financial security? The early Christians were identified in dramatic ways by their lifestyles of denial. I would like to suggest that one of the most direct and noticeable avenues of witness in our society is to avoid symbols of material affluence--no matter how “wise” the investment--and to thereby witness to the fact that we march to the beat of a different drummer than the one leading most of the parades of our time.

G. Timothy Johnson (1936- ), “Witness by Lifestyle?” (Covenant Tract, 1988).

Every person has received some natural endowment from God which can be used in his service. The gift may be a humble one; yet, consecrated to God, it can become of inestimable worth. It may be simply the ability to be a good hearer, to give an infectious smile, to read well, to converse well, to be a friendly visitor. Our sin is that we do not recognize the peculiar ability we have, nor develop it and use it in the service of the Lord. The gifts are there, but it takes the life-giving touch of the Spirit to make them active and effective. Every pastor has seen young men and women in [the] church who formerly were unable to do a thing for God, but who, after being born of the Spirit and consecrated, have developed into great and useful workers in the church. There is not a Christian so humble that...has not some talent that God can use. Find your talent!

Leonard J. Larson (1894-1973), “Christian Youth and Stewardship of Talents”
From Covenant Graded Lessons, 1943, p. 35.

March, 2011 - Stewardship (Part One)

2011-03-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Biblical Moorings

The word “steward” is one Jesus used. It refers to a person who has been given charge over property which belongs to another. It is the job of the steward to decide how that property is to be used. He has a very high responsibility and must be a man who can be trusted. Jesus taught that his followers were to be God's stewards.

Actually everything in the world belongs to God. Paul once wrote to some Christians at Corinth, “What have you that you did not receive?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). He could ask the same question of you or me. The more we think of it the more clearly we see that everything we have has been placed in our hands by God. He is the owner, as the Bible says. “The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:8).

When the Holy Spirit came upon the Christians on the day of Pentecost they saw this truth clearly, and “no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own” (Acts 4:32). They thought of themselves as stewards who were to use these things to help others and to bring glory to God.

If you are a Christian it will be revealed in the fact that you think of your possessions--your time, money, skills, talent, and your life itself--as things which you can use to bring honor to God. The true Christian gives liberally and proportionately of his time, his talent, and his money to the Church, for there he is able to serve God. Many Christians feel that the practice of giving a tithe (one-tenth of their income) provides a guide to proportionate giving.

Clifford W. Bjorklund (1921-1986), Harry J. Ekstam (1918- ), Karl A. Olsson (1913-1996), and Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), According to Thy Word (1954, 1955), pp. 385,386.

Because giving is so critical to Christian growth, to the maintenance of Christ's Church, and to the furthering of the Gospel, it is certain to come under attack by “powers of this dark world” (Ephesians 6.12). Those attacks may be expressed in remarks like, “There is too much emphasis on giving in the Church.” But, as we have seen, the words giving and loving are scripturally synonymous. Can there be too much emphasis on love?

As disciples of Christ, we overcome such attitudes through an understanding of his Word and through wise stewardship of his gifts. When we do, God promises to honor our faithfulness by extending his kingdom.

God has given us all the resources needed to accomplish his work. He trusts our stewardship to reflect the love he modeled in Christ...the love of his Spirit who indwells us. How are we making the things that matter most to God the things that matter most to us?

Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it (Malachi 3:10).

Timothy C. Ek (1943- ), “Loving and Giving,” Covenant Tract (1998).

All our possessions have been given us by God, and we have the privilege of using them for his glory. A traditional standard of giving, based on what was expected of God's people in the Old Testament, is one-tenth of one's income. A good rule is to give so much that it involves some significant sacrifice. For some this will mean much more than a tenth, and for others it may mean less. We should know the financial needs of the Church, including plans for an expanding ministry. Then, considering our means, we should give our share sacrificially. It is always better to give purposefully than to be carried away by the mood of the moment. It is better to give in anticipation that God will continue to bless and care for us than to refrain because of fear of future reverses. The life of faith is always a generous life, and generosity is a source of great blessing. 2 Corinthians 9:6-11.

The Meaning of Covenant Church Membership: An Introduction (The Board of Evangelism, 1976), p. 20.

It is a curious fact that only women are mentioned [in the New Testament] as the source of financial support for both Jesus and Paul. In the case of Jesus, Luke 8:1-3 recalls that as he and the twelve traveled from place to place preaching the gospel, a group of women accompanied them, “helping to support them out of their own means.” The inclusion of women among his traveling coterie is of a piece with Jesus' rejection of the traditional domestic stereotyping of women, allowing them to make the same radical commitment in following him as the twelve did. Equally curious is the fact that only men are mentioned in the NT as providing hospitality. Gaius is commended for offering hospitality not only to Paul but to the “whole church” (Romans 16:23), and from Paul's request of Philemon that he “prepare a guest room” for him, it can be inferred that he as well was known for his hospitality (Philemon 22).

Both men and women are singled out in equal numbers for their contribution of personal resources to local congregations (Acts 4:36; 5:1; Romans 16:5, 23; Philemon 1:1-2). Two women are mentioned as having sufficient financial means to own their own homes, which they in turn offered as meeting places for the local body of believers (Mary in Jerusalem [Acts 12:12] and Nympha in Colossae [Colossians 4:151]). A third woman, Lydia--a business woman from Thyatira--opened her home in Philippi to Paul as a base of operations (Acts 16:15). This gesture becomes especially significant when it is remembered that the Philippian church is the only one from which Paul accepted financial support (Philippians 4:10-19; cf 1 Corinthians 9:15-18 and 1 Tbessalonians 2:9).

Linda L. Belleville (1950- ), “Male and Female Leadership Roles in the New Testament.” From Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson and Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp.29,30.

Leadership and Service

...Can the church as an organization be managed with servant leadership as described in Scripture? James and Evelyn Whitehead raise the question very clearly: “How can we reconcile the image of servant with the demands of the leadership role?” To answer the question they explore the meaning of the New Testament idea of steward. They state that this is “a leadership position reserved for experienced, capable persons. Stewards exercise considerable authority, but not in their own name. Stewardship links power with service (of the community) and authority with dependence (on the Lord).

In the exercise of leadership, the Whiteheads suggest three tasks for leaders as stewards of God: “1) to nurture commitment, 2) to enhance the group's power, and 3) to face the group toward its future.” They define the nurturing of commitment as reinforcing our interdependence--our need for one another in accomplishing the task. Thus, effective leaders work to shape individual interests into shared goals for the good of the community. In their discussion of enhancing the group's power, the management dimension of leadership comes into play. Responsibility for managing the organization--staffing, recruiting, training, and monitoring the use of resources--is a part of the organizational leadership role. In Acts, 6:1-7, the early church leaders organized a special group to give attention and care to widows. They were acting with accountability to the gospel and in the service of the common good, and in that management enlarged the church's power to serve. The third dynamic is to work with people to “construct the future together.” Perhaps this is where the distinction between management and leadership can be seen most clearly. Good organizational management leads to organizational health and stability that can confront and integrate the changes of innovative and creative strategies designed in envisioning an effective future. Management fails if it guards the status quo and is not open and flexible in the light of needed change.

Church leaders act as stewards in these tasks, not owners. As stewards they function as Christ's servants-with authority until he returns.

Frances M. Anderson (1931- ), “Sounding the Distinct Notes of Leadership”
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), p. 81.

Leadership is also required in the formation of church budgets. Allocating some minimum portion (10 percent?) of the congregational budget for the direct social ministries of the church, for ministries of love and care for neighbors in need, not only helps those who are served but leads the congregation itself toward a higher view of the importance of God's social concern. This occurs most successfully, of course, when laity involved in social ministry are the advocates for budget additions or restructuring. But the pastor's leadership role in identifying relative financial priorities will be crucial at various points.

David W. Gill (1946- ), “The Unique Role of the Church in a Troubled Society”
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), p. 75.

There is nothing that convinces the world of our sincerity as much as our willingness to sacrifice for our faith. If anyone would be an effective soul-winner, let [that person] demonstrate their discipline as a steward first of all. Unless Jesus Christ means enough to us so that we are willing to give him a proportionate share of our income regularly and ungrudgingly, we shall never convince anyone else that our faith has meaning.

Glenn L. Lindell (1920- ), The Church and Its Mission (1959), p. 75.

Gratitude and Thanksgiving

Sometimes I feel that we in the evangelical world promote insensitivity to the wonder of life God gives us. We assume we only experience God through the fierce growth of repentance, or by doing beneficial ministry. No wonder television portrays Christians as long-faced, austere individuals full of do's and don'ts. As if God lives only in the channels of human process! God's presence and gifts of love are freely, easily placed all around us. It is up to us to touch, taste, feel, smell, hear, and take pleasure in them!

The Mishnah teaches that in the day of the Lord believers will be held accountable for all the goodness God has shown them. We will be judged for that in which we did not take delight. What is there in your life that sings with God's goodness? Are you finding and noting new channels of God's gift of love? Are your receptors open to noting it? Is your church family sensitizing you to the joys and surprises of God's life around you? A committee in my former church recorded four core purposes of fellowship together. The last one reads, “We will seek opportunities to celebrate the goodness of God.”

The blessings are there. Learn how to touch them.

Mary C. Miller (1952- ), Devotions for Those Living with Loss (1991), p. 106.

[August J.] Almquist preached one stewardship sermon every month, and if there were five Sundays he preached two. The first principle he stressed was that God is a God of abundance who will always be faithful to you. The second truth...was that faith is the basis for giving. “You do not pledge your giving for the coming year on the basis of what you earned last year or even on your current assets,” he always said, “but on the increases in income and investments that you can reasonably expect God to bless you with during the coming year.”

Milton B. Engebretson (1920-1996), “Serving the Church with Uniqueness and Experience.” From A Giving Spirit: the Story of Paul W. Brandel, Eloise V. Nelson, ed. (Published by Covenant Benevolent Institutions, Inc., 1990), p. 27.

Responding somewhat impatiently to a stewardship presentation by Covenant layman Vince Abrahamson of National Car Rental–during which earlier queries on tithing like “Should one tithe on one’s gross income or the net?” seemed not answered satisfactorily, the questioner finally blurted out in frustration, “Well, for goodness’ sake, tell me plainly, how much should I give?”

The response was immediate without being legalistic: “How happy do you want to be?”

Oral Tradition

If Christ’s people in his church would once wake up to the sterling fact that giving money for his work is a service of love and gratitude as precious to him as a prayer or a hymn, every financial need of the kingdom would be richly met. It’s never a good indication when church people have to scratch their heads and say, “How are we going to raise the money?” When John Willis Baer, a Presbyterian banker from the city in which I grew up, was secretary of the World Christian Endeavor organization, he was asked in a Question Hour: “What is the best way to raise money for foreign missions?” Like lightning came his answer: “Don’t raise it–give it!” He was right!

Paul S. Rees (1900-1991), Christian: Commit Yourself (1957), pp. 55,56.

Keep the church in your thoughts. Ideas for new or improved work may come to you. Encourage with a word spoken or written to those who serve your church. The rewards for this are great.

Be a faithful steward--of time, energy, and money. The church represents Christ and the gospel. It is the most important work in the world. It requires the best and the most we can give it. Our time and energy in worship and in work are needed. God has given us talents to use. “There are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:6,7).

No one can specify for another each detail of stewardship in time or money. It is a sense of profound response and love to God that drives us to give far beyond what may seem sufficient. Giving the tithe--ten per cent of income--is a basic, Biblical standard, but equally important is that our giving is done willingly and from the heart. “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly, or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). That the major portion of a Christian's giving should be to and through his home church is quite clearly the spirit of the Word of God. Malachi advises: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse” (Malachi 3:10).

Paul P. Fryhling (1912-1973), “Being a Christian and Showing It”
From Donald C. Frisk, Paul P. Fryhling, and Herbert E. Palmquist, The Christian Fellowship: an Introduction to the Church (1958), p. 44.

Some farmers in the West have harvested money this year [May 14, 1902]. All of their products have brought high prices. As a result the value of land has almost doubled. That which was sold for $ 25 an acre a year ago is now $ 40-50 an acre. It is a “boom.” Some get light-headed and lose their balance as they fly higher than their wings can carry them. Speculation's lust drives out godliness. It is tragic to see farmers who have earned $ 3-5000 during the year hardly sparing a $ 10 bill for God's work that very year. Others brag about their tight budgets and how economically spiritual work is conducted while they get away with giving $ 3 to $ 5 during the year for that ministry.

A genuine awakening in stewardship for mission is sorely needed. The Jews gave a tithe of everything--how many Christians do that? We are only managers, not the owners. God have mercy! Some bring huge piles of gold and silver to the altar of Mammon and then give a copper now and then to missions and call that the “widow’s mite.” What are you doing? This is certainly a test if you truly love Jesus.

G. D. Hall (1870-1927), G. D. Hall, Pastor-Journalist: Reports Mission Meetings, 1895-1911, George F. Hall tr. (Typed Script, 1991), p. 69.

February, 2011 - Social Concern (Part Two)

2011-02-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

Issues: Seminary Training

Seminary urban studies programs seek to make seminarians critically aware of political reality, welfare bureaucracy, ward politics, and other structures of urban life. Knowing where to go and to whom to speak are only the beginning of wise pastoral care in the city, to say nothing of congregational development. For that reason, the more classical models of the pastor such as prophet, priest, and shepherd need one more from the Hebrew Bible: the wisdom teacher. Such a person might be described as worldly wise and street smart. He or she may pay more attention to the order of creation than of redemption. There is less triumphalism and more rigorous honesty, maybe even a “holy” skepticism about life. And there is appreciation for what the arts and sciences have to offer, not just to increase knowledge but also wisdom. Wisdom teachers know the dialectical tension of being “wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

If congregations are, in and of themselves, a witness, a social process moving toward a new cosmos, such will not happen by accident. Everything from fear to prejudice will inhibit the process. But if a pastor is wise, she or he will know and benefit from being aware of how organizations behave-that power shared is power multiplied, and that all sorts of minorities make up power blocs. My own study with Robert Worley, a specialist in church organizational behavior, introduced me to this discipline. If a congregation is in a neighborhood of racial transition, let us say with a movement of African-Americans, pastors will be strategically prophetic studying Kochman's Black and White: Styles in Conflict with the congregation, as a way of wisely understanding that communication patterns are cultural more than racial. Is this not part of the way God is, in the fullness of time, gathering up all things in Christ?

Similar literature exists on rural ministry, on work in small towns, and in specialized forms of pastoral care. My point is that pastoral theology, especially if it is concerned with the development of the priesthood of the congregation, cannot plead ignorance of these things and hope to be trusted by congregations. Yet the authority for engaging in such arduous work is the gospel. St. Paul found himself entrusted with a commission okoua in 1 Corinthians 9:17 and Ephesians 3:2. It had to do not only with something preached but with something going public, not just with a sermon but with sociology. Wise rule (Worley), wise pastoral care, and wise leadership have much to do with God's gathering up all things in Christ; and the congregation of believers who are trying to be and do Christ to each other are, in their very sociology, a witness to God's society-creating grace. As we are reminded in the Gospel of Luke, wisdom is justified in her children, or, sad to say, repudiated, as the case may be.

C. John Weborg (1937- ), “It Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit and to Us: Clergy and Laity in Interaction,” from Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 125,126.

Issues: Divorce

The problems [surrounding divorce] are real, but the determining question is, “For what do we as Christians stand?” Can we ignore the New Testament view on divorce? Does the Covenant stand for anything other than tolerance? Karl Olsson correctly noted that “the only constituting principle of the Covenant is new life in Christ and without that we have no principle of coherence.” Does new life in Christ change the way we handle our egos, our sexuality, our marriages, and the way we treat the question of divorce?

The truth is that we must still minister to divorced people with all the difficulties of their lives. There are no easy answers to the problems of people's lives. The temptation exists to create answers and force people to conform. As one scholar put it, “Doctrine should never be compromised by cases.” Such a view of theology is sterile and incomplete. Theology is to be applied to life with all its difficulties. Paul's method is instructive. He was a task theologian reflecting on the “cases” of his churches in the light of the Gospel. The problem, of course, is that in dealing with cases we easily become hopelessly entangled in casuistry and are open to charges of inconsistency. What is required is integrity in following Christ.

Even where integrity has been compromised, divorced people need ministry. They find themselves in a world that has been destroyed. They need acceptance, grace to face the truth, mercy, and discipline.

The attempts of the Church to deal with the problem of divorce and remarriage have been and continue to be varied. The following options should be mentioned:

1. The rigorist position which argues for the absolute indissolubility of marriage. Neither divorce nor remarriage is acceptable.
2. The legislative approach which allows two reasons for divorce: adultery (based on Matthew's “exception” clauses) and desertion by an unbeliever (the Pauline privilege based on 1 Corinthians 7:15). The “Erasmian” understanding would allow remarriage; others would argue that remarriage is not permitted even under these circumstances.
3. A double standard approach which is more restrictive for Christians and less restrictive for non-Christians (based on 1 Corinthians 7:11 and 15).
4. The dispensational approach which views Jesus' statements as part of the kingdom teaching offered to the Jews and, therefore, the Church is not bound by them. Remarriage would be allowed.
5 The pastoral (or more liberal) approach which seeks to take the lesser of two evils. The Reformers allowed divorce for desertion, cruelty, and refusal of conjugal duty. Remarriage is usually allowed.
6. The Roman Catholic approach which can annul marriages and dissolve non-sacramental marriages (the Petrine privilege). Remarriage is allowed.
Few of us will be attracted to the Roman Catholic approach or the dispensational bracketing of the teaching of Jesus. One can understand why the other approaches developed, but in the end not one of them is satisfying for the sheer reason that there are no easy answers on this subject. If one limits divorce to cases of adultery, some people will commit adultery to escape a hopeless marriage. Further, on the more restrictive approaches, we find ourselves more tolerant of people who have been promiscuous prior to marriage than to people who have been faithful within marriage, but seek remarriage after divorce.

The real question is, “What do we do when the unthinkable happens, when the indissoluble is broken?” There can be no “soft” reaction to divorce. Divorce may be understandable in a given circumstance, but it cannot be made a light affair. Recent attempts to see divorce in a more positive light because of longer life expectancy or as a new pattern for marriage must be rejected forcefully. Nor is it appropriate to speak of the grace of divorce. Without doubt, divorce is necessary at times due to abuse and destructive relationships, but it is always tragic and partakes of sin. People must be helped to speak the truth about their own lives and sin and to confess their failures and repent of their sin. They do not need to be made to grovel, but they do need to speak truth with God, their families, and themselves. Divorced people need the grace and support of the Church while they piece their lives back together. The failure of the Church to minister to divorced people, even to seek them out, is unconscionable.

Klyne Snodgrass (1944- ), Divorce and Remarrige (Occasional Paper Number Three, 1989), pp. 13,14,15.

Issues: AIDS

So what does this story [Jesus’ healing of the leper, Luke 5:12-16] have to do with you and me and the issue of AIDS? The Church has a unique responsibility in the face of this dread disease. AIDS labels those afflicted by it as “untouchable.” In light of that the Church has been given a unique responsibility to carry on the ministry of Jesus, to reach out and touch those afflicted by AIDS--the modem-day “untouchables.” When we reach out and touch three things happen, the same three things that occurred when Jesus touched that first-century leper.

First, we reflect the character of our God. Our touch in his name demonstrates that God responds to brokenness and suffering and pain, not with punishment and judgment, as some would lead us to believe, but with love and grace and compassion. As the Church chooses to respond in that same way, it reflects God's character of compassion. The Church becomes a place where people feel free to bring their pain and their grief and their suffering, knowing that they will find comfort and care. Reaching out in the name of Christ means that we reflect the truth about God's character.

Second, reaching out and touching the “untouchable” bridges the gap of alienation. I read a story recently about a pastor who learned about a young man dying of AIDS. When the pastor went to visit him, the young man told him that he was only the second person to visit him in three months. Alienation is one of the greatest problems among people who have AIDS. But alienation is not only a phenomenon experienced by the AIDS victim; it extends to their families as well, since families are often afraid to share the truth about their loved one's illness. This alienation is caused by a mixture of fear, homophobia, misinformation, and judgment. But as Jesus reached across the chasm of fear, sickness, and moralism when he touched the leper, so our reaching out to touch--literally touch--and get involved with those suffering from AIDS and their families serves to bridge the gap of alienation. As one person with AIDS puts it, “Sometimes all I need is a hug; if someone would just hug me, things would seem better.” Reaching out to touch and get involved bridges the gap of alienation.

Finally, when we reach out and touch it brings about healing. Not always physical healing, but a kind of spiritual and emotional healing from the inside out that results in a sense of wholeness and dignity and hope. It is that sense of hope that will enable a person with AIDS to live--not as someone “dying from AIDS” so much as a person “living with AIDS.”

Pamela M. Nelson, (1956- ), “AIDS, the Church, and You: A Challenge to Care” (Covenant Tract, 1988).

Issues: Pollution

POLLUTION

Pollution, pollution is everywhere,
In the water and in the air.
Carbon monoxide and factories too
Are ruining the skies so blue.

Soon there will be no air to breathe
As waste products from factories seethe.
You can’t see because of the fog
And you can’t breathe because of the smog.

All the birds will one day die
And no more will we see them fly,
Even if we don’t understand,
It was us that ruined the land.

Once it was perfect, plants were alive too,
But now they may die, even you.
With pollution, wastes and other things plus,
Can you imagine what will happen to us?

Faye Hoberman (1970- ), Age 11, Newell, Iowa
From Poems and Prayers from the Ark, Priscilla Johnson, ed. (1984), p. 63.

Issues: Race

Racial cleavage in the United States is not unrelated to the progress of missionary endeavor in the Congo. What happens in Chicago or Detroit is known as quickly in [Congo] as what happens in Johannesburg or Algiers. White racial pride which leads to discrimination against nonwhites and reduces them to a status of inferiority is said by the churches (including the Covenant) to be immoral and contrary to the ethical precepts of the New Testament. For the churches to declare this principle is one thing; for the churches to act in accordance with this principle is something else.

L. Arden Almquist (1921- ), Covenant Missions in Congo (1958), p. 78.

Issues: Urban Life

CITY

I have come to regard
My conscience as a city
With tall churches rising
From its heart; but pity

Is in the streets,
And cold water, low rent
Flats have sprung about
My tall churches. Tenement,

Tenement, tenement;
Each brick building comes
To devastate my churches,
And my city is becoming slums.

Fred Moeckel (1929-1966), None But A Child May Enter (1982), p. 29.

Issues: Local Church Involvements

When Jesus takes command of a church, it no longer stands on the sidelines and contemplates whether or not it should become involved in the important issues of the day. He leads it right into the midst of human need. At fellowship meetings and social gatherings, the conversation invariably turns to means by which they can give themselves to the needs of men. Every problem situation in the community and every report of human need will prompt the inquiry if there is any way their help might be needed.

When the church is thus immersed in human need, it can no longer make arbitrary decisions regarding its actions. It finds it necessary to act because it has become so involved in the lives of people it cannot be faithful to them without taking action. Its actions are always determined by its concern for people who are dependent on it. An illustration might be a church that has a vital ministry to young people in the slums. Its primary concern will be to win these young people to Christ. However, its involvement with them will require it to concern itself with any political action that may affect them, to fight for adequate educational opportunities for them, and to interest itself in everything that relates to their lives in any way.

Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), Salvation and Secularity (1968), p. 90.

Issues: Peace

MATTHEW 5:9

“Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called
the children of God.”

Who is a peacemaker?
He who sets himself between
hatred and worse hatred;
whose hand is never seen

save in the attitude
of love; he who bears
no vengeance, no reprisal,
no avarice; who shares

the mockery men made
of one Peacemaker who tried
to speak of peace to men of war--
and Who was crucified.

Fred Moeckel (1929-1966), Recording Angel (1969), p. 83.

Church’s Unique Role

We have our priorities wrong if we think that the only way to develop our church's agenda for social ministry is to flip on the television, open the newspaper, or listen to our colleagues. No, first open your Bible with a prayer to God, “Lord, show me what you think is important for our social ministry.” Why don't we invite the Ten Commandments to question and illuminate our social as well as personal lives? For example, what are we (and our culture) worshiping today? What do we sacrifice for? What is at the controlling and meaning center of our life? Do we in any way worship the visible work of our human hands? What is the meaning of the names and labels we use? Do we take in vain the name of God by the way we live? Do we treat those made in the image of God with contempt when we misuse or demean their names? Do we contribute to murder and killing in any indirect ways? Do we steal in covert ways? Is there such a thing as institutional theft by unfair taxes, wages, or interest rates, or by gouging patients desperate of our critical care in hospital or court? These are only examples of a different way to develop a list of urgent social issues.

The same approach “from above” can be pursued through reflection on the Beatitudes, the Sermon on the Mount, passages in the prophets or apostles' teaching, the Wisdom literature, or the great narratives of Old and New Testaments. Certainly, “from below” listening to the cries of our neighbors will yield many of the same concerns as our approach “from above.” But a direct pursuit of God's agenda promises a more helpful and more profound social ministry. Can we really address problems of abortion, capital punishment, adultery, sex, and health-care costs before we address the most basic issue of who or what we worship?

By starting on the foundation and from the center, Christians will be empowered to bring something unique, innovative, and profound to our troubled times. Who needs Christians to pour holy water on Republican or Democratic party interests? Why simply add a chorus of “amens” to this or that polarized interest group? Why can't Christians bear witness to a unity that breaks down factional strife and introduces a third way of living? Why not? Because we Christians are all too often propagandize by the world and all too ignorant of our biblical foundation. And this ignorance is a terrible loss to a shallow world desperate for profound insight, a moribund political climate thirsting for true innovation, and a predatory economy in need of servant leadership and enterpreneurship.

David W. Gill (1946- ), “The Unique Role of the Church in a Troubled Society”
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 71,72.

January, 2011 - Social Concern (Part One)

2011-01-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Biblical Moorings

Whatever the rationale furnished by theology or tradition, the church cannot accept the assignment of a “non-role” in regard to social issues. Withdrawal, non-involvement, silence, quietism--these are a social stance of considerable impact, an implicit endorsement of the status quo. “Doing nothing” may sometimes be the right response; but “doing nothing” always and on principle is surely wrong. We must remember that there are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. Though not a biblical proverb, the old adage is true: “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.”

But there is a more important reason why dropping out, withdrawing, and remaining silent is a mistake. The consistent witness of Holy Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is that the people of God have a unique and crucial mission to those around them. God is not just the God of the gathered, redeemed community of faith alone; nor is he the God of the afterlife and innerlife alone. The God of Abraham, Deborah, David, Mary, and Paul is creator, sustainer, and redeemer for the whole earth and the whole of humanity. This is no esoteric, partisan, liberal, or socialistic reading of the Bible. Biblical faithfulness calls us clearly to carry out a mission in the world that includes not only “telling the old, old story of Jesus,” not only praying, but promoting public righteousness and healing human hurts. It is a mistake to withdraw from society or to reduce the social ministry of the church to less that what God has called us to.

