Starting this Sunday, we are going to start a new sermon series, going through the Book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is the last book of the Torah, the five books of Moses that start the Bible. For many Christians, Deuteronomy is a strange and difficult book, filled with severe and grim legal codes, and detached from the ministry of Jesus. And yet, Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy more than any other book in the Old Testament. In fact, Deuteronomy is quoted over 80 times in the New Testament, and it is the third most cited OT book in the NT, after Psalms and Isaiah. The writers of the NT clearly saw Deuteronomy as a Christian book. In short, from beginning to end, Deuteronomy is about Jesus.
Deuteronomy begins with Israel gathered on the plains of Moab, on the cusp of entering Canaan, the land promised to Abraham. It records Moses’ final sermon before his death. And it outlines a series of laws that offend modern sensibilities – laws regulating sexual crimes, conduct in warfare, and slavery. It would be all too easy to skip over these difficult texts, but we will preach the whole counsel of God, walking through every chapter and verse, seeking understanding and faith. Deuteronomy is ultimately about the Christian life. How do we live as the people of God today, sojourning in the wilderness, about to enter the Promised Land? I look forward to the adventure that awaits us in Scripture.
Pastor Michael
Image: Map of Canaan. Deuteronomy is set on the plains of Moab, on the cusp of the Promised Land.
A Year of Remembrance
March 15 will mark the one-year anniversary of the start of the pandemic for our church and our strange odyssey away from our home at Marshall Elementary School. Starting with the clubhouse at Palomares Hills (pictured on right), we have moved locations eight times. We want to remember and reflect on this remarkable year. We are thankful for the many people who have served the church during this difficult year of ministry. Most of all, we give thanks to God for leading us and preserving us through the storm.
Reflections by Tracy Ong
To be honest, much of last year feels like a blur to me, haha. But, there are some memories I will always remember. I remember the confusion and panic when Marshall Elementary told us we couldn't meet there anymore and every single time there was a problem with the livestream (which happened frequently in the beginning!). I remember carefully marking up the many pages of protocols issued by the county and state and writing ones for IGC. I remember recruiting volunteers for my reopening task team, which kind of felt like enlisting people to join the army. I remember participating in our church's mask-making assembly line, which made me feel like I was a part of Blue Star Moms. In particular, I remember one Sunday at 3Crosses when the Internet didn't work. My brain was scrambling to think of what we could do. We resorted to using Zoom on my phone to stream the service, and I remember feeling bad that my phone kept moving and parts of my head/face kept showing up on the screen :p
I remember being grateful for and in awe of the pastors and elders and how they shepherded (and continue to shepherd) our church through this pandemic. It has not been easy to lead a church during this time, and our pastors/elders have done so with much grace and faithfulness. I remember the spirit of teamwork and camaraderie we shared, and that even though we didn't agree on everything, we had discussions that led to decisions we all supported. I will always remember their love for the church, their desire to honor God in every decision we made, and their dependence on Him. I will say it again and again: we have amazing, God-fearing leaders, guys.
Most of all, I remember God's provision and goodness to us. Without a doubt, He has led us this whole time and sustained us - and He will continue doing so! People have faithfully stepped up to volunteer and have generously given/lent us their cars, equipment, homes, and time. I remember the staff at 3Crosses, who were so hospitable and accommodating and even prayed for us when we visited. I remember the encouraging emails I received. I remember how crazy it was when HARD issued a permit for us to have service at San Felipe. So many small miracles. God is able. Jehovah Jireh. God is good. God has been, is, and will continue to be with us. All glory be to Him!
Reflections by David Yi
A year ago (!), when I was unofficially deputized as part of the IGC LiveStream Geek Squad™, I remember the excitement, anxiety, and pressure of producing a livestream each week. There was this feeling that we could provide this small gift to people who had suddenly been stripped of the presence of their brothers and sisters. For me, I had the livestream crew in my house each Sunday, and just seeing them in the flesh each week felt like a (somewhat guilty?) privilege. But we missed the singing, the communion, the fellowship, the faces. We were just coping as a church.
