Calvin Synod Herald, 2005 (106. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2005-07-01 / 7-8. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 3 Dear Friends: We just returnedfrom our Annual Synod Meeting, and it was a wonderful time, both for fellowship and for lifting up each other as Christians. One of the recurring themes we heard - notjust this year but for many years, is the need for a “road map, ” a foolproofformula for congregational growth. Interestingly, such a document does exist. For our congregations to succeed, we need to follow the simple directions in the Bible. The Bible is much more than a “holy book. ” The Bible is a fantastic instruction book on life. It is great for your personal life. It is great for your social life. And it is imperative for the life of your church! We are at a critical point in our history as a church, as a Synod, and as the recipients of the Reformedfaith of our fathers. We must take the steps necessary to preserve the faith for future generations, to make it available to those who are thirsting for the word of God both for our children s children and those around us. This has been a theme, a concern, of our churches for decades. How do we survive? That, however, is really not the right question. At the ordination and installation servicefor Rev. Csaba Krasznai in Cleveland last summer, a former classmate of his was present from Hungary, and reflecting on this focus by the churches in the United States, he made the observation that “Christ doesn't call on churches to survive, our mission is to preach the Gospel!” An “outsider” recognized our fixation on the wrong issue almost immediately. When an organism of any kind does what it was created to do, then it not only survives but thrives! One never * • E-mail Address Changes • Rt. Rev. Koloman Karl Ludwig, Bishop of the Calvin Synod, will use his old e-mail address as his permanent address: kkludwigifl aol.com • Lisa Toth, the Synod Treasurer, has changed her e-mail address. It is now: lisa.toth@gmail.com All churches, please make the necessary change to your records. • The new e-mail address for the West Side Hungarian Reformed Church is: wshrc@vahoo.com Condolences to the family of the Rev. Andrew (Czecze) Springer, pastor of the West Side Hungarian Reformed Church of Buffalo, New York He was called home by his maker June 6, 2005. Let us keep his family in our prayers. sees a fat cheetah, or gazelle, or any other such animal. Look at animals in the wild - living as they were intended to live. They were created to move, to search for food, to measure their leisure time only for necessary rest, not for slothfulness. We humans have managed to find ways not to exercise, neither our minds nor our bodies, and as a result we are lacking good health in both areas. The Church of Jesus Christ was created to be HIS body on the earth. We are called to do HIS work, to spread HIS Gospel, to bring to life HIS desires in all that we say and do. When we allow the Spirit to lead us, then our lives are different, and our congregations come to life. When we are, indeed, doing what we are asked by our Master, there is a result. Galatians 5:22 tells us: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. ” When this is the fruit of a congregation, those outside will WANT to be part of this “faith family. ” We can NOT continue to exist as closed social organizations. We will lose not only the “organization, ” we will lose the wonderful inheritance, the Reformed “faith of our fathers, ” while we endanger our own salvation in the process. We are in new uncharted territories. Our survival depends on our taking the same course as did our ancestors - establishing Faith Communities which exist solely to serve Jesus Christ, our Master. The Church must cease to be the domain where a few traditional leaders dictate to the “silent majority. ” Not only must each of our congregations allow, they must encourage, participation by all the members on all levels of church life. We must also create a congregational life that is appealing to others, if we expect them to join with us. What is YOUR congregation’s main program? Is it a Christian program? Do you have an active Sunday School, or Bible Study? Are you involved in local missions? Ask yourself this: IF you were to move to a community where there were no “Hungarian Reformed” congregation, and you visited the only “Reformed church ” in the area, and discovered that their whole emphasis centered on making “pierogi ” and celebrating “Polish Independence Day, ” would you be likely to return? Yet many of our congregations have only this type of program to offer, then they wonder why strangers, in fact, often not even their own children, want to attend “their church. ” By living as an “ethnic club, ’’ and in the “contemplate your belly-button ” mentality of being in the survival mode and saving all our resources for ourselves, we have ignored the Call to Mission of the Church. NO congregation is a legitimate church if it is NOT INVOLVED IN MISSION! Mission must become a priority for EVERY congregation. Any congregation which foregoes mission will die. It lacks the presence of the Holy Spirit at the core of its being. Christian leaders respond to the call of Christ: Christian congregations follow the instructions in “the book. ” And they will discover that they do not have to worry about surviving - the Lord leads us to a full life, if we follow Him! Rt. Rev. Koloman Karl Ludwig, Bishop
