E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church

 
CONTINUE READING
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
The Connection                                                 SPRING 2018
                                                               ENGLISH, SPANISH AND
                                                                 FRENCH EDITION

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE EVANGELICAL METHODIST CHURCH

       The Gospel
        is about
         People
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
Education with a
                                    Christian Worldview
                                     T op
                                     15
                                                  One of Young America’s Foundation’s
                                                  CONSERVATIVE COLLEGES

      Dual Credit Program           *RESIDENTIAL UNDERGRADUATE
                                                 Ministry ba
                                             Teacher Education ba
                                                Psychology ba
                                        Government & Public Service ba
                                            *ADULT & GRADUATE
                                              Human Services aa
                                              Criminal Justice ba
Residential Undergraduate Studies
                                          Information Technology ba
                                     Dual Degree - MBA & MA in Ministry
                                    ATTEND CLASS ONSITE OR ONLINE
                                              Call Today!
                                           1-877-762-8669
                                    www.OhioChristian.edu
                                        *For a complete list of offered programs go to
    Adult & Graduate Studies         ohiochristian.edu/academics/university-admissions
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
Contents
5       General Notes                                             16       Book Review: The Emotionally
        Dr. Edward Williamson                                              Destructive Relationship
        General Superintendent                                             Ms. Leslie Vernick

6       Out of a Far Country:                                     17       OMS Spotlight
        A Gay Son’s Journey to God                                         Mrs. Mary Sutherland
        Dr. Christopher Yuan
                                                                                 18        The Power of a
8       Three Essential Ingredients                                                        Good Story
        for a Healthy Marriage                                                             Rev. Brian Gordon
        Ms. Leslie Vernick

              10      Something Greater                           20       History for the Quadrennial (2014-2018)
                      Than Marriage                                        Dr. Harold Thompson
                      Dr. Christopher Yuan
                      & Rosaria Butterfield                        22       How Much Greater is His Plan
                                                                           Mrs. Gilda Williamson
              12      Why Can’t the Pentecost
                      be Repeated?                                24       M.E.D.S. Medical Teams to
                      Rev. José Macías Flores                              Southeast Asia
                                                                           Connection Staff

14      Hildegard of Bingen:                                      26       Spanish Translation
        Abbess with a Mission
                                                                  37       French Translation

                                                    The Connection
The Connection is a publication of the      MAGAZINE STAFF                                   Printer: Country Pines, Inc., Shoals, IN
Evangelical Methodist Church.               Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Edward Williamson           SUBMISSIONS
                                            Pre-Production Editor: Ms. Deborah Mitchem       Send articles to:
International offices are located at the     Graphic Design: Rev. Nathan Williamson           Ms. Deborah Mitchem
                                            Editor: Rev. Elias P. Stinson, Jr.               dmitchem@frontier.com
Hamblen-Bruner Headquarters Building
                                            Editor: Mrs. Nancy Utt
6838 South Gray Road                                                                         ADVERTISING SALES
                                            HQ Executive Secretary: Mrs. Teresa Grove
Indianapolis, Indiana 46237                 Department of Prayer: Mrs. Gilda Williamson      publications@emchurch.org
Telephone: [317] 780-8017                   Translator: Rev. José Macías Flores, Spanish
Fax: [317] 780-8078                                                                          All quoted Scripture is from the
                                                                                             NIV Bible, 1984, unless otherwise
www.emchurch.org                                                                             noted.
publications@emchurch.org

                                                          MISSION
                                                           MISSION
     Connecting
     Connectingpeople
                peopleof
                       ofall
                          allcultures
                              culturesand
                                       andpromoting
                                           promotingthe
                                                     thework
                                                        workof
                                                             ofthe
                                                                theKingdom
                                                                   Kingdomby
                                                                           bycommunicating
                                                                              communicatingour
                                                                                            ourstories
                                                                                                storiesof
                                                                                                        ofchanged
                                                                                                           changedlives.
                                                                                                                   lives.

                                                                              The Connection              SPRING 2018            3
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
32nd General Conference
April 19-23, 2018 www.emchurch.org
  Wyndham Indianapolis West, 2544 Executive Dr., Indianapolis, IN 46241

       Dr. John Oswalt     Dr. Christopher Yuan    Ms. Leslie Vernick
        Keynote Speaker         Guest Speaker        Guest Speaker

                             The Talleys
                          Saturday Night Worship

Deeper in Christ. Further in Mission.
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
GENERAL
NOTES
                 Dr. Edward Williamson
                 International General Superintendent

 The Evangelical Methodist Church is about People
   The Gospel is about people, beginning with                The Evangelical Methodist Church is about
the promise in Genesis 3:15 that Jesus (the seed        people. The church seeks to provide quality trained
of the woman) will crush death, sin and the devil       pastors who care for people. The EMC partners
(head of the serpent). Revelation 13:8 proclaims the    with other groups to address the physical needs of
provision for the salvation of people existed before    people.
our creation: “…the Lamb that was slain from the             The 32nd General Conference guest speakers
creation of the earth.” The Triune God focused on       and teachers are focusing on the needs of people,
people and their salvation, “For God so loved the       those bruised from abuse and sexual addictions
world…” John 3:16.                                      and lifestyles. The EMC is about people, for their
     Jesus affirmed this truth with the great           healing and restoration to be everything Christ died
commandment to love God with all our being and          for them to be.
our neighbors as ourself. God’s people are to love           We will celebrate in worship and receive
people.                                                 testimony of the acts of God in our midst during
     When I observe the pastor and church, both         the last four years. The ordination service will
in love with Jesus and obeying His command in           include our international conference pastors ready
the Great Commission, the anointing Presence            for ordination. Sunday evening will feature the
of the Holy Spirit operates in their congregation.      graduation ceremony for the Haggard School of
Unfortunately, I have also observed beautiful people    Ministry and the Evangelical School of Ministry.
in love with Jesus, but not in love with the Great           We, the EMC, are about people becoming
Commission. The Great Commission to share the           disciples of Christ and reproducing themselves
Gospel with everyone on earth is about people in        in reaching people who are yet to hear about the
our immediate neighborhoods and the world, they         Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Discipleship is not
fulfill the purpose of Genesis 3:15.                    to get people to heaven. It is to glorify God in all we
                                                        do and to show to the world who God is.
                                                                  The Connection          WINTER 2017       5
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
Out of a Far Country:
                                      A Gay Son’s Journey to God
                                                         By Dr. Christopher Yuan

