Concord Chronicle

A few weeks ago I wrote about the role faith plays in allowing God to perform miracles in our lives and lamented with Jesus his inability to perform many miracles in Nazareth.

[ https://www.salvationarmyconcordca.org/bitsnpieces/?id=fear-faith-fun ] It seems that because Jesus grew up in Nazareth, and the people there knew the family they had already made up their minds about what he should or should not be able to do. They wanted Jesus to be what they thought he should be.

One of my favorite translations (more correctly, paraphrases) of Paul’s letter to the Roman Church is that of J.B. Phillips:

“With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to him and acceptable by him. Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.” Romans 12:1-2 J.B. Phillips New Testament

Paul is warning of the danger of missing out on the blessings of God’s planning for us by allowing the world to “squeeze us into its own mould”.

Just as in Nazareth, when we try to confine Jesus to a box of our own making we find that we are stuck on the inside of our box and Jesus can’t do anything for us.

I think those of us in The Salvation Army are well aware that one of the reasons our movement was raised up by God was because the “established” churches of William Booth’s time were squeezed into a straightjacket of respectability. The people Booth wanted to bring into fellowship were not welcome because they did not “fit in” with the conventional thinking of who was fit to be seen in a place of worship. It is fascinating to see that many of the songs we used to sing on that subject — like “O the drunkard may come…”; and “Can a poor sinner come to Jesus? Yes, he can!” — seem to have faded into obscurity and been replaced by more “contemporary” expressions of praise and worship. We are running the risk of being “squeezed” into respectability!

While there is nothing wrong, and much joy, in enjoying the blessings, both spiritual and material, of holy living, we err when we decide who should be eligible for such blessings. It is an easy trap to fall into and often falls into the category of “tradition”. (I often define “tradition” as something we do because we’ve always done it that way, even though we don’t know why!)

The world has begun to use this against us by exposing our deficiencies in diversity, equity, inclusion [DEI], and opportunity. Inevitably we find that when we draw lines in the sand, Jesus is standing on the other side of the line! Having introduced Rev Phillips’ paraphrase, look at these words of Jesus:

“I myself am the bread of life. The man who comes to me will never be hungry and the man who believes in me will never again be thirsty. Yet I have told you that you have seen me and do not believe. Everything that my Father gives me will come to me and I will never refuse anyone who comes to me. For I have come down from Heaven, not to do what I want, but to do the will of him who sent me. The will of him who sent me is that I should not lose anything of what he has given me, but should raise it up when the last day comes. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and trusts in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up when the last day comes.” John 6:36-40 J.B. Phillips New Testament

I just caught myself humming the old song: “Whosoever will may come”!

However, in realigning our expectations of who should be included in our fellowship, we must be careful not to be squeezed into the mold of the world’s agenda. Again, the words of Jesus:

“Here I am sending you out like sheep with wolves all round you; so be as wise as serpents and yet as harmless as doves. But be on your guard against men. For they will take you to the court and flog you in their synagogues. You will be brought into the presence of governors and kings because of me—to give your witness to them and to the heathen.” Matthew 10:16-18 J.B. Phillips New Testament

The world wants to infiltrate the Body of Christ by getting us to accept its agents as part of our fellowship.

While we must always err on the side of grace and compassion, we must not turn a blind eye to agendas that will seek to weaken our bonding with Christ. It seems there is a new religion afoot that goes by the name “Tolerance”. We must always remember that the purpose of inviting (new) sinners into our fellowship is so that they will be changed and become “saints” and “new creations” in Christ. We must explain, encourage and model this change process as we seek to become more like Jesus.

To abandon holy living and tolerate (far less, encourage) their sin so that they will feel more “welcome” or “included” does nothing for their salvation and endangers ours!

The gospel is guaranteed to cause offense to lifestyles and beliefs that the secular world would endorse. If we are not encountering offense and resistance we must not be presenting the gospel authentically. To believe that we must avoid offense is stinkin’ thinkin’, and we must get back to the commands of Jesus and carry out his mission and avoid being squeezed into a worldly shape!

As a friend and I agreed recently, we must “conform our thinking to scripture, not conform scripture to our thinking”!

Rescue the perishing!

Blessings on you and yours,

Jim Black

That’s what the T-shirt we were given upon our arrival stated. And for 3 days, 200 women from the Del Oro Division focused on how to have “Zest for Life”, by learning how to live a more abundant life in Christ.

I was blessed to be able to attend the Women’s Conference. After the past couple of years, being unable to be a part of any large corporate worship event was refreshing. The fellowship with friends, both old and new all worshiping God and seeking his will, gave a boost to my heart. And hearing the message of God’s word from an energetic and down-to-earth speaker blessed my soul.