If the first mistake is withdrawal, the second one is conformity (“worldliness” is what oldtimers called it). Social activism can be as much a betrayal of the calling of the church as social withdrawal. It is not enough for us just to run out there and get involved, if in so doing the church conforms to the world, following its agenda and using its tactics. But if we do not consciously, deliberately, prayerfully ask God to shape our Christian stance and strategy on social issues, we shall inevitably be shaped by something else (tradition, fear, the mass media, personal economic factors, and so forth).

David W. Gill (1946- ), “The Unique Role of the Church in a Troubled Society.” From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 63,64,65.

How can we be the church in this world and not be in pain? How can we be the church in this world and not suffer? How can we be the church in such an affluent culture and not be uncomfortable? Read Jeremiah again. Read about his anguish at the sin of his people. Consider his moral outrage at the injustice of the wealthy. Many evangelicals can whip up outrage at the sin of others; but I suspect that sometimes that outrage is a comfortable mask for moral superiority. If I denounce the sins of others, it must mean that I am holy, or at least not as bad as they are. I would be more convinced if they wept for those sins rather than gleefully denouncing the sinners. We should remember Jesus wept when he predicted the destruction of Jerusalem. How many of us have wept over genuine injustice in the world? How many of us have, rather, simply grown numb to it?

John E. Phelan, Jr. (1950- ), “The Humiliation of the Church,” from The Covenant Church in the Postmodern World (The Covenant Ministerium, 1998), p. 11.

The Pietist Spirit

Significant in Spener's [1635-1705] appeal for diligent love of neighbor and for avoidance of self-love was his stress on motivation. Christians were to test their impulses toward doing good works by sharing them with a trusted confessor, reporting regularly on how opportunities to practice Christian love were taken or neglected. Actions clearly contrary to the will of God were to be avoided; where it was uncertain what the love of neighbor required, action was always preferable to neglect. Spener's realism regarding good works undertaken in the name of Christ is commendable. On the one hand, his ethic transcended a mere saccharine summons to benevolence; on the other, it is insisted that genuine motivation match the deed....

Several impressions of Spener's sentiments and actions toward relief for the poor can be drawn. His concern for the poor was keenly felt. His action on their behalf, however, was largely that of an enabler, a “consciousness-raiser,” and a motivating spirit behind the constructive measures that were taken. While he used the priesthood of all believers to good effect in involving the private sector, he clearly saw that this would be insufficient in the face of such momentous need. Clearly the government had to provide the necessities of life for those to help themselves. He was not idealistic about the poor. Their poverty did not make them righteous. Begging was an abomination. Corruption of the welfare system was possible. Two rules were absolutely necessary in poor relief. The first was a refusal to help anyone capable of self-help. The second designated charity only as a means the indigent attain financial independence. Spener has been a pioneer in public relief and in care for the poor.

K. James Stein (1929- ), Philipp Jakob Spener: Pietist Patriarch (1986), pp. 100, 240, 241.

The essence of the Christian life for [August Hermann] Francke (1663-1727) was that the born-again Christian should live for the glory of God and the good of his or her neighbor. This basic concept was present in all his thought and work from prison reform to legal reform, from the creation of a new type of orphanage to the establishment of two widows' houses. We should not be surprised, then, that this understanding pervades his educational thought as well. He lamented the dreadful state of education among the poor and wealthy alike, particularly in Germany “as experience teaches. For the children are not directed with appropriate earnestness to how they should apply everything that they hear from the Word of God inwardly and outwardly without ceasing, so that their ways conform to the Word of God, yea, they see just the opposite in their parents and teachers.”

Gary R. Sattler (19 - ), God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good (1982), p. 52.

Ah, give me grace that I may help relieve and not make greater my neighbor's affliction and misfortune, that I may comfort him in his sorrow and all who are of a grieved spirit, may have mercy on strangers, on widows and orphans, that I readily help and love, not with tongue, but in deed and truth. The sinner says the wise man ignores his neighbor, but blessed is he who has mercy on the unfortunate.

Johann Arndt (1555-1621) . Quoted in Gary R. Sattler, God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good (1982), p. 48.

Covenant History

The revival was the effect of God's mercy. The hammer that broke the rebellious heart of the Swedish peasant and proletarian was the hammer of grace. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God.” The great, incontestable yet incomprehensible fact was that God cared. God cared for the besotted and the beslimed, the vain and foolish, the stupid and ignorant and silly. God loved the sinner.

The experience of grace softened the heart toward the other. Men who bad been forgiven were ready to forgive; men who had tasted of compassion became themselves compassionate. Hence there flows from the revival a mighty tide of benevolence, at first spontaneous and unstructured, later ordered and institutionalized. The Mission Friends showed in a palpable way their concern for the wayfarer, the men who followed the sea, the sick, the child, and the old. It is their story we tell in this chapter.

Karl A. Olsson (1913-1996), By One Spirit (1962), p. 379.

The revival movement in Sweden had broken and ploughed fallow ground in many areas of communal life, but especially in giving place to women. In the 1850s two women, Maria Nilsdotter and her close friend Britta Jonsdotter, from nearby Karlskoga in the province of Varmland, gathered other women in a conventicle around the gospel and made the remarkable discovery that because of grace they were also bound to the needs of neighbor . In this case, “neighbor” meant lost children being auctioned for farm and domestic labor much as were black slaves in early America.

Appealing in vain to town and church officials, Maria, Britta, and other women in the conventicle found many of these children, bought them at auction, placed them in homes, and taught them to read and write. Their only means of support came from the circle of sisters themselves by sewing, handwork, and other marketable skills.

Out of this conventicle came a children's home, school, and Sunday school, thus laying the groundwork for what is known today as the Karlskoga Folk High School. One of Maria's sons, Carl Johan, was converted and became an outstanding lay preacher and colporteur. He also became the father of David Nyvall, one of the founders and the first president of North Park College in Chicago. Maria Nilsdotter became known as Mor i Vall (Mother in Vall), Vall being the farmstead on which she lived. Her homestead outside of Karlskoga draws scores of visitors each year. And all of this because Maria, a widow at the age of forty with six children of her own, was a Pietist, female, and trouble-maker whose vision for lost children upset the status quo in town and church.

Glen V. Wiberg (1925- ), This Side of the River (Published by Salem Covenant Church, New Brighton, Minnesota, 1995), p. 75.

In many of the populous industrial centers on our field, it often happened that children of Swedish immigrants were found to suffer from the lack of shelter, food, and clothing. They were often forsaken by parents and relatives and left to shift for themselves in a strange environment. The parents were not always responsible for their plight: sickness, death, and lack of employment played a vital part. The curse of the liquor traffic took its toll of victims, as did other sinful pools of iniquity into which the Swedish immigrant often fell. Numerous cases where children were left without proper care came to the attention of our pastors, but they lacked the means to solve these problems within their communities. Thus God led these men, whose hearts he had touched with the tender mercies of the Christian attitude, to seek a way out by means of an institution which could serve as “The Good Shepherd” or “The Sheltering Arms” for boys and girls who were endangered by life in the slums in our great centers of industry.

Bernard Peterson (dates unknown), Golden Jubilee, The Eastern Missionary Association; Historical Sketch of Fifty Years 1890-1940 , The Eastern Missionary Association (1940), p. 52.

It is Wednesday afternoon, the thirtieth of September, 1885, in Princeton, Illinois. An anxious man sits tensely, barely hearing the discussion as it proceeds. Delegates are at work on the problem of incorporating their seven-month-old organization legally. They call it: The Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant Church in America. The meeting is moving to its close; people have been in session since Friday, and they are restless. The anxious man knows it. He tugs at his beard, shifts his lean frame in the chair, and watches his friend Björk, the big man with the mutton-chop whiskers sitting in the chairperson's seat....

What is driving this ordinarily mild fellow? Why is he sitting here, waiting for the chairperson's nod, his ordinarily peaceful eyes glinting with tension, impatient of all the legal talk?

Henry Palrnblad wants the new organization to establish what he calls a Home of Mercy. He wants it badly, and no secret about it. He has been working furiously for two years, patching up the shattered wreckage of human beings tossed by emigrant waves into the streets of Chicago. All summer long the cholera rages: when it subsides, there are widows and orphans everywhere. Trusting, pink-cheeked servant girls fall into the hands of immigrant-runners, those dark and sleek-furred rats who ply their trades wherever quick money shows. Pregnant and miserable, where is home to these Småland lasses who have no English and no money? It is a raging, steel-tough world of men and speed, careless of safety and hard on the weak. A seventeen-year-old girl travels to her sister in Chicago. She is jostled on the platform, pushed to the tracks: the great locomotive slices off a leg, part of a hand. What will she do? Her sister's name is Johnson, and the girl thought she lived in Chicago. How many Johnsons are there in Chicago? Already more than in Göteborg!

Palmblad's beat has experiences like this for him every day. He finds the Swedes in the poorhouse, in the jails, jammed “with people of all nations” into the wild wards of Cook County Hospital if they are lucky enough to be ill.

He does what he can with his resources. He picks up the orphans and brings them wherever he can find homes: they say Palmblad's “kids” are everywhere. At least five of them (some say as many as seven) are in his own house. Childless themselves, the Palmblads have more children than the old woman who lived in a shoe. But even so it is like sweeping out an ocean with a broom. He needs a place, a harbor for beaten people. This is what he wants. Everyone knows the need--you need not preach to an emigrant generation about the problems of homelessness. Then why is Palmblad nervous? Because of money. It is money that Björk and the other delegates will wonder about. A good craftsman in a good year (and 1885, like 1884 and 1883, is a depression year in America) can earn about $500. Nobody doubts much that the new Covenant has a future, but at the moment it is small, still torn by theological and political tensions. In the local congregations, people are scratching to pay for pastors and for modest buildings. In the seven months since its establishment, the Covenant has enjoyed a total income of $863.34, has a balance in the treasury of $104.33! And what Palmblad wants will cost thousands of dollars!

That has not stopped him. No sooner had the February meeting ended than Palmblad was making his case with Björk, buttonholing everyone else who would listen. While Bjbrk sailed for Sweden in search of a teacher for the proposed Swedish division of Chicago Theological Seminary, Palmblad roamed the city, on the lookout for a suitable place. He thought he had found it--in north Evanston, Illinois. Everything now depended on this meeting. Bj6rk had promised him a hearing.

And now he gets it. He has the floor, and this not very eloquent man makes his case. There is a long discussion, a skeptical feeling in the air. It is not that the delegates do not see the need. They doubt the money, and they have reason. But they cannot deny this man his fighting chance.

They give him a resolution declaring a Home of Mercy to be necessary “for orphans, helpless widows, and the sick.” They give him a committee to evaluate the north Evanston property, and they authorize its purchase if it looks good, and if money can be found to pay for it. It is a good committee: Björk and F. M. Johnson are heavyweights among the preachers; Sven Youngquist, the faithful treasurer, is joined by the future chancellor of the exchequer, Charley Peterson. Volatile John Eagle and Palmblad himself complete the group.

Still, the final resolution puts the matter squarely up to PaImblad. He is authorized to raise the money, among “Americans” as well as Swedes, by direct contact and by subscription lists sent out to the churches. Does the meeting think Palmblad can do it? It is hard to say; they are giving him a chance. It is the best they can do.

It is Friday morning, the tenth of September, 1886. Henry Palmblad, proud chairperson of the committee on the Home of Mercy, stands to report to the second session (this is now no matter to be put off to the end) of. the Covenant's second annual meeting. “Who could have dreamed, when at our last annual meeting we discussed the erection of a Home of Mercy ... that we could report ... not only the establishment of a home, but what is greater and more wonderful, its blossoming into full activity. But the Lord has done it, and it is wonderful to our eyes.” He proceeds to details.

The committee, says Palmblad, rejected the north Evanston proposal, settled instead on Mr. Becker's property, three acres in Bowmanville, Illinois, improved with a two-story brick residence, a small frame house, and a barn. And all for $5,500! Terms: $2,500 for possession, $1,000 annually thereafter. From the Stockholm settlement (now Douglas Park) came Edward Johnson and his wife to superintend the work, at $25 a month, plus room, board, and firewood. From Sweden came Anna Lowisa Anderson, an experienced nurse, at $12 a month. A competent Swedish cleaning girl, at $1.50 a week, completed the staff.

After remodeling and repair (cost $869.91) and the general equipping of the premises (cost $915.20), the Home of Mercy was ready for action. On the sixth of May, 1886, Andrew Forsberg of Chicago was admitted, then Carl Lundberg of Marquette, Michigan, and Clara Börjeson of Pullman, Illinois, and Clara Lindgren from the Cook County infirmary, and so on until by annual meeting time, PaImblad can report that fourteen people have been given care, and more are on the way....

By 1903, with the erection of a full-scale hospital facility, Palmblad's dream had changed from an enthusiasm of dedicated amateurs into the cool practicality of professional practice; from a Home of Mercy open to sufferers of all ages and from every malady including homelessness to a highly specialized two-sided operation--a home for the aged and a hospital for the sick....

Something had been lost of the special poignancy that attended Palmblad's report in 1886: their first death was “a little one-and-one-half-year-old sister” (the youngest daughter of widow Anderson). Something had been gained in facilities: by 1910, 4,120 people had received care, and fifty-three were now resident in the home. Even if it was not tanner Palmblad's world any longer, he had served it well.

Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), “Consider Our Beginnings...” ( Covenant Tract, 1988).

The children [of E. August Skogsbergh, 1850-1939] did not always think well of their father's bigheartedness, because sometimes he went so far out of his way to help a person who sought his aid that he greatly inconvenienced his own family. One of his daughters recalls such an incident. A woman with three children had been deserted by her husband and asked Skogsbergh to help her find the absconded spouse. He refused to go on a man hunt, but he procured employment for the woman in a children's home where she could keep her family together. That was, however, not all he did. While he was making those arrangements, he let the woman and her children live in his home, which then for a while consisted of eighteen persons, all dependent on him for their daily bread.

Erik Dahlhielm (1880-1955), A Burning Heart: a Biography of Erik August Skogsbergh (1951), p. 174.

Mlton B. Engebretson assumed office as president of the Covenant Church in Pasadena, California, June 23, 1967. His keynote Scripture was a word from I Corinthians 9:19-22, “Whatever a person is like, I try to find some common ground with him so that he will be willing to let me tell him of Christ.” The Covenant's mission he saw as finding a common ground with people in a “velocity-paced age” in order to win them to Christ....

The question might well have been asked by the new president of a small, ethnically-oriented, largely middle class denomination, what possible common ground the Covenant could find with this explosive and potentially destructive age. To that question his answer could have been negative or narrowly apocalyptic. He might have spoken of powerlessness or the need to huddle passively in expectation of the imminent Parousia.

It is significant that he followed neither course. He called the church to relevancy and meaningfulness. He asked for positive action. “The church ought to be not only abreast of unique contemporary social, moral, and spiritual world needs, but also far enough advanced in her thinking and leadership to be helpful at the times when she is most needed.”

He did not say it at once but it is clear that Milton Engebretson believed that if the Covenant Church was to be relevant and helpful to its time, it would need to change not only its “approach, method, and ministry,” about which he spoke, but its understanding of itself--its identity and its allocations of power.

Karl A. Olsson (1913-1996), A Family of Faith (1975), pp. 127,128.

Calls to Involvement

Throughout history, church leaders and members have addressed issues of justice and compassion facing society. Those movements have led to the development of schools and universities, hospitals, parachurch (cooperative) movements, the civil rights movement in the United States, and the current battles over the sanctity of human life. In many forms, the church has championed issues of compassion and justice.

Yet within the church community, people have often set compassion and spirituality against each other. Some declare, “We have been commanded by God to feed the poor, to right wrongs and injustices wherever we find them in our community, our nation, or our world. God's church stands for justice and compassion.” Others insist, “We have been commanded by God to proclaim the gospel to all nations. What difference will a better world make if it is still on its way to hell? God's church is a witnessing church.”

But there is a third position: God's church is both a compassionate, justice-oriented church and a witnessing church. In the Covenant, we do not believe that the two are mutually exclusive. The gospel clearly calls us to address both sides of the human situation, for they are integrally related.

A Family Matter: An Exploration in Believing and Belonging (Inquirer’s Class Manual of the Evangelical Covenant Church, 1994), p. 19.

The Gospel...cannot be proclaimed to the world from a distance; it must be brought to the world in human lives which have entered into the agony of our time, When Christians know the despair and anguish, the dreams and aspirations of the world from inside rather than from a distance, both speech and action become relevant....

It is at the point of involvement in the burning social issues of the day–i.e., the struggle for racial justice, for peace, for social reform–that the greatest tension exists in the church. Some want to make such involvement the total content of the Christian life, thereby minimizing the concern to press for personal commitment to Christ. Others are persuaded that evangelism is the only proper concern of the Christian, thereby minimizing the Christian’s responsibility for his society. But certainly both of these extreme emphases are distortions of the biblical message. Both prophetic involvement and evangelistic concern are implied in the Gospel; both are commanded by God.

The ultimate concern of the Christian is that God’s “will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Because God wills a social order in which justice, righteousness, and peace are possible, the Christian will be involved in the struggle for such a society. Because God desires that every [person] participate personally in the redeeming grace of Christ, the Christian will be concerned in every form of its ministry to bring [others] to the conviction of sin and conversion to Jesus Christ. These two mutually support one another. They ought not to be in competition.

Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), The New Life in Christ (1969), pp. 96,97.

Some evangelical writers seem so fearful of overemphasis on social involvement that they insist on putting social concern under evangelism as a secondary or even lower element of the church’s ministry in the world. They sometimes suggest that social action may be a good preparation for evangelism–as a “door opener,” or as a consequence of evangelism. But these works are not seen as equal to evangelism in the mission of the church. Some still insist that “historically the mission of the church is evangelism alone.” This thesis is contradicted by the teaching and example of Jesus.

When the love of Christ is our motive and the example of Christ our model, we cannot put any genuine act of love in a second-class category. The first and great commandment calls for love of God and neighbor.

Randolph J. Klassen (1933- ), Jesus’ Word, Jesus’ Way (Herald Press, All Rights Reserved, 1992), pp. 32,33.

Give love to others and you will get it back. This is the essential rhythm of the emotional and spiritual life. Jesus put it very pointedly: “For whoever would save his life, will lose it: and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will find it again” (Luke 9:24). You are to “love your neighbor as yourself.” This means that the acceptance you feel for yourself should spontaneously be communicated to your neighbor. I say spontaneously because this is something you should not have to stop and think about. If you really accept yourself, acceptance of your neighbor should be immediate. If an alcoholic stood before you, would you be able to accept and love him? He would feel loved or unloved by you without your saying a word. If you could accept the possibility of yourself being in such a condition, then you could love the person who is down and out. Richard Baxter, pastor of another generation, upon seeing a drunken bum, said, “There but for the grace of God go I.” We must be able to see and accept ourselves in others in order to love them.

Harold R. Nelson (1927- ), “Do You Love Yourself?” (Covenant Tract, 1970s).

As Christians we have been the objects of infinite grace and mercy from God. We in turn should reflect this love of God in our relationships with others. There is still much injustice and oppression in the world, and as a Christian I should do all I can to remove it, whether I found it in school, at home, on my job, or on the street. A godly [person] finds no delight in making life harder to bear for those under [his or her] control and bidding. The heart that loves God will be quickly inclined to deeds of mercy toward the unfortunates of society. Think of some way in which you can help such.

Leonard J. Larson (1894-1973), “Neighborhood Relations.” From Covenant Graded Lessons, Special Unit, 1949, p. 71.

...Have we heard the Lion's roar so that we have become a prophesying community? I am afraid that while we rejoice in the Lion's roar (the free, lively Word of God), we much prefer to have the Lion caged in the safety of the zoo (in the church, or in the book, or in the tradition). Then we can visit the Lion periodically (once a week perhaps). And in the safety of the zoo, we can listen to the roar as a passing oddity. (Why was the pastor so fired up today?) We can at least feel good in knowing that the Lion is not extinct. (Don't we have the Word?) So we can still hear the roar, still claim to be people of the Word, but with the comfortable feeling he is quite tame and domesticated, that he will not be on the prowl, and therefore we can live without the need to tremble or fear.

Because the Lion is still around, it just isn't so! The Lion cannot be caged nor tamed. He is on the loose and has found his prey. As Pogo says: “We has met the enemy and they is us.” “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore . . . .” Have we heard the Lion's roar? We Covenanters can often become polarized over many issues. But as Arthur Anderson has [somewhere] reminded us: “ . . . When the segments have come kicking and screaming to hear the unmistakable voice from over the top of the holy mountain, we are one.”

What is so frightening and distressing to me in the Church today is how rare or even absent is the unmistakable voice from the holy mountain. A struggle to seize power? Yes. An effort is abroad to seize power, prestige, and influence for an evangelical majority that serve other ends than the Gospel. And there are many strange, alien voices. But no voice from the holy mountain! No roaring of the Lion! No faithfulness to the full-orbed biblical Word! No radical discipleship in following Jesus as Lord and perfect Example! No call to minister to Christ by identifying with the poor and changing oppressive social structures! No vision of the God of righteousness--the God Amos saw walking on the top of the heights of the world! Yahweh, God Sabbaoth is his name!

Our evangelical tradition is done for if we cease to hear the Lion's roar calling us to break our silence--to cry out against every perversion of the Gospel; to cry out against the exploitation of the poor; to cry out against the excesses of our standard of living; to cry out against militarism and the arms race and to say, “Enough! Enough!” But do we have the courage to look into the mouth of the Lion and to sense the enormity of both divine wrath and grace so that we become a prophesying community?

Glen V. Wiberg (1925- ), “The Lion’s Roar” (Amos 3:3-8). From Grace and Glory: a festschrift on preaching in honor of Eric G. Hawkinson, The Covenant Quarterly, 1981-82, pp. 128,129.

I may be simple, but I am not foolish. I know the importance of right belief and right organization and that Christ taught about both. He was no idle dreamer. He took time to recruit disciples and to teach them about belief in practice. But all of that was always in the context of servanthood and service, never just belief or practice or structure for its own sake. And let me tell you, friends, that the world is full of such people--many who are literally hungry and thirsty and naked and sick and in prison, and many others who are just as surely so in a spiritual sense. And what I think Christ is saying to us here today is that we who are proud to call ourselves Covenanters are going to be judged someday, just like everybody else, on the basis of how our belief and structure translated into ministry to such people.

... I heard a Salvation Army commander say recently when he was describing the work of the Army..., “When the Army is working right, it is both personal evangelism and social gospel, and you can't tell which is which.” I like that. Because we love the Lord our God with all of our heart and all of our mind and all of our soul, we will also love our neighbor as we want to be loved. The vertical and the horizontal in tune with God and in touch with our neighbor, not only preaching the Gospel but living the Gospel. Our faith made alive to serve.

So may it be for each one of us and for our Covenant until we someday again gather all together on the day of our Lord's coming. Amen.

G. Timothy Johnson (1936- ), “How Will We Be Judged?”, Covenant Centennial Keynote Address (The Covenant Companion, September, 1985), p. 7.

Church and Society

How shall we sing the Lord’s song in Boston, when otherwise apparently decent citizens degenerate into a beastly mob in response to a court-ordered desegregation of schools through busing? How did we sing the Lord's song in Chicago, when Martin Luther King, Jr. led marches into the white community to stir the public conscience in favor of open housing patterns? How did we sing the Lord's song in West Hartford, when the board of education first proposed busing fifty little black children on an experimental basis into its school system? How shall we sing the Lord's song in Willmar, and in Los Angeles, and on Francisco Avenue in Chicago, when it begins to dawn upon us that our uncritical patriotism and our ecclesiastical zeal may be tinged with a fatal flaw--idolatry?

I have stated the problem as a question, not because I have no deeply felt opinions about these matters. I do. I refrain from any quick answer in the conviction that to respond verbally would be to symbolize the death trap that tempts us and would beguile us. Verbal answers often betray a vanity and presumptuousness inappropriate for Christians, who have no business pretending that they can know perfectly the will of God for a particular human situation. We are all implicated in human sin, in the fallenness of our society and its institutions. And it is every Christian's struggle to discover how to live humanly and to sing the Lord's song in a strange, fallen land. Perhaps we all ought to forego answers to the human problem posed, or defenses against the possible implications of the question, and simply live with the problem, seeking to define it more clearly in human terms. The answer may greet us in our faithful living.

G. Dewey Sands (1924-1989), “To Seek Justice,” from Bound to Be Free: essays on being a Christian and a Covenanter, James R. Hawkinson, ed. (1975), pp. 102,103.

A family visited the church I was serving. After two consecutive Sundays, the husband said, “We are disillusioned with our present church, and think your church is what we've been looking for.” I set up an appointment to visit them. On my way to their home, I prepared the dialogue in my mind. They would say, “We never hear the gospel in our church. The Bible isn't really preached. We want a Bible-centered church that isn't all hung up on doctrine. We've been missing something in our lives. You preach the gospel, and we like that.” Then I would respond, “You've been Covenant all your life and didn't know it. Welcome to the Covenant.” But the dialogue didn’t go as planned.

The husband put a different spin on it. “We're leaving our mainline denomination because our minister always talks about our need to help the poor. He talks about injustice in El Salvador. Now he says the church needs to respond to people with AIDS. I'm sick of it. I like your church, where we hear about conversion and none of that other stuff.” I sat there speechless and could feel a bead of perspiration make its way down the center of my back as I groped for words. It was with some sense of relief that I greeted the news some months later that they were leaving our church to take a step even further to the right. Hans Kung said: “That person who preaches one half of the gospel is no less a heretic than that person who preaches the other half of the gospel.”

Glenn R. Palmberg (1945- ), “Giving the Invitation,” The Covenant Quarterly, November, 1993, pp. 38,39.

The church of Jesus Christ has a responsibility as the conscience, the moral and ethical voice, of society. We are “in the world” even though not “of the world.” As long as the church is here, we must be “the light of the world” and “the salt of the earth.” If churches and Christians do not fulfil this responsibility on local, national, and world levels, they help make the world more wicked and increase the woeful harvest. The Christian can help clean out evil and direct communities in the paths of righteousness.

Paul P. Fryhling (1912-1973), “Being a Christian and Showing It.” From Donald C. Frisk, Paul P. Fryhling, and Herbert E. Palmquist, The Christian Fellowship: an Introduction to the Church (1958), p. 42.

Conflict, whether in or out of the church, is inevitable in the practice of faith. Avoiding it is unreal. More so, bypassing opposition means missing important issues. So I want to argue for our getting involved in political caucuses or community organizations. Religion may not be mentioned, but there is more religion than meets the eye. Every time we ask about values we are on the spiritual question. You don’t have to be a sectarian plugging your own church to ask: “What is morally right?” or “What is the most loving thing to do?” The group may not be as sophisticated theologically as you are, but the concern is still there. Furthermore, a Christian may not arrive at easy black-white answers, as expected. Love and the letter often create dilemmas for those who want simple conclusions.

