Author Archives: Stephen Rodgers

The Apostle Thomas – Part 2 – Real Men Ask for Directions

by Stephen Rodgers

Part 2 of 4: John 14:1-6

This passage gives us another peak into the perceptions and priorities of Thomas.  Christ is preparing the disciples for His impending death, and for the most part, they’re just not getting the message.  And while it’s very easy for those of us with the benefit of historical context to malign and impugn them for that, it’s probably wiser to simply observe.
In this case, like the others, Thomas is sitting, listening to Jesus.  And he remains silent throughout the entire event…until Jesus announces that He’s leaving and that He presumably expects the disciples to follow Him later, since they “know the way.”
Again, cue Thomas: Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
Now most of us guys don’t ask for directions.  We can thank our stupid pride for that.  We don’t need directions, we can find it on our own.  Even if someone directly asks us if we know how to get to someplace that we’ve never been before, we’ll nod confidently and then check Mapquest later.  Or if we’re really desperate, we’ll fabricate some partial assumption of knowledge in order to marginalize our ignorance (“Oh yeah…it’s near the thing right?”)
Not Thomas.  Oh no.
Thomas freaks out.  “Wait!  Where are you going?  How will we get there?  We don’t know the way!  How will we find you again?”  Again, over and over Thomas shows where his priorities lie: in staying as close to Jesus as possible.  He’s not the brightest or the happiest of the disciples, but he’s managed to boil it all down to a working system: just stay close to Christ, and everything will be alright.
At this point, the core element of Thomas life has been threatened.  Jesus might be leaving.  In his mind, Jesus might be leaving him!  And so, he jolts into action like any of us do when a particularly sensitive nerve has been touched.  Should he play it cool?  There’s no time.  What about his pride?  Forget pride!  The central pillar of his life is under assault, and there is no reaction strong enough to be termed an overreaction.  This is not the time for dispassionate reflection; this is the time to completely freak out!  You can almost see the other disciples recoiling as Thomas goes straight to DEFCON 1 with no warning whatsoever.
It bears consideration that Thomas does this in front of his friends.  None of the other disciples asked Jesus what he meant.  None of the others raised an eyebrow at His remarks regarding His impending departure.  Possibly they simply didn’t want to be the first to admit a lack of understanding.  Perhaps Thomas simply never gave anyone a chance because he reacted so quickly.  We don’t know.  But we do know that Thomas wasn’t about to let the opinions of his friends get in the way of his understanding exactly what Jesus meant, or ensuring that regardless of where Christ went, he was right behind Him.  And if that meant humbling himself, risking his ego, and asking for help and direction, then that was a small price to pay to make sure that Jesus didn’t get away from him.
For all his pessimism, Thomas had his priorities straight.

This passage gives us another peak into the perceptions and priorities of Thomas.  Christ is preparing the disciples for His impending death, and for the most part, they’re just not getting the message.  And while it’s very easy for those of us with the benefit of historical context to malign and impugn them for that, it’s probably wiser to simply observe.

In this case, like the others, Thomas is sitting, listening to Jesus.  And he remains silent throughout the entire event…until Jesus announces that He’s leaving and that He presumably expects the disciples to follow Him later, since they “know the way.”

Again, cue Thomas: Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”

Now most of us guys don’t ask for directions.  We can thank our stupid pride for that.  We don’t need directions, we can find it on our own.  Even if someone directly asks us if we know how to get to someplace that we’ve never been before, we’ll nod confidently and then check Mapquest later.  Or if we’re really desperate, we’ll fabricate some partial assumption of knowledge in order to marginalize our ignorance (“Oh yeah…it’s near the thing right?”)

Not Thomas.  Oh no.

Thomas freaks out.  “Wait!  Where are you going?  How will we get there?  We don’t know the way!  How will we find you again?”  Again, over and over Thomas shows where his priorities lie: in staying as close to Jesus as possible.  He’s not the brightest or the happiest of the disciples, but he’s managed to boil it all down to a working system: just stay close to Christ, and everything will be alright.