    I had a secret that I kept hidden through high            An answered prayer
                                                              God answered her prayer the day I opened up
school, college and even the Marine Corp Reserves.
Then, when I entered graduate school, I no longer        my door to twelve federal drug enforcement agents,
kept it a secret.                                        the Atlanta police, and two big German shepherd
     I came out of the closet.                           dogs. I had just received a large shipment of drugs
     I broke the news to my parents and told them,       and was charged with the street value equivalent
“I am gay.” The news devastated my mother, who           to 9.1 tons of marijuana. With that amount, I
was not a Christian at the time. She was confused        was facing ten years to life in federal prison. I had
and angry, but God used it to draw her to himself.       started with a bright future among societies finest
Through a little pamphlet on homosexuality that          in academia and I found myself in the ditch among
shared the plan of salvation, she came to realize        societies despised in Atlanta City Detention Center.
that if God can love her in spite of her sin, then she        I called home from jail, and my mother’s
could love me, her son. Within a few months, my          first words were, “Son, are you okay?” No
father became a Christian, as well.                      condemnation, just unconditional love and grace.
                        Meanwhile, I spent most of       Romans 2:4 says, “God’s kindness leads us to
      God was                                            repentance.” Even on that miserable day, God was
                    my free time in the gay clubs
  convicting and began experimenting with                pouring out his irresistible grace and drawing me to
   me, but I drugs. Eventually, I supported              himself through the words of my mother. My mom
                                                         was actually excited to get that call because I hadn’t
 didn’t want my habit by selling drugs. I                called home in years, and she knew without a doubt
                    thought I could be a student by
  to let go of day and a drug dealer by night,           that this was God’s answer to her prayers.
   my sexual but three months before I was                    Three days later, I found a Gideon’s New
                                                         Testament on top of a heap of trash, which is what
    identity. to receive my doctorate, the               I felt like, and read through the Gospel of Mark. I
                    administration expelled me. So
I moved to Atlanta, Ga., and became a supplier to        started reading the Bible because I had an enormous
other dealers in over a dozen states. In addition, it    amount of time on my hands. But a Bible is not just
was nothing for me to have multiple anonymous            ink on paper. It is the very breath of God, sharper
sexual encounters each day.                              than any double-edged sword, and it exposed my
     My parents didn’t know the details of my life,      sin.
but they knew my greatest need was to make Jesus              A couple of weeks later I was called into the
Christ my Lord. Along with more than hundred             nurse’s office. They handcuffed me, chained my
prayer warriors, my mother began to pray, “God do        hands around my waist, and shackled my feet
whatever it takes to bring this prodigal son to you.”    together. I shuffled in and knew something wasn’t
In her desperation, my mom fasted every Monday           right. She was uncomfortably struggling with the
for seven years and once fasted 39 days on my            words to say and finally scribbled on a piece of
behalf.                                                  paper: HIV+. The days after this diagnosis were dark
                                                         and lonely. I was sentenced to six years, certainly
                                                         much better than ten years to life, but the news of
6       The Connection           SPRING 2018
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
my HIV status felt like a death sentence.               places. God did another miracle too—he shortened
     Lying in my bed one night, I noticed among the     my sentence from six years to three years, which is
profanity on the metal bunk above me, “If you’re        almost unheard of in the federal system.
bored, read Jeremiah 29:11.” “For I know the plans                                 I was released from prison in
that I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to
                                                              Our goal,
                                                                               July 2001, and I started school
prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you      as Christians, at Moody Bible Institute the
hope and a future.” At the most hopeless point in           no matter very next month. I graduated
my life, God told me that regardless of whom I was
and what I had done in the past, he still had a plan
                                                        what feelings from Moody in 2005 and
                                                                              went on to get my Master of
for me.                                                      we have, Arts in biblical exegesis from
     A gradual transformation                                must be Wheaton College Graduate
     My transformation was gradual. God was
convicting me, but I didn’t want to let go of my
                                                            holiness. School and recently received
                                                                              my Doctorate of Ministry from
sexual identity. I went through every verse and         Bethel Seminary. I also had the immense honor of
chapter of the Bible looking for the blessing of        co-authoring a book with my mother called Out
a monogamous gay relationship. I couldn’t find          of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God. A
anything. I also realized that unconditional love is    Broken Mother’s Search for Hope, and I am now
not the same thing as unconditional approval of my      back at Moody teaching in the Bible department. I
behavior.                                               went from prisoner to professor, how about that for
     My identity is not gay, ex-gay, or even            a resume?
heterosexual for that matter, but my sole identity           Christian parents of LGBT or same-sex attracted
as a child of the living God must be in Jesus Christ    children often feel alone and sometimes racked with
alone. A decision had to be made: either abandon        guilt. But, it’s not their fault. Perfect parenting does
God and pursue a gay relationship; or abandon           not guarantee perfect children. The job of Christian
pursuing a gay relationship — liberating myself         parents is not to produce godly children but to be
from my same-sex desires — and live as a follower       godly parents, love their children, and point them
of Jesus Christ. My decision was obvious. I chose       to a life of costly discipleship. Without my parents
God.                                                    living out the gospel in relationship with me, I
     I used to think that to please this Christian      would not be here. Church, let us come alongside
God, I had to become straight — I had to become         our parents and our children—no matter what sin
heterosexual — but even those with heterosexual         they’re struggling with — and point them to the
feelings still struggle with sin; that should not be    life-giving gospel of Jesus Christ.
the goal. Our goal, as Christians, no matter what
feelings we have, must be holiness. As I began to           Christopher Yuan is a graduate of Moody Bible Institute
live this life of surrender and obedience, God called   and Wheaton College Graduate School and is currently
                                                        pursuing his doctorate at Bethel seminary while teaching at
me to full-time ministry while I was in prison of all   Moody. He is an international speaker and author.

                                                                The Connection             SPRING 2018           7
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
Three Essential Ingredients
                             for a

    Healthy Marriage
                   by Ms. Leslie Vernick

    Maintaining good relationships is essential         better spouse or having a good marriage, you may
                                                        be a godly spouse but you do not have a healthy or
to our long-term well-being. Study after study
demonstrates that long-term happiness rests in          thriving marriage.
our ability to find and keep loving connection             Reciprocity means that both people in the
with one another. For example, one of the longest       relationship give and both people in the relationship
studies conducted by Harvard University confirms        receive. Power and responsibility are shared, and
what the Bible says about the importance of good        there is not a double standard where one person
relationships.                                          gets all the goodies in the relationship while the
  (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/11/            other person sacrificially does most of the work.
how-this-harvard-psycholo_n_3727229.html )              The apostle Paul validates reciprocity when he
  But what has gone wrong? Many seem to find            gives guidelines about how to give our resources
love, but have trouble keeping it. Why? Because         sacrificially but not foolishly. He writes, “For I
we argue and fight. We expect to get all of our         do not mean that others should be eased and you
needs met from our spouse and have unrealistic          burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your
expectations of marriage. We want our way and           abundance at the present time should supply their
don’t get it. We get hurt and say ugly hurtful things   need, so that their abundance may supply your
in response. Our pride and selfishness get in the       need, that there may be fairness” (2 Corinthians
way and our relationships get damaged.                  8:13-14 ESV).
  Let’s look at three foundational ingredients             There may be seasons in every marriage where
necessary for a marriage to thrive.                     one person gives more than the other due to
                                                        illness, incapacity or other problems but when
    Essentials to Thriving Relationships:               that happens, as soon as the individual is capable,
                                                        the relationship is rebalanced and power and
  Mutuality means that both individuals                 responsibility are again mutually shared.
contribute honesty, caring, respect, responsibility        Freedom means that in your marriage you are           C

