Missions Week Dinner Theater: Double Duty Dine ‘n Drama Family Night

February 14, 2012

Corrie ten Boom is coming to Trinity Fellowship on Wednesday, Feb. 29, at 6:30 pm. She will share her story, faith, and World War II concentration camp experiences. Many of you have read her compelling autobiographical book The Hiding Place—now you can meet her in person!

Oops. What I meant to say is Evelyn Hinds is coming to Trinity to portray Corrie ten Boom (she does such an authentic job you will think you are seeing and hearing Corrie herself).  Her dramatic presentation will be held in the sanctuary at 6:30 pm following an extra special meal from 5:30 to 6:30 pm in the fellowship hall. Unlike other Wednesday night dinners, the Feb. 29 meal will be served on Leap Day.  If you miss it you will have to wait four long years before you get another opportunity.

Oops again. What I said above is true, but the special thing about this meal is that the youth are serving a special menu as a fundraiser for their Summer 2012 Homeland Mission Trip.   The meal will feature Savory Garlic Chicken, Green Beans, Mashed Potatoes and Divinely Chocolate Brownies. You will want to make reservations for this exceptional dinner. Sign up in the fellowship hall after church on Feb. 19 and 26, or call the Church Office.  Prepaid reservations are $6 per adult and $3 per child. At the door on Feb. 29, the meal will be $8 per adult and $4 per child as long as availability lasts.

Support the youth’s Homeland Mission Trip by bringing your family and neighbors to the dinner theater event.

TFC Missions Team member Kelsa Waite comments, “Having seen Evelyn’s theater ministry last fall, I had a strong desire for my TFC family to experience, as I did, God’s continuing work through Corrie ten Boom’s life.”  She continues, “During World War II Corrie ten Boom and her family hid Jews in their home in Holland until the family was arrested and put in a concentration camp.   After the war, as a Nazi holocaust survivor Corrie traveled internationally sharing the remarkable story of God’s hand upon every detail of her life.  Evelyn’s accurate and moving portrayal of Corrie’s example of love, faith, hope, perseverance and forgiveness was used by the Holy Spirit to touch my heart.”

TFC has invited Evelyn Hinds to present Corrie’s life in Christ as a gift of encouragement to us as we move forward in God’s plan for the body of Christ at TFC.   As Corrie said, “We are a glove that must be filled with the Holy Spirit of God to do the work He has planned for us.”

Set aside the evening of Feb. 29 for this inspirational presentation.

Kelsa quoted one of Corrie’s well known gems. Corrie ten Boom shared much of her wisdom in her writing. One example is, “Don’t bother to give God instructions; just report for duty.”

Share your favorite Corrie ten Boom quote with Trinity blog readers by selecting “Comments” below.

Nancy Kerstetter
TFC Missions Team Member

(Side note: Dinner is available to all TFC body & guests; please pre-register and pay on Sundays in the fellowship hall, or through the Church Office!  The “Corrie ten Boom Live” presentation is free to all.  Children ages 3rd grade and up will attend with their family.  Children 2nd grade and younger will have childcare.  No TFC children’s programs will take place this evening including TBIF, TGIF, and Joyful Noise Children’s Choirs).

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“Oh The Places We’ll Go!”

January 27, 2012

Last weekend, 45 women from TFC heard stories from six of our elders’ wives about the places God has taken them on their journey to follow Him.

If I had to choose one word to describe this weekend of stories, that word would be, “important”.  I hope that does not sound arrogant, because I don’t think that I, the elders’ wives, or anyone else there was the “important” I am describing.  What seemed important was the truth of the Gospel and the power of sharing it together in community.

The stories these women told were real.  They were raw.  They were honest, which is not always good (it can be self-focused and even damaging), but in the case of these six women, the honesty was full of humility.  They were honest about their joy, their pain, and deeply honest about their sin.

And even that is not what was important about the weekend.  But it led us to the important.  The important was that as these women shared what was true, they led us to their only hope–to their amazing, overwhelming, joyful hope of forgiveness, restoration, reconciliation, and new life in Jesus Christ.  Woman after woman shared ways God had emptied/is emptying them of everything they have depended upon, and ways they are being filled with the sure and certain hope of life in and dependence on Christ.

