Singles Retreat Recap

by Randy Tsuchiyama

Editor’s Note: The 2015 Singles Retreat audio and video are also available.

After coming out of a very busy February, I was looking for a chance to relax. When I saw that the Singles retreat was on the calendar, I was a little hesitant to go. After hearing that the theme for the retreat was “The Disciplines Of Grace”, my arrogance and pride was telling me that its going to be another retreat talking about quiet times, prayer, and the various other topics that come to mind when spiritual disciplines. I was so very wrong, and so glad that I was.

The spiritual refreshment found in the preaching of God’s Word and fellowshipping with brothers and sisters in the faith was a great encouragement for me. Every sermon was so helpful and incredibly refreshing to hear. Though this topic of “The Discipline of Grace” was not new, it is one that I need to be reminded of from time to time.

In the first sermon, “A Disciplined View”. Pastor Alton preached on Matthew 20:1-16. The way that he explained the parable of the laborers in the vineyard helped and challenged me greatly. It’s so easy to become incredibly proud of how God has grown us. Being a Christian for a long time we can put a lot of merit and self-worth in the way that we serve. We may even see it as something that gives us a sense of being better than someone who is not doing that. The sermon reminds us that the work that we do as an older Christian doesn’t make us more important or worth more than someone who is younger. We have no more inherent value because we have been serving God longer. The outcome is still the same. We all will still inherit the kingdom of God.

In the second sermon, “A Disciplined Giving”, Pastor Alton encouraged us to store our treasures in heaven. He challenged us to think through how we are using our money for the building of the kingdom. This was not necessarily a message to encourage giving to the church (though that can be a very appropriate application). We can become selfish and think the money that we earn is for ourselves without even considering how we can use this money to bless others. Too often purchases we make are incredibly self-serving and can contradict every thing else we say that we’re living for.

The third sermon was about “A Disciplined Desire”. This sermon was having a desire for the Word of God. One of the things that stuck out the most to me was the comparison of desire to read the Word and intense hunger. One who is hungry has a sole focus. They are not easily led astray and they will pursue food with a humility and desperation that is unique. This is the type of desire that we ought to have for the Word of God. Even after having studied the Word for a while, this is still a challenging thing for me. This reminder helped me see the need to view the Word of God as something that is of incredible value.

In the last sermon, “A Disciplined Pursuit”, Pastor Alton exhorted us to be more like Christ. This is one of those extremely simple commands that is difficult to follow. The biggest thing I got from that was looking at Christ-like examples in the Bible as well as those around me. The question that I must ask myself is, “Am I trying to pursue Christ more like so many men before me or am I content with following what the world says is acceptable?”

There were a lot of reminders and a lot of challenges that I received from the retreat. Even though I was a little more tired physically after the retreat than before the retreat, I was incredibly thankful for having the opportunity to hear Pastor Alton preach the Word of God.

@LBC (4/22/2015)

by David Zhang

Sermons

Elders Rule by Patrick Cho (Titus 1:5)

  • Patrick continues the study of Titus. Come check out the three whys of church leadership!

So You Think You Can Love by Roger Alcaraz (John 13: 1-17)

  • College life continues their study of John. Listen to what what it means to love selflessly.

Do Not Lose Heart by Alex Ko (2nd Cor. 4)

  • Single life continues their study of 2nd Corinthians. Come check out the “5 C’s” of not losing heart in doing good!

Special Features

The Lord Is King For Ever And Ever

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Psalm 10:16

Jesus Christ is no despotic claimant of divine right, but He is really and truly the Lord’s anointed! ‘It hath pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell.’ God hath given to Him all power and all authority. As the Son of man, He is now head over all things to His church, and He reigns over heaven, and earth, and hell, with the keys of life and death at His girdle.