At this point, the core element of Thomas life has been threatened.  Jesus might be leaving.  In his mind, Jesus might be leaving him!  And so, he jolts into action like any of us do when a particularly sensitive nerve has been touched.  Should he play it cool?  There’s no time.  What about his pride?  Forget pride!  The central pillar of his life is under assault, and there is no reaction strong enough to be termed an overreaction.  This is not the time for dispassionate reflection; this is the time to completely freak out!  You can almost see the other disciples recoiling as Thomas goes straight to DEFCON 1 with no warning whatsoever.

It bears consideration that Thomas does this in front of his friends.  None of the other disciples asked Jesus what he meant.  None of the others raised an eyebrow at His remarks regarding His impending departure.  Possibly they simply didn’t want to be the first to admit a lack of understanding.  Perhaps Thomas simply never gave anyone a chance because he reacted so quickly.  We don’t know.  But we do know that Thomas wasn’t about to let the opinions of his friends get in the way of his understanding exactly what Jesus meant, or ensuring that regardless of where Christ went, he was right behind Him.  And if that meant humbling himself, risking his ego, and asking for help and direction, then that was a small price to pay to make sure that Jesus didn’t get away from him.

For all his pessimism, Thomas had his priorities straight.

What Is a Healthy Church Member?

Book by Thabiti Anyabwile

Review by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

The health of the local church is one of great importance and of much interest at Lighthouse Bible Church. The need for expository preaching is crucial for the life of the church to flourish, so that the people in the church would be fed God´s Word and not the word of the pastor, fallible as that can be. There has been a great outcry for this kind of teaching to be had within the church, placing a great weight upon the pastors of the local church to work that much more diligently to preach the meaning of the passage, and rightly so. However, the cry for healthy church members has been nearly absent in the body of Christian literature. Thabiti Anyabwile has sought to remedy that in his most recent book, What is a Healthy Church Member? This book follows one of Mark Dever´s more recent books as well, What is a Healthy Church? Knowing that his ministry is 9Marks (9marks.org), he had outlined 9 different marks it takes for a church to be healthy, with expositional preaching as the first and primary mark for the life of the church to grow and stand firm in the Scriptures.

To be a healthy church member, one must be an expositional listener, a biblical theologian, gospel-saturated, genuinely converted, a biblical evangelist, a committed member, one who seeks discipline, a growing disciple, a humble follower, and a prayer warrior. Anyabwile, former associate pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C., and now senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Grand Cayman Islands, provides expositional listening as the primary mark of a healthy church member. He challenges the reader to deeply take pains to listen to the sermon for discerning what the meaning of the sermon is and to encourage the pastor by seeking to truly apply the message. With this and the other marks, he truly seeks to draw from Scripture how these marks help establish a healthy Christian. He also seeks to help you move towards that direction, providing biblical examples and also recommended reading for almost every mark in order for you to pursue each mark with a godly perspective to help edify the church and to build up the body of Christ to look more like Him, and not like ourselves.

This book gives us a glimpse into how we are held as much, if not, more responsible than the pastors for the health of the church to continue in this age and also in the next generation. To grow in each of these marks is to grow more like Christ, who very much excelled in these marks. For Anyabwile, healthy Christians are healthy church members, not allowing us to think that anyone who professes to be a Christian can be considered spiritually mature unless they are members of a local church, seeking to apply the ¨one another¨ passages of Scripture, and be held accountable by the leaders of the church to not defame the name of Christ in tolerating sin in their own lives.

My own life is deeply humbled by the truths laid out in the Scriptures pertaining to the different areas this book covers. To be gospel-saturated is to think deeply about the gospel, which pushes me to know it well from the Scriptures (and not simply to summarize it), and also to dwell in it in living in light of that gospel that God used to save us. This plays into being a biblical evangelist, to pray and seek for opportunities to share the gospel around anyone you have an influence, including friends, family, and co-workers. To pray like a warrior is to pray unceasingly, continually thinking of others and to leave our comfort zones to get to know people we aren´t too comfortable with getting to know in church. We are to help our leaders and the church body as a whole to grow more like Christ, otherwise we allow sin to affect the body of the local church, defaming Christ´s name and diminishing God´s glory. I pray anyone who reads this does not desire that but truly seek to honor His name and live within the life of the church and not as an outsider.