It changed THEM–even the process of writing and giving these talks gave them new opportunities to confess sin and receive grace and hope in Christ, which they were then able to offer to us.  It changed US–no longer did we see these women as separate from us or “having it all together”.  And no longer did we feel the need to present ourselves as such, either.  One woman said it well:  “The conversations I’ve seen happen this weekend are very different than what I’ve seen before.”  We went to places in each other’s hearts where the Gospel is needed, and where joy and hope replace fear, doubt, mistrust, and bitterness.

There’s one more thing that seemed important about this weekend.  We were unified.  The differences in ages and stages of life melted away, and we were a solid group, moving in the same direction–toward the cross, and then to each other in light of that.  And it didn’t stop there.  Saturday afternoon, an impromptu gathering on couches in the lodge became a brainstorming session for how we could do something to reach out to women in our community.  It was as if we had heard the good news, and our passion was newly aflame to share what we had heard and seen and experienced with others–to invite them into the life we were seeing afresh.

This important weekend was a joy to me, but not a surprise.  This is where we are as a church at TFC.  We are looking at things as they really are.  We are confessing sin.  We are asking for forgiveness.  We are seeing our need for the Gospel in new ways, and we are seeing the power and hope of the Gospel in new ways.  We are moving together toward the cross, and we are finding new life among us, life in Christ that we are eager to share in new ways with each other, and with visitors, and with our community, and with our world.
God is writing for us a corporate story, and our individual stories are small parts of that.  The stories told at the women’s retreat, not just from the elders wives but from all of us, help tell others the story of Christ and His Kingdom–and that is what is important.

Diana Calvin
TFC Women’s Director

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TFC NEW YEAR’S DAY PRAYER “SERVICE”

December 16, 2011

By now I trust you have already heard that we are going to emphasize the SERVICE part of our annual new year’s prayer service this year. We will meet on Sunday Jan. 1 at 10 am for a brief service before going out in groups to pray for every home in a few nearby neighborhoods. This is one practical way live out our church’s vision with emphasis on our desire to be a witnessing church with “enhanced engagement” into our community. We are hoping everyone can be involved together (“multi-generational reach”). We understand that this is new, different, and maybe even risky for some (“transformation & risk”). But we hope that in interceding together to pray in support of God’s clear will that “none should perish,” we might be strengthened even more as a community and changed personally (“connecting heads to hearts”). 

You may be wondering about some of the details. Since this is our first time trying such a project, there are a few things we just have to be open for God to surprise us. We are planning to equip the body as well as we can, learning from other churches who have ministered in similar ways.

So how exactly is this going to work? What are we going to pray? And how are we going to pray? All good questions.
We will assign a street or group of homes to groups of 3-5 people or a family.  The group will then walk their area stopping at each home to pray from the sidewalk, hang a door hanger (provided there is no solicitations prohibited message), and then quietly move onto the next home to repeat the process. We are estimating between 2 to 3 minutes at each home. That’s ~50 homes in an hour per group. Very do-able both on New Year’s day in neighborhoods near the church, and throughout the year in your own neighborhood. 

We are going to provide everyone a card with a few sample prayers from Scripture and a few other resources for you to use if you wish. The back side of the card will list a few helpful hints to keep in mind; some basic to-do’s and not to-do’s with Scriptural guidance. Specifically, when praying for others publicly:

BE HUMBLE (Mt. 6:1-2)
The point of this prayer SERVICE is to love and serve our neighbors with intercession of God’s blessing. This is not an exercise in self-righteousness.
“Be careful of practicing your righteousness before other people…”

BE DISCRETE (Mt. 6:5-6)
There is no need to draw attention to yourself. In fact Jesus warns against such things. Respect privacy with quiet. Respect property by staying on sidewalks and walkways. We may be walking the street, but we don’t have to draw attention for street-corner prayers.
“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.”