Certain princes have delighted to call themselves kings by the popular will, and certainly our Lord Jesus Christ is such in His church. If it could be put to the vote whether He should be King in the church, every believing heart would crown Him. O that we could crown Him more gloriously than we do! We would count no expense to be wasted that could glorify Christ. Suffering would be pleasure, and loss would be gain, if thereby we could surround His brow with brighter crowns, and make Him more glorious in the eyes of men and angels. Yes, He shall reign. Long live the King! All hail to Thee, King Jesus! Go forth, ye virgin souls who love your Lord, bow at His feet, strew His way with the lilies of your love, and the roses of your gratitude: ‘Bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.’

Moreover, our Lord Jesus is King in Zion by right of conquest: He has taken and carried by storm the hearts of His people, and has slain their enemies who held them in cruel bondage. In the Red Sea of His own blood, our Redeemer has drowned the Pharaoh of our sins: shall He not be King in Jeshurun? He has delivered us from the iron yoke and heavy curse of the law: shall not the Liberator be crowned? We are His portion, whom He has taken out of the hand of the Amorite with His sword and with His bow: who shall snatch His conquest from His hand? All hail, King Jesus! we gladly own Thy gentle sway! Rule in our hearts for ever, Thou lovely Prince of Peace.

4.27p

Weekly Links (4/17/2015)

It can be said that the Israelites had their own Great Commission (Deut. 4), only it was a call to stay and obey rather than go and proclaim. Theologians refer to this as “centripetal missions.” That term conveys the idea that rather than scattering through the world, as modern missionaries would, they were to stay and attract the world to them. Instead of global scattering, the Israelites were to demonstrate global gathering, by acting as a light to the nations. The surrounding nations would hear of the greatness of the Israelite laws, and they would be drawn to Israel. When they came to investigate the source of the wisdom the Israelites possessed, they would see that this wisdom ultimately came from Yahweh. In short, Israel, as a kingdom of priests and a light to the nations, formed ‘the essence of the Old Testament.’ (Jesse Johnson, Evangelism: How to Share the Gospel Faithfully)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! There’s lots of links this week, so I hope you have some time to click through and be blessed with what has been posted!

  • Courtney Reissig recently spoke on the four myths of feminism, with four truths from Scripture contrasting these four ideas. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be audio, though there is a detailed report on her talk. Seems to be coming from her recently published book, The Accidental Feminist: Restoring Our Delight in God’s Good Design.
  • At the April 2015 Mormon Sunday General Conference, Mormon Apostle Dieter F. Ucthdorf gave a talk that sounded strangely like salvation by grace alone, though upon closer inspection, didn’t contradict official Mormon teaching. If you’re hoping to engage in dialogue with a Mormon, Mormon Coffee’s analysis of the talk would be a helpful place to start.
  • For the congregation, what are some tangible, practical ways to encourage our pastor? Look no further!
  • Pastor Richard Phillips calls all Christians, particularly Christian men, to work heartily unto the Lord as a way to please Him, and what that means in everyday life. This applies at work, school, and in everyday relationships. Is it your aim to please the Lord today?
  • Did you know the father of microbiology was a Christian layman-scientist? Look into the life of Antony van Leeuwenhoek, and be amazed at the accomplishments of a follower of Christ. Better yet, be amazed at the accomplishments of our Creator and Lord!
  • In a culture where male leadership is downplayed while female leadership is continually accepted, Pastor John MacArthur explains the biblical concept of headship, and challenges us to consider the implications of living in light of this clear teaching.
  • Did Jesus believe (and still believe) that believers have everything we need to be an effective apologist (defender) of the faith? By looking at the way He approaches His followers on the road to Emmaus, the answer is, “Yes!”
  • Kevin DeYoung’s new book on homosexuality came out this week, which explains what Scripture teaches on the topic, as well as address common objections from many, Christian and non-Christian, who would contend that the Bible doesn’t condemn homosexuality. Crossway has posted multiple videos from DeYoung answering some of these questions, all of which you can find on their blog.
  • For those of you taking Stephen’s class on church history, there was a recent debate between Pastor James White and a Roman Catholic priest on the issue, “The church would have been better off without the Reformation.” Hour one contains the debate and emails, while hour two continues emails and calls from the audience. If you want a good summary of what the issues of the Reformation were about, this would be worth your while.
  • The Public Discourse has been front and center in writing articles that clearly articulate the ramifications of accepting same-sex marriage as a legitimate form of marriage by the state and country. This week, their articles have laid bare the fruit of adopting and promoting this lifestyle: from testimony by an adult who grew up in a same-sex home, to observable evidence from other nations and states the unintended reduction of marriage norms, to rebutting conservatives’ arguments for embracing same-sex marriage.