We..have to trust the providence of God in the unbaptized corridors. More good is accomplished than we realize.... We in the churches often think we do not amount to much in the public arena.... Not so! ...We evangelicals miss real opportunities for being “ministers of reconciliation” by our indifference to what occurs within group relations. We assume that reconciliation is strictly a theologically individual affair that takes place only inside church or at evangelistic meetings. Nonsense! Being present at a union-labor bargaining session can be a big headache! But the dynamics of what transpires enfold rich ground for divine reconciliation. When participants can honestly shake hands and accept one another under those circumstances, they have opened up channels for reconciliation to God. Not that it usually happens. But here is where Christians who have experienced the love of God truly within themselves can be honest-to-goodness reconcilers.

Arthur W. Anderson (1920- ), Wild Beasts and Angels (1979), 58,59,60,61.

Crucial to leadership in any congregation is the recognition that the congregation is intended by God to minister to the world. One suburban church stresses this approach well on the back of their bulletin. The ministerial staff are listed by name and described as “the ministers to the congregation.” The congregation is described as “minister to the world.” It is the responsibility of leaders to make such a vision real, by precept and example. In the process, every congregation will recognize some who have special gifts for the ministry of pastoral care. Alastair Campbell states it well. In contrast to the specialization and individualism of professionalism, there must be an emphasis upon pastoral care as the building up of the Christian community as a whole, and the ministry of this community to the world beyond itself.

Everett Jackson (1933- ), “The Role of Lay Leadership in Pastoral Care.” From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), p. 97.

[We] in the church need to be reminded that although [our] associations in the world are not always with [brothers and sisters] in Christ, [we] share a common [bond in] Adam. In [our] conscious respectability, [we] in the church so easily fall prey to an attitude of condescension toward [our] associates who are not members of [our] spiritual fellowship. One can feel for a person without looking down on him or passing by on the other side if he is in need, letting some Samaritan institution minister to him instead. Robes of righteousness are not soiled in the dust which surrounds human need.

C. Milton Strom (1911-1972), Holy Curiosity (Board of Publications of the California Conference,1966), p. 5.

The point that James makes from his definition of faith and works is that, as God has reached out in mercy to us, our faith will prompt us to reach out in mercy to other people who are poor and needy and who have nothing with which to buy our favor.

This, of course, is not all there is to being a good Christian. But the roots of the whole system of Christian ethics begin with a concern for the poor and hungry. In the Old Testament, God's people were never to forget that God had been merciful to them and that they had a responsibility, therefore, to be merciful to the strangers and dispossessed. (Exodus 23:9; Numbers 15:14, etc.).

We Christians have been poor and needy in God's eyes, with nothing of value to offer to him, and we have become objects of his mercy. When we trust God and when he accepts us entirely by grace through faith, the normal response of that faith is to reach out in mercy and concern for others who are poor and needy, just as we were, in the eyes of God. Any faith that does not result in such action is of no value.

Our response to the needs of millions of needy and starving people is the most certain test of the reality of our faith. If we do indeed believe that God has acted with compassion for us, we will act with compassion for others in need. From this root we may trace the whole biblical system of Christian ethics. True faith results in action, and authentic Christian action begins here.

Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), “Faith and Action.” From “Don’t Park Behind a Truck” and Other Chapel Talks (1982), p.26.

We're only kidding ourselves if we think some pious fasting and spiritual meditation during Lent is going to help perpetuate some kind of benevolent white supremacy. If the Cross is what the New Testament says it is, it makes all men equal at its foot and it makes them brothers in Christ. It also makes them willing to lay down their lives for one another. The Cross would make one community of all men, but all men are not of one community in a world of sin.

Apartness in principle is a device of sin. Therefore a real Christian is less concerned for his own culture, his standard of living, or even life itself than he is that his neighbor of any race might become his brother in Christ.

C. Milton Strom (1911-1972), Holy Curiosity (Board of Publications of the California Conference,1966), p. 54.

There is nothing in Christianity that relates only to our salvation; our faith relates to all of life, including the roles of male and female. The issue is whether our attitudes concerning race, social class, and gender will be determined by our oneness in Christ in the new age or by the barriers and values of the old age.
Board of the Ministry and Covenant Ministerium, A Biblical and Theological Basis for Women in Ministry (Occasional Paper Number One,1987), p. 3.

Conditions exist in most communities which distress church members and embarrass the council of churches. Indignant talk might be heard through closed doors, but very little is translated into community action. Unfortunately, the people in the church do not seem to be aware of their power in a democratic society---especially in a day when so large a percentage of the people in an average community claim church membership. If the churches in your city really wanted to, they could by collective action clean up the town and elect any council members they want. But they don't. Most of them offer lame excuses in spiritual phraseology.

C. Milton Strom (1911-1972), Holy Curiosity (Board of Publications of the California Conference,1966), p.13.

As Christians we should take our citizenship seriously. We are called to be salt and light in our country as well as in our community. Altogether too often Christians thank God on Thanksgiving Day for the blessings of living in a Christian country, but neglect do anything about preserving the spirit of Christ in our nation. We should remember that as individuals we are American or Canadian not only on the Fourth of July and Dominion Day, but every day of the year. As Christians it is our responsibility to put forth every effort to prevent our nation from becoming pagan. A garden quickly becomes but a patch of weeds if it is not carefully tended. That is also true of a nation. Unless we conscientiously cultivate the good, the evil will take possession.

Peter P. Person (1889-1984), Living the Christian Life (1958), p. 41.

Commission on Christian Action

The Gospel is like a bird. It needs two wings to fly. One is the wing of faith, the other of action. If either wing is missing a bird will never soar. Neither will Christians who attempt to live out only part of the Gospel. To belong to Christ involves both faith and action. “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26, NIV).

The Evangelical Covenant Church established the Commission on Christian Action because it values personal and corporate involvement in social issues. The primary responsibility of the commission is to prepare statements concerning ethical or political attitudes or actions appropriate to these issues. Normally these statements take the form of resolutions which are reviewed by the Covenant Executive Board and may be recommended to an Annual Meeting.
Resolutions are benchmarks of our thoughts as reflected by the vote of an Annual Meeting. However, because the Covenant Church values the privilege of personal freedom these resolutions are not binding on either an individual or the church. “The principle of personal freedom, so highly esteemed by the Covenant, is to be distinguished from the individualism that disregards the centrality of the Word of God and the mutual responsibilities and disciplines of the spiritual community” (Preamble of the Covenant Constitution). Consequently, resolutions reflect our understanding of biblical teaching applied to social issues and encourage personal, biblical, and theological study. Some resolutions ask for specific action such as the call for particular publications or inclusion of special issues to be addressed by the denomination or economic pressure on governments considered to be in violation of basic human rights.

The Commission on Christian Action: Resources for Social Responsibility (1986-91), pp. 1,2.

Often people who are seeking to learn more about the Evangelical Covenant Church ask what the Covenant believes about issues like abortion, divorce, gun control, homosexuality, and so on. The answer is that, in the Evangelical Covenant Church, the Bible is our authority. Covenant churches do not have doctrinal statements other than the Bible. To help churches and individuals apply biblical teaching to contemporary issues, the annual meeting of the denomination frequently debates and often adopts position papers or resolutions. Members need not be in total agreement with the positions taken by an annual meeting. These positions explore both diversity and consensus as we prayer fully think together about biblical application to current issues. While a resolution usually indicates a consensus of opinion, no resolution is binding on local churches or members.

The following is a partial listing of position papers and resolutions from the last ten years of Covenant annual meetings. You may wish to look these up in the Covenant Yearbook or ask for copies from your pastor or class leader. divorce and remarriage, a biblical and theological basis for women in ministry, ethical guidelines for Covenant ministers, baptism, disarmament, organ donation, drunk driving, nuclear weapons freeze and reduction, abortion “no first strike” commitment, homelessness, securing access to adequate health care, giving thanks for freedom, substance abuse and addiction, the environment use of resources, AIDS, local church Christian action committee, disability, [and] political disenfranchisement.

A Family Matter: An Exploration in Believing and Belonging (Inquirer’s Class Manual of the Evangelical Covenant Church, 1994), pp. 42,43.

How Is the Covenant Involved in Christian Action?

The Commission on Christian Action has regularly supported involvement in social issues within the denomination, its regional conferences, local churches, and institutions.

National and regional involvement includes ministries like the Covenant Benevolent Institutions, Covenant World Relief, Habitat for Humanity, North Park College's outreach ministries, World Servants, Bread for the World, Hands Extended Lifting People (HELP), and the Children's Homes of Cromwell and Princeton.

A partial list of ministries undertaken by local Covenant churches includes sponsoring refugees, soup kitchens, homeless shelters, employment development programs, child care for parents of hospitalized children, counseling and shelters for unwed mothers, and letter writing campaigns to lawmakers on issues.

A few churches prepare bulletin boards with the names and addresses of elected officials along with notices on proposed legislation and sample letters on social issues. These are all efforts to sustain awareness of issues and programs.

Christian action is more than a denomination adopting social resolutions. It is as broad as our denominational efforts in Covenant World Relief or as simple as our rolling bandages for mission fields. Christian action is living the gospel. In the final analysis Christian action is an individual Christian, standing before God, and asking how he or she can be a responsible steward of the message of Jesus Christ.

The Commission on Christian Action: Resources for Responsibility, Commission on Christian Action (1986-1991), An Occasional Paper: Number Four, p. 2.

December, 2010 - Truth and Wisdom

2010-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Biblical Moorings

The Covenant has no new truths to proclaim. It has no claim to have discovered new truths upon which we have built our organization. We do not even accentuate new interpretations of old truths as being basic for our existence. That is typical in our Covenant, that we abstain from all that.

There is nothing distinctively new in the whole organization. We proclaim and cling to the old biblical truths, and we say with Paul: “All is yours.”

The principles of the Covenant are historical. They have been tested through history, and they are just as valid today as they were in the New Testament time.

Nils Heiner (1868-1958), “Covenant Characteristics,” from Covenant Roots: Sources and Affirmations, Glenn P. Anderson, ed. (1980), pp. 235,236.

The consequences of truth are not a matter of choice. Caiaphas attempted to engineer the truth so that he could dictate the consequences; but the truth itself was not subject to change. Jesus was committed to truth, and Caiaphas was not; so when Caiaphas asked, “Are you the Christ?” Jesus answered, “I am.” We cannot quite imagine him saying at this point, “Why do you ask?”

They all condemned him as deserving death. But it is quite clear that, if this was a real trial in any sense, it was not Jesus in the dock. It was all humankind who, in attempting to put truth to the test, found itself instead under the judgment of truth.

Everett L. Wilson (1936- ), Christ Died for Me (1980), p. 40.

Christ at the Center

Christianity is first and foremost a person. It is not primarily a t
heological creed, a system of philosophy or an ethical code, but rather the eternal truth of God personified. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Christ did not say that he pointed out the way, but that he is the way. He did not claim merely to speak the truth, but that he is the truth. He is not only the giver of life, but is life itself.

T. W. Anderson (1889-1972), “The Great Certainty”
From The Covenant Pulpit, ed. G. F. Hedstrand (1954), p. 11.

The assumptions of wisdom are the gifts of God, and apply to the universal study of humans and their world. But the assumptions of wisdom are proud; in them humankind is the judge and the doer. The sights of wisdom are set too high to find God or know him. Wisdom may search the heights for God, but there he is concealed by his own glory. Where God may be found in the world is on a cross, shamed and humiliated beyond our experience; and we dare to declare that the crucified Jesus is the revelation of the almighty God. While wisdom searches the heights, faith looks into the depths. Never, in the wildest imaginations of the wise of this world, would humankind have devised a scheme as foolish as the cross.

Everett L. Wilson (1936- ), Christ Died for Me (1980), p. 80.

As necessary and exciting as [the] task of interpreting the faith in the light of the circumstances and environment of today may be, it is also fraught with great danger. Translating the Gospel into a contemporary idiom may easily slip into simple accommodation of the Gospel to the values and perspectives of our culture. Then, instead of hearing the Word of God, people hear a somewhat Christianized version of their own wisdom.

Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), “To Teach the Faith”
From Bound to Be Free: essays on being a Christian and a Covenanter (1975), p. 59.

We do not teach people to build on feelings. We tell those seeking salvation to have faith in the Word of God without waiting for feelings. A warm heart is not the basis of salvation. It is the fruit of salvation. Blessed are they who do not see and yet believe. “Did I not say that if you believed, you should see?” These truths were both spoken by the Lord Jesus. Let us not lose sight of either of them. As long as Jacob did not believe his sons, his heart remained cold. When he believed them, his spirit was restored.

Gustaf F. Johnson (1873-1959), “Hearts Aflame”
From Gustaf F. Johnson, Hearts Aflame, trans. Paul R. Johnson (1970), p. 15.

...We must continue to believe in the power of the Word of God to awaken, convert, and nurture men and women to Christian maturity. We ought never, as alas now often happens, replace the Word of God in the pulpit with piquant causeries. Nor should we lard the message with more or less equivocal stories, whether they be humorous or dramatic. If we care to recall them, we can surely remember tales we have heard that have been just as preposterous and unreal as A Thousand and One Nights, and much less entertaining. Our whole message must be sound and filled with a deep sense of concern for the congregation, for the preacher is a shepherd of souls who is accountable to God for souls.

There will certainly come times when strong temptations will come to us to be something other than proclaimers of the Word. A superficial and thoughtless public will want to be entertained when it comes to church. Influential members of the churches, who are themselves just as superficial and thoughtless and without an appreciation of deeper spirituality, will want to impose their ideas on the congregation. They measure progress in the congregation by counting the heads at the worship services. They will gladly forgive the pastor for anything as long as he fills the pews.

It is important for us to know these temptations and their source, and by the help of God to oppose them. If we cannot preach with joy and a sense of victory, let us then in the name of the Lord preach with tears and heartache. For it is stated in the psalm, “He that goes forth, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” God will answer our sowing of tears with a harvest of joy. In these times of drought, when we are offered so much piquant in place of the earnest Word we formerly believed and trusted, we need to lay these warnings to heart. There has never yet come a harvest that did not have its beginning in sowing. We do not need to discard all that which we have learned during these...years of Covenant history in the matter of message, organization, and methods.

If we continue to trust in the Lord and do not grow weary in awaiting his answer, and if we continue to rely on the power of the Gospel to transform human hearts--faithfully and quietly fulfilling our task in the church as before the Lord--the harvest will not be lacking. For here that word is true, says Jesus, that one sows, and another reaps. Just as the first disciples were sent by the Lord to reap where they had not labored, so perhaps others will reap from our labor. God's program is not confined to one short generation. When this becomes clear to us, we will not soon or easily be carried away by this nervous tendency of our time, which must have immediate visible results. We shall sow in faithfulness, and God will water the seed in his time. He will restore us again, as he does the watercourses in the southland.

Nils W. Lund (1885-1954), “Restore Us Again, O Lord”
From Herbert E. Palmquist, The Word Is Near You (1974), pp. 186,187.

You know, if Christ really is risen, the Christian for whom this is real does not need to become neurotic with fear that his neighbor is a stooge for Communism, or that a redeemed brother in some other denomination or country is a threat to his security in Christ. Has there ever been an age in which Christians have had more social security and less security in the Lord of the church? Let me remind you, my worried Christian friend, that there is no other power on earth or in all of space like the power which raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead. Why, of all people, should we be so anxious?

C. Milton Strom (1911-1972), Holy Curiosity (Board of Publications of the California Conference,1966), p. 102.

Faith and Learning

“Sunday school? ...What's in it for you?

First, the Sunday school provides you with an opportunity to discover the bask structure and content of the Bible, the textbook for understanding our faith. Whether you are a child or an adult, replace weekly classes are provided within the curriculum plan. This is important, because Sunday school makes the opportunity for biblical instruction available to all. True, the rich treasures within the Bible require extended study opportunities led by those who are specially trained. Yet within the context of a particular Sunday school class, you can acquire--if you want to--both the foundation and the desire for further study.

Second, Sunday school offers you a climate of caring. One of its main goals should be to foster friendship with those in your unique age or circle of interest. Your presence or absence week after week will be noted by others. Ideally, each class becomes a small community of persons sharing their lives hn prayer, service, and caring--like the early church in Acts.

Third, a Sunday school class should help you relate God’s Word to daily experience and help establish a basis for your moral life. The regular biblical input offered by the Sunday school is a needed thing if we are to cultivate the seed of God's Word and allow it to mature in us. Without such exposure to the Scriptures in the content of the Christian community, how can we possibly find our way in a world of decaying personal and social morality?

Fourth, Sunday school provides a place where you can bring your non-church friends and relatives, regardless of their age, and feel confident that they will be led in a simple way into the whats, why, and hows of the Christian faith. Here is one of its chief benefits. Sunday school cannot be equaled as a special entry point for new persons.

Fifth and last though not finally, the Sunday school provides us all with a wonderful opportunity to serve. Jesus said, “You are my witnesses!” Sunday school is a place where lay people have a unique opportunity to articulate the Christian faith and share it with others. If you have confessed your personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and are growing in your relationship with him, it is important to begin sharing that faith in a structured way with others. You will also learn and grow more quickly when you yourself prepare to share with others.

So what’s in it for you? A port of entry and a place of passage. It may seem awfully simple but it’s true. Understanding and experiencing the Christian life is somehow tied with regular Bible study and sharing. That’s what a live Sunday school program offers every believer.

Evelyn M. R. Johnson (1941- ), “Sunday School? What’s in It for Me?”, Covenant Tract (1987).

The chief purpose of the Public School is to train the mind and incidentally the character.
The chief purpose of the Church School is to develop Christian character and incidentally to train the mind.

The Public School ideal is capable citizenship. The Church School ideal is Christian discipleship. Educationally speaking, the Church School work should be the crown of the work of the Public School, and both schools should be provided with teachers whose work will measure up to their task. When the day comes that we shall find the Church School as well equipped to teach Scripture truth as we find the Public School equipped to teach the cultural secular studies and their application to living, and educational equilibrium will be established.

A high school boy said to his father one day: “If the Bible is as important to my education as you say it is why doesn't my Sunday School teacher make the Bible as interesting to us boys as our everyday school teacher makes our everyday school subjects interesting?"

...What common sense is there then for a minister to give as little as eight percent of his [or her] time and thought (as is the case at present, according to a recent statistical report) to a field which yields eighty percent of harvest in souls? Or, for a church and its workers to spend dollars and a major effort on rescue mission work, and only the pennies and a slipshod attention on its Sunday School and its allied activities?

Olga Lindborg (1889-1945), “Conscience and Character”
Manuscript, Covenant Archives, Record Series 2-1-14, Box 1.

...One law of education is that we have to be educated not according to our pleasure but according to our measure.... Education means, in the domain of [humankind], all that culture implies.... Only one kind of education even pretends [to concern itself with the whole person]. And that is Christian Education. Therefore, as a matter of fact, Christian Education is the only one existing worth the name.... To further the cause of Christian Education is the high aim of this institution of ours, this North Park College. It is the ambition of every teacher here to see that all the studies and all the methods of studying are of the highest choice. A Christian school is a bank where every single piece of money, be it [great] or small, should be of just the numerical value which stands engraved upon its face. To falsify the smallest truth is as much a high treason as to falsify the greatest truth or all the truth, just as to counterfeit a dime is as much a felony as to counterfeit one of the golden eagles.

David Nyvall (1863-1946), “Some Plain Facts about Education,” Linnea, 1898.
Quoted in Scott E. Erickson, David Nyvall and the Shape of an Immigrant Church (Acta Universitatis Upsallensis, Uppsala, 1996), p. 264.

It is important in the church and in our common fellowship in the body of Christ to be as clear as we can with each other about our understandings of God in Christ, the rock on which we place our faith, and of our doctrinal formulations. It is also crucial to remember that the Church has been attempting to do this for two thousand years and has not yet succeeded in finding a formulation that is wholly adequate to express the fundamental mystery to which it points. While it may appear to he intellectually sloppy, it is a matter of wisdom to adopt the position of early Covenanters in their debates about communion, atonement, last things, and so on. [Erik August] Skogshergh [1850-1939] said, “It is not always so important to know everything. It is always tremendously important to preach the gospel. So whether I am free or whether I am bound, I may be either and yet preach the gospel. So let us try and stop being omniscient, and get on with the work of planting.” And, I think he would have added, in its appropriate way, of church building, and necessarily of fencing. The thing at all costs we have to avoid is the state of mind and the kind of movement that begins to insist that the Christian life is fundamentally a life of doctrine, that that is what the life is. Most Covenanters have not and will not take that position.

Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), “Fencing” (1978)
From Anatomy of the Pilgrim Experience: Reflections on Being a Covenanter, Edited by Philip J. Anderson and David E. Hawkinson (2000).

In our understanding of the Christian school we begin with the assumption that there is a vital relation between the Christian faith and our intellectual discipline. Whatever faith means to us, it does not mean merely that vague, emotional, or mystical atmosphere which hangs like an iridescent mist over our intellectual activities.... North Park is not a Christian school because it has Christian teachers, Christian worship services, and compulsory courses of religion in its curriculum. It is Christian because it has believed from its very beginning that the Christian faith forms a necessary presupposition for all meaningful intellectual activity.

Karl A. Olsson (1913-1996), Address to the Faculty, 1959
Quoted in The Covenant Companion, September 1, 1968, p. 6.

Importance of Listening

Spener [1635-1705] proposed, “We must beware how we conduct ourselves in religious controversies with unbelievers and heretics.” He reacted against the common belligerent mood of theological debate. The most effective manner of engaging the heterodox was to pray for them; to set a good example before them; to make a modest, but firm, presentation of the truth; to practice heartfelt love toward them; and to champion unity where possible between Christian confessions. Theological debate is necessary for the defense of truth and for the refutation of false positions. However, since all glory is due God alone, such debate must never be entered into for the achievement of self-glory, but to convert opponents by encountering them with the brotherly spirit of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37).

It is to Spener's credit that he maintained this personal style, refusing to stoop to sarcasm or personal insinuation when combating opponents whose zeal often was bound by no such rules....

K. James Stein (1929- ), Philipp Jakob Spener: Pietist Patriarch (1986), p. 100.

...You who always boast that you like the truth spoken directly to your face, you became so angry at the preacher recently when he touched some of your sore boils that with a great show of piety you informed another church member that a change of preachers would further the cause of Christ among us. Still you dare to believe that you are awaiting Jesus. May God help you.

You are not awake, my friend, but you may soon be awakened. Then you will pray, not with the usual flow of words, but with a heart cry--after the birthright is lost.

Gustaf F. Johnson (1873-1959), “Heavenly Lights in the World’s Night”
From Gustaf F. Johnson, Hearts Aflame, trans. Paul R. Johnson (1970), p. 173.

Nature - November, 2010

2010-11-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

God’s Creative Genius

In view of our contemporary ecological crisis, the [biblical] wisdom tradition can offer some valuable insight for the Christian community by inviting us to behold the creative genius of God's handiwork in the natural world. Before the Creator, Job is made to feel small. And so should we. What begins for Job as a pursuit of divine justice ends with job receiving an elementary lesson on his place within God's created order. This is an exercise that we would do well to learn. The voice of God in the whirlwind is not done speaking yet. Every now and then, the fury of creation unleashed reminds us of our rightful place and calls us to responsible stewardship in God's divine order. Even now the vast blue-green waters of the Pacific Ocean, the expansive painted landscape of the Grand Canyon, and the delicate beauty of the Florida Everglades all proclaim God's glory, and “heavenly beings shout for joy.” Like Job, we too should be speechless with wonder when we consider that we have contributed nothing to this elegant grandeur. When God speaks, nature rejoices--and we must be quiet.

Bradley J. Bergfalk (19 - ), “When God Speaks: God and Nature in the Divine Speeches of Job,” from To Hear and Obey: Essays in Honor of Fredrick Carlson Holmgren, Edited by Bradley J. Bergfalk and Paul E. Koptak (1997), p. 81.

WHY?

Why do flowers bloom in the spring?
Why do bees have to sting?
Why do bells always ring?
I guess that’s the way God made it.
Why is the water always blue?
Why do cows say moo?
I wonder how God planned this.
Why does he make some people tall?
I guess that’s the way God made it all.

Kristine Twedt (1973- ), Age 8, Willmar, Minnesota
From Poems and Prayers from the Ark, Priscilla Johnson, ed. (1984), p. 22.

When we listen to many scientists speak, we find that they do not seem to give credit to God for creating the earth. This does not necessarily mean that they lack faith in God. Weather forecasters do not usually give credit to God for bringing rain, but this does not mean that they disbelieve in God or that God is not behind the natural causes of rain. Scientists make discoveries by studying the earth itself. As a result of their studies they change their views from time to time. The message of the Bible, on the other hand, deals with things that do not change. We respect the work of scientists and make use of their discoveries, but nothing the scientists may learn about the earth will prove that God was not there from the beginning as its Creator. In fact, it is quite impossible to imagine how it could have happened without him.

In general, science seeks to discover how the earth came to be and how we can learn from it in order to use its resources. The purpose of the Bible, on the other hand, is to tell us why the earth was created and what meaning it has for us. Therefore, science and the Bible have different purposes, and even though they do not always seem to recognize one another, this does not mean that they are opposed to one another.

Some scientists believe in God and some do not, but their scientific study cannot destroy our faith in God. He has given us the ability to believe in him if we are willing to do so. Therefore, our faith need not be affected by people who do not seem to give God credit for creating the earth. We recognize him as the one who caused all things to exist, and we continue to live as people who belong to him.

Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), God’s Friends: Called to Believe and Belong (1985), p. 24.

AWE

The vastness of the universe You created
Thrills us, Lord God;
No man can hope to know its limits
Or grasp its size.
For who can gauge the length and breadth
Of heaven’s highest vault?
Or who can tell the power
Bound up in galaxies of light?
Or who can count the stars?

Our wonder at this universe is burning;
It inflames us.
But let our awe for You, Creator,
Burn more brightly
And consume us.

Pauline Lenore Larson (1951-1977), Broken Arcs (1979), p. 17.

Spiritual Lessons

There is the closeness to the sky by day and an inexpressible nearness to the stars at night. Most exalting is the hour when day draws to a close before a bonfire of dazzling beauty. Beyond the rooftops and the chimney spires, beyond the city belfries that silhouette the western sky, God pens a chapter in the language of eternity.

Far below in the busy street the traffic rushes in a ceaseless stream day and night, accented now and then by shrieks of sirens--ambulances, police cars, fire engines, and other whistles and alarms. The ear, even in the third-floor chamber, cannot escape the clamor. But, strangely, one does not mind, for in this little haven close to the sky one learns to live apart from the world's unrest. That is its magic.

For here the habit of the soul
Feels less the outer world's control.

After all, the truest solitude is not conditioned by what goes on outside. It is the interior solitude that matters. As for the tumult below--it is still there. Pulling out all the stops of the imagination, what one finally trains the ear to hear are curious sea-sounds--dashing waves and bursts of fury, splashing surf, shrieking winds, and foghorns calling from the deep. Then one has found his way to Nature's lap after all. What a priceless possession is the power to imagine!

Helga Skogsbergh (1892-1969), A Time to Reflect (1965), p. 15.