BE THOUGHTFUL (Mt. 6:7-9)
Empty words come from empty hearts. Feel free to use the sample prayers provided. They can engage your heart. Or allow them to jump start other prayers with your words from your heart. Pray the Lord’s Prayer for the home. Let what you notice in the yard, driveway, and home decor to guide your prayer for kids, work, health, etc.
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases..for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

BE ENCOURAGED (Rom. 8:26)
Have confidence, the Spirit helps us – especially when we are weak and dependent. We may not know the situation or spiritual receptivity within the home. But God does. And the Spirit knows how to use our words as well.
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

BE HOPEFUL (2Pet. 3:9)
God created ALL men and women in His image, and He cares about redeeming that image. Our task is not necessarily or primarily requesting judgment and wrath upon anyone. God needs room to do what He is much better suited to do. Instead, remember God desires that all would come to, and grow in a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Lord.
“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

BE GRACIOUS (1Pet. 3:14-16)
But what if…the residents come asking questions? Or worse yet, what if they come out after us with anger? Remember, a gentle answer turns away wrath. We aren’t in the neighborhood to create or make worse problems. When they ask why we are doing this, be gracious in your brief explanation of God’s love and your desire to share that.
“…always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…”

Earlier this fall our daughter church, Lake Cities Community, participated in an effort of a collection of churches to pray for every house in Rowlett—and they were greatly blessed. Malcolm McGregor – the chair of their “Sharing Team” – helped organize LCC’s efforts and will be at TFC this Sunday to provide a brief update of both the church’s and his personal experience.

Cataylst Rowlett – the organizing group for “Cover Rowlett” – put together a series of light-hearted youtube videos to show how NOT to, and how to pray for homes. You can check them out below.

Grace and peace,

Keith Hileman
Interim Pastor
Trinity Fellowship Church

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Scrooge and the Coming of he Kingdom

December 1, 2011

I am a scrooge. It may sound hard to believe, but trust me. Just ask my spouse and she will testify that I tend to shun away from all Christmas period activities. Putting up lights, decorating the tree, shopping for gifts or even driving around to go watch the infamous Highland Park Christmas lights usually requires more convincing than a visit to the dentist. I find little joy in the hustle and bustle that tends to accompany the advent period.

And with the start of Advent, I started to find myself in my “scrooge” mode once more. Until I started to reflect on what Advent really means. Usually we tend to brush away the more mundane activities as “fodder for the masses” or dismiss them easily with statements like “people have completely hijacked the advent season” or “that’s not what Christmas is all about.”

So what is Advent all about ? What is Christmas all about ? We know Advent means “coming,” but where does this really appear in the Scriptures? So off I went. With a little research, I discovered that the word Advent comes from the Latin word “adventus.” A quick search in a Latin Vulgate Bible told me that it is actually used as the Latin translation of the Greek word “Parousia.” Leveraging the tools of modern technology (my Greek is quite rusty after all), my Bible software told me that this word is used 22 times in the New Testament, of which no less than 16 refer to the “Second coming of Christ.”

Now that’s enlightening. The roots of our word “Advent” point back to the same word used to describe “The second coming of Christ.” Or the coming of the Kingdom. Not just Christ’s first coming in His birth some 2,000 years ago, but also to His glorious return and Kingdom. Interesting.

"The Heavenly Throne"— Copyright 1980-2008, Peter Olsen

Last Sunday we covered an initial description of this Kingdom in Revelation chapters 4 and 5. A passage with many images and descriptions that are hard to understand. But it all points back to a Kingdom where God is on the throne, in control and worthy of worship. Where a Lamb alone is able to open the scroll which noone else can, because He was slain and ransomed us into the Kingdom. Where everyone worships the lamb with the words: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12)

How those are images wherein we as Christians should find our ultimate hope. A Kingdom ruled by Christ, to which we have been invited, in which we will join together, to worship Him. Our hope is found in the realization that God is in control, even now. Our joy can be found in the knowledge that Christ has ransomed us into this Kingdom. And our comfort is brought about by a future in which we will join together in endless praise.

And that hope is perhaps something worth celebrating this season. That joy is perhaps worth the time to put up some lights. To decorate a tree. To spend time with family and friends. So perhaps I should be less of a scrooge this year and let this advent season be a celebration of the realization that He will come again and that our ultimate hope lies in His Kingdom. Perhaps by the end of this season, you may even catch me humming a Christmas carol. Because there is hope after all, even for me.

