bridges don janet 1991 germany
TRANSCRIPT
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Chris t ian
Missicm
Field Address; Don Bridges
Kaisers t rasse 66
679
Landstuhl
West
Germany
VOL 10
MARCH
1991
NO. 1
Jesus
entered
the synagogue of his
hometown, Nazareth,
requested the
scroll of
Isaiah,
found his text and read:
The
Spirit of the Lord Is upon me, be
cause
he has anointed me to p reach the
gospel to
the
poor, he
has sen t me
to pro
claim release to the captives, and recovery
of sight to
the
blind, To set free
those
who
are downtrodden, to proclaim
the favorable
year of
the
Lord. Luke
4:18-19
He
handed
the scroll
back
to th e a tte n
dant, sat down and began to explain the
scriptures. He
said
Today
this
scripture
has
been fulfilled in your hearing. The people
{who were talking
during
the sermon) were
wondering
about the
things he was saying.
As
h e re la ted to them w hat th e
favorable
year
of
the
Lord involved,
he
retold two
examples of God s graceElijah being sent
to a
woman
at Zarephath
and
the cleansing
of Naaman the leper [giving non-jewish ex
amples to a Jewish audience is not the way
to win a
favorable
hearing].
The
listeners,
previously
interested
in his message,
became
outraged Taking him to the city's cliff, they
wanted to
k ll
him. Passing through the midst
of them, however, Jesus went on his way.
Such
was the
beginning of his ministry.
His
missionto
preach the gospel to
the
poor, to give sight to
the
blind
and
to set free
the
enslaved
and
oppressed.
He came to
proclaim
the
year of God's acceptance This
was
his message. This was his ministry. This
was
the
way he lived
Grace
is
a word which
is
used to
describe
what God
has
done through Jesus.
The
word
Itself means a feeling of
kindness that
is
exp re ssed , o r an act of kindness
that
is
shown. As
we look at
Jesus
life, this idea
becomes more
vivid. He proclaimed
the year
of
God s
acceptance , and he showed to
everyone what this meant.
John
said of him
the Word
became
flesh,
and
dwelt
among
us, and we beheld his glory... ull of
grace
and truth. When we want to know what grace
Is,
we
need to merely look to Jesus.
Jesus
was
a champion for
those
who
were
outcast in society. John 8 relates a story of
a woman who was caught in adultery. Early
one
morning when
Jesus was
instructing
the
people, scribes and Pharisees brought this
woman to Jesus to
trap
him. Their demand
either support the
law
and condemn
this
woman to death, or reject the law. If he re
fused to condemn her, he would
be
labeled
a traitor to the law. By condemning her he
would
show
h ims el f n ot to be a s merciful
a s
he c la imed and on e who
i nc it ed r ebe ll ion
(remember,
Jews
were not allowed to impose
the death penalty).
Jesus
silence caused
the
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accusers
to push more strongly their demand.
When he did respond, his words penetrated
their trap and forced
them
to leave.
Long debates
have
been held over the
question of the letter of the law verses
the
spirit of
the
law. To put it another way, it
would be a quest ion of getting what we de
se rve
verses
what
we
need .
We deserve
condemnation, but we
need
acceptance.
Condemnation comes ali too quickly. Ac
ceptance carries
with it
the
responsibility to
build and st rengthen. A description of the
messiah, quoted by Jesus, is found in Mat
thew
2
Behoid, Myservantwhom I
have
chosen;
My Beloved in whom my soul is well
pleased;
I will
put
my Spirit
upon
him...
A
BATTERED
REED
HE
WILL NOT
BREAK
OFF,
AND
A SMOLDERING WICK
HE WILL
NOT PUT OUT,
Until He leads justice to victory.
And in his name the gentiles will hope.
Sinners, outcasts and faiiures
are
often
the
objects
of Jesus' gentleness and mercy.
Suffering, downcast and rejected humanity
(battered reeds and smoldering wicks) are
not destroyed by the Messiah. Rather, he
feels compassion for them Moreover, he
exhibits tender compassion as he announces
the year
God's
acceptance
These were
the very
people who
we
see
coming to Jesus. Luke 15 tells us that all
the
tax-collectors
and the s inners were com
ing
near
him to listen to him. Zaccheus, a
chief tax-collector, a blind
man
at
Jericho,
a
Samaritan leper, a
Gerasene
and even a thief
heard the announcement
of God's
grace.
Jesus' disciple, Matthew, was an outcast also,
until Jesus accepted him (how did the other
disciples feel
about
Matthew?).
ll
displays
of grace, kindness
and compassion are
rooted and grounded in love. For God
so
loved th e world that
he
gave his only begot
ten son t ha t whoeve r believes in him should
not
perish
but have
eternal life.
