United Church of God

Update from the President: May 23, 2019

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Update from the President

May 23, 2019

This past week has been wrapped around the graduation of the 20th class of Ambassador Bible College. Along with the first 50 years of the former Ambassador College, there have now been 70 years of Ambassador education.

Here are some of the highlights.

A week ago, we held our graduation dinner, where faculty and students alike expressed profound appreciation to God and to one another for the past year. The spirit of the evening was wonderful, as hard work by all was recognized and appreciation lovingly expressed.

One of the outstanding service achievements of the class was to raise more than $10,000 to advance the United Church of God in Haiti.

On the Sabbath, faculty member Darris McNeely delivered the Baccalaureate message focusing on the young prophet Jeremiah, who was concerned about his shortcomings. God assured Jeremiah that he had a life's mission and that He would be with him. We have a mission of passing on our core truths to equip the next generation. Darris concluded his sermon with a moving poem that he had written that can be read at http://kubik.org/the-call-by-darris-mcneely/.

On Sunday, Gary Antion, the first coordinator of ABC, delivered the Graduation Address in which he recounted the history of ABC. Some interesting facts he shared about ABC were that 91 marriages have resulted in that time. Additionally,16 students have become elders; 34 students became employees, of which 21 are currently employed. Our largest class was 54 (2006) and smallest was 20 (2009). The oldest student was 86 and youngest was 17. This year's class had 34 students.

Along with academics, love of the truth, character, discipleship and service were valued in his address.

ABC Promo Video Available

Yesterday we previewed a video just completed by our media department about Ambassador Bible College. It is terrific! This view is through the eyes of the students and it will show you what an inspiring, fun and life-changing experience ABC is. Along with scenes of classes, chorale trips and activities, the video features students telling in their own words how ABC helped them build a relationship with God and gave them greater understanding of His Word—and how they built close friendships with each other and their instructors.

My wish is that every young person in the church would come to Ambassador Bible College—and that a great many older adults would, too. After watching this video, I'm confident that many more people will share my wish. 

Also, this week's podcast is with two graduates, Monique Adie from South Africa and Samantha Murray from Flint, Michigan. They give us their impressions of their ABC experience.

Spiritual Lessons from the Deadly Chernobyl Disaster

"What is truth?" asked Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea, shortly before Jesus was crucified (John 18:38). Jesus had just been brought before the Roman official on trumped-up charges by Jews seeking the death penalty. Finding truth was deadly serious business back then, as it is now.

The same question—particularly in today's hyper-charged, polarized political environment—remains highly relevant, especially for us in the church who are trying to embrace precious spiritual truth, to apply it, and proclaim it. But with so many claims, counter-claims, fake news, pseudo-claims and more flying around on the Internet, on TV political shows, and on social media, it's difficult for some to really discern what is truth!

Accordingly, I was more than a little interested when the subject of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster recently came up as part of a new five-part series on the cable television network HBO. About two million Americans watched the first two installments.

A little over 33 years ago, on April 26, 1986, the multi-ton roof of Reactor No. 4 blew off of the Chernobyl power generating station in Ukraine, spewing red-hot chunks of radioactive graphite and debris thousands of feet into the air. A worst-case much-feared nuclear accident—a positive void coefficient—had taken place, followed by explosions and fires that raged for days.

To many, this might seem like irrelevant ancient history, as millions of people alive today weren't even yet born when this occurred. But for me, the event represents a powerful and chilling living memory of events leading to Apocalypse. There are key lessons for us in the United Church of God, particularly as we proclaim a message of hope.

The television series has been chronicling both the bad actions and mishaps that led to the lethal accident and the almost comic tragedy of errors, lies and miscommunication that followed. From firsthand accounts, local and national Soviet officials first refused to admit that anything had happened, even while desperate specialty firefighters (called "liquidators") struggled to quench the radioactive blaze. The Soviet version of "truth" was anything but.

A few months after the accident, in June of 1986, Bev and I were adult chaperones for 30 church teens on a visit to the USSR coming within several hundred miles of the still-smoldering reactor. When we asked questions about the accident, the fallout and radiation, we were assured that it would "blow itself out." All would be well; not to worry. No one wanted to talk about it. Interestingly, one of our home office employees, Natasha Teague, who coordinates our Russian-language publications, lived 50 miles from Chernobyl at the time. The radioactive plume passed directly over her city of Gomel, Belarus.