and repentance, which are qualities essential for the   allowed to make choices, to give input, and to           M

care, maintenance and repair of the marriage. In a      express your feelings without fear of being badgered,    Y

thriving marriage, both individuals make efforts to     manipulated and punished. When freedom is               CM

grow and change for the welfare of the other and        present, we’re not afraid to be ourselves nor are we    MY

the preservation of their relationship.                 pressured to become something we’re not.                CY

  The apostle Paul emphasized mutuality                    Freedom is an essential component in all healthy     CMY

throughout his teaching on marriage. Husbands           adult relationships. We’ve all witnessed the results     K

and wives may have different roles and                  in world history, in fundamentalist religious
responsibilities, but he calls both to mutually         groups and in families where freedom is squashed.
fulfill them. When you are the only one in your         Members are not free to question, to challenge,
marriage caring, repenting, being respectful and        to think differently than the group. They are not
honest, sacrificing and working toward being a          free to grow or to be themselves without fear of
                                                        retaliation. Instead they have to do and say and be
8        The Connection         SPRING 2018
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
what the group or person in charge tells them. That               freedom present? If not, what can you do to start
 is not healthy nor is it God’s plan.                              the change process?
    Although God wants unity in a family and in the
 family of God, He created great diversity. We are
                                                                                            Ms. Vernick is a licensed clinical
 to be ourselves and be of one mind all at the same
                                                                                      social worker with a private counseling
 time. This one mind idea doesn’t mean melding                                           practice, has authored numerous
 ourselves into the desires or demands of another                                       books, including the popular How
 individual, but together living for a common                                          to Act Right When Your Spouse Acts
 purpose and goal, the Kingdom and glory of God.                                       Wrong. She completed postgraduate
                                                                                          work in biblical counseling and
    Take some time to check on the status of your
                                                                                                 cognitive therapy.
 marriage today. Are mutuality, reciprocity and

                                          “WHAT IS EMOTIONAL ABUSE?
                                    Whenever I do a radio or television interview on the topic of emotionally
                                  destructive relationships, the moderator always says something like, “We all do
                                  hurtful things at times to people. We all make mistakes and do or say things we
                                  regret. When is the line crossed? When does it become destructive? How do you
                                  define emotional abuse?”
                                    Emotional abuse systematically degrades, diminishes, and can eventually destroy
                                  the personhood of the abused. Most people describe emotional abuse as being far
                                  more painful and traumatic than physical abuse.”
                                                                                                        Excerpt From
   EMC Degree AD.pdf   1   10/22/17  12:37 PM                                   The Emotionally Destructive Marriage
                                                                                                        Leslie Vernick

   Making disciples for the transformation of the world?
             Get the tools you need at WBS.

                 DEGREES OFFERED
    Master of Arts in Apologetics       Master of Divinity in General Ministry
Master of Arts in Biblical Literature   Master of Divinity: Biblical Languages
Master of Arts in Christian Studies     Master of Divinity: Honors Research
        Master of Arts in Theology      Master of Divinity: Teaching

            On campus, online, and Zoom class options
             Spring application deadline: December 1
                Fall application deadline: August 1

CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION!
787 E. Northside Drive | Suite B | P.O. Box 9938 |
Jackson, Mississippi 39286 | (601) 366-8880 | wbs.edu
E Gospel is about People - The Connection - Evangelical Methodist Church
Something                                                 Marriage
                                                  greater than
             A Response to the SCOTUS Decision by Dr. Christopher Yuan and Rosaria Butterfield

    The Supreme Court of the United States of           in power and majesty, and one day, every knee will
                                                        bow and every tongue will confess Him.
America has made gay marriage legal in all 50 states,
and much of our country celebrates. The world with          We affirm that God has ordained marriage to
its rainbow flags waving proudly and plentifully was    be the union of a husband and a wife, which Jesus
our world. We locked arms with our LGBT loved           Himself restated in Mark 10:6-8 and Matthew 19:4-
ones and friends and believed that they were truly      5. But even though some in our culture believe as
and honestly our family of choice.                      Justice Kennedy wrote, that marriage “embodies the
     This is the world that we, Christopher and         highest ideals of love,” we disagree. Earthly marriage
Rosaria, helped build, a world pursuing dignity and     does not have a monopoly on love. God is love (1
equality. The people you see celebrating the recent     John 4:7-19). The pinnacle of love is God’s love for
SCOTUS decision to redefine marriage (and with          us in Christ. Nothing is greater than that.
marriage, personhood) would have been us, not
very long ago.                                                Mystery and Reflection
                         In 1999, when Jesus Christ          In actuality, marriage is a mystery and a
         The         revealed His saving grace and      reflection of a greater reality. Truly, the highest ideal
                                                        of love is Christ’s love for his bride, the Church.
 pinnacle of love to each of us, we learned             In Ephesians 5 and Revelation 21, marriage is
love is God’s that        our unbelief, and the
                     idolatrous sexual lusts that       analogous to Christ’s redemption: the marriage
  love for us flowed from it, were no longer            consummation between the bride (redeemed
                                                        sinners) and the Groom (Christ) shows that all
  in Christ. matters of personal choice. We             redeemed people are married to Christ. Only in
  Nothing is accepted          that following Jesus
                     meant giving up everything.        Christ can anyone experience the full definition
greater than We understood that repentance              of love and acceptance. As important as earthly
                                                        marriage and family are, they are both fleetingly
      that.          meant fleeing from anything
                                                        temporary, while Christ and the family of God (the
                     that embodied the temptations
that we knew best and loved most. But even prior        Church) are wondrously eternal.
to our conversion to Christ, God provided the love           We have failed to show the LGBT community
and care of Christians, people who became for us a      another option to marriage, which is singleness,
new family, new brothers and sisters and mothers        lived out in the fruitful and full context of God’s
and fathers in Christ, who knew and loved us before     community, the family of God. This does not
we were safe to love. Christians loved, accepted,       mean as Justice Kennedy wrote that singles are
included and surrounded us with biblical truth          “condemned to live in loneliness,” but that singles
while we were still sinners, thus modeling the Lord     can have intimate and fulfilling relationships full of
Himself. Therefore, when the Holy Spirit changed        love. This is not a consolation prize. It can be just as
our hearts, we came to know this: the gospel is         rewarding and fulfilling as marriage.
costly and worth it.                                         Defining marriage as being between a husband
     The days after the Supreme Court’s ruling are      and a wife appears unfair to the LGBT community,
like the days before it: God is seated on His throne    in part because a life of singleness is viewed to
                                                        be crushingly lonely. Have we in the Church
10      The Connection          SPRING 2018
inadvertently played into that lie with our idolatry    and caring more for unborn babies and for women
of marriage while being pejorative and silent toward    with unplanned pregnancies just as they were, a shift
singleness? If singleness is unfair, then it is no      in focus brought about an important change. The
wonder that marriage has become a right. Just as the    question stands: will we begin caring for the LGBT
LGBT community appealed to the rest of the world        community just as they are?
for dignity and respect, it is time for the Church to        This is a defining moment in history. We have
fight for the dignity and respect of single women       a faithful opportunity to shine for the gospel. Will
and single men.                                         we point people to marriage as the “highest ideal
                                                        of love”? Or will we point people, whether married
    Defining Moment                                     or single, to a life of costly discipleship pursuing
    Some are now comparing the Supreme Court’s          the embodiment of love, Jesus Christ Himself? The
decision on gay marriage with the 1973 Roe v.           decision is ours to make.
Wade decision on abortion. There is an important
lesson for us to learn from the pro-life movement.          In Christ’s love,
Today, there are more pro-life millennials than             Dr. Christopher Yuan and Rosaria Butterfield
others from previous generations who champion               Lovingly endorsed by our families:
pro-life. When pro-life people, made up of more             Kent Butterfield, and Leon and Angela Yuan
                                                            rosariabutterfield.com
than just evangelical Christians, began fighting less       christopheryuan.com - twitter.com/christopheryuan - facebook.com/christopheryuan