The Importance of Assembling

by Pastor Patrick Cho

23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:23-25 is a passage that we refer to often at Lighthouse because of our commitment to the local church and our application of membership. But this passage says much more than simply, “Go to church.” The author of Hebrews is writing to a group of believers who have been tempted to abandon the faith because of the hardships that have come with it through persecution. These believers, who were once practicing Jews, realized that they suffered much less as Jews and so were considering abandoning the faith in order to escape the suffering they were facing. It is in light of this historical context that Hebrews 10:23-25 is written. It is not just a call for believers to be consistent in their Sunday attendance, but to remember how vital it is for believers to congregate together in order to gain the spiritual support that is needed to face difficult trials. Even if it means one would face suffering and persecution, believers must see to it that they do not neglect assembling together in corporate fellowship.

Verse 23 begins, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.” This sure confidence is prefaced on the faithfulness of the One who promised salvation. “Faithful” is emphatic in the verse and salvation is saturated throughout the previous context. Since these believers have had their hearts sprinkled clean (vs. 22), they could hold confidently in their faith and have a real sense of assurance. They were not to find strength in themselves. It was not a matter of mustering up enough courage to persevere. It was all about trusting in the One who was ever trustworthy in order to find surety in their faith.

It is in light of the persecution and suffering that the church was in need of greater encouragement, which could only come through the gathering of the saints. This is why it is written, “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together…encouraging one another…” Sadly, there are many believers that downplay the importance of congregating together. Some would argue that it is not essential for a believer to go to the church regularly. So much emphasis is placed in the church today upon “personal salvation,” “personal sanctification,” and one’s “personal walk of faith.” We forget that the Bible calls us to a corporate faith. One of the reasons why we struggle so much is that there is an overemphasis on self in the church without enough emphasis on the body. The author of Hebrews is saying that the assembling together is necessary in order to overcome the temptations to fall away during times of difficulty. The other members of the body can help to encourage you and stimulate you to love and good deeds. And likewise, you can help to encourage and stimulate others. Both directions of this mutual edification are necessary.

We need to remove from our minds the thought that church is only there to help us grow in faith, feed us, and equip us. There is too much of this self-centered emphasis on church with an attitude of, “What am I going to get out of it?” The author of Hebrews reminds us that one of the essential elements of Christian fellowship is that you would minister to others and help keep them strong in the faith. It makes me wonder if we would be practicing church discipline as often as we do and having members struggle as seriously as they do if our church body would seek to encourage and minister to one another more.

A New Father’s Thought on the Father

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Hello LBC church family!

Things have been pretty active around the Cho home this week with the arrival of Eden Cassie (I can see why so many pastors find sermon illustrations to be easier once they have a kid!). We are so blessed to welcome her into our family. Already parenting has given us our share of challenges, but we are prayerfully depending on the Lord. Health-wise, it looks like baby is going to be ok. The doctors initially were concerned about jaundice, but her color looks good and she is eating (and digesting) much better. As for being a new dad, many have been asking how it feels. Honestly, it’s hard to say. Of course I am excited and extremely happy, but at the same time I’m not sure everything has entirely sunk in. We are so thankful for all of you who have blessed us with prayers, gifts, flowers, cards, and visits. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts! We are deeply grateful to be part of a church family that cares for us and loves us the way Lighthouse constantly shows. Please continue to pray for us as we’re still learning the ropes and getting adjusted to the round-the-clock schedule.

Eden has been such a great reminder of so many spiritual truths. She is completely dependent on us as parents just as we are completely dependent on the Lord. She is a sinner, born in sin, and in much need of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She longs for milk just as we are to long for the pure milk of the Word. More than anything, she constantly teaches us of our Lord’s amazing grace and love. How He has blessed us with such an amazing little girl! I’m sure parenting will have lots of adventures (I can already see all the experienced parents smiling). But Christine and I know that as long as we raise our child in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, being careful always to depend on Him, Eden will grow up strong.

In His grace,
Pastor Patrick

Abram Kim

by Garrett Glende

How did you first come to LBC?

