Urgent Prayers For Our Nigerian Brothers And Sisters

Editor's Note:  The following is a repost of an article that appeared in the Church of the Brethren Newsline.  I am sharing it here as information and requesting your prayer support for this urgent matter.  -  gdg Newsline The Church of the Brethren e-mail news service

Oct. 29, 2014 “The Lord is my shepherd...even when I walk through the darkest valley” (Psalm 23:4a, CEB). Nigerian Brethren headquarters property overtaken by insurgents The Nigeria Brethren church headquarters property has been overtaken by Boko Haram extremist insurgents. The news was shared in the early hours of this morning in an e-mail from the staff liaison of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN, the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria), who wrote: “JUST RECEIVED A CALL FROM EYN PRESIDENT WITH TEARS IN MY EYES I WANT TO INFORM YOU THAT BH HAS TAKEN OVER EYN HEADQUARTERS KWARHI.  THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS ALWAYS THANKS FOR YOUR PRAYERS ALWAYS” Since then, Church of the Brethren staff have been in contact with EYN leaders by telephone and e-mail, and additional information has been received. Many aspects of the situation remain unclear. However here is what is known at this time: The EYN headquarters property and Kulp Bible College, which are located in the village of Kwarhi, were attacked and taken by the insurgents. Boko Haram is in control of Kwarhi, and also reportedly has taken the nearby city of Mubi, and another nearby town of Maraba. At the time of the attack on Kwarhi and the EYN headquarters, leading staff including EYN president Samuel Dali were holding meetings in a community several kilometers away, and were safe. However their families, many of whom had returned to their homes on the headquarters property in recent weeks, were forced to flee for their lives. In the attack on the EYN headquarters, some of the guards for the compound were killed, and the conference hall was hit by a rocket launcher. During the attack on Kwarhi, many soldiers in the contingent that was stationed there also were killed. There is uncertainty about the whereabouts of some Kulp Bible College students and family members, and serious concern for the people who may be trapped in Mubi, along with many of the inhabitants of surrounding villages. Among those whose whereabouts are causing concern are people from the International Rescue Committee, a partner organization to the nonprofit relief group CCEPI, which is headed up by Rebecca Dali who represented EYN at this summer’s Annual Conference. Some weeks ago, at a time when Boko Haram attacks were closing in on Kwarhi, KBC was closed and students and families, as well as EYN staff families, were evacuated and left the compound. However, recently families had been returning, and in recent days there even were reports that KBC was reopening. The EYN staff and their families are taking refuge in a community several kilometers away from the Mubi area, where they are assessing immediate needs and still waiting to hear from some members of the community. However, the EYN leadership does not feel the situation at that location is safe either, and understands it to be very vulnerable to attack. EYN president Samuel Dali said that  “the situation is very bad” in a telephone conversation with Jay Wittmeyer, executive director of Global Mission and Service, and requested prayer. In addition to prayer for those who have not yet been heard from, those who are trapped in Boko Haram controlled areas, those who have lost loved ones, and those who have been forced to flee their homes, prayer is requested for God’s guidance for EYN to decide where to relocate its headquarters and its staff and their families. The Global Mission office has wired $100,000 which has been collected for the EYN Compassion Fund to assist EYN to meet the immediate needs at this time. It is hoped that more information will be available from EYN later in the week. For online resources and background information about EYN and the Church of the Brethren mission in Nigeria, go to www.brethren.org/nigeria . Newsline is edited by Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, director of News Services for the Church of the Brethren. The next regularly scheduled issue of Newsline is set for Nov. 4.

 

The Essence of Ordination: And the Duty of Discipleship

 

Four months ago I quietly celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of my ordination to the Christian ministry by doing…absolutely nothing.  I knew this date was approaching but in all honesty I didn’t even think about it when it arrived.  Not until about two months later did I realize this milestone in my life had passed. 

 

Some events just are not all that significant in the larger drama of Life.  That’s not to say my ordination isn’t important to me.  It certainly is.  It constantly reminds me that God has certain expectations of me, expectations I too often fail to live up to.  But the beauty of His Call is that He is able to use me in all my weaknesses and still accomplish His purpose.  As the Apostle Paul has written,

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  (2 Corinthians 12:9 [NIV])

It is humbling to realize how God loves us so much that he should send Jesus to die for our sins, raise him to life through the power of the resurrection, then fill us with his Holy Spirit that we might live for him.  This is the essence of ordination.