That’s all for this week! Please pray for the upcoming Women’s Seminar on Saturday, and looking forward to worshiping our Lord together this Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

Loving Beyond Our Limits

by Roger Alcaraz

One hundred fifty. What is the significance of that number? It’s known as Dunbar’s number and it is theorized to be the cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. How someone came up with that precise number is beyond what I care about. But what I will take note of is the fact that people generally understand that the more people there are in your life, the harder maintaining relationships will be.

Coincidentally, there are close to 150 people in College Life including the staff members. Could you name them all? First and last name? Their hometowns? Their personalities? Their interests? How about their…what’s that? You said “No” by the first question? Well then, it emphasizes a point–it will be impossible to have a meaningful relationship with everyone even in College Life, let alone the rest of the church, let alone the rest of the people in your life! So…good luck.

Ok fine, I won’t end like that. Perhaps it goes against what you might think, but the goal really shouldn’t be to know everything about everyone. But what I do want to see is every person being cared for. If we make it our goal to personally know everyone, we’ll only be able to develop shallow relationships. We are limited by our time and even our ability to remember so much. That being said, this is no license to slack in your calling as a Christian to love every person as yourself. This means that if an opportunity to serve someone you don’t know well arises, you must take it, regardless of your familiarity.

People sometimes ask me how I feel about cliques, which can easily become something harmful to the church. However, I understand the need for a closer circle of friends. Even Jesus had the twelve in whom he invested more than the rest. Yet his close relationships never stopped him from serving those outside of the twelve and even serving the multitudes. The problem with cliques isn’t that people have a close circle of friends; it’s that they become exclusive such that if you’re not part of my circle, then you are not part of my concern.

But my encouragement is twofold:

  1. that while the church is increasing in size, you would pursue deep and meaningful relationships with others, and
  2. that you would genuinely seek the care of all those around you.

How can you do both when they seem mutually exclusive? I’ll give an example. Let’s say you see someone new on Sunday. You know the look. They’re standing next to a wall by themselves or perhaps with another newcomer while looking at nothing in particular. You notice them but figure someone else will take care of them. But while you mingle with your friends, you fail to notice them leaving without ever receiving an invitation to lunch. Far better would be to include them in your conversation and even invite them to lunch or whatever you had planned. Sometimes when I meet someone after service but I know that I’ll have to leave soon, I’ll introduce them to some people who could continue the work of caring for him.

I can tell you a lot of other practical ways to love the people that stroll through our doors, but honestly, if you have a heart to see people plugged into the life of the church, that will take you the furthest. Maybe this is a simple idea, to love your neighbor, but take some time to see how you might change how you talk to people after service this week. Will you care for the unnoticed around you and view them with the eyes of Christ? Take some time to pray that your heart will be ready when the time comes.

I’m thankful for how loving this church is to all people. If anything, this is an encouragement to excel even more. But I know there are people on the fringe of our church who are still lacking the fellowship needed for spiritual growth. Find these people. They might be older than you, younger than you, it doesn’t matter. Find them and love them.

@LBC (4/16/2015)

by David Zhang

Sermons

From Paul to Titus by Patrick Cho (Titus 1:1-4)

  • This week Pastor Patrick continues the Titus series. Come check out the three customary sections of Paul’s greeting to Titus!

From Death to Glory by Roger Alcaraz (John 12:20-26)

  • This week College Life studied about Jesus’s suffering. Come find out what Jesus had gained in his suffering!

The True Apostle by Johnny Kim (2 Cor. 3:1-11)

  • This week Single Life studied about Paul’s defense against false teachers and impostors of his time. Come check out what sets the new covenant apart from the old covenant!

