Message from the Deputy Director
Last
year I was in Baghdad pastoring the Gospel Service at Camp Prosperity’s chapel.
The Lord also had me preaching every
week at Camp Union III, and ministering to a platoon of Marines attached to us at
a different location. As I reflect
on that blessed assignment, there are joyous memories of lives changed by the Spirit
of the living God. I don’t even know
how many nations were represented by the visitors and regular worshippers in the
services and Bible studies. God was
real to those who loved Him, no matter what country they were from. My laptop
wallpaper is a picture of a boy who approached me in a dangerous neighborhood in
Iraq. He is holding up his right hand
showing me his ring with a big silver cross on it. Despite the danger of even approaching me, he pointed to the cross on my
uniform and lifted his hand while explaining that he too was a Christian. Chaplains
in the military usually have plenty of opportunities to train troops and influence
leaders to be humble and considerate to the non-hostile people of the occupied nations. Though many of our military members
are often not practicing Christians, our nation is viewed as a one that represents
Christianity. Subsequently, our troops’
behavior attracts or repels the nations that watch us. As ethical advisors to our commanders, we can affect these nations while
we still have a window of opportunity, by promoting morality and behavior that produces
blessing and honor rather than curses and reproach. American troops have occasion to strengthen international relations and to
improve possibilities for evangelism in the future.
Whether you are a pastor, chaplain, or a minister
of another type, I ask that you’d be prayerful
about having me as a guest speaker.
CFGC does something that ministers can’t do for themselves … we endorse them so
that they can become chaplains. Chaplains
are missionaries who can go and positively affect people in places where other ministers
often cannot go. Chaplains are there for people when they’re in difficult crises,
and they build relationships of trust in places where people work. Military units,
hospitals, criminal justice organizations, corporations, and various other assignments
find that where full-gospel chaplains work, median spirituality improves, morale
often progresses dramatically, family relations recuperate, money is often conserved,
and lives are rescued (from suicide, harmful behavior, etc.).
I would love to come and share our vision
and mission to include a time of questions and answers. With your permission, I’d also enjoy challenging people of all ages to consider
various callings in chaplaincy. – Todd Wolf
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Memorial Service Examples
One thing all Chaplains have in common is the ministry of Memorial Services. Whether
a Military, Prison, or Medical Chaplain, we are often called on to minister in this
fashion.
Years ago, when I first started out, I began to practice the art of recognizing
each service as individual to the specific person it was for. If the service was
for a group of people who had died, I tried to find the common thread they all shared
and to use that as my thought. (I even had a few generic messages I could use for
those not saved!)
Now I’m not so sure I handled these services correctly. A recent Bible study I did
about Mary, (Lazarus and Martha’s sister), turned up some new thoughts about this.
I have read many times how Mary poured an alabaster jar of ointment on Jesus’ feet
and that He said, “This is to be a memorial to her through the ages.” (John
11:17; John 12:1)
I just never separated the other woman who anointed Jesus’ feet from Mary. (Luke
7:36; Matt: 3; Matt 26:6) You remember, the sinful woman who came up
behind Jesus in the home of Simon, the Pharisee/leper?
Some Biblical references say these are one and the same. Other references distinguish
them as different. This got me to wondering. Why was the one sinful woman forgiven
only, while, Mary, Lazarus’ sister, was to be memorialized for her act?
You see, this same story often plays out for me as a Hospice Chaplain. My patient
who dies may be a Saint who did many Memorial acts as a Christian; however, it may
be my patient was a sinner who just reached out to Christ at the very end of his/her
life for forgiveness.
As the sinful woman knelt at Jesus feet, Simon was asked the question, “Who loved
the most, the one forgiven most or the one forgiven least?”. She became the example
of the one forgiven most, as “her sins were many.”
Both women broke a jar of expensive oil over the Lord’s feet. Both wiped them with
their hair. Both understood the Savior deserved this kind of worship. It would be
this very servant hood which Jesus said was our “example to follow”, (John 13:15)
when he washed the disciples feet.
This leads me to believe we should share the example of repentance and forgiveness
our patient experienced, (soldier, prisoner) during their memorial service. Their
example honors Christ more than any achievements they accomplished while in sin.
Going forward, I am going to look for the example in each Memorial Service and not
just at earthly memories. I will also, remember my patients who lived for Christ
and sat at his feet and learned. Those who actively listened to Him, as Mary did,
and knew the timing of what He was saying to the church.
-- CH Deborah Woods, Author of Death Angel: The Journey of a Hospice
Chaplain, Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com
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Tithing
We all know that tithing was a commandment under the old covenant. It was also practiced
prior to the giving of the law. It was an acknowledgment that God was the giver
of all good things and Jehovah-jireh, our provider. Under the old covenant, tithes
were only the beginning - there were also offerings. The purpose was to provide
for the Levites, strangers, the fatherless and widows. (Deut. 14:28-29)
It was also to remind the Israelites that their bounty came from God. Moses warned
the children of Israel not to think their hard work was the source of their wealth
when they came into the Promised Land. (Deut. 11-12, 17); (11)
“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments,
His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, (12) lest – when you
have eaten and are full ... (17) then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might
of my hand have gained me this wealth.’”
