Update from the President

Last week I wrote about the importance of pastoral visiting, as one of the main responsibilities of our ministry and an expectation of our brethren. As part of our Pastoral Development Program, we provide training for our new ministers about the various kinds of visiting expected. Some of it has to do with building relationships with the congregation. Other purposes are to be ready to counsel, advise and encourage. There are also the regular visits to shut-ins.

After last week's update from the President, I received notes from people stating that they would appreciate more personal contact with their pastor. One woman commented that after her baptism, she had never been visited.Visiting is one of the chief means of developing congregational trust and community within the church. If a member has been visited by a pastor--and should the time come to counsel about a problem in their life, they will feel much more comfortable about approaching the pastor.

Initiating visiting works both ways--by the pastor or by the member. Please feel free to ask your pastor for a visit. He will most likely appreciate the fact that you would like to get together and talk.

Chile/Argentina Youth Corps Project

United Youth Corps has been partnering with Good Works to teach English and Leadership in Chile and Argentina. Three volunteers have been serving in Santiago, Chile, and Bahia Blanca, Argentina, since July 24. The projects conclude this weekend. We have other projects slated for summer camp in Nigeria as well as projects in Brazil and South Africa later in December. You can read more about Good Works activity at http://goodworks.ucg.org/projects.

In Chile, our volunteers have been maintaining an informative blog at http://goodworks.ucg.org/blog.

Also, Darris and Debbie McNeely are in the midst of a most interesting and profitable visit to Malawi and now to South Africa where they will conduct another leadership training seminar this coming weekend. Darris wrote a most encouraging summary of their experience in Lilongwe, Malawi, on his TravelPod blog at http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/darrismcneely/2/tpod.html.

The Modern Message of Noah

Many years ago, the Almighty God inspired a Work that has since reverberated across four millennia. Human society back then had degenerated to the point where "everyone on earth was corrupt" (Genesis 6:12, New Living Translation). As the Bible faithfully records, God decided to forcibly intervene. Of course, as the all-powerful Creator, there were many options available to God.

Here is a thought that I ask you to consider very carefully: key elements of the account of the Ark reflect many conditions of the times we now live in. It was a message jeered and mocked, just as the message crying out about the sins of our world is ignored, even mocked, today. But, today, as in times past, a day of reckoning is surely coming.

What did God decide to do some 4,000 years ago? He decided to use a man in whom He had confidence to proclaim a witness. He wanted a record of the magnitude of what was taking place. So God commissioned the building of an amazing structure. It took a full century to build. It doubtless attracted much attention.

This was the massive ship we commonly call today "Noah's Ark."

In July, a full-scale replica of Noah's Ark opened to the public in northern Kentucky (just south of Cincinnati, Ohio) following private visits by dignitaries such as former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. It is constructed along the same dimensions as described in Genesis 6. The $100 million project represents the largest wooden structure in the world.

The structure is indeed impressive, even breath-taking.

Let me be clear. I believe that the account of an ancient worldwide flood and the salvation of life as recorded in Genesis is true. The Bible contains many accounts of miraculous works deliberately planned and performed by Almighty God.

However, let me tell you, seeing the craft--carefully built according to the dimensions and limited structural plans revealed in the Bible--strengthened my faith and belief in this miraculous biblical event. (Also, to be clear, the operators of the Ark facility promote a narrow view that the entire earth is only some 6,000 years old. I don't believe that and also believe that the Bible doesn't promote that view. But that doesn't lessen the impact of seeing and experiencing this modern recreation of this massive ship.)

As I toured the ship with my wife, Bev, and our two granddaughters, a number of thoughts came to mind.

At first you are struck by the immense size of a cruise ship on land. You can imagine how Noah and his family must have been mocked as the original massive ship was being built miles from any body of water.

But that's only the start. I felt the real immensity of the Ark by walking through its three decks and seeing the life-size recreation of animal quarters, food and water stores. The way natural light was introduced through multiple decks and facilities to deal with human and animal waste was fascinating. Climbing and walking through the three decks was tiring. We commented about how much bigger the Ark seemed inside than out!

As we walked, many thoughts came to mind. Sometimes we might forget that the account of Noah and the ancient flood is referred to in 30 biblical passages in Genesis, 1 Chronicles, Matthew, Luke, Hebrews and 2 Peter. The New Testament writers declare contemporary lessons for mankind that are applicable now--relating to the end of this age as they did to the end of an age of mankind in its second millennium--for much the same reasons.

Some 4,000 years ago, humanity had come to a point of complete incorrigibility. Violence, misogyny and corruption topped the list. No social "reforms" were going to change anything. God "saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil" (Genesis 6:5, NLT).

What was God's reaction? "So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. And the Lord said, 'I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing--all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them'" (Gen 6:5-9, NLT).

Noah was an exception. As we read in verse 9, "Noah found favor with the Lord." God could work with him.

As the Bible shows, God did not spare the ancient world--except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of the consequences of their evil behavior and God's righteous judgment. As Peter confirms in the New Testament, God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood (2 Peter 2:5 NLT).

Noah is described in the Bible as "a preacher of righteousness." The building of the Ark parallels and reflects the modern preaching the gospel. For 100 years, people could not have helped to notice the message of not only a flood to come, but also the message of physical salvation that the Ark represented. As huge as the Ark was, it was likely THE attraction of that time spoken of by all the known world.

This is similar to today. Here's what Matthew says about the conditions before Christ's return that parallel the time of Noah:

"When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes" (Mathew 24:37-39 NLT).

Here is a thought that I ask you to consider very carefully: key elements of the account of the Ark reflect many conditions of the times we now live in. It was a message jeered and mocked, just as the message crying out about the sins of our world is ignored, even mocked, today. But, today, as in times past, a day of reckoning is surely coming.

The people of Noah's time suffered from delusion and spiritual blindness. Today, we have the sure word of our Elder Brother and soon coming King: "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life" (John 8:12, NLT).

Let us open our eyes and walk confidently "as children of light...redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5:8; Ephesians 5:15).