The first came in the outpouring of compassion and aid directed towards Haiti. It brings joy to see the world uniting in a massive relief effort. The humanitarian crisis after the earthquake is huge beyond comprehension, but the compassion and generosity shown thus far is also like nothing we’ve ever seen. I’m so proud of our churches and people! The most evident response came in the financial area with $210,507.11 given to our Haiti Relief Fund through February 4 with more coming. But there’s so much more. Our Columbia City congregation in Indiana air lifted supplies and people to help. Other congregations are in process of gathering supplies from our CCM needs list that will get to Haiti in coming months. Some help teams (medical mostly) have already gone, but others of all types will be needed in the future. It’s also a great encouragement to know that our Pierre Payen hospital and Clinic have been doing yeoman service treating the injured.

The Pierre Payen hospital

From another promontory I watched a young man step into the water of baptism and proclaim Jesus as his Lord and Savior. On Tuesday, January 26 our University Bible study group met at College First Church to celebrate “Jeff” Minjie He’s confession of faith.

Prayer after the baptism

Jeff’s story is quite a tale of God’s redemptive work, but it really begins with the witness of a dear Chinese saint, Grace Han, who now lives in the states. She and her late husband fled China after the communist revolution in 1950, but kept up ties in their homeland by promoting rural medical work. In time, the work benefited Jeff’s twin brother which ultimately brought the family to Christ. That is, except Jeff. When he came to the USA last fall as a UF student, Grace encouraged him to find a Bible study; so, he joined the Tuesday night group. Through the study of John’s gospel, Grace’s persistent prayer and the dynamics of the Bible study, Jeff came to faith in Christ and desired to be baptized. What a blessing to share in his public declaration of commitment to Jesus.

The reception following Jeff's baptism

Finally, last weekend Linda and I attended the CGGC Missional Leadership Initiative retreat at Salt Fork State Park near Cambridge, Ohio.

The Salt Fork Lodge

This was the first of six such retreats planned over the next two years that will seek to raise the leadership bar across our fellowship. In future this training and development time will cycle every two years with the goal of investing in 200 leaders across the CGGC over the next decade. Reggie McNeal served as our resource person and led us through several sessions of self discovery.

Participants listen as Reggie McNeal leads a session

As he pointed out, the leader is the message. For good or ill every ministry is defined by its leader. Jesus is case in point. So, if we seek an effective missional impact for individuals or society, it becomes absolutely critical to create a leadership culture in the organization that is movement-oriented in concept and context rather than fostering institutionalism. Ministry will rise or fall based on the unique gifts and talents God places in the heart and life of the leader and whether or not the leader is in touch with them and uses them to spread the gospel. As a start this first retreat focused on self discovery.

Enjoying breakfast together

Part of this discovery process came in creating cohorts of five or six persons as monthly support and accountability groups. In the course of forming the clusters, it became evident that a number of spouses were interested in the leadership journey (retreats and cohorts) while others preferred a fellowship group since they couldn’t attend the other retreats. As a result, several additional leadership cohorts will be initiated to address spousal needs. 

The weekend concluded with a self discovery worship experience. The gathering room lit by candles and low level lighting with contemporary Christian music as background offered several different opportunities for personal participation including Scripture reading, prayer, confession, the Lord’s Supper and artistic expression.

Linda and I chose to visit the various stations together, but some followed an individual sequence. The hour passed very quickly. Afterwards in the final debriefing, Reggie stressed that this new leadership initiative is highly dependent upon the level of engagement each one permits himself and the effectiveness of the peer mentoring groups. The potential for personal transformation is huge, but even greater is the possibility that leaders on mission will help transform their communities and the world. Amen! Let it be so.

Pastor Ed