                                                                   The Connection                             SPRING 2018                      11
Why can’t the Pentecost be repeated?
                                        by Rev. José Macías Flores
   The people of God left Egypt about 1500 BC.            Mount Sinai was fifty days. Upon arriving at Mount
It happened on the first moon of spring, in Nisan,        Sinai, God gave them the Ten Commandments.
the first month of the year. On the tenth day the         From the sacrifice of the lamb until the giving of the
lamb was chosen and kept until the fourteenth day,        law was counted as the fiftieth day or Pentecost.
the day the lamb was to be sacrificed between the            On the first Passover, the blood of the lamb was
two afternoons. Since the Jewish month begins with        shed and the sacrifice was consumed in its entirety;
the line of the new moon, and with the testimony          what remained of it was to be burned in the fire.
of two witnesses who saw the moon, it was declared        The spilled blood was placed on the two posts and
that the new month had begun. By the fourteenth           lintels of the houses. The protection was secure since
day there was full moon, which facilitated the            it will be a sign, said God, “… and when I see the
departure of the Israelites on that night. Every year     blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not
Easter is on a different date, as it depends on the       be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of
moon. On that night, the Lord said to them that           Egypt” (Exodus 12:13 NKJV).
they should eat a lamb without blemish, a male of            When God gave the law, there were four very
a year old, and you will eat it thus, said the Lord,      important elements; first, there was thundering and
“…with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your         lightning at the top of the mountain. There was
feet, and your staff in your hand. So, you shall eat it   fire and the law was received on stone tablets. At
in haste. It is the Lord´s Passover” (Exodus 12:11).      that moment Judaism was born. One thousand five
The journey from the land of Goshen in Egypt to           hundred years later, on the first moon of spring, the

12      The Connection           SPRING 2018
Lamb of God was sacrificed, His blood shed, “And         thundering trumpet-like noise that was hard to
according to the law almost all things are purified      bear (Exodus 19: 18-19). At Pentecost, the thunder
with blood, and without shedding of blood there is       covered the city and the crowd gathered to see what
no remission” (Hebrews 9:22. NKJV).                      had happened (Acts 2: 26). At Sinai, God gave the
  Why did our Lord have to go through a violent          law written on tablets of stone. At Pentecost God
death? Why so much suffering, beatings, insults,         gave the law written on the hearts of men.
wounds and finally death? Why didn’t He die by              With the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost,
a single blow to His head or pierced by a spear?         the relationship with God ceased to be external,
Apart from demonstrating His will and love by            written in stone, but now our relationship is
dying for us, His sacrifice had to be complete, He       personal. It is no longer based on works but on a
had to go through the fire in its totality. He allowed   personal relationship with the Lord.
them to jerk His beard (Isaiah 50: 6), let them give        Why can’t we repeat the
Him 39 lashes with a whip called the cat with nine       Pentecost of Acts, chapter 2?
                                                                                           The similarity
tails, strips of leather with bone or metal on the       Because there are only two           between
tip (Matthew 27:26); to be beaten in His face, to        covenants of God with man.
be spat upon and made fun of. His sacrifice was          The covenant under the law
                                                                                           Mount Sinai
complete. It was no coincidence that the Lamb            was completed at Calvary, and the Upper
of God was slain on Friday, “between the two             ending salvation by works.
evenings.” While inside the temple in Jerusalem, the     At Pentecost He began the
                                                                                              Room is
blood of hundreds of sacrifices was shed. Outside        covenant of grace. It was the remarkable.
the city, at exactly the same time, the blood of the     inaugural entrance of the
Lord was shed as well.                                   Holy Spirit. Although in the Old Testament He was
  On the fiftieth day after the death of the Lamb        present in special times, in special people, and with
of God at Pentecost, four very important elements        special purposes, He now came to dwell with men
happened, as the Disciples in the Upper Room             in an intimate, personal and permanent relationship
were seated: flames of fire appeared on their heads,     (Acts 2:17).
there was a great noise that moved the city and at          The Lord’s command, at the first Passover,
that moment the Spirit was poured out upon the           was to be celebrated perpetually. So, we must
disciples. At that moment Christianity began. The        do it. Celebrate the Passover with thanksgiving,
new covenant of God with men, based on grace,            for it contains the atoning sacrifice of our Lord,
began; not on tablets of stone, but written on the       an historic event worthy of commemoration
tablets of the heart.                                    and appreciation. “So, this day shall be to you a
  The similarity between Mount Sinai and the             memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the
Upper Room is remarkable. In both events there           Lord throughout your generations. You shall keep
was fire, a great noise, a new law given and the         it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance” (Exodus
beginning of Judaism in one and of Christianity in       12:14 NKJV).
the other. At Mount Sinai the fire was at the top
of the mountain, at Pentecost the fire was on the          Jose Macias Flores is currently pastoring unreached tribal
                                                         groups in Sonora, Mexico.
heads of the disciples. At Sinai there was a great

