Gracepoint Adventist Church

A President, A Ballplayer, & the Pure in Heart

Pastor Greg — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:39:07 +0000

This year we have seen the release of two epic movies that deals with the two of the brightest moments in the darkest area in our nation’s history. ”Lincoln” & “42″ are Hollywood’s exploration of two of the seminal events in our civil rights history and race relations – the passing of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution outlawing slavery in 1865 and the breaking of Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947.

There has always been a debate among historians about how much the Christian character of President Abraham Lincoln had to do with the decision to push this Amendment to be passed before the official end of the Civil War. Was Lincoln’s motive completely pure or was it political?

The same debate is had about Branch Rickey, the president of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who decided to bring Jackie Robinson to his all-white team. Some say it is only because he wanted to win and the financial gain that winning brings. Mr. Rickey knew as was well as as anybody that the players in the Negro Leagues could play, many of them better than their Major League counterparts.

I think it is fine to debate motives in a historical context. But to claim to know someone’s motive is what the Bible would call judging and we are forbidden to do so as it is only God who can read a man’s heart.

What we have are actions and the results of those actions. Regardless of either President Lincoln’s or Branch Rickey’s motives the results were earthquakes in the sad and tragic entrenchment of slavery and civil rights following slavery’s abolition. History has the luxury of recording the results of humanity’s deeds without having to question their motives – A lesson we can certainly learn.

Questioning someone’s motive in doing good and right things is the Biblical definition of judging others and we are admonished not to do it as only God can read what is in anyone’s heart.

If I conclude that President Lincoln was only fueled only by excellent political instinct and ambition then I assign to him a selfish motive that possibly is entirely false. When the fact of the matter there were plenty of ambitious politicians wanting to win and the argument can be made that it cost political capital in most places in our country at the time.

If I conclude that Branch Rickey was only fueled by a selfish desire to win and make money then I also may assign him a selfish motive that may be false. Every owner wanted to win, and no one else took the chance that he did with the Dodgers.

Jesus said that there are two motives that should not drive any believer when it comes to our faith practice. In regards to prayer, giving, and fasting, He said that our motive should not be to find favor with people – that is to look pious before others – and it should not be to find favor with God – that is to believe that your piousness will please God – because you have already found favor with God. He already loves you.

Being pure in heart means you have the right motive – a selfless one, and that does not happen without practice. We practice our faith in living it out and at any given moment our motives will be more or less selfless or selfish, but the fact remains, that God’s love is unrelenting in pursuing us and prompting us to press on ever forward. And as we do there are good, great, and greater results from our practices, be it the abolition of slavery, or a meal at the homeless shelter.

Let’s do the work and leave the motive, ours and others, in God’s hands.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

Vacation Bible School 2013

websterg — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 23:23:29 +0000

Vacation Bible School – For one week every summer our church is transformed into a spiritual haven of fun & learning just for kids. Over 150 volunteers provide all that this requires – design, curriculum, teachers, counselors, food, arts, crafts, games, music, & worship.

This year’s theme is “Kingdom Rock.” It begins Monday June 24th & goes thru Friday June 28th from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. It fills up fast – especially the 3 & 4 year old classes. so Register early!

To download a registration form click here: VBS Registration form 2013

Our Spanish Church Baptisms

websterg — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 01:07:08 +0000

It was tradition that whenever our Spanish church had baptisms to perform they would come to Gracepoint and have them done here. When we went to two services it became more difficult to do so since they would have their own worship service here after the baptism. So we had their baptisms in the river on Sabbath afternoons the last couple of years.

This year they came back to Gracepoint and we all came together last Sabbath as the Lord was given NINE new soles in baptism.

“The currents of decline”

Pastor Walt — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:59:29 +0000

These three observations from Andy Stanley encapsulate well the tendency of churches that I have observed in nearly thirty years of ministry. We are not often intentional about these elements but they nonetheless, tend to drag the growth and development the church to a halt. The answer to these killers of the church is as I see it to note their existence and push against them with intention and vigilance.

1. We have to be careful of the drift toward insiders and away from outsiders

“People who don’t come here don’t call and complain”. Its too easy to spend all of your time handling the squeaky wheels and no time reaching people who don’t know Jesus.

2. The drift toward law and away from grace

When we develop lots of policies and begin to think of people in the context of categories (tax collector, adulteress, sinner, lost,) grace begins to slip away.