I had a friend that went to UCSD and he knew people at LBC and hooked me up that way.

How long have you been attending?

About two years now.

What ministries are you currently involved in?

Praise Team, Sonlight (Elementary), and Sports.

What do you enjoy most about Sonlight?

The kids are really enthusiastic about God. They’re a lot of fun to be with.

I know you were really involved with the VBS. Can you share a little bit about that?

There was a lot of work that went into it and now that it’s over, looking back, all the late night hours were worth it. It was great getting to know the staff and kids better. It was fun to see Sam doing the motions and all the other stuff, especially the ones you think are quiet getting into it. It’s really encouraging.

You’re pretty involved in the Mission Bowl. What are your expectations for this year?

(Laughs) For guys we can’t do any worse than we did last year. It’s challenging being a coach, but I’m thankful for everyone’s attitude and I look forward to continuing playing with good sportsmanship.

Well maybe if you play we’ll do better.

(Laughs) We’ll see.

What do you do in your spare time?

I’m working on a Master’s in engineering from an online program at UCLA.

That’s it? No fun?

Umm, I like movies and hanging out with church people.

What do you appreciate most about LBC?

I appreciate that the leaders and everyone here takes seriously that the Bible is the final authority. You see that in their teaching and the way they live their lives.

What’s your most memorable moment from your time at LBC?

The one year I played Mission Bowl, 2007. It was fun getting to know the guys and I love football.

Big Chargers fan right?

Yep. For sure.

Can you tell a story about how you were encouraged by the church body?

Last Sunday night when we were setting up decorations for VBS, seeing people that don’t normally come out and be willing to stay till like 4:30 in the morning. It was fun playing all the games together and serving in that way. And throughout VBS during the teaching times, seeing the teachers teaching the gospel and interacting with the kids was definitely encouraging.

What’s the funniest thing a kid has done in Children’s Ministry?

Cameron’s screaming contest. It was pretty high pitched. I think there was one time when a girl faced a guy, and the boy was really high and the girl was low (laughs).

Alright thanks Abe.

Friday Night Light

by Moon Choi

Out of all the affinity groups at Lighthouse, the singles group known as Single Life is the largest. Friday Night Light is the name of the Friday night Bible study that they meet for weekly. The ministry is headed by Pastor John Kim, along with a group of devoted and loving staff who consist of singles themselves and a few married couples. Over the past year, they have gone over the book of Ecclesiastes and began Ruth before combining with Friday Night Searchlight, the collegian Bible study, for the summer. As a combined group, they are now reading Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul David Tripp.

The ministry began about a year and a half ago when flocks came to an end. The study through Ecclesiastes was one that was challenging, powerful and pertinent to their stage in life. There are also small groups following the message in which a group of men or women break off with a leader and are able to have fellowship, discussion, prayer, and accountability, as well as an opportunity to really delve into each others’ lives and to come alongside each other. Ted Su, a member of the staff and a small group leader, especially highlighted small groups as something that’s challenged him but has provided a great source of encouragement not just with leading the small group but seeing the members of it really rising up and taking the initiative in reaching out to each other. “But I know that it’s not me working in them, but God,” he said, noting that though he is on staff and a small group leader, it is not by his effort as a small group leader but through God’s sanctifying work that he has been so encouraged through small group. “It’s also been humbling,” Ted said about working closely and personally with Pastor John, something that he sees as a great opportunity to see a wiser and older man serving and being able to learn and reap from that.

Kevin and Mabel Tse are also serving on staff. What is unique about them is that they had been ministered to by this ministry before getting married recently. Transitioning from serving as singles then now as a married couple “feels like a continuation from before,” said Mabel. Granted, there are differences as they are now married but they are still learning the same lessons, namely they have to keep learning, even if it is tempting to say that it is something that has already been learned—Kevin pointed out how important it was to know that even if “you feel like you heard it before, you haven’t arrived. You need reminders and to be humble.” Mabel urged the singles to “maximize your time as singles because married life is great but it’s harder to do things with one-mindedness.”

