Weekly Update from the Senior Pastor
December 29 , 2005
Dear Family and Friends,
It is the day before New Year’s Eve. REMEMBER:
- Holy Rain Worship Event: 7:00 -9: 00-ish . New Year’s Eve.
- ONEworship service onNew Year’s Day: 11:00 a.m. - 12:10 . I’m very excited about starting our year in Psalm 23: the Good Shepherd’s Psalm. You will be encouraged!
This Christmas season I thought so much about what our world would have been without Jesus. The vision is not pretty. Or, to say it with “great joy for all people,” I pondered all we have now because Jesus was willing to come that first Christmas for us. In that spirit, let me share a story:
I doubt you’ve ever heard the name of Pandita Ramabai, a remarkable woman. Pandita is a title of honor meaning “wise person” that Hindus bestow on great scholars. Pandita (1858-1922) was born in India , a Brahman-class daughter of a holy man and scholar, who herself became a great sage of the Vedic and Upanishad holy scriptures of Hinduism; then became a bold follower of Jesus Christ.
She was a five-foot tall dynamo: the first champion of women’s rights in India , revered around the world for her wisdom, speaking skills, compassion and scholarship. She established Mukti [it means Freedom], a mission for rescuing cast-off child widows (young girls married to older men, then widowed and unwanted), prostitutes and abused females. Her Mukti mission, the first of its kind, took care of thousands of women at a time. She became convinced that the key for India ’s transformation into treating women with dignity was Christian women going from village to village, sharing Scripture with other women. So she spent 12 years translating the entire Bible into the Marathi language from Greek and Hebrew!
Her story is amazing, but let me offer one quote from her autobiography about why she turned from a faith that literally offered no salvation or equality to women—no hope except reincarnation as a man; to champion, at extreme risk, the message of Jesus Christ in a hostile, Hindu world. Here are her words:
“I read the story of Christ meeting the outcast Samaritan woman and His wonderful discourse on the nature of true worship in the fourth chapter of John’s Gospel. I came face to face with the infinite Love of Christ for sinners. He did not despise them but came to save them. I had never read or heard anything like this in the religious books of the Hindus. I realized, after reading this encounter that Jesus Christ was truly the Divine Savior He claimed to be, and no one but He could transform and uplift the downtrodden womanhood of India and of every land .”
Amen. Or transform misguided manhood in our day as well. Thank you God, for Your indescribable Gift of Jesus.
- Thank you, congregation, for your faithful hearts during 2005:
This year we found our land and someday will have a powerful ministry center there, high on a hill—as a beacon of light. We baptized into Jesus Christ 23 precious people. We launched strong local missions, then national and international mission expansions on three continents. Our Youth Ministry and Children’s Ministry are strong training grounds for sold-out followers of Jesus. Over 75% of our congregation was active in volunteer ministry and life groups. Our giving back to God financially was higher than ever before, with approximately $1.375 million in total giving; including over $250,000 as our December “Christmas miracle.” There is so much to be thankful for in 2005.
Now my heart longs for us in 2006 to see many more seekers won to Christ and many more believers stepping up into ministries that continue making a difference for others. I have great gratitude for all of you—and great anticipation for what lies ahead. Friends, because we embrace Jesus’ love for us and call on our lives: the best is yet to come!
Happy New Year!
Love ya,
Richard
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