When the Bear Valley elders recently shared the good news that we would be able to resume some of the assembly times which were put on hold during the pandemic, we were excited. We missed the traditional routine of getting together on a regular basis. We weren’t even disappointed when the elders announced that they would be reevaluating our “traditional” structure during these meetings. (Uh oh, red flag?) No, they weren’t talking about anything Scriptural. They were referring to all the things we do on top that is according to tradition. I suppose that many congregations are reconsidering their traditional approach as we get back to normal. For example, should we have meetings on Tuesday morning and Thursday evening instead of Wednesday? Should we do more online Bible studies? Does Sunday evening service need to be a “rerun of Sunday morning, with less passion” as one person painfully observed? Now is an acceptable time to reconsider traditions, as long as we’re holding to Scriptural authority in our practices.
Not all our practices are merely tradition. Take Women Roles in the Church. In a recent research paper for my Pastoral Epistles course, I had an opportunity to research this Bible subject to determine whether our practices were in line with Scripture or merely tradition. Our instructor, Denny Petrillo even encouraged us to consider viewpoints opposed to our established practices and respond to them. I’m thankful this project was incredibly beneficial for me. Just a few months prior, I had been confronted by a female visitor after a sermon I preached, and she asked why no women were leading in the assembly. We ended up having a brief, but congenial exchange on this. I responded to her doubts well enough, but still, after thinking about it later, I felt ashamed that I did not have more well thought out reasoning and defense for our practices, based on Scripture. However, writing this paper forced me to understand every point in Scripture, and also, I have thoroughly researched the counter arguments and am confident how to answer them from Scripture. Just to illustrate the level of research I gave to the paper, Denny required 10 resources, and I ended up citing 24! It is projects like these at Bear Valley that really help us to stand firm in the Word. (Note: I would still affirm that all of our traditional practices in this area are in line with Scripture, and I would be happy to share my paper on request with any of you.)
Other Trends in Ministry
As the church moves forward, it is important to think about trends that impact our ministries in the world. Three recent classes have left an impact on me as we start to think about our ministry in Taiwan. In our Preacher and His Work class, Mike Vestal did an excellent job of teaching us how a preacher should be effective at building relationships and how this is increasingly important in a culture that is more distant from God. This caused us to reflect on how we will be able to do that in Taiwan. So, as a family we have discussed the importance of intently listening to others, hospitality and enthusiasm in ministry, especially as it relates to building new relationships in a different culture. In Youth and Family Ministry, Brett Petrillo has shared some interesting trends among youth. Namely, the church has failed our youth by separating them from the rest of the congregation. Brett has used extensive research to advocate for more integrated youth programs so that the “older can train the younger”. This has caused us to consider how to keep our youth in Taiwan integrated as much as possible and to encourage the older members in teaching and mentoring the youth. Finally, in Christian Evidences taught by Jeff Miller with Apologetics Press, we have been learning how to use Science to disprove Evolutionary theories to an increasingly Atheistic society. As a result, I’ve been giving thought to designing a seminar in Chinese that would concurrently disprove Evolution while also teaching Genesis with a scientific focus. I believe this would be popular in a Chinese culture that will commonly consider scientific proofs before being open to Bible study. In all of these extra-Biblical classes, I’m continuously trying to wrap my brain around “How can I apply this in Taiwan and to Chinese speakers?”
Please Pray for our Sponsoring Congregation
We are thankful to God that last month we were able to secure a sponsoring congregation for our mission work! The Woodstock congregation in metro Atlanta, GA has agreed to partner with us as we go to Taiwan. Woodstock is a very loving congregation with sound elders, and they have shown great love and participation with the mission works they support. We are excited they have decided to sponsor us. We’re especially proud because of a situation that has arisen recently. They had to disfellowship a woman unrepentant of adultery and homosexuality. In response, the woman retaliated, doxing their information all over the internet and to the media. Now, the congregation there is facing harsh treatment from activists. PLEASE PRAY for the elders and the congregation. WE ARE SO PROUD of them and PRAISE GOD that they stand firm in the truth. But they need our prayers!
Love,
-The Ihle Crew
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