Batting Down Rumors About TransMin

Although this was posted some time ago (see the tag on the end) it might be good to review and to, as Dr. Salico says, to, "set the record straight."

Setting the Record Straight

Dr. Dale V. Salico

False reports are being circulated about Transformation Ministries, bringing confusion to pastors and congregations. Numerous pastors have reported the allegations being made against this ministry. My only purpose in responding to these false reports is to set the record straight.

False Statement #1: “Transformation Ministries is financially weak and cannot offer significant services to churches.”

The Facts: In the past seventeen months God has blessed Transformation Ministries financially beyond anything we have seen in the past decade. Because of God’s grace and the generosity of the Lord’s people, we are now in the strongest financial position we have been for the past fifteen years!

• In the past month we have hired two new administrative staff members.

• After years of deferred maintenance, because of a special gift we have re-roofed and painted our office building. More repairs and improvements are being scheduled to make the Church Resource Center more user friendly.

• We have upgraded our publications.

• Significant improvements are being made at all three of our camps.

• In the first four months of 2007, financial support for Transformation Ministries budgeted ministries has exceeded 2006 giving by 19%!

While we need the continued faithful support of congregations and our financial partners, this ministry is growing, not shrinking!

False Statement #2: “If your church stays with Transformation Ministries, they will want your property and 30% of your church’s income.”

The Facts: Transformation Ministries will not ask any church to surrender the ownership of its property to this Ministry. The Board of Directors of Transformation Ministries is working through our property files and, on a case-by-case basis, offering to eliminate or change old loans and property agreements. The final decision about property arrangements between individual churches and Transformation Ministries will be made by the churches.

Transformation Ministries does not ask for a certain percentage of a church’s income. In the Covenant of Transformation Ministries Churches, congregations state, “We will give a ‘faith share’ to support this mission.” A “faith share” is defined as follows: “By agreeing to give a ‘faith share’ to support our mission together, congregations are saying that they will support this ministry at a significant level.”

False Statement #3: “If your church is a member of Transformation Ministries, there will be no emergency assistance available for your pastor or pastoral family.”

The Facts: The churches of Transformation Ministries have contributed over $25,000.00 to a “Pastors Emergency Fund.” Combined with other donations, the Transformation Ministries Pastor’s Emergency Fund now has a balance of over $100,000.00! A team of pastors has been appointed to oversee the Emergency Fund ministry. Already, several pastoral families have received assistance.

False Statement #4: “Two hundred churches in the Pacific Southwest are standing firmly with the ABC.”

The Facts: While many Transformation Ministries churches have withdrawn from the ABC, the majority of churches have not yet notified the ABC regarding their intentions. Many will eventually withdraw. Others will be members both of the ABC and Transformation Ministries. In the first week of April, churches received the final printed Covenant of Transformation Ministries Churches. We are receiving signed Covenants almost every day at the Church Resource Center in Covina. [Ed.: see the current data at www.transmin.org.)

If you have heard other confusing or troubling reports about Transformation Ministries, please communicate them to us so we can bring clarification. Rumors and misinformation not only cause confusion, they can lead to disconnect. Every congregation is important in this movement of churches. Our goal is for every congregation to be stronger because of its relationship with every other congregation.

Transformation Ministries provides a robust connection between churches, not a marriage of convenience or a phantom relationship. Built on a solid foundation of Biblical convictions and core values, Transformation Ministries strengthens churches now, and prepares them to withstand the intensifying storms blowing out of a post-Christian culture that are assaulting Christianity.

God is blessing this movement of churches, under-girding its ministry and expanding its influence.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:2-3

05/29/07

The War on Christianity in Laos

From Religion Today, August 17, 2007. I have a special interest in the church in Laos due to...reasons that cannot be published here.

