Burning the Note

In July of 1999, it had been settled that the Anchorage Native Church would buy out the Far North Bible College's interest in the co-owned building. A portion of the buy out price was settled on and payment initiated at that time. A remaining portion, a sum of $100,000 was placed into a ballon payment which would come due in January, 2010.

Today, Native Assembly is doing very well. It has a large feeding ministy and is serving the community with passion and the love of Christ. Their outreach ministries keep their reserves to a mininum. Preparing for the upcoming one hundred thousand dollar payment was placing the pastor, Eldon H., and the board under a great deal of stress. Should they refinance, relocate, or suspend ministry activities in order to prepare for the payment?

The Far North Bible College Administration, Board of Regents, and the District came up with a plan. Forgive the debt! But, doesn't the school need the money? You bet it does! However, they recognized that we are all here to do what God called us to do - ministry. Recognizing, and believing that God will meet all their needs, the school and district chose ministry above payment. Native Assembly could continue doing what they were called to do without having to contend with what would have amounted to a major financial blow, and FNBC could continue on believing that God will provide thier needs.

On the 20th of last month, we gathered and burned the Promissory Note! It was a day of celebration for all those involved.

Gateway AG

On the thirteenth, we celebrated the opening of a new AG church in Peter's Creek. The church is pastored by Randell and Gina. The church is a plant from the Eagle River Assembly with a small investment from the District.

I greatly admire the faith and vision of the Eagle River Church, and their Pastor, Jack A. The entire congregation was as excited as Joyce and I were on that day. It was a great celebration with Gary and Alice in attendance. Putting a church in Peter's Creek has been talked about for many years. It was nice to see it happen.

We have discussed "execution," putting our words and decisions into actions. Well, here in Peter's Creek, we have seen it done.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

Being Friendly

Being friendly is really about liking people and wanting to serve them is some small way. It is so simple - so selfless - you just have to chose to do it. And, the rewards are incredible. Maybe if you have enough pride or money you don't need friends. It would have to be a lot of pride, or, an awful lot of money to replace friendships with any degree of satisfaction. Friendships are what make life fun and rewarding. Today my neighbor, Dave L., honked and waived as he pulled out of his driveway. Dave is pretty quiet by nature and certainly not a honker! So, it was really cool that he would do something like honk. Actually, it was more of a toot.

Earlier in life, I thought about living alone in the woods, a recluse. [Maybe I was having some self-esteem issues? who knows!] Meanwhile, the pastor in Bethel, Kenny Andrus, had left me alone on the Innoko River because he had run out of space in his plane, the result of a successful moose hunt. At last - I was alone in the Alaskan wilderness - for days - by my self! A real Albert Johnson! (The Mad Trapper from Rat River.)

For a couple of days it was really fun. Then, it started getting to me. I shot at mice in the middle of the night, read everything I could find, and tried sneaking up on wildlife in a canoe. A young bull moose didn't respond well to this. When Kenny landed, I was soooo excited! I talked non-stop the whole way back Bethel.

It is nice to have friends!

Building Partnerships

"Leading an organization is based on common sense and on surrounding yourself with people who complement your skills and help make you successful." [Jonathan Tisch, CEO, Loews Hotels.]

Church-goers today have a lot of churches to choose from and access to a lot of ministry options due of the Internet. Also, many churches are starting to look alike once you get around the Pentecostal or non-pentecostal issue. The music, PowerPoint, youth ministry, adult education, all somewhat similar. What will set us apart? Effectiveness in missions (home and abroad), effectiveness in leadership development (local & statewide), effectiveness in cross-cultural ministry development, and effectiveness in resourcing our district. To achieve this will require us to partner with co-workers, others with similar values, and other skill sources, such as business. I believe our vision is too narrow at this point.

We can struggle along, utilizing our current skill levels. But, to really succeed, we must add to these skills by partnering with other skill resources. If we would do this - our most exciting days are before us.