A new start at Rosarito Beach

We’ve been very busy getting started here in México so the blog went on an unplanned hiatus; thank you for your patience! There will once again be a new post every Wednesday..

Karen and I are amazed at the turn our lives have taken lately. We expected to be living in Chapala, near Guadalajara, but we’ve been moved to Rosarito Beach in Baja California instead.

We are now leading a church here called Baja Christian Church. It is a very young church that meets at the Rosarito Beach Hotel, a historic hotel that was first opened in 1925. The hotel used to be a favorite hangout spot for Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, as well as many of the Hollywood favorites. Rita Hayworth and the Shah of Iran rented a whole floor of the hotel during their stay in 1954, and a sign over the entrance says, “Through this door pass the most beautiful women of the world.”

Now the hotel is the base of our operations as we reach out to this growing community. Since the room where we meet is right on the main street, new people come in every week and share their stories with us. The people who come have as rich and varied histories as the hotel itself does. We have people in our church from Australia, Jamaica, Alaska, the Deep South, various parts of México and, now, even Scotland. Some of our people are deportees who spent most of their lives in the US but are currently stuck south of the border against their will, and others are people from America and other countries who are here by choice.

There is a great liveliness amongst the people as this church is already growing and experiencing vibrant new beginnings. Not only have the Sunday services experienced significant growth in our first four months here, we’ve also started Tuesday Bible studies in Spanish, 12-step recovery groups for people dealing with addictions, a food-bank program to help provide food for people who are hungry, and exciting classes for new and growing believers on Sunday mornings and nights. The church’s Wednesday night Bible study has grown so much that it’s already outgrowing the smaller Activity Center where it has been meeting.

Of course, the most exciting thing is not simply the growth in numbers. The most exciting thing is that we are seeing dramatic changes already happening in people’s lives right before our eyes. People who had all but given up on life have found new hope, and we can hardly wait to see what happens next as more and more people are finding that hope in Christ! One woman’s father experienced a dramatic healing in response to the people’s prayers, and his doctors are baffled by his recovery; other people who had spent their lives bound by the mistakes of their pasts are finding new starts; and even the mayor, Hugo Torres, has taken notice and come to speak to the church and express his support and gratitude for what is happening through this group that meets at the Rosarito Beach Hotel.

Karen and I will also still be involved in important work throughout México as we pursue various opportunities for evangelism, church planting, and the training of leaders and evangelists across the country. But, in addition to that, we’ve found a home in Rosarito where the potential for the miraculous is being converted into reality day after day before our eyes.

Thank you to all of you who are supporting this ministry both with your prayers and financial support! There is no doubt that God is blessing the part you are playing in the work here. Please continue to remember us in your prayers as we continue serving the Lord here and across México!

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If you are interested in visiting Baja Christian Church, our services are at the following times:

• In the Salon Las Americas at Rosarito Beach Hotel:
  Sunday Service in English — 11am
• In the Baja Christian Church Activity Center, Rosarito Beach Hotel:
  Christianity 201 — Sundays at 9:00am
• Christianity 101 (the basics of the Christian faith) — Sundays at 6:30pm
• 12 Steps Recovery Groups — Tuesdays at 2:00pm & Thursdays at 6:30pm
• Spanish Bible Study — Tuesdays at 6:30pm
• English Bible Study — Wednesdays at 6:30pm

Christians against social justice?

“I’m a Christian who is against social justice,” is what one Christian basically said in a recent discussion about Christians’ role in social justice. To be honest, the comment made me sad. It made me sad because I know that there are a number of church-people out there who would agree with this statement even though it is in direct opposition to the teachings of the Christ they seek to follow.

How could Christians be against social justice? Have they been so politicized that they have forgotten that caring for the orphans and widows, looking after the aliens among us, and standing against oppression are biblical ideals that are both encouraged and commanded in the Bible?

Jesus himself said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” — Luke 4:18-19

From a theological perspective, I think the big problem is something called dualism. Ancient Greek philosophers taught that there is a divide between the spiritual and the material. Plato, for example, taught that the soul is the real person and that true freedom means being released from the prison of the material body. Largely as a result of this kind of thinking, a lot of Christians have opted to focus on caring for the “soul” and decided that looking out for the needs of the body are irrelevant.

However, the Bible teaches the salvation of the whole person and the resurrection of the body. Ancient Hebrew thinking, which influenced biblical thought considerably more than Greek thought did, knew of no distinction between body and soul. And when Jesus ministered to people, he fed the hungry whilst also ministering to their eternal needs.

