Feb

15

Does Love Set Boundaries?

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Based on my experiences of pastoral counseling during my 28 year pastoral career, the most common issue faced by people revolves around giving and receiving forgiveness. But running a close second is confusion over boundaries.

According to Boundaries by Dr. John Townsend and Dr. Henry Cloud, co-authors of a book entitled “Boundaries,” published in 1992, by Zondervan, “having clear boundaries is essential to a healthy, balanced lifestyle.” A boundary is a personal property line that marks those things for which we are responsible and not responsible. In other words, boundaries define who we are and who we are not. As Christians, we want to be loving and unselfish in our relationships with others, but how do we keep from being overrun by the unhealthy demands and expectations of people who are unable or unwilling to assume responsibility for their own lives? What about our own limits and limitations as human beings? Christians struggle with questions like: Can I set limits and still be a loving person? What are legitimate boundaries? What if someone is upset or hurt by my boundaries? How do I answer someone who wants my time, love, energy, or money? Aren’t boundaries selfish? Why do I feel guilty or afraid when I consider setting boundaries? Read more

Feb

14

Crisis In Chad

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Following is a communique from Matthew Rogness, Executive Director of Lutheran Brethren World Missions, written at 5:00 PM on Wednesday, February 13th, updating us on the situation in Chad that is directly impacting our missionary efforts in that country. Continue to pray about this situation. As a point of interest, Community of Joy will be participating in the February 27th “Day of Prayer and Fasting” for Chad and will be providing information on how to give to “Chad Crisis,” the humanitarian aid effort in that region. -MAJ

What happened in Chad?

During the last days of January, rebel forces from eastern Chad started making their way across Chad toward the capital of Ndjamena. On Friday, February 1st, they were near the city and the fighting had become a concern for all living in Ndjamena. Over the next several days fighting continued in Ndjamena for control of the city and the government. Government forces eventually prevailed but not until 165 were killed, over one thousand injured and 30,000+ had fled across the border into Cameroon and thousands more south in Chad.


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Missionaries in ChadDuring these days, our missionaries in Chad were evacuated – two families to France (evacuated from Ndjamena where there was fighting) and three families to Cameroon from Bokoro, Doh and Gounou Gaya. They are all safe and taking time to decompress from the stress of those days and will await news of how the country is moving back to stability.

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Feb

6

Worship: A Transforming Encounter With God

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Experiential Worship by Bob Rognlien, NavPress, 2005Worship is our top priority as Christians. We were made to worship. I’ve always enjoyed the statement from the Westminster Confession which reads: “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.” Inasmuch as this is true, I’d like to recommend a book for your edification and enrichment on this all important topic. It’s entitled “Experiential Worship” by Bob Rognlien, NavPress, 2005.

The author, a Princeton educated Lutheran pastor from Torrance, California, who has led his congregation in worship renewal for a number of years, defines worship as “nothing less than a personal encounter with the living God. God comes to us and we respond; the mysterious and transforming intersection is what we call worship.” Another way to talk about our response to God’s overture of love toward us, according to Rognlien, is simply “loving God.” The framework of his book is derived from the scriptural answer to life’s most compelling question, “Why am I here on the planet?” The answer is found in the words of the Great Commandment of Mark 12:30 - “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” For Rognlien, worship is essentially loving God with our whole being - heart, soul, mind, and body. Read more