Special Feature

Congratulations to the men’s mission bowl team for playing with good attitudes and winning this year’s tournament!

Beyond Function: A Biblical Understanding of the Mind

by Pastor Mark Chin

INTRODUCTION

Where do religious thoughts and impulses come from and why? With the advent of new dynamic neuroimaging techniques such as petscanning, neuroscientists like David Linden and Michael Trimble are now eagerly attempting to furnish the world with the answers.[1] Their quest to locate in the brain a definitive neurobiological source for religious thought highlights three modern scientific assumptions about the mind of man:

  1. the human mind is merely the higher faculty of the brain,
  2. the functions of the human mind such as thinking, understanding, desiring, or judging are biologically generated and thus synonymous with the “higher” functions of the human brain, [2] and,
  3. the answers to the riddle of spirituality in the human mind lies within, not without.

Hopefully, most conservative Christians would object to such assumptions about the mind of man along with their implied scientific reduction of spiritual thought (or for that matter sin, salvation, and sanctification) to evolutionary aberrations of neurochemical impulses. For the Christian, the mind is something much more than the sum of the brain’s neurochemical transactions. Yet in spite of such a conviction, why is the conservative Christian’s working definition of the human mind so remarkably similar to the modern secular definition? The Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible defines the mind as “the part of the human being in which thought takes place, and perception and decisions to do good, evil, and the like come to expression.”[3] Dr. Zemek describes the mind of man as the seat of mentality, consciousness, intelligence, emotion and will.[4] By comparison, the Oxford Dictionary’s definition of the mind is almost identical, referring to the mind as “The seat of consciousness, thought, volition, and feeling or a pattern or way of thinking or feeling.”

The similarity can be accounted for by the fact that contemporary Christians and secular evolutionary scientists have both chosen to narrowly describe and define the mind primarily in empirical terms of observable function (i.e., what the mind does). The conviction of this writer is that a modern empirical focus on observable function is inadequate for a true understanding of the human mind. Scripture’s teaching on the mind of man extends well beyond observable function, distinguishing its definition of the mind from that of the modern world by describing it in terms of divine design, divine relationship, and divine purpose. It does so for good reason. The world attributes to the mind a primary role in the identity, behavior, and destiny of man. The Bible attributes to the mind a critical role in sin, salvation, and sanctification. How one understands the mind of man directly affects how one understands and addresses man’s relationship with his Creator. The stakes are immeasurably high. Christians can ill afford to conform to the the modern world, especially in its understanding of the mind of man.

THE MIND IN SCRIPTURE

How does God’s word define and describe the mind of man? In the absence of a specific Hebrew word for the mind[5] and with infrequent mention of it in the Gospels, answers to this question often focus on the apostle Paul’s teaching. With the Koine Greek word for the mind, nous, being found almost exclusively in Paul’s epistles, it would initially appear that a study of the mind should center primarily on Paul’s writings.[6] However appearances, as the cliché goes, can often be deceiving.

The modern functional description of the mind as the seat of man’s volitional and rational functions is often drawn from Paul’s use of the word nous. Based on Paul’s writings, four major functions have been used to define the mind:

  1. Disposition, inner orientation or moral attitude (Eph 4:17),
  2. Practical reason, i.e., moral consciousness as it concretely determines will and action (Rom 7:22-25),
  3. Understanding, i.e., the mind as the faculty of knowledge and the seat of wisdom (Phil 4:7),
  4. Thought, judgment, and resolve (Rom 14:5).[7]

However, the reference to such functions is not unique to Paul or his use of the word nous. The same functions are found in the use of the Greek and Hebrew word for heart, kardia in the NT ( disposition, Lk 16:15; will, 2 Cor 9:7; understanding, Mk 7:21; resolve, Ac 11:23) and leb and lebab in the OT (disposition, Gen 6:5; will, Jer 23:20; understanding, Prv 19:8; resolve, Is 10:7). Furthermore, the LXX, the version of the Scriptures most familiar to Paul’s original Hellenized and Gentile audience, also used the word nous six times as a translation for the Hebrew word leb or lebab.[8] Clearly Paul, a man of the Scriptures and, prior to his conversion, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, was not developing a unique functional theology of the mind to be understood apart from the context of the entirety of Scripture. His use of the word nous connects his readers to the grand theocentric OT anthropology of the heart, “the king of anthropological terms” and must therefore be understood in light of this relationship.