In the midst of the learning curve and technical challenges of live-streaming (and caring for a newborn), one of the most memorable "coping" mechanisms for me was the Saturday night IGC Counter-Strike Crew®. 1) We got to have some community over headsets and first person shooters, and 2) We put our livestream rig through its paces in a GPU-intensive, bandwidth-sensitive stress test. 2 birds, 1 stone! So big shout out to the CS-GO squad for their contribution to my coping, and the success of our livestream!
For sure, I'll never take for granted the physical gathering of the church again. In 1939, in an underground seminary in Germany, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer... The believer feels no shame when he yearns for the physical presence of other Christians... It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us. Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren." I love y'all and thank God for our church.
Vision for Post-Pandemic Church
At our February 21 congregational meeting, we discussed the future of our church, particularly as we emerge out of the pandemic. Obviously, no one knows the exact shape of what will happen, but we can begin to make preliminary plans. Two points are significant:
(1) Philosophy on church gatherings
Through the duration of the pandemic, we will meet together in whatever setting brings the most people together. For now, that means holding worship service outdoors, at a public park. And so, we plan to continue meeting at San Felipe Park in Hayward through 2021. As people are vaccinated and infection rates recede, and as people feel safe, we will make plans to return to indoor worship.
(2) Eventually, we will turn off the livestream
This will be an open and ongoing conversation, but we believe that participating in the worship service through the livestream is an emergency accommodation, for the pandemic only, and unsuitable for regular church life. We are committed to maintaining the livestream through the pandemic. But eventually, we will be able to say the health threat is over. And while it may be convenient and efficient, the livestream is not conducive to deep engagement and deep belonging in congregational life. Many people have expressed feeling disconnected through this experience of "digital church." This will be a conversation we will have together as a church, as we look to a post-pandemic future.
Our Vision for Mercy Ministry
But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? (1 John 3:17)
Absolutely essential to our church vision is to love the poor. There are too many biblical passages to cite, but one that I find particularly arresting is Galatians 2:10. There, Paul relates how the Jerusalem apostles affirmed his mission to the Gentiles (a seminal moment in church history), and foremost in their discussion was serving the poor – “only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” Essential to the mission of the church is to serve the economically vulnerable.
Our guiding principle is to engage the poor through relationships. It’s too easy to simply write a check. But the deepest need of the poor is social capital, not just financial capital. One of the most helpful books the mercy ministry leaders and I have read is When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. Their basic argument is that Western aid has been, for the most part, one-sided and condescending, rather than collaborative and empowering. This has created cycles of dependency and deepened the problem of poverty.
Our commitment is to partner with charitable organizations, providing not only financial grants, but also gospel-driven relationships. We have done this by supporting foster and adoptive families through Foster the Bay (we have three families in the church we support, see picture on right), partnerships with College Avenue Presbyterian in Oakland and First Presbyterian in Hayward to serve the homeless, a partnership with East Bay Orphan Care, and volunteering on work projects at Marshall Elementary School through Project Peace. We are also committed to deploying at least 10% of our budget outside of the church (towards missions, church planting, and mercy ministries). For 2020, we gave away $56,500 (11% of budget).
We recognize there are many more opportunities to serve the poor. The Coronavirus pandemic has severely limited the ability to do face-to-face relationships. (The most recent commitment we’ve made is a $5,000 grant to the PCA Unity Fund.) But we’d like to find another local partnership, in which we can do long-term friendships and relationship-based rehabilitation. The elders have started some preliminary discussions about engaging with a re-entry program for ex-cons. We know that the greatest need for ex-prisoners is a loving community to walk with them as they reintegrate into society. Our church is rich in such community and friendships. Another idea that was proposed is to partner with an organization serving single mothers who have decided to go through with their pregnancy and raise the child. They are especially needy of the benefits and help of community.
This is a conversation that will continue in our church, with the Mercy Ministry team (Marianne, Joe, and Jane), in the leadership dinners, and with the church community. This is our commitment as a church. May God give us strength and wisdom and love.
Pastor Michael
Image: Our church's three adoptive families, the Murrys, the Lees, and Eugene Alfaro, along with their "support friends."
Happy 10-Year Anniversary to IGC!
