Update from the President

Today, Jorge de Campos and I visited the country of Panama on our way to visit our congregation in Maloca de Moscou in northern Brazil. We will spend this coming Sabbath and several days afterward with our brethren.

We flew from Cincinnati to Panama City on Wednesday. We were picked up at the airport by members José Abelardo Figueroa and his son, José Pablo Figueroa. This morning, José Pablo and his younger brother, Manuel, came by and took us to the Panama Canal locks that are about 15 minutes from there.

We continue our journey today through to Manaus, a city of two million in the Amazon. From Manaus we will fly to Boa Vista on Friday, where we will spend two nights and meet with our elder, Arlindo Lima Filho.

I have not been to this part of Brazil before. I have followed Jorge's travels to various Portuguese-speaking areas of the world. What is most interesting to me on visits such as these is getting to know our brethren, their families and their walk with God.

You can follow our journey on TravelArk at http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog/victorkubik/21 where we will include photos with our narrative. Jorge de Campos has also set up a TravelArk blog at http://v2.travelark.org/travel-blog/jorgedecampos/7. You can access both of these easily from the home page of my website, http://kubik.org.

Pastoral Development Program

The Pastoral Development Program ended yesterday, and what a wonderful event it was for all of us! Sadly, I had to bid farewell to the group a day before it ended. Home office personnel thoroughly enjoyed the company of these ten couples. Six couples came from overseas and four from the United States.

I'd like to make a few observations about this group and the program. This "new" ministry represents a markedly younger demographic in our eldership. Three of the group are not ordained. Others are in the early stages of their careers. What is so refreshing is the vision, optimism, passion, and yes, faith, of these couples. They represent what the Latin phrase describes as "Carpe Diem," meaning "pluck or seize the moment." They also look equally to the future with courage in order to serve and excel in the high calling of the ministry. Many of our sessions were interactive and we all thoroughly appreciated being able to share and learn from one another. One of the interesting highlights of each day was the "Getting to Know You" section where two of the couples would speak about 10 minutes each to tell us more about themselves, their families, their congregations and their country.

There were so many sessions that I cannot possibly describe them all here, but I'll comment on a few.

We recognize that a most important part of an elder's training is being knowledgeable of the Scriptures. We stressed the need to avail of all the services we provide for that training, whether it be Labor in the Word, Ambassador Bible College online recordings as well as continuing online bi-weekly pastoral development classes. We held a homiletics lab in which all the men gave a sermonette that was critiqued by all. Also, last Sabbath the attendees gave sermons in nearby congregations.

On Monday, a session was held for the women where the following topics were presented and discussed: The Role of the Pastor's Wife and Supporting Your Husband's Ministry; Friendships and Relationships; Blessings, Opportunities and Family; and Expectations and Criticism.

Several sessions taught by the Ministerial Education Team dealt with providing information about pastoral job expectations, teaching as you have been taught, combating common heresies, biblical apologetics, counseling instincts, financial counseling and use of social media. Virtually everyone in this group is already on Facebook or other social media. We were taught how to use it to promote our message and present a proper image of ourselves to others.

I conducted a session that resulted in a lot of discussion, entitled: "First Contact Counseling." The title suggests that our ministry may be given "leads" of people who take an interest in our proclamation message. The reality, however, is that we no longer have a line of people coming to us. We have to find them. We have to become "fishers of men."

How can we reach out in the world where we live with the spiritual treasure and pearls of great price that we have acquired? We know that God calls people, but what role do we have in engaging them? We spoke of the "ladder of involvement" that all of us have climbed from first contact with the truth to committed membership through baptism. Is the ascent unimpeded from someone's first exposure to God's way all of the way up to engagement in the congregational environment? Do we provide the rungs needed to climb this ladder? Are the rungs solid, or are some broken? If the path is not clear, a person's growth can stop.

Much discussion revolved around getting better known in the community not just by name, but by deeds. Paul Vaughan's Melbourne congregation is engaged in distributing brochures or leaflets notifying people about our presence. This is to connect with people in a disengaged world who wonder about the purpose of life and to point them to where they can find answers to those questions.

We asked, what was it in the eleventh chapter of the book of Acts caused the spike in the city of Antioch's interest in Jesus Christ?

"Then news of these things came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent out Barnabas to go as far as Antioch. When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord. For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord" (Acts 11:22-24, emphasis mine).

Twice in the sixth chapter of John, Jesus said that God the Father calls people to become followers of Jesus Christ. That call produces an interest for one to come to repentance and to accept Jesus as their personal savior through baptism and receiving the Holy Spirit as they continue their journey towards eternal life in the Kingdom of God. One vital aspect of this voyage is meeting those of the same mind. But this is often where people get derailed. We talked about the phenomenon of people coming to our services, but dropping out after a few visits. Why? Are we failing somewhere? Are they repelled by our in-speak or slow integration into our church relationships?

But, meeting with others is increasingly becoming more difficult as people feel that they don't need to meet because they can get all the information they need on the Internet. This is true in many an assemblage of churches or other service organizations. People can attend video conferences, take online classes and personally research whatever they choose—independently. They feel no need to socialize with others.

The following reasons are often given as reasons by people who stop coming to meetings:

• I don't know anyone in the new group.
• I don't have guidance as to what is going on.
• I don't feel connected to the community.

Can this be true with us? Obviously new people won't know anyone in the new group, and it's a challenge to break the ice and develop a relationship that goes beyond the first social contact at services. People who come into our meetings may not know what the meeting is for: the music, prayer, and the two messages. Also, a newbie may wonder what benefit there is to meeting and what it is they are really becoming a part of. While accepting Jesus Christ and getting to know God the Father is one thing, socializing with people you don't know may seem insurmountable.

All this and much more was part of lively discussion for these past two weeks. I'm very optimistic about the Church's future because of the people we have who are its upcoming leaders! God can certainly bless us as we prepare ourselves and our congregations for God to open the doors to more people to share the same joy and hope we have.

Let's pray for everyone's safe return to their homes. Let's pray for one another and pray as we are instructed in Matthew 6: "Thy will be done!" Let's all be growing in wisdom as to what that will is and be about doing what God the Father is calling us to do.

May the blessings of God the Father and Jesus Christ be upon you.