THE MIND AND HEART CONNECTION

The heart, leb/ lebab, in the OT refers to the whole inner person, and is distinct but not separated from the soma, the physical component of man.[9] In its fullest sense it is a broad entity that encompasses a wide range of functions, including but not limited to the faculties of thinking, judging, understanding, and conscience – those that are most often associated from the NT onward with the mind. In accordance with this OT understanding, the LXX, communicating biblical truths to Greek speaking Jews, deemed the heart as the organ of noein – thinking, judging, understanding, and willing (Jn 12:40; Is 6:10).[10] From a NT perspective, the Greek term nous or mind represented the intellectual or cognitive aspect of the OT concept of the heart.[11]

This is demonstrated when Jesus quotes to His NT audience the first and greatest command of Dt 6:5, “…you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength (Mk 12:30).” Everyone present, including the Scribes, accepted his quotation as the word of God (Mk 12:33), even though His quotation includes a fourth noun (mind) not present in the original Hebrew text.[12] Far from adding something new to the Scriptures, Jesus use of the term “mind” emphasizes a particular intellectual aspect or agency of the heart that is understood to be present in the original Hebrew text in Dt 6:5. As such, the mind is not an agent or a faculty of the physical brain, which, for the Greeks, would have been identified with the soma, but rather it is an agent or faculty of the heart as defined by the OT.

THE MIND: THEOCENTRIC AND HOLISTIC

If, then, one is to understand the mind in the same way that both Jesus and Paul did, one must understand it within the context of the anthropology of the OT, specifically the OT anthropology of the heart. In sharp contrast to the empirical compartmentalized anthropology of the modern world, the OT anthropology of the heart is a theocentric and holistic one, built upon three key presuppositions. These presuppositions direct our understanding of the mind beyond mere function.

  1. The first presupposition begins with a very simple truth, “ In the beginning God…” It is God, by His will and word, who has designed and created the whole of man, including his heart and mind.
  2. The second presupposition is that God designed and created man, with all his complexities, as a unified whole, not as a bundle of separate parts functioning independently of one another.[13]
  3. The third presupposition is that God has designed man, including his heart and his mind, for a particular divine purpose. Ultimately that purpose is to glorify God by being a true image or copy of the Sovereign Creator (Gen 1:27,28).

In light of these presuppositions, the Scripture teaches that the heart, as a reference to the whole inner person, serves to describe the core relationship between God and man.[14] It is the tabernacle of the soul, the entity of deepest connection or opposition to its Creator, the place where the glory of God resides in the life of the saints. The mind then, as an inseparable agent of the heart, participates at the deepest level of man in this relationship with God. This truth is borne out in Paul’s use of the word nous, where it is quite clear that his references to the mind are made in terms of this central relationship between the whole of man and God (e.g., Rom 1:28, 12:2, Phil 4:7, etc.). He identifies the mind of man as the core repository of the truth of God or the lies of man.

Within a holistic Scriptural framework, the heart never functions in isolation from the rest of man but is dynamically interwoven with the spirit, the soul, and the body. Scripture informs us that the heart relates to the rest of man by serving as the “mission control center” of man.[15] The heart directs the whole of man (Prov 16:23; Isa 32:6).[16] The mind, then, is the faculty or agency used by the heart to do so. The whole of man, including his behavior and his physical body, is directed through the thinking, understanding, judging, and will of the mind (Col 1:21). The whole of man is transformed by the renewing of his mind (Rom 12:2). So then the brain, as part of the body or soma, is a servant of the mind and not its master, as Linden or Trimble would lead us to believe. Furthermore, the nature of a man is the fruit of his heart and mind, not the fruit of his neurotransmitters or the chemical balance of his brain.