Laotian Government Efforts to 'Eliminate Christianity'

Elizabeth Kendal

August 17, 2007

AUSTRALIA -- A Presbyterian missionary first brought the gospel to Buddhist, animist Laos in 1885. Whilst the ethnic Lao were resistant, the ethnic minorities were not. Thanks to Gospel radio and indigenous missionaries, the 20^th century saw revivals amongst the Hmong and the Khmu which sometimes involved whole villages turning to Christ. During the second Indochina war the Hmong, who live in the hills that straddle northern Vietnam and Laos, joined with the American forces against the Communists. But by April 1975 the Americans had been driven out and the Communists had won. This left the Hmong in a dire situation as an ethnic and growing religious minority under vengeful Communist regimes. According to Operation World, some 90 percent of all the Laos Christian leadership were forced to flee the Communist advances, reprisals, purges and persecution of 1975.

The Laos government, still one of the world's most severe abusers of religious liberty, has explicitly declared its intention to 'eliminate Christianity.' The government not only severely persecutes Christians, it is also pursuing a genocidal war against the restive Hmong, using military means which include gross barbarity, chemical weapons ('yellow rain') and starvation. (See note and links below).

In early June, ten people were arrested in California, USA, and charged with plotting a coup to overthrow the Laos government. The ringleaders of the alleged plot were Harrison Jack (60), a former US Army Ranger who led covert operations and worked with Hmong fighters during the Vietnam War, and Gen. Vang Pao (77), a prominent member of the Hmong community who emigrated to the US in the 1970s. The BBC reports that Vang Pao, as a Laotian general, led CIA-backed forces against Communist guerrillas before they seized power in 1975. According to the BBC the group is said to have spent millions of dollars on weapons and explosives.

The events in the US have triggered a major persecution against Christian Hmong in Laos, where it is assumed the Christians have US links. Compass Direct (CD) reported on August 7 that Lao government soldiers and police had killed at least 13 Hmong Christians in the previous month and that some 200 members of a 1900-strong Laos Evangelical Church in Ban Sai Jarern (north-western Laos) were imprisoned. One source told CD that police are shooting on sight Christians they are searching for intensively in rice fields and mountains. Vietnamese police and soldiers have crossed into Laos seeking Vietnamese Hmong.

The authorities are accusing the churches of being linked to Gen. Vang Pao and that the pastors are preparing their congregations to participate in the coup. The churches however flatly deny the charges and maintain that they are good, loyal, law-abiding citizens. Exploiting the situation, Communist village officials and committee members and other anti-Christian elements are agitating for a purge of Christians. Numerous church leaders have been seized. Police are pursuing others who are on the run.

On top of this, the Thai Prime Minister announced on August 6 that Thailand would return some 8000 ethnic Hmong refugees to Laos despite their claims they face persecution in their homeland. World leaders generally are indifferent to what they know is happening in Laos, which will apply for membership in the World Trade Organisation in 2008.

Please Pray Specifically for God to...

• protect and sustain his Church amidst this terrible persecution, especially the Christian leaders - so vital for the Church - who are being specifically targeted by the authorities.
• speak comfort and love to the hearts of the Christian believers amongst the traumatised Hmong fleeing through the jungle or who are refugees in Thailand, so that they will not lose faith or hope; may he draw them to prayer and deliver them from their enemies. 'From the Lord comes deliverance.' (Psalm 3:8 NIV)
• turn the hearts of world leaders from indifference to indignation that leads to action (Proverbs 21:1).
• pour out his Spirit mightily on the majority Lao people, emboldening the Lao Church and opening Lao hearts to receive the gospel.

Note and Links

Rebecca Sommer, a German-born New York-based filmmaker and human rights activist, has produced a film 'Hunted Like Animals' that shockingly exposes the severe trauma of the Hmong.

'Hunted Like Animals' may be purchased as a DVD or watched as Quicktime clips from Rebecca Sommer's site
http://www.rebeccasommer.org/documentaries/Hmong/index.php or as a series of YouTube clips http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmSWXk1nFRc&mode=related&search .

Elizabeth Kendal is the Principal Researcher and Writer for the World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC) www.worldevangelical.org/rlc.html. This article was initially written for the WEA RLP(Religious Liberty Prayer) mailing list. Elizabeth can be contacted by e-mail at rl-research@crossnet.org.au.