Jesus ministered to the whole person, and anybody who claims to follow Him is obligated to do the same.

Years ago, a number of Christians reacted against a dualistic faith that went to an extreme. Calling itself a “social gospel,” it sought only to minister to outward physical and social needs. Rightly recognizing that they were missing the heart of the Gospel, many Christians reacted by going to the opposite extreme and deciding that they would have nothing to do with social needs and simply minister to the “spiritual” needs of the people.

They were equally in the wrong, though. Either extreme misses the heart of Jesus, who was sent to bring good news to the poor and to release the oppressed — not just in a “spiritual” sense but in tangible, practical ways.

To stand against social justice is to deny the heart and mission of the God of justice, the same God who said these words in Holy Scripture so many years ago:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter –
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?” — Isaiah 58:6-7

Many Christians in America have fallen into a unique problem with a political Christianity wherein they put the platforms of their political parties above their faith. As a result, depending on which political party they belong to, they tend to gravitate toward one heretical extreme or the other.

Some say that it’s all about personal morality, while others say it’s all about social justice. Both miss the heart of Jesus and condemn their expressions of Christianity to the realm of irrelevance. Those who say it’s all about personal morality present a Christianity that offers a “pie in the sky” but hardens its heart to the needs of hurting, hungry people all around the world. Those who say it’s all about social justice forget that true justice can’t happen in a world where sinful, selfish hearts are not changed.

May God bring Christ-followers together across America and around the world who are willing to let Jesus’ love shine through them in a holistic, realistic way. May we remember to tell people about the personal redemption and eternal life made available through the blood of Jesus Christ, while at the same time demonstrating the heart and compassion of Christ in the ways we respond to a broken world in need.

The belt of grace

In the ’90s, I was involved in work in a country I am calling Muldanesia. As this is a true story, the names of people and locations have been changed. While working in this country, I saw many people come to Christ and lives changed.

However, a problem arose with a man I will call Lonny. For a couple of years, I worked very closely with him whenever I visited this country. He was in charge of coordinating the work I did there.

Then he became very ill with a contagious disease. The missionary in charge told me to replace him with another pastor who could serve as the coordinator of the work I would do there in the future.

I chose Alan, a young man I had come to know and really trust over the previous few years. He had worked with us on our evangelistic teams, so I promoted him to the leadership of those teams for our next visit.

It turned out that Lonny didn’t like Alan at all. There were personality conflicts that had long existed below the surface between them, thus Lonny was deeply offended by being replaced with Alan.

Lonny started spreading rumors about me. A good friend of his was the leader of churches in one district, and he turned that man against me. The next year, when I was making plans to work in that district, I was informed I was no longer welcome there.

It didn’t stop God’s work from happening. We just moved our work to another district and saw great success there.

noun: (in Christian theology) the free, undeserved mercy and kindness of God shown to creation; the opposite of sin (Søren Kierkegaard)

However, it really hurt. I had considered Lonny a friend yet, he had not only gotten angry at me for a decision I had made, he had spread stories about me and turned others against me.

I didn’t say anything to Lonny about it at the time, but the betrayal hurt deeply. I prayed about it and, in my heart, I did manage to forgive the man. I just hoped and prayed that God would do something in his heart one day.

A few years later, I spoke at a university where Lonny was doing further study. I shared a sermon about Isaiah Chapter 6 and the things that happen when we genuinely encounter God in our lives — not when we encounter church or religion but when we really encounter God in some genuine way. At the end of the meeting, a lot of people responded to a challenge to get their lives right with God.

To my surprise, Lonny was one of them. I was surprised to see this man, who had turned against me so publicly, humbling himself to the point of responding so vulnerably under my teaching ministry.

After that, Lonny and I were reconciled and continued to have a good friendship throughout the years to come. One time, when I was speaking at an event in Muldanesia just a few years ago, he was attending and kept telling me, “Chris, I have a gift for you. I want to be sure and give it to you before you leave.”

On the last day there, he came to my room with a belt. It was covered in beads and had my name spelled out on it. It had to be one of the ugliest belts I had ever seen! But it was special to me because it showed genuine love and repentance. I kept the belt and was very grateful for the heart that gave it to me.

Not too long after that, Lonny became seriously ill again. One day, I was surprised to hear the news that he had died. He wasn’t old at all, so I really was surprised.

I wore that belt when I preached on Sunday. A couple people made fun of it, but I wore it proudly in memory of my friend. I told his story to the church and explained what the belt meant to me. It represented grace, and it represented God’s power to change a heart.