From the perspective of divine design, the purpose of the mind is perhaps most clearly demonstrated by Jesus in Mk 12:30, “… and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The mind, with its capacity to think, understand, weigh, and will, is a faculty that was designed to enable man to love His Creator and Savior in all truth. This includes providing man with the capacity to know God, by understanding His truth and by proving His will (Lk 24:45 ; Rm 12:2). It also includes the capacity to direct the whole of man, including his behavior and his body, to serve God rightly and fruitfully as an expression of His truth and His love (Eph 4:23,24). It is a faculty which, through the renewing power of the Spirit, allows man to fulfill his ultimate purpose – to glorify God by being like Him, walking in His footsteps, thinking His thoughts, and loving with His love (Eph 4:23, 24), essentially living in union with his sovereign Creator.

CONCLUSION

Where do religious thoughts and impulses come from? Scripture teaches us that they come from the heart by way of the mind. However, Scripture does far more than just identify the mind as the producer of thoughts, impulses, decisions, or behavior. Beyond function, Scripture informs us that the mind is a faculty or agency of the heart of man, a creation of God, designed to be the tabernacle of His truth and wisdom, enabling man to know and love God entirely, directing the whole of man to be one with His Creator, for the praise of His grace and the proclamation of His glory in Christ.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Solomon H. Snyder, M.D., D.Sc., “Seeking God in the Brain – Efforts to Localize Higher Brain Functions.” The New England Journal of Medicine 358:1-5 [Jan 03, 2008]: 6.

[2] Snyder, in the above cited article, notes that Linden attempts to tie religious impulses or beliefs that defy “everyday perception of reality” to speculative neural mechanisms.

[3] Baker Theological Dictionary of the Bible, s.v. “Mind/Reason.”

[4] George J. Zemek, “ Aiming the Mind: A Key to Godly Living”, Grace Theological Journal 5/2 (1984), 205-207.

[5] Theo J.W. Kunst, “The Implications of Pauline Theology of the Mind for the Work of the Theologian” [doctoral thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1979], 6.

[6] Of the 23 times Nous is used in the NT, 21 are in the apostle Paul’s writings.

[7] TDNT, 958-959.

[8] Ibid, 953.

[9] BTDB, 528.

[10] TDNT, 950.

[11] Theo J.W. Kunst, “The Implications of Pauline Theology of the Mind for the Work of the Theologian” [doctoral thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1979], 15.

[12] The literal translation of the Hebrew text for Dt 6:5 contains only three nouns. “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Jesus’ quotation includes a fourth noun, dianoia – a compound derivative and synonym for nous, translated as “mind.”

[13] BTDB, 528.

[14] Zemek, A Biblical Theology of the Doctrines of Grace, 17.

[15] Ibid, 16.

[16] TDNT, 950.

God, Even Our Own God

by Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Psalm 67:6

It is strange how little use we make of the spiritual blessings which God gives us, but it is stranger still how little use we make of God Himself. Though He is ‘our own God,’ we apply ourselves but little to Him, and ask but little of Him. How seldom do we ask counsel at the hands of the Lord! How often do we go about our business, without seeking His guidance! In our troubles how constantly do we strive to bear our burdens ourselves, instead of casting them upon the Lord, that He may sustain us!

This is not because we may not, for the Lord seems to say, ‘I am thine, soul, come and make use of me as thou wilt; thou mayst freely come to my store, and the oftener the more welcome.’ It is our own fault if we make not free with the riches of our God. Then, since thou hast such a friend, and He invites thee, draw from Him daily. Never want whilst thou hast a God to go to; never fear or faint whilst thou hast God to help thee; go to thy treasure and take whatever thou needest-there is all that thou canst want. Learn the divine skill of making God all things to thee. He can supply thee with all, or, better still, He can be to thee instead of all.