The wild morning-glory has in its nature a determination to climb. In the absence of a trellis or other adequate support, it will entwine itself around a tree stump or a weed: but climb it must and stretch it will. The human sentiments are like that. How well for the human character if it can have Christ for its trellis, upon whom it may be trained to its best expression!

Olga Lindborg (1889-1945), “Our Conscious Selves”
Manuscript, Covenant Archives, Record Series 2-1-14, Box 1.

O MIGHTY GOD, WHEN I BEHOLD THE WONDER
(Original translation from Swedish of O Store Gud)

O mighty God, when I behold the wonder of nature’s beauty, wrought by words of thine, and how thou leadest all from realms up yonder, sustaining earthly life with love benign,

Refrain: with rapture filled my soul thy name would laud, O mighty God! O mighty God! With rapture filled my soul thy name would laud, O mighty God! O mighty God!

When I behold the heavens in their vastness, where golden ships in azure issue forth,
where sun and moon keep watch upon the fastness of changing seasons and of time on earth,

And when I hear the roar of storms and thunder, when lightning cleaves the heavy sky in twain, and rainbow fair, the sign of promise tender, reveals itself when ends refreshing rain,

When summer winds o’er verdant fields are playing, when flowers bloom by cooling waters’ edge, when singing birds on ev’ry tree are swaying and fill with melody each grove and hedge,

And when I see, in holy Scripture reading, thy deeds, O God, on earth since birth of man, thy grace and wisdom that is shown in leading thy people ever safe across life’s span,

When I hear fools in ignorance and folly deny thee, God, and taunt thy holy Word,
and yet perceive that thou supplieth wholly their ev'ry need, thy love in grace conferred,

When I behold thy Son to earth descending, to heal and save and teach distressed mankind, when evil flees and death is seen recoiling before the glory of the Lord divine,

When crushed by guilt of sin, before thee kneeling I plead for mercy and for grace and peace, I feel thy balm and, all my bruises healing, my soul is filled, my heart is set at ease,

And when at last the mists of time have vanished and I in truth my faith confirmed shall see, upon the shores where earthly ills are banished I'll enter, Lord, to dwell in peace with thee,

Carl Boberg (1859-1940), “O Mighty God, When I Behold the Wonder,” tr. E. Gustav Johnson (1893-1974), from The Covenant Hymnal (1973), No. 19. (This is the original English version of O Store Gud, first published in The Children’s Friend in 1925. Carl Boberg was a Swedish Covenant pastor. The abbreviated version of his famous hymn, widely known and loved as “How Great Thou Art” (cf. The Covenant Hymnal: a Worshipbook, 1996, No.8) is a later English translation of a Russian version, based on an earlier German translation of the original.

SNOW IS THE HAND OF CHRIST

Snow is a benediction
In which the hurt fingers
Of earth touch at heaven,
And no sin lingers.

Snow is the hand of Christ
Blessing the dark ground,
Forgiving the sins of earth
With a small sound.

Fred Moeckel (1929-1966), None But a Child May Enter (1982), p. 71.

Now comes the time for flowers, for joy, for beauty great.
Come near, you summer hours, earth’s grasses recreate.
Sun’s kind and lovely charming of dead things winter slew,
comes intimately warming and all is born anew.

Our lovely flowered meadows, the till field’s noble seed,
rich herbs laid out in windrows, green groves sedately treed:
these wonderful reminders of God’s good kingdom strong;
that we his grace remember, it spans the whole year long.

We hear the birdsong ringing a many throated laud:
shall not our tongues be singing our praise to father God?
My soul, lift up God’s greatness, a hearty song employ,
to him who wills to find us and bring us endless joy.

You gentle Jesus, Christus, our radiant sun, our shield,
your light, your arm protect us, to you cold senses yield.
Bring fires of love internal, but damp the heats of lust,
prevent all hurt infernal: teach us your hand to trust.

Israel Kolmodin (1643-1709), “Now Comes the Time for Flowers,” tr. Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), from The Covenant Hymnal: a Worshipbook (1996), No. 646.

Soul Changing

Listen how God speaks though the daily wonders about us. Harken to the deep secrets of nature–the sighing winds, the lapping waves, the singing birds. But better still, listen to what the silent wonders say–a sunset laying its hand of benediction upon a weary day, the first star that appears when the swift darkness of winter settles over the land, the white hush of a morning blanketed in snow, the mellow glow of autumn before the winds blow. And yet, as Job says, “These are but the outskirts of his ways.” There are so many moments in the ordinary events of daily life that can be clues to sensing God’s nearness. But we so often let ourselves become encased in a shell of everydayness, a shell which the ray of wonder cannot penetrate.

...God doesn’t always speak in words. He may use another form of vocabulary, that of sight, sound, beauty, sorrow, friendship–and even tragedy. In the silent places with God men [and women] have received revelations destined to change history.

...Behold the stretching glories which surround us daily–the vastness of space, the uplifted hills, the measureless sea. These are ministers of expansion for the soul. There is the sky–“the daily bread of the eye.” We may not have an ocean, or a mountain, or fields of green on which to fix our eyes, but there is always a skyline somewhere to remind us of something larger than ourselves. The wonder of the heavens, the pageantry of clouds, speak a message to all people in every land.

Helga Skogsbergh (1892-1969), A Time to Reflect (1965), pp. 20,21,22.

If we are to believe the vision of God that we have in our Bibles, we know that he is supremely the master of reality. He is supremely the creator of a cosmos in which awesome wonders are on daily display. Because of our pressures in life, and our constant self-examination, as well as our need to perform, we never take the time to see these wonders. It is as one of my students said last week, “I've made an important discovery: you don't see much of the world when you're constantly examining your navel.” I got up right out of my chair and shouted, “Hallelujah! Another convert!” Somebody is going to look out at the world! Somebody is going to look at these mountains! Somebody is going actually to look at human beings and see them with all their majestic potential of becoming citizens of a city not made with hands. Somebody is going to see them, not as elements in production, but as creatures of the new creation. Somebody is going to see them as the poetry of God's heaven, and say, “I don't care about the schedule. Let's go have coffee. I want to hear what you have to say.” Somebody is going to live with them in depth, and is going to touch and be touched by them, and is going to be raised by them and get a taste of what blessedness really is going to be like. In short, somebody is going to begin to live in the world of God's creation as it ultimately will be, right now. And out of that, somebody is going to gather the strength to be able to say to the garbage-in-garbage-out syndrome, “I'm sorry, I don't have time for that kind of stuff. I'm engaged in real enterprises. There are real things I want to do.” If our programs and techniques of management prevent this from happening, they must be gotten rid of or reevaluated for the sake of the gospel and the church's ministry.

Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), “Managing” (1978)
From Anatomy of the Pilgrim Experience: Reflections on Being a Covenanter, Edited by Philip J. Anderson and David E. Hawkinson (2000), p. 56.

Providence - October, 2010

2010-10-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Biblical Moorings

The word “providence” comes from the Latin and means that God “sees before” or “looks out for us.” Providence is the doctrine that “the eternal, wise, holy, and loving purpose of God embraces all events” [Bernard Clairvaux]. It is the assurance that God cares for us and for his whole creation. We should expect this, of course, in view of what we already know about God. He is almighty, which means that he has the power not only to create but to govern his universe. He is also our Father, and as a loving Father he may be depended upon to take care of his children.

The Church sometimes distinguishes among three kinds of providence. There is, in the first place, a general providence by which we mean God's care for the universe as a whole. It includes his control over the earth and everything in it, over all plant and animal life, and over all human beings everywhere. The Old Testament says, “Thou art the Lord, thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and thou preservest all of them.” Jesus speaks very beautifully of this: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them” (Matthew 6:26).

We speak of special providence when we are thinking of God's care for all men. Jesus referred often to this. He said to his disciples, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father's will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31). The words are true not simply of the disciples but of all people. They show how wonderfully
he cares for us. Jesus makes it clear that special providence reaches all men--good and bad
alike--when he says, “for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).

The Church speaks of most special providence when it is thinking of God's care for the one who trusts him and lives for him. The Christian is one who has placed himself [or herself] in such a position as to be able to receive the love and guidance of God. This doctrine gives...strength and comfort when he [or she] becomes weary and discouraged. Paul put it in words that are hard to forget, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him” (Romans 8:28). This does not mean that no misfortunes come to a Christian; it means that God makes it possible to find good even in them.

It isn't always easy to believe this. There are many things that happen which seem to contradict this faith. Why should little children, who have done no wrong, have to suffer? Why should tornadoes and floods threaten the homes of good people? Why should there be war with its death and destruction? How can a good God permit such things?

Christians never deny that there is such evil in the world. They may admit very frankly that they can't explain why it comes to some people rather than to others. But the Christian believes that God cares very deeply about what happens and that in his wisdom he can bring good out of the worst kind of tragedy. Here is the way Paul described his faith: “For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39).

Clifford W. Bjorklund (1921-1986), Harry J. Ekstam (1918- ), Karl A. Olsson (1913-1996), and Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), According to Thy Word (1954, 1955), pp. 355,356,357.

God Can Be Trusted

HE LEADS THE WAY

When lost in the woods,
Or even at sea,
Without any goods,
And lonely as can be–

Remember: He leads the way.
For His teachings are right
As day after day
We learn of His light.

When in a place that’s scary,
Know that God is with you.
And when things could be a little more merry,
God is with you all the way through.

Think always, wherever you are,
Whether you go or stay,
If it’s near or far:
God leads the way.

Bruce Lantz (1957-1969), Age 10, Pomeroy, Iowa
From, Poems and Prayers from the Ark, ed. Priscilla Johnson (1984), p. 14.

...Go home and sleep quietly, and leave it to God. We pray every day, “Our Father, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” And then we stay awake all night for fear that he cannot do it, or will not do it, or that he might need more information. I have done that, and it is just plumb silly. It does not fit with what we already believe. They asked Franklin Roosevelt whether in the burden of the war he had had many sleepless nights. He said only one: the night Winston Churchill called him and said, “I think Britain will go down tonight.” You cannot blame a man for staying awake on a night like that. “Otherwise,” he said, “I just told myself, 'Well, Franklin, you've made some and you've lost some today. But whether you did a good job or a bad job, it's over, and there isn't a blessed thing you can gain by sitting around grumbling about it, so go to sleep.’” Now, there is no particular faith in that. That is just good old farmers' common sense. But with faith added to it, the conviction that, despite everything--and this is God's last humor--he uses us to do his purposes in the world.

Is that good news? I guess it is! Do we really mean it? Or is there an unregenerate comer of our spirits that says, “Yes, but, you know, God is really very old fashioned. He hasn't seen the newest mainframe IBM 360s, and he doesn't yet know what they can do. Now, if I could get Trinitarian theology on that mainframe and check it out, we could go from 18.5 percent compounded growth rate to 22.5 percent inside three and a half years, or at least 3.56.” Is that not dumb? But that is the way we think. Because there is something reserved in the corner of us that says, “He cannot be trusted, finally, to work out his own purposes. He cannot be trusted to defend himself. We must constantly be defending him against his enemies. We must constantly be sustaining him, we must constantly be careful of his reputation, lest he lose the battle. The prince of darkness is very strong.”

...Managing means keeping order in a chaotic world while recognizing that there is no more control over what is managed than there was for our predecessors who were uprooted, who planted, and who fenced. Like them, the manager cannot ultimately answer for the final outcome because its creation and control is beyond us....

...Good management comes from uncomplicated and faithful stewards, and will be rewarded by the king when he returns with the words, “Good and faithful servant!” I do not know what he is going to say to the computer. I suspect that what he will do is stand back, put his hands on his hips, and have a belly laugh. When I seek a way of expressing the pilgrim life, I take it to be a life, which sooner or later, has the delicate sense that it is not ultimately at home here, though it is here in all of its rich fullness in Christ.

Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), “Managing” (1978)
From Anatomy of the Pilgrim Experience: Reflections on Being a Covenanter, Edited by Philip J. Anderson and David E. Hawkinson (2000), pp. 58,59,60.

It is in...difficult moments that we can easily see the mystic and true believer in [August Hermann] Francke (1663-1727) emerge most clearly. In the midst of his concerns about contributions (and contributors), erection of new buildings, promotion of new programs, education of rich and poor alike, administration, pastoral ministry, and lecturing at the university, Francke retained his simple trust in the providence of God:

“Around St. Michael's Day, 1699, I was in the utmost need and as I went out into the beautiful weather and contemplated the clear heavens my heart was greatly strengthened in faith (which I ascribe not to my powers, but purely to the grace of God) so that I thought to myself, ‘How glorious it is when one has nothing and can rely on nothing, but knows the living God who has created heaven and earth and puts his trust in him alone and thereby one can have peace even in want.’”

Were this the end of Francke's moment of divine strength we could appreciate the beauty of his thoughts, the simplicity and depth of his faith, and the goodness of God who gave him refreshment in a moment of need. The conclusion of the episode, however, leaves us in awe. As Francke returned home that day, renewed and happy even though he came to a situation of need, some laborers who had been working on the orphanage came to him. It was payday and they expected him to produce their wages. The paymaster approached. “‘Is anything coming?’ he asked. I answered, ‘No, but I have faith in God,’ Hardly had I spoken the word when a student reported to me who had brought thirty talers from someone who he would not name.

“I went back into the room and asked the other how much he required this time for the payment of the builders. He said, ‘Thirty talers.’ I said, ‘Here they are,’and asked if he needed more? He said, ‘No,’ which then strengthened us both much in faith in that we recognized so evidently the wonderful hand of God which was there in a moment when it was needed and as much as was required.”

Gary R. Sattler (19 - ), God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good (1982), pp. 67,68.

DIVINE LOVE

I’ve got something to give.
You don’t have to take it,
But I wish you would.

I’ve got something to show you.
You don’t have to see,
But I wish you could.

I’ve got something to share with you.
Walk with me a while,
Talk with me a while.

I’m not there, you say?
You can’t hear me?
Listen with your heart;
I will surround you with the sounds of love.

And when you are alone,
Or frightened,
Or need strength to go on,

Call for me by name.
I won’t hesitate,
I’ll be at your side.

You don’t have to call for me,
Maybe you won’t.
But I wish you would.

Rebecca Briggs (1953- ), Age 15, Jamestown, New York
From Poems and Prayers from the Ark, Priscilla Johnson, ed. (1984), p. 146.

‘Our Refuge and Strength’

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. Psalm 46:1,2

THESE DAYS ARE CHANGING

These days are changing
With each leaf shimmering down in sunshine
And frosty air through my bedroom window
These days are changing.

These days are changing
Children growing up, parents growing old
Death is stilling the laughter of friends
These days are changing.

Yet You, God of everything, do not change
Forever hiding us in Your love
Still helping us to face our troubles
You become a man and change our days.

These days are changing
Forever creeps closer like snow
Many glad reunions, the laughter of heavenly friends
These days are changing.

So come, changing days
Blow winter-time of life with all your challenge and pain
Meet our Refuge and Strength
Who conquers for us your trouble.

These days are changing
Failing leaves promise us that life shall come again
And for now, until then,
Refuge and Strength, very present help.

Peter J. Hawkinson (1964- ), “The Bethany Broadcaster,” (Church Newsletter, October, 2000).

Children of the heavenly Father safely in his bosom gather;
nestling bird nor star in heaven such a refuge e’er was given.

God his own doth tend and nourish, in his holy courts they flourish;
from all evil things he spares them, in his mighty arms he bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever from the Lord his children sever;
unto them his grace he showeth, and their sorrows all he knoweth.

Praise the Lord in joyful numbers, your Protector never slumbers;
at the will of your Defender ev’ry foeman must surrender.

Though he giveth or he taketh, God his children ne’er forsaketh;
his the loving purpose solely to preserve them pure and holy.

Lina Sandell (1832-1903), tr. Ernst W. Olson (1870-1958), © Lutheran Church in America.
The Covenant Hymnal: a Worshipbook (1996), No. 87.

...Your eyes saw my unformed body (Psalm 139:16).

Sometimes, I wish I could return to the past and correct the mean things I did to my brothers and sisters. Maybe if I had been born into another family....but if this had happened, I would not have been me. If even one parent had been different, I would not be me.

The psalmist says that God watched me when I was being formed inside my mother where no one else could see. That means that God knew exactly what I would look like and the kind of personality I would have before I was even born. Since God knew me while I was yet unformed, he must have planned for me to be. That means that I am not an accident; neither are you. Since God planned for you to be, he must have a plan for you. You are special.

Lucy Daniels (1946- ), You are Special (Booklet, 1987).

Thou tender, gracious Father, who watches over me,
how shall ever praise thee, how love and honor thee?
Thou guidest me with caution from ev’ry secret snare,
and ‘neath thy wings a refuge I find in my despair.

With raiment, food, and shelter, whate’er my needs imply,
for soul and body ever do thou in grace supply.
O Lord, I soon would perish if aught thou should exclude;
O could I love thee better and prove my gratitude.

In childlike, true obedience help me to do the right;
May precious be thy statutes, thy yoke be pleasant, light!
And when some hardship threatens, a danger frightens me,
may thou in all my trials my present helper be.

Thy heart is all compassion, with love it overflows;
whate’er of ill betide me, thou knowest, and my woes.
Thou dost not sleep nor slumber by night nor through the days;
thine arms, almighty Father, enfold all time and space.

Lina Sandell (1832-1903), “Thou Tender, Gracious Father,” tr. Carl O. Dahlen (1867-1938)
From The Covenant Hymnal (1973), No. 97.

If God wants to take me home I do not want to stay here on earth any longer. It may be that one wishes for himself an extended lifetime; or in a given circumstance one may wish to die. But our lives belong to the Lord, and all that we are or have should be surrendered to him in life or in death. His will should be the norm for everything. Whether we are in prosperity or distress, whether God gives or takes, we are his. We should be satisfied with the hour or manner that he chooses to call us from this life.

C. O. Rosenius (1816-1868), Romans: A Devotional Commentary, J. Elmer Dahlgren and Royal F. Peterson, translators (1978), p. 194.

Sovereign Over All

It must be understood that God’s purposive activity is present throughout the whole creation–in the far-flung galaxies of space, in the rise and fall of nations, in the everyday lives of individuals, great and small. The mere fact that the creation exists and is constantly sustained in its being is an expression of his holy will. The orderliness and dependability of the processes of nature (the so-call “laws of nature”) are an indication of his faithfulness. The complexities and intricacies of the ecological balances of nature are all providentially ordered.

It is, of course, true that nature and history and also characterized by much that seems to deny purpose. Nature is marked by seemingly unnecessary suffering, by natural disasters, and consequent destruction and waste. History does not always reward righteousness. In all honesty we must admit that God’s purposes are not immediately apparent to our observation. But the doctrine of providence is not based upon our experience of meaningfulness or the lack of it, but upon God’s disclosure of his purpose. “And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purpose in Christ, to be put into effect when the times have reached their fulfillment–to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ” (Ephesians 1: 9,10, NIV).

Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), Covenant Affirmations: This We Believe (1981), p. 41.

CALLIGRAPHY

There is a strange calligraphy
Connecting each event
Of import in my life ...
So that a moment that has meant,
Perhaps, particularly nothing
Has an artistic reason,
And every ill-assorted happening
a purposed season.

Fred Moeckel (1929-1966), None But A Child May Enter (1982), p. 26.

When the Reds [Communist soldiers] first arrived they went over to the mission station and hauled out all the groceries they could find. They came and handed me a few cans of milk, a big can of cocoa, a bottle of ketchup, some Kraft cheese, and a can of rolled oats. This was my part of the loot. I did feel badly that the station should be robbed of all these good things and was reluctant to use any of it, but thought that I might as well rather than see it destroyed. The day we arrived I went over to the mission station with Dr. Liu. It was sad, beyond words, to see the wanton destruction going on. After the Reds had taken what they wanted, the local people went in and carried away everything that remained. Even doors and windows were taken out. Books were strewn all over. Only a skeleton of the house was left after they had satisfied their greed. I thought to myself that they certainly do not know what they are doing. An organ was carried over to where I stayed, and someone was playing on that all the time. Dr. Liu, who was a Christian, knew how to play. After he had found a hymn book with notes, he and I played and sang some hymns together.

After three days in the city, orders came to cross the Han River. The troops went to Yuinyang, another big city about forty miles above Kunchow. The remainder of the army, together with some soldiers as guards, lived in the country across the river for about two days.

While there I had a very precious experience which showed that God was with me, and that he knew what I needed just then. One of the men at the hospital had gotten hold of a preacher's long coat. While he was searching the pockets a slip of paper fell out. I was standing close by and noticed the paper fall. Picking it up I found a Norwegian song written on it. The topic of the song was “Wait on the Lord.” The general thought of the four stanzas was as follows: “God will surely plan your daily experiences so that everything will be for the best. And if you take everything to Jesus you will be able to carry the heaviest load. Truly and firmly God will establish your way throughout life, and as you rest in him you are guided from sorrow and calamity. When the hour of departure has come, everything being prepared, then, you who have complained will feel ashamed because before you know it you will be at home. Amen, amen, in thy name, My Jesus, I am still. Thou, Lord, will surely plan my days just as thou dost see fit.”

I cannot explain my feelings as I tried to read that song. It contained a message which strengthened my faith and gave me new courage. I put it in my New Testament and read it time and again during the remaining weeks of my captivity. The friends at Laohokow sang the song for my benefit when I passed through there a month later.

C. Oscar Anderson (1893-1950), “The Chase Begins,” in Two Lives of Faith: the Autobiographies of C. Oscar and Ruth M. Anderson (Published by their Sons and Daughters,1974), pp. 72,73.

Wheresoe’er I roam, through valleys dreary, over mountains or in pathless wood,
ever with me is a Friend to cheer me, warning, comforting as none else could.
‘Tis the Shepherd, who once dying, bleeding, now through all eternity shall live.
Jesus leads his flock, protecting, feeding, and the tend’rest care doth give.

All my needs eternally supplying, all in all that Friend to me shall be;
ev’rything for which my heart is sighing, Jesus knows and helps me lovingly.
Though I often feel forsaken, lonely, he is ever near, for he did say:
“I am with you always,” and this only gives me courage on my way.

Pierced heart, with love o’erflowing guide me, help me through life’s desert find my way;
let my faith, no matter what betide me, find assurance in your wounds each day.
To your presence–for this life is fleeting–take me, wash my garments in your blood;
and with Thomas may I, at your meeting, cry with joy, “My Lord and God!”

C. O. Rosenius (1816-1868), “Wheresoe’er I Roam,” tr. Victor O. Peterson (1864-1929), © Fortress Press, From The Covenant Hymnal: a Worshipbook (1996), No. 427.

Thanks to God for my Redeemer, thanks for all thou dost provide!
Thanks for times now but a mem’ry, thanks for Jesus by my side!
Thanks for pleasant, balmy springtime, thanks for dark and dreary fall!
Thanks for tears by now forgotten, thanks for peace within my soul!

Thanks for prayers that thou hast answered, thanks for what thou dost deny!
Thanks for storms that I have weathered, thanks for all thou dost supply!
Thanks for pain and thanks for pleasure, thanks for comfort in despair!
Thanks for grace that none can measure, thanks for love beyond compare!

Thanks for roses by the wayside, thanks for thorns their stems contain!
Thanks for home and thanks for fireside, thanks for hope, that sweet refrain!
Thanks for joy and thanks for sorrow, thanks for heav’nly peace with thee!
Thanks for hope in the tomorrow, thanks through all eternity!

August Ludvig Storm (1862-1914), “Thanks to God,” tr. Carl E. Backstrom (1901-1984)
From The Covenant Hymnal, a Worshipbook (1996), No. 657.

September, 2010 - Preachers

2010-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Memorable Pioneers

In 1864 a young man came to Swede Bend, near Stratford, Boone County, Iowa. This young man came directly from Sweden where he had been in the service of the army for a number of years. By trade he was a cobbler. He was an earnest Christian, having been converted through the reading of Pietistin [“The Pietist”] shortly before leaving for America. He was of a happy disposition and as a new convert his heart naturally sang with overflowing joy. His name was Carl August Björk.

Because of his warm interest in matters pertaining to religion the people of Swede Bend regarded Mr. Björk as a very unusual type of young man. He would speak to them of the love of God manifested in Christ Jesus and sing religious songs with visible joy and happiness. On the first Sunday of his arrival he gathered the folks in the home, read to them a portion from the Pietistin and sang old familiar hymns which gladdened the people....

During the summer of 1865 several persons were brought under conviction of sin in Mr. Björk's unpretentious meetings and finally they experienced the peace with God. In the week of prayer in 1867 a revival broke out in Swede Bend and a considerable number were brought to Christ. Thus a great change took place in the community, and Mr. Björk was no longer the only Läsare [“Reader”] among the people. He was now surrounded by a group of warm-hearted Christians, who looked upon him as their spiritual leader though he still was an ordinary working man in their midst.

When on Good Friday, 1867, Mr. Björk was to lead the service in the Lutheran church in the pastor's absence, he planned to read a portion from Pietisten or from a postil. Coming to church he could not find the book. Some one had hid it in order thus to compel Mr. Björk to preach. Under the circumstances he was forced to make his first attempt at preaching. He read a portion of the Scriptures relating to the crucifixion of Christ and spoke extemporaneously on that great subject with considerable freedom and power. His audience was deeply moved by his message and a revival spirit was manifested in the meeting. Several souls were brought to spiritual life as a result of this sermon. Mr. Björk now was prevailed upon henceforth to preach at the services and not to read from Pietisten or from a postil. Having seen evidence of God's blessing in his first attempt to preach, he consented to comply with the wishes of the people, though he did so with fear and trembling. Thus the first minister among the Mission Friends in America was drawn into the ministry very much as the colporteurs had been drawn to this work without any previous planning on their part. Good Friday in the year of 1867 can be regarded as the very birthday of the ministry of the Mission Friends in America, and the Rev. C. A. Björk was the very first minister.

C. V. Bowman (1868-1937), The Mission Covenant of America (1925), pp. 23,24,25,26.

The [Jönköping] society had thirteen men in its service in the early1870's. They were a distinguished group of preachers, not because of their learning but because of their natural fitness and deep devotion to their calling. None had more than a public school education. Some had less than that. All bad been called into the ministry from the plow, the carpenter's bench, the blacksmith shop or whatever occupation had been theirs. Nowhere else in Sweden, at that time or later, has there been a missionary society that has had in its service a group of preachers so outstanding in originality, so lavishly talented, and so richly endowed with spiritual power.

No two of them were alike in their presentation of the gospel, but all were men of one book and bad the most implicit faith in it. Some were fluent speakers. Others spoke haltingly. Some sat still as statues while they preached. (To be seated while preaching was the custom among them; one was a cripple who could not stand or take a single step without his crutches.) Others gesticulated and mimicked. Some never violated good taste in the use of illustrations. Others could not deliver a sermon that did not grate on the ears of the audience at some point. But all were alike in their unreserved consecration to the service of Christ for the salvation of men.