3. The drift toward preserving rather an advancing

When you have nothing but vision, and nothing to lose, you take risks in trying to reach people. When you get bigger the drift is toward preservation, many times at the cost of advancing of the Kingdom. – (From Andy Stanley – via Outreach E-zine)

Blessings

Pastor Walt

Leigh Johnsen–Zurich, Zwingli, and the Anabaptists

cliodoc — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 02:43:30 +0000

It’s easy to overlook the importance of Zurich, Switzerland, for the course of the Protestant Reformation. One of the reasons is that Zurich sits in one of the most beautiful locations in the world. Zurich straddles the Linmat River, which is adjacent to the Zurich Sea and rests in the shadow of the snow-covered Alps. Such dazzling surroundings can be distracting.

Great Minster Church, Zurich.

Today, Zurich is a cosmopolitan hub of banking and education. One story claims that vaults filled with gold bars are buried beneath the city’s streets, held for secretive investors throughout the world. As with all of Switzerland, citizens of Zurich enjoy a high standard of living, and their currency, the Swiss franc, is valued highly. The main meal our group took in Zurich, on Thursday, September 20, was easily the most expensive of the trip, and probably the most expensive I have ever purchased in my life.

Five hundred years ago, Zurich was one of the central hubs of the Protestant Reformation. The focal point of Zurich’s religious life at that time was Ulrich Zwingli, a former Catholic priest and scholar whose study of Scripture led him to conclusions similar to Martin Luther’s. However, the two men disagreed heatedly over their understanding of the Lord’s Supper. Whereas Zwingli saw the bread and wine as a symbol of Christ and his life, Luther held closer to traditional Catholic beliefs that saw them actually turning into Christ’s body.

Zwingli presided over Zurich’s Great Minster Church, which dates from the ninth century and sits on the banks of the Linmat River. Parishoners knew him as a gifted and persuasive preacher. Our group visited this cathedral briefly. Had participants been attentive, they would have noticed the absence of images and other icons typical of Catholic churches. This plainness came came about as a result of sentiments that Zwingli and Protestant allies in Zurich implemented as the Reformation progressed.

As elsewhere in Europe, the Protestant Reformation saw the beginning of warfare between Protestants and Catholics in Switzerland. Zwingli was not a pacifist. He took up the sword in defense of Protestantism and lost his life at the Battle of Kappel in 1531. Zwingli’s willingness to use violence also led to one of the darkest moments in the history of the Reformation.

The rebuilt Zurich City Council Chambers sits at the edge of the Linmat River.

In the past, historians have often overlooked a third major branch of the Protestant Reformation, in addition to Calvinism and Lutheranism (which is often clustered with followers of Zwingli). Major reformers labeled this third group “Anabaptists,” after what they saw as their insistence on “rebaptizing” adults. In fact, the “Anabaptists” saw themselves following the example of Jesus and administering baptism only to those who had consciously decided to follow him. In their view, the christening that most Europeans had experienced at that time as infants was invalid because they lacked the capacity to make such decisions on their own.

Despite its inaccuracy, the word “Anabaptist” stuck. Although many variations existed in different European countries, the Anabaptists held in common a desire to return Christianity to its condition at the time of the Apostles. Other beliefs that mainline Anabaptists held in addition to adult baptism included pacifism and separation between church and state.

The Anabaptist movement is often seen as starting in Zurich, and its major pioneers were Felix Manz, Conrad Grebel, and George Blaurock. In 1525, Blaurock requested baptism at the hands of Grebel, and Grebel obliged. Other baptisms–including those of Manz and Grebel–followed. The City Council of Zurich, with Zwingli’s encouragement, saw this “rebaptizing” as traitorous and a threat to the stability of Zurich’s church-state system, and they sentenced Felix Manz to execution by drowning. This marked the beginning of a wave of persecution against Anabaptists conducted by Protestants and Catholics alike that lasted for centuries.

Their are no great monuments like Great Minster to commemorate these martyrs, but their memory lives on in the City’s Council Chambers, rebuilt more recently on the site of the original chambers, and the Linmat River, in the midst of which the prison once sat that housed Anabaptists. A simple bronze marker on the shore commemorates the drowning of Felix Manz and five other Anabaptists between 1527 and 1532.

Direct descendants of the Anabaptists today include Mennonites, Hutterites, and the Amish. They also influenced the early Baptists. Perhaps the most significant and longest-lasting legacy of the Anabaptists is the tradition of church-state separation, which they pioneered and was eventually enshrined in the U.S Constitution.

Leigh Johnsen–A Visit to the Vatican

cliodoc — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 22:02:47 +0000

I dare anybody not to be impressed with the Vatican’s art and architecture. I double dare them.

Bronze canopy over the high altar in Saint Peter’s Basilica (1624-1633), by Bernini.