                                                                  The Connection             SPRING 2018        13
Hildegard
                                                                             of Bingen:
                                                                                Abbess
                                                                                 with a
                                                                                Mission
                                                                                   by Mrs. Nancy Utt

    T    he little girl, who would become known              At 42 years of age, she felt God’s hand heavy
in Church history as Hildegard of Bingen, was            upon her. She began to overcome her reluctance to
born into medieval Europe when the Roman                 speak out, having begun to experience numerous
Catholic Church held sway in most aspects of life.       visions and receiving a direct command from God
During this time, men were the absolute authority        to act on these visions. She proceeded to share her
over women. Nonetheless, in the tradition of the         experiences with her spiritual advisor, the Monk
Apostle Paul who called to account the leaders and       Volmar, who was impressed with her experiences.
congregations of the early churches through his          He told the Church authorities, who gave her
pastoral letters and missionary visits, Hildegard of     permission to begin keeping a record of her visions.
Bingen’s letters would become her principal means        Famous churchmen like Pope Eugenius, Archbishop
of influence. Though a 1000 years later, Hildegard       Philip of Cologne and Bernard of Clairvaux, lent
became the voice of accountability for the hierarchy     their endorsements, which caused the Church to
of her society in both the sacred and secular spheres    look to Hildegard as a prophetess. As a result, her
of life.                                                 wisdom was sought by many.
     Born around 1098 to a German nobleman                   Convinced that her wisdom came directly
and his wife, Hildegard was put into a cell for          from God, Hildegard shared her counsel in letters
religious contemplation with her reclusive Aunt          with the many people who sought her wisdom
Jutta of Spanheim. This was not unusual for              and advice. The hundreds of letters she wrote to
a child exhibiting special spiritual insight and         high-born and low-born alike, including kings and
characteristics, having herself seen her first vision    emperors, bishops, priests and abbesses, contained
before the age of five. Fortunately, Aunt Jutta was      advice, prophecies and sometimes, severe warnings
a mystic in her own right who attracted many             about the life styles and personal behavior of the
others to join her in the contemplative life. From       recipients. She wrote to the city of Mainz, warning
this small cell, Hildegard became a nun at age 14        the officials to stop tolerating heretics in their
in the convent in Mainz, Germany. She remained           society before their “city [should] perish.” To an
as assistant to Jutta until becoming abbess at Jutta’s   abbot she wrote a scathing criticism that he was,
death in 1136.                                           “foolish to delve into other people’s private affairs
14      The Connection          WINTER 2017
without amending his own life” (paraphrase). The         Hildegard composed seventy vocal works which
Bishop of Prague did not escape her warning that he      were rediscovered in the 1980’s. Since then, some
should, “not flee from the light or shun it because of   of these works have been recorded. Not only did
the severity of your sins.”                              she compose the music for all these works, but she
    Over the span of her life’s work, Hildegard          wrote her own lyrics as well. Her love and hunger
influenced and recruited many women for her              for Christ was revealed in the music and lyrics that
convent until the society became so large a new          poured out of her.
convent had to be built. It was here, at Rupertsberg         Twenty-two years before her death, Hildegard
near Bingen, Germany, that she became known              embarked on her final career as preacher and teacher
as Hildegard of Bingen. Around 1141, she                 to the most influential men in the Church. The
began to write and produced several books and            respect she had gained as Hildegard of Bingen
illuminations about her wide-awake visions. Her          enabled her to speak to corruption in the Church
works included many varieties of medical lore and        and its need for cleansing,. She called to account
treatments used in monasteries and convents in that      the clergy guilty of “lukewarm and sluggish” service
period; diagnoses of mental and physical illnesses,      to God’s justice, and negligence in expounding
including diagnostic methods. The natural science        the Scripture. When she died in 1179 at the age of
encyclopedia entitled, “Physica,” made her one of        eighty-two, she had pushed the limits of restrictions
the top naturalists of her day. She even challenged      on women during the middle ages by seizing her
her male counterparts by writing in Latin, the           opportunities to become one of the most influential
language of educated men, without having been            women in God’s service during the medieval era.
trained in it.
    One of Hildegard’s most notable contributions           Mrs. Nancy Utt is an editor for the Connection
                                                         Magazine and lives in Morgantown, WV with her husband
to the Church was her astounding collection of           Ronnie.
hymns and singing responses to be used in worship
services. She wrote the first morality play set to
music, probably to be used at the dedication
of her new abbey in 1150. Over her lifetime,
                                                                The Connection          WINTER 2017        15
Book Review:                                Author Leslie Vernick introduces her book
                                                   by setting the stage with a glimpse into her own
             The Emotionally
           Destructive
                                                   experience of living in a toxic environment and
                                                   experiencing a long-term emotionally destructive
                                                   relationship. She refers back to her own experiences
                                                   upon occasion in the material that draws largely
                                                   from her clinical experience as a social worker,
             Relationship                          tending to personalize her subject matter in a most
              by Mrs. Nancy Utt &                  helpful way.
              Ms. Deborah Mitchem                        The book is divided into three parts: Seeing
                                                   It, Stopping It and Surviving It. Part One
                                                   defines the relationship as characterized by abuse
                                                   (physical, emotional or verbal), overprotection and
                                                   overbearingness, overdependence, lying (deceit)
                                                   and/or indifference and neglect. She points out
                                                   that because all people sin, all of us are capable
                                                   of committing destructive acts in any of our
                                                   relationships. But what makes these sinful acts
                                                   destructive in the long term is “their repetitive
                                                   pattern, lack of awareness and remorse (on the part
                                                   of the perpetrator) and the absence of change in
                                                   behavior.”
                                                         She addresses the foundational elements
                                                   necessary for relationships to flourish, i.e.
                                                   commitment, integrity and mutual respect, and
                         by Angela Chandler   Communications Department One Mission Society
                                                   then follows with a questionnaire to be applied
                                                   to any relationship as an assessment tool. She also
                                                   cites the consequences and specific effects of these
                                                   relationships on all people involved in them: self
                                                   and others. This section also identifies attitudes of
                                                   the heart: pride, anger, envy, selfishness, laziness,
                                                   evil and fear, all of which can cause emotional and
                                                   physical destruction in our relationships.
                                                         Part Two deals with the elements of identifying
                                                   the problems, facing the realities involved and
                                                   learning what avenues can be taken to affect change
                                                   in oneself and the other person in the relationship.
                                                   In this section in particular, the author uses
                                                   scripture to explore biblical truth about authority,
                                                   headship and submission. She explores the choices
                                                   available to victims in light of their identity in
                                                   Christ, and encourages victims to take action by
                                                   speaking up and using their voices to advocate for
                                                   themselves.
                                                         In section three, Surviving It, our view of God,