For more than twenty years the Gospel had been proclaimed with power by these men. There was hardly a parish within two hundred miles of Jönköping where a fire from heaven had not destroyed the altars of Baal, hardly a village where homes had not been transformed. Meeting-houses had been erected, places of amusement changed into temples of God, congregations and mission societies organized, and the moral standards raised to a higher level.

Erik Dahlhielm (1880-1955), A Burning Heart: a Biography of Erik August Skogsbergh (1951), pp. 45,46.

The ministers of the Mission Synod were from the outset self-made men who were in possession of very little theological training. The Rev. J. M. Sanngren and the Rev. P. Undeen had for some time studied in the Rev. P. A. Ahlberg's Theological Institute in Sweden, but the other ministers of this early period did not have any such training. All of them did, however, possess a good knowledge of the contents of the Bible, and they were well grounded in the writings of Dr. Martin Luther and other prominent theologians. Consequently they had a firm grip on Bible truths and a fairly good insight into theological matters. Some of them were gifted speakers, and they were all godly and self -sacrificing men whose aim it was to bring the good news of salvation to their fellow men. In their labors they experienced blessings from God, and the people listened gladly to their message.

C. V. Bowman (1868-1937), The Mission Covenant of America (1925), p. 83.

I remember our preachers--Myhren, Lindholm, Nilsen, and Train [in the Hilmar, California community where I grew up]. In those early days these farmer preachers were venerated but not paid well. In their long Prince Alberts they appeared as prophets out of the Old Testament to me. On week days they looked like the rest of us. On Sundays they were set apart wielding the sword of the Lord. It was something to see the farmers coming to church on Sundays in their lumber wagons and buggies.

Eric G. Hawkinson (1896-1984), Memoirs, “The Hilmar Years (1903-1907),”quoted in Grace and Glory: a festscrift on preaching in honor of Eric G. Hawkinson, The Covenant Quarterly, 1981-82, p. 11.

I have no doubt that the occasional appearances of this great man (J. A. Hultman, “The Sunshine Singer”] contributed much to my spiritual development. In deep contrast, however, was his inconspicuous brother, Frank Hultman, who was pastor of our little church. Once when we were having a social affair in the basement of the church, the pastor tossed an apple to me. Had I tossed anything in the church basement I would have been punished; therefore, the pastor was a very bad example to me. However that may be, I had the warm feeling that he was on my side and that he was one human being that I could trust. He had established that I was worthy of his attention. He confirmed my confidence in him by writing me a letter after we had moved to California. I would not want to minimize the influence of the famous “Sunshine Singer,” but among the few things that kept me from breaking completely with the church during my adolescent years were the memories of that tossed apple and of that letter, which is still one of my most prized possessions.

Wesley W. Nelson (1910- ), Crying for my Mother (1975), pp. 9,10.

The Call and Education

Preachers must first and foremost have a call, and this is not replaced by any education. However, education is not replaced by a call either: without a call, no preacher. But a call without education results in a preacher who either never finds his real call or loses precious time by trying to look for and find that call.... This can never be emphasized enough .... Our theological seminary will be on the right track when we unite theological studies for the pastorate with a growing measure of liberal arts studies.... If any idea about a simple school for evangelists should in the slightest way prevent our future pastors from a foundational and comprehensive education, then this school would be a temptation rather than a blessing.

David Nyvall (1863-1946), Våra predikanters utbildning, Winter, 1919, quoted in Scott E. Erickson, David Nyvall and the Shape of an Immigrant Church (Acta Universitatis Upsallensis, Uppsala, 1996), pp. 295,296.

Need for Spiritual Maturity

I have often thought that preachers must really be worse and not better than other people in bearing up under trials and disappointments. It has also occurred to me that this is the result of our being accustomed to receiving more attention than other people and thus we become irritated when some disregard or contempt is shown us.

C. J. Nyvall (1829-1904), Travel Memories from America, 1876, E. Gustav Johnson, tr. (1959), p. 76

A pastor must always be prepared to perform the services of his office and never be embarrassed if unexpected and unique situations arise. He should act so that he gives the people a good and serious impression. A careless ministerial act is highly culpable and should never occur either at home or in church.

C. V. Bowman (1868-1937), “The Young Pastor” (1893), from Son of the People: The Autobiography of C. V. Bowman, tr. Eric G. Hawkinson, ed. Lois Bowman Michaelson (1988), p. 180.

Servant Leadership

In ministry we tend to forget theology and strive for servanthood and action. That attempt is often short-lived because it quickly runs out of a logic that will keep it going. Discouragement is the result. But as 2 Corinthians 4:5 stresses, ministry is first of all christological and, therefore, eschatological. Without that christological grounding in Christ's mission and promise, there is no direction for leadership other than self-interest. Servanthood becomes inane.

With a christological grounding, however, servanthood is both reasonable and directed. Christian workers are given over to people because they are first of all given over to Christ. To be involved with him necessitates being involved with his mission to people. Leadership, like any Christian service, is directed and motivated by Christ and his concerns, not by the whims of people. We are not people's servants or slaves in the sense that they “own” us; nor are we to do whatever they desire. Any service to them must fit under the lordship of Christ, his justice, and the concerns of his kingdom. Service and leadership become synonymous only when both are directed and motivated by Christ. To lead one must show people Christ and his kingdom so forcefully and clearly that they are compelled to follow. Servant leadership always results in people following Christ, not the servant.

Klyne R. Snodgrass (1944- ), “Your Slaves on Account of Jesus: Servant Leadership in the New Testament,” from Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 14,15.

A staff minister in a recent discussion about leadership said, “If the pastor will play the melody, I can provide the harmony. But when the melody keeps changing and isn't clear, it becomes very difficult.” This is a productive analogy for the pastor as leader of staff, lay leaders, and congregation. The main vision may come out of the minister's own depth of spirit, or may be created through corporate leadership action, but unless the melody is sounded clearly and consistently by the pastor, other staff and lay leaders will find it difficult to join in and add the harmony that is essential to accomplishing the goals. Together, pastor and staff are “pacesetters in the process of building a sense of common purpose in the congregation.”

The minister cannot wait to hear the melody from the congregation. While specific themes may be present, often they will be too diverse to give clear direction. The ministers and lay leaders, who know the people and context, choose the music to be played. They become the conductors of the “congregational orchestra,” and the members provide the harmony of support and action needed to accomplish the vision. If the minister refuses to lift the baton and give direction, the dissonance caused by people choosing their own pitch and playing their own tune will confuse the church's witness and mission to the world. The melody will be lost and the music will not be heard.

The minister playing the melody must not try to play all the other instruments that provide the harmony. People often need help in learning to play the harmony, and practice must be provided so that all can carry their part. A wise leader will learn how to delegate, accepting failures and mistakes in the process. Ministers who seek to fix the problem at hand by doing it themselves do so at the expense of developing the capabilities of their associates and lay leaders.

It is also possible to help others play their instruments to the neglect of playing one's own. The minister must first be attentive to the God who has called him or her to be his servant. Then he or she can help the congregation give attention to God in their lives. The ultimate harmony comes as the Spirit of God blends the work of ministers and the congregation to create a harmony of praise to God. In the context of harmony, the witness and mission of the church will be accomplished.

Frances M. Anderson (1931- ), “Sounding the Distinct Notes of Leadership”
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp 83,84.

Pastoral leadership is an art. It is not hierarchical rule but a servant leadership that calls forth the gifts of all people in the congregation. As an artist, the pastor needs to help develop the gifts in his or her people and help create organizational structures that allow those gifts to flourish harmoniously in promoting the mission of the church to glorify God. ...Management theorists ...agree that no one system works everywhere. Rather they describe principles, recognizing that one's organizational culture is a complex and powerful ally if understood and taken seriously. Each congregation is unique, with limits and possibilities.

The interaction between pastor and congregation is where the new work of art is created, An organizational structure that promotes love, respect, and honesty is crucial if a common mission is to be articulated and the gifts of all exercised in the pursuit of that mission. In managerial and artistic language this is what the Apostle Paul meant by equipping the saints for ministry.

Norma S. Sutton (1946- ), “Pastoral Leadership Is an Art”
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 129,130.

Communal Sensitivity

Since the ministry is entrusted to the whole, what is the unique role of the pastor? Influenced by Richard Osmer's distinction between teaching authority and commanding authority, I argue that the pastor's primary relation is to Word and sacrament as they lay claim on people, first for receptivity to God's grace in Christ and then to service in the name of Christ. It is God through Word and sacrament, not the pastor, who claims and calls people. The pastor's authority is to announce, both to persons as such and to the congregations, that as one and as many they are claimed and gifted for service. But what is to be done is not to be commanded but corporately discerned. The process of discerning is a form of teaching because it keeps the horizons of Scripture and present experience linked, and in that relation God's leading is discerned. The desired end is to be able to say, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us.”

C. John Weborg (1937- ), “It Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit and to Us: Clergy and Laity in Interaction,” from Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), p. 130.

The Christian ministry has its origin in Christ and his church. Consequently, it is not a calling in which we may exercise an unbridled invention or a display of our own opinion and talents. There is room for change. Blessed are those who are sensitive to change in the direction of improvement or decline. But there is also a tradition which is the mainstay of our life work as ministers. Only the uninstructed can believe that truth is of today alone. It behooves us, then, to lay hold of that tradition, because by both over-confidence and timidity we may lose its power.

The true tradition is not saved by repetition alone. We must speak the truth truthfully. This principle alive in our ministry will solve the problem of the old and the new. This principle will guide both the prophet and the priest as they minister in the church of Christ. With such an insight, they will have need of each other and will dwell together in peace....

“The Minister and His Ministry,” from Covenant Ministers’ Service Book of the Evangelical Mission Covenant Church of America (1944), p. 7.

God preserve congregations as well as preachers from heaping uncharitableness and contempt on an old, worn-out servant of Christ, in that one lifts to the skies the new, who still has tried little or nothing. It is dangerous to sin against a fellow-brother, even the simplest one. God watches over such behavior, and in due time he will repay him who has sinned in this way.

It is just as dangerous for a preacher to fall for popularity so that, in his own eyes, he becomes remarkable and important. Many have on that path dug their own graves and have, within a short time, made themselves useless, not to mention that on that path one can become a scandal in the church of God. The victims of pride and self-love among preachers are many and comprise a warning to all.

E. A. Skogsbergh (1850-1939), Minnen och Upplevelser
Quoted in Eric G. Hawkinson. Images in Covenant Beginnings (1968), p. 154.

There is a certain mystical quality to the pastoral presence that communicates concern and transcends words and the ability to perform. A plaque that hangs on my office wall expresses the idea in a profound way: “A Pastor is one who speaks to your spirit, listens to your heart, and understands what words can never say.” This kind of presence ministers in the deepest way. It expresses not so much our knowledge or expertise but a quality of spirit that functions even when one is at a loss for words.

Everett Jackson (1933- ), “The Role of Lay Leadership in Pastoral Care”
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), p. 102.

Need for Support

Our pastors are all human, not any of them are perfect. But they are chosen by God and called by the Church for a definite task. In your home say nothing derogatory about your pastor. He may not be America's greatest orator, nor your denomination's deepest theologian, but he is your pastor. If you have criticisms, go to him personally. Whatever you do, do not corrupt your children's mind by adverse criticism of your pastor. If you have nothing kind to say about him, then keep silent. I believe that the pastor should be spiritual adviser not only of the adult members of the Church but of the children as well. Do all within your power to establish the confidence of the one who by virtue of his office should be their spiritual adviser.

Peter Person (1889-1984), “The Parent and the Sunday School”
From Nath. Franklin, The Covenant Home (1935), p. 46.

He [Erik August Skogsbergh (1850-1939), often called “The Swedish Moody”] had a tender heart for his fellow ministers and never said or did anything that could be construed as a criticism of the pastor of the church in which he held a preaching mission. He looked upon the task of the evangelist as the easier, because the evangelist preaches a week or two in a place, wins some for Christ and leaves. The pastor remains. It is his duty to care for the converted and see to it that they grow in grace, a task that many a time robs him of his sleep. The evangelist preaches to a new audience every two or three weeks, the pastor to the same audience month after month, year after year. “How important, then, is it not that the evangelist is a humble man who co-operates with the pastor, encourages him, and encourages the church to think well of the shepherd whom Christ has placed in their midst?”

Erik Dahlhielm (1880-1955), A Burning Heart: a Biography of Erik August Skogsbergh (1951), p. 140.

Pastoral Ethics

[The following] guidelines are a teaching document to alert us [Covenant Ministers] to issues we should consider in making ethical decisions. They are affirmed by the Ministerium upon review by the Board of the Ministry.

A) This world is created, sustained, and loved by the everlasting God who has overcome darkness by the victory of Christ in the Incarnation-Crucifixion-Resurrection event.

B) We are called by God, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, to be servants of the Word and Sacraments, and to give leadership to the church as the body of Christ with the authority and grace of Christ the Servant.

C) We hold true to and give instruction in the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, as the Word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct.

D) Aware that we all fall short of the glory of God and only by grace are we saved, we nevertheless recognize the dignity and worth of each individual, grounded in the image of God.

E) We seek to minister to everyone who comes to us. Our calling is the expression of the totality of God's redemptive work in making himself known in Christ through the Holy Spirit, which is attested in Scripture and given narrative in the Church's tradition.

F) We understand the need for ongoing educational activities for our professional growth and give careful attention to nurturing our spiritual life through study, meditation, prayer, and spiritual direction or companionship.

G) We care for our personal and family health by maintaining a proper balance among our personal, family, and vocational responsibilities. It is imperative that we choose to seek appropriate assistance when we are in need.

H) We are committed to the biblical standard of chastity in singleness and fidelity in marriage. We define marriage as a monogamous, heterosexual relationship.

I) We seek out and enter into collegial relationships, recognizing that our perspective and judgment can be compromised by isolation.

J) We seek to establish and maintain appropriate boundaries in all pastoral relationships.

Ethical Guidelines for Covenant Ministers, An Occasional Paper, Number Five (1990s), p. 2.

Passion for Christ

The historian Herbert Butterfield once wrote: “Hold to Christ absolutely, but for the rest be totally uncommitted.” Passion for Christ and liberty are dynamically one. Whatever genius the Covenant may have, this is it as I perceive it. There is fierce commitment to Christ at the center but jolly and almost reckless abandonment away from the center. Our fellowship at its best has always fought off penultimate absolutes. Not often has anyone tried to force our fellowship into a box-doctrinal, methodological, or structural-but when it has been attempted someone always managed to yell "fire!" A certain robust recalcitrance always managed to break it up. But there was no such recalcitrance when God would blow in like a tornado, or roll in like a rhythmic brook.

Such freedom seemed too reckless at times. Almost anyone could start a prairie fire and get away with it. Our Covenant has its own trail of “burnt-out” cases. Some played with fire and many got burned. But in spite of the excesses, there was usually a drama more exciting than the Super Bowl. Where was the wind of the Spirit going to blow today? Who was about to be invaded? Expectancy was in the air!

Much of this drama was created by “rugged individualist" personalities. When sixteen, I can remember attending a Sunday evening service in the First Covenant Church of Duluth to hear the Rev. Gustaf F. Johnson conclude an evangelistic series. The impact on me was not only moving; it was frightening. My hair stood up stiff on my head. Yet as much as I would dread another encounter of that kind, I knew I would have to return if such an event recurred. Masochism? Perhaps. But I would secretly have to admit that the winds of God blew through the Texan's words.

Arthur W. Anderson (1920- ), “To Be Ourselves”
From Bound to Be Free: essays on being a Christian and a Covenanter, James R. Hawkinson, ed. (1975), p. 77.

If you are without fire, my young brother, your life will end in shipwreck. It will be impossible for you to argue yourself through to victory in the tornadoes of unbelief of our times. People cannot even hear what you say in the roar of the storm. If you are going to seek this prominent personality with one problem and that outstanding authority with another, you will sink into the darkness of despair before your problems are solved. If, however, the fire is burning in your soul, it will be just as difficult for the deeps of unbelief to drown you as it was for the Adriatic Sea to swallow the Apostle Paul.

How shall I secure this fire?

When the disciples of the Emmaus road walked along as smoking torches, they fell into company with one who set fire to their hearts with his words. “Were not our hearts burning within us, while he walked with us in the way, and while he opened the scriptures to us?” they exclaimed when they knew who he was.

Oh, my weary, discouraged, hopeless and sinking brother! You wish that you had never become a preacher. Right you are! A preacher without fire is more unhappy than a street sweeper with a worn-out broom. But you may re-establish company with the Lord Jesus--and you may do this today. Perhaps he is standing just over there, and like the disciples of old you do not recognize him. Now he will come and fellowship with you on your journey. And then the fire will be rekindled in your heart.

Gustaf F. Johnson (1873-1959), “Hearts Aflame”
From Gustaf F. Johnson, Hearts Aflame, tr. Paul R. Johnson (1970) p. 19.

August, 2010 - Preaching

2010-08-02T05:09:00.000-07:00

Biblical Moorings

Biblical roots for the sacramental view of the sermon are found in the New Testament's presentation of the nature of preaching, and particularly the preaching of Jesus. The word used for preaching in the Synoptic Gospels, keryssein, means "to announce," "to proclaim." The Vulgate translation is praedicare, "to call out openly." In the New Testament, preaching is not simply edifying discourse or instruction in abstract truth or illumination of religious truths; nor is it merely exhortation or admonition or "inspirational" address. It is an act of proclamation in which that which is proclaimed is made present and powerful in the moment of proclamation. Thus Jesus came to the synagogue in Nazareth, read from Isaiah 61 concerning the promised messianic age, and then declared, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in you hearing" (Luke 4:21). In his person and proclamation the long awaited rule of God had become living reality in their midst....

The primacy of this form of proclamation must be reaffirmed in an age when people demonstrate little confidence in the spoken word. Everywhere language is used to manipulate and control hu¬man behavior for personal profit or advantage. Lying in advertising, in business, and in government is commonplace and often taken for granted. Surrounded every day by speech which lacks authenticity, the Church finds it doubly imperative to live and speak with integrity in every aspect of its life. The Church takes courage, however, in the realization that the effectiveness of its witness does not depend ultimately upon the quality of its life but upon God's grace which makes use of imperfect vessels.

...Preaching must be the faithful exposition of the biblical message in such a way as to permit the grace of the Gospel to bear on daily life. Through the Holy Spirit the reality of the salvation actualized in Jesus' death and resurrection is made present and effective in the words of the preacher.

Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), AThe Theology of Preaching: A Covenant Perspective@
From Grace and Glory: a festschrift on preaching in honor of Eric G. Hawkinson (The Covenant Quarterly, Nos 3,4, 1981), pp. 88,91.

The Wind of the Spirit

The secret of our success has been the simple preaching of the gospel in the power of the spirit .... We have been weak in education and parliamentary procedure, but we have been strong in the pulpit.

E. August Skogsbergh (1850-1939), Covenant Yearbook, 1910, p. 146, quoted in Scott E. Erickson, David Nyvall and the Shape of an Immigrant Church (Acta Universitatis Upsallensis Uppsala, 1996), p. 233.

When there is a change in the pulpit of a congrega¬tion, there is sometimes a revival in the church and the new man is given the credit for it, but the true reason may be that the old familiar voice is no longer heard. To be sure, there was much that was human and weak in the labor of the one who left but there was also something which remained in the hearts of the listeners, which was called forth by the sound of the new voice and quickened to new life.

Nils Heiner (1868-1958), AWhen the Lord God Calls@
From Herbert E. Palmquist, The Word Is Near You (1974), p. 153.

Great Covenant preaching does not belong to a bygone era. The gospel is always modern and gospel preaching is always fundamental.

G. F. Hedstrand (1886-1960)
From Foreword to The Covenant Pulpit, G. F. Hedstrand, ed. (1954).

Many a beautiful sermon containing wonderful truth and dressed in eloquent language falls to the ground like a bird shot down in flight. What is lacking? No heart! Nothing is wrong with its theology. The teaching is correct, and truth is spoken. Scripture after Scripture is quoted. The presentation is quiet and orderly, and the language is dignified and stately. Despite all this, not a soul is gripped by the message.

Why is this? Simply because the preacher has neglected to make what he says a vital issue for himself. He is like a record player which grinds out what has been cut into the record of the memory during the previous week. This is not preaching. This is merely making a speech.

Gustaf F. Johnson (1873-1959), AHearts Aflame@
From Gustaf F. Johnson, Hearts Aflame, trans. Paul R. Johnson (1970), p. 8.

Proclaiming the Story

Preaching is the telling of the story of Jesus, to the end that the hearer becomes part of the story. Its purpose is not to impart information, but to evoke faith and obedience. It is a word of faith that we preach. When the hearer believes and obeys this Word, he becomes a participant--not just imaginatively, as a child does when a bedtime story¬hero has the same name as he, but actually and effectively. This is a principal implication of the saying that Christ died for me.

The first preaching of the apostles consisted mainly of this storytelling, as demonstrated by Peter's sermon to the household of Cornelius. Very briefly, almost summarily, he told them the story of Jesus. But he didn't stop there with the conclusion AWell, now you know the story.@ Instead he continued: "To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." He invited them to become part of the story and they did. "While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the Word" (Acts 10:33,34). Without this conclusion the sermon was unfinished.

Preaching is important to the interpretation of the cross at precisely this point. Analysis and objectivity had little to do with the attitude of the apostles to the cross. Instead, they had entered into the experience of the cross and they were under a divine mandate to extend it to others. It would not be adequate to teach others of the experience without drawing them into it, for it is only from within that the foolishness of the cross may be perceived as the wisdom of God....

...Christ is risen, and present. The preaching does not cause his presence; instead, it defines and declares it. The presence of the risen Christ, not the imagination of the preacher, bridges the gap of history. Yet without the preaching Christ would be the unintroduced guest at the party, or the stranger in the back pew. His presence, possible as it is because of his resurrection, makes it imper¬ative for everyone to know his story.

Everett L. Wilson (1936- ), Christ Died for Me (1980), pp. 93,94,95.

The opportunity and need for proclamation of the gospel, the strong public announcement of the good news revealed in Christ Jesus, is before the church, especially the preacher. Leadership requires it. Doing it will enhance the leadership role. Wise or simple, learned or untutored, successful in this world's terms or a failure at everything, every human being needs to know that in Christ there is the new and right relationship with God. God wants people to know that!

The apparently overwhelming tendency to use the pulpit for didactic ends may occur because of the kind of audience to whom the person in the pulpit preaches todayBthe "savvy" individual who is often better informed than the preacher. The preacher is no longer the "parson," the person in the community. Consequently, the preacher may be intimidated by the hearers' learning and success and feel the need to cover his or her tracks. Rather than a fearless, "stick-your-neck-out" declaration of the promises of Scripture, the preacher carefully explains and aims at logic and good sense. There is no desire here to speak against such concerns. The desire here is rather to awaken the preacher to the additional challenge of announcing the gospel in declarative terms, a gospel to which hearers are called to respond. The gospel is also for heralding.

J. Robert Hjelm (1927-1999), AThe Pulpit Leads the World@
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 54,55.

The preacher [here referring to the lay colporteur in Sweden] should not find more joy in his work than in the fact that his name is written in heaven (Luke 10:20). In his travels from village to village, often without food for a day, he must not give way to discouragement, despair, or anxiety about sustenance (Luke 9:58). When he meets people with natural goodness, he must not hide the truth that would wound them into seeking new life. Pleasing and fearing the people are great temptations to the colporteur (Isaiah 51:12,13). When he meets opposition from preachers or people, he must not become vindictive or abusive. Christ died also for them. He may say, "It is, after all, the truth that I speak." Even so, why are you not as zealous about your own faults? Beware to think that you are something under much approval of Christian friends. In too zealous a service with much speaking and preaching, you can preach away your own spiritual life.

Mission Discussions in Jönköping, Sweden, 1892
Quoted in Images in Covenant Beginnings, pp. 133,134.

I once heard it said that my father's preaching was centered around two themes, "our badness and God's goodness." I do not so recall it, and I heard much of his preaching. Rather, he spoke of our lostness and God's mercy. There was something infinitely precious about men and women, but they had missed the road and only Christ could save them. That was the testimony of their own experience. I went astray and knew not the road but then I heard the voice of the Savior. Others were now on the same road of lostness as they had been and they were out to win them. It wasn't the debater that stood out in the old Covenant preacher, it was the pleader. Paul's distressed complaint to the Corinthians, "though you have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers," could probably have been made in our early days also. But we thank God for the "fathers"; they predominated.

Alas, that it should be so difficult to have a heart and to maintain it. True doctrine we have and some perhaps which is not so true; we have organizations; we have "revivals," campaigns, drives and crusades. And most of this is good. But it is incomplete unless "the love of' God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

Herbert E. Palmquist (1896-1981), Wait for Me! (1959), p. 9.

...During the first era of rupture [in the early Mission Friend movement], and not so infrequently, the sermons contained sharp attacks against those who opposed the mission. Should we say that by this they called forth cries of heresy, hyper-evangelism, etc., which were so loudly and persistently heard from the pulpits of many of the Lutheran churches? We believe that we will come nearer the truth if we say that with such behavior they were mutually stimulated. The zeal of the flesh, whenever it appears, is punished by the Holy Spirit--¬this in spite of the fact that the person thinks that he is performing a service to God. It was probably a good thing that no one in the Mission group dared to break into print on these matters. In that area the opposition was alone. With this inability to defend themselves with the pen, which they were sensible enough to understand, they seemed to have learned that this was the best way to victory in the conflict. The chairman spoke of this in his report at the annual meeting in 1874: "Our work has, in many ways, met resistance. Those who have attacked with the greatest zeal are most convinced that they have not triumphed, wherefore they must attack again. The position we have taken up to the present of not answering the accusations of the opposition has not caused us any loss.The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe" (Proverbs 18:10).

C. M. Youngquist (1851-1901), Hem-Missionären, November, 1892.
Quoted in Eric G. Hawkinson, Images in Covenant Beginnings (1968), pp. 139,140.

Law and Gospel

The gospel is a good and joyful "news," a delightful and glad message from the God of life to all sinners--to all people, in fact, inasmuch as all have sinned. He desires the death of no sinner. No, he desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth. He has eternally had the same mind which he has shown from the day of the fall, but especially revealed in that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). To tell sinners about this incomprehensible grace, love, and mercy is to preach the gospel. When sinners hear that it is only through his deeds that they can become blessed, this frees the slaves and frees the souls, yes, even the worst and the one who has sunk most deeply. The law preaches death. The gospel preaches life. The law preaches the curse and rejection. "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

Report of a Mission Meeting, Randolph, Kansas, August 3, 1877.
Quoted in Eric G. Hawkinson. Images in Covenant Beginnings (1968), p. 129.

When preaching and teaching God=s commandments in the church, it is helpful to remember both uses of the law found in Mark 10. We may strongly teach that the laws of God ought to be kept and can be kept in their outward form. This is necessary for the sake of order in the life of the community and the well-being of the individual. In biblical tradition, this is especially necessary for the sake of the weaker members of society, particularly children. Simultaneously, it is our calling also to declare that God's commands cannot be wholly kept. When we plumb our hearts and motivations, we are fugitives from the law. We are driven from the holy God, or else to Jesus and the cross for forgiveness and freedom from the bondage of the law offered in the one who calls us by name.