Lonny was not the only person who ever turned on me like that through the years. I know what it’s like to be gossiped about, betrayed, and rejected. Unfortunately, that’s something I think we all experience in this broken world. We can’t control how other people respond to us. Some may change their attitudes in time, but there will also be those who won’t. All we can do is pray for those who have hurt us, forgive them so that we are not overcome by bitterness, and be willing to love them if and when they return.

In the meantime, I will always remember that belt of grace. I, myself, have betrayed God and rejected Him more times than I care to remember, but He’s always welcomed me back into His arms. It’s a wonderful thing to remember that grace still exists and people still can be changed by it.

Our journey through 2009

When a new year begins, many of us review the year that lies behind us and also look forward to the year to come. We think about the things we have to be thankful for, as well as the things we wish we’d done differently. Then we resolve not to repeat the mistakes of the past year in the one to come. We make resolutions to start new things as we dream of fresh starts and opportunities.

As Karen and I look back at the year behind us, we certainly have plenty to look at. It’s been a very busy year, filled with major life-changes.

A year ago, we were both planning a wedding and living in Scotland. I was pastoring a church in Moodiesburn, Scotland and had a great circle of friends in the area.

Today, we’re looking forward to our first wedding anniversary and I’m getting ready to start pastoring a church in Rosarito, México. I miss my circle of friends in Scotland but am also excited about the endless possibilities that await us on this side of the world.

How did we get from there to here?

JANUARY

We had a lovely wedding in Dinuba, California and a fantastic honeymoon in Cancún, México. Even as we rested on the beach, though, something within us was restless. We already knew in our hearts that God was moving us to México eventually, but now God was stirring our hearts and telling us that we had to begin to make our move immediately.

We decided we would announce my resignation from the church in Moodiesburn upon our return to Scotland and leave at the end of April. It was not an easy decision, but to not do so would have been wrong because we were confident that this was what God was telling us to do.

FEBRUARY

We returned to Scotland and began to tell the church and our friends what was happening. To our surprise, many responded well to the news. One godly man told me that he knew God was getting ready to move us and that he could even see it was the right timing. He said, “You’ve done what you came here to do. You’re a church-planter, and you planted this church.” We knew that the people would miss us and that we would also miss them, but their sensitivity to the Holy Spirit helped them to see that it was God’s will.

MARCH

With less than two months remaining before our departure from Scotland, we took advantage of the opportunity to spend quality time with good friends whom we knew we were going to miss terribly. We also had opportunities to continue to share the Gospel. On the last Sunday of the month, we both forgot that clocks had changed and were an hour late for church! That was embarrassing!

APRIL

Our last month at the church in Scotland was difficult. We came under a lot of spiritual attack and it was hard to say goodbye to so many people we loved. Yet, God was faithful and kept us strong. We also had the opportunity to visit one of Karen’s best friends on the Isle of Jersey, which was a real joy for us both.

MAY

Our move to America was an amazing experience. Whereas we hadn’t even known how we were going to be able to afford plane tickets to the USA, somebody in the States gifted us our passage across on the Queen Mary II. This trip, which we could never have afforded ourselves, was something we took as a sign that we must have been listening rightly to God when He told us it was time for us to move.

One day we had actually wondered if we had heard God rightly because the finances just weren’t there. I said to somebody from the church, half-jokingly, “Pray that God gives us $2000 tomorrow so we can book tickets to America.” The next day, I heard from somebody in America who said they were taking care of our travel expenses. They covered our trip on the ship, which was a real blessing and which — interestingly enough — actually cost less than the plane tickets would have.

When we got to New York, we took a driving trip across the states, stopping at churches all along the way to tell people about our call to México. It was a fantastic experience and God used it to get our fund-raising started for the mission.

We got to California just in time to attend my cousin’s wedding. When we arrived at my parents’ house, family members from all over America were gathered together, so we really enjoyed the chance to meet up with so many family members we don’t often see.

JUNE — JULY

June and July were spent with my family. My dad’s health has gone downhill quite a lot, so we committed to spending most of those two months helping my mom with his care. Staying in my hometown gave us the opportunity to catch up with a lot of my old friends as well as a chance for me to speak at several churches in the area and share about the opportunities God is opening up for us. I also spent quite a bit of time preparing materials for our work in México, including the curriculum for a course I’ll be teaching to train up evangelists for the Church of the Nazarene.