The Wednesday before the Reformation Tour ended, our group visited the Vatican. We went into Saint Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican’s Museums. Afterward, I couldn’t help asking myself a question: “Why has the Papacy and the Catholic Church collected all this art?”

I posed the question to Kathleen, one of our guides, and she didn’t have an answer. So I started hypothesizing, and here’s a brief summary of my two-pronged theory.

The first part focuses on the popes themselves. During the early modern period (roughly 1400-1800), many if not most of them came from wealthy and powerful families. Often, these families had enough disposable income to hire the best artists and acquire the most valuable art. When they became popes, their buying habits continued, and much of the art they acquired found its way into the Vatican Museums.

However, this explanation still leaves open the question of why powerful people were patrons of the arts. I suspect that the answer involves the nature of the papacy, which according to thinking inherited from the Middle Ages (per the Great Chain of Being) stood at the apex of God’s creation. At least one variant of this framework made the church hierarchy parallel in status to kings and other political authorities.

In the Gothic Enterprise (2003), sociologist Robert Scott studies Medieval art and architecture in depth. According to him, objects of art made from valuable stones and metals–especially when considered gifts to God–elevated the status of the giver.

The splendor of these gifts publicly displayed a king’s ability to ensure a benevolent and protective divine presence within his kingdom. The greater the sacrifice to God, the more powerful a sovereign seemed in the eyes of his subjects. The artistry employed in sacrificial gifts had to be grand. (page 50)

To the best of my knowledge, the fascination of rulers with art didn’t change much from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and Reformation–or for the next couple hundred years afterward. If secular rulers actually do afford insights into the thinking of ecclesiastical authorities, then acquisition of fine art served the dual purpose of demonstrating veneration of God at the same time that it enhanced political and social status.

I’ll be the first to admit that my explanation is little more than a hypothesis at this point. But, personally, I don’t find it out of sync with claims of greatness that the Papacy itself has made for more than a thousand years.

Leigh Johnsen-The Battle of Milvian Bridge

cliodoc — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:00:05 +0000

Milvian Bridge sits to the north of Rome’s old central city spanning the Tiber River. It dates from the era before Christ, and according to the historical record once served as a major artery for goods and people moving into and out of the city. Today, officials have chained it off to all but foot and bicycle traffic.

Early Wednesday afternoon, Greg, Walt, and I lead a small group of intrepid travelers into the subway toward the trolley that took us to the southern edge of the bridge. I doubt that many of them understood the significance of the structure. Most people don’t.

Milvian Bridge, 2012.

In 312, Milvian Bridge was the site of a battle that changed the course of Western civilization. The nature of this event-though not necessarily the magnitude of its significance-can be compared to Hastings, Lexington and Concord, Hiroshima, and other hinge points of history.

The Roman Empire was inching close to chaos at the time, its slow but steady decline already underway. Seven years earlier, Emperor Diocletian had abdicated and a number of contenders had arisen as his replacement. One of them was Constantine, a pagan general. Learning about the emperor’s abdication, Constantine’s troops had declared him ruler at his post in far-off Britain. The next several years saw him work steadily to consolidate his power.

At Milvian Bridge, Costantine met Maxentius, another contender, and battle ensued. Accounts vary, but all agree that sometime shortly before hostilities started Constantine experienced a vision. In it, he saw the superimposed Greek letters Chi (P) and Rho (X), symbols that represented Christ. Then he heard a voice: “With this sign, you shall conquer.”

Constantine placed the symbol on his banner and prevailed against Maxentius. The experience led him to adopt a Christian system of belief. From then on, he and his soldiers marched from victory to victory under the banner. In 313, he granted tolerance to the previously outlawed Christian religion in the Edict of Milan, and in short order initiated a shift that increased ties between church and state. Under Constantine, the Christian Church, previously a persecuted and outlawed sect, grew in the Emperor’s favor.

Neither the Church nor the Empire were ever the same again. Over time, Constantine and his successors became involved in church politics and theological disputes, and the door of the church cracked open to pagan beliefs and practices. It didn’t take long for Christianity to be transformed from the peace-loving ideals of its founder into a movement all too often characterized by brute force, persecution, and warfare.

The pattern of the church-state cooperation born under Constantine dominated Western Civilization for more than a thousand years. Beset by influences that included religious dissent, secularism, and the scientific revolution, it eventually weakened. However, it still remains the ideal among many people. Others see in it a departure from the teachings of Scripture, a misrepresentation of Christ and his teachings, and a threat to freedom of conscience.

The origins of that alliance can be traced to the Battle of Milvian Bridge, which deserves to be remembered widely.