In all that we learn about God, one fact i
clearly seen, namely, that God has taken the
initiative. He is the one who seeks the lost
He is
the
one who would
shel ter
Jerusalem
He calls
the
weary and heavy laden to fin
rest
in
him.
He
sen t
his son
For
the grace
of God has
appeared
bringing salvation to all men...
when the
k indness o f
God
our Savior and his love fo
mankind appeared, he
saved
us, not on
the bas is of
deeds which
we h av e d on
in righteousness, but according to his mercy
by the washing of regeneration
and
renew
ing by the Holy Spirit, whom
he poured
out upon us richly through Jesus Christ ou
Savior...
Titus 2:11,
.3:4-6
ELDERS AND DEACONS
This
past March, Landstuhl
Christian
Church elected
it s first
eiders and deacons in
its history. Nine men aitogetherwere elected
four
elders
and
five deacons.
The transien
nature of this congregation, people leaving
every couple of years ,
made
this an impor
tant decision. These men provide direction
and leadership for the congregation.
A difficult problem which
has
existed has
been
the setting of goals. A result of the
e le cti on of these
men
has been the es tab
l ishme nt of three different
commit tees
growth, worship, and teaching. In
these three
areas,
goals
are
being
established
which wi
carry over from congregation to congregation
(which happens every two or three years)
[One
such
goal
has been
the
establishmen
of a
shepherding
program. Elders
have
divided up the congregation, and
each one
i
responsible for the oversight of the people in
their section.) The committees are led by an
elder and deacon, but they are made up o
several members in
the
congregation. New
people who
come
w ll be able see the goal
and
purpose
of
the
congregation
as they
become involved
with
the various
committees
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ooks to re
News
The
bookstore which we establ ished a
little over two
years
ago has
made
a huge
Impact on the Christian community here. The
store
began with $9000. This
was
to
pay
for
materials and the shipping of these materi
als and the
customs once
they arrived
here
InGermany.
Needless
to
say, the
money did
not go very far. However, the
store
now has
an Inventory worth almost five times the
niti l
Investment.
The sa les from
1990 we re more
than double
from
that
of
1989.
This al l sounds
great But
when
you start to figure
the
cost
of the material plus the shipping charges,
added to that
t he cos t
for customs and taxes,
besides
the normal costs for operation (like
heat, rent, telephone, etc.) the profits dwindle
to
almost
nothing.
So
why
are we
running a
store
which
barely even pays for Itself? There
are
several
reasons. First, It Is very difficult to find good
Christian material In a foreign land. People
drive as far away
as
two hours (or about 150
miles) to ge t material. There Is a desire for
material,
and
they
just can t
find It
anywhere
closer.
Second,
It
extends our outreach as
It
brings
us
Into contact with many In the com
munity. Many people have
come
Into the
store and discovered
that
w e have a church
here
as well.
Quite
a few
hav e a tt ended t he
services.
Some
come just for discussions
(and who, this side of heaven, knows
the
kinds of
seeds
that are being planted?). Third,
It
gives
a greater awareness to th e commu
nityof the congregation. Several people have
come
In
and
said that
they
were made aware
of this church which
has
a bookstore by
friends
of theirs
who h ad c ome before. Others
have told me that
they
are
going to
spread
the
news about this place to
everyone they
know. These come in and ask if so-and-so
has been here because they
have
been tell
ing everyone
about
this place.
The bookstore
has
increased in
sales,
volume
and
contacts with
people.
The out
reach
and
ministry which comes
as
a result
of
the
store
Is showing Its effect
as
more
and
more people come
and pass
the news of the
store on to
others. For
the church, It is
the
most effective form of advertising
PEOPLE
NEWS
This past year two families departed from
here to
return
to
th e s ta te s
Arthur
and
Roxanne Wat ts r eturned within two weeks of
his being diagnosed withcancer. The doctors
moved quickly, and through surgery and
much prayer, Arthur has been given a
clean
bill
of health (enough so that he
can
return
to work). Both were very active In the con
gregation here. Arthur was putting out a
newsletter, doing some teaching and general
maintenance. Often, he
would work
the
bookstore
so
I could have a
day
off. Roxanne
was always helping with the little children.
Both
were m embe rs of the choir. When
I
talked
with Arthur
about, his cancer, he would
look at me and say I'm going to beat this
His faith In
God
was evident. He would say
even Ifhe
wasn t
going to win this battle that
his faith In God would remain strong. It re
minded
me
of
Job when h e said Shall we
accept good from God and not accept ad
versity? They
will
be missed.
Another family which left was Mike and
Cheryl Apt. For the
past
three years, I knew
that If
one
family would surely be there for
services.
It would be
the
Apts. Rarely did
they
miss a service. Both were active In the
congregation. Mike taught Sunday School,
led the congregational singing,
and
helped
in the nursery. Cheryl
was
an encourager. It
didn't matter what problems anyone faced,
she would be
there
to support and remind
you of
God s
ability. Both
were
In
the
choir.