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The Season of Advent

November 27, 2011

It’s the season of Advent at Trinity Fellowship Church!   Celebrate with us in worship at 9:30 am on the four weeks of advent: Nov. 27, Dec. 4, Dec. 11, and Dec. 18.  To learn more about the meaning of advent, check out our TFC website here:

http://trinityfellowship.org/289219.ihtml

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Giving Thanks

November 18, 2011

Scripture commands the faithful to give thanks (1Thess. 5:18). Thanksgiving is not optional. But it’s not a chore either. The grace of God through Jesus Christ naturally wells up and overflows in thanksgiving – in all circumstances no less. As you take time to personally prepare for our country’s annual Thanksgiving holiday and set the table for feasting, don’t forget to root your thanksgiving in the gracious work of Jesus Christ through His Spirit in your life. Consider…how have you grown spiritually this year?  How has your family grown? How have we grown as a church family even?

As we ponder things we are thankful for, I want to mention a recent event I’m thankful for and encouraged by—our “A Taste of Thanksgiving” ISI International Student Outreach dinner that took place this past Wednesday evening.  What a great example of “enhanced engagement” into our community, which is one of TFC’s key areas of emphasis and vision we have talked so much about recently!  To show you how this worked….

This past Wed. evening our faithful “kitchen ladies,” who provide a hearty meal each Wednesday before our ministry programs, were asked to stretch and prepare a Thanksgiving meal as we invited local international Richland college students to join us.  (This group of students have been interacting with our missions team members Liz Shaw & Tommie Hibberd.  Tommie & Liz are working with Bridges International and Campus Crusade at Richland to host Bible Studies and social events at TFC for these students).  We thought Thanksgiving would be great time to get to know these students, fellowship with them, and introduce them to a uniquely American holiday.  (Thanks to Michele Roberts for envisioning that it could be done and for cheering us on from home as she recovers form a back injury!)  The missions team stepped up to help advertise, invite members of our Body to be dinner conversation partners and to coach conversations.  Last year we encouraged TFC families to “save a spot” at their Thanksgiving dinner tables for international students, but had an underwhelming participation of only 3 students.  This year we held 20 spots for students at our “A Taste Of Thanksgiving” Wednesday night dinner, and  20 signed up, plus a few more!  All were warmly welcomed.  Well fed.  Encouraged by the conversations, games, and opportunity to share reasons for gratitude.  The students felt like they were part of a family Wednesday. They sensed and were warmly welcomed into what we feel is to be a core component of our identity as a church: a loving family with a multi-generational reach. I suppose we should expand that concept appropriately to include “multi-cultural” as well.  With the new friendships formed, I imagine we might have even more students invited to the homes of our church family in the future. Thanks for reaching out.

So, with an overflowing heart of thanksgiving to our Lord and Savior, and to you as a church Body for reaching out to those around us in Richardson, I am most thankful.

In Christ,

Keith Hileman
Interim Pastor

TFC A Taste Of Thanksgiving Dinner


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The First TFC Women’s Bridges Brunch

November 17, 2011

What is a Bridges Brunch?

Well, despite rumors to the contrary, it has nothing to do with a card game called Bridge!

A Bridges Brunch is women coming together to share a meal and their stories, so that any space between their generations is bridged by sharing their common hunger and thirst to know Christ more deeply.  Last Saturday, about 20 TFC women met at Cindy Pardue’s home, ate a delicious meal (more than enough ladies volunteered to bring dishes, so most just came and enjoyed!), and heard Anne Pickle tell us the story of how God is growing her heart to be more giving for His purposes than concerned about herself.

Several women responded with the group to Anne’s story and gave to us from their joy,  brokenness, tears, and laughter.  Age didn’t matter–we shared life, real life in Jesus Christ, with one another in ways that only grew our hunger and thirst for more of Him.  And we lingered long after the official ending time, over good conversations that continued to grow us together.

If you’d like to connect with women outside of your own age and stage in life, you might want to come to a Bridges Brunch.  We’ll have several of these each year;  watch your bulletin for our next one.

Diana Calvin
TFC Women’s Director

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A Public Confession And Apology

November 2, 2011

Some of you may have been present at the Church family meeting we held a couple of weeks ago. And many good comments were made, concerns were raised and questions were asked. For those that have a better memory than I usually have, I personally urged the elders to be diligent in communicating with the body and used the example of how no public announcement was made when one of the elders decided to step down. Do you remember? I do… shamefully so. It appears I was wrong.