AUGUST

August was a phenomenal month! We went to Africa with an amazing team of people. Some of us didn’t even know each other before arriving, but we all gelled together like family and had a great experience serving God together in Tanzania. 290 adults made decisions to follow Jesus Christ, and many children and youth responded too. We also got to see the fruits of many years’ work continuing both through practical compassionate ministries in the communities and the continuation of vibrant churches that had been started during previous visits.

Karen and I both got really sick while in Tanzania and were out of commission for the last two days of the campaign, but we had such an incredible team that the work continued and people continued to come to Christ. Ernie Bayton, with whom I had previously served in Kirkintilloch, Scotland, took over the preaching for those last two days and did a fantastic job. The rest of the team also stepped up and demonstrated marvelous resolve and unwavering faith in the midst of difficulties.

After the team went home, Karen and I had another test coming our way. We spent a few days in Nairobi, Kenya. One day, we took our laptops into a local coffee house, The Java House, which has long been one of my favorite haunts in that part of Africa. While we were there, somebody managed to take Karen’s rucksack without anybody — even the guard who was on duty — seeing what happened.

Among the items that were stolen were our passports, the adapter for Karen’s computer, our camera, and various other things. What followed was an interesting visit to the police station, which included having to fill out our own police reports and paying to have them signed by a policeman, and then we spent two days journeying back and forth to both the American and British embassies to get our passports replaced.

We did manage to get our passports replaced in time, however, and thankfully our spirits also remained strong throughout the ordeal. We knew God was taking care of us, so we just made the best of the situation and went with the flow. We were especially grateful that we got everything in order in time for our flight as we had yet more important work awaiting us at the next stop.

SEPTEMBER

We spent most of the month of September in Spain. I spoke at a retreat on the coast one week and at “each one win one” conferences for the next two weekends. We really enjoyed spending that time in the region of Catalunya, Spain. The scenery was breath-taking, the people were great, and God did some incredible things in people’s lives. For one of the most interesting stories from that time, see my post from the 6th of October.

OCTOBER

In October, we got some more time with my family in California and I spoke at churches throughout Central California. Then, at the end of the month, I preached at revival meetings in Vancouver, Washington. That was a great week as I got to catch up with several great friends and I got to introduce several of them to Karen for the first time.

NOVEMBER

We started November out by going to Loon Lake, Washington. It’s up in the hills of Eastern Washington and is right by a beautiful lake, surrounded by green trees and lots of deer. We had a wonderful time there. Once again, I caught up with old friends, introducing them to Karen, and God did good things in people’s lives at the revival meetings.

The rest of the month, we spent more time with family and friends, and I also spoke at a couple more churches in California. We had the privilege of spending Thanksgiving with my family before leaving for our new post in México. It was Karen’s first Thanksgiving ever, as it’s an American holiday, so I enjoyed introducing her to the tradition.

DECEMBER

Our new life in México finally began after almost a year of preparation. We arrived safely in Chapala, near Guadalajara, on the 5th of December and I preached the next day. The people are so welcoming and enjoyable to be around that our first day of ministry was a great experience. Two people came to faith in Christ, a father and daughter, and the day ended in the best possible way… with a bunch of us sitting by an outdoor taco stand eating carne asada tacos and enjoying each other’s company.

From the 9th to 16th, we went to Panama for an evangelistic campaign in the capital there. The heat was intense, especially with no air-conditioning, but the people were wonderful and the atmosphere beautiful and charming. 17 people responded to the call to trust Christ as their Lord and Savior during the meetings, and we had an incredible time with everyone there. We also got a chance to see the Panama Canal, which was a fascinating experience in itself.

We’re settled into México for the long-haul, though we’re still not at our main destination. Although we had originally planned to be based out of Chapala, we’ve been asked to relocate to Rosarito, just south of the California border. There’s a church there that needs our help so, in addition to my other duties, I will be pastoring that church as of the 17th of January.

Until then, we are enjoying this part of México. After a lovely Christmas in Chapala, we ended our year helping a mission team from America in Monteón, near Puerta Vallarta. Karen helped in the kitchen, serving meals to the team, and I translated for the English speakers and helped them teach the children.

Now, as I walk down the cobbled streets near the house where we are staying, I hear the sounds of México. Mexican music plays on people’s stereos, a horse is parked in the road, the smell of chiles is in the air. We sat down today at another taco stand and, as I ate my taco and drank my Coke, I couldn’t help but think of the journey God’s brought Karen and me on so far in our first year of marriage. We’ve come a long way and I can’t wait to see where God takes us in the years to come!