After
three
years, their love for Christ was
known to all In the congregation here. They,
too, will be missed.
A few of our
people
have gone to
Saudi
Arabia In support of
Desert
Storm: Mike Kirby
(one
of
our
elders),
Jeff
Moore and Doug
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Shedd.
Although
we
are a small
congrega
tion, we feel the effects of the
war.
Let me
share with you a few
comments
of the Ger
man
people
which I found in the
Stars
and
Stripes
newspaper
I'm
very disappointed about
my
countryman's
demonstrations against your
country.
These
are not the feelings of all
German
people The
demonstrations make
th e
real
villain into a victim, which is not the
truth. I hat e war
as much as
the next guy,
but this creature in Iraq went too far. We
d o n t
n ee d a n o th er Hitler . . . A n d r e a s
R s s e n e w e r t
You will
hear
in
the
news that many parts
of the world still do not
know
how important
you
are
for keeping the world peace, but we
want
to assure you
that
even in
Germany
there
are people who, like us, appreciate what
you do. Michael Kiink
What
w e s e e
on
th e news
often l e a d s
one
to think that there is
very
little support
for
Americans and
what they do. Yet,
an
es
timated
81 of
the German people support
M t u n j r x
THiUSaK>'7
6016Z Xi 'oiiuBUJV
uojxoy 2 9 9
Aamsv IV
:s)U86v Buipje/wjoy
NOISSIN
NVIISIUHO
BNIdlV
the effort
the
Americans
are
making in the
Gulf War. I have seen a couple of demon
strations supporting America's participation
(why was there no national coverage of
this?).
Who
would
doub t t ha t
th e
reunification
of
Germany came partly as a result of America's
troops
stationed
in europe to deter aggres
sion?
The mission of
the
American
troops
here
in europe is important, as is
the
mis
sion
of
the church here
in Landstuhl (re
member, this is the highest concentration of
Americans outside of the U.S.). We realize
that for anyone to have peace , they
must
have
Christ. He is th e only true source for
peace'
PRAYER
C O N C E R N S
1 . L a n d s t u h l
Christian
Church's
ministry
and
leadership
2. Financial Support 3.
That
the
bookstore
may continue making an impact on
the
com
munity. 4.
Soldiers
stationed
here
and in
Saud i Arabia
In Christ, Don
Birdges
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5 dU^v-
ALPINE CHRISTIAN-MISSION .
..
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*0i
2.
^resent qoals of the^Landstuhl cOngregia^ion-lnclude the
following:
1 ) development
of
doctr'inal* (BihLical)ii'and
motivational
maturity;
2.)
development of
leadership
roles through providing preaching and
callingt^
fefe^jKding)
experiences and through
training
seminars
and retreats^:< advances) ; ^ , j.
3.)
development odTi^jpeater missions awareness and* involvement;
5*)
ex^ntfon pf.^t^
Corrpspond^^
Course
prqgr^5..
6) worki ng i h'
cq>-pp^^
with
mi
1
i tary
chapLarps t .
7.)
development\9f ;l.iJ?rary
resbi^ces,
: . ^ ^
t;y
rU y : 1
PR\WI^ 9iBQQ^STSy La'':C:r ;'./ru
.i
Please
r-m-rfi'r-f- - i- '
fitpward
accomplis.hiBent
of .these we also f&ji ^ . .
.ifj. pace. and would appfeciate
your
^prayers
as
we^cpntihue itp
,.e^jp^n,d.*
alsb Hi^p
with our
growt^ in anpther.4;/ay.if ^ypu .happen
know
of military people, who are
or
will be
stationed
in Germany.
I f vou wil 1 send, . the names
and
ad dresses o f .
di:rectlY''to^Ss or' to Fred Ragland, Director of the phrs,Uan
Fellov/ship,
Box 228, Fairborn/..0 H 45324, we will Contact, them^ iin-^te
them to attend:the :church in Lendstuhl whenever
they.ate
in.W
inform them -o^ r.Christi.a,ns and ^c^urches and
their
area,
anitielir
them aboilt ,wo,,great
viitH .Christian^irora
througVi;^^^^
apnu^
and
pur summer camp,-prpgram,, in,
Italy.
- -.i
.di
n
of
the missionaries,
rhnifiti an npnnriir.alf^ aod/oj;
tabes can be ^^sent their way [after you th.aye read.vpr.
a-xst^hed
tq :
aoS Eenefited from,
thgm
.yourseMes.;,. .Such a gift can. promote the,...,
spiritual ^growth of those on the
fiel.d;
and;
alse^he.-
pas.^ed. pn to
he^p ofehers^so; as
to be
a gift thet really keeps
on
g
living.. . . . mi
to praise an4
serve, together