The first part of January, my wife and I travelled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to participate in a meeting regarding the vertical church in a horizontal world. Very interesting and uplifting stuff, not to mention a good time with friends…from California…go figure. The meeting was hosted by Elder Spell & Pastor Tony Spell, and they were great southern hospitality hosts with all the fixin’s (gumbo, catfish,…and other Cajun stuffs).

The content of the sessions was uplifting, as it centered on how the church should be centered on the vertical, unseen, transcendent world and not on the seen horizontal palette.

On a personal note, there’s a lot of ideas floating around about how the church should be reaching the world, and I’ve never been one to close the door on new ways the church can connect to an ever changing community. However, I am very concerned when the ever changing community dictates to the church, so that the church becomes an ever changing church (my “journey”, if you will, has been like that of the large vehicle in reverse with the warning beeps). Core values and identity cannot be sacrificed…and in my experience, a rush to be “authentic” results in being faddish (ok, some things are cool) and tends to eliminate that which is really authentic (that’s not so cool). It is one thing to reach forward with a firm commitment and appreciation for what has brought the church thus far (that becomes in and of itself a check and balance), but it is quite another to self loathe and de-construct what “has been” in an effort to become something the church is not, or will cease to be when “new fangled” wears off and in sets buyer’s remorse. And by the way, this is not a new thing, rather, a cycle of 20 years as it pertains to inward organizational structures, and centuries as it pertains to broad epochal history. Nuff said…I am not so arrogant to pretend to have all the answers, but this one thing I do know, if we start de-constructing the last 65 years of GBFPC in the Greater Bakersfield area we will implode. The New Birth message works, and response to it brings in folk like Richard Ross.

1 Cor 6:11
And such were some of you : but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.KJV

This has to be one of the most powerful verses in the Bible. Richard has turned a 180, and is doing fantastic. So you can imagine my thoughts upon receiving the picture below.

I’m thinking, “Oh, No!” Then, a few minutes later I received the next picture.

Richard works at an auto body repair shop. God can move you from the back to the front.

The 2:38 Youth Conference ended the old year and ushered in the new. Bro. Bass and Bro. Buxton were fantastic as the night and day speakers. They preached timely messages that will last in time honored fashion. Plus, they are really fun to hang out with. We thank them greatly for their ministry.

Another gargantuan thanks to GBFPC for putting their best foot forward to invest in young people, which meant staying up late, setting up, tearing down, cleaning up, being there, and many other actions that really really represent. When one sets out to put together something of genuine quality, it becomes quickly apparent that it will not happen unless you have a large contingency of people knocking out the small details like Babe Ruth…and you won’t find some of those baseballs. Thanks all.

I cannot come down from this wall because the work I am involved in is too great. Why didn’t Samson say “I AM a Nazarite”? You cannot bury the prophet in the dungeon and expect success.
There is great open door AND many adversaries, not “but” many adversaries.

Rather than blathering on, the pictures themselves do a great enough job.

Seasons Greetings! Hope you enjoy “good times’ with your friends and family during this Christmas season and the end of the year. To conclude the year with an observation, I have included Greek, Buzz and Woody, and a reflection on 2009…I know, my mind works funny sometimes, but hey, at least I will never get “stodgy” or “stoved up” with such drivel running laps in my head.

Bro. Talmadge French encouraged me to go back and have another pass through my Greek course I took at Fuller Seminary. I took a summer intensive, which meant taking two quarters in ten weeks. Yes, you now understand why I haven’t been too hip on picking anything that looks like Greek for uuuhhhh,…a long time. The technique is called the “immersion” method, meaning, you think, sleep, and eat Greek until some of it sticks with you. OR, you become very overwhelmed and barely stay alive, and if I remember correctly, I think I survived but not without scars upon my psyche.

Anyway, I have started on another primer and this time I’m taking it slow and absorbing the content. To my surprise, much of the vocabulary when presented afresh, comes to the fore from some deep seated file cabinet in my brain. Pretty cool actually. However, the word ὑπέρ has been problematic. It is a small preposition which can mean “in behalf of” in the genitive (the case that implies possession), or “above” in the accusative (the case of the direct object). When reviewing my vocabulary, I constantly get stuck when ὑπέρ presents itself. Yet, I have figured out how to make it stick with the help of….

In case you don’t know, that’s Buzz on the left and Woody on the right. In the story, Woody gets upset when Buzz comes along because all the other toys think he is super cool, and although the two work out a friendship, this is not the case initially. Initially, Woody doesn’t like or feels bad, that Buzz is getting “above” him with the rest of the crowd. There it is… ὑπέρ means “in behalf of” (Woody poor guy), and “above” (because Buzz is above).