The Pursuit of Happiness

A brief break from missions postings. This is the monthly column I write for Temple City Life, our local Chamber of Commerce publication.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Lately I've been thinking a lot about happiness. What is happiness? How do you get it? How do you keep it?

A few months ago, my wife Lynann and I saw the DVD of “The Pursuit of Happyness” with Will Smith. (The misspelling is intentional and is part of the story.) It's the inspiring story of Chris Gardner, a man who broke through barriers of race and poverty by dogged hard work to become a stockbroker with E.F. Hutton in San Francisco.

No one could doubt that when Gardner “made it” he was a lot happier than when he and his son was sleeping in a shelter—or a locked public bathroom, or even a BART train running all night.

At the same time, his material success is no guarantee of real happiness. Name ten celebrities, chances are that nine are miserable. Happiness cannot be guaranteed via a bank account.

So what is happiness? As Dallas Willard, professor of philosophy at UCLA points out, every great thinker must give his account of “the good life”--we might say, the happy life. Jesus of Nazareth is no exception. His description of the good—the happy—life is called The Sermon on the Mount.

He turned the pursuit of happiness upside down. He launched His explanation of the Good Life with a series of statements we've come to call the Beatitudes. Here they are in The Message translation:

“You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.

"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.” (Gospel of Matthew 5:3-10)

Until Jesus, everyone assumed that real blessedness (which is just an inch away from the meaning of real happiness) meant freedom from insecurity, the accumulation of things, self-confidence and triumph over circumstances. Jesus' vision is very different: He says that real blessedness/happiness is found when we are entirely centered in God.

So for Jesus (and in the rest of the Bible for that matter) happiness can be defined as a loving, joyful contentment in God and in God's Kingdom. For example, in Isaiah 26:3, we read, “You [God] will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Perfect peace—real happiness—is found in a heart that is fully set upon God—His love, character, deeds and purposes.

In Philippians 4:12-13, Paul echoes this theme of perfect peace through a whole-hearted love and focus and commitment to God: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

The pursuit of happiness: I know where real happiness is to be found. It is in a vital, real, loving, worshipful, delightful, joyful connection of my life to God through Jesus. Are you happy too?

Some Thoughts on World Missions, Part Two: An Historical Road Not Taken

Many years ago, I recall J. Christy Wilson saying, “Islam is the unpaid debt of the church. If we had been faithful and evangelized the Arabian Peninsula, think how differently history would have gone.”

With that in mind, let’s imagine a different timeline, where Islam never even came into being…

BY THE LATE third century, Nabatean missionaries had brought the gospel as far south as modern Yemen, the ancient Kingdom of Sheba. Most of the Arab tribes in the Hejaz region were at least partially evangelized. In the early seventh century a self-styled prophet named Muhammad arose briefly, a cult of radical monotheism and bloodshed (jihad), but his movement died out within a generation of his death.

Arab missionaries fanned out to the south and east, establishing churches as far away as India and even Indonesia and as far south as portions of East Africa. The Parthian Empire embraced Christianity as its state religion in 759 and the Parthian Orthodox Church became the driving agent in the evangelization of central Asia and portions of Southeast Asia. Parthian missionaries established a missions presence in China by 1050 and in Japan and Korea by 1300.

Catholic missionaries arrived in India and China often to find that they had proceeded by Arabs and Parthians. When the Reformation arrived in Europe in the 16th century, Arab evangelization of Africa and Parthian evangelization of India, China and the east continued unabated. Unfortunately nationalistic ambitions and an abortive war of conquest of Arabs by the Parthians slowed this process. Internal forces and Mongol invaders brought an end to the Parthian empire. However, in a manner similar to the Goths and Rome, the Mongols had at least been partially evangelized by Nestorian monks.

