Greetings everyone,
At the time of this writing, here (currently 19 large fires in North America) wildfires continue to rage uncontrolled. Many structures have been lost and more are endangered. We grieve the loss of homes destroyed because of carelessness on the part of another individual, as in the case of one current wildfire.
We ask all of you to continue to pray for God's intervention. God has many people in these endangered areas.
Church Administration
Festival Speaking Schedule
We are in the final stage of assigning speakers and song-leaders for the US and Canada Feast sites. We hope to have the schedule out within a week, although there may be later changes.
Festival Assistance Requests
Now it is time to begin the process of accumulating information necessary to process assistance to widows, handicapped and persons with special needs. All requests must be submitted to the Church Pastor. Each request must be reviewed and signed by the Church Pastor to be considered. No request will be approved without a Pastor's approval.
NOTE TO PASTORS: Your deadline for submitting the signed forms to Headquarters is August 2, 2002.
Regional Pastors Conference June 17-19
The Regional Pastors from the US and Canada will meet in Kilgore, Texas, to discuss administrative and field matters. Please pray for safe travel and for the Spirit of Christ to guide us in discussing manpower and field needs.
International
Mr. Robert Storrier sent me a report on Dr. Winnail's visit to Scotland last week. He wrote that they had a very enjoyable visit from Dr. Winnail, who spoke on the Sabbath. Also, they had a very profitable meeting in the evening at Mr. and Mrs. McIntyre's home.
We received 14 responses Monday, June 11th, from the recent advertisement, along with some very encouraging comments.
One correspondent wrote that he was very keen to learn more (as he had evidently received earlier booklets).
Another said, "I find your articles exciting and awesome, and you have spurred me on to find out more. I enclose a small donation and wish you well in the work you are doing."
Conclusion
We are in training to be leaders in the Kingdom of God. A wise man once said, "A Leader who carries a grudge falls behind." (Leadership 5/25/2002) Why is this true?
Leadership comes from deep within, whether in an organization or in an individual. An organization is not like an Oreo cookie—sweetened frosting between black and white cookies. No organization can long survive without leadership at the top, middle and bottom.
We are aware of the apostle Paul's exhortation to "Forget the past," and press on for the prize (Philippians 3:1-14). Why did Paul tell us to forget the past? Paul was very familiar with the sporting events in the Greek world. Paul understood that in competition one must not look back!
Many years ago I was running a relay race against a team that had an unfortunate incident while handing off the baton. The recipient of the baton looked back just as his partner handed off, and the receiver veered into the path of his partner just a few inches. The fall that resulted ended their race and caused serious injury to one man's legs!
We, God's people, must focus upon the goal. We must not look back as one who carries a grudge. To carry a grudge is like handicapping a racehorse with lead weights—it erodes the ability to effectively compete in the race.
Motivational speaker Tom Payne said: "Deposit often in the trust bank, you never can tell when you'll need a withdrawal." (Quoted by Leadership 5/25/2002)
Lack of trust takes our eyes off our goal and destroys relationships. If we find ourselves distrusting, perhaps we should ask ourselves if our distrust is because of personal insecurity, assumptions of disloyalty due to whisperings of talebearers, or actual disloyalty on someone's part. We see constantly in the news how lives are made miserable—some have been ruined—by distrust and false suspicions fed by careless lips.
In large organizations people may hide their distrust of one another, but in a small group, such as a video group or church group, one might as well write it on ones forehead!
In my experience I have found that decent human beings respond positively to trust. If we break trust we have a heavy burden to prove our repentance, though we are forgiven immediately.
Do not conclude that I believe in putting trust in man—for salvation. Never! I put trust in our field leadership even though I know they make mistakes just as all of us do. But as Jesus looked through men to the Father, knowing that they would fail in adversity, he entrusted the responsibility of carrying the gospel to the world! And we, weak as we are, are continuing that commission today.
I hope that you have a great Sabbath. Please drive safely. My wife and I are driving to Montana to visit the Great Falls church. I will continue to Texas for the Regional Pastors meeting, then return to San Diego.
Carl McNair