To make some things “stick” requires an imagination, or the occurrence needs to be dramatic enough. This is where the end of the year becomes poignant. Reflecting upon the year 2009, what events will stick out in your mind, so that years later you will be able to connect the event to the year? My Grandfather was great at saying, “Let’s see it was 1930, the latter part, November I think, when…” I was always impressed, but wondered if it really mattered. It mattered to him. Not easy to forget dramatic times like 9/11, or the Great Depression.

While perusing through the PAVE posts, I pulled out some highlights that will always be linked to 2009.
1. Great start to a year.

2. Love our youth and the winter camp plus the Easter presentation represent many endeavors of a great family @ GBFPC. Truly a privilege to be a part.

3. Mission Trip to Peru. Will not forget.

4. Mr. PUB or Pull Up Bar represents exercise and portion control. People are told regularly in many publications to curb time spent watching TV because it contributes to obesity. Apostolics don’t watch TV, therefore, they should be….? Just joshing a little, but it was a good year in that regard and I support anyone who endeavors to be healthy.

5. Got to spend time with some great high school seniors in England, France, and Ireland.

6. Spent some time in North Carolina with a great group of young people. Thanks to the Erskines’ and Wilmoths’.

7. Egroup and the Azusa tour.

8. Fortunate to travel to Rome with a great group of folks. Absolutely floored.

…certainly, not all, but a few things to look back on and say, “It was 2009…first part of the year…we were in Peru at a jungle service…”

Happy New Year! KmB

Interesting question. We perform a particular action based on a particular motivation. We have motives not seen by the naked eye. What people do see; however, are the actions. And only God and ourselves really know why we are doing what we are doing. This, I believe, is what was meant by “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” What we do in action for others and working out our salvation are two different set of postulations, but they have one important subject in common: self examination. Corollary to this discussion is the notion that when we do something for someone, there is a giver and a receiver.

If I know what needs to be done, or what is right, and I do nothing (no matter the level of awareness), then I have defined APATHY. If I feel sorry, ashamed, or pity someone or something, and I am moved to action, then I have defined SYMPATHY (doing something out of concern). If I can connect with the receiver because I have experiences that are the same, then I have defined EMPATHY. There is obviously a movement of value from apathy to empathy, but the greatest achievement is an elimination of Giver and Receiver, and in so doing I have defined SOLIDARITY. The distinction between giver and receiver is so obscured, who is helping who?

Earlier this year in our travels to Peru, we purposed to go on a “missions” trip to help them, but after being there a few days…it became rather clear and poignant that we were receiving much more from them.

The launching board for such a discussion was our appreciation night to many very special people called volunteers, who make the growth and advancement of a church possible. These people seen above were selected by ministry leaders, Pastor, and the church. Thanks Bro. and Sis. Chavez, Matt, Danielle, Myra, Melissa, Katherine, Robby, Jeremy, and Richard.

A week ago…just catching up…we had a very beneficial time focusing on GBFPC Truth around the world. This was a first for us, although I’m sure in the 65 years of church history there have been services focused on missions, where we invited missionaries with the intent of listening to their burden, hanging out with them in fellowship, seeing pictures and crafts from their field of labor, geographically becoming aware of where they are, having a meal with them, and supporting their endeavors. A total blast that covered every age bracket of the congregation.

(pictured above) We were privileged to meet some new folks, one hailing from the Marshall Islands by way of La Grande, Oregon (Jesse Parker). Bro. Carl DeBrun (far right; with Johnny King far left, and Elder Leroy King center) has started a work in the Islands, and God is blessing. Bro. Johnny King ministered the last night.

(pictured above)We were able to meet some great friends from Peru, and we are planning a missions trip to Iquitos in the summer. Bro. and Sis. Nix are special to us.

And we became acquainted with Bro. Tim Joiner from Belize. Bro. Joiner is mucho fun and took time to tell the tale of two boys. One lived for God and the other did not. This was told as he folded and tore up a piece of paper until the final outcome was revealed. The destinations of the two boys were very different, as you can see below. Oh, and to make this effective, you have to have the serious look on your face like Bro. Joiner.

Lastly, Bro. Steve Buxton ministered on Friday night, and the other missionaries not pictured were the Allards (Ivory Coast), and the Wheelers (Philippines). Enjoyed it immensely!