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Japan Earthquake Update

Here is another update from Missionary Steve Canter in Japan....

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I will write more on the rest of the trip tomorrow.  Words cannot describe it.  Pictures cannot show it.  500 Kilometers of Japan turned instantly into something worse than third world countries.  If there is any possibly way I strongly urge you to see this with your own eyes.  Thing you have seen on your missions trips changed you-passionately.  This is all of that 1,000 times over with no exaggeration.  I beg you to come.
 
7.4 Richter last night, a Japanese 6 where we were at.  I can tell you this; the brains perspective of an earthquake in a house is significantly different than lying in a tent flat on the ground.  In the house the brain perceives the house shaking not necessarily the ground.  Though it is quite aware that the earth itself is shaking and causing the house to shake that part thought process is not there.  It is the house that is shaking.  On the other hand laying in the tent on tera-firma the brain is quite aware of this.  When you are literally being bounced of the ground because tera-firma is shaking it became terror-shaka.  I awoke to knowing we were having an earthquake and also being aware it was a major one and still building, my first thought was the entire world (planet) is falling apart.  Literally that was how it felt.  That was more terrifying than the March 11 quake.  Everyone there concurs.
 
After a quick exit from the tent with my trusty LED flashlight, we all encountered dust particles in the beam of light making visibility of about 15 meters.  It was like a heavy fog.  First questioning thought was, dust from a rock/land slide?  But it was not settling instead it was becoming thicker.  Then it dawned on me it was pollen shaken from the evergreen (matsugi) trees.  The morning it everything was covered in a heavy dusting of pollen.  I found a crack running completely across the parking lot, a fallen pagota, and several rocks fallen into a stream with fresh-rather long mud splash marks on the bank.  Power was out from Aomori to south of Sendai, appx 300K.  Needles to say another adventure. . . . 3 confirmed deaths over 100 injured.   Roads had major cracks, though cars and trucks were passing, I would not have ridden a motorbike.  Some cracks were large enough to drop a bike wheel into.  

 

Japan Earthquake Update From On The Ground - Tuesday

Here is another update from Missionary Steve Canter in Japan.

Tuesday Morning, March 15 

According to the Asahi Newspaper this morning 2nd edition, the confirmed death toll is at 3,105 and 11,794 missing.  The total number is up by 1,300 from yesterdays count.  Two more significant aftershocks last night. 

The Asahi also has a sequence of pictures with time marks in seconds, showing a whole town being swallowed up in just over 1 min.  The pictures start with the first sign of flooding, and the last picture shows the entire town under water with multiple crushed houses being pushed on top of a 60-foot plus surge.

The nuclear power plants are becoming a significant issue; they are reporting that the control rods have melted in one unit, at least two others in danger.  There are no reports in the Japanese media of the minor nuclear contamination to USS Ronald Reagan, which reportedly occurred when they were 100 mi off shore.  Any wind shift to the north would affect us and Tokyo.

Japan Earthquake Update From On The Ground - Monday

I have been in frequent contact with one of our missionaries, Steve Canter, in Japan. He has provided some personal accounts about what is happening on the ground in Japan. Below is correspondence from Monday in Japan.

Monday, March 14

We have water, but not full pressure yet.  Enough pressure to take a shower, my first since the quake.  We are fortunate; we have a house, food, and now water.  A man was found 9 miles out to sea floating on his house roof.  There are other miraculous rescue stories also.  But, there are more sad stories than the good.  

Many of you have asked what you can do to help.  Coming here is out of the question.  Right now and the near future, materials wont help, you cant get them to the stricken areas.  Give me a day or two to work on what you can do.  

According to Nihon Kokusai Broadcasting Company (NHK) there has been 3 seismic event that are over 7 on the Richter scale and 44 events (yes that forty-four) that were between 6 and 7 since the 11th.  One of the 7’s was today and a 6.4 was a few miles from here.  We evacuated the house both times.  