Let me urge thee, then, to make use of thy God. Make use of Him in prayer. Go to Him often, because He is thy God. O, wilt thou fail to use so great a privilege? Fly to Him, tell Him all thy wants. Use Him constantly by faith at all times. If some dark providence has beclouded thee, use thy God as a ‘sun;’ if some strong enemy has beset thee, find in Jehovah a ‘shield,’ for He is a sun and shield to His people. If thou hast lost thy way in the mazes of life, use Him as a ‘guide,’ for He will direct thee. Whatever thou art, and wherever thou art, remember God is just what thou wantest, and just where thou wantest, and that He can do all thou wantest.

4.27a

Weekly Links (4/10/2015)

Obviously, there are non-Christian families that appear to be successful, to a point. They may have orderly homes, with well-behaved children and close, lasting relationships between family members. But wherever Christ is not recognized as Lord of the family, the seeds of that family’s ultimate breakdown are already present. Such a family has no real spiritual stability, and (especially in a society where the family is already under siege) that family is courting disaster. To borrow imagery from Matthew 7:26–27, such a family is like an impressive structure built on sand. When the floodwaters come, its fall will be great. (John MacArthur, The Fulfilled Family)

by Cesar Vigil-Ruiz

Feliz Friday! I pray you had a fruitful week in the Lord, and look forward to continue bearing fruit for His glory. With that said, let’s look at this week’s links!

That’s all for this week! Hope you all can make it out to Mission Bowl on Saturday, but primarily, to worship our God together this Sunday!

Soli Deo Gloria

A History of Missions at Lighthouse Bible Church

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Developing Long-term Relationships for Short-term Missions

Timeline of Missions and Church Planting at LBC:

  • 1996 – John and Angela Kim begin praying about planting a church in San Diego
  • Spring 1998 – Several families pray together and begin planning the church plant
  • July 15, 1998 – Bible studies begin at the home of Peter and Jinny Lim
  • December 6, 1998 – First Sunday Service for LBC San Diego
  • May 2, 1999 – Official Inaugural Service for LBC San Diego
  • July 3-26, 2000 – First summer missions trip to the Czech Republic
  • July 21-August 3, 2005 – First summer missions trip to Argentina
  • July 11, 2010 – Send Off Service for LBC San Jose
  • July 18, 2010 – First Sunday Service for LBC San Jose
  • January 30, 2011 – Official Inaugural Service for LBC San Jose
  • November 4, 2012 – First Sunday Service for LBC East Bay
  • April 14, 2013 – Official Inaugural Service for LBC East Bay
  • October 20, 2013 – First Sunday Service for LBC Los Angeles
  • February 16, 2014 – Official Inaugural Service for LBC Los Angeles
  • October 12, 2014 – Official Inaugural Service for LBC Orange County (formerly Pillar Bible Church)

“Our plan is to take over the world.” I will never forget this succinct explanation of the goal of missions for Lighthouse Bible Church by Pastor John Kim. Back when the leadership team of LBC San Diego was first being developed, Pastor John communicated the importance of not only establishing a missions program early in the life of the church, but also developing a philosophy of missions that would be part of the church’s “DNA.” This commitment to missions flows out of the church’s philosophy of ministry, which is summed up in the MVP Statement.

Mission: To Make Disciples of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20)

Vision: To Plant Churches (Acts 1:8)

Passion: To Love God and People (Matthew 22:37-40)

In this way, missions has been the commitment of Lighthouse Bible Church since its inception. While many people thought sending a missions team in the church’s first year of existence (with a small number of members) was impractical, the leaders came to agree on the importance of demonstrating the church’s commitment to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and to support the work of church planting.

By God’s grace, through a number of circumstances and redirecting of plans, the Lord introduced us early on to Meinolf Mellwig, a full-time German missionary to the Czech Republic. The Lord used Meinolf and Martina Mellwig, and their five children, to plant a church in the city of Ostrava at roughly the same time as Lighthouse San Diego. The relationship built has been sweet especially since each church has been able to track the growth of the other with each passing year.