Ten years after the Chernobyl accident, Bev and I became deeply involved in supporting humanitarian efforts to help the children of Chernobyl that the world had largely forgotten. This was done after three trips to the area with another Church elder who was an oncologist. We met with top pediatricians in the area who are close friends to this day. This led directly to the formation of LifeNets International, which today helps people around the world.

Over time, on our support trips to Ukraine, we have taken United Church of God families and elders to the Chernobyl area, even visiting the stricken reactor itself. Thankfully, the still-smoldering reactor complex has now been completely entombed in a concrete sarcophagus, protecting the region from drifting radioactive debris still emanating from the ruins of the reactor. Wearing portable radiation detectors, I and others from the church have walked through the now-permanently abandoned nearby city of Pripyat. It is quite an eerie experience.

What can we learn from this? The carnage that erupted from this disaster also serves as a sobering herald of what we biblically understand and proclaim will come.

As chronicled in the television special, we need to remember that senior leaders of the old Soviet Union conducted an elaborate campaign of lies even after a plume of radioactive ashes wafted across Europe. They tried mightily to reinvent "truth" on a major level!

That's an important point for us. As a recent article in the New Yorker magazine discussed, while we may marvel today at the level of "official" government disinformation and disingenuous efforts to deceive that took place after Chernobyl in 1986, we must grasp the fact that in many instances, the same toxic level of disinformation exists today!

We in the church must be on guard and protect our minds from spiritually lethal toxic waste.

As the New Yorker states: "What was, in the case of Chernobyl, a steady stream of propaganda from a monolithic source is echoed (and, perhaps, intensified) in today's online flood of misinformation."

What do we in the church need to consider from this? As the New Yorker magazine grimly states: "today, thirty-three years later, misinformation remains just as powerful—and, as researchers warn, the potential of the Web to spread it is nearly infinite" (emphasis added throughout).

We must grapple with this capacity to spread misinformation on many levels. We deal with it daily as we seek to proclaim the truth of God! Unlike the rhetorical question of Pilate, we know the truth. "Your Word is Truth" (John 17:17). And we labor intensively to bring the light of this truth to all, publishing and proclaiming it in several languages, including Russian!

It is good to remember that the incredible gift of truth, the spiritual understanding that we in the church possess, has been under assault for thousands of years. As Paul warns us today: "we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, NLT).

So, on one hand, as we powerfully reach out with the gospel message, we must battle continual misinformation on all levels in this world. On the other hand, we also have to battle this on a personal level. There exist dark forces that would like nothing more than to see us experience our own "personal Chernobyl," a spiritual meltdown with potential eternal consequences!

This is why Paul cautions us: "Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you" (2 Timothy 1:14, New Living Translation).

If we are not careful to heed this, we can inadvertently trigger our own spiritual Chernobyl, our own "positive void coefficient" and find ourselves standing outside of solid biblical truth. That's a dangerous place to be!

How do we avoid this precarious condition? The Bible gives us many protective measures to take. Here are but a few. We read here in Hebrews: "Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many" (Hebrews 12:15 NLT). Unchecked resentments can be deadly.

We also read in Hebrews: "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God" (Hebrews 3:12 English Standard Version). We must daily ask God to continually refresh our spiritual condition and give us a new heart (Psalm 51:10). In a world that cares not for real truth, we must ask for help to believe and believe deeply, drawing upon the spiritually energizing power that God grants us through His Spirit.

We must develop the capacity to be in a state of gratitude for the many blessings that God gives us, avoiding grumbling. As Paul states: "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NLT). Writing to the Corinthians, Paul prayed that "you be perfectly united in mind and thought" (1 Corinthians 1:10, ESV). Remaining in a prayerful state of mind, constantly giving thanks to God and holding fast to the astonishing gift of spiritual truth goes a long way in protecting us.

Unlike Pilate, we know the truth of God. By being faithfully grounded and confident in the truth, we build our spiritual house upon a rock. As Paul notes, when we're in this spiritually fit condition, "We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth" (Ephesians 4:14, NLT).

If we are spiritually careful, humbly yielding to God, we have nothing to fear. No "personal Chernobyl" will come our way. Let us be aware and carefully guard the precious truth that we have been given!