16   The Connection   SPRING 2018
our relationship with God, and how we see ourselves                                 and releasing negative emotion. Finally Ms. Vernick
       is addressed. According to Ms. Vernick these                                        closes with several tools to sustain the person who
       concepts and beliefs are foundational to our healing                                finds themselves on the road to healing.
       which flows from our relationship with God.                                             Throughout these three sections, the author
       The relational healing for victims of destructive                                   richly infuses biblical references to help victims see
       relationships is found in an abiding relationship                                   not only destructive behaviors involved in their
       with God who tells us “Remain in my love” (John                                     relationships, their own and others, but to learn that
       15:9). She states that “one purpose of the church                                   they have a right to become the persons God made
       is to promote interpersonal and individual healing                                  them to be and how to make that happen. There
       as we learn to love one another” and that healing                                   virtually is no situation or destructive behavior dealt
       our identity is rooted in understanding who God                                     with in these chapters that is not described and
       says we are rather than our perception of who we                                    treated in the Word of God.
       are or even who others say we are. True healing is
       the result of living a holy life in the identity God
       gives us. She addresses our own expectations and                                                              Ms. Vernick is a licensed clinical
       the process of letting go of our beliefs of what we                                                     social worker with a private counseling
                                                                                                                  practice, has authored numerous
       are entitled to in any relationship. Without moving
                                                                                                                 books, including the popular How
       away from this dream-like vision of how the people                                                       to Act Right When Your Spouse Acts
       in our lives should treat, us we will not be able to                                                     Wrong. She completed postgraduate
       move on to healthier relationships. The author looks                                                        work in biblical counseling and
       at forgiveness, identifying the lies we tell ourselves                                                             cognitive therapy.

One Mission Society Partnership Spotlight: Mary Sutherland by Angela Chandler

                      Mary Sutherland, along with her husband Bob, first served with
                   One Mission Society in Colombia, teaching at the Cristalina Vocational
                   Bible Institute from 1964 to 1980. They then served at the Bible Institute
                 in Carboncillo, Ecuador; in Garagoa, Colombia; at the Biblical Seminary in
Medellin, Colombia; at Rock of Horeb camp in Spain; and finally in Saraguro, Ecuador, until
1998. Through the years, Mary’s ministry involved teaching, home schooling their children,
leading women’s Bible studies, and doing handcrafts. She was also a wonderful hostess and
prepared many meals. All through their years of missionary service, the Evangelical Methodist
Church encouraged and supported them prayerfully and financially.
    Today, Mary serves on extended missionary service with the Missionary Care team after more
than 40 years of full-time service. Her responsibilities include writing letters of inspiration to OMS
missionaries worldwide, both current and retired.
    She manages to serve Jesus in the midst of physical pain. Steve Christner, the director of OMS
Missionary Care, says, “It is amazing how focused Mary is on Jesus.” Even in the midst of her
limitations due to back problems, she continues to trust the Lord. She wants God to use her life
so that his will is complete, and she desires “to be faithful until the end.”

                                             One Mission Society is an evangelical, interdenomina-
                                             tional faith mission that makes disciples of Jesus Christ
through intentional evangelism, planting churches, and training national leaders in Africa, Asia, the
Caribbean, the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.
The Power of a

  There is power in a good story. The greatest            The story was becomes the arrow that
books or movies are considered great because the                           points the way to the
story grips you and draws you in. I’ve always been       never the point. cross.
a sucker for a great story. I love to be moved by         The story was At Riverside EMC, we
a good book, and to experience the breadth of                             recently put that concept
emotions a great movie can evoke. Apparently              the vehicle we to work in a series of
the majority of Americans agree with me, since             rode to get to messages and events we
according to a 2016 poll, 64% of Americans see at                         called “Riverside at the
least one movie in a theater each year.1 More than           the point. Movies.” Early in 2017,
55% of Americans regularly watch movies and              I gave our talented team of artists and decorators
TV shows on Netflix.2 And get this: the average          a list of five family friendly movies (6 including
American watches over 5 hours of TV a day!3 And          an alternative option for smaller kids, because one
that is in addition to time spent at the movies or       movie had a few intense scenes) along with the
watching Netflix. Statistically speaking, movie          biblical point the movie would be illustrating. We
attendance and TV watching are fairly evenly             recruited actors for character meet and greets and
divided across all ages, genders and races.4 In short,   began to heavily promote “At the Movies” as a fall
we all love a good story!                                outreach event.
         Jesus certainly understood our penchant           In early September, our artists transformed
for a good story. He often told stories to engage        our lobby into a movie theater theme, including
his audience, using themes and ideas they knew           concessions and a red carpet area for character meet
well. How quickly can you recall the parable of the      and greets. The sanctuary was decorated to fit the
prodigal son? What emotion does the parable of           movie and message theme for that week. Saturday
the lost sheep evoke? How amazingly vivid is the         nights were movie nights, and on Sundays we used
picture Jesus paints in his parable of the rich man      clips from the movie to illustrate the message. We
and Lazarus? Pastors, youth pastors and teachers         developed a complimentary series of messages
need to be aware of the power of a good story to         for our children’s ministry so that parents and
engage an audience. We use the story to grab the         their children could discuss the message together
audience’s attention, and then the point of the story    throughout the week.

18      The Connection           SPRING 2018
a Good Story.  b y R e v. B r i a n G o r d o n

   What did we learn? Snow White taught us about         people together for fun and fellowship. It was an
 the subtlety of temptation, and the power of God to     easy outreach opportunity. And it was something
 break the curse of sin. A certain ice princess named    families could do together.
 Elsa taught us about the danger of self-reliance and      A quick note for your information. Anytime
 the transformational power of God’s love. Pirates       you show movies in a public setting you must
 taught us about the power of greed. A beast and his     have a video license to do so. They are available
 beauty taught us about the danger of pride. Luke        through Church Video Licensing International.5
 Skywalker taught us how to respond when we are          You also can not charge a fee for admittance.
 faced with a crisis of faith.                           Most major studios do not allow the use of their
   Is there danger in doing a series of messages like    characters or specific movie titles to be used in
 this? Sure there is, if the point of the message gets   outside advertising, which includes social media.
 lost in the gimmick of the presentation. We were        We published the specific movies in our bulletins
 careful to make sure the story was the arrow that       and internal advertising, but used general terms in
 pointed the way to the cross. The story was never       outside advertising and social media posts.
 the point. The story was the vehicle we rode to get
 to the point. We simply used language and visuals         Rev. Brian Gordon has been the Senior Pastor at Riverside
                                                         EMC in Salem, VA for 11 years. He has chaired the Board
 people understand (movies) in the same way Jesus        of Youth and Children’s Ministries since 2010. He is
 used the power of the story to make his point. After    married to Beth, and is the dad to Hannah and Micah.
 the first week someone said, “Pastor, I’ll never look
                                                         1
 at Snow White the same again. And when I think             https://www.statista.com/statistics/264396/frequency-of-
 about temptation, I’ll remember that it looks good      going-to-the-movies-in-the-us/
                                                          2
 on the outside, but it’s rotten underneath.” That          http://www.businessinsider.com/percent-of-americans-
 statement led me to begin planning another series       who-watch-netflix-amazon-youtube-2017-4
                                                         3
 for 2018.                                                  https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/business/media/
   Was the effort we put into the series worth it?       nielsen-survey-media-viewing.html
                                                         4
 Absolutely! We saw as much as a 25% increase               https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2011/04/26/who-
 in attendance during the series, which included         watches-movies/
                                                         5
 many first-time visitors. The movie nights brought         http://us.cvli.com/

