Greetings,
Recently the Council of Elders and Management Team got together for a conference amidst the chaotic situation of today’s world — a world in desperate need. It is in need of the leadership of Jesus Christ administering the Government of God over all nations. That Government will provide man’s need for purpose and direction, along with peace and harmony among all people. Christ’s leadership will establish a common set of laws for mankind to live by. He will also provide visible leadership, not only as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but also through a group of eternal spirit beings who have been trained in The Way. The God Family administering the Government of God over the earth is the message of hope that this world needs.
And that Government and its message will have the ultimate credibility simply because it will be composed of members who are totally united. They will function with one voice, one message and one hope. Each member of God’s Family will contribute characteristics and talents, which can be used to help administer God’s blessing to all of mankind.
God’s Church is to be a living example of this unity today. It should be something very visible to someone looking in at us. Christ said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
We have to ask ourselves if this is what a person looking in at our fold of the flock, or any of the others, is going to see. If it is, we will be contributing to a positive environment which will encourage others to listen to the message that this unified family presents.
The ministry of the Church of God, the Father’s Call acknowledges these needs for unity and Christ’s direction and leadership as being important both in our work as ministers and for the body of the Church as a whole. Our recent meetings focused on these issues.
Apart from some planned face-to-face time, we reviewed material on building more effective relationships. We believe that operating as a family is critical to the functioning of the Church. The focusing of a group of individuals on working together requires concerted effort. One of the main advantages of a ministerial get-together is simply time for face-to-face discussions. As the Father and Christ are one, so must the ministry strive for that unity.
A very real need that the world has is the need for hope – a hope that lies at the heart of the gospel. It is a message for all mankind. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Rom 1:16). To most people the gospel is veiled – “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded …” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). But God wants the message of salvation through Christ – which is a major part of the overall gospel message – to go out to a general audience. “… I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel … Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:12-17).
Which raises the question, what is the fragrance of Christ? “For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bond servants for Jesus sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:5-6). In light of preaching the gospel this is an interesting concept. Certainly there is an aspect of preaching – inspired speaking – in terms of the gospel. This also, though, must be backed up by the example of literal people who are living a way of life that exemplifies a change of heart.
The hope that God gives us in His Word is necessary for all of us in our lives today and it is the hope which will be fulfilled in its entirety in God’s coming Kingdom. Discussions of these concepts are ongoing and we plan to continue to develop thoughts on how best to present these principles.
Your continued prayers for Christ’s direction are important.
Warm Regards,
Brian Orchard, Marshall Stiver, Cliff Veal