On May 2, 2010, Indelible Grace Church had its launch service at Marshall Elementary School. This Saturday will mark our 10-year anniversary. We had planned for a special celebration, but we are postponing it until we can gather together again as a church. In the meantime, we dug up some old photos (see below) and found this old video documenting the weeks of planning and preview services leading up to our big launch service. You can recognize many people from the original crew still serving faithfully in our church today. It's been an incredible journey of God's goodness and favor. To him alone be the glory!
Meet our Missionaries, the Kangs!
Our vision for missions is to provide deep support for a missionary, not just by sending a check, but through deep relationship and friendship. After nearly a year of conversations with multiple missionaries, committee deliberations, and earnest prayer, we are excited to announce that we have decided to support the Kangs!
Steve and Sehee Kang, with their two daughters, Sammi and Zoe, started their ministry in Beijing, China. After four years, they returned to the US to receive further training at RTS in Orlando (Steve received an M.Div. and Sehee a degree in counseling). However, in that time, the door to China closed due to religious persecution, so they have been redirected by MTW to serve in Taiwan. They depart in mid-December. Their ministry will consist of serving in the local church, church planting, theological education, counseling, and also keeping an eye towards mainland China, making trips to support and provide training for the churches there.
The Kangs visited IGC on December 1, 2019. They shared their story and their ministry vision. The congregation was deeply encouraged by them. If you would like to sign up for their newsletter updates, click here.
An Epidemic of Loneliness
One of the things going on in the culture is a full-blown epidemic of loneliness and disconnection. There are countless social science metrics that demonstrate this: the decline of voluntary associations, less people getting married, rising rates of addiction. Partly, it's technology -- which gives us superficial connectivity, but crowds out real human interaction. Partly, it's a culture of individualism -- no one has the right to tell me how to live.
But a major component is the loss of spirituality in our nation. Community, real community, requires sacrifice and an ethos of service. Because friendships make demands on us -- they're often inconvenient, messy, and incompatible with our personal ambitions. A world in which personal fulfillment and material gain is the end goal just isn't robust enough to carry the weight of thick community.
The antidote is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus calls us, not just to individual salvation, but to communal salvation and a life full of rich relationships (with God and with others). Indeed, relationships is the meaning of the universe. It is astonishing the deep truth that the Triune God is a community of persons loving each other in deep relationship from all eternity. The gospel calls us into that divine community and into fellowship with each other.
Okay, that sounds rather abstract. What can we do as a church? So, so much! We can prioritize church in our lives. We can throw ourselves into community group and discipleship groups. And, we can rediscover the lost art of hospitality. We should invite each other into our homes, share a meal, and share our lives.
And to that end, we have a specific ministry project: Match-Up Meals. (See picture of last year's Fall Match-up Meals.) When members of IGC sign up, they will be matched up with others in the church (in groups of four) to practice the spiritual discipline of hospitality for a single evening. It's a small and modest step. But it's one more way we can push against the broader cultural decay of individualism and loneliness, and establish little islands of friendship and connection and hope. And who knows, the Bible says believers have hosted angels unawares in doing so (Hebrews 13:2).
2019 Year-in-Review
Photo captions:
top left: Youth Ministry event
top middle: baptism of Gabriel Murry
top right: annual Christmas party
center left: Jeff and Dorothy's support friends
center middle: our missionaries, Steve and Seehe Kang
center right: summer retreat at Camp MayMac
bottom left: a men's discipleship group
bottom middle: mom's playgroup event
bottom right: service project at Strobridge Elementary
Parenting Seminars
Parenting is not an indifferent matter in the Bible, but of great importance. Many believing parents want their children to become Christians, but are often unsure how to proceed.
Ultimately, parenting is not a matter of techniques or practices, but a set of priorities and values. Godly parenting is the mission to raise up our children to know the love of God in Christ. That’s the main thing. Everything else – academics, sports, music, friendships – are good things, but not the ultimate thing. Knowing what is the ultimate thing structures the limited time and energy we all have as parents. So that teaching faith in Christ becomes the non-negotiable thing in the family.
Some people wonder: aren’t there no guarantees our children will become Christians? And, of course, that’s true. God is sovereign. We are not. We cannot control the hearts of our children. But exceptions to the rule do not make the ordinary means of the Bible’s pattern of generational faith meaningless. Proverbs 22:6 says “train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Or consider 2 Timothy 1:5 and the example of Timothy learning the faith from his mother Eunice and his grandmother Lois. Also, sociologists have identified something called the “4-14 Window,” which is this crucial window of teachability and tenderness of heart when children are between the ages of 4 and 14 years old. 63% of adult Christians came to faith during that age range.