                                                                 The Connection              SPRING 2018         19
History for the Quadrennium (2014-2018)
  Please allow me a moment of personal observation     the desired connectedness, and the churches and
before getting into the Executive Summary. I           pastors lost ownership and connectivity with their
have served in the Evangelical Methodist Church        brothers and sisters in their local churches.
denomination since 1972 on various boards and            The pastors and local churches asked for changes
committees, both on the district level and general     to renew what they loved in being connected.
church level. God has graciously saved and             The Discipline revisions are the required revisions
sanctified me and given me the privilege to serve      necessary to bring about this change. These are the
Him at home and abroad. And I will tell you            points:
that if God can save a Marine, a truck driver and        • The first priority returns the decision making
a barroom brawler, He can save anyone who will               for strategies, budgets, and reporting to the
come to Him through Jesus Christ. He allowed me              local pastors and church members.
to pastor for twenty-two years at Gibsonville, EMC;      • The one USA Conference unification of the
allowed me to be a superintendent for eighteen               general boards remains the same.
years, and after a brief six-month retirement, has       • The USA Conference divides into a self-
allowed me to re-enter the ministry with renewed             determining Eastern and Western Conference.
energy and zeal to serve Him until my breath is              The revisions include nominating a conference
gone.                                                        superintendent and creating assistant
  Dr. Williamson was elected for a second term as            superintendent positions and committees as
the general superintendent in 2002 and challenged            desired.
the superintendents to focus and identify the growth     • Each Conference will determine the site for
inhibitors in our denominational structure. The              its conference office and the residence for the
30-year experiment, beginning in 1976, with what             superintendent and set its budget working
started with nine separate districts replacing the           with the General Board of Finance.
Eastern and Western Annual Conferences, had not          • A return to our former districts, whose
produced the expected growth and connectedness to            strength was a reflection of their specific
one another.                                                 culture in their part of the country and gave
  The next step toward returning to the Eastern              ownership to people and pastors. It produced
and Western Annual Conference was the single                 faithful attendance at youth camps, etc., for
USA Conference with regions and three to four                their area of the country.
conference superintendents. The positive result was      • The Annual Conference will meet yearly as
the unifying of the general boards as one group for          the Annual Conference (Journey), receiving
the USA Conference. Our regions failed to bring              financial and pastoral reports and setting

20     The Connection          SPRING 2018
INTERNATIONAL GENERAL CONFERENCE

           INTERNATIONAL                        GENERAL                          INTERNATIONAL
       GENERAL SUPERINTENDENT                   COUNCIL                            CONFERENCE

           GENERAL BOARDS

           USA CONFERENCE                                                USA                       A.C.E.

                                                                           MEXICO           MYANMAR

         WESTERN    EASTERN
                                                                                    ASIA PACIFIC
         DISTRICT   DISTRICT

                                                                  * A.C.E. stands for African, Canada, & Europe

     strategies for church health. The annual         me to live and serve in His kingdom. My spiritual
     ordination service is celebrated in the Annual   home has consisted entirely of the Evangelical
     Conference every year, except when it is the     Methodist Church. I was born again and anew into
     year for the General Conference.                 the EMC, and I will be EMC until He calls me
  • The first thirty years used our historic          home. And I will have lived with but one regret,
     Methodist structure that allows the formation    that I could not have done more to bring others into
     of districts within the Annual Conference,       the kingdom and to expand the borders of the EMC
     when required by growth. I experienced this      further. May God bless and keep all of you in His
     model and believe it is the best with our one    perfect peace, and supply all your needs according
     change from those years being the unification    to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
     of the general boards.
  God has allowed me to meet brothers and sisters         Dr. Harold Thompson,
in Christ that I would never have known apart from        Conference Superintendent Emeritus
Him. I have enjoyed every moment He has allowed           Pastor of White Hall EMC,
                                                          Chair of the Board of Discipline Revision.

                                                              The Connection              SPRING 2018       21
How Much Greater is His Plan!
                      by Mrs. Gilda Williamson
                        Department of Prayer

22   The Connection   SPRING 2018
P    ersecuted Christians in Myanmar are in
urgent need of our prayers. Some villages are
                                                       do not personally own themselves, yet they readily
                                                       wish to give them away in testimony you can see,
closing their churches to avoid opposition from the    the sacrifice is stronger. Their prayer is that the
government, heavily influenced by the Buddhist         baggies will offer a means for positive interaction
community. They continue to worship in house           between themselves and their Buddhist neighbors.
churches while construction of Christian education
centers, churches and water wells are halted due to
the strained relations between the Buddhists and
Christians throughout Myanmar. The Buddhists see
many villages converting to Christianity and fear
they are losing their country’s Buddhist traditions
to another religion. Therefore, they have used
their influence within the government as a means
to interfere with building permits and freedom of
Christian worship.
  In Kungyangon, the construction of the EMC
Learning Center has been halted twice now,
through the stirring up of the people in the village
by Buddhists priests. The EMC churches in Yangon         To give away what you do not personally own
will visit the villages in the Kungyangon region to    yourself is God’s love in its purest form. This
distribute the PACKS first aid and hygiene bags.       outpouring of God’s love from the persecuted
They will pray with those who allow the Christians     Myanmar Christians reminds us of the persecution
to pray for them. Following this delivery of love,     of our savior Jesus Christ and the immense love
displaying the benefits of having the church in the    God showed to us as His Son died on the cross
village, the construction is expected to resume.       for our sins and our salvation. Sometimes when
                                                       God presents a task, we fulfill it, thinking there is
                                                       one goal, while His plans are far more than we can
                                                       humanly imagine (Ephesians 3:20). So is the case of
                                                       the EMC’s newly formed PACKS Ministry. Please
                                                       join us in praying that the gifting of the baggies will
                                                       begin a positive interaction between the Christians
                                                       and their Buddhist neighbors that will create a
                                                       foundation for opening hearts to receive the plan of
                                                       salvation.
                                                         We encourage you to have a particular prayer
                                                       time. As the need is great, you may wish to ask your
                                                       congregation or life group to sign up for specific
                                                       times to pray so that we are lifting Myanmar up
                                                       in prayer hourly throughout this crucial time. We
  Among these dire circumstances, God has              will be sharing the days to pray as our EMC church
challenged the Myanmar Christians to go further in     people enter the villages with the PACKS. Please
the testimony of their Christian God’s love. These     commit to pray daily for Myanmar and all those
persecuted Christians will give the gift initially     persecuted for their Christian beliefs. Pray nothing
intended for themselves, the PACKS baggies, to         stands in the way of furthering God’s Kingdom, and
the very people who are harassing them for their       that we all remember that God commanded us to
Christian faith. When you realize these are simple     “Treat thy neighbor as thy self ”; always doing unto
items such as a toothbrush or washcloth that most      others as we would do for ourselves.