Last week I had breakfast with a good friend and this particular event just happened to become part of the conversation. He, quite lovingly and without condemnation, pointed out that the elders, Chuck more in particular, made the public announcement after the service. Needless to say, my jaw dropped and my cheeks turned red. How did I miss this? I usually don’t fall asleep during the service. What was I doing? I must have been there. It wasn’t my rotation week for communion, which may have explained why I wasn’t in the service at the end. Until we figured out that it must have been one of the Sundays we were in the hospital this summer with our (step)daughter. I clearly jumped to conclusions. Shame on me!

But then this past Sunday as I was listening to the sermon on marriage, I realized, how often do we jump to conclusions? How often do we think we know all the facts and have it all figured out? Not only in our church family, as in the example above, but in our marriage? With our spouse? With our children?

Does that show our “mutual submission” to each other, or does that show our arrogance? Our sinful pride and nature?

And as we go through these events and shamefully realize we are wrong, don’t we ask for forgiveness? Or dare I say it more strongly. Don’t we expect forgiveness? We find excuses to say that we forgot. Or that all the facts were supporting our presuppositions. Or that all things indicated a certain outcome and that we were obviously and logically correct in coming to the conclusion we so prematurely reached.

It happens. It happens to all of us. At home, at work and in our body. We think we have all the facts, we think we know all there is to know. And then proclaim judgment on those around us. Until we humbly have to admit that perhaps we didn’t have all the information and that we were wrong.

And it proves that I was wrong in judging the elders and I ask for their forgiveness. And I hope they can gracefully forgive me.

I ask my wife for forgiveness in all those times I jump to conclusions. All those times I think I know better. All those times I know I am right and she is wrong. All those times I don’t show the humility to submit to one another in our marriage. And I pray she can forgive.

And then I ask myself this. Didn’t the elders admit that they were wrong for so many months that it led to hurtful consequences. And haven’t they asked for my forgiveness? Didn’t they ask for our forgiveness? Can I (we) shown them the same grace I hope they show me and forgive them?

And then I remember this prayer: “God, grant me the grace, strength and wisdom to forgive those that trespass against me as I have trespassed against them.” Will you pray that with me?

Michael Luyckx
TFC Member

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Do You Love Your Church?

October 20, 2011

Do you love your Church?

Note here that what I am asking is not whether you love the worship style, or the teaching, or the dress code, the atmosphere, the programs or even the senior pastor. I am also not asking whether you love going to church. I am asking whether you love your Church.

Last Sunday at my church we dove into Ephesians 3:14-21 and read how the Spirit can strengthen our inner being so that Christ may dwell in our heart and that we may be filled with God’s fullness. And as we are filled with God’s fullness and have Christ dwell in our heart, we become rooted and grounded in love. And this love, this powerful work that love brings with it, is found nowhere better than in the Church.

But what is the Church? We have learned over the last several weeks that our Church is really our new family in Christ—our new Christian brothers and sisters, closer to us than our family ties via blood or marriage. The Church is not a building, it is not a doctrine, it is not a concept. It is people. It’s those people we get together with to worship Him. And if that is the Church, how do we show love to the Church?

This is the thought and burden I walked out with after last Sunday’s message. How do I show love to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? So I did some digging around.

The first passage I was led to was Romans 12. There’s quite a lot in there about brotherly love: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.” (Rom 12:15). Rejoicing with those that are having a joyous time is easy. We all like to hang out with those where things are good. But do I weep with those that weep? Do I comfort those that are hurting? Do I provide a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen and a hug for encouragement?

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Rom 12:18) Do I live in peace with those in the Body, as far as I can help it? Do I forgive those that have trespassed against me? Just like I would like for them to forgive me as I trespass against them? Do I gossip, complain, put myself first above them? All things that create disention. Not peace.

And then I remembered 1 Cor 13:4-8. It teaches us that love is kind, patient, it hopes and believes, it is not arrogant, it doesn’t put my own things first. Am I kind and patient? Do I put my own things first or do I put the Body first?

As we heard in the testimonies during and after the service, our Body does show this kind of love of support, weeping, rejoicing, kindness and patience to our members. And especially now, in this difficult time, I am called to show this love even more. Towards all my brothers and sisters in Christ. And especially towards our staff and elders.

Will you join me in being patient with our elders and staff? With living peaceably with all? With rejoicing with those that rejoice and with weeping and comforting those that weep. I am convinced that if we do, this Body will truly show the power of Gods love to those around us…both inside and out.