Single Life also has many events sprinkled through the months. A few events have already happened in July. The singles and collegians were able to have a movie night, Day at the Bay, and an ice cream social. Here are some future events in which they hope you are able to participate in:

August 15 – 9:30 PM, BBQ night

August 22 – 9:30 PM, Outdoor movie night

September 12 – 9:30 PM, International dessert night

For more details, go to: http://www.lbcsinglelife.com

Editor's Note: August 2008

by Steven Hong

You might notice that The Beacon is a tad bit shorter than normal. With a good chunk of our newsletter team on summer missions and a few scattered on abroad elsewhere, we decided to go with an abbreviated edition for August. Don’t fret, we’ll be back in full effect come September with something special!

With the Argentina team back from Tucuman and the Czech team still out, let’s continue to pray for, not only our members abroad, but the church members and leaders they are assisting. Be sure to check out the calendar in The Beacon for Missions Report Night dates.

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #53

by Pastor John Kim

To the LBC family and friends!

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #53
Resolved, to improve every opportunity, when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind, to cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ, to trust and confide in him, and consecrate myself wholly to him; that from this I may have assurance of my safety, knowing that I confide in my Redeemer. (July 8, 1723)

This resolution is very loaded with thoughts to consider as we are challenged to “improve every opportunity” to live out very deliberately and purposefully the following actions:

1. To cast and venture my soul on the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. To trust and confide in the Lord Jesus Christ
3. To consecrate myself wholly to the Lord Jesus Christ

These three actions really are one and the same – a total dedication and devotion that exercises a genuine faith and utter dependence on the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ as Lord should receive the fullness of my submission to Him, not only as an issue of obedience, but as an issue of trust. It is because He is the only One that I can truly and confidently trust with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind.

You could almost see this as a process in which I “cast” my soul on Christ, where I present my life to Him and exercise a daily confiding through communicating and entrusting of my life, every part of it to the smallest detail. I am then reminded to be a living sacrifice that is daily consecrated to the worship of Christ.

This should happen particularly when I am in the best and happiest frame of mind. It should only happen when we feel needed and desperate, though those are obvious times that we tend to turn to Christ. It should happen when things are going well, when I am experiencing blessing and plenty and am enjoying life as God has graciously provided for us is so many ways. This in turn helps provide a genuine sense of assurance, knowing that my safety is not dependent on just how I feel or my circumstances but rather through the exercise of placing my faith daily in submitting my life to Christ.

The last phrase is one that I think is very significant.

4. To confide in my Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus is my Redeemer. He has saved me from the penalty of sin by paying the price of my sin. He has literally bought me back. He has rescued me from death and hell. He is the One that I can truly confide in because I can truly trust Him. He redeemed me while I was a sinner. There are no surprises of my sinfulness to Him – that’s the whole point of why He had to come save me. If we only took the time to really fix our eyes on our Savior and savor and value the preciousness of who He is and what He has already done on the cross, the only appropriate and fitting response would be to cast my soul into His hands, to trust and confide in Him regarding all that I deal with in life, and to consecrate myself, to devote myself, to dedicate my life and present it to Him daily as an act of worship (Romans 12:1) – it would indeed by what is the most important response that I could give to the One who has delivered me from the wrath of God.

Do you confided in Jesus Christ? Do you go to Him first and foremost, not only in the day of trouble but in the days of happiness? Do you thank Him and rejoice when God has blessed you and not think that it was due to your own ability or means? Do you understand that all we have, we have been given? There is so much that really makes it easy to see that we should look to Christ daily. I hope you will confide in Him regularly.

Have a wonderful rest of the week!

In His grace,
Pastor John

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #52

by Pastor John Kim

Greetings to the LBC family and friends,

Jonathan Edwards Resolution #52
I frequently hear persons in old age, say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, that I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age. (July 8, 1723)

As I was lying in the emergency room a couple of weeks ago due to chest pains, the thought passed through my mind that there are many who enter a hospital never to leave again alive. I’m sure there are many who would have this thought go through their mind – do I have any regrets? I don’t know if there are too many people who would have absolutely no regrets but I am sure that there are many who would have severe regrets as to how they lived.