Villages ranging in population form 8,000 to 120,000 are partially gone, and several completely obliterated.  According to NHK the death toll is expected to be over 17,000 people.  I would not be surprised to see those numbers climb to 25,000 or more, I pray they wont.   

The gas stations are still closed.  The government taped in to the 70 million liter oil reserves releasing 3 million liters to help with the shortages.  With 3 major refineries destroyed along with several key ports, the shortages will probably be around for some period.  My friend who owns a gas station said “everyone is in a panic.”  He does not know when he will be delivered more fuel.  He is in an area less affected than we are.  I just got of the phone with a Japanese pastor near Narita, they have no gas either.  It will take a few days to ramp up transportation of fuel from Kobe-Osaka areas.  Of course emergency vehicles and delivery trucks will have priority.  

Food, milk and produce are gone as fast as it can be placed on the shelves here.  The people north of here have no food.  There were reports of people hording food stocks in Tokyo and other surrounding areas.   

We are on rotating blackouts to conserve electricity.  The nuclear plant situation is another major concern.  Pray that the winds will continue to be from the west or the north west, that is extremely important.  Perhaps by Wednesday we will be able to see what the infrastructure will be like for the next couple of weeks; and how long it will take to restore trains, roads etc. 

3 Things Every Trinity Member Should Know...

I'm excited about our "missions week". For some of you, this will be a time that is a familiar and historical part of our church life. Others of you may have never experienced our Missions Conference and you may still be processing how this fits into your life.

Regardless of the extent of your previous involvement with missions, I can't begin to articulate the significance of this week. In a meeting last Monday, one of our staff guys asked me, "If our entire church was sitting around this table, what would you say to them about our missions conference?".

I've thought about the answer, and below are three things I think every member should know:

#1 Your Attendance Matters

The services are going to be really good; both instructional and inspirational. For some in our church, the difference between spiritual break-through and spiritual complacency could simply be whether or not you are in one of these services, giving the Lord an opportunity to speak into your life on a very focused subject. Please understand my motive. This has nothing to do with guilting you into showing up. It is as important to me that you want to be there as it is that you come.

#2 Participation Is About The "Next Step"

I'm praying that every member of our church takes a new step of participation through our missions program. If we could understand what would happen if every member of our church participated in missions, we would increase our impact in world evangelism exponentially. There are a number of Great Commission activities in which you can be involved through our world missions program, inlcuding praying, encouraging a missionary, going on a missions trip, and giving to world missions on a regular basis.

#3 Missions Begins In Jacksonville

While we will talk about missions in a global context and hear from missionaries to other countries, make no mistake about it, the foundation of our missions work begins here in our city. If we have a heart for reaching people right here in Jacksonville then we will not have difficulty engaging sacrificially in reaching people around the world. Immediately after our conference, we'll be moving forward with two major initiatives that have a singular focus of reaching the lost in Northeast Florida. I'm looking forward to sharing these details with you. I am excited about what the Lord is going to do this Spring.

I'm thankful for every member of our church. Our church can only be as strong as our people's commitment to the work of the Lord here at Trinity. I trust that you will think about your part in our world missions program. Join with me to pray for God to do great things this week, both in your own life and in the life of our church.

 

Healthy Momentum - Part 4 of Healthy Church Life

There are some great expressions about healthy church life in the Book of Acts:

• The Word of God increased
• The number of disciples multiplied
• The churches were strengthened 
• They went everywhere preaching God's Word

The apostles were determined that the Gospel must move forward and that the church could not become stagnant. In Acts 15, the biblical resolution to the sensitive issues impacting church life restored the life of Jesus flowing through the churches. Here is what happened:

The decision brought unity to the church - vs. 25
The church was able to assemble "in one accord," ending the distraction that had temporarily slowed their ministry. The unified church, reinforced the message of the Gospel. Unity only comes when we make a concerted effort to work through what divides us so that we can come together for the greater good of the Lord's work.