 

Not everyone sees it this way, however.  Today’s pastor/minister tends to be cut from a different type of cloth all together.

 

The word minister literally means “the mini-one” or “the smaller or lesser one”.  The lesser one in biblical days was the slave or the servant.  Thus the minister is actually the servant, the least among men.  Hmm, I wonder how many “Reverends” remember that from their Greek classes in seminary!  From where I stand it seems like many have forgotten this truth a long time ago.  They have allowed their ego and their role as a decision maker to lull them into believing that they are someone special.  Because the minister typically is the one who gets to speak all he wants about whatever he wants and he has no one worthy of talking back or disputing what he says, it is understandable why he/she too easily becomes consumed with pride.  The system followed by most churches today only feeds this narcissism by elevating the role of the pastor/minister to something between human and divine.  It is surprising there are not more pastors receiving excessive six-digit salaries (including all the hidden perks and benefits), living in luxury homes and driving automobiles that rival any corporate CEO.

 

Seriously.  In the place of the biblical “minister” I look around and see a mass uprising of “megasters”: i.e. “the larger or greater ones”, usurping authority and leading our churches and congregations away from the New Testament and down a happy but dangerous road.  In all honesty it is embarrassing and demeaning to be identified as one of the members of their Club.  I am sure the Old Testament prophets would have a heyday with today’s ecclesiastical economy! 

 

Yet today’s prophets seem oddly silent.

 

I find myself drawn ever-increasingly to the small and somewhat inconspicuous branch of theology known as Anabaptism.  In many and various ways Anabaptism quietly deflects the gaudy showmanship that seemingly defines much of what is considered “Christian” in America today.  Anabaptist theology says that every believer in Christ is called to be a minister of the Gospel - - ordained, as it were.  When we accept Christ as our Savior and are baptized in his Name we are, in effect, ordained by God to serve him according to his Will.  That, to me, is more powerful, more noteworthy, more significant than my official “ordination” by the Church to serve in what we in the Church of the Brethren refer to as the “set apart ministry” (so named to distinguish it from the ministry shared by all believers).  For if it were not for my salvation I could never serve as an “ordained minister”.

 

The concept that all believers are ministers is reflected by Peter when he reminds us that we “are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰  Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  (I Peter 2:9 – 10) NIV

 

Much has been made of that phrase “a royal priesthood”.  The great Reformers of the 16^th & 17^th Centuries used it as the basis of what they called the Priesthood of all believers.  The biblical context indeed suggests that all who have received the forgiveness of sin, have transitioned from darkness (sin) to light (salvation) have also accepted the challenge to live a completely different life.  Peter draws a sharp contrast between life before conversion and life after it.  He begins this passage by saying “¹  Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ²  Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation”  (I Peter 2: 1-2).  To follow Christ is to accept a very high calling indeed.  Such a drastic change in one’s life is most certainly noteworthy.

 

In a nutshell I am suggesting that our salvation and the corresponding responsibility to “live a life worthy of the calling which you have received. (Ephesians 4:1 [NIV])” is of utmost significance and worth celebrating regularly.  In the Church of the Brethren, as in most Anabaptist traditions, we celebrate this “common Calling”, if I may refer to it as such, through the biblical service known as The Love Feast.

 

Most Christians observe The Eucharist, that is, the bread and cup of communion as instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper.  All four Gospels make mention of it and like a story told by four different people no two accounts are exactly the same.  But taken together we gain a rather clear picture of what exactly our Lord was wanting to emphasize that night.  Through the centuries the Christian Community generally has not only embraced but in fact revered the bread and the cup as one of the sacraments, or ordinances depending upon the tradition, of the Church.  Some Churches celebrate the Eucharist weekly.  Some serve it once a month.  Others may serve it only several times a year.  Few, however, observe the complete service as Jesus intended.

 

The Passover Meal

 

The Last Supper was actually the Jewish Passover meal.  This meal was instituted by Moses to reinforce the memory of Israel under the burden of Egyptian slavery and miraculously freed by the power of Yahweh.  Simply stated the Passover Feast involved the slaying and eating of a lamb without blemish, along with bitter herbs and bread made without yeast (unleavened bread). 

 

The lamb reminded the people that Israel painted their door frames with the blood of a lamb so the Angel of Death would “pass over” their house.  Any house that did not have the blood displayed above the doorway (The Egyptians, aka non-believers) would  find their first- born male child killed by the Angel.  

 

The bitter herbs served as a reminder of the cruel and difficult life they were forced to live while in Egypt.

 

The unleavened bread held a two-fold meaning.  On the practical side it reminded them of the need to make hasty preparations to leave Egypt.  There was not enough time to wait for the dough to rise before it could be baked.  However there was also a spiritual meaning hidden in this element.  Yeast was used in the Bible on several occasions to symbolize sin.  In Matthew 16:6 Jesus said, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (NIV).  Paul explains further in I Corinthians 5:6-8 when he wrote, “⁶  Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?  ⁷  Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  ⁸  Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth”  (NIV).  Clearly bread made with yeast is a symbol of the sin that creeps into our life in little ways but soon takes over everything.  Unleavened bread, on the other hand, represents the life without sin made possible only through the Grace of Jesus Christ.

 

The meal also included four cups of wine.  Each was blessed and consumed throughout the meal.  It is said the four cups were representative of the four words spoken by Moses to Pharaoh: “let my people go.”

 

The Passover was to be celebrated annually by every Israelite because of the high significance of the Exodus event.  It was the beginning of a Covenant between Yahweh and his people.  It was, in a many of speaking, the Independence Day for ancient Israel.

 

The Brethren Love Feast

 

So what has this to do with the Love Feast?  Jesus took this powerful worship experience and reinterpreted it as a means of introducing a New Covenant.  He would be the Passover Lamb, sacrificed the following day at Calvary.  By his blood alone we who believe are saved; redeemed.  Our sins are forgiven and God will “pass-over” our unrighteousness so long as we stand in the righteousness of Christ.  This is how we are freed from the power of sin and death.

 

For us the yeast is entirely a symbol of sin and its tendency to spread.  Thus unleavened bread is eaten at the Eucharist and the Love Feast.  At the Last Supper Jesus reinterpreted the unleavened bread to represent his body, broken on the Cross.  It is a symbol of his death.  But it is also a symbol of our dependence upon Jesus day by day.  “I am the bread of life,” said our Lord (John 6:35),  “He who comes to me will never go hungry.”  Indeed our very life was created by Jesus and by his gracious hand we receive all that we need to live.

 

Many churches even in Anabaptist circles have varied the practice of using unleavened bread for communion.  Some will at times to use leavened bread but I confess I am old-fashioned enough to always feel a bit cheated if the bread served at communion contains yeast. 

 

We in the Church of the Brethren take this just a bit further, at least in the Congregations I am familiar with.  First, we make our own unleavened bread.  Each congregation seems to have their own recipe that is followed, but let’s face it, there is only so many ways you can vary this thing.  Typically, the Brethren style of unleavened bread is about half an inch thick and spread out on cookie sheets to bake.   Before being placed in the oven the bread is scored into small pieces about two inches square.  Then a specially designed fork with five prongs is used to slightly puncture the surface leaving 5 holes per piece.  These five holes represent the five wounds, or holes, placed in the body of Jesus at the Crucifixion:  one for each hand, one for each foot, and one for the sword placed into his side to ensure he was dead.  To this day whenever I receive the bread of communion I still break it into five pieces to eat.

 

The four cups of wine were reduced by Jesus to one.  This solitary cup symbolizes the shedding of his blood.  Leviticus 17:11 tells us that “the life of a creature is in the blood. (NIV)”  A case can be made therefore that the cup of communion, while representing Christ’s shed blood and his death, also represents life – in particular, Eternal Life.

 

While there is no prescribed way in which the Love Feast must be observed it usually follows an outline something like this.

 

1. The Preparatory Service
   
   This includes a time of singing hymns, reading scripture, confession of sin and sharing in prayer.
   It is a time for self-examination.  We are invited to look inward, to see if there is any sin that must be dealt with before coming to the Lord’s Table.
   
   In years gone by each member of the congregation would be visited by a deacon, pastor or elder in the weeks leading up to the Love Feast.  These visits were more than social events.  There were intended to be sure that all was well between you and your brothers and sisters in Christ.  If someone held animosity against a fellow Church member the Love Feast would be postponed until such time that reconciliation could be made.  This practice emphasized the urgency of unity within the Body of Christ.
   
   
2. The Fellowship Meal
   
   Following the Preparatory Service a modest meal would be served to all.  The menu varies greatly from one congregation to the next and frequently reflects cultural or local traditions.  But no matter what is served it is done so with moderation. 
   
   The meal is intended to remind us, first, that we are a family – a spiritual family united in Christ.  It also suggests that God provides for all our needs.
   
   
3. Washing of Feet
   
   Next comes the washing of feet.  Admittedly most congregations wash feet before the meal but I prefer to do this after the meal, based on the words of John 13:4-5 where Jesus clearly had already been served the meal and then “got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that he poured water in a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
   
   For me this is an overwhelming experience!  Jesus, the Lord of all Creation, the Son of God and savior of our souls, stooped in the form of a servant and washed the feet of his disciples.  In doing so he preached one of the most enduring sermons ever - - without uttering a word!  Here we have the perfect symbol of humility, servant leadership, spiritual renewal, and love. 
   
   It is not easy to get down on your knees before a fellow believer and take their foot in your hand to wash it, dry it, and repeat for the other foot.  Yet it is an empowering moment.  Whenever I wash the feet of another in this setting I am demonstrating my commitment to be there in their time of need.  I will do what I can to help, to comfort, to serve.  And I do it in the Name of Jesus.
   
   Some tell me there is no need to wash feet today.  We do not wear sandals and walk on dust-covered roads like the first century people did.  To them it was a common practice whenever you visited in a person’s home. But for us it holds no relevance.  I could not disagree more strongly.
   
   Yes, people might offer to wash a guest’s feet in the days of the New Testament.  But the lowest ranking person in the house would have to do the chore.  A slave or servant, if there was one; a child if there was not.  Anyone but the head of the house.  Yet here was Jesus, the great Master, Teacher and Lord, taking upon himself this most humble role.  Then comes the punchline only Jesus could present.
   John 13:12-17 (NIV)
   ^“12  When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them.
   ¹³  "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am.
   ¹⁴  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.
   ¹⁵  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
   ¹⁶  I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
   ¹⁷  Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”
   
   Did you catch that?  Jesus said we are to follow his example and wash one another’s feet.  That is not a suggestion.  It is not a mere statement.  It is a command!
   
   
4. The Eucharist
   
   Only after all the above transpires do we now come to the bread and cup of communion.  By this time we have examined our hearts, confessed our sins, refresh our bodies and expressed our commitment to each other.  Only then are we able to “proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.  (I Corinthians 11:26)”  NIV

 

 

Summary

 

The Brethren Love Feast is perhaps the most biblical worship experience one can hope to find.  Not only does it follow the sequence of events at the Last Supper, but its rich symbolism represents the most sacred themes in scripture.  It is a wondrous treasure.

This is why I am so deeply concerned that the Church is drifting away from its dynamic heritage.  Few congregations outside the Anabaptist circle have any idea what the Love Feast is, even though it is mentioned in the New Testament on several occasions  (see I Corinthians 10:21 & 11:20; John 13:1-17;
I Timothy 5:10 and Jude 12).  Even within my denomination I know of one congregation that decided to not hold the Love Feast.  Instead they simply offered the bread and cup of the Eucharist as part of their regular Sunday morning worship.  The stated reason was that not everyone came to the Love Feast, but by offering the Eucharist as part of a Sunday morning worship they could bring the bread and cup to more people.  My response to that is simple.  Salvation must be an individual response to the grace of God.  That is to say each person must voluntarily and individually seek God’s forgiveness and receive his grace.  In the same way it follows that the Love Feast, communion, or the Eucharist must be voluntarily entered into by each individual person.  We can invite.  We can challenge.  We can encourage.  But we cannot make a person partake of the bread and cup.  If we try to, it becomes totally meaningless.

 

The anniversary date of my ordination to ministry is insignificant.  The Love Feast is not.  I pray this awesome and holy experience may continue to inspire a new generation of committed believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.