There were classes on a variety of topics, from living with grief, to crafts and cooking, to living the abundant life. Fellowship activities included movie time, a bazaar, bingo, basket auctions, and yes, we even got to dress up for Prom where all were crowned “Zest Queen” for the evening!

The theme verse of the weekend, from 1 Peter 1:8 reminded us all that though we cannot see Jesus now, if we believe in him, we can indeed live a life of “inexpressible and glorious joy!” This is the blessing of all believers if we will just reach out and grab it.

I encourage all the women of the Concord Corps to come along next year and join the worship, blessings, and fellowship!

Willdonna Rich

The painting of the exterior of the building is going great. The colors chosen by everyone look quite modern - and the cross really stands out under the blue arches!

The outside groups using our facilities on a regular basis are increasing too:

• Rotacare - Mobile Clinic
• Clayton Sunrise Rotary Club
• Concord Rotary Club
• Lady Bugs (associated with the Concord Rotary)
• LifeScreening

You'd be interested to know that our Food Pantries are going strong with the help of community and corps volunteers. Last month, we served:

CONCORD CORPS

Sunday Morning Worship - 4 mtgs/365 attendance

Online Sunday Services - 4 mtgs/204 views

Smore Newsletter - 2,413 views

Adult Spiritual Development (Bible Studies) - 7 mtgs/91 attendance

Adult Group (AA & House Mtgs) - 7 mtgs/117 attendance

SOCIAL SERVICES (CONCORD - 4 DAYS A WEEK)

Cases served this month (men, women, and family units) - 223

Total persons served - 470

Cases served first time this year - 45

Total person served first time this year - 95

Grocery orders provided - 617

Volunteers - 12

Volunteer hours - 300

SOCIAL SERVICES (ANTIOCH - PART OF CONCORD'S OFFICE)

Cases served this month (men, women, and family units) - 41

Total persons served - 118

Cases served first time this year - 11

Total person served first time this year - 28

Grocery orders provided - 41

SOCIAL SERVICES (EL SOBRANTE - ONCE A WEEK)

Cases served this month (men, women, and family units) - 177

Total persons served - 367

Cases served first time this year - 18

Total person served first time this year - 38

Grocery orders provided - 177

Volunteers - 4

Volunteer hours - 95

SUNDAY:

• 9:00 AM - Praise Team Rehearsal - Chapel
• 10:00 AM - Sunday School - Classroom 3
• 10:00 AM - Senior Soldiership Classes
• 10:15 AM - Prayer Time - Prayer Room
• 11:00 AM - Worship Service - Chapel
• 12:15 PM - Refreshments & Fellowship - Fireside Room
• 12:30 PM - Youth Music Rehearsals - Chapel

TUESDAY

• 6:00 PM - Men's Bible Study - Fireside Room
• 6:00 PM - Women's Bible Study - Zoom
• 7:00 PM - Songster Practice - Chapel
• 8:00 PM - Musicians' Devotions & Prayer - Chapel
• 8:15 PM - Senior Band Practice - Chapel

WEDNESDAY

• 10:00 AM - CAMEO: Program by Susan - Hybrid
• 2:00 PM - Downton Abbey - Veranda Luxe Theater

SATURDAY

• 10:00 AM - Corps Cadet Study Hall - Jones' Residence

NEXT SUNDAY

Celebration of those being promoted and Sheryn Johnson's College Graduation reception.

Dates: June 3-6, 2022

Time: 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Location: Contra Costa County Fairgrounds (Antioch)

It has been two years since we've been able to participate in this service to our Veterans. Lt. Perfect Weeden headed up the team of volunteers last time. This year, Mike O'Reilly will be in charge of this event while the Majors will be out-of-town for the Commissioning events and Territorial Encore with the participating families. He will only be able to fulfill this commitment with the help of our congregation and other volunteers. We will have our canteen on site serving snacks and coffee. If you are interested, please let Mike know so that he can create his shifts. Thank you!

We have reserved spaces for two of the Summer Camp Sessions:

1. Sports Camp - June 20-25 - Cost $75
2. Music & Worship Arts Camp - July 2-9 - Cost $100 (slots all filled!)

We have 5 spaces left for Sports Camp. Please let Major Ann know if you are interested.

CARIBBEAN TERRITORY

Prayer requests:

• Thank God for the ministry of the Salvation Army in the Caribbean Territory.
• Pray for 135 years of Congress Celebration in February 2023.
• Pray for our 8 cadets who are preparing for summer field training.
• Pray for the unity in this territory, that all officers, soldiers, adherents, and employees feel included in the mission.
• Pray for a spiritual revival to take place so that men and women will respond to the call for full-time service, especially the English-speaking.

Email: annmarguerite.jones@usw.salvationarmy.org
Website: https://www.SalvationArmyConcordCA.org
Location: 3950 Clayton Road, Concord, CA, USA
Phone: (925) 676-6180
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tsaconcord