New converts were given freedom from unnecessary requirements - vs. 29
There was clear direction from the apostles to lay upon the members of the church "no greater burden." It is important to note that the decision was not one of arrogant liberty, but of sensitive concern to the history and religious tradition of the Jews. This is the principled conclusion you will discover every time in scripture. My experience has been that both extremes, liberty and legalism, always end up hurting the body of Christ. We should be challenged to lead our churches forward with commitment  to biblical fidelity and sensitivity to our brothers in Christ.

The work of God moved forward in power and strength - vs. 32-26
I think that it is no coincidence that as these "church life issues" were settled, what took place was the second missionary journey.

I'm always encouraged and motivated by the responses to these posts and I would appreciate your comments on these thoughts.

Church Life Podcast - Neal Jackson

The Church Life Podcast has been updated with a new session from the 2010 Church Life Conference featuring pastor Neal Jackson.

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His passion has always been that of encouraging people to love God’s Word.  God has given him the ability to answer the modern day problems people face with the truths of scripture.  

His preaching is characterized as verse-by-verse exposition, and was seen across the country through the weekly Rejoice in the Lord telecast.  Dr. Jackson recently received his second doctorate this one with a concentration in expository preaching from the Masters Seminary.  He and Tracy have three children, David, Victoria and Reagan

Healthy Conversation - Part 3 of Healthy Church Life

As we continue this look at Healthy Church Life from Acts, we see the early church maintained health and mission focus by exhibiting what I consider to be, by today's standards, a unique behavior pattern. As problems and issues arose (they will and do appear in church life), the leadership of the church(es) gathered for healthy conversation.

I have been in ministry for decades and over and over again I have observed that when problems or issues are left unresolved, they often result in fleshly and carnal behavior. It amazes me to hear of the carnality  manifested in local churches by division, strife, and unbiblical behavior.   

Within the last week, I read an email about a young  pastor who planted an independent Baptist church, and in the last year has endured tremendous conflict and division in his young congregation. The conflict was not from persecution by the world, moral sin, or an attack by unbelievers. His challenge is from Christians within his congregation and influential churches outside his congregation that are behaving in a way that is hindering the life of Jesus flowing through the church.  It appears that while all in doctrinal unity, a lack of healthy discussion regarding issues that are clearly preferential is tearing apart the work of God in that community. 

This same scenario is being replayed right now in the lives of independent Baptist church planters, missionaries and local churches around our country. And we wonder why the young church leaders are moving away from the independent Baptist movement.

We see great principles of healthy conversation regarding difficult issues in Acts 15:

First, the church leaders assembled to discuss the issues. Half of the battle to strengthening the health in our churches may be resolved, If we would actually be willing to sit down together and charitably talk about the difficult issues. I have experienced that there is wisdom "in a multitude of counselors." It is important to note that no one person held the authority. Peter spoke, Paul spoke, Barnabas spoke and there was "much disputing."

Secondly, the leadership looked to the scriptures for the answer. When we begin to elevate our opinions and conventional or traditional wisdom above the Word of God, health in our congregations and our movement is hindered.

I have observed that our lack of unity is often a result of the fact that we do not have a deep commitment to our doctrine (or maybe a lack of doctrinal consensus). We don't refer to our doctrinal statements, and rarely do they address common disagreements in the church (worship styles, dress, Bible versions, etc.) As a result, in our local churches and among like-minded pastors, there is a pull that has emerged  between those that are seeking to engage their community contextually and those seeking to engage their community traditionally.

Here are some observations that might help us:

• Our differences can only be settled by doctrine - that doctrine must be developed through careful study of God's word and should include a wide range of people. 
• We should be humble, loving and selfless toward those who are like us in doctrine but who differ from us in methodology.

Healthy churches tackle the challenges of ministry out of a charitable heart and doctrinal foundation. I look forward to times of healthy conversation with ministry leaders for personal growth and to strengthen the unity of our local churches.

I would like your feedback on this topic as well as any ideas you can share on how we might go about fostering good conversations on issues in ministry to strengthen our movement.

