Jesus Christ: The Real Story in Russian

We are happy to announce that the 19th Russian booklet, Jesus Christ: The Real Story, is being published. It is 124 pages long, and it took a few years to finish this important booklet with the help of a number of people. One of the difficulties is that even though there are some new Russian translations of the Bible, it is still difficult to find suitable translations for some passages. This, of course, involves adding explanation to reveal the true meaning. There are many sections of this booklet that are necessary for Russian readers to gain insight into how Jesus Christ was God and also lived on earth as a man—and the actual message that He preached about the Kingdom of God.

Death of Sela Ha'angana

From Bruce Dean in Sydney, Australia, we received this notification about the death of Sela Ha'angana in the Pacific island nation of Tonga. Over the years, Bruce Dean has cared for our brethren in Tonga and has helped them in various ways. I recall the Ha'anganas coming to ministerial conferences in Pasadena, California, in times past. Here is Bruce Dean's report:

"I want to let you know that Sela Ha'angana died on Friday, May 3, aged 87, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Sela, along with her husband, Tolu, established the church in Tonga. They built the small hall/tabernacle for Sabbath services and the Feast of Tabernacles on their family property. When the false teachings came into the Church, they stood firm in the faith. Even as Sela's health faded, she still loved to sing the hymns at services. This is definitely an end of an era for Tonga.

"I was able to go to Tonga to perform the funeral service last Tuesday. We had the service in the hall and walked across the road to the village burial site. Many people were there and heard the truth of the resurrection.

"On behalf of the 'Osika family, I want to thank you for the subsidy for Sela since Tolu's death, who preceded her in 2002."

A Secret to Success

During my nearly half a century in the ministry, certain hard questions regularly emerge from members and elders alike. Like me, you've probably asked some of these yourself.

Here are a few: What does God expect of me? How can I ensure that I'll be in His Kingdom? How can I make sure that I won't be one of those falling away? How can I be a better disciple of Christ? What purpose do I have in the Church of God? Where and how do I find the power of God? And for those in the ministry: how can I survive the long, sometimes difficult life's journey filled with internal and external pressures?

In my ministerial career, I crossed paths with a guide who modeled and declared to me that there is a "secret to success" that answers these questions.

Allow me to relate how I learned this "secret." In the very early years of my ministry, God gave me an incredible gift in the form of a most memorable figure and mentor in my ministry: Robert Jones in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I spent three years with him from 1971-1974 when I was 24-26 years old. I started as a ministerial trainee and went on to become assistant pastor during this time.

After starting as a ministerial trainee serving people scattered through huge swaths of territory in South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana for two years, I was transferred to the Twin Cities in Minnesota, where I worked with a number of men in the ministry. To my great fortune, I spent many hours and days with Bob Jones, which was a wonderful opportunity for pastoral training. We served more than 1,000 brethren in the urban Twin Cities, as well as some of the rural communities in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. In those early days, we worked with a wide demographic of church people ranging from little children to the elderly. We came together regularly and joyfully at church services and at many church-related events in a loving, family-like atmosphere.

But this bonding didn't just happen by accident. It was because Bob Jones had a single-minded outlook and lots of love towards the brethren. This was manifested in his actively teaching God's people a way of life and also practicing that way of life himself. I saw firsthand the resultant joyful outcomes. People's lives changed, and changed for the better.

For me, Bob Jones personified what the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:24, when—as a pastor himself of many congregations throughout the Roman Empire—Paul declared that ministers are to be "helpers of your joy" (King James Version). I speak about this commitment to be "helpers of your joy" in lectures and seminars to our ministers and wives. Bob did this so naturally in his ministry and set a high bar for us then-new trainees and elders to emulate.

Over the years, Bob and I have served God and His people in various ways and locations. He is now retired and lives with his lovely wife, Mary, in Florida. He's written personal memoirs recounting many events in his ministry—which I've enjoyed reading. In the last few years, on visits to Florida and the Feast of Tabernacles, we've had occasion to visit the Joneses and talk over fond old memories laced with humorous stories and experiences.

On my most recent visit with him, he looked straight at me and told me the secret to success in the ministry. I marveled at its simplicity. In a few words, he summed up the answers to the spiritual questions that many of us have.

The secret to success both in the ministry and life in general is remarkably straightforward and can be said in one sentence: Stay close to God, and love and respect His people.

Sounds like an obvious platitude? Something to pin up on a bulletin board or magnetically attach to a refrigerator? Not at all. Because when you think more deeply, this truism contains the vitals that give perspective to keep yourself in control and to relate to what God is doing on this earth.

When God calls us out of the world, He expects us to maintain a relationship with Him as a constant pursuit. This is profoundly true, whether we are serving in the ministry or as members in a congregation. We are all called to surrender every facet of our lives to God, opening every area of our lives to the spiritual illumination of His life-changing Spirit. We are directed to be prayerful, respectful, and God-fearing in our ever-growing relationship with Him and our elder brother Jesus Christ. We are to always be single-minded, never living two lives. Consider the direction of James, the human brother of our Savior, Jesus Christ: "humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you... Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor" (James 4:7-8, 10, New Living Translation, emphasis added).

A person close to God is one who is praying always and looking in faith for His deliverance; not giving up; not quitting; not getting emotionally or spiritually bent out of shape; not being blown about by winds of doctrine and "new truth": not getting ship-wrecked spiritually, which so many have. My observations and impressions of my mentor almost 50 years ago were of a person faithful not only to God, but to his superiors. Our District Superintendent lived in the same city and Bob's support of and allegiance to him was most obvious. In dealing with challenges in life, Bob was always calm and philosophical. He had a sense of humor second to none, yet his core was serious and solid. To this day, I reflect on how Bob dealt with trials that invariably came up. He knew that God would solve the problem if he let Him. I practice that today because of Bob.

Stay close to God, and love and respect His people.

Regarding "loving the brethren," the lesson of this "secret" is the same for minister and member alike: You must LOVE the people of the church; you never try to "control" them, because you can't. They have their free will, which can bend towards or away from God and the church.

How does one "love and respect brethren?" As I learned in my ministry, being a "pillar" means to be an empathetic listener and leader, always expressing real concern. People—whether ministers or members—who practice the secret of "loving and respecting brethren" exhibit integrity, decency, peace and harmony.

The more I have pondered this "secret" from Bob Jones the more I see how its application has settled into Meaningful Relationships between us and God and between us and our fellow man. This secret works: Stay close to God, and love and respect His people.

Let us apply it today!