James K. Bruckner (1957- ), AOn the One Hand...On the Other Hand: The Twofold Meaning of the Law against Covetousness,@ From To Hear and Obey: Essays in Honor of Fredrick Carlson Holmgren, Edited by Bradley J. Bergfalk and Paul E. Koptak (1997), pp. 114,115.

With liveliness and warmth, even sharpness, [the early Covenanters] discussed first questions about the doctrine of the Bible regarding Christ's work for a fallen world together with self-improvement and faith. ...The new movement emphasized powerfully the danger of preaching moral effect and [self-acquired] faith as conditions for accepting grace, thereby leading the sinner from Christ into [one's] own work for self-betterment and true faith. They taught that often the preaching was such that faith became the soul's own virtue wherewith one sought to buy God=s grace. Therefore one should preach Christ more as the object of faithBChrist and his work for the soul. There must be no limitation in the presentation of Christ's work for a world fallen in sin. "It is finished." These words were defended and interpreted by the words of Rosenius, "You shall believe in a righteousness which all have; then you will have a righteousness which all do not have. ...What is it then that all have? A reconciled God, an eternal righteousness earned and brought forth by Christ. What is it then that all do not have? A mind not reconciled to God, a mind in which the Holy Spirit has not worked a new will, namely, partaking in God's nature."

...We are not protecting doctrine or conduct which does not stand the test before the Word of God. No, for this Word we tell all. This will at the last judge all. God be thanked that the solid rock of the Word prevails.

C. M. Youngquist (1851-1901), in Hem-Missionären, June, 1892
From Eric G. Hawkinson, Images in Covenant Beginnings (1968), pp. 49,50.

"Our forebears," said Pamp [Frederick E., 1883-1967], "had heard legalistic preaching in the established church all their lives as the priests castigated their erring parishioners. But because they were not themselves saved and could only say, 'Don't do as I do but do as I say,' they could not bring any real help. When the evangelicals came with their personal experience of God's saving grace, it was as salve in the wounds. The appeal did not lie in any technique. They addressed their listeners with the Good News, saying: 'Well, here you are, the prodigal. How do you fare in the far-away country? God is the father, full of love and mercy, who waits for you to come home'" Can it be said that such preaching is too naive for our sophisticated age, or is there behind all of the lostness of the present generation a broken cry for the Father's house?

Herbert E. Palmquist (1896-1981), The Wit and Wisdom of Our Fathers (1967), pp. 185,186.

Diverse Gifts

To meet the giant front which presses forward against the stronghold of faith and life and light in our day we need both the heavy and the light artillery. We need the deep, serious sermons, and we also need those which go in a little lighter style. In literature we need the kind of writings which lead our thoughts and minds down into the depths of salvation truth. But we also need the light, literary address which stimulates the emotions, speaks to the senses, and finds its way to those hearts which would never be reached by the heavy projectiles. As for myself, I am a little bit related to the humor artillerists, and it is my conviction that even these people have a place to fill in life.

Paul Peter Waldenström (1838-1917)
From Herbert E. Palmquist, The Wit and Wisdom of Our Fathers (1967), p. 26.

Pastor Sanngren was, by nature, a lively Smålänning. In addition to this, he was, by the grace of God, a completely happy man who could also make others happy through the preaching of the gospel. He was through and through an evangelical preacher who could portray Christ for sinners so that hearts were melted.

He was certainly peculiar in his way of preaching. It was with respect to this that he was criticized. But in spite of these peculiarities God used him for edi¬fication and salvation.

On one occasion I had opportunity to see how he handled himself in the pulpit. At that time they built pulpits like a large rostrum. Because there were so many Smålänningar on the North Side (Chicago), they had taken the pattern from the mission house in Jönköping and built a broad rostrum so that one could dance behind it if one wished.

I sat on a sofa behind him. He began to warm up in his heart so that he began to jump. Just as he was to express a happy thought, he kicked up both feet like a Missouri mule and almost caught me in the face with his shoes. After that I moved farther away from him.

Another time he preached on one of David's psalms in which David describes the Lord, "He has bent and strung his bow, he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts." (Psalm 7:12, 13). Then he described the Lord as a hunter who is out hunting game among people. He described in a vivid way how the Lord seeks to save the lost by shooting the arrows of truth.

"Pay attention now," he shouted, "now he bends his bow, look out, now he puts the deadly arrow on the bow string, now he shoots." And Sanngren, while pointing to a woman who sat on the front bench, shouted, "Pumf." The woman fell from the bench to the floor and began to cry to the Lord for salvation. It is said that she was saved and became happy in God.

Yes, the Lord can at times use preachers even with a delivery which is peculiar. In that event he naturally uses them for blessing not because of their peculiarities but in spite of them. It is clear that the Lord wants his witnesses to appear in a proper and inoffensive way, which in no way means that one shall stand like a statue but in a way which is natural and free. The hearer understands whether it is natural, affected, or imitated.

E. August Skogsbergh (1850-1939), Minner och Upplevelser.
Quoted in Eric G. Hawkinson, Images in Covenant Beginnings (1968), pp.134,135.

For me, the most unusual, the most imaginative, the most human and incarnational preaching came from my hero in the pulpit, Eric Hawkinson. I've heard the sermons of the greatest names but none has lit up my flesh and fragility with the glory of God as the chapel sermons of "Hawky." He simply expounded the Word of God and brought out the stars over this Word with parables from foxholes, farmyards, shy children with flowers, and Hilmar. Once in a Christmas sermon at seminary chapel he told how the Word of God came wrapped up in a gentle, "pink baby flesh." I reached out and touched the pulse beat of God. He wasn't reading it; he was living the Word with us. That's preaching! I want to preach for dear life like that!

Arthur W. Anderson (1920- ), Wild Beasts and Angels (1979), p. 92.

Sensitivity to People

Pastors are artists. The most overt form of their art is shown in preaching (rhetoric), liturgy (choreography), musical talent, and other specific artistic gifts. But the subtle form of art shows itself in pastoral care and leadership style. A trained intuition can help people verbalize their hunches, hopes, and hurts without telling them what to say. Artists work with material, and the material cannot be forced without being damaged. Good questions are a work of art because when anyone is "under questioning," he or she experiences some form of intimidation. The recognition of "where people are in life" and how to enable people to deal maturely with such is the fruit of living among a people, listening to them, and knowing that not just any verse of Scripture will do. The "word fitly spoken" is an artistic choice of words, texts, and gestures. Birney Quick, well-known artist in Minnesota and teacher of artists, says that the most significant thing an art teacher does is not the teaching of techniques and technical material but "finding the right pot" in which the plant of the developing artist can mature. Pastoral artistry has to do with an ecology in which judgment and grace, gift and task, can live dialectically.

C. John Weborg (1937- ), AIt Seemed Good to the Holy Spirit and to Us: Clergy and Laity in Interaction,@ from Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), p. 124.

When the Word has been preached and there is a sense that some people are ready to make a commitment to Christ as their Lord, then an invitation to make some kind of outward response may be helpful to the new converts in reinforcing their decision. They may be encouraged to do one of several things: raise their hands, stand where they are, give a brief expression of thanks to God, come forward for counsel, remain after the service to confer with the pastor, declare their decision to someone after the service, fill in a prepared card with a word about their commitment, write a letter to the pastor, or join the next inquirer's class.

When handled with spiritual discernment the invitation not only helps the newly committed to affirm their faith, it also encourages other Christians to become more active in their witness for Christ while it heightens the evangelistic expectancy of the whole congre¬gation.

AWorship on the Lord=s Day,@ from The Covenant Book of Worship (1981), p. 22.

[Carl August] Björk [first president of the Covenant] was a master in the pulpit--at times serious, piercing to the quick; at other times gently pleading; then again illustrating his sermon with pointed anecdotes and even humorous incidents. He preached to secure decisions, and therefore constantly harvested souls. This was in spite of the fact that he never emphasized revivals in the customary meaning. When fellow preachers began to use pressure methods upon the audience, Björk would say, "Now machinery is being used, as for me, I'm going home." Eternity alone will reveal the multitude won for Christ through his ministry.

C. E. Backstrom, ACarl August Björk,@ from Three Covenant Presidents, by C. E. Backstrom, E. Gustav Johnson, and Erik Dahlhielm (1943), p. 38.

The single image that remains most clearly in our minds as a parable on father's intention in preaching and his methodology surrounds the story of his encounter with a little boy at Swan Lake Bible Camp in South Dakota, years ago. Tired as he often was from a heavy schedule of teaching and preaching, he had come to that family camp weary and troubled over what he would say. The struggle, as he himself recalls, was evident there in his early sermonizing--the struggle to get through to clarity on the one hand and to his listeners on the other. On one of his early walks through the camp--he was an incessant walker while preparing himself to preach--he saw a lonely little boy, solitary by the road, listless and preoccupied, protected by a sense of privacy that seemed to forbid intrusion. Others were playing baseball, swimming, run¬ning, shouting, laughing, all that lively youngsters do to spend their prodigious energies at camp. For two or three days he watched that solitary little figure, so apparently lost--speaking briefly and courteously to him, but failing, somehow, in the ex¬change to bring cheer. Near the end of the week, father found the boy suddenly intent--reading a letter. Unaware of another's presence at first, obviously reading and rereading, the boy finally looked up, took father's eye, and with a broad grin leaped into the air shouting, "It's O.K., Hawky! I've just got a letter, and everything's O.K. at home! Let's go play ball!" That very image-- "Everything is O.K. at home!"--a little boy's image, became the center of the sermon that tied the whole week together.

Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997) and James R. Hawkinson (1930- ), ANotes on the Preacher by His Sons,@ from Grace and Glory: a festschrift on preaching in honor of Eric G. Hawkinson (The Covenant Quarterly, Nos 3,4, 1981), pp. 71,71.

There is a certain eloquence, in my opinion, [with] which ... a preacher can speak so that the simplest old lady can understand every word. That is the eloquence I strive for, and which I would counsel all preachers to practice. I will gladly leave it to others to immerse themselves in meditations over the meaning of the different colors in the high priest's garments and similar things. I congratulate those who see a great spiritual depth in that and are edified thereby. But for my part, when I hear it, I remember a little story. There was a preacher who spoke about the position of John the Baptist. He did not belong to the Old Testament and he did not belong to the New Testament. After a profound consideration of this, the preacher exclaimed: "Where shall we then put John the Baptist?" whereupon an old farmer got up from his seat and said: "Put him here in my seat because I am leaving."

It probably would not be out of order here to tell a little story. In a gathering at the home of C. O. Rosenius there was a Bible discussion. I had the floor and spoke, I thought, very well. When I had finished, Rosenius said in his clear, calm voice: "Well, the first thing we understand is that our dear brother Waldenström comes from the University at Uppsala." It was as though he had hit me in the head with a club. But the influence of that blow still remains even though the ache is long since gone. I could wish that many a preacher today might have a similar knock in the head.

Paul Peter Waldenström (1838-1917)
Quoted in Herbert E. Palmquist, The Wit and Wisdom of Our Fathers (1967), pp. 106,107.

Feeding the Flock

On one occasion I was assigned to make a sermon outline on the text about Jesus feeding the five thousand in a desert place. I had done my work honestly and now was to give my outline in class. As my title I announced, "A feeding in the desert." Responding quickly as usual, [President David] Nyvall said, "Yes, yes, just so, that's good," and with his lovely and unexpected acknowledgment singing in my ears I continued to give the disposition of the contents: main points, sub¬ordinate points, and conclusion. When I had finished, the professor sat quietly looking at his Greek Testament. Then he said, "Well, that was like being invited to dinner without getting any food." What a crushing moment! But the professor was right. As I realized later, I had issued an invitation to dinner but had not put anything substantial on the table.

C. V. Bowman (1868-1937), AThe First Year in North Park@ (1894-95)
From Son of the People: The Autobiography of C. V. Bowman (1988), p. 194.

Using the Flock

A number of Covenant pastors use the conventicle or midweek meeting to provide an opportunity for the congregation to discuss the sermon text for the following Sunday. The practice has much to commend it. Certainly it serves to heighten the congrega¬tion's awareness of the importance of the preached Word, which will be heard in the context of worship, and of the dependence of the Church upon it for its continued well-being. This use of the conventicle also facilitates greatly the pastor's understanding of where the congregation is, both in terms of its grasp of the biblical message and of its varied needs.

Even more helpful and essential is opportunity for spiritual discussion following the hearing of the Word. Basic to the preacher's task is the relating of the message of the text to the everyday concerns of the congregation. That is a task, however, in which the members of the congregation must share. The Word having been heard, it is their responsibility to work through its implications for their everyday existence as the people of God. The conventicle could well be used for sharing the insights, resolves, and concerns which arise out of the hearing of the message.

Even if the sermon is not the immediate basis for the discus¬sion, the proclamation of the Church in its widest sense needs constantly to be examined and appropriated through such informal sharing and mutual encouragement. The role of such informal groups in furthering renewal and growth into spiritual maturity can hardly be overestimated, especially when they are centered in discussion of the Word.

Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), AThe Theology of Preaching: A Covenant Perspective@
From Grace and Glory: a festschrift on preaching in honor of Eric G. Hawkinson (The Covenant Quarterly, Nos 3,4, 1981), p. 94.

Social Dimensions

Whether one follows the lectionary or develops sermon series from the great biblical texts and themes, the social dimensions of the Word of God must be presented with faithfulness and conviction. A sermon is good not primarily because of its literary or rhetorical quality but because of its truth and reality. It conveys the powerful truth of the Word of God, a truth that is social as well as personal. And it connects with the reality of the lives of the hearers, a reality that is social as well as personal. What is required here is not so much prophetic courage as simple faithfulness (in exposition of the Word that God has given) and genuine love (for the hearers in the reality of their daily lives). It is a mistake to drift away from the truth of the Word or to stop short of the reality faced by the congregation.

David W. Gill (1946- ), AThe Unique Role of the Church in a Troubled Society@
From Servant Leadership, Volume Two: Contemporary Models and the Emerging Challenge, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 73,74.

That the message will be preached or proclaimed means much more that simply hurling Christian shortwave messages across trackless deserts or snowy wastelands, as needed as that may be as an entrance. It is more than passing out tracts, skywriting "Jesus loves you," or programming a computer to dial a salvation message to every phone number in the neighborhood.

When has the Gospel been adequately preached? What is sufficient proclamation? How deep must it penetrate before one can say, AIt has been preached here@? Often despite our best efforts, proclamation never gets below the topsoil; it just runs off, eroding even that thin soil. Has the Gospel really been preached to the urbanite who happens to flip on a TV evangelist, or to a commuter seeing a billboard as he or she roars past? There are many who, while hearing, do not hear. When has it been adequately preached? When the hearers comprehend the Gospel message of the kingdom in such a way that they make an intelligent decision for or against an allegiance to Christ.

Only the Lord knows when the Gospel has truly entered the heart, when there has been a sufficient depth of proclamation. Only the Lord knows, and until he judges it sufficient, we continue. So the missionary enterprise is not just a plant-and-run strategy, but one that aims at deepening the Gospel within the culture as well.

Brad Hill (1950- ), Slivers from the Cross: A Missionary Odyssey (1990), p.109.

Covenant Humor - July, 2010

2010-07-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Personality Portraits

The following stories are all taken from Herbert E. Palmquist (1896-1981),

The Wit and Wisdom of Our Fathers (1967), with page numbers identified after each entry.

Per August Hultman, “with his ailing leg,” ... once chided his friends by saying: “You always say, 'Here comes Hultman with his ailing leg'; why don't you ever say, 'Here comes Hultman with his good leg'?" (p. 10).

“Hist-August” (Horse-August) Andersson was a man of tremendous physical strength. On one occasion a bear of a fellow came up to him with the intention of felling him. But he met his match. Andersson took the man as though he had been a child and lifted him up on a stone wall where he held him as in a vise and then compelled him to thank God that he, Andersson, was a saved man. This was a hard requirement, but the grip of Andersson's large hands was even harder and as the grip tightened the fellow finally was forced to exclaim: “Thank you, God, that August is saved.” Only then did the preacher lift his opponent down from his uncomfortable perch (p. 13).

A farm-hand once became incensed at [Johan] Utter because he approached him on the subject of the salvation of his soul. “If that man ever comes here again, I am going to shoot him,” he said. Utter, who had been told of his threat, did return and said to the man when he saw him: “You don't want to shoot me, my dear friend, because utterskins (otter skins) bring such low prices nowadays that it wouldn't pay you at all” (pp. 10,11)

When one of [Paul Peter Waldenstrom’s, 1838-1917] sons, seeking to test him, asked him one day whether it was possible for God to shoot a cannonball so that it would turn a corner, he answered, “God does not shoot with cannons, my son.”

Again someone asked him whether he could play the piano, and his answer was that he did not know because he had never tried (p. 27).

[Carl August] Björk [1837-1916] was particularly known for his humor and quick repartee. When the Rev. John Peterson of Oakland, who was known for his somewhat careless appearance, complained to him about the younger ministers as being entirely too fastidious in dress, saying that the apostles were not as concerned about their dress as these young preachers who had to wear a white vest and have their necktie placed just so, right under the chin, Björk replied in his artless way: “Well, it might as well sit there as to sit back under the ear the way it does with you!”

At a great meeting at which a number of preachers were gathered, the Rev. E. A. Skogsbergh preached one night but found it particularly heavy going. He complained to Björk the following morning that he had been unable to sleep all night because he had preached so poorly.

“Did you hear brother X the other evening?” asked Björk. “Oh, I certainly did,” was Skogsbergh's response, thinking that Björk meant to console him. “Well, what did you think of his preaching?” “Oh, that was terrible, that was terrible, that was much worse than mine.”

“Well,” said Björk, “were you able to sleep after his sermon?”

During a mission meeting a younger minister was his roommate. In the morning the latter reproached Björk because he had snored so loudly as to ruin his sleep. "How did you know I snored?" asked Björk. "Why, I heard it." "Well, you should not believe everything you hear" was Björk's response.

In his younger years Bjork was thin and slender, but as the years went by he became corpulent and the possessor of quite a paunch. His good friend Pastor Palmblad joshed him because he had gotten so heavy. “Listen, Björk,” he said, "you get to look more and more like the backside of a spoon.” “And you,” retorted Björk to Palmblad, who was exceedingly spare, “are just like the inside of the spoon.”

To another of the older preachers who had a hunched back he said when he met him one day: “It is a strange God we have; you've got your hump behind, and I have mine in front.”

Björk was often away on gospel journeys. Once when he departed for such a trip his wife said to him: “Sometime when you are out traveling, in case you come close to home you can drop in to see how we are getting along” (pp. 37,38).

When a new physician came to take up practice in Dassel [Minnesota], [John] Sjoquist [1832-1930] went to call on him as a matter of courtesy and friendliness. While he was in the doctor's office, he decided that he might as well have a physical examination. The result was that he was given a prescription for some minor ill. This is the way he afterwards told the story: “I gave the doctor $2 for the examination because, after all, the doctor has to live. Then I took the prescription he gave me to the druggist to have it filled, and I gave him $2 because the druggist also has to live. Then I took the medicine home and put it on the shelf and there it has been for two years because, you know, I also have to live” (p. 58).

In common with many of the pioneer preachers, Sjoquist did not have much interest in speculative theology, particularly in so-called "prophetic truth." At one time the church which he attended was pastored by a man who believed strongly in what was called “dispensational truth” and in “rightly dividing” the word of truth. This school of thought allocated particular sections of the Bible to the Jews, other parts to the Gentiles, and other parts to a coming age. Our pioneers were pietists who took the whole Bible, Old and New Testaments, and applied it spiritually to Christ. One Sunday morning when Sjoquist was returning home from church, he was met by a friend who said to him, “Well, did you get anything in church today?” to which Sjoquist replied with a gesture of disgust: “Humpf. Get anything? Why he even wanted to take away from that which I already had” (pp. 63,64).

In the early days [Adam] Lidman [1849-1933] and E. A. Skogsbergh [1850-1939] were very good friends, and he writes glowingly of Skogsbergh's early preaching in Sweden. But as time went on and Skogsbergh became increasingly popular, it is possible that a little bit of “the old Adam” asserted itself in Lidman. On one occasion when Skogsbergh went up on the platform to preach, Lidman, who had been standing outside, said: “Now it is best that we go in because the Northwest Missionary Society has just gone up on the platform.”

When Lidman met the Rev. Carl Turnquist [1874-1951] soon after the latter had come to Omaha as pastor of the church, Lidman asked him: “And who are you?” “I am Carl A. Turnquist, the pastor of First church in Omaha.” Lidman's response was characteristic: “O Lord God, you don't mean to tell me” (p.70).

On another occasion, at an annual meeting of the Covenant, one of the ministers was reading the Old Testament lesson, which happened to be in Genesis, the third chapter. He read very sonorously and impressively, giving great emphasis to the reading. When he came to the question: “Adam, where art thou?” he read it with great oratorical flourish, whereupon Lidman piped up in a thin, wavering voice from where he sat: “Here I am” (p. 71).

When he lay dying, two men, members of the board of deacons in a local Baptist church, came to pray with him. He saw them coming and pretended to be in a coma during their visit. They sought to arouse him but without avail, and so they stood and talked together about all the good that this brother had done in his lifetime. Then one of them said piously to the other: “Perhaps we should have a word of prayer before we leave even though he does not hear us.” Whereupon Adam Lidman, true to himself to the end, opened one eye and said: “Well, then, make it snappy” (p. 74).

At the annual meeting in Jamestown in 1919, the morning session had just been concluded and the delegation was standing for adjournment. The moderator called on John A. Peterson [1838-1915, “Peterson in Oakland,” in Nebraska] to close the session with a word of prayer, but he had just finished putting two generous pinches of snuff in his mouth. With one long, elaborate scoop of his finger under his tongue, Peterson removed the snuff and deposited it with great solemnity between the pipes of a nearby radiator and then folded his hands in great seriousness and proceeded to call on the Almighty.

At another annual meeting a certain man was under consideration for a position on the faculty of North Park College. The man in question was admittedly a very scholarly man, but he was also known to be eccentric, for which reason someone raised the question whether he was temperamentally and emotionally suited for the place. Peterson then arose and said: “So crazy? Certainly it can't be that he isn't qualified to teach at North Park College.”

When [Erik August Skogsbergh, 1850-1939] once communicated his interpretation of prophecy to my father [A.E. Palmquist, 1870-1949], the latter replied: “But that is not what your brother-in-law David Nyvall [1863-1946] thinks.” “Well,” he drawled in characteristic fashion, “Nyvall, you see, does not understand prophecy.” Later my father met Professor Nyvall and related this to him. Nyvall laughed heartily and answered, “Well, you see, Skogsbergh and I are so much alike in that respect” (p. 92).

Mrs. Skogsbergh was an unusually lovely and charming person. “Don't you think I have a good-looking wife?” said Skogsbergh on one occasion to my father. My father did not answer. “Why don't you answer?” asked Skogsbergh. “Don't you agree with me?” “Oh, yes, indeed I do,” was the rejoinder, “but I was just sitting here wondering how it was possible for such a homely little man to get so good-looking a wife" (p. 93).

...Some years ago the president of the Covenant Theological Seminary at Lidingö in Sweden was here in America on a visit. His name was Mosesson. The annual meeting that year was held in Duluth, Minnesota, and a member of the publicity committee was trying to make clear to a newspaper man over the telephone who it was that was going to speak. “Moses-son, Moses-son,” he repeated over and over again. Finally he said: “You have heard of Moses, haven't you, the man who led the people of Israel through the wilderness?” “Oh, yes,” said the other, “is this his son?” (p. 114).

In between his songs he [J. A. Hultman, 1861-1942, “The Sunshine Singer”] might mention that he happened to have a few copies of his sunshine songs or his records with him. “Here I have copies of over thirty songs together with the music. They cost a dollar, but I also include my photograph and that changes the price--so I sell both for fifty cents” Who could resist such a bargain? (p. 134).

One of [John Johnson Daniels, 1862-1957] most ingenious ideas had to do with the length of the sermon. It was his belief that most sermons are much too long. Whatever was said after twenty minutes was wasted, and here men kept on for an hour or more! The congregation ought to have a voice in the sermon's length. For this reason every seat should be equipped with a button. When the listener felt that he had had enough, he would merely press the button; when a majority of the buttons had been pressed, a trap door would open and carry the preacher and the pulpit down into the basement of the church. But in order that he might not be embarrassed overmuch and so be tempted to lose heart, there should be a kind old lady down there ready to comfort him with a cup of delicious Swedish coffee [p. 143].

Daniels’ interests were varied. More than most of his preaching brethren he concerned himself about social issues of the day and spoke out about them. This got him into frequent dialogue and debate. One reason for his boldness lay in the fact that he was fluent, as some of the other men were not, in the English tongue. He exposed the trickery of Spiritism, its fake photographs and occult rappings, and had himself photographed surrounded by “spirits.” He gave temperance addresses, patriotic sermons, and sermons about the home. He published a number of songs and hymnals for young people, and in his old age he had elaborate plans for lecture tours crusading for home and country. Financial problems and physical--if not mental--infirmities plagued him, and towards the end he wrote pathetic appeals in the columns of our newspapers to help him “save my old home.” But the stories he never forgot. “There is so much bad in the best of us,” he parodied, “and so much more in the worst of us, that it behooves all of us to keep an eye on the rest of us” (p. 144).

When [Hjalmar Sundquist, 1869-1949] complained on one occasion that he had been unjustly stopped by a police officer for exceeding the speed limit which at that time was twenty miles an hour, he quoted this little parody:

Lives there a man with soul so dead

Who never to the cop has said,

Why didn't you catch the guy ahead? (p. 145).

[Isak] Skoog [1868-1948] was one of our first ministers to own an automobile. While he was still learning to drive the car, an old Model T Ford which had a very high carriage, he failed to maneuver a turn and almost ran over a policeman. “Say, what is the matter with you?” said the latter. “Oh,” he answered, “I just got a new Ford, and I'm a minister.” “Well,” responded the officer, “that explains it.” One Sunday evening Skoog came out from the church in Spokane to find that someone had stolen his elaborate radiator cap, which in those days doubled as a thermometer. Skoog purchased another cap. The next Sunday night he said, “I'll fool them” and took the cap with him into the church only to discover when he came out that someone had stolen his car (pp. 155,156).

We had a certain Professor F. among us who had had more than the usual amount of schooling and who never tired of telling that he had graduated from Carleton College and Yale University and in addition had studied extensively elsewhere. Notwithstanding, he failed to prosper to the extent that his schooling might have seemed to promise. One day he complained to his landlady about how much he had paid out for schooling and how much money he had sunk in his library, to which she answered: “Well, I guess when one has to buy brains, one does not get very much for one's money” (p. 163).