We are not under the law, but God hasn’t changed. He is still Jehovah-jireh, our
provider, and the giver of all good things. We are no different than the Israelites
- we need to guard against thinking what we have is a result of our power and the
might of our hands.
We are, or should be, under the Lordship of Jesus. If Jesus is not Lord of every
facet of our lives, including our finances and resources, He is not Lord of all.
We need to follow His example. God gave His only begotten Son for us; and Jesus
“gave Himself for our sins ... according to the will of our God and Father....”
(Gal. 1:4). Giving is the basis for the atonement, our salvation.
If we do not give, we are not following the example of Jesus.
Tithing is not a mandate, but a gift - an opportunity to acknowledge God’s provision
for us, His goodness to us, and to express our gratefulness and thanks. “God loves
a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7)
Giving is one way we express our love and gratitude to God, who is the giver of
every good thing. It should be a joy and a pleasure to give to God by giving to
advance His kingdom. While we should not tithe or give to receive a reward, God
blesses us that we may give more. “And
God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency
in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:8)
Giving liberally should be a joy to every Christian.
Where a gift or tithe has been promised, it must be given so that we are people
of our word. To do otherwise overlooks the command to let our “yes be yes” and our
“no be no” (Matt.5:37). We dishonor God when we are not true to
our word and when we do not tangibly express our gratefulness for all He has given
to us. God is faithful; we must be also.
– Sister Jessie Schulcz, wife of Bro. Art Schulcz, CFGC Lawyer
for the Navy Lawsuit.
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Addendum
Because Chaplaincy of Full Gospel Churches represents churches and chaplains who
are not a part of a denomination, we rely on support to keep anointed laborers in
the harvest fields that, many times, only chaplains can reach. Please pray and ask
God how you may bless this ministry of helps.
-- Todd Wolf
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A REFRESHER COURSE
Three Gods Or One?
These are terrible times in America. Every Religion in the world is on the warpath
against Christianity. Why Christianity? The Bible teaches that Christianity comes
from the word Christ; and Christ is the enemy of those that wish to destroy or remove
Christianity from America. Yet, the Bible states: Christ is here to stay. That being
true, Christianity is here to stay. Why? Because! Jesus Christ is God; He is the
Son of God; and He is second in the Trinity.
-- Hosea
The Bible definitely teaches that the Father is God, that the Son is God, and that
the Holy Spirit is God. It also shows that each has a distinct personality. That
adds up to three Gods, right? Yes, if we are working with mathematics or thinking
of three separate people. But we are dealing with a God who is revealed in the Bible
as one God, who has existed eternally as three distinct (not separate) Persons.”
“God is one Being, not three. It follows that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are
not three separate Persons. We can distinguish between them, but we cannot separate
them.
As distinct Persons, each functions in His own unique manner. The Father is the
Originator, the Son is the Agent, and the Holy Spirit is the Administrator or Applicator.
Each lives with the other two in an I-You relationship. Each Person is self-conscious
and self-directing. Yet one Person never acts independently of the others or in
opposition to them. The mind, will, and emotions of each Person are in perfect unity
with the mind, will, and emotions of the other two
All three Persons were involved in the creation of all things. It was “by Him” (Jesus
Christ) that God created all things (Col. 1:16). The creation story
in Genesis 1:2 portrays the Spirit of God as ‘hovering over the
face of the waters.’”
In salvation, ‘God (the Father) so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son’ (John 3:16). After Christ’s resurrection and ascension to
heaven, both He and the Father sent the Holy Spirit (John 14:16; 16:7).”
The distinction between the three Persons in the God-head was clearly in evidence
at the time of our Lord’s baptism. In Matthew 3:16-17 we see the
Son coming up out of the water, the Holy Spirit descending in the form of a dove,
and hear the Father in an audible voice declaring, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased.’”
"Jesus affirmed the Trinity when He commanded His disciples to baptize ‘in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”’ (Matt. 28:19).
One God in three Persons! He is the God Christians worship and serve. In this God
we have a heavenly Father who loves us with parental love and at great cost sent
His one and only Son to die on the cross for our salvation. In this God we have
Jesus Christ, a brother who became one of us to take the punishment we deserved,
who understands our pain, and who isn’t ashamed to call us His brothers and sisters
even though we continue to be weak and imperfect. In this God we have the Person
of the Holy Spirit as our Helper-a divine Comforter who lives in us to strengthen
us and give us victory over sin.”
“This triune God hears us when we pray. He understands us and feels with us when
we suffer. He will be with us at the time of death to see us safely home. How important
and how comforting it is to believe in the triune God of the Bible!”
Excerpted from Do Christians Believe In Three Gods? 1992, 2002 RBC Ministries.
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CFGC STAFF SCHEDULE
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Sep
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03
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Labor Day
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20-22 |
Afro-American Chaplain’s Conference,
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Ft Jackson, SC, Hosea Amos
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