Finally, some concluding remarks:
(1) If you look at Ephesians 6:4, parenting is addressed to “fathers.” This does not reflect a kind of reflective sexism of the ancient world, but the Bible’s instruction that fathers have the primary and lead responsibility in parenting. This is radically counter-cultural in a world where fathers are providers and mothers do the parenting.
(2) The church is a partner, not a replacement for parents. Many parents assume, “isn’t it the church’s job to instruct our children in the Christian faith?” But an hour a week is impossible to do this task well. Think about any serious endeavor – playing the piano or taking martial arts lessons. If a child only receives a single hour of instruction per week without any reinforcement at home, that child will never achieve deep mastery of that skill. Christianity is infinitely more deep and complex than the piano or martial arts. Deuteronomy 6:7 says that teaching our children faith is a whole life endeavor, involving every part of life.
(3) Finally, a word of grace to parents. Many parents feel beleaguered and overwhelmed. This is not by accident. Parenting is an enormous task, far greater than running a company or governing a nation, because raising up a human being is vastly more involving and complex. So all parents will experience significant mistakes, failures, and short-comings. Indeed God designed it this way. So that through parenting, we can experience more deeply his grace and forgiveness. And this approach will make us better parents. No child wants to be parented by a “perfect parent” who never makes mistakes. That is a crushing burden. Godly parents should be quick to apologize, and model for our children humility and a life-long pattern of repentance.
In the end, parenting is gospel-reenactment. We must always parent our children remember that in Christ, we are all sons of God loved and disciplined by our Heavenly Father. This is the strength we can draw from in our moments of despair and discouragement.
Above photo: the parent panel from the first class
Reflections on our vision in 2019
"Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men." – Mark 1:17
As we approach 2019, I want to reflect on the vision of our church that we laid out in the summer of 2018. This was the fruit of many months of discussions with the elders and lay leaders of the church. Remember, IGC only became particularized (electing and installing elders) in March of 2018. The first goal of the Session was to set forth a guiding vision for our church.
The vision of our church is "following Jesus and helping others to follow Jesus." There are two parts to our vision, and the key is that you cannot do one without the other.
First, the Christian life is to follow Jesus. This means to leave behind our old life of sin and idolatry, and to start a new life of love and obedience. This is a radical call that demands our whole life.
Second, the Christian life is helping others to follow Jesus. And here is the key. You cannot follow Jesus without helping others to follow Jesus. These are inseparable pursuits. In other words, Christianity is not a solo endeavor, but can only be done in deep community with others. We do this through evangelism in the world and discipleship in the church. In this way, the whole church is involved in the work of ministry.
What does this look like practically in our church? Many people have asked what new program or what specific ministry will this involve. The answer is that our vision is less about starting new programs, and more about creating a new culture. It’s about everyone leaning into the church and pouring themselves out for others. And it will look different for different people. For some, it means joining an intensive discipleship group. For others, it means serving in Children/Youth Ministry and mentoring young hearts to follow Christ. And for others, it means finding the courage to share Christ with a co-worker.
Here is one practical suggestion to start. In your relationships in the church, be more intentional in your conversations. Ask someone about their walk with God. Take someone out to coffee to talk about spiritual things. Invite a family over for dinner and share prayer requests. Talk to your children about the Christian faith.
This will be a long conversation in our church. We do not expect to arrive at our destination in a few short years. There will be many steps along the journey. At our upcoming January leadership dinner, there will be a discussion about how the vision intersects with community groups. In February or March, there will be a congregational meeting. And all the time, the elders are continuing to meet with ministry leaders to flesh out the vision. And lastly, we invite you to join us this Sunday morning, 10:10am at the library, to pray about the vision for our church in 2019.
Photo caption, from top to bottom: A baptism, Particularization service, Missions conference with MTW, Children's Ministry class, Mercy Ministry event in Oakland, Men's Retreat, Women's Retreat, and Youth Ministry mini-golf.