Church Life Podcast - Junior Hill

The Church Life Podcast has been updated with a new session from the 2010 Church Life Conference featuring evangelist Junior Hill.

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Junior Hill began his ministry at age nineteen and served as a pastor for eleven years in Alabama and Mississippi before entering vocational evangelism in 1967 as a full- time Southern Baptist evangelist.                      
A native of Hartselle, Alabama, he received his BS degree from Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama and his Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, Louisiana.  He received the Doctor of Divinity degree from Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia. He has also been awarded a Doctor of Divinity degree from Covington Seminary in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA.

He has served as First Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention, and in 1995 was recognized as the Distinguished Alumnus Of The Year by New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
He has conducted over 1700 revivals and numerous foreign crusades.  

In addition he is a frequent speaker at pastors’ meetings, evangelism conferences, seminaries and state conventions across the country.  

Clarify The Gospel

Healthy Church Life - Pt. 2

Clarify The Gospel

When the life of Jesus is flowing through the church, the local body of believers is at its healthiest. As I mentioned in the first post of this series, the local church (and I believe our movement of churches) would benefit if we would find a way to evaluate the health of our church.

The first church in Acts dealt specifically and quickly with health issues both in Jerusalem and in the other churches to where the gospel had spread. As the church grew, specific issues began to be elevated to the level of the gospel. Clarifying the Gospel in Acts 15 became a critical step in restoring health in church life. There is a need for us to remember that doctrine really matters and if we do not pay attention to doctrine it will eventually lead to unhealthy behavior.

In Acts 15, the Jews began to incorporate circumcision as a necessary component of the Gospel. There was a great dispute in the church over this issue. The Gentiles were calling for freedom and liberty, and the Jews were championing the law and their traditions. (Does this sound familiar?).

Peter rose to address this "issue" by clarifying the Gospel of Christ as a work entirely of the Spirit and not the law. II Corinthians 3:6 says:

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

It was not the law, but the spirit that was the answer to the issue. Here are Peter's conclusions:

• God wants everyone to believe the gospel. (Gentiles were already being saved.)
• God makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile. (We should not either.)
• The Jews had failed to keep the law. (This was a heavy burden and should not be passed on to others.)
• The gospel is entirely by grace. (Grace plus nothing and minus nothing.)

It is important that we do nothing to pervert the gospel of Christ by adding or taking away a single thing from the finished work of Christ. If we are convinced about the essentials, then we can have liberty and freedom regarding the non-essentials.

In this age, we must resist the temptation to be sidetracked by issues that pull us away from the gospel. The church and our movement, can be as guilty as anyone of making it difficult for people to get God's heart regarding the gospel of Christ.

Strengthen the health of your church: Clarify the Gospel. As always, I'm interested in your thoughts on this and look forward to seeing your comments.

 

Church Life Podcast - Gary McIntosh

A new audio session featuring Gary McIntosh has been uploaded to the Church Life Podcast. Gary taught a great session connected to his book One Church, Four Generations. If you have not already, please subscribe to the Church Life Podcast.

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About Gary McIntosh: 

Gary is currently Professor of Christian Ministry and Leadership at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, where he teaches courses in the field of Pastoral Theology. The author of eighteen books and numerous articles, he has received the Faculty Excellence Award from Biola University, the Donald A. McGavran award from the American Society for Church Growth, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Colorado Christian University, and the Donald A. McGavran award from the School of Intercultural Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary. Gary also served as President of the American Society for Church Growth in 1995 and 1996.

Dr. Gary L. McIntosh, has over 27 years of experience in the field of church growth consultation, coaching of church leaders, and workshop presentations. As President of the McIntosh Church Growth Network, Gary has analyzed over 1,000 churches, representing some 87 denominations throughout the United States, Canada and Southeast Asia. His articles have appeared in Global Church Growth, New Results, the Win Arn Growth Report, Leadership, Church Growth America, Growing Churches, and numerous denominational publications.