One of our primary goals in our summer missions program is to cultivate a long-term relationship with the churches we partner with around the world. This is much more difficult than it might sound. Two churches can have a deep sense of love for one another without really having a basis to work with each other in ministry. In order to accomplish a long-term partnership, at the very least the two churches must share a common philosophy of ministry and have doctrinal compatibility. For instance, this means practically for missions that the churches not only need to agree on the message of the gospel, but also on the philosophy and methods of evangelism. When these factors are met, what results is a profound trust that is built, which in turn strengthens the love between the two churches.

For almost every summer since July 2000, Lighthouse Bible Church and the Christian Church in the Czech Republic, led by Meinolf Mellwig, have partnered together to host a week-long English camp.[1] English camps are a wonderful avenue to promote the gospel because Czech students have a strong interest to improve their English and meet native English speakers. The camps are advertised as a church event and the campers are invited to attend an optional evening program where the gospel is presented. Thankfully, each year, most of the campers have come to the evening programs, and we are tremendously grateful that some have shared testimony of how God has used these camps to help bring them to salvation and change their lives.

In July 2005, Lighthouse sent a second team to Argentina. Pastor John Kim had previously travelled to the country to participate in a national pastors’ conference. During his time there, he was introduced to Eduardo Buldain, a church planter who works just outside Buenos Aires. Through Eduardo Buldain, we were introduced to Pastor Jorge Ahualle, who helped plant Missionary Bible Church in the city of Tucumán.

The culture of Argentina is vastly different than the Czech Republic. Much in part due to the influence of communism, the Czech Republic is predominantly an atheistic nation, even with its rich Christian heritage. Argentina, on the other hand, is almost exclusively Catholic with a spattering of ultra-Pentecostal churches that teach a false gospel. As a result, in both countries, there are very few churches that teach the Word of God and preach the gospel with integrity.

Each year, the teams we have sent to Argentina have helped the church conduct a week-long door-to-door evangelism campaign. Each day, the team would travel to a different barrio, or neighborhood, to preach the gospel from house to house. While the Argentine people have generally been very warm and inviting, this has also proven to be a great challenge with evangelism because the people tend simply to nod in agreement with just about anything that is shared with them. But this has also helped demonstrate the importance of establishing long-term relationships with the churches with whom we work. In so doing, we are able to see the long-term effects of the gospel in people’s lives and the fruit of evangelism and the gospel through changed hearts. It seems almost every year, Pastor Jorge is introducing us to another individual or family that was saved by God’s grace during one of our evangelism campaigns.

Because of LBC’s devotion to establishing long-term relationships with churches who are doctrinally and philosophically like-minded, another great benefit is the mutual edification and encouragement that is experienced through the relationship. When our teams go overseas, we make it clear that we are going to assist the churches there in their ministry. We are not going to push our agenda in some unilateral approach to missions. What we have experienced by the grace of God is a rich partnership in ministry where both churches are strengthened and invigorated. Because of the doctrinal and philosophical trust that has been established, we ask Meinolf Mellwig, Eduardo Buldain, and Jorge Ahualle to teach our teams about ministry abroad. We have even had them come to preach at the church in San Diego.

One last benefit to having doctrinal and philosophical unity in missions is greater confidence to invest in the ministries with which we work. Since we were mutually able to see the possibility of a long-term relationship with the churches in both countries, it gives us a greater confidence and desire to invest in these ministries and support these ministers. Summer missions trips are not cheap. Each year, the church spends thousands of dollars to send these teams. Knowing we are working with churches we trust makes the investment worthwhile because of the relationships we are seeking to build upon.

We have been so blessed to work with the churches in the Czech Republic and Argentina all these years. A deep-seated affection has grown between our churches that is strengthened with each trip. But one of the greatest aspects to our short-term missions philosophy has been the desire to develop long-term relationships with churches and missionaries. This has resulted in greater ministerial trust, a strong bilateral investment in each other, and confidence to invest in these ministries and work towards the future.

[1] The Mellwig family originally helped plant the Christian Church of Ostrava-Poruba but have since moved on to plant the Christian Church of Beroun.