Michael Luyckx
TFC Member

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Building Family Bridges

October 9, 2011

“What do bridges and family have in common” you may think. Usually nothing more than the occasional bridge we cross when we’re heading to a given destination on our family road trips. And some of them we don’t even notice since they are so small. But once in a while we cross those that make us stop and wonder, “How much work went in to this?” “How much time and effort did they have to spend to bridge this gap?”

Because that is what bridges do—they bridge gaps. They link one end to another over chasms, ravines, waters, rivers, oceans. And as we wonder, we continue on our drive and think nothing more of them.

So it is with our family. We are bonded by ties beyond our control. We are related via blood or marriage. We spend more or less time with each other depending on how distant the family relationship is. And the more distant the relationship, the more likely we are to “put up” with the family members’ less desirable character flaws. We don’t need to build a bridge, because they were built for us.

So what do bridges and family have in common? Nothing. Unless you call yourself a Christian, that is.

The last two weeks at Trinity we were blessed by great Biblical teachings from Dr. Tim Ralston and Dr. Jeff Bingham respectively. Dr. Ralston spoke about bridges, Dr. Bingham spoke about family.  And they made me think.

Dr. Bingham reminded us that Christ has fundamentally redefined family. As we read at the end of Mark 3:31-35, Jesus extends the family beyond those with whom we have a blood relationship. Our family members are those that obey the will of God. Those around us in our Christian community. Those that sit next to us in the pews each and every Sunday morning. Those that sit in the pews in other churches, each and every Sunday morning. Those that meet in huts and in homes. Those that meet freely and those that are forced to meet in secret. All those that call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet in Mark we see repeatedly that the apostles and disciples respond in fear (Mk 5:15 and Mk 5:33), or with surprise and incredulity (Mk 5:31). But we also see those that respond in faith (Mk 5:27) and obedience (Mk 5:18).

So we may respond in fear or unbelief to Christ’s call to extend the family beyond the boundaries of those related by blood or marriage. Or we may respond to His redefining the family in faith and obedience and consider those in our Church Body as our closest family members around.

And personally, when I look across the sanctuary each Sunday morning, there are those I do not know. I may recall their first name, or their wife’s name. With some effort I may recall if they have children and what their names are. But I would be hard pressed to be able to say what their current burden or struggle is. I would be lieing if I were to say that I knew what their prayer requests may be. There is a chasm, a gap, a distance between myself and many people in our body.

And bridges cross these chasms. Oh, it’s hard. It’s difficult. I know it is. We naturally tend to gravitate towards those people we like. So how can we “cross that gap” and “build that bridge?”

Dr. Ralston showed us that there is a power that can help us do that. God used this power to bridge an infinite gap. To create an everlasting bridge that crosses a chasm that is larger than anything we can humanly fathom. That bridge was created by the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Christ’s death and resurrection created a bond, stronger than the strongest “gorilla glue” that joins us to God which nothing can break. And we find this power “In Christ” (Eph 2:13).

“In Christ” we find the power to bridge this gap that separates us from our fellow family member “in Christ.” This infinite power we find enables us to reach out to the others in our body to become one family “In Christ.” To create one church, one family, bearing each others burdens, praying for each other, caring for each other. Where we are all one product of the grace of God. For nothing we can do on our own can bridge that gap to God and to each other, lest we boast (Eph 2:9). One community of sinners, becomes one product, saved by grace.

So why bridge this gap to our new family members in Christ? Is there a purpose? So we can be one Holy Temple in the Lord. So we are a witness to those around us. For through us, as one unified church, we demonstrate to the world how great and good and wonderful our God truly is. As Dr. Ralston said, “There has to be one throne. One God and one people who serve Him.” As long as we are not one people, as long as the gaps and chasms exist, we will never be one. And then one day, someone may say that the glue holding us together, the one power provided to us in Christ, just wasn’t strong enough.

So why don’t you take the time this coming Sunday to reach out across the gap. Find someone you don’t know and get to know them. We always have the invitation to greet those around us. Perhaps we should find someone we don’t know. And greet them and welcome them into the one family we are all a part of. Perhaps, just perhaps, we should spend some time and effort in building a bridge, crossing a gap that with the power of Christ may prove not to be that wide after all.

Michael Luyckx
TFC member

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