                                                              The Connection           SPRING 2018       23
M . edical E . vangelical

24   The Connection   SPRING 2018
l   D . ental S . ervices
               Medical Teams to Southeast Asia

     T     he first EMC medical dental mission trip to     team pointed out, the MEDS and USA Team broke
    Myanmar was successful, thanks to the experienced      through the 10/40 window by offering medical care
    Philippines MEDS Team, founded eleven years            to those in need.
    ago by Provisional General Superintendent of             There was not a minute wasted in either country
    the Asia Pacific Conference Jun Mateo and his          with every day filled with health screenings, vision
    wife, Marlene. Beginning with training volunteers      and dentistry examinations along with prayer and
    from the USA Conference in their bi-annual             the sharing of testimonies concluding in nightly
    MEDS medical mission in the Philippines, the           worship services. The final stop in the Philippines
    combined MEDS and USA volunteers traveled              included a joint service with all of the Metro
    on to Myanmar for the EMC’s first medical              Manila churches. It had begun with a four hour
    mission. Pastor Jun Mateo coordinated both events      bus ride, followed by an hour long ferry trip where
    while Marlene Mateo, a registered nurse, ordered       they supplied medical care to the tribal people of
    medicine and supervised the pharmacy. Physicians       Mindoro, Philippines. Laurie Mackey served as
    serving both countries were from the MEDS Team:        a nurse, Lisa Walker served as a dental assistant
    Dr. Camille Avancena Habacon, Dr. Eleanor              and Bill Walker helped the doctors. Pastor David
    Alarcon, and Dr. Ryan Rhinehard Neola. USA             Hayes assisted in prayer and ministry. They were
    participants included Rev. Bill and Lisa Walker        expecting 1000 people to attend the clinics, and
    (EMC World Missions), Pastor David Hayes, RN           Lisa posted in two days alone she assisted with 200
    Lorrie Mackey and General Superintendent Dr. Ed        tooth extractions. In another area, Bill assisted with
    Williamson and his wife, Gilda.                        passing out well over 250 sets of eyeglasses!
      Marlene Mateo reported the three day medical           In Myanmar, Dr. Ed assisted in the chapel and
    mission at the EMC headquarters in Tahan,              pharmacy while Gilda worked with vision screening.
    Myanmar, included medical checkups, diabetes/          The eye test, designed by Rev. Jun Mateo, consisted
    hypertension screening, dental consultations and       of reading John 3:16 in different font sizes in the
    extractions, free eyeglasses, free medication and      Burmese language. The team said the Buddhists
    prayer counseling along with teaching and sharing      were provided clear vision physically and spiritually
    of testimonies. The total number of Myanmar            by continually being exposed to the Word of God.
    patients seen was over 650. The majority were             Future plans are to have the EMC medical dental
    Buddhist from the Tahan and Kalaymo areas who          mission in the Philippines in the odd numbered
    would never have entered the Christian church          years and Myanmar in the even years. Circle Jan/
    except for the offering of free medical care. As the   Feb 2020 to join the Myanmar medical team.

                                                                  The Connection           SPRING 2018      25
Spanish Translation/ Traducción en Español
                        Notes générales
                        Por el Dr. Edward Williamson
                        Superintendente General Internacional

                         La Iglesia Metodista Evangélica es sobre “gente”

                           El Evangelio es acerca de gente, empezando con Génesis 3:15 con la promesa de
                       que Jesús (la simiente de la mujer) aplastará la muerte, el pecado y al diablo (la cabeza
de la serpiente). Apocalipsis 13:8 proclama que la provisión para la salvación de la gente existía desde antes
de nuestra creación, “… que fue inmolado desde el principio del mundo.” El Dios Trino se enfocó en la
gente y su salvación—“de tal manera amó Dios al mundo…” Juan 3:16.
     Jesús afirmó esta verdad con el Gran Mandamiento de amar a Dios con todo nuestro ser y a nuestro
prójimo como a uno mismo”. La gente de Dios debe amar a la gente.
     Al observar al pastor y su iglesia que están enamorados con Jesús y enamorados con Su mandamiento
de la Gran Comisión con la espiritualidad y unción de la Presencia del Espíritu Santo operando en su
congregación. Desafortunadamente, también he observado gente hermosa enamorada de Jesús, pero no en
amor con la Gran Comisión. La Gran Comisión de compartir el Evangelio con todos en la tierra es acerca de
“gente” en nuestros vecindarios inmediatos y el mundo. El propósito cumplido de Génesis 3:15.
     La Iglesia Metodista Evangélica es acerca de “gente”. La iglesia busca proveer pastores de calidad
entrenados que cuiden a la gente. La IME se une con otros grupos para responder a las necesidades físicas de
la gente.
     Los predicadores y maestros invitados de la 32ava Conferencia General estarán enfocados en las
necesidades de la gente, aquellos heridos a causa del abuso y adicciones sexuales y estilos de vida. La IME es
acerca de gente para su sanidad y restauración para ser todo aquello por lo que Cristo murió por ellos.
     Vamos a celebrar en adoración y recibir el testimonio de los “hechos de Dios” en nuestro medio durante
los últimos cuatro años. El servicio de ordenación incluirá a nuestros pastores de conferencia internacionales
listos para la ordenación. El domingo en la noche tendremos la ceremonia de graduación para la Escuela de
Ministerio Haggard y la Escuela de Ministerio Evangélica.
     Nosotros, la IME, somos acerca de gente llegando a ser Discípulos de Cristo y reproduciéndose a sí
mismos en alcanzar la gente que todavía necesitan escuchar acerca del Salvador del mundo, Jesucristo. El
Discipulado no es para “conseguir” gente para el cielo, es para glorificar a Dios en todo lo que hacemos y
para mostrar al mundo quién es Dios.

26     The Connection           SPRING 2018
You can also read