By the early 18th century, the Eastern Reformation swept through both the Arab Christian and Parthian-Mongol Christian world. So-called Eastern Protestantism was initially slow to resume missions work, but by the mid-19th century began to vigorously evangelize Africa, India, China and even as far away as some South Seas islands in the Pacific….

Some Thoughts on World Missions, Part One

Earlier this summer, I took the class that was developed by the US Center for World Missions called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Years ago I wanted to take the class but told myself that the best place to take it would be at the US Center in Pasadena, but how would I ever do that.

Then, in 1999, God plopped me down eight miles from the USCWM.

One of the things that amazed me most was that I was the only Senior Pastor taking Perspectives course! Not only that, I was the third oldest person there!

So why did I take the class?

Well, I have been a “missions enthusiast” for years. It’s not like this was all new to me. I was mentored by the late J. Christy Wilson, Jr. back when I was at Gordon-Conwell in the early 80s. I’ve led the charge for missions giving and missions going. I even have the first edition of the big “Perspectives” reader!

I came to reenergize a personal commitment. It never hurts!

I came for “fresh ammunition” to teach and make the case for world missions.

I came because the key staff person at our church for missions has moved on (to become Dean of Students at San Diego Christian College). His approach was very much centered on missions trips (to the Navajo reservation, to Thailand and to Tijuana). I have the suspicion that that approach has run its course; we need a new approach and a fresh start.

I came because at this stage of life I am more and more concerned about passing things on. I want to be certified to coordinate the course.

I came because of a new era in our church connections. Our church was formerly part of the American Baptist Churches USA. Our region (formerly the ABC of the Pacific Southwest) voted last year to separate from the nation body. It’s now called Transformation Ministries. One reason I’m here is a burden to help steer TransMin in a new direction when it comes to missions. We are doing like most TransMin churches—continuing to support connections with ABC missionaries we have strong ties to (such as Mike Mann in Thailand). But eventually “something has to give.”

I came to network with people with a common vision, and to establish ties with the missions community here at the USCWM complex.

In this Biblical phase of the course, I found myself in 99% agreement with the interpretations emphases made by the speakers—and have often made them myself. One conviction that caught me early was that if missionaries are to be the “pathfinders” in world evangelization, what are US based pastors called to be? The world “pacesetters” comes to mind. I realized it’s been quite a while since I’ve been on the field (six years ago, in Mexico, and only briefly) and much longer since I lead a mission trip (1991 in the Dominican Republic).

I think we need a new policy, starting with me: all full time ministry staff must go to an international mission setting every two years, minimum. Such a policy will make it clear: this is a PRIORITY, the ultimate priority: making Christ known to all peoples.

Still Answering the Same Questions

A letter from a couple who moved away a number of years ago including the question--just what is this Transformation Ministries? Is FBC Temple City still an American Baptist Church? This was my email answer:

Dear (Mr.) and (Mrs):

K. A., our office manager, shared your letter with me. Thank you for your donation. We are delighted to send you The Tower [our newsletter]. If you wish, The Tower can now be sent to you via email.

Regarding Transformation Ministries, TransMin is the continuation of the Southern California Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Churches of thePacific Southwest. In April, 2006, delegates at a specially called meeting of ABCPSW voted by a 4 to 1 margin to disaffiliate from American Baptist Churches USA. Our church supported that decision (by a 6 to 1 margin), so as of Nov. 1, 2006, we were no longer affiliatedwith the ABCUSA.

This decision was not made lightly. Valley Forge for years has pursued a policy of compromise with the world in matters of moral values, all done in the name of "soul liberty." We along with the region came to the conclusion that that constituted an inversion of values, and that Biblical authority must hold a higher place in our values than soul liberty.

We are free to more boldly proclaim Christ--and Christ alone, not a denomiantion! We remain a cooperative church--now, through TransMin, and through the National Association of Evangelicals. May God bless you,

Dr. Glenn Layne

Senior Pastor

First Baptist Church of Temple City

PS: Seeing the monstrosity of meeting with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in DC in June, I am more than ever convinced this was the right move.