The congregation at L. had a preacher who had stayed with them a considerable length of time. In fact, he had overstayed his time, and the congregation was restive and anxious for a change. Finally the good man resigned. Then the members of the congregation came to him and said: “But is our dear pastor going to leave us? What in all the world are we going to do now?” This is what they said to him, but among themselves they said: “It is about time he is leaving.” Finally a church meeting was called to elect a successor. The chairman opened the meeting with words something to this effect: “Well, now our pastor has resigned, and we are here for the purpose of choosing another. And now I hope you will all express yourselves, for now the meeting is open.” For a while nothing was said, and then one member got up and drawled: “Well, I only want to say one thing, and that is that when we now elect another preacher we should choose one that we'll be able to get rid of.”

The same congregation had met on another occasion for the same purpose, that of choosing a new minister. The discussion was heated, and the meeting was making little headway. Every name suggested met some kind of opposition. This man had this fault, this man's wife had another fault. Finally one of those present became irked and suggested that the best thing they could do would be to pick a man out of a SearsRoebuck catalogue. (pp. 163,164).

In a church in one of the mid-eastern states there was a member who was a bit of a “thorn in the flesh” for every preacher who came along. He was one of these men, of whom nearly every congregation has at least one, who regards himself as divinely called to keep the pastor in line. Now the pastor had resigned and was about to leave. One day as he was strapping together some boxes on the front porch prior to his going, the man in question came by and engaged him in conversation. “I have a little problem,” he said, “that I would like to have you solve for me. In the Book of Revelation the angels are pictured as having wings, but they are also described as being clothed in shining white garments. How are they going to get the robes down over their wings?” The minister stopped his packing, measured the man with a long look, and then drawled his answer: “That is a problem which does not need to concern you. What you need to worry about is how to get the crown down over your horns” (pp. 164,165).

When the Covenant annual meeting was held in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1920, a free railroad pass was secured for [A. R.] Anderson [1859-1934] from Seattle to St. Paul and return. The pass was obtained on what was perhaps not an entirely proper representation, for the railroad understood that Anderson was going east on a preaching mission. This was partly true, of course, because he did stop enroute here and there to preach. But while he was in St. Paul, he decided to try to have his pass extended. When he went to the railroad office, he made the mistake of wearing his delegate's badge. “Are you here attending a conference?” said the official, somewhat taken aback. “Oh, yes,” he replied, “you see we are here on business for the king.” “Where are your headquarters?” asked the official. “Our headquarters are in heaven,” answered Anderson. “Yes, but don't you have any headquarters here on earth?” “Well, we do have a headquarters in Chicago. but it doesn't amount to very much” (pp. 170,171).

Constantine Olson [1857-1943] brought a good laugh to the annual meeting of the Northwest Conference one year when in seeking to explain what a majority is he said that it consists of one more than all the votes cast.

Another time, when there had been some dissension in the Red River Valley district, he declared that the Northwest Conference was the tower of the Covenant but that the Red River Valley was the cross on the tower (p. 173).

A well-known character from the old north-side church in Chicago was a man by the name of Johan Löf (John Leaf). Once when Professor Carl Hanson preached in the North Park church, which Löf attended in his later years, the old man became so inspired that he shouted “Amen.” This upset Professor Hanson, who answered: “I will say the amen when I am finished.” And then he added: “Maybe Löf will be quiet the next time.” “That I will never promise,” said Löf, to which the speaker observed: “Well, better to speak in season and out of season than never to speak at all” (p. 194).

Perhaps one ought not forget the brother in Tacoma who said once of the critics of the Bible that they complicated the Word of God and made it worse than it was. The same brother-- indoctrinated in “dispensational truth”--once thanked God publicly that he was not one of the wise virgins.

There might also be room for the brother in St. Paul who was so inspired at the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the church that he came forward at the close of one of the meetings and said under deep emotion that he hadn't had so much fun since his wife died (p. 195).

Ethnicity and Diversity - June, 2010

2010-06-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Biblical Moorings

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the riches of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you (Romans 11:17,18).
The olive tree is Israel, planted and watered and tended by God. The wild olive tree constitutes the rest of the world, seemingly abandoned and left in darkness. Branches broken from the cultured olive tree are the masses among the Jews who have rejected Christ. Gentile Christians could glory in their exaltation of being grafted “to share the riches of the olive tree.” Paul warns against this.

Normally a wild branch is not grafted into a cultured tree; rather the opposite is true. Symbolism here suggests a superceding of natural laws. This process of grafting the wild olive branch makes Gentiles partakers of the grace first given to Israel. The possibility was present that Gentiles might become conceited and despise the Jews in their unbelief. Paul boldly takes up the cudgel against this sin. “Do not boast over the branches,” he says.

When one is inclined to boast, let it be remembered that “it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you.” The trunk of the tree is not comprised of Gentile Christians. But the Jews are the trunk. Gospel blessings come from the Jews to the Gentiles. It is the Chosen People, the Jews, to whom God first entrusted his revelation. It is from them that God's Word has been received. Our Lord Jesus Christ was born of Jewish ancestry. The first Christians were Jews, as were the majority of the apostles. Let our negative feelings toward the Jews, if any, be displaced by love--in gratitude for our sacred heritage received through them.

C. O. Rosenius (1816-1868), Romans: A Devotional Commentary, J. Elmer Dahlgren and Royal F. Peterson, translators (1978), p. 153.

…Dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown (Philippians 4:1). Moffatt has it, those for whom I cherish love and longing.

Who were these people for whom the apostle cherished so tender a regard? They were people who did not belong to his race or nation. He was a Jew and they were Gentiles. Until they were changed by the power of the gospel that God preached to them, they had been pagans. So intense and self-sacrificing was Paul’s love for them that he had suffered to within an inch of his life to bring Christ to them. It was in Philippi, you remember, that Paul and Silas were cruelly beaten and brutally jailed. Yet the love of Christ in them conquered all: a Christian church was established in that corrupt city.

The victory of love in Paul can become the victory of love in you and me. With the love of unfailing and creative good will, we can express love even when it totally contradicts the traditional emotional patterns that have governed us in the past and will govern those who are resisting its penetration and are unchanged by its power.

…When I have learned the Christian way of saying “I can”—I can heal. I can be used by the Spirit of God to bring harmony where there is discord, understanding where there is blindness, reconciliation where there is strife.

I can … I can…. Yes, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Paul S. Rees (1900-1991), “The Race Question: Is There a Solving Word?” From The Covenant Quarterly (November, 1964) pp. 29,30.

God Shaking the Earth

What is it, in the mystery of God, that uproots and brings people together in community, into a mutual relationship with one another? What explains the confluence of events and people that is the reality of the Covenant Church, be it on the congregational, regional, national, or international levels? Here, the uprooting precedes everything else. In so short a time have our lives become tangled together by massive forces over which we and our ancestors have had virtually no control, so that we might with equal truth say with the followers of Moses, “We were led by the hand of God into this wilderness.” The British actor Peter Ustinov, son of an anti-Bolshevic father and a German mother, offered thanks in his autobiography to Europe for causing World War I and the Bolshevic Revolution because these great events on the world's stage brought his parents together such that he could even be born. Therefore, we are obliged to ask in reference to our own birthing as a church and people, why? How did this mystery happen? How did it work? And I want to respond that it worked because God did not merely shake the theology, intellectual categories, and the aesthetic perceptions of ordinary people in Europe. He shook the earth itself; he shook the earth on which they lived. The hammer blows of God, which sent fifty million people careening out of Europe between 1815 and 1930, have no parallel in human history, at least in the cycle for which we have any memory at all. Fifty million people! Forty million of these came to North America. The population of the United States of America in 1815 was about 8.5 million. With all the frontiers closed, where could such a massive migration of dislocated people go today?

Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), “Uprooting” (1978). From Anatomy of the Pilgrim Experience: Reflections on Being a Covenanter, edited by Philip J. Anderson and David E. Hawkinson (2000), pp. 6,7.

Everyone Has a Root

Like all immigrant churches, the Covenant’s original ethnicity—its Swedishness—has passed with each generation. It is a growing church, eager to extend the right hand of fellowship to all who come to its doors confessing Christ and seeking the warmth of a church home. The backgrounds and religious orientation of its new members are many, and the challenge is great to grow and change while still maintaining the biblical and historic essentials that form the basis of its identity. The Covenant Church is more diverse today than it ever has been, and with that come crucial and unforeseen responsibilities in its life together.

Our name says much about the nature of the Evangelical Covenant Church. The word “evangelical” indicates its commitment to the good news of God’s forgiveness offered to all persons in Jesus Christ, not a fixed list of doctrines. The word “covenant” indicates its principle of voluntary association for the purpose of engaging in the work of the kingdom of God. The Covenant has no formulated creed but holds to the Protestant principle of the authority of the Scriptures, and to the primacy of the fellowship of believers rooted in the living voice of the Spirit in the Church through the ages—a voice that it must continue to hear and allow to speak through it to future generations. We need to know not only our place in the long history of the Christian Church, but also that we are part of its ongoing history. What started with the apostles does not conclude with us. The Covenant is not the end result of what began with the primitive fellowship in Jerusalem. Rather, the Church—and our Covenant—is a place where we all began.

Philip J. Anderson (1949- ), One Body, Many Members (1983, 1994), pp. 30,31.

[David] Nyvall...did not accept the “melting pot” terminology. Ethnic consciousness was not a melt-down of immigrants into the American society. Rather, employing the language of Werner Sollars, the “hyphen became a plus sign” for ethnics: not Swedish-Americans, divided by the hyphen, but rather Swedish+American, joined by the plus sign. This plus sign would signify the connecting “tissues” between Sweden and America.... This relationship was “essentially reciprocal and dialectical, with the immigrants, far from being passive victims, playing an active role in shaping and weaving identities, values, and modes of relatedness.”

“For my part [he wrote in 1918] I must admit that emotionally I am still 100 percent Swedish, despite my having been an America citizen during the past thirty years and loyal to my adopted country to the best of my abilities. In this regard, I am able to cite as evidence thirty years of work in the interest of culture, all of which has had its roots here and borne fruit here. Politically, I am 100 percent American and not Swedish. This conflict contains a great sorrow, a terrible friction, but I cannot be accused of any crime because of this. Personally, it is a clear and obvious obligation to be an American citizen. This is like my feeling of an unavoidable compulsion–a natural compulsion–to be Swedish. What can I do about this? I cannot make a great rush into American patriotism like an infatuated young lad rages in his love. Perhaps I could do so if I were a Swedish citizen. I am more quick to question than to make a declaration. Perhaps even then my nature would not allow me to declare such a patriotism. But my conscience tells me that it would be a great deal easier for me to relate to a Swedish patriotism, just as I feel that it is easier to relate to one’s first love rather than the second or third.... No one can convince me that I sin against my adopted country by maintaining and allowing in my heart these warm feelings for Sweden: feelings which I could not obliterate without committing suicide.”

Scott E. Erickson (1967- ), David Nyvall and the Shape of an Immigrant Church (Acta Universitatis Upsallensis, Uppsala, 1996), pp. 97,98,115,116.

When the Covenant founders gathered in the Tabernacle in that blizzard-whipped Chicago of February, 1885, they saw nothing obvious except the chaos around them. In less than twenty years they had created dozens of churches, two warring synods, a college, several newspapers, and an angry sea of controversy. One of the synods was about to dissolve in constitutional confusion, the college was barely treading water, and a number of churches had seceded from the synods to take an independent position. Engaging demagogues with a thoroughly American eye for opportunity came roaring through the churches producing excitement, theological confusion, and a splintered fellowship. And still the immigrants poured in, flooding the land with problems--and opportunity. No wonder Fred Johnson took as his text for the keynote sermon at this meeting: "I am a companion of all who fear you, of those who keep your precepts" (Psalm 119:63). It was a hope, at the moment nothing more.

But it was a sufficient hope. The companionship of which Johnson spoke came to flower in hundreds of fields from New England to California, from Alaska and China to Africa and Latin America, in places unknown to the founders, in ways wholly unpredictable by anyone in 1885. The companionship lives today, enlarged and enlivened by peoples of diverse ethnic backgrounds and traditions, and shared in congregations, educational institutions, mission fields, and annual meetings.

If we are to recover our ancestral experiences, we must unsheathe our imaginations, enter into the past as participants, and measure its meaning in a realistic but inward way. Are we alive in vast and confusing currents of cultural change? So were they! Do our resources seem limited and poor by the measurement of all that needs to be done? They had almost nothing at all! Do we seem few, pitted against the vast armies of darkness? They were a handful! Are we inadequate? They, too, were ordinary people! Are we confused about the future? So were they! It is by God's mercy that we do not know the future, so that we may live and act in faith. And faith can be fed by memory, above all the memory of the mighty acts of God. For as surely as the Lord God brought Israel out of Egypt, so he swarmed the millions of the world into this new Promised Land. To paraphrase Amos (9:7): “Did I not bring up the Swedes out of the land of Småland, and the Germans from Hesse, and the Irish from Dublin?”

What did God have in mind, bringing all of us here? “God,” as Einstein observed, “is often mysterious, never tricky.” If we cannot know the ultimate purpose of these vast migrations, continuing as they do today over the whole globe, we may in the very mystery of it sense their importance, and make ourselves alive to the dignity of our own small part in the adventure.

Zenos E. Hawkinson (1925-1997), “What Did God have in Mind?” (1983)
From Anatomy of the Pilgrim Experience: Reflections on Being a Covenanter, Edited by Philip J. Anderson and David E. Hawkinson (2000), pp. 106,107.

Perhaps the Covenant’s greatest contribution to North American religion is its inclusion of all who confess Christ in the context of biblical and theological freedom tested and nurtured by the life and wisdom of the covenanted body of Christ. This offers a true via media, as it did in Sweden and America in the nineteenth century. The Covenant’s history is crucial, not constraining, to the realization of the cardinal fact of identity. I disagree that the Covenant “shorn of its ethnicity and traditional culture, plunges into its second century.” I prefer to believe that a healthy living organism such as the church moves confidently and deliberately into the future, affected and challenged by change but secure in its identity because it grows out of a living tradition whose head is Christ.

Philip J. Anderson (1949- ), The Covenant and the American Challenge,” from Amicus Dei: Essays on Faith and Friendship, ed by Philip J. Anderson (1988), p. 138.

No Superiority

Jesus said that we should not let our left hand know what our right hand was giving. He must have meant that we should give without having any strings attached to the gift.

We have given, but we have not trusted the recipient. And when we have lost confidence in anyone, we have immediately put ourselves on a higher level than they. And it would always be true that friendship could not be possible for people who were living on different levels.

We could still live in a better house, like the houses in which we had lived at home. We could still eat the same kind of food that we had become accustomed to eating. We could still have some of our customs. These things did not need to raise barriers.

Or we could live in native houses, if we wanted to, and we could eat native food, if we could take it, or adopt native customs and dress, if we felt more comfortable that way. But the doing of those things would not necessarily erase the barriers of superiority.

Superiority was something that could disappear only when we discovered that the other person was as good as, if not better than, we considered ourselves to be. Paul, the apostle, had found the secret in one little word, love.

Edward G. Nelson (1914-1988), Assignment in Japan (1952), p. 23.

The empowerment of Latinos in the United States, and the full participation of the Hispanic church within the Covenant will require significant numbers to be fluent in the English language and cultures. However, retention of Hispanic cultures and values and ministry among the first generation also requires fluent Spanish. There can be no "either/or" in a heterogeneous church.
Only an isolated church ministering to those just like themselves can remain monocultural. The real issue is broader than that of language. Even if second- and third-generation Latinos retain flu¬ent Spanish, their culture will still not be identical to that of the first generation. There must be some kind of contextualization of the gospel to their quest for identity, their struggles for justice, their proclamation of the gospel to friends, their reconciliation with the races and cultures with which they have contact. Effective mission requires reconciliation and unity; mission con¬textualizes the gospel for multifaceted communities and for youth; youth need unity and empowerment for their carrying on the church's mission. These contextualization issues differ in kind and degree for every community. But they are issues for every Hispanic church, as well as for every Anglo church....

To proclaim the good news in each community's sub-cultures and languages presents a great challenge. But it is a challenge wor¬thy of the God who contextualized his ministry in first-century Palestine [in] Jesus Christ, the friend of all immigrants, margin¬alized, and oppressed, who speaks the language of each one of us.

Susan Carlson Wood (1963- ), "Do Latino Covenant Churches Need to Be
Bilingual?" from The Covenant Quarterly (August 2000), p. 56.

People from many cultures and nationalities now make up the Covenant Church, expanding our spiritual heritage. Where 1'00 years ago one would have heard Swedish spoken in Covenant congregations in the U.S. and Canada, today one might hear Spanish, Korean, or Nuer in addition to English. Covenanters today trace their roots to Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America. We are united in one body by our faith in Christ. A sen¬tence from Luther's explanation of the third article of the Apostle's Creed helps us understand that it is the Holy Spirit who unites the whole Church: "The Holy Spirit calls, gathers, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it unit¬ed with Jesus Christ in the one true faith."

The Journey: New Testament and Beyond, confirmation curriculum (2001), p. 187.

Opportunity and Challenge

As the traditional walls which have isolated us in the past are breaking down, the way is opening for us to look on all those who do not know Christ as objects of our evangelistic concern.

At this very point, however, we are faced with the temptation to concentrate in our evangelistic outreach on those who are most like us socially and economically. When this happens our entire program tends to become geared to the interests and values of this group. We become specialists to our own class and increasingly it seems right to leave to others the responsibility of reaching other classes. Eventually we conclude that we cannot afford to minister in certain areas because we do not understand or know how to work with the people who live there. Thus we lose the freedom to proclaim the grace of God to all people without distinction, as the New Testament presents it.

The very desire to maintain our concept of Christian freedom may tempt us to limit our outreach. We may hesitate to assimilate people from such a wide variety of backgrounds because of the fear that they will eventually lead us to an interpretation of freedom which will not be consistent with biblical authority. On the other hand, we may hesitate to assimilate people from backgrounds in which the Christian faith means submission to detailed doctrinal statements because of the fear that they may lead us to an interpretation of Biblical authority which eliminates freedom.

If, however, we concentrate in our outreach on one segment of society because of either of these fears or simply because of our attraction to those who are like us, we deny the principle of freedom in Christ because we do not permit persons in our fellowship the freedom to be different from us. The effect of such concentration is to make it even more difficult to communicate with the world around us. We need the voice of a wide variety of peoples on the floor of our conferences and in our policy-making bodies. We need the corrective discipline of their differing backgrounds to keep our message and our work relevant to our generation. Were we to seek to protect the principle of freedom within the authority of the Bible by limiting our outreach to those who can appreciate our heritage we would destroy the very principle of freedom which we were seeking to protect.

It will help us to remember that the principle of freedom within the authority of the Bible, which is so much a part of our heritage, came into existence among us in a time of revival. It must be looked upon as a spiritual discipline which is closely related to the life and vitality of our denomination. To seek to maintain it by limiting our outreach to those who we think will most easily embrace it is merely to admit that we do not believe that the Gospel has the power to do for people today what it did for us in a previous generation.

We maintain this principle of Christian freedom only as we maintain our spiritual vitality, which we have by the grace of God. The problem of maintaining it, therefore, must be approached in a contrite and penitent spirit in which we seek the mercy of of God in permitting us to return to him. Out of such an attitude, we pray, will come a renewed experience of the vital life in which we become free sons and daughters of God under the Lordship of Christ as the Truth is revealed to us in the Bible.

Covenant Committee on Freedom and Theology, Biblical Authority and Christian Freedom, (1963), pp. 15,16.

I am grateful for our diversity [in the Covenant]. I'm glad we are not, in the eyes of the political right, a “solid” church. I'm glad, to quote our third president, that we “have room for all true believers no matter what their viewpoints are on controversial doctrines.” I'm glad that our doors have been open to a wide variety of pastors and youth ministers and educators and others who have found a home in the Covenant. In so doing, God has blessed us. The danger comes from those who do not understand it. The risk comes from the people who are welcomed through our doors but want to close the doors behind themselves, those who want to limit the participation or place of others because of a different theological perspective, worship style, or gender.

...Some may say Covenant freedom is really a lesser characteristic. If we lose it, it is not serious. Our affirmations are what really count. I believe our freedom is the context for our affirmations. I believe there are people whose best chance of ever coming to faith in Christ is through a church like the Covenant. Some people need a church that is evangelical but not exclusive, biblical but not doctrinaire, traditional but not rigid.

Glenn R. Palmberg (1945- ), from “Yesterday’s Seed Is Tomorrow’s Harvest,” The Covenant Companion, March, 1977, p. 29.

Miles to Go Before We Sleep

One of our greatest failures as churches around the world lies in failing to allow for cultural diversity. As a result, we don't speak as clearly and forcefully as we might. God's Word must be born into every culture much as Jesus himself was born into the world of the Jew and grew up a Jew. The Word must be allowed to “possess” the various cultural forms and expressions which exist. Only as it does so will it truly speak to the vast variety of cultures and subcultures
which make up the human race.

James W. Gustafson (1944- ), “To Serve the World.” From Bound to Be Free: essays on being a Christian and a Covenanter, James R. Hawkinson, editor (1975), pp. 119,120.

I must confess that... one of my frustrations as an inner-city pastor [is that] I have not successfully trained my congregation to do the work of the people of God in the world. Largely, it seems to me, I violate the criteria for the pastor of the activated people of God. All too much I represent the church in the community; I counsel the troubled, visit the stranger, engage in social action, recruit new members. I am the professional witness. I do it all!

I do not say this as a boast. Actually, it violates my concept of the ministry of the whole church. I do not say it as a complaint against my congregation—at least not overmuch, for the people are kind and loyal and cooperative. But I do say it with some sense of failure and confusion.
My failure has been the failure to help my people catch the vision of being the people of God in the world, looking to me for guidance to do their ministry. So far I have largely failed to equip my people with a new understanding of the Gospel for our new age. I take it that this requires chipping away tirelessly. I do not think that my vision is perfect, but I think it is right. I will go on.

G. Dewey Sands (1924-1989), "Setting the Gospel in the Full Human Context:'
from The Covenant Quarterly (May 1969), p. 33

You [speaking to seminarians] are being consecrated to give the invitation, to speak Christ's invitation. Jesus does not give his children scraps from the table, but a place at the table. He gives a place to all who will come. What we have to offer the boomers and the yuppies and everyone else is a place at the Lord's table, but they will have to sit between Edna and Irene. If they want a place to be comfortable with their own kind, they can find that at the country club. The church is to be something the world is not and never can be. It is a place where those who come can sit next to the poor and get closer to God.

Glenn R. Palmberg (1945- ), “Giving the Invitation,” The Covenant Quarterly, November, 1993, p. 40.

Women in Ministry - May, 2010

2010-05-01T04:35:00.000-07:00

Biblical Moorings

Although the twelve apostles play an important role in the Gospels, emphasis is consistently placed on the larger group of Jesus' followers, a group that included both women and men. This larger group presumably numbered about 120 (Acts 1:15; cf. Acts 1:14 for the inclusion of women). It is important to stress the inclusion of women in the group of Jesus' disciples, since the Twelve have often been used in the history of the church to argue that only men can exercise authority and leadership in the church.

Jesus indicated clearly that discipleship was a higher priority than gender roles. Both Luke 8:19-21 (cf. Mark 3:31-35; Matthew 12:46-50) and 11:27-28 place obedience to the word of God above the role of mother/motherhood. Thus, it is not surprising that Jesus' group of disciples included women. They traveled with him in Galilee (Luke 8:1-3; cf. Mark 15:40; Matthew 27:55; Luke 23:49) and were present at the crucifixion and at the tomb on resurrection morning (Mark 15:40-41; 15:47-16:8; Matthew 27:55-56; 27:61-28:8; Luke 23:49; 23:55-24:12; John 19:25-27; 20:1-18). In fact, the names of eight women who were followers of Jesus are known from the gospel accounts: Mary and Martha of Bethany, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, the so-called other Mary, Susanna, Joanna, and Salome.

David M. Scholer, “Patterns of Authority in the Early Church”
From Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church (1993), p. 47.

The New Testament texts referring to women present a view that is markedly different from the negative view of women predominant in ancient societies. Women in biblical times usually were not educated, and rabbis warned against teaching the law to females. The limited information from ancient sources indicates that women who were considered respectable did not take part in public life. Rather, such women were expected to spend most of their lives within the confines of the home. Women were viewed as temptations to sin. They were not counted in the number of persons needed to have a synagogue, nor was their testimony accepted in a court of law. But Jesus' attitude and practice was in direct contradiction to that of his contemporaries. He initiated conversation even with unrespectable females like the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). Because of her witness, many of the townspeople believed in Jesus. Jesus had women disciples who accompanied him from Galilee to Jerusalem and helped finance his ministry (Mark 15:40,41 and Luke 8:1-3). Jesus taught Mary and defended her choice to learn (Luke 10:38-42). Women were the last at the cross and the first at the tomb. After his resurrection Jesus appeared first to women and gave them the task of telling the good news to the disciples (Matthew 28:7).

The new-found freedom and role of women in Christ is clear also in the writings of the early Church. The book of Acts frequently mentions the presence and activity of women in the founding of the Church. From the praying in the upper room (1:14) to the persecution by Saul (8:3) to the reception of the Gospel by Greeks (17:12), women were involved. Of major importance is the quotation of Joel 2:28-32 which is used in Acts 2:17-21 to explain the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost. With this event the promise had been fulfilled that God would pour out his Spirit so that both sons and daughters would prophesy. The church at Philippi was founded on women, and one of them, Lydia, obviously played an important role in the origin and growth of this church. The four prophesying daughters of Philip, who are mentioned in Acts 21:9, are further examples of the ministry of the Holy Spirit through women.

Board of the Ministry, A Biblical and Theological Basis for Women in Ministry (Occasional Paper Number 1, 1984-87), p. 2.

The ministry of women becomes...clearer in the writings of Paul. In Christ, racial, societal, and sexual barriers have been broken down so that all are made one. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). This newly found oneness does not refer merely to our standing before God or to a oneness to be found at Christ's second coming. It refers also to the present, for it is the basis of Paul's rebuke of Peter's hypocrisy in no longer eating with Greeks in Antioch (Galatians 2:11-21). In the American Civil War era some people argued that this verse had no social implications for the question of slavery, but most Christians have come to see the error of this judgment.

There is nothing in Christianity that relates only to our salvation; our faith relates to all of life, including the roles of male and female. The issue is whether our attitudes concerning race, social class, and gender will be determined by our oneness in Christ in the new age or by the barriers and values of the old age.

In Paul's letters we encounter a significant number of women who were engaged in the work of the Gospel. We are not told the details of what any of these women did in their ministries, but the same language that Paul used of himself and his male helpers is used of them. Romans 16 mentions ten different women who were engaged in various kinds of ministries. Phoebe, who was probably the person who delivered the letter to the Romans, is described with the Greek word diakonos (which can be translated as “deacon” or “servant”) and as one who helped many, including Paul (Romans 16:1,2). Prisca, also referred to as Priscilla, is called a fellow worker of Paul in 16:3. She and Aquila, her husband, had a church in their house, and the two of them instructed Apollos in Christian doctrine (Acts 18:26). Mary, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, and Persis were all women that Paul described as ones who labored in the Lord (Romans 16:6 and 12). It is also probable that Romans 16:7 refers to a woman, Junia, as an apostle, rather than to a man named Junias as in many translations of this text. (Since there is no evidence of this name being used for a man, the charge of a male bias in some translations is difficult to avoid.) In Philippians 4:2,3 two other women, Euodia and Syntyche, are said to have struggled along with Paul and his other fellow-workers in the Gospel. Such evidence cannot be discounted.

