Musings on an Oak

by Rev. Care Crawford :: This morning I sat at my desk and faced my computer which sits in front of a window which frames a beautiful California live Oak. That tree has been my companion in this office since we moved in. The shape, its dark limbs, its sturdy trunk and the umbrella of its leaves is a reminder of God’s creative hand to me daily. In the morning the branches filled with their small green clusters of leaves shades the sun’s rays rising in the east. And each day, in the afternoon, two black birds, I don’t know what kind they are, come and perch on a limb overlooking the valley. At first I thought it coincidence when they would land on that branch together, day after day. And now I think they are a couple and they sit in “my tree” and remind me of the goodness and grace I have in my marriage and blessings that come in the companionship of one sitting by your side.

But today was a jarring day. Men were in the tree with buzz saws and long pole like “cutters” to “TRIM” the tree. At first it was just a little annoying, the sound and all the activity just outside my window. But As I tried to work and would watch what was doing, this “trim” took on a major pruning and when I saw some bigger branches being cut, I felt they were cutting and hurting my friend. Many of us in the office made comment. Several of us at different times even went outside and asked- “Are you just trimming? You are not cutting it down are you?” As the morning hours continued, my beautiful oak tree was getting shaved- in comparison to the many full and bountiful branches, it looked bald as the tree men finished their work. I confess I even called out plant manager and asked him to intervene at one point. He assured me, this was routine and that there were “guidelines” in the state of California for how much and how big a branch of an oak tree could be cut. Who knew?

Well I certainly did not know- but now that the trimming is done, I look out and see my nearly ‘naked’ oak. Others assure me come next spring it will be full again with branches billowing with green leaves and providing the wonderful canopy of shade. But today, I see through the branches of the tree- over to the church. And the rays of the sun are coming in so brightly I have to pull my shade. The Lord speaks of His pruning work to us in the Scriptures. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2 God gave me a tangible and visible lesson right before my eyes…a daily look out to the pruning work. I’m struck by the irony that the light that comes through the trees after it is pruned is so much stronger, almost blinding. When the Lord does His pruning work in me do I reflect that light in a stronger way for others to see?

What is the pruning work that needs to be done in my life and yours- to enable the light of Christ to shine through a bit more brightly? I suspect in all pruning work, there is that pain that comes when something is cut out- but like the tree or a rose bush or even our very lives, what grows back will be stronger and healthier.

Thank you Lord for the lessons of the Oak!

Never too late

by Rev. Kim Dorr :: I had the honor today of baptizing two beautiful women, one 88 years old and the other, her sister, a sprightly 83 year old. Accompanied with an elder of our church and another staff member, we traveled to their home.  The older of the two sisters, let’s call her Sarah, had limited mobility and not much ability to speak. Her sister did most of the talking for them both.  Together, we prayed and asked God to set aside their living room and create a holy space. We asked Him to set aside the common tap water for a holy purpose in His hand.  As I asked the question, “Do you profess your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?” the heartiest “YES!” came from Sarah’s lips and then she started to cry…tears streaming down her cheeks.  Her sister gently said to us, “We’ve always wanted to be baptized…we just never did it until now.”

What a beautiful moment in the life of these women and in the life of this church!  I wondered if they had spent years thinking “we’ll get to it” or “now’s not a good time.”  I wondered if either of them had the thought “perhaps it’s too late?”

I found myself musing in the hours after meeting these dear ladies on things that I have put off in my own life, windows that have opened only to shut, invitations from God that I left unopened.  I found myself so uplifted in the knowledge that with God the words “too late” rarely, if ever, apply.  The promises of God don’t have an expiration date. He waits for us with such patience and whenever we finally come to HIm, in whatever it might be, He delights that we are there. There is no chastisement for years gone by, no hurried “Where have you been?” – just unbridled joy and celebration over you and over me.

What a blessed part of ministry, to share God’s celebration with these two sisters today. I hope that you too will be encouraged through having them in our community of faith…two radiant faces of children of God that speak the words “It’s never too late!”

International Week: Two-Way Street Mission

by Rev. Enock DeAssis :: This next week (October 14-19, 2008) will be a special time in the life of our church. Four out of the five of our strategic partners will be here at Bel Air next week. In 2008 we sent around 200 of our team members from BelAir in short-term mission trips. Now, it is our time to receive our strategic partners here in Los Angeles. Bel Air Pres is partnering with five large churches around the world (India, China, Brazil, Venezuela and a country in North Africa by sending teams and supporting financially their missionary work. The leaders that will be visiting us are from congregation that together are shepherding more than 40,000 people in India, North Africa, Venezuela and Brazil.

The American Church is going through a process of discerning a new call from God. Instead of being “the one doing mission alone” we have learned the great blessing of working in partnership with God’s family around the world. In order to have a real strategic partnership we are working with nationals from different countries that are impacting their own context with the values of the Kingdom of God. When we partner with them, we understand that Mission is not a ONE way street: from us to the other. Rather, it is a TWO-way-street Mission. There are times that we send people. There are times that we receive people and learn from others. In the two-way-street Mission, we join our hands and resources to multiply the effects of our mission in the city and in the world.

During the next week, our strategic partners will bring us transformational stories about how God is doing amazing things in their countries. They will also challenge us to get more involved with the mission that God has given us here Los Angeles.

Here are the times they will be speaking at the church. Please do not miss it:

TUESDAY, 10/14/08:

• 9-9:30 a.m. :: Evans chapel
  
• 8:00 p.m. :: Sanctuary (Foundry)

WEDNESDAY 10/15/08

• 8:25 p.m. :: Discipleship Center Room 103 (College)

THURSDAY, 10/16/08

• 9:45 a.m. :: Discipleship Center Room 203 (Bel Air Women)

SUNDAY, 10/19/08

• 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. :: Worship Services
• 10:35 a.m. :: Discipleship Center Room 102 (Young Marrieds)
• 10:35 a.m. :: Discipleship Center Room103 (Open Word)

The whole church is invited! Please come even if you are not part of the specific discipleship groups that they will be asking to.

Along the Road

by Keenan Barber :: I think the toughest part of moving ahead in your Christian walk is that the further in you journey, the fewer people that you find that are ahead of you and around you. As well, as you move your way up the org chart in a church, there are fewer people to look to for mentoring. In no way am I trying to say that somehow I have gone or are going deeper than others in my spiritual walk, it just seems like there are fewer people to look up to – to look to for advice – to seek wisdom from – to confess your sins to. But in a way, this experience has driven me to a place to seek God more in all situations. My tendency in the past when I found myself with a difficult decision or a hard circumstance was to simply ask more people their opinions. I haven’t stopped doing that – but I think I ask fewer closer friends – and then spend the majority of my time seeking after what God would want me to do in a given situation.