Thoughts on culture Pastor Walt

Pastor Walt — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 01:01:05 +0000

Traveling in Europe reminds you that though these countries are very close to one another in proximity they are often very different in their core culture. Some are very precise leaving nearly nothing to chance. I have watched tractors in a line mowing the edge of the highway, very old buildings, (LIKE 100s of YEARS) in precise repair. Most streets without a bit of trash on them, even highways cleaned to that standard.

And then in other neighboring cultures I have seen much less concern about those details. So there is little trash around; It’s not in the way, don’t worry about it. Is the grass growing too tall, it will die in the winter, no worries…

One of our group commented that part of the reason that these countries fought so often was that they were so different and so close together. Perhaps that is why they have managed to not adopt a single language no matter how hard people have tried to unite them. Now the EU is trying to hold them in at least an economic coalition and it seems that they are having a tough time of it.

Sorry for the rambling but in all of this there is a note about the reformation. When you are at your core quite different from your neighbor it may be easier to consider them a heretic or a person to be feared. Loving them seems harder if you don’t understand them. Perhaps the best answer to the strife in our world may just be a talk over the fence.

Blessings on your day we are well and we are blessed. See you next Sabbath

Pastor Walt

Sabbath has ended and we have all been blessed.

Pastor Greg Posting – Reformation Tour: Sabbath

websterg — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 22:45:53 +0000

The most dominating element of a Waldensian Temple is its simplicity. The pews are straight-backed & veteran worshipers bring their own cushions. We attended a choral concert in one on Friday night which went a couple hours and with each minute sitting in one of those my dread began to grow for the morning. I was honored to be the preacher in this special setting on our Tour, but not being known for my brevity I was worried about a beleaguered congregation’s collective backside. On top of this I was going to be translated into Italian which would make it twice as long.

I stayed up when we returned to make sure I could at least have a fighting chance at holding their attention and with a special dose of the Holy Spirit, a skilled, sweet spirited interpreter, Danielle, and one of the most important verses in all of Scripture on our side we were out at noon. (No, Gracepoint, I cannot bring her home with us).

It was a very sweet Sabbath to be able to worship with this dedicated Adventist congregation. The mix of our group & there’s made for a wonderful worship Sabbath morning.

After lunch, Danielle then took us on an inspiring tour of the area which included quite a hike up the hills to a Waldensian cave & their College of the Barbs (there training college for their clergy).

Pastor Zach led us in worship in the cave. We were uplifted but sobered when remembering the sacrifice some have had to endure just simply to worship God. I will try & remember this feeling as I drive my car to church next Sabbath & think not even twice about the freedom we have to assemble & worship God He sees fit.

We climb a bit further to the College – & again am struck by the perseverance by these preachers in a hostile land – Politically, & physically. Imagine the winter in these Alps & attempting to study here. In the summer they would head into the city to evangelize and in the winter, study.

Today they worship in this temple with this view – We are in awe as we have experienced the fulfillment of prophecy & demonstration of God’s watched care over worshipers in this valley for 7 centuries including us today.

Thank you again for your continued prayer for our safety & guidance.

I do miss my church tho. Looking forward to next Sabbath.

In His grip,

Pastor Greg

Pastor Greg Posting – Reformation Tour Day 5

websterg — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:44:49 +0000

Our tour operator commended us today for being so hearty, energetic, & persistent. When Pastor Walt began planning this tour with him he thought to himself that there was no way this group will keep up this pace – 1 night & day in each place. So we leave Zurich – the most expensive stop by the way – to head to Alps of northern Italy and the Waldensian Valley town of Torre Pellice.

Best line from Zurich tho belongs to Dr. Spike Lewis upon spotting a Smart Car, “They give those away here when you open a checking account.” (After an evening of counting Bentleys, Maserati’s, & even a McLaren.

After a great worship by Terri Nickel & Patsy Timm, the pastors took the mic to answer some questions & give further information on the Anabaptists. It is hard enough to hold anyone’s attention anytime as we drone on and on, but when you are trying to compete with the scenery in Switzerland you have to just pack it in, which I did, bout midway thru.

Torre Pellice is in northern Italy in a beautiful Waldensian valley. The scenery is breathtaking. We are staying at a Waldnensian guesthouse called Foresteria Valdese. (Valdese being Italian for Waldensian). We worshipped with the Adventist congregation here in one of the Waldensian temples.

Leigh Johnsen has posted a wonderful history of the Waldensians, our Sabbath experience, and Torre Pellice on this blog previously. (Just hit the arrow back to the previous post).

We head to Florence next then Rome. Everyday has been more blessed, more exhilarating and more exhausting as the day before. Please continue to pray for our protection, guidance, and spirit of togetherness.

In His Grip,

Pastor Greg