First Corinthians 11:5 is one of the most important passages regarding women in ministry. This text is often overlooked because of other questions, but it is clear that women were praying and prophesying in the early Church. The only concern about their activity was for proper decorum in the way they dressed. We cannot easily argue that women were allowed to prophesy but were not allowed to preach or teach. The New Testament does not make such a distinction between prophesying and teaching (See 1 Corinthians 14:3 and 31).

Board of the Ministry, A Biblical and Theological Basis for Women in Ministry (Occasional Paper Number 1, 1984-87), pp. 2,3.

Nowhere in the NT is this manifestation [of spiritual gifts] limited by gender. On the contrary, both Paul (Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Ephesians 4:7-16) and Peter (I Peter 4:7-11) in their treatment of spiritual gifts emphasize God's sovereignty in the giving and the responsibility of the recipient for faithful use. “Each one should use whatever gift they have received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10). Men and women are equal recipients of God's grace; men and women are individually accountable to God for the exercise thereof. When Paul does raise the question of distinctions, it is only to categorically affirm that in Christ societal differences such as Jew/Gentile, slave/free, and male/ female cease to exist (Galatians 3:28). Some would insist that Paul in the broader context of Galatians 3 is arguing for soteriological, not ecclesiastical, equality. This, however, is to overlook the fact that for Paul to be "in Christ" is to be “in the body of Christ.” The inseparable union of Christ with his church is evident from such passages as Acts 9:4,5, where to persecute the church is to persecute Christ, and 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, where to divide the church is to divide Christ.

God’s equal gifting of women and men for service in Christ's church is a foundational truth that must inform any concept of leadership. It is sometimes argued that while women and men are spiritual equals--that is, equal heirs of salvation--there are nonetheless functional differences. But the NT teaching that gift precedes and gives rise to function makes this distinction an impossibility. No place is this brought out more clearly than in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, where worship is defined in charismatic terms: “When you come together,” Paul states, “each should have a hymn, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let everything be done with a view to edification.” Worship happens not because authority is exercised, but because gifts are used. This by no means excludes variation in worship style or format. But what must not be lost sight of is the equation Paul makes between worship and the exercise of gifts to strengthen the body of believers.

Functional distinctions drawn on the basis of gender also flounder on examination of male and female roles in the NT, where the language of leadership is used indiscriminately of men and women. This can be seen especially in Paul, who in the course of writing ad hoc letters to various churches refers to numerous coworkers and their roles without gender qualification. Romans and Philippians are particularly informative in that leadership language is used almost exclusively of women. Phoebe is commended for her role as a “deacon” (diakonos) and a “helper” (prostatis) of the church at Cenchrea (Romans 16:1-2); Priscilla is called a “coworker” (v. 3); Junia is hailed as “outstanding among the apostles” and as “a fellow prisoner” (v. 7); Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis are applauded for their “hard labor” (kopiao) in the Lord (v. 12); and Euodia and Syntyche are referred to as “coevangelists” (en to euangelio sunethlesan moi, Philippians 4:3). The language of “coworker" and “laborer” is especially important because it is to "such as these” that Paul calls the church at Corinth to “submit” (hypotassesthe, 1 Corinthians 16:16).

Linda L. Belleville (1950- ), “Male and Female Leadership Roles in the New Testament”
From Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson and Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993) , pp.27,28.

Personal and Organizational Models

Josephine Princell [1844-1937] praised a woman named “Miss Anna” for the forethought

she had in preparing to be a hostess. Miss Anna always kept extra food on hand to be prepared to serve unexpected guests. In keeping with their status as ethnic Americans working up the ladder to economic security, Princell pointed out that Miss Anna served her guests things that were tasty but not rich or expensive. Anna also did not eat dinner to insure that the guests got plenty of lamb chops. Though the meals served were not fancy, Princell declared that they were “fit for a king.” Mrs. C.J. Ledin also commented that her carrot pudding was worthy of being offered to the president of the United States.

Early, these women were trying to emphasize the importance of breaking down class differences. They broke away from the fiercely held class and status barriers in nineteenth-century Sweden--barriers evidenced by the types of food one ate or was able to afford. Princell's praise of hospitality came from two characteristics of the background of this group of Swedish Americans. First, they were an immigrant people who needed to retain the practice of hospitality in order to help other immigrants coming from Sweden. Second, these evangelicals came from a religious tradition that depended on itinerant ministers traveling from village to village to meet with groups of people in their homes. This religious organization demanded that believers open their homes to guests frequently in order to perpetuate revivals and the establishment of a new religious tradition.

Cynthia Nelson Meyer (1962- ), Creating a Swedish-American Woman: the Views of Women in the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant Church, 1915-1920, (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Indiana University,1998), pp. 144,145.

Förbundets Veckotidning was published until 1955 as part of the Covenant Weekly. In 1955 the denomination dropped its Swedish publication and continued to publish the church’s paper but entirely in English....

Among the news from Sweden [until then], articles on church issue materials for Christian education, the women of the church had the column, Kvinnan och Hemmet: En avdelning för våra kvinnor [“The Woman and the Home: A Column for Our Women”]. I studied the column from the first issue of the paper on December 7, 1915, through 1920. In those years I read weekly columns for 224 weeks being unable to look at total of thirty-nine issues due to gaps in the collection. In those 224 columns, 467 pieces--meaning poems, letters, short stories, or essays--appeared contributed by 204 different people. The editor of the column, Josephine Princell, filled 20 percent of the columns with pieces she wrote. Another 46 percent of the columns contained items sent in or written by people who contributed at least twice and not more than sixteen times. Finally, 34 percent of the items were sent in by people who only contributed once to the column. Out of all of these writers and pieces, only eighteen contributors or 10 percent were males. Most of the time the poems or essays written by men were sent in by women readers. On only a couple occasions did male readers send materials to be published that they thought the women should read....

Princell’s first essay made it apparent that the “experts” to be called on were the women themselves and not the clergy or other authorities in the culture.... The column was intended and indeed became a forum for women to talk about their concerns regarding their lives, faith, and church women’s associations.

Cynthia Nelson Meyer (1962- ), Creating a Swedish-American Woman: the Views of Women in the Swedish Evangelical Mission Covenant Church, 1915-1920, (Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, Indiana University,1998), pp. 22,23,26,27.

The channel open to women in the early years was an auxiliary. With dedication and zeal women of the Covenant Church undertook project after project as suggested to them by the denominational leadership. They did this even when money was saved from minimum allowances and earned through sales. The auxiliary furnished status and society for these women.

While classified as an auxiliary, and later as an organization, Covenant Women was more accurately a movement, with activities that moved toward specific goals. Although the organizational structure was periodically adjusted to meet the needs of the day, Covenant Women remained focused. Working through their projects, Covenant Women sought to educate women regarding the progress and ministries of the Covenant Church.

During the war years, noble and knowledgeable sacrifices were encouraged. The social changes of the 1960s were the signal to develop new attitudes. In the 1970s, when the women's movement was gaining credibility, Covenant Women gave new and courageous leadership to bring women into the mainstream of leadership in the denomination. In September, 1979, the organization became a department of the Covenant Church at the national level, with corresponding participation at the conference and local levels. This new status enabled women to fully realize a part in the ministry of the church.

Erma G. Chinander (1914- ), Covenant Women Heritage, 1916-1980 (1989), p. vii.

When the ordination of women was being considered by the denomination in 1976, the Covenant Women national board formulated a resolution to support the motion. It was read at the 1976 annual meeting. Covenant Women believed that the resolution became a major factor in support of the motion that carried the day.

Over the years, encouragement has been given not only for women who felt called to the ministry, but also for laywomen's participation in the life of the church at local, conference and national levels. Witness the following resolution, which was adopted, at the 1980 Covenant Annual Meeting: “The Board of Women's Work, with the approval of the Executive Board, recommends to the Ninety-fifth Covenant Annual Meeting the following resolution for adoption: ‘In response to a matter raised at COLECO II in November, the Board of Women's Work recommends to local congregations that when positions of leadership are filled, consideration be given to selecting the best qualified person, whether that person is male or female. This is not the legalistic approach of quota, but it does allow for that half of the church who are generally women to be represented in leadership by some of their number who are capable and qualified.’”

A previous resolution urging that more women be named as candidates for the Covenant Executive Board and other administrative boards was read and included in the minutes of the 1976 Annual Meeting, and is recorded on page 161 of that yearbook.

Erma G. Chinander (1914- ), Covenant Women Heritage, 1916-1980 (1989), p. 13.

Issue of Authority

Often when people are opposed to women in ministry, the real issue is not the Bible, but authority. They argue that women ought not be in positions of authority. Such people need to ask themselves what authority really is and why men may have it and women may not. Misunderstood texts dealing with husband-wife relationships have wrongly been applied to the question of women in ministry. For example, people have viewed the term “helpmeet” in Genesis 2:18 as a basis for arguing for the inferiority of the woman. The words in question, however, mean “a helper suitable for him” and do not suggest inferiority, for the same word “helper” is also used of God (Deuteronomy 33:7). Similarly, people argue that women are not to be in positions of authority because in Genesis 3:16 Eve was told that her husband would rule over her. However, these words are descriptive of life after the fall, not descriptive of what God had intended for humanity.

The biggest offense is that people have assumed this world's understanding of authority and applied it to the Church, but in Christ authority must be understood differently. The classic text dealing with authority is Matthew 20:25-28 in which Jesus instructed his disciples that the world's views on authority and greatness ought not be their view. Rather than leaders lording over and having authority over others, the leaders should be their servants. This teaching is valid, not only for the ministry, but for family relationships and all other kinds of leadership roles.

...In recent times some people have granted that women may minister, but argue that women ought not be in positions of ultimate authority. Such a distinction cannot be defended, for no biblical texts indicate two levels of authority in ministry. We do not need a view of authority that will keep women from functioning in ministry. We need a view of ministry that subverts what this world understands by authority. Mutual submission is the Gospel in action.

Board of the Ministry and Covenant Ministerium, A Biblical and Theological Basis for Women in Ministry (Occasional Paper Number One,1987), p. 7,8.

Needed Gifts

Ephesians 5:22... is often used to argue that women should not be in authority since wives should be in submission to their husbands. It is questionable whether texts dealing with the marriage relationship should be applied to the question of women in ministry. But apart from that, the more important point is that Ephesians 5:22 is one of the most abused texts in the Bible. The submission of wives must be seen only as one example of the mutual submission that is required of all Christians in 5:21. In fact, in the manuscripts of 5:22 followed by most editions of the Greek New Testament, the word “submit” is not even present; it is assumed from verse 21. From this world's perspective mutual submission does not make sense but it is merely another way of expressing the point of Matthew 20:25-28. In the context of the ancient world, wives were instructed to submit to their husbands because Christianity with its call of total commitment to Christ was viewed as a threat to the family. In Titus 2:5 wives are asked to submit “so that the word of God is not blasphemed.” Husbands are referred to as “head” in Ephesians 5, but only to place greater responsibility on the husband in caring for the wife. He is to give himself for her in love as Christ gave himself for the Church. Both in the family and in the Church mutual submission is the controlling principle.

In recent times some people have granted that women may minister, but argue that women ought not be in positions of ultimate authority. Such a distinction cannot be defended, for no biblical texts indicate two levels of authority in ministry. We do not need a view of authority that will keep women from functioning in ministry. We need a view of ministry that subverts what this world understands by authority. Mutual submission is the Gospel in action.

Board of the Ministry, A Biblical and Theological Basis for Women in Ministry (Occasional Paper Number 1, 1984-87), p. 8.

Our society faces numerous problems, many of them related to sexual roles and distinctions. These problems are also problems in the Church. The extremes in our society create fears about a deterioration of family structures or other changes that might occur. The encouragement of women in ministry does not derive from these extremes and should not contribute to the fears. Women in ministry not only will release the energies of the Church for the proclamation of the Gospel, but having women in ministerial roles will also help the Church deal honestly and much more wholly than before with what it means to be a man and with what it means to be a woman.

The ministry of the Church is an enormous and sometimes difficult task. The gifts and abilities of women are needed as much as those of men. Women will encounter the same kinds of problems that men do, but the Church cannot afford to erect additional obstacles that will inhibit their ministry. It is time to let the Spirit of God work through all of God's people, including women. Enjoying the freedom of the Spirit will not only mean that women are allowed to minister, but that God's people will also allow themselves to be ministered to by all those who are gifted and called by God.

Board of the Ministry, A Biblical and Theological Basis for Women in Ministry (Occasional Paper Number 1, 1984-87), p. 10.

Ordination - April, 2010

2010-04-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

Biblical Moorings

Pastors and church leaders are important and are not without authority. The authority, however, is not their own. It is the authority of Jesus Christ expressed in the gospel for the benefit of the people being served. The only times that Paul used “authority” (exousia) in reference to his ministry--other than of his right to be paid--are in 2 Corinthians 10:8 and 13:10, where he writes that the Lord gave him authority to build up and not tear down. Leaders do not possess authority; they only express the authority of the gospel.

This is not to deny the legitimacy of church “offices” or the unique roles that certain people have. Leaders have authority, but it is an authority shaped by the gospel. The New Testament shows the beginnings of church structure, but even in the pastorals the structure is still fluid. The titles that are used are not clearly distinguished; rather they overlap {Kevin Giles]. Paul referred to himself, among other things, as apostle, steward, a servant (diakonos) of Christ and God, a slave (doulos) of Christ and God, and a fellow worker of God and of the people. Paul also called Christians in general “slaves of Christ” (1 Corinthians 7:22). The church did commission certain people for special tasks (e.g., Acts 13:2,3). Paul also defended his right to be called an apostle. Still, while he had a unique calling and task from God and valued ministry as God's grace to him, passages such as 1 Corinthians 3:8-4:13 or 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 show clearly that Paul did not view ministry as status or as something that placed him in a different category from the people he served. No other New Testament writer knew of a different category for church leaders either. The tasks of the leaders are also the tasks of the whole church (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 5:12 and Romans 15:14). Being a servant is the summary description of the task of all Christians.

Klyne R. Snodgrass (1944- ), “Your Slaves on Account of Jesus: Servant Leadership in the New Testament,” from Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 11,12.

Historical Insights

...In the 1978 service of ordination (the Covenant’s current liturgy), the ordinands are asked, “Do you promise to be a faithful minister, preaching and teaching the Word, administering the sacraments, and serving with the love and authority of Christ?” Behind such alterations is a functional understanding of the ordination charge, at least in part. And this also has its place. The model of Christ's one ministry has both symbol and substance for those who are called to share in it. Thus, although the ministry is one, it is also true that it has different aspects. One of these is Christlike leadership.

Christ's rule was that of a servant. His authority was in his self-giving (cf. Philippians 2:5-11; Ephesians 5:21-33). Similarly, there is no suggestion that the authority Jesus gave his disciples had to do with power over other believers. Mark writes that “Jesus appointed twelve, to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons” (Mark 3:14-15). Jesus made it clear to the Twelve that they were not being appointed to offices of power, but rather were being called to service. “You know that those who are supposed to rule over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so amongst you” (Mark 10:47-48).

Paul sees his ministry in similar terms, as a service to God and to the church. He denies any place for arrogance or mastery: “What then is Paul? What is Apollos? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each” (1 Corinthians 3:5). It is not, states Paul, “that we lord it over your faith; we work with you for your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24). Paul calls himself “a slave of Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:1). And he says, “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your slaves for Jesus' sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5). Here is that servant leadership which imitates Jesus' kingly rule.

Robert K. Johnston (1945- ), “Set Aside to Serve: Ordination in the Covenant”
From Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 166,167.

Sigurd Westberg [the late Covenant archivist] documents that as early as 1896 at the Covenant Annual Meeting, ordination was clarified as being at one and the same time not indelible in character and yet a call by the church for life. Such a paradoxical conjoining of permanence and impermanence has been continually affirmed by the Covenant through the years. In the Covenant's 1978 Book of Worship, the description of ordination again has this same paradoxical character regarding its permanence: “The rite of ordination ... does [not] convey an indelible character to those ordained. Yet there is a pervading mystery of the Spirit's presence in ordination that defies analysis. We believe that ordination is life-long.”

Such seeming double talk stems from the church's effort to recognize that ordination involves both the call of God and the call of the congregation. As such, it does not end simply because the ordained minister ceases to function in that role. On the other hand, such a person cannot simply continue as before.

Recognizing what God has done in the life of an individual (call, proven giftedness) and what an individual has proven to be (apostolic in theology and in life, loyal), the church sets aside that individual for life to help it minister more effectively. But if God calls that individual to another vocation, or if that individual proves no longer to be worthy of his or her office (by no longer being an apostolic witness in fife or in theology, or by being disloyal), then the Covenant church believes it must amend that lifetime consecration.

Ordination is not a right or a status that the minister possesses apart from the church. It is instead an act of the church that requires its continual validation. When there is indiscretion, immorality, doctrinal error, unethical behavior, or disloyalty, the minister can be suspended or defrocked. In the case of a transference of loyalty to another denomination, then the ordination is transferred as well. In the case of the minister accepting a call outside of the special ministry of the Word, that individual is put in an inactive category, recognizing that God might again call that person to active ministry on behalf of the church. In such circumstance, the church's recognition and confirmation can again be given. If there have been no extenuating reasons for leaving ministry, then there is no need for further interrogation or for “re-ordination.”

Robert K. Johnston (1945- ), “Set Aside to Serve: Ordination in the Covenant”
From Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), pp. 170,171.

The Church Ordains, the Church Ministers

...The minister is called out from among the people, and through the recognition of divine calling and giftedness the whole church accepts responsibility for training and credentialing the minister before a local church in turn calls such a person. In the act of ordination in the church, the minister is granted, through the laying on of hands, an apostolic authority to lead the people of God by serving the people of God. In the Covenant church, this has always been more than mere functional recognition. The authority to proclaim the Word of God, rightly administer the sacraments, and lead as a shepherd, is derived from a holy and apostolic calling and continuity in the church's life since the time of Christ.

Philip J. Anderson (1949- ), “The Community of Friends in Christ: Order and the Evangelical Covenant Church,” from Servant Leadership, Volume One: Authority and Governance in the Church, James R. Hawkinson & Robert K. Johnston, editors (1993), p. 111.

Focus on passages such as Ephesians 4:12 has rightly emphasized that ministry is the task of the Church and not just the task of the clergy. Distinctions of value, sanctity, and privilege between clergy and laity ought to be rejected, and the ministry of women is one way to emphasize the ministry of all the Church.

Ordination, because it has been viewed as conferring special status on pastors, has often functioned as a barrier both to the ministry of women and to the ministry of the laity. This practice of ordaining certain people for ministry has antecedents in the New Testament, but it is not taught explicitly. This is not to argue against ordination and certainly not to argue against a professional clergy, but the Church needs to discuss what ordination means and make sure that ordination does not become more hindrance than help in proclaiming the Gospel. Ministry is not some privilege to which the few are called. It is the task of all Christians as they identify with the ministry and love of Jesus Christ.

Board of the Ministry and Covenant Ministerium, A Biblical and Theological Basis for Women in Ministry (Occasional Paper Number One,1987), p. 9.

Confirmation - March, 2010

2010-03-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

Meaning and Purpose

Traditionally, in the Evangelical Covenant Church, confirmation is linked with baptism and implies the confirming by the child of the vows made on his behalf at the time of his baptism. Or, more accurately, it speaks of the necessity of a personal appropriation by the confirmand of all that is implied in his baptism. Through such personal appropriation of the faith he is made ready for full, adult membership in the church, the body of Christ, and for responsible service as a Christian in the world.

In those Covenant churches where infant baptism is not generally practiced, confirmation is not essentially different. It still provides the opportunity for the child to confirm the faith in which he [or she] has been instructed in the home, Sunday school, and church. For [the child] also, confirmation is an opportunity for a “making certain” of [their] faith. It should lead to [their] own decision to be baptized and become a member of the church....

As the organizational life of our Covenant churches developed over the years, the following convictions became basic concerning confirmation:

1. Confirmation because the church recognizes its responsibility for the young people who have been marked for Ch exists rist in baptism. (This responsibility extends also to those children of the church who because of the baptismal views of their parents are not baptized.)...

2. Confirmation is a pastoral opportunity of unsurpassed importance. What an enviable position the pastor has when he [or she]...will meet every young person of [a] church for one or two years of study, discussion, and prayer....

3. Confirmation must not be understood as a “graduation” of any kind. It is part of the total educational and pastoral program of the church.... More and more our churches are seeing the value of confirmation as one aspect of a lifelong catechumenate in which every member of the church family should be involved.

4. Confirmation cannot guarantee that a child has committed or will commit...to the lordship of Christ. In these matters there can be no compulsion except that of the Holy Spirit.... To ask [confirmands] to make vows for which they are not ready is to violate their freedom....

5. Confirmation is a reminder to the whole congregation of the necessity of a continuing personal response to the Gospel.... While confirmation as a ceremony occurs only once, it is a symbol of the “confirming” of our faith which must occur throughout our entire Christian life.

6. Confirmation is increasingly understood in our fellowship to include “commissioning for service.” A young person’s decision for Christ is also a decision for involvement in God’s mission in the world.... [The confirmand] takes his [or her] share of [personal] responsibility for witness, for evangelization, and for involvement in the struggle to actualize God’s will in the world in which he [or she] lives.

Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), The New Life in Christ (1969), pp. 55,56,57.

Parents should...remember that our Covenant stresses as vital and necessary a personal experiential knowledge of the saving grace and power of God. The Confirmation Class is not considered by us as a process which opens automatically the way to holy communion and church membership. It is rather a class in which young people in their early teens are taught more fully the way of life by the pastor...; are urged to yield heart and life to the Lord; are instructed in the meaning, privileges, and obligations of church membership; are offered guidance in meeting and solving the life problems which confront them in this period of life choices. It is hoped that either during this period of fellowship and guidance or just after its completion the young person will make [their] choice of Jesus Christ as Lord. To some this will mean a conversion experience; to other it will mean a voluntary consecration of a life already yielded to God and lived in fellowship with him.

Nath. Franklin (1887-1980), The Covenant Home (1935), p. 40.

During the confirmation process, the focus of this care and responsibility is two-fold. First, students have an opportunity to learn of the church's history, truths of the Christian faith and the stories of Bible. The second aspect is the development of a discipling relationship between the pastor, mentors, and the students. At whatever point a student is in their faith journey, this balance of learning and relationship is critical to the impact of the confirmation process on their lives. They learn what the Bible says, and through this discipleship aspect, learn to be able to articulate what they believe about what the Bible says and about how biblical faith translates into Christian living and responsibilities in the world.

“Confirmation Rubric,” from Proposed Book of Worship (2002).

The purpose of confirmation is to strengthen and perpetuate the vows made by or on behalf of a person at the time of his [or her] baptism. It gives the person confirmed the opportunity to confess openly [their] personal faith in Christ. While it is not of itself the way of entrance into the church, it is a declaration of discipleship which naturally opens the door into the fellowship, the work and the privileges of the church. Covenant churches practice confirmation. Instruction is given in the Bible, the catechism, the Christian life, and in the history of the Christian church. The period of instruction varies, but in the case of young people it usually commences at their twelfth year and continues for two years.

Herbert E. Palmquist (1896-1981), The Covenant Church at a Glance (1952), pp. 8,9.

Confirmation and Baptism

For those who are baptized as infants, confirmation underscores the purpose of the sacrament and the promises which were made on the child's behalf at that time. The young person now has the specific opportunity to affirm personally what was promised on his or her behalf at the time of baptism. Thus baptism and confirmation form two great arches of anticipation and fulfillment in the bridge of Christian experience. Where children are presented to the Lord without the sacrament of baptism, the prayers of believing parents are similarly given occasion for answer and fulfillment in confirmation.

When young people come to the day of confirmation without an evident profession of personal commitment, their faith is confirmed as far as it has grown. Confirmation, as an act of the church, affirms these youth as belonging within the circle of the church's care and responsibility.

The confirmation course of study covers two years (the time period recommended by the Covenant) and includes a sequential study of the Bible, church history, and Christian doctrine. It is generally taught by the pastor, enabling pastor and confirmand to become personally acquainted and establish a trusting relationship. Other members of the church staff and congregation, however, may also assist in this teaching ministry. What is important is that the teacher care about the students, teach in a creative and exciting fashion, and establish trust and rapport with teen-agers so that the educational experience will combine a rich balance of the cognitive and relational aspects of learning.

It is well for the pastor to include one or more personal consultations with each pupil prior to the confirmation service. Such moments can be among the most fruitful in the pastor's confirmation ministry.

“Confirmation,” from The Covenant Book of Worship (1981), p. 214.

If you were baptized as an infant, confirmation has the added meaning of “confirming” or placing a seal upon the promises made when you were baptized. At that time you didn't understand what baptism meant, but your parents and the Church acted on your behalf. Your father and mother promised to instruct you or have you instructed in the Christian faith in the expectation that you would, when you reached the age of understanding, personally accept Christ as your Savior. Confirmation, therefore, should be the time when you, of your own free will, because you want to do so, accept Christ and pledge yourself to live for him from that time on. In that way you confirm all that was promised in baptism.

“But what if I have not been baptized as an infant?” some in the class may say. “Do I then lose this value of confirmation?” No, there is a sense in which you also must confirm the faith in which you have been instructed through your home, Sunday school, and church. You may have been dedicated to God as a child, but whether there was a special service or not, your parents in all likelihood prayed earnestly that you would grow up in the Christian faith and would eventually make that faith your own. For you also confirmation may be a “making certain” of your faith.

Everything that you will learn in confirmation is of high importance, but nothing is more important than that you come to understand your need of a faith in Christ which is your own. If, during your weeks of study, you come to a decision to accept him, your confirmation will be a true one, for it will mark the beginning of your life as a Christian who takes his [or her] place openly among those who are not ashamed of the Gospel.

Clifford W. Bjorklund (1921-1986), Harry J. Ekstam (1918- ), Karl A. Olsson (1913-1996), and Donald C. Frisk (1911- ), According to Thy Word (1954, 1955), p. 313.

While we should not repeat the sacrament of baptism for any one person, it is likely that at times of renewal in our relationship to God there will be occasions for renewing our baptismal covenant. In this act of renewal we are reminded of what God has done in his grace and of what we have promised to him. For those who have been baptized as infants a significant time of such renewal is confirmation. This is appropriate for two reasons. First, in confirmation God confirms his promise to those who were too young to understand that promise when they were baptized. Second, these persons confirm their personal commitment in a public witness they were unable to make as infants. In the Covenant Church, confirmation is also a time of instruction and of preparation for church membership in that it challenges confirmands to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

“Holy Baptism,” from The Covenant Book of Worship (1981), p. 89.