The Bosque Boys

Recently I had the privilege of hearing an address by the Rev. Israel Batista Guerra, the General Secretary of the Latin American Council of Churches. Afterward I asked him for, and was granted, permission to share some of his comments in this blog. He cited the Christians Church in Cuba as an example of bringing theology and life together.

“Many ask why it is that the Cuban church is growing so much. It has not been because of evangelistic methods, or the use of television (to which we have no access), nor massive evangelistic campaigns. Its growth is based on the value of its Christian witness, on the commitment to the values of faith, on lives of holiness and on the faithful commitment to Jesus Christ. The Cuban churches are communities that, in the name of the Lord, save and heal.”

No gimmicks. No slick ads. Just communities living their faith in difficult circumstances. Amen. So may it be here. To read the full address link here. The pdf file link is at the bottom of the page.

During the rise of Islam several Christian leaders, such as John of Damascus, regarded it as a Christian heresy. That is, instead of seeing it as an independent religion, these leaders regarded it as a perversion of true Christianity. Perhaps this is because Islam has a place for Jesus as a prophet leading up to the ultimate prophet Mohammad, though not recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. Also, Mohammad and early Islam did have contact with Arabian Christians, and rejected Christianity as the one true religion.

Do I “respect” Islam? In a way, but not in the same sense I respect Buddhism or animistic religions. And certainly not in the way I respect Judaism, which I believe to be a God-revealed religion (though I pray that Jews will acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth to be the Messiah). cont.

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Sometimes Jesus keeps me awake nights. Yesterday morning at General Synod* a person leading prayer prayed for our troops in harm's way, and then added "and we pray for our enemies." Boom. Right between the eyes with a 2x4, which is the way the Lord sometimes must get my attention. Jesus did tell us Christians to pray for our enemies. So, I don't have a choice. If I want to be faithful, I must pray for Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and the whole miserable rabble of terrorists. I don't remember a word of the rest of the prayer that morning, I was trying to recover from the bomb that had just gone off in my head. (cont.)

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I just came from the opening convocation of the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America. Our worship this evening begin when a small boy carried a lit candle to the front of First Reformed Church, Pella, Iowa, a congregation founded by Dutch immigrants 150 years ago. The candle is a gift to my denomination from the Uniting Refomed Church in South Africa. As the candle, a small flame in a large building, was carried to the front, a little girl sang "This Little Light of Mine." In the telling this story can sound hokey, overly sentimental. I don't think any of us in the crowded sanctuary felt that way. We have had an eventful relationship with our sister Reformed Churches in South Africa; finally, several years ago we confronted as erring brethren those which affirmed apartheid in the name of Christ. Along the way there were those in the Reformed Churches in South Africa who rejected apartheid. Now, the churches in that land are working toward healing themselves and their land, a long and difficult process. The name "Uniting" was chosen intentionally. God is good. While South Africa has experienced turmoil and bloodshed, and continues to have difficulties including criminal violence, apartheid did not come to the end I had assumed that it would--bloody massacre. Instead, the people are moving forward, gradually, coming together. God is good. The light shines.

I love my homeland, the United States of America. I am a patriot. But tonight was a blessed reminder to me that I have higher loyalties--to God and to Christ's Church. My fellow Christians in South Africa and around the world, of whatever race or language, are family. I am closer to them than I am to my non-Christian American neighbors. God is good. The light shines.