This is a very keen insight by someone who was only 23 or so at the time e wrote this resolution. Edwards was thinking ahead to the day when he would be of old age and very deliberately did not want to have to hear himself say that he would have lived differently in light of having done things that he would regret. How often have we caught ourselves saying, “If I only didn’t make this choice” or “I wish I could just hit rewind and start over.”

The problem is not so much that we feel this way as it is that we could very purposely avoid making the kind of choices that we know are unwise, foolish, and otherwise blatantly sinful. While we cannot control all of the circumstances we face in life, we can definitely do something about the kind of choices that we deliberately make. It is often an unwise choice that causes the kind of circumstances that we regret. An unkind word. A conflict left unresolved. Time wasted pursuing vain things for myself. Putting off the opportunity to spend time with people. Being too busy with things that aren’t eternal. Not sharing the gospel when you could have. Being too nitpicky about petty issues. Complaining. Gossiping. Not stepping up when there was a need. Not spending enough time with your spouse enjoying each other. Missing another one of your kids soccer games. And the list goes on and on and on.

Instead of being filled with regrets, be resolved to minimize how much you would like a “reset” and be able to say that you did what you wish you could have done and if God is gracious enough to give you many years, when you look back, hopefully you can say like Jonathan Edwards did that you lived a full life up to that point.

Edwards surely made the most of his 50+ years on earth. While he might have had some regrets (being human like us), I can’t help but think that there were not so much regrets so much as there was more that he would have wanted to do for the sake of the kingdom of God.

I hope that the end of your life will not find you filled with regrets. So start now. You might die tomorrow. You might die 50 years from now. But whenever your time comes, I hope that you can say that you did your best to live up to this resolution.

In His grace,
Pastor John

Pastoral Prayer Request

by Pastor John Kim

To my dear Lighthouse family,

It was good to be with you this Sunday after having been gone for two weekends. It was especially sweet to be together for our time of corporate worship and fellowship, to celebrate communion, to introduce our missions teams, and to welcome the Faith Bible Church team from Canton, Ohio who visited us again on their way to Mexico. Sundays are always wonderful reminders of the grace of God as we celebrate the community that we share in Christ.

I realized that I was not very specific in sharing how my health conditions were so to make it clear, I will share it here. I know that I have often told others to share of their prayer needs and to not withhold it and I realize I have done what I have told others not to do, and that is to not allow people to share in their opportunity to pray.

I have been suffering chest pains for about a month and while I have had some chest pains before, they usually went away. But this time they did not and in fact would seem worse typically in the evenings where I would have shortness of breath, light-headedness, and a lot of pressure. So I finally went to the emergency room about a week ago where they ran a battery of tests and confirmed that I had a problem with my mitral valve with moderate leakage. So they referred me to a cardiologist which I went to a few days later. There they took another sonogram to confirm the condition of the valve and since they had no recorded history of my problem, they have decided to monitor my condition over the next few months to see what kind of rate there is in the deterioration of the valve. So we shall see how things go and hopefully when I get back from the Czech Republic, I’ll be able to follow up and get a further update. My blood pressure has also been considerably high, particularly in the past year and much of it has been in conjunction with the challenges that we have had at church that have brought much stress and difficulty. So with all being said and done, I need to do a lot better job being prayerful and laying my burdens before God and to not be anxious in light of circumstances. Admittedly, I struggle greatly when there is relational turmoil and this past year has been by far the most difficult. My heart is both figuratively and literally broken over the events that have taken place as there has been no greater sorrow than to have broken fellowship with those that have been dear to me. The impact has spread far across our extended family and has affected the perception that friends and even members within Lighthouse have of both myself and the elders. But God has also been gracious in bringing encouragement and joy through how He is working in the lives of our leaders as well as other members of our church. So there is much to be thankful for despite the circumstances. There can be joy when we encounter various trials because it truly does bring about endurance that has its perfecting work in bringing about holiness and sanctification in our lives.

Thank you for your prayers. They are indeed most precious to me and I value nothing more than your supplication on my behalf. God is indeed good to provide such a wonderful church family that seeks to love and edify one another.