new church life: september/october 2015
Mr. Appelgren then turned to India where he said “the dragon” is very
much alive, and introduced the Rev. Peter Devassy who spoke of how Mr.
Appelgren came to India in 2007 to help establish the Church there, the
tribulation he himself went through since finding the Church, and how 29
people have since joined the Church. He asked us to hold the people of India
in our prayers.
Mike Gladish drew attention to the fact that they had just recently
published The Four Doctrines in Malayalam, and asked him to read a selection
in his own language. This was received with warm applause. They also have
Heaven and Hell and The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine in their
language.
Joint Meeting With the Board
After a lunch in which some members of the General Church Board of
Directors participated, we had two sessions of joint meetings of the Council and
Board. Bishop Keith said that the main use of the meeting was communication
between the clergy and board, with discussion of the strategic plan providing
an opportunity for that to happen. He said the strategic plan document was
imperfect and evolving. Its objective is not to dictate to the world but to look at
the kind of support the central offices can give to the Church in the next threeto-five years. In order for this to be helpful, the central offices need feedback.
The board-clergy communication was to take place in small groups which
would discuss questions concerning the relevance, completeness, practicality
and priority of the objectives in the strategic plan. Toward the end of the
second session we reconvened and a member of each group summarized a few
points from their group. Secretaries from each group were to send their notes
to the administration.
To close the session Jim Adams, Secondary Schools Managing Director,
and Brian Blair, President Elect of Bryn Athyn College, spoke about their
schools. Afterwards, hors d’oeuvres were served to clergy, Board and spouses
on the Dining Hall patio, to further opportunities for informal communication.
Resisting the Golden Calf
With worship saved for closing the meetings, Saturday’s session began with a
presentation by the Rev. Kenneth Alden on “A Golden Calf.” Jeroboam, king
of Israel, feared that if his people went up to Jerusalem to worship, they would
return to serving his rival, the king of Judah. So he said it was too much to go
up to Jerusalem and introduced the worship of golden calves. Golden calves
stand for natural good, and Jerusalem for the doctrine of truth from the Word.
It can seem as though appealing to natural good will keep people’s loyalty but
it